sometimes all i see are imperfections

hair: badly in need of a haircut

makeup: lipstick not fully able to cover my peeled and bleeding lip

outfit: cut from a dress but i'm always bloated so crop tops don't look good on me so i tucked in the shirt, but it doesn't hide my protruding stomach because i'm always slouching

North America City Guide

New York City

Must Do: 

• Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
• $7 admission with valid student ID
• If you are a fan of the Smithsonian art museums in DC, then you will enjoy the Cooper Hewitt. 
• The Museum at FIT
• Free admission
• For those interested in fashion and or design
• Your boyfriend will probably be bored and start playing Pokemon Go
• World Trade Center + other unique skyscrapers/buildings in New York
• If you're into architecture
• Other examples:
• 9/11 Memorial
• Flatiron Building
• Oculus at One World Trade Center
• If you want to see how capitalism has taken advantage of a tragedy
• "Imagine if they made a shopping mall at the Holocaust Museum."
• All that other touristy stuff
• NYC's got something for everyone: 5th Avenue, Times Square, Chinatown, etc.

Not Worth It:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art ($12 admission with valid student ID)

If you've been to other art museums, then the Met is not worth it because everything in the Met, I've seen before. Sure the specific pieces will be different, but the collections are the same as say The Getty, LACMA, or any of the DC museums. I recommend these museums because they are smaller and easier to navigate. Aside from LACMA, these museums are also free.

As a person with social anxiety, the Met was way too overwhelming. Because it's so large, it is hard to navigate: not everything is labelled on the map, and you can't access certain parts of the museum without returning to the main lobby. Normally, this would not be a problem, but with a museum so large, it is a lot of work and time wasted trying to find your way [instead of seeing everything and easing your anxiety].

If you're a new museum goer with NYC as your only means to an art museum, then the Met is for you. Otherwise, I'd recommend more niche museums like the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum or Museum at Fit when traveling in the city.

Food: 

Bodhi Vegetarian, Seasoned Vegan, Brooklyn Whiskers, Xian Famous Foods, Smorgasburg

Connecticut

Must Do: 

• Rocky Neck State Park Located right off 95,  Rocky Neck State Park is the perfect stop for those looking for a beach on their road trip up north. I really wanted to go to a beach, but the ones I researched were out of the way. Then while leaving Connecticut, a brown sign on the side of the highway granted me my one wish. In addition to a sandy beach filled clear water and bright green seaweed, the state park features a pathway of large rocks adjacent to the water perfect for those looking for an adventure aka bored boyfriends.

Not Worth It: 

• Frank Pepe's Pizzeria

Rhode Island

Must Do:

• Plant City Why? Plant City is the first and only vegan food hall in the world.

Not Worth It:

• Plant City Why? The food is still a work in progress.

Boston

Must Do: 

• Brookline Dispensary Massachusetts began selling recreational weed in 2018, and this dispensary opened in March 2019 in a former bank, making it one of the prettiest dispensaries in America. Order ahead for pickup to avoid the long lines stretching way outside the door even at 8 p.m. on a weeknight.   
• Boston Public Garden 😍 What more do I have to say other than we went on a cloudy day and it was still beautiful
• Rose Kennedy Greenway Best viewed at night when the lights are out and the light and water displays are on
• Boston Waterfront The perfect spot to view the transition from day to night after the public garden and before you head to the Greenway

Not Worth It: 

• Arnold Arboretum Maybe it's because we went on rainy day, but it was a lot of effort walking around for not a lot of reward; I don't think I gained anything from the experience besides a little exercise. The bonsai collection was closed by the time we got there. The best part was probably the shrub and vine garden.

