DANCE YRSELF CLEAN

(i'm just a girl on one big adventure)
i would do such horrible (but in the best of ways) things to him

i would do such horrible (but in the best of ways) things to him

(via powerfulpills)

moneyisnotimportant: theatlantic: Cash and Credit Cards Will Be (Nearly) Dead Within the Next 8 Years Is your wallet soon to be a collector’s item? In a report published this morning, Pew surveyed a selection of academics, authors, and other experts, asking them questions about the future of money. Their conclusion: The future of money is digital. And that future might not be, actually, entirely about money. […] That finding doesn’t just mean bad news for the coin-minters and wallet-makers of the world. It could also mean new possibilities when it comes to financial transactions themselves. A cashless (or, more realistically, a nearly cashless) default of economic exchange could encourage, among us walletless wanderers, a broader conception of what “exchange” means in the first place. Because cash — and, really, money itself — is not merely a vehicle of financial transaction; it is also a cross-cultural paradigm. It has shaped the way we think about exchange as a basic economic proposition: not X for Y, but X for $Y. (Or, you know, for  ¥Y or £Y or €Y.) Money, in other words, has conditioned us to believe that money is pretty much the only legitimate medium of transaction. Through its durability — and, especially, through its universality — the currency paradigm has made it easy to forget what a cultural contingency currency actually is. There are, after all, many other forms of exchange out there, many sophisticated forms of barter and quid pro quo; it’s just that money — cash and currency — has been, for ages, the superior facilitator of those forms. We live in currency-normative culture, if you will, for a reason: Money, as a technology, has acquitted itself wonderfully. It’s efficient, it’s intuitive, it’s relatively user-friendly. And, most importantly, it’s standardized. Read more. [Image: Shutterstock] Interesting read.

moneyisnotimportant:

theatlantic:

Cash and Credit Cards Will Be (Nearly) Dead Within the Next 8 Years

Is your wallet soon to be a collector’s item? In a report published this morning, Pew surveyed a selection of academics, authors, and other experts, asking them questions about the future of money. Their conclusion: The future of money is digital. And that future might not be, actually, entirely about money. […]

That finding doesn’t just mean bad news for the coin-minters and wallet-makers of the world. It could also mean new possibilities when it comes to financial transactions themselves. A cashless (or, more realistically, a nearly cashless) default of economic exchange could encourage, among us walletless wanderers, a broader conception of what “exchange” means in the first place. Because cash — and, really, money itself — is not merely a vehicle of financial transaction; it is also a cross-cultural paradigm. It has shaped the way we think about exchange as a basic economic proposition: not X for Y, but X for $Y. (Or, you know, for  ¥Y or £Y or €Y.)

Money, in other words, has conditioned us to believe that money is pretty much the only legitimate medium of transaction. Through its durability — and, especially, through its universality — the currency paradigm has made it easy to forget what a cultural contingency currency actually is. There are, after all, many other forms of exchange out there, many sophisticated forms of barter and quid pro quo; it’s just that money — cash and currency — has been, for ages, the superior facilitator of those forms. We live in currency-normative culture, if you will, for a reason: Money, as a technology, has acquitted itself wonderfully. It’s efficient, it’s intuitive, it’s relatively user-friendly. And, most importantly, it’s standardized.

Read more. [Image: Shutterstock]

Interesting read.

Eavesdropping Like I Just Don’t Careee.

Typical.

Listening casually to three graduate students enjoying their happy hour next to me. They are talking – intellectually, I might add – about feminism, politics, capitalism, and HBO.

Specifically they speak on HBO’s new program “Girls”. I read an article today on Thought Catalog referencing how often the author has heard conversations about “Girls”.

            I guess she was right.

I waver back and forth wondering if I should introduce myself as I sit here on my laptop next to them.

“Hi. You have intrigued me, an undergraduate at NYU. I hope you don’t find it weird that I am cataloguing your conversation and my interpretation of you. I can’t help it. People intrigue me.”

Somehow I don’t think they would appreciate it.

Their lives sound full of liberal arts undergraduate inspired views. Maybe I only think that because of my liberal arts undergraduate inspired views…but regardless, at least one of them spent undergraduate at Barnard.

I applied to Barnard. Would that be me sitting four seats away down the bar, sipping on a glass of wine between heated debates over what a television show focused around twenty-something girls defining their lives in NYC.

“None of us are going to be the voice of our generation”

Touche. Or maybe all of us combined are the voice of our generation. I don’t know, who does?

Moving on to unpaid internships. The girl on the far left with light brown hair is debating this fiercely. The privilege associated with unpaid internships is interesting, I agree with you my unknown subject sitting only one seat away from me!

