How To Be Your Own "Super" Woman

   

     Typically when the world views women, they view them as the inferior race. Well I am here to tell you, THAT IS NOT TRUE. While I have only been on this beautiful earth for 17 short years, I have already experienced a lot of prejudice when it comes to being a girl. While most of it flows out of the mouths of teenage boys like a river, the world is full of it and I'm sick of it!
     Throughout my life I have always been taught to be my own person; never follow always lead. While that was drilled into my head, I never really had a chance when it comes to being a "weak" woman. My mom and her mom alike are both independent, strong willed women who stand for what they believe in and don't back down. That being said, my father and my grandfather respect that and urge me to follow in their footsteps..which I willingly did. So throughout my life so far, I do what I want and what makes me happy, NOT what makes me popular. I am in ROTC, I am a state weightlifting champion, and I have played every sport imaginable while still looking and acting like a woman. Sure, I have struggled with self confidence and image but a quick pep talk from mom and I was ready to go. So I am here to tell you, you can be a strong, BEAUTIFUL, independent woman and still be feminine and ladylike.

The Inferiority Complex

     Growing up girls are taught a "meaning of life" mindset of finding a husband, getting married, having children, and being a stay at home trophy wife. This ideal is plastered all over pop culture in TV shows and movies portraying the husband as the main bread-winner who comes home to a clean house and a cooked meal from his perfect and beautiful wife. While it is my personal belief that the man is the bread-winner, there is no way women should have to sit at home and serve their husband like some kind of slave! 

     This idea of "inferiority" is somehow drilled into teenage boys minds that women are lesser than they are. While the recent "make me a sandwich" phrase certainly gets my blood boiling, it is unfortunately only the tip of the iceberg known as "the decline of women's self worth". Well, that's my name for it anyway.

     The problem I so often see around me is that boys constantly talk about how they hate needy girls and overly-attached women when in fact THEY made girls this way. When women constantly hear that we should "be in the kitchen" or whatever other sexist jokes that seem to amuse teenage boys, girls start to think "hey, boys like submissive women". This leads to the overly-attached, emotional girlfriend you all "love to hate". So here is the deal, women, take your stand. Be an independent STRONG woman and stick it to all those boys with the "inferiority complex" mind and be your own "Super Woman" :)

How To Be Your Own "Super" Woman

     One reason I love comics is because, woman are portrayed as strong woman! Not some stupid sidekick who does what she is told, but because if Superwoman wants to save America then gosh-darn it she is gonna save America with her own two hands!

The Social Aspect
“That's always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people want to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste.”
John Green

     One of the first steps to becoming your OWN woman is to shake off that "I want to be popular" mindset and change it to "I want to be happy". I experienced this in middle school, wanting to be popular. It sucks, trust me. I was constantly fighting myself and my friends trying to be someone I wasn't and even though I was "popular" I was also miserable. Once I started finding out what I liked, and not what someone else liked for me, I changed completely. If you want to be on the wrestling team, DO IT. If you want to be in the drama club, DO IT. My point is, do what YOU want, not what someone else wants.

     When it comes to imagery, a lot of people have "role models" and they tend to be family and celebrities. While I am not a personal fan of women celebrities, mostly because they all fit the stereotypical girl type, I do have a few I would like to share. I won't talk about them, you can research that yourself, but they are all in my opinion strong, independent women.

1. Jennifer Lawerence
2. Emma Stone
3. CoCo Chanel
4. Lauren Conrad

Just to name a few :)

The Relationship Aspect
"If we're going to be with somebody long-term, we want to find the man who loves our strength and wants to make us feel cared for in the ways I have discussed. And for the reasons I've discussed, we're not going to apologize for it."
Lauren Jacobs

     I cannot count the times I have been told "you are so strong and independent" or especially the time I have been told "you intimidate me". While the latter can be quite upsetting at times as it is usually spit from the mouth of a boy..I am quickly reminded that, that is exactly why I am independent and strong. 