Food: 

Red White, My Thai Vegan Cafe

Montreal

Must Do:

• Barbie EXPO

• Free admission
• A must go if you grew up playing Barbies and love fashion
• You can step inside a Barbie box for a photo opportunity, but beware: the box is made for tall skinny people; I finally understand why people don't like Barbie now.
• Old Montreal
• Put this in your GPS to walk around the cobblestone city by the waterfront
• Also where LOV McGill is located
• Grocery Shopping

• Honestly, this was one of the best parts of our road trip. 
• $1 100% fruit juices!!!!! like pure grapefruit and a tropical guava mix 
• Ketchup Doritos 
• Convenient Store Shopping
• For Canadian beer
• Fast Food Restaurants
• Tim Horton's coming through with the Beyond Meat breakfast sandwich 
• Even the fast food restaurants like A&W have poutine on the menu...speaking of which
• Poutine
• Dispensary-SQDC

• Weed is 100% legal in Canada.
• SQDC has a monopoly on the sale of recreational weed in Quebec.
• There was also a long line here, but it moved relatively quick, and the inside was nice and bright. 
• Talking to people who will assume you speak French even if you are Asian but who are bilingual and can also speak English
• Gay Village
• Close to Sushi Momo 
• Has a Copper Branch
• A lot of cool artwork and displays
• An Airbnb in Repentigny
• Eat vegan food 
• Canada is way ahead of the curve and even has vegan chains.

Not Worth It: 

• La Banquise

Food: 

Lov, Sushi Momo, Copper Branch

Philadelphia

Must Do: 

• Philadelphia Magic Gardens $8 admission-buy tickets in advance, and do it for the gram. Honestly, this was the only thing in Philadelphia we ended up doing besides eating at Hipcity Veg. Nothing else really captured my eye, and parking was a bitch during a midday afternoon, so we didn't go anywhere else like the Liberty Bell. Everything else the city had to offer, we had already experienced elsewhere. 

Not Worth It:

• Hipcity Veg There's no reason to go here if you live in DC. A Hipcity Veg in its birthplace is no different than a Hipcity Veg elsewhere. 

The Best Vegan Poutine in Montreal

"hehe the only thing I know about montreal is.... poutine"

When traveling I, like most others, start by researching popular tourist attractions and the local food scene. I can usually and quickly find sensory experiences on TripAdvisor and food options by searching for "Vegan Food" on Yelp. By only searching for vegan food, I filter out a lot of restaurants. However, with Montreal it was a different story.

I had heard of poutine before, but it never really stayed on my mind as a must-have because it wasn't a vegan dish. Little did I know how vegan-friendly Montreal and Canada was. After my boyfriend mentioned poutine, I immediately did a Google search to see if there was indeed vegan poutine. I stumbled upon this list by Miranda Cipolla, https://www.mtlblog.com/best-of-mtl/8-restaurants-in-montreal-where-you-can-get-poutine-yes-vegan-poutine, the only list of its kind, and thus our quest to find the best vegan poutine in Montreal began (and how our meals in Montreal were subsequently planned).

1. LOV. The first stop on our Montreal trip was the first place on Miranda's list: LOV. When researching LOV and many of the restaurants on the list, I was pleasantly surprised to see multiple locations: Canada is so vegan-friendly, it has vegan chains! Although, the multiple locations became super confusing when trying to correspond locations on Google maps with the ones on the list. Adding to the confusion was the language barrier between French and English. Thankfully, LOV McGill was easy enough to remember so in the GPS it went. However, upon seating and looking at the menu, poutine was no where to be found. My boyfriend asked the waiter if they had poutine, and he responded with "Sorry, we don't have poutine." This is a good time to note that I did not thoroughly research the poutine list before our trip, which is very unusual for a planner like me. I somehow figured we would wing it depending on our location. Thus, when the waiter told us there was no poutine, I thought poutine had permanently been removed from the menu. It was only later when researching for this story that I realized poutine was only absent from the weekend brunch menu. Nevertheless, I was not deterred in the moment because we still had seven restaurants left on the list, and we shared a delicious apple french toast at LOV.

