The Healthy Dose, 004: Digital Wellness & My Health Beacon

My fourth installment of the dose looks at the topic of digital wellness, and asking folks to step away from their devices for a moment. While also looking at the new online scheduling portal for University Health Services at UMass Boston

Social media are great! Social media are also the worst.
The absolute worst.

I’m all over social media—I don’t hide it. I use it to keep so many aspects of my life under control. To the point where most of my life is truly controlled by social media and my digital devices.

This is both fun and troublesome.

Because like many folks in our global society, I’ve become quite accustom to having a reliance on my digital devices to keep me functioning in the world.
Alas, there are many psychological and mental health issues at play when we develop such an adherence to our digital life.

So I’m here to discuss the idea of digital wellness.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you commute, and while you commute, you’re flipping through Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, news articles, cat videos, How It’s Made videos, record shopping on Amazon, or sending snaps of people on the train using whatever new snap filter was released that day.

All of this digital exposure can take its toll on our brains and distance us from the real world around us.

Social media and Wellness

Digital wellness encompasses a couple of things—first, in order to maintain good digital wellness, you need to step away from your devices for a little bit. I know this might seem scary, but seriously. Put the phone away during class, or during meals, or during your commute. Instead, pick up a book, or have a conversation with someone.

With social media being the epicenter of our digital lives, the existence of FOMO often permeates our lives. FOMO is the fear of missing out. This fear is what many people latch onto when it comes to believing that their friend’s lives are better or more interesting than their own.

When in reality, the majority of what people post online are the highlights, the extravagance, or even a perception of extravagance. Ultimately, it’s important not to get hung up on any of that stuff. It will only stress you out further, and cause you anxiety.

My suggestion is to make sure you recognize that regardless of what you post online, or what you read online, that your life matters and that you have value. Don’t get caught up in the perceptions that your friends or celebrities present on social media. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
Or, Photoshop and filters, I should say.

Consider the Content You Create

Now, the other component of digital wellness is essentially taking care of the content you create and share on the internet. The reality of today’s society is that what happens on the internet stays on the internet.

This can be a scary thing to process right now, so I’ll give you a minute to process.

Are you back? Okay.

Truthfully, I can’t tell you what you should and shouldn’t share on the internet. And I wouldn’t want to do that. However, I have done a lot of research on social media, and one of the biggest regrets many students express about their online presence is that an embarrassing picture came back to haunt them later when interviewing for a job. Or a tweet they sent years ago wound up being misconstrued in some way and they were declined a job.

Job recruiters check that stuff these days, so it’s important to be aware of your online presence.
You can’t control the internet, but you can control what you contribute to it. So think before you tweet/post/share, and that will greatly benefit your digital wellness.

My Health Beacon

Yet, since we have become the generation of digital devotees, it is important to consider that there are some advancements that do in fact benefit the hustle and bustle of our daily lives
.
One of those innovations is the creation of My Health Beacon—a fully online registration and account management system through University Health Services.

My Health Beacon online portal was introduced in January as a way to improve your experience with the resources at UHS.

The My Health Beacon portal allows you to schedule or cancel your appointments with University Health Services, send secure messages to your health care providers, view and print your immunization information, and complete any necessary forms or surveys. All of this is meant to make your experience with UHS much simpler and accessible for your busy lives, and to make sure that you have as much time with your healthcare provider as possible.

Also, if you haven’t been over to UHS (Quinn Administration building, second floor) in a while, you can check the sweet new iPad self-check system that allows you the ability to self-check in for appointments, capture insurance card images, complete compliance forms, surveys, and visit questionnaires.

Be sure to check out the My Health Beacon portal on the UHS website, and use your digital skills to take of your wellness! Thus, contributing to the enhancement of your overall wellness.

New Wave Punk Powerhouses Pack the Paradise

I cover one of the punk/hardcore scene's most jam-packed tours in recent memory


Note: This piece originally appeared in the Mass Media.

Turnover. Photo by Katy Hamm.

I feel bad for bartenders at punk and emo concerts. Either the majority of the crowd is too poor, too young, or straight edge.

This was a thought going through my head at the Paradise Rock Club while waiting for bands to switch over at the Citizen and Turnover concert on Sunday night.

As a former bartender, I know the feeling of not working much, but there are still plenty of people around your bar, causing a commotion, but still not buying any drinks. It can be pretty frustrating.

