My Favorite Obscure Stories About Heroes

This week on the podcast we talked about superpowers. This concept always amazes and fascinates me. I love reading stories and watching shows about superheroes. Some of the most popular shows and movies today are about superheroes and I love them, especially Marvel Superheroes. X-Men, to be exact. While popular, Marvel superheroes are not my favorite superhero stories. I prefer some of the everyday stories about heroes not necessarily wearing capes.

My favorite obscure TV shows about heroes:
The Gifted: Remember this show? It exists in the X-Men universe. It’s about two parents who go on the run after discovering their children have mutant abilities. The show aired for two seasons on Fox and I was enthralled by it. I enjoyed the everyman aspect of the father (played by Stephen Moyer) discovering that he had mutant children in a world where mutants are hated. The concept applies to real life where anything different than the normal is generally hated. I felt like the show was canceled too soon, and I found both seasons to be enjoyable.

Heroes: Heroes is, and always will be, one of my favorite superhero shows. The show is about ordinary people who discover they have extraordinary abilities told in a comic book style. Some of my favorite characters include Syler (the villain turned hero), Peter (the hero with all of the abilities), Claire (the strong cheerleader), and Hiro (the man who could stop time). This show, in my opinion, emulates the rise and fall of good television and the pressures of some stories to remain popular after they have outplayed their popularity. It also represents how a show cannot bounce back from unfortunate events. Altogether, the show boasted five seasons aired on NBC including a short-lived reboot series. The fate of this show was purely circumstantial, and I believe that it could have been a longer-lived show if the second season hadn’t been a victim of the 2007-08 Writers’ Guild of America Strike.

Alphas: Alphas is a superhero/crime drama that follows a group of individuals with superhuman abilities as they investigate the crimes of other “Alphas.” This show aired on the Syfy network and only lasted two seasons as well, despite having a great cast led by David Strathairn. Unfortunately, as with the cast of a lot of TV shows that I like, the show was a victim of the second season rating slump after starting strong. What I liked the most about the show was that it was action-packed and the superhero element wasn’t at the forefront of the story as the main characters worked for the department of defense and aimed to take down terrorists.

My favorite obscure movies about heroes:
Push: Push is a 2009 movie about ordinary people with superhuman abilities banding together against a government agency seeking to enslave them to create super soldiers. In my opinion, this movie does not get the credit it deserves. It also boasts an all-star cast including pre-Captain America Chris Evans and Dakota Fanning. The film didn’t do well at the box office and it earned a B movie rating, but I still enjoy watching it. This is another low-budget wasted potential project that let the backstory and character development fall through the cracks in the editing process. 

Chronicle: Chronicle was a beautifully filmed found footage movie following three Seattle seniors (including Michael B. Jordan) who gain telekinetic powers from an unknown object. They begin to chronicle their rise to superherodom until one of the three boys begins to use his powers for evil. What I like most about this movie is that it shows the dark side of having superpowers and flirts with the thin line between good and evil with a single act.

The Watchmen: This is another film that shows the dark side of having superpowers. This movie is set in the alternate historical year 1985 and follows the second generation of superheroes called The Watchmen during a time when it is illegal to be a superhero (or vigilante). The movie was beautifully filmed and features one of my favorite actors, Jeffery Dean Morgan. Although the film didn’t get much credit for the masterpiece that it is, it did spawn a TV show that aired on HBO and lasted one season.

My favorite obscure book series about heroes:
The Darkest Minds: The Darkest Minds is a young adult series by Alexandra Bracken about a group of children who develop psychic powers. The children were rounded up by the government and placed in rehabilitation camps. The story centers on Ruby, who can control people, which makes her one of “the darkest minds.” Ruby escapes from the camp with the aid of a group that seeks to advocate for psychic children, but at the same time, use them for political reasons. The series follows Ruby as she runs from the government and tries to free her fellow teens from rehabilitation camps. I enjoy this story because it takes a different perspective on unwilling superheroes and illuminates the struggle a teenager goes through to be seen and heard in a world that takes teenage voices for granted. In 2018, a movie version of the first book in the series hit the theaters to bad reviews and criticism.

