should YOU speak up? | nerdy & quirky

january playlist

new year, new songs

Almost Famous- Noah Cyrus

Don't Leave- Snakeships, MØ
Paris- The Chainsmokers ft. Louane
Shutter Island- Jessie Reyez
A Thousand  Times- Oh Honey
Sleep On The Floor- The Lumineers
Shape Of You- Ed Sheeran
Fireworks- You Me At Six
Quit You- Lost Kings ft. Tinashe
Say You Won't Let Go- James Arthur
Best- Borgore

Jan. 22- Jan. 28 | Week Vlog.

i am | molly kate kestner | spoken word

Jan. 15- Jan. 21 | Week Vlog.

youtuber rap battles: d-trix vs. timothy delaghetto

guys, this video makes my heart happy.

i expected tim & dom to start roasting each other bc that's what you think of when you see "rap battle" but no, ofc they did the unexpected. everything that they rapped about was to put each other up instead of down, focus on their highs instead of lows, etc. they even brought in a bunch of other asian youtubers to spread this positivity. they managed to create some really sick rhymes without the negativity & that's definitely something that this world needs right now. 

also, my favorite line was "cuz like a viet last name, i'd probably have no Nguyen" hehe.

Time Lapse | Painting.

forgiveness | a letter

we've all been hurt by someone before, whether it was a significant other, a bully, a family member, a friend, whoever. a lot of times, hurt turns into hate or apathy, but i am not someone who wants any hate or apathy or negative vibes in my life.
_____________________________________________________________

dear anyone who's ever hurt me,

i forgive you. i forgive anything that you could have said or done to hurt me. no matter how bad, no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much it has changed my life. the hurt may have almost killed me, but forgiveness is what has made me stronger.

i know that some people think i'm stupid or "too nice" for trying to truly forgive the people that hurt me but that's not it. i forgive people, not bc i'm "too nice" (though i might be) or bc i'm non-confrontational (also true) but bc i need it. & sometimes, bc THEY need it. not everyone forgives themselves for the things that they do.

ofc, my faith has a lot to do w this. i believe that God forgives us for all of the horrible things that we do & he still loves us unconditionally. forgiveness is such a blessing & i know that God wants us to share that blessing w others. if i hurt someone, i know that i would want forgiveness so why don't i start the trend & forgive others first? isn't the golden rule something like "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"?

that's what i try to do, i try to give others the forgiveness that i know i would want. what's the use in holding a grudge against someone for forever? it might possibly hurt them, if they care, but it would hurt me too. i would be holding onto some kind of hate & it would just eat at me. i don't want that. i don't want to hate anyone. i don't want to hold grudges. getting caught up in all of that isn't good for me, you know this, i know this, everyone knows this.

so let's stop dwelling on the pain of the past. let's start over, let's continue wherever we stopped off, or whatever! let's just let forgiveness do it's thing & make our lives better. i forgive you, i care about you, i love you.

Jan. 1- Jan. 7 | Week Vlog + end of MD trip.

Dec. 25- Dec. 31 | Week Vlog | MD

2017 goals

the clock has struck midnight- it's now 2017! happy new years! have you decided on your resolutions? do you believe in resolutions? are you going to keep your resolutions?

i've always thought that resolutions were kind of lame & unrealistic bc no one ever really keeps them so instead, i set goals for myself. these aren't exactly things that i want to achieve in 2017 but things that i want to work on/work towards.

1. be healthier- eat a little bit better, drink A LOT more water (pretty self explanatory)
2. draw more- just doodle/sketch something once a day (i hardly draw anymore but i'm gonna need to work on that if i wanna major in art, yikes)
3. spend less time on social media- go find something better to do (all i do is go back & forth on apps when i'm bored, even if there's nothing new, i need to stop)
4. live my best life (discussed in my last blog post)
5. be the best version of myself (i'm not satisfied w the person i am but i'll get there)
6. connect more- reach out to people, stop being so afraid (& stop shutting people out)
7. break out of my shell- i need to stop being shy & awkward  (so many missed opportunities)
8. put myself first- all i do is put others first & try to make them happy (it's time to focus on me)
9. stop stressing myself out- not everything is worth stressing out about (i stress so much, i'm my own stressor)

these are my top goals for the new year & i'm posting them bc people say that written goals are more effective (technicially this isn't written but i'll copy it down in a notebook, so same thing). i'm also posting it bc i think i need people to see my goals, know that i want to change, & hold me to it- even call me out if necessary. hopefully i'll be able to change some things in my life in order to meet these goals. i don't have to become a health freak, draw 24/7, delete social media, become an extrovert, etc.- as long as i get closer to my goals. baby steps are okay. progress is progress no matter how small.