So today I was out with some friends to do some fabric shopping, because we are the kind of dancers that make our own costumes and clothing. I expect when I'm out to have a few issues with idiots and parking lots, but today was just exceptionally bad. I don't know if it was just a lot of younger people who don't have any respect or what, but my passenger was doing a lot of road raging for me. Because hey, it's only illegal if the driver shows the rage. :D
My biggest issue with today though was people and how to act when people need to get out, and they're waiting to get up to a stop sign. Most of us know that you shouldn't block an entrance/exit because someone might need to get in or out, and blocking it is just going to cause a traffic jam.
I'll be damned, not one, not two, but FIVE CARS cut me off from making a left! I'm trying to come off a side road, and they can't be kind enough to leave a little space so that I can get out and go where I need to, because hey, they might be ten seconds later to that stop sign 100ft up. :P
Seriously folks, it's time to learn some common courtesy. Let people out, so that traffic can keep flowing. Let them in too, because it really isn't going to interrupt your day that much. And hey, good karma begets more good karma! Do unto others as you would have done to you. All that good stuff applies to the road and driving, not just to life!
I'd say NYers should just all have to take Drivers Ed like the people in Mass in order to get their license... but I'm sorry you people in Mass can't drive either. I lived there for a year, I have the right to say this.
So it doesn't matter, home grown or drivers ed; no one can drive with courtesy anymore it seems. Just like there are no more gentlemen that try to get the door for ladies. The age of courtesy and chivalry is dead... kind of sad really.
Just means some middle fingers are going to get a lot of exercise though. Hope that horn has insurance!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Thursday, December 30, 2010
A New Year's Resolution
A lot of people make New Year's Resolutions, and they never keep them. So my challenge to everyone is to make one you can keep. And try to be original too, so that it's more meaningful to you! Most people want to lose weight, quit smoking, and other such things. The kind of things that you say all year you're going to do, but never quite get around to it. They're things that you just know you won't stick with anyways.
I have set my New Year's Resolution. I actually started it before 2011 was even close, back in September. But that's okay, it still works because it's an ongoing process.
My resolution deals with the fact that I am a bit of an introvert, and I don't like being the center of attention, or drawing attention to myself much at all. So things that made me feel like I might, or that made me uncomfortable, I'd always make an excuse about and avoid. So for me, my resolution is to stop making excuses, and try everything first.
It's something that's personal to me. It's making me step just outside my comfort level, and let me tell you what, it's working wonders. Forcing myself to stop making the excuses, and to try things, has made me live life to a little bit more of its potential, and to really enjoy it more.
Reminds me of what I read once, "If you want to run across a parking lot screaming, go for it. Have fun."
So with this resolution I'm vowing to truly stop caring what people think, and to stop making excuses, and just try things. Push past the fear and discomfort, and see all that life has to offer.
Of course, there are some things medically that are still limiting me in some ways, but it's not enough to really matter.
So here's to finding a resolution that means something to you, and that you can really stick with! Cheers!
I have set my New Year's Resolution. I actually started it before 2011 was even close, back in September. But that's okay, it still works because it's an ongoing process.
My resolution deals with the fact that I am a bit of an introvert, and I don't like being the center of attention, or drawing attention to myself much at all. So things that made me feel like I might, or that made me uncomfortable, I'd always make an excuse about and avoid. So for me, my resolution is to stop making excuses, and try everything first.
It's something that's personal to me. It's making me step just outside my comfort level, and let me tell you what, it's working wonders. Forcing myself to stop making the excuses, and to try things, has made me live life to a little bit more of its potential, and to really enjoy it more.
Reminds me of what I read once, "If you want to run across a parking lot screaming, go for it. Have fun."
So with this resolution I'm vowing to truly stop caring what people think, and to stop making excuses, and just try things. Push past the fear and discomfort, and see all that life has to offer.
Of course, there are some things medically that are still limiting me in some ways, but it's not enough to really matter.
So here's to finding a resolution that means something to you, and that you can really stick with! Cheers!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
This Could Be Part of What's Wrong with America
So today at work I really didn't have anything to do, so they told me to surf the web until they found something. Since I didn't have much to surf, I ended up reading the news on the Road Runner website, and boy did I hit the motherload of stupidity. I mean honestly, some of the things I was reading today just made me wonder where people get some of these ideas.
Let's review.
CLEMSON, S.C. — A man has been hospitalized after police in South Carolina say he was hit by an SUV while playing a real-life version of the video game "Frogger."
