Wednesday, July 29, 2009
UPDATE
After twisting my ankle and not being able to run for 10 days, I finally was able for the first time in my life to run for more than 30 minutes (3 miles) straight...it felt great!! This running schedule that I've been following was fantastic and now I am looking for running schedules to reach 6 miles. I am hoping reaching 6 miles will only take another 5 to 6 weeks but hopefully not more if I still want to reach 8 miles by December 31st. The 5K race that I was originally going to participate in and was the original set date to reach 3 miles is in the end of August but I still don't know if I'll be able to participate since there is a big possibility that I will be away for that weekend. There is also a 10K race in the beginning of November that will be the set date to reaching more than 6 miles running. While following the running schedule it was easier not to have a running partner because of the structure of the schedule in which one runs for a set time and then walk but now that I am running for 30 minutes straight I am finding myself searching for running partners that will do the same. It makes the run more interesting and more challenging and forces me to push beyond the set goal. But another challenge is being my own motivator and this running schedule has helped be become one.
Anyways running is not the only thing that I feel like I've made advances in. The other day one of friends left the music playing as we were leaving her house; she is a big animal lover. Now in high school if we had voting for nicknames I would've definitely gotten "Most Opinionated". I had set opinions and held on to them and basically wasn't very open to other views, especially when it came to intangible, spiritual or not very scientific ideas. However, as we were leaving her house I asked her if she was leaving the music on for her animals. I didn't even notice that there might've been something weird with what I said until she pointed it out but still even if she said yes my reaction would've been the same. I think having her as a friend although might not have changed a lot of my believes or opinions about things it certainly have helped me open up to different views and be respectful of them regardless of how much I might disagree with them.
I think I've become more open with people; I kind of stopped trying to be mysterious except with the ones that ask for it. I met someone the other night and we had a wonderful conversation, he reminded me of someone and that usually would've been the end of it but not this time. I really would like to get to know him better and work on these projects with him next semester.
In the past 13 days I've also been betrayed by a best friend and I think that is the reason why I avoided writing anything in the past 13 days because I promised him that I will forget about what happened and turn a new leaf with him and writing about it when the wound was still open would've kept it engraved in my memory and I would've never been able to move past it. Quite honestly I don't know why I decided to forgive him. I mean I do believe that he didn't intentionally do it just to hurt but that he did it because he was thinking about himself at that moment and nobody else. But I think the main reason why I forgave him is not that I think he didn't mean it but knowing that he doesn't have the power to hurt me. I don't know if this makes sense... but a friend's betrayal/loss has as much weight as a person gives it. Ironically, right after this happened I decided to hang out with another friend who also betrayed me a while back but truly hurt me and affected the way that I dealt with people from then on that I stopped letting anyone close because I didn't trust people anymore. However, it feels shitty when you feel betrayed but it feels good when you rid yourself of anger.
I’ve been looking for apartments with my future roommates. We haven’t found anything yet but I am getting a little excited and nervous at the same time. Moving in with best friend will either take your friendship to yet another level or break it but I think the most important thing to focus on is being honest with each other and tackle problems in a mature way. I am not that worried about this part but what worries me is that I could see our apartment having 3 permanent guests there all the time and that scares me…not to mention that one of those guests might me my own brother. Don’t get me wrong I love my brother, I love hanging out with him but there are also certain limitations that accompany having him around and I would like to get to miss him sometimes. However, he has become very good friends with two of my future roommates and the third one has a crush on him…so this situation seems to be unavoidable…oh well I guess it could be worse!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
A Small Reminder
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Gain Some...Lose Some
Monday, July 6, 2009
Late Night Random Thoughts
I sort of had a weird weekend; I don't even know how to define it. It was a busy weekend yet kind of slow. Friday night my friends came over and we went out later on that night. I did something that I haven't done before, which is dancing without drinking or without being buzzed also I did another thing which is dancing in a restaurant/lounge with no designated dancing area knowing that most people are looking and judging us with their small minded mentality but I have to admit it was fun and out of ordinary for me. We stayed up that night and went to the Charles River to reserve a spot for the 4th of July fireworks. We stayed there the whole day; I passed out in the tent for a couple of hours and then spent the rest of the day with my friends, their families and mine. I spent most of my time that day playing with a 5 year old kid; he was cute...Who would've thought I would spend time with a kid that I am not forced to spend time with! Earlier on Friday I flipped out on one of my closest friends. She is someone that means a lot to me and I don't think that I handled my frustration with her very well. She said one comment and all came back to me; how I always felt guilty around them, because I always felt like I am being blamed for whatever is going on. But I managed to calm down eventually and apologize and also explain why I reacted the way that I did. I discovered that nothing upsets me as much as someone undermining my judgment or how I read people's actions. I guess spending a lot of time analyzing people and being proud of the fact that I tend to read people correctly 99% of the time, it gets a little frustrating when someone dismisses my opinion and gives it no value. However, it is her opinion and I shouldn't have gotten that upset about it...I think what made it worse is the fact that at times she sounds like a know it all and analyzing people and reading signs is the one area that I wouldn't trust anybody's judgment over mine. And I think this is true for most people, the vibes that we get from people, only we can read them most times and that is because first they are directed at us and not someone else – meaning that other people will get different vibes from the same person. And secondly because other people have better things to do than track down the vibes directed at another individual besides themselves and since these vibes tend to reflect the person’s feelings towards us we tend to care about them (warning: a person could be just having a bad day and reflect something that they don't truly feel therefore one should always keep an open mind the next time they meet that person and if turns out that they don't like them then oh well...they don't have to become best friends). A nice person can be nice to many people yet cold to one person; it doesn't mean they are bad people, it just means that they might not like that person or don’t feel comfortable around them and therefore they can't treat them like they treat everybody else. There is nothing wrong with that, at least in my opinion. I am against people pretending to like someone when they don't...this fakeness that people project all the time is what makes friendships in this country so shallow and meaningless. However, I have to say, I have some of the most amazing people out there who I am lucky enough to call my friends, but as someone who struggled to find good friends when she first came here I have to say the biggest problem was with how people tend to be fake most of the time.