Probably not as frustrating if those people are flocks of emo and punk kids having good time in the revival period of both of those great genres.

This was a special tour to experience. All four acts on the bill—Milk Teeth, Sorority Noise, Turnover, and Citizen—are at varying levels of impact in punk and emo revivals.

MILK TEETH.  Photo by Katy Hamm.

Milk Teeth, hailing from the UK, were making their Boston debut on this tour, since this was the band’s first-ever tour of the United States. I was particularly excited for the band because their debut LP, Vile Child, which was released in January on Hopeless Records, is currently my favorite album of the year.

No joke. The band, fronted by bassist and vocalist, Becky Blomfield, brings a blunt, energetic, and dynamic performance to its first LP offering. The album is full of fast punk tracks that alternate the juxtaposition of Becky’s sweet female vocals with guitarist/screamer Billy Hutton and his guttural screams and yells.

MILK TEETH.  Photo by Katy Hamm.

Milk Teeth did not disappoint and visibly won over many fans as the set wore on.

Up next were the veritable torch-bearers of the new wave of emo and garage punk, Sorority Noise. 
Sorority Noise, fronted by the oft-vulnerable Cameron Boucher, have risen to a lot of recognition as a powerful act in the emo scene due to Boucher’s willingness to be honest with his struggles as a manic depressive.

Boucher even took a moment during the band’s set to acknowledge his history of depression and discuss support for suicide prevention. And while I struggled to enjoy the band, sonically—even with their much-acclaimed 2015 LP Joy, Departed—I gained much respect for the way they owned their live show, transcending the confines of recorded music by putting on an incredible set that expanded into post-rock territories.

I was antsy as hell when co-headliner, Turnover, took the stage.

Their 2015 LP, Peripheral Vision, was my fourth favorite album of 2015. It is the singular album that helped me through a very dark depression last year.

Essentially, the band ditched its pop punk roots for a more shoegaze and chill sound, akin to The Cure meets Joy Division. Each song on the new LP fills me with positivity and the comfort to take on my struggles.

Turnover’s live set mirrored the consistent aura of good vibes present on "Peripheral Vision," with the band giving love to the crowd during their entire set. The crowd returning the love in spades.

Citizen. Photo by Katy Hamm.

The almighty Citizen closed out the night with the most energetic set of the evening and maybe that I’ve seen in recent memory.

The Michigan-native Citizen started off their set with a few tunes from their instant classic 2013 LP Youth. The crowd was engulfed in excitement and rage as the band pressed into “Cement,” a post-hardcore opus from their 2015 LP, Everybody is Going to Heaven.

Everybody is Going to Heaven is an album no one expected. It is reminiscent of Brand New transcending Deja Entendu’s follow up expectations with The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me.

Everybody is unceasing in their anger, glorious in their beauty, and powerful in their ability to wrap the listener in an atmospheric hardcore reality, mostly unheard of today.

Citizen. Photo by Katy Hamm.

Citizen brought all it had to give to the Paradise as lead singer Mat Kerekes consistently commanded the stage and crowd, similar to when I saw the band open for Circa Survive on the anniversary tour for Juturna last fall. 

The bands have raised over $2,000 for Planned Parenthood over the three-week tour. Each band gave a separate pitch for why folks should support Planned Parenthood. It made me proud to support such great human beings that are making genuine tunes and giving back.

It’s a very cool time to be following this scene. I am very grateful to have witnessed the initial run of emo, and now, its rebirth.

What a time to be alive.

The Healthy Dose, 003: Intro to Consent

In my third installment, I take on the topic of consent in support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month


Note: this piece originally appeared in the Mass Media.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and in preparation for what’s to come this month, I wanted to give a crash course introduction to the concepts of consent and bystander intervention.

Quick content warning:
Some of what I’m about to write might be somewhat uncomfortable for survivors of sexual violence. It might be uncomfortable for others who will read what I’m going to say about consent and feel some sort of way about it and to those of you feeling those sorts of ways—just listen.

The long-standing statistic is that one-in-four women and one-in-six men will be the victim of some form of sexual violence during their time in college.

Those statistics are pretty consistent in our country—and that disgusts me.
So I’d like to spend this article discussing how we as humans on this campus can do our part to end sexual violence entirely.

What is consent?

Simply: consent is when someone agrees to do something, or gives permission for someone to do something to or with them.

In terms of the context of sex, consent is when someone agrees to do something sexual with you, or when you agree to do something sexual with someone else.

