talesofacurlyislandgirl

CG Method: Part II

Aloha all!

Iʻm so sorry I wasn’t able to post last weekend — I participated/volunteered my time for Relay for Life Colleges Against Cancer and an Art Show. I’m back! I did not forget about Tales of a Curly Island Girl.

Today, I am going to continue sharing information on the CG method.

My first (and only) post of the curly girl method ended on this:

“This concludes your first steps of doing the CG method. Continue to take care of your hair. Next time I will discuss other factors and terms of the CG method (it’s kind of like black hole, you can get completely sucked in) like protein vs. moisture, co-washing, itchy-M’s, diffusing, refreshing, factors of humidity, using lube, etc. But for now, this is the best way to start.”

Protein vs. Moisture

Okay, I know you’re thinking, “reallllyyyy?” But knowing how much protein and how much moisture you have in your hair is super important. Curly hair, especially, should have a well-balanced amount of both protein and moisture. If your curls are lacking moisture it will be “limp,” and frizzier and drier than normal. Too much moisture means you are lacking structure and when you style it, it often cannot hold it’s curls. If your curls are lacking protein it will be stringy, rough, and break easily.

Too much protein means you are lacking elasticity. There are tests you can do to determine that: get a strand of your hair (preferably one that already shed), and pull at both ends of the strand. If it stretches and then breaks, you have too much moisture. If it just snaps, you have too much protein. A well maintained moisture to protein ratio means your hair will be soft, your curls will be well defined, and if you did the strand test, it would stretch but not break. Be very careful when assuming you need more protein. Hair that is given too much protein is very hard to bring back to a balanced ratio.

Check your CG friendly products to see if they have protein in them! You do not want your entire routine to be filled with protein or filled with no protein. Perhaps, your after shower styling has protein in it, or just your co-wash conditioner/shampoo has protein. You would have to figure out if your hair really loves more protein or more moisture through trial and error, but just be wary of the over treating of protein. Here are some common ingredients that are proteins:

Hydrolyzed wheat protein
Hydrolyzed keratin
Hydrolyzed silk protein
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Keratin
Variations of hydrolyzed collagen
Variations of hydrolyzed soy protein
Coconut (protein mimic)
Sea Kelp (protein mimic)

*protein mimics are just that, they mimic protein, if your hair is sensitive to protein and you keep running into that problem, check for any protein mimics in your products. If your hair has too much protein, deep treat with a moisturizing conditioner.

Co-Washing

I mentioned in the previous section about co-washing (conditioner). Co-washing actually stands for conditioner-washing, so that last bit was redundant. You cleanse your hair with your conditioner rather than shampoos. Although Curly Girls will use sulfate-free shampoos, some (such as myself) opt out of all use of shampoos. Most people would find this disgusting. I understand that. However, if you don’t quite understand how and why co-washing works, let me enlighten you.

When you use sulfate shampoos, you strip your hair’s natural oils while cleaning all the gunk out from the day, from your products, and from the air (dirt, etc.). When you follow sulfate shampooing with silicone conditioning … you seal the hair shaft from retaining any moisture you could potentially be putting back into your hair (that you just stripped the oil from). In order to get your silicones out of your hair, you would need sulfates to do that. Hence, the never-ending cycle of bad ingredients for your hair (especially curls!).

Co-washing is able to remove the gunk and dirt from your scalp and hair simply because you do not use any products with silicone in them. The catch is that you have to gently scrub your scalp with your fingers, or shampoo brush, for quite a long time, probably a minimum of 8 minutes. This action will remove all of the gunk and dirt accumulating on the scalp. Switching to co-washing is not easy because you are used to the “squeaky clean” feel that shampoos give you, also your scalp will have to get used to a lot of conditioner. After co-washing, rinse your hair out thoroughly, if you don’t, you only leave the dirt and gunk sitting there (that defeats the purpose). I use a light CG friendly conditioner to co-wash because it feels more like a shampoo and it’s easier to work with.

