That one thing for the new School Year(:

That one thing<3 Gotta love 1D


Okay so I have once again been gone for a very long while....and I am sorry but between my own confidence issues and enjoying summer I really didn't have the time or words to put into a blog. I have more [bittersweet] news....I will be gone this week (Aug. 20-24) being a camp counselor for CAMP HOPE<3 It will be a really great experience but I will not be able to blog at all. I do, however, think going to this camp will inspire and motivate me to blog more often. So now....ONTO THE BLOG(:
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School will be starting soon everyone!!! And it may have started for a few of you already! So first day of school you will wake up and make sure you have your backpack/bag, pens and pencils, paper, binder, cute new clothes, hair done all nice, and that attitude of hanging onto every last piece of summer. But one thing you cannot forget to pack, especially if it is a super big day like mine (last first day of high school CLASS OF 2013 or maybe your first day of high school CLASS OF 2016), is your CONFIDENCE. It is the number one thing that will help you through your stressful first week and maybe even grab the attention of that cute guy/girl you saw in first period;)

My advice for keeping this confidence not only the first week but all year is to have "that one thing." Have a go to ____ that whenever you see it you remember to keep your head up high. I actually have a few things like this only because they are mostly jewelry and I can't always wear them. I have a rubber bracelet that actually says confidence, a pair of flower earrings that I adore, and my new favorite chapstick that is flavored so deliciously!!! These reminders don't have to be physical either. Some days I wake up and put on some uplifting music that puts me in a great mood in the morning that lasts all day(: Sometimes I write sappy teenage poetry or sing badly at the top of my lungs dramatically on my balcony.(: Even volunteer work can help if that's what makes you happy! It is all up to you!!!

And, like I always say, when you are confident it is a lot easier to pass it on. I'm sorry but I have a lot of friends who are very insecure and I love them but I won't go to them when I am feeling insecure because I just get empty reassurance. You cannot reassure someone if you aren't sure enough yourself because you end up telling others what they want to hear instead of something that can truly help.
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ANOTHER BACK TO SCHOOL TIP::::
Okay so we all make those "New Year's Resolutions" that maybe last until mid-February if you really stick with them :P I am guilty of doing it to, but I honestly think the best time to make these resolutions is at the beginning of a new school year(: Think about it: you have a brand new beginning, new teachers, new classrooms, you make new friends, see new people. You have the chance for a life makeover! So in spirit of this I have made 7 "back to school resolutions"(:
1- Blog at least once a week
2- Vlog at least once a week (YES! The vlog is coming!!!)
3- Start a personal blog to get through the tough times
4- Dress in a way that makes me feel good!
5- Get all A's on my first report card of Senior year!!
6- STOP PROCRASTINATING!
7- Join at least 2 more clubs this year

So I challenge you to do the same(: Comment your list of them below or email them to me at ourbeautifulselves@gamil.com or even facebook them to me if you are on my personal facebook(:
Have a great rest of the summer and an even better school year!!!!
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:) Sorry I just had to<3
STAY BEAUTIFUL AND LET LIFE HAPPEN <3
Check out my best friends new blog(: She is great with words----> emmaknowsall17.blogspot.com

