When it feels like a game like through dancing games such as by playing basket ball, soccer/ football for those not in the U.S, or games like just dance (the best way for it to be exercise is by doing all of the motions not just moving your hands like I used to do when I was younger).
I also have fun exercising when I feel like I am accomplishing my goals. If I am working out at the gym or walking around trails near by I will set a goal of being on a machine or a walk for 15 to 30 minutes then when I have finished that time, I feel so good that I add more time or miles.
When walking around outside there is an extra challenge I do. I go on a walk to any distance that is a half hour to an hour away, then I have no choice but to walk that same amount of time to get back to my starting point (home) since I can’t drive and I don’t always have access to other means of transportation.
This is just my personal way of making exercise fun and enjoyable, but it is important for you to find your own way that works best for you.
Hey, it’s me, you’re sometimes regularly fight4mylife blog owner (well I’m always the owner, I just go absent sometimes).
I am making this post to talk about the special monumental day today is. As you know my past few posts have been about special Observances as I am starting to fine those to be rather important (Though I am going to greatly decrease posting only posts about observances after today).
Today however, is the last day of March it is the last day for the following observances…
These observances are all important to me for multiple reasons as they all have relevance in my life.
Red Cross month
This is a lifesaving organization
Red Cross month is important to me because I have always tried to donate blood when I can. I think that anyone who can should, especially people with O- blood for example, even if it’s not the Red Cross they are working with.
The red Cross also does a lot of work with CPR certification and other similar life saving certification training and disaster relief work.
I have already spoke about women’s History month which, being non binary but born a female genetically really causes me to have complicated feelings that I can’t seem to find the words for.
Women’s History Month
We already talked about women’s history month, but this is the last day of the month!
I do think there are many people who do not identify as female who should be recognized as great and as having done important things in their lives (even if they were not born female and even if they are cis-gender males).
I also think it’s important to recognize all of the good work women once a year, but it feels like something that should be recognized every day or at least more often than once a year.
National Social Work month and national Ethics month
Mental health is one of the many areas where social workers are needed.
These months are very important to me being that I am a social work major, doing my internship in social work and bound by a necessary code of ethics.
I know many people have misconceptions and fears regarding social workers, and the ones that usually come to mind are foster care and Department of Children and Families (called different things in different states/ countries) social workers, but there are so many different types of social workers that are necessary in all different fields
There are school social workers at all levels of education even College/ University as some people call it, there are social workers in hospitals, in the military, as counselors and therapists, helping I n the front line with community advocacy (my interests) and just so many other places.
They are even starting to bring social workers into summer camps. This is a necessary profession and they work hard for their many clients and often get paid less than they deserve. That is true of many fields sadly (like teachers for example).
A little side note on Ethics…
This is a good quote I found on morality!
Ethics are important in every area of life, not just in social work, but I just pair the 2 together because that is how it is relevant to my current life.
You need ethics though in every thing you do. Everyone needs to live following certain values (some of mine are) honesty, reliability, compassion, and integrity), or codes of conduct (a couple of mine are (no breaking boundaries people set up, or no stealing even if you can get away with it).
If you do not have any positive ethics you live by, you may not always notice any repercussions, but others will take note of how you treat them and the world around you.
If you behave too with too much toxicity, illegally, or against common morals like no stealing or cheating, you will hurt others and those others may get to a point where they don’t put up with it anymore.
They may finally leave, stop associating with you, or worse in some cases depending on how hurt they get. That’s why it’s important to have some set of positive ethics and values.
Disability awareness month and developmental disability awareness month.
Some disabilities are visible, but some are not.
I have mentioned In previous blogs that I struggle with autism which is one of the Developmental disabilities. I also have an upcoming appointment to see if I have adult ADD as I fit many of the symptoms.
I am not self diagnosed, or self diagnosing, just recognizing the symptoms that fit me that may signal that I have it. In any case, I know how difficult it can be living life with an invisible disability like Autism.
