I Don't Like IT. Neither Should You.

I don't like it.

I don't like it when words won't form automatically, eloquently into my mouth.
I don't like it when my feelings strangle one another, and frustration is the result.
I don't like it when people are ungrateful and mean, taking everything for granted.
I don't like it when quick words, and quicker eyebrows lead into a life time of anger.
I don't like how everybody thinks they are better than everybody else, but nobody takes the time to figure each other out.

I don't like IT.

I don't like not knowing what to say and how, in fear of being judged.
I've made a habit out of hiding, and concealing attributes to create a better perception of myself.
But that perception isn't really me right?
I am hiding behind an invisible wall, scared but angry.

Sticks and stones are controlled, but thoughts harm all.

I don't like it.

I don't like not knowing what I am going to do, or where I'm going to go.
I don't like that there is never a guaranteed happy ending.
I don't like not remembering what I should.
I don't like forgetting, but I do.

I don't like IT.

I don't like what humans have become.
I don't like nosy, absurd people who see things in the darkest of colors.
I don't like loving people but not liking them.
I don't like how I can't phrase that in a better way because I've lost touch.

I don't like it.

I don't like what is happening to this world or me.
I hate the fact the land is overflowing with humans but no where in sight is there humanity.

I don't like IT.

I don't like starting the conversation first, every single time.
I don't like waiting, and wanting for nothing.
I don't like looking up, seeing and then thinking twice before believing.
I don't like pulling down myself, so you can get yourself some dignity.
But I do it anyway.

There may be no humanity, but I'm still human.

I'm still vulnerable, flawed, and scared in a world that refuses to be everything except for perfect.

I don't like it.

I don't like how fairy tales refuse to exist in a world that needs them to stay afloat.
I don't like how nothing happens, till I do something about it.
I don't like how it requires my effort, but none of yours.

I don't like IT.

I don't like what the world has become, and what the people are becoming.
I don't like the fact that not being human has become the new black.

I don't like it.
But there's nothing you and I can do. 

*Insert Emoticon Here

Social networking sites have become immensely popular over the last decade, especially among teenagers. The social life of teenagers is now fully dependent upon Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Blogspot. There isn't a  person in high school who doesn't have an account on any one of these websites. Communication has turned into status updates and tweets. Phone calls are only used for special occasions. The internet is taking over, and nobody can stop it.

Years ago, staying up till midnight was a big thing. If you were up at midnight, people would be slightly impressed. However, if you sign in on Facebook when the clock strikes 1, the online population keeps rising. Social networking sites have helped us in so many ways. It's easier to communicate. It takes the same amount of time to chat with people we see everyday and people that live a thousand miles away.

This should be a good thing right? Instead of walking over to our new neighbor's house for a welcome, we can just add them on Facebook after a block party. Sure, for the shy, non-talkative teenager the internet is full of promises. It promises popularity and a social life, which were earlier reserved for basketball players and jockeys.

Facebook and Twitter promise popularity to the kids that are too scared to open up. It took the clumsy, scared kids and told them, "with a good sense of humor and way too many selfies, you too can take over the world!" Thus, began the unstoppable cycle of high school trendsetters online.

These social networking sites can be a positive thing. They encourage the unappreciated and tell the nonconformists that they are not alone. The internet has become a huge, huge high school in which the student body president happens to be a new celebrity every month. For some this is great! It allows them to gain friends with similar thoughts and ideas. They don't have to mope around and sob for being different. They are allowed to be themselves. They now have the power to take over the world.

For the rest? Not so much. With popularity moving online, likes and comments now matter. How many friends you have on Facebook tells people how much power you have in the hallways. Not many use the message option as they want the whole world to know everything. There is a lack of privacy and promises that can't be kept.

Social networking sites have increased the amount of gossip that now spreads faster than wild fire. It has discouraged and disapproved of many people. It has made being a high school student more work than ever. If you're gorgeous, like to take pictures, and know all of the online lingo..
Then GuD 4 u BB, u'll hav T0nz of FrenZ

But what if you're smart, like to read books, and don't want to tell anybody anything? Then Facebook would be like being suck in a sad cave. How invisible you seem to everybody, doubles and triples. You feel low and friendless. The loneliness may be most acute when your so called 'friends' post selfies at the same time, same place. You realize you haven't been invited. Then you stop to think? Would you even go?  You click the like button without looking at any more pictures and comment a smiley face. Without this being done, there would be a cat fight awaiting you at school tomorrow.