Photo-Stop

          In the August issue of Seventeen Magazine, editor-in chief Ann Shoket has made a promise to her teen readers.  The promise comes in the form of a “Body Peace Treaty,” vowing to “never change girls’ body or face shapes” with photoshop or airbrushing.  Pinned side by side were two nearly identical pictures detailing in red ink the exact changes made to a photograph before it reaches the glossy pages of Seventeen magazine: clearing a loose hair or two, removing a visible bra strap, smoothing clothing folds and changing the color of a drape in the background.  The entire page is signed two X’s, two O’s and a single, friendly A for Ann Shoket, as though the entire thing was passed between friends through folded notes over an Elementary school desk.
          Julia Bluhm, the fourteen year old girl who inspired this promise with her petition and mock photo shoot, is claiming a victory for girls everywhere, and few, including myself, are going to argue with her.  And now a new set of girls, seventeen year old Emma Stydahar and sixteen year old Carina Cruz, are following Bluhm’s momentum and asking Teen Vogue to take a similar promise with a very different response.
          After they held a mock runway featuring real and diverse teen girls outside of Teen Vogue’s office, they reportedly were given a short meeting with the editors of Teen Vogue, where they were handed issues of Teen Vogue littered with Post It notes designating diversity as they believed it; mostly skinny african american models.  The girls were then sent away with their homework.
          It’s the industries little open secret; the glossy fantasy we see in the pages of magazines and advertisements everywhere is only slightly more achievable as a CGI dragon.  That super skinny celebrity you saw on the cover doesn’t really have skin that clear, her hair is not always that perfect, and no, she does not actually that skinny.  For good measure, the editors shaved five pounds off of her sides with a computer program before sending it to the press, for thousands of people to sigh at, never wondering where she must keep her kidneys.
           According to Seventeen Magazine, that has never been an option.  Body and face shape alterations were always ethically out of line, which might explain why they were so receptive to Bluhm’s complaints.  But according to Teen Vogue, body shape alterations have never been an option either, at least when it comes to the non-models and readers they regularly feature in their magazine.  That has to mean something?  Right?
          The use of photoshop to alter weight and body shape, lighten darker skinned models and erase features in an attempt to uniform beauty are unquestionably wrong in my opinion, especially when it deals with younger readers, like those Seventeen and Teen Vogue inevitably reach. But the real question doesn’t rest in those issues, since cooperative or otherwise, both magazine have said that they do not alter body size.
          Julia Bluhm’s petition included a request for one, unaltered, non-photoshopped spread per issue.  That request was denied.  Both girls have requested diversity within the magazine, including different races and body sizes besides that of the typical model.  Those requests, it seems, have been skimmed over.  And looking through one of my sisters issues of Teen Vogue, out of the easily hundred women featured within, there were no more than ten non-white models, and only one body shape.
          To be fair, not all blame can be placed upon the magazines.  Designers enjoy the ideal presented by the photographer, and as a result, they usually only send the smallest sizes of their clothing samples.  Unless designers start sending more realistic sizes, bigger models are not only unwanted, they are useless.   
          Magazines like these exist to present a fashionable fantasy, where people wake up each day with obedient hair and perfect complexions.  And people pay for these magazines for that fantasy, right?  These magazines never promised to show non-fiction, and they never warned us they wouldn’t.  
          So where do we draw the line?
          Is photoshop okay for loose hair and bra straps, or is that the same as digital liposuction?  And what constitutes diversity and what is fair of us to expect?  And who do we blame?
          Comment below with your opinions.

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Astley, Amy, ed. Teen Vogue Aug. 2012: n. pag. Web.

          

Fleming, Olivia. "'We're Being Unfairly Accused': Teen Vogue Dismisses 14-year-old during Meeting after Anti-photoshop Protest." Daily Mail. N.p., 12 July 2012. Web. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2172781/Were-unfairly-accused-Teen-Vogue-dismisses-14-year-old-girls-meeting-anti-Photoshop-protest.html?ito=feeds-newsxml>.

         

Intern Lauren. "Seventeens No-Photoshop Pledge: Will Teen Vogue Be Next." Bust Magazine. N.p., 6 July 2012. Web. <http://bust.com/blog/seventeens-no-photoshop-pledge-will-teen-vogue-be-next.html>.

          

Shoket, Ann. "Hi from Ann." Seventeen Aug. 2012: n. pag. Web. <http://http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2012/images/07/05/ann.august.editors.letter.pdf>.

Pep-ception

I like pep talks.  
            I like giving pep talks.  If I wasn’t so stupid when it came to sports, I might make a wonderful career as a high school football coach, just to be the guy giving the inspiring-pre-half-time-comeback-speech to the tune of a Beethoven symphony rip-off.  (I wonder if I could do that freelance...)

However, I do give my regular pep talks here, online.

Before I sit down and write anything for OurBeautifulSelves, I give myself audience.  I imagine that every single insecure individual I’ve ever known has been magically merged together into one broken, ambiguously raced/gendered loved one, and I end up spending the next half hour tweaking together the best literary hug I can.

The Bad Blogger Blues

Okay internet.  It's Evvan again.

So in case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t exactly been a very good blogger recently.  I would look back and give you the exact number of weeks I’ve been out of commission, but I’m afraid that even knowing such sensitive information, let alone posting it, would alert the local authorities of my misdemeanor.  

And I wouldn’t want to be the one to cost this site it’s casual blogging license, now would I?

Now, I wish I could say I was busy with personal problems or a family crisis (is that wrong?).  I really, really wish I could say that I was busy spying on the Soviets in a time traveling spaceship or organizing the Avengers initiative, but that would just be silly (and highly classified).

No, unfortunately, all the good excuses go to other people.  I have been busy with the end of school, which we all know is nothing anyone ever really worries about.

No, my only excuse is good, old fashioned writers block. 

I had ideas for you guys.  I had messages to tell you.  But every time I sat in front of a computer, I couldn’t get a draft down, or my draft was daft and ended in the trash.  You get the idea.

