"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."
Sunday, June 27, 2010
i love sundays
I love Sundays for a few reasons, but one of the main reasons is because postsecret.com updates their website every Sunday. Post secret is my favorite blog to follow, of all time. The concept of the site is simple but what can be found there can be funny, heartbreaking, beautiful, sad and moving. People from all over create a post card, and write their secrets on it and mail it in anonymously. The post cards get published in books, but also updated on postsecret.com. Sometimes the "secrets" are actual secrets, but sometimes they are just things that people are afraid to say out loud.
The creator of the website, a man named Frank Warren, spoke at Penn State my freshman year. He told the audience that he went through a time in his life where he was depressed and had decided to kill himself, however it was knowing that he wasn't alone, from the secrets, stories and confessions of other people, that saved him. He started the site as an attempt to 'pay it forward' and help other people by making it public that everyone goes through things they are afraid to say out loud.
The site is more than a blog, it's been a sort of a cultural phenomenon. The site is extremely popular and the kind of art on the front of the post cards has started a new form of art, appropriately called "mail art," I even was quizzed on this art form, and post secret, in one of my college art classes. The site has also achieved the purpose that Frank intended it too, it has saved lives and let people know that they are never alone. Every few weeks, there is a card posted that says "I was going to kill myself, until I read this secret....(insert older post secret here)."
Just two weeks ago, this secret was posted:
Within a few HOURS of the secret being posted, there were facebook groups, having almost 60,000 members by the end of the week, that were supporting and encouraging whoever wrote this secret not to give up, not to do it, and that he or she was not alone. Then, the following week, followers of this story organized a rally against suicide on the Golden Gate, the place where most suicides occur.
Click to read the article in TIME
My friends can affirm, I love this website. I have one of the books on my night stand and save the images of my favorite secrets every week, resulting in a "P.S" picture folder on my computer that most likely takes up more memory than I would like to admit.
If you haven't visited the site before, you should try it out. So simple, but so powerful. There are also tons of youtube videos out there that show case 'stand-out' secrets, and I could watch them for hours (and have on one or two occasions, shh). This is one of my favorites, I hope you enjoy and can see why people love this website.
The creator of the website, a man named Frank Warren, spoke at Penn State my freshman year. He told the audience that he went through a time in his life where he was depressed and had decided to kill himself, however it was knowing that he wasn't alone, from the secrets, stories and confessions of other people, that saved him. He started the site as an attempt to 'pay it forward' and help other people by making it public that everyone goes through things they are afraid to say out loud.
The site is more than a blog, it's been a sort of a cultural phenomenon. The site is extremely popular and the kind of art on the front of the post cards has started a new form of art, appropriately called "mail art," I even was quizzed on this art form, and post secret, in one of my college art classes. The site has also achieved the purpose that Frank intended it too, it has saved lives and let people know that they are never alone. Every few weeks, there is a card posted that says "I was going to kill myself, until I read this secret....(insert older post secret here)."
Just two weeks ago, this secret was posted:
Within a few HOURS of the secret being posted, there were facebook groups, having almost 60,000 members by the end of the week, that were supporting and encouraging whoever wrote this secret not to give up, not to do it, and that he or she was not alone. Then, the following week, followers of this story organized a rally against suicide on the Golden Gate, the place where most suicides occur.
Click to read the article in TIME
My friends can affirm, I love this website. I have one of the books on my night stand and save the images of my favorite secrets every week, resulting in a "P.S" picture folder on my computer that most likely takes up more memory than I would like to admit.
If you haven't visited the site before, you should try it out. So simple, but so powerful. There are also tons of youtube videos out there that show case 'stand-out' secrets, and I could watch them for hours (and have on one or two occasions, shh). This is one of my favorites, I hope you enjoy and can see why people love this website.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
gives me hope
A recent trend in the website/blogging world over the past few years is one that you are no doubt familiar with if you spend any kind of time on the internet. It is websites with user submitted content, anonymously sharing little blurbs about their lives with the rest of the world. However, it isn't just random life stories and happenings, they are all "themed" according to the respective site.
The first website, the grandfather of all it's website branch-offs, is FML or fmylife.com. I'm sure you can figure out what it means. On this site, users submit small stories and life events that they thought, well, sucked. Everything posted on the site is something that has had a negative affect in the user's life. An example of something you may find on the site would be: Today I woke up, got dressed, commuted an hour to my job, and realized it was Saturday. FML. Or, sometimes, they are much more serious: I Just found out my finacee cheated on me with my maid-of-honor, it's the night before our wedding. FML.