     I see girls all around me, dating constantly and finding self worth in relationships. While this concept completely confuses me, it encompasses the minds of (I would say) about 80% of women now-a-days. The idea of needing a man to be happy is a one way ticket FAR away from being an independent woman. You may be thinking, okay this girl is not even a legal adult yet so she has no place to be giving relationship advice, and yes that is in fact true, but if you sit back and observe the people around you..you can learn a lot.
     The most common thing I see is the "I NEED a boyfriend" mindset rather than the "I WANT a boyfriend" mindset. The first begs for "I need a guy to complete me and make me feel good about myself". The latter says "I am fine on my own, but having someone to love and be my best friend doesn't sound like a bad deal". You have to first be happy in yourself before finding happiness with someone else.
     I do have a warning though, if you take the strong independent woman path, you will need to be patient. Every strong willed woman I have ever known doesn't date every guy that comes along, or says "he's the one" just because he's paying attention to them. It takes a special man to respect a strong woman and feel enough confidence in himself to be in a relationship with one. So you might have to wait, but from what I have seen, it is always worth it.
here is a really good article on this subject..check it out :)

Impress Them

"Education never ends, Watson. It is a series of lessons with the greatest for the last"

    Arthur Conan Doyle (Adventures of Sherlock Holmes)

     When I say this, I don't mean show off your new clothes or your body! I mean intelligence. While I have always made good grades in school, I believe my strengths are in other aspects. Every chance I get I am reading, writing, watching TED videos (those are my favorite), reading the news (Huffington Post is my favorite), reading articles on things I am interested, and learning new vocabulary. You have a brain, USE IT! I also like to culture myself. I travel often and always try new things. I am currently taking French, trying to learn as much as possible because I think it would be so cool to be bilingual! Constantly do things that challenge you and learn at least ONE new thing everyday.

All in all, just be yourself. You don't have to stick to the hottest fashion, make your own! That's what CoCo Chanel did! You don't have to impress anyone except yourself.

The Empty Hearse: Sherlock Season 3 Premier Review

SPOILER ALERT

     Even though I live in the United States, I was lucky enough to be able to watch the Sherlock season 3 premier 18 days early. I mean I have waited 2 years, so why should I have to suffer 18 more days than my friends in the UK..am I right? So luckily, some of those friends provided me with a live stream. Thank you friends!! Now..onto the review :)

     Now, we all know how season 2 ended. Sherlock jumped from St. Bart's hospital to his own death, but we saw at the end of the episode (that is if, you're anything like me, could see through the TEARS) that Sherlock was in fact ALIVE. So then..we waited two years to find out why. This wait resulted in many things, but to sum it all up..in the wise words of Colbert.

     So, The Empty Hearse begins with what seems to be an explanation for how Sherlock faked his death. It shows that Sherlock was attached to a wire, jumped, then went through Molly's window (KISSING HER) then makes his escape. All the while, behind the scenes men take Moriarty's body and attach a mold of Sherlock's face and a wig, place the body on the street, and play it off as Sherlock. Seems logical right? Well it all made sense to me except the window part, but hey..what do I know. Well it appears that it was just a theory, made up by Anderson the used to be Sherlock-hater now turned Sherlock's number one fan. 

     We see how Mycroft retrieves Sherlock from his two year "voyage" or whatever you may call it. I must say, Holmes really let himself go. We see him tied up, shirtless, with a full head of hair (or wig) not quite sure. We also realize he had a beard. Interesting. Not attractive. Anyway, Mycroft saves Sherlock but only have he has let him be beaten a couple of times with a whip. I guess Mycroft needed the entertainment. After they return to London, Sherlock says one of my favorite lines in the whole episode. After he states that he is going to see John in Baker Street, Mycroft responds with the somewhat "shocking" news to Sherlock that John has moved on with his life and no longer lives in the infamous 221B Baker Street. Sherlock responds with "What life? Ive been away?"