Some people don’t like this part of the CG method and it is not needed in order to be a curl girl. This is entirely up to personal preference, especially if your scalp and hair just don’t agree with this. Sometimes, I use a sulfate free shampoo because I feel that my hair is extra dirty or my hands are too tired to scrub for so long.

Itchy-M’s

My scalp is very sensitive. Even before I started the CG method, I needed to wash my hair every day (it was a huge pain) because it kept the itchiness away. I have removed the cause of itchiness from my routine, but I am still struggling with dry scalp/flakes. If your head is always very itchy, I would highly suggest removing the itchy-M’s from your routine. There are two ingredients (nicknamed, can you guess? Itchy-M’s) that cause itchiness. Methylchloroisothiazolinone/Methylisothiazolinone. If you have this problem, I would ditch any CG friendly products with these two ingredients. Some people have no reaction to this, and some do. There are products with no itchy M’s, don’t fret. Here a few that I use:

If it’s not the way you are cleansing your scalp (good co-washing or sulfate free shampooing), than odds are it’s the itchy-M’s.

Diffusing

Most curly girls who have just started the transitioning process are already spending an insane amount of money trying to find the right routine/products for their hair. If you have money to spare or you’ve been doing the method for some time and are ready to try something new, here it is. Diffusing. If you already own a blowdryer, perfect! If not, you’ll need to purchase one. Blowdryers normally come with diffuser attachments, but the ones they give with it, are not going to dry curly hair without creating an insane amount of frizz. You will need to buy a curly hair diffuser attachment separately. The one I have is the xtava Orchid (shown here).

There are tons of curly hair diffusers on the market, but I hear from the grapevine that the Orchid, and the Devacurl (this one looks like a hand!) ones are the best. I really love my Orchid because it’s huge and my hair is very long. Curly hair diffusers have various lengths of tips that allow air to flow out as it holds your curls and dries. This keeps your curls in place. When using a diffuser, use little to no heat, as heat is very damaging for our hair.

We all know that most times our hair takes hours and hours to dry (mine does), but if I have to leave the house for some reason, I will try to get my hair at least 50% dry with the diffuser. Disclaimer: it takes a very long time to use a diffuser (albeit, shorter than air drying but still long) and your arms will be very tired. My hair is so long and I have never actually gotten my entire head 100% dry using the diffuser because my arms get too tired. It’s a terribly great investment for those who tend to get sick from wet hair (if you wash your hair at nights) and for those who have short curly hair, your hair will diffuse much faster.

Refreshing

Okay, so you’ve washed your hair and you’ve went out and enjoyed your beautiful curls for the day/night. You’re home now, but you don’t wash your hair every day. Tomorrow, you need your curls to look just as good as wash day. This is called refreshing. Buy a spray bottle, fill it with just water or both water and your favorite conditioner. Spray your hair, especially those unruly curls that have started to really frizz and lose its shape. You’ll wanna saturate those curls for sure. You do not need to saturate your whole head, but some people do, especially if your hair gets tangled very easily (saturating it again and adding conditioner to detangle is entirely up to you).

After wetting your hair, reapply your products. How much you will need to reapply will depend on how well your applied and distributed your products on wash day. Some people can last 7-10 days without washing, and still have beautiful curls. Personally, I can only last every other day and I still have not found the best refreshing routine for myself. I have been working on it for a long time and I hope to hit a breakthrough soon.

Factors of Humidity

In case you haven’t noticed by my blog name … I live on an island. Which means, I live in tropical weather, therefore, very high humidity. Humidity can be a terrorizer to hair, especially the curlies! If you live in an area that has high humidity, it means your hair will most likely frizz more than normal. You will have to combat that. In high humidity, humectants in your products will pull moisture to your hair. If your hair has too much moisture and water from the air, your hair shaft will swell and cause frizz. If you live in an area with low humidity, it usually means your hair will be dry. The humectants in your products will move moisture in your hair out to the air.