2. LOLA ROSA. After walking Old Montreal and downtown Montreal, we were ready to try again. Because the #2 spot on Miranda's list was outside Montreal, we tried going to next spot, Lola Rosa. This is when Google Maps really tripped me up-again, another failure due to my lack of planning-because all the Lola Rosas had different names-four compared to LOV's two. Additionally, all of the addresses were given to us in English on Google, whereas they were French on the list and Yelp.

I ended up choosing the location closest to us at the moment, but there was no parking nearby, so we just gave up because by then I had already planned for us to go to another poutine place on the list-La Banquise-where my boyfriend could try and compare non-vegan and vegan poutine side-by-side.

3. LA BANQUISE. La Banquise is situated outside downtown Montreal and has no other location, so it was pretty easy to find and park nearby. It was also the perfect dinner spot before we headed further north towards our Airbnb in Repentigny.

La Banquise is a poutinerie, meaning it specializes in poutine. At the #8 spot, it is the only poutinerie and non-vegan restaurant on Miranda's list. Upon arriving at La Banquise, you will see a sign at the front of the line informing guests of the accepted forms of payment, which was very smart and considerate. If you do not have Canadian cash or debit, they have conveniently provided an ATM in a corner next to the entrance.

After we converted our money, we were seated outside where our server informed us alcohol would not be served. I was kind of mad at my boyfriend, who's allergic to alcohol, for agreeing to this because I wanted beer with my poutine, but I didn't want to inconvenience the staff or wait any longer for this delicacy. The menu had plenty of customizable options, so essentially any poutine could be made vegan, but because this was our first poutine experience, we opted for the "La Classique." They also offer non-poutine options if you're interested in non-potato foods.

"La [Classique] Véganomane" was very visually appealing.

Unfortunately, its taste did not live up. The vegan gravy was bland, and the mozzarella cheese shreds were not fully melted (traditional poutine is made with melted cheese curds). Even the fries themselves had no flavor. I later bought a beer at a convenience store, which made stomaching these leftover fries easier, but I left La Banquise with the possibility that poutine just wasn't for me like how restaurant tacos aren't for me.

4. 57 CALS. LOLA ROSA (again). VEGAN RAPIDE. & L'GROSE LUXE VEGE. With internet at our Airbnb, I finally did the proper research on the list. I found out that the #2 and #6 restaurants on the list, 57 Cals and L'Grose Luxe Veg, had closed since the list's 2017 publication, so while vegan restaurants were more prevalent in Canada, they were also highly volatile. With three restaurants remaining on the list (Lola Rosa, Vegan Rapide, and Copper Branch), I decided to forgo Lola Rosa because its poutine appeared to be the same as La Banquise's. The Vegan Rapide location on Miranda's list also used shredded cheese, but I found another Vegan Rapide location using vegan cheese curds. I was prepared to order the Orbit Poutine, which came highly recommended by Yelp, with seitan, minced vegan meat, mushrooms, and caramelized onions, despite initially avoiding the restaurant because of its fast food moniker. The next morning came, and my faith in poutine was temporarily restored, but when we arrived at Vegan Rapide, it was closed-permanently. Sadness overwhelmed me to the point of not knowing what to do next, but luckily there was one restaurant left on the list-Copper Branch. 

5. COPPER BRANCH Copper Branch wasn't my first choice for several reasons: 1. It was the most chain-y of the list-I had to endlessly scroll on their website to find the location I wanted. 2. It had the worst ratings on Yelp (the location closest to Vegan Rapide had 3/5 stars because a reviewer saw an employee eating a popsicle while preparing his food lol). 3. Their poutine-made with a mushroom gravy and cubed potatoes instead of fries-was the least traditional. Despite all of this, Copper Branch ended up having the best vegan poutine in Montreal. Neither my boyfriend or I expected our last ditch effort to fulfill this quest.

