WOMEN

"When I am assertive, I'm a bitch, but when a man is assertive he's a boss."-Nicki Minaj

There have been countless of blogs that I have written, but have not finished. The blog that I want to write right now is one that has been haunting me forever, something that I really want you all to know, but I want it to be perfect; as I am typing it, my thoughts are racing about all the things I want to say. It's so simple yet so complicated at the same time; everyone feels misunderstood at some time in life, the key is moving on from it, but how can you when the people you work with do not support you or believe in you?

I never really understood what people thought about the double standard in women before I came to Mankato, and especially before last year, I never understood what people meant about racism and discrimination still being alive; I grew up all over the cities, and while my life was not hard, I can say that I had my own personal demons. But the problems I delt with coming to college were ones totally different.

Why do people feel like I cannot succeed? Why do people not understand that the things they see me doing is only half of what I do?

I am not an actor, I do not pretend to be something that I am not, maybe this is the reason taht people find me annoying, growing up, this is something that was hailed as a strength, and now I come to mankato, and after the year that i have had last year and this year, it is looked on as a weakness.

I leave you with this readers: my total and utter frustration. I want you to know I don't think its fair that I am supposed to be looked at as "dainty." I hate that there is more pressure on me to finish a task, I hate that there are people who just sit there, hope that I fail, and criticize me, and when I succeed, they complain, but lick their fingers and benefit from my hard work. I hate that.

Im complaining, and I know that.

I think this is part of some "process" or something. I already feel better writing this out. While simply complaining wont do anything, action will. I just want to continue being a hard worker, and even if I have to work 10 times as hard as the person next to me, I know I'll get where I want to be. Without complaining. :)

Now you know a little more about the inside workings of me:)

five amazing artiest

I love music. it keeps my heart beating. so I have decided to have a list my dear readers of artiest that I am listing to extra hard this week. below are the top five. this does not mean, however, that it is a top five for best vocals or top five of all time, it's just top five of the week that I think you should know about and listen to as well. enjoy!

Obvious disclaimer that I do not own any of these songs :)

5. Madonna.

The idol. The Legend. The women. Madonna is amazing and is still going strong. This women deserves' to be on this list for reasons that I don't need to speak for. Her body of work speaks for herself. The Madonna that I like to listen to however is one of the past. Old songs such as "Like a prayer" or "Like a virgin" are the ones that got her to where she is today, and still ring a bell with those young and old. Below is a video to her song, "papa dont preach, and a rendition that Kelly Osbourne did.

2. Sweet honey in the rock.

An amazing women group. If you have never heard of them then I am truly sorry,but never fear, your life will get a little bit better after this article. African american group accepella group started in the 70's. One of my favorite songs by them below, makes me want to smile and cry at the same time. Listen and be amazed

4. Hope.

The one thing good about myspace, or the one thing good that i discovered through it were amazing artists. Some already well known, some not, and some on the way to it. This artist Hope, is one of them. She has done some gigs since my days at myspace, but the song that lead me to her was, "Rain don't last." listen below.:

3.Lady gaga.

I know may of you were thinking that she would be my number one! but, as good as she might be, no one can beat the vocals of x tina and Adele. However, gaga has fought her way rightfully in this spot. For those who know me, they know that I am an eclectic person; and I can remember the first day i heard gaga: it was during a miss world pageant and I was texting one of my friends, " I like the singer, she's cool" and she (my friend) was responded, " lol she's weird." The rest is history. I like gaga because she is eclectic like me but has the courage to do what she what she wants and has a passion for, and better yet, do it full time. Rather than show a music video, I will show one of my favorite interviews of her. Below is part one of 5. Eight minutes into the interview she says, I wasn't famous when i wrote this record, I was eating shit in the industry."

2. Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera, x tina, or what you will will be a legend. I knew that once I heard her voice the very fist time. In those days new artists were type casted by their producers, and Christina did not want to put out genie in a bottle first, but something more soulful. But those faithful fans like me, could tell that from the beginning, even through this "pop song," she had amazing soul. I could write a blog about just her, or her music, style, how, and how she, has way for new comers including my fav, lady gaga, look at her out their styles, her whole album stripped, her song dirty, her campaigns, etc. but I'll let her music speak for itself. listen to her acoustic version of come on over. Amazing!

