Appearance overtakes body, soul

Let's talk about beauty.

Not beauty products or how drinking a green smoothie everyday will give your complexion a healthy glow (which is does, by the way). I want to talk about beauty ideals.

There are certain clichés surrounding people's ideals about beauty, one of my favorites ...

Social media, gateway to narcissism

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a social media buff, which seems like a cardinal sin today.

It's not that I don't use any sites to share my personal opinion of what I believe other people should find important and arbitrary pictures of ...

Reflection leads to deeper insight

I’m not a sad person. My day to day demeanor is bouncy, energetic, and at times filled with uncontrollable laughter because someone made an “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” reference.
    
But I am human, and yes, I do become sad sometimes.
    
I’m usually not one to wallow ...

Childishness affecting relationships

As the dependable confidant among my friends, I'm often bombarded with pleas for relationship advice. I don't nessesarily have a wise answer, but my knack for listening and nodding slowly while people talk does seem to help them with their troubles.

One good friend of mine has been ...

HIV test not part of prevention plan

This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved an over-the-counter home HIV testing kit that produces results in about 30 minutes.

The FDA advised anyone using the test, called OraQuick, to follow up with a medical professional if the results do come out positive, as the test is not a ...

Domesticity takes hit, careers win

Yesterday morning, I attempted to create a pseudo-Italian masterpiece I like to call a prosciutto grilled cheese sandwich.

I added my basil leaves neatly over a slice of bread. Then I laid three thin slices of provolone cheese over my herbs. Next I took eight slices of salty prosciutto and ...

Color of music continues to fade

I want to use this column to continue the discussion from my last column, which examined if music was indeed a colorized sphere.

I had the opportunity to attend The Weekend concert in Memphis last Thursday. For those who don't know about the artist, Abel Tesfaye has been relatively ...

Music merging from color, genre

What Color is Music?

It's a question avant-garde producer and N.E.R.D front man Pharrell Williams attempts to answer in a collaboration with artist/filmmaker RAE in a new video series called "Stereotypes: What Color is Your Music?"

The video opens in Brooklyn with several bystanders and ...

Zombie apocalypse wanted for some

So in addition to writing a weekly column for the Beacon, I'm currently working as an intern at The Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis. My second week, I finally forced myself of out my anti-social behavior and decided to meet the other interns.

I usually have a hard time ...

Ambition overtaking personal life

So this is my first column.

Understandably, I'm writing this with hesitation and anxiety. It's not that I have a fear of the public reading my words (I'm a newspaper reporter), but these are my intimate words. They're my own thoughts.

Honesty, as I was writing ...