~ The Monster ~

In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Dr. Frankenstein creates a human "monster." Yet, when taking a step back, is the miserable creature the doctor formed truly the 'monster' in the story?

The 'Monster' has been formed by Dr. Frankenstein yearns to experience emotions, everyday life, and to just fit in. But he is denied and rejected by the society after Dr. Frankenstein abandons him. This results in the 'monster' becoming recluse, living in the woods until he comes across a group of cabins, where he watches the multiple families of the area, observing the life, and figuring how to speak, and learning the proper mannerisms of society. 

Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein himself, has left the monster, and attempted to go on his everyday life with the help of his best friend. He is ashamed of what he has made and wants to hide it from the others. Guilt, fear, and shame cloud his mind as he learned that the monster is responsible for his brother and his cousin's deaths. Frankenstein refuses to tell his comrades, excluding his loving wife Elizabeth, about his creature, for fear of rejection, shame, and possible death. 

Yet, throughout the story, there is one reoccurring 'monster.' Society. Society is constantly jumping to conclusions, quick to being unaccepting, and pressuring them to become "Type A" individuals. I believe that Mary Shelley was trying to convey the message through a parallel of a society we all live in. 

Who do you think is the real 'Monster' in this tragic tale of life and death?

~ Simplicity ~

           Take time to enjoy the simple things. Go for a spontaneous trip, buy yourself an outfit. Listen, truly listen, to your surroundings. Breathe the air arround you. Observe everything that surrounds you. All in all, look up from your screens and live the life you've always dreamed of. 

~ Relax ~

"I can't, I'm busy"

"I'm too stressed."

"I have so much to do."

      These are all common excuses and phrases in our modern day society. But what if we stopped. Took a break. Let ourselves breathe. Sometimes all we need to do is read a book, take a nap, or watch that new movie you've been dying to see. So, take a break. Relax. Enjoy the life you live. 

~ Utopia ~

Utopia-
[yoo-toh-pee-uh]
noun
1. An ideal place or state.
2. Any visionary system of political or social perfection.


A utopia is a 'perfect' world\way of life. Many have attempted to set up their own form of utopia, their own perfect world. They range from tofu production, to living in the trees; making  a 100% technology reliant community, and being in harmony with the earth. As you can already tell, peoples' ideas of perfect vary greatly from person to person and their individual thoughts and perceptions. While a utopia seems perfect, is it?

What would your utopia consist of? Mine would be one of contentment. Not extremely lavish, nor too simple. It would be a colorful, unique, neighborly community. One interested in gaining and expanding their knowledge and using it for the best. However, unlike most utopias, Christianity would be present. Most people come to the conclusion that to be happy, they must not worry about religion, for they look at it as a burden, and they do not want any burdens in their utopias. Government of my utopia would be one of the people, centered around the Bible and the Lord's teaching and wisdom.
Start to think of living your life in a utopia. Nothing would be wrong. Everyone would agree on what to do, there would be no tribulations, you would be living the life of your dreams. What could go wrong?
Soon, you would start to feel emotions. Those of greed, temptations, and lust. Your dream will start to have flaws. You will notice unhappiness, and feel a hole. This perfect world you had dreamed up, is not like how you pictured it. Everyone is the same. There is no diversity, or difference, nothing except sameness.

So given the chance, would you create and live in your dream utopia? 


Inspired by Lois Lowry's The Giver.

~ Humans of New York ~

Humans of New York is a blog\social experiment where Brandon, the blogger/ photographer, hits the streets of New York, asking people random questions and taking their picture. His blog has been a success, eventually landing him his own book, which became a Number One Best-Seller.
Below is a  post from Humans of New York. On the blog you will see people of all ages, being honest with a stranger about their life and their feelings.

"I write in my journal everyday."
"Why's that?"
"So much happens in life, I think it's good to live it again and get some distance from it. Or else everything is in a muddle, like a merry-go-round."




 I picked this photograph in particular because it shows wisdom, and you can see that the speaker has years of life experience by the wrinkles in their hand. Observing the picture even more, it is easy to perceive that they are so diligent in their every writing and that each entry of the journal seems to capture the very memories of the day by transferring them to paper.  


Check out more of The Humans Of New York!
www.humansofnewyork.com

~Inspired~

Inspiration can come in many different forms. Books, Pinterest quotes, even food! However, the most common form of inspiration comes from other people. Here is three people who inspire me. 

