Introducing Myself after Seven Years of This Fashion Girl

Hi Everyone! Hopefully, you've noticed...but I've officially changed my blog name from 'This Fashion Girl' to Christina Madeleine. Prior to my last post that you can read here, I had taken about seven months off from blogging which included most of the pandemic, my 20th birthday, and my seven-year blog anniversary. This month, I decided I wanted to change the direction of the blog so that I can feel more passionate about it.  I wanted to talk about myself so that new and old viewers will learn more about the person behind the blog.

What's the story behind your blog? 

On May 3, 2013 (about five days before I turned 13), I created 'This Fashion Girl' after being inspired by the YouTubers I was watching, and the Disney Channel Movie 'Frenemies' which featured Zendaya and Bella Thorne as teenagers who create a really popular digital fashion magazine. I didn't have any cameras and still had a Blackberry at the time, so YouTube was not the platform I started out with (I'm slightly thankful a 13-year-old version of me isn't living there either). I have always loved writing, and I felt like blogging was the best option for me. 

I started out writing about Bethany Mota, outfits from American Eagle, Urban Outfitters records, Essie nail polish, One Direction, and everything that screams 2013, 2014, and 2015 girl that goes on Tumblr. I love that era of fashion and music, and I know it's not that long ago, but I definitely embody it better as a 20-year-old than I did when I was a young teenager. I was finishing sixth grade when I started my blog, and now I'm a rising junior in college; so there's been lots of changes in content over the years. 

When I was in high school, my posts changed more towards activism (as I started learning more about feminism and politics), book reviews, outfits of the day, and life updates. Although I loved my high school experience, I was always constantly learning about myself in my daily life (from friendships I had to the hobbies I picked up). Now that I'm two years removed from it, I feel like I can talk more clearly about my experiences and would love to share more about that. My blog in high school made me proud, but also I was always too scared to post what I really wanted because of the fear of being negatively talked about. 

My college experience has not come easy to me, and I faced so much drama and academic hardships in my first two years that have really forced me to grow. As a rising junior, I  have become passionate about fashion, business, writing, politics, and so much more that I am ready to start blogging about. Being a college student is a huge part of my identity right now, and I want to really bring the experience to my readers, but also talk about the things in my life that bring me joy. 

What do you study at college? What activities are you apart of?

I am a Marketing and English double-major at Providence College. I originally went into my freshman year as a just a Marketing major, but after talking to the Career Center I realized that I wasn't completely happy in the business school. Instead of dropping the major, I decided to continue with it for at least another semester...and that's when I took English 175 - Introduction to Literature and realized I wanted to study English/Writing as well. In March of 2019, I walked into the head of the English department's office with the intention of declaring a minor in writing, to which he told me that I should just major in English, and so I did (and thus became my double major). I'm glad that I gave Marketing a second shot because I am interested in the classes I'm taking and more excited about my classes, but my whole college experience has been a balancing act amongst the majors and the two core curriculums.

I am apart of Providence College Television (PCTV), where I am the Vice President of the club for the '20-'21 school year. The channel is student-run and I'm hoping in the next two years get more of the college community in videos and grow out the club. I am also apart of the club field hockey team, which I joined my sophomore year. As part of the business school, I am in Women in Business, Sports Business Organization, and International Business clubs; but I hope to be more involved in those clubs this year (even if it's by zoom). Lastly, I have a radio show with my roommate called 'Cracked Up' on WDOM 91.3 where we have a two-hour slot each week where we play music and talk. I'm considering writing for the newspaper or liberal arts magazine, but I have not decided yet.

Outside of college, I run my blog and Instagram (you can follow me @christinaxmadeleine) and make vlogs for YouTube about my life in college! I recently bought a vlog camera to make higher quality videos! About a month ago, I became a weekly writer for 'College on Tap', and I am hoping to continue with that for the semester. Here are my first three posts: 'Five Essentials for Roller Skating', 'Rating the Shows I Bing-watched during Quarantine', and 'Revisiting Camp: The Met's 2019 Fashion Exhibit'. I am working on adding a page to my blog with the updated lists of all the articles I will be writing.

What do you like to do? What are your passions?

Outside of college activities and being a student, I like to travel, spend time in the outdoors, write, roller skate, and watch television and movies. I have always had a vivid imagination and am drawn to fictional literature and television shows with drama and magic. Throughout the quarantine, I've spent time reading (not as much as I hoped to) and watching television, but I also picked up roller skating and have fallen in love with it. Having a hobby that keeps me active has been very beneficial to my mental and physical health. I also love hockey games, and am a huge New York Islanders fan, and try to go to as many games as I can. At college, I go to the basketball, field hockey, and ice hockey games if I can make them. My favorite places in New York to go to is The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History. I'm a bit all over the place when it comes to things I like to do, but I think the more passions the better! 

