Dear Friend,
Believe it or not, but we've been in college for exactly a month. So much has happened since our last post and to be honest, we're still trying to soak everything in. Nevertheless, Saint Mary's feels like home. We are able to get around campus without getting lost and we've established a weekly routine. Over the past few days we've had some time to reflect over our first month as college freshman and we keep coming back to one central question: Are we doing college wrong? To us, college has always been depicted as an opportunity to start over. We've been told many times that "people change in college." But this isn't the case for the two of us. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, this phase in our lives will help shape who we are, but we aren't purposely reinventing ourselves. We're the same old Kylie and Catherine. We're enjoying the challenge of branching out and meeting new people, and just generally being exposed to the California culture, but we haven't drastically changed. We're not saying that we won't be open to change ever, but for now, we're pretty happy with who we are and we're not going to conform to the stereotypes that are often associated with the "typical college student." This is just a small glimpse into our thoughts on "doing college" and we're positive much more reflecting will be done as the year goes on. We can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings, but for now, here are some updates on our first month in college:
September 2013 at SMC
1. We've befriended many new people who live on the third floor of our residence hall, often referring to ourselves as a "sorority."
2. We've gotten to know our professors and we're getting comfortable with our classes. This semester, Kylie is taking Psychology, Communications, English, and Math, and Catherine is taking Math, Intro to Microeconomics, Chemistry Lecture, Chemistry Lab, and World History.
3. We've managed to use the BART to get in and out of Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and San Francisco without getting lost/dying.
4. We've found the nearest Safeway and Trader Joe's.
5. We had our first Starbucks in San Francisco, which was unfortunately quite disappointing.
6. We've learned to cook a full meal (pasta and garlic bread) in the dorm room.
7. Kylie joined the women's rowing team and Catherine joined the club tennis team.
8. We have a deeper appreciation for Chef Ron and the food services at Forest Ridge- college food is just not up to par.
9. Kylie attended her first concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
10. Along with a few other girls, we have our own radio show on the college radio station- we'll be sure to let you know when it's up and running so you can tune in!
We don't consider ourselves to be homesick, but there have been times over the past few weeks where we've found ourselves missing the Seattle area and reminiscing over our HS memories. So to all our family and friends in Seattle, we can't wait to see you soon, and to our lovely class of 2013 girlies, we truly miss you all and hope that all your upcoming adventures make you incredibly happy. Along with other sporadic posts in between, we'll continue to post monthly updates throughout our year at SMC, so if you're crazy enough to read what we have to say, don't forget to check out the blog every once in awhile!
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Moving In
Dear Friend,
We made it. We're college students. This post is coming directly from Moraga, CA, home of Saint Mary's, our AMAZING college. Catherine arrived yesterday to move in and go through orientation, and Kylie arrived today (as she already did orientation back in June).
Moving in felt overwhelming at times, but everything went smoothly because the SMC community was super organized and welcoming. When we first drove on to campus, we received our keys and a packet full of important documents. Then, we were greeted by Brother Dominic, who is the most adorable, funny, and chatty Brother you'll ever meet. In fact, he told us, "If you lift a finger, we're going to have to arrest you." When that's one of the first statements you hear upon arriving to campus, you know you're in good hands. After that, we were told to find the "yellow balloons," which indicated our residence hall (oh, did we mention we got placed in the same dorm building?...yea, that happened). Once we found the yellow balloons, we were greeted by a huge group of screaming kids welcoming us. They carried everything up to our dorm room- sticking true to Brother Dom's word.
Many hours later, we finally settled in to our new homes. Our residence hall is set up suite style, which means 3-6 kids share one bathroom, rather than a few bathrooms per floor (score!). Catherine is in a double on the second floor and Kylie's in a single on the third. We each have a closet, dresser, desk, and bed, among many other things we brought ourselves. In fact, Catherine and her roommate have a little snack bar/kitchen area- fully equipped with a coffee machine, fridge, hot water heater, and more! Kylie also brought her fancy hot water heater especially for tea. We are golden!
