Welcome to the End of a Chapter

I knew it was coming.

I just thought I'd have a little bit more time, but that's not how life goes. Life doesn't give you a clean break when things changing. I can't teleport myself from one place to the next with all my stuff ready to move with me.

After almost six months, I've found a wonderful job opportunity. I'm really excited and it's in a field that I'm very passionate about.

However, it will take me away from the life I've built in Northern New Jersey and taking me back to my home state of Virginia.

I have a lot of feelings about this transition. I'm excited for the job - relieved to finally have a job. I'm happy to be moving closer to the friends and family I left behind in Virginia. I feel ready for the next adventure I'm to go on.

But I'm also sad. I've made some really good friends in New Jersey and they are just as sad as I am that I'm leaving. From my yoga teacher to the people I see every week at the farmer's market. From my two writing groups to my wonderful landlady and her three adorable beagles. I'm going to miss all of them.

I'm going to miss being able to roll out of bed on a Friday morning to catch the train into New York City. I'm going to miss going and seeing a show on a random night of the week because I can always catch the last train home (even if there are tons of drunk kids on it with me). I'm going to miss my favorite hiking spots and the view of the city from Rt 17 South in Ramsey.

I've found myself with a wonderful opportunity and I've decided to take it. I don't know what's exactly is about to happen next, but I've been in this position before.

The first time I moved for my first job, it wasn't a difficult transition. I was about an hour away from my friends and family. The second move from Maryland to New Jersey was a lot harder. I didn't know anyone in New Jersey except for a few coworkers. I cried the entire drive. I burst into tears as soon as the movers showed up at my apartment.

Thankfully, my roommate I lived with that first year in New Jersey was one of the most wonderful people I could have met.

I moved again after a year, but only ten minutes up the way. It wasn't the hardest move and I was excited to have my own place again. My landlady was so nice and the doggies so cute.

Part of me wishes that I could fast-forward through the next few months. Looking back on those first few moves, I remember the emotions that the change caused. There's so much work I have to do, but I can't do it all at once. I still have to take everything one day at a time.

I know that this will all turn out for the best. I just have to get through saying good bye and settling into my new home. I don't want to lose the relationships I've gained, but I know the reality of this type of move.

I'm happy to be going back to Virginia. I'm excited for this job.

I'm sad that this chapter of my life is coming to a close.

I wish I knew more about what the next chapter brings.

Hopefully it's not a cliffhanger.

Welcome to a Tragedy

Why do we listen sad stories? Why do we retell the tragic tales? The whole world is filled with tragedy, so why do we feel a need to put pen to paper and end the happily ever after?

I saw Hadestown this week on broadway. A friend was nice enough to take me. If you don’t know this beautiful musical, it’s an American retelling of the story of Orpheus and his trip into the underworld to save his lady love. Hades and Persephone are there having some martial problems (unusual for their myth as they have the most solid marriage of the Greek gods). The Fates are spinning around and around. Then there’s Hermes narrating the journey.

The band is on stage. The story told as a series of songs. Seems right for a story about Orpheus. Though the setting has been changed to the hard times of the early nineteenth century America. My friend and I weren’t sure if it was New Orleans, Tennessee, or West Virginia, but the atmosphere felt southern, poor, and like the old mining communities we have a bad habit of romanticizing.

Do you guys know the story of Orpheus and his lady love Eurydice?

The original tale is cautionary, about how the dead should stay with the dead. This telling is a little different, has a different message to give. But the ideas are still there and the ending stays the same, no matter how much I or anyone else might wish it would change.

Why do we tell tragic stories? Why do we like tragedy?

History is full of tragedy. There really aren’t happy endings in real life. Nothing falls into place like how our modern fairytales go. Everybody dies. Everybody has a perspective and the popular one might not be all that right.

If we live in constant tragedy, why do we keep telling these stories? Why tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice again and again like Hadestown? What do we get out of it?

A lesson?

An emotion?

A warning?

I love the music of Hadestown. It’s very American - jazz and blues. Perfect for many reasons, first and foremost because of the subject matter. I think it’s also appropriate that the 20s are just around the corner and it’s time to bring back jazz.

One song in particular seems like it was written for this this year, but it was actually written in 2006. “Why We Build the Wall” is intense, creepy, and cultish. Hades leads the song by asking his followers why “they build the wall, my children” and his children answer that they “build the wall to keep [them] free” and keep out the enemy. And who is the enemy? Poverty.

