This is the official 100th post of TNTH! It hasn’t even been a year since TNTH first launched; it’s crazy how time (and posts) flies.
Without making this too cheesy, I just wanted to thank everyone who stops by to read anything that’s posted on this blog. You’re not obligated to do so, but I guess there’s something on this little blog site that you wanted to read, and I thank you for even taking an interest in it. I’ve learned a lot about myself in these 100 posts. Like anything in life, you have your ups and downs, and I know that TNTH has seen some days being on hiatus or there were posts that were just written just to fit the schedule. Whatever the case was, I always come back to TNTH. TNTH has opened a new world of writing for me that I want to pursue in the future; it showed me what kind of writing I wanted to do and how to do it.
In celebration of 100 posts on TNTH, here are some posts that I had fun writing and posting on TNTH:
I just wanted to wish Happy Birthday to some important people in my life; it just so happens that their birthdays all fall in like a three-day time span.
Anyway, Happy Birthday to my closest college friend, Tori! (She’s the other bitch in the picture and by bitch I mean dog.) Her birthday was on Thursday, and even though she’s considered a Virgo-Libra cusp (cusp meaning the day of the month where some horoscopes consider that day to be the prior zodiac sign, or the next one), she’s definitely a Virgo. Besides being an English Teacher in Pennsylvania, her true talents shine through in art. Tori showcases her art on her Instagram, as well as her YouTube page currently under construction under the same name, StrangeBird Illustration. I hope you guys show her some love on her platforms and tell her Liz sent you! 😉
Happy Birthday to my older sister, Megan! Her birthday is actually tomorrow, so here’s an early birthday post! Being a younger sister, my older sister didn’t like me a lot when we were younger. We have some pretty crazy stories about our childhood we always talk about like how she threw a full soda bottle at me while I was using the bathroom, but I guess I grew on her as the years passed. Megan is my best friend; she knows everything that goes on with me whether it’s good or bad, and I’ve come to really value her as we grow older. Being each other’s only sibling, we definitely look out for each other and speak about any issues that affect us both. It’s personally been a rough year for the both of us, but whenever we get together it’s just non-stop jokes and laughter. I love you Meg, have a great birthday!
Happy Birthday to my mother! My mother’s birthday is also tomorrow, so it’s pretty cool that both my sister and mother share the same birthday. You don’t hear that happening often! I mean, what can I say about this woman? She’s taught me almost everything I know and follow as a woman myself. She’s confident, outspoken, and strong, and I strive to be everything that she is because even if things are going on with her personally, she continues to be the unbelievable funny person she is. Thank you for being an amazing mother to me and Megan; continue being the 29-year-old woman you will forever be! ❤
Happy Birthday to all the September babies out there! Go and flaunt your birthday selves! Here’s my gift to you all:
I wanted to come on the blog to inform you about Hurricane Maria and how you can help those who are and have been affected by the storm, particularly those in Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico, although a hotspot for vacationers, financially aren’t capable to repair the damage Hurricane Maria caused. As a Category 4 hurricane, Maria is the first hurricane to directly hit the island in 100 years. The island, as a whole, does not have power, which means simple survival tasks like eating and drinking clean water are slim. Because of the financial issue Puerto Rico has, there’s a possibility that the island will not have power for 6 months. It’s scary and life-altering, especially those who don’t have anywhere to go in the time of reconstruction of the island.
Most of my Puerto Rican family live on the island and have lived to see both Hurricane Irma and Maria hit them full force in a time span of two weeks. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see and hear that the beautiful island it once was is now completely destroyed.
As Americans, we need to acknowledge that Puerto Ricans are also Americans. Please do not ignore them just because it’s not one of the 50 states. Treat this tragedy as you did when Hurricane Harvey hit Texas and when Hurricane Irma hit Florida. Puerto Rico needs the most help they need, and it’s only right to help give back and spread awareness about this.
