Originally posted on Opinionated Duck
John Green is overrated.
Not a bad writer, not a hideous storyteller, not a terrible man, just overrated.
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John Green is Overrated
John Green is overrated.
John Green is overrated.
Is suicide what it takes?
RIP Leelah; so tragic.
It’s the 31st December 2014 and so today seems like an appropriate time for this post. Tomorrow is traditionally all about new beginnings; the first day of the new year. This year, I wish that our society as a whole will vow to change their mindsets and stop discriminating against different races, genders, sexual orientations, ect.
2014 has been a controversial year. We have seen gay marriage legalised in many countries and states; we have seen the overwhelming support of #illridewithyou that showed Australia’s support towards people who wear religious attire; and we have seen the less heartwarming stories – Michael Brown fataly shot in Ferguson, Missouri, by police officer and, more recently, the suicide of transgender 17 year old Leelah Alcorn. All are stories of discrimination and many have stemmed from acts that have horrified the world, resulting in an overwhelming support from people worldwide, in each case.
I…
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Wearing Your Own Skin
Check out my new blog Delirious Antidotes.
Whether we like it or not, the majority of people live their lives to please others, rather than themselves. We are driven by people’s perceptions of us and are seldom content with what we look like and expressing the person we are.
What do they think about me? It’s a question I’ve asked myself thousands of times, and I’m sure you have also. The truth is, most of us do not want to know the answer because we are convinced it will not reassure us. The other part of us cannot resist the curiosity and we often find ourselves expressing this question aloud to others.
There was a time in the lives of every person who thinks of this question where they were not dictated by these thoughts. The likelihood of it is that we cannot, unfortunately, remember that time. In fact, we were young children and the fact that our…
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31: Masks
Check out my new blog, Delirious Antidotes! <3
It’s Halloween again.
It doesn’t seem like that long ago that I was wrapped in my bed sheet, running across a field. It certainly doesn’t feel as long as a year ago. In some ways, the scariest thing about Halloween is the fact that it reminds me how much time has passed. Since what, exactly? Not since anything. Just that’s passed.
Often, I don’t feel like dressing up at Halloween. It might be partly because I can’t pull off the look like everyone else, but it’s also because I don’t see why we are choosing to wear another mask. For the most of us, we are already wearing them anyway.
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What Does It Mean To Be Young?
Check out my new blog, Delirious Antidotes!
Originally posted on Opinionated Duck
What does it mean to be young? Is it to be born after a certain date? Is it to think that thirty is old? Or, is it a feeling of infinity?
To be young can be defined by more than one action, more than one feeling, because it is more than one thing.
It is your love of walking barefoot across the grass; the new carpet; the sand. The carefree attitude in which the feeling of the world touching your skin is the most natural and most beautiful of all sensations.
It is our craving for direction but our hesitance in following the paths that we are shown. Our contradictive nature in which we dismiss what we want to be shown once we are shown it, what we want to hear once we hear it, what we want once we have it.
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I’m Moving
http://deliriousantidotes.wordpress.com
I’ve been thinking that it’s time to move on from this blog and, after over two years, I have very mixed feelings. There’s a lot of posts on this blog that I’m proud of and I certainly don’t want to lose my wonderful followers. Alas, I am growing up and with that my thoughts and ideas are developing. I have decided that the best thing to do now would be to start fresh.
I might be back, if my new blog doesn’t work out, but – of course- I’m hoping it will.
If you want to follow me over on my new blog, I will be eternally grateful. If not, until next time.
10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Life Today | The Personal Blog of Zack Kanter
Reflecting on the fact that I really, really love Zack Kanter…
This is one of my favourite blog posts on the whole of WordPress and I’m so gutted that Zack’s blog is no longer active. Give it a read.
10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Life Today | The Personal Blog of Zack Kanter
Changing or improving your life doesn’t have to be a long, frustrating, drawn-out process. I’m always in search of the smallest changes that yield the biggest returns, and below is my collection of quick tips that can make your life easier, more fulfilling, or just less of a pain in the ass.
Try one or two of these and tell me how great they worked.
Zack’s Not-So-Secret List of Simple Ways to Increase Happiness, Productivity, or General Awesomeness
1. Get rid of anything you haven’t worn in the past 2 months.
We both know that you should really donate everything you haven’t worn in the past two…
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Why do bad things happen to good people?
For whatever reason, I’ve always been a firm believer that things happen for a reason. For something that is so illogical, the concept is seemingly so logical – which is an evident contradiction in itself. How can it be that things do happen for a reason? Yet, how can it be that there is no reason for the things that do happen? I suppose that believing in a reason – whatever that may be, unclear or not – is much more comforting than believing otherwise.
Among other beliefs, I am yet to decide whether or not I believe in karma – although I do enjoy the concept. My issue with karma is, if it does exist, why do bad things happen to good people?
