My Heart Aches

I am an avid follower of fashion blogs. I love staying on top of what's haute and what's not. I find browsing the internet for fashion inspiration a fun, chill pastime. Recently, though, I've been struck with a serious, aching conviction. While perusing different fashion sites, I came across this picture.

At one glance, you may not think that it's a big deal even -- I didn't! But, for some reason, this image haunted my mind. I kept coming back to it… like how a bad dream stays with you for a while, even after you awake.

And then I realized why I was/am so bothered by this picture.

It's because this picture actualizes and makes tangible the objectification, the sexualization, and the categorization of women.

I'll be the first to admit that I pass judgment on my fellow peers based on what they're wearing. "Oh, he's a nerd. Look at those high-water pants." "She'll never get a date in that sweater." "Only a tool would wear that." "She's desperate for a little more than attention, if you know what I mean."

Stop.

Stop it, Anna.

That judgment is not okay. Because it puts me into the same category as those people. It puts me under the same microscope I use to judge others. And, as a Christian, I am ashamed of that. I cannot promise that I'll never judge someone by his or her appearance again, because I'm not perfect and will fall into sin again. But I can promise that I will give my best attempt not to allow the way someone dresses to influence my thought of them. I'd like to encourage everyone to do the same.

There is such a two-faced stigma about women in our society and culture. On one side of the coin we have the caretaker, the virgin: The ideals of femininity. This is the woman we place on a pedestal and admire. Flip the coin over and we the exact opposite. The skank, the floozy: The epitome of "trashy." I wish, with all my heart, that there weren't such a double standard. I wish, with all my heart, that I didn't follow this double standard.

So much of the average woman's life is trying to find that balance between "proper" and "flirty" and when she doesn't get it right, she's immediately classified as a "prude" or a "slut." Her character, integrity, ideals - her person - isn't taken into consideration. She is simply labeled and discarded. On to the next victim, please…

I will not stand for such a system. Will you?

Addictions

Reader, please. Help. I'm addicted. I'm addicted to a lot of things. And I need your help to overcome some of these addictions. Here's a list (yes, another one, sorry.) of my addictions. Which ones can you help me with?

My Addictions:

1. Happiness
2. Pinterest
3. Instagram
4. Chocolate
5. Fairy tales
6. Pasta
7. Dreams
8. Ugly sweaters
9. Obscure movies
10. Hope
11. Fashion
12. Wishing
13. Disney
14. Babies
15. Kittens
16. Spring
17. Friendship
18. Faith
19. Music
20. Twitter
21. Butterflies
22. Art
23. High heels
24. Stars
25. Love

Can any of these addictions be justified? Or am I attached to too much?

Yours truly,
Anna

Just Checking In

Not that anyone ever reads my blog, but I thought that I'd put up another post since I have time on my hands.

Viewer, a lot has happened since I last posted. A Lot.

So.

I am not going to attempt to catch you up on my life because 1. That'd take wayyy too long and, 2. That'd force me to remember over a year of stuff.

But, let's just pretend, Viewer, that I never went away and we're totes caught up…. Okay?

Good.

And now that we've gotten that settled, I'll have to postpone any other posts until a later time, because it's 1:02 in the morning and I have classes and meetings in the morning… or rather later today.

If I don't post before Thanksgiving, I hope that you, Viewer, have a fantastic holiday!

-anna

I'M SO SORRY

I’m so sorry, Viewer. I’ve neglected, abandoned, and left you out in the cold… or rather hot (summer is fast approaching where I live) to fend for yourself without any blog posts which was rather inconsiderate of me, right? Well, I don’t have any excuses really. I’ve just been lazy and tired and stupid. Graduation’s in less than a month AND I CANNOT WAIT TO BE FINISHED WITH THE PRISON THEY CALL SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway. I did promise you a picture, right? So, what do you want to see? I’ll give you some options.

If you want to see a cute cat, look here:

If you want to see Chris Hemsworth being a hunk, ogle at this:

If you want to see the St. Luis arch turn your eyes this direction:

If you want to see someone mowing their lawn, cast your gaze on this beaut of a picture:

So, Viewer, there is not only one picture I promised you, but 4 pictures total. I’m a pretty great blogger, aren’t I? (...you don’t have to answer that one…)

Moving on.

I’m trying to plan my summer and right now I have about 4 weeks planned. 3 consecutive weeks, and one straggler. But, what I’m really hoping you can help me with is ideas of things to do when I’m home and not somewhere exotic (exotic read as Orlando. Haha. Yeah, I’m pretty adventurous, eh?). I am contemplating visiting a friend who lives in a foreign country, but I don’t know if that’ll work out – you know, money doesn’t grow on trees.

So, Viewer. That’s about it for today. I hope you don’t hate me too much, and if you do, I hope you’ll forgive me quickly. I’ll make it up to you, pinky promise (:

Peace out, yo.

Excuses, Excuses...

