Weekend posts on things I appreciate.

I'm going to start a new habit of making a post on the weekends.

When I was in college (and it's so awkward for me to say that, since I've just graduated from Rutgers this past May), I took a psychology course called "Adult Development and Aging." It was taught by Dr. Deirdre Kramer, an amazing professor, who highlighted a lot of interesting points change that occur when we age. It was a really inspiring class, despite the fact that I only managed a C. Psychology's just one of those subjects wherein I don't test well.

One of the points she had brought up is that adults, in many ways, take their surrounding for granted. They don't take in much in the way of sensory experiences, at least not in the same way children do. As an example, she told us how many children walk down the hallway with their fingers up against the wall, feeling its texture. I remember doing that, and all of a sudden a felt a rush! She explained that children experience with their senses directly, and that if "older" people did that more often, they may feel more lighthearted, less burdened by stress, or just feel younger.

I started doing that from then on. In addition to taking in the usual sights and sounds, I started to experience things like texture, temperature, consistency, and taste/smell in a much more childlike manner.

I will post a short list every weekend on things I experienced that give me an intriguing satisfaction from said sensory experiences. Here's my list:

Things I Appreciate

• You know those little plastic creamer cups you get at diners with your coffee? Take one of them, and roll it between your thumb and forefinger, causing the little plastic vanes to bend inwards and click. That click, along with the minute snapping of the vanes, is really satisfying.
• The feeling (and sound, now that I think about it) of running your finger back and forth really quickly over something like canvas, or more preferably, those little cards you find that are semi-holographic, and have the plastic ridges. Mmm, yeah..
• The flavor of whole milk. For you skim milk drinkers (blech), it does not taste like cream. Have you ever had cream? Cream's much sweeter.
• The very satisfying crunch of a hard/crispy taco, before it breaks in half at the bottom.
• The feeling in your forehead resulting from humming at low pitches. Or, better yet, the feeling in your neck from fricating your alveolar sibilant (saying "zzzzz").

Thank you. This has been, "Things I appreciate." I hope you try these yourself!