#She may be a very fit and athletic girl who acts all serious and stuff but she likes her cute pinkish aesthetic

[kyros-tha-soldier]

This is the shit Rebecca Is on in my highschool AU. She'll spot this in a book appliances store and drag kyros to buy it for her (ofc the whole thing includes the bag with the wheels and stuff as well as a lunchbox and a water bottle)

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Kicking back at a seaside resort

Feel the wind in your hair and bask in the warm sunlight. Dive into the crystal clear water and immerse yourself in the world below. Float as far as the waves will take you. 

I think Aqua Shores is becoming one of my favorite vacation spots. I’ve heard good things about the island for years but never got around to looking into it until a few months ago. It’s a bit hard to get there so that’s why it’s not overrun with tourists. Thanks to Isabelle and Tom Nook, we got a great vacation package deal that has made all the travel worth it!

While relaxing by the pool, I ran into two familiar faces - Dae and Marisol. They reside in Tokyo but visit Peace Coast Island once a year to host a big art exhibition at Seashore Path College. Dae Jeong is a big name in animation as she’s a producer, animator, writer, and founder of Sound Stories - an independent animation studio known for making strides in queer media. 

Her wife, Marisol Alon, is a storyboarder and producer who’s the showrunner of the award winning show Flames of Amber, a must watch if you’re interested in fantasy, drama, and comedy. It’s kinda like a mix between a magical girl kind of show but aimed towards an older audience and a sitcom that tends to lean on the serious side. It’s one of those shows where it’s a mix of self-contained episodes and season long overarching plots. Season three, which is airing now, has been knocking it out of the park so far and we’re only like eight episodes in so far. It’s got dark humor, touching moments, wholesome slice of life stuff, stunning animation, and well developed characters - I can’t recommend it enough!

Dae’s the kind of person who built her life from the ground up. Having grown up in a family that disapproved of her lifestyle - specifically her interest in art - Dae is also an advocate in making the arts more accessible as well as helping those who are discouraged from expressing themselves. She’s one of those big figures - celebrity doesn’t fit her, though she might be considered one - who’s not performative when it comes to social justice. Despite what her detractors say, her activism hasn’t ruined her career, it made her stronger and more vocal. She’s the reason why animation is able to make big strides in queer and Asian representation.

It’s no question that I’m a big fan of Dae and Marisol. They’re also very much down to earth, the kind of people who like to keep it real. They mean what they say and say what they mean - even if it means putting their careers on the line. Basically if they were straight white men they wouldn’t be getting as much unwarranted criticism or be picked apart by haters.

Dae’s not one to back down from her opponents. She grew up in a super conservative, predominantly white suburban town, which explains a lot. She was born in Seoul and adopted at the age of two by a white American couple, to which she became known as Dani. Her parents adopted her because they were unable to have another child so they opted for “a poor exotic orphan” to make themselves look good. As a result, Dae never felt like she fit in with her family because they forced her to be someone she’s not.

From mocking her interests to clearly favoring her brother, it’s no wonder Dae resents her foster parents. It’s a sore subject for her but one she feels like it’s important to talk about as there’s a lot of people who grew up in a similar upbringing. It wasn’t until she left for college when Dae finally began to embrace her Asian side after years of being ashamed of her heritage. 

Dae’s relationship with her foster brother is an interesting one. Jace was the golden child, the good looking athletic star who was popular and charismatic. Dae describes her relationship with him as complicated. While they weren’t exactly close, Jace was the only one who usually treated Dae like an actual person instead of a trophy or an emotional punching bag.

While things between Dae and her family were always strained, it reached a breaking point when Jace was diagnosed with cancer and lost his leg, ending a promising future as a basketball player. Her parents took their anger out on Dae while expecting her to act like a therapist as they cope badly with the circumstances. Jace also pushed Dae around but he would come to her defense at times if their parents go too far. While the parents were falling apart, the siblings came to a middle ground.

