FEEL FREE
FEEL FREE is a general wellness podcast centered around health, habits, and hobbies. Jon Cerone, a recovering addict, and his guests use stories of adversity and comedy in order to inspire others to chase their dreams and live their best lives.
FEEL FREE
I Did a VLOG About Video Games, Anime, Health and Wellness
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What's going on? Welcome to the channel. My name is Jon Cerrone. We're doing a little different episode today. This is more like a vlog actually. Instead of doing a feel-free episode where we talk predominantly about wellness and other inspirational stories and stuff, we're really just going to be talking about me, updates on my life, hobbies, that I enjoy, things of that nature. So if you do like this type of content, let us know in the comments section, give us a like and subscribe and all that good stuff.
Speaker 1:But without further ado, let's get into a little bit of it. I'm actually a little excited about this because it's different than what we normally do and, honestly, I just get to talk about some of the things that interest me. And you might be asking well, what's going to be first on the list? And, to be honest, the first thing that we're going to be talking about, we're going to hit them with something good. We're just going to talk about video games.
Speaker 1:I'm a big gamer? I'd like to think I am, actually Maybe not in the terms that other people of the community would label me as I'm sorry, I do not play Fortnite. I don't play League of Legends anymore. I'm not big on shooters or big console games. Now that I think about it Honestly, I'm a pretty niche type of gamer. Favorite system is Nintendo. Two favorite series of all time got to be Pokemon and Fire Emblem. Now I do play some open world RPGs, like Tears of the Kingdom on the Switch was really cool. Also, when they ported the Witcher onto the Switch, that was also really cool. So I do enjoy the open-world RPGs. I'm really big on turn-based strategy though, something to involve my critical thinking, planning, problem solving, stuff like that. I liked playing Civ and other RTSs on computer, like Age of Empires and stuff, but right now we're just going to be talking about some of the games that I'm interested in.
Speaker 1:Right now I am playing an old copy of Pokemon White, so that's Gen 5. I only played Gen 1 through 4 growing up. I did play Legends Arceus. That was great, and I also played the Gen 4 remakes, so this is the first time I'm playing Gen 5. I'm kind of going in blind. I'm enjoying it, really enjoying it.
Speaker 1:I actually got a grip made for the 2DS, so my hands don't hurt because I'm old as hell. I guess you know my hands cramp up, so I'm enjoying that. For that, though, I was replaying Pokemon Sapphire, which is Gen 3, probably one of my. It's either Gen 2 or Gen 3, but that happens to be my favorite games. But I was replaying Pokemon Sapphire on my Analog Pocket, which is a high definition Game Boy, super bougie, probably one of my favorite investments I've made in the last few years, and I also got a grip made for that by Power Up Gaming. You know what? I'll drop some links to Analog and Power Up Gaming for that, because it's really been one of the best handheld experiences that I've had. So I was replaying Pokemon Sapphire in my Analog Pocket. I do have a Fire Emblem game that I'm not all the way through Fire Emblem Engage, which is on the Switch. Paper Mario, the Thousand Year Door has been reported on to the Switch, so I'm probably going to get that. Right now I'm just, you know, playing old Pokemon games gives me something to think, think about, wind down with.
Speaker 1:Video games have always been a really big part of my I'd like to say wellness, you know it does. I can't say that I haven't been addicted to video games, or it's been a bad habit because it has, which is actually why I'm nearing three years without playing League of Legends. Played League of Legends for like a decade. It's a great game. Unfortunately, it is too addictive and too toxic also, so I had to cut that video game out of my life, unfortunately. But video games are really special to me because they do give me something to think about. I look forward to problem solving, love, a good story. So that was the first thing I wanted to talk about was me playing video games. Number two on the list.
Speaker 1:Another fun topic we're going to be talking about anime, also a really big part of my wellness. Also, we don't have a YouTube channel for it yet, but my sister and I did start a podcast called Just Anime. It is out on Spotify, google and Apple where we talk about just anime. So check out some of those episodes. We do have another episode that's coming out in a few weeks where we're going to be talking about some of the newer shows that are airing right now. Anime has been a really big part of my sobriety, my recovery, my wellness, giving me inspiration to be in the shape that I'm in, to overcome adversity and also to just enjoy really good stories and animation and all that stuff. So anime is a really important part of who I am today. It also gives me something to look forward to. So right now the new season of Demon Slayer is airing. Definitely love Demon Slayer. It's beautiful animation. Ufotable is one of the best animation studios that I've seen, like with the Fate series, fate Zero and Fate Stay Night, so those were good. My Hero Academia is airing right now Another one of my favorite series, so that's good, that's good.
