Foreward

Here it is, a blog - an informal but demanding substance of my mind. A mind that resides in a brain which is close to full development. A sad thought really, that here I am, typing, using just a small fraction of my brain - which theoretically carries readily available information such as the quadratic equation and the election process.

I could be doing something productive right now! At 1:01... in the middle of the night. Perhaps sleeping. But I'm not tired. Let me explain to you why. Most life has exhibited the feature of being in tune to a biological process called a circadian rhythm. By a series of stimuli and responses between body and environment, said life can sense a 24 hour period. To be blunt, for humans, this means that when it's dark outside, we get sleepy. However, through a change in habits, it is possible for life, especially the human, to shift its rhythm forwards or backwards, meaning that we can get tired at different times.¹ So the reason I'm not tired now can be explained by one word: college.

A diagram of a human's perception of light in relation to circadian rhythm. As seen, several factors - such as jet lag, exposure to certain intensities of light during the night time, and activity during irregular period of time - can throw off the process.

Me (left) and my brother, Gus (right)

My name is Jim, and I am experiencing the 56th night of freshmen year. I was born in Tornado Alley, but was raised in the beautiful evergreen state of Washington. The Labayen family is Catholic by tradition, and Filipino by heritage. My parents, who were born in the the capital of the south eastern Asian country, met in the states and settled in the Puget Sound area. There, they raised two healthy boys - my older brother and me - who are six years apart and get along very well. The challenges that come with being a first generation American have formed the divide between how my brother and I handle the differences between etiquette at home and etiquette in public. This divide is a fork in my life path, only to be joined by dozens of other paths created by adolescence, love, and uncertainty.

This is what I hope to write on - the certainty and uncertainty of the world ahead of me, and what I did in the past to find meaning and to give meaning.

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1 Forgive me if this information is incorrect. It's been a while since my biology days.^↩