Middle Earth Midnight Madness

I am officially the ultimate nerd. On Monday, I attended an event celebrating the release of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu Ray. It was called Middle Earth Midnight Madness and it was somewhere in West Los Angeles. My two friends (Olivia, the blonde and Alyssa, the brunette) and their horse trainer Jennifer (other blonde) all arrived there around nine in the morning because the first 150 people to show up would get a wrist band and would be able to meet some of the cast members. Unfortunately, not a lot of people showed up but we were still third in line to meet John Noble (plays Denethor) and Sala Baker (plays a few orcs and Sauron). There was a contest contest in which my Olivia and Jennifer entered and Alyssa and I got to wear two exhibition costumes and present them on stage. Unfortunately, my dress was extremely unflattering since it didn't fit me haha but it was still fun none the less! It was in the parking lot of Best Buy and people were just staring at everyone dressed up as Lord of the Rings characters. We stayed there for about fifteen hours, hence why we are wearing mustaches. After we got our wrist bands, we just drove around L.A. looking for things to entertain us and pass the time. Once we got our LOTR books signed, went home and passed out. The next day, we went to a special showing of the extended version of Return of the King. It was fantastic! And Jen, Alyssa, and Olivia all dressed up (pictures at the very end) as Eowyn for the event!

God, my life is amazing.

 

Sun Is On My Side

Oh summer! Just one more day and you’re officially here. Yesterday for the solstice, I celebrated with books, bike rides, candles, and writing. I sat outside in the warm sunshine and read while eating a chicken salad with blueberry goat cheese and strawberries and drinking Diet Coke. I went on a bike ride around my neighborhood while music filtrated through my ears and vibrated in my chest. I closed my eyes and breathed in the air, redolent of summer. Afterwards, I lit candles, cleaned out my room, and threw away all of my school stuff. I am finally free of cumbersome academic responsibilities! Now it is my time to focus on myself, to read, to write, and to enjoy life. 

I Would Have Climbed Up to the Moon if it Had Given You Peace

After reading The Druidry Handbook by John Michael Greer, I’ve experienced a revelation about the lifestyle I wish to lead. I have always been fascinated with pagan religions. I love how they stress the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with Mother Earth and how many of them don’t have an established doctrine. From my experience, the Neo-pagan religions I have experimented with never require their believers to do things a “certain way”. Overall, the beliefs of their adherents can vary. And I like that freedom to choose.
Druidism and Wicca are both polytheistic religions that are centered on the natural world. From my studies, I have learned how important it is to preserve the world we inhibit. So from this day on, I vow to pursue a simpler, yet richer, lifestyle. I wish to reject our society’s obsession with consumerism, materialism, and money. Buddhism preaches “desire leads to suffering” and I couldn’t agree with more. In the past, I have experienced the insatiable yearning for “things”. It seems that we are never truly satisfied with what we have and so we focus on acquiring even more. This sort of lifestyle is neither beneficial nor fulfilling. Well, at least for me.
I want to start meditating. I want to focus on myself and seek understanding and awareness. Instead of searching for answers around me or from other people, I want to find them myself. So much complacency and dogma exists in the world! I pledge to be a student, no matter how old I become. The world will be my teacher as I travel to find knowledge and cognizance. I refuse to settle! I refuse to be idle! And I refuse to be content with mediocrity and ignorance.
I realize how I need to do the right thing. There needs to be people who will do the responsible thing for others who cannot; and I want to be that person. It’s possible for individuals to make a difference and I want that too. I want so many things and recovery from an eating disorder has taught me that I have the right to pursue those things.
If any of you wish to join me in my quest for happiness, inner-peace, self-love, and earth preservation, please do. Having others who have the same goal is incredibly motivation. And readers, expect posts in the future regarding
my journey! I hope that my voice will inspire others to do the same.

Weeds

Does anyone have any book suggestions? I'm compiling a list of books I wish to read over the summer. I'm open to anything :)