Over the last week, the Larry Nassar scandal has unfolded in front of America, and it is disturbing to say the least. If you don’t know, the team doctor for the US Gymnastics training camp and Olympic team, has been jailed for up to 175 years for sexually abusing more than 150 young women – some, at the time, as young as 6 years old. The numbers are actually speculated to be in the 1000s, for Nassar was the go-to “doctor” in women’s gymnastics for the last 20 years. Except, he is not a doctor. He is a child molester. All of this started to come out with one email sent from a victim to the Indianapolis Star. The paper was already investigating abuse in the sport, but their tipping point was this unsolicited source. The email read, “I recently read the article titled ‘Out of Balance’ published by the IndyStar. My experience may not be relevant to your investigation, but I am emailing to report an incident that may be. I was not molested by my coach, but I was molested by Dr Larry Nassar, the team doctor for USAG. I was 15 years old, and it was under the guise of medical treatment for my back”. Woman after woman started to come forward with similar stories, and through the 156 testimonies against him, we’ve learned just how horrific all of their experience’s were and how much of a monster Larry Nassar is. *Nassar does not deserve the title of “man”, for he lacks human qualities. He is a despicable waste of space.* Almost routinely, Nassar told his “patents” he molested the same thing he told Olympic gymnast Mckayla Maroney; what he was doing was “medically necessary treatment” that he had been doing for over 30 years. (time.com). The countless stories of these events are disgusting and almost unbelievable: Nassar had some girls in pain before competitions due to his abuse. There is an account of him drugging a girl, fast forward to her waking up in his hotel room. He gave some of these so-called “treatments” in his own home. Nassar’s abuse even led a woman to take her own life; her mother heartbreakingly had to speak for her in court. How could any of this have occurred for so long without anyone finding out the sick truth? It didn’t. People, trusted adults whose job involves protecting these girls, knew and swept it under the rug. These trusted associations did nothing to help the situation, they only prolonged it. They are the United States Olympic Committee, Michigan State University and the USA Gymnastics Committee – and they are to blame. Speaking of Maroney, she (and speculated many other women) was paid $1.25 million by USA Gymnastics to not speak out about the abuse. Michigan State University had been receiving complaints about Nassar since the 90s. Michigan News Service unbelievably defended his behavior, saying that “intravaginal manipulations are indeed an approved, if rare, osteopathic treatment for pelvic pain”. The USOC refused to even conduct an investigation after early allegations. Olympian Aly Raisman revealed something even the judge was not aware of; that after USA Gymnastics terminated their lease at the camp Nassar committed a number of his crimes at, athletes were still training there. (FoxNews.com). I think this quote from survivor, Rachael Denhollander, sums up the general feeling of the girls; “I was confident that because people at MSU [Michigan State University] and USAG had to be aware of what Larry was doing and had not stopped him, there could surely be no question about the legitimacy of his treatment. This must be medical treatment. The problem must be me … I was wrong.”. These institutions are put in place to protect, and they did just the opposite. Young athletes, women, parents and the general public trusted that they were doing their jobs, but the truth is far from it. These committees you are as much to blame as Nassar is – he could have never done this for so long without them. I am disgusted as I’m sure everyone else is, but I hope this results in change, because no one, and especially no child, should have to say “Me Too”.
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When I first started regularly working out, I did the same workout everyday for about six months. Towards the tale end of it, I realized it was starting to be ineffective. THEN, I had a conversation with my uncle (a fitness junkie you would say) and he told me that I should be working a different part of my body everyday instead of just doing a full body workout. So that's what I...sort of...started doing after that. There are just somethings I need to do everyday, but thats different for everyone. Here's an example of what a normal workout week for me would look like now: MONDAY: TUESDAY: WEDNESDAY: THURSDAY: FRIDAY: SATURDAY: SUNDAY: - Thigh - Kickboxing - Kickboxing - Arms *NO - Kickboxing - Butt - Ab - Ab - Ab -Ab WORKOUT* - Ab - Cardio - Cardio (dance) - Butt - Ab As you can see, I find it really important to do abs everyday for myself. Also, if you don't know, kickboxing is basically a full body workout but it mainly targets cardio, your arms and your legs. If you haven't tried it, its a really great a effective workout, I highly recommend it. If you can, incorporating at least one class a week is a really good thing; it reminds you that everyone is working hard, not just you. Anyway, here are some of the best at home workouts for every body part: CARDIO - These dance videos serve as a great warm up for when you don't want to do intense cardio but you need a little fuel. They also really boost my mood before a workout! AND, you don't have to actually be a dancer to do them, you just have to get moving. The cardio video on the right is good for when you haven't been walking a lot (like on a Sunday) or you need to burn some serious calories. You'll see a lot of her videos on here, she's one of my favorite trainers on YouTube.