This adventure is already off to a great start and we couldn't be happier. From now on, we'll be posting a lot about our college experience at SMC, so keep checking in!
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” –C.S. Lewis
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
We made it. We're college students. This post is coming directly from Moraga, CA, home of Saint Mary's, our AMAZING college. Catherine arrived yesterday to move in and go through orientation, and Kylie arrived today (as she already did orientation back in June).
Moving in felt overwhelming at times, but everything went smoothly because the SMC community was super organized and welcoming. When we first drove on to campus, we received our keys and a packet full of important documents. Then, we were greeted by Brother Dominic, who is the most adorable, funny, and chatty Brother you'll ever meet. In fact, he told us, "If you lift a finger, we're going to have to arrest you." When that's one of the first statements you hear upon arriving to campus, you know you're in good hands. After that, we were told to find the "yellow balloons," which indicated our residence hall (oh, did we mention we got placed in the same dorm building?...yea, that happened). Once we found the yellow balloons, we were greeted by a huge group of screaming kids welcoming us. They carried everything up to our dorm room- sticking true to Brother Dom's word.
Many hours later, we finally settled in to our new homes. Our residence hall is set up suite style, which means 3-6 kids share one bathroom, rather than a few bathrooms per floor (score!). Catherine is in a double on the second floor and Kylie's in a single on the third. We each have a closet, dresser, desk, and bed, among many other things we brought ourselves. In fact, Catherine and her roommate have a little snack bar/kitchen area- fully equipped with a coffee machine, fridge, hot water heater, and more! Kylie also brought her fancy hot water heater especially for tea. We are golden!
This adventure is already off to a great start and we couldn't be happier. From now on, we'll be posting a lot about our college experience at SMC, so keep checking in!
“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” –C.S. Lewis
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Blog Recommendation: The Daily Zen
Dear Friend,
Lately, we have followed a new twitter account: Daily Zen. The Daily Zen is a blog that was started, written, and is maintained by a college student living in New York City. It is a collection of quotes and articles that cove a variety of topics, including happiness, book recommendations, advice on managing stress, relationships, and life's curve balls, exercise, and much more. Each blog post is concise, simple, and full of knowledge. Below are three of our favorite posts.
-10 Top 10 Lists to Write
-Zen and The Dream Life
-Don't Take Life Too Seriously
"Zen takes the attitude of, 'Life is inherently absurd and meaningless and I can basically do whatever I want,' and gives it meaning." The Daily Zen
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Lately, we have followed a new twitter account: Daily Zen. The Daily Zen is a blog that was started, written, and is maintained by a college student living in New York City. It is a collection of quotes and articles that cove a variety of topics, including happiness, book recommendations, advice on managing stress, relationships, and life's curve balls, exercise, and much more. Each blog post is concise, simple, and full of knowledge. Below are three of our favorite posts.
-10 Top 10 Lists to Write
-Zen and The Dream Life
-Don't Take Life Too Seriously
"Zen takes the attitude of, 'Life is inherently absurd and meaningless and I can basically do whatever I want,' and gives it meaning." The Daily Zen
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
How Small are We?
Dear Friend,
Most everyone has had the experience of being outside at night and looking up to the stars and thinking "Compared to everything out there, I am so, so small." Perhaps this experience made you feel insignificant. Maybe when you learn that the Earth can fit into the sun about 1.3 million times, and the Sun can fit into a larger star Antares about 152 million times, and Antares is smaller than a quarter of a pixel when compared to VV Cephei (the largest star known) on the computer, you start to feel really small. Maybe you start to think that all your problems are so insignificant because you just saw the photo NASA released of "The Pale Blue Dot", or you realized that you're one of 107,602,707,791 people who have ever been born on planet Earth, you might begin to get settled into the mindset that your tiny, insignificant life and tiny problems and worries don't actually make any difference in the big scheme of things.
But this is just one way to think.
