Pokémon and GTA

On Facebook, earlier, a friend of mine shared this photo. It sort of put me into a mood of venting out a bit of why what this picture says bothers me so much.

We know our society has problems when it's considered acceptable (or at least not terrible problematic) for kids and teenagers to play games full of violence, drinking, alcohol, and sexual content, but people see it as a problem when an adu

lt (or sometimes even a teenager) plays a game that's free of all that and has more cute animals than anything. Heck, no Pokémon even die, they just faint. XD
I'm not trying to slam GTA or promote Pokémon (though yes Pokémon is fantastic), but I'm saying take a step back and look at things like they are. I can't be the only one who sees a problem with this....

Yes, I'm Christian, so yes I perhaps present some bias to a post such as this. GTA crosses many moral guidelines I try and adhere to, whereas Pokémon does not. However, I'm not sure why some people can't see a problem with this from even a secular standpoint.

We want a society where people get their happily-ever-afters. We sort of work against this, though, by allowing kids and teenagers to be exposed to things like GTA. Really, do we want to teach kids that visiting a prostitute will fix their problems? That violence is an acceptable answer? That it's more fun to break the law than follow it? I know I may sound extreme, but isn't this, when you look at it, exactly what games like GTA teach? Basic idea of it is that you set out accomplishing tasks for underworld criminals. Personally, I do not want any possible future child of mine growing up to think that living the best life, full of excitement and fun, will result from becoming a criminal-on-the-run. But when a child sees this game, watches a family member or friend play it, they take in more than we know. Want to know where kids get fantasies about how fun it would be to steal a car and just run with it, "living on the edge"? It's not a birth-trait. We instill those values in them. I'm not saying someone playing or watching GTA is gonna' turn them into an underworld criminal. Some kids can be exposed to this and be fine (though arguably it would still instill ideas about prostitution in them that they don't need). However, there are some people who would turn this into their world. Some people who get so sucked in the game becomes life and life becomes a game. Sure, we put ratings on the games, but that doesn't mean it keeps them from the hands on younger players. I know 13-year-olds who are huge fans of the GTA franchise.  Why? Someone else sees no problem with buying it for them and giving it to them. Also, aside from even points I've made here, check out the section titled "Controvesy" on the GTA wiki page if you don't believe it's caused problems. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_(series)#Controversy

Then we have Pokémon. I'm sure most of you know what it is. You play as a Trainer, catching Pokémon and training them up as your team to fight, so you can become the Pokémon Master. As mentioned above, no one even dies. There's no major/graphic violence, even if you are "attacking" other Pokémon. The game does, though, encourage you being friendly towards your Pokémon, as many can evolve or gain other boosts due to higher friendship levels. Yet we criticise teens or adults for playing this. Why? "Because it's a children's game." Oh, okay. SORRY. Guess you gotta' stop watching any cartoons, then, because they're made for children. Oh, and you can't eat Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, etc, because they're made for children. Oh, no more toys, either - they're for children. My point is, what does it matter if an adult wants to play a game designed for children? It won't do him harm, but in fact good. Why should any other adult be allowed to engage in drinking as a hobby, or smoking as a hobby, or drugs as a hobby, or gambling as a hobby, when they say another adult can't play Pokémon as a hobby? It's ridiculous. Pokémon doesn't destroy your liver, ruin your lungs, break down your body, or waste your money. So why do people not approve of it? "Because it's a children's game." I DON'T CARE. I'd rather see the adults of today's world play Pokémon than the children of today's world be exposed to GTA.

If your only problem with adults playing Pokémon is because "it's designed for children" and you don't see a problem with an 8-year-old being exposed to a game that's rated M (proof here: http://www.ebgames.ca/browse?nav=16k-GTA_) for a reason (Blood, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Alcohol, Use of Drugs ; if we look at the latest, GTA IV for PS3) please try and gain some perspective. Even if you don't see a problem with young adults being exposed to above-listed elements, at least stop seeing a problem with a young adult or adult being exposed to none of that by choosing to play Pokémon.

This isn't the only place we can see how badly we need some perspective. This is just one area. But please, no matter your original bias, try and set it aside and get a new perspective on this.
We wonder why we have a violent, sexualized, self-pleasing world? Let's look at what values we're instilling in the generation that's forming society. I think the answer is easy enough to find.