Speaker 1:There's a new series out called Kaiju no 8, which is awesome, and then another one that's airing is Windbreaker, which is also dope. And I've been watching one called Megalobox, which is like a boxing anime. So I'm going to try and give you bullet points on some of the ones that I'm watching. First of all, kaiju no 8, the main character is not a 15-year-old kid with superpowers, he's like 32, and they make jokes about how old he is. I really do enjoy watching animes where the main character is not some kid. I love watching them when they're older, like Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo are two of them. I did start that one called Monster. I do have to finish that one, but with Kaiju no 8, they make jokes about his age. It's inspiring because the guy's kind of like in his 30s and he's given up on his dreams and then the show is about him getting a chance in order to now chase those dreams again.
Speaker 1:But the show itself is great. The animation is awesome. The story is pretty good right now. The characters are funny. I'm really enjoying it.
Speaker 1:Windbreaker is also a good one. If you were a fan of Tokyo Revengers, this is another concept like that where it's like high school gangs in Tokyo, not really biker gangs like Tokyo Revengers, but just kind of like gangs. You know ruffians or you know they call them degenerates. So it's really cool. The one qualm I had with Tokyo Revengers is the animation isn't great. Windbreaker the animation is really awesome. The fights are cool. The music is really cool too. Highly recommend giving Windbreaker a shot, and with Demon Slayer and my Hero, you kind of already know what you're going to get. Those are two of the heavyweights in the anime community right now. They're definitely in their final arcs of their respective shows, so it's getting really interesting to see how things are coming together after being a fan for the last few years.
Speaker 1:Megalobox is cool. It's kind of dystopian future a little bit, where it's a boxing anime where the people have like kind of robotic arms and stuff attached to them and they box with it. It's kind of cool. It's actually made me want to get into boxing. So the sports animes are pretty interesting. The other sports anime I've watched would be Haku, so that one's cool too.
Speaker 1:See, I've been watching, obviously, obviously a lot of anime. I'm enjoying that. There's also that time I got reincarnated as a slime that's airing right now that I got to get caught up on too. I watch a lot of my anime on Crunchyroll or Hulu and I keep up to date with anything that's airing with my anime list. Yeah, video games and anime are a really big part of who I am and I do enjoy talking about them. So if you guys want me to talk about more of that, I've been gaming and watching anime for over 20 years now, I think. So I always like talking about that stuff. We're going to talk a little bit about wellness, or I should say, yeah, we're going to talk about wellness, talk about talk about my wellness. So I've been.
Speaker 1:I'm a big basketball player. I love playing basketball. I've been hurt for, you know, like two months I've been rolling my ankle left and right. That's what I, you know, and I'm old and playing with people at LA Fitness who don't totally understand how to play organized basketball. I tend to get more hurt playing around younger kids, so I've been definitely more hesitant on the games that I play. Just you know, kids get under me when I'm jumping and then I roll my ankle and here we are. So I have been playing. The last week I've been playing with people and it's been great.
Speaker 1:Normally when I got hurt I kind of went scorched earth and stopped working out completely. This time was different. I stayed in really good shape, had been going to the gym regularly at least five times a week, hitting different muscle groups, doing heavy, probably especially in adaptability. I've hit weeks and days where I deal with depression, anxiety and apathy, but I've managed to power through that, which has been awesome. That'd be. Another topic I'm going to talk about is going to be the mental health landscape, but right now, for the physical wellness, I've been very proud of myself for how I've come around. I mean, even last week I didn't really do anything. I had a pretty off week last week, but this week I got back to it and I've been running again.
Speaker 1:I don't like running. I really don't. It is a great form of exercise. It's also nice because it gives you a goal and something to push for and strive for. So I get a little bit of an adrenaline boost there. So that's been really great. Because with basketball, same thing very goal-orientated, like getting better at shooting or dribbling or playing against people. There's score involved with running. There's or playing against people. There's score involved with running, there's PRs. My goal is to get back to being able to run two miles in 14 minutes straight through. I'm not there yet, that's okay. So I have enjoyed that.
Speaker 1:Heavy cardio days so I'll bike like 10 miles on a stationary bike, I'll row for 20 minutes and then I'll walk on an incline for 10 minutes and then I'll do 15 minutes in the sauna. So I do one of those days at least once a week. Otherwise I'm isolating muscle groups, like I'll just do a leg day, maybe some plyometric exercises, chest and shoulders and triceps on one day and then bicep and back on another day. Pretty standard stuff. I don't really lift for high weight, low rep. I do lower weight and higher reps just to build endurance and tone. Yeah, so that's kind of what I've been doing for working out. It's been working out. I've been watching my diet, not slamming as much ice cream, because that's a guilty pleasure of mine.
Speaker 1:If you are one of the fans of the podcast and you know I am a recovering addict. I just reached my five-year sobriety mark last week and I tend to get addicted to things fairly easily and to like I use ice cream and video games and anime as other types of habits that I used to use drugs and alcohol for right. So, working out, staying on top of my, my exercise, my nutrition goals and creative goals, work, finance, like doing everything that a healthy individual should have. You also need to have some sort of release or vice. It doesn't even have to be super healthy for you, it just needs to be something that you find enjoyment with, that doesn't necessarily have the potential to turn into something terrible.
