Apparently that whole procrastination thing is even making its way into my blogging life. And not in the I’m-purposely-not-writing-about-this-because-I-can’t-or-won’t-deal-with-it-right-now kind of way but more in the I-guess-I-never-got-to-it kind of way. Which is probably a good thing. The week’s been busier than I anticipated, I guess.
So in true sound bite fashion, a smattering of Thought Catalog posts I found particularly interesting and meant to comment on…
On Moving Back In With Your Parents: Very touching. And I mean that sincerely, as cliché and fake as it sounds. Nice to know that what lies in my future could be a meaningful exercise in reconnecting and seeing how this parent-child relationship transitions into the child’s emerging adulthood.
Drinking’s Not That Fun Anymore: Before I go any further, let me just say that this isn’t true for me yet. Let’s hope it stays that way for most of my twenties. But to be fair, parts of it are slowly becoming true for me and many of my friends: the guilt that comes with spending almost an entire day hungover and doing absolutely nothing…something to avoid at all costs. Not that it stops us from getting drunk, of course. Life has just given us a different dynamic to deal with now that, you know, we have REAL responsibilities and sh*t. Thank you, Ryan O’Connell, for understanding yet another paradox: we may feel guilty getting drunk sometimes, but we feel super lame if we don’t do it at all. So we still do it. God, how I miss the “days [we could] waste being wasted.”
Yesterday Was a Sad Day for Women’s Health: Thank God the Susan G. Komen Foundation has finally come to its senses, realized what a PR disaster it made of itself, and resumed funding Planned Parenthood (well, the mammogram portion at least). But before Komen reneged on its decision to pull all funding from Planned Parenthood, many women, including me, were outraged. I, for one, am tired of people ragging on Planned Parenthood: the organization provides much-needed reproductive health services for both women and men who could probably not afford them otherwise. It’s about access to healthcare, not a bunch of political bullsh*t. Stop telling me what to do with my body, and stop hurting organizations that support my ability to make choices. Thanks.
How to Freak Out During Sex: As I scrolled through the comments on this post (again, by Ryan O’Connell–see, he can be all sensitive, too, not just snarky), I noticed that very few of the commenters actually understood what it was about. Which is really kind of sad and probably ends up proving Ryan’s point. So here it is, in case you decide to read it and end up going, “Huh?”: when you freak out during sex, i.e. worrying about what it all means and feeling guilty and unable to go through with it, it means you actually care about the other person. And “care” can mean several different things, but regardless of the definition you choose, the point is that you freaked out because it’s not just sex, and it can’t just be sex. In a culture and generation where casual sex is the norm, this view is refreshing. Because it’s true. And it should always be true. Sex is supposed to mean something, and we shouldn’t forget that. [Ryan O’Connell, you know my life once again.]
Go Get Wasted Tonight With Your Best Friends: Ironic, considering Ryan O’Connell also wrote the post titled “Drinking’s Not That Fun Anymore.” But let’s face it, we all need to get drunk every now and then, and it’s best to do it with the people who have known you forever and who have held your hair back when you’ve prayed your hardest to the porcelain gods. Going out with your friends is not about hooking up; it’s about creating memories, catching up, blowing off steam, and remembering how fun life can be when you just let it happen to you. I need to read this post more often, seriously.
Slut-Shaming in Advertising (But Not Really): A woman’s sexuality is used in a PSA to encourage young people to get tested for HIV. She’s reclined on what is probably a bed, in her lingerie, smiling, with the Facebook Places icon over her lady parts; the words “Matti Virtanen and 19 others were here” is to the right of the picture. (Click on the link to the post to see the ad.) And people are calling it offensive. While I can see where they’re coming from, my first thought when I saw that ad was, “That’s clever. LOL.” As the author of the post points out, the woman looks relaxed and empowered, completely owning her sexuality and her health. We need more images like this–there needs to be more respect for the Samanthas of the world. You’d think we’d have gotten there by now. But apparently the same culture that permits various other displays of female sexuality, many of which are actually demeaning and exploitative (strip clubs, porn, Bratz dolls), will censure an image of a woman looking comfortable with her sexuality–for herself and no one else. Funny.
How to Miss Someone: Interesting and insightful, as most of Stephanie Georgopulos’ posts are. Oh, and very true…and real. It’s strange: the post seems to be both about how to make your time with someone extra special and amazing because you made yourself miss him/her so much, but it’s also about letting that “I miss you” feeling overcome you to the point where it all spills over and you’re left with something that could be called normalcy. How the latter occurs I don’t know, since it seems to go against all logic. But that’s what all feelings are, so I suppose it’s appropriate. “Miss them until you can’t anymore, until the things you miss are identified and cataloged as things and not a person, until you figure out that easy company and long talks and unblinking, all-knowing eye contact will find you again the way they found you the first time. Miss someone until you don’t.” I may have only semi-figured out how to do this, but I’m not sure. I guess we’ll see. [This should go without saying, but yes, this post is particularly relevant to my life at the moment. More later.]
No more procrastinating! But considering the extremely productive day I had today, I may finally be kicking that habit. I hope.
*Added February 13, 2012: I just realized this picture, which I first saw on my friend Lily’s blog, has been saved and sitting on my desktop since before winter break. Ultimate fail. But the words are so true, so it’s worth adding to this post. #perspective
Suit Yourself 