I completed the first class of my graduate certificate program in Children’s Literature!!!
It was called “The Art of the Picturebook,” and I never knew that school could be so interesting and fun!! I’ve enjoyed some classes throughout my college career, but none so much as this! I was actually excited to do homework! WHUUUUT!?? weird… I never really felt like I fit in in any of the other classes or programs I took in the past. I guess I just needed to find the right program. And books have always been important to me. And now I can explore that further! Yaaaaayyyy!!!
Music can be a great source of comfort and inspiration when you’re feeling down.
Today’s song is: “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
Listen to the song here:
Lyrics:
“Hey, don’t write yourself off yet
It’s only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.
Just try your best, try everything you can.
And don’t you worry what they tell themselves when you’re away.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
Hey, you know they’re all the same.
You know you’re doing better on your own (on your own), so don’t buy in.
Live right now, yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn’t matter if it’s good enough (good enough) for someone else.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
Hey, don’t write yourself off yet.
It’s only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.
Just do your best (just do your best), do everything you can (do everything you can).
And don’t you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright, alright.
It just takes some time,
Little girl, you’re in the middle of the ride.
Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright.”
Why this song’s so cool: I like how it gently reminds you that often what you are feeling is about your own perception. You can’t control what other people do or think about you, but you can control what you do and think about yourself, and that is what is more important anyway. It’s about having a positive attitude, but not only that, just hanging on until you get to the point where you CAN have a positive attitude, because that day WILL come. Also, it’s totally okay to be different! Plus it’s got a good beat that is fun to head-bang and angry-sing to.
Why this song’s helpful: It has a simple, supportive and encouraging message that is easy to relate to. It reminds me of that strategy when you’re freaking out about something and you do the five year rule gauge to ask yourself: “Will it matter in 5 years?” If the answer is NO, and it usually is, then it’s probably not as important as you thought.
Your environment has an affect on your overall mood, so if you are often in an environment you find dirty, ugly, uncomfortable or in any other way unpleasant or off-putting, then your mood will definitely be negatively affected! You can end up feeling grim, nauseated, gross, and downright disgruntled as the yucky environmental factors slowly leech away your precious good mood. Just like in the Sims if there’s a mess everywhere, they are saaaaaad. 🙁 🙁 🙁
So I realized that I hated going in my bathroom. With a boring shower curtain of questionable age and cleanliness, showertime was dreaded. There wasn’t anything personal or any art on the walls (as we had removed all this when we were trying to sell the house). There was accumulated unorganized clutter everywhere – it is a small bathroom with very limited counter space – like NONE at all. Things were always falling everywhere. And there was no place to keep towels, which was inconvenient and annoying. The shelf above the toilet was broken and unusable and the toilet itself was an unreliable flusher. I was uncomfortable because there were no mats or anything on the floor, and my feet were always cold. I often neglected personal hygiene – I didn’t want to be in there. But, as a human being, I kind of have to use a bathroom at least some of the time. And our other bathrooms were unavailable or inconvenient. TIME FOR A BATHROOM MAAAAAAAKEOVER!!
awwwww… “Happiness looks gorgeous on me!!?” why thank you, dolphin of happiness!!Self-care is not selfish
I did do some shopping, but mostly the transformation was about cleaning, de-cluttering, and rearranging. I went to Ross dress for less and got a beautiful new shower curtain and brightly colored floor mat! The hardware store provided new knobs for the ugly stainless steel ones. Then I did a LOT of cleaning. And I had a big box to get rid of full of unused products, redundancies, things I didn’t need to use every day, etc. I took everything out and started fresh. I put everyday use items within easy reach. Pretty things migrated to visible places. While I took a lot of stuff out, I did add some stuff back in. Since there wasn’t a first aid kit on the little shelf anymore, I had a place to put towels! I moved in some candles and art and other things that I thought were pretty and brought me joy! The shelf got fixed, the toilet got fixed, the negative environment got fixed. And now my bathroom is a cheerful and inspiring place! Well… about as cheerful and inspiring as a bathroom really can be…
It’s starting to get a little cluttered with use again…
I guess I should go head back in! I need to view the loo, clean the latrine, make the crapper dapper! In short, if you need to find me… I guess I’ll just be hanging out in my own personal wiz palace, AKA Wizzingham Manor.
