All You Need Is Love

Happy Valentines Day, darlings! On this special occasion, I present you all with this pretty and delightful Doily Hearts design by Bri Emery and Jen Gotch (via Kate Spade's e-valentine campaign).

Remember: Valentines Day is not only reserved for those who are in or are pursuing romantic relationships. February the 14th is for all those who choose to share their heart and show compassion towards others. It is a day to remind the people we care about that we cherish their company, respect them as individuals, and wish them the greatest happiness in life. Love is a universal sensation which we can all embrace and engage in.

All You Need is Love, Love is All You Need.

Love Is...

Please view and share my video submission for PixelMags' Valentine's Day Giveaway! The video is about love in all of its different forms, with the universal message being that 'all you need is love'.

The music you hear in the video is "Valentine" by Kina Grannis.

All We Need Is Love and Acceptance

These two videos bring up very important ideas on Love and Acceptance:



Jefferson Bethke's "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus (Spoken Word)"
Bethke's reaction to Christianity brings to question the hypocrisy, judgment, pride, and self-righteous found within religious institutions. I've had a rather complicated history with my religion (which is another blog entry in itself), but my issues all boil down to one point - some people of the Church don't practice what they preach, contradicting the core of God's most important teaching - which is to love, respect, and forgive one another unconditionally.



Jenna Marbles on "Why Girls Hate Each Other"
With her strikingly blunt and honest delivery, popular YouTube personality Jenna Marbles raises her voice against the raging war between females by challenging them to 'Stop Comparing Themselves'. From an early age, girls are conditioned to compete with one another. Throughout their lives, their minds are trained to compare, rank, and judge others. To beat this damaging system, women should quit judging one another and beating themselves up over failing to meet the phony standards created by a society that sets women up for their own downfall. If all we want is validation - to feel accepted - start by accepting all females as the kind, beautiful, and talented individuals that they are! As Marbles declares, once we let go of that pressure to fit in, "you are free to be you". And remember, there is only one of you in the world, so own that uniqueness!

On Love And Relationships: Give It Time And It Will Fall In Line

Happy Valentine's Day, sweethearts! I know that the 14th has passed now, but why limit the celebration of love in shapes and forms to just one calendar day? Let's make a week of it!

I actually didn't get a chance to do anything special yesterday due to my feeling sick all day long, but I did manage to watch a couple movies related to love, including a re-watch of my favourite romantic-comedy, (500) Days of Summer, starring two of my favourite actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

(500) Days of Summer shines because it's artistic, witty and off-beat. But above all, I really like this film because I find that I can really relate to the character of Summer Finn. Say what you will about her being a cynical, aloof and cruel witch for breaking JGL's (er, Tom's) heart and leading him on, but I beg to differ. She was honest with him about her skeptical views on relationships from the get-go, so it was inevitable that their perspectives were bound to continue clashing, with Tom being a hopelessly-romantic idealist and Summer being a free-spirited realist. I particularly agreed with what she had to say about the nature of relationships:

"I like being on my own. I think relationships are messy and people's feelings get hurt. Who needs it? We're young, we live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world; might as well have fun while we can and, save the serious stuff for later."

One might find such a statement to be cop-out and a blatant sign of one's insecurities and commitment issues, but I think it's pretty bold to declare that you would prefer to be independent within a society that bombards you with persuasive messages of the importance of finding "that special someone" to complete your life. I find myself being comfortably content with being 22 and still single. I have friends I love, a mother I adore and an academic program which I truly enjoy. Despite the hardships I sometimes face in my day-to-day life, I'm happy with where I am. I don't have any desire to search for some man who I can submit to and slap the "boyfriend" label on.

Even though I strongly question the conventional nature of relationships, I still consider myself to be idealistic on the possibility of romance. Like Tom, I believe in the idea of love, having grown up on fairy tales and Disney films which perpetuate the ideals of true love and happily ever afters, but I just don't see the immediacy of discovering it NOW. In that sense, I do believe in fate and destiny. When it's meant to be, romance will blossom between me and the guy who I consider to be a suitable match (my kind of perfect). Until then, I remain stubborn in staying rooted in reality and not letting society's pressures and expectations distract me from my end goal. I will continue living my life as an ambitious single girl with hopes and dreams of fulfilling my own happiness.