Here are a list of humectants:

Diols and Triols
Propylene glycol
1,2,6 hexanetriol
Butylene Glycol
Dipropylene glycol
Hexylene Glycol
Glycerin
Triethylene glycol
Erythritol
Capryl glycol
Phytantriol
Hexanediol or -triol beeswax
Glycogen
Sugars and modified sugars
Sorbitol
Polyglyceryl sorbitol
Glucose
Fructose
Xylitol
Hydrolyzed proteins
Elastin, collagen, silk, keratin
Ethers

If your routine involves humectants, you may want to use less product in high humidity and more product in low humidity, to decrease the chances of frizzy and dry hair. I’m still working on this and doing research to figure out what is best for my own hair.

Using Lube

Yes, do a double-take if you like, I did say lube. Yes, I do mean personal lubricant. The ingredients for water-based lube are very similar to the ingredients in Curl Keeper. This is a product hack, and a much cheaper option at that. It’s light and it does not weigh the hair down and its totally CG-friendly. For those who want to try, make sure it is water-based and if you live in high humidity also choose glycerin free lube. It can be used like a gel, or as a refresh option for next day hair, or even to smooth the flyaways throughout the day.

There are a lot of curlies that actually carry lube around with them. It’s cheap (its not discreet) and its normally small enough to chuck in a purse or backpack.

This post is definitely part of my lengthy ones (I love it). Does this make up for my absence? I hope you look more into the CG method. There are so many new things I learn along the way and I do want to share it with you from time to time. I think I am going to start a series on the CG method. How does that sound?

Next time on the CG Method Series: clarifying, dry scalp/flakes, hair porosity, new products I’ve bought.

As always,

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl

Idleness: Mental/Physical Prison

We’ve all been here, in a variety of time periods: weeks, months, and years. It hung over me during the first three and half years of my undergrad career and only recently have I come out of the stupor. I would define this idleness as “not going anywhere.” I felt that my life was moving but the end result was nowhere. I also felt that it was taking much too long. I had no clue what awaited me in an academic and career sense and I even felt my own personal growth was hindered; I still don’t know what career I am choosing to get into, the difference between then and now, is that I am okay with that.

It’s hard to give advice on something like this because I never know the situation that each person is in enough to fully “advise,” if you will. However, the only way I have pulled myself out of the feeling of being stagnant was joining in student activities and having conversations about my future with friends and family.

Talking about it is probably the most important step. It’s not enough to just plan it with yourself. The encouragement coming from the people in your life is much needed and critical in moving forward. You do not need to tell everyone your plans, in fact, sometimes it’s best that you don’t. However, tell someone, even if it’s only one person that you trust. Be open to their suggestions, and I would assume, they will be as open-minded as you are. Talk about your future and talk about all the possibilities. Do something that you will be happy doing, I’m sure you hear that all the time, but really, why would you want to be miserable for x amount of time? I do have one thing to say about that though, if the process to get to where you absolutely want to be is long, don’t automatically assume that you can’t possibly get there. Continue working towards that goal. If you have been reading my other blog posts, then you know that I am graduating this May, and you know it has taken me five years to complete this journey. I still have no idea what I am doing, but I respect my school and work ethic enough to know that I will end up somewhere great.

The second most important step to removing yourself from idleness is actually doing it. You have talked about your plan, you may not know every detail about it (things change), but you know what you want. Now, do it. Start small and move forward. Blogging was a New Year’s resolution for me (to begin one) and I’m still here! It helps me with my writing and with sharing my ideas, emotions, and advice on a larger scale. It’s gonna take time, it’s more than likely to not happen overnight, but it’s vital that you continue pushing towards that goal.

There is another side to this “conversation” that I do want to address. I wholeheartedly believe the people you are friends with, the people you hang out with, is going to influence the way you think. If your friends and even family continue to be stagnant and never doing something more with their lives then odds are, you won’t either. There is so much more in life than just doing the same old thing. Do at least one productive thing a day, even if it’s just going to wash up in the bathroom. If your friends and family cannot make more of themselves as human beings, as citizens, and as important members in your life then you have to remove yourself from them.