Speaker 1:Right, like I wouldn't like reason with myself right now and be like well, you can drink then because it's out of the question, I'll, I'm going to be sober the rest of my life, so when I do, you know I had ice cream Friday and Sunday, so you know I had to run like four miles one day. Try and burn that off. You know you try and use different things to make up for what you do, right? Yeah, don't get in a habit of going scorched earth with a bunch of bad habits and decisions and then keep that going for even longer than a week, like it's okay to have a bad week. I have bad weeks all the time. Then I get after it the next week. What I used to do is I would have a bad week and I would let that snowball for a few weeks at a time. So now I'm able to catch myself from doing that and it takes practice.
Speaker 1:All in all, my physical wellness goals have been great and yeah, I just wanted to say that the next thing we're going to talk about is going to be the mental health side of things, and mental health has always been a big topic on my podcast. I've also I guess you could say I'm a mental health advocate. I don't really like doing things that would consider myself an advocate on social media and stuff, because I don't like social media. I don't even really like recording things about myself, but I will say that I have been going to see a therapist regularly. I need check-ins like that. It's just who I am. My brain moves too fast sometimes At the age of 30, almost 31, there have been some OCD and ADHD tendencies that have flared up over the years and you know I just need help dealing with it and that's I'm all right being vulnerable, saying that you know mental health is extremely important. We need check-ins, check-ups, and you know if you need help, you need help. Nothing to fucking freak out about. You know, being vulnerable, asking for help has been a huge help for me.
Speaker 1:Another thing that's really important for my mental health is going on walks, and people may be like, all right, okay, that's you know mental health is going on walks and people may be like, okay, that's you know mental health is. I keep saying that like I'm supposed to define it, but I view mental health as just like your ability to deal with stress and also to have I'm not even gonna say a positive perspective, but to be in sync with your perspective about yourself and the world, to be able to handle stress and to be grateful. I'm not a fucking doctor. You can't say that. I'm literally just saying what I think it is or what my goal with mental health is, which is why I go see a therapist, which is why I go on walks, which is why I read, which is why I set limits for my screen time, which is why I try to surround myself with positive people too. These are all things that you can work towards in order to have a good foundation for mental health, and having good physical routines is integral to my mental health as well. Yeah, understanding that has been a huge help for me in the recent months, and you know it's important for me to even talk to myself like this and to continue writing. So the other thing that I wanted to talk about were other habits outside of, I should say, other habits and hobbies outside of the video games, the anime, the playing basketball and working out.
Speaker 1:Going on walks is pretty big for me. I'm on and off with reading or listening to audio books. Sometimes I'll go a few months where I'm always reading and then I go a few months where I'm not reading. I finished 1984 by George Orwell, which is a really good book. Right now I'm getting through Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche and listening to some lectures about that philosophy that I've studied and it inspires me in a lot of my writing. Other things that I've been doing I've been freestyling a lot. When I do go on walks, I listen to lo-fi usually and I'm usually freestyling rapping. I started writing poetry again. So I do that in the morning or at night.
Speaker 1:Writing is a big part of who I am and my mental health and also what I create because I am an author. You can check out my book that I dropped two years ago. I'm actually going to a holistic wellness festival this weekend and I will be selling my book as well and my podcast, so that's exciting too. But, yeah, writing is a big part of who I am Able to journal, just talk to myself, get my thoughts out and also be creative has been awesome. Been spinning poi and gloving a little bit too. I went to a electronic show a few weeks ago and inspired me to, you know, take my my lights out again. For those that don't know poise, like the people who spin fire except their lights, it's a type of flow art. It's the same with gloving. So, like tutting finger, tutting, dancing, those forms of dance have been really important to who I am and for a long time.
Speaker 1:When I was getting sober, I stopped doing those things and as I've come into my recovery, I've begun to do these things again and enjoy them. So we've touched on pretty much all the hobbies that I take part in. I even dropped a little current event that I'm going to be working at a holistic wellness festival. Some people from my high school started a non-for-profit and they're running this festival and I reconnected with one of the guys from high school and looking forward to just doing more work with what they're doing, because I'm excited for it. It seems like a really great organization.
Speaker 1:Give them a follow. Check out their website. It's a Greater Good Foundation. So, yeah, there is a holistic wellness festival at Proviso East this weekend. So, yeah, looking forward to that A little nervous, but should be okay. So, if you did like this content, let me know in the comment section, because it does help me get ideas on what you guys want to hear. I haven't been recording a lot of podcast episodes recently, and that's okay. I do have a few that are going to be released over the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that. But again, if you like this content, if you like a specific theme that I was talking about and you want me to do a longer episode about that, let me know too. Give me a like and subscribe. But, yeah, thanks for sticking around. Hope you guys enjoyed it. But have a good rest of your day, stay up, feel free.
