As a Swiftie since her debut days, I have been with Taylor for many of her releases. And there is always a consistent cycle of overwhelming hate that comes out before the fans swoop in with the opinion that her music was good and the change was necessary. From 1989, causing listeners to hate that she was no longer country, to reputation making her inappropriate for kids, to folklore being too lyrically difficult, and to midnights having too much synth, there is always a complaint that listeners consistently make. As if Taylor cannot perpetually win. Too many fans want something fun and upbeat, and when that gets released, it leads to fans not liking the change of genres that she is experimenting with. However, we must look at her discography and notice that the consistent change in sound and experimentation with lyrics has led to her astounding success in her career. Making her the largest musical artist there currently is. 

This weekend I have been focused on packing and moving my things from my childhood room into my first non-college campus apartment. This is a big change that I have been excited for for so long, but I would be lying if I said it was all fun and easy. For my readers who don't know, I am getting married in the next few months, which has meant a LOT of big life changes. All super exciting. But I as I look around at my slightly over half-packed room, I can not help but feel that sentimental nostalgia of leaving a place with finality. Obviously, this house will still be here and this room will still exist, but my items, decorations, and memories will be boxed up and moved to the next place, or the next person who picks up my donations from Goodwill.

This year I am a first year teacher! The school year has already begun so I wanted to share some creativity I have used in the classroom. There are many different creative ways to impact the classroom. From class set up, organizing/ creating lessons and making presentations for the class. As a new teacher I am doing a lot of trial and error processes, but here are some ways that I have been creative in the classroom.

I will say it time and time again. I love having things. I love physical media, trinkets, and collections. However, I have lately felt as though the desire for overconsumption in today's world leads to the harmful mindset of always wanting more, and never being satisfied. This is not a good way to live. It leads to not knowing how to problem solve, not feeling comforted, and to environmental harm. The things you deem as trash when they are no longer new, go somewhere, and sadly a majority of the time it is to a landfill. 

Slightly different blog post today, but it was on my heart to share. 

After graduating from college I had a strange realization. I don't have hobbies. I would tell people I enjoyed reading when asked what I did for fun, but the amount of books I read in my college career was minimal. I didn't have time for crafts, reading, writing, or learning anything new. So when I graduated and came across this new sense of free time, I did not know how to utilize it. This allowed me to step into the world of collecting cozy hobbies to cycle through, plus make them sustainable and improve my day-to-day. I'll be sure to give you examples on some activities I have grown to LOVE, and what I do to help myself aim towards NOT overconsuming supplies.

While Valentines day is tomorrow (my bad for getting this out late) there are many exciting activities you and your significant other can do year-round! While there are definitely some basic things of this list there are definitely some ways to shake up these ideas for your creative needs to be filled - and also not breaking the bank!

An aspect of my life that I have consistently kept to be one of the most important things is my feminist beliefs. Since around the age of 11 or 12 I was deeply invested in what being a feminist looked like, and how to have an impact on women. This has led me to experience numerous debates in which others argue the importance of women's' rights to me, a woman, and why feminism is necessary, as if they are not arguing with me that my basic human rights are unessential. From growing up being a feminist, and also being a Christian, there are many people that I have also experienced argue with me over if my belief in God is valid, because I believe in women and their rights to autonomy. While I plan to deep dive more into this later, I will say that I have and always will continue to advocate for women and what they need because it is extremely necessary, especially now, to make a stance on women's issues and allow our voices to be heard. Feminism is not something that we just needed 100 years ago, it is something that we will constantly need, now and forever. 

{DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor nor can I provide you medical advice. These are things that help me personally, if you have medical concerns please see a medical professional}

Welcome to the first post on this blog! I have been wanting to make a blog for a while now, and I am so excited to get it started. I want this blog to be a place where I can post about creativity, feminism, and empowerment. Welcome to the MakennaTalks blog! I

As someone who works full time it is very common for me to try and utilize the two days I have off for rest, relaxation, and resetting myself. During the weekend a lot of plans can be made, events happen, and my schedule gets thrown off it's rhythm. However, there is one thing I know is necessary every single weekend, and that is the Sunday reset. This is a common term that people use, but I never realized how truly important taking a reset day is.