Fundamental Attribution Error

According to Wikipedia the following is true:

"In social psychology, the fundamental attribution error (also known as correspondence bias or attribution effect) describes the tendency to over-value dispositional or personality-based explanations for the observed behaviors of others while under-valuing situational explanations for those behaviors."

It's something along the lines of attributing someone's behavior to their personality but rather than, to the external factors that led to that behavior.

Try to minimize it if you can because guess what? External factors affect people's behavior more than you would think. I remember there was a girl in one of my classes who I thought was just straight up, mean. Later I found out she was going through an abortion. I felt horrible for making a judgement about her personality simply based on her behavior and for the first time I promised myself I would no longer consciously do that. Only yesterday did I learn the name of this human tendency. And I thought I would share it with the world especially since I haven't been blogging much lately.

The Problem

Are you offended by my looks?

Does my color make you cringe?

Or is it the necklace, bracelet, nose ring.

Or is it the word that offends you?

The syllables that I uncover and sing.

No reservations, honestly so,

cause you see, I say things as they are,

naked, bare, I let them flow.

Oh I'm terribly sorry,

I apologize that... what? YOU are offended?

I apologize that I am the way I am;

truly, really, so sorry.

So. Sorry.

Not sorry. Not a bit.

Because... what? I am the problem?

Oh no sir, YOU are the issue here

it's become much more than clear.

And it's time for me to clear up my words too,

and trust me, of you I have no fear.

I. Will not. Apologize. For being. As I am.

Not any more, not once more even

in the darkest of nights and loneliest of ages,

I will not let you take away my pages.

Because this notebook cannot afford to lose any more,

because it's becoming much emptier than before.

Perhaps I've been too harsh.

Your mind is the problem and you are the curer,

all you need to do is be a bit truer,

to your inner being.

And trust me, you will come clean.

Reload

My 2nd (ish) attempt at "for fun" poetry/spoken word

Just when you'd think it's all over and done,

a final blow comes.

You can't dodge it so you take it in the chest

with no warning, no message, simply strange.

Thoughts and memories all get stirred up,

you try and try but no new epiphany whirls out.

And you reload. Reload.

But no new results come up.

You do the research, read the relevant literature.

But no. Nothing.

You're left with a cloud of questions

a bunch of "What did I do?" 's

and "What went wrong?" 's

But you lost a friend and nothing really can be done.

But reload.

Some things I like about home

I like:

1. My big room

2. The painting of a heart in the ocean above my bed, done by a dear friend

3. My mom's terms of endearment

4. My sister's silly attitude

5. Looking at the backyard and the verdant hills behind it

6. Sipping tea and reading a book without worrying about classes

7. Driving around with friends to places with memories

8. Catching up with friends

9. Seeing people randomly around town

10. Home-cooked food

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHEOF_rcND8

The merits of blogs

Why read blogs?

Because you'll come across that one post that makes you tear up

or the one that you love so much you can't help but comment on

or the one that consists of a friend or acquaintance opening up, sharing with the world all the heartache, the pain, the troubles she/he has

or the one with the girl who is swimming against the current saying that popular opinion is mistaken or hypocritical

And you stop. Reread.

You think.

And you learn something new

you realize that you had been too narrow minded

or judged too quickly

and you learn that you're not alone.

Movie craving

I would love to see this movie.

Blurry Computer Screen

I hate it. I hate that I'm never sure. About anything. I make a decision and soon enough I'm wondering if I made a mistake, if I said no to something great. If I relied on my selective memory as an accurate description of things. If I took other people's advice instead of using my own head. If I made mistakes along the way and instead of acknowledging that they were my mistakes, blamed them on others or circumstances.

And I come to the conclusion that in fact, I, am the problem. Not others. Not circumstances.

And I eliminate myself from the equation but my math skills don't equal my verbal skills.

And I'm bound to be in a state of words unsaid forever.

So I sit here, like a dead body, and look at the blurry computer screen.