4,000 Tenth Graders

Volunteering with local non-profits is something I would encourage just about everyone to do. I say "just about everyone," because I know there are some people that would do more harm than good in a situation such as talking to 4,000 10th graders in small groups all day about their future careers and the importance of budgeting.

The truth is, 10th graders don't care about budgeting or their future careers because they are still under the impression that this is easy. I decided to do my best anyway, to positively impact the youth of Louisiana through (for lack of better words), a conversation I deemed "boulevard of broken dreams." It went kind of like this.

Girl 1: I want a pet tiger when I grow up.
Me: Well you can't have one.
Girl 1: What? But I'm going to be a surgeon, and I'm not getting married or having kids. I'll be ballin.
Me: No, you WANT to be a surgeon, you THINK now that you won't get married or have kids, and pet tigers are illegal.

Boy 1: I'm going to be a model.
Me: You probably won't. Do you have a backup plan?
Boy 1: Look at this face - I don't need a backup plan!
Me: You better marry a rich woman then. Or man.

Girl 2: (while budgeting for workout cost) I don't need to PAY to jog around my neighborhood.
Me: Where do your running shoes come from then? Even if you have some now, they don't last forever. Shoes, socks, workout clothes - these are all things that will get worn and have to be replaced.
Girl 2: Well Santa will bring all that. This is my scenario.
Me: In THIS scenario, you are an adult. There is no Santa. I'm very sorry.

Overall, I think it was a good experience for everyone. Some of the kids really paid attention and got something out of this. Others at least got a wake-up call.

Helvetica

So here I am, all proud of the hard work that I have put into making my very own personal website (www.meganhargroder.com). I ask a few people for feedback, A. because I hope I didn't make any gramatical errors or get redundant anywhere, and B. because I want people to tell me how fantastic I am. I NEED people to tell me how fantastic I am every now and then, don't you?

My mistake was asking for feedback from my dad, who NEVER tells me I'm fantastic, and always lets me know that even though whatever I'm doing is "good" or "okay," it could be so much better if only I would follow his plan for me. He thinks that my website looks "too punk" and "not professional."

I'm guessing it's the black background with white text. Oh, and I hear Helvetica is considered quite deviant these days. Maybe it's the photo of myself on the front...which is what I look like...which is not categorized as punk.

I'm sure one day I'll actually do something fantastic...stay tuned.

Really?

Do I want 14 pancakes or 155?

It's Alive!

After several months without my darling macbook, I am proud to report that it has finally been resurrected!

The trouble began after several crashes due to my lack of firmware updates; the final resulting in death. I changed out the hard drive - but oh no, it just couldn't be that simple. The internal hard drive reader is also evidently fried beyond repair.

So how can I be running a macbook with a fried hard drive reader, you may ask?

The answer is simple: dialysis.

I removed my new working hard drive, inserted it into an external casing and then attached it to my macbook via USB.

Thank you, biology textbook!

Mardi Gras Documentary Project (The out-takes) from megan hargroder on Vimeo.