
13 minute read
Read the Stars
READ THE STARS We all have traits that make us unique and set us apart from those around us. Whether they are good or bad, they all make us who we are. However, some of you may wonder why we portray these characteristics. My constellation and zodiac gurus out there know exactly why. Your star sign can reveal a lot about your soul that you would have never thought to look into. If you are a star gazer, the constellations are there to guide you to help you discover who you are. They can guide you through life lessons and be there for you through the tough times and the great times. Learning about your zodiac is a key aspect in your life to learn more about yourself and others and increase your introspectiveness. Acknowledging who you are, the need to change and accepting life lessons can be challenging, but it is worth it in the end. With each year that passes we grow as individuals and understanding that growth can lead you to a clearer future. Each zodiac has an important life lesson to learn, that will not only make them stronger but happier. Learn about your constellation and how unique you are in this life of yours.

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Gemini Goddess


The New Look (Celestial)
Fashion has evolved thousands of times throughout the years. Trends are always changing and the latest gurus are always coming up with the newest styles that will get all the rage. With this new decade, the glitz and glamour we once knew is making a return. The glamour that reflects the stars and the moon. Those days when old hollywood starlets were dawned in those elegant dresses that hugged every curve and shined brighter than every star in the universe. So for this new decade, how about we all refresh this classic look with our own modern trends. Hairpieces, jewelry,clothing, shoes and makeup alike. Bring out your inner celestial goddess with the brightest glitter, shimmer, moon and stars the fashion world has ever seen.
Also, don’t be shy with that all refreshing dewy look we all crave. Makeup is a form of art and don’t hesitate in expressing yourself. Show off that glittery eyeshadow you’ve been dying to use or the simple sparkle that graces the corners of your eye. Use your makeup as a way to express who you are. Use your constellation and zodiac sign to do just that. Fashion and makeup is the perfect way to express exactly who you are to everyone around you. Show them who you are, it’s the most freeing thing anyone can do.

Is Perfect Fashion Worth the Health Risks?
Young women everywhere face the fashion industry bearing all their freckles, wrinkles and natural figure alike. Women are beautiful beings who deserve to feel like a goddess when they are simply all natural and magazines everywhere face criticisms for only showing one kind of “beautiful”.
I was reading one of my favorite magazines the other day and I noticed one very interesting thing. All of the women presented on the glossy magazine cover are beautiful on unreachable standards for the average reader. The hourglass figure, long legs, perfect skin and beautiful hair are what young girls today see as the ideal body image. These “perfect” models grace the cover of the trendiest and most popular magazines all around the world. Marilyn Monroe, once known as the most photogenic woman in the world set the beauty standard of her generation by being a full, curvy and unforgiving woman. There is no cookie cutter formula for how a woman should be and more specifically how she should look. Vogue, Elle and Seventeen are all facing strife as women everywhere are going through unhealthy measures to reach the standard that these publications have determined beautiful. There are many cases out there that have dove deep into the psychological health and effects that result from obtaining the ideal body image. For decades high-end fashion magazines have shown only one body type and that has led many young readers to take on unhealthy habits to achieve the desired look. Fashion versus health and the lengths readers will go to to achieve the “perfect” figure to fit into the trendiest outfits. I
The media influences us much more than we think. According to the research by a non-profit organization DoSomething.org, approximately 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and stay on a diet in order to achieve their ideal body shape. Unfortunately, “only 5% of women naturally possess the body type often portrayed by Americans in the media.” It’s known in the media that very few things are actually real. Nearly every image in a magazine is photoshopped or edited in one way. Even supermodel Cindy Crawford appeared on a cover where she was completely real and all natural. She had stretch marks from having two kids, cellulite, and OMG wrinkles! While the media was eating Cindy alive for being real, I recalled how Cindy Crawford said years ago, at the beginning of her modeling career, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” Indeed, no one looks like a model in real life. I bet that most fashion magazine readers also looked at all of those beautiful women staring at them from the pages of the glossy magazines and wanted to look just like them. I am guilty too! I mean, who doesn’t want to look like a Victoria’s Secret model? Right? Models you see on the cover of Vogue rarely look like that outside of the studio.

Eventually, the issue of healthy fashion role models became too much for young girls to handle. Starvation and the desire for plastic surgery became popular with young girls growing up in a world where they didn’t see themselves as perfect. A brave young girl named Julia Bluhm takes her concerns regarding perfection to Seventeen Magazine, accusing the publication of contributing to body image issues. According to thousands of young girls, Seventeen magazine isn’t helping the teens it targets. Instead, they say its airbrushing policies and subject matter are doing more harm than good. In 2016, Bluhm launched a petition on Change.org asking the monthly magazine to commit to printing one completely real and all natural photo spread per month. Women everywhere related to Bluhm’s plea and thus the petition has attracted almost 60,000 signatures. After being overwhelmed by the number of fellow high-schoolers in her ballet class lamenting their “fat days” and the seemingly impossible quest to be “pretty,” Bluhm realized that the images she saw in the iconic monthly magazine did not represent real adolescent females, and contributed to unattainable ideals. “For the sake of all the struggling girls all over America, who read Seventeen and think these fake images are what they should be, I’m stepping up. I know how hurtful these photoshopped images can be” says Bluhm. Seventeen’s editor-in-chief Ann Shoket invited the young activist to work on their upcoming issue. The magazine was proud of Julia for being so passionate about this issue and they express how it is exactly the kind of attitude they encourage in their readers.
Mothers everywhere urge editors to portray girls as they are. Readers everywhere wonder why teen magazines are airbrushed at all. They are constantly trying to reach these unattainable standards that they believe are all natural. Human behavior expert Dr. Patrick Wanis says teens naturally struggle with their identity. That struggle is made more difficult by photoshopped magazines creating elusive images. Today even the youngest girls do everything they can to look like “that girl” from the cover of the magazine. I know I’ve been there, buying all the makeup and clothes they tell me to promising that I’ll look like “that girl”. Girls everywhere go through unnecessary measures to obtain the body that magazine editors have deemed as “perfect” and beautiful. There have been cases where girls are living on just an apple a day or eating up to ten pieces of paper a day. They believed these measures were worth the risk because it was the path dictated by the media where only skinny girls deserve respect and praise. When you see these pictures shoved in your face every single day with the words “perfect”, “beautiful” and “dateable” next to them you start to manifest these ideals and work up the desire to fit into society.
Beautiful women everywhere exhibit all different body types and they deserve to be displayed on the covers of magazines on those newsstands in New York City. Fashion and health should not be competing, they should fall hand in hand and work together. There is no one perfect way we should be. Through the decades body ideals have changed and molded however, our generation has fought for the real and all natural woman. These glossy magazine covers will see every woman out there whose perfect lives outside the norms that the media has dictated. Being a woman should mean feeling confident in your own skin, with its curves, freckles and OMG wrinkles!
“To all the girls that think you’re ugly
because you’re not a size 0, you’re the beautiful one. It’s society who’s ugly” -Marilyn Monroe