I was thinking today about how falling in love is only a matter of meeting a suitable person at the right time and under the right circumstances. Meaning that there isn't one person out there for each one of us but that there are multiple people out there for each and every one of us we just have to meet them under the right circumstances. So basically what I think I am trying to say is that one lost opportunity is probably another one gained. If it doesn't work out with a person that you liked it's okay because there are a lot of fish in the sea and although you can only catch one at a time you - actually that is not quite true, you can catch many at a time depending on how good of a fisher(wo)man you are - but have to let go of one (or chew and spit out one) in order to be able to fully experience the next one.
I am starting to think that me analyzing people (or saying my observation out loud) is starting to make some of my friends feel uncomfortable and I can see myself starting to apologize for making these observations. But just because I make observations it doesn't mean that I don't like the person...it doesn't mean anything...it just means that I saw something that I thought was worth mentioning. Why is it acceptable to say what we thought of a person as long as the things were positive observations but when they are negative (or undesirable traits according to society) we are supposed to pretend like we never thought them? I mean just because we see something it doesn't mean that judgment is attached to it! I could think someone talks too much but that is only according to me and I understand that and I know that out there someone is going to love that about them...it is just an observation it doesn't mean I don't like them and it doesn't mean I want them to change! And I just wish people, at times, would understand that. But I think the fact that most people tend to comment about others only when there is negative judgment attached to it, it makes us automatically frown when someone says something about someone else (or give the other more common reaction, which is immediately start stating all the gossip that we know about that person). Anyways, I know that I don't have negative feelings when I make observations about people and therefore I will no longer apologize for making these observations and saying them out loud...I mean most of the time, and if I know the person well enough, I tell it to their faces and see if what I saw is what they were thinking...but if I don't know the person very well then there is no reason for them to be completely honest and open with me and there is no reason for me to spend time attempting to understand them better. Maybe next time I’ll engage in a conversation with them and get to know them better and eventually tell them what I thought of them and first and what I think of them now. I see think most people would think that I sound a little self-centered right now; but the truth is that regardless of what we think our lives revolve around us. Everything we see and we think we know is seen and learned through us and with our own perspective added to it. So after all maybe what we need to do is just drop all the masks and show our true selves…and then no observations will need to be stated and no secret intentions will have to be hidden?
A close friend of mine thinks that I should keep trying with people regardless of what I think of them...but that is the difference between us; I don't think that I need to be friends with everybody but I would like to be close friends with everybody that impresses, inspires, interests or strikes me as a good person. And I think it is better to spend time building good, solid and long lasting friendships with a few good people than to spend time making friends with everybody and not enough time with the people that you truly care about. I used to be on the other side of the spectrum; I used to want to be liked by all, so I would make friends with everybody but one day, before I walked away from everybody that I knew (besides my family), I started thinking, if I died tomorrow who would show up to my funeral and feel like they have truly lost a dear friend? Who would get up and say a few words about me and through those words be able to fully capture the person that I was? What if I got in trouble tomorrow, which one of those people can I call for help? And I realized I wouldn't call any of them and they might show up to my funeral and feel sad that they lost a friend or a person they knew but it wouldn't have been a huge deal and me knowing that told me that I had to either build stronger friendships with them or find new people that I can do that with and I decided to find new people for multiple reasons including the fact that it is hard to break a habit and change the way that things are in certain situations, also at times you learn that the situation in the first place is not what you want and so you walk away.
