It Never Ends

Wherever you go, wherever they’re from and whatever they look like, people are pretty much the same wherever you go, especially when it  comes to things like trust, honesty and heated conflicts.

Trust because there are only a few people you’ll ever meet that you can actually trust. 
Unfortunately, a lot of people put too much trust in people who aren’t as reliable as they may think, meaning they tend to find this out the hard way. On top of that, it’s not necessarily in the nicest way; it’s not unusual for many to get hurt in the process.

Honesty because people will always lie to you.
There are so many two faced people out there where lying is a second nature to them. What’s sad about it is that at times people can put more trust into the liars rather than those few who are telling the truth. By the time people may realise this it’s probably too late, as by then, the liars may have somehow twisted and manipulated you.

Conflict because it tends to be the outcome of the two things mentioned above
Conflicts commonly spur from a lack of trust or honestly in between people. Though mainly verbal, they can sometimes get physical or more damaging [mentally or physically] as people get older.

Such conflicts are usually associated with high school. However when it comes to the work place, things aren’t that different.
While many would think that people would grow out of it once becoming an adult, many simply don’t. They remain as the cold, bitter bitchy people that they were in high school and college who still form cliques and single out individuals they don’t like for whatever reason. They continue to bully, abuse and harass those who simply don’t deserve it.

So how can this be avoided?  That’s the issue it can’t. Wherever you go there will always be someone who has an of issue with you or someone you many know. While you may not be able to always get away from them, you don’t have to put up with it.

Edward Cullen: He’s Not My Dream Boy [Jacob Black Neither]

There was a time when people thought of vampires as scary, cape wearing blood suckers that sleep in coffins and have garlic as a kryptonite. They were featured in many horror films, and caused people to fear them.
If you were to Google the term “vampire” in, an image like this would’ve come up

However, in the space of a few years, the most common type of image has changed from what you see above to well…this

If you don’t know that I’m talking about Twilight by now, then you must’ve been living under a rock for the past few years. Since the release of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series a few years ago, the sudden craze in this new kind of vampire has escalated. The love story between vampire Edward Cullen [I'll put EC for short] and a human girl Bella has even been put up there with the likes of Romeo and Juliet. EC has made girls do things like write “I <3 Edward Cullen” on their arms, refine new terms such as OCD [Obsessive Cullen Disorder] and even break up a few relationships, as some girls now feel the need to compare their boyfriends to thats it…a FICTIONAL CHARACTER. A good example can be seen in this FML quote:

“Today my girlfriend dumped me proclaiming she wanted someone more like Edward. I asked her who Edward was. She held up a copy of her Twilight book. She was talking about a fictional vampire. FML“

Now I’m a fan of the Twilight Series, and was curious to see what the film would end up like. Once I did see it, I was disappointed. Let’s face it…despite how “hot” people think EC’s character was, the film was crap. It was a bad interpretation of Stephanie Meyer’s book, and I felt that any “love scenes” between Bella and EC were ruined and made corny in the film. Instead of getting into those “romantic”moments, I ended up laughing my head off because it was that cheesy, especially at that “brand of heroin” line [a lot of my Twilight obsessed friends agreed with me on that one]. I was expecting something more gorier, considering that the subjects was vampires. I know it had to be kept moderate for children, but come one, I’ve seen more gore and guts in Pirates of The Carribean…and that’s Disney.

Even reading the books, I can never really say I felt any attraction towards EC’s character. While I did like the sounds of Jacob Black in New Moon and Eclipse, those thoughts were ruined once I found out that Taylor Lautner was playing him. He’s not exactly ugly I know, but then again, I was expecting something better (No offense).
Speaking of New Moon [the sequel to Twilight], it’s out in a few days. Though I was a bit tempted at first to see what it would be like, I refuse to see yet another Twilight book get ruined through film.

