‘God Friended Me’ Blessed My TV And It Will Bless Yours Too

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen me talk about the show God Friended Me a lot. And here I am with a whole blog post about it. I can’t stop raving about this show, you guys.

If you don’t know what this show is, it’s a new CBS show about a young podcasting atheist named Miles who gets a Facebook friend and many friend suggestions from an account called God. He soon figures out that he’s meant to help these random friend suggestions in some way, so while he is curious as to who this God is and how these people are all connected and why he, an atheist, is the one this God is calling upon, he does enjoy helping people. He does so with the assistance of Rakesh, his coworker and best friend, and Cara, a journalist and new friend. They’re all such likable characters.

Violette Beane, Brandon Michael Hall, and Suraj Sharma as Cara, Miles, and Rakesh.

And I know that if you’ve never heard of this show and you’re reading this post, you may think that I’m some bible thumper, pushing some religious propaganda TV show on you, but I assure you, I am not. In fact, though I was raised Catholic, I had actually decided to stop going to church about two weeks before this show aired, so this really shouldn’t be a show I take to while I’m rethinking the place that religion/Catholicism has in my life. My point is that even if you don’t believe in God or call God by another name, this show is still worth watching for reasons I shall now explain.

God Friended Me is an incredibly light, pure show. Every single episode has themes of humanity, hope, and happiness, so it’s such a feel-good show. Every Sunday or Monday night I watched it, it left me feeling calm and happy and so satisfied. I cannot recommend it enough if you need something light (both in terms of style and literal lighting) to counteract the Game Of Thrones or American Horror Story or whatever other dark things you watch. This show also has elements of mystery, romance, comedy, and drama, all mixed to create this fun, enjoyable show unlike anything else on TV.

In terms of the religious aspect, I think the show does a fabulous job about not being preachy or pushy. Miles is an atheist, but his father is a pastor, and while that does lead to some tension among the characters, the show does not push one side on you, the viewer. Both sides have their legitimate reasons, and I think it is neat to have a show that portrays religious people as normal but also able to see flaws within their system (eg. the gay marriage issue). The show doesn’t use religion to justify behavior. Though I think it would be cool to see more of other religions too. Maybe this Facebook God is a Jewish one. Or a Hindu one.

Of course, this is not to say that God Friended Me is perfect. No, there are some small aspects of it that I don’t love. For one, though Miles and Rakesh live in New York, they both don’t seem to work that much. Miles will straight up walk out of work every time he gets a new friend suggestion. At least when Cara tags along, she can pass it off as finding a story. Another issue is that there have been a few times when Miles offers to watch the kid of the person he is trying to help, and they take him off on that offer. Like, I know they’re usually desperate, but you’re just going to let this random man you just met a solid two minutes ago have control of your child? What sane parent would agree to that? And a last issue is that there have been several Broadway stars guest starring on the show and there has been zero singing yet, which is a big missed opportunity.

This show isn’t one that can run for a decade, but I can see it lasting several great years. Its first season just ended a few days ago (with a fun cliffhanger!), and it’s been renewed for a second. I can’t wait to see Miles, Cara, and Rakesh continue to help more people and make NYC a better place. I don’t even care if the God account mystery ever gets solved; I just love these characters and watching this original, pure show every week.

So, yeah, I highly recommend it. It was an unexpected surprisingly great show—definitely the best of the new seasons— that I’m so glad I started, and I know you’ll enjoy it too. You’ve got all summer to catch up, so get to it and get on this train of adoration! Amen.

 

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Let’s Stop Saying Things We’ll Never Follow Through On

One thing I’ve noticed a lot in these new adult years is that people, some more than others, have a really bad habit of saying things they either don’t mean or they will never follow through on, even if they did mean it.

And I’d like it to stop.

Of course, it’s a thing that people probably don’t even realize they’re doing it, so it’s hard to change, but if I may, I’d like to suggest that in your next social conversation, try to notice it happening. Listen for it from all parties. You may be surprised how often it happens. It happens at work, I’ve noticed as well.

Because you never know when you’ll be talking to someone (me) who takes everything to heart (me) and then bases her self worth over it (me).

