Tuesday, November 19, 2013

The Tipping Point.

Have you ever found yourself falling victim to a huge trend?... No matter how hard you tried to prevent yourself from conforming? I know I have. Well, the ones I actually like. You see, by the time trends reach me, or us, it really becomes a lot more of about a popularity thing and a lot less about how valuable it is, or how one person's isolated choice sparked something big. It's about who is doing it and why we should too. Or at least that's what I always thought. But Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point" opened my eyes a little. There's always more to the story, and I guess that's really every story.

Gladwell's main argument in "The Tipping Point" is that almost every major trend or phenomenon has three major components, which he calls "three rules of epidemics": the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. And with these three components, I've come up with one word or phrase to represent or describe the function or value of the component based on how I interpreted their impact. 


The first component is Law of the Few. To me, this component is all about influenece. I know you're first question is, "Okay, well who are the few?" The Few are the Connector, the Maven and the Salesman. The Connectors are the people that know people, and tons of them. People in various professional, social, economic and any other realms you can probably think of. The Mavens are push people to make the best decision and The Salesmans are the ones who, obviously, sell through persuasion. If you have a Connector, a Maven and a Salesman, your 1/3 of the way there.

Now the Stickiness Factor is pretty self-explanatory. If you want a trend, it has to stick - it has to be memorable. If people can't remember it, it might as well disppear into a big, black hole forever. Most of the time, this means it is unique, rare and fresh. It is something people are captivated by and want to see more of, like the Kardashians. Okay, so they are a little dysfunctional, inappropiate and crazy... and you might not even like them, but the rest of the world does; yes, literally the world, not just the United States. The Kardashians are as sticky as can be. 

I explain the Power of Context in four words: right place, right time. I hate to make a music reference, but this is indeed a music blog. Big Sean says in his song "Don't Tell Me You Love Me", "What's the perfect girl if it's not the perfect time?" Well, this line definitely applies to trends as well. Just imagine if someone tried to start the fashion trend of crop top in the the conservative early 1900's. It just wouldn't work....and I bet Malcolm Gladwell can back me up on that.

If "The Tipping Point" isn't your style, check out some of Malcom Gladwell's other publications: 
Blink
What the Dog Saw: and Other Adventures

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Self-Reliance.

If I had to choose one piece of writing to read for the rest of my life, it would be Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, Self-Reliance. I was first introduced to the essay in tenth grade. My teacher forced us to read a lot of nonsense that year, most of which I honestly did not understand or at least struggled to. But Self-Reliance was a gem to me, a diamond in the rough. This is one of my many favorite lines from the essay (which is also on the bio page for my website):


"The power which resides in her is new in nature. And none but she knows what that is which she can do, nor does she know until she has tried."

This quote actually aligns quite well with Taylor Swift's from my last post. I'm a firm believer in the fact that I know myself better than anyone else, for better or for worse. My mom has always told me, "If you don't believe in yourself, who will?" The older I've become, the more relevant this question becomes. People are going to doubt you every day of your life. Don't be one of them

Check out some of my classmates' blogs who believe in what they do:
Lisa Greenberg
Brandan McCalla
Nick Swain

Monday, November 11, 2013

Wise Words from Taylor Swift.

In case you don't remember, I love Taylor Swift. Now I know I usually analyze every inch of a song for my posts, but I figured this was close enough. One of the most important pieces of advice my 22-year old, emotional, confused, confident yet insecure self has heard came straight from her mouth. During an interview with Glamour Magazine, she said this:

"If you go too far down the rabbit hole of what people think about you, it can change everything about who you are."

Brilliant, right? And even more than brilliant... it's so true. We all care what people think to some extent, no matter how much anyone claims to not care. I promise you, if you hear enough stuff about you... it will affect you. I think it's healthy to care what people think. It really keeps you in check with your character flaws, but it also highlights the strengths you might not know you even had. It's important for people to see the negative and positive sides of themselves, and sometimes you can only see it through other people. We can be so blind when it comes to our own selves. 

The key to all this is knowing yourself; staying true to yourself and believing in your worth and uniqueness and individuality. If you believe in all these things, you won't feel the need to change no matter what people say. It's all about balance. Don't be ignorant to what people say but definitely don't let it tear you up and change you. That's probably the worst thing to ever lose... yourself. 

