Enjoying

Last week I spent a lot of time enjoying.

It was a low key seven days. I did a little homework. I got caught up on Grey's Anatomy. I finally finished my book. I actually sorted my laundry into whites and colors and didn't let a single load vegetate in a wet lump in the washer for several hours. I picked out some cute outfits. I scored a new pair of shoes at Target for only $11.

I celebrated a new bruise on my right calf with a caramel latte, because that's just what soccer players do.

I enjoyed old friends. We sang karaoke in a a nearly bare restaurant. They weren't even having a karaoke night but we pretended like they were. The waiters really liked it. We got a standing ovation, even though they were already standing but that's not important. We also barely had enough money for dinner, making our tip a letter written on a stolen napkin from the other table and a batman sticker and a dollar fifty-three in pennies and dimes. Aka our waiter probably put an ancient African sucky tipper curse on us after we left.

Oh and did I mention they had free pie. Apparently it happens every Wednesday. Free pie Wednesday. I like that.

I made bracelets and drank too many soft drinks and refreshed Twitter approximately one hundred and thirty two times. I watched Ellen every day that week, a good indicator that I have too much time on my hands. I also sang the Sound of Music. Specifically the song where Julie Andrews sings about her favorite things. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens. More specifically this kitten's whiskers. 

Oh and she liked my singing as well.

I gave up my computer last week too. But I spent the time that I usually spend online on the TV so that was a bust. I even watched Disney Channel which I'm not afraid to admit. I was hoping I could catch an episode of Lizzie McGuire but apparently they don't show that any more. Cue disappointment.

I even went to a haunted house. It wasn't really a house and it wasn't really haunted, but it was fantastic. Which it should be considering I paid $20 for a bunch of people to scare me. Do you ever think about that? The basic theory of haunted houses is for you to pay someone to scare you. Crazy mericans.

Every Sunday night, I eat at the same restaurant. It's a fabulous little pub that I think I will be able to enjoy a little more once I become of drinking age. But their food is good, which is about all I have to go on. And their chips. Homemade chips make me happy. 

I'm enjoying my tan now more than ever. It's almost November and I still got it going on. It's all natural which people usually don't believe. I don't do tanning beds because I'm pretty sure the top lid will get stuck so I can't lift it up and I'll never be able to come out and I'll melt like the Wicked Witch of the West.

The eastern part of the United States completely skipped fall. It's basically winter over here and I'm breaking out the layers and long sleeves. Although the trees are still completely full of golden bug bitten leaves. And I like that a lot.

Halloween may or may not be tomorrow, as I've lost track of the days. Either way go hard. Dress up like you're five or sit at home and watch Grey's Anatomy's Halloween episode while screaming at trick or treators to go away. Whatever cools your hot cocoa.

Have a fabulous day.

100th Post

This blog post marks a very special celebration on my list of blog-iversaries that must always always always be celebrated and noted.

And to just skip over any other cliche things I could fill this space with, I'll just throw it out there: these words mark the uber special words of a one-hundredth blog post. So special, I know.

I contemplated and tossed and turned for nights (just kidding) of what to write about. I scoured the internet for "100th blog post" posts but ended up getting sucked in to one person's blog after another.

Finally I cut the whole search cold turkey and pulled up blogger and just started writing. Even at this moment I'm still not one hundred percent sure what I'll write about, but then again I'm never one hundred percent sure about anything nowadays.

So I'll fill this space with old favorites. Old photographs. Old stories. Old blog posts. Because when you're one hundred years old, you hope to have thirty great grand kids scattered near your rocking chair listening to you telling stories about 9-11 and all the substantial life events you lived through and look at their confused faces as you nonchalantly mention Twitter and iPhones, all while you knit a sweater. And to be honest I don't know exactly how to loop that analogy back to my 100th post in words that ya'll will understand, it just makes sense in my mind which by the way should be a good enough explanation.

lol at the era of when I thought I would have time to watermark all my pictures

My 100th blog post almost coincided with my blog's one year anniversary (it's in November for those not keeping track), which then made me realize I should seriously start posting more which then made me realize I should put that on my list of things that I want to start doing come new years which then made me realize I don't even have a list like that but I should totally make one.

But back to related things.

I'm debating whether to link back to old posts because they're very similar to my middle school years and those years were not pretty. My writing style has evolved more than Britney Spears has in the last decade and when I read back on old posts I want to cry a little and have to restrain myself from deleting them off the blog world completely.

Anywho, I did find one seven month old post that could possibly be okay to re-share. Anything before that will most likely be a no-go, but you can read it here.