But the real irony is, that those feelings I had for my work are the exact same feelings people may have for themselves.  Every day we have to stand up and present ourselves to the world.  Every day we wake up with a draft, or perhaps a blank page, and we spend our time working to perfect that work of art that is our bodies into something we can be proud of.

I was ashamed of my work, but why was I.  There was nothing to be worried about, and there is nothing that you should be worried abo-

…

…

Wait.

Am I really doing this?

Am I that guy now?  That writer?

Sigh.  I’m just going to cut this off where it is.  

Expect a more regular posting in the future.  I won’t give a schedule but I’ll try for something.  

…
           

I’m really sorry about that...  “Every day we wake up with a draft.”  What was I thinking...

true friends = true confidence.

Sorry for my brief absence. I was dealing with a lot of personal things and I thought it would be wrong of me to sit here and type a blog inspiring you to be confident and self-loving, when I was feeling so insecure....I feel a lot better now and a blog on those personal struggles will come shortly...today's blog will be about surrounding yourself with supportive friends.

We all have those friends that we can joke around with. You know the ones that you can call a fatty when  you are eating junk food together and he/she eats the last slice of pizza. That friend that you can call stupid when they ask a question with an easy answer. That friend that you can have witty, sarcastic banter with and no feelings are hurt. I think you all get my picture now...but what happens when friends start crossing the line?

When friends begin to bully. Sounds like some dramatic TLC/Lifetime special. But it is a very serious issue that I had to go through (and I have seen others go through) and it hurt my self confidence...a lot.

For those of you who know me, most of you know I hang out with a very specific group at school: my theatre friends. I have stopped being close with a lot of people outside of my theatre group because of my experiences with friend bullying. I used to hang out with a group of friends of about 9 or 10 people. Most of the kids I had gotten to know through my two friends that brought me into that group. We all hung out and I thought I could trust these people. We had that group of friends that can tease each other, but I realized it started to focus on me.

I dealt with it at first. Most of the jokes were about me being half black, which can only be expected at a predominately white school. The jokes started focusing more and more on my looks. My hair (which was an afro), my weight (I was almost 20 pounds heavier), and my race. I also found out these "friends" talked about me behind my back....and the jokes were worse.

Hannah you are so white-washed.

Oh you don't like to swim? It's because you're black.

Can you sing gospel like every other big, black woman?

Hannah you can go chunky-dunking when we skinny dip!

If I throw this food in your hair will it stay in there?

To them I wasn't Hannah. To them I was labeled by stereotypes and societal rules. I started to become mean. Not to my friends, but to my family. I went home and I would cry. I would stand in front of the mirror and wish I was different. I wished I had hair that was long and wavy. I wished I could have a killer body. I wished I could have been born white. I let these people who were supposed to be my friends get into my brain and damage the confident, care-free person I was. I let ignorance affect my self-esteem. I let friends bring me down.

Now, I don't care what people think of me. I have friends that I can joke around with but I know they will always be there for me ESPECIALLY when I feel down about myself. These friends reassure me of how awesome I am, and I can do the same for them.

If you feel like your friends may be bullying you, you have a lot of options. You can bring it to their attention. You can slowly separate yourself from that group and join a new one. You can cut that group off completely. Remember that YOU ARE AWESOME. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. If anyone is making you believe otherwise, you do NOT need them.

I don't think I have mentioned this before, but if any of you readers ever need advice, someone to listen to you, or someone to reassure you of your beauty/awesomeness you can reach me at ourbeautifulselves@gmail.com or (if I know you personally) on facebook.

AND I might be making a facebook group for this blog to keep everyone up-to-date on posts(:

The most anticipated time...SUMMER 2012!!!

Summer is the season that is most looked forward to, especially by high school students! Finals are over. No more homework. No more crazy English teachers. No more schedules. Just some fun in the sun with your best friends blasting the latest pop songs! One thing that is on the subconscious mind (which most people forget after the late night studying and binging to sustain life) is that summer = swimsuit season...and, well, the big question is:::::

When you hear that dreaded question I bet you think you have to look like this:::

 

 

And that is because of advertisements like::::



Oh the lovely swimsuit season.  Summer is supposed to be the best time of the year! It is a time for freedom, late nights, and nightly BBQ's. It is a time for singing, laughing, and dancing around. Many people become stressed out over (yet another) media-corrupted "season" of sorts. The media took Christmas and made it into a commercialized, over-done phenomenon. The media took Valentine's Day and made it out to be a day to rub love into the single people of the world's lives. And now, the media has taken summer and made it into one of the most self-conscious times of the year. Well I have news for you....I don't care if you do a three hour workout at the gym daily for six months to get "bikini/swim trunk ready".....you aren't going to look good in your bikini or trunks until you add in one important factor::::