To me…the whole Twilight epidemic [mostly the film] is a craze taken too far. It’s one thing for people to read the books, watch the films, get the merchandise and go through such fads in the same way people did with Harry Potter, however I think it becomes something else when people try to bring fantasy into reality. You saw the quote above from FML, more and more girls are dumping their boyfriends after comparing them to the likes of EC and Jacob Black…people who they will never find someone like because they don’t even exist. Someone comparing their boyfriend to EC makes as much sense to me as comparing them to Peter Pan.

While I feel sorry for the former boyfriends of these girls, I feel even sorrier for the one everyone’s now obsessed with: Robert Pattinson. I can’t remember where I read this, but in an interview he stated how even after all the success, he still has no luck with girls as they want “Edward”, not him =(.

There was a point when I didn’t understand how a human could fall in love with such a vampire…until I started to watch True Blood.

Like Twilight, the HBO series is based on a book series. As bloody and gory as it can be…for some reason I still can’t get enough of it. While I like the story lines in both, I feel that True Blood is better than Twilight (That’s as a film….I haven’t read the books based on it) and more interesting to watch. Maybe it has something to do with it being a series rather than a film. Maybe if Twilight wasn’t actually good then I wouldn’t prefer one over the other.

Just to get things straight, I don’t hate Twilight. I simply think the craze is being taken too far with some girls getting “OCD” and comparing real life people to a fictional character. While I don’t want to see New Moon, I still like the book.

This post is getting pretty long, so I’m going to end it here; but I will finish with this: To any girl who is comparing real life boys to a fictional character: wake up to reality. There is no way you will find someone more or just like “Edward”, because Edward is F-I-C-T-I-O-N-AL. When you’re older you’ll only look back and wonder why you wasted your time trying to find someone who isn’t real. Until then [this is quoted from a friend] “Good luck finding some dude to bite you“

Just Because Your Blonde (A Follow Up To Skinny Over Fat, Blonde Over Brunette…..)

Despite the title, ths post is aimed at all girls [or boys], of any race, shape, hair or eye colour who believe that they can get by in life solely based on the way they look

Just because you are treated well now in High School (or maybe even College) based on your appearance, don’t expect the same to happen once High School is over. Once you get out of school, people may treat you very differently from the way you are treated now.

While it’s true that we live in a society where if you look a certain way, you are more likely to receive certain privileges, that’s not always the case. Once you go out into the real world and need a job, you’re going to need qualifications. You’ll need some kind of masters or degree to get a decent job (depending on what you want to do). You’ll need something to show for yourself outside of your appearance…unless you want to be something like a model.

Even then, you can’t just rely on your looks. Anyone who watched Cycle 7 of America’s Next Top Model [ANTM] will know who I’m talking about when I mention Jaeda Young.  During her auditions she openly admitted that during High School, she was considered “The Hot One”. She believed that one of the reasons she should be a model was because people in High School had constantly told her how pretty she was and how she should be one. Jaeda made it into the the final 13, but when it came to makeovers, things changed. They decided to cut her hair short [like Halle Berry's]. After getting it cut, it was all she’d complain about. She now felt ugly without her long hair and not longer felt like “The Hot One” like she was labelled in school. Like the judges kept telling her “just because you were considered one of the prettiest girls in High School, doesn’t mean that you’ll make a good model“. And they were right. While your appearence is important as a model, other things are important like potential, confidence, personality and most importantly, strong photos…something Jaeda didn’t have. Her photos eventually got weaker and weaker, and she was eliminated. She didn’t even make it to the semi finals.

However, that quote doesn’t just refer to her; it applies to anyone else who’s in the same position as Jaeda in High School. The opposite also applies too: just because you weren’t considered one of the prettiest girls in High School, doesn’t mean that you won’t make a good model. Anyone who watched Cycle 3 of ANTM will remember that Eva Marcille (formerly known as Eva Pigford) won that Cycle. She wasn’t considered pretty at school and she wasn’t that popular…but she still won. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter what people at school thought of her, but the judges, and they saw a beautiful girl with potential, which is the main reason why she won.

