I write things sometimes. Tips are always appreciated.
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A few weeks ago, I got into a debate with my 14-year-old niece about why my generation of Disney Channel was better than hers. My argument, besides just having better quality shows, was that the current generation lacks the entertainment of the drama that came with the Disney stars like mine did. I argued that the more recent Disney stars couldn't muster up a lover's quarrel like Joe Jonas and AJ Michalka, which resulted in the iconic "Potential Breakup Song" by Aly & AJ. Nor could this new generation provide a love triangle that could live up to the Miley Cyrus, Nick Jonas, and Selena Gomez triangle of the late 2000s. A few days ago, I was proven wrong however.
TRIGGER WARNING: Death, homicide, suicide, police brutality In the "Heart of America" lies a city that is close to my own heart. A city that raised me for fourteen years of my life. To the outside world (at least those who care to know about it) it is known for its top-notch BBQ, blues and jazz music, the rapper Tech N9ne, and recently, the current reigning Super Bowl champs.
Okay, I'll admit, I didn't really use all of the money I had left to tip other Vocal creators (I still have bills to pay), but I did use the last of the money I had in my Cash app, which is kind of a big deal. For the past few weeks, I have been sitting with a whopping $4.35 in my Cash app and now, it's just 35 cents (I couldn't figure out how to send the change). For the past year or so, the money I received through Cash app has been my main source of income. In my freshman year of college, I quickly figured out that I could avoid the stress of maintaining a full time job while in school if I put my writing skills to good use. So for four and a half years, I was the local paper writer for a number of fellow college students, which meant a lot of Cash app payments.
The past few months have been a big transitioning period in my life. Transitioning from college life to the "real world," transitioning from my own apartment to temporarily being back in my parents' home, and transitioning from a place of overall security to a place of uncertainty about where the next phase of my life will take me. In times like these, it's easy to feel some sort of longing for simpler times and this has expressed itself in various ways for me. One of the most recent has been a rekindling of my love for Bollywood movies.
Back in 2016, when Trump was inching dangerously close to the presidential seat, I saw many hot takes going around comparing him to Adolf Hitler... and I agreed with every single one. From the very beginning, Trump has built his entire political presence on divisive rhetoric and white nationalism. If you don't believe me, just google some of the things he has said in the last four to five years. But now, things are escalating far more than words.
One of the greatest things to come out of 2020 was Verzuz TV. This webcast series was created by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beats to highlight and celebrate Black music. Since March of last year, the world has gotten to see artists like BabyFace and Teddy Riley, Gladys Knight and Patti Labelle, and Brandy and Monica go head to head via Instagram Live and/or Apple TV. And while there are many great Verzuz battles that the world has been anticipating, some of the greatest battles are the ones we will never get to see because one or more of the parties involved are no longer living. But thanks to technology, we can guess what these battles would have been like. Here are the top 10 Verzuz battles that we will never get to see and some of the songs that undoubtedly would have made an appearance in them.
In my story, Dear 2021, Please Take Notes, I mentioned the fact that when Barack Obama was first elected as president of the United States, I was in the fifth grade. As a ten year old, I didn't know much about his political stances. All I knew was that he was the first African American man who had been elected to the highest position in the land and to me, that was enough. As a 22-year-old, I know better.
Dear 2021, In my 22 years of life, I've experienced some really good years. 2020 was not one of them. On a global scale, the world was dealing with a pandemic, widespread police brutality, and political madness. But on a personal level, my mental health was suffering, I encountered some financial problems, and I even lost some friends. Honestly, it wouldn't take much for you to be a step up from 2020, but I don't just want this year to be better than last year, I want it to be the best year I've ever had. I'm not one to try to relive my glory days, but there are simple things that have made the best years of my life, the best. And for 2021, I just want those simple moments back. The simple moments that made four years of my life stand out for the very best reasons. If I were you, I would take some notes.