#yappasaurthinks

[yappasaur]

Growing up in a judgemental world

Growing up in the early 2000s and 2010s, I was surrounded by an ever-changing world of tolerance. Gay marriage wasn’t legalized until I was 10. Religious judgement was at an all-time high after the attacks on 9/11. Body image, clothing modesty, and body positivity were ever-evolving in a world where technology and social media kept everyone on their toes. Even in a time proclaimed by many to be tolerant and free, judgement and restrictions continue to rise. The 2000s were spent shaming a woman for being anything more than stick-thin, and now those sentiments hide under layers of protests that plus-size fashion is so much more expensive to make and arguments about the healthiness of being overweight. Fat isn’t a dirty word, but plus-size celebrities are constantly put down for not being thin, rather than judged for their talent. When someone wants to argue that someone is a bad person, negative physical characteristics are a go-to, rather than the person’s actions. Dress code fights flooding the news in the 2010s, body positivity warring for the spotlight with fad diets and the latest weight loss drug. Men who took care of themselves were labeled as “metrosexual”, men who didn’t give girls the “ick”. If women follow social fashion trends they’re shallow, basic, and materialistic, but if you don’t you’re a pick-me who’s just trying to stand out and get attention. Alternative dress is demonic, just a phase, or labels someone a suicide risk. People who wear old and secondhand clothes are poor and dirty, but thrifting is chic and a great side hustle! Sell your old clothes on the latest marketplace app for far more than it’s worth! Wearing your clothes until they’re tattered is sustainable and good for the environment, you’re fighting against fast fashion! But your clothes are old and out of trend? How cringe… Fast fashion is cheap and good for if you’re on a budget, but if you buy it you support child labor and the destruction of the environment. Buy from big-label, more expensive brands who hide their exploitation of poor countries a little better.

[yappasaur]

Birthdays

Birthdays are different for everyone. Lots of people are very happy, basking in the shower of attention. Others see it as a sad marker of time passed unwisely. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to look at your birthday. Even if it is sad, it’s a good time to stop and reflect on your life, and check in with yourself. What are you doing? How has your life changed over the past year? How do you plan on continuing or reversing that change? Are you on the path you want to be? If not, is there a way to switch tracks? Maybe your life didn’t change much. Maybe you’re content with that. Maybe you aren’t. Ups and downs are inevitable over the course of a year. That’s life. But, if you spend your life worrying about your failures, it’s hard to see the good. There can be bad in the good and good in the bad. You’ve got to find a balance. Being able to see the whole picture puts things into perspective. Are you blowing a little flaw in your life into a big problem? We always do at some point. It’s helpful for me to get a second opinion. Even just voicing my concerns out loud, putting them into written or spoken words, helps me see the true scale of the issue. When you get too far into your own head, you don’t think rationally. You spiral. You panic. Externalizing that emotion helps you cope. It feels like you’re not in it alone. It’s not solely your issue to bear. We hear a lot, often told to mothers, that it “takes a village”. I don’t think that village should disappear the moment the clock strikes midnight on your 18th birthday. Having a good support system is crucial for quality of life. A friend to lean on, someone who will lend a truck when you’re moving or a couch to crash on for the night, is so much more important than a fancy friendship you slap a filter on to impress Instagram followers. If it’s not benefiting you, it’s not worth the energy it’s draining from you.

[yappasaur]

Hello! My name is Alex. This is the blog where I'll put my writing! Many of my pieces are train of thought type pieces, my opinions on things. Occasionally I might post experts of fiction writing. Whatever I feel like at the moment!

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#yappasaurthinks- My opinion writing/observations

#yappasaurwrites- Excerpts of fiction writing