Hip-Hip, Hooray!

One thing I can honestly say is that blogging used to scare me to death.  At the start of it all I faced multiple internal challenges over what to name my blog, how to make and keep it private, and- you get the picture.  That is when it hit me- the idea to blog about young adulthood troubles and conflicts. 

I have always enjoyed connecting with people and especially whenever its on more relevant issues.  Talking about the problems and dilemmas not only becomes a stress-reliever in its own sense, but also a timeless entertainment to those who experience the problem(s)-as well as for those who do not.  Sharing my internal conflicts and also inputting some research to justify and/or answer any questions concerning the troubles, allowed for a sense of normality amongst readers.  My main goal throughout the process was to create unity and deeper connections with my audience through the commonalities of young adults, but not exclusive to. 

As you may see from the start of my posting to the latest, my goal was not quite met at the start.  When I first started posting, it was hard for me to get deep and emotionally connect.  It wasn't until about the fourth or fifth blog post, that I truly began post how I wanted to post.  Not to sound as if anyone or anything was stopping, or that my posts were total duds; but more so I was not allowing myself to be expressive. 

In the rarest sense, blogging made me vulnerable and yet more confident.  At the start it was scary to tell-all, but towards the end it made me stronger- so cliched, but it did.  From opening up about my battles with weight to discussing family matters, my blog transformed into the "flower bud" of what I wanted.  I still have ways to go before I feel that my blog is at the stages of what I have envisioned in my mind to be the perfect blog, but at least I feel confident about it now.  I now enjoy writing about my problems and trying to connect with others with similar issues, just as much as I like to talk about them- which I talk a lot!  I hope that I will still post without the threat of a grade dangling over my head, school reference.  After all is said and done; this experience was new, insightful, scary at first (but what foreign thing isn't), fun, and self-learning from all of the self-searching I began to do for my posts.  Post to you all later. 

"Until next time, this is Imbroglio signing out!"

"Beware of the Plastics"

No Copyright Infringement Intended.  Image from fanpop.com

Sorry I didn't write to you guys last week, I was soaking up the sun last weekend in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I know, I'm so lucky-not!  Besides the fact that the weather was not at its best beach weather, or maybe it was- it was cold, rainy, and April. Considering the weather was terrible all weekend, when Monday [the first day of "beach weather"] came and everyone rushed to the beach-it shouldn't have came to any surprise.

As I was laying out to soak up the sunlight I knew that I was going to see women walking around in almost nothing and men flaunting their "cut" bodies, but I was still perturbed.  I know I may sound bitter or jealous, but that's only because I am. Last I checked we were at a beach not a brothel, for goodness sakes.

As I have mentioned before, I have been going through some tribulations over losing weight. Going to the beach wasn't as relaxing as I had hoped. Sure my feelings were caused by my own insecurities and jealousy, but at the same time why do they [those that "look good"] feel the need to parade around?

I've noticed that when I see someone toned and slim, but know that they were once bigger and thus had to work hard to look as great as they do-then I don't feel jealous, but rather inspired. Maybe it is all my internal troubles that cause me to envy others, but for now we can just blame it on the "pretty ones."

P.S. Here is a link to nytimes' blog, where they ask for the opinions of thirteen year old+ students whether or not attractive people have advantages. The comments here offer good insight into what and how our youth feel about physical looks-very relevant to today's society.

Here is a link to huffington posts blog post about Perez Hilton's 'Transformation.'

"Take Me Home Tonight"

Have you ever felt as if you were born in the wrong time period?  Do you find yourself relating to an older generation?  I do.

As I have gotten older, I have found myself relating to older groups of people.  Seeing as I am only eighteen, when I say "older," I'm referring to people in their twenties or thirties- not Senior citizens.  I have always felt out of place when around my peers.  In fact many of my closest friends feel the same way as I do, and thus why they are my closest friends as a opposed to a teenage drama queen or junkie.  Anyways, the point is that I have never felt like I was supposed to be born in 1993.

My mother is my closest friend, she is 40, and this could be why I have or like to have friends that are more in her age-bracket.  Many of my older friends say I am on "old soul" and they are just immature for their ages, which could be true.  The fact that I grew up in a house with four adults- my mom, uncle, and grandparents- could also have an effect on my "ways." 
I feel as if I should have been born sooner, way sooner than the early-nineties.  Now I'm not talking about 1940s or back in colonial times, but possibly in the mid to late 70s.  I would have loved to grow up in the 80s and actually get to experience the 90s, come on let's face it- I was born in the 90s but I can't remember anything that was going on in world based upon experience.

I have mentioned this before, but I will say again- I love music.  My taste of music is very broad, and this is where the generation thing comes into play.  Growing up, my mother always exposed me to a wide-range of music from country to raw rap.  On our joyrides around town-she was young and a "free-bird" if you will- she would always play her old cassettes consisting of eighties, nineties, and her personal mixes.  I would go to school singing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing," in the sixth grade and sing all of Fleetwood Mac and a few solo songs by Stevie Nicks throughout high school.  What can I say?  I love the 70s, 80s, and 90s; and I love music and thus I can come across as "aged beyond my years."

