After almost a year of marriage I have discovered two certain arts that I never thought that an introvert like me would ever have, but they certainly go hand in hand. Cooking and hospitality. Growing up I hated cooking. I never had the time and patience for it and well...I didn't really have the best of instructors either. However, after I got married, I knew I was going to get over my despair of cooking or else my husband and I were going to starve.
I've loved this song for ages! And you would think for a song like this that the music video would be super melodramatic, however, the fact that it was during a theater dress rehearsal for Romeo & Juliet was such a unique and fun idea.
Goo Goo Dolls - Come To Me
This isn't the official music video, but I loved the artistry of this one so much more. I don't know what that animation is, but it's stunning. This song reminds me so much of my parents : )
ERA - Misere Mani
For a song that's title translates to 'Many Misery(ies)' it has a very hopeful message of enduring hope and steadfast faith. The story behind the music video is really up to anyone's interpretation. Every time I watch it, I have new idea as to what the story may be about.
BERA - Long Live
Now this is a video that has artistry! I love the Arthurian legend vibe it has; although, Bera, the musical artist, probably used his own Georgian history as the inspiration. It really has the makings to be a book or a movie.
BERA - I Can See It Now
This is so sweet! And I loved the Bera used his younger brother, Tsotne, as the younger version of himself!
For those who don't know, Bera Ivanishvili, (publicly credited as BERA) is a Georgian musical artist, rapper, song writer, musician and producer. However, he's also received world wide fame due to the fact that he's an albino and probably one of the most beautiful people I've ever laid eyes one! His younger brother is also an albino while the rest of the family do not have albinism. I found out about Bera when I saw his wedding video on Instagram and started to do some research on him. His wife, Nanuka, is beautiful and they have the most adorable son!
10 years online! This site has been an absolute sanctuary and safe-hold for me during both good times and bad. So much inspiration, creativity, fangirling, reviews, commentaries, politics, pop culture and whatever else came to mind at the moment!
However, I wouldn't have gotten far if not for the people who have befriended, followed and supported me for so long.
I can't begin to tell you how often I get remarks like this from people. And I am over it.
It's bad enough I have to wake up in the middle of the night to prepare for work. Then people who come in (that I get up so early in the morning for, so that they can access to the facility and all their needs are accommodated) have the alright audacity to complain about my exhausted appearance. I have told members over and over again that I'm not a morning person, however, that doesn't seem to sit well with them.
For the last several weeks, the Middle East has been in an absolute uproar due to the Israel/Gaza conflict between the Jews and the Arabs. This conflict is nothing new and has been ongoing since their ancestors, Jacob and Ishmael. Most people already know the story of Abraham's two sons and the enmity that was born between them. To give a little bit of background on the nation of Israel, in 1948 the country originally known as Palestine (which had been the supposed promised land) and was home to the Arabs (Muslims) was created as Israel. Led by the Zionist movement, there was a mass immigration of Jews from all over to the tiny Middle-Eastern country. The Arabs who had been living there for centuries felt cheated, believing that the land was rightfully theirs both legally and religiously. However, the Jews have always seen Israel as their true home and birthright. Since then, there has ensuing conflict between the two nations.
Good old Instagram, always finding ways to keep me occupied in the literary world! If you still get excited about receiving packages or finally reading that long awaited letter, then I highly suggest looking into these two wonderful companies!
I never thought I would be one of these people who spent all night tossing and turning because of personal problems and then finally get up and write about them, yet here we are. One may find this post filled with sarcasm and frustration so intense it borders on vitriol. The only person who can really benefit from it is me.
Taylor Swift and I have a long history with each other. We have a rather a love/hate relationship. While I listen to her music (at least her old stuff), I could never like her as a person. For years, I never understood why people consider her so admirable and refuse (or are just too stupid) to recognize her glamorized vitriol and money making manipulative nature she has always possessed. I grew up in Taylor Swift mania and so my history of her road to fame is much more accurate than what most of her fans know about today.
So I took a personality test from 16Personalities, having no idea what I was going to come out as. So when I read the results, I was shocked at the full on accuracy that was laid out before me.
In January of 2019 I wrote this post The Popular Girl (Not)and to my surprise, I found it to be very relieving. After almost 10 years online and I'm just now allowing myself to express who I am, my thoughts, feelings, heartaches and past issues in my writing. So often, I used writing to mask what I was really feeling; almost a form of therapy to vent my emotions. Writing that post last year was the beginning of well...for lack of a better term...revealing myself to the world. A vulnerable and terrifying thing to do, but I feel so much stronger when I take that uncertain step and let my words take over. Since then I've written about abortion, menstrual cycles, political and religious beliefs, my own childhood struggles, personal family stories and feminism, with certainly more to come.
