In her speech, she discussed the benefits of failure and the importance of imagination. I thought that it might be inspiring to some, so please feel free to watch the video and/or just read the transcript of her speech. But let's be serious, the British accent is much more pleasant!
The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I have endured at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and convince myself that I am at the world’s largest Gryffindor reunion.
I came across a brilliant 3 part article on The Washington Post's website about literary women, their love for the Twilight saga, and their complete and utter lack of shame for falling so hard for a silly tween love story.
Finding the initial piece led to another article about the healing powers of Twilight and it put me at ease, or at even more ease I should say.
When I first heard of this whole Twilight thing, it was during the holiday season last year and I was working a crappy mall job to pass time between semesters. People would come into the story raving about the movie, wearing the t-shirts and hoodies, and promising me how great it was. Initially I was very much against this whole vampire business, having had no interest in them prior, and swore up and down, to Jupiter and back that I would never Benedict Arnold my love and devotion to Harry Potter.
Then came the nonstop advertisements on OnDemand during the early spring time of this year. I kept ignoring them and praying they would stop showing me this stupid crap.
When a sudden and unexpected dry spell hit me, having no more new or old movies to watch, I caved in and decided to let myself find out just exactly what all the craze was about. So I picked up a copy of the movie and within 20 minutes, I was completely hooked. It was like I had been injected by an unwanted course of emotions and it wasn't going to stop.
Things have been so crazy lately -- school, trying to find employment, advising friends on their many issues (a therapist's work never stops), and countless other random things -- that I haven't had hardly any time to update.
After a much anticipated wait I finally saw New Moon at the 12:01am showing on Thursday night. I'm definitely a self-admitted Twihard amongst other things and I must say that I was very impressed with the movie's accuracy to the book. Although it was definitely made for fans, I was pleased nonetheless that it came out so well. I have many friends who aren't the reading type so they have zero interest in the books, which is their loss because there is so much more detail in the book that wasn't explained in the movie -- thus it being made more for the fans.
Forgive my short absence; I’ve been suffering from a very common thing known as “writer’s block”. I’ve got this list of ideas for my top-five though none of which have come to fruition. I’m not exactly sure why I can’t seem to pump out another humorous list of things but I’d bet that it’s probably because my current idea’s list sucks. Fortunately, the time has come where I was able to climb over writer’s block hurdle and win the race – or at least attempt to do so.
As most of you know, I’m currently studying to become a relationship therapist/marriage counselor (or whatever you’d like to call it) and in doing so I’m faced with many couples and their never-ending dilemmas on a constant basis. Most people would rather run for the hills than actually listen with a genuine concern and open mind. For me, this is my forte, it is who I am, and it is literally my calling. I have completely surrendered myself to helping others find harmony, balance, and true happiness within their relationships.
And let’s not forget to mention the surrendering of the first 30 years of my life, which includes 12 years of higher education, to make this calling a full blown reality. And this is not to say that I have surrendered my own happiness to help others, because having my own first, goes without saying.
As of recently, I’ve been dealing with many people who have what’s known as a “case of the ex” or have been severely scarred by a previous partner. Typically the scarred individuals are male, while the ones causing the grief are female. I encounter this not only in my professional life but also in my personal life, which can obviously throw me (or anyone else for that matter) for a loop.
It saddens me to learn of these women who are out there causing so harm to the few genuinely nice guys we have on this planet. It strikes a great deal of wondering, questioning, and the playing out of countless scenarios in my mind that I try to figure out just why these women think it’s okay to deceive? The next question that I ask is where do they learn this stuff from? Who tells them that it’s okay to treat men like shit? And more importantly, what is causing them to do all of this?
I was raised by a very hardworking single mother and she never really taught me exactly how to treat a man, but I watched how she treated the few men she dated, including my stepdad. One thing my mom always tells me is that I’m going to “make an amazing wife someday and an even better mother”. Well, we all know I despise children (that is, except for Peaches) so I won’t be fulfilling the latter part of her statement. But nowhere in there did I mention that she walked all over a guy, used him, abused him, and spit him out when she was finished with him.
A male friend of mine, whom shall remain nameless, suggests that it’s spun off from the whole women’s liberation movement. Sure, I love being a liberated modern woman – but you sure as hell won’t catch me burning my bras and not shaving my armpits. I never really thought about whole women’s lib thing until my friend put it into perspective – women just don’t know how to show appreciation.
