A recent study took data on the frequency of stimulation parents give their young children. I'm not sure about the details, for we only talked about this particular study momentarily in class a couple weeks ago, however, it dealt with children under 10 years old, and the representative sample was drawn from many different states across the US. The goal of the study was to find a correlation between "something" and how often children get reinforced/receive stimulation. According to numerous studies, children who receive this kind of upbringing, grow to be more confident, happy, have more friends, and are overall more "successful" by societies standards. Now at first guess, I would have said, "Ok, this is easy, it has to be the level of completed education of the parents", or maybe culture...more traditional collectivist cultures such as Japanese and Chinese because they are very focused on the aspect of family. Ok, nope, not either of those. Ok! It has to be the area in which the family lives, this would effect crime rates, time management, and a truck bed full of other external factors that would have an impact on children being stimulated.

Unfortunately, the only correlation the study was able to find was household income. In the study, high income families reinforced their children 10 times as much as "welfare" families. But why? I mean, income could be connected to education, but in the study, not all the families who were in the high income range had completed higher education. The answer is stress. Stress makes us unhappy, depressed, angry, and a pant-load of other negative emotions, which puts all the focus onto the parents, and not on to the young child, robbing the child of the emotional stimulation he or she needs to grow up whole. And there you have it. A CIRCLE OF POVERTYCIRCLEOFPOVERTYPOVERTYPOVERTY. Just like animals, we react to stress. However, for us, stress isn't having to run away from the Lion before it eats us, or rip apart the zebra flesh before our friends get to it. Stress is paying a 70$ parking ticket when you NEED to be buying the new Ipad. Or, say, worrying about whether your co-workers will think your cool enough, smart enough, or rich enough. What about driving to JiffyLube and wondering if the guy is yankin' your chain about needing a new catalytic converter for 900$, when "all you wanted was an oil change". The bottom line is, that our society breeds stress. Like rabbits fucking, it breeds stress. One thing leads to another, and the problems multiply and multiply. But we don't have to accept it. We don't have to buy into this lifestyle.

Just over a year ago, I moved to arguably the most stressed city in the US. Yes, Los Angeles is more stressful than New York or any other place you can think of. Our crime rates are the highest. Stress is the function of crime. Anyway, moving into my new place last week has really opened my eyes as to what one actually needs to survive. Essentially, I only have a bed, and have been eating nothing but raisins and dipping wheat bread into a liquefied bottle of peanut butter. I'm not saying that I am going to live like this forever, because i'll tell ya, i'm excited to decorate that shit real bad. But it is teaching me the most important rules of them all. Efficiency and delayed gratification. Now i'm definitely not a model for "bare bones" living, but I know what I can do that will make me happier and reduce stress. 1. Never buy anything new unless I have to. Buying old antiques on craigslist has so much more character than walking into IKEA and picking out something from their "modern chic" theme. Also, working at Wasteland is the coolest place to get awesome clothes for 1/3 of the price, while not supporting overseas production and sweatshops. 2. No TV. Hell yes! No TV! If I want to see what the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills are up to, I can take a second to drive by, or look out my goddamn window. 3. Eat healthy and exercise. Working out really has a positive effect on our cognitive functioning. For Reals. I am also looking forward to enjoying a simple protein based diet. Eggs, Nuts, Meat, and Veges all day everyday.

This isn't meant to be a boastful post, like I said, I'm not a "bare bones" type guy, but incorporating some of these efficient/healthy/positive ways into my life is having an impact. Don't get me wrong, I still love a good fashion magazine, or skateboarding till 1 am on the best ramp in town, or trying out a new foreign beer and shootin' the shit with friends.

Wow, I guarantee no one reads this whole thing haha. Takecare.

-Tay