00035: Self-Help Books & Graphic Novels

19 Days, nineteen items

My family never had enough money to afford a “family doctor.” We always went to social services center to get medical attention. Needless to say, I had to figure out on my own what was happening to my body (puberty) and what was happening to my inside (sexuality and orientation). When it came to professional advice, it wasn’t until I was in college that I was able to “afford” it, mainly because the university provided those services to students. Many a times I took advantage of such services in order to deal with my screwed up mind and feelings.

The first time I went to therapy outside school, was after I finished graduate school the first time (I went to graduate school twice.) At the time I was working for a very good company and I was experiencing heartbreak. My first serious boyfriend and I were living together (and he was cheating on me). At some point we broke up and I didn’t know how to deal with the situation. And so, my company sent me to therapy. It was nice of them.

It was there I learned how to deal with my feelings and how to look at life in a different way. But then I was let go of that job and had no therapist again. But by now, I had discovered self-help books. Every self-help book I bought helped me with something. I found so much value in the books that when friends were having similar issues, I would given whatever book I happened to feel it will help them.

While decluttering my home office, I found a few self-help books. They have been packed in a box. Then in another pile of things I saw two more, and I realized these two books were separated because they mean a lot to me. “Finding the Boyfriend Within: A Practical Guide for Tapping into Your Own Source of Happiness” and “Gay and Single… Forever?: 10 Things Every Gay Looking for Love (and not finding it) Needs to Know” helped me understand many things about dependency and about the pressure society puts on every single person in regards to relationships. I kept these books separated because reading them again and again helps you rediscover what once has been learned. But now, I must let them go. I’m also letting some booklets and gay-them graphic novels go. All these things served a purpose in my life. The booklets and graphic novels brought happiness into my life and the self-help books added incredible value into my being. Now the time has come for such treasures to bring these blessings to someone else. #carlosmanuelspeaksthetruth