Having A Crush On Someone

Pleasure & pain

The most pleasurable presents seem to come with a consequence — guilt. Many of the things that give us maximum gratification also have layers of self-reproach surrounding them, begging to be discarded. It is a common belief that a lot of these guilty pleasures are just bad for us, hence the remorse. Not all of them are bad of course; some can actually be good for our health such as eating dark chocolate, a love for exercise (ya right) and occasionally sleeping in. Sometimes the things we enjoy aren’t always things we like to admit to or even indulge in frequently. Let’s face it, the Danielle Steel paperback we hide behind our intellectual books or the secret crush we have on someone who isn’t thought to be that good looking by worldly standards, are just some of the things we won’t tell our friends and peers. Somehow admission isn’t possible, even to ourselves, without feeling a smidgen of shame. & shouldn’ts in our minds that govern our lives. We should watch our weight, we shouldn’t read that, we shouldn’t eat this, we should be working instead of watching the latest soap opera, we should exercise, we should wake up early and many more principles have been learnt as a result of our upbringing, past experiences and cultural background. According to professor Linden from John Hopkins School of Medicine, we have evolved into quite complex creatures and therefore are not only driven by primal forces; the main pleasure centre has adapted to involve motivational and emotional factors. That’s why we don’t always strive towards what’s needed or good for us in terms of survival, resulting in a thin line between pleasure and pain. Maybe there will be no guilt associated with the pleasure once we know others are indulging themselves just like we are. But if we remove the guilt, will we still acquire a similar kind of gratification from these activities? Part of the charm is the twinge of shame we feel when we indulge in them much akin to finding forbidden things all the more tempting. However, life would become quite boring if it wasn’t for these little distractions that adequately lift our mood and provide short-term contentment. We can’t wish for the guilt to disappear because that is the psychological mechanism that helps us from over-indulging. Living without pleasure is for automatons and not human beings.

DPL Teen Reading Raves: Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi

Summary: Maddy's life: not so rockin'. Her parents split, she's stuck in a new, small town at a school full of Aberzombies and Haters, she has a crush on someone she really shouldn't like, and she's stuck with the nickname Freak Girl. Sometimes it's enough to retreat into her drawing -- her manga is totally important to her -- but when she gets Fields of Fantasy for her birthday, she knows she's found the one place she can be herself. In the game world, Maddy can transform from regular outcast high school student to Allora, a beautiful Elfin princess with magical powers to take down enemies with a snap of her fingers and a wave of her wand. (Apologies ahead of time for the short review -- my hands are freezing!) Like Mancusi's other novels, I was disappointed and somewhat offended by this book. Mancusi takes a very superficial view of all teenagers -- especially so-called "goths." While the main character claims to be anti-label, etc., she is in fact quite the opposite, calling herself at one point a "goth." She also basically says that having a major crush on Edward Cullen makes you a goth and also a punk rocker. (Sorry, Mancusi, Cullen =\= punk rock. Trust me. Go listen to the Clash or something.) She also does this in other novels I've read. One of the main plots of the story was so predictable, I had it figured out by page 30 or something, so, while I do like to "outsmart" authors, I felt cheated on this one. She didn't even make me chase it a little. That said, it was an interesting idea, but could have been executed much better. Also, it was incredibly annoying to have a character named Chad Murray, as I could not picture anyone but Chad Michael Murray.

RT : I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can’t picture someone thinking about me before they...

I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can’t picture someone thinking about me before they...

I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can’t picture someone thinking about me before they...

I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can’t picture someone thinking about me before they...

I really can't picture anyone having a crush on me. I can’t picture someone thinking about me before they...

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