20-10 or 2,010. What do you think?

I know that it's not New Years yet, but it's getting pretty darn close.  Having learned about perilous times, stories and histories, and other monumental topics at school, it is difficult to think that the little things also make each day important.  Thinking about the draft during the Vietnam War minimizes a bad grade on a Spanish test-- but that test still impacted me.  Should we dwell on the past?  Do we really need to keep everything in perspective?

I mean, yes, the draft is more important than a test.  However, one cannot belittle everything besides life changing events.  Crying while watching The Notebook does not belittle crying over the loss of lives after the Haitian earthquakes.  All experiences are unique to those experiencing them.  It is difficult to decide what truly matters in a lifetime, or in a year.

After a little searching, I came across a video montage of what someone else thinks was important during 2010.  It included a lot of sports stuff, natural disasters, and some political happenings.  My fellow 1,000,000 viewers of the video may or may not agree on the degree of importance each event possessed.  As citizens of the world, we must acknowledge the feat that was rescuing 33 Chilean Miners from beneath the ground.  As Americans, we must acknowledge the feat that was bringing soldiers home from Iraq.  As Illinois-ians (??) we must acknowledge Blagojevich's conviction.  As Chicago-ins (again, ??), we must acknowledge the fact that- well, I'm sure something has happened.  The mayoral elections?  Oprah's last season?

What I'm trying to get at is that perspective means the world.  To me, the most important event this year was my grandpa going to and coming home from the hospital.  It wasn't in the news; no YouTuber made a montage about it; but it was very important and I won't forget it.  What was the most important time in 2010 for you?  Was it political and on the front page of the Trib?  Or did you win a soccer tournament?  Please feel free to share.  Happy (early) New Year!

Here is a link to the video I was looking at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0QXB5pw2qE

    

Facebook "Friends?"

Last night, I was helping out my mom's friend at a party.  She needed an extra pair of hands, and mine were available.  So I picked up plates and made sure ice buckets were not water buckets, ate some delicious holiday desserts, and went home with some pocket money.

In addition, I went home with a thought.  After part of the dinner order (for forty people) was discovered MIA, the hosts and helpers felt mutually embarrassed.  Forty hungary people and no pulled pork sandwiches!  Gasp!  My way of dealing with the problem was to stand as close to the wall as possible and not get in anyone's way.  It worked pretty well for my purposes.

The catering lady, though, did not share my luxury.  She had to call her boss, of only three weeks and a day as of yesterday, and try to explain the situation.  The party host, though, took the phone and explained herself (Please understand, this party host is very kind but was nervous and thus responded).  After three phone calls and many more furrowed brows, the food arrived.

At the end of the night, I thanked the caterer for all of her trouble.  Sweetly, she accepted the thanks and left me with the advice: "Enjoy being a kid, it may not feel carefree but compared to being an adult, teenage problems aren't that big of a deal."  Pretty common advice, but it resonated with me.

Almost 24 hours later, I'm still thinking about that: are teenage problems, in general, less stressing than adult problems?  Obviously, it depends on the case, but I cannot believe it.  I read an article that further strengthened my thoughts.

The New York Times reported on cyber-bullying.   (HERE is the article)  It tells the stories of teens both as targets and bullies.  One story involved a boy who didn't even use the internent for social media; three "friends" made up a Facebook and targeted the innocent boy.  On the impersonated account, the three boys sent hurtful messages to peers.  The boy #1 was blamed, as unknowingly his name was attached to hurtful remarks.  Seeing his son suffer from shunning, Mom took matters into her own hand.

Is losing friends, maintaining an awkward relationship with the mother that cared too much, and navigating the mystery to adolescent boys that is deodorant, easier than paying taxes?  Yes, it is exhausting to work two jobs; as it is exhausting to study for finals.  Kids, teens, adults, seniors: we all have problems.  Whether it be messing up an order or Logging in, problems are problems.  There are not kid problems and adult problems, there are people problems.  Here's wishing people solutions...