For a different experience, we opted for the sweet potato poutine first. It was a game changer, as the sweet flavor contrasted perfectly with the savory gravy and cheese, which actually melted. It was so good, we regretted not ordering a large, but we ordered a potato one to try too. The potato one was not as distinct, but it was still good because of the gravy, which I deducted as the key to a good poutine.  

So to conclude, don't put all your blind trust into a list, especially if it's outdated. Do your own research. However, I wouldn't have had my vegan poutine experience any other way. If it weren't for the horrible poutine at La Banquise, I wouldn't have looked on Yelp for nearby vegan restaurants and discovered Sushi Momo, the best vegan sushi in North America nor would I have given Copper Branch's sweet potato poutine a try-what if I had tried LOV's poutine and been satisfied with plain potato poutine?! I'd still like to go back to LOV to try to their poutine but from what I've eaten, you can't go wrong with Copper Branch's vegan sweet potato poutine. With so many locations, it's highly unlikely it will disappear after reading my list! After visiting for two days, my boyfriend and I know a lot more about Montreal now: everyone is bilingual and assumes you speak French even if you're Asian; it is home to the largest permanent Barbie exhibit in the world; their grocery store juices are fresher and better; their Starbucks equivalent, Tim Horton's, serves Beyond meat; it is the birthplace of poutine, and last but not least, it has a lot of dank vegan food, including poutine.  

*For prices, please visit LOV and La Banquise's websites.  

We Can't Trust Robots

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

In this edition of I can't write a review for this place on Yelp:

As a child of the 21st century, I have a blind trust in computers, so I never understood why my mom would calculate her bank deposits with blank ink on her hand before turning her checks in with the teller. Machines are supposed to be smarter than us, more precise and error-free. That is until one betrays you.

Last weekend, I had $300 cash to deposit, and the ATM repeatedly counted it as $280. This was not the first time this particular ATM had counted my money wrong. On one occasion, it counted my total wrong the first time but corrected itself the second time around. I believe it counted it wrong on one other occasion, but I was not aware of it because of my blind trust: I had not counted the money myself to cross-reference with the machine, so I believed what the machine said even though the total did not make sense with the amount I was paid for my job. With the knowledge I've since learned, I realized I was gypped $20 by this ATM. However, at the time I blamed it on human error: my boss had counted wrong and not given me the correct amount of money. I couldn't believe a machine designed to make our lives easier had actually made it harder, as I repeatedly entered my money trusting the machine would fix its mistake.

After the machine counted my money wrong three times, I switched to another one. It counted my money correctly on the first try. There's hope for the robot race after all. I on the other hand will not let a machine have the upper hand again. I can't become a mindless human who allows technology to make my decisions for me. Otherwise, the robots will take over or those controlling the robots will.

Editor's note: I truly did not know it was possible for an ATM to miscount cash and that it was common for them to do so, hence my shock.

All The Things I Loved About Crazy Rich Asians

*An overwhelming sense of Asian American pride you'll get from watching the film if you're Asian American

*Seeing white people watch the film and actually caring about your story

*How badass the opening scene is

*Ronny Chieng from The Daily Show as Edison Cheng

*Henry Golding and Constance Wu in the wedding scene

*The feels

*All the hot Asian men

*Astrid Leong (my favorite character from the books) & Gemma Chan

*Again, the overwhelming sense of pride you'll get from watching it if you're Asian

*Just how beautiful the film is

*The last scene in the end credits and its hinting of a sequel

*Oh I forgot about Kina Grannis' surprise appearance as the wedding singer!

Beyoncé and a Lesson on Accessibility: OTR II Review

On July 27, I went to see Beyoncé and Jay-Z on their OTR II tour at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland. I thought about buying tickets when the tour was announced but wasn’t convinced until I saw Beyoncé perform at Coachella. I also didn’t want to go alone, but after Coachella, I had to go, so I bought a ticket for my sister as well. It was only fair since she bought my Reputation ticket.

