It's The Little Things

I am a firm believer that the simple things in life are the things that make life truly worth living.

The little things that make up our day...the things we maybe experience very often, so much so that we view those things as unimportant.

But I say NAY! Those are the things that are truly important in life!

I know when I'm 80 years old, and I think about my life as a youngen, I'm not going to be thinking about my trip to New York, that time I saw Motion City Soundtrack live, or some hookup I had with some pretty little lady at a party.

I'm going to be thinking about the little things.

The chills me and my friends would have in my friend's basement every weekend.

The big get togethers with my family for brunch.

The performances I would do at the Free Times Cafe with my guitar.

THOSE things are the fabric of my life. Yes, the big things are still awesome, but it is the little things that string everything together, and can allow someone to be truly happy.

Life is about the little things.

Not the parties, but the chills.

Not the make outs, but the pecks.

Not the exams, but the study sessions with friends.

Not the sex, but the hugs.

THOSE are the things that make up our life, and those are the things that we will cherish forever. And I know, that when 80-year-old me looks back at his life, he's going to have a big smile on his face.

Thank you for reading. Hopeless romantic, OUT!

Some Introspective Perspective

It is easy for any of us to become overwhelmed with things - whether it be certain issues with our social life, school work, love life, or just stress in general. It is easy for our minds to become cluttered and confused with multiple overwhelming thoughts.

This being said, it is important for us to clear our minds and to sort out the cluttered bedroom in our heads (I use this analogy because my room is usually FAR from being clean...).

So what's my suggestion? Take a walk.

A few times within the past months I have decided to go on walks - usually at night - and I gotta say, it was an amazing way to clear out my mind. Whenever I felt stressed or overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions, I would just go outside and let my mind wander. It helped clear my mind and I was able to sort through that pile of dirty clothes in my head (an ongoing analogy? The writer in me is happy xD)

But what would I do on these walks? Just...think. I would think to myself, replaying scenarios or issues in my life, and just sort them out. Sometimes my thoughts were intended to sort out issues, and sometimes my thoughts were intended just to vent what I was feeling (which usually later led to the sorting of issues). Sometimes I would get lost in thought, sometimes I would get angry, sometimes I would get sad... Walking allowed me to be alone with my thoughts, allowed me to express any suppressed emotions, and allowed me to sort out anything in my mind. It allowed me to be completely introspective. And because of these walks, I was able to sort out my thoughts, begin to derive revelations from them, and gain some introspective perspective.

So the next time you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed, go for a nice long walk at night. Be alone with your thoughts, and just sort that shit out.

Thanks for reading.

HOPELESS ROMANTIC, OUT!

1000 HITS!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HAVE CHECKED OUT THIS BLOG!!!

This blog has reached 1000 hits! I'm honestly surprised so many have viewed this in such a short period of time :P Thank you to all who take time out of their day to read whats on my mind. More posts are to come! Thank you!!

Hopeless romantic, OUT!

Correlations

Today I will be talking about one of the greatest things in life: music.

If you've read this blog before, you'd know that I myself am a song writer, so obviously I enjoy music a lot. But the thing that I love the most about music is not the fact that it sounds good, but the correlation of music with emotion.

When it comes to this correlation, it works in two ways. The first is that music can make you feel a certain way. Different types of music can create different emotions in an individual both through the actual music and the lyrics. Some songs can make you feel happy, and others can make you feel sad. Music can really make anyone feel anything.

The second way the correlation works is that people listen to music when they feel a certain way. Because different types of music portray different emotions, people tend to list to music that portrays emotion that they are currently feeling. So if I were feeling happy, I would listen to happy music. But if I were feeling sad, I would listen to sad music. Now this brings me to a quote:

"When you're happy, you enjoy the music. But, when you're sad, you understand the lyrics."

I saw this quote online the other week, and it really struck a chord with me (no pun intended). I find this to be incredibly true. As I'm sure we all have, I have listened to music both while being happy and sad, and I have to agree that it changes how we experience the music. When you're happy, it's easy to enjoy the sound of the music, but this enjoyment can take away from the understanding of the lyrics. When you're sad, you tend to listen more carefully to the lyrics of a song, and to truly understand what the artist is trying to say. I find this to be especially true when the lyrics of the song mirror the emotions of the individual listening. In fact, when a song's lyrics and meaning mirror the individual's feelings, I believe that to be a truly amazing thing.

I love to listen to music when I'm sad. Me being a song writer, I really appreciate good lyrics, and I find it easier to appreciate lyrics and their underlying meanings when I'm in a blue mood. Sometime a song will present a lyric that really touches me. The amazing thing about when this happens is that you can use lyrics to describe emotions that you would otherwise be unable to describe. Additionally, it feels good to realize that song you love now mirrors an event and emotions that are currently going on in your life. It's reassuring to know that others have gone through the same ordeals.

