Culture Captivity

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Confidence Boost

We don't get to choose the skin were born into or the color of our eyes. These decisions are made for us long before we recognize these features on ourselves. Society will train us to believe that beauty has a certain standard. I've watched people get bullied because of their skin being too dark by other black people. Like the darker the uglier in some people's eyes. Who put this idea into their heads?

We must learn how to get these standards of beauty out of our heads and to stop passing them down to younger generations. Although society and the media will sell a specific kind of beauty to us repeatedly, we need to continue to uplift each other and be confident and unapologetic about our features. Here are a list of things you can do to appreciate the skin you were born in a little more. 1. Look people up who look like you, creep on the Internet, follow them on Instagram and take notes. 2. Check out blogs, that promote your features. 3. Take more pictures of yourself. 4. Figure out why you aren't happy with a certain feature. 5. Look in the mirror more 6. Surround your self with like minded people 7. Experiment with your features, wear colors you used to avoid. 8. Be kind to yourself, enjoy the wonders of life when you step outside your comfort zone.

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Give our All

Why do some of us hesitate to give our all in the things we do? Is it fear ? Are we just lazy ? Is it not a priority ? There are many reasons why an individual does not put their "all" in something that they do. Let's talk about fear, I personally have hesitated when it comes to giving 100% to something I'm doing because of fear. Fear that people are going to judge me, fear that even if I give it my all that I will still fail. 

As a result I've failed because of that fear. Failure is a scary thing but being scared to fail should never be a reason to not give your all. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking about how much I need to take my own advice. Living in fear is not living at all. We should all give our all to the things we truly want. I know it sounds cliche but it's actually very true. You want that dream body?Forget about what anyone has to say about it, give everything you have into achieving it. The satisfaction and the fruits of your labor will always prove to be worth it. I understand that the more time and energy you put into something that fails, the greater the loss, but the less time and energy you put into something the greater the chance of the loss. People don't put their all in relationships because if it fails, maybe it won't hurt as bad. Well I'm going to try to put my all into everything I do. It's worth it, you're worth it, let's stop fear from controlling us.

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A Workout Can Change Your Life

Have you ever been in a dark place in your life? A bad breakup, lost friendships, or things just aren’t going your way? I think it’s safe to say we’ve all been there. According to a study that was conducted by Glamour Magazine and Jesse Fox, Ph.D.—an assistant professor at the Ohio State University, in this day 54 percent of women are unhappy with their body, and 80 percent say just looking in the mirror makes them feel bad.

If working on your body is something that you’ve always wanted to do but have never started for whatever reason, today is a great way to start. If you are in a dark place one great workout can change your day and maybe change your life. You don’t need to rush and get a gym membership, you can start off small. Run the track, try a kickboxing class, or my personal favorite Zumba. My point is when you truly feel great about yourself in every aspect, life gets better and using your darkness as a propellor instead of a crutch can make a significant change in your life.

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Sarah Bland, Say her name

Sarah Bland is the name of a woman that we shall not forget. Say her name. Police brutality in the United States is a scary thought, but it must be discussed. So far in this year alone, there have only been 9 days in which the police have not killed anyone. This is day 204. Sarah Bland who was pulled over for a simple mistake of forgetting to signal during a lane change, ended up dead.

There is video footage of her clearly upset and being hurt by the officer, which she clearly expresses to him. The most painful thought is knowing that her death could've been avoided. If only she was not arrested Sarah Bland would still be here today. We are living in rough times. This means honesty is more important now than ever. The conversation of #blacklivesmatter should be spreading like wildfire. It needs to be on everyone's timeline at almost every point of the day. We matter, she matters, I matter.