Okay. Still with me?

Because here is where I might lose some folks—consent must be reaffirmed for anything and everything you do with a sexual partner. And in order to give and receive consent, it must enthusiastic!

Enthusiastic consent is not “maybe,” or “I don’t know,” or “I’m not sure.”
Enthusiastic consent is “yes.”

If the answer is not “yes,” it’s a no—however, I will accept “sure.” Even then, it might be safe to just check in and make sure before moving forward.

What consent comes down to is communication.
It’s important to talk about what you like, don’t like, and what you’re willing to try—and that might mean someone wants to try it eventually, but not right that moment. And your role as the sexual partner is to NEVER pressure them into doing that thing until they are ready and give you a “yes, let’s try this.”

Now, what is not consent?

Note: this is where I need folks to really pay attention.
Consent is not persuasion.
If you have to persuade your partner into sexual activity, you do not have consent.
If you have to pressure or even worse, force, your partner in to sexual activity, you do not have consent. And chances are, you have committed sexual assault.

That’s reality.
If you do not have consent, you are committing sexual assault.

Also, consent cannot be given if someone is intoxicated to incapacitation. Even if BOTH parties are intoxicated, consent cannot be legally given. Even if consent is given at the beginning of a sexual encounter, and then someone becomes intoxicated, it is not legally consent.
This is not a blurred line. This is the fact of how to know how to obtain consent.

Consent must be reaffirmed before and during each sexual act.
It shouldn’t kill the mood, so don’t think of it that way—simply ask, “can I do this now?” And if you have enthusiastic consent, proceed and do the deed.

But if there is apprehension, do not proceed.

Again, if there is any apprehension, read that sign, heed that message, and stop.
This is very important for maintaining not only a good relationship with your sexual partner, but it will also allow the two of you—or three, or four—to build a lot of respect and care for each other.

One final note:

Consent can be revoked at any time—anyone has the right to rescind their consent at any point during sexual activity, for whatever reason. And it is our job to listen to this and understand that this is okay.
Do not try to persuade, do not try to pressure—just let it go.

Because you listened to the desires of your partner, it will ensure a safe interaction that will possibly even open up the opportunity for further opportunities for sexual activity in the future!

Now, if you’d like to get involved with any of the events for SAAM, know that there is a Film Series happening April 11, showing Hip Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes, and on April 25, showing Hunting Ground. Both films focus on different aspect of rape and sexual violence. Both films start at 5:30pm in the Integrative Science Complex, Small Science Auditorium 0006.

Also, Take Back the Night takes place on April 28 throughout the Campus Center, so be on the look-out for those events as well!

I have also personally launched a new nonprofit called, The Art of Survival, which creates FREE art for survivors of trauma. This is our first month in existence and we are currently sharing the stories of sexual violence survivors.

Next month, May, is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we will open up the project to survivors of suicide attempts and suicide loss, as well as those who survive every day with depression and/or anxiety.

If you feel that you or anyone you know would benefit from this project, please email our organization at artissurvival@gmail.com, and feel free to visit www.artissurvival.com for more information.

Be well, take care of each other, and as always, my office (CC3407) is a safe space for you to come chat about life and existing in the world.

A Bunch of Dudes Playing Sports

I covered a local gig in Boston at Berklee College of Music, and wound up sitting down with one of Boston's brightest new math-rock/garage rock bands


Note: This article originally appeared in the Mass Media.

On very little sleep, and after about 15 hours of driving, Boston’s own new wave emo punk band, sports. stepped onto the low-rise stage of Berklee College of Music’s Café 939 with a packed house of eager listeners ready to rock out.

The band showed up on Friday, March 25, after playing a show in North Carolina the night before—which was the final night of a two-and-a-half week tour with the band Perspective, a lovely hand to hold. A tour on which the members of the band say they learned a lot about themselves and life on the road.

“This was only our second-ever time taking an extensive tour,” said John Blank, drummer for sports.. “So it was a good learning experience being out there on the road.”

From L to R: Ward (guitar/vocals), Blank (drums), Duffy (bass).

Sports. consists of Blank on drums and backing vocals, Kris Ward on guitar and lead vocals, and Sean Duffy on bass.

I was able to chat with the members of the band immediately after their eccentrically energetic performance, which showcased a fine-tuned, tour-tight sound that audiences don’t often get from young dudes like these. They were surprisingly enthusiastic for functioning on very little sleep—a reality I contributed to the men being finally done with their three week tour now that they were home in Boston.

