Opinion Time: Divorce

Normally when it comes to forming an opinion on something, my decisions are normally quite yes or no; never mixed.
Abortion= against
Gay rights= for
The legal use of marijuana= against
The shark trade industry= strongly against
Animal cruelty= against
Slavery + human trafficking= against
Freedom of speech= for
Womens rights and gender equality= for

So it's quite odd for me to have a mixed opinion on something as controversial as divorce
For many people, divorce is normal. I know people who've married and divorced many times and think nothing of it. I know few people whose marriages have lasted more than 10 years.

The divorce and marriage statistics are quite shocking to say the least. In 2011 in Australia, 48 935 divorces were granted. In 2012, the US was the leading country in divorce rates.

I understand sometimes why people divorce. One of them might be abused, one may be unfaithful to the other and
But for reasons such as 'we don't have ANYTHING in common' or 'we've changed too much' or 'we don't do anything good anymore', then that reason, whatever it may be, is just contributing to a painful waste of time. If it's something that can be sorted out by just talking it through and taking positive action, then divorce is just pointless.

My own parents divorced when I was 7 because 'your dad and I never did anything anymore'- my mother. I barely remember seeing anything that led to that division and as I went by without my dad in the house, it didn't seem that painful then. Some of my friends parents shortly divorced afterwards too. At that age, it seemed like such a normal thing and not bad at all.
But looking back on it all, divorce screwed me up big time. I grew up without a strong father figure in my life. I did stupid stuff to get attention from anyone that would care.

I did get to see my dad whenever he visited (weekends if we were lucky) and he was there at some moments in my life. But not all the time. And to this day I still barely know him. It's astonishing how little we know each other.
I look at my friends who have parents that haven't divorced. They are all the happiest and successful teenagers in the Southern Hemisphere and they are all emotionally stable with great relationships with both parents. Then I look at my friends with divorced parents. They may be happy and they might even be going places in life, but we share scars that won't go away. We share a strong sense of pain and voids that can't be filled.

So while I may not be 100% against divorce, I cannot say I support it. Sometimes it can be good. Any other time is always wrong.
Because while you may be free from a husband that never took you out, your children are deprived of a father figure. You are essentially intentionally scarring them for life. You are setting an example that marriage is a life long commitment that you can back out of at anytime you so choose.
And I wish more couples knew that before they signed on a dotted line that could change lives for the worse.

Those are just my thoughts. If you have an opinion on divorce, a topic idea for one of my posts or a random thought, let me know in the comments below.
Bonne nuit and have a happy Easter :)

WARNING: Contents of this post may contain controversial notions

Today is the golden age of atheism.

That was probably one of the most controversial sentences you'll ever see on this blog. And I didn't just say that sentence to cause a spark which would then result in another mass Internet debate/war between denominations of people, I said that because the  topic of today's post is supposed to be "Is everyone spiritual?"

And now back to my first sentence; this century, the 21st century is the golden age of atheism. Left, right and center we can see many people proudly stating that there is no God and the thought we evolved from primordial ooze is just fine and dandy.
The garden variety atheist can be found in all corners of the world and seemingly they have no concern about whether there is anything spiritual in this universe because they can't feel/see it for themselves.

In a way that is astonishingly disappointing. And I'm not saying that as an advocate for spirituality, I'm saying that because something that has shaped humanity (the good and the bad) for thousands of years has been the belief that there is a higher power, whether it is God, Jesus, Buddha or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. And at least once in our lives we should all aim to at least seek this higher power and look further into what it all means.
If the human race abandoned religion for the higher pursuit of science, it would be like a child never eating vegetables again: there would be less arguments and protests, yes. The child would be relatively happy, no denying that. But without that provision of minerals needed to be strong and healthy (in the case of religion, morals), how is the child going to have the capability to advance further and grow up strong?

Religion has always caused arguments. Many people are for it, many people are against it and many people just accept it and get on with their lives. Religion is something that generally doesn't mix well with things like politics and childrens television shows.
But without some of the morals and guidelines taught and practiced by certain religions, how can society advance? We all need to learn what's right and what's wrong, but without there being any oppressive morals taught.
Because let's face it, who else is sick of seeing oppressed women and members of the gay/lesbian/bi/transgender community being prejudiced? These are lessons that humanity needs to discard.