ARMS - The best part about these workouts is that it doesn't use weights and the one on the right will kind of serve as a bit of a cardio too (you'll be out of breath by the end). I can tell you from experience that these workouts are highly effective, and to be quite honest, I find arm workouts without weights leave me much more sore than with.
ABS - My. Favorite. All of these are the most effective and are pretty explanatory on what part of your abs they target. But when I'm in need of a "quick fix" (there's no such thing, but whatever), Intense Abs is the way to go.
Butt / Thigh - I promise, these will leave you super sore and looking good. Even though my schedule didn't target this area often, I try and suggest doing it as much as 3 times a week.
There you have it! I know it could be really hard to workout after school and other activities, but I hope these will help. They've definitely helped me stay more consistent in my exercise routine. Email me with any other fitness questions or comments:) Love always, Caroline Meade I JUST CRIED AND WHEEZED OVER THIS VIDEO AND IT MADE MY HEART EXTREMELY HAPPY. I HOPE THIS MAKES YOUR WEEK. WE NEED MORE CUTE THINGS, GOODNIGHT. THANK YOU TO MY MOM FOR SHOWING ME THIS:)
I get a mix of responses when I ask friends or family eagerly, "So what are your goals for 2018?". Regardless of the response, everyone seems to be either taken off guard or uncomfortable. I get the sense that people are a little embarrassed to share their resolutions, especially if they don't have the most confidence in themselves to fulfill them. I also think people are embarrassed to say what they want to change about their lives; most of us fear looking insecure. (Some bask in it, but thats not something I understand nor want to talk about). However, I love hearing about what my friends are ambitious about. I love hearing the way they want to better themselves; it makes me feel like I am on their journey with them. Overall, sharing your goals is a great thing and I believe it can strengthen a relationship. I've read two articles in the past week about this. One was titled "Why You Wont Stick to Any of the Resolutions You Make" and "Why New Years Resolutions Aren't Realistic". First of all, thats quite a negative outlook (weirdly negative to be from two normally positive lifestyle websites). Second of all, whether or not people stick to their resolutions for the next 365 days, wanting to make yourself better and happier is never a bad thing...ever. (Also, people usually stick to them for at least a few months, c'mon). Bettering yourself in any way is a good thing and granted, you shouldn't wait for the new year to start. However, if that motivates you, then thats great, end of story. New Years Resolutions DO NOT automatically equal failure. I find an effective way to stick to resolutions is writing them down (with a pen and paper *gasps*) and putting them where you can see them every day. That way you never forget what you intended to do, and you start your day with a mission in mind, before you even leave your house. Another way to make your resolutions a reality, is to think big and small. Set small goals for yourself, like little things you've always wanted to do with your friends or something bold you've always wanted to say, as well as big goals. (They might sound really little but sometimes the littlest things can make for great memories and more fulfilled days). For example, a small goal of mine (on a list of my 39 resolutions) is too read more books and a big goal of mine is to be prepared to apply to college. Set yourself up your success, but don't forget to think big. In 2017, I actually fulfilled a lot of my goals because I consistently reminded myself of them. Granted 2017, went nothing like a thought it would, but I still kept the same priorities. I am not sad to see 2017 go because of how excited I am about this year, but 2017 was one for the books and a year I will always cherish. I did a lot of adventurous things, met amazing people and grew as a person more than any other year. My main goal for 2018 though is to make more time to be with the people I love and to do more of what makes me happy. I hope you all are as optimistic as I am about 2018. Best wishes, Caroline Meade On November 16th, the very famous and current model, Gigi Hadid tweeted just a few days before the Victoria Secret fashion show, “I’m so bummed I won’t be able to make it to China this year. Love my VS family,, and will be with all my girls in spirit!! Can’t wait to tune in with everyone to see the beautiful show I know it will be, and already can’t wait for next year! :) x”. The news was sudden with no explanation given. However, we’ve now learned that the outrage due to a video surfaced of Gigi holding up a Buddha-shaped biscuit and squinting her eyes had her banned from China. (According to Newsy.com). Prior to this tweet, after Gigi announced that she was walking the show, the comments were so angry that Gigi turned all commenting on her page off. Comments like “DON’T COME TO CHINA” and “RACIST” are assumingly the reason she was banned. Someone wrote (hitting the nail on the head I might add), “She thinks she’s too cool to apologize. I never liked her anyway”. It’s bad enough to make racist jokes and poke fun at a culture’s appearance, but it’s even worse that she didn’t not even acknowledge her mistake, let alone apologize for it. It shows she’s not recognizing how upset she made people, not even recognizing that what she did was wrong, which is what contributes to normalizing offensive and inappropriate “jokes” like these in the first place. She probably thought she was being Fun! Silly! Innocent! I guess you think that you can get away with those types of things when you grow up in an extremely privileged society where your race is prioritized, as well as least made fun of. But is she a racist? Probably not. Did she do something that was racist? Yes, and childish as well. Though what she did was awful, I am glad that it happened. It shows that there is, in fact, a price to pay when you are impertinent and