     

     

     On to the biggest hurdle that Gatiss and Moffat had to tackle with this episode..the reunion of Sherlock and John. After we find that John is going to propose to his girlfriend, Mary Morsten, at dinner that night, we also find that Sherlock is going to reveal his "not deadness" to John at the same time. Sherlock always seems to ruin Johns plans. Anyway, we see Sherlock as a waiter with an eyeliner mustache trying to offer John some wine. John never looks at him because he is trying to as Mary to marry him. Finally, Sherlock drops the French accent and reveals his voice. One that anyone could recognize because of its hallucinogenic qualities. When John realizes who it is..he goes quite.."mental" for lack of better words, attacking him several times. But we know the real John will come back around..he even ends up shaving his mustache for Sherlock.

    We are also introduced to Mary Morsten, John's fiancé, played by Amanda Abbington who..in real life is Martin Freeman's wife, which makes it that much cuter. I really ended up liking her character. People were concerned that she would interfere with the whole "Sherlock and John team up against crime" thing but so far she hasn't. She actually is a huge asset and I can see her really helping out later in the show. 

     

     After the "reunion" we see the crime part of the show. Apparently there is a planned attack to blow up all of London, which may or may not be the ONLY reason that Mycroft brought Sherlock back in the first place. We don't really know. Since John is not talking to Sherlock, he resorts to asking Molly Hooper to help out on the case. She helps for a day, then reveals that she can't anymore because of work. She also reveals that she is engaged and completely over Sherlock...(yeah right). 

     On her way home from work Mary receives a text referring to John and hinting that he has been kidnapped. She immediately goes to Sherlock and they go on a wild goose chase to track him down while Mary continues to receive texts from the alleged kidnapper hinting on the location. (sounds a bit like Moriarty...eh? Could he be BACK?) They finally find John who has been drugged, tied up, and placed under a bonfire that will soon be lit in honor of Guy Fawkes night (British holiday where people light bonfires and shoot fireworks in commemoration of King James 1 survival). Mary and Sherlock pull John out right before the fire reaches him. The next day, John shows up at 221B to talk to Sherlock and ends up getting right back into his old ways; solving crimes with Sherlock Holmes.

     After tracking down the placing of the bombs, the two travel underground to a secret car that had been taken off the tube. It holds the bombs. While in the car, the lights turn on and the bomb begins to countdown from..3 minutes if I remember correctly. Sherlock and John are frantic, with no time to escape they decide to wait it out and try to disarm the bomb. Sherlock begins to cry, John begins to scream and confess all types of things to Sherlock..little does he know, Sherlock had found and off switch and was fooling John into saying all of those things.. I think if i was John, I would be a little fed up with Sherlock's near death experiences aura that seems to hover around him. I would also be tired of his "games".

     The episode ends with the reveal of Molly's boyfriend..Sherlock "dress-a-like" and the realization that Sherlock Holmes is back. Hat and all.

     But that's not all...we see that there is a new mastermind behind all the crime, particularly the abduction of John. He is sitting in front of multiple monitors showing events from the day such as Johns near death bonfire experience. A new villain..

     Overall the episode was fantastic. I left out a BUNCH of stuff in this post, but I put my favorite parts on here. There were a few more "theories", Anderson going crazy, John going crazy at work, etc. You will just have to watch it! I thought that the way that Moffat and Gatiss worked the fan fiction into the show was brilliant and very pleasing to viewers. Its like they sat down together, went through tumblr and said okay, they think this is going to happen..lets do it. It was awesome. 

"The Sign Of Three" airs on January 5th (tomorrow)..so until then, I leave you with the best Sherlock gif ever created..ever.

     As always, thanks for reading :)

The day I met Norman Reedus

     Yes..It's true..I MET NORMAN REEDUS. For all of you unfortunate souls who do not know who that is, he plays Daryl Dixon on the AMC hit show The Walking Dead. For those of you living under rocks recently, The Walking Dead takes place in a post-apocolytic world run over by zombies where a group of people fend together to survive. Daryl Dixon is the kick-butt cross-bow carrying "redneck" who gets things done around the place.

