An Open Letter to North West

#BreakTheInternet

A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Nov 11, 2014 at 6:13pm PST

My dear fellow daughter,

When you were born, you were just as bare as your mother is today on the cover of a magazine. Now, I'm sure you have no idea what is going on because, at the tender age of 17 months, your mother's body is your source of love and life.

Even if an angry reader were to push these pictures in your undoubtedly confused face, you wouldn't see a scandal. Instead, you would see the hips that bore you, the thighs that birthed you, the breasts that fed you.

To some, your mother's body is purely for show. To these people, your mother is showing her body in the wrong way. Well, Ms. North West, you are living proof that your mother's body is much more than just a source of entertainment.

I, too, have a mother, a mother who was never shy about her body when I was your age. I learned from my mother what I hope you learn from yours: that a body is not inherently sexy. Your body serves many more purposes, each more important than the last. Sex is but one function of the human body, and is arguably the least important function.Your body, much like your mother's, gives you life. That life is more important and more of a reason to treasure your body than a sexual gaze could ever be.

You, like my mother, might never appear nude on the cover of a magazine for any number of perfectly valid reasons. You might choose to honor your body by keeping it private, or to keep yourself covered for other personal reasons. But one thing I hope you never do is harass women, including your mother, for the choices they have made concerning how they have chosen to honor their own bodies. Provocative or not, your mother's body is her own, as I'm sure you are well aware, and she may do with it as she pleases. Do not let anyone else tell you otherwise.

You are entitled to your own opinion; this just so happens to be mine.

Project Runway Season 13: My Favorite Looks

Tonight marks part one of the finale of season 13 of Project Runway. As excited as I am to find out who wins (fingers crossed for Amanda!), it's still bittersweet to think that I now have to wait several months to see another episode. To celebrate such an awesome season, I thought I'd show my favorite looks from each episode this season.

I'm so excited to see the final four designers' collections as shown at New York Fashion Week 2014!

Find these photos and more at the Project Runway website.

The C Word

I was probably 14 when I accepted that I would probably get cancer at some point in my life. I know this is a terribly morbid way to open a blog post and for that I apologize, but when dealing with cancer, I've found honesty is really the only way to address the subject. I come from a family of cancer butt-kickers, be it as mild as an unusual mole or as invasive as breast cancer. Unfortunately, my family, like many others around the world, has lost several wonderful people to various types of cancer.

This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to promoting methods of prevention and raising money for research and other forms of help for those who can't afford the invasive and often expensive procedures. While there may not be a cure for cancer yet, there is still so much we as a community can do to help our fellow humans kick cancer'sbutt or avoid having to do so in the first place.

You can find hundreds of sites and posts dedicated to fundraisers, volunteer opportunities, the history of the month, breast cancer statistics, and other breast cancer-related subjects. When I was in seventh grade I made my very own website dedicated to the cause as part of my Mitzvah project, though I wish I could remember the URL/if I even still have it. I'm certainly no expert on breast cancer (though my grandmother is an expert on kicking its butt!), and I unfortunately do not have the time or resources to organize ways to aid those dealing with breast cancer. What I do have is a blog with a decent following and a passion for fashion.

So, as shallow as this seems, I'm here to tell you to make an effort to wear pink this month. Aside from being one of my favorite colors, pink is the color of the breast cancer ribbon, and has become commonly associated with breast cancer over the years. Wear pink regardless of your age and gender because this month, pink is not a color in your wardrobe: it is a statement and conversation starter. Raise awareness about breast cancer in your community-- the symptoms, methods of prevention, how we can help find the cure, and how every single person can contribute to creating a helpful and loving environment for those busy kicking cancer's butt.Wear pink and raise awareness for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so that one day society will only have to wear pink if they want to.

If you're looking to kill two metaphorical birds with one metaphorical stone (as I often am), there are plenty of organizations that create and sell pink merchandise and donate the proceeds to cancer research. Choose Hope, The Breast Cancer Site, the Keep A Breast Foundation through Forever 21, and Susan G. Komen are all working to both fight cancer and make cute clothing. For more, check out my list below.

I was 14 years old when I accepted that I would probably get cancer at some point in my life, but it was then that I also realized that cancer can't stop people from loving you. This month, I'm wearing pink for everyone I love in my life who has been affected by breast cancer whether through kicking its butt or supporting someone in their fight. I hope you join me in raising awareness.

World Suicide Prevention Day: Life Ain't Easy

Today is the day upon which National Suicide Prevention Week is based: World Suicide Prevention Day. Every year on September 10th, communities across the globe band together to show their support for suffering members of their community and raise awareness on the subject. It is a day that has, especially following the tragic death of Robin Williams, become more and more recognized across the world.

