It still amazes me.

Last night was the first time that I can say there was a "shit show" on my Facebook wall.  During the Grammy's I made -- what I thought was an innocent -- status update.  Upon review, I feel as though I should have used different words, either way, it was definitely not taken well among my Facebook "friends."  I stated that I did not understand why Adele was such a big deal.  I made it clear that she was a beautiful singer, and had an amazing strong voice.  But, I also made it clear that I did not feel she was any better than any other singer.  Now, one thing -- a mistake on my part -- that I failed to mention from the get-go was that there was a specific event that triggered this rage filled status update.  Jennifer Hudson (another beautiful singer) did a very heartfelt performance as a tribute to the late Whitney Houston.  It was beautiful, and brought a tear to my eye.  What made me angry was that Adele received a bigger ovation, and more appreciation for her performance.  The people in the crowd -- celebrities and otherwise -- clapped and whistled for much longer after Adele's performance.  Which shocked me as Adele sang the same song that we've been hearing 5 times a day on our radios.  It was nothing special.  Was it good?  Yes.  Was it better than any other performance?  No.  Did it deserve a better response than the Whitney Houston tribute?  Hell no.


As per the title of this post, it still amazes me just how many people have their heads so far up their asses that they can no longer process the smallest pieces of information.  My status update started flooding with comments of people in complete shock that I felt that way.  127 comments later and almost every person who chose to comment, chose to put words in my mouth and give their own meanings to my words.  There were but a handful of people who actually used their brains and took my words for what they were.  I was not bashing Adele's talent.  There is no question in my mind that she has a disgusting amount of talent.  I just feel that she is overrated -- which is my opinion, which I am completely entitled to.  In fact, I find it to be hilarious (and pathetic) that people who are over 21 years of age, can still act like they are in high school.  The moment their beliefs are questioned, they become a 15 year old and make the entire thing into a joke.  Purposely making fun of someone because of their opinion, is the most immature thing I have ever witnessed.  Every person has their own opinion.  In this case, I chose to voice my opinion on Facebook -- where apparently, opinions have no place to be -- however, my opinion did not please the general public and therefore I got a lot of slack for it.  For the most part, it was a friendly debate, no harm done.  However, there are always certain people who are completely unable to be mature in most situations.  It isn't easy putting myself out there each and every day, for the world to see.  But it is something I want to to, and I truly feel that I should get some form of respect.  If you dislike it, don't read it.  But you could at least have the decency to keep it to yourself rather than discussing with your friends how "hilarious" it is.  This goes for blogs, Facebook, Twitter...everything.  (Those I am referring to, will know who they are)


I am beyond tired of the prejudice you see around music.  Most of these "friends" claimed that I was "purposely going against the crowd" claiming that I "felt the need to always go against the majority."  Are you kidding me?  If anything, everyone needs to look at themselves and realize that they need too start not going with the majority.  Yes, I tend to be a controversial person, but the only reason my words are looked at as being controversial is because it completely shocks everyone's system.  I do not purposely go against the majority, there are often times that I am sitting there with the rest of the world in adoration of an artist.  The difference is, I do the research required to use my own brain to choose who to praise.  For example, Justin Bieber was highly praised, and is still famous on a massive scale.  However, he also got a lot of hate, people claiming that he was "talent-less" and was "made" to be what he is.  Now, it was the "cool" thing to do to hate on Bieber, even I fell into the "hate Bieber" hype for a period of time.  Then, I remembered watching the kidrauhl videos on You Tube, long before he was all over our TV's, iPod's and Radio's.  And I realized that Justin Bieber has an extraordinary amount of talent.  Yes he was most definitely molded to look a certain way, which is something I don't agree with, however, there is no denying his talent.  Therefore, all of the claims that he has no talent, are completely fabricated and utterly invalid.  


