With all the hubub of Valentines Day, I decided to do a little research. You see, I realized that I don't actually know why Valentines Day exists. Sure, everyone has heard of Saint Valentine, but why is he important?
As I was researching the history of Valentines Day I came across two different stories. One takes place in Ancient Rome, when Emperor Claudius II outlawed young men from getting married in order to have a better army. A bishop in the Catholic Church named Valentine pitied those who couldn't marry or see their loved ones and so began to perform secret marriages. Of course, Valentine was discovered and the Emperor attempted to convert him from Christianity and into the worship of the Roman gods. Valentine, being the good old saint that he is, instead tried to convert Emperor Claudius to Christianity. Tragically, Valentine was sentenced to be executed.
The other story told about Valentine was that he was killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons. Jailed for his convictions, Valentine wrote love letters to a young girl, who possibly could be the jailers daughter. In one of his lasts letters he signed it "From your Valentine." As romantically, heroic as this tale is, we still don't know the truth behind Saint Valentine. In a way, I think the mystery of Valentines Day makes it more romantic, and perhaps more worthy of our attention.
Cupid, the little "baby-man" with the arrow, is also a significant figure on Valentines Day. Cupid was the son of Venus, the goddess of love from Roman mythology. The tale behind his arrow is that when it struck someone, he would fall in love.
In Ancient Rome, a celebration dedicated to fertility was observed from February 13 to the 15. Some believe that Valentines Day was chosen to be in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan festival. Other suggestions was that Valentines Day is on February 14th in an effort to commemorate the anniversary of Saint Valentine's death and burial.
Valentines Day wasn't seen as a romantic holiday until the fourteenth century, when Goeffrey Chaucer wrote a poem in honor of the first anniversary of the engagement of King richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia. The reason Chaucer wrote about Valentines Day in his poem was because the middle of February in England was the time for birds to be mating, signifying a time of love.
There are so many more stories that revolve around the mystery of Valentines Day. Valentines Day wasn't always a day for love, but this is what it has become. There are so many love stories out there; whether it's the love of a parent, the love of a child, or the love of a significant other, we all desire to be loved and accepted. My favorite love story is found in the Bible: God sent His Son down to earth, a humble baby, so that He could die for us and take away our sins. Because of God's love for us, we are able to spend eternity with Him in Heaven as long as we accept Him into our lives and let Him guide us.
Don't have a Valentine this year? Let Jesus be your Valentine.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Appearance of Facebook
I have a hypothesis.
I hypothesize that our dearly beloved Facebook is making us more self-centered and aware of how we appear to other people.
In this case, appearance not only applies to looks, but also to emotions.
Because on Facebook, we "friend" people we barely know and allow them to look at our "personal" information, then proceed to complain when someone "stalks" our "profile."
It's all very rather silly, actually.
But anyway . . .
A study done by a student in Stanford's psychology department, Alex Jordan, proved that facebook is making us sad. How you might ask? Well, what are the main reasons you use facebook? I know when I'm brainstorming a status update or posting pictures, I always post something that reflects happiness. I'm always talking about the best moments in my life. (I know I'm not the only one doing this!) Jordan's research showed that humans have an uncanny tendency to overestimate other people's happiness. In other words, we see others happier than they actually are. But isn't this because happiness is all we allow most people to see?
Montesquieu once said, "If only we wanted to be happy it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are."
In another study, researchers round that one hundred and forty students were unable to correctly gauge the happiness of their peers, even if they were frequently around them. A third study showed that students underestimated others' negative emotions and felt more alone after going on facebook.
Isn't it strange that we care so much about other people's lives and envy what we think their lives are like? In reality, facebook is all a show. We say and do what we wish we were doing and people "like" it. It's an attention getter, and a negative one at that.
This isn't to say that facebook is bad. I, myself, am actually quite addicted to facebook. But I do think that we all need to spend a little less time browsing our "friends" "walls."
I hypothesize that our dearly beloved Facebook is making us more self-centered and aware of how we appear to other people.
In this case, appearance not only applies to looks, but also to emotions.
Because on Facebook, we "friend" people we barely know and allow them to look at our "personal" information, then proceed to complain when someone "stalks" our "profile."
It's all very rather silly, actually.
But anyway . . .