The years from Jace’s diagnosis to his death were the best in terms of their relationship, Dae once said. Maybe having cancer changed him as it knocked him off the impossibly high pedestal his parents put him on. With no one to turn to as their parents were too busy being shitty people, they reached an understanding over who their enemies were. They weren’t friends, but at least Jace admitted that the only reason why he stuck his neck out for Dae was because he found her “useful” in the war between their parents.

Jace was the reason why Dae was able to leave for good. Her parents were always against Dae pursuing art so they did everything they could to discourage her. Dae taught herself digital art so she won’t have to deal with her parents finding her art and destroying it. She worked hard to get scholarships since she’ll be paying every cent herself so she secretly joined competitions with Jace’s help. Eventually her effort paid off and she received an offer to study animation in Leeds. Knowing that it was her ticket out, Jace offered to help pay for her tuition as well as an apartment. He also made sure that their parents wouldn’t get in her way and for that, Dae is forever grateful.

In Leeds, it was like Dae was given a second lease on life. Free to be herself and pursue her dreams, she stopped being Dani and went back to her birth name. There, she met Marisol and they began dating a few years later. Jace checked in on her a few times over the next year before he died.

After graduating college, Dae and Marisol worked at a studio in London for a couple years before moving to Tokyo. Dae’s got an impressive array of works like Firefly Garden, Unknown Mysteries of the Seas, The Garden Palace, Neighbors, Northern Winters, and Carousel Dreams. Her whole career’s pretty much a middle finger to everyone who told her that she was destined to fail.

She's said that a part of her wants to go up to her foster parents and tell them to fuck off. But if they knew how successful she was - as in how much money she makes - they’d exploit her, bleed her dry, and destroy everything she worked hard for. Dae meant it when she said that she’s never going back.

It’s good to see Dae and Marisol kicking back at the pool. They’re here for their tenth wedding anniversary, taking a much needed vacation from their busy lives. It’s their first time at Aqua Shores too, having arrived a couple days before us. Both are trying not to do anything work related during their vacation, which is a bit of a challenge, especially for Marisol. The relaxing atmosphere does help a lot though.

After spending a good part of the day chilling by the pool, I invited Dae and Marisol to have dinner with us at the May Harbor Diner. So we enjoyed a beachside dinner while watching the waves and exchanging stories. I think Daisy Jane was a bit starstruck at first but by dinner she was comfortable enough to talk about art with Dae and Marisol. They both gave her a lot of helpful advice on getting her art out there, which was super nice. Dae later told me that she sees a lot of herself in Daisy Jane and I can see that too.

We stayed out until around eight and our group split up. Daisy Jane, Dae, Marisol, and I went on a ferry for an island tour that was about an hour long. At night it’s almost like Aqua Shores transforms into a different place. It’s a different kind of peaceful, like wandering the streets when most of the world is asleep so time moves differently in a way that makes you super aware of it. Too bad it’s hard to take decent pictures of the scenery - I tried and while the pics aren’t terrible, they really don’t do the island justice. 

The lights are so gorgeous to look at, like who would’ve thought that street lights can be so pretty?

Then we hung out at the pool until 1, where we talked about Flames of Amber and binged on a few episodes. It’s fascinating hearing behind the scenes stuff from Marisol, especially in a casual setting instead of like a convention or something. Dae talked about what it’s like running an animation studio, which was fun to learn about. She and Marisol are so passionate and honest about their work, it makes me appreciate and respect them even more.

Before heading out, we got the next two days planned out - scuba diving and riding a hot air balloon! Plus there’s a new episode of Flames of Amber tomorrow so that’s another thing to look forward to. 

[zee-isaiah-pugnacious7-blog]

In Defense of Junpei Iori

I want to start off by saying this is my own thoughts on the character. Whether you like/hate this character is your own personal opinion; respect my opinion, and I will respect yours. Thank you.