Okay, that’s dramatic, but the point still stands. I’ve had friends say something like “you’ll have to come to my cottage this summer!” and then I’ll never get an invite, or “you’ve never seen [insert some old Disney movie here]? Okay, one day we’re gonna watch it together!” and then we don’t. Do you know how many friends over the years have said, “I want to straighten your hair! We’ll have a sleepover and I’ll straighten it!” At least three. Do you know how many actually followed through? Zero. Not that I want my hair straightened, I’m just saying.

My best friend and I have for years talked about going to London, England one day. But we never made plans or set deadlines or made it seem like it was realistic for us any time soon. Even now, I in theory could go given that I have a job and vacation time, but my friend is still in school, so it’d be dumb to do that, and we’re not in a rush. If we ever talk about it these days, it’ll still be in that future idyllic sense so we know we’re not letting anyone one down because we’re reasonable humans.

I know it’s probably my fault for believing these grandiose plans and letting the constant failure of them get to me, but I also think the world would be better if we were more honest and realistic about things we say and do and think.

And I’m realizing that maybe I sound bitter and projecting my social life insecurities into this post, but it’s not just fellow young people around me doing it. My parents do it with their friends for things not even involving me. I just watch it happen (or not happen, I should say).

It’s so easy to say “we’ll do this,” and “we’ll do that,” and “I’ll totally invite you here,” and in my heart I know that people more often than not actually do want to follow through, but they either forget they said it or things just don’t work out. So I guess my point is if you notice this being a pattern in your life, maybe think twice about so casually saying something because holding back certainly won’t hurt.

Does this make sense?

 

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Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Bed: An Experiment

We’ve all heard the cliche saying of “Seems somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed!” whenever someone is being grumpy and irritable. A lot of phrases like that are just old superstitions, and I know this. But still, I figured it’d be fun to try to test it by getting up on different sides of the bed. Because I can. My bed at home is in the middle of the wall, so I actually can do this, whereas all through university, my beds were against a wall, so I only had one way out. I always get out on the left side, because my nightstand is on that side, as is the door. But who’s to say that’s the proper side? Maybe my life would really pick up if I changed it up.

So for two weeks, I tracked what side of the bed I got up on in the morning and then how I felt the day went at night. I had to wait until I had two weeks where I didn’t have anything big going on that would cause my days to have biased emotions. I also didn’t want to just go right-left-right-left-right back and forth, so I allowed myself to change it up randomly (though I often forgot to think about which side and I’d remember after I got up, so sometimes my randomness was more like forgetfulness…) and I’d just have to remember to write it down.

I did track it on a piece of paper, but it was messy and hard to read, so I recreated the chart on good old MS Paint.

What did this little experiment prove? It proved that I live a boring life. Most of my days are average, and now I have proof of it. This experiment also proved that there was no clear difference between days where I got up on the right side versus the left side. So, myth busted. It also showed that not only do sides of the bed really not matter but days of the week don’t really matter either. Nothing really matters nothing really matters…to me...any way the wind blows…

Anyway, sometimes science comes to anticlimactic results, and this is one such example if we’re so bold to call this science. I hope you enjoyed reading it at least. And feel free to test it yourself! Why the heck not? Prove lady fate wrong or right. It really wasn’t hard to do, as long as I remembered to do it as I was getting up.

What side of the bed do you get up from?

 

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Monthly Look Ahead: April 2019

April showers bring May flowers, right? I don’t even care if April has showers because I am very much done with the cold and snow, so bring it on, April. And, since this is a Monthly Look Ahead, the following things can also be brought on this month.

• If you couldn’t guess that Avengers: Endgame would be my #1, you’re a fool. This movie is going to end me, and I am ready. This is it. Every trailer, every poster, every cryptic tweet…they’ve all been preparing my soul for what will surely be an epic, devastating, and amazing film. RIP me (and probably several characters) on the 26th.
• Legends Of Tomorrow is finally back after taking a long hiatus. This show, though maybe a bit too zany these days, is still fun and enjoyable.
• The author of The Inheritance Cycle wrote another book of stories in that world, and though it came out in late December, I’ve only just finished my reread of The Inheritance Cycle (I’m a slow reader now), so this month I shall finally get to read this book called The Fork, The Witch, And The Worm that I’ve essentially been waiting for since early high school. I am very excited.
  
