Reality TV in my opinion is probably one of the most fascinating phenomenons I've come across. If I had to write a thesis or some academic article, it would be on the sheer disjointed and ironic relationship between "reality" TV and reality. Before you roll your eyes and regard me as just another person complaining about silly things, you should probably know that I brothers and sisters, am one of those people who gets sucked into the most brain numbing, I.Q decreasing reality T.V shows. It's a problem. Seriously, help me.
What is most fascinating to me is how reality TV shows is how we all know that they are the farthest things from reality yet we are still compelled to find out what happens next week, "Did L.C and Audrinna make peace?" "will Snooki ever stop drinking pickle juice?". I feel like we convinces that somewhere in this world these kind of things actually happen and people live day in and day our with constant coincidental run ins and bitch fights.
It's weird to think that there are people who actually get paid to sit down and brainstorm some of these gems that grace our T.V sets. Honestly I salute these fine men and women for finding probably one of the simplest creative gigs around.
Lets take a look at some of the various genres of reality show one might unfortunately stumble across while desperately trying to find something to watch while eating dinner.
From Shore To Dirty Shore
There are lot of things to be ashamed of in life, mine would be my choices in reality TV shows:/ I will admit that I have watched all of the above shows but only for empirical research! These are the drunken, puking, I hope my son or daughter never ends up like this" group of shows that bring nothing to your life except a sense of loathing due to the fact that you desperately need to know who passed out on the street in next weeks episode. There really isn't any substance to these shows and purely work on trying to get the most disturbing people to do some of the most unnatural party acts. Yet week after week, season after season people are drawn in.
Rich Kids Have "problems" Too.
I'm not as connected to these as my Geordie and Jersey Shores but they still pack a punch. These tend to follow around a bunch of rich people and show us peasants the day to day struggle one might go through when rich. Again, no real substance yet people feel the need to know or somehow feel what it's like to live the life of the rich and famous. We all want look through magazines and think "what do these beautiful people do when they aren't on the red carpets". I guess it's an easier version of bird watching, if birds couldn't decide between the Prada and the Vuitton bags and hated the way Gemma totally stole her stylist.
And Then There Was MTV...
If there has ever been a bigger breakdown in the pure fundamental purpose of a channel other than MTV please let me know, I would love to shake my head in disapproval. For those of you who are either too young or too dumb to have realised, MTV was actual once a musical channel. Actual day and night music channel. It's hard to juxtapose the two MTVs and say they are actually the same channel. MTV used to have the Real World and a few other funny reality shows which fed into the youthfulness of the channel, but were always 2nd and 3rd to the music. Now the money making aspirations connected to reality TV have clouded the purpose of one of the most world renowned channels and made into a tasteless factory churning out the most absurd backwards thinking shows.
Why? Why do we continue to watch all of this? why do we spend so much of our lives trying to convince our brains that what we are killing it with is valuable to our development and to the development of humans in general? Are we not just breeding a society of degenerates and low aspiring humans who's only dreams are to make it onto one of these shows doing the dumbest things humanly possible just to make a quick buck and get famous? We are a complicated species and in all honestly I commend reality T.V for testing our human nature. Hi-5.
If anyone has any answers to the above, you'll find me on the couch with my popcorn watching Charlotte and Gaz fight more on Geordie Shore.
Don't Judge me.
OK maybe a little.
xx
If I told a friend I was writing a post about fashion, they would probably look at me in a quizzical nature. Yes dears, I am not the most stylish mannequin in the shop, but I do enjoy fashion. There is a difference, I promise.I enjoy the seeing trends change from one season to the next, the brands, the speculations, fashion week and boy do I love the awards season. You will most definitely find me jumping from site to site shouting "what the hell is THAT?" The one thing that always has me curious is who is the all seeing all knowing fashion God who looks into their crystal ball and sees the next up and coming fashion trend? Do they have a secret cave from which they work out of and then proceed to send fashionable carrier pigeons to Milan, France and London to break the news on what's hot?
Sorry I digressed for a moment. What this post is really about is personal, comfortable style. My favourite people aren't the ones who are completely styled from head to toe pulling out Vogue Italia's top 5 fashion Do's of the day. My favourite people are those who can take the most simple item and just make it their own. Show me your ways oh naturally awesome ones!
So before I bore you with my idea of awesome, let me show you some looks and specific items that I feel are quintessential to making simple, awesome or just are really amazing.
