Top 5 of Life (April 26th, 2016)

I used to have something on my college blog called "Top 5 of Life" where I would post the top 5 things I'm into at the moment. It was something very fun to write for me (I have no idea if people actually liked to read, but I didn't care because it was fun.)  SO I decided to start it on this blog! 'Top 5'  can include everything like the things I'm eating a lot of all the way to what music I'm listening to. There's no limit on Top 5! So here's my top 5 of life at the moment!

1) Lemon water. I've recently decide to cleanse my body and that means tons of lemon water. I squeeze the lemon juice into a water bottle, drain it of the lemon pulp (I hate pulp of all kinds), pour it back into the bottle then I'm ready to go! It makes you pee a lot obviously, but I already lost a pound of water weight after one day. I also REALLY like hot lemon water. I drink that in the morning and it's oddly so much better than cold lemon water?

2) Janie's Got a Gun by Aerosmith. This song is from 1989 but I can't stop listening to it. I was listening to it at home one time, I had to leave, and when I was coming home in my car, it started playing on the radio. I had already arrived home when it started playing so I sat in my car listening to it. It's just one of those songs that get me addicted to it after all these years.

3) Work from Home by Fifth Harmony. Yes, another song. But it's honestly so catchy that I can't help but dance to it. I'm currently sitting on my couch listening to it and I'm dancing while sitting. I've never been a Fifth Harmony fan, but I've also never hated them. I admit that I have the song "Bo$$" by them on my iPod. And honestly, I think Work from Home will end up on my iPod too. I also LOVE Ty Dolla $ign and he sings in the song too, so it's an all around banger.

4) My new brown hair. This sounds a bit egotistical, but it looks really good on me so I'm not concerned with HOW it sounds. I decided to dye it the same color as this famous band member's girlfriend. Not because I'm jealous of her (I'm not a petty 13 year old who wants to be in her place and say nasty things to her because of it) but because I love her. I've never wanted to look like someone before, so it was strange for me when my brain was like "LOOK LIKE HER. SHE'S SO PRETTY. GET HER HAIR COLOR." So I went to the store, bought "black-brown" dye and dyed my hair. I honestly feel oddly confident in it, even though it's nothing like the purple I used to dye my hair. It's my favorite thing about myself at the moment. 

5) The 'After' book series. Now, I own all 5 of these books and have read them before but I'm REALLY into them again for some reason. This book started out as a fanfiction of Harry Styles (which I have confessed I am a big fan of) and the audience reaction to this fanfiction was so great that it got turned into a book series. They're even making a movie out of it (it's still in the casting process right now). As for the age group that would enjoy this book, I would say 20 year olds and above. I mean, it's about a girl in college, but it has it's "Fifty Shades of Grey" moments that I don't think younger people would enjoy reading. But hey! You could always skip those parts! A lot of people give this series a lot of grief because of it's violent elements (there is a lot of fighting) but they don't realize that it's a BOOK. A work of FICTION. It is not REAL. All in all, this series, despite the backlash, is one of my favorites. I wish I could meet the author, Anna Todd, one day. 

I hope you enjoyed my top 5! I love writing this, so there will probably be more in the upcoming posts!

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An Interview with a Bookstagrammer

The word "bookstagrammer" isn't in the dictionary. 

It's not even in Urban dictionary.

There was a funny debate on Twitter on whether the word has 2 or 1 'm's. 

But thanks to a very talented lady, Megan H, I can't stop saying the word "bookstagrammer". 

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I met Megan a couple years ago through a movie we both liked, although I've only met her in person once (thank god for the internet!) and ever since then, I've followed her through her adventure of bringing reading to a bigger platform: social media. 

Megan very kindly agreed let me interview her on what the word "bookstagram" means, her positive attitude towards books, and escaping from reality. 

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When did your love of books start to bloom? 

"Well, I've always really loved to read and I think one of the reasons for that is because my mom always read to me as a child. But I didn't really start to become an obsessive reader until after I read The Septimus Heap series in fifth grade! That series was basically my Harry Potter, and really made me appreciate literature more."

What are your favorite genres?

"I really enjoy reading any Young Adult (and some New Adult) fiction. But I especially love reading thrillers, and romance books! When reading, I love to be kept on the edge of my seat and hooked to every page!"

Do you currently have a favorite book?

