*Blows off Dust*

Ahh, it has been way too long.  The last time I wrote a post for this blog, it was the beginning of the school year, and now it's almost July!

I've been away for so long because I've been trying to figure out what kind of content I want to post, based on what I really enjoy, and what I want to share with people.  My previous posts have been "Buzzfeed-esque", which were fun to write, but lately, I've been realizing how passionate I am about different issues, and that I shouldn't be afraid to discuss my opinions or share a deeper and more insightful side of me.

I am the first to admit that I am a very...scared person.  I'm a perfectionist, so many times I am fearful that my efforts to do something different won't be taken the way I want, or that I'll fail.  But failure only occurs when you don't even bother trying.  SO I need to force myself to stop thinking so much, and do what I want.  Because that's when I'll see results.  That's when I'll be more successful--even if I fail.  If that makes sense.

I literally need to read this every day of my life.

But anyway, the first issue that I want to tackle, is that of the "real" woman.  I wrote a previous post on the concept of "beauty" as a whole (check it out here), but this one is geared more toward my ladies, and the obsession society seems to have with our bodies.

I've always been pretty comfortable with my body, even though the people around me may not have felt the same way about how I looked.  I grew up, especially in high school, being called "skinny". And I don't mean the "Wow, you're so skinny and beautiful".  No, the word "skinny" often shot out of people's mouths like venom; it was a distasteful, ugly word, and without a doubt, an insult.  This is because people (both men and women) have this notion that women have to have a certain body, certain attributes that fit their idea of beautiful.  Because "only real women have curves", or "why have a skinny girl when you can have a girl with a real body?".  Excuse me, what????

Everyone has their preferences when it comes to what they find attractive, but there doesn't have to be an either or.  We were all created without error, and if that means that some of us are on one end of the spectrum, some of us are on the other end, and some are sitting in the middle, that doesn't make any of us less of a woman, or less beautiful, capable, interesting, or amazing than the next.  We are all trying to navigate through life the best way we can, and don't need the added stress of trying to live up to the (impossible) expectations of people who don't matter.

We all deserve encouragement, love, and acceptance from not only others, but ourselves, and that comes from knowing that our outer appearance--our size, our clothes, if we choose to put on makeup or not--should not deter from who we are as individuals, and what we have to offer the world.  I just really wanted to remind all the women out there, myself included, that although we should take pride in how we look, and be confident in our bodies and whatnot, we are REAL women regardless of all of it.  We should bring each other up, and remember that beauty isn't one universal look.  Live your life with love: love for others and love for yourself.


I also filmed a video to accompany this post that can be viewed below:

Thank you to those who are reading this, and yay for my resurrected blog!  Consider this a transition period, as I begin to delve into more personal, thoughtful posts, that will hopefully encourage, inspire, and entertain you all (I still have my impeccable sense of humour dontcha know!).

Have a great week (it's Saturday, so like, have a great weekend?  But there's only one day left of the weekend...I don't know)!!!

I Wish there was Another Word for "Beautiful"

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Earlier this week, I did something I never thought I'd be able to do (at least not yet): I went out in public with no makeup on.  Some people may think that's stupid, or that people who can't be fresh faced are conceited or whatever.  But I, like many people, have acne scars, and they can be embarrassing. They made me feel uncomfortable showing my face for almost six years.  However, a couple weeks ago, I did a chemical peel, which causes your old skin to peel off, and reveal clearer, new skin.  And let me tell you, that was the most torturous week ever (It didn't hurt or anything, but I had to stay home for a week straight...talk about stir crazy!).  Even though I did the peel, the scars were not completely faded, and my skin was nowhere close to being flawless (Beyoncé voice).  Nevertheless, I applied my sunscreen, put on a baseball cap and sunglasses, mustered up courage, and headed out the door.  

I had to wait 10 minutes before the bus came.  This meant I had to stand there, outside, where someone I knew could see me and be alarmed at the sight of my face (everyone has only seen me with makeup on).  But no one I knew showed up, and no one took particular interest in me or what I looked like.  This went on for the rest of the journey.  In fact, when I realized that people didn't really care about my appearance, I started gaining a little bit of confidence.  I spoke to sales associates, stopped tugging so much on my cap...I even took my sunglasses off!  After a while, I looked at this as an accomplishment.  I had built up the courage to go out in public showing the real me!

This got me thinking about the people who have insecurities they can't hide, no matter how hard they try: a birth mark, an undesirable facial feature, or even their weight.  I have a greater respect for these people.  Everyday, they have to get out of bed and step into the public eye, being, or at least acting like they are comfortable in their own skin.  Some people may decide to ignore them, or make fun of them because something they can't change.  But they still have to live their lives and choose to be happy.

