The Many Shades of Petty - Written by Arielle

Petty: small and unimportant (i.e. petty squabbles/ restrictions) Concerned with small and unimportant matter, especially when this is unkind to other people. (How could you be so petty?)

I was talking to a friend earlier after she texted me about a tiff she had with one of her other friends over something that didn’t seem to merit a fight in my eyes. She told me about how her friend had felt snubbed about an activity that she was not directly included initially. She began yelling on the phone about how she was so angry that she had not been included in something she thought she should.  Now in defense of my friend, let’s call her Candy, she had every intention of including her in the activity but hadn’t figured out how yet, (after all every activity ain’t for everyone). And the other friend, let call her Lollipop, has a history of being very particular about what she wants to participate in, which is of course, her prerogative.

Now, how many of us have had a less than shining moment in regards to making an incorrect assumption? How many of us have assumed the worst of something or someone before getting the whole story? AND how many of us have felt like a complete and utter jackass after we were proven wrong? All of us!!! I know I have ☺ !

But that leads me to the next point, when will we all learn to not sweat the small stuff, especially when friends and family are involved? I can understand feeling left out or forgotten about and I can even understand having a tiny little pang of jealously when you feel like you could have been included in something when someone else was in your stead. However, isn’t the point of friendship understanding one another or at least trying to? When you have a dear friend and you jump to a silly conclusion about what that person did, I feel like that you show them several things you might not want to:

1. You’re insecure in your friendship and probably more than a little insecure in yourself
2. You’d rather start a fight than get to the bottom of what’s bothering you
3. You’re a petty/selfish dumbass!!!

Is that really what you want to show your friends about yourself? I’m 99% sure its not. With any relationship, you have to strive to be honest, open and willing to trust that other person or people with your feelings. It’s taken me a long time to get to this point but when you open yourself up to growth, something magical happens…its called maturity! More people should try it out!

The point of this Public Service Announcement was to get you guy’s wheels turning. Maybe you reacted “unfavorably” to a situation that you weren’t completely clued into or maybe you said or did something and didn’t consider someone else’s feelings when you did it. Now is the time to make amends and say sorry. Life is too short to spend it being angry. Go try on some understanding because we all know yesterday is history and tomorrow’s a mystery but today is a gift, that’s why they call it the present.

Arielle out!

Looking ahead - writers Mandy and Ari

Mandy: if the big thing about this year was change, so then what’s next year about? What’s the new beacon of hope that people are gonna cling so dearly to? It can't still be change. This year is almost up and I know I’ve been through a lot of change but I really hope that’s not what to expect next year. I need stability at this point.

I know that change is inevitable, the world will continue to develop and I am destined to evolve but I really need to see a point where I’m going to plateau and find that steady ground I can rely on.

Ari: ok so I had a time trying to figure out what the hell I wanted 2010 to be about so I decided I couldn't predict the future and decided I wanted my theme for next year to be "re-invention". And by that I mean, I want the world to reinvent itself, lol. I want to turn on the radio and not hear the same song being sung by different artists or go to the mall and not see a certain decade being pushed on me telling me how its "coming back in style". I'm the kind of person that craves the "new" and "improved" but for some odd reason, I keep getting shoved the same warmed over crap, lol. But I'm even looking to reinvent myself, too. I want to start this new coming year as a better, more focused and creatively daring person.

Mandy: My attention is really in the Upenyu clothing line. I’m really excited about being able to transform my designs into a wearable line and working with you on a fall fashion show for next year. That is going to be incredible. In our group of friends, collectively we are more than capable of re-inventing the stereotype about a t-shirt clothing line. 

Ari: That's why I'm excited about your line and the fashion show. Its a way break out of the boring day to day and move on to what I actually want to do with my life. That what I think the concept of the show should be, or at least one of the themes. Since Kenyatta has all of these off the wall designs for her swimsuits and you and Yoli have all these cool fashion designs how can I not be inspired! I’m actually kind of bursting with ideas and I can't wait to tell everyone about them and hear everyone else's ideas too :)

Mandy: 2010 is going to be a big year. It’s around the corner though. 2 months is not a lot of time. We’ve gotta get the wheels in motion, and FAST lol!

So readers I put it to you, what do you hope to see in 2010?

Blog Intro

Mandy:

So I was trying to write my very first blog entry and I sat and stared at the screen for hours. Trying to find the perfect way to begin had me stuck. Something about typing on a computer and you know whatever you write can be erased and done over somehow makes it harder for me to think. Since it can be changed I write, erase then re-write over and over again. So I decided to sit down with a pen and paper and amazingly my hands couldn’t stop moving. Its like the feeling of writing is so much more organic that way. I’m pretty good at typing but my thoughts flow more freely when I don’t have a cursor blinking back at me. The sad part of it all now is that I still have to go through everything I wrote and type it up onto the computer. My handwriting is so awful though so I’m still glad that I can type this up.

I guess in many ways I do appreciate a more old school way of doing things. Even though I have a digital diary I still have books I take everywhere and write my thoughts. Something about seeing it in my hands makes it real. I enjoy the sensation of holding something. Flicking through the pages, being able to sit in any position I want and enjoy the moment. One of my favorite things to do was to flip through magazines. Yes reading was very informative but I could look over a magazine 10 times in a row just to look at the pictures. I would canvas every page not having to worry about resolution or zooming in and out. Everything was right there in front of me. I could look at page 10 and page 35 at the same time.  Fold up the corners on pages I wanted to go back to, that was enjoyable for me. Looking through a magazine on a website can never fulfill me in that way. But it saves a lot of paper!

Anyway, coming in from my tangent, the idea of making something digital tangible was always something I enjoyed doing. I know putting images a t-shirt is no original idea but I love the concept of something that lived on a screen was transformed into something that a living person walks around it. A shirt with the same design will become a part of someone’s memories. It will go to the grocery store, it will go to a barbeque in the summer and under all your layers in the winter. The idea that art then becomes mobile is exciting to me. It travels to destinations a painting on a wall never will.

Upenyu has given me an outlet for my artwork where it will not be confined by 4 walls but will breathe and be free in the world, something that I want for myself.
Upenyu is my freedom.
Who knew that “life” would be so liberating.

My blog (hopefully) will not just be pages and pages of me rambling on about my perspective on life, I intend to extend my reach to all over the world and converse with a diverse range of people on their take on life. Some formal and some informal conversations just to see life from all angles.

Thank you in advance to all those who participate with me in the exploration on all the things that make life so intriguing,