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(08/23/20 4:00am)
When Mercer switched to online classes for the rest of spring semester in March, many students went home to their childhood homes rather than remain on campus. During that time, a lot of them found themselves revisiting their childhood interests.
Meghan Cline, a junior, said she started watching TV shows she enjoyed as a child.
“During quarantine, I was once again interested in Scooby Doo and old childhood TV shows like it: ‘The Jetsons,’ ‘The Flintstones,’ and ‘Wizards of Waverly Place,’” Cline said.
Cline said that she wanted to experience the nostalgia from her childhood. Her reinvestment in childhood interests during quarantine helped comfort her during a time of abrupt changes and isolation. As an extrovert, isolation was extremely difficult for her, because she was unable to reach out to others like she typically would.
“When I needed to do something different that had no stress connected to it at all, these shows were where I turned. They allowed me to forget about the chaotic world outside my house and just enjoy the silly episode I was watching,” she said.
Amanda Jones, a senior, also watched shows from her childhood. She also said she got back into drawing and old video games. For Jones, revisiting her childhood interests showed how much she’d grown since she first enjoyed them.
“They inspired my art and fashion and reminded me how far I’ve come. It also helped me become more confident and show that, ‘hey, it’s okay to revisit your childhood sometimes!’” she said. “Just because you’re growing older doesn’t mean that you have to grow up and leave all of the things that used to bring you happiness behind just because you’re ‘too old’ or ‘need to grow up.’”
Miriam Kennedy, a senior, said that rekindling her interest in books from her childhood, specifically the Percy Jackson series, helped her relieve stress.
“Between the stress of abrupt online schooling and the worries of a health crisis, reading a few chapters of a fun, beloved book helped me clear my mind throughout the day,” she said.
As students leave quarantine to return to campus, many appreciated the opportunity to look back into their childhood interests.
“COVID-19 made me thankful for these simple, worry free moments of my childhood, and I am lucky that I still have these shows to remind me of that,” Cline said.
(04/14/20 3:41am)
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, people have been urged to stay in their homes and practice social distancing to help limit the spread of the virus. With the sudden isolation, many have been finding ways to distract and entertain themselves. If you’re struggling to find something to do during quarantine, here are some Netflix recommendations to keep you busy.
“Castlevania”
Based off of the titular video game series, “Castlevania” follows a colorful cast of characters after Count Dracula declares war on humanity after his beloved wife is burned at the stake. Attempting to stop him are Trevor Belmont, the last surviving member of the famous demon-hunting family; Sypha Belnades, a magician and Speaker (nomadic scholars) and Adrian “Alucard” Tepes, Dracula’s own son who is half-human.
The plot is thought-provoking, exciting and tragic all at once. Despite some of their choices, viewers grow to understand the characters and their motivations rather quickly, but doesn’t hold back on letting characters experience consequences or pain. The 2D hand drawn animation is amazing and an enjoyment to watch. However, the show definitely earned its 17+ rating for its cursing, violence and gore. Make sure to pay attention to the warnings prior to watching, especially if you’re sensitive to any of the above.
“Galavant”
“Galavant” is a musical fantasy comedy series, starring Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Vinnie Jones, Mallory Jansen, Karen David and Luke Youngblood. After King Richard kidnaps his love Madalena, Galavant goes to rescue her before they wed. Instead of riding off into the sunset with him, she decides to go through with her marriage to King Richard, leaving the formerly-dashing knight heartbroken. After Princess Isabella, whose kingdom Valencia was conquered by Richard, convinces him to fight Richard to save Madalena and Isabella’s kingdom, Galavant sets off to reclaim his happy ending with Isabella and his squire Sid at his side.
While only two seasons, “Galavant” is a hilarious journey in an exciting world with surprisingly poignant characters and amazing songs.
“The Good Place”
While only the first three seasons are on Netflix, “The Good Place” has been critically acclaimed for its exploration of deeper meanings, such as ethics and what it truly means to be a good person, while being a laugh-filled adventure. The show follows Eleanor Shellstrop, who is recently deceased and new to the titular Good Place. The only problem? She’s not supposed to be there. After recruiting her assigned soulmate Chidi to help her keep the ruse going, Eleanor attempts to earn her place in “The Good Place.”
With spectacular twists, including a very famous one at the end of the first season, “The Good Place” is a well-crafted show that draws in its viewers with humor and an intriguing plot, before posing deep philosophical questions. The characters are both funny and relatable, even as we grow to understand why they led the lives that they did. If you haven’t already seen “The Good Place,” you really should give it a view.
“Adam Ruins Everything”
Beginning as a web series by CollegeHumor, “Adam Ruins Everything” is an educational comedy series starring Adam Connover. Episodes generally follow the same format, with a character believing a common misconception before Adam shows up to inform them of the truths surrounding the misconception that are generally not so pleasant. Episodes end, however, with a positive explanation and a way to improve lives for the better. While the show is rather zany, it is also a very credible series. Adam uses peer-reviewed sources and calls in experts on the field while the screen offers the citations and credentials of them respectively. With the rampant misinformation in the digital age, this series is a funny and helpful reminder about checking facts and your own misconceptions.
“You”
“You” is a psychological thriller series that follows stalker Joe Goldberg as he obsesses over aspiring writer Guinevere Beck, all in the hopes of gaining her love. The show quickly became a hit for Netflix and will be releasing a third season next year. The show has a creepy, dark tone that’s perfect for lovers of thrillers or horrors. It’ll keep you on the edge of your seat from the beginning until the very end.
“The Witcher”
Adapted from the book series of the same name, “The Witcher'' follows Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Cirilla “Ciri” of Cintra as their lives slowly become intertwined. The show’s timeline is a bit muddled until you realize that all three characters are at different points in the timeline prior to meeting. The series is riveting and heart wrenching as the characters struggle to overcome and grow past their suffering. It also is the origin of the viral song “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,” sung by the show’s own bard, Jaskier.
(03/31/20 5:58pm)
Adapted from the comic series of the same name, “Locke & Key” focuses on the Locke family after the murder of husband and father Rendell Locke, when the family moves into their ancestral home, discovering family secrets that had been hidden for years.
The series focuses on the three Locke siblings, eldest son Tyler, middle daughter Kinsey and youngest child Bode. Their mother Nina chose to move them all to Matheson, where their late father had lived as a child before eventually leaving Key House. Soon after their arrival in Matheson, Bode meets a mysterious woman in a well, soon nicknamed “the Well Lady,” as he begins finding strange keys that can do odd things.
After something goes wrong when he uses a key, the Well Lady is released and revealed to be a dangerous person in search of the keys. The three siblings must protect the keys from her while finding out more about their family’s legacy, coping with their father’s murder and adjusting to a new town.
