Who Maxine Is Matters

There is a lot of truth to the quote. All of us were created equally. And for that reason, we all have the social responsibility to uplift the less fortunate in order to make the world a better place. Personally, I've always been thankful for the family and community I was born into. My parents have enough money to support my life and education. Not to mention, they placed me in the best  university. But I grew up in a very sheltered environment, with no exposure to poverty. I remember the biggest culture shock for me was when I drove down Skid Row for the first time. My eyes popped out of their sockets! I couldn't believe that thousands of people were living in tents. Skid Row resembled a camp site, and only the "lucky" ones were fortunate enough to actually have a tent to sleep in. My heart especially broke for the young children who were sleeping on the streets. I can't imagine what types of hardships they've faced at such a young age. In that moment, I f...

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Eagle Rock Brewery's Women's Beer Forum. The crowd was very friendly, and the beer was incredible. To be frank, I don't drink beer often- I prefer wine or tequila. But occasionally I'll enjoy a can of Bud Light or Coors Light, depending on where I am and what food I'm eating. At Eagle Rock Brewery, the co-owner shared a few humorous stories as we tasted five flights of beer. Either the beer was hitting me, or she had a really good sense of humor-- either way, we shared many laughs throughout the two hour event. She shared personal stories about her arduous experience opening up this brewery, along with the sister Eagle Rock restaurant, which is down the street. Doing so was not easy by any means, as she explained. She even contemplated getting a divorce on several occasions, because she and her husband bickered a lot on topics regarding the business. When I told the group of women that I was there for a school extra ...

I'm proud to say that I recently finished reading Mark Manson's "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a ****". Unfortunately, I'm the type to begin a book, get so busy with other commitments, and never have the chance to finish it. (This is a bad habit of mine that I am working to fix). But this book is a whole different story. I love reading self-growth books. And Manson's writing style is so much fun to read- there was never a dull moment. The Book in Three Sentences: The most productive use of your time and energy is finding something important and meaningful. This is because all of us have problems associated with our lives, but when we find meaning in our lives, it will help us sustain the effort needed to overcome any problems we may face. The key to living a good life isn't about worrying about more things, but rather, only caring about the things that align with our personal values. Other lessons I took from the book: The desire for more positiv...

I’m really enjoying this book so far. The introduction captured my attention immediately, because I’m very interested in learning more about wealth inequality in the United States. My grandfather is a Democrat and a fervent believer in the sharing of wealth. He believes the rich should be taxed more to help support lower-income Americans who were born into poverty. Interestingly, my parents and my grandmother are Republicans and they believe the rich should have lower taxes. When people ask where I stand, I tell them that I don’t know enough about politics to make an educated and informed decision- and that I didn't want to blindly adopt the same political beliefs as my parents. But this book has given me great insight as to why my grandfather is a Democrat.   From what I’ve read so far, I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Chuck Collins. I’m fascinated by the fact that he gave away his 500K trust funds at the age of 26! To be honest, I don't know if I would do the sa...

If it were up to me, I'd make it a requirement for all USC students to learn Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM is so easy to learn, and even easier to practice. TM involves the use of a secret "mantra", which is repeated during the meditation. The meditation is practiced for 20 minutes twice per day while sitting with your eyes closed. Primarily, TM helps to avoid distracting thoughts and promote an overall state of relaxed awareness. But there are a ton of additional benefits of TM. TM alleviates stress and anxiety, improves sleep, lowers blood pressure, reduces cortisol, lowers the risk of heart attack, improves brain memory and function, and creates a greater sense of clarity and productivity.  I've been practicing TM for the past 6-7 months and can admit that I've experienced all of these benefits in my life. What I love most about doing TM is that it is effortless. In order to do TM, you need to sit in a comfortable chair, close your eyes and keep yo...

Challenging the Common View of Pain as Negative: Why Pain is a Good Thing https://www.pinterest.com/pin/479985272762053608/ Can you imagine a world where you felt no physical pain? Broke a bone? Painless. Got hit by a car? Painless. Got stung by three wasps? Painless. Spilled boiling water on your hands? Painless. Some may salivate at the thought of a pain-free life. In today’s society, there is a stigma of pain being a harmful thing that people should generally try to avoid. Believe it or not, the global market of painkiller medications is estimated to reach $26.4 billion by 2022 (PR Newswire 2017). What does this tell you? No one likes to feel pain. Although the thought of a pain-free life may sound like a utopia, pain is necessary for survival and is hugely beneficial to our wellbeing. This article will discuss several reasons why we need pain in order to survive. By the end of this article, you will be hoping to stub your toe, rather than preventing it...