1. Adell

This amazing Britt has a voice of an angel and a fiery personality. Her first album 19 was pure gold, and moved my soul. one of my favorite songs by her is home town glory. Even though she is talking about her home town, it makes me proud of everyplace I am from, and think about those memories and the events that shaped me!

This is not an exhaustive list my dear readers. I Just wanted you to know a little bit more about some amazing artiest and songs that i personally love from them. Hope you enjoy!

Annoying

Annoying!!!!!

There are several things that annoy the hell out of me. I could make a list that is so long explaining what they are, and I have decided that I will. Why? In hopes that someone who commits these annoying crimes will STOP. Or, if you see them being done you can tell the person to stop. Here it goes my fellow readers:

1o. being alternative for the sake of being alternative

I don’t feel like I need to do anything else than this: people pretend to do things just to be different. These people do this to brake away from the “social norm,” however, they if anything add to it. My advice to those who want to be different for the sake of being different: be yourself! Nothing is worse than being something that you are not.

9. Hanging up with not saying goodbye

I don’t think I need to say any more about this. It’s annoying and stupid. Especially if you hear me say buy and you just hang up. It’s so weird. It makes it weirder if I don’t say buy and you hang up. And its’ not like “ I’ll talk you later.” It’s like, “ I got to go.” Then I hear the click of the phone.

8. Religion vs. science

This annoys me on several levels. Mostly my peers who are atheist or agnostic bashing those who believe in God. Many times they say things that are false about religion, and many times, people do it to be “cool.” The other part is those who are religious who do the same thing, and bash the others by saying negative things about those who do not believe in the same thing as them. For both of these, it annoys me how it seams that you have to choose one or the other, which is not true. I feel that these groups should not be “enemies,” I feel that religion and science compliments each other, if anything. I will write extensively about this topic in my next blog.

7. Dirty bathrooms

I think this is disrespectful and hideous. Especially when there is hair in the bathroom from the previous person. Please clean up after yourself. I feel that if the place that you want to clean yourself is not clean, then you will not be clean yourself. To me it’s a bit sad to see someone shower (wanting to get clean) in an unclean environment.

6. Bystander effect.

I recently was at an altercation where I felt that I was a victim, and the thing that surprised me at the end was that no one there tried to help me. The next day however, those who saw me in distress had the nerve to ask what happened. The first thing that came to my mind was how do these people have the nerve to ask when they already know? This upset me to no other, because they only wanted to gossip. As a psychology major, I immediately thought of the bystander effect, which can be defined as, “a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present. The probability of help has in the past been thought to be inversely proportional to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help.” To me this was surprising because I never thought It would happen to me. Especially because the people that surrounded me I knew. The only person (besides my boyfriend) who even thought to come up and say what’s going on was someone whom I knew, but we did not talk on the regular. Looking back, I can never thank this person enough for this kindness, you know who you are, and I am forever in your debt.

5. Woe is me

This is annoying because it annoys me to no end when they start listing off all the things wrong with their life, or all the problems that they encounter. Sure everyone does that, but when you try to tell him or her that life will be ok, they tell you that its not and try to explain something else. They want to make you feel that their situation is the worst. A word of advice to these people: everyone has their demons, and personal problems that is hard for them to deal with, don’t sit there and complain and list off your horrible life just for people to feel sorry for you. If you want attention, this is not the way to go.

4. Calling me Waka flocka.

This is annoying because if you were someone I knew, and respected as a friend, you would understand that I don’t like that. Friends respect others, and when someone calls me something other than my name without my permission, I know it may seam funny, gut its soo annoying you have no idea. The more you call me something that I don’t approve of, the more you lose my respect.

3. Annoying newsfeeds on facebook

this one annoys the hell out of me because in my mind I’m thinking, if your grandma’s dying, why the HELL are you telling us? Go to the hospital. Or when people do things like “happy fathers day dad.” WHY are you telling us? Your dad is not your friend, he is your fucking parent, don’t tell us, and lets hope you are not telling him through facebook. And if you are, send it in a FUCKING message. Not everyone needs to know your personal business.

2. People telling me what I can and cannot do.

Don’t limit me. Not even to the sky. I am the person who makes the decision in my life so don’t be all over me.

