Is Television Bad??? And Why This Is Central In How I Hope To Raise My Children

Let's hop right in and get to the first question. Is Television Bad?

First-off, let's refocus the question: Is television in and of itself bad? The quick answer is no. Television is a mode of communication. Therefore, it can be used for good or for bad. This mode of communication in itself is not bad. (In our modern world there can even be benefit in having some level of skills and knowledge relating to the use in order to reach other people.)

The better question to be asking is: Can modern television do harm to us? And when is it doing harm, and when is it doing good?

Throughout our whole lives, and in a special way in our earliest years, the messages being communicated to us are going to make their imprint on our brains and psyches. And the messages that make their imprint on our brains and psyches can ultimately affect our souls. What our eyes, ears, and imaginations learn to focus on is what our hearts will focus on.

"For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."  

(Matthew 6:21)

The psychological effects of what enters our brains and the way in which it enters into our brains are vast, but one thing I will say is that once a habit or mindset is built in it is incredibly difficult to get out of (sometimes even to see outside of). Thoughts and habits "take root" so-to-speak. We see this on the extreme end when it comes to addictions.

"With all vigilance guard your heart, for in it are the sources of life." 

(Proverbs 4:23) 

~ I highly encourage checking out this entire scripture passage! ~

I will note that most likely 99% (or more) of the messages being received on television are not of the Lord. Even most "milder" shows tend to include an excessive use of derogatory language, objectification, and focus on building up our fortune in "the kingdom of this world" rather than fixing our eyes on the Kingdom of God.

So is the answer that we simply have to make sure to find relatively innocent content and then any amount of television intake is safe and unharmful?

It may seem this way, and I'm not denying the fact that every now and then (probably more often than that) parents could use a diversion to keep their kids occupied while they take a self-care break. I'm not a parent, but I may one day be, and my understanding is that everything I have just said is an understatement that I may understand more and more as I go through life. (I'm not trying to portray having kids in a negative light but simply acknowledge that parenting is draining and we are not 24/7 demi-gods in any sort.) Anyhow...

Let's get to answering the question above. 

While an all-out ban on any form of television is probably not necessary in order to help your children grow in holiness, I do think not only what they watch but the amount of time they spend fixated on this medium matters greatly. Here's why.

We have to keep in mind that it is JUST AS IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER not only what content/voices/messages television is providing us with but what it is covering up.

In our day and age I would argue there is this thing called "information addiction." I argue this, because it is something I often struggle with and is an impediment to prayer (by this I mean time  specifically set aside to meditate on and communicate with our Lord) and maintaining a prayerful outlook on life (which ultimate can turn everything into a prayer).

In reading The Diary of St. Faustina, one of the verses I recently read that truly stuck out to me was when Christ spoke to St. Faustina about the kinds of souls that do and don't please Him. 

"The Lord gave me to know how displeased He is with a talkative soul. I find no rest in such a soul. The constant din tires Me, and in the midst of it the soul cannot discern My voice."

(from The Diary of St. Faustina, p. 387, paragraph 1008)

 

It was a good call-out for me too (Miss Social-Media-Frenzy). 

What we take in is what we put out (Matthew 15:17), so if our minds are (trained/wired to be) constantly racing and grasping for stimulation, constantly distracted (an experience I find myself caught in quite often), the Lord cannot reach us and touch our hearts in the way He wants to.

Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake; after the earthquake, fire-- but the Lord was no in the fire; after the fire a light silent sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

(1 Kings 19:12)

According to the world of Pinterest, this quotation is from Joel Osteen.

Ah! Silence! It's beautiful and yet difficult for many of us to sit in (myself included)-- when our brains want to go run a marathon and Jesus is saying "Just come sit in My presence." 

It is honestly unreasonable to expect ourselves to be able to go from one to four hours of phone scrolling and TV watching and enter into a few minutes of silent prayer. Our brains are not physically WIRED to do this! That is why we need to build habits that will help us be more able to touch and commune with the Lord, to have our hearts of quiet and our ears on alert.

So there it is: 

Just tell our kids to sit around quietly in the chapel listening for Jesus' voice all day... 

JUST KIDDING! 😂 Kids are a BUNDLE of energy, but they also live in a world of awe where things that may seem small to adults (like a bird twittering in the tree or a squirrel playing chase) can latch on their attention and amaze them.