Because of my moderately low income, I bought the cheapest tickets available. I don’t have a choice. This has been my strategy since I started buying any type of ticket. As a result, I fail to ignore the location of the seat in relation to the stage for concert tickets and the departure times for airplane tickets, which has caused some stress in the past, but when I bought my OTR tickets, I thought I did good: “$50 for Beyoncé AND Jay-Z?! What a steal!” Little did I know, how much these billionaires had swindled me because my seats, for lack of a better word, sucked.

Two weeks earlier at the Taylor Swift concert, my sister and I had scouted our OTR II seats and thought they would be nicer than our Reputation seats because well, we’d actually get a seat, as opposed to standing room only.

As a result, we were in positive spirits when we sat in our seats for OTR. We were even closer to the stage than last time. That all changed when opening acts, Chloe x Halle came on, and we couldn’t understand a word they were saying, which was really disappointing because I think they’re really talented and wanted to hear their music. Yet, my sister and I were still optimistic: “Okay, maybe their sound engineers just suck, but Beyoncé and Jay-Z, they’re experienced veterans, so they’re going to sound awesome.” We were wrong because I couldn’t understand a word Jay-Z said throughout the entire concert. I only understood Beyoncé because I was more familiar with her songs (I thought Jay would sing more songs from his most recent album, 4:44, which was the only album I had listened of his, but he only sung “The Story of OJ” from it. They also didn’t sing any songs from Everything is Love except for “Apeshit”).

We couldn’t understand anything because all the speakers were frontwards facing, and according to my sister, sound waves travel in straight lines, so our positioning for Taylor Swift, while farther, was better because we were facing the stage.

To make matters even worse, we couldn’t even enjoy the visual show because we couldn’t see anything. We didn’t see them enter the stage because they entered at the center of the stage, which was blocked off by the screens, which were also all frontward facing and partially covered by speakers. As a result, we didn’t even get a clear look of the exclusive images of the Carter family during Beyoncé’s performance of “Perfect” (My favorite moment of the night even though I could never love a man the way Beyoncé loves Jay-Z. I also enjoyed “****** in Paris” and “Apeshit” aka the Jay-Z songs I was familiar with. Everything else I couldn't understand or I had already seen from Coachella i.e. it wasn’t anything new).

Taylor Swift’s screens were curved for those on the flanks of the stadium (see below).

Alas, my sister and I weren’t the only disappointed ones at FedEx Field on July 27. Our whole section was silent for the majority of the night. The party next to us even left before the concert was over. I had wanted to get there early so we could see the opening acts and get the most of our $50 tickets, but the whole experience was a bust.

Together, Beyoncé and Jay-Z are worth a billion dollars. There is no reason why they can’t afford to make their stages, screens, and speakers curved so everyone in attendance can hear and see. This is what accessibility is: providing an equitable experience for all. If celebrities really cared about their fans, then they would do this, but all they care about is maximizing their profits, so they can provide better lives for themselves, not us. Otherwise, why would bad concert seats exist? They don’t care about us, which is why we need to stop worshipping them. While we may not have the same talents as Beyoncé and Jay-Z, we have the same capability to improve ourselves and make the world a better place for others. That’s the message I took from this concert: how to make the world a more equitable and accessible place for all.

TL;DR: OTR II sucked. We couldn’t hear or see anything, and they didn’t even play any new songs. Celebrities are cancelled because they have the money to do something about this inaccessibility, yet they choose not to. Also, if these artists really cared about us, then they would end their concerts before public transportation stops running, so everyone can get home in a safe and timely manner, but they don’t, so we try not get trampled as we fight for a spot on the last Metro [1] and wait two hours to haul an affordable Uber home. [2]

[1] OTR II was on the weekend so the Metro was still open when the concert ended.

