Facebook Philosophy 101

After the week I've had, its been hard to not be pessimistic about the entirety of the human race. Maybe it's a combination of a dead-end job and hanging out with people that seem to occupy their time by stewing over things already passed, but somehow it becomes a vortex of negativity.  As I logged into Facebook this evening, expecting a slew of drunk photos and lyrical status updates to clog my homepage, I was met with a quote. Front and centre on my homepage was a single quote that seemed to sum up my entire week, and was the mantra with which I needed to face the, pardon my French, bullshit. I don't know who originally said it, though I would like to thank them so putting it so simply that it seems almost poetic. Thank you Nitharsen for this and for reminding me that I am too good to put up with this undue shrift, despite how narcissistic that may come across. So I impart this knowledge onto you all, to whomever may come across this, because I believe that somewhere along the way we all face this and while the advice seems simple, its the kind we seem to be unable to give ourselves.

"There's a point in life when you get tired of chasing everyone and trying to fix everything. But its not giving up- its realizing that you don't need certain people and their crap."

Finally someone agrees with me...

Courtesy of postsecret.com

I can be having the worst day and yet when a friend offers a bit of encouragement, it manages to pick me right back up. Words are powerful- written or spoken they have the ability to capture and convince the audience, whether it be a sole individual or the mass.

While I don't intend on running for president or being a world-renowned public speaker like Martin Luther King Jr was in his days, I feel as though my words could impact someone. Even touching one person- to think, to feel, to reconsider- would mean I've done something important. Because for me, it isn't about how eloquent my speech is, or that the presentation is executed perfectly, but that the person on the receiving end is moved to action as I was before them. 

I am a self-professed addict of the PostSecret blog. I log on every Sunday to indulge my curiousity. There is a certain element of voyeurism, despite the fact that these anonymous people willingly let us glimpse into one snippet of their lives. Following in their style, I want leave my mark in various nooks, that might hopefully brighten someone's day. Perhaps someday someone in this wide world will come across my mark, knowing or not that it's my doing, and that it will somehow impact them.

25 Questions, a la Facebook

Like pretty much everyone on the Internet these days, I have a Facebook account which I use more than I probably should. Yes, it's useful and helps you connect with friends, but it still has that element of creepiness that alludes me, as I continue to post personal information. Last year, there was a "chain letter" style note going around, asking you to post 25 things about yourself that the average person in your life might not know. Reading through it today, I laughed thinking of the things that had changed, or remained the same, and most of all the things that I felt were important in my life. Even though its only been a year, I have changed drastically since then. Here's Erin in 2009:

• When I was three and living in Montreal, my best friend was a boy Therin. (lame rhyming names) and I thought we were going to get married one day. Sorry Therin, I've moved on.
• When I was in kindergarten, I meowed to the Canadian national anthem
• Sometimes I think I remember events from my childhood but its really just a photograph I saw.
• I can fold my tongue.
• I have never eaten a burger at McDonalds, even though I work there.
• I legitimately wanted to be a princess as a kid.
• Yesterday, I thought I wanted to scrap book for a living. How, I dont know??
• I sometimes clench my fists and try to look tough when I walk past scary-looking people.
• I struggle to touch my toes, so every night I attempt to. (remember the fitness test in grade 9 gym anyone?)
• Sometimes during tests or exams, I will stare at people, believing I am channeling their smart energy.
• I have a computer routine: hotmail, gmail, facebook, puzzle
• I'm anxious about who I'm going to room with in New York this year.
• I hate that I haven't been accepted into any universities yet, and I am jealous of those that have.
• I watch shows like The Bachelor, True Beauty and all that none sense religiously. If I miss it, I will find it on ROD.
• I still want to live in Mississauga when I grow up.
• I am scared of moving out, that's why I'm not going far for university or living in residence. However, I constantly pick out things I want in my imaginary apartment.
• I LOVE Andy Warhol.
• I have dressed up in an elephant suit and entertained children.
• I have a blog but no one reads it. ( www.erin-cochrane.blogspot.com)
• I bit my fingernails. Unfortunately my mother has bought me disgusting cream.
• I am obsessed with being on time for everything.
• I own more coats and shoes than I think I could possibly wear.
• I pride myself on my present wrapping skills.
• I had no clue that I was having a surprise party for my 18th birthday, really truly.
• This probably took me longer than it should have.

My PostSecret

I just realized that I am not playing the game of "Life". 

I am not a movable piece, but a human being. 

It's a wondrous, fear-inducing realization.

Make My Day

I haven't been posting a lot recently, mainly because I have been lacking in inspiration. However, I think today something clicked somewhere amidst the ceremony of a wedding I attended this afternoon. I will start by saying that by no means am I a wedding-aholic. In fact, I have only been to four that I can recall in my life- one of which I spent crying to my mother that the responsibilities of a flower girl were far too challenging for four-year-old me. Instead, I live out these fantasies by consuming mass amounts of "Say Yes to the Dress" which is a guilty guilty pleasure of mine.

This event was unlike the others I have attended. With green consumption and products in mind, the couple held the wedding outside, requesting that their guests come dressed in "picnic attire". Heck, these two little words printed on the invitation where probably the most daunting thing I have seen since my April school schedule which was crammed full of exams and final assignments. I have an obsession with wearing the right thing to the right event, and it is because of this that my mother always turns to me for advice before her functions. However, picnic attire and wedding just seemed like an oxymoron to me. So there I went, voyaging through the grassy depths of Ontario to the rolling hills and mosquito-infested town of Uxbridge.

The combination of not being quite sure if I got the handle of the dress code, and the constant drizzle had put a dapper on my mood that not even the best French onion soup could repair. It was then that a family friend gave me a bear hug, and told me that I was looking good. And no, I did not have to pay this man, nor was he intoxicated, or that "creepy" uncle that is ever present at weddings! It was a simple few words that seemed to brighten my day. Those words that I don't think we realize have an impact on someone's day. Though it might seem silly that one compliment can alter my state of mind, it was the recognition that despite my frizzy hair and "deer in headlights" demeanour resulting from knowing a total of seven people attending, that I was okay. Screw picnic casual- the other girls there obviously attend some fairly chic picnics from the looks of their dresses. Even though I might not understand what to wear to a picnic, nor have cooperative hair, I managed to enjoy my time and celebrate in the union of two wonderful people. And if someone was snickering about my disheveled appearance, well they simply were no looking in the right direction. The woman in white, with her dashing husband, can steal my show any day.