Speak Out Against Rape & Sexual Assault

Two words: Spring Break. When you think of this luxurious week off of your academic and work related responsibilities you may think of the moments when you may have gotten "shit-faced" with your friends, gone bar-hopping or traveling. Sight-seeing, or raving. Gone to music festivals or maybe just watching Netflix or gaming.  This past spring break i had the awesome pleasure of attending Panama City Beach, Florida, with my friends, otherwise known as PCB. A live place for college students to celebrate our week of freedom, and man was it a memorable one. It is known as one of the hottest destinations for college students and it did not disappoint.

The crowds on the beaches

 

Best alarm clock ever! The hotel i stayed at played music from the Lion King everyday at 11am to start the day.

 I met a LOT of amazing people and spent all day at the beach, oftentimes plastered, with my friends, dancing to the tunes from our live DJ. At night i was either sitting in a hot-tub/ swimming in the pool under a blanket of stars with the sound of waves in the background, or dancing on the patio of my room to the music of that awesome DJ who wouldn't cut off the music until 3 or 4 am. It was literally a place where i could stay forever. Or so i thought.

A couple days ago, a video surfaced from a person's phone of a gang rape that occurred that spring break in broad daylight at the same beach i spent celebrating the day away with friends. These beaches are crowded with hundreds of people, yet in the video not a single passerby tried to stop what they were witnessing, some even paused to watch these four men rape a girl so drunk she was blacked out. What's even more horrible, CNN reported that the girl involved was watching the news and contacted authorities when she recognized her tattoos in the blurred video shown on television. She was so inebriated she did not even know what had happened to her, talk about a nightmare.

 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted during their time in college and every 21 hours there is another rape on an American college campus(M & F). Of the college women who are raped, only about 10%  report them. People claim to be understanding of the statistics, and universities hold days or months for sexual assault awareness. We CLAIM to do so much yet not even a single person out of the hundreds at that beach reported what was happening. Not a single person.

only 3%... rape culture?? 

I was a freshman, who had only been in school for a few months when i was sexually assaulted. I was so drunk, i had passed out on my friend's bed, only to have one of her friends come in during the middle of the night. I was so inebriated it was hard to open my eyes much less move, but i somehow found the strength to move from his grasp and stumble out the room to the arms of my roommate. The only thing i could muster to her was "get him out". This man was trusted by all of my friends, and even me. I could not imagine what this girl went through, having no one stop what these men were doing to her, and i am so thankful i had escaped that fate.

I believe that it is our responsibility as people to speak against injustice. It's our responsibility to stop a person from raping, to help get a victim to report a rape, or just be there for a victim. One of the first things to prevent rape or sexual assault: Don't be naive, rape/sexual assault COULD happen to you or a person you know whether you are a guy or a girl. When you go out drinking or partying, go with a group of friends who you know will take care of you or watch over you. Another thing to do is to not accept a cup or any open containers that could have been tampered with, from strangers. I know free alcohol can be tempting but if there is a possibility date-rape drugs were put in your drink, don't take the risk. Be careful too, with whom you trust. Another thing, is to just say NO. Don't be afraid and stand up for yourself, prepare yourself for something that could happen and follow these guidelines. It is great to have fun, but you also have to be smart. 

check out http://ntdaily.com/unt-plans-events-for-sexual-assualt-awareness/ for UNT events related to Sexual Assault Awareness Month. 

cited: 

http://www.oneinfourusa.org/statistics.php

http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/14/us/florida-panama-city-gang-rape-case/

Diversity Makes America Beautiful - a response to the "It's Beautiful" coke ad

((( This is the argumentative essay i wrote regarding the coke commercial (from the super bowl) and the responses on twitter and other social media sites, for my English class. It may have terms in brackets and parenthesis, please disregard that i just didn't really want to change it. this is MY work and i would very much appreciate it if no one copies what i worked hard on. I put this online solely for those that asked to read it. Thank you!- )))

Throughout its existence, the United States has been a beacon of opportunity and of fresh starts to hundreds of different ethnicities looking to live the “American dream”.  We take pride in our history and how our forefathers fought to preserve our freedom and liberty. The Coca Cola Company tried capturing that beauty in their Super Bowl ad, while America the Beautiful was playing in the background. It only took but a few seconds to receive hate on social media sites such as twitter because not only was the song in English, but in seven other languages. {(deduction) America the Beautiful was written by an American in English, and some viewers became angry that Coca Cola altered the patriotic song, therefore they thought it was “un-American”}, some going so far as to boycotting Coke products. {(Thesis) We as the big melting pot should learn to be more accepting of our cultures; the “It’s Beautiful” ad by Coca Cola and the #speakAmerican hashtag that was created in response to the ad demonstrates that. In this paper I will argue that many Americans were wrong to bash on the commercial, and why the Coca Cola commercial was an accurate portrayal to our country.}