Anyways I’ve been rambling on for long enough where I should’ve actually been sleeping, people are actually waking up and going to work now and I am just about to go to bed…this is not what I would call a habit but it’s definitely something that I want to do less of; I need to start going to bed at a normal time and get more than 4 hours of sleep every night!!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
All Around Me are Familiar Faces...Worn out Places...Worn out Faces
We all see the world through our own eyes, regardless of how objective we think we are being while observing, we still see the world through our own perspective. I just watched the movie Revolutionary Road with three other people and noticed how each one of us only paid attention to the part that related to their lives or issues. One who got a divorce recently commented on how the biggest problem in marriage is when two people don't have the same future aspirations any more. One who is unhappy at his job and feels like it's eating away his life commented on how it would feel good to be able to go to work and not give a damn about anything; having that feeling of power that you want to quit anyways so you don't care anymore what happens. One is at a point in her life where she needs to make a decision either to stick around and stay with her boyfriend compromising her career or move away and do what is best for her leaving him behind and that is precisely what she saw in the movie. And then there is me, I understood what the main character was going through, I understood how she felt trapped; living the same day over and over again, knowing that there is much more out there for her but she cannot obtain it because she is trapped in this routine of a life. She has a lot of ambition and dreams but the fact that she has a husband and two kids, stands in her way of following her dreams. She thought her kids stood in the way of her living life as she always wanted to and then she blamed her husband for giving her those kids and sort of forcing her to have them. She wanted to break out of this vicious cycle that she lives in this boring life...nothing seemed interesting anymore!
I am getting to that point too. I think I need a change. It is not that I have a husband and kids but I have other things that I feel entrap me. I need new people in my life...new interests...new hobbies. This song and dance are becoming unchallenging and boring. But what is the point I'll get a new challenge and then what? It is going to become routine again. I'll get new friends, a new boyfriend and then what? I am going to want change again. It is a never ending cycle of always wanting change, something new, something exciting...what happens when I run out of new things to try?
In the movie there was also this crazy guy...the son of the neighbor...but the question is: is he crazy or is he honest and not afraid to say what is on his mind and do as he pleases? Isn't he saying out loud what we all are thinking? Why is he crazy then? Because he doesn't do what the rules of the society tell him to do? One of the people who watched the movie with me thought that he does a lot of thinking which drove him crazy....but couldn't one say that he did a lot of thinking that got him to understand life better? That expected social behavior at the end serves no one and that sugar coding a piece of dirt doesn’t turn it into diamonds. I think we are the crazy ones for following orders and traditions without questioning them; without doing some thinking on our own.
I am starting to lose motivation...I am still exercising and sticking to my goals but I am not excited anymore it just feels like taking medicine now; something you have to do but don't really want to do.
I think I need to find the spark within me. I need to reach a point where I am my own motivation; now that is an ever lasting spark. I cannot rely on others to inspire me and motivate me...I should be the one inspiring and motivating myself and from now on that is how it is going to be!
One comment was made about the movie that scared me a little, which is that what killed that lady and made her unhappy was her ambition. It got me thinking about myself. I am never satisfied with my accomplishments I always think that I could do better, that there is more for me out there. Maybe that is why my high points don't last that long because I am always in search of something new and better. But I do so with the hope that one day I will accomplish something that will bring me satisfaction yet I say this knowing that my nature doesn't allow me to be satisfied...my nature views satisfaction as dangerous as the end of drive and motivation. It makes me wonder...how will it end?
Losing Something Precious
I am supposed to be sleeping now but I woke up with two thoughts; one is worth mentioning because it tracks my progress and one I've been avoiding long enough.
The first, I did something I never thought I would be able to do. I made progress on the self-improvement goal that I've set up for myself and it feels good. I never thought that I would be able to put myself "out there" which is not exactly what I did but I took a big step towards that direction.
The second, until today it never really hit me how much I am affected by the fact that I lost my cat. I've had her for almost three years...actually in a couple of weeks it would've been three years. I've been trying to ignore thinking about it but I can’t help but constantly think about it. When I open the door to my house and I don't see her running down the stairs to say hello to me - it hurts. When my friend tells me a story about a coyote it hurts because I think about what happened to her. When I see a pet or even any animal it reminds me of her - and it fucking hurts. When I wake up in the morning and I can actually move my legs because she is not sleeping between them - it hurts. I know one thing for sure I am never having another pet again, I didn't want her in the first place because I knew I would get attached to her and in 14 years she would die and it would hurt...well I thought it would be in at least 14 years I didn't expect it to be now. I remember when I first got her she was so tiny; she would sleep in my arms like a baby. She always made this breathing sound, like a sigh, when she was sleeping and sounded like a little baby. I think she was confused about her identity..haha I think she thought she was a combination of a human, a dog and a cat. When someone walks into a room and says hello and we all respond she would also meow. She used to sleep on my chest and touch my face with her palm and then give me this look and fall asleep. When anyone cried she would jump on them and lick their face…when I considered killing myself she was there on my lap licking my hand and now I might’ve caused her death.
