25 Days of the Unpopular: PBS

If you didn't watch Arthur or Dragon Tales on PBS Kids when you were younger, you probably had an awful childhood. I don't know about you, but these shows crafted me into the woman I am today. I wouldn't have been able to tell time if it wasn't for Loonette's clock rug stretch on The Big Comfy Couch, and the lions from Between the Lions taught me the importance of proper grammar. When I heard the intro song to Arthur playing from my living room, my 7 year old problems would disappear and I got to live in a land of talking aardvarks for half an hour. Then, I could fly with dragons in the land apart. After that, I'd Cyberchase Hacker around Cyberspace with Matt, Jackie, and Inez. And I can't forget Zoom. To this day, I don't know exactly what Zoom was rather than a bunch of socially inept children getting together to play games.


I haven't heard much about PBS Kids anymore. It seems like PBS has grown up with our generation. Now the major shows on PBS include Downton Abbey and Rick Steves' Europe. We've left our Reading Rainbow and Maya and Miguel days and moved onto the post-Edwardian British social hierarchy and a middle-aged man running around Europe. That is, if you still watch PBS. Nowadays, we're glued to E!, either mocking the Kardashians or kissing Ryan Seacrest and Jason Kennedy through the screen. We must remember to look back on our halcyon days and never forget the prime animal/owner friendship Emily Elizabeth and Clifford the Big Red Dog taught us.

25 Days of the Unpopular: The Inbetweeners

If you want British entertainment that will make you wheeze from laugher, watch The Inbetweeners. It was first a TV show, and all the episodes are on Netflix. They've also made a movie which we watched the other night. I haven't laughed that hard at a movie in a long time. It is not a popular show in the U.S., but those who've seen it here usually find it to be the best thing to enter their lives. I can attest. It has won various awards, including Best Sitcom and Outstanding Contribution to British Comedy at the British Comedy Awards. I don't know what any of those mean, but it sounds impressive.

The story is about a guy named Will Mckenzie (ha) and his three best friends. Will provides the voiceover throughout the episodes and the movie. Despite his supposed young age, he looks like a middle-aged man. He's uncomfortably awkward and often spouts out very offensive, yet innocent remarks. Although he's prone to make bad decisions, he's the most level-headed one. He is aware of his unattractiveness, which makes him pessimistic about his chances of finding love. Sounds familiar, idk.

Jay Cartwright is the most "boyish" of the group. He has the raunchiest, most immature sense of humor that will make you snort, whether you are uncomfortable or not. He is the least experienced of the group, but he acts like he is. He's pretty obliviously stupid and adds the most noticeable hilarity to the plot. 

Simon Cooper has a less crude sense of humor, but is the most neurotic character. He's so cute he almost seems like a puppy. He's definitely the most considerate, thoughtful, and sensitive one in the group. In the movie, his emotional distress adds to the humor of the plot. At times he seems so helpless you can't help but feel bad for him.

Last but not least, there's Neil Sutherland. He's the dim-witted friend of the group. He's very oblivious and gullible, but also very joyful. He causes many of the bad situations, but fails to realize it. His character is ironic because he's less obsessed with girls and sex than his friends, but he usually ends up getting the most action.

Pls go watch it, you won't regret it.

25 Days of the Unpopular: Zayn Malik

He's got the dark Pakistani features, his eyes are like pots of melted chocolate, his voice is like water being poured into a tall glass, and his quiff is always perfectly rectangular. Despite this, Zayn Malik is often the overlooked member of One Direction.

He is an artist, onstage and off, spending most of his free time painting and drawing. He's drawn the album artwork for all three of their albums. He appears to be quiet, but his bandmates say he's loud off-camera. Since he comes off as reserved, he doesn't receive quite as much attention as the rest, but it seems to be okay with him. As seen in the movie This Is Us, the movie documenting the behind-the-scene aspects of One Direction's fame, Zayn prefers to be alone. His absence in many 1D situations started the ongoing joke "where's Zayn?" He seems to be very mature for a 20 year old, and he recently got engaged. He can hit a high note like none other. Higher than a runway model's metabolism. Despite the fame the band has received, he keeps his personal life private. And I think that's what makes him so unique and intriguing.

