To Anyone Who's Sad

I wish I could hug all the sad people and make you all okay. I wish I could wave my magic wand and make your problems disappear. But we all know it's never that easy. I'm crap at giving advice, but here's one thing that's helped me heal and finally be happy with myself.

Don't care what they think of you.

Don't let anyone's thoughts about you change anything about you. Not who you are, not what you do, not how you see yourself. 

Focus on yourself, not the people bringing you down. You're the only person who will always be in your life. Take care of yourself because you're beautiful and you're God's creation and 100% worth it. 

Anxiety

  
  I think only one person knows this about me, but I get anxiety sometimes. I can't say whether it's chronic or medical, but it's real.

  The first time I can pinpoint that I have anxiety was when I was at a Christmas party at my older brother's friends' house. There were a lot of people I didn't know, and I had already been around people all day. As an introvert, I decided that I needed some alone time. I went into a room that looked empty, but there was already someone in there. My memories actually get fuzzy here. I remember I felt too warm, almost sick to my stomach, my heart was beating abnormally fast, and I couldn't breathe. The weird thing is, I remember swinging my head around, panicked, even though I know that never happened. I don't know if that gets the idea of sheer terror across to you, but it certainly does for me.

   For the rest of the evening, I was incredibly uncomfortable. I was shyer than usual and wanted nothing more than to leave. There was even a little bit of depression following my panic attack.

  The next few weeks were a lot better. I wasn't having panic attacks, but I was always scared that I would. The day before Superbowl Sunday was my next horrible outbreak. I was stressed about getting my school done, since if I wasn't done with everything, my grades were in jeopardy. Instead of working harder, I panicked. I couldn't breathe and basically just collapsed on my floor and sobbed for far too long. 

  I think part of anxiety for me is just feeling things to strongly. When I'm in line and people are smooshing against me, I freak out. If I start crying for whatever reason, I can't stop. When I get scared or upset, I start shaking. I feel nauseas or need to use the restroom if I even get a little excited.

  When I hear people laughing, I feel like they're laughing at me. I fear that I'll lose my friends or that if I do something that I need to, people will judge me for it. I can't order my own food or answer the phone sometimes. Even forcing myself to talk to my friends is hard, even though I really want to. 

  I make up crazy scenarios in my head and blame everything one myself. Everything. 

  Recently, I haven't suffered too badly with my symptoms except a little in social situations and with my dad. It's sad how much someone who I've know my whole life can worry me. My dad is an analyst. He makes sure that everything is right. I know that's important, but it's hell when I'm trying to do my schoolwork. I cannot do Spanish oral work if he's in the room. Last time I tried, I almost had a panic attack. I couldn't force myself to speak and I stalled, hoping that he'd finish what he was doing and leave. Finally, I burst out crying, and he got the idea.

  I'd really rather this didn't happen. I'd rather be able to practice Spanish in front of my dad and maybe even hold a conversation with someone. I just can't. It's not my choice to have crippling anxiety, and it's not fun or cute. 

  I don't know when I might randomly have a panic attack. So I guess I'm just telling all of you guys so I know someone knows. I don't mean to say that I want pity, I just want support. I don't need advise, that rarely helps. I think I just need to know I'm not alone. And if you have anxiety and no one knows, I'd reccomend telling someone you really trust. It's incredibly freeing. You're not alone in your struggle, it's estimated that roughly 40 million adults in the United States alone have chronic anxiety. 

Granite State Qualifier

I take back anything I might have said about Shine being the worst tournament ever. Granite State was a million times worse.

It wasn't that I was expecting to break that much- it's my 8th tournament, and I've never broken before. But everyone kept telling me that I would break and so I wasn't sure what to think.

Needless to say, I was more than disappointed with my results. I didn't do very well in either of my prepared speeches, 1-5 in LD (although I deserved at least 2-4; I had some of the worst debate judges ever), and apologetic ballots weren't very helpful or encouraging. The only speech I did very well in was impromptu. I got a first, second, and some thirds and fourths. If Region 10 were smaller in that event, I probably would've broken. This tournament was really only good for practice and knowing that if I want to break in impromptu, I need to practice a little more.

Yay for after-tournament rant!! Anyhow, everyone was super nice, even if saying "I'm sorry you didn't break," really doesn't help; I really appreciate all the support I got from my friends.

