On Disappointment

I have a disappointment about France. I'm not sure how to better word that statement, because if I say something like "I have to face a disappointment" or "I am facing my first disappointment", then it implies 1. an unnecessary gravity to the situation and 2. that I anticipate there being many more disappointments.* Though I had hoped and hoped that I would live in a homestay with a fantastic French family who would immediately love me and bestow upon me all of their numerous French learnings and mannerisms,  I have, instead, received notification that I will be living in my second housing option for the summer: Cité Universitaire.

CU (not CU) is dorm housing for international students. For those who don't know, this was actually my first option for a significant amount of time, but then I realized how important my linguistic growth is to me, and how rapidly I wanted to learn. It is likely that the main spoken language in the dorms will be English. Hencethereforeergo, I decided to switch my first option to a homestay to guarantee that only French would be spoken by me and to me. I was also looking forward to the fact that maybe, if I really worked well with the family I stayed with in the summer, I would be able to stay with them in the fall as well and build an even stronger connection to them. I would learn more and get more out of the experience.

So yes, I'm very disappointed. But let's be real, I'm still living in Paris for 7 months, and it's going to be amazing. My friend Ariel will be staying in the dorms as well, I believe, so we'll have each other to lean on, and I'll have to meet new people (Non-CU students) faster. This is great, actually, because I could use some travel buddies for later in the summer! I just have to make sure that my linguistic goals maintain their position at the top of my priorities list, and everything will be perfect!



* I do, actually, but not because I'm a cynic. This is going to be a difficult transition into a new culture far from friends and family and my normal support systems or ways. And things will be different than I want them to be sometimes, which can lead to disappointment, but I acknowledge this for the sake of being okay with it. 

What's the point of all these things?!

I decided to get a Tumblr. Maybe because I've grown weary of my own inability to tweet, or maybe the ability to actually interact with people no longer appeals to me (facebook). Maybe I just like the idea of the abandoned vowel in "tumblr". Whatever the reason is, I have one now.


Unfortunately, I can't really figure out the point of any of these things. Brielle has explained Twitter to me a thousand times, but I always just have to respond with a shrug and say "Okay?".  Blogs are nice if you have something to say, but they make me feel genuinely narcissistic and overly self-involved. They also make me feel like I spent too much time looking at a computer screen. Or maybe they make me feel lonely, because who really reads these things anyway? All the people I care about, I care about in real time in the real world. I love to see them vis-a-vis, and I see no shame in this antiquated means of relaying who I am and what I care about to them.


But I don't have that luxury anymore. Or I won't soon, actually, because I'm going to be in Paris for the next 7 months. 


And so I guess the real reason I decided to return to this blog (which I made ages ago), and the true reason I got a tumblr (fifteen minutes ago) is because of selfish reasons. Not entirely selfish, because I know there are people out there who will care about where I've been, what I've seen, and who I'm growing into being (yes, Mom, I'm talkin 'bout chu), but mostly selfish, because I want to keep track of myself. I think it would be nice. I think that, between all the means of relaying information and showing flashy pictures, I will feel a bit too spread out, though. I can already foresee the struggle (do these beach photos go on my Tumblr or my Facebook!?). Ah, chaos will ensue. 


But before it does, I'll collect my thoughts here over the next days. And soon I will be in France, and maybe I won't have time to exist in both the real world and the interwebs. Maybe I'll just get a journal (read: diary!) and handwrite everything as I've always done and always feel so inclined to do. We'll see how it goes. Right now, this will suffice.


But don't expect any tweets. I still don't get that. If I'm supposed to be a child of the 21st century, perhaps I was adopted...

Sunday

So....I'm not good at blogs, but that's okay. For about 10 years I was an excellent diary journalist, and my diary even had a cute little lock and a cover with those frowny-looking angels from Renaissance art. So I feel like I put in the necessary time at some point.


Anyway, my friend Marly, who actually is good at writing in a blog on a regular basis, is keeping track of her adventures in India via her blog. I keep rereading her entry for one of her earliest days on the trip. She was meeting the people she'll be travelling with and they each had to pick a question out of a hat or some other ice-breaker nonsense. Her's was "When you're entering a pool, do you wade or do you jump?"Marly's gut said jump, and when she chose to analyze this answer, she still said jump. She chose to jump in more than one sense, and here she is having this whirlwind adventure. 


Interestingly enough, this moment has me thinking more about fate than it does about the fact that in 3 months I may very well be jumping too (fingers crossed for France!). I mean Marly didn't have to pull that question, but she did, and it was the perfect catalyst for her confidence. I have so much to say on this front, but honestly, I don't like blogs. How am I supposed to freely reflect on anything when I know someone could be strolling through google, searching a phrase like "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" and then BAM, here they are all in my life. It's creepy. You can't honestly disagree. 