So, Junpei. The token comedy-relief/best-buddy of Persona 3. Friendly, funny, charming and sharing the same voice-actor as Edward Elric (plus several others), he is one of the more memorable characters of the series...

And yet... a lot of people seem to hate him. More often than not, some people comment that he’s one of the most annoying characters in the game! 

Ironically, my boyfriend--- who first introduced me to the Persona series--- was the one who brought up Junpei being a lousy character (He later took it back after noticing how similar the character is--- not even joking, they have similar issues at their homes). But it wasn’t because he thought Junpei was annoying--- it was mainly because... well, Junpei sucked on his team. 

My Boyfriend: Good luck having Junpei on your team. He wouldn’t follow my commands, kept dying, blah blah blah...

Me: *after playing the game* Dude, Junpei is a tank on my team! I’m not even giving him commands, and he’s helping heal the group, he can take a blow, yadda yadda...

(Maybe they can just tell when a girl is playing the game XD)

I get the feeling that’s one reason why people don’t like Junpei--- they have trouble with him on the team. ...Then again, if that were the case, wouldn’t everyone have at least one [other] character they hated having on their team? I guess, depending on the equipment, commands and experience, the characters you choose vary in performance.

...But c’mon guys, how many of us got angry at Mitsuru and her overuse of ‘Marin-Karin/Tentarafoo’? THE COMICS ARE EVERYWHERE!

Me: Okay, Mitsuru--- the Shadow is weak to Ice. Watch me use Bufu. *casts it, destroys enemy* See? Easy. Use Bufu skills. BUFU skills.

Mitsuru: MARIN KARIN!

Me: F*CKING DAMMIT, MITSURU, YOU’RE OFF THE TEAM! 

*ahem* So, yeah, no one’s perfect ^^’

But combat-performance isn’t the only reason I see people hating on Junpei. Like I said earlier, they find him annoying--- maybe they think he’s too much of a pervert (ironic in a game where you play as a guy/girl who can f*ck several people), or maybe they think he’s an idiot (Who’s playing this game, Yukari?), but more often than not, there’s a couple things that always come up...

Junpei’s want for attention, and how he gets jealous of the Protagonist.

Lets start with the fight for attention. During the first mission, Junpei is quick to rush ahead, trying to prove his potential. (And this may be a little late but I’ve never seen all the movie adaptations yet *only the 2nd one* so I’m just going by the game storyline). Clearly he wants to be in the spotlight, and *at first* sees fighting Shadows as some sort of game, up until he realizes just how serious it really is.

But think about it--- before awakening to his Persona, Junpei was a regular teenager. The creators themselves mentioned that Junpei was a crucial character because he acted like a real teenager--- cracking jokes, getting excited about having this power... I mean, how would you react if you were a high school student and found out you had a rare power? You’d be pumped, wouldn’t you?

Meanwhile there’s Akihiko, Shinjiro, Yukari, and Mitsuru who awoke to their Personas early on (for crying out loud Mitsuru awoke to hers when she was just a little girl! She was a chibi with power!). They managed to understand the concept of their potential--- and, since they had serious stuff going on in their lives, took this responsibility to heart. (It really hits you in the feels with Shinji’s case)

Now look at Junpei’s life--- living with an alcoholic father, having little skills and low grades... chances are, he was putting on a mask *no P5 refs intended*; behind that comedic behavior and charming smile was a teen struggling with depression, feeling like he was going nowhere in life. (You all saw his moment with Koromaru in “The Answer”). He awoke to his Persona--- not because he had some ‘mission’ to fulfill, but because he wanted to find a purpose in life.

AndthenhemeetsChidoriandfallsinlovebringinguphisdreamsofbeingabaseballplayerthenshediesinordertosavehislifeandyougethitwiththefeelsandhefindsanewreasontolivegaaaaaaaahhhhh---

Sorry! Got off-track for a moment there!

