Check Your Entitlement: Love & Impatience

Patience is key. Photo credits to my lil sis Eleanor.

Wow, it's been a really long time since I last wrote. I know I say that every single time, and it kills me that it takes me so long to come out with content. I frustrate myself a lot of the time. I digress though..

I saw something on Facebook today. It always starts like that, doesn't it? Anyway, it was shared by a couple people and I couldn't help but clicking on the link to read more and enlighten myself. The interesting thing is that it was an article that was written in April, so a few months ago. The title is very explicit, raw, and it de me question myself, my friends, and my generation:

"We are the generation that doesn't want relationships."

As I read through the article (which you should definitely read, by the way, because it says something very interesting about our generation), I couldn't help but feel a lot of things at once. I felt sad, because ultimately, this article illuminates a truth that our generation embodies. We are a generation of instant gratification, fuelled by our own impatience and narcissism. We pride in posting the best photo with the best filters and best caption in hopes of getting the most likes. If something comes off at first blush as difficult, we try and cut corners. If something takes too long, we move on. We get bored way too easily, and this video by College Humour definitely will test that for you. We've de-evolved, with the attention span of a goldfish, and I think that the same can be said about relationships, particularly that of the romantic kind. That guy that you're interested isn't responding to your moves? Don't waste your time, they tell you. Move on, there are other fish in the pond. That girl doesn't want to move to second base yet? Find someone who can, and will.

Yikes.

On the other hand, I felt slightly angry after reading this. Who are these people, telling us that our generation has no self-control? It's a sweeping statement that definitely isn't true for everyone. It's true that technology and social media has greatly impacted the way that we communicate and ultimately date, but that doesn't deny the fact that humans still crave intimacy, friendship, and relationships.

I guess the one thing that I do agree with is that sometimes we only are in love with the idea, the concept, but not an actual person. We sometimes prematurely fall under the guise of being "in love" when things are going good: the object of your affection is texting you non-stop, you coincidentally match your outfits, your Snapstreak is on fire... all things that, on the surface, are just that. It's all surface-level, superficial love.

What I have noticed is that there is no depth. There is no patience, no effort. And I realize that that too is a blanket statement; not everyone is like that. But the real test of depth and love is through the tough times. Relationships are not perfect, and love is not perfect. But therein lies to truth as to whether or not you are truly in love, as in, whether or not you are ready to make sacrifice for the other person.

That sacrifice, along with hardwork, makes it all worthwhile. The second to last paragraph in this article really drives the point home:

We feel entitled to love, like we feel entitled to full time jobs out of college. Our trophies-for-everyone youth has taught us that if we want something, we deserve it. Our over-watched Disney VHSs taught us true love, soul mates, and happily ever after exist for everyone. And so we put in no effort, and wonder why our prince charming hasn’t appeared. We sit around, upset that our princess is no where to be found. Where is our consolation prize? We showed up, we’re here. Where’s the relationship we deserve? The true love we’ve been promised? (via Huffington Post)

And I think that is where the biggest problem is: our sense of entitlement. The world is a tough place, and the only way that we will be able to get by is if we put our head down and work. We can't expect things to be handed to us on a silver platter while we stand by idly and find the perfect selfie to post. Regardless of what you want, be it a job, a solid grade, or a relationship, you need to work for it. It's actually quite a simple concept, and yet we are all stuck with our heads in the sand, waiting for someone to give us what we want.

I definitely have my own work cut out for me, and I know that in the end it will all be worth it. And it will be, for you too!

Thank you, Michael Scott. (via giphy.com) 

To end on a positive note, I've finally figured out how to make Spotify Playlists! For a digital native I'm pretty horrible at this stuff...

I wanted to share with you a playlist that I put together. It is sort of topical, as it is entitled Foreslsket, which is Norwegian for "the word for when you start to fall in love". So, spoiler alert, it's a collection of mellow love songs! Another spoiler alert, you need a Spotify account to access it!

