Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Time is Key

I'm so tired of wasting my time on crap. I am 18 years-old, almost 19 and I've finally decided I'm ready for a serious, committed relationship. Before I just wanted to play around and have fun. Falling in love or having anything serious wasn't on my agenda because I want to experience life independently. More importantly, I wanted to be able to know myself alone before I try to find myself in a relationship. I'm not one of those girls who always needs to be in a relationship.
That being said, I've spent enough time playing. I believe now is a good time to start testing the waters of a serious relationship. My timing couldn't be worse! I don't want to shine myself in holy light, but I like to think I'm funny, smart, and relatable. I believe I'm someone a guy could talk to with ease. So I don't understand why a guy won't put in the time. Get to know a girl (not just me), find out what she likes, take her to do something OTHER than going to a movie! Where did the effort go? Just a little bit of creativity or romance would be a great improvement to my outlook on dating. I feel surrounded by boys that just want to get in my pants or have nothing to do with me at all. Why can't we be friends? I don't owe you anything, I don't even know you, but you want me sexually? I'm not stupid, I know the games. Also, you guys are lucky that not ALL women are gold diggers because I know plenty that would be glad to let you take them out and never speak to you again.
I'd hate to say this, but it's up for consideration. Maybe it's me! Am I just too paranoid and hard headed that I'm kicking out the guys with good intentions? Honestly, I doubt it. Maybe it's a college thing. The wrong time? Seems like it always is. I just want a guy to say, "Hey" rather then, "Yo shawty!" or something of that nature. I am a person. I can communicate verbally. Why is that so difficult? If any guys read this, take note: get to know a girl, don't ask for a date (ask to hang out at such and such at time such and such), be yourself, and let it grow from there. I'm tired of guys acting like they're always "tryna hit." Please, just take the time!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Dear Fellas, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Dear Fellas,
I don't care how low your pants are. I don't want to know the disgusting bruises, cuts, scrapes, etc. your body has endured in detail. I especially don't want to know how many females you get to lay in bed with you. If you feel the need to boast about the tattoos you have, your sexual conquests, how much money you have, or the number of cars you have, you have self-esteem issues. Men complain that women are all the same (as do females) but that's because we use the same methods hoping for different results. If we put dating through the scientific method you will see that a man flaunting his money and cars will get a gold digger just about every time. I don't need you to prove to me that you're a man, kind sir. If I didn't know that, I wouldn't be talking to you.
I feel sorry for guys sometimes because there's a lot to be expected of you all, but it all can be contradictory at times. A guy is expected to be sensitive yet masculine, a tender hero, to always have time for a job, friends, girl, and sometimes families. Your friends call you "soft," your girl calls you a jerk, and you're supposed to figure out where in those two extremes you're supposed to be. To me, a real man is someone who takes care of their priorities first, and luxuries come later. Don't concern yourself with what your friends and girlfriend think. If you feel you have to push yourself to be anybody but who you are, it wasn't meant to be. For example, my friend has started going to the gym and started bench pressing. His friend called him a bitch for being hesitant to press 200+ lbs, so five reps into the exercise my friend hurt himself. If you're self-esteem is so bad that you're willing to hurt yourself to prove you're not a "bitch," you have larger issues than your muscle mass. If that's the only way to prove yourself to your friends, get new friends.
It's nice to have a fast car with all the features and the newest phone, but I'm not impressed if it's paid for by someone other than you. A hoopdie and a Metro is fine with me, and I'll go Dutch on a date if you're making an honest living. I'm aware that life isn't always easy and that money can get tight sometimes, but it's no excuse to risk yours safety for an illegitimate job (a.k.a. dealing drugs) to prove a point. Money isn't everything, and a good woman will help you when you need it.
And if you're single? Please remember this: STDs are real, cooties aren't. They are not synonymous, and they (STDs) are a real danger. If you can't get a relationship to work so you jump from "bitch to bitch," I understand why you fail at relationships. From my experience with my friend, there are some men that relish themselves with easy choices. An easy choice is a "bitch," slut, hoe, whore, skank, etc. (which is why these girls are called "easy"). If you want to show a girl that you're ready for a relationship, swallow your pride and put in the work. Relationships are hard, but are worth the effort. Having a classy woman who loves you for you is worth all the hassles in the middle. Easy choices will only leave you alone (in the long run) and at risk for Syphilis, Chlamydia, AIDS, Gonorrhea, etc. Remember, as much as you think you're playing these girls, they're probably playing you too. Who's paying for the dinner, movie, gas, drinks, etc.? Yes sir, you're being used just as much as you use them, making you the skank, slut, and bitch. If you respect yourself, you will know not to risk your health on users. It's trifling and nasty and will get you nowhere.
So if you want to be a man and not a bitch, get a real job, pay your own bills, get a real woman. Not only will you earn respect for yourself, but you'll get it from me as well and many others.

