Hi internet!
Just wanted to post about my latest article with Her Campus! I did the "Campus Cutie" section for the month, so I decided to interview an old friend from SPOP (Student Parent Orientation Program at UCI), Konstantinos Kaplanis. I remembered he also had a lovely twin brother, Thanasis Kaplanis, so I figured, why not do a twin edition for Campus Cutie?
Konstantinos and Thanasis Kaplanis- HC Campus Cuties of the week!
They're stunning, ain't they? ;) haha, they've got great personalities, and were so kind to let me interview them last december! It was interesting to see what they're involved in at school, what they think of twin telepathy, and just how they're similar/different.
Please check out the link below to read more about them!! (and give this blogpost a lovely +1 ! )
On Saturday January 9th, at approximately 5:45 pm, I made a last minute decision to go to the To Write Love on Her Arms Heavy and Light concert event in Los Angeles. I hated driving, and I especially hated driving in LA. But I also hated sitting at home on a Saturday night pressing "next" on the dashboard of my tumblr. It's a new year and I'm trying out this whole "suck it up and do it" mentality... and so far it's been going really well (especially with 8am classes every day). So, with that in mind, I sucked it up, called a friend of mine who would want to go, and suddenly I was on my way to the Heavy and Light concert.
To be honest, I didn't know much about To Write Love on Her Arms. I remember hearing about it a lot when I was younger and seeing a lot of my favorite band members wearing TWLOHA merchandise. I knew it had something to do with depression and helping people who were struggling with it. I had no idea they put on concert events like this, so I was pretty excited to see what they had in store for the night. The lineup was great, although I have to admit the primary reason why I wanted to go was to see one of my old favorite bands, The Summer Set, perform live.
When my friend and I arrived at the House of Blues venue, there was a good amount of people. Unfortunately we came in the middle of a set, so we quickly walked up to the side of the bar to stand and watch. The singer on stage, whom I never have seen before, was talking about the next song she was about to sing... and it wasn't until she started singing the first notes of "Same Love" did I realize that I was watching Mary Lambert! I had a mini freakout, since I am absolutely in love with that song (and still haven't gotten sick of it). It was so good to hear her live, and it was nice hearing her original version of Same Love-- without Macklemore rapping in between verses. She was beautiful, and her voice was so crisp and clear, that literally you could hear a pin drop in the venue because of how quiet everyone was listening to her. Truly was an incredible moment. I'm thankful we didn't miss her entire set!!
After her set, Jamie Tworkowski (who is the founder of To Write Love on Her Arms) came out and said a few words about Mary (and her Grammy nomination; what!!!!). Then he introduced another solo artist to the stage, by the name of Tristan Prettyman. I enjoyed her set as well. It was very laid-back and chill and her music style reminded me of Jason Mraz (if he had a womans voice) with a hint of Ingrid Michaelson. She had great quirky banter in between her songs that made me laugh out, and I loved all of her little stories behind them. Some stories behind songs were hilarious, such as her story for "The Rebound" where it was about her wanting to bang the hot guy at Trader Joes. But then she also tapped into dark moments as well, like when she was engaged, and what she went through when the engagement broke off. I was noticing a pattern already with the different speakers and artists and all of their similar experiences... the title of the even "heavy and light" was beginning to make sense to me.
Once she was finished, Jamie came out again and introduced some guest speakers-One of them was 20 year old Kevin Greel. I'll be honest and say it's usually really hard for me to keep up when people are speaking, as I tend to get distracted. But this guys words were incredibly powerful and just really dug deep into his life. He talked about his Tedx Video, where he spoke about dealing with his own depression and how through social media his speech has been able to help other people. It was really inspiring to hear about how a simple yet powerful speech just by being shared and exploited on Facebook was able to inspire those who are struggling, and encourage them to keep going. I loved how raw and real he was on stage and his honesty really struck the heart.
Next there was a spoken poet, by the name of Anis Mojgani. He appeared a few times during the night with a different poem every time. I particularly enjoyed his set, because he had a nice balance of the serious stuff and the funny stuff. He made us laugh while at the same time getting a strong and uplifting point across. It reminded me of those scenes in the movies where people go to those poetry slam concerts and you see a poet just killing it up on stage with words. That was him. He killed it.
After his set, was my beloved The Summer Set. Quick little sappy factoid: The Summer Set is one of those bands that no matter what happens, where they go with their music, what they become as people, or whether they break up or not, I will always, ALWAYS, support them. It's one of those bands that I'm "proud" of and their music and shows are probably the most distinct memory I have of my teenager years going to concerts. I love them to pieces and probably wont stop.
Anyways, I was super excited to see them. It was... strange to see them on stage. I saw them last year in October when they went on tour with All Time Low, and I remember being struck by how they've aged since I've last seen them. I don't mean they're getting grey hair and are needing canes to walk on stage. I mean, they're literally just, grown up. They've grown with tour experience, they're pros at performing on stage, and they have grown musically as well. They came out dressed in nice blazers- which made me smile a bit, because it reminded me of when I first saw them in 2008 dressed in nice casual attire vests. Because it was an acoustic night, all their songs were toned down, with everyone switching out their electric guitars for acoustic ones, and Jess bringing out the shaker. Their setlist was merely 5 songs and most of them were from their latest album. I was a little worried about that since I've only listened to a few songs from their last album. But thankfully, the only song I wasn't familiar with was Lightning in a Bottle.
