The Libertarian – March 2022

No.	Article	Section	Author
1	Team Leader Introduction	Introduction	midgetbella
2	Range of Emotions	Article	Toxic_silver2x
3	Managing Stress	Interview	UHaileyRoseU
4	Emotional Intelligence	Article	Secster
5	Optimism Month	Article	UHaileyRoseU
6	The Blossom of Hyacinth	Poem	StrongTiger
7	Creating Smiles	Interview	UHaileyRoseU
8	Journey to Content	Diary	StrongTiger
9	Tracking Emotions	Article	chiari.cord
10	Stress Toy	Guide	Yodar
11	Yearning for the Past	Article	Secster
12	Luca Movie Review	Review	Secster
13	OJSIG Office Spotlight	Spotlight	Toxic_silver2x
14	Diminishing Stress	Article	Anion

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Team Lead Introduction

By: midgetbella

Hello lovely people of USDF! It’s with great pleasure and excitement that I welcome you to the March 2022 edition of the Libertarian. For the past month, the Libertarian team has been working extremely hard writing articles and creating graphics. They’ve done extremely well and we sincerely hope that you enjoy reading!

The theme for this month is ‘Emotions’. This is a theme that we felt was extremely relevant to touch on as emotions have an enormous impact on our everyday lives both within and outside of the USDF environment. How well we control our emotions can dictate how we respond to situations and they contribute to our overall well-being. 

I’d like to take this moment to thank this month’s Libertarian team for all their hard work. Happy March!

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Range of Emotions

By: Toxic_silver2x

What are emotions? A fickle thing that each human has to deal with. They make us laugh, cry, and smile. They intertwine making the type of emotion hard to identify sometimes, but everyone has felt a variety of different types of emotions throughout their lifetime.

Below is an emotional wheel. These can help when deciphering emotions. As you can see the most common and easily identified emotions by humans are in the middle. The further you move out from the circle, you can see the more complex and specific emotion under each umbrella category.

Happiness is characterized by feelings of joy, contentment, and fulfillment. It’s often described as involving positive emotions and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction includes how you feel about your relationships, work, achievements, and other things considered important. Now happiness doesn’t mean you’re always in a state of euphoria, but overall a sense of experiencing more positive emotions than negative ones. When in face of other emotions besides happiness there is an underlying sense of optimism this is how most happy people continue being happy. Some ways to cultivate happiness are by pursuing inherent goals, enjoying the moment, and reframing negative thoughts. Reframing negative thoughts isn’t ignoring them, but instead trying to get a more balanced, realistic look at events.

Sadness is characterized by the feelings of unhappiness and low mood. It’s a usual response to situations that are upsetting, painful, or disappointing; they can feel more intense, while other cases might be fairly mild. Sadness is temporary and transitory while depression is persistent and longer-lasting; this is not the same as depression but can lead to it. Being able to tell the difference between the two can help in improving your mood by reaching out for resources. These are some ways to cope with sadness: allowing yourself to feel sad, if sad, plan a day to wallow, think and/or write about the possible cause, take a walk, laugh, text/call a friend/family member, and finally be kind to yourself. If these emotions continue to persist or have an increase, visit your doctor to determine whether you are dealing with sadness or depression.

Anger is characterized by the feelings of stress, frustration, and irritation. It can be an intense emotion you feel when something has gone wrong or someone has wronged you. A range of intensity, from slight annoyance to rage and excessive or irrational. Your body goes through some physiological changes: increased heart rate, blood pressure, release of adrenaline, and noradrenaline. We sometimes replace other emotions that we’d rather not deal with, like emotional pain, fear, loneliness, or loss. Putting your body through these changes often can lead to complications such as high blood pressure, bowel disease, insomnia, gastric ulcers, and anxiety. Anger could be a symptom or response to a medical condition, like depression, substance abuse, ADHA, or bipolar disorder; contact your doctor or pharmacist if this is true for you. Anger can be hard to keep in check, this can lead to unusual behavior and affect yourself and those around you. Different ways you can cope with it positively are: identifying the cause, meditating, exercising, expressing in a healthy way, and avoiding what makes you angry.

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Managing Stress

By: UHaileyRoseU

How do you manage negative emotions within USDF?