The point is, it’s usually the people who aren’t as popular and who aren’t considered the most attractive that are the most succesful in life. They are the ones who become the executives, the wealthy businessmen and the CEOs. Look at someone like Bill Gates. His school life wasn’t exactly great, he wasn’t the most popular or the best looking boy in his class, but that didn’t stop him from becoming the chairman of Microsoft and being one of the wealthiest people in the WORLD.

Now I’m not saying that people who are popular and who are considered attractive can’t be successful, I’m saying that it’s more seen in the people who aren’t because their social life isn’t seen as more important than their school work. They have their priorities straight; they know that their main goal in school is to do well academically and not just socially.

So you may be popular now or considered pretty or even “hot”, but don’t get used to it. Not everyone you meet will think of you in the same way that people in your school think of you now. When employers look for people to hire, they will look past your appearance and see you for what you really are [so let's hope that there's more to you than your appearance]

And as for those who treat certain people in thier school badly, be careful what you do or say to them…they might just be your boss one day.

There’s More To It Than That (originally written on 16th February 2009)

A lot of people think I dislike Abercrombie & Fitch because it’s American… when that’s not the case. Think about it, if it was just because it was American, then I wouldn’t own or like a lot of the things I have now.

I don’t even have anything against Americans, I don’t hate them, I don’t think badly of them and I definitely don’t look down on them; there’s just some things about the American culture, lifestyle that I don’t like or agree with, yet that applies to almost every other country/continent out there; there’s aspects I don’t like about France, Britain, China…and even Switzerland!! The list goes on. So for those who think I have some grudge against Americans… you’re wrong . Maybe you’ve chosen to only look at my posts on Americans etc. and nothing else; but then, that’s your problem not mine. I suggest you be more open in your options when you choose to read posts on here in the future….

I just wanted to clear that up, but anyway, back to the point.

Abercrombie is one of those “aspects” I don’t like about American culture/lifestyle.

Below are some examples of Abercrombie models

Correct me if I’m wrong…but isn’t Abercrombie & Fitch a CLOTHING company?! I don’t see the models above wearing as much as a necklace…

Oh wait….here’s a few

Even then, it’s just a pair of jeans, so does that even count?!

The aim of a company is MEANT to be to advertise their product(s) to the consumer, but the most these models have pictured above are just some jeans and a scarf between them!

While it’s true that “sex sells”, I think this is taking it a bit too far.

These ads may be alright for a Calvin Klein fragrance…but Abercrombie sell clothes, clothes that should be shown more often to their audience. After all, it IS possible for such a company to show the consumer more variations of the product (i.e with clothes on) while still promoting “sex appeal”

Some of you girls reading this may like these adverts shown above…but are you thinking about what this could tell someone?

Are you thinking about how it could make average men insecure about themselves?

Are you thinking about how such ads are making society question what masculinity actually is, in the same way certain ads make society question what beauty is for women?

Are you thinking about how could negatively impact continents outside of Europe and North America by undermining their cultural values?!

The answer is no. The truth is, you’re probably just focusing on their appearance and how “hot” they look. The truth is, when looking at such advertisments, you don’t think about how it can corrupt people and make them want to change into something they’ll probably never be. You don’t think about how it can lead to some men (even young boys) putting themselves at risk and drastically putting themselves in danger, just to get like these men you desire.

And for the boys looking at these ads who own a lot of Abercrombie…or perhaps look a bit like or have similar features to these models, you probably think you’re great don’t you? You’re probably think, because you could (note that I said could) be mistaken for one of these models by SOME , that you’re one of the best things to step foot on this earth and that any girl must be crazy NOT to be in love with you right?

Well let me bring you back to reality; not every girl out there is that shallow; a lot of girls want someone who isn’t a self centered prat who’d choke on their ego if their not careful…they want someone who actually has a personality behind all those “good looks”. I wonder if you tick that box…(surprise me and say you do )

I’m not saying this out of anger or spite, I’m saying it based on what I’ve seen people act like with my own two eyes. Whether it’s in school, on the streets…or even in America itself (not that much though, more in CH)

Like I said before, there’s more to my disliking of Abercrombie than people think.

