I don’t know about y’all but I LOVE music. I love almost every genre there is. I could spend all day every day bopping to some tunes. So I absolutely love making playlists and sharing music. I’ve done a few of those for the blog and I’m gonna do another one. You’re welcome!
This playlist is going to consist of more chill songs. Nothing too wild. Unless I see a song that I think everyone ever needs to hear. Okay, so here is my chill playlist of January, 2020. (Not all of these are on Spotify, but they’re all on Youtube or Soundcloud.)
Meet Me In the Pale Moonlight- Lana Del Rey (This can be found on Youtube and Soundcloud. It’s also on Spotify, but it’s under a podcast because it’s one of her unreleased songs.)
Queen Of Disaster- Lana Del Rey (It’s on the same platforms as the previous song, including a podcast episode on Spotify)
It Won’t Stop (feat. Chris Brown)- Sevyn Streeter
Falling- Harry Styles
She- Harry Styles
Roll With Us- Doja Cat
EX- Kiana Lede
Pray- Sam Smith
better off- Ariana Grande
Falling For Boys- Julia Michaels
ATTENTION- Joji
Imagination- Foster The People
I Would Do Anything For You- Foster The People
I Want It All- COIN
Clouds- BORNS
Rollercoaster- Bleachers
Sweater Weather- The Neighbourhood
June- Briston Maroney
Freakin’ Out On The Interstate- Briston Maroney
Flowers- The Neighbourhood
Past Lives- BORNS
fOoL fOr YoU- ZAYN
Fallingforyou- The 1975
Caged Bird- Myles Cameron
Show Me- Alina Baraz
New Pop- Writing For Apathy
Bad Religion- Frank Ocean
There were a lot more than I thought there was gonna be, but I definitely recommend those songs if you just want to hang out with yourself.
Today, I’m taking you on a trip through the closet of one of MSA’s own fashion icons: Victoria Jerde!
I conducted this interview similarly to the last post in this series with Stephyne Weathersby, in which I asked her to choose some of her favorite outfits and I asked what the inspiration behind each ensemble, her process of putting together an outfit, and other relative questions. Here’s what Jerde had to say about her notorious wardrobe:
“Well, with all the things that I wear, it kinda stems from just looking and matching bc I’m a really big color-coded like I can not mix match.”
With this first look, she says, “So, I think with this one, it was coffee house night, and I was like, ‘Well, I wanna dress in coffee house attire.’, so I was like, ‘A turtle neck is essential.’ and then I was like, ‘Let’s mix it up a bit, and I put on, um, this like “granny gown” or whatever. And then, the skirt.’ I was like, ‘Oh, prints— let’s make it floral’, and then I added the belt… The black boots kinda just went with it, so yeah.”
“This was like when it was in winter, but it was like fall going into winter, y’know. It was cold, but not too cold. And um, I really hate winter. It is like the worst season, in opinion. (Ditto!) But spring is like my favorite season, so I made this outfit because I had the headscarf, but it was still cold outside, so I put on this cute sweater, but still wanted to make it spring-like. I just kinda dressed it up a bit. But I guess my love for spring inspired this look— I missed spring. (Don’t we all.)
I interrupt this fashion blog to give you insider tips about Jerde’s skincare and how she gets the flawless skin we see her rockin’ every day.
She says, “Um, usually, I try not to put foundation on my face. My skin breaks out so easily.” (IDK about y’all, but Jerde has DEF been fooling me. 2020 Goal: Have skin so flawless, it looks like I’m wearing some 24-hr full coverage foundation when I’m NOT!) “Um, I used to do a lot of product and then it messed my skin up, but now, I use an exfoliator, like a natural one every night, with some fash wash. Then, I tone; toner has saved my life because I have really red skin. And then, I’ll do like a sheet mask every once in a while. And then, I also have this other stuff, that I stopped using because it’s such a long process— it takes like an hour. But, it’s, um, Indian healing clay, and I found it through TikTok, and it works!” (LOL) “I swear by it. It heals a lot of my acne, and um, it’s like $10 at Walmart, and you mix it with water. ” For all you out there who have sensitive skin, or even if you don’t, I highly recommend trying some of Jerde’s skincare regimens because I see her on the daily, and they WORK!
