Comparison - The Root of Unhappiness

Disclaimer: I am 100% guilty of almost everything I'm going to talk about in this blog post.

"Comparison is the root of all Unhappiness"

I'm pretty sure some really smart, famous guy said that and you know what? He's absolutely right. Comparison gets in the way of healthy self-appreciation more than anything else. Our generation has more ways to compare ourselves to one another than any other generation before us: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Because of comparison, we are hardly ever happy with what we get and nothing's ever good enough once we do get it. We measure our success against the accomplishments of others. Whether we are happy with what we get depends on how it measures up to some norm...and you know what? It is hard for success in any form to actually improve your happiness because as actual success rises, the norm by which success is judged rises as well.

Another way this has been described is the "grass in greener" problem. Everyone's lawn seems really great when you see it from far away. That is what social media helps create. It profiles of exactly what you want others to see. You can create a new you, essentially. We scroll through our news feeds seeing pictures of great vacations, internships, jobs, once in a life time experiences... it's amazing how quickly we can forget our own. In these times it's hard to remember that no one displays the hard times, the things they don't want people to see.

What I have been trying to do...whenever I feel particularly jealous, frustrated or just plain hopeless, is remember all the things I am grateful for. All the positive things that I like about myself. I try to keep perspective and remember that no one's life is perfect. I also try to remember that life is a series of choices with different outcomes, and my series of choices has left me with a bunch of great opportunities, a fabulous family and friends, an awesome school and tons of other blessings. If I had what that other person does, there is no guarantee that all the great things in my life would still be there. I  don't know and will never know what struggles I would adopt as a result. That is why I have decided to own my choices, my life, and my struggles, because I wouldn't trade all those really great things for anything.

I want to go on about how we should all DELETE OUR FACEBOOKS AND INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER but that seems like a mute point considering I'm about to post this on Facebook.

Source: http://www.dreammanifesto.com/comparison-root-unhappiness.html

Hospitality

I spent this weekend up in the bay with my Uncle, Aunt and cousins. I am constantly amazed by their hospitality. Not only did they open their home to me this weekend, but also for the three months I was at DreamWorks in the fall. Being back in their home brought back all kinds of nostalgia. I truly feel at home there and I am absolutely in love with the bay. I definitely want to live there one day.

We spent the weekend BBQing, lighting fireworks, watching movies and going to Napa. I also watched an excessive amount of the Walking Dead with my cousin who has never seen it before, pretty sure I got him addicted. Napa is so beautiful...as my Aunt says, "I always feel a little closer to God when I'm in Napa." Oh, and I was also reunited with my absolute favorite pizza of all time....Amicis. It was a beautiful reunion. We laughed, we cried, and I ended up eating him. 

I also got to see two of my close friends from DreamWorks, Robby and Jonathan- two men after my own heart. It's a shame in life we don't necessarily realize how special a certain time is and how dear it will be to us until later on. I am realizing lately (even more so) how special and unique my time at DreamWorks was. Not only working at the company, but also the wonderful close nit family I developed there. Sometimes you meet people and you just click and these people, no matter how often they come and go, will always have a special and close place in your heart. Robby and Jonathan, as well as some of the other interns that fall, are those type of people to me. It was wonderful to be able to see them.

I drove back to Southern California today with a full heart and a new goal: to live and enjoy moments as they are happening instead of always looking forward to the next thing. 

Is this real life?

As I'm sitting here in the laundromat, I'm reflecting on my time here in Burbank and thinking to myself... Is this real life?

To be honest, living here in Burbank has been the closest I've ever been to being completely independent. I live alone, spend most of my time by myself and, with the exception of rent, I pay for everything myself too. I can't help but think, in fact I know, that this is very close to what my life will be life after college. This is what being a REAL adult feels like.

So how does it feel? I haven't completely made up my mind yet. On one hand, I'm an independent person by nature so doing these things doesn't feel that different to me. What does feel different though is not caring about spending my weekends alone...not caring if I'm at the coolest party or spending time with people just to say I was there. For the most part I've been in this transition for awhile, slowly learning to say "no" if I need some me time or if I need to rest. On the other hand I'm learning this is a difficult balance because it does pay off to step out of your comfort zone sometimes. I think there is such a thing as too much solidarity. It is nice to be able to count on people.

Last but not least, your view on what's worth paying for really changes when you pay for everything yourself. 

A New Method...The Bar Method

I've always enjoyed working out; however, the redundancy of the same workout everyday (elliptical. treadmill. stairclimber. repeat) was starting to get old. I kept hearing about this new ballet bar workout from, seemingly, everywhere. Friends, my hairdresser, random strangers were all talking about this body changing workout. So, as soon as I got here to Burbank I decided to try it out. Tonight was my first class at the Bar Method Burbank and let me tell you, it ain't easy.

The Bar Method integrates interval training, isometrics and principles of dance conditioning to burn fat, shape muscles and elongate the body. The class is an hour long and is really difficult, especially if you're like me and hardly ever incorporate these types of movements into your workout. I am definitely going to be sore tomorrow.

