2/27/2018 0 Comments White PrivilegeFour years ago, I was a freshman in high school. I had this amazing English teacher and she taught me about life and society all the while tying it into what we were reading at the time. And let’s be honest, not all of the books were modern. Actually, none of them were, but I had my first political awakening in that class. It was black history month, as it is now, and we had to write about what we thought this song meant to us and what it was talking about (link down below).
I can’t remember the conversion specifically but we watched videos on the injustices in this world and while I’m not ignorant to the things going on around me, I was still young and in a way, sheltered. I hadn’t experienced anything personally, nor had my family-Thank God-but here I was in this class watching videos on young girls and boys being discriminated, harassed and it was eye-opening for me. So much that I started to cry. I didn’t know why, I had no words, but I remember I just sobbed and I didn’t know how to stop it. Now this post isn’t meant to be depressing or go into how bad the world can be but it’s supposed to let you know that this month is for awareness as much it is for celebration. We have to celebrate and remember all of African American culture and accomplishments because as much as we have accomplished, we still have a long way to go and I’m happy to be a part of a generation where I can help make that change. I like Macklemore. I feel like he’s not afraid to talk about what’s important in this world, especially in our society today, and he takes a stance on the things he believes in. He’s not disrespectful and I truly appreciate him as an artist. I don’t listen to all of his music but I’ve definitely listened to Can’t Hold Us more than once and I love this song. I heard it in that English class. This was what ultimately broke me down. I won’t explain too much about it, I’ll just post it down below and hope you take the time to listen to it. And not just listen to it, but understand and connect, relate and then start a conversation. Yes, February is almost over but that doesn’t mean African Americans should not be appreciated, celebrated, and respected after this time. Talk with your friends, your family, definitely comment down below, but have those ‘uncomfortable’ conversations with the people closet to you; no matter your race. We are all human and we all deserve to be embraced equally. Help create a world where we can have more than one month to remember us-help create a world where every day we are treated the same. Happy Black History Month everyone. Until next time! With love, Arianna White Privilege II- https://youtu.be/Y_rl4ZGdy34 White Privilege- https://youtu.be/gdVRlM-kSx8
0 Comments
2/25/2018 0 Comments My 2018 PlaylistHello my beautiful internet friends! I’m sorry I’ve had a pretty busy two weeks but I’m back and I thought I’d start this wonderful February off with some good music. It’s only my top 10-not listed in order of favoritism and only 10 because this list would be forever long if I didn’t give myself a limit-but I’ll have all the links posted down below as well as a link to my Spotify so you can follow me and listen to this playlist. I hope you enjoy and check them out.
Heaven- Julia Michaels If you’d don’t know, now you know, I love Julia Michaels. She’s an amazing person -very humble and down to earth-and that voice! Omg. She’s written some amazing stuff but she sings even better. I’m not really a Fifty Shades fan but anything with Julia Michaels I click on it so this is on my list. Slow- Noah Cyrus I love this song but I have the live version posted down below just because I like it a whole lot more. I heard the live version first but on my playlist is the original so tell me which one do you like better in the comments down below. I really do like Norah Cyrus. I’m not sure what other people have to say about her but she’s all over my playlist this year so...keep it up girl! Don’t Say- The Chainsmokers ft. Emily Warren I heard this on Jeanine Amapola’s vlog (a youtuber, I’ll have her link posted down below) and I searched up the key words only to be led to this. I love The Chainsmokers and I love Emily Warren so what else is there to say? Sleep Talking- Charlotte Lawrence Another hidden gem. I was just going on from one song to another with this girl. I've never heard of her before but she's popped up a few times on my YouTube feed and I finally caved and clicked...anI i fell in love. It's just a cool song and it has a pretty good message too which I appreciate so check it out. Stand by me- Skyla Grey An old classic truly modernized. I love Ben E. King (may he rest in peace) and the original will forever be number one but I really love Skylar Grey's version. Not to mention she partnered with Budweiser to help the people in America by donating to non-profit organizations to help disaster relief efforts. The video is also truly amazing so I'll post the link down below. Hurt Somebody- Noah Kahan and Julie Michaels I think I found this right after I found Sleep Talking. I'm telling you, I was on a roll that night and that was even before I knew I was going to make this list. Anyways, I mainly clicked on this song for Julie Michael but I'm glad that I did because I love it. (I seem to say that for all of the songs. LOL) I looked more into Noah as well and I like his song Passengers as well so if you check it out, tell me what you think in the comments down below. He's definitely an artist to get into for this year. Feel it Still- Portugal. The Man I had been hearing this song on commercials forever until I finally watched one of Morgan Yates car videos (another youtuber, link posted down below.) and she played it! I was so happy. I always forgot to look it up and now that I have it, I play it so much that even my mom likes it. Funnily enough, now I don't hear the commercial as much anymore. You Be Love- Avicii ft. Billy Raffoul I have no idea who Billy Raffoul is (I found a lot of new artists this week) but I love Avicii but even though his name was my clickbait, it's Billy's voice that adds this song to the list. And that beginning guitar is just soo good. Highly recommend. Tell me if