Drugs and cigarrettes are stupid. Maybe you already agree, maybe you use one of these products right now, but I will never in my life try a cigarette or take drugs for any reason.

When it comes up in conversation, I go silent. When I see someone smoking nearby, I subtly cover my nose. When someone cracks a joke about crack, I fake laugh because I know I can't convince them anything different from what society has taught them. I don't even try, because I know what their arguments will be, and that addiction hears no reason. The only thing I say--the thing I find myself saying more and more nowadays because a conversation can't stay away from these topics for long--is this:

"I have never smoked or done drugs in my life, and I never will. Period."

Guess this isn't really the right prompt because I'm not trying to convince you to agree with me. I just know that if you disagree then there's no real way to convince you otherwise.

We talk about humanity, we talk about unity. Hmm, let's take a brief deep breath and go back through history. Awww, a lush greenish blue planet, full of life, full of energy, full of freedom. No burden on a man's head. Chaotic, yet lively. Forests everywhere, food everywhere. Food for all not just man. About time, the sixth sense kicked in wickedness. Trees were cut in millions, forest lands destroyed. Lakes and rivers were dried. But people were happy with their new invention, a farmland. We build our food source upon theirs, destroying it utterly. Houses were built, cities arised. Empires emerged, shrinking the forestlands. But what of the other lives that we got along with. Some we called them wild and pushed them back. Some we called them good and we took them in. All for our benefit. You may bring the term, love for animals. But, no, dearest. We have cows for milk; chickens, goats, sheeps for meat; pets, so that we, WE feel loved back. There was always a want for them. We took these lands and laid dominion over them.

But worse, darling. Religion kicked in, we drew boundaries, we fucking drew boundaries and we called it our land, my land, your land. And we made it better, my nation, your nation. Like, we fucking owned these lands. The lush lands they were for all lives, but now it's my land, and i shall strip it of its natural wealth so that i can earn! We own nothing, not even this body of ours.

Then we started fighting animals, like they are bad. And then we fought among ourselves. Not fought but killed, ruthlessly murdered in the name of religion and country.

In a disgusting manner, we called it triumph and pride and honour, yeah the titles we gave to murderers murdering murderers. Killed within the country itself, interms of casts and groups. And too many times, too many ways we fight. And god praise our brilliance, now we fight among genders. We expect people to respect us, solely out of gender but not character, not of wits, not of knowledge.

And you still beLIEve, that out of everything our kind has ever done. That your mighty loving god, would care to look upon you. To love you, for what you have done. For all lives that are shattered for one's goal, and yet we keep blind and silent. Maybe, it is true that the gods have left. And i shall lay silent and blind, for i've been ignorant. And i shall lay silent and blind, for war itself. Let war happen, let blood spill, let the lives that have been killed in the name of humanity be answered for. Let these lives be given to earth, and let earth be drenched of blood, and through that let it regain balance. Wars bring death, death brings SENSE, and sense brings Balance, and balance shall bring peace. With peace, let there be ONE EARTH.

>>you asked for an unpopular opinion<<

>>Here you go<<

>>If i've been extremely arrogant, pardon my soul<<

#realization

#ignorance

#oneearth

Whether you are for Trump or not, he is the, in your face, truth about what has been the covert reality of America from day one.

America was never GREAT and never will be.

All political advances have been rooted in corruption, greed, racism, oppression, colonization, lies and indoctrination. (Pretty much like every other country!).

And before you point it out, I know there are countries where you’ll get your hand cut off for stealing etc., but at least there’s a certain transparentcy there, ya know where you’re at with those regimes.

America has always been about duping the people and now because Trump is too self-centered to play that game some people are starting to realize this.

Although Trump is a major piece of work, he is not the only questionable president. They all are!

Consider these points:

Guantanamo Bay: In existence since 2002. How is this legal?

Declaration of Independence: All men are created equal. How can you write a line like that when there is slavery and the indigenous population is being systematically eliminated? Enlightened founding fathers?

And what about women? It’s wasn’t just a sign of the times that women were ignored, there has never been a female president. How is this possible in a so called democratic country?(Not that I hold out any hope for change with a female in office, but still, come on. It’s cringeworthy.)

America needs an enemy: For example, during the cold war it was communism, now it’s Islam. As far as I understand, military spending is the second largest item in the federal budget.