Dark Visions: This is one of my favorite young adult series by L.J. Smith. The series follows a group of teenagers living in an institute for psychic abilities. As the series progresses, the teenagers learn that the institute only exists to use the teens’ psychic abilities as weapons for unnamed corporations. The story centers on Kaitlyn, who can see the future. Kaitlyn and the other members of the institute escape and join with allies to help defeat the institute and their army of dark psychics. The first book in the series was the first of many books I read by L.J. Smith and it quickly became a favorite series of mine. The series features a cast of characters from many interesting backgrounds and perspectives and focuses on the dark side of human experimentation.

Dirk and Steele: “The Dirk and Steele” series is an adult romance series by Marjorie M. Liu. The series follows a supernatural detective agency called Dirk and Steele and its various members with hidden supernatural abilities as they navigate the modern world in hopes to make it a better place. Each book in the series focuses on a different character, and as the series unfolds, the secrets of Dirk and Steele unfold as well. I like this series because it perfectly mixes science fiction, fantasy, and romance. Each book has a powerful storyline and a unique perspective from the main character.

Stories about heroes, villains, and vigilantes continue to fascinate me, especially the obscure ones that sometimes fall through the cracks. I want to hear from our readers. What are your favorite superhero movies, books, or tv shows? Do you like mainstream superhero stories or obscure ones like I do? Let’s continue the conversation below.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Pet Peeves

Yesterday, the podcast Modern Musings talked about pet peeves. It was a fun discussion, but it also made me realize that I have a lot of pet peeves. One would even say that my pet peeves have pet peeves. I joke…I have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and when you have OCD, your life is a pet peeve.

What is OCD? According to the National Institute of Mental Health, ”Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and/or behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over.” People can have mild to severe cases of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. 

I feel like my tics are not life-altering, just annoying sometimes. I first noticed that I had odd tendencies when I was very young. I would get hyper-fixated on certain things. For example, I was obsessed with making lists and checking things off my list. I also had to have everything in alphabetical order. I would spend days alphabetizing and re-alphabetizing my books, movies, and magazines. There was nothing more satisfying to me than putting things in their place and having them organized. Over the years, I’ve found that without organization, life sometimes falls apart. Over the last eight years, I’ve also learned that sometimes you have to readjust your perception of how things should be and when to fight your battles.

My biggest OCD-related pet peeves:

• The trash should be in the trash can. I am so obsessed with this that I will throw trash away that’s not trash. My OCD has gotten me into trouble in the past. I have gotten so hard into “throwing away trash” mode that I have thrown away checks, important bills/papers, and keepsakes. In my classroom, if students leave their homework on the desk or the floor, I will throw it away (I do give them a disclaimer about this at the beginning of the year). One of the major problems I had with my ex-husband stemmed from his trash-hoarding (another form of OCD).
• The dishes should be in the sink. One thing I can’t stand is going to another person’s house and seeing dishes sitting everywhere. If the dishes are in the sink, I’m okay with it. But if they are sitting around the house, I fight the compulsion to take their dishes to the sink. If I have finished with a dish, I try to take it to the sink immediately. If I don’t, I will stare at it until it is in the sink.
• Dirty clothes should be in the hamper. That is another thing I can’t stand when I go to another person’s house. However, I don’t have an urge to pick up others’ dirty clothes. I can’t stand touching another person’s dirty clothes, especially if they smell like body odor. On the flip side, I won’t let anyone else touch my dirty clothing either.
• Pet hair on my skin or clothes. I know you are saying, “but you have four cats!” Just because they have insane amounts of hair (and compulsively shed in the summer) doesn’t mean I don’t love my cats (or anyone else’s pets). I have separate sets of clothes. Clothes I wear out and clothes I wear at home. I wash both sets of clothes separately. I have multiple sets of sheets and blankets that I am constantly washing to keep down the pet hair. I also groom my cats regularly to keep the hair at bay. If I go to a person’s house with pets, I am mindful of where I sit or what I wear. My reaction also stems from having a mild allergy to pet hair. I obsessively wash my arms and face if I feel hair sticking to them and making them itch.
• Stains on my clothes. This problem came to the forefront recently when I was on vacation. Jason and I ordered a seafood boil to share. I typically buy clothes in mixed patterns and avoid wearing solid colors because mixed patterns tend to hide stains on shirts better. So, I wore a solid shirt, not thinking about the restaurant where we were going to be eating. The boil we ordered was swimming in a butter sauce, and Jason immediately dug in, not caring if he stained his shirt (he usually only wears black anyway). By the end of our meal, I was freaking out because my shirt had stains all over it. I went to the bathroom and compulsively scrubbed the shirt in hopes the stains would not stick. I felt embarrassed afterward because I was having lunch with his family and I felt like they were looking at me oddly with my wet shirt (they weren’t).
• Food in my teeth. Like the stains on my clothes, this drives me crazy. If I am out and about and I do not have dental floss on me, I will not order something that I know will get in my teeth, otherwise, I will pick at my teeth until my teeth are bloody from trying to get out whatever is stuck in them. For this reason, I refuse to eat popcorn, whether it is a flavor I like or not. The memory of popcorn getting stuck in my teeth prevents me from eating it. I don’t like seeing food in other people’s teeth, either.
• Body odor. I do not have a good sense of smell. There are certain things I cannot smell and, in return, taste because I do not have a good sense of smell, except when it comes to body odor. If someone is not wearing deodorant or did not brush their teeth, I can smell it. I might not be able to smell dinner, or the flowers Jason buys me, but I can smell if you didn’t take a shower. I also take extra pains to make sure that I do not have body odor, myself. I compulsively shower and wash my hair at least once a day because I do not want to appear dirty or greasy. Back when I weighed over 400 pounds, my doctor commented on my obsessive cleanliness because she had never met someone of my size so clean.