In a way I guess it is a good thing that I was born when I was and can fantasize about the previous decades, rather than actually experience them- I can't imagine being in my thirties or forties already, then again the world is going to end in December right? Ha. Back to the point, I'd rather be considered "mature for my age" because I sing Pat Benatar (my favorite is "Love is a Battlefield) and watch John Hughes movies (Breakfast Club!) over more negative reasons i.e. drugs, sex, or act bitter and crabby.  Although it would still always be nice to go back and just experience a bit of it all.  Maybe if the world doesn't end in December, then time-travel may become a real possibility-sarcasm*.

P.s I wanted to offer you a blog from my community, of which actually gave me the idea to blog about this imbroglio of mine.

P.s.s I did some research online as to why people feel as if they were born in the wrong time period, but came up a little short.  From what I could gather and sum up, there isn't any actual scientific or psychological reasoning behind the mystery feelings only opinions-and many of them.  From the opinions that actually had some sort of reasoning, I gathered that: some people believe that the reason is because our souls are stuck in the past time at which we once lived and thus we yurn to return, while others believe it is simply natural human desire.  The human desire theory makes the most sense to me.  If you think about it, movies and music depict the best parts of the past time periods and enhance them.  I guess if I had been in the seventies, then I would wish I had been born in the twenties or so on.  The fact of the matter is that human desire is something that can not and possibly never will be fully explainable.

Resourcing The Resourceful

Considering the fact that I have been blogging about issues relevant to young adults, you could easily guess that I read other blogs of that very nature.  A few blogs I have stayed faithful and loyal to throughout are- Hipstercrite and Renrexx. 
In both blogs, the writer blogs about issues of her life and correlate them with her audience.  They both write about personal occurrences as well as opinions in a way that young adults too can relate.  I find both blogs to be interesting, teaching, and comical; all aspects working together to engage the audience and make it all the more relevant. 
In many ways I have attempted to mimic their blogging styles, to have the same effect on my readers.  Some cases/attempts haven't been as successful as others, but I realize that I still have a lot to learn within the blogging world.  Anyways to keep a long story short, as well as save some information for my paper, these two blogs will most definitely be apart of my writing-they have been all semester.
Here are direct links to the blogs so you can get a look at what I am referring to and maybe too fall in lust with the blogs. 
http://renrexx.blogspot.com/
http://www.hipstercrite.com/

P.s In a way, don't they both remind you of Carrie from "The Sex In The City," in the sense of the way they both present their blogs?  I can almost see both bloggers writing with the thoughts running through their minds, the way Carrie does.

I'm Going To Do It, You'll See...

I do not own this image.  No copyright infringement intended. Courtesy of Google.

This week I want to return to a topic mentioned in the very beginning. A problem for many, especially young adults with society and media creating an image, is weight. Since I began blogging, I have lost twelve pounds total. I admit to not sticking to the plan as strictly as I should have been, but with the aid of Zumba classes and other aerobics I have slimmed my waist and other parts of my body down a bit.

I know the old saying goes that muscle weighs more than fat, but I wish the numbers would match how I feel. I feel stronger, faster, and healthier without the greasy foods literally weighing me down. It amazes me how little changes in diet can truly enhance emotional and physical feelings towards oneself. Although I have "relapsed" several times during my journey, I am getting back on track. I know I can do this, its all a matter of discipline.

Self-discipline is something I have concerning school, but in the department of exercise I am failing miserably. I admire those that are self-disciplined enough to stay on top of their workout routines as if they are simply habitual. I learned today, in my Zumba class that there are three main components to a healthy exercise routine that in turns creates the "perfect body". They are: Cardio, muscular strength and endurance, and flexibility.

Interesting enough my instructor told us of a few students that attend her other classes are big body-building men. Well these men had gotten in their minds that Zumba was "for girls," and that they got enough cardio from a treadmill. Apparently that is false, a treadmill or an elliptical unless it is used like this; is not beneficial in any way. Anyways, she told us [the class] that one of those guys lost four pounds in one session because all he ever focused on was strength.

Not to sound envious, but I wish I had THAT problem. The fact of the matter is that I have found it hard to stay focused on the goal, and each time I realize that I am or have fallen off track I want to give up completely. Its as if there is a little devil on my shoulder telling my fat ass to simply give up, but I have an angel on the other side telling me maybe I can do it.  Sometimes 'maybe' is good enough internal angel!  As silly as that sounds, this is what I have done in the past and clearly I am getting nowhere. This time I absolutely am going to continue on and learn some self-discipline.

Anyways, I better come to close and go to bed; that is another component that can effect weight gain or loss-sleep! Sorry if this posts seems to be all over the place, but it reflects my feelings of my diet plan very accurately- that being that I feel "all over the place" with my eating habits and goals that I have set for myself.