Now that we've declared the time before march as the "nobody look at these posts" era, I have found plenty of posts after that time that I totally don't mind re-shedding light on. One of my personal favorites for a while has been the post I wrote about a week after the Boston Marathon Bombing. I was so irritated with how worked up people were getting on social media over the bombers. Instead of putting so much of their focus on hating and lashing out on the instigators, I strongly believed they should be putting that energy into finding good people. Something that I still believe people should be doing today.

You can read that post here.

And I guess April was a good month for me because I also wrote another one of my favorites which you can find here. A lot of the pictures in that post are being re-shared on this post so I guess you can enjoy them twice as much. 

Also, a slight side note: I'm counting down the days that the below tree starts regrowing these beyond beautiful flowers. They literally had a lifespan of four days before they wilted and floated daintily to the ground. It was a tragic day when that tree lost all its little companions.

Back in August I wrote this piece. It's about thunderstorms and rain on leaves and other things that I like to describe with my words. It remains one of my favorite pieces in terms of I enjoyed writing it, which should be the way you describe all your posts, but let's face it, that's now how it always happens.

Some posts I've noticed that I just don't have myself together. The pictures were mediocre but the writing was fantastic. Or I love the point I was trying to get across but my writing just wasn't piecing together. Or the pictures that I shared were some of my best, but the content and quality in terms of words and letters isn't. This post is quite the example. Not everything is there. Not all the pieces joined together properly. But that's okay. The pictures in this post aren't my best, but the writing made me take a double take when choosing posts for this post.

And I know I just wrote this post not too long ago but I loved it. And I hope you did too. And if you didn't love it then you should probably go read it again. We could even have an intellectual conversation about it because that's the thing nowadays, intellectual conversations. They make you sound smart.

And I think this is kinda it for the whole re-sharing posts thing. We're at the point where we should all be sitting back drinking black coffee and painting our nails a deep deep red and reflecting on everything that we've learned so far.

I've passed a major milestone in this whole blog writing thing that I'm still trying to get a handle on. To be honest, I had no true intent when I started this blog. I basically woke up one day during Thanksgiving break and was like, "I think I'll start a blog today."

Literally. That's how it happened.

But I'm so glad it did.

So enjoy these last few pictures. Leave me a comment. Let me know how it's going.

And have a fabulous day.

Blog Action Day: The Modern Day Slaves

For all unaware, today is Blog Action Day.

In summary, this is a day where bloggers of all genres link their virtual arms and come together to post on one issue, this year's being human rights.

I was fairly stumped as to what to write about and then I became stumped as to why I was stumped in the first place, because I knew this should be such an easy topic. Human rights spans from legalizing lesbian and gay marriage to human exploitation with issues scattered in between. I guess the problem was more of choosing a topic from an issue that has so many to pick from.

After going as far as the second page on Google, I decided that Human Trafficking was calling my name. It's a HUGE issue. So huge that people don't even notice it in a certain aspect. Ignorance leads them to believe that these modern day slaves are working in the far corners of Asia and in third world countries scattered about in Africa. In reality it happens right here in the illusion of America. A place that we think is full of happiness and good people and prospering times (okay that was probably a far fetched statement but bear with me). Also human trafficking doesn't just involve sex like most people think, but forced labor as well.

source

To get you a little up to date (compliments of the Polaris Project which is a nonprofit organization that is working to combat modern slavery and sex trafficking):

The average age in which an American minor enters the trade is between 12 and 14, many of which are runaway girls who suffered sexual abuse as children. The estimates vary as to exactly how many people are trafficked through the U.S. each year but some numbers go as high as 17,500 with East Asia/the Pacific being the largest source.

And by no means do we just need to bring awareness to America's side of this tragic problem. It's a worldwide issue involving 27 million slaves. Fifty percent of the transnational slaves (meaning they are moved from country to country, state to state) are children. Not to mention, there's a worldwide total of 2 million children (UNICEF) involved in this 32 billion dollar industry (Side note: the Polaris Project notes that there are only one million children involved, but I have since learned that figure is outdated). These are children who can't consent to crossing the road, yet alone sexual "deeds" and unheard of work hours. As if this isn't one big box of awfulness, the Sex Trade Industry is also the engine of the AIDS epidemic.

source

These slaves, adults or children, female or male, are stripped of their rights. Rights that are basic and universal for all humans. The freedom from slavery. The right to be considered free and equal. The right to life, liberty, and the security of person. Freedom from torture. Freedom of thought. The right to work, to free and just employment, to favorable working conditions. These are our basic human rights and if you don't believe me or want to learn more check them out here. It's all government-y and professional with its .org URL.

