"Life. Liberty. And The Pursuit Of Happiness"
For you & Me: Life of a Sophomore girl
I’m going to pretend that my life is eventful, spontaneous, and worth writing about. I am going to make up stories about my wild nights, crazy fights and unbelievable messes I‘ve gotten into all in the name of making great memories. I could do this, but it would all be lies simply because I am…
Yardfest at Howard University
Who’s this?
(500) Days of Summer Later, in Full Bloom
They say flowers must grow through dirt. An innocuous shell is flung into the dirt with the creepy crawlies and after 500 days with itself it remarkably forces its way through the crud an awe inspiring flower. After only 95 days of summer it’s finally winding down to the last few days and this once innocuous little bean is ready to bloom.
In retrospect I realize all the opportunities I was given to be inspired and am pleased to see that I seized them all, most without realizing it. Witnessing the group Yeri We Cry, headed by my cousin and her friends at the ripe old ages of 22, raise enough funds and attention to make a mission trip to Sierra Leone and help improve the appalling birthing conditions made me realize that not only do need I to be the change that I want to see, but I’m competent enough to do so. Searching within myself and the resources around me to finally arrive at a clear path, the first one all along, reassured me. After 95 exhausting, enlightening, sunny days I feel ready to go back and conquer. It was the vacation I needed away from the pressures of school and the chaos of college to clear my mind and rest my spirit. While I did not find myself enjoying the tropical breezes of the Atlantic that one only sees in movies and dreams, my spirit and mind are tranquil as if I had.
Fall 2011 means I’ll be a sophomore. It means against my will I will be walking into my own death, or as my school calls it ECON201. It means in a matter of months I will finally be meeting my fate with the Phillip Merrill School of Journalism as an applicant. I admit being a diligent member of Maryland Association of Black Journalist, presiding over The Bread And Butter Project, reporting to the Black Explosion, all while maintaining a 3.5 GPA, and working seems like a daunting feat. The intimidation of this semester is not lost, even underneath this veil of motivation I’m currently wearing, but I’m confident that I can do it. I see inspiration in everything around me and I’ve got my hunger back.
So my summer wasn’t 500 days long but it turns out that 95 is good, too. The flower is no longer the dirt covered seed it once was. 95 days of summer later and It bursts into a stunning physical manifestation of what equal portions of dirt, rain, and shine can achieve. It’s fall 2011 and this flowers in full bloom.
—Drea |♥
Urban Outfitters Ripping Off Artists?
“Gasp! Shut your mouth! Thats blasphemy, Urban Outfitters can do no wrong!” So I thought before my pretty, shiny little world came crashing down. The moment I’m put in a shopping frame of mind, the checklist goes just like this: Forever, H&M, then Urban. Thats how it appeared on day one, and that how it’s going to look until I crawl in my grave, a sexy old vixen— Well so I thought. As someone who visits the store no less than twice a month (not to be confused with actually shopping at the store that frequently; I don’t know about you but my college finances do not allow such luxuries!), its devastating to hear these allegations. Claims have surfaced alleging that Urban Outfitters and its children companies Free People and Anthropoligie have made a habit of using the artwork of artist without their consent.
Stevie of ‘I Make Shiny Things’ has most recenty come forward saying that her ‘The World of Love’ pieces have been replicated by the fashion monsoons. “I’m very disappointed in Urban Outfitters,” she writes on her I Make Shiny Things Tumblr blog, ”I know they have stolen designs from plenty of other artists.” Though she is most recent, shes not alone. The fashion house was also accused of similar accusations in 2006 and 2007. Currently these are only allegations, as no investigations have been conducted, and Urban has not released any statements.
I love clothing, and shopping, and looking pretty as much as any other gal but morals supersede fashion, especially devilish monoplies. I could not possibly purchase another thing from the store knowing that the artist who created it will not be rewarded. I hope for the sake of these artists and my sad, maxi dress-less wardrobe that this is some kind of huge misunderstanding… Because that happens alllll the time, right??
Any who, here are some link to some other articles further discussing the topic. Educate yourselves people!
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2010/05/are_brooklyn_fa.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/26/urban-outfitters-steal_n_867604.html
—Drea
So Whats Next?
Well now that I’ve started putting the pieces of my life back together, I figured I should dedicate a pretty big one to Love, Tristan. How do I take it from a meaningless blog with countless reblogs of shiny, pink things to a legitimate portfolio? How can I make this an aesthetically pleasing yet polished compilation of my articles, interview, thoughts, favorites trends and the like? Here are some places I’d like to start:
- Camera- I broke my camera on June, 11, 2010. Why do I remember this date? B/c it was the very day after my HS graduation. So not being able to capture any of my summer or freshman year of college on film was reeealllyyy fun. But now that I’m actually meeting and interview celebs, I need to get one, a good one.
- Recorder- Had one of those too. But I broke that during an interview for my HS newspaper. If I’m going to be interviewing big wigs, I’m going to need a recorder, n’est pas?
- Photoshop- As everything moves in a digital direction, familiarity with Photoshop and other programs like it is essential. As someone who aspires to work at a fashion magazine, I have even more exigence to learn the program.
- Muse- It’s so easy to just take pictures and upload them to a site and go “BAM Im a fashion journalsit.” But that’s been done, and quite frankly, that’s dead. I need a muse and what better time to find one than summer post-freshman year?
Hip-hop’s Hottest Up and Coming M.C, BIG SEAN.
