There's An Art to Perfect Skin

Lush's "Angels on Bare Skin"

Lush's "A Breath of Fresh Air"

Even though I am young, I have experienced a lot of skin issues that I try desperately to find a way to fix. You know what I'm talking about  - the periodic breakouts, the dry flakey skin, irritation from the wrong kinds of products.  Selecting the appropriate products to address problem skin can be a big pain in the butt - not to mention an expensive one.  I believe that purchasing the right face/skincare products is more important than makeup. Some makeup can make the problems worse, and if you have skin problems more makeup is required to cover it up  - compounding the problem. It can be a visious cycle.  Trust me, I know the urge to want to buy everything in the store when I see one of the common makeup companies produce a new product.  I've been to dermatologists and tried hundreds of products - high-end and drugstore - and nothing ever seemed to work. My face seemed constantly seemed to change and nothing seemed to work. It went from oily, oily to combination, then to dry, and I was always chasing it with a different product. I was pretty much fed up until I had the brilliant idea of buying an assortment of facial products and switching them out on a day to day basis. Sure enough, I saw results immediately and couldn't have been happier.  There was a period of time when I was so fed up with drugstore products, I researched other companies and found Lush. I know they are gaining in popularity, but they were new to me.  When I got the chance to go to a Lush store (actually I visited 2 in New York), it was more than just a pick-up and go experience, you actually got to test the products right then and there. I've learned from experimenting with products and how my face reacts  it needs change. Once I discovered the Lush products, I began experimenting with rotating them.  Bottom line variety worked for me, the next blog I will share specific products. Just remember, no matter what the price, find something that will work for you, like Lush did for me

Freedom: Why it's important

   The word freedom comes with a lot of different opinions, phrases, and realities, but there are always some that speak to me  personally. I believe that we all have our own definition of freedom, and that is perfectly okay. In the end, we are not a perfect country and we'll always have differences of opinion and ongoing arguments focused on the intersections of religion, politics, and personal beliefs. There are also many types of freedom.  Some of my favorites include  internal/external freedom, personal freedom, and the premise that all human beings are equal in dignity and rights.

First,  personal freedom is very meaningful to me. Everyone should strive for personal freedom. Without personal freedom, one is unable to freely be themselves and show who they truly are. For example, in the video "Morgana Bailey: The Danger of Hiding Who You are" Morgana announces that she has been hiding something over the years  - she was a lesbian.  She further exclaimed that she used to be very outgoing, but she became the opposite over the years.  She told herself that it was because of maturity.

Personal freedom is also important to me because I believe it is important to align your beliefs and actions. If you know what you want, you're not going to let others make decisions for you or influence you to act against your beliefs. In the article "Malala's heroic Stand Against the Taliban," Mary Sanchez explains the story of Malala (18 year old public figure from Pakistan) and how she believes that women need an education.  Malala used what she believed in to inspire others. The importance of personal freedom is to allow everyone to be there own self.


Secondly, internal/external freedom is having freedom through thought and reason and the freedom to deliberate and decide. This is sometimes difficult if your personal beliefs conflict with the law or majority opinion.  In both the article and video on this topic of Malala, her country frowned upon women getting an education. It shared how both Malala and her father made decisions to better their life and to be an inspiration to others by acting on their belief that women should be educated. It is important to me because I want to be able to make decisions for myself based on my beliefs.


Lastly, Article One from the Bill of Rights is important to me. Article One states that "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed in reason and conscience and should act towards one another toward brotherhood." To me, this means that we are all equal. This is important to me because I believe we should all be treated the same, no matter our differences. In the video "My Daughter Malala," Malala's father exclaims that her daughter was shot in the head on her way home from school because people in Pakistan didn't agree with her opinion on education. Not only did he mention this, but he also stated that women are only seen as homemakers/care-givers and that they are not allowed to get an education because they feel that its the mens job to have one.
   
Of all of the different types of freedom,  the most important to me are internal / external freedom, personal freedom, and Article One of the Bill of Rights.

My Oh My! Who Have We Here?

        Hi, I'm Maddie Schmidt and I am artistic. Being artistic is a great attribute but it has its challenges when you are also an introvert. For example, when I am involved in a singing competition, it takes a lot of effort to be gregarious and put on a good performance. When I just feel like singing and then leaving,  I am forced to socialize and wait until the end of the show to hear the results.  In the video "The Power of Introverts" Susan Cain explains how she has had to force herself to be less of an introvert and more of an extrovert. In the video Cain states "But for years, I denied this intuition, so I became a Wall Street lawyer, of all things, instead of a writer that I had always longed to be--partly because I needed to prove to myself that I could be bold and assertive too." Jory Mackay, a journalist, cites "These are the people with the powerful ability to rapidly parse through the huge amount of available information and decide what is most important without taking the time to engage in slower, rational ways of thinking."  I too, have had many situations where I had to prove to myself that I could be social because that is what was expected of me.

        I have also struggled with people not knowing the difference between being shy and being introverted. For example, when someone tries to engage me in a conversation and then questions why I'm so quiet, they typically say "You're shy, aren't you?"  I just want to tell them "No, not really." In Cain's video she gave a perfect definition and example of the difference between the two.  "Shyness is about fear of social judgement. Introversion is more about, how do you respond stimulation, including social stimulation." Another example Cain cites to demonstrate the difficulty of being an introvert is that schools and workplaces are setup to support extroverts, and extroverted behavior is often rewarded. For example, in a classroom teachers support the group style learning and students are encouraged to speak up. Cain exclaims, "Even in a subject like math and creative writing, which you would think would depend on solo flights of thought, kids are now expected to act as committee members. And for the kids who prefer to go off by themselves or just to work alone, those kids are seen as outliers often or, worse, as problem cases." I have single handedly experienced this myself, mainly in elementary school, by being forced to learn one way but are in need of learning a different way. In both the article and the video, Cain and Mackay make a point to say that no matter if you are a introvert some communication is key in a school or workplace setting. Mackay writes, "Studies have shown that people who communicate in an expressive, animated fashion tend to be liked more than difficult-to read people." As I have gotten older, graduated from high school, and started college, it is a lot easier for me to have my own style and a sense of who I am and what my valuable qualities are, one of which is being an introvert.