The main plotlines of the show are the strongest, focusing on the tense relationship with the Well Lady, the characters’ hunt for the keys and understanding the past surrounding both Key House and the Locke family. All three blend together excellently, affecting characters and events as the storylines progress. The high school subplots, however, can stray into cliches too often and don’t introduce anything new or interesting. Luckily, they gradually shift the focus away from them as the season progresses and more and more of the main plotlines begin to come together.
The characters all begin fitting a specific archetype, such as the moody daughter or energetic child, but are revealed to have much more depth to them. While the kids make their share of bad decisions, we understand their reasons why, even if we don’t agree with them. Along with those hidden depths, the show doesn’t shy away from showing the effects of their father’s murder, especially for Tyler and Kinsey.
One of the most focal themes of the show is dealing with trauma and grief, which is handled extraordinarily well. Tyler’s anger and Kinsey’s fear play a huge role in shaping their choices and actions throughout the season. “Locke & Key” doesn’t shy away from showing how loss can affect someone throughout their entire life, even while they encourage healing. Rendell Locke’s death impacts every sense of his family’s life, but other characters’ deaths in the past continue to impact other characters to the present day.
With many twists and turns, intriguing characters, a compelling plot and stellar exploration of themes, “Locke & Key” should be your next Netflix binge watch. While season two is unconfirmed, the writer’s room is already working on continuing the Locke’s adventures in the Key House.
(03/27/20 2:35am)
I am far from a morning person. The number of times I’ve considered switching majors or dropping out of Mercer for an 8 a.m. class borders on absurd. I consider 9 a.m. as ungodly early, and I would gladly sleep until noon if I could. Getting up at 6 a.m. everyday is basically my worst nightmare. So of course, I decided to try it out for a few days.
The main issue I faced was that I had late commitments for the first few days which meant I was getting up at 6 a.m. and doing things all day until 10 p.m., meaning that I didn’t get into bed until 11 p.m. or midnight that night. Since my last all-nighter freshman year, I’ve made it a priority to get at least eight hours of sleep because I function poorly with anything less.
To put it simply, I was exhausted. The first day, I ended up snagging an extra 45 minutes of sleep because I hit the snooze button instead of facing the world. Still, by the time I went to RUF at 8:30 that night, I felt so exhausted that I nearly fell asleep in the five-minute car ride on the way there. Thursday, I immediately headed to the PODs in the CSC for coffee after class because I was already desperate for a nap before noon. I’d planned to go to the gym after work that night, but once I got off at 9 p.m., the only place I was going was bed.
However, getting up that early also allowed me the extra time to finish doing things that I hadn’t done the night before, like studying for a test Thursday or finishing a resume for my Center for Career and Professional Development appointment Friday. It also meant that I had enough time to get ready and get breakfast at the Caf with a friend or drag myself over to the UC for a chicken biscuit. That extra time was extraordinarily helpful this week especially, since I had a test and an internship application deadline.
It was pretty interesting to see how few people are around in the morning, too, which gave me extra time to myself in the morning. I’m so used to being constantly surrounded by people when I leave my dorm that I was surprised at how relaxing it was to do some homework in the UC in the morning.
While I don’t think that getting up at 6 a.m. every day is in my future plans, I do think that the whole “early to rise” idea has some truth in it. That extra time was very useful to me, even if it meant that I was more tired in the evening. As a bonus, it meant that I fell asleep faster, too! I’d actually recommend giving something similar a try, even if it’s not 6 a.m. Even getting up an hour earlier can give you a little more time to get stuff done in the morning, after all.
(02/27/20 12:00am)
One of the biggest perks at Mercer is the fitness center, a fully operable and free gym for students and faculty. Open from 6 a.m. to midnight throughout the week and 10 a.m. to midnight on the weekends, the fitness center offers a variety of exercise classes taught by students for students and faculty, along with an extensive cardio and weight lifting set-up. It is an incredibly valuable resource for students, but there are a few things to keep in mind prior to stepping inside the gym.
No one cares what you’re doing
As someone who is deeply self-conscious, especially in an athletic scenario, trust me when I say, literally no one in the gym cares about what you’re doing. The staff is too busy working or studying while everyone else is focused on their own workout or worrying about others watching them. While you aren’t the only one feeling like that, it’s important to not let it psych you out! Listening to music, daydreaming or focusing solely on your workout are some surprisingly effective ways to forget that other people are there.
Start packing up by 11:30 p.m.
Here’s a fun fact about Bear Force members for you: between 11:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m., the remaining Bear Force workers come into the fitness center to start shutting down everything for the night, wiping down machines and changing out equipment. It’s a lot easier to do when there aren’t three girls on the treadmills and five guys using the weights. And workers aren’t typically able to leave until everyone has left. So make sure to keep an eye on the time, and start clearing out before the clock strikes midnight.
Don’t forget your equipment
From towels to basketballs to locker keys, someone is always forgetting something, and it’s up to workers to go chase it down 20 minutes before midnight. If you check out a basketball, make sure to bring it back up from the intramural courts and hand it back in. Double-check that you return your locker key, especially because those can get you in some serious trouble if you don’t return them. Toss the towels into the bin by the door, so that they can be washed for the next day. Finally, remember: just because you—a 6’3 bodybuilder who can bench press 250 pounds—can lift your weight does not mean that I—a 5’6 girl who works out with cardio instead of weights—can. Be courteous and try to rack your weights in the correct spot after use.
Don’t be unnecessarily loud
The fitness center has music playing for most of the day, but many patrons also bring their own phone or MP3 player to listen to music, which is perfectly fine! Unless, of course, you don’t have headphones and start playing music out loud. In that case, chill on the music until you can grab your headphones because no one else wants to hear your new playlist.
Make sure you come stocked
There are three things that you never want to step foot in the gym without: a bottle of water, headphones and either a phone or MP3 player. Regardless of what you’re doing, working out in complete silence is grueling. One of my friends takes the chance to catch up on the newest episode of her favorite Netflix show, but YouTube or Hulu also work. As for water, that one is a bit more obvious. There’s nothing worse than slowly dying of thirst because you forgot to grab that bottle of water off the shelf at the POD.
Know the best hours
If you’re just starting out at the gym, it can be incredibly intimidating if other people are there, no matter what I tell you. With a bit of practice and observation though, you can figure out the hours when the gym is typically empty. The best times unfortunately and unsurprisingly tend to be the most inconvenient, such as early in the morning — like from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. — or really late at night — from 10 p.m. to close. I’ve been told that the more popular class hours, specifically midday, also tend to be emptier. One good rule of thumb is to see when Chick-fil-A and Panda Express are closed or empty during that day and aim for those times.
