Rachel Reacts: Bacon (And Other Things)

A lot has happened since I last reacted - so let's get right into it:

1/ ... Bacon, Ham, Red Meat and the WHO

(giphy.com)

             
Not The Who like the band, I mean the World Health Organization (WHO, you ask?)
Aside from that terrible pun, the WHO came out with a report in late October that crushed the lives of millions and millions that love meat of all kinds, particularly that of processed nature. So any kind of bacon, deli meat, and even red meats are now said to be linked to a higher risk to having cancer. Some reports went way into the deep end by drawing the parallel that eating processed meat is just as harmful as tobacco and asbestos. Rest assured, the WHO shot down that claim. However, it is still a wake up call to the rest of us to stop eating these meats on a regular basis so as to control our future risk of cancer.
But here's the thing: when my Facebook and Twitter lit up that night with bacon filled posts, a part of me was not convinced at all. Yes, the WHO has extensive research to conclude that processed meats are now classified as a carcinogen (group 1). But previous research has said similar things, albeit not to the extent that processed meat could cause cancer. We already know that high and regular consumption of processed meat can lead to conditions like obesity and heart disease, which is why you don't eat bacon every day. But if you really can't help it, then exercise and balance it out with a lot of fruits and vegetables. This will only remain an issue if you let it. So get up and exercise, and try something new, like chicken.

2/ ... Essena O'Neill

(http://www.manrepeller.com/minor_cogitations/essena-oneill-quit-social-media.html)

My most recent blog post was inspired by Essena! Just a quick recap: This 18 year old girl from Australia had built for herself a massive internet empire with large followings on Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr and Snapchat. She had gotten so famous that she began to receive sponsorship from various companies to pose with their products. But recently she revealed that all of this fame and having what many of her followers dubbed as "the perfect life" did not make her happy - in fact, it was quite the opposite. Because of this, she "quit" social media cold turkey (a carcinogen?) - She deleted her Tumblr account and discontinued posting videos, as well as deleting over 2000 pictures from her Instagram feed and changed the captions of many to reflect the true meaning behind the "perfect" snap. She says that despite being looked up to and being worshiped by thousands of girls, she knew that this was all a facade and incredibly misleading. I applaud Essena's bravery and wish for authenticity. So many times do we find ourselves trying to project a certain image of ourselves onto social media, just so that we can come across as happy. But our true happiness is not determined by a number of followers or likes. Being content - truly content - requires humility and respect for ourselves. We should be incredibly thankful with what we do have instead of focusing on what we don't have.

3/ ... Gender balanced Cabinet

("Because it's 2015" will probably go down in history. - http://www.themarysue.com/justin-trudeau-cabinet/)

 After being sworn in on November 4th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed his new Cabinet. His cabinet has been dubbed "gender balanced", "progressive" and "accepting" of various minorities. A quick breakdown of the cabinet includes 15 women out of the 31 cabinet members, 2 Indigenous ministers, 3 ministers with disabilities, a mix of rookie and veteran ministers, and regional representation across the board. This is definitely a step in the positive direction for diversity, inclusion and equality for all, especially in the area of government decision making. I think that it's great that we have such a diverse cabinet (with an equal proportion of women to men!) as well as many ministers that have different backgrounds outside of politics. It will be interesting to see where this takes our country in the future. And his reaction when asked why he aimed for such diversity in his cabinet? Classic.

That's all for now! Stay rad :)

Until next time,

x R

Updates for God

Everything came together all at once.

This weekend I had the opportunity to spend time with close friends, meet new people and relax after midterms. But while I enjoyed the time that I spent with people, my mind was elsewhere: I was thinking of the best way to take a super awesome shot for my Instagram.

I say that this all comes together at once because this revelation that I had about my absenteeism in social situations came into my mind last night in a near tragic situation. Without going into too much detail, I nearly got into a car accident that had all the components of being fatal - but thankfully God was on my side and I walked away unharmed, just shaken.