They make a few changes here and there to the myth. Traditionally Hades isn’t hell, but in this musical it is. And Hades doesn’t tempt people with death, he doesn’t really have much to do with the act of dying at all (that’s Thanatos for the most part). He just rules the underworld and keeps the dead where they ought to be.

The myth of Orpheus and Eurydice doesn’t have much to do with poverty or have any capitalistic analogies. It’s actually about how the poet and artist Orpheus goes into the underworld to retrieve his dead wife. The play has Eurydice’s selling her soul to Hades because she’s hungry. In actuality she dies. Hades allows Orpheus the chance to rescue Eurydice (both in the play and myth) after he proves himself as a musician. In the myth it’s to bring Eurydice back to life, whereas in the play it’s to free her from slavery.

But the changes, like the music and the setting, are appropriate for the overall feel of the play. It’s very American. Did I mention that? It’s a new incarnation of an old story, an old song that’s been told again and again and again.

Tragedy.

The one change not made is the ending. The myth and play end the same way. Orpheus fails.

No matter how many times or different ways we tell the story, Eurydice doesn’t escape the underworld. The dead stay dead and Eurydice is never free.

We hope to never experience it. We wish for happiness, but there can be no happiness without the biting taste of despair at the back of our minds. We hear a tragic story and we’re just a little more grateful for the good things in our lives, as short as they are. We might even learn what not to do or learn that there’s nothing we can do to prevent tragedy.

Is there a sad story that you keep coming back to? Do you go back and watch a movie like Titanic or read The Fault in our Stars? We know how these stories end. Why read about a doomed relationship or watch a terrible series of events?

Because we tell stories to help us deal with the emotions we feel and tragedy is one of the hardest to process.

We hope for the story to change. It never does. Yet we tell the story again anyway.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like herding from me.

Welcome to the Emotional End Game

It's been about a month, is it safe for me to write about "Endgame", yet?

Don't worry if you haven't seen the last Avengers movie just yet. I don't plan on going through it point by point or relieving any major spoilers.

I do what to praise the movie for being an excellent book end to the three phase of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe for the few of you who aren't familiar with the acronym). 12 years ago, the MCU launched with "Iron Man" (2007). In 2012 the "Avengers" movie hit the big screen, tying together at least 4 other movies (the 2008 "Incredible Hulk", the 2010 "Iron Man 2", the 2011 "Thor" and the 2011 "Captain America: The First Avenger").

I'm sure historians will look back on the 2010s and find that a lot of our pop culture history will be tied to these movies. Disney has done an excellent job keeping people interested all the way through "Endgame" and making a ton of money to boot.

Though the movies were always hit and miss (I'm specifically thinking of "Thor the Dark World"), even the worst of the MCU movies was decent. There isn't a "rotten" one among them, just mediocre. They've set the standard for super hero movies and intertwining a cinematic universe which others have failed to copy (sorry Universal, no "Dark Universe" for us please).

"Endgame" managed to do what many other great series have failed: giving us a good ending. It's not perfect and I have my nit picks (but I won't go into those here).

How many times have you followed a book, or TV series, or movie series only for the ending to fall flat?

Way too many for me.

There are times where the series takes a left turn half way through and goes in a strange direction, there are times where the story just drags on way too long, and there are times where the writers decide to "jump the shark" and really mess with their fans.

I think "Game of Thrones" fans are currently going through this, but I've seen it happen to a number of stories I've loved. I'm still not over how "The Immortal Diaries of Nickolas Flamel" ended and I haven't gotten myself to watch the latest "Fantastic Beasts" movie. Heck, I didn't even realize that "NCIS" was still making new episodes.

However, every once in a while a writer is able to wrap up a story and give it the best send off possible to the fans. Books like "Harry Potter" (minus the 19 years later scene) and the "Hunger Games" have great endings that totally fit with the story. "Gravity Falls" has a nice little bow topping it's last few episodes, tying everything together in a wonderfully weird way.

Best TV show ending ever!

And "Endgame" was the movie we needed to end the 2010s MCU.

Yes, I'm aware that Disney is going to be making more movies and TV shows. This is a cash cow, so they're going to milk it until the profits run dry. But I don't feel the need to keep up with it any more. My emotional needs for this story has been met.

That's what's important. The audience's emotional needs.

