Free Rice: Using Eloquence Against World Hunger

I received a Note on Facebook (of all places…) from a fellow college graduate of mine about this campaign called Free Rice. Since it was from someone that I have fond memories of, I decided to take a read. This is a quote from what he wrote:

Free Rice is an organization working in conjunction with major companies to basically challenge the internet-browsing masses to a vocabulary game… all with the purpose of donating ten grains of rice for each correct answer. Of course, ten grains doesn’t seem like much, but if you look at the Totals, it starts to add up. I was rather skeptical at first myself, but it really is a great way to help some people who are far less fortunate than yourselves.

I can give you five more reasons to take a few minutes and give it a try.

1) Words are presented in a consecutive, multiple choice format that is not overwhelming or intimidating.
2) The game is surprisingly addicting.
3) You can live your childhood dream and cheat using a dictionary.
4) Even if you aren’t eloquent, the vocabulary difficulty adjusts to you.
5) Whether you cheat or not, you can potentially become more eloquent AND save lives at the same time.

Seriously, you can’t go wrong with something like this. The total results are absolutely staggering after only about a month. After I had raised 200 grains of rice, my Vocabulary Level was 30. That isn’t saying much, but the fact that I could do something so easy as test my ability to dissect standardized test vocabulary words to contribute to a very prominent cause of death in the world is not only thrilling but satisfying.

Alright, I’m done spewing rhetoric. Go play. Save as many lives as your brain desires.

Currently Listening To: Andy McKee – Dreamcatcher – “Common Ground”

Five Reasons Why Growing Up Can Suck

Growing up has many advantages and disadvantages, causing an individual to have little choice in the matter of changing to adapt to the life that has once again morphed in their favor. This can be a boon or an upset, depending on how that person chooses to approach the new stage in life. For me, it has been both, as I needed to grow up to have the freedom I longed for as a teenager. In the same breath, I despise growing up for all the additional expectations and demands on the mind and body.

Often times, I wish I could be a child again without a care in the world, but then I would once again be bound by the rules of those older than me and by the limitations of society. So, try as I might, I usually fail in maintaining a healthy balance between both immaturity and maturity, due to the simple fact that I was forced to become stronger emotionally and mentally in order to keep my sanity as a teenager in the midst of torn parents who did not make wise decisions for their youngest child and a broken family that left me fending for myself. Thus, friends became my family…

So, I will attempt to share my reasoning behind why I am often misunderstood and taken for granted as an adult now. For the sake of this entry, I will be using the term “child” to refer to any individual between the ages of six through eighteen. Maybe that will shed some light on myself as an individual, and open some eyes as to my methodology behind my stoic persona.

1) Not giving enough love: Regardless of divorce, inner household strife, career life, etc., there should always be sufficient support, affection, and time given towards their children and their interests. Without that, there is very little hope that the child will develop properly mentally and emotionally, as the child feels neglected and finds other ways to fulfill their needs. Makes sense when you think about how many delinquents we have running around, losing faith and perspective on what love is and should be and/or claiming that their existence is meaningless.