I'm Done.

I'm sick of busting my ass on entries only to have them not get any votes because I didn't go to every other contestant and pimp my username.

I'm sick of being told that I'm not a good writer because I had the audacity to re-use a piece that I had written previously but applied to the topic at hand.  The mark of a good writer is NOT being able to pull something out of your ass at a moment's notice, the mark of a good writer is GOOD WRITING.  It's the ability to pull a piece out of your heart, put it on paper, and then be willing to wrip it apart and put it back together again in a way that communicates to and moves your audience.  I've taken SEVERAL creative writing classes and not ONE of them demanded that every assignment be one that you "pulled out of your ass".  Revising is writing. 

I don't do popularity contests.  I don't get any enjoyment out of listening to people bitch because your friends vote for you even though they didn't have a chance to read all of the... how many hundred entries? 

I'm over it.  I DON'T have time to read over a hundred entries and try to figure out who I should vote for.  I DO vote for people I like personally.  I DO vote for people on my friend's list whether I have a chance to read their entries or not.  And I don't buy the line that there are more than a few people out there who have the time to do anything else.

It's a nice idea on paper, but all LJ Idol seems to inspire from me lately is ranting and depression.  And I think it's time I opted out.

Love,
Crystal

Huh.

So I went through on Twitter and dumped some people that were bugging the shit out of me (friends of friends), and I withdrew from LJ Idol, and I actually feel surprisingly better.  I don't know, maybe I just needed to do another round of pulling out of groups of people who don't give a shit if I live or die?  It's like I'm pruning my affections.  "I don't have enough attention and energy to spend on you and still focus on the people who are worth it." 

*shrug*

Anyway... you should go giveper_solo some love today.  And ex-coworker and friend of his passed away and he's feeling sad.

*hugs* to all,
Crystal

Fourteen Year Old Girls Are Having Sex

And Tyra Banks is shocked.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27706917/

Really?  I mean, REALLY?   She's SHOCKED?  I'm sorry, are YOU shocked?  Because if so, you really need to wake up.  I know I was having sex at fourteen, and although I spent a lot of years feeling very ASHAMED of that, I've sinced learned that I was actually a pretty normal kid.

Are you surprised?  I was having sex at fourteen and I WAS NORMAL.

Breathe that in for a minute.  You don't have to like it, and you can worry that kids are too young to be doing it.  And you know what?  There's a degree to which you're very right.  With the way that we raise kids, with the way that we try to put them in a bubble, with the things we convince ourselves we're shielding them from... you're right.  Socially, they are WAY too young.  Physically?  Biologically?  Hormonally? 

Not a bit.

I'm not advocating going out and telling kids they should be having sex, but I am advocating a fucking wake-up call.  You think your kids aren't having sex.  Why?  Because you weren't?  Wait... you WERE?  Then where the fuck is your brain, sunshine?  Do you FORGET what it was like to be that age?  I'm not talking about peer pressure.  I'm talking about real, HEALTHY, physical and emotional drives.  I'm talking about the way that we're built. 

Get it through your tough nut, cookie... your kids are doing it.  And worse, they don't know what the fuck they're doing.  Because you want to live in a fantasy world and pretend they aren't.

When I say "talk to your kids about sex", I mean "Say something MORE than 'don't do it.'"  Teach them about safe sex.  Teach them about romance.  Teach them about self-esteem, and DON'T teach them that there's something WRONG with them if they want to have sex.  What the fuck is wrong with you?  Don't YOU want to have sex?  I know I do.  And there's not a damned thing wrong with ME.  ...Well, not for that, anyway. ;)  Teach them that they don't HAVE to be doing it, but if they WANT to do it... there are ways to do it without contracting a disease or getting pregnant. Teach them why sixteen isn't a good age to GET pregnant.  And if you find out that they want to get pregnant so that there will always be someone there who loves them?  Don't just explain to them why that isn't a good reason to have a baby... work with them to find out why they feel they NEED someone to love them, and and to find other, healthy ways to feel the love they're lacking.

I guarantee you, you'll prevent more teen pregnancies and STD's that way.

Fourteen-year-old girls are having sex.  The problem is, fourteen-year-old girls don't feel comfortable walking into a drug store and buying condoms.

Love,

Crystal

Crys Unplugged: Time Machine

Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io

This one's just a little bit better quality than the last one. I actually took the time to record the tracks separately and edit them a little bit. Tell me what you think.

Love,
Crystal