            Looking at the reactions of the commercial I was saddened in regards to all the ignorance I saw and read on social media sites, especially twitter. #SpeakAmerican and #FucCola were trending topics on the site with thousands of responses speaking ill of the Coca Cola commercial that actually portrayed our country in a beautiful way. Americans must not forget the history of this nation, and that different ethnicities and different people helped make this country what it is today. {(Example) The United States did not solely consist of English speakers or English speaking cultures. For example the Indigenous peoples (or Native Americans) were here before any European. The French, Spaniards, and the Dutch also settled even before the British, and after The United States became a country hundreds of different ethnicities came to seek refuge soon after}.  Is it wrong to show different ethnicities of people when, besides Native Americans, we are all descendants of immigrants and foreigners? {(Analogy) Ignorance is like a weed, growing in between the crevices, confiscating the openness of the mind}. We must recognize who we are and where we have been as a nation. {(induction) We fought for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We also killed Native Americans by disease and murder, and pushed them off their lands. We attempted to create a country run by the voices of the people instead of tyranny, and oppression by kings and queens and we succeeded. However our very first constitution, the Articles of Confederation, limited the powers of the executive (the president) so much it failed and we had to write a new one. The good and the bad make up who we are now as a country}. History is not meant to be warped, only what one person may want to acknowledge. Native Americans existed here before the “whites”/the Europeans, most of us (if not Native American descent) are descendants of foreigners, and that is factual information that cannot be changed. When people do not realize this, and only understand what they want to (having a lack of understanding at that), that is the basis of ignorance, and that is what was seen in those responses.

            Now many people are knowledgeable of the fact that the USA has been known as the big melting pot, a nation full of immigrants, but God forbid they change an anthem that exemplifies American patriotism into different languages. Those that watched this ignorantly were unable to see the beauty of the commercial, and were unable to understand and appreciate the beauty of diversity that we Americans should be grateful to have. “Dear Coke commercial....” writes @devvMitchell11 (twitter account), “DO NOT sing my Country's song of Freedom in a different language.” Is this person aware English is not the official language, better yet the fact that we do not HAVE an official language? English however may be our national language but our government recognizes we are so different linguistically we do not have an official one. What should be a problem is the fact that many Americans are monolingual, and the expectation some have that everyone should speak English, when in actuality our leaders that helped create this country spoke in different languages, some learning Native American languages, and even Latin.  The world is becoming more interconnected, and more globalized. {(sign) Instead of bashing on a beautiful campaign for not singing a patriotic song in English, maybe this is a sign that we should learn a different language}. The USA is known as one of the biggest multicultural and most ethnically diverse countries but sadly we are also known for having a lower bilingual rate, compared to much of the other developed countries. Maybe we should put learning new languages and not cutting foreign language education budgets on our list of priorities instead of criticizing how linguistically different we are, making it seem more like a burden. 

            What we need to value is that we are one of many. We must not have this one language, one skin tone, or one culture mentality. Despite the fact that the commercial spurred controversy and hatred, I am thankful and I hope it serves as a wake-up call for the American people. The Coca Cola commercial reminds us that we are a country built on diversity, and acceptance. If we do not embrace that we do not really see the beauty this amazing and spectacularly diverse country has to offer. We should all be thankful because our country is truly unique, and American culture is not a single culture, nor can it be easily expressed, because it involves many cultures from all over the world in one single nation. This is the beauty portrayed in the Coca Cola ad, and most importantly, this is the beauty of the United States of America.

some more late night thoughts

Sometimes i wondered how a person could do that in public- watch anime, play with those pokemon or yugioh, talk loudly with their friends. Wear this, wear that. Wear those crazy witch like leggings MONTHS before halloween, or literally have rainbow colored hair. But then i realize they are just so adamant on being themselves. Either that or being an annoying nuisance (with the talking loudly thing). and THEN i realize here i am, preaching about BEING YOURSELF when (although i have been changing) i haven't lived up to that. I mean with certain people the fear diminishes, and i can be myself because i have gained the feeling of acceptance from those people, but when people do that on a whim, i definitely get jealous. Jealous that i can't do that on my own sometimes. 
JEALOUSY
TURNING SAINTS INTO THE SEA

okay okay i will stop with my Killers moment. But you get the picture, i hope... haha(;

