Category: debate

A Much Needed Switch: Dying to Thriving

fatveganfrogLeave a comment
Photo credit: pinterest.com

I’ve been trying to get my dad to stop eating meat since I was four years old. We traveled to Ireland and I remember watching him eat bacon day after day and wanting nothing more than for him to understand the terrible health risks. I’ve always been worried about his health… His “weight loss” diets would always consist of meats and cheese (protein fads) along with Diet Ginger Ale… He would lose weight and looked fit so it worked for him, but I became more and more worried.

I tried to explain to him that natural sugars are okay and animal products were truly the problem. He was raised in a family of ten siblings so if he didn’t eat what was served (unhealthy crappy foods) he wouldn’t eat, period. Meats, processed foods and dairy was on the menu during his upbringing. So when I was young he was hard on me for my decisions because he simply didn’t have the proper knowledge. 

As I got older he started to support my lifestyle more and more, eventually taking me to vegan festivals and even dining with me to enjoy high quality vegan foods. He even asked me where he could get a metal straw to help with plastic pollution.  I figured this was as far as he would ever go. I accepted this reality and kind of gave up on him, sadly. I figured he would never change and that was okay…Because everyone is different right?

When I got the call last month…it was my dad on the phone telling me he is going plant based after watching “The Game Changers”  documentary on Netflix. I was in utter shock. Out of everyone in my life, he would have been the last person on my list I would ever expect to go vegan. For me, this showed me hope for humanity! He is the most “manly” guy I’ve ever met so for him to make this change is amazing.  With all the stereotypes about vegan guys being weak, feminine and all that other nonsense animal product companies endorse, this shows me how anyone can do it just letting go of their ego. My dad said, “All the research supports the vegan diet and this way of life is by far the most healthy. I have always known that you are on the right track. Now I am seeing that eating plant based can even build muscle, strength and healthy blood flow. It seems that it can also lower my cholesterol which is elevated at this time. I am so proud of you for paving the way. You are a great inspiration to me and I’m never eating meat again.”

A lot of the time people will tell me they would totally go vegan if they could, but it would be “too hard,” “I tried and just couldn’t” or it’s not the time and they will eventually make the switch… But the time is now. We have the resources. Nobody cares about getting the right nutrients until veganism comes up. People will be eating McDonald’s all day and act like veganism would just be detrimental to their health. Another excuse is that it’s too expensive. It is simply not expensive to go to your local grocery store and buy a can of beans or some vegetables.  Research the right foods and stop saying you “can’t.” Stop making excuses to make yourself feel like a better person because it is total BS. 

This is a lifestyle. And yes, changing your lifestyle is a big deal but crucial for your health and well being. This switch will change your life, and the ones in it, but only for the better. I hope my dad can be an inspirational success story and help you and your family on your own health journeys.

ImBeachment

americanapolloLeave a comment

So The Donald is in Trouble.

Big Big Trouble.

A senior Republican senator said in a CNN interview recently that there are 35 members of the GOP who would vote to remove the president if they were to remain anonymous.

Unfortunately, that’s not how things work.

But this allegiance to Democracy over the party leader should yield some frightened republicans (AHEM GYM JORGAN), as they realize that the majority of Congress does not support the President.

Another reason why they should be afraid is because if Trump were to be impeached, a whole new staff would come in, and there would be no one in the White House to protect them. Because as of right now, a select handful of Trumpers working in the West Wing support various Republican senators because of their mutual avocation in congress.

If Trump were to B removed, these leeches that hold political office would dry up and die, as their grease and cocaine filled lifeblood would be back on the streets bankrupting himself.

All smears and criticisms aside, even if Trump were to be removed, it is still a dark time in our country’s history, as party lines have never been stronger and corruption has never run so deep.

(Except for the Gilded Age but we don’t talk about that.)

wanna fight

unicornownerLeave a comment

“Wanna fight” is the phrase I often use recently.

When some people make fun of me, I will say that. When I make fun of some other people, I will say that. When I don’t know what to say, I will still say that.

I don’t even know where I got this phrase from, how it got into my mind, or why I keep saying it.

PC: media.makeameme.org

After lunch today, I said it to one of my silly friends.

That was when I got the retribution for saying this violent phrase.

“I never heard you say this when you were playing volleyball against other teams.” My former volleyball coach said this to me, when he overheard me.

