How many times does a person find himself at a crossroad where any given path would be potentially life-changing? More often than you'd think. Most things in our lives provide us with the opportunity to choose and that gives us the idea of freedom and plenty. But for some reason, I have recently come to think that it is actually more limiting than it is liberating. You are suddenly presented with all these choices that you HAVE to make and they are everywhere. It starts with your coffee order and extends to your choice of a life-long partner and profession (Or do you want to be a stay at home parent? Well if that's even an option for you, then should you even attend college at all?).  

We are all bombarded with the plague of the plenty. You cannot go about your life for more than an hour without having to take a decision and said decision's repetition undoubtedly begins to define you as an individual at some point. If you choose not to revel in the richness that is consumerism, you get stuck with a label such as "drinks only black coffee" or simply "caffeine junkie". Is it wrong to be okay with being one of "those" people- the ones, who's take on life allows them to exclude themselves from the choosing process (at least when it comes to their drink)? Who knows...

What matters is that every time you enter Starbucks you are greeted with the definition of our time- choices. And even though people refer to this whole phenomenon as Americanization, it is my humble opinion that we are more or less past that point (because Europe has also developed its' own take on consumerism). Now it should just be called the 21st century's big flood of choices. And Noah is nowhere to be found...

"Does this dress make me look fat?" Is it really the dress? Is the dress supposed to make you look skinny? That's a lot a pressure to put on a piece of clothing. I personally don't understand why something is supposed to make you look differently. You read all these articles about having to love your body the way it is because it gives you confidence and makes you more secure in yourself. Then you go on a fashion website and you start reading all about the dresses that can make you look better than you actually do. Isn't that a bit hypocritical? Telling young women that they should appreciate the way they look just so you can them tell them to wear certain clothes so that they can create the illusion that they look differently. 

I am, of course, not saying that everyone should wear everything. I believe that everyone should wear whatever they feel comfortable in. I am just discussing something that has been confusing me for a while. If you visit the Cosmopolitan website, you will inevitably read the articles that tell you to love yourself. And usually righ after them, you see then ones that tell you how to wear shape underwear that will help you fit in a dress that is too small for that body you should supposedly love. I must admit my body is kinda confused- should it be loved or should it be stuffed into shape wear?

"Book are having a comeback". How nice does that sound? Apparently yound people are once again opting for the illustrious world of books. When did that happen? Well, if you ask me, it all started with Twilight. The first book of the series came out and it was the sort of thing that anyone could read without really putting much (any) thought into it. It was relatively easy to submerge yourself it the writing as it was written for young adults- the ones that are used to movies. It's the kind of book that if you read every 3rd line, you'll still be able to get the just of...the kind of thing you read on the beach. And those books became a mania for many, but also a joke for even more. The Twilight books, 50 Shades of grey and all similar series have been deemed unsuitable for anyone with a good level of appreciation for literature. But if you think about it, these books were the tip of the arrow. They introduces more young people to the beauty of reading. Even if your prefrences exclude sparkling vampires, that does not mean that someone's piece of work should become a synonym for "unsuitable for smart people".  That is a little too much, don't you think?

Just like any other successful first try, more tend to follow (just look at all the Marvel movies). Are they as successful? Probably not. Are they successful enough? Well, if they keep emerging, then they must be. Does that mean that the bookmarket is flooded with pretty much the same tired vampire, teen, love story? Yes, it is, but at least people pick up books again. Even if they are the ones that are easy to skim through. My logic is that every single book enriches us in some way, regardless of its' literature value. It might be a classic or maybe the worst book ever, but you always take something out of it (even if it's "How not to write a book"). "Anna Karenina" and "Twilight" will never be considered to hold the same value, but which one would be described as a phenomenon? 

