Dancing in the Clouds

       It's been a while readers... a while being an understatement.  I'd be pretty surprised if I even still had readers.  My last post was in 2013. Seems to be that I have a lot updating to do.  I'm tired of telling my story though.  Another stranger who seems confused by all my endeavors and lifestyle. Another person I have to explain how I got to where I am.  Life is crazy.  It takes you in places you never thought you'd go.  Sometimes your high and other times you feel as if you checked into the basement of rock bottom.  I miss writing though.  For two important reasons that I wish I had never replaced with unnecessary choices.  One, I miss freeing my mind.  The way it feels to hit your fingers across a keyboard and let out all the pent up emotions you feel like people will never understand or even care for that matter.  Two,  being taken back by all the ones who use to message me privately thanking me and asking for advice... and just understanding.  So here I go again, this is where I am.

      When I was younger, I refused to fall in love.  I refused to open up and allow a man into my life.  I was young and naïve.  Fearful without knowing what I was actually scared about.  Somewhere along my life, I changed.  I grew up and I started to acknowledge relationships as something acceptable.  Something I wanted to be a part of.  I've dated.  I've fallen in love.  My spirit has danced in the clouds where all the people who are head over heals go and it has fallen back down to square one in the darkness.  You have to pick yourself and keep going.  The physical pain was easy.  The emotional pain was damaging.  But being alone was unbearable.  Until now.


        Every time I broke up with a boyfriend, I moved on very quickly.  Even though I didn't really believe in being in love and it lasting, I always ended up finding someone new.  I tried to convince myself that I wanted to be alone, but you can't shake the truth. You can't help what you feel.  I wish I was wiser in my choices with men. I hated being alone so immensely that I settled for the guys who didn't deserve my time. I probably wouldn't be as unforgivable as I am now to mistakes.  When love has not taken over and a guy messes up, I walk away.  Too quickly.  And I never look back.  When I love, I forgive too often and then I end up having to pull out my wonder woman strength card out and pick myself back up.  I'm over having to pick myself up. I'm over not being accepting of certain qualities because of what my past has put me through.  One extreme or the other.  There should be a point of meeting in the middle when it comes to forgiving or not forgiving.  It's about the rush of feelings at that time in your life.  This isn't about my past relationships though.  This is about trying to figure out what has changed within me.

      I was just with someone who I loved very deeply and thought I was going to marry.  We didn't just live in the moment, we planed life together.  He influenced me to change my bad qualities and shaped my personality into a well rounded, wholesome structure.  Though I knew I was changing, I didn't know how intense it really was until we broke up.  As I said, I typically move on very quickly.  I'm never truly alone, at least not for long.  I wanted it that way... to not be alone...back then.  Now, I'm happy to be alone.  I don't want him back.  I'm not sad that it didn't work out.  I'm not talking to anyone.  My life has been running in a series of stories like this.
      The rushing of heat across my face as that cute guy handed me his number and told me to come see him in a couple days fell flat on the floor when I could see the inner Amanda rolling her eyes at the denial of my intentions.  He was cute.  And I don't just mean, "yeah, he is a decent guy" kind of cute.  He seemed to be quite wholesome himself.  Pretty smile, confidence, and he clearly took care of his body.  But my intentions never pair up. I never was going to meet him.  I would have never kissed him, or exchanged life stories over some drinks, and definitely would have never allowed it to go anywhere.  The thought of kissing a guy right now makes me cringe.  The last person I kissed was my ex-boyfriend.   I mean when I say I don't miss him.  But my point in recognizing my last kiss is to show that the very last man to kiss my lips was someone whom loved me.  Someone I loved back and someone who left a chill down my spine after each kiss.  I don't want to scrub the regret off my lips after dude man that gave me his number kisses me in a hypothetical situation.  As I'm writing this, I'm laughing.  And this is meant in all seriousness. But if anyone reading this knew who the old Amanda was, this would almost seem like she has died and someone else took over her body.  Kissing a stranger used to not be an issue, but now kissing a potentially well-rounded man disgusts me.  I don't even know who I am anymore.

      I want meaningful kisses... kind of.  I don't want them soon and I don't want them with anyone I know at this point in my life. I don't have feelings for anyone other than myself.  I'm so content with being alone its fearful.  I was fearful once of a relationship and now I'm fearful that I'm too happy alone that I'll never get back out there again. Am I missing out?  Pretty smile guy could have been a good opportunity.  He could have been someone worth my while.  He probably and hopefully didn't even think of me in that view of light, but I'm talking about hypothetical here.  What if I'm so closed off due from my solitude happiness, that I may be missing things?  I don't fear getting hurt.  My strength is a force to be reckoned with.  Fear is not transpiring from a future breakup.  Its transpiring from not wanting to deal with anyone else in my life.  Nobody interests me.  Nobody makes my heart flutter.  I don't want anyone to touch me or fall for me.  I just want to be alone because I'm happy that way.  But I've never been happy that way, so I'm confused.  Where is this coming from?  Have I grown into a woman.   Or have I actually just learned how to love myself?  Have I really not loved myself until now... My emotions are confusing me because this is nothing I've ever felt with myself. I'm alone. Happily alone.  No denial.  No anger or hurt.  I'm dancing in the clouds that singles go to when they are at peace.