Kids can find God everywhere while being kids. (Of course, setting aside time specifically for prayer is very important, but throughout the day kids can learn to experience God's love in other ways as well.) Kids can find God in the creation of their "make believe" play, in their laughs and their giggles. They can learn to recognize and discern His voice and His special role in building up skills, in books, in reading, in dancing, in singing, in gymnastics, in sports... And, yes, from time to time they can even find Him speaking to them through television. :)

It's all about the lense through which they learn to see the world and answer questions like: Where is the world from? Who am I made for? Why do I long for love? etc. God communicates His love in SO MANY beautiful ways, and our job is to learn to recognize that.

God says to become like children, so we certainly don't want to be discouraging kids being kids. We just want to build on beautiful aspects of children and childhood: bringing in recognition of Love, of Gift, of standing up for what is right and respecting others as our brothers and sisters in Christ.

A few very IMPORTANT notes to make before I go:

By the way! Not watching television or not watching "much" television won't in and of itself make your children saints! Once again, what matters is not only what isn't entering into our children's minds but also what IS.

Also, this article isn't to pass judgment on parents who like to use watching television as a filler or incentive for their children. Very saintly people have come from families that watch television. This isn't all-or-nothing perfect cause-and-effect. I just think it's much easier to build up saints when we turn down the constant chatter that is modern day media in order to not drown out the One Voice that matters most. 

Instead we can teach our children to attune to their eyes/ears/mouth/nose in learning to pray, in experiencing God's kiss through nature, in seeing Christ in others, in humble submission to God's Will), etc. etc. -- First and formost guided by our own example.

It's not about pride. It's about intentionality.

For those who actually do decide to embark on the excursion of raising their children with limited television/technology interception, it is sooo important to remember that we (I say that as if I have kids... maybe someday haha) are not doing this to be BETTER than other families, to somehow be SUPERIOR to our neighbors or to that other family at Church that lets their kids watch hours of television a day. 

We are living this way simply as a means (something we hope will bear good fruit) in helping our children to become saints. We are simply trying to build habits in our kids that will set them up to be more in tune to hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. 

That is all.

 

"Let all that you do be done with love."

(1 Corinthians 16:14)

COVID-19: AN OPPORTUNITY TO BRING GLORY TO GOD

Does anyone else feel like yelling at God "Make me a saint! Send me a cross! But this one's lame!" 

* Would anyone else rather be serving in a soup kitchen right now or visiting a nursing home... experiencing the satisfaction of serving people and accomplishing an external good?

* Would anyone else rather be at Mass right now, saying a prayer and receiving the Eucharist?

I don't think most people are too stoked about being shut up in their homes either by themselves or with their families (many with no work to do). 

I don't think most people are stoked about the most exciting outing they can go on right now being a trip to the grocery store.

But perhaps this is what God is calling you to.

When we picture doing the will of God in our lives, I highly doubt this is what most of us pictured it looking like. Perhaps we pictured going on a mission trip to Africa or leading some great movement... 

But that's just it: The most pleasing thing you can do for God right now, the greatest sacrifice you can give Him is accepting the daily bread He gives you and doing His will regardless of how boring, mundane, or pointless it feels. 

We tend to think the way to holiness is through some great act. (I think sometimes we may forget that the point of becoming a saint is not for our greater glory but for God's.) The fact is, the way to holiness is very simple. It consists in accepting the daily bread God has given you. It consists in offering every moment of your day as a prayer with Christ on the cross for the salvation of souls and for God's glory.

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I want to make a few suggestions for how we can become saints throughout COVID-19, and how we can make this a FRUITFUL time for the salvation of souls EACH DAY while putting on a smile on God's face:

-- When you wake up each morning, immediately say a prayer accepting God's will with all the trials you will experience that day (including moments/spans of sadness, boredom, loneliness, feelings of uselessness, irritations with household members, etc.)

-- A number of us have loads of extra time on our hands. While we may not find this a pleasant experience, we can accept even that as a cross and dedicate some of that time to prayer, reading scripture or books that help us grow, etc. I'm not saying become a Carmelite. I'm just saying commune with Our Lord for a while even if your prayer feels dry.**

-- Offer preparing your food as a prayer. Offer washing your dishes as a prayer. Offer doing your laundry as a prayer... ALL THOSE MUNDANE TASKS, if we turn them each into a prayer, can bring SO MUCH GLORY to God!!!

May SO MUCH GLORY be brought to God throughout COVID-19 and so many souls be saved! 

The world can come out of this a better place through little offerings every day!

