You can't take it with you is a saying that has been around for as long as man kind could speak for good reason. The title was also made into a play, movie, and book which has been able to stand the test of time. There is one simple rationality as to why that is: because the notion is universal and relatable to all people.
When you live your life based on physical pleasures rather than emotional connections with the people you love and the places you see, at the end of it all you have nothing. We are born into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing but the experiences you've collected. Making the best of the life you have is necessary in order to feel fulfilled and happy and many people seem to forget that. It's so easy to be sucked into the rat race and hustle of life that is out there in the world. You work as hard as you could so you could make enough money so that you could live the life you always dreamed of. Sometimes we focus so much on the exertion we put into those goals that we forget to stop and smell the roses, so to speak. Sooner or later you'll look in the mirror and wonder how you even got to where you are and it will scare you because this life goes by so quickly and we don't realize it until it's too late. Our memories are like diamonds in the rough in a lot of ways. Some are beautiful glistening masterpieces, priceless beyond belief and some are foggy and irregular and need to be polished in order to see its true beauty. All of our experiences have the potential to be beautiful memories, it's just up to us to see them that way. The memories we keep are a part of a stable and permanent section inside of our brains. Moments are fleeting but the memories we subconsciously choose to keep close to us can stay as long as we allow them to. Memories give us the opportunity to commemorate our loved ones and our passed experiences long after they've gone. Without them, we would have nothing and be nothing. A person is only as strong as his mind allows and if that mind is filled with meaning, he will be the strongest by far. Nowadays, we are lucky enough to have the technology which enables us to keep our memories for longer. With the touch of a screen on our tiny phones, we can document anything and everything. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter-- these are all tools which can be used to help you jog your memory at any time. Every once in a while I like to go back to the beginning of my Facebook page (circa 2006) and read the things I posted and the interactions I partook in. Reminiscing on those times can't be traded for anything in the world to me that would be more enjoyable. There is literally nothing more comforting than laughing at how weird I was and how much more mature I feel today. Without those memories, I wouldn't be able to notice how much I've grown and changed. Our history gives us our story. Without our story, our character would not be able to develop and you would remain stagnant in your place in this universe. Without my life experiences that were tough, I would not be this strong. Without my happy memories from childhood, I would not be as thankful. Without my history, I would not have my knowledge. If someone were to offer me all the money in the world in exchange for my memories, I would easily decline in an instant without hesitation. After everything is said and done, you only take with you the good you did in this world and the feeling of contentment that you did that good. We are given the gift of being able to relive the moments we choose in our brains and remember what we saw and how we felt in that exact instant. If that's taken away, then what else is there?
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I know that most of us were waiting at the edge of our seats for the brand new season of "Orange Is The New Black" so we can binge watch until we forget what the use of our feet and legs are, but how freakin' happy were you when you found out it was released early??
I know I, personally, am counting down the minutes until I can start my OITNB marathon-- I just have to mentally prepare my loved ones since they won't be seeing me or hearing from me for the next few days. While I was trying to wrack my brain about what happened in season 2, I started to realize how many real life lessons we actually learned from the complex female power houses of the show and it got me thinking. So, here is a list of the true life lessons we have been handed from the wonderfully knowledgeable ladies of Litchfeild: 1. Gingers (and women) run the world.
We all know Red is the powerhouse of the prison and this really goes to prove that gingies can definitely do it better. The stigma that Red goes against in order to operate her business is a really important part of the show. Despite coming from the old fashioned Russian mentality that women must be housewives who always come second when it comes to their husbands, Red owns every person in that jail. She even made herself known to the Russian Mafia, I mean how much more feminist boss can you get??
2. Everyone deserves love.
We see throughout the series that everyone can, eventually, find love and that everyone is surely capable of it. Sometimes we seem to forget that even the unusual have feelings and emotions and OITNB definitely reminds us that that is just simply not the case. The heavy and deep emotions we have witnessed from Suzanne Warren AKA 'Crazy Eyes' has definitely helped to prove that even those who are strange are capable of true love.
3. Making the best of a bad situation.
When watching the colorful and hilariously energetic friendship between Taystee and Poussey, you almost forget that these girls are convicted felons in federal prison! All of the girls, for that matter, teach us that no matter what terrible situation you are put into, we as human beings have the ability to make it better.
