The Driftwood

Aries (March 21 – April 19)
Aim for confidence without crossing into arrogance. Let go of past burdens and embrace forgiveness. The Pisces new moon on March 10th brings focus onto the positive, helping you handle challenges with maturity and self-assurance. Strive to maintain an optimistic yet humble outlook as you move forward in a healthy, productive direction.

Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
Find a way to express your emotions in a healthy way. Trust and confide in your friends and family. Allow yourself to daydream but remain focused on achieving well-defined short term goals rather than being overwhelmed by ambitious long-term dreams. If you feel stuck, take things step-by-step to work steadily towards your goals.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20)
Visualize success to clarify what your goals are. Now will be an excellent time to network and connect with like-minded people. The people in your corner will support you. Let go of things that are no longer serving you and embrace change.

Cancer (June 21 – July 22)
Don’t shy away from expressing your opinions. There will always be someone that won’t agree with you. Assert yourself without being combative, as arguments aren’t worth your time. Focus on your inner growth and peace without worrying about validation.

Leo (July 23 – August 22)
Embrace heartfelt conversations with people you wish to deepen a connection with. Don’t be afraid to open up and be vulnerable, as this could lead to healing and growth. Prioritize your happiness, don’t fixate on what you think others want from you.

Virgo (August 23 – September 23)
Get the ball rolling by expressing what you need and desire. Don’t expect others to read your mind. Recognize your worth not by your merit to other people, but to yourself.

Libra (September 23 – October 21)
Seize the day. This month, you will be feeling energized and inspired. Tackle the projects you’ve been procrastinating on. Unlock your inner potentional by recognizing barriers in your life.

Scorpio (October 22 – November 20)
There’s no reason to tackle a burden on your own; ask for help. Remember to slow down and listen to your body. Take breaks when you need to, so you can prevent yourself from burning out.

Sagittarius (November 22 – December 21)
Prioritize experiences that make you happy rather than chasing fleeting moments. Focus on what is truly good for your state of mind. Figure out what you are ruminating about and break past the barriers.

Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
Rise above conflicts that may arise this month. Cherish the small things in your life and your conflicts will not seem to be as big of a deal as they once were.

Aquarius (January 20 – February 18)
Express your thoughts and opinions with confidence. Demonstrate maturity by being the bigger person. Be open to criticism and take responsibility for any mistakes you may make.

Pisces (February 19 – March 20)
Stop comparing your journey to others. You are your own unique special person with your own life. Lower your expectations of the future and live in the moment. By doing this, you will allow yourself to grow and reinvent yourself in the best way possible.

Useless knowledge we dug up this week.

Fustian

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Fustian? Is that another one of those literary subgenres? A kind of psychological trope, maybe?” I am here to tell you in a very fustian manner that you are wrong about the meaning of “fustian.” Fustian means a fewstian things, but firstian things first: We’re here to discuss wordplay.

Fustian is a heavy cloth woven from cotton. Today, we’re more familiar with some of its varieties—denim, corduroy, velveteen, and moleskin—but fustian dates all the way back to the middle ages. Historians believe that fustian may have been named after the Egyptian city of Fustat, its likely birthplace. Over the next few centuries, fustian spread up into and across Europe, gaining popularity for its cost-effectiveness and durability. Long story short, a lot of people used fustian for a lot of things.

One of those things was padding clothing. In addition to being cost-effective and durable, fustian is also thick. This made it a natural choice to use as insulation for cold-weather clothing. And as fashions changed, tailors began to put that padding in less practical places, too. Anyone like shoulderpads?

As it always does, the English language took its own course. Clothing is not the only thing that can be padded; writing can, too. In the 1600s, “fustian” became an adjective used to describe someone who is trying too hard to sound smart. Purple prose? Sounds pretty fustian to me.  Incidentally, another synonym is “bombast,” a word that originally meant—you guessed it, a type of padding.

—Kana Coonce, Wandering Wikipedia Editor

Photo from Arad Branding, an exporter of Iranian goods.

Videos for Better Sleep and Study Habits

These YouTube videos were chosen to help readers with sleep and studying, even adding a studying playlist of instrumental but peaceful music to make long studying sessions all the better.

YT1: Proven Sleep Tips: How to Fall Asleep Faster
Many of us students struggle to sleep so we rely on energy drinks and coffee to keep us awake throughout the day. This video gives us tips on how to sleep better.

YT2: Become a Top 1% Student
It’s that time of the semester when we lose the motivation to do our schoolwork and study; all we want to do is lie in bed or stay in and do anything but schoolwork. This video gives us college students tips on how to study better.

