My own experience and the reality of the day to day grind.
After working a year as an analyst in the IT department of a medium sized corporation, I feel like it’s time to reflect and maybe vent a bit. To give some background, I did not graduate with a degree in Information Technology or a related field. I mainly just used my previous experience and expressed enthusiasm at the slightest opportunity to learn something IT related in order to land my first job. …
This is a feeling that has haunted me my entire life.
The last time I played Dota 2 was January 8th, 2018. If you asked me to describe my experience with Dota 2, I would have to say that Dota 2 is the high-grade prescription amphetamine of video games.
Like a crippling drug addiction, you don’t realize how far you’ve gone until your room is trashed, your bones ache and you manage to look at the clock. It’s 2:00 AM and you realize that you started playing at around noon. Where has the time gone? …
Unlike other supplements, this one won’t betray you in the morning.
Sleep is important. As you grow older, it arguably becomes more important. But that doesn’t stop people from putting it aside and prioritizing other aspects of life.
When I was a junior in high school, I had a job working as a busboy. The particular night that I’m thinking about was during a warm summer. I was working late on a Saturday again. One of the servers, a nice lady with an unexplained jovial mood, noticed that I was sulking a bit. At that time, it was just my resting face, but that’s a topic for a completely different piece…
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that almost every person during this pandemic wishes that they could reverse time. Sure, it might have been nice at first. But, like anyone else, I’m quickly finding myself stuck at an impasse during this time. The world is on pause. I’m really not sure what to do anymore. At the end of each night, the same question comes to my mind. How am I supposed to live my life?
I’ve gotten good at making pizza from scratch. I have a regular exercise routine. I’m writing on medium, in between the margins…
There has to be a way to stop this cycle of suffering.
I messed up again. It started with one cup of coffee and I was falling down the spiral of addiction all over again. I was begging on the streets for some fresh Philz. Hell, I would even go for some Folgers. I was fiending. Each night I went home hopeless and had fever dreams about coffee.
Awaking in cold sweats, I would pick up my phone and watch youtube videos of people brewing coffee. No, I can’t. Not again. I promised myself that I wouldn’t. Eventually, I came across a video that changed everything for me. Suddenly, I felt at…
Here’s how to navigate the double-edged sword of video game escapism.
Understanding Video Game Escapism
Escapism has an inherently negative connotation. After all, if you’re escaping from something, you’re not growing. You are doing everything to avoid your current situation or you’re keeping yourself busy in order to avoid dealing with a difficult circumstance. However, this is actually not the entire truth behind video game escapism.
In an article by Philip Kollar titled ‘Jane McGonigal on the good and bad of video game escapism’, Kollar identifies the two types of escapism that a person can experience. Self-suppression involves running away from unpleasant thoughts, perceptions, and emotions. While self-expansion involves actively seeking new skills, stronger relationships…
This is one of the hardest things that I’ve done.
There’s this recycled tweet that keeps going around that speaks to me on another level. It goes something like “Living on your own = financial instability and emotional stability, living with your parents = financial stability and emotional instability”. It’s terrifyingly accurate. No matter how much you love your mom and pop, it can be a bit difficult to get accustomed to living with them again after being away for such a long time. It can feel like your entire life has been put on hold.
I didn’t expect to move back in with my parents, but this is where…
You can use it in your daily life too.
A popular method for beginner meditation is called ‘noting’. Mental noting is the act of labeling a particular sensation during meditation. Since it can be difficult to stay on track when meditating, this isn’t an uncommon technique for beginners to utilize in order to stay focused during meditation.
These notes can be simple acknowledgments of different sensations. For emotions, it can range from ‘anger’, ‘happiness’, ‘confusion’, or ‘sadness’. For thoughts, it can range from ‘wanting, ‘planning’, or even ‘daydreaming’. And of course, for physical sensations, they are often labeled as ‘itching’, ‘pain’, ‘tension’, and others. …
Why it might be time to embrace the cringe we feel inside of us.
Watching cringe videos is a pastime that I never expected myself to have. But, it just feels good to watch someone else mess up. In fact, I’m going to go as far as to say that it’s therapeutic. Whenever I have to think of a painful memory from my past, I am slightly comforted by the fact that there is an online archive full of minty videos to cringe to. Even better, if the cringe is too much for me, I can always watch someone else react to a video.
I can still remember one of my earliest cringe moments…
It’s not actually that hard.
Even though meditation is all about decreasing your stress, making you more content with the little things, and increasing your general awareness, it can also make you stubborn and upset when you realize that you’ve fallen out of your habit. Like any other habit, meditating on a daily basis can seem difficult at first. However, I’ve discovered a few things along the way that have helped me meditate more often.
When I first started meditating, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I didn’t have a cushion. I didn’t have a teacher (I still don’t.) And, I definitely didn’t…
Casimir Mura
Writing about things that I can’t stop thinking about