However, hailing from Chicago and sporting a Blackhawks beanie, Ward is the only member of the band not from the Massachusetts area.

“It’s funny because we often get compared to CSTVT, which is out of Chicago; but I don’t think we sound anything like them,” Ward said. CSTVT (previously, ‘castevet’) is a now-dormant emo band that was on the emo-haven record label, Count Your Lucky Stars. Ward does admit that a major Chicago influence does derive from Into It. Over It.—another member of the Count Your Lucky Stars family.

While Ward brings the emo essence to the band, Blank claims that it’s the Boston influences that give the band’s sound its true edge.

“Sean and I definitely bring an east coast grit to things,” Blank said, “not that Kris doesn’t have that—but we are used to much more aggressiveness.” Duffy explains that his big influences came from the early easy-core bands like Four Year Strong and Dance Gavin Dance.

“I thought all of the dudes in those bands were rock stars,” Duffy said, “but then I realized, nah—they’re just a bunch of dudes.”

Album art for Demon Daze, by sports.

Last year, these dudes released a dynamic debut LP titled Demon Daze on Broken Rim Records—which is a Quincy-based record label that agreed to put out the band’s LP on the terms that they would tour to support it. Hence why the band is hitting the road more these days—especially with a looming 45-date tour this upcoming spring.

Ward explained that the album was originally titled “Talk Radio,” but that the title never seemed to stick until a friend jokingly suggested “Demon Days,” based on the well-known Gorillaz debut LP. Yet, Duffy had no idea that the Gorillaz album even existed and suggested that the band move forward with the title for the LP.

“It’s funny to me because on the album we have songs called ‘Matt Damon,’ ‘Spooky Damon,’ and ‘Good Will Haunting,’” Blank said, “so the Matt Damon theme grew out of us pronouncing ‘demon’ as ‘Damon.’” Ward said the idea of titling it “Damon Daze” definitely crossed their minds, but they went against it, despite knowing the quirky name would have certainly fit the band’s quirky style of meshing math rock, pop punk and emo.

Album for the 3-way split with Lions & Perspective.

The band has recently released a three-way split with the bands Lions and Perspective, A Lovely Hand to Hold—also released on Broken Rim Records—in which all three bands contributed two songs to create a truly cohesive and inspiring listen. The vinyl press has a gorgeous screen-printed B-side of animal cutouts.

All three of the bands fall into this new wave amalgam of emo that encompasses many more layers than those who remember the days of Dashboard Confessional, Jimmy Eat World, and Brand New.

“It’s very fun to be a part of something very fresh right now,” Blank said, claiming the new wave of rock and emo has brought about many new approaches to existing within the scene.

“We are just writing music that is fun for us to listen to and to play live,” Ward said. “It’s nice to not think of being confined by any sort of boundary of genre.”

And that’s all you can ask for from a young band with a promising future. It’s exciting to hear these dudes discuss their music and direction in such optimistic ways because of the difficult state of the music industry. Having sat down and discussed life with them, it’s clear that they are ready to keep having fun, playing tunes, and being dudes.

Announcing The Art of Survival

Katy and I are proud to announce the launch of our new nonprofit art/storytelling project, the Art of Survival, which focuses on giving survivors of trauma the opportunity to share their story and receive some powerful art as well.

This is the cover for our website and the logo we are using to begin with.
The concept and design were carried out in collaboration between me and
one of my former students, the ridiculously talented, Nevan Doyle.
Check out his incredible work!

Hello folks!

This will be a considerably shorter post than most of my others, because I just want to share the news, a little background, and let you all explore the creation we have made!

Today, my partner, Katy Hamm, and I launch our new nonprofit art/storytelling project--the Art of Survival. Be sure to check out the website for the project at www.artissurvival.com!

And check out the welcome video below

Mission

The Art of Survival exists to create a safe-space for survivors. We believe in the positive impact of storytelling, empowerment through creativity, and the resilience of the human spirit.

Through sharing personal stories, we hope that survivors will allow themselves take back power and control of their own bodies and experiences. Through reading the experiences of others, we hope to decrease the sense of isolation in survivors. Through creating art free-of-charge for each storyteller based on their personal form of resilience, we hope to create a sense of community support and love.

