Girls Can 'Kick-Ass' Too!

I always try to make time to watch the latest movies that interest me. One of the movies I picked up was Kick-Ass. It's an action movie developed from a comic book by the same name.

Between the swearing and blood and guts, there is a very positive message: Not only can normal people be "super heroes," but girls can "kick ass" too and be the best at it.

I was curious what type of person had this frame of mind to think outside of the norm and I was impressed when I found out this person is a man. Mark Millar created the comic book that brought the film to life. He's the one who believed an average teenager by the name of Dave Lizewski could transform himself into Kick-Ass, the superhero, and that a girl by the name of Mindy Macready could become   Hit-Girl and help Kick-Ass, well, kick ass.

Chloe Moretz, who plays Hit-Girl, does a great job as a believeable ass kicker and is the latest young starlet to impress me since a young Dakota Fanning.

As funny as it sounds, I never thought a movie with the title of Kick-Ass would be able to empower me, but it did just that. Finally, a movie where an actress doesn't play a victim, sex object, or even a woman who eventually gets to kick ass but has to do so half-clothed, looking like she is in some sort of sexual position. Case in point, Angelina Jolie. She always seems to play a "kick-ass" sex object like in her Tomb Raider films or in Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

 I'm glad there is a movie out there such as Kick-Ass that shows us that if a little girl can kick ass, so can women...without having to be sexy. A second film is already in the works and hopefully in the near future a Hit-Girl spinoff.

This whole idea of women not being equal in the workforce, in a relationship, in the world definately needs its ass kicked! So ladies out there, brush up on your karate skills and your inner strength and let's kick some ass!

Earn Your Place in the Workforce

The title of this blog post could be interpreted in so many ways. Work your way to the top. Don't take your job for granted. Get your credentials together. Stop being a lazy employee. Employers, stop hiring people just because of their status, looks, or social circles.

So many people who are lucky to be a part of the workforce slack off, don't do their job well, and seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are lucky to have their job and get away with such insuficiency. Playing on Facebook, chit chatting, and doing nothing seem to be the goal, when really the goal should be to better yourself, earn your wages properly, and contribute.

But if you can get away with it, why not then?

A promotion, respect from a boss and co-workers, and pride can all come from doing a good job at work and trying your best. Granted, there are days when you won't want to put your best foot forward, but it will be worth it in the end and get you noticed in a positive way if you do. If you just can't see yourself  keeping busy in your work, maybe you need to consider a career change or perhaps even an attitude change.

Despite the positives of being a good employee, I'm amazed at how many people don't work at work and get away with it. Either their supervisors are scared to approach them or they seem to never get caught. Shame on supervisors for getting paid the "big bucks" for not supervising and shame on these non-workers for taking advantage of the system and putting more strain on your fellow co-workers. At times these slackers get paid more than those who work more efficient than others and have tougher jobs.

I get it. Life isn't fair. I learned that lesson a long time ago. This all comes down to what type of individual  you want to be in life and on the job. Do you want to be lazy and just get by annoying people along the way and jipping yourself out of self-respect, or do you want to try your best in life and go places knowing you did your best?

I hope more people would choose to do their best at work and that employers would hire those who will work hard for a company and terminate an employee who doesn't, giving that same position to a better worker. Take the load off your co-workers and be a better person!

"I don't think I'm ever coming back."

"I don't think I'm ever coming back."

Even though I'm not a parent, I know that you wouldn't want to hear those words from your child. They're usually never good.

Maybe you hear that phrase when they are younger and really don't mean it over something silly like during a fight over not being able to have dessert. "Mom, I want those brownies now, not after I finish my vegetables." The child then storms out of the room while the parent frustratingly yells for their child to come back to them and the child replies, "I'm never coming back!"

Maybe you hear the same phrase when they are teenagers over some fight about their freedom from you. They storm out of the house making their way to their friend's house saying, "I'm not coming back!"

You might be fortunate enough to hear this phrase once again when your child is about to go to college and wants to make something of themselves and all the times hearing the phrase before doesn't matter so much anymore because you raised them well. "I'm not coming back...I'm too good for this town!"

However, it was disturbing to hear about my friend who is a mother who heard the same phrase from her adult son.

"I'm going to Afghanistan and I don't think I'm ever coming back."

I can only imagine how that moment of hearing her child say such a thing felt. Her son came to that conclusion from his experience being a new soldier in the army and hearing stories from other soldiers.

His mom, my friend, began telling me how she began to pray to God to protect her son and give him hope and something to live for while he is over there. God answered her prayers by starting a romance between her son and a girl he had known from school. They are now engaged and our soldier has a much more positive outlook. He needs to come back so he can make it to his wedding.

The saddest part for me was hearing that he wasn't even in Afghanistan yet and he, obviously a very brave individual to serve our country, wrote his story off already. I began to wonder how many of our soldiers at one time or another feel that way. "I'm never coming back."

I believe they all have something or someone to live for. Whether it is a mother who wants her son to come back home, a fiancé who wants to start a new life with their soulmate, or a dream that the soldier themself always had since childhood. How many don't realize their reason for living? I hope and pray that all of our soldiers know how courageous and loyal they are and never get that awful feeling.

Come back to your country for your families, supporters, and your own dreams. You are coming back.