On Facebook today, I read a Buzzfeed article about Essena O'Neil, an Australian Internet celebrity who recently quit many of her social media platforms after spending years building a huge Internet presence and empire. The reason why she quit was an admirable one: she saw that she was becoming consumed by this idea that she had to post "perfection" and "goal-worthy" pictures in order to be liked.

So how does this all relate?

In that split second where you have no control over the situations at hand and have no idea how it will all end, all the countless selfies, "candid" shots, #OOTD posts, aesthetic food shots... it means nothing at the end of the day.

(Stefan from SNL!! - from giphy.com)

Many people probably know that I have a large social media presence, from Facebook to Twitter, from Tumblr to this blog, from Instagram to contributing to other blogs and beyond. Lately everything that I post, especially when it comes to Instagram, has become very staged. And I too am beginning to realize, like Essena, that I am being consumed by this inner struggle of staging perfection to everyone else.

I am uploading more and more of my life to the outside world and not truly savouring the moment. I spend so much stressing out over getting the perfect shot that I forget to enjoy the company of those around me. But most of all, I am spending more time updating my life to others than I am to God.

God doesn't care about my tweets or my status updates or Instagram pics. He knows everything that I will do before I even do it, so He doesn't need any social media updates of any kind. But what He does want is to foster a deeper relationship with me - and you!

Lately, filters have taken priority over contemplation and prayer. I spend time finding the perfect picture to post, but what about spending time finding the perfect way to live in His image? While God doesn't need updates throughout the day, He does appreciate the time that we spend in silence and time spent talking to Him about our troubles, our worries, but our joys and sources of happiness as well. And these are the worthwhile "updates" that He wants to hear!

(Betty White is awesome. from giphy.com)

After the moment of impact yesterday, I realized all too abruptly that our life can be taken away from us without warning. While I probably won't be quitting all social media anytime soon, I know that I will spend even more time taking care of myself and updating God even more than I update my social media. You will still probably see more food shots for my food blog, selfies from time to time and very meticulous and thought out posts, but I know now that my focus should not be on trying to seem perfect.

On that note, never feel like your life is not interesting enough. Everyone's life is unique and wonderful, and we need to take advantage of the opportunities that we have and engage in the world around us. Because if we don't, our life will pass us by without warning.

Until next time,

x R

Rachel Reacts: Family Reunions (And Other Things)

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've done this tag, in part because of midterms taking over my life and focus. But I'm back, and I hope to do this more often instead of weeks and weeks in between, so let's role:

1/ ... Family Reunions

Yup, we're cool.

I love family reunions, especially because most of my family is over in Hong Kong and Singapore. It's not every day that I get to connect with my extended family unless it is over phone, text, Facebook or Skype. So the time I get to spend with them is super valuable, and luckily we were able to have a massive family reunion this past summer in Vancouver and Whistler. 

But what if there was a law banning you from seeing your family? This is what is happening in the Koreas, which are technically - and I did not know this - still at war., due to the fact that the Korean War ended on an armistice and not a Peace Agreement. Last week, many families from South Korea traveled to North Korea to have a visit with family members who were living there. After the Korean war, people that lived in North Korea were forbidden to leave to South Korea and also have no contact with their loved ones. These reunions have been happening on and off since 1988, depending on the relations between the two countries. The last one happened in February 2014.

And how are the families selected? As it turns out, South Koreans have to enter into a lottery to be selected, taking into consideration health and age, while North Koreans are selected on their loyalty to the government. Many of these people have not seen their family in decades, and they bring with them gifts such as money, toiletries, clothing and food. Reading about this made me incredibly sad at how families could be divided like this because of war and turmoil. Some will never get the opportunity to see their families again, and those reunited cannot bring loved ones back with them. In our society we take family for granted, but seeing what these Koreans go through, we have nothing to complain about. 

2/ ... Trudeau and #elxn42

(source)

                     

This React piece would not be complete without taking about our new Prime Minister to be, Justin Trudeau. I am not surprised by this outcome at all, and frankly I would have been even more surprised if Harper was re-elected. But this shows how great the youth vote was able to swing the results. The number of people voting in this election rose significantly, with many once Conservative ridings becoming Liberal. Indeed, the "red wave" swept into Western Canada from the Atlantic. But a couple things stood out to me. One is the significance at the fact that the Atlantic Canada results were released so early, as in, way before the polls were even closed to closing in BC. I don't know if that had any impact on the voting out here. It could be that if the results were held until our polls closed that even more people would have come out to vote. Just a thought.