I admit, I’ve said I hated it a few times, but that’s more to do with my hate of it’s representation than the actual clothes themselves. So I should really say I hate how Abercrombie portrays male stereotypes, how it’s lack of showing it’s products doesn’t stop it from being as popular as a company that does such as Gap of H&M, how it makes people think that they need to have it, and if they don’t….then there’s something wrong with them. How it can make some people care about nothing but labels, how it has clones of these models in their shops as nothing but objects for women and girls to pose with, and also how it has to potential to turn certain people into stuck up materialistic prats who look down on almost anyone who doesn’t own it (trust me, I’ve experienced that last one quite a bit)

….I really hope some of you think about the things I mentioned the next time you find yourself looking at one of these ads, or the next time you even see someone wearing it, whether it’s a friend, a stranger on the street…or even yourself.

Doesn’t It Matter Anymore? (originally written on 30th November 2008)

I want to start this off with a question: when you get new friends, do you ever wonder why you liked that person in the first place? Is it because they’re funny, you have similar interests, or don’t you care about any of that…do you like them because of the way they look?!
Though some might not want to admit it, this is the first thing some people consider when it comes to choosing their friends or who they hang out with, they don’t put anything else into consideration. I can definitely say this (in a way) applies to people in the schools I’ve gone too.. and even the school I’m at now.

Now I could be talking about seniors in high school, I could be talking about people in my year (who knows?), I could even be talking about people younger than me (actually I’m not… I wouldn’t stoop that low) but I’m not talking about every single person in the school…thankfully not everyone thinks like this… but especially this school year, people have become more materialistic and shallow when it comes to choosing their friends and who they generally talk to. I can think of a few new people for instance… they’ve only been at the school for about I don’t know… 2-3 months, and they’re already part of this “in crowd”, they’re already known by half of the school, they’re already “BFFs” with people I’ve never been that close too, even if I’ve tried.

When seeing this, I see a pattern, because all these people that have fit in SO WELL just happen to have that look which is considered “attractive”, they all wear Abercrombie, Hollister or any other of those American brands… some of them are even stinking rich.
This can’t be fair on the other students of the school, the ones that have been there longer than them, some that have even been there for at least 5 years, the ones that have spent their whole time at the school TRYING to be accepted by these people, just for the new students to come along and fit in almost straight away!! Not only this but the fact that this is happening PROVES my theory (in a previous post on my previous blog) that you have to be either Swedish, blonde, skinny or speak a second language in order to properly fit in.

I look at some these new people, and how many people they all of a sudden know after a short space of time, and how some people are already in love with them and I wonder: If it wasn’t for their looks or how much money they have…would they be so popular right now??

The answer to that is probably no. The truth is, there are some people out there who will befriend anyone to get what they want; whether it’s something materialistic, connections, or maybe just popularity to up their status in school. Why is it only this year that people have started to become so shallow?! If someone was to ask you why you started talking to that person in the first place, do you know how bad it would sound if you came out with “It’s because he’s hot” or “Because she’s rich” or “Because they can get me into certain places”?!

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t feel jealous of these people who have fit in so quickly, if I feel anything it’s pity, because half the time these people don’t realise WHY so many people began to like them in the first place… they haven’t figured out yet that it’s based on what they have and what they look like instead of who they truly are as a person. Some of them haven’t realised that they’re being USED. Unfortunately, some of them will never know. Some of them will never find this out because they’re too stuck in this other world… this world that will never be reality.

Let me ask you something…How would YOU feel if someone didn’t like you because of what you had (or didn’t have) and what you look like?? Wait…some of you would never understand that feeling would you?! Some of you are stuck in this fantasy world were everything is “perfect”, where you’re constantly surrounded by others and how it’s all about you.
Well I can tell you this, it’s not a nice feeling. For someone to judge you before they’ve even gotten to know you on a personal level is wrong, because they’ll NEVER know the real you.

These people who only like others materialistically and look wise…will they EVER know the real person underneath that?? Let’s face it, once you look past some of these people’s riches, their looks and all the things they have, you’ll find that some of them have as much personality as a Barbie you’d pick up at Toys ‘r’ Us. But then again, they’ll probably never look at them that deeply, because they don’t genuinely care for that person.