Sometimes it feels impossible to embrace our flaws, but even the most gorgeous person alive has his/her insecurities.  Everyone has something they scrutinize in the bathroom mirror.  And despite society's idea that we all have to look and have the same idea of "pretty" in order to be accepted, for the most part, people will accept you regardless of what you think is "ugly" or "unattractive" about yourself.  There's no point stressing ourselves out, trying to look a certain way for people who will criticize or put us down anyway.  I mean, we all want to look nice, be complimented, and receive "likes" on our photos, but getting "likes" on Instagram of Facebook isn't everything.  What's most important is how we feel and who we are on the inside.  That way, our internal confidence and positivity can radiate outward, impacting people's lives, rather than attempting to satisfy judgemental eyes.

I truly admire people who accept their imperfections.  There is just something about someone who knows they are beautiful from the inside out, and that the people who know it too are the only ones worth their time.  I guess the point of this long ramble is that although we are ALL beautiful, we ALL have something more to offer the world than physical beauty (and if you don't believe me, just listen to my bby J. Cole's song Crooked Smile).

I've never written a "personal" blog post, but I wanted to post something different this week.  This is really long, probably reeeaally poorly written, and not everyone will agree or enjoy it, but there's no point in gaining a new perspective first-hand, if you can't share it with people who might be interested or impacted (also, the title has nothing to do with the actual blog post but wutevs).

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Be nice and inspire the people you meet, and remember, "calling other people ugly doesn't make you any prettier"!

Don't forget to check me out and follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.  Have the best weekend ever!

Lena and Jezebel and Vogue, Oh my! Why I'm Still Confused About the Situation

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!! Jezebel.com reports that Lena Dunham received serious touch up work for her cover and photo spread in Vogue.  These major alterations include her dress' neckline raised, a "smile" line disappearing from her face, her waist raised (even though she is wrapped up in a blanket and her waist isn't visible), AND she was in fact NOT in the middle of the street for one of the shots when that's clearly what Vogue is portraying! This is an outrag--wait, did I miss something here?

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Body image continues to be a huge issue among women and fashion industry professionals. Magazines and designers have even been slammed for doing too much retouching on photoshoots and magazine covers, as well as having the same slim, young, caucasian model walk down countless runways.  

All that said, most of us know about the whole debacle that went down with Jezebel criticizing Vogue's photoshop work, and many people voiced their opinions and responses on the situation, whether on Twitter, Facebook, or directly in the comments section of Jezebel's article.  And now it's time to state what I think!  And I, like the majority, still don't understand the controversy surrounding this photoshoot, and I'll tell you why.

1. Photography is art

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Even though it's not produced on a canvas, photographers have visions of themes they want to see played out, and their photos are seen as artwork.  However, not everything in this world is within reach.  Photoshop allows visions to come to life in order to strike a nerve and resonate with audiences.  What I'm trying to say is if they could not get that bird to stay on Dunham's head long enough to take 80 shots, I absolutely give my consent for it to be edited perfectly on her head by computer software if they so please.

2. What's wrong with editing??

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When I write essays, I get my mom to edit my work in order to come with a more sophisticated way to say what I want to say, and create a polished piece.  I'm even going to edit this post!  I'm not saying editing someone's body is as harmless as editing an essay, but I kind of am.  In both cases, the essence of the original person is still there; it is merely enhanced, with the editor tweaking, removing or adding some things that the original writer, (model, photographer, etc.) may have forgotten, changing the wording (or lighting), and finishing with a product that everyone is proud of (except Jezebel I guess).  It's also no more dramatic than choosing an Instagram filter that camouflages a pimple or makes your eyes stand out. I know we've all used those tricks!

3. Was Jezebel's article more offensive than the retouching itself?

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The fact that Jezebel went to such lengths to get a hold of unedited photos may suggest to some people that they didn't believe Dunham could have looked that good without her photos being touched up.  And that's possibly even more offensive than the retouching itself! Oops.

4. Going to extremities

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Is this shoot really being analyzed to the point where we should be appalled that Vogue swapped Dunham's pic background from a storefront, to a crosswalk?  Is this discrimination towards store fronts everywhere? Is it time to make protest posters and boycott storefronts????!!!  Yeah, I think I'll pass.  

5. Negative comments are going to happen regardless

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I'm 100% sure that if the shoot had in fact been totally unedited, people would still have negative things to say.  There may have been tweets like "wow, they should have raised her dress' neckline!" Or "that smile line makes her look weird" and "I really think this photo would have been complete with a bird on top of her head".  Regardless of the photos themselves, people look for something to criticize. 

6. Lena Dunham is confused as well

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Her tweet about the "ridiculousness" of the situation just shows that she's not into the pettiness of the media, she's confident in who she is, and that she's happy with how the pictures turned out.  She even made an even longer response to Slate.com, stating that Vogue had supported her, that the editors were accommodating and understanding of who she was, and styled her in a way to depict that.  She even thanked Vogue magazine! 

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In conclusion, freedom of speech is celebrated, and so is fighting for a more open idea of beauty--it is needed in our society, and I love how more and more websites and publications are starting and surfacing for this specific purpose.  But as much as Jezebel tried (and is still trying) to justify their reason for the article, I think maybe they missed the mark with this one, and have people wondering if this was done genuinely, or merely out of spite.

Is there a "right" and "wrong" situation?  Was this a genuine effort to raise awareness about genuine beauty?  What do you think?

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