I still love fashion, which is why I created this blog in the first place, but I'm trying to find a style that more accurately fits me. I'm excited about the future of this blog and I will 100% be back with more blogposts...no more hiatuses.

'This Fashion Girl' has been apart of me for seven years, and I am so grateful for it.

Thank you for the support for all these years. 

xx

Christina Madeleine

Educating & Holding Myself Accountable

Hi everyone! It's been over seven months since I've been on here, but I am officially back to blogging. Although I will have some posts in the future about my sophomore year of college, quarantine, dealing with the pandemic overall, and Summer; I want to talk about how I've been getting involved with current events, such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

I am very fortunate to have gone to a private school that educated me about social injustice, and racism. Although my high school wasn't perfect, they did make the effort to teach the students about biases and prejudices despite being a prominently white school. In the upper school (the only years I went there), racist comments and actions were treated seriously. I am also from New York City, which as a whole is liberal, but also has influenced me to become more educated with the world around me, and taught me to accept people of all races, genders, religions, sexualities from a young age. Although I am white, I am continuously educating myself about the privilege I hold, and injustices everywhere.

That being said, this is how I've been supporting the #BlackLivesMatter movement. This is not to brag or say that other people are doing more or less than I am doing, I just want to showcase how easy it is to support the cause and become educated.

First of all, I've been educating myself about race in America. I've been going through all the resources posted by Black YouTubers& bloggers, authors, friends, and other people who have come up on my social media. I have also been reposting many of their photos that have resources, places to donate, or news onto my accounts to spread awareness. I've particularly have watched videos about racism in some of the hobbies I take part in, i.e Field Hockey, Roller Skating, yoga, and writing.

I bought White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin Diangelo, and Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. I have yet to read them, as they haven't arrived yet, but I will definitely try to discuss them after I do.

Image from Jane Mount Instagram

In my third semester of Development of Western Civilization, we started learning about America, and with that comes the history with slavery. Books I read as part of the curriculum were Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X Kendi, and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Both of those books gave me more insight into the history of slavery from a modern perspective, and through the account of a former slave.

In my final semester of DWC, I was in a colloquium called Meaning of America which covered the history of America starting from 1619. Although the course covered an array of topics, we always came back to The New York Times 1619 Project, which examines the 400-year history of slavery, starting with the first boat that held slaves coming to America in 1619. This project includes a podcast and articles from many Black writers and journalists including Nikole Hannah-Jones. I also was able to read some of James Baldwin's works, which depicted not only racism in America, but also his love for the country as a whole.

Although I'm not an expert in Black studies, I greatly appreciated having literature by Black authors included into my curriculum. I feel like the education system needs to include more Women and Black authors because there is no downside to diversifying the curriculum from white men to a range of voices. Throughout my first two years of college, I was able to read more works by POC authors, which has definitely shifted my way of thinking, and my views on American Literature.

Next, I have been donating some of money to organizations. I know that everyone can't donate money, but there are more ways to get involved in supporting the BLM movement. Before I educated myself more, I donated to the Minnesota Freedom Fund & Campaign Zero. I found both these organizations through posts on Instagram. Since the death of Geoge Floyd on May 25, Minnesota Freedom Fund has raised over $30 million and has asked for people to no pause on donating to them. Also, there has been some controversy over where the money is going, and other organizations such as 'Reclaim the Block' want the bailout fund to be transparent with where their money is going. As for Campaign Zero, the donations push the organization to combat police brutality through reform. Those two organizations were a start, but I wanted to put my money to other organizations that aren't getting as much hype through Social Media.

SO_hockey ( https://so-field-hockey.square.site/ )
Black Girls Code ( https://www.blackgirlscode.com/)

As time goes on, I am hoping to find more organizations to donate too. If you don't know where to start, I recommend the NAACP and Black Lives Matter! If you can't donate money, sign petitions and continue to spread awareness

Although this isn't part of the BLM movement, there is a global crisis going on in Yemen. I originally didn't know much information about what was happening until I looked at https://yemencrisis.carrd.co/. Since then I've donated to an organization that I believe will work to make a difference there when it comes to the hunger crisis.

Lastly, I've been trying to stay informed as much as possible about the current state of the world. 2020 is a very eventful year, and also an important one when it comes to American politics. This is the first presidential election that I will be able to vote for and I really want young people to vote in the upcoming election. I've noticed that many people I know (even if they won't admit it) only get their news from Instagram stories, tweets, and Facebook reposts. It's important to make sure that you're reposting credible information. I also stay up to date with an email subscription to TheSkimm daily and I try to read the Wall Street Journal and New York Times a few days a week.


What ways do you stay informed?

I'm very excited to be back to blogging! New posts...and a name change coming soon :)

xx

Christina Madeleine

*Let me know in the comments if anything I said I was misinformed so I can change it!