But I ignored her in the months before she got lost. I was busy hanging out, chilling and being selfish that I barely spent time at home anymore and I think she missed me. I don’t know if I purposely tried to spend less time with her because it became clear to me that I am going to have to leave soon and I can’t take her away from my little sister which meant I am the one who had to get used to living without her. Leaving her wasn’t like leaving someone close to me it was actually more than that, she was a live because I took care of her and if you don't have pets or never had a pet you won’t understand this but there is this deep connection between the pet and the one who usually takes care of the pet in the family…it’s like this mutual understanding that both care the most about the other one (out of the family I am the one that cared the most about her and out of the family I am the one she cared the most about)...and yet I ignored her! I keep thinking that she might've ran away because she didn't feel loved anymore. Although this thought hurts it is still better than the other possibility that I don't even want to think about. I hoped she didn't come back when she first went missing...and it sounds horrible, I know, but I tried to convince myself that I didn’t care that much and I wanted to deal with the pain of losing her now rather than when I am more attached but I realized it’s not the time that you have a pet for or the time that you spend with a person that defines their value to you...it is the quality of the time spent that counts. I fell in love with that cat after the first day that I had her and have I lost her then, now, or in 14 years it would've hurt just as much. But besides that pain that I am feeling right now there are also all these feelings of guilt for not being around more in the past few months letting fear of losing her take away from the time we had left for us to be together. My family and friends think I don't care that I lost her but I've learned to detach from emotional situations and convince myself that it has no affect on me. It has been over a month now and I finally faced myself and said what has been bubbling inside of me and it never felt crappier to be honest with myself but I do need to take the blame for losing her and I do need to face my feelings about it rather than constantly hiding from it. And some people might think that it is only a pet and that is when I know that that person never had a pet that they brought in and took care of on their own while knowing that this pet is here because of you and at the same time feeling that love and appreciation from your pet…so if you think I am over reacting I just hope you never have a pet and have to lose them…so that you would never have to go through what I am going through now and finally understand what I am talking about.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Coin Made of Gold
The first page that I opened, in the book, was a short story about a skeptical man who found a coin made of gold but kept questioning his judgment on whether the coin was actually truly made of gold. He then decides to leave the coin and see the next person's reaction and so the next person takes the coin and thanks the universe for giving him such a gift. I laughed at the story as I saw myself being that skeptical man; with my overanalyzing I definitely might've missed out on a lot of golden coins that passed through my life. I think that this fable could be understood on many levels; it could represent many different things that happen in our daily life. A golden coin could be a person that one didn't open up to because of their skepticism of them. It could also not be about the golden coin but the skeptical man who represents all the insecurities in us; not trusting our own judgment, questioning what we perceive and relying on other people's judgment to validate our own. It could also be about the differences between people the ones that dwell and feed on stress and the ones that take things at face value. It could also be about the golden coin that was rejected once by a skeptical man but then found another to accept it the way it is.
It's funny how a small thing like this could happen during a hangout where one doesn't pay a lot of attention to but then turns out to have affected that person's thinking. I wonder if I would have spent this time thinking about the story if I haven't started blogging last week? I really doubt it...maybe blogging was my golden coin; I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a try (and for that I am neither one of the two men). I don’t think that I fully understand what this fable meant to me yet or that I have fully understood the wisdom in it but I know one thing for sure, which is that from now on I am going to try and become more appreciative of what passes through my life and I'll even be more appreciative of what sticks around.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Searching for a Purpose Again
I recently walked away from an antiwar group not because I stopped believing in the cause but because I didn't like the way that things were being run and all the hidden agendas. Walking away from the group didn't bother me at first and felt like it was the best decision I’ve made this past semester but now I can't help but feel some sort of emptiness inside...like I lost my purpose in life. I still don’t want to be part of that group with things being run the way that they have been but I do regret not sticking around and fighting to change things. I feel like I should still be doing something to help raise awareness about the wars and injustices that are going on today; especially in Palestine and Israel. I am fed up with people always trying to pin point the guilty party while innocent people are dying rather than trying to find a solution to end the atrocities. I am, according to the school, the president of the antiwar group and after I, and a group of people, walked away from the group, the group dismantled but is still recognized by the school as a legitimate student group. This got me thinking what if I change the name of the group next semester, bring in new members and turn it into a group that covers all the issues that we care about. We need new ways in which we can still talk about issues that we care about but instead of attempting to enforce our own views, we need to have debates and discussions with different opinions and perspectives present at the same time, in which the audience can get what they want out of it. This group should tackle different issues from devastating effects of war, to global warming, to the corporate world, to eating healthy and exercising. I want to watch movies that will educate us about different cultures, different lifestyles, and different historic events that can teach us valuable lessons, different atrocities that are going on around us…I want to learn about and tackle everything that humans have an affect on and that is within our hands to change. Maybe we’ll call it “Social Conscience” or “The Road to Social Conscience” or “Starting at Home Base” (The last one basically means that if one has the desire to change the world and make it better, then one must first begin by changing and improving themselves).
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Until it is clearly stated, it doesn’t exist
I said before that I am going to start taking things at face value. No more overanalyzing things that occur in my life. However, I can’t help but notice the way he looks at me and I can’t help but speculate what it means. I’ve told him before I want nothing more than just friendship and he said he wants the same…and I know what you are thinking but it wasn’t one of those moments where he tried to save his pride and said that he wanted what I wanted so that it doesn’t seem like he got rejected...or at least I don't think that it was one of those moments...It felt sincere to me, the way that he said it made me believe that he wants nothing more than friendship. And although I want to take things at face value and stop overanalyzing things, I can’t help but think about this look. Things were cool between us and I like them the way they were; but yesterday he started looking at me differently; it just doesn’t feel like a friendship kind of look and I am not sure if it is the ‘I want more’ kinda look…I just don’t know what to make of it. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, whatever that look means it's not going to change anything from my end, so I am putting this thought to an end: it doesn’t matter what that look means, what matters is that if that look is hiding feelings beneath it then he needs to explain that to me or else I will not worry about it.
