Disney Vacation Entry 2!

I know this took a little longer than I was hoping, but here’s the second installment of my Disney vacation. Hope you enjoy it!

 

                Alrighty, so this is just a short (hopefully/maybe) write-up about what remained of our first official Disney day, after arriving 5 hours later than we were supposed to, of course. Getting off the plane was just fine, but since my dad bought some package through “My Disney Experience,” we had to find that specific area in the airport (which took another hour, but I won’t bore you with the details this time. In short, we did not land in the main terminal like we were supposed to, so we had a short train ride there and THEN had to find where we were supposed to be AND new shoes + running around airports= a no-go.) Anywho, we found where we were going and took a bus from the airport to our resort, which is technically in Disney. We are staying in the Sports All-Star Resort and I can’t even describe to you how epic it is. Food court, arcade, giant pool, different sports-themed buildings. I honestly hate most sports and I think it’s awesome anyway, so if you are like me and you get stuck in the sports resort, do not be concerned. Everything down to the shower curtain is a combination Disney-sports theme. The other All-Star resorts are movie, music and animation themed, from what I remember, and I can’t even imagine what they look like. When we checked in, we got the “Incredibles” electronic wristbands that you tap as a room key, credit card charge and fastpass at the parks.

                After we tried out our superhero gear (we actually felt more like Power Rangers, but you get the point), we ate at the Food Court and the food was AMAZING and not nearly as expensive as I was anticipating. Our bags were dropped off at our room when we came back from getting gelato (we never even had to go to the claim!) and we took a shuttle bus straight from our hotel to what is called Downtown Disney. We didn’t have all that much time (or energy) after our late arrival, so it was the perfect amount of activity. The bus did take a while to get there, but at least we weren’t standing like some others, since the bus was absolutely packed with people. Once we got there, it was beautiful! It was still decorated like crazy with Christmas stuff and there were carolers everywhere. There was a giant volcano thing that turned out to be a “Rainforest Café,” a steamboat that turned out to be a seafood restaurant, and giant figurines everywhere. Both the outside and the inside of each of the stores looked like attractions and there was unlimited food and shopping. The food was more expensive there, just so you know. The only issue was, it’s obviously way smaller than the parks and it’s the only thing that stays open late, so it was ridiculously crowded. Like “can’t even keep track of your family for 5 steps” crowded. Also, much of the merchandise was the same in a lot of the stores and with it being so difficult to stop and look at anything anyway, we ended up getting frustrated and leaving a little earlier than we’d planned.

                The rest of the night was uneventful. We just rode the bus home and bought some snacks from the Food Court while walking back across the resort. Tomorrow, we’re doing Magic Kingdom, which is what I’ve been looking forward to the most, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty to write about in the next section!

A Friendly Warning

Hey guys, long time no talk!

(Just letting you know, I wrote this a long time ago, so keep that in mindJ)

                This weekend, I went home for an event at my old high school that tons of alumni go to. I was so excited to see all my friends that were coming home and to be doing something with my sister. I was just really looking forward to it! Then, on Thursday night, I was having a talk with one of my best friends from home who conveniently goes to the same college (it’s always nice to have at least one….you know, girl emergencies and such) and she was really upset that I was going home for this event that we knew my ex would be at. She said even though there was only a small chance of a direct run-in, I had made so much progress since we broke up (after 2 years together, in case you didn’t know). She also didn’t want me to look like “pathetic ex-girlfriend running around the old high school,” but I could care less about that.

                All night, I could not figure out what my friend meant. Did she think that although I’m not totally over it, I would regress back to being a total basket-case? That I would go back to changing the radio station every time any type of love song came on? That would go back to posting everything I did on Facebook to show him how “happy” I am and how great my life is? Well, I still sort of do that, let’s be honest. But really, does she think I’m that weak? Ladies and gents, I now know EXACTLY what she meant. The hole is back in my chest, the sinking feeling back in my stomach, the choking sadness back in my throat. Just from seeing him…and him not even acknowledging me. Awkward encounter is one thing, this was a whole new kind of hurt.

                When you think of 2 months after a break up, you picture someone moving on with their life, or even someone who’s perfectly okay when they reflect on their relationship, even someone who’s friends with their ex. I have realized that I am nowhere near this stage. Why does it feel like in the ending of relationships, I’m the only person who can’t let go?

Identity Crisis!

New York City, the fashion capital of the world. The kind of place where you have to make even your comfiest outfits cute or you feel self-conscious. Whether your style is chic and fashion-forward or relaxed and edgy, New York City seems to have a whole lot of people who seem to have the same unique vision that you do. Even living in a small town I noticed this becoming a problem: no matter how different your “you” style was, you would see other individuals who looked as if they were going for the exact same vibe. My question is this: how do we remain a one-of-a-kind when everything different about us is becoming mainstream?

                I don’t know about you guys, but I always considered my personality and my interests as slightly quirky. I tend to be a combo of hipster, nerdy and fashionista. It works somehow, I swear. Anyway, I enjoy videogames, both old and under-appreciated music, records, Disney and superheroes (I tend to be more of a Marvel girl as well). On top of this, I somehow also tend to enjoy the more mainstream girly things, including makeup, fashion and the classic Audrey Hepurn. These have obviously been interests that have developed throughout my entire life. Do any of these things sound familiar? It seems like all of these special topics that I thought made my interests unique have become mainstream in every way possible. In other words, what I’m finding now is that a huge challenge is facing all of us: being different is now considered generic. I’m therefore finding it even more difficult to attempt to be original, seeing as the majority of my interests have become mainstream phenomena. Everything we thought we knew about “hipster style,” “boho,” “superhero nerds” and “cute girls who secretly like videogames” is disappearing into mainstream concepts.