Okay, with this outfit, I HAD to know how she rocks such chic looks without being dress coded! Here’s what she said, “So, I’m just like naturally kind of a rebellious type person, so what I like to do, I’ll stay in dress code, for the most part. Unless it’s like a simple thing where no one really cares, like maybe, a tiny bit off of my fingertips, but what I’ve noticed is that, if it looks classy, sometimes it can slide… sometimes. Not all the time though, but if you’re not flashing anything or doing anything too bad, y’know, it’s okay.”
Sis is GLOWING… with socks and heels, y’all!
So, I was scrolling through the ‘gram not too long ago, and I came across this picture of Jerde, and I was like, ‘Another fabulous look by the Queen’, but then I zoomed in and saw that my girl had on SOCKS with HEELS. I was shook because that’s not a trend right now, that’s not what’s poppin’ right now, but I liked it! I knew that I could never pull it off, but I was not mad at it at all! Jerde says this about that outfit, “So, I really love trying new things and experimenting because you’re never gonna know what looks good on you unless you try it. And I— this is my favorite color, that baby blue, so I, like, I got that headscarf, my favorite of all time that I got from a thrift store in Columbus. And I paired— okay, so I used to hate that button-up so much because I didn’t know how to style it, like it was so hard for me. And then, I was playing around with it, and I was like, ‘Huh?’ so I put it on over this basic tank top and jeans. And I was like, ‘This is okay… it’s kinda baggy.’ So, I grabbed a silver, chain belt, wrapped it around it, instead of under it. And it gave me, like, Princess Cinderella vibes. And then, with the sandals, I was like, ‘Me wearing just high heels with my toes out and everything, it just doesn’t do it, y’know. So, I just tried some socks, y’know. And a few people said some mean things to me about it or gave me mean looks, but at the end of the day, it was really experimental. I mean, I knew that people would look at me weird, but I got out of my comfort zone, which is always good.”
Although this is one of Jerde’s simpler looks, it’s one of my personal faves because everyone knows that to create a great ensemble, you need accessories! And I really loved how she chose to pair this cute, girly hairstyle that frames the face, the little dainty necklace, but with the really masculine, camouflage pants. In response, she says, “These pants, I don’t know why, but every time I see them, I think of Bratz dolls. So, I wanted that sort aesthetic and vibe, but with my hairstyles, I’m kind of limited because I don’t have the longest hair. But, with everything, the best accessory is confidence. I’m serious, all you gotta do is have confidence. And if you don’t have confidence, fake it ’til you make it. It works! And people respect you because we stompin’ on necks.” (PERIODT!)
Polly Pocket who?
I LOVE this look! It’s very 90’s vibe, it’s layered, it’s pink, she’s got the Filas; I mean, this is a ‘FIT! AND, Jerde confirms, “Polly Pocket was the inspiration” behind this look! Iconic!
Contrary to popular belief, Jerde is only 5’3, guys! I mean, you probably could NEVER tell from looking at this photo, but it’s true. And with this particular look, I noticed that Jerde pairs some of the same few items in many of her outfits, but just like her height, you can’t tell! She says, “So, you have like your basic pieces, and then you have your statement pieces. Those are ones you don’t want to wear all the time.”
Closet of a Butterfly Girl
Jerde has another blog outside of her literary blog called, Closet of a Butterfly Girl, where she focuses on fashion. I am a loyal and proud subscriber, and you should be too; it is well worth it! Click the link above to support Jerde through her endeavors as an up and coming fashion journalist.
