This past Saturday, I competed in the Miss Southern NY pageant. It is a local pageant in the Miss America system.

My freshman year room mate (Ellen) was supposed to compete with me and she was not able to because of mock trial practice. The funny thing is we both competed in pageants thinking that the other one would also be competing, we just ended up missing each other. 

For interview I wore a purple sheath dress with a jeweled neckline, it can be bought at your local bloomingdales. We wore our interview dresses for the onstage portion, which opened up the show.

Question: What is your strongest personalty trait?

Me: My ambition and motivation to succeed is my strongest personalty trait….blah, blah, blah something along those lines.

Miss New York 2011 (2nd runner up at Miss America) is on the left. Isn’t she stunning?

Next was swimsuit. After looking at the photos, I am pleased with the way my body looked. 

Talent happens to be my least favorite portion of the pageant at this time. I am a dancer but I have not taken a dance class in a very long time so I ended up singing. I sang Think of Me from the Phantom of the Opera. The last time I sang on stage was in fifth grade so my nerves we defiantly getting to me. I don’t think I sounded all that great…but at least I looked good. Right?

I do not have any evening gown photos, the photographers are yet to upload them; but the second they do I will post them. I wore my yellow jovani gown from the last pageant I did.

I did not win, but you know what, that’s perfectly fine. One of the main reasons I compete is to better my self, from one weekend I can learn a lot about what I need to work on. For instance, I learned I should probably start taking dance lessons again or get a really good vocal coach.

I just love competing, I may not always come back with a shiny wobbly metal thing on my head, but I always come back with great friends, memories and some awesome photos!

This is probably my favorite photo from the event. Decked out in a plaid shirt, jeans and a paisley scarf during rehearsals. 

get involved

www.now.org
www.rawa.org
www.womenslaw.org
www.amnestyusa.org
www.globalissues.org
www.globalfundforwomen.org

Next time someone says “feminism isn’t necessary anymore”, point here.

(Source: Flickr / 4lost)

[anonymous message says: Don’t you think that all of you (feminists) are dumb as fuck, uh? Cos it’s 21 century already and there’s gender equality. Feminism could have place in 17 century, or earlier, but not now. It seems, that almost all of you hate males and see gender discrimination everywhere! Chill out]

(Source: lipstick-feminists)

Unlike most college students my age I have a full time job, which means this spring break I’ll be stuck in my midtown office staring at a spreadsheet instead of watching the sun set on the beach. For the past few spring breaks I had a few friends come down from their schools and spend the week at my college home in New York City.

But since this year things are a little different, I’ll be headed up to Boston for a short weekend trip. Here is a list of my must have items for spring break:

1. Sunscreen: Sunburns are never cute.

2. Towel: Even if your hotel provides you with one, it’s nice to have one of your own. And if you’re like me you’re probably crashing at a friends’ house and they might not have extra towels laying around.

3. Cash: I’ve learned the hard way that you should always have a good amount of cash on you went you are travelling. You might not always find your bank and atm fees are high. 

4. Sunglasses: This should be self explanatory. 

Now it’s time for my favorite part: fashion. Tragically, I am not going to such a tropical paradise this year. In an effort to appeal to those lucky enough to hit the beach I’ve made a list that will work for everyone.

1. Swimsuit 

What is spring break without a swimsuit? A good rule of thumb is to pack three. Swimsuits are surprisingly hard to dry and you defiantly don’t want to put back on a wet sandy suit.

It looks like bandeau’s and fringe is the hottest trend in swimwear this year. Neon looks great on tanned skin and everyone looks great in classic black.

All of these swimsuits are from Victoria’s Secret

2. Cover-Up

If you’re wearing a swimsuit for most of the day you are going to need a good cover up. The easiest cover up is shorts and a tank or a sundress. 

All of these are from Bluefly

3. Day Outfits

For your day look you can’t go wrong with a floral dress. To me spring means wearing bright colors and nautical prints. Wedges are comfortable to walk around with, but I like to have a pair of flip flops in my tote bag just in case my feet start hurting.

All of these items are from Forever 21

4. Night Outfits

You can probably wear your day look at night without a problem, but having an option to dress up a little more for the night is nice. The main difference with the two looks is the fabric— sequins, metallic and shiner fabrics will make your look more nighttime appropriate.

Check out Asos for these fabulous finds.

I had way too much fun looking at the swimsuits on victoria’s secret; the one’s I’ve posted are some of my favorites. I also really love my Marc Jacobs flip flops; they are the most comfortable pair I own. 

Hope all of you have a great spring break!

(P.S. I’m on my spring break right now.)

Get the minimalist beauty look seen on the DKNY Fall 2012 runway straight from the show’s hair and makeup teams. Get the breakdown here »

(Source: teenvogue)

(Source: whatiwore)

These signs were put up at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.    

(Source: iamateenagefeminist)

Take a look at who relies on contraception: 58 percent of women use it for purposes OTHER than family planning.

The last two times I took oral contraception, it was to calm down my cramps and what not. A couple of days a week, every month, I can barely function. I had negative side effects and opted not to continue.

To be on certain kinds of acne medication, you need an oral contraceptive to regulate your hormones.

Some women have periods all over the fucking calendar and oral contraceptives help them regulate it.

I think these “houses of worship”, run mostly by men, should grow the fuck up.

(Source: think-progress)

I’m having a love hate relationship with my hair, I miss the long hair but I love this color.

Also these are my newest head shots for pageants.

This Saturday: I give up my reign as Miss Teen New Jersey for the Empire Royalty system. I am in shock a year has already gone by. Time seems to be slipping through my fingers. Already so much has changed, I realized how different I look from when I first started pageants, my hair is so much shorter now. (I kind of miss my long hair.) 

I’ve decided to upload some images of pageantry throughout the years. (I threw a few randoms in there too) 

(Source: whishaw)

AKQA

TARGET DEMO: AFFLUENT WOMEN IN CHINA

The Ad Folks:
This digital agency headquartered in San Francisco has done campaigns for Heineken, Gap, Nike, and the Xbox 360.

Their Campaign Strategy:
To help rural Chinese see women as precious, ads will nudge urban professionals, whose cultural influence is vast. The character on the lips is the female version of the word ni (“you”). The ad aims to speak to those who know they have value and those who don’t yet see that.

Well, champy, what’s offensive about it is the assumption that all women must be good at making sandwiches (as opposed to mechanical tasks), and that all men must be good at mechanical tasks (as opposed to making sandwiches). That is called “gender essentialism” and it is total bullshit!

(Source: stfusexists)