100!

Ahhh, yes, dear readers.  T'is my 100th post.  I'm sure you're peeing your pants with excitement!  

Two weeks left of this dreadful semester, loves.  If I can survive it, I shouldn't have to take a lab science ever again.  Here's hoping!!

Anywhoozles, today is the Day of Silence.  This is something I participated in many times as a high school and college student, and though I no longer participate (I work from home...  the only conversations I have are with myself or my dog), it's still something I believe in.  It has become more and more important as bullying continues and escalates around the world.  

If you're a student and participating, kudos to you for having the balls/ovaries to stand up against intolerance!  And if you're not participating for whatever reason (school doesn't support it, not in school, etc), just remember that it's never too late to help make a difference.  Today isn't the only day you can take a stand!

I'm pretty busy today, so I'll leave you with just two songs to think about today:  

1) Lady Gaga - "Born This Way" The perfect anthem for the Day of Silence, IMO.  Lady Gaga may be a bit eccentric, but her heart sure seems to be in the right place.  You go, Gaga!  (Of course, I also have to share the link for the super-awesome 10-year-old who rocks this song on her keyboard... Too effing awesome.)  This song reminds us all that EVERYONE needs to be loved and respected, and that we should always be proud to be ourselves. 

2) Lily Allen - "F*ck You" The first time I heard this song, I fell in love.  I mean, I already loved Lily Allen, but I fell in love with the song.  It was a whirlwind romance, and while we're not as close as we once were (I no longer listen to it 3, 4, or 10 times a day), I still rock out to it sometimes and remember our affair fondly.  Anywhoozles, this song really just sticks it to the people who seem determined to remain ignorant and intolerant in a time when change is what we need most.

I'm glad my 100th post could be about something I a passionate about, and I hope you take a moment today to consider your own feelings and actions, and ask yourself what you can do to help fight intolerance. <3 

Talk, Talk, Talk

This morning, my husband asked me why people feel the need to express themselves in front of a camera, even when they have nothing of value to say, or don't know what they're talking about.

"Because everyone wants to be heard," was my response.  

I think that's pretty accurate, right?  Yes, some of us talk just to hear our own voices.  And some of us talk to fill uncomfortable silence.  And some of us talk because we don't know what else to do.  But the point of communicating in the first place is to get your message to someone else; the point is to be heard.

For example, I am (for the most part) a pretty quiet person.  In groups, I tend to be the listener, the one who sits back and lets everyone else do the talking.  And yet, this is the latest of many blogs I've attempted along the way, so clearly I want to be heard by someone, even if I'm not actually speaking.  

When we feel our opinions and ideas are falling on deaf ears, we can tend to get riled up.  It's then that we grab our soapboxes and scream from the rooftops just to be heard.  Even if the only response we get is, "Shut it!" or "You're an idiot!" at least we know that someone heard us.  There's something comforting about getting a response, no matter how negative...  Almost like we need reassurance that we haven't become invisible, and that our words - our voices - aren't just in our own heads.

It's at that point that some people choose to go in front of a camera in order to be heard.  And whether or not they have anything of value to say isn't the point, but rather that they will reach an audience, who will inevitably have something to say about it, and receive that affirmation of existence.

On the other hand, some people are just idiots who like to talk.