Just Hilly

Happy New Year everyone 🥳🥳🥳 Glad to have made it another trip around the sun. For this year I have quite an ambitious outlook towards what I'd like to accomplish. Hopefully they're ambitious enough that if I fall short I'll still have done quite a bit overall. I would like to obtain my NHA certificate for Clinical Medical Assistant this year. It's been a while since trade school graduation and my last MA job and I'd like to get back into a clinical position. My current job is clerical but still in healthcare; it's been great with my school schedule but not as fulfilling as being part of a medical team.  Updating my blog more often as well. I've been wanting to do more creative writing, trying my hand at more journalistic pieces and writing on topics I'm passionate about or would like to bring awareness to. Growing my savings is also a huge goal for me. After using my little nest egg to help my family in a hard time, it's been a little sad not havi...

One of the pros to having a healthy and active social life is being more motivated to take part in festivities and making plans. Armed with a solid group of friends, some old and new, taking part in things has been a lot less difficult to do. I was actually able to attend quite a few Halloween themed activities this year, both on and off campus. I ended up having three looks this season, and I'm super happy with how they all turned out.  First up is Pokemon Trainer. As an avid Pokemon Go player, especially during the school year, I felt it was fitting to get out this old backpack and throw a look together. I won that backpack back in high school at a costume competition my local library was having - I was dressed as Fiona (Finn's official gender bend) from 'Adventure Time'. I had both a fem and masc fit planned out, I like having options that express my identity - not knowing how I'd feel the morning of the party. Decided on a masc look due to how I was feeling that...

There is a general respect for the arts among Long Islanders, and there are quite a few spaces in both Nassau and Suffolk counties. In my town, or hamlet really, Bay Shore has been renowned as the place to go for things like festivals, parades and free outdoor activities for the community. The Westfield Mall, roughly a mile or two from main street, serves one of the main commercial hubs in the community. The Islip Arts Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to the showcasing of work by Long Island artists and authors, is located in this commercial hub right next to the Dick’s Sporting Goods.  The IAC focuses on hosting exhibits to uplift different communities within the LI greater community as well as offering a myriad of art classes year round.(Dekoning, par. 5) Like most places, the IAC suffered a huge hit during the height of the covid pandemic- their former residence closed down; the manager of the Westfield Mall in Bay Shore invited them to relocate to an open space avai...

In its most simple definition, a name is an identifier. Names are often one of the first pieces of information you can learn about another, a label to match a face- another conscious being. Historically, names carried weight depending on things like your family’s prestige or class, any trades passed on from father to son, one great ancestor who did something revolutionary or tied to a certain ethnic group/region of people. In recent history and modern society, a name can still be tied to prestige as well as socioeconomic status, ethnicity and gender identity (or lack thereof). Both historically and in present times, a name has been closely tied with different aspects of one’s life journey that influence the paths they take; and while it may not be the only factor molding a person into who they are- a name plays a role in who they become.  Traditionally, names (specifically last names) held the purpose of identifying a group of people, whether a clan, a royal lineage, tradesman etc....

Hello everyone 👋 The fall semester started for me this past Monday and almost all my classes are writing intensive. I'm considering posting my essays, responses to certain prompts and research I end up doing throughout the next few months. Not sure if I'll make a separate page for longer pieces or just post them on my regular feed. I know the mobile version of this blog allows viewing the feed by selecting individual posts instead of the desktop version's continuous layout. Lmk/comment what you think would be the best approach based off your experience going through my blog. The insight would be helpful with making that decision. I'm also hoping all the writing this semester will encourage some new ideas and motivation towards the poetry and stories/books I'm writing. Some personal and some published on a different platform anonymously but all needing work. Thanks for stopping by :)

Last Thursday night, I went out on another date with my partner at the same little bar I mentioned a few posts ago. It's called Nostalgia and is a very cute 90's themed bar in Bethpage, NY. We went for what we found out is going to be a new monthly drag show hosted by some of my friends who are drag queens along with performances by other local queens as well.  (Video shows a quick vid I took of one of the sets done by my very talented friend Gemma Tolstoy  ) The bar is very queer friendly and definitely in my opinion a safe space for LGBTQ+ folks looking to go out and have a fun time. Definitely a mixed crowd bar depending on the night, when I go tends to be more folks in their 20's with just a  sprinkling of those in their 30's and 40's. The place is totally decked out throughout with everything 90's from movie memorabilia, autographed headshots of 90's celebs, fun colored lighting, Pokemon decor around the bar, CD and comic book themed bathrooms and the r...

So I FINALLY got to see Barbie yesterday and it was so much more than I expected. With all the snippets and posts I had seen these past 2 weeks online about the movie, I had prepared myself for a more girl power, tween-ish feel for the movie. Instead, I was surprised by ever changing metaphors for womanhood, navigating society through the lenses of male and female, mother-daughter relationship woes, the importance setting boundaries along with insurrection and patriarchy. It felt like half a fun kids movie half eighth grade English class with all the symbolism, juxtaposition and satire. The colors, dance numbers, fun outfits and the vast array of Barbies (and Kens) in the movie made for a fun visual experience. I ended up being one of many movie goer's who left singing 'I'm Just Ken' by Ryan Gosling (stereotypical Ken) when leaving the theater. I felt the movie was well casted and everyone played their parts very well. I would say whoever thought to make Will Ferrell pl...