In God We Trust: If the motto of America is to trust in God, why is there such a glorification of and an emphasis on war? Why nuclear weapons? Which God are we talking about?

Terrorism: Was not the Boston Tea Party and act of terrorism against the British? A criminal act? A riot? Why is that acceptable in the eyes of “decent” Americans? Terrorism is terrosim, rioters are rioters, criminal behavoir is criminal behavoir. OR? (an added thought: why were some of them dressed as Indians?)

America was created out of the desire for freedom of oppression: And then what happened?

Pilgrims were refugees: Lucky for them, but not the locals, they didn’t have to go through any asylum seeking process.

(part of this was taken from a comment I made on a post)

Let me preface this by saying that I am by no means an "expert" in what art is and isn't. I don't have any degrees in it whatsoever, and the extent of my artistry usually ends somewhere in the zones of "school projects" and "gifts for friends/myself."

However, that being said, I do still have expereince with art. I am an artist, just like any other people who have submitted a peice onto this website, have made an orignal drawing or painting, have sung in the shower and changed the notes or a key for a song- whatever. Regardless of what some person with a degree says you are an artist. Anybody can be an artist, and art is really, REALLY easy to make!

Now, that being said, GOOD art is a whole other story! It's a subjective term, based upon peronal emotions and past expereinces, it's based on personal interpretation of the meaning both as an artist and as an audience member, and it's really what i like to describe as "wishy-washy" at best.

So, review- anyone can be an artist, and that's because making art is really easy... BUT, making good art is hard, it's complicated and requires creativity, innovation, technique and skill- it's complicated, "wishy-washy", remember? So then why is art without purpose NOT art? Let me walk you through it.

Both Oxford and Merriam-Webster's dictionaries describe art as "Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), expressing the author's imaginative, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power."

What I gather from that is that, regardless of the reason for making it, you've got to just that- a reason. Art, true art, isn't just made for the hell of it. There is a reason to th artist as to why they're making the art, whether it's a concious or sub-concious thought process that's occuring.

Architects don't just design a building because "it's a building", they do it to provide shelter, to meet certain needs, and to fulfill a contract's desires at the bare minimum. When you doodle in class or a buisness meeting (don't get caught now!) you're not just doing it "because you're bored", well, you sorta are! But it's more because what's going on in your head is more interesting than what's happening around you.

Think about what specifically you're drawing next time, or maybe if you're a vocalist think about why you sing the notes a certain way and why you like that song. Writer's, we have it easy, just read the words you're writing! There is meaning in all of these things, and as long as you're consciously aware of this or you're using techniques while you do it, then you're making art.

So, can anything even be considered not art?? YES! When you wake up, when you make cereal, when you talk to friends/family, when you go walking or to the gym- those are just mundane tasks that you're doing because of obligation. Art is a hobby, a luxary even. It isn't required to live, but makes living valuable.

So when I see "art" peices such as Onement by Barnett Newman, Blood Red Mirror by Gerhard Richter, Concetto spaziale, Attese by Lucio Fantano, Untitled (1970) by Cy Twombly, Untitled (Stoffbid) by Blinky Palermo, Orange, Red, Yellow by Mark Rothco, Untitled (1961) by Mark Rothco, Untitled (Blue and Yellow) by Mark Rothco, and so many more blank or solid-color canvasas with nothing more than a signular line or a singular block of color sprinked in somewhere.

What's even worse is that, as you could see, even the titles were unispired! I mean, how many times can you simply refuse to name a peice of art and pawn it off for millions (looking at you Mark Rothco)! Oh, and you read correctly, they're selling these things off for millions of dollars. I'm not critiquing the entirety of the modernism field of art, nor the postmodernism, but I am criticising the lack of a message or meaning within a peice of art.

Typically the point of modernism or postmodernism was to serve as a critique against the standards of art, but you also have to understand that those critiques were warranted for the time period. Like i said earlier, anything can be art, but not everything can be good art. Good art, and the value of all art, is a societal construct whcih changes with the times. What's happening here though is that the minority of the world, the very upper echelons of wealth and prosparity, are simply throwing money at "art" due to the idea of gaining respect and praise from association with the owning of the work.

