Messages In Different Formats

Over centuries, messages have been delivered in many different formats.

Messages can be expressed in the form of music, art, quotes, rallies/protest, letters, stories, facial expression, photos and poetry.

There's so many ways to get one message across...it's amazing if you think about it.

Personally, music is a big one for me because you can interpret the message from the lyrics and also the instrumental music. With some songs, it can be sad lyrics yet an upbeat tempo and I find that the message getting across is that someone can be feeling the most intense pain ever, but they always try to cover it up by being happy or not drawing attention to it.

With art, people love that because there's the artist intentions of the message and then the viewers interruption of the message.

It's the same for photos, really. Maybe my reason for taking the photo is different than what you think was my reason to.

Whenever getting a message across had to do with words on a page, so letters, quotes or stories, there's always the literal message and then the message you read in between the lines.

I've never been great a deciphering the messages in poetry. I know that there's always a second meaning to every poem, but I focus more on the one right in front of me.

When I hear or read the poem for the first time, I really do understand the literal meaning of the message, but it will take me a few times to understand the hidden message.

That's why I like direct poems.

I love poems where I don't have to figure out the message. I love poems that when I hear or read it once, I can't stop thinking about it, it's running through my mind for the rest of the day.

There's this one poem I heard awhile ago and ever since then, I've probably listened to it once each day.

The poem is called 21 by Patrick Roche.

It's the poem about how having an alcoholic family member has affected the different years of his life. More so, what he remembers what happened during different years of his life.

We hear stories about people being alcoholics and how families are negatively affected, yet we never quite understand to what extent the family members are affected in bad cases.

When I heard this poem for the first time, my stomach dropped.

I had this knot in my stomach that wouldn't go away.

I can't say that because I heard this poem, I know what his experience was like because in all reality, I don't. What I got out of the poem is what it's really like for them, how bad a relapse affects everyone.

When you read something yourself, you can picture it in your mind, but it's also easier to forget.

When you hear someone else read what they wrote or tell a story of their own experience, you can feel the emotions that they felt. They have passion and truth behind each word that they say. You can't forget their words, no matter what.

So to leave you guys, here's the video of the poem that I watched. If you've watched it already, let me know what you thought of it! If you've never watched it before, please take a minute to watch it, I promise that it's worth it.

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"Interest At First Sight"

I'm a big quote fanatic. I love reading quotes, breaking them down, learning about who wrote them and why they said it. 

I think it's the fact that the meaning of a quote could mean one thing to me and something completely different to someone else. It inspires people in their own personal way.

A quote that everyone seems to know is "It was like love at first sight."

Now people usually tend to think of people or book/movie characters when they hear the quote. Who doesn't love the idea of being able to look at someone in the eyes from across the room and just knowing that they're the one? 

That would be incredibly special.

For me though, that quote is more for items. Whether I'm shopping, listening to music, reading a book, I can fall in love instantly.

I just personally don't think it's fair to say the same about a person.

How do you fall in love with someone by a quick glance of the eye and know you want to spend the rest of your life with that one person? 

Is that not that shallow? 

You're technically not falling in love/fell in love with a person, you're falling in love/fell in love with their looks. A whole person is so much more than just looks. What if you think you had a "It was love at first sight," moment but the other person is the complete opposite as you and you know that it could never work out after the first date? 

That's why I think that the quote should be "Interest at first sight." 

I am one of those people that say personality is more important than looks because if I had the choice of marrying someone that loves all the same things I do and we always have fun together but he looks like an average guy or marrying a supermodel that I have nothing in common with and it always feels awkward, I would chose the person who looks like an average guy. 

I don't want to say looks aren't important, because in a way they are. 

They spark interest in you to talk to someone. Everyone has their preferences related to looks whether it's hair or eye colour to size or height of the person, but no one should be made fun of for their looks. It's not something you can change on command and it's awful that people are still making them feel bad for how they look and making them feel worthless about themselves. 

That's why I also think that it's important not to change your looks for anyone but yourself because someone will take interest in you.

Now if you are a believer that two people can fall in love at first sight, then that's awesome.

This is just my opinion on the matter, so please, I beg of you, do not feel as though you have to change your opinion of the quote. If I have influenced you and you understand what I'm saying, then so be it. I would just hate it if one of you changed your minds completely even though the reason as to why you fell in love with the quote and remember it is different from mine.

Everyone has different interpretations on different subjects. This just happens to be mine on a specific quote.


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Happy Weekend Holiday!

Happy Easter and Passover weekend!

I hope you guys all had a good long weekend celebrating whatever your personal beliefs are.