People in general don’t know how to show appreciation, which is so sad. Think about it – you do something nice for someone, even if it’s merely opening the door for them or asking them how they are doing – and what kind of response do you usually get? Thank you. I’m a semi-traditional woman so I feel that words of gratitude go a very long way. I always say please and thank you, it’s seriously one of the easiest things a person can do to show appreciation – and think about how far saying thank you can go. It’s not rocket science people.
Part of why it’s so disturbing for me to learn about this is that it out-right ruins the chances for the few genuinely nice women out there. The women who will devote themselves to you, take care of you, and be truly appreciative of all that a man can do for them. The selfishness, carelessness, and downright lack of compassion of these demon women who trample the hearts of men cause so much scarring that it makes it nearly impossible for a man to ever trust another woman again.
Think about a time when someone hurt you so badly that you’ve carried it with you as time went by, even once the pain stopped, the constant thoughts of it disappeared, and the situation as a whole has virtually vanished into thin air – what is it that you do when those situations have resurfaced into the forefront? Why on earth would another person want to subject another human being to something like that? Why can’t these dumbass girls just be honest? Why can’t they think before they speak or act? More specifically, what are these girls so afraid of that’s causing them to be dishonest?
Another angle that I’ve used to examine this from is that of awareness. Most people I encounter seem to only be aware of surface-level things. People never seem to delve deeper beyond the shallow, meaningless things that consume our lives on the daily. It seems like that majority of these deceitful women all share two things in common – shallow awareness and selfishness. The low-level awareness causes a limited pool of thought. Meaning that because one can only be aware of surface level things, they do not have the ability to think outside of the box of their own little world (which does not include the emotions of others), which ultimately causes them to be selfish without even realizing it; yet another form of low-level awareness.
I’m not even going to limit this to just the women who aren’t aware of jack shit, I’m not going to be naïve to the fact that there are plenty of very intelligent women out there who are knowingly deceiving men and getting away with it; and are completely okay with knowing they are being evil bitches. Its one thing to know the power you possess over a man, but it’s another to use it in a negative way.
The reason why I’ve brought this up is because of the alarming number of incidents that I’ve been learning of. I’ve personally been the woman who has to suffer because of the scarring another woman has caused to a genuine guy. I’ve honestly dealt with this same scenario more than 10 times, which is really fucking pathetic. I wrote about this because I want people to become more aware of what it is that they do and say. Think before you fucking speak, and learn to think outside of the fucking box.
I am really tired of being the one who has to get hurt every time I meet a guy who I actually like just to learn that he’s been scarred by some dumb selfish bitch. It’s always the same story – right girl, wrong time. Maybe if people we’re more honest with each other we wouldn’t have to suffer so much. My mother taught me that honesty is the best policy – let’s take that and run with it.
Scorpio is the eighth Sign of the Zodiac, and you shouldn’t take that lightly. You shouldn’t take Scorpios lightly, either. Those born under this Sign are dead serious in their mission to learn about others. There’s no fluff or chatter for Scorpios, either: these folks will zero in on the essential questions, gleaning the secrets that lie within. The curiosity of Scorpios is immeasurable, which may be why they are such adept investigators. These folks love to probe and know how to get to the bottom of things. The fact that they have a keen sense of intuition certainly helps.
Scorpios are known for their intensity. They are a determined folk that absolutely throw themselves into whatever they do — but getting them to commit to something is rarely an easy task. These folks are intense, passionate and filled with desire. They’re also complex and secretive, so don’t expect to get much out of them, lest they become suspicious and exit stage left. It’s best not to bet against Scorpios, either, since these folks are surprisingly resourceful.
Secretive and Intuitive
Most Scorpios are highly intuitive, which can make them either very compassionate and empathic or very cruel and vindictive, because they know where other people’s weak points are. Scorpios like to explore the profound in life and have little interest in small talk.
Scorpios are secretive, yet other people tend to tell them their own secrets. This often puts Scorpio in the role of counselor. Scorpios are excellent judges of character, and they have an incredible amount of sympathy for those who truly deserve it, but no sympathy or patience for whiners and people who are the authors of their own misfortune.
Self-Sacrificing
It’s the Scorpion which symbolizes Scorpios, and it’s no accident. Much like the Scorpion would rather kill itself than be killed, those born under this Sign are the ones who are in ultimate control of their destiny. Toward those for whom they have sympathy, Scorpios are fiercely protective, compassionate and self-sacrificing. They will risk their lives unthinkingly to protect those they care about. When Scorpios have an altruistic ascendant such as Aries or Leo, the combination of self-sacrifice and courage may draw them to make a career in one of the rescuing professions, such as police officer, fireman, coast guard or paramedic.
