The Lies Disney Taught Us

Disney Princesses, the backbone of the Disney marketing scheme. They are the icons that are marketed to millions of little girls as strong, beautiful, intelligent role models. But what do their stories really teach us? I grew up with the Disney princesses. However, in growing up there is unfortunately a cynical, logical side to these stories that comes to light. Let's look at what Disney teaches us.

All Disney Princess Movies, EVER
     Princess has found her guy by age 16. Yep, you read that right, 16. In Tangled Rapunzel meets Flynn when she's 18, so they're marketing a little older at least, but 16? Really? That makes most of us old maids. At 24, I'm 8 years past that. So....what does that say? Not sure yet, but seems to be that if you don't find your dream guy young, you'll never find him. Don't think that's what we want to tell kids.
     Princess gets the guy of her dreams. Didn't you notice that? Every single movie, the prince finds the princess and they both fall madly in love. At the end of the movie, the lead character is awarded their favorite love interest. You can apply this to regular movies too, just reverse it since almost every main character is male. That doesn't teach kids how to interact well, just to develop stalker-type crushes and then they'll be happy. Something tells me that's not how it works. I could be wrong though....Imagine me and you, I do. I think about you day and night, it's only ri-i-ight. To think about the girl I stalk, both day and night, so happy togetheeeerrrrrrr......"

Okay, let's examine two movies in particular, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. I would do more, but then this blog would be too long and I'd lose half my readership (Yep, I'd lose half of the 10 :)

Beauty and the Beast

     A wonderful story about a bullied, friendless girl who is held hostage by a terrible beast, develops Stockholm Syndrome, and proves that with love you can change a monster into a prince. Just think about that for a second there. The message seems to be, 'If I love them enough, they'll change for me." Well, that doesn't sound like every abusive relationship ever now does it? 

     This used to be one of my favorite stories, and I still love the music when I can turn off the cynical portion of my brain. However, I was in one such abusive relationship for a long time and those were my exact thoughts. "If I just show enough love, if I'm patient enough, kind enough, listen enough, whatever enough, then he'll change and things will be perfect." Life's lesson there is that people don't change. They really don't, unless the individual person wants to. That takes quite a bit of doing, so most people don't bother. Sure, the power of love and all that, but really, it's backwards to what happens in real life. So unless you want to teach the little girls that they just have to be perfect enough and whomever they're dating will love them, maybe we should keep this one locked in the vault. It might happen, but there are too many weirdos out there. 

The Little Mermaid

    This one's fun. A beautiful mermaid falls for a sailor that she rescues who just happens to be a prince. They fall in love, Ariel sells her voice to get legs and Eric is put under an evil spell but eventually they're together. Very nice story, if the villain is rather weird (I mean, who turns into a giant half-octopus the moment they get a ton of power? Wait....) Just don't ever read the original Hans Christian Anderson version though.
     Another lesson we really shouldn't be teaching. Change everything about yourself, even your body shape, then you'll be able to get the guy you want. Right, plastic surgery all over again. Let's not forget the running away, abandoning family for some guy you pulled out of the ocean. Here's Florence Nightingale Effect for you, courtesy of Prince Eric. 

So anyway, there it is. Think twice when you watch the next Disney movie and make sure to live Happily Ever After!

A True Story

     Once upon a time, in a land far away and not too long ago there was a castle. Inside this castle a handsome prince lay in a deep sleep. A muscular princess broke into the castle, found the prince, and gave him a slap.
"Wake up!" she said, "We're going to be late for church!"
The prince awoke and began to sing, "I know you, you slapped me once upon a dream..."
The princess thought, My brothers are so weird and went off in search of the next sleeping prince.

True story

10 Little Habits That Can Destroy Your Brain

You might want to re-examine those little daily habits after reading this list. These are some small but very important things that can have a negative impact on your brain. Read on, hopefully you'll want to change something in your life after you finish!

1. Skipping Breakfast - Many people underestimate breakfast. Not consuming anything in the morning causes a decline in blood sugar levels. This results in a lack of nutrients to the brain. Continuing this habit for too long can cause a decline in brain function over a few years, due to insufficient brain fuel. The best breakfast in the morning is not heavy foods such as burgers, but water and at least glass of fresh fruit juice. I also throw in some protein in the form of an egg and beans! Compact and useful for the body!

