Thank you...

Thursday November 28th 2013. Today is Thanksgiving, in the USA and Canada. Traditionally celebrated on the fourth and last Thursday of the month, the holiday was originally a harvest festival and is now an opportunity for people to spend time with their families and those they love, share food and appreciate what they are grateful and thankful for in their lives. Or if your name is Joey or Monica, to shove a giant uncooked turkey onto your head... oh Friends references. Of course many people take issue with Thanksgiving, arguing that, as it is essentially a holiday celebrating the destruction of Native American people and their homes and communities, its a bit ridiculous, hypocritical and insensitive of everyone else to spend the day roasting turkeys, consuming pumpkin pies and watching football games and parades. I think this is probably true to a certain extent, but at its heart I think Thanksgiving is a really lovely idea. If you can ignore the aspects that you may personally disagree with, and enjoy the spirit of it: being grateful for what is good in your life, and appreciating how lucky you are, then there are a lot of benefits to be found.

Its quite sad that we don't celebrate in the UK. In my opinion we could all do with feeling grateful a bit more often. I know I spend so much time thinking about the future, the things I wish would happen, the things I want, the expectations I have, that I barely ever take the time to think about what is good about right now, in the present. Not to sound incredibly cheesy and annoying, but we are all pretty lucky. Most people have roofs over their heads, families and friends who love them, exciting things to look forward to. I think its nice to spend a day enjoying those things rather than obsessing over everything we could potentially do or have at some unspecified time in the future. To be honest the worst things I have to worry about are not life threatening or even that bad at all: getting a job, trying to learn enough to pass my A-levels, hopefully going to university. And although everyday life gets boring and stressful, and November is a horrible month, and getting out from under your duvet in the morning is a challenge and sometimes you just have a bad day, thinking about all the good things about life is the best way to make yourself feel happy again.

 

I'm happy that Christmas is now less than a month away. I'm grateful for my bed being really warm and snuggly so I can hide from the world with cups of tea when I'm feeling ill. I'm thankful for all the stuff that I love that makes me happy, like all the covers of Love is on the Radio with Carrie and Giovanna. And this Taylor Swift song. And just for YouTube in general and Twitter and the fact that I have lots of blogs to read. And Rookie and Humans of New York for making me feel better about humanity. I'm excited for all the things I have planned for the next couple of months. I'm happy that I watched this video earlier today and that it gave me the idea to write this. (I'm also thankful for lots of the same things... Harry Potter, socks, tea and coffee, just to name a few.) And make up. I'm very grateful to whoever invented mascara and concealer and bronzer and all the other stuff that means when I get basically no sleep I don't have to look like an actual zombie, despite feeling like one.

What are you thankful for today? Happy Thanksgiving!

I forgot how much I love Vampire Weekend....

 

the gloves are off, the wisdom teeth are out

what you on about?

I feel it in my bones, I feel it in my bones

 

 

all your diction, dripping with disdain

through the pain I always tell the truth

 

 

we know the fire awaits unbelievers

all of the sinners the same

girl you and I will die unbelievers, bound

to the tracks of the train

 

 

half of me is the gasoline

but the other half's the surf

 

 

nobody knows what the future holds

said its bad enough just getting old

live my life in self-defense, you know

I love the past cause I hate suspense

 

 

 

paper's shot to pieces

the kids don't stand a chance

I wear short skirts, I wear t-shirts.

 "Because she wears high heels, I wear sneakers. She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers..."

Firstly, I love Taylor Swift. Her music makes me want to dance around my bedroom, singing into my hairbrush. It cheers me up after a bad day, a long shift at work or a fight with someone I care about. It makes me smile when I'm already in a good mood, and is the only thing I want playing on a long train journey. I have some tissue paper hearts that came out of the confetti cannon at her Summertime Ball performance on my wall of posters in my room and I own most, if not almost all, of the music she has released. Red is my running music, Speak Now gets me up in the morning and Fearless plays through my headphones while I fall asleep. Listening to We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together got me through my GCSE revision last year as whenever I thought I was going to go mental doing chemistry questions, maths equations or history past papers I would get up and dance madly around my house, singing along and blasting it from my speakers. And I will be the most excited person in the country when she announces UK dates for the Red Tour.

