The Inner Thinking of a Drunken Troubled Mind (Solitude Challenge)

I am annoyed that I hear my roommate and her boyfriend talking in the hall. Don’t they know I am trying to have a moment of solitude? Makes me mad. They seem so wrong for each other is all I think yet I don’t pity either one of them they are both idiots.

I can hear the wind outside my window and the creaking of a heat panel trying to turn on yet my room is freezing.  I can see two girls talking in their living room across the court yard, not trying to creep on them, but what else do I do for 30 minutes? I find myself trying to tune out the noise and find something meaningful to do with my time. As humans in America at least we are never allowed or at least it is frowned upon to just sit and do nothing, this makes this all the more a challenge. I however am a huge fan of the Greek style of life. Wake up in the afternoon, get some work done for a few hours, then party all night, go to sleep and do it all over again. At the same time I love something the Italians call ‘Dolce far Niente’ it means the sweetness of nothing and in a moto for life, I love the sweetness of doing nothing.

The flickering of my candle indicates there is a draft coming through my window…

I remember things from the smell of my candle. Smells of flowers fill the air, reminding me of my office in Tilton summer 2012. After my mom and I had painted over princesses on the walls we used the same candle to get rid of the scent. I miss Jesse.

I hear my roommate tell her boyfriend she hates him, beyond closed doors. It is not the first time I have heard her say that before. Again I think of how I miss Jesse. It’s only been 10 minutes into solitude.

My phone just buzzed, I am tempted but I won’t look. Whatever it is the world can wait….it buzzed again.

There is snow on the ground and two weeks till Christmas. I couldn’t be less excited…for the first time in my almost 23 years I couldn’t care less about Christmas or my birthday just two days later.

I wonder who will read this blog…that I am scribbling onto a notebook page.

I wish I could time travel. I don’t regret many things in my life because it’s all a part o the learning process, however, there are things I would change to correct these immense and overbearing feelings wrapped inside me.

I think if it were possible I may turn off my emotions all together. The ones that keep me awake at night. The ones that make it so impossible to move on. The ones that hold me here guarded behind gates and a mediocre attempt of a smile. A fake persona, that I am truly happy. Although, it is very easy to hide behind the social media world, a person everyone has believed me to be.

My phones buzzed again. 12 minutes left. Come to think of it, I can probably guess who it is that is texting me because for certain, I am not that popular. Or should I say, I have intentionally secluded myself this semester so it gives me an advantage of observation and accuracy in guessing. It’s probably Alex and I hope we can go shooting. I like redneck things I must say. I like being and seeming tough although on the inside, I am rather fragile. Not my bones because I have never broken one, but emotionally I am one sip, one lyric,  or one comment away from shutting down on a regular bases. I have become frail. I very much dislike this version of myself.

I wonder how many likes my status has gotten so far. As it says, “Sitting with a candle in the dark. 30 min solitude challenge go!” in reality, who cares. It’s Facebook and the first like will probably come from one of the many people who I don’t really speak to in the real world. Or maybe the first will be my other roommates’ boyfriend, who seems to like a lot of my things.

I see an airplane. Wish I was on it. Take me anywhere but here. I find it funny, that the things you think you want are often not at all what you actually want in life. We never take enough time to think of what we really want until we have lost something we didn’t know we really wanted.

Wonder if that text could be from Jesse? Unlikely. Like bleeding water from a stone, more than a few word response is asking too much. One of these days I will allow myself to stop suffering and being miserable. One of these days, I will feel warmth and care and know that it is forever. One of these days, I will be able to show who I have always been and be accepted for just that. That day is not today.

Wonder if my dad will ever invite me over to dinner. He keeps saying I should come around more often and I keep saying invite me over. We are at a standstill.

“Don’t go chasing waterfalls!” that’s what my roommates boyfriend is singing in the hall way. Laugh out load. They need to stop interrupting my solitude. Now they are arguing that they are so different. Anyone with a brain could tell them that. I think they should break up and get it over with. I’m tired of hearing them time and time again. Her bickering at his every move and him wishing he didn’t love a homebody is the same old same.

I cannot wait for this semester to be over. Maybe then I can experience real solitude.

Times up, and my lights go on. Sadly, I like my room better with the lights out. And as I check my phone and my Facebook, neither is the least bit surprising. Alex texted and a kid I haven’t talked to in forever was the first to like my status. This world…predictable.

What the future holds , for social media that is.