Dear Ladies, R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Dear ladies,
If your boobs are out along with your butt crack and you muffin top has reached maximum capacity, you're not "badd." If you cannot dress appropriately and still feel confident in your appearance, you have self-esteem issues. I want all ladies to recognize this because we are very imbalanced. As far as I'm concerned, a girl like Nicki Minaj is just as self-conscious as a girl that "looks like Precious." Why do we want to emulate girls who used sex as a main method for success? It has been our sex that has been used as a weakness for years! Even when blacks gained the right to vote, women were still expected to stay in the kitchen and serve their men. Women's suffrage is one of the newest civil right breakthroughs (next being gay rights), yet we prove to men that our sex is our weakness. We need to break the habit of thinking that sexuality will be our saving grace. Female sexuality as a business will rely on men as the consumer, forever leaving us bound to men for our needs. Where are the independent women?
I don't understand why we have perfectly capable women thrusting their breasts into Facebook pictures instead of their pretty faces. We have better ways to represent ourselves as human beings as opposed to sexual deviants. A woman who relies on her looks isn't confident in her abilities or in her intelligence. Stop praising sexuality as a means of success! Give me my Susan B. Anthony, Marie Curie, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt and Michelle Obama! These are the women to look towards and they are the examples we should live up to when I say that even in this day women are paid seventy cents to a mans dollar. My existence is not quantified by my rating from a scale of one to ten or by how many men I attract in a day.
A Nicki Minaj is not so different from a "Precious," two sorts of women whose insecurities are exploited by our society. An "ugly woman" is something to be fixed, a problem to be solved, a change need to be made. Jennifer Hudson, for example, just joined the Jenny Craig band-wagon. By no means is Jennifer Hudson ugly. When she first came out on the scene, I was happy a curvier woman was open to the public eye. However, her new Jenny Craig campaign saddens me. A perfectly good woman changed her body to fit the American ideal of what beauty is. What does that say to our younger generations? To my generation? I've been through my self-hate, I've been through my "fat stage," I've been through my "sexy-tight clothes stage," and now I'm at my acceptance stage. I am not thin, but that doesn't mean I'm ugly. Jennifer Hudson was not thin, but she was beautiful. Why did she have to change?
I know I've asked a lot of questions that I will not be able to answer, but that's not the point. If anyone reads this, I want you to consider why our society is this way. Consider what you may do and why you do it. A woman hiding her body under large clothing because she's self-conscious is not very different from a woman with her cleavage out because that's the only way she feels "sexy." We need to move our focuses from the sexual to the intellectual. When we become confident in ourselves, then we can worry about what a man may want from us.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

My Favorite Quotes

I believe these quotes are either very true, important to remember, or speak greatly about my life experience. Some of these are from rappers, some are from political figures, some are from myself (I promise, I'm not trying to ego-trip).

"Our stories may be singular, but our destiny is shared." - Barack Obama

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein

“Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it.” - Horace

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

“There’s always a reason, never an excuse.”

"Got a clue what I'm doin' but I'm sure not a shoe-in I can ruin it by bein' untrue to it." - Asher Roth

"Self expression is all that I know. My direction is all on my own. I direct it, produce and edit, so no excuess if I lose: Can't regret it." - Asher Roth

"Fighting a war with myself and I’ll always get shot. Messing with good standards, and far too well mannered; Thanks for the rejection, and I'll ignore all the banter." - My life

"The two biggest mistakes a person can make is to assume and underestimate." - Me

"I've spent too much time being negative of others, when I should remember the time spent of others being negative of me." - Me

"The pessimist may be right, but the optimist has the better journey."

"Some of the best things said are minimalistic. They don't suffer from extraneous requirements of language, they're just beautiful and meaningful on their own. For example; I love you, I hate you, good-bye, hi. I think the last one's my favorite." - Me

If I Were To Pray...

Dear God,
Remind me to be humble
and that I'm no better or worse than any other.
Remind me that every person has a story
and that I believe that no child is born evil.
If I shall never love,
let me appreciate the love of those around me.
Remind me that I am not perfect.
and I will be rejected by others.
Keep my best friends in my life,
and let the others learn from their mistakes.
Keep my eyes focused
and my heart clear
and never let me stray.
Remind me that stress is of my own creation
and that happiness is a choice.
Let me have the curiosity to ask,
and the wisdom to know when not to.
Should I live forever,
always challenge me.
And when I pass,
let me pass last
so no one shall cry at my own funeral.
But more importantly,
remind me to forgive and forget,
and to live and let live, laugh, and love.

Under Construction

There's a reason for my choosing this name for my blog. People are continuously "under construction" in the sense that no one is ever "complete" or fully mature, at the pinnacle of wisdom, and though we're in denial, none of us "know-it-all." Part of the human condition is growing, learning, and building upon the foundations our parents, environment, social status, etc. has given us.

I don't think this blog will help me "make it big" or get a lot of attention, but hopefully it will grab at least one persons attention. This blog will probably just consist of views from my life, advice, thoughts, etc. For the record, I am from Philadelphia, currently in Chicago for college, and I am 18 years-old. Also, I am a single, white, female. Some people think that's important, and it had/will have an affect on what I discuss, as well as my point of view on topics.