Speaking of which, Jerde is also working on a fashion magazine, which I am SUPER excited about. She spoke a little about that to me, as well. Here’s what she said, “I started my blog in late September/early October. It was a spur of the moment type thing. I’d always wanted to do it, but never committed to it. So, I said, ‘Alright, let’s do it’. Then, I was planning on posting every week, but then I didn’t because about a week later, I realized that I needed to be a fashion journalist. I was like, ‘That is my thing. That is what I love. That’s what I’m good at.’ And that’s when I was like, ‘I need to make a magazine,’ not for anything else, but just for myself. It’s a big goal to complete, y’know, it’s gonna take 7 months. So, I started it and it’s been a really long process. It’s a really big commitment, and I’ve gotten a lot of support from it, and I’ve never gotten that before. And that kinda stuff really pushes me and keeps me going. I mean, if I didn’t have support, I probably wouldn’t still be doing it because I’d get in my head and think that it’s all for nothing. But, it’s going good; I’m 15 pages in. It’s very busy. It takes up all my time, but I love it. And it’ll be out April 20th, which is also my showcase, so come to that! I’m sharing it with Morgan Crosby, so come see her too. But I plan on starting up my blog for real, doing it weekly, after the magazine because I’ll have a lot more time on my hands, so yeah, definitely look forward to that. So just wait and see; I promise the magazine is not going to disappoint because I have been working so hard on it!
I hope you enjoyed a peek into the closet of Miss Victoria Jerde. Make sure y’all subscribe to her fashion blog and get her magazine on April 20th, on the day of her showcase. The theme is Lepidopterology, which is the study of butterflies and moths, definitely fitting for this butterfly girl!
And read next week’s blog featuring Michael “MJ” Coleman Jr.!
So, in case you didn’t know…outside of Earth there is thing big ole thing called spaaace. And boy is it filled with tons of mystery. Lately, I have been up late at night watching space videos. Why? Because I asked myself a question:
How Far Can Birds Fly Up?
Please, don’t ask me where the question came from. My mind is a very random place. But I’m willing to bet you’re curious how far birds fly up too, right? Well, it really depends on the bird(oxygen has much to do with it), but coming in first place for the highest flyer coming in at 37,000 feet is *drumroll*
This cool dude!- THE RÜPPEL’S VULTURE
Anyways, this had me suddenly curious about space. I mean, there’s so much we don’t know about it! So here’s some interesting things I have learned recently about space/ residing in space/ being an astronaut.
1. Due to the lack of gravity, your hair will stand up in space: Have you ever wanted to have troll hair…well boy, do I have an idea for you. I guess I never realized all of the differences due to the lack of gravity in space. For example, water will just float about- you can catch it in your mouth.
2. You need to exercise every day in space: There is certain equipment that is used to keep yourself strong for when you get back to Earth. If you didn’t do that, then you would be walking jello.
3. Animals have been taken into space: Yes, even fish have been taken into space. Although they didn’t do so well. They lost bone density almost immediately while in space.
4. You will see a sunrise every 90 minutes: Now, that’s got to be pretty wild. Although, astronauts have a schedule to keep themselves oriented.
5.On a rocket, it takes about 8.5 minutes to get into space: Look, I’ve been in a helicopter before- it took a good bit to get up high. All I’m saying is I couldn’t imagine how it feels to be going that fast. I would probably get a headache.
There’s a ton of more interesting things about space. I encourage you to look into it. Down below, I will put the video I watched early in the morning. It’s pretty long, but I found it quite interesting. I learned a lot just because of my curiosity. Sometimes, it is good to see where your curiosity takes you. I think I’m now inspired to write a space-themed story.
*Note: I originally planned to contain this idea in one post, but it quickly got out of hand. I ended up having over a thousand words, and I had not yet reached the middle. So, in short, I broke the idea down into two posts; part one will explain my reasoning, and part two will cover the band itself. In case you are interested, the second half should prove more interesting than this one (so stay tuned…).*
I have wanted to type this blog since the end of December/ beginning of January, so needless to say, I am pretty stoked. Warning: You will learn a lot of “unnecessary” information about a band you probably have no idea exists. And so it begins…
Why have I decided to create this post?
I am tired of people thinking that Gary Jules made “Mad World”.
“Tears for what? What the heck is that?”