Conclusively, all I can really say is....I freakin' love music! I love how it can make you feel. I love how it can be used to vent how one feels. And I love how sounds and words can end up meaning so much.

This being a post about music, I thought that I would share some songs that I have been listening to lately. Here ya go!

Human by Darren Criss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGP4PUgQjJE

Jealousy by Darren Criss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXuGdJGPRIA

Your Only Doll by Laura Marling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPtqjHOPhgo

Broken Heart (Acoustic) by Motion City Soundtrack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mQtcvgYCQ8

Drunk by Ed Sheeran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2fOum_KWQU

A Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt8jifKlbTc

Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKTUAESacQM

And a secret one ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0


Thanks for reading! And have an amazing day!

Hopeless romantic, OUT!

Shitters and Waves

Hey guys.

I know its been a while, but I've been finding it hard to concentrate lately.

Its funny how one thing can just kind of break you down. But I guess that's something we have all had to go through at some point.

So then I guess we can collectively say that it sucks.


For this post, I don't have some insight or an opinion like usual.

My mind is pretty one-tracked these days.


So I'll leave you with this:

Every now and then, life goes in the shitter. So take advantage of the time when it's not. Because the harsh reality is that life is like waves on a shore; continuously going up and down, even when sometimes it seems like the waves will never come up again.

Thanks for reading.

Hopeless Romantic over and out.

Crank the Dial

The world is a fucked up place.

But when I say that, I'm not stating that the world is a bad place or anything like that.

I'm stating that the world is a truly incredible and awe-inspiring thing...so much so that it's fucked up.

There are billions of processes that are continuously going on every second of every day. These processes are what create and stabilize all life. From cells duplicating, to changes in matter, to processes that I've never even heard of; its all incredible. Now, I'm not much for science (creative student represent AWWWWW YEAHHHHH), but I do understand how incredible this is.

But even now, I'm speaking small scale. Forget the world, how about the UNIVERSE! We know SO LITTLE about the universe, its insane! Is the universe truly infinite? Is there only one universe? What exactly IS a universe? NO. ONE. KNOWS. And I find that to be incredible (yet also a tad disappointing). The universe is full of wonders that are (currently) way beyond our capabilities of comprehension. And I find that to be incredible.

But what about this?

Imagine all of our known existence as a radio station (that’s right…it’s METAPHOR TIME!).  Us as listeners, we tune in to the same station every day. We’re used to it, and we are comfortable with what that station shows us. We are comfortable with THAT EXISTENCE.

But what if we cranked the dial? Instead of listening to 102.1, we decide to listen to 99.9? What does that mean? What would we be “listening” to?

A different existence.

Time to bring in science: THE MULTI-VERSE THEORY

The multiverse (or meta-universe) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including the historical universe we consistently experience) that together comprise everything that exists and can exist: the entirety of space, time, matter, and energy as well as the physical laws and constants that describe them. – Wikipedia (AKA THE BEST SOURCE EVER)

WHAT IF there are multiple universes. What if radio station 99.9 is a place where everything is blue, humans (or other forms of existence) are see-through, and the sky is on the ground?

Is that possible? I have absolutely no idea, but I find it important that if one is to appreciate the impressiveness of the laws of our world, one must understand how someone would feel outside looking in.

Meaning that if we were to visit radio station 99.9, we would be in total shock. But that form is existence is the norm for its inhabitants. And yet, we would be in awe.

And I GUARANTEE, if there are multiple universes, and some being from one of them came to ours, he/she/it would be in total awe as well.

Cause our universe is amazing in every way. It’s incredible, fascinating, and awe-inspiring. But the most important thing to remember is that we are part of that universe.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post.


My inspiration for this post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2xzIgdD_XA&feature=player_embedded

I HIGHLY suggest you check it out.

I have decided to make my posts a weekly thing, as I have had too much work to post daily. Thanks for the support!

My name is Zachary Richman.

I am a hopeless romantic.

Over and out!

https://www.twitter.com/Zachary_Richman

https://www.facebook.com/zachary.richman

Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo

Today I am VERY busy so I am not going to do a full post.

But I do have one thing to say…

I am BATMAN.

That is all.

Hooked on Creation

This post is going to be all about creation…WOAH WOAH WOAH THERE! Before you quit the page because “this idiot is going to be talking about religion”, just wait! This post is not going to be concerning creation as in the creation of the world and whatnot. This post is going to be about individual creation and the personalized property that this creation…creates!

As I have mentioned in a previous post, I pride myself in being an artistic guy – taking part in activities that range from acting to music (and many things in between). However, this post more concentrates on music, poetry, and art.