[2] Taylor Swift’s concert was on a Tuesday so the Metro was closed when the concert ended. The whole transportation situation was a mess. First, we had no idea what direction the Uber pick up zone was. Once we eventually got to the pick up zone, we had to wait at least two hours for the surge to go down from $80 to its normal price of $15. Then, the stadium staff wanted the Uber drivers to park and then call their customers, but this was not clearly communicated, as the drivers wanted us to meet them where they were in the pick up line. As a result, there was a lot of yelling and annoyance. Thankfully, our Uber driver wasn’t difficult and getting a ride home was the only blip in our Reputation experience. I wish I could say the same thing about our OTR II experience.

P.S. Jay-Z wore a headband. It was cute.

I Wore a Push Up Bra for 7 Days

My mind was awakened the day my friend Michelle went braless for an empire waist dress with a fitted bust.

Since that fateful moment two years ago, I’ve stopped wearing bras unless it was absolutely necessary to conceal my nipples. I’ve also abandoned my push up bras after realizing how much they cater to the patriarchy.

In the last year, I’ve essentially only worn three bras, which I would cycle through the week and wash every six months if I could even quantify it as such: a nude unpadded Hanes bra, which I stole from my mom because it was so comfortable, an old white Victoria’s Secret bra, and a more padded nude bra for when I want to feel “more feminine.”

I was wearing that bra when I humored my aunt and let her buy me something at Victoria’s Secret’s Semi-Annual Sale. Upon seeing the bra I was wearing in the dressing room-after I lazily asked why we had to try on the bras if I knew they were going to fit based on my size-she made me promise I would trash it.

It was like a real life episode of What Not to Wear, where I told her I wear whatever's comfortable: why wear a bra when I don’t have to? On this day, I happened to be wearing one because my shirt was thin. Otherwise, I see no purpose in bras other than to hide nipples and use them to make my boobs look bigger in order to attract men.

My aunt didn’t buy any of this, but I begrudgingly accepted because I’d be stupid not to accept two free Victoria’s Secret bras and because I had to admit, I did have a posture problem. Somehow, my aunt convinced me that wearing a push up bra would fix it. What better way to test this theory than to wear push up bras for a whole week. Plus, I promised my aunt I would wear the bras-otherwise she wouldn’t have bought them for me.

Day 1:

To start the challenge, I chose to wear my favorite, old mint Victoria’s Secret bra with lace details on the straps and bands, which I scored for only $15. However, I stopped wearing it because it was too pretty to wear, and I had nowhere pretty to go. Additionally, my lazy habits had caused it to become dirty, as I just threw it into the wash with all of my other clothes. To prevent it from becoming even dirtier, I stopped wearing it.

I felt my posture improve, and my heavy bag felt lighter than normal as I walked into work. Was it actually the bra’s magical work or the heightened focus on my posture? I didn’t have an answer at the end of the day, but I did successfully separate my pretty and everyday push up bras when I got home.

Day 2:

Suffering from the guilt of wearing a pretty push up bra to work the day before, I opted for a more everyday nude push up bra from Rue21. This was a newer bra I hadn’t really worn. I quickly remembered why: it’s too big for me. Another reason why I stopped wearing push up bras was because of the boob to push up bra gap. I didn’t like the idea of faking big boobs with air essentially.

Most push up bras don’t fit people with small boobs, even though these are the people who would benefit from them the most. Victoria’s Secret has done the best at catering to the itty-bitty titty crowd in my personal experience. The only positive from this new bra was the intact straps. At the end of the day, I decided to remove it from my closet. With two new better-fitting options, there was no reason to keep this one around. I now see the value of trying on bras and not buying them blindly simply because they’re in your size, especially when you’re trying a new brand.

Day 3:

Back to Victoria’s Secret, as a pink everyday t-shirt bra was appropriate for this day off from work. However, it seemed stupid for me to wear a bra at home under a t-shirt that completely hides my nipples. Nevertheless, I had to complete the challenge, so I re-adjusted the loose straps on my bra and sucked it up. I ended up taking a nap with the bra on, taking a shower, and putting it back on in order to film a video. Bras were never uncomfortable to me; I was just too lazy to wear one, especially when I didn’t have to. Although I do have to admit that it felt good to finally take it off. I also have to acknowledge that my figure did look better with a bra on.

