What are five small moments that you were grateful for in the past week? + my philosophy book + more books

 I have a journal where I have a list of I think 100 things I am grateful for. It is important for me to show gratitude because I do not think I did so when I was younger. So now I try to thank those who help me like my sister helping me create a budget, or when a friend of mines helps me with my homework (mostly just my papers). So I decided to pick this prompt to make sure I am thinking about small moments that seemed like it did not matter in the moment. 

1. Saturday, I took an Uber from Walmart and started talking to the driver named Karen (but she was cool haha) and she started telling me about Alid's (which blog if you did not know is a grocery store) I have not been surprisingly. One my fav things to do is to go to grocery stores and just look at niche products or see how the layout differs. I especially like to visit grocery stores in different states and hopefully when I get my passport next month I can go internationally! Anyways, she invited me to go Aldi's with her!! I thought that was nice, I told her when I get paid I will go :-)
2. My professor for my summer class is super duper awesome. I appreciate her "paranoia" (in quotes because I do not know a better word) she started saying how we should not keep apps that we are not using so companies do not have or data. So it inspired me to delete most apps tbh and I did not realize how many apps go unused on my phone. "It is okay to be bored." - Professor Sierra
3. Getting to talk to my coworker Nicole!! She is super sweet and reminds me so much of my sister. A very wise woman and her and her fiancé are super cute together. :-)
4. Talking to my grandmother last week. I was letting her know that I enrolled in my fall semester classes and one of them is about library management. I told her about maybe either being a Research Librarian, Law Librarianship or running some sort of library services. She reminded me that those who are directors often have a Phd so now I am like freaaaakinggg out because I either need to go to law school or get a Phd....too much school lol!!! 😲 So I appreciated her insight as always since she is intelligent and actually has a MLIS as well :-) 
5. My sister has helped me in so many ways. I cannot stress this enough she is truly the best person I know and I love her soooo much. :-) She helped me not be in a financial pickle by helping me create a budget for the next couple of months with this app. I am trying to be more financially literate if I could but this economy sucks so I need a second job for two reasons. One because I want to save money to move out of state and I want to start now since I do not plan to leave until August 2026 and two I want to use the extra money to pay small bills like groceries and hurry up and pay my phone off. :-) 

Like I stated before showing gratitude is important for me especially now more than ever. 

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Okay I have been reading my philosophy book about Epicurus and he talks about injustice and how people avoid acting unjustly in fear of punishment. A question was posed: Is someone who acts justly only from the fear of punishment meaningfully just? I think the answer is no but then I have to look back at my current actions and I am proved a hypocrite. I avoid certain things because I think about karma or think about going to jail. Epicurus also pointed out that most examples of acting unjustly (i.e a banker trying to scam the bank out of money but stops because he fears detection) are objects of corrosive desires. Which I guess can bring me into the topic I had to pause because I wanted to sit and think about my desires and what I consider corrosive vs natural + necessary vs natural + unnecessary. I think my biggest corrosive desire is giving into like temptation I guess....like giving into the pursuit of pleasure. I trying to find the right words....I am trying to walk more in being a better person who does not give into temptation like idk the crush thing on the guy (man? still trying to figure out which word fits....) ..would be consider to me a corrosive desire which is not good for the soul at least Epicurus would think so. A natural and necessary desires are like food and a home & natural and unnecessary desires are like a new fast car. 

So as I continue on learning about Epicurus I am still learning about how to live well and not in like temptation. I need to find out my next philosopher I want to read and learn more about. 

Okay this blog was not meant to be long but I wanted to speak more about what I am reading and how I am applying it to my life or at least attempting to. 

I do have more books that I am interested in getting or looking for..also there is apparently a book sale in New Orleans Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday 10-2!

 Anyways the books are:

• a book about Vlad the Impaler 
• a book about enslaved people escaping 
• book about the Black Plague
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 

Also before I go, I went to another happy hours with my coworkers. It was fun I had a good time. It was different than the happy hour with other coworkers...still fun though!!!!!

P.S The crush is almost over I swear. Blog I am so like ughhhhhh blaeeeh about having a crush that is not going anywhere. Though it is nice to day dream :-) but I do not want to maladaptive day dream so much I am not like locked into my goals. Secondly, I think the more I like avoid conversation and not interact it will go away I swear. Although I would like to make out one last time but that is a corrosive desire. 

P.P.S I enjoyed Cinema Saturday. I watched Pride and Prejudice, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Fault in Our Stars and When Harry Met Sally. 

The Fault of Our Stars I read when I was younger but never watched the movie. It made me cry and I was transported back into being a teenager reading the book and remembering quotes that meant so much to me now and back then. I think I quoted it on the blog before but even if I did here it is again: "You don't get a choice who hurts you in the world..but you do have some say who in hurts you...and I like my choices.". Also another quote about love, "I fell in love the way you fall asleep, slowly and then all at once." (I hope to fall in love like that one day) ((I do not think I was in love with my ex and I am trying to come to terms with that because what does being in love feel like, what does it look like and how do you know?))

Perks of Being a Wallflower love the book. The movie jumbled up the book and you do not get the importance of him writing the 'friend' or how he has a choice to participate in life vs just being a wallflower, why the books the teacher gave him were so important. They misconstrued why Patrick was called "Nothing" and how the teacher did not mind him in the class. They had quotes from the books but the best quote that was maybe in the middle was at the end "I felt infinite." was in the wrong place and it did not make sense. I think a quote the movie reminded was a good quote is this one, "If somebody likes me, I want them to like the real me, not what they think I am. And I do not want them to carry it around inside. I want them to show me so, I can feel it too."  

P.P.P.S Sorry about the long blog I want to insert the picture I took of the rain but I do not where my phone is and I have to clean. 

This blog is full of quotes but I must end off the blog with a quote that I saw today on tumblr. 

"I longed for twilight and silence." - Zinaida Gippius