One thing I regret which is actually my fault is that I didn't get to know people better like I had planned. Unlike at Shine, that old devil social anxiety krept up and I had to hide in a cubby with Black Veil Brides and Fall Out Boy.

My disappointment for myself in no way lessens my happiness for my friends. I'm so excited that Naomi got third in TP and Anna got fourth. Love you guys!! 

Perfectionism

  You know what the most annoying thing ever is? Being a perfectionist without talent. People I know tell me that I should just stop comparing myself to others, but that's not the problem. I don't compare myself to people because they're not me. I don't want to be someone else; I just want to be the best me.
  
  Take speech and debate for an example. I know I have the capacity to do well. I've won exactly half of my LD rounds. If I had done just a tiny bit better in one freaking round, I would've gotten to Reg10nals from my first Lincoln-Douglas tournament ever. That's encouraging to everyone in my club, but not to me. I was so close, and to them, that's really good. But to me, it's discouraging. 

  A few months ago, I got over the worst time in my life. I've been a lot happier, less depressed and anxious, and I've decided to be myself. There is still, however, some residual pessimism. I use it to try to combat pain or disappointment, but even if I don't do well in something, I feel sad. 

  Mediocrity isn't okay. When I almost do well enough, it feels like I'll never get to be good enough. And what's the purpose of all that hard work and disappointment if I'm not getting better?
                                                                                                                                       
  Sorry for having such a long, rambly rant. If anyone actually reads this far, thank you. If anyone is struggling with disappointment or anxiety, you can know that you're not alone. Also, comment somewhere whether or not you're a perfectionist.

Take Me to Church

  I know that this song was written to be a mockery of religion (the artist's words about it are here), but I think that we as Christians have a valuable lesson which we can learn from it. Instead of it being a song about sex, we can listen to it as a song about obsession. When we love something too much, we tend to idolize it. As a professional fangirl, I start getting obsessed with certain things at certain times. That's OK, as long as I don't devote my entire life to it.

    We learn from the Bible that idolatry is wrong. This is the first commandment for a reason. God created us, and our purpose is to glorify and enjoy Him forever. Any sin, really, is idolatry. We want what we want more than what God has given or told us. Obsession is a good example of this. When our priorities are wrong, we love something that may be good, but not as good as God.    

  This song is an example of how much idolatry can hurt us. The singer has lost his place in society, his innocence, and basically all he is because of his unethical love for an immoral woman. Psalm 16:4 says "The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips." 

  I said before that I'm a fangirl. Part of this (at least for me) is roleplaying. I really love a character, so I try to get to know them and write their character into different situations. Recently, I watched the Fox crime drama Gracepoint. Once the show finished, I made a roleplay blog on tumblr for the main character, Emmett Carver. As I "got to know" Emmett, I decided that "Take Me to Church" would be his favorite song. Now that I think about it, it's easy to see why.

   Emmett is a very awkward character. He shrugs off physical affection, but he's still human; he still needs love. The words of the classic song, "It'll be forever or I won't fall in love," ring true for him. It takes a lot of trust for Emmett to fall in love, and when that trust is violated, he's left broken. Before the series started, he even ruined his reputation for the good of someone he loved.

Percy Jackson

  I really love the original Percy Jackson series. I hated the first movie, and I'm still making up my mind on whether or not I like the Heroes of Olympus. I think I do, but the author adds a lot of extraneous information and some of his attempts at humor fail. I do like the ideas a lot, but they maybe could've been worked out better.

  I know you're gonna hate me, but I really love Nico. He's such a well-written character, and I feel like I can relate to him. People make choices that hurt my feelings. Sometimes I don't get to say goodbye to people I love. And there's never enough "emo" characters in popular books.

  I don't really like Jason for the same reason I hate Rose from Doctor Who. Rose is a generic nice girl, and Jason is a generic hero. Nothing in particular to love.

Some Random Thoughts

  We're all made in God's image. That's SOMETHING to love in everyone, and it manifests itself in different ways. Sometimes it's that one thing that keeps you from wringing that jerk's neck. Sometimes it's the one thing that makes you want to kiss the nice boy's face.Whatever it is, it's there.

  There's this nine-year-old boy at my church. He makes "kissy faces" at older girl and is mean to younger girls. But one time, he randomly said, "My mom is beautiful." And I melted. If there's someone you used to love, but with whom you've had a falling-out, remember what made you fall in love with him in the first place.

  Sorry for this randomness. XD