What is edgy these days?

I've been thinking lately how much I miss my old hair. I got it done when I studied abroad in Paris back in 2010, before all the 'edgy', 'cool', and, dare-I-say 'hipster' kids got their hair cut similarly. And I felt like it was the best fit for me. It spoke to so much of who I was back then. However, looking at how my style has changed since, my views on what's truly unique--what's really iconic of one's personal style--have changed as well. 

What do y'all think? What's considered "edgy" these days? Why do trends start? What does it mean to own a style now a days? Yet alone, a personal one at that...

Best,
Gent

The Walking Dead

The middle of midterms probably isn't the best time to get hooked on a new show, yet alone fall in love, but it seems I have done both. 'Oyyy vey'. If you have not seen The Walking Dead, go watch it now. It's okay--don't feel too dumb. I didn't know about it either like a week ago, but now I can't imagine my life without it. (kidding). But without Glenn? (definitely not kidding there). It's this post-apoptalycic show about blood-thirsty zombies and these awesome people who stay alive as some of the very few people left 'alive' on Earth. Glenn, pictured above (three times actually hehe), is obviously my favorite. He's the coolest, cutest, and most badass asian evarrrrr. Just go watch it, like it, and agree with me.

Best,
Gent

A Valentine's Day poem for you

In celebration of Valentine's Day (aka Single-Awareness-Day), I thought I'd share with you all one of my all-time favorite poems from E. E. Cummings, "if everything happens that can't be done" (1944). I love how he breaks the rules of grammar, punctuation, and meter, all while talking about the common rules of love, youth, and how we all fit into the two.

Whether you have someone special to share the holiday with, or if you're like me and will be kickin' it with old friends and stuffing yourself with pizza and sappy chick-flicks, I think this poem is a nice reminder that love means different things for all of us, comes at different times, and different forms. My favorite line is the end, when "one times one" can be interpreted in so many ways for each of us.

I hope you all can take a moment out of your fun-filled holiday and see how my Valentine's Day gift to you fits into your own idea of love. Enjoy!

Best,
Gent

"if everything happens that can't be done

(and anything's righter

than books

could plan)

the stupidest teacher will almost guess

(with a run

skip

around we go yes)

there's nothing as something as one

one hasn't a why or because or although

(and buds know better

than books

don't grow)

one's anything old being everything new

(with a what

which

around we come who)

one's everyanything so

so world is a leaf so a tree is a bough

(and birds sing sweeter

than books

tell how)

so here is away and so your is a my

(with a down

up

around again fly)

forever was never till now

now i love you and you love me

(and books are shuter

than books

can be)

and deep in the high that does nothing but fall

(with a shout

each

around we go all)

there's somebody calling who's we

we're anything brighter than even the sun

(we're everything greater

than books

might mean)

we're everyanything more than believe

(with a spin

leap

alive we're alive)

we're wonderful one times one"

Thoughts: Valentine's Day

I've never had particularly strong feelings towards the fourteenth of February: I don't think it's just a day blown up by card companies to increase business, nor do I think the life of relationships should depend on it. However, years of my mom decorating my room and laying out little gifts and cards has lead to my mostly pleasant disposition towards the holiday. Today I Skyped my old friends and my grandma made cookies and overall I feel pretty happy with the universe. Tomorrow I will call my Mom, pamper myself with OPI's A Oui Bit of Red and Excuse-Moi, and watch some corner of Netflix that I haven't discovered yet. I hope everyone has a lovely Valentine's Day and remember that you are loved!  

x,

Gentre

Notes from my notebook

I started a notebook last year back in September, which I titled The Unwritten Scribbles & Scraps. In it, I jot down random quotes, doodles, ideas, favorite things, or favorite moments that happen. I try to fill it in frequently, though since I've started, I've only gotten through a few pages. It's fun though to look back and see what speaks to me.

My professor from last year said everyone should carry around a little notebook where they write down things. He said it'd help you pay more attention to your surroundings and be fully attentive to all you do. And I agree! Y'all should try one out.