No matter how he is perceived in the band, no one can deny his talent. He provides the strongest, most distinctive vocals to the group. He's an incredible musician, and seems to be a wonderful person as well.

"I want to drizzle Zayn's body with dark chocolate." -Clarissa Davies

"Give Zayn more credit!!!" -credit card companies

"I like Zayn." -Raquel DeGroot & Linda Davies

25 Days of the Unpopular: Bangs

Bangs were a glamorized hairstyle in the 80s and 90s. It was a hip trend seen on everyone from Suzanne Somers to Keith Richards to this girl on the right. Nowadays, I see very few women, and men, rocking the fringe. It seems like bangs are considered "dorky" or "childish." That may be so, but what's so wrong with looking like you have a backwards bowl cut? I say, if you want a sheet of hair covering your forehead, go for it. You can make it vintage. I definitely wish they were more popular than they are. :(

Here's a few of my favorites rocking the 80s hair with no shame. Take notes:

We were mad she chose Blaine over Duckie, but we were still rooting for her droopy mushroom hair.

No

I always knew I loved him for more than one reason!

I had this haircut for the first five years of my life!

50% bangs, 50% face.

A bit too much forehead action with the bangs and the eyebrows, but eh.

AND I'M OFF WITH A BANG! (hahahahahahaaHAHAHAahaah) <:-}

25 Days of the Unpopular: Footie Pajamas

I would like to formally welcome you to the 25 Days of the Unpopular! For the next 25 days, I'll be posting once a day about something that is not popular, but should be. An odd little Christmas countdown! Some of these topics will be Christmas themed, some will not. Here's what I think: there are so many things out there that are very cool and practical, but they go unnoticed because it isn't the current "trend." Since this is the season of love, why not show these oddities a little affection? Plus, I think it's fun heh.








To start off, I'm going with a favorite of mine: footie pajamas. More specifically, Christmas themed footie pajamas. Nothing brings out the holiday spirit like festive ensembles. I own two pairs and I know of nothing that brings me more happiness. You're technically not wearing pants, but you're covered so it's still socially acceptable. If you're looking for a sensible Christmas gift for your beffie, your significant other, your mother, your father, your crazy uncle Dave, your dog, yourself, this is the perfect idea.








Someday footie pajamas will be a major trend on the runway and on the red carpet, so you better jump on this bandwagon sooner rather than later!

The 2013 American Music Awards

I'm always up for an awards show, and once again the 2013 American Music Awards did not disappoint. For some reason, I found it to be much more entertaining than many of these shows in the past. For one, Lady Gaga showed up to the Red Carpet on a human horse. Yaaas Gaga yaaaaas! Jennifer Lawrence did not trip up the stairs nor did Kanye interrupt Taylor, but Pitbull removed his sunglasses, JT went a bit country, Lil Mama brought it back with blue hair and some spice, and Marc Anthony won Favorite Latin Artist over Prince Royce (I was shocked too!) The list of artists and fame whores was diverse- even Rico appeared to see Hannah Montana I mean Miley own the stage in her jazzercise outfit. Hosted by Mr. World Wide himself (Pitbull), the show included almost as many international artists as American. Ironic. Or should I say iconic? Haha, because Rihanna won the first-ever Icon Award. Anyway.

The show started out with Katy Perry performing "Unconditionally." She was wearing a kimono and toe socks, and the theme of the performance was very anime. I just love her unrelated stage set ups. Queen. Ke$ha took to the stage with "Timber", wearing an ensemble showing less skin than usual. Modest is hottest Kesh! Mr. World Wide joined her with his sunglasses and rhythmically mumbled something that's probably degrading to women. Lady Gaga and R. Kelly put on a PG-verging-on-PG-13 performance of "Do What U Want", acting out the scandalous relationship between JFK and Marilyn Monroe. Christina Aquilera sang some song, but I think I was in the bathroom during that. I'm not a big fan of Ariana Grande's recorded music, but she slayed. Her performance was flawless and we should all attend whatever quinceañera she is dressed up for. Florida Georgia Line and Kendrick Lamar performed also, but I wasn't paying attention to either of those.