The way we think about the size of us compared to the size of the universe isn't actually comparative at all. Instead of feeling small and unimportant, try to settle into the mindset that you, dear friend, are part of the biggest and most amazing thing ever created. Van Gogh once said "I don't know anything with certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream." Instead of feeling like you're helplessly clinging to a ball of rock and soil hurtling through space with no method or reason, try to remember that you are here for a reason. You are the universe, and the universe is you. Another amazing tid-bit is that the entirety of space can fit inside the human eye and in relation head.
Person A: Can you fit the entire universe inside an egg?
Person B: Do you see that tree? And the moon? And all those stars and sky?
Person A: Yes...?
Person B: Then what makes you doubt for even a second that that universe cannot fit inside an egg if you can fit it all inside your little eyeball?
Sure, the literal universe and all it's bits and pieces cannot fit inside of the human eye, but the fact that our tiny heads can even begin to comprehend just how huge the universe is, is pretty amazing.
Many people who are in the first mindset, or the "Why do I matter?" mindset, actually create a paradox. Simply by thinking that you're so small and insignificant is actually pretty selfish. YOU are an amazing individual and everything you say or do matters, just as the person sitting next you matters, or that stranger with the nice smile matters. You are an individual, but you're also part of something much, much bigger than yourself. The universe. And if you think that you can just remove yourself from that and compare your life to the biggest thing in existence, you're a little nutty.
"Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all." -Van Gogh
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Blessings of Summer
Dear Friend,
Each season has its own myriad of blessings. Fall brings scarves and caramel apple spice drinks, winter brings boots and snowflakes, and with spring comes flowers and the anticipation for summer. Seeing as we are in the middle of our own summer bliss, we just wanted to share in depth what we thought makes summer such an enjoyable season.
Sunshine
"And it sure feels fine, when the sunshine shines..." This line is from one of our favorite songs, "And the Birds Sing" by Tyrone Wells. If you haven't heard this song, we highly recommend that you go listen to it. Not only does this it lift up your spirits, but it also speaks of one of summer's most valued blessings: the sun. When the sun is out, everyone seems to be in a happier mood. In a way, the sun is sort of magical- as it brightens up the world, people tend to shine with happiness and radiate warmth.
Longer days
As we said before, the sun is quite magical. Because of the sun rising earlier and setting later, our days are longer during the summer. This means more activities while the sun is still out, and more activities means more fun! Also, for those in school, the days start to blend with each other. When you start asking yourself, "What day is it?," then summer has definitely got to you!
The Beach
The beach is a popular destination during the summer. It's the perfect spot for meeting up with friends, working on your tan, and cooling off in the water. If you live near a beach, we suggest you make the most of it and hang out there as much as possible!
Picnics
During the summer, you can easily organize a picnic. Just gather your family or call up some friends, pack a couple sandwiches, fruit, and cool drinks, and drive to the nearest park or lake- and voila! You've arranged a nice summer picnic.
Ice Cream and Shaved Ice
These are the best treats to have during the summer. Completely full of sugar and pure happiness, ice cream and shaved ice seem to be extra tasty on those summer days and cool you down instantly.
Rolled down windows
Summer is not summer unless you've rolled down your windows and blast country songs while driving. Having the windows down is guaranteed to make driving much more tolerable when it's hot out and gives you the chance to sing your little heart out to your favorite songs. To put it simply, rolled down windows equals carefree spirit.
Vacation time
Last, but not least, we love summer because it gives us the opportunity to go on vacation. Whether it's a small road trip to the cabin or visiting Disneyland, time off your daily schedule is much needed. Vacations give you the chance to relax and reboot yourself.
What do you enjoy about summer? Keep in mind these are just a couple of our favorite things, summer is too awesome to be limited to these seven blessings!
"Happy as the sun, lighter than a feather..." - Tyrone Wells, "Happy As the Sun"
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Each season has its own myriad of blessings. Fall brings scarves and caramel apple spice drinks, winter brings boots and snowflakes, and with spring comes flowers and the anticipation for summer. Seeing as we are in the middle of our own summer bliss, we just wanted to share in depth what we thought makes summer such an enjoyable season.
