I used to go on ChiefDelphi a lot, but as of late I've found myself going on only once or twice a day. When I stick to a schedule or sorts, I find myself wasting less time. (Besides, somehow it seems like everything has more meaning when I check it once per day, as opposed to every ten seconds.) It's like reading the newspaper or watching World News with Charlie Gibson once a day (or reading Time magazine once a week) to learn about current events in the world, as opposed to watching the mindless, 24/7 banter on cable news networks.
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Lauren,
Take a foreign language class in person. Don't take it online. Foreign languages are one of those things that you have to experience, hear, and speak it in real time to begin to understand and comprehend it. Just merely reading and writing about it on a computer teaches you the theory, but not the culture of the language.
However, if you do take a class online, listen to music in the language you are taking if possible. Try to write down the lyrics in the foreign language as you hear them. This will help you become better at listening to and comprehending the language. And remember, taking any foreign language is better than taking nothing. It really does help on SAT tests (and if you take Latin, it will help in science courses, especially biology.)
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Jacob,
Usually it's not until you've begun to read a lot that you begin to realize the power of literature. For me, it wasn't until I read
Fahrenheit 451 that I really began to appreciate literature, and the novel
1776 by David McCullough that I really began to appreciate history, especially the history of the United States. Both of these novels hit me as showing how "fragile" our current world is, and the only way to ensure it continues as strong as before is with a keen vigilance and a large, multi-discipled education.
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While I may be one of the math/science/technology people, don't write off English, history, culture, and art classes. I get just as mad about this, as I do for English majors who don't know even the basics of science and math. While you may not always like all those other classes, they are important for your varied education. With time, you'll come to realize that even though you may dislike these classes, you need them.
Many of my teachers who I once regarded as "too strict and/or mean" have turned out in hindsight to be some of the most influential and best teachers in my life. They teach you to work hard, stay on your toes, and never slack off. These are the teachers that enable students to become successful.
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IMHO, "The Nothing Thread" as a title is a quite a misnomer, as there are more than a few random thoughts, musings, and ponderings of life, the universe, and everything here. Perhaps a better title would be "The Random Daily thread", "Random thoughts and musings", "42", or even "Life, the universe, and everything", in order of sophistication and metaphorical value.
