End of an Era

I just checked my email after getting home and saw one that gave me a little bit of a shock and made me feel a bit sad.  The publishing site Helium is going down.  I didn't get very far with Helium, although I posted a few articles on there (mainly creative writing).  Probably my best work was The Bridge, which was a bit morbid but I was feeling very morbid when I wrote it one day after taking a stroll over the Storey Bridge in Brisbane.  Another I wrote under the "Suicide and Anxiety" tag in an atempt to try and convey the sense of helplessness that anxiety brings is one I simply call "Abigail". Unfortunately after December this year the site will be taken down - I'll probably give these two a bit more of a polish and post them here (eventually).  Everything else I wrote in an attempt to diversify is pretty much rubbish, and best avoided.

It was my experience with Helium and a book I wrote titled "Chuckles and Giggles" which made me realise I am simply not cut out to be an author, no matter how much I love writing and how much it has been my dream since I was little.  I don't have the patience nor the talent to make a decent go of it, so sadly I've had to put that dream aside forever. Journalism was my next step, but getting into Uni to study would have been expensive, not to mention there are plenty of journalists out there and competition would be stiff.  It's not all sad though, even though I'll never write a well-loved and influential book, I do have this blog which seems to be getting a bit of attention, even though it's mainly a mix up of societial issues, music/book reviews and footy rage.

However, there is one young lady I know who is making a go of it and doing very well.  Morgan Burley is one of my sister Meagans school friends, who is working her way to publishing a book.  It's great to see her taking advantage of social media and working hard to make her dream come true - be sure to check her out, she's even gotten a mention in teen magazine Girlfriend.  Hopefully she keeps going and gets to where she wants to be in the end - don't give up MJ, just keep going and don't let anything stop you!

Speaking of Facebook pages, although a lot of you probably already follow me on Twitter, I've set up a Facebook page in the hope that the kinder Facebook interface will allow discussion to flow from whatever I write, and hopefully find out some of the random people who look in on my blog - give us a like and let's see how we go!

Words

I don't think humanity will ever find a more effective means of communication than words, either written or spoken.  Sure, there's body language, but that's very imprecise, and there's pointing and grunting, which as most of us figure out by 10am each morning is also largely ineffective at communicating our wants and needs.

Words are probably the only way we can effectively communicate our wants, needs and feelings to the rest of the world.  Coupled with our actions, they are the best way of representing what we are, whether that is kind, deceitful, smart, hateful, whatever. So why do so many people choose to use hateful words?

I can't stand Adam Goodes, mainly because he plays for the swans.  But I can definitely respect what he does with regards to racism.  When you use hateful words, or even words said in a hateful manner, you are effectively firing a hate gun at someone.  No one likes to have hate shot at them.  It hurts.

"Oh but they're just words!" NO THEY AREN'T. They are a representation of what YOU are needing, wanting or feeling, and if you're feeling hateful towards someone, they're fully entitled to not like it.  Especially if they haven't done anything to warrant such hate in the first place.  Being of a certain race, sexual orientation, gender or religion doesn't mean that hate is called for. 

Think about your words before you use them.  They are your main way of representing yourself, and if you use those words to hate or mislead, don't be surprised when people then turn around and have a negative opinion of you.