25 Days of the Unpopular: Brevity

I heard about a boy who, under the "describe your characteristics" section of his college applications, wrote "brevity" and got into Brown.

25 Days of the Unpopular: Being Single

If you know me, you'll know I'm full of self-depracating jokes that have probably already jinxed my love life. I spent the majority of my senior year either crying over this guy who never liked me back or complaining about how single I was. It was pathetically funny for a while until reality smacked me in the face and I discovered boys had cooties!!!! Cookies? No! Cooties! I actually just realized that I thoroughly enjoyed being alone. Our generation, especially the female population, has this idea that if we find a man and fall in love, our problems will suddenly disappear and we'll achieve true happiness. (I'm not saying I'm exempt from this because trust me, if Paul Rudd or JFK walked into my life, my problems would go away.) We've grown up watching Disney princesses find true love with their prince. We watched Lizzie and Gordo fall in love at the end of The Lizzie McGuire Movie. Even Juno ends up falling for awkward Paulie Bleeker and his track shorts! We're surrounded by the idea that in the end we'll fall in love and live in bliss for the rest of eternity. Well, sometimes there is no Paulie Bleeker or David Gordon in your life and you have to settle for the guy who makes omelets in the dining hall! (No offense, Teague.) The only movie I can think of off the top of my head where there's a character who ends up alone is Pretty In Pink, when Duckie is left because dumb Andie chooses appliance Blaine over him. Always a Duckie, never a Blaine, I whisper to the darkness. Also, I'm obsessed with Pretty In Pink.

Sometimes it sucks seeing all your friends get hit on when you're in the corner writing a blog about being single. But you gotta gird your loins and moisturize your shriveling ring finger and remind yourself that you're an independent woman who can open the door for herself and pay for her overpriced salads herself and hold her hand herself. (Except the other day, this guy told me I have a good complexion so maybe I'll get a New Years kiss after all!) Sadly, you don't always end up with the guy haha :( Unless your name is Alyssa Rusco and bachelors flock to you in the hundreds.

Rather than complain about your singularity like I just did, how about you celebrate your independence? It's your own independence day! Happy 4th! Congrats! Wow!

Here is a list of things that you can do when you're single that you can't do when you're in a relationship:

(compiled at 1 AM by two girls I found shivering outside singing Christmas carols)

"Dance with 10 different studs at the club without feeling guilty." -Anonymous (AKA Clarissa, who's never been to a club.)

"Suffer from turrets in peace." -Alyssa Rusco

Yell sweet nothings and throw small items at your horticulture TA.

"Lock eyes with the housing and dining service workers as they toast your sub." -Clarissa Davies

"Flash a group of Jehovah Witnesses." -Clarissa Davies

Fantasize about dead presidents. I'm not JFKidding around!

Go days without showering.

"Lust after Dylan Flippo I mean Sprouse and not feel guilty." -Mckenz... I mean Zara DeGroot

Fly to Nicaragua on impulse.

Experience the strange sense of contentment you get when you scare away yet another boy.

Constantly compare you and your friends' lives to The Inbetweeners.

Sit on a dorm room floor with your best friends and overdose on Martinelli's apple cider in goblets purchased from the $1 section at Target.

If you can do any of this whilst in a relationship, pls clone your significant other and SHARE.

On the contrary, if I get a boyfriend, I won't have any more good jokes, so idk.

The moral of this story is that if you're single, you're just fine, because I'm fine. For the most part. Not really mentally fine, but physically fine. My heart is still 3/4 whole. Really, I'm fine.

25 Days of the Unpopular: The 1975

If you are a fan of the Arctic Monkeys or Vampire Weekend, or you just enjoy unpopular music, you should definitely check out the 1975. They're a British band who've been together for about ten years now. I first heard about them through Twitter when BBC Radio 1 tweeted a link to one of their LiveLounge performances. Their music is hard to describe. It's like alternative grunge, but slightly calming, and something that would be played in the end credits of a John Hughes film. Their album is one of my favorites and one of the few that I can listen to the entire way through and enjoy every song.



