My New Crush

I have a new crush.

I just met him last night.

He is passionate, intelligent, and great with words.

A friend of mine introduced us... via YouTube. ;)

Ok, so I'm not holding my breath for a date with him any time soon but a girl can dream, right? ;) 

Y'all can meet him too... and fall in love with his poems (inspiring, energizing slam poetry style... not sappy stuff) because he is that great. Seriously, I hope y'all check him out.

His name is Rafael Casal and he is a def poet. 

The first video of his that I ever watched (thanks Lindsey!) is called Barbie and Ken 101. It has to do with media's misrepresentation of women which has been my interest lately with my Capstone focus. It is so great to hear a guy speak out against this :)

This one is called My Miller Chill and it is also about marketing. He has some really great lines by the end so watch it all the way through...

This one is my FAVORITE!!! It is called A.D.D. and seems a bit random at first but ties in. There are some crazy statistics and an incredibly wonderful final line.

And if you haven't been bitten by the lovebug yet after watching his fantastic videos, that is fine by me... I'll have less competition for that first date of ours...  ;)

STUDY BREAK: My 3 New Favorite YouTube Videos :)

• I have 3 papers due within the next 2 days. 

• I have spent 7 HOURS in the library... today alone 

• Tonight might be the first time I have pulled an all-nighter in college

So, obviously, I had to take a couple YouTube breaks; here is what I found: 

1. This one, I promise, was related to school; I was doing research for my paper on Gender and the Media. This video replaced my previous favorite by Dove. It seriously is FABULOUS!!! And it is under 90 seconds so your study break can be quick too ;)
2. This one is unrelated to school BUT full of very interesting facts so you can still learn something ;)
3. At this point, I have no excuse. This one is just preciously awkward and a good mental break! Plus it has stupendous quotes... get excited!!! 

I hope school is not overwhelming you and that if it is, this provided a good study break for you :)

Love Your Body - yesteday, today, EVERY day

Too fat. Too flabby. Too short. Too tall. Small boobs. Big belly. Pimply. Hairy. Flat butt. Fat butt. UGLY.


This is no dark Dr. Seuss tale of One Girl, Two Girl, Ugly Girl, Pretty Girl.

For many of us, it is a daily dialogue with ourselves. Because we don't feel good enough.

We NEVER feel good enough.

Why is that?

There are a host of reasons but I believe the media is a huge culprit.

Take this short quiz (only 10 questions) to see if you agree. If you don't agree as of now, I feel like you will by the end of the quiz. Seriously, take it.

How did you do?

I'm embarrassed to say I didn't make a 100% (I missed 2) since I have been focused on this topic all semester for my WGS Capstone class. I chose this topic because, though I haven't suffered from an eating disorder myself, I have lived with and talked with several friends who have.

In an attempt to combat the issue of self-hatred (like the list above) and eating disorders, I embraced as my activism and educational project the Love Your Body Campaign.

Yesterday, October 20th, was the National Organization for Women's Love Your Body Day.

I made flyers and, with the help of CofC's NOW and Peer Counselors, handed out candy and zines. I also created complement cards to spread the love and encourage self-acceptance; They said things like "You look lovely today," "You are funny," and "You are very intelligent."

The most fun aspect of bringing the Love Your Body campaign to campus was having people create their own "Love Labels." I simply bought a bunch of blank labels and pretty colored pens and had people write "I love my body" or whatever else they'd like to put. Make your own!!!

Some of the Love Labels included:

• I love ALL of me
• I love how short I am 
• I love my butt
• I love my legs
• I love my boobs
• I love my smile (from a girl with braces... how fantastic!)
• I love my beard
• I love my whole body

It was great fun but, I must admit that much of my campaign boiled down to my presentation on media literacy. 

I included my own slides (which will likely show up in subsequent blogposts) but my presentation centered around NOW's Love Your Body Campaign official powerpoint. It was so fabulous that I honestly didn't feel I could create one any better.

So, obviously, I think y'all should check it out. Seriously. Don't be intimidated by the number of slides; it is a lot of images so it doesn't take long.

K, really. Did you view it? I. HOPE. SO.

And if you are now thoroughly pissed off, as I suspect you are, check out these 20 Ways to Be a Media Activist.

But most of all, realize that the media just wants your money.

The way they get that is by using a simple formula:

Step 1: The media creates unattainable, "perfect" images of so-called-beauty

Step 2: We end up feeling not good enough

Step 3: We are eager to buy their products that supposedly provide that "perfect" beauty

Step 4: We give them our money but their products never allow us to reach their false image of "perfect beauty"

Step 5: Repeat the vicious cycle. And feel like crap. 

This leads to self-hatred talk:
Too fat. Too flabby. Too short. Too tall. Small boobs. Big belly. Pimply. Hairy. Flat butt. Fat butt. UGLY.

