Skip to main content
Category

Uncategorized

Proactively Deactivating

By UncategorizedNo Comments

If someone were to Google my name, they wouldn’t really find anything other than my LinkedIn, Facebook and very slow PRs from when I ran cross country for one season in high school. I’ve come to the realization, and not speaking on behalf of anyone but myself, that social media has distorted my view of beauty, happiness and genuine relationships. 

I became swallowed up in this toxic realm of media: crying because I didn’t find myself to be “pretty” enough in comparison to other girls, seeking validation by my followers-to-likes ratio and most of all, feeling pressured to post (and not post) what I wanted to (thanks, performative activism).

So I did the unthinkable, at least as a Gen Z-er: I deactivated my social media accounts. But cheers to how I came to the choice of making one of the most proactive and positive decisions for both my mental health and relationships. 

Twitter, TikTok and Instagram were the first to go. Twitter wasn’t hard to leave…for many reasons. TikTok wasn’t either, especially after noticing that I was clocking in a consistent 10 hours of screen time on a daily basis. While I wasn’t as active on Twitter and bid my farewell to TikTok, I was pretty scared to leave such popular platforms. Thoughts such as, “How would I stay in touch with my friends?” raced through my mind. But then I remember other thoughts countering, “What about texting? Calling?” Why was it that I felt social media was the only valid form of communication when these other features—literally, what a phone is made for—existed? Why was I so caught up with staying “connected” with people online, merely through the like of a picture and maybe a comment, if I was feeling generous to give one? Why did I have 900+ “friends” on Instagram yet felt so incredibly alone? 

I remember reading numerous articles and blogs about stopping cold turkey with social media consumption before deactivating the platforms that drew me to my smart devices 24/7. Gina Van Thomme’s “I Deleted All My Social Media Accounts Last Year. Here’s How My Life Has Changed” resonated within me, causing me to reflect on not only how I expressed myself, but also who I truly was. Obsessing over all of these platforms led me to unknowingly build barriers against my self-awareness. All of this led me to finally realize that I wanted to break through. 

After deleting Twitter, TikTok and Instagram, I still kept other social media on my phone that I thought I would not be as addicted to, including Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. While my mental health was improving and I removed myself from toxic online spaces, my screen time didn’t necessarily decline, and I asked myself, “How can I simply be more proactive in my productivity in life?” Yes, my mental health was a lot better, but it felt like I always had a “reason” to keep my eyes glued to my phone’s screen. Why was it that I was habitually tapping through every random story and even started watching TikToks through Snapchat? Wasn’t this defeating the purpose of what I had just deleted? 

Although I felt that I was doing an adequate job in staying away from toxicity online, I started to reflect on how much social media had overall influenced my time management, priorities and biases. I then came across the Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma.” When I began to listen about how we, more specifically our attention, are the products—not the media platforms—it was as if the lightbulb in my head began to luminate the brightest than it’s ever before. That’s when I deleted pretty much everything on my phone: I deactivated Snapchat and Pinterest; and I got rid of Netflix, YouTube and Facebook, so I would be more conscious when logging onto them on my computer.

The point of all of this isn’t to shame those who use social media. The point is not to completely bash on these platforms, either. In fact, I love keeping up with family and friends on Facebook or even spending an hour or two on YouTube. But I encourage us to ask ourselves, how do we genuinely connect with others? Through the like button? Commenting on a post? And how does superficiality, between relationships with others and the way we perceive ourselves, creep its way into these online mannerisms, especially when we least expect it to?

Social media holds the power to empower. But for people to empower other people, acknowledgement and respect have to grow and flourish within the individual first. 

Affliction in Isolation: A Look at the State of Student Mental Health at UNR During the COVID-19 Pandemic

By UncategorizedNo Comments

To view a fully-accessible PDF showing the results of our survey, please click here: [link]

Four walls. Separation from family and friends. Distance from the offices and rooms we habitually occupied. An online arena of icons and faceless names. What seemed impossible—a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic in the 21st century—became a reality in 2020 as COVID-19 disrupted the lives of millions of people around the globe, particularly the college students of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Shortly after Governor Sisolak’s first declaration of a state of emergency in March of 2020, Kamiron Pate, a current first-year speech pathology major at the University of Nevada, Reno, woke up physically and mentally disoriented. While COVID-19 tests weren’t distributed and easily accessible to the public at the time, Pate recalled having nearly every major symptom, especially a loss of taste and smell. The following months after Pate’s recovery were characterized by a distortion of those same senses. 

“I don’t know what it was—if it was the fact of me knowing that I was isolating or if I was actually just in that much pain—but I would wake up and be so upset, and my body would ache,” said Pate. “At some point—it was by the third or fourth day—I’d just lay down. I kind of just gave up, and I was just there. I was like, ‘Hey, what happens happens.’ I really gave up a lot of things.”

