Binge Watching II

So if you follow me on Twitter you may or may not know that I am slightly obsessed with the Property Brothers*. I have reached that stage in where whenever I walk around my house or any house really, I mentally look around and decided what to change to add value or what has been to improve the space. I’ve seen their Youtube videos and their Vines. I’ve watch random interview videos because I was bored.

The Property Brothers show is one of those that is easy to binge watch for two reasons. One the hosts are likeable and fun to watch, plus their easy on the eyes.

[meat in property brothers sandwich gif]

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDRnuCNkvQo

Two (for me especially) there are no real stakes. The show’s formulaic: They buy a house to renovate, some drama comes up, the house is perfect. You know how it’s going to end and you’re just in it to look at pretty pictures of houses. I didn’t get a job till about halfway through the summer which meant I spent my time home either  Helping around the house or Watching Property Brothers**. Since we don’t have USA network anymore I think Property Brothers are on more than Law and Order: SVU. Plus I don’t understand how they film so much, Brother vs. Brother just ended and now a new season of Property Brothers: Buying and Selling is coming out

Watching so much Property Brothers has given me some good career insight:

1. Good Branding is crucial. Make sure what you do and who you are is recognisable
2. Audience engagement brings whatever it is you’re doing to life
3. Flannel=win

*Jonathan’s my favourite

**Writing nearly made the list.

Accepting your ugly

Most of the body positivity movement centres on on loving your body unconditionally. You should love your body and they ways you are uniquely beautiful.* But the truth of the matter is you can’t be happy with your boy 100% of the time. You can love your body all the time (or try to) but you can’t be happy with it all of the time.

Part of me learning to love my body was learning to accept my ugly. To accept the days where I looked in mirror and thought “Nope.” When I was puffy and bloated, when I broke out and when my hair looked like a black mass about to consume my head. I learned to live with days where I the image of me in my head did not match with reality.

You will not think you look perfect 100% of the time. It’s impossible. You will have days where you look in the mirror and think “Why does my face look like a beach ball?” I had to learn to accept this about my body. I had to learn to sink into my own skin and embrace it every day. Accepting my ugly days was freeing. It let me take the pressure off myself, i no longer had to match the idea of my ideal self in my head. I just had to be me.

I still have days where accepting my body is hard. I have days where I look in the mirror and think “Why do I look gross? You were fine 2 hours ago?”** But I’m cool with it. I move on. I lie down in my bed and chill out watching Property Brother in my PJ’s. Beauty is a social construct, it doesn't define me. There are days when I’m happier with my body than other but I accept it how it is, ugly or not.

*Beauty is a social construct which means you define it, it doesn’t define you. Those who say otherwise are wrong.

**In a friendly way. Mostly right after I wake up.

New Job?!?!

Anyone who knows me knows I don’t vacation well. Strange for a lazy person but true. I think the max amount of time I go without either a job or school is about a week or two before I go mad. Work is how I relax, there’s nothing I like more than completing a job and being productive. The paycheck doesn’t hurt too ;).

Recently, like all college students, I had to ask myself the question: How am I going to make my degree profitable? A conversation with an alumni from my college gave me the idea of trying out a job in marketing/advertising. While my eventual goal is to be a writer and a filmmaker, I have to pay the bills before then. I looked around for marketing jobs and managed to land a great internship at a local advertising firm.

So far I’ve been here about two weeks but I’m learning a lot. I’ve helped write talking points and press releases, done research and even gone on shoots for ads. That’s not even touching on all the amazing stuff that’s still to come. I’ve had some really great jobs, but my co workers here are some really cool people who do some amazing work. Summer internships are a great way to test out different career options, even if you think they may be unrelated to your major. I’ve decided to take some classes in marketing in the fall to become more educated about the field. I can’t wait to see what next summer holds!