Hopefully, you’re feeling more prepared to hit the gym with all of these tips under your belt. If not, and you’re still wondering if it’s worth it, here’s a little reminder for you: whether or not you use it, your tuition is still paying for it after all. So make sure to get your money’s worth out of the fitness center!
(02/26/20 2:00am)
At a New Hampshire town hall, Mercer student Madison Moore asked presidential candidate Joe Biden about his performance in the Iowa caucus.
“You're arguably the candidate with the greatest advantage in this race. You've been the vice president; you weren't burdened down by the impeachment trials. So, how do you explain the performance in Iowa, and why should voters believe that you can win the national election?” Moore asked.
Biden answered by asking if she had ever been to a caucus. Moore nodded yes, despite this being her first time at one. In response, he called her a “lying dog-faced pony soldier.”
“Instead of answering that question straightforward, his immediate response was to attempt to invalidate me by exposing my inexperience,” Moore told the Macon Telegraph. “Who cares who I am or my experience. Just answer the damn question.”
Biden claimed that the phrase was from a John Wayne film, but Moore told GPB News, “I was born in 1998, so that made absolutely no sense to me.”
After their confrontation went viral, Moore made an instagram with the handle “biden_slayer.” Her first post was a tattoo of a warning sign that reads “I took out Joe Biden.”
“She was a brave girl who asked a good question who didn’t deserve to be called a name,” Jay Black said. Black is the head of the journalism department at Mercer, and one of three professors who teach the hybrid communications, journalism and politics course that took students to New Hampshire.
Moore wasn’t the only Mercer student that Biden brought into the national spotlight. A video of Mercer students singing a parody of the Backstreet Boys for Joe Biden went viral.
Black said that the students had been waiting in line to wait for Biden to come by, because they wanted a picture with the vice president. Four years ago, Black had a student do a similar thing at another rally, so one of the girls in the group came up with it and started singing, “Joe Biden, yeah, Biden’s back alright!”
At the time, he joked it would go viral, but didn’t anticipate it would blow up the way it did. The video was posted on the Old Row Twitter with the caption “This. This is the most cringe video of the month,” where it has 1.9 million views.
“It’s a shame to turn spur-of-the-moment fun into something that it wasn’t,” Black said.
Freshman Lars Lonnroth, who was one of the students in the video, said he finds it a bit alarming.
“It was remarkable to see it go viral since literally none of us are Biden supporters,” he said. “It was absolutely terrifying knowing that we had no control over the trajectory of this video. I had to take a lot of time just to make sense of the internet insanity that was happening, but it taught me a lot about how you can't stop something that's going viral.”
Despite the video, Lonnroth said he valued his experiences at the New Hampshire primaries.
“I got to meet candidates, talk to voters and take part in the political process by volunteering on campaigns knocking on doors and calling voters,” Lonnroth said.“It reminded me that it is important to make informed electoral decisions, since the consequences of my ballot can be truly profound.”
(02/15/20 12:00am)
The summer before my freshman year of college, my sister and I were at our last doctor appointment prior to moving to our respective campuses, discussing the possibility of accommodations with our doctor when she casually mentioned bipolar disorder.
After asking more questions, my family and I learned that I had actually been diagnosed with bipolar disorder almost 10 years ago, but a less-than-stellar doctor hadn’t mentioned that diagnosis to any of us when he was putting me on medication for it. Besides providing an answer as to why that medicine had never helped the ADHD, it also served as a huge eye-opener to me about so many things that I’d never been able to understand before.
Bipolar disorder is a mental disorder that is primarily indicated by drastic shifts in mood. It takes the form of extreme high – called mania – or extreme lows – depression. Those episodes can vary in how long they last, depending on the mood and the type of bipolar disorder that one has, and can last anywhere from hours to even months.
This seems like something that should have been noticed a lot sooner, but for my entire life, I had just chalked up the wild mood swings to ADHD. It was easy to categorize it as just another symptom of that instead of something completely different, because I never had a frame of reference to compare it to. I didn’t categorize it as extreme emotions, because it wasn’t extreme to me.
I had so much difficulty understanding why other people didn’t react to things the same way that I did. My hyperactivity and energetic nature wasn’t always ADHD though, but manic episodes. Even as I write this article, I’m realizing how many of my memories of getting gently scolded about being hyperactive was actually because no one recognized it as a manic episode.
Almost one percent of the US population, or 2.3 million people, currently has bipolar disorder. There is currently no cure, but it’s often treated through the use of mood-stabilizers and psychotherapy. While people with bipolar disorder are more likely to be violent to themselves instead of others, stereotypes often paint us as violent or malicious. When researching depictions of bipolar disorder, some of the most recognizable characters who had the disorder were villains like Annie Wilkes, Norman Osborn or Harvey Dent.
During my first semester at Mercer, the Counseling and Psychological Services office held an event to discuss suicide prevention that all freshmen were required to attend. There was a part where students were allowed to take part in a discussion, and one student stood began discussing the stigma around mental illness. He was arguing to destigmatize it, but at one point, he used the word “bipolar” as an insult, and I felt like I had a knot in my stomach. There was no denying that he meant well, but all I could do was shrink back in my seat and wait for the event to be over. When I got back to my dorm that night, I remember crying on the phone to my mom and asking her if there was something wrong with me.
The stigma surrounding bipolar disorder was completely new to me, and it became a source of stress to me during my first year at college. In between class issues, struggling to make friends and wondering where on earth SEB was supposed to be, I worried if everyone else could just look at me and somehow see that I was bipolar and thus different. Besides that, I struggled to find easily accessible information online to learn how to manage it, and what any of this even meant. It had taken me so long to understand ADHD, and this new diagnosis felt like an unexpected boss fight when I was out of lives.
Coping with it mainly involved recognizing the extremes and taking the time to accept and process however I needed to process in that moment. Finding understanding friends helped a lot too. Ultimately, it still isn’t a solid strategy, because there are still days where I’m just excited and high on life and others when getting dressed seems like the most pointless thing in the world. There’s a reason that medication is such a big part of treatment, but current circumstances prevent me from being able to utilize it.
Still, at the end of the day, I wish that the stigma around bipolar disorder wasn’t there. Hearing an unaware friend joke that the weather is bipolar will always make me wonder if she’d consider me as flaky and turbulent as Georgia weather if she knew.
Just because my emotions can swing from one extreme to the other doesn’t mean I’m dangerous, but it does make me worry that they’ll think I am.
(02/13/20 12:00am)
This is an opinion article. Any views expressed belong solely to the author and are not representative of The Cluster.
I was at a basketball game a while back when a dance team of a bunch of adorable little girls performed at half-time. The oldest couldn’t have been more than seven, but the majority of them appeared to be in kindergarten or first grade. As I watched them, I couldn’t help but wonder why I seemed to recognize parts of their dance when I don’t attend shows or even games like this very often. That’s when it hit me: I’ve seen our dance team perform the exact same moves before.
