“One big room, full of bad bitches.” This catchy line was probably stuck in your head at least once after attending a house party this past semester. The artist of this song, Kreayshawn, was nominated for a VMA in the “best new artist” category. Kreayshawn is indeed a new artist, but will not be a one hit wonder; she is here to stay. Kreayshawn’s real name is Natassia Gail Zolot. Her rap name is a play on the word “creation”. This is a fitting name for her as she does loves to create; “I was already writings poems for like ever and started sharing them” says Kreayshawn during an interview when asked about how she got into the music business. Kreayshawn describes her childhood and how she was “raised in a musical household”. Her mom “was all about the music”. Like mother like daughter, Kreayshawn is “all about the music” and is dedicated to getting her creations noticed and heard. However, Kreayshawn’s intentions weren’t always to become well known and famous; “I never had the intention of becoming something big, It was just about having fun and keeping the right attitude” explains Kreayshawn.
When asked about her biggest inspiration Kreayshawn responds “Probably would have to say the spice girls…They’re all about that girl power and they’re all so different”. She is also very inspired by Gwen Stefani, a woman who is totally unafraid to be herself. These inspirations have taught Kreayshawn how to be original and unaffected by other people’s judgments. This boldness is evident in her lyrics, such as “Gucci Gucci”, her most popular song in which she exerts her individuality by comparing herself to “basic bitches”. She raps “Basic bitches wear that shit so I don’t even bother”. Kreayshawn’s non-conservative lyrics and “bad-ass bitch” attitude sets her apart from other female artists. What also sets her apart is the fact that her talent goes further than just rapping. She is also a music video director. This ability derives from her belief that rapping and making music videos go hand in hand; “When you listen to music, you make a picture in your head of a story or in emotion, and with rap music, it can have the most ridiculous lyrics, but I’m able to make that picture in my head” she explains. Kreayshawn plans to “make some Gwen Stefani moves” in the near future; “Getting into fashion, starting a clothing line. Doing and making more music videos, and producing some reality shows. I really want to do a lot of behind the scenes work on top of what I do already, so I can always have different forms my work out there” she explains. Kreayshawn has made a name for herself because of her numerous talents and spunky attitude. She deserves all of this attention, especially the nomination for “Best New Artist” and I have no doubt that she will continue to rise and make a name herself in the music industry. Author: Alixia Asnault
I remember coming across this video sophomore year and it definitely had me laughing. It also made me realize just how strong guy friendships are. Think about, their frienships are usually longer than girls and when it comes to their relationships, the word, "judgment", can be thrown out the window. Based on these lyrics alone, you can tell they don't seem to dwell on the past, but instead focus on the here and now, which is not a girls best quality. I wonder; are the friendships between guys stronger than the ones with girls? Prior to seeing this video I would have thought otherwise, but after reflecting and repeating these catchy lyrics, I might have to reconsider.
Author: Athena Gomez-Hipolito Video: Eric Magee Music: The G-Gang
This song is a perfect description of how a good amount of young girls feel when either hooking up with the same guy repeatedly or getting back together with an ex boyfriend, who were most likley players or A-holes. It's strange speaking for most girls, we are aware that it's a mistake we seem to keep on repeating. Deep down we know the chances of any good coming out of it is about 10%. It's just we believe in that small percentage so much that it seems to make us oblivios towards any type of sensibility whatsoever. We let our feelings get the best of us....
While lounging on my futon with my three other roommates watching yet another Harry Potter weekend on ABC Family we discussed what exactly it was that drew us to the movies in the first place. Our initial conclusion was that since we and Harry were always the same age growing up we felt like we could relate to him and just as easily have been the child taken out of the cupboard on 4 Privot Drive. That’s when we realized what it was that kept us reading each progressively heavier novel until the very end, the small glimmer of hope that we ourselves could be whisked off to a land far, far away. When you’re growing up there’s so much magic out there from Santa Clause to the tooth fairy that you’re given a false sense of hope that it could all be real. Yet even as an adult I still love the idea of magic, it just seems to take on different forms. Twlight, True Blood and Vampire Dairies clearly confirm that creatures, demons and magic aren’t just for kids. Even the most recent Harry Potter movie had the biggest opening yet, further proving that magic doesn’t disappear with age. But at what point do we need to stop and except our reality?
