Having played guitar for the past twelve years of my life--literally more than half my life--I’ve had to do my fair share of navigating the world of musical equipment, what’s worth it and what’s not, red flags, and more. Here are some things I’ve learned along the way that you might want to keep in mind when buying your first guitar.

A defining characteristic of society has always been its ever changing beauty standards. And yet with each decade that ushers in an emphasis on a new body type, this specific feature still becomes the most desired objective. Despite the fact that we know in ten to twenty years it’ll be gone or completely changed, its time in the spotlight still puts immense amounts of pressure on young people, and particularly women or femme identifying people. 

2020 has undoubtedly been a whirlwind of a year, especially for fashion. Although the ‘stay at home,’ style was a necessity for us all, and our pyjama collection has never come so handy, a new wave of trends is forecasting this year, where we are ditching the sweatpants, and finally feeling good about ourselves. 

If anyone ever bothered enough to ask me when my first recollection of love was, I’d instantly be brought back to the summer of 1987.

It was hot - terribly so - and I was working in one of those humiliatingly shabby record shops downtown. I didn’t even have a wildly extensive knowledge of music; I liked Madonna, as I assume every twenty-year-old girl must have at the time, and anything else with a bit of noise.

More than 1.3 billion people - 16.66% of the world population - live on less than $1.25 a day. 22,000 children die every day due to extreme poverty from causes like starvation or not having access to medical care. These numbers will only increase from the consequences of global warming, as 20 million more people every year become homeless from climate change-related disasters.

I relive the magic your presence gives way to every time you walk through those double doors. And then I shame myself for it. For having the resistance of a magnet - nonexistent. Or for crushing like a teenage girl.