6¢ - The Christmas Kiss/The Concept of "Love"

[This Post Relates Some to the Christian Faith, and is in no way meant to appear as Offensive]


Quotes of Inspiration: "If I said all I wanted for Christmas was the perfect kiss under the mistletoe, it would be an understatement. Or maybea hyperbole." "I'm famous for never knowing what I want, but I have definitely found myself wondering about relationships lately and the complexity of love. " - Brianna Rae

It's fair to say I'd like to feel love, however I know I have plenty of it. It is both a want and an eventual need of humans.
But Why is Having a Boy/Girlfriend so important?

TANGENT: Despite my lack of need for love right now, I seem to be spending a generous amount of time listening to the cheesy Christmas songs about running down the stairs and seeing your true love wrapped in a big red bow underneath a glistening christmas tree. Because no one would get freaked out if someone was tied up under their tree. (Pardon my attempt to be humorous)

Now, seeing that red can be symbolic of either something (or someone) passionate and/or designing... I've recently been thinking of my true love wrapped in a green bow, because no one wants to have their heart  broken on Christmas. This is also beside the point.

UN-TANGENT: Recently, I've been listening to people talk about "love" as a strong word that should only be used when entirely necessary, we see in the Bible that God wants us all to love one another. And as Christmas is the celebration of Christ's birth, it is (rather should be) understood that love should be something commonly found on Christmas day. (whether it is or is not to a spouse).


So it's another presented idea of want v.s. need. I have plenty of love,  however not from a spouse, but is that what I want?

The idea of people not wanting material things for Christmas is always  viewed as good hearted, and for some reason that comes off as strange to me, no one looks at those yearning for love from a spouse as the same as something material  (because in many cases where I come  from,  it is unneeded.)

Can one not be content with the love from friends and family that they already possess? Or is it just another  act of human nature that no one can really avoid?

To be honest, I can be perfectly happy with or without a spouse which gets me to wondering what is the  difference between myself and other people that makes having a lover a high priority.

Some questions I suppose I cannot answer, 

 and some people I cannot judge...

 but it's never wrong to wonder. 

5¢ - Prejudice and Passing Judgement

 Quotes of Inspiration: "Laura, I don't hate you because you're fat, you're fat because I hate you." - Mean Girls (Movie) "It was my incredible pride, and my abominible prejudice" - Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen)

I performed as Lydia in the play Pride and Prejudice, based upon Jane Austen's novel. And after fighting through the vocabulary, and the vernacular of the era, the words throughout the show truly hit me. Prejudice can truly drive people away from one another.

People will inevitably pass judgement. When a friend introduces you to another friend, whether or not you are friendly to them and your general behavior around them will surely give them the opportunity to pass judgement upon you, and the same in reverse. We may not realize that we are all prejudice to an extent. We can look at this friend as someone we'd like to get to know, or look at them as someone you would rather go on without knowing .

Have you ever heard someone say, "People who don't know me think this, but people who do think the opposite"? It is true. The more you know someone, the more you understand their behavior, the less you feel you have a right to judge. This may be because you realize you have more in common with this person than you did originally.

So, is there a way to prevent prejudice, and being judged?

You want my honest answer from my experience? You can't. It's impossible to be liked by everyone. And there is bound to be someone who will irritate you in someway.

But is there a way to pass fair judgement on others? Rather... what gives you as another human the right to pass judgement on another in the first place?

The better in us will tell us not to hate, but do we truly obey our better judgement?

No. It's human nature to want to take the path of least resistence, the easiest route. We find it easier to hate than to love the people that give us a hard time.

But, if we cannot count on the rest of the world to have the heart to resist unfair judgement, why should we? If people don't want to make and effort to respect us, why should we respect them?

The answer is because as humans we should strive to be good, and make the most of our lives.

They say no good deed goes unpunished, but why start a cycle of hate when you can end it with your kindness?

Make it a goal to be that person who earns respect and admiration for being different. Originality can be found in the simplist of actions. Challenge yourself this Thanksgiving.

formspring.me

Ask me questions about anything http://www.formspring.me/BrieRae

Contact Me

Hello, to throw this into the open. I have a few ways for people to contact me with commentary and other questions, because I have been getting some.

One easy way to contact me is through Youtube. I have a channel up there. And I'll happily respond to any questions or comments. http://youtube.com/user/briannaspennies . For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I put up videos pretty much reading the posts to get a better sense of inflection and so that it's more like hearing these things from me. :)

Another, I started a facebook page. "A Penny For Your Thoughts - Brianna Rae Quinn" for updates, you can like that page and I'll be sure to send something when I send out new posts.

Also, I do check in for comments on the posts from time to time, so that's good too, and finally, for direct responses, you can go to my formspring. I do check their daily and I do answer all questions. The name is "BrieRae" on formspring.

So, I hope that will make it easier for you all to get what you need to say out. Feel free to send ideas. I'm always looking for inspirational quotes :) Have a great day, all!

4¢ - Beauty

Quotes of Inspiration: "Those who look for beauty, find it" ; "just wanted to tell you that you are gorgeous and seem very cool!!!" - gnk012210 (Youtube)


Recently, being selected as the "Comment Question of the Day" on "=3" has flooded my inbox with many compliments on my appearance. And while reading some of these comments, it occured to me, I have been caled ugly before, and I've also been told I'm incredibly attractive.

The true question I'm asking here is... How do you know if you're pretty?

To be fair, having natural good looks means nothing to a good number of people, it's more of what you do with those looks.

A close friend of mine once told me that inner beauty is what matters to good people. But I'll be entirely honest... According to many people, that's not the case.

Let's take a closer look at the "popular" kids in a High School setting. Let's say it is relatively evident to you that the boy/girl dating the crush you've had since you were 8 is not quite as attractive as you, but (s)he walks tall and smiles whenever (s)he talks to anyone and everyone!

You might wonder why it matters. Let's say you're usually seen with your arms crossed, your head down, and a you don't want to talk to many people at all. What does she have that you don't?

Confidence!

Just the fact that people can be comfortable in their skin, and don't continually put themselves down is apparently incredibly attractive! And to be honest, I fully agree.

But even with that thought... even people who are confident may still not be labelled pretty.

It's opinion, confidence is an attractive quality, but what makes people so quick to avoid people whose face doesn't fit perfectly in the golden ratio?

It's actually been shown in studies that people are more likely to talk to someone who is not wearing glasses.

It's true, people can be shallow, but why let that get to us? Not only will confidence improve our chances of getting what we want, but it is a rather good defence against the shallow. (Similar to sarcasm against the moronic)

In a nutshell, it's perfectly okay if you're just not a fan of people, but it's also not too bad a thing to flash a smile and walk tall. (Not to mention, there are long term health benefits to standing with good posture)

        Can confidence truly help make not only you, but others, joyous? Or is it just another act of society to be accepted?

But... you never know... seeing your smile might truly make someone else's day. And if that's the case, why not give it a shot? :)