Self-Care for Cynics

Who's that boy? I've been watching Everything Sucks on Netflix and in addition to making me super nostalgic for the 90s, it made me realize that music was my outlet when I was an awkward tween. In the '95-96 school year I had to switch to a different school than my friends. I was already a weird kid, but I had been a weird kid with other weird kids who knew me since kindergarden. When I started my new school in Grade 6, I immediately didn't fit in. I was picked on. They made fun of my weird hand-me-down clothes, told me I had B.O. and I should shower. My mom tried to help me by spending money she didn't have on designer jeans and "cool" baby tees with logos on them to help me look the part. I stopped wearing dresses, I grew out my bangs  and adopted this pseudo-grudge style. I still didn't have many friends. I discovered Much Music. I didn't have many friends, but I basically had a 24/7 music video channel that would become a worthy su...

February flew by - so fast in fact that I forgot to stop and reflect. One thing that happened was I got a bad cold or flu. When you're alone and sick you start realizing there is a big difference between self-care (the nice things you do for yourself to stay sane and happy) and taking care of yourself (basic adult survival). Because when you're single and live alone, no one makes you dinner or puts a blanket on you when you pass out watching Olympic figure skating. Taking care of yourself when your sick is the opposite of self-care. It sucks. I pride myself on my ability to be alone and not care. I'm a feminist, I read, I consider myself "woke" as the kids say. But when I was shivering and coughing up a lung I was like damn, why can't someone make me a hot cup of tea. I made my own tea, and it was fine. I survived and managed to make it through. But it is nice when someone takes care of you, you know? I still had my traditional heart-shaped pizza on Va...