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To exist as a youth in a Century of Immoderate Exposure

What it is like to exist as an adapting and evolving young adult in a world of such excessive exposure. Through all the various social media apps, such as Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, Snapchat, and blogs/websites invading the web, adolescents are exposed to a plethora of accounts and lives of other people who have the ‘idealistic body’ or ‘idealistic life’, but in reality they are just normal people with no actual profession that is benefiting this world in a positive way. 

Society becomes obsessed with these mirages of other people’s lives and becomes envious. They begin loathing their own lives, their own fashion, their own bodies, and face and commence a pattern of self-hatred which can lead to other serious life problems such as depression, suicide, or drug consumption.

This exposure does nothing for society but makes them even more unsatisfied with their own lives because they can’t help it; but all it is an illusion, and we, as developing young adults, need to acknowledge that and become satisfied with our own lives because it’s the only one we got. 

We have to stop tormenting our eyes with these fictional lives and live our own in that matter. The world is nothing but a universe of concepts made up by humans who have lived here since the beginning of time. That’s all. We lived our lives off other people’s thoughts and concepts they made up, so why can’t we make up our own?

We cannot be afraid to live in such a nonconforming matter. We should not be afraid to wear wigs and fur coats to a party all because society embedded it into our minds that that is “weird”. The only thing that is weird is believing that they are actually right or that ‘weird’ is a negative connotation. 

We have one life. Do you agree? And what we do with that one life is up to us; it is up to us to not give a damn; it is up to us to live in the moment and recognize all these seconds in time flashing before our eyes as moments; it is up to us to carry on in our own style or “swag” or no one will; it is up to us to become satisfied with the way our life has played out because that is the way it was meant to play out and we have to accept that. 

We cannot let this excessive exposure consume our minds and tear us to pieces; we have to overcome it and visualize it for what it truly is: a fantasy. We have to live for today and live it for ourselves.

Some of you may have tomorrow, but for some of us we only have today, and what we do today matters, every second, every minute; these moments are all we have left, chase them.

This is what my blog is about. Taking modern-day issues from all the excessive exposure from social media and figuring out ways to cope with them and grow with them.

Xoxo, 

Lex

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Consumption of Negativity is a Menacing and Unruly Manner

I do it. You do it. We all have this issue of having something negative happen to us and letting it override all the positive occurrences going on in our lives currently. We could have the world at our fingertips and dozens of positive circumstances happening all at once and begin to feel this uncontrollable, natural ecstasy, but once that one negative comment, reaction, word, opinion, or moment transpires, we fall. 

We begin to consume our minds with that one negative thing and let it control our actions and persona. We start lashing out on the people closest to us and morph into this discourteous individual all because we can’t restrain the power of that negativity. We continue forgetting all the good we have in our lives and start devouring all the cynical. We let it eat at our minds instead of letting it remain a learning lesson.

But we have to remember one thing: it's not about what happens to us, for we cannot control that, its how we react to those occurrences that will permit us to progress. 

I look forward to these negative occurrences because they give us the opportunity to decide how we are going to react. If you let them consume your minds and swallow you whole, you will only be digressing. So let them ignite you in ways of excitement knowing they cannot break you or deter how you are going to conduct yourself.

Through life, we will all evolve. We will all go through things life-changing or life-threatening and how you react to those occurrences will define who you are and how much you have grown with time.

Time, a world of illusion, for that's all it is.

Time can heal. Time is easy. Time is comforting for we have so much of it.

Let that sit with you and let it remind you are in no rush. Become who you are not who you think you were meant to be, and do not, under any circumstances, let that negativity control you. Let it set you free.

Xoxo,

Lex

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Drug, Electronic Cigarette, and Alcohol Abuse in Modern Day Youth

Back in the day, nearly every person of all ages was portrayed on screen with a cigarette in hand. Smoking was something referred to as “cool” or “trendy”. As a result, everyone was smoking, including kids. As the awareness increased over time more and more adults and teenagers began perceiving this act as disgusting, referring to cigarettes as “cancer sticks”. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about drugs and alcohol. These debaucheries are staples in everyday social media. Drinking and utilizing drugs are looked upon as the cool thing to do these, especially with festivals being the number one highest trend in modern-day youth.