Now i have been changing, i have been unafraid to be myself. In a place of 36,000 it is quite easy to do. It has been my reason for everything, "oh i'll never see that kid again", after embarrassing myself, but even in a place of 36,000 that may still not happen. I just have to no longer care sometimes about not feeling accepted, but i can't get the idea in my head that there will be people that won't accept and appreciate you, even if you have never met the person. It is sad but humanity can be sick and twisted.  But that somehow makes everything so much greater. Light cannot exist with darkness, just like the Good guys can't exist without the bad. I mean that idea can seem pretty effed up, but due to the fact that we have bad moments help us to embrace the good moments so much better. The bad times also make us stronger.
I am not saying that i am thankful bad things happen in the world, thank goodness for terrorism, for the still-existing KKK. NO. i am not saying that. and even then, when the bad guys exist, the good guys have to, too. And although it may seem childish to think "THe good guys always win" they DO, even if they win in this life, they won't win in the next, regardless of your religion.
So i tell you dear readers, yeah my posts, they may now seem hypocritical. But these are thoughts i WANT to live by, i want to put into my everyday moments and life. I want to smile every moment of every day, but that isn't humanely possibly. I want to believe in myself, but i can't seem to find that in myself either. Now that is "humanely possible" to believe in yourself, it just is so hard for me sometimes. I didn't grow up in a state of abuse, i have a wonderful and loving family. I just took every word pointing at me, i let every knife thrown at me, stab me. Those big and small. So even when i say "Believe in yourself! Don't think of what others think!" although i may not be living up to just yet, those are true words that ring in my body and soul.
I will, in some moment and time, not know the feeling of NOT believing in myself. soon, hopefully(:

UPDATED music, and such!(: Check it ^^^^^

GUESS WHAT?!
updated my music, like i always do when i get bored with some songs, feel free to flip through them!!(: I have a feeling this playlist will be kept on here for a while!
I have also taken a TONNNNN of videos and pics, i may/may have not posted on my other networking sites, that i hope to compile into an awesome video!(: Well at least in MY eyes it will be awesome!! So keep an eye out for that which may just come in a few weeks!!!

Day sucks? read below! Day rocks? STILLL read below(;

They weren't lying when they said college is one of the best experiences. I have only been here for a few months and i already cannot agree more(:
I have met so many new people, and i have tried so many new things.
YOU TOTALLY MUST NOT BE SO SCARED ABOUT LIFE! don't be afraid to try new things because in actuality, you always face something new, something different. why fear something that makes life so beautiful? why fear something that you cannot change? Staying in a room all day, won't make you a stranger to change, although that would very much be a sad way to live, if considered a life at all.
All over facebook i see posts of people reciving their college acceptance letters, posting it with thousands of excited-faced emoticons, and i realize, it was a YEAR when i experienced that, and damn hasn't time flown by! throughout this whole time, i have had the opportunity to be in LECTURES, not just "classes", with 200+ people. I have experienced being out all night with friends, yelling and losing my voice at the football games, high-fiving the football players, being on live tv, tried korean food, communal baths and living with an absolute stranger that is now an amazing friend(: I have also experienced fear, homesickness, and just THOUSANNNNDS of other experiences, i am just unable to list. Believe me when i say the bad, or scary experiences are EASILY outweighed by the awesome ones!!(:
SO go out tomorrow and just LIVE. embrace the day, so much that you can't stop from smiling. Looking out at the world with a smile, is also said to lead to good health throughout life, just by the way!

IMPORTANT stuff below!(:

I can't post it on the side for some reason.. so here is some contact information!-
my twitter!!- @crashnlikewaves GO FOLLOW ME!(:
my youtube account- kati scarlett
oh and ASK ME A QUESTION! - http://ask.fm/katiscarlett
^requires no signup and you are anonymous! so ask me any question and the funniest Qs i get i will be posting about!
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Okay so i had a new experience today! i got on okaynow.com with a good friend of mine and it was an AWESOME experience. for those that don't know the site, definitely check it out! we sang and got many comments from viewers and votes to keep us on longer!!(:
I am also working on another cover to sing (the song is a surprise!) and i am really excited! I may film it and post it tomorrow, but it'll definitely be on before next week!
ANDDD  on even better news, I DON'T HAVE HOMEWORK! sooo i am going to sleep early xD
love y'all!(:

Food for Thought- World View

Have you ever walked down the street, and looked and took in everything around you? so much that you began to think, i wonder what it is like in Brazil right now, or i wonder what people in Australia walk out to every morning when going to school or work. I am an international studies major and these thoughts always clog my brain. Think about it. Someone around the world may be wanting to see what is going on in the eyes of an American, or an Australian, a Russian, a New Zealander etc. So next time you walk around in your town, city, country take everything in, enjoy every experience, because someone around the world may wish to see everything through your eyes.