rude. It shows that even if you are extremely wealthy, famous, beautiful and adored by the media, you are not invincible. There still are consequences for your actions…sometimes. Common sense must not be so common. Me as well as many other people most likely had their blood pressure raised when hearing about Donald Trump’s latest controversy. Recently, there has been pressure to lift the ban on elephant hunting trophy imports. To even consider doing this is appalling. The ban has been in tact since 2014, why now? . There is absolutely no need for a trophy made from any animal parts, so why are we suddenly bringing this up? Slate.com reports that the FWS (the organization that brought this stupid subject up) believes the reversal of the ban will “help create revenue stream for pouring money into conservation efforts to help elephants and other African animals”. They are basically saying that the increase in hunting will raise awareness and revenue to help save the elephants. Yes. When the animal goes extinct, we will all feel super bad and help the eleph- oh wait, by then there will be no more elephants becaUSE WE KILLED THEM ALL. Isn’t it better to get to the core of the problem than looking to the NON EXISTENT bright side of a fate not yet determined? This is complete bull sh** and will not result in significant change for the elephants, except for more of them dying of course. After great backlash, the Donald tweeted “Put big game trophy decision on hold until such time as I review all conservation facts. Under study for years. Will update soon with Secretary Zinke. Thank you!” and most recently, “Big-game trophy decision will be announced next week but will be very hard pressed to change my mind that this horror show in any way helps conservation of Elephants or any other animal”. That was barely a coherent sentence to be quite honest, but what I am taking it as (I may be wishful thinking) is that he is essentially refuting the logic of the FWS.
BUT, lets look at some conservation facts, if you will.
Find out more here. *SPOILERS AHEAD*
Recently, my older sister went to see the movie “Mother!”, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem. I personally hate when movies are spoiled for me, but she persisted that she needed to tell me the meaning behind it; saying that I wouldn’t get it AT ALL if she hadn’t. So basically here is what you need to know before going into the movie: A woman and her older husband live in a house in the middle of no where and a visitor comes. The woman is a bit freaked out by this, however her husband is extremely welcoming. The visitor brings his wife, who brings his sons, and eventually the house is filled with rude & overbearing people that the woman has to clean up after. Her husband, a writer attracts so many fans that worship him and things end up spiraling out of control. (I have said more than I should have). My sister told me that the woman is representative of mother earth and the man is God, making the visitors us; humans. She said “It’s super well done and very disturbing. You’ll love it” So on Wednesday, my boyfriend and I went to see “Mother!” , and most of it I did not enjoy. It's not a movie for people who are even slightly squeamish / have seizures / are afraid of pregnant people. (THAT CANNOT ONLY BE A ME THING, COME ON). However that is not to say I am not glad I saw it. The movie was so well executed and disturbing enough to make you think about what humans are actually doing to this earth. The symbolism was perfect actually, however you must know about the metaphor of the story PRIOR to seeing the movie, or else you’ll probably just think you wasted your money. I think the directing of this movie was brilliant and if you are someone who appreciates great directing, this is something you should see. I believe the intension of the Black Swan director, Darren Aronofsky, was to provoke a conversation and he was successful. However, if you’re in it for a clear and intriguing story that is easy to a understand, do not see this. Also, on another note; Jennifer Lawrence was outstanding. I hate overhyped things in general and I hate that the media loves to fawn over her personality and her pure & American beauty, but her acting is rightfully critically acclaimed. So why did people hate it? Over the course of reading several review, it was commonly perceived as a movie with scenes to shock just for shock value. People also were just too confused to even enjoy it. To top it off, some people got sick in the theater. Completely understandable. However the director has defended his film, saying this was basically what he set out to do. (Although I don’t believe he intended to have his movie be one of only 11 films to get an ‘F’ rating on CinemaScore in history). Aronofsky not only said his movie was "a cinematic fuck you" but he also explained, “How, if you walk out of this movie, are you not going to give it an ‘F’? It’s a punch. It’s a total punch”. I see his point. Most people rate movies on how much the enjoy them (at least the common movie goer does). I didn’t enjoy it at all. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a quality movie and it doesn’t mean I am not happy I saw it. Just like great art isn’t always necessarily beautiful. Overall, I commend Aronofsky on making such a daring film, and I wish there were more directors willing to take such risk in going with their gut. The Syrian refuge crisis is a topic widely known amongst Americans and Europeans; the ones living with the crisis outside their front door. However, the news is not speaking about the refuges from Rohingya coming to Bangladesh. The UN estimates the over 70,000 refuges have fled in less than a week. This is due to the fact that the Rohingya, a Muslim group of people living in Myanmar, are suffering from religious persecution of their military. Of course, the military is not taking responsibility for their crimes; claiming that this is the act of “terrorists”. This is a wild thing for an American to even imagine: the people who are suppose to protect you burning down your home.