If you or anyone you know has family or friends who live in Puerto Rico, share this post. Below are a couple of phone numbers to call if you are trying to check on anyone who is in Puerto Rico, as well as a Refinery 29 article of all the organizations and donation pages to help the Caribbean Islands get through this hard time. Below is just the couple of donors that help Puerto Rico specifically:
Puerto Rico Check-In Phone Numbers:
202-778-0710
787-777-0940
877-976-2400
Organizations & Donation Pages for Help/Hurricane Relief in Puerto Rico*:
The local nonprofit ConPRmetidos is raising money for relief to communities in Puerto Rico impacted by the hurricane.
The first lady of Puerto Rico Beatriz Rosselló and a group of companies created Unidos por Puerto Rico to help the victims of the storm.
The Hispanic Federation is raising funds to help with emergency relief in Puerto Rico.
The Puerto Rican women’s health organization Taller Salud has created a relief fund for families on the island.
*These listed above all come from the Refinery 29 article; there are more options to donate and help the other islands affected by Hurricane Maria and the ones listed above are just a few of the many pages you can visit to help and donate.
In times of need, we all need to come together. Simple as that.
September is known to be Suicide Prevention Month and before we go into October, forgetting about this issue due to Halloween and Fall leaves, I wanted to talk about this because this is something close to my heart. This is something that I will always fight for because even in 2017, we still live in a world where we associate suicide with weakness and selfishness. We still believe that suicide is something people want to do.
The first thing to realize about suicide is that people attempt and commit to it not because they want to end their lives. They commit suicide because they want to end the pain.
Take it from a girl who’s been on both sides of the story.
With the school year now in full force, it’s common to meet new people and classmates in your classes. From experience, I realize that after asking someone new what their name is, the second question that follows is usually “what’s your major?”
It’s amazing just how quickly their expression changes when you tell them you’re pursuing a degree in performing/creative arts. It’s like you can feel the judgment through their eyes, and it’s such an uncomfortable feeling.
It’s sad that we live in a world (or a city like NYC) that as young adults, we have to choose our paths according to how practical it is and how much money we will be making in the future. The purpose of higher education is to develop people as intellectuals in order to make it in the real world. With that being said, a lot of people gear towards majors that are very financially promising: business, pre-med, biology, psychology, social work, education, nursing, etc. Those who tend to pursue a degree in anything that’s creative are usually frowned upon on. In most cases, most people view those majors as those that people who are not “that smart” pick because “it’s easier”. It’s not dealing with logic and math and science and every other major that umbrellas under that division.
I am an English major. Even more so, I’ve been an English Major for the last 6 academic years. On the outside, it looks practical. It’s broad enough so that most people assume you’re pursuing English for a practical career. In the six years I’ve been around other English majors, I’ve noticed many of them pursue English to teach public school and eventually on the college level. It’s a common goal for pursuing a degree in a subject; I bet other subject-related majors have students who want to teach with their degrees.
Me, on the other hand, don’t want to teach English. I didn’t get my bachelor’s in English to teach and I’m not pursuing my Master’s in English to teach. I do not want to teach.
Before I start off this post, I would like to state a disclaimer that I am writing this at one in the morning on the week that I am highly emotional, so if this appears too sappy or cheesy for your liking, then I advise not to read this post.
I am a cheeseball when it comes to love. Reader’s discretion is advised.
Anyway, I am not a stranger when it comes to love. All my life, I loved a lot of people platonically and objects have sentimental value to me, and yes, I’ve mistaken my infatuation with love plenty of times in my life.
This time though is truly something to write in the books.