“Ever heard of ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World?’,” and then the reply: “What.”
I received a record as a Christmas present.
My brain has false nostalgia.
I spent my holiday break madly researching for no reason.
I am easily addicted to music (like any other normal human being).
My journey with Tears for Fears began around the fall of 2018. I had two online classes back-to-back, and I survived only with the aid of loud music and earbuds. Thanks to YouTube, I listened to a ton of music from different genres (well, a few genres…). Basically, I listened to music I knew before exhausting myself, and then I branched out by chasing random songs I vaguely remembered. I liked the song “Shout”, so I searched, listened, and repeated the cycle over and over again until the song ran through my head like a mantra. Then “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” floated into perspective, and I included its presence because it was also familiar to me. And so the journey began. I listened to “Head Over Heels/ Broken” while furiously typing last-minute essays, my classmates mocking Spanish, sleeping, and watching Vines to the point of frustration. Yep, that is how I survived living out procrastination’s dreams. I listened to a few more songs—most likely “Mad World” (which I was happy to tell everyone that they created it) and “Pale Shelter”. And, after three hours of hanging on to Tears for Fears for sanity everyday, I sort of abandoned their music.
For Christmas (2019), I wanted a record from an 80’s band because I had developed a potent addiction to synth music. I liked a few specific bands, but I mainly listened to random songs. But Tears for Fears called out to me from the depths of sophomore year, and I decided that I wanted to know them better because their music spoke to me. By that, I mean that I found their lyrics interesting…Okay, and I will admit that I found the band catchy and amusing—the music videos that I had watched made me laugh a lot. But, yes, Christmas…I opened a crisp copy of their most recent collection album: Rule the World. It surprised me, but I immediately loved it. It contained two individual records, so I received four sides worth of material from every era of theirs (sixteen songs!).
So, part one of my journey ended, and the second and most recent half began. Before I delve into that, I must inform you that I listened to more of Tears for Fears before I received my record. I was on the computer a lot for academic work and writing, so it was inevitable. My knowledge expanded to include a few more songs, music videos, and vague understandings of album covers. But after listening to Rule the World, I realized that I had more albums to explore. Although I had records from bands I casually listened to, I felt compelled to add TFF to the group that I know nearly one hundred percent; I honestly have no idea why. After listening to Rule the World on repeat for hours, I acted upon that random want. I searched the order of their albums, and then I went through each one. After listening to The Hurting, their first album, I forgot all about “Shout” and the music videos of them yelling and dancing on beaches. I immediately knew with “The Hurting” (the first song on their album The Hurting) that I had found a new favorite band.
(The album I have a physical copy of…so beautiful.)
Below is a link to a Tears For Fears documentary I found on YouTube, if you are curious. Keep in mind, however, that my next post will cover the same information and more (plus personal opinions and fun pictures/videos).
The last-minute decision to severe this blog in half pained me significantly, but it proved the sole logical scenario. Stay tuned for next Wednesday! On that day, I will have peaked in my blog-posting career of many, many days.
(:
Wednesday’s Fun Fact:
A daily intake of chips and salsa can save you 50% off your next purchase of happiness (in other words, consuming chips with salsa can make you a happier human being…or something).
I haven’t spent much time on this earth, but from my experience, the decade of the 2010s has impacted this society more than any other decade. There’s many reasons for this well-tested theory, but without further ado, I’m just going to list them.
Music:
The music has evolved from instrumental and typically consisting of the help of more than 2 people producing it, to where you alone could use an app to make something that sounds like the song playing on the radio. Actually, no one really listens to the radio anymore so we wouldn’t know. Don’t get me wrong, the local radio can be a great thing if you don’t have Bluetooth and don’t want to drive in silence, but the music apps are definitely taking over. And it’s a great thing, because who doesn’t want to pay $10 to listen to whatever you want whenever you want.