I will not worry about what is going on in the other persons' heads…If if feel something is different; I am still going to be myself and instead of avoiding that person when I start feeling like they might have real feelings for me (which is what I usually do), I am going to keep things the way they are and if that person wants more then it is his responsibility to talk to me about it even if that person is upset/bothered by me then it is also their responsibility to explain that to me and in return I will be completely honest. But by doing what I always do - which is avoiding someone when I start feeling like there is something different from their end fearing that whatever it is it might escalate - I am putting myself through a series of never-ending thoughts and I will not do that anymore.
From now on – Until it is clearly stated, it doesn’t exist – that is my policy!
Irony of Life
Different events took place in my life recently that made realize how life sometimes can be ironic.
A friend of mine wasn't willing to give up her own freedom and lie to herself for this guy who wanted all of her to fulfill his own insecurities. So this guy infuriated by this, spent the past 4 months of his life trying to portray her to people as a horrible Satanist person who only loves herself and cares about no one else. However, today after consuming all his time writing hate notes and poems about her, he decided to post something to portray the love and beauty in the world and so he posted a picture of a beautiful piece of street art. I saw the picture and laughed because the beauty he finally saw in the world was made by her...this Art Work that he loved was her Work of Art!
Two of the people in my life, who I truly care about, have been building this mock flirtatious friendship. None of them sees this friendship as a real option only as innocent fun. The irony is that their being together is the solution of a problem yet the cause of another. They feed each other’s ego, allowing them to overcome their insecurities but only for the moment. However, this confidence boost is not a permanent solution for their insecurities; it is conditioned on them being together and on other, so called ‘serious’, options being out of the picture. Having this friendship makes them feel good because they are getting attention from the other sex with no obligations or compromises. Yet this friendship to them is not a serious option, which also destroys their confidence. The truth is that one of them wants to feel the attention he used to get from girls without the obligation of having to be with one of them. The other enjoys the attention she receives from him and the fact that she doesn't have to put her feelings out in the open and face the possibility of being rejected; the idea is unrealistic to her that going after it is nothing but a joke and since she never took it seriously then she can't really get rejected. But because they don't consider it as a real option, it destroys their confidence too and stands in the way of them obtaining something real with ‘serious’ options out there. This friendship that is feeding their egos is making them feel good but because it is not taken seriously it is also crushing them and making them think "why can't I have something like this but real with someone I truly care about?". However, speaking from experience extensive flirting will result in confusion. It's like an addiction; you become so accustomed to having it that when you lose it, you miss it, making you re-evaluate what it meant to you in the first place. Anyways, putting the irony of the situation aside, I hope this doesn't end badly...but I have a feeling that only one of them will survive this.
This incident I will not elaborate on but I just found it extremely ironic that one incident could caused me to lose some respect for a person that I gained so much respect for a while ago and cause me to gain some respect for a person who I completely lost respect for a while ago. It is like I traveled back in time only this time the roles were reversed.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Surviving without What We Thought was Vital
This experience made me think about people in general. We always have a fear of losing something that we've become accustomed to having; thinking that without that thing life would have no meaning. But the truth is we, as people, have no need for anything or anyone. Having things and people in our lives might make life easier and more enjoyable but in reality these things are not a necessity we can still live just as easily and just as happily we only have to teach our bodies and minds to re-adjust to the new realities.
About three months ago, I got in a conversation with one of my best friends, who I used to see everyday and talk to at least 4 times a day when we're not together. The conversation was about how we couldn't imagine our lives without each other. How it would be horrible and neither one of us would be able to survive it. Three months later, I barely talk to him anymore, and I don't feel like I am missing out on anything. I feel bad that this is what we got to; we were inseparable. And I think I am talking about this now, because I feel a little guilty because I've been ignoring his calls lately but I got to see a side of him that made me lose a lot of respect for him. How can I still be the same towards him if I barely have any respect left for him? All that I see when I look at him is a weak pathetic person who keeps trying to logically justify his weaknesses and nothing pisses me off more than hearing him validating his self-destructive behavior. I care about him...I really do. But I will not stand by & watch him dig his own grave knowing that when it comes down to it he might even be able to find a logical explanation on why he should throw me in that grave instead. I went from telling him everything that goes through my mind; he knew everything about me, to telling him absolutely nothing and even purposely hiding things from him.
