Study Breaks

VOLUME 30 ISSUE 8

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The Sweetest Dreams of Matt Crump The Austin artist discusses his “candy minimalist” style.

Meet ThatTommyGirl, YouTube’s DIY Queen

Cat Calls of NYC

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PAGE 28

The Very Serious Comic Relief of CantoMando PAGE 40

on the cover.

MATT CRUMP

BY JESUS A. ACOSTA

fixtures

features

thoughts

THATTOMMYGIRL

Note from the Editor ....

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Surprise & Prejudice .................

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Who’s Who ...................

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The Rise of Digital Natives .........

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Playlist .........................

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A Novel Concept .......................

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Backdrop ...................

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Be Witched ..............................

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November Horoscopes ... 44

Fear of Being Too Much .............

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The Girl Gone Green ................

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CANTOMANDO

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your personal space, and in that way is effective in ways online media never can be.

Sophie Sandberg, the subject of one of our feature stories, has unwittingly stumbled upon this revelation. The New York University student runs Cat Calls of NYC, an activist program that chronicles catcalls hurled at women by writing them in chalk on the streets of New York. Sandberg runs a massively popular Instagram account that has helped her cause balloon, but the real value in the project is that her art is an invasive media. In the same way catcalls assault the women who hear them, so too do her sidewalk screeds assault the pedestrians who walk on them. The similarity is both apropos and intentional, which is just one more reason the project is brilliant.

What’s more, the physicality of her project accomplishes a feat quickly becoming rare in our increasingly digitized world: It allows her message to extend beyond her echo chamber. Her Instagram account, while counting its followers in the tens of thousands, reaches only people who follow it; it appears only on the feeds of those who already believe in it. The same thing goes with her Twitter, Facebook and other social media: Her message only finds the ears of those who have sought it. Granted, yes, a small percentage of critics might follow and troll her, but only a tiny minority. The vast majority of people who follow Cat Calls of NYC are not the people who need to hear its message.

Even as someone with a very vested interest in the survival of print media, it can be difficult sometimes to see the medium lasting much longer. My best estimate is that, by and large, the field will shrivel into irrelevancy within the next two decades.

However, my boss, who runs the printing press that sponsors this magazine, has a comforting mantra about the industry.

“Print is the last of the invasive media,” he says. Sure, you can find a new Instagram page on your Explore feed, see a new account on Twitter because of a well-placed retweet or find your new crush tagged in a Facebook photo, but each of these engagements is highly conditional. Before any of those apps have a chance to ensnare you, you first have to download them.

In fact, you have to first have a smart phone in the first place.

While yes, the small percentage of Americans without iPhones and social media dwindles further daily, the point still holds water: With web media, you have to lead yourself to the water.

Print media, on the other hand, which takes place in the real, 3D world, brings the water to you. For years, on college campuses, Study Breaks handed out magazines; we put our product into your lives. Even now, student organizations and politicians constantly insert themselves into your orbit with their fliers, stickers and pamphlets. You don’t need to have a phone, a radio, a television to experience their message; it invades

Enter, the chalk on the sidewalk. In its indiscrimination, in its tangibility, it reaches everyone. It reaches young and old, male and female, Democrat and Republican, atheist and believer — until it gets washed off, that is. It reaches fewer people than her Instagram, of course, but it reaches audiences her social media never will. It might even reach a cat caller or two.

So, in an age where Instafamous and famous are slowly beginning to lose any distinction, where online activism runs rampant and echo chambers make greater and greater numbers of people deaf to reality, we can’t forget the power of boots-onthe-ground protest. Make fliers, chalk sidewalks, sit in hallways and get in the way. You might reach fewer people, but you’ll reach the people you need to.

Enjoy, Mark Stenberg Editor-in-Chief @markstenberg3

our team.

FOUNDER Gal Shweiki

ACCOUNTING Elizabeth Castro

ART DIRECTOR Jesus Acosta

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Marcus Flores

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Mark Stenberg

DISTRIBUTION Frank Hartfield, Jose Espinoza, Ernest Ward

contributors.

WRITERS Danielle Richardson, Florida State University Jonathan Christian, Our Lady of the Lake University Jenna Benchetrit, McGill University Jen Tombs, University of Warwick Kylie Harrington, University of Southern California Lexi Anderson, Pratt Institute Raina Sciocchetti, Unity College Monica Petrucci, Emerson College Cameron Andersen, New York University Christine Fang, University of California, San Diego Sarah Penix, Ohio University

PHOTOGRAPHERS Jayne Chen, Baruch College Keiko Chanderbhan, Concordia University Karla Mellett, Minneapolis College of Art and Design

ILLUSTRATORS Yun Yao, Academy of Art University Kira Widjaja, Rhode Island School of Design Kayla Rader, Northwest Vista College Ben Miller, Towson University

writing internships.

Study Breaks is written exclusively by a team of student interns from across the country. These writers work with the editorial team to pitch and submit one piece a week for the website, in addition to writing for the monthly print magazine.

Spring internships run from Jan. 28 to May 28, 2019, and applications close Jan. 14. If interested, email editorial@studybreaks.com with “Student Writing Internship� in the Subject.

Introduce yourself in the body, making sure to include your name, school and major. Please attach at least two samples of your work. Ideal writers are intelligent, funny and talented, though no formal experience is necessary.

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backdrop.

EXPLORING COLLEGES + THEIR CITIES

B Y K A R L A M E L L E T T, M I N N E A P O L I S C O L L E G E O F A R T A N D D E S I G N

A few things to know about life in Minneapolis: Bonfires happen all the time.

The LGBTQ community is a big part of the city’s fabric.

We support local businesses, as well as the local arts and music scene.

Everyone is pet friendly, especially coffee shops.

Pho is a popular during the cold season.

Good company is important, especially during the winter.

Students at MCAD are always working late into the night.

As the weather cools, people become more nocturnal.

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& In light of Ibi Zoboi’s new novel, here are the four best retellings — with a twist! — of “Pride and Prejudice.”

B Y D A N I E L L E R I C H A R D S O N , F L O R I D A S T AT E U N I V E R S I T Y I L L U S T R AT I O N S B Y N Y M E R A N I C O L E , A C A D E M Y O F A R T U N I V E R S I T Y

Once upon a time, there was a 13-year-old girl who stum-

her very own Kindle as a present, along with Amazon’s gift

bled across the 2005 film “Pride and Prejudice” when

of just one free Kindle book: “Pride and Prejudice.” Co-

she was scrolling through her cable channels on a lazy

incidence? Or fate? Whichever one, a lifelong obsession

afternoon. It opened up her heart and mind to a world

and adoration for Jane Austen’s most famous work and

she had never known before, a world of sophisticated

all things related to it soon blossomed.

dialogue, fancy balls, unconventional heroines and (most importantly to her) romance.

“Pride and Prejudice” (“P&P”) is a romance novel that has managed to remain relevant for over 200 years, at-

A few months later, on her 14th birthday, this girl received

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tracting a fanbase of people from all walks of life, both

young and old. The deep love that many feel for the

“THE SECRET DIARY OF LIZZIE BENNET” BY

story that Jane Austen penned has inspired countless

BERNIE SU AND KATE RORICK

recreations, such as “Bridget Jones’s Diary” and this year’s “Pride” by Ibi Zoboi.

Serving as a companion novel to the successful YouTube series, “The Lizzie Bennet Diaries,” this book did

For all the purist “P&P” fans, this list may not be for

not receive nearly as much attention as anticipated.

you. But for the ones like myself, who are eager to

It can be read as a standalone story, but really, Austen

get “Pride and Prejudice” however they can, brace

fans would be doing themselves a disservice by not

yourselves. Get your Amazon cart on standby or pre-

watching the webseries first. It really helps to flesh

pare to head over to your nearest bookstore. These

out the characters and story.

five books are bound to satisfy that Darcy/Elizabeth craving (but they might have different names).

In this “Pride and Prejudice” adaptation, Lizzie Bennet is a 24-year-old grad student who starts vlogging

“HAUNTING MR. DARCY” BY KARALYNNE MACK-

her life, including her interactions with her beloved

RORY

sisters and one seemingly snobbish William Darcy. The best part of this retelling is its uniqueness and how

This novel brings a supernatural twist to everyone’s

well it brought the characters to a modern setting,

favorite couple. Shortly after the Bingleys and Mr.

so much so that I often view this retelling as its own

Darcy leave Netherfield, Elizabeth gets into a carriage

thing apart from “P&P.” Read the book. Watch the

accident and finds her soul magically transported to

webseries. Or better yet, do both.

the aforementioned gentleman’s London home.

“ELIGIBLE” BY CURTIS SITTENFELD What follows are often hilarious interactions between a ghostly protagonist and the man she couldn’t want

Okay, okay, this one isn’t exactly “underrated” in

anything less to do with. This one made for a fun quick

terms of sales. It was a New York Times Best Seller,

read and stayed just true enough to the spirit (see

after all. Still, it wasn’t too well received by readers,

what I did there?) of Austen’s characters that I almost

netting only 3.6 stars on Amazon and Goodreads.

thought I was reading her own words at times.