CAPT 1998Hailey1998: Honestly, if it gets bad and I just need time away which is normal I would file for leave to really disconnect and help regain and come back stronger. If I am angry I usually try talking it out with a close friend as long as it’s not breaching OPSEC, or seek my higher superior for advice. When I am demotivated I definitely think of things that kept me here at USDF, and I tend to dwell on the positives vs the negativities and that helps ease my mind and emotions to keep going here and be strong for others

MAJ Charlfred: I personally tend to step away when I feel too stressed, upset, or emotional over anything in USDF. Large amounts of work, or not attaining a position you wanted, can cause all of these emotions. For me, it’s best to take a step back, log off for a day, and come back later or the next day. This stops me from making rash decisions like jumping to resigning but also lets me calm down and think about what I need to do next, whether it’s a leave, or keep moving forward with feedback in mind. Learning to step back was the best thing I did at USDF.

CWO5 Merilon: Okay so personally, I’ve had to deal with a lot of negative unfortunately in my career. How I manage my negative emotions varies depending on what happened, usually, I dealt with it by working really hard. Because of this mindset, I got TP for the first time in my career, and I had my first ML3 position as well shortly after that. But now I’m growing tired so I struggle doing that, and also more demotivated with each small negative thing, so I use the ROP and talk to parties that aren’t involved for a new perspective.

CWO3 Aderz: The first and most important thing I do is talk to someone about them, and don’t suffer in silence. Whether it be through friends, branch or office command teams, or the Reach Out Program, 9 times out of 10 they can relate and empathize, and ultimately, help you find the cause of the problem and help tackle them.

CWO3 LegateLanius1: When it comes to these feelings, such as rejection or demotivation, I like to take a step back and not deeply focus on Habbo for a specific period of time. We make bad decisions when in the heat of the moment, so taking 24-48 hrs away can help a lot. Another thing I love to do is seek advice from people I consider my mentors. There are certain officers who I am comfortable with getting advice from, and I’m sure everyone else has their own people for that. Talking is important!

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Emotional Intelligence

By: Secster

Emotional Intelligence is a term that explains how we understand, manage, perceive, handle and use our emotions whenever they become present. Although they exist to guide us through life, not all feelings are pleasant; however, the unpleasant feelings are the most intellectually valuable ones as they contain the most experience in the EI field. 

People with high Emotional Intelligence can recognize whichever emotion they and others are experiencing usually just through observation and listening to them. Sometimes, they may even be able to feel it in the ”air”.

The skill allows the individual with EI to adapt and change their emotions to match the other individuals. Individuals with EI understand that approaching someone without mirroring their feelings (depending on the situation, of course) can create momentary friction where the two parties unsuccessfully connect in the first moment of interacting. That, in its turn, may generate discomfort between the two, causing one of them to split off to another direction. Fortunately, individuals with EI store and label all the feelings they have previously experienced, letting them adapt to different environments of emotions appropriately.

According to studies conducted, individuals who possess incredible Emotional Intelligence are most likely to be increasingly healthier mentally due to their ability to process their mental state according to their emotions. Individuals without the trait tend to distance themselves from people and the source of the awakening of their discomforting feeling in the hopes of the emotion disappearing, which rarely happens quickly. Instead, one should disregard the state of panic caused by the emotion, tend to the origin of the emotion, understand it by utilizing realism and then deal with it accordingly unless such a procedure would cause more harm than good.

Emotional Intelligence is most commonly associated with ”empathy”; the reason is that EI involves communicating with and about individuals and their experiences, causing their emotions to appear. For example, when one is sharing their personal life with someone else, the inflicted tend to describe scenarios using emotions as a tool to describe severity, length, and discomfort. A mild example of such a scenario could be someone explaining how they recently argued with someone close; anger, frustration, sadness, and regret would most likely be present in the discussion, but of course, the scenario and plot are ultimate.

Learning how to gain Emotional Intelligence is difficult and time-consuming since EI bases itself on experience. One without EI could not possibly reflect someone else’s corresponding behavior effectively.

Emotional control refers to understanding why and what caused you to feel the emotions you experience. Take your time and reflect, why am I feeling this way, what put me here, what could I have done to prevent it (if preventable), what can I do to process this without hurting myself? Do not jump to conclusions, and do not drop your weight on someone else too hastily as it may worsen the situation. No one will instantly understand your emotions if you fail to comprehend them first. 

The trait model constructed by Konstantinos V explains the levels of emotions one may experience and the emotional severity ”level”; the model explains one’s capability to process and perceive emotions to navigate the social environment properly. 

One should preferably stay in the outer region (Far out, not in the middle) of the model as it displays controlled and disciplined behavior caused by Emotions. When the inflicted behaves as described in the outer region, they inevitably comprehend Emotional Intelligence.

Ultimately, not everyone will understand or utilize EI at first; one must experience severe emotions before EI becomes relevant. Once they do, they should deal with the four aforementioned steps. Unfortunately, everyone has their way of controlling and understanding their emotions, so there is no way to express that this method is adequate; the human mind is too complex to find a universally effective procedure. Find your path, remember to take it easy, refrain from letting emotions gain all control as they may exaggerate things. Find that balanced sweet spot and process it at your own pace, and do not forget to talk to others about your emotions when you are ready.

