This just in: Your children aren't that innocent

That got your attention, didn't it? When I was a young kid, I promised myself that I wouldn't forget what life was like at that age. Now, a 20-something, I had found myself getting into the mindset of "oh, they're just kids! What could they possibly know?"

Well, I hate to break it to ya, but chances are they know a lot. I remember sitting in first grade and the teacher telling us what are spelling words for the week were. One was of them was "six" but a classmate thought she said "sex." Giggles were aplenty, much to the teacher's displeasure. Many of us, myself included, knew what sex was by the age of seven.

Did I mention that this was a private school? I never understood why people are quick to think that these scenarios are unique to public schools. They're definitely not.

How old were you when you had your first crush? I was four and it was the first day of school. While 4-year old boys think girls are gross, girls become less gross by second grade, and by sixth grade both sexes are quite aware of each other. Though my 20-something mind doesn't want to believe it, I do remember that a handful of my classmates had lost their virginity before high school. Don't believe that young adolescents are having sex? You're in denial. Want to completely shelter them from the world so that they don't "grow up too fast?" You're over reacting. First of all, most 12-year olds are not hopping into bed. Obviously. Secondly, being too protective of your child can do more harm than good. But that, my readers, is a blog post for another time.

I don't mean for this to entry to sound harsh, or to offend anyone. I just believe that our idea of "childhood innocence" is slightly off. 

Feel Good Friday number..6?

Awesome things that happened this week:

1. Got a B+ on my physics exam
2. Signed up for Irish 5!
3. I was introduced to Flight of the Conchords. Funny stuff, man. Look 'em up!
4. Classes are officially over-- only three finals left!
5. Sold my books back for a fairly decent price.
6. I am officially a member of Hanson's street team! (That really shouldn't surprise anyone given how much I write about them).

What were the awesomely great things that happened in your week?

Bieber Fever

Have you seen this kid?

If you haven't then you must have been living under a rock for the last couple of months. This kid is everywhere. And I mean everywhere. His baby face is plastered on every magazine cover imaginable and he's landing TV appearances left and right.

And Bieber is is only 16.

Blogger girl say what?

Yeah, I was shocked too. Seeing pictures of him and listening to his songs, I honestly thought that he was hovering around the age of 13. But 16? My memory may not be the greatest but I know for a fact that my male classmates had undergone puberty by this age and had developed their, uh, manly voices. Bieber must be a late bloomer.

But this post isn't meant to bash the kid. I'm not going to mention that there's a website called lesbians who look like Justin Bieber or that I think the dude is overexposed and really isn't that great of singer. Honestly, I feel for the kid. It must stink to hit on sophisticated older women like Chelsea Handler and have nothing come from it. And to have a fan base that consists solely of young girls between the ages of 6 and 12, with not a teenager in sight? That must really blow.

Don't worry Justin. The 16-year old females will be aplenty once you hit puberty. In the meantime, don't disappoint your young fans. They're the reason that you've been a trending topic on Twitter for the last couple of months.

I predict...

that this is going to be a great year for Hanson. Seriously, they are all over the internet right now, particular with this release of their newest video, "Thinking 'Bout Something." It' hasn't even been 45 hours since its release and the video has already received over 250,000 views.

And a blog entry from Perez Hilton.

It makes me incredibly happy to see all the positive remarks from old fans, and from old haters turned fan =) Check it out and see for yourself. (Warning: it's infectious!)


Thinking 'Bout Somethin'

HANSON | MySpace Music Videos

What do you think of the video?

Such a drag

There! Over there! Hurry!

We made a bee line to some of the last empty seats in the room, my friend in the lead and jumping over other empty seats. I must admit, for a girl who isn't very athletic, I was impressed. She snagged the closest three seats available. Sure we would have liked to have been closer to the catwalk, but at least we weren't some of the unfortunate individuals who had to stand. Or sit behind a pole.


Finally, 500+ people had filed in. The doors closed, the lights dimmed, and Taylor Swift entered the stage.

OK, not the real Taylor Swift. It was Dominique impersonating the country artist. She didn't get very far into song before Dylan ran up, chased her off stage, and began playing "F--k the Bullsh--" by 311. Dylan looked like a man. Acted like a man. Even kinda sounded like a man. But this man was, technically, a woman.

Various identities were portrayed that night, proving their point that "gender is an act. It's a verb." In hindsight, that seems rather obvious. Gender is what you associate yourself with, male or female, regardless of the parts you were born with. And of course you're going to act like the gender that you identify with. For most of us, it's easy. Our sex is our gender.

When the two conflict, well...life isn't exactly easy. "What pronoun would you give me?" Dylan asked the audience. Silence. Tricky situation, isn't it?

I tried to put the question to the back of my mind as I watched the other performances. There were several exaggerated outfits, but there were a handful that would make one squint and say "Wait, is that a chick?" I'm not going to lie, some of the guys looked better in dresses than I do! After back handsprings in 3 inch heels, and bagfuls of glitter dumped everywhere, I thought I had seen it all.

Then the show shifted gears.


"Perfect" by Simple Plan came from the speakers as a slide show played in the background. I hadn't been paying too much attention to the pictures till my friend said "aw!" I directed my attention to the slide show, seeing photos of a little girl growing up to be a man. Then it clicked--it was a story of the king being rejected by his father and, ultimately, committing suicide. Seeing my gender queer classmates on stage and having a blast, it's easy to forget that many do lead a difficult life. It's one thing to be rejected by society because of who you are, but rejection by your own parents is something that no one should experience. It's not easy for these guys to be out, but they are. And that, I think, is truly admirable.

Overall, the Rainbow Alliance organized an amazing drag show, maintaining the perfect balance between serious and comedy. Despite the free admission, their two hour show still raised $1400 for the city's AIDS Task Force. If that's not a sign of a job well done, I don't know what is.

Feel Good Friday #5

For those who are new to my blog, every Friday I post a list of the awesome things that happened during the week. This came about because of the terrible mood I was apparently stuck in. The thing about emotions is that they influence your perception of the world. For instance, if you're in a negative mood, you are more apt to notice other negative objects and events. Further more, what you perceive influences your state of mind, prolonging the experience of the emotion. I didn't want to stay in this crummy mood so "Feel Good Friday" was born. It can be hard, to train your perception of the world, but with a bit of work it can be done. Five weeks into my project and I can definitely feel a difference.


Awesomeness from this week:

1) I had no homework. It felt great but incredibly weird at the same time.
2) I passed an exam I didn't even study for.
3) Evening class was canceled.
4) Presentation was postponed till next Thursday.
5) I woke up 30 minutes late and arrived to class 15 minutes early...twice this week.

And the best part was definitely

The 9th Annual Drag Show

Words just cannot describe its greatness. Pictures may be coming soon ;) So followers, old and new, what were the awesome things that happened in your week?