During its debut, The Art of Survival is participating in Sexual Assault Awareness month by focusing on stories from survivors of sexual violence. Throughout the project, we hope to also focus on survivors of suicide attempts, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, body & gender dysphoria, queer experiences, domestic and intimate partner violence, violent crime, PTSD, and more.

We are also looking forward to the opportunity to host online D.I.Y. art-therapy nights where artists can teach viewers or participants their techniques, in hopes that folks can take those techniques and create their own works of art to help them work through and overcome obstacles.

We believe in resiliency. We believe in art. We believe in you.

The Reason

The reason we started this project was because at the ACPA Convention in Montreal earlier this month, we were inspired to use our art to give back. We were inspired during the PK talks at how many people were sharing stories of triumph over so many personal issues, including myself, so we thought, damn—we need to give back. Already.

Because during my 14 month job search, SO MANY PEOPLE reached out to help both Katy and me by commissioning my art. The support was overwhelming. And doing all of that art is truly what kept me alive. And we now feel it is our turn to give back through art in a way that will help survivors heal, the way art has helped us heal throughout our lives.

So we are offering FREE—yes, FREE art created specifically for survivors who share their story with us for this project. Each piece will be individualized to each survivor's story—or, the piece can be of anything else that they feel is tied to their survival in life.

And in both of us living to true punk ethics, we figured that we would do this ourselves and create a community for survivors that centers around art, creativity, and storytelling. We reached out to some folks to help with website design, storytelling, and setting up a store, and now we are set to launch!

That's how the idea came about!

The First Wave of the Project

This consent design is available for purchase
on a t-shirt through our website!

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. So during the month of April, we will be sharing stories of survivors of sexual violence. When we first conceived of the idea, I put out a call to my immediate social media networks, asking for any survivors of sexual violence to reach out. Within two days, we had over 40 responses! Which is incredible and heartbreaking. But I'm so excited to share these stories!

We already have the first 20 or so pieces ready to post, so if you'd like to get in this month, please let us know through the website, at Share Your Story!

Also, we will continue to share everyone's story beyond April, of course, as we open the project to include more forms of survival from trauma.

It is important to note that all survivors who reach out to The Art of Survival are given the option to remain anonymous in sharing their story. If a survivor does not want their identity known, we will not share it. Survivors share their story in their words, completely free of judgment.

As the project progresses and evolves, we will be adding MORE shirt designs for each form of survival that we wind up sharing during the project so that more folks can sport something that makes them proud of their survival.

Again, if you are a survivor of sexual violence and want to share your story with us, or if you're a survivor of any of the other aforementioned forms of trauma and want to share your story, please CLICK HERE!

Special note about the shirts:
We partnered with the incredible folks at WhataManeuver.net, which is a professional wrestling t-shirt site (because we are HUGE wrestling fans), and they have offered to host our store for us! So please, please, please, check out their site and buy some shirts to spread the word!

More information on this collaboration is in the store section of our site!

The Artist Team

This is an incredible piece done by Emily Lopez.

I will be doing the bulk of the art for the first 20 or so pieces, simply because I have already connected with those people. From there, the pieces will be assigned by survivor preference of artist, which is an option done on the Share your Story entry!

Katy will also be on board for your realism replication art requests—be it through painting or graphic design. They will also be on board to offer free photo sessions for any survivor in the New England area, within driving distance of Boston.

We are also excited to have the INCREDIBLY talented, Emily Lopez, join our team as an artist, from my home-state of Oregon! She and I went to college together, she was one of the earliest people to ever commission a piece from me back in 2012/2013, and I am STOKED that she is helping us out.

So if you are a survivor and you'd like to have her paint your piece for you, you can choose to do so!

If you are an artist interested in joining our team, please CLICK HERE, or email us at artissurvival@gmail.com.

Stay Connected!

Make sure to follow our social media accounts as well!

We will be posting positive affirmations, articles on survival, picture updates, story updates, and videos of our creation process and the work of other artists who join our team!

TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/_artofsurvival

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/theartofsurvival

INSTAGRAM: @_ARTofSURVIVAL

We also offer a HUGE selection of resources for survivor support on our website!

CLICK HERE to access those resources.

* * *

We hope this project is transformative for many people and empowers folks to share their survival. This way we can prove that no one out there is alone in their trauma, we want this community to be a living, breathing force of nature on college campuses, and within the world.

Thanks so much for checking this out!

Be well.