Sunshine
"And it sure feels fine, when the sunshine shines..." This line is from one of our favorite songs, "And the Birds Sing" by Tyrone Wells. If you haven't heard this song, we highly recommend that you go listen to it. Not only does this it lift up your spirits, but it also speaks of one of summer's most valued blessings: the sun. When the sun is out, everyone seems to be in a happier mood. In a way, the sun is sort of magical- as it brightens up the world, people tend to shine with happiness and radiate warmth.
Longer days
As we said before, the sun is quite magical. Because of the sun rising earlier and setting later, our days are longer during the summer. This means more activities while the sun is still out, and more activities means more fun! Also, for those in school, the days start to blend with each other. When you start asking yourself, "What day is it?," then summer has definitely got to you!
The Beach
The beach is a popular destination during the summer. It's the perfect spot for meeting up with friends, working on your tan, and cooling off in the water. If you live near a beach, we suggest you make the most of it and hang out there as much as possible!
Picnics
During the summer, you can easily organize a picnic. Just gather your family or call up some friends, pack a couple sandwiches, fruit, and cool drinks, and drive to the nearest park or lake- and voila! You've arranged a nice summer picnic.
Ice Cream and Shaved Ice
These are the best treats to have during the summer. Completely full of sugar and pure happiness, ice cream and shaved ice seem to be extra tasty on those summer days and cool you down instantly.
Rolled down windows
Summer is not summer unless you've rolled down your windows and blast country songs while driving. Having the windows down is guaranteed to make driving much more tolerable when it's hot out and gives you the chance to sing your little heart out to your favorite songs. To put it simply, rolled down windows equals carefree spirit.
Vacation time
Last, but not least, we love summer because it gives us the opportunity to go on vacation. Whether it's a small road trip to the cabin or visiting Disneyland, time off your daily schedule is much needed. Vacations give you the chance to relax and reboot yourself.
What do you enjoy about summer? Keep in mind these are just a couple of our favorite things, summer is too awesome to be limited to these seven blessings!
"Happy as the sun, lighter than a feather..." - Tyrone Wells, "Happy As the Sun"
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Important Updates
Dear Friend,
Once again, we apologize for not writing for a while. We just wanted you to know that yes, we're still here. in fact, we have some really exciting news regarding this blog to share with you!
1. TRAVEL BLOG
We are happy to announce that we have created a sub-blog of sorts. The two of us have done a fair amount of traveling, and we with have caught the wanderlust. dearadventurer.blogspot.com is our very new travel blog (so new, in fact, that it still has the original template and theme, and no posts.) We'll let you know when we post there, but for now just keep in mind that that's our little side project.
2. MUSICAL ARTIST INTERVIEWS
As you probably know by now, we are absolute connoisseurs of new music. We love surfing around on iTunes, youtube, 8tracks, pandora...pretty much any music site that will introduce us to new, amazing music. Anyways, some of our new favorites include Peter Hollens, Nora Jane Struthers, and Pegasus Bridge (which we also learned broke up in 2011). So where are we going with this? We are SO thrilled to tell you that we have interviews lined up with Peter, Nora, and Tommy (the drummer from Pegasus Bridge who recently debuted his EP 'Riots' on iTunes). These three are some of the nicest, most talented people we have been lucky enough to contact and we can't wait to introduce you all. Over the next few weeks we will be posting music reviews of these three artists, along with bits from the conversations we're having with each of them. We are literally so excited.
3. TOP SECRET
We have another super top secret project that we can't tell you about yet, but keep checking back with us, because we'll post it within the next month! Pinky promise.
Thank you for sticking with us through our hiatus. It's nearly over! Also, Catherine is getting her wisdom teeth out on FRIDAY so send her good vibes and energy.
Patience is a virtue.
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Once again, we apologize for not writing for a while. We just wanted you to know that yes, we're still here. in fact, we have some really exciting news regarding this blog to share with you!