Anyway, I'll just say that fate, timing, the lack of control we have over our lives at the end of the day...it's all pretty amazing. I couldn't be more grateful for it to be out of my control. 

Free time!!

Once upon a time I had a blog. Now I have a blog, hours of Arabic homework, hours of French homework, an internship that I'm kind of acting like I don't have, and some other random obligations. Neanmoins, j'ai un blog encore, et donc, je vais écrire!

Even though I have all this stuff on my tiny little dinner plate (which on any given day may or may not be one of those fancy China ones that cracks when you look at it too hard), life is good. Life is good good good for the first time in a while, and I'm not letting any languages or other nonsense rain on my parade (This is a Barbara reference, NOT Glee!). I was, though, reading my dear friend David's blog and I realized that I can't figure out what my 'outlet' is. He, of course, is sporty spice over there being all awesome and physically active with his bajillionK races. Now that I've started commuting to my 9am, because I live at 110 street and my class has been moved to flippin 122nd, I'm slightly less active. But I wear heels, so I kinda do the same amount of work, right?And I was never one of those "let's sweat out our stress" kind of gals. I mean who ARE those people?! Obviously here is one of them...

She's either just seen Edward (or that wolf guy?) or has finished doing a session of Bikram yoga at the studio I went to last week. This is pretty much what I looked like when I walked out: died hair, dead eyes, the whole shebang.

Anyway, the point is, I guess I need an outlet to balance my mental state and physical state, but I don't yet feel too burned out, just incredibly focused. This is refreshing considering I haven't been able to be too focused for a long time, but I don't think this extreme is really that much healthier than the other in a lot of ways.  Also, I don't think it makes much sense that I can only title my blog post "free time" before 8am, AFTER doing my Arabic homework. I'm not complaining! I'm just mentioning it with mild bitterness. 

Note to all: NEVER google search "sweaty"! EGADS.

Haha, now you're going to go dooo iiiit...

An original post for HOOT blog

Shameless plug alert!! Well, it is MY blog... Anyway, I am a blogger and blog editor for a fantastic fashion, lifestyle, culture and arts publication at Columbia University called Hoot Magazine. It is a baby -- created only last year by some really fantastic people -- but is already well on it's way. I wrote the blog below, and I thought I'd give Hoot some love and showcasing by sharing it with you all. Check out the rest of our Hoot blog, too!

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Naomi and Liya: Supermodels and Superwomen

For the month of September one of my and my mom’s favorite magazines ESSENCE has put out an amazing article: 40 Fierce & Fabulous. It covers 40 fantastic African American women who span a myriad of professions but all share a sense of drive, superior intellect, and make an impressive list of achievements. While I found the article to exceed its intentions of inspiring its readers (I can’t stop rereading it!) I have been just as pleased by how much I’ve learned from the article in reference to two women in particular.

Naomi Campbell and Liya Kebede are two beautiful, driven, timeless, and successful supermodels who prove that there is more to them than a pretty face and a great runway walk. Some people may not have heard what these inspirational women are involved in outside of fashion or the occasional blow up in gossip pages, but there is much to be learned from them.

Naomi Campbell has established Fashion for Relief, a foundation that has raised $1 million dollars for victims of Hurricane Katrina and, in February of this year, raised more than $1 million for CARE, an organization working to reestablish Haiti’s health care system for women and children. Naomi kicked her talent and networking skills into high gear by organizing a fashion show in Bryant Park for her most recent show, but it isn’t her first and I doubt it will be her last. All ticket sales went to CARE, as well as all money raised for the items that were auctioned after the show. For more details, read Naomi’s interview with CNN.

Naomi walking the runway at Fashion for Relief. Nypost.com

Naomi is also a Global Ambassador for the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood and working to ensure that bringing a life into this world doesn’t have to be at the risk of the newborn’s or mother’s, a cause she shares with Liya. See footage of Naomi’s trip to Tanzania here, where she saw the conditions mothers and children are working with.

Liya Kebede was first appointed Goodwill Ambassador for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in 2005, then reappointed in 2007. She works to raise awareness for the proper well-being of mothers-to-be and their children. The responsibility of being a Goodwill Ambassador is earned by well-known personalities from various fields of public life who commit to contribute to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) efforts to raise awareness of health problems and their solutions. Liya spoke to CNN about the suffering she saw mothers and children experiencing in Ethiopia in 2005. With thanks to WHO and the Liya Kebede Foundation, situations are improving.

Liya Kebede being appointed to her position by Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, former WHO director-general. CNN.com

Liya also helps the economy in her native Ethiopia by employing Ethiopian weavers to make her sustainable clothing line, Lemlem.