I couldn’t disagree more with a rating. This book is great!

“PRIDE” BY IBI ZOBOI Sittenfeld’s novel ages up most of Austen’s characBefore even reading this book, it already held a spe-

ters, which was refreshing in a world where women

cial place in my heart. Zoboi takes Austen’s storyline

over 30 tend to not be the focus of love stories. Liz

and characters and uses them as the framework for

Bennet is into her career and has never been inter-

a novel about Zuri, a Haitian-Dominican teenage girl

ested in romance until she meets Fitzwilliam Darcy.

living in modern-day Brooklyn who just can’t stand

For all my “The Bachelor” enthusiasts, Bingley is an

the new boy next door, Darius.

ex-reality dating show contestant in this one, which makes for some interesting reading near the end of

As someone who cares about racial diversity in young

the novel. Overall, “Eligible” was certainly flawed, but

adult literature, it was fantastic reading this “re-

it’s buoyed by a fast-paced plot and just the right

mixed” version of one of my favorites. However, the

amount of familiarity to still feel new.

actual story is what makes me crazy for “Pride.” The romance feels sweet and fresh, not overly derivative of Austen’s book, and I can tell that Zoboi put a lot of care into the characters and setting. “Pride” was just released on Sept. 18, and I highly recommend it.

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the rise of the If you were raised on Cartoon Network and trap rap, your reality is fundamentally unlike any other in human history.

B Y J O N AT H A N C H R I S T I A N , O U R L A D Y O F T H E L A K E U N I V E R S I T Y I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y B E N M I L L E R , T O W S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

I cannot remember a day where the internet was not in my life. I am not entirely sure how to feel about this fact, but regardless of my indecision, it’s just the truth.

To be honest, compared to the majority of Generation Z, I’m fairly reserved when it comes to my internet lifestyle.

I don’t use any social media accounts and I’ve only perused through 4chan forums a handful of times. Plus, online multiplayer games do not interest me in the slightest.

You can call me old-fashioned — I’d personally call myself indifferent — but, to me, the internet is more of an essential tool than a communal platform to mingle about with the rest of the world. Nevertheless, in the grand scheme of the universe, I am a digital native.

No, “digital native” is not the title of an upcoming William Gibson novel or the newest entry into the “Matrix” franchise; rather, the term is used to describe anyone born during the digital age who does not have a point of reference to a time when some form of the internet did not exist. The term is mainly derived from an article written by author Marc Prensky in 2001 titled, “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.”

In the article, Prensky discusses a specific disconnect that digital immigrants — people born before the emergence and mass consumption of the internet — experience when attempting to interact with, or educate, digital natives. This conflict originates from the fact that the former group was born into a time where the internet did not exist and subsequently “immigrated” into a new age.

On the other hand, digital natives did not undergo this same type of dissonance, considering that the current technological era is their only point of reference, and in a sense, thrive in a state of blissful unawareness as a result.

When the definition of the term was called into question in September 2017, Prensky elaborated on the context in which digital natives should be used when applied to tech-savvy young people, stating that the term is largely a “metaphor” and “not about age, but about profound shifts in cultural attitudes.”

The writer went on, adding, “Young people today are part of a new ‘digitally enabled’ culture which has given them very different perspectives than the generation(s) that came before them.” Moreover, according to Prensky, the perspectives that greatly differ between generations include technology, privacy and socialization.

bers of Generation Z, the internet is an extension of reality, with the delicate barrier that separates real-life and internet culture growing blurrier by the day. The web is an entity that, despite its intangibility, creates a conduit for online dealings to leak out into the real world. When Tinder and Twitter are merely a thumb tap and swipe away, cyberspace choices can lead to in-your-face consequences if you’re not careful.

Then again, why is so much importance placed on the generational gap in the first place? Sure, past generations didn’t watch compilations of people brutalizing each other on Worldstar or send hateful messages to celebrities simply because they didn’t enjoy their fictional character in a film, but their youthful years held its own brand of societal nonsense and personal obstacles, some of which remain rampant in 2018.

On the whole, traits like confusion, stress and anxiety are not afflictions only applicable to kids in the internet age, but rather are symptoms typically synonymous with the awkwardly horrifying stage of life that is adolescence. As such, at their core, millennials share more in common with Gen X or the Baby Boomers than some would have you believe. Their understanding of culture may differ significantly, but the foremost factor separating me and my dad when he was 20 years old is the internet, and when examined from that viewpoint, the generational gap feels distinctly trite.

Remember this: No one expects to get old. One of these days, you might find yourself in the role of the irritable senior citizen shaking your finger at the misguided youth, and when you do, your title of digital native really won’t matter as much as it did — mostly because it never mattered in the first place. Despite your best efforts, you’ll probably end up on the outside looking in, lost in the remnants of the old world watching all the children run about plugged into their VR headsets and spewing slang that hardly sounds human.

But, as you sit on your porch with your cup of cold coffee in hand and collection of stray cats circling around your feet, you will recall that you were just like them all those years ago. Then, you’ll recollect on how it all worked out in the end and smile.

To a certain extent, Prensky is correct. For many memSTUDY BREAKS

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a novel Can the New York Public Library’s idea of turning classic novels into Instagram Stories actually work?

BY K YL IE HARRINGTON, UNIVERSI T Y OF S OU T HERN CAL IFORNIA I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y B E N M I L L E R , T O W S O N U N I V E R S I T Y

A brief survey of the things that I expect to see on Instagram stories: dog pictures, Spotify screenshots with glittery “Mood” stickers, inside jokes I don’t understand, someone’s wild Saturday night, memes and copious use of the SuperZoom tool. One thing that I don’t expect to see on Instagram stories: actual stories, specifically classic literature. But this fall, the New York Public Library is bringing exactly that to the platform.

On Aug. 22, the library’s Instagram account uploaded the full text of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to their Instagram story, augmented with bits of modern animation from illustrator Magoz that matched the text. The book is the first installment in the library’s series of “Insta Novels,” which were created in a partnership between the library and hip New York ad agency Mother. Next, they plan to give the “Alice” treatment to Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s ultra-creepy short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” pairing with new designers and illustrators to bring the stories to life.

The choice to upload the 26,432 words of “Alice” to Instagram feels unwieldy, but the product is surprisingly intuitive and fun to use. It’s like an e-book infused with a little bit of interactive magic, featuring extended animations at the beginning of chapters and occasional characters floating in and out of pages. Viewers only need to view the story as normal, holding down their thumb in the corner of the page as they finish reading the page and then lifting it when they are ready to proceed to the next section of text. There is a helpful cut-out section so errant thumbs don’t block the text, and the Story is preserved past its usual 24-hour expiration by sitting in the “Story Highlights” of NYPL’s account, so it can be re-read at any time.

In their initial press release, NYPL described it as “a reimagining of Instagram Stories to provide a new platform for iconic stories” that “aims to make great stories available even more widely.” The first three stories chosen for this program represent that well, as they are all engaging, short pieces that could feasibly be read in one sitting and can lead readers toward other books. All three also deal with themes of transformation, reflecting the change that NYPL hopes to affect in the Instagram experience: mixing the fun

and novelty of the average Instagram story with the intellectual weight of a well-crafted piece of writing. As more books are given the Insta Novel treatment, it’s possible that the NYPL highlight section will become a bookshelf of instantly accessible classics.

Although much of the marketing materials around Insta Novels emphasize their capability to get children and young teens to read, I am selfishly excited about the prospect of easy, fun access to classic novels. I’m always dogged by the feeling that the time I use flipping through Insta Stories or skimming yet another Vice article could be used reading, you know, an actual book. Sure, the Kindle app is always there, and my public library membership allows me to download most e-books for free, but (and I completely see how whiny this sounds) it’s just too hard! Millennial life is hard! Help me!

In all seriousness, NYPL’s project does represent an evolution in literature made to be read on smartphones. It’s an area that several artists have tried to crack into. Google Creative Lab has an office exclusively dedicated to creating things like a book built in the blockchain; three British universities are collaborating to make Ambient Literature, which personalizes stories using the reader’s GPS and weather data; and Japanese readers have been reading cell phone novels for at least 10 years. None of these forms have really caught on, at least in the English-speaking world, but Insta Novels, a well-designed reading experience on an app that people already use, might be the innovation that changes this pattern.

Americans clearly want to start reading again, as the growth in independent bookstores and steady rise in print book sales attests, and the recent boom in audiobook consumption makes it clear that even while we live tied to our phones, we have a deep desire for books that we can integrate into our digital lives. Perhaps the New York Public Library, which has been pushing for public literacy and knowledge for over a century, will be the ones to fulfill that need, complete with cute cartoons.

