Although I've been to plenty of concert's in my life, I have never gone to a music festival. When I went to shows, it was to see some of my favorite bands like Panic! at the Disco, Black Veil Brides, Alesana, Dance Gavin Dance, and Jonny Craig. I didn't go because it was trendy, I went to enjoy the music. Therefore, music festivals were never something that I had wanted to go to before because it seemed like a lot of people were doing it for the hype. But yesterday, I had the privilege of going to my first music festival, Vans Warped Tour in Pomona. It was honestly one of the greatest things I've been to and an amazing experience.

Taking New Zealand Literature this quarter, I was very hesitant in whether I would like the class or not. Having actually lived in New Zealand for half a year, I didn't see how I could learn or see more about the country I love the most. My study abroad experience was truly amazing and I loved everything about it. Being in a class room learning about New Zealand didn't seem like something I would like since I  got to experience what that beautiful country had to offer. In the beginning I wasn't taking the class seriously because I felt I already knew everything since I had taken a class at VUW on The Treaty of Waitangi. I learned so much about New Zealand history, Maori and Pakeha relations, and violations to the Treaty. By the end of this class, I had this new passion for Maori Pakeha relations and writing about violations to the Treaty in regards to confiscating Maori land. But one thing that this class, that I did not like, has done for me is it reminded me of this passion of mine that I stopped thinking about when I returned to California.

I again want to apologize for my absence. Like I've said in my pervious post, I didn't want to write on here to fulfill a quota I set up for myself. I want my writing on here to mean something. I want to be proud of what I've written instead of just writing in order to have my name on something.

Something strange that I actually care about is The Vampire Diaries. Now I know The Vampire Diaries might seems like a dumb show to a lot of people. But I've been watching it since I was in high school and a part of me feels like I've in a way grown up with this show and it's characters. Sometimes I ask myself why do I still watch this show and am a little embarrassed in people knowing. It doesn't have the best plot story and has been so dragged on. But I still do and tonight's season finale reminded me why I continue to watch this guilty pleasure of mine.

The thing I've waited the longest since I started watching this show was for Damon and Elena to get together. They are my OTP. I never liked her with Stefan because although you can see he loves her, he wasn't able to help Elena grow. When Stefan died in the previous episode, she was shocked and wanted him back. But when Damon died, it was a completely different scenario. She was completely broken as she realized she would never see him again. In the finale, she finally saw a future with him, a future he wanted the first time he saw her. In that moment, her future was slowly disappearing and she couldn't do anything about it. I've waited 4 years for my OTP to be together and once they are Damon gets killed off. Seriously, these writers just fine more ways to split my OTP apart.


But this episode made me cry. Now I don't usually cry over TV and when I do its a couple tears. But nothing has ever made me cry like this episode did. The part that really got to me was when Elena realized that she would never see Damon again. The way she cried and seem so helpless was extremely believable. Elena's reactions were natural, as anyone would react the way she did. What really resonated with me was I was imagining myself in her situation. While I don't find her situation to be too common, I found it quite universal. I for one know what it's like knowing you won't ever see someone you care about again. The day I left New Zealand, I had to say good bye to my best friend and it was one of the hardest things I've done. When I got on that plane I knew I would not see him for a long time or possible ever. Just like Elena, I cried. I cried and felt so helpless as it was something I couldn't control no matter how much I wanted to stay. I felt I could empathize with Elena and that's something a good show has. It makes the audience feel something and feel they can relate in one way or another.

Nina Dobrev, you seriously are an amazing actress. If you are a close friend of mine, you would know that I do not care about celebrities what so ever. Nina Dobrev is one of the few celebrities that I actually feel is worth talking about and simply because she is talented. Now a days, many celebrities are famous for simply being in scandals and having no talent, but Dobrev is different. She acts so natural and portrays her characters emotions so plausible that you feel something by just watching.

This show might seem pretty dumb to a majority of you, but it's kind of not. I wouldn't say its as good as Game of Thrones or Waling Dead, but it's something I enjoy. If a show can make me cry just from one scene, it says a lot about it. I might questions myself in watching it at times, but I know I'll keep watching and will eagerlyawait the start of season 6 this fall. Hopefully my OTP will be together, hopefully.