Best,
Gent

Thoughts on School

Being back at university for my last semester has been interesting. While it's strange to know I'm only here for a few months more, I don't think I could have planned a better semester of classes. I have the most wonderful professors, one of whom I'm taking again because he is my favorite, and I'm one of 8 students in the class. We sit in an incredibly small room and just talk about literature. (how freakin' cool is that?!). And, while I may not have a ton, I'm definitely surrounded by wonderful, close friends these days whom have stuck with me from the beginning. 

So while it's pretty nostalgic to think this is my last semester, I can't wait to see what the rest of it has in store for me. (and obviously I'm excited for graduation!).

Best,
Gent

Thoughts on Zadie Smith's White Teeth

As I mentioned in a previous Favorite Things post, Zadie Smith's White Teeth (2000) has recently become one of my favorites. Known as the debut novel Smith seemingly sprung up during her time at Cambridge University, White Teeth has raised much controversy by many who claim Smith reaches too far for a first-time novelist.

The story is about the friendship of two middle-aged men: Archiebald (Archie) Jones and Samad Iqbal. Archie is a dull Englishman who is introduced at the start of the novel as he unsuccessfully attempts suicide. Samad, Archie's best friend, is another failure: a devoted Muslim who craves power and fortune, yet has waited tables for the past 20 years. The story unfolds to show how Archie's and Samad's London-born children assimilate to their surroundings, together and apart, in ways their immigrant parents never could (though equally as awkward).

While she confronts the hard issues of urban living within an overcrowded London, nevertheless, Smith bravely attempts to mix together a new scene of London-life. She pays less attention to the individual Londoner and carefully focuses on relationships as a whole. And these quirky relationships across cultural divides make the outwardly flat characters stick with us long after the story is over.

Overreaching or not, by taking us into the overlooked corners of contemporary fiction and confronting such challenging themes, it's easy to see how Smith has made such a notable name for herself at just 24-years-old, while proving to be anything but a stereotypical, first-time novelist. Check it out and see for yourself!

Best,
Gent

Thoughts: A Place to Call Home

It's strange having two homes. In a way, it's a lot like not having one at all. I don't exactly belong to just one place anymore. A huge (and insane) part of my life now belongs to the foggy Bay up north, while a much greater part of me will always belong to the warm and sunny L.A. area. And nothing reminds me more of this than when I go back to visit my hometown. My roots. My comfort zone. What will always be my true home even with the years to come.

As I'm now on winter break, five hours away from the chaos of school, I can't explain how nice it has been to be home for the holidays. After finishing up what has without a doubt been my most stressful semester yet, the fact that I'll be home with my family for another month leaves me at such comfort and ease. And no matter how long it takes me to come back, or how far away I end up, I know I'll always have a place back here to call home.

I hope you all have a special and cozy place to call home this winter season. Take care and stay warm!

Best,
Gent

Thoughts: On Hair

Hair is a weird, weird thing. Really, it's just a mass of dead cells. As a girl who once had a lot of hair, however, I can say that it is easy to get attached to those dead cells. Now, when I say I had a lot of hair, I mean I had a LOT of hair: it was super long and super thick (whenever I dyed it the colorist charged me double). That scene from The Princess Diaries, when Paolo says, "Your hair...ees like a wolf" was the story of my life. In high school, my friends would stick things in my hair when I wasn't paying attention, so that all day long pencils and erasers would be constantly falling out of that beastly mass hanging from my head. But my hair was part of my identity. I didn't realize that until my sophomore year of college, when I donated eleven-ish inches of hair to Locks for Love. I went to a shindig for the Arts Department that night and I felt like a man. I couldn't find a balance: my masculine clothes made me feel boyish, and my feminine clothes made me feel too precious. Now, nine months and four-and-a-half inches after The Haircut, I've learned some interesting things. When my hair was long, I never brushed it and people would always ask me how I did my hair. When it was short and I didn't brush it, people would ask me if I was late that morning. Long hair can be braided easily or put up in a ponytail no problem. Short hair...can't. Long hair takes a year and a half to dry. Short hair dries with a gentle breeze. Long hair will make your neck ache. Short hair will not be a place for pencils and stray birds to nest. There are pros and cons to both. Ultimately I've decided that I'm just more of a beastly kind of girl, but I enjoyed my time on the shorter end of things. 

x,
Gentre