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be B Y J E N T O M B S , U N I V E R S I T Y O F WA R W I C K I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K R I S T E N L U C I U S , M I N N E A P O L I S C O L L E G E O F A R T A N D D E S I G N

A new strain of feminism is bringing a modern aesthetic to an ancient lore.

This October, a reboot of the cult TV show “Charmed” premiered, an indication that enthusiasm has renewed in a genre that could be called “the feminine supernatural.” The new series returned 20 years after the original aired, an era that also saw the birth of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “The Craft.”

While the trailer for the new “Charmed” isn’t the most inspired, it reflects a kind of language that mixes female empowerment with witchy vibes, all parceled up in easily consumable soundbites. (The trailer features the line “nothing is stronger than your sisterhood.”) The official synopsis of the CW show calls it a “fierce, funny, feminist reboot of the original series” that features the characters “tearing down the patriarchy.”

This is, in many ways, the perfect time for a “Charmed” reboot. The world of pop culture, especially online, is saturated with icons of witchcraft and magic, such as tarot cards, pentagrams and crystals. The witch aesthetic is a commercial gold mine, as it’s commonly portrayed as an ideology that’s simultaneously feminine, on-trend and political.

The new world of information and connectivity has coincided with a resurgence in feminist sentiment and activism — most recently the #MeToo movement, which relies on the communication abilities and international platform that social networks like Twitter provide.

And as feminism resurfaces in current politics and pop culture, so do witches.

I’ve written before about how feminist movements and their aesthetics are increasingly using the imagery and language of witchcraft. In the online world, this is more apparent than ever. Some people identify as witches in the literal sense.

But more increasingly, others take up the mantle of what witches represent and have represented: the villains of society’s collective stories.

For instance, “Witchblr” — the witch side of Tumblr — was the 11th largest Tumblr community last year, according to Wired. Witchblr is a mixture of fashion and wellness trends, spiritual beliefs and feminist politics. Wired also points out that its culture has leaked into other parts of Tumblr; a common jokey comment on text posts is “like to charge, reblog to cast,” referring to spells.

Another such social media platitude says, “We are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn,” a phrase that you can find everywhere online, from inspirational Instagram posts to mugs on Amazon to spoken word poetry on YouTube.

Witchcraft as a symbol or statement isn’t anything new. The image of the witch is one that haunts our collective consciousness, a shadow of the past and of our ancestors’ fears that materializes, almost supernaturally, in our books, our movies and our fashion.

Part of what makes witches fascinating is that they, to an extent, represent a dark underside of history. Many historians believe that women were targeted during the witch-hunts of Europe because of their independence in trades such as beer brewing, medicine and midwifery.

Contrary to popular belief, a lot of witch-hunts didn’t take place in the so-called Dark Ages but during the Renaissance, a time of rationalism and science. In fact, some academics, such as sociologist Maria Mies, believe the purging of inconvenient women and the scientific revolution went hand in hand.

As women organized to demand equal rights in the 20th century, the fear that lurks behind the image of the witch crept up again. Famously, in 1992, televangelist Pat Robertson claimed that feminism “encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

Last century feminists utilized the media of TV and radio.

And now there’s something even more information-saturated: the internet. Using the web, these cabals of neo-witches can flip the narrative, as they finally have control of the messages communicated about their beliefs.

It could even be said that we’re experiencing another Renaissance, of a wholly more female sort. Using the image of the witch, women on the internet are transforming the face of social activism and challenging the way people see them and the world.

Indeed, try as society might, it has never been fully able to shake that enduring image of the witch — the independent, inconvenient woman. She has persistently materialized for centuries, and may very well be now taking over.

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being too much

In the era of “extra,” how do you deal with emotional intensity?

B Y L E X I A N D E R S O N , P R AT T I N S T I T U T E I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y K R I S T E N L U C I U S , M I N N E A P O L I S C O L L E G E O F A R T A N D D E S I G N

“People try to put us down by saying, ‘She’s doing the most’ or ‘He’s way too much.’ But, like, why would we want to do the least?” asks transgender activist, writer, director and TV host Janet Mock on “Jewelry,” a song off Dev Hynes’ new album, “Negro Swan.” The impassioned opening addresses the relationship between body and space and belonging.

For Mock and Dev Hynes, who performs as Blood Orange, the prelude speaks on many levels. How are queer, black bodies perceived as too much? How does one combat that?

Hynes confronts black depression and the anxieties of queer people of color in his new album. Yet, while the concept of “too-muchness” certainly informs certain people groups, it is not specific to any one type of person. It seems like everyone at some point in their life has felt as if they were dominating too much space, making their bodies and minds too largely exposed, vulnerable to criticism. There is a fear of making others uncomfortable with your very existence.

For me, the fear of being too much can be broken into two separate categories: feeling too much and being too noticeable, and often both layers of emotions are experienced simultaneously. Imi Lo, a clinical psychotherapist and author of the book “Living With Emotional Intensity,” writes, “People who feel more deeply and intensely than others are more aware of subtleties; their brain processes information and reflects on it more deeply.” You may be, “exceptionally perceptive, intuitive, and keenly observant of the subtleties of the environment,” but are also “overwhelmed by the constant waves of social nuances.”

Janet Mock’s overture in “Jewelry” bends to her experience with this kind of insecurity. Being a transgender woman, Mock is no stranger to the importance of identity. She began her transition in her freshman year of high school — funding the medical costs by working as a sex worker — and came out publicly as a trans woman in 2011. From there, she used her platform as a journalist to speak about trans issues. In April 2015, Mock was invited to Oprah Winfrey’s network for a segment titled “Becoming Your Most Authentic Self,” where she discussed “proudly and unapologetically” claiming her identities.

According to Lo, psychologists have been unable to agree on a single defining attribute for the trait of feeling too much; the phenomenon is not a pathology. However, it’s apparent that anyone, young or old, can exhibit these feelings, and more importantly, there’s nothing wrong with having them. Lo says, “a person can be made to feel ‘wrong’ for the most part of his or her life, and internalising this sense of shame can lead to depression, low self-esteem, inability to self-regulate, and inner emptiness.” Human emotion is never to be taken lightly.

So, how do you break from self-doubt, the idea that the world sees you as some inconvenient enigma rather than a valid human being? From Mock, one can learn to be proud of the way they occupy a space, even when they may be unwanted. In “Jewelry” she says, “So, like, my favorite images are the ones where ... someone who isn’t supposed to be there, who’s like in a space, a space where we were not ever welcomed in or we were not invited, yet we walk in and we show all the way up.” In other words, dominate your space; be the space.

Someone who identifies with “feeling too much” may believe their emotions are too heightened. You’re too emotional, have too much baggage, are too much to handle or too moody, etc.

Intertwined with such feelings is the inevitable anxiety of having people accept you, despite these perceived flaws. Others may paint you as a walking time-bomb, exaggerate you as an entity of contained emotional chaos rather than a person to engage with.

One of the most crucial concepts to grasp is that unwarranted criticism comes from “people’s fear of what is unfamiliar,” as Lo puts it. Fighting against the carefully crafted box the world has placed you in means expanding on your own obscurity.

Allow yourself to be curious about your own individuality. Lo adds, “Your high level of awareness of subtleties is not only unusual but also extremely precious.” You aren’t too much; in fact, you’re exactly who you’re supposed to be.

Similarly, shame can also stem from the fear of being too noticeable, from being fearful of expressing yourself just as you are. Something as simple as stepping onto the street can be an exhausting activity if you are uneasy about the scrutiny of the public gaze. Is this red lip too much? Am I too colorful?

Is my voice too loud, my views too outspoken, my heart too ambitious?

The fear of being too much is legitimate, but it doesn’t have to be your reality. Normalizing these worries and working toward a change in the stigmatization of a self-conscious mental state are some of the first steps to creating a culture where people aren’t condemned by the space they take up, but are congratulated for it.

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green

YouTube sustainability guru Manuela Baron is making zero-waste chic.

BY R AINA S CIO C CHE T T I, UNI T Y C OL L EGE I L L U S T R AT I O N B Y S O F I E M O U S T A H F I D , U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A R Y L A N D , C O L L E G E P A R K

A common myth holds that sustainability is impossible, or that starting a zero-waste lifestyle requires you first toss all your plastic possessions into a trash can.

The reality couldn’t be more different. Perhaps you already know that, and you’ve long been living a minimalist lifestyle with a single suitcase of reusable possessions, dreaming only of compost and recycling. Perhaps, more likely, you live a normal life as a resident of a capitalist society that normalizes the production of items for use then refuse. Or, maybe you sweep slices of pizza, plastic utensils and paper plates into overflowing, overused trashcans with cretinous glee.

Whoever you are, whatever you do and however you live, The Girl Gone Green is a relevant resource. With an archive of videos educating (and inspiring) others on how to be better versions of themselves by living more conscientiously, The Girl Gone Green is a library for sustainability, written not specifically for the eco-snob or the eco-slob but for literally anyone who cares just an ounce about the planet.