There’s no denying that college cheerleading and dance teams are sexualized in some way. As a student worker at the basketball games, I get to watch their performances every time and at least some part of the appeal is that they’re all very beautiful girls who dance amazingly well on the court. The difference to me, however, is that they are all college students who are able to make the choice to join the team and perform.
The sexualization of young girls in the entertainment industries, from television to sports, has been a problem for awhile, but has become more known in recent years. Organizations such as Youth Protection Advocates in Dance have been aiming to eliminate the sexualization in children’s dancing, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still an issue.
For example, hit Lifetime series “Dance Moms” had a controversy over the sexualization of their young dancers, with the episode "Topless Showgirls" eventually being pulled from rotation. The show has also come under fire for its treatment of its young dancers, in part because of the sexualization of dances and costumes. Despite that controversy, its 8th season premiered last June.
Dr. Tomi-Ann Roberts, a Colorado College psychology professor whose research focuses on the effects of this kind of sexualization on young girls, explained the detriments of objectification.
“The problem is that this objectifies the dancer’s body. The movements and the body are now separated out from the person, the dancer,” Roberts said. “They come to feel that their bodies are not their own but rather ‘belong’ to others. This can make them more susceptible to harm. Children can begin to view themselves as objects, only appreciated and valued for their sexy appearance, as opposed to their competence, training and skill.”
When YPAD’s founder and dance teacher Leslie Scott was searching for work in Hollywood, she was told, “If you want more work, you have to show your body and dress more provocative.”
To get more students in her class, she was told to use more explicit music. It isn’t surprising that she was given that advice in a culture where we’re constantly told “sex sells.” It does, but when the ones selling it are little girls, we have a bigger problem on our hands.
We need to work to stop this sexualization of these children who just want to dance. From overtly revealing costumes to sexy routines, our job as adults and as a society should be to protect these children from this kind of exploitation. The girls on “Dance Moms” suffered harassment, children begin to “self-objectify” and we do nothing about it.
Children’s dancing does not need to be a sexualized activity. At past basketball games, I’ve seen two other dance routines by young girls that didn’t rely on that uncomfortable sex appeal. Organizations like YPAD and Dance Awareness: No Child Exploited, are working with dance instructors, studios and parents to protect these children and stop this unnecessary and inappropriate sexualization.
(02/02/20 5:00am)
Mercer’s Gaming Society is currently planning a 12-hour gaming marathon to raise money for Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital in Macon.
On Feb. 15, participants of the “Extra Life” marathon will be in Knight Hall from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The marathon will include activities like board games, poker, video games and roleplaying games, provided by participating organizations.
Other Mercer organizations, such as Aces Up Poker Club, Mercer E-Sports and National Society for Leadership and Success, are participating, but the Gaming Society has also partnered with Middle Georgia State University’s table talk gaming club and their gaming society, Society for Overactive Imaginations.
President of Mercer’s Gaming Society Daniel Marcuse-Gonzalez said that they have incentives planned for donors. He plans to match the first $100, but other incentives include the Gaming Society hosting a Wendy’s roleplay game at $300, one of their officers having their new hair style decided on at $500 and all of the officers of the organization wearing dresses to their next meeting at $700.
Their treasurer Joe Keller created a token system to drive up donations. For every dollar someone donates, they earn tokens in return. Those tokens can then be exchanged for bonuses and advantages throughout the day’s activities, such as banning or unbanning a specific character in their Super Smash Bros. tournament or forcing another player to fold in poker.
The Gaming Society is preparing for at least 50 people to attend, but said they hope for more. Their current donation goal is $1,000 to Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital. The hospital is the sole children’s hospital in the central and southern Georgia region.
Marcuse-Gonzalez toured the hospital after their recent building addition.
“It’s a great facility, and they serve thousands of kids every year, and we think it’s a really great cause,” he said.
The Gaming Society said they have considered doing this fundraiser before, but were never able to get it off the ground. As a senior and now president of the society, Marcuse-Gonzalez decided that they should do it in his final year at Mercer. He said that they hope it will become an annual event, and that if they do it again, it will be bigger and better.
(01/31/20 5:00am)
Intermittent fasting is a recent trend in the health and fitness circles that focuses on changing one’s eating patterns in some way in order to promote weight loss. One of the most well-known and popular methods is restricting yourself to only eating in a certain period of time, such as between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Other methods include fasting for 24 hours twice a week or consuming only 500 to 600 calories on two separate days while eating normally for the rest of the week.
When I first started, my knowledge of fasting was solely in a religious or spiritual context. Once I learned what intermittent fasting was, I thought that it would be a fun experiment for a few days, but had my reservations about doing it on a more long-term basis.
As a general rule, I try to avoid diets or eating patterns that aim specifically at losing weight because of my own personal issues with how people approach weight and weight loss. Long-term intermittent fasting seemed like it was something that could be easily twisted into an attempt to be healthier to very rarely eating at all. Despite that, I’d already pledged to try and be healthier this year, especially in working towards a diet that wasn’t solely Chick-fil-A.
I chose to focus on restricting my meals to a time span, specifically from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. I first started on a Thursday and ended that following Saturday to see if there was any big difference when I resumed my typical diet. Beyond that, it was just a matter of going about my daily life and hoping for the best.
Most days, I eat before my classes because they’re all back to back, but my Thursday classes began at 9:25 a.m. and didn’t end until 1:30 p.m. By 11 a.m., my stomach was growling in class and I was pretending it wasn’t me. My last class, however, ended early and I was able to fit in a 20-minute lunch at Chick-fil-A before work. I was too busy to eat again before work, and since my shift lasted until 9 p.m., that ended up being my only meal that day.
A similar incident occurred Friday, where I toted a Chick-fil-A bag with me to an interview because I hadn’t had time to get food beforehand. (Luckily, my interviewee did not mind.) On Saturday, I ate lunch before work and didn’t eat anything else until I finally broke the fast by eating two bowls of macaroni and cheese at 11 p.m.
The biggest thing I noticed about intermittent fasting is that I was always hungry to the point where my stomach was growling for most of my classes. When I finally did eat, I always ate a lot more food than I would have otherwise, but ended up hungry again later. Throughout, I felt a lot more stressed about food and thought about it far more than I typically do. It was a struggle to really be able to fit in something as necessary as eating into my schedule because I was so restricted.
Part of my issue with intermittent fasting may simply be that my schedule isn’t the best fit for it. Most of my classes, work shifts, and extra-curricular activities are planned back to back so that my break times are longer, but that meant that the majority of the 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. block was already filled with either classes or work, without even considering things like studying, naps or workouts.
