My good friend named Hypnos

According to ancient Greek mythology the deity Hypnos was the god of sleep. His power and control were tied to forgetfulness and darkness. He lived in a mansion within a cave that had no gate to enter or to leave. It was designed that way as to help sleep enter and stay with no regard to the rules of the mansion. It boarded the river Lethe. This was the river known to cause forgetfulness to the taste. His children were known as the Oneiroi and they were three in number. Morpheus, Phantasos, and Phobeter. These three entities were the children of dreams. They controlled the visions men had as their father lulled them into sleep. Hypnos was so powerful that even Zeus himself could be lulled into his power. He is one of the lesser known, yet highly influential gods of old.

Hypnos and I have been great friends recently. As of late the only solace I can find are those moments that I find in his friendship. However, his children plague my thoughts and the time I spend with him. It is often ironic that human nature we always want what we can't have, and then upon having it, we do not want it anymore. That's how my friendship with this god has been. I want him to make it all disappear, yet I know that letting that happen will only leave me at the hands of the Oneiroi. Again the irony of human kind is seen again. We all need Hypnos in life, but when we are using him as our only option is when he has true power over us.

Every Greek myth has a hero. I guess the hardest part about this myth is that the villain needs to be both our ally and the enemy. But at the heart of it, we are always are own enemy. How can we be the hero that the myth craves for when we ourselves seem like the true villain of our own myth. The dichotomous thinking will surely be the Ragnarok to our souls. And Hypnos won't be able to help anyone when that time comes. But as we become consumed by the shadow released by Pandora's box, we forget to hold on tight. Endure all. Try with every fiber of our being to keep looking. For it is only then that we will see hope, shining back at us from the bottom of the box.

Thoughts on Being a Bookworm

Love this....a lot....

            My sister and I had an EPIC conversation this morning about literature. One of those awesome philosophical conversations that we engage in. Nothing special. We touched a little of infinity but no big deal. So this post will be about books. Why I love them. Why they mean so much to me. Here is an insight into the workings of my soul.

            I don’t specifically remember when I started loving books. Always have. I do remember that the first word I could spell was Aladdin. In reality it was probably my name or "mom" or something lame like that….Aladdin is just so much cooler. What I do remember is we always had books around. Eric and I shared a room and we had this massive bookshelf that was always messy. From Dr. Seuss books, to Amelia Bodelia, we always had something to read. My favorite kid book is tied between “Where the Wild Things Are” and “Dinner Time.” Dinner time is a pop up monster book that haunted my childhood. My mom got it for my wedding. She rocks.

Seriously...one of the most terrifying books of all time...

            From there on I fell in love with books. As I entered 4^th grade I discovered Harry Potter and from there it all began. At this time I learned to use literature as an escape. Here was this perfect world that I could throw myself into. I put parts of my soul into books and in return they gave me shelter and peace from the crazy puberty world around me. I was bullied as a kid. Books gave me the safety of escaping all of that and entering a place where no one would bully me. Harry, Ron, and Hermione became my best friends. I was Jonas from the Giver. He thought be to see color. I wanted to go to Terebithia with my best friend. I would fight Orcs with Aragon. I escaped with Aslan through the wardrobe. Books gave me freedom from the pressures of the world. They were my drug of choice.

            Then sixth grade happened and Mrs. Hatch showed me a whole new world (BOOM another Aladdin reference.) to books. She taught me how to analyze, research, and ponder the deeper meanings of books. Once I started doing this I never stopped. I was introduced to "Lord of the Flies", "Dandelion Wine", "In Cold Blood", "Beowulf", "The Iliad", and countless other books that changed how I viewed the world. I learned that books have devastating power. They can change the world and influence individuals far greater than most things in this world. You can’t just read “Night” by Elie Wiesel and not be moved. Books now became not only my escape, but my gateway to learn the truly powerful lessons that enhance my life.

Oh Dumbledore...why are you so cool!?

