New Years Resolutions

2013 is over and 2014 is here. Some people are making resolutions and others are making fun of the people that have resolutions. I heard on the radio today a woman said that she doesn't make resolutions because she would be lying to herself. I don't see how you could be lying to yourself if you make a resolution and don't stick with it. That's just giving up. Every year, I have made a resolution to get flexible. And every year I fail miserably. I'm not going to make that resolution this year. Not for fear of failure. Rather because I already know I'm not going to do it. I don't have the patience. I give up after the first day. I'm a patient person, but enduring the pain of stretching is just ugh.

Here are some common New Years Resolutions that people set:

• Lose Weight. Almost everyone tries to set this goal. But a few months in, they give up. The gyms know it. In January, you see a bunch of gyms everywhere. Then by June, there's only 1 or 2 left in the area. And the ones that are left are usually 24 Hour Fitness and the Crossfit gyms. Reason being the 24hr Fitness still open, people can go when there is no one else around. And the Crossfit centers are for people who's lives revolve around athletics. 
• Improve relationships. People (especially teens) want boyfriend/girlfriends. They want to make new friends. But the problem with this is that people don't want to go through the effort of trying to make new friends. Another thing is that they don't know how to. It's easy to make friends in school because you are surrounded by people your age. But for adults, it's nearly impossible. The only people they are around is their coworkers and maybe the people they go to church with. Adults don't necessarily like their coworkers. Start introducing yourself to random people at the store. It's going to be weird, but over time, you'll get more comfortable and have actual conversations. 
• Manage stress. This is a good one for me. I'm ALWAYS stressed out and I know I'm not the only one. For me, the best way to manage stress is by letting your anger or sadness out. Don't keep your feelings bottled up. But take anything out on another person. Just scream. Cry. Do whatever you need to do. Talk to someone you trust. Don't let yourself feel bad by holding everything in. While all of these things are good, the best thing I could tell you is to just take a break and BREATHE.

There are many other resolutions that people set. I would like to talk about them, but I don't have any experience with them. What I would like to tell you is to not feel like you should or shouldn't set a goal for yourself. But don't limit your goals to the first of the year. You should set goals everyday. 

I turn 18 this year. My resolution is to get the job before the job of my dreams. I want to work at Volkswagen of Lewisville as a receptionist or some sort of assistant. Eventually I'll get into sales. Then one day, I'll open up my own VW dealership. This is the first stepping stone on my journey. 

Tell me your New Years Resolutions! I want to hear them. Do you think you're going to stick with it? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time...

God Bless You and God Bless America!

-Rachael

Let's Talk Music

Hey. Let's have a conversation. As we all know, I'm interested in music and couldn't live without it. How does one have a music blog? I'm really not sure. But if I knew, I would do it. So until then, I'm going to wing it.
I think for now, I'm going to discuss my Top 10 favorite songs on Earth. Let's go?