I'm wrong (but you can't because I'm not wrong). Praying- Kesha I've always been a big fan of Kesha's but I'm even more in love with her because of this song. I won't get into the politics or it all but I look up to her for making this song after everything that she's been through. It just goes to show how strong and powerful she can be so all I have to say is, I'm looking forward to her new music. You're amazing Kesha! Just What I Needed- The Cars Definitely a throwback but I recently watched Step Sisters on Netflix, (It was pretty good. I would recommend.) and they played this song. I hadn't heard it in awhile but after I looked it up, I haven't been able to stop playin it so I had to add it to the list. And that's it for my Top 10 Playlist! I hope you guys all enjoyed. I have all of the links I mentioned down below as well as the link to my Spotify playlist (that I literally just made) so you can listen to all of these songs with me. Comment down below your favorites or maybe give me some recommendations for new music because I'm always looking for new music to listen to. I'm looking forward to the new music of 2018 so that I can hopefully make more of these fun playlists for you guys. Don't forget to share, comment and subscribe; Until Next Time! With love, Arianna My Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/muffen.mt/playlist/4xFKvYKYpy8i7a52DaenWn Slow (live): https://youtu.be/-rcKuKdarV0 Stand By Me- Ben E. King: https://youtu.be/hwZNL7QVJjE Morgan Yates: https://youtu.be/t0jmLniAF3E Jeanine Amapola: https://youtu.be/-ekwll5JzXU 2/23/2018 0 Comments My Junior Semi-FormalLast Friday, my friends and I went to our Junior Semi-Formal and I honestly have to say that it was one of the best nights of my life. But the question came to me, why are going to these events so important? And I came to the conclusion, they’re not. Now for those of who don't know, I go to school in Manhattan, New York. We don't have many dances but every year they throw the Junior Semi-Formal and after much debate, I decided to go. Now dances seem to be a rite of passage in all schools. The major ones at least, but this year I was kind of surprised to see so much indecision over something that, to me, seemed like such an obvious thing. In the beginning, my friends and I didn't even need to talk about whether or not we were going. It was just something we knew we were going to do but the plans were never finalized. We didn't know what we were going to wear and what time we were going to get there or get home until the day before, all the way up to the hours before the dance and it was all because at the last minute we all seemed to take up the idea that maybe this just wasn't worth our time.
The rules were, if you went to formal you had that Friday off but if you didn't go to formal you either came to school or stayed home and took an absence. I live pretty far away from school and since that Friday would technically be the beginning of my winter break, I figured, why not take that day off especially since the rest of the Junior class would be off as well? We also had to pay 25$ which isn't a lot of money now that I think about it but I thought I could save that money and not have to waste time and money on buying a dress, shoes and getting ready for an event that I'm not sure will be all that fun. There was the worry about the music not being good and then the food and so when it came down to a few days before the money was due, my friends and I decided that we weren't going to go. Later, I found out that 70 out of the 200 girls in my class had signed up for the dance. There was a big discussion about it in one of my classes. Some girls thought it was lame, others had made their own plans for that Friday night but many were excited for the dance and when I talked with one of my teachers he told me something along the lines of, high school is short and we don't get many opportunities like these to make good memories inside of school. A few of my other friends were still going to go and after I talked with my mom about it, I decided that I was going to go too, whether or not my other friends decided they were going either. She had told me, "If you want to go, then go but if you don't want to go, then don't go." It seemed so simple but it all came down to the bottom line of, I don't want to look back on my high school years and regret not doing something that I admittedly wanted to go to. And sure, I could have stayed home that night and got some much needed rest but I managed to convince my friends to come with me and we all had a great time. Now why am I telling you all of this? Because I feel like it's up to us as we grow and learn and explore through every twist and turn in our young lives that we don't hold back from doing things just because we want to be cheap or lazy or because your friends are doing it. Going to these dances aren’t important but they are if you think they are. If you have a dance coming up and you think you want to go to, you should go. But if you'd rather spend your Friday night at a movie or at home, no one should knock you down for that either. And I'm not saying that you shouldn't try to convince your friends into joining you but don't make them feel bad about their decision just because it's different from yours. Just remember that life is short and it's up to you to make your definition of fun so take every opportunity you can get to enjoy yourself. You never want to regret doing something because the worst thing that could have happened is that the dance was boring. Other than that, what else did I have to loose? Nothing, and neither do you. You only live once so live it to the fullest and have fun. Until Next Time! With love, Arianna P.S. A good friend of mine took that lovely picture of me in the school bathroom that night. I think it’s the best one I own. Thanks Rossena! |
AuthorI'm an 21 year old girl who lives in NY. I love to read and write and fashion is my life. Follow me to find out more! Archives
January 2023
CategoriesAll Anxiety Black Empowerment Black History Blog Books Depression Fashion Halloween LGBT Lifestyle Mental Health Movies Music Poetry PreCollege Review Self Love Thoughts Tips And Guides Writing |