     Back to my little "meet and greet". So I went to Wizard World Nashville Comic Con on October 19th with the expectation of meeting Stan Lee (which I did) because I had already bought those tickets. I knew Norman Reedus would be there but on the schedule, it said he would only be there on Friday and Sunday...I, of course, was there on a Saturday. When we got there, I saw his booth and freaked out..I had to get tickets! So I made a B-line to about 3 different ticket counters before finally being told "you can just go get in line and pay there". By this time, about 20 MORE people had joined the long train to meet Daryl himself. So I got in line, dragging my poor parents to wait with me for an hour and a half to meet him. I soon found that the source of the hour and a half wait was Norman Reedus himself. He spent a minute or two genuinely talking to each fan, showing interest in gifts they gave him, in the things they were saying, and making conversation with them. When I finally reached the part of the line where I could see him..I was so excited..to say the absolute LEAST. Although we were not allowed to take pictures WITH him, he did not care at all if we took pictures OF him. I saw him sneak a couple pictures with fans and I think if he would of had it his way, we could have all taken "selfies" all day long.

     When we got up to the counter and place to pay, they gave us a choice of pictures to get signed if we didn't bring anything, which i didn't, so I was very thankful for this. When I met him, I immediately knew he was going to be one of the nicest people ever.

EW I hate my "profile"

The conversation started with a "Hey!! What's your name??" and a handshake. I was so nervous, I barely even remembered my own name, but stumbled out "Kaitlyn". He responded with "I'm Norman! You have a beautiful name!!". Now that my friends, is something I will never forget. HE SAID MY NAME WAS BEAUTIFUL. He then signed my picture and correctly guessed how to spell my name. Now anyone who has a common name like mine with 8 million different spellings will understand the rare and wonderful moment when someone guesses how to spell your name right. That has probably happened to me maybe twice and once was by Norman Reedus...ahhh.

     I then proceeded to ask him if I could have a hug, In which he proceeded to say "of course" and that was the moment I hugged the zombie-killing Daryl Dixon aka Norman Reedus. It was awesome. I did not come away with any pictures of this moment because my photographer (aka dad) was apparently caught in a hurricane while taking the pictures. Every single one was blurry and had a thumb in front of it..oh well! I did come away with this little beauty though. ( Note the heart by my name <3 )

     The best part of the whole experience was the fact that he was such a nice guy. I expected him to be cool and all but he was nothing like a typical "celebrity" who just shows a little interest because they want to keep fans. He was actually interested in what each fan had to say to him and why they were there. If he wasn't interested, he sure did a dang good job of fooling me!! He was completely awesome and it made me love his character even more than I already did. When I watched the show that next Sunday night, I was very excited. "I MET him! I HUGGED him". All those typical "fangirl" dreams.

The King of Comics turns 91

You can pick your jaw up off the ground now. Yes, I did just say that Stan Lee turned 91 yesterday, December 28. If you are in disbelief that this seemingly youthful outgoing man is in his 90's, then you are probably not alone. If you have ever seen a Marvel film, then you have seen Stan Lee. He makes his famous cameo appearance in all of his Marvel films. Whether you saw him in Iron Man (2008) as Hugh Hefner,

in Amazing Spider-Man (2012) as a librarian,

Or any other of Stan Lee's cameo's, it is a fact that this comic king has still got it.

     While Stan Lee is best known for writing comics such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Marvel's most successful superhero Spider-Man; Lee did more for Marvel than just create story lines for comic books. Stan Lee changed the way that the comic book industry was viewed. He gave credit to all people behind the making of a comic book instead of just the writer. He revolutionized the connection between the comic book creators and the comic book readers. Lee addressed social issues such as racism and drug use through his comic books, educating children on the right and wrong through a platform they could relate to; their favorite superhero.  Through these acts and many more, Stan Lee revolutionized Marvel into the success it is today.

     I had the privilege of meeting this wonderful man when I attended Wizard World Nashville Comic Con on October 19th. Although the conversation was just a short "Hello, nice to meet you" I could tell that he was a very nice man. I was also greeted with his signature smile and of course his signature glasses. Although we were not allowed to take pictures anywhere near the booth, I happened to snag his signature on my absolute favorite character of all time's comic book..written by him of course.

Can you say LUCKY? It is now on my wall so I can see it every day.