1. Of course, my favorite song ever is Rush 2112. It's 20 minutes long. But it's length is required to tell a wonderful story. It lines up with the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand. It's very strange, but great. Basically, in the future, everyone is exactly the same and their future's are chosen for them by the "Council" or government. So this guy finds a guitar in a cave behind this waterfall. He learns to play it and thinks that it could be useful, so he shows the council. They say that they already knew stuff like that existed and didn't want it because it would start some kind of revolution. So he's depressed and goes back to his cave. He falls asleep and has this dream of an Oracle. This Oracle shows him the world before the government took over, when there was music everywhere. He woke up from this dream super depressed and killed himself. I know that's kind of a weird part. But it's not over yet. I think the ending was left open to interpretation. I believe that the people who really ruled over the Earth came back in their spaceships and destroyed everything to reclaim their planet. I like that ending. I like this song, partially because of the story, but also because of the melodic features. There are tempo changes, melody changes, and man does Alex rock out. Who am I kidding? They all do!
2. Now that I'm getting into the shorter songs, I'm going to have shorter descriptions. But for the sake of this blog, lets keep going. I think it's only fair that my favorite song be a Linkin Park song. They are my favorite band on Earth. I've loved them since BIRTH. Not really. Turns out they weren't popular until 1999. But they did form in 96. So there. Anyways, my favorite song by them is The Little Things Give You Away. It was on the album Minutes to Midnight released in 2007. I just need to say something right here, this song is great when heard live. But Linkin Park is really good live, in general. Mike isn't that great, but I think he knows it. Chester on the other hand, sounds really really good live. I have the Road to Revolution DVD and CD which is pretty much their live performance in Milton Keynes. It looked like a great show. I really like this song because of the layering and rounds. I don't have any connection to the lyrics really. But the thing is, I don't like songs because I "relate" or "feel the feels." I like a song when it sounds like a musical genius wrote  it. Sure there are plenty of other songs that LP did that I absolutely love, but this one is just different. It speaks to me musically.
3. I think my third favorite song would be Zombie by The Cranberries. This song actually does mean something to me. What I like is that the lyrics can be interpreted in different ways. It could be a war with yourself, a war with the world. It could be about the government (that's what I think). It could be about many things, even if they wrote it only thinking about one thing. But this song means more to me than just it's lyrics. It was the first song I learned on the bass guitar. I'm sure that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is to me. 
4. This next one I like for a silly reason. But to me, it's the most important reason to like a song. It sounds PERFECT when turned up really loud in my dad's truck. This band inspired a lot of things from my childhood. It's strange to say that Disturbed made a huge impact on my life, but hey, everyone get inspiration in different ways. Indestructible is a good song because it's like a warriors anthem. No person wants to feel like they can be torn apart. This song gives people like me belief. The music in it is very powerful and singing along to it makes you feel, quite literally, indestructible. You could wreck your car playing this, and you wouldn't be touched. You were "INDESTRUCTIBLE!"
5. In my opinion, So Cold by Breaking Benjamin really shows Ben's vocal capacity. It shows what he can really do. I like the acoustic version more than the original studio version. I think about it, and I don't think Breaking Benjamin has ever done a song that I didn't like, just like LP. But So Cold is my favorite song of theirs because of Ben's vocals. I listen to it and I just... ugh. It's too great. He's gentle, then he's "angry," then he gets all screaming-opera on you. It's like, amazing. It just seems to me that the people who had problems with drugs and alcohol abuse are the best musicians. 
6. Even though The Red was the first Chevelle song I heard and was the song that made me fall in love with them, it's not my favorite. Saferwaters is. I love this song to death. the guitar riffs actually make it sound like you're surrounded by water. It's different. I think Chevelle is a very unique band. They do have some songs that I don't like, but no two songs are the same. And they also have some interesting music videos. But regardless of all the weird stuff, there is one thing I find amusing about the band. Pete. Like Ben, I think Pete has a unique voice. He can go from really sweet to super angry. I get the feeling like he was born with such a beautiful voice and didn't take any lessons. Or he taught himself. I never actually did that much research on them. But that doesn't mean I don't love Chevelle!
7. Okay, 10 Years is a weird band. I love Jesse Hasek, but he is a freak. And their music is OMG AMAZING! I keep switching my favorite song by them. It's weird because, I'll like one song a whole bunch, but then I'll hear another one and be in love with that one. I think for them, I'm going to have to stick with Fix Me. When in doubt, go with the one that makes you "feel the feels." And that's exactly what this song does to me. The words actually speak to me. It's about someone who apparently "wastes all of their time" and people are trying to fix them. They try to get them to do something, but they know where they are supposed to be. At least, that's how I see it. I really love this song because I always feel like people are trying to tell me that what I'm doing is wrong and they are telling me what to do. 
8. I once came up with a really good idea for a web series. It was called "Jenny's Musical Life." It was about this girl in New York who's friend from CA visits her. Her life is like a musical and when he sees her and everyone else dancing around, he gets freaked out. Eventually, he realizes that the musical stuff is really cool. It had a very sad ending though. He died in a plane crash. After awhile, she got a boyfriend who was abusive. She killed herself and it ended with the abusive boyfriend regretting everything, singing to All These Things That I've Done by the Killers. Man that was a good idea. I don't know why I like this song. Maybe because the tones and melodies make me super happy when I listen to it. Whatever it is, I'm glad this song exists. I love it. 
9. Tongue Tied by Grouplove is another song that makes me super happy for no reason. I love listening to this song really loud in the car too. I love being able to hear all of the different parts of this song. I remember when I first this song, I HATED it. I thought it was so stupid. But then I heard it one day on Spotify radio with my speakers turned up real loud. I heard all of the parts and I was amazed. It did something to me. It changed me. I felt so good listening to it. I can't even describe the feeling to you. 
10. Ah yes, we save the last for last... It's not the best, because then it would have been number one. I would have done the countdown backwards, but I don't know how to do that without manually typing the numbers. This song makes me sad and then happy. Like an emotional roller coaster. I like it for many different reasons. One being that it talks about a girl leaving her significant other to go to New York. If you don't know by now, I really like New York, even though I have never been there. One day.... Moving on, the song I am talking about is Bright Lights by Matchbox Twenty. I grew up listening to MB20, so I'm real fond of all of their songs. But I like this in particular because of the way Rob uses his voice. Like Ben, he really shows off what he can do. Along with his voice, there is something about him that makes all of the ladies' ovaries explode. Okay.