If being fully accepted into such a society means that I have to change my appearence, be rich or just wear Abercrombie & Fitch every other day, then I’d rather not be accepted. It’s times like these where I want to leave such a place and go somewhere else…but that being said, how do I know if people in another school/area don’t have the same judgements or mindset?? Only one way to find out…

Make Up: A Must Have Or A Waste Of Money (originally written on 30th November 2009)

foundation
mascara
eyeshadow
eyeliner
concealer
lipstick
lipgloss
blush

….If to name a few. These are examples of the cosmetic products that the media makes females believe they need to have in order to look beautiful, or simply just to “enhance our features”.
Anyone could tell you that the cosmetic industry is huge, as it always comes out with some new product that is said to make someone look younger, said to be “better” for your skin, or even last for 24 hours; products that quite a lot (but not all) females purchase, as they are convinced they’ll look better than they did before. But do we really need all of this? Will we look fine without them? Do these products actually do what they say on the label?

As females some of us are actually convinced that yes, we DO need these products, and that it’s some kind of sin not to wear at least one of these things on a daily basis, when we don’t truly need them. The media has just slightly brainwashed us into thinking we do. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that make up is a terrible thing and that the media is evil (ok..they probably are), I admit though I usually don’t have any on, I wear make up every now and then…when I feel like it, but even then it’s just eyeliner, a bit of mascara, MAYBE some eyeshadow to parties, but that’s about it…so it takes me no more than 5 minutes to put on…I don’t feel the need to spend 10-20 minutes with concealer, foundation, blush and any more of that crap, because it truly is a waste of time to do that every day.

I know girls who will refuse to step out of the house without some mascara on at least because they think they look horrible with their faces just bare…I even know girls who believe make up is a waste of time and money, but despite this they still wear it everyday as it makes them feel better about themselves, I also know girls that own and wear so much of the stuff, that at times you can’t help but wonder if they’re trying to cover up or hide insecurities they have;
how did things become so bad? Why are people so influenced by the media, taking in all the false messages it spreads without realising it…to the point that there are teenage girls out there who actually feel ugly with the way they naturally are?! I don’t know about you, but I know many people who look great (if not better) without make up on, this is because their face isn’t masked with these products that cover it up, so their natural beauty shines through, something which is alot more genuine than what they portray in the media…

Now I’m not saying that wearing make up on a daily basis makes you a brainwashed person who has insecurities to hide…if you choose to wear it so frequently thats your choice, but ask yourself these questions the next time your putting it on:

Are you wearing it because you want to…
Are you wearing it because you feel you’re ugly without it, so you HAVE to put some on in order to look good …
Are you wearing it because you’re hoping to cover up or hide some sort of insecurity..
Are you wearing it to express yourself…
Or simply because you feel like it?

There are many more questions I could put…but I’ll stick to those ones;
if your answer is yes to the 2nd and 3rd question, then you need to learn to love yourself the way you naturally are…because the truth is, even with all of that on your face, at times, it will never be enough…they’ll still be a part of you that is insecure about something or another, even with all that make up on.

What Happens Then? (originally written on 11th November 2008)

Some people actually think that living the rich life is great, that it’s this amazing lifestyle that must be ALOT better than being middle class or even poor. Part of the reason some people think this is because of… you guessed it: The Media.

With all these fictional and real life programs such as The Hills, The OC, Laguna Beach, Gossip Girl, My Super Sweet 16, or any more of that mindless crap they show on the TV, some people out there actually believe that the only way you can fun and actually enjoy life to the full, is if you’re rich… which people should generally KNOW isn’t true, because (though I haven’t experienced it), living the rich life isn’t THAT great (See my Money Money Money post for more on that).

