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It’s been some time since I have written to you all. I’ve been so busy this past month that I can’t believe how fast the month has gone and that we have entered the wonderful season of everything pumpkin (pumpkin latte anyone?). It’s no wonder that the month has flown by with everything that has been happening recently. Starting a new job, meeting new people and nurturing lasting relationships, coming up with a research proposal and thus a senior project. It’s both amazing and terrifying how quickly time passes. Recently, I’ve even had some time to relax and do some fun girly things. However, lately one topic has really been dominating my thoughts.

What does it mean to me be emotionally open?

That is to say what does it mean to me to not be guarded emotionally? And furthermore, what does it take for me to be open and honest about my emotions? And how does my expression of emotions affect the people around me? How does it affect how I carry myself?

You see, sometimes I really feel that I can be all talk—like because I tell someone to be confident and to not worry, that I should always be confident and never worry. That I should never have any insecurities or get embarrassed or feel humiliated about something that has happened. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. That feeling that perhaps you’re nothing but a fake. That feeling of doubt that you’re actually doing the opposite of what you intended. Y’know that feeling. It was interesting for me, as I was recently laying in bed thinking about my man and how I was very much upset about not seeing him for four months (I had gone home to Southern California two weeks after meeting him for three months). Anyways, I was lying in bed one night and I was crying because I had had a really rough week and I was crying because I wanted nothing more than to see him. I became naggy and demanding—I wanted him to come and see me, but I it had never even crossed my mind that I could make the effort to go and see him. I was lying there and I realized that I love this man. I love that he works so hard and that he is so focused (while I am often a bit scattered) that he is so understanding and forgiving.

I was recently talking with a friend of mine as he was getting ready to go to a party, and he said to me, “You’ve mellowed out over the summer. I don’t know what it was but it mellowed you out. You use to be a real uptight bitch. More than you are now.” I thought about it and I said, “It’s probably all the shit that went down with Tyler (my ex)” and he said, “Probably.” I thought about it some more and I told him, “You know what, I owe Tyler. If it wasn’t for him and the awful crap that followed after the break up, I don’t think that I could have had any compassion for Kevin and what he’s gone through.” You see, the man that I love so much as suffered greatly. He was once engaged and then his ex-fiancé break it off with him. Telling him that she wanted to sleep with other men. I won’t pretend to get it because I don’t get it. I don’t believe that I will ever get the aching pain that must accompany such an awful experience. However, I do believe that I can have compassion for him. I believe that if I had never experienced heart ache that I couldn’t even begin to have compassion for him. I also believe that, from my heart of hearts, that we don’t stop loving our past loves, rather we make more love and give more love.

Yet, I know that love isn't alway smooth or always on a high note. I believe that love is having respect for my partner and for myself through the highs and the lows. The thick and the thin. I am an emotional being–an emotional spirit. I experience many emotions in a week and in a single week. It's perfectly normal for me. However, I also know that my soul holds on to past events, past feelings. From time to time these past feelings come forth from their deep depths. Occasionally, I worry that I project these past emotions onto people who are currently in my life. 

A Bit Of A Journal Like Reflection

Howdy Y'all! I'm not entirely positive as to how to go about approaching this post as admittedly this may read more like a journal than a blog post that is meant to be shared with thousands of people. You see, recently I have been feeling a lot anxiety. I'm not talking about the mild types of anxiety that people often report living with, but rather this anxiety seems to be a whole being experience. I feel it in my body and in my soul when I am not distracting myself with classes or physical activity. For me, when I feel an emotion, especially an emotion that can be described as being difficult or painful to feel, I really feel it in my body. My throat begins to tense up and I get this feeling of being heavy and like I'm not supported by the ground under my feet. That is to say that I really freak out! Admittedly, if I were left to my own devices I would probably drive myself insane sometimes! Literately. 

Recently, this has been the case. As was mentioned in an earlier blog post (A Little Lesson That I Learned), I have been somewhat involved with an absolutely incredible man. While I was home with my family I spent a lot of time with them, so there wasn't much in the way of anxieties in response to the lack of texts/calls. At first it was very scary as when I was dating my ex I was so used to getting a text from him nearly every day. In many ways it was reassuring to hear from him daily. However, this is not the case with my man. While I don't like that I don't hear from him all the time (many woman wouldn't like this), I logically know that he has his own life. Emotionally though the little girl inside of me is kicking and screaming, "Why doesn't he just at least say hi! It's been three weeks!" This little girl is terrified and would rather go with a man who wouldn't really encourage her to grow. I believe that this little girl will always be there and she certainly serves a purpose. Just what it is I don't really know. Now, I know that if I really want the man of my dreams, that I have to let myself really feel the anxieties and fears that I am facing. Perhaps, I need to really let myself cry it out or scream into a pillow and release the tension that has built up in my body.

