I wanted to talk about a few topics that are in the spotlight recently. First being the Don't Judge Challenge on Twitter.
The Don't Judge Challenge was started and trended on Twitter by mostly teenagers who had a good idea actually but they did it all wrong. They were trying to show that no matter what you look like you shouldn't be judged but what they did was use make up on themselves to paint on fake pimples, uni brows, big lips, and they put on glasses. They considered that look to be the "ugly" look and then the next thing you see in their videos is them looking like themselves basically all done up and smiling and they considered that "attractive" or "beautiful". The problem was most of these videos the teens in them when they looked "beautiful" they mostly were beautiful or attractive to the standards of society and there is nothing wrong with how they looked but they way they classified what society thinks is "ugly" at first in their videos is what some people actually look like and they can't help it. Like me, I wear glasses and still get pimples and I can't help it. I have had eye problems my whole life and when I see those videos, it doesn't particularly make me feel too good about myself and other people like me. We have self esteem and body issues in society today because of things like the Don't Judge Challenge. There were some people who did the challenge right though. Some people started out looking good with make up on and everything and then they still looked good with no make up on. Basically, everyone is beautiful in their own way. Nobody is perfect and nobody is ugly. I am blessed to have an idol like Lucy Hale who believes all of her Halers are beautiful inside and out just like she is. She lifts us up and would never tell anyone that they are ugly or not good enough. I love Lucy so much! Don't let anyone make you feel like you are ugly and worthless because you are beautiful and have so much worth. Don't let a challenge make you feel bad because you have to wear glasses like me or have a face with acne or any other things. Everyone has flaws but everyone is beautiful despite those flaws you just have to believe it yourself. Also, the people who started the Don't Judge Challenge need to learn how to spell challenge. They spelled it Challange and it trended that way too. How did nobody catch that? Just wondering. Anyway, that's my thought on the Don't Judge Challenge.
Second topic to be discussed is the Confederate flag controversy. The Confederate flag was the flag of the South during the Civil War. Some people see it as southern heritage or pride others see it as offensive and racist. I can see both sides. I grew up in rural Virginia, the Confederate flag was widely seen and considered normal so I never personally saw a problem with it. Since the tragic shootings of 9 African Americans in Charleston, SC people have been calling for the flag to be removed the state government grounds in Columbia and just today the senate there voted for it's removal. Now the decision rests with the house there. I do hope it eventually gets taken down. We need to move on from that horrible past. Keep the flags in museums or on your own personal property. I didn't like how some people were blaming us white people for the slavery that happen back before and during the Civil War. It isn't fair to blame us for something our ancestors were responsible for. We can't change history. The past is the past. We don't have a time machine or a DeLorean to go back in time and change things. We weren't even thought of yet then when all that took place so blaming us for all that happened then is wrong. Not all white people are racists and bad and neither are all African Americans or any other race/ethnicity for that matter. Racism is alive and well in today's society and as long as there are people who live in the past and won't change they way they think or what they believe no matter what, then racism will always be a part of society and it is sad. Everyone should be treated with kindness and respect. No one should be judged on the color of their skin or anything. White Privilege is also huge in our society today. I truly believe that it does exist and I would never deny it and it's sad. All those who complain that we need a "White Appreciation" day need to stop and realize that that is everyday just watch your TVs and look at pictures in magazines and the Internet. White people are considered the most beautiful and most wanted and it's sad. Everyone is beautiful and everyone should be wanted no matter what color we are. Anyway, I hope the flag gets taken down in South Carolina. There is a person across the street from me who has a flag pole in their backyard now with the Confederate flag flying. I hope nothing bad happens because of that. I do believe however that everyone should be allowed to fly whatever flag they want on their own properties though. That's how I feel about the whole Confederate flag controversy.
