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.)

Who's Hiding In Your Local Yogurt Shop?

We all have dreams, big and small. Some attainable, some not so much. One small dream of mine was birthed about 2 and half years ago when I first watched a video diary from One Direction’s X-Factor days. Yes, yes, I’m that girl. If you’re a directioner, you know the importance of these video diaries. Little did I (or my parents) know that this was the start of an obsession that would follow me until my college days (and probably further.) *jabs Capri Sun pouch with straw*

For those of you who haven’t yet jumped on the 1D bandwagon, here is some background information. 5 boys, 4 of which are British, the other Irish, separately auditioned for the British X-Factor. Long story short, after not making it to the competition as solo artists, Nicole Sherzinger and Simon Cowell put them together as a group and thus, we have this global pop culture phenomenon. Despite coming in 3rd on the show, they gained enough fan support to continue making music as a group and enough to make them the biggest boyband in the world. *sips Capri Sun*

Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan were probably crafted by angels with the main purpose of slaying the female heart. Something about British boybands just drags the female population in... and takes our dignity and our money. Darn you, Simon Cowell. After seeing their movie three times (once with my father, might I add), I’ve decided that it’s a mixture of their humor, their personalities, and their seemingly odd ability to remain completely levelheaded and unharmed by the Hollywood scene that makes them so appealing and relatable. And I know this is true because I MET TWO OF THEM. *blows up Capri Sun pouch*

I’m a Harry girl. Always have been, always will be. I’ve loved him since the beginning and I probably always will. *quickly shoves Harry cardboard cutout into closet* Again, if you’re a directioner, you know how hard it is to meet them one-on-one without the media hysteria or having to sacrifice your first-born. They are in high-demand and their security is prime, safely guarding them from the passionate fan base that follows them wherever they go. Since I am one of those passionate fans, I purchased my Take Me Home world tour ticket 15 months in advance. The early bird gets the worm, eh? It was like the Hunger Games trying to get a hold of one during Pre-Sale, and it actually did cost an arm and a leg, but it’s what normal young adults do, I think. Hey Mom and Dad, I’m a teenager who doesn’t get invited to parties, let me rebel for once, and by rebel I mean sacrifice my monetary goods for the advancement of the music industry (???). Anyway, point in case, I was/am a dedicated fan. THIS IS WHERE THE STORY BEGINS. *blows up Capri Sun pouch more and laughs hysterically* 

My gal pals (is that too weird of a term for my friends?) decided we were going to get our last official fangirl moment in before we entered “the real world”, so we planned on going to downtown Denver to “stalk” One Direction when they were there, along with 300 other girls. Wipe those judgmental expressions off your face. To begin the recitation of this adventure, we need some more background information. One Direction arrived in Denver the night of the 22nd/the morning of the 23rd, to enjoy a day off and celebrate their three year anniversary. As they were frolicking around the 303, I was slaving away at work, trying to function without any sleep from the night before. Good pal Lyss hits me up and says “Hey, let’s go meet up with the other trolls in Denver and find these mystical foreign musicians.” So with eight double shots of espresso coursing through my veins, we rolled out of town in Jennifer Vaniston, my trusty vehicle. The trip down there was no walk in the park. With the emergency brake forgetfully still engaged, my actual brakes failed on us, almost causing a few fender benders. Once we reached safety, we frantically called Mckenzie and Clarissa to come save us. It would have been fine if their car hadn’t been stolen. That’s a whole different story, but after much stress and police involvement, their car was retrieved. At this time, we were too pooped for One Direction, but we fixed our eyes on the prize (a Shirley Temple and hummus, in our case) and went along with it. The joke was actually on us, because they weren’t even in Denver. After trekking through the Mile High and achieving some pretty impressive blisters, we journeyed back home. At Mckenzie’s house, we got word through friends that Louis and Liam were spotted on Pearl Street in Boulder. About a 20 minute drive from us. “Why not?” Mckenzie and I thought. We hopped into Earl with Selena Gomez and Cody Simpson tunes blasting and headed towards the iconic flatirons that represent Boulder. Pearl Street is our Boulder hang out, so we just wandered around, hanging out, not really expecting anything. Finally, we decided enough was enough and called it a night. This is where it really gets good! *folds Capri Sun pouch into mock cell phone* 

As we were heading back to the car, we passed this yogurt shop on a street off of Pearl. In need a cold delicacy, we decided to stop in. As I walked in I saw a platinum blond head, one resembling the head of Lou Teasdale, co-founder of Bleach London, stylist to One Direction, and close friend of Harry Styles. I don’t know exactly what went on in my head exactly, probably something like “If that’s really Lou, Harry’s most likely with her I’m not gonna look I bet Harry’s behind me nope don’t shart now Zara.” Cool, calm, and collected, we made our way to the front. Mckenzie, having more balls than I, looked and saw that it was in fact Harry Styles, the charming one with the low, raspy voice and the face resembling that of a young Mick Jagger. “Zara, don’t freak out but Harry Styles is behind you. And Harry Styles just turned around and looked at us.” whispered Mckenzie as I was still facing the opposite direction. “Oh.” is the only thing I managed to utter. I slowly turned around, trying hard not to break into hives or bang my head into a wall. Indeed, it was him! And he was dressed as a hobo. No wonder no one in Boulder recognized him. A grimy bandana around the head is basically uniform here. But let’s just focus on the fact that he had dirt under his nails and I was so intrigued by it. *calls mom on Capri Sun cell phone*