"My favorite book (or in this case, series) is probably the Mara Dyer books! The plot line is very creepy and the romance is amazing! Noah Shaw is for sure my fictional boyfriend ;) "

A lot of people find reading to be an escape from reality for a bit. Do you feel this way ever?

"Escaping is one of my biggest reason for loving to read so much. I've always been a big dreamer, and every time I open a book I get to enter into a whole different world than the one I live in! I also tend to be a bit of an awkward person, and through reading I'm able to become someone else for a while and live their adventure. One of my favorite quotes is "A reader lives a thousand lives" because through reading, I can live as many adventures as I want to."

You call yourself a "bookstagrammer". What does that entail? 

"A Bookstagrammer is basically a person who has a passion for reading, and shares that passion through Instagram! The bookstagram community is fairly new, but consists of thousands of people who all get to together to share creative photos of books! There are so many talented people on bookstagram, and I'm amazed by some of the pictures they take!"

Your Instagram is booming! It's so gorgeous, too. What is your favorite part of having platform that reaches out to other people who also love books?

"Thank you so much! I love being able to use Instagram to get in touch with other readers like me. I'm from a small town, and it's hard to find people who are as passionate about books as I am! I think it's so important to make sure people feel that reading is a good thing, and not something to be ashamed of. Being a "book nerd" has been seen as a negative thing for so long, and I want people to know that it's perfectly okay to love to read! The book community is so supportive and uplifting of each other, it's hard to see it and not want to read just to be a part of the community!"

Did you ever think your love of books would bring you to have a website or an up and coming Instagram? 

"To be honest, I never thought it would grow to the magnitude it has already. Reading is simply something I enjoy and have fun with! Being able to find a way to share that passion and get it out into the world is extremely rewarding. I don't have as many followers as some do yet, but I'm blown away by all the support I have gotten in the past four months and all the followers that I have gained already! When I first started, I never would have expected to get this far with my bookstagram account."

What's your advice to people who want to be a bookstagrammer like you?

My first advice to anyone who wants to start a bookstagram is to simply have fun with it! Don't compare your pictures to everyone else, because one of the most important things to bookstagram is to be unique. By being unique, you stand out against all the others out there! Find your own little niche, and work with it. You don't need to own an expensive camera (in fact I actually use my iPhone over my DSLR to take pictures) or put money into an editing software. Anyone can easily create a bookstagram simply by setting down a book, and opening the camera on your phone. Be warned: being a bookstgrammer means you will often find yourself carrying a book everywhere you go to take cool pictures with it haha!

 Your personality is so positive towards books. Have you ever received or bought a book that you didn't like?

"Hahaha I do mostly say positive things about the books I read! But, believe it or not, there are actually a lot of books I have bought and received that I haven't enjoyed. I tend to not post books I completely despise on my Instagram to talk bad about them, because I just don't want any negativity on my account! But when I do give reviews, I'm as honest as possible. I'll never lie about loving a book I actually hate, and I actually find flaws in many books that I love! But I wholeheartedly disagree with just bashing a book in a review. I try to point out both the good aspects, and the bad aspects of the book!"

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I just want to thank Megan for being great and letting me interview her! All the photos are taken by her and from her super cool bookstagram!

 Follow here on her social media!
Instagram
Website

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An Interview with Mavis Slade

We’ve all heard of YouTube.

YouTube is one media platform I didn’t have to explain to my mother.

Because she already knew of YouTube.

I’ve tried vlogging (video-blogging) before, after requests from friends that I should start because of my humor. I just was terrible at it. I have a weird, funky voice and I don’t have the normal look of a YouTuber, nor do I have a good video camera.

That was one thing I didn’t mind giving up, because I knew it wasn’t my calling.

But that doesn’t mean that I stopped WATCHING YouTubers.

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I encountered a YouTuber named Mavis Slade on Twitter. I remember someone (I don’t remember who) retweeting her on Twitter and I liked the tweet, so I checked out her page.

She had a link to a YouTube video she posted and I started watching it. 

I instantly followed her on Twitter and she followed me back.

Her first video in her well known video series, called ‘Directioner Problems’, has over 225,000 views.

Now about a year later after I found her on Twitter, I’m honored to call her my friend.

She was kind enough to let me interview her via the web about her life and her YouTube career.

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1) Which type of videos do your subscribers like the most?