While I do not know what it’s like to have a physical disability or any kind other than developmental, I do recognized the struggles people with all kinds of disabilities go through.
I want to say that today should not just be about all of the negative stuff about disabilities, though there is definitely still work that needs to be done toppling systems of oppression and with treating us as full human beings with our own rights and like we have value, and are normal human beings, not just burdens to be shown pity.
Today should also be about recognizing all of the achievements people with various disabilities have made, all of the capabilities we have and the work that has already been done to get us to more of a place of equality.
Irish American and Greek American Heritage months
I got other ancestral roots, but it’s not their recognition month yet.
I put Irish American and Greek American heritage months just because those are two of the places my ancestors came from that also showed up on my 23 and me test (lot of Irish, little bit of Greek).
It may be difficult for people who aren’t American to understand why those 23 and me tests about genetic heritage are so important, and maybe it’s hard for Americans who aren’t just me, maybe it’s just a me thing, but it feels like nearly all of my ancestors did not originate in the Americas more than a few hundred years ago.
My existence is mainly due to the damaging effects of colonialism. I do not feel any kind of grief over that, as I naturally benefit from colonialism just due to my white privilege (which is messed up that the world works like that). I do, however, feel like I am without my own culture.
America’s Ass (it’s a line from one of the Avengers movies, don’t cancel me please!)
I feel somewhat aligned with a United States of America culture, but it is nothing like it was before I actually became an adult and learned about all of the damaging effects settlers and conquers had on the land, native inhabitants, and the slaves they brought from Africa.
It feels like people from like Ireland or Greece whose families have lived there for centuries have an actual national culture they can draw from. I have a family culture and a work culture, and while I’m sure I do have some positive aspects of my national culture, it seems harder to find, so I appreciate my anceators’ cultures and the genes that make up my human body.
A note real quick
We need to change these opeessive systems from their foundations up, but without feeling guilty for atrocities we did not commit. We can, however recognize the past injustices and take responsibility for the injustices that still exist today.
I don’t want anyone ashamed of their culture or heritage, there has been countless times infinity numbers if atrocities and senseless violence committed all over the world and by all kinds of people.
In some ways it seems that’s the dark side of humanity that exist a tiny bit in all of us.
But there is nothing anyone can change about the past especially not the past they did not live in. That does not, however mean that we should not try to change the way these opeessive systems and people in power act today while we are alive and able to stand up for equality, equity, and human rights for all.
This really is what it’s gonna take to gain equality and equity for all.
We should always, no matter who we are, take note of things like our privileges, our biases even unconscious or implicit ones.
We should also actively work to erase these biases and conduct ourselves in a way that allows us to work as allies and accomplices to people in marginalized groups.
Finally we step back at key moments to raise their voices and to share their stories.
Intersectionalities
Pretend each cross walk is one part of your identity for example race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability status.
How might the combinations of pieces of our identity intersect in a way that gives us privileges based on one aspect of our identity, but cause us to have less privileges based on another aspect?
For example I am white so I don’t have to worry about getting accused of shoplifting at a store just because of my race, but I have autism so statistically I am at a higher risk for victimization or being taken advantage of than someone without a developmental disability.
It is important to remember that there are certain intersectional idednitities that exist within a person’s identity as well that either oppress them greater or give them more privilege in more areas
A good example I recently heard if is regarding the health of black trans women. It goes like this…
While white women face health disparities because they are women, they do not face these disparities (inequality treatment based on bias factors) because they are white, just because they are women.
At the same time black women face greater health disparities because they are black and they are women which are two groups affected by bias and health disparities.
Finally we come to black trans women who have a triple whammy so to speak and face greater disparities than both white cis women and black cis women.
Sorry, I got off track…
Sorry, but I do get side tracked when I am passionate about an issue!
But I felt it was an important tangent and topic to mention.
Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Sclerosis Awareness months
Symptoms of Cerebral PalsySymptoms of Multiple Sclerosis
I am only going to talk about this briefly because I have no personal experience with these disabilities, but I have met people living their lives every day who have cerebral palsy, and who have some stage of multiple sclerosis and they are some of the most determined and amazing people I have ever met. They don’t let anything or anyone stop them from their missions or goals.
I know this disability comes with challenges and I can only imagine what internal feelings people with cerebral palsy, or multiple sclerosis have, or the feelings their loved ones have, but I know it also does damage to people if you pity them or see them as less than a person just because they have a disability like cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis
I do feel that research and work is still necessary to help people with cerebral palsy, but not because having a disability should be considered the worse thing in the world, wrong or any kind of other negative reason people either look down on people with disabilities.
I need to do my research too so I have a better understanding of what living with these conditions is like.
I do however know that if we can do something to reduce the suffering people with disabilities like cerebral palsy go through we should try.
Multiple sclerosis definitely needs a cure or at least a way to stop it from progressing. I was told by one of the people I know that not everyone ends up with no mobility, but such a thing did happen to the other person with it that I know.
Again I don’t know what it’s like, but I know some people with disabilities of any kind feel some ill effects or stress as a result of their disabilities, or how they are treated because of them.
National Nutrition month
This observance, though healthy nutrition is the foundation of a healthy life in all other areas, I have always struggled with this and with having a healthy relationship with food.
Having an eating disorder (binge eating disorder) and diabetes type 2 makes it hard to eat healthy.
The eating disorder makes me want to eat everything all the time, and with the diabetes stuff that is normally healthy, or not that much of a problem like a couple bananas at breakfast or a glass of juice, could send my sugar spiking too high.
This guy used to be on commercials all the time when I was a kid talking about how he had type 2 diabetes and I used to always make fun of him. I’m not saying I believe in karma, but I’m not saying I don’t either.
I have for the past couple of months though, been taking a more intentional effort to eat with balanced nutrition that will work for my diabetes and help me get back to my blood sugar levels before I got diabetes.
There are a few other observances that made my list, but they are about issues that are very personal to me that I want to give their own blog posts too.
So I hope you had a marvelous March and I will be back next time bringing you important information and, or comedic relief!
I know this is the same meme everybody’s old aunties and grandma’s use on Facebook, but I freaking love the minions!
National observance days at a time when I’m so busy all of the days blend together!
So there is NO EXCUSE…
For my sporadic posting schedule or lack of presence on social media! I really want to be a source of support and inspiration for people who may be in need of those two things. The only excuse that I really can give is that I have been struggling to find a good work life balance. For the past few months I have been in my senior semester of my BSW program at my dream school.
(It’s not some Ivy League school, but it has been a really great experience even with certain recent world changing events and illnesses).
With this level of school work has come an internship that I have been grinding hours out, and when I get home I feel like I am spending all my free time either taking care of stuff around the house (apartment), spending time with family, or trying to catch up on the wave after wave of current events.
So I haven’t really been spending much of my time actually putting physical work into the blog, but I have been investing emotional work into being more knowledgeable about current events so I can know what to focus on with this blog.
I love this episode
For this blog post…
I am dedicating time to mention all of the observance days I have missed talking about and why I think they’re important.
WORLD MUSIC THERAPY DAY – March 1
ZERO DISCRIMINATION DAY – March 1
SELF-INJURY AWARENESS DAY – March 1
WORLD TEEN MENTAL WELLNESS DAY – March 2
NATIONAL MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DAY – March 5
Harriet Tubman Day- March 10
National Plant a Flower Day- March 12
National K9 Veterans Day-to-day March 13
March first was the national Day several important observances.
The first observance, world music therapy day, is important to me because while I cannot play music very well, or carry a tune at all (just ask my mother!) I know the power that good music has to heal or at least sooth the mind, body, and soul. It can also bring people together as a community.