At times, I know that I am subconsciously comparing my man now with my former man. For me, this is a problem because I then subconsciously place blame on my man for the pains felt from another man. I'm blaming Kevin for something Tyler caused him. Perhaps, I never really fully felt the pain that came from perceiving Tyler ignoring me. The woman that I am continually growing into believes from the bottom of her heart that Kevin doesn't deserve that. She truly believes that he deserves a woman who will do her best to understand him and his challenges and his fears and desires. On some level we both deserve it. That is to say that I deserve to have fewer anxieties and he deserves to have compassion (something that can't be given without first understanding). Not too long ago I was reading an article on Renee Wade's blog. In the article she said something along the lines of, "When you feel pain in your relationship it's a sign that you need to grow." Now perhaps, all my anxieties in this past week are because I need to grow more into the woman that I imagine myself being. 

Now, I should probably ask myself, "Just what kind of woman am I aiming to be?" The woman that I imagine myself being is a woman who can really feel her pains and her joys because without the pains she would never appreciate the joys. A woman who knows at her core that she is a lovely and loving woman who has so much respect and admiration for her man. A woman who puts her man, her children, her family and herself as top priorities. A woman who loves herself so much that for her the only option is to continue growing because she refuses to go backwards. A woman who really helps people (I'm actually thinking about starting another blog once I finish my education that helps to make more sense of the confusing and overwhelming world of neuroscience). A woman who can look at her failures and genuinely say that she doesn't regret it. After all, how could she possibly appreciate the successes, whatever they may be, if she never experienced failure and disappointments. Perhaps, not a woman who has it all, but a woman who loves what she is living and a woman who loves her life. I must admit I want my cake and I damn well want to it too!

Keeping this in mind, this past week I feel like I have been moving backwards for the most part. For example, I feel like I have been nagging my man to come over and help me or to spend time with me. From what I learned (and probably actually need to go back and redo) I feel like this probably sounds to him something like, "Hey I'm reeeeaaaaallllly needy! I'm going to lock you up in a basement and cut your balls off and put them in a jar right in front of your face! I'm going to take away your life and your freedom!" Even as a woman, the idea of having someone controlling every aspect of my life is extremely off putting. In many ways, I imagine that it would make men and women feel like they are trusted or that they are incapable of doing anything. Now, that doesn't sound like it would make me feel loved and appreciated. And I don't imagine that it would make him feel trusted, respected, appreciated, or like he can keep his freedom! I know for me, I definitely want to honor both his needs and my needs. I know that it is totally possible for both needs and desires to be fulfilled by a single human being. That is to say that it is possible to honor his need for freedom, trust, and respect while honoring my need for security, love and safety. Getting back on track, while I was nagging him it hit me while I was lying in bed and feeling bad for myself that I don't really need his help to put anything away or to finish moving. That's not what I really wanted at all. What I really wanted (and still do) is to see him. The truth is, that deep down, I really just miss him. Yet, I am so afraid of being that vulnerable with him. 

Do I really care about where this goes? Or would I rather take the safer path and not show him my vulnerability and really show him how I feel all because I'm so worried about showing up as low value. Well, doesn't worrying so much about being low value make me low value? That is I have worried myself so much about nagging him and not adding any value, that I haven't really added any value to his life. Equally, as bad, this worrying as caused me to not be authentic and genuine with him. It says I value my fears over him. Deep down that's not what I want I'm just scared. I'm scared that I'll mess this up and that I'll never have the beautiful babies that I want. That I'll never have security or the love of a man that I so desperately desire. 

I really am doing myself and my man a disservice in lying to myself. If I'm so busy lying to myself how can I possibly be open to him? I can't. He deserves to have a woman who will be honest and open with him. Not just in thought but in actions as well. 

Feel free to leave a comment below and share any experiences that you have had. Any thoughts or feelings welcomed!

The Special Bond Between Sisters

For many woman an important feminine influence in her life is her mother. However, I would argue that a woman's sister could potentially be more influential than any other woman in her life. I know for my sister and I that this has become the case. In fact, some people may even say that we are best friends.  However, a sisterly bond is very much different from any other bond or connection if you will, that she will ever have. A sister can fulfill needs that no other woman will ever be able to. 

While my sister and I have our own friends, we really love our time spent together. We may not share every important detail of our lives together right away. Our sisterly bond has become an important sense of connection for us both. In fact, I remember one time her and I were talking (I can't remember the entire conversation) and she said, "You know, you were basically my mom." To her, I had taught her much of what she knows about being a woman. You see, for my sister and I, we share many moments. We share the upsetting moments, the silly and weird moments, and many more. Naturally, we do still have our disagreements (I hate the word arguments because it seems to imply that there must be personal attacks, screaming, belittling and an overall need to be right instead of aiming for understanding). 