However, listening to the lyrics of You Belong With Me the other day, I realised something. Although it may be my favourite Taylor Swift song, and definitely her best video, it kind of made me sad. Its safe to say its a pretty well known fact that Taylor is famous not only for her music but for her high profile relationships and break ups as well, so it probably isn't a surprise to anyone when she writes songs about heartbreak and girls stealing her boyfriends from her. But something that occurs almost as frequently in her songs as mentions of beautiful blue eyes and driving trucks through the rain, are lines where she sounds pretty harsh or judgemental about other girls. She is a star, so it is in the job description to be entertaining and make music that people will love and want to listen to over and over. You may think that it doesn't really matter whether Taylor Swift makes a bitchy comment in a song - whether its about what a girl "does on the mattress" or what a guy is doing "with a girl like that?" - and you would be right. With people dying in wars all over the world and losing their jobs and homes due to the economy, the lyrics in music could be seen is completely irrelevant. But you could also argue that it is important; that how we talk about people is what makes us who we are.

And, honestly, that line just really irritated me. Because we all (girls.. mostly) have days where we do want to get up in the morning and put on a really short skirt and a lot of eye make up. Perhaps you're not feeling very confident or there's someone you want to impress, maybe you just want to dress up for the day. And sometimes on Taylor Swift's planet it seems like that makes those girls into the "slutty" girls. But at the same time, maybe even the next day, you might wear jeans and trainers, or go bare-faced, not even bothering with mascara and does that then make you the "sweet and innocent" one? The one "listening to the kind of music she doesn't like?" Not really. The way you dress shouldn't influence what other people think of you, and even though the image you present to world can sometimes feel like the most important thing in the world, it's not. Who you are doesn't change because of how you dress or how your hair looks. And sometimes, I want to wear high heels and sneakers at the same time. That's why wedge trainers were invented, okay.

My little sister, her friends and many people their age and younger all love Taylor and I think a lot of parents would prefer their daughter to be singing along to her music rather than Rihanna or Ke$ha. Its a little more innocent and while they may not actually understand some of the lyrics, Taylor Swift's whole image is just that bit more classy, more appropriate for younger girls to look up to. However as much as this is a good thing to have role models, and to admire people who are talented or successful, I think its just as important, personally, to be a "good" person. The definition of this could vary depending on different people's values, or what they see as important, but overall I would say you should be kind about other people. We're all guilty of it, and people who know me might be laughing if they read this, as I have a really sarcastic sense of humour and can probably say some very harsh things. This isn't necessarily something I'm proud of though, and I hope that people know that when I laugh at them, its because we're friends, not in spite of it!

 

So Taylor, maybe you need to take the advice Tina Fey gave you at the Golden Globes. Maybe you do need some "me-time to learn about yourself." And even though I really, really, really loved when Ed Sheeran came on stage with you and sang Everything Has Changed, maybe don't date him just yet. I don't think the world can take another really good break up album with lots of acoustic guitars and it definitely isn't going to handle two. And, last thing - I promise, please don't make that face again, the next time Adele wins an award you wanted... because we all know what you're thinking. And it makes the lyrics to this song look really ironic.
xxx

A Geek in Politics

While some people may consider themselves to be "geeks" due to their love for superhero films, or be known (in the nicest way possible!) by their friends as a "nerd" because of their detailed knowledge of astrophysics or Jane Austen books, I would put myself in that group for a different reason: Politics. It may sound completely random, and you may wonder, how can someone think politics is "nerdy"? It's so exciting and interesting (I'm kidding!) But seriously, I am interested in politics the way you might be interested in videogames or manga. It might be weird but it fascinates me. I follow many different politicians and journalists on twitter - I get most of the news that interests me from twitter to be honest - and its kind of sad how excited I am to start my A2 Government and Politics course in September. My glasses might not be as "adorkable" as Jessica Day or Alexa Chung's but I admit it... I am a politics nerd. Happy now?

Admittedly, politics has many, many, many hours of talking and long lengthy bills and legal stuff that no one really seems to understand (and actual people, in fact) that just make it seem boring. David Cameron, for example. Probably the last exciting thing he has done lately was to leave one of his children behind in a pub. Aside from that brief moment of entertainment, he makes the country want to fall asleep when he appears on the news. We've heard enough about the Big Society to last us a lifetime and we're certainly not "all in it together." Yawn.

