Photo credit: Alastair Muir
I recently attended the San Francisco Opera's Carmen, and absolutely loved it. But before I get into why, let me just tell you about a conversation I have at least once before every time I go to an opera.
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At this point in time, it's pretty widely known that social media is horrible for us. It makes us sad. It makes us lonely. It makes us jealous. It makes us boring.
Oh, and it gives us obesity, diabetes, and back and neck problems Yet many of us spend more time than we wish to admit -- or even realize -- on social media. Why?
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "It is a happy talent to know how to play."
Intuitively, it makes sense. But was he actually, empirically right? The answer is yes. I know, because I checked. The whole point of my master's thesis was to answer this (and a few other) questions. But here's the thing: because playfulness is a talent, that means it's something we have to learn -- not something we're born with. And it appears as though many millennials missed the memo.
Every time I log on to Quora, I am struck by the number of people who wonder what it's like to be a beautiful woman -- and, even, how said women deal with the "constant" attention, getting hit on, and getting stared at all the time.
I’ve been staying at the Arena y Sol in Dominical, Costa Rica, for the past week. And it’s been awesome – cool town, cool people, and entire surf breaks all to myself!
Since I no longer have my rental car, I’ve been getting to the breaks the way anyone would: thumbing it.
I've written several times about how much fun it is to travel alone (see also: Advantages of Traveling While Female; 8 Super Awesome Ways to Make More Friends While You Travel; and Feeling Alone? The Solution May be to Travel... Alone). But after several years of dating the best travel companion EVER, I spent very little time traveling alone... and I began to wonder, Do I still feel that way?
Well. Here's where I am, RIGHT now, as I write this post:
Traveling. Sola. In Costa Rica (and possibly Nicaragua and/or Panama, eventually).
And I absolutely still love traveling alone. (Even though, technically, I've spent very little time actually being alone.)
Parties are the best! I love karaoke parties and Half New Year's Parties and New Month's Eve parties and Releasing the Spirit of Christmas Back Into the Air parties and Playing Guitar Around a Campfire parties and Outrageously Fun Ski and Snowboarding Game parties. To name a few.
But according to Everyday Feminism (which, I've written, is a joke), I have been planning my parties all wrong. And, probably, so have you. But by using this convenient 10,000-point checklist, you can make sure your party is inclusive to everyone and doesn't accidentally hurt anyone's feelings. (See also: Why I Dressed as Microaggressions for Halloween.)
After YEARS of listening to people muse over who should pay for a date, I wrote Finally! A Definitive Way to Know Who Pays For The Date. In it, I propose a very simple solution:
Yesterday, my best friend -- the best friend anyone could ever have! -- defended his thesis and earned his Ph.D. Which means one thing: a full day of receptions and celebrations. I was there for every part of it... which means I basically did enough partying to deserve an MBA.
All this partying got me thinking: what's the best way to exit a conversation when you have other hosting, networking, or social duties to attend to?
Basketball was my first love. I started playing around third grade, and have always loved being physical; getting aggressive; sprinting as fast as I can and jumping as high as possible. I played in elementary school. I played in middle school. I played in high school.
And then... I got to college. Unable to find a women's league within thirty minutes of campus -- and unable to find five women who would commit to a weekly intramural game -- I began playing pickup. Night after night, the courts were packed with me and 29 dudes. I couldn't help but wonder, Where are all the amazingly fierce female athletes I've been playing with my whole life? |
About the Author
Eva is a content specialist with a passion for play, travel... and a little bit of girl power. Read more >
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