Third, I want to talk about Gay Marriage being made legal here in the US by the Supreme Court! I believe it is awesome that Gay Marriage is now legal. Also, I am proud to be an Episcopalian because a couple days ago, The Episcopalian church voted overwhelmingly to allow Gay Marriages to be preformed in our churches! ALL are welcome in the Episcopal church! Love is love and everyone deserves to be happy and love who they want and to celebrate their love with marriage. Just because you don't understand it doesn't mean it's bad. When I tell y'all the bible thumpers came out when this happened boy, they were saying all Gays were going to go to Hell and everyone who supported them was going to go to Hell also. When Lucy Hale posted her support of Gay Marriage people were going off in her Instagram comments and it was really sad to see. I felt bad for Lucy because she had to see that. She loves everyone and so does God. Gay people, straight people, we're all people who love other people be it the same sex or the opposite sex. Love is love and everyone should be able to celebrate their love!
Lastly, I wanted to talk about the incredible Women's World Cup finals the other night. Our ladies did us so proud and brought the cup back to the USA! Congrats ladies on a very well deserved championship. They have inspired other women and girls to go for their dreams and never give up. They are true good role models! We need good role models like the USWNT in our society and world because sexism is very real and it does exist whether people want to believe it or not. It's sad that sexism still exists. It's sad that us females are judged on how we looked and seen as sexual objects which we are not. We are not just here to birth babies, cook, and clean. This is not the 1950's and/or times before that anymore. This is the 21st century where we females can be who and what we want but we still face sexism and it's sad but the USWNT gives us hope and inspires to never give up on our dreams. You go Girls!!! They are a true example of Girl Power!!
So, those are my opinions on those topics. I wanted to try and end with positive topics. Remember, these are just my opinions. Everyone is allowed their opinions whether we agree with them or not. People need to learn how to state their opinions without being rude and offensive.
~Peace and Love~
Martina McBride posted about this on her Facebook last night and I had to talk about it here:
This country radio consultant named Keith Hill was interviewed by Country Air Check and let me tell y'all what he said about Female Country Artists really made me mad:
" If you want to make ratings in Country radio, take females out. The reason is mainstream Country radio generates more quarter hours from female listeners at the rate of 70 to 75%, and women like male artists. I’m basing that not only on music tests from over the years, but more than 300 client radio stations. The expectation is we’re principally a male format with a smaller female component. I’ve got about 40 music databases in front of me and the percentage of females in the one with the most is 19%. Trust me, I play great female records and we’ve got some right now; they’re just not the lettuce in our salad. The lettuce is Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, Keith Urban and artists like that. The tomatoes of our salad are the females."
Are you serious? This douche bag believes that Female Country Artists shouldn't be played on the radio at all!! This is the 21st century and this sexism still exists and it's horrible! I grew up listening to country music it's a huge part of me. My Nana and I watched CMT music videos all the time and being a female I identify with the female artists way more than the male, why? because female artists sing about real life issues and struggles that we go through. That type of music helps me and others get through so many tough times. I love and listen to way more female country artists like Lucy Hale, Carly Pearce, Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Leann Rimes, Dolly Parton, Reba, Maddie and Tae, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Nettles, Alison Krauss, Gretchen Wilson, Sara Evans, Jo Dee Messina, Leann Womack, and I could go on and on and I would like to add in the groups with female artists like my favorite Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, and The Band Perry. I won't go on and on anymore but you get the point.
As y'all know, Lucy Hale is a huge idol of mine and her music has gotten me through so much! The last song I listen to every night before going to sleep is "Nervous Girls" it's like my life anthem. Hearing makes me feel like everything is going to be ok and that I'm not alone. Apparently songs like that shouldn't be played on the radio according to that douche bag because it's sung by an amazing female country artist and that is pure BS!! Songs like that need to be played because they help me and so many others get through tough situations in life. When nobody else is there music is there!
Here is what Martina said on her Facebook about it:
" Wow…..just wow. Just read this from a major country radio publication. How do you feel about this statement? I especially want to hear from the females. Do you not like to hear other women singing about what you are going through as women? I’m really curious. Because to me, country music is about relating. Someone relating to what you are really going through on a day to day basis in your life. Did you girls (core female listeners) know you were being “assessed” in this way? Is this how you really feel? Hmmm…. "
I couldn't agree more with what Martina said, Country music is about relating! We as females can't relate to what the males sing about because they mostly sing about hooking up with girls, girls wearing tight clothes, getting drunk, pick up trucks and stuff like that. Ok so some females can relate but most not so much. I mean yes, there are great male artists don't get me wrong and plenty of amazing inspirational songs sung by the male artists but we as females at least I do identify and relate to the female artists.