Hmmm that’s kind of true, I am not really a sports person since the day I was born. I am trying to play sports good, but somehow no matter how hard I tried I am just not good as the others. Alright, I guess I just don’t have talent in it.

no electricity no life

unicornownerLeave a comment

The electricity was off for a short time today.

Probably it’s because of the weather, it was raining so hard since last night.

That is when I realized how important the electricity is to me and how much I depend on it.

The answer is: I can barely live without it.

Hmmm… that’s weird, the electricity is not absolutely necessary for humans to live with, unlike water and oxygen. But why do we need it so bad just like we need water and oxygen?

I guess it is because we can do a lot of things with electricity, such as use the lights, the heater, and so on. The most important thing is it can make our electronic products work, and they are really “essentials” for us.

But right now,

I really want to print my papers out, but I can’t, and I can do nothing about it but wait.

That is why I am sitting here and writing this blog for this week.

PC: mckinsey.com

Power Nap

horseman69Leave a comment

I nap, a lot. I go to sleep late whenever overwhelmed by work or by myself. So if I got tired in the day, I would crawl into my bed, curl up and sleep like a baby. 

Photo credit: gq.com

Almost everyday, I have about one hour of free time during the daytime. That’s when I head to my relatively comfortable bed for some paralysis.

My name is (beep for anonymity), and all I want is a good day’s sleep. 

What’s so good about sleeping in the day?

I have dreams where I remember everything. It’s more of a conscious experience than senseless resting. Unlike a lucid dream, I don’t know that I’m dreaming. 

It’s amazing how sometimes, I’m truly alive when I’m unconscious. The dreams are beautiful.

However, it’s a nightmare trying to wake up from them. As a puppet under the strings of the educational system, I’m always on a clock. Beep, beep, time to be fed. Beep, beep, fetch that bone.

So I choose to go to sleep. Am I avoiding things? 

My name is (beep for anonymity), and all I want is a good day’s sleep.

Should I be done with day-sleeping? It feels like more hurt than help. Maybe I should discard my hobby.

But I know I’m not going to change. Maybe I’ll stop napping when I turn vegan. See you in ten years.

But for now, beep, beep.

Worth it

hwan6031Leave a comment

Thanksgiving break is coming soon, and everyone seems to be excited for it.

Most of the people go back home, and celebrate with a humongous turkey sitting on the middle of table. As an international student, however, Thanksgiving is not as welcoming as other holidays. I love going back home, but 1 week is simply too short. To go back, we have to endure 13 hours of flight and then another 2 hours to go back home. Then you have to deal with Jet lag, which takes a while to get over.

Time just flies during thanksgiving, and it is exhausting to spend a full day just in plane, but I guess I’m still excited to see my family.

pc; Giphy

I Want to Believe

mypetlobster1Leave a comment

dear world, dear life, dear faith,

tell me your secrets,

fill me in on your knowledge,

and cast me away with your limitless being.

dear god,

whoever or whatever you may be,

listen to my problems, answer my prayers, make right all the wrong,

and give me hope.

oh please

give me hope that you can fix the evil in this dark world we live in.

oh god…

I want to belive in you,

I envy and pity those who do,

because, how great would it be to live

and believe that someone in the sky will make everything okay,

to believe that you are protected by one overarching being,

to blame your stupid mistakes on the ideology that

“everything happens for a reason, it’s god’s will,”

to not fear death because heaven awaits the good…

How great, how easy, how amazing would that be,

but how naive do you have to be to believe.

dear self, dear time, dear life

i’m afraid

my being is all in my hands.

Photo via Pinterest 

go be a night owl

unicornownerLeave a comment

It is so good to stay up late. 

If you stay up late only once in a while, that is NOT ENOUGH and please change it as soon as possible! If you like to stay up late constantly, that is GREAT and please keep doing that as long as possible!

There are plenty of reasons to go to bed late, for most people it’s something really “important” and “urgent” they have to do. Either of these two reasons is definitely WORTH burning the midnight oil for. 

This is a slippery slope, people who pull an all-nighter will get up late the next morning, then they can continue to go to bed late again. 

Studies show, people who habitually stay up late gain weight really easily. In the late-night, your appetite will be better and the rate of metabolism will be affected as well. Then you can have more weight than others who eat the same amount of food and go to sleep regularly.