Oh, Viewer, please forgive me! I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I? Well, there’s sort of been “legitimate” reasons why I’ve not been posting very often…

Would you like a peek into my life, Viewer? … … … … (I’m waiting for an answer!) … … ..(You are interested? Okay, here goes!)

Well, okay, as a senior this year, I am overwhelmed with work from my classes! Seriously, Viewer, it’s tough! And with a hard work-load comes lots of other things like a lack of sleep or drive or energy or ideas for my blog.

Plus, I spent this past Thursday-Saturday at a music showcase. And for those three days I was singing, practically all day.

So that’s it. I’m sorry. I seem to complain a lot. But at least this week I don’t have a list. ;)

So, I promise to be more regular about posting. And I promise not to complain or make excuses for myself in the next post. And I promise to include a picture in it, too. :)

What Would You Do With a Million Dollars?

I recently asked myself this question, Viewer, and you know what? I couldn’t think of a good answer. Yeah, I know that’s strange. But, seriously, the first thing that popped in my head was to go out and buy shoes. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have a little bit of an obsesh with my shoes and I would indeed purchase some new pairs of zapatos (Spanish for shoes), but I feel as if there are plenty of other things I could do better…  Which led me to more thinking about what would really, really do if I had 1 million greenbacks.

When you think about it, you could do a million different things with that amount of money. So, after long and ponderous thought, I decided what I’d do with the money. (You know, I don’t even know why I’m figuring out what I’d do with money I’ll prolly never have… A hopeless dreamer am I.)

First I’d tithe to my church (a given). Although, after giving the church the money, I’d no longer have control of how it’s used, but I would secretly hope that it would either be put to a foreign missions fund or a can-we-please-finish-redecorating-the-youth-rooms fund. ($100,000)

Then I’d either buy or build new houses for my parents. Not that either of their homes are nasty or shoddy, but they could be better. ($600,000)

After that (I now have $300,000 if I did my math right… :/ ) I would prolly start a scholarship fund for disabled kids like my brother ($25,000). Similarly I’d donate $25,000 to both my high school and college ($50,000).

Fourthly I would give money to a charity -- maybe Habitat for Humanity, but I’m not sure ($25,000).

And now with the $200,000 I’d have left over, I’d use $10,000 to fund a new wardrobe… Selfish, I know, but I like to consider myself a fashionable girl… *insert sheepish face here*

So, what would I do with the $190,000 left? Hmm… I would take $90,000 and give $10,000 to 9 random, yet deserving, families or individuals – just because.

And finally, I would divide the final $100,000 into savings accounts/bank accounts/trust funds/I-don’t-know-which-I’d-choose-yet  for my future children.

So, Viewer, that’s what I’d do. And if I ever get 1 million dollars and I’m showing signs of being a greedy butt-face, please, kick me in the shins and show me this blog post. I’ll thank you later (prolly). :)

Comment below and let me know what you would do with that insane amount of dough – I’m curious! :)

Model UN is not for the Weak

So, Viewer, I’ve just recently returned from a weekend-long Model UN conference. In case you aren’t aware, A Model UN conference is basically a gathering of smart students who share interest in politics and other countries pretending to be ambassadors of various countries and solve all the world’s problems. Enticing, no? :) Welp, this one was held at Earlham College in Indiana, and it was my third MUN.

I was representing the delegation of Japan in the Human Rights Council. We discussed issues like the refugee crisis in Western Sahara, Roma minority rights in Europe, the struggle for power in Myanmar. Earlier this school year I represented Italy in a MUN conference in Dayton and won third place in my council. That was very fun and exciting and I couldn’t wait to go to Earlham…

Little did I know that this MUN would be about actually doing, you know, stuff. Previously I could get by with my charm, wit, and great hair (totes being sarcastic here :D), but then, at this one, I actually had to know what country I was delegating (…okay, so that’s a bit of a stretch, but, do you get my point, Viewer? The other participants there were extremely knowledgeable not only in their country but also in everyone else’s.)

However, I did learn a few things (oh boy, another list!)

1. Never trust a guy who introduces himself as “Tom.”

2. You can gain a lot of leeway in sessions if you choose to dress rather provocatively.

3. France is very easily offended, Portugal wants to be your friend, and the UK is crazy.

4. The cafeteria microwaves are by the bagels.

5. When people invite you to a party, they don’t actually have a plan to get a party started.

6. Even if your bus is late, you are not excused.

7. Sneaking out is not always a good idea. Especially if you’re a generally unwise person.

Even though I just listed a butt-load of reasons why MUN isn’t great, I still had an AWE-SOME time. I would go and do that again – in a heartbeat. Model UN, though not for the weak, is definitely for the spirited. If you like to be bossy, manipulative, loud, strong, and a leader, Model UN is for you. Though, politics is not, and I repeat, NOT, in my future, I like MUN because I can release my inner diplomat.

MUN’s fun. You should try it. :)