Dear mother-in-law…

Just because you’re married, you’re under no obligation to be emotionally abused by toxic people. If someone gets bullied, you would tell them to distance themselves from that person. If someone gets treated with no respect, you would tell them they deserve better. If someone gets verbally attacked by not just one person, but a group, you would tell them to separate themselves as far as possible from those people and the situation. Just because she is your mother in law, that doesn’t mean you need to tolerate a hurtful relationship with a cold-hearted person. She is not your marriage. She doesn’t define who you are and she sure as hell can’t make you feel worthless.

If you could tell your mother-in-law one thing, what would it be?

Dear mother-in-law, thanks for reminding me that I am a strong person and will never be broken by your words.

 

SOUTHPAW – A ‘phenomenal’ story of a fighters rise back to the top

A story about courage, determination and passion, SOUTHPAW follows the life of Billy “the great” Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal), the reigning junior middle weight boxing Champion and his rise back to the top after tragedy strikes and he hits rock bottom. Losing his lavish lifestyle, his family and his home, Billy soon finds an unlikely savour in Tick Willis (Forest Whitaker), a former fighter who now trains amateur boxers from the neighbourhood. Although Tick doesn’t form a friendship with Billy straight away, as the film progresses a bond starts to build between the two, much like Rocky and Apollo Creed in Rocky 3. Seeing the struggles and the hunger Billy has to get back in the ring and get his daughter back, Tick offers to train him and help regain his title, set to a classic fight montage with Eminem’s song ‘Phenomenal’ playing in the background.

Much like other boxing films, there are a few clichés that are usually obvious within this genre. However, unlike most boxing films, Southpaw really focuses on the back story of the character and his family. It’s not your typical rise to the top boxing film, but more a comeback story and the passion and love one man has not only for boxing but for his daughter, that helps him win his life back.

I’ve seen many boxing films, and the more modern ones tend to lack heart and emotion. What I mean by that is, although great films and beautifully made, they don’t have that emotional attachment to them as some of the classics, such as, Rocky (still one of the greatest films of all time). Southpaw, for me, has that. It offers not only very realistic fight scenes, but it also takes you on an emotional journey that you can almost put yourself in Billy’s shoes. It’s a metaphor for fighting for what you love, fighting through your struggles and fighting for happiness. Whether you like boxing films or not, Southpaw is definitely worth watching, it will capture your heart and take you on a rollercoaster ride with a great soundtrack also.

Jake Gyllenhall gives a riveting and heart-wrenching performance that deserves all the praise and recognition he gets. His chemistry with Rachel McAdams, is definitely what makes the audience feel compassion for his character and really understand the love they have for each other. Captivating performances from the whole cast that carries the film to a whole new level.

What are you waiting for?

As I was thinking of new ideas to write for my blog, it got me thinking; Are we as humans programmed to always want what we can’t have? always wait for what we don’t have right now? and always feel that we would be much happier if we had this or that? It’s crazy to think that we spend so much of our time wishing and wondering and less about enjoying and appreciating. I don’t understand why we do it or why we are wasting our lives looking for future happiness when the only thing that we are wasting is the happiness we have now and the life we are living right this second.

Why wait for summer, enjoy the winter and each day leading up to it. Why wait for love or to be loved, enjoy the love you have from your friends and family and the journey you go through before meeting that special person. Why wait for money? be appreciative of what you have and the people that surround you, they are whats important in life. Why wait for anything? We could wait a lifetime for happiness, the more we wait and the more we wish for stuff the more we lose track of the importance of life and the happiness and love we have right now. It’s one thing to have dreams and goals that we set for ourselves but its another to keep waiting for them to happen and missing out on the amazing journey we go on to get to them.

Remember to enjoy the little things, because one day we might look back and realise we missed what was important. So lets try and enjoy the moment and embrace today and look forward to enjoying tomorrow when it comes. Happiness is achieved when we stop waiting for it.