Kristen Page gives The Single Diaries the Inside Scoop on the City That Never Sleeps
Category: Travels the World
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What I Love About My City | New York City
Image courtesy of NYC and the Girl (nycandthegirl.blogspot.com) -
Spotlight on Jessica Sabogal’s “Women Are Perfect”
In August, Jessica Sabogal journeyed to Bogotá, Colombia with her best friend to carry out a larger-than-life mission: to paint a mural honoring the struggle of women in her parents’ native country. In her own words, she shares her experience with The Single Diaries, then Catherine gets the exclusive on her process, her inspiration and what’s next for this artist.
“Women Are Perfect” begins in Bogotá, Colombia
I am in Bogotá, Colombia, my father’s birthplace, with the intention of doing something I’ve never done before: creating a 50’ x 9′ mural honoring the group most affected by Colombia’s 49-year long civil war, las mujeres.
When I learned that 18% of Colombian women—or 489,687 mujeres—were victims of sexual violence between 2001 and 2009, I immediately thought, “That’s half the population of San Francisco.” It was then that I envisioned a piece that would reflect my reality: a world in which women embrace their perfection, a world in which these crimes against humanity cannot exist.
Over the course of ten days, I teamed up with local artists, figuring out how to collect the supplies I need to transform this vision into something real and somehow explain to my abuela why I’m spray-painting on the streets of this 613 x 613 mile city.
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Girlfriend Getaways | The Best Places to Party This Halloween
Inspiration For Your Halloween Girls’ Trip
Keeping in touch with high school and college girlfriends can be tough after graduation. Chances are your tightknit group which was once inseparable is now spread across the country. The “real world” comes with a whole new set of challenges not the least of which is maintaining these invaluable friendships from miles and miles apart.
One thing I have vowed to do to help ease this pain is to plan an annual girls trip that brings everyone back together. Trips are great, not only because they give your group something to look forward to, but also because they inspire endless group text and email chains to keep the planning excitement going. The entire process of putting together a trip from selecting a destination to squeezing the last pair of shoes into your suitcase lends itself to keeping you closely connected with your gfs.
Looking for the perfect excuse to put a trip on the calendar? Good news for you: Halloween is just around the corner, and we couldn’t think of a better reason to gather the girls. Chances are you’ve all got costumes from college theme parties and sorority/fraternity mixers gone by that are just beckoning to be worn one last time. The only thing left is to pick the proper destination to resurrect them.
To inspire your planning, we’ve put together a list of the best destinations for you and your crew to party it up this Halloween.
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I’ll Never Be the Same
How her volunteer experience has taught Lara Torii to live intentionally and fall in love
When I started my first year of volunteer service three years ago in NYC, I was excited that I could continue to wear my fabulous pair of alligator green vintage boots. One of my program’s tenets is simplicity, but no one considered me frivolous for continuing to wear my best clothes to work. After all, my placement, which served runaway and homeless youth, was in Chelsea.
Now, what seems like a lifetime later, I’m sitting in my single bed in a volunteer house on the edge of rural northeast Thailand. All I can hear outside are insects singing. Nowadays, my wardrobe mainly consists of t-shirts and loose elephant pants. I have about nine outfits that I’ve rotated for two years. But just as I loved putting together outfits for my days in Manhattan, I love the simplicity of my wardrobe here.
But I’m not here to talk about how my personal look has changed the last three years (though I do love talking about my hair, so perhaps that will be a topic for another entry). This outer transformation is simply an insight into the bigger transformation within. It all happened because I decided, from day one, to live each moment deeply.
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