When I finally had the spare minute to go eat, I was typically aware that I would most likely be unable to eat again that day, so I tried to eat more so I wouldn’t be hungry later. That ultimately didn’t work and is the reason I spent my Saturday night eating microwavable macaroni and cheese.
In regards to other people intermittent fasting as a health and fitness trend, I have to admit that I’m not a fan. Regardless of my own experience with it, the premise of it is that someone restricts their eating in odd ways to try to be “healthier.” With over thirty million Americans suffering from eating disorders and the worth of the weight loss industry resting at seventy-two billion dollars, even after the recent body positivity movement, it concerns me that this is another unhealthy fad masquerading as a legitimate way to be healthier.
That being said, if it’s an effective way of eating for someone else and they’re not doing it in an unhealthy manner, then I see no reason they shouldn’t do it. Intermittent fasting is similar to what people already do between meals; it’s just on a slightly longer time scale. As for me, I still think that it might be interesting to try it again in the future in a different way, whether it be through a different method or a different time period. Currently, however, I’m happy that I get to eat breakfast again.
(11/24/19 7:00pm)
The holiday season is almost here, bringing with it the tide of holiday films that go back decades. With so many films to watch, it raises the questions of which movies should be on your list this holiday season?
The Christmas Chronicles
Released in 2018, “The Christmas Chronicles” stars Kurt Russell, Judah Lewis and Darby Camp and is directed by Clay Kaytis. The film follows Lewis’ and Camp’s characters, siblings Teddy and Kate Pierce, as they attempt to catch Santa Claus (Russell) only for things to go awry. Suddenly tasked with saving Christmas before it’s too late, the siblings undergo an adventure they’ll never forget.
While a bit cliche, the film’s strength lies in Russell’s performance as Santa Claus. Russell isn’t the typical Santa Claus, but he steals the show throughout the film.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Released in 1993, “the Nightmare Before Christmas” is directed by Henry Selick and produced by Tim Burton. It tells the story of Jack Skellington’s discovery of Christmas and Halloween Town’s attempts to celebrate the holiday.
This movie is a classic for a reason, being a delightful mesh of Halloween and Christmas for lovers of both. The music is amazing, the animation is beautiful and the story is fun and unique. No matter how many times you’ve seen this film, it always deserves at least one more watch.
Rudolph’s Shiny New Year
Released in 1976, “Rudolph’s Shiny New Year” is a sequel to the 1964 “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which is another must-see for the holiday season. The film includes the voices of Red Skelton, Billie Richards, Morey Amsterdam, Frank Gorshin and Paul Frees with iconic characters like Father Time, Rudolph and Santa Claus. The story focuses on Rudolph and friends trying to find Happy the Baby New Year before midnight on Dec. 31 or else time will stop forever.
This is a whimsical film that is sorely unappreciated for how fun it is. It creates a delightful and unique world that viewers get to explore with Rudolph and others as they search for Happy. It connects well with the previous film, but isn’t necessary to understand or enjoy this movie.
Elf
Released in 2003, “Elf” stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Daniel Tay and Ed Asner in the classic Christmas comedy. Buddy, played by Ferrell, is a human adopted by Santa’s elves. When he discovers that he was adopted, he heads to New York to find his biological father. Chaos and humor ensues.
Honestly, there isn’t much that needs to be said about this film. It’s a well-known and well-loved classic, but I would be remiss if I left it off the list. It’s funny due to Ferrell’s sincerity and enthusiasm and the bewildered response from everyone around him. Also, Steenburgen’s character Emily is an under-appreciated aspect of the film and deserves more attention.
With so many great holiday films available, there are bound to be even more phenomenal movies to be released in the coming years to add to the must-see list.
(11/07/19 6:33pm)
This is an opinion article. Any views expressed belong solely to the author and are not representative of The Cluster.
Most people dismiss attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a learning disability or something that you “get over” after school. In reality, however, ADHD is actually a neurodevelopmental disorder, which means that it causes unusual brain functions that often affect emotions, memory, self-control and learning ability.
The confusion between a learning disability and a neurodevelopmental disorder affects how people treat and react to people with ADHD, which, with some of the effects, hurts people with ADHD. This is something that I’ve experienced a lot, because people don’t fully grasp how ADHD affects people like me.
Like I said before, ADHD is widely seen as a learning disability. However, it actually isn’t considered a learning disability, though it does affect how students perform in academic settings. The hyperactivity and inattention symptoms are the most known and obvious factors in learning disabilities, which make it a lot harder for students with ADHD to sit still or focus in class.
On the flip side, people with ADHD can hyperfocus, which is an intense focus on a task or activity, regardless of whatever may be going around them. Most of the time, we hyperfocus because whatever we’re doing is something we enjoy a lot, but other times, it can be completely accidental. It’s unpredictable and not always something we can control.
While attention difficulties are the more understood parts of ADHD, a lot of people don’t know or understand executive dysfunction and the difficulties with emotional regulation. Executive dysfunction is when executive functions — like focus, memory, planning — don’t work correctly. This means trouble managing time, focus, memory and socialization.
One way this manifests is difficulty completing tasks unless there’s immediate and severe consequences. It doesn’t matter how much you want to do it, you simply just can’t do it. I’ve gotten stuck so many times with doing basic tasks that I need, and want, to do, but it’s chalked up to laziness because people don’t understand ADHD. It’s easier to just blame the individual than consider that there’s a reason they can’t do something.
People with ADHD experience emotions differently, especially in relation to rejection. Rejection sensitive dysphoria, or RSD, is an extreme emotional response to the perception — not even necessarily the reality — of being rejected. It is also solely connected to ADHD. It’s more difficult for people with ADHD to regulate their emotions in a “normal” manner.
The symptoms associated with ADHD not only affect how you act in an academic setting, but in social and work settings too. Inattention, impulsivity, executive dysfunction and difficulty regulating emotions make it difficult for children with ADHD to establish peer relationships to teach them proper socialization, with 50-70% of children with ADHD being rejected by close friends by the second grade. That rejection makes it harder for adults with ADHD to be able to socialize correctly. Their symptoms make them appear “rude, self-centered, irresponsible, lazy, ill-mannered,” as Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder phrased it.
ADHD isn’t just a school issue; it severely affects people’s lives beyond school. The stereotypes about its effects make understanding them harder and warp people’s views about it, which hurts people with ADHD.
That misunderstanding creates false ideas about why people with ADHD behave differently and affects how other people treat them. People need to be willing to understand that ADHD is not just a problem in school, but in people’s everyday lives.
(10/26/19 5:02pm)
It’s only Mia Spinola’s second year at Mercer, but she is already a co-captain of the Bears’ dance team.
Spinola loved dancing when she joined the team during her freshman year. However, she never realized how much she would end up loving her teammates.