Magnetic and Seductive
Scorpios often have piercing eyes and a powerful gaze. Their personalities are seductive. People tend to find them interesting because they reveal little but are usually very deep. They are slow to trust new people, and it takes a long time for them to reveal just a few of their secrets.
Strength in the Face of Adversity
Scorpios can tolerate a lot of hardship and they can manage under the worst of conditions. These folks have tremendous regenerative powers, much like the literal Scorpion can lose its tail and promptly grow a new one. They are good at overcoming obstacles and turning change and challenge to their advantage, which is useful because Scorpios tend to attract sudden changes and endure more than their fair share of hardship. They are extremely persistent, and will go after what they want with a fierce determination that is often rewarded. They are survivors, and adversity only makes them stronger.
Scorpios simply never give up. They have tremendous staying power. In fact, talk to any Scorpio about their lives, and you’ll probably be in awe at all they’ve gone through. Trauma seems to follow them wherever they go. When Scorpio learns optimism, instead of expecting the worst, they’ll find that they possess amazing regenerative powers — the power to heal, create, and transform.
So today marks one year since I moved to Arizona. It's weird considering how everything ultimately worked out, but as they say, everything does happen for a reason. So I've recently moved out of Mesa (thank God) and over to Ahwatukee, which is a really nice family neighorhood only minutes away from where I used to live at with Chad. This is where I had ultimately wanted to live and I was able to get a fantastic deal on an incredible apartment. I have vaulted ceilings and a fireplace! Things I don't need but absolutely love haha.
I've been continually looking for employment and have been finding the need to have a resume finally, so I've been working on one. I'm considering taking a break from school next semester because I'm starting to get extremely burnt out. I've been in college for 6 years straight and I think it's time for a short break. We'll see how things work out.
In other news, I think I may be cutting my long porn star hair off for a more simple style (and I use the word 'simple' very loosely). I'm considering cutting it short again because its getting to be too much of a hassle and I think a change would do me good. Plus, it's only hair and it will grow back, plus it'll be much healthier if I cut it.
The first two pix are two that I've oogled over for the last 9 years hoping to be able to do my hair like that. The third & fourth pictures are more of a daily wear style, although I tend to do my hair up every day as it is, but shorter hair would cut the time down to a fraction of what it takes now. And, I also know many tricks of the trade whereas before when I was sporting a shorter doo, I didn't know what to do with it.
My appointment is on Tuesday @ noon. I'm seeing the same girl I've been seeing since New Years Eve and she has done a fantastic job everytime. She fully shares my vision, even though its nothing like her own, but that just goes to show how talented she is. So we'll see! Let me know what you all think please!!
I can feel Wawa just getting closer and closer to me! Only 3 more days until I can step foot inside of such a fine establishment. I know that I sound absolutely insane but as a Jersey native living 2,000+ miles away from the nearest Wawa, I am allowed to be insane rightfully so. Meatball sub, here I come!!!!!
Only 8 days left until I return home to New Jersey to visit! And guess what I absolutely cannot wait to have?! Yup, you guessed it - WAWA!!! :-D I've been patiently waiting for this delectable establishment to feed me once again their amazing meatball subs at 1:00am whilst borderline drunk and ready to continue the party where ever it may be.
So my 24th birthday celebration was spectacular! Hara flew in for the weekend from LA, everyone came out to the Pussycat Lounge to celebrate with me and I had a wonderful time! Unfortunately my birthday weekend came to a shocking end when I was out to dinner with my friends James and Hara on Sunday afternoon as I returned to my car which was parked in a parking structure just a few hundred feet from the restaurant, when I discovered my driver's side window bashed in, my dash destroyed, and my stereo missing. I immediately started crying. I couldn't believe something like this happened in broad daylight when I was so close by.
What pissed me off the most was the fact that Hara had my car professionally detailed for me as a birthday present which had basically gone to shit once my car was messed up. What pissed me off more than that was the fact my dash was jacked up and I had to installed the head unit myself to be temporary so whenever I would buy a new one I could just install it myself, and so the one which was stolen literally slid right out if you grabbed it on each side and pulled. No one knew that it was installed this way because it didn't move around or anything, but I knew of course.
