It's not Christmas, it's the Day After Thanksgiving.

I detest Black Friday, and it's really hard to look on the positive side of things today.

What gets me riled up? People getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning to stand in line in below freezing weather so they can buy things they don't need. Nothing does the job better.

We live in America, friends. Where apparently more is better. And more is never enough. We should rebel against this mentality! Let's be rebels together!

Here are 50 things to do other than get mauled by shoppers today. I stumbled upon this website (not actually using StumbleUpon, and how weird is it that I feel I have to explain myself for using that phrase?) and it seems awesome. Their slogan? "Finding the Satisfaction of Enough." Love it :)


If you would like to use some of your day off reading about how our culture provokes things like Black Friday, instead of actually participating in such vile events (am I being too harsh?), here is an absolutely mind-blowing article that puts together the pieces.

Lalala.

After living in Italy for a few months, coming back to America was weird. Everything is so rushed and urgent. Eating with your family is not a priority here. Eating quality food is not a priority here. Dressing up every day in presentable, flattering
clothes is not a priority here. I am generalizing. I know there are people here who love all these things, but I definitely feel like the minority.

Anyway, I am spending my day-after-Thanksgiving organizing my room, doing homework, and thinking of what I will make or buy for my family and friends this year. I think that is much more productive than being fooled by retailers into spending lots of mulah.

Make a delicious cheesecake, or get trampled by shoppers? I'll take the former.

TL;DR: Fun fact: Black Friday only became the biggest shopping day of the year in 2005. Hmmm...

The Best and Worst of Thanksgiving

Best

• having the day off
• having the day off to see family and friends
• having the day off to sit and eat good food
• dressing up, or dressing down
• mandatory family gatherings
• mandatory giving of thanks
• optional food baby

Worst

• recipes gone wrong
• you only get ONE day off to sit and eat good food with friends and family
• impending Black Friday insanity

I know some stores were open today. That makes me sad. I wish everyone were able to take a day off to spend time with their loved ones. Like in Italy. Everything's closed on holidays. You can't even get toothpaste. But everyone survives. You can just brush your teeth tomorrow, no big deal.

Deal... deal? Black Friday deals? Please someone explain this day that cripples my soul. The day that has become the very embodiment of what is wrong with America.

For tonight, we can be content. I hope your belly is full as you read this. I hope you have somewhere warm to sleep tonight. I hope you had real people to hug and talk to today, and didn't spend the day on the Internet.

Get ready for my Black Friday post. It's coming.

TL;DR: Happy Thanksgiving :)

Thanksgiving Work Week Day #3: I am Homo sapien and so are you

I am going into the world of religion and nationality, goodness help me.


Have you ever heard someone say, "She's French, but her husband is Jewish."
or
"I hear you're marrying a Canadian guy. Is that going to work, since you're Muslim?"
or
"Are you making apple pie tonight? I can bring some oranges."

To me they all sound like the last one. I have been hearing religion compared to nationality my entire life. Well, it doesn't make sense. You can't compare a belief system to your place of birth/living. Why do people do this?! It drives me insane!!!

We're all human, baby!

So this holiday season (can you smell the cinnamon and nutmeg yet?), be aware that people may celebrate in ways that combine a nation's traditions and a religion's holiday, and any combination is A-OK. (As long as we're all playing nice.) My family is Polish, but we celebrate an American holiday. Your family might be Buddhist and celebrate Hannukah. Who knows? And honestly, who cares? As long as celebrations/traditions are treated with due respect, I think all kinds can be celebrated by whoever wants.

Regarding the history of Thanksgiving, I don't know enough about the complicated going-ons of Europeans and Native Americans to discuss it, but I do know one thing. The fact the humans have so many different cultures is amazing and beautiful, but thinking that we are not all in this together is pretty dumb. So go crazy today after you get off work and go hug a fellow human or something. :)

You can even play this, and make a dance party:

Maybe you need something a little less enthusiastic (and less painful):

TL;DR: "I'm made of atoms, you're made of atoms, we're all in this together." Ben Lee

Thanksgiving Work Week Day #2: Your Face

I never really understood the "your face" jokes, but it happens to be a relevant and (hopefully) catchy title.

On this lovely second day of a work week that you I really don't want to engage in, I thought I might discuss faces.

I like my face. So I'm comfortable contorting it in weird ways and sharing it with you. You're welcome.

Can I share with you two stories that stick out incredibly in my brain? OK, good.

Story 1
"You're so lucky you don't have to wear make-up!" Dialogue to me when I was in middle-school, by a high-school girl.

Story 2
"Geraldine (name changed to protect identity), don't wear make-up for as long as you can." Dialogue to a pre-pubescent girl by high-school girls. I was in high-school when I heard this.

Let's discuss this, shall we?

Both of these incidents demonstrate that girls are implying make-up is necessary. Newsflash: it's not. Saying something like this to a young girl is basically telling her to enjoy the time she has with her perfect skin because it won't last long, and soon she'll have to cover it up. Especially if she wants boys to like her. (Am I wrong?)