So to you, Mr. Keith Hill, douche bag of the year I say this: You need to find yourself a better salad. This female country music fan and many more like me love our favorite female country artists and relate to them in a way you could never understand and we love to hear them on our radio stations and elsewhere as well and they need more air time!! They deserve more air time!!! I will also say at least the tomatoes add flavor to the salad the lettuce may be the base to your so called salad but it's also the blandest part of the salad!!
I think that about does it for this rant! I love you Lucy Hale!!!
~Peace and Love~
Oh and I got some of this info from a BuzzFeed article as well! Most from Martina's Facebook though!
First I want to say that these are my opinions on various topics and they are just that opinions. Everyone is allowed to have them whether you agree with someone or not that doesn't give you the right to be mean and nasty to someone with differing opinions.
I want to share my opinions on some things that have been happening lately. Just so y'all know I am a white female and I see many comments on different articles from other white people thinking that they know what POC's go through concerning their race and we don't know. We have always been the majority and there has been white privilege for so very long. POC's have always been treated differently so for us we have no idea what it's like and we have no right to say that we do. That being said, the riots lately in Ferguson, Missouri and just tonight in Baltimore, Maryland are not the way to go. Destroying your communities because you are rightfully angry will not accomplish any positive forward movement. The police brutality is out of control and needs to be dealt with but there are many good cops out there as well. Positive, peaceful protests are the way to go. People are rightfully angry but they are going off their emotions rather than rational thinking and when people do that, they do things that they will regret. People need to stop letting their emotions control them. We need change throughout our whole country but violence and destruction is never the answer. It's really sad what has been happen and what will continue to happen until positive change can be brought forward. Also, yes we to see each other as we are, our defining characteristics, I am white, others are POC's, Asian, Hispanic but we shouldn't judge each other based on other colors of our skin, acknowledge it yes, judge solely on it, no. I judge people on their character, I give people the benefit of the doubt to be good people. Don't assume that because they are POC's that they are automatically thugs and bad because that is not true. Just like not all white people are bible thumping racists. I don't like stereotypes. Stereotypes lumps whole groups of people into one judgement and it irritates me. All southerns in the US are not bible thumping racists. Anyway, that's just my thoughts on that particular situation. There are good people everywhere and in all groups too!
So, this past Friday, Bruce Jenner had a 2 hour interview with Diane Sawyer about being a Transgender Female. I applaud him for standing up and speaking out about what it's like and how hard it is. I am a straight female so I can only imagine how hard it is for the LGBT community to deal with that everyday. People are so mean and judgemental today. God loves everyone no matter POC, White, Hispanic, Asian, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Straight, or Transgender. People don't just choose to be a certain way, it's just how each one of us feels and who we are attracted it to. Just like us straight people are attracted to the opposite sex, Gays and Lesbians are attracted to people of the same sex. Love is Love no matter what and everyone deserves to be happy and to be able to express who they are and love who they want to love without being judged, hated, tormented and driven to suicide. When I have kids with my Fiance someday, I will be proud of them no matter what they choose to do or who they are and people using the bible to defend their ridiculous opinions just need to sit down and shut up. Don't use the Bible as a weapon that's not it was put on this earth to be used for. Religion can be good and bad. Some Religions can and do have cults in them and it's sad that people are brainwashed to believe certain things and that they have to be a certain way. I believe in God, I am Episcopalian, and I believe that God loves everyone and that we should at least learn to respect one another, we obviously don't have to accept everything but what people do in their lives that makes them happy like Bruce, then that is their business and it doesn't affect the rest of us in any way. My Idol, Lucy Hale actually posted a picture on her Instagram of her watching Bruce Jenner's interview and I just love her. She's so loving, accepting, caring, and sweet but so many people were so mean to Lucy on her Instagram and I broke down in tears it hurt me that people were calling her names and being mean. It was uncalled for. We need more people like Lucy in our world. Our world is so sad these days. I love you Lucy, I am such a proud Haler and always will be! I will love you to infinity and beyond!! You are my Idol, Inspiration and Role Model!! You make me smile everyday and I can't thank you enough for being so sweet and for your music that has helped me get through tough times. I thank God for bringing you into my life!!! Anyway, that's what I have to say about that.