This is not all of my pet peeves, and I am far from a perfectionist, which is one of the common misconceptions about someone with OCD. I don’t care if I cut straight, draw straight, or hang pictures on my wall straight. I cannot color inside the lines, and I don’t have a problem if my furniture or spice cabinet is aligned a certain way (just whether my spice cabinet is in alphabetical order). I do find myself repeating things, counting over and over, and hyper-fixating on certain tasks, but nothing to the detriment of my life or health. Yes, I have a lot of pet peeves, but I can live with them.

I want to hear from our readers. Do you have any pet peeves? Do they affect your life? Please, comment below or continue the conversation on our Facebook group: MMC Chat.

My Cats

A Spiritual Journey

Religion is a touchy topic for most. I was in a physical fight once when I was a kid over the concept of life on other planets. In case you were wondering, I believe in life on other planets, and I defended my belief with a punch to the chest. The other person’s argument: if life existed on other planets, it would be mentioned in the Bible. As I said, a touchy topic.

I can only speak to my experience with religion because it directly influenced how I turned out and how I live my life now. That is to say, I don’t consider myself religious. Over the years, I have been called many things such as a “dirty Atheist” and a “devil worshiper,” but really I am none of those things. My beliefs are simply different than the average small-town person. That is where it all started…in a small town.

I was born a Southern Baptist. At least, that’s all I remember growing up. My parents weren’t very religious but my dad’s mom, Granny, took me to church every Sunday at a small, country, Baptist church. In that church, I only knew love, acceptance, and understanding. When I was in fourth grade, Granny moved to town, and we started attending the Baptist church near her house. The difference between the country church and the church in town was huge. For example, it wasn’t uncommon in the country for the farmers to wear overalls or dusty jeans to church, but in town, it was frowned upon if you dressed less than your “Sunday best.” I remember the church ladies treated Granny differently because she didn’t wear expensive dresses and was not perfectly made up. I noticed this type of prejudice at a young age as well as other subtle things within the church that were disagreeable to me.

At that young age, I began to question things about the beliefs that no one else around me seemed to question, like life on other planets, as well as the behavior and intolerance for anything different. At the same time, the young people were pressured to seal their beliefs through baptism. Enough was enough. I wanted to believe what I wanted to believe, and not what I was pressured to believe. I wanted to ask the big questions. I wanted to be spiritual in my beliefs and not confined by them.