Point is, the moment he gets his Persona, he feels a rush of excitement, like his life has purpose after all! (This is emphasized after Strega encounters the group, bringing up that once the Dark Hour is destroyed everyone will lose their powers). So of course he’d want to ‘show ‘em what he’s got’ and try to impress everyone, because he’s trying to prove his self-worth.

Now lets bring up the part where he gets jealous of the Protagonist. 

I can hear you all, “Of course he’s jealous--- the protag is a badass who gets all the girls and is acing the exams, etc.* SHUT UP. JUST. SHUT. UP.

First of all, think about the FIRST time you play the game--- where your stats are at an ALL TIME LOW. Your intelligence is ranked at dumbass, you’ve got as much charm as a piece of cardboard, and you have less courage than Scooby Doo!

So you’ve got a guy with zero intelligence, minimal charm, and zip courage... and yet all of a sudden he’s elected Team Leader just because he--- big shock--- awoke to his Persona and *gasp* fought Shadows! Just. Like. Everyone. Else. 

Granted, there were reasons he got the Leader rank--- Mitsuru had to stay behind at the start in order to scan for Shadow activity, Akihiko’s arm was broken, Yukari was having confidence issues, and Junpei was the new guy---

Wait a minute! The Protag was the new guy too! Why was he elected leader? Why couldn’t he and Junpei have had a rock-paper-scissors tournament to decide? What, was it because Junpei wasn’t ‘serious’ enough? I’m pretty sure putting him in a responsible position would get him serious! (...or he’d abuse his power, much like many did when playing the game *cough*BikiniWarriors*cough*)

“But the Protag can use more than one Persona!” you may argue, but I’m talking about the very start of the game--- before you start your Social Links and start acquiring more than 1 Persona (and leaving poor Orpheus behind to rot lol). Like, out of the blue, Mitsuru just says “You can be Leader until Akihiko gets better,” ...then after Akihiko heals up, it’s like “You can keep being leader, you’re doing a great job.”

Okay, maybe I’m overthinking it. If Protag didn’t get the role of leader, we’d have no gameplay. Lets stick with Junpei. 

Granted as the game goes on, your stats do improve by the time you get to the Hotel. And thus when Junpei gets jealous--- everyone fights these two massive Shadows... and the Protag is getting most of the praise. Despite any reassurance you give him, he still gets pissed and ignores you for the week.

(Me: Nuuuuuuu! Junpei, come baaaaack! I’ll buy you ramen!)

And of course this is where a lot of people consider Junpei to be annoying, for throwing a b*tch-fit about the Protagonist being hot-sh*t. 

But, lets re-analyze what I mentioned before--- fighting Shadows is all Junpei considers himself good for. Heck during this time, he realizes he’s going to be a senior by the next year... and then what? What is he going to do with his life after high school?

Also, lets bring up the fact that he’s fighting Shadows with a well-respected valedictorian (Mitsuru), the captain of the boxing-team who has fan-girls surrounding him at the start (Akihiko), the most popular girl in school (Yukari), a girl with a rare Persona who helped her survive in Tartarus for 10 days/hours (Fuuka), and an emo-hunk every woman wants to sleep with (Protagonist). 

DO YOU SEE WHAT HE HAS TO COMPETE WITH?! Throw in a robot, dog, kid and the baddest of the badasses, and you’ve got a lot of pressure on your shoulders! *granted they don’t come in until after the beach trip, but still!*

Keep in mind, these are all high-school students. If there’s one thing I remember about being in high-school, it’s that I wanted people to like me and achieve at something. There was always someone much smarter, more athletic, more creative, and more charismatic than I ever could be. (...I can hear you all making fun of me for being a geek right now. Go on, laugh it up!) 

Junpei got jealous because the New Kid became a kick-ass leader (...depending on how well you play the game...) and he’s working his a$$ off to make something of himself in order to cope with a bad home life, lack of academic potential, and whether or not he’ll have a future after graduation. 

He wasn’t just jealous, he was suffering from anxiety. If he was the least-anything on the team, he lost his motivation. It’s no different than feeling depressed because someone believed you ‘weren’t good enough’ at something. 