            Finally, books gave me the heroes that are dear to me. Literary heroes have some amazing potential. The authors craft these gorgeous characters that connect to you on levels that you didn’t think possible. Dumbledore became a father figure to me. Hermione became to represent knowledge and loyalty to me. Katniss became bravery and strength. Robert Langdon became insight and intrigue. Aslan was (and is) a deity. Charlie became insecurity and overcoming it. Hazel became hope and faith in a better future by building on a difficult past. These characters became role models. They became friends. They became examples.

            To end, I cannot describe how much books have molded me and made me who I am today. They will always be my escape, my power and my example. Reading is probably my favorite past time of all. I will always do it. To read is to have power. There is nothing more true to that. There are worlds and inspiration out there, and all we have to do is turn the page.

Pure Truth

p.s. 5000 blog points if you comment on your favorite book.

p.p.s 500 for reading

p.p.p.s 50000 if you recommend a book for me to read!

Dr. Max

 

One of my Zoology Professors told me the snakes are actually worms....i dont know if i believe him. 

Why do I want to be a doctor?

That is a huge questions. And as I am told it will be frequent in my interviews with potential medical schools. That is what this post is about. Something incredibly important to me. With all the schooling, the stress, the tests, the o-chem, and all the loans. ;D It is a long road, and this is post is a look into why. Why on earth am I doing this!?

            Back in the day, when the only thing that you worried about was getting all the Golden Bananas on Donkey Kong 64, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. (now I don’t know what on earth I was thinking…pun intended.) One day I went to Lagoon with the family. I was finally able to ride the cool big white Rollercoaster. I remember this being the first big rollercoaster I ever went on. My dad being the future planning dad he is told me that what my stomach felt like would be what it would be like to be on the space shuttle. Well after the ride I puked, and my dreams of being an astronaut were in my mind. Ruined.

            The downfall of my astronaut career led to a dark time in the life of young Max George. I wanted to be all sorts of things. Only to let them fall away with little thought or care. A scientist, video game designer, director, and crime scene investigator were only a few of the things that I wanted to be when I “grew up.” One test told me that I should be a clothes designer….still thinking that might be a good idea….

            A few of my posts have talked about how I am a planner. So it is normal for me to say that not knowing what I wanted to do with my life was very distressing. I knew I liked science, but math was not my favorite. I loved kids, but I did not like teaching. This would perplex me day in and day out. One day, the thought came into my head about medicine. Maybe I could be a doctor. A pediatrician. I would use science and work with kids. Best of both worlds!

 

Cute non-stress senior Max....

            I knew in that moment I think that being a pediatrician is what would make me happy in life. It just seemed so clear. I took some medical classes my senior year of high school and fell in love with the art of medicine. I could look at an anatomical diagram and have it memorized in a matter of minutes. Ask me to do that with a Robert Frost poem and it will take me 4 years to master. Medicine just came easy to me. All of the sudden, I knew, with out a doubt what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Why do I want to be a doctor?

All of this happened while I was pubescent and in high school. I took some medical classes in college before my mission and again, fell in love with the science. I left for Uruguay and continued this drive to see an MD after my name. I returned home and began school immediately in the fall as a pre-med student.

            Being a pre-med student is no cake walk. There are so many pre-req classes for the MCAT that I want to shoot myself on occasion. I feel like I will never get out of Weber State University. I see my friends around me graduating and moving on with there lives. And I am still dreading finals week every semester. The classes are difficult. Often I have 3 classes with 3 hour labs a week. Chemistry is a bitch. I have so much extra-curricular going on that I feel overloaded sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could just work at Great Harvest full time….

            And I will be honest. Sometimes I do want to give it all up. Throw the towel. Give up on medicine. There is nothing more degrading then getting a bad score on a test in my mind, and I have had my fair share. I look at the 7 years I still have to go, all the money, the moving, the challenges, and I want to say screw it. Why shouldn’t I go into movie editing!? That would be fun. 

I know Gandalf...I know.....

Why do I want to be a doctor!?!?