What does it mean to be spiritual? According to Dr. Maya Spencer, “spirituality involves the recognition of a feeling or sense or belief that there is something greater than myself, something more to being human than sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.”

In other words, I believe there is more to the world than meets the eye, and I am still evolving and exploring my beliefs 28 years later. I was once told that because I was pressured into being baptized, I will always be a Christian and I can’t “take it back,” but the freedom of choice was taken from me in that regard. What I can choose is how I live my life in the here and the now while valuing myself and being open-minded to anything and everything that comes my way. That is the true lesson that I learned growing up in the church: what I did not want to be.

Would I be different if I grew up in a different Christian religion? Maybe. Probably not.

You are probably asking yourself, “what is her religion, again?” I don’t have one. My spirituality is a patchwork of many different beliefs, but I recently took a “What Religion am I?” quiz* (just for fun) and my result was: Mahayana Buddhism.

I want to hear from our readers. Are you spiritual? What does being spiritual mean to you? Let’s continue the conversation on our Facebook Group: MMC Chat.

*You can take the “What Religion am I?” quiz here.

Tea Pots and Toby Mugs

Hello everyone! On this week's podcast, we talked a lot about what is considered a collection. When I think of collecting, I always think of my mom. She always told me that everyone needs something to collect. As I grew older, I began to understand what she meant. Everyone does collect something even if they fail to realize it. My grandmother collected bells, my cousin collects snow globes, my coworker collects Pokémon cards, and my boyfriend collects horror movie memorabilia. What drives us to collect things?

When I was little, I was a novice collector of things such as rocks and crystals, pretty coins, and keychains. When I was in the second grade, my cousin gave me one of her old Archie comic books; I was instantly in love and wanted to read more. Every time we were at the grocery store and there was a new digest available, I would ask my mom to buy one for me. Through those newer comics, there were opportunities for me to order some by mail including back issues of my favorites. I loved everything about Archie and the dynamic he had with his friends and the sweet teen romances he had with Betty and Veronica.

In addition to the local bookstore, my mom would take me to vintage comic book stores to see if we could find older Archie editions. A few years later, I collected over 1,000 comics and various pieces of memorabilia. My friend Stacy and I started our own Archie Fan Club and we would read our books together while listening to “Sugar, Sugar” by The Archies. It didn’t occur to me that the comics I collected might be worth something someday. I was collecting these books purely for fun.

As I grew older, I began to share my mom’s interest in antiquing, garage sales, and auctions. My mom was an avid collector of vintage Coca-Cola memorabilia herself. She also restored antiques as a hobby and resold them on eBay. It wasn’t until my mid 20’s that I (accidentally) started my antique collection, which evolved into a greater appreciation of the art of collecting.

I was sitting in my grandmother’s living room one day and I was admiring her teapots. They weren’t my grandmother’s teapots but my great-grandmother’s teapots on my grandfather’s side, and they had always sat on the top shelf of my grandmother’s built-in bookshelf. There were eight of them arranged perfectly, and I always noticed them – even when I was a kid. One was gorgeous (to me), and it had golden polka dots. I told her and my mom that I would like to inherit them one day when she was tired of them. At that point, I had been a casual teapot collector. I had a Snoopy teapot and a Cow Jumping Over the Moon teapot that friends had randomly given to me. I liked teapots, but it was the sentimental value of my great-grandmother’s collection that drew me, especially the shiny polka dots on the one that I specifically noticed.

Zodiac Teacup from my collection

Not long after that conversation, my mom took me to one of the monthly auctions in our hometown of Vernon, Texas. It was an estate auction and among the wares was a collection of vintage China teapots. My mom handed me some money and said I could bid on whatever I wanted, so I bid on those teapots and won. That started my strange journey in teapot collecting. While I do appreciate the art of collecting vintage items for resale like my mom did, this collection journey was purely for my decorative pleasure. Over the years, I have collected teapots from the many antique, auction, and thrift store outings with my mom, and I have been gifted teapots. My tastes also evolved from pretty, shiny teapots to weird and unique-looking ones.