While Twi-hards have become almost commonplace, people still find obsessive World of Warcraft gamers or avid Wiccans to be very odd. So where do we draw the line? The ability to discern the difference between what’s real and what isn’t is only part of the answer to this question. Obviously someone in a cape and witches hat would cause heads to turn, but even college campuses have well-educated young adults running around with brooms between their legs. In the end everyone has a love of something that only the imagination can bring to life. Its through dreams and believing in the impossible that innovative and revolutionary creations can be made. Although I wouldn’t advise a quest for Neverland, there’s nothing stopping you from pushing the limits of your curiosity and being hopelessly addicted to a series of novels about a young boy who’s life turned upside-down with magic.
While looking for pictures that I could use for this particular article, I stumbled across a list explaining to girls the signs of falling for someone.
Now, had I or any other girl saw this graphic prior to writing or reading this article, I would carefully read it, related to it, and then maybe gushed 25% of my time thinking about that particular crush of mine. However, after a ladies night out, a couple of epiphanies, and a few interviews with guys, I came to realize that this list really meant absolutely nothing.....
It was on our way home, from a night out in the town, when one my best friends received a text from a guy friend confessing his love to her. After reading the text out loud and expressing her feelings of shock, naturally the rest us chimed in our "two cents"(psychological analysis that we are able to come up with in a two minute time period). We needed to reason out this revealed mystery. It wasn't until the conversation ended and I was at my house that I rethought the situation. Maybe we were looking to much into this. Is it possible this guy's feelings towards her were blatantly obvious the whole time?
So, using Facebook, I asked a wide range of men – from the “Bros” to the “average Joe’s”-- the question:
How do you know when you and/or your guy friends are starting to fall for a girl?
Well in most cases looks are what grabs guys attention and makes them want to pursue a girl for obvious hook up reasons, but I think a guy knows he "likes" a girl after he has hung out with her or even just saw things in her that he likes lol. Like when a guy gets mad or annoyed that other guys are talking to that particular girl or when he cant get her off his mind, for any reason other than hooking up... those are the telling signs that he "likes" her or has a thing for her. Usually I can tell if my friends like a girl if they talk about her a lot... like " I saw her in the DC she looked so hot, I wanted to talk to her, but she was eating with some loser". Something along those lines show that he likes her or cares enough to talk shit on another kid he doesn't know just for the fact that she’s showing another guy interest.
I don't know much about dating. I was with the same girl for six years and I've only ever been with two other girls. From what I've felt in the past six months, life-partnerships develop in the same way that friendships do with a few differences, those being comfortable sexual tension and eagerness. If I've got a thing for you, you can expect text messages at random times about irrelevant stuff. For me, it's all obvious observable behavior. When a friend is starting to see a new girl I usually notice a sharp drop-off of contact in the first few weeks between them and myself. Guys get obsessed in the same ways that girls do and in a healthy relationship, you will find an equilibrium between time with friends and time with a significant other.
Well, I think it’s easy to tell when a guy friend is falling for a girl when you simply start seeing less and less of him because he’s spending time with her [just because he’s not going to blow off his friends for a girl unless he’s into her]. I would say I'm actually into a girl when I’m willing to take a night off from drinking to just spend time with her.
I notice a guy is falling for a girl is when they are always talking, calling, or seeing them all the time. They don't talk to you as much for a while until he feels content with the relationship. How we know when we fall for a girl is when we don't spend as much time with friends or doing stuff with them all the time. When you're making time for any person you are falling for.
