things I have opinions about wow.

I have three days off of school this week for this non-holiday of Thanksgiving celebrating the massacre and betrayal of Native Americans that are usually horribly misrepresented in your typical First Thanksgiving reenactment. In reality, after the Wampanoags selflessly shared their crops with the less fortunate Pilgrims, the Pilgrims retaliated by driving the Native Americans (native, as in they were inhabiting and taking care of America long before and a lot better than the Pilgrims were) into reserves and bringing plagues and diseases that in the end led to a drastic decrease in the Native American population today. The Puritans even tried to convert the Native American “savages” to their Christian way of life. And then of course there’s the issue of the blatant cultural appropriation of Native American culture (remember when you saw someone dressed as an “Indian Princess” for Halloween.) Every time I read an article about this, (I’ve read about 7 over the weekend) I cry a little bit and I hate the concept of Thanksgiving a little more.

c. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day to give thanks which is something that we actually do need, but it’s really not achieving its purpose today.

d. I REALLY hate eating turkey and you really can’t go through today in America without being bombarded by the smells and sights and cookbooks of people cooking turkey everywhere you go.

If you’re not from America, and you don’t really have any idea what I just ranted about or you want to hear informed opinions from people who know what they’re talking about/ are not 12 years old, read this.

On the other hand, I totally want to wish everyone who celebrates it, a Happy Hanukkah.

But yeah, no one really wants to hear me complain about how much I hate everything, so here are some of the things that I actually like. I guess you could say these are the things I’m thankful for . (see what I did there???????)

1. Nylon’s interview with Lana Del Rey

Lana is the cover star for Nylon’s annual America issue this year as well as one of my favorite singers, with her flowing, intense voice and lyrical ability, I can't get enough of her and am anxiously awaiting the arrival of her next album, as well as her new movie Tropico. The first time I heard her voice was in an H&M ad when I was about ten, but despite my age, I completely and utterly fell in love. It seems like Nylon managed to somehow ask all the questions about her life and her work without being overly prying and pushy.

2. Forty Fridas : Ellen Heck’s series of portraits depicting forty different girls and women dressed as the beautiful Frida Kahlo, a woman is personally a giant inspiration to me because of her “unconventional” beauty, strength, and talent. “each portrait focuses intimately on the task of pretending to be someone one isn't– and in so doing, revealing oneself all the more.” <3

3. Wrap Me Up The best writing blog I’ve ever read. The writer of the blog, Rosie, is funny, smart, and kind (She’s messaged me on various occasions to tell me how cool I am )Her interests include “sea creatures, high fashion, human anatomy, horror movies, making bows, Patrick Dempsey’s face, feminism, various bands, anything Winona Ryder touches, funny pictures of other people’s dogs, and, the fine art of netflixing while eating gummy worms.” I will totally understand if everyone immediately unfollows me and follows her because she is just that cool. {In fact, go follow her now. Go my minions, go!} And of course, she is an amazing writer. Two of my favorite pieces of hers are “Suburban Mom’s that aren’t my Mom are my Worst Nightmare: A Documentary in Four Parts” and “Second Sun”.

4. Sonic Youth. Wow I just started listening to them and to be quite frank, they are thebomb.com (note- I literally just spent 10 minutes on thebomb.com and I get the feeling that that says a lot about my personality and the way that my brain works) Um... I just spent about 20 minutes trying to figure out how to "embed" the playlist of my favorite Sonic Youth songs and I think now's a good time to mention that when it comes to some computer things, I am pretty much an old lady, as in I don't know what I'm doing but I can look adorable trying to figure it out.

5. My family (cue the awws). Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. How cute!
I actually have a heart {wow!} and I am sometimes in the mood for doing emotional things with other people. I recommend being around other people for extended periods of time, because contrary to popular belief, NOT everyone wants to steal your happiness. *shock horror*

Despite the fact that I just complained about how horrible thanksgiving is for about an hour, I still have some Thanksgiving pictures saved on my computer (Yeah, I’m not exactly sure what’s wrong with me) All of these photos are borrowed/stolen from Instagram. I repeat: none of these photos are mine, PLEASE, do not sue me.

I'm extremely happy that I have the rest of the week off of school seeing that I can now catch up on my blogging, room decorating, journaling, and everyone's favorite... homework! (Please do not be fooled that was sarcasm of the highest level.)

Happy Thanksgivukkah you all/ Happy November 28!

~Kanyinsola