Personally, I celebrate Easter which I think most people associate with the Easter Bunny, chocolate and Easter egg hunts.

I can say this without any ounce of shamefulness, but I have never participated in an Easter egg hunt.

The "Easter Bunny" never set one up for me because my family and I had a dog, so they didn't want to leave chocolate all over the house. When my dog passed away, it was just too late in the Easter Bunny's eyes, so I never got to do one.

Whenever I tell my friends that, they seem shocked. They say that I'm missing a huge piece of my childhood, that I missed out on the best part of Easter, and so much more.

In the end, I never felt as though I was missing something.

In the long run, I would much rather have a dog everyday for almost a decade rather than one mini-chocolate egg hunt per year.

Something that's difficult to remember around Holidays is that everyone has different traditions and may not do the ones that you see as "classic traditions".

Whether someone has their own traditions that you find weird or they've never had a tradition that you've been doing every since you were little, that doesn't suddenly mean that their holiday is awful or invalid.

Everyone celebrates whatever holiday in different ways. Because they do so, that doesn't mean that they're missing out on a great childhood.

You might not have a clue if they love a different tradition that they do or have replaced a "classic tradition" with something else!

Everyone can spend their holidays whatever way they would like.

Just because they do it differently, that doesn't mean it was a crappy time for them. 

In the end, are you truly missing out on something even if you never did it or is that what other people want you to believe?


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Bumps In The Road

This afternoon, I went to the doctors and I heard the words that I was terrified to hear, yet deep down, I knew that they were coming.

At the moment, I'm still having trouble processing it all, so I don't feel up to opening about all of that quite yet, but maybe a little later on in the future I'll be open to talking about it.

Tonight's post is going to be a short one that's going to be a reminder for myself in the future, and maybe it could be one for you right now.

They say that life's a journey and you never know what to expect on that journey, and I learnt a little more about that with today.

For a journey, I assume that you need some sort of transport and grounds to get across.

For me, I see life as a dirt road.

It's a dirt road because some parts are as smooth as ever, others are a little patchy yet still manageable, and others are extremely rough, not necessarily in that order and on a constant loop.

I'm currently in the extremely rough part of that long dirt road, and all I can say for anyone else that might also be on that part of the road is that it may not look like it, but there will be a smooth part coming up.

Trust me, I know what it's like to see a rough part of the road for ages, but everything comes to an end at some point, right? No, sadly I can't say whether that the smooth part is coming up in a few minutes or in a few days, I can't tell you when it is, but I can promise that it's waiting to greet you.

Although you may feel terribly alone right now or when you but that rough part, you're not alone. That's probably the hardest, yet most important thing to remember. You're not alone, there's always help somewhere and there's always someone looking to support you.

Even if you don't believe it, I'm supporting you. I'm rooting for you to find that smooth part of the road.

I don't know what your current life situation is. I don't know if it might be a little rocky or if it's a smooth ride for awhile, but there's always going to be bumps in the road and you don't have to let it become a mountain for you.

Whatever you have to do, slow it down. There's no point in blowing a tire or damaging your car while trying to speed over the bumps.

What I want for anyone who reads this to take from it is that things do get better, and there's always someone cheering you on, even if you don't see them.


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Sometimes We Have To Slow Down

Man, it's March 1st already. It's insane to think that it's the first day of March, yet it's the first day of March.

When I turned on my phone for the day and saw the date, I think that's when it really sunk in as to what the date is. I knew March was coming up today, I knew it was going to be a new month, but I guess that it didn't really sink in until this morning.

That's what inspired me to write this post.

This year, for me at least, already feels as if it's flying by. We've already gone through two whole months of 2015. Normally, I feel as if days drag on, yet so far this year,  they're flying by.

Although the year is passing by quickly, I've constantly been feeling as if I'm drowning in choices, in a pit of despair for school, and in wonder. 

I mentioned before that thinking about the future is our way of escaping the present, yet I still can't manage to stop thinking about it.

Today was a little bit of a wake up call for me, seeing that the first two months seem to have flown by and I can't say that I've really done something that I'm extremely proud of yet. I feel as if I have wasted two months, constantly worrying about what could be.

This is a reminder for me, and anyone else who needs it, that we really do have to slow down at times.

If you're having a family dinner, enjoy it, don't worry about homework, it can wait. 

If you're talking to someone on the phone that you haven't seen or heard from in ages, don't feel bad for asking them so many questions.

If you and you're friends do something stupid, that's okay, you did it together.

As a teenager, I don't tend to do this, but I will start to slow down and enjoy the smaller things I have in my life because in the end, I know that those will count the most.