** If you find yourself binging on YouTube or Netflix or whatever that may be a coping mechanism for you that's okay. But if you find spending your time this way is only adding to your feelings of restlessness or irritability, take a step back and consider using some of that time doing something that brings you peace like spending time in prayer or reading the scriptures / holy books.

Blessings From Raindrops: Finding The Good Amidst COVID-19

I would like to start off by saying that this post is not in any WAY, SHAPE, or FORM meant to devalidate the stress people are undergoing or the feelings of grief, sadness, or hopelessness people may be experiencing. First and foremost, I want you to know that it's ok to cry. Yet, at the same time...

In a time when many people are feeling hopeless, I think it is important to not lose sight of the fact that God can bring GREAT THINGS from dire or SEEMINGLY HOPELESS circumstances.

"God causes all things to work together for His glory." 

(Rom. 8:28)

Here are some beautiful things we can appreciate right away in the midst of the coronavirus:

1. Increased Appreciation For Things We Have

Many of us have been living in a world where it is easy to take things for granted: food, employment, housing, running water, high-quality medical care, transportation, even social interaction. In this time of unrest, many people are losing these things. 

I picked up a habit last Fall (which I have been negligent in recently) called Gratitude Journaling. One way to do this is to grab a notebook and make two rows of letters starting from A and ending with Z. Next to each letter list something (or things) starting with that letter that you are grateful for in your life.

This method can work well for a Type A personality, but feel free to give your journal as much or as little structure as you would like. 

Regardless of whether you pick up this habit or a similar habit...

I have a feeling that many of us are NOT going to take things for granted the way we used to. Employment? Restaurants? A plethora of food choices? Social interaction? 

Many people are going to be hit harder than others. As new struggles are faced and sacrifices are made, let's not take for granted the blessings we do have or the good that is still in the world.

2. Creative, Random Acts Of Kindness / Works Of Mercy

As noted above, many people are going to be hit harder than others. In the midst of these new struggles come many new opportunities to practice the works of mercy.

Sure, we may have to get creative. I don't think gathering hundreds of people into a soup kitchen is going be the most popular method at the moment,

but we can find other ways to reach people whether that be:

1. buying supplies for someone 

2. providing childcare for someone while they look for a job

3. reaching out to someone you know is socially isolated with a phone call or a similar method of communication

etc.

... The options far building connection are pretty much limitless in the twenty first century.

3. An Increase In Worldwide Prayer

Different parts of the world are doing different things in response to the coronavirus outbreak. One thing I have found many groups of people doing is uniting (not physically) in prayer for all the people whose lives are being negatively affected by the coronavirus outbreak. 

This doesn't mean simply praying for those who are ill. This means praying for those who have lost a job and are struggling to pay their bills, those who have lost childcare but still need to go to work everyday to provide for their families, elderly people whose social contact with the outside world is becoming all-the-more-drastically limited, kids who are falling behind in school or who don't know what to expect as they approach much-anticipated events such as proms and graduations, couples who are having to postpone and re-plan their weddings, etc.

I've seen people creating Facebook events to unite in prayer (again, not physically) on certain nights or at certain times. I know the Archbishop of my archdiocese has called for an additional day of fasting and prayer for all those being directly or indirectly affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

One of my hopes is that many people who have been far from their faith for years will take this as an opportunity to reconnect with their faith as they enter into prayer and bring God their petitions.

4. A New, Unifying Connection

The battle we're fighting right now is unique in that EVERYONE (I mean everyone in the world) is united against one common enemy: the disease. For once, the world may be at war but it is fighting as a unified whole. I recently read a post on Instagram that brought this to my attention.

Ironically, at a time when we may be pulling back on physical touch, we now have a new connection, a common enemy, that we can work together to fight.

If you think about it, the world is divided in so many things right now. There are different ideologies between countries and even within countries. I think it is very important that people be allowed these differences, and yet the difficulty lately has been HOW ostracized groups are from each other: just look at the Republican and Democratic parties.

Because we see people who are different from us as "other" and as "enemies," we constantly have our guard up, are distrusting, and are unable to find common ground and to really discuss out beliefs in a respectful, civilized way. 

But think about it. For once the ENTIRE WORLD is at war, and the entire world has ONE. COMMON. ENEMY. I hope that through the coronavirus we are able to set aside our differences enough to say: "I'm your brother or sister. I'm by your side. I can relate. We are humanity. Let's fight this together." For once, can we actually step back far enough to see our shared humanity and to unite in fighting something together?

