Saudi Arabia gave women permission to drive and this is the first thing they do 😭
This shit’s harder than ANY post malone track
Somebody on twitter called her SaudiB
This track is hard
I saw that someone who speaks Arabic took a stab at translating it and it turns out she’s basically doing a PSA about safe driving rules and I fell in love
A woman receives the chance to relive the life of her younger self, at a point in her life when the pressures of adulthood become too much for her to bear.
5 Things I Should Do to Change My Life: A Noncomprehensive List
There are innumerable blogs that utilize the whole “[insert number] Things to Do In Order to [insert outcome that may not even result from the aforementioned number of things]” format. This overabundance of “list blogging” is why I write this blog with caution, but don’t worry! I am going to avoid telling you what to do all together.
Wait don’t stop reading! I have my reasons:
1. I’m no life coach. I can’t tell you how to get your life together. And that’s because:
I have no certification to do so.
I don’t know your life.
My shit sure ain’t as together as I’d want it to be. (…but that might make me an expert, no? Below is “The Guide On What You Probably Shouldn’t Do.” Just kidding… )
2. I’m not gonna have y’all going out there trying these untested “things” and it not working! Y’all not finna get mad at me and accuse me of making it worse.
Hence, I have decided to try my best to frame this post (and those that are similar) as “things I should do, and by all means, you all can join me at your own risk.” This list is not comprehensive of course. There are many things I could and will do to change my life, but these are the things I feel the Spirit leading me to focus on in this season of my life. So here goes…
1. Let things go…eventually…I mean…quicker.
A lot of people seem to find this idea incredibly feasible; however, the way my anxiety and my pet peeves are set up, I am not one of those people. “Things” will be held onto. “Things” will crawl up under my skin and overstay their welcome. Although, let’s not just talk about the negatives. I can also hold onto the glory days as if “it can’t get much better than this,” even when I know that it is best to move on. I’ve held onto things like relationships (platonic and romantic…or the ideas of them) and opportunities that have gone stale because of comfort or the fear of uncertainty. The time does come when “things” become burdens and hands become unable to receive the new, and if I don’t let go of that which is actually holding me back, I’ll never be able move forward.
2. Give myself time.
I am 27 years old. I’ve messed up. I’m not exactly where I want to be in life. I’ve wasted time. (“Life lessons aren’t wasted time.” A good portion of that time is filled with lessons. These lessons are much appreciated, but I’m sorry. Quite a bit of wasted time is in there…) I am grateful for the strides I’ve made and to still be alive to make the most of the time I have left, but in order to make the most of that time, I must forgive myself for the time that I have lost, even when I’ve lost time being hard on myself for time lost. That’s a lot of time, right? Healing, growth, goals, and a whole slew of other goodness take time. The work is necessary and worth it, but self-forgiveness and time are as well.
3. Treat myself the way I want to be treated.
Yes, I must treat others the way I want to be treated, but what about me, dammit? (If you don’t agree that self-care and pouring into one’s own cup is not selfish and is beneficial for us all, then click exit, please and thanks…) Do I lavish myself in kindness and compassion? Do I even know what that feels like? Sometimes I do, but consistency is everything. In my opinion, The Golden Rule is kind of insignificant if I don’t understand what it is like to be loved by me while also being grateful for it! If I’m showing others love without having first shown myself love, eventually something is going to go wrong. I want y’all to drink, but what y’all finna get from an empty cup?
4. Look in the mirror already expecting to see goodness, not expecting to see something to fix.
I once read that none of us really know what we actually look like because our self-image can be clouded by your irrational perceptions of ourselves (both positive and negative). I feel like most men (and probably most people) wouldn’t admit this, but my self image/body image is not all that great. One tendency I have when I look in the mirror is to focus right on all the things that are “not right”. I don’t necessarily want to view myself irrationally, but if I did, I’d much rather it lean towards the positive side (not like in a douchey way though). Occasionally, I’ll do “Body Scan” guided meditations. One of the main things that, we’ll say, Claire or Donald tells you to do is to “See yourself as you are. Just observe yourself, neither positively nor negatively.” I think Clair and Donald are onto something! There’s absolutely no reason for me to struggle with this. Well maybe except for the constant images of unrealistic body expectation and beauty standards (mostly Eurocentric) that we are exposed to everyday damn day. I know that I’m a fine piece of ass, because yall have said it (just kidding, but I see you lookin’); however, I don’t want to need the reassurance of others or the mirror to let me know this. I want it to already be in my beautiful heart.
5. Self-care for myself and make changes not because I hate what I see but because I love myself enough to do and be better.
Obviously this post falls under the self-care hashtag, and sometimes self-care can backfire. If rooted in shame, it can easily become self-hate under the guise of self-care. I have caught myself self-caring as a way to avoid and overlook my imperfections, but they are there looking me dead in my face like “Really? You’re really gonna act like I’m not here, my dude?” I’m constantly learning that acknowledging the things that need change and the parts of me that need a little attention need to be handled with love and…you guessed it… actual care. Being gentle with myself can go a long way. I am capable of being and doing better, and I deserve it. I own it to myself to put in the loving work.