I don’t claim that music can cure diseases or prevent any disorders, but I do know that recent studies have shown that music from their past can help some people suffering from dementia remember things from their past in a way they can’t when they are not listening to the music.
I also know how much of an impact music has made on my life, I listen to some music every day multiple times a day, in the morning it’s high powered beats to wake me up, in the night and during meditation it’s soothing soft music to calm me into a peaceful trance, and random other types of music at any time in between.
I have my own cassette, CD, and record collection along with several playlists on YouTube, spotify, and my regular downloaded music (nothing illegal).
I listen to music based on my mood too and I feel restored. Metal and rock when I’m on a mission or angry that day, blues, soft country, and sad RnB or pop songs when I’m sad, dance music, happy pop (including k-pop) and rock when I’m happy, and jazz and classical when I want to relax. I know there are other genres I listen to, but these are the main ones!
March 1st was also zero discrimination day. I make it a point in my life to always keep an open mind and learn about people who are different from me with all different demographics.
I don’t always do everything perfectly but I try to approach life without discriminating against anyone for any thing, such as race, religion, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, culture or ethnicity, age, weight, disability status, or any other factor. That’s why this observance day is so important to me.
I will always be a safe zone and I learn something new everyday about myself and how to be more of an ally to marginalized groups that I may not be a part of.
I hear many people complaining of how “woke” everything has gotten and how no one can say anything anymore without offending someone, and while I do not feel people should be put on trial for every unintended misstep, they should also not be allowed to infringe on other people’s rights to safety, freedom, or human dignity. People should not be afraid to live just because of who they are or factors they can’t control (not that any of these factors are bad things or are shameful in any way).
In the instances that we do make mistakes such as misgendering someone, or using a word we thought was correct, but is not (e.x. using the word lame to refer to something being boring). In those situations we should apologize without making the person we hurt feel like we are making it about ourselves and how uncomfortable we are for the guilt we feel.
Instead we need to make our apologies short without excuses or justifying that we had “good intentions” as that doesn’t make a true apology and often does more harm to the person we hurt.
The final observance I will mention for March 1st is a very important one to me. It was Self-injury Awareness Day. I will start this part by saying…
If you are feeling like self harming or any type of suicidal ideations or urges, please seek help immedialy!
There are resources available and there is always hope!
If you feel the immediate urge call 911 or have someone you love call to get you emergency treatment right away.
Then ensure that there are no dangerous objects near you and find a way to separate yourself from any of the dangerous items that may be around.
distract yourself until help arrives either call a friend or loved one, watch funny videos, or there is an app called calm Harm on Android and iOS which has all kinds of tools to get you to a calmer place.
Calm Harm for Android and iOS ( I am not sponsored to promote this and it is not my app, I just found it really helpful for me and it’s free with very limited ads if any).
If you are just starting to feel the urges coming on but they are not as strong, still seek help from a trusted friend or loved one, still feel free to use the hotlines and resources I mentioned on my resources page such as…
911 for emergency care
Contact your primary doctor or therapist if you have one
Take yourself, or have a loved one take you to the emergency room
Call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to be connected with a trained counselor at a crisis center in the U.S., anytime, 24/7
Text HOME to 741-741 to connect with a crisis counselor at the Crisis Text Line from anywhere in the U.S. It’s free, 24/7, and confidential.
If you’re outside the United States, please visit iasp.info
And still ensure there are no dangerous items around that could be used if you suddenly can’t stop the urges
March 2 was world teen mental wellness day. This day is important to me because I know just how hard teenagers can struggle with large emotions and other pressures being put on them.
The Allstate mayhem guy is my favorite TV commercial personality!
Taking a day to focus on their wellness is vital as they will very soon grow into adults in charge of helping run the country.
If we do not ensure our children are healthy and getting the best help they can, we are not ensuring we will have a very bright future.