What does the future hold for social media? A lot can change in a short amount of time. In the next three years social media will be drastically different and we know this with certainty by looking at what has happened in the last few years. In the last few years sites such as MySpace have drastically declined in users and other sites such as Facebook and Twitter have built up usage.  Also in the last several years, social media sites have been cleverly used in marketing and today it is nearly impossible to find any site on the web without some form of marketing ads across the page. To know the direction we are headed in social media, we can watch analyze the past and only assume that in the future there will be no more MySpace and one day no Facebook, or Twitter because in an industry of social media it is ever changing, expanding, and something better will always become the next big thing. In the future Twitter will outlive many of these social media networking sites because of its current use, application, and how it doesn’t overload with advertising. According to statistics, 76% of Twitter users post status updates. And this is a large percentage in the Twittersphere. However, Facebook is the most addicting according to a statistic conducted by Jay Baer, if this is accurate then most users are checking their page 5 to 6 times every day. This create opportunity for marketers and a long lived Facebook media. 

Best Influencers in the Twittersphere

Influencers in the holistic industry that are really getting it done on Twitter do a number of things. In some instances, it is through a catchy title or connection the content has to the viewer. In other cases, it is because the audience wants to know what is causing a buzz and is really retweet-worthy.  The following two influencers have a connection with their audience and know how to engage them. through hard work and a strong branding and strategy they have many followers eager to see what they have to share.

1. @NaturalCuresInc a With almost 10,000 followers, Natural Cures is making a big impact. Average about two tweets a day, although some days have no tweets and other days have several they typically don’t go more than a few days without providing some new content to the viewers. Through their consistency they are able to build a large following and maintain them. They direct tweets to other influencers or just fans and also enable themselves to have a personable quality to their account.  

2. @DrOz a Is another influencer in the holistic industry although he does not directly deal with holistic alternatives he does influence the industry by suggesting a healthy lifestyle. He provides a lot of content on cures and healing. Many of his tweets engage the viewer through their titles and links that drive traffic of viewers to other sites as well. Although traffic is directed elsewhere, DrOz combats this with providing numerous tweets a day for viewers to engage in. Through his success in providing the audience what they want he has currently over 3,225,000 followers which is an outstanding number in the Twittersphere. 

Geotagging is Not as Cool as Hashtagging

That’s right; geotagging is not as cool as hashtagging. As quick as this feature is becoming more popular there are things that users should know about it.

In the holistic industry, geotagging is a great way for people to share and tag places to enjoy a healthy meal, shop for holistic materials, or participate in events. In sharing this information, people can bring awareness to local businesses and encourage consumers to swap out their normal products for more holistic friendly options. Geotagging can be used to make an easier transition into holistic practices by knowing the right places to go and purchase goods. By sharing and tagging the location on videos and photos, consumers can know where to go to have a similar experience.

Although geotagging can be used to positively affect local businesses and bring awareness to ease of living a holistic life, there are safety and security issues that can become a problem to users. In geotagging people share their exact locations which if done enough and not carefully can give away personal information such as where they live, work, and their extracurricular activity locations as well.  

 

Here are some safety tips:

1. Understand how geotagging works. The first step to protecting yourself is to know how properly use the feature. The best form of protection against threats is knowledge.

2. Understand the risks. If geotagging is not done properly or is done carelessly, the threat of potential stalkers or thieves can easily be accomplished. By understanding the risk, you will see the importance of monitoring and taking care in who can see your geotagged information.

3. Know when geotagging is appropriate. This goes along with understanding how it works and understanding the risk, however, it is especially crucial to know when not to geotag. For instance, it is not appropriate to geotag photos of a private residence. A rule of thumb on this is, if it reveals something personal or private about your life, do not geotag it.

4. Know the geotagging capabilities of your devises. This goes beyond just using sites such as Flickr, Foursquare, and Facebook Place’s, this applies to most cameras that capture and store information about where, when, and what settings, as well as longitude and latitudinal location.

5. Know how to disable your devises geotagging feature. This is important and can be found and adjusted through the settings menu.

 

Holistically Holly’s Family Detox Vegetable Soup is a MUST!

This recipe is a Parker family specialty. My mom made this soup often as a meal during her detox diet. Let’s just say that this detox soup did not taste anything like normal detox foods. This soup is so delicious and addictive that I had to share. Try it!

 

Ingredients Needed:

–       2 carrots sliced into bit size slices or half slices

–       3 celery chopped

–       1 large onion diced

–       1 small eggplant peeled and cubed

–       1 medium zucchini sliced and half slices

–       1 small summer squash sliced and half slices

–       1 Tomato peeled and cubed  

–       2 tablespoons of olive oil & 2 tablespoons water

How to:

Sauté (onions, celery, and carrots) in the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 table spoons of water until tender. Then add all remaining ingredients (eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, and tomato) steer ingredients and cover. Cook until content reaches desired consistency.