“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
― Harper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird
It's Just Another Manic Monday and that means we talk about something that's crazy or outrageous and so today we're talking about... We Live In A Society Where...We live in a society where we can't except change.
We live in a society where it's okay to hate a religion. We live in a society where money controls our happiness. We live in a society where we're told to look a certain way. We live in a society where hate is shown more than love. We live in a society where if you're not a size two you're fat. We live in a society where we pick our friends based on politics. We live in a society where we won't listen and accpet other opinions. We live in a society that teachs don't get raped instead of don't rape. We live in a society where it's okay to disrespect our parents. We live in a society where it's okay to disrespect our teachers. We live in a society where it's a necessity to be connected to wifi. We live in a society where education is not valued. We live in a society where it's okay to buy a t-shirt that cost $70. We live in a society where government assistance has become a life style. We live in a society where it's okay to fail a state test because we know we will be passed on to the next grade. We live in a society where it's okay that the government requires everyone to have car insurance but it's not okay for the government to require everyone to have health insurance. We live in a society where we bash gay and transgender because it says no to "be that" but it's okay to have sex before marriage and get a divorce. We live in a society where losing your phone is more of a big deal than losing your virginity. We live in a society where it's more important to get the most likes on social media than good grades. We live in a society where it's okay to like a presidential canidate who puts down an entire race. We live in a society where it's okay to judge someone based on what they look like on the outside. We live in a society where if you wear black you're automically labeled emo, gothic, or some other name. We live in a society where it's okay for people to take other people's rights away. We live in a society where people can't survive if they're not judging the next person. We live in a society where if you're not born in this country you're not respected. We live in a society where having too much experience prevents you from getting a job. We live in a society where family dinners involve everyone looking at their cell phones. We live in a society where people forgot that on the inside we're all the same. We all hurt when we lose someone. We all want to be loved. What do you think of the society we live in? Is it what you want your children and grandchildren to live in? Let us know! XOXO, The Gearles
0 Comments
Monday night, my mom and I were cooking dinner and I was thinking about my regrets, and trust me, I've had a lot. One of the regrets I have is never trying out for cheerleader in high school. Actually I did try out Junior year but I didn't make it. So I guess my regret was not making the cheerleading squad. Another regret I have is never trying out for our drill team. Why didn't I try out? Well I guess the answer is that I never felt like I was skinny enough to try out. Of course then my mom and I started talk about it. That's when I thought maybe we should write about what it's like being a bigger girl which led to writing about what it's like to be bullied. And that's what we're bringing you today. It's almost as if you have to hide behind a mask. What's It Like To Be BulliedI was bullied just about all through seventh grade. The same four boys kept throwing pinecones at me, spitting at me, chasing me in the classroom, and throwing words at me. They tripped me in class one day causing me to rip my shirt. They would call me elephant and make elephant noises as well as pretending the ground was shaking when I walked by. They called me gigatore and ugly and those are the nice ones. I tried telling the teachers but nothing ever got done. My mom had a conference with several of my teachers and was told that boys will be boys. It was a miserable year.
So we start with the question, do you know what that does to someone? I know a girl who lost her light, her smile, and shed more tears than a girl should ever have to shed at that age. I saw a girl go from being vibrant and outgoing to withdrawn and shy. Middle school is a hard time for everyone but it is especially bad when your peers continue to put you down and make fun of you and none of your teachers seem to care. For me, it was my darkest point. Somedays I would try to fake being sick so I didn't have to go to school (it didn't work - my mom was too smart for that). I feared going to school knowing no one was going to do anything to make my situation better, and standing up for myself made it even worse. There were times when I thought what if I didn't exist anymore? What if I hadn't ever been born? Is there an escape? Yes, there were moments I contemplated suicide, but thankfully I never