But yeah, here's the link to the playlist as well as the song list:

1. "In Her Arms You Will Never Starve" x Copeland
2. "Crush" x Yuna ft. Usher
3. "What Would I Have To Do (After Party Remix)" x David Myles
4. "Brand New" x Ben Rector
5. "Closer to Love" x Mat Kearney
6. "Lover Come Back" x City and Colour
7. "I Choose You" x Sara Bareilles
8. "Craving (Acoustic Version)" x James Bay
9. "Don't Lose Your Love" x Ivan & Aloysha
10. "Romance" x CRSB

Shout out to the folks at Flux and Folk for the playlist/music sharing inspiration! They have some pretty nifty stuff on their blog - go check it out! You'll be glad that you did :) !

That's all from me - take care of yourselves, love out loud and be patient. Good things are on their way!

x R

Waiting on the Right Time

Okay, update: life is lonely, sometimes.

(source)

Growing up, I've always hated drawing attention to myself. I was never really a fan of solo performances and would rather be really low key. The same usually happened with guys: as much as I would want certain ones to notice me, there was always shyness and I would just leave it.

Now through volunteering and just the fact that my schedule changes every four months, I'm forced to break out of my shell a little more and meet people. I thought that by being a little more confident I would meet someone nice and cool. But so far, there is no one.

Before, I've come to the conclusion that I don't need a man (yet). There is so much I want to accomplish, there is so much I want to get done - maybe this is God's way of saying that the time is not right. And okay, I hear you loud and clear. But sometimes it's hard to take that message to heart when you are the only single one left in your circle of old friends, you are bombarded left right and center with PDA on transit, your wonderful sister's track record is more successful than yours (go check out her blog here), and reading the daily newspaper gives you stories straight out of Nicholas Sparks novels.

I've met some amazing guys and have also find myself in less than ideal situations, but through it all I keep telling myself that it's just the beginning, that I'm still young, and that the time will come when He wills it. Like the most magnificent flower, it needs the right growing conditions - soil, sunlight, watering - as well as care. 

Lately these thoughts have been occupying my mind, and I've asked God when it would be my turn. I understand now what responsibility comes with being in a relationship, and I understand more than ever that love is by no means disposable. Throughout each of my experiences and the time in between, I've learned what I liked and what I needed, what I valued in a guy and the things that I found most important in a relationship. But now that I knew these things, I just needed the guy.

So through my open conversations with friends and God, I was confronted with this today.

This morning on my feed I came across this video that featured Steve Harvey talking to a young girl and her mom. I hope for Steve's sake that this helps him to sweep the Miss Universe fiasco under the carpet.

But the video featured him talking to a girl that openly sexted with guys. She said that it made her feel "like a Kardashian". It made her feel so good that there were guys telling her that she was pretty. However, once she started with one guy, pretty soon all the other guys were trying to take advantage of her. And when she tried to stand her ground, the guys would turn on her and try to coerce her into bending the rules, just a bit. While I watched this, my heart cried out for this girl. She is so, so loved - I can see it in her mom's eyes - but she is also so misled. She measured her self-worth with the amount of guys that wanted nude photos of her. She measured her beauty with the number of guys chasing after her.

Steve Harvey's response was priceless and really hit home - I wish I could post it here, but because it's on Facebook, check it out here!

A simple and profound reminder that there is so much in life worth living for, and that I shouldn't put it all on hold just for the sake of someone to cuddle with, to take cute pictures with, or to dress up fancy with.

Being a relationship is a responsibility, a responsibility entrusted to different people at different times. Until then, I will patiently wait.

You are valuable. Don't sell yourself short. The wait will be worth it.

x R

"I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases."
- Song of Solomon 8:4

Change Needs More Than Slacktivism

Bell Let's Talk Day. Since 2010, the campaign has committed more than $100 million to mental health initiatives across Canada. In the past 6 years, initiatives such as this and Mental Health Awareness week has definitely helped to make gains in the fight against stigma. We are more educated and more aware than ever before.

But despite the gains that we have made, let's not pat ourselves on the back just yet.

Last year on this day, I discussed how an initiative such as Let's Talk Day .very important to me. Social media is a great thing in that, when used positively, it can helped to spread awareness at the touch of a finger. The better part is the fact that with every tweet or call made on the Bell network on this day, 5 cents will be donated to various mental health initiatives. This makes it easy for anyone to get behind an incredible cost with minimal cost to themselves.

