CYBER SPACE TIME TRAVEL

I recently downloaded the Timehop app on my iPhone and it has been bringing me lots of laughter these days. This time travel thing has reminded me of just how darn funny I used to be - and possibly still am.

Like today, for instance, 3 years ago I posted the status "If you can't make money, make out with somebody" and I kind of scrunched up my brows and wondered what the heck I had been talking about. So I took to the googles and typed in my status.

Turns out, it's lyrics to a song. David Bradley, more specifically.

 

Three years ago on January 12th I apparently posted "I plan on staying in bed and dying today." Which just, if you know me, I was channeling my inner Lilo that day and avoiding my college classes and any semblance of responsibility because three years ago I could pull that kind of crap.

Lately, because it's January and February, my timehops have consisted of my really obnoxious break up with Matt statuses and holy buckets you guys, I just want to apologize all over again for that. I was...I don't even know how to put it... Pathetic, maybe?

And I literally posted almost every single thought I had onto Facebook - did I have no boundaries? How even did I retain my friends because good golly I was just dragging it oooouuuuutttttttt. So, thanks for not getting sick of me and never speaking to me again.

I have been thinking about that time in my life though. For the obvious reasons and the not so obvious. You see, when I first had a Facebook, I was also still in my myspace phase as well. I was just fresh out of high school and there weren't really any rules for the internet yet. At least not in my world. So I used my Facebook page as an online mini diary to supplement all my lamenting on my blog about this terrible, horrible, no good thing I was going through. I never realized at the time that those things would live on forever inside the bowels of the interwebz.

Now, I look at people who still post every little thing that pops in their head or post every picture they take on the cell phone and I think, why? Why are you doing this? Why do we feel compelled to share every aspect of our lives with people we really don't hardly know?

And maybe I'm hypocritical because here I am, posting a blog essay and sending it off into the world wide web where people I may or may not know can read my own personal thoughts. But hey, these days I am more careful about exactly what I'm putting out there.

I mean, I could write about all the things I've done lately and how work went and what sorts of things I ate today, which actually would just be coming full circle to when I started writing and was still trying to figure out my voice and just exactly what I was going to do in this little internet corner.

But you know what, there's also something stupidly beautiful about seeing the sort of annoying things I used to put into cyber space because it reminds me that I used to be this little naive person who still believed in all the good in the world and had a lot of growing to do.

It reminds me that I've come such a long way, and I've overcome so many obstacles.

And even though those days were hard to live through, I came out on the other side stronger and with a clearer vision of what I wanted out of life and how I was going to do it.

So maybe I was crazy and a little pathetic and incredibly naive, but I was also displaying my very human emotions and learning how to be the girl that I was created to be. Am I glad I posted all those obnoxious statuses to Facebook all those years ago? Not necessarily. But I'm also not really mad about it, so there's that.

50 SHADES OF DISTURBED

I have been reading all the different articles about why 50 Shades of Grey is a terrible movie and shouldn't be a box office smash because of a myriad of reasons and I have been strongly debating within myself as to whether or not I should add my little opinion to the giant banter that is going on in to the depth of the internet, so here we are I guess?

When Twilight was a big thing I wrote a small little piece about why I didn't believe in that movie and I guess it's time to do the same thing for Christian Grey. I was concerned with Twilight because it portrayed Bella as some innocent little girl who needed saving and Edward Cullen as this stalker man/boy who had to constantly resist the urge to suck out all of her blood. It portrayed what was to be perceived as an abusive relationship, and yet women of all ages flocked to see the movie and ogle over RPatz's body. Team Edward and Team Jacob paraphernalia erupted everywhere and for a while you couldn't go in any place without being bombarded by teenaged vampires and werewolves.

And then it all sort of blew over and people moved on and the craze ended.

But here we are again, faced with another glorification of spousal abuse and the women folk of America are just all over it. Christian Grey this and Christian Grey that. Christian Grey is upping our opinions of what true gentlemen are supposed to be. Christian Grey is what every man should aspire to. Umm, what? What the hell, people. What the hell is wrong with you?

Do you really want to be placed in Anastasia's shoes? Do you want someone to stalk you and beat you and sexually assault you? I know, I know, I know. That's not all there is to the story. I've read it in a million places around the internet, many women of all ages defending poor Christian Grey for his upbringing and he comes around in the end and actually loves her! It's really a beautiful story if you read all the books!!

Really?

Wait. Really?

It's a beautiful love story???

If you were in her shoes and all of this was happening to you, would you actually stay with Christian? And why? Why are we romanticizing his behavior? Why are we deeming this acceptable and allowing it into our every day lives?

Do you want your daughters or friends or relatives to go through what Anastasia goes through with Christian? If you had a friend who was in an abusive relationship like that, who's significant other was a dominating spirit, would you not speak up? Would you tell her to just endure it because he might love her in the end? If she puts up with his bullshit long enough??

WOULD YOU SERIOUSLY AGREE WITH THIS BEHAVIOR IF IT WAS ACTUALLY TANGIBLE TO YOU??

I would hope the answer is no. I would hope that you would have the guts to stand up for what is right and get your girl friend out of that terrible situation.

But I guess as long as it's just in a book we're all alright with it. I guess as long as it's not touching you, then it's fine. If it's all in your imagination then what's the harm?

The harm is that what you let into your life will start to take hold if you are exposed long enough. If you glorify this behavior in a book you may not mind so much if something like were starting to happen to you, because this book made you think it was a little sexy.

But then when your abuser's behavior doesn't change the way a fictional character's changes, well now you are stuck. Do you want other people to laugh at you and say "Well, honey, i'm sorry but you picked this, remember? You signed the damn contract!"

Please.

People, if you aren't concerned with the crazy dominating and over-powering sex and pornography that take place in this book, be concerned with how the women are reacting to Mr. Christian Grey. That man needs professional help, not an innocent girl to trap into his sadistic world.

This kind of behavior is not okay. This kind of relationship isn't something to aspire to or glorify or romanticize. It's something that actually happens to real women around the world. It's something we should be concerned about. No daughter, sister, cousin, mother, friend, or enemy should experience this type of treatment.

Women are just worth more than that.

You are worth more than that. 

/end rant