Sixteen years ago on this day, America was completely altered forever. The Twin Towers, notoriously known as the tallest buildings in New York City, collapsed due to two separate plane crashings in the early rush hours of the morning. It’s crazy to believe that I was alive during a period that will most likely be written and talked about in most history classrooms in schools. Most kids start remembering things when they’re four years old. That would mean the youngest group of people who could possibly remember 9/11 are people who were born in 1997. Those same people are now juniors in college. It’s crazy to think that sophomores in high-school weren’t even born. Most kids these days will look at today as “just another day”, just how most of us just think that days like the Pearl Harbor attacking is “just another day.” It’s such a different feeling knowing that I lived during a catastrophic time. I can tell you guys what happened to me hour-by-hour on September 11th, 2001. I can tell you how everyone was scared out of their minds whenever an airplane flew over a building in the sky. I remember my mother took my sister and I to our favorite boutique, and she bought us each a Beanie Babies Teen plush just so that we weren’t worried about what was happening. I remember crying to my mother, not wanting to o to school for two weeks because I was afraid “the bad people will come back for us.” I was only in the 2nd grade when this happened.
As I got older, I began to meet more and more people in my life, and with that came some stories of their own about 9/11. I know people who lost loved ones that day. I know people who were around the area on that day. I know a lot of people who were truly affected by it. Sixteen years later, we all remember the people who tragically lost their lives, and never forget the first responders who were also affected (even some of them are still dealing with 9/11-related illnesses) due to the events of this day.
As the years go by and this event begins to literally become history to the next generation, I don’t think I’ll ever go through this day with a grain of salt. I think I’ll always see myself as this 7-year old girl who was terrified, even if I couldn’t fully understand what was happening at the time. I think that’s what makes me sad the most.
Despite this, I hope everyone has a good and safe day today. 🇺🇸
As the summer came to an end for most of us college students, some of you guys are actually starting a new chapter in your lives; one of them may actually be grad school!
Before I say anything else, let me congratulate those who are deciding to jump back into school just months after finishing it. It’s not an easy decision to make when finishing four (or more) intense years of college and then shortly after start grad school.
Last year, I was starting grad school without any type of warning label or disclaimer about what to expect. I am the first of my friends and family to attend graduate school, so there wasn’t anyone telling me what to expect. Maybe some of you guys are in the same boat like I was; you start your grad classes in a couple of days and you’re stressed out because you expect it to be this horrible place of hard work, long novels, and novel-length pages.
Take a deep breath. Let me give you a little bit of a breather before you start regretting your grad school decision.
Before we get started, can we all just notice how “Buzzfeed-ish” the title of this post is?
Anyway, hi! I was born in 1994, which makes me an actual 90’s kid. I remember living in the 90’s, liking 90’s stuff, and vibing the 90’s culture like it was nobody’s business. Sometimes, I wish I was able to just go back to the 90’s just to remember how different it was. You always hear people say “I wish I was a teenager in the 80’s”, but in all honesty, I’m very glad that I was a kid in the 90’s. Being a kid in the 90’s was the way to live because everything that was 90’s products was targeted towards kids and teens. I think kids ruled the world in the 90’s. Anyway, here are some products that hit me in the feels of nostalgia. I hope some of you who read this feel the same way.
1.) Nintendo 64
This is probably the first thing people think when they think of 90’s products, and that’s because this was the 90’s. My sister had gotten the Nintendo 64 for Christmas in 1998, and when she unwrapped it, she nearly exploded with excitement. (No seriously, there’s a legendary picture of her screaming and holding up the box sitting in one of the photo albums in my house). Some of the best video games I played in my childhood have all been games from the Nintendo 64, like:
Mario Party
Mario Party 2
Mario Kart 64
Pokemon Snap
Pokemon Stadium
Snowboard Kidz 2
Mario Golf
Diddy Kong Racing
The Legend of Zelda
This Rugrats game that I can’t remember the name of
Banjo-Kazooie (which I used to be afraid of)
2.) “Think Pink” Barbie Girl
Now, you must be wondering why this basic ass Barbie girl is featured on this list. While, yes, this was a 90’s toy I personally owned, the only reason why I added this on the list is that of the cassette tape that the doll came with. Guys, when I tell you I used to jam to this song, I jammed out to this song. Me and my sister played this tape too many times in the day to the point where the tape was getting so worn out, the girl’s voices began to slow down and sound like baritones more than sopranos.
This was a 90’s bop for sure.