When blameless people suffer hardships, it can often test our belief in a loving and just universe. Too often are innocent men and women killed horrendously; children who have never harmed a soul are brutally murdered; and, in general, people who have lived nothing but a righteous life are put through experiences one would never want to even consider.
Rumour Has It
This is an open note and not addressed to anyone specifically but if the shoe fits then please wear it.
I have never been naive enough to expect to go through life without being introduced to people who seem to have far too many faces. I have never been astounded by the fact that others have, for lack of a better phrase, “stabbed me in the back”. I have never been surprised when I have heard a rumour about myself, because it’s a common thing to deal with.
People will make assumptions – many that are not true, others that simply don’t concern them – and people will talk about these assumptions. It is an inevitability of life. If you haven’t experienced this yet, then you can either beware and think yourself lucky or you can be confident that you just aren’t aware of these rumours and two-faced individuals.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
September marks Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in the UK, US and many other countries worldwide. During the month, I urge you to try and raise awareness concerning Childhood Cancer and perhaps consider donating. The donations made could help to fund research for childhood cancer, or support groups for patients and their families, among many other things. Any donation made can be very beneficial.
If you are unable to donate, please go gold for September! Dress in gold, submit gold themed art, and spread the word with gold themed actions!
I first became properly aware of Childhood Cancer after hearing this song. The song was written for a boy named Ronan Thompson who was diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma on the 12th August 2010. Ronan’s battle with Neuroblastoma ended on May 9th 2011, just three days before his fourth birthday, but his mother vowed that his fight would go on. Maya Thompson, Ronan’s mother, started a blog and wrote where she wrote about Ronan and Childhood Cancer (which she continues to update).
(And By That I Mean…)
If you are sitting there having not heard the LP (And By That I Mean…) then I am appalled. It is ten tracks of pure wonder. Don’t believe me? Take a listen.
As many of you might know by now, I am a particular fan of quotes. That being said, I don’t adore every quote that I hear or come across. One that I certainly don’t always agree with, particularly not with music, is that “a first impression is a lasting impression”. Often, it takes a long while for me to like a band or artist because I don’t like what I first hear of them.
This was definitely not the case with Max Wigmore Giroux.
The sixteen year old singer-songwriter is an upcoming artist from the UK and I fell in love with his sound from the moment I began listening to his track Just What We Need.
The LP begins with the track I Should Tell You Everyday, one of the album’s more subtle (yet amazing) tracks with lyrics that immediately introduce you to the depth of the record. The next song is my favourite, Wilting, with it’s beautiful melody and catchy lyrics.
The mood and eccentricity of the lyrics throughout the record (in particular on Just What We Need and Your Button Up Coat and Canvas Shoes) reminds me somewhat of the work of Dan Croll and Max’s voice often resembles that of Morrissey in certain songs. Although many of the songs on the LP share similar conventions and sounds, each song is unique and stands out in it’s own way.
Soundtrack to My Summer
It’s getting dark now, despite the fact that it’s Summer. You look at the clock. Half past ten. The street lamps flicker, casting a golden shadow over the garden where your best friend dances with your sister. It seems that they are the only ones who can hear the music.
You look down at the table and count out the M&M’s, making sure that there is an even number. When you realise that there are nine, you pop one back in the packet for some one else to eat.
“I want to go for a walk.”
“Now?” Your best friend looks up from doing his rendition of the “worm”.
“Yeah. Like a midnight walk.”
“Or a half ten walk, because it’s not midnight.”
“Yeah, a half ten walk.”
For most teenagers, Summer is not a season but a period of time out of education that is filled with spontaneous moments just like these Half Ten Walks. The memories of jumping that fence at eleven pm and realising that your friends have hid, trying to frighten you (and succeeding – but we won’t mention that), adorn your memories. You can’t help but smile when remembering the trolley races in the empty parking lot and how you carefully balanced your Shakeaway so that it didn’t spill as one of your best friends pushed you in the car park. The fact that you caught that amazing still in a YouTube video never fails to amuse you.
A still from this hillarious video.
Why You Shouldn’t Be A Music Snob
Music is a universal language. We listen, we perform and we relate.
We find comfort in lyrics and the fact that there always seems to be something hidden within them that relates perfectly to our lives. We feel the energy in a beat and allow it the power to alter our moods.
We adore music. Some of us are not any good at playing and performing it (like myself), granted, but we enjoy just listening. Others are blessed with the talent to create; to play an instrument; to sing.
Gove Gone
If you recall, a few weeks a go I blogged about my thoughts on the British Education System and one of the topics I discussed was a man named Michael Gove.
You must, by now, have heard that in the recent days, Michael Gove has been removed from his position of Secretary of State for Education. Being one of the most recognisable (and controversial) faces in Education over the recent years, it was a shock to finally see him go. That being said, I was ecstatic upon hearing the news. The man who deemed “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Of Mice and Men” to be eradicated from the English curriculum has been revoked the permission to alter the lives of our young people. One can only be grateful that anyone who does not consider the two American novels influential is removed from controlling the education system.