On the bright side, Chad is giving me a new head-unit, I've cleaned up all the glass in the car, put my dash back together with the help of some super glue, and my window is being relaced on Thursday morning followed by the installation of my new head-unit.In other news, I broke the news to my parents about me staying here in Arizona to live and finish school and as I had predicted my mother, who everyone knows is absolute psychotic, completely lost it when I told her. She has been harrassing my friends through persistent phone calls, text messages, and emails which none of my friends are responding to. Basically, drastic measures must be taken to make a real point. Its such a shame I lack the support of my parents, but its even more a shame that they think their only child is a failure. Oh well, their loss!
That was one hell of a game tonight! Game 5 of the ALCS was an absolutely remarkable feat for the Red Sox! I'm so excited that they won and of course I was on the edge of my seat when JD Drew scored that last run! I cannot wait for Saturday's game! Wooh!
Well, I've secured myself a job at a jewelry store at the mall! The mall is literally right around the corner from my apartment and from school. I pretty much won't be traveling anymore than one mile tops per day, I'd say a 1/2 mile at most. I start no later than Friday and I'm really, really excited about this!
I knew once I moved out on my own and being away from Chad that things would really turn around for me. It's Murphy's Law that I ended up getting a job once I moved out, yet I couldn't find one to save my life when I was living with him.
Chad, on the other hand, has yet to find a job and still doesn't put out very much effort to do so. He said he's going to make his decision about whether or not he's moving home when his lease is up by the end of this week. I honestly see him moving back to Pennsylvania.
He's all about going with the flow and not about disrupting the current, but even when your going with the flow, you've still got to swim a little. He just wants a job handed to him and isn't willing to put out the necessary effort to get one. He's also not willing to suffice by getting any job because he's that stubborn. He claims that he's about working smart and not working hard. Sometimes you've got to work hard though to achieve and attain the things you truly want out of life.
He turned out to be a nice guy but not the type of boyfriend I'm looking for. It's a shame but at least I took the chance to find out. And what's even better is that I found a place I like living (other than the Main Line). Plus, I've got Peaches, whom I absolutely adore, and nothing could make me happier and than having her in my life.
Overall, I'm just really happy with the way things are unfolding for me. And of course for Peaches as well. I'm planning a birthday party for her next month. I already have one present picked out and I'm stilling looking for another. She's actually sitting right next to me as I type this. She's such a great companion and I knew she was the best choice when I adopted her. :-)
My 24th birthday is coming up next week and I still cannot believe I'm going to be 24 years old! It feels like just yesterday that I was getting my drivers license and graduating from high school. Soon I'll be graduating undergrad and starting graduate school. Life feels like it moves so slow yet so fast at times.
Okay, well its time for me to get into bed, but I'd like to end this post with a quote that I believe is so fantastic:
Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. -Josh Billings
If you live in California and you're at least 18 years old, please vote NO for Proposition 8 aka The California Marriage Protection Act. If you vote FOR it than you die a sad & pathetic death. Okay, not really. But seriously, this so-called "act" doesn't protect anyone.
Same-sex marriage is just the same as heterosexual marriage. The bond of love & marriage is something EVERYONE on this planet should be allowed the freedom to enjoy without reserve. Men and women have come into existence to not only procreate, but enjoy life however they see fit.
It's pretty ridiculous that anyone could be against gay-marriage. The reason I feel this way is because 1) God is NOT all up in your bedroom when you're getting down to business, 2) Nor is anyone else so it shouldn't be against the fucking law, 3) People are so unbelieveably uptight that it makes me sick and very ashamed to be apart of the human race, 4) The only REAL difference between gay couples and straight couples is what goes where -- SEXUALLY -- it's not a matter of what God apparently said, and 5) Homophobic people or anyone else who feels that gay-marriage is wrong is probably just mad because they have a secret desire to be with someone of the same sex but lack any real courage to do so because they care too much about what everyone else thinks.
The only reason it really bothers people is because its different and people do not adapt well to 'different' which coincides with change, which people are also afraid of. No one should be denied the right to have an official marriage, the ceremony, and the reception afterwards. Everyone should be legally allowed the same rights to enjoy the legal and spiritual bond of marriage.
Look at the two ladies in the photo above, don't they both look absolutely gorgeous?! Their so ridiculously in-love and some uptight fucktards want to come along and destroy their happiness by taking their rights away.
I highly doubt that any of the people who are against gay-marriage would like it if people took away their things, their rights, and anything else that they feel strongly connected to or passionate about. Someday these mindless pricks will learn, someday.
.jpg)