Social Media:
“You’re always looking at that phone.” Ok boomer. My dad tells this to me all the time and my reason to keep looking at my phone and ignore him is social media. I mean yeah, is it healthy? Nope. Does it cure my temporary boredom, help me become friends with random people I will probably never meet, cause most of my procrastination problems and is the result of the great lack of sleep I always have? Yes. It’s worth it though… or is it? Probably not, but I’m too prideful to delete it. (whoops)
Internet:
This goes along with social media, but also includes YouTube, and with that comes vines (rip). I’ve spent countless hours on YouTube watching all the iconic memes we know as vines. Unfortunately, vine is dead. but its legacy lives on. Through YouTube. Also, we can’t ignore the fact that the most marvelous things in the world were created during this decade which is also dead now: memes.
Memes:
If you’re like me, you’ve had to explain the definition of a meme and provide an example to your mother or grandparents. They may or may not have understood it, but hey. You tried to bless their lives. I think Memes are the main thing that made this discussed decade what it was. It was the first time people of all backgrounds really came together to enjoy a common interest. And with that being said, this was also probably the most peaceful decade of all time as well.
Here we are time for the second blog post for the year! For this blog post I have decided to answer ten questions about myself. So, you all can to get to know me better. Without further ado, let’s get started!
List 5 things that make you instantly happy. 1. My family. 2. My Friends. 3. When I accomplish my goals. 4. My dog Bella (even though she is so bad). 5. When I write about something that has been pressing me, and after I feel so relieved that’s it’s off my chest.
If you were going to write a book, what would it be about? If I were to write a book, one of my ideas would be to write about mass incarceration.
If you could be anywhere in the world right this very moment, where would you be? If I were to be anywhere in the world right in this very moment, I would definitely be in Paris.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was a kid I wanted to be multiple things. It changed constantly but one thing I stuck with for a while was becoming a neonatologist.
Have you ever danced in the rain? No ma’am, I have never danced in the rain. My immune system was never strong enough. I get sick so easily and my recovery time extends all the way to two months.
What’s your perfect pizza? My perfect pizza would be a large chicken, pepperoni, and bacon pizza from Domino’s. Don’t @ me but Domino’s is the best pizza parlor especially when it’s fresh and hot.
Ugly and live forever or attractive and die young? This is a hard question to answer because I’m stuck between if I want to live forever, or if I want to die young. Honestly, I could care less about being attractive or not because as long as love myself that’s all that matters.
You discover that your awesome one-year-old child is not yours because of a mix-up at the hospital. Would you want to exchange the child to correct the mistake? I would keep my awesome one-year-old child and I would also get my other baby. Why not? The more the merrier, that’s if the parents of the child can agree.
If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? If I could only have one meal for the rest of my life. I would have: seafood pasta, garlic bread, bake beans, ribs, and broccoli. The question never said they had to go together. lol
What’s the longest you’ve gone without sleep? I don’t know the exact answer to this question, but I would say no longer than 24 hrs. I love sleep and I’m not myself when I don’t have enough.
Celebrity crush? Now this is a hard question for me, because I have three celebrity crushes. I feel like it would be disrespectful for me to chose only one, so I will let you all decide: Steve LacyBrent FaiyazKeith Powers
Last semester, my U.S. History class was given the assignment to write a song. We had just finished learning about the emergence of counter culture in the 60s and about how music during this time period reflected the current issues (feminism, Black Power, environmentalism). The only direction that the class received was “Write a song about a current issue.” So I wrote a song about mass shootings.
(I tried to insert a video of me singing the song, but it didn’t work 🙁 )
It’s one o’clock on a Tuesday afternoon I feel I’m hardly living because I’m at school But when the teacher tells me to run and hide I know I might be dead by one o’ nine
This was the first verse of the song that I wrote. School shoots are something that strikes a powerful chord in me, being a student and all. I tried to be clever with the way I wrote this particular verse. I used an exact time because I wanted to show how quickly a child could go from being bored in a classroom, or “hardly living”, to actually being scared for their life.