“I truly love to dance and the fact that I get to do it with 16 of my closest people makes it even better,” Spinola said. “My love for both pushed me to want to become more than just one of their teammates. I wanted to be someone who could lead them not only in practice or at games, but in life, too.”
Spinola shares her captaincy with senior Jaycie Rollins, who she said helped her grow. She also credited her captaincy for teaching her more about herself, because of the opportunities the dance team gave her to grow as a person.
“I’ve learned so much about myself over the past year being a part of this team, and I am truly grateful for this opportunity,” she said. “This is only my second year on the team, so I am still growing and learning, but it is awesome that my teammates believe in me so I could be in this position.”
Spinola described the team as a family and a group that always has fun together. While there were many unforgettable memories during the season, going with the women's basketball team to Iowa last semester was unique.
“It was truly an unforgettable experience dancing in an arena with 15,000 screaming Hawkeye fans. Even though we lost that game, it was an awesome experience for everyone who went,” Spinola said.
Spinola plans to dance for the remainder of the football season and the basketball season, for both the men's and women’s teams.
“It can get a little crazy with the schedule, but I’m always happy to be there,” Spinola said.
(10/16/19 4:00am)
Recently, rom-com movies have revitalized the genre with films like “Love, Simon” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” “Tall Girl” is not one of these movies.
Directed by Nzingha Stewart and starring Ava Michelle, Luke Eisner, Griffin Gluck, Anjelika Washington and Sabrina Carpenter, the film follows a 6’1” high school student, Jodi Kreyman, as she navigates life with Swedish transfer student Stig, childhood friend Dunkleman and archrival Kimmy Stitcher. The story follows her burgeoning feelings about boys, her height and her struggle with self-acceptance.
Unfortunately for viewers and for “Tall Girl,” the story conveyed is hardly a new one. Too many teenage romantic comedies feature an outcast girl who falls in love with the new student, deals with the antagonistic popular girl and has a childhood friend who is in love with her. “Tall Girl” follows the formula to the letter, complete with make-overs, petty third-act conflict and a big social event at the end of the film.
Following this mainstream theme, the characters are all the typical rom-com archetypes with the standard development — or lack thereof. Jodi, our heroine, is an insecure teenage girl who can never stand up for herself. Dunkleman is the childhood friend who has a crush on Jodi and the inability to accept no for an answer. Fareeda is the eccentric, outgoing best friend who at one point lampshades the lack of attention she receives in the film with rhetorical requests. Stig is the gorgeous and kind-hearted new exchange student, and Kimmy reigns as the cruel queen bee of their high school. The only difference in the formula is Jodi’s older pageant queen sister, who contrasts Jodi’s shy and introverted nature.
While some of the character development makes sense, such as Jodi’s standard journey of self-acceptance, other characters’ personalities change only to move the plot forward. Most of the characters are one-dimensional and are difficult to root for or against. Fareeda, Harper and Harper’s parents are probably the most interesting characters, diverging from the predictability of the other characters. Unfortunately, they also receive far less screen time than the less interesting characters like Jodi, Dunkleman, Stig and Kimmy.
Ironically enough, “Tall Girl” accidentally calls out one of its biggest flaws: the intended lesson of overcoming adversity. Early in the film, Jodi’s mother tries to reassure Jodi by explaining how she, too, experienced “adversity” in high school, due to being so beautiful that all of the other girls hated her while she had to continuously reject suitors. The movie portrays an unrealistic and problematic message that Jodi being teased for her height is similar to racial, social and gender oppression.
The irony comes from the fact that the movie constantly tries to portray Jodi — a middle class, conventionally attractive white girl who lives in a very large home — as being the most victimized person in school. Along with the juvenile “bullying” that the film shows, which in and of itself is not worth nearly as much notoriety as it receives, it’s hard to really pity Jodi for her pain. The absurd nature of painting a 6-foot-1 girl as a “freak” distracts from the movie’s attempts to tell a story about how people should celebrate their differences.
Ultimately, the biggest flaw for “Tall Girl” is the timing of its release; I expected better stories and representation considering other romantic comedies currently in the market. The film is far from unredeemable; it’s just an average teen rom-com that you could pull out of the '90s. With a mundane plot, cliche characters and a clumsy message, “Tall Girl’s” biggest problem is simply that it is average.
(10/14/19 4:00am)
A new Mercer organization, Bears Engaged Across Religion, was approved by the Student Government Association last month. B.E.A.R. aims to reach students with religious and nonreligious backgrounds to participate in an interfaith dialogue about faith traditions.
Comprised mostly of senior students, B.E.A.R. is the successor to an organization from seven years ago, the Mercer Interfaith Alliance. Mercer professor Eimad Houry, who is the chair of the international and global studies department, served as the Alliance’s adviser, and wanted to see a similar group come back to campus.
“When the Mercer Interfaith Alliance (MIA) group was established, there seemed to be a lot of interest on campus,” Houry said. “I had participated with several colleagues in several interfaith conversations sponsored by the university, but there was no forum for students to have this type of discussion.”
While the Mercer Interfaith Alliance and B.E.A.R have similar focuses, B.E.A.R. has a specific purpose in promoting interfaith dialogue.
“The idea is to mobilize people of faith to work together to deal with difficult issues locally and internationally,” Houry said. “We want to encourage interfaith collaboration to work on specific problems by offering interfaith responses.”
He started reaching out to students primarily from the international and global studies department over the summer to see who might be interested in doing this type of outreach and service work on campus.
Eight founding students have since been developing their plans for what they want B.E.A.R. to be and planning events for the semester. Though they founded the organization, B.E.A.R. does not have a traditional executive board. In an email, founding member Kaila Banker said that all members actively participate in events, meetings and goals.
B.E.A.R. has established five specific objectives: to introduce students to religious traditions that they may not have known about before, bring existing religious organizations together to collaborate on events and projects, contribute to Mercer’s community of respect, provide service for common community issues by mobilizing and engaging religious organizations and establish a platform celebrating religious diversity.
“There are a lot of stereotypes out there about what religion means, and we would like people to share what their religion means to them and have them also answer questions that people may have about their beliefs,” Banker said. “Our goal is not to proselytize to anyone, but to educate and share.”
Houry said he thinks B.E.A.R. is a necessary addition to Mercer’s campus right now.
“I believe that this organization fills a critical vacuum that currently exists on campus. In this day and age, and considering all the misinformation that exists about religion and religions, interfaith dialogue is more important than ever,” Houry said.
Banker also said that they do not want to generalize any religious traditions, which is why a lot of their goals rely on participants’ personal experiences.
Currently, B.E.A.R. has met with multiple religious organizations, including the Wesley Foundation, Delight Ministries and the Muslim Student Association. They still want to meet with different organizations and students who represent different faiths, and are open to anyone regardless of religious background.