Benjamin Franklin Teapot

In 2017, at an estate sale with my mom, I bought my first Toby Head. What is a Toby Head? According to the American Toby Jug Museum (yes, it exists), a Toby is a ceramic head molded in the form of a popular character, historical, fictional, or generic. Tobys do not have a specific manufacturer. Any ceramic head can be considered a Toby. That being said, I like unique Tobys. Since 2017, I have collected a number of Tobys in many forms from teapots to creamer jugs to mugs. My favorite find was a Benjamin Franklin teapot from a shop in McKinney, Texas called  The Groovy Coop. Recently, I found a pair of king and queen mugs on eBay.

Toby teapot and mug

Some of my mini Toby collection

Last year, after my divorce, I made the difficult decision to downsize many of the things that I had inherited or collected over the years, and my teapots and Tobys were not left unscathed. I only kept the ones that gave me a certain amount of pleasure and the very important ones that my mom and I curated. Now I keep the pure pleasure of my collection to a minimum.

So, what drives us to collect? Is it s psychological need to hunt and categorize or is it the pleasure of just having something sentimental? I believe that it’s both. My mom was right. Everyone needs to collect.

I want to hear from our readers. What do you collect and why do you collect it? Head on over to our Facebook Group: MMC Chat and continue the conversation!

*20 years later, my first-edition near-mint “Betty” comic book is worth $165 according to Nostomania.

According to Astrology...

I don’t want to just throw out my exact age here since I am considered the “maiden”, but I’m going to because the reason that I am the maiden is that I’m the youngest, I’m unmarried, and I don’t have any children (unless you count my students). I also look at life with a sense of childlike wonder which hasn’t changed no matter how many things get thrown at me. That, being said, I was born on November 28, 1983. Why is this significant? Knowing the predictions behind your birthday can be incredibly important.

What even is astrology anyway?  On our upcoming podcast, we will define astrology and discuss the meanings behind it. Is astrology pseudoscience? Does it predict the future? According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, it is a “type of divination that involves the forecasting of earthly and human events through the observation and interpretation of the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon, and the planets.” Astrology is very old. It has been around since ancient Babylon (18th century B.C.). I cannot say whether astrology predicts the future or not, but I can tell you what it says about me.

My Life Path Number is 6: Life Path numbers help you figure out where you are going in life and help you understand deeper aspects of your personality. Being a 6, I have the compulsive need to change the world creatively. I have a desire to uplift and inspire others and I am seen as a stabilizer and a problem solver, according to Christine DeLorey of Creative Numerology. You can calculate your number here.

My Zodiac Sign is Sagittarius: Zodiac signs can give you an insight into your basic personality traits (for better or worse). Sagittarius is the ninth zodiac sign and it stretches from November 21-December 21. According to Sarah Regan of Mind Body Green, a Sagittarius is always seeking freedom and adventure but they are also very stable and rational. My strengths are adaptability, generosity, and a great sense of humor while my weaknesses are impatience and the fact that I say what’s on my mind too much.

Sagittarius is a Fire Sign: Each of the 12 astrological signs falls under one of the four elements which are earth, air, fire, and water. According to Sarah Regan of Mind Body Green, fire signs are “passionate, dynamic, and temperamental.” Fire signs are high-energy and tend to move at a faster pace than other signs. Fire signs also tend to be more impulsive than other signs.

The Sagittarius symbol is The Archer: The archer's arrow is always pointing upwards which means that Sagittarius is always aiming higher in life whether it is spiritually, emotionally, or financially. The arrow pointing up also “expresses wisdom and honesty” according to Astrostyle.

My Ruling Planet is Jupiter: Every Zodiac sign has a ruling planet and your ruling planet influences how your sign is expressed. The planet Jupiter, in astrology, is associated with luck, optimism, and positivity. According to Andrea Lawrence of Exemplore, Jupiter influences activities, and encourages goal-setting, chasing dreams, curiosity, and risk-taking. Jupiter is a ruling planet for knowledge-seekers.

My birthstone is Topaz and Citrine: Birthstones represent a person’s birth month. According to Farmer's Almanac, topaz symbolizes love and affection, and citrine can calm and heal. I often wear a citrine necklace or carry citrine with me for personal healing and good vibes. It just so happens that it’s my birthstone, and its color is amber, like my name.