Manuela Baron, the face behind the popular YouTube channel and Instagram account, is here to spread sustainability and conscious living in a down-to-earth way.

Her videos relate to all kinds of sustainability subjects, from how to live in a college dorm zero-waste style to how to grocery shop a little greener. (Hint: It’s actually really easy to do a tiny bit more than just bring a reusable bag.)

On social media, Baron’s enthusiasm for the environment is infectious. Scrolling through her Instagram page, you can practically feel the high voltage positive, environmentally oriented energy spill through your phone screen. Her Instagram bio accurately frames her humble approach to green living: “learning #sustainability and #wellness practices from around the world: plant-power, low waste, minimalism and mindfulness.”

It’s hard to avoid sounding cliché when talking about someone bringing meaningful change to the world while staying true to herself, but Baron is a living example of this golden phenomenon. After graduating from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in 2017, she embarked on a series of solo travels through Southeast Asia, taking the time to learn, grow, network, work with local sustainability organizations and just figure things out. In her videos and on Instagram, she discusses both the incredible rewards and the hard reality of solo travel, while also being candid about feeling like the world’s biggest hypocrite for telling people how to live an eco-friendly lifestyle while traveling around and leaving a heavy carbon footprint.

Shooting a video with her cell phone next to a camera that refuses to work, Baron confessed that she really still is figuring it out, that she became really, really terrified of putting content out there — What would people think? What would she would think of herself?— but that it doesn’t matter. “What matters is the one person who gets one thing out of this video, or one thing out of any videos we make,” she said. “We hit 50K subscribers, we’re about to lose a bunch, but you know what, we did it. For now, just live and don’t be afraid of the backlash.”

The Girl Gone Green certainly practices the same strength and life positivity she encouraged in the Asia life update she published on her channel in February. Just a few years ago, Baron got rid of her trashcan and became her new persona. She stopped being part of the problem and started being part of the solution.

I had the opportunity to speak with Baron and chat about her unique sustainability channel, her journey as an inspirational zero-waster and her goals as an advocate for the environment in this waste filled era.

RAINA SCIOCCHETTI: WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION FOR STARTING THE GIRL GONE GREEN?

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MANUELA BARON: My first year of college was very unconventional. I studied abroad in Paris, which led me down a rabbit hole of personal growth. I spent a lot of the year traveling and challenging myself. Eventually, I started seeing patterns. I could be on the streets of Paris, Rome, Marrakesh or Ho Chi Minh City and the theme was always trash. It was a global issue spread out into every corner and sidewalk. It wasn’t until I got back to my Paris apartment and took out the trash that I really noticed this problem. I was only home for a few days and I had managed to fill a plastic bag with yogurt cups. This inspired me to focus on my own personal habits.

RS: WHAT WAS YOUR VERY FIRST STEP TOWARDS ZERO-WASTE LIVING? MB: You know, I have a pretty extremist personality, so I went cold turkey into the waste-free life. I spent a few months reading books, like the “Zero Waste Home” by Bea Johnson, and then I just jumped into it and learned as I went along. It was a lot of ... “How do I do this plastic-free?” Google searches. It helped that I moved to a new city, so I didn’t own anything to begin with. I also just declared my lifestyle. All my friends came to meet me as “the girl without a trashcan.”

RS: WHAT DID YOUR EXPERIENCE OF STARTING A SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE LOOK LIKE? MB: I never planned on starting a sustainability channel. It kind of just happened. After giving a TEDx talk at my university, I started getting a lot of questions on Instagram. I had started an Instagram page, @thegirlgonegreen, to document my trash-free progress and not annoy my friends and family. Without the time to respond to all of the questions, a friend suggested I respond in video format — thus the Girl Gone Green YouTube channel was born.

RS: IT SEEMS LIKE IT COULD BE PRETTY HARD TO STAY “GREEN” IN COLLEGE. DID YOUR COLLEGE SUPPORT YOUR SUSTAINABILITY EFFORTS? MB: I’m not going to lie and say I was super involved in college. I kind of did my own thing and focused more on getting involved in the city’s community.

I will say, it was a challenge. Imagine showing up to every club banquet event with your own plate. Yup, that was me.

Everyone was very supportive, but I don’t think I had by any means a normal college experience — but that was my choice. I cared more about sustainability than beer pong.

As for the college itself, they were great. The campus was very eco-friendly: solar panels, green spaces, recycling — the works.

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RS: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE GIRL GONE GREEN? MB: It’s constantly evolving. Right now, I want to do more educational outreach. I’m interested in speaking more, especially at colleges. I’d also like to start creating more documentary-style content.

RS: HAVE THOSE GOALS CHANGED SINCE YOU BEGAN THE PROJECT? MB: This started out as my personal hobby and has slowly turned into a movement and a business. It’s hard for me to let go of “my baby” and get help from others, but the plan is to grow The Girl Gone Green. The more the social media platforms grow, the more impact we can make.

RS: I LOVE HOW YOU CONTINUALLY EMPHASIZE THE FACT THAT ZERO WASTE IS A GOAL, THAT PEOPLE SHOULD TRY TO MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT THEY HAVE, AND YOUR VIDEOS GENERALLY JUST MAKE ZERO-WASTE LIVING SEEM SO POSSIBLE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THE AVERAGE CONSUMER TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO CHANGE THEIR LIFESTYLE, HOWEVER SLIGHTLY, FOR THE BETTER? MB: I think life should be FUN. I’m the kind of person that turns studying into a game, so make sustainability fun.

Challenge your friend: How many straws can you avoid in a week? Track your progress.

Overall, I recommend tackling just one thing. That ONE thing will have a ripple effect, one you probably won’t expect. The other day, I was at the bank and ran into one of the tellers who went to college with me. She was so excited to show me her workspace—she had a Yeti cup with soup, a metal spoon and a cloth napkin. How many people at her work has she impacted with those simple choices?

It just keeps growing when you live your life by example.

YOU CAN FIND THE GIRL GONE GREEN ON YOUTUBE, OR FOLLOW HER ON INSTAGRAM: @THATGIRLGONEGREEN

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ThatTommyGirl,

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Twenty-year-old fashion vlogger Kelly Vuong is a thrift shopper’s dream.

B Y J E N N A B E N C H E T R I T, M C G I L L U N I V E R S I T Y

Anyone familiar with YouTube knows that it has thousands of niches and subcommunities: there are ASMRtists, comedians, gamers, critics and pranksters galore, some racking up millions of views, others just starting out and coming into their own. One such community is that of fashion vlogging. These sorts of videos have become increasingly popular in the mainstream, but YouTubers have been at it for years, creating a small community of mostly young women who are eager to show off their “hauls”: the fruits of a shopping spree or online order, which are given a rundown based on price, feel, brand and other criteria, for any viewers who might be interested in copping the latest trend for themselves. With so many vloggers to choose from, it can be difficult to find those who bring a unique flare to their videos.

Fashion vlogger Kelly Vuong, aka ThatTommyGirl on YouTube, has gained a wide following — over 49,000 subscribers, and more than 3.5 million channel views — for her eclectic mix of DIY how-tos, clothing hauls and lookbooks. Vuong’s channel is accessible and meticulously organized, and it’s perhaps most celebrated for her do-it-yourself uploads, where she’ll often reinvent an old piece from her closet so that it becomes something entirely new: old leggings turn into a top with grommet details; bikini bottoms become halter swimsuit tops; school uniforms transform into a cute outfit.

Her style inspiration segments are centered around a relevant theme: outfit ideas for going back to school, outfit ideas for date night, outfit ideas for beach day, and so on. For people who want to dress well but have a difficult time putting together a coordinated outfit, these videos are a godsend, advising viewers on great brands but also laying down the blueprint for what makes an outfit work well. Best of all, the videos are edited with a sleek, consistent aesthetic, surely making Vuong a favorite go-to for her audience.

Clothes are a form of expression; the fashion vlogging community is based on sharing your love for clothes with other people, and maybe helping others feel like they’ve got a handle on the way they present themselves. Vuong is no stranger to getting personal when

she speaks about the way her clothes make her feel, and she curates her videos so that other people can feel the same confidence she does when she comes up with a particularly kick-ass outfit. I interviewed her to find out a little more about what she’s doing and why she’s doing it.

JENNA BENCHETRIT: TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF. WHERE DID YOU GROW UP? DID FASHION IMPACT YOU AS A CHILD IN ANY WAY, AND, IF SO, DO YOU HAVE AN EARLY MEMORY INVOLVING YOUR LOVE FOR FASHION? KELLY VUONG: My name’s Kelly, I just turned 20 this October and I also just started studying for a baccalaureate in fashion management and design, with a concentration in fashion design and styling. I was born in Montreal, but I mostly grew up in the West Island [of Montreal].

