Blog Critique -- To write love on her arms.

I have recently visited a blog called "To Write Love On Her Arms". I found this blog through recommendations of blog giant, Myspace. When I first read the blog name, it just seems to me that it is a blog about love relationship and thus I am interested in it. The title is really sensational and it does attract me to click and have a look. But after reading one of the posts, I discovered that it is totally different from what I expected, however, I still like this blog. It is a blog dedicated to encourage people and lead them out of their depressions. It also mentions a campaign which is run by the blogger, it is called the "World Suicide Prevention Day". Maybe others may feel bored of it because it talks about theories of life, but for me, a psychology lover, I just fall in love with this blog.

The post I want to discuss about is the post on September 11, 2007. Once again, I was attracted by the post title, "Part 1 of a long-overdue update. / Hope is not a myth." It is not hard to guess when the post is posted on this exact day, it must be something about the 911 incident and bingo, the blogger uses this event as an introduction to its main idea, stopping people from suicide. He describes this event in a very touching way and tries to show how fragile a life can be, so that people will agree that life is precious and they should cherish it. In this post, he specifically stresses a message which is "DEPRESSION IS TREATABLE". He tells viewers that he understands it is hard to survive in the world and feeling depressed is normal and common, but then he points out that hopes exist in the face of depression and if one needs help, there must be someone who can offer help. What the underlying message is that suicide is not a way out and it will not solve any problem. However, this sentence is such a cliche and that is why he tries to use another way to bring out the message and it works.

Beside using the 911 incident, he also quotes two recent stories, one is about Owen Wilson and the other is about Mother Theresa. As we all know, Owen Wilson is a comedian, however, he has committed a suicide recently and the rumor is because he broke up with his girlfriend. I read this news too and I was quite shocked about it. He indicates that though many audiences might think Owen Wilson, a laughter, is a free person and does not have much stress, however, his suicide attempt just proves that they are wrong and he also has depression. On the other hand, he uses Mother Theresa as another example of depressed people. Mother Theresa is always portrayed as a generous, humble and obliging saint. Nevertheless, she also had her pain. These two stories help to reinforce that every body has their stresses, their problems and their struggles. He reveals that "Life is hard. Owen Wilson isn't always laughing. Mother Theresa wasn't always walking the streets of Calcutta feeling like a million bucks." That is absolutely true and these two cases just give credence that a human being, a real people having depression is not abnormal, but the difference is whether they ask for help or not. Even the process of healing, growing and letting it go will be certainly uncomfortable, we should still try to face it and solve it. As he says, "We were meant to live", small depression should therefore not be a reason for us to sink, if we strike on, we will definitely lead to a better life.

To conclude, this is really a meaningful blog. The messages it wants to spread and the examples it uses are really strong. Though the post may be a little bit long, it is still worth reading it. From the lists of readers' responses it has received, it shows a support to this blog. All in all, I am fascinated by this blog and I appreciate the cheerfulness it gave me even though it may only last for a short period. Ha!