Chocolate Thunder 🍆

Wow. If you are reading this because you are on the fence about majoring in Environmental Studies, then this is the post to read. This week, we were assigned a few different readings from the book titled The Impossible Will Take a Little While. One of the readings is titled “Do Not Go Gentle,” by an indigenous man named Sherman Alexie. Typically, the readings we are assigned are depressing, but eye-opening. This reading is about an indigenous man who is trying to keep his newborn baby alive. In order to do so, he attempts to lift the babys spirits by going to a toy store to purchase something that might help. However, Sherman quickly realized the toy store he entered is actually a sex toy store. He spots one toy in particular called “Chocolate Thunder.” He describes Chocolate Thunder as “dark brown and fifteen inches long and needed a nine-volt battery. I like to think my indigenous penis is powerful. But it would take a whole war party of Indian men to equal up to one Chocolate Thunder.” (p. 198). Since this is Blogspot and not Tumblr, I will refrain from posting a photo of what Chocolate Thunder looks like. Since Sherman thought that Chocolate Thunder had so much power, he decided to turn it on full blast and use it as a magical wand in the hospital to help his newborn baby survive. After fully using up two batteries, the baby survived and Sherman thanks Chocolate Thunder.

Of course, there were also readings that were easier to find meaning in. For example, the reading titled “Political Paralysis” by Danusha Veronica Goska. One line that resonated with me is “It’s not enough to be our best selves; we have to be Gandhi.” This line stuck out to me because recently I was talking to someone about “FOMO,” which is the “fear of missing out.” FOMO is very common amongst millennials because we constantly compare our lives to other people’s. This is an unfair comparison, which will almost always result in a “loss,” meaning the it seems as if other people have better or more exciting lives. In relation to Goska’s line, we all have to do our best, and some people’s best will be more impactful than others, but all that matters is that the attempt and full effort are there.