Lost Puppies

So, if you have me on Facebook, you saw me post this as a status earlier. "____(my name) needs to stop taking home lost puppies... she's not sure how many more she can handle before she can't handle another, no matter how brilliant the next one would have been... it would be nice to instead be found."

Yes, it means something, and no I don't mean literal puppies (I've already got a dog and a cat - my mom would never let me bring a third pet under the roof).

See, I just overall have boy problems. Yes, I realize that makes me sound like a typical or even whiny teen girl. However, I mean it.
I swear off boys/dating for a year and alllllll of a sudden, some are interested. One being one of my exes. Summed up, AWKWARD!

And, well, those interested are all damaged in their own way. And I just have this thing for damaged people, or, as I refer to them sometimes, lost puppies. I just feel the need to be there for them, and love them. And I find if they spur something romantic from their end I tend to end up following, because how could I do more damage to someone already so damaged, right? Right. Well, that's my problem.

I seem to lack the instinct of self-preservation that is bred into most people. I would rather allow myself to hurt if it means they don't than I would come out of it unscathed while leaving them in ruins. I will almost always put them over me. To the point where I think I may be my own undoing.

I just have problems with saying no. It's almost gotten me into trouble before. I'm sure it probably easily will again. I just need to learn to say no.

I just need to learn to say no...

I am praying to learn to say no...

And until I can say no, please let the questions stop coming...

Otherwise, what if I answer wrong?

Cracked, not Broken

Would it make sense if I said I was cracked but not broken?
Because that’s precisely what I am.
Though anything I try and keep inside of me is bound to leak out against my say, it can’t rush out as if there was nothing holding it back.
I used to be broken. I was wholly vulnerable at the same time.
Now I am merely cracked.
The pieces have been put back together with a delicate touch and though I am only so much pressure from collapsing, I haven’t collapsed just yet
Which is because although I am cracked, I am no longer broken

Since hearing it used as an adjective for a person in a tv show I love using the word “cracked” to describe myself.  I guess that at least in my own eyes, I am cracked. I used to be broken.  God is the reason I am now merely cracked. That’s not meant to insult God by suggesting He’s not good enough to fix me entirely. Put it this way, though – what good is a light in a pot if the pot has no cracks or holes to let the light through? None. See, I need my cracks to shine where God wants me to for Him.

As much as those cracks let me shine, though, they’re still damage. I’m still damaged. I’m far from perfect. Oftentimes I look at all my cracks and choose which one is the biggest, blaming it as the reason for some peoples’ dislike of me. However, then I often think that perhaps perfection would be worse – as humans do we not envy that which is “better”? I think I would rather be the receptor of hate than envy, as neither is Godly but perhaps I feel that hate is more easily fixed.

Lately, I have been feeling those cracks very tangibly. It’s the dark circles under my eyes, the poison that gushes from my mouth, or the brief attacks of anger that have gnawed at my heart. My heart which, it seems, beats blood one moment and acid the next. There doesn’t seem to be any happy medium between love and hate, so I have learned. Too much over the balance will result in a full-scale shift. Recently, that is what has continued to happen. It runs the title hypocrite through my veins and I hate it.

But I learned something. Cracked is beautiful. Sometimes cracked is more beautiful than the perceived ideas of perfection. Cracked is real, with personality, with an openness that does not allow so much to be hidden. Perfect is false, the same as everything else and lacking and individuality which we all so secretly desperately seek – to beset apart  - and with such strong, firm walls and structure that even the darkest secrets can be easily hidden in its depths.

I guess what I mean is I am not perfect. My cracks are all the more evidence of that when I am put under pressure. Those are the times they push to pull apart and collapse. Those are the times when God alone keeps me together. But, when I really look at it and be honest, if I had the choice between cracked or perfect, I would pick cracked every time.

~ Emma

P.S. So it's finally snowing. The one thing is, I REALLY wanted a snow day. Since I didn't get one, but I still managed to get out the door and to school, I figured this shirt was appropriate.

 

It says "Achievement Unlocked : Left the house"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baggy Sweater Days

Yes, that's how I will title my return post. I recently realized I won't commit to a regular posting on this blog, but blogging helps me sift through the grains of sand that beach my mind, so that I may pick through it and make sense of it.
I will also warn you that YES I am a Christian. But YES I am also a human being. This means my blog may reflect elements of my own human nature and sin, although I will always try and glorify God at the end of it. So, if you can't handle a far-from-perfect Christian and her thoughts on life, I suggest you don't continue to read this blog in future.

