"Grinds my gears"

I didnt know what to write for this blog. So i thought long and hard. And I then realized Im good at ranting about things that piss me off. Its like a specialty of mine, a talent. So here it is..

• You know what angers me, what really.. wait for it .. "grinds my gears". The risks of being quiet. Other people than fill it with there own interpretations. You're bored. You're depressed. You're shy. You're stuck up. You're judgmental. Like think about it.. when other can't read us, they write there own story. Not one we chose, not one that is true to who we are.

• Do you ever get into an argument with someone and you are actually unable to speak for a moment because you're so blown away by how utterly wrong and ignorant the other person being that you can not possibly understand how anyone could actually believe the things they are saying. (DONALD TRUMP)

• Here's something else. And before you read this, I promise you I am not insecure. But really I don't think good looking people realize how lucky they are. Its all very well telling people to love themselves, butts not so easy when society has skewed peoples perceptions to be beyond narrow and completely limited. Like seriously, if you don't conform to society's views of beauty , you're invisible. And god imagine how much it hurts when that is you.

• Its okay to disagree with thoughts or opinions expressed by others. It really is, BUT that does not give you the right to deny any sense they might make. NOR does it give you the right to accuse someone of poorly expressing there beliefs just because YOU don't like what they are saying. Just learn to be okay with things that are different from what you know, even if it means overcoming your pride and having to open your mind to beyond what is comfortable for you.

• DON'T YOU DARE ever get mad at someone for "changing". We learn new things and see new points of view everyday. Of course we change. 

• Ill be the first to admit it. We all make lists. List of what we want in a lover, like brown hair and a sweet voice. Someone intelligent with a good heart. Someone with a great sense of humor, who can always make you laugh. This and that. But its all bullshit. Because people aren't lists. And I want people to realize that. I want to come across someone with a list in there head that is nothing like the person I am, and I want to show them what they didint know they were even looking for. If you think you know what you're looking for, you're fooling yourself. Nobody knows what they're looking for.. not until its right in front of them.

How to survive another year of school

1. Face it , it will get tough. Really freaking tough. I mean but thats life, accept it. Put away the books for an hour or two. Drink some tea , cuddle your pets , stare at the ceiling, maybe even watch some pointless YouTube videos.. then finish your homework.

2. I mean there will be days were you'll just want to stay home, days where you can't get out of bed. But you can do this, you can survive another year like all the others.

3. Enjoy learning new things. Knowledge is power, knowledge is sexy.

4. Don't pay attention to others, you are here for you, nobody really pays attention to others anyway. 

5. Be nice, help out your classmates if necessary, respect your teachers. Kindness makes life so much easier.

6. Don't be afraid to ask things. Ask the most stupid questions and ask the hardest. Just ask anything you want to know. Teachers think your dumb? WHO CARES. Students laugh at you? WHO CARES. YOU need to pass that class, and YOU need that degree. 

7, Make your lunch the evening before if you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning. Eating is so important and breakfast helps you start your day.

8. Know your worth. It is so important and one of the most empowering things, along with the fat that nobody can rob you of that. 

9. Go to bed early. A good nights rest is everything. It will make getting out of bed a lot easier.

10. Take a deep breath its all going to be okay. Take a few steps back and look at situations with a clear view. Realize how far you've come already. Be proud of yourself. Celebrate small victories. You are doing okay. 

Death Penalty

"Capital punishment, death penalty or execution is government sanctioned punishment by death. The sentence is referred to as a death sentence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences, such as first degree murder, terrorism, and espionage."

In 1983 an 11 year old from north Carolina, was raped and suffocated. Her body later found on a field. Two mentally disabled half brothers, Henry Mcallom and Leon Brown quickly became targets of the investigation. After hours of the interrogation they each confessed. They were convicted and sentenced to die. Sounds like well served justice ? But here's the problem, Mcallom and Brown were innocent . After 30 years of death row. Evidence reveals that another man who had lived near the scene ,who had a record of sexual assault and was the murderer. He was never investigated during the case. WE EXECUTED TWO MEN FOR A CRIME THEY DID NOT COMMIT, That shows just how dangerous the death penalty is.

Even if you think some people deserve to die, governments make mistakes. That means having to accept the unacceptable. Innocent people will die, it can not be undone and we can not compensate for it the way we can with mistaken imprisonment.

