No matter what they say...

Hello darling readers,
I hope all of your different and diverse holidays treated you well. Next time we meet, it will be 2012! What a year it has been. I wish all of you the very best in the new and upcoming year.

Song time!

Beautiful, by: Christina Aguilera

I know this is horribly cliche song, but it has a pretty powerful message, especially in the image obsessed generation we live in today.
Christina began her career at 17, when her first album, My Reflection hit big after its release in 2000. Christina has since released 7 full albums, including the soundtrack to a movie she helped produce and starred in. For living in Britney's shadow for most of her career, she is a very successful woman.

This song seemed out of place on her album Stripped, which was released in 2002. Stripped was album that contained the hit song "Dirty," which caused large amounts of controversy for it's explicit content and sexual innuendos. Parents wondered: how was all of that coming from someone who on their last album sang about saving the big "I-T" for someone special? They also wondered: how we can let our kids listen to this? But typically as our America works, the dirtier Christina got, the more popular she became, even outshining Britney at times. So when this song aired for the first time, music video included on MTV, people were literally taken aback. The video showed all shapes and sizes, all religions and cultures, every clique and genre of person debuted in this video. Her message was clear: you're beautiful the way you are.

"'Cause you are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can't bring you down, oh no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can't bring you down, oh no
So don't you bring me down today."

With the rising accounts of bullies and teasing, this song is one for the ages. How many people, not just kids, wake up feeling like they aren't good enough? How many people are ashamed of who they are, even they are being who THEY want to be? Since when do people have the right to judge how another person decides to live their lives? That's not the America I remember. Ugh, end rant. My apologies. Bullying affects almost every single school aged child in America. We have seen the negative effects of bullying (Columbine), when simple teasing get's taken too far. So then why I ask, does it continue?

TOPIC FLIP

With New Year's fast approaching, the idea of resolutions comes about. People vowing to change things this year, that they regret or disliked about themselves in the previous year. Weight loss is the most popular goal that is set, this stat is supported by the amount of gym memberships that are opened in the month of January.
Any other day, I would look you straight in the eye and say, "hey, don't conform." There would probably be a few curses thrown in there as well. But today, I say: "Do whatever is going to make you feel better."
This song isn't talking about looks. This song is about feeling beautiful, inside and out. So maybe at your current weight, you don't feel so hot. My only advice to you darling, is complaining gets you nowhere. If you want change, you have to get up and embrace it before your motivation settles. Soon enough, you'll see and feel a change, enough for you to keep moving forward.
I know there are thousands of people out there who are unhappy with their bodies. To all of you, don't be afraid to do something about it. You are only as strong as you believe yourself to be.

With that my darling readers, I leave you. My apologies for the strange format of this blog, though I hope it was to your liking.
With love and wishes for a good new year,
And as always,
Keep jammin'.


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Sometimes love, knocks you down...

Long time no talk!
No excuses, I'm just a busy kid.
Happy holidays all! I hope your much needed breaks from school turns out to be everything you wanted it to be. Let's get started.

Song:
Love Knocks You Down By: Keri Hilson, Featuring Neyo and Kanye West
(I won't lie to you. This song was not randomly chosen, instead it was inspired by the many crashing love lives around me. Forgive me!)

"Heh, not again
Ohh, this ain't supposed to happen to me"

Understatement of the season, honey. No one ever sees love coming, hence what makes it so awesome.

(Kanye) "Keep rockin', and keep knockin'
Whether you Louis Vuitton it up or Reebokin'
You see the hate, that they're servin' on a platter
So what we gon' have, dessert or disaster?"

Despite my less than positive opinion of Kanye and his big mouth, (funny, we have something in common?), I love this last line. Relationships can go either way, heaven or hell, good or bad, or in his case, a delectable after dinner course, or chaos. One more thing that can make love awesome, or not so much.

(Keri)"I never thought I'd be in love like this
When I look at you my mind goes on a trip
Then you came in, and knocked me on my face"

Well hello, now we're talking love. Yet again Keri states that love is unexpected, unpredictable, mysterious, covert, etc. And one minute its awesome, then it goes downhill. Now I'm not going to follow the stereotypical stance on love, "love sucks!" No, my darling friends, it does not. People do. Did you know that if someone tells you they love within the first 90 days of dating/relationship-ing that it's most likely lust talking? Aw yeah, high school darlings listen up. So, when that person you're dating says those three magic words; it's only been a month, but it feels so right. There's butterflies, late night phone calls, constant texting, etc. Then all of a sudden you're hitting 5 months, and stuff is going downhill, and fast. (This doesn't always happen, just giving a general example.) Then he/she leaves you. All you can think is that your heart has been ripped from your chest, and that if this is love, it really really sucks, right?
WRONG.
Darling, love didn't make him/her leave. In fact, if there was love present at all, your courtship would have taken a totally different course. Be warned, I'm not talking situational differences (ex: we live 7 hours away, his parents hate me, she has a drug problem, etc. Love can exist in the demise of these situations. Sometimes, it takes more than love.) You get my point. In cases of heartbreak, 9 times out of 10, love is not the culprit. Don't get me wrong, loving someone even though they're leaving hurts like hell BUT love didn't make him/her leave. Always remember that.

"I never thought I'd fall for you as hard as I did
(As hard as I did, yeah)
You got me thinkin' bout our life our house and kids, yeah
Every mornin' I look at you and smile
'Cause boy you came around and you knocked me down
Knocked me down"

Oh infamous love. Running up to young girls and kicking their feet out from under them, whatta jerk! In all seriousness, if you've never felt it before, be prepared. You'll feel a little different, happier, stronger, taller, etc. Like you could take on the world, just you and your guy/girl. You wake up with a purpose, blah, blah, blah. All of that awesome stuff up there is only for the people who accept their feelings and don't go running from them like some people (aka GUYS, just kidding... or not). For the people who would rather ignore these feelings for whatever reason, commitment fears, trust issues, may feel slightly overwhelmed by all of the crap they're going to experience. For people who are used to an independent lifestyle, everything changes! They want a shared life, they want to know someone else completely, someone other than themselves. Now its not like a walking into a door face first kind of feeling. Love builds up, like a flower. It starts with a seed of friendship and flirting. It becomes a bud of affection. Slowly it grows a stem and some leaves of compassion and support. Soon enough a full flower emerges, complete with petals of memories, a full stem of strength and support, and roots deep enough to weather the challenges of everyday life, love, and relationships. Even for this gradual and slow as molasses process, some people take a while to realize it, especially those who are prone to ignoring their feelings. But when they do finally realize it, it really and truly feels like someone just took a swift kick to the back of your knees, and knocked you off your feet.

"Sometimes love comes around
(Love comes around love comes around)
And it knocks you down
Just get back up
When it knocks you down
(Knocks you down)
Sometimes love comes around
(Love comes around)
And it knocks you down
Just get back up
When it knocks you down
(Knocks you down)"

All of that lovey-dovey awesomeness being said, I must turn the topic to the not-so-awesomeness. Sometimes people leave, sometimes they lie, and sometimes they cheat. Sometimes they go with no explanation at all, leaving you with a broken heart and no one to blame. But the important thing to remember is that you always have to get back up again. You sit and you wonder how you're ever going to recover from a hurt so bad, and then you just do. There is no healing process, except that today turns into tomorrow, and tomorrow turns into the next day. Someday it won't hurt as bad, but you need to know that it will take time. Losing someone you love can be agonizing, but with a good support system, and a lot of time, you WILL heal.

All that being said, my lovely audience,
keep jammin' <3

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