3.) Betty Spaghetty
Guys. These dolls were weird, but they were so much fun. You were able to dress them up and bend their bodies in different positions, and they just looked cool. I remember someone saying that “poor people had Betty Spaghetty while rich people had Barbies” – but Betty Spaghetty was unique and different. They definitely don’t make toys like this anymore.
4.) Twirl Girl Fairy Dolls
It’s 2017, and these colors are still so very popular. I don’t remember if I had any of these exact dolls, but these dolls flew. I used to love seeing how high they flew and seeing them twirl in the air. To come and think about it, these dolls were sturdy and made pretty well if they’re made to be thrown up into the air just to fall back down. They don’t make them like this anymore.
5.) Chupa Chups Spice Girl Lollipops
These lollipops define the 90’s. Every girl and Spice Girl fan ate these lollipops as soon as they saw Baby Spice eating them in photos and in Spice World. They still sell them, but these special edition lollipops came with stickers that I and my sister put almost everywhere in our house. Hmm, now I want one.
6.) Sock’em Boppers
Okay, I never had a pair of Sock’em Boppers, which was probably for the best because I and my sister would’ve knocked each other into a coma. I was talking about old 90’s toys with Obie and asked him if he owned a pair, and he said he did but he always used one hand and gave the other one to his nephew so they could beat each other up. It was cute.
7.) Tamagotchi
I was too young to have the patience to actually have one, but my sister was addicted to these. She had a couple of them in the years they were popular, and she somehow kept them alive in a long span of time. I remember one time where she gave one of them to our mother to take care of when she was in school, and of course, it was dead when she came home because my mother didn’t remember to feed it. My sister was devastated. Now, she laughs about it.
8.) Talkboy Tape Recorder
Most people may recognize this from the Home AloneMovies as the device Kevin used to manipulate adults in the movie. All of a sudden, every kid in the universe wanted one so they can pull pranks on their parents. I had like a mini version of one that wasn’t really good, but my sister had this nice purple/pink one that looked like this one, and this girl recorded everything in every funny voice or just the sake of having something to record. She also played every cassette tape we had in the house on that damn Talkboy. I know she regrets throwing it out.
9.) Polly Pocket
Okay, these were the original Polly Pockets, not those big doll ones that they made because people probably complained about the little tiny size that they previously were and how every child in the world either lost them or choked on them due to their ridiculously tiny size. Again, I was one of those kids who lost almost all of my Polly Pockets as a kid because they were tiny. Whenever I did have them, though, they were really fun to play with, especially with the little sets that they came with. My sister, who was 8 when we had them, was more careful with them than I was. she never lost them, and her sets always looked more put together than mine. What can I say; I was a 4-year-old girl playing with tiny ass toys.
10.) Arthur Plush Doll
When I was little, I used to hate talking dolls. I was deathly afraid of them and I did nothing but cry when I was given one of them. I visibly remember crying my eyes out when I was given a talking Barney plush doll. My first talking doll was this Arthur one, and this one didn’t scare me. Before there was Pugsly, there was Maria, who was a Spanish looking doll that my grandmother named Maria so homegirl didn’t have an actual name,and before there was Maria, there was Arthur. I specifically remember carrying around this doll all over Brooklyn because he was like my best friend. He was soft, plushy, and he called me his friend. It’s funny; Obie and I were talking about this doll a couple of weeks ago, and long and behold – he had the same Arthur doll back in the day too. He actually remembers some of the sayings that Arthur said, which warmed my 90’s heart immensely.
And that’s it for now! These were just some of the many 90’s products I remember having as a kid, but I know there are so many that I actually missed.
You know what upsets me the most? Whenever you tell someone no, there’s always a chance that they’ll still continue doing what they were doing or ask you again to confirm that “no” once and for all.
Of course, some situations aren’t as severe as others. If your friend asks you if you want to go to the bar on a Friday night and you say “no”, then asking “are you sure?” doesn’t seem like a big deal. If you’re eating dinner and your mother asks you if you want any more food and you say “no”, her asking “are you sure?” doesn’t seem like a big deal.
