Professor from Heaven

    
    No teacher has topped my high school English teacher from my 9th-11th grade years, but this Research and Writing professor I have the pleasure of working for has joined her on the pedestal! Her class is proactively building a portfolio for me to carry into a career, and quite honestly, her enthusiasm to teach and also learn for us has driven a new sense of inspiration into me to continue to work hard in all my other classes. #academicweapon

An Excerpt from a Letter to a Friend

    While writing a letter to a friend in Alaska, I realized that this would be a fun excerpt to share with my blog :).

    On my excursion to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, I visited quite the intriguing artists' shop. It was filled to the brim with jewelry (chunky and dainty alike), ceramic pieces, awe-inspiring paintings, glass-blown items, and so much more.

    I found myself staring at a mug with a heron on the front. It was tear drop shaped instead of round... so unique. I also got caught up with the most obnoxiously pretentious artist I've ever met. After he told me people had to physically find him and beg him for a commission because he had never owned a cell phone or an email, he plopped a pack of his Christmas in July cards in my hands and asked me, "Can you get some of these? I worked too hard on them for you not to." Now who was begging whom?

    When he got done bragging about how he was the only artist who knew how to draw these days, he thanked me for my "adult conversation," and I made sure he watched me plop his Christmas cards back onto his table. The humble beauty of the mug whispered my name again, so I happily swept her up and took her home.

PSA

This Blogger is ANTI AI 

Clairo and Her Album -- Sling

    
  

    I have been a pretty consistent fan of Clairo's since 2019, and her music has always spoken and called to me. Recently, though, I have been dealing with feelings I have never dealt with before, and Sling helped me break down those so I could understand myself and nurture my mind through the process.

    What do I mean? I think it is the innate nature of women to desire to settle down eventually, but I never expected that instinct to jump-scare me. It did, and it has been weaving a prickly nest in literally every organ of my body. My heart, my brain, my womb, my tongue. Before I can catch it, the phrase, "I want a husband" slips from my lips. I'm twenty-two, why is this consuming me?

    In an interview between Apple Music and Claire herself, she delves into the exact same desires I just explained to you, and even more. She touches on the topic of the sadness of not getting the chance to know who her mother was before she became "wife" and "mother." She, as a daughter, only knows her as those. That hit me like a freight train, because like she explains, we as women hardly get the time to build up who we are before we settle down, and in some sad cases, that happens all too quickly.

    I think that's why I related heavily to her song "Reaper" before I even considered its meaning. Perhaps my ears were swayed by the melancholy tune and delivery, but paying attention to the lyrics, and learning that Clairo was also twenty-two at the time of Sling's release, I now consider it one of my top enjoyed and replayed pieces of music. It sits heavily, but comfortably in the cavity where my heart strings are.

    I can dive more deeply into Sling, if you'd like, just leave a comment and let me know! I could speak endlessly on Clairo.

Watch the interview below:

(Warning, if you're anything like me, you may shed tears)

Top Three Male Yearners in the Music Industry

 

    

    It is a known fact that most men don't pine after women the same way they used to. Unashamed public yearning only exists within the female race, at least from my experience. However, there used to be a time when the opposite was true, and these traits have traveled to the rare modern man. Three prolific examples of these exist within the music industry, and we are allowed to reap the tenderness of their wanting.

    Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man" appeared in the soundtrack of one of my all-time favorite movies and has seeped its way into every playlist I make. His music is also what inspired me to make this tiny list of three. Now, Cohen is the type of singer that adds a bit of tasteful sleaze to his art -- the kind that inspires you, almost requires you to be kinky, and proudly so. In "I'm Your Man" specifically, the lyrics are proof he is willing to offer himself up as a sacrifice to be whatever his lover desires and requires. He's willing to get on all fours and beg, be a temporary asset, be a loyal partner, or even be a completely different person. It's totally appealing, and blatantly sexy. Where did this breed of man go? I'm convinced they've gone extinct until proven otherwise.

    The second culprit of my inspection is a sensitive one for me: Jeff Buckley. If you are a woman, or a person, for that matter, you have heard "Lover, You Should've Come Over." The most somber of yearning known for several generations, this song has become a poetic masterpiece of love in a heavy dosage of desperation. It could only possibly be rivaled by his other title, "Everybody Here Wants You" and his renditions of "Lilac Wine" and "I Want Someone Badly." It's an aching in his voice that causes me to want to speak to and nurture his soul from earth. Certainly, every man has something to learn about loving from Jeff Buckley, the desirer of desirers.

    I mentioned that these ever-so desirable traits of longing have found their way into few modern men, and believe it or not, I have a name for you. Hozier. "Would That I" swims in the gentle places of my mind, and Hozier's warm, inviting, loving voice calls to my heart so tenderly that I wouldn't possibly be able to resist. If there's room for even one more love song in your queue, "Like Real People Do" is unique in that Hozier doesn't require the past to be dredged up to understand his lover. Presence in a relationship is obvious in his writings, particularly this song. He offers a clean, understanding, and cradling love that teaches, whispers, and soars. It is pure beauty, in truth. I mean, look at him.

    I hope you understand that I am by no means male-centered, although it may come off that way since my first post seems to be only about men. However, it's quite the opposite. I hope to show through this post, that while not common, it is possible for men to truly yearn after women, instead of the opposite being necessary. I hope that there will soon be a resurgence of men that outwardly show affection. It would absolutely make the world a better place.

    Leave your honorable mentions, favorite songs, and thoughts in the comments, I love a good discussion!

-- VanGoob

My Welcome Post

    Welcome to my DigiBlog!

    

    I decided to take my pseudonym instead of my real name because as my true self, I always feel this immense pressure to deliver and impress. As VanGoob, there are no preconceived ideas about my identity that I have to live up to. VanGoob is an expansive, empty room that I get to fill with all the trinkets and post-its from my mind.

    I hope you all enjoy what I have to offer with this blog... I have many post ideas queued up in my journal to debut on the screen!

    I'll update my profile and blog as I go along. I'm totally new to this, but I want it to be a space you can feel excited to come to after a long day. Maybe we can all learn new things together, share common interests, and become cooler versions of ourselves, if that's even possible!

    New posts will show up in the feed, and I will add tags to each one that coincide to which tab they will be copied under, so you can find them there under a continuous feed, also.

    Thank you for stopping by! Stay a while <3