So those are my Top 10 favorite songs. Do you know or like these songs? Tell me your opinions of these. Or you can tell me what your favorite songs are! Until next time...

God Bless you and God Bless America

-Rachael

The Secret Life

I've heard rumors about this show. Apparently the ending was really terrible and the fan base was super ticked off. Well, I have taken the liberty of watching the first two seasons and I am not impressed. I can''t understand why there would be a fan base in the first place. I get it. It's addicting because it has a very good plot. The drama is exciting and overwhelming at times. But as far as I can tell, it's just a bunch of teenagers getting into each others business.

Okay, so if you have never heard of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, I'm going to do my best to explain it to you. So it starts off with this girl Amy ---------->>>
She's a freshman at a new school who is really good at the French Horn.

She hooks up with a guy named Ricky at band camp. He's a Sophomore and a drummer. He's very charming with the ladies. They all want him and he just wants to get laid.--------------->>>















So on the first day of high school, she finds out she is preggers. And she's not too happy.








She tells her two stupid friends. Lauren and Madison. These two cannot keep a secret to save their lives. So they are pretty much the ones that ruin everything. They can't shut their mouths and they tell someone, who tells someone, and so on.

So anyways, these three totally random people, Ben, Henry and Alice are introduced. Henry and Alice are dating and Ben is just their rich friend.

                  Alice!                          Henry :/                                                    

Ben!!!



Ben was falling for this super Christian girl, Grace. She's really pretty, and dating this jock, Jack. He's interested in getting laid, but she is not concerned about that. Alice pressures Ben into finding another girl. So he goes for Amy.








Eventually, Ben and Amy get together and she tells him that she's pregnant with Ricky's baby. He still loves her and decide he wants to marry her. They "get married" and try to elope. But the parents catch them. Turns out it doesn't count if you try to get married with a fake ID.








A bunch of other stuff happens but I don't want to go into too much detail. I will only tell you the main points. Pretty much, Amy's family is really messed up. Her dad was having an affair with Ricky's girlfriend's (Adrian's) mother.

Amy's dad, George                                   Adrian's Mom, Cindy


Adrian plays a major role later on. Right now, she is just a sex addict and wants Ricky to herself. She's a majorette in the band and is living with her single mother.















So moving on, Amy has the baby and everyone is happy, for now. Her parents get a divorce and then her mother gets pregnant. She thought it was David's (her current boyfriend) baby. And then she finds out George lied about his vasectomy. So it's his baby. They start talking about getting back together. It's no big deal really.












This is getting difficult to explain. There's just so many little details, I'm afraid if I leave something out, it will get too confusing. Basically, a bunch of teens get into trouble. They get in each others business. They spread rumors and secrets about each other. And everyone's life is ruined. We find out that Ricky was sexually abused by his father. He gets shared custody with his son. No one really pays attention to her sister Ashley, which makes her the coolest character on the show. Adrian get's jealous of Amy and Ricky spending so much time together, so she sleeps with Ben. That was a HUGE mistake because she gets pregnant with Ben's baby. Grace and Jack break up because he couldn't get her to have sex. So him and Madison get together. Lauren gets a boyfriend too. Just a bunch of stuff happens. It's overwhelming to watch.