I was born on a Monday: The day of the week you were born can also hold significance according to Vedic Astrology. According to Dr. Pratibha Singh of Eastrohelp, people born on Monday make unpredictable and emotional decisions over practical decisions. People born on Monday are also very creative, romantic, and can be very jealous lovers. Monday-born people can also be quite vengeful if they are stabbed in the back. Oftentimes, Monday’s child thrives in problem-solving careers.

I was born in a Waning Crescent moon phase: According to MoonGlow, the lunar personality of a Waning Crescent Moon is that of a “thinker.” People love to talk to “thinkers” because they make great conversation and are good listeners. Aside from that, people born during a Waning Crescent moon have a creative way of thinking (or overthinking), are artistic, imaginative, and can easily come up with creative solutions to problems.

I was born in The Year of the Water Pig: Per the Chinese Zodiac, “Pigs are diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration: once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Though Pigs rarely seek help from others, they will not refuse to give others a hand. Pigs never suspect trickery, so they are easily fooled.” Pigs are also calm in the face of trouble, can handle problems carefully, and have a great sense of responsibility to finish what they start. 

My Lasso of Fate is The Lovers Tarot card: “The Lovers tarot card denotes someone who makes choices from the heart. This is someone who needs to emotionally and intellectually connect to every aspect of their lives,” according to Astronumerology.

There are many debates and theories on astronomy. One could say that you could change aspects of your personality to align with your horoscope. Is this an exact science? No, it isn’t. Is it fun? Yes, it is. Astrology combines some of my favorite parts of divination. If someone who knows me reads this, they would probably say all of the things above describe me. Is it fate? Was I born to be the way that I am? Astrology says yes. It’s all about perspective. Coincidence? You decide. I don’t even ready my horoscope regularly.

I want to hear from our readers. How much faith do you put in astrology? Let’s continue the conversation in our Facebook Group: MMC Chat.

House of Cards

My eyes are open and the alarm is blaring. I’m staring at the ceiling in the darkness. Breathing. Just breathing. I’m staring. My alarm…snooze. Nine more minutes and I’ll get up, I promise myself this every morning. Nine more minutes. I swear I’ll get up this time.

Everyone hits snooze, right? Generally, they fall back to sleep. Were they awake half the night making lists in their heads? Endless lists of things they worry about… things they need to buy at the store…or things they want to do to their house? I was. I was laying there thinking of everything in the world but sleep because that’s what I do. Sometimes I can read, work on crossword puzzles, or tell myself stories to put myself asleep. So, when I hit snooze, I’m awake, but I just don’t want to get out of bed. It’s not because I’m lazy. I mentally can’t get out of bed. I’m trapped in my head, unable to move. Every morning I have to untrap myself. I have to convince myself that getting out of bed is the right thing to do. It’s a vicious cycle.

I’m ill. I have a mental illness that I try to overcome every day of my life.

That’s not a normal thing to say, is it? What is normal? I can think of various instances from my childhood that point to the fact that I was not normal and that things were not okay. For example, I became so angry over something trivial that I ripped the bedpost off my bed and threw it across the room. Does that seem normal?

My generation grew up with the stigma that everything deemed “different” was bad, especially if you grew up in a small, conservative town in the south. Growing up, I quickly learned that to be a fully functional member of society, I had to hide the parts of myself that were considered “not okay.” In other words, “fake it until you make it.” So, that’s what I did. I became a master of my reality, and my only outlet growing up was through my writing. Throughout my adolescence, I went out of my way to not be noticed and to appear “normal.”

As I grew older, it was harder to fake. In my third year of college, circa 2004, I began to slowly give in to mania and depression. I stayed up all night, I stopped going to class, and I began sleeping all day until I had to get up to go to work. About halfway through my first semester, I was failing most of my classes except my creative writing class. It was the only one I enjoyed attending. The next semester wasn’t any better. I was on academic probation, and I still had a hard time making myself attend most of my classes other than my poetry writing elective. By that time, my mania/depression had turned into self-destructive behaviors. I quit my job to focus on college, but in reality, I was having a hard time making myself go to work and school. I figured that if I eliminated work, I would attend school. I was wrong. That summer, I was told I had to take a semester off from college due to my academic performance. At that point, I gave in and started seeing an on-campus psychiatrist.