So, as you can see, these life happenings that people are sharing with the world are only things that have made negative, and potentially catastrophic impacts on people. At first glace, the website can seem funny. People sharing with the world all the little mistakes we make day-in and day-out that really piss us off. But looking closer, this website is sad. People hating their lives or their circumstances so much that they need to put it on a website just so they can find humor in their pain. Now, the commuting to work one -- not so serious. But there are many that are similar to the wedding one, posts where people are traumatized.
I started out being a huge fan of this website, visiting it almost daily for laughs for over a year, however in the past few years, I've become a little bit disturbed by its concept. Since when is dwelling on the negative ever a useful thing? When has that ever improved any circumstance?
Since I love cliches, I'm going to quote the Dave Matthews Band, "celebrate we will, because life is short, but sweet for certain." We should be trying to love and absorb every second of our ever-so-temporary lives. Yes, bad things happen, but it's celebrating the good things that matter. So these trendy websites, that are essentially haters on life, get me upset.
Like I said FML is the grandfather, the site that started the internet craze, but it is not to be out-done by it's offspring, textsfromlastnight.com, a horrible excuse for entertainment where people submit raunchy and disgusting text messages they have received/sent out. Then there is mylifeisaverage.com, think fml with less drama. For example: today I watched 5 hours of TV with my cat. my life is average.
However, there has been a small shift in these popular sites, with the creation and rising popularity of a different kind of website; This website was born as a direct result of the popularity of the aforementioned sites. It's called givesmehope.com, its tagline is "FML for the optimist." And that is exactly what it is. The idea is the same, users submit anonyomous life happening, but ones that give them hope for the future, that remind them that the world is not always such a bad place.
The results of this site are pretty remarkable, and I feel so challenged to look at all the good things in my life that give me hope. Like the unconditional love of my parents and sisters give me hope, the power of life-long friendships give me hope, and people who always say hold open the door for someone behind them give me hope.
We all struggle, and we are all dealt those times where things really feel like they suck -- be it commuting an hour to work on a Saturday or a heart-shattering revelation the night before your wedding -- regardless, we all have more than enough to be thankful and it is possible to see good in our lives even in the midst of a less-than-ideal situation. It's my hope that we can always be able to find the things in our lives that give us hope.
Here are a few examples from the website, please let them warm your heart as they did mine.
I am a third grade teacher. Most kids come in with notes or messages written by their mothers in their lunch sacks. One little girl's dad left, and her mother abuses drugs. But her 12 year old brother never fails to write "I love you" on her brown paper bag. He GMH.
I was at the mall the other day when I saw an old couple sitting together. The man looked over at the woman and said, "Jane, we did it. We grew old together." The look in her eyes GMH.
Today my 7 year old daughter gave my 5 year old son a kiss on the cheek. After she walked away, I saw him rubbing the spot where she had kissed him. I asked if he was wiping the kiss off. He said "no, I'm rubbing it in so it gets to my heart faster." Siblings that truly love each other GMH!
A guy I knew in high school would bring two dozen roses to school every Valentines Day. He would give one rose to each girl he knew that didn't have a valentine. He felt that every girl deserved to feel special. I was one of those girls. We've been married 3 years. Stand up guys in a world of flakes GMH.
I have suffered from an eating disorder for quite a long time. When I was 17, I was sitting in a diner that I always go to to fiddle with my food. When my cheeseburger came there was a tiny flag in the bun. The young waiter had written "Please eat" onto the flag. People who notice the little things GMH.
I was on the bus on my way to the mall, when a homeless man sat next to me. He saw that I was looking at the bouquet of flowers he held, and told me that they were for his wife because today is her birthday. As he got off the bus, he walked into the cemetery and placed the flowers on his wife's grave.
A love that never dies GMH.
Today was my cousins Kaylee's fifth birthday, and a little girl with Dwarfism was at her party.
Kaylee came up to me holding her hand and said, "This is my best friend Elena, and she can't grow. She's special, God made her that way." My baby cousin's blind love for others GMH.
I attended my friend's wedding a few months after my husband passed away. Watching her father/daughter dance brought me to tears thinking about how my daughter will never get that chance. My husband's friend came up to me and said she may not have her daddy but she will have a line of 'uncles' waiting for their first dance with her. GMH
The first website, the grandfather of all it's website branch-offs, is FML or fmylife.com. I'm sure you can figure out what it means. On this site, users submit small stories and life events that they thought, well, sucked. Everything posted on the site is something that has had a negative affect in the user's life. An example of something you may find on the site would be: Today I woke up, got dressed, commuted an hour to my job, and realized it was Saturday. FML. Or, sometimes, they are much more serious: I Just found out my finacee cheated on me with my maid-of-honor, it's the night before our wedding. FML.