And now I’m staring down the barrel of a gun When I asked him why, he told me “I’m not the only one” As he pulled the trigger, he looked at me and said “They’ll remember me even though you’re the one that’s dead”
Each chorus is written a little differently. For the first one, which was also written first, I wrote from the point of view someone being confronted by a shooter. The shooter tells the victim that the shooter is “not the only one”, as in not the only person to be driven to kill, and “they’ll remember me even though you’re the on that’s dead”. The last line was inspired by many cases of murder in which the killer’s name lives on in infamy while his victims are forgotten.
This music was the loudest I’d ever heard Until the shots rang out, could be heard across the world The screams didn’t drown out the terror inside It’s clear I will go deaf if I make it out alive
This verse is inspired by both the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
And to be staring down the barrel of a gun When I asked him why, he told me “I’m not the last one” As he pulled the trigger, he looked at me and said “Say hello to God for me if you make it to heaven”
The second chorus has the shooter telling his victim that he will not be the last one to do what he is doing. He also tells the victim to say hello to God if they make it too heaven. I wrote this line thinking that whoever the victim is, they may not be the best person and the shooter doesn’t know if they’re going to heaven or not.
Columbine, Sandy Hook, The Pulse, and Las Vegas Couldn’t have waited even if they’d wanted to save us And if they had then where would we be? Would we be closer to a cure or further out to sea?
The bridge references Columbine (1999) and Sandy Hook (2012), both school shootings, The Pulse (2016), a shooting at an Orlando nightclub, and the Las Vegas shooting (2017). It says that these tragedies were inevitable and effected our society in unchangeable ways, though it’s unclear if the impact will be positive or negative in the long run.
And when you’re staring down the barrel of a gun When they ask them why, they’ll tell you that they’re already gone As they pull the trigger, you’ll look at them and say I know you’re gone, but please don’t take my life away
The last verse of the song serves as a warning from the victim. The victim is saying what will inevitably happen.
From what I could gather, my class enjoyed the song. I have no idea where else I could perform something like this, but for now, I’m happy just leaving it here for the enjoyment of whoever wants to read about it.
Y’all. I don’t mention my mental health a lot, solely because I feel it is my personal health and sharing that with the world seems a little too personal, but I feel this particular story I’m about to share makes for a good blog post.
Long story short…I had a panic attack at school (hence the title…get it…panic at the dis–no? okay). It happened out of the ordinary, but I have conducted a personal investigation and tried to figure out the cause. Now, I know you guys want the gory details. I get it, I get it…if I was reading this, I would want to know what happened in detail too. In fact, I would have a million questions.
“Where did it happen?
Who was around you?
Did you fall?
Did anybody help you?”
And if you don’t have any questions and would just like me to get on with the rest of the post…I feel you and will happily do that for you. *inserts two thumbs up* But, and you guys know there is always a “but”, I need to feed the hungry eyes that are looking for the breakdown of the panic attack. Since this is a literary blog, and I am a literary person…literary artist?…okay I write, I wrote a free verse poem to explain the panic attack as coherent as possible. Look below for said poem…
panic attack
I forgot how to breathe today. The air from my lungs escaped through my nose until the very last drop left my body.
The moment fell on me spontaneously.
Silence rang through my ears and everything stopped. Time slowed for me and my sight faltered. The only thing I could see were the blurred figures walking past me.
Panic wrapped me in its arms a second later. The rhythm of my heartbeat sprung from a steady beat into a fast crescendo.
My fingers eagerly reached out to grab ahold of something, but they were met with only the air that escaped my lungs.
My hands start shaking. The slight tremor moved to my knees and I soon collapsed.
Almost…as if in slow motion…it slowly came back to me.
Breath Hearing Sight.
I slowly lifted myself off the ground and held my chest. I can’t believe I forgot how to breathe today.
As soon as I calmed down from the panic attack and could focus on one thing, the first line of the poem was on repeat in my head. I couldn’t stop thinking of that sentence, so I turned it into something poetic? I don’t know if that’s poetic, but it was very relieving to write it.
Moving on to the details of my investigation *inserts Nancy Drew magnifying glass*, I narrowed down the suspects to the top three likely causes of the panic attack.