But the fear of losing religion 100% from society is something that no one need fear. As long as people believe that there is some spiritual force guiding us all, then religion will continue to be with society. After all, many people believe in things such as souls, which means that in conclusion, not everyone is 100% spiritual, but we all have a part of us, whether it be small or large, that believes that we aren't just here because of coincidence. My challenge to you all is to really think deep about what it all means. And another challenge for you all is this: go to the movies and watch Oz The Great and Powerful.
If you have any questions or statements you want to say, please let me know in the comments below.

Note: It is worth knowing that I try as hard as I can to not have prejudiced beliefs towards races or religious groups. If this post offended you, I apologise.

She's With The School Band

G'day mates,

Earlier this week I didn't have my trusty laptop with me to make a blog post, so that's why this one is late.
I came to the decision that this post is going to be another one about my daily life; my second experience playing in a school band.

I've played in a school band before and it was not exactly optional. I was in grade 4 and this was thrust upon me like a cannonball. The songs were hard, the trumpet kids kept honking in my ear and not one of the band's few hot guys believed that the clarinet was an awesome instrument (haters gonna hate; clarinets are awesome).
So there was no regret at all when I quit. But I only quit the band because I quit clarinet. And that was undoubtedly one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I only quit because I hated my new music teacher.

Basically for years now, I've been free from the burden of being part of a music group. But two weeks ago on that Thursday I was demanded by one of the greatest people I've ever met (not Billie Joe Armstrong) to join the band again. I took clarinet up again on January 2 this year, so I haven't exactly played for very long at all. And for days I've been terrified that I'll look like the biggest stooge. For days I have been looking at my face in the mirror when I play; hoping that the pufferfish effect is just my bizarre imagination.

And now, now that I've had my first band practice (and now my second!!), I can honestly say that the fear was all stage fright. Getting back into a music group is always going to start out scary but once you meet people, make friends with the other players and show off a bit, you feel an instant wave of accomplishment.

And in other news, I came back from my Colour Conference trip to Sydney on Sunday. The official post and documentary will be coming soon, but I want to say now that it was one of the best holidays I've had. I had a massive cold at the time, we had to get up early each day and there was hardly ever any good free Wi-Fi. But all in all it was an incredible journey and I'd love to go again!!!!

Until the next post, Vivmarie1407

The First Anniversary Post

It feels like it's been years since that boring, rainy Friday afternoon on March the 2nd when I sat at my computer and made a blog. But reality tells me it's only just been one year; I'm overreacting.

Buon giorno guys!!!!! Today marks exactly one year since this blog was created!!!! Personally I cannot contain my amazement and glee; I never thought this blog would make it past 6 months and not be left in the graveyard of cyberspace.

I remember sitting and staring at the screen, utterly pertrified and wanting to just delete the empty blog and run away from the computer. Giving up before even trying seemed like the best thing ever at the time. But giving up before trying would have just been pathetic. I didn't know if the blog was going to be successful or just bollocks, and I would never know if I didn't at least try to write something..... any random thought that came to mind would suffice.

Needless to say, it worked. One year later and I'm still writing random thoughts that come to mind. One year later and it's still raining. One year later and people still read my stuff. It's truly astonishing at how many people I've reached in just a few months with just a couple of posts.

So thank you to all my wonderful readers and subscribers who have kept me writing! There has been so many of you from a cornucopia of different countries all over the world. So to all the French, British, German, Australian, American, Chinese, Malaysian, Russian, South Korean, Latvian, Polish and Venezualen readers who bothered to take the time from their lives and read my stuff: merci, thank you, danke, cheers mate, thank y'all, 谢谢, terima kasih, спасибо, 감사합니다, paldies, dziękuję and ¡gracias!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for what has been a tremendously fantastic blogging year. We've seen many changes in the world and we're sure to see more as we delve further into the 21st century. So thanks for a great first year, here's to many more!!!

Despedida, Vivmarie1407