With these over spoilt rich girls (and boys) on programmes like My Super Sweet 16, who’s best friend is most likely their Mum or Dad’s credit card… do they ever think or wonder what will happen to them once they get out into the REAL world, where NOTHING is going to be handed to them on a plate and that for one of the first times in their life, their gonna have to get off their lazy arses and actually lift one of their “precious” manicured fingers and work? Let’s face it…they’re not always going to be under the thumb of their parents, they’re not always going to have things handed to them on a plate when they ask for it, or have others doing basic things for them.
Thankfully this doesn’t apply to all rich teenagers that age…after all, some of them do appreciate the fact that their parents worked hard to give them the things they have, and that it didn’t happen easy for them… and that it won’t happen easy for them either. For the others however, once they finally do get there into the real world, they’ll rely on others so much that they won’t go anywhere in the real world…either that or they’ll have to realise how things actually work (that’ll have to be done extremely quickly!)

Oh well…that’s what happens when you’re literally spoon fed everything you got your whole life, you pay the price for it later…and it will hit you, HARD.

One more thing…to those who think these people have a perfect life, don’t belive that for one second…they probably just use all that money and riches to cover up things.

Remember…”Money Can’t Buy You Happiness…“

Do We Trust People TOO Much? (originally written on 11th November 2008)

It seems that quite a few people out there open up to people a bit too much, especially when it comes to their friends… some of these friends might not even truthfully like us, they might act one way with you and be completely different with others…

It’s these kinda people that should be looked out for, as they’re the sneaky ones who probably talk about you the most; they’re the ones who won’t stop until they find your weakness or one of your insecurities, and when things go wrong, they’ll use that against you as they’ll know it will hurt you. To be frank, how long you’ve known or haven’t known a person has nothing to do with how much you can trust them. I can think of quite a few people who are “BFFs” or whatever you want to call it with someone, and that someone talks about that other friend behind their back as if they even hated them =S.

I don’t know about you but I’ve experienced this distrust thing…too many times. I’ve known people who I thought I could trust and they did nothing but betray that. I even had one of those “best friends” that I’d known since I was about 4…but based on the subject of this article, you can kinda guess what happened between me and them. Even after that happened, I still trusted people too much, I opened up to them unnecessarily and I told them TOO much personally… and while not all of them did this, some of them chose to use it against me later on.
Hopefully, now I’ve learned from my mistakes, now I’m just going to trust that small handful of people and no more than that; as far as I know, others I don’t know that well will just use my trust to their advantage and stab me in the back at any moment…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that people shouldn’t open up to anyone, and I hope I don’t sound paranoid when I say this, but people should choose who they trust wisely and be more careful…because we never know what some of our friends could be saying about us when we’re not around, meaning that we might not really be sure on which one of those friends are genuine and true…and not just another lying deceitful backstabber =/.

OMG White Beauty!! (originally written on 5th October 2008)

The white man’s idea of “beauty” in women has had an impact on everyone (and not necessarily in a good way); it has been something that has developed over the years, but roughly being the same each time. The following factors are what are said to make a woman beautiful, based on the white man’s/woman’s standards in the media:
- Long, light coloured hair
- Light coloured, empty looking eyes
- Thin Body
- Pale (sometimes tanned) skin

While this look is natural to some, there are many people who have strived (and still do) to get this look or something similar. What makes it sad is that through history, it has changed how almost every other race sees beauty, even today.

Take African Americans for instance. Once stolen from their land by Europeans and shipped to what we now know as America, the slaves that had a lighter skin tone or Caucasian blood in them due to interracial rape by the white man, were favoured more compared to the slaves of a darker natural tone. Although this happened hundreds of years ago, the light skinned/dark skinned issue has still had an affect on not just a majority of African Americans in the United States, but also black people across the globe, whether it’s in the UK, France or even parts of Africa itself. It has gotten so extreme to the point where some of us feel the need to straighten our hair with harmful chemicals, wear coloured contact lenses that aren’t even our natural colour, and sometimes even bleach our skin to make it lighter, because its said to be “beautiful”; Something that some black celebrities have undergone to “fit into” the mainstream entertainment industry.

