The Lovely World of Tattoos

Tattoos. What beautiful, beautiful things. We have been given a way to express ourselves by putting art on our bodies however we choose; they have the ability to show our personalities, what we like, how we feel about something, etc.

Last night I was in Austin with one of my best friends who attends St. Edwards University. I was recommended by my own tattoo artist, Joseph Ayala, to James Yocum, an artist at a parlor called Great Wave. This is where I received my fifth tattoo: the Scorpius constellation.

I hear all the time to slow down. "You have your whole life to get tattoos." Since I turned 18 a little over a year ago, I've gotten a new tattoo every three months, roughly. And I intend to continue down this path. I have a million and one ideas of what else I'd like to add. I've always been fascinated by tattoos, ever since I started going with my parents to get theirs. So when I turned of age,
 I got to a tattoo shop as soon as I possibly could and have been going under the needle every since.

Yes, I know some jobs are still weird about visible ink, I get this from friends and family all the time. However, these are not jobs I'd like to be at. It is now 2017; tattoos should no longer be considered taboo and if a job is stuffy enough to not hire me because of my body art, then I shouldn't waste my time there.
*Mike drop*

Good (Inauguration) Times

 The election of Donald J. Trump has sparked much conflict and tension across the country, and protests have sprouted from all corners of the nation. Our President-elect, and now president Donald Trump, took the oath of office January 20, 2017, along with his VP,  Mike Pence.

Trump was sworn into office 11am CT at Capitol Hill. Bands of protestors crowded the streets of Washington D.C., smashing car windows, throwing rocks at Trump supporters, and just causing an unnecessary chaos to this already disputable day. 

Now, I am not one who denounces protests. I believe they hold great value and we are very lucky to be able to take part in them as a country. However, protests are for change. People should be non-violently marching for things that are unfair and things we as a people have the power to amend. The election of a presidential nominee? I don't think so. No matter what people say, no matter how many "#notmypresident" tweets are thrown out there, this has become the inevitable. By stating that, I am in no way saying I agree with all things Trump and think he's a great guy; while I am Republican and share some of his views, that doesn't mean I have to be his biggest fan. Yes, his tweets are a little more blunt and open than I'd like, and you will never catch me wearing "Make America Great Again" merchandise. But it doesn't matter whether you are conservative, liberal, or in between. The disruptions that have occurred at his inauguration are embarrassing for individuals who have taken part in said commotion, and others who identify with the democratic party. 

All I'm wondering is what's the message these protestors are sending trying to send out? 

"I don't like the fact Trump won the election so I'm going to burn shit to the ground?" This is not how we are supposed to protest. Regardless if you agree on this transfer of power or not, it is happening. Donald Trump IS our president unless you're not a citizen of America, and in that case, leave. 

We should all want him to do his job well because he has the power to impact all of our lives. I'm not saying to throw a party in his honor, but holding up signs that read "F*** Trump" and "Donald Trump is the KKK" at his inauguration probably isn't the best idea and doing so is pushing the American people even more into a division. 

Long Distance Relationships

You do not know hard until you have put yourself in a long distance relationship. You see in TV shows or movies, like Dear John, where couples face the obstacle of long distance and end up being even more in love in the end, through all the hardships they face. Hollywood has lied to you; it has lied to us all.
When you live close to your significant other, or work with them, go to school with them, etc., your relationship may seem close to perfect. You get to be around the one person who makes you the happiest...for the time being. I mean, this is great and all, really, but what happens when their job takes them elsewhere? When they decide to go to a school that could be hours away? You obviously don't want to discourage your partner from chasing their dreams or stop them from doing what's in their best interest. However, this doesn't mean you want them to leave. This person could be your best friend, your lover, and anything/everything in between. You just don't see breaking up in your cards. So, you go to school, or pursue that great job that you can't believe is yours, tell your partner you'll see them soon, then leave. 
The relationship doesn't get tricky just yet. You make it a point to call each other every morning and every night. You FaceTime as often as possible and try not to miss a beat in each others' lives. This is a really good quote for someone who is hopeful about their relationship:

As time wanes on though, turmoil strikes. You grow tired of missing each other. The distance and paranoia gets under your skin. You often wonder, "what is he/she doing right now? If they were with someone else, I would never know." This thought is probably the worst of all, the thing that really eats away at you; it has the ability to drive you completely mad. Regardless of how much you trust that person, you can't help but worry just a little bit. You two fight more and more and your struggling to maintain a healthy relationship and not completely fall apart. Because chances are, you're not only juggling your social problems, but also your professional/educational ones. Yes, I do know how it feels because I've been there. And it sucks. Even more so because the fights are over the phone or on FaceTime, not even in person, which makes the situation even harder to deal with. 

