Jessica Gray's Philosophies, Rants, Information, and Etcetera

Recently, I gave a link to a blog that is written by a friend of mine's son, who has autism.  The young man hopes to spread awareness about autism and help people understand it better.  As he is very articulate, I felt he has a good chance of succeeding at this. However, when he did a post on what not to say to a person with autism, I have to admit that I was left scratching my head, "Okay...what can I say to them, then?!"  Some of the replies that were put on the no-no list were what would be considered the perfectly polite response.  I was worried that what I had said in my blog when I gave the link would be considered offensive, which was upsetting because I had meant to be helpful.  It left me with a gnawing anxiety and a fervent desire I would never meet anyone with autism since I wouldn't know the right thing to say to them. I was a little nervous writing to my friend and suggesting her son do a post on what a person can say.  I was afraid I'd ...

Fixed mindset that I'm not good at math...oh, that is definitely me! But I feel inspired by this!  Not just math, but also that I'm an introvert! This is incredible!  It may not be easy...definitely a challenge, but I feel more optimistic!

December 2013, I suffered from the worst depressive episode I had ever had.  It was so bad, I couldn't even feel any enthusiasm for the upcoming holidays.  I was so depressed, I didn't even want to try and help myself.  That was when I realized I had reached a new low.  I've been depressed before, but I always had an interest in trying to alleviate it. I figured it was due to my approaching the big 4-0.  Actually, I still have another year to go, but I've always been precocious.  I thought I was starting my mid-life crisis a few years early.  However, I realized that I needed to do something.  I would try one last time to conquer my negative thinking by willpower, but if that failed, I would go to a psychiatrist. By chance, I happened to find a link to a place called Happify.com on Facebook.  I checked it out.  The website claimed it had scientifically proven ways to boost your happiness.  I was intrigued, but also a littl...

I remember once reading that the wizard Merlin aged backwards.  He started out as an old man and aged to a newborn.  In real life, though, there is some basis for this.  We start out as helpless children, and as we age we revert back to being helpless children.  Exercise and eating right might help in keeping your mind sharp and your body relatively mobile, but the fact is that aging affects us both mentally and physically. One symptom I notice that starts emerging around the mid-life crisis and continues to re-emerge from then on is "scrooging."  It doesn't surprise me that Ebenezer Scrooge, when he became elderly, was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past.  This is actually a very common occurrence--which I believe happens to everyone--though less dramatically and not precisely on Christmas Eve.  There comes a point, usually starting around the late 30's to early 40's, where our past starts to haunt us.  It continues to haunt us every decad...

What would happen if people in horror movies showed good judgment?  You wouldn't have a movie, that's what! Horror movies require more than some psycho running around in a mask and carrying a chainsaw.  They require more than a ghost bent on supernatural vengeance.  The sad fact is, no matter how tough Norman Bates is...no matter that Kayako Saeki has a grudge that she can't forgive or forget...they couldn't get very far without stupid people.  You need the dumba** characters who ignore the warnings and decide to sleep in the creepy cabin.  You need the law enforcement officers who dismiss everything.  Many psychiatrists have claimed that horror movies allow us a healthy way to face our fears.  I always thought it was fears about things that go bump in the night or genuine threats like serial killers.  However, maybe in the end, what they help us come to terms with is the blatant stupidity that we all sometimes succumb to despite our better judg...