What I appreciate about them is that they take their form of art seriously. Matt Healy, the lead singer, said that every lyric of every song they've written has been born from an experience in his life, and every song on their album has at one point been his favorite. This is something he said about their music: "All of our records are like bottles of water from a stream. We haven't written an 'album' or an 'EP', we create a bottle and put it out there, the stream is always flowing. And we create constantly because we are always in the same room." Take from that what you will!



At first glance, they seem a bit odd. Especially Matt. But I think it's the odd ones who end up making the biggest difference. They came to Denver in October, and my friend Mckenzie and I ran into Matt and the drummer George outside before the show. A homeless man had approached them asking for money, and Matt gave him five dollars and then hugged him. Witnessing that small act of kindness from him to another man made me gain more respect for him, as a person and as a musician, and I'm always going to remember that. 

I'M JUST A HUGE FAN AND I THINK YOU SHOULD BE TOO. 

And here's a link to their LiveLounge performance. Spot on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEVXmzHY1lU

25 Days of the Unpopular: Ringo Starr

Like Zayn from One Direction, Ringo was the member of the Beatles who was and is often overlooked. He wasn't as big of a heartthrob as Paul or John were, and people think it was because he was the drummer of the band. That might've been true, but upon further research, I learned that Ringo replaced the Beatles' original drummer and his addition wasn't accepted by the masses at first. He's one of the two Beatles' still standing alongside Paul McCartney, who is not Jesse McCartney's father. What I find so interesting about Ringo is that he always seemed to be on the back burner with whatever he did. He was obviously a really talented musician, but he rarely had lead vocals. He was in another band before he joined the Beatles and John Lennon actually asked him to quit his band and drum for him, Paul, and George. And I guess it worked out for him!

Apparently he wasn't as popular in the UK as he was in America. All the girls here loved him here! Personally, I think he was v cute. And now he's a cute old man!

I don't really know what else to say about him except that when he was young he looked like my friend Matthew.

25 Days of the Unpopular: Normal-Sized Models

We've all heard the schpeel: a runway model's look is not what a normal, healthy woman should look like and we shouldn't be imitating them and their unhealthy habits to gain a better self-image and blah blah blah. But still, we all do that, don't we? I wish I had Cara Delevigne's or Candice Swanepoel's body, but they probably don't know the pleasure of eating Ben & Jerry's at 11 PM, so why bother, you know. The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show was tonight, and while I was watching, I wondered "If these were plus-sized models, or just normal-sized models, would people still find it so intriguing?" And the answer is probably no, which I think is sad. However, I was quite surprised by the models in this year's show. In the past, the models have looked unfed and stick thin. All runway models look like this. But this year I noticed that the models weren't as thin as they usually are. They were still way smaller than the normal woman should be, but rather than looking unfed, they looked toned and fit. Rather than showing off their ribs, they showed off their abs. And there were a few models who actually had some hips, which is a step in the positive direction.

A few months ago, Whitney Thompson, the winner of the 10th cycle of America's Next Top Model, came to my school. She's a plus-sized model and she gave a presentation about the negative mental and physical health aspects of the modeling/fashion industry. She also shared with us some of the awful things modeling agencies and fashion designers have said about plus-sized models. I thought it was very interesting and I'm happy that someone like her is taking a stand on the issue. The Victoria's Secret models, who are called "angels", are some sort of delusional fantasy that many women try to imitate. They encompass what's unattainable for most females. It's a societal imbalance. We've been subconsciously told that this is what perfection is considered to be and if we can't look like it, then we aren't pretty or desirable. If these so called "angels" were plus-sized models, would you still try to imitate them? 