Jennifer Lopez's performance brought us to believe that she is the Latina version of Beyoncé. And Miley's performance was surprisingly tame, minus the large space cat projected on the screen behind her. She's honestly so talented. She just brings on the haters when she dyes her eyebrows blonde and gives us all recurring stress dreams of that terrifying image.



The question on all of our minds was "where's Justin Bieber?" I don't think he gets invited to these things anymore. Too busy writing songs about Selena. Wah wah. Whatever, One Direction won all categories they were nominated for and that's all that matters. Their performance was lovely, with rustic lights illuminating their already luminous presence. Harry has recently began screaming his lyrics which I think is nice, but idk. Liam looked like Justin Timberlake. Niall revealed some chest hair. Zayn's eyes sparkled. And Louis' hair looked perfectly unwashed.

Macklemore was live-streamed from Miami where he sang and body thrusted to "Can't Hold Us" in a crowd of sweaty, probably liberal, young adults. What's a 2013 award show without Macklemore's grunts taking up a few minutes? God bless him.

Kendall and Kylie showed up with their plethora of musical talent. Just kidding, they just showed up. Don't be h8ing, they're allowed to be anywhere they want since they're perfection and royalty and Scott Disick is their brother-in-law. It's hard sometimes because they make more money by breathing than most of us will ever make with a college education. Sigh. Moving on.

TLC brought it back with "Waterfalls", most likely sending JT into a Nsync relapse. The 90s were great years to live through, weren't they?



Taylor Swift ended the night by beating Macklemore, Justin Timberlake, Rihanna, and Bruno Mars with her win of Artist-of-the-Year. She gave a pretty awkward acceptance speech, but were we expecting anything else?








All in all, 'twas a fab three hour entertainment feat. Congratulations to all the artists who have a big enough following to win almost every award without having the full amount of talent to do so. See you next year!

xoxo, Justin Bieber's lost invitation

"The Gang's All Here!"

Solid friendships can be hard to come by, and I’ve realized that when it happens, it’s easy to take it for granted. That’s how it is for me, anyway. Ever have those moments where you look around at the people you’re with and you think “ahhh, I just love you all.” It could be your best friend, your boyfriend or girlfriend,  your puppy, your microwavable ravioli. Whatever it is, in that moment you’re just really grateful for them. Ever since starting college, I’ve felt so overwhelmed with the people who surround me that I’ve woken up every day thanking God for them. It’s so easy to go through your normal day and not take any notice of your best friends or your family because they’re your constants. But I don't think I could ever get bored with my friends. When we’re together, my friends and I are the strangest people. Not strange or weird in the way that most people brag about their friends, but like yelling “CAN YOU STOP FARTING I HAVE ASTHMA” to the nearest bystander weird. Some call our personalities aggressive, others have said we are worse than a boy's sense of humor, but I’d argue that we're straight up hilarity, and those who don’t laugh at it are usually given the stink eye. I think we’ve all tried to somehow document our experiences, but so much happens that it’s hard to fully capture it. I do hope that our life adventures end up as a book someday. Maybe our parents will laugh at it, idk. What we do in real life is what most people would laugh at in a movie theater or on TV, but from my experience, it seems like it freaks them out in real life. If you know any one of us, you’ll understand. You’ve probably been a victim before.

