the power of words.

On my train ride back in March from Virginia back to school in New York I sat down eagerly delving into the April issue of Vogue. As I flipped through the ads I came across their "Up Front" section and began to skim through the first paragraph to see if it was worth me reading the whole way through. Little did I know that this article would do much more for me than kill time on a 4 hour train ride, it was going to stay with me for a long time (one month and counting) and give me a reality check on where I want to go in life.

The piece was entitled, "Keeping the Faith" and was written by 32-year-old journalist Marisa Mazria Katz. Here was a woman who was truly making a difference in people's lives via journalism. It was about Katz's journey to the slums of Casablanca, Morocco and as one woman, Boubker Mazoz, took her around and showed Katz first hand all of the political injustice, rough living conditions and all around poor quality of life plaguing the city, Katz knew that she needed to do something to help the women there. She then created Idmaj which is an association to give power to women, give them a voice. She also conducted a month long journalism course in which she helped women of all ages write personal accounts of what they were experiencing in Casablanca, what they wanted, what they hated or were frustrated with. For the first time in their lives these women felt they had some sort of control and it was Katz who helped them to get there and eventually led to the creation of Words for Change. As I have said time and time again, I'm a graduating senior and don't really know what direction to take my life after May 21st. But this article was a bit of an epiphany for me; it brought me back to my original passion. Writing. Journalism. That's what I love to do. Talk to people, find out things from them, hear someone else's story, impact people with my words. That's what I want to do. How will I get there? I don't really know but I truly aspire to do as Katz has done and be able to travel, write, and help even just one person find their voice.

talk baby to me.

No, I am not talking about actual baby talk. The talk that comes from cute, babbling and drooling toddlers, which would be acceptable. I'm talking about the baby talk that comes from grown women, whether they are saying it to their significant other or a friend or whomever; I simply cannot stand it. A perfect example would be Khloe Kardashian. Yes if you are wondering I do shamelessly watch the Kardashian clan and numerous shows that have taken over the E! Network but my skin crawls when Khole is on screen with her husband, Lamar Odom and she reverts into her "baby voice." I even know a girl who would just spontaneously break out in baby talk. For instance when her dad came to visit, she came in the room and announced "Da-Da here!" My friend Amanda and I stared blankly at here and Amanda simply said: What? And the girl repeated herself: "Da-Da here!" Excuse me, but are you trying to say "My Dad is here?" The hilarious and on-point show 'How I Met Your Mother' even had an episode dedicated to it:

Glamour also had a bit piece about this particular topic, showcasing one reader who was 31 at the time and said things like "Do you wuv me?" to her boyfriend; from scanning the comments from other readers it seemed that people were either all for it or totally against it like myself. I understand saying sweet things to your man but can't you say it in your grown-up voice? I just can't seem to wrap my head around this concept. If you are an intelligent, well-rounded and confident woman then talk like it! No matter who you are talking to or what you are saying. Thoughts on this?

have a love affair with your life.

Today, my little wise yoga guru friend Brittany, shared with me something her yoga instructor had said to her class: What if you could have a love affair with your life? As soon as Britt spoke these words my mind sparked and began to deconstruct that question. What did her teacher mean by this? Maybe she meant for me to not analyze and think about it too much but to just do it. Live it. Breathe it. Why can't life just be one big, great love affair? As Brittany said it is so much easier to surround ourselves with negativity. We can't seem to get away from it! It's so simple to complain, or beg the question, "Why me?" to drag others down and even drag ourselves down. I mean don't get me wrong, I know everyone has bad days and hard times and that's okay too, but don't let it take over. I can at times be a pessimist, but I think that I was a lot worse and vowed to myself to get better even by doing little things everyday and I think it has been working. But being more of an optimist isn't the only way, I think, to have a love affair with life. I think you need to take time to enjoy the little things, whether it's spending time with friends, family, by yourself, your dog, just sitting still for five minutes or in the wise words of Emma Stone "eating the damn red velvet cupcake." Enjoy things, since as I know, it is so easy to rush through a day, a week, a month even whole years can fly by (hello, college where did you go?) I may sound like some free-loving hippie right now but life is short! And these wise words from Brittany's yoga instructor really got me thinking today. Do what you love, make it something exciting, different, fun and challenging all at the same time. Go out and see where your love affair takes you.