How her views changed after college graduation is now the focus. I can’t help but perk up even more, are these conversations that I will have one day? Will I agree with her come three years from now? It is scary to imagine the cushion of undergraduate life pulled from beneath me.

“We’re talking about the summer after college and being like well fuck…”

Accurate from what I understand. They speak of resentment. A wave of slight fear washes over my body – I don’t want to be resentful.

Shouldn’t college be about not being resentful, about understanding? I know it isn’t that easy or simple, but sometimes I wish it could be.

And then it switches again.

“Can we just have a revolution already and get rid of all these assholes”

Politics. Indeed, all these assholes, American politics are fucked. Capitalism as a system as it exists in America today is fucked. Maybe they can enlighten me on understanding the capitalist system following my college experience? I am listening, straining in between typing furiously on my computer.

INTERJECTION – some man about 5 minutes ago commented on my typing, and how he wished he had taken typing more seriously when he was being taught it. I didn’t think I type that fast, but maybe it’s a generation gap. Ponder, ponder, ponder…

But I digress. Where are we now? Scared, resentful, struggling? Race has surfaced. At least African American struggles in the United States. The middle girl is African, but from which country she did not specify. She is an invaluable resource to their discussion because she can speak on that struggle while the other two, at most, can only imagine.

“Most dealers in New York are white”

“NYPD is very racist”

Interesting.

TIMES UP!

My (creepy?!) cataloguing of their conversation comes to an abrupt in as I rush out of the bar to the student center to indulge in some undergraduate student perks. My friends await me and I am eager to meet them, afterall this open discussion among three girlfriends made me envious and crave my own girlfriends while I was sitting alone. 

Things I’ve Learned After (Almost!) Two Years in College

SO REFLECTIVE. And nostalgic. The result is me subjecting anyone who looks at this blog to my nostalgic regurgitations. Nomnomnom enjoy. 

·      How to be a friend. Not just a companion. A true friend is unconditional. I’m still working on this one. From what I can tell many of my friends are still working on this one as well. I WILL LOVE THEM REGARDLESS. <- see.

·      Being a friend and for that matter an overall decent person, takes work. This shit ain’t easy.

·      People crave security. In my case this is a sorority, but any group, club, affiliation can float any specific individual’s boat.

·      People act like they don’t craze security. Yadda, yadda, college is about being INDEPENDENT. Which leads me to…

·      College is extremely lonely. No one ever mentions that being surrounded by thousands of your peers can be the most harrowing, alienating experience. Why did you fail to mention this to me my horrendously expensive college admissions advisor? NYU = forever alone.

·      Air on the side of kindness. College students tend to be #dark, you never know what inner turmoil someone is going through and us youth are good at projecting images to protect being (gasp!) vulnerable.

·      Facebook is a cycle of self-loathing and inadequacy. Everything looks more glamorous online, including our own lives. It is also the epitome of a generation that is obsessed with itself. I fully admit to this seeing as the content of this post falls directly in line with that.

·      Facebook is also a lot of fun. We feel popular! Loved! What is better than being told every day how much our friends want to connect with us. It is also an invaluable communication tool – this cannot be argued.

·      Classes can be used for self-exploration. I’ve learned as much about myself through my academic settings as I have my social settings. We are a product of our cultures and backgrounds, it is fascinating and terrifying all at the same time.

·      Everyone procrastinates. I do not believe in the existence of a non-procrastinator. If you say you are one of these mythological creatures, I will assume you are lying.

·      Does anyone know what they are doing? No, really, someone please let me know.

·      Everything changes after freshman year. I was told this countless time and stubbornly did not believe it. I was wrong.

·      Change isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing. Change is change, it’s going to happen so it’s best to just accept it and acknowledge it. So far everything in my life has come full circle. Change doesn’t erase things, just moves things around a bit.

·      Things come back around. Full circle you might say. Ok, ok, I learned this actually before college, but whatever, it is proven true in my first two years here.

·      People become interweaved through different areas of your life. I thought I led two totally separate lives until people within those lives started to interact, now lines are blurry. I try not to think too much into it. Still working on seeing all aspects of my life as a whole.

·      You can be extremely fortunate and life can still be terrifying.

·      Are we really the people that will be running things in the next generation? I find this hilarious. This also makes me nervous. I think we’ll figure it out though.

·      On the note of believing in “us”, I think our generation can produce change to better society. My peers have great ideas, and care about other people whether they openly admit it or not.

·      Sex can be awkward and amazing all at the same time. Also funny.

·      We have a tendency to attach meaning to sex – I fully admit guilt in doing this, don’t know if this is good, bad, neutral. I’ll keep you updated on that one.

·      We are younngggggg. No but really, don’t waste time trying to grow up too fast.