Update!(:

I know it has definitely been a while and i definitely apologize for that! I opened up my page a few minutes ago though, and i was REALLY surprised that i had a ton more pageviews. So for those that came across my page, even accidentally, thank you for checking it out!!

OKAY so i am practicing on a new song, it is called Sweater Weather and it is honestly a SUPER fun song to sing. I DID mess up, including on my strumming, but i sent this to my brother josh and my mom just for fun. LITERALLY (as seen on title to prove my point as well).I tend to send vids to my mom of me singing every week or so for some weird reason, haha(: Feel free to skip to like 0:30 because i am talking to Maria in the beginning. I just didn't delete it though because i thought my face looked hilarious when i sneezed. xD

Honestly i have been in Denton for a month now and i have literally had no singing voice for like half of it. My allergies have made my voice raspy, and i can't really sing much and it truly does break my heart sometimes): AHHHH WELLL i am just focusing on getting better.
you know what makes you better? sleep! which i am getting none of. Good thing UNT has a 24 hour library. I am honestly wondering if i should stay up or not because i have class in only a few hours. If i do this is my first college all-nighter, and i am next to my friend (who is taking 19 hrs worth of classes) and this is her 13th. OMG WHUT. So for those that are thinking about UNT as a school, The library here is awesome, and everyone is really helpful, i just hope that you don't spend an all-nighter here, and get some rest.
ALSO when thinking of UNT and "everyone is helpful thing" i totally LOVE the atmosphere here. I pass by people singing, sitting with their guitar/ukulele, tight-rope walking, freaking EVERYTHING. Not to mention i just got free coffee (i am sitting in the cyber cafe in the library right now as i type) haha WOOP!(: The campus is truly diverse and some people here hold doors for each other. Smiling at a stranger is also not common and it really does give me hope about society. <3 (:
You know what is also really fun to do here, bring back doughnuts from home. Yuh that's right, ROUND ROCK DONUTS. i don't know how many surprised faces i have seen when i bring someone the Texas Sized Donut. hahahah(:
Now i am going to go, and get some shuteye. I will definitely start posting updates more often!
AGAIN: thank you so much for reading, and checking out my page. i am definitely super thankful(:

Remembering 9/11 ; We Will Never Forget

I was only 6 years old, but i too remember where i was this day, 12 years ago.  I was sitting at home, in the television room, while my father was watching the news. I remembered that at this time both towers were hit, and my father was talking to my mother on the phone, worried sick about her because she works in a federal building (meaning she had worked for the government). At that point in time i didn't really know what had happened, until my mother tried describing it to me that day. The atmosphere, the whole world seemed so different to me that day.
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For those that don't know of what happened on 9/11 in 2001, planes were hijacked by the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda and were flown into the twin towers, the North first, followed by the South tower at around 9am, 20 minutes after the first tower was hit. Another plane hit the pentagon and a 4th, was headed to Washington DC but due to the heroic actions of the passengers (who overthrew the terrorists), crashed in a pasture killing all on-board. Almost 3,000 perished in this traumatic time for the USA, including many firefighters who fearlessly went into the towers, before it collapsed on them. People jumped out of the windows, even a hundred floors up to escape death from Fire, and thousands were waiting for help that couldn't and never came for them.
This wasn't just a crime on the United States but a crime on humanity, said one person and i agree with it. Because of this horrible event, security was heightened in the states, New York economy was horrible, every american felt personally hurt, affected and angry as well. This anger eventually started a war against terrorism, which wasn't really successful until the death of Osama Bin Laden. 
(outside the capital after news of Bin Laden's death 5/1/11)