I think I hold myself to high standards when it comes to friendships. What got me through what happened between my parents were the loyal friends that I had. And I think that that particular experience made me appreciate having loyal friends in my life and from that point on there is nothing that I wouldn't do for my friends but I also expect the same from them. Knowing that I would always put my friends before myself I tend to expect a similar thing from them. But I also know that as a friend I would never allow them to make a sacrifice for me. This combination of things makes me expect a lot from them...not certain actions per se...But feeling that the will to do them exists. I think some people go through life without having great friends that they can rely on and therefore they go through life with little to no expectations from who they call friends. But I think having had great friends I have high standards for new friends that come into my life. And I think we all should hold ourselves and others to high standards of friendship.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
A Look into my Past that Rarely Ceases to Shape my Future
After 24 years of marriage my dad did everything in his power to destroy and humiliate my mom. His kids throughout this 24 years of marriage were only an accessory to his wife. We were a part of my mom or a tool to be used against her. If they got in a fight, he leaves the house for weeks stays at an apartment that we owned and doesn’t talk to either one of us until my mom calls and apologizes for the disagreement that happened, although she didn’t believe it was her fault. She did it every time; she would pick up the phone and call him, beg him to come back…she didn’t do it for her love for him, although it started that way - I also believe her love for him had died a long time before then but having kids and being married delayed her from leaving him – no, she did it for her love for us. She couldn’t handle us wondering what happened to him, where he went, what is he doing and is he ok. She ran out of excuses and lies to cover up for him. And so she would call him each and every time begging him to come back. This is what my mother did for love; although it was for the love she has for her kids…I also know that she got in this mess in the first place for her love for my father. They got married when she was only 21 years old, barely knows what she wants out of life. He was 27 years old knows exactly what he wanted from life. The first few years were great my mom was being manipulated by him and he was controlling her life, yet she was soooo ‘in love’ that she didn’t notice it – he was steering the ship and she was happily onboard. 5 years later as she began to realize what she wanted in life and that his dreams and aspirations for her are not what she wants, everything started to fall apart. But it was too late to leave now…she had a little girl and a little boy who needed their father in their lives and she was pregnant with the 3rd (me).
Being young I saw the sacrifices my mom made on daily basis for him and for us. At the age of 11, I learned that when my father wants to hang out with me, buy me something or give me attention it is only because he just got in a fight with my mother and wants to win me and my siblings over to his side. At age of 11, I started telling my dad you want to play cards…fine I’ll play cards but only if mom plays with us. At age of 12, when he gives me attention I would tell him go make up with my mother then come talk to me. At age of 13, I would barely communicate with my dad anymore. We pass each other like strangers in a bad neighborhood. You keep your head down avoid eye contact and pretend like you never passed by that person. Actually at age 12, I begged my mom to get a divorce; I told her "you can do better, what are you doing with him?…how did you even fall for him in the first place?"…haha it’s kind of sad when you come to think of it. She would always say the same thing “Honey that is your dad, don’t say this, you love him and we are a family…I will not be the one to break a family”.
When I turned 15, I started leaving the house when my dad walked in (at that point we were living in two different cities because of my mom’s job – but they were still together). I would go over one of my friends’ houses or my cousins’ or the pool… anywhere but home; I couldn’t stand the sound of his voice, it irritated me. If I don’t leave the house fast enough then it was guaranteed that we will get in an argument that always escalated to him calling me a whore just like my mother. The last time I saw him, I was 16 years old, and at that point we haven’t spoken for over 3 years (besides the arguments of course). I have to mention that many things happened in the months prior to this but I’ve been thinking about including what happened in this posting but I decided I’d rather not get into it…therefore what you need to know is that the worst thing that he’s done was during that period of time…I was used as a part of a messed up plan to destroy my mom and my mom fell for it because I was a good excuse at that time. After this event took place he wasn’t welcomed into our apartment anymore but would still show up to piss my mom off who would let him in to avoid a scene and humiliating him in front of us. So the last time that I saw him, he was sitting in our living room pretending to be the king of the house…joking with my older sister and brother…brought some gifts for my younger sister…I walked in and it looked like a happy family but missing me and my mother and based around the devil!!! It was irritating to me so I sit in my room and then I hear him saying bad things about my mom, her parents, her brothers and her entire family who have only been extremely nice to him their whole entire lives. So I marched right out of my room asked him to leave our house and never come back and I told him that I am embarrassed and ashamed by the fact that I am even related to him and that I would rather be anything besides his daughter. His response was that he stopped considering me his daughter a long time ago and I said to him “I consider that an honor, I finally don’t have to consider killing myself so I wouldn’t be associated with you” and I asked him sarcastically “can we make it official?”. I have never seen him that angry before. At that point there was no one besides me and him in the living room as my little sister was taken outside by the nanny, my brother and sister each went to their rooms to avoid escalation of the situation. He threw the remote control on the floor and it made a big bang. My brother came rushing out of his room, holding a leather belt with a big metal buckle and a wooden hanger. My brother thought that my dad had hit me and he left his room enraged about to beat him unconscious. At that point my father ran and hid behind my mother, my brother said “one of those days when you are walking on your own in the dark [actually he even said a night with no moonlight] be careful and look behind you because it is coming and you’ll get what you deserve”. My father started crying! A grown man crying…it is not a beautiful thing to see but I had no pity.