There are some good things about this show though. It makes me never want to tell anyone a secret. It's good birth control. I never want to have a boyfriend or get married. I guess the best thing is that it's very unrealistic. I'm sure there are things that happen like this, but not where I'm from. People aren't all that stupid in Texas. Sure there are a bunch of pregnant girls in high school. But the thing is, no one really cares that they're pregnant. We know to mind our own business. The people in this show did not. The acting was pretty good and I did like the drama. From what I have seen, I would give it 3 1/2 (out of 5) stars.

If you've seen the Secret Life, tell me what you think. NO SPOILERS PLEASE! I do intend on watching the entire thing. I anticipate finishing it.

Until next time, God Bless You and God Bless America.

-Rachael

15 Things Girls Look For In A Guy

This one is for the guys. I can already tell, this is going to be a really weird post. Especially since I'm not a normal girl. But I'll do my best to be general about this.

1. I think the first and most important thing a girl likes is physical attractiveness. Ladies, I know you tell your friends that you don't base people on looks. You know what I have to say about that? You are all LIARS. Guys, we don't "friendzone" you because we only see you as a friend or a brother. We do it because we would be embarrassed to call you our boyfriend. We don't think you are attractive enough to date. But you look okay enough to call you our friend. 
2. You have to be funny. Seriously, if you can't make a girl laugh, then she's not into you. Even the girls that act like snobs like to laugh. If you're trying to get with a girl like that and you've constantly been trying to make her laugh, just give up. There is a reason she won't open up o you in a humorous way. Hehe... humorous.
3. This goes for girls and guys. The person that you are trying to date should make you want to be a better you. the best you that you can be. If this person is constantly tearing you down and feel bad, you probably shouldn't be seeing them. 
4. This one is probably optional for some girls. A guy that can sing or play guitar is really cool. Some girls might not really care. In fact, I'm sure there are some girls that think a guy who can't sing is cute. Personally, I wouldn't be okay with that. I'd like someone who makes up for my lack of a singing voice.
5. Have some interests and some differences. Girls like when they can have conversations about their favorite things. I think girls just like hearing themselves talk. But if you like the same type of music, talk about that with her. If she likes something that you don't really care for, ask about it anyways. She'd love to think that she's teaching someone about that topic. 
6. This kinda goes with number five. Be a good listener. Don't just nod and think about what you want to do to her. Girls can tell when you;re not listening. Ask her questions about whatever it is she's talking about. It shouldn't be that hard. These are basic people skills. 
7. Girls love gentlemen. Hold the door open for her. Lend her your jacket if she's cold. Help other people in front of her. Man, if you do stuff like that, you've pretty much got a new wife. Girls love guys that help other people. But I think if you're going to do something like that, you shouldn't just help others in front of the girl. You should always be trying to help people. Even when the girl isn't around. 
8. Confidence, man. I cannot say it enough. Just be confident in who you are. Not arrogant. There is a difference. Just believe that you are doing your absolute best in everything. Smile. Show the world that you are not afraid of anything.
9. That leads me to number 9. When first dating a girl, do your best to not show fear. She wants to feel like she has someone protecting her. Later on as the relationship develops, you'll open up more and show that you are afraid of certain things. She won't think any less of you.
10. Personal Hygiene. Girls hate it when guys smell bad. Stay neat and groomed. Use deodorant and cologne. Girls LOVE the smell of some colognes. Some are nasty. Find out which one your girl likes and continuously wear that one. But don't drown yourself in it. A girl will not hesitate to gag if the smell is too strong. And I'm sure she would tell you right away if you were wearing too much. Just know when enough is enough.
11. Don't swear. Swearing is never cool. Maybe when you're with your friends, you have the mouth of a sailor. But you should never swear with ladies around. They will look down on you. Swearing does in fact make you sound less intelligent. 
12. Most girls don't like guys that smoke, drink, or do drugs. They know it's unhealthy. Think about it, most girls are looking for husbands and don't want their children to pop out "different." Just be smart. Son't do drugs. Stay in school and all that jazz.
13. Don't look at other girls. We know when you look at other women. It's disgusting and make us hate you. A lot of girls already feel insecure. Don't make them feel even more insecure. Don't talk about other girls. I hate that I am making a list of things not to do, but this is serious stuff. Girls are not pretty when they're jealous. Sure there are some girls that think its funny and will agree with you when you mistakenly (or purposely) talk about how hot other girls are. But it's usually because they really are jealous and are hiding it, or they're secretly gay. 
14. Be a lover, not a fighter. Sure some girls might like the dangerous type, but in reality, if she see's you get in a fight with someone, she might not feel safe. All a girl really wants is to feel safe. Don't be that guy. Not to mention that will give you a bad reputation with other girls. 
15. The last thing (on this list, there are plenty more things) is to just be positive and smile. A smile is a persons greatest feature. If you have a genuine positive attitude and a great smile, every girl will automatically fall in love with you. It's like looking at this guy. Ugh, that beautiful face.