Authorities said the 23-year-old man was taken to a hospital in Anderson after he was struck at around 9 p.m. Monday.
In the "Frogger" arcade game, players move frogs through traffic on a busy road and through a hazard-filled river. Before he was hit, police say the man had been discussing the game with his friends.
Chief Jimmy Dixon says the man yelled "go" and darted into oncoming traffic in the four-lane highway.
No charges are expected against the driver. The name of the man who was struck has not been released. He was in stable condition Monday night.
Source: Click Here
Okay, so what we have here is a man old enough to know better, who decided that yes, you can live your video game dreams! ...And so he ran headlong into oncoming traffic. I'm failing to see the logic in that one, and I really hope that he chooses not to pass his genetics on. Or if he does, that whatever gene it was that gave him that fantastic idea doesn't pass along as well. Wow.
SOQUEL, Calif. — A California medical marijuana dispensary has raked in food donations with a unique offer: free pot.
The Granny Purps dispensary in Soquel (soh-KEL'), about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco, offered a complimentary marijuana cigarette for every four cans of food a patient brought in this holiday season. Each patient was limited to a maximum of three cigarettes a day.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the dispensary took in 11,000 pounds of food and handed out 2,000 marijuana cigarettes between November and Christmas Eve, when the promotion ended.
The food was donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Second Harvest spokesman Danny Keith says Granny Purps, which only has eight employees, contributed the amount of food that would normally come from a business with 30 to 40 workers.
Source: Click Here
Well, I guess there's no better way to get food to those who need it then by promising people free drugs. Kind of sad that people won't do something for nothing for their fellow American anymore though, or at least not the way they used to.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — More people say they favor a pardon for Billy the Kid than oppose the idea after Gov. Bill Richardson's office set up a website and e-mail address to take comments on a possible posthumous pardon for one of New Mexico's most famous Old West outlaws.
Richardson's office received 809 e-mails and letters in the survey that ended Sunday. Some 430 argued for a pardon and 379 opposed it.
The website was created in mid-December after Albuquerque attorney Randi McGinn petitioned for a pardon, contending New Mexico Territorial Gov. Lew Wallace promised one in return for the Kid's testimony in a murder case against three men.
Source: Click Here
He died in 1881. Back then, no one really kept good records, and there were a whole different set of playing rules. Let's get back to the America of today and maybe try pardoning the innocent who are stuck in prison instead, or spending that time looking into other pressing matters. Leave the history, and the legend, alone.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Police say a New York woman shared rum with two teenagers who helped her shovel snow.
White Plains public safety police commissioner, David Chong, says the boys' parents called police after the teens came home in a "highly intoxicated state" Monday.
The boys are 17 and 18. New York's legal drinking age is 21.
Police charged 41-year-old Silvia Deleon with unlawfully dealing with a minor, a misdemeanor.
Chong says Deleon shared a bottle of rum with the two boys after they shoveled her driveway. The boys then offered to dig her car out. Chong says she drove them to a liquor store and bought another rum bottle, which they consumed together.
There's no phone listing for Deleon and it wasn't clear if she had an attorney.
Source: Click Here
Not only did she give them rum, but she went and bought more. Did she really think that she wouldn't get caught? Really? Wow...
SAN PABLO, Calif. — Authorities in Northern California say a man released from a hospital after a psychiatric evaluation stole a taxi and tried to register it at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
Authorities tell the Contra Costa Times that 26-year-old Jermaine Grosse was arrested Monday on suspicion of auto theft and forgery.
Grosse had been sent to the county's regional medical center on an involuntary psychiatric hold.
After his release Sunday morning, he shared a taxi with a woman who was going to a San Pablo hospital.
Authorities say when they arrived, Grosse asked the driver to help with the woman's luggage, then drove away in the yellow minivan.
Grosse was arrested after a DMV worker in El Cerrito reported someone was using forged documents to register the cab.
Source: Click Here
At least he's potentially insane. That's his only saving grace, and it's not saying much.
SEATTLE — Prosecutors in Washington state say a man was arrested when he was caught wheeling a 50-inch television in a shopping cart right past a police station.
Seattlepi.com reports that a bystander called 911 to report that she saw a man grab the TV out of the back of a delivery truck, load it in the cart and start pushing it away.
An Auburn police officer heard dispatchers relay the call as he was pulling into the police station parking lot _ and then he saw the man, dressed entirely in camouflage, walking by with the cart.