One thing that I learned at the Bar Method tonight that I didn't expect was a lesson about kindness. I was so nervous to go to this class, I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach since about 3 o' clock (the class started at 7:30 pm). I always get nervous going into new situations when I'm doing something I really care about succeeding at. When I walked into the studio everyone was so friendly to me. The instructor introduced herself right away and the other women included me in their conversations before class. It really comforted me to know that it would be hard but they survived, and so could I! One particular woman, I didn't get her name, talked to me all the way up to the beginning of the class. She offered me advice for the class and for fun things to do in the LA area. It was really nice to have someone to talk to before class! I even forgot how nervous I had been. You never really know how just being friendly and talking to someone can really impact their day! I am extremely grateful to this woman.

So, if you want to push yourself to try something new, just remember that everyone has to start somewhere and everyone was a beginner at some point. It is a victory that you are even out there trying!

Pacific Rim Screening

On Monday I had the privilege of seeing an early screening of Pacific Rim, a film I have been dying to see since we had our Q&A with Guillermo Del Toro at DreamWorks. When he talked about Pac Rim you could see and feel the passion pouring out of him. It is rare to see that kind of passion from anyone, and when you see it from a world renowned director you can't help but feel excited for the final product. It also doesn't hurt that Pac Rim is my "kind of movie" - tons of action, giant robots and aliens, and two of my favorite actors Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman who I already love from Sons of Anarchy. Needless to say, my expectations were pretty high and...Drum roll please...they were met.

Pac Rim is exactly what you expect it to be and more. Now when I say exactly what you expect- it is a monster movie with giant robots, expect a monster movie with giant robots. Accept it for what it is and you'll enjoy it (and any movie) a lot more. But, I digress. 

The visual effects alone are a conversation in themselves. The colors used were bright and vibrant, which might not seem all that special, but now that I've told you notice the difference in the colors used in Pac Rim versus other action movies that use vfx. The monsters and robots were huge, intimidating and intricate. The sheer size of them was amazing. The plot was typical- "we're canceling the apocalypse!" but again, we knew what this movie was about. There was even a romantic subplot for the ladies- and a lot of scenes with shirtless Charlie Hunnam. A few characters provide some comic relief for the film and had me laughing out loud at several points. I don't want to spoil it too much, so I'll stop here, but if you want to see an action packed monster movie this summer, Pac Rim is for you!

A New Chapter

I'm currently watching Kung Fu Panda which seems appropriate given thats where this blog left off 6 months ago. Wow, time really flies. I'm picking up blogging again (or trying to) because my next adventure has started here in Burbank, California at Warner Bros Studios. In between DreamWorks and Warner Bros was a grueling semester with a lot of pressure school wise. Good thing I survived.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to receive a phone call from Warner Bros this semester and in early May I was interviewed and offered the position. My internship this summer is with Warner Bros Technical Operations and I'm working in Digital Production Management. My main focus is ultra violet, which a digital locker system for all of your movies and TV shows. When you redeem your ultraviolet code online via flickster (Warner Bros), vudu (Wal Mart) or Cinema Now (Best Buy) (these are our online retailers) the rights to the movie/tv show are stored in ultra violet. Your actual online content is stored in one of our various retailers where you can stream to any device at any time. My job is to assist in streamlining this process within internal departments and to assist with the third parties we are beginning to be the main source of communication for. This has been my SHAMELESS PLUG for Ultra Violet, so REDEEM YOUR DIGITAL OFFERS!!!!!!!

Before I knew exactly what I'd be doing, I knew I had to find a place to live. This is extremely hard via internet and I wouldn't recommend if you can't actually go see the place because you really never know from pictures how nice it is, and also you want to make sure you're in a safe neighborhood, especially in California. I got extremely lucky to find a place that is 5 minutes from Warner Bros. Location was probably my number one because after last semester commuting an hour and a half to and from work was just not happening. 

Once I got settled in, I prepared to go to orientation. My internship is within a specific program called the Time Warner College Associates Program (TWCAP) which focuses a lot on leadership and gives us special opportunities. Our orientation was combined with a program called REACH which is full of interns who applied in High School and got a scholarship for all four years and also an internship for every summer of college. How awesome is that? They're so lucky. Meeting all the interns was awesome. They are all really friendly and cool, I'm really enjoying getting to know all of them. The people in my department are all really great as well. I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity!

This week has been a learning process, but it's definitely worth it. I go to lunch on the lot everyday which is so cool. I love the atmosphere of being here. This weekend I hung out with some of the other interns on Friday and then my friend Melody spent the night and we went to Laguna Beach on Saturday. It was beautiful and a great way to start summer! I actually got extremely sunburned, so much so that I couldn't even sleep last night. Rookie move. You would think I would learn by now!

I have a lot more I could say in this post but it's already gotten really long. If you're reading this, thanks! I appreciate your interest in my life. I will be updating this as frequently as I feel I have enough to say, so I'll be seein' ya!