                So here’s an even bigger question: what do we do now? After a long and thorough thought process before posting this article, I finally came to a concrete conclusion: Screw it! If everything we do in an attempt to be different is getting classified as mainstream, then who cares about labels? I say dress how you want, be interested in what you want, do what every person should be aiming to do with their style. This way, whatever makes you the happiest and brings you the most joy is going to become your “style.” I’m pretty sure that’s how most types of styles were created in the first place! Instead of trying to fit into an existing type of style or a combo of different styles in an attempt to avoid being mainstream, just take all of your favorite things and combine them to make your own style, a new style. And if anyone calls you mainstream for what you enjoy, then who cares? If it’s a part of your style, then there’s a reason why you love it.

Peace and love,
Emmy

Apples and Oranges

Hello again!

                If there are any of you that don’t read my personal blog, although you totally should (shameless plug), there’s something you should know before I proceed: I want to be an actress. Not very practical, but it’s what I love and am going to school for, and it’s what sparked this post in the first place. With that being said, everyone knows how cut-throat the acting business is and how greatly your looks play into your success. Without going too far into the depths of my confidence issues, I have always wondered whether I was pretty enough to be a professional actress or if people would just laugh at me for thinking people would actually want to look at me in  T.V show or movie. Naturally, I then began comparing myself to celebrities that are gorgeous and have obviously been extremely successful in the business (as many of us tend to do). Suddenly, an idea hit me: why? Why do all girls want to be beautiful like celebrities? Why is this our goal and how did we start comparing ourselves to women who we have never even met?

                What do we do to look more like these females that we idolize? We go on insane diet or exercise programs, we change our makeup and our hair, our clothes, and it consumes use to the point that we eventually crave their lifestyle and everything that they have. And of course, we become depressed when we see that we can never have any of it. As a part of my recent realization, I asked “why” once more because, as we tend to forget, they’re just people like you and me.

                Another thing that we tend to forget about celebrities is what their money and connections yield for them: such as personal trainers, stylists and photoshop, just to name a few. All of this is to ensure that everything that we see is flawless, which we then mistake as always being real. They’re not actually “perfect” people, so why strive to be just like another person that is merely our equal? Celebrities get famous for being unique or special in some way, which tells us that we should be embracing our own quirks instead of trying to capture and repeat someone else’s!

                In short, why compare yourself to another person when you’re completely different? It will only cause discouragement and disappointment for basically no reason whatsoever. What I suggest is to turn our obsessions that we are constantly comparing ourselves to into inspirations by embracing the aspects that we can learn from them to improve our lives in some way. For instance, I LOVE Audrey Hepburn, but instead of focusing on how skinny she is and how I will never be able to achieve that look, I can watch how natural and believable her acting is and use it to help me grow. You can do this with music, dancing, modeling- learn from these people without constantly comparing your appearance to theirs. This mindset is difficult at first because of today’s media, but it feels so good and rewarding once you get the hang of it! Comment about some of your icons and how you learned from them!

Peace and love!

Emmy  

More Like "Abecrombie and Bitch!"

Hello all,

                I have a whole list of things that I’ve been wanting to write about and just have not gotten around to it, so just bear with me, because a few of my topics are going to backtrack a little bit…like this one! This is a very sensitive topic, so I would value anything any of you beautiful people have to say about it.

                One topic in the media that actually got a genuinely real reaction from me was the whole “Abercrombie and Fitch” situation. You know, the one in which the president of the company (or something like that) essentially said that he didn’t want larger people wearing their clothes because he doesn’t want “those types of people” representing their brand? I have only one thing to say to this….are you freaking joking??? Talk about isolating clientele!

                First of all, this is really concerning to me because in today’s society, young teenagers don’t need to be pressured about their bodies any more than they already are by the media. And who are basically the only people you know that buy and wear Abercrombie and Fitch clothing? Middle and high schoolers. It just so happens that this is also when body image issues arise and are the most intense! Trying to shop at a store so you can fit in at school and then being told that they don’t have your size because they don’t want larger people representing their brand would be absolutely devastating to a 13 or 14 year old. In addition, they only sell XL sizes in men’s shirts (for more muscular men), but they don’t carry any at all for women. One word: sexist. And we all know how small those clothes run. If anything, they’re just cutting down the number of customers that could purchase their clothing. How much sense does that make?

                Let’s also keep in mind that all of this bullcrap is on top of them only hiring the equivalent of super models to work in their stores. Trust me, I get it. Your looks are almost always a part of your job, or at least to a certain point. I don’t know about you, but the only thing that it does for me is make me feel like shit whenever I go in there! And not in a “I want to buy your clothes so I can look more like her” kind of way. I know they’re not the only store that does this, but it’s why I choose not to even go into Hollister or Gilly Hicks either.

                My main question is: Since when can a store tell us, paying customers, whether or not we can wear their clothing based on our body type? What does it say about our country that, knowing this, people still shop there and their stores are thriving? It saddens me that a store’s “image” can dictate which customers are good enough to purchase their products. Please let me know of your opinions about this. Being a somewhat larger girl all my life, I know I feel personally offended by this on so many levels. Anyway, feel free to talk to me!