Cosplay

Although Halloween is not till later this week, here in Korea we celebrated it this past weekend.  

In full force!

My record with Halloween is a solid 0-3.  With Halloween significantly kicking my ass every year!

And this year was no different.  

I would like to think that I put up a good fight.  Managed to stay… conscious… till the early hours of the morning.  But who really knows (sorry mom and dad!).  My text messages started to get a little wonky around 3am, so that's when I'm going to put the time stamp on my decline.  

But the night on the whole was another example of pure Busan-awesomeness!  

And my first go at cosplay!

Cosplay takes a lot of work!! 

I spent a good week assembling pieces for my costume, finding the right colors, getting the correct accessories together and a lonnnnng night in sewing just to make my costume.  I do have to admit - that I was really rather thifty and overall impressed with my craftiness.  Who knew the top half of tights could be turned into a cape?  

Not me! But I do now!!

Once the outfit was taken care of, it was time for the makeup!

We had all watched a bunch of anime makeup tutorials on Youtube - some making it look possible, others never in a million years.  

But that's where I lucked out.

One of my Korean friends, Yujin, is a professional makeup artist/makeup instructor at a vocational school, and she offered to do my makeup.  That was an offer I could NOT turn down!

getting started

Yujin was fantastic!! She brought over her whole kit to do my and Mallory's makeup and help us really kill our costumes!

The lashes were intense.  So dramatic. So fun!  I really need to learn how to put those on myself!

 finished makeup

It took about an hour to for Yujin to do my makeup.  She had asked me previously if we wanted our makeup to be soft, medium, or strong.  I told her STRONG!!!  We wanted it to pop.  And it definitely did!

My character has blue eyes, so I added cosplay blue contacts to fit the role.

While Mallory was getting her makeup done, I got my costume on and really started to transform myself.  

From Meagan…. into…. Sailor Mercury!

                

All I needed now was some blue hair.  Hellooo wig!

Once Mallory was finished, the fun really got started.  

Although we were dressed as part of a group of five, our other Sailor Scouts didn't get ready with us - so we had to head out to the Fireworks Festival alone.  We didn't stand out at all….

But soon we were united with the rest of our group of warriors and the Sailor Scouts were ready to defend the world from evil!

 Sadly I woke up with not a lick of makeup on and all lashes ripped off.  But the pictures are proof of my cosplay debut!
And how great we all looked!

More -er

My students had watched the "Daft Hands" version for the song 'Harder, Faster, Better, Stronger' by Daft Punk. 

They loved it.  So I took it one more step and showed them this video…

and asked them if they could do it.

I was greeted with a lot of no's.  Which is understandable.  The group of kids in the video are older than them.  And probably had multiple weeks to practice this song.  I was asking them to do it right then, same day.

But I'm not completely heartless.   I only asked them to do it with four cards.

In their groups (of four) each member would have a card that they would have to hold up when they heard their word - harder, faster, better, stronger.  They had heard the song perviously, we watched the Korean middle schoolers do it, and I showed them a version of the song with just the lyrics so that they could see their word when it was sung.

I wasn't asking too much!

Here's the results of how one class did...  

Not too bad if I do say so myself.  Only having heard it 3 times and never practicing.  I'm teaching a bunch of "geniuses"! 

Spelling Bees

was held this week for our fifth graders.

About 16 students signed up to compete to see who would be in the in-house champion.  

The winner would then go on to an area spelling bee, and from there - if they should win, I would assume they would just keep going up the ladder.  Never having been a champion speller, or even any good at spelling in general - I do not know how such events go on, but that is my best guess. :-P  

I made a list of 35 words, including 15 riddle questions, that we used to wean out the weak and find our winner.

Six students were left at the end

It was a bit difficult eliminating it further.  But eventually we got a winner, Min Seong (the boy in green on the end) was crowned and the celebration he displayed could have put any professional football player to shame in the end zone!! 

He's now studying up and with his already high English skills, he should stand a really good chance in the next competition. 

Good luck Min Seong!!

-er

Taller, faster, stronger, bigger, -er, -er, -er…

My 6th graders are currently learning the art of comparing two things*.  Which they seem to understand, but only choose to answer by shouting out one word answers.  :-/  English fail. 

So in order to make things a bit more lively, a bit more fun (comparing pencils and book bags can only take you so far) I planned for a Class Olympics today!

After a short review - two pages of stimulating textbook work - I explained how the Olympics would work, was greeted with happy smiles and eager head nods from my students; we headed outside to get the games started!

