I sometimes say that just because I have a vagina doesn’t mean I’m a girl/woman.

For those who don’t understand how this could make any sense, here’s a nice little basic video, to introduce you to the world outside the gender norm:

Genderqueer or gender non-conforming: A person who does not identify as a man or woman.
- video above: Transgender Basics – Gender Identity Project

“Third gender or third sex refer to a gender category, of people who are considered neither completely male, nor completely female. It is a gender identity separate from ‘men’ and ‘women,’ of people considered to be the intermediate sex; in-betweens (like the androgynes) or neutrals (like the agendered).

Although contemporary connotations often confuse ‘third gender’ with hermaphrodites, biological hermaphrodites actually comprise a very small percentage of the third genders. Biologically speaking, a hermaphrodite is a person who has both male and female sex organs. However, gender identity is psychological and societal as well as physical, explaining why the majority of individuals who occupy the third gender are physically either male or female, not both.”
- wikipedia article: Third Gender

I just began reading the “Beauty Myth” by Naomi Wolf. Just now as I closed it for a bit and turned to television for a bit, I caught “What Not To Wear” (ep 250) and suddenly I finally (fully) understand why the self-esteem of the people that go there seems to improve dramatically!

It’s interesting how the woman on this show even brought up the word value. She finally has the self-esteem that lets her value herself, therefore her clothes should reflect value as well. This points directly at what the book discusses, a woman’s self-worth being intertwined with her appearance.

It’s a new year all over gain. It’s the beginning of one more cycle of our continuity.

Resolutions aside, what’s the best way of starting it? Dates and events will be repeated, seasons will replay and we’re still the same. It’s up to ourselves to provoke change where we want it. Little adjustments to our attitude might go a long way.

The new year can be exciting if you look at it as new opportunities that will rise where you can to shine through. Or it can be a dreadful feeling of deja vu where you expect nothing new to come of it and feel trapped in a loop.

Like someone once told me, we need only to resign ourselves of the past. You only can’t change what has already passed. Everything else deserves a fighting change. Don’t limit yourself. Don’t resign yourself to an endless loop.

All your power lies in your attitude. The way you face the world around you is more powerful than might you think. It affects everything. You change the way you see yourself, the way you deal with others change, the way others respond to you changes, opportunities change.

At first it might hard to shift to a more positive approach. Just remember, whatever your insecurities are, others have them too. Everybody is flawed. It all comes down to how we deal with it and if we let it overpower us. Everyone has value, so let others see you.

Don’t be afraid and embrace who you are. Polish your positive side and don’t obsess over the negative. Focus on what you want and how you’ll get it instead on what you can’t have!

Have a great year!

Awhile back there’s was a new classmate in my school who happened to from my hometown (rare thing). We started chatting, just really trying to know a little bit more about each other, and in the middle of it I asked her how old she was. She did tell me her age but she also said “I don’t think people’s age is a relevant thing to know”. At the time I just thought “I wasn’t going to discriminate you by your age”, but then I started to wonder, why did I ask about age? Why would that matter, or what would that reveal to me?

Just plain curiosity doesn’t quite answers it.

Age can be a point in common. If our age isn’t too far apart we can find common points in childhood memories, a childhood hero an important event or something else from that era. It gives you a lot of topics to explore with this person, specially when you’re getting to know one another. It can give you a faint idea of their background. Even when it’s someone who’s age is farther from ours, it still pin points an era which we might know something about, or not. It can sparkle questions.

Other than that, how relevant is it?

Will age hint on someone’s maturity? Absolutely not. There are kids whom can be more mature than some adults. Just because there’s a social expectation of a maturity level in accordance with certain ages, it doesn’t make it true.

When we are teenagers we think that we will change and become adults as we turn a certain age. Not so much turning 18, but I see the most reluctance about turning 20 or 21. That’s when we officially leave our teens behind and enter a whole new decade. The 20′ies it’s supposed to be when you get a job, move out, get married, and so on. But the year we were born doesn’t determine much, our personality does.

A lot of younger girls I see look older than me because they behave a certain way, and vice-versa. Even thought we associate these things with age, it’s has more to d with attitude and personality than age.

Sometimes these things can get to our head. I know it got to me when I turned 24 earlier this year. Where I thought I was supposed to be and where I actually was, were very different. And I was going crazy about it, feeling bad and a bit of a loser!