Reach for the best. Be the best person that you can be. I am not perfect and I sure don’t try to be, but I do want to leave something for future generations. I want to have done something worthwhile in this world. I hope you all push yourselves to be better and get out of the mental and physical trap that negativity and idleness holds us in.

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl

Self-Love: Stop Body-Shaming

Why do we shame our bodies? Why do we let our thoughts revolve around looking down on our bodies (which by the way, are so beautiful)? I had a conversation with a friend, last week, about the flaws that we have. We weren’t trying to one-up each other; this wasn’t that kind of conversation, but what we did do was go back and forth about what we hated about ourselves.

It made me sad, but I also realized that it’s important to talk about. We joke around about how society creates this impossible mold to fit. It’s not a taboo topic, we should talk about our bodies and we shouldn’t be ashamed. I get so hung up on the fact that the skin on my legs aren’t perfect, that my underarms are a little dark, that my teeth are crooked, that I’m hairy, that my butt isn’t big enough, and that my face is too oily, but I realize how important it is to love yourself. We are all going to fall short of our own expectations, but sometimes these expectations are impossible.

The thing is, is that society will always have a new norm of what “beautiful” means. Many decades ago, beauty was defined differently, and it will keep being redefined. But beauty should be everything. I wrote this a couple of years ago, in response to a picture I saw on social media, saying “Meat is for Men, Bones are for Dogs.” Here was my response and it still applies today. This is exactly how I feel about this. “First of all … STOP. Second of all … Why is it okay to bully the skinny ones too. Skinny, average, chubby, they’re all beautiful. So stop with the “men want more to hold on to.” A man will choose whatever he wants. Society is stupid.”

Who are we to judge each other? I know fat-shaming is a huge deal … but so is skinny-shaming. People forget that we all have flaws. I’ve met some of the most perfect looking people, who tell me that they do have flaws, it’s just that no one can see them. And that is also important to address. If we don’t talk about the flaws, then we expect everyone (including ourselves) to be absolutely flawless.

Over the past few years, I have been learning to love myself, and to love everyone else too. I think bodies are beautiful, no matter what shape or size. It’s a body! It’s functioning! How much more beautiful can that be?

Whoever you are out there reading this, you are beautiful and you are worth it (and yes, I do mean beautiful, men can be beautiful too). Talk about it, don’t be afraid. Odds are you’ll end up talking to someone who you thought was unblemished and flawless, but are really just human, and that is what makes that person even more beautiful. Does that even make sense? I think I’m kinda rambling right now, but what I mean is: Just talk about it. Look at yourself. Love yourself. Don’t be afraid because of what society says about your body. Be confident.

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing off,

Curly Island Girl

Beginning the CG Method

Last night, I was allowing myself some time to write another blog for this week. I’ve been going back and forth about the topic of today’s post, and I’ve decided to do the big one. I am sitting outside of my house drinking my coffee and listening to a new podcast called “Dear Sugars,” and trying to figure out how to start this. I may have multiple blog posts about this, more than likely this will be 1 out of 2 or 3.

The Curly Girl Method (CG Method) is an awesome method of hair care and health for all those with curly hair. It was created by Lorraine Massey… you should buy her book! It’s very cheap on Amazon, and it will truly help you start.

There are 4 types of hair: straight, wavy, curly, and oily. The CG method works for all hair (it is a healthier alternative), but it really works miracles for any hair that is not straight. Most people believe that their hair is simply wavy, but from years of straightening or using hair products full of silicone, it weighs your natural hair down (which could very well be curly!).

My hair pattern is 3b/3c. Keep in mind that your hair can have many different patterns. As your hair adjusts to the healthier method, you will notice a change of a more uniform pattern. I used to straighten my hair daily in my sophomore year of high school, it destroyed my curls and I only did it for about a year. After I graduated from high school, I grew my bangs out and never touched my hair again. I left it curly and wild, which is why my hair is also very long. The only thing I needed to change was stopping the use of un-friendly curly girl products, which I will get to in a minute. Here is a picture to help you identify what kind of hair you have. It’s good to know your hair type, but if you’re beginning the CG Method, it’s not too important.

