Twitter Trend Sparks Controversy

A week ago, the hashtag #ToMyUnbornChild was trending worldwide on twitter. Most of the tweets were normal and not controversial at all. However, some people took it as a chance to spark homophobic tweets such as "#ToMyUnbornChild if your gay or retarded I will kill you"

You can read more about this story and see more hateful tweets here

I found these tweets to be absolutely disgusting. First of all, I hope to God these people never have children if they're threatening to kill them just for being different. Instead of accepting their children for who they are, they're planning on disowning them or even resorting to murder. The fact that you have so much hate directed towards your own children just shows what kind of person you are. If a child's parents are not willing to accept them then what makes you think anyone else will? These are the kinds of cases that lead to bullying and suicide. I can't even imagine being born different into a world where not even your own parents accept you. The LBGT community already get so much hatred directed towards them, but the one that would hurt the most would be the one coming from your own family. What these soulless people need is to be educated. Comments like these stem from uneducated people who only portray ignorance. Hence all of the incorrect usages of "your" instead of "you're." After all, it doesn't surprise me that people who can't properly use grammar hold such ignorant views on sexuality. These people are clearly unfit to be parents. NB

KONY 2012

Imagine 30,000 children getting abducted from their families and forced to become a child army. Little girls being kidnapped and forced to become sex slaves. Innocent kids getting raped and abused with no way to escape. All of this because of one person: Joseph Kony.

For over 20 years, a man named Joseph Kony and his army have been holding these kids against their will and making them impose on these acts just for his own amusement. Nothing has been done to stop this simply because nobody knew about it. A man named Jason Russell recently made a video to raise awareness to Kony so that the world is informed.

You can watch the video here:
http://vimeo.com/37119711

Russell's goal is to make sure everyone knows Joseph Kony's name. He's created T-shirts, bracelets, posters, and flyers to help spread the world. He believes the biggest problem here in trying to capture him and reach justice is the fact that no one knows who he is. Spreading the word yourself can help bring us one step closer to incarcerating Joseph Kony.

Sign the pledge here:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony-4.html


Tell your friends. NB

Teen Ink Magazine

Teen Ink is a literary magazine and website written entirely by teens. You'll find a bunch of poems, art, photos, and all different types of writing pieces. I've been a member of Teen Ink for about 10 months now I am in love with their website! I've submitted three of my writing pieces and they all got published onto their online magazine. The process is very simple. You submit your work and the editors of Teen Ink review your writing and decide whether or not they want to add it to their website. If your work gets a lot of good ratings, it gets published into an actual hard copy of their magazine which people can subscribe to. NB


Here are my articles that got published: 
http://www.teenink.com/users/Nourab

You can view the website here.

Gym Time Gone Wrong

I feel like going off on a rant today for some reason. I chose to talk about the gym because there are just too many things I see that really get me in a ranting kind of mood. NUMBER ONE. I hate it when I see girls get all dressed up for the gym and then will do anything in their power to not workout. Like, if you want to find a place to socialize, then go to the mall or grab a cup of coffee. Don't come to the gym and stand there like an idiot continuously talking to a person who most likely just wants to workout. NUMBER TWO. Gentlemen, we all know you want to show off your guns but enough is enough. It is not cute when you stand there and literally watch yourself lift weights. All it does is make you look cocky which is not attractive. NUMBER THREE. This is just something I saw once and I hope to never see again. A girl was sitting on a machine literally taking pictures of herself. Really? I believe my point has been made. NB

Virginia School District Wants to Ban Kids From 'Cross-Gender Dressing'

 The Suffolk school board is considering passing a new law that bans students from cross-gender dressing. The new law is meant to prevent bullying and harassment in schools by trying to control what type of clothing is appropriate. They also believe it "causes a disruption and/or distracts others from the education process or poses a health or safety concern." My question is, where do you draw the line between what's cross-gender dressing? What if a boy wears a pink shirt.. is that considered to be cross-gendered dressing? Or what if a girl comes to school in baggy jeans and a baggy t-shirt.. still cross-gendered dressing? Also, what ever happened to self-expression? Students should be able to wake up in the morning and throw on whatever they please. If they feel most comfortable in clothing of the opposite gender, then need be! Laws like these are what force students to conform to social norms. Of course, some may argue that this law is needed in order to protect children from the bullying going on in schools, but what makes it okay to punish the targets by making them act like someone they're not? The real problem here are the bullies. It would be more logical to make more anti-harassment policies rather than targeting victims. Just a thought. NB 
 

Taylor Swift: America's Sweetheart.