I've been bad and haven't updated this in a while. When I started this blog I've made it my goal to write a new post at least once a week; more if I felt inspired to write about something in particular. The reason I haven't been doing that for a while is that I wasn't inspired to write. My life has been going through the same routine and my creativity has dwindled because of it. I didn't want to post something on here that would be garbage because I didn't put my passion into it, but merely to fulfill a quota I set up. But something that I have become passionate about besides traveling and studying abroad, that has inspired my life in a different way is fashion.

Fashion has always been something that I have liked. In high school I got really into the beauty community on YouTube. I loved watching Juicystar07 do her makeup and show the clothes she bought in her haul videos. As I got older, I still liked watching these videos. However, I didn't see the necessity to watch as many makeup videos. Makeup was something that I didn't really wear as much as these girls on YouTube. I didn't see the need to put on a full face of makeup every single day. That doesn't mean I don't like and use makeup, I do and am a strong believer of using it to bring out your natural features. But I wanted to be my natural self and didn't see makeup as a way to express myself.

I then started watching fashion videos, in particular Cutiepiemarzia's. There was something different about watching fashion instead of makeup. Fashion seemed more creative and natural. These people showed how they can take clothing that anyone can buy and use it to express their personalities. I still watch these videos now and I didn't realize why I continued to do so. I took me a while to realize that fashion is important to me. I see these videos as inspiration on not only what to wear, but how to wear something that I already own and use it to express myself. Marzia in particular has showed me that you don't necessarily need to follow trends, but to know what your style is and be comfortable expressing who are through your clothes.

This quarter I decided to take LJ103 Fashion and Celebrity. It fit in my schedule and was a class I needed for my major. Honestly, I didn't know if I would like it or not. I never considered myself a fashionable person and had no interest in celebrities. But surprisingly, this has became my favorite class this quarter. I originally though that this class was going to focus on how to be fashionable and physical aesthetics. But it has to deal more with reading about fashion and what the industry really is. The class has allowed me to think about something that affects us every single day. I find it fascinating.

Fashion has always been a part of my life one way or another. But now is the time that I'm realizing that perhaps it's something that I should pursue. And although I may not know as much as other people in regards to fashion and style, this is something that I am willing to learn more about. Although I might encounter obstacles along the way, I won't let others discourage me and will continue to pursue this new dream of mine. At the moment I want to pursue fashion journalism and am currently in the process of becoming an intern for an online fashion publication. This is something I've become very passionate about and I'm excited to see where it will go.

As a journalist major I have to read a lot of books in a short amount of time for my classes. Sometimes these books are really interesting and at other times they are really boring. One book that I finished yesterday for my Fashion and Celebrity class was Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost To Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth Cline. Even though I have no idea about fashion and would have never read this book if I had chosen to, Cline does an excellent job at making us see cheap fashion as what it really is instead of finding good deals at Forever 21 and H&M.

I know I'm not a fashionable person at all. I usually just shop at Goodwill because it's cheap or American Apparel sales on Hautelook.com because they make their clothes in LA and its good quality. I have no set of style, I just wear what I think looks cool. I have a lot of clothes but no style to justify having those clothes.

So what justifies having so much clothes? Why do we feel we are making good deals when buying cheap fashion. Yet, when we look in our closets we tell our selves "I have nothing to wear".

Well it's because we are a consumerist nation. We buy a cheaply made shirt from Forever 21 for $5 thinking we've made an amazing deal. But that shirt is so poorly made with low quality materials that it will last about maybe five washes. Once it's no longer suitable to wear or in trend we throw it away instead of trying to fix it. We find it more easy to buy clothes than fixing what we already own because that's what we think is the normal thing to do. Well it's not. We have made clothing disposable. Clothing should be just like any other part of our lives. We invest lots of money for a good laptop or electronic because we want something good that will give us the best outcome. Yet, we don't invest in our clothing. We don't see the justification to spend more that $30 on a shirt that will last us for such a long time, which is very sad.

Cline puts so much reporting and investigation into this book. She personally goes to countries like China, Bangladesh, and the Dominican Republic to visits sweatshops. She has so many second voices in the story that gives the book so much more credibility. She presents so many ideas and knowledge about fashion in a manner that does not seem like propaganda. By making herself a character in her work, she makes it relatable because like all of us, she thought it was good that she could go to Target and buy cheap clothing. But at the end of this book she realizes how wrong that is. She stops buying from there and moves onto buying from local designers.