The problem doesn;t occur, however, until we remember that these "art works" are barely even that. When we allow peope in power to decide what's good and what's bad for us, it shifts the whole playing field. It changes what art gets made aftrwards, and what people strive to acheive. It influences societ as a whole. So having art that's "up for personal interpretation" or is "serving as a critique" yet holds no meaning or statment other than that isn't some level of grand and higher thinking- it's a scam. We're encouraging people to produce scams.

Now, perhaphs there is a message but it's just not clear to most people. Sure, but isn't an essential skill of any artist to be the translator or interpretor of an art peice? I know we're focused n painting right now, but think about books and literature. If someone wrote the next great work of literature, surpassing all of the greatest books you can think of, it wouldn't matter if it was written in a secrt coed noone could decipher. More practically, imagine it being written in such a confusing and verbose manner that what could've taken 1 page takes 10 and then multiply that per page.

This may seem dumb or pointless to most, but imagine if this seeped into other art like music, literature, architecture, even fashion. It already has been seeping into all of those art forms! I can't tell you how many fashion runway looks have become different variations on a bag, a bag people. Not a handbag, but a canvas or plastic bag stretched over the skin that people will throw thousands and millions of dollars at thanks to the name tied behind it.

Anyways, I'm truly sorry that this went on for so long. What was supposed to be about five paragraphs at most became so, so, so much longer than intended haha. Well, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

My soul reaches you

A lost face among an enormous screaming crowd

I know you don't know me

Yet

We somehow know, mutually,

Each other's deepest secrets

The meaning of your words

Breathing reality into my thoughts

I sing with your melody

Enchanted by the spell of your voice

That takes over so spontaneously,

As human as our hearts can be,

Somehow

My lost forgotten spirit

Found by your magical words

Is sparked to life, once more

In a dead dreary world

Without even realizing it

The impact of your universe

Of your vision

Seeps into me

Planting roots so deep

That they will never sever

In the drowning hardships of regular life

A photographed memory

Etched into my heart

Captured in the hypnosis

You've placed on my body

To dance and sway

To the rhythm of your thoughts

My flesh and blood

Resonating with each divergent note

Each belting crescendo

That echos in the stadium

Each fall or stagger

As all your emotion pours into your performance

A commander of hope

Uniting dying souls

On a perfect night

Casting light into a dark city

Splattering paint into grey lives

Fallening stars from heaven's sky

Shining bright on a stage

Imprinting your signature

Onto the cobblestone road of time

Though dust may cover your name

And the years erode your youthful vigor

Just know, you taught my heart

To know the sheer happiness life can offer

My soul sung and lost itself

In your sea of acoustic emotion

In your deepest passions and heartbreaking struggles

Diving head first into your humanity

Without a thought or care of worry

A moment where the weight is lifted

Off my worn out shoulders

So thank you,

For ressurecting me back to life's beauty

Dear Celebrity

Side Note/My Unpopular Opinion:

I recently went to a concert, and it was one of the most spell-binding experiences I've had in a while. I wrote this piece to capture the feelings/experience of that moment. Most people, when they think of celebrities, immediately associate them with selfishness, greed and negative influence. Well, I do agree that some celebrities, especially more recent ones, are a negative influence to society. But I know not all celebrity's are like that. My unpopular opinion is that a lot more celebreties/famous people make positive, meaningful impacts in other people's lives. Some genuinly want to share their emotions, struggles and stories with the world, connecting to people on a deep intimate level. They bring magic to our lives, expressing with ease those emotions and thoughts that are so difficult to express at times. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this, especially with those celebrities you grow up with, but sometimes it feels as if they know me so well that they made that song, movie, etc., just for me. When others around me don't seem to understand or when life seems unfair, listening to my favourite songs, watching my favourite shows, etc. reminds me that someone else knows exactly how I feel. I didn't realize how much of a positive impact many musicians, actors, etc have made on me until after this concert experience. Many celebrity's were just like you and me, but with creativity, passion and perseverance, they were able to make there dreams come true. The fact that they made it inspires me to pursue my own dreams too.

J. K Rowling is a wanna-be Tolkien. Simply put, Rowling wouldn't know good fantasy if Sauron walked up and slapped her with it. Her premise is lame. A wizard school for prepubescent little whiners? Really? The early novels are like Saved by the Bell, but with wands. The later novels are like, Beverly Hills 90210 only instead of BMW's and Corvettes, the teens ride brooms. This garbage sold millions of copies? Rowling created a world where the hero is more likely to have a wet dream or whine about a pimple than he is to do something heroic. Would Harry be able to take the One Ring to the depths of Mount Doom? I doubt he could carry it to the depths of Sugar Plum Mountan.