Not only has it affected some females in places like Africa, but Asia too. It is very popular now for some Asian women in places like Japan, China, Singapore, or even North America to wear tape, glue or even have surgery done on their eyes to make them look more like Westerners, because it’s considered to be pretty and more attractive . If you went to one of these Asian countries such as Korea, you’d find that the most common form of surgery over there is the type done on a person’s eyes to make them look less Asian and more Caucasian…
Not only this, but it’s common for Asian women to wear coloured contacts of colours like green, blue or grey that are said to make the eyes look bigger, (i.e. more Western).

Even in places like India or Pakistan, you are only considered beautiful if you bleach your skin, wear coloured contacts, and dye your hair light colours like blonde; colours that are generally unnatural for people from Asia. Take a look at actresses in Bollywood; a lot (if not all of them) have gone under the process of dying their hair, wearing coloured contact lenses and bleaching their skin; some have done it to the point where they are at times, mistaken to be a Caucasian woman. ——->

These ideas and perceptions of what beauty is meant to be has been planted into some peoples minds so badly, that they pass these false perceptions onto younger generations. A good example of this being done can be seen by the author Constance Briscoe.
In her book “Ugly”, she talks at one point how her mother would always tell her when growing up how she thought her lips were too big, her nose was too wide and how her skin was too dark; something that affected her in a big way, as later on in her life she got a nose job and lip reduction.

So where did these ideas of beauty come from? Well a large portion of today’s ideas clearly come from the media. Everyday we see images of women/young girls who have at least one or two of the factors of “beauty” listed at the beginning of this post; and because these women in the media don’t really look like an average female you’d find walking down the street, some of us just assume that they are the beautiful ones, that they are the ones that are truly pretty, and that we have to look like them and not the other way round…a lot of people don’t see some of the evil behind the media around us and the false perceptions it makes…

Especially in places like Asia, one of my Asian friends told me that most of the advertisements you see around you consist of women from the Western world with blonde hair, blue eyes and a thin, boyish figure; and the few Asian women you do see in the media over their usually have had surgery to change their eye shape and wear contacts to change their natural colour…something that leads not just Asian women to become insecure about the way they naturally are, but also any other ethnicity that doesn’t fit this fake image of “beauty”, and is one of the reasons that women do these things to themselves in the first place, because of what they see around them…

Like mentioned before, these false standards of “white beauty” affect the way other races see themselves, if not the actual white race at some points too. I go to a predominately white school at the moment, if you were to go there and look at the girls that are considered beautiful, hot, pretty or whatever you want to call it, you’ll find that many of them have blonde/light coloured hair that often passes their shoulders, light eyes and are usually quite thin. And because I don’t look like this, at times I feel that I‘m being judged by others in the school community based on my appearance…not only does this apply to me, but to anyone else there that doesn’t live up to these shallow expectations…

I also experienced this in my last school before coming to Switzerland. Even though the school students were mainly people of colour, the girls who were of mixed heritage with the paler skin tone that had more European blood in them were favoured over other black or Asian girls who didn’t.
I know this because I was one of those girls who didn’t have as much white in them, who didn’t straighten their hair with chemicals, and whose skin tone wasn’t more on the pale side; and because of this, I was at one point considered ugly. It wasn’t until I wore contacts that changed my eye colour and put extensions in my hair that made it look more straight and European, that more people looked at me in a different way and considered me pretty. This is something I regret doing, as I did it thinking (at the time) I’d be excepted more from other people…and even though I was for a short period of time, I was still trying to portray this image that wasn’t truly me, an image of myself that was fake. It wasn’t until my Mum told me to stop with the grey contacts etc. because I wasn’t white, and that things like that weren’t natural on our people, that I opened my eyes a bit more…it was then that I accepted myself more and stopped trying to be something I’m clearly not…

So what about the rest of us that have accepted ourselves?? Why should we feel self conscious about our looks?? Why should we try and compare ourself to this so called image of “beauty” or “perfection” when it’s probably an image based on self consciousness itself. This perception of “white beauty” is false; some white people might just be saying that they are the most beautiful people, because they are in fact the most insecure; something they try to solve or cover up by indirectly telling almost every other race out there that they’re inferior compared to the Western world through things like the media, and that in order to be beautiful and to be accepted in today’s society that they must look more Western…