I believe that what started my passion for fashion was my favorite holiday: Halloween! I love the whole month of October, and Halloween has always been the perfect occasion for me to dress up. I was always known in my school for preparing the sickest costumes, because I would make them myself and I would always come up with ideas that no one else thought of. For example, I dressed up as an elf and tied my hair up in the air using a water bottle as a support — it might be hard to imagine. Next thing you know, all the seniors copied my idea the year after [laughs].

Another year, I imitated Zombie Boy and showed up to school covered in paint. I was a skeleton in a suit. As the years went by, my love of dressing up just transferred into an everyday lifestyle, if that makes any sense. I think that Halloween is an amazing day; it’s a day to experiment, to be whatever you want [...] you don’t have to be afraid of being judged by others.

JB: TELL ME A FEW GENERAL THINGS ABOUT YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, THATTOMMYGIRL. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START MAKING THESE VIDEOS? WHEN DID YOU START TO GAIN A WIDE FOLLOWING? KV: A lot of people will automatically associate my name to the brand Tommy Hilfiger, but that’s only part

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something magical of the reason why I chose this name. It’s mainly to express that I don’t have a defined style and it can range from being TOMboy to the GIRLiest fit ever. I don’t want to limit myself to only one type of style, because it’s like limiting myself to only one way of self-expression.

I started making videos because I constantly had ideas and concepts that I wanted to put into use. I didn’t want to waste my imagination and let it disappear with time.

To grow your creativity, it’s important to constantly work on it. So, one of the videos that really rose my number of viewers was a DIY video. It was summer and halter tops and halter bikinis were extremely popular amongst teens, but they were also quite expensive. One day, I was just shopping in the clearance section of a bikini shop and I spotted these XXL bikini bottoms.

As soon as I saw them, a lightbulb turned on in my head. I told myself that I could just flip the bottoms upside down and I could see the shape of a halter top forming; obviously there were some modifications to make, and that’s why I decided to film a video showing how to apply this concept. People immediately found the idea clever and easy, I believe that the video has reached more than 1.2 million views! That was one the first videos that I produced, and I think it was back in 2015.

JB: THERE’S OBVIOUSLY A BIG FASHION VLOGGING COMMUNITY ON YOUTUBE. ARE THERE ANY CHANNELS THAT YOU ADMIRE? IN THE OUTSIDE 28

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FASHION WORLD, DO YOU HAVE ANY INSPIRATIONS? KV: I get this question a lot, and it’s also one of the hardest to answer, because it is such a challenge to get inspired, but not to copy. It may sound selfish, but I try to really focus on myself and develop on my own ideas, because I know that I could easily get influenced by other artists. It is totally good to get inspired, I just tend to not get inspired by specific artists and influencers, but rather the concept or the item itself, without it being associated to an individual. However, I do enjoy watching vloggers, makeup YouTubers and fashion YouTubers such as ToThe9s, The LineUp, Casey Neistat, Q2HAN, Michelle Phan, Heizle Makeup and Pony Makeup.

JB: YOUR VIDEOS ARE USUALLY CLOTHING HAULS, DIY HOW-TOS OR OUTFIT INSPIRATION. WHAT KIND OF VIDEO IS YOUR FAVOURITE TO MAKE AND WHY? KV: I think that they all have pros and cons. I like to switch up between them or else I’ll get bored of it. Clothing hauls are great, because the whole process of picking clothes, getting clothes and showing it to you viewers is fun, amusing and relaxing. DIY [videos] are innovative and hands-on — I can put my imagination to work and create whatever I want.

But I think that outfit inspirations are my favorite ones, because they are the most realistic. I usually film them on separate days, because I actually wear them to school,

to work or to an event, so I am being very honest with my clothing choices. Also, I get to enjoy what I create without having to be in front of the camera for three hours straight (which applies to hauls and DIY’s), because I film the look in less than 10 minutes and then I go on with my day wearing something that I am fully satisfied with.

will still be making something magical with my bare hands!

I said this in the Hoaka Swimwear Campaign, but people tend to tell me that I’m shy, forgetful and awkward, and by creating clothes with my label, I will be able to create the opposite idea, because people will be wearing my clothes and it will leave a stamp of my brand on them.

JB: HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE? HOW HAS IT CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? KV: I am still trying to find [my style], and I think that I will constantly try to find it. If I did have a defined style, I would feel limited in my clothing selection, which will not evolve as much as if I gave myself more freedom and specificity.

However, if I do start my own label, the general idea of my style will be reflected in the clothing I’ll create. My style has definitely changed, evolved and developed through the years. I am always experimenting, and right now I am trying to experiment with the more practical, technical, sporty side, which is a style mostly seen on men.

JB: YOUR VIDEOS ARE UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY’RE SO ARTISTICALLY EDITED. DO YOU EDIT ALL OF YOUR VIDEOS? WHAT IS THAT PROCESS USUALLY LIKE? KV: The whole process of making a video is exhausting, time consuming and challenging. I do everything on my own in my little room, so I have to figure out the lighting, the background, the music, the editing, the filming, makeup and hair. I have had very bad experience with editing software, which explains why I hate editing videos. However, I also love it, because it’s such a crucial step to transmitting your ideas to your viewers. I get to experiment and improve the footage that I filmed. I like to go beyond what a beginner can do.

It’s interesting to see how my editing style has improved with time, and I always get comments and compliments about them. Sometimes, I could say that I am happier to hear comments about my editing rather than the content itself. The process of making a video from A to Z can take a lot of time. In the summer, since I don’t [have to] study, it can take one week of editing and filming, but during school it take weeks, and that’s my biggest challenge.

JB: YOU’VE MENTIONED IN YOUR VIDEOS THAT YOU’RE PURSUING FASHION DESIGN PROFESSIONALLY. WHAT IS IT ABOUT DESIGNING CLOTHES THAT APPEALS TO YOU? KV: The freedom of expression. Whatever I’ve wanted to own or create or wear, I will eventually be able to make it. I’ve decided to take the long way, to learn the art of designing, sewing and producing clothes, but in the end I STUDY BREAKS

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New York University student Sophie Sandberg is chalking back to cat callers.

BY CAMERON ANDERSEN, NE W YORK UNIVERSI T Y P H O T O S B Y J AY NE C HE N , B A RU C H C O L L E G E

While walking through Midtown Manhattan, a pedestrian might look down and see a grotesque message etched in chalk under their feet: “Hey babe. What’s under that dress?” Or a jog through Central Park might be interrupted by some vile words written in eye-catching rainbow: “Well then there’s no one to stop me from having you!”

Underneath these vile remarks is written “@catcallsofnyc” and “#stopstreetharassment.” A trip to Instagram to find the account takes you to Cat Calls of NYC, a collection of photographs of these chalked messages written on the streets of the city in the neighborhood where the catcall actually occurred.

Sophie Sandberg, the NYU student who heads the account, receives dozens of catcall submissions a day from people who feel violated, diminished and degraded. A catcall is just what the term infers — an unwelcome remark made to a woman (most often) who is being treated as nothing more than a body or an animal or a subject of the male gaze.

The messages are unsettling, disturbing and troubling, but it is this discomfort we feel when reading them that makes Cat Call’s intent so effective. It is impossible to ignore the words, written in color and bold, that have been penned verbatim directly under our feet.

While Cat Call’s messages can easily be washed away with water and some soap, the impressions the words make on the women they are directed toward are lasting and dangerous. With this account, Sandberg hopes to draw attention to an epidemic of misogyny that has permeated the streets of New York City, the United States and the world.

CAMERON ANDERSEN: WAS THERE A SPECIFIC INCIDENT THAT INSPIRED THIS ACCOUNT? CAT CALLS: Growing up in New York City, I dealt with catcalling from the age of 15. My experience with it in general pushed me to start the account. My introduction to catcalling was especially troubling because it was frequent and confusing (I didn’t know about catcalling before it started happening to me). The discomfort I faced when I first started getting catcalled inspired me to start

the account.

CA: CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF YOURS WITH CATCALLING? CC: My worst experience with catcalling was probably my first experience with catcalling. I was 15 and on the way to my first day of work at a summer job. I’d spent such a long time picking out my outfit and getting ready. I got out of the subway at 14th St. and had to walk to 10th Ave. I must have received about 10 catcalls just on that 15-minute walk: “Hey, beautiful,” “mmm sexy,” “good morning sweetheart,” etc.

I had no idea how to respond. At first I felt like I should say thank you. I felt so uncomfortable in my skin. I felt like there must be something wrong with me for them to be making these comments. I immediately thought my dress was too short or too low-cut. This is what frustrates me most about catcalling (and harassment in general): It often makes people think there’s something they’re doing to provoke it.