A study done by a student in Stanford's psychology department, Alex Jordan, proved that facebook is making us sad. How you might ask? Well, what are the main reasons you use facebook? I know when I'm brainstorming a status update or posting pictures, I always post something that reflects happiness. I'm always talking about the best moments in my life. (I know I'm not the only one doing this!) Jordan's research showed that humans have an uncanny tendency to overestimate other people's happiness. In other words, we see others happier than they actually are. But isn't this because happiness is all we allow most people to see?
Montesquieu once said, "If only we wanted to be happy it would be easy; but we want to be happier than other people, which is almost always difficult, since we think them happier than they are."
In another study, researchers round that one hundred and forty students were unable to correctly gauge the happiness of their peers, even if they were frequently around them. A third study showed that students underestimated others' negative emotions and felt more alone after going on facebook.
Isn't it strange that we care so much about other people's lives and envy what we think their lives are like? In reality, facebook is all a show. We say and do what we wish we were doing and people "like" it. It's an attention getter, and a negative one at that.
This isn't to say that facebook is bad. I, myself, am actually quite addicted to facebook. But I do think that we all need to spend a little less time browsing our "friends" "walls."
Beautiful Flaws
In a world where our culture revolves around the need to be perfect, it's hard to find your flaws "lovable." There's always something you hate about your body: you think you're overweight and your eyes are too close together; maybe your nose is too big, or your ears are crooked or you hate the way your feet look in flip flops. It's so easy to get caught up in our flaws that we forget about the ways they make us beautiful and unique.
I'm sure you've all heard of Bethany Hamilton, the girl who lost her arm to a shark attack when she was thirteen. I absolutely love her movie Soul Surfer. It not only has a great message for seeing your body for what it is than for what it isn't, but it also shows Bethany's struggle with her relationship with God and her relationship with surfing. After her accident, you see Bethany sitting in her room as she rips off the arm of her Barbie doll. Her mother, Cheri, comes in and tells Bethany that she likes the Barbie doll better with one arm. Bethany says, "I thought at least with clothes on I could have two arms, I thought I could look normal."
I love Cheri's response, "The right guy will love you exactly the way you are because you're beautiful."
And you are so beautiful!
Cheri then shows Bethany a picture of Venus de Milo: the pinnacle of beauty. "And she has one less arm than you," she tells Bethany. What an excellent example of what beautiful really is. When you can find your flaws beautiful, when you can look at yourself in the mirror and say that you are beautiful because of your flaws and not in spite of them, that is what beauty truly is.
In an interview, Bethany said, "There's definitely times in my life where I'm just struggling with body image whether it be having one arm or feeling like I'm fat or having bad hair or a pimple but there are just so much worse things in life than what you look like." Who would have thought that the outgoing, encouraging Bethany Hamilton would be insecure over having a pimple? I guess there's a lesson in this, everyone feels insecure from time to time, but you can't let it get to you.
The media leads us to believe that if we dislike something about ourselves, we can get a quick fix, whether that be with a crash diet or surgery. But you know what? Liposuction isn't the answer to your "fat" thighs. In a survey conducted by the Girl Scouts of America, thirty three percent of girls had a distorted view of their body and saw themselves as overweight. The media is feeding us lies!
Jacqueline Saburido is also a woman I admire for her self-esteem. Jacqueline was a victim in a drunk driving accident in 1999. She was the only one in her vehicle who survived; however, Jacqueline was left with third degree burns on over sixty percent of her body. After undergoing over twenty surgeries, Jacqueline appeared on the Opera to share her story. When interviewing with Opera, Jacqueline said that she only allows herself five minutes a day to cry. If this woman can still keep going after losing everything, how can we possibly shield away when we have a pimple or are having a bad hair day?
In honor of embracing our flaws, I feel the need to tell you one of my insecurities. I think my nose is too big. There, I said it. I have been insecure about this for a long time, but the more I tell myself that I'm beautiful because of my nose, the more I believe it. Besides, we all have our own insecurities and we are most likely focusing on ourselves rather than scrutinizing others. So . . . LET GO OF YOUR INSECURITIES.
If you can't find your flaws beautiful, then for every flaw you see in yourself, write down two things that you love about yourself. This isn't limited to your outward appearance. I think that you'll find when you stop focusing on your flaws you'll see the more beautiful things in yourself that you never saw before.