So today was a baggy sweater day. It was a Monday morning. After a long-weekend. Sounds like it'd be fine, but I have managed to once again overcommit myself to things and end up very overwhelmed. I additionally am one of those people who just has responsibilities dumped on them like slop on pigs - the difference being the pigs are happy about the slop and I am often just stressed by the responsibilities. I had a lovely cry-fest about it all on Sunday afternoon. Then I had to get up after not being able to sleep (that's what happens when I get emotional - that's why I'm here blogging now - to vent so I feel better). Then I had about a million and one things to remember. So when I knew it was coming, I put on the biggest, softest, baggiest sweater I own and wore that. It was a baggy sweater day. I needed to wear something that I could just be warm, comfy, cozy, and safe in. Something like a baggy sweater. And it was a new one. So it hadn't had all that beautiful new-sweater-fuzz washed off yet so it was super soft.

Now, it started as a baggy sweater day. However, I came out of it head high and sleeves rolled up. Smile on my face and I couldn't stop chatting about how things had fallen beautifully into place in a lot of stuff I've got going on. It really ended up being a good day. God just snapped in some puzzle pieces I had managed to lose, and now I'm starting to see things come together. I am so thankful to Him for that.

So, I should be off now. I feel much better now that I have outputted some of my thoughts here - where I can return to them later to expand on further if I wish - and should get some sleep. Big physics test tomorrow and a lot of small tasks I gotta' remember to do - they all add up fast!

God bless you all!

PS. Baggy sweater pic - for anyone who was wondering.

So it Really Has Been a While...

I always say I'm gonna' start using this blog again, and then I tend to forget about it or life gets busy and I just stop posting for a long time. So I won't even make a guarantee I'm gonna' start regularly posting. I'm just hoping to. I've realized I like having a quick and easy way to look back at my life in the last while. It helps me see how I'm doing and how far I've come.

What I post will be personal stuff, me rambling, maybe stuff about boys sometimes (I really can't help that I'm a teenage girl, okay?), writing if I feel like putting it on here, or whatever else I just happen to want to put up in a place where I'll feel safe and not judged posting it. Mind you, I feel like before I stopped using this for a while I gave the URL to some people I'll just hope have forgotten about it.

Life recently? Trying to focus it on God. I do a regular daily Bible study (blogged at http://theeternalpath.blogspot.com), I'm attending a weekly study on the book of James, and I'm also undertaking Beth Moore's study on Daniel.

Boys are as confusing as ever. I'm really just beginning to think I honestly won't find who I'm meant for for a while yet. Or if I've found them, then not realize it for a while. I don't know. I still find myself being shocked to find I have feelings for people, because I'm trying really hard not to. It just sort of seems, though, that I've lost the off switch for the "romantic feelings" section of my heart...

Also, well, I'm trying to figure out a lot about the future. University, money for a car to commute, job in future, etc. Right now, well, I'm no even fairly certain jobwise. Honestly, I'm thinking of a pastor... I know not all denominations are cool with that, but some are. Plus, I'm still trying to figure out where God's pointing me. Other idea that's up there is Christian Psychologist. I realized, though, you're not supposed to get attached to patients, and I get easily attached. I doubt I could just sit there expressionless as they sat and cried their hearts out.

So, I'm really just uncertain of the future. I'm also putting it off. I like focusing on day-to-day things, as if leaving the future alone will mean it will sort itself out. It's silly of me, but it's what I fall back to none-the-less.

I guess what I'm saying is, I'm trying. I'm trying to just be who God's planned for me to. It's hard, though, to hear His voice sometimes, even when you're listening. Sometimes He also just tells us to wait, too, in which case even if we listen He won't speak. So I'm just taking things a day at a time. The future is always in mind, but my priority is my relationship with God. The closer I am to Him, the farther I feel from everything else, but the more everything else falls into place.

So, that's my 3am spiel for the moment. Now I should be getting some sleep, though... So goodnight and God bless to anyone reading this!

