A new resolution

I absolutely loathe the abundance of "Things I learned in my Twenties" or "10 Ways to Improve Your Relationship" articles that seem to be floating in every nook and cranny of the internet these days. However, I have a confession: I read far too many of them. There's something so tempting about having someone spell out for you what to do, what not to wear, which date to go on, etc. Most of these enlightening and profound posts are written by smug 32-year-olds who once went backpacking in India and had some transcendent experience, the retelling of which will benefit all of humankind. Reading these articles never ends well. I'll read an article by a 40-something woman that says your twenties are about career, not relationships, and begin to freak out that I'm in a serious, long-term relationship at only 26. I'll read about how I should be traveling, then one click later about how four years out of college I should be very settled in my career track. These articles that make me doubt my relationship, my choice to go back to school, my friendships, how I spend my free time....It's exhausting. 

I've become very wary of self-help, or advice from strangers, but every once in a while, in digging through all the garbage, I find gold. I think this article is perfect and, at age 90, you probably have advice that is worth listening to. 

That being said.

For lent I'm giving up meat (I had chicken jambalaya for lunch yesterday so it's really not off to a good start), but after reading yet another of these dumbass articles, I have a new resolution. The month of March is no-self-help month. No more reading this or this -- pretty much no more reading Thought Catalog at all, which is good because it's 98% terrible, anyway.  Less reading about the experiences of people I don't know, and more journaling and reflecting on my own experiences -- because these are ultimately the ones that should impact how I view my life at present, as well as the choices I make in the future.

(I think the origin of this rant is my 3-hour medieval mysticism course on Thursday evenings, in which we read medieval religious contemplatives who all claim that they have found the key to God and Heaven and perfection. We always talk about where their authority comes from, and emy classmates are slightly more diplomatic in their musings, and I really just want to be like no, but seriously, what the f*ck? So here we are.)