If you are a guy and reading this, do everything I say and you will have a girlfriend and/or wife in no time. Oooh Kill 'Em!

Thank you for reading. Did you know I'm on twitter? @_rachaeltroy_

-Rachael

Grungy Girls

Oh dear. I just drank 2 Mountain Dew's. You know what that means. I'm gonna be revved up all night writing. Or goofing off. Or both. I have something I'd like to rant about. My love for female grunge artists. For example, Megan McCauley, Kerli, Amy Lee. Sure some of these are technically "gothic rock" but they all have something about them that I really like.

Megan McCauley has a deep voice. I seriously love her voice. She has very good control and sounds great live. I only recently discovered her music. Unfortunately, she only had one album released in 2007 and is now hiatus. Like any other great grunge singer, she had trouble with drug abuse. It's terrible, but going through all of that gave her the reputation as a musical genius. I admire her. I don't have much to say about her because I'm still learning about her. There isn't much on the internet about her personal life or career. All I know is that she started modeling and singing around the age of five and she had so much pressure put on her by her mother. Now they have a bad relationship on something. They were on Dr. Phil talking about it in 07 when her album came out. That's really all I know. Regardless, she's an amazing singer.



I think we should have a chat about Amy Lee. There are a few things I like about her. But overall, I don't think she's all that great. Don't get me wrong, I think she is an amazing singer. She has a great voice and uses it well. But it doesn't make up for her attitude. Before she recorded Broken with Seether, Megan McCauley was originally asked to record with them. She didn't get the gig because Amy Lee was dating Shaun Morgan (Seether, lead singer) at the time. Lee got all mad and made a huge deal about not being asked to perform with them. I guess Morgan gave in and was like, "Yeah well I'm kinda dating this woman. I guess I should let her sing with us. Even though I like McCauley better and so does the band. But ya know, my lady friend might get a little PO'd. Should probably try to please her." Ugh come on Shaun. I don't like Lee simply because of her actions. Her voice is nice though.I tried looking for a good picture of her that really shows all of her facial features. But every picture I find of her is very high contrast like this one. I think she's going for a ghostly type look. Maybe she thinks she's a ghost.




There's something about Taylor Momsen that is just... Ugh. She's so great. She has that deep voice that sounds like she sings while she's high. I wouldn't be surprised. I really like her band, The Pretty Reckless. My favorite song that they did was Zombie. Oh my goodness, it's such a good song. It describes how I feel about everyone at my old school. There's seriously too much to say about Momsen. I am so jealous of her hair. I know they're extensions, but I would love to have hair that long. Everything about her is just wonderful. Except for her recent nose job. I don't like it. She kinda looks weird. This is her before the nose job and without extensions. And also without all the make up that actually makes her look like a zombie. She might be a little crazy, but I still like her. Ain't she perty?



Alright, let's talk about Dolores O'Riordan. Technically she's not a grunge singer, but I think her old look could put her there. I believe that she has one of the most unique voices on Earth (aside from Paula Cole). If you don't know who she is, you might know her band, the Cranberries. They also have a song called Zombie, but it's very different from The Pretty Reckless' song. In fact, I think it might be better than theirs. Just my own opinion. This picture is back from the 90's I do believe. Back when she was cool. I think sometime in the last five years she left the band and started a solo career. I could be wrong. She might still be with the band. I really don't know. I don't actually pay attention to them. I just really like their music.

