Jasmine McGee

The Future of TS25 : New Writers, Rants, and More Content

Whew, Friday is almost here. It’s been such a long week of dealing with advisors, transcripts, and basically making sure everything is set for my last semester of college. In the midst of all my school work, hitting the gym, and obsessing over where to buy a custom-made Wonder Woman costume (haha, it’s a long story,) I decided it was time to switch things up here on TS25 (ThinkSoul25).

For the past two years I’ve received a lot of love from other bloggers, readers, and random folks throughout the Web from various parts of the globe. It’s been such a great experience networking with people and sharing my thoughts on so many different topics. I’ve been doing everything by myself and I’ve enjoyed it, but now it’s time to switch things up a bit. So what does that mean? New writers and more content.

I’m bringing on some fresh voices to the site to make this less of a personal blog, but more so a beautiful collection of culture, rants, and nomadic madness. I’ve got a few writers with great perspectives on topics they are passionate about (which means some of the occasional opinionated rants.) Some areas of the site such as the film, television, and fashion section haven’t been my expertise/focus, so it will be nice to actually see content in those sections that isn’t just based on my thoughts/ideas.

I could go on and on about what you guys should expect, but I’d rather have you be surprised and see the new content for yourself in the weeks to come. Oh, and I’m still open to more contributors. There no pay, but still great exposure and a way to build your resume. I’ve freelanced for the past few years and even write for a national magazine, but I wouldn’t have gotten any of that experience if it wasn’t for me having this blog. So if you’re looking for experience, consider contributing to TS25.

Email me at askthinkme25@hotmail.com to find out about contributing.

Thanks so much for reading and being supporters. You guys rock!

Cheers!

-Jasmine

So, Apparently I’m a Hipster…

It has been a few days since I’ve blogged, and the reason being is the end of the summer semester. Meaning, finals, finals, and exams. Even though I’m finishing online with University of Colorado Denver (I moved to DMV from Denver,) online classes still take a lot of work.

But now that finals are behind me, I can sit here and blog. It feels so good to sit down, listen to some dreamwave, and let my fingers stroke the keyboard of my Macbook Pro as I say hello to my blog, and allow myself to begin rambling. So what’s on my mind today? Well, the art of being a hipster and how I apparently fit into that category.

Up until recently, never in my life had I been referred to as a hipster. Most of the time I was just that eccentric tall chick who had a villainous laugh (I have many laughs, but one sounds cute + evil), yet could warm the room with my charm and witty spirit. Being labeled as “different” is something I’ve heard a lot, especially from most of the men that I’ve encountered in my dating adventures.

Yet, lately a lot of men (primarily some close-minded Black men) have been calling me a “hipster” and they just don’t understand it. I’m not “Black” enough and my tastes are far from the mainstream ( I rarely listen to hip-hop unless its oldschool,) which prompts them to place me into a hipster category (the only thing they can at least label me as.)

Me? A hipster? Hmmm…I never viewed myself as a hipster, I just viewed myself as just Jazz. But of course, when people are encountered with someone who’s taste and approach to life is different from theirs, they either must attribute that individual to some type of social category and/or make fun of them (which happened to me a lot in middle school and high school.) But you’d think that as adults people would learn to look past stereotypes and labeling, but I guess that’s not the case. Oh, and I’m not over-generalizing the situation. Seriously, 90% of the Black men I’ve encountered as of late think I’m “weird” and feel that house is techno (even though they never listened to house) or it’s music for gay people (wow, no comment). SMH…such ignorance.

I could easily go on and on about the ignorance I encounter, but then I wake up and realize that hey, perhaps I am a hipster. And since we are labeling, I am actually a “Black Hipster.” I wear big glasses, I love indie bands, I reflect on the meaning of life when listening to chillwave, sometimes I’m anti-Starbucks and love small cafes, and my clothing style is a mixture of vintage, Converse, flats, skinny jeans, weird patterns, and whatever the hell I feel like wearing.