Stress. I was very stressed out prior to the attack and under a lot of emotional and physical strain. I made this the top reason because it seems like the most plausible.
I was simply freaking out. I have a small tendency…medium tendency…okay a large tendency to freak out over the smallest things. Prior to the panic attack, I was freaking out over a particular submission despite having plenty, and y’all I mean PLENTY of time to finish it. I think this could have been the cause, but I still think I was just stressed out.
I simply forgot how to breathe. Now this may seem the least likely, but it makes sense. Have y’all ever forgotten how to do the most basic task ever? Like you may have forgotten how to blink normally because you were focusing on how you blink too hard? Does that make sense? I hope it does because I don’t know how else to say it, but that’s essentially what could have happened. There have been multiple occasions where I have been focused on my breathing and simply lost track of my original breathing flow. I think this could have been the cause, but then again I still think it was because of stress.
Whatever reason caused the panic attack…it wasn’t fun. It honestly made me actually stop and focus on myself for once. I had to ask myself if I was okay. I get so caught up in things that I completely ignore my mental and spiritual health. It is almost like I lose sight of those parts of myself. In this case, I lost the mental part of myself for a minute, and the only way I could think of finding that part of myself again was to be hit with the reality that I wasn’t okay mentally per the reason I had a panic attack. BUT, then again…I could have honestly just forgot how to breathe.
Hi! So, beings that I have absolutely no idea what to do for a blog post this week, I decided that I would put y’all on some good songs. So, with out further ado, here we go.
So, first, Yours by Evann McIntosh.
Okay, so Evann McIntosh has probably become one of my favorite artists. As a 15 year old musician, she’s doing amazing. And her voice is so beautiful, oh my gooDNESSSSS. God, I’ve literally been listening to her Album MOJO on repeat for the last week. It’s just so…ugh. *chef’s kiss*
Speaking of her music, this song is only a testament to how beautiful she is as a singer. With lines like, “The way you take my breath away/I often need a medic/ If you should ever leave me/ put me on anesthetics”, you can really feel what it’s like to love someon naked eye, this is simple English. But I am a hopeless romantic and the thought of being short of breath because someone is just so…oof is amazing and makes my heart beat a little faster. 🙂
Also, I’m With You by Avril Lavigne???? *Chef’s kiss*
You cannot look me into my face and tell me honestly that you didn’t jam out to Avril Lavigne when you were younger. Like, Avril Lavigne was and is a household name. She was literally Billie Eilish before pop culture knew Billie Eilish was Billie Eilish. Like, she’s just so iconic, from her hair to her voice, she’s just so…sensational.
This song was written when she was about 14 and it’s so gorgeous. Beings that this song is so beautiful, I refuse to give you any slips of lyric because you, as a reader, deserve to listen fully to the song.
And lastly, Peach Scone by Hobo Johnson.
This. Song. Is. Immaculate. And I stand by that. Literally, it’s so versatile.
If you’re having a bad day, listen to this song. If you’re having an amazing day, listen to this song. If you’re just looking for a song to vibe to, LISTEN TO THIS SONG. It’s so amazing and the lyrics are absolutely gorgeous.
The story in the song is about unrequited love. A friend falls in love with a friend with a boyfriend. And it’s just so true to life and love and humanity. It’s just…an amazing song. I genuinely recommend it to anyone. Goodness.
Anyways, that’s this week’s blog post!! I hope you enjoyed! Which of these was your favorites? And what’s your favorite song that isn’t on here? I’d love to know!
Anyway, I hope all of you had a pleasant break (if you had one) and slept a lot. I applaud anyone that also ate their weight in chocolate. You are my hero because I, too, adore eating sugar at random moments of the day…especially at eleven p.m.
So this will stand as my first post of the year. I am going to be honest and say that I have typed at least three different versions, which strikes me as a little absurd. I had an overwhelming amount of ideas saturating my brain, though, and, at first, I spent so much time trying to combine them in creative ways. But in the end, I realized…Wow, a December post would wrap up all of this, huh. So, I present to you my fifth addition to this month series I have created.
