Genuinely Giancarlo

 Hey guys, it's been a minute. I wanted to throw up a quick video on the blog because it's been a while since I did that. It's been a minute since I put anything on the blog at all. This video was taken in one take and I didn't edit it at all because it seems like every time I dive in and try to edit a video, I always end up stopping because I run out of time or motivation or both and then I somehow don't get back into it. So I hope you enjoy this unscripted, unedited video. Talk to you soon.

I've never been one for internet challenges. Well, I guess not "never." In 2014, I shared a video of me participating in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in what's now an archived post on my Instagram. Remember when everyone was dumping cold water on themselves and posting it? Simpler times. Since then, though, I'm not really into internet challenges. I use social media constantly, and I see lot of people sharing posts because other people have started a hashtag and they want (or feel obligated) to join in. I don't judge those people, because I think that one of the positives of social media is that there aren't a lot of rules; you create and share what you feel is right, based on your own motivations. I don't see a point in belittling people who participate in those challenges because I don't see a point in judging what makes other people happy. I just don't really take part, because that's not my style. Last week, a new internet challenge sta...

Hey guys, it's been a while. Today, I turn 22 years old. Old to some, young to most, 22 is a new chapter in my life that I'm excited for. I'm grateful for the things I've been able to learn and to do so far, and although I don't know what the next year has in store for me, I hope that I'll be able to have fun and become a better, kinder person. Twenty-one was a good year. I celebrated my last birthday in Mexico. It's so strange to look back at how things were then compared to how they are now. This past year of my life has brought highs and lows, triumphs and frustrations. In this post, I want to talk about some things I've done this past year and some hopes I have for the age of 22. Towards the end of last year, I came home from Mexico and hung out around my house for about six weeks before I started school in January. That time feels like a blur. I don't really remember what I did, except that it included watching the third season of Stranger Thing...

 

Hey guys, it's been a while. If you know me personally, you'll know that my memory is not very good. I'm pretty prone to forget dates and times and events and memories and it's frustrating to me. I don't think I have any sort of intense or problem-causing memory loss, but I just wish that I could remember things a little bit more easily. This is one of the main reasons why I like photography; it allows me to create a frame I can use in the future to return to the past. That's all photography is: a window to a moment that would have otherwise been lost in time. Of course it would be foolish to live exclusively in a frozen past, but a reflection of pleasant times now gone can be healthy and useful in a fresh present. Like I said, I don't think my ability to remember things is so bad that it impacts my day-to-day life in a seriously negative way, but I can always benefit from a reminder to help me remember the important things. Is my life going to end if I can...

Hey guys, it's been a while. I haven't been writing very much lately, and the things I have started to write have somehow never turned in to final, finished blog posts for multiple reasons, one of the main ones being that I try too hard to make each post as perfect and refined as I can. So today, I just want to share a few things I've been thinking about lately without worrying about whether each thing is right or whether it's finished or not. I hope that's okay. Over the past few days, I've been thinking a lot about happiness. Yes, the ethereal state of satisfaction and cheerfulness we all strive for. Happiness is a complex topic, but I want to offer some of my simple thoughts on the subject because, well, that's what I do here. Feel free to take what you want from this reflection of mine. 1. You control your happiness, mostly. This one is something I've been going back and forth on for a long time, but I think this is the most accurate way I can say th...

I've spent a lot of time searching for the perfect words to put into this post. I've been thinking a lot and trying to construct these sentences without flaws. But each time I worry about making a mistake, I just stop because I'm too scared of saying something wrong. But today, I am going to say what I feel I need to say without worrying whether the words are perfect or not. Today, I want to start a discussion about racism in the United States. I understand and fully confess that I, a straight, white male born into a middle-class family and raised in a predominantly caucasian region in the United States, am probably not the best source for first-hand experiences about issues of racism or really any sort of prejudice in any way. I have benefitted from certain privileges that not all people have, and while this frustrates me because I know that I'm not better than anyone else and I don't deserve those favors, I feel it would be unfair if I didn't make it clear fro...