10 Little Habits That Can Destroy Your BRAIN

2. Overeating - Too much to eat can harden the blood vessel of the brain that usually leads to the decline of mental powers. This is due to buildup of fatty acids and cholesterol. I bet you didn't know that in addition to affecting the heart, this affects the brain as well! So eat a normal portion. Familiarize yourself with portion sizes so you stop eating before you’re stuffed.

3. Smoking - Cigarettes have a lot of bad effects, everyone already knows this. There’s one more bad effect from cigarettes that you should know. Smoking reduces the size of blood vessels throughout the body. This effect is seen easily in the extremities (fingers and toes being cold) but also affects the brain. With decreased blood flow the human brain can gradually shrink, lose cells, and lose much of the elasticity that allows you to learn and think quickly. One more reason to quit!

4. Consuming Too Much Sugar - Too much sugar intake will prevent the absorption of protein and nutrients in the body and brain. Sugar can override important nutrients and cause a form of malnutrition. This is especially significant with children and teenagers, as this disrupts brain development. Sad to say, but we should probably reduce sugar consumption. (Ahh, chocolate! I must have my chocolate!)

5. Air Pollution - The brain is part of the body absorbs the most oxygen. Too long in a polluted environment makes the brain work inefficiently.

6. Sleep Deprivation - Sleep gives the brain a chance to rest. Frequent sleep deprivation makes the brain cells  die from exhaustion. On the other hand excessive amounts of sleep can make you become lazy and slow. You should sleep 6-8 hours a day for the best benefits.

7. Covering one’s head during sleep - Sleeping with the head covered is a bad habit that can be very dangerous. Carbon dioxide produced by the lungs during sleep can collect in the enclosed space and become concentrated in the brain. Too much CO2 will damage the brain over time.

8. Thinking Too Hard - This might seem kind of weird, but the brain is like a muscle in many ways. When sick, working hard or studying can hinder the effectiveness of the brain. If you're sick, be aware that you can overstress the brain as well as the body and get some much-needed rest! 

9. Lack of Brain Stimulation - Thinking is the best way to train the brain. Again, it's like a muscle in that if you don't use it, you'll lose it! Engage in brain-stimulating activities frequently such as diligent reading, listening to music and playing challenging games such as Chess or Scrabble. Currently, I'm catching up on my books and I'm in an improv group which definitely keeps you on your toes! 

10. Rarely Talking - Quiet people may be considered polite, but you should consider whether you're engaging in conversation or just sitting out so you don't have to think. Once again, use it or lose it! Intellectual conversations have a good effect on the brain. So get out there, socialize, and debate! It'll be fun and good for  your brain!

You Are What You Think

I've stumbled on something that I think is quite brilliant. It's one of those things people tell you a million times, but until it actually clicks with you it doesn't mean anything. Focusing on the positive will literally change your life. Let me explain:

I can eat it! Om nom nom nom!!!!

Hillary Weeks once did an experiment where she decided to count all the negative thoughts in her life. She did that for a week, and became rather depressed. Go figure. She then decided to count all the positive thoughts she had in her life, and suddenly things were so much better. I've linked the YouTube video so you can see it for yourself; but the point is that what you focus on becomes the center of your life.

Another story. There was once an Indian chief who was speaking with his grandson. He told him, "My heart has two wolves fighting inside me, one is good and the other is evil." The grandson asked, "Who will win?" The chief replied, "Whichever one I feed." I've paraphrased the story, but can you feel the power of that statement? Whichever one I feed. I've heard John Bytheway tell this story, as well as many others, and I cannot believe how it hits me every time I hear it.

In life, we have the power to give credence to either the good or the bad, the positive or the negative in our lives. In my previous post, I talked about this a little, but the negative can overwhelm us if we give it too much power, or even thought. Now, I know I've already gone on about this, but we were having a Relief Society lesson taught by our bishop today and we focused a lot on the power of thoughts. The lesson was on a different, rather personal subject but what I pulled from it is that our thoughts have the power to make or to break us, and if we choose to focus on the negative we bring ourselves down, and on the positive we pull ourselves up.