I know just how important social media is these days- it can make you famous, it can make you rich and it can even make you an inspiration for thousands of your peers. But as Voltaire said: "With great power comes great responsibility".  There is so much pressure put on all of us for the proper representation lately and not only in regards to looks. Now you also have to worry about your online "look". I know that everyone says that everything you put online will one day come back to haunt you, but you never really understand the scale of things until it actually bites you in the ass. 

There is a huge pressure to stay informed on all possible media platforms as that obviously provides you with a slightly more comprehensive outlook on current affairs and social problems. But young people often tend to be very impatient in their ways. And of course that also leaks into their writing and certain attempts at opinions regarding politics, environment and other topics that usually require a tad more life experience. Imagine writing a status in facebook without completely thinking it through. Imagine it ends up offending someone or even a specific group of people. Imagine it goes viral. Imagine if you become THAT person. And even though today's news is tomorrow's nothing, there is a chance that some people wouldn't want to let it go. And yet, you don't really think about all this before posting that status update. 

The pressure to stay connected to everyone you know has evolved into something completely different- you now feel the need follow the people you know, the people you wish you knew and the people that for some reason wish they knew you. All the people that know you without really knowing you... You read their status updates, their interests, the books they've read and movie's they've watched. You become the ultimate stalker. And they are happy that you're interested. It is a rather twisted concept if you think about it. But we all love it and aspire to make ourselves even more popular. We all want to be the ones that are known. Regardless of who knows us.

People say that gaining life experiences is the best possible path to inspiration. Drugs and risky situations make for the best short stories and heartbreak makes a novel truly captivating. You need to know your story in order to portray it truthfully and spark people's interest. Even though this sounds like a no-brainer isn't it just bullshit in it's purest form? How many of the modern romance novels, written by women contain anything new or amazing- a story that fascinates you as you haven't even thought that it could possibly turn this way? As I have read my fair share of those, I can tell you that not many do. And even such as Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" can seem rather generic if you exclude the interesting epoc they took place in. And naturally they are considered classics, but is it because of the love story? It is true that it can provoke tears in the more sensitive of women, but isn't it the learning value of the book that makes it as inspirational as it is known to be? It allows us to take a look into what life for young women looked like at the time and do so through the eyes and pen of a women, who lived through it. She gives a female perspective of a male dominated society while including a love story that is now repeated by many modern authors.  

In society now, post-feminist women believe that anything they want is what they deserve and therefore they should achieve it. If they want to wear short skirts- they should. They don't do it for men, but for themselves. This is the key to post-feminism and naturally this readiness to strive for each desire filtered in to the writing of modern women. But in its' core has female writing really changed when it comes to romance novels? Is it possible to read a love story that we haven't read 1000 times before? Or is writing from your own experience in the love field leave you with nothing surprising?  

I keep trying to blog regularly on various topics and to be completely honest, I don't think it's going too well. Either blogging isn't for me or I am failing miserably at finding the right topic for my posts. All writer guidebooks say that the first thing you need in order to embark on the journey of writing is inspiration. Well, I feel inspired, but I just don't know what about. And it's pissing me off. I have so many individual little ideas that my brain is unable to put together in one that is worth the ink. And as soon as I put pen to paper ( I am old-fashioned like that), I seem to loose the essence and every single paragraph seems (is) worse that the one before. I end up writing meaningless shit that I don't even want to read. And if I don't want to read it, why in the world would anyone else? My dream of writing a book or compilation of short stories seems to be sinking further and further in the sea that is the reality of small paychecks and infinite stress. 

I guess everyone sometimes feels like they don't fit in and it's normal. Everyone wants to be the life of the party, the joker, the explorer, the successful one...You study to get there, you fight your way through numerous obstacles, you smile politely when you'd rather yell and you pretend that the road isn't rocky, because it's supposed to take you to your dream destination. Imagine going a completely different way- not trying to become a lawyer, but attempting to be a painter or school teacher. Wouldn't that path be a lot more enjoyable? Wouldn't the end result provide you with a much calmer life? Or is it the check that drives us all?