A blog to house my musings, curiosities, and fascinations. |
What rites of passage have you experienced that you think everyone will experience at some point in their life? In other words, tell us about your notable experiences that are key to the human experience. From the "Invalid Item" This is a great prompt for this week. Talking about experiences is a bit nebulous, but forcing one's self to think about the key experiences vital to being human is a whole new challenge. Let me see if I can get a list going here: Loving another being more than yourself. This is actually the second thing I thought of to add to the list, but I moved it above the first thing because this needs to happen before the second bullet can have the full effect. When I say "loving another being more than yourself," it is inclusive of all beings on Earth. I know a person is still a person even if they never love another human being (and the question asked for things "everyone" will experience), so a "being" in this case can include animals, plants, people or anything else outside of yourself. Loving another is vital to the human existence. We are designed to love and receive love. We crave connection and need love to develop appropriately. Care and compassion for another living creature is something everyone should experience. It manifests in many ways, but for me, love is when I care first about their needs over my own. The pain of losing a loved one. Now, having something/someone you love taken away from you is a fact of allowing yourself to love them in the first place and is thus inextricably intertwined with the first bullet. Fear of loss is not a reason to forbid yourself from loving another. Both emotions (love and loss) are necessary to the human existence. Feeling true sorrow is obviously painful, but reminds us of the fragility of life and why we should make the most of every moment we have. Being truly comfortable in your own skin. This is one I can only speculate at and refer to role models in my own life because I haven't reached this point yet. Being able to love your body, inside and outside, without worrying about what other people think of you, is a rite of passage that I hope everyone will experience at some point in their life. As I said, I'm not there yet, but I'm using my mother's experience as an example. She is unabashedly herself. When you meet her, she exudes fearlessness, honesty, joy, and safety. She is content with herself and her abilities. She embraces her flaws and leans on her strengths. She is not self-conscious. I know this because I've witnessed the change in her as I've grown older. She used to be down all the time and concerned about her body, hair, career, etc. Now, she loves herself first and foremost, and that allows her freedom to develop her passions without the need to impress anyone else. She's a woman I admire and hope one day to be the same figure for my own children. |
Have you ever felt like you're missing out in life? Describe a time when you missed an experience that you believe would have been rewarding. What can we do to make sure we're not missing out on important life experiences? From the "Invalid Item" Okay, Char. I have a sinking feeling that this prompt is going to get me upset in some way or ranting about a pent up emotion I’ve hidden from myself. I’m saying that right out of the gate because I haven’t blogged in a while and you’ve hit us right away with a killer prompt. Anyway … I’ve missed out on so many things in life, but most of those were a conscious choice I made. In high school and college, I willingly and purposefully isolated myself from my peers by always saying “no” to parties, study groups, walks down to the river, every school dance (including prom), and basically anything else you can think of. When there was a school function I simply couldn’t avoid, I would show my face for the absolute minimum amount of time just to prove I was there, and then peace out. I told myself this was all in service of my studies – I would be the damn best student in the class even if it killed me – but I’m certain there was plenty I missed out on. But truth be told, I’m not upset about missing those experiences at all. Let me explain. Don’t get me wrong, I tried fitting in. I tried going to those parties, getting dressed up for those dances, being the awkward lanky girl with the downcast eyes in the middle of the mosh pit. I tried. And I always left feeling worse than when I went in the first place. I know my comfort zone and I know the distinct situations that threaten that space. I learned, through trial and error, that those situations that are meant to be a fun time amongst friends are downright torture for me. I’m forced to put on a happy face and pretend to enjoy myself when all I would rather be doing is cuddled on the couch with a book or a bowl of popcorn watching some true crime show on Netflix. In those situations, all I can think about is how to graciously extricate myself so I can get back to doing something I truly enjoy. What it comes down to is this: I know what makes me happy. I don't miss out on things that make me happy. Things that other people classically fear missing out on are of no consequence to me, and thus do not make me sad when I miss them, usually on purpose. Now I know these to be the traits of a classic introvert. I recharge my batteries by being by myself rather than with other people. And I am totally at peace with this. I purposefully choose to "miss out" on experiences because I know they will bring me more discomfort than joy. So in that sense, I’m not missing out at all. In my life now, I am no longer in school, and so the scenarios described above no longer apply. My "friend" group is my co-workers and my home life consists of my dogs and bf. I suppose I fear missing out on classic life experiences such as getting married (low-key only, no celebration) and having kids, but those things are coming. I hate even saying it because it seems so wife-y and petty, but I do want those things one day and fear I'm somehow "losing time" by having to focus on my career and blah blah blah ... Maybe that's a topic for another entry What I would say to myself to ensure I don't miss out on things that are important to me in the near future is to stand up for your desires, voice your concerns and fears, and don't let your happiness take a backseat. |
Hello, hello, hello! Gee golly, I'm pretty disappointed in myself for falling behind on ... pretty much everything here on WDC. All I can say is that work was hell and I barely kept up with prompting for the 30DBC, so this blog fell by the wayside. But they say it's best not to "dwell," so let's get caught up on everything right here and now and move on This blog post series each month was started as a way to help me remember what I did each month related to writing so at the end of the year, I could look back at my successes and be proud, I guess. So, not bragging, only selfish. And helpful since I'm so forgetful Anyway, last time I wrote was about May, so let's highlight some of the things that happened in June. June writings:
I also added stories to my collection for the "Musicology Anthology" , but got way behind and unfortunately, gave up Maybe one day I'll come back and work on it some more, but I definitely took on too much trying to write that many short stories when I knew I would be busy and knew I am a novice at short stories. Anyway, here's the incomplete collection:
I am proud to say that two of my works were nominated for the 2019 Quill Awards They are:
I also think I neglected to mention two of my poems won 2018 Quills, which I'm very humbled by My grandparents think I'm some kind of prodigy now
Okay, now on to July ... New writings in July:
This old piece was also given first place in a contest I had forgotten I entered back in November 2018:
I did keep up with my reading goals as well (thank goodness). I read: "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants" (Very, very highly recommended) "The Silent Patient" (The first time in a long time that a book has made my jaw hang open) "On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition: A Memoir of the Craft" (A pleasure learning from the master) And now, my goals for August! Read: For "CLOSED!The Monthly Reading Challenge" , "Little Mouse Loves to Read" and "Angel Product Reviews" "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly Product Review: "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer Product Review: "Less (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): A Novel" "Being a Beast" by Charles Foster Product Review: "Being a Beast: Adventures Across the Species Divide" Enter Contests: "Invalid Item" for "The Contest Challenge" "Invalid Item" "SugarCube's Monthly Random Contest!!" MHWA: "Invalid Item" Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Continue Regular Commitments: Normal review crediting for "WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group" "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" judging for July Official Month and prep for September WDC Birthday activity Okay! Let's see how we go! -Emily |