Being Thankful

Over the last few weeks I've felt surrounded by talk about Thanksgivukkah and Black Friday. While this isn't a bad thing, it's left me thinking constantly about what we're supposed to be celebrating as opposed to what we're actually celebrating.

While there are obvious issues with Thanksgiving (i.e. the terrible treatment of the Native Americans), I can appreciate that the modern holiday is supposedly focused around being thankful for everything that we have. It's a chance for everyone to slow down and spend time with loved ones. Then there's Hanukkah, a holiday that I think has meaningful lessons revolving around overcoming against the odds (the Maccabees' success) and making the best of what we have because sometimes it turns out to be enough (the miracle of the oil).

I can get behind these values - but sadly it seems most of this is forgotten or glossed over. Thanksgivukkah has become as commercialized as each separate holiday and we've become so obsessed with the "coolness" factor of this occurrence that we've missed many opportunities for great conversations about what it means for these holidays to coincide.

And of course, Black Friday is an overshadowing cloud. At a time when we talk about being grateful for what we have, many people will be forced to leave their families early to go work so that the rest of us can storm the malls after mapping out everything we need during dinner. I've never been a fan of Black Friday because I generally dislike our consumerist society but in recent years I've become more disgusted by corporations and the lengths they will go to make money. Side note: This is not a holier-than-thou rant, I acknowledge my consumerism and do desire materialistic things but I am not driven by my want of things and I definitely don't view them as needs.

Surprisingly however, it was a random Facebook post that actually led me to decide to go on a Facebook hiatus until 2014. A friend of mine was traveling and visited a national park that I'm sure is filled with natural beauty. The Facebook post said something about enjoying the view and how oddly there was cell service. Look, I understand most people use their phones as cameras now but why why why did noticing cell service mean that a Facebook status had to comment on that? Just because it was there? Who cares? Why not just enjoy the view and not feel like you have to get your online persona to share it with the world?

We, myself included, are behind screens just too damn much. I sit at a computer almost all day just to go home and do the same except this time it's for "pleasure". Now in some regards I don't have a choice. I'm in grad school and by nature that means I'm on my computer reading, researching, writing, etc. But even when I'm not doing those things I feel like I'm constantly tied to a device. I know that not going on Facebook isn't going to necessarily change anything but I expect that it will change me.

I want to live in the moment. I want to be thankful for what I have. I want to remember that sometimes the underdog can come out on top. I want to be happy with what I have and make the most of it. And I want to have and do all of these things without feeling the need to "tell" people about it, without feeling like I've been "heard" because of a red notification flag.

So maybe it's silly but I've been hyper aware of my usage of social media since I became "that person" in both of my jobs. Not only will I start spending more time doing things that serve an actual purpose but it'll get me to think more about what really matters. And at the very least it'll be an experiment in self-discipline.

Happy Thanksgiving! Hanukkah Sameach! Wishing you a happy, healthy, enjoyable holiday. Let's spend it being thankful.

Experiment

Being in graduate school has been fulfilling in ways I can't describe and yet I have felt like I'm missing something. I went from simply working full-time to attending school part-time and working two part-time jobs. Needless to say, I essentially feel like I don't have a life because I'm being pulled in so many different directions and yet I wouldn't have it any other way right now. That being said, I have had to put a limit on activities I previously had time for due to the demands of these many responsibilities I've taken on. And while I occasionally try to make time for other things, I have missed a project I was part of last year.

For a while I was part of a movement called More Love Letters (check it out here). While I enjoyed it for the most part there were certain things I wasn't a huge fan of, and after they made a few changes - combined with how busy I got with grad school and two jobs - I stopped actively participating. Recently I've been feeling that mid-end of semester stress coming on and I've been looking for outlets. I continue to use my typically outlets on and off there is still something missing. I was looking through all the mail that's accumulated at my parents house since the last time I was there yesterday and there is just so much junk. For every piece of personal mail there was at least 10-15 pieces of mail that would've been better off remaining part of a tree. And that's about when I realized what I wanted to do for when I need to break up the endless grind that is grad school: I want to write to people.

Most of my family and friends know that I was born into the wrong generation. I rehabilitated an old turntable and have been slowly accumulating records. I have a phone that is only good for calling and texting (and even mass texting doesn't really work on it). I just bought a women's pocket watch. I like reading and knitting. And I really like handwritten letters. So I'm asking for help with this project because unlike MLL where I would be writing to strangers, I want to write to people that I care about. And while I do think that sometimes we need strangers to help us along our path, I also think that knowing someone and being able to write something for him/her specifically is special in its own way.

Here's how it'll work: If you want some snail mail, I will send you something before my next birthday but I'm not going to tell you when I'm sending it so it'll be somewhat of a surprise. To get a letter, e-mail me with your mailing address using the subject "Letter Experiment". If you don't know my personal e-mail address, be resourceful and find a way to get it from me. You can include if there's anything in particular you think I should know prior to my writing to you but you don't have to. Also since I'm giving myself a deadline, I'm taking requests through Thanksgiving Day, November 28th. I don't expect to have to cap it but should I get more than 20 responses, I'm gonna have to cut it off at that. Actually no, I'll cap it at 26.

I don't know what to expect from this experiment but if I can make even just one person's day between now and my birthday it'll make me really happy.