Random Notes from a Crank

The other day my six-year-old son told us that he had two girlfriends. The first one is Lillie, a girl a year younger than him. He went to pre-school with her. The second, apparently, is Taylor Swift. I explained to him that he's too young to have a girlfriend and that Lillie is prettier than Taylor Swift and probably much nicer. I continued by telling him that I think Taylor Swift always looks like she's squinting or something. Also, with how many breakup songs she writes, you have to wonder if the men in her life aren't the problem. Maybe the real problem is her? 

Thought Catalog, one of those sites that's frequently shared via social media, had an interesting compilation of advice. It's titled "21 People On What They Would Tell Their 19-Year-Old Selves." My personal favorites are the advice given by Anya, Parker, Donald, Jackson, and Katelyn. 

If I had to provide advice to my 19-year-old self, like anyone else, there are a number of statements I'd make that I'd rather not share on the InterWebs or in polite company. However, here's some advice for that fool that I'm willing to share:

• Stay an extra year in undergrad because you should get a second major either in psychology, communication studies, sociology, anthropology, or history.
• Read more. In particular, read about rhetoric, composition studies, organizational communication, professional writing, psychology, history, anthropology, and sociology. And comic books and graphic novels. 
• Don't sell some of your comic books ~ the Daredevil when Elektra dies and the Amazing Spider-Man with the Spider-Mobile and the first appearance of the Punisher. You'll want to show them to your kids. 
• If she's not into you, she's not into to you. Move on. 
• Apply this principle liberally: Ars est celare artem.  
• What you will learn being a member of a fraternity will translate more productively to your professional life than most of the classes you will take as an undergraduate. Get good grades and all that, but keep this fact in mind. 
• Manage your money better, you idiot.

The other day I got a copy of Studs Terkel's Working. I'm enjoying it so far, but I wished I would have read it a long time ago.