No-Buy Year?

For 2020, I think I'm going to try doing a "no-buy year." I've seen different definitions of what "no-buy" means, so the concept is a little ambiguous. For me, this would mean only spending money on necessities (food, shelter, transportation) and replacement items (for toiletries, clothing, etc.). I'm also going to continue to spend money on gifts and experiences with friends and loved ones, although I'm going to try and show more moderation and opt for simpler, less-expensive options when possible.

The goal of this year is going to be to try and move towards a more minimalistic, less materialistic lifestyle. I think I'm a fairly frugal person, and I try to err on the side of not buying things needlessly. However, I've still accumulated a wide variety of possessions, most of which don't make me any happier. I want more time and energy to focus on what actually makes my life feel meaningful.

I think I also associate buying new things with a rush of pleasure and excitement. I shop pretty infrequently, but when I do I often come back with small impulse purchases that I don't really need. I usually buy several really cheap things in the name of frugality when it would be smarter to just invest in something more expensive that will last much longer. Hopefully, the no-buy year will help me become more thoughtful about choosing my possessions.

Since I'm in grad school and only work part-time, I'm hoping that this will help me get a better handle on my finances. I have very limited funds, and I don't want to drain them with unnecessary extra things. I've tracked my spending for the last couple of years and it's really opened my eyes to how "small" random purchases can really add up over time. Plus, there's a good chance I'll be moving this summer. If I can get rid of unnecessary things and limit my extra purchases, it'll make the moving process a lot easier.

Anyways, we'll see how this goes. I feel excited, if also nervous and uncertain. I'll try and post periodic updates! :)

I forgot about this blog

So, I've been thinking it would be nice to have a more serious place to write THOUGHTS and OPINIONS. For better or worse, writing is the main outlet I have to sort out my thoughts and make sense of the world. I was going to start a new blog today, but then I stumbled across this old project I'd started. So I'll just steal it from my teenage self. 

I plan on using this to write about my interests and my thoughts on culture. Right now, I'm interested in self-improvement, language learning, fiction, television, and minimalism. If I were actually going to try and gain a following as a Blogger I would try and do something more cohesive with this, but I think this really is just going to be for my own benefit. I rarely do longer, self-directed pieces of writing now, and I feel like I've been missing it. So, here we go!!

Talkin bout The Bling Ring

"They were careless people... they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

(taken from the trailer)

So, I wasn't expecting to like this movie going into it- it seemed as if it was just going to be some lazy criticism of Millenials given what I had read about it. After I had watched it, I wasn't completely sure how I felt about it. However, the more I think about it the more I really like and admire what Sofia Coppola accomplished with this movie.

There are a lot of parallels to be drawn between The Great Gatsby and The Bling Ring- both are, of course,  examinations of the privilege and excess of the very wealthy. The Great Gatsby was written about a time period in which it suddenly seemed as if anyone could join the ranks of the wealthy, and The Bling Ring tackles the increasingly accessible nature of fame.

There is a pervasive emptiness to the entire movie. There are plenty of scenes of beautiful young people partying and basking in the spoils of the very wealthy. However, these scenes don't end up being particularly titillating- it's hard for the audience to feel particularly envious of the lives of the protagonists, given that their existences seem absurdly superficial and meaningless. The actions of the "Bling Ring", and their lives in general, are motivated by nothing but the voracious desire for fame and possessions. Any introspection falls on the shoulders of the viewers- the characters are too entrenched in their careless and destructive lives, and there is no Nick Carraway to shake his head in disgust at the end of the movie; the closest the movie comes is maybe the scene in which Mark stands in line with the other prisoners, completely stripped away of anything from his previous life.

You might find this a hard movie to watch, given that it's difficult to feel sympathy for anyone in this movie; the "victims" of the protagonists seem to be guilty of the same reckless consumption we see played out on screen. However, I think that Coppola manages to produce criticism that is understated and vital.

"Male Reproductive Rights?"

