Mental Energy and Seasons

You may not believe that our mental energy varies from season to season, but some people think that it does. Research has shown that climate and temperature have a definite effect on our mental abilities. Scientists have discovered that cool weather helps creative thinking much more than warm weather does. Spring appears to be the best period of the year for thinking. People seem to be a lot sharper in spring than they are in any other season. One reason may be that in spring, people’s mental abilities are affected by the same factors that bring about great changes in nature. Fall is the next best season, then winter. Summer seems to be the best time to take a long vacation from thinking. This does not mean that all people are less intelligent in summer than they are during the rest of the year. It does mean, however, that the mental abilities of most people tend to be lowest in summer. Be aware of these facts, and you will make the most of your talents.

My friend Leo makes up weak and poor excuses whenever there is something he doesn’t want to do. Just two weeks ago, he was at my house when he decided he didn’t want to go into work. He called his boss and said he had to get a new set of tires put on his truck. Then he sat sown and watched TV with me. Not only had he lied but his excuse wasn’t a very convincing one. Another time, he cancelled a date with his girlfriend at the last minute telling her he had to get a new battery for his truck. She was angry and refused to go out with him again until he apologized. Last weekend, Leo offered the poorest excuse yet. He promised he’d help me move some furniture, from my parents’ house to my new apartment. He was supposed to bring his truck over about 8 o’clock Saturday morning. I waited, and then called and left a message on his machine. About 11:30, he called and said he was sorry but he’d been getting a new set of tires put on his truck. I guess he’d forgotten he used the same excuse when he called his boss from my house. I think I need a new set of friends and begin to get tired at Leo’s excuses.

In Hollywood, everybody wants to be rich, famous and beautiful. Nobody wants to be old, unknown and poor. For Hollywood kids, life can be difficult because they grow up in such an unreal atmosphere. Their parents are ambitious and the children are part of the parents’ ambitions. Parents pay for wasteful grand parties, expensive cars and designer clothes. When every dream can come true, kids don’t learn the value of anything because they have everything. A thirteen-year-oldboys, Trent Maguire, has a driver, credit cards and unlimited cash to do what he wants when he wants to. “one day, I’ll earn more than my dad”, he boasts. Parents buy care and attention for their children because they have no time to give it themselves. Amender’s mother employs a personal trainer, a bodyguard, a singing coach and a councilor to look after all her fifteen-year-old daughter’s needs. Often, there is no parent at home most days, so children decide whether to make their own meals or go out to restaurants, when to watch television or do homework. They organize their own social lives. They play no childhood games. They become adults before they are ready. Hollywood has always been the city of dreams. The kids there live unreal lives where money, beauty and pleasure are the only gods.

If you’re a young lady in your twenties, you may either be on a diet or wondering which diet to follow. Indeed, people are so concerned with their appearance that the word “diet” has lost its original meaning. It now has the same meaning as “weight loss diet”. There was a time when women bound their waists to have a nice figure. Then came Twiggy, a British supermodel most famous in the 1960s, and since then everyone has wanted to look like a twig. Because of this trend, many diets have become popular. Very often you meet young girls who look weak enough to blow away in the wind, yet they are still talking about diets. However, extreme diets can lead to health problems. Many such dieters may end up with very serious eating disorders. Princess Diana suffered from an excessively strong appetite; Karen Carpenter, a popular singer of the 1970s, died of loss of appetite. You should know that looking good is important but not when it comes at the risk o your health or your life. Better eating habits and proper exercise are all you need to be fit and look good.

While every university in America have their own policies and creates their own rules, most provide some type of medical service or health insurance for students, especially large universities. If students have a cold, or other illness, they can see a doctor, and they may also seek medical advice on a range of issues. Free testing for sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV is a major part of disease prevention—sharing important information about the epidemic is also important. If students need a major operation or procedure, they must seek outside assistance, but the school may help them to make the arrangements. Smaller universities and colleges are not likely to provide in-depth medical assistance; they usually deal with small problems in housing, and assist students in taking care of major issues off campus. Universities and colleges without students housing do not offer medical services.

There’s nothing gradual about the flu. It hits you like a hammer. One minute you are feeling fine, and the next you can be shivering, burning up, and then shivering again. In minutes, your legs become weak and your body aches in places that have never hurt before. Influenza can break out so suddenly that people can sometimes say, “it hit me at exactly nine last night.” But whether the flu strikes at night or on the bus to school, there is just one thing a victim wants to do: lie down in bed. A healthy person can fight off the flu in three to five days, though coughing and tiredness can last two more weeks. An attack of the flu is often followed by another illness. Doctors recommend that old people, or people of any age with heart or lung problems, get a flu vaccine every year. Because flu viruses change all the time, a new vaccine must be prepared each year to protect against future attacks.

Many people tolerate bad service or inferior products rather than make a complaint. They feel that complaining won’t do any good. In fact, they’re wrong: Complaining works because companies don’t want dissatisfied customers. If you have a complaint, do something about it right away. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to get your complaint settled. First, you can complain to one of the clerks. If they cannot help you, then ask politely to speak to a manager. Also, many stores have Customer Service representatives whose job is to solve problems in customer relations. These people are eager to assist because companies realize that dissatisfied customers can damage their reputations. You should always insist on your rights as a customer. You have the right to receive a product you ordered in a timely manner and in good condition. With airlines, you have the right to be on the flight you have booked. You can also expect a discount if you receive less than you have agreed upon—a hotel room with a view of a brick wall instead of an ocean view, for example.

The Internet is a global network, but in many ways it’s like a small town. There are electronic post offices to send and receive e-mails, functioning somewhat more efficiently than the post Office we know. There are libraries of information that stay open 24 hours a day with millions of books and documents to browse. You can also enjoy a real-time text-based communication, using written or printed material to communicate with others immediately and almost face to face. Local coffee shops are seen in the guise of chat rooms, with people dropping by at all hours of the day and night to socialize. Online education and training is available just as it is in a “bricks and mortar” university or school. Online banking offers you all the services available at your local bank, without the danger of being mugged at an ATM. You can buy almost anything, listen to your local radio stations, or do your grocery shopping. Indeed, the Internet is your town in a box.