Please Stop Hating Your Body
“Your body wasn’t meant to be treated like an object for others to scrutinize—it was meant to be treasured as the most incredible and most advanced instrument that you have to receive the world.”
Wise words; a very insightful post.
We live in a culture that hates the body. Don’t believe me? Look around. We set unsustainable standards of physical beauty and enlist models to represent them. We then slather these models in oils and make-up, place them under “flattering” lights, and photoshop them into oblivion.
We take these deceptive images and publish them to the world, insinuating that these lies are not only desirable, but also “the norm.” Why don’t you look like this? Why aren’t you this beautiful?
Unable to attain this fictional and unrealistic level of beauty and perfection, we despise and destroy our own bodies. We do it in a number of ways. We either focus on our physical imperfections and try to starve them out, or beat them out through excessive exercise.
If that doesn’t work, then we try to numb our feelings of inadequacy through addictions that include sex, drugs, alcohol, perfectionism, gambling, gaming, overeating, working, cleaning, shopping, and sleeping.
Anyway you look at it, we are a culture that…
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An Open Letter: Sticks Stones Break Bones, Words Hurt More
I cannot begin to imagine what has happened in your life to make you feel so obliged to shout remarks and make comments about strangers; people you know nothing about. I cannot begin to understand what has happened to you that has converted you into the type of person who finds joy in being cruel to others. I cannot dare to begin wondering what horrible events you must have suffered. Because of this, my heart goes out to you and I truly hope that you can recover from whatever hardship you have experienced.
But, that is not an excuse.
What Does It Mean To Be Young?
One of my favourite of my own posts. If you haven’t already checked it out, I ask you that you do now. Thank you.
What does it mean to be young? Is it to be born after a certain date? Is it to think that thirty is old? Or, is it a feeling of infinity?
To be young can be defined by more than one action, more than one feeling, because it is more than one thing.
It is your love of walking barefoot across the grass; the new carpet; the sand. The carefree attitude in which the feeling of the world touching your skin is the most natural and most beautiful of all sensations.
Young Johnny Depp knows.
It is our craving for direction but our hesitance in following the paths that we are shown. Our contradictive nature in which we dismiss what we want to be shown once we are shown it, what we want to hear once we hear it, what we want once we have it.
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The Very Inspiring Blogger Award #2
On a scale of one to ten, how honored would you be if someone you considered inspiring also considered you inspiring? For me, it measured a high ten – at least.
So, the very inspiring Godless Cranium was recently nominated for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award and, being the inspirational blogger he is, decided in all his delirium to nominated me for this award. I’d like to send my highest gratitude to you, kind Sir.
In order to accept this award, there a few rules one has to follow:
1.Thank and link to the amazing person who nominated you.
2.List the rules and display the award.
3.Share seven facts about yourself.
4.Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know they have been nominated.
5.Proudly display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you
Seven Totally Unimportant Facts About Me
I am so, entirely obsessed with the music from the past. I would say the 80’s, but then I have a lot of 70’s and 90’s in there, too. You know, U2, The Smiths, Fleetwood Mac, The Samples, The Calling, David Bowie, Tracy Chapman, Nirvana, The Goo Goo Dolls, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dexys Midnight Runners, Bob Dylan, R.E.M, Stevie Wonder, The Kinks, Marvin Gaye…among others. (Mix those artists with underground artists of the modern day and some mainstream artists – not many – and you have my taste in music. My music taste is very…strange. Keep tuned in for more on that soon.)
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Understanding The Mind: OCD
Hey there! Thanks for visiting Opinionated Duck. Unfortunately, I’m not blogging here anymore. If you’d like to check out my new blog, Delirious Antidotes, then click here. I’ll see you over there!
Mental health is often a topic of public discourse, but do we really know what we are talking about? Within this series (“Understanding the Mind”), I aim to provide readers with an insight about what mental illness is. To find out more and for an introduction about what this series aims to do, read this post. To read all the posts in this series, click here.
Today, I would like to talk about OCD – an anxiety disorder. Read more about what an anxiety disorder is here.
OCD
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder which characterises itself through repetitive thoughts, creating a need to act on compulsions. These compulsions can include a wide array of activities: repeated cleaning, showering, washing hands, counting, arranging, checking door locks, refusal to touch other people or objects, and eating foods in a specific order.
It is estimated 1-3% of adults suffer with OCD, and around 5% of children and teenagers.
OCD can significantly interfere with your life, with compulsions restricting your actions and sometimes taking hours to complete.
Is It Okay To Be Angry?
anger
noun
1. a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.
Anger is a common emotion. What’s more is that it is a perfectly normal emotion. Everybody gets angry.
Clearly, anger is a natural and common part of life which most people experience some level of on a daily basis.
But, is it okay to be angry?
