I remember one of the first poems I ever wrote. It was crap. Granted, I was just a kid and figured the epitome of poetry culminated in One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (no offense, Dr. Seuss). Of course, my following years consisted of more profound readings: Shakespeare, Whitman, Dickinson, Poe, Yeats, etc. Honestly, half of these authors’ writings I studied didn’t resonate with … Continue reading The Power of my Poetic Pastime
Nearly 12 years ago, on May 6, 2005, I joined Facebook. I know–earth-shattering. Well, I didn’t exactly, but my dormitory’s resident assistant did for me. She said she was signing me up because it would help me meet others on campus and possibly snag a date. I rolled my eyes, but allowed it while I lied on her dormitory floor rummaging through whatever snacks she had stowed … Continue reading Connecting through Social Media Eases Stress (Part 2)
If I could depict my life at this moment, the following meme captures it. From what I can recall, I’ve lived with stress as long as I have my shadow. Stress tends to come naturally for anxiety-ridden individuals like myself. My typical week consists of working and attending school nearly full-time, attempting to study, exercise, write and read, and maintain a social life while keeping in touch with family. … Continue reading Connecting through Social Media Eases Stress (Part 1)
There’s a scene from a movie, which the title I cannot recall, where a couple is on their first date and one proposed they should reveal their secrets to each other. The point was, too many people pretend to be someone they aren’t during introductions. We want to impress the other person; therefore, we consciously (or unconsciously) shape ourselves to the liking of the other … Continue reading But I Was Blinded By My Love
While opioid addiction increases among Americans, so escalates pharmaceutical companies’ addiction to profit. Evidence reveals pharmaceutical companies, considered collectively, (aka Big Pharma), purposely mislead physicians and patients via marketing and drug representatives in order to increase sales. In 2007, Purdue Pharma, producer of the opioid painkiller OxyContin, agreed to pay $600 million in fines in one of the most costly lawsuits against a drug company. Purdue pleaded guilty … Continue reading Big Pharma’s Addiction, Profiting off U.S. Opioid Abuse
JL Smith: A Texan's Travels 