                                                                         Yours truly,
                                                                        Amanda Rae

        For a little over a month I have been writing in a notebook. It's not so much the writing as you would expect, more like jotting down the emotions I don't usually tend to.  It was writing all the random thoughts I questioned or all the emotions I constantly deceive.  This is a notebook for only yours truly, and nobody else. The purpose of this notebook is not to show other's how I feel, but to organize and prioritize my emotions. Well, I ended up writing a page that has stuck with me.. The date of writing this page was 09/28/2011. I'm writing this blog a little late, but you see, I have gone back to my hometown for a visit and now I'm finding the time and words to write this blog.  I'm choosing to show my readers one of my pages, word for word, out of my notebook.  I'll write what I have and then follow up with some insight.  Big step, so enjoy.

Taking Risks;
        Short term risks, we make every day.
        Long terms risks are what I question,
        Life isn't mapped out, so we must make our own fate, or what I call path. Each road we take changes the course or direction of our path. So when you face a decision that will affect you long term, do you risk it? Or do you avoid it and keep walking the path you know?  When is taking a risk worth it? Will you know?
        Life is a guessing game.  So is the beauty of life taking risks and seeing where it takes you?
        How many risks should you take?  Should there be a limit?  What if you've taken the same risk before? Can it take you on a separate path?  Or does the same risk always end the same way, leading to the same path?
        Life can lead you to a comfort zone with no risks.
        Can life bring me all the same joys with no risks?  Or is that not really living?  Does living with out risks lead to a hidden unhappiness?
        Or should I just be asking, is experiencing love really a risk?

        So what is my question really?  There are too many to find just one I'm asking.  Risks, they are everywhere. We all make bad decisions time to time, but learning from mistakes is what makes the difference. Learning from a bad decision can actually lead you to a better path in my opinion.  Thing is, what happens when you find that comfort zone?  The place at which you are happy because nothing can actually affect your path.  You're not relying on anyone or anything to bring you happiness or facing any major life changes.  When you've reached that place and run across a decision, do you risk it?  Should you really risk your happiness when you are already happy?  Why do we constantly try to improve our state of emotions?  I see too many people taking too many risks and their life becomes a roller coaster of emotions.  I'd rather have the neutral zone where my happiness stays at an even pace.
        Now, what if that risk is a chance at experiencing love? Is that the kind of risk you should take?  Well, there lies the questions of what kind of person are you trying to love, or what kind of person are you, in order to love.  What if you've been in that risk before?  People say it can be different.  They say that each relationship is different or the person you fell for was wrong.  Well, what if I'm the wrong one?  Then is risking your happiness for love worth it?  I don't think so. 

        We all learn from our mistakes or our mistaken paths we've traveled.  We are all different, but if you find yourself finding the same weary path over and over again, stop taking that risk.  Stop making the same decisions.  Make a change, for what you're feeling can only be felt by you.  Nobody truly cares about how you feel.  That's a mistake you should never make.

                        Yours truly,
                       Amanda Rae

Friends or clients?

         In life, I've come across a wide variety of groups of friends. I've lost a lot friends and found many along the way.  One thing that has always stayed true, was the kind of friend I am.  In my opinion, the type of friend you are can make a huge impact on the people you surround yourself with.  In order to have friends, you've got to be a true friend yourself.  Leaving all cockiness aside, I know I'm what you would call a true friend.

         Quality is more important than quanity when it comes to friends.  I'm pretty sure I only have four friends.  I have many aquaintances but an aquaintance is not a friend.  People whom come in your life time to time are not considered friends. Friends are people that are constantly making an influence in your life and are always there for you for anything.  I am the type of person who will be there for you as I think I should.  If you come to me with a problem, I'm going to try and help you through it the best I can.  I'm not going to help you find an easy way out, but I'll help you try to solve or get through the tough times in the way I believe is right.

         For me, I consider the little things bigger than the big things.  A birthday is obviously a big deal, but being the first person to call someone on their birthday is a bigger deal to me.  I always try my hardest to do all the little things for my friends... being the one that they will always come to for anything.  But over time, I've begun wondering if I'm trying too hard to be a good friend. When you use all of your ability to be the best friend that you can be, you expect a certain quality out of yourself... you have a set image of what a true friend really is.  Once you begin to obtain this image, you start to look at your friends and wonder why they don't do the same things as you do.