1. Liars

This is the ultimate form of disrespect. If you cannot respect yourself enough to tell the truth, you are someone who I do not want to be with. To me, a person that lies is the ultimate form of disrespect, especially when they get caught in their lie, and continue to lie. I feel that there are many forms of lying, and its any form of dishonesty. If you are dishonest to someone about something, you are a liar, if you do something that puts someone at a disadvantage that they would normally not be in. Manipulating others to get something that another person should justly get, or have is a form of lying. I know lots of liars, and many times they think that they are discrete, which is a lie.

That is all my fellow readers! Now you know what annoys me, hopefully next time you see me, you'll know to stop :) stay tuned for my next blog coming up soon!

questions about France part 2

The long awaited part two of my blog is finally here! these are the rest of the answers to the questions that were asked of me! enjoy!

How do French people dress: French people dress simple. One thing I noticed as a style was dressing like your grandma. The style hasn’t hit America yet, but there are small things that are yet to come.

These shoes are a great example of what I mean. Simple yet stylish, this would be paired with a knee high skirt and a slightly baggy shirt tucked in. It's very grandma.

The same thing goes for men. Grandpa is in. fitted, NOT tight jeans are what most guys have; specifically Ones that can be roiled up easily. Slightly baggy shirts that may be v necks, and Loafers, converse, and simple “Mr. Rodgers” shoes and sweater is in as well ( these shoes also work for girls). If you want to look stylish, just think of the Mr. Rodgers style. And of course, Ray Ban glasses are a must have.

Another style that I see creeping in is the African inspired look. I see the patterns sneaking up in stores, the outfits are coming in with a western twist as well.

The next question will lead into the next one about the economy of France as well so pay close attention :)

“Are French people skinny?:” yes and this IS because of their small McDonald's.

French people (or at least those in La Rochelle) eat very healthy food and local as well. They try to avoid fast food, and every evening meal is like a feast. BUT I must say this: I feel as though French people are skinny because it is to expensive in Europe.

A a large McDonald's is our small but COSTS THE SAME AS OUR LARGE. A coffee literately comes in something the size of a Dixie cup, and you pay at least 3 euros for it. If you eat in the restaurant (no matter what it is) you pay extra. All the close stores are robbing you of your money ( in Paris) and therefor, its better to go to the supermarche and get your things, where there, every store looks like an aldi’s, or go to the outside marche, where the food is fresh and local. t

As mentioned before, everything is expensive in France. Going to the laundry mat in Paris was an ordeal. It costs 4 euro to wash my cloths, and then .80 centime to dry for 8 min! in the states I freak out about having to pay 2.50! very different! Also, since water is very expensive, showers must be taken quickly, and one must wet themselves with the water, soap, then rinse off. I think that this is a good practice to keep water.

How are the theaters and the attractions?: amazing! I feel as though I have been to every castle and church that there is in Paris. My favorite was Le Louvre, because I found some African art section and took amazing pictures that I will print out for the ASA art exhibit! I cannot wait. Part of me was mad however to see those things in France, and not in their respective countries. The Eiffel tower was amazing as well, when we were bord, we just went there to hang out. There were moments that I felt so everjoyed, and really took in the moment as to what I was doing: being bord, and just deciding to hang out at the effile tower! What a chance that I have! I'm so glad that I could expirence it. The majority of the sites are packed, but one has to know what times to go. Early in the morning works amazing for most things, and as for the Eiffel tower, we saw it in the evening and it was fine, as to which I was surprised.

What are you doing there?: Great question! Taking a French class while living with a French family. There are two schools that came with us, and some random people who came alone form other countries. I usually go to the beach after school.

There is so much about France that I could say, this expirence was something of a lifetime! thanks for all your questions. I feel that when I came back, I was somehow different, in a good way, and I made lifetime friends! I cannot wait to go back there again!

Questions about France. Partie 1

Hello my fellow readers. It has been a long time yes, but ne vous vous inquiétez pas (don’t worry in French) , I have not forgotten about you all! In fact, I have so much to say I don’t even know where to start.

After leaving Paris, we arrived in La Rochelle. It is very different in a good way. There are, of course things that I miss about Paris: the ease of getting around with the metro, the nightlife, the simplicity of talking and meeting people. But la Rochelle is different and amazing as well: the constant presence of the beach, the picturesque presence of the town, the music, festivals, and the calm atmosphere of a small town. I know that there are questions that you are dying to know, and there are things that I am dying to tell you, I just don’t know how! Or where to start! So I decided to answer a few posed to me from my inbox.