Here are some blogs that are more specific to weight loss and dieting:
http://battling-bulge.blogspot.com/
http://shutupskinnybitches.wordpress.com/

http://www.health-foodie.com/

Music Makes the People...

One of the mutual friends among young people is music.  Music is timeless in the sense that it remains ageless.  Of course it remains current and relative to the time/era to which it was composed, but it does not show signs of ending.  Music has existed before man and will outlive them, with the sounds of nature.  Music in many ways is beneficial to the mind, body and soul; not to sound like some ridiculously over-the-top philosopher.

Some medicinal practices use music in music therapy which has been proven to “promote wellness, manage stress, alleviate pain, enhance memory, and improve communication.”  “These sessions include making music, listening to music, singing to music, discussion of, and/or moving to music (dancing).”(Pujic) 

If you truly think about it, music is one of the closest things we have to time travel.  I know from personal experience that whenever I hear an old song, especially a favorite, I can almost relive the life/age that I was during the hit song.  Many songs are linked to specific times in my life, and when I hear them now I can remember everything of that time. 

Being a child of the nineties, I love all of the old hip-hop, rap, and the start of pop-electro music of the decade.  I am in no way ashamed of admitting to jamming to Mariah Carey’s Fantasy or trying to ‘go hard’ with Notorious B.I.G’s Juicy.  The feeling that I get whenever I listen to songs as such, or any music that I find to indulging to ignore, outweighs any sort of embarrassment I could ever receive.  I get a feeling of freedom, lighter and not weighed down by the stresses of life, and most importantly I can instantly change my mood from whatever to serene and happy. 

“Undeniably, music had an inherent ability to reach through to people with sound, melody, rhythm and lyrics.  It can touch a person’s soul, soothing pain, providing comfort and relieving stress.  It can bring clarity to an otherwise foggy situation.  Sometimes the best medicine can be as simple as listening to your favorite CD”- which in my case is currently Lady GaGa’s Born This Way. (Pujic)


Pujic, Anja (2009, December, 7).  The Benefits of Music Therapy.  Retrieved from http://anja-pijic.suite101.com

I do not own this. No copyright infringement intended.

The Great Fight

It is estimated that 11,958,000 men and women have been diagnosed with cancer.  More specifically, 32,000 have cancer to the liver- 22,000 of which are male and 10,000 female.  (Cancer...)  Two years ago my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer to the liver.  Since then the tumors on the liver grew but have been stabilized for the past six months to a year.  The upside is that the tumors on his liver have not grown, however he has been in an immense amount of pain because the cancer has spread.  It spread to his bones, a very rare incident but most certainly possible, and has formed a few more tumors intertwined in his spinal muscles and area. 

“The liver is the largest internal organ.  It lies under your right ribs just beneath your right lung.  It is shaped like a pyramid and divided into right and left lobes.  The lobes are further divided into segments.  The liver is made up of several different types of cells.  This is why several types of malignant (cancerous) and benign (non-cancerous) tumors can form in the liver.”(Liver Cancer) 

My grandfather has always been a man of pride.  He has never allowed anyone to know he is ever in pain and most certainly never misses work for any illness-maybe this is where I have adopted my stubbornness from.  I think these traits are hereditary and we have some strong blood coursing through us.  His mother, my great-grandmother, was diagnosed with cancer and wasn’t expected to make it past the night but lived for another twenty years.  Like many other decisions in his life, my granddad shows many of the same characteristics that my great-grandmother did during her fight for cancer.

The news is tear-jerking for me and leaves me wondering, what can I do to help?  The fact that where or how it originated is unknown, too is angering.  My grandfather was apart of the Air Force, and flew in the Vietnam War.  During that time, a chemical popularly known as "Agent Orange" was in high exposure.  Because the chemical is known to have caused a multitude of health issues, doctors theorize that he may have contracted the cancer way back then and it took time for it to mastecize in the liver.  In case you were wondering, the cancer did not originate in the liver and thus is not from drinking although he did do his share of drinking in his ripe years. 

I wish that it was me that had the disease instead of him, because I feel that being the ripe age of eighteen I’d be able to fight it better than he can at sixty-five.  However, the thing is that there really isn’t much that I can do and I feel as if I am rendered useless.  My entire family is very close-knit; I was raised by my mom and grandparents- her parents.  With that said, I have always been very close to my grandfather and it angers me to see him literally wither away.  I know the only thing I can do is to remain positive, and hope for the best.  Encouragement, positivity, and comfort have been shown to help cancer patients fight the disease.  I plan to do all of those things and anything and everything else to help my grandfather.

Click here for more information on liver cancer: what it is, how it develops, how to prevent it, and possible treatments of.  Also the site offers information on a multitude of other forms of cancer.



My granddad and I on my eighth birthday- 08/24/2001

Cancer Prevalence: How Many People Have Cancer? (2011, October 18). Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.cancer.org
Liver Cancer. (2012, January 23). Retrieved February 20, 2012, from http://www.cancer.org