Kicking Depression in the butt

Tonight I posted this pic on Instagram, and as you can see from the caption, I kicked depression's butt today.  On that note, follow me on Instagram at amy_geddon!

I didn't want to go into in it a lot of detail on Insta but did want to write more about it, so here we are again, with me back on this blog I only use once in a blue moon!

This photo truly shows the face of someone who looked depression in the face today and kicked it's butt.  Yesterday, I was having a really bad mental health day, to the point that I didn't get out of bed until after 5pm and just felt lethargic and useless all day.  Today, I got up at 2pm and still didn't feel 100% but I forced myself to try to be productive.  At the end of the day, I've written 500 words on a uni assignment, applied to several more places for my thesis work placement, gone to choir, updated my diary and recorded a song cover for my YouTube channel.  Plus, I'm writing this post!

But, a lot of days I would beat myself up for this... I'd tell myself that I should have written more words and shouldn't have done "fun" things when I still had so much to do for uni.  But my new years resolution for 2018 was to be kinder to myself, so today, I'm celebrating my achievements.  Yes, I could have done more and the things I did may not seem like a massive thing to other people but I'm improving upon myself and got a huge amount of productive things done, so I'm really proud of myself tonight.  Every step forward is a step towards a better, healthier, happier lifestyle for  me so I'm celebrating all the little victories because one day, I'll look back and all the little victories will have led to me winning this battle.  And that's pretty cool...

Hello stranger...

Me and my amazing family on the day
of my graduation

So, I’m back.  It’s been a loooong time since I uploaded anything on here, I know and – at risk of sounding cliché – the short answer to why is, life.  Without going into too many details, I can say that between uni work, family illnesses and struggles with my own mental health, as well as trying to maintain a social life, I just had no time to focus on writing this blog.  But, on 30^th June I graduated from Queens University Belfast, with a 2:1 Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology.  So I am officially a psychology graduate, trying to make my way in the big bad world… which quite honestly, is terrifying.  I still don’t know what I want to do with my life but as my mum keeps telling me, I’m still young.  Also, career stats show that most people will have 5-7 separate “careers” in their lifetime now, as opposed to the old fashioned one job to last a lifetime trend.  So I guess I don’t need to know what I want to do with my life, just what I want to do for now.  Which is kind of comforting I suppose.

But Amy, what do you want to do for now, I hear you ask.  Well, beautiful reader, I currently have three distinct areas I would like to work in, so I’m just trying to decide which route to research first.  It doesn’t help that these are all very different – primary school teaching, animal psychology research and working in the media.  So yeah, an extremely mixed kettle of fish but all areas I’m extremely passionate about.  For now, I’m trying to get any experience I can in these areas, so that’s that.

But enough of this serious career talk… what else have I been doing in my time away?  I wrote some more film reviews for the Queens Radio site, which I’ll probably be posting on here for all of you lovely people to read.  I’ve also been getting a lot more active in areas of my personality that make me feel like me, importantly, being a more active member of the LGBTQ+ community and fully embracing my Wiccan faith.  But again, I will be having individual posts about these.  I’ve also been doing more song covers which I’ve been brave enough to put up on YouTube, so expect these to be featured too!

So what can you expect from the future of this blog?  Ideally, I’ll update it much more regularly, with slice of life style word vomit like this one but also with more film/book/music/games reviews, more spirituality things and also more in-depth, research based posts on areas of interest, especially supernatural/paranormal/folklore.  So if you’re interested in any of that, watch this space.

Thanks for reading and, as always, stay magical.

Xx

Abrams, acting and a little bit of nostalgia

Hello again!!

Theatrical poster for Cloverfield

Recently, I got around to watching Cloverfield, a film which I’ve been aching to watch for years but never actually got around to seeing.  But I have rectified that mistake and all is right with the world!  Well ok, there’s still a lot of things wrong with the world but this at least made my world a little brighter.  I must say, I had been very excited to see the film.  It was produced by JJ Abrams, who, alongside Spielberg, is my Super 8 is a favourite film of mine and since it is in the same ilk as Colverfield, I was very excited.  After, Cloverfield is basically the big brother of Super 8, so it seemed only natural that I would enjoy it.  And I did.  The film is dramatic and fast paced, and the hand-held camera technique – which I personally believe is often overdone – is very effective in conveying the fear and confusion the characters are feeling and thus is the right choice for the film.  Outside of the plot of the film, which was what one would expect of a found-footage monster/alien film, I loved all of the hidden messages within the film.  At various points throughout the film, stills from classic films flash for a matter of seconds before vanishing again.  Whilst this may seem pointless to some, seeing as it is so hard to see (I wouldn’t have realised they were there without my sister’s boyfriend telling me) I love this detail.  Its little things like this that make me love JJ Abrams’ work so much.  And whilst I don’t think Cloverfield will ever surpass my love for Super 8, it’s a very good film that I definitely need to watch a few more times to enjoy all the little details.

favourite director/producer; I LOVE his work and did in fact focus on his viral marketing campaigns as part of my lower sixth media studies exam.  In particular,

Of course, my enjoyment of the film could also have been increased due to the fact that it’s a scifi film I actually managed to get my sister to sit through and enjoy but that’s a story for another time!

