Social Media, Man.

Snapshat seems so vain...like, you're pretty much just sending people pictures of you and what you're doing. That seems so bizarre to me. I've been told I don't "get it" because I'm in a long term relationship, but from what I've heard that its pretty much a way to get single ladies to send you nude pictures since you can't "save" the pictures. Screenshot does exist on phones these days, ladies.

I guess I can't say much. I'm on instagram which is basically the same thing, but to everyone, so I'm not getting those dirty pictures out and about. I mostly post pictures I'm proud of following the previous five of my cats.

Social media is just weird in general. Think about those words: Social Media.

The definition on dictionary.com is "websites and other online means ofcommunication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts." However, when we look at the words apart... Social: "seeking or enjoying the companionship ofothers" and media "the means ofcommunication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely." Basically, what I'm getting at is social media is kind of....weird.

Those last five words of the definition of media, "reach or influence people widely," stand out to me most. When it comes to social media, we share the moments that we want others to see. We share the party pictures, visiting important momuments, summer adventures, and the moments that make us and our sigificant other seem flawless. The people on your facebook, twitter, instagram, and whatever else is out there...they don't see the moments you were crying in the bathroom because your crush was paying more attention to some other girl more than you, when you got lost on the way to said monument and almost cried because unfamiliar places scare the living hell out of you, when you got too drunk to make it to the toilet to vomit and puked all the way down the hallway, or that big fight that you and you're S.O. got into when you were being a complete bitch at the party and didn't realize because you were too fucked up to function.

When I drink, I become sort of a facebook stalker (don't judge me). I'll scroll through my updates like we all do and think to myself, "I wonder what they're up to." Then I tend to go to their page, look through they're updates from the last three months, go through their pictures, and see what their work/relationship history has been in the last 6 months. Often, I find myself jealous at first. "Look at the parties they've been going to; They look like a riot." "Man, they've been together for 3 years and they still like they love each other to no ends and couldn't stand to spend 5 minutes without each other."

Then I step back and distance myself for a moment and look at my own Facebook profile. Then I realize "Holy shit, They're no better off than I am." When you look at my profile, it seems like I have had no bad moments in the last..several years. I have pictures of good times at the bar, house parties, small shindigs, perfect photos of Lancelot and I going on adventures, and updates that depict how great life is going for me.





Don't get me wrong. Lancelot and I get into fights about who is going to clean the litter box, I've been the girl crying in the bathroom, and financial situations haven't always been the easiest on us. When I look back on it all though, I realize I'm one lucky lady. Lancelot and I hardly ever fight, I'm always making new friends, and I get the opportunity to have spontaneous fun experiences more than most.

 So, I advise you, next time you use some form of social media, don't judge you're life by it. Everyone has their struggles and their bad moments, but no one ever takes photos of those; If they do, hardly anyone is cruel enough to actually post them. What you see online is not what actually what's going on, it's the very best of it.

As 90's kids, we expect so much more from life because the internet has tought us that. Don't use that as discouragement, use it to make something bigger and better than everything you've seen. Go to college, travel, make a difference. Don't sit around taking pity on yourselves. Use it as inspiration to make the things you see online everything you can (and hopefully will) be in your lives.

I wish the best of luck to all of you!

How I Went From Bitch to Push-Over to Peace Maker

I’m going to get pretty deep down and personal today, guys and gals, so watch out.

I’m going to start today by traveling back in time to my childhood. I was an only child with very few friends. Actually, I only had two. There was my next door neighbor, Dale: a private school kid a year under me. I was older, but he was always smarter. Then there was Elizabeth, whose family slaughtered pigs in the front yard and I would come inside to see the head in the kitchen sink. I believe these were two were my only friends because I was a mean, power-hungry little kid. I wanted to be in charge. I wanted to tell people what to do and when to do it. Dale took my shit because I was his next door neighbor and we were the only two kids close to our age in the neighborhood. Elizabeth took my shit because…well, I’m not entirely sure why, really, but she always did.  

I do remember once when a few kids closer to our age had actually moved onto our street. I didn’t know how to ride a bike, but they all did. So I made them ride their bikes around me while I twirled around with an umbrella, because I wanted to be the center of it all and I wanted the attention.

I guess that’s what it all came down to was the attention. I was a mean, power-hungry kid because I wanted the attention. I wanted people to listen to what I had to say because I didn’t feel I was listened to enough. I wanted people to do what I wanted them to do, because I wanted them to respect me and know who was in charge.