To this day, since then we have experienced many terrorist attacks, sadly. I also understand these attacks haven't just happened in the USA, but in Europe as well, or other countries. I also came across this video on the internet (above). It was honestly very touching to see that so many countries grieved together along with us some even from those countries, and grieved for those killed in the horrible attacks, as well as for those that lost fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters, neighbors and friends.
“Remember the hours after September 11th when we came together as one to answer the attack against our homeland. We drew strength when our firefighters ran upstairs and risked their lives so that others might live; when rescuers rushed into smoke and fire at the Pentagon; when the men and women of Flight 93 sacrificed themselves to save our nation’s Capitol; when flags were hanging from front porches all across America, and strangers became friends. It was the worst day we have ever seen, but it brought out the best in all of us.” –Sen. John Kerry

So i pray that you took the time today to not only think of those that died on 9/11 (their families included in your thoughts) but also for those killed in the terrorist attacks that soon followed, all around the world. And although this horrible tragedy happened, we still have hope, that things will get better, and although we have been healing, we will never forget
Rest in Peace.

Peace out, Dallas

Austin Texas (above) vs. Dallas Texas (Below)

This past weekend was definitely a blast, although i haven't gotten any information from the Green Tones and my audition like it was said i would. Needless to say, about that i am very depressed and worried. BUTTTT we should just transfer to the good, or FUNNY news i should say.

My family visited this past friday to saturday, i had the opportunity to show them around Denton, AND i got a tv. My parents love me<3 haha(: But they left at around 4 (sat.), and i just went back to my room and cried. For one, i am a girl so it isn't SO bad crying and i fully embrace having crazy emotions because that makes us look normal at around these times. While i was sulking i began texting my friend who invited me to go to Downtown Dallas, with hopes of hitting up a dance club/hall. I knew i NEEDED to go to get out of this homesickness so i dressed up, and piled in along with 6 other people and hit the road! IT WAS VERY LEGAL, we all had seat-belts (just in case my mom happens to read this.. love you mom!). I was really excited, and i had never been to Downtown Dallas before. I was born in Austin, and raised 20 minutes or less outside of Austin apart from 3 years where i lived in Olathe Kansas during elementary school. Driving there was definitely an interesting experience! Jonathan our friend that drove was AWESOME as always, and Elora our "DJ" well.. she found some interesting music. We rode into the mainstreet of downtown Dallas listening to Opera (the music, not the person), which was REALLY interesting. Getting there, the place we wanted to was at capacity, so we decided to walk around for an hour or more exploring and taking in the nightlife, and it was definitely so gorgeous. There was so many lit-up buildings and above all so many CARS. One other thing i found out, Dallas has A LOT OF CRAZY DRIVERS. As we were trying to leave Dallas we got into a tussle with a car beside us who was being such a bitch. Now i am so sorry for my language but considering the fact that Elora and I (who were sitting on the right side) were the closest to the driver and would've gotten hurt the WORST in an impact (ESPECIALLY Elora) y'all should let it slide! Now the story: The signs on the road due to a collision up ahead required us to merge with her lane and she didn't dare let us get ahead. When the car in front of her sped up we took advantage and as we put on the blinker and turned that way she ALL OF A SUDDEN sped up and didn't let us TWICE. LITERALLY. Obviously i still have some vent up anger over this, sorry. On the bright side, it was very funny seeing all of us getting heated up in the car yelling "IS SHE SERIOUS?!" to each other.

 Next thing you know we get on the wrong exit, and take a big circle, making our drive home like 2 hours which was kind of funny. We got back into the school at around 1am, and turned into the street and parked in front of Maple, one of my friend's halls (dormitory). We waited for her to go change, as we were planning to carry on the night with some tobacco-less hookah (meaning this form of hookah was just water vapor and flavoring).  As we were all talking 10 minutes passed and we were wondering if we should get some food or something while this is taking so long, but decide not to, thank goodness. Because, as it turns out we were on a one-way road, and let me give you a hint, we weren't right. AND to make it EVEN MORE FUNNY we didn't realize this until a cop pulled up in front of us. Luckily Jonathan was let off with a warning because we all don't really know the campus well STILL, because there are so many strange one way streets. We then went to Hookah, blew bubbles with smoke (which was awesome) and it was black-lit! it was amazing because they handed out highlighters that due to the blacklight were glowing, of course ink included. It was so much fun getting to draw happy faces and stuff on ourselves. We were there until 3:30am, and left to go home. Now if any of you live in Denton go to Kush, it is so much fun! Just beware the prices can get crazy.
Shout out and a big thanks to all my friends who turned my evening around!(:

Oh & needless to say i will always be an Austin girl, sorry Dallas, no hard feelings

(austin city limits music festival)

KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD(: