Arizona Bound! Keep an eye out for details about the mini-vacation up on the blog!! 

True Life: My Best Friend is the Opposite Sex

I want to start off by saying how thankful I am for all my “best” friends out there. There are about 4 of you and you know who you are. My definition of a friend is someone who cares about you, enjoys spending time with you, encourages you, and is easy to hang out with.  In my opinion, friendship should not discriminate against distance, gender, or nationality. And that is why I am writing this.

Welcome to my first “True Life” post.

True Life: My Best Friend is the Opposite Sex

I actually have two guy best friends, Casey and Luke. They are pretty cool. Today I am going to talk to you about my friendship with Luke.

Luke and I went to Arcadia High School together and were both in the same theatre class all four years. We have been in 4 shows together and participated in multiple showcases. Everyone that is a part of our theatre department is super close. We laugh, fight, cry, sing, dance, and act together and it is so fun! Spending hours on end with each other cause us to be involved in everyone else’s business.

Our class performing a musical number from The Drowsy Chaperone on the Pantages Stage in Los Angeles

Now that Luke and I (and many other close friends) have graduated from the theatre department we are all dispersed around this country. We have a few in New York, one in Colorado, one in Connecticut, and many others in California. Luke and I chose the community college route, and that’s what has made us so close. Out of all the people who stayed in town, Luke and I are the closest. Our schedules don’t always work together but we find times to hang out, even if it’s just grabbing lunch. I think being friends with each other reminds us about the times we shared with many others in theatre. We speak the same (theatre) language. He understands my craziness and I understand his.

New York Selfie

With any boy girl friendship comes questions about a possible relationship. In my opinion, it is perfectly normal for someone to ask about it. We spend so much time together. I have had guy friends in the past that have come and gone without becoming anything more than a friendship. Luke and I are constantly conversing with each other about the people who ask about our status and Luke always says it perfect, “We are the only ones that know how we actually feel.” We don’t let ourselves get wrapped up in other people’s opinions. I believe that it is possible to have a guy in your life that is your best friend. And in fact, I think it is very healthy. If I feel discouraged about what my crush said to me, Luke is one of the first ones I go to. He reminds me not to overthink things.  He reminds me that boys are stupid sometimes. I connect with Luke on a completely different level than I do with some of my girlfriends. It’s not a better level but a different level. He is also the first person to tell me when I am acting crazy. He also gives me a sneak peak of a guys mind. It’s great (muahahahaha).

He's REALLY strong

As BFFs, Luke and I are glad that you guys ask about us. We rather you ask us to our face, than ask others behind our backs. I would think the same thing about people with a similar relationship to us, because it’s interesting. The people that hang out with us understand that we are just friends, and how it works. He’s my brother (and why would I date my brother…EW!!)

Can you see the Statue of Liberty?

Thanks Luke for your friendship!

Have a topic you want me to blog about? Email me at theshelbylens@gmail.com and I will review your ideas! 

Social Media Etiquette

When it comes to social media networking there are some things you should not do. Here are a few things! I admit, that I am guilty of some of these!

Disclaimer: Some are strictly opinion based. You do your thing!

Areas of concentration: Instagram and Facebook

(I can’t believe I am writing this)

Instagram

Rule 1: Do not use broad hash tags that have no meaning. (i.e: #girl #fun #likeforlike #boy #boyfriend #no #yes)

Rule 2: Do not like your own photos. Just don’t.

Rule 3: When stalking someone’s Instagram, do not like a photo that is more than a few days old, unless you want them to know you are stalking them.

Rule 4: Do not post 2 selfies in a row! I don’t mind posting a selfie every once in a while but if it happens too often, people get annoyed. (We get it... you look fabulous).

Rule 5: Never use the Kelvin filter, unless you want to look like an oompa-loompa.

Kelvin Filter=Me as an oompa-loompa

Rule 6: Be careful with how many photos you post in one day. People want to know what you’re doing and move on. I often scroll right through repetitive pictures without even looking. I do believe it is okay to post more than one in a day if, for example, you are on vacation, or your friends threw you a birthday party! I wouldn’t exceed three.

Rule 7: If you are a fan of posting a photo with the original proportions using white edges, make sure your edges are white. Otherwise it looks tacky (in my opinion). Thank you Grace for teaching me this one!

See how the edged are not pure white? One of my pet peeves

Facebook

Rule 1: Do not like a status or photo if it has been up for less than a minute. It’s just weird.

Rule 2: Do not use hash tags on Facebook. This is something that annoys me personally, but a lot of people don’t mind.

Rule 3: Do not add people you don’t know!! If you have to stalk them to figure out who they are before you accept their friend request, then you do not know them well enough to be their friend.

Rule 4: Wish people a happy birthday!! It makes them feel special. If you have their number, call or text them! The thing about saying “happy birthday” on Facebook is that it is severely informal, so be careful with that one.

Rule 5: Be careful about liking/commenting on old posts when stalking someone. It is evidence of you stalking their profile.

Rule 6: Do not post more than one status in a day. It can be annoying. I used to be super guilty of this until I realized what I was doing.  But if, for example, you are on the other side of the world updating people about a vacation, GO FOR IT!

Rule 7: Complaining. Sometimes complaining on social media can make you feel better, but if you make it a habit then it gets annoying.

Rule 8: Be careful about arguing on Facebook. It’s tacky and makes you look bad. Also, everyone can see it.

Rule 9: Be careful about what you post. Do not be too negative, or rude. Some things are meant to stay locked up in your head. Do not post anything you wouldn’t want you grandparents to see! Use your filter when posting thoughts!

Happy Posting!

Have a topic you want me to blog about? Email me at theshelbylens@gmail.com and I will review your ideas!