zandd.com: College is supposed to teach you a lot about life. Sure, books and classes can teach you the basic stuff, but I've learned that you can gain a lot of knowledge from the most unexpected of places. Take my cousin, CJ, for instance. Among other things, he's taught me how to love unconditionally. Another important lesson he taught me was how to argue successfully. All of this wisdom just happened to come from my 5-year old cousin on a Saturday afternoon while I was visiting.

You might think that it's a little strange that I'm getting my life advice from a toddler, but you'd be surprised at how honest and perceptive these little rugrats can be. They see the endless possibilities in the world, and they still have hope that things will always work out. Sadly, this sense of optimism will be all but gone by the time they hit their college years. You know it's true. Just spend some time with a little kid, and you'll see the refreshing ideas that float around in their dream world.

On the Saturday that I was visiting my cousin, I didn't know what to expect. I don't know much about taking care of little boys, so I wasn't sure whether I could handle so much energy in such a tiny person. He was such a mystery to me. Well, as soon as I walked in the door, all I could see was this little ball of energy rushing toward me in Superman pj's and rumpled hair. Before I could even get a single word out, his little arms were wrapped around my legs and he was shouting, "Hi, I missed you!" Let me just say that there's nothing better than to feel welcomed, especially from someone who means it.

Later, as I was shuffling plastic dinosaur figures and roaring with him, he suddenly stopped what he was doing and gave me a hug. For no reason! And just like that, he went back to bashing my T-Rex with his Brontosaurus. I was at a total loss for words. Rarely can you get this sign of love and affection from anyone but a little kid. Who else can randomly give you a hug or say, "I love you" without reason or an ulterior motive? It's a sign of pure emotion, and you can't really get that from adults. Kids show what they're feeling, and their honesty can really be a breath of fresh air.

CJ's next life lesson came when we moved on to his Voltron figurines. He had just received these toys as a present from his parents, and we were having an in depth conversation as to which Voltron was better. While I insisted that the blue Voltron could really kick some butt, he firmly told me that his black figure was the best in the universe. Now, if you've never argued with a kid half your size, you might think that arguing with one would be no big deal. Wrong! Kids are deceptively shrewd when it comes to screwing with your head. As I was showing CJ the powerful things that the blue Voltron could do, he said matter-of-factly, "No, it can't." How could I argue with that? Well, I tried. After I showed him every possible power of my blue Voltron, he would just state, "No, it can't." Frustrating is not the word to describe what I was feeling with this no-win argument - confused is more like it.

When I finally realized that it was hopeless, CJ decided to show me that his black Voltron could kill my blue Voltron by merely smashing its head with a tiny plastic sword. Being the intellectual person that I am, I shouted, "No, it can't!" So, CJ looked at me and replied, "Yes, I can," and proceeded to stomp on my (now dead) Voltron. Yes, I lost to a little boy who wasn't even alive when the original Voltron cartoon existed. I was quite sad, but I learned so much from that incident.

What was it that I learned from this wise little boy? Well, I learned that a spontaneous hug can cure a bad day, and to never give up or else you'll get stomped on (by a black Voltron). So, what was the point of my little visit with CJ? Well, I learned that college isn't everything. There will be a life full of surprises outside of campus, but you'll have to look for them in the strangest places. It's not the end of the world if you do poorly on an exam. Learn from your mistakes, and try harder next time. So, don't worry too much about that upcoming exam or paper. Do your best, and you'll be able to say, "Yes, I can," whenever you feel that there is any doubt in your ability to succeed. You'd make CJ so proud.

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