Usually you know your friends falling for a girl you don’t see him as much. Best guy friends always hang out with each other and when you don’t hear from him or see him that much, you can tell he’s starting to really like the girl. Or, when you start seeing the girl around more.... its annoying to have a girl around you when your with your guy friends. So if you see your best friend starting to bring the girl around, you can tell he’s falling for her. Once I know I’m falling for a girl, I can’t get her off my mind and I’m constantly trying to talk to her. Also, when I know I’m ready to meet her friends or family. If your just hooking up with a girl, you don’t want to go through all the family process so you don’t. But when you really do like her, you want everyone to know you’re with her.
Well, I would say when a guy friend keeps bringing up the girl in conversation or when they constantly text/talk in general. You probably know you’re falling for a girl when you start thinking about her out of the blue (I guess and you normally wouldn't).
I can tell when a guy is in love when he gives the girl more attention or lets her be more involved in his life. Another sign is if he mentions her more than usual. Sometimes, you can sense when people are in love; like how they look at each other or give each other nicknames and don’t care about the people around them. As for me, I know I'm falling for a girl when I can’t stop looking at her, thinking about her more than usual and going above and beyond just to see her happy or know that I'm thinking about her.
Hmm… well the first one is tough because everyone is different. Some guys fall really easy and others don't at all. But, usually just by the way he talks about a girl if it’s genuine or not, gives it away. I'm pretty picky and for me to fall for someone everything has to click: smarts and looks are the main thing I look for. We do have to have great chemistry, though and the sex has to be really good -- it might sound bad, but I think it’s a huge part of any relationship. We have to connect on an intellectual level and be extremely comfortable together, but the tipping point is probably how she is in bed....in a nutshell.
You know a friend is falling for a girl when he chooses to hang out with her alone rather than with his group of friends. You know when you fall for a girl when other girls don't even come into your thought process when you’re out at the same party.
When you are hanging with friends and one of them starts falling for a girl, first he starts to talk about her, and the discussions become more frequent. You might start to see him less, and even notice a hickey or even a bra or something in his car.
This changes to his bringing the girl around "the gang" as well as his answering calls and texts periodically while the guys are together, sometimes having to leave.When a guy starts to falls for a girl, they pretty much know right away. They think about her a lot, fantasize about her, talk about her, etc. If they begin to date, even with his friends, he thinks about her and looks forward to a call or a text. He may start to feel guilty and bring his "new girl" around his friends, so that he can have the best of both worlds, but this slowly becomes less and less frequent until he gets to the point where he is with her most of the time and seldom sees his friends.
This can be a danger if you want a successful relationship. Both the man and woman had likes, interests, and friends BEFORE they met one another. This just CANNOT be forgotten. Clearly what the two of them like doing the most when together becomes most important to them, but being together 24/7 can be unhealthy, too. Sure it feels great at first, but then it gets old, and resentment can set in as somehow he has lost his friends.
Wedding ceremonies warn of this when they say, "Love one another, but make not a bond of love...". What this means is to be in love and respect one another, but do not lose your individuality. Granted seeing your friends, or having guys night may only be one night monthly, or every other week, you should not forget what you once loved to do because it is, and still should be important. Clearly the love of your life has the center stage, but there still should be time for you to be...well, you!!!
You can tell a guy is falling in love when they want to spend time with her more than their usual crew of friends. I can tell I am falling for a girl when I have a need to keep her safe and make her happy.
I notice that I like a girl when there is silence and it is comfortable for both [of us]. I can tell when my friends fall for a girl when male social pressure is no longer an issue on their choice of women.
After receiving these answers, I was left with mixed thoughts and feelings. It was really cool getting guy perspectives. For the most part, all of their answers were very obvious, simplistic and straight forward. On the other hand, I realized the time a college girl spends wondering if a guy likes her or not, was not only n unnecessarily stressful, but also very wasteful.
So let this be a fair warning to all of you ladies: Don't over think it, if he's not showing the obvious signs, there's a good chance that he obviously is just not that into you.
Author: Athena Gomez-Hipolito
Editors: Hailey Walker and Dig Magazine's Nicolette Valencia
Photography: Tumblr, Toy Story 3, The Notebook, Sabrina
Many young women hold one shared priority: to go above and beyond in any task she should undertake.
