NovA SeNIor YeAr!! 143 ChIcKIeS! HiT ThE CeLLy
Leave it to the Villanovan to give voice to my embittered tirades. Yeah that's right, they actually printed something that would have probably appeared here anyway. Page 8 holds my voice concerning the lack of morals at Villanova and the support of stereotyping that runs rampant on campus. Who would have imagined that a late night hashing of anger could be deemed printable. Oh well.

As I write here though I begin to realize that online journals bother me. Bear with me. I wouldn't call this a journal or anything of the sort. This is something I do once and a while that reflects what's in my head. There is no emotion, no deeper meaning, just the things that make me who I am. I get to curse, and yell and do it on a regular basis (not like I don't anyway). The Blog is becoming very popular. It's just a way to create social commentary or to just say something you want to say. The online journal's however are just glorified away messages.

The "away message" has most certainly ceased to be anything that has to do with being away. Some people do use it to tell you what they are doing, but really does anyone care? Unfortunately, it has become a forum for college folks to say things they just don't want to say to someone in person. I wonder some things though. What did college students do before the away message? Did they just sit alone staring at the computer screen? Did they leave voice mails with long drawn out quotes, or John Mayer like lyrics? Or did they actually say something to that individual or individuals in person that sounded like "If this is the end, I don't want to know this time... I just want you by my side." It has extended to profiles and now to actual journals. There are pages and pages of this crap on websites now. The funniest thing I believe is that people write things they know other those people will actually read. So if I write "I hate X" on a public site, do I expect X not to read it, especially when I have a link in my profile? Does anybody actually think anymore?

Now, however I realize that the "away message" is a public display of the most heinous game of love that people insist on playing. The "I'm not going to say exactly what I'm thinking because I want to leave you guessing, despite that it would make everything a whole lot easier and probably save you pain, money, and time" game. Nobody knows how to be straightforward anyway so why not make it public anyway.

What if I used this though? What if I created these "away messages" that reflected emotion and feelings that actually didn't exist? If everyone relies on "away messages" as much as I think they do, I could control all perception of me through these "away messages." Do you realize all the things I can do? "Tom, are you depressed today? How bout some free beer to help you in your time of need." or "Wow Tom, do you really hate Democracy that much? I'm going to have to steer clear of your Socialist ideals." You see, it all comes down to what the mind perceives and whether you believe it or not.