          I don't believe my friends are any less of a true friend than I am, but recently I began to question it.  You see, not too long ago I made a very difficult decision for my life.  Some of you may have read about it in a previous post, but with my friends knowing what was going on... I expected some friendly help.  I got sorrow from my friends but after that was over, I didn't receive much of anything else.  In all honestly, everyday I talk to at least one of those four friends about a problem they are having.  Sometimes I wondered if these were my actual friends I'm talking to or were they just clients that used me for a pick-me-up. I  literally put all of myself into making sure I do my best at helping out their situation and once days have passed by, I check up on them.  I'm constantly asking my friends how they are doing with whatever is going on in their life. In return, I have not received one question about my recent life change.  But I heard some knowledge from a very close person that helped me out with my friends or clients problem...

         I'm a different kind of person.  You see, its not that I was in pain or upset from what occured in my life... I just wanted my friends to check up on me.  I wanted them to prove to me that they are here for me and care about what I'm going through.  I had to realize though, I'm not what one would call a normal person.  I don't like to share emotions and I'm pretty invincible when it comes to getting "hurt".  So why would my friends come and check up on me when they know I'm fine?  I now realize that my friends do care about what I go through, they just know me well enough to know that I don't need to be checked up on.  To me, that means they are more than true friends.

         When you come across something in life similar to this, you need to take a few steps back and look at the big picture.  You need to acknowledge the type of people you are dealing with and understand that a true friend is not the same for everyone.  Your true friends probably ask you how you are doing constantly... my true friends know the answer to that question before asking!
                                     yours truly,
                                   Amanda Rae

One mind, one experience, different views.

Dear Readers, sorry for the absence of posts this past weekend...it's been a busy one.
          Last week I had discussion in my art class about expressing ones' feelings.  I asked, "To talk or not to talk?  Does it help to talk about your feelings, or does it just make it worse? What exactly is the point of expressing your pain through words?"  Personally, I choose to keep painful experiences inside and my brain deals with making them go away.  I chose to write about this because I've always been told I need to "talk" to someone and let my emotions out.  I got some very intelligent responses. Of course the basic answer is, it depends on who you are.  Well I wanted to reach further than that...So after gathering my information, I came to this conclusion;

         Yes, everyone IS different, but a tragedy in one's life may be a daily event for another.  You see, you can't really judge someone's pain to another's.  I relate it to this...a person who has been hit by their boyfriend for the first time can express that as a horrible experience.  BUT, a guy that just broke up with a girl for the first time experiences just as much agony, just in a different way.  Now when it comes to expressing your grief, you must WANT to express it.  One can not be forced to talk about their feelings, or you won't get the true feelings.  Some people are great at expressing themselves, and truly do feel better after doing it.  Others, don't do well verbally expressing emotions, so talking about painful emotions just brings up more mind bearing pain.
          For me, I find it easier when I "bottle up" my emotions.  I feel as if something inside of me slowly chips them away until they just disappear from my thoughts.  Yeah, it may take a while, but it takes me ten times longer to deal with something when someone else knows about it.  If I'm the only one who knows I'm hurt...well then I'm the only one that has to deal with it.  If another person knows about my pain, they try to help you but words don't fix a hurt soul.  On the other hand, some people feel as if another person DOES know about their pain, they AREN'T the only one dealing with it.  A girl told me after I asked her the topic question, "I think it helps to talk about your feelings.  Not to put it on the other person, but to know you aren't the only one worrying about it."  Although it is the complete opposite of how I feel, I think it is a great arguing point.  Most people see things from one side, but when you take a look at the other side...you realize there is more than one way to deal with something.
          As I said before, one's pain can not be compared to another.  It almost like comparing a man's penis size to a woman's breast size, it just doesn't make sense. Our minds are so complex and work in a plethora of different ways, just depending on who's eyes the world is being seen through.  The most common thing I hear when someone is going through a tragic experience is, "It could be worse."  Readers, I must say I disagree to an extent.  Yes, it could be worse in the event of death or even a close to death struggle...But my worst experience is obviously not going to be the same as yours.  Similar to what I stated earlier, if a vegetarian eats meat on accident or you were disowned by yours parents...they are equally as painful to each person going through the tragedy.
          The answer is, find out what is right for you.  If you are person who must talk about things and share them with the ones close to you, then by all means share those emotions.  And if you are one who likes to keep your emotions hidden, or likes to think you don't even have emotions, keep them bottled up.  Don't let someone else influence how you take care of your pain... keep in mind they don't feel through the same skin, look through the same eyes, or hear the same things you do! We are all our own person.

                          Yours truly,
                        Amanda Rae