There was a trend on TikTok a while back where people would list a whole bunch of things they could talk for hours about (“this is my part nobody else speak”... seem familiar?). Of course, given that my favorite thing to do is take TikTok/YouTube trends and turn them into blog form, today we’re going to dive into some things I could talk for hours on end about. These are some of the things I’m most passionate about (yes, many of them relate to books and music), and I thought it’d be fun to discuss some of them. Not for hours, though. I’ll be going into a little bit of detail, but hopefully, I won’t be rambling for too long.
1. Representation in books
I’m not going to lie when I say I have a whole rant prepared on this. Don’t worry, I’ll save you most of it. But, let’s get into some highlights.
First, I wanted to just put out into the world the fact that we need more representation in books. Not just POC and LGBTQ+ rep, but also disability, mental/chronic illness, neurodivergent, and other kinds of representation as well. When I read a book, I want to be able to relate to the characters. I want to connect with them. And it’s hard to connect with book characters when they’re all cut from the same cloth, simple as that.
Second, I wanted to get into the culture of recommending books. When all you’ve been recommended is books lacking proper representation, that’ll be the books you recommend to others, and the cycle continues. That was me for a long time, but now I make conscious decisions regarding the books I recommend and make sure that the books I recommend, I’m proud to recommend and are by authors that I respect. We need to change the culture that the same set of popular books are constantly being held on some sort of pedestal when there are other books that deserve the same appreciation.
Third, a fictional world is no excuse for a lack of representation in a book. Not only do many types of representation not rely on any specific cultural foundation, but you can properly represent cultures of all kinds and make it crystal clear to the reader that your characters come from diverse backgrounds without needing to explicitly state a culture or race that exists on Earth. For example, I can immediately tell from Girls of Paper and Fire that Chenna’s character is inspired by South Asian culture due to her description and the parts of the culture that Natasha Ngan incorporates into Chenna as a character. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Finally, you are allowed to like a book that is problematic or that is by a problematic author. However, you need to recognize its faults. For example, although A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas reminds me of a really happy time in my life, it has extremely harmful representation and romanticizes SA, among many other issues. For these authors, if you still want to read their books, then try your best to buy second-hand or borrow the book from the library.
2. How Marie Lu is my biggest inspiration
My queen deserves more appreciation and there are many reasons why. Let’s get into all of them, shall we? First, she can write any book in any genre and it’ll be amazing. Second, her books have amazing, diverse characters that I can actually relate to. Third, her family is adorable. Fourth, she’s so sweet -- her Instagram community is wonderful and she was really nice the time I got to meet her in person. Fifth, she uses her platform well to spread awareness about issues she’s passionate about. Need I say more? I love Marie Lu.
3. The impact An Ember In The Ashes and The Reader had on my life
These two are two of the books that had the greatest impact on me and are the most special to me. An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir was the book that got me back into reading in February 2020, and I can’t believe the series is over. Yes, I thought about the ending of the book a couple of nights ago and bawled my eyes out. No, we’re not going to talk about it because I miss the characters so much I can’t deal. AEITA was a huge sort of comfort for me in a time when I really just wanted to be alone and escape to somewhere else, so it will always have a special place in my heart. It’s also one of the first books/series that I’ll recommend to people (in addition to the Legend series by Marie Lu, of course). The Reader by Traci Chee is a book that I feel like no one has read but I desperately need someone to talk to me about it. My English teacher recommended it to me in freshman year, and when I got to the ending of the last book in the trilogy, The Storyteller, I lost it. I think The Storyteller is the book that made me cry the most. I sobbed for thirty minutes straight after I finished it, and for the next twelve hours, whenever I thought of the book, I would start crying again. Despite the crying situation, The Reader was a part of a really great time in my life, and it brings back happy memories. I love the characters of AEITA and The Reader with all my heart, and those two books/series are just so special to me.
4. Olivia Rodrigo’s talent
Olivia is also one of my biggest inspirations because she’s so young, yet so talented, well-spoken, and knowledgeable. She’s another person who uses her platform really well, and she just gives off such good energy. I’ll let you know, though, that I was a fan of her before “drivers license”, though that song SLAPS. I started following her after watching HSMTMTS in late 2019 and I’ve loved the original songs she’s posted on her Instagram. If “drivers license” gave you any hint, Olivia is incredibly talented at not only songwriting but singing as well. She grew up on Taylor Swift, and that definitely reflects in her lyrics because both Olivia and Taylor are the queens of complex lyrics that hit you hard. As a mediocre songwriter, I’ll tell you that it’s extremely difficult to write lyrics that are not only catchy and melodic but also meaningful and complex. Olivia can do both. Simple as that. I envy her talent and I respect her to the fullest extent.