This book has made me reexamine my wardrobe and the way I see fashion today. Although I am a thrifter, I have noticed that the majority of clothes that come into Goodwill are from H&M and F21. Thrift stores have stopped becoming places in which one goes into to find something vintage and original. I've also noticed I have no style. There are so many things I would wear if certain things were changed in the clothing that I already own. Yet, I do nothing about it and continue to wear them even though I could get them fixed. I've always thought fashion wasn't important, but after reading this I've realized it is because it affects us every single day. It's made me look and think about something I've never bothered to think about. I've also decided that I am going to learn how to sew and stop buying cheap fashion. It's more worth it to invest in pieces that I really like that are made from good materials because they will last so much more in the long run.

I barley touched the surface of this book. Cline does a very good job at looking at specific things in cheap fashion and really goes in depth. I've only talked about things that I found interesting and what I've taken from reading this. If you are interested in fashion or just want to be more knowledgeable about our world and how clothing affects us every single day, then I highly recommend for you to read this book.

Game of Thrones aired again tonight on HBO after a year since the last episode. A year of anticipation, waiting to see what will happen in Westeros after the deaths of Robb and Catelyn Stark. So far, it hasn't disappointed.

Now I've read the first three books, so I know what will happen at the end of this season. I know who dies, who lives, and what will happen to each house. And let me tell you, it's going to be really good. Yet, this has its downsides for me. I know what will happen, so there will be no surprises for me, like there were for so many of you last season in the "Red Wedding". But like always, TV shows and movies are never true to the original. It will be interesting to see the changes the writers decided to make this season and if the major events are as epic as Martin wrote them out to be. But in the end, I know I will always be making comparisons in my head between the two. But don't worry I won't spoil anything that will happen in the season.

So far this episode was fine. I was expecting more like I always do. But especially for this season, just because this is when a lot of interesting things will happen. Besides season one, the other seasons have started off slow as well in order to create background for the really interesting stuff to come. For that reason, this episode isn't bad. There were things that I particularly liked and stuff I didn't like.

Although most of the important characters made an appearance tonight, I didn't seem to care that much about all of them. There were only three that were actually very interesting. The other's were just there and their characters will have interesting events later. But for now, Cersei's problems and her anger towards Jamie seem irrelevant. Deanery's didn't do much with her army, but her dragons did grow really big. Sansa didn't say or do much either. And Tyrion, well his moment will come.

I'm very excited to see Oberyn Martell in this. He was one of my favorite characters in the third book. The love he has for his sister is amazing and what he will be willing to do for her honor later on is astounding. But I'm not sure I entirely like the way he appears when we first meet him. I know he sleeps around a lot. He has three bastard daughters who actually have positions of authority in the fourth book, but the book never makes him seem like a man desperate to sleep with women. And yes I understand this isn't the book, but he's a great character who will add so much to the plot of the story. Presenting him like that isn't making him seem that way.

Jon Snow's my favorite in the book. But I loved the way he behaved in this episode. Something about him knowing he broke his vows and being sassy about it towards those who are trying to kill him, is making him one of my favorites in the show. The way he shows authority to those men who obviously have a higher authority than him, yet isn't afraid to do so, demonstrates he's starting to become the man he's wanted to be since season one. He's becoming like Robb, yet I think he will be better than Robb. He's a Stark after all.

I loved the ending. If you know me, you know how much I love fighting scenes and blood in combat. Seeing the Hound and Arya fight those guys was really nice to see. You can see the Hound isn't so bad after all and Arya's taking action on those who've hurt people she's cared about. In the end when he gives her the horse, that's the moment you see they're on the same team. They both don't care about the King or the war. They're just trying to survive and are using each other in order to do so. I love it.

The writers have included small details in the story that may not seem like anything, but will play an important role in the progression of the season. Pigeon pig? The meal Shae gives Sansa to eat; if you've read the book you know exactly what I'm talking about. Oh you clever writers.

I will continue to be an avid watcher throughout the rest of the season. I love Game of Thrones and am exited to see the story I know come to life and be portrayed the way I know it can be.