We compared: 

 height - taller

 speed - faster

 strength - stronger

size - bigger

Besides the craziness that ensued, it was a highly successful day!  

*We tried to compare 3 things, but they couldn't quite pick up the difference between -er and -est.  So we decided to not push our luck.  Test scores are what matter here anyways @.@

Weekend Update

Only just back from the dead and really taking time off.

  

You would have thought a 3month hiatus was enough to recharge all the whatnot and get things going again.  

Good grief!

But to go slightly easily on myself, the weekend was an uneventful-eventful few days.

Friday night was spent in. Relaxing and watching a Disney movie or two.  Every since our trip to Tokyo Disney (post will come eventually!) I have set myself the challenge (thanks to the idea from Zac) to watch all the Disney movies is order of their release date.

And I know! You're thinking… 

"Meagan, you are a Disney freak! Surely you have seen every Disney movie!" 

Which, to my dismay, is not true. Oh the shame!

There are either a few films I never saw, or saw so infrequent and so long ago that I don't remember them.  So I'm enjoying going through them now!

Saturday morning I went to the dentist for the first time in a bit too long.  But I am thankful I went to the dentist here, instead of back home like I was going to do when I was home for a month this summer (post will come eventually!).  

Why?

Because, despite being a bit more painful than I typically remember the dentist being, it only cost me 13,300 won (= $12.56) compared to the ~$250 they wanted back home! 

Bam. Winning!

I even made another appointment to go back and have my one silver filling changed to a clear one.  For only 90,000 won (= $84.97) 

Baaaammmm!!

Saturday afternoon/evening I went around with Kelly to find things for our Halloween costumes.  We were highly successful and managed to head home that evening with almost everything we needed.

My shopping bag that night included: a blue wig, blue tights, and a giant light blue bow.

Kelly, myself and 3 other of our friends are going as the Sailor Scouts this Halloween. It's going to be pretty awesome if I do say so myself.  

I was up till 3am Saturday night hand-sewing my Sailor Mercury costume together!  I'm really happy with it!  Can't wait to show it off this coming weekend. 

Sunday was a week post Canadian Thanksgiving, but since it's never to late to celebrate… anything! we had a potluck Thanksgiving dinner fit with all the fixings!  Ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, pasta salad, cranberry sauce, stuffing, beverages of every flavor, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pie and other foods to snack on while the day was getting started!  

Everything was delicious.  

So much so that we were all pouting of overstuffed tummies and the need for roomier pants!  

But it was definitely worth it! 

Not the most exciting post to bring the dish back to life, but I wanted to get something up…

 so that I did get something up.  

I'll get back in the swing of it! 

Don't worry.

Alive

Well that was a bit of a break.  Worst I've taken yet!

But I feel like it is (well past) time I get back at it.

What's the point of taking pictures thinking "This will be a good story for the blog" and then never posting it!? 

I'm still here.

You're still out there.

But at this point you've probably stopping coming round.

Wait!! Come back!! I'll do better!! I'm going to start again!!  

Don't go! 

I have LOADS of crazy, head shaking, misadventures to share! 

The dish isn't empty.

"Stories… lead us back and forth across time and space and connect us to the entire universe, to people and beings we never see but who we feel exist."

- Vaddey Ratner, In the Shadow of the Banyan Tree

"She thought of her life, her patchwork quilt of a life, pieced together from castoff scraps of this and that; experience, knowledge, clairvoyance.  None of it made any sense to her."

- Robert Goolrick, A Reliable Wife

"Keep the faith[," said Sheldon.] … "People relations is hard business.  Hard to keep that going.  But don't give up, something good will come of it all - things have a way of working out just fine, you'll see."

"I wish I was as hopeful as you are," Henry said.

"Hope is all I got.  Hope gets you through the night."

- Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

'We should get some sleep.'

'What for? Nothing tomorrow.  No deadlines, no work...'

'Just the whole of our lives, stretching ahead of us,' she said... 

[F]eeling a ripple of anxiety pass across her shoulders at the thought of it: independent adult life.  

She didn't feel like an adult.  She was in no way prepared.

The trick of it is, she told herself, is to be courageous and bold and make a difference.  Not change the world exactly, just the bit around you. ... Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live and be loved if at all possible.  Eat sensibly.  

Stuff like that.

- David Nicholls, One Day

Bums

Today was another red day.

And red days are amazing because they mean no school.

This Thursday was even more amazing because not only did we not have school, but the weather was gorgeous and the beach was beckoning!!

Beach bumming it.  And loving it!!