Charging documents say that when the officer asked 22-year-old Johnathon D. Barnes what he was doing, he said he bought the TV from and friend - and then he ran.
The officer caught up with Barnes and arrested him.
Source: Click Here
It takes all kinds I suppose. But really, who steals a huge TV in broad daylight, and then walks past a police station with it? That wasn't a well-thought-out plan at all.
And I'm sure there have been, are, and will be plenty more articles just like these that make me question our society.
What's scary though folks, is that every one of these people has the right to vote. That's right, they're helping make the decisions for what's best for this country. And we really wonder what went wrong?
Let's review.
CLEMSON, S.C. — A man has been hospitalized after police in South Carolina say he was hit by an SUV while playing a real-life version of the video game "Frogger."
Authorities said the 23-year-old man was taken to a hospital in Anderson after he was struck at around 9 p.m. Monday.
In the "Frogger" arcade game, players move frogs through traffic on a busy road and through a hazard-filled river. Before he was hit, police say the man had been discussing the game with his friends.
Chief Jimmy Dixon says the man yelled "go" and darted into oncoming traffic in the four-lane highway.
No charges are expected against the driver. The name of the man who was struck has not been released. He was in stable condition Monday night.
Source: Click Here
Okay, so what we have here is a man old enough to know better, who decided that yes, you can live your video game dreams! ...And so he ran headlong into oncoming traffic. I'm failing to see the logic in that one, and I really hope that he chooses not to pass his genetics on. Or if he does, that whatever gene it was that gave him that fantastic idea doesn't pass along as well. Wow.
SOQUEL, Calif. — A California medical marijuana dispensary has raked in food donations with a unique offer: free pot.
The Granny Purps dispensary in Soquel (soh-KEL'), about 60 miles southeast of San Francisco, offered a complimentary marijuana cigarette for every four cans of food a patient brought in this holiday season. Each patient was limited to a maximum of three cigarettes a day.
The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that the dispensary took in 11,000 pounds of food and handed out 2,000 marijuana cigarettes between November and Christmas Eve, when the promotion ended.
The food was donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
Second Harvest spokesman Danny Keith says Granny Purps, which only has eight employees, contributed the amount of food that would normally come from a business with 30 to 40 workers.
Source: Click Here
Well, I guess there's no better way to get food to those who need it then by promising people free drugs. Kind of sad that people won't do something for nothing for their fellow American anymore though, or at least not the way they used to.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — More people say they favor a pardon for Billy the Kid than oppose the idea after Gov. Bill Richardson's office set up a website and e-mail address to take comments on a possible posthumous pardon for one of New Mexico's most famous Old West outlaws.
Richardson's office received 809 e-mails and letters in the survey that ended Sunday. Some 430 argued for a pardon and 379 opposed it.
The website was created in mid-December after Albuquerque attorney Randi McGinn petitioned for a pardon, contending New Mexico Territorial Gov. Lew Wallace promised one in return for the Kid's testimony in a murder case against three men.
Source: Click Here
He died in 1881. Back then, no one really kept good records, and there were a whole different set of playing rules. Let's get back to the America of today and maybe try pardoning the innocent who are stuck in prison instead, or spending that time looking into other pressing matters. Leave the history, and the legend, alone.
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Police say a New York woman shared rum with two teenagers who helped her shovel snow.
White Plains public safety police commissioner, David Chong, says the boys' parents called police after the teens came home in a "highly intoxicated state" Monday.
The boys are 17 and 18. New York's legal drinking age is 21.
Police charged 41-year-old Silvia Deleon with unlawfully dealing with a minor, a misdemeanor.
Chong says Deleon shared a bottle of rum with the two boys after they shoveled her driveway. The boys then offered to dig her car out. Chong says she drove them to a liquor store and bought another rum bottle, which they consumed together.
There's no phone listing for Deleon and it wasn't clear if she had an attorney.
Source: Click Here
Not only did she give them rum, but she went and bought more. Did she really think that she wouldn't get caught? Really? Wow...
SAN PABLO, Calif. — Authorities in Northern California say a man released from a hospital after a psychiatric evaluation stole a taxi and tried to register it at a Department of Motor Vehicles office.
Authorities tell the Contra Costa Times that 26-year-old Jermaine Grosse was arrested Monday on suspicion of auto theft and forgery.
Grosse had been sent to the county's regional medical center on an involuntary psychiatric hold.
After his release Sunday morning, he shared a taxi with a woman who was going to a San Pablo hospital.
