New Year, New Teen Vogue

mariethearistocatLeave a comment
Hero
Photo Credit: thefashionspot.com

In an interview done by Fox News, Teen Vogue writer Lauren Duca’s authorial legitimacy was questioned. She was asked to be interviewed after writing a piece on Donald Trump back in December 2016. So, as one would assume, she thought they would ask her about the article. Instead, they went on for ten minutes about how, as a fashion writer, she was unable to accurately write about politics.

This kind of blatant sexism is found in many places in journalism and is becoming commonplace with female journalists. The fact that a respected news organization like Fox News could let an interview like that air is beyond me. This incident didn’t just spark unrest for Miss Duca, but for journalists like her. Why is it that because a woman writes about fashion, makeup, or hair, she is incapable of writing about more serious things like politics or other current events?

This false predisposition is just what Teen Vogue sought to disprove in the newest edition of their magazine. Wrapped in a tall collectible format, hundreds of ideas were displayed to their many, avid readers. From the profound significance of the Academy-Award winning movie, Moonlight, to one man’s relationship with makeup, this magazine tackles a wide variety of ideas.

After reading this volume on my flight back to Los Angeles, I was blown away by the passion some of these authors wrote with in their articles and the stereotypes of a “teen magazine” that were totally disregarded. I read interviews of celebrities, such as Troye Sivan and Lena Dunham, done by people close to them. They were laced with a feeling of comfort, something you couldn’t find with a typical interview. I learned of the uplifting story of a Syrian girl finding a new life and love after fleeing her war-stricken country. I read stories of all different kinds of love: sisterly love, pet-owner love, love of fashion, and self-love. This volume talked about consent, masturbation, sexuality, and other essential lessons not always found in the sex-ed taught in high schools. The photoshoots showed candid smiles, unique fashion, and people of all races and sexualities.

Hero
Photo Credit: thefashionspot.com

In the future, it is my hope that more magazines will follow suit. Continuing to write about fashion and makeup, but also about things that matter outside of that realm, will further enrich the knowledge of many. It is important to hear voices from many walks of life, as representation is the first step to feeling empowered.

How have video games impacted modern culture?

Kairodnes1 Comment
Photo Credit: ow.battlenation.ru

1.2 billion people identify as gamers. Currently, 700 million people are playing right now. 46% are female and the rest male. Females tend to like games such as word games, puzzles, dress-up, and ones where you care for pets, while males tend to like ones about action, racing, and sports.

Even if you only play Angry Birds, you’re a gamer – just a casual one.

World of Warcraft is arguably one of the biggest digital games ever made, so big it created its own worldwide subculture. Gaming is a career. The highest earning gamer earns 1.5 million dollars a year. Video games have created memes in T.V., movies, stand up comedy. In Germany, there’s a T.V. channel dedicated to games, and in Korea there are two cable T.V. stations committed to games. 

Movies have been made based on games, like Warcraft. Celebrities like Robin Williams have advocated for gaming and love to play. There’s even a memorial for him. Van Diesel, the late Paul Walker, and Cameron Diaz all play and have talked about it. The financial impact of gaming is that the music in games reaches huge audiences, like the Wow theme song. 

 There have also been bad effects of video games like anti-socialism, in which gaming has changed the way people live and interact. 

Working at McDonald’s

KairodnesLeave a comment
Photo Credit: twitter.com

Most of the young people who have just graduated college are trying to find jobs to get experience. There is one place to work where they teach teamwork and how to be a leader. That place is called McDonald’s, which may be surprising to most of you out there.

A lot of people think that if they get into a good college like Stanford, Harvard, UCI, etc… they will automatically get a high earning job. Yes that happens to a few young adults, but sorry to break it to you, most of us here are not part of that select few. Most of us are most likely to end up working at a fast food restaurant, and  McDonald’s is good for experience and to learn what teamwork really means.

College Crises

paris22Leave a comment

Photo Credit: BuzzFeed

Over break, I embarked on the tedious task of touring colleges. As a junior in my second semester, the process of college applications and tours are like the big bad wolf coming to get me. But before I can actually apply to colleges, I have to find colleges I actually want to go to, and that’s proving to be quite the mission.

So far, I have visited four colleges, and after numerous kids telling me to “save my money and don’t come to this hell hole” on one campus, and seeing 10,000 kids crammed into another tiny campus 20 minutes outside of the city I actually want to be in, I am now down to only two prospective colleges. The reason being is I have a very extensive checklist for my future colleges, which, considering my GPA and lack of extracurricular activities, is probably not the best idea.

Also, every college tour is the same: they all pick the same peppy tour guide, drone on about their majors and team sports, and their “diverse” (cough, cough) student population. These tours also remind me that I have another four years of school to endure after high school, so all in all, college tours really are my big bad wolf.

Life is fleeting

1998sakuraLeave a comment

I came to Ojai Valley School in the middle of my sophomore year and now I am 88 days away from graduating. Two and a half years at this school went by fast, but when I look back at the past it feels like a long time ago.

Life is so weird to me – the fun times go quickly and the sad, painful times go so slowly. Sometimes I want the time to fly and sometimes I want one second to last forever. As I’m thinking about all this, time won’t stop and life just keeps going.

I found this inspirational video by Robin Williams. He says “please don’t worry so much…because at the end none of us have very long on this Earth”. He also says that “life is fleeting.” I love the way he thinks about life, and that he puts this message out to the world.