CA: WHAT IS A COMMON REACTION PEOPLE HAVE WHEN THEY SEE YOU CHALKING THESE MESSAGES ON THE SIDEWALK? WHAT WAS THE MOST MEMORABLE REACTION? CC: I can’t say there’s really one common reaction. A lot of people stop and watch me while I chalk but the responses are varied. Some people ask about the project. Others claim I’m vandalizing the sidewalks. Some say I have nice handwriting. Others support me and say what I’m doing is powerful. Some people get angry and say the words aren’t harassment and that they should have the right to say whatever they want. Others will say chalk can’t change anything. Some people will thank me for what I’m doing and say they’ve heard similar catcalls before. I’d say the most memorable reaction was when a passer-by got really angry at me, approached me, called me a bitch and said I couldn’t write there.

CA: HAVE YOU FOUND THERE TO BE THERE ANY AREA IN NYC THAT HAS THE MOST CAT CALLS? CC: They happen all over, but I’d say I probably get the most submissions in Midtown. Probably because it’s so busy.

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CA: HAVE YOU EVER BEEN APPROACHED BY POLICE WHILE WRITING A CATCALL? CC: Never.

CA: HAVE THERE BEEN ANY CATCALLS THAT YOU REFUSED TO WRITE OR FELT UNCOMFORTABLE WRITING? CC: I feel uncomfortable writing many — most — of the catcalls but there are never any that I refuse to write.

Some days I simply can’t bring myself to write the more vulgar ones, or I’ll ask a friend to come with me for support. Sometimes it takes me longer to get to the most vulgar ones, but I definitely plan to write all of them eventually.

CA: ARE THERE ANY RECURRING THEMES WITH THE LANGUAGE OF THE CATCALLS? CC: Catcalls get very repetitive. Just looking through my spreadsheet now and searching for the word “smile” I have: “Let’s see that smile,” “Smile, lady, you’ll look prettier,” “I don’t even get a smile? Fine, honey.” “Look at that beautiful smile!” “You know that smile’s got me going crazy!” Those are just the submissions I’ve put into my running spreadsheet.

There are also a lot about specific body parts. A--: “Let me slap that a-- and f--- you from behind,” “Hey nice a--, baby,” “I like your a-- but you’re ugly” “Look at that a--!” etc.

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The same patterns go for legs and breasts. There are a lot of taunting sexually aggressive comments. Also, there are a lot of comments made toward younger girls (i.e. “Call me when you’re 18!”)

A lot of racialized comments toward women of color, many referring to black women’s skin color, like “brown skin, brown sugar” or “I like your color, chocolate.” Also many comments toward Asian women that include the word “chink” or “chinky.”

CA: WHY CHALK AND NOT POSTERS/STICKERS/ FLYERS? CC: Like catcalls, writing on the sidewalks interrupts a person while they’re walking down the street. The bright colors catch people’s attention. With chalk, I’m able to make it big and sprawl across sidewalks, but it’s also washable so I don’t get in too much trouble. The goal is really to stop people in their tracks and make them experience walking down the street in a different way. Chalk was the best method for this.

CA: ARE THE CHALK COLORS YOU USE AT ALL ALIGNED WITH THAT SPECIFIC CATCALL? CC: Honestly not usually but I do like to use red for stop street harassment because it’s like a warning color. And then for a specific catcall, “I’ll f--- you harder than Trump is f------ the country,” I wrote Trump in orange as a subtle dig at his orangey skin tone. If I can think of clever ways

In order for the U.S. to really make tangible cultural change, there needs to be education about gender-based harassment taught in schools to incorporate certain colors I do …

CA: HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT SUBMISSIONS OF CATCALLS INCREASE OR DECREASE IN RESPONSE TO CURRENT POLITICS/NEWS? CC: Submissions definitely increase in response to current news and politics. When the #MeToo movement happened last year, that led to a lot more attention on my account, which also led to many more submissions of catcalls. Now with what’s going on in Washington, D.C., with Kavanaugh, there has been another spike in submissions, this time relating to all sorts of sexual harassment and sexual assault (not just street harassment).

CA:

FRANCE

HAS

PASSED

LEGISLATION

TO

STOP

STREET HARASSMENT. WHAT STEPS DO YOU THINK THE U.S. CAN TAKE TO CUT BACK ON CATCALLS? CC: The message of my account is to promote cultural change.

Through these chalk drawings and the account I engage people in conversations and raise awareness about harassment. Many people don’t know catcalling is happening because they don’t have to deal with it. By showing people the extent of the problem, I really want to encourage them to look out for others on the street and step in if they see something happening.

In order for the U.S. to really make tangible cultural change, there needs to be education about gender-based harassment taught in schools. From a young age, kids are subjected to harmful ideologies about gender, i.e. “boys will be boys,” and girls are often told to cover up to not distract boys or provoke

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assault. We need to stop teaching these ideologies because they continue to normalize things like street harassment, workplace harassment and sexual assault.

CA: YOU RECENTLY LED A PUBLIC CHALKING IN WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK IN NEW YORK CITY. DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE EVENTS LINED UP FOR THE FUTURE? CC: I plan on doing another Chalk Back in Washington Square Park in the spring. The first event went really well and I’d love for the second one to attract even more people. I also hope to go to D.C. this fall around the midterm elections and chalk the sexist and harassing comments of politicians around the city and near the White House and Supreme Court.

CA: I KNOW YOU’VE ALSO STARTED CHALKING #WHYIDIDNTREPORT EXPERIENCES AS WELL AS CATCALLS. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’VE THOUGHT ABOUT CHALKING? CC: Like I mentioned above, I want to chalk the words of politicians around D.C. to make a political statement. Recently I also did a campaign against harassment in schools, telling stories from middle school and high school students with the #stopharassmentinschools. In the future I want to do a campaign against workplace harassment too.

CA: DO YOU EVER FEEL OVERWHELMED BY THE NUMBER OF CATCALL SUBMISSIONS YOU RECEIVE? WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU DO TO COMBAT THAT? CC: I usually feel overwhelmed by the number of submissions I receive and the intimacy of the stories people tell me. I’m not a mental health professional, or qualified in anyway to council someone on their experience of sexual harassment, assault or rape (I get a range of submissions about all of these things). To combat this, I normally suggest that the people who send me submissions also talk to someone who they feel comfortable with. It’s great that they can tell me their story but it’s even better if they can share with a real human.

As for combatting feeling overwhelmed, I take my time to go through the messages. I set a certain number of messages for myself to go through each day. Sometimes it takes me a few days to respond to people, but that’s what I need to do in order to give each story enough attention.

CA: HAVE THERE BEEN ANY RESPONSES FROM FOLLOWERS OF YOUR INSTAGRAM THAT HAVE REALLY STOOD OUT?

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CC: There have been many positive responses that have stood out from followers on the page. A lot of women who share their story of harassment tell me that I’m the first person they’ve ever told and that it’s a huge relief to get it off their chests. I’ve also had a handful of men message me to tell me that I’ve opened their eyes to something they had no idea was so prevalent and ask me how they can be better bystanders.

CA: HAVE OTHERS REACHED OUT TO YOU ABOUT STARTING A SIMILAR PROJECT IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY? CC: Yes! There are over a dozen “catcallsof” accounts around the world, and they’re continuing to pop up. I have a highlight on my account with all of the worldwide accounts.

CA: ARE THERE ANY SELF-CARE HABITS YOU’VE PICKED UP? WHICH ONES REALLY WORK FOR YOU? CC: Going on a run helps me clear my head. Also having a designated time where I don’t pick up my phone or don’t look at Instagram is super important!

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: ams e r D t s e t e e w S The

BY MONI C A P E T RU C C I , E MER S ON C OL L EGE P HOTO GR AP HY BY JESUS A. AC OS TA

It can be difficult to find the right words to describe Matt Crump’s photography. Neon is close, but it feels too harsh — Crump’s editing give his photos a warmth that neon lacks. Pastel, on the other hand, feels too soft a word for the Austin artist’s work, which is charged with a subtle electricity. Even the color palette rings familiar: cotton candy blues, Pepto Bismol pinks, avocado greens and Laffy Taffy yellows, but their combinations somehow come across as novel.

Like the splatterings of Rothko or the dots of Kusama, Crump’s work has such a simple confidence that, upon looking at it, you might even find yourself thinking, sullenly, “Well, I could’ve done that if I’d just thought of it.” That accessibility is not a fault, though; it’s the calling card of a breakthrough. When a work feels familiar, especially in an almost atavistic way, it means the artist has achieved something rare. Indeed, Crump’s color pattern seems so obvious — now that he’s brought it to life, of course — that it can be tempting to think of his work as simple. In reality, the opposite couldn’t be more true.

Even before he quit his job as an art director pursue his work full time in 2014, Crump had long nurtured his calling as a photographer. After being inspired by a college friend of his, Molly Grubbs, now a creative strategist at Tumblr, Crump began began traveling the country, taking photos of his surroundings and playing around with editing apps — mostly a combination of TouchReTouch, VSCO and PicTapGo. In particular, he toyed with the photo compositions of his stills and began gravitating toward a palette that exuded a soft sweetness. He generally shoots landscapes, such as palm trees jutting into the sky, the facades of oddly architectured buildings or the ocassional home interior. While the objects of his attention are chosen for their eye appeal, it’s Crump’s color scheme that has skyrocketed him to fame within recent years.