I love seeing where people live and especially backgrounds of their own rooms. A couple of years ago there was a tag that went around of people posting pics of their bookshelves (I have 3) and I thought it would be fun to give a photo tour of my room. There is no general theme for my room, but it's kind of an augment of Bag End and an art museum. It's unique and I love it. I think I have the cutest room in the house!
Those awesome (at times cheesy) Ben Stiller movies that made history fun and museum touring cool?
While NATM boasted a fully loaded all star cast (Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Dick Van Dyke), it was the introduction of Egyptian-American actor, Rami Malek, playing the handsome, charming, 17 year old Pharaoh Ahkmenrah. Prior to NATM, Malek had been completely unknown, but after the movies he became 'the cute Pharaoh.' Ahkmenrah in all essence is the centerpoint of the first film, he's responsible for everything going on.
For what little time Rami had in the film, he made an impression. And some of his best acting wasn't even in dialogue. His facial expressions sometimes say more than words. Many of them just scream, caption me! He's pretty much an entire mood depending on the situation.
This one is my favorite. I mean it is totally up for any interpretation
What I'm about to write may be along the lines of modern day feminist ideologies. If you don't like it, read it anyway. I value people's opposing views. Lets start of with this video of an episode of CBS' Blue Bloods a show about a multi-generational family of police officers and lawyers. It's long but it's worth the watch.
While I definitely enjoyed this moment between Nicky and her grandfather, something prior to their moment triggered my not so buried inner feminist. Rewind to 2:14 on the video to re-watch Linda Reagan's rather callous comment about how she was 'so glad she had boys,' and her husband immediately agreeing with her. When I first watched the episode it didn't bother me, but a few hours later I began to think back to the episode. And the more I thought about it, the more Linda and Danny Reagan aggravated me with their attitude toward Nicky.
Was Nicky getting out of line and acting naive about the issue of drugs? Yes, absolutely.
However, instead of just staying at the table and arguing with her family, she got up and left so she could cool down. Then when her grandfather sat down to talk to her, she immediately apologized for her behavior, which I think showed great maturity on her part.
Anyways, back to Danny and Linda's attitude about Nicky. I have longed believe that even with all the advances that woman have made in the last 100 years-workforce, education, military, single success--, there is still a rather biased attitude towards girls. Yes, girls can be difficult to deal with, but as someone who has to deal with boys and girls of varying ages every single day, I'll tell you that boys are no picnic either.
The more people (like Danny and Linda) give into the attitude that having girls is a mortal sin, because, God forbid, you have to deal with a teenager, the less likely people are going to actually see the value that girls have in society.
Let me start off by saying, I'm not a mom, but I have been caring for children for almost 18 years. No two children are alike and sometimes I've had easier with girls and other times with boys. However, I have borne witness to social attitudes regarding girls and how damaging they can be for the proper growth of young women.
Such as one mother that I was babysitting for that had a five year old son and an 18 month old daughter. Because her daughter was the more demanding of the two children, the mother told me that if she has a third child, she hope it wouldn't be a girl. Because all children's personalities are based on their gender immediately after birth, right??
When I was at school, I overheard a pregnant woman talking to her friends. She was married with two daughters. One was hers and the other was her husbands from a previous relationship. She was said that her husband informed her that if she had another girl, he was going to kill himself. Needless to say, I was very distraught by that.
I truly believe that American culture still has a preference of boys over girls. When you ask an expecting couple whether they want a boy or girl and they answer "It doesn't matter, as long as the child is healthy," don't believe them. That's code for saying they want a boy. And especially for woman who do want a girl...they tend to want them for the wrong reasons.
You see, most women don't want a girl to raise a daughter, they want a doll. They want something they can dress up and look cute. However, the doll begins to grow and become, well their own person. That kind of ruins the mother's fantasy perspective of what she wanted her 'little doll' to be and suddenly reality kicks in. Your daughter is not some object that you can cart around and play dress up with. She's a living, breathing, human who is emotional and intelligent and hopefully will have her own mind. Yet, the first few years of her life were spent in showered adoration, that when she realizes that the world isn't about her and she's just like everyone else, she's painted as a monster and a regret.
