The Cosmo Girl in me

So since I'm a magazine junkie, and always have been, I thought I'd make a list of some of my favorites.

1. Cosmopolitan: For those of you who choose not to live by the Christian Bible, Cosmo is a good substitue. Just kidding. But I love Cosmo very much. Cosmopolitan covers topics such as relationships, beauty, sex, health, fashion and everything else a girl needs to know. Well, not everything, but I still love it to death. The only issue of Cosmo that has ever disturbed me in the years I've been reading it was one that featured an issue about how to score a husband. I thought it was a little sad how it acted like women have to scheme to prove their worth to find a husband. This magazine can also have some repetitive articles, but I still find them interesting when I read them, and they usually have a new twist. Cosmo is great for when you're feeling girly and don't want to think too deeply, although some of the articles actually do have some depth to them. And I'm not a big fan of the teenage version of Cosmo, Cosmogirl!

2. Jane: Jane may just be my new favorite magazine. It has all the good stuff Cosmo has, but it's edgier and the writing is awesome. Jane is very in your face and the writing doesn't hold back. It tells it like it is without trying to be politically correct. I've seen articles about how to make fast money that include really risque stuff such as sending pictures to porn fetish sites. Some people may see this magazine as offensive and sleazy, but I absolutely love the fact that it's so uncensored. It's like Cosmo with a punch, and it's much more realistic.

3. Glamour: Glamour really is a lot like Cosmo. It covers a lot of the same stuff, with a slightly higher focus on fashion. There is usually a little more politics in Glamour, but don't kid yourself that you're reading news when you're reading Glamour. It's Basically Cosmo.

Okay, so I read chick magazines. So sue me. Sometimes I need a break from the real world so I can read about sex, fashion and glamour. These three magazines are all very similar, but if I had to recomend one, it would be Jane. Unless you're easily offended. It's cheap too, which is nice :-)

Plastic vaginas

I was surprised, but not really, when I read that there has been in increase in cosmetic surfery for vaginas. First of all I was shocked to think that a woman would be so unhappy with the appearance of such an important and beautiful part of her body that she would do something as risky as go under the knife to change it. Apparently the risk of infection, loss of sexual sensation, and other possible complications associated with surgery are not enough to deterr a woman intent on changing this part of her body.

Again though, I was not all that surprised when I really thought about it. Women have been getting breast implants for years and risking the same consequences as the vaginal cosmetic surgery. Liposuction, rhinoplasty, collagen injections and all sorts of other cosmetic surgeries place women (and sometimes men) at risk.

I guess the reason that the vaginal cosmetic surgery upset me so much is because it is such a personal part of a woman's body. In most cases, the only person who sees a woman's vagina is herself and her sexual partners. I just think that if a person is going to have sex with someone, ideally, he or she should be able to not worry about appearances of sex organs. They're all beautiful!

But of course, there are going to be people who don't agree with me. Women have been told that their vaginas are ugly since they were children. We just hope the girls figure out on their own that they aren't ugly by the time they reach adulthood. Maybe if society would stop suppressing sexuality so much, people would stop unhealthily obsessing obout things liek appearance of the vagina.

I understand that the surgery for vaginas has its roots in the same reasoning behind breast implants. I'm sure the confidence argument will make its way out soon. Eventually I'll probably be forced to be okay with this increasing surgery, but at the moment it really bothers me that young girls who hear about it may be in their rooms with hand mirrors seeing if their vaginas fit the beautiful image. Long ago, breasts weren't seen as sexual and having to look a certain way either. I guess it's only going to get worse for our daughters and granddaughters.

The people who are closest to me will probably call me a hypocrite for saying this, but I will anyway: Girls, your bodies are beautiful whether they fit the standards of ideal beauty or not. Don't let anyone tell you it isn't.

The risks of surgery aren't worth it!

Why are some words bad?

I don't really understand why some words in our language are considered off-limits. Curse words, swear words and vulgarity is frowned upon in most situations. Students are given detention for saying certain words in class that are considered indecent, it is inappropriate to swear in front of authority figures and young children and there are so many other situations where swearing is not acceptable.

People argue that refraining from using certain words is a form of respect. I think that is such a stupid argument.

How is holding back and not speaking like yourself respecting someone? When I'm 80 years old I hope that my grandchildren feel comfortable enough with me that they can say naughty words in front of me.

And by the way, how did these words become bad? I don't really get that either. Swear words are usually one of two things. Sometimes they are substitutes for clean words that mean the same thing. For some reason though, the swear word is considered vulgar. Some swear words are used to express annoyance or another strong emotion. I can think of times when I've been upset and swear words come out. I don't really understand why using a word to express my anger or frustration is seen as bad. Would people rather that I go beat someone up or destroy something?

Speaking English can be confusing enough. I say we quit censoring ourselves when it comes to swearing. It's tiring.