1 Samuel 16:7b says, "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." We need to remember that before we fix our distorted view of body image, we need to fix our heart. Our heart is what God looks at to see our beauty; and that, therefore, is the most important form of beauty we could ever imagine. We can't fix our heart with plastic surgery, we need to fix it by getting right with God, by reading our Bible, and, most importantly, by praying to Him. Once we are right with God, we can find beauty within ourselves and it will spill into our outward appearance.
Bethany leaves us with this advice, "I think the secret to finding positive self-esteem is just loving who you are and just go for it."
I'm sure you've all heard of Bethany Hamilton, the girl who lost her arm to a shark attack when she was thirteen. I absolutely love her movie Soul Surfer. It not only has a great message for seeing your body for what it is than for what it isn't, but it also shows Bethany's struggle with her relationship with God and her relationship with surfing. After her accident, you see Bethany sitting in her room as she rips off the arm of her Barbie doll. Her mother, Cheri, comes in and tells Bethany that she likes the Barbie doll better with one arm. Bethany says, "I thought at least with clothes on I could have two arms, I thought I could look normal."
I love Cheri's response, "The right guy will love you exactly the way you are because you're beautiful."
And you are so beautiful!
Cheri then shows Bethany a picture of Venus de Milo: the pinnacle of beauty. "And she has one less arm than you," she tells Bethany. What an excellent example of what beautiful really is. When you can find your flaws beautiful, when you can look at yourself in the mirror and say that you are beautiful because of your flaws and not in spite of them, that is what beauty truly is.
In an interview, Bethany said, "There's definitely times in my life where I'm just struggling with body image whether it be having one arm or feeling like I'm fat or having bad hair or a pimple but there are just so much worse things in life than what you look like." Who would have thought that the outgoing, encouraging Bethany Hamilton would be insecure over having a pimple? I guess there's a lesson in this, everyone feels insecure from time to time, but you can't let it get to you.
The media leads us to believe that if we dislike something about ourselves, we can get a quick fix, whether that be with a crash diet or surgery. But you know what? Liposuction isn't the answer to your "fat" thighs. In a survey conducted by the Girl Scouts of America, thirty three percent of girls had a distorted view of their body and saw themselves as overweight. The media is feeding us lies!
Jacqueline Saburido is also a woman I admire for her self-esteem. Jacqueline was a victim in a drunk driving accident in 1999. She was the only one in her vehicle who survived; however, Jacqueline was left with third degree burns on over sixty percent of her body. After undergoing over twenty surgeries, Jacqueline appeared on the Opera to share her story. When interviewing with Opera, Jacqueline said that she only allows herself five minutes a day to cry. If this woman can still keep going after losing everything, how can we possibly shield away when we have a pimple or are having a bad hair day?
In honor of embracing our flaws, I feel the need to tell you one of my insecurities. I think my nose is too big. There, I said it. I have been insecure about this for a long time, but the more I tell myself that I'm beautiful because of my nose, the more I believe it. Besides, we all have our own insecurities and we are most likely focusing on ourselves rather than scrutinizing others. So . . . LET GO OF YOUR INSECURITIES.
If you can't find your flaws beautiful, then for every flaw you see in yourself, write down two things that you love about yourself. This isn't limited to your outward appearance. I think that you'll find when you stop focusing on your flaws you'll see the more beautiful things in yourself that you never saw before.
1 Samuel 16:7b says, "For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." We need to remember that before we fix our distorted view of body image, we need to fix our heart. Our heart is what God looks at to see our beauty; and that, therefore, is the most important form of beauty we could ever imagine. We can't fix our heart with plastic surgery, we need to fix it by getting right with God, by reading our Bible, and, most importantly, by praying to Him. Once we are right with God, we can find beauty within ourselves and it will spill into our outward appearance.
Bethany leaves us with this advice, "I think the secret to finding positive self-esteem is just loving who you are and just go for it."
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Health-Ful Living
I have been doing an experiment, something I hope to make a permanent change in my daily life. I have successfully eaten five servings of fruits and vegetables every day for a week. How's that for a major change in my (I don't want to use the word "diet") daily food intake?
