2/14: Just Another Day

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

With Valentine’s Day a few days away, some of you may or may not have someone special in your life. The media advertises this particular day as a day for lovers and targets gifts towards them. Husbands and boyfriends should buy their partners jewelry and in return, partners should purchase sexy lingerie to present themselves in. But I’ve learned with the passing years that this advertisement is nothing more than bologna.

First off, Valentine’s Day is a day commemorating the massacre of St.Valentine. St. Valentine was revered as the Saint of Love because he rebelled against Emperor Claudius’ edict prohibiting marriage among young people.  Claudius was against their marriage because he believed unmarried men made better soldiers and could easily focus on combat more as opposed to a wife or family. However, St. Valentine decided to wed young people behind Claudius’ back. Eventually he was captured and imprisoned, and later given a three part execution which entailed beating, stoning, and beheading. Sounds like fun, no? Just like Thanksgiving!

Secondly, you don’t need anyone but yourself on this holiday. If you do have someone, then celebrate your love with them. If you don’t have anyone, then don’t sweat it. The greatest love is not the love you receive from a partner, but rather, from yourself. You must love yourself before you can love any other. You can love yourself in any way you please, especially on Valentine’s Day.

Thirdly, don’t let the stereotypes depress you. Yes, you will probably see couples on Valentine’s Day. Yes, you will see endless ads for flowers, chocolates, and anything romantic. Yes, you will see slews of sentimental shows on television, but do not let any of these things bring you down. These stereotypes are a part of everyday life and will always be found on television and society. By taking these stereotypes to heart, depression and loneliness will overcome you easily (trust me on that). So instead of being saddened by just another day, go out. Have fun, hang out with a friend, go on a shopping spree. Do what makes you feel good and don’t let another overhyped holiday bring you down.

Thank you for reading today’s entry and if you enjoyed it, feel free to comment and reblog. As always, feedback is welcomed.

So tell me, what are your plans for Valentine’s Day?

Sayonara 2014

Good evening everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Today is New Year’s Eve. A night of entertainment and reflecting waits as the clock begins to count down the last minutes of 2014. This year has had its ups and downs, its deaths and uprisings, and like any other year, has culminated into a unique time.

For me, it has been a year of new experiences. The rearing head of my depression hitting harder as an adult than I had ever expected, camping in the mountains (which is new for me since I’m a city girl), trying new foods, finally doing the things I want to do, gaining some sense of independence and becoming stronger, and finding myself more with every chance to do something new. While this is only the start of opportunities to come, I can smile knowing that I’ve made a sizeable dent in this past year.

So my advice to all you followers, friends, and foolish mortals is as such:

• Live life. This is your only chance to do so until you’re reincarnated as another human or an animal or a Dorito chip.
  
  
• Accept and love yourself. If people refuse to accept you for who you are, what you love, who you want to be, and what you want to do, smile and shrug them off. They are you and never
  will be.  Only you can be as awesome as you can be. Let no one steal your awesomeness.
  
  
• Always be open minded to everything (and I mean everything). New food, new destinations, new opportunities: be open to them. With every new experience you will find more of yourself and understand yourself better. You will also gain more independence which will help you greatly in life.
  
  
• Do not let fear dictate your life because it will ruin it. Paranoia and anxiety are horses of different breeds, but with time and experience they can slowly be remedied.
  
  
• Sometimes you have to abandon logic and think with your feelings and/or heart. Yes, this sounds completely foolish because logic is the ultimate guide to analyzing, understanding, and thinking. However, there are times in life (you will know them when you encounter them) when you have to abandon all sorts of reason and let go.
  
  
• Treat yo self. This concept is so true because you work endlessly and break your back for a job you may love or hate. Set up one day for yourself every day and work towards that day where you can use your hard earned cash to buy something that makes you smile.

As the new year approaches, keep my advice in mind, and remember it when times are tough or you’re uncertain of what to do. I’ve walked the roads before and always fell back on these helpful kernels and believe me, they have helped.