Authorities say when they arrived, Grosse asked the driver to help with the woman's luggage, then drove away in the yellow minivan.
Grosse was arrested after a DMV worker in El Cerrito reported someone was using forged documents to register the cab.
Source: Click Here
At least he's potentially insane. That's his only saving grace, and it's not saying much.
SEATTLE — Prosecutors in Washington state say a man was arrested when he was caught wheeling a 50-inch television in a shopping cart right past a police station.
Seattlepi.com reports that a bystander called 911 to report that she saw a man grab the TV out of the back of a delivery truck, load it in the cart and start pushing it away.
An Auburn police officer heard dispatchers relay the call as he was pulling into the police station parking lot _ and then he saw the man, dressed entirely in camouflage, walking by with the cart.
Charging documents say that when the officer asked 22-year-old Johnathon D. Barnes what he was doing, he said he bought the TV from and friend - and then he ran.
The officer caught up with Barnes and arrested him.
Source: Click Here
It takes all kinds I suppose. But really, who steals a huge TV in broad daylight, and then walks past a police station with it? That wasn't a well-thought-out plan at all.
And I'm sure there have been, are, and will be plenty more articles just like these that make me question our society.
What's scary though folks, is that every one of these people has the right to vote. That's right, they're helping make the decisions for what's best for this country. And we really wonder what went wrong?
You're Asking for the Wrong Things
Every four years in this country we get to go through the joy of listening to grown men and women throw insults around like they're in elementary school again, and then vote on which one kept their side of the playpen the least stinky so that they can run this country.
And every year I'm appalled by it.
This past election though I was more appalled than I have been in a long time. Not just because of the politicians though, but because of the voters.
I don't care if you voted for Obama or McCain, or one of the unknown candidates. What bothers me is how many people voted based off irrational decisions, or for agendas that we shouldn't be worrying about with the state of the union as it is.
The big things that irritated me though were:
1. The people who voted against Obama because of his name meaning he was a terrorist, or the antichrist, or whatever else crap was going around.
2. The people who voted for Obama simply because he's black. Skin color does not qualify you to be a good leader!
3. The people who just voted without being informed at all, or based off selfish desires.
I'm sure the first two are pretty self-explanatory, but the third is what I'd like to touch on most.
I am not impressed by people who voted based off issues like gay marriage, pot legalization, and other trivial matters like that.
We were going through a horrible recession (depression mayhaps?), and still are in it, and yet people wanted to focus more on things like pot and gay marriage? I don't see the logic here.
To me, isn't it more important to choose the candidate that is going to fix the economy? Who is going to give American's back the standard of life they're still pretending they can have? To help us earn back our pride?
Unfortunately, the whole country has their ideals backwards. People scream that the economy sucks, but they don't base their decisions in votes on that fact. They scream for change, but they're unwilling to be a part of that change, and the government we have voted in refuses to make them a part of it.
So now, we have repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. We might end up with government run health care. Congress voted themselves another raise, and no one stopped them. We had cash for clunkers, and a few other obscure government programs. There were more bailouts, and we gave even more money out in aid to foreign countries.
We've just gone further and further into debt. Unemployment is rising, just like the price of gas. No one has faith in the economy, so less people are trying to find a job. More people are just seizing welfare, and draining our taxes. The elderly can't get a social security raise. And more and more companies are outsourcing work so that they can undercut their prices while taking work away from Americans.
Think about it. We're focusing on all these small things that might make life better, but if the economy collapses, what then? Where's your gay marriage, Don't Ask Don't Tell, public health care, and cash for clunkers going to get you when the whole country goes broke and is overrun by some other nation or force?
The answer is no where.
Which is why I feel that my fellow Americans need to open their eyes and realize that trivial matters are just that--trivial. Before we can tie up loose ends, we first have to tie a knot.
That which holds the country together is a strong economy. Because without the flow of money, nothing else can happen. When things start to stagnate, it doesn't matter how much health insurance you have because you won't be able to get to the doctor to receive it. Gas will be too high, and you won't have a job. And hey, how is the government supposed to provide this health care to us without enough in taxes?
The answer is that it can't. And adding taxes on won't help, because then more businesses will go under.
What we really need is a President who takes a look at history and says "Hmmm, maybe there's some merit to it after all" and fixes things.
We need to make it cheaper to manufacture our own goods. Put a nice high tariff on outsourcing and call it a day. Cap the price of gas, so that Americans can afford to travel. And while you're at it, mandate that cars are more fuel efficient, because it can be done. Stop letting Congress vote their own raises, and stop this pension of forever receiving their salary. America cannot afford it!
