Tag: ideas

Follow(er)

Bailey GunnLeave a comment

Okay, I have a confession to make. 

I’m a follower. 

Yup, you read that right. I’m a lemming. Maybe not with fashion or with personal tastes, but for everything else, I’m a follower. I just don’t really like to lead, especially in a bossy way. I can quietly lead by example. But even then, I’d really prefer it if someone just told me what to do. 

And I know. That’s bad. It makes me ripe for the revolution. It makes me seem like I’ll do anything anyone tells me to do. (Which is sort of true for me, but not always true for everyone else.) 

But is being a follower really a bad thing? Don’t we need to follow in someone else’s footsteps before we know how something is done or how someone feels? Isn’t it smarter to watch something being done before jumping in and doing it yourself? What’s wrong with following along for awhile, until you feel confident enough to lead on your own?

Listen, I get it. The world doesn’t want followers. (Think different. Right?) But we can’t all be leaders either. We’d just have a lot of people walking around and yelling in circles. Sometimes, we just need another population for those people to lead. But that’s not to say we follow them blindly. It’s just that we’re there and ready for someone else to come up with a bright idea. 

And who knows? Maybe, through following and carefully watching others, maybe that will be us someday. But for right now? You can lead the way. 

A World of Opinions 

Bailey GunnLeave a comment

Let’s get political for a second. 

I don’t care what you think of Trump.  Wait, I mean Drumpf. (Unless you think he has great ideas. Then I care what you think. Because you’re wrong about that, and you’re probably wrong about other things too.) 

But again, whatever you think of Trump, you have to admit that he’s eliminated apathy in this election. It’s difficult for people to look away, let alone not have an opinion on who should be our next president. Everyone will vote because they can’t afford not to. 

Which is strange for a person who doesn’t have much of an opinion about anything. Because I really don’t. My only opinions? Any one who harms animals should receive the death penalty and that avocado can be eaten on anything. Everything else doesn’t really warrant my opinion. And that gets me into a lot of weirdness. Because it’s hard to really get to know someone who just nods and agrees. 

But that could be changing. We now live in a world where not only are opinions everywhere, people can actually tell you that your opinions are wrong. (Like I pretty much did at the beginning of this post.)

So, what’s a girl with no opinions supposed to do? Well, I guess I’ll start to form them by getting informed. But it is something that needs to be done. Because I believe that the election won’t be the last thing that will polarize the nation in the next few years. And hopefully, that will be a good thing. Because when people have strong opinions, they do something about them. And if the world is going to hell in a hand basket, I want to have an opinion about how it’s going down. 

Completely Useless Trivia

Bailey GunnLeave a comment

Can someone please tell me what the evolutionary advantage is of knowing what a group of hummingbirds is called versus where I left my car keys? (It’s a “charm,” by the way.) And why is it that my brain would rather remind me that ducks have more neck bones than humans rather than remember when all of my friends’ birthdays are? And while we’re on the subject, is it necessary that I know that Tennessee Williams was born in Mississippi but not where my own grandparents were raised?

Yup. Just about everyone knows a little bit of useless trivia, tucked and filed away in the deep recesses of their brain. But why isn’t there enough room up there for important things, too?

I mean, it isn’t like we really get a chance to use any of these tidbits. That’s why it’s called “useless” trivia. I’m sorry to crush your hopes, but a criminal isn’t going to mug you and then say, “okay, if you call tell me all of the Jackson 5 members, I’ll give you back your wallet.” Unless you are dealing with the Sphinx, there isn’t a situation where any of this information is going to work in your favor.

So, why is it that we choose to remember useless things? Well, there’s the simple fact that they interest us. When we hear something we don’t know or when we learn something about our world, a neuron in our brain reaches out to touch another neuron. And that connection excites us. Our brains don’t care that we need to hold tight to that number for Chinese takeout. That’s practical and easy. Instead, our gray matter wants a challenge, a stimulant. That way, it can grow and better serve us.

But I think there’s an even less concrete reason, a less logical explanation, for why we retain useless facts way past their due date. For me, it simply comes down to sharing. I love being able to trade knowledge, and play “Did you know…?” with someone.  And it’s great to see someone else’s face light up with understanding and awareness about something new in their world. It’s a gift that you don’t have to pay for, and one that you’ll love to receive.

In the end, we all have to remember that life doesn’t have to have a deeper meaning. Sometimes, it is beautiful and exciting simply because it is there. I think this is the way that brains see the world when we find out a new fact: we are simply amazed that the knowledge exists and could care less about the “real world” application of it all.

So, keep learning and feed your head. Your facts may be useless, but they prove that you’ve been paying attention in a rather blissfully ignorant world.