His aesthetic has a name: candy minimalism, and Crump’s

Instagram has become the its Mecca. The University of Texas alumnus, who graduated with a degree in creative advertising, has watched as his style has spread throughout Instagram and across the internet. In response to its ballooning popularity, Crump created a second Instagram, @candyminimal, where he features the work of other artists making candy minimalist work. His side page now has 134,000 followers, while his primary Instagram boasts over 240,000. Through the combined effort of his pages, as well as his Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, Crump has created a completely unique brand from the ground up.

Crump also works with a partner, Lisa Bizzle, a Canadian academic with a doctorate degree in psychology who worked in developmental research and pharmaceutical research for depression for nearly 10 years. Crump’s work, with its blissful color tone, has had positive affects on viewers’ mental health, leading many commenters to remark that just looking at his images has improved their moods. While the praise is nothing more than anecdotal at the moment, Crump and Bizzle have listened to the feedback and are heartened by it. “It seems to strike a happy chord with followers,” Crump told Time. “They tell me how good it makes them feel, that my daily posts brighten their day, that they’re inspired. That’s my motivation.”

Crump has managed to monetize his feed, which has allowed him to continue working as an artist full time. On his page he sells, of course, prints and other works of his art, as well as GIF stickers and ad designs for companies, all of which he does knowing that his artwork can be improving the lives of those it touches, even if only a tiny bit.

I recently had the opportunity to talk to Crump about his artwork and burgeoning popularity. We talked about what it means to be an artist in the age of Instagram, as well as what he has planned for candy minimalism and his art career going forward.

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MONICA PETRUCCI: BEFORE YOU STARTED YOUR WORK WITH CANDY MINIMALISM, YOU USED TO BE AN ART DIRECTOR. WHEN DID YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH ART BEGIN? MATT CRUMP: I’ve loved art ever since I can remember.

My grandma was the queen of arts and crafts. Her craft supply room had rows of shelves packed with stuff, almost like a mini Michaels store. Some of my earliest memories are me rummaging through the towering shelves to make something fun.

MP: WHAT INITIALLY DREW YOU TO THIS PSYCHEDELIC PERSPECTIVE YOU CALL “CANDY MINIMALISM”?

MC: When I’m editing a picture, my goal is to make it look like the way the scene felt in my head at the time I shot it. I see the world through candy-colored glasses, and photography allows me to showcase that. I’ve always loved bright colors and surrealism — M.C. Escher, Dr. Seuss, Warhol and Van Gogh were my favorite artists growing up — so maybe they helped shape my artistic point of view.

MP: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START TAKING PHOTOS? MC: When my college friend Molly Grubbs started posting minimalist shots on Instagram, I was instantly inspired. I began experimenting with composition and color, taking my own minimalist shots. Soon I was obsessed with taking photos, and I haven’t stopped since.

MP: DO YOU USUALLY GO TO PLACES WITH PHOTO IDEAS IN MIND, OR DO YOU TRY TO FIND INSPIRATION FOR YOUR AESTHETIC WHEREVER YOU ARE? MC: When I’m traveling, I have a list of “must-see” places that I try to hit, but most of my time is spent driving or walking around a new place, looking for things that inspire me. I think that’s the best way to experience a place: just walk around it. Yes, go to the iconic spots and get your shots, but it’s also important to explore and discover stuff that you haven’t seen on the internet yet.

MP: WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MOST STARK DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR JOB AS ART DIRECTOR AND WHAT YOU DO NOW? MC: As an art director, I always had other people telling me what to make, and it served a strictly commercial purpose. Sure, I loved location scouting, casting, picking out wardrobe color palettes and guiding the production design, but my name wasn’t attached to it in any real way.

Now, I still get to do all that, but I’m sought out because brands want my own vision. Simply, I get to be more of an artist than an art director.

MP: ARE YOU TAKING PHOTOS/CREATING MERCHANDISE FULL-TIME NOW? MC: Yes! I quit my job five years ago to focus on photography and growing my personal brand as an artist.

Now I have a quarter of a million followers, a print shop and a new line of Matt Crump-branded notebooks and office supplies.

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MP: HAVE YOU EVER IMAGINED YOU’D HAVE SUCH A IMPACTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING? HOW HAS IT CHANGED YOUR LIFE? MC: It wasn’t a goal, I just got lucky — if you can call being Instafamous lucky. My life is completely different than it would have been had I stayed in advertising. Most noticeably, I no longer feel shackled to crazy corporate world expectations, like having to be in the office early and then staying for eight hours (even if there’s nothing to do). I’m the boss of my schedule now. It’s also easier to focus on eating healthy and staying in shape because I don’t have work stressors looming over my life. Financially, my life is also very different. I earn more as an artist/ influencer than I ever could have in advertising.

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MP: DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER HOBBIES, ARTRELATED OR NOT? MC: Most of my hobbies circle back to photography one way or another. I love interior design so I can take photos of rooms, traveling so I can take pics of new places, making stuff so I can take pictures of it ... you get the idea. I also enjoy mindlessly swiping on Tinder dudes while half-watching cartoons on Netflix.

MP: I SAW THE BLOG SECTION OF YOUR WEBSITE AND REALLY ENJOYED THE SENSE OF HUMOR YOU USE. DO YOU PLAN TO EXPAND YOUR BLOG MORE? MC: One of my 2018 goals is to launch the blog before the New Year. I was a copywriter for part of my advertising career, so words are just as important to me as pictures.

The blog will paint a clearer picture of the life of Matt Crump, including special guest posts by my interns, Darrell the Seagull and my neighbor Doreen.

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]MP: WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST ACCOMPLISHMENT? MC: My proudest accomplishment is leaving corporate life and making a living on my own. I wasn’t made to sit in front of a computer in a cubicle all day.

MP: WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING PHOTOGRAPHERS WHO DREAM OF HAVING A PLATFORM LIKE YOURS? MC: Find your vision, the platform will follow. It will take a lot of work, but if you’re in love with photography, you’ll develop your eye no matter how long it takes. I’m always experimenting with new angles, editing techniques and subjects, not only to continue evolving my style but to figure out what people like. I incorporate that feedback into my work so I can appeal to an even broader audience.

If you do the same, slowly but surely your platform will grow.

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CANTOMANDO A trio of Canadian-born Chinese YouTubers has helped illuminate the second-generation experience the best way they know how: comedy.

B Y C H R I S T I N E FA N G , U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L I F O R N I A , S A N D I E G O P H O T O S B Y K E IKO C H A ND E RB H A N , C O N C O RD I A UNI V E R S I T Y

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Mike Wu

Sheldon Ho

Throughout most of the 20th century, Hollywood struggled to cast actors of color, especially Asian Americans.

In films where Asian actors did make appearances, they often only served as the butt of a joke or the embodiment of an outdated caricature. In the last decade though, particularly within the last several years, Asian-American entertainers have gradually found an increased amount screen time.

This year’s “Crazy Rich Asians” made international headlines for being the first all-Asian cast since “The Joy Luck Club” in 1993. And on Netflix, Lana Condor stole hearts in her role as Lara Jean Covey on “To All the Boys I’ve Love Before,” an adaptation of a novel written by Jenny Han, a Korean American. As a result of the successes of the films, in tandem with changing attitudes regarding diversity in media, the practice of whitewashing minority characters has also begun to run into serious resistance; some even fear Scarlett Johansen may never act again.

However, despite these recent breakthroughs, the silver screen still remains notoriously inaccessible for actors and actresses of color.

Other venues, however, have opened the doors for minority creators in ways that big-budget films never have.

YouTube, in particular, has become an amazing platform for Asian entertainers, comedians, actors, musicians and internet phenoms. Creating videos to post online requires hardly any money, let alone the billion-dollar bankrolls most Hollywood flicks require, and the creative control lies squarely in the hands of those behind the cameras.

Indeed, internet icons like Michelle Phan and Nigahiga found their start on YouTube, where anyone —regardless of skin color — was free to shoot their shot at celebrity.

One such promising group is CantoMando. Composed of three Canadian-born Chinese (CBC) twenty-somethings, the group’s YouTube channel has accrued more than 45,000 subscribers, and their videos have been watched upward of 2.4 million times, according to statis-

Edward Leung

tics from Social Blade. The trio has risen to prominence for their hilarious depictions of life as second-generation Chinese children, an experience largely unportrayed in mainstream media. In fact, the few popular depictions of what life is like for second-generation Chinese are often biased, with a tendency to embellish the characteristics that best align with preexisting Western stereotypes.

Rather than work dully to refute these stereotypes through academia or politics, Edward Leung, Mike Wu and Sheldon Ho have chosen a far more accessible, far more effective medium: comedy. Leung, Wu and Ho satirize Western misconceptions of Chinese life, such as the prevalence of the tiger mom stereotype, through skits and banter, and in doing so out the caricatures for what they are: ridiculous.