Then there's the tired fantasy theme of the hero is somehow the, "chosen one." Rowling takes this worn idea out of the been-there-done-that box and then promptly beats it to death. This theme is the $10 hooker of fantasy. Only the despirate would embrace it.

As far as fantasy goes, Rowling's Harry Potter series is the Milli Vanilli to Tolkien's Led Zeppelin. Everyone likes it now, but eventually people will see it for the packaged garbage it is. When the realization sinks in, the Harry Potter fans will be rightfully embarrassed and deny ever liking it in the first place.

Incarcerating people for possessing it results in productivity loss of individuals coming out of jail.

$9Billion are spent annually for imprisonment.

Even more for law enforcement.

2 of every 3 of drug-related incarcerated individuals are held on marijuana offenses.

Law enforcement is wasting its time on weed rather than real problems, like the HEAVY narcotics (methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, etc.)

It is often held comparable to alcohol and even tobacco, but then they charged you for it as if it were like the ‘heavy’ drugs. It is charged as a Schedule I drug.

Not exactly known to be addictive like cocaine...

It’s difficult to induce a lethal response unlike alcohol, “It would take nearly 1500 pounds of marijuana within a fifteen-minute timespan to do so,”

Could be considered better than alcohol...

Legalizing it could potentially give up to $7Bil in tax revenue.

Lastly, health effects are unclear, it is hyper criminalized.

So: Legalize!! Or reduce it to warranting a fine or something, at least.

I'm always hearing jokes about incest or how it's disgusting. The funny thing is...it doesn't affect the people that complain about it. I've looked at it the same way too. However, after I looked at it and analyzed its pros and cons I see zero problems. As long as both party members are consensual, I see no reason to judge it. Now, just because I'll say that I have no problem with it doesn't mean that I'm wanting to fuck my cousin or anything. I see this topic as the new love that'll eventually come around, like being gay. It's seen in a similar way as being gay was decades ago. If you mention it or are curious about it, people will automatically assume that you're a part of it. Just like being gay it has some, especially with children. Everyone who's gay knows how exactly they'll have to start a family if they want one. Sure it's not the traditional way to have/raise a child, but it works. Those who are part of incest would be aware of the birth defects on a future child. As long as they know about the consequences and don't complain about their situation, they're alright.

Understand, that chocolate and peanut products have always been a pair. It’s seen in peanut butter cups that date all the way back in 1928, and the Aztecs often added ground peanuts to their chocolate drinks. While peanut butter and jam have always been a famous pair, the jam should be swapped with nutella, a hazelnut varient of peanut butter. This leads me to my first point: nutella and peanut butter both come from some sort of nut. This means that nature has already said that they are alike, that their fates as a super pair have already been selected. Jam, often comes from fruit. I ask you: when was the last time you saw a strawberry and thought: that would taste good with peanut butter. When was the last time you saw grapes and thought: peanut butter would make that taste better? Never. The only mainstream fruits that go well with peanut butter are bananas and apples. Not the “strawberries” or “concord grape” flavors that are the most popular jams, as stated by sweetyhigh.com. But think, how many times have you seen commercials of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups? They’re just one form! How many times have you searched your Halloween bag for candy, and saw tens of hundreds of peanut butter cup products? They’re the true pair. My second point is on texture and consistency. Peanut butter, as we all hopefully know, is slightly thick, and depending on what kind of peanut butter you get, can be crunchy. This goes great on bread, as the bread won’t get soggy and will stay firm due to the thickness of the peanut butter. However, jam is more like slop, or mud. It’s a wet liquid, and thus leads to soggy bread. The texture isn’t uniform, and often times you can get chunks of fruit of globs of sticky jam. This. Isn’t. What. We. Need. We need something that can match the perfect texture of the peanut butter. What we need, is Nutella. It’s creamy. It’s thick. It won’t get your bread soggy. It’s the perfect matchup for out perfect peanut butter. Nutella and Peanut Butter are great for each other.

They’re the Perfect Match™.