So, as you can see, these life happenings that people are sharing with the world are only things that have made negative, and potentially catastrophic impacts on people. At first glace, the website can seem funny. People sharing with the world all the little mistakes we make day-in and day-out that really piss us off. But looking closer, this website is sad. People hating their lives or their circumstances so much that they need to put it on a website just so they can find humor in their pain. Now, the commuting to work one -- not so serious. But there are many that are similar to the wedding one, posts where people are traumatized.
I started out being a huge fan of this website, visiting it almost daily for laughs for over a year, however in the past few years, I've become a little bit disturbed by its concept. Since when is dwelling on the negative ever a useful thing? When has that ever improved any circumstance?
Since I love cliches, I'm going to quote the Dave Matthews Band, "celebrate we will, because life is short, but sweet for certain." We should be trying to love and absorb every second of our ever-so-temporary lives. Yes, bad things happen, but it's celebrating the good things that matter. So these trendy websites, that are essentially haters on life, get me upset.
Like I said FML is the grandfather, the site that started the internet craze, but it is not to be out-done by it's offspring, textsfromlastnight.com, a horrible excuse for entertainment where people submit raunchy and disgusting text messages they have received/sent out. Then there is mylifeisaverage.com, think fml with less drama. For example: today I watched 5 hours of TV with my cat. my life is average.
However, there has been a small shift in these popular sites, with the creation and rising popularity of a different kind of website; This website was born as a direct result of the popularity of the aforementioned sites. It's called givesmehope.com, its tagline is "FML for the optimist." And that is exactly what it is. The idea is the same, users submit anonyomous life happening, but ones that give them hope for the future, that remind them that the world is not always such a bad place.
The results of this site are pretty remarkable, and I feel so challenged to look at all the good things in my life that give me hope. Like the unconditional love of my parents and sisters give me hope, the power of life-long friendships give me hope, and people who always say hold open the door for someone behind them give me hope.
We all struggle, and we are all dealt those times where things really feel like they suck -- be it commuting an hour to work on a Saturday or a heart-shattering revelation the night before your wedding -- regardless, we all have more than enough to be thankful and it is possible to see good in our lives even in the midst of a less-than-ideal situation. It's my hope that we can always be able to find the things in our lives that give us hope.
Here are a few examples from the website, please let them warm your heart as they did mine.
I am a third grade teacher. Most kids come in with notes or messages written by their mothers in their lunch sacks. One little girl's dad left, and her mother abuses drugs. But her 12 year old brother never fails to write "I love you" on her brown paper bag. He GMH.
I was at the mall the other day when I saw an old couple sitting together. The man looked over at the woman and said, "Jane, we did it. We grew old together." The look in her eyes GMH.
Today my 7 year old daughter gave my 5 year old son a kiss on the cheek. After she walked away, I saw him rubbing the spot where she had kissed him. I asked if he was wiping the kiss off. He said "no, I'm rubbing it in so it gets to my heart faster." Siblings that truly love each other GMH!
A guy I knew in high school would bring two dozen roses to school every Valentines Day. He would give one rose to each girl he knew that didn't have a valentine. He felt that every girl deserved to feel special. I was one of those girls. We've been married 3 years. Stand up guys in a world of flakes GMH.
I have suffered from an eating disorder for quite a long time. When I was 17, I was sitting in a diner that I always go to to fiddle with my food. When my cheeseburger came there was a tiny flag in the bun. The young waiter had written "Please eat" onto the flag. People who notice the little things GMH.
I was on the bus on my way to the mall, when a homeless man sat next to me. He saw that I was looking at the bouquet of flowers he held, and told me that they were for his wife because today is her birthday. As he got off the bus, he walked into the cemetery and placed the flowers on his wife's grave.
A love that never dies GMH.
Today was my cousins Kaylee's fifth birthday, and a little girl with Dwarfism was at her party.
Kaylee came up to me holding her hand and said, "This is my best friend Elena, and she can't grow. She's special, God made her that way." My baby cousin's blind love for others GMH.
I attended my friend's wedding a few months after my husband passed away. Watching her father/daughter dance brought me to tears thinking about how my daughter will never get that chance. My husband's friend came up to me and said she may not have her daddy but she will have a line of 'uncles' waiting for their first dance with her. GMH
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
it's official!
Although my summer break from the academic year is nearly half-way through, yesterday was the first official day of summer.
Things I love about summer:
-motivation to read more books
-iced coffee
-family vacation
-long hot days
-long cool nights
-drinking immeasurable amounts of crystal light peach iced tea
- Bethany Beach, DE
- not feeling guilty about using sunless tanning lotion
- having an excuse to paint my toe nails obnoxious colors
-no longer having the "I don't have time" excuse
- back-to-school school supplies sales starting in June
-catching up on a year's worth of scrap-booking
There are a lot of things that I love about summer. So far I'm having a great one, and I hope you are too.