Each one does so inspired by the sometimes frightening, often thrilling
anticipation of asserting herself in the real world; meeting new
challenges and opportunities with both fervor and perseverance. These
girls can be labeled as a “go-getters”: the ones who love discovering
new talents and abilities within themselves, followed by the urge to
apply these in an effort to succeed. It’s a revolution that is spreading
quickly throughout the girls of this generation, and will undoubtedly
result in the most successful wave of women in human history. These
young ladies are the future, but that perspective can be so easily lost
in the chaotic period of post-adolescence. With this in mind, Girlish
Writings has decided to highlight a nineteen-year-old student who can be
viewed as a prime example of just what talent, determination and a
great sense of work ethic can result in.
Meet Dalis Connell: a student, athlete,motivator,
and innovator. After living with her mother in Southern California, Dalis moved to
Chattanooga, Tennessee when she was 16 and is now a track star forTennessee Tech University,
admitted on an athletic scholarship and a sterling reputation. If there
is one way to describe Dalis, it is passionate: she has taken her focus
of study in Pre-Physical Therapy and Personal Training to the highest
degree through her athletic achievements, providing advice on diet and
fitness, and a newfound career in modeling. As an author of several
fitness blogs, and with more than 23,000 followers on Twitter, Dalis not
only vigorously pursues her own goals, but is also acting as a great
inspiration for others. Another way that Dalis gives her time and energy
toward a greater cause can be seen through her significant involvement
with community service, as it gives her a great amount of satisfaction
to enrich the lives of others. One thing is evident: Dalis has an
insatiable thirst for success and tangible results. Girlish Writings had
the pleasure of discussing her views on personal fitness and the
modeling industry, how she has gotten to where she is today, and all the
incentives that have helped push her along the way.
In 2009, American Clothing Company, Levi's, previously known for their advertisments based on sex appeal, submissiveness, love and relationships , shocked the world when they released a commercial, called "O Pioneers!". The commercial was an advertisment for Levi's new campaign ,Go Forth, an organization in support of creativity, independence, pushing boundaries, and generosity. It was this commercial, along with ones released after it's publication, that signified, to me at least, an evolution in marketing strategies, which also meant a major change in what's important to our generation now.
As seen above, the commercial provides us with various clips of young people, like ourselves, engaging in acts of fun, craziness, love and laughter while a recording of Walt Whitman's recitation of his poem "Pioneers, O Pioneers" plays in the background. What makes this commercial so refreshing and inspiring is not only the obvious transformation in Levis marketing campaign, but also the reminder that we are in fact an evolutionary generation that is still continuing to change and grow. We are generation that carries out in acts of absurdity side by side with the kind of people, that once in history were not seen as equals. Together we carry out our fun with revolutionary dreams, pride, optimism, perseverance, a positive attitude, and a sense of unity.
But now, according to Whitman, it is time we leave our youth behind in order to take on a bigger responsibility. It now time that we put forth our revolutionary characteristics and ideas towards changing the world.
For dancers and choreographers looking for inspiration, YouTube videos are like gold. Being a Zumba® instructor, I subscribe to a number of different YouTube channels to keep my creative juices flowing and my dance moves fresh.
Girlish Writings touched base with Emily Sasson, a dance instructor at Cherry Creek Dance in Denver, Colorado. Emily’s YouTube channel, featuring choreography to the hottest songs, is one of my most visited—but I’m not the only one checking out her vids. Any one of Emily’s videos has gotten between 100,000 and 5,000,000 views… and those numbers are rapidly creeping higher.
Emily is originally from Madison, Connecticut, teaches in Colorado, and travels quite frequently back and forth from the East Coast working with various studios, as well as collegiate and professional dance teams.
We asked Emily some questions to learn a little more about her and from where she draws her inspiration.
Girlish Writings: How long have you been a dancer? Describe your process, history and the steps you had to take to get there.