Away Game

This weekend, Michael and I went on the road with the Giants as they took the field against the league's best team, (and Zac's home team), the Samsung Lions of Daegu.

The Giants haven't been doing too well in the league this season (or for the last few years), but… going into this game things were looking good!!  We had beaten the Lions the night before and were winning the series against them 3-0!

We didn't want to get ahead of ourselves, but we were hoping for a win!!

Things started off in our favor and by the bottom of the 3rd we were ahead and happy!  We broke out the cooler and opened a few beers to really start enjoying the game.

Towards the middle of the game, things settled into a bit of a lull, so we used the break to check out a YouTube video Zac had watched the day before.

And we were nearly struck by a foul ball that crashed into the seat just next to us! 

But since we weren't paying attention, and Zac left his glove at home, we didn't leave the game with a souvenir.  Just a few extra laughs. 

We did, however, leave with a victory!

Phone Domino

My mom gave me great advice about teaching.  

She reminded me that despite the fact that the material will be old to me, it's new to my students and I have to keep it fun and fresh.

For everyone involved!

So I took her advice to heart!

Following the midterm, my students spent two weeks bent over government issued workbooks drilling through material that was no more fun than a broken record.   After the dull drag of that had finished, and my students were mine again, we finally got back to normal lessons.  

First up for my 6th graders was 'Who's calling, please?'.  A carbon-copy review of last year's 'Is Peter there?' lesson.

So to keep things fun and fresh, I borrowed a game idea that I had seen at another teacher's open class - Dominos!

The teacher who I got the idea from had made a fancier version, full of colors and pictures and all that jazz.  Mine… not so much.  

But the students still liked it!  

And really that's all the matters. 

Evaluated

For a while now - probably for as long as I have been in Korea, and I'm sure well before I got here - Native English Teachers have been hearing that "Korea is slowing trying to get rid of us".

The likelihood of it, the actuality of it, the possibility of it really happening is all up in the air.  

But the they have slowly been making small moves to reduce our numbers.

The number of NETs placed in high schools throughout Korea has been significantly decreased, if not entirely eliminated.  There are rumors that middle schools will be next.  And so on and so on, until there are none of us here.

Which would be really sad.  

Sure I don't want to be here my whole life.  

But I don't want to be forced out either.   

When it's time for me to go home or start another journey - I want it to be because it is my choosing and not a government decision to save funds and return things to a homogenous environment.

So when my students were asked to do an evaluation about their opinions on 'the need for native teachers' (i.e. me!) I couldn't help but feel a storm of butterflies take over my stomach.

10 questions.  On a scale of 1-5, 5 being best.  That was all it was.  10 questions to evaluate the need of my job. 

No big deal. 

Oh wait!  Let's make it even more specific and only ask one, ONE, class per grade and see how they feel.  And let's use that as a small sampling, a little insight, and estimated average if you will!!!!!

Bahhhh!!!!

Overall, my students seemed to like me and think there was an actual need for me.

Bless those little monsters!

  

However, they don't make the decisions.  So now it's a waiting game.  

A waiting game to see if the government thinks the same in the upcoming months.

Men's Club

I seem to have become a member. 

Despite lacking the obvious body parts and facial hair, I have warmly and without reservation, been made a mandatory member of the Men's Club of Daepyung Elementary School.

And although at first it was a bit awkward.  

Now I love it.  

Love it because people talk to me!

I'm still baffled - completely baffled - that the women at my school - my own gender - choose to avoid me like the plague.  Which I don't have!  So there is NO REASON TO IGNORE me!  But they do.  And it's shit.

So the fact the men want me to join, want to talk to me, are happy when I show up to meals, join for beers or even help clean out a nasty, dirty, old storage unit at school… makes it ok by me to be a only (token?!) foreign, female to join them on their outings.  

Now that volleyball has ended (2-1), I have seen them less in the last few weeks and it is really sad. 

Hopefully things will pick up again and the boys will be back in action.  Because I miss my school friends.  I miss having a greater connection to my job and the people I work with.  I miss feeling like I belong there and am not still a guest after all this time.  

Here's hoping for an active year with the Men's Club!

(in the most non-perverse, non-sexual way ever possible!)

Photo-

Left side: Hyung Geun, Seung Hee, Si Hwan

Right side: Joo Hyun, Duck Joo, Mr. Baek (VP), Seong Jin

"I'd far rather be happy than right any day."  "And are you?" "No.  That's where it all falls down of course."  "Pity," said Arthur with sympathy.  "It sounded like quite a good lifestyle otherwise."

- Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy

One Day, We Will Miss This

Looking back at moments from our childhood, our adolescence, or even just a few short years ago, it’s hard not to feel a painful twinge of nostalgia. The vague ache that leaves us wanting to send an email or have a phone call about something that you want to confirm someone else remembers is overwhelming, and even though we don’t often know what to say to these old friends about these old memories, we feel we have to say something. And yet, we often trick ourselves into forgetting that, not terribly long from now, we will feel that same ache about the things we’re living today. The mundane moments we’re slogging through, the underpaid jobs, the cramped apartments and the irresponsible but loving friends — these are things that will one day seem joyous, even ideal.

In being so quick to complain and compare what we do and do not have with those around us, we fail to take pleasure in the freedom to make mistakes. Today, a mistake has few repercussions. Our definition of broke is not the same as a family of four who has just lost their main source of income, or a senior living on fixed income. The problems we moan over are problems that, when held up to the scale of life in general, are rather manageable. This time of deciding to stay up late on a Wednesday to drink with a friend who is in town, or dating someone you know is wrong for you but thrills you in a way that is the emotional equivalent of empty calories, is a luxury we will not again be afforded. This is the time, more than perhaps any other, for nostalgia — and we can’t see it.

One day, we will miss every moment of difficulty that taught us something tangible and immediately applicable to the rest of our lives. Often the lessons we’re learning now are those that have to at least once be felt, but leave you with a maturity that will later define you as an adult. Wading through a marsh of mixed messages and friends at every stage of their lives can be, when in the moment, tedious and exhausting — but it is a time to figure out who we are and what we actually want against a backdrop of limitless options. We’re picking a constellation from a near-endless expanse of stars, defining the trajectory of a life that, at least for now, is just waiting to be lived. We should take our time, but appreciate what it means to do so.

Yes, even the occasional feeling of being unappreciated. Yes, even the flakier friends. Yes, even the weeks of eating ramen and whatever else you can dig out of your cabinet. Just as we miss the moments of our childhood that, at the time, may have seemed fraught with self-consciousness and uncertainty, we will miss them. We will miss them the way we miss the people we lost touch with through our own ingratitude or the simple passage of time, the way we miss sitting in someone’s arms and feeling loved, even if we don’t love them anymore. We will miss it all because, as with almost everything, it is so much easier to feel nostalgia than regret. We will see the good parts, no matter how unable we are to focus on them in the moment.

Why is it so impossible to understand how incredible a time it is to be alive, and to be young? Why is easier to complain about the downsides of realizing our dreams and growing into ourselves than to sing the praises of being healthy and loved enough to have it? I don’t want the nostalgia and, possibly, the regret of not living in the moment, to hit me all at once like a ton of bricks when I’m past the point of recreating it. I want to feel the full joy of decorating my first real apartment, of making new friends while out having drinks, of saying “I want to move” and being able to pick up and do it. The aching to return to these days of relative ease and adventure is sure to wave over us at some point, and though forgetting that is too easy, it wouldn’t hurt to appreciate what we have while we have it.

taken from Thought Catalog, article by Chelsea Fagan

Soaring - part 2

Running off a mountain is a definitely a thrill worth way to spend your day.

As long as you know going it it will be your entire day!

We got to our destination a little before noon, suited up...

took some pictures...

and watched as others took their turns running off the mountain for the majority of the day.

I supposed it was a bit silly to think that you could simply show up and take off  - being that this is a wind driven activity and all.  So instead we waited… and waited… and then waited a bit more as slowly a few lucky participants were able to catch a break and have their turn at soaring.  

We did get to watch this little precious baby play around the mountaintop, so it wasn't entirely a wasted day. ^^

Finally, it was our turn to run off a mountain!!

 It was such an incredible experience and feeling.  Just being up in the sky floating and looking out.  It was so peaceful and calm.

Calm until the landing…

We were meant to land in the rice field, but we were supposed to land in a dry one.  :-P

No harm!  It was a fantastic day!

Soaring

Today Rachel, Michael and I are going paragliding!

Hopefully no one ends up in a tree. 

Calling Cupid

I love meeting - and having the opportunity to talk with - Koreans.  

But 9 times out of 10, the conversation routinely goes a bit like this…

Korean person - Umm… Hi, excuse me.  Where are you from?

Me - I'm from America.

Korean - Aahhh America.  How long have you been in Korea?

Me - This is my 3rd year living in Korea.

Korean - Oh!  So you can speak Korean?  

Me - No.  Only a little.