5. The romanticization of toxic behavior in media
Books, TV shows, movies, all of that. I get that a lot of people use media to escape into another world, but when toxic behavior, especially in relationships, is blasted out and popularized in this media, I worry about the impression it casts on younger viewers. For example, cheating in relationships. When the main couple gets together after one of them cheats on their past SO with the other, it’s a turn-off for me, but sometimes, these couples are some of the most popular fictional couples out there. I also hate the whole “dominant male” thing that a lot of books have going. It’s not cute. It’s not an ideal relationship. We shouldn’t idolize that kind of behavior, point blank period.
Pike Place intermission!!
6. Holding influencers accountable
Hold everyone accountable, regardless of how many followers they have or who they may be. If they do something bad, call them out for it (but also don’t cancel them for it). Try to help them learn from their mistakes. Going along with this is holding influencers/celebrities accountable not only for their mistakes but also for using their platform in the right way. These people, who have audiences of millions of people, have such a wide reach, and they should take advantage of that fact. They should use their platform to speak on important issues. A great example is Amelie Zilber, who frequently uses her TikTok to spread awareness about global issues. That’s the way people should be using their platforms.
7. Cancelling vs criticizing
Cancel culture is incredibly toxic. There are two things that I want to talk about pertaining to cancel culture: first, that it does no good, and second, that simply providing constructive criticism is not the same as canceling. I feel like with cancel culture it’s like a “15 minutes fame situation” except the opposite. “15 minutes of shame”, might I say. The person getting canceled is hated on and torn down for a little bit, but then the buzz dies down and the person eventually emerges to their former status. If the person who did such a wrong is able to make their way back up to the top, then are they really learning anything? Are we really holding them accountable for their actions? On the flip side, people who dig through Twitter history and old Instagram comments from when celebrities were literal children in an attempt to cancel them is equally as toxic. What was funny in 2011 when you’re 15 years old and what’s funny now in 2021 when that person is 25 are two completely different things, and their social media behavior from those two time periods should be treated as such -- from two different time periods. Also, for us to progress as a society, we need to be able to recognize and accept constructive criticism. Focusing on the book community again, simply pointing out issues of your favorite author’s works is not a personal attack nor is it an attempt to “cancel” that author. It’s an attempt to help the author grow so they can write better books in the future.
8. How you can write a song and have it be about no one at all
We all know the “drivers license” drama by now. But let me say something. At least for me, when I write a song, it’s highly likely it’s about no one at all, or some of the events that I describe with the lyrics are exaggerated/imagined in order to form a better storyline. I wrote a whole song about an interaction that never happened at a bakery. I wrote a whole song about a voicemail that I never actually left. Let’s also take Taylor Swift as an example. She’s in a healthy, happy relationship right now, yet she’s still able to write incredible stories with her songs, stories about other people. She wrote “no body no crime” about a cheating husband that never existed. She wrote the whole teenage love triangle. She wrote all of these breakup songs like “champagne problems'' while totally in love. I’m not saying that every song lyric is made but, but not all them are the cold, hard truth either.
9. My personality types and how they’re unbelievably accurate
I could tell you all about my personality types, and I think I already did. I completely agree with being an ISFJ, enneagram 3, Hufflepuff, and Virgo. I also love to talk about how I went from an ESFJ to an ISFJ and a Ravenclaw to a Hufflepuff between freshman and sophomore year because I focused more on myself and put more value in my alone time.
10. Being alone vs being lonely
Going off of the previous point, there’s a huge difference between being alone and being lonely. Being alone isn’t necessarily bad. There are a lot of times where I don’t want to talk to anyone and would rather spend time by myself and with myself. In contrast, there are other times where I crave the presence of other people, and being by myself gets me down, in which case I’d classify myself as lonely. So, when someone tells you that they want to be alone, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Maybe they just need some time to regroup and recharge.
Well, that was about ten different mini-rants, but I hope you found this interesting!
コメント