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A Story I’ll Never Tire of Hearing We all love a badass woman warrior. Someone who breaks boundaries and looks beautiful while doing it. The studio that loves making live action remakes of beloved childhood movies such as The Lion King and Aladdin continues to expand its reach with the latest addition starring Liu Yifei as Mulan. Growing up Mulan was always my favorite Disney princess. She showed me what it meant to be a strong, independent woman who did take the advice of any man. Ironically, it originally debuted the same year I was born, so it feels like it was meant for me. Finally, in Hollywood, the world got a preview of the much anticipated action-packed retelling of Mulan, directed by Niki Caro. The world premiere served as a coming-out party for the film’s star, Liu Yifei, who shined bright in a look from Elie Saab’s 2019 couture collection. The Chinese-American actress and singer beat out thousands for the lead role, and in Saab’s voluminous “phoenix dress,” it’s easy to understand why. The gown with its miles of gold brocade, built-in corset, and impressive beadwork was a magical creation, one that required charisma. Yifei pulled it off beautifully. Growing up on Disney I always felt a disconnect from many of the most beloved characters. It wasn’t until I finally saw Mulan that I saw myself in something. For many reasons she became my all time favorite Disney character. She was the only princess to never chase after or change herself for a man. Although she did change into a man, that was to save China and that is why she is and will always be my favorite. She didn’t wait to be saved, she saved herself, her family and all of China. Mulan stood up for what is right. She broke the law despite the consequences she knew she may face because her heart and mind were both telling her it was the right thing to do. Also, we can’t forget that she proved to a young audience that she can do anything a man can do and she can do it better. Throughout the movie, Mulan constantly proved that although she is a woman, she could keep up with the numerous male soldiers that surrounded her. I quickly found this movie resonated with me and in no time it was on repeat 24/7. My sister and I watched Mulan be a badass every single day and we still watch it together to this day. Like myself, she never gave up. Even in the end when no one believed her she found a way to show them the truth. This is the movie that shaped the person I am today. Strong, independent, headstrong person who follows her dreams and doesn’t let anything get in the way. I see this movie as an anthem for all young women out there who feel oppressed and mistreated by a world that may wish to see them fail. Use Mulan as a beacon to prove to others that we are great and when you doubt us we will rise up and prove you wrong. I look forward to watching the remake with my sister as our excitement and anticipation is at an all time high. Too bad we no longer have those amazing classic songs to sing along too alongside Mushu’s timeless comedy. 20
For the 20 Something’s (Following the status quo is bullsh*t and how to figure life out)
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Let your friends help you apply to one billion jobs
You’re all in this together and don’t be scared to lean on each other. Just fake it til you make it and eventually you will. Apply to 5 to 10 times the number of jobs you think you need to. For one, the momentum will hopefully give you some sense of accomplishment and calm at the end of the day, knowing you’re doing everything you can to try.
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Hang out with your friends 24/7
They’ve been with you through the best and worst moments of your life and they may drive you crazy but they can also keep you sane.
Don’t be scared to live in a shoe box
The silver lining of tackling a recession as you’re just graduating college is that when you’re young, you’re emotionally flexible, generally energetic, and none of your friends really have money right after college anyway. Some of your best memories may happen inside that tiny shoebox that you call home 21
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Set goals not deadlines
We have the idea in our minds that we must follow a step by step checklist to subsequently “succeed”. However, we are all on our own path and our time will come when we are ready. So don’t put your life on a timer, set your life on a path that suits you and your own guidelines.
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Take More Risks
Don’t talk yourself out of doing things you want to do. Don’t let fear win. If you want to vacation in Europe, do it. If you want to talk to that hot girl/guy at the bar, do it. If you want to start your own business, do it. Getting to your 30s and having a string of regrets is going to haunt you.
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Define Success
We have been told our entire lives what to do, how to do it and when and how these steps will help us succeed. But, have we defined what success means to us. Every morning give yourself a task no matter how small to succeed that day. This is your life, you will decide what happens.
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Dance as if no one’s watching
Not only is it fun and flirty but it is also an amazing stress reliever. Turn on your favorite music and just let yourself free. This time in our lives is confusing and overwhelming so take some time to just dance it out.
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Enjoy the moments alone
Take in the silence breath and reflect on how far you’ve come.
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Save more & Travel more
I always tell my friends the money will return the time won’t. Explore this world for all it has to offer. You are now in the prime of your life and use this time you have to check things off your bucket list.
