I gave myself the week off last thursday because it was my birthday and I can.

1. This video about Mama Hill's story. She is an incredible woman, and we need more people like her.

2. Derrick - Brianne and I saw this guy play earlier this year, which I wrote about here. Listen to "Unrelenting" - it is so wonderful.

3. Rookie Mag's "Getting Over Girl Hate" article. This is only an idea I've just realized, but it's true, we're really competitive and hard on each other. I've tried to be more mindful of this as I've learned more.

4. A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me - I don't know if this is "slam" poetry, but just watch it anyways.

5. "I think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and reflect that happiness." - Drew Barrymore

6. The Lumineers eponymous album - I really like "Flowers in Your Hair," "Stubborn Love," and "Big Parade."

7. This article about Philippine relief efforts was really interesting and thought provoking.

8. We've been reading in "Nine Stories" for Absurdist Hero and it's...interesting. Many of them are just weird, so I like our discussions in class allow me to understand a bit better.

9. "Single and Not Waiting" was a rather relevant article to read this week. There's been this strange potential relationship...thing...that's been going on for a major part of the semester, and this past week I decided that I'm tired of waiting around for this guy to make a move or decide that I'm worth his time. Usually this stuff bums me out, but this time it was a huge relief when I decided that. I feel like I can breathe again, not worrying about what he thinks. In the meantime, I'm just working on me and continuing to do what I love to do.