At the same time, something like this makes it easy for anyone to get behind the same cost with minimal effort.

Enter: slactivism.

(Oh no, Ryan Gosling doesn't like slacktivism. From Giphy.) 

                                   
20 years ago, before social media even existed and the Internet was a figment of our imaginations, activism took the form of sit ins, rallies, lobbying, petitioning and protests. There were people that were devoted to a cause - women's rights, environmentalism, ending youth violence - and these people made it part of their life to fight for these causes.

The advent of hashtags and sharing articles on Facebook, it has become incredibly easy to learn about something, become temporarily moved or enraged, and then move on. In the sea of social media, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between those that actually care and those that are just jumping onto the bandwagon. Hashtags like #BlackLivesMatter during the wake of police brutalities and shootings against African Americans in the United States and #JeSuisCharlie after the horrific shootings at the Charlie Hebdo offices in France brought major world incidents to life in an instantaneous fashion. Suddenly the entire world was able to connect and humanity was able to mourn together.

But simply hashtagging a cause 'just because' doesn't really do anything substantial. Even in a case like Bell Let's Talk, I know for a fact that my Twitter timeline will be flooded with #BellLetsTalk - I myself will be tweeting any chance I get. I'm not saying that what we are doing is wrong, but we need to remember that all of these causes extend just beyond the day itself. Activism and awareness should not just be a one day thing, it should be everyday.

A similar example comes with Pink Shirt Day and the quest to eliminate bullying from schools and workplaces. The students behind Pink Shirt Day were inspired to create this initiative in response to bullying that they saw against a male student who was wearing a pink shirt. Since its beginnings in 2007, Pink Shirt Day has been supported every year to raise awareness.

(Source)

The idea is a great one, and the cause is one that is so important, especially since bullying is such a prevalent issue in our schools and workplaces. But wearing a pink shirt for a day isn't going to solve anything in the long run, and neither is tweeting the hell out of a hashtag. Because if people fall back into their old ways after all the fanfare is over, then we are back to square one with nothing achieved. And unfortunately, this kind of behaviour happens more often than we'd like to think.

I'm not saying that we should boycott these initiatives. Obviously initiatives need to start somewhere, and this is how we get the discussions going.  We need to bring this dialogue into our homes, classrooms, and office spaces. It isn't enough to have an anti-bullying day - we need to have anti-bullying everyday.

"Activism and awareness should not just be a one day thing, it should be everyday."

We need to teach our students that every child has worth and value, regardless of ethnicity, religion, gender or socioeconomic status. We need to teach empathy and acceptance of their classmates, and themselves. We need to educate our students on the important issues of the day and about the world in which they live in - a world where violence and indifference does exist. We need to inspire these students that this violence and indifference doesn't have to exist if we take a stand together. That these students could be a generation where real change can happen.

But if we just resort to our little universes and strive after #squadgoals and just tweet things just to show other people that we actually care about current affairs, then our society will just plateau and go nowhere.

This year's Bell Let's Talk Day is on Wednesday, January 27. Definitely take part in the cause, because it's a great one. But also remember what the purpose is, what the discussions are surrounding the cause, and consider doing some research or engaging in open dialogue with others on the topic if you find passion in it. And it doesn't have to be mental health or bullying - whatever you care about and find passion in, I encourage you to learn more about it, see the different sides of the argument and see what you can do to help advance the cause.

Change needs more than slacktivism. Real change comes when we all come together and engage.

Let's change the world!

x R

What It's Like to Be Catholic... and Depressed

I can proudly say that I am a Catholic. Though I have had my fair share of ups and downs with my faith growing up, it wasn't until getting to high school that I was really able to embrace it and share it. It has become much easier now to share with others that I am Catholic without feeling shy about it.

However, being opening up about depression is a different story altogether. It wasn't until recently that I began to open up about my struggles through different pathways such as this blog and the Speak Out Blog, for which I contribute to.