J.K. Rowling~
"Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which i built my life."
J.K. Rowling or Joanne Kathleen Rowling was born in July 1965, in England. She had a normal childhood, and attended Exeter University. Post university, she became a researcher at Amnesty International in London. Harry Potter was born in 1990, when she came up with the idea after her train from Manchester to London was delayed. Over the next five years, she married, and plotted the Harry Potter books.
In 1991, Rowling's life took a sudden down hill plummet. Her mother passed away from multiple sclerosis, her marriage failed, and she moved to Portugal. There she taught English, and in 1993, her first daughter Jessica was born. Shortly thereafter Rowling moved to Edinburgh, where she and Jessica lived with her sister.
By 1996, she had finished writing The Philosopher's Stone, and began the hunt for an agent. Through trial and error, she finally landed Barry Cunningham, who advised her to, "Get a day job, because there's very little chance of making money in Children's books." After pondering the advice, she decided to apply for a grant in which she received 8,000 pounds ($13,286.20). With these funds she was able to start the Chamber of Secrets as well as take care of Jessica.
Bloomsbury Publishing officially published The Philosopher's Stone in June 1997, and the American publishing rights were sold to Scholastic who published in America in September 1998. From that point forward, Harry Potter soared to fame with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger by his side.
Since then the books have become a household name, even being transformed for the silver screen but, more importantly, J.k. Rowling has been greatly affected by this positive turn of events in her life. Rowling's monetary success has been so stunning that she has been able to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to various charities causing her to lose her billionaire status. Her story, both the past and the future, is one that will continuously inspire me.

Bob Goff~ 
"We are not all the things we say we believe; we're all the things we do."
Bob Goff is a Christian law professor and attorney turned author and motivational speaker. He is best known for his 'devotional' book, Love Does. Love Does explores the acts of love Goff has been shown in his life and gives empowerment to the reader to live the life they have dreamed of, all through a Christian 'filter'.
Goff now travels the country speaking and uplifting spirits.

Maya Angelou~
"I have learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
Maya Angelou is one of the most influential and renowned voices of the past century. She is best known for her poetry, however her life has been spent in many different roles, including: dramatist, producer, civil rights activist, filmmaker, historian, actress, educator, and novelist.
Being born in 1928, she endured daily the harsh reality of racism, but did not let that stand in her way to success. At the mere age of 14, she became San Francisco's first African- American cable car conductor. In 1954 and 1955 she toured Europe as part of the opera Porgy and Bess. 1957 brought forth her first album, Calypso Lady. The Harlem Writers Guild became part of her life in 1958, shortly thereafter she performed in The Blacks, and penned and preformed Cabaret for Freedom.
Moving from America to Cairo, Egypt in 1960, she worked as the English language editor of The Arab Observer. Not very long after moving to Egypt, she moved to Ghana where she taught at Ghana's School of Music and Drama, was a guest editor for The African Review, and wrote for the Ghanaian Times. 
Returning to America, she worked under Martin Luther King Jr. until his death in 1968. In 1972 she released one of her most famous works, I Know why the Caged Bird Sings. She preceded to write numerous movie scripts and starred on many TV shows until 1993 when at President Clinton's inauguration, he had her prepare a poem, On the Pulse of Morning, which was broadcast worldwide.
On May 28, 2014, Angelou passed away peacefully in her home from old age. Her legacy is one that will live on forever.

~ Where do you Stand? ~

"The ultimate measure of a man (or woman) is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."Martin Luther King Jr. 

 I think that we have all had someone reveal their true selves to us in times of trouble, adversary, or hardships. They had previously worn a vestment, one of kindness, gentleness, and humility. Then, an obstacle comes in their way, and they throw their vestment off leaving it behind cheaply as though it never mattered, anyway. Shock leaves you taciturn. You are unable to even move your mouth to form words, because your brain can't reconcile the reality of what is happening right before you eyes.. This so called 'friend' is gone. Becoming conscious of what has occurred leads to the realization that drama will follow this person and this drama is not needed in your life. Once that vestment has come off and their true self is revealed to you, that vestment can never truly  go back on.

I present a question. Are you wearing a cloak hiding your true self? Is your true self bitter, or weak in times of trial? My challenge reaches not only to you, but myself as well.  It is as follows: Strengthen yourself in the word of God. Do not become lazy in times of joy, yet stand on guard, ready for anything that may come your way. So that when times of trial do come, you will be prepared, firm in faith, for the challenges you must  inevitably face.