But what if the death penalty doesn't make us any safer, it hasn't deter crime more then life sentence without parole. Innocent people can and have been wrongfully sent to die for many reasons. Take Curtis McCartney, he was sentenced to death for the murder of a police officers daughter. After 22 YEARS OF PRISON, he was exonerated. He returned home to a terminally ill mother , a now adult son and a grand daughter he has never held. 22 YEARS of Curtis McCartney's life were stolen from him because of altered or lost of evidence. Does that make you feel safe? How many more innocent people need to die for people to understand that death penalty is NOT OKAY.

I mean come one... "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind".Its got to take a monster to destroy a monster. I mean basically we kill people, who kill people because killing is wrong. Wow that logic behind that is great.. 

Worst of all is you'll have people who are pro war, pro unmanned drone bombs, pro nuclear weapons, pro guns, pro torture, pro land mines  and pro death penalty and will still say they're PRO LIFE. Hypocrisy ?

All Im trying to say is that I don't think its progressive or effective to try and resolve problems by eliminating a human life. Who are we to take away someones life. 

Feminism

Im a feminist. No that does not make me a lesbian, a man hater and I definitely shave. But it is important and let me tell you why..

I'm a feminist because girls are taught in public schools that once she has sex "shell lose a part of herself", because women who have a lot of sex are sluts well guys are studs. (DOUBLE STANDARDS)

Because 1/4 young women are sexually assaulted and society still asks "what is she wearing?" Because male victims of rape aren't believed. Because cat calling and because street harassment, because no, it is not a f*cking compliment. Im a feminist because boobs are used to sell everything from burgers to soap but don't you dare breastfeed out in the open. Im a feminist because of how much pressure we put on girls to value there appearance above everything else. Im a feminist because in 2013 there were over 700 bills proposed to regulate a women's body. And for men : 0.  I'm a feminist because the political body making decisions about MY BODY is over 80% male. wow. Because men occupy the top rungs of not just politics but every industry in the world. 

Women only hold one in four stem jobs,

6% of tv stations,

5% of executive positions  in the media,

Im a feminist because every time I took on a leadership role as a kid , all the adults said " you're being bossy."  LETS NOT EVEN FORGET ABOUT THE SNEAKY  PAY GAP ... by the time a woman reaches the age of 60, she will have made 450 000$ less than a male with the same exact position. (That's like a fancy house , a truck load of chocolate bars) Im a feminist because the media tells me that woman are my competition. Im a feminist because of GENDER ROLES. Because of that one size fits all binary that shoves us into boxes and erases who we are. 

Im a feminist because in tenth grade my bestfriend was called a pussy and that tore him up for weeks. And I realized that the worst insult was to be compared to a girl. Because boys are shamed for being emotionally open, because that is a "girl thing" and "womanhood" is weak.

Im a feminist because my dad never once did the laundry , made dinner, or cleaned the house. 

Im a feminist because I believe the world should be safe for all girls, everywhere. Because half the girls is Yemen will become child brides. Because 65% of Brazilian woman who dress in revealing clothes deserve to be raped. Because in Saudi Arabia woman still can't vote or drive.

Im a feminist because when I dare to get pissed off over "injustice", Im just another crazy feminist who is "on her period". 

Im a feminist because I believe in gender equality, and my eyes are open and my minds active and I know were not there yet. 

Change

When I was in grade nine I thought I was big shot because everyone knew my name, I thought I was cool because I could make comment, it could nice or even really rude and everyone would laugh along. I was, I guess you could use the term "Popular" or at least I thought I was. You see me and my friends , had this group chat, where we would say a bunch of things about others thinking it was funny.We were "those girls". But the worst part of it all was I would go to bed a night thinking I was a good person. That using terms like "Faggot", "Retarded" "the N- word" and screaming out "That's so gay" was okay and were meaningless. I thought these words were funny . If you really want to laugh, the boy I used to like a few years ago is name on my phone was "the fag <3", as if anything about that is cute. I went by "Queen B" because I didn't understand that I was not a queen if my throne is made out of all the girls I had stepped on just to make myself superior. And so, the obvious truth is, you've got to make a mistake to learn from it. So that's exactly what I did. I joked around about suicide on twitter, I told everyone this girls deepest darkest secret, a secret I was not even supposed to know. I told my mom I hated going to Lebanon because in grade seven I was called a terrorist and that was the label I carried throughout grade school.. "Osama's daughter" to be exact and god forbid anyone find out I spend my summers in middle east. I even made fun of my best friends eyebrows because she would color them in, knowing she was insecure about that. 

