My Skin

I get it. We're all different. My body and brain will never function like the person next to me or someone a thousand miles away, for that matter. Not even twins.

But no-one can safely say,"I feel 100% confident and comfortable in my own skin!" because there has always been that one time where you think 'Aw, I wish I could run as fast as her,'  or 'If only I knew how to do pre-calculus as well as him!' 

I think that in this day and age everybody has some sort of mental anxiety about wanting to be a better version of themselves, either for their own well-being and self-esteem, or to make others feel proud of them. Whatever the reason, we all experience this kind of self doubt. However, some people can overcome that feeling of self-doubt very easily and just totally feel comfortable about who they are and who they want to be.

Others, not so. For me, I have people around me every day that love and care for me, so I don't really feel that constant nagging in my brain as much. But, of course, it's still very much there and exists in my brain. I'm not saying that I doubt myself or how I look, I'm just implying that I don't really feel like I'm exactly comfortable about who I am. It isn't totally about how I look, I just think that I could be such a better person. Everyone knows that there's one wonderful, kind, big-hearted girl in the grade who is just plain nice no matter what. And sometimes I think, 'How on earth do they keep all that anger and hatred all in?' 

Being nice was kind of my 2014 personal goal (that I didn't tell anyone...) But it wasn't really that general. It was more to listen to others more and accept me for just being me. It was also to stop ignoring all the negative thoughts that lurk in my brain and instead focus on the constant love and support my family gives to me. The biggest part though was trying to keep everything in. I'm generally silent around people I just met, but most of my friends know I like to let it all out. Yep, so I'm also on the road to stop swearing -.-

Just a little ramble to let it all out and not scream at myself in bed...

Image from weheartit.com

Stay you. Stay awesome.

Free write: Themes

So all of us know what themes are- we see them everyday when we read or watch a movie. Usually, its the stories have themes that revolve around love and relationships with different people. It could appear in a cheesy love story or even a deep heartfelt book about cancer. Themes don't have boundaries and even though we classify books or stories under them, there are no restrictions to the broad usage of words in this world. Obviously, if numerous books about love/hope/death appear to be liked by the majority of the population, the theme or trend of the story will continue to strive with humankind.

Everybody needs a good story once in a while, a small escape from reality. Themes just represent things we like the most- what makes us happy to hear or things that we wholeheartedly enjoy. I don't know if themes could have some sort of ulterior motive to seek out the true emotions and what it really means to be human, but themes not only help us identify stories, but a reflection of what we see in ourselves or the people around us.

Like I mentioned in the first paragraph, themes that are liked by people will continue to strive through the world, but maybe they may find a dead end and never return (hopefully not). But some themes do continue to imprint a legacy upon us and I think people enjoy certain themes more than others because it is something we relate to and something all of us can say, "Hey, I know what it feels like to be like X character in a book," too.

I believe that ideas are always built upon others and we don't just create our own ideas out of nowhere, and copyrights shouldn't really exist. So in a way, EVERY SINGLE story we tell is just another story based on another story and another story and so on…

Why should everyone do martial arts?

So in my last blog post (where I updated the internet on my life) I mentioned something about BJJ.

So BJJ is Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. It's basically a form of martial arts in which you wear a gi (white baggy, unflattering suits) and fight one another!

I just made that sound like the most boring thing ever... But I love it!

Image from Flickr 

So I wanted to give my input and opinion on why I think it's important for everyone to do martial arts... And I thought it would be more valuable from my point (child's perspective) of view instead of some fully grown 'experienced' adult telling you the benefits.

You can start doing martial arts at ANY age- it's a great way to spend time with the family and have fun!

• Fitness. Obviously, one of the great physical benefits is that it helps you keep active on the weekends and, like any exercise, is good for your health. There are plenty of different forms of martial arts (they are all similar but different) but they all require you to get up and do something. 

• Friends. Yeah, I know it may not apply to everyone, but part of the reason I really enjoy going to bjj, is my friends. Since most of them don't go to my school, I only see them on the weekends and they're so different from the people I usually hang out with, which is good, and I really enjoy having a laugh with them and 'getting away' from my usual set of friends.

• Motivation and Confidence. Basically, if you get beat the first time by some guy you KNOW you can totally crush, it really motivates you to keep getting up after your knocked down, and work harder the next time around. Sometimes the mindset is 'Oh, he's better than me, I'll never beat him.' But I was woken up after a while after I beat the 'class legend,' and even though his motivation now drives him to beat me EVERY. SINGLE. TIME, he now looks at me like actual competition instead of that Asian girl who I can flick off my pinkie.

• Listening. So, basically, a few new concepts are taught each lesson (well, that's how it goes in my class). And then you get time to practice them with a partner. Sure, you can just faff around and not really do anything, but then you'll get crushed and annoyed with yourself when it's actually time to fight one another. 

• Respect. A lot of martial arts is not just respecting the instructor, but the other kids as well. At the end of my jiu-jitsu class, we shake hands with everyone as a sign of respect for each other. While someone might not take the respect aspect out of class and respect the people around them, it's a good skill to pick-up, how to act with respect in certain situations. 

• Open-Mindedness. So every martial art is different, but when you first join a class, and the instructor teaches something really weird (you'll experience this at some point) just go with the flow. One of the biggest things BJJ has taught me is to be open to new experiences and techniques. However, I find it hilarious when a new kid comes in and his eyes jump out of his head because the instructor just slammed some huge guy into the ground. 

So that's all I could really think of, there are plenty of other reasons why people may join, but I hope this gave you an insight and motivated you to go sign-up for that class!

Oh. I Have a Blog?

Okay, I'm back. I just came off a two-week break and (guess what?) I didn't even touch my blog. I'm kind of ashamed of myself... I figured that I would probably do better without the prompts and things like that (30 day blog challenge) so I'm gonna just free write for a while.

(I'm not giving up on the blog challenge completely, I'll continue it soon...)

What's been going on in my life?

So, um, I had my 13th birthday (yay! moody teenager time!) and it's on Christmas Eve, so double the presents! (I actually don't celebrate Christmas in my family so....)

And, uh, it's 2014! I know the last time I blogged was this year, but I never officially rolled out the red carpet to welcome 2014! But it just came crashing the party but everyone seemed to like it. Oh well it kind of rubbed off on me :)

I won a BJJ tournament!! It was only within my gym, but it was really fun and I won Under 50kg division- it was really great to compete with friends and just have a fun day.
(What is this mysterious 'BJJ' you may ask? More of that soon)

So, that's all that's happened in my overly enthusiastic life... What about you?

(P.S. If you're not feeling it, try the 30-day challenge below that you'll actually complete!)