Ramblings of an Aspiring Journalist

“People on every continent have realized that to thrive in the modern economy, they need to be able to think, reason, code and calculate at higher levels than before.”

drewdagostino:

When I decided to learn web development, it was for business reasons. I was sick of not knowing what I was talking about.

Now, I realize that it’s become much more than that. It goes beyond the new languages, concepts, and opportunities. Coding has changed the way I think - both for building…

I decided to learn coding for myself for my “independent study.” I could’ve coasted with just working. 

Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit.

Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know it’s normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.

—Ira Glass, This American Life

Whether it is allowing us to indulge our kinks, however mild – 50 Shades of Grey on Kindle – or extreme – discussing $6000 latex girls, or facilitating real life contact, technology has an increasing role in modern sexuality. The defining question of the next 10 years is likely to be whether it’s used more to maintain intimacy with partners over great distances and enhance relationships or create insular worlds where we can please ourselves.

—How Technology is Changing the Way We Have Sex (via thenextweb)

(via thenextweb)

…I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.

—Looking for Alaska

“Some other celebrity might sue a publication for calling her fat; Gaga’s fighting back by taking the high road, by showing the world that it’s not okay to critique her body — not because she’s a pop star, but because she is a human being, with feelings and a history of eating disorders and we can, and should, do better” -Dodai Stewart

So maybe I haven’t been the biggest Lady Gaga fan in the past. I enjoyed her music, but I wasn’t in love with it. I enjoyed watching her antics, but I wasn’t convinced by them. She sat as a benchwarmer on my iPod, occasionally getting her time in the spotlight for a good jam session in the car (obviously alone) but ultimately being passed up for another song.

But this is something I commend her for. I was never a Little Monster, but reading this article convinced me not only of her compassion, but that she really was, despite everything we’ve seen, a human being.

It takes courage to embrace yourself after others tear you down. It takes even more to be an icon of body acceptance to millions of people across the world. 

It’s the sad truth that the majority of us, myself included, fail to recognize ourselves for the strength and beauty we already have. Instead we focus on our weaknesses, our pain,  our outer appearance. We let those flaws define who we are, instead of acknowledging and owning what we already have. If Lady Gaga is the way to finally help people accept themselves, then I will down my glass of wine in support of her.

Here’s to you, Gaga.