“ Is it true what they say about the French women? How are they different than Americans?”:

This came from a male. And the biggest difference is that the beach are topless, BUT many people wear their bikinis, unless they are laying down tanning, or unless you are an old grandma (which then looks like old leather)

Another question was posed to me about the French men, and all I can say for that is that they do wear Speedos when going to la plage, (the beach in French) and it is not appealing. They are a bit forceful though- I was slapped in Paris by one ( yes I slapped him back twice, I would have fought him if I was not pulled back;) and come off a bit strong when they want to go with you. This guy at a sandwich place wanted me to go to his place later on at night! He thought after a couple winks that he could get me! One guy at the Eiffel tower asked to do the same. I didn’t understand him at first, but he kept saying “amour.” I told him yes but not now because my friends were there and to give me another Eiffel tower chain please ( he was selling them) and that I would come back tomorrow. He in fact gave me two chains. I never returned.

All in all I can say that the French men and women are very open, for the women it takes a while to break them in, (perhaps why the men are so blunt) and they are not looking for foreigners like the men are. If you are at a good club, you will be sure to find a girl willing to dance with you and have a good time. If you’re a girl looking for someone to take care you that will happen with a French guy I think, but it might take some time, if your looking for someone for a short ride, then you’ll have fun!

Until next time! Partie 2 is in the editing process! More questions? Either reply or faceook me! xxx

my stay so far.

My trip to France, even though it has not really started, has been amazing so far. I have seen all the monuments I feel like one wants to see when coming here. However I would like to give a visual explanation of my stay. So here I will try to blog about my experiences and adventures.

La Sainte-Chapple, (Sainte-Chapelle Chapel) is a beautiful and large church. Build in the 13th century, this great work of architecture was the first site that we saw.

The line to get in was amazing, But it was well worth it.

This Church is very important because it is the home to many relics that deal with the death of Christ. The lower level, used to be just for the commoners.

Above: the ceiling of the lower floor. notice the colors

above: a statue. notice the stain glass windows

above: une photo de moi

the palatine chapel

this second level of the church was used for the personal use of the king. several if not all of the original work however has been destroyed. because it was built in a time when many people could not read, the use of stain glass windows as used. you read them left to right in an S shape. the ones taht we saw went from the beginning to the end of the bible through pictures. one cannot help but notice the beautiful artwork as well.

above: the second part of the church. notice the construction and restoration going on

above: the winding stairway. we had to use this to go up and go down. these were used in the past for servants to serve the king

above: some floor work.

once we left the building we saw this door, beautiful decoration:

after leaving the church, we went to the former. this place used to be connected to the upper part of the church so that the king would not have to leave to walk outside, and thus keeping his privicy. I will show you the other part, however this in another blog my fellow readers! any questions pls feel free to ask! i still have to show you:

-Notre-Dame

-Madeline Church

-the Opera

-the trenite church

-the vendome square

-the tuileries gardens

-the concorde square

-les Champs-Elyses,

-L'arch de Triumph

Paris

My long awaited trip from France is finally here. Upon my short stay, and trip from the United states, I learned a few things quickly: they are as follows:

1. The Humphrey terminal is very small and does not have enough things for me to choose from to eat.

2. I like the icelander stewardess. I like how they dress, look and smile. They have good costumer service.

3. I should be sure of myself next time I want to do anything, I should have had my headphones with me so I could avoid the crying baby.

4. The Iceland airport is sleek and clean. It is quiet, and reminded me of a movie. I loved the open doors, and I could tell that I wasn't in the States because alcohol by the bottles were being sold everywhere.

5. I've learned that the stereotype about Minnesota nice is not a stereotype, but a fact. Going into the French airport, and even the Iceland one, people were less likely to help and assist others. simple things such as excuse me, or being cut off when walking is the norm.

6. CDG airport is all that you heard. it looks very high-scale and fancy. It was beautiful ( as all of France is).

6. I learned that the French are bad drivers for real. I heard a lot about this, but actually seeing it first hand makes me nervous. There are no rules, that are followed. So be CAREFUL when crossing the street.

7. I can have a French conversation with a native French person who does not know me, or speak english in France! I did this a few times today, and I feel happy. (Well it was only once, when asking for the internet code, but I felt proud of myself. )

8. There are A LOT OF Mercedes Benz in France! That should not be surprising because they are from a European country, but in the States, these cars are seen as a luxury, where as here, the postal delivery truck is one. with my love for these cars, I found myself loving this city even more

9. There is a lot of diversity in the place that I am living. Around us are many different nationalities, including my AFRICANS! Seeing the first lappa and headtie made me feel like home.