My advice? If you truly love that person and want it to work, make it work. No one is in control of your life but you. The fighting gets hard, but push through if it's what you really want. Talk to that person about how you feel, and tell them all the things you appreciate they do. If they reciprocate, it's a surprisingly good tactic. And lastly, no matter what, always tell them "I love you." If you're having an argument via phone, tell them you love them anyways at the end. Just to let them know you and your feelings are still there. Good luck-

QueenB 

Too Much Clowning Around

Ok, yes, I realize it's been awhile. I went home for the weekend and have been crazy busy with school. However, some unsettling occurrences have been happening around the country that I think need to be talked about...creepy clowns. As of recent, there have been multiple clown sitings across the nation and in schools; these have not been your typical "pay for a clown to come to a kid's birthday party" either. More like, black and white jumpsuit, crazy green hair, chasing people kind of clowns. I don't watch American Horror Story, so I had no idea that's where this idea stemmed from. Regardless, it started by a series of actual individuals dressed as clowns who went around killing people...and I guess from there, it appealed to people to dress up as such and scare the shit out of college/high school/middle school students. First of all, what kind of sick individuals put on clown makeup and costumes and torment innocent students? 
Penn State has actually started a huge clown hunt  involving about 6,000 students after a clown was spotted on campus. This set the precedent for other clown hunts to commence, including one here at Texas State. However, this was just fraternities who went down to the river and allegedly saw multiple clown masks "in a tent." This is not the creepiest part. Last night at around 5 pm, every student who attends Texas State received an email about an assault here on campus...by a clown. There was one here on campus and it attacked a girl. Luckily she got away, but what if the next person can't? Like clowns aren't creepy enough, come on people. Is this what our world has come to? Being harassed and chased by twisted individuals in clown costumes? I can't even say escape to Canada, because there have been multiple murders connected to the clown killings there as well. This link is to a Twitter account designated to clown sightings, so check it out to see what we're up against: https://twitter.com/ClownSighting
Be safe everyone! Till next time,
QueenB

Sitting During the Anthem

This will just be a quick little rant. Tonight I attended my first Texas State home football game. We played the #6 ranked team in the nation, U of H, so you can assume how that went. Regardless, before the game started, they had a little show at the beginning where the band plays Texas themed songs and whatnot. The announcer then says, "all rise for our national anthem," and every decent human being in that stadium, which was sold out, rose. However, there was one section where everyone wore all black and sat during the anthem.
I do not care what you are protesting; I do not care what your beliefs are. If your country's national anthem is playing, you stand the hell up. Sitting during the playing of it such a blatant action of disrespect. This does not prove a point, it makes the "protesters" look foolish; like raising the middle finger to all of the men and women who have died for this great country we live in. These are  also typically the same people who "hate police" yet need them when there's an emergency. (That story will be for another time) My personal opinion is that, if you don't want to stand and respect our anthem, don't go to games. And, if your name is Colin Kaepernick and/or any other player who decides to do this, don't play in the game. You want to make a stand so bad, show us all and don't play. The game must go on. Until next time,
QueenB

Alone Time

I used to consider myself a big introvert. Super shy, nervous to talk around new people, hated working in groups, etc. However, as time passed, I came out of my shell just a little bit. Group projects will always suck, but I realized talking to people wasn't so bad; meeting new people isn't actually such a horrible experience.  This growth has helped me a lot, especially when I first got to school.
But, since I've been at college, I've yet to have alone time. The bathrooms are public, I share a room with another person, there are always people walking around everywhere. All I wanted was to just be able to sit in my room or wherever and do my own thing just for a little bit. Well, ask and you shall receive. My roommate left this morning and won't be back until tomorrow. The thing with my roommate and I is that we're like best friends. No, we didn't know each before coming to school, we just connected immediately and basically do everything together. She left somewhat spontaneously, as did most other girls on my floor. I've been alone since I woke up this morning...and I hate it. Eating alone is not fun, and while it seems nice to lay in bed all day watching Netflix, it gets boring. So, the moral of this story is be careful what you wish for. Until next time friends,
QueenB