But in terms of Trudeau, I am interested to see if he will hold up his end of the promises on issues such as the fight against ISIS and pulling out Canadian troops, taxing the wealthier members of society, the pipeline, and investing in much needed infrastructure. And of course, the flip side, is how he and his government will be able to pay off the deficit that he is planning to run from the beginning.

Other than that, he does have great hair and, he spent the morning after the election greeting people in a Montreal subway station!

3/ ... Hate Crime

(giphy,com)

                         

This past Thursday Sweden faced a tragedy that can only be described as a violent act against a certain race. A 21 year old walked through a school and violently stabbed those who he identified as having dark skin. He killed a teacher and a student and injured several others before being shot by police. This school in particular is known for having foreign born students. This happens in the light of an explosion immigrants coming into Europe to escape war torn areas in the Middle East. 

The scary thing is that racism and hate crimes are not just happening in other parts of the world, but here in Canada as well. In my education class we spent some time discussing Aboriginal culture and education, and I was surprised to find that there is still a major prejudice against Aboriginal students in our school systems, not just between students but also from teachers. It's sad that we still shame other groups that are not like us and that violence ensues because of difference. This doesn't bring us forward; it only pushes us back.

4/ ... Vice President Biden

(giphy.com)

On Wednesday Vice President Joe Biden announced that he will not be running as a Democratic candidate in the American election slated to happen one year from now, citing his son's death as one of the key reasons. This comes after an extra podium was set up for him during the Democratic candidates debate, in case he decided to run as well. I always liked Biden and how happy he always is. He's been in American politics for a very long time, so I feel that it probably is for the best that he doesn't run just because of age. He is, after all, 72 years old. But then again, front runner and former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is 67 years old and other front runner Bernie Sanders is 74. I guess if you really want something bad enough, you can go after it at any age. Does this mark the end of VP Biden's time in politics? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

5/ ... Midterms

(giphy.com)

No comment. Just kidding.

All I have to say is that midterms come at the blink of an eye. You think you're just getting started and just getting settled in and all of a sudden week 7 shows up and you are studying into the early morning and drinking a lot of coffee. It's a fun time. So for anyone who is going into university in the coming years or is still unsure of how this process works, be on guard at all times. Time is just an illusion, and we really don't have that much time. And the same goes for assignments and final exams: you think that after you do your midterm you have a lot of time to finish your paper and study for your midterm. But judging by how quickly the first half of the semester goes, the same will happen here. 

I know this because I made that mistake - learn from my shortcomings! Manage your time well!

That's all from me! Hope to do this more often than not. Also, I've done a lot of work with my site so please check that out, and if you're always hungry like I am, I would be super grateful if you check out my food blog! It's slowed down a bit because of school, but I hope to keep it up as much as possible.

Until next time,

x R

Rachel Reacts: Body Shaming (And Other Things)

Hey everyone, sorry for the hiatus! School is now back in session and it's been really weird, getting back into the flow of going to school and studying after I had been off for over 4 months. While I know that my time will be taken up by school, music, work and other activities, I wanted to make sure that I continually write, whether it be contributing to various blogs, writing poetry and of course, writing here! I also wanted to make it a habit of keeping up with current events and what is going on around me, which is why I am starting this new "section" or "tag" entitled "Rachel Reacts". This is basically me continually writing while keeping up with what is happening around me, even if that means keeping up with the Kardashians (but I promise I won't bore you with that stuff!)

I aim to be doing this every other week as consistently and humanly possible. Each time I will go over 5 things that I have read, watched, or stumbled across. For the most part, it is really  opinions on current events, popular culture and life in general, but I will try and throw some fun in there as well.

Without further ado, I present to you the first installment of Rachel Reacts to...