There are, of course, members of these communities that actively aim to prevent suicide on a daily basis. One of these people is a childhood friend of mine, Kelly, who is a co-founder of one of the most inspirational sites in my bookmarks: Life Ain't Easy, But It's Worth It.

Speaking up about one's experience with suicide-- be it an attempt, thoughts, or knowing someone who's suffered these things-- is incredibly difficult. Kelly does it with grace and true inspiration, and encourages others to speak up as much or as little as they feel comfortable. Her courage and determination is truly motivational to myself, as someone with experience with suicide.

Though I still find it difficult to tell about my personal experience with suicide, I am beyond thrilled to have the blessing of knowing someone who has overcome that challenge. I feel very lucky to be able to support and work with Kelly on her quest to spread the love and stop teen suicide.

You can join Kelly and I on this quest by speaking out about mental health issues to crush the negative stigma that comes associated with them. You can also buy Life Ain't Easy shirts to raise awareness and start conversation. Each and every penny of your purchase goes through preventing teen suicide, be it through sponsoring treatments or supporting organizations that raise awareness. I got the tank top, though I currently have my eye on the baseball tee!

As always, you can shop the contents of this post on my Shopcade.

National Suicide Prevention Week: One World Connected

Suicide: a topic as important to talk about as it is difficult. As mental health has only recently been acknowledged as a type of health instead of being swept under the rug, the dialogue on the subject is sparse. It's understandable-- most of the general public is still in the process of being educated on the realities of mental health that break the taboo created by the ignorance of previous generations of healthcare professionals.

This week, from September 8th to September 14th, is National Suicide Prevention Week. It is more important this week than any other to discuss and learn about mental health. By entering into dialogue on the subject and becoming educated on it, you're offering support to the members of the community who are struggling, whether you know it or not.

As a mental health patient myself, I still find it challenging to discuss certain aspects of my diagnoses. But this week, I am going to try harder to opening myself up and working to break the taboo against mental health. I hope that, in talking about my experience, I can empower those who are too scared to seek help to open themselves up to the possibility.

The theme of the 2014 Suicide Prevention Week is "One World Connected". I almost feel like this was a sign for me to tell this particular story, as it fits well under this theme.

I was one of the first of my group of friends to have a Facebook. Twitter, Tumblr, Google, and Instagram accounts soon followed. I can't tell you how many times I've been told to "stop wasting my time on those stupid websites". But I can't help it. As almost anyone can tell you, social media is entertaining, not to mention addicting.

I've noticed my presence on social media change significantly over the last 5 years. I used to share my every thought with the world regardless of whether or not it was worth a "like" or a response. Now, I'm very strategic about what and when I post. If a thought isn't well composed or a picture is taken in bad lighting, I don't share it.

Most people would accredit this to the feelings of jealousy and self-doubt that can come with seeing every aspect of your friends' lives laid out in a picture-perfect page. Social media allows you to almost recreate yourself into a much more presentable and admirable person. After all, you never see pictures of someone doing their laundry after a week of putting it off or a rash that's plaguing someone's arm. Instead, you see a clean room with a boisterous caption or an OOTD in an extra cute cardigan that, little does anyone know, is hiding a skin problem.

This ability to omit the boring or hard parts of life and only share an exaggerated version of the good in your life is, without a doubt, a cause of envy and self doubt amongst your friends and followers who think your life is exactly how you present it: perfect. And this certainly has contributed to my editing of my social media presence; if in an alternative way.

Over the last five years, I have increasingly taken advantage of social media as a way to make my life seem more glamorous and interesting. I have also found, in these last five years, that the old saying is true: the more you tell yourself something, the more you believe it. The more I tell myself and my followers online that my life is awesome, the more I believe it.

This serves especially useful on days when my life doesn't feel like getting out of bed for, let alone glamorous. By posting a well-shot picture on Instagram, I can prove to myself that my life is worth taking pictures of. On days when I don't feel the point in doing anything, I can force myself out of the house to go on a walk with the intention of finding something to put on Tumblr.

On the day I took and posted this picture, I'd just spent two days in bed feeling too hopeless to get up and do anything. But I got up, put on my favorite skirt, and snapped this picture to prove that I was doing something worth documenting. You can't tell any of this from either the photo or the caption, which was the intention.

I don't particularly mind that the time I spend on social media is considered a waste of time. The person that I am in my social media accounts is, in all honesty, who I really am. Most of the time, though, I find myself too overwhelmed to recognize that. Social media to me is a way to see myself without the harsh negative light of what plagues me in reality

Check back in every day for the next week to learn more about mental health and how you can participate in National Suicide Prevention Week.