And stay tuned for the next phases of the project!

- Craig & Katy.

PS: WE ALSO HAVE STICKERS!!!

Concert Review: Neck Deep & State Champs

I cover one of the most anticipating AP Tour lineups in years!

Note: This article was originally published in the UMass Boston Independent Newspaper, The Mass Media.

2016 Spring AP Tour banner.

Last Saturday was perhaps the most claustrophobic I have felt in my 13 years of concert-going, and for good reason. Plenty of pop punk fans were stoked to witness two of the scene’s premier acts—Neck Deep and State Champs.

Both acts released bombshell albums in 2015, and are currently riding that success as the feature acts on this rendition of the Alternative Press tour.

Of the many times I’ve enjoyed a concert at Paradise Rock Club, I often stood atop the balcony, peering out into the sweaty masses of teenage angst.

However, I started my night on the floor of the sold-out venue, amid the smirks of men showing off their band shirt allegiance while discussing their newly acquired vape flavors—to which I lost track of how often I shook my head, while women with X’s on their hands discussed which songs they wanted to hear from Neck Deep.

Like Pacific. Photo by AP Magazine.

Newcomers to the scene, Canada’s Like Pacific, opened the show playing tracks from its fresh new LP, “Distant Like You Asked,” released on Pure Noise Records last month. While this was my first exposure to the band, the crowd was into it from the start. Some folks had even clearly done their homework on the band and were already singing along to the newborn album.

Up next was Knuckle Puck, a band that evolved a lot in 2015, as it released its debut LP, “Copacetic.” On “Copacetic,” the band shed its pop punk roots—heard on previous EPs—and went for an experimental approach to the genre. The band seamlessly blended elements of emo, post rock, and hardcore, en route to creating a sound that rendered the band virtually unrecognizable to its most devoted fans.

The subtle, yet somewhat eccentric album
art for Knuckle Puck's 2015 LP, Copacetic.

The band gained a lot of attention in 2015, as it set a new bar for how to conceive of and interpret the genre—a risky move, as the band has noted online that it may have lost some fans with its new direction, but the move was tactical and necessary for the band to evolve.

I was still on the floor of the venue at this point, despite my claustrophobia.

Derek Discanio of State Champs. Photo by Katy Hamm.

Yet the few in the crowd of legal drinking age were getting increasingly more intoxicated, which was funny at first. However, I knew I was done when State Champs came out to a flurry of cheers and screams, and a dude next to me repeatedly yelled the one song title he seemed to know by State Champs—”All You Are is History,” which the band didn’t play until mid-set.

So I moved to the balcony for a better view.

New York’s State Champs put on a lively set and the crowd never relented.

This was my first time seeing the band live, but I have given its newest album, “Around the World and Back,” many listens since its release last summer.

An expanded version of the album art for State Champs'
2015 LP, Around the World and Back.

Upon my first listen to the album, I immediately thought, “well, this is the next radio pop punk band.” Sure enough, the band exploded worldwide—which is great for the band and for the genre, as it has evolved a lot since the days of the fun-time pop punk stylings of Blink-182, Sum 41, New Found Glory, MXPX, and many others.

Pop punk today is still fun, but also visceral, raw, and emotional. It’s also very political, ideological, and cool—again. Pop punk still mostly resonates with young listeners, which makes it serendipitous for the current political revolution.

The crowd was pretty rowdy when Neck Deep took the stage.

Hailing from the UK, Neck Deep doesn’t make it to the states often, so any chance to take in their eccentrically well-crafted brand of pop punk is essential.

Ben Barlow of Neck Deep. Photo by Katy Hamm.

In 2015, Neck Deep released perhaps the most important pop punk album of the last decade. “Life’s Not Out to Get You” is an album that focuses on mental health, suicide, and self-care through positivity and self-preservation. Neck Deep’s track, “Can’t Kick Up the Roots,” was the catchiest song of 2015 for me—alongside Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta,” and Veil of Maya’s “Mikasa.”

Neck Deep attracts many fans who struggle with some form of mental illness—depression, anxiety, suicidality—and the positive lyrical and ideological messages the band shares are clearly medicinal for its dedicated fans. Many crowd-surfing teens found themselves, for a moment, holding onto the hand of vocalist Ben Barlow—it seemed, for that one moment, all of their pain and struggles disappeared.

I’m glad I made my way to the balcony so I could witness those moments of beauty.