The numbers bear the tale. 21% of high school seniors say they get high and 41% of the same group report drinking alcohol. Teenagers are literally walking around day by day under the influence of some amphetamine for no reason at all, only because it makes them feel good. Unfortunately, now that cigarettes are out of the picture, kids are starting to use the new electronic cigarettes referred to as Juuls. 

These are tiny black rectangle pods that include 50 milligrams of nicotine when a natural cigarette has 1 milligram. They state that these Juuls are not bad for you for they do not inherit all of the bad ingredients a cigarette has, only nicotine, but we do not know that for sure.

The causes of being under the influence highly lead to the effects of immature behavior. It leads to drunk driving, poor grades/attendance, anti-social and violent behavior, and the list goes on. After questioning and talking to numerous peers of mine, they all keep stating that “it helps me carry out the day in a more mellow and happier way” and others said, “it makes me think less about the little things and keeps me from feeling anxious or sad inside”. 

Ironically all of these amphetamines are depressants and can cause more harm than favor. Mainly all of these answers from my peers purely justified that they are naturally unhappy in life and need to live it out under the influence 95% of the time instead of just being sober and accepting.

A story was recently on the news about an 18-year-old boy who was driving with an 18-year-old girl in his passenger seat. They both had been drinking and smoking marijuana and were being pulled over by a cop. Instead of just pulling over and accepting the consequences of a DUI and other possible charges, the boy decided to outrun the cop and ending up swerving into a tree and killing the girl in the passenger seat and he was left unscratched. 

A tragedy that could have been easily prevented if the boy would have just faced reality and taken his consequences but instead took another person's life and now has to live with that for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately, youths are becoming more and more defiant and afraid of the truth and are therefore running around town constantly under the influence of something. More tragedies occur every single day with alcohol or drugs involved and everyday more and more people will die if our modern youth does not get a handle over this. These young adults need to stop running away from reality and start facing it.

xoxo,

Lex

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Kids Growing up Too Fast in a Constantly Evolving World

There was a time when kids enjoyed being kids. There was a time when kids were meant to be seen and not heard. Today, even at the earliest of ages, children are engaging in adult activities that can lead to serious emanations and change their life forever in the blink of an eye. 

Sex is currently an extremely popular and depicted subject matter. All ranges of social media including movies, TV, the internet, or anywhere and everywhere a kid turns he or she is barraged with sexual suggestions.

In fact, there are numerous TV series advertised directly to kids dealing with sex such as The Secret Lives of an American Teenager and Teen Mom. Music is a miscreant as well. Back in the day songs had a variety of sexual insinuations, but you had to reach a certain age to understand them, which made a lot of kids aspire to grow up super fast. 

Today, it’s all about “How low can you go” and “baby let me sex you up.” Kids are having sex as early as 10 and 11, with teen pregnancies intensely increasingly. The theory of childhood is being wiped out.

Kids these days are not only watching these age inappropriate shows but are actually acting in them. More children are referring to things that their parents don’t even know about. They call it ‘modern teenage lingo’ and most of it is purely slang and has no actual meaning. 

It starts in our verbiage and moves into our physical acts. More and more kids are starting to not find significance or meaning to sex, love, drinking, smoking or other negative and dangerous acts.

As technology keeps arising, so does the exposure. More adolescents are finding ways to cheat and become more educated on things they should not know of for many more years. 