After a few sessions, he diagnosed me with Bipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder is “a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks,” according to the National Institute of Mental Health. This diagnosis did not come as a shock to me. In fact, it made sense. I knew there was something wrong. I had always known, that people with mental illnesses were considered “crazy.” Was I crazy?

“You are not crazy,” my mother told me after my diagnosis. “I work with people who have Bipolar Disorder. You can’t possibly have Bipolar Disorder.” My mom was a social worker for the criminally insane at the local state hospital. She, along with a lot of people I knew, equated mental illness with crime because the only confessed people with bipolar disorder she knew were her clients at the hospital, and most of them had committed violent crimes. I was not violent. I was not a criminal. How could I be mentally ill? This is one of the stigmas that followed people with mental illness seventeen years ago. After my mother’s reaction and subsequent denial, why would I want to confess to having such a monstrous disorder? 

So, I suffered in silence like so many others. I overcame my baser instincts. Medication helped, but it only takes a person so far when it comes to Bipolar Disorder. Living life is a constant struggle. Sudden changes can often break my day. My first reaction to something negative is always to throw something, break something, or scream, but I stop myself and channel that energy in a more positive way. Over the years, my disorder became easier to control with practice and patience. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have bad days or that a single push will not tumble my carefully constructed house of cards. If that happens, I rebuild. It may be hard, but I do it.

On our podcast this week, we talk about living with mental illness. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in five Americans live with mental illness. If more people talked about their condition, they would not have to suffer in silence like I did most of my life. Carrie Fisher once said, “Bipolar Disorder can be a great teacher. It’s a challenge, but it can set you up to be able to do almost anything else in your life.” I accept the challenge. My condition is not a disability. I live with it and overcome it every day of my life, just like so many others.

I want to hear from our readers. Do you or a loved one suffer from mental illness? Let’s continue the conversation in our Facebook Group: MMC Chat.

Star Wars: Iconic Inspiration

Yesterday was May the 4th which is also known as Star Wars Day. In our Podcast, we talked about the age-old question, “Star Trek or Star Wars?” I don’t really see the debate. They are two completely different entities, to me. I didn’t grow up in a house divided. My parents were equally nerdy when it came to science fiction. I remember watching reruns of the original Star Trek on cable with my dad and the original Star Wars on VHS tapes with my mom.

That being said, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise until the Phantom Menace came out in 1999. It was the summer after my freshman year in high school, and I saw it for the first time when I attended band camp in Wichita Falls, Texas. It wasn’t that the film was that great. Looking back on the second trilogy as an adult, I find some of the scenes to be cringeworthy (especially in Attack of the Clones), and I think the original trilogy is more iconic and long-lasting. However, the special effects in the Phantom Menace were groundbreaking at the time. I know when you think of 1999 you don’t really think of groundbreaking special effects in movies but it was the Phantom Menace that paved the way for modern digital effects and CGI monsters. 

It was those special effects in the Phantom Menace that mesmerized me and interested me in the original trilogy and science fiction in general, which heavily influenced my future writing and interest in world-building. I went out and bought World-Building by Steven Gillett and the Dictionary of Imaginary Places. My writing became heavily influenced by planet exploration and the idea of building my own space opera. Star Wars also influenced my reading trends as I grew older. I began to read science fiction works such as Fahrenheit 451 and Ender’s Game. To this day, I credit Star Wars for my interest in science fiction writing.

Aside from my new love for Star Wars as the prequel trilogy started to hit the movie theaters, I didn’t think much about the Star Trek franchise until the movie remake starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto hit the big screen. As stated before, I had seen many Star Trek episodes with my father growing up, but I never sat down and watched all of them. So, I suppose you could say, if I had to choose, I would choose Star Wars over Star Trek.

I want to hear from my readers. Do you prefer Star Wars over Star Trek? How do you celebrate Star Wars Day? Please, let’s continue the conversation in our Facebook Group: MMC Chat. Also, check out our Facebook Page.

See you next time for Revenge of the Fifth…