For more information on National Suicide Prevention Week

For this year's Information and Media Kit

For support and information year-round, check out Life Ain't Easy, But It's Worth It

The national crisis hotline in America has lines open 24/7: 1-800-273-8255

Visit You Matter for information and advice

Reference this Tumblr post for help

Consult Help Guide for information on and alternatives to self-harm

What's New?

Since my last day at my summer job two weeks ago, I've thrown myself into improving and perfecting this blog. Of course, this is a task that will never be completed, but I am pretty proud of what I've accomplished in the last 12 days. In case any of you were wondering what some of my new features are/what they do, here you have them; in a nice, tidy list.

If any of you have ever wished you could shop directly from Wanelo, or if you've wished there was more variety on Fancy, then Shopcade is perfect for you. It combines the easy-to-use layout of Wanelo with the shopping features of Fancy, and can be used for entertainment like Pinterest. It's great for bloggers because with every purchase that someone makes at your recommendation, you make a small commission. The widget creator (as seen above) even allows you to post your recommendations directly to your blog so people can see what you're buying, ogling, and admiring. *Bonus*: if you join the site, it'll notify you when something you've favorited goes on sale or when there's a coupon that can apply for it. Savings without the effort? Yes, please!

I've been working on the background stuff for becoming a social media consultant for the last month now, and I'm excited that I've come so far. Tell your friends to check out my social media consultant page on this blog-- I work locally but am open to the idea of expanding!

I recently joined CJ Affiliate by Conversant and ShareASale, websites that act as the middle-man between bloggers and merchants' affiliate programs. After applying and being accepted, I've been able to partner with some of my favorite brands and stores; a real dream come true. They give me access to promotion codes and sale alerts that I can share with you and, when you click on their ads, the merchants will reward me with a commission! Here are some of my favorite sales going on right now:

    

Short hair, kinda care

Okay you guys... I have some news. First of all, I just purchased a real domain name. As soon as I get it hooked up to my blogspot, I'll be able to start posting on a real domain! Second of all, I finally bucked up and cut my hair!

Before showing you the "after" pictures, I figured I'd remind you just how long my hair was. I've been growing it out since I can remember in hopes of one day donating it to Locks of Love. When I was young, my grandma was going through chemo, and wore a wig made of donated hair. My mom has donated her hair no less than three times, but my sister and I have yet to do it. Yesterday, I decided to turn "someday" into "today". 

I donated a total of 12 inches, and my hair is now shorter than it's ever been. I'm definitely still adjusting to not having mermaid hair anymore, but I've already gotten used to looking in the mirror and seeing short hair.

Today is a wonderful day for change. Remember to bookmark thehannahgold.com and be on the lookout for my transition to the domain!

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

I recently joined a national college blog network through my school's chapter of Her Campus, where my first assignment is to write a short news piece on April being Sexual Assault Awareness Month. I don't want to distract from the gravity of this subject, but I also want to somehow make this article approachable. If you have any helpful suggestions, please let me know! In the meantime, here are a few stylish things you can do to show your support.

• Wear teal. The teal ribbon is worn across America to show support for victims of sexual assault and to spread awareness of this cause. I say, take this to the next level--wear teal nail polish, eyeliner, and other accessories that noticeably represent this color.
• Check out the #nomore campaign. Celebrities from Amy Poehler to Ice-T and quite a few others in between have gotten behind this movement to support victims of sexual assault and provide assistance and help to the community (see their PSA here). In addition to guiding the general public through the basics of what sexual assault means and how to prevent it, it also connects the community through a mutual support of the cause on social media sites. Now spreading awareness is easy--by posting a picture on Instagram, hash-tagging on Twitter, and sharing links on Facebook.
• Talk about it. This year's SAAM campaign is dedicated to promoting safe sex on all levels, but especially to adolescents. The best way to do this, they advocate is simply by talking about it. I personally could tell countless stories of people I know never being taught about sex beyond that it can lead to STDs and pregnancy who later become either abuse victims or the abusers themselves; simply because they don't know what sexual abuse is/looks like. In making this an easier topic to discuss, it educates the general public and prevents further abuse in newer generations.
• Know the signs. Being a victim of sexual assault is scary--it's one of those things that you know happens, but that you think would never happen to you. Knowing the signs of an abusive relationship or encounter can protect you or your loved ones from suffering from sexual assault. Many colleges provide helpful information on the subject.

I know this wasn't fashion-centric, but it's important to remember that style isn't just the clothes you're wearing, but the wellbeing and personality of the person wearing them. Keep yourself and others safe and stylish this April and all year by spreading awareness of sexual assault.