“Fol-de-rol and fiddle dee dee and fiddley faddley foddle
all the wishes in the world are poppy cock and twoddle.
Fol-de-rol and fiddle dee dee and fiddley faddley foodle
all the dreamers in the world are dizzy in the noodle.”
This is what the sensible people of the world say, according to Cinderella’s fairy godmother in the Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s musical in a song they sing together about Cinderella’s wish to go to the ball. But together, they discover by the end of the song, that “impossible” can be changed to “it’s possible” with creativity, imagination, hard work, and someone who loves you to help. Like Cinderella and her fairy godmother, I am learning and exploring how to grant my own wish of forging a career doing what I love: writing, being creative, and helping others. I don’t yet know what that career will be exactly, but every day I am making choices to steer myself down the path to get there. And I plan to use every tool and asset I have to help shape my wish out of the supplies I have. And with a little help, and a little magic, I know I will get to the ball!
SUMMARY:
Turning the impossible to the possible is a process – one that requires many things. It requires creativity and imagination. Every day, I am thinking and brainstorming, searching for different ways to achieve my goals. I am on the lookout for new opportunities to embrace that will keep me moving forward, eyes focused on the path ahead. It requires commitment, dedication and hard work. Sometimes the path is thorny, or blocked by a tree. I continue to apply my imagination to identify creative and efficient solutions to remove such obstacles. It requires bravery, and it requires stepping out of your comfort zone. There is a certain degree of anxiety about the uncertainty of where the path leads, but you can’t turn back. It also requires help and support. Not all of us have a fairy godmother to turn our everyday objects into the perfect materials to achieve our dreams. But we do have people who love us. Asking for help is scary and hard, but it is something I plan on practicing. Most of all, it requires hope, and I plan on keeping that hope alive, nurturing it, and seeing it bloom and grow into something even more beautiful.
“But the world is full of zanies and fools who don’t believe in sensible rules
and won’t believe what sensible people say..
and because these daft and dewey eyed dopes keep building up impossible
hopes impossible things are happening every day!”
Music can be a great source of comfort and inspiration when you’re feeling down.
Today’s song is: “Dickhead” by Kate Nash.
Listen to the song here:
Lyrics:
“Why are you being a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead
Why are you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations
Why are you being a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead
Why are you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations
Shiny floor, slippery feet
Lights are dim, my eyes can’t meet
The reflection that turns my images
Upside down so I can’t see
Think you know everything
You really don’t know nothing
I wish that you were more intelligent
So you could see that what you are doing
Is so shitty, to me
Thirty five
People couldn’t count
On two hands the amount of times you made me stop
Stop and think why are you being such a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead,
Why are you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations
Why are you being a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead,
Why you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations
Stop, now don’t show
Just have a think before you
Will you, stop, now don’t show
Just have a think before you
Will you stop, no don’t show
Just have a think before you
Will you stop, don’t show
Will you just have a think before you
My brain and my bones don’t want to take, this anymore
No my brain and my bones don’t want to take, this anymore
No my brain and my bones don’t want to take with this anymore
No my brain and my bones don’t want to take, this anymore, so
Why are you being a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead
Why are you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations
Why are you being a dickhead for
Stop being a dickhead
Why you being a dickhead for
You’re just fucking up situations”
Why this song’s so cool: Sometimes I get sad and just don’t understand why people do such dumb, shitty stuff and act like such… well… DICKHEADS! So it’s nice to know that someone else shares my confusion and frustration.
Why this song’s helpful: This song plays in my head whenever I think someone is being a stupid and hurtful dickhead. This song plays in my head whenever I witness someone doing stuff without thinking and consequently hurting themselves and/or others.
STOP BEING A DICKHEAD! STOP FUCKING UP SITUATIONS!