Korean - Oh, I see.  How old are you?

Me - I'm 27 international age, 29 Korean age.

… and here comes my favorite part…

Korean - Are you married?

Me - No.

Korean - Do you have boyfriend?

Me - No.

Korean - Why?

Why?
Really?!
You're asking me 'Why am I single?'.
Can we drive that knife in just a little bit more?!
Geeeezzzz.

But!!  Instead of answering your deflating and upsetting question, I'm choosing to share this article.  I will let this be… not the answer (because if I knew the answer to 'why', I suppose I wouldn't be single),  but my rebuttal in a way.

So listen up people (men)!   This is my advice to you… for me ;)

Date a Girl Who Travels

(taken (and adapted) from Solitary Wanderer)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Date a girl who travels.  

Date a girl who would rather save up for out of town trips or day trips than buy new shoes or clothes.  She may not look like a fashion plate, but behind that tanned and freckled face from all the days out in the sun, lies a mind that can take you places and an open heart that will take you for what you are, not for what you can be.

Date a girl who travels.  

Yes, a girl who travels knows that anytime, anything can happen and she just has to be prepared [for] it.  Nothing takes her by surprise; she takes everything with equanimity, knowing that such things are always a part of life.  She's reliable and dependable, traits that she's learned while on the road.

You'll recognize a girl who travels by the fact that she's always amazed at the world around her, no matter if she's in her home town or in a place that's totally new.  She sees beauty all around her, not just [in places] featured in travel guides or shown in postcards.  A girl who travels has developed a deeper appreciation for life.  She won't judge you, or pressure you to do things you don't want to do.  She knows too much about the importance of identity and self-efficacy, and she will appreciate all the more if you won't pretend to be who you're not. 

Date a girl who travels, because when you're with her, you'll realize that even though she's napped at a temple in Angkor Wat, went boating down the Mekong Delta, ran by the streets of Saigon, or went skinning-dipping in the caves in the Philippines, she still retains that humility that is the mark of a real traveler.  She knows she's been to a lot of places, but she's humbled by the fact that the world is still a big place and she's only seen a small part of it.  Seeing this in her can make you feel all right with yourself too; there's no need for you to do more, to be more.  What you are is enough.

When you meet a girl who travels, ask her where she's been and what she'd going to do next.  She will appreciate your interest, and if you're lucky, she may even invite you to join her.  When she does, do.  Nothing bonds people better than traveling.  On your trips, you will both see each other's best and worst characteristics, and you can then decide whether she's worth fighting for.

Is a girl who travels worth it?  

Yes, she is.  So when you find her, keep her.  Don't lose her with your insecurities and doubts.  Because when she says she loves you, she really does.  After all, she'd seen so many things, met so many people, and if she had chosen you, better grab that opportunity and thank the gods that you were lucky enough she's chosen you and not that bloke she met while watching the sun rise in Angkor Wat, or while whitewater rafting in the Padas Gorge in Sabah. 

If she says she loves you, she must have seen something in you, something that can always call her back from her travels, something that can anchor her to the world in the way that she wants to after weeks and months of being on the road.

Date a girl who travels.  

Make her feel safe, warm, and secure.  Make her believe that no matter where she goes, and however long she's gone, you'll always be there for her, the one that she can call home.

Find a girl who travels.  Date her, love her, and marry her, and your world will never be the same again.

Appreciation

Most days being a teacher feels like a pretty thankless job. 

Sure, sure the smiles and laughs are rewarding.  The look on a student's face when he finally has a  breakthrough and understands what you've been teaching him (for weeks) is rewarding.  And all that stuff. 

But it never hurts to actually be told "thank you".

As the only foreign teacher in my school, most days I'm just thankful if anyone talks to me - student or co-worker.*

So I wasnt expecting much (read anything) for Teacher's Day.  In the past I had seen other teachers get an array of gifts - from flowers to sweets to other small tokens of thanks.  Me?  I've always gotten a whole lot of nada.

Not this year!! No this year I got letters!!!

^^

*my co-teacher does talk to me everyday.

Mondays...

...ugghh

"Goodbye," said the fox.  "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."  "What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

- Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

Then she told me why a tiger is gold and black.  It has two ways.  The gold side leaps with its fierce heart.  The black side stands still with cunning, hiding its gold between trees, seeing and not being seen, waiting patiently for things to come.

- Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club

Give Up. Be Happy.

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy

(taken (and adapted) from World Observer Online)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. 

Not anymore. 

Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. 

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?”Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another,  attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves.  You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.