1. TRAVEL BLOG
We are happy to announce that we have created a sub-blog of sorts. The two of us have done a fair amount of traveling, and we with have caught the wanderlust. dearadventurer.blogspot.com is our very new travel blog (so new, in fact, that it still has the original template and theme, and no posts.) We'll let you know when we post there, but for now just keep in mind that that's our little side project.
2. MUSICAL ARTIST INTERVIEWS
As you probably know by now, we are absolute connoisseurs of new music. We love surfing around on iTunes, youtube, 8tracks, pandora...pretty much any music site that will introduce us to new, amazing music. Anyways, some of our new favorites include Peter Hollens, Nora Jane Struthers, and Pegasus Bridge (which we also learned broke up in 2011). So where are we going with this? We are SO thrilled to tell you that we have interviews lined up with Peter, Nora, and Tommy (the drummer from Pegasus Bridge who recently debuted his EP 'Riots' on iTunes). These three are some of the nicest, most talented people we have been lucky enough to contact and we can't wait to introduce you all. Over the next few weeks we will be posting music reviews of these three artists, along with bits from the conversations we're having with each of them. We are literally so excited.
3. TOP SECRET
We have another super top secret project that we can't tell you about yet, but keep checking back with us, because we'll post it within the next month! Pinky promise.
Thank you for sticking with us through our hiatus. It's nearly over! Also, Catherine is getting her wisdom teeth out on FRIDAY so send her good vibes and energy.
Patience is a virtue.
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Wendy Davis
Dear Friend,
If you were awake last night around 11-2am PST, you might have been in on the chaos that involved the Texas senate, a woman named Wendy Davis, a livestream, over 370,000 people, and a pair of pink Mizuno sneakers.
What Happened:
Normally, the two of us aren't ones to get excited over parliamentary processes, but yesterday was pretty big. (Please don't just skip over this post because you think it'll be boring.) Tuesday, June 25th, the Texas senate was set to vote on "sb5". If voted yes, 69 of the 74 abortion clinics in Texas would close, and a woman would not be allowed to legally get an abortion after the first 20 weeks since fertilization (which Wendy points out is ludicrous since there really is no way of knowing the exact day of fertilization).
To have her voice heard, senate woman Wendy Davis attempted a 13 hours filibuster. If you don't know what a filibuster is, essentially a member of the senate can talk for 13 hours straight (previously 24) about the topic (in this case, abortion in Texas). She was allowed no breaks including but not limited to: drinking, eating, bathroom beaks, sitting, or leaning against the podium. If this isn't inhumane, we don't know what is. Anyways, after 11 hours, someone else in the senate claimed that she broke the rules, because she went off topic to talk about a previous bill (use your own discretion to decide if that is truly off topic or not). The senate follows the three strikes and you're out rule. Her second strike had been receiving the aid of a back brace. Again...really?
Not to mention that during the 11 hours, 19 male senators were trying to get her off topic, yelling, and trying to rip her apart. Rose Parks wouldn't stand up, Wendy Davis wouldn't sit down. Earlier, Davis had reached out to girls and women in Texas via social media to send her stories of how abortions had really saved their lives. Many of the 11 hours were spent hearing these stories from strong females like herself.
So, at the 11 hour mark, she was cut short. This is when chaos really broke out. By this point, a livestream of the inside of the Texas Senate was posted with over 200,000 viewers (including one of us). Over 170,000 Texas citizens had come to the capital and were essentially rioting against the passing of sb5. Twitter and tumblr were exploding, and everyone watching was so rilled up. The energy was contagious. But through this all, major news sites such as CNN, NBC, and Fox had yet to post anything regarding the events.
In fact, CNN was tweeting about muffins.
So with only a while left to go, some senator started making a big deal about her back brace, and the filibuster was halted. At this point, things started to get really bad, and basically all the men were just yelling at each other (don't forget that 200,000 people are watching all of this online). Someone started to make a commotion about how she had gone off topic earlier as well to talk about another bill. Let's not forget that filibusters in the past have featured men literally reading phonebooks.