However, when something exciting does happen in the world of politics, it's not only about the implications of changing a law or voting in a new leader and the effects that will have on the lives of potentially millions of people, like tiny ripples on the ocean. Its about the energy of people coming together who believe they can do something to change the world. Its amazing to feel that just by being alive you are watching history take place before your eyes. In this generation more than ever, you can feel you are having a direct impact. Whether you raise money or awareness for a cause or charity that means something to you, tweet or blog or just tell people about the issues that make you angry or simply turn out and vote for your representatives, making your voice heard, (something I haven't been able to do yet as I'm still only 17) all of these actions influence the way the world will be in the future. The Obama election campaign is an obvious example of this that springs instantly to mind. Why can't we have a election in the UK this exciting? I want Beyoncé singing outside Number 10, Downing Street, okay!

With this in mind, it was incredible to see the events that took place over the last few days in America. Politics in the States is really interesting and personally I think it is far more exciting than in Britain. The 24 hour period of the 25th to the 26th of June 2013 will be remembered as something pretty special. It might not have the impact of a presidential election result or a declaration of war and it's not as catchy as "Watergate" or as tragic as the Sandy Hook school shootings, but I think I will always remember where I was when I found out Wendy Davis' filibuster in Texas had been successful in blocking SB5 - legislation that would have outlawed abortions beyond 20 weeks. Writing it out doesn't make it seem very exciting but the results of her determination and bravery in standing up for what she believed in will (hopefully) have a hugely positive impact, both in Texas and maybe even setting an example throughout America.

Wendy Davis was born to a single mother and had her first child while still in her teens but she managed to rise above her difficult start in life to graduate from Harvard Law School and become a Democrat State Senator in Texas, one of the most staunchly Republican places in the country. Her story is really inspiring and makes her commitment to helping other young women who may find themselves in similar situations have legal access to free, safe medical care more understandable, but no less impressive. Coming from the UK, I think it can be hard to fully appreciate the way the medical system works in the US. We are lucky enough to have the NHS in this country and as much as everyone, especially (strangely...) elderly people, love to moan about it, I can say for a fact we would be far worse off following America' example. No amount of viewing medical dramas such as Scrubs, House M.D. or Grey's Anatomy can really get the awful unfairness of the situation across to you, that if you don't have insurance, you don't get treatment. Period. This is why people like Wendy Davis are important. Having only five abortion clinics in the whole of Texas would just be ridiculous and cost many lives. The bill has been scheduled to be discussed again on the 1st of July and we will just have to hope that someone else is able to stand up (literally) and do the right thing.

There were of course a few other exciting things that took place across the pond on Wednesday. DOMA was ruled unconstitutional, the challenge to Proposition 8's "unconstitutionality" (I really hope that is a word...) was thrown out - these are both Good News FYI - and the Voting Rights Act (or at least part of it) was ruled unconstitutional - although this, sadly, is a lot less good. However, and this is just my personal opinion, I felt a lot more inspired by the successful SB5 protests than by the other legislation. I live in a "single parent family" and I think that shows you how hard it would be to raise a child on your own, especially an unplanned one. Perhaps it's because (if I moved to America obviously) this would be the one with the potential to affect my life the most, although that may sound pretty selfish, or maybe the situation seems more urgent: life and death, as opposed to bureaucracy. While of course gay marriage is an incredibly important issue - and something I definitely support 100% - I do think someone's right to control the choices they make about their own body is more of a pressing concern.

Despite my opinions, I'm really happy for all the people that these law changes mean a lot to and I hope it gives everyone hope that, eventually, things will change for the better. I hope that in a few generations time children will be wondering what the big deal is and why their mum and dad, or mum and mum, or dad and dad keep talking about something so obvious. Because of course all families are the same, of course everyone should be equal under the law; the same way we now find it hard to comprehend when we learn in a history class about how less than a hundred years ago women didn't have the right to vote.

I don't know when there will be a female President of the USA, I don't know when there will be another female Prime Minister in the UK or in Australia, now that Julia Gillard is gone, but I do know I am really happy that there are women like Wendy Davis in politics today and I hope she inspires lots more girls to make their voices heard around the world.

What do you think about the recent events in America? Have they inspired you in any way? Leave your thoughts in the comments box, I would love to read them!

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