            Here is the reason. I want to make a difference. Now, I am not saying that all the other professions on this planet do not make a difference. That would be ignorant of me. But for me, to feel like I am making a difference I need to be a doctor. There is no other profession that I can think of that would fulfill me as much as a doctor would. I want to cause change. I want to look into the eyes of a sick child and make them feel better. I want to heal. I want to fix. I do not want to be another grain of sand on this planet. I want to be that seashell that makes someone’s day. And in my young adult brain the only way I can do that is by being a doctor. I want to figure out the unknown. I want to solve problems. I want to be there for people when they need me. There are a lot of perks too. The pay, the prestige, the allure of being a doctor. But at the heart of it all, I want to help this world. I do not want to fade into the background noise like a lot of my generation. I want to be a doctor.

            After writing all of this I feel like we maybe should start asking kids what will they be when they grow up instead of what they want to be. Obviously that would be impossible. It took me quite sometime to figure it out. And I am glad I did. I am passionate about medicine and this is a small glimpse as to why. Kylies little cousins have recently started calling me Dr. Max, and now it is a thing. I even have a clock with it on it! (Thank you Brian.) Dr. Max. It has a nice ring to it. A lot is going to happen in my life. Some of it I won’t be able to control. One thing though that I can control is that I will be a doctor. Give me all the hell that is school. I can take it. Give me all the student loans. It’s worth it. Give me the stress. What is another ulcer? Dr. Max is only a few years away.

Scary, stressed, senior in college Max... 

p.s. Sorry is this sounded arrogant. Not my intention. It is however, my passion, and I feel like I can be somewhat of a big head about it ;)

p.p.s What do you want to be when you grow up? :D (3000 blog points)

My Big Nosed Sin Baby of a Little Brother...who also happens to be my Hero.

He is actually not an Asian....

This is Eric George, the second George boy. He is my little brother and will always be one of the strongest people I know. This post is for him. We are 100% different, and yet I value my relationship with the kid more than I can even understand. Even if his nose is larger than the rest of us, and he is naturally tan and has sandy blonde hair. He may be the milk mans baby…who knows ;D

Growing up Eric and I usually were constantly at each others throats. Even after the purgatory that is puberty we still did not get along like most brothers do. He liked cars and motorcycles and I liked musicals and books. We were very different growing up. But as most brothers go through, we were brothers. We would do a lot of the same activities and that brotherly friendship grew. It may have been a slow growth, but soon we put differences aside and became very close.

 Before my mission we both became amigos. However, we still had out separate lives and did the best we could to keep it that way. Then all of the sudden I went to Uruguay. Eric would play the tough guy front and tell me he was excited for me to leave so that we could take over my space in the house. I just laughed it off, thinking more or less this is just how my brother worked. Then him and I hugged at the airport and we didn’t let each other go. Tears started and all of the sudden I realized that missing my goofy little brother was going to hurt. A lot.

 Over the course of two years I quickly learned that my brother Eric is one of the best people on this planet. I would miss him so much, and all of the sudden I realized that he and I shared a bond that only brothers really have. I would want to tell him things that I couldn’t tell anyone else. I missed that punk a lot. Missions are funny things. They tear you apart from your family for awhile, and then they slam you closer together like you would never believe.

Us with the Weasley twins...nothing big....

 Through the course of my mission I would learn about the trials that my brother was going through. He had idiots friends, ward members who were vicious, and migraines, that would ultimately hospitalize him for a week. Through it all, the kid never gave up. Never threw in the towel. He endured his issues and kept going. As a missionary at the time this was inspiring. When times got rough for me, with no bills, no homework, no job, whose life in reality was pretty cushy… I would remember that if Eric could do it. So could Max.

 When I got home I promised myself to spend more time with my brother. And that I did. Soon he was hanging out with my group of friends and he became part of that “family.” We spent a ton of time together and my brother became one of my most valued friends. I can’t recount how many stupid movies we would end up seeing. (Like “Zookeeper”) I cherish those moments a lot. More than he probably knows.

