8 of My Favourite Feelings

Binge watching YouTube can lead you to many dark and dangerous places. My subscriptions are filled with the usual gaming highlights, magic tutorials, and cooking videos. One day the "recommended" section at the end of one of my videos had me listening to Hank Green talk about his favourite feelings. It got me thinking about my own favourite feelings, and I was surprised at my own personal preferences. It turns out that feelings you love don't have to be lovely, happy, or even empathetic. I decided to take a leaf out of Mr Green's book and have all my favourite feelings right here for you to read. 

"Let's get sappy shall we." 

1. Getting a whiff of the scent of my guitar case whenever I open it. 

I'll be phrasing my headers as either the feelings themselves, or as a description of the effector of the feelings. My guitar case has a very distinct scent, and it resembles the shop where I bought my guitar from. It is true that my current guitar is my first one, but it doesn't have that new guitar smell. The case on the other hand, always reminds me of the moment when I stepped into that guitar shop and fell in love with my steel-string baby. Not only was that a big step forward in my musical journey, but it would also be the first time I would own something for myself. Being the youngest in the family meant I always seemed to get the scraps, leftovers, and hand-me-downs from the siblings. However, this guitar would be mine, my responsibility, and a completely unique defining attribute. I mean, have you seen my sister play guitar? 

"A splash of reminiscence perhaps?"

2. The feeling of a cold breeze after taking a cold shower.  

I have a top tip for beating the winter chills: take a cold shower. Your outer body temperature gets low, but then you're left with your core body radiating heat out towards your shell. You actually end up feeling warmer than you were before. Now on a more personal note, I love to step outside on a cold winter's day, right after a cold shower, and feel the breeze on my face. I've already got the warm fuzzies permeating out towards my skin, but then I get the stark contrast in the breeze. All I can say is that it's a wonderful sensation. Even though it may be cold outside, you'll always be able to produce your own heat. I guess that says more than I'm giving it credit for. 

3. Hearing someone I respect tell me I have done a good job. 

I'll be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't find this to be one of the best feelings ever. It's not even a question about pride, ego, or self-acceptance, but one of recognition. It's most relevant in sports for me, and that means ultimate. When my captain recognises that I've made a contribution to the game, that's inspires me. When my coach tells me that I've improved that only makes me want to get better. When my brother, who's basically my hero when it comes to ultimate, tells me I've played well, there really isn't anything that beats it. I guess the reason why these things actually have such impact is because they're conditionally consequential of hard work. 

"Basically you have to walk the walk."

4. The feeling of mutually enjoying silence with another person.  

Talking about feelings has to get sappy at some stage. Silence is beautiful. It gives you a moment of rest and allows you to soak up all the goodness of your surroundings. When I'm able to enjoy silence with another person, it means I'm happy to just be around them. Their presence speaks for itself. Spoken word goes out the window, and body language, physical expression, and psychic guesswork comes to the forefront. Not only that, but talking just gets tiring. When you get to that point where it's no longer awkward to be silent around each other, the person you're with is someone worth keeping around. 

5. Running at full speed, or faster. 

This one is simple. When you're running at full speed, you've got to commit to what you're trying to achieve. Once again, this calls back to ultimate frisbee. When I'm chasing down the disc, or chasing down my mark, I've got to fully commit my mind and body into running. I just get so focussed on the objective that I don't stop to worry or think myself out of fully pushing myself. I'm not the best at staying focused, but it sure is a good feeling. 

6. Overwhelming nostalgia.   

So I recently watched Digimon Tri, the long awaited "third" season of the Digimon franchise. When the theme song played during the opening credits my heart fully caved in on itself. I dare say that I felt like tearing up. I guess that's how the Star Wars nerds feel. Your childhood dreams and imaginations, the endless hours of entertainment that were both provided and self-conjured, all of those moments mean something. Overwhelming nostalgia reminds you of the good times, but more importantly it reminds you that the good times can return. 

7. Having the same unpopular preferences as someone else. 

I was talking with a friend from university one time, and although we knew each and had talked previously, we didn't really know each other that well. Over the course of general conversation we soon realised that we had an uncanny similarity in our preferences. First of all, everyone hates on carrot cake. Not us. Of all the possible cakes to deem her favourite, she chose the exact same one as me. 

"Common ground really lets you hit it off doesn't it." 

8. Reconnecting with an old friend and realising that, although you've both grown, you still love hanging out with each other.  

I'm not the type who actively talks to people, especially if they're in a different timezone. It may be years before I even chat with a friend from overseas, but whenever that person is an old childhood friend, it's always comfortable. Sure we may not be be able to laugh about farts and poops anymore, but we have that comfortability that allows us to reconnect with ease. Or at least, whenever the reconnecting is easy, that's when it evokes one of my most treasured feelings. 

That is how you get in touch with your feelings my dear readers, by writing them out. Obviously, you've got to take some time and think about them first. I took almost a month to write this post. Compiling lists ain't easy. Look how long it's taking me to finish my top 10 pet peeves list! 

Anyway, if you've got similar favourite feelings, or maybe you're really want to let me know how girly my writing is, or maybe you're just feeling sappy too, let me know in the comments! 

Oh yea, and shout-out to Jesslyn for reaching out to me about my blog. It's good to know I have at least one person who reads these things who isn't one of my parents.