The group currently invites interested students to their Wednesday meetings at 10 a.m. in Groover Hall or their Religious Expo event Oct. 25 on Cruz Plaza from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. They plan to have different organizations for individuals unrepresented by organizations to explain their religions and traditions.
“We hope to bring the campus together to engage in service to the community,” Banker said. “To show that we all have common goals regardless of belief systems.”
(10/12/19 1:16am)
This is an opinion article. Any views expressed belong solely to the author and are not representative of The Cluster.
I tend to have a soft spot for the Caf. I feel like a lot of the criticisms about Mercer’s dining primarily focuses on the Caf’s flaws while letting everything wrong with the restaurants or the Farm go without even a second thought. I can’t be the only person to be grossed out that the Farm’s ice cream bowls are always dirty, right?
The Caf has its benefits! The staff is friendly, it’s close to a good portion of the dorms and the buffet-style is super convenient. That being said, the inconveniences of the Caf are a lot more prevalent and make it a far less desirable place for lunch on campus.
If you happen to frequent the Caf enough, you may have noticed the abrupt temporary switch to plastic utensils, plastic cups and Styrofoam plates a few weeks ago. I asked workers at the Caf, and they confirmed that the dishwasher had broken that week, necessitating the temporary switch.
Of course, that brings up the question. Why does a school with over 8,000 students, over half of whom are undergrads, not have a backup dishwasher, or at least a plan that doesn’t rely on a massive amount of Styrofoam plates?
There’s also irony in the fact that this immediately followed the Caf’s switch to reusable to-go containers in an attempt to be more eco-friendly, which was quite a contrast with the amount of waste one can imagine ended up in the trash.
Along with that, students with dietary restrictions struggle to find food to eat at the Caf, because of the limited options. Mercer Dining literally had a day for the Caf to offer meatless options as a special event because of the typical lack of options for vegan and vegetarian students.
One of the most exciting things to me about independence last year was the ability to control how I ate, but I wasn’t given much of an option at the Caf. Eating healthy is a challenge, especially if you want it to also taste good. It doesn’t help that a lot of the time, the Caf’s food will be sitting out for quite awhile, unless you go by the deli or the grill.
No matter how often you do or don’t eat at the Caf, you’ve either heard about or complained about the hours. The Caf closes at 8 p.m. every night, which doesn’t seem problematic until you realize that there are classes that don’t end until 8 p.m. or later during the week. There are also organizations and clubs that start at 8 p.m. or later, along with students working or studying later.
One of my friends had a class that lasted until 8:30 p.m. last semester and another that doesn’t end until 8 p.m. this semester. I worked the football games and I always had to find some other way to get dinner afterwards, because the Caf was always closed. At another point, I had to resort to leaving campus to get dinner after an interview on one Friday, because everything was closed. With so many students clearly still active on campus far past 8 p.m., the fact that one of the two food options that offer unlimited food and meal swipes close far earlier than most students retire is an issue.
Most of these are not new issues for the Caf either, which raises the question of why Mercer Dining refuses to address any of them, despite student complaints. Ultimately the Caf, though well-meaning, is a lot more inconvenient for students than the other dining choices that offer better backup plans, food options and hours.
(09/28/19 6:56pm)
Mercer’s court and sand volleyball teams were recent recipients of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 academic year. The AVCA’s award honors high school and college volleyball teams for academic excellence through their maintenance of a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
The sand volleyball team was one of the 15 teams that were named for the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll, which relies on a minimum number of nominations in their division.
“Keeping the balance is difficult, especially in season. It mostly comes from experience. As a senior, I have been balancing long enough where I know how to dedicate the time I can to volleyball and use the rest of my time for academics,” senior Amber Gibson said.
Gibson began playing volleyball in third grade, so she’s used to the balance of keeping up with academics and athletics, she said. While college makes it harder to keep that balance, the entire team knows that their academics have to remain first.
“Academics are important to our whole team, so it definitely helps having teammates that have similar academic goals than you and are willing to help you out,” she said. “While being successful on the court is our number one goal, everyone from teammates to coaches understand that school doesn’t take a back seat.”
During the season, Gibson and her teammates have to fit in time to prepare for games, including studying film, recovering, training and more.
“My studying is greatly impacted by our game schedule. We do a lot of traveling, so it is very important to find time on the road to get some homework done,” Gibson said.
Free time outside of game preparation mainly includes homework, especially during busier weeks.
“I am extremely proud of receiving my academic honors. It hasn’t been easy juggling school and athletics, but I think it is important especially because it shows our incoming players that we don’t let our academics slide even though we are looking to be successful in volleyball, this year especially while we train to win the SoCon,” Gibson said.
Tournaments have already begun for the Bears this season, with the court team going up against the likes of Southern University, University of New Orleans and Tennessee State.
The season schedule is available on the Mercer Athletics page.
(09/26/19 4:02am)
A prequel to the puppet-animated 1982 film “The Dark Crystal,” “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” focuses on the beginning of a rebellion on the planet Thra. The series was created with the use of puppets instead of CGI through a collaboration between Netflix and The Jim Henson Company.
Featuring the voices of Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nathalie Emmanuel, the show follows the beginning of a Gelfling — the native species of the planet Thra — rebellion against their monstrous overlords, the Skeksis, after discovering that the Skeksis were draining and killing Gelfings in order to become immortal.
One of the most unique things about the series is the use of puppets instead of actors or CGI. It is a very uncommon medium to use for an entire show that isn’t directed towards children. While watching the show, I often found myself forgetting that the characters were puppets because the puppeteers did it so flawlessly.
The designs for each of the characters are striking and unique. From the dark vulture-like appearance of the Skeksis, the woodsy appearance of the Stonewood Clan, to the vibrant colors of the Dousan Clan, it is clear that effort was put into each design to differentiate each puppet.
The background and the mythos that the series focuses on is beyond beautiful, fleshing out an entire world in only ten episodes. Thra truly feels like a real place among the stars, but you’re left knowing that there is still so much to discover about the planet and the universe it inhabits. The scenery is masterfully done, showing how beautiful — and occasionally creepy — the world of Thra truly is. The intricate nature of the world is incredibly thorough, showing off the planet, along with the areas we aren’t able to see. The history of the world they created is shown naturally through the story, allowing viewers to learn about it through the characters’ actions and conversations.
The one flaw with the series is its slow pace at the beginning of the show. When the story first begins, it seems to take forever for it to get going, which isn’t helped by the rather cliche nature of the beginning of the story. Quite frankly, the beginning bored me, despite the other virtues of the show. Around episode five, I began to truly enjoy the story as it allowed the main three characters to finally meet and change up the formulaic nature. By the end of the first season, the narrative had grown into a unique story and all of the subplots tied into the main plot incredibly well.