Social networking sites promise to help you keep in contact with people that don't live too close to you. This is a great promise, but all that glitters isn't gold. Facebook and Twitter just rub in how fine life can go on without you. All those friends you had BFF'd in middle school and really want to keep in touch with? You shall see their selfies, music likes, and statuses. You see them calling somebody else their BFFL. The rub in the fact that not having you in their life doesn't change much. You don't feel too important after that, let me tell you. Your 'friends' aren't really friends because they wouldn't stay up all night to wish you a Happy Birthday. They have become such different people and these new folks replace your memories with the old. When your friends don't talk to you but occasionally like a post, you then know the friendship is officially over.

Instead of closing the gaps between people, social networking sites increase it. Never will you feel so alone. Never will the loss of humanity within humans seem so large. Life has become more complicated and complex than we could have ever predicted. Humans have loss the ability to communicate without emoticons.

The internet has taken over, and that is the sad fact.

Wacky Words and Idiotic Insults of Today

Swear words. They're words that stun and frighten children. They're words that the adolence of today use to sound grown up. They're words that grown ups say when everything is wrong. They're words not usually spoken by the elderly. We don't think of them much, yet they linger in the air around us. They consume the air and float within the atmosphere. They are hidden between any existent words. The drastically change the meaning of a sentence. They break hearts and minds, alike. They bring tears and laughter, oxymoronically together. They are much like regular words, but with a malice touch.

Words are fragile. They might not seem so, being strong and constant. Yet, they can make or break a person. They can be the reason a heart is singing a Disney song. They can also be the bawls that can't even flow away with the rain. Words are constantly hovering around, into, and within us. They might not seem important, but they are. Every single letter of every single consonant is important. Each holds the pressure of being linked together with the right kin for the right purpose.

Saying the right words, at the right time, with the right tone is beyond important. However, most of us magnate to have a great deal of difficulty with it. Linking words together to make sentences is just like linking daisies together to make a crown. Yet, without practice it's a horrendous task.

If words are so important, then why does the majority of human kind talk without thinking? Why do they spur harsh swear words at random intervals? Why do they twist and squeeze normal words into words with horrible meanings? Why do they ramble on and on when they are bored? Why aren't they more careful?

'If only
our tongues
were made
of glass

how much
more careful
we would be
when we speak"

If you notice, around social networking websites, there is a new old word floating around. 'Fake'. If you evesdorp on conversations of 13 year-old girls on the bus stop, they will surely be discussing how 'fake' a certain person is. Scroll through comments of facebook cat-fight statuses, the word 'fake' will be used abundantly. Fake. Fake. Fake. What is fake? Somebody who pretends that they're somebody else? Those are the folks originally known as actors. What is fake? Somebody who plasters their face with make up? Somebody who tells white lies now and then? Somebody who does something they hate to make someone they love proud? Is fake getting surgery because you profoundly hate what you look like? Is being fake reading book after book to escape reality? Is being fake having a large wardrobe? Is being fake acting a certain way in order to compromise a situation? If all that is fake, aren't we all fake?

Swear words, and supposedly mean words have become blatantly stupid these days. The word 'fake' is supposed to be hurtful? Depending on its usage it can be hurtful, yet it makes no sense. Also the word 'gay'.  I find this word very ironic. The original meaning of gay is to be happy. Yet, today homosexuals are discriminated by homophobic, making them (homosexuals) unhappy. Society is making gays, the opposite of their stereo-typical name. Oh, and the infamous f-word. It is the base of nightmares for children. 'Cool' kids use it after every word in every sentence. Yet, it is constantly misused. Its literal meaning makes no sense within those contexts. 'Stupid' and 'idiot' are words that are used rather frequently. However, I'm proud to say that when used they actually make sense.

The point I'm trying to make in this blog article is that we should be careful about what we say. Think before you say. Imagine the consequences of your words, and actions. Slip-ups are necessary and okay, but try to respect words. Why? Because letters are lines drawn on paper. Letters make words, words make sentences, sentences make paragraphs, paragraphs make stories, stories make a lifetime. I leave you with a John Green quote, because he is a man that understands me completely.

“Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself.”
― John Green

Blackbird, Blackbird

Today, I was sauntering on my rooftop. That might sound odd to you, but it is something I have a habit of doing. Walking on the rooftop, I observe many happenings I wouldn't usually have. Today, I noticed the an oddity about a specific bird.

I begun noticing that most birds fly the same way, at the same time. There's a saying to go with that too, 'birds of a feather flock together'. It may sound like a cliché, but it's true. During flight, most birds flap their wings in a rhythmic manner. It's a graceful upward and downward movement. It is not a movement that would photograph well; it is a movement beautiful only through the human eye. Most birds that inhabit urban areas look the same, eat the same things, and fly in the graceful, distincitve manner.