On the matter of Feminism. I agree with it to a point. I am a female and I can't stand sexism. I can't stand that fact that we women are treated as sex objects and are constantly shown images on how we should look and if we don't look a certain way then we are ugly and unwanted and it's just not true. We are all beautiful! Yes it is true I am overweight but I am working on it. I am engaged to a wonderful man though! We women are so much more then just body images and sex objects. We are strong, beautiful, smart, and can achieve anything a man can! When I said I agreed with Feminism to a point I meant that it's a good idea and I support those for it that are for equality and not man bashing. Bashing or hating people never gets a point across. A lot of men are actually good, caring people it's just some that are misogynistic pigs. We women can help make the world a better place we just need more places and chances to show what we are made of and not be told that we can't just because we are female! For more about this check out my previous post about International Women's Day: http://sumnersspot.blogspot.com/2015/03/happy-international-womens-day.html
So that about sums up my opinions on some modern issues. I am on the side of love, peace, and acceptance or at least dignity and respect for all. We all deserve that. We all deserve to be happy and loved no matter who or what we are. We need more love in this world and less hate. We need more positive role models like Lucy Hale in this world to guide us on the right path. Volunteer, smile at someone, just be nice to one another. Life's too short to be anything but happy!
Remember these are just my opinions no offense intended for anyone!
~Peace and Love~
So, I watched the 50th ACM Awards tonight and it was AMAZING!!!
Martina McBride preformed "Independence Day" one of my all time favorite songs!!
Lady Antebellum preformed "Long Stretch Of Love"!!!!
The Amazing George Strait preformed "All My Exes Live In Texas"!!
So many amazing preformances it would take so long to list them all and how amazing they all were!!! But, I have to talk about Reba, Alan Jackson, and Brooks and Dunn and Garth Brooks!!! All Amazing and all got awards!!! It brought back so many memories as well. Growing up in the 90's watching CMT music videos with my Nana!!! Country Music is a huge part of my life and has been for as long as I can remember!!!
This ACM Awards got a Guiness World Record for Largest Award Show!!! Leave it to Country Music to outdo Everyone!!! Love it!!!
I did love how Taylor Swift's Mom, Andrea presented Taylor her award!!!!
I just loved the whole show!! I loved the memories it brought back for me!!!
I will say this though, I wish Lucy Hale could have been there!!! It would have made my whole night perfect had she been there!! I know she will be there someday and I know she will win ACMA's someday too! Mark my words, I am calling it now, Lucy Hale will win not just ACMA's but CMA's and hopefully Grammy's as well maybe even CMT Awards too! I will probably cry happy tears when I watch her win!!! Like I always say, Once a Haler, Always a Haler!!! I love you so much Lucy!!!
Anyway, tonight was amazing! I love all country music awards the most because I get the most excited for them. I know almost all the songs and artists and they bring back great memories for me!!!
~Peace and Love~
Happy International Women's Day!!! Yes I know this is my first blog post this year on this blog, I just haven't thought of anything to talk about until now. Anyway, today March 8th is International Women's Day!!! This is a very important day for women all over the world. Today we celebrate women and all that we have accomplished and what we can and will accomplish. We celebrate our strength, compassion, love, and stance that we are people like everyone else and deserve to be treated with respect and kindness.
Also, this day reminds me just how important positive role models are for everyone. I am so lucky and blessed to have amazing role models and idols in my life.
Lucy Hale is amazing, sweet, so beautiful, strong, loving, compassionate, so very inspirational, and she means the world to me. She lifts people up everyday, makes them feel loved and not alone. She gives back in so many ways and encourages everyone else to do the same. She is a strong woman and a positive role model and idol for women and girls all over the world today! I am so blessed that I got to meet her and to call her one of my idols and role models!
Her amazing song and my life anthem "Nervous Girls" spreads an amazing message that goes well with today that we women and girls are not alone in what we go through in life and that we really aren't that different from one another!
I love this song so much!!
I admire and love Lucy Hale so much and I always will!!!
