Lianna Holston: Be your own confetti cannon

SALUTATIONS, FELLOW NERDS

I write you from the Main Quad. I am sitting on a sneaky, sneaky bench in the middle of one of those plant circles, and I’m probably getting sunburned as we speak. But it’s worth it for the great view of Memorial Church and also all the tourists in front of it and the BEAGLE WOW THERE IS A BEAGLE IN THE MAIN QUAD. HELLO, FRIEND.

Would it be wrong to pick up a flower from a nearby plant and put it in my hair? Thinking about pursuing a more floral/happy-go-lucky/please-date-me aesthetic.

Wait oh my goodness I think there might be a wedding happening in Memorial Church right now. There are lots of fancy people in elegant dress and also a teenage boy in a tux and we all know that doesn’t just ~happen~

If your week was anything like mine, then you are probably a) very stressed about summer internships and b) very overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of of some peoples’ hair on this campus. So should you need to go get yourself a massage from a masseuse, a friend, or a cute neighbor, feel free to do that. If that is not something for which you currently have a desire, READ ON.

*definitely not made in Microsoft Word due to the fact that I never learned Photoshop haha what*

Here’s a quick recap of the morning I had:

• Arrillaga killed it once again with an amazing muffin selection
• A campus celebrity who will remain unnamed may or may not have taken a picture of me in section and I really can’t go into it here bc it’s a much more “in person” story but pls don’t hesitate to find me & ask follow up questions. Also @AforementionedCelebrity if you are reading this then accept my damn friend request on Facebook there are plenty of better pix of me there
• I turned down a free donut and am thus wondering where to pick up my prize

On a more serious note: last week was National Eating Disorder Awareness Week. This is an incredibly important issue that of course needs to be discussed on many different platforms. But something occurred last week that caused me to do some thinking. The Cardinal Council Student Athlete Advisory Committee Facebook page created an album called My Body, My Power (find it here). The album’s goal was “to highlight how Stanford student-athletes value their bodies in the context of athletics.” They posted photos of student athletes with quotes written by the students about why they valued and appreciated their body and what it was capable of.

Now. I am in no way saying any of this is a bad thing. I think eating disorders are a far too common occurrence in the world of athletics, and I very much appreciate Cardinal Council’s efforts to bring this issue to light and celebrate these athletes’ physical accomplishments. BUT. I want to take a moment to address the NARPs (Non-Athletic Regular People, as I’ve heard athletes affectionately call me and others many a time) of campus.

Athletes put their bodies through so much. I know. My brother swam for Stanford for two years. It was physically, mentally, and emotionally taxing. And athletes are by no means not allowed to have body image issues. But I think it’s easy for the rest of us to see these Adonises, assume they are the gold standard of physical appearance, and wonder why we don’t look the same. Think about it this way: if you’re not spending five or more hours in a gym every day, maybe don’t expect or demand that your body look like theirs.

We live in an age where fitness is celebrated and in a climate that is very conducive to people wearing spandex to class. Ergo, it’s very easy to compare ourselves to our tanned and toned classmates and feel #bummed about the whole situation. I do that all the time. And then I slap myself (metaphorically) (sometimes physically) (lol jk) and tell myself to snap out of it. The truth of the matter is: we’re all built differently and we should celebrate what our bodies can do, sure, but not solely in the sports arena. This campus is filled with talented musicians, actors, engineers, writers, bakers, dreamers, and more! Let’s freaking celebrate each other’s strengths, and support each other in working on our weaknesses! Who’s with me?

In my mind all of you just threw your hands in the air and cheered like in Braveheart. Except I haven’t seen Braveheart so if that doesn’t happen in Braveheart then you cheered like in another movie where everyone cheers in a “yas”-like way.

tl;dr: bodies are weird, love is weird, people are weird. Treat yo self, strive to look good naked, but most importantly don’t eat 14 brownies in one day just because you can bc you will 100% regret it when you are immobile at 10 pm. Oh and also love yourself and try not to have impossible standards.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Hang in there, dudes.

Lianna “very serious about the high quality of hair on this campus” Holston