I believe that the bond shared with sisters can be one of the strongest bonds that two women ever share. As a sister myself I know that there can be that urge to be both the best friend and in some ways a motherly figure.  

As for my sister and I time has proven to hand us many ups and downs through out our relationships. We have had periods in which we loved to play with one another and to spend time together, and we have experienced periods where we generally didn't want much to do with each other. It can be a very frustrating relationship as times. In part because we are so similar and so vastly different at the same time.  However, it is exactly these ups and downs that have brought us closer together. 

As any sister can tell you, there are often arguments and/or disagreements within the relationship. Part of what is so beautiful about the bond between two sisters is that sisters love one another despite their flaws. A sister is often the first social connection that a little girl will ever experience. However, like any relationship, the bond between two sisters requires attention and nurturing. A strong relationship doesn't just happen. 

Do you have any special bonds with a sister or a woman who is like a sister? I would love to hear your stories! Comment below.

The Beauty of Sex

Sex. It is a topic that has been made taboo. During health education it is hardly talked about. "Sex education" in my country is a joke. All that we are told is "Don't have sex because it will kill you." Now, I'm being a bit cheeky here, but that really is how sex education here is taught. We're taught that sex is shameful, dangerous, and morally wrong. That it is an act that is comparable to death. In high school I was taught that if I had sex then I would get pregnant and die. Or if I didn't get pregnant then I would get a sexually transmitted disease. There was never any information about how pleasurable sex could be or how loved and connected that it could make two people feel. In fact, at least in my high school,I was handed a pamphlet on some contraceptives, but it wasn't all the helpful. It was just some basic information like how take a contraception (if it were oral or injection) and possible side effects. I remember sitting there and thinking to myself, "This is useless! I could have googled this and gotten significantly more information."

Making matters worse, no one in my group of friends ever discussed sex. It was just something that was never talked about. That is unless it was "Oh, I had sex. It was really nice" in a very monotone and non-enthusiastic tone. 

I began to wonder, "Is sex really something that has to be so taboo and filled with shame?" After all sex is natural and serves a purpose. None of us would be here if the generations before us didn't have sex. Many ladies, myself included, find it incredibly difficult to separate sex and love whereas men have the capability to separate the two. That is not to say that men can't associate love with sex just that they don't necessarily connect love with sex. It is not my intention to say that all men want is sex. In fact, there is a plethora of strong evidence to show that this really is not the case. In fact, I asked my man what sex meant to him. At first he laughed and then said, "At its core, sex is a connection." 

You see, in my experience I have meant many people who believe that all men are pigs. That all men want is sex. When I do a bit of self-reflection about the men in my life, I really look for evidence in my personal life that men don't just want sex. For example, both the men that I have been with, desired and needed sex. For many, if not most people, sex is an incredibly important part of a relationship. In my experience, I find that I feel loved and desired when my man and I make love. Sex has the potential to be intimate, beautiful and an expression of love. While sex is a very primal desire it is not dirty. I believe that a human being's need for sex will be with us for as long as humans walk this earth. You see,as the human brain evolved it didn't throw away the older parts of the brain. Rather,it fine tuned functions. What I am trying to get at is that sex   is natural and beautiful. 

I know that at least here in the States that there is very much sexual confusion. I believe that this is because culturally sex has been made morally wrong while our hardwiring makes us want and yes,need sex. As I said above, in sex education here we are basically told "don't have sex because it will kill you" and yet we are constantly bombarded with images that many would associate with sex. Sit back for a moment and really think about that. Is it really any wonder that people are so sexually confused?

For me personally, I am unable to have sex with someone that I am not in love with. In fact, casual sex and hook up culture really confuses me. Enough so that when I first met my man, I asked him, "Why do people like casual sex? How do people do it?" He replied by saying, "I love sex and casual sex can be fun, but when it's all said and done I know that I am still alone." So much for men just wanting sex. This summer, I decided that I was going to take an online home study course on men because frankly after going through a break up I was like "that fuckin' sucked!" and I never ever want to go through that again. Meeting a man before going home for the summer. To be honest, it really brought out a lot of my fears after the break up especially since I don't hear from him all the time like I did my ex. So, I decided to take this online course (click Here if you would like to check it out). Now, due to the nature of the course it wouldn't be complete if sex wasn't talked about. Something that I learned in this program is that men have two reproductive strategies. One in which they sleep with many many women in order to have a greater chance of passing on their genes.This is the older and more hardwired strategy. More importantly for me though was that men can and want to commit to me. For me this includes making love to only me and I to him. What can I say I don't like to share?

Ultimately, when sex is within an intimate and committed relationship it is a beautiful, passionate expression of love between two people.It's a connection.

What are your thoughts on sex? Sex education? What are your beliefs? Leave a comment below.