Here's my personal example. Today I was feeling sorry for myself. You know, the whole no car, no job, no money, can't do anything stuff. Then I had the thought, "This is pathetic, things aren't all bad, I mean, I'm not homeless so I've got to have some good things going for me, right?" Then I started to try and name them. It was actually really hard to pull myself out of the negative rut. I finally got myself thinking, "Okay, I've got a warm room... but it's not mine. No, that's not the point, I've got a warm room to stay in and a soft bed. That's a good thing." After that, it started getting easier. I have a fun class I'm taking, a grandma that loves me, parents that care, a brother that actually calls frequently, a best friend that let me borrow a car, another best friend I can talk to, an improv troupe that I feel welcome in and that I'm making friends with, and job interviews and cool socks and a caring bishop and the list went on from there.

After I started thinking about it, there was so much to be thankful for. It really turned my day around. I could focus on everything that's going wrong right now (no car, job, money, boyfriend, ect) but by focusing on the good my life seems so much more open. The possibilities become endless, and I feel like I can accomplish things. That feeling is more important than anything, because when I'm stuck in a pit of depression I don't want to do or try anything. On the other hand, when I turn that around it's like I've got wings. Life may not be perfect, but it is good. It just depends on which side of it you look at.

Saga of the Car-less

It has been 1 month since my car died. When I say died, I mean that the engine totally seized up and needed to be entirely replaced. The cost would have been about 4 times more than the car was worth sooooo.......scrap heap for little neon.

Pictured: Not my car

As I was watching my little car get towed away a few thoughts went through my head. One was, "Oh, I forgot to take the steering wheel cover off." Another was that, "Great, it's like my best friend actually died." The reality was that I didn't have a job because I'd quit to go back to school. However, school had fallen through due to financial difficulties, (except for one class) and now I didn't even have a car. So, no money, no car, no classes, and no job.

Those of you who regularly get along without cars are probably going to laugh, but one thing that set in right away was a feeling of severe limitation in regards to my lifestyle. I was used to taking myself places, and now  it because a huge deal just to get myself to the store. I refused to be a mooch so I wouldn't ask for rides anywhere, just stayed home. It felt pretty awful.

One thing I decided was that being car-less gave me the right to mope. I figured, since I didn't have a car or a job, how could I be expected to really do anything? I lay around for about a week, moping and doing nothing other than the bare minimum. I applied for a few jobs, sure, but who would want to hire a car-less bum? Luckily, I still had one class to attend, and that finally got me moving. But I didn't have a car and how could anyone function without one?

Function I must soooo... I decided to learn to ride the bus. Disclaimer here, I absolutely hate the bus. It's loud, slow, smelly, and you have to share with other...interesting...people. On my first trip I got carsick (bus-sick?) and got left at the wrong stop. I had to wait an hour for the next bus, and then I got off a few stops too early by accident and ended up 3 miles from where I was supposed to be. At night. Alone. In the dark. With a heavy book bag. Luckily some random stranger rescued me after a mile of walking and drove me the rest of the way. The next time I had class I was able to figure it out and got off the bus in the correct spot at the correct time. I still hate the bus though.

After the bus, I discovered I could bike. Even if it was cold and winter, there are such inventions called a coat and gloves. I also discovered I could ask people for rides. Who'd have thought? Some will even go so far as to lend you their car for a trip. Weird, but people do a lot for a tank of gas these days.

Once I realized that there were other methods of transportation out there, I learned some interesting things. For one, it was pretty much my fault for feeling stuck, as there were plenty of options for travel that don't consist of you having your own, personal car. Second, people are actually quite nice and willing to help you out. Especially if you can be a bit flexible and provide good conversation. Third, I learned, and am still learning, patience. Also assertiveness. Last; if there's a will there's a way, and I'm darned if I haven't missed a single class even without a car. Late sure, but always there!

Pictured: My new car

I still don't have a car. But I'm getting by. I have been surprised by people's kindness and hope I can repay it someday. Not having a car is no excuse for not accomplishing something. I think that applies to pretty much everything in life. It's been hard for me to realize, it's easy to tell myself that I can mope around because I don't have a car or job and just wait for something to happen. That's not how life works though. Car-less, jobless, even money-less, you'll figure out what you need to progress if you can open your mind a bit and diligently work.