And you can also gain confidence through staying up the whole night. Your vision will become poorer and poorer, too poor to see your face with the poor skin condition in the mirror clearly. Of course, you will feel much better when you can’t see your pimples, dark circles, wrinkles, receding hairlines…

The most important thing is that both your focus and memory worsens, and productivity decreases. So you will forget unhappy things more easily, and you can enter the realm of true happiness.

So, for pursuing TURE happiness, please be a night owl and continue to stay up late.

photo credit: dailytitan.com

Bapples

unicornowner2 Comments

“an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” Horseman69 said to me today.

“ow about bananas?” I asked.

“too much work peeling them.” Lazy ass.

“but you also need to peel the apples.”

“no, you don’t.”

“fine.”

“and they get gross quickly, if you have left a banana in your bag, it will smell fantastic.”

“so does an apple.”

“no, apples rot slowly, they wouldn’t smell like someone has died in my bag after a day.”

“fine.”

photo credit: dmcdn.net

I like bananas as much as the Minions do. I always have a banana in my hand when I walk out from the cafeteria after breakfast.

Bananas can make people happy, at least they make me happier. In fact, they do possess tryptophan, and it will convert into serotonin, which is the happy-mood brain neurotransmitter.

Happiness is prominent to our health, so why not eat bananas? A banana a day can also keep the doctor away. 

photo credit: media1.tenor.com

Btw, the Minions love apples as well, they call them “bapples.”

So maybe we shouldn’t be picky between apples and bananas… a bapple a day keeps the doctor away.

The Smoking Reaper

horseman69Leave a comment
Photo credit: pond5.com

Worried about the potential health damages cigarettes might do to him, my father quit smoking a couple years ago. Before his abstinence, he had been smoking for over a decade. Cigarettes were a major category of his life for all those years, but he still abandoned it steadfastly. Why? Because smoking kills. 

Many are unaware of the damages that come with smoking, whereas the others are unable to stop smoking. As a hobby, people don’t see the harm; as an addiction, people find it hard to abstain from. How is cigarette-smoking such a bad thing? To begin with, smoking jeopardizes your health, the health of the people around you, and the health of the planet. 

If you were a smoker, smoking cigarettes can induce lung diseases by damaging the airways and the alveoli located in your lungs. The regeneration in your lungs is slow and according to the studies of stem cells in the past few years, there is little to no effective way to regenerate lost bronchioles or alveoli in humans. Smoking damages your lungs while you have little chance to regrow.

Nicotine is a major part in the making of cigarettes. The nicotine-intake from cigarettes decreases the amount of oxygen your heart gets and elevates your heart rate. More stress is put on your heart because of smoking. That’s how smoking induces heart diseases. However, that’s not all cigarettes bring you, they also bring death.

The statistics speak volume. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), more than 1 in 10 deaths worldwide from Cardiovascular Diseases in 2000 were attributed to smoking. “Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States,” the CDC stated. 

Photo credit: wikipedia.org

In total, diseases that can be caused by cigarette-smoking are: lung cancer, heart diseases, strokes, aortic aneurysm, oropharyngeal cancer, esophageal cancer, diabetes… There are many other symptoms triggered by smoking. However, it’s not just the smoker that’s affected by smoking, secondhand smoke kills as well.

According to the CDC, More than 41,000 people die in a year because of secondhand smoke exposure. All these people are going to be gone because there is a smoker in the office, in the hallway, or in the family. You are slowly killing your family if you smoke next to them!

Cigarette smoking also leads to environmental pollution as it releases pollutants into the atmosphere. The cigarette butts are littered everywhere—you would often see them on the ground. The leftover chemicals in cigarettes would also seep into the ground or waterways, inducing further pollutions. By the way, cigarettes can also be an environmental hazard as smokers often fail to put out cigarette thoroughly. When they dump the still lit cigarette butts on the ground, it’s a dangerous fire hazard. In a report from the Los Angles Times, on Nov. 8, 2018, a wild fire in California killed 85 people when it ripped the Butte County apart. 

Photo credit: laist.com

In my eyes, smokers are reapers. They come not with a sickle, but with the smoke that chokes, with a fire that burns. If you are one of them, listen to me: the one that’s eventually get reaped is yourself.

Photo credit: DeviantArt.com