4. Patience is a virtue.
From seeing how long these women have endured prison, we can see that patience as well as acceptance is an extremely important part of life. These women know that they just need to wait out their sentences because there is nothing else they can do about it, so they patiently await their freedom. Kinda makes you feel bad about getting ency when waiting for that Mocha latte at Starbucks, huh?
5. You are who you are, no matter what anyone else tells you.
Lavern Cox's character has obviously raised awareness for the transgender community since episode one. Her position in the prison teaches us that when you feel a certain way about yourself, no one else can take that away from you. Through her courage and honesty, she became exactly who she wanted to be. Yes, she may be in prison for doing something horrible, but at least she is incarcerated fabulously!
6. Silence is golden.
From Red's number one follower, Norma, we learn that silence is a true virtue that some of us should strive for sometimes. She it the most loyal character I have ever witnessed on television because, despite everything, she never really left Red's side. Norma teaches us that you can definitely express yourself without the use of our words which we sometimes forget.
7. Love can be found anywhere and anytime.
There is definitely a factor of passion within the series and we see it everywhere. The difference between this show and many others which focus on the steaminess of many relationships is that it also sheds light on the deeper ideas at play. Through prisoner Daya and prison guard John Bennet's relationship we see that love conquers all. What started out as a hot and scandalous affair has now turned into the cutest Romeo and Juliet-esque love story ever told.
8. History matters.
We all know that Piper and Alex's connection withstood the test of time. Because of their history, Piper's engagement to Larry could not survive. This definitely highlights the fact that we as human beings cannot just forget or shut off our emotions. No matter how mad you are at someone, love will never truly fade away.
9. No one is completely bad.
Throughout the show, we seem to forget that these women have all been put in prison with good reason. As an audience, we see that despite being deemed deviants of society these women truly have good hearts. We tend to forget that despite a person's actions, people may be better than we think. This show definitely opens my eyes in that we judge too quickly. You never know what someone's true story is so don't judge the book by the cover and read it.
10. Laugh at everything...literally.
These women, overall, know how to have a good laugh which shows us the true importance of happiness. Despite everything they have been through, they always seem to be able to put a humorous spin on anything and everything which is something we can all benefit to learn from. I mean, their in jail but they still know how to have a good time-- what better of a life lesson could there be??
It seems as though everyone around us today is taking ownership of their true identities and sharing them with the world around them. You don't have to be afraid to share your preferences or opinions because there seems to be a new universal understanding that each human being is, in fact, a unique being. It's hard to believe that years ago the things that have been going on in the realm of celebrity pop culture would be completely unthinkable. Don't get me wrong, the world is not a perfect place; far from it actually, but we are currently witnessing our society take its first steps on a new kind of path. Co-existance is another extremely important factor in society today that is starting to evolve into something bigger and better. A ubiquitous respect is able to thrive more successfully now in comparison to years ago which is an amazing victory on our part. With Laverne Cox recently being added into Madame Tussauds wax museum as the first ever transgender figure to be put on display comes the idea that there is an idea of true approval brewing within our generation. Recently, Miley Cyrus even admitted in her recent Paper Magazine issue that she doesn't "relate to being a boy or a girl." You may think that Miley's admittance of her "fluid" gender identity is insignificant, but these kinds of statements are inadvertently innovating our society today. Sexual and identity preferences are now being plastered on newsstands for all to see. Since Caitlyn Jenner, who has been going through the difficult process of transitioning in the the public eye, has come out, we see how accepting the public and media is of her decision to finally be true to herself. The reason that these celebrity truths are so important to each and every one of us is because the openness that is occurring in the Hollywood microcosm is enabling our macrocosm to evolve. The significance of these "coming outs" is creating an accumulation of acceptance, which is all at once eye opening and shunning hatred of others who are different. Open-mindedness is a new-wave notion that is developing. With every brave person who comes out in admittance to who they truly are, the idea of tolerance of all kinds of people grows in size rapidly. It may shock a few people to see the sincere raw personas of those around them, but without these pioneers for truth, the human race would never progress. We still have long way to go, but with the current voicing of sexuality and gender identity/preferences occurring around us, we are definitely going in the right direction. Here are some celebrities who have helped pave the way for LGBT today:Images: Instagram, Twitter, UsWeekly, Gaycenter.org, Huffingtonpost
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AuthorShelly; A writer, aspiring journalist and/or popular culture personality. Archives
October 2015
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