I believe many of us have gone through that. It really hurts, and sometimes lashing out at someone who’s ‘better’ than you is the first response; other times you just shut yourself out from others, wallowing in your self-pity, trying to figure out if you’re worth anything...

But there’s something Junpei does that not many people do.

He realizes his mistakes and apologizes. 

He realizes he rushed in too fast during the first mission, and asks for a second chance when the group goes to rescue Fuuka. 

He realizes he was faulting the Protagonist for no reason *kinda like I did a minute ago* and apologizes to him for it. 

Junpei: Sorry for being such a d*ck to you...

Me: *choosing option* Don’t Worry About It.

Junpei: *softly* Thanks bud.

Me: *while fainting* Friendship saved~! 

(okay okay, that’s the last of the fan-girling, promise!)

As the game goes on, his character development gets better. He doesn’t even try to act like a class-clown that much after meeting Chidori (as Fuuka said, he acts more like a gentleman). ...It’s only during the trip to Kyoto that he reverts back to his perverted nature :P 

(Saying it now, DAMN THOSE HOT-SPRINGS!!!)

Moving on.

It isn’t until near the end of the game that we really see him change--- and we all know the reason: Chidori. 

You’ve all seen what happened, so I’m not going into detail here! 

Point is, her sacrifice was what really helped him wake up--- he developed a new reason to not just get through life, but LIVE it. The love of his life didn’t want him to just give up--- she wanted to see him achieve his dreams and be happy. 

After that, Junpei once again apologizes to the Protagonist, letting go of his jealousy and relying on his friend to help get them through this battle against the Dark Hour. 

Because there’s a double meaning to the ‘Dark Hour’--- it’s not just some creative title for Tartarus appearing, but an analogy on how everyone is going through their darkest moments. Losing Chidori is Junpei’s Dark Hour--- and he needs his best friend to help him get through it until it’s over.

Then comes Ryoji, bearing the bad news that Nyx is coming... 

This is where I really noticed a change in Junpei’s character. He’s scared, but reacts with anger rather than humor--- everyone’s losing someone already, then all of a sudden everyone’s going to die. 

Yukari, ironically, tries to crack a joke in order to try and lighten up the tension... and Junpei blows up at her! The vice-versa of the beginning of the game! 

This is proof that Junpei had been hiding his real emotions the whole time--- once things got serious to the point where its all ‘Oh f*ck we’re all gonna die’, he dropped his class clown charade. 

“He should’ve been serious from the start!” you may argue... 

But, lets face it, we had ENOUGH serious characters--- no-nonsense Mitsuru, training-focused Akihiko, hardass Shinjiro, truth-seeking Yukari, vengeance-seeking Ken, humanity-learning Aigis... geez I think Koromaru and Fuuka were the only ones not dead-serious about something! 

As mentioned, Junpei was using humor in order to cope with things; he let out his anger at Shinjiro’s funeral, but once the grieving period passed went on with his humorous behavior, keeping enthusiastic because it was his only defense. Losing Chidori was probably his breaking point--- finding out the world was going to end in two months drove him over the edge, and he just couldn’t take it anymore.

But, he chose to fight, alongside the others, even if there was a slim chance of success. He didn’t want to give up. He wanted to try--- and succeed. 

So I ask again... why do people hate on Junpei? Maybe you all have your own reasons outside of the ones I’ve listed--- whatever they are, it’s your opinion, I can’t tell you how to feel. This is just my thought on him.

Because, if you think about it, in some way we’re similar to the character. We often hide our real feelings until we just can’t take anymore. We get jealous of others, we get depressed when we can’t find a purpose in life. 

But many of us still want to try.

And I believe we shall succeed. 

Just don’t give up. 