"I recently asked my subscribers what they liked the most and it was hair and makeup. Not gonna lie, I’m kinda shit at both of them but I fake it and I think that’s why people like them because we are kind of faking it together."

2) What got you into YouTube? Was it a certain channel?

"I always watched YouTube but it wasn’t really a channel. I was just like “I’m bored, I’m going to college, this could be fun.” It also really kept my parents and family in the know of what was happening with my life."

3) Do you ever read your comments? (I know some YouTubers don’t)

"Yes, every single one (even the nice spam) and reply to every comment. Comments good or bad are there to see what your audience wants. Plus I love talking to everyone on the comments section haha!"

4) How do you plan for your videos?

"I always have a notebook on me where I write ideas every time I have them but unless it’s a super important one, I just wing it. My letter to Zayn was written and edited like 5 times before I hit record. And all my Directioner Problems took some planning."

5) What are your favorite videos you’ve ever filmed?

"I loved filming my NYFW one and I love any that really let me be random. Also, the Directioner Problems ones were really fun because I knew I would be able to connect with more people because of them.

My favorite videos I film are usually the ones I know my friends (subscribers) will enjoy and feel like we are just hanging out."

6) My favorite thing about each video is your intro video. Literally my favorite, even though it’s 5 seconds (I timed it). Was there any planning with it or were you just like “I need an intro.”

"Hahahaha I love it too. I actually don’t talk to like half the people that are in it, so I should probably update it but the planning was like “Ok I want this certain sound clip and then I was like what are my top videos and then how can I splice them into 0.2 second clips.” I never felt the need to have an intro but I thought it was fun."

7) What’s it like going to YouTube headquarters?

"It’s super fun. There are so many like-minded people there as you and everyone who works there are genuinely so nice. I’ve met people who really want to see me succeed and it is so refreshing. Plus the cameras and lighting are sick and the wifi is super fast haha"

8) You were chosen to interview designers at NYFW at the YouTube Space. How did it feel to be chosen for that? (It’s one of my fave videos)
"Ahh I’m glad, I worked so hard on it. I applied to it just as a “maybe” and “that would be cool” kind of thing but I when I was chosen I was like “OMG this is a thing.” It was so tiring, I was still in school at the University of Pittsburgh and I had to go to a class at the YouTube Space before NYFW so the weekend before NYFW, I took a 8 hour bus ride for a 2 hour class, then back to school for 3 days and back to NYC for 2 days of filming. I was so tired and I was so out of place, I mean I was a girl who makes videos about her dumb life and One Direction with the Editor of Seventeen and other cool fashion industry people. It was kind of insane but I realized I loved the chaos. So now I am attending online courses on fashion!"

9) What advice can you give kids who want to be YouTubers but don’t know where to start?

"JUST DO IT (Nike please don’t sue haha) but seriously, grab your webcam, phone, camera and just film you being random. I have been at this for 4 years and I am still lost on what I want to film. Start with a tag video, they are so easy but it is a start. Its terrifying to put yourself out there but its so worth. I’ve met amazing people. And YouTube really brought me out of a dark place while I was at school. I found my happy place and myself on the Internet."

Okay beauty questions now: 
10) What is your favorite makeup products at the moment?

"I just purchased the Anastasia Brow Wiz pencil and it is BOMB! Also I just bought the Two Faced Candlelight Glow Highlighter and it is every strober’s dream haha. Also Maybelline Miss Manga Rock ALWAYS!!!
(Side note from Megan: I use Miss Manga Rock every day. It’s my life line in a mascara.)

11) What’s your favorite hair color you’ve ever had?

"I love my lilac hair, it was my first “crazy” hair color I went and its like my baby, I don’t know. I am thinking about teal next."

12) I know Lou Teasdale is one of your inspirations. Has she changed your beauty routine in anyway? (For me, it’s spider lashes all around, to be honest).

"Oh deffo!! Spider lashes are my life!!! She really showed me that me wanting unnatural hair was okay. I love when my hair is platinum.

Also I always see myself somehow wearing a Modern Lip, so easy and so fun. Not only has my beauty routine but outfits. Like I now live in platforms and trainers. I’m not afraid to rock some looks because of her."

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{{This interview originally took place in October 2015. I just wanted to move it to my new blog because I love it. As always, thank you to Mavis!!!}}

Follow Mavis on:
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram

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