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Optimism Month

By: UHaileyroseU

Optimism month, in my opinion, is by far one of the best months out there for a good reason. Optimism month takes place in March and it helps you look at the positive side of life. Oftentimes people don’t realize how much the negativity in their life has taken over and ruined them. 

Taking one month out of the year can really help you long term as you start to build healthy habits on how to look at life in a positive way. Optimism can help with things like Reduced stress, being nicer to others, not letting the bad days get to you, and much more. Why should you celebrate optimism month? 

Well, celebrating optimism month and looking at the positive side of things for a full month can actually make your life more established. Not worrying about all the bad things life throws at you and picking out the good things also helps with stress. Now, I’m not saying you should neglect the downside of responsibilities, but you shouldn’t focus on it so much that it impacts your life. It can also create some healthy habits for you to look at the positive side of life all the time and not just during one month. 

Finding what works for you can be very difficult, but that’s part of the fun during this month! You learn things about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t have. Optimism month can be celebrated in many ways, that’s what makes this month so special. You can celebrate it either separately or alone, the choice is yours! There’s no specific way of doing things either, whatever helps you see the optimism in life is how you can celebrate it. 

Personally, some tips I could give are: Take the time to get to know yourself and how you can focus more on positivity. Optimism month can take some time to get used to and you might not know what you’re doing in the beginning, but give it a try! You have nothing to lose and maybe you’ll create some new habits to be more positive in life! 

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The Blossom of Hyacinth

By: StrongTiger

It is cold, 

The Winter temperature is ravaging through the land, 

Hugging tightly till we all turned blue, 

Or sometimes, 

The hug was so tight, 

We are ordered to sacrifice our limbs,

To please the dreadful winter god. 

It is depressing to see, 

Sacrificing the thing that is so dear to us, 

To inevitable logics,

That are not even comprehensible,

To our wondrous tiny brain,

But left to us no option, 

Hold upon to the human greatest strength, 

Faith & Believe. 

The cold long winter, 

Froze something inside me, 

I thought the warmth of love can keep it going, 

But I guess, 

The longing temperature fret my heart till it turns popsicle.

So cold that all I feel is sadness,

Feeling betrayed, 

Consumed, 

Anger,

Pecking me slowly, 

Like a crow cutting through carcass, 

What a lost cause. 

As winter is closing its curtains, 

The spring prepares the stage,

For the seed of hyacinth to propagate,

The seed rushes into the soil, 

Flourishing,

Taking the nourishment that it can,  

Blissfully unaware of its symbol. 

As it grows, 

The violent violet screams, 

The strong fragrance stabs, 

it opened up, 

And picked. 

I willfully wondered, 

Why can’t i see the flower’s soul, 

Or that is just how you are, soulless 

Or its just your soul being kept in a prison,

Away from me, 

Tormenting you for your lies, 

Traumatising you for your past, 

Lashing you for your own insecurity, 

I am here hyacinth, 

Lamenting for you.

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Creating Smiles

By: UHaileyroseU

What brings you happiness within USDF?

Ret. LuxuryZ…: I’d have to say what brings me happiness within USDF is seeing the community interact with each other. I know this may sound cheesy or normal of a senior commander to say – however when you see how USDF operates like a well-oiled machine, all of the interactions, jokes, people having genuine fun it makes me happy to see. Take a step back and just watch HQ to really soak in how amazing everything is when it is at its peak. I also love seeing others awarded for their hard work and contributions as well! By the time this is posted, I will have retired and would say that my personal happiness was brought by all of you – the community. Thanks for everything!

MCPO yourmicrophone: Easy, friends and the outgoing community here. Everyone is so accepting and respectful that you can just fall into place and feel comfortable as ever

OC2 Hakateach: USDF as a whole brings me happiness. BUT the people who work at USDF are what bring me the most happiness. We wouldn’t have USDF if it wasn’t for the people here – they are the glue that holds this amazing organization altogether!

Ret. PearIyn: It brings me happiness to see people who work really hard for USDF achieving their goals such as well-deserved appointments, promotions, and rewards. Most of USDF’s members take out time from their daily lives to keep this community going, and it warms my heart when I see them being acknowledged for it, as well as when everyone celebrates for them. Achieving your goals also does not need to be solely in the form of rewards. It can be in the form of finding your place in USDF and being really contented with where you are. It makes me happy when people have truly found what makes them happy because that’s when we get lots of positive vibes and people reaching their maximum potential c: 

CW4 KreepKap: The community. USDF is formed of people from all around the world! Each with a unique personality and admirable character, and these people, this community is what keeps USDF together. And that is a major success for the Founder Sycron, to have formed a place where people can interact, joke, and have fun with each other. And finally, this community is what keeps me, and I am sure many others from resigning or leaving USDF.