So I read this NYTimes article about "Forced Fatherhood" and boy do I have some things to say!!!

Alright here's the thing: a woman's right to choose is inherently very different from the "male reproductive rights" being proposed. "Oh wow that sounds PRETTY SEXIST doesn't it????? I thought u was gender equality but I guess ONLY WOMEN matter 2 u!!!!" you may be saying but shut up and let me explain.

So, a "woman's right to choose" is predicated on the idea that an unborn child doesn't have the same rights as a human being- we consider a fetus or embryo is inherently connected to a woman's body, and thus conclude "her body her choice". Maybe that's a debatable claim, but in all of the arguments regarding of "Forced Fatherhood" I've seen it generally accepted as true, so that's not really the discussion we've having right now.

However, after a child is born it is unambiguously considered to be a human being. As a human being, it now has certain basic rights. Children ought to have the right to a certain standard of living, and parents should have the responsibility to provide that.

Also, I feel like it's worth pointing out that "coercing a man into fatherhood" and "forcing someone to financially support the living being they created" are very different things!

Are there any real health benefits of green tea?

I drink green tea fairly regularly- partly because I genuinely like the taste and partly because it sort of feels like I'm doing something "healthy". Green tea is often casually treated as some kind of panacea- it allegedly burns fat, boosts your metabolism, lowers your risk of cancer, improves your skin, reduces your chances of developing heart disease, etc. However, it is not clear if this information is mostly fact or folklore. 

Conclusions as to whether green tea actually increases energy expenditure and promotes fat oxidation are contradictory. One study found that green tea extract significantly boosted fat oxidation in healthy men when compared to a placebo or just caffeine alone. Others have concluded, however, that this effect is negligible- a report from Dalhousie University analyzing multiple studies has found that the consumption of green tea has no statistically significant 
effect on weight loss. 

However, studies have shown that drinking green tea reduces the chance of developing cancers within humans. Major ingredients within green tea can inhibit urokinase, an enzyme that can promote cancer growth. However, some studies have shown that in order to reap the benefits of green tea, one would have to drink significantly more than just one cup a day. 

SOURCES: (http://golemxiv.dh.meduohio.edu/pdf/Nature.pdf, http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/6/1040.long, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23235664

Does Birth Order Make a Difference?

I am an only child. When I mention that to people for the first time, occasionally someone will mention something about only children being quieter or more independent. I've always wondered if there was actual merit to this, and if birth order actually permanently influenced behavior or personality.

There are distinct stereotypes found when it comes birth order. The oldest child tends to be more authoritative and competent. The youngest tends to be charming and popular, and capable of getting others to do what they want. The middle child tends to feel forgotten and overlooked, while only children feel constantly scrutinized and pressured.

There is one interesting caveat to studying the effect of birth order- a child's "actual birth order" may differ from their "perceived birth order". This can occur due to illness within the family, the size of the family, or significant age differences between siblings. Studies have found that your perceived place within the family actually does influence the beliefs of individuals. Furthermore, a study performed by a Ghent University psychologist found that, on average, siblings close in age (roughly 2.5 years apart) set goals differently. First-born children were significantly more likely to choose goals that that were "self-referenced" (more likely to be chosen for themselves) while second-born children were more likely to choose goals that were "other-referenced".

While there does seem to be some veracity to the assumptions we make about birth order, differences in first born children, second born children, etc. could emerge simply because parents subtly project these roles onto their children. By being treated as the authority figure by their parents, acknowledging the popular stereotype, the first born may assume this role. It's funny to think that maybe our "pop psychology" assumptions may influence behavior, instead of the other way around.

(SOURCE: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201305/elusive-birth-order-effect-and-what-it-means-you)

INTRO?

Hello, I am Edem Bronett. 

I thought is would be nice to have a blog that's slightly more academic than the ones I use to whine about my teenage life. You should expect a lot of rambunctious blathering about feminism and psychology, I guess!