Bo Burnham Helps Me Speak About Religion

Most people know I'm not religious. That's the extent of my label though. I have mixed feelings about religion. It, as well as those against it, have brought both joy and pain to so many lives.I see it's worth, but that will never change my lack of faith.
This is not really the message for today though.
I had been veering off of this topic for a few days now, despite it being on my mind. I hate offending people, but really, anyone who truly reads my writing with an open mind will see that I am not being intolerant and hopefully they will not take my thoughts harshly.
It is actually thanks to Bo Burnham that I am finally writing this out. His song in his what. show about God, while silly, is honest and beautiful.

So! To my real message.

I understand prayer and thanking the Lord. Don't get me wrong. Despite being a non-believer, I fully understand that drive to plead with someone to help you when you feel like an ant on this giant Earth.
In the same way, I can understand that wonderful feeling you get when things go right. You want to thank the protector you believe in and this is okay. The problem though  is people only thanking God. I realize this is probably a devout cycle. God made me, God gave me this gift, so God alone is to thank.
 Constantly, I am seeing people thank God when they pass a really hard test and say they are blessed, but never giving themselves credit for the hours of studying they did. Or when a child defeats cancer and everyone thanks God, but no one thanks the doctors or the child himself for being so strong. This is when I get irritated.

I personally think, if there is a God, he would want us to be thankful of the hard working and kind people that we are and that are in our lives. A part of Bo's song is about being a good person. That when you have in fact earned God's love you won't need it because you have followed his teachings to true kindness and happiness. His song is about the fact that God isn't some celebrity idol obsessed with being worshiped. He just wants his children to be good to their fellow man.

I realize that personally I have zero idea what Bo's intentions were with his song. I can't begin to imagine what that man is thinking. But for me, it drove me to finally say what has been upsetting me for years. Thank your God, praise him, but remember to praise the beautiful and brilliant people around you.


On a lighter note...That's seriously not a religion slam...I just really liked his Dad joke.

Yes Woman, learning to say no.

Have you ever seen Yes Man with Jim Carey? I sometimes end up being the female equivalent. When people say can you do that, I almost always say yes, yes I can. I was taught that missing an opportunity to get your hands into something new or something that could improve your life is a giant mistake.
This wouldn't be a giant problem except awesome opportunities and challenges I can fix come at me quite often. I currently am running a school organization project, I have an internship, I have a job, I am planning my wedding and we are house hunting. On top of that I have weird, time-consuming hobbies.
I could probably work into the night like the old days and accomplish way more, but I am engaged and I actually live with my fiance, so roughly the past two years have been a coffee fueled, stomach lining rotting, panic induced blur.
Do I regret it? Nah. Do I think I need to rein myself in? Yes.
How do I do that though? How do I pick and choose what to meld into my future? How do I balance work and hobbies and my marriage?
I would like to believe that once I graduate next semester things will be different, but considering I am currently working on two different eco campaign ideas, helping to build a company from the ground up, working slowly on new movie ideas with my friends  and planning to have children in the next couple years...I'm doomed unless I can learn to access, gauge and say no to some things.
Can I do that?

          Yea...we'll see....

In Fear by Jeremy Lovering

I rarely write about movies unless it was so good that I have no choice. Last night, my fiance and I watched In Fear, a  British horror film that  premiered on in 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival. 
The movie is about a guy and a girl who have only known each other for a few weeks before they decide to go to a music festival together in Ireland. They pick a nice, rural hotel to stay in on their trip, but they never can seem to find it! This is because the boy, Tom, has a confrontation at a bar on their way that leads them into a night or terror and cruel games. 
I wont say anymore because the plot twists in the movie really help to develop a certain character. 
I will say though that this was a really exciting movie and it was stunning. Nothing gets my brain oogeling better than a stunning and terrifying movie, like Pans Labyrinth for example. The shots were perfect, only adding to their dread and frustration. 
If you want a good horror, psychological mind game tonight, definitely check out In Fear on netflix.
You wont regret it...but Tom will. 

How do you start these things...?

How do I start this? The same way you start anything, everything. With a deep breath. I have been living in the surrounding Charleston area since 6th grade. I spent years and years feeling this need to flee from West Virginia deep in my bones.
Recently though, I feel a reason to dig in my roots. I have made some better friends, jumped into a beautiful project at the seedling stage and possibly found a future for myself, as well as my future husband, Matthew.
These roots have blossomed a desire in me to make a change, better my environment.
I want to make Charleston smile. I want to make waves and support growth. It is here that I begin my journey!