Friends

It’s 2014!

You made it, time flies, year went by so fast, this one’ll be better, etc.  Did you have a good holiday?  Did you get anything?  My family exchanges presents, but we put a priority on wishing each other well and telling each other how much each person means to us.  For New Years’, I spent my time partying with my mates at an art studio.  There was general running around and prank-pulling that day.

Since Christmas and New Years’ have passed, it’s time to talk about resolutions.  I originally said I wasn’t going to do any, but I actually could manage some.

So, here they are:

1. Do that secret project I said I was gonna do.
2. FINISH MY PORTRAIT WORK.  I do portraits in Second Life but haven’t finished my projects due to stuff happening in rl and being sad for a bit.  Now that I’m back, I’m going to solve this problem by opening a Tinychat room and linking my friends to it.  People watching me work will ensure I finish.  Bam!  That resolution is totally happening.  I don’t know the time yet but it’ll probably be in the afternoon when I do this.
3. Clean out my inventory.  I have tons of textures from old clothing, WIP skin work, makeup I never released, unfinished ideas, finished ones, and long forgotten stuff I did and didn’t keep at my store for very long.  For all of that, I’m at 30k in my inventory–which isn’t bad, but it needs to be lower.  I’m a hoarder so this is going to be a challenge.
4. Paint stuff.  Make stuff.  Publish stuff.
5. Be confident in my ability to be a living, breathing unicorn with a belly full of weird ideas and crazy talent.

That’s my list.  Do you have one?  Are you someone who just believes in goals for every day, or do you like resolutions after New Years’?  Have you ever seen one through?  Let me know in the comments!

Credits:

• Sweater and dress:  Redgrave – Holly
• Headband:  Tea.s – Happy 2014! Headband

This holiday hasn’t been cheerful for everyone.  I have quite a few friends on the grid who have had their share of bad news, heartbreak, or just a bleak outlook with no sure answer on what next year will hold for them.  For many, it’s a struggle to manage anything from day to day.  Some can’t handle it.  Some lose their ability to cope and disappear from our lives forever.

Depression is a devastating disease of the mind.  It ravages your self-image and confidence.  It depreciates your accomplishments, it makes you feel like you’re the tiniest person in the world.  If you aren’t careful, it can consume you entirely.  The scary thing is, someone close to you can be enduring this, putting on a front of a person who has absolutely nothing wrong, and you will be none the wiser.

It isn’t an easy answer to “just be happy”, like what some people can tell you if you’re personally going through this.  It’s not like you can flip a switch, and medication isn’t always affordable (as of right now).  Even with the possibility of taking a pill, some argue it isn’t the best answer.  So how do you cure depression?  There are different methods, but the first step is to get help.

Get help.  Do not go through this alone.  It can be embarrassing when your world feels like it’s falling apart, or even if you just have some nagging feeling despite your life being pretty great otherwise.  Reach out to someone you trust, just to get your feelings off of your chest.  If you don’t have anyone you feel you can talk to, you can always pick up the phone and talk to someone.

Have you ever been depressed?  Did a friend in Second Life help you get through it?  If you’ve gotten over depression, what did you find helpful for accomplishing it?  Feel free to share your stories in the comments below.  If you’re currently depressed, remember–reaching out is the first step to getting better.

• Dress:  MIAMAI – Elapse (the flower wings are a part of this set as well.)
• Tights:  MIAMAI – Ardore (Black)
• Wings:  Europa – Nyxus Wings
• Hair:  Alice Project – Mary
• Location: The Golden Thread Exhibit, MIAMAI