CMDCM connorathabbo: The community surrounding it. I personally love the sense of family surrounding USDF. It seems like no matter who you turn to there is someone there who wants you to succeed and will do as much as they can to help you achieve your goals.

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Journey to Content

By: StrongTiger

Dear Diary, 

Today was fun. My dad brings me to the jungle to pick some berries. We also went hunting for dinner. Dad managed to score us 2 rabbits. It had been 5 years since dad brought me to the forest. My body is fragile thus I cannot keep up with my dad when we are venturing into the forest. But today, my dad decided to bring me along, and It was a blast. 

Despite my frail body, I always love to be surrounded by nature. It brings me tranquillity, peace, and calmness. The sound of the birds chirping is like music to my ears, it shakes my eardrums that makes my heart at peace. The flow of the river brings me joy. Just watching the fishes swim in the crystal clear river, makes me wonder how fun it is to be fish. Swim, swim, and continuously swim till they are caught. 

My brother today read to me a book about the black duckling that turns out to be a swan. It really makes me wonder, if I was born so frail and sickly, can I be as strong as my dad and big brother. So I can even join them in the adventures in the woods. Went on hunting, collecting firewood, watching birds, ahh what a fun experience. All I do every day is just sit in the house. Waiting for my dad and brother to come back home. So hopeless. Yet, seeing them coming back home is so fulfilling. 

My ma prepared my favourite meal today. A rabbit stew. Having a family dinner in our small cozy home. I really wish moments such as this will remain for the upcoming days. Where we can just enjoy each other’s presence with no qualms. All we need to be worried about is food security. My ma always told me that she will always be at my side. No matter what happens. I am so happy to have such a strong mother. Who will always be with me no matter the situation. Although sometimes I see her crying at night, I do hope she is okay. Maybe she is just crying out of happiness. Yes, that must be the reason! She must be so happy to be able to live together as one happy family that her tears start to fall down on her fluffy cheek. 

This pain on my chest, it seems like it will not go away any time soon. But I will manage no problem. I am a strong boy. No matter how painful my chest is. I will always put a smile on my face, so my dad, ma, and brother will not be worried about me. I am a good boy, a good boy will not make others worried. No matter what, I will always be happy. If not for my family, I don’t know how I can be happy as of now. I love my family so much <3.

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Tracking Emotions

By: chiari.cord

We undergo many activities in our everyday lives. Whether it is exercising, reading, going to the movies, eating a salad, whatever it is, it can sometimes be difficult to remember what we did and when we did them unless we track it somewhere. That’s where trackers can come in handy, they serve as a reminder of what has been and what is to come, and they’re good for us to look back to and appreciate the changes (or the persistence) of different habits.

A mood tracker is one type of tracker used to keep tabs on their daily feelings, as the name implies. Usually, a person will make a list of emotions and will determine how often they want to track their mood, so as to have all the information needed to put together their tracker! This type of tracker is useful for many different people for a variety of reasons. It might be useful for those who are going through major life changes and want to keep track of how it is affecting their mood, those who might be going through some mental health condition and want to identify different moods, and the list goes on and on.

Mood trackers don’t come in one specific shape, color, or even material. These all vary depending on who is making it. Here are some examples of different trackers:

• Journaling: These can be done in notebooks, agendas, and even in the phone’s note app! They consist of the date, maybe a general feeling to sum up the day. Extra things can be added, such as activities or important events that might have led someone to feel that way.

• Tracking Apps: There are a lot of apps that are very useful to keep track of moods. Most of them require no more than five to ten minutes per day to fill since they’re very easy to use. They also include a lot of different useful tools, such as graphs to analyze different aspects of someone’s moods!

• Graphics: This is a simpler type of tracker, it’s similar to drawing and painting. It doesn’t require a lot of explanation for each day, it consists of a graph that has the same amount of space to paint as the number of times a person wants to track their mood. For example, if they’re tracking their mood for a whole week, and they’re tracking it by painting flowers, they would have to draw (or leave space for) seven flowers. Then, they would just have to paint it according to how they feel. The colors for each emotion must be determined before the start of the period of time chosen.

