Guilty Pleasures

Giving up something can be difficult. Whether it be a bad habit, a bad relationship or just something you love that you over indulge in, it requires major self-control and discipline. Last month I participated in a religious observance known as Lent which is a time where we fast for forty days prior to Easter. Lent is a special time of prayer, penance, sacrifice and good works in preparation of the celebration of Easter. You are to sacrifice something during this time that you take pleasure in. This year I was going through a tough time in my life. I was partaking in a lot of activities that involved partying and alcohol in hopes of comfort. I decided that for Lent I would give up drinking. This included liquor, beer, wine, wine coolers etc. Any types of spirited beverages would be forbidden! It takes 30 days to break a habit, was I able to do it?

The Semicolon Project - You are the Author

Happy Tuesday loves! Hope everyone's week is off to a great start. I recently became aware of a movement called "The Semicolon Project" which was inspiring to me. It doesn't seem to be very popular yet but the word is spreading. The idea is to promote public awareness in the support of the fight against suicides and self harm in teens. My younger cousin, who is in her teens, posted a picture of her wrist on a popular social network called Instagram with the ; symbol drawn on it in support of this cause so I decided to look into it. This is quickly spreading on other social network sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr from what I have seen. Many have taken it to the extreme to get the symbol tattooed on their body. The mission states that "April 16th, all who self harm, are suicidal, depressed, unhappy, have anxiety, has a broken heart, or have lost a loved one, draw a semicolon on your wrist. Semicolons represent a sentence the author could have ended but chose not to. You're the author, the sentence is your life." It's a mark, Lewis Thomas has said, that offers "a pleasant little feeling of expectancy; there is more to come."