I don’t remember much after that except that Mckenzie started giggling and I took 10 minutes to order a small piece of mochi. We sat there on a bench, straight backed, trying to be as laid-back as possible. At the time, I think we both thought we were being cool, but looking back, we were quite possibly the most awkward we’ve ever been, which is saying something. The only other customers in the shop was this couple sitting next to us who graciously offered us their table, clearly oblivious to the fact that the most beautiful man was sitting inches away from them. All I remember saying to them was “NO WE’RE FINE THANKS” in a decibel quite louder than I was anticipating. It was strangely quiet after that and I remember seeing out of the corner of my eye Harry’s table turn toward us and stare. Take a picture, it’ll last longer, Harold. After a few moments of being silently weird and making awkward eye contact with him, he got up to tip the ladies working there. “Moment of truth!” I said to myself. “Harry...” I say as I slowly stand in a non-awkward way. We said that we were sorry for bothering him, but asked if we could get a picture. He said of course, but only if we got a picture of him and his friends. He handed his phone to Mckenzie who, with shaky hands, captured the moment that received well over 600,000 likes on Instagram. He then asked us what we ordered. I said chocolate mint mochi and mumbled about how green tea sucked. We got the picture, it was fine and dandy until my phone rang in my pocket against his thigh, which was probably weird but why am I questioning it. No one calls me, but the one time someone did my thigh was pressed up against Harry Styles’ thigh. Gr8. Anyway, he wished us a good, safe night and went on his merry way. After we regained consciousness, we left as well. I don’t want to say we followed him because it makes us sound much more creepy than we were, but we just wanted to see where he was going (that did sound creepy.) There were a few girls outside of the hotel he was staying at who told us that Niall was at the restaurant across the street. He came out and took pictures with everyone who had waited for him, which I thought was a very nice gesture. After he left and after a call from my mother (“IT’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT, GET BACK HOME”), I followed Mckenzie to what I thought was the way to our car. On the side of the building was a balcony with a figure on it. When you see a figure on a balcony, your first response is to yell “ROMEO ROMEO WHERE ART THOU ROMEO,” and that’s just what I did. Unfortunately, this time around it was Harry. He said “I wouldn’t be Romeo since I’m not down there.” to which I replied “what” so he repeated. I focused on my breathing. He said “Hey you’re the girl from the yogurt shop,” I said “yeah,” and proceeded to trip over the curb. We had a normal conversation with him for about 15 minutes (!!!!!!) until I maturely said “Mckenzie, we need to go home before my mom grounds me.” So we said our farewells and headed back home. We kept our cool for a while until we saw that he had posted the picture Mckenzie had taken on Instagram. Then we lost it, which is ok because we had just met two people who are basically impossible to come in contact with and because maturity. *drinks another Capri Sun pouch*

So that’s my experience meeting Harry Styles and Niall Horan. I’m really not as stalkerish as I sound. It still just gets me sometimes. Like who randomly meets Harry Styles in a locally owned yogurt shop in an alley at 10:30 at night and then proceeds to meet Niall? I do, apparently. With my espresso stained shirt and greasy hair. Grunge is in, right? I’m sure he had a lovely impression of us until we showed up under his balcony. Whatever, whatever. I think a lesson we can all learn from this experience is that the members of One Direction are as kind as they are portrayed in their movie and that you never know who’s hiding in your local yogurt shop. 

*throws Capri Sun pouches away in disgust*

Xoxo, Gossip Girl. 

Please appreciate the fact that I'm on the phone. Like lol Niall, I'll get a pic with u.

Please also appreciate our identical foreheads.

Yes, Hello, It Is Me.

Well hello. Here I am! At my computer, on a Wednesday night... whooo college. After an 11 PM snack of ramen, an episode of Catfish, and some deep thought in my cramped, not-so-sanitary shower, I have arrived at the conclusion that I’m going to document every day of college from here on out (but on my laptop rather than in a notebook because my hands are weak and there's not built-in spellcheck.) Whilst writing this throughout my freshman year I’m going to be pretending I’m speaking to an audience... probably just an audience of one... me... because to be frank, I’m doing this for my own sanity. Whether or not any of this will lead to a book in the future (a girl can dream!!!!!!!!), I’d just like to have this as a reminder for the rest of my life of the crazy adventures I’ve gotten into with my three best friends, as well as documentation of how I’m feeling on a day to day basis (because I’m an emotional one and sometimes no one is there to hear you rant so you just gotta take matters into your own hands, i.e. Ben & Jerry’s and the Harry Styles tag on Tumblr... or starting a blog.) I guess you could call this a progressive coming-of-age story. You see, there are lots of things I want to accomplish, not just in my life, but in these next four years and I’m ready to seek out adventure! *yawns and adjusts oscillating fan* By doing so, I will most likely “discover myself,” but don’t look at this like Eat, Pray, Love (there will be less sex and more awkwardness in this, I can assure you right now.) College is the time to learn more about yourself and seek out your place in this world. Being a mere 18 years old, and despite me often thinking otherwise, I only know a sliver about the “real world.”  Underneath all this sass, attitude, forced humor, and teenage/college-age angst, my life at the moment can pretty much be summed up by a cliché Taylor Swift lyric: “[I’m] happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time." Swifty over here is notorious for complaining about boys and life (how someone can still find reasons to complain after dating Harry Styles and a Kennedy within the past year is beyond me), but this lyric is the only lyric of hers I can/will ever relate to, and it'll probably be my emotional state for awhile until I learn the tricks and trades of life or until I become Oprah or Michelle Obama. Anyway, Harry, Taylor, Oprah, and Michelle aside, I guess this little blog thing will be my way of ranting, staying sane, and in general, just enjoying this college experience while trying to forget about the fact that I'm subjecting myself to the typical American dream. So if you'd like to read along, gr8! If not, 'don't shoot me in the face, I'm an actor.' 

So with that, I leave you with the words of one of my gr8est chums, Lyss, "When the going gets tough, the tough go to Taco Bell."

Peace, love, and Joe Sugg.