Category: feel-good

Embrace Your Friend’s Stupid Mug Collection

Erica2 Comments

Over the past few years, I’ve gotten a lot more interested in anime. It all started back in 2018 with Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, my gateway to all things anime so to speak, and then my interest hit its peak when I started watching My Hero Academia.

I fell way down the rabbit hole with My Hero Academia (MHA) – I have drunk the Kool-Aid and licked the cup clean. I love all the music in the show and listen to at least one MHA-related song almost daily. I have bought all the manga books available (in English) and am reading through them as they come out. I started collecting items like MHA T-shirts and socks, and Funko pop Izuku Midorias… I went to my first My Hero Academia convention this year and dressed up with my husband. And of course, to top it all off… I got my first tattoo earlier this year, which was My Hero Academia-related: Plus Ultra!

It is not an overstatement to stay that I am a bit obsessed. Otaku much?

I know that I’m pretty extra about My Hero, but I don’t care. I love it. I love how it inspires me, and who it makes me want to be each day. I love being true to myself.

I’ve also loved how others have been willing to accept me despite my obsession. It’s one thing to secretly love something that others might think is lame. It’s another thing for people to embrace it with you.

I will admit, I have some great friends. I have been gifted many My Hero memorabilia items from people simply because they know how much I love the show. I’ve received a Deku pez dispenser, a MHA tote bag, a “That’s not very plus ultra of you” patch, MHA Monopoly, and more. My friends know it’s my thing, and that it’s a part of me – and they accept it. They accept me.

I recently began watching a different anime: Sword Art Online. Wow – I had no idea so many people would have so many feelings about this show. I told a few other anime fans I was watching this show, and they were like, “it’s garbage.” I had just started the show, so I kept waiting for it to get lame. I kept waiting for the point to where I would go, “oh, okay, yeah this is dumb.” But it never came.

Granted, there were some weird things in the show (for example, someone having a crush on their first cousin) but nothing that I found to be a dealbreaker for me. And I’m sure that critically there are some aspects of the show that were not as well done as they could have been. But you know what? I still like the show. I’m currently on season 3. I was told that season 2 was where it would get “weird.” Season 2 was actually one of my favorite story arcs.

So, what does this mean? I initially had some guilt about enjoying Sword Art Online. Literally a guilty pleasure, I suppose. I finally had to get over it and embrace it – which was actually more about embracing myself. Why was I so ashamed to like something others thought was stupid?

Better question: why are we so antagonistic to people who like different things than us?

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My True to Life Half-Blood Prince

Erica2 Comments

As you can gather from reading my blog, I love to write autobiographical stories and snippets from my daily life. One of the main reasons I love writing is that I’m able to share deep and vulnerable parts of myself with others. I always hope to be able to connect with someone else through my writing. Stories are powerful, they allow us to get a glimpse into another person’s life and feelings, and they are an amazing way to develop empathy for people different than we are.

While I know it’s true that you get better at writing the more that you practice writing, I’ve been wanting some more concrete ideas on how to improve as a writer. This led me to check out a book from the library by Tristine Rainer titled, Your Life as Story.

I’m about 8 chapters in, and have found the book to be extremely helpful in its tips and ideas on memoir writing. I’ve been furiously taking notes, trying to capture all the things I don’t want to forget. I knew that the book would be helpful for me to read, but I didn’t expect that even just a few chapters in, it would already change they way I think about writing.

Another surprise from the book was getting to know on a personal level a man named Robert J. Hall – the previous owner of this book before it was donated to the library. His name and address are scribbled on the inside of the front cover, and he has underlined, highlighted, and made notes all throughout the book. As I continue to read, I get more and more insights into this man’s life, and why he owned a copy of this book.

It reminded me of the 6th Harry Potter book, where Harry gets an old copy of an Advanced Potion-Making textbook, and finds it rife with notes and edits from a person who calls themself the “Half-Blood Prince.” Many of the potion recipes have been improved by this Half-Blood Prince, and Harry finds himself doing exceedingly well in his Potions class due to the hints and clues left by the textbook’s previous owner.

I was excited to discover that I basically have my own version of a half-blood prince in my library book. (I’m a big Harry Potter fan! Shout out to my fellow Ravenclaws!) While not nearly as cryptic as the original half-blood prince, I do find myself getting more and more interested in the story behind Robert J. Hall.

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Connecting through Trust, Vulnerability, and Tattoos

EricaLeave a comment

The Adobe Max 2020 Conference was completely free and virtual this year (thanks COVID!) and I watched a session yesterday that featured different artists and graphic designers. I was amazed at how talented and creative people can be – each person featured was awesome in their own way.

One artist in particular stood out to me: a tattoo artist, *Scott Campbell. His bio mentioned that he’s world-renowned in the field – you can read more about him with a quick Google search if interested.

The session highlighted a project he had done called “Whole Glory” – it’s an event where there is a wall or fence set up with a hole in it. Scott is on one side of the wall, while a person on the other side sticks their arm through the hole and gets a free tattoo. The catch is, they have no say in the tattoo whatsoever, and they don’t get to see it at all until it’s completely finished.

I’m sure many of you are thinking right now, “Yikes! No way! I would NEVER do that!” But there are quite a few people who have been willing to do it. In the Adobe session, Scott talked about how each person that he tattooed ended up loving their tattoo. They would come up to Scott at the end of the event and tell him how their tattoo was perfect, and how they secretly thought theirs was the best out of all he had done that day.

I found this to be so interesting (from a psychological perspective), and also just really beautiful. There’s something really cool about connecting and being that vulnerable with another person, a stranger in fact, and sharing a meaningful experience together.

For the artist, he gets the freedom of being able to tattoo anything he likes (whereas he states that normally “the canvas has an opinion”) – and for the person receiving the tattoo, they are able to find and make meaning out of the art created on their body – every time.

Maybe it felt extra meaningful to me because I got my first tattoo at the beginning of this year, and I know how much vulnerability and meaning was behind my own tattoo.

I just also love the idea of two strangers connecting through a meaningful shared experience. It’s beautiful. We need more of this in the world – more art, more beauty, more connecting, more empathy, more love.

Thanks for reading.

*I just saw an announcement on his tattoo shop’s page that said they had to close due to the pandemic! I am so sad about this! Best of luck to you Scott in your next endeavor, whatever it may be!