• Using Crafting Skills: Trackers can be pretty much done with anything, they could even be done by changing the color of a phone case depending on someone’s mood. However, there are a lot of people online who keep track of their moods by using a skill they like. Crocheting or knitting “mood blankets” are a good example. After predetermining the colors for each feeling there are people who make entire blankets by adding one row each day. Another idea for this could be to embroider one thing per day (like the flowers in the graphs) until the amount of time desired has been reached. There are really lots of ways to go with these trackers!

Tracking our emotions can be a healing habit to take on. It doesn’t take long, and it can be done in many fun ways to keep you hooked. Even if it’s for a week, a month, or if you take the challenge to do a full year, these trackers are very interesting to look back to see how you felt across a certain period of time, so definitely give it a try!

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Stress Toys

By: Yodar

If you are feeling stressed out and need something to help relieve your stress, why don’t we make a stress ball that is a popular hit with adults and children! A stress ball is a small ball or other object made of soft materials (such as rubber) that you can squeeze with your hands to relieve stress and usually resumes its original shape when released. Stress balls are a classic workplace de-stressor, and there’s evidence they can actually improve your health. For example when you squeeze a stress ball, it can also relieve arthritis and strengthen muscles in the wrists and hands. Stress creates tension in the body that needs to be physically released. When you squeeze the stress ball, you are transferring your stress, tension, and anxiety into the ball.  If you don’t have one, let’s go grab an empty balloon and make one together!

For this project, you will need:

• Funnel
• Scissors
• Large Round Balloon
• 1 cup Cornstarch (See notes for great substitutions!)
• Permanent marker (optional)

Instructions

1. Blow up the balloon until it is about 4 to 5 inches in diameter. Do not tie it, but keep the balloon inflated as best you can.

2. Pinch the top of the balloon shut, about 1 to 2 inches from the opening, leaving room for the funnel to be inserted into the neck of the balloon. If you don’t have an assistant to help, use a clip to pinch the balloon.

3. Place a funnel inside the opening of the balloon while still pinching the balloon closed. You may need help securing the funnel inside the balloon. Don’t worry if your balloon deflates a little, as this tends to happen during this step.

4. Fill the top of the funnel with cornstarch using your free hand (or enlist a helper). It works best to add a small amount of cornstarch at a time.

5. Carefully begin replacing the air with cornstarch by slowly letting go of where you’re pinching the balloon so the cornstarch can slide into it. If you go too quickly, the air leaving the balloon will blow the cornstarch into the air and make a mess.

6. Continue adding cornstarch to the funnel until the balloon is filled to a depth of about 3 inches. Continue adding small amounts of cornstarch to your funnel, moving slowly, and swirl the cornstarch around with your finger to help work it into the base of the funnel and into the balloon.

7. Pull up tightly on the opening of the balloon and pinch out any extra air. In order to have an effective stress ball that won’t pop, it’s important to eliminate any extra air that’s inside your balloon. All of your stress ball’s contents should be cornstarch.

8. Tie the balloon closed as near to the cornstarch as you can. Use scissors to cut off any excess balloon, making sure not to cut too close to the knot on the balloon.

9.Decorate the stress ball with stickers or permanent markers as desired. Choose your favorite colors to make your new toy your own and add fun patterns to show off your artistic skills. Now you’re ready for stress relief on the go with your very own DIY stress ball!

Additional Notes:

– If you do not have a funnel, a water bottle works great too, just slide the inflated balloon on the opening, and while holding the neck of the bottle to keep the balloon secure, turn the bottle upside down and squeeze to encourage the filling to fall into the balloon. When it’s full, turn the balloon right side up and twist the balloon to keep the contents secure when you take it off the bottle, untwist the balloon, then proceed with Step 7!

 – You can wrap the stress ball with fishnet stocking (the bigger the better) if you want to as when you squeeze it, it will create a cool effect! Just make sure to tie a knot and cut off the excess.

 – If you want a ninja-type stress ball, skip step 9, grab another balloon of a different color, cut off the neck of the balloon, and cut out some holes in the balloon. Using that modified balloon, simply stretch it open and cover your stress ball!

 – You can substitute the cornstarch with the following:

~ Sand

~ Flour

~ Rice or Beans

~ Play Dough

~ Oobleck (2 parts cornstarch and 1 part water)

~ Orbeez (prepare them in advance as you have to hydrate those polymer spheres!)

Congratulations, you just made a wonderful, destressing toy for either yourself or someone else! If you had fun with this project, why don’t you make some for your friends, family, and even co-workers! Now anytime you feel stressed, don’t overreact, just simply reach for your stress ball and give it a squeeze to help relieve some of the tension so you can get through the day. This will also greatly help students that are in school when they are studying for tests.

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Yearning for the Past

Author: Secster

Do you sometimes feel the need to reach back to the good old times?