The Rohingya people understand that they are still putting their lives in danger by fleeing. For example, a refuge boat recently capsized; killing 20 people, 12 of them being children. However, what choice do they have? There is no hope for a good life in their homes, so there only other option is to try and escape. These people have absolutely nothing left. It is hard for me to even imagine what it is to have absolutely nothing. For example, Nobin Shuna told CNN in regards to staying, “How could we survive? I have no money. After seeing the massacre, I traveled all the way to the Bangladesh border. I left my home four days ago. Now where would I go? My son was killed”. It is horribly ironic that Suu Kyi, the leader of the Myanmar’s leader is a Nobel peace prize winner, and she is the one in charge of the attacks. In my opinion, that title should be taken away. This battle between Buddhists and Muslims has gone on for many years and it has escalated to this point of ethnic cleansing. There is not much we can do, for most money sent to these countries is stolen in customs, but the least we can do is recognize that this is going on. We can educate ourselves about real issues like this, not about what shoes Melania Trump is wearing. Start a conversation, don't listen and nod. HELLO! Apologies for my hiatus from the blog, but it was needed. My sophomore year was one that was hectic and full of learning experiences that I felt I didn't have time or energy to share with you as I had the previous year. Somethings are just too big and complicated to tell, especially when you're still trying to figure them out on your own. But I am back and ready to share about my awkward teenage life once again! Just to catch you up, this year I focused on music and songwriting mostly and I feel like I've really grown. This year I've also met some really interesting people in school and was fortunate enough to have made some great friends (just when you think you know everyone!). Health wise and fitness wise, (as you know is very important to me), I have been very inconsistent during 2017 and have basically went up and down 10 pounds throughout the year. Currently, I am in the best place I've ever been in, health wise, but this year I struggled, still learning about what works and what doesn't for my body (I did not think it would take this long). Overall, this summer I'm primarily concerned with music and fitness. And that's what you missed!
I don't want this blog to be exactly how it was before, I still want a sense of community and conversation rather than you reading my journal. So what do you want to see on the new itriedlearningfrenchonce.com ? All the love always, Caroline Meade It seems as though everyone's birthday is in September, and lately I've been going to a lot of birthday parties. I haven't gone to an actual birthday party in a really long time. It seems as I get older there are less and less, and I actually forgot how much fun they are! For my friends birthdays we normally just go out for dinner or we don't make time to celebrate it at all because it's "not a big age" (whatever that means). I completely disagree with that though; I think every year of your life is something that should be celebrated. It's so fun when you actually go out and do something or have cake at someone's house. I just went to a roller skating party by the Brooklyn bridge and I had such a fun time! Even though I'm not the best roller skater, ( I only fell on my but like 8 times) it was so fun laughing at each other with my friends and doing something we wouldn't normally do. And having house parties is also adorable! With cake, good music and your best friends, what could be better? At another one I went to a few weeks ago, we laughed and ate at this really good burger place on the upper west side and then went to my friends house for cake and sang along to the Hamilton record (her gift). I even made a bunch of friends with people that I hadn't even known were in my grade AND went to my school! I had such a good time, I went home smiling! It's amazing how much joy you get out of such little things. Birthday parties are such a great opportunity to act silly and just have fun celebrating your friend, so why don't we as teenagers do it as often? Do we not think that we're worth the celebration? Is it just not "cool"? If that's the case, than that's just stupid. I personally think it's cool to value these years that we get to not have too many responsibilities and giggle over stupid things and eat candy. Overall, if you're lucky enough to have someone you love to be with, than you should celebrate them. But that's just my opinion.
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Caroline MeadeMaking noise through multiple mediums since 2001. Archives
May 2020
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