Midsemester brain trauma:

If one were to open the scalp of the average person and look inside, they would hopefully see a lump of pinkish, wrinkled flesh. But if one were to open the scalp of a college student, who has been in the heat of a taxing semester for several weeks, that pinkish lump of wrinkled flesh may more closely resemble a fried pile of ground brain.
How can you know if your brain is ready to inhabit the taco shell of your nearest Taco Bell?  You may have a fried brain if you have some or all of the following symptoms:
If you’ve ‘lost’ something that’s in your hand (or hair).
If you forget to pay the bill before leaving the restaurant.
If you think that girls are attracted to the aroma of your sweat-stained body.
If you walk into a room with everything but a memory of what you walked into the room for.
If you read a page of your textbook only to realize that you can’t retrieve a single bit of new information.
If someone extends his or her fist waiting for a ‘pound’ and you shake it instead.
If you often find yourself sitting in front of a blank computer screen, waiting for some flash of inspiration to fill it with important things.
If you live with the illusion that you can resurrect a dead grade in the middle of a semester.
If you like eating worm cookies.
If you hop on the 603 bus on the wrong side of the street.
If you set your alarm clock for 6 p.m. instead of 6 a.m.
If assignments or tests often come as a surprise.
If with a chuckle you ask your boss if there’s a problem when they ask you why you’re late for work.
If instead of answering a question on a quiz or test you argue why it should have never been asked.
If you feel ‘educated’ after reading this viewpoint.
If you walk around campus laughing at your own thoughts.
If you regularly say or think, “It will all work out” to justify overbooking your schedule.
If you bark out orders to your favorite sports team through the television.
If you run a red light during your second driver’s license test and wonder why your driver’s instructor appears nervous.
If you constantly complain about elected officials but you didn’t vote this week. 
If you become so paranoid that your brain might be fried after reading this viewpoint that you schedule an appointment with your physician.
 A brain that’s fried can be restored to its original state. If a person recognizes their mind is not performing as it could, a few minutes of self-examination would do them some good. As they examine, they should remember that a mind that is constantly active in a variety of activities will excel and grow. That’s right, constantly active.
Constantly active does not mean a mind has to always be doing something academic. However, it does mean a brain shouldn’t spend too much ‘relaxing’ in television land. Research has shown that television viewing reduces higher brain activity while increasing activity in the lower regions of the brain. Living in lower part of the brain makes people less intelligent and more like animals in their behavior. Additionally, when a brain needs to write a paper or read a textbook, it’s not easy to stir it after it’s been ‘relaxing’ in the world of television. If television viewing is a problem, there are numerous activities that can replace it. People would do themselves a huge favor to find a few they like, and do them instead.