~*~

So that's my pep talk for today, and this is my abrupt ending. I hope this article has given you even the slightest glimmer or hope and has helped reorient your mind even in just the slightest way to remember that there IS still good in the world, God is GREATER than all our problems, and God can work through even the greatest of our problems for EVERYONE'S greater good.

{And yes, this post was titled after the song Blessings by Laura Story. If you haven't yet heard it, you should give it a listen!}

My Relationship With My Body Weight (Is Gaining A Few Pounds In Your 20s Bad?)

When I was in middle school (and into early high school) I reached my peak weight of 140. At this point in my life my anxiety and depression were at their all-time peak and my health was, as a result, at it's lowest. 

Come Fall of my junior year of high school, without even intending to, I lost twenty pounds going from 140 to 120. It just so happens that these years of my life were some of my healthiest in terms of mental health and overall physical activity. 

Come college, I heard the rumor of "Freshman 15." This girl wasn't going to let that happen. I watched my diet a whee bit but I didn't starve myself either. I went to the gym every day for about an hour. (It's probably worth noting that I was probably more infatuated with keeping my weight down than was healthy. When you work off 1000 calories in one workout..... yeah.) That said, I did not gain the Freshman 15 so that was exciting for me.

All throughout college and into my first two years out of college, my weight typically balanced between 130 and 135. To be honest, sometimes I wasn't eating enough, but this was more-so due to a variety of other things (lethargy, small appetite, etc.) instead of being intentional.

Well, I hit 24 and went through the most stressful two months of my life since my early teens. Around the tail-end of this period my weight suddenly bounced up averaging between 139-141. 

Yes - I FREAKED OUT. 

My anxiety around weight skyrocketed to the point there I almost felt dizzy with anxiety. I would try to cut back my daily intake from around 2000 calories a day to the 1500 range.

Allow me to explain a little of why freaked out, because there's more to it than one might guess:

When I was at my peak weight of 140 I was going through the most difficult period of my life. In the midst of this period I only had ONE REAL FRIEND in high school. The other kids ignored me and even acted as if I didn't exist. I had an experience in eighth grade where I sat down by a group of about ten peers on the bleachers at a football game and within a minute they ALL stood up and walked away: not acknowledging me and leaving me sitting completely alone.

My next two years of high school didn't get much better.

It wasn't until I transferred to public school my junior year of high school (and had done enough psychological analysis to master the art of making friends and fitting in) that things got better. I finally felt semi-popular. I felt accepted. I had friends from a whole array of groups at school and even fit in with the "popular kids" for a bit until I decided this wasn't quite going to work out for me.

Coincidentally? -- I started putting more effort into my appearance (a hair and make-up transformation), because I finally felt I had something worth showing up looking good for, and, yes, I lost 20 pounds.

As noted above, this weight loss wasn't really intentional (my appetite just suddenly went away for a few weeks), but it did boost my self-esteem. 

As a result, I associate my weight with how I have related with the world and people in my life while at that weight. 

So when I stepped on the scale a week ago and the scale went all the way up to 141, my heart started pounding faster. In the past if I gain a few pounds and reach say 136 I was able to get back to 133 over the course of a day or two (probably because weight fluctuates some during the day).

In this case, I started paying more attention to my calorie intake (which I had initially started logging to make sure I was eating more than just a "straight carb" diet). The lowest I could get my weight down to was 138 and then it would fly back to 140.

~*~

For people who watch "This Is Us," this might sound like the first episode where Kate goes to a group for overweight people and meets a slender girl named Madison.

You could be thinking, "Sheila, you're so skinny and freaking out over nothing just like Madison."

In some ways you might not be wrong, but my figure and ability to maintain a reasonable body weight over the last eight years of my life is something I have always been proud of. It's something that boosts my self-esteem when I'm feeling low. It's something I feel a sense of control over in a world where I often feel a lack of control.

So here comes Thanksgiving and I'm trying mercilessly to lose 5-10 pounds, BUT I'm also FREAKING OUT so much over my weight that my body trembles and I feel the need to snack. Of course, a snack only confirms the voice in my head saying, "What a loser. You're never going to be skinny again. You've lost it for good" ........

All this said, I am grateful that my mom mentioned to me today that people in their twenties aren't necessarily expected to stay at the same body weight as their teens in order to be healthy. I did a bit of research and loe and behold found an article titled "Ways Every Women's Body Changes In Her Twenties" by Brittany Brolley.