Whenever I am stressed out about the future I always remind myself that “life is fleeting.” Sometimes I get so busy that I forget life is fleeting and precious. I need to focus more on enjoying life rather than rushing through it.

I recommend everyone watch this video, and I hope everyone gets the message.

The truth behind my acceptance to college

1998sakuraLeave a comment

I recently got into my top-choice college, California State University Northridge (CSUN). I applied for the Cinema Television Arts department, which is very competitive.

I was shocked that they accepted me, because they didn’t ask for any teacher recommendations or personal essays. My GPA is not that high, so there was no way I got in just from that.

Photo Credit: memegenerator.net

The application only allowed me to submit my GPA, SAT scores, and personal information, such as my gender and race. So even if I were an Olympian, for example, CSUN had no way of knowing.

I researched a little about the real criteria evaluated by college admissions departments. I learned that race, family income, and where you come from can affect your acceptance. Colleges want to have a particular mix of new students. And I also know for a fact that the film industry is putting effort into getting females more involved.

Because I am mixed race, a female, I have a disability, dyslexia, and because I am a Japanese-American who grew up in Japan, I was at an advantage as far as getting into the school. I feel very lucky that my personal information was my advantage.

fire and ice

mariethearistocatLeave a comment

fire and ice

she was burning with fiery, passionate love

she had eyes of burnt ember and they sparked every so often

she wanted to envelop everyone in a comforting warmth

she became her kids’ campfire so she could give them a place to sing and laugh

she burned with such fierce power that she could eradicate an entire forest or anyone who dared to hurt those close to her

Photo Credit: http://www.icompositions.com

she who smiles with the brightness of the sun

she needed someone to hold her close and add sparks to her weakening flame

she needed to burn an image of herself in everyone’s minds, so she wouldn’t die out

she needed a moment that was so bright that even he remembered her warmth

he with those icy, blue eyes that could stare into you and make your heart stop

he who gave his family the cold shoulder and now has no one

he who sleeps in an empty bed in an empty studio apartment, listening to the city life pass by him

he who makes strangers shiver when they so much as glance his way

he always froze up when near her, his face getting paler with every step she took toward him

he who could never get himself out of his dark, barren mind long enough to let himself thaw out

he was so cold that even she couldn’t melt away his icy exterior

so they were stuck in an eternal loop, the same moments, waiting and longing for a connection to bring them out of their burning, but cold misery

Psychic Experience

paris22Leave a comment

Photo Credit: KQED

Last weekend I saw a psychic, because for one, she was having a $15 special, (which has been in effect for about as long as I can remember) and also out of pure curiosity. So, my best friend Leila and I walked into the little yellow house with a psychic sign out front.

When we walked in, there was quite a bit of commotion. A little boy had a chihuahua on a leash, the chihuahua was jumping up our legs, and the psychic brought a shirt to a mysterious man in the bathroom.

The $15 special gave me two questions to ask the psychic, and the answers she gave me were startlingly accurate regarding what was happening in my life. On top of that, Leila and I gave her no background information whatsoever. She did not know our names, or anything about us. The answers she gave Leila were a bit suspicious in her opinion, but every answer the psychic gave us was detailed and full of confidence. I’m still not sure if there are legitimate psychics, but this experience was quite interesting.

Belief

whynotstayinLeave a comment

They were on the battlement looking out at the sea of fog that lay just a foot below them, so thick it looked like the edge of the world.

She was sitting in the embrasure, the tips of her feet brushing the clouds of opaque sea.

“Fog’s low tonight,” she said to him.

“Yes, it is.” His response was clipped and uncomfortable.

She kicked her leg up and folded it so she could rest her chin on her knee. “The stigma persists, even here.”

A light chuckle bubbled out of him. “Yes, you may be in a different Kingdom, but that doesn’t mean you’ve escaped the beliefs of Norinth. Don’t tell any of the bigots and loyalists this, but all of us, our kingdoms, they’re all derivatives of the same belief. They difference is in how we approach and enforce those beliefs.

“I am sorry if I seem uncomfortable around you. In my defense there aren’t many, well, really any women in this profession or anywhere near it, not to mention you are quite a case.”

A breeze blew through, ruffling the tops of the trees peeking through the fog.

“I could catch the stars,” she said, reaching toward the sky, “and still people wouldn’t believe in me.”

The moonlight reflected blue off her unusually short hair, and her hand seemed to glow.

“I’m sure they’ll believe you eventually.” He was staring at her, unsure of what she was, because she certainly wasn’t cut from the same cloth as any of the other soldiers.

Time

1998sakuraLeave a comment

I have Depression. I can’t control it – I don’t know when it comes and makes me depressed. My depression started a couple of years ago, and I’ve noticed a pattern for when it comes. Every two months it suddenly hits me. Sometimes it comes out of the blue, or sometimes something triggers my feelings and it happens. The trigger can be really simple, but it can be a big deal to me.

sun glare
Photo Credit: Evelyn Brokering

When I am depressed I feel really lonely and nothing seems interesting, it is very painful. To forget the pain I make myself busy by participating in activities and doing projects on my own. When I am not depressed I am very happy, I laugh at stupid jokes, hum along to my favorite songs, and blast music in my room and dance with friends. I forget how I felt when I was depressed, and I have a great time.

I think the only solution to solving my depression is time. I need time to process things. I hope that time will actually solve it, and until then I will keep myself busy.