My favorite Listserves are the ones where you learn about something, and get a glimpse into the writer’s life. Here’s some stuff I care about that I don’t usually get to talk about.
Essential Oils*
The more well-known oils are great (lavender [calms emotions and skin irritations], peppermint [energy booster, soothes sore muscles, and aids digestion], and wild orange/lemon [internal and household cleansers, mood uplifters]), but at the moment I’m into Frankincense. The first time I smelled it it reminded me of a musty basement, but now I use a drop on my face every day and swear it’s one of two reasons I get up in the morning (the other being coffee).
Frankincense oil is steam distilled from the resin of the Boswelia tree. My oil provider sources their Frankincense from Somalia. If cared for properly, the trees can produce resin for hundreds of years. Frankincense provides great support for your cellular health, affecting your skin, immune, nervous, and digestive functioning.
Reading
Let me know what your favorite book is. I haven’t found a genre that I feel at home with since transitioning out of the Young Adult section. This year for Christmas, I’m going to ask my family to get me a used copy of their favorite book. It’ll be low-cost, won’t require the purchase of new items, and will allow me to get to know them better. My favorite book is probably still Harry Potter.
Japanese
I studied abroad at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka in 2011 and it was the highlight of my life. When I returned to America I suffered “reverse culture shock” and thought my life had peaked. Then I graduated and really thought I’d peaked. It was a tough time and took me several years to realize how much there is to look forward to.
While I understand conversational Japanese, I’ve forgotten most of the writing. My favorite kanji remains “弱虫”. It can be romanized as yowamushi, and it means coward. Literally, it’s made up of the characters for “weak” and “bug.”
Embarrassing Moments
I still love 90s shows I watched as a kid. Specifically, Pokemon and Power Rangers. Not sure why I haven’t been able to outgrow these after twenty years. Recently, my boyfriend and I saw Pokemon the Movie, I Choose You! In theaters for the free limited edition card (which I collect, I have over 900 different cards). I sobbed at the end, uncontrollably, in a theater full of small children and their parents, and it was really embarrassing.
Unsolicited Advice on The Meaning of Life
From the hard times, I’ve learned that life is all about people and meaningful interactions. We’re social creatures. Social anxiety and insecurity can be really difficult to overcome (I still struggle, a lot), but I absolutely encourage you to put yourself out there and engage yourself in your community. Make some friends, put in the effort to maintain your relationships, help people and causes in need. I guarantee you challenging yourself and/or volunteering your time and resources, as you are able, will be ten thousand times more rewarding than anything else you could do.
If you have any questions, reactions, equally embarrassing stories, rambles on your passions, etc. I would absolutely love to hear from you. Take care, my ListServe friends.
*P.S. The statements on oils haven’t been evaluated by the FDA and aren’t intended to treat/cure/prevent and diseases. But that shouldn’t stop you from educating yourself on oils! Make sure you do your research and use high quality oils.
Brittany
Florida, USA
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