[datingadviceonreddit]

I didn't have much of a social life in my high school and college years for reasons out of my control. I moved around a lot during my high school years due to my father's work. Although I made good friends along the way, I was always forced to say bye to them. In college, I majored in a field where the students' idea of a good time was to play multiplayer games. I didn't have much time to make friends outside of my faculty since the studies were really hard and I was often stressed out. Not to mention, I was an insecure, socially inexperienced young man who just hadn't developed the skills. After college, my early 20s was focused primarily on work. It wasn't until I was 26 or so that I finally got the social life that I yearned for. By then, I was making good enough money to support it and I found my "bros" so to speak or who I thought were my bros.I never felt like I had my own clique growing up for the aforementioned reasons whether it was constantly moving or just being around people I didn't mesh with. Finally, now, I had discovered a brotherhood of guy pals who were all on the same wavelength. We were all similar in age, similar outlook on life, had good jobs, and so we could actually afford to go out to bars, restaurants, clubs, etc.Only thing is, I was the most unattractive physically out of all of them. We spent many evenings going out to bars and clubs and drinking a lot and spending a lot of money. Although their success was mixed, at least they got some success whereas I had literally none. But I liked spending time with my guy friends and by then, I was hopelessly addicted to alcohol. We would go out 2-3 nights a week drinking. I would go to work the next day feeling like a zombie and so in addition to alcohol, I became hopelessly addicted to coffee as well just to get through the work day. I've always had an addictive personality. It's amazing this lifestyle didn't impact my career.This went on from ages 26-33. One by one, my guy friends got into serious relationships or marriage. A few moved away for work reasons. We're still good friends and close to this day but we don't see each other as often.It bothered me a lot how I put in just as much effort as them to find someone but I was the only one who ended up with no one. Out of my bros, I had the best career and made the most money. I was also the most "educated" meaning that I knew more about politics, history, geography and was more "worldly". I was the first one amongst them to buy my own place. All of this sounds great on paper, right? Except the girls always skipped me and went for my guy friends. I remember this one time, I managed to chat up this girl at a bar and we actually seemed like we clicked. I got her number. One of my guy friends was hosting a gathering at his place and so I invited her. Then later that night, we went to a bar to see a live band and she and my guy friend hooked up right in front of my eyes. My friend apologized obviously and the two of them didn't end up working out but that was a traumatic event that affected my self-esteem for a long time. Stuff like this always happened. Like you think there's some hope cause some girl seems like she's interested only to be disappointed.By the time I was 32, it had been six years of living this unhealthy lifestyle. I looked and felt like shit. I'm already short so even if I'm just a tad overweight, it really shows. I was bloated from all the alcohol drinking. My skin looked like shit because of the drinking and my coffee-addiction. All the exercise I did didn't help much due to this damaging lifestyle. What's more, I lost my social circle as one by one, my "bros" married off. The final straw came when a relationship with this girl that I was never too crazy about didn't work out. Yeah I wasn't too crazy about her but hey, she was interested in me and for someone who never had success with women, it felt significant. So when that failed, I was in a very dark place.I entered into this dark period where I was forced into a period of self-introspection since I no longer had a group of people to hang out with and drink myself and ignore reality. I had to face some very uncomfortable truths about myself. I read articles online and read numerous blogs and youtube channels from people who talk about why guys like me are unattractive. Most of the advice was garbage but some things did ring true.Although I think the fact that I was the ugliest guy in my group of friends played a part in me being the only single one left, I think a lack of confidence and a lack of genuine and self-awareness played a bigger role. I think back and realize that yah my guy friends were better looking but they also had more personal conviction, genuineness and self-confidence than me. In fact, the reason I kept going out drinking with them night after night even though they got the girls and I never did was because I didn't know what else to do with my time. They were my crutch. I was just going along with the crowd for everything.I think various girls I knew during this period of my life may have picked up on this. My guy friends just had more personality and authenticity behind their actions. Now I want to be clear. I do feel that despite all of this, if