Now you may be thinking, "Oh, big deal. You're eating five servings of fruits and vegetables. Do you want a sticker for that or something?" Well to that I say: you try it. It's hard! And I'm not going to lie, it's a little pricy. But you can't put a price tag on being healthy!
To be honest, five servings is the minimum amount of fruits and veggies we should take into our "diet." Twice that amount and you'd be the healthiest person alive! Throughout the week I have been really hungry, however. I thought fruits and vegetables were supposed to fill you up? But whatever, because that just means I get to eat MORE fruits and vegetables and I've been feeling super good about my eating habits this week. And guess what? You should join me! (You totally knew that was coming, didn't you?) But seriously. I've been like - super high energy, can actually stay awake during class, no more headaches this week - happy
So I bet you're now waiting for a super appealing argument to convince you to eat more of that green leafy stuff that your mother says is good for you.
Deep breath. Here it goes . . .
Fruits and vegetables are packed full of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to live on! And they're all natural! I even found a whole website that names the nutrition facts of a ton of fruits and vegetables. Did you know that apples contain 5625 grams of tfglhya? (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Plus, eating all this good food makes me want to get outside and get moving. Not to mention we've been having super nice, unseasonably warm weather.
To start you off on your new and improved five servings of fruits and vegetables a day self, here's what I've been filling my stomach with for the past seven days:
Have a beautifully, health-ful day.
Now you may be thinking, "Oh, big deal. You're eating five servings of fruits and vegetables. Do you want a sticker for that or something?" Well to that I say: you try it. It's hard! And I'm not going to lie, it's a little pricy. But you can't put a price tag on being healthy!
To be honest, five servings is the minimum amount of fruits and veggies we should take into our "diet." Twice that amount and you'd be the healthiest person alive! Throughout the week I have been really hungry, however. I thought fruits and vegetables were supposed to fill you up? But whatever, because that just means I get to eat MORE fruits and vegetables and I've been feeling super good about my eating habits this week. And guess what? You should join me! (You totally knew that was coming, didn't you?) But seriously. I've been like - super high energy, can actually stay awake during class, no more headaches this week - happy
Fruits and vegetables are packed full of vitamins and minerals that your body needs to live on! And they're all natural! I even found a whole website that names the nutrition facts of a ton of fruits and vegetables. Did you know that apples contain 5625 grams of tfglhya? (That was sarcasm, by the way.) Plus, eating all this good food makes me want to get outside and get moving. Not to mention we've been having super nice, unseasonably warm weather.
To start you off on your new and improved five servings of fruits and vegetables a day self, here's what I've been filling my stomach with for the past seven days:
- Apples! yumm. They really do keep the doctor away.
- Pears. delicious. If you get the right kind, they taste like candy!
- Lots of salad. Did you know that green leafy stuff is actually good for you? I love to put parmesan cheese on my salads with a little bit of light raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
- Carrots. Apparently, they're good for your eyesight? I think this is just a myth to get people to eat them.
- Broccoli! If you put it in the oven with oil and salt, it's kind of the best tasting broccoli you've ever had. But if you need to choke it down with cheese, I won't think less of you.
- Oranges. They remind me of summer! And afterwards, your hands will smell like oranges for hours. It doesn't matter how many times you wash your hands . . .
- Bananas. These are just good. I don't understand people who don't like bananas. I love making oatmeal and putting bananas, walnuts, and, of course, brown sugar in it.
- Asparagus! I love it so much. You have no idea. And make it the same way you made the broccoli, yumm.
- Strawberries. Who doesn't like strawberries. Seriously. You're crazy if you don't like them. Again, reminds me of summer.
Have a beautifully, health-ful day.
Eating Disorders
That's a pretty nerve-racking title if you ask me. Nonetheless, it's a subject I feel like I need to get aquainted with. This may be a negative outlook, but I think that every teenage girl in America "flirts" with an eating disorder at some time in her life. It seems unescapable in our society today; our society that is so appearance driven. It's impossible to go about your day without seeing an ad, commercial, or television show that doesn't focus on improving your look. It's engraved in our minds that if we aren't skinny then we better do something about it. Whether that's liposuction, cosmetic surgery, crash diets, or through eating disorders, it's all dangerous. I'm sure you've heard the saying "playing with fire," that's exactly what you're doing when you experiment with an eating disorder.