I’ve seen children literally disrespect their own parents and degrade them and most of the parents just take it. It’s not only about the excessive exposure these kids are beginning to be exposed to, but about how their parents are reacting to their poor behavior and punishing them for it and taking the exposure away. It’s time to act before it is too late.

xoxo,

Lex 

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What Happens When we Perceive Materialism to Cure Happiness

We live in a society that advertises materialism and so we bolster this distinct affliction by implanting and molding bad habits into our children. We teach to the meaning of eternal happiness to children by cultivating prosperity in a means of how many things we own or have. A materialistic theory. Naturally, kids want a lot of unnecessary objects and things and we teach them that this is okay but that you can’t always get what you want.

There is a difference between a want and a need. Unfortunately, most parents do not teach this theory and allow their kids to receive whatever they want and begin molding into their heads that these materialistic wants are something they need to attain happiness when it is the exact opposite. 

Happiness comes from accepting the truth, living life to the fullest with people you love and finding a balance between all the sanity. This is the creed of happiness, this is the creed we need to be teaching our children.

The concept of “earning” what you get or the idea that something “you don’t need” seem to have been lost and abandoned. According to statistics, the average adult is 15,000 dollars in debt. 

We have a mentality of getting what we want and when we want it that has been implanted in us since childhood and now we are facing the consequences as we get older and older. The more you grow up the more you want to spend and the more debt you will run into because you firmly believe this will bring you happiness.

Materials bring temporary contentment and then it eventually fades whether we like it or not. We like something one day, but the next we are searching for something greater. This way of life does not teach us to be happy but lets us practice feeding into dissatisfaction. 

We begin with being discontent with materials and eventually it moves into our emotional lives. Relationships aren’t good enough to satisfy us in a superficial way and we begin degrading as a human causing more stress and anxiety internally.

The secret to happiness is not materials, but finding the beauty in the little things in life that do not cost a dime. It’s time we start teaching that, or youth as we know it, will disintegrate.

xoxo,

Lex

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The Spirit of Suwannee Hulaween Music Festival: A Magical Experience You’ll Never Forget

Last Friday, October 25th, the forests of Live Oak were brimming with enchanted humans dressed as angelic and mythical creatures. People from all over the United States have traveled to this remote location for an unforgettable commemoration of free love and acceptance.

This annual music and camping festival carried over Halloween weekend was held at the Spirit of Suwannee Hulaween Music Park in Live Oak, Florida. The festival, hosted by The String Cheese Incident and produced by Silver Wrapper and Purple Hat Productions, was held outdoors on five stages and allowed the attendees to camp onsite for the weekend. 

The Main Stage is where The String Cheese Incident plays three sets each evening and is then followed by other headlining bands. The Amphitheater has a stage to accommodate additional headliners. The Patch is an additional stage of the size of the Amphitheater. Spirit Lake is home to the art installation and a silent disco. The Campground Stage accommodates local, less well-known brands. Each year approximately 100 artists perform.

The festival will take place the weekend before Halloween, and this year's theme will be the 1990’s. The very dedicated “HulaFam” has a rather large online presence and has shown excitement towards this year's theme and the costumes that will result from it.

Spirit Lake is home to the mesmerizing art installation and a silent disco. It is a place where interactive and expertly curated art meets music experience at the heart of Suwannee Hulaween.

This is the spider art installation made out of pure wood. Within the back end of the spider, there is an opening where about 10-15 people can enter and sit in with purple haze lighting and a nice breeze.   

The magic forest bed for fairies was made as a place of rest when one is feeling exhausted or run-down. It is extremely dreamy, comfortable, and gentle. 

Here is another perspective of the fairy bed from a view through the hanging flower. Since there was so much detail put into this installation, every perspective was majestic.

This is the casino where anyone in the festival can exchange their belongings for a new belonging. It's more about having fun in the spirit of gambling than actually betting real money.  

These are the ogre installations made out of grass, moss, and earth ingredients as another entrance to the amazing Spirit Lake.  

This wonderful man-resembling creature is made out of various metals and woods. There was no description explained for this particular installation at the festival, therefore the message was self-explanatory and personal. 

This HULAween sign is the biggest and most popular installation of the whole festival because it ties in the organization that hosted the event, The String Cheese Incident.