He was the perfect WALL-E

 Then the punk had to go and leave on his mission. I hate missions sometimes. Eric made his own decisions and I shared some amazing experiences with him as we was preparing to leave. Once again we were growing closer. The day he left he was in our basement and I gave him that last hug. It was surreal. I did not want it to end. But of course it had to. I had my meltdown in my car on the way to school.

Eric got home from his mission a few weeks ago, and the other day we had a brother’s night. Man I love this kid.

Funny thing about being the older brother is that I have always felt this necessity to be an example and a role model for Eric. I would drown him in advice and suggestions to try and “help” him. I would try and be the best person I could be so that he would see that and do the same. Eric didn’t have the easiest of missions and I would again send an onslaught of support trying to him trying not to show him my own weaknesses. Little did I know Eric was the real role model in all of this.

 Eric is one of the most genuine people I know. While i was so preoccupied about being a good "older brother" he was silently showing me how to be the better brother. He does stuff because he wants to do them. He makes his own decisions. He knows what is right and what is wrong and he will stick with that. He is a loyal friend and will be with you till the end. He is enduring. He has been put through the ringer and has had a shit load of trials. More than most people. And yet, my younger brother is stronger than anyone. Stronger than me. Out of us George boys, it is his example that shakes the ground.

 I owe a lot of who I have become to the example of my brother. I love that kid. We may be 100% different, but I would be lost without him. We may not agree on everything, but his opinion matters drastically to me. Through hell and back I know that Eric will be with me through it all. I have had my personal trials, but I know that over all of it...my brother will always be there. And I will be there for him. 

Glad you are home buddy!

p.s. Do you know Eric? If you don’t. Go Face book creep him and become his amigo.

p.p.s 500 blog points!

My Exact Thoughts..But Spoken Through Another Man...

So Dan Pearce hits another home run on how I feel. This post he created is brilliant and I couldn't agree more with him. This is an intense topic in Utah at the moment. And I feel that he has done an excellent job on making a rational and logical argument for this intense debate. More importantly for me it hits a cord. I echo his words, and feel that his view on the matter mirrors what I believe. Especially pages 2 and 3. Take not on page three. I honestly do not know how it is any different from what happened in the past. Hopefully his article spreads understanding and not just hate. I think that is what is at the core of what is going on right now.

10 Important Ways Same Sex Marriage Will Change Marriage & Family

P.S. 50000 blog points for Dan Pearce. He is a rock star of the blogging world.

Another 2 Cents on Vaccines

IF you are a reader of my blog you know that vaccines and children are high on my priority list... Kylie sent me this article today and it is incredible. It is a first hand experience of the dangers of not vaccinating. This poor baby had Whopping Cough. It is a disease that we have immunizations for. Yet it killed this poor baby. Seriously do your scientific research if you are questioning not getting your child vaccinated. It is SO important. I have some more thoughts on this and the flu shot but that is for another day.

 

http://shotbyshot.org/pertussis/bradys-story/

 

 

The Grossest Words I Could Find.

This is a fun post. Over the past couple of months I have been compiling a massive list of some of the grossest words I know. These words should just not be allowed. Most of them involve bodily functions, but there are a few that are just awesome. Kylie says its all in the way you say the word...but I don't know. Some of these words are just inherently nasty. If you make it to the end of the list check out the hilarious movie from CollegeHumor. It is a real life application of these words! :D

Moist

Scab

Gooey

Sweat

Infected

Swollen

Smear

Damp

Rank

Putrid

Festering

Mold

Swallow

Throat 

Grime

Crusty

Pus

Pimple

Steamy

Snot

Vomit

 Gassy

Asparagus

Chunky

Soggy

Queasy

Fondle

Drip

Clogged

Squirt

Secrete

Creamy

 

 

  Did you make it through them all okay? The last couple are my favorite! Hopefully you didn't puke. If you have any other horrible words that I didn't list please put them in as a comment. Id love to see what you think of!

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!