Emily Sasson: I didn’t start taking dance seriously until I was about 15. From there, I studied all forms of dance offered (ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical etc.). My Connecticut studio didn’t really have ‘hip hop,’ so at 17, I started teaching my own hip hop classes at my studio—traveling back and forth from NYC to take classes at Broadway Dance Center and Steps. I went off to college and chose not to study dance, but I continued with my training. Shortly after I graduated I became a teacher for various different studios in New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
GW: What is about dance/hip-hop that you love so much?
ES: Hip hop is forever changing. As a choreographer and teacher, one constantly has to keep evolving to create fresh new ideas for students—It keeps me on my toes! For those who aren’t dancers… compare it to fashion. Think of how often clothing styles change… its very similar to the dance industry.
GW: How do you feel when you’re in the middle of performing or dancing in general?
ES: It’s an incredible feeling to perform no matter where you are. I don’t think any dancer ever really loses the nervous, butterfly, excited feeling in your stomach that comes right before you step on stage. It’s an indescribable feeling!
GW: Describe your YouTube videos—Where did it start? Who are the lovely dancers in your videos?
ES: I was incredibly lucky with my YouTube videos. I posted my first video around this time 3 years ago and it was to “Starstruck” by Lady GaGa. This was right before she became famous, so the song was highly searched on YouTube. As a result, my video kept popping up.
At the time, dance videos were just starting to get big on YouTube so my friends told me to start making some videos. I had never even edited a video before so they’re all raw footage. I uploaded them and never looked at it again until about a month later and I had almost 100,000 views! I was so excited! From there I started to gain an incredible fan base and just kept uploading videos.
Dancers come and go throughout my videos, some just drop-ins for my classes, but I do have a few that are still there and they give me such inspiration to keep on choreographing!
First dancer is VQ… She’s my best friend and my roommate. She and I are constantly bouncing choreography ideas off each other & dancing around in our living room. VQ’s a
choreographer too (find her on YouTube… she’s amazing)!
Next is the ever so popular, Valentino. He came to me about 2 1/2 years ago and had never danced before in his life (check out his first video, it’s “Boom Boom Pow”… hilarious)! Regardless, I saw so much potential in him and all he wanted to do was learn… So he started coming to my classes 4 days a week, training in all different styles and now he’s living in LA on the Edge Scholarship pursuing his dream. Paige (tall blonde) and Alyssa (tall brunette) have also been around for about 2 years and are incredibly talented and dedicated dancers! Recently, I’ve started asking some of my younger students to take class.—you’ll notice Chera (12) and Kaylin (14). I’ve been teaching Cher since she was 8. She is the epitome of a driven and talented dancer not to mention the sweetest kid you’ll ever meet. Kaylin joined us about a year ago, and we all just love her energy and style. Sorry to ramble… I love my students!
GW: Who’s your biggest inspiration/motivation?
ES: I would say the first artist to ever inspire me was Janet Jackson. My dream as a child (and still now, haha) is to be her backup dancer. Tina Landon was the first choreographer that made me want to become one myself. Those were my constants throughout the years, but as I said earlier, it’s always inspiring to watch all these incredible choreographers that are on the map. YouTube is an incredible tool to help future dancers and choreographers keep up-to-date with styles. My motivation – hands down – is my students. I teach almost 30 hours a week, give or take, and a majority of my students are under the age of 13. As I watch them grow, they push me to get more creative—otherwise they get bored… and they’re not afraid to tell me (haha)! They’re always coming to class saying things like “Did you see this??” “Can we learn how to do stuff like that??” “I want to do tricks!” They’re the best!
ES: My goal for 2012 is to start expanding and traveling more. I love having my home base here in Denver, but am looking to work with more teams and studios throughout the US.
GW: What’s your biggest dream for yourself?
ES: As cheesy as it is, I am living my dream right now. My life is dedicated to teaching and working with dancers of all ages. I want to continue doing this as long as I walk! Then I’ll probably just teach from a chair (J). But becoming a traveling teacher/choreographer would be pretty awesome!