Lemlem means “to flourish or bloom” in Amharic, and perfectly embodies both of these women and the progress of the causes for which they work so hard. I find it inspring to know that they have achieved their levels of success, and then still managed to develop a lens of selflessness through which they view the world. I think it is crucial to realize that once you have reached your goal (as you undoubtedly will, dear Hoot reader!), that that achievement does not grant you the opportunity to ignore where you have come from or what challenges you have been lucky enough to not have to personally face. There will always be someone less fortunate than you, someone who dreamed the same dreams you did, and someone who needs your help. Whether you are so successful that you are broadcasted to the public’s eye, or an everyday person reaching your own aspirations, just being someone in this world gives you a responsibility to turn around and give back.

“With great power comes great responsibility” – unknown

Keep your sense of perspective, keep positive, and keep going!

xo Morgan
Blog Editor

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Help me and the other talented, dedicated, and motivated writers/bloggers/fashionistas of Columbia University's Hoot Magazine by helping us reach our financial goals! The production of our beautiful and diverse publication is  pretty tough on us, especially as a new organization with bare-minimum funding.  Don't let money be what holds Columbia's creative minds back, and  DONATE as little as 1 dollar  to Hoot Magazine's !  Also, by donating you can score some pretty fantastic thank you gifts. Here are a few of our best:

• A copy of the Fall 2010 issue, signed with love and thanks by Tinsley Mortimer herself
• A copy of the Winter 2010/2011 issue, signed with love and thanks by Rider Strong himself
• A makeup lesson and application with Chanel makeup artist, Jennifer Nam
• A personal photoshoot (you can even invite friends and family) directed, produced, and shot by Photo Director, Damian Tran
• A selection of Lancôme or Shiseido cosmetics
• The opportunity to attend New York Fashion Week
• The opportunity to help out at a celebrity photoshoot
• Advertisements for your business in our blog, website, and magazine
• The eternal love and gratitude of a bunch of fashion-loving college students, and especially ME! 

So please, check out our kickstarter project page, donate, and THANK YOU SO MUCH. 


To see our most recent issue CLICK HERE!

Hide yo' kids, Hide yo' wife

I was literally just ATTACKED. All I wanted to do was watch some Chelsea Lately with Naji, and this damn PREGNANCY commercial comes on. I mean, it's not actually about pregnancy. It's about coco butter by those Palmer people. But jeeez, I feel like I've been hit in the face with this woman's swollen-ass uterus. I'll pass, thank you, on expanding bellies AND stretch marks. Unfortunately many 18-and-younger-year-olds didn't decide that...ouch!

In other news, life is grand. Naji and I are now watching Ronnie and Sammi fuss on MTV. Quote of the day: "I don't like tests. That why I didn't go to college...that's why I fail most of the time." Thank you, Ronnie, for that honesty and genius. I can't even say anything witty in response because that takes the cake and eats it too (ha! I found something to say!)

Another update: Naji and I just found the PERFECT band name: Too Stupid for Chopsticks! It's based on the seen where Snooki goes to get chinese food and looks like an idiot.

But seriously, real talk, I'm going home in 2 dayssssssssssss! I'm so happy I could scream. In fact, I have. So Grand.

I'm sure you've seen him before, but, ladies and gentlemen: Antwon Dodson!

Hopes, Dreams, and Sea Salt

There are no limits and no bounds to what you can do. If you put your mind to it, you can achieve anything. There's a world of possibilities --- UNDER THE SEA!!

Why should I stop dreaming when I wake up!? My friend Liz and I refuse to face reality, and we've stumbled across the most amazing website. Honestly all we did was go on a google-tastic search because we wanted to know how to find a potion that will turn us into mermaids!!! I mean come on, who doesn't? I refuse to let go of summer, I will be a mermaid FOREVER!

Thankfully this person offered me their superb guidance and expertise:

I did a spell and it is working i'll write down the easiest way topronounce the words:
insoosient inclemensy
reedowtable medeeocrasy
reefewtable humanitee
make me what i want to be a MERMAID
witches one and witches all
give this power to me

DONT SAY THIS WHILE DRY!!!!!! you dont have to be mega wet but a finger or toe must be wet whilst saying it.
You must also have a symbol on your upper body like a necklass or a bracelett.
TIME TO COMPLETE: Side effects start straight away but a full tail takes 4-6 weeks to grow!!!

GUYS! DON'T. SAY. THIS. WHILE. DRY. To get optimum results, I have filled the kiddie pool that Naji and I bought for our Sunset Pool Party with water and have fully submerged myself. I have also worn a young Scottish girl around my neck. I WILL NOT FAIL! Liz and I will chant these phonetically written out lines until we both sprout the mighty tail of KING TRITON! ...in, you know, 4 - 6 weeks...

SOMETHING HAS GONE TERRIBLY AWRY!!!!