• Season two of Cloak And Dagger airs on the 4th, and though it’s not my favourite Marvel show, season one wasn’t awful, so I’ll keep watching. Plus, slowly my list of shows per week is going down as seasons end, so it’s not like I have better things to watch.
• Curling is ending, and though I am not looking forward to that, I am looking forward to the closing parties. It just so happens that the events for the two leagues I’m in are on the same weekend, so I’ll be at the club a lot those two days.

So that’s my April. Not too busy, but at least I’m not in exam mode and packing to move back home mode like my past four Aprils. This is better.

What’s getting your pumped for April?

 

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Blogging Isn’t For Everybody

I recently did some blog housekeeping. I unfollowed a bunch of inactive blogs and Twitter accounts and visited the blogs of my followers to find that they’re also mostly inactive. It’s not the first time I’ve done this, though I really should do it more often because it literally took me all weekend. The last time I did this, it spurred this post about empty followers and how they really take a toll. This time, the chore brought on the following thought explosion.

Blogging isn’t for everybody. And it shouldn’t be. Obviously some people love to write and others don’t. But there are people who genuinely want to write and like it, so they start a blog. I’m always really hesitant to follow brand new blogs. I like reading their first posts and supporting them to start, but something like 60% of blogs started don’t last more than a few months, and most blogs in existence are inactive. It worries me when a new blog says something like “this is my fourth attempt at blogging!” because while I know they’re being honest and optimistic, it is a very clear warning that they may fall into the same pattern. Respect to those who overcome! (If you want to check out this great experiment run by a fellow blogger who tracked random blogs’ inactivity over a yearlong period.)

And I get it, life can be crazy. I only blog once a week and when I clock out at work, I have essentially zero responsibilities or plans, but even I have trouble keeping up sometimes. I am in awe of people who balance blogging and a more busy life. But I’ve made blogging work for me, and that’s not because I’m special or love writing more than others.

I’ve noticed that blogging has become more about just writing online. It’s become a process. You can’t just post when you want. You have to have a schedule. You have to network. You have to have social media accounts. You have to have great content. This side of blogging is huge, and it’s very easy to get sucked into it.

Blogging, for a lot of people, is a part-time job, and that can’t work for everyone. Even me with my free time, I don’t have the time to do everything….nor do I have the drive. Blogging is fun for me, and I don’t want the stress of upkeep and goals ruining it for me.

I’d love to know how many people with inactive blogs quit because they couldn’t keep up with the demands bloggers have placed on each other. Or how many felt so guilty for taking a break that they don’t come back at all. I’ll admit that sometimes, the pressure to post and be active on social media has helped me because it forced me to be productive at times when I didn’t want to, but it also makes me feel a bit guilty for sometimes considering a week off or not tweeting as much as I feel I should to build a brand. But overall, since I only post once a week and only focus on a few social platforms, I’m not as overwhelmed and stressed.

See, blogging for me is a hobby. I like to write and share my nonsense. I doubt I’ll ever get so popular that my blogging will ever be anything but a hobby. Almost all bloggers start doing it as a hobby (honestly if you go into it for any other reason, you’re a fool), but there’s this push in the blogosphere to eventually transition to a full-time blogger. I see a lot of young ladies quit their jobs to blog full time. They’ve got the passion and drive and obviously better stats than me, so they take on the work-from-home freelance hustle-hard life, and I respect that because it does take balls. I could never do it. And I shouldn’t. We can’t all blog full time and we can’t all have companies wanting to work with us and we can’t all be invited to events. And I wouldn’t want to anyway, because if I’m always so concerned about making money and what post will do that, I won’t be able to post the nonsense I like.

This happens outside of the blogging world, of course. A friend on Facebook shared this article a few weeks ago about why turning a hobby (blogging, sewing, jewelry-making…) into a career isn’t always the best path because it can lead to resentment and a dislike for what was once a passion and an escape. At least YouTube has a system to pay big creators, but other industries don’t have that. So you gotta work really hard to make what you would at a regular job with benefits and whatnot.

If there are any new bloggers reading this, I urge you to find a schedule that works for you and draw the lines if you want to maintain blogging. Don’t get pressured into what others think blogging is because it’s a battle that may cause you to lose a passion. If you like to write and are fine doing it for no other reason, then great! Welcome to the blogosphere.

Blogging isn’t for everyone, but it may be for you.

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