Things I love about summer:
-motivation to read more books
-iced coffee
-family vacation
-long hot days
-long cool nights
-drinking immeasurable amounts of crystal light peach iced tea
- Bethany Beach, DE
- not feeling guilty about using sunless tanning lotion
- having an excuse to paint my toe nails obnoxious colors
-no longer having the "I don't have time" excuse
- back-to-school school supplies sales starting in June
-catching up on a year's worth of scrap-booking
There are a lot of things that I love about summer. So far I'm having a great one, and I hope you are too.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
addiction
I've been spending the summer of 2010 in State College, Pennsylvania and it's more than beautiful. The streets are less crowded, and it's actually possible to find parking spots downtown on Friday nights. It's sunny almost everyday and the tone of the town is calm and relaxed.
This college town is all about the hustle-and-bustle during the school year, but in these sweet summer months, the busy activity of the average student is almost non-existent, including my own. I no longer have an overload of classes and countless meetings, review sessions and group project meetings. The extra free time is more than enjoyable, and I cannot help but to be painfully aware that this is the last free summer of my life. God willing, I will graduate next May with the promise of some type of employment and suddenly, lazy summers and months of endless relaxation and sun will be a memory as distant as grade-school recess.
But that's not what this post is about, I'll save the sappy summer reminiscing for August.
This about what has happened since the summer has started. I've developed a new addiction, one that has occasionally come and gone quietly through different life phases and has always been semi-present throughout the years, but never has it held its grip so firmly on me as it has over the past 6 weeks.
What, you may ask is this clawing addiction? It's not simple or easy for me to say, but the truth is, I am deeply addicted to reality television.
The phases of this addiction are no different than any other kinds.
First there was fall, the happening, the birth of the addiction. Casually indulging in its joy and entertainment without realizing the implications until I was already drowning in it's captivity. Then there was the stage of denial, telling myself that although I was re-scheduling and re-prioritizing my life to feed my addiction, I really didn't think that it was a problem. "It's just because I have a lot of extra free time, it's summer," were words I have repeated to myself to justify my actions rectify my dignity. Then, my friends started noticing, saying things like "I love that you are caught up on every show!" and "AH! I didn't know you watched that too! what did you think of last week's episode?!" that's when I knew I was in deep.
The Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of New York, The Real World, Say Yes to the Dress and Tacky House (along with every show on the food network), just to name a few.
I know that up is the only way to go from here. I also know that, like curing other addictions, I need to want the change, not just talk about it. But I'm not there yet. Until then, or until the first week of classes start, I will continue to be hulu's most loyal site visitor and the girl who can lend her opinion to almost any reality-television themed conversation.
This college town is all about the hustle-and-bustle during the school year, but in these sweet summer months, the busy activity of the average student is almost non-existent, including my own. I no longer have an overload of classes and countless meetings, review sessions and group project meetings. The extra free time is more than enjoyable, and I cannot help but to be painfully aware that this is the last free summer of my life. God willing, I will graduate next May with the promise of some type of employment and suddenly, lazy summers and months of endless relaxation and sun will be a memory as distant as grade-school recess.
But that's not what this post is about, I'll save the sappy summer reminiscing for August.
This about what has happened since the summer has started. I've developed a new addiction, one that has occasionally come and gone quietly through different life phases and has always been semi-present throughout the years, but never has it held its grip so firmly on me as it has over the past 6 weeks.
What, you may ask is this clawing addiction? It's not simple or easy for me to say, but the truth is, I am deeply addicted to reality television.
The phases of this addiction are no different than any other kinds.
First there was fall, the happening, the birth of the addiction. Casually indulging in its joy and entertainment without realizing the implications until I was already drowning in it's captivity. Then there was the stage of denial, telling myself that although I was re-scheduling and re-prioritizing my life to feed my addiction, I really didn't think that it was a problem. "It's just because I have a lot of extra free time, it's summer," were words I have repeated to myself to justify my actions rectify my dignity. Then, my friends started noticing, saying things like "I love that you are caught up on every show!" and "AH! I didn't know you watched that too! what did you think of last week's episode?!" that's when I knew I was in deep.
The Bachelorette, The Real Housewives of New Jersey, The Real Housewives of New York, The Real World, Say Yes to the Dress and Tacky House (along with every show on the food network), just to name a few.
I know that up is the only way to go from here. I also know that, like curing other addictions, I need to want the change, not just talk about it. But I'm not there yet. Until then, or until the first week of classes start, I will continue to be hulu's most loyal site visitor and the girl who can lend her opinion to almost any reality-television themed conversation.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
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