Football

I couldn't think of a better way to end my cultural consumption blog than with a post about football.

Last Sunday I watched one of the most exciting football games of all time: Jets vs. Giants. The Jets hadn't beaten the giants in a regular season game since Halloween of 1993 and honestly, I didn't have too high of expectations for my team. With many injuries, including Darrell Revis, and a rookie quarterback, it's hard to have faith in the Jets nowadays. 

All I'm really going to say about the game is that it was a real nail biter and  they won it in overtime. Really what I want to talk about is how the game made me feel (and how every football game makes me feel for that matter). 

I grew up a huge football fan. Football isn't just a program on TV or a sport to me; it's kind of like a way of life. Going to college, however, my Sundays have changed quite a bit. Growing up, Sundays were always a huge part of my week. I'd wake up, get lunch with my family, and then come home to enjoy the big game. We'd sit around the TV, talking, laughing, and most importantly, watching. 

Then I came to college. And my friends either (a) don't like football (b) don't even know what a football is or (c) don't like the NY Jets. 

So....I spend every Sunday now by myself, rooting on my team. I'm watching the same game, but it feels so different. It's an entirely new dynamic and it's weird how much that could change. 

Weekly Consumptions #12

TV 
NYJ vs. NYG football
Keeping Up with the Kardashians

MOVIES
Elf
How the Grinch Stole Christmas

MUSIC
The Intro
Do They Know It's Christmas?

FOOD
Zoodles
Lola's grilled chicken salad

Music

It’s the first of December and I’m not listening to Christmas music.

WHAT?

Lately I have not been able to listen to anything other than 3 songs that I recently discovered:
1. My House – Flo Rida
2. Bros – Wolf Alice
3. Break Up in a Small Town

They are just SO. GOOD. But what does that even mean? What does it mean for a song to be good? Honestly, at this point I feel like everyone’s opinions of music hold absolutely no value. Someone could tell me they recently discovered the best song in the world, but I’ll kind of just shrug it off. And I certainly won’t ask them to insert my aux chord into their phone. Why? Because time and time again I’ve heard “amazing” songs that are “the best of the best” that turned out to be absolute crap. To my ears at least.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the music we listen to and what it says about who we are. To be honest, I kind of disregarded any connection between the two for a while.

I have friends who like every single type of music, I thought. Obviously it’s meaningless.

But then I thought some more and I feel like all of the qualities I don’t like in my friends can be represented by their music.

For instance, the one thing I don’t like about my friend, Sara, is that she can be too loud sometimes. And what do you know…she listens to extremely loud, overly manufactured, crazy music.

And then there’s my friend, Katie. She listens to music without words and by coincidence, it’s her lack of communication that bothers me the most about her.

And then I have a friend who listens to nothing but country music, but I’m not even going to get started on that one…

So I’ve been sitting in my bedroom listening to these 3 songs on repeat and it got me thinking. Our music tastes are almost like our DNA; unique and no two people have the same exact ones.

It’s a pretty weird concept.

Weekly Consumptions #11

TV SHOWS

Grey's Anatomy

MOVIES

Love Actually

BOOKS

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

MUSIC

My House - Flo Rida

Bros - Wolf Alice

YOUTUBE

Lexi Lombard

FOOD

Avocado salad - La Bottega

Social Media in Times of Tragedy

Red, white, and blue profile pictures are flooding Facebook, along with #prayforparis hashtags and heartfelt comments. You literally can't scroll for more than 5 seconds without seeing something related to the terrible tragedies. The whole thing really is heartbreaking. But be that as it may, you will not see me sporting the now famous red, white, and blue profile picture. And you won't see me posting an Instagram photo of the Eiffel Tower. And you most certainly won't see me typing #prayforparis into a Tweet. Why? Because...what's the point? 

Right now as you're reading this, you probably think I'm evil, insensitive, or just plain stupid. With certainty, I can tell you I'm none of those. I'm just realistic. 

I get that all of these things are nice gestures, and I really don't have a problem with any of the pictures or posts themselves. What I do have a problem with is when people slap a post up on social media and then go on with their day, pretending like they did some sort of good deed. Pretending like they made a difference in the world. In reality, what did you do? 

Nothing.

Yes, the hashtags and red, white, and blue pictures are great gestures, but what good is a gesture? I appreciate the sentiment, but instead of these trendy social media fads, we should be doing something. We should be donating money or putting together care packages for the loved ones of victims. 

The problem with this whole social media thing is that people think it's enough. People think, Oh, I posted a photo of the Eiffel Tower. I'm good. But no! That's not DOING anything. I mean, the truth of the matter is that most people used this opportunity as an excuse to post their very best pictures of the famous monument. People took the time to edit these pictures, and select the prettiest filters, and make sure it fit with their Instagram theme perfectly...while people were dying. I don't know. It just seems so dumb to me. Not one photo of the Eiffel Tower did I like, nor did I favorite any #prayforparis tweets. Because what's the point? There just isn't one to me.    

I know you could argue with me and tell me that I'm dumb and insensitive and evil, but don't waste your breath. This isn't so much an opinion as it is a feeling. I can't help how I feel when I see all of this social media craze. And I do understand on some level that it's not all bad. A world coming together in a time of tragedy. That's great, but my point is that it's not enough. My point is that sadly, people think it is. And that's the problem right there. When Facebook puts up a huge DONATE TO PARIS page, and really does something that could make an impact, then come and talk to me. I'll listen. 

Weekly Consumptions #10

FOOD
Avocado toast - The Coffee Shop (NYC)
Spicy chicken sandwich - Bluestone Cafe (NYC)

TV SHOWS
Criminal Minds

WEBSITE
letsbegamechangers.com - Essena O'Neill

SONGS
Escape - Enrique Iglesias
Heart Attack - Enrique Iglesias
Same Old Love - Selena Gomez

Mornings...

There is just something so magical about being awake before 7AM. I don't know where I got that time from (why not 6 or 8?), but regardless, I just love being awake before everyone else; before the sun. We get so caught up in day-to-day activities that we forget how wonderful each and every day truly is. On Monday I'm already planning for Friday, and somehow I seem to forget about all of the days in between. 

When you're given so much of something, it's easy to take it for granted. Food, health, and even each and every day of your life. We don't enjoy Tuesday simply because we know we're getting a Wednesday. And why make Wednesday count when I know there will be a Thursday? With calendars, alarms, and planners we are designed to always be looking forward. We are never in the now; never appreciating what is in front of us. We fly through life, not taking advantage of all these moments, if only because we know there will be more. 

Today could be your last day for all you know. Yeah, yeah. I've heard that one before. You could get hit by a bus or abducted by aliens or eaten by a giraffe that escaped from the zoo. But more likely than not, that won't happen. More likely than not, you will wake up tomorrow morning. And more likely than not, you will take it all for granted. 

So yes, I think mornings are entirely underrated in our culture. People jump at the chance to sleep in, relax, and not do much. But why? Why be asleep when you can live? 

The crazy thing is that I don't know if there is a solution. I don't know how to take advantage of every moment and I don't know if that is even possible. There's no getting around the need to schedule and plan out your days, weeks, and months. You can't just throw out your agendas and iPhones (God forbid...) and calendars. But what you can do is look up. Be aware of this. Realize how you're choosing to spend your time. You can't make every single minute of your day productive, but if there's one thing  you should've realized by now, it's that every. single. minute. counts. So even if not every minute can be life-changing for you, 5 meaningful minutes a day beats 0. 

Go make your 5 minutes count.