As an expression I hear a lot around in my school, "Slow down, speed racer."

Life isn't a race, so why do we all treat it like one?

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I'm Proud To Be A Girl

This is a topic that I was never all that sure if I wanted to wright about.

Although feminism is a big movement in this day and age, it's still a touchy subject for some and everyone seems to have a different definition of feminism.

When I googled the definition of feminism, the result I got was "The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men." This isn't fighting for equality in general, this is a movement for WOMEN equality. This is not quite the same thing as having equality for everyone no matter what race, age, gender, religion, sexuality and whatever else you could think of, but this is a movement between two opposing sexes, man and woman.

We hear all about this when we get older, when we get to high school, it seems like a casual thing. I don't have much to say on the direct topic of feminism, but I do want to share some downgrading experiences I've has. I never realized how much it has affected my life from so early on.

We've all probably heard words like this, but I remember being back in elementary school, during recess, I'd often hear the words "You _____ like a girl!" Whether that would be kick or throw, those words were deemed as an insult.

Since when has my gender been an insult?

Back at that age, I didn't know that I could say something about it. If I threw a ball farther then some boy, I would be proud, but that didn't mean that they would stop using those words as an insult to some other boy, because "You're a girl...you're going to throw like one anyway" was always said to the girls.

Whenever a boy would pick up a pink or purple colored pencil or crayon, it would mean that they're girly.

What is wrong with those colors?  Sure, when a child is born, a boy will receive a blue blanket, and a girl a pink one, but that doesn't mean that boys are forbidding to use the color pink.

Earlier this evening, I was having supper with my sister and parents when I asked if they were going to be in the basement after supper because I wanted to play Halo. My sister said "You shouldn't even be playing Halo, you're a girl."

Since when has my gender determined what video games I should and shouldn't play?

For years, we have been treated of as a lesser value without even knowing it.

Younger boys would use our gender as an insult, it will make us seem weird if we play any type of video game, and so much more.

Why can't all humans be seen as equals in everyone's eyes?

Boys can do gymnastics, girls can play football.
Boys can do dance, girls can play video games.
Boys can figure skate, girls can wrestle.
Boys can like chick flicks, girls can like gruesome/action movies.
Boys can bake and cook, girls can watch sports on TV.

It's time to break the stereotypes.

I am a girl, and I'm proud to throw like a girl, I'm proud of playing video games, I'm proud of my thoughts and intelligence, I'm proud to watch sports on TV.

Nothing you will say will make me change my mind on being proud of my gender, and being proud of who I am.

To end this post, I want to leave you guys with Always #LikeAGirl video. This is an advert/commercial on TV, but the message behind it is so powerful and is what inspired me to write this.

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Endless Opportunities

In our last year of school, we're constantly pressured to choose ONE profession for the rest of our lives, encouraged to send in many college/university applications, and most of all, we're told to make something of ourselves.

We don't have to do that.

I am so sick of people telling me what they think is best for me, and I should do with my life. If I don't want to become a doctor, I won't become one. If I want to listen to a specific type of music that makes me happy, I'll do just that. If I don't want to go out during the weekend with friends, how does that affect your life in the long run?

For me, most often of times, it's my teachers and/or parents telling me what I should do, or what my strengths are. Having someone thinking they know what I want to (should) do and myself thinking of what I actually want to do are two very different things.
Wouldn't you think that I would know what I want to do with MY life and what my strengths are? 

We have to make one choice out of a possible 600 or more possibilities of a career choice, and be happy with it for the rest of our lives. How can I start to make a choice like that when I don't even know who I am? They're millions of different choices of what we can do with our lives, and I'm terrified of making the wrong choice. Who wouldn't be?

Freedom is a wonderful thing, because we get to decide what we want to do. We've have complete control over our lives. We're independent minds that can do whatever we can dream of doing

That's my freedom is my biggest fear.

When you come to realize that you have complete control over your life and that you're responsible for your own happiness, it's terrifying because it means that we have to make choices in our life. We have to make choices that could be minor, you completely change our lives forever. We have the freedom to decide what we are doing with our one, terribly short, life.

What if you make the wrong choice?

You don't want to spend the majority of your life doing something you're not even all that passionate about.

If you feel remotely the same, remember that there ARE endless opportunities out there in the world.

I'm not going to say to quit your job, but take a vacation when it becomes too much, go back to school to change to a career that you are passionate about, play video games, listen to music, watch videos online, go for a night out with friends, have a night in with an important someone. Do whatever it takes to make you happy. Do whatever it takes to make you happy now and do what will make you happy in the future. 

