Reality sucks sometimes but have a little faith in humanity

Happy Friday!

and Spring BREAKKKK for me!

Hello, dear readers! I hope you had a good week and fantastic Friday. If you didn't, well, I'm sorry to hear about that. Either way, you deserve to treat yourself. My week started off a little rough, but once I got my Marketing exam done, it got better and better. My co-workers thought I was on a sugar high when really I was just happy and in good mood which I haven't quite been lately.

IT'S SPRING BREAK!!! Yes, it is an amazing feeling. It will be nice (and already is) to be home for a couple of days. I'm not a partier; in fact, I will be coming back to Cedar Falls to work next week. Plus, I have readings and studying to do for Humanities because I have a test the Wednesday after Spring Break. Not having class for a week will be nice, to have a little bit of quality time with myself is much needed.  

My latest Odyssey article link: What I've Learned From Ballroom Dancing.

Before I begin my topic of choice, there are a couple things I need to say first. For one, I wanted to thank the support of my close family (/relatives) and friends for reading these posts and giving me feedback. I don't expect people to read it as soon as post them or I don't expect people to read every single one. With that started, this brings me to my second (and final) point: this is my blog. This is where I write whatever happened to be on my mind. It is never my intention to call anyone out or single anybody out,  and neither it is my intention to hurt anybody with what I say. Those who know me well enough know that I write (or try to, because I'm not always perfect) about something happening in my life and connecting it to society. 

I am struggling between a couple of topics for this post. And I believe I can connect them in a way that makes sense. For those who don't already know, I love reading stories and FanFiction online, listening to music, and being way too involved in my TV shows: Arrow, The Flash, The 100, Suits, and Criminal Minds. These are my escapes. This is where I allow myself to let go and lose myself in the stories, the music, and the TV shows. Contrary to some of the popular beliefs that today's music, literature, and TV shows are mindless and don't teach you anything, I believe there shows, songs, and books out there that aim to teach you something. I'm not naive enough to believe they are trying to make money off us or trying to write for ratings. I know that plays a part; how big that part is exactly is a discussion for another time.

Reality is terrible. Reality has Donald Trump running for president and actually having supporters who believe he wants to "make America great again". Reality has the lives of African Americans still being discriminated against in violent ways. Reality has the wage gap between men and women. Reality has millions of college students up to their eyeballs in deep debt because tuition is skyrocketing. Reality has men and women being subjected to sexual assaults and some of society naively blaming the victim. Reality has award shows, The Oscars, for example, unfairly lacking diversity in the nominees. Reality has members of the middle class gradually sinking into the lower class. Reality has many people still believing that climate change is a hoax or joke. Reality is terrible.

Can you really blame anybody for wanting to escape reality? For wanting a chunk of time when they can ignore all the problems, all the terrible things in the world done by terrible people? It's why we want to go on vacations, to get away from life for a while. But we can't let ourselves focus on all the terrible aspects of reality. There are good aspects of humanity and further more reality. I try to focus on the little things that prove my faith in humanity and my version of reality gets a little better. Does that make me blind or naive to all the terrible things or people of the world? Maybe. Maybe not. I would like to see a world where people try to pass a random act of kindness however they can.

 Until next week,

Thought of the day

Don't follow down the road with side-blinders on

Happy Friday!

It is Friday. Finally. If you're reading this, do both of us a favor and go get yourself a treat for making it through the week without strangling anyone. Well, if you did, I'm sorry because that sucks.

I told a co-worker today that it doesn't matter how easy-going my week can go, I'm still exhausted and drained by the end of the week. Probably need to get more sleep and stress and worry less and not to take on too much. Aha, nervous laughter, yeah, that's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

I hope all is well with my readers. If not, please let me know and we can talk. I want everyone to know that if they need someone to listen, I'll lend them an ear.

Here's the link to my latest Odyssey article: Love Lessons I've Learned From Ballroom Dancing.

Today's topic is something I'm sure everyone is familiar with and, if not, will experience sooner or later in life. There are many forms of it than we might think of. It can be sugar-coated to the point we actually believe it. What is ironic is that we don't even realize we are doing it or experiencing it.

tunnel vision

When people first hear this phrase, their first thoughts are probably about driving. They wouldn't be wrong. It's common and understandable to get tunnel vision when driving, especially when driving somewhere you have been a million times and know the route like the back of your hand. Your brain takes a break and your subconscious takes over and you end up getting lost in your thoughts. The next thing you know, you arrived at your destination Or other cases, someone could be driving and be so focused on getting to the destination that they forget to enjoy the scenery or landscape every so often. 

For a literal person, this is where they stop. Tunnel vision actually applies and is associated with more than just driving. You could get so focused on a goal or mission that you end up missing out on commitments or precious family time you can't get back, forgetting and mixing up your priorities. It's so easy to do this. Get caught up in this way of life. Maybe in some twisted way, you might start to believe it defines you as person and if you fail, you feel completely and utterly lost. But it doesn't. Don't let your career, your job define you as a person. You are so much more than that. There is so much more to you than your social status, economic status, work status.