What about people like me who have embraced their ethnicity, like the way they are and choose not to alter or change anything about that…does that make us ugly?! Who are you to say that people that choose not to look like most girls in the media aren’t beautiful too…

While the media aren’t directly saying that everyone else is ugly, they are sometimes giving that impression to other people who don’t look like most girls on TV; when the truth is, the women pictured above (as well as many other women) are beautiful too. The media clearly doesn’t realise that beauty comes in more than one form, shape, colour or size, otherwise more realistic looking people like them would be shown in it more often, but sadly they’re not.

So to anyone (whether you’re black, white, Asian or anything else for that matter), who feels the need to change their features just to live up to the modern [false] standards of “beauty”, please stop now. You’re features are some of the only things that signify you from other races (whether it is your hair, your eyes, your nose, your skin etc.)…Why would you want to change that??

By trying to change/alter not just your facial features, but also things like your weight, you are becoming less of an individual and more of a clone; and worst of all, you are becoming less of the person you truly are, the person you were before you started to compare yourself to people in the media, and felt like you had to change; the truth is they are the ones that need to change, because only a very small portion of people in this world naturally look like them.

Money Money Money…(originally posted on 22nd September 2009)

Maybe this topic isn’t new, maybe this has progressed over the years, but this obsession with money and the “status” it supposedly gives you has REALLY seemed to get out of control these days…
And it seems to be affecting quite a few people, whether it’s spoilt teenagers, some music artists out there, or maybe just people in this world with too much power and authority…

For instance, take the school that I’m at now. While there are tons of nice people there, you still get the occasional person who thinks just because of the amount of money they have and how rich they are, that somehow makes them better than people who don’t even have half the money that they or their family have. This is sad because, their parents actually brought them up thinking that was true, when its clearly not :S…

That doesn’t just relate to some people from my school, but people in general. But that being said, I’ve only met those few occasional people with that mind set…
But like I said before, not EVERYONE there is like that. I know people there that are probably part of one of the richest families in the school community; but they don’t show it. While it is true that they have lots of money, for them it doesn’t mean that all their clothes should consist of only expensive designer labels. Meeting people like them has helped me highlight the fact that not all rich people are show offs who feel that they have to portray their wealth to everyone hey know and see (not that I thought that before, but it just helps lower the stereotype of that…)

And while all rich people DON’T feel they are better than others because of their wealth, you still get those who feel that they have to tell everyone how rich they are and how much money they HAVE; a good example of people doing this are some rappers out there (only some).
Don’t get me wrong, I like Hip Hop and Rap music (well, not all of it), but if some songs in that genre just consist of the artist going on about how much money they have, how stinking rich they are and how they are “getting paper”, then I REALY don’t want to hear it; It’s probably because of artists like them, that the music quality of that genre has gotten worse over the last few years…not that I’m mentioning anyone in particular (**cough cough** 50 cent**).

Maybe if it wasn’t for programs like “Super Sweet 16″, then maybe (just maybe) this money obsession wouldn’t be so bad amongst teenagers. Anyone who’s watched that will know that the people on there are just TOO spoilt. I mean, what’s the point in spending so much money on all those unnecessary things?! You probably get some young people watching that thinking something like “They have such big expensive parties turning 16, so I must too when I reach that age”
Not that I’m saying everyone is that naïve and easlily influenced, but we all know what impact MTV has had on some people :/…

I can tell you now that if you got to the richest people out there in this wolrd an asked them if they were truly happy, not all of them would say yes; because once you take away the big house(s), the expensive cars, and anything else that their riches have given them, you’ll find that for some of them, there’s something missing in their life; something that all the money they own put together can’t buy them.

It really is true that money can’t buy you happiness, because there are people out there who live in one of the poorest countries, with little money and probably not much belongings, but are still probably happier than some of the richest people on this earth; that’s because they appreciate the little and important things in life, like life itself, or maybe the fact that they’re still here on this earth; it’s people like them who are truly happy…