Old times when you felt less stress, perhaps felt genuine love?

Maybe times where you remember chasing after friends you haven’t heard from for years? Of course, the older we become, the larger becomes the urge to return to the nostalgic past, which is normal; there is nothing like re-experiencing all of our fond memories, and thanks to nostalgia, we sometimes get to do so for just a few seconds.

But how come we feel the need to remember things and scenarios of the past? Why is the feeling of nostalgia so intense? Why does nostalgia evoke happiness and sometimes sadness?

Feeling nostalgia is prevalent and happens weekly, sometimes daily; unfortunately, it usually goes unnoticed because of stress and fatigue, even though nostalgia is one of the most powerful feelings one can experience. ”Nostalgia” is relevantly described as sentimentality for the past and periods with happy personal associations. Nostalgia may sometimes appear when we see, hear or experience something that holds some form of connection to our past. The source that awakens nostalgia can be practically anything, a person, a song, an item, or even just another memory; however, it has to be something we cared about or something that made us extremely happy.

Here is an example of a memory that could become nostalgic: 

You listened to a song you enjoyed while going on a road trip; the memory would later reappear as nostalgia if you hear the same song or go on the same field trip again. First, however, the memory of the journey itself has to be something you truly treasure, and you must not have been on the same road trip or heard the song for a long time before that memory would evoke the genuine feeling of nostalgia.

Nostalgia makes us experience happiness, but not all nostalgic memories are felicitous. Nostalgia may sometimes evoke memories that include people/places/pets that once used to be a part of us; we remember the good memories of them/it until we remember why they no longer exist around us, which creates the saddening nostalgic feeling. Nostalgia usually appears with good memories and sometimes ends with bad memories. Unfortunately, there is no solution to fight the saddening nostalgia we experience as they are faint and fragile memories evoked at random.

If you want to experience nostalgia on command, there are a few tricks you could try that may evoke genuine nostalgia. You may try, but it is not guaranteed to awaken nostalgia, but it may be worth a shot.

• Eat something you once used to love eating.

• Watch an old movie or a program you loved dearly.

• Listen to an old album or listen to CDs/MP3 players you have kept from the past.

• Go through photo albums that contain pictures of people and moments you may still have faint memories of.

• Visit a place or a country you once visited a long time ago that you still remember as the best vacation you have been on.

• Talk to someone or visit someone you once used to know, maybe an old friend of your family, perhaps a kindergarten friend, or maybe even an ex… or perhaps not, your call chief.

• Empty your storage or your ”Old things box”, you may find treasures or items that you forgot you even had from the past.

The list goes on; the point of the trick is using sources with happy connections of the past that may awaken nostalgia.

If you try any of these tricks, wishes to you that it will awaken fond memories that you forgot you ever experienced.

Nostalgia is beautiful and can bring good things to your life, so favor yourself by not overthinking your nostalgic memories. Let them appear by themselves, do not mistake them for everyday happy memories; nostalgia is our safe of the most valuable and treasured memories. They never disappear. They are just dug deep within us; it is your job to find them again if you wish to experience the excellent history of the past.

Perhaps try a trick or two? Maybe it will bring a smile to your face, and do not forget to enjoy the few seconds you get with each nostalgic memory; you may have to wait for a long time before a similar memory appears.

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Luca Movie Review

By: Secster

Have you ever dreamt of visiting Italy and experiencing the Italian riviera? If you watch this fantastic movie, you may visit Italy, Porta Rossa sometime, maybe not but you will experience another animated gem. Spend one and a half hours watching the movie Luca by Pixar and Disney, and you will encounter many emotions put together to create a masterpiece that develops with happiness, sadness, stress, and love. You may even feel a hint of nostalgia throughout the movie.

The movie is about a young boy called Luca who spends a summer in an Italian coast city, Porta Rossa. During his days of dullness and boredom, he stumbles across another boy around the same age as he called Alberto, which would turn out to be his best friend and partner in crime. After meeting a handful of times, they decide to up the level of their adventures together and begin visiting Porta Rossa daily in the means of achieving their ultimate mutual goal. However, there is one secret Luca and Alberto keep hidden from the world in front of them: whenever water touches their skin, they turn into their proper form of sea monster’s/mermen.

Luca is a movie that fits all ages thanks to the hidden and safe adult humor such as the compelling storyline and plot development; there is nothing like feeling like a kid again, and Luca delivers such a feeling right to your front door. If you feel bored or a little down, the movie Luca will help you dive into a rollercoaster of emotions for over 90 minutes while still playing it safe; this is a rollercoaster you would want to experience, trust me bro. In addition to the plot and development, the visual aspects are incredible; the graphical design and detailing is eye-candy at their finest and would put any other animation artist to shame.