Whose fault is that? Certainly not the daughters. It's the mother's unrealistic image of having a doll instead of a daughter that ruined the real perspective. You created that monster the moment you started dreaming about cute frilly clothes and not planning on instilling true human values into your child.
And that's only one problem.
The second problem is that some parents actually don't have the backbone to raise a daughter. I did a little research online about preference of sons over daughters and on Quora Digest I found some really good answers. However, I was somewhat annoyed by this response:
When I discovered I was having a baby boy the second time around, I was secretly happy even though my partner and I talked about a girl following our first boy.
As I look at my two boys, I’m relieved. I’m relieved that no one will ever tell them that school subjects, like computers, math, and science is above them. I’m relieved that they can play any sports they want in school, and that they will not be denied access to join teams simply because of their sex. I’m relieved that they will likely not receive unwanted touches, hooting at a college campus, or ass smacks at the workplace. I’m relieved that they will likely not be followed home by an adult while that adult shouts obscenity at them. I’m relieved that their bodies are theirs. I’m relieved that they won’t be called, “whores,” “sluts,” “bitches” or anything degrading to their sex. I’m relieved that if and when someone calls them “sweetheart,” “sweetie,” or “honey,” they’ll most likely mean it as terms of endearment and not as a way to put them in their place. I’m relieved they will be paid for their worth in the work force. I’m relieved that no boss will judge their childless status, while silently judge them for going on maternity leave. I’m relieved that if they become fathers, they will be given the applause and offered the support that would rarely be given to the mother of their children. I’m relieved they will never suffer from pains of childbirth. Most of all, it’s really the littlest things. They will never be told to smile, because they would look so pretty if they smiled more.
Now I understand men can be victims of physical violation and violence. But as a mom of boys, I worry slightly less.
While I want to agree with what this 'boy mom,' has written, my instincts are telling me that the subtext of this message is 'boys present less of a social challenge than girls.'
Reasons for not having a girl:
1.) Not treated equally in school
2.) Gender discrimination in sports
3.) Sexual harassment in college and workplace
4.) Body autonomy
5.) Degrading terms
6.) Proper wages
7.) Workplace motherhood discrimination
8.) No support in parenthood
9.) Being a natural born woman
10.) People's personal opinions
So, you don't want a girl because you don't want the responsibility of challenging societies attitude on woman? Well, instead of listing all your reasons as to why you don't want a girl, why don't you take these reasons and say, "I want to have a girl and raise a daughter to overcome every obstacle and challenge the world is going to throw at her."
And face it, woman in the United States and other western countries are the most privileged people in the world today. No matter their social status or where they come from, any woman born a U.S. citizen can be afforded every single opportunity of success and a happy life. It's not always easy and yes, there will be personal and public challenges along the way. Yet, women have not advanced in the last Millennium by shaking their heads in despair and saying, "The world is a cruel place, I don't know how I will survive as a woman."
If the former first-wave feminists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton read all those reasons for a parent to not want a girl, they would be rolling in their graves. The first-wave feminists did not suffer just for people of the 21st century to continuously believe that there is no hope for girls and woman.
And if you have sons instead of daughters, well that's great. I hope you're doing a good job at raising them too, because we need a new generation of good men. I would love to have a boy one day. Some of my favorite kids I take care of are boys and I'm gaining great experience into how to properly bring up a son.
Like I said on top, this may come off as very feminist. And sad to say, the modern day feminist movement has done more damage to girls than good. Women nowadays have all the advantages in life that their grandmothers did not. And yet, that's somehow not enough. Now feminism is no longer about social equality, but rather the demoralization of women. This is quite often seen in the pro-abortion and the #metoo movements. You slap the term 'women's rights' in front of any issue and it's no longer up for debate. The purposeful ending of a human life is considered murder or in the case of an unborn child, an abortion. However, women's rights calls it healthcare. The term 'bearing false witness against thy neighbor,' is forbidden in the Ten Commandments, but woman's rights would call it 'believe all women.'
However, it is possible that you can successfully raise daughters without demoralizing her femininity and virtue. My sisters and I were raised right alongside our brothers and never once did our parents tell us we couldn't do something because we were girls. It's possible, if you have the correct mindset.
I think the reason the scene in Blue Bloods affected me so much is because I see so much of myself in Nicky. I was that same wide eyed girl who wanted what was best for everyone. And for her aunt and uncle to so cruelly judge her attitude, simply based on the fact that she was a girl, was a slap in the face of any girl who is trying to understand the world around them.