I know for myself, when I was a teen I was in the foster care system at the start of my journey, then newly adopted feeling like I abandoned my bio family for making that choice once my new parents asked me.
No one should feel like that, and I don’t any more, if you have similar feelings please get help from a trusted adult like a counselor, or a close relative who will understand.
On top of all that personal stuff I had the normal teenage hormones surging through me from puberty as well as mental health challenges, med changes, and the ability to feel emotions started to come flooding back after turning them off for so long.
Big changes!
In short, I was a mess of hormones and terrible life situations and illnesses as a teen, including my budding eating disorder in senior year.
While all of this was going on I heard many times from some adults (who claimed to be well meaning) “you’re a teenager what have you got to be depressed about”.
While I could have probably been more positive about certain events and happenings, and while good things did happen during those years as well, it felt like I had a whole lot to be depressed about and I needed someone to understand me. (I did have some pretty solid supports which is how I got through).
All of this is why March 2 was so important to me.
The next important observance was…
National Multiple Personality Day! I do not struggle with multiple personalities, but when I was young I was misdiagnosed with this condition.
I do struggle with disociation in the sense that in times of traumatic events or intense stress I mentally check out and go somewhere else in my mind, but not in a way that gives me more than one personality within the same body.
While I do not struggle with this disorder, I do understand the hardships that it can bring the people who do, as well as the harm Hollywood movies like “Split” do for these people who are just trying to survive. That is why this observance is important to me.
The next important observance…
Harriet Tubman Day was March 10.
Harriet Tubman was a former slave who fought for her freedom and became known as a famous abolitionist and saved countless others with the development of the Underground Railroad.
That is only a very brief introduction to this historic figure, but she and this day are important to me because without all of the hard work she did and all of the pain she went through, the country would be a very different place where everyone might not have freedom.
For a list of interesting facts about Harriet Tubman check out this PBS article. I am not sponsored by PBS but this is a cool post.
While I did not actually plant a flower for this day (it’s far to cold and snowy where I live this time of year), and while I just learned about this day this year, I still find it very important!
I know I’m not the first person to mention this, but the world is getting kind of rough as far as climate change, pollution, and endangered species dying.
Taking care of the planet hasn’t always been one of my concerns, but in recent years it has become a growing one. I even joined Citizens Climate Lobby as an advocate, though I am still learning. And I have just within the past few years begun learning about the harsh realities of environmental injustice on minority communities.
Don’t get me wrong, planting flowers will not fix any kind of environmental injustice, but planting flowers does do good in our communities, the animals like honey bees and butterfly’s who rely on them, and the rest of the ecosystem that relys on the bees and butterflies doing their jobs.
What I’m trying to say is, planting flowers is harmeless, beneficial, and a step in the right direction.
The final important observance that I missed was…
National K-9 veterans Day!
A very bad picture of my mom’s dog! Her name is Honey because of her coat!
Ok so all my life I have loved animals, especially strange animals like snakes, but for typical pets I’ve always been a cat person over a dog person. No hate to dogs, I just get scared when the big ones bark!
That being said, I love the dogs in my life, my aunt’s, my brothers’, my grandpa’s, my cousin’s my uncle’s all of their dogs I love.
My favorite dog next to my Grandpa’s which I babysit often, is my mother’s dog that you see in that picture there. In the short time that I have lived here she had bonded with her more than when I was just visiting.
She protects me, comes to me to play with her and take her out to use the bathroom or go on walks, and she lays with me often. Needless to say, dogs are important animals in my life.
Dogs are also very important beings for so many other people around the world. Often times dogs are given jobs that a human would never be able to do.
While they are great at these jobs, and while we need them, they do not go into these jobs by their own choices. They didn’t even close to be breeded down from wolves to the species we know now as our best friends. That is why I love this day that honoring them is very important to me.
So this concludes my list of observance days I did not recognize on the days they were actually here.
Mental Health Blog | Fight4mylife | United States 