Now, the crowd started to chant "Let her speak! Let her speak!" and everyone was pretty much in revolution mode. Senator Wallace talked for a good half hour about how Davis' points were completely valid and on topic (go Wallace!). Then, with 15 minutes to go, the men were yelling at each other again and it was getting bad. Not to mention the crowd's chanting, cheering, yelling, and singing. At this point, a woman named Senator Van de Putte got real mad and tried to call a motion to adjourn the meeting, which, by their rules, should be heard above everything else, but because of the patriarchal society we live in, was overlooked. Finally, after having to literally raise her hand, she said "At what point must a female senator raise her hand and her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues in the room?
At this point, everyone watcing did a collective "OH, SNAP!" This was the tipping point. The crowd was so passionate and rilled up that they cheered and made so much noise for 15 minutes straight that they couldn't take the vote. Watch the 30 second video HERE.
At 12:02 on Wednesday, a vote was taken.
But here's the thing. It was taken on Wednesday. If you were paying attention earlier, a vote taken on any date other than TUESDAY was illegitimate. So does it end there?
No. Because some moron decided to change the timestamp on the law, effectively throwing those 370,000 people into even more of a tailspin.
And CNN was still tweeting about muffins.
Let's also not forget that 170,000 people are filling the capital to shout for their rights, while 19 senators are literally voting for the exact opposite...democracy, anyone? Also, 200,000 people had watched the whole thing happen online, and you BET that video was timestamped.
Note: if you're going to go against your own law and commit a federal crime, don't do it infront of 370,000 passionate people fighting for what they believe in, and try to convince them that you can literally warp the time dimension and don't prentend like a camera of a livestream that you voluntarily set up isn't timestamped.
So the republicans had now voted, and both sides were claiming victory; democrats claiming (correctly) that the vote was unlawful since it had taken place after midnight, and their votes had not been counted. Around 3am in Texas, the bill was finally pronounced dead.
This isn't a blog post about abortion. This isn't a blog post about feminism. This is a blog post about basic human rights, and the people. When you start to lose faith in humanity, because people do stupid things like illegally changing a timestamp on a vote to make it swing their way, try to focus your energy on the good people. Focus on the ones who show up in pink mizuno's, because they know they will have to stand for 13 hours straight to be heard. Focus on the ones that wait to have their hand called on like they're in kindergarten, only to throw a curveball back at the men in the room, after coming from your father's funeral. Focus on the 170,000 people who showed up to stand with Wendy. Focus on the thousands of people across social media joining together in solidarity. Focus on the people.
"It's 2am but I have so much energy I could freaking dismantle a horse who wants to go to ihop with me and talk about Wendy and feminism and stage a freaking revolution this isn't just for women this is for the PEOPLE" -Tumblr
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
If you were awake last night around 11-2am PST, you might have been in on the chaos that involved the Texas senate, a woman named Wendy Davis, a livestream, over 370,000 people, and a pair of pink Mizuno sneakers.
What Happened:
Normally, the two of us aren't ones to get excited over parliamentary processes, but yesterday was pretty big. (Please don't just skip over this post because you think it'll be boring.) Tuesday, June 25th, the Texas senate was set to vote on "sb5". If voted yes, 69 of the 74 abortion clinics in Texas would close, and a woman would not be allowed to legally get an abortion after the first 20 weeks since fertilization (which Wendy points out is ludicrous since there really is no way of knowing the exact day of fertilization).
To have her voice heard, senate woman Wendy Davis attempted a 13 hours filibuster. If you don't know what a filibuster is, essentially a member of the senate can talk for 13 hours straight (previously 24) about the topic (in this case, abortion in Texas). She was allowed no breaks including but not limited to: drinking, eating, bathroom beaks, sitting, or leaning against the podium. If this isn't inhumane, we don't know what is. Anyways, after 11 hours, someone else in the senate claimed that she broke the rules, because she went off topic to talk about a previous bill (use your own discretion to decide if that is truly off topic or not). The senate follows the three strikes and you're out rule. Her second strike had been receiving the aid of a back brace. Again...really?
