Rachel Jacobson

Given that this post is supposed to be a 'random' post, I thought this topic was most fitting. I spend a stupid amount of time each day watching ASMR videos. ASMR videos can be anything from whispering, someone brushing their hair, or tapping their nails. Something about it weirdly satisfies me. Soap being diced and sliced is my favorite to watch. I swipe away precious hours of the day on Instagram and Facebook watching videos of pointless things. I hate myself for it, and everyday tell myself I won’t waste as much time watching them. I even set limits on my phone so I know how much time I spend watching them, but every time I hit the limit I keep watching.  It is a strange and weird addiction. I hate it, but I love it. It is in every sense of the phrase, my guilty pleasure. It is so satisfying and I have to keep watching more, but the more I watch the more guilty I feel for wasting my time watching them. I don’t know why I love them so much, I wish I could explain my infatuati...

 I chose American Like Me for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that I am a huge fan of America Ferrera. I love The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants , the first and the second, and would always watch Ugly Betty when I was younger. She has always played such real roles, ones that I think most people can relate to. The other reason I was intrigued by this book was because of a class I took Freshman Year called “Outsiders in America”. During our class we read books talking about immigrants’ experiences coming to the US and the ostracizing feeling they would get being so different from everyone else. It was a different perspective I hadn’t thought much about as my family has lived in the US since the early 1900s, but something I wanted to learn more about. I think American Like Me perfectly captures this “outsider” feeling so many immigrant families experience living in the US.   I loved how America incorporated so many different stories from people with very differ...

Is Talking to Yourself Normal? Understanding Your Inner Monologue   Ever realize you're talking to yourself? Thanks to a tweet by @KylePlantEmoji, the internet has been split into two types of people: those who talk to themselves and those who do not. Let’s see which one you are.   What is an inner monologue? Well, an internal monologue is like an inner voice in your head that narrates and dictates your thoughts throughout your day. Do you hear your own voice reading these words in your head? If you do, then you have an inner monologue. Typically, responses to information come in two forms: auditory and visual—you will either hear your thoughts or see them.   Now some of you may be thinking, ‘What? You talk to yourself in your head? I thought only crazy people do that,’ and you would be those without an inner monologue. Instead of hearing voices in your head, these people express their thoughts through visuals, imagery, metaphors, and them...

   America Ferrera’s personal essay emphasized how life in America is designed to benefit white Americans. Her first crush Sam opened her eyes to the way the world viewed her different than her classmates. She is never going to be pretty enough because she isn’t white, blonde, and blue eyed—the standard of beauty. She will never get the lead role in a movie or play a complex, dynamic character because she is Latina. She can’t be seen as herself, only as what people assume about her. She can never feel truly accepted because she is too “whitewashed” for her Latina classmates and to her white friends she is too “exotic”—that must be such an isolating experience.   When we are kids, we are so open to the world. We learn hatred, prejudice, and stereotypes. For America, she didn’t understand why people would view her differently until she had to live through it and experience it. When I was younger, I was always such a happy kid with so much optimism and enthusiasm, but a...