Happy Friday

Oh, hi.

Having a bad day?

That's okay, look at these pictures of my cute little puppy and feel better.

Happy Friday everyone!

If you want to see more pictures of Madi Jane, go ahead and creep on my

Instagram

all the pictures are mostly of her.

Young and Beautiful (from The Great Gatsby Soundtrack).

I have seen The Great Gatsby twice now in theaters.
I wouldn't go as far as saying I'm obsessed, but I like it so so sooo incredibly much that I've already

-downloaded half the soundtrack,
-listened to it on repeat since then
-bought the book
-reread the book
-getting a tattoo of a quote from the book.

Yes.
                            a tattoo...

and It's going to say:

"...so we beat on, boats against the current..." 

and it will have a little sailboat.

because I adore sailboats.

And I've decided to post the song that plays in the movie at a part where I've quietly cried each time I've seen it.

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Give Blood (TED on Tuesday).

Five days ago I gave blood. It was my second time, and I'm so incredibly thankful for the opportunity. Others who have given blood, they have been helpers, and they are the people who saved my dad's life. I am also incredibly thankful for them. And I just want to reach out to you, and let you know that you can help too.

"It really doesn't take very many of us to achieve spectacular results." 

I wore red, to represent the precious blood I gave.

And here I am in my car after donating.

Proudly wearing my "I make a difference" sticker.

And now for a video that I found on TED which has inspired me to give my blood for more reasons than I had five days ago. Watch the video below to find out why.

John Wilbanks -- Let's Pool Our Medical Data:

9:20-- So the thing that I'm proposing we do here is that we reach behind us and we grab the dust, that we reach into our bodies and we grab the genotype, and we reach into the medical system and we grab our records, and we use it to build something together, which is a commons. And there's been a lot of talk about commonses, right, here, there, everywhere, right. A commons is nothing more than a public good that we build out of private goods. We do it voluntarily, and we do it through standardized legal tools. We do it through standardized technologies. Right. That's all a commons is. It's something that we build together because we think it's important.

And a commons of data is something that's really unique, because we make it from our own data. And although a lot of people like privacy as their methodology of control around data, and obsess around privacy, at least some of us really like to share as a form of control, and what's remarkable about digital commonses is you don't need a big percentage if your sample size is big enough to generate something massive and beautiful. So not that many programmers write free software, but we have the Apache web server. Not that many people who read Wikipedia edit, but it works. So as long as some people like to share as their form of control, we can build a commons, as long as we can get the information out. And in biology, the numbers are even better. So Vanderbilt ran a study asking people, we'd like to take your biosamples, your blood, and share them in a biobank, and only five percent of the people opted out. I'm from Tennessee. It's not the most science-positive state in the United States of America. (Laughter) But only five percent of the people wanted out. So people like to share, if you give them the opportunity and the choice.

And so all of these things are part of the clinical study that we've created, so you can actually come in, all you have to be is 14 years old, willing to sign a contract that says I'm not going to be a jerk,basically, and you're in. You can start analyzing the data. You do have to solve a CAPTCHA as well. (Laughter) And if you'd like to build corporate structures on top of it, that's okay too. That's all in the consent, so if you don't like those terms, you don't come in. It's very much the design principles of a commons that we're trying to bring to health data. And the other thing about these systems is that it only takes a small number of really unreasonable people working together to create them. It didn't take that many people to make Wikipedia Wikipedia, or to keep it Wikipedia. And we're not supposed to be unreasonable in health,and so I hate this word "patient." I don't like being patient when systems are broken, and health care is broken. I'm not talking about the politics of health care, I'm talking about the way we scientifically approach health care. So I don't want to be patient. And the task I'm giving to you is to not be patient. So I'd like you to actually try, when you go home, to get your data. You'll be shocked and offended and, I would bet, outraged, at how hard it is to get it. But it's a challenge that I hope you'll take, and maybe you'll share it. Maybe you won't. If you don't have anyone in your family who's sick, maybe you wouldn't be unreasonable. But if you do, or if you've been sick, then maybe you would. And we're going to be able to do an experiment in the next several months that lets us know exactly how many unreasonable people are out there. So this is the Athena Breast Health Network. It's a study of 150,000 women in California, and they're going to return all the data to the participants of the studyin a computable form, with one-clickability to load it into the study that I've put together. So we'll know exactly how many people are willing to be unreasonable.

So what I'd end [with] is, the most beautiful thing I've learned since I quit my job almost a year ago to do this, is that it really doesn't take very many of us to achieve spectacular results. You just have to be willing to be unreasonable, and the risk we're running is not the risk those 14 men who got yellow fever ran. Right? It's to be naked, digitally, in public. So you know more about me and my health than I know about you. It's asymmetric now. And being naked and alone can be terrifying. But to be naked in a group, voluntarily, can be quite beautiful. And so it doesn't take all of us. It just takes all of some of us. Thank you.

I urge you to try to make a difference.

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TED Tuesday: The Power of Vulnerability

This is an incredible TED video. The beginning is a little slow, but you need all of the information she tells you to start with in order to appreciate the end the way you will if you promise to watch the entire video.

Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability

And if you don't have time for the entire video, I at least want you to take from it the main message which is exposed in the last couple minutes and is written below:

Starting at 14: 27 -- "Why do we struggle with [vulnerability] so much? Am I alone in struggling with vulnerability? No. So this is what I learned...We live in a vulnerable world. And one of the ways we deal with it is we numb vulnerability.

