December 2014 – Authentically Me

Dogging around

Posted on December 22, 2014January 25, 2015 by MissCatherineAnne

As a kid one of my main goals was to get a dog. My grandma who lived out of state had a dog, my cousins had a dog, my friends had dogs, I read books about families with dogs. In my mind being able to care for a dog every day would be ten times more interesting than pretending that my baby dolls were crying and feeding them with little plastic bottles so that they would stop.

I wanted something real. I wanted a living breathing animal to care for. Correction, I wanted a real, living, breathing and cuddly animal to care for. I would ask my parents for a dog. I would ask Santa for a dog. I would see a dog walking on the street without an owner and hope that it was lost so that Continue reading “Dogging around” →

4 Reasons Why “Minnesota Nice” is More Than a Label

Video• Posted on December 21, 2014December 21, 2014 by MissCatherineAnne

Identity

Better Than 140 Characters

Posted on December 20, 2014December 21, 2014 by MissCatherineAnne

In the past few days there have been a number of times when I have asked myself, “why am I doing this?”. Why am I writing a blog that has zero views and that I have no idea if anybody will even like? And my first reaction to that question is because I want people to read it, and I want people to consider what I have to say. I mean, isn’t that what everyone wants these days?

Social media has done a complete takeover of people’s lives. Somehow blogging seems more undercover, but paradoxically more real at the same time. So this lead me to think about how what I really want is not for a bunch of friends to read small 140 character posts about nothing important, but for a bunch of people, who I might not even know, to read a blog that interests them and that they actually care about because they connect with the words written on the page. Continue reading “Better Than 140 Characters” →

Identity

Authentically YOU

Posted on December 19, 2014December 21, 2014 by MissCatherineAnne

In the world of the 21st century it is easy to lose track of who you are. Depression and anxiety related illnesses have seen a rise in the past 50 years. There are many reasons for this increase, one of which is the difficulty of finding one’s identity. In a world where we are glued to our electronics and constantly communicating with one another; forming relationships more hastily than a generation earlier, it is increasingly easy to feel alone, unloved and unappreciated.

This past week, I went on Yik Yak, an app popular among college students. It is like Twitter, only anonymous. The number of posts I saw about people who felt alone and unloved was too high. I also saw quite a few posts about people who thought that their self worth was based upon what the opposite sex thought of them. There were mixed reactions to these posts, most of time time, people offered support to those posts that seemed to indicate clear depression. However, to those posts that were centered more around complaining about being forever alone, the Yaks were more likely to be down voted and comments were often rude in nature.

The problem with a negative Continue reading “Authentically YOU” →

Relationships

Nomads, Relationships and Disney

Posted on December 19, 2014December 21, 2014 by MissCatherineAnne

As humans we were made for relationships. No matter how you look at it, we are meant to form bonds with one another. As a child, a relationship between mother and child is established. Additionally, a child may have more relationships, with a father, siblings, friends and maybe a teacher at school. We are not made to exist alone– we are dependent upon others just as a child is dependent upon all of their relationships when they are growing up. Even the most primitive humans had relationships– besides the fact that relationships are needed to reproduce, humans in ancient times travelled in nomadic groups and protected their kin.

It is interesting how the nature of relationships progresses. Relationships in history have changed on a large scale many times, becoming more sophisticated and complex with the passage of time. They also Continue reading “Nomads, Relationships and Disney” →