What was shocking about this wasn’t that I saw him crying but that the person who was wiping his tears off was my mother. Compared to the harm he has done to my mother, I’ve suffered nothing! Yet she is the one standing there wiping his tears off of his face and telling my brother to go back to his room. I stood there speechless; I couldn’t comprehend it. Her ability to forget about what he did to her and to feel sorry for him showed me what a great person she is and how much love she has for people in her heart. I actually got to a point where I pictured myself stabbing him repeatedly until he died and stopped making those irritating snorts that he makes constantly. I started thinking that I am a horrible person for thinking that way, when my mother is sitting there wiping off his tears. But then I realize, whoever you are, you can mess with me, you can hurt me; physically, psychologically and emotionally, I will have no desire in harming you or seeking revenge…I will just be done with you and if at some point you need my help I will help you out but I will never be close to you again. But I also learned that if you mess with my mom, my siblings, my friends…I will destroy you. I am not a violent person, growing up and learning more about myself I know that I cannot kill another human being, I cannot even just hurt them physically but what I am capable of doing if you hurt one of my loved ones I can destroy you psychologically and that is worse than physical injury because it takes longer to heal if you can ever truly recover.
I’ve come a long way since the last time I spoke to my dad. I went through a series of changes starting August of 2008. I decided to forgive him; I learned that I will never move on unless I forgive him for what he has done to our family. After I forgave him I realized that he did love us, he just never knew how to love someone…his definition of love was to control that person because that is how he protects the ones he loves from what he thinks is bad for them. I decided to forgive him not because I am a great forgiving person but for my own selfish reasons…I needed to move on with my life. I forgave him and if he needs my help, I will help him because I have pity to other human beings even animals have pity towards each other. However, he will never re-enter my life even if I decide to have kids they will never know he exists or get to meet him for their lives will be much better without knowing him. His two kids I will never meet – those are not my half brothers since the only connection I have with them doesn’t mean anything to me now, therefore, I have no obligation towards them. If I see him one day walking down the street I will smile politely as I would a stranger and walk away, I will not look back and I will not feel bad. I wish him the best of luck in his life. And I hope he learned from his mistakes and doesn't treat his kids or wife the way he treated us...because this is his second chance and no one really knows how many chances we get.
What Lies Beneath?
However, some of my friends tend to be very protective and possessive of him which probably what made them talk to me about flirting in the first place, which is one for the most frustrating factors in my group of friend; I feel like I am under attack every time that he is mentioned because he needs their protection. And the amount of attention that they give him makes me not want to give him any. I find it disturbing that their daily plans revolve around what he might want to do later on…it drives me crazy! What about their own lives? It is like they are his fan club and don’t get me wrong I respect what he does and I fully support him and I think he knows that but, oh my god, it doesn't mean I need to be carrying pom-poms day and night putting my life on pause to constantly cheer him on even when he is doing daily activities! I respect him more than to do that ... unfortunately what our friends don't realize is that he is a grown man and can take care of himself and he is capable of asking for help when he needs it. Anyways, this is besides the point, but tends to be a little frustrating.Going back to the original topic, I can’t help but feel a little frustrated when I am the one taking all the blame for most of my encounters with guys, where in reality we are all equally guilty. But why do I even call it being guilty? Why should there even be any blame or guilt involved? And so what if we flirt and have a little fun? I am starting to think some people need to take the sticks out of their asses and enjoy life a little!! But in all seriousness I care about my friends feeling comfortable around me and I would never want to be responsible for ruining a great group of friends and building walls in the midst of the group. I had a conversation with one of my friends (who I thought was constantly judging me) and I learned that they are my friends and they want me to be happy as long as I "own up to it" and quit the mind games because someone will end up getting hurt...they want me to quit rejecting guys and have a serious & stable relationship (which it hurts me to admit but I think I actually might want that too) but will I ever be able to do that? My problem with most of my relationships is that I go for guys that I constantly play mind games with that when the mind games are gone the excitement goes with it, when the challenge is concurred there is nothing left.
Shortly after, I got analyzed by a group of guys and this is what they said I have a need to constantly win, everything thing is only interesting to me as long as it is a challenge and the second that I win it is not interesting to me anymore. They said that I have a need to be in control all the time. That I have power over men, aware of it and enjoy having it. This got me thinking, thinking and thinking some more. I've never felt more like an open book; my actions were so obvious and being read out loud but my reasons...my reasons were not understood...the words in that book that describe my reasons were twisted and misread. I admit that I might act in a certain way but it is not because I am a bad person but I think it is because I am confused and I want to protect myself.
Later on another two close people to me said that I am a tease and I do it to crush men and their big egos and that I might want to look within and see why I do it. They didn’t think that I am horrible for doing it, they said it all seems like fun but they believe that there is an actual reason why I don’t let anyone close. And so I started thinking, do I have a problem? I dug deep into my own past and got some answers.