If you want to step into this realm or some would even say this “cult,” haha!, I would highly suggest making the trip to a store first. What you will look for are shampoos and conditioners with absolutely no sulfates and silicones. It’s not enough to just read the front label and trust that it saying “no sulfates, no silicones, no parabens.” Make it a new habit to flip the bottle over and look at the ingredients. Here are ingredients you would want to steer clear from, these are not CG-Friendly:

Sodium Laureth/lauryl sulfates are the worst sort of sulfates to be putting in your hair. Sulfates help clean, however, it strips away too much of the natural oils produced by your body. This is, especially, no good for curly hair. Curly hair is more prone to being dry without extra help. Oils from your scalp take longer to travel along the hair shaft because it is curved.

Silicones seal the hair shaft, however, it seals it and doesn’t allow moisture to get in. Silicones and sulfates work hand in hand. Silicones cannot be removed unless you use sulfates. Most shampoos have sulfates and most conditioners have silicones. Its a never-ending cycle of horror for your hair. It’s already not getting enough moisture and then you strip whatever moisture you have away.

Steer clear from sulfates and silicones like they are the plague.

There are many options that have no sulfates and silicones. Look at the ingredient list on the back to be sure, but here are my favorites! If you wanna start the cheapest route because you’re new to this and don’t want to spend too much, go with V05 or Suave Essentials. I use the brands Shea Moisture, Garnier Whole Blends, Say Yes to Tea Tree, and Cantu. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, think that an entire brand could be CG friendly just because you checked one line of the brand. An example of this is Garnier Whole Blends. The only lines from this brand that are CG friendly are Vanilla Milk and Papaya and Chamomile and Flower Honey. The other ones are not good to use. The rule is to always check the ingredient list.

Get a gel or a mousse that is CG-friendly. If you’ve never used gel on your curls don’t be alarmed. Your hair will not be crunchy or greasy looking. It holds your curls perfectly and the better hold means the longer chance you can go without washing your hair again. I use ECO gel (the entire line is CG-friendly) and LA Looks sports gel.

After you get home, and have your CG friendly products, go ahead and do a final wash. This wash is with your old shampoo, the one that has sulfates in it. The reason for this is to strip the silicones in your hair, get all the gunk out one last time. Then donate all the hair products that are not CG friendly, give it to a friend (that doesn’t have curly hair!), or some people use it on their bodies.

Use your CG friendly conditioner and let your hair soak up the goodness. Never use a brush to detangle your hair. It will rip your curls. I detangle in the shower with my fingers or a wide tooth comb. Yes, it does take longer, but your hair will thank you in the end. When detangling make sure there is a sufficient amount of conditioner, which we termed as slip. The more slip you have, the easier it is to detangle; your fingers and the comb will glide through the tangles.

When you’re done taking your shower, don’t use your regular bath towel to dry your hair. Bath towel fibers are huge, which frizz up curly hair! Use an old cotton t-shirt or a microfiber towel to squeeze excess water out of your hair. Gently squeeze in scrunchy motions not like wringing a towel (that is so bad for your hair, no one should be wringing their hair!).

Distribute gel evenly throughout your hair on each curl, then scrunch it to re-form the curls. Then leave your hair alone. Let it air dry and when it is 80-100% dry, you can scrunch out the crunch (SOTC). Previously I mentioned that your hair will not be crunchy when you use gel, because you must scrunch out the crunch. When it dries and it hasn’t been touched (the best way to do your hair) it forms a cast. After the cast is pretty much dry you will scrunch it all out, your curls will be soft and bigger.

This concludes your first steps of doing the CG method. Continue to take care of your hair. Next time I will discuss other factors and terms of the CG method (it’s kind of like black hole, you can get completely sucked in) like protein vs. moisture, co-washing, itchy-M’s, diffusing, refreshing, factors of humidity, using lube, etc. But for now, this is the best way to start.

I, personally, am still learning. I’ve made mistakes doing this method but my hair has improved dramatically. The before picture is from years ago, on a day that I thought my hair was at its best (ugh), and the after picture is a couple months in of the CG Method.

