Hey guys, Erin- g here (Mean Girls reference although I know you got it).
Here’s the deal with the blog and a bit about myself. I graduated this year with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Anthropology and a minor in Psychology, which pretty much means that I have a degree that I can’t really use here in Canada. On the brighter side, I also happen to have a deep passion for movies and tv series- Netflix is the true love of my life- and a love for all books (I have to say that I watch and read ALL genres of books, movies, and series; I don’t discriminate). I have to admit I am in love with Harry Potter which is borderline unhealthy. In addition, travelling is the best thing to exist in my world. I love the whole process- the planning and packing, the anticipation of the trip, the plane/car/train, the experience of being there and getting to know a new culture and their history, and the bittersweet return home. Some other things about me- I love sports- specifically hockey, ok I am passionate about the Oilers, whatever. For football I’d pick Seattle Seahawks, and for baseball it’s the Blue Jays (Did I mention I’m Canadian?). I’m big on photography, writing, art- anything creative really. I have two dogs, schnauzers (the ones with the beards if you’re wondering what that means), and a gecko. Also, I love videogames (currently loving Batman Arkham Asylum), and am going to attend my third comicon ever in a few weeks!
Now that you practically know me, here’s what’s up with the blog. The other day I met my best friend Kathleen at Remedy Café- Please go there if you haven’t- and ordered my usual butter chicken wrap and convinced myself to try something new drink wise- the Roca almond hot chocolate which was everything I dreamed it would be. While we were eating, Kathleen was talking to me about her anxiety of what to do now that we were graduating, and what she was doing to overcome it and attempting to plan her future. I literally related on everything she said, however, in those 3 weeks we hadn’t seen each other neither of us really had said anything. I can’t talk too much about what was going on with Kathleen, but in those weeks I had anxiety and stress that gave me stomach pains so harsh I felt like throwing up. I hadn’t slept in a week with insomnia, because where was my life going, what is my purpose? This kind of stress makes you feel isolated even though the person across from me was experiencing the same thing. It’s like you swallowed something that stifles your voice- takes it away. You feel isolated and like no one gets you or relates to you. Every time it seemed like I had a plan together, someone would tear that idea down, because they’re right it wasn’t me. It was me trying to come up with a quick solution to myself trying to find a job or a purpose. I want to like what I do for the rest of my life and feel like I’m contributing, but what is it I’m supposed to do? When I do talk to people, it comes out in anger or just tears because I don’t know and I’ve built up this pressure that I have to decide right away before a new semester of a new program I could potentially apply for arrives or so I don’t lose out on a new job. The reality is the pressure is something I put on myself. I forgot this until Kathleen made me realize there is no deadline. I’ve just been scared because I’ve been in school my whole life, I haven’t experienced life. I’m terrified of life and messing it up, but you can’t mess it up. So after this long and emotional conversation, I said to her “We should make a blog- I’m dead serious” to which she said “I’ve always wanted to do that”. And now we are here- me typing up my first (extremely long) blog post, while also listening to Chained to the Rhythm by Katy Perry (I’ve zoned out here to watch her lyrics video with hamsters and little food? I can’t help but be weireded out and super impressed about her cooking those tiny meals- like what?)
The blog. To me a blog is like me writing a public diary. It’s a collection of thoughts, opinions about various topic, which is what we are striving to do here although thankfully I won’t be writing like my 9- year- old self (those are interesting journals). Our topics include, and aren’t restricted to, exercise (yeesh), food (obviously), travel, movies/series, books, and weekends we go to a deeper level of understanding our post grad feelings and how we’re going about finding our life purpose, and other fun stuff. This combines all of our passions and stops us from feeling like by choosing whatever we want to do in life, these important aspects aren’t stifled anymore. We hope it relates and helps everyone on a light common interests level to a deeper emotional level as well. Whether you’re here for a recipe, exercise move or just some tips, or you’re here to relate emotionally, we hope you stick around for our journey.
Before I close I have to say, there is no better person to do this blog with than Kathleen. Where she is a healthy and a vegetarian, I eat meat and junk. Where she exercises most times, I am here convincing myself that I really do need to get off the couch. We’re similar and different, making each other better while also bringing similar and yet different perspectives and interests to this blog. We’ve lived in Italy together, been stuck in Europe with little options to get home (this is a whole other story we will be sharing soon I’m sure), we’ve done the school chaos thing together, and now we’re doing the post grad/ life anxiety. She is my best friend and I don’t know what I would do without her.
This blog means the world to us. Thanks for reading (I promise shorter posts in the future)
– Erin
Avenue 23 