10. I learned that me and my family are actually closer than I thought. I was the only one to have my whole family there to see me off, and to me that seamed like the natural thing to do. I also called my whole family the whole time. I thought that this part was interesting.

tomorrow:

la sainte-chapelle, la conciergerie et notre dame

goals:

talk more french

speak to the locals

dress like a French person

that is all for now, I have major jet lag. pictures to come!

Mean Girls; my analysis of teenage gangs

below: the cast of the show gossip girl. this show is based on drama and lies,

another perfect example of mean girls in action

Mean Girls.

I could leave this blog at that and have a million girls, teenagers and women know what i'm talking about.

I don't know if guys notice this type of behavior in girls or not, or if some girls notice it in themselves. I myself can honestly say that in high school, I was lucky enough to have a group of friends that was not into drama, or maybe we were not cool enough to be into it. Here are some things that I have noticed in mean girls:

1.Chasing "drama." Websters online dictionary defines drama as, "A state, situation, or series of events involving interesting or intense conflict of forces." For whatever reason, girls like to be a part of this. I feel that it gives them some sort of mental high. They are happy when they are mad, it makes them feel in power because girls are supposed to be dainty. This is a way that they can show their assertiveness in this way, maintaining their "girliness," but satisfying that need for power and aggression.

2. Attract attention. I feel that they have a need for attention in any sense. A girl could even fake what she is doing, acting or feeling so that others may notice her. She feels good when people talk about her, and her alone. She may take things that are little and blow them out of proportion, and skew the truth to others so that she looks like the victim. She may do things that are negative towards others, and let others know, so that the public realizes that she shows no fear. etc. Girls will do many things for attention, and to be talked about. For those girls who are not in the "it crowd," they may want to do something to get attention so that people will notice them in hopes of getting in with the "it crowd".

3. Mean girls may not know that they are doing these things. I feel that most mean girls are caught up in these actions of deliberately sabotage others that they never think about what they are actually doing, as stated before, it is like a high that they are in, or a trance, they are dazed, their rational thinking is confused. They do these things they feel like because it's the "right thing to do" or the thing to to for their benefit. These girls may be a part of a clique and feel so good from that sense of belonging, and never question what the leader is making them do. All they know is that from past experiences, this type of behavior feels good.

above: this generic pic portrays girls being mean to another one. they aren't doing anything,

but any girl who sees this pic knows that something nasty is going on

4. The meanest girls know what they are doing. These are the ones that you have to watch out for. These girls are not under the impression of following others, rather they are the leaders. They may be doing this because:

a. They like to be followed by other girls

b. They love the power

c. They are making up for something that is missing in their life.

These girls are rarely happy in the notion that you and I know it. They gain happiness through the pain and suffering that others feel because of them. They have blocked emotion and feeling bad for those of their sufferers. They will test the loyalty of those who are their followers, just for fun.

Does that sound familiar?

To me, cliques are like gangs. I know people may think that this may be the extreme, but they have all the same characteristics. Loyalty, a leader who is never questioned, one carry outs missions to feel the praise of others, as well as to feel a closer bonding of a group, many people are "hazed" through this process. Not all teenage cliques are this extreme, or violent, but at one point in time, they portrayed some sort of aggression/ "meanness" towards another group of people or person.

lets take a look from the movie trailer of mean girls.

This clip sums up the school semester of a teenage girl. Regina is the queen bee, and threatened by Cady, who is honest. Towards the middle, Cady understands what it takes to be a part of the group, and what it takes for her to maintain her "status" she even plays dumb, for a boy (lowering herself for a boy, she must play the innocent female who is being saved by a boy) the two girls never fight, or even get in an argument, but we all know that these girls do not like each other. Frenemies in the truest form.

This behavior isn't just something that is seen in little girls and hormonal teenagers, adults do it too. This makes me think that people being "high school" is a state of being, and not a phase of school. Watch this clip from the bad girls club.

You will get more analysis if you watch the show. However, this small clip and what the girl comment about how natalie always sys she runs LA, who is she trying to convince? us or her? This is an interesting line, because it poses the thought, maybe Natalie is just an insecure person who needs to show and act out in aggression. Through out the season, these girls act out the same way as the characters do in mean girls, reinforcing the notion of "high school" is something that continues way after.