Not to mention that during the 11 hours, 19 male senators were trying to get her off topic, yelling, and trying to rip her apart. Rose Parks wouldn't stand up, Wendy Davis wouldn't sit down. Earlier, Davis had reached out to girls and women in Texas via social media to send her stories of how abortions had really saved their lives. Many of the 11 hours were spent hearing these stories from strong females like herself.
So, at the 11 hour mark, she was cut short. This is when chaos really broke out. By this point, a livestream of the inside of the Texas Senate was posted with over 200,000 viewers (including one of us). Over 170,000 Texas citizens had come to the capital and were essentially rioting against the passing of sb5. Twitter and tumblr were exploding, and everyone watching was so rilled up. The energy was contagious. But through this all, major news sites such as CNN, NBC, and Fox had yet to post anything regarding the events.
In fact, CNN was tweeting about muffins.
So with only a while left to go, some senator started making a big deal about her back brace, and the filibuster was halted. At this point, things started to get really bad, and basically all the men were just yelling at each other (don't forget that 200,000 people are watching all of this online). Someone started to make a commotion about how she had gone off topic earlier as well to talk about another bill. Let's not forget that filibusters in the past have featured men literally reading phonebooks.
Now, the crowd started to chant "Let her speak! Let her speak!" and everyone was pretty much in revolution mode. Senator Wallace talked for a good half hour about how Davis' points were completely valid and on topic (go Wallace!). Then, with 15 minutes to go, the men were yelling at each other again and it was getting bad. Not to mention the crowd's chanting, cheering, yelling, and singing. At this point, a woman named Senator Van de Putte got real mad and tried to call a motion to adjourn the meeting, which, by their rules, should be heard above everything else, but because of the patriarchal society we live in, was overlooked. Finally, after having to literally raise her hand, she said "At what point must a female senator raise her hand and her voice to be recognized over her male colleagues in the room?
At this point, everyone watcing did a collective "OH, SNAP!" This was the tipping point. The crowd was so passionate and rilled up that they cheered and made so much noise for 15 minutes straight that they couldn't take the vote. Watch the 30 second video HERE.
At 12:02 on Wednesday, a vote was taken.
But here's the thing. It was taken on Wednesday. If you were paying attention earlier, a vote taken on any date other than TUESDAY was illegitimate. So does it end there?
No. Because some moron decided to change the timestamp on the law, effectively throwing those 370,000 people into even more of a tailspin.
And CNN was still tweeting about muffins.
Let's also not forget that 170,000 people are filling the capital to shout for their rights, while 19 senators are literally voting for the exact opposite...democracy, anyone? Also, 200,000 people had watched the whole thing happen online, and you BET that video was timestamped.
Note: if you're going to go against your own law and commit a federal crime, don't do it infront of 370,000 passionate people fighting for what they believe in, and try to convince them that you can literally warp the time dimension and don't prentend like a camera of a livestream that you voluntarily set up isn't timestamped.
So the republicans had now voted, and both sides were claiming victory; democrats claiming (correctly) that the vote was unlawful since it had taken place after midnight, and their votes had not been counted. Around 3am in Texas, the bill was finally pronounced dead.
This isn't a blog post about abortion. This isn't a blog post about feminism. This is a blog post about basic human rights, and the people. When you start to lose faith in humanity, because people do stupid things like illegally changing a timestamp on a vote to make it swing their way, try to focus your energy on the good people. Focus on the ones who show up in pink mizuno's, because they know they will have to stand for 13 hours straight to be heard. Focus on the ones that wait to have their hand called on like they're in kindergarten, only to throw a curveball back at the men in the room, after coming from your father's funeral. Focus on the 170,000 people who showed up to stand with Wendy. Focus on the thousands of people across social media joining together in solidarity. Focus on the people.
"It's 2am but I have so much energy I could freaking dismantle a horse who wants to go to ihop with me and talk about Wendy and feminism and stage a freaking revolution this isn't just for women this is for the PEOPLE" -Tumblr
Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine
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