But for whats its worth, let me tell you. I did change. Others may disagree. They also might not like me but that's okay, because I like me. I became a feminist. I started to read more, because that kept me busy. I talked less and listened more. I got a job and donated my first paycheck to all the new Syrian refuges, because they needed the money a whole lot more than I did. I thought before I spoke, because I realized that saying the N- word didn't make me "hood", or cool it made me ignorant and rude. Its not a word we could throw around as if its nothing, its hurtful and rude and  brings up a past that should of never happened. I don't know why I thought I was better then everyone, maybe I was insecure or unhappy with my life. But you see,  So how do you change, I mean you're probably thinking its "easier said than done". 

Improving yourself: Being a good person is not as simple as doing no harm to others, its also not entirely about what you don't do. Its doing something nice because you want to and not expecting anything in return. Maybe even chose a remodel. Someone you look up to. 

Be yourself: Do what you love and love what you do, even if its weird or strange. I mean I'm a 16 year old that keeps up with politics and news more than the average person and I also read poems on my spare time.. So if that makes me a weirdo then so be it ! It doesn't concern anyone so it should not bother anyone. 

Be optimistic : Be a cup full kinda person. Take a bad situation and make something great out of it . If your negative, it comes off in the way you treat others. If something doesn't go your way try to change was you can, stay positive and move on.

Accept everyone around you: Part of being a good person is not being judgmental. Accept everyone around you, no matter the race, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or culture. Realize that everyone has feelings, every person is valid, and everyone should be treated with respect. Its 2016.. Don't be racist, homophobic or intolerant of other religions. The world is a huge place full or diversity, learn from others and celebrate your differences. 

This won't all happen over night, it takes time and patience.  And, if people refuse to look at you in a new light and can only see you for what you were, only see you for the mistakes you've made. if they don't realize that YOU ARE NOT YOUR MISTAKES, then they have to go. Love yourself , be good, do good. 

Freedom speech

Should there be restrictions to freedom of speech ?

Obviously , freedom of speech can be very dangerous . I find that every time somebody shouts something homophobic, racist or just offensive, their defense is usually "free speech ". Without total freedom of speech, things such as the kkk would not be able to exist and racist abuse would be fully disallowed.

Speech is an act and acts which cause not needed and substantial harm should be illegal! I am not talking about causing offense or promoting an unpopular and even morally corrupt point of view. But it is not legal  to start riots or to verbally harass and nor should it be. Freedom of speech exists to promote the liberty of individuals, not to allow us to cause harm to one another.

Having the right to free speech does not meaning being irresponsible and ignorant. I mean our freedom ends where the others starts, you should be free to give your opinion but with coherence and respect, to also be conscious of the sensitivity of others. To use our freedom we must respect the other's freedom as well.

There is no excuse for inciting hatred. There is no excuse for inciting hatred and racism. Free speech cam be used as a way of pretending that it is OK. Religion should be allowed to be criticized, the same with everything but you cannot incite hatred into the world as that is not right. 

Boundaries are needed sometimes. Well, to be honest, I think a line needs to be drawn around this point. It feels like some people will say and do anything to have people agree with them on an issue, and we simply shouldn't give these dishonest people ammunition by allowing them to lie and distort facts.  

                                                        

#CharlestonShooting

This weeks blog is something different. I decided to speak about racism. The reason for this is because of the tragedy that took place in Charleston not too long ago. A white male walked in to what was known as a black church and  shot 9 people. Now although many of different excuses have been made for this man  such as "he is mentally unstable", "it was an act of hate of religion and not race". It is clear that is bunch of bs. 

I chose this video mainly because I thought Jon Stewart worded his thoughts extremely well. One thing that really moved me was when he said, "In South Carolina the roads that black people drive on are named for Confederate generals who fought to keep black people from being able to drive freely on that road.  That's insanity.  That's racial wall paper." I just don't understand, its 2015, and we're still not acknowledging the fact that oppression that should of ended long ago, is still happening. Every few days a racially motivated attach happens in that area, and we still act as if racism has nothing to do with problems going on.

Nine people get shot at a church by a white male who hated them, who wanted to start some kinda civil war, the confederate flag flies over South Carolina, the roads are named after confederate generals AND THE WHITE GUY FEELS LIKE HIS COUNTRY IS BEING TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM.

What also blows my mind, is this white male was excepted in that church, they did not kick him out as soon as he walked in because his skin color was different then theirs. Lastly, my deepest condolences accompany the families who have lost a loved one in the Charleston shooting. We will never forget. Its unbelievable to damage we can do ourselves.