Hey Reggae

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Reggae Fest is a music festival that is held in Austin, TX every third weekend of April. They feature local musicians and performers from around the state, as well as bring in headliners from all over the world. Its a place of culture, diversity, and flavor that is sitting right in our backyard at Auditorium Shores!

The tickets are anywhere from $18-$40, depending on if you buy the weekend pass, or a single day pass, and all registration needs to be done before hand, simply online on their website.  All you need to do is either print out your ticket, or present it electronically at the gate!

This festival was such a fun escape from the crazy thing that is life. Good music, great people, and a beautiful Austin skyline, can’t be beat anywhere else.

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FIN

Hey everyone! So this post is going to be a little bit different from the others. See, I’m breaking the fourth wall down so-to-speak and writing all about…writing. Yep, this post is my experience this past semester and being assigned this Blog as one of our projects.

To be quite honest, at first I was very unsure of what to write about, sometimes I still am, and that’s okay. However, I am happy that I had this assignment because it was a way for me to be able to get out of my comfort zone and actually hone in on my writing skills and abilities. Sure, I still make mistakes every once in a while, but then again, so does everyone.

Some of the things that I really enjoyed about WordPress was the fact that it was so user-friendly throughout the entire process. It seemed to have an add-on/button for any feature you really wanted to incorporate into your work. My favorite tool, for some weird enough reason, was the widget and being able to show my tweets as they air live.

Why you may ask? I take pride in my jokes and truly believe I am hilarious, so of course why not be happy for even more exposure! (by the way, if you’re not already following, go ahead
@jakethecole)
As for things that weren’t effective and could use improvement, I would have to say with making the layouts and preset themes, a little easier to be able to strip away and customize even further.

This blog was not only just an exciting class project for me, it was also a chance to sharpen my writing and add to my portfolio. Allowing myself the opportunity to publish my content online and creating that presence early on is going to benefit me hugely whenever it comes to trying to achieve that desired internship or dream job.

I have able to take the posts that I have previously published, look and interpret the analytical and statistics that come with it, and pitch it into credibility that I am an experienced writer (which is even true now).

For instance my post popular week was the week of Feb 6, with a total of 44 views and 14 visitors. My most popular post being my post where I actually gave a shout out to fellow blogger LADYHOOD. Overall it got 22 views, not the most, but for being an organic blog with just myself promoting it, I’m proud of the momentum that is being made.

My future plans for the blog are really to post whenever I have something on my mind, or there is something that I feel needs a voice. I am glad that I did have the chance to be an active voice advocating for LGBT rights and equality. Love is Love. And with that, until next time, stay fierce, and stay fabulous!

 

 

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Wear Your Pride

Hey everyone! Summer is fast approaching and for me this means my birthday, gay pride month and months off of school where I can hibernate my worries away. June is declared the official Gay Pride month and thats where we celebrate the history and the community. This summer being my first that I’m 21 (finally right?) I wanted to go all out and finally go to my FIRST gay pride parade.

Source: Austin 360

Being in San Marcos, what seems more appropriate than to go to Austin, TX, for their annual PRIDE parade. Pride is a time where the LGBTQ+ community can come together and celebrate everything that their life is. On an average day, we, as gay people, cannot openly live our lives without the fear of judgement and ridicule from our peers. Pride allows us to be able to, even if just a day, feel that we are celebrated and loved, as opposed to being shunned and isolated.

Austin Pride takes place annually during the third weekend of August. Pride consists of a bunch of different events, including: Mr. and Mrs. Austin Pride, Werk Fashion show, Parade, Stonewall Celebration and so many more!

Register for Pride this year, and come celebrate LOVE!

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Youtube: Ally?

Hello world!

So today I wanted to talk about YouTube. Funny enough, I am apart of the generation that was split with no technology/the digital age. I can vividly remember what life was like without computers, HD T.V.s, heck I even remember when some cars had phones in them (and no I’m not joking). This is also funny because I am only a measly 20, almost 21-years-old.  Along with this, the digital age was also a huge part of my upbringing, and one of the pioneer websites would definitely have to be the platform that is YouTube.

Source: YouTube.com

YouTube, which has been known to be the safe haven for pretty much any audience, has recently released in early march, their new restricted mode. This mode ideally was supposed to make it to where a smaller subset of users were allowed to have a more restricted access without having to see content they would otherwise rather not see. In theory this sounds like no big deal, but then users started to notice something. Along with this new restricted mode, they noticed that LGBTQIA+ content was getting censored and taken away. Youtube has a rich history of supporting their LGBT+ creators and audience viewers, so this as you could understand, took a few people by shock.

The YouTube Creators department, which oversee’s up and coming vloggers and content creators, sent out a tweet on March 19, that you can read here. Essentially it was a press statement that just explained they never intended to restrict the content of LGBT, and explained that it was not censoring LGBT videos, just some of the sensitive issues that come along with that topic, whatever that means. They proceeded to thank everyone for keeping YouTube an “inclusive, diverse, and vibrant community.”

What do you think of the new restricted mode? I would love to hear your feedback. Personally I can see how they are trying to accommodate all audiences, but at the expense of almost oppressing another community? Thanks for reading and don’t forget to check out and follow my social media and stay updated!

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The Art of Self Love

Hi everyone! So in the midst of April for a college student you can have anywhere from one day literally no assignments, to the very next day with three essays, two assignments and one research project. With everything going on, it can be really easy to get caught up in the stress and lose yourself.

You have to know when to take a step back. A lesson that I have learned thus far into my collegiate experience is that whenever things seem to start becoming too much. For you, it can be a simple walk in the park, for me, I have recently gotten into reading as a nice little escape from reality occasionally. It’s all about finding that happy place for you, so no matter how fast life is going, you can always get into that slow lane, at least for five minutes, and decompress from the stress bubble that is life.