The line that truly stood out to me from this article was:

"While putting on a few pounds may have you thinking about dieting, it's not a great idea. Restricting your caloric intake will actually only make it harder to lose weight, according to Cleveland Clinic nutrition expert Kristin Kirkpatrick. 'The more you diet, the more your metabolism may be negatively impacted,' she explained. Developing healthy eating and exercise patterns is best."

BOOM! WOWZA! Self-acceptance booster much? And, also, this realization brought me the relief that I don't need to be starving myself. Sure, I should watch myself for "overeating," but 2000 calories a day is not bad and could in fact be better for my body than 1500 at this stage in my life.

Working out could be a key to get into my routine to make sure that the pounds I do have are healthy pounds. I truly feel encouraged and wanted to share this with fellow women so they can also know that gaining a few pounds in your 20s is healthy. Would I rather have my "high school body" back? Sure, but having a few extra pounds on the table is NOT something to worry about: it's a sign of health.

Well, readers, that's all for today. May we all live happy and healthy lives with a balanced diet and strong workout routine to support us. :)

WHAT Do They Inspire? Choosing My Influences

I've come to the realization that the majority of people who I follow in Instagram and YouTube do awaken something in me, but I would not like to call that thing inspiration. Here's why:

When I scroll through Instagram, look at Insta-Stories, or watch cover after cover and video after video on YouTube I my thoughts instantly go to "I want to be like this person. How can I be like them?"

They "inspire" me to want 50K - 400K Instagram followers like them. They inspire me to want hundred of subscribers and 5K - 1M views on my videos. This is what they "inspire" in me.

I'm not saying these are bad people, but I am saying that these people who I dedicate anywhere from minutes to hours of my day to on a daily basis (both in following their channels and in the way I spend my mental energy the rest of the day) almost solely inspire me to want to be like them: to want to be popular, to want to look perfect, to want to have followers and idolizers.

Is this true inspiration?

Perhaps instead of listing off public figures or social media entities that I "wanna-be-like" as my inspirations I could examine what they inspire me to do.

To be an inspirer or influencer really just means you are a noun that performs an adjective. You "inspire" or "influence" people to do or want things... but to do or want WHAT?

If someone inspires me to try to create popular social media accounts and to have a perfect public image, I want to identify this and delete them.

If my influencers really just lower my self-esteem, if I'm defending my influencers who say their goal is to build people up who then dedicate their entire account to "look at me-me-me" and "support me-me-me"... that just doesn't seem right.

I've realized that the majority of the people I consider influences in my life feel to me two-faced (like they say one thing "I care about you" and focus on another "so look at me"). These are not people I know in person. I have rarely met any of them. When I do meet them the impact they have on me is not a sense of empowerment but as a sense of, "This person is great, popular, has what I want, etc. so I need to impress him or her or I'm doomed."

They inspire me to want to impress them (or to have what they have) and nothing else.

Hardly sounds inspirational when you look it into words, right?

~*~

I would like to contrast this with some of the nearest and dearest people to me in my own life. Two people come to mind especially (my friends Stephanie and Meaghan) when I think of people who bring to life in me IDEAS and fill me with a LOVE for and a JOY for life not with a desire to grasp popularity but with a joy in exploring, analyzing, and simply enjoying literature and ideas... these are the INFLUENCERS I want in my life.

I think two reasons these people I engage with in conversation are such a joy simply to talk to and explore ideas with is that they don't live in the world of social media. They either don't have social media or rarely go on it. It's not a central part of their lives. They would get along just swimmingly in Victorian England :)

It is so rare to find these sorts of people today: people whose very conversation with you is so stimulating that rather than inspiring you to run off and advertise yourself to the world they inspire you to sit in beauty and joy. Life is FASCINATING with these people. I have never met anyone like them.

My hope is that I can FINALLY let go of following all the "influencers" I talk about admiring on social media and YouTube. My best friend once told me there's no real way to be on YouTube without some sort of ego or agenda. I wholeheartedly agree. 

I'm not saying it's going to be easy letting go of these influences. They have become a sort of "go to" / "addiction." They get me to not live in the moment but to live in some world of perfect pictures, popularity contests, and a two-faced asking for attention while telling people you actually care about them. 

They bring me into a world of manipulation where livelihood is driven by "likes" and where you draw people in by pretending to others (and possibly to yourself) that they should support you for their own sake. You ask them for things (views, subscriptions, mail orders, etc.) while saying it's for them.