Check out some of my classmates who know just who they are:
Jaclyn DeAugustino
Rachel Stern
Shane Chernoff

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Big Girl, Big City.

One of the biggest compliments I've ever received was from the most unlikely of people: my ex-boyfriend. Not unlikely because we hate eachother, or because we ended our relationship a horrible note. It's actually nothing like that. It's unlikely because ex-boyfriends just aren't supposed to do that; be supportive, say nice things and check on how you're doing. At least I didn't think so. But mine did... mine does. I had never heard "Big Girl Big City" until he text me one day, telling me to listen to it because the song reminded him so much of me and that it was my life. My first reaction was "Oh lordy..." I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. "Big Girl Big City" could go north or south. Turns out, it was north...

If I had to pick a biography for my older self, it would be this song.

Bei Maejor- Big Girl Big City


Go girl, get it girl. Show em' whatchu got
I hope you really know that you're worth a whole lot
With the world in your hands, you ain't neva gon' stop
Naw you gon' make it to the top

Go girl, get it girl. Show em' whatchu got
I hope you really know that you're worth a whole lot
With the world in your hands, you ain't neva gon' stop
Naw you gon' make it to the top

Such a big girl livin' in a big city
Remember high school you was just pretty
Now you in college ya lookin' so beautiful
Ya got your nails did, I see your lil cuticles
Ya got five classes working two jobs though
Can only get a little help from ya moms though
It's all good tell momma you don't need it
Cause you a big girl and everybody see it
I know ya pops probably really really proud of ya
He'll do anything just to see a smile on ya
And if them dudes ever try to act foul on ya
You know that he gon' be the one to put it down for ya
Oh, you hear em' say you ain't ready to be alone
You won't survive out here on your own
But you don't care what they sayin'
Graduation time gon' raise your hand

Work for the money gon' get it girl
Show em' what you got chu a big girl
People gon' hate cause they don't know
Don't know how much you want it baby

Go girl, get it girl
Show em' whatchu got
I hope you really know that you're worth a whole lot
With the world in your hands, you ain't neva gon' stop
Naw you gon' make it to the top

Go girl, get it girl
Show em' whatchu got
I hope you really know that you're worth a whole lot
With the world in your hands, you ain't neva gon' stop
Naw you gon' make it to the top

Still such a big girl livin' in a big city
You neva sleep now it seems ya too busy
You got goals so you're steady trynna stack it up
Set your boyfriend to left he was acting up
New job so your down with the roomates
Your best friend two months from her due date
Your gonna be a god mother very soon babe
You let the use the guest room at your new place
You'll learn the hard way not to give your heart away, to a liar
You had too many heartbreaks
There's somebody out there who would die for ya
Don't even know it, but they standin' in line for ya
Oh, keep your head up don't worry
Sunshine's comin' your way
Your whole family in the stands
Gon' celebrate gon' do your dance

Work for the money gon' get it girl
Show em' what you got chu a big girl
People gon' hate cause they don't know
Don't know how much you want it baby

Go girl, get it girl
Show em' whatchu got
I hope you really know that you're worth a whole lot
With the world in your hands, you ain't neva gon' stop
Naw you gon' make it to the top. (repeat 8 times)



It's scary how accurate the detailed facts in this song are in comparison to my life. Right down to "your best friend's two months from her due date. You're gonna be a Godmother very soon babe" At the time when he mentioned the song to me, my best friend was pregnant with her first child. And guess who she asked to be the Godmother? Me.

"Big Girl Big City" is that one little savior that reminds me to try and see myself through other's eyes... especially people who know me best, which my ex-boyfriend is most definitely one of them. I was in shock not totally because it was coming from him... but that somehow he (someone, anyone) believed all these wonderful and positive things about me, my work ethic, my potential and my life.... that I have so much to offer, that I'm worth so much more than I think, that I have the world in my hands and that I was going to make it to the top. I'm not saying I don't believe any of these things about myself, but I definitely have my share of doubts. Big time. But this song tells me that he doesn't. How is it that I have so many... but he is so confident in me? It's so hard to explain how much that means to me. I'm almost positive it was not a big deal for him, but it's something I will never forget. I'm a lucky girl for the people God has placed in my life... I really am.