Life is great, but it sure as hell isn’t simple. In fact, sometimes the most difficult task is something that requires the simplest approach, but as humans we tend to overcomplicate and add unnecessary elements. Although I am young, my well of experience is deep. I’ve been growing my business since the day I walked into my freshman year of classes and realized all it took was some hard work to make my dreams come true. At 18 I was focused, driven, and inspired, but my life was chaotic, messy, and as uninspiring as it could be. At 19 I realized it was time to make a change if I wanted my dreams to work, and it did. Now, I’m here to share my knowledge, so you, too, can have a simple, and incredible life.
So Christmas just ended and you're probably already burned out from trying to get everything for your loved ones. After all, it's so hard to get gifts just right for all those personalities. But it seems like just when the gift giving is done, there is another task to be tackled... your New Years resolutions. Most of us make goals like "I'll work out 4 times a week" or "I'm going to quit drinking soda", but by the 17th we've totally forgotten our goals and abandoned them completely. Well, I'm here to tell you, that there is indeed a way to follow through on your resolutions. Want to know how? Read onward fellow humans!
Growing up is something that's totally strange. I think now that I'm a little older (well, not too old) I'm able to watch the people around me grow up too. Oddly enough, I've watched people grow up that I've never met. I'm talking about celebrities, and someone who I've never really particularly cared for is starting to blossom in ways I would never have imagined to occur. I'm talking, of course, about Jaden Smith. Meanwhile, you're reading this asking "Nyki, WTF, isn't this a Self-Help Art Blog?" You bet your bum it is, keep reading!
The holiday seasons are just around the corner, and tensions can be high when it's time to reconnect or not reconnect with loved ones. I was craving something to decrease my stress about going back home for the holidays. I live in a studio apartment with a friend, share a bunk bed, and pay an outrageous amount in rent. Sometimes, the quality of life in a big city can be bad if you're not making a ton of money (which I'm not). And with the housing crisis, the lack of privacy, not to mention the cost, I'm constantly looking for ways to relax and take a moment to myself in this stressful world!
We have the utmost control over one thing and only that one thing: our perception. I've lived days where I believe to be the only one on Earth and days that I don't even feel like I was present for. Addressing perception, especially proceeding the holidays is vital. The holidays are the times where we deal with family and loved ones and there can sometimes be high tensions. You can't change your family, no, but you can change how you see your family, how you interact with them, and how you feel about them. How can we use our perception to not only think that we are happy but to truly feel happiness? By reading onward friends!
The Chicago Cubs lost the 1945 World Series, but is the reason that they haven’t been back because they had a curse set on them? Some people are saying yes! I know it sounds crazy, but in that long of a span of not going to the World Series, we have to start thinking that it can’t just be the team…right? Apparently in the fourth game of the World Series in 1945, Billy Goat Tavern’s owner Billy Sianis brought his goat to the game on Wrigley Field. Due to the goat-y odor of the animal, he was asked to leave. Outraged, he declared “Them Cubs, they ain’t gonna win no more”, and they haven’t since. In this world where curses might exist, how can we cope if the Cubs end up losing…again?
“Teddy Flood (James Marsden) and Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood), in the Wild West Amusement Park: Westworld.” Photo Credit: HBO’s Westworld On October 2nd, us Television addicts tuned in for HBO’s brand new show: Westworld. The buzz of this show has only begun- and it’s reasoning for being so popular is it’s subtle approach to talking about the morality surrounding artificial intelligence. The premise of this show- or what we can gather from only the first two episodes, is that this place “Westworld” is a type of amusement park inhabited by overly realistic human-like 3D printed robots that are designed to fulfill your every demand in the synthetic Old West. But AI is not my primary concern, what really struck a chord with me while watching this show was the fact that Westworld is a place that people go to have their every desire fulfilled. Families could have a fun, light, old west time, but from what we can tell that the primary clientele are the people who like to have sex with prostitutes, gamble, kill, and rob banks! This really got me to thinking… In a world where we are desperate to escape from our reality, how can we address our thoughts and feelings unlike the patrons of Westworld? I know how! Keep reading!
“A bunch of bright orange pumpkins picked freshly from the patch.” Image Credit: Courtesy of Pexel.com. Even when I was young, there was this weird pressure to be sexy during Halloween. At 11 or 12, my witch costume was composed of a full corset, fake eye lashes, and an ass-showing tutu…I knew then that something was wrong with this picture. In High School, the costumes got worse (and in the eyes of the media they got better) and by that time girls were running around the city wearing lingerie, high heels, and cat ears at the not-even-legal age of 16… Men thought we were older than we were, and I was being treated as an object to look at, not a person with feelings. I quickly realized that this was the fault of the media, and it was up to me to do something… so I bought some felt from Hobby Lobby, and a hoodie from Wal-Mart, and I sewed some cute little bear ears onto the hood, drew a cute little nose, did my makeup, and I was ready to go. Not only was I treated more respectfully, but at the end of the night I felt amazing that I didn’t have to show skin up to get people to notice me. In this post I will give you tons of options to still rock it on Halloween, and feel confident in your own body.
“Photo of botanicals by Sutro Baths, in San Francisco.” Photo Credit: Nicole Wiehe, All Rights Reserved. I never thought I’d live past 18. I didn’t have a fatal illness, nor was I planning on being a part of some freak accident… I was planning on a full blown act of suicide. I figured life was absolute bullshit and I wasn’t interested in playing the game. At the too-early age of 16, I said fuck it and gave suicide a try. Obviously I failed, which turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me… accidentally.
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AboutA Guide to Using Art as a Coping Skill, through the lens of a former psychiatric ward patient, and current painter. Archives
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