acted on it. The bullying eventually stopped but that didn't mean everything went back to normal. The damage had already been done. I may not have had to face them everyday but I did have to face the aftermath. My self-esteem was shot, and for a while everything was an act. Before all of this, I didn't think much about my weight but boy did I have weight issues after that. Freshman year the constant thought of being an elephant crept into my mind and, to cut the chase, I lost 45 pounds in about four or five months. Not only did I lose a lot of weight but I lost a lot of my hair and gained a life long battle of not eating enough or too much, worrying about how others percieved me, and not trusting my abilities. I didn't try out for sports because I didn't want to be the fat girl. I didn't try out for cheerleading (until the very last year I could) because I didn't want to be the fat girl. I became self-conscious about being the fat dancer in dance class. I looked at everyone on a sports team or dance team or cheer team and thought I couldn't be on that team because I'm too fat. I convinced myself that my ex broke up with me because I was too fat and that I could never get a boyfriend because I was so fat. I'm still convinced (after 10 months with an amazing guy) that I'm too fat for him and he deserves a skinny girl. When I started college I mustered up the courage and I tried out for the dance team (spolier alert - I didn't make it - though it proably had more to do with the fact that I didn't have much drill team experience or technique) and naturally, I blamed not making it on not being skinny enough. I then get these thoughts and think, I need to start a diet and exercise program, so I do. I count calories to the point it becomes a game - and not a good one at that. The game I play with myself sees I only ate 1327 calories yesterday so I eat less the next day therefore, beating the "score". I know for a couple of weeks during my first semester of college I was barely eating 600 calories a day. 600 CALORIES!!! The average calorie consumption a human needs is 2000 calories. I was eating 1/3 of what I should be eating. How did I justify eating that few calories? Well, I was eating three meals a day so surely that was enough, right? I had a breakfast bar in the morning (250 calories), a salad with some veggies and salsa (100 calories) for lunch, and some type of meat and veggie for dinner (250 calories). I had three meals and that's all I needed. Nobody knew it was that bad and I didn't think it was that bad but thankfully I eventually began eating more before it affected my health. Everytime something goes wrong I know it's because I'm fat. Everything is because I'm fat. I use to never think that. But I'm not the perfect skinny girl everyone desires to be friends with or hangout with, right? So thanks to four boys just being boys, I will live a lifetime fighting my self-esteem issues. I understand exactly how Abby feels because I remember in elementary school, I was called names like fatty and had fellow classmates chant at me the old "fatty fatty two by four can't get through the kitchen door". I still suffer from self-esteem issues. We tell you this not to make you sad or give us sympothy. We tell you so that you know that words tryly do hurt and can cause lifelong struggles. After seven years or after forty years, the words you told us still stick to us. So teach your kids and grandkids that words do hurt and will last a life time. Watch out for your friends and family and if you see it, help stop it. We want everyone to be happy and not struggle with selfesteem problems or weight issues. It's a long road. That's it for now. XOXO, The Gearles Wakey wakey eggs and baky! Has your mom ever told you that? I don't recall my mom ever doing that. Mother have you ever told me that? Not that I recall. So it's Friday...you know what that means!! A new recipe. This one is by far one of my favorites. As many of y'all know, Abby and I have been driving back and forth between Jacksonville and Palestine for the past five years. Well that's a thirty minute drive and cereal was not cutting it. When we began eating eggs and bacon for breakfast, scrambled eggs, fried eggs, and over easy got boring so we needed something new. What did we come up with?? Bacon egg cups! And that's what we're bringing you today! Ingredients This recipe will make from 1 to 12 bacon egg cups. -bacon (one piece for each bacon egg cup) -eggs (one for each bacon egg cup) -salt and pepper Step 1: Cook the bacon until it is about half done. We just put it on a foil lined baking sheet and put it in a 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Step 2: Spray however many cups you need in a muffin tin with cooking spray (ex. Pam). When the bacon is cool enough to handle, line each muffin cup with a strip of bacon as shown above. Step 3: Carefully crack an egg in each muffin cup. Step 4: Sprinkle each egg with salt and pepper. Step 5: Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes, depending on how cooked you want your egg to be. Step 6: Enjoy!! That's all there is to it!! An easy on the go breakfast!!
