Much of the conversation around abortion rights inevitably morphs into a discussion about birth control, and without fail swarms of people in congress (and on Twitter) decide to take it upon themselves to explain why access to certain types (or all types) of birth control should be restricted. This has always baffled me, since abortion medication and birth control are not the same thing, and access to affordable birth control has been proven to reduce abortion rates. Apparently the high of rummaging through people’s medicine cabinets makes that information seem irrelevant.
Recent conversations have brought birth control alternatives to light…
I’ve always felt uneasy about how one should really feel about “celebrity” deaths. When an actor, writer, or musician you love dies, going through a full-on mourning process seems inappropriate. Maybe you had the opportunity to meet them or interact at an event, but at the end of the day you didn’t have a personal relationship with them, and they wouldn’t know you if you passed them on the street. I can understand feeling bummed out, but most reactions are extreme to me, especially when the person’s body of work still exists for the world to continue to hold dear.
The Oscars recognize achievements in film, celebrating the images that light up the silver screen and transport us into other worlds, escaping into the richness of the stories played out for us. Red carpet fashion parades attempt to do the same thing — to allow the average citizen to step into an evening of glitz and glamour, of idealism and escapism.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been watching the stars of Hollywood pose in front of the flashbulbs in their dazzling gowns and sleek tuxedos. It wasn’t that I aspired to be just like them, or that…
Five years ago, I wrote a blog post about the fashion choices of dog handlers after watching the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
I had no idea that this piece would receive the most engagement of any piece of mine to date. It would seem that many others have watched dog shows like Westminster and Crufts on TV and have questioned the wide array of sequined suits and clodhopper shoes on the female handlers. …
A new engagement is a joyous occasion filled with excitement — excitement that can quickly devolve into chaos when the realization of event planning sets in. Without some guidance wedding planning can be like sitting on an isolated raft in the middle of the ocean, and with too much guidance it’s like making your way through a erratic swarm of bees. Couples tend to feel either lost or overwhelmed. …
If you aren’t knee deep in mind-numbing novel writing right now, you probably don’t know what NaNoWriMo is. National Novel Writing Month is a communal project that takes place each November, in which a dedicated group of fun-loving masochists decide to challenge themselves to writing an entire novel (50,000 words) in 30 days.
If that sounds brutal, you’re right. I told you, those who participate are fun-loving masochists. Know someone who likes to have fun with friends but also likes to isolate themselves? They’re probably doing NaNoWriMo. Know someone who is full of creative energy and also likes to torture…
I’ve written a lot of heavy pieces as of late, but today I just want to talk about clothes. Everyone needs a surface-level respite now and then.
Having spent the past five years working in fashion retail, my closet has been a revolving door of high-quality, beautiful pieces that I’ve been lucky enough to get at a discount. The good thing about this is I never have to worry about not having the right thing to wear for pretty much any occasion. The bad thing is I have a little too much of a good thing.
I’d been living a…
If you find yourself within Christian circles, you have likely heard about the sexual misconduct allegations against Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in northern Illinois and one of the most influential evangelical leaders in the country.
I attend a church in a neighboring suburb to Willow Creek. Bill Hybels was the pastor to my pastor. Our church was, at one time, part of the Willow Creek Association of Churches.
When the news first broke about Hybels this past March, the first reaction from most of my friends was disbelief. It was my first instinct, too. …
People have disliked the media since the creation of the media, and why not? It’s much easier to blame the people holding authority accountable instead of the authority itself. It’s much easier to blame the people bringing unpopular truths to light than to acknowledge what’s actually true. The media has been a safe scapegoat for generations, and likely will be for generations to come.
That being said, an alarming shift has taken place over the past few years; instead of journalists being passively blamed for all of life’s problems, they have been more actively threatened. …
In the 2018 presidential election, Donald Trump earned 81 percent of the evangelical Christian vote. Nearly two years later, he still holds a very favorable 75 percent of support by white evangelicals.
Surprisingly, Christians have been put in a state of distress over Trump’s zero-tolerance policy against migrants crossing the border, which has caused nearly 2,000 children to be forcibly separated from their parents in six weeks alone.
Since Trump and other members of his administration are trying to say otherwise, it’s worth clarifying that the separation of families is not required by any federal law. …
Jordan Emmons
Writer. Artist. Creator. Thinker.