In my humble beginnings (as with anyone who partakes in artistic activities), I concentrated on bettering myself by using styles that others have created, or by playing music that others have written. And this is totally acceptable, in fact, it’s awesome! I love playing other people’s work on my guitar or reciting and analyzing poetry that some dead guy wrote (shout-out to my boy Shakespeare). Nothing brings a smile to my face more than knowing that I can accomplish something that the greats before have created…except for one thing – creation of my own pieces.

A couple years ago, I decided to start writing my own songs. I was going through a depressing situation at the time (I’m a hopeless romantic, so I’m sure you can guess what type of situation this was), and I was looking for a vent for my emotions. So I turned to song writing. Before this point, I have created lyrics before, but I have never been inspired to turn these lyrics into songs. But at this point, I was nothing but inspired. I sat down at my computer, opened up Microsoft Word, and went to town on that bad boy. And forty-five minutes later, I had created what I still consider to be one of my better songs: “More Than Friends”.

After creating that song, I felt so much better. I was relieved that I vented my emotions, and proud of my accomplishment. Since then, I have prided myself in writing music, and I have written a ton of songs (both good and bad).

But that wasn’t enough.

Last year, I took two courses in my final year of high school: Writers Craft and Studies in Literature. Studies in Literature focused a lot on the analyzing of poetry, novels, and plays; while Writers Craft focused on learning how to create poetry, short stories, and other works. Ever since, I’ve been hooked on creation.

I started to write poetry, both for class and for personal purposes. Now, admittedly, most of my poems at first were…meh. But as time progressed, I started to get better (well, in my personal opinion). In addition, I started to write short stories, my pride and joy being a fourteen page short story I wrote in Writers Craft (contains sex, playgrounds, and hookers. A joyous combination). Even if my work didn’t come out that well (and trust me, a fair amount of times it didn’t), I enjoyed every second of it.

And this brings me to my main point. Why create? Just to feel accomplished? No, although feelings of accomplishment are a huge bonus. The purpose of creation is to create your own personal property.

The only things in this world that you truly own are things you create from nothing. I am a firm believer in this idea. Yes, we have tangible possessions – phones, computers, condoms, etc. – but we never truly OWN them. They are objects created and distributed to us. We can lose them, break them, destroy them…they aren’t truly OURS. But a song? Or a poem? Or a piece of art? Something that WE create for OURSELVES? Those are our true property. Those are what we truly possess.

So I urge anyone who reads this…CREATE! It’s a beautiful feeling to create your own whatever and have it forever be YOURS. Write a song! Write a poem! Paint a painting! Anything that can be forever and always yours.

Thank you for reading.

My name is Zac and I am a hopeless romantic.

Have a nice day.

OVER AND OUT!

https://www.twitter.com/Zachary_Richman

https://www.facebook.com/zachary.richman

Nostalgia and its Awesomeness

The other day I was looking through some quotes online, and I stumbled upon a quote about nostalgia. It talked very negatively about it, and I was rather surprised, as I have always viewed nostalgia as a beautiful thing. I decided to search for some more nostalgia quotes and I was astonished to find that a surprising amount of them were negative! Some included:

“Nostalgia is a seductive liar.” – George Ball

“Nostalgia is always doomed and dooming.” – Sherman Alexie

“My life is very exciting now. Nostalgia for what? It's like climbing a staircase. I'm on the top of the staircase, I look behind and see the steps. That's where I was. We're here right now. Tomorrow, we'll be someplace else. So why nostalgia?” – Jeanne Moreau

“The Greek word for "return" is nostos. Algos means "suffering." So nostalgia is the suffering caused by an unappeased yearning to return.” – Milan Kundera

I don’t know about you, but this rubs me the wrong way. Nostalgia is a beautiful thing! All we have in this world is our experiences. Just because nostalgia is associated with the past doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reminisce and appreciate what used to be! I find that people tend to idolize the past, and honestly, good for them! It shows that people learn to appreciate the things that they never did; and I think that is an amazing thing.

I often recall certain experiences as a kid. I remember playing with my Bionicles and other toys. I remember Beyblades, Yugioh, Hey Arnold, The Big Comfy Couch, Pokemon, Digimon, and all the other television shows that I loved and adored. The best days of my life were the simple ones when my childhood best friend and I would just run around on the playground and play tag. I remember making friends. I remember making enemies. I remember smiling. I remember crying. I remember so much, and I am happy that I can look back and appreciate the times I used to have, good and bad.

A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon an old obsession of mine: my Gameboy SP. It was a great find, and I actually started playing it again. I was swept away with feelings of nostalgia, remembering the countless hours I used to spend on that glorious machine. It was an amazing feeling, remember who a younger Zac used to be; recalling and enjoying the experiences of mine that used to just be my every day life.