Happy New Years everyone and may you have a good year. 

Hints for Surviving the Holidays

Season’s Greetings and Welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Folks, it’s just two days away from Christmas and I’m more excited than a dog with a chew toy. The holidays can usually be a hit or miss time of the year, especially with family and friends.  Some people dread the holidays due to in-laws, parents, being alone, and other reasons. Here are some tips for the upcoming holidays.

5. Baking Makes Any Soul Happy

As I’ve mentioned before, I have depression. I know the symptoms too well and still suffer them, but I accept it as a flaw of mine that can be healed with time. You know what makes me happy though and forget my depression? Baking. Baking is as therapeutic as cleaning and is an art. Baking takes your mind off everything and helps you focus on the situation at hand: to ensure that you bake the best food the universe has to offer.

It’s your baking; you do it how you want to and it will teach you what you did right or wrong. If people don’t like what you made, it’s not your fault. You didn’t ask them to eat what you made, they just decided to eat it. You just made it because it made you happy and there’s nothing wrong with that.

4.  Treat Yo Self

Ah, yes the concept from “Parks and Recreation” that the Internet has adapted. You may be someone who doesn’t celebrate Christmas or any holiday for that matter. You may be a person who doesn’t buy gifts for people. Either way, you have your reasons. However, this is the season of giving and there is no harm in giving yourself something. You’ve worked for it all year, you’ve had your eye on that one thing that you know will make you happy. So by all means, order it online, go to the store and buy it, because you deserve it.

3. You Don’t Need a Partner

One of our primal needs is intimacy, which can be thought of as love. The first and most important type of love is to love yourself. Accept everything about yourself even if your mom hates your hair or your aunt thinks you could be prettier if you lost some weight. Whenever anyone criticizes your appearance, you immediately question what they were like at your age, and disregard their negativity.  Chances are they were like you in their youthful years and will never admit it.

After loving yourself, there are many types of love: infatuation, admiration, adoration, and so many others. Then there’s true love, the type of love you often associate with a relationship. When your family questions why you have no one during the holidays you just tell them that you don’t need one. That’s it.

You don’t need a partner for the holidays. It doesn’t make anything more magical or special, if anything it just offers companionship which you can have with a friend online or in person. Even if you never want someone to stand by your side, that’s perfectly normal and all right. You are a strong person who can stand on their own two feet and love yourself in a way that no one else can. It’s a special type of love that only you can have and makes you feel fantastic.

2.  Don’t Worry About Life

Yes, you will figure out what college you want to go to, what major you want to pursue, what you want to do in life, where you want to live, and much more. It doesn’t need to be decided in the blink of an eye or as a hurried response to someone who questions your life. They’re asking anyway because they care about you and want to see you succeed in life, which is the want of parents and relatives everywhere. However, nothing can be gained by rushing through life and finding yourself working at a job that makes you miserable with a degree in something you never wanted. You decide what you want to do when you’re ready. Eventually things will work out.

1. Let No One Ruin Your Holiday

I emphasize ‘no one’ because no one: parents, exes, friends, enemies, relatives, should ruin your holiday. This is a day of celebration, a day of looking back and realizing that you made it another year, that you are strong and can go onto the next year, and a day of overall merriment.  Holidays are like your birthday: they only come once a year and since our lives are so incredibly short, it’s best to embrace them, and do whatever we please with them. If you don’t feel like having dinner with your family, but rather see a friend then do it. If you rather sit in your room all day and treat the day like any, then by all means go for it. If you want to do nothing, but drink the holiday away then have fun (just please don’t drive or turn into the Hulk when you’re completely smashed).

In short: let no one take your happiness from you, especially during the holiday season.  Parents and relatives can be ruthless and relentless with their questions, concerns, and antics, but at some point you can’t just run from them anymore. You must stand up for yourself and slay their words with your own sword of justice, crafted by your personality, desires, and emotions.  They cannot rule over you and what you want to do. At best, they can offer ideas, but it’s up to you to take them or not.