Ever since then I talked to many people who know me and they all think that its all for fun and that I have nothing to worry about but in the back of my mind I now realize that there is more to it than just teasing and having fun. These comments from those people put me through a lot of sleepless nights not because of what they said about me but because of what they made me realize which is that my past, my father, affected my life more than I realized and that that chapter of my past is still shaping my future. One point needs to be made before I finish talking about flirting...I am not changing; what matters are not peoples' expectations or wants from me but my own expectations and wants for myself. If I like you as a friend and you misread my signals then I apologize but I will not avoid you, run and hide until you realize it on your own. I do not hurt people...we have fun...nothing wrong with a little flirting I just need to be more careful with sensitive guys and I need to allow the ones I like to get closer and strip myself from the masks that I hide behind. Ha I can see it happening; one of these days some guy is going to outsmart me, call me out on my shit and be so blunt and straight forward that I wouldn’t know what to do and I think then for the first time I'll be taking a chance rather than just settling for something.
First Attempt
The upside of it is that I managed to get myself to go on a strict diet that became a lifestyle and resulted in me losing 50 pounds in a healthy way. It’s difficult to admit this but I used to be a size 13, almost 14, in September/October of last year…by January I would fit in a size 6, and two days ago I fit in a size 3!! I managed, after 3 years of smoking, to quite cold turkey - I cheat from time to time but I am not back to smoking nor will I ever be - my goal was to reach a point where I can smoke for fun sometimes but I don't feel the need to smoke. I managed to go on a juice fast for 3 days where I have to admit I got a little hungry the first two days…but then a week later I decided to do it again and I convinced myself that I was full and for 3 days not once did I feel hungry or thought about food. I also just started running and I see myself improving everyday. I ran for 9.5 minutes yesterday, I could've gone for more but I wanted to stick to my training schedule. 9 minutes might not seem like a lot but the fact that 2 weeks ago I couldn’t even run for more than 2 minutes I consider that as an accomplishment. I’ve also been vegetarian for 2 months now…I don’t miss meat and I don’t think I want to eat it ever again. My decision to become vegetarian was a temporary one for health purposes but I might just stick to it…after all I can take vitamins that will make up for the proteins and nutrients I am missing out on and at the same time I wouldn't play part of the brutal slaughtering of animals at animal farms anymore and who knows maybe i'll inspire people to do the same. I also overcame most of my fears besides one that I am not sure if I'll ever overcome. But for the ones that I overcame: fear of heights - I went skydiving; fear of dogs - kept exposing myself to them; fear of dark water - swam in the ocean at midnight when the moon was hiding and jumped in quaries...I've accomplished a lot of the challenges that I set up for myself but it's becoming a necessity for me to have a constant challenge to concur, or else life wont be interesting anymore. Having goals and achieving them is very addicting; it gives you a high but the feeling ends as soon as it is not a challenge anymore.
The downside of having a mind like mine is that I constantly confuse myself, by doubting and rethinking everything. The more I dig deeper into my own brain for answers the more that I get confused and bewildered. I always believed that one shouldn't get involved in something if it is too complicated but I am starting to change my mind lately and starting to replace it with the mentality: why not give it a shot?
This is my first blog! The idea was proposed to me by a friend last night (who has managed to inspire me many times) ...I laughed at first and thought what do I have to teach people...but then I realized I am not doing this to teach people anything I am doing this to help myself figure out what I want...but if my experiences help someone figure out something then that is just great. In general, through this I hope to gain control over my life that is becoming everyday more and more like a bollywood movie that has a French movie ending!!!
The reason that my life has become like a bollywood movie is because I am a thinker I spend most of my time thinking and analyzing yet what drives me crazy is my inability to analyze myself or the reasons for which I do things. By writing down my thoughts I am hoping that it'll allow me to slow down my thoughts, capture them and view myself though them objectively and finally figure out what I want. Figure out if the reason I am avoiding someone is fear of what having feelings for him might make me do or how it may change me or force me to make compromises. That when I start having real feelings for that person, freak out, and run away as I usually do is there a possibility that I might bump into them again? Well, what if we are from the same circle of friends, what if we go to the same school or what if we work together, how do I get away if he managed capture me? But I shouldn't even want to run away then...but be open to the possibility to having something serious and real for a change!!! I shouldn't be so reluctant to give something a try or someone a chance but my experiences in life drove me to create walls around me that by the time a guy is finally almost through all of them, they lose hope and back off...and I can see it in their eyes they are not over me but they are done with constantly feeling rejected by me and see no hope of otherwise. Repeatedly putting themselves "out there" while they get nothing but mind games and stupid remarks in return. One of my biggest fears is putting myself "out there", admitting that I might have feelings for someone else, and allowing myself to care about someone; I am well aware of that. I have been able to almost change everything about myself but this is one thing that I struggle with everyday with people I care about. My ego and pride doesn't even allow me to tell someone that they are getting close to breaking through these walls that I tend to put up. My ego and pride doesn't allow me to tell them to come back you have made it through. My ego and pride doesn't allow me to approach them and say "hey I like you...wanna give it a shot?" althought I expect that from every guy I would consider going out with. I would always explain my behavior as playing hard to get but I realized that that is just bullshit. When playing hard to get, there is balance, you end up throwing them a bone every once and a while(not that I am calling men dogs)...my policy is strike strike strike and don't leave time to be struck back.
Well, I wasn’t planning to say much about my life in my first attempt to blog, therefore, I should stop here before I say more than I am ready to let out.
My first attempt to changing is to think less and do more!!!