As I’ve mentioned already, the only thing that any individual actually has in this world is their experience. So it is important to reminisce and appreciate what used to be.

That is all for today. Thank you for reading! Have an awesome day! OVER AND OUT!

https://www.twitter.com/Zachary_Richman

https://www.facebook.com/zachary.richman

The Me That is Really Me

This post is all about one thing: me. Seeing as I am the one who will be leading you all on this (mis)guided adventure, I deem it fit that my readers know who I am. But surprisingly, explaining who I am is not so simple.

As with everybody, we have these different variations of “me” that we portray depending on who we are with. People act differently based on different groups of people. One group of friends may see me as generally cool-headed (which can be true) while another group of friends may see me as silly and energetic (which can also be true). Certain factors influence how we act and BLAH BLAH BLAH. I don’t want to bore you (though I do find it fascinating that we put on these “masks” in order to connect with different parts of society). BUT without further ado, I present to you: ME!

My name is Zac. I pride myself in being a very artistic person. Whether it be acting, playing guitar, song writing, poetry writing, etc; I love it all. I’ve been acting for 9 years, playing guitar for 6, and as for the rest, who knows how long. I’m a bit of a geek. When I was younger I had my whole “OMG VIDEO GAMES” phase. I still hold on to a part of that past, but not so much. I go to Humber Lakeshore College located in Etobicoke, just southwest of Toronto, Ontario. There, I am taking a Creative Advertising degree. I LOVE analyzing media and advertising (both ads themselves and the brand ideas behind them). In fact, I only started this blog because of my Social Digital Media course. My favourite two movies are Pulp Fiction and Fight Club. My favourite books are Water for Elephants, Life of Pi, White Noise, The Outsider (also called "The Stranger" depending on the translation), Catcher in the Rye, Fight Club, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I’m a hopeless romantic (as the title of this blog suggests). I’ve always been one for human connection and whatnot. If a girl steals my heart, I wont be shy to write a sappy love song and try to woo her. I love life. I love everything about it. Even in times of pain (and trust me, those times come too often), I always try to find the simple joys in life. I love drizzling rain. I love taking long walks alone on a cool fall night. I love Batman. I love expressing myself. And I love love.

So that is me. Not the me you would necessarily see if you first met me. But the real, pure me. I hope you enjoyed learning about me. Feel free to comment if we have anything in common! It would be fun to connect with some people with common interests. SO ANYWAYS, thank you for reading! OVER AND OUT!

https://www.twitter.com/Zachary_Richman

https://www.facebook.com/zachary.richman

My Goal

As of now, this blog has no real purpose. This is pretty much going to be me sharing my thoughts, ideas, opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. However, my aim is to connect with other people who share common interests, opinions, etc. So, in light of this, I have come up with a concept that I feel best describes my goal:

Connect. Create. Collaborate. (Note: I LOVE how they coincidentally all start with C…this pleases me :3).

CONNECT!

This consists of connecting with fellow readers, bloggers, and other individuals.

CREATE!

This consists of creating ideas, thoughts, movements, opinions, etc.

COLLABORATE!

This consists of using connections in order to work together with others in order to discuss and accomplish these ideas, movements, etc.

As I continue to post in this blog, I encourage others to contribute to conversation and connect with me; whether it be to talk about certain things, or just to say hey.

As well, I encourage others to help create and mold ideas and concepts that I may discuss. And, as a end result, I would like to collaborate with the people I connect with in order to express these ideas, opinions, etc.

However, don’t just do this with me. I encourage anyone and everyone to connect, create, and collaborate on online communities.

So, in order to help my readers connect with me, I will be leaving my Twitter and Facebook links at the end of each post.

So thank you for reading! Tomorrow is a brand new day, and I will be posting just whatever comes to mind! Can’t wait! :)

https://www.twitter.com/Zachary_Richman

https://www.facebook.com/zachary.richman

A Simple Man with a Simple Introduction

My name is Zac and I am a hopeless romantic.

And this is my (mis)guide to life.

I've never been part of the blogging community before. However, as part of a Social Digital Media class, I have begun to read The Power of Social Networking by Tara Hunt. And after reading about blogging communities online and the impact that they have, I knew that I had to be a part of it - the idea of connecting with new people is always a thrill. I have been part of the online community for as long as I can remember (from being a young tyke on Neopets to the present with Facebook, Twitter, etc.), and I had absolutely no idea of the impact of blogs. And after reading Tara Hunt's book (which you should all read by the way [and know that I use "you" loosely as I have absolutely no idea if anyone will actually read my posts anytime soon]), I knew that I had to get started.

So....hi!

My name is Zac.

I am a creative advertising student.

I live in Toronto, Canada.

I love life.

I am a hopeless romantic.

And this is my (mis)guide to life.

Over and out.