Something I have also learned over the years is that bottling up all the emotions that you are dealing with is not going to help you in the long run. It can be crazy difficult to open up and be vulnerable with others, but usually after doing so, I have found that I feel so much lighter and like I can breathe easy again. Remember that if things ever get too hard, someone is always there to listen to you. You can always call OR text the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-(800)-273-8255.

I know this part may sound cheesy, but I heard something from someone the other day and it really resonated with me. It went a little like “in the end it will all work out, and if it hasn’t, then it is not the end yet.” And as RuPaul always says “If you can’t love yourself…how in the hell you goin’ love somebody else?”

Source: Giphy.com

 

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An Ode to LADYHOOD

Welcome everyone!

Today I want to jump right in and talk about this new blog I came across. The author goes by the name of Pinkspen and the name of the blog is LADYHOOD. LADYHOOD advocates self-love, peace and equality for all women. The reason I love this blog so much is because if anyone knows me, I am one for all of us to unify and help one another instead of berate and bully each other. As Pinkspen introduces herself and gives the run down of what her intentions with her writing are, she also establishes that she wants to first and foremost be a mentor to women who would seek her advice.

“Talking to a stranger, someone who does not know you (a mentor), can reveal those inadequacies that those closest to you, cannot. I want to be that mentor for you!” Pinkspen said in her blog.

That passage really resonated with me as I have found out multiple times in my life that once I open up to someone else and express whatever emotions or difficulties I may be feeling. Albeit it being hard, I still feel relieved after venting and talking out what I am thinking, rather than keeping it all bottled up.

Credit: https://aladyhoodjourney.wordpress.com/2016/10/31/its-not-a-choice/

The blog post that originally caught my eye was her entry titled “It’s Not a Choice…” This article was vocalizing the issues members of the LGBTQIA+ community feel in their upbringing, and recent historic events that have taken place.

She starts the post expressing on how it would be insane for one to wish to receive the trials and tribulations one does for being apart of this community. If you have read my blog before you know very well I resonate with that ideology. Although I am glad someone outside of the community, Pinkspen identifying as heterosexual, is vocalizing the issues.

Throughout her article she provides statistics and links to other sources that further share her ideology of equality and acceptance. I just wanted to give an appreciation post to Pinkspen and I found that bit of work refreshing.

Make sure you check out the rest of Pinkspen’s blog where you can find her social media, and follow her blog for more updates!

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Being a face of a University

Hey Everyone, I hope y’all are all doing well. So this blog post I wanted to gear this blog a little more towards my other jobs whenever I am not writing this blog. I actually am a campus tour guide and new student orientation leader for Texas State University. I am employed under their Undergraduate Admissions department, and I work closely with prospective students and their families as they come take their first few steps on Texas State campus.

One thing that I pride myself on, is that I have found myself lucky to have been involved in quite a few programs/jobs that deal with incoming students. I figure myself lucky because I have had families and students come and express their thanks for creating a warm welcome for them. I should add that occasionally these instances are when families are asking me how inclusive Texas State is for the LGBT community.

New Student Orientation Summer 2016

I even had one mom ask me what the community was like as her student was transgendered, and she was curious to see a student’s perspective. Letting her know that Texas State actually prides itself on its diversity and ability to be inclusive with its students. I informed her we have many LGBT+ organizations on campus, an office of Student Diversity and Inclusion, even referring her to specific transgendered organizations such as Transcend.

Essentially being one of the faces of a university I reach a wide audience of students and guests that visit our institution. Knowing this, I also know that I need to be confident and effective leader and communicator. Doing so in hopes that if I can impact at least one student to see a student confidently living their life and effectively executing leadership roles, then my job is complete honestly. I love what I do and take every day with a grain of salt. Sure I get those guests that sometimes put a damper on your day, but you just have to push through it, always looking ahead at the bigger picture.

Thanks for reading my latest blog post! Remember if you would like to stay updated on all of my upcoming posts, you can follow my blog, or follow me across social media!

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Goodbye Texas, Hello World!

Hey everyone, and welcome back! As you may have guessed, I’m about to go on a bit of traveling! So a little bit more about that, I am actually going on a long-distance road trip up to Canada from Texas. I am going with three of my closest friends on a 10-day road trip to Toronto, Canada, then following we are going to head back down and stop in New York City, New York, and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Credit: Shutterstock.com

So as my blog is all about LGBT lifestyle and perspective, a huge factor while we were deciding where we wanted to travel was definitely inclusive. Toronto has a rich history of progressive mindset for the LGBT community. You can actually check out a timeline of all the accomplishments the city currently has in regards to the community. While we are in Toronto there we are going to a really interesting restaurant called O. Noir where there motto is “it’s better in the dark.” The restaurant serves your meal in the dark, possibly really cool, possibly really terrifying.

On our way back from our adventure in Canada, we plan to make a pit stop in New York city and chase the dream of what it would be like to live in the big apple! While we are there I will finally, I repeat, FINALLY have the opportunity to see my first ever Broadway show, Wicked! Finally, after countless hours spent listening to the soundtrack on Spotify and watching every episode of Glee ever, my body is ready for this fabulous production.

Credit: GoNola.com

To end the grand excursion, we are going to visit New Orleans, Louisiana. While we are there we are going to try to see the House they used in American Horror Story: Coven, visit the French Quarter and of course visit the world-famous Bourbon Street.

I am ecstatic to take this adventure as it will be my first time going this far north, not only in the United States, but also out of the country. As I am going with some of my best friends I am thinking that this will be a crazy experience, not only where I will be able to learn more about my friendships but also create memories that are going to last a lifetime.

 

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