Why Pandas Have No Vanity (PB/SSR)

Giant Pandas are one of the most well-known animals in the world. They are world famous for their trademark black and white fur. This cuddly ball of fur is quite deceiving though. A Giant Panda stands at two-three feet tall and weighs up to 250 pounds. One of the most shocking facts though is the fact that pandas do not recognize themselves in a mirror.

“The cuddly animals have failed a classic test ofself-awareness. They cannot recognize themselves in the mirror.” To me this is kind of adorable. All of this talk about pandas having no self-awareness got me thinking about what would happen if people couldn’t recognize themselves in the mirror. I started to wonder if being vain is so much a personality trait or just the fact that we are trained to have this image of ourselves—all reflected back in a mirror.

A lot of people claim to be happy with their looks, but in reality no one is ever completely satisfied with how they look. There will always be something about yourself you want to change. It might be anything from weight loss to plastic surgery. From my point of view this all stems from the fact that we are trained from a very young age to look in a mirror. We are taught to be aware of how we look—thus we compare our knowledge of ourselves to our knowledge of others.

In much the same way as people are hostile towards themselves in the mirror pandas are as well. “They displayed attacking behavior and acted as if they were threatened by their own image, scraping their feet and walking backwards.” The difference is that pandas act this way because they think it’s another panda. We are more than aware that the image in the mirror is us. I guess my whole idea was that pandas are hostile to their mirror image because they think it is another panda threatening their territory because they do not have self-awareness. Why are humans just as hostile to their image, despite knowing that it is only them?

My Globalizing Family (PB)

  “When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching -- they are your family.”

― Jim Butcher

“There is no such thing as a "broken family." Family is family, and is not determined by marriage certificates, divorce papers, and adoption documents. Families are made in the heart. The only time family becomes null is when those ties in the heart are cut. If you cut those ties, those people are not your family. If you make those ties, those people are your family. And if you hate those ties, those people will still be your family because whatever you hate will always be with you.”

― C. JoyBell C.

My family is quite unique. My family is not overly large. It is very extended and the list seems like a train of ants, marching forever in a single file. My father is one of four children. He is the youngest and the only boy. His mother—my grandmother—was one of nine children. The family grows quickly from there. Nevertheless, the important part is that group of four.

My aunts are Cathy, Jenny, and Mindy. My aunt Cathy has three children: a girl and two boys—coincidentally the only boys in our generation. My aunt Jenny has four children, all girls. My aunt Mindy has two children, both girls. My dad has me. My oldest cousin is Bryan. He is almost exactly 15 years older than me. Next is Kelly. Jumping down the line a few cousins is Sarah, Bethie, and Rachel.

Kelly is the oldest girl. She is also only one of us that is married. Kelly is married to Patrick Clancy. He is from Boston and is very Irish. The ironic part in all of this is that Kelly—who’s now named Kelly Clancy—studied abroad for a semester in Ireland. I cannot think of a more stereotypical Irish couple name—Patrick and Kelly Clancy.

My cousin Bethie spent a year in Amsterdam at a hostel. She got back last year, just in time for Kelly’s wedding. Also, my cousin Rachel is just back from a trip to Panama for 10 days. Based on this evidence it is clear that my family is not very good at staying still. This is solidified when I mention that my family lives in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Washington, Alabama, Ohio, Minnesota, and soon-to-be California. One of my cousins went to school in Iowa and Kelly went to school in Toronto.

Yet none of this is at all impressive. Not when I mention that my cousin Sarah joined the Peace Corps. She is now stationed in Mozambique, Africa. She teaches physics at a small school in northern Mozambique. After growing up in Ohio she likes to joke about the fact that she now has a mountain in her backyard. Also, during her orientation, she got up to run to Swaziland one morning. Over Christmas she rode in the back of a truck to get to the coast. On the way back she got to ride with animals. She also got a welcoming committee of ducks when she first arrived. She’s been writing a blog, but I can’t remember what the name of it is. I guess as far as cool things to do it’s going to be pretty difficult to top the other members of my family.

So you can see, my family is quite unique.