But that was ridiculous. Age shouldn’t matter, just like gender, ethnicity or whatever! We each have our own path, we aren’t supposed to be all serialized in the same stages at the same time.

In the modern day, most of us wear it to express ourselves, our individuality or our sense of belonging to a group, or even perhaps both.

Just like the clothes we wear, our jewelry might say something about us. We choose what we identify with and we wear. We are expressing a part of ourselves, hinting who we are to the world around us.

Adornment

I believe this is the strongest reason most of us wear jewelry.

Mankind started wearing jewelry in prehistory. The first pieces were done with seashells, small crustaceans, unpolished stones, small hunted animals’ teeth and bones. These were stringed in natural fibbers and made into necklaces and bracelets. The intention was to stand out, attract attention. Much like a peacock.

We like wearing pretty elegant things, to make us feel that way about ourselves. We might see it as vanity, but it’s probably much more connected to self-esteem and confidence boosts. Many of us strive for happiness, so we probably grab on to anything that makes us feel good. The feeling provides us with the illusion of happiness. Small moments of well being we wish to extend.

Status

Man evolved into hunting bigger and dangerous animals. So, the jewelry made out of these animal’s bones and teeth, was mainly worn as a trophy, a display of valency from the hunter to the community, assuring them a high position on the hierarchy.

Throughout the history, there has always been a social hierarchy based on wealth, thus being reflected in the quality and abundance of jewelry.

Today we see a display of status through extremely expensive jewelry, with extravagant sparkling jewels. Those who are wealthy display it with exclusive pieces, with astonishing and inaccessible prices to the non rich.

Amulets & Talismans

People used to believe that each jewel and metal had a specific beneficial magic property. Also colored glass was used to emulate jewels, but the color alone was believed to hold power as well.

There’s been a huge decrease in this type of jewelry, but some folklore amulets still survive depending on the culture.

Also there’s been a bit of a revival of jewels magical properties due to the New Age movement.

There’s probably more…

We have many types of jewelry, such as functional, religious, remembrance, official, and so on…

Related links:
Jewelry History

I like working with metals and making jewelry out of it. But then, lately, I feel like the end result is just something superficial and materialist! I don’t want to work everyday on something that leaves me feeling guilty for not be doing something more meaningful.

While searching for meaning in this, I could view it as a gift that will be memorable for someone. But that doesn’t really push my buttons.
Or maybe that, it’s a piece that will make someone else feel good about themselves, or beautiful while wearing it. But I kinda shrug to this.
It’s not that these aren’t valid reasons. They are! It’s just not what drives me.

How can I do this, if I myself don’t understand the “why wear it” in the first place (beyond vanity)? I guess, sometimes, I need everything to have a deep meaning…

I’ve been wanting to make this website more personal and less of a static portfolio.
Jewellery isn’t my identity, so why should my website be all about it? Let’s change that.
I want the website to reflect more of who I am.

But then, what is my identity? What’s my image? What is it that identifies me?

Since I can’t seem to figure it out, I won’t put up a front. I’ll just try to show as many of my facets as can. I’ll contradict myself if necessary. I’ll try to be brave on stepping out of my shell of comfort.

This is the goal.
Let’s see how it goes!

It felt so pointless, the artist thing.

For a while this bothered me deeply, “I’m an Artist” didn’t really tell me much about what is it that they exactly do. And at the same time I thought it was a bit presumptuous of them, it was upsetting me.

After some time, it finally hit me why it displeased me so damn much…

Being an artist isn’t an occupation. Beings an artist is an identity!

When I’m asking what you do, if you’re an artist, I’m asking about your art. What is your art?
Through what media, how do you express your artist’s identity?

In this context, “I’m an artist” is simply so vague and empty. Meaningless.

Is it someone who experiences life and then recreate that through a medium? Is it someone who shows the world their skills? Is it just someone with creative ideas?

Or is it maybe just a label?

Is it what you do that defines you? Or is it who you are, that defines what you do?

What defines me? Is it my experience? What about my personality? My emotions, my line of thinking, my mistakes, my insight, my dreams, my karma…?

It’s the whole mix that makes us who we are. But still, who and what am I?

Must I be someone? Must I, at all, be? How does one know ones identify? How do I decode all the information, how do I gather all of it into an answer?

And will I ever find it?