I think in this ^^ sort of world people don't even realize they're being manipulative, because they've either manipulated or blinded their own selves to seeing the truth (that they convince you to give them things by telling you how much they give you).

~*~

I think identifying and ridding my life of these influencers and replacing my time and attention with appreciating literature and stimulating conversations is the #1 thing I can do in my life to make me into the person I want to become.

So here's to starting... 

7 Things That Have Me Head-Over-Heels For Minnesota (suburbs especially)

One of the greatest things moving out of state has given me is an appreciation for my homeland. That isn't to say there aren't amazing things in other parts of the country/world, but in my personal opinion no place quite compares to home. 

Perhaps that's why Minnesota / the Twin Cities listed by multiple sources as one of the top places to live in the United States. Here's why I love it:

1. The People

I have met fabulous people from all over the United States, but Minnesota is my home base. It is where I have made a varieties dear and loyal friends throughout various stages of my life. So many of these friendships have turned LIFELONG, and my friends are both a joy to spend time with and have a wonderful influence on me.

Oh, and my family's here too which KNOCKS MY SOCKS OFF!

2. The Roads

I have NEVER before had such a great appreciation for midwestern roads in my life -- especially those in Minnesota. At least in the Twin Cities, our roads are typically flat and easy to maneuver, well-lit, and come with nice size shoulders for incase you need to pull over. 

Drivers are also "more often than not" good sports -- I'm not saying we don't have any aggressive drivers -- and do a decent job of taking turns and not tailgating. (Note: This is not all the time. You will find your fare share of tailgaters in Minnesota, but I wouldn't call tailgating the "norm." -- I would also like to warn against people not using turn signals, but from my experience this seems to be a trend all throughout the U.S.)

3. The Geographical Layout (Variety; Proximity; Walking/Biking...) 

Ah, geography. Some people complain about Minnesota being "too flat," but personally I think our flatness makes for easy transportation and great visibility on the road. Walking and biking places is easy to do both in and outside of the city. Most cities and suburbs have sidewalks pretty near everywhere.

Another pro to Minnesota is that we have VARIETY. If you like the busy city feel you can go to downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul, but if you prefer a refreshing break from the hustle-bustle you are just a frogs leap away from beautiful scenery. If you like a balance of being near lovely parks and scenery while also near to stores and activities (all this with a safe and friendly neighborhood feel), there are a plethora of suburbs all around the Twin Cities that provide not only parks and greenery but easy accessibility to shopping and other forms of recreation.

Oh! And Minnesota has an amazing History that we aren't afraid to display through places such as the Mill Ruins Park. Looking for an incredible day for scenery and pictures? The Stone Arch Bridge is a MUST VISIT. It's the PERFECT blend of nature, beautiful architecture, and the city-scape all in one place.

4. The Lakes

Having always lived in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, I've taken driving next to multiple lakes wherever I go for granted. A swim? Easy-peasy. If you like the clear water and chlorine we've got plenty of activity centers with pools, but if you're going for the "au natural" vibe or simply want to take a loop around the lake, we have so many options! Lot of parks and walking trails are situated next to looks, and if you go for even just a mile or two you might get to hike by multiple lakes (all while in a suburb just miles from downtown).

Just want to dip your feet in the water? You can typically either just walk a few blocks or drive a few miles to fill that desire. Boating? Fishing? Looking for a cabin? We've got all of the above. HELLO, SUMMER!

5. The Celebrations / Festivities

Just because we often spend somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 of the year buried in snow does NOT mean we hide out throughout the year. Minnesotans know how to make the most of any weather. We celebrate each season with a variety of celebrations. On just about any weekend you can look up nearby cities are find one.

Our most popular and iconic attractions include the Minnesota State Fair where we celebrate our Minnesota pride with music, animal exhibits, over 300 food vendors, and more! We also celebrate our culture with the Irish Fest, Polish Fest, Scottish Fest, and more. Come winter we don't stay hidden indoors but go on the town for ice skating, ice sculptures, parades, and yes (more food) at events such as the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Red Bull Crashed Ice, Holidazzle, and more.

We are a hearty and celebratory crowd year round and know how to make the best out of any season!

6. The Stores

To add to it's geographical genius, the Twin Cities has stores galore. You can often find two to four Walmarts within a ten mile radius. Target is everywhere. And then we've got our beautiful midwestern go-to grocery stories like Cub. Looking for discounts? Aldi is just a few miles away if not across the street. Not only are the prices decent but the produce in our state is robust due to being in such close proximity to the food transportation systems including Highway I-94?