The definition of my curls are way better now. Don’t give up! It takes time, your hair isn’t going to change in a week, its going to take months, or maybe even a year. I think its so worth it though. My hair thanks me!

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing off,

Curly Island Girl

Menstrual Cups…Yay or Nay?

Hello lovelies!!!

Tonight, I wanna talk about menstrual cups. I know what you’re thinking… “Ew. Ew. Why.”

I said the same thing when I first heard of it, maybe in freshman year of high school. Last year, I made two new friends who used menstrual cups. If you don’t know what it is, look it up. Let me tell you, it has changed my life, and I am never going back. I got my period the summer before I turned 12 years old. I only used pads, but I was always struggling with them because it was a lot of work to keep myself clean. In-between my sophomore and junior year of high school, I switched to tampons. Last July, I took the plunge and bought my first menstrual cup. It took me a while to get to that point.

First, I did an insane amount of research (as you all should, if you’re curious). I read forums, blogs, Facebook posts, testimonies, YouTube videos, everything. I even took a quiz that told me what brand of menstrual cup I should buy. Taking a quiz is important! Not all menstrual cups are the same; some are a little bigger and wider than others and the quiz takes into account how high up your cervix is. Some cup brands will work better for lower cervixes and vice versa.

My cervix is pretty high, and I’ve never had any children so I ended up with the small Lena cup. Most brands have two sizes, a small and a large. Most times size large is for women who have had children or have heavy flows.

I started with the small Lena (even if I knew my flow was pretty heavy, evidently I only bleed for about 3-4 days). Reason One, I had no idea if I was going to be successful even using this. Reason Two, if I couldn’t figure it out, I didn’t want to waste 40 dollars.

It was a success, and I made the decision to never use anything else again. However, I ended up buying the Large Lena after an incident of the cup overflowing in too short of a timespan. As I mentioned before, I have a heavy flow.

Menstrual cups are amazing because:

1. It can be left in for up to 11 hours (longer than any pad or tampon) with little to no risk of TSS

2. Because the “period smell” that a lot of girls/women hate about having their period is an issue, this takes care of that immediately. The smell comes from the blood making contact with the air and just sitting. Menstrual cups keep the blood inside the cup and leaves no trace of a smell.

3. It’s cheaper in the long run. You don’t have to buy a new cup every year, but if there is discoloration (yes, that happens as with any silicone) you can. It costs a bit more when you buy your first cup, but because it’s reusable you don’t need to purchase a box of pads/tampons every month.

4. Its a healthier choice for your body and the environment. Only buy certified menstrual cups because they are FDA approved and makes of medical grade silicone or high grade rubber. In my opinion, tampons were a better choice for me, but menstrual cups are an even better one.

5.Once you get the right insertion/position you will never leak (it seals against the vaginal walls). I haven’t gotten to that point quite yet, I’m still learning, but I’m pretty close. Just use a liner until you get it right. Also, many women and girls believe you bleed a lot during a menstrual cycle, in actuality you do not. Normal amount of blood loss is 30-40ml and can be up to 60ml for those who bleed heavy, in one cycle. Menstrual cups come in the typical sizes of 15-20ml (small) and 30-40ml (large). Do the math (which I’m horrible at) and you shouldn’t overflow in a day, unless you only bleed for one day!

I know you’re probably thinking, well how does this even work? How does it not go leak out? Can you lay down with it? Can you swim with it? Can you do cartwheels with it? The answer is yes. You can do anything with a menstrual cup. Read up on how to use it, there are so many types of folds to get it inside, and with practice it’s quite easy to use. Watch a video of someone who explains how it works. Do the research.

I am about to start my 6th cycle with the menstrual cup and I cannot be happier. The only struggle I have with it right now is getting the right routine down for dumping/re-inserting in public restrooms. Some bring water bottles in and rinse over the toilet, some use napkins or wipes to clean it out before re-inserting. I’ve done both, but because you can leave it in for so long, I’ve only had to change it in public maybe 3 times?