Don't let it.

Fight back.


LOVE. YOUR. BODY. (Here are 7 Ways to do so right now).

And not just on Love Your Body Day but EVERY day.

Embrace YOUR own, one-of-a-kind, absolutely stunning body and beauty. 

The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently - an awesome poem

The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently

- Thomas Lux

is not silent, it is a speaking-
out-loud voice in your head: is it spoken,
a voice is saying it
as you read. It's the writer's words,
of course, in a literary sense
his or her voice, but the sound
of that voice is the sound of your voice.
Not the sound your friends know
or the sound of a tape played back
but your voice
caught in the dark cathedral
of your skull, your voice heard
by an internal ear informed by internal abstracts
and what you know by feeling,
having felt. It is your voice
saying, for example, the word barn
that the writer wrote
but the barn you say
is a barn you know or knew. The voice
in your head, speaking as you read,
never says anything neutrally — some people
hated the barn they knew,
some people love the barn they know
so you hear the word loaded
and a sensory constellation
is lit: horse-gnawed stalls,
hayloft, black heat tape wrapping
a water pipe, a slippery
spilled chirr of oats from a split sack,
the bony, filthy haunches of cows. . . .
And barn is only a noun — no verb
or subject has entered into the sentence yet!
The voice you hear when you read to yourself
is the clearest voice: you speak it
speaking to you.

How do you spend your seconds?

When our life is out of balance, disaster is just around the corner. - Mary Southerland

I feel like my life has been a spinning top, turning round and round, wobbling out of control.

Someone lied to me: They told me senior year was going to be easy. 

WRONG. I have had obligation after obligation after stress after stress after stress... 

spinning and spinning

Whether you are in your senior year of college or not, I'm sure you, at least occasionally, can relate.

We all have what seem to be never-ending tasks that take up our time: meetings, laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

The perpetual to-do list.

When was the last time you stopped, got off the merry-go-round and out of the fast lane to take a long, hard look at your life? - Mary Southerland

We are all so rushed: Running from class to meeting to event to the library to work to work out, etc.

spinning and spinning

Even fun things fill up our time: coffee dates, walk and talks, dinners, movies, games, plays, etc.

spinning and spinning

Every morning we are credited with 86,400 seconds. No balance is carried into the next day and every night erases what we fail to use. - Mary Southerland 

We don't get to rewind and re-do our days. Life is not like Groundhog Day.

Each day is what we make of it. Or don't make of it.

Are you intentional in how you spend the seconds of your day? It seems a little silly to worry about seconds but seconds become minutes which become hours which become days and months and years.

Time WILL fly by, if we let it.

Take, for example, Facebook. Hello. I hate how seconds become minutes or an hour whenever I log in. I would much prefer spending that time with my friends face-to-face or perhaps should spend that time working on homework or grad-school applications.

Really though, how do you spend the seconds of your day?

Is it time well spent?

Learn to invest your time instead of just spending it or allowing others to steal it - Mary Southerland

My brother recently shared a story that illustrated this perfectly:

I called him on my way to take an exam, just to leave a voicemail explaining that I would call him later, as I expected at that time that he was in class.

I was surprised to hear him answer: "Hello," he said.

"Hey," I responded, "I thought you were in class. What are you up to?"

No lie; the next words to come out of his mouth were "promise you won't tell mom?"

Now, I should clarify, my brother is not the type to find himself in trouble or in jail or any of the other awful options that immediately played through my mind BUT I was expecting something pretty rough as I answered: "I promise."

"I'm in Nashville, Tennessee," he declared.

Seemingly benign unless you know, as I did, that he was supposed to be in class on the campus of Clemson University, 5 hours away.

At this point, all of my last minute reviewing for my test was useless as my notes were now the last thing on my mind! 

He went on to explain that he drove there with a few friends, leaving spontaneously at 1:00 am so that they could visit the home of one of his friends who was soon to depart for an indefinite mission trip overseas.

Though completely out of character for him to take off on such an unplanned, ill-timed adventure, he reasoned it as follows:

"How many classes have I missed?" - none

"Will I really remember sitting in this class years from now?" - no

"Will I be able to get notes and make up what I miss in class?" - yes

"Will I get this chance again or be able to make up this trip to Nashville?" - no, never

"Will I ever see my friend again?" - maybe, though, probably not

"What would I enjoy more?" - seeing my friend and visiting a new city

"What is more important?" - taking this opportunity, investing this time

So he took off to Tennessee and didn't waste away his time or let the stress of school steal away his seconds. [Disclaimer: I don't' condone skipping classes ;) This, however, was too good and rare of an opportunity to pass up]

Have you let any good or rare opportunities pass you by?

Are your seconds just spinning and spinning away?

Don't let them.

Invest. Your. Seconds.