YT3: Romanticizing Studying Playlist
I find it helpful when studying to listen to music without lyrics, so I don’t get distracted by the words coming from the artists I am listening to. This playlist is full of instrumental music to help students study better.

—Kelsey Vanderpool, YouTube Editor

Set yourself up for success and plan for your detox by picking a reasonable timeframe for the cleanse. Then, try the following activities to take your mind off your gadgets:

• Volunteer, read, learn a new skill, and socialize with loved ones.
• Spend more time in nature.
• Consume information mindfully. By putting your phone down, you can look at the world differently and take in information you wouldn’t before. Go to nature spots you wouldn’t before and learn more about what surrounds  you.
• Go out and shop with friends and don’t bring any phones. Just have it be your group and shopping, and have some fun.
• Go out and eat with friends and talk about what is going on in your life and theirs.
• Be with family and enjoy the time you have with them. Life is short, and people need to live it to their best ability. You can do that without a phone.

—Mackenzie Hebert

Digital Detoxing

What is digital detoxing? It is usually classified as when a person takes some time away from electronic devices and social media, which then provides an opportunity for a person to focus on social relationships and reduce stress. I know how much any social-media platform can affect someone within all aspects of their lives. Social media puts immense pressure on people, because they start comparing their lives, jobs, looks, and relationships to the “perfect” ones that influencers get paid to post.

Digital detoxing has wonderful benefits. Not only does it reduce stress, but it also can improve mental health. It also helps people regroup and focus on themselves and their lives. Some other benefits include things like increased productivity, better sleep, mood boosts, and even better physical health. Digital detoxing has also been known to reduce brain fog, boost creativity, and sharpen our attention span.

You can detox for as little or as long as you would like. The average time for a detox to be effective is 72 hours electronics-free; it is also recommended that you spend these hours in nature. If you want to feel max benefits and effects, the minimum amount of time for this would be the 72 hours. You may be thinking, “Well, how do I keep myself off my electronics?” Some suggestions would be to go out in nature where you would not have service or internet, get a lock box to put your phone and chargers for your electronics in it, or leave your phone out of your bedroom when going to sleep and invest in an alarm clock. Setting time limits on your streaming services, social media sites, or your work apps is recommended after your initial digital detox. Another way to digital detox without completely cutting out electronics is setting the “do not disturb” feature on your devices when doing work or going to sleep.

The word detox can make this sound like some big thing, but it truly is very simple. There are many resources out there to help you make your digital detoxing experience beneficial to you. The things that were discussed above are aimed to help you know how beneficial to yourself a digital detox could be. Digital detoxing will help you transform your relationship with your electronic devices and not rely on them so much.

—Cheyenne Schreiner, Self-Care Editor

Influential Athlete: Serena Williams

This edition’s influential athlete is Serena Williams, a famous tennis player sponsored by the brand Nike. Williams has a website called Serena’s World, which contains details of Williams’s various charitable donations and information on the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which was founded by the Williams family to help honor the lives and memories of its namesake, who was killed by a violent act. The Yetunde Price center ensures that the people who are affected by trauma get and have the necessary resources to flourish and survive. The Williams Family also collaborates with various local organizations to offer healing and trauma-informed programs to the people of Compton, California. The center also provides critical resources and services to the families that have been impacted or influenced by violence. It is a safe space that fosters healing, sharing, and supporting affected people. Serena herself is the face of the center because of her social media presence, which helps draw in a lot of support to the center.

—Cheyenne Schreiner

Photo by an unknown photographer, licensed under Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND.

What’s Next for Our Favorite Sports

Let’s look at two sports that are very fun to watch and keep up with.

Men’s College Basketball: March Madness is the yearly college basketball tournament held by the NCAA that spans from mid-March to early April. The tournament began with eight teams playing against one another in 1939, where Oregon beat Ohio State to take home the first tournament title. Learn more about March Madness by visiting your article in the previous issue. March Madness is around the corner, so let’s get our TV’s ready, get the food ordered, and invite some friends. It will be a good time.

Major League Baseball: MLB is in spring training right now, but you can always watch on TV or listen to training sessions on the radio and see what is going on with the teams before the real season starts.

You should watch them to see who the best rival for your favorite team could be or see how good the other teams are going to be this year. It is always fun to watch spring training to see how your team might do overall and how games could play out this year—and if they will be good to watch and fun to go to.

—Mackenzie Hebert, Sports Editor