We also have a plethora of shopping malls where you can indulge your retail desires or simply grab a cup of coffee and go for a stores-galore walk.

7. The Schools 

Minnesota has been listed among the top states for public education. We have a plethora of schools with solid academics and stellar graduation rates. Our number of school districts is exceptional and we also have a variety of types of schools including public, private, charter, or immersion.

We also have an incredible number of special education options including a variety of schools created specifically for special education (including Lionsgate, Spero, Carner Blue...) and lots of organizations dedicated to helping people dealing with specific disabilities not only in academic but in social and recreational aspects of their lives.

This is BY NO MEANS an ALL-INCLUSIVE list of the wonderful things Minnesota has to offer. It is merely a list of the first things that come to mind when I think about why I love Minnesota: The North Star State.

Why I Have A Phone AND And iPod (P.S. I've Never Downloaded A Song In My Life)

To the majority of the world, when I pull out my Apple iPod and my Samsung Phone I look like some CRAZY TECH LADY. The funny thing is that the reverse is true. The reason I have two different devices is to limit my media intake.

2008 - 2019: My Devices

Born in 1995, I am right in that crack between the generation that used no phones, the generation that used flip phones, and the generation that used smartphones. 

My memories of electronics as a kid were: a boxed TV with videocassettes that eventually become DVDs, a box computer that I learned to type on and wrote lists and stories on, and on one or two occasions my aunt visiting and bringing her laptop (I was in awe).

I remember eventually seeing advertisements of business men walking around with flip phones. The phones looked so sleek. I was disappointed that when my dad got a wireless phone for work it wasn't a flip phone but was rather boxy.

2008

Fall of 2008 got my first fancy camera where you could actually see how the picture turned out right after you took it. It was an amazing, exciting adventure for me. I remember bringing it to school and taking class pictures with it. Having that device was truly a wonder whirl of fancy tech and fun.

Within months of getting my first fancy camera (which I bought with my own money), my mom gave me my first flip phone so that I could get in touch with her after softball practice. At this point, most of my classmates had slide phones, but I was always at least a little behind the pack when it came to technology (and I pride myself in that).

My first flip phone was very special to me, even if it was hard to text on. To me, texting was ultimate modernity and fanciness. It was like being a part of a whole different world of cool. I didn't text a whole lot on that phone. My second flip phone was a dozen times more special to me, because it was sleek. 

2010

I probably got it a year or two later. I don't remember if my first phone started getting slow or if I just wanted a sleeker model. I still think it's beautiful to the touch.  I think the phone was actually a hand-me-down from my mom when she upgraded to a model with a keyboard. It's smooth and feels good in your hands. Opening and shutting a flip phone also has a satisfying feeling to it for some reason. Unless it had a slide out keyboard (which had an extra-satisfying sensation), I preferred the flip. 

2012

I think I was in late high school when my mom did another hand-me-down. This was actually my favorite phone of all the phone's I've ever had. It had a QWERTY keyboard which made texting easy. The screen was small, so it didn't hurt my eyes, and the features were simple, so I didn't have to worry about the temptation to waste time on apps (I didn't have any apps).

2013

2013 was a year that changed so much in my relationship with technology. In August of 2013, for the first time I went into a Apple store and actually bought a product.

If my reasoning was the same then as it is now, I bought the iPod Touch partially because it cost less than the iPhone while carrying the majority of the same features and partially because I still wanted my phone to be simply for phone calls and not serve as a temptation to waste time on apps or social media.

If I wanted people to be able to get a hold of me while I basically detached from technology, I could simply leave my iPod at home and bring my QWERTY around with me.

(^^ answer to the blog title)

I used on iPod a lot once I bought it. My freshman year, snapchat was the primary mode of communication my friends and I used to meet up. This was before snapchat got all weird and added the "snap story" feature of such. (As you can probably tell, I'm not a fan of those changes. I felt like it totally depersonalized the app. People don't have to intentionally choose to send you a snap anymore. But let's get back on topic.)

A month after I got my iPod, I started using Twitter and Instagram.

2016

To be quite forward, I was devastated when TracFone refused to stop providing services for my QWERTY phone in 2016. When I returned from my semester abroad, I was informed they had sent me a smart phone in the mail. I adamantly DID NOT want a touch screen.

