‘Tis the season that we all spent a little too much time with our family, our co-workers, our acquaintances, and likely, someone said something that caused that No Good, Very Bad Feeling: ANGER. Our family made us ANGRY, because we told them we wanted to open presents at 10 AM, and they showed up at […]
The Subjective Identity
The Existentialists say that we identify ourselves with subjective qualities (subjective, meaning up to interpretation), while the World identifies us with objective qualities (objective, meaning undeniably true). What this insinuates is, because I experience the World through only my own two eyes, I know when and how I change, and can be forgiving and understanding […]
Sideways Glances, Peculiar Memories, & a Leaky Valve: How to Determine if You are, in fact, being Churned in the Gossip Mill
October 3rd is the fateful day in which Cady Heron speaks to Regina George for the very first time, and thus, the plot of ‘Mean Girls’ takes off. I define gossip as anytime I share information about another person when that person is not present to defend him or herself. Of course, most of the […]
“I Want an InstaGram Prop–Err–I Mean a Baby”
I do not have children myself. But, as a teacher, I do come into contact with a plethora of them, and I think we can all agree that many of our societal problems would go away if we just required better parenting (wouldn’t it be a dream that every parent go through a Parenting 101 […]
Can’t I Be Just Mediocre?
This weekend, I sat (again) at another “professional development” “coaching” seminar. The seminar aimed to “amp us up” and “motivate us” to “write goals” that would “alter our futures” and help us to “dream big”. Now, don’t get me wrong. I totally support the benefits of goal setting. Setting goals allows us direction, provides us […]
Prevent Feelings, Prevent Drama
The first step in drama prevention is really to just prevent the creation of feelings in the first place. At its core, drama originates when people develop feelings–feelings they have been wronged, betrayed, lied to, manipulated; that they misjudge someone’s character, they devoted more to the relationship than what they got in return, someone else received […]
Why We Need Girl Time
The concept of the feminine genius refers to the unique and profound gifts women have to offer the world. Coined by Pope John Paul II, the movement is to recognize women as holding separate, but equally as important, gifts as men, and together, we exist in symbiotic and balanced relationships. As a female myself, while […]
Where T.V. Fails Us
This weekend, as we watched the weather report, the newscaster said, “Wow, it is going to feel like a frigid winter day! 35 degrees! Better bundle up and stay inside!” and I couldn’t help but think to myself….is this REALLY the definition of frigid? Of course, because I “trust” the network in which the weather […]
Fiona, Job, and Perceptions of Me
Since the onset of the New Year, I’ve seen many posts about “removing toxic people” and “eliminating for-no-good relationships” and “cutting people out who don’t serve anything less than happiness” and “purging bad people”. But, as I read these posts, I begin to wonder: Could this be me? Am I a toxic person? Does she think […]
On the Basis of Human Connection
In a world distracted by technology, guarded by computer and phone screens, automated teller and customer service options, bill pay and pay from the pump, a movement towards “working from home” and to “managing your own business”, the lack of human connection seems to be altering our family relationships, our romantic endeavors, our mental states. […]