Another worthy example -- which I've chosen for a reason I will explain later -- is Lil Wayne.  Many feel as though I praise Lil Wayne simply because I am a huge fan.  How big of a fan?  I have his name tattooed on my arm, so yeah, I'd say I am a pretty hardcore fan.  However, I did not become such a huge fan until after I listened to some of his other music.  The music industry hot shots decide what will sell, and sell big.  They determine what songs will be released.  These decisions typically only show one side of an artist.  In the example of Lil Wayne, most judge him only on his songs such as "Lollipop."  Auto-tuned and has zero meaning in the lyrics.  I can understand why people would determine he is talent-less after hearing this song, or many others like it.  However, these people pass judgement far too quickly.  If one were to take the time to listen to his other music, you would find that he has an entire album that he plays the guitar instruments himself, he is not auto tuned, and he actually sings.  Not to mention, a lot of the songs have a lot of deep meaning and good messages.  Believe it or not, but the song Paradice and Runnin actually got me through a lot of hard times.  It takes a lot for a song to have so much meaning and such a good message that it can get me through tough patches of my life.


The problem is simple.  The majority of people refuse to take a chance that they might like something, that isn't "cool" to like.  I urge you all to 1. Keep in mind that I in no way said that everyone was like this, I simply said the majority.  2. If you feel you aren't in that majority, prove it, because chances are high, that you are.


Now, back to Adele.  Adele can sing, she has soul and a beautiful, strong voice.  However, I still truly feel that it was sickening to see her get a larger, better, response than Jennifer Hudson's Whitney Houston tribute.  Adele is a good singer, she isn't the best thing to happen to music.  Simple as that.  End of story.


-Drea

Seeing is believing

I realize this blog is somewhat new, but I already have to thank certain people.  I have always had a strong passion for writing.  I have started and abandoned so many blogs that I likely couldn't count them all.  I usually abandoned them because I was too scared and nervous to publicly post them on Facebook.  For some reason, I figured people would just have negative things to say and make me feel worthless (as that has happened in the past when I posted a blog on Facebook.)  It's sad that there are people like that out there, but I have realized that I don't care.  Sure, there are plenty of my "friends" who think it is just hilarious that "Drea has a blog", but again, I don't care.


I have had enormous support from so many people.  For one, Ashley.  She reads every post, gives me constructive criticism, and pushes me to get it out there.  Secondly, there are people like Sarah (you know who you are lol) who took the time to to post my blog on THEIR wall and write about how much they loved my writing and how amazing it was.  Then I got comments from their friends about it too, all positive.  I have always had a dream to have a successful blog, where thousands of people would see it every day.  These people, who gave me their kind words, made me believe in my self a whole lot more.  In turn, this gave me the courage to put myself out there and advertise my blog to millions.


Today alone, my blog has hit over 1500 views...yesterday, there were 7!!  So I have to give thanks where thanks is due.


There are LOTS of others who have been reading and quietly supporting me, and for that I also thank you!  It means so much to me!  I love you all!


Check back later tonight or tomorrow for another post -- trust me, this one will stir up some controversy, but hey, that's what I'm good what :P


Cheers,


-Drea

Take this on for size.

Update!  After receiving some comments requesting a form of proof for the studies I mentioned in this post, I have decided to make it readily available for everyone to view.  This was mentioned in a previous post, I can't expect every person to read every post, so for your convienience you can view my report here, which was for a Social Psychology class in my 2nd year of my Psychology degree.  I received a very good mark on this paper and I invite you to check each and every resource I have listen so YOU can clearly see the numbers, and the science that backs what I have said here!  Again, thanks for reading!  http://dreamars.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/the-truth-about-weight-based-dscrimination/

These past few days I have noticed an above average amount of "shares" regarding the skinny vs fat debate.  The popular consensus is that we put too much importance on being skinny, and how overweight people deserve more respect and less discrimination.  Which is true.  However, now i am seeing posts of skinny people complaining that "if fat people can tell me to eat more, I can tell them to eat less."  Give me a break!  YES, I am overweight so maybe I have a bias, but if you take a look at my previous post and actually read the link I posted, you would see that my "bias" comes with evidence.


