Tracy's thoughts on things

Coming from a bilingual background, I know the struggles one has to face when learning a new language. I knew how to first speak Albanian before English. For me it was easy, I was born here and I learned English through school, books and the TV. My parents were the first generation here and because they were in their twenties when they came to the U.S, they were able to learn English. They still have an accent but they are able to blend in and have a comfortable life. For my grandparents learning English was and still is an everyday struggle. It's hard for them to understand the news, radio, and communicate with native speakers. They came to America in their early fifties and at that age it is impossible to learn a second language and be proficient in it. Motivation is an important factor when it comes to learning a new language and my grandparents have my mom to translate for them everywhere they go, so they don't see learning English as an necessity. The problem though is tha...

Words are the best thing that a human being has. Words take us anywhere and everywhere. They make us feel anything and everything. Words have been around for a very long time so it's no wonder we have gotten around to playing around with them. We have puns, alliteration, innuendoes. We even have different ways we say them like southern accents, French accents, and Australian accents. There's even different languages like German, Spanish, and Swedish. Life would be so boring if we all spoke the same language with the same accent. It would be especially boring if we meant what we actually meant all the time. The factor of mystery and magic would be gone. Sayings like, "Don't do anything I wouldn't," doesn't actually mean don't do the things that your crazy aunt Jan wouldn't. Because we all know if you were to listen to her advice you would be passed out on the floor of your neighbors patio with princess written on your forehead. But that little sayin...

Writing is a very powerful thing. It's a therapy. It's a job. It's a hobby. It's so many things for people. And the reason that it's so important is because writing is something that can be personal. It can have a heavy weight on the people who read it. A love note perhaps, or even a suicide note. Some people don't care about their writing. They use their words to hurt other people and they don't think twice about what their words did to others. Someones writing can mean a million different things. One can have a completely different interpretation of what they read than someone else. And sometimes it's as simple as the cat jumped over the hat. Virginia Woolf's words in "The Death of Moth" could easily be labeled as the description of a moths long death. She described how it's "legs fluttered again" and how "he settled on the window ledge". Of course she's talking about a moth? Humans can't do that. But what ...

Dumpster Diving is an art and so is shopping at thrift stores. Recently, thrift stores have been all the rage. I've seen YouTubers create videos on their channel titled "shopping haul", I've seen Instagram models rocking their "authentic vintage" clothes and I've seen stores like Forever 21 bringing back fashion ideas from past eras like the classic denim on denim, small sunglasses, and scrunchies and many more. Dumpster diving and thrifting sort of have the same concept; what some people don't want, others will take. So just like Lars Eighner, I will be giving you some tips on how to scavenge! Except I will be giving you tips on what clothes to get unlike Lars who was giving you tips on what food to eat from the dumpsters. Tip #1 - Make sure you don't go in with a fixed mindset of what you want, because 9/10 times you will not find what you are looking for. Instead, go in with an with an open mind and just roam the store of something that ca...