And that friends and family is one of our favorite breakfasts. It doesn't take long and it only has 5 steps!!! That's awesome!! We hope you enjoy this as much as we do! Come back next week for more! XOXO, The Gearles It's been a fun exciting weekend but it's time to get back to the real world. Booo!! But have no fear - it's Monday and we're here to try and make you laugh. So what's today's thing that irks us...well don't judge us but...it's busty girl problems. On Friday I had three too many incidents with the girls. One thing my boyfriend always says to me is, "I feel like I could handle being a girl - even the whole period thing - but I think the worst thing would be the boobs." And come to think of it, sometimes they ARE a pain in the butt. Sorry for the lack of pictures but we didn't feel we could really take pictures of boobs or find pictures of boobs and it not get really awkward. So here are the problems of being a busty girl. It's not all fun and games. 1. Lost food! I love my food and would prefer to eat my food without finding left overs when I take my bra off at night! Or sometimes I just happen to look down after I'm through with my meal and find that I have food chilling there. It's no bueno. 2. Running...ugh!! It's already a hassle to find a good supportive bra but to throw running into the equation...sometimes I think it's amazing that we don't get knocked out with all that bouncing and carrying on! 3. Cleavage. I hate, hate, hate showing cleavage (I know...I should have been born during the Victorian Age) and I try to not show it at all but it seems just about any v-neck or anything that's not a turtleneck shows cleavage. 4. Going Up A Shirt Size Sometimes a perfect medium shirts fits great everywhere else but then I look at how the girls are sitting and I think... gosh dang it! Now I have to get a large or sometimes an extra large just so the girls don't get smashed together and flattened like a pancake! It's a great thing that oversize t-shirts are in style right now. 5. Push Up Bras Why in the world are push bras even a thing in size C cup and higher? They're already big enough as it is...I don't really want to draw any extra attention to them! (Now my mother...she could probably use some pushing up!) 😉 6. Slouching Mother always tells me to stand up straight but sometimes I'd rather slouch than stand up straight. (I blame it on the extra weight...not my general laziness) After all, not only do I not want to show my cleavage, I also don't want people to think I am trying to show off either! 7. Running Upstairs This is really a no no. (Refer to number 2 and the whole bouncing and getting hit in the face thing). 8. Button Up Shirts are a fashion no no for us bustier gals. It doesn't seem to matter whether I wear an L, XL, or 2XL, there always seems to be these huge gaping holes in between the buttons. 9. Spilt Food is always a problem. There is no point in putting my napkin in my lap because my boobs seem to sit at table height and food always lands there when it decides to go diving off my fork. Next thing I know, I have a lovely red stain (because it's always hot sauce or spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce that never seems to make it to my mouth) right there, front and center, for all to see! 10. Lying Down is another problem within itself. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to sleep. ![]() 11. Necklaces can be tricky. Sometimes mine makes me look like I have more cleavage than I do. For example this shirt doesn't show cleavage but you wouldn't know that because of my necklace. My necklace has two keys on it causing it to look like two lines. And then sometimes those necklaces just seem to get lost somewhere in there! 12. Can't See Anything Below The Girls Somedays I'm just hoping my shoes match my outfit because my boobs block everything below them. 13. Shoulder Strap Purses are a struggle...it's a little awkward when the strap fits perfectly between the girls causing a lot of unwanted definition and therefore attention. 14. Strapless Bras are a great idea but if you're a little busty then they're a pain in the butt. I have yet to find one that fits great. 15. Some Shirts Make Me Look Pregnant Sometimes my favorite shirt has made me look pregnant but it's only because of my boobs. If my shirt looks a little flowy then bam...someone asks when I'm due. I'm not pregnant my shirt is just flowy and my boobs are just big!! And that my friends are some problems with being a busty girl. I know some of you would love to be in my position, but trust me, they are not always what they are cracked up to be! I think they're more of a nuisance sometimes but what do I know...I'm only 19. I've heard of this one place called Double Divas in Atlanta, GA and I'm hoping one day I can go there and get the perfect bra and then just be a happy girl. But with all of this being said you should love your body and never want to change it. Every day I come to terms with my busty girl problems and move on with my day. I hope you enjoyed our most today and perhaps laughed just a little. Have a marvelous Monday!! XOXO, The Gearles ***WARNING SOME PICTURES MAY BE GRAPHIC*** We go hard when it comes to SPF sunscreen. SPF110 or higher...nothing lower!! It's the first day of July and you know what that means...the sun is brighter, the days are longer, the temperatures are hotter, and you want to enjoy the pool even more. While enjoying the sun can be fun, if you are not careful, you could be setting yourself up for weekly visits to the doctor, constant surgeries and scars to remind you of your fun in the sun! What are we talking about? Melanoma. What exactly is Melanoma? mel•a•no•ma - a tumor of melanin-forming cells, typically a malignant tumor associated with skin cancer. Currently it's the fastest growing cancer in the U.S. Melanomas can appear anywhere on the body. Fascinating Fact: Bob Marley was diagnosed with melanoma under one of his toenails in July 1977. He reportedly ignored advice to amputate the toe and the cancer spread to his lungs and brain. He died in May 1981 at age 36. Now you're probably wondering why we wanted to blog about melanoma. No, it's not because either one of us has melanoma. No, it's