Why I Am A Fighter - And Why You Should Be Too

This is an unusual post for me - this topic is not a comfortable one, or an easy one to research and write about. But sometimes things just need to be said....boldly.

Imagine a product:

• As addictive as crack cocaine.
• There are some loose safety controls on its production, but they are rarely kept, and much is produced illegally.
• Scientifically shown to alter the minds of those that use it, cause addictive and violent behaviour, and lead to mental illness and divorce.
• Unbelievably, this product is given away to minors for free every day. People between the ages of 12 and 17 are the largest group of consumers.
• Those that make this product are extremely likely to contract life-threatening diseases or become addicted to drugs and alcohol. The life expectancy for workers in the industry has been reported to be as low as 36.2 years.

If these statements were true about your favorite coffee shop, would you still go there? Just one more time? Only if you were really tired and needed some coffee? Would you make excuses like: “I only drink the chai teas; it doesn’t affect me how the coffee is made?” Or would you immediately stop going there?

Addicts. Mental illness. Minors exploited. Domestic violence. Marriages broken. Suicide. This only scratches the surface of the damage that pornography is doing in our culture today. Pornography is never harmless. It changes the brain chemistry of those who consume it exactly as drugs do. It degrades the performers that make it to the point that many take their own lives.

If your favorite coffee shop, or football team, or clothing store, or social networking site affected people this way, would it be enough for you to stop supporting it? It's not enough to just say no for ourselves. The world needs people to stand up and make the truth known.

Fight The New Drug is dedicated to educating the world about the real effects of pornography on real people. Check out their site for the science that backs up this post and much more information - and sign the Fighter Pledge!

New Year's Revolutions

This week, millions of people made New Year’s resolutions - that is, they resolved to make a change in their life this year. 

Here are a few of my resolutions for 2014:

~ I will use a lower heat setting on my curling iron to avoid damaging my hair. (15 instead of 25)

~ I will drink fewer carbonated beverages.

~ I will take the stairs instead of the elevator to class or to my dorm room at least once a day.

~ I will be kind to everyone, regardless of how I feel about them.

We make these resolutions on December 31 or January 1, and promise ourselves that we will keep them for an entire year. This will be the year, we think, that we will not slip once.

But then, sometime in January or a few months later, that resolution to go to the gym three times a week doesn't seem like such a good idea anymore. Someone who resolved to quit smoking has a rough day and gives in to the urge to have a cigarette. And once we break our resolutions, often we just give up until the next year. According to Forbes.com, only about 8% of people keep their New Year's resolutions.

In this (adorable!) commercial, the little boy does something that you’ve probably observed yourself: he refers to resolutions as “revolutions.” We laugh, but have you ever considered that maybe he has something right?

We resolve to change something in the New Year. But often we fail to consider that a change is really a 180-degree revolution. It can take time to turn completely around from an old habit.

So yes, we should determine to keep our resolutions without fail. But if we fail, for many of us will, we must remember that a complete revolution is not often made in a day. As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, "Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

If you haven't made any resolutions for this year, it's not too late! If you have already fallen off the bandwagon in some area, don't give up. May 2014 be a year in which you learn much. Comment with your New Year's resolutions!

Happy new year!

(http://www.forbes.com/sites/dandiamond/2013/01/01/just-8-of-people-achieve-their-new-years-resolutions-heres-how-they-did-it/)