As I grew older, I realized that this was not a great way to make a lot of friends. Dale decided to move onto kinder people once he moved into my public school; In fact, he never spoke to me again once he transferred. Elizabeth, I ended up bailing out on once I realized she was crazier than me.

This sudden clarification of life hit me about 7^th grade. Then, I became a total pushover. Not quite the direction I had intended, but that was where it took me. I lost my balls because I wanted friends. Turns out, if you haven’t got any balls of your own, you just attract people who do. Those people will pull you by your tail and show you how those innocent victims you tortured so long felt.

This was when I met Audrey. She was a year or two younger than me, but that girl had balls. It was the summer after my 7^th grade year. I was constantly hanging out with Jenna and Audrey. Then it was just Audrey.

At this point in life, I had never had any guy show the slightest bit interest in me. Then, when I became a push-over and started hanging out with Audrey, I thought I had found the answer: Brian, Audrey’s older brother.

Turns out, he wasn’t the answer. He was just a teenage boy in desperate search for an easy lay. Guess what, guys and gals? He got it. You want to know why? No one ever told me “Don’t have sex or you’ll get pregnant and die.” Okay, so I may have heard the first part in that whole extremely awkward puberty video we had to watch in school, but no one actually sat down and talked to me about both the physical and emotionally consequences (So don’t forget to talk to your children about sex, parents! If you think it’s too early, it’s probably not.) That’s a whole terrible story and we won’t get into that, but I will say this. I had planned on saving sex until marriage, but in that past year of my life I had lost sight of so much I thought to be true that I think I had given up on myself, even.

Brian taught me a lovely lesson, though. Don’t get fucked over. He fucked me, found ways to avoid me, and never spoke to me again. For a girl that was planning on saving herself until marriage, this was a huge wake-up call. Life was getting real.

I learned a lot from that experience though. Once my eighth grade school year hit, I began to rebel. I didn't know exactly where I stood. I knew I wasn't in control, but I wasn't being taken advantage of my men or friends, either. I was incredibly lost that year, trying to find my place in the world. It wasn't until my freshman year when I found out where I stood.

 Never again did I let a man have that much control over me. I learned to spot a player from a mile away (ask anyone, I’ve got an eye for that). I know when a fella is being legit or just trying to get you for what is between your legs). He taught me to have some self-respect for myself and never let a man convince you to do anything you don’t want to.

After Brian, I changed. I wasn’t a push-over. I wasn’t an over-controlling bitch, either. I became extraordinarily smooth over the next year. I knew how to spot a fake and I knew how to play my own cards out. I got in a lot of shit over the next year, but no man ever messed with my heart. I’ve been broken up with twice over the last six years, both by men that I “dated” for less than a week. I never slept with them. I wouldn’t give them that leverage.

In fact, I went from psychotic bitch to complete pushover to peace maker. Turns out, the peace maker is a great medium. Everybody likes you. People can get pushy about wanting you on their side, but you just have to listen, keep your own opinions in, and do what you can do to get shit worked out.

Being the peace-maker is a lot like being the therapist of the group. I know this because I’ve done this many of times. When I was a freshman, I went to a New Years Party. It was me and five or so other people, two of whom were another couple. Well, we were walking to the apartment where we were going and the couple began fighting. By time we actually got inside the place and started with our celebrations, it had become a full fledged fight. Before I knew it, there was a bottle being smashed into the sink and glass in my arm. Naturally, the first thing you do is separate the fight. I sent the girl into one room and the guy into another. Weirdly enough, I wasn’t particularly close to either of these people, but everyone is a lot friendlier and open when they’re drunk. First, I went and talked to the guy and calmed his ass down with “I know very well how much she loves you” blah-blah bullshit. Whatever gets him to stop breaking bottles and gives me the full story. Naturally then I go to her, get the story from her. Tell her all the positives of his words to me and his worries that he was too afraid to share with her. Sometimes there needs to be a second talk with the fella, but it varies from situation to situation. This is all generally followed my “ Suddenly everyone gets all cuddle again and all is good in the world. The best part is, the peace maker is the one to thank.

This is a nice prequel for my soon to be blog post

COMING SOON: My Passion VS. My Day Job

(trust me, this post is a lot more necessary for it than you might believe. Originally this started out as "My Passion VS. My Day Job," then I got caught up in the back story.)