So am I hipster? Sure, call me that if you want. Am I eccentric + eclectic? Absolutely.  But at the end of the day, I’m just Jazz and I’m having a hell of a time being me. Whether I’m appreciating the mainstream or paying homage to the 1940s and cruising the sounds of swing music, I’m just off in my own beautiful world of eclectic discoveries.

A Summer of Exploration

For the first time in a very long time, I actually have a social life. Not quite sure what happened, but I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that summer is here, I’m about to graduate college, and I actually have transportation. I mean of course you can easily get around in the DMV via train and bus, but having a car does make it easier for me to get to folks outside of moco.

Summer is basically here and I’ve already kicked it off by doing some fun things. I saw Reggie Watts in concert, Miguel Migs @ U Street Music Hall, and I even went Rock Climbing @ Earth Trek in Rockville, MD. Let me just, rock climbing was amazing! It basically cost 25 bucks to climb three different walls, but it was still a blast. I’m not terrified of heights, so it wasn’t super scary. I definitely plan on going again this summer.

Every weekend has been a blast so far and I’ve really enjoyed hanging out with my good friend. I’m also anxious to hang out with my boyfriend this weekend and give him a tour of D.C. Nothing crazy, just hitting the zoo, the museums, maybe dancing a little, and of course grabbing some frozen yogurt (I got him hooked on it.)

My goal is explore D.C. as much as I can, but this summer isn’t just limited to exploring Washington, D.C. I plan on going on some road trips, visiting the beach, playing paintball, laser tag, and going to some amusement parks. I’m going to try to have as much fun as possible, even working on some film and photography projects. I just want to capture every single moment and create some Facebook worthy pictures to remember the summer.

If I can actually save up enough money then I would even go on a cruise at the end of the summer.  But that isn’t set in stone yet, so for now it’s all speculation. But at least I’m trying to piece together my plans and come up with a great summer filled with exploration and trying new things. So if you notice sometimes I don’t blog for a few days, then it’s because I’m out and about exploring the DMV and the East Coast. But don’t worry, I’ll still come back and share my experiences with you guys. Especially when I find good music.

Cheesy, but the perfect song to think of summer….lol

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

Another Day, Just Believe

It’s amazing how a simple shift from 11:59pm to 12:00am can mark the start of a new day, a new year, a new path, and new dreams. All the hiccups of 2011 have quickly become hazy fragments. Everything that happened in 2011 are just events & circumstances that can easily be added to my Facebook timeline, but now I’m staring at a blank slate of 2012 waiting to be written.

H.P. Lovecraft once said that “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” He had a very good point. Fear. We’ve all experienced the apprehension that is the essential building block of fear, but 2012 shouldn’t be another year that is wasted. It should be a aggressively progressive journey that leads towards your dream. Whatever your dream is, make it a reality in 2012.

Whether you’re sure or not, but somewhere deep down inside you have a dream(s). In the past I’ve entertained quite a few different dreams, but at the end of the day I just want to be a successful writer. By successful, I mean I want to become an established writer and actually have an impact. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get over my apprehension of NYC and try making it as a writer there. Or perhaps I can end up traveling the world and pursuing my desire to be a travel writer ( I write for a travel site now, but I don’t actually get to travel.)

I can’t exactly where I’ll end up, but that’s the beauty of life. You never know what’s going to happen the next in a few seconds, an hour, the next day, or the next decade. I mean apparently the world is supposed to end in 2012, so I should make every day count and not fret about tomorrow. I have to honestly work on my worrying and annoying trait of over analyzing my future. At this point all I know is I graduate in summer 2012 and whatever happens after that, well it happens. It’s just another day for me to just believe. So instead of worrying like I did in 2011 and wondering about the prospects that lay ahead, I’m going to spend 2012 being spontaneous and taking risks.

Everyday this year is another day. Each day is a chance for me to become a better writer, get my name out there, make mistakes, network, believe in the uncertain future of relationships, and to just live in the moment. I’m going to make the best of the year, and even start actually spending more time in New York. Maybe it’s not such a fairytale to believe I could actually make it as a writer there, or maybe it is. Who really knows? All I do know that in the end it’s just another day, just breathe.another day, just believe. Just breathe. Just believe….

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com