CONFIDENCE

You can do every exercise in seventeen's fitness issue. You can workout and try to look like the Hollister models and Playmates I posted above. You won't ever look like them. Heck, they don't even look like that!!!! The media uses airbrushing and photo shop. Use nature's photo shop: confidence. But you will not look "swimsuit ready" if you do not show how confident you are!!! Honestly, I would love to say that I will be swim suit ready. I wish I had the time and energy to exercise everyday, but I won't. Most of my exercise will be done this summer. And you know why? Because I want to look good in a bikini for MYSELF. Sure being show-stopping and chin-dropping would be a plus, but I don't need that to be happy. I feel amazing in a bikini. I love being able to sit half naked on the beach. I hate clothes! (I know a lot of you agree so stop judging!) This summer I will be blasting some music, smiling 24/7, prancing around in a bikini not caring WHO thinks I look like a beached whale, and hanging with my friends.

The media wants...no NEEDS...you to feel ugly. They want you to feel horrible about yourself so that you will buy the "gold" gym membership you really don't need. They want you to buy a bunch of over-priced "low-calorie" meals. You are nothing but worker bees for them. The media is a queen bee who does nothing but sit around and make more baby-bees that have to go run around to make honey for the queen. They need your money, your time, and your self-esteem. Because who can sell things to confident, self-loving people???? That would be a challenge. (end sarcasm here)

All joking aside, I want you to feel beautiful/handsome this summer. I want you to wake up in the morning and dance around your room, singing into a hairbrush. I want you to go to the beach and not hide under some bogus over-sized t-shirt or towel. We all have a little chunk somewhere, whether its our arms, thighs, or tummies (some of us have more than others). We all have flaws. We will all be swim suit ready in our OWN way!!!! Look like you this summer(: Not some model who lives off of the gym, water, and celery...IF THAT.

Here are ten songs that are great for summer and feeling good about yourself(: (I don't care how over played some may be)
1 What Makes you Beautiful by one Direction
      Is there anything more dreamy than being serenaded by 5 sexy guys with even sexier accents? And how can you go wrong with a boy band?!
2 Boys in the Summer by Jesse James
      This song screams summer fun and summer flings!!!
3 Star ships by Nicki Minaj
      This song even starts off talking about the beach!
4 Barefoot Blue Jean Night by Jake Owens
       A little too country for some (not me) but this song is the perfect bonfire anthem :)
5 Somebody that I Used to Know by Gotye and Kimbra
      What is more fun than belting out a relationship song with your girly-friends!?
6 Young, Wild, and Free by Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa
   Usually, I wouldn't promote songs that promote drugs/alcohol use but this song is catchy and about having fun!!!
7 Part of Me by Katy Perry
   This song is a confidence anthem(:(:(:
8 Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
   While overplayed, this song is perfect for that one hot guy you see every summer at the beach;)
9 Glad you Came by The Wanted
    This one is about partying with that super cute, slightly mysterious hottie;) And do I need say more about them being a sexy, foreign, boy band??
10 Brokenhearted by Karmin
    How can you go wrong with a good Karmin song?! This song is great for getting the courage and confidence to talk to that cutie on the beach (:

Also check out Jessie J, Demi Lovato, Hot Chelle Rae, Justin Bieber, and plenty other artists for some great summer songs and confidence-boosting songs!!!


Remember you are beautiful<3

Beauty Beheld

To anyone who thinks mirrors have power, you are wrong.

A mirror is a piece of glass placed in front of a dark backing so that light carrying the image of you and the bathroom sink can reflect off the backing, through the glass and be delivered to your eyes.

Mirrors are aids, and if the only thing you use them for is to decide how you look on any given day, they are unnecessary.  

Here’s a test.  Right now, what is wrong with the way you look?  No cheating?  No mirrors.

Could you come up with something?  And without even looking at a mirror.  Strange.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the way you look depends 100% on how you perceive yourself before the delivery.  The mirror presents the package, and you paint it with your own ideas and prejudices.  

I will never be one to say there are no ugly people in the world.  I have seen some ugly people in my life.  Hundreds of them.  Every day it seems like I meet another actually.

We all know about them.  They're the snarlers, the tight-lipped busy-bodies, the beady-eyed liars, and the gaping-faced crazies, all consumed with disapproval or hate.  The feelings that course through you, and corrupt you as surely as lead or bad blood, turning your own features against you.  There is nothing attractive about a person wrong to the core.  There just isn't

But for the hundreds of ugly people I know, there are thousands of beautiful people who make up for it.