2006 Roquillo Award Winner

Oranges, Bikinis, Potatoes, Mullets
Krystin Baker
            I believe in randomosity.  You probably have not heard this word before, and that is because I made it up.  Randomosity is the skill of straying away from everyday habits and allowing yourself to have a little unintended enjoyment.  Organization, routine, and personality cloning are all overrated and should be avoided before one is sucked into the frustration of standard living.
From day one in kindergarten, society has been trying to tell us that organization is the key to an undeniable clarity and feeling of satisfaction.  “Always put your toys away, and back where you found them,” they would say.  Why?  Why can’t I leave the toys out so they will be there when I get back?  “Because eventually it will create a mess and you won’t be able to find them anymore” they reply.  Well what is wrong with a little toy hid and seek?  Why not spice things up a little and allow me to work on my memory skills?  Is that not what growing up is all about?  Learning and figuring out your own style and method of doing things?  Being organized eventually will only put you in an irksome rut due to the repetitive expectancy of everything.  There is nothing fun and exciting about organization.  It lacks randomosity.
High school and the real world are not much different from kindergarten.  Society still insists on routine; however, now adults could care less about the cleanliness of your room.  No, now they care a lot about things like standardized tests and dressing your best.  They tell you to study hard, fill in the bubbles (neatly and clearly, be sure not to falter or you are doomed), then you are off to a better life of success thanks to the knowledge you have about… what?  Adults insist on teaching you things both of you know will never help you succeed.  However do they alter their routine of teaching and testing useless knowledge? No.  Again and again they teach, you study, they test, and you forget.  Teach, study, test, and forget.  Why not wing it?  You might have a little fun and find out what your brain is really capable of.  Or why not have teachers zest it up with a couple random facts that we might actually use later in life, because the Log√180x? Log _ ≤ Log? ? Log∏ is not cutting it.  Teach a little randomosity.
And whatever happened to showing the “real you” and not just another carbon copy of the kids next to you- all wearing today’s latest fads.  No wonder it is hard to find the “perfect one” or your one and only soul mate- everyone looks the same!  How can you tell them apart?  Why not wear a hot pink feather boa once in a while, or your favorite orange polka-dotted rain boots?  There should be no such thing as dressing to impress, there should only be dressing to show off the wonderful individual you are!  You are different from everyone else around you, so why not show it? This is randomosity at its finest.
I believe in randomosity- the skill of straying away from everyday consistency and allowing yourself to have a little inadvertent joy.  The habit of being organized, permitting yourself to fall into routine, and tolerating the fact that you look exactly like the person sitting next to you is preposterous.  However, it can all be fixed with the most obvious antidote- randomosity.