Through my previous posts, you might have begun to notice something. I love and admire anyone or anything that is not conventional. I love the odd ones who are willing to stand out. It is a bad habit. In humans, they're fairly common. Some people have a spark within them, that I can not miss. Humans have cliques and groups within them. Usually the people within these groups have much in common. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, but sometimes it leads to the destruction of a person being an individual. When you are a group, you tend to go along with whatever everyone else is doing. This does not have to be a bad thing. However, it doesn't take courage to go with the flow. Thus, individuals who don't fit in a specific group but fit in many or none are usually alone. It takes courage to be alone. It takes courage to stand out.

For me, courage is expected of humans now and then. Today, I experienced something so simple it shouldn't have meant anything, but it did. It meant more to me than anything that has happened in the last week. I saw a bird that was alone. It did not have a flock, it was flying alone. It wasn't flying in  the up-down manner that all birds fly. No, it was different. It was flapping its wings sporadically, but once in a while it would stop. It would stop flapping its wings while it was in the air. After it flapped a few times, it would fold its wings. It would only open them back up with it began to fall a little. Gravity affects birds too.

I guess you now think I'm crazy and frivolous, and I am a bit. How could a bird who flew a little differently affect me so much? Well, it made me think of the other birds. The ones that are just a part of the group. Yes, they are more graceful than this specific bird. However, who is enjoying flying more? The birds who all work hard and are like practiced dancers, or the one who's enjoying just dancing? Those birds work hard, but they never get the taste of their own art. This bird, he knows what flying is like. He knows what floating is like. He takes advantage of the life he has been given. If he were human, I would like him greatly.

Maybe this bird isn't an individual. Maybe he's just an odd bird who broke his wings and needs to rest them while flying. Maybe he's a bird that doesn't know how to fly well. Maybe he is an egoistic bird that the others are just sick of. Maybe he thinks his cool flying skills will win over the ladies. Maybe I dug too deep into this. Maybe, but maybe not.

The Yin-Yang State Of Mind

While I was walking down a shady looking gully today, I had an epiphany. Not the eureka type, but the type where you get an idea and ponder upon the occurrences that may result from it. The type of idea that slowly sneaks up on you, quietly like a stealthy cat is hard to come by. They rarely befall upon ordinary folks, like myself.  However, today, while walking on a slippery sidewalk, I discovered what many don’t. I discovered what I believe is the secret of having of a social life.

I’m not going to be like the book, “The Secret”. I will not ramble on and on about the secret, without even telling you what it is. Therefore, the secret of having a social life is finding the median. If you find the middle for everything, you will find what you need for a happy life.

Everything has a middle. The secret to having a social life is to stand out while still being a part of something. Be the black sheep among the white, but still be a sheep. Being different is a good thing, and it’s simple really; you just have to be yourself. Fitting in is the tough part, but that is plausible too. Being a part of the group, while still standing out is almost impossible. However, as Audrey Hepburn once said, “Even ‘impossible’ says, I’m possible!” Finding the middle, and then becoming it is the secret to surviving. Today, society over powers us all. Whatever society says, most of us blindly do.

Standing out and being idiosyncratic is a good thing, but only to a point. We are social creatures. Most people like most people, and people need people. Even if you don’t want any company, you need it. You know why? Because you are human (or at least I hope you are). Since people need people, people crave being a part of a group. They want to belong, and that is hard to do. However, once you find your little nook, it’s worth it.

Even though humans are social creatures, most of us still crave for attention. Honestly, who doesn’t like being noticed? What is better than being a part of a group but standing out at the same time? You fit in, but you’re still thought of as an individual.

Going back to the original topic, the mid-way is the way to go. Extremes are risky and they’re not constant. For example, with personalities. The best personalities are ones that are in the middle. Somebody who is nice but not weak, funny but can be serious, smart but not a smart-aleck, witty but not mean, talks but not too much, and is charming but not cunning is literally a perfect person. AS you might have noticed, that person has all the medians down. It’s hard and impossible (no matter what Audrey Hepburn said) for every single person to have all of those characteristics. We are all different, and we all have our attributes and flaws. However, while we should learn to accept ourselves, we should also learn to better ourselves.

Haven’t you noticed, the yin-yang? We need both the dark and the light in life, but both to a limit. The dark should balance the light, and vice versa. Even humans, who lived thousands of years ago, have found this to be true. Extremes are not the way to go.

Find the middle for everything, and I assure you, you will live a great life. Don’t be extremely mean, or extremely nice but be a good person. Don’t talk too much but you shouldn't keep quite all the time. Just find a middle, one that fits you personally.

Today’s epiphany might not exactly be the secret for living an amazing life, but I assure you it’s a way to improve your life. Extremes are dangerous and don’t work well. If you find the middle you will find the way to peace, much like the yin-yang.