I feel like this type of behavior is in girls because of gender stereotypes. Girls are not supposed to be physical or loud. They are supposed to be dainty. As a result of this, they let out their agression in different ways. Men do it physically, women do it mentally. They play mind games with each other, which in my perspective is more hurtful than anyother kind of pain. A girl will play and twist the mind of another girl, and teachers may not notice. Friends may know whats going, on but be so caught up in the drama that they might not care.

But maybe im just saying that because I don't want to be definied as a mean girl, or someone who was a "bitch". But I feel like I can honestly say that I wasn't. however it is something that I will never know.

I can say this however, since entering college, I can definitely say that I have expirenced more rumores, hurtfulness and "mean girl syndrome" then i can ever remember having in my life. I don't understand why this is. but having had this expirence finally in my life, and seen girls be mean to other girls, i feel that now, I am able to comment on how women are.

above: Hidi form the hills. not a mean girl. She is a wanna be mean girl. She would be the girl that is mean.

I suspect she acts the way she does because of how girls treated her in the past. she would fit into number 3

So what does this all mean? what do we do with this information? For me, I just want you to know, how some girls are. How they act and behave. Perhaps this will stop the cycle of meanness that this society has towards each other. Also, being a victim of meanness, I want to say that it hurts really bad, and sometimes people may not intend to be that mean, but I think as a general rule, just don't do it. Kidding around is one thing, if you know the person, but there is a fine line between that and being mean.

Do I think that girls will stop? No. But maybe we can start a diologe about it. I feel that this is really the only way to solve the problem for girls. Because of the fact that it is more of a mental thing and a psychological fight more then anything else, that is the way it can be countered. It will take a slow process of course, but I feel strongly that one of the ways to diffuse this is by breaking down gender steryotypes.

Signing off for now, hope you are more in the know ->kime p

Spotlight: The Loony Goons, Future Super Stars

below: Terron (right) and Mark (left) the duo that make up the Loony Goons

When going to MSU, I was surprised to find a growing local hip hop artist around. This was something that I was exposed to a bit in high school, but not at this level or vigor. The first people of the Hip hop seen that I ever meet were the Loony Goones, a group comprising of two rappers, Terron and Mark. These guys were down to earth, real personable, and wrote about things they knew. Their name is catchy, and it makes you want to know a little bit more.

The Loony Goons are hard working individuals. As any local band or artist knows, it takes a while to know how to do the things that famous people pay others to do. The mark of an artist, or any famous person is the drive and determination of getting noticed. For example, they have had concerts on campus in the CSU ballroom several times, and have performed with Mike Jones. In fact, this Friday, they will be in Kosota performing again. They manage to do this and go to school and make money with jobs that support their craft.

There is so much I could say about them, but I think that the music should speak for themselves. Here is their latest song called Ima Beast. Listen carefully to the tunes and the music transitions, as well as the main beat.

Think about this: if this is the qualitly music that college students are making now, imigine when they hit the big scene. This is just a sample of their work. The Loony Goons are true artist in the since that they are able to free style on a minutes notice. I have sat with them several times just hanging out, and seen the guys begin to rap about any and everything around them. This is not a fabricated music band, or just for show, but something that comes from both of them. This rap duo didn't just want to be rappers to be cool, but they realized that this was a great way to compose their craft, and share with others their thoughts, feelings, and just have fun.

Above. Mark (left) and Terron (right) up stage for the Mike Jones concert. This pic was taken in the moment. Notice their Dedication.

This group also knows how to network. In a place such as Mankato, one would think it would be hard for those to have a chance to show off their artistic works to those of the outside. But these two have made it seem effort less with tall the gigs they have. The fact that they have performed in the cities as well as other areas around Mankato, shows their dedication. Many college students cannot say that they have been able to release an album mixtape.

They realize their fan base, and stay true to their roots.

If you like thier music, or want to know more information, long on and check out their facebook page
here

A self reflection. Through my mirror of ASA

Below: me and some of the Girls From ASA 2009 entrance

Since my freshmen year, I have been involved in African Student Association. In the beginning, I was so afraid to go to the meetings by myself. But after a while I became comfortable with going there, and eventually talking to people. I'm the type of person that likes to be heavily involved and take part in activities; when I do something I give 100 percent. It is best for one to challenge one's self, and seeing fellow Africans doing positive works for others made me want to follow in their example. Gradually, I became more open, and eventually running for ASA board with others. The time and experience is something that I cherish with others and I wish it could last forever. I am running For ASA president, and I feel that for others to understand why, I must show them the reflection of how I see me throughout this process.

