A Definitive Ranking of One Direction Albums According To Me

Absolutely no one asked for this, but I made it anyway because it's a quarantine and I felt like it.  (source) #5: MITAM- It came out at the same time as Purpose and it was after Zayn left so it gets last because I got bored listening to it, and I think I was still …

Turning from Christ

Moving from anger, to forgiveness, to growth. When I was a child, I once asked my mom, "If God is Jesus' father, who was God's father?" My mom simply looked at her curious, inquisitive child and told me to ask my devoutly Catholic grandma, who would probably know the answer. When I was older, I …

Love Hangover: A Post V-Day Reflective

As a teenager in high school, I was deeply insecure. Of course, if anyone's read past blog posts, this isn't new information. But seventeen year old Naja had been going through it, all year long. I was the walking dead, and I hid that fact well from my friends. Enter February 14th, 2011. From the …

Online Dating While Bi & Black

"Hello my little Mocha Chocalata ya ya. Are you into guys or girls more?"  If you're like me, or millions of other people in the 21st century, you've tried your hand at online dating. While I'm sure that it's worked for plenty of people (and I know, by observation, that it has), I have a bit …

Dear Doubter of My Desired Degree

Dear Doubter of My Desired Degree, You aren't the first to tell me that there is no place in the world for English majors. During my Freshman year of college, I spoke to my then-history professor about my ideal career and college goals. Upon learning that I wanted to declare a major in English, the …

She

In the moments when She Looked to the brilliant violet sky Searching to find replacements For the stars snatched from her eyes And Crushed in the center of a powerful Palm She; Consistently hardening In a world that denies her softness Accusations of submissiveness Torn between Aggression and Servitude She; Earning space Both invisible and Not invisble enough. …

The Diversity Myth: It’s complex and necessary.

As  person with a strong desire to go into publishing (specifically YA) in the future, I'm aware of how often the topic of diversity rears its head. There are always questions of "if I include this character who isn't white, is it diverse enough?" or "if all of my characters are Latino, that qualifies as …

If your form of feminism isn't inclusive of ALL women (Women of color, disabled women, transgender women, women of various faiths, women who don't follow the rules of femininity, women who DO follow the rules of femininity, etc.), then it isn't truly feminism.