Fix welfare too, so that it doesn't last indefinitely. And be a bit more selective with who gets it. People who play the system should not be rewarded so easily!
Make it more difficult to have illegal immigrants working, and really punish businesses who do! This isn't just a matter of the American economy, but common decency towards another human being too. We abolished slavery in 1865, and as far as I'm concerned having illegal immigrants work in poor conditions for mere dollars a day is nothing more than paid slavery. We won't go into how I feel about illegals in general though.
The big thing though is to help bring back small businesses and the middle class. They really are what drives the economy and the union, and the more that are out there, the better.
And always bear in mind this quote:
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
-Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931
So in one year when it's 2012 and the world doesn't end, and we have to vote for a new President, really focus on more pressing matters at hand.
This has nothing to do about democrat or republican. Man or woman. Black or white. It has everything to do with who is going to start fixing this broken country, and restore it to the glory that it had when our founding fathers threw out the British and gave us the Bill of Rights and Constitution that barely anyone remembers anymore.
And every year I'm appalled by it.
This past election though I was more appalled than I have been in a long time. Not just because of the politicians though, but because of the voters.
I don't care if you voted for Obama or McCain, or one of the unknown candidates. What bothers me is how many people voted based off irrational decisions, or for agendas that we shouldn't be worrying about with the state of the union as it is.
The big things that irritated me though were:
1. The people who voted against Obama because of his name meaning he was a terrorist, or the antichrist, or whatever else crap was going around.
2. The people who voted for Obama simply because he's black. Skin color does not qualify you to be a good leader!
3. The people who just voted without being informed at all, or based off selfish desires.
I'm sure the first two are pretty self-explanatory, but the third is what I'd like to touch on most.
I am not impressed by people who voted based off issues like gay marriage, pot legalization, and other trivial matters like that.
We were going through a horrible recession (depression mayhaps?), and still are in it, and yet people wanted to focus more on things like pot and gay marriage? I don't see the logic here.
To me, isn't it more important to choose the candidate that is going to fix the economy? Who is going to give American's back the standard of life they're still pretending they can have? To help us earn back our pride?
Unfortunately, the whole country has their ideals backwards. People scream that the economy sucks, but they don't base their decisions in votes on that fact. They scream for change, but they're unwilling to be a part of that change, and the government we have voted in refuses to make them a part of it.
So now, we have repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. We might end up with government run health care. Congress voted themselves another raise, and no one stopped them. We had cash for clunkers, and a few other obscure government programs. There were more bailouts, and we gave even more money out in aid to foreign countries.
We've just gone further and further into debt. Unemployment is rising, just like the price of gas. No one has faith in the economy, so less people are trying to find a job. More people are just seizing welfare, and draining our taxes. The elderly can't get a social security raise. And more and more companies are outsourcing work so that they can undercut their prices while taking work away from Americans.
Think about it. We're focusing on all these small things that might make life better, but if the economy collapses, what then? Where's your gay marriage, Don't Ask Don't Tell, public health care, and cash for clunkers going to get you when the whole country goes broke and is overrun by some other nation or force?
The answer is no where.
Which is why I feel that my fellow Americans need to open their eyes and realize that trivial matters are just that--trivial. Before we can tie up loose ends, we first have to tie a knot.
That which holds the country together is a strong economy. Because without the flow of money, nothing else can happen. When things start to stagnate, it doesn't matter how much health insurance you have because you won't be able to get to the doctor to receive it. Gas will be too high, and you won't have a job. And hey, how is the government supposed to provide this health care to us without enough in taxes?
The answer is that it can't. And adding taxes on won't help, because then more businesses will go under.
What we really need is a President who takes a look at history and says "Hmmm, maybe there's some merit to it after all" and fixes things.
We need to make it cheaper to manufacture our own goods. Put a nice high tariff on outsourcing and call it a day. Cap the price of gas, so that Americans can afford to travel. And while you're at it, mandate that cars are more fuel efficient, because it can be done. Stop letting Congress vote their own raises, and stop this pension of forever receiving their salary. America cannot afford it!
Fix welfare too, so that it doesn't last indefinitely. And be a bit more selective with who gets it. People who play the system should not be rewarded so easily!
Make it more difficult to have illegal immigrants working, and really punish businesses who do! This isn't just a matter of the American economy, but common decency towards another human being too. We abolished slavery in 1865, and as far as I'm concerned having illegal immigrants work in poor conditions for mere dollars a day is nothing more than paid slavery. We won't go into how I feel about illegals in general though.