Well Hello Again

So, uh, yeah I haven't been on in months. Really quite unfortunate as I find I can function better when I vent out my thoughts somewhere instead of keeping them bottled inside. I know I shall be on this site more as I am using my other blog (found here: http://theeternalpath.blogspot.ca/ ) to blog about my reading the Bible in 365 days. So, I shall most likely be updating this one sometimes.

For now, though, all I can say is yes, I get hurt sometimes and frustrating, upsetting, or painful stuff happens in my life, though I find the things that keep me up at night are not my struggles, but those of the ones I love and care about. I hurt to see them hurting and it pains me to be unable to help them or fix it and make their pain stop. I think that totally honestly I would take it off their shoulders and put it on mine if I could... I can't stand seeing them hurting - I'd rather I hurt instead. I know it would be painful, but I would be able to more easily deal with it just by seeing them not hurting. Sometimes I really wish there were an option. "Take it or leave it". I honestly would like to think, though truly do at most times believe, I would choose to take it...

Also, as a final note, sometimes I'm just overcome with those moments when you realize how truly incredible God is, how He loves you, and you suddenly feel at peace and, in fact, happy. One of those times hit me earlier - right after I started legitimately getting back into reading my Bible. I'm a reader, but I'll admit I don't tend to be thrilled about picking up the Bible. That, however, has - thank goodness - been starting to change. I got a really awesome study Bible (quick shout-out to my amazing mother who got it for me) and it definetly helps. It has really neat little notes that not only describe meanings and context or whatnot, but also take it to another level and apply it to everyday life nowadays. Now, I am an overthinker, so I tend to sit down and mull for ages over these little points. Thing is, it's still all directing my thought path back to God every time, and I would say that is certainly why I feel 95% better just from reading a few chapters. :)

Well, that is all for tonight!

God bless you! :D

Well, it's been a while. XD

Soooo it's kind of been a while... life has been kind of crazy.
Like, life is worth living entirely, but it's exhausting. Especially when so much effort is put into finally ending some things. I kind of feel like my life has been a rollercoaster; literally. Little jam-packed sessions of action and then times where I have way too much time on my hands. Like a rollercoaster it's been flipping from crazy to pretty well not moving so it seems.

The last... well two months... I spent a lot of them crying. More than I'd like to admit. Summed up short, a breakup. Yeah I broke up with the guy (don't judge please) but that I feel is almost worse bc you have to hurt a person you never wanted to. And I am happy to say that I think I've finally reached a state where I can put that all behind me and move on. Although, okay, honestly started moving on a little while ago because majorly confused over might be feelings for a guy...

On top of that, well, there's school. Always school. I've felt a LOT of pressure in school. See, my family is NOT the best off financially. At all. So for me to go to University for what I want, I kind of need a scholarship.... and (honestly not trying ot brag) I'm quite used to low or mid 90s with little to no effort. But, we got a new teacher (former one is on mat. leave) for chem and math (basically the two most important subjects for forensic science). She's a lovely lady but I have trouble learning from how she teaches and so my marks in those subjects' marks have dropped and it was really stressing me out for a bit(yeah I know they don't look at grade eleven marks but if you don't understand grade 11 subjects how are you supposed to understand grade 12 ones? XD ). :$ I eventually broke down about it to my mom and she said it was fine; she assured me she knows I am trying my best and we can work it out if it jeopardizes my average.
But, well, okay... today, for no apparent reason as to why today, I kind of finally felt some peace about it all. Like, I had a really nice conversation with a friend on Fri night about this sort of stuff. And he kept telling me not to worry about it; it's in God's hands. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." and Matthew 6: 25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
MAJOR help right there. Bc I know these verses, but sometimes just need to hear them again to clue in to them XD
So, well, yeah... God's just been amazing. He hasn't left my side through any of this. I am so undeserving, but He sees me trying and comes to help me... so thankful for Him, <3

Well, that's all for today! God bless! -Emma

P.S. Random, but, well, recentlyI've started praying for the guy I am gonna' marry. Laugh if you will but I think it's a good idea to pray for the person you're gonna' marry. God has a plan but the Devil is always trying to screw it up. So pray for that person, whoever they are, the God will protect them for you and bring them to you/(or you to them) in His perfect timing. Also, praying for them certainly makes them feel more real... makes you really believe that they are actually out there and you're not literally "forever alone".