Know the facts:
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that revolves around the desire to be thin and to lose weight quickly. It often stems from the need to want to be in control. It is most commonly found in women and develops during middle to late adolescents. It affects around one percent of women and one-tenth as many males. People with anorexia refuse to maintain body weight at or above eighty-five percent of normal weight for their age and height and have a fear of becoming fat, even if they are already severely underweight. The first widespread attention brought to eating disorders was in 1983, when singer Karen Carpenter died from anorexia. People with anorexia restrict their food intake and deprive their bodies of enough energy and nutrients to live on. even after overcoming anorexia, it can have lasting effects on your heart, immune system, kidneys, digestive system, and metabolism.
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by purging of the food through laxatives or vomiting. A study on bulimia found that after eating 3,530 calories and then vomiting, 1,209 calories were left in the body. After smaller binges of 1,549 calories, 1,128 calories were retained after purging. Bulimia also has lasting effects on the throat and esophagus, teeth, heart, stomach and pancreas, kidneys and liver, intestines and muscles.
Binge eating disorder occurs when an individual eats uncontrollably and does not purge the food. Binge eaters are often overweight and are distressed over the amount of food consumed. Binge eating can have lasting impacts on the heart and metabolism.
These are the most common eating disorders. It seems like it would be so much easier to lose weight by just not eating or purging after you've overindulged. Easy solution, right? But that can be the most dangerous thinking in the world, the kind that could kill you. If you're struggling with an eating disorder, maybe you haven't attempted anything but you've thought about it a lot, talk to someone you trust. Instead of focusing on your body shape, focus on being healthy by exercising and eating the right foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, brown rice, dairy products, and lean meats and make sure you're drinking plenty of water. Listen to your bodies "hunger and full" cues to make sure that you're eating enough nutrients that your body needs and so that you don't eat out of boredom or stress.
When we succumb to eating disorders we are proclaiming that we accept the worlds standard of beauty when what we need to be doing is revolting against such unattainable standards. Remember that you are beautiful, no matter what the media says. Embrace your flaws and SMILE.
Know the facts:
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that revolves around the desire to be thin and to lose weight quickly. It often stems from the need to want to be in control. It is most commonly found in women and develops during middle to late adolescents. It affects around one percent of women and one-tenth as many males. People with anorexia refuse to maintain body weight at or above eighty-five percent of normal weight for their age and height and have a fear of becoming fat, even if they are already severely underweight. The first widespread attention brought to eating disorders was in 1983, when singer Karen Carpenter died from anorexia. People with anorexia restrict their food intake and deprive their bodies of enough energy and nutrients to live on. even after overcoming anorexia, it can have lasting effects on your heart, immune system, kidneys, digestive system, and metabolism.
Bulimia nervosa is characterized by recurrent episodes of binge eating followed by purging of the food through laxatives or vomiting. A study on bulimia found that after eating 3,530 calories and then vomiting, 1,209 calories were left in the body. After smaller binges of 1,549 calories, 1,128 calories were retained after purging. Bulimia also has lasting effects on the throat and esophagus, teeth, heart, stomach and pancreas, kidneys and liver, intestines and muscles.
Binge eating disorder occurs when an individual eats uncontrollably and does not purge the food. Binge eaters are often overweight and are distressed over the amount of food consumed. Binge eating can have lasting impacts on the heart and metabolism.
These are the most common eating disorders. It seems like it would be so much easier to lose weight by just not eating or purging after you've overindulged. Easy solution, right? But that can be the most dangerous thinking in the world, the kind that could kill you. If you're struggling with an eating disorder, maybe you haven't attempted anything but you've thought about it a lot, talk to someone you trust. Instead of focusing on your body shape, focus on being healthy by exercising and eating the right foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, brown rice, dairy products, and lean meats and make sure you're drinking plenty of water. Listen to your bodies "hunger and full" cues to make sure that you're eating enough nutrients that your body needs and so that you don't eat out of boredom or stress.
When we succumb to eating disorders we are proclaiming that we accept the worlds standard of beauty when what we need to be doing is revolting against such unattainable standards. Remember that you are beautiful, no matter what the media says. Embrace your flaws and SMILE.
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