Lucy is just one of the strong amazing women on my list that I admire. I also love and admire Alyssa Milano. Alyssa always stands up for what she believes in and is compassionate in every way. She believes in equality for all and that everyone should come together to make our world a better and safer place.
This quote has always been one of my all time favorite quotes!!
There are so many other amazing women who are such positive role models and inspirations and I can't end my list without including the amazing Emma Watson! Emma has been a pioneer for global women's rights and equality.
Truly inspirational!!
There are many more on my list but I don't want to go on and on because this blog post would never end if I did. So, I will just add a couple more names of people I admire: Taylor Swift, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Stana Katic, Sasha Alexander, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Susan B Anthony, Michelle Obama, My Best Friends Sarah, Ellen, Jen and Asu, and these amazing YouTube vloggers that I watch everyday the ladies of the Madrosed family! I could go on and on as you can see but I will stop now.
We need positive role models everyday. We need people who are not afraid to stand up for equality so the world will know that women are human beings too we are not objects and we don't owe anyone anything. We should be proud and strong and know our worth! To all my fellow women and girls don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do, you can do anything you put your minds to. You are beautiful and you are not alone!
More quotes that I love:
Happy International Women's Day to all!!!!!
~Peace and Love~
2014 has been a year filled with happiness and love but also sadness and pain. Ups and Downs and everything in between. Here are my final thoughts on 2014 and my New Years Resolutions for 2015!
I guess I will start with the good things about 2014. My birthday in 2014 was the BEST birthday I have ever had! I have talked about this enough times I know but since this is my 2014 year in review I have to talk about it again.
January 28, 2014! 3 days before my 26th birthday was the best day of my life so far! That is the day that I met my idol, someone who means the absolute world to me, Lucy Hale! Lucy is just amazing and the sweetest person on the planet. That day meant everything to me. After being down for so long, that day and Lucy lifted me back up, gave me hope and made me believe in my dreams and that dreams really do come true. I so hope I get to see her again! I love you more than you will ever know, Lucy! Also, I want to say to everyone hating on Lucy for any reason what so ever lately it is because she cut her hair short, shame on y'all. Just because you don't like someone or what they do or how they do things doesn't mean you can bully them and be disrespectful. Lucy is not just a celeb, she is a human being with feelings and heart just like the rest of us and it makes me sad and mad to read hateful things towards her. Lucy is beautiful no matter what she does and I love her hair it is beautiful on her! Hope y'all like the poem I wrote about Lucy as well. This is the first time and place that I have posted it.
As with any year, there a good times and bad times. A week after I met Lucy, My Grandma passed away from pneumonia. My Grandma was one of my favorite people in the world. She was one the strongest people I knew. I was really sad after that of course. In May, we took Grandma back to Michigan to bury her ashes right next to Pa in the plot she had purchased many years ago. I will always miss and love you Grandma!
When I didn't think things could get much worse, on July 4, 2014 my Nana passed away. I just couldn't believe it. I sat there shaking uncontrollably. I had seen Nana just a month before and she was fine. I couldn't believe this happened again. My Nana gave me the love of Country Music! The BEST genre of music there is I don't care what anyone says. I will always love and miss you Nana!
Things were getting better or so I thought until October 2014 when I found out a long time family friend Joanne had passed away from Lung Cancer the same cancer that took my Grandaddy when I was 14. Joanne always made me laugh and she had the longest hair but she smoked for as long as I knew her she smoked and because of that she had developed lung cancer. She had done all the treatments but even after she finished that there were still spots left on her lungs and her dr said her body couldn't handle anymore treatment so this past October, she passed away. I will always remember the fun times we had, Joanne!
So, I didn't go home to Virginia for Thanksgiving for the first time in a long time. I stayed in Florida. That was different for me as was this Christmas. No Christmas tree, hardly any decorations, and it just did not feel like Christmas to me. I did go to Richmond though and I did get to see Sarah like usual so that was good. Seeing Lucy's Disney Celebration performance on Christmas Day made things a little easier to handle as well, and here we are now December 31, 2014. The final day of the year and I am glad that a new year is starting.