Similar to the beginning of the narrative, many of the characters felt like they were simply archetypes without any of their own, unique characterization. Rian was the brave, kind-hearted son of the captain who wanted to impress his father; Brea was the outcast, bookish princess whom no one understood; and Deet was the compassionate, empathic animal-lover on a quest to save her home. However, while they all fit those archetypes at the end of the first season, “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” managed to still make viewers care about the characters and diversify their characterization. They weren’t afraid to throw the characters into bad circumstances and bad things were allowed to happen to them.
Overall, while the series had a slow and cliche beginning, “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” was amazing. Its unique medium is wonderfully executed, the world of Thra feels real and the story, once it gets going, really takes you on a fascinating journey that you aren’t expecting.
(04/11/19 3:20am)
Full disclosure: I was incredibly hesitant to review this show in fear of just not getting it. The trailers definitely portrayed a very “mindscrew” view and other reviews I read marked it as a very thought-provoking show.
However, I was very pleasantly surprised upon watching that while it’s definitely thought-provoking and deep, it isn’t as impossible to follow or understand as I feared.
Starring Natasha Lyonne, Charlie Barnett and Yul Vazquez, the Netflix show focuses on Nadia Vulvokov, who dies the night of her 36th birthday. Following her death, she wakes up at her party once more, beginning what is the first of many, many time loops and deaths. As the increasing number of loops begin affecting the world around her, Nadia has to figure out what caused the loops and how to end it.
The first episode does a great job establishing the characterization for most of the characters throughout the season, especially Nadia. Immediately, she’s shown to be an abrasive, somewhat mean character, but we also get to see her kinder side through her relationships to side character Maxine and her cat Oatmeal. The show follows Nadia for the first three episodes, dropping hints of her backstory with mentions of her mother, her ex-boyfriend John and her own “death-seeking” nature.
The plot starts off with a bang, or should I say, a crash. After Nadia is hit by a car, she reawakens in Maxine’s bathroom at her birthday party. Confused, she doesn’t remember what happened at first until her second death. As she realizes that she’s reliving the same night over and over again, she begins trying to figure out what’s going on. As she investigates what’s happening to her, she finds out that maybe it’s not just about her.
Spoilers from the third episode onwards ahead:
At the end of episode three, Nadia discovers that she’s not the only person going through the time loop, introducing the second main character of the series: Alan Zaveri, a sweet, but finicky control freak who is also trapped in the same death and reawakening time loop as Nadia. After some conflict, the two begin working together to figure out what’s happening to them while also discovering new things about themselves and the people around them.
The character development for all of the characters follows surprisingly naturally for a show where time is constantly reset. Despite Nadia’s issues, she’s a sympathetic character and her arc is very smooth as she develops. Throughout the season, all of the characters are given a chance to shine as we learn more information about them and how they fit into the puzzle the show gives us. Some characters seem to lose importance in the last few episodes of the season, but fade out naturally enough that you don’t immediately question their absence.
The show has some really great messages for viewers, along with a couple not-so-great ones. (Their portrayal of infidelity comes to mind.) It heavily focuses on the themes of death, mental health and dealing with our past in a very unique and compelling way. Despite the heavy focus, it doesn’t require being a philosophy major to understand the story or its meanings.
Be warned, however, that the show is very casual with drugs, smoking, heavy cursing and sexually explicit language. It is definitely not a show to watch with your family, to say the least. Later episodes, especially episode seven, also have some disturbing and unsettling imagery that might be harmful for some viewers.
Ultimately, “Russian Doll” is a very unique show with great character arcs, deep themes and a fascinating plot to keep it going. Its minimal cast nails their roles consistently, leaving audiences with a range of emotions by the time the end credits roll. As long as you are able to deal with the topics, it’s a great show to binge in a few hours.
Final Score: 4/5
(03/28/19 2:11am)
It’s no surprise to anyone that our society fixates on toxic and bizarre habits, nor is there a lack of justified criticism of those habits. However, one new culture has been popular for a while and surprisingly seems to have gone largely criticized, but has also been praised and accepted: the rise and grind culture.
The rise and grind culture focuses on productivity and success, but has been warped to an unhealthy obsession with being more productive, accomplishing more and gaining more success. People ignore the idea of relaxing or socializing, neglect nutrition and exercise and pull all-nighter after all-nighter.
I’m sure that at least some of those sound familiar, especially the last one. Already, I’ve heard people complain that at least you got to sleep too many times to count. It’s a badge of honor and an indication that you’re hard at work because you don’t even have time to sleep. It’s also an incredibly toxic and unhealthy mindset.
The mindset leads to real problems, physically and psychologically. If you don’t get enough good-quality sleep, it can lead to having difficulty thinking clearly, irritability, increasing or worsening depression and anxiety, and health problems like heart issues, diabetes or high blood pressure, according to The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Isolating yourself from others increases stress hormones, leads to poor sleep and depending on how isolated you are, lead to serious psychological consequences, according to Psychology Today. Meanwhile, relaxing has been shown to relieve stress and anxiety, improve mood and other physical benefits, according to Mental Health America.
Obviously, these are the extreme effects, but neglecting yourself for work ultimately harms you in the long run. It’s not even necessary to be successful, as many successful people note that they make sure to incorporate self-care into their daily routines.
Huffington Post co-founder Ariana Huffington said, “Stop burning the candle at both ends and renew your estranged relationship with sleep. You will be more productive, more effective, more creative and more likely to enjoy your life.”
Daytime hosts Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah have both said that meditation is an important part of taking care of yourself. Kelly Ripa from Live with Kelly and Ryan has said that she uses exercises as a self-care method in emotionally difficult times, according to an article from the Purple Carrot.
The most successful students I know are the ones who take care of themselves, whether it be making sure they go to bed by a certain time, exercising frequently or making sure that they take breaks to relax and interact with friends. One of them is going to law school, another is going to graduate school and three of them will be RA’s next year.
The actual way to be successful is far more simple, boring and something we’ve all heard about before: managing our time wisely. As cliche as it may be, it’s a cliche for a reason. Most people mismanage their time and are left scrambling to finish a daunting project shortly before it’s due. Managing your time wisely means working on the project in small increments, because you have the time to split it up in parts to work on it consistently.
If you manage your time, rise and grind is a lot harder to accomplish as the obsessive culture it’s become. You simply don’t have enough work to spend all of your time laboring over it, but you do have time to take care of yourself and relax in your free time.
If you enjoy the association with rise and grind, you can still do it in a much more moderate way without the obsessive tendency the culture has turned towards. Getting up early to focus and get down to work is not an inherently bad thing, but doing it in moderation allows you to take care of yourself and enjoy the success you’ve cultivated.