But if you’re in a situation where you are uncomfortable, tense, and uneasy and you told the person you’re with “no”, then you best to believe to listen to that no.
Of course, not every situation where you say no because you’re uncomfortable and tense mean that it has anything to do with sex. We all should know that consensual sex is better than any type of sex, so if the person is saying no to your sexual innuendos and forwardness, then you best to believe you fucking listen to that no.That’s honestly the type of no that should be enforced more. You’d be surprised how many people out there will not listen to someone’s “no” before having sex with them.
I mean, can we talk about this for a bit? Trust me, this entire post isn’t about the one thing that should be obvious to the entire human species, but it still baffles me that there are literal people out there who don’t listen to people’s “no’s” and still think it’s cool to proceed with no consent. Even more so, treat the person they are with like absolute shit, yet try to proceed with sex when literally the other person doesn’t want to. I’m sorry, but people who don’t take consent seriously or don’t believe getting consent is a real even when you’re in a romantic relationship are the scum of the Earth and personally, you disgust the living shit out of me.NO MEANS NO IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCE.
Now that *that’s* out of way, I want to talk about the kind of “no” you say in situations where you feel uncomfortable and tense because you don’t feel good, or if you have really bad anxiety. Sometimes in these circumstances when you’re not threatened in any kind of way, you still feel weird and uncomfortable and the easiest thing to do in a situation like that is to shut down. I know as a person who is dealing with social anxiety, I find it hard to voice out my uncomfortableness and I end up just being really tense during social gatherings. I realize that social gatherings are meant to be fun and careless, but I constantly find myself glued on one side of the room and I never get up. I usually have a person at the gathering with me who understands my anxiety, but let’s say I don’t. Let’s say I’m at a party by myself, sitting near the corner, and someone walks over to me and asks me to dance. I say, “no.” The person then proceeds to try to convince me for one dance. I decline by saying “no, thank you.” Now by this point of the interaction, the person will either listen and say “okay, have a nice night” and move the fuck on, or he continues to try to get you up out of your seat for a dance. When it starts leaning towards the ladder, it can drive any anxiety-driven person off the walls. Yeah, a safe party setting shouldn’t be so threatening, but no matter what the atmosphere is, “no” means no. I don’t say “no” to lead you on, I don’t say “no” because I want to play “hard to get”, and I don’t say “no” because I secretly want to see you try to get me to dance with you. I say “no” because I genuinely mean no. That’s that.
People, like myself, who are anxious people tend to feel bad for saying no because then we sort of say to ourselves “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings” or “wow, I feel really awkward now because I said no to them.” In most cases, you’re left feeling even more uncomfortable and tenser now that that awkward situation occurred. You dwell on it all night, and then you go home feeling like absolute shit. It’s way anxious people stay away from all social gatherings together, or we never tend to say no when someone asks us something to asks us to do something. We feel bad saying no.
But saying “no” shows people out there that you prioritize yourself enough to know that at this moment, you don’t want to do something or that you rather be doing something else. Saying “no” in situations gains back your sense of control; when you say “no”, you are demanding whatever happens next. You are kind enough to decline someone but bold enough to tell them how it is when they don’t listen to you the first couple of times.
Seriously, if people responded to “no” in the same way they did to “yes”, the world would be a better place.
Saying no does not mean you’re a mean person. No is simply a response to one’s question or one’s action and just because we choose not to go along with it without there being anything threatening, does not mean you’re mean or a bitch. You’re simply just being honest with yourself and the person you are telling “no” to.
Lastly, if you’re the person who is being told “no”, please be respectful of the person who said no. Seriously, leave the person alone if they tell you “no.” If they are sure about their no, then it’s a no. Don’t harass them. Don’t try to provoke them to try and change their minds. Don’t try and swindle them. Most importantly, DO NOT PROCEED WITH YOUR ACTIONS IF THEY SAID NO AND THEY DIDN’T CONSENT TO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO.
Letters From Liz. 