Labels

                         

      Brand-name labels in their wardrobes are what a lot of women dream about. Most brand's labels are becoming more and more common in society, and more affordable to the common fashionable woman. In the fashion industry, these brand-names are a must. They show luxury, wealth, and power. It gives many women and men a pathway to style and high reputation. 

      However, sometimes I wonder how labels are used in other parts of our lives. What about when we label other people? This happens mostly during school, but it can happen anywhere at anytime. Having a label is what others think of us and how we are seen. Labels on people can go from beautiful to ugly, jock to nerd, nice to bitchy, and even talented to worthless. While it's true that labels in fashion are wonderful, labels given to other people aren't as wanted. The sad thing is, even though we are the designers of our own lives, others are the ones who put the labels on us. It's difficult nowadays to have others see us the way we want them to.

      I believe that people have the freedom to give each other labels. If this person is mean and bitchy, we shouldn't take that as everything they can be as a person. It's true, humans can be hateful, and sometimes we do use our own insecurities as fuel to hurt other people, but we can't use that as an excuse to damage another person's self esteem.

      Anyway, we should always love each other and stay true to ourselves. No matter what labels are held against us, we should remember that there is beauty in everything and everyone, and this inner, and infinite, beauty is the only thing that is truly priceless.

Editor: A.B.

Rediscover Love

      You know, I have an idea that may or may not work. I feel like we should all just believe that love doesn't exist, and then rediscover it-and for those who haven't discovered love like me, we should forget about it. We as a society these days know too much too quickly. We have these expectations of love sometimes and we want too much. There's nothing wrong wanting something out of love, but we should remember what we thought love was when we were innocent, before we knew anything about love. Where we thought holding hands are happiness and all we can think about are balloons and presents. Romance. That's the thing we want to expect to come first in love. Then we can think about lust and other things later.

      I have a lot of examples where i ask my friends "what's your crush like ?" And I hear replies like, "He's so hot and his eyes are like so perfect like omg." And replies like, "He's very athletic and muscular, he's so my type." And true, we all want our relationships to be with someone we enjoy looking at and who we are attracted to in physical attractions. But what about the inside ? Is that all left for us to see within relationships ? I would like to believe that we humans to be more than that, and that what's inside is also worth talking about. And sure, I do still know many many people who want romance, personalities and kindness in a guy. And that shows me hope that this world hasn't totally messed up on the concept of "love".

      And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that those people are shallow or bad, I just think that it's very easy to get lost in love and often forget what we want. And what we want shouldn't be something to keep us happy for a while but to keep us happy forever. By the way, "forever" is another fantasy we should believe in, with hopeful promises that we know for a fact will probably never come true but we still believe in it and would risk everything for it. Yes it will come back and bite us later believing in that forbidden promise, but I think we need that. We need that "forever" fantasy to love. Being scared but ready to give up everything for the one you love.

      And when it comes to people like me, we just can't loose that fantasy. I haven't experienced it yet but I want to. I am still waiting for my "prince" to come everyday and every time I see a shooting star, I always wish for the same thing, Love.

Editor: K.L.S 

Style and Originality

                       

      Some say we have style, we dress in our own kind of way and we have our own sense of fashion. But I wonder, do we ? What we see, hear and shop for, they are all put out there for us. The top I just bought, it might be my "style" because it represent my fashion statement and I like it. But there probably are a thousand other people in this province, and a million others in this country out there that have the same top, and will style it with the same coloured pants like me. And even if we create our own clothes, it's often inspired from or similar to other clothes we see in stores or in media.

      So we ask ourselves, do we just know styles or do we have the style. And if we have the style, what is it ? How do we get it ? And how is it different from others ? We don't know. I don't even know. I like to think that I am a very different and unique person, I think I see the world differently sometimes and I feel special. But lately I feel... not as special, I feel like I'm becoming someone's number 2. There's a guy in my high school who is very successful I would say, and he has just graduated. His art is amazing and I do wish someday I can be as good as him. He's gay ( from what I've heard ) and he wears like hipster glasses, he has his ears pierced and he's in a leadership club called cabinet. And I told my mom I want to get my ears pierced and I'm doing it this September, I need glasses soon and I might choose the hipster frames. And me and my friends are thinking of joining cabinet. And it's not like I'm trying to copy him and be like "oh he's gone this year and next year I would continue his legacy!" Like no that's creepy, we just might have similar styles and interests but it made me feel less myself. And a lot of people keep telling me that I was acting like my other transgender friend when I decided to wear a more girly outfit with a slight touch of lip gloss! 

      I do not know if this is one of those moments where I'm somehow the only one feeling this way-going through all these emotional roller coasters and being too "dramatic", but I do know that even though I am not copying them, I do have style. Despite this, I may have chosen some similar things to what they have subconsciously. I don't know why but sometimes I feel like people are so much better than me, and I just have to be like them to be great. 

      And it sucks because I want to stand for originality and being myself. 

This is so conflicting with that whole thing but we all lose ourselves sometimes and I just need time to find myself and my own style again I guess...

Editor: K.L.S

Sex?!

                         

      Sex. Sex? What do I know about sex ? What does a fourteen-going-on-fifteen year old boy without any relationship experience have to say about sex? To be honest, I had never even held a guy's hand or hugged a guy for more than five seconds. So it may seem very random for me to write about this. But I'm in high school and this is the "Age of Un-innocence" as 'Sex and the City's' author calls it. And no, I'm not writing about this because I'm just another big Sex and The City fan. Sure I'm inspired by the amazing television series and the book but sex has always been a topic I want to cover. 

      As I was saying, in high school, I know a lot of people who have already lost their virginity and I also know a few who are getting there. But it's not just about plain sex. It's about any sexual activities really. I am actually not against under age sex. I feel like if it's The One, if it's meant to be, then why not ? I feel like sex shouldn't just be sex. I feel like we have to be innocent enough to look at this seriously but mature enough to know what we are doing. Does that make any sense at all ?

      All in all, I don't want to make this too long. But I would definitely do more pieces on this topic.

Editor: M.B.C