Until next week, 

Thought of the day

 

There's a difference between "I love you" and "I'm in love with you"

Happy Friday!

Once again, you have made it through another week! Sadly for many college students, it's their last week of break, and classes resume on Monday. And you know what you should do, treat yourself; it's cheat day after all.

This week my life consisted of work, sleeping, and Parks & Recreation binging. While I will admit that I want another week of break, I'm ready to get back on schedule again. I can tell you right now that this will be a short post today, because I'm exhausted for some reason and hungry.

Here's the link to my latest Odyssey online article: Grades Do Not Define Who We Are.

For many big stores, the Valentine's Day flowers, chocolate, teddy bears that say "I love you", and candy was already put out shortly after Christmas or New Year's Day. My dad had the perfect reaction to this: what the frick? Anymore Valentine's Day lost the original meaning behind the day and now has become so commercialized that's it's a cliché and ridiculous holiday. 

To me, this day is sort of pointless because you shouldn't tell the special someone how much you love them and appreciate them for all that they do for you, etcetera only on February 14th. It's something I believe someone should do everyday but not going all out, obviously. I do get it if you want to do something a little out of the ordinary, but it bothers me when people go all out on this day. If I see people do that, it feels like they are trying to make up for all the times they missed out on. 

What I look forward to is that day after V-Day when all the chocolate and candy are all reduced prices.

A friend asked me for some relationship advice because they thought they still might have feelings for an ex-significant other, while, at the same time, starting to date and have feelings for another person. I told them, "I believe there's a difference between loving someone and being in love with someone. People often don't realize this for whatever reason." My friend eventually figured it out and thanked me for the advice.  

"I love you." Loving someone can apply to sibling relationships, parent-child relationships, friend-to-friend relationships, romantic relationships, and etc. This is more of an emotion or feeling.

"I'm in love with you." Being in love with someone is different. You are being specific. You are telling that one person that you have fallen for them. You are in a state of being. Which is being in love with that person.  

 Until next week,

Thought of the day

 

 

 

 

 

Stop always waiting for the other shoe to drop

Happy Friday!

and

Happy New Year!

Hello from me in 2016! I hope everyone enjoyed the journey into the new year. Let's hope people were smart when (and if) they drank to find another way to get home so there were little to no accidents due to drunk drivers. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes are letting the Stanford Cardinals run all over them in the Rose Bowl. After the third touchdown in the 1st quarter, we decided to watch something better than the crap show. I apologize if any of my readers are Hawkeye fans but they are not playing the best.

Not much is new in my life since the last time I posted. I will be going back to UNI on Sunday to work next week. Spending time with family is nice but sometimes there's a point when a person spends too much time with them. Similar to a family vacation: on the way to the destination is (usually) the fun part, but on the way back, everyone is usually sick of each other.

Here's the link to the latest in the Odyssey articles I've written: Cats Are Jerks During the Holidays and Being Single During the Holidays, As Told By Tina Fey And Amy Poehler. 

OH! Before I forget, I checked my final grades and I earned two A's, two A-'s, and one B+ which is a 3.74 GPA for the semester. After screwing myself over scheduling 2 humanities courses with all the reading that came with them, I'm proud of the grades I got. Was it worth all the stress? Maybe. Yes and no. It's up for debate.

Onto to today's topic. This is something I've noticed that I do and I imagine that there are others out there who are guilty of this. It's something that, once in the habit, can be hard to get out of the habit of doing. 

Living life always waiting for the other shoe to drop

Hi, my name is Melissa Curtis, and I'm guilty of living like this. When something good goes right (or the way you wanted/hoped it would) or someone comes into your life that you instantly know will change your life for the better and after coming down from your high, you stop to wonder, "Now what will go wrong for me?" 

Cinderella didn't. Her shoe slipped and she kept on running. I think what happens is that we recognize a pattern in our lives that when something we get something really wanted and then an event happens that makes us wonder why we get our hopes up in the first place. But what we fail to see is that up and down pattern we experience what life is. It's a rollercoster that is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and any other sudden changes in direction. To be fair, it's easy to get caught up in our day to day lives and forget that.

I don't have any special advice or words of wisdom. Why? This is something I'm still trying to figure out for myself. If you have some advice, I would be all ears.

Until next week,

Thought of the day

  

Save one person; it doesn't matter if that person is yourself

Happy Friday!

Well, it's once again Friday. After the long week we have all had, we deserve a treat. 

I, as well as all other college students, definitely deserve a break after finishing finals and surviving the week from hell. Granted, there are many other students who had way worse week with tests, presentations, projects, speeches, etc.

FINALLY. I'm home with my kitty, my family (Rachel comes home tomorrow! EEK), the holiday decorations are up, holiday food will soon be made. There really is nothing else like coming home especially during the holidays. No classes, no homework, no studying. Or in other words, no stress.

Here's the link to my latest Odyssey article: An Open Letter to My Future Children. There is an error, but it's already been published. 