The last person I want to talk about is Lacey Mosely (or Lacey Sturm. She got married or something). I think I look up to her the most. She's originally from Arlington, TX, which is about 25 miles from where I currently reside. Obviously, that's not the reason why I like her, although it does contribute. Like McCauley, she went through drug abuse. But eventually, she became a Christian and joined Flyleaf, a Hard Christian Rock band. I still think they could fall under the grunge category. She has the voice that I desire. I mean, I would kill for any of these ladies' voices, but Lacey's stands out the most to me. She can do a lot with it. I'm a little upset that she left the band, but I think she wanted to. I don't really know how I feel about the girl that replaced her. I haven't been following their new stuff lately. I should probably go listen to it. She's so cute. Did you know she's only 4'11"? I finally feel tall for once. (I'm 5'5").

Theme

I've been doing some research about how to have an effective blog. Apparently I am supposed to have some type of theme. By theme I mean, what is the purpose of my blog? Why did I create it in the first place? What is the message I want to convey to my readers? Honestly, I have no good answer to these questions. Is there a right answer? No clue. I created the blog because I felt like it. I want to show my readers my personality and just have conversation. But, even though there is really no purpose, I still want to have a blog that people like to read and tell their friends about. Now, let's get to brainstorming.

What do people like? Cats, memes, humor. But all of the typical things are too easy. Politics, freedom, 'Murica. Those topics are hard to talk about. It requires a bunch of reason and in the end it's worthless. People will only criticize your thoughts. Health & Beauty. HA. I am definitely not one to be talking about that. And I'm not a mother so I can't have a "mommy" blog.

Okay, what do I like. Music. But how does one have a music blog? What do you talk about? "Music."No really? I thought you were supposed to talk about ham... But really? I could talk about my favorite artists all day, but who really cares? Pokemon. I do love Pokemon, and like music, I could go on all day talking about Pokemon related things. But it's only targeting a certain audience. Ice Skating. Well, as much as would love to talk about that, I don't get to skate very much. And even if I did, I'm not really that good. Movies. Oh how I love movies. I love watching them over and over again making stupid comments. I love taking notes while watching a series, trying to connect everything together. That's probably really weird. Something you might not know about me, I really love architecture. If I was going to college, I would major in Architecture Design. I seriously love it so much. That might be a good topic.

After going through this, I've realized something. I can't just pick one topic and stick with it. I am not a person that can choose something and stick with it. I need variety. My readers need variety. Everyone needs variety in their life. If you keep doing the same thing over again, don't you think things would get boring? Well that's how I feel. So I've decided. I'm not going to change a thing. this is my blog. I can talk about whatever I want to. And this will be the best blog ever because of it's variety. There is something for everyone.

Thank you guys! I know I rant a lot, but that's the point. Tell me what you think. What kind of things would you like me to write about? Let me know.

- Rachael

Dream Bedroom

I recently put up a string of lights around my room. They aren't "Christmas" lights. They kind of look like bubbles... Here, I'll just  show you.

They're so pretty. It's like I'm in  fairy realm when they're on in the dark. Stringing them up gave me a good idea. I went through Pinterest and collected some photos of bedrooms that I thought were pretty. I'd like to share them with you and tell you why I like them.

This first one is really elegant. I'm not much of a elegant person, at all. But if I had this room, I would feel like a princess. Maybe when I'm married and rich, I'll do something like this. I enjoy light colors. They're peaceful and help me sleep. I also really like the headboard of the bed. If it's leather, it's perfect. Anything else, eh.
                                           
Okay this next one is really cool. I love the lights, but the large windows is what really makes this room stand out to me. It kind of has that winter cottage or cabin feel to it. Oh and that sexy moose on the pillow; perfect. Maybe when I build my house in Colorado, I'll have something like this in it.


This is probably my favorite one. I think I would have something like this in my studio apartment in New York. Yes I plan on living there for a while. It would be really cool if the entire room was a black and white color scheme. I'm not fond of the brown drawers on the sides of the bed. But you know what I really love? That rug! It's so cute! I'm a fan of faux fur rugs. I would probably need some picture frames that say something a little cooler. For example; "It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." Or, "You are not your job. You are not how much money you have in the bank.You are not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet." Something like that. Yes those are from Fight Club.


Tell me what you think of these rooms or send me links to some rooms that you like. Thanks for reading. God bless you and God bless America.

-Rachael