The big thing though is to help bring back small businesses and the middle class. They really are what drives the economy and the union, and the more that are out there, the better.
And always bear in mind this quote:
"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.
The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.
When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.
You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
-Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931
So in one year when it's 2012 and the world doesn't end, and we have to vote for a new President, really focus on more pressing matters at hand.
This has nothing to do about democrat or republican. Man or woman. Black or white. It has everything to do with who is going to start fixing this broken country, and restore it to the glory that it had when our founding fathers threw out the British and gave us the Bill of Rights and Constitution that barely anyone remembers anymore.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The World Is Not Rose Colored But...
It's the first post in this blog, and most people start with an introduction of sorts. I'm going to be that odd person and do pretty much the opposite. I'll share a bit about me, of course, but I'd like to address something that's been bothering me for quite some time, and is the entire reason (almost) that I decided to start writing for this blog.
For about a month now I've been contemplating this, and I figured that if the idea was still running through my head a month later, I might as well make the plunge. The thought that's been plaguing me the most though, is how everyone is a victim. Woe is them, life is so hard. And how the people who truly do have it hard don't complain. I'm serious here! Listen close to the people around you, and you might see it. And if you're one of the people who is perhaps overlooking things you should be grateful for in life, perhaps this will help you to sit back and see life as the beautiful thing it is.
We all have problems. I know this, you know this, even children know this. But how we look at things makes the big difference.
I'd like to say that aside from minor episodes, I am a very happy and upbeat person. I've been told on more than one occasion by people that being around me is enough to make them happy, and my bubbly disposition is contagious. Being around me seems to ground people, and make them more optimistic. When my high school art teacher told me that one should live to make every day fun, I took those words to heart, and I must say, it does wonders.
But I wasn't always this way. It took a lot of hard work to get to where I am, always happy, always smiling. Well, for the most part at least. No one is that perfect. And if I chose to, I don't have to be this happy either.
My life is far from perfect. I was not one of the best human beings ever put together, that's for sure. I inherited a lot of my father's genetics, so I have a lot of issues. The biggest one is my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). For those who don't know, this is an intestinal problem that has no cure, and the side effects from the medications (that may or may not help at any given time) are not worth taking them. I've been dealing with it since I was 12 years old (at the time of writing this I am 21), and it's been a continuous uphill battle. Imagine a world where at any given moment, you could be in crippling pain from your abdomen. We're talking bad enough to make it difficult to breathe. It's like having your insides eaten away by acid. It took me six years and a lot of trial and error to finally figure out what foods I could no longer eat that triggered it. Eight years to really get the psychological side of it down to help stop my emotions from triggering it as much. And unfortunately, there really isn't much I can do about the weather, which sometimes can also trigger it. Food, emotions, and weather are the three big factors with IBS, but it can just hit at random too. Still, after eight long years I'm finally not suffering as much as I once was.
I don't have great hips, either. My growth plates got a little screwed up when I was little (there's a medical term for it but hell if I can remember what it is), and so it stunted my growth. I don't make five feet (and I don't particularly care), but the issue lies in that my body isn't really proportionate to itself. So my hips don't like to stay in socket all the time. To this day I also still have issues with my feet from it too, where the whole problem originated.
From a bad volleyball coach, I ended up damaging my knees. And now they crack and ache. Actually, most of my body cracks and pops, but the knees are the worst.
I have terrible eyesight too. I am monocular, so I can't see 3D and my depth perception is severely lacking. If I take my contacts out, I'm legally blind. And when I was 17 I almost went blind in my right eye from a bad ulceration. To this day no one knows how I not only didn't lose my sight, but actually gained it all back to where my current prescription was at the time. Just one of life's little mysteries I suppose.
I also have terrible hearing. Blew that by being in the middle of a girl fight screaming match. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. So I really can't hear how loud I truly am, and there are certain tones at normal range I can't hear. And yet there are other tones in ranges one shouldn't be able to hear that I pick up clear as day. Like the sound of a TV that is on, but just the screen. No cable or anything else. God that is the most annoying sound ever.
From my mother, I have anxiety. From my introverted past, it has developed into agoraphobia. The kind that makes it so if I feel trapped, I freak out. So I can't do cities or buildings that have no windows or open space. But sometimes you have to deal with it and do it anyways.
I also carry the burden of both clinical and seasonal depression. I've been suicidal, and I've attempted to just starve to death. It's not a fun way to live, let me tell you what.
And of course there are tons of other little things too.
So with all of this, every day, one might look and say "Holy heck, there's no way I could do it." Because most people who've never encountered it could. And people don't understand how I'm so happy, and always moving forward.
There was a time in my life where I let my IBS cripple me. I didn't go anywhere or do anything because I lived in fear of what would happen if I had an attack. And I pushed people away. I grew up bullied and picked on, and didn't have many friends. I went through life's struggles. I've suffered the economy, and I've seen what it's done to people.
But in the end I'm standing on top. The big question is why, and it's the point I'd like to make.
If I wanted to, I could easily always focus on everything that's wrong with me. I could always say "Woe is me, I can't go out today because my knees hurt." Or because I couldn't sleep last night, my stomach was bad. Or out of fear of something else. I could let all these issues consume me, until I didn't do anything, and then let the depression feed off of it and do the rest.
And that's another thing, I don't take medicine for the depression unless it gets really bad. That's because I've found regular activity and things I enjoy keep it at bay. And since I'm not giving fuel to the fire, it can't flare up at any old time, either.
Instead of being consumed by all these problems, I look forward and say I can do what I want, when I want. If my stomach flares up, I'll go home then. If I get anxious, I'll do some deep breathing and get myself out of the situation. If my knees hurt, I won't walk too much. But I'll keep moving forward.
I know that I have a lot more problems than most people. But I know I have a lot less than others, too. I work with a guy who has leukemia, and he is probably one of the happiest, funniest people I know. If he hadn't mentioned that he was ill, I never would have guessed. And his children are two of the most adorable kids you'll ever meet.
So when I see people out there who complain constantly that life stinks, and they just can't catch a break. Or that they're always catching colds, or how bad their headache is. Those people who just complain because they want pity, I shake my head. It seems like everyone these days is to be pitied, and they're worse off then the guy standing next to them.
What I pity is their lack to look at all life has given them instead. People these days would find the world looks a lot better if instead of concentrating on all the bad things, they concentrated on all the good. It's why I can smile every day, and make other people smile too. I see everything I've gone through as just having made me stronger. And most people I know with life-altering issues are the same way. They push forward and live the best possible lives they can.
And everyone out there who takes life for granted should really look at those people who aren't that probably could, and learn a lesson.
Life is what you make of it. So make it happy. Live without regret. Fill your world with things and people who make you happy. Good things will follow, because happiness begets happiness.
Whoever said misery loves company wasn't lying. But it works in the opposite effect too.
So if you want to see the world in a bit more rosy light, just change how you look at the world. Don't see it for all its faults, see it for all its potential. You'll be much happier, and you won't be part of the heard of people making themselves out to be victims.
For about a month now I've been contemplating this, and I figured that if the idea was still running through my head a month later, I might as well make the plunge. The thought that's been plaguing me the most though, is how everyone is a victim. Woe is them, life is so hard. And how the people who truly do have it hard don't complain. I'm serious here! Listen close to the people around you, and you might see it. And if you're one of the people who is perhaps overlooking things you should be grateful for in life, perhaps this will help you to sit back and see life as the beautiful thing it is.
We all have problems. I know this, you know this, even children know this. But how we look at things makes the big difference.
I'd like to say that aside from minor episodes, I am a very happy and upbeat person. I've been told on more than one occasion by people that being around me is enough to make them happy, and my bubbly disposition is contagious. Being around me seems to ground people, and make them more optimistic. When my high school art teacher told me that one should live to make every day fun, I took those words to heart, and I must say, it does wonders.
But I wasn't always this way. It took a lot of hard work to get to where I am, always happy, always smiling. Well, for the most part at least. No one is that perfect. And if I chose to, I don't have to be this happy either.
My life is far from perfect. I was not one of the best human beings ever put together, that's for sure. I inherited a lot of my father's genetics, so I have a lot of issues. The biggest one is my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). For those who don't know, this is an intestinal problem that has no cure, and the side effects from the medications (that may or may not help at any given time) are not worth taking them. I've been dealing with it since I was 12 years old (at the time of writing this I am 21), and it's been a continuous uphill battle. Imagine a world where at any given moment, you could be in crippling pain from your abdomen. We're talking bad enough to make it difficult to breathe. It's like having your insides eaten away by acid. It took me six years and a lot of trial and error to finally figure out what foods I could no longer eat that triggered it. Eight years to really get the psychological side of it down to help stop my emotions from triggering it as much. And unfortunately, there really isn't much I can do about the weather, which sometimes can also trigger it. Food, emotions, and weather are the three big factors with IBS, but it can just hit at random too. Still, after eight long years I'm finally not suffering as much as I once was.
