Other Cheek

Besides my ethics? Not much. Why be a little b*tch about one issue when you can be cool about it instead?

Submitted by: Anonymous

Priceless

I refuse to compromise my celibacy. It's too precious. It's too expensive and not worth a thirty second thrill.

Submitted by: Torria

Just the facts

I refuse to compromise data. It is what it is.

Submitted by: You know who i am

Keep the faith

I refuse to compromise my faith in God.

Submitted by: YJH

Happyness

It has taken me a while to get to this point, but I refuse to compromise my happiness or my sense of adventure. It is pretty hard for me to make a decision but when I do it pisses me off when someone tries to talk me out of it. I don't want to leave this place with regrets about things that I never got a chance to do or places that I never got to see. There have been things that I've wanted to do that my boyfriend (of 9 years) could care less about. At first, I would just say "ok, never mind" and pout. Or I'd talk him into doing something and he would complain the whole time and ruin the whole experience. So now I know that its ok to do things by yourself. If no one wants to join you, so what!

Lesson Learned: When you're part of a couple its very easy to get caught up in "we". Live YOUR life. Fulfill YOUR dreams. And don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Submitted by: Nicole

I Am Woman

I feel I am a very proud person. I refuse to compromise my dignity.

Submitted by: Desiree

What's in a name?

I'm frugal. I'll admit it. Some might even say I'm "tight with a dollar". I like to think I'm just efficient with my money. Call it what you want. But thanks to my fiscal practices I have discovered the wonderful world of generic brand groceries. You get the same quality as name brand for a fraction of the price. It's gotten to the point where the Target brand is second-nature in my kitchen cabinets. But as great as the private labels have been to me, there is one ailse where I refuse to go generic-- cereal. Call me crazy but I'm just not buying that "Honey Oat Clusters" tastes the same as Honey Bunches of Oats.

Lesson learned: If breakfast is the most important meal of the day why take any chances.

Heaters and engines...

Why are men like heaters or an engine that's always on? I promise I have yet to hear any man tell me that he's cold!! That is truly baffling for me.

Lesson learned: Always bring a jacket because the windows may be opened or rolled down at any time of the day or night.

Submitted by: Rochelle

Dr. Jekyll

What confuses me is when they claim PMS is making them act up... but at work they are still 100% professional.

Submitted by: Anonymous

Androgyny

They confuse me when they take on more feminine qualities.. like being more clean than me.

Submitted by: Desiree

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

First of all, great work on the site! Keep up the good work!

Well, I just spent the last 5 days with my girlfriend who I'm in a long distance relationship with. We've been doing the distance thing for almost 2 years now. We're doing a bicaostal relationship: She from LA, me in Boston.

The past tiresome days have been extra-extraordinarily fun: BBQ on the fourth of July, Kittery ME on Thursday (well the speeding ticket sucked!), both of us winning $$$ at foxwoods at midnight on 7/7/07, birthday parties with our friends on Saturday night. And then comes the goodbye on Sunday.

I look back on our history, our adventures, our bond. And it is the time that she leaves and the time that we are apart that I truly treasure. The times of "the grind" of school, work, and routine. All throughout, she has given me the greatest gift: the gift of missing her and appreciating her.

Till the day that we are together, I will continue to strive to miss her.

Submitted by: You know who I am

Woman vs. Wild

Someone please explain to me why all women are afraid of bugs????? Was there an R-rated version of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" that I missed as a kid?

Lesson learned: RAID never has to worry about going out of business.

Perspective

I could live a pretty comfortable lifestyle without really applying myself. Whenever I'm tempted to do so I remember that 2 billion people live on less than $2 a day, and that the other 3 billion people in the world need to do something about it.

Submitted by: Anonymous

Strong Women

There are so many women in my life that inspire me. But I'll tell you about two.

The first is my mother. My mother has had some pretty severe medical set backs over the last few years: cancer, a broken ankle, diabetes and kidney failure. She's not always in a good mood. Most days she's tired and feels like crap. But no matter how bad she's feeling, she hardly ever complains and none of these issues have stopped her from living her life. She travels, she goes to Curves, she takes a dance class, she lunches w/her girlfriends and she SHOPS! Whenever I'm feeling sorry for myself, or I think I'm tired, I think about my mother and how she's feeling and I get off my Ass!

