Eating the Unicorn

*happy sigh* Oh, Hawaii is so beautiful. Absolutely perfect weather, constantly in sight of both the ocean and mountains. We walked along the beach in Kailua bay for about an hour and a half this morning, but other than that we were mostly out buying all the things I'll need for college for the next 4 years, plus a few special Hawaii things (beach mat, snorkel gear). It would help if my parents weren't fighting the entire time, because that makes everything rather miserable, when I feel like I'm in paradise. It doesn't make sense. :(

Anyway. Today is my top ten list, so my main entry about Hawaii will be tomorrow after I've moved into my DORM. Aaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope it goes well. I'm nervous. :(

I watched a bunch of recent vlogbrothers videos this morning while waiting for my parents, and, as promised, I will dedicate my blog today to those dear brothers we all love. So I now present you with: Kat's Top Ten Reasons to Watch the Vlogbrothers.

1. To learn...the things you don't learn in school.

John and Hank have both done educational videos. If I had time, I'd search through all their videos to post examples, but I really don't have the time. We were up for 23 hours yesterday and then only managed around 7 hours of sleep, so I'm tired and do not feel like searching through all their hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of videos. I remember Hank did one on Chemistry, and while it was stuff I knew because I took really advanced Chemistry class, a lot of classes don't go that in depth. I know he's also done some on environmental stuff, and John often does ones on books and reading and how to analyze books, what symbols actually mean and how authors write, why they write.

However, I think both of them teach you the most important things about life as well. How to love people and tell them you love them. How to live your life and be proud of yourself and your actions. How to balance your life. How to have fun. Etc, etc.

2. To be inspired.

I absolutely love John and Hank's "Thoughts from Places" videos in particular. They always get me thinking more positive things about our world and how I live, teaching me the beauty and wonder of life. But in general, they always surprise me with their little snippets of inspiration.

3. Signed pre-ordered books!

I know John's only doing this for Fault in our Stars, but whatever. If you don't watch vlogbrothers, you wouldn't even know he was doing this. And you never know what else they might give away, so keep watching! Yay!

4. Bobbleheads!

This is my favorite souvenir and desk decoration. I wrapped John in a shirt and brought him to college to decorate my desk. When I'm stressed, I just push on his head and watch it bobble and it always makes me smile.

5. You and your friends have inside jokes. TONS of them.

JOKES. I'll put forks in you. Fishing boat proceeds. Peanut butter face. In Your Pants. Nerdfighters. Decepticons. Evil Baby Orphanage. Happy Dances. Waxing chins. Blenderized happy meals. World suck. Puppy sized elephants. Stuff on your head. Giant squid of anger. French the llama. Tiny chickens disease. Best wishes. The puff.

Curious? Don't watch the vlogbrothers? Watch!

6. John teaches you about current events.

The debt crisis, the situation in Iran (2009), Gadhafi, the housing crisis...etc. Basically, I think John explains current events in a much simpler and easier way to understand than the newspapers, without any of the fluff. I do still read the news, but I understand the news when it comes from John or Hank.

7. Discover new music and authors and get acquainted with them.

I would've never discovered Julia Nunes or Alex Day or Chameleon Circuit or Maureen Johnson or the fiveawesomegirls or wizard rock without the vlogbrothers. And from these, I've discovered even more people. The amount of music I've found on youtube truly is an intricate web. We're all connected through Nerdfighteria.

8. You have great story material!

...well, I'll be honest, this one doesn't always work because people do just stare at you sometimes in disbelief or wonder or confusion. But if you're at another boring party where no one is talking, you might as well talk about anything, and you might as well tell amusing stories about things John and Hank have done or talked about in the videos. Asking someone to marry someone else over the phone FTW!!!

9. Because nerds are cool....no, wait, nerds are JOKES.

Obviously. :)

10. You can blog about it!

Actually, I never would've discovered Maureen without the vlogbrothers, so it's really thanks to them that I got so into blogging. But also, it's always fun to discuss the vlogbrothers in your blog. Or a lot of the time their discussions inspire me to write about a certain thing because they inspire me to go a little deeper. I love them so much. <3 They are awesome people, working so hard to make the world a better place. And I am grateful to know of them and I am grateful to have all the friends I met through nerdfighteria.

Okay. Moving into my dorm tomorrow. Eep. I will refrain from anxiety at the moment and just hope all goes well and blog about it tomorrow.

Here's beautiful Kailua Bay:

Cheers!!!

Word of the day: homologate--to approve; confirm or ratify

Inspirational quote/photo of the day: "The only way out of the labyrinth of suffering is to forgive." -John Green

Current location: Kailua, Hawaii

(also, the title is John's May 23rd video. I thought it was a good title. Go watch it!)