I have a confession to make. I used to think I was above the girls who wore make-up everyday to school. The girls who spent an hour getting ready in the morning, or sprinting to the bathroom upon arrival at their destination, before anyone could see their make-up-less face. Then I realized that I cannot judge people if I want to be an open and loving person. You can wear make-up everyday and I will not judge you or ridicule you. I will tell you your eyeliner is on your cheek, though. :)

Why do we wear make-up? Well, I'm not going into details in one blog post. But girls think that they need make-up. What is wrong with your make-up-less face? Absolutely nothing.

I know, I know, make-up is fun. I totally agree! I like experimenting too, but to me it is an art form. (Come on, have you seen Face-Off?) Personally, applying make-up everyday makes me feel like I am lying to the world about who I am. My skin is not perfect. So what? If anything, my make-up-less face is weeding out the people that will potentially talk to me simply because I don't flaunt "maybe it's Maybelline" eyelashes everyday. Or it's not. That's cool too. I know your other argument, too, because I hear it almost every time I ask someone why they wear make-up. It's about enhancing your good features and hiding your bad ones! It's only a bad feature if you decide it's a bad feature, darling.

This is my personal experience. To you, make-up may be something different. That's OK. All I am proposing is a change in the attitude of needing to simply wanting. Here's a thought-provoker for you: have you ever seen a female newscaster without make-up? What about a male newscaster (excluding cover-up)? Why?

That is all.

For now.

TL;DR: I love your face, jusstttt the wayyy it issssssss *cue music*

Thanksgiving Work Week Day #1

I am bitter, my dear friends, that I have classes Monday through Wednesday night. But I shouldn't be. And neither should you.

Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends and good food! Yes, I agree. But most importantly it is about being grateful for all of who you are, who you are with, and everything you can do.

Here's a light-hearted interview with the Dalai Lama to boost your spirits (because mine definitely needed boosting this morning). He points out what makes us happy. But wait! Being "warm-hearted" (helping others), spending time with friends, and finding our purpose in life sounds awfully familiar... I guess the Dalai Lama doesn't need social psychology to know these things. 

TL;DW (too long; didn't watch): A change in attitude may be all you need to make a dreaded work week a positive one.

P.S. I encourage you to post comments or contact me about the content of my blog. What do you like? What do you want to read more of? There are millions of things in my head and sometimes I don't know which to address first. :)

Mother Nature

Exactly two weeks ago, I was driving home, and I saw an absolutely gorgeous sunset. The clouds were a color that I don't have a word for, but my closest description is pink. Today, two weeks later, I saw a huge, almost-full, orange moon, rising from the horizon. It is times like these that Nature strikes me with her simple beauty. Her beauty is difficult to capture, because part of her mesmerizing quality is her unpredictability.

There are other times, like earlier today, when Nature shows me exactly how powerful she is, and how defenseless we are. My boyfriend and I stared out a window as hail spattered the ground and the wind became so strong that it got scary. We later discovered that a tornado devastated his hometown. I've never seen wreckage due to a natural disaster up close. It was humbling. It could have been my hometown. It could have been yours.

I believe Mother Nature is telling us to pay attention to her. Almost like an elderly grandmother who scolds her children when they forget to water her plants when she's away.

Mother Nature does not scold the child who performed the wrong. She scolds us all. Her power is tremendous, and we are fools to not respect her.

Here's one of my favorite parts in one of my favorite movies:
In WALL-E, the captain of the Axiom waters the plant that he does not completely understand. Then he says something along the lines of, "There you go, little buddy. All you needed was someone to take care of you." And with this comes his eureka moment. Mother Nature needs us to take care of her.

This post does not do justice to everything I think about when I consider our relationship with the Earth. I'm just going to let it sit here though, as a reminder to myself that something needs to be done. Meanwhile, my prayers go to those affected by today's tornado.

TL;DR: Don't forget to water your grandmother's plants.

Your 1 Minute Guide to Happiness

So I'm reading about happiness in my social psychology book, and what do I find? Three things that you have control over that will make you happier.

1. Engage in positive social relationships.

2. Flow. Get lost doing what you love!

3. Help others.

:)

OK, so they seem pretty obvious, but there is one other thing that seems to "obviously" make us happy. Things. We think that having things makes us happy. Research shows that this is not true, and actually the opposite. Focusing on money and material possessions makes us less attuned to the moment. What a shame.

On the other hand, research shows that having healthy social interactions, practicing your passions, and performing random acts of kindness make us happier! (The social thing is actually correlational, but you get my point. And if you'd like me to explain further, just ask and I will be happy to.)

And if you'd like an interesting video on happiness, here is the lovely Dan Gilbert:

TL;DR: Happiness=awesome friends, hobbies, and helping!

P.S. I have been fiddling with the format of my page. Just trying what I feel works best. :)