Importantly, though, the group does more than satirize: They find the humor in the experience of being second-generation Chinese. Whether it’s a feeling of embarrassment during school lunch because the food your mom packed smells of raw fish, or it’s the harrowing task of having to memorize dozens of phrases before Lunar New Years, these unique experiences are shared by many second-generation Chinese. By portraying these cultural landmarks in their videos, even if it’s just to lampoon them, CantoMando helps normalize the second-generation experience. Because the jokes the trio makes — both the dark and the lighthearted — are firmly rooted in reality, they are all hilariously relatable. And with their deft blend of humor and nostalgia, Leung, Wu and Ho have given an entire generation a new sense of common ground.

I got an opportunity to talk with the three YouTube savants about their channel, their experiences of growing up as CBCs and their plans for the future.

CHRISTINE FANG: WHY, IN YOUR VIDEOS, DO THE THREE OF YOU CHOOSE TO FOCUS ON YOUR IDENTITY AS SECOND-GENERATION CHINESE? WHY STUDY BREAKS

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THAT TOPIC? EDWARD: We chose to focus on our identities because we felt like there is a very distinct culture that Asians born in Western society have. For instance, we speak Chinglish a lot, which is a very visible, understandable blend of cultures, and we’ve lived in that blend from a very young age. Another example: many second-generation Asian immigrants were ridiculed for bringing traditional food to white schools. We wanted to turn that unpleasant experience into comedy for Asian Americans, to help them if they were struggling.

SHELDON: Growing up, I was the guy who hated being Asian. I wanted to go to white parties; I wanted to be a white guy. You see white people in the media constantly and you grow up thinking they’re the s---.

I just neglected the culture, and there are probably a lot of people who are in a similar predicament. So, we figured if we make videos using language that shows the Asian-American experience, maybe people would have the same revelation that I did, where they realize, “There’s an entire community that’s felt this, and they should be proud of their language and culture.”

MIKE: It’s also important to distinguish between Canadian-born Chinese and Asian immigrants; even though we share similarities like skin tone, our cultures

are pretty different. In recent years though, we’ve seen a lot more Asian Americans surfacing and bringing up issues related to growing up Asian American, so we wanted to capitalize on our own experiences.

CF: GROWING UP, HOW DID YOUR ENVIRONMENT AFFECT YOUR CULTURAL IDENTITY? EDWARD: When I was in primary school, I went to a school where I was one of the only Asians. Kids doing what kids do, they picked on me and didn’t know me for anything beyond what they could see. I experienced basically all the generic racist Asian jokes, so I was kind of slapped with the reality of racism at a pretty young age.

SHELDON: Were you ashamed?

EDWARD: Sometimes yes, like when I would bring sushi to school try to hide it, otherwise kids would be like, “What’s that smell?” I never really thought, “I wished I was white,” though. It wasn’t as severe as what Sheldon was facing before. But yeah, it has an effect on you.

SHELDON: We grew up in a very Asian neighborhood and that actually had a negative effect on how I viewed myself as an Asian. Even though everyone around me was Asian, because what the media suggested was

“cool” was not that, I developed a really negative view of myself. Ultimately, it’s all about your viewpoint, because now I have a very different view of myself and I really embrace the environment I’m in.

CF: WHAT WERE YOU FAVORITE AND LEAST FAVORITE PARTS ABOUT GROWING UP ASIAN? EDWARD: My favorite part is that I get this second culture: I have these festivities, I speak the language, I can listen to songs and I can speak to people if I were to go to China, Hong Kong or Taiwan. It feels like I have a varied skill set. In terms of least favorite, growing up it was definitely the racism you face. I mean it’s subtle, but that’s the worst kind. If you’re going to say it, you might as well say it to my face instead of making snide remarks about chopsticks, right? It doesn’t bother me as much now, but there’s nothing you can do about it; some people will be arrogant no matter what.

TONESE, ARE DYING? SHELDON: Growing up, I spoke Cantonese at home, and it was all I knew. When I found out that Mandarin was the majority language, I resented my Cantonese side, and constantly wished that I spoke Mandarin. I never really appreciated the language or the culture behind it. Now that I’ve exposed myself to it more, I really love the language. I never really appreciated the language. That’s one of the reasons, now, we aim to create videos in Cantonese and in Mandarin. We do the Cantonese ones, though, because we want to promote the culture behind the language. There are speakers in Asia, there are speakers in America and there are tons of people who come here and speak it at home, but never in public. People like us. But people like us can keep the language and culture going if we learn to embrace it and become more interested in it.

MIKE: I think my favorite part about being Asian, like Edward said, is the culture, especially going back and being able to communicate, because a lot of my family is in China. Also I think part of it is being the underdog.

For example, when you go play basketball, people expect you to be bad because you’re Asian and you’re short — how can you be good? In terms of the worst part, I have two. One of them is that, being Asian, I can’t grow facial hair, so I’m stuck with a baby face. But the bad part about being Asian growing up is the overprotective parents. I mean, it’s not bad; it turns out to be good, you know? But Saturdays were always tutoring, then art and drawing classes. At the end of the day though, when you’re grown up you have a new skill.

EDWARD: Recently, when I was in Guangzhou, a Cantonese city, I noticed all the taxi drivers speak Mandarin and if you go into a 7-Eleven they address you in Mandarin. The majority of the time I was in Guangzhou I was speaking Mandarin instead of Cantonese, so it was definitely an eye-opening moment. Seeing the things go on in Hong Kong, with the Umbrella Movement, I definitely see the language dying. On the other hand, Cantonese-speakers have been migrating out of China for a long time and were some of the first wave of migrants into the Western world, so it’s still really prevalent here and in the States too, I imagine. For Sheldon and I, it’s our mother tongue and culture, so I don’t see it dying in my lifetime, and I want to do my best to pass it on to my children as well.

SHELDON: The family-oriented aspect of it is what I appreciated. Growing up, we always had family-oriented everything. At the same time, that’s something I don’t like about Asian culture: the idea that you are living your life to do the best for your parents. For instance, when I was deciding what to study in university, there was always this expectation and this pressure that I would study engineering.

MIKE: Even coming from a Mandarin speaker, growing up I always felt left being unable to speak Cantonese, because mostly everybody at school spoke it. A lot of people also don’t understand that it’s an issue until someone raises it, because it doesn’t affect people who speak Mandarin. They’re just going about life as if it’s business as usual, so it’s also become a bit of a political thing too.

Looking back, although no one explicitly forced me to, I was heavily influenced to study engineering because of family expectations and the desire to please my parents and make them proud. That’s something that really bugs me about the culture: that we’re raised to please our parents, as opposed to following our own personal goals. So, growing up you have to balance the “Follow your dreams!” mentality of Western culture with the “Please the family” mentality of Asian culture.

SHELDON: It’s similar to what happened with Shanghainese, right? But that’s starting to make a comeback, so we’ll just see what the future brings.

CF: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE IDEA THAT CERTAIN CHINESE DIALECTS, LIKE CAN-

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Your

Horoscopes

BY S AR AH P ENIX, OHIO UNIVERSI T Y

ARIES Group work and partnerships will be highlighted this month, so it’s important to let your ego fall to the side as you focus on harmony in your life and the bigger picture.

TAURUS Take this time to strategize professionally, as this sector of your chart will be emphasized through transits this month. Your social life may be intertwined with work.

GEMINI With the full moon in Gemini on the 23rd, you’ll want to watch your mouth. Instead of saying everything you think of, take this time to reflect in silence.

CANCER It is important to seek out what you truly want and need during this time, but do so while keeping those closest to you in mind.

With Venus in your fourth house, home life is of elevated importance this month.

LEO With Mercury in your seventh house, you will be able to weigh pros and cons well during this time, so be sure to think about others as well as yourself and channel this energy to be a good mediator.

Scorpio OCTOBER 23 - DECEMBER 22

Take charge of the private sector of your life this month by taking care of your home, focusing on private affairs and remembering to stay practical. You will feel the need to be secretive, but make sure you are doing that for the right reasons.

Sagittarius NOVEMBER 22 - DECEMBER 21

Take time to center yourself and focus on your intellect, goals and ideas this month. It is important to also stay calm, as your heightened sense of power could lead to arguments.

VIRGO Combat indulgence by taking care of your health during this time, as your concentration will be heightened and you may feel restless. Combat such uneasiness by channeling it psychically or intellectually during this time.

LIBRA Let your communication skills shine this month, Libra, but watch your self-discipline, because it could feel impossible to deny yourself anything this month.

CAPRICORN Your social ambition this month can lead to a lack of focus; however, it is a great time to center in on research and intellect because that will prove to be most rewarding.

AQUARIUS Use your heightened intuition this month to focus on long-term goals, but also be sure to channel your creative energy or else you may feel unsatisfied.

PISCES Although you may feel aggressive or combative this month, be sure to hold yourself accountable for your actions.

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