GW: If a person wants to become a hip/hop dancer what’s the best advice you can give them?
ES: I would say don’t ever give up! Keep taking classes of all different styles (hip hop, jazz, contemporary, ballet). Be the best dancer you can be! It’s always a bonus to be a well-rounded dancer. Also, get yourself out there! Facebook, YouTube, Twitter… the internet is a great tool to keep in constant contact with the world.
Thank you, Emily, for the amazing interview. Also, thank you for being an inspiration to all dancers and choreographers alike!
It's My last year in college and though I should be enjoying every minute of it, I'm feeling a
bit unaccomplished. In these four years I have watched a good amount of my friends find guys that have kept them company throughout their years of school. Unfortunately, I haven't found anybody close to that, which is starting to get me worried and a bit insecure
Advice From Girlish Writer: Hailey Walker
It is my personal opinion that men our age (aka college boys) are not ready for serious relationships. Yes, of course there are some exceptions, it is not impossible to meet a great guy/potential soul mate in college, but realistically, the chances are pretty slim for most.
Guys our age are simply not ready to settle down in their prime years of adolescent adulthood. This is their time to have fun, experiment, go wild, and most importantly, get it out of their system. They don't want to miss out on the "college experience," just to regret it later in life (potentially leading to relationship problems, especially infidelity). Eventually, these same rowdy boys will realize that "partying" will not keep them happy forever, but for now, I think we should just let them be.
You haven't found "mr. right" yet, but so what? This is just as much your time to have fun as it is his. Don't dwell on the relationship you don't have, instead, take advantage of the great things about being single! Meanwhile, you can "do you" while you hold out for the man of your dreams.
The best advice I could possibly give you is to use this time wisely, because as soon as these college boys grow into educated, experienced men, you'll be wifed up in no time!
Sadness, a powerful paradoxical emotion, that many spend their lives attempting to fight or avoid. It doesn't take much to know that with sadness comes vulnerability, dwelling, failure to expectations, loneliness, mistakes, insecurities, self destruction, and possibly even death. Nevertheless, it's perhaps one of the most necessary emotions a person can have. Sometimes it's the only emotion one has, that many refuse to let go. Sadness reminds us and others around us that we feel, it shows our true selves, it haunts us into acceptance, and that we can't go through it alone.
In April 2011, Swedish singer-songwriter, Lykke, Li debuted the music video for her new single, "Sadness is a blessing". Directed by Tarik Sale, the video opens with the singer, at a high end restaurant, drinking shot after shot, in front of a man, presumably her father or lover, portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård.
As she drinks each shot, she stares at the man, who suggestively represents sadness, with a conniving smile, aware of the fact that it is making him angry. Testing him even more, she proceeds to laugh at him; and when he doesn't react she angrily gets up from the table. One can suspect, through her actions and the expression of the man's face, that the relationship between the two is clearly not a good one. However, right now, It appears as though she's willing to get his attention at any means possible.
After she stands up from the table and whispers something to the man's ear,Lykke Li proceeds to drunkenly dance around the restaurant; an action alluding to perhaps a mental breakdown. As she dances and taunts the man , we are able to catch a glimpse of her detachment from reality and subjectivity. At the same time we are also able to see the man's heart breaking as he watches his either daughter or lover slowly losing her mind. It is only until the owner of the restaurant and the server attempt to detain her, that the man finally stands up and grabs a hold of her. He wipes the hair away from her face and looks at her, acknowledging that he finally sees her, and embraces her. The film ends with Lykke Li crying into his shoulder, giving in to sadness...
Kreayshawn plans to “make some Gwen Stefani moves” in the near future; “Getting into fashion, starting a clothing line. Doing and making more music videos, and producing some reality shows. I really want to do a lot of behind the scenes work on top of what I do already, so I can always have different forms my work out there” she explains. Kreayshawn has made a name for herself because of her numerous talents and spunky attitude. She deserves all of this attention, especially the nomination for “Best New Artist” and I have no doubt that she will continue to rise and make a name herself in the music industry.