I have seen myself growing, learning and loving what I have gotten from this experience. The thirst for knowledge never stops, and ASA to me is an oasis that I cannot get away from.

My thoughts, experiences and feelings have lead me to this point right now in life; may it be fate, destiny or coincidence, I am here. The hard work that Our ASA president and Vice president have done has made me want to work harder. When assistance was needed, I wanted to be the first person there, not for any self gain, but for the better of this association. Through trails and tribulations, I have felt pride in this association that I know many members have. Being on the ASA board this semester has brought me joy like no other, it was my oasis, the pool of ASA family members surrounded me during times in need.

How would one ever want to leave this?

I hope.

I hope for so many things; The history of this word has slipped through the lips of so many others before me and this word is my best friend. The hope that I have in ASA is expanding every day, the confidence and assurance that WE can do anything... Our hard work has paid off. I am an optimistic person. I see things for how they are and the potential of what they are.

I am also my worst critic, especially when it comes to the service of others. There has been times when I have gotten out of line.

And for that I am deeply ashamed and sorry.

I examine my character in every possible angle for the family that raised me. I want them to be proud, I want to do more.

above: Monet's famous Nympheas painting. to me this is a visual of emotions.

I have grown.

For those who were there from the beginning, you may not remember the quiet girl sitting in the back corner, but slowly a community, no, a family appeared. This girl would never imagine who she would become. The changes, and constants in her is made her who she is now. Today that women looks back and can genuinely say that she is proud. Proud of what and who she has become, of the personal struggles that have happened in her life that she has persevered through. With every stumble fall and brake, she stood up.

These Emotions.

If only it were so simple to explain the emotions of a person, the reaction of every word uttered; the process that my brain goes through. Negativity hits me like a long nail in my heart. The intent of someone is clear through their facial expressions, their tone of voice and the way of talking. And when you do not see the intent, sometimes the words may hurt. We are all humans, we laugh and we cry. We become broken and we become fixed. Words have power, and with them, I am still learning how to harness the potential that I see others have managed. Some may use that power for the best, for personal gain or for the worst, I wish to use that for the betterment of ASA.

There has been frustrating moments in ASA when I felt that if I could only touch that person and they could feel the urgency of a task. With every phrase I utter, there is a lifetime of meaning behind It. Some say I am harsh, I don't listen to others, and that my personality is one that they could go without. I understand these concerns, and these are inner struggles that I am working on. Again, intentions do not go across as how they may have been planned. I do not intend to be rude.

I value honesty.

Perhaps this is where my harshness comes from. Since I was a little girl, I have watched many people become hurt time and time again because of lies. This is my truest value that I see in myself. I value 100 percent honesty No matter how harsh. To me, there are different kinds of lies. Cheating on a test, telling someone something that may not be the truth, doing something that may make others look dishonest, going around the truth, saying things or doing things that seam as though what you are doing or saying are the truth... and so on. Of course we are all humans, and all of us have messed up time and time again. But one of the things that I feel is important to the honesty process is admitting when you are wrong, made a mistake about something, or someone. I am no saint to this. Yet, I strive to achieve this, and I desperately want others to be honest with me, especially if they feel that I have wronged them.

My story.

I want others to know about me from me, whatever you might have heard may not be true. You who are reading this are getting a better insight. I believe conversation and dialog is the best way to exchange ideas, and express feelings. What one might think of me based on the judgements, comments may not be true. Neither I can fully judge someone without putting myself in their place, understanding their challenges, where they are in life, etc. However, we don't get to explain our life experience after giving a sentence. So my goal now is to utter each word with such justice, people will understand my every word, meaning, and feel the hint of why I said it, what life experiences brought me to this point.

The ASA poster for this year Africa Night. Made by our vice president

I am here for school, that is my brain, But ASA is my heart. This is something that will never leave me. I cannot choose one without the other, and I need two to function. Using the knowledge that I have acquired in school and through life, I am now able to run for president; and with your support, I know that I will fulfil the post to the best of my ability and beyond

signing off for now, kime p... until next time