Tanning is bad?

Here’s something shocking: on Wednesday, the AP announced that tanning beds raise the risk of cancer by a whopping 75 percent, at least for those who begin to tan before the age 30. (Well, thank God someone finally shared this secret with the world, because here I was thinking that laying in a box of ultra-violet light was good for us all. It’s not!?)

Honestly, though, tanning is now way up there on the list of cancer no-no’s, along with smoking, hepatitis b, and- uhh- chimney sweeping? (Sorry, are we in 19^th century London, here?) My major question about this is what about the occasional tanner? These studies mention nothing about the frequency of tanning. Do infrequent tanners, such as myself, still run the 75 percent risk, or is it significantly lower? For example, in any given year, I may tan indoors a total of 15 to 20 times for 10 minutes apiece. Do 200 minutes of direct, boxed UV-rays really raise my risk of skin (and eye!? Ew!) cancer risk up to 75 percent?

The study also doesn’t seem to take into account a person’s skin type. Yet again, let me bring myself into the lime-light here, and mention that I am Greek and Italian, and have one sunburn on record to date. (August, 2008. Cape Cod, Massachusetts. I went boating, insisted I didn’t need sun-block because I don’t burn. Didn’t factor in that sunlight bounces off the water’s surface and thus onto one's skin. No bueno.)

The good news about all of this? Tanning still doesn’t rank as cancerous as arsenic. Thank God, since we all come in contact with that on a daily basis.

A new start....

...literally.

I've wanted to start a blog for awhile, but I feel like I need a theme. I don't just want to sit here and ramble away about nothing in particular. But that may be what happens in this first post...

For the past eight weeks, I've been interning with The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars in Washington, D.C. I'm the Web Publications and Content Management Intern at a non-profit, Pulmonary Hypertension Association. I just had to write a letter to my academic adviser back at my school, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, explaining my experience and why it deserves academic credit. (Oh, I don't know. Because I have busted my ass, learned so much about journalism/the world/MYSELF??? Bueno.)

Going through my personal, professional, academic and civic goals really nailed down life in a solid, measurable way. Initially, I had to create this outline of goals for the summer. I won't lie, I bullshitted the entire thing. But looking back on it, I have exceeded each and every goal. It makes me wonder, what if everyone outlined spans of time in that format? As in, these are my goals, whether they are, "I will brew my coffee at home each morning instead of buying Starbucks in order to save money," (Yes, this was a personal goal, and yes, I stuck to it,) or "I will pay off 50% of my credit card bill by 2010."

Last semester, I used to create a list of weekly goals, and crossing each one off was so rewarding. I usually tried to mix in the fun goals with the serious, such as "Run 10 miles this week," "Finish research paper early," and "Bake a cake." Nine times out of ten, I would complete the tough but healthy stuff first, and would have run 10 miles by Tuesday. My papers were rarely in early, but always on time, and half the time "bake a cake" or "paint my nails" would be on the list three weeks in a row.

This summer, though, I have learned that getting fun activities in is sometimes just as or more important that the hard work. So, when visiting the Smithsonian National Zoo was on my to-do list for three weeks in a row, I finally just grabbed my friends and marched my butt down there to see some Giant Pandas. You only live once; there's no point in putting things off.

My to-do list for August, once I depart D.C. and return to Massachusetts? Go site-seeing in Boston with my family, since I haven't done it since I was little. Spend as much time with my family and friends before I return to MCLA. Keep doing exciting and interesting things, like I've been doing in D.C. Nothing too difficult, right?