Luca is genuinely a top-class quality animated film, and thanks to the broadness of the movie by genre, an all-age audience script, and graphics, one might say that Luca is the 2020+ of Nemo.

If Italy and the oceans were not pretty enough by themselves, Disney decided to add these together and combine them into a masterpiece that shows both parts over and below the sea in a beautiful and contrasting way. You will find yourself buried into Luca as you enjoy each minute that passes; if you watch the animated film, it is recommended to watch the entire movie. Afterward, watch Ciao Alberto, an extra short animated clip in the ”to be continued” format. The short clip will assist you with the sadness and nostalgia you will feel at the end of the main movie.

Why are you still reading this? You should be watching Luca; grab a bowl of your favorite snack. Pour your 5-liter drink and wrap yourself in every blanket you can find. It is movie time. Ciao!

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OJSIG Office Spotlight

By: Toxic_silver2x

When did you join OJSIG, and how long have you been in the office?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: October 20th of 2020 which was about 15 months ago, been here ever since!

Brig Gen HowBizarr: I originally joined OJSIG on 20 OCT 20 and was in the office until 31 MAY 21 when I became CNO again! On 01 JAN 21 stepped down from CNO and joined OJSIG again on 09 JAN 22. I’ve been in OJSIG for 28 days now!

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: I was accepted into OJSIG on 02 FEB 22, and have been in the office for 4 days.

Was OJSIG your first choice? Why was it? If not, what was your first choice?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: Yes it was my first choice, because at the end of the day it’s inline with all my interests, on Habbo and in real life too.

Brig Gen HowBizarr: OJSIG was definitely my first choice! I really enjoyed the experiences that I had during my first round of being in OJSIG. There’s a lot that OJISG has taught me and I am very happy that I have the opportunity to continue to learn the skills that OJSIG offers. These skills from OJSIG have helped me become more thorough and successful when I conduct required investigations on a regular basis in my current job IRL. This is another reason why I am very grateful for the skills that OJSIG has taught me and will continue to teach me. I also really enjoy the people that I work with in OJSIG and am so fond of how closely knit this office is. Everyone is so supportive and understanding, and I couldn’t ask for more.

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: This time around it was my first choice. Coming back this time, I really wanted to try out OJSIG and knew I would do just about anything to try and get in at some point because, like I said before, it was the next biggest challenge, and I was all for it.

What made you choose OJSIG and stay in the office?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: Policing and justice has been in my blood for a long time. I study criminal justice in my real life and so it’s just something that I found interest in here at USDF. It fit really well with what I wanted and what I believed so once I got in, I didn’t want to leave.

Brig Gen HowBizarr: Being in a MP related office has always been one of my main choices. OJSIG is a smaller office and has a family vibe to it. Everyone is very supportive of each other and we are constantly teaching each other new things. Plus we have a lot of fun!

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: I chose to join OJSIG because I have already had a good amount of experience within OJFD and OJFD Command, as well as OISA and OISA Command, and the only step higher than that NCO level seemed to be OJSIG. I’ve always been intrigued by OJSIG too, I feel like there’s always been this exclusive feeling about it compared to other offices that really drew me in. I’m great friends with a majority of the offices as well, so it’s been a really good fit.

What was your first impression of OJSIG, and did it differ from your expectations prior to joining?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: I’m not really sure what my first impression was, I think it was more so a first impression of USDF as I joined OJSIG like maybe three/four weeks after I joined USDF. As someone who came from an agency, which are vastly different, I just had this general impression of professionalism and prestige. I think all areas of USDF, OJSIG included, give this off and represent this still. Although, OJSIG is less scary when you join in on the endeavors!

Brig Gen HowBizarr: My first impression of OJSIG was that it was a prestigious office and quite hard to get accepted into. I thought that the job duties would require you to be very specific and accurate, and this was true! My expectations didn’t differ, however I didn’t know how close OJSIG was until joining and this is one of my favorite aspects of the office.

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: My first impression of OJSIG was extremely positive. I was greeted by a bunch of the members immediately after I got my discord masking, but it also had the professional atmosphere that really emphasized “there’s a special kind of work that gets done here”. I think I had somewhat of an idea of what I was getting to learn many of the specifics was really eye opening and got me extremely excited for the kind of work I would go on to do.

If you could choose another office to be in, what would it be and why?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: Well, if I weren’t in OJSIG, I’d want to be in SOCOM for sure. It’s an interesting office I think, high expectations, and kind of in the same realm of OJSIG in terms of investigative work.