2014 has been a year of unrest, violence, pain and little hopes for humanity thrown in in between the madness. The race issue continues to boil here in the US and it was never really dead to begin with. All the rioting and looting and violence it's just sad that in this day and age we can't all get along and learn to except each other for our differences. We all have the same organs and features but because we all look different, people think that is an invitation to hurt one another and it is ridiculous. Our obsession with material items is getting out of control too. There are more important things in the world than the newest electronic or shoes or something. People going nuts just to get one or a pair and stealing and beating people up it is seriously messed up. If you don't have the money to buy something then you can't get it plain and simple.
Love is the most important thing we all need. Whether it is family, friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever. We all need love. I am lucky enough to have found my true love and soul mate, Rob. He has been the biggest blessing in my life, even if some people don't believe it, it is true. He understands me, loves me unconditionally, makes me feel loved and safe and happy and makes me feel like I am not alone. We complete each others sentences and laugh about stupid things. We love a lot of the same people and things. It is like a match made in Heaven and I thank God for him everyday! I love you so much Rob and I always will. You are the other half of my heart!
So for 2015, I hope that we can change our world for the better. Find solutions to our problems by talking with each other not by battling each other, that is unlikely to happen but a girl can wish right, We need more love and compassion in this world, we need more positive role models and education.
My New Year's Resolutions for 2015:
Lose weight! I really need to lose weight badly. I don't eat a lot but I am still overweight for my short height.
Figure out something to do with my life. It's very hard for me to figure something out. I love multiple things and it still my dream to be a published Author and I am going to work very hard to make that happen. Writing is my passion. I love photography, weather, animals, and working on the computer as well. I will hopefully be volunteering at my animal shelter when I get back to Florida, I am hoping that will lead into something for me. I would love to work or volunteer at a cat rescue if possible, I wish I could find one.
Continue to be myself and not care what anyone says. I have always had a problem with that. I always take what people say about to heart whether good or bad and I need to stop that and I will. Nobody is going to change who I am or anything.
Hopefully get closer to getting married and being with my love forever. I can't wait until that can happen but we need a lot of things to happen first.
Lastly, continue to love and support Lucy Hale, Alyssa Milano, and watch Pretty Little Liars! The main people and the show that makes me the happiest and I will always love and support them!
Happy New Year Y'all! May 2015 bring you everything you hope for!
~Peace and Love~
This past Sunday a close family friend Joanne passed away from Lung Cancer the same cancer that took my Granddaddy when I was 14. Joanne did smoke for as long as I knew her but it is still an awful way to go. I was in shock when I found out she passed. I knew it was coming even though the hospital had just released her a few weeks ago for doing so well.
Joanne and I always made each other laugh. Our birthdays were 6 days apart. Her's was January 25th and mine is January 31st. My mom and Joanne worked together for a long time. She was just a great person to be around so fun and made you laugh when you needed it.
Cancer is terrible it ruins peoples lives and takes the ones we love but it also causes us to come together to help raise funds and awareness to help make it so this doesn't happen to anyone else.
I wish Joanne had quit smoking. Maybe she would still be here if she had, but that is a hard habit to kick. I remember when I first found that she had Lung Cancer. She had already gone through Chemo but there were still spots left and her doctor said her body couldn't handle anymore treatment. I couldn't believe it. I had already lost my Grandma and Nana this year and now this. This year has been the best and worst year so far. If it wasn't for my idol Lucy Hale and her music I would have fallen completely apart by now. Lucy keeps me going, she keeps me strong, and she keeps my hope alive that things will get better. I love you so much Lucy!!!
No matter how hard it is, you can't give up, you can't let it get to you, you have to stay strong and try to be happy and know that one day you will see your loved ones again. I will always remember the good times Joanne and I shared and the laughs. I always remember how much she loved Guinness Beer and how she used to go wild turkey hunting. RIP Joanne!
Joanne and I at a BBQ when I was 12 years old
My Mom and Joanne at our other friend Susan's 40th bday party
Mom, Joanne, and Joanne's husband Tom at The Celtic Festival in Richmond,VA
Joanne, Susan and our other friend Kim at my High School Graduation party!!
Just a few pics to remember the good times!
Lung Cancer Awareness Month is next Month November!!!
~Peace and Love~