It felt so unreal having no buttons and the screen simply changing on touch. The screen also seemed to glare in my eyes way more than on my previous phone. (Yes, I have learned since then that you can turn the brightness down.) I wanted my phone to be simply a phone not something overloaded with addicting apps. All throughout the rest of college, I was jealous when I saw a friend with a QWERTY phone. 

I never uploaded any social media apps to this phone and barely ever (less than once a month) used it to go on the internet.

2017

In 2017, after many years of valiant service (5 to be exact) and still with a decent battery as I recall, my iPod hit it's last straw. I am thankful that it worked throughout our family trip and long enough to me to upload all my photos to the computer. A week later, I tried to turn it on, and it was as simple as that... the screen would not turn on.

To this day, I consider my 5th generation iPod touch among my top two most "loyal" pieces of technology when it comes to longevity and efficiency. It was also beautiful (a beautiful turquoise). I still keep it in my drawer as a memento and a thank you to it's incredible five years of faithful and efficient service.

That month, I debated whether I should get another iPod or buy an iPhone to replace both my devices. For the same reason as listed above (to make it easier for me to limit technology usage while still being reachable by phone), I decided to get another iPod.

It turns out this was the iPod touch 6th generation. It didn't seem that different from my 5th generation iPod. The downfall was the battery life of this iPod. I didn't realize how incredibly lucky I had been with my iPod 5 until only ONE year into having my iPod 6 the device began to lose it's charge abruptly out of nowhere. It would go from 20 percent to 80 percent to shutting off within FIVE SECONDS (still haven't figured out what wacky business was going on there) and it did this multiple times per hour even right after being fully charged.

I went in to get the battery fixed, but when I was told they would instead replace my iPod for the price of the battery, I didn't want to let go of my "personalized" iPod. I waited another year. The iPod battery no longer does it's wacky rising and falling; however, the battery life is typically only one to two hours long and it takes a minimum of FIVE hours to fully recharge it. (After two hours of being plugged in, I am lucky if it has made it to 40 percent.)

2019

Around spring of 2019, I couldn't handle the incredible slowness of the smart phone TracFone had sent me. I had waited it out an extra year, because I didn't want to spend money on getting a new phone, but now this phone wasn't holding it's charge well, was charging as slowly as my iPod, and was just in general "slow."

After months of looking at phones online but not buying one, I finally decided that my phone wasn't worthy of being called a phone. I went to Target and bought a new one.

Was it worth it? Yes. My new phone holds a charge decently and, most importantly, charges very quickly. It's generally pretty speedy too. The phone is not an upgrade in regards to appearance or feel (I prefer smaller phones and this one's slightly larger than my previous one), but it actually does it's job and does it well. That's really all that matters. So, yes, it is an upgrade. And, yes, it was worth it.

New Apple Products

Apple came out with a new iPod in 2019. I've been highly considering replacing my iPod (one year later). I went in to Apple, and they were going to charge me almost the full price of the iPod just to replace it with a more efficient 6th generation iPod. That seemed like a cheat. 

I might as well pay a bit more and get the iPod 7 which will probably last a lot longer. That said, reviewed of the iPod 7 say it isn't honestly that different or better quality than the iPod 6. It's just  ore likely to be compatible with the new software updates Apple requires every few years (or months). Have you noticed how Apple does that???

The iPhone 6S is on sale for under two hundred dollars with TracFone, but if you think about it, that is also the 2015 model (the same year as the iPod 6), and reviews say it will only be compatible with software updates for the next year or (maximum) two.

All in all, is it worth getting a new iPod? The functions of my iPod are simple. It has a decent camera, and I can access free things on it that I can't access on non-Apple devices like Podcasts or some Audiobooks.

It would be pointless to have Instagram on my Phone, because the camera quality on my phone is so low. It's just such a plain phone -- which I like for a phone.

So there it is. I don't know what my next technology step will be, but I want to be careful that I am getting more detached from technology as opposed to more attached to it. Apple products (maybe most technology products?) cheat people every few years by outdating software and leaving older devices no longer "software compatible."

That said, I still want to be able to carry my iPod around the house with it's easy transport, small screen, and good audio in order to listen to my favorite audiobooks. And I still need (is that too dramatic of a word?) a camera that actually works.

I'm not sure my next step. Maybe I can get this iPod to live a year or two longer. When it won't even turn on, that's when you know it's really dead and needs replacing. I'm not going to spend $500+ dollars on a new device. Max me out at $300. I guess I'll just have to see where the world of technology goes. Will I make it another few months with an deficient iPod? WHO KNOWS.