     I would like to end by saying, thank you Stan Lee for creating..my life pretty much. Without your work, my life would be a lot more boring and my imagination would be a lot less interesting. So HAPPY 91ST BIRTHDAY STAN LEE. Hopefully you have many more to come.

Information retrieved from here. 

He's back..Sherlock's return to television

     Well..the time that the whole Sherlock fandom has been waiting for is finally here. After years of waiting, our beloved Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson will be returning to our televisions once again. On January 1st, 2014 (for UK fans) and January 19th, 2014 (For US fans), the hit show 'Sherlock' will begin once again on BBC One (UK) and PBS (US) with episode one, "The Empty Hearse".

     The season 2 finale was the ultimate cliffhanger for Sherlock fans. Unsure about the exact status of Mr. Holmes, fans eagerly awaited season 3 for answers..they waited, and waited...and waited. Two years of waiting to be exact. Just enough time to drive fans absolutely mad and the evidence is all over the Internet.

     With all this extra time on their hands, the fans of the show have come up with some very interesting, well thought out theories on how the mastermind survived the fall. Buzzfeed has put together a list of 9 of the best theories here. My favorite theory would be number 3, the "rubber ball theory" because I have read a lot about this one and realized how possible and probable it actually COULD be. By far the weirdest theory I have heard would be number 6, the "face swap" theory. It just seems a bit extreme and very weird. Nonetheless possible, but in my opinion, highly unlikely.

          The waiting game came to an end on December 24th when the Sherlock 'mini- episode' or prequel to Sherlock season 3 "Many Happy Returns" was released by the BBC. You can watch it here and I must say..I am PUMPED. Moffat and Gatiss did yet another fantastic job and in only 7 minutes! The prequel gives no answers to how Sherlock survived the fall but gives us a little information on what he has been doing for the past 2 years and where he has been. It also shows us how the characters have moved on with their lives. A particularly shocking change was shown in Anderson, a former member of the police forensics team. We find that Anderson has changed his entire outlook on Sherlock and ends up losing his job with the police trying to convince Lestrade, detective inspector, that Sherlock IS alive. The prequel ends when Lestrade gives John Watson an "uncut" version of a Happy Birthday video that Sherlock made John before the fall. Sherlock states that he is sorry he is away but that he will be back soon. Sherlock ends the video with his signature wink and smile. Although this video was made before the fall, we all know it is in reference to where Holmes is now. Sorry for John and promising his return.

     If you weren't excited about season 3 before, then you are now! In fact, I think I might just re-watch season 1 and 2 in celebration. Now back to the waiting game..5 days for you UK fans and 24 for you US fans. 

But what's a couple of days when you've been waiting 2 years?

Review of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

CAUTION: SPOILERS

     Now that that is out of the way, let me get on to my review. First I would like to start out by saying how much I love The Hobbit the book. It was absolutely spectacular, easy to read, and immensely entertaining. I will admit, I did not read the book until I heard the movie was coming out, yes I know, shame on me. But nonetheless, I READ IT! Being a big HUGE Sherlock fan I was absolutely beside myself to find that Martin Freeman was going to be playing Bilbo. But when i found out that Benedict Cumberbatch would be voicing Smaug, I was ready to kiss Peter Jackson's feet.

My thoughts exactly Mr. Holmes.

     Anyway, onto the review. I am not quite sure how they are going to take The Hobbit and make it into 3 movies, especially with how they treated the second movie. Now don't get me wrong, I loved the first movie and the newest movie but being a book nerd, I had some issues. In The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, Peter Jackson had a lot to cover. The previous Hobbit movie ended when the Hobbits finally made it though the Misty Mountains. Now, if the movie goes according to the book, the Hobbits have to endure the Mirkwood Forest, meet Beorn, be captured by the elves and deal with the ever so sassy Thranduil, receive help from Bard, travel to the mountain, retrieve the treasure & kill Smaug. You would think, oh yeah Jackson can definitely make that into two more movies!! Wrong. Six of these seven tasks were covered in the newest movie...SIX.