(jazz hands)*
Ah, December. Not only did I become incredibly inspired this month, but I can recognize inspiration that I have carried away from it.
During December, I feel like I am always hit with nostalgia. I start flipping through journals and picking which dates match my current ones, and then I compare content. I had a lot of fun with that, this time, and that is mainly because this December was so much better than the previous one. R.I.P. That concludes my first example of inspiration. To put it in words for you, my days improved, and that inspires me itself.
For some reason, I had so many yellow days. That confuses me because nothing super awesome happened. I was wrapped in happiness because I wanted to; I put a lot of effort into trying. This inspires me right now, at this moment, because I feel trapped in an “eh” mood. Although life is not grey, my current day feels blue-green. I hope this changes, as it proves quite debilitating. But I believe that trying makes a difference. If, for some reason, you ever feel monochromatic and as if your insides are raining, I recommend resistance. Never sink into this open ocean for too long (unless you are a diver or something).
During December, I had a lot of motivation to live the upcoming year as intentionally as possible. This is a bit surprising because I started off 2019 all agdakgfhvwhf, if that makes sense. I basically took the shape of a disgruntled amoeba with a taste in self-deprecating jokes and tar-like pessimism. But I ended all, “wow, I like life, so pretty, much coolness, beauty is everywhere and stuff, hm.”
Determination to grow (even more) prompted me to put to work a random journal. During the break, I spent many hours bombarding its cover with stickers and cutting paper into squares of different sizes. After all of this vague description, I want to inform of its purpose: …Okay, first I have to supply a bit of context. I am a procrastinator (I know, right—frowny face). I am actually so bad of a procrastinator that, often, I used to stay up frantically multi-tasking while battling a self-induced, mini breakdown. Why? Well, I thought that I could never concentrate on a usual basis, but, when the due date rolled around, heck, I could focus for hours. Coming to MSA forced me to retire some of those bad habits (ex: I waited until the night before to complete over half of a packet…I never did that again). Actually, thinking about it, now, I became incredibly organized at the end of 2019. I worked ahead and completed a bit of homework each night, and I learned to not profit off of the adrenaline rush that resulted from a maniacal deadline breathing over my shoulder. But, anyway, about the journal…Basically, it is where I am trapping all of my goals (etc.) within. Most of them circle topics related to procrastination (such as going to sleep early, hah…hah…). But I also have topics dealing with being a better person in general (ex: reminders to have gratitude and to try not to morph back into the amoeba). It has helped me a lot, already, because it puts everything into perspective. Also, I have a few sections where I mention what I am thankful for, and it helps to flip back to it whenever I forget and feel dull.
I chose peace (groovy) to be my word for 2020, and I had a few revelations that added significance.
Moving on to other topics of interest, I became infatuated with an instrument that I will mention in an upcoming blog post (; . In fact, I am so fascinated by it that I spent literally hours researching it, and I want to have one in my possession so badly. Oops.
Also, I listened to a lot of music. I plan on mentioning that in my next two blogs (; . Inspiration from this propelled me into almost as much research as the instrument (of my dreams).
And, to conclude my post, I received fifteen pairs of novelty socks for Christmas. They constitute a portion of my will to live. I think that I have amassed a collection of around fifty pairs over the course of (maybe?) three years, gasp. I have forty pairs with me at school, in my dorm, and I love them all (I am as confused as you are).
Anyway, good bye, everyone. I leave hoping you have taken at least something from this post (other than a headache). I also recommend keeping a “perspective journal”, picking a word to focus on for the year, and listening to music more than small talk (but also remember to socialize (I know, I know) because it can be beneficial in ways other than wasting time). I hope all of you enjoyed me pretending to be organized. Peace.
Wednesday’s Fun Fact:
If you are an frustrated writer, have courage. You may understand existence in everything around you but can never express it. Remember that the words are enough, and they will not leave. The colors and textures of reality will become more familiar, and one day they will manifest in the shape of words, able to be savored.