Here is a picture of the brand that I use. I have both small (in the color pink) and large (in the color purple), and use small on my lighter days.

I swear it’s worth it. Menstrual cups are a definite yay for me. It has never inhibited me from doing anything. I try my best to get all my friends on this healthier choice and some people just can’t get past the blood being collected and having to dump it out and re-insert. Honestly, that’s the best way to to get to know your period and flow, accurately.

I hope you take the plunge, like I did!

Happy curl, happy girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl

Theory of Knowledge

Okay, here’s my topic for today.

Sorry I’ve been MIA for a hot minute, things got hectic with classes/work/home life (it’s still pretty crazy), but I need a break; I’m here now.

I am only taking 12 credits this semester (3 cr. per course) and the hardest course I have is turning out to be my philosophy course. I’m still wondering if it’s because I never did take a Philosophy course in all my five years of college — or what. Tis the third week of spring 2017 and I feel as if I’m suffering.

The philosophy course is a 300-level one (so it’s not that bad) and it is called Theory of Knowledge–hence the title of today’s post! We’ve only touched on four philosophers so far… Foucault, Descartes, Wittgenstein, and Stroud.

Foucault speaks on the relationship between truth and power. Basically, that those in power (whoever or whatever that may be) influence the way others view or believe to be the truth. If you’re curious, look up Bentham’s Panopticon design that Foucault uses as a metaphor to explain further how it works.

Descartes‘ and Wittgenstein‘s theories go hand in hand… and I do not have a firm grasp on any of it. Ever heard of that phrase “cogito ergo sum“? It translates from Latin to “I think, therefore I am”. Descartes coined this phrase. To be honest, it’s just nice to say something in Latin… LOL.

From what I understand (which is not much, in this case), Descartes had a grand question; a question that philosophers are still trying to answer and figure out. Basically, he asked the question of whether or not what we do at any point in time is actually happening. Or are we just dreaming? How would we know we are dreaming or not? How do we know what reality really is if we have never experienced a real reality?

The day we discussed this in class, I felt like I had truly gone mad. These are existential questions… and It makes me feel like I am descending into a rabbit hole. I lost a bit of Wittgenstein’s theory because I was falling asleep. All I got from his part of the lecture was “The Language Games”. Again, from my limited understanding of this topic (and some helpful explanation from a Philosophy minor), the language games are basically the interaction between every person you meet in your life. The language you use to communicate influence the way you think and look at others and also kinda sorta relates to societal norms.

Stroud detailed and agreed with Descartes’ theory … and that’s kind of all I got from him. Tonight I need to read Vogel, I have no idea who this person is, but apparently he disagrees with Descartes. This kinda makes me feel better because Descartes’ theory just leads me to think that there is no point of life. Glad someone else disagrees as well.

I may or may not continue giving updates about this… but I hope you have a fabulous night/morning.

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing off,

Curly Island Girl

I thought “This is It”

I’m sure you’ve heard of the scare Hawaiʻi just went through on saturday morning. I woke up to my iPhone alarm blaring at me. I thought it was just a flash flood warning…. but then I see this:

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I immediately called my fiancé, Iʻm actually surprised the call went through, because during this statewide panic the phone lines were flooded. He picked up on the first ring and I was panicking and in full hyperventilation. Heʻs in the military and he continued to tell me to relax and breathe. I was preparing myself to tell him my last goodbyes and “I love youʻs” with tears falling down my face. I ran outside and listened for our emergency nuclear missile sirens and none went off in my town. I turned on the radio and – nothing – I continued freaking out while he stayed on the phone with me.

This was it, I thought. This was all I got to do in my short life, (my happiest life hasn’t even started yet). My fiancé continued watching on his social media and on his phone for any news from the continental U.S. (where he is stationed). He then told me with relief that our congresswoman had tweeted that we were in fact not in harms way and that it was a mistake.