“I’m just doing better than what everybody projected. Knew that I’d be here so if you asked me how I feel, I’mma just tell you it’s everything that I expected.” Recognize these lyrics? This declaration of success is a few lines spit from hip-hops hottest up and coming M.C, Big Sean.
Born Sean Anderson, Big Sean entered the hip hop scene in 2007 in somewhat of a Cinderella story. The aspiring M.C had spent years battling and building a name for himself in his home of Detroit, Michigan. In 2005 he and his friends found out that none other than the famed Kanye West was going to be at a local radio station and immediately seized the opportunity. He and his friends got to the station where Big Sean introduced himself to Kanye. “I was like ‘Hi, my name’s Big Sean, and I’m a MC,’” Big Sean explained, “and Kanye was like ‘that’s good, that’s good’ and walked away.” But he wouldn’t leave the station until he accomplished what he came to do— have Kanye West hear him rap. As Mr. West walked out the door, Big Sean followed until Kanye finally stopped and asked him to rap 16 bars. “After that he was like ‘Yeah okay, okay. Look I’m having a listening party tomorrow come through,” Big Sean told. Finally success right? Quite the contraire. “I was so excited that Kanye West had just invited me to a secret listening party that I forgot to ask him for the address!” Anderson recalled.
Anderson was able to get the address from one of Kanye’s people, attend the party, and eventually get signed to West’s music label, Good Music. Since then, Big Sean has changed the sound and feel of hip-hop. No longer are the old school beats that reigned when we were children dominating the charts, but the new rhyme schemes, rhythms, and tempos have changed tremendously, a honor often award to Sean. Even before he blew up, those deep in the hip-hop game were familiar with his sound and even used it as a template for their own. ”People always ask me like ‘man you mad that people jacked your style’ and I’m like ‘hell nah.’ That’s like, amazing! That just goes to show how far I can go – I changed hip-hop!”
Even with such great success already on his back, Sean continues to reach for more. Never resting, he continues to grow as an artist, saying “every time I feel like I put some new music out, my shit goes up a notch.” But as someone who has already been signed by Kanye, and has worked with some big names like Pharrelle, Common, Estelle, and Chris Brown, the driving force behind the artist are two people that have great influence in our lives too— mom and grandma. “I could wear a hundred-thousand dollars worth of jewelry but that’s not even worth as much as hearing my grandmother say ‘I’m proud of you’,” he said. He even takes this desire to please the two leading ladies in his life into his music, saying “ I have this one line on my album where I be like ‘Man I got this text from my mom, says me and your grandma proud. I’m way to deep in the game to go sit back in the crowd.’ That’s my inspiration.”
Maryland’s own Seph Ade, one sixth of the band Urban Cartel, and Ike Obioha who goes by the stage name of Ike Da Kid were among the opening acts for the concert. To guys like that who also aspire to be greats, Big Sean’s story offers not only hope, but also proves that Cinderella stories do exist. The once home-bodied high school graduate is now on tour and soon to be releasing his highly anticipated freshman album appropriately titled “Finally Famous.” Hip-hop greats like Jay-Z and Lil Wayne prove just how powerful a combination of passion and drive can be. If he continues to take notes from those before him while creating a legend of his own, I’m confident that we will only be hearing big things from Big Sean.
—Drea
[Alice- Avril Lavigne]
“ When The Worlds Crashing Down, When I Fall And Hit The Ground, I Will Turn Myself Around…
—I Wont Cry.”
Drea, Where You Been?!
Man, I really thought that Love, Tristan would be much further than this by now but college is no joke! Between class, work, and trying to stay sane, you find very little time to blog anything substantial.
Whats worse is that I’ve recently found myself questioning my career path. Everyone who knows me knows my story: One day in the fourth grade my teacher told the class that we were to write a story and they were going to be sent out to be bound. “Wow! A real book of my own!” I thought. So I wasted no time. I went home and that very day started writing my story about Maya, Mariah, and Franchesca, three best friends from San Fransico. I didn’t watch t.v that night—I wrote. I didn’t go outside during recess the next day— I wrote. I didn’t ride my bike, play with dolls or paint for 2 weeks. I wrote. Finally came the day when we were to hand in our final drafts to be sent to be bound. I’d spent hours, days, weeks on this book but couldn’t turn it it. It wasn’t finished. As much as I wanted a book of my very own, with my name, and my cover illustration, and my everything there was only one thing I wanted more— to keep writing.
That was when I was nine years old and since then not a thing has changed. There is nothing I want more than to write. But as I progress in my education I realize that this plan I’ve had for myself since I was a child may be nothing more than a dream. Lately I’ve been running into alot of walls not keeping me from my dream, but forcing me to choose between my dream and my reality, something I had never prepared myself for. It’s like they tell you reach for the stars, and shoot for your dreams just long enough that when you get to college, there’s is already a solid foundation to be crushed. Why spend 9 years, half of my life time building me up, just to knock me down? This is something thats taking a lot out of me and I’m looking within myself for answers.
So as I struggle with this please bear with me. I could never give up my dreams but I’m too smart to not have a plan B. Just trying to have my cake and eat it too, you know?
Love Always,
Drea |♥
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined.
-Henry David Thoreau
Peace && Love With Yourself Before All Else |♥
|1|.Drea.
|2|.Aspiring Journalist
|3|.Nineteen
|4|.Univ of Maryland
|5|.Eat Your Heart Out; ♡
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