Following Pate’s symptoms, his family followed all guidelines to create a barrier between him and them, but he was still concerned about exposure, especially with COVID-19’s incubation period.

“I was afraid for my family because I’d been around them so much, and I know they’re susceptible to certain things. They’re higher risk than I am, so at first, I felt really bad. Like terrible,” said Pate. “I was like, ‘Anything could happen to them, and then it’s going to be my fault.’ Like, I gave it to y’all.

Pate isolated for about two weeks. Stuck in his childhood bedroom, Pate slowly recovered physically, but his mental well-being was degraded. He described it as “the most miserable experience” he has ever had—“or at least a close second.” The isolation forced Pate to reconsider what was important to him.

“Every time I felt a little bit sicker, I’d always be like, ‘I could be the next statistic. I really don’t know,’” said Pate. “It made me so worrisome, but also made me so appreciative of my life and the stuff that I want to do.”

Pate elaborated on the impact on his psyche during isolation: “You know how like you’re watching the movies, or you hear from like documentaries or quotes from prison inmates… like you see someone maybe get locked up in a horror movie? And they’re stuck in a room for days on end, and they just kind of go crazy? I didn’t think it would actually be like that, but when you’re unable to talk to people, when you’re unable to touch people, or see people or see what they’re doing, it drives you crazy.”

The consequences of this pandemic don’t pertain only to those who tested positive—they extend to nearly everyone at UNR. Maria Victoria Diaz, a third-year student at UNR majoring in psychology and criminal justice, is one of many who dealt with the massive shift to remote instruction during the Spring 2020 semester. Diaz was diagnosed with clinical depression and general anxiety long before the pandemic happened, but she found that her mental health worsened when the pandemic first hit.

“Since the pandemic started, I started to think of how I was dealing with my mental health, and I realized that I was really not dealing with it,” said Diaz.

Due to the rapid changes in her college experience, Diaz turned to alcohol in order to cope. This led to her falling behind in the fall 2020 semester.

Diaz was one of many students who increasingly found solace in recreational substances, like alcohol, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Insight Magazine conducted a survey to investigate the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of students, which found that 49.7% of students have personally increased their use of alcohol, nicotine, marijuana and other drugs. Of the same respondents, 77.2% said that they know at least one other person who has increased their use of recreational substances. 

The impacts on the mental health of students during the pandemic stretch beyond drug use: The percentage of students who said they’ve had education-related challenges—ideas of (or actually)  taking a gap semester/year or dropping out as well as making major changes to their coursework and academic plan—is at 82.1%. The top motivators were an inability to see friends, family or significant others (88.3%); loss of regular access to public spaces (87.6%); the struggle to maintain grades in coursework (86.9%). 

Diaz’s experiences with the latter was a major part of her pandemic experience, which led to a temporary loss of financial aid. Although initially discouraged, she began to make efforts to resolve her academic issues in the spring 2021 semester. She noted that financial aid regulations remained the same as they were before the pandemic, despite the many challenges students faced. 

“At first, I felt really angry. I was like, ‘Why is the school doing this to me?’ It’s all in a pandemic. I was trying my best,” said Diaz. “Then I had this sort of epiphany moment: ‘The school has its laws, its rules. You’re the one that fell behind because you were not focusing on the right things. You were just kind of desperate and passionate about a feeling, so you let yourself slip.’”

While many students struggled and continue to struggle with their mental health and school work, UNR student leaders and administration sought to ease the pains that come with these changes. Advocating on behalf of students, second-year student Parker Samuelson is the Director of Campus Wellness for the Associated Students of the University of Nevada. Her position works with the Office of Equal Opportunity & Title IX, the Fitness Center and the Counseling Center. During the 2020-2021 academic year, Director Samuelson prioritized a unified response to both the COVID-19 crisis and the mental health challenges that come with it. 

Director Samuelson has had bi-weekly meetings with Dr. Jacqueline Pistorello and Carla Franich from the UNR’s Counseling Center, and she holds a place on major statewide task forces, formed by the NSHE Chancellor. She also helped run regular outreach through official ASUN social media channels, especially through a weekly “Wellness Wednesday” campaign, which she led. 

“I think it’s just about letting students know we’re there. We’re there to support them. We’re there to be their voice. We serve the students, not the administration, in that way. But we’re also working with the administration. We’re all in this together,” said Samuelson.

On the other hand, Director Samuelson, speaking on behalf of herself, noted that there was a felt disconnect between students and the administrations that they turned to. Although NSHE and the offices of both the UNR and UNLV administrations continue to send emails of support and guidance to students, she also felt that inconsistent messaging has muddled their responses. In other words, she felt that more could be said by administrators about student concerns.