Hopefully soon I'll find a job and a dilapidated piece of junk that still works and can transport me. Until I do, I'll keep learning from this state of being. After all, not having a car is actually a perfect excuse to get that cute guy (or gal) to give you a ride :)

It's 2 am, and I'm hungry

Pictured: disgustingly healthy food 

Well, nothing much more to be said, besides the fact that I'm hungry and am slowly counting down the hours to breakfast. This is the hard, difficult part of diets that makes you want nothing more than to dive into a bowl of marshmallows and chocolate, but instead you end up with something like this.-------->

Dusclops, probably a combination of a dust mite and  a cyclops

And with that, I'll leave you with a final image that I found while searching for disgusting healthy food on the internet. The lowest ranked, underused Pokemon in the Pokemon universe. Yay for learning useless trivia that you'll never use, especially at 2 in the morning.

4 Hour Body: Starting a DIET

I thought it might be amusing to include a few entries from my food diary. I recently started the diet as outlined by Tim Ferriss in 'The Four Hour Body'. It's sorta working as far as I can tell. Anyway, enjoy :)

(Friday, Feb 15th) Day one of diet: this diet’s gonna ssssssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. A lot. First, I was too full, then I was hungry, then my body didn’t know what to do with all the extra long lasting protein energy, then I got a headache because of lack of sugar, and now I’m going through withdrawals. Can’t wait for Sunday; get to eat all the sugar I want!!!!!!!! Oh, and I ate 2 fried eggs, one celery stick (full length) with hummus, and a small amount of black beans with some mixed veggies for breakfast, a spinach salad with steak strips, pico de gallo, beans, veggies, red peppers, sautéed onions, salsa, and lots of avocado for lunch. Same thing for dinner but I just picked around the spinach, didn’t really want that. Now I’m hungry and have a headache. Sunday is my wonderful, delicious cheat day, just gotta go one day more then I can have sugar!!!!! Gonna do something similar for diet tomorrow, probably steak and spinach and fried eggs for breakfast and maybe chicken for dinner with vegetables. Beans in there somewhere. Today’s Friday the 15^th, didn’t mention that earlier. Argh, sugar withdrawal…

Sunday, February 17th

And welcome to upset stomach today. In the book it indicates that your cheat day should be AFTER you go 5 days on the diet. Well, since Sunday was supposed to be my cheat day and I'd managed to get through 2 full days of the diet (yay me) I decided that (this was really late Saturday night) since it was 1am and I was out with friends and it was technically Sunday, that I could start my cheat day then. Argh, big mistake. One delicious milkshake at night resulted in nausea and general irritability in the AM. Blergh, I just got over the headaches.... Anyway, decided to continue the diet through to next Sunday and let that be my cheat day. Just can't manage to figure out what's going on with this, I usually have NO PROBLEM with sugar, or milk, or ice cream, LOVE the stuff. But today? Ack. 

Wednesday, February 20th. 

Okay, here's a rundown. Staying on the diet really really well, except for Monday night I cheated and ate some chocolate covered cookie dough bites. What can I say, I love it :) I am having no problems with headaches anymore, and my skin is starting to clear up. I have a chronic problem with adult acne (chronic to me, it's really just localized spots that seem to never really go away, but keep flaring up) but this diet has given me a reduction in new spots already, which is awesome. The hardest problem with this diet is OTHER PEOPLE, you tell them you're on a diet and they're all like, "Oh, so you can't eat juice, or milk, or bread, or starch? What CAN you eat?" I prefer to focus on everything I can eat, and if I get a really bad craving, I silence it with water or peanut butter. It's funny but I really don't want to eat the sugar anymore. Last night a friend handed me half a chocolate cookie that they made, which of course you can't refuse or you'd hurt their feelings, and so I ate it. 15 minutes later, mild headache that took an hour to go away. My body seems to be adapting, I am waking up earlier and less sluggish and happier too. There's a lot of good benefits, I'm just trying to dance around other people's expectations and what they're trying to make me eat. The worst is when people try to make you feel guilty for being on a diet. I mean, come one, I'm 2% bodyfat OVER what I should be, placing me at the low end of overweight. I have lost 5lbs though, and can't wait until Saturday, my measurement day! Sunday, I'm going to eat bread like there's no tomorrow, so far doing ok without it though.