I have tagged Abby, Shane, Laia, and Kaitlen. Woo!

After this morning’s blog drama (which I have already replied to in comments and in email to the person it concerns) I wasn’t having a very good start to my day. Then Colton, who for all intents and purposes is my husband (Siri even recognizes him as such), drafted a response of his own to the drama which he’ll post as soon as he gets off work and which legitimately made me tear up. And after that, Quinn (who shall henceforth be known as the best boyfriend in the world) brought me Reeses and an Apple Blueberry fruit leather bar (one of my favorite flavors from my favorite brand) at work and gave me a big hug. He also wanted to bring my a Brambleberry Tazo iced tea (my absolute favorite drink in the world) but they were out at the bistro. He knows me so well it’s scary. And THEN I noticed that the girl I met at NULC (an experience which I will blog about next week) (also, hi Kaitlen!) not only commented on my guestbook, but also subscribed to both my personal and collab channels on YouTube AND liked my website on Facebook. So, a less-than-fun morning turned into a pretty great afternoon. And with that, I’ll leave you with a quote that I think sums up just about everything that has happened in the past three hours:

“A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.” -Elbert Hubbard

I forgot to say this while filming so I’m adding it here. Surprisingly, I don’t think Anita goes far enough in this video. Specifically, I don’t think straw feminists are bad ONLY because they perpetuate the idea that we don’t need feminism anymore. I think they’re bad too because they separate “feminism” from “strong, capable, yet not man-hating” women. STOP SEPARATING FEMINISM AND WOMEN WHO BELIEVE IN EQUAL RIGHTS BUT STILL HAVE DUDE FRIENDS- THEY ARE THE SAME THING. LET’S MOVE ON.

LINKS:

TROPES vs WOMEN: The Straw Feminist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnJxqR…
My Feminism Has DDs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZgGn_…
Colton and Bri Discuss The Bechdel Test: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOzwE…

For my travel writing in Spain class this week, we had to read an essay by Richard Wright on a topic of great controversy: bullfighting. During class we critically analyzed the cultural and artistic relevance of bullfighting to Spain and whether or not we believed it should be allowed. In today’s blog I’d like to share with you the response I wrote for class, with a few thoughts after the discussion tacked on at the end. By the end, I hope you’ll understand my points, but I’m curious: what do you think? I have a friend from Spain (hi Laia!) and a variety of people who I know read this blog from both the meat-eating and vegetarian camps, and I’m eager to hear your thoughts. Continue reading “On Bullfighting” →

Music: Cake Boy by Hoodie Allen

Ellen visited this weekend! It’s the first time we’ve seen her since she left in early November, so that was fun, considering we were used to seeing her every day. It was great having her here, from Thursday night until Sunday morning, because everything felt normal again. Ellen being here means I have someone to do things with instead of sitting alone in the dorm watching Netflix and doing homework for hours and hours on end and forgetting to eat. Yes, having a boyfriend has helped with that, but I think in life you need to strike a balance between boyfriend, best friends, and self. And right now it’s really just boyfriend and self for me, which all things considered isn’t super healthy. I’ve got Colton, but he’s rarely home, let alone at a reasonable time of day, because of work and classes and his boyfriend. And I’ve also got Rachel, who doesn’t even live in this state and thus cannot hang out with me. Which sucks. Continue reading “Spring Break and Balances” →

Caution: We get a little amped up and swearing occurs. Not too bad, but still.

😀

I’m leaving for Belgium on Friday afternoon. The first week of April, I am attending (and presenting at) a national writing conference in Utah. At the end of May, Spain will welcome me into its borders for ten days, and on my way home a 23 hour layover in Frankfurt will make Germany the 7th European country I’ve visited, in just the last three years. What is my life. Continue reading “My Brain is in Belgium, My Heart is in Spain” →