For half an hour, the state of Hawaiʻi panicked and there was chaos. An emergency mistake alert did not go out until half an hour after the initial danger alert was sent. The entire world watched as we panicked. Some prayed, some cried, some even laughed. That was the most scariest event of my entire life. In the event of a missile threat, Hawaiʻi was completely unprepared. We do not have shelters to protect us from a nuclear bomb, and if we do have bunkers from WWII era, we do not all have the luxury of being safe in there.

I read across social media the sadness of my friends holding their babies in bed, thinking that this was the last cuddle. I watched the panic on Mānoa campus ensue as students ran in terror. It was terrifying.

Coincidentally, saturday was also my childhood friendʻs wedding. She had the worst scare of her life, but it only put her half an hour behind schedule. Her wedding was still incredibly amazing. We cried and enjoyed her happiness, and the happiness surrounding us all with the craziness that morning. It turned out to be an amazing day and night, and as we went out to the bars and clubs, we decided we would “Live our best lives” because we can never know when the threat will be real.

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Hawaiʻi and itʻs government learned an important lesson that day, that we are unprepared and that we are grateful we still have more time on this Earth.

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl

My Last First-Day

Yesterday was the first day of Spring Semester 2018. This is my last semester of undergraduate school. I have so many thoughts. Half of it is joy (because I have big plans right after commencement), the other half is sadness. I have been a student at my local university/college for five years. I have made the greatest friends in my college career, thus far, and I can’t stand the fact that I’ll be gone soon.

I am an English major, double-minoring in Anthropology and Gender & Women’s Studies. I just picked up the GWS minor because most of my english courses were cross-listed with GWS. I love what I learn. I love learning. I love listening to my fellow classmates share their knowledge, which furthers my own knowledge.

The word, “Professional Student,” comes to my mind. I swear, all I know, is being a student. I’m pretty good at it too. I like the rush of first week of classes, the craziness of last-minute papers, and the madness of finals week. Students band together, and we share this special awareness of what goes on within classroom settings, boards, events, etc. I love that, that is what I will miss the most!

And of course, the scariness of having to finally join the workforce. And paying those loans off — YIKES. I have most certainly thought about graduate school. I haven’t applied yet, but I intend to. The application fee is so high, Ugh, and I need to take the GRE too. Anyone else struggled with that as a soon-to-be graduate or a fresh-out-of–undergrad-school student?

I know my thoughts are so scattered on this post but I feel like I have a lot to say, but not enough energy to write. I still haven’t done readings for my anthropology course tomorrow… so maybe I should get to that. I’ll try and come back again some time this week! An elementary friend of mines is getting married on Saturday! Maybe, I’ll share some pictures of her wedding.

It’s been a pretty fantastic start to the new year (other than my sister’s car window being broken and my purse being stolen on the 1st) so far. I hope yours is going pretty great too!

Happy Curl, Happy Girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl

Hauʻoli makahiki hou (Happy New Year!)

Itʻs 2018! This is gonna be an incredible year for me. Yesterday, my family and I went hiking to a waterfall/river area called Narnia. We were gone for about 3-4 hours, and when we came back to the cars parked outside, there was trouble. My sister’s Civic (it’s rather new) was broken into. The window on the passenger side was completely shattered… and MY PURSE WAS GONE. Albeit, it was an ugly old brown purse, that costed around $20, so it wasn’t a complete loss. However, my wallet was in there, and there went my driver’s license, debit card, Starbucks card (I’m a gold member, YES I AM IN LOVE WITH STARBUCKS), and about $40 of cash. Whoever it was who stole my purse, also got my deodorant, my pareo, a sports bra, floss, and some ibuprofen.

I laughed after making the police report because they stole from a person who had nothing. Whoever it was is gonna be so hygienic! haha. My sister’s window is much more expensive to repair than the things I lost. But, I’ve cancelled and reordered all brand new cards and I just got my replacement driver’s license today.

Even if my New Year’s Day ended with a junk situation, I still had a wonderful day, and I still wholeheartedly believe this year will be amazing.

Mahalo nui for visiting!

Happy curl, Happy girl

Signing out,

Curly Island Girl