Maybe some teen drama is necessary to grow up

I've been thinking a lot about relationhips lately. Teenage relationships in particular. I've been through my fair share of ups and downs when it comes to boys, and I have seen many friends go through the same experiences as well. I've also heard many adults, and even some teens, speak about how silly all of it is as teenagers. "It's such a waste of time. Teenage dating doesn't even count. They're not old enough to understand," say so many people.

This is rubbish. People at any age who are parts of relationships realize that they can be the most rewarding and the most painful experiences a human can go through. I'm sick of people not giving teens respect for relationship issues because it's dismissed a "puppy love" or "lust."

Lately I've been noticing many of my friends going through problems with boyfriends or girlfriends. It kills me that I can't help them through, and I know exactly how terribly they feel in so many situations. When parents dismis it as silly drama, the loyl friend in me wants to punch out the adults for being insensitive. This probably makes me sound young and immature, but maybe that's part of it all.

Of course high school and college dating is going to have some bumps (just the same as adult relationships). But I think we need to go through these bumps while we're young and open-minded, and can learn from them. Most people are going to experience a broken heart at some point in their lives. Experiencing it when they are young is not a bad thing.

Boys are stupid. Girls are stupid. Men and women are stupid too. Nobody can fully unserstand love or how it affects people and relationships. So why give kids a hard time about trying to get a head start in figuring it out.

I'll admit to disliking the nausiating declarations of love after 10 minutes of dating someone, but don't judge all of us teens by that.

And to my friends who are dealing with heartache and confusion right now: I love you, and you will get through. It's going to suck for a while, but we'll figure it out some day. or at least get as close as we're meant to get in figuring it all out.

All you need is love.

It's May of senior year, and the college decision has been made. Besides the constant battling of senioritis (with the senioritis often winning), the stress should be lifted until college starts in the fall.

So what do teens find to stress about during this time? Prom! I think it's good, fun stress, but many pople take it to the extreme. Just about daily I hear about a big crisis because someone's hair appointment isn't at the optimal time, or her nail appointment isn't at the best salon, or her dress alterations make her look fat. I will definitely admit to some time spent obsessing over prom, but not to the same extent as some of these girls.

Each year I pick and choose the expensive little extravagances I want to indulge in that year. So many girls go broke (or make daddy go broke) trying to get every little thing to be perfect. Last year I spent $18 on my dress, so I splurged on getting my nails/hair done, and nice shoes and jewelry. This year I spent a little more on the dress (under $200 which is considered cheap these days) so I'll be doing my own nails and wearing last year' shoes and bag.

Politics are weird

Politics are always strange. Here is a selection of recent videos just for fun.

Okay, this one is for Maddie. It's a little long, but it's amusing. Especially if you like to see how stupid religious, conservatives can make themselves sound.



This whole video is funny. Karl Rove raps and dances. If you're pressed for time start the video at 1 minute 30 seconds to see the action.



This one is just too good not to include. Fergie ain't got nothin' on Condi.



This would not be complete without some stupid Bush momeents.

Give teenagers some more credit

Smoking cigarettes in movies causes much outrage among people. Parents are upset because they believe that teens watching movies will be tempted to mimic the stars, and develop the unhealthy habit. As a teen, I must say that this worry is unfounded.

First of all, my generation has had the benefit of knowledge and education about the subject of smoking. Students learn about the harmful effects of tobacco use as early as elementary school. Seeing a character in a movie smoke will not counteract the knowledge of how bad it is to smoke.

Many factors contribute to a teen’s decision of whether or not to smoke. Some include parental example and opinion, peer pressure, facts about the effects of smoking, tobacco advertisements, and the laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to teens. In my opinion, all of these factors weigh more heavily than following the example of a smoking movie star. As a teenager I am insulted that people believe I will be influenced so easily.

Statistics seem to support my view that smoking in Hollywood has little impact on teens. Since 1982, the occurrence of smoking in movies has doubled, but statistics show that the smoking rates of teens have decreased by 40% since 1997 (Source: American Lung Association). Following the example of fictional characters in movies doesn’t seem to be happening.

The focus of this issue has been how smoking in movies affects teenagers; but what about how it relates to movie makers? Hollywood gets made out to be the evil force in this issue. This simply does not make sense! Completely eliminating smoking from movies would make the films an unrealistic portrayal of actual society. In real life, people do smoke. Pretending that the problem doesn’t exist will not help. Sometimes smoking really does add to characterization, plot or setting. Imagine watching a movie set in 1950 without any reference to smoking. It would be unrealistic. It’s not fair to take away the freedom of expression of movie makers on the premise that taking smoking out of movies might keep teens from smoking. There are more relevant issues to attack to keep new smokers from emerging.

There is no doubt that tobacco related diseases are a huge problem in this country. It is important to keep young people away from smoking and the problems it brings. People must focus on more effective ways of keeping kids educated and away from tobacco than removing it completely from films. Perhaps a preview in movie theaters about the harmful effects of smoking would be helpful. The key idea is that knowledge about the harmful effects be available to kids, not that smoking is unrealistically removed from the media.