But now that you're all informed, it's time to learn how we fight this global issue.

Learn

We already sort of already nailed this one in the head, but be informed. Learn. Understand. Know what's happening. Grasp what could be taking place a few streets down from your own house. An attorney who prosecutes human trafficking cases said that convincing a jury that this sort of thing happens is the biggest hurdle she has to jump over. Most are in such disbelief and overwhelmed by the horrors of sex trafficking that they have difficulty believing that this is even true. She encourages people to become informed and inform others on this industry so if you would happen to serve on a jury for a case concerning sex trafficking, you would be able to rule fairly.

Protect by Prevention

Be aware of trafficker's methods and inform children and other teenagers. Prevent yourself or others from becoming victims. Most of them are portrayed as runaways and although this is true, it also happens to every day children who go to school and brush their teeth and eat Lucky Charms. It can happen to anyone.

Report

888-373-7888 is the hotline for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Use this number to report situations of human trafficking. Learn the red flags that often indicate that a child or person could be a victim of trafficking.

source

Sponsor a Child

Poverty and low social class makes a trafficker's lies seem more appealing. Consider sponsoring a child who lives in an area where child trafficking is abundant.

Become Involved

Volunteer your time with a group that specializes in ending, preventing, and helping those caught in the web of human trafficking.

Sign a Petition

Let your voice be heard by a few simple clicks. A good list of petitions can be found here and since I've already linked this site twice in one blog post, I guess I should mention and suggest you checking this site out a little more in detail. I've already bookmarked it so I can come back and explore more.

Watch and Discuss Recent Human Trafficking Documentaries

There's an excellent list that you can find here. Also don't be afraid to scour the internet and youtube for more videos.

Discover Your Slavery Footprint

Like I said before, human trafficking doesn't always mean they're forced to consent to sexual practices but can also mean they are slaves of forced labor. Discover your slavery footprint and learn what you can do to reduce it. Also check out the Department of Labor's List of Goods that are produced through forced labor.

This list could go on and on and on. There's so much that we can do while just sitting at home at little cost (hey, I know times are tough). Shares this post. Find other websites and blog posts and spread the word. Do what you can and then some, because together we will fight this.

Have a fabulous day.

International Day of the Girl

Today is International Day of the Girl, compliments of the UN.

We as women are a group of people who have forged our way through a society that was once and still is very intolerant of our long hair and uteruses. We've followed a path of discrimination and cultural stigma fighting for the right to vote and own property and hold jobs outside the home. We've come a long way, but there's so much more land to cover in our quest to becoming equal members of society.

As many hurdles as we've jumped and as many social barriers as we've torn down there are still so many other hurdles and barriers blocking women from achieving what the other gender can.

There are 34 million girls in developing countries who still can't go to school. On top of that number, there are girls who have the opportunities and the means to have an education but are forced to put up with violent attacks and intimidation because of their gender every day at school.

One out of every five girls don't finish elementary school.

Only 30% of middle/high school aged girls are enrolled in school.

Education is such a simple necessity, yet so many girls are robbed of it.

And there are so many other things that go beyond education. Girls younger than I are being married and sold into sex trafficking and being exploited. There are 30 million girls across the world who are at risk for female genital mutilation.

It's the sad reality of what some girls live in. They're constantly defined by their gender. A box is drawn around them and any step or reach outside of this barrier is met with disapproval and even physical attacks from their society.

Even in America and other well established countries woman are still given unequal treatment and gender based discrimination. We are faced with pay inequality, sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and stereotypes that are often used to define us rather than our personality, dreams, and goals. 

Even problems that we thought we long surpassed decades ago are still troubling girls today. Sex trafficking is thought to be an international problem littering undeveloped countries, when in reality it happens right here in the states, over half of them being children. 

It's almost sad that we need a day to celebrate us. Every day should be spent empowering girls and bringing hope to those who feel limited by their gender. There's so much we have to fight for and so much we still have to gain to be equal to our fellow males.

I want to live in a world with more stay at home dads and educated girls and a place that promotes equality for everyone in a sense that goes beyond gender. Our society is flawed and too many people are okay with this.

No one should feel limited because they are a girl or a Muslim or an African American for that matter. International Day of the Girl should go so much farther than gender, it should open the world's eyes that not everyone is equal.

There's so much change that needs to be done.