I was glad to see that the models in this year's show looked more healthy and fit. I think, and I hope, that it's the start of slowly progressing towards a more normal-sized modeling and fashion industry. I know that this topic has been repeated many-a-time and that I'm not being particularly creative with it, but I think it is something worth sharing! Like sorry I don't look like Kendall Jenner, but there's some cookies that need to be eaten.

25 Days of the Unpopular: Locally Owned Coffee Shops

Downing a few cups of coffee or a double shot of espresso is the only way to survive finals week. Combine that with the Christmas season, and Starbucks seems to be getting all of our money this month. Unless you're like me and go to Starbucks very rarely because commercialized coffee is one of your biggest pet peeves. There's nothing wrong with Starbucks, unless you like burnt coffee and weak espresso. This past spring and summer, I worked at a locally owned coffee shop in my hometown. It was the best job I've ever had, not just because of the people who I worked with and the regulars who came in, but because I learned so much about coffee itself.

After working there and witnessing how the slightest things can alter the taste and quality of the coffee, I grew a strong distaste for commercial coffee companies and started to go to smaller coffee shops instead. Large coffee businesses make coffee solely to expand their company and get good numbers at the end of the year. They don't seem to care about the customer and their coffee as much as smaller local businesses, who make their coffee specifically for the enjoyment of the customer. Haven't you noticed that? Everything feels more relaxed in a cozy, local coffee shop whereas in a commercialized one, it's busy, stressed, and the customer service isn't as great. I don't know, maybe I'm just biased. But it's what I think. Personally, I'd rather pay a buck or so more on a cup of coffee that tastes like quality rather than pay for something that tastES BURNT!!!!!! So next time you have the option, I encourage you to choose a local coffee shop over Starbucks. Bring a book or a journal and just sit in there enjoying your cup of quality coffee. If you have a sucky experience, sorry. But you most likely won't. 

25 Days of the Unpopular: The 1980s

I don't know about you, but personally I think I was meant to live in the 80s. Since that won't happen cause life's unfair, the next best thing I can do is obsess over anything 80s related. Being a teenager in that era seemed simple and lighthearted, and I wish my friends and I could've been around for it. I love everything about the 80s: the music, the fashion, the movies.




There's something about the music from this generation. It's passionate. And whether that passion is optimistic or pessimistic, it made/makes people feel something strong. Bands like Van Halen and Guns N' Roses and The Smiths are classics to this day, and of course there's Queen and Journey. And the music in almost every film makes you feel invincible.

Some of my favorite 80s movies are the ones with Molly Ringwald, like The Breakfast Club and Pretty In Pink. They are such simple movies, but they make you feel so happy at the end! Except Pretty In Pink, because she belonged with Duckie, not Blaine ugh. And Ferris Bueller's Day Off is quoted like once a week here. One thing 80s movies, more specifically John Hughes' movies, had that we don't have as much anymore is male chivalry. Emma Stone's character said this in Easy A and she's completely correct. In these movies, the male character will do whatever they can to get the girl. And the movie ends with the happy 80s boy and his lady, whereas movies these days seem more dramatic about it. Oh well, life is life, things happen we'll get over it. In the words of Emma Stone, "John Hughes did not direct my life."


I think the fashion is my favorite part of the 80s. It's so colorful and perfectly cheesy. Although I wouldn't be able to pass up jogging shorts, baggy shirts and a fanny pack if the opportunity presented itself, I tend to gravitate more toward the awkward 80s boy look. John Bender from The Breakfast Club is my style icon and probably always will be. Denim and plaid will always be okay. I bet if more men dressed like him and washed their hair less, girls would be all over them. Or maybe that's just my personal male preference. One of my favorite 80s-inspired outfits would be jeans, a denim button down, and a denim jacket over it. Triple threat!! It'll never get old.








Moral of the story, let's all dress like Jane Fonda from her aerobic videos and cut our hair like a young Molly Ringwald. Also I'd like to point out that as I'm writing this my best friends are choreographing dances to High School Musical songs.