The second is my grandmother. My grandmother is 95 years old. She's raised 5 children, 6 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She can see better than I can. She gets up and gets dressed every day. She's always up on current events. She stopped walking a few years ago, "because her feet hurt". The other day my mother asked her how she was feeling. She said "Fine." My aunt said, "You're not fine. You weren't feeling good this morning." She looked at my mother and said, "I didn't want to make you sad."

Lesson Learned: I come from a long line of strong women and I have a responsibility to uphold the legacy that they have set for me. But trust me, it ain't easy!

Submitted by: Nicole

Four is Enough

I’ve been thinking about having kids lately - particularly, whether I want 1 or 4. Maybe it’s because our class just finished four weeks of OBGYN lectures and I watched “Miracle of Life” for my fourth time. Or maybe it’s because I did my first pelvic exam last week and I’m excited for my rotation in August where I’ll be working with a midwife. Whatever the trigger, I’m definitely having a case of baby fever.

Yesterday at church, there was a couple sitting in front of us with their 2 year old son. When we were sitting, he was standing and jumping. At silent moments, he would vocally point at his book of trucks. I tried my hardest not to encourage his misbehavior, but I couldn’t help looking at him and then doing what I do with all babies that make eye contact with me – flare my nostrils. Even though I found him amusing, he was a misery for his parents, and more so, for the priest who was trying to conduct the service.

So that brings me back to the issue of having 1 child or a Brady bunch. I can’t imagine the energy it will take to raise just one child: what to do when he/she misbehaves in public, how to deal with sleepless nights, and for someone who cleans obsessively, the amount of laundry and hygiene it will take to keep the child drool-free. Then I think about my grandmother, who birthed and raised 12 children. If she can do it with the grace and fortitude that my mother and uncles tell me, then so can I. Now, that’s my inspiration for having 4 children.

Submitted by: Cristina

Salute

While I was in grad school I had the fortune of meeting some really amazing people that had done some really amazing things in their lives. One in particular was a classmate of mine who was a graduate of West Point and a two-tour veteran of the war in Iraq. After serving his country faithfully for 5 years, he was looking forward to attending business school and starting the next phase of his life as a civilian. Then, the unimaginable happened. After enjoying a wonderful first year in school he got a letter from the US government: his services were needed, and he would be forced to drop everything and return for a 3rd tour in Iraq. We all were devestated.

After much shock, sadness and anger, he accepted his fate and returned to boot camp unaware of what his future might hold. I prayed for his safety, but honestly I wondered if I would ever see him again. Then, the unimaginable happened AGAIN. During a routine physical exam before his deployment, a number of tumors were found. Thankfully they all were benign. Thankfully the surgery to remove them would be routine. And thankfully this surgery made his pending re-deployment null and void.

I'm happy to say that my classmate graduated this past year. I'm also happy to say that his lesson of selflessness made every dollar of my tuition worth every penny.

Lesson learned: I'm thankful for the unimaginable.....it reminds me just how big to laugh when someone says, "No you can't."

TV Jogger

For some reason I haven't been a TV watcher for the last 8 years. I have a TV but refuse to pay for any channels, so I only get 3 and fuzzy ones at that. I've always felt like TV can suck your life away if you're not careful, especially for someone as easily distracted as I am. However-- my gym recently got TV's on every treadmill and I love it! It's been an additional incentive to go to the gym and run a few miles, and I've never been in such good shape. I guess that's my version of TV addiction!

Submitted by: Claudia

'Ol School vs. New School

The best thing on TV is Lucille Ball.

The worst thing on TV is Paris Hilton.

Submitted by: Desiree

TMI

Where do I even begin! I'm a true lover of television. I wake up to it. I go to sleep to it. I would drive to it if I could. Granted there is truly a lot of garbage on tv. But at the same time you can learn so much from television about people and places and things that you would never usually encounter. Whether its Flavor of Love Charm School, Man vs Wild, CSI or Big Brother (can't wait til next week!) television offers something for everyone. Plus I think people who don't own tv's are just weird.

Lesson Learned: Because of TV I know a little bit about a lot of stuff and I love it!

Submitted by: Nicole

Sleeping Beauty

The best thing about TV is that I can nap to it all day on weekends.

Submitted by: YH