Pet peeves.

 I remember sometime the week before, the class had a discussion on how to "break up with a friend".  As I was listening to the conversation, I realized that I was going through that problem. I had a friend in my life who I felt didn't need to be there. I felt like I was obligated to be their friend, yet I didn't want it and didn't enjoy it. When you feel pressured to be someone's friend, that isn't friendship. When I voiced my plight on the situation, the questioned was asked "How do you break up with a friend?". It never dawned on me tha there were no examples of 'breaking up' with a friend. Not even in theatre!

Why hasn't anyone written a script that ventures into the life of a individual or more that has a complicated relationship with a friend? Like, they have no other choice, but to break it off and end the friendship. Why hasn't anyone done that? We have countless plays that give us examples of dis functional relationships concerning family, lovers, spouses, colleuges, and if a friendship does end, it ended because of betrayal of love when the friend steals the lover! I haven't heard of it seen an example in theatre, film, or TV that shows the complication of friendship soley based on the dyanamic of the relationship without it being comedic (I Love You Man anyone?).

When I look at my situation, I don't find anything funny about my plight. I wish someone would discuss how complicated a friendship could be when there are hidden agendas involved. Since I'm the one complaining about it, I guess it'll have to be me (laughs to one self). You'd think throughout the history there would be a story, a serious story on a friendship that has ended. We're so obsessed with romantic love, but the love of a friendship can sting just as much. That's a pet peeve I have with theatre.

To explain in a nutshell my other two pet peeves, I'm over plays about dis functional families and over plays that 'try' to explain the African American experience. There are many plays that can reach out to people who have had problems with family members, but why do we have reciprocate the same old story? Wired dialogue, women with hidden sexual agendas, men who have masculine identity issues and etc. Even with the black experience, I wish it would be more diverse or dig deeper into the issues of the black community without being political. Like reveal how deeply religious the black community is and challenge the stagnation of progression due to the strong dogma in the culture. Challenge it without honoring it.  Too many AA plays honor Christianity but never Truly challenge it.

Rejuvenation

Hmm, what do I do when I want to refresh my spirit/ability to choose to be happy. The first activity that comes to mind is my habit of watching YouTube. I either go on there to listen to radio show hosts, commentators, animal recordings, or dance videos. I've noticed patterns that I have that led me to this reason: whenever I'm feeling discouraged, lonely, fustrated, or done with a situation in life, I go and watch positive videos, dance videos or videos that I heard a quote from that sticks out to me concerning what I'm feeling at the moment. I think it has something to do with me being an introverted person or just a habit bottling feelings inside that I don't know what to do with at the time.

It possesses the characteristics of a way to calm down when I think about it; it allows me to get away to myself, breath, think about what's bothering me,  get to a place where I have to make a decision of if I want to face the problem or not,  make that decision and find a video that fits what's going with my me. I feel it helps refresh hope in my ability to handle what's going on in life. When I get discouraged, I tend to slow down progress in my life. I get stagnant and allow opportunities to pass by. I may still be working on my craft, but it all comes out the same. I get encouraged by watching other people or reading up on their experience. Sometimes I get distracted with another interest. I noticed that when I get overworked or burned out with one passion, another part of my interests catches my attention. I'll spend days to months on it. It'll all depend on what I'm going through or what I'm burned out on.

The only other way that I try to refresh without using the Internet, is simply through prayer. When it's too overloading and I am at the point where I feel inside that I need to get away, I know it's time to go into my prayer closet, get quiet, and let it go to God. Especially, when it's too the point where I'm crying because I feel overloaded. Overall, I get still and quiet when everything is loud and all over the place.