Boyfriend jeans
And on the 8th day, God created boyfriend jeans so that all shapes and sizes could look effortlessly extraordinary while being extremely comfortable, a combination not normally affiliated with jeans. I really love these jeans because there are so many ways you can wear them: Casual laid back. Pair them with a pair of heels and a blazer and they are more classy/formal for a work or dinner situation. I would recommend that everyone have a pair somewhere in their wardrobe.
Maxi dresses/skirts
These ladies happiness due to the sheer ease in which they can move as well as how relaxed Maxis make one feel is almost palpable. Again, Maxi dresses and skirts can be worn in so many ways. They never go out of fashion, which saves you the stress of keeping up to date with fashion God in his cave. Again they are also good for all shapes and sizes and even though they are so long they are fairly "ventilated".
Rings and Things
"MY PRECIOUS!", That is my general relationship with accessories. You can never have too many accessories in your cupboard. Or at least that's what I try to convince myself every time I come home with another obscure piece of jewelry that I had convinced myself I NEEDED. I think a really playful ring or bracelet can make any simple outfit seem so much more lively I quite enjoy when people can wear a lot of rings or bracelets but not have them overpower their outfit or loo like they couldn't make a decision on just one. For this I say "well done, you win fashion for me".
So as you can see I am very into flowey attire, I think Cape Town may or may not have had an influence on this. There are so many people around this city and even campus that just have the right idea. I hope this inspires you to have a think about your personal style or what specific items you enjoy.
Happy Friday grasshoppers
xx
If you've ever sat in a 2nd or 3rd year history course with "Africa" in the title - better yet any humanities course with "Africa" in the title- you might have thought that you had stepped into a portal and been transported to some American college because somehow you are now the minority in the class. Do not fret dear confused soul, you have just encountered the study abroad students. It's perfectly safe :)
So somehow through a series of random events I stumbled into this study abroad world- no not as a booty popper at one of the many parties- and have had the opportunity to see more of the day to day and admin lives of these study abroad students. In plain English, I'm an associate. My job is in a nutshell, is to make sure the students don't drunkenly end up in a foreign(er) country or die. Although it sometimes feels like I'm running after children high on too many Fizzers, it really has been one of the most eye opening and rewarding experiences of my short 22 years. So without further ado let me run you through some of the things I've learnt while on the job (in no particular order).
1) Culture Shock Is Real Yo.
You'd think it would be pretty smooth sailing having a semester away from home: exchange rate is heavily in your favour, new places to explore and not as heavy as school workload. But alas, what I've learnt is that our countries diversity and difference to the States can break even the strongest people. When people step out of their "developed" bubble and come into contact with poverty on their doorstep and cultures that are vastly different from their own, they realise the world is bigger and more intricate than what they originally thought it was. Now don't get me wrong, not everyone come here with their rose coloured glasses glued to their faces and do have insight to our country and our history. Though I think interacting with it is very different to reading about it on the internet. It becomes a case of "how do you deal with it?". Do you complain insistently to your mom back home or embrace it for the beautiful difference it is?
2) Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!
As I previously mentioned exchange kids can be like lil' kids high of Fizzers, that's how much damn energy they have sometimes! Always in pursuit of some extreme South African adventure. "you want to clime 6 mountains?" No. "you want to go surfing 5 times a day No. " do you want to"...NO, I want to sit here and watch 6 episodes of Game Of Thrones thank you :) But in retrospect, I guess they are only here for a limited amount of time so power to them! I guess it's a good thing to try get us local out of our comfortable rut. We tend to use the excuse that all these adventures are "in our back yard" so we tend to have this idea that we'll get to it one day. Most of us never do. So in retrospect I say "motivate us lazy buggers! We are tacking our beauty for granted!"
Secondly and most important: the liver is a resilient organ....that is all....
3) Friendships of a life time <3
Out of everything that happens and the mini heart-attacks I may experience now and again the one thing that I take out of this job and these interactions are the life long friends I've made.
When people come from all walks of life, something beautiful happens. It becomes a unifying fact that we are all here now, together, and we all have the same thing in mind: happiness. Without a doubt some of my best friends that I till hold dear to this day have been from one or more of the study abroad semesters. It's a wonderful thing knowing that there are people around the world that are like you and think like you. Also doesn't hurt to have so many places to crash if I ever decide to travel :) People are more diverse and interact than we know. The work comes in when we decide to give people a chance.
So to round of this "love-fest", If you ever encounter any of these strange foreign creatures, befriend them , because if anything else, they'll provide you with a good laugh. And to all the wonderful pets I have met over the past few years thank you for making my university time so colourful:)
xx
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