Their setlist:
Maybe, Tonight.
Lightning in a Bottle.
Young.
Boomerang. [P.S. I still hear "Penis Smile" instead of "Paint a Smile" in the lyrics of Boomerang. It's just something I can't unhear. ]
Legendary.
While watching Brian Dales sing live, I noticed that he definitely hasn't changed on stage, except his vocals seems to be able to reach into a higher range now. He's still a little spazzy, still does that thing where he puts his one arm behind his back and sort of rocks to one side. I noticed that his stage presence sort of reminds me of Nate Ruess of fun. (and the Format) and it made me wonder if that's where Brian gets most of his on stage presence inspiration from. Josh Montgomery (guitarist of the Summer Set) said a few humbling words about being able to share the stage with the inspirational people on the setlist, and it no doubt warmed the heart of any soul in the audience.
Quoting him: "I'm the biggest baby in the world compared to the people up on that list."
It was also a nice surprise to see both John and Stephen Gomez doing backup vocals, instead of just John. I always thought Stephen had a nice voice, and I remember him saying that he didn't sing~ (yet he had like a trillion side projects and his covers sounded good). Stephens hair was different too! Out of the 8 times I've seen The Summer Set, Stephen always had that teen "emo" side swept hair look that reminds me of that era in highschool where everyone was going for that look (you can thank My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, and Pete Wentz from Fall Out boy for that time.) Even Brian Dales mentioned that it was probably the first time he's see his forehead, which made me laugh out because there has been nothing more truer than that statement. Jess Bowen looked great as well. In a way I wish the set wasn't acoustic, because there isn't much Jess can do as a drummer besides providing a light beat and a shaker, but she rocked it nevertheless.
Last of the night, was Jon Foreman of Switchfoot. I didn't know much of his songs (besides Switchfoot songs) , but that didn't stop me from enjoying his nice acoustic folk set. He sang hit songs "Dare you to move" where he got the entire audience to sing the first verse and chrous, and it was just incredible. Something about hearing an audience sing a song (as in not screaming the lyrics) is so haunting in the most beautiful eerie way; the kind of way that makes your hairs stick up on your arms. He also sang an acoustic raw cover of Only Hope, which made my insides melt. He even had Bryce Avery, who is lead singer of the band The Rocket Summer, come out and sing a song with him. I have always wanted to see The Rocket Summer live, so being able to see Bryce Avery sing one song was quite a feat for me. I was cursing up a storm because I was just so excited to see him up there singing "Your Love is Strong", and let me tell you, cursing+ that song is not essentially a good match.
To end the night, every artist that performed came out and sang a homey heart warming cover of Lean On Me. It was a perfect way to round up the night, and really bring the message of To Write Love on Her Arms alive. It was such a fulfilling night of inspiration and hope. Every artist offered their words of advice and their encouragement to reach out to those who are hurting, because these people who feel so alone, aren't alone after all. In fact, they're never really alone.
Thats it.
People need that comfort, that holding of a hand, that pat on the back. They need to know they're not alone, and that there are people out there who are willing to help bring that belief, that faith, that hope back into their lives.
"Our Hearts are heavy and light, we laugh we scream and sing, our hearts are heavy and light" - Jamie Tworkowski.
Every year I think of a couple new years resolutions to tie me over for the year and most of the time the resolutions stay in tact for a good month before I completely forget about them.
So to with hold the tradition of making new years resolutions and forgetting about it, I'm gonna go ahead and list some resolutions for the year and hopefully I'll keep some in mind as this year develops.
Resolutions
1. Own it. As in, muster up some confidence and be proud of what I like. Ok, so maybe I am a little weird, and I am a little awkward and normal people would probably prefer talking about something other than the last regeneration of Doctor Who. But honestly, there's no need to feel ashamed of it. Lexi of 2014- Quit dampening your self esteem over something as stupid as a bad conversation.
2. Write more. Seriously.
3. Learn to cook entrees other than Top Ramen and eggs. Just because.
4. Think before you speak.
Especially in front of a cute boy. or a potential job employer.
5. Going off of that last resolution, I'm gonna go ahead and put work on my listening skills this year. I tend to zone out unintentionally when someone is speaking, so this year I'm gonna work on being more attentive and present in conversations. ( I guess this can relate all the way back to #1 resolution, since sometimes I'm terrible at keeping a conversation)
6. Don't make promises you can't keep. Simple enough.
OH and a bonus:
Broaden my vocabulary.
as in stop using "f*cking" as an intensifier. There are other words to emphasize your enthusiasm.
In fact, let's try and tone down the cursing this year.
Those are the only New Year Resolutions I can think of at the moment. I would say "stop using dance as an excuse for not going to the gym" but I'm kind of aiming for realistic resolutions.