Especially about very personal things … crazy hard for a lot of people (including me.) But, I’ve seen my counselor for many years. Even when I didn’t feel like it was helping, it helped a little by making me feel like at least I was doing SOMETHING. It’s very helpful to get the perspective of someone outside the immediate situation. And explaining details about your life and experiences and feelings helps you solidify and understand yourself more. And it gets you out of the house at least once a week.
You know what apparently helps people with depression and anxiety?
Having a cat. Or dog, or hamster, or whatever. Something you can cuddle preferably, that is reliant on you, loves you unconditionally, and you think is totes adorbs.
Therapy animals are real, people. This is the reason I adopted my cat, Brisco (Yes, he is named for Brisco County, Jr.) This is a tough one though, because there is definitely a balance that needs to be struck. Ultimately, Brisco does help more than he hinders, but there have definitely been times when I wished I didn’t have him. As with any creature, he can be annoying, persistent, in the way, etc.
derp
He meows at doors at night, knocks things over, gets in the way, tries to trip you, randomly jumps on your face, tries to eat your toes, attacks anything that moves, scratches you up, and will not let you read in peace! OMG RIGHT NOW he thinks a great place to sit is directly in front of this computer screen! So in the darkest time, sometimes a pet can be a definite added stressor and source of frustration/annoyance/helplessness. That said, I am so grateful to have him in my life. As I gain back more and more positivity, little by little, I see and feel the benefits. He’s a non-judgmental listener. He’s a distraction from my problems. He is obsessed with me and always wants to be with me. That’s pretty flattering and good for self-esteem.
Music can be a great source of comfort and inspiration when you’re feeling down.
Today’s song is: “No One Is Alone” by Stephen Sondheim, from Into The Woods.
Listen to the song here:
Lyrics:
“CINDERELLA
Mother cannot guide you.
Now you’re on your own.
Only me beside you.
Still, you’re not alone.
No one is alone, truly.
No one is alone.
Sometimes people leave you
halfway through the wood.
Others may deceive you.
You decide what’s good.
You decide alone.
But no one is alone.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD
I wish…
CINDERELLA(To Little Red)
I know…
Mother isn’t here now. BAKER(to Jack)
Wrong things, right things…
Who knows what she’d say?
Who can say what’s true?
Nothing’s quite so clear now-
Do things, fight things…
Feel you’ve lost your way?
You decide, but
You are not alone, You are not alone.
Believe me.
No one is alone.
No one is alone,
Believe me.
Truly…
BOTH
You move just a finger,
Say the slightest word,
Something’s bound to linger,
Be heard.
No one acts alone.
Careful, no one is alone.
CINDERELLA
People make mistakes. People make mistakes.
Fathers,
Mothers,
BOTH
People make mistakes,
Holding their own,
Thinking they’re alone.
CINDERELLA
Honor their mistakes…
Fight for their mistakes-
Everybody makes-
BOTH
One another’s
Terrible mistakes.
Witches can be right,
Giants can be good.
You decide what’s right,
You decide what’s good.
CINDERELLA
Just remember:
BAKER
Just remember:
BOTH
Someone is on your side.
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD & JACK
Our side.
CINDERELLA & BAKER
Our side-
Someone else is not.
While we’re seeing our side-
LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD & JACK
Our side….
CINDERELLA & BAKER
Our side-
ALL
Maybe we forgot:
They are not alone.
No one is alone.
CINDERELLA
Hard to see the light now.
BAKER
Just don’t let it go.
BOTH
Things will come out right now.
We can make it so.
Someone is on you side,
No one is alone.”
Why this song’s so cool: uhhhh… because it IS.
Why this song’s helpful: Not everyone will understand what you are going through, but you’re not alone. No one is alone.
It was called “The Art of the Picturebook,” and I never knew that school could be so interesting and fun!! I’ve enjoyed some classes throughout my college career, but none so much as this! I was actually excited to do homework! WHUUUUT!?? weird… I never really felt like I fit in in any of the other classes or programs I took in the past. I guess I just needed to find the right program. And books have always been important to me. And now I can explore that further! Yaaaaayyyy!!!