I don't have great hips, either. My growth plates got a little screwed up when I was little (there's a medical term for it but hell if I can remember what it is), and so it stunted my growth. I don't make five feet (and I don't particularly care), but the issue lies in that my body isn't really proportionate to itself. So my hips don't like to stay in socket all the time. To this day I also still have issues with my feet from it too, where the whole problem originated.
From a bad volleyball coach, I ended up damaging my knees. And now they crack and ache. Actually, most of my body cracks and pops, but the knees are the worst.
I have terrible eyesight too. I am monocular, so I can't see 3D and my depth perception is severely lacking. If I take my contacts out, I'm legally blind. And when I was 17 I almost went blind in my right eye from a bad ulceration. To this day no one knows how I not only didn't lose my sight, but actually gained it all back to where my current prescription was at the time. Just one of life's little mysteries I suppose.
I also have terrible hearing. Blew that by being in the middle of a girl fight screaming match. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. So I really can't hear how loud I truly am, and there are certain tones at normal range I can't hear. And yet there are other tones in ranges one shouldn't be able to hear that I pick up clear as day. Like the sound of a TV that is on, but just the screen. No cable or anything else. God that is the most annoying sound ever.
From my mother, I have anxiety. From my introverted past, it has developed into agoraphobia. The kind that makes it so if I feel trapped, I freak out. So I can't do cities or buildings that have no windows or open space. But sometimes you have to deal with it and do it anyways.
I also carry the burden of both clinical and seasonal depression. I've been suicidal, and I've attempted to just starve to death. It's not a fun way to live, let me tell you what.
And of course there are tons of other little things too.
So with all of this, every day, one might look and say "Holy heck, there's no way I could do it." Because most people who've never encountered it could. And people don't understand how I'm so happy, and always moving forward.
There was a time in my life where I let my IBS cripple me. I didn't go anywhere or do anything because I lived in fear of what would happen if I had an attack. And I pushed people away. I grew up bullied and picked on, and didn't have many friends. I went through life's struggles. I've suffered the economy, and I've seen what it's done to people.
But in the end I'm standing on top. The big question is why, and it's the point I'd like to make.
If I wanted to, I could easily always focus on everything that's wrong with me. I could always say "Woe is me, I can't go out today because my knees hurt." Or because I couldn't sleep last night, my stomach was bad. Or out of fear of something else. I could let all these issues consume me, until I didn't do anything, and then let the depression feed off of it and do the rest.
And that's another thing, I don't take medicine for the depression unless it gets really bad. That's because I've found regular activity and things I enjoy keep it at bay. And since I'm not giving fuel to the fire, it can't flare up at any old time, either.
Instead of being consumed by all these problems, I look forward and say I can do what I want, when I want. If my stomach flares up, I'll go home then. If I get anxious, I'll do some deep breathing and get myself out of the situation. If my knees hurt, I won't walk too much. But I'll keep moving forward.
I know that I have a lot more problems than most people. But I know I have a lot less than others, too. I work with a guy who has leukemia, and he is probably one of the happiest, funniest people I know. If he hadn't mentioned that he was ill, I never would have guessed. And his children are two of the most adorable kids you'll ever meet.
So when I see people out there who complain constantly that life stinks, and they just can't catch a break. Or that they're always catching colds, or how bad their headache is. Those people who just complain because they want pity, I shake my head. It seems like everyone these days is to be pitied, and they're worse off then the guy standing next to them.
What I pity is their lack to look at all life has given them instead. People these days would find the world looks a lot better if instead of concentrating on all the bad things, they concentrated on all the good. It's why I can smile every day, and make other people smile too. I see everything I've gone through as just having made me stronger. And most people I know with life-altering issues are the same way. They push forward and live the best possible lives they can.
And everyone out there who takes life for granted should really look at those people who aren't that probably could, and learn a lesson.
Life is what you make of it. So make it happy. Live without regret. Fill your world with things and people who make you happy. Good things will follow, because happiness begets happiness.
Whoever said misery loves company wasn't lying. But it works in the opposite effect too.
So if you want to see the world in a bit more rosy light, just change how you look at the world. Don't see it for all its faults, see it for all its potential. You'll be much happier, and you won't be part of the heard of people making themselves out to be victims.
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