The Bigger Picture

Dear Distraught Girlfriend,

            Examining your request for advice, I can tell that you very much want your current relationship to succeed.  Therefore, I will provide two avenues of recommendation—one that you want to hear, and one that you need to hear.  To begin, let us explore that first avenue.  For any relationship trouble there exists the potential for conflict resolution.  Identifying and comprehending that conflict serves as the most important step in salvaging a deteriorating relationship.   Keep in mind that most complications that initiate breakups do not arise spontaneously.  If your boyfriend wants to break up with you, and you think your relationship can continue in its current state, you must have ignorance to the very problem inhibiting unification.  Relationships do not typically go awry in less than a day.  It takes time for couples to drift.  Remembering what brought the two of you together in the first place may reinforce the foundations of your relationship and shed light on what gave impetus to your boyfriend’s dissatisfaction.  Now, we shall explore the second avenue.  Despite your knowledge of your partner’s inclination to end the relationship, you want to hold on to a sinking ship.  The definition of a relationship describes “two” people who want the best for “each” other.  The moment a relationship becomes singular and one-sided, the purity of a relationship becomes tainted.  Most likely, the two of you once had a successful rapport in the past, but now you both have different interests, goals, and priorities.  Even if you do manage to convince your boyfriend to stay with you, his past desire to end the relationship will forever cast a dark shadow on your future.  Moreover, doubt and uncertainty will linger in the periphery of your thoughts.  Following this logic, you have two options.  You can either take a temporary relationship hiatus and see how life fairs without your boyfriend or you can break up and move on to bigger and better things.   Do not fret over others’ perception of you.  Select the decision that would make you most happy and content.  I wish you luck in your decision.

The One and Only,

Ms. Serensky

The Perplexing Search for Perplexity

            As long as I can remember, people have inquired about my “favorites.”  Favorite color, favorite food, favorite movie, etc.  The expectation that people easily select and share their favorites serves as an instilled societal norm.  Unfortunately, I am an outlier—as always—for this social trend.  I find it very strenuous to recite the things I enjoy most, or consider superior.  I think this partially has to do with my aggravating tendency to find fault in everything.   Because everything has flaws, I see no reason to pinpoint a “favorite thing” if no perfect archetype exists in the first place.  Thus, my favorite book, music, and the like seem to deviate daily.  Crazy, right?  Now, after explaining my personal madness, I feel equipped to answer the question at hand: What movie sits atop my all-time favorite list? After much contemplation, I have come to a decision: Inception.  The movie has that typical standard of a wonderful cast and superb special effects, but also has something I value and find paramount to the title of “all-time great.”  The plot for Inception has such novelty and complexity unmatched in other films.  Usually, I find the majority of movies to have predictable storylines and conclusions.  Most films dabble in what made other movies successful, and synthesize a series of well-known concepts to make a decent, if not original, story.  Instead, Inception journeys into a new world of ideas.  Exerting myself mentally to determine my favorite movie reminded me of the similar headaches I experienced while watching Inception in the theater.  The movie follows a thief who journeys into the subconscious of target to implant an idea for a shady client.  The thief utilizes dreams within dreams within dreams to tap into the deepest recesses of the target’s mind.  Just thinking of that intricate plan made my own mind spin for hours on end.  I love it when a movie prompts the viewer to think critically, form hypotheses, and invent interpretations of meaning.  A movie that has that open-endedness, permitting an individualized experience for every viewer, has a very special attribute.   I may have much difficulty in evaluating the favorites of my life, but at least I now know one.   Inception plays with the nature of reality and people’s personal perceptions of it.  That focus on individuality, like my idiosyncrasy to inefficiently choose favorites, makes the movie that much more one-of-a-kind.