While I merely returned to the pop punk realm in 2014, it’s safe to say I returned at the right moment in history. Neck Deep and State Champs are at the forefront of a reborn musical revolution.

Many bands are pushing the genre, using their tunes to push young folks into good, honest political realms, while challenging their listeners to ignore what they once thought about pop punk. It’s pretty damn inspiring.

--

Special thanks to my incredible partner, Katy Hamm, for taking the photos at this show and for getting back into this brand of tunes. It was such a fun night in spite of the claustrophobia!

The Healthy Dose, 002: Self-Harm & Self-Love

My second installment of the Healthy Dose sheds some light about an issue that I live with every day in a very vulnerable way.


Note: this piece originally appeared in the Mass Media.

March 1 was Self-Harm Awareness Day.

And while we are well into March now, I want to address this important topic.

The American Psychological Association found that about 27 percent of teens and young adults have experience with some form of self-harm.
Historically, the conversation on self-harm has been centered on the idea that those who harm are selfish, simply looking for attention, or acting out. And that’s ridiculous.

Many individuals use self-harm as a way to get the release they need from their own anxieties, and I would never think to accuse a self-harming person of being selfish. Because living with an inclination to self-harm is not a joyous circumstance. People don’t wake up with the desire to just hurt themselves. It is brought on by any number of environmental, physical, mental, and psychological aspects.

None of which, in my opinion, are selfish.

I live with suicidality. [Note: I've written about this before, here.]

It’s not an easy life whatsoever. But it is my life.

I have a history of cutting, drowning, bulimia, and starvation in order to harm myself.
My self-harm stems from a number of things—depression, anxiety, body image issues, being an alienating ADHD kid growing up/also as an adult, and from being queer.

I often felt like an outcast among my friends growing up and even though they were nice to me, I never truly felt like I was accepted by any of them. My depression as a teen led me to attempting to take my own life, and I survived. Obviously.

I now have a tattoo covering the scars from the first attempt.

My second attempt came after a rough breakup during my third year of college.

My attempts did not make feel any better about my circumstances, if anything I felt worse. And if I was trying to get attention, it didn’t work because I still felt sad and alone.

However, I found myself able to push through the darkness to continue through my days and surely I would feel better and better. But even on my best days, the darkness creeps in and I break down. I have no idea how many plans I’ve had to cancel because my depression or anxiety was acting up.

Living with suicidality means confronting the darkness every day. I have to constantly repress the feelings of sadness and the inclination to hurt myself in various ways.

One of the best ways I’ve found to do this is through practicing self-love.

Now, there is no Self Love Awareness Day, but I would argue that every day SHOULD be Self-Love Awareness Day.

Finding ways to promote self-love in your daily life is an important goal in which to strive. LifeHack.com has a wonderful piece on 30 ways to practice self-love and be good to yourself, in which the author writes, “Practicing self-love can be challenging for many of us, especially in times when we face serious challenges. It’s not about being self-absorbed or narcissistic, it’s about getting in touch with ourselves, our well-being and our happiness.”

Again, this is not about selfishness, it’s about literally taking care of yourself. Taking care of your happiness and wellbeing. To me, that’s the most important aspect of alleviating feelings of self-harm. Self-love is as simple as leaving yourself positive messages in your lunch box, or removing yourself from toxic mindsets of comparison and/or competition with others.

Much self-harm resonates from places of comparison and it is imperative for your health to focus on being the best you instead of trying to compare to anyone around you.

Learn to say, “no,” more often. Prioritize eating tasty foods that don’t bog you down every day. Avoid drugs and/or alcohol. Focus on the good things that make you unique and special.

Find a creative outlet!
I paint and make music, so those are two ways that I am able to exercise my brain instead of constantly thinking of self-harm. Art has been so impactful for my mental health that I don’t believe I’d still be alive if it weren’t for my art.

Exercise, in general! Getting outside is incredibly powerful for your brain.

Only you can take care of you, but sometimes it is important to reach out for support. Which is why I also suggest making time to be present with your friends, your loved ones. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it—chances are that you’ll find more love than rejection if you are honest about your situation.

Lastly, take care of yourself out there! If you aren’t sure about how your mental health is impacting you, reach out to the good folks in University Health Services, they are available to help you with anything you might need.

And as always, if you ever want to talk, my office is in Campus Center 3407—third floor, in the Student Activities office! Come chat!

Be well. Stay curious.