Brig Gen HowBizarr: If I had to choose another office, I think I would try something new out. I’ve always been interested in working in OOT&E as I have years of experience with teaching IRL. I’d be interested to see how I could apply my IRL experiences to the office itself.

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: Probably OISA. I do still have fond memories and a lot of friends that would make that a fun experience.

What’s your favorite memory in your office?

Brig Gen .diplodocus.: It was actually the other day! We had an OJSIG meeting and there was a whole bunch of us, maybe 11 or 12. We finished the meeting and went to HQ. I came out first, stood in the lobby, and then all my piglets all basically raided HQ and lined up beside me. It was so cute to see (most of) everyone in HQ supporting the office and showing themselves to everyone.

Brig Gen HowBizarr: My favorite memory is when we had Naporkleon running around HQ. But then he was placed on a skewer and was being roasted atop a campfire in HQ. 🙁

MCPO Alenyoli_Alt: My favorite memory so far in OJSIG is probably the oath ceremony. The PMG came through sentry that I was on, I got to call the Attention on Deck, and then got called to report to recite the oath and get my beret. Probably one of the most memorable I’ve had in USDF.

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Diminishing Stress

By: Anion

Relieving Stress: How?

Stress is the answer to many of our mental and physical problems. Stress is different for many of us, some will feel a stomach ache, others a headache, others will have faster heartbeats, others with muscular tension. Stress is a very common problem, especially within USDF where many of us need to juggle work, family, and school/university on top of our in-game responsibilities. Sometimes we may be burnt out and anxious. It’s common.

The most usual signals of stress are the following (APA, 2008):

– Presence of feelings and emotions such as anger, irritability, anxiety, even depression

– Pain in the muscles, headaches, backaches, jaw or neck aches

– Issues with digestion

– Increasing blood pressure, sweating, shortness of breath, and a compression feeling on your chest

Are you feeling any of these? Then stress may be the underlying cause.

However, there are many ways to reduce stress, and today I will be talking to you about the easiest ways to do so. So stay calm, relax, and have a good read!

1. Admitting you’re stressed:

The first step to reduce stress is taking a step back, recognizing the signals your body is sending you, then understanding and admitting you are stressed. Understanding your body is a good exercise to start knowing yourself more, and I want you to do that right now. Analyze your symptoms, and try to understand whether there is something weighing on you right now. Maybe your workload is too heavy between real life and USDF duties? Try to understand the cause of your stress and ensure you take steps towards working on it. Basically, don’t overwork and if you are overworking right now, stop, and take a pause.

2. Physical exercise:

Many types of research prove that physical exercise has a great positive effect on stress. If you do it regularly, physical exercise produces a substance called endorphin, which contrasts unwilling and unpleasant stress feelings and produces a feeling of energy and vitality. Even a 20 minutes walk can benefit you for multiple hours. So try to take your mind off your work and go for a walk!

3. Pay attention to your sleep schedule:

Something underrated to combat stress is usually our sleeping patterns. Stress can affect your sleep, this is why you should try to stick to a schedule when it comes to sleep. Make sure to:

– Sleep at least 7-8 hours per day

– Build a routine before going to sleep, for example doing the same things every day before sleeping. 

– Eat something light in the evening and gather your calories mostly during the day rather than evening/night. This is so that digestion does not interrupt with your sleep.

– Try to not consume coffee, tea, chocolate, or smoke right before sleeping, they affect your sleeping quality

– Make sure the environment you sleep in is dark, the air is fresh and the temperature is not lower than 15 C°

4. Listen to some music:

Listen to some music you enjoy. When you do this, your heartbeats slow down, your blood pressure does as well, and it also relieves the stress hormones. When listening to music you like, your brain releases dopamine, a chemical that increases a good mood.

To conclude, stress is a great response of our body, because it lets you understand when something is wrong and you need to start working on your well-being. Handling everyday issues, work and hardships is never easy, but with some time for yourself for sure, you will be able to get through them in an easier way. Never underestimate stress, it’s a clear signal that you need to adjust something in your everyday life. This is why awareness is really important. Follow the steps, or some of them, that I talked about, and if you need further help, don’t hesitate to visit a doctor.

Lastly, I want to thank you for reading and wish you good luck with your future, hopefully, less stressful, endeavors!

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Special Thanks to

Editors	eunbi midgetbella .diplodocus.
Writers	midgetbella Anion Chiari.cord Secster UHaileyroseU StrongTiger Yodar Toxic_silver2x
Designers	.diplodocus. (layout) :alyss (cover)
Artists	:alyss bluebell1994 eunbi chiari.cord karencita994 UHaileyroseU PeUS. Anion Alvarit0 Armando498