I was taller and better looking, I think I would have had the same success. But that's just how life works. When you're the ugliest one, you have to have other things to compensate and for me, I didn't have anything. Being short and average looking, I realized I had to pay even more closer attention to my presentation. Looking back on pictures of myself from that period, my appearance was shitty.The biggest thing was being overweight and also having this bloated look to my face. I had a haircut that didn't suit my face. I was also attempting to grow facial hair in an attempt to look more manly even though it didn't suit my face. I wore clothes that didn't really fit my body. Although the clothes I wore were fashionable, when they don't fit your body, it still looks like shit.The only thing I was confident about in that time period was my career which amazingly was the only thing in my life that steadily improved when everything else was going to shit. But I realized I couldn't use my career as my only source of confidence in interaction with girls. When it's the ONLY thing you're proud of, girls don't care that much, especially the type of girls who aren't gold-diggers and want a genuine guy and seeking a genuine connection.When you become a loner, it's almost a blessing because you're then forced to face these kind of realities and uncomfortable truths about yourself. I started exploring interests and hobbies that were true to myself. I was always into the arts. I never had opportunities to explore these avenues because my guy friends were all logical, engineering or business types. But I've always been into music, history, classical literature. When I was a kid, my parents told me how I was always singing and doing little dances.I took up ballroom dancing. I took up playing the guitar. I took up running and joined recreational sports. I quit the dumb gym memberships I had because I always hated the gym. Instead, when I feel the need to lift weights, I just use the small gym in my building.I drank less and dramatically, I lost weight and my skin improved. I finally found a haircut that suits my face. Since I make good money, I decided to invest more in better clothes that actually fit my body.Because I drink less often, my diet also improved. A lot of my unhealthy eating was spurred on by alcohol. Now that I limited myself to drinking just once a week, I naturally ate a cleaner diet which contributed to the weight loss.Even though ballroom dancing and buying higher quality clothes ain't cheap, I realize that the money I've invested in these two things was the same amount when I was going out to bars/clubs 2-3 nights per week where I spent a ton of money on alchohol, not only on myself, but on girls who didn't give a shit about me.The social dance scene fits me way more than going out to bars/clubs. First off, it doesn't involve getting drink or alcohol. People are there to dance. There are more women than men and the women are grateful if you ask them to dance. No more hostility and unwelcome glares from the chicks that hang out in the bars/clubs who are only nice to guys who are good looking. When going to a social dance party, even if you're short and unattractive but you make an effort to dance, the women are grateful and encouraging.Because I dance both socially and competitively, I'm motivated to keep up my physique. I run outside, lift weights now and then and I play soccer in a recreational league. I now have a lean but athletic body. I wear clothes that fit. And I have a haircut that suits my face. Through dance, I have more interactions with women and even though it's non-sexual, just the act of dancing closely with various women gives me an "intuition" about being able to read women. This intuition helps me be able to read women and be able to tell who may be interested in me and who isn't. So instead of blindly approaching attractive women like I used to do, instead I approach women who I may have a connection with.I'm now grateful all this happened to me. Like Steve Jobs said, you can't connect the dots moving forward, only backward. I'm glad I lost my guy friends. I'm glad that a relationship with a girl I wasn't that into didn't work out. I'm glad I was left in a dark place where I had to take a cold hard look at my shortcomings.What's more, I realize that a rejection from a girl just isn't that big of a deal. If one girl doesn't feel you're a good fit for her, you can go and talk to another girl who has no IDEA about your past. That's the beauty of approaching new women. These new women you approach don't know about your past or who rejected you or any other embarassing rejections that happened to you. You start off with a clean slate.I think, like many guys, rejection after ejection builds up to self-resentment and self-hate and it becomes this shadow weighing yourself down. You feel like a loser and so any new women you meet, you self-sabotage yourself when new women don't know anything about you and if they like you, they don't care that some girls in the past rejected you.I don't know what the future holds for me but I feel like I'm finally living a life more authentic to my true self and also, I'm unafraid of going out alone and being alone. via /r/dating_advice