I have begun to talk to more and more people about mental illness and other things that surround the topic. I'm not really sure what came over me, but I guess the biggest thing is that I wanted to stop finding excuses to validate my depression.

We don't need reasons to be happy, because sometimes we just are. In the same way, we shouldn't need reasons to explain why we are down or depressed or anxious.

But there was just one, tiny problem. I remember talking with other Christians about the whole issue of depression and suicide. It is through those conversations that I opened myself up and talked a little bit about my past experiences - namely, I've been depressed for a while and had thoughts of suicide in high school.

The people I talked to would look back at me in disbelief. "But you're Catholic, you aren't allowed to be depressed. God said so."

Now before I go on, I would just like to pause and say that this is not me having beef with other Christians, nor am I ragging on them for their seemingly narrow-minded ways. I am open to other Christians - I have friends who are Christians and non-Catholics. And while there are minor differences in certain practices, the God is still the same. The paths are different, but the end goal is the same.

Okay, push play.

In conversations that followed, I got more or less the same reaction, along with sprinklings of "you need to be baptized ASAP" and "you're going straight to hell". It made me question all my feelings, but it also made me somewhat fearful. Was I really going to hell because I had thought about suicide a couple times?

But the hardest hitting one, and the one that sparked this post, was this one:

"Why are you acting so selfish? Are you not grateful for what God has given you?"

Whoa, okay.

(umm... from giphy.com)

Let me be clear of one thing: I am not just grateful, I am EXTREMELY grateful. I know how lucky I am to be born in this part of the world and to be in a family that loves me. I have access to a home, to food, to education, and I am healthy. I'm lucky that I wake up every day so that I can write more pointless words so that people can read them (though I really hope that they aren't pointless).

Having depression, or any other mental illness, does not make you selfish. Wanting to commit suicide is not selfish, and committing suicide is not selfish.

Any person who has suffered from depression will know that we have very heavy hearts. We feel more than sad - we feel down on life, like the world's odds are stacked against us. On top of that, we feel like we are burdening everyone - family, friends, and others - with our depression.

So we don't talk about it, in part because we don't want to burden people, but also because 1) we don't want to admit that we need help and 2) we don't want to be shunned or thought of as "problematic" or "different". But as we all know, not talking about any kind of problem perpetuates more problems, and suffering alone sucks. It absolutely sucks.

Being a Catholic was an extreme clash inside of me. On the one hand, I know exactly what the Church teaches on life and death - we value from conception to it's natural end. So that's why we care so much about abortion and euthanasia - not because we want future babies and terminally ill people to suffer, but because we don't dictate the value of life and we don't decide who's life ends because of our socially constructed "life value". Similarly, by taking our own lives prematurely, we would be going against the same Creed we recite every Sunday.

However, God is good. He knows that we make mistakes, that we all fall down, and that sometimes, life is hard. Feeling depressed does not make you ungrateful. Committing suicide does not make you selfish.

Hearing these conflicting ideas, I think, ultimately kept me from going through with anything serious. There were many points when I wanted to end it all, but in those quiet moments where I felt something that had some semblance of sanity, I weighed the pros and cons. Sure, my pain and suffering would be over, but I would rot in hell. This logic ran through my head over and over, and I felt incredibly guilty for it. I didn't want my family to grieve, and I didn't want to be labelled as selfish, as a failure, or as someone who just couldn't suck it up.

(http://nedhardy.com/2013/09/24/24-comics-that-capture-the-true-essence-of-depression/)

Admittedly, despite the fact that I have met some incredibly supportive friends and have done more research on the topic, I have always felt guilty of my depression and thoughts of suicide. But it wasn't until a few months ago, when I watched this video about Kevin Hines, a man who attempted suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. He is one of the very small percentage of people that survived the fall, and now shares his story with others in hopes of bringing more awareness to the topic of mental illness.

You can watch the video here - and I encourage you to take 5 minutes to do so:

Regardless of your faith, know that you are not being "selfish" or "ungrateful" if you are depressed, anxious, or suffer from any other mental illness.

You are still human. You don't need reasons to feel this way - and you shouldn't have to provide reasons either.

Sorry for ranting,

x R

                                 

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

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