With great freedom comes great responsibility. You're responsible for your happiness, so make it count. If you're not happy with something at the moment, there's always an opportunity, a good one, for you in the future. No one deserves to look back on life and to have regrets about not doing something they knew deep down that they always wanted to do but never thought they could achieve. Give it a shot! You have nothing to lose.  

Be sensible about your choices, but make it the best life you can with the goal of being happy. Of course you can't be happy 100% of the time, but you do have rights to feel good about your life and to not have to think that you messed up for a big part of it.

I'm not sure about you guys, but I have one shot at this thing we call life, and I'm going to make it count right until the end.


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Impressing People

As humans, we feel the need to impress people, to make them love us, to be hated by no one, and to leave a legacy of some sort on this earth for years after we're gone.

Why do we all crave this feeling? Why can no one be happy with who they truly are anymore?

We should not be worrying about impressing people, because honestly, the people that are worth impressing deserve to know the true you. As the old saying goes, its better to be loved for who you are then to be loved for someone you're not. We have to stop comparing ourselves to others to be more "impressive". 

If you're trying to impress someone with the intentions of a good friendship or dating them, there's no need to feel like someone you're not to be able to get them to like you back. The right person will come along for the right role, someday.

These days, I feel as though at school, it's a competition for who has the most likes on, Instagram, who has the most followers on Twitter, the most friends on Facebook. Why does it seem like people are competing over stuff like this?

In the long run, it's almost as if they picture life as a race, as in who's the most "loved" by people over social media. 

It's almost as if everyone is in a drawing competition, and everyone is desperate to finish first so that they can say "Look at me! I'm done! I did it!" The truth is, you don't get happiness from finishing first, you get it while drawing something your proud of.

We have to let go of the insane thought about proving to everyone else that we're better in some aspect, and then we could be free to accomplish the dreams we never go the chance to imagine because we were so busy trying to impress others for no reason.

If we break down all the situations that we weren't ourselves because we wanted to impress the people around us that were in our lives for only a certain amount of time, and not for the long run, I can honestly say that I feel like I've wasted a lot of time.

I'm going to change that about my life, and if some of you also decide to do the same, feel free to comment and say how you're going to do so, and we can do this together.

No more impressing people, it's finally time to be me. If people don't like it, to bad. I'll know that hey aren't meant to be a permanent figure in my life.

That's also kind of why I like posting on my blog. I find that because it's anonymous, you know that there's truth to what I'm saying, I'm not making up scenarios in my head because this is the only place I can be myself. I'm not worrying about writing to impress you guys, I'm just writing about something that happened in my life and could be relatable or helpful to someone else.

Let the world see you as who you are. Stand tall, be proud.


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The Old Man And The Bucket

There's a story I heard about a month ago, and it's one that I would love to share with you guys.

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Long ago, there was this old man that lived far from the nearest village. He would have to walk two hours along a dirt road to get into town and fill his buckets up with water, and then walk two hours back to his house. He brought home the water in two buckets.

One bucket was old and leaked water. The bucket felt bad because every time the old man would arrive home with him, he would be almost empty.

One day, the bucket finally decided to speak up and talk to his owner. "Master," he started with. "Why do you keep me? I am not as useful to the other bucket when it comes to transporting water. By the time we get home, I'm almost empty. I am no longer of any use to you."

The Master looked at the bucket and replied with "Tomorrow when we go to fetch water from the well in the village, I want you to look around you and see what you can."

The bucket agreed, and then next day, they went into town and the same thing happened on the way home. He was almost empty by the time that the other bucket, his Master and himself arrived back at their home. Once again, he felt less then helpful to his Master.

His Master sat down next to him and asked him what he saw. The bucket said "Well I noticed that on my side of the path while walking back from the village, there were many flowers. There were flowers and grass, it looked green and full of life, while on the other side, there was only dirt.

"That's correct," the Master smiled. "Although you see no use in yourself for transporting water, you were more than useful when it came to helping the flowers grow. Because you leaked over the dirt, you helped the flowers and the grass grow from the dirt. Although you are almost empty every time we arrive home, you helped to create something beautiful without knowing it. The other bucket couldn't have done it, it was only you that made the path beautiful. Because of you, we no longer see a boring dirt path, we see something wonderful."

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Although you feel like you're not doing anything good, or that you're wasting time doing something,you never truly know how much of an impact it can have on something or someone else. It's important to remember that although you may not be the best at something or feel like you're making an impact, you could be.

You could be helping to create something beautiful.


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