Alright, this is going to be an unpopular post, particularly among certain circles of my friends and readers. I just wanted to get that out of the way. But I am rather good at having unpopular opinions, and therefore I am writing this post.
So.
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Let me be the first to admit that most of the "celebrities" that I have admired and been inspired by are long dead. If you want to see a modern woman who is a huge fan of "old dead white guys," you're looking at her. It's the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death today, April 23rd, 2016, and I've been celebrating him in multiple ways. Most of the music that I listen to and the literature that I read was written by those old dead white guys. I'm not ashamed of that by any means. However, that does not mean I am completely out of touch with the modern world. There have been many celebrities in my lifetime that I have admired and who have made an impact on my life, through their words, music, and acting. When Heath Ledger died in 2008, I was devastated to the point of being totally unable to focus on my classes. I felt as though I had lost a friend. The same feeling rose in me again when Leonard Nimoy passed, and Brian Jacques, and Terry Pratchett, and David Bowie, and Alan Rickman, and there are others who I have not named.
We are nearing the end of the fourth month of 2016 and it seems we have lost a disproportionate number of famous people this year, the most recent being the artist Prince. And every time the internet has exploded with tributes for each of these actors or musicians. They touched a lot of lives, that much is clear. The impact these people have on us should not be discredited. Just because they are famous and get more attention than anyone else does not mean we ought to demonize those who mourn.
Celebrity status is a fluid thing, and the fact that these people have found lasting recognition for their talents and audacity and willingness to be themselves is pretty amazing. The personal reasons each of us mourns the death of a celebrity will vary exponentially, but at the root of it all these people have a way of expressing what it means to be human. It's hard to explain to many people, but those who get it really get it.
Four hundred years later, William Shakespeare is arguably the biggest household name ever. We're still listening to the music of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. We're still reading the words of Plato, Austen, Tolstoy, and Dickens. The influence of all these artists is undeniable. Who's to say any of these recent deaths won't catapult their author's works completely into immortality too? I, for one, do feel like the world is a darker place now that they're gone. And that's okay. I'm not going to dwell on it forever, but let me mourn, and let me remember them well.
They may not be soldiers, but they have had an impact on us in a different way. Those soldiers have fought for our freedom and given everything, and that should always be recognized. We even have a day for that, to show how important that recognition is. But don't make the deaths of musicians and actors out to be worth nothing. They're human too.
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Happy New Year (now go for a run!)
One of these days I'll be able to use emojis when I'm on my laptop and not just on my phone. I may be a bit obsessed with them. That being said, HAPPY 2016!!! -throws confetti- Yeah, sure, it's been 2016 for almost a week now. But this is my first post of the year, so y'all can deal with it.
Of course, with a new year come millions of resolutions and goals. I prefer using the term goals because that implies an actual endgame, rather than just resolving to do something. Maybe it's just me, but that sounds like you're allowing yourself an out, right? It's probably just me. Anyway, I've got some great goals for the year, which I will outline at a later date (that's my goal, hehe), but right now I want to talk about something that I started doing last October that I never, ever, EVER thought I would do in a million years. Really. And I'm talking about it because I think you should do it too.
I started running.
Yep.
Me.
Bookworm, Netflix lover, would-rather-be-gaming, me.
I started running.
I had been trying to start up a 5K training program for almost two years, thinking there was a possibility that I would enjoy it, but none of the apps that I downloaded on my phone, nor any charts, kept me focused enough. I became discouraged. Until I discovered Zombies, Run! in the App Store. A story-based running game?! Also, it's British?! Sign me up! But the initial missions were too hard for a beginner like me, so I had to quit again. But they soon released a 5K training program as a separate app, and I dawdled way too long, but I finally began it at the end of October 2015. It has changed my life. I can run. You have no idea just how amazing that feels.
The health benefits of running are touted by runners (and the media) everywhere, but it's easy to be skeptical of "those healthy runner types" until you try it for yourself. I struggle with mental clarity and a decent sleep schedule, but on the days that I run (and the weeks that I make sure to run more than a couple times), my body feels incredible. My legs are stronger, my breathing has gotten better (seriously I was asthmatic in a bad way and now I really think I've totally kicked it), I have more focus, and being out for a run clears my head and makes me actually happy.
So this app has changed my life, because I get a really awesome zombie apocalypse story, along with my own music integrated in (best playlist so far is My Chemical Romance), and as of posting this, I've got five days of training left and then I can officially start the missions. Seriously, you get to pick up items and run from zombies and build up a base, all while working out! Note, it's not free, but it's the best app I have paid for, hands down.
It's my goal to run/walk 1000 miles this year as a part of a challenge I'm doing called The ONE Challenge. I got off to a slow start, but here's to an awesome year of running. Anybody else want to start up their own running practice? Join me on this challenge, even if you just walk it? We're less than a week into the year, you've got time to begin!
Of course, with a new year come millions of resolutions and goals. I prefer using the term goals because that implies an actual endgame, rather than just resolving to do something. Maybe it's just me, but that sounds like you're allowing yourself an out, right? It's probably just me. Anyway, I've got some great goals for the year, which I will outline at a later date (that's my goal, hehe), but right now I want to talk about something that I started doing last October that I never, ever, EVER thought I would do in a million years. Really. And I'm talking about it because I think you should do it too.
I started running.
Yep.
Me.
Bookworm, Netflix lover, would-rather-be-gaming, me.
I started running.
I had been trying to start up a 5K training program for almost two years, thinking there was a possibility that I would enjoy it, but none of the apps that I downloaded on my phone, nor any charts, kept me focused enough. I became discouraged. Until I discovered Zombies, Run! in the App Store. A story-based running game?! Also, it's British?! Sign me up! But the initial missions were too hard for a beginner like me, so I had to quit again. But they soon released a 5K training program as a separate app, and I dawdled way too long, but I finally began it at the end of October 2015. It has changed my life. I can run. You have no idea just how amazing that feels.
The health benefits of running are touted by runners (and the media) everywhere, but it's easy to be skeptical of "those healthy runner types" until you try it for yourself. I struggle with mental clarity and a decent sleep schedule, but on the days that I run (and the weeks that I make sure to run more than a couple times), my body feels incredible. My legs are stronger, my breathing has gotten better (seriously I was asthmatic in a bad way and now I really think I've totally kicked it), I have more focus, and being out for a run clears my head and makes me actually happy.
So this app has changed my life, because I get a really awesome zombie apocalypse story, along with my own music integrated in (best playlist so far is My Chemical Romance), and as of posting this, I've got five days of training left and then I can officially start the missions. Seriously, you get to pick up items and run from zombies and build up a base, all while working out! Note, it's not free, but it's the best app I have paid for, hands down.
It's my goal to run/walk 1000 miles this year as a part of a challenge I'm doing called The ONE Challenge. I got off to a slow start, but here's to an awesome year of running. Anybody else want to start up their own running practice? Join me on this challenge, even if you just walk it? We're less than a week into the year, you've got time to begin!
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