Who has the ability to win six Grammy awards by the age of 22, sell over one million copies of an album within its first week, has sold out concerts throughout the globe, all while writing her own songs and keeping the same down-to-earth personality? That's right, Taylor Swift. It all started when Swift was just 10 years old, singing at various local events including the Philadelphia 76ers game. At the age of 12, Swift decided that it was time for her to learn how to play the guitar and write her own songs. Swift was different from all the kids and associated herself as an outsider. Instead of playing outside after school, Swift would run home and think of more songs to write. Swift has always said that listening to her songs is like reading her diary, because everything is about her personal life. At age 14, Swift begged her parents to move to Nashville, Tennessee where all the country stars were. Her parents noted her dedication and unwillingness to give up so the Swift family packed their things and started a new life in Nashville, Tennessee. In just a matter of time, Swift signed a record deal with Big Machine Records where she then released her first single "Tim McGraw" in 2006. It appeared in her self-titled debut album, which was certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry, selling more than 2.5 million copies.

                                                       Taylor Swift's self-titled debut album released in 2006. 

Her first album quickly caught the attention of many teenage girls across the world. Songs like "Fifteen" that related to the struggles a freshman girl in high school goes through, or "Tied Together With A Smile" that talks about that one friend you have who struggles with body image issues but doesn't realize she's still beautiful were the kind of songs that her fans would listen to while having a bad day. Swift released her next album in 2008 called Fearless.

                                                    Taylor Swift's second album released in 2008 called Fearless

Taylor chose the name of the album Fearless for many reasons. In the back of her album, she wrote a quote:
“To me, Fearless is not the absense of fear. It's not being completely unafraid. To me, Fearless is having fears. Fearless is having doubts. Lots of them. To me, Fearless is living in spite of those things that scare you to death.” Fearless stayed at the top of both the country and pop charts for 11 weeks straight. By the end of 2008, Swift had become the highest-selling country artist of the year. Swift has earned many awards through Fearless including "Album Of The Year"  and "Best Country Album" at the Grammy Awards. Once again, Swift's fan base grew even larger after this album because her songs could relate to pretty much any age group. In one of her songs, she talks about a day that she spent with her mom and how her mom had the ability to make her forget about all the terrible things her peers had said to her just by window shopping. Swift's songs weren't mainstream or based on what the record deal wanted her to produce. Her music was raw and from the heart, carrying true meaning about the daily struggles that most teenage girls have to go through everyday. Aspects like these are what made Swift to be so likeable by almost everyone.

                                                     Taylor Swift's third album, Speak Now, released in 2010.
Swift's third album, Speak Now, deals with love, heartbreak, and romance. Swift was especially proud of this album because she wrote the whole thing entirely on her own. She'd get her best ideas for a song at 3:00 AM while just sitting on her tour bus. The significance of the title means exactly what it sounds like. Swift believes that you should never hold back on what you have to say when you're in the moment. Whether it's a fight with your boyfriend, an apology, or saying 'I love you,' you should always say what you're feeling when the time comes until it is too late.

So there you have it. The amazing, talented, and beautiful Taylor Swift. Swift isn't one of those celebrities who strips down to their underwear while performing on stage or who spends all their time partying and drinking while trying to set an example for fans. Swift is original and has a genuine personality. Her music offers something fresh and new to her fans; something you can listen to while having a bad day, or when you just want to jump up and down on your bed while singing at the top of your lungs into a hair brush. Her songs have touched the hearts of so many young girls around the world and I don't see that fading away anytime soon. NB

Uggs = Sorority Slut?

I was reading The Commonwealth Times when I came across an article about Uggs, unisex sheepskin boots. The article talks about a quote that was said by one of the magazine contributors named Britt Sebastian. He states:

“These boots are designed with a small amount of whoredom in mind. The pathetically uncreative styling of this boot was specifically designed by Ugg to match a pair of black spandex, a North Face fleece jacket and a shirt with some Greek symbols on it. Ugg originally intended to call these boots ‘Open for Business,’ but they eventually settled for the less egregious name, ‘Sorority Slut.' If you have recently been with a girl that wears anything off the list above, save the trip to the doctor’s office; you have chlamydia." 


So basically this guy is saying that if you wear either Ugg boots, a North Face, a shirt with Greek letters on it, or black spandex (mostly known as leggings), you most likely have chlamydia. Really? The number one thing I was worried about while joining a sorority myself, was the perceptions people would have just because I'm in one. Automatically people assume that you will change and become a slut just because you're joining a sorority. Anyways, I kind of went off track there but back to the Uggs. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Uggs. I think they are overpriced and you shouldn't pay $150 just for a famous logo. However, I would never judge anyone for wearing them and I especially would not assume they have an STD because they wear a certain pair of shoes. NB