And I think there's evidence -- and it's not the only reason this evidence exists, but I think it's a huge cause -- we are the most in-debt, obese, addicted and medicated adult cohort in U.S. history. The problem is -- and I learned this from the research -- that you cannot selectively numb emotion. You can't say, here's the bad stuff. Here's vulnerability, here's grief, here's shame, here's fear, here's disappointment. I don't want to feel these. I'm going to have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin. I don't want to feel these. And I know that's knowing laughter. I hack into your lives for a living. You can't numb those hard feelings without numbing the other affects, our emotions. You cannot selectively numb. So when we numb those, we numb joy, we numb gratitude, we numb happiness. And then we are miserable, and we are looking for purpose and meaning, and then we feel vulnerable, so then we have a couple of beers and a banana nut muffin. And it becomes this dangerous cycle.

One of the things that I think we need to think about is why and how we numb. And it doesn't just have to be addiction. The other thing we do is we make everything that's uncertain, certain. Religion has gone from a belief in faith and mystery to certainty. I'm right, you're wrong. Shut up. That's it. Just certain. The more afraid we are, the more vulnerable we are, the more afraid we are. This is what politics looks like today. There's no discourse anymore. There's no conversation. There's just blame. You know how blame is described in the research? A way to discharge pain and discomfort. We perfect. If there's anyone who wants their life to look like this, it would be me, but it doesn't work.

And we perfect, most dangerously, our children. Let me tell you what we think about children. They're hardwired for struggle when they get here. And when you hold those perfect little babies in your hand, our job is not to say, "Look at her, she's perfect. My job is just to keep her perfect -- make sure she makes the tennis team by fifth grade and Yale by seventh grade." That's not our job. Our job is to look and say, "You know what? You're imperfect, and you're wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging." That's our job. Show me a generation of kids raised like that, and we'll end the problems I think that we see today. We pretend that what we do doesn't have an effect on people. We do that in our personal lives. We do that corporate -- whether it's a bailout, an oil spill, a recall -- we pretend like what we're doing doesn't have a huge impact on other people. I would say to companies, this is not our first rodeo, people. We just need you to be authentic and real and say, "We're sorry. We'll fix it."


But there's another way, and I'll leave you with this. This is what I have found: to let ourselves be seen, deeply seen, vulnerably seen; to love with our whole hearts, even though there's no guarantee -- and that's really hard, and I can tell you as a parent, that's excruciatingly difficult -- to practice gratitude and joy in those moments of terror, when we're wondering, "Can I love you this much? Can I believe in this this passionately? Can I be this fierce about this?" just to be able to stop and, instead of catastrophizing what might happen, to say, "I'm just so grateful, because to feel this vulnerable means I'm alive." And the last, which I think is probably the most important, is to believe that we're enough. Because when we work from a place, I believe, that says, "I'm enough," then we stop screaming and start listening, we're kinder and gentler to the people around us, and we're kinder and gentler to ourselves.""

Now just think about that for a second.

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Over the love.

It is mid-afternoon.

And I have hardly been out of my bed at all.

Here is a song, and if you can feel the emotion in her voice, you will know why I haven't stepped foot out of the comfort of my quiet and lonely bed.

"Can't undo what has been done, so turn off all the lights.

 Let the morning come 

& I'll cry and cry and cry over the love of you."    

-- Florence + The Machine ♥ 

Also, I am obsessed with The Great Gatsby. ♥

Hello strangers!

Oh hey, It's been nearly five months since I last posted...

                   5 months?!

Yes, five months. But have no fear, I'm back for good.

And you can expect a lot from me this summer.

So, let's get the ball rolling here.

Allow me to tell you all about what my life is currently.

Reading: Agenda 21 by Glenn Beck. Which is basically this cool book based off of the actual Agenda 21, a plan made by the government for the 21 century. It's pretty interesting and I recommend it to you! Also, I'm reading a book called Barred to You by Sylvia Day. I'm only about 10 percent of the way through according to my kindle fire, but so far it's a decent book. A lot like 50 Shades of Grey so far.

                        

Writing: Several things currently. A poem, a letter, and a novel! My very first novel. I'm calling it "After Brian" and I can't wait to see where it takes me. I'm so excited. When I start really getting it rolling I'll post it on my Wattpad account.

Listening to: I'm listening to Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Rey. It's one of the songs from The Great Gatsby soundtrack and I'm absolutely in love with it, as well as the movie. Both super amazing. The Great Gatsby was perfection, and I seriously recommend it to everyone in the world. Click HERE and listen now!

Watching: I'm watching a Jenna Marbles video. She posts one every Wednesday, but sometimes I get behind, or I don't watch them in order. You should watch it too. (:

Thinking about: More things than my brain should be able to handle at one time:

-the awesome day I had

-the best of friends I spend it with

-the guy that is breaking my heart

-how i'm going to keep him off my mind

-where my mom is with my laundry....?

Looking forward to: I'm really looking forward to my next day off. Which happens to be the day after tomorrow. I think the weather is supposed to be crappy, and so I need to rent all the seasons of Pretty Little Liars and watch every single episode there is. Just a thought. Sounds like a wonderful day to me though!

Making me happy: Right now it's this pretty baby in my lap.

I can't wait to share more with you guys this summer!

                                                                                                                      -Miranda

                                                                                                                             xoxo