Author: gwst345blogger

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The Fear of Being Asked What I’m Studying

Three people are sitting around a conference table. The Boss is standing and leaning over the table and asks, "So what did you learn from Women's Gender Study?" One person sitting answers "Women are strong!" The second personal sitting, a woman, says "We're people." The Third person sitting says "Feminism is all bark and no bite." The next image shows the boss with an angry face and the innocence of the third person. The next image shows the third person getting thrown out of a tall building's window.
A meme showing feminism is tough.

I love my minor. I love the way I learn about the world, the people living in it, and the way those people are treated. I love that we get to freely discuss and debate during class. I love that my teachers are real; they tell us the truth, but they understand life happens and are the most understanding professors I have ever met. I love that when I meet new people, I don’t jump to judging them, but instead, I get the opportunity to get to know them. However, when someone asks what my minor is, my gut gets stuck in a knot and I hesitate to tell them the truth. 

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The Not-So-Anxious Bachelors

Illustration of a person with head in hands, covering their face. Scribbles and thought bubbles surrounding their body.
Visual Representation of Anxiety

tw: anxiety and sexual assault

Stop turning the music up… What did you say? I didn’t hear you because the thoughts in my mind are too loud… Don’t ask me our weekend plans, I’ll overstudy and overstudy some more…. Please don’t squeeze my hand, I will think you are mad at me… 

Dating while having anxiety is not easy. It is especially not easy when the people that you are dating have no idea what anxiety looks like. I’ve had four boyfriends in my life and all of them reacted in their own unique ways.

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The Art of Crying in the Walk-in

Photo of Bart Simpson and Milhouse Van Houten from The Simpsons. Milhouse says "This is where I come to cry" showing Bart a tunnel and Bart says "Cool." The caption of the meme says "Me showing new servers the walk-in cooler."
Scene from The Simpsons where Milhouse shows Bart his special crying place like servers do to the new workers.

“Don’t ask if we want *another* drink; it’s passive aggressive and rude.”

“Roll the silverware tight like you!”

“This salad is entirely too big.”

“You want to check my ID? How f*cking racist.”

“You rang in crunchy instead of a crispy taco shell. Those 34 cents are coming out of your tips.”

“Smile more! Then maybe you’ll make more money.”

“You forgot our hot sauce. Why don’t you buy us a round of shots to make up for it?”

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Following Inspiration

Meg Boggs, an oversized woman, stands on the left, wearing biker shorts covering her ribs to her knees and a sports bra. She holds up her left arm, making a muscle. Tara Laferrara, a small muscular woman, stands on the right in the same pose as Boggs, wearing white shorts and a white sports bra. The caption on Boggs picture says "Two women, both really strong. We are conditioned to believe that a smaller body = stronger, healthier, and much more fit."
Public figure and body builder, Meg Boggs, posts on Instagram comparing herself to Tara Laferrara, a fitness professional and confidence coach, and acknowledges the stereotypes that because Boggs is bigger, it would seem she is unhealthy and unfit although both women are equally healthy and fit.

I was 16, mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, and feeling this dark cloud that sat over my head like Eeyore for months. I couldn’t place it. I was the skinniest I’d ever been, found a decent best friend that didn’t bully me like the ones from elementary school, and had just started dating a boy who I was crushing on for months. It took me years to figure out who I follow on social media makes a huge difference in our confidence. 

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