Writing these long epic stories is tough. There are a lot of plots to keep track of and characters who need to have their arcs finished. When a writer or group of writers can pull it off, it's wonderfully satisfying. It's like saying goodbye to a close friend, one you hope to visit again soon.

If you haven't seen "Endgame", yet and you are familiar with the MCU, I recommend it. You'll probably want to binge the other movies before going because there's a lot of background stuff you'll need to know, but the movies are good.

Do you have any series (movies, TV, or books) that you've felt have ended well? Do you have any that you feel dropped the shoe at the worst moment (other than the ones I've already mentioned)? Drop me a comment if you do.

Until next time!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Movie Magic

It's been a movie marathon weekend for me. I started with treating myself by seeing "Thor" in theaters Friday night. I spent Saturday watching calming children's movies like "Song of the Sea" and "Muppet Treasure Island". Today, my friend, Krystle, and I have been enjoying our Halloween movie marathon part 2 (several weeks after Halloween, but hey I love watching Halloween movies any time of the year).

Picture from "Metropolis"

The movies have a magic all their own. They tell us stories about romance, fantasy, superheroes, historical events, and tragedy. There's action that gets our hearts racing. There's epic music that helps us empathize with the characters' emotions.

If books nourish our imagination, then movies allow us to see the imaginary as reality.

The first movie I remember seeing in theaters was "The Lion King". It was big and epic.  I remember how awesome it felt to see that movie on the big screen. My young mind was blown.  (I also might have fallen asleep right before the end.)

Movies, much like books, can teach us important lessons and influence how we see the world.

I finally understood what death was while watching "Little Women" with my mother when I was three or four years old. My mother loved "Little Women" and would take every opportunity to watch the movie whenever she could. She enjoyed having me watch it with her...until Beth died.  I experienced an epiphany.  I realized how permanent death was and that one day mommy and daddy would die. My poor mother spent the next few hours trying to console me and get me to stop hysterically crying. I remember my dad coming home completely confused.

I've never been able to watch "Little Women" ever since.

There's a great tradition of passing stories down from one generation to the next. Whether the story is told orally, is written down, or is up on the big screen doesn't matter. Parents and guardians love sharing their favorites with their children.

My parents love watching movies with me. 

My dad would watch "Star Wars", "The Goonies", and every Disney movie available with me while he worked on his trains in our basement. I don't know if I would have ever seen half the movies I have without him. Whenever I go to visit him, we watch movies. Our favorites are usually old war movies like "The Dirty Dozen" and "Kelly's Heroes".

My dad was also responsible for me becoming afraid of spiders after talking me into watching "Arachnophobia" when I was five. I had really liked spiders up until that point in my life. The movie pretty much killed my interest in them.

My mom introduced me to a lot of black and white movies like "Some Like it Hot", "The Thin Man", and pretty much every Carry Grant and Betty Davis movie ever made. She got me into fast-talking comedies with strong women characters like in "His Girl Friday" and "A Philadelphia Story". It did take me a lot longer to warm up to these movies (young me thought that only movies in color were worth watching for a long time), but once I did, I fell in love with film noir.

I'm not saying that movies are a better medium than books or audio or stage plays. Just that movies have a special place in my heart and tell entertaining stories. They aren't always good, but then some books aren't good.

While typing up this blog post, Krystle and I have been watching "Psycho". Krystle has never seen "Psycho" and might be one of the few people who had no idea what the twist ending was. I enjoyed listening to her theorize and speculate on what would happen next and who the psycho was. Her reactions to the dramatic moments were priceless and I got a real kick out of her gasping at the sudden changes in music when a murder was occurring.

We're moving on to the 1939 version of "Dracula". This should be fun (insert evil cackle).

The magic movies possess is wondrous and unique. We feel so many emotions while watching the story play out. We root for our favorite characters and sometimes hope the ones we hate die horribly (especially the annoying teenagers in slasher movies). We bond over our favorite movies and laugh at the bad ones.

One of my favorite quotes about movies comes from the Disney Channel Original Movie "Phantom of the Megaplex". Mickey Rooney's character tells the two main children that movies are a magical experience, even after children grow up and learn that there's very little that's truly magical in our world. It's a quote that has always stuck with me and thinking back on it makes me smile.

"When we arrive in this world, magic is all around us. You simply have to see a baby discover a butterfly or a toddler splash in the bath for the first time. Yet, as the years pass, simple pleasures aren't quite so simple to find. Myths and legends fall away. Santa's secrets are revealed. Card tricks lose their fascination. True wonder is hard to come by. But there's always... magic at the movies. Pirate ships, bicycles that fly, angels earn their wings, beautiful women marry handsome men and we all learn there's no place like home. To destroy that magic, to shatter those moments to me is a sin so grave it would almost be incomprehensible! If there truly is a phantom, my friends, I assure you it most definitely is not me"

Until next week!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome To The Joys in Reading

Believe it or not, there was a time when I hated reading. I didn't see a point in it. If I wanted to know what something said, I would ask someone to read the message for me and tell me. I know now that that is a foolish thing to do (people can lie after all). It wasn't until I was in the third grade and spied a book with a young woman and a scary looking cat on the cover that I became interested in books.

I've been going to more book signings since moving to New Jersey

It might be a bit of a stretch to suggest that "Nancy Drew and the Clue of the Tapping Heels" was the book that finally got me interested in reading (I liked several books as a child, but the needed to have pictures), but it was the gateway book to many other mystery novels including the "Cat Who" books by Lillian Jackson Braun and anything related to Agatha Christie.

It also helped me to enjoy many other books my school assigned me to read. I still maintain "To Kill a Mockingbird" was the best book I read my freshmen year of high school. "Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry" is one of my all time favorite books along with it's squeals "Let the Circle Be Unbroken" and "The Road to Memphis".

My mother was the one who got me into Harry Potter. Someone recommended it to her as a great children's book. She read the first three out loud to me and my sibling. By the time the fourth book came out, I had finally started reading on my own and would steal the book the read ahead. One of my aunts found me hiding behind a chair at my grandmother's house late one night reading the fourth book.  Apparently I begged her to keep it a secret from my mom, which she did. Now that I'm older, my aunt loves to bring that story up whenever Harry Potter is mentioned.

When I went to Japan for six weeks, my aunt insisted I read as much as possible (and work on my penmanship). I found that I enjoyed "Lord of the Rings" (regardless of how much the first movie scared nine year old me) and the Lloyd Alexander books. I was encouraged to read as much as I could and to ask for help if I needed it. The only book I had a really hard time with (and have still never finished) was "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn".

Despite all of my personal struggles with reading, I found that I really enjoyed it. The struggles and feelings the characters went through were similar to what my young self was going through. I enjoyed being able to solve the mysteries well before the main character (or detective) did. Through reading I could be anyone and go anywhere. It helped me develop an active imagination.

I usually bring a book with me to the beach

Then I started reading nonfiction books.

One of the first nonfiction books that I remember liking was assigned my senior year of high school, "From Heaven Lake", and was followed by "Iron and Silk" a year later in one of my freshmen classes. Both were autobiographical accounts of people visiting China, going on a journey of self discovery.

I have since read more nonfiction books. Currently I'm reading a book about Introverts and before that one about Buzz Aldrin going to space. Nonfiction books aren't that different from Fiction books. They still tell a story and you are getting the author's point of view. Both teach the reader something (whether the reader accepts or agrees with the lessons is up to them).

Reading is very important. Most of how we communicates is through written words be they emails, blog posts on social media, or just a random meme someone texts you. They all convey a message. Some of us find them funny and others find them outrageous.

Some platforms limit you on how much you can write at any given time. Twitter is especially good at limiting the amount of text a person can use to express thoughts and arguments. Memes can help draw attention to a message, but can also limit a person's ability to see a whole picture. The message the reader needs to understand can be lost due to the limitations of the platform.

That's not to say a message needs a million words to drive a point home. Too many words can leave a reader confused or bored (like when Tolkien goes on and on for two pages about the scenery and you just want to get back to the action).

Like every good thing in life, there needs to be a balance.

I read because I love the adventure and the new points of view I am exposed to. Yes there have been books where I have screamed myself hoarse because of some stupid action the main character took (my entire junior year high school class had a lot to say about the protagonist of "Like Water for Chocolate"), but at least I understood where that character was coming from.

I'm not a mind reader (and I really hope I never become one). Reading has become just as important as listening in the age of social media. It's easy to share a post from someone you agree or disagree with. It can be harder to interpret the original author's tone (sarcasm in particular is hard to detect through written words alone).

I love reading and writing. I've learned a lot from opening up many good books. I don't always understand the world around  me, but reading other people's opinion's helps me to understand where they are coming from.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this blog (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Now I have a book about ghosts that I hope doesn't give me nightmares tonight.

Welcome to Empathy

Emotions are a part of being human. Every single person has the ability to feel their own emotions. We like to experience happiness. We try to avoid disappointment. We want to be loved. Emotions, no matter how much some of us might try to deny it (*cough me *cough), play a major role in the decisions that we make.

We cannot escape the emotions we feel.

Emotions are often the driving force behind my actions. I go to amusement parks because I love how roller coasters make me happy. I read mysteries because solving the plot before the main character does makes me feel smart. I tend to go hide when I'm angry because I've been known to do some pretty stupid and destructive things when I'm feeling extreme anger.

These are all valid emotions I have felt at one point or another. I am also not the only person who acts upon the strong emotions. I might forget that on occasion (which is not one of my better traits), especially when I'm arguing with my sibling about something. These arguments tend to quickly descend into screaming matches and it can take a while for us to forgive each other.


Emotions are what separate us from machines and computers. Granted, artificial intelligence is getting pretty good at recognizing and responding to human's emotions, but there is one thing a machine can not be programmed to do. A machine cannot be empathetic.

Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings with another individual. I've also heard it described as feeling the exact emotions another person is feeling. It shouldn't be confused with sympathy, which is feeling pity or sorrow for someone's misfortune.

One of the best quotes or analogies I've heard for empathy is that you can never know what someone else is going through until you've walked a mile in their shoes. It's a good analogy. After all everyone has a slightly different world view and might have a different perspective to share.

 But is it the best analogy?

The funny thing about shoes is that they are made to fit the size of a person's feet. A person can't control the size of their feet, so they need to be able to find shoes that fit well enough not to pinch their toes and aren't so large that they trip. Just because I can fit perfectly into one pair of shoes doesn't  mean that I can fit into sibling's shoes, or my coworker, or even the shoes of my readers.

How can I walk a mile in someone else's shoes, when I can't get my feet to into them?

Sometimes I need a little help.

Books and movies (and comic books) are great mediums for evoking emphatic emotions. The ones that are the most popular and have the most staying power are also usually the ones that connect best with us on an emotional level. There's always at least one character (hopefully the protagonist) that we, as an audience, can identify with and root for throughout the course of the story.

These stories can become so powerful, that they start to take on a life of their own. They gain fans who celebrate the characters and how they overcame their challenges. Conventions might start popping up, so that fans can gather in groups and discuss how these stories changed their lives.

A good example of stories that touched lives for my generation would be the Harry Potter books. We, the audience, are introduced to a magical world along side Harry in the first book. When he is amazed by the moving pictures, so are we. We, the audience, are able to empathize with Harry's experiences and opinions because the books are told from his perspective. We are figuratively in Harry's shoes throughout the entire series.

 Harry is introduced to a lot of new and wonderful people when he arrives in the magical world at the same time we are. He's also faced with tough challenges and people who want to see him silenced (Dolores Umbridge) or dead (Voldemort and his Death Eaters). Throughout all of these encounters we are seeing everything through Harry's perspective and emotions.

Harry starts out as a wide eyed curious kid in the first few books. His innocence is shattered at the end of the fourth book with the death of Cedric Diggory. We have to put up with him being an angsty teenager throughout the entirety of the fifth book (and a few parts of the third book). We also get to witness him destroy Dumbledore's office while he is trying to work through his anger and pain at the death of Sirius Black. We're able to understand the relief and happiness he feels when he's finally defeated Voldemort.

Through Harry's perspective, we know who the bad guys are and we know who the good guys are. We also know there are people who aren't good or bad, but they do cause a lot of problems for Harry (an example would be Fudge). There are also the people we see make choices out of anger that later turn out to be really bad mistakes (Percy Weasley).

We tend to ignore or miss the same things Harry does. For example, Harry hero worships his father and his godfather, to the point where they can almost do no wrong in his opinion. However, there are clear signs that that wasn't the case. James Potter and Sirius Black were good people, there's no denying that. They probably wouldn't have befriended Remus Lupin if they weren't. They were also bullies.

Oh, I'm sure James and Sirius didn't think they were the bullies. If I were to guess, I'd say they felt that they were targeting the "real bullies". Snape was a known favorite target for them to harass and he hung out with a lot of people who would eventually become Death Eaters. James and Sirius did push Snape too far with their bullying and Snape lost his best friend and love interest Lily Potter (nee Evans) because of it. Snape called Lily a "mudblood" in front of a large group of people and I'll bet right then and there that James and Sirius felt that what they were doing to Snape was completely justified. Snape proved he was hateful against muggle born wizards. James and Sirius would never use such hateful words to describe someone, they felt that they were better than that.

Throughout the fifth book, you start to see some of the signs that Sirius was extremely flawed. There were a couple of comments made by Lupin at the very beginning after Harry isn't picked to be a prefect. There's Sirius's treatment of Kreacher, someone who has no rights and had been neglected for years. Finally there's Harry's journey into Snape's memories where we see a confrontation between James, Sirius, and Snape. Despite all of these signs, Harry still continues to idolize Sirius and his father.

It isn't until much later that Harry realizes these very obvious flaws led to Sirius' downfall. And it does take him a while to figure this out (two more books longer). At first Harry is totally consumed by anger. He tries to use the cruciatus curse to torture Bellatrix and even comes close to casting the killing curse while Voldemort is goading him on. He destroys much of Dumbledore's office while he rages.

Dumbledore is able to stop Harry from taking his anger out on Kreacher. Yeah, about Kreacher, the movies don't really get into it, but he was the key to Sirius' death. After dealing with Sirius' abuse for half a year, Kreacher goes to Narcissa and Bellatrix for comfort. They were kind to Kreacher and maybe even sympathetic. It probably didn't take much convincing to get Kreacher to tell them everything about Harry and Sirius' father-son relationship. They in turn told Voldemort all of this and Voldemort convinced Harry that Sirius was in serious danger. When Harry tries to check on Sirius, he is met with Kreacher, who lies and says that Sirius is missing. Harry walks right into a trap which leads to Sirius dying.

It takes Harry over a year to forgive Kreacher and he almost doesn't. Dumbledore and Hermione have to point out to Harry how awful Sirius treated Kreacher and there was very little Kreacher could do to stop the abuse. He also has to learn about Kreacher's relationship with Regulus Black (the most unsung hero of the entire series I might add) for him to reach a turning point with his own relationship with the house elf. He is also able to empathize with Kreacher's experience in the cave from the sixth book.

Harry finally realizes that despite all of the good things his godfather did, he also did a lot of bad things. Remus even tells Harry that he never stood up to his best friends because he was scared that they would turn on him and tell everyone that he was a werewolf. This realization also probably helped Harry realize that other people he looked up to had flaws. He gets mad at Remus when he offers to join the golden trio hunting for horcruxes and would leave his wife and unborn child behind. Harry understands why Aberforth was estranged from his brother.

We are only able to realize these things because we are walking in Harry's shoes through all of it. J. K. Rowling did a fantastic job teaching us that the good guys didn't always do the right thing and that sometimes the bad guys did (Narcissa and Snape are the two best examples). She wrote a story that we were able to identify and empathize with.

We all see the world differently. We are the main characters in our own personal stories (though I occasionally feel like a side character, but that's another blog post). Unfortunately we are the only ones who understand what we feel at every second. It can be really hard to understand why someone else makes a choice that you yourself would never make.

Empathy is tough. There are some shoes that I will never be able to fit into, but boy oh boy will I try. The emotions people feel are very real. They can't always be controlled.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to Rememberance

September 11th 2001 started out as an ordinary day for me, but it didn't end that way. It's been 15 years since the attack. Over 2000 people lost there lives that day. Many of the first respondents have gotten sick and passed away because of the toxic dust and ash that entered the atmosphere.

Many people on social media sites have been posting about where they were or what they were doing when they either heard about or saw the live footage of the attacks. I remember being at school and having no idea what was going on. Which in all honest, was probably a good decision for the school to make.

My friends and I could guess that something was happening. Our teachers were on edge and there were a lot of early dismissals. We started with a class full of students and ended the day with maybe a third or a fourth still present. I am 100% sure that if someone had told me while at school what was going on, I would not have taken it well.

I didn't go home that day. Instead my mom had me go home with a friend. This friend's dad worked in the Pentagon and their family hadn't been able to get a hold of him all day. Thankfully they eventually did hear from him. Many families weren't as lucky.

There are a lot of things that I remember that happened in the days right after 9/11. I remember we didn't have school for a few days and that phone reception (both land line and cell phone) was unreliable. My mom, sister, and I stayed with my friend's family until classes started again. The news was constantly showing footage of the crash sites and missing people. Even though our parents tried to shield us from it, we caught glimpses of the news anyway.

It was scary, confusing, and difficult to process. I remember feeling a lot of confusing emotions and taking a lot of time to understand what had happened.

In the days after the attack, I went with my girl scout troupe to a hotel near the Pentagon to give out water and food to the families who were there. The hotel was the headquarters for the victims and families. When we arrived, my friends and I were swarmed by foreign press asking us tons of questions. It was very intimidating. Later we were thanked by the admiral (or general? I don't exactly remember their title, but they were very important) who was in charge. He was notifying and consoling the victims families. It felt good to help out, even a little bit.

As time went on, more and more security measures were put in place. Airports had a lot more metal detectors and restrictions. There were a lot more security personal in Washington DC. Places where I used to be able to just walk right in, suddenly had guards and metal detectors everywhere. I was a lot more aware of my surroundings.

September 11th 2001 was a major turning point in my life. I still remember a time when things were a bit more laid back (for lack of a better term). A lot of sudden changes happened and I was faced with emotions I had never experienced before.

There are many days were I wonder what our world would have been like if the terrorist attack had never happened. There are other days where I wonder what it would have been like if I had been older in 2001. Then there are the days where I wonder if something like that will happen again?

9/11 had a major impact on my life and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget.

Thank you for reading.

Welcome To Open Letters

Or My Generation's Form of Protest

 

To post or not to post? That is the question.

If you've been paying attention to the Internet lately, or the Internet's version of new, you might have stumbled across a story about an employee at Yelp who wrote an open letter to her CEO. In this open letter she talks about how she can barely afford to live on the income she is making (the full letter can be read here).

Now, I'm not saying she has a valid argument, nor am I saying that she made the best choices. In fact I don't want to make judgements on her choices. They were her choices to make and she's definitely learned a lesson since making them.

No, I'm here to talk about the new frenzy that this caused.

The first news story I came across that alerted me to this event, that doesn't even really matter in the long run, was a story about a Yelp employee getting fired because of her open letter to the CEO. Yep, that's right. This open letter got the author fired from her job. You can read that story here.

So of course because the writer of this open letter was fired and social media allows for anyone with Internet access to share their opinion (myself included), this lead to several more open letters to the writer of the initial open letter. As well as one or two letters to the open letters of the respondents. Oh and the CEO of Yelp gave a statement (one of them via Twitter) on all of the media hype. This lead to even more media coverage. It got to the point where one of  my coworkers who is from the X-generation, reminded all of us Millennials that if you have a problem at work to speak with your supervisor and don't write stuff online where anyone can find it and see it. This is partially why I write under a pseudonym for all of my other online content.

Again, I'm not saying the actions that were taken were right or wrong. I'm just bringing awareness to the stories the media deems worthy of reporting on.

Because weather you think open letters are silly, being over used, or an important platform, they are a way for people to express themselves to a larger audience. Honestly this blog could be considered an open letter, if I chose to include "Dear [insert person here]" before every post.

And yes, I can already hear many people of the older generation going "back in my day...". Yeah, I get it, in the bygone era of yesteryear times were harder and no one cared about your feelings, so we (the younger generation) should just suck it up now. My response to you is: that's not healthy. Sucking it up, pretending you aren't angry, or sad, or any other negative emotion is not healthy.

People need to express themselves. If for any reason than to process the emotions they are feeling. People need to validate the emotions they are going through. They need someone to listen and help them understand that what they are feeling is okay to feel. Unfortunately people have started sharing these feelings on the Internet, which is open for everyone to agree, disagree, or ridicule them. And the media does what it always has done and turns everything into a circus. 

Open letters can be a great tool. I've read several open letters that were featured on one news site or other about many different issues. Many of them are on the dress codes or treating young children with disabilities with respect. Some are about protests and others are about giving thanks. They are a form of speech that allow everyday people to reach a larger audience.

How most of the world sees my generation.

The country I've grown up in prides itself on the first amendment right of freedom of speech. With the help of the Internet, freedom of speech has grown. People are free to express themselves and reach out to a wider audience. Awareness of events, protests, and yes even the crazy things cats do is right at our finger tips.

However there is one minor detail about this freedom that people seem to forget. The first amendment only protects someone from being persecuted by the government. It does not protect someone from any other consequences that might happen because of what was written. As our first open letter writer found out when she was fired for what she wrote.

That being said, don't let this cautionary tale stop you from speaking up about something you feel passionate about. If no one spoke up about what they feel passionate about, nothing will ever change. Believe it or not, change is important.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.