     The Mirkwood Forest is a huge part in the book. It explains the fear and the darkness that the Hobbits feel while they travel through the Forrest without Gandalf who has seemingly just ran away after introducing the Hobbits to Beorn. Beorn's part in the book was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole book. A man who can change into a bear?! Sounds awesome! In the book, Beorn's "talking animals" serve and take care of the Hobbits and when the Hobbits decide it is finally time to continue on their journey, Beorn generously offers to look after them on their journey through the forrest, as a bear of course.  Was that in the movie? NO. In fact I believe if I would have counted, Beorn had one scene and said maybe ten words..MAYBE. I honestly think we only saw him once. Would Tolkien be happy with you Peter Jackson?

Here is your answer.

     After that, the movie slightly followed the book. I understand that movies have to add and take away things to make it appeal to all people not just nerds like you an I. I was iffy about the fact that they took out how sneaky Bilbo was when retrieving the keys after the elves had captured the Hobbits. It would have definitely added to the movie, but i suppose it was okay without it. I was okay DEFINITELY okay with the addition of Legolas. He definitely could have been alive in the book and just never mentioned. Plus, Orlando Bloom I mean..come on now. So thank you Peter Jackson. I also liked the addition of Tauriel, the female kick butt elf. I thought the love interest of Kili and Tauriel was very interesting. It seemed to me as though she never returned the interest, but somewhat entertained it. I guess we will see what happens there in the next movie.

     And well, to wrap the movie DESOLATION of Smaug, one would assume that the death of so called Smaug would be the obvious end of the movie..but no. After the Hobbits reach the mountain, without Kili, Fili, and Bofur because Kili had previously been shot in the leg with an arrow (not in the book), Bilbo proceeds to try and retrieve the Arkenstone from Smaug and also proceeds to make him angry. Way to go "burglar". Although his friends were not much help as Thorin became greedy and impatient and went in after the Arkenstone himself. Anyway, after the Hobbits try to kill Smaug with no avail, he flies away towards the lake town where Bard (their helpful and quite attractive friend) lives to destroy the city. That is how the movie ends. No desolation of dragons. 

So in the end, we end up with:

• No clue who Beorn really is (unless you read the book)
• No realization of just how sneaky and crafty Bilbo is and how big of a part this really plays in the whole book
• No idea of just how bad the Mirkwood Forrest really is
• A very hurt Kili (not in the book)
• And no desolation of Smaug

BUT there were some positive additions including:

• The beautiful Legolas
• The kick-butt girl elf Tauriel (girls rule)
• A very interesting love interest between Kili and Tauriel
• GREAT musical score
• Benedict Cumberbatch's very swooning voice

Overall I would give this movie 3 1/2 stars out of 5. I really did enjoy the movie. The graphics were great, the acting and casting was superb, the music was fantastic, and the effects were nice. If you have not seen it yet, then GO. But if you read the book, I warned you! 

Very First Post

     Well, since this is my very first post, I am going to tell you a little about myself through bullet points.

• I love bullet points
• I have been a self proclaimed "geek" for my entire life
• I really like to write, especially reviews on things such as books and movies
• I love to read
• I am also a self proclaimed anglophile
• Last but not least, I am extremely outgoing and love to talk to anyone and everyone, including new people!

     Now that that is out of the way, i assume you would like to know the contents of this newly formed blog. First off, I started a blog because I love to talk about the things I love. Also, as previously mentioned, I love writing reviews on things..so a blog seemed PERFECT. This blog will mainly focus on the things I find interesting and hopefully you do too. Just to name a few..Sherlock, Doctor Who, Marvel Comics, Supernatural, The Hobbit, LOTR, vinyls, music, Star Trek, Benedict Cumberbatch, Loki, Thor, Tom Hiddleston, and many many more ( those are just my favorites).

     I am hoping to review new episodes/movies/books, share with you new information, discuss topics on common interests, and any other interesting thing that might come to mind that particular day. I am very easy to talk to and am open to any and everyone who wants to talk or has suggestions! My email is in my profile, feel free to email me anytime!

I hope you enjoy my blog, have a marvelous day : )