Shake It Off

This morning I woke up with a familiar beat resonating in my head, and I have no idea where it came from. Then I realized: "Oh crap, it's a Taylor Swift song. How did that get in there??" Her song "Shake It Off" from how long ago? A few months now? I know the first few seconds of the song to recognize when it's time to change the radio station, and have never fully listened to it.

UNTIL THIS ONE FATEFUL MOMENT.

I have been stuck in an artist block/depressive slump for most of the day (cloudy skies aren't helping, either), and nothing I've been scoping on YouTube music-wise has helped get me out of this rut. The beat of "Shake It Off" began to steadily come to the forefront of my brain, and soon enough I'm typing, in disbelief, "Taylor Swift" in the search bar. Personally, I never really liked her music. I just figured her as a music star wannabe, a girl who met great fortune by meeting the right people and making the right connections to achieve fame. Her live performances on television never really struck me as spectacular, either, so I made a point of keeping her off my music radar.

Yet now that I'm listening to this song, she's made something clear: she doesn't give a flying f what other people think of her. I think that it's brave of her to actually come forward with a song dissing all the naysayers and negative media she's come across in her career. Now I have some respect for her, quite frankly because she's expressing what other people should instill in themselves. Everyone is entitled to dance to their own happy beat in order to drown out all the negative influences.

Sure, the music itself is a dramatic change from this supposed country-pop star, with the funky beat and obligatory brass section. Whether its on purpose or a change of aesthetic tastes on her behalf or production team, it certainly garnered enough attention to this song. Right now I'm listening to it and despite being in disbelief that I actually like this song, I'm feeling much better than before.

My personal problems have grounded me into a metaphorical gutter the past few months, and although I've managed to make some big steps in a positive direction, I still can't help but feel like I'm still being judged for my past decisions. Hearing this song reinforces the mantra that me, and everyone else, should refer to when they're being faced with judgment: shake it off.

And for all the people who dislike Taylor Swift for her personal life, her supposed romantic instability, her conforming music, and pop star status: she's currently shaking off your hurtful comments and (let's face it) living a happier life than all you Negative Nancy's.

Taking "Black Swan" to the next level.

What Good a Bunch of A-holes Can Do

After over a month since it's release date, I finally saw "Guardians of the Galaxy". It sacrificed some sleeping in, but it was well worth the matinee price and being out of a total of ten people in the theater. There were two young kids who were among the audience, and I wonder what the parents thought when a few adult words were thrown around here and there. That's besides the point...

What really struck me was how relevant this movie could be made towards the kind of society we live in. I'm not talking about being a bad-ass and saving the world, but our obligation as living beings of this earth, of this universe even, to do what is right for the benefit of all in the face of disaster.

*FILM SPOILERS AHEAD*

When we meet the protagonists of the film - Peter Quill (a.k.a. Star Lord), Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket, and Groot -, they all collide into each other on account of a resulting bounty for a mysterious orb. The content of the orb, an Infinity Stone, has a fraction of what will create the ultimate power in the universe. They end up being detained by the Nova Corps and, after making multiple promises of fortune and reward, escape into space, where the real problem is revealed: the Infinity Stone is being sought out by the most feared being in the galaxy, Thanos. His goal, with the aid of the Infinity Stones, is to destroy the galaxy and redesign it to his own liking, a true power-hungry maniac, for a lack of a better term.

What sets the Guardians of the Galaxy apart from other heroes is that at first the majority of the team was unwilling to go out of their way to do something universally beneficial, and were stuck up with their own selfish ambitions. Gamora is depicted as the humanitarian of the group, attempting to rally the team to look past its temporary goals of wealth and fame. The characters' inner turmoils also served as distractions to the universal problem. Once they were able to respond beyond their unresolved issues, they became the embodiment of what every person should be. Ok, if you look past the fact that they used one of the Infinity Stones to destroy Ronan and save the planet, they really did become more powerful than their selfish selves. The stone was a helpful tool...

This is what made the movie so great: we got to see these losers (as Quill clears up, losers in the sense that they all lost something) who had their own slew of personal problems grow together, fight for a common cause, kick some ass, and save the galaxy. This is what everybody needs to see nowadays because this film expresses that one needs to look beyond one's pride and selfishness in order to accomplish something great. Also, it shows the fact that no one can accomplish anything great alone, so it helps to have a few best buddies around. And a talking tree. That also helps, too. So go ahead, push your own pride aside and do something that you know will have the most beneficial impact on the world, like donating clothes, food, or money to those in need, or plant a tree to create a more beautiful world than the one our elders are predicting. You'd be helping out with Vin Diesel's "Plant A Tree For Groot" campaign! Overall, it is heroic to show that you give a damn about your world, because you're "one of the idiots who live in it".

Keep calm and be a Guardian.