I wouldn’t call these people my best friends. They’re actually like my sisters. We’re so close that saying we’re friends gives us no justice. They’re my family. We’re a family. I’ve known each of them for so long and we’ve grown closer throughout the years. Since having them around has been the norm for me, I thought that most people had what we share. As college freshmen, we’re all going through the transitional stage of being on our own, missing our homes and our families. People have popped their comfort bubble and some are trying out the adult lifestyle for the first time. Even though the same has happened to me, the transition has been easy because of my "crew" (ha ha). The list of why I completely adore them is endless, but a big reason is how, as a group, we are genuinely interested in people and will most likely be your friend if you let us. This is something that I hadn’t realized until someone mentioned it to me the other day. What a compliment! Even though we entertain ourselves and laugh for ten minutes before we go to bed, we're also very thoughtful and reflective, and often times really cheesy. No matter how dumb I'm being or how much of a big deal I'm making something into, I know that they'll always back me up, and they always have. God bless em, best friends in t world ya !

Lyss puts our friendship in a good way...

“Well, we were brought together by fate, it seems. One of those God things. Besties in the same middle school, connected despite our separate high schools, and horrifyingly reunited in college. I'm confident enough to say that we'll remain apart of each others' lives for years to come. You know, being incompetent bridesmaids, poking each others' husbands in the gut, acting as crazy aunts to our various kids, and giving each other mediocre life advice.”

Each of us are so different from one another, yet so similar. It’s a good balance. I’ll start with Mckenzie because I’ve known her the longest, since preschool. I’m actually surprised I haven’t completely driven her to annoyance. She drives me around in Earl, lets me eat her food, and has always gone the extra mile for me when I’ve needed it. Together we have the gift of running into celebrities without realizing they are in the vicinity. She and I have stumbled upon Harry Styles, Niall Horan, and Matt Healy within the past four months. She has a nurturing soul, which shows how she’ll be a wonderful mama someday. People are drawn to her caring, motherly demeanor and she’s easy to feel comfortable around. The one thing she wants most in life is a family, and I can’t wait to see her run her own household. Her creative passion is photography and she’s dang good at it. She’s always up for a beffie photo shoot and makes us look lovely and approachable. She’s often the butt of our jokes because of her dry humor, but we love her more than anything.

Alyssa’s the red headed one of us, although be warned, when you call her that she’ll quickly correct you. “It’s strawberry blond!” She goes by Lyss, loves anything pink and sea-foam green, and is always up for a chat, which usually takes place on the floor of her room where I spend many of my nights. She played four sports throughout high school, won homecoming royalty more times than should be legal, and has stuck with the Jonas Brothers throughout the One Direction craze. The summer before we left for college, she went through a breakup with her boyfriend of two years. Being as understanding as she can be, she forgave me for my love-life ignorance that led me to not be there for her during her darkest hour. She’s bounced back to her usual self and has been bitten by the travel bug. Her first destination? Italy, where she’ll be able to see first-handedly the classic art that she’s studying. I hope to accompany her on this excursion, making it the first of our oversea travels. Lyss’s creative outlet is writing and she has the ability to put into words what many can’t. Plan on reading her novels in the (near) future. 

Clarissa. Known to many as C, Issy, or Clammy. Apparently I say her name a lot and she hates it. It’s hard to describe her in a way that gives her enough credit. Let’s just describe it as me telling my entire class that she is my favorite comedian. She is quite literally the funniest person I’ve ever met. She makes the average day into a comedy show. The jokes she says are so off-the-wall and she completes the disturbing sense of humor we all share. When we’re together, things get weird and people get scared off, but we just consider that “filtering out the bad eggs.” I think a good word to define her is unconventional. And I mean that in the best of ways. She’s different from the average girl and it's refreshing for those who get to know her. Most people see the outgoing side of her, but she also has a reflective side. She loves to travel and experience different cultures. Her dream job? Working as a traveling writer for Rick Steves. She can get discouraged at times, but maybe someday she’ll realize how many people’s days she’s made and how much she’s appreciated and loved by her friends. 

CHEESY. I know. But when you have such idiosyncratic individuals around you, you can’t help but brag. I know at the bottom of my heart that they will all do some crazy things with their lives. So watch out, world eh eh. 

That’s all for now, must go make some evening tea! 

xoxo Gossip Girl

Here we are aw aw

(The crosses on my hands show that I went to a rap battle the night before.)