"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may seem them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Have a fabulous day.

Excuse My Impulsive Writing

{This post is sort of all over the place. I like being impulsive when it comes to my writing and just play some music and let it all flow. Sorry about it, but I guess this is what I'd call my writing style if I would ever say that I have one.}

Sometimes life is too monotone.

We walk through the same motions, doing the same things, seeing the same colors. Sometimes we think we're looking at the big picture, seeing all the beauty that our seemingly three dimensional lives have to offer. 

That is until we drop our books in the middle of a crowded hallway and we make eye contact with an inanimate object that came out of hiding for just that one moment. We notice it for the first time even though its existence has far exceeded our time here. We just never saw it.

We humans are such narrow minded creatures. We see straight ahead like we are always looking through a tunnel. A never ending tunnel that few people ever get the chance to escape from. We form our own opinions and our own particular tastes and our own idea of beauty and life and who we should be as a person. We spend too much time trying to find the key to life and love and happiness and not enough time living and loving and making ourselves and others around us happy. We think too much about the shallow things and don't do enough of the things we like and want and love.

We don't see all the colors.

Sometimes it's because we choose not to, other times it's because we can't. Our minds are as closed as a Chick fil a on a Sunday making our world a muddy gray. 

To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what I see. Sometimes it's dull oranges and smooth blues and off shades of green and colors that make me feel joy and contentment and like I'm carrying a heavy glass full of happiness that sloshes over the sides as I walk, but it doesn't matter because I have enough to go around. Sometimes the whites and grays and blacks all blend together and make an ugly world of over thinking and self doubt and narrow mindedness that causes opinions of others that I barely know.

And sometimes posts like these make me feel like an out of the box teenager. I read other teenage girl's blogs and they talk about fashion and make-up and cute shoes and other things that I talk about maybe once a month. I like these things and I read about these things, but I don't necessarily enjoy writing about these things. It makes me feel like I'm trying to put my round self in a square hole.

I just wish I could find more blogs written by deep thinkers and doers and round people who don't mind that they don't fit in the square holes. I want to read about open minded people who see the whole rainbow not just the colors they like. If you happen to know any of these people I'd love to hear about them.

No more of this monotone shit, I want color.

Oh and stay fabulous of course.

Farewell My Friend

I come bearing bad news and such.

Back when I had no followers (and by no followers I literally mean NO FOLLOWERS), I blogged about my neighbor's cat who frequently paraded through my backyard. I took pictures of her and rubbed my hands through her sun warmed fur and we just chilled and contemplated life together.

In all honesty she felt like my own cat.

And if you scrolled through my blog posts from the recent months, you'd probably stumble across a few gems of her. She wasn't afraid to get close to me and rarely ever ran off when I approached, making her an easy subject to photograph.

She also wasn't afraid to bite and hiss and absolutely refuse to allow me to touch her, but we all have our days.

She was a sweet little piece of hell.

Although she was originally our neighbor's cat, she was dubbed the neighborhood's cat ages ago because she went from house to house as she pleased. We all left food and water bowls out on our porches for her and we all welcomed her into our suburban plots of grass also known as yards.

We all loved that cat.

She had a faint meow and a signature walk, an I-don't-need-you type saunter. She was like the weather, always a little unpredictable. Her eyes fancied changing colors and her purr roared within her body. 

Killing tiny four legged things and rubbing between your legs yet dodging your hand that's trying to pet her are some of her favorite past times. Other honorable mentions include running from lawn mowers, refusing any kind of cat treats, and hissing at neighborhood dogs because size totally doesn't matter.

A few days ago one of our neighbors was mowing his grass he saw our resident cat strolling across the road (the one pictured in the photograph above). Our other neighbor had company over who just so happened to be leaving at the exact moment and her big suburban couldn't see our tiny little friend and I guess you can imagine how it all played out.

The car didn't exact run over her, but she was definitely hit. After the impact, she surprisingly limped/sprinted/dragged herself into another neighbor's yard. We tried looking for her some time after but she was no where to be seen. Last night we got word from her original owner that they had found her laying on their back porch dead (side note: animals amaze me everyday especially the things they do like returning to their first owners before dying or maybe I'm just giving way too much credit for a coincidence but who knows).

Long story short, this is my farewell piece to her. She was like my own animal in every way and I'll sure miss that darn cat.

So long home girl, so long.

Random watermarked picture because I never got around to doing the rest. The usual. (Edit: after some time I realized this sort of looked like her dead body which it is totally not like ew gross.)

Farewell my friend.