I do not want skinny people to eat more and get fat.  Why would I want that?  What should it solve?  As an overweight individual I have experienced discrimination first hand, and no matter what "skinny people" say, they just do not experience the same discrimination.  I was disgusted to find out that there are numerous employers who require an applicant to send them a face photo, as well as a body shot...just to get an interview.  How can someone have that knowledge and still think that skinny people have it just as bad?  How many skinny people have been denied a job due to their weight?  The fact of the matter is that "normal" and underweight individuals obtain more jobs than those who are overweight or obese, despite qualifications.  


This entire thing reminds me far too much of racism.  This would be like a white person saying that they are equally effected by racism.  Come on!!  Get real.  


No one is telling you to get fatter.  That would be ridiculous as everyone knows that being overweight is unhealthy.  And yes, I agree, that those (including myself) who are overweight, should do more to lose weight, for obvious health reasons.  What we are telling you, is to get off your high horse and stop complaining that your life is so hard because of your perfect skinny figure.  It is common knowledge that skinny individuals get better jobs, get promoted easier, and even tend to make more money.  Do the research, check the statistics on numerous studies conducted that prove this.  


The picture I posted makes me sick.  It disturbs me greatly to know that someone actually took the time to make it.  When people post photos of larger than average women and say that they are proud of their curves, they aren't saying that you shouldn't feel beautiful.  Everyone should feel beautiful...the cold hard truth is that skinny people don't get called disgusting, ugly, dirty, and lazy nearly as much as "fat" people.  Being overweight is not considered beautiful in the media and that makes us feel ugly.  We decide that we are finally going to take a stand against the mean, derogatory comments that we receive on a daily basis, and you, who is considered beautiful by the general public, decide to complain about it.  


And who is to blame for this?  Most say that men are to blame for the new beautiful, others say its the media.  I agree, men play a large role in why those who are overweight find it hard to love themselves and feel beautiful, but who is responsible for making men that way?  The media!  At one time, a size 14 was considered to be gorgeous.  Now, you are hard pressed to find a size 12 at a regular store.  Have you ever taken a look at just how small the small really is?  It is frightening.  Children can fit into these clothes...children can comfortably fit into clothes made for grown adults.  Can you not see what is wrong with that?  Girls go into a store to buy a new dress, they go for their usual size of a medium...try it on, only to find it is too small.  This, in turn, makes them feel fat which depresses them, because "men don't like fat girls".  Clothing stores are always making their sizes smaller and smaller, which leads girls to loose more and more weight to the point that they are bony.  The media has made men believe that bony is sexy, and it can be.  If you are bony, you are no less sexy than someone who is overweight, the problem is that being underweight is just as unhealthy as being overweight.  You run the same risks for heart disease and congestive heart failure.  


Men are to blame, but it isn't their fault.  They have been brainwashed into what they should find sexy.  Each and every man is different, and some choose to not bother with size and consider women of all sizes sexy, which is the way it should be.  But there are even more men who make it clear that the skinnier, the better.  


Size should not determine how sexy someone is, and each and every woman should learn to love themselves whether they are fat, skinny, or somewhere in between.  The media needs to start using models of a normal weight, rather than using extremely underweight individuals.  I don't expect to see 400 pound models in the media, because that is just as dangerous as the promotion of being underweight.  We need to start seeing women who are at the proper, healthy weight for their age and height.  You would be shocked at how "fat" these normal weight women would appear.  They aren't fat, they are healthy!


Now, please, if you are fat be proud...love yourself and love your curves.  If you are super skinny...love yourself and love your bony figure.  But stop complaining that skinny people have it just as bad, because you know what?  You're wrong.  You have it SO easy compared to overweight individuals, so if you do have it hard...imagine how hard someone bigger than you has it!