JJ Abrams - how can you not love the nerdiness
of this fluffy haired genius?

On a sadder note, I feel I have to touch upon the many legends of the movie industry the world has lost over the past couple of weeks.  Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall and Richard Attenborough were all incredibly talented, incredibly influential members of this industry who will be sadly missed.  I do, of course, plan on writing a longer post about these great people but I head off on holiday tomorrow and will be without internet, so won’t be able to upload that until I’m home.  So for now, I leave you with my love and the wise words of Robin Williams’ character in Dead Poets Society: “Carpe diem.  Seize the day, boys.  Make your lives extraordinary.”  In light of these losses and the fleetingness of the present, this seems as good a motto as any.

Stay safe chickens and wish on a star tonight.  Because I’m sure they’re shining a little brighter now that Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall and Richard Attenborough are amongst their ranks.

This has always been one of my favourte Pan related
quotes.  Seems more apt than usual at the moment...

Movies and Musings

So, a few weeks ago here in Belfast we were having a heat wave.  Which was great, don’t get me wrong, but it did mean that tasks I usually love became somewhat of a chore because I didn’t want to miss out on the good weather.  So when a scorching Thursday afternoon rolled around and with it my plans of heading to the cinema with a friend, I was less than enthused to say the least.  But I had made arrangements, so I dragged myself out to the cinema and I’m so glad I did.

Kiera Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in Begin Again

We went to see Begin Again, a quirky, romantic film with equal amounts of comedic and moving moments and a great soundtrack to boot.  I know I’m going against what most reviews have said but personally I absolutely loved it.  Kiera Knightley is definitely the star of the show as Gretta, the feisty singer-songwriter searching for her place in New York City.  The actress learned to play guitar for the role and sang all of the songs herself.  I must admit, when I first heard this I was quite apprehensive.  After all, previous films which feature A-list stars singing have turned out… interesting to say the least (Les Miserables, anyone?)  But Ms Knightley definitely impressed. Her voice is soft and sweet, with an almost vulnerable quality that perfectly encapsulates the emotions needed to make the songs so poignant.  Coupled with her acting skills and the delightful script, she captivates the audience in a way I’ve rarely seen in her films.

The other actors were also great.  Mark Ruffalo - unsurprisingly it could be argued – plays a down on his luck record producer juggling a failing career, an estranged wife and a not insignificant drinking habit.  Despite this, Ruffalo is as lovable as ever and throughout the film you really find yourself rooting for him.  James Corden provides comic relief as Gretta’s best friend, Hailee Steinfeld is youthful and talented as ever and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine impresses in his film acting debut.

All in all, it’s a really enjoyable, happy Summer film, guaranteed to put a smile on your face.  Or, as Knightley herself describes it, “a proper, feel good film”.  Unfortunately, that heat wave has ended now and we are, in fact, now enduring the end of Hurricane Bertha.  Oh well, such is the Northern Irish weather, I suppose.  Still, here’s hoping some of that happy summery spirit can stay with us through this gloomy weather.

In other news, I was recently asked a pretty interesting question – at the age of ninety, would you rather have the mind or the body of a thirty year old.  After considering this for only a moment, I answered definitively that I would rather have the body of a thirty year old, maintaining the mind of a ninety year old.  My thinking behind this was that over the years, as the body ages, the mind stays bright, learning more and more and becoming wiser as life goes on.  My sister’s boyfriend, on the other hand, said that he would want the mind of a thirty year old because he would hate to have to endure suffering through dementia etc.

The mind-body connection is widely discussed 
both psychological and paranormal circles

This got me to wondering about the oft questioned mind-body connection.  It strikes me that the difference between the physical body, including the brain and the spiritual thing that is the mind is similar to that of the difference between time and the passage of time.  By that, I mean that whilst time exists as a concept created by humanity, and the passage of time definitely exists, time itself as a tangible object does not.  As the saying goes, “Time doesn’t exist – clocks do.”  In this vein of thought, the brain exists as a tangible object but the mind does not.  Thus, I have to question whether conditions such as Alzheimer’s affect the mind  or the brain and which of these need to be examined further to work towards finding a cure for these conditions.  Perhaps this is something to look into when I start studying Psychology in September. After all, one of the professors specialises in Alzheimer’s research…

Either way, it’s definitely an interesting question and I would love to hear and of your thoughts on this matter.

Why hello there

For many years now I’ve been considering starting a blog but made do with tumblr.  Which, don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love but I figured I’d start this as somewhere to post longer ramblings.  And believe me, there will be a LOT of rambling.  Precisely what these ramblings will be on I am yet to decide but I can pretty much guarantee there will be posts on baking, movies, photography, geekery and generally any aspect of my life about which I have anything remotely interesting to say.

And now for something completely different!!  Ok so I'm just going to tell you a bit about myself so its not that different but honestly I've just always wanted to use that phrase...  My name's Amy, I'm an almost twenty year old nerd about to embark on the next part of the great journey that is life.  I'm just a girl trying to figure out what this big ol' world has in store for her. 

So come along, enjoy the ride and try not to get eaten by a pterosaur!

-Amy