1/ ... Body Shaming

(from giphy.com)

 My initial thought to this? It sucks. The whole concept sucks and should cease to exist. We unfortunately live in a society where our looks dictate the kind of success that we will attain in life. Why should our size matter? Why should our skin colour matter? Why do people care how I dress, what size jeans I wear, or whether or not my eyebrows are on point? Are we as humans really this shallow? I bring this up because I, like many, have watched Canadian comedian Nicole Arbour's video "Dear Fat People". In it, she explicitly calls out fat people for being the way that they are, and that they are bigger in size because of laziness. It was extremely uncomfortable to watch, but I guess in some ways it was like a car accident, you can't stop watching it. And the worst part? When confronted about the video, she calls YouTube out on "censoring" her and plays it off like the entire thing is a satire. Hate is not the same thing as satire, my dear. We can't judge people based on physical appearance. Whether you are fat, skinny, tall or short, love yourself. Your confidence is your most beautiful asset, and you are so, so loved.

Note: the video has explicit language. 


2/  ... Election 42

(forums.canadiancontent.net)

I am a 19 year old Canadian citizen. I am allowed to vote in the upcoming federal election. But this three way race between Harper, Trudeau and Mulcair (and let's not forget Green Party Leader Elizabeth May) has left me more confused than ever. Admittedly, I have no idea who to vote for. My understanding on the issues is, in a word, limited. I have conflicting thoughts and voices in my head with flying words like "deficit" and "taxes" and "free tuition" (wait, free tuition?) and "he's just not ready." I'll tell you who else is not ready: me. I guess we'll see where this goes and who I'll be voting for next month.

3/ ... The Ongoing SFU vs. UBC Competition

(forum.canucks.com)

I am proud to be an SFU student. I also have many reasons as to why I chose to go to SFU to pursue my post secondary education over other post secondary institutions like UBC. But I really can't wrap my head around the ever present misconception that UBC is better than SFU. I have high respect for people that go there and for people that have graduated from UBC - it is a great school, no doubt, ranking at number 40 on the 2015 Academic Ranking of World Universities . In terms of strictly Canadian universities, UBC comes in at second place just after the University of Toronto. SFU comes in at number 10. But at the end of the day, do these rankings and numbers really matter? I think that we should all focus on what is ahead of us - that is, work hard at your degree, regardless of where you are studying. In the end, all the doctors have goals to help the same patients. The engineers will be working on our city structures. The journalists will be reporting on the same issues. Work hard and succeed; don't let rankings and expectations bog you down. As long as you do your best, you will find your niche, succeed and get your degree.

4/ ... "I'm Fine"

(giphy.com)

Are you? Are you really? The simple phrase of "I'm fine" has become a cultural phenomenon that literally has begun to mean the opposite of what it is. It is probably the most common little white lie that people use, sometimes subconsciously, on a daily basis. I know that as a girl, I am totally guilty of saying that even though I am not. I guess in some respects, we say "I'm fine" because we are seeking attention. We want people to pry into our lives and figure out what is wrong, all while keeping ourselves guarded and not letting anyone else in. I realize now the frustrations that this can bring about. I am currently dealing with someone who used that against me last week - saying that they are fine and all - but it is so obvious that they aren't. The one thing that my two classes of communications has taught me that our non-verbal communication is so much greater than our verbal, making the phrase "I'm fine" total BS if we can't portray that in our body language. I get it though, sometimes we just don't want to talk. But I hope my friend knows that I'm available to talk and offer support. And if I offended him, that I'm sorry. And if he is having a bad day, then I hope that things get better.

5/ ... Pumpkin Spice Lattes

(giphy.com)

YES. It's Pumpkin Spice Latte season!! And I have no shame in admitting that I love them. I guess it's because I love cinnamon and allspice and all those lovely fall spices. My love for pumpkin pie actually came from this drink, no joke. You can get it hot or in frappe form... and the best part? You can even get it iced! Now, do yourself a favour and get yourself one...and click the link on the title!

That's all from me! I'll try my hardest to make this a bi-weekly thing and continue to write, but until then, I'll be enjoying Pumpkin Spice Lattes.

Love yourself and be kind!

x R