I can't remember where I saw this quote but it touched me in a way that it opened my way of thinking. So of course, I needed to find the quote, but I couldn't find it to my disappointment. It went a little like this: "Save someone. Just save one person. It does not matter if that one person is yourself." We often underestimate our actions when it comes to helping out others. We love to try to save everyone when in reality we are the ones drowning and needed saving. Family and friends try their best to help us, but we need to save ourselves. It's easy to become reliant on others to save us. If the only person you end up saving is yourself, then you succeed.

Some say that to save others, you must first save yourself. This is not true. Far from it actually. By doing the little things, saying the right set of words at the right time, etc., we don't always realize the effect that can have on someone's day, mood, life, and so on. And sometimes it's through saving someone else that we save ourselves or figure out a way to save ourselves. 

Until next week,

Thought of the day

 

  

Grades do not (and should not) define who we are

Happy Friday!

It's Friday, which means....the weekend! You made it! Treat yourself! (You probably deserve it, anyway.)

A brief update on my life: I have been feeling a little sluggish for a while, but I'm really trying to just get through each day. What helps are great co-workers, great roommate and/or friends, and naps. And the thought I'm almost done with the semester and I can enjoy some time away. 

Here's the link to my latest Odyssey article: 10 Movies To Get You in the Holiday Spirit.

Countdown to Christmas break: 7 days: 2 tests, 1 project, ? hours of work.

 I GOT THIS. 

Speaking of the dreaded finals week. There's something I think it's important and especially relevant this point in the semester to talk about. I came about this topic while I was having lunch with a friend. All semester she's struggled with a class and the terrible (and totally unhelpful) professor, and I listened to her vent (totally don't mind doing it). Without going into too much detail to be respectful, I said, "This will sound preachy, but your grade does not define who you are." It's true. I know how much work she did. I know how much effort she's made to learn the material. The grade she should get for all the time, effort, work she put into the semester is definitely (and significantly) higher than the one she's told me that she'll likely get.

The grades we get on projects, the grades we get on tests, the grades we get on assignments DO NOT define us. 

This is so important that I will say it again: the grades we get in a class do not define us and who we are. 

Grades do not define who we are as human beings. They do not define us, and we shouldn't let them. They do not know what a beautiful human you are. 

What matters isn't the grade, even though I will not deny the fact it's nice to see an 'A' on a quiz, you got; it's what you got out of the experience, what you learned is what matters. Now, I realize this is a hard concept to accept and enforce in your life.  

Why we put so much emphasis on grades is something that bugs me to no end. If someone, who worked really hard (and learned a lot), received a 'C+' then they deserve the same positive attention given to the person who, might not have worked as hard, received a 'A'. I believe it goes back to how our society today seems to love to judge by first glance and that's that. While I might not have proof to back this opinion up, this something that needs to be changed about our society.

Until next week,

Thought of the day

Dear readers...

Happy Friday!

I would like to take a moment to thank each and every one who reads my blog. Whether it's every once in a while or every post, it means the world to me that people want to hear what I have to say. It's an amazing and empowering feeling. I can finally say: "I have a voice, and this is what it's saying!" 

Thank you for giving me that feeling!

In the spirit of being thankful, I would like to take the time to list only some of the many things I have to do thankful for.*

*In no particular order :)

Things I have been blessed with: 

a FAMILY who loves and supports me

a few FRIENDS who I can count on being there when it matters 

a JOB that I can make money and be given the experience

a ROOF and BED to stay and sleep

the OPPORTUNITY to get an education

the A/C on hot days like today 

all the SACRIFICES people have made for me

ELECTRICITY to allow me to charge and power anything I need

WI-FI and/or INTERNET that allows me to connect to other people

BOOKS when I need an escape from life

MUSIC when I need to get out of my head for a little while

GOD and all the ANGELS in heaven looking out for me every day

I could go on forever (okay, maybe not forever) but that wouldn't necessarily be a good use of a post.

We take things and people for granted. Don't deny it. I can't deny that fact any more than I can deny the fact my name is Melissa Curtis.

I don't mean any harsh feelings by saying that. It's a fact or statement that is open to interpretation. Whether we mean to or not, we do take things and people for granted. We forget that life does not owe anything. The same can be (most of the time) said about people. Being a good father or mother or sister or brother or friend is a choice. Meaning, they don't have to be to you. 

It's for this reason that we have days like Mother's Day and Father's Day and the lesser-known Grandparent's Day. We take advantage of the fact they will always be there. There will be times when they can't be there or are no longer able to be there for us. 

This does not only to parents and grandparents. This applies to everyone: friends, family, pets, teachers, professors, mentors, godparents, doctors, nurses, dentists, etc. Or basically everyone in your life or who have ever been or will be in your life. Please remember to thank them for all they do. They all have helped shape who you are today. 

If you read this and all you see on the news are terrible things, click here and read the article. Here is your one good piece of news. A nice reminder that there are good people out in this world that is seemingly full of hate and destruction.

Sometimes we underestimate what a simple "thank you" will do.

Until next Friday,

Thought of the day