not to bore you and it's not to keep you from enjoying the sun. We're blogging today about melanoma because we want to educate you on what you can do to hopefully prevent yourself from getting it. How do you prevent yourself from getting melanoma? Use sunscreen every time you are outside. We buy 110 SPF sunscreen which is probably overkill but you need to make sunscreen a habit. It's not a joke. ![]() Let me be first the first to say I use to live by the saying, "I have tan skin. I never get sunburned." Little did I know that every time I went outside (especially to Fort Mountain) that there was a possibility that I could be setting myself up for future weekly doctor visits. My mom use to always tell me to put sunscreen on but I never did...she always did but I just laughed and made fun of her. Then one day about a month ago, she asked me to watch this video. Since I watched this video, every time I go outside, it crosses my mind to put sunscreen on. Now do I? Not yet because it takes a while to break a habit of never doing so. Since I saw this video I have vowed to myself that I would make sure everyone I know and care about sees it and knows the dangers of melanoma. This story was exceptionally moving. When I read this, "Last year alone, she averaged two doctor’s appointments a week, getting her skin checked from head to toe and having an additional 12 biopsies for moles and freckles on her face, breasts, legs, armpits, arms and the sides of her torso" (thankfully, they were all noncancerous). “It’s exhausting, not to mention painful, to have all these biopsies,” Kate says. “But it’s a matter of life and death.” puhnuch bahy•op•see A punch biopsy is done with a circular blade ranging in size from 1 mm to 8 mm. The blade, which is attached to a pencil-like handle, is rotated down through the epidermis and dermis, and into the subcutaneous fat, producing a cylindrical core of tissue. Fascinating Fact: When it comes to sun screen lower SPFs can be better because larger SPFs create a false sense of security. For example using an SPF 15 sunscreen can be more protective than an SPF 100+ when applied correctly. Using too little or not reapplying often enough, due to the illusion of "extra protection", can prevent the true protection of the sunscreen. When I started doing more research, I saw the pictures and posters that other countries were using to show awareness. Just like the drug photos that scared me when I was little, these posters have convinced me to cover my skin, wear sun screen, and if I did go to the tanning bed, to go a little less often. Fascinating Fact: If you've had one bad sunburn by the age of 18, you've doubled your chances of getting melanoma. At a volunteer event, I rode with a friend to the place the event was being held. When we got out and started to head over, someone asked the group if they had some sunscreen and my friend said yeah we do. She proceeded to tell us how she and her dad put sunscreen on their arms before they start driving. I remember thinking that was smart but thinking I would never do that because I'm tan and never get burned. Rethinking this conversation, I'm now wanting to put a tube of sunscreen in Big Bertha (we gave my mom's purse a name because it's so big and bulky) to use whenever we are driving and especially when we go on road trips . Not only could the driver get a lot of sun but so could the passenger. Ways To Prevent Skin Cancer (***Not all melanomas can be prevented, but there are things you can do that could reduce your risk of getting melanoma and other skin cancers.***) 1. Wear SPF everyday. Even after summer is over continue to wear your sunscreen. Use at least 15 SPF and choose a "broad spectrum" sunscreen that protects against UVB and UVA radiation. You should apply 2tbsp. thirty minutes before you head outside and continue to apply every two hours. Doctors suggest using an SPF between 30 and 70. 2. When conducting yard work or construction work, wear long sleeves and hats. 3. Stay in the shade when at all possible, especially during the hours of 10AM-4PM. This is the cheapest and easiest way to prevent any type of skin care. 4. Though a nice glow is nice to have, remember tanning beds can cause skin cancer. Remember those days that the paler you were the richer you were? Well what if the new mantra is the paler you are the smarter you are! 5. Wear sunglasses whenever you go outside. You eyes can contract skin cancer as well. Wraparound sunglasses that block 99-100 percent of the sun's UV rays are the best because they shield both eyes and the surrounding skin. 6. Check yourself monthly using a hand mirror and a full-length mirror. Ask a partner to check your posterior. Look for anything out of the ordinary. 7. Have a skin cancer screening at least once a year. Ask your doctor to take photos of atypical moles so that y'all can track them. The American Cancer Society’s awareness campaign for skin cancer prevention promotes the following slogan: “Slip! Slop! Slap!®… and Wrap” Slip on a shirt. Slop on sunscreen. Slap on a hat. Wrap on sunglasses to protect the eyes and sensitive skin around them. Fascinating Fact: Tanning beds are not healthier than sitting in the sun. Actually, the UVA radiation used in tanning beds is three times the amount of harmful radiation emitted by the sun, therefore more dangerous. So remember, before you start heading out to the lake, hitting the pool, BBQing, or watching the parade this Fourth of July weekend, Slip, Slop, Slap...and Wrap! Pack that 110 SPF in your Big Bertha and buy the cutest floppy hat you can find because what doesn't kill you will leave a scar. Share this to your friends and let them know the dangers of a bright bright sun shiny day. Have a safe and shady Forth of July XOXO, The Gearles P.s.- Curious to see what you look like to the sun? Check this video out to see how sunscreen and sunglasses really can save you. Plus it has really cool music.
|
Abby & AndreaA college student trying to figure out the world with her mom by herside. Life through my lens (Abby). We all have different stories and these are only some of mine. Some funny, some adventurous, some hard. Sit back and relax. Enjoy. Archives
March 2018
Categories
All
|