Life is Like a School Hallway

I never really appreciated the hallway system at a school. No one ever keeps in their lane, inconsiderate people hold up traffic because they feel the need to talk to their friends. Walls are lined with backpacks, hurdles for the desperate and brave at heart. And then we have those people who walk too slow for your busy schedule, engulfing what they can of the hallway so you may never pass. These are only my main concerns as I wander a busy hallway. Last week, I was also introduced to the random oncoming door. My arm has yet to heal.

My point being, a system can’t run smoothly if everything within it doesn't cooperate. Like a hallway, a person needs their life to run efficiently. To run efficiently, you may require to jump a few hurdles or take a while longer to think. But these things are only temporary. What you have to worry about most in life, is making too wrong a turn, a permanent decision that takes you down a dangerous path. Because like the hallway, you have the backpacks and the slowpokes, but what you never want to run into is a speeding metal door.

PDA and Hugging

PDA. An evil snake this is, camoflauged in what seems like an innocent school rule. Most of us can agree that PDA (Public Displays of Affection) is not what school was intended for. None of us want to see a couple making out as we walk down the hall, or a butt-grab as we head off to lunch. Though these rules can help us, the school system has found problems in innocent activities that would be fine in other social circumstance. For example, frontal hugs. Unless there is butt grabbing, tongue hockey, or strange moaning, I see nothing wrong with a simple hug. Yet the school finds hugs inappropriate, ESPECIALLY the frontal hugs. Why? Because a frontal hug, hugs that you probably gave out freely in preschool, are SEXUAL. Yes, I said it. You were sex driven even before you could count to 5. This is not only ridiculous, but the school has nothing to back the sexuality of hugs. Granted, it's probably because when you were in preschool, you didn't have boobs, or a strangely determined obsession to feel them, but that's life! Men, you are going to have to see hot (and not so hot) girls wearing bikinis or dressed like sluts and be able restrain yourself. And girls, it's not your fault you have something growing on your chest, and you can't help when puberty arrives.
Well, I was offended by this, and did a little research. Here is just a small bit of what I found.

 

The Science Behind the Hug

1. Hugs increase oxytocin and lower blood pressure. It also lowers heart rate and increases nerve activity.

2. Hugs make people feel safe and help people bond.

3. From a young age, lack of hugs can cause delay in IQ developement.

4. Hugs lower stress and depression.

 

These are a few basic hug facts, but they make the "sex driven" hug seem innocent. In fact, a Wikipedia article states that a hug is "not necessarily sexual". So when you see your daughter hug one of her friends, it doesn't mean she's a lesbian. Even if she's hugging everyone, it doesn't mean she's the school slut. And hugs help with bonding. Isn't that why you sent your child to school instead of homeschooling? Bonding with people our age is important, we need it. If that isn't enough, just consider that being a teenager is supposed to be the most confusing, stressful time of your life and you just denied them one means of lowering their stress. The other stress lowering options that are looked at are drugs, alcohol, bullying, smoking, dropping out, and even suicide. 12-17 are the most common ages to begin smoking and drinking. Do we not see a connection? Even as adults, these are common forms of stress relief. If hugs can help lower these alternatives, even just a little, I am in full support of them.

To wrap this up, I dare YOU to give a hug to someone at your school. Be it a teacher, a friend, a stranger. SPREAD THE LOVE! And in the comments, write an interesting story of your "on-campus" hugging experience.

Bibliography

• Examiner. "Health Benefits of a Hug". http://www.examiner.com/healthy-living-in-tampa-bay/health-benefits-of-a-hug 3 October 2010
• Six Wise. "How Hugs Are Proven to Help Your Health". http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/07/26/how_hugs_are_proven_to_help_your_health_have_you_been_hugged_today.htm 3 October 2010
• Wikipedia. "Hugs". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hug 3 October 2010

2nd Language

When I was in the 9th grade, one of the requirements for english was to learn some basic words in Latin. Though Latin would not have been my first choice, I asked if I could take it as my second language, considering I had to learn it anyway. I was denied, and when asked why the school authority told me it was because Latin was in fact ENGLISH. That is silly, I thought, latin is the root to many languages, not solely English. But it was too late, the verdict had already been given. Firmly. About a year later, my mother began attending college. As she was there she came to the conclusion a second language would be useful. There were classes for Japanese, Hawiian, Italian, Sign Language, ect. None of them shocked me more, though, than the option of Latin.
So I ask, dear school administrator, if Latin does not qualify as a second language, why does a college offer it as such? I feel cheated out of a valuable experience here, and must thank the school for lying to me about my educational choices.

1:36 A.M.

1:36 A.M. This is a horrid time, an interlude between work and sleep. It is a restless time, a time when the Sandman’s spell is imminent, yet he taunts you with the nightmare of knowing. It is a time of pain and sweat, a time of tears. This, my friends, is the time I lay awake. I lay awake, and with no feeling, I write. This is hell’s passionate kisses, the Devil’s silver tongue. But with no God, no slavation, I am forced to write. Sunlight is rearing it's selfish head in the horizon, and I know I have failed. A pile of unfinished homework lays beside me, and a foolish Sandman grins his gritty teeth. Tomorrow will be another sleepless night, another interlude. I hope aduldhood brings a truck of sand with it, or at least a truck less of homework.