Day 4:

Today, I wore the first push up bra I ever got: a hot pink and sequined 21st birthday gift from my friend Julie. I wanted to wear a pretty white lace bra, another new one from Rue21, but the straps were too short and the boob to bra gap wide. The nude one and this white one are from my mom, who bought them for me without realizing that not all 32As are created equal.

Both of my options were too pretty to wear on yet another regular day, but I was out of non-pretty push up bras. I still had my neon green extra push up bra, which I bought after my introduction to push ups, but it smelled and looked dirty, so I hand washed it with my two new bras: another reason why I stopped wearing bras; I thought they were such a hassle to wash. I was wrong though because I actually enjoyed hand washing them today. It was the first time in almost two years I hand washed something, and it was nice: I cleaned the bathroom sink, filled it with water and detergent, and Voila! Magic.

It’s a good thing I appreciate hand washing clothes now because the bra smelled after a day of cooking, washing dishes, moving and taking apart furniture as well as months without a wash. It was definitely too nice of a bra to wear with the same t-shirt I wore yesterday as well as do chores in, but it’s a good thing I did because otherwise, it would have never made it to the hamper.

Day 5:

I opted for the neon green extra push up bra from yesterday’s wash to match my teal Phofest shirt. Despite it being an extra push up bra, it was pretty comfy with only a narrow boob to bra gap. Good job, Charlotte Russe. Even though I just washed it, it smells bad again because I sweated simply from driving to the bank and the store. Posture update: it’s still pretty pathetic, so there goes my hypothesis.

Day 6:

I finally got into the new bras. I chose the soft pink one first because I love the double strap design and color. The second pair of straps are black with “Victoria’s Secret” printed in white. It is the first front-clasp bra I own. As a result, I had to drastically adjust the straps to get it to fit right. Do I just have an extra long torso or something?

My boobs definitely felt nice with the bra on, but I sweated just from going outside and moving my car. This is why I don’t wear bras if I don’t have to: I don’t want the extra laundry.

Day 7:

After yet another day from sweating, I was definitely over it because I didn’t put on a bra until 4:00 p.m., and I only did it because someone was coming to check out my coffee table. I probably should have done this challenge on days when I actually had to leave the house, but this new black one has a lattice racer back, so it’s definitely a more sporty and casual push up, perfect for days like this.

Bonus Day:

I had one non-strapless push up bra left and a day at work, so I wore it and lived to tell the tale of the Cosmopolitan black and pink embroidered push up bra with a front bow detail that makes boys think I have a B cup. The Victoria’s Secret sales associate who measured me when I was with my aunt also thought I was a B cup, so it’s not just boys who are clueless about bras and boobs. I knew the nude bra made me bustier. This black one makes me bustier because it is so friggin’ tight. As a result, my posture was slightly better because I had to stand and sit straight to keep the bra from suffocating me. It became more uncomfortable when I came home and started slouching. In the end, I was glad to rid my body of it and end my experiment.

I set on this challenge hoping to change my mind about bras and improve my posture, but the hot summer heat only made me want to wear less clothing. Push up bras do help me fill out my clothes and look more presentable like my aunt said it would, but I still haven’t found a good reason to start caring about my looks again other than to impress a man. Yes, I feel beautiful when I’m wearing a push up bra because they are undeniably cute, but I also feel beautiful when I’m not wearing one, and that’s what matters the most.

Femininity has a new meaning now, and it doesn’t have to include push up bras. Women want equal rights, and we’re going to get it without pushing our boobs together. Push up bra? Nah, I prefer pushing up the glass ceiling, but thanks, now I'll look damn good while doing it. I think I found my reason again.