“I think there’s a lot of anxiety and isolation felt from not being included and not being seen as equals. Having any messaging from higher ups would be better than having no messaging,” said Samuelson. “I think students understand that there’s not a definitive answer to COVID. But they’d appreciate being updated as if we were equals.”

The inconsistent outreach has been a major issue, exacerbated by the universal move to an online mode of living. Classrooms have been replaced by Zoom rooms, leading to “Zoom fatigue” and a student body discouraged from engaging with online content. Consequently, many students missed important (although scarce) information about the resources offered by the university. 

Since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year (excluding emails from college-specific mailing lists and Residential Life, Housing, and Food Services), Counseling Services and other resources of support were mentioned in 12 emails sent to students across 33 weeks of classes as of writing. However, only four out of those emails made a specific reference to campus resources in the subject line. These emails were sent at the start and end of the fall 2020 semester, as well as the start of the spring 2021 semester. In the other emails, the resources were mentioned within or at the end of the body of the email. 

“If anything, they sent one email about resources, and that’s it,” said Diaz regarding the low level of communication. “I know for a fact that when I’m going through an episode, it’s kind of like ‘I don’t care…’ I feel like the university should be proactive about it and remind students. Say, ‘Hey, there’s these resources. Hey, there’s this for you, or a virtual meeting…’ I did not see any kind of action from the university at all.”

A similar sentiment is shared with Pate, who is one of many who stand to benefit the most from the services offered to students. Instead, these services have a low profile and appear at first glance to be inaccessible. According to Insight Magazine’s survey, 49.3% of students have not used resources offered by the university, including those specific to COVID-19-related circumstances.

“For me and a few of my friends, being on your phone all the time is terrible now. There’s always something going on, and it’s always negative. Checking emails, checking classes and seeing your grade go down is not something you want to do,” said Pate. “Those outlets where they usually reach you… we aren’t going to check as frequently. I definitely feel if it’s major, and you know it’s major, [administration should] bombard us.”

According to Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, David Shintani, the administration has made and continues to make on-campus resources visible to students. Under his leadership, Shintani had tried to emphasize the importance of the resources during freshman orientation, ensure the presence of on-campus resources in syllabi, and provide information through WebCampus. He also says that they are investigating text messages as an alternative means of communications to emails.

“We don’t have unlimited capacity to address everybody’s mental health issues,” said Shintani. “In a normal year, we could probably handle it, but this is a crisis year so it’s difficult for us to achieve these things…But we also find that to a certain extent some students don’t seek the resources…I know it’s a hard thing to ask for help, but if students need help, we want to know.”

Shintani added, “Can we do more? Yes. Should we do more? Yes. Can we do more? Probably. Do we need more resources? Yes…I think we can always do more. But again, it’s the students that need to also seek the help.”

In agreement with this idea is Diaz. Self-described as “self-reliant,” Diaz used to refuse the idea of seeking help and using the available resources on campus. However, she shed this mindset during the pandemic.

“I thought, ‘I know people that have a mental illness, and they don’t go to therapy, so why would I? They’re doing great. I can do great.’ It was definitely not the right mindset, and it’s definitely hard to get to a point where you can say, ‘You know what, I actually do need the help. I actually do need to reach out,’” said Diaz. “Obviously not everybody has a mental illness, but we’ve all been affected by the pandemic in one way or another. There are still resources for them. I think that the best way to reach students is by students.”

The biggest student-supporting entity that felt the effects of the past crisis year and struggled to maintain outreach endeavors was the Counseling Center. Dr. Jacqueline Pistorello, Director of Counseling Services, said that the shift to telemedicine platforms was cushioned by pre-existing research into these options. According to Dr. Pistorello, this meant temporarily turning to phone sessions before shifting to HIPAA-compliant Zoom meetings. The experience gained through the pandemic experience will inform telemedicine options in the future.

“We never stopped serving the students,” said Dr. Pistorello.

Dr. Pistorello said that she attributes the success of the Counseling Center’s telemedicine options to collaboration from within the university. From working directly with the School of Medicine to connecting with the mental health taskforce across NSHE, she says the university administration played a large part in facilitating the operations of the Counseling Center.

“I’ve been at UNR for a while. As Director, only two years, but I’ve been here for 23 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like this, where all the institutions are coming together and trying to figure out what to do about mental health,” said Dr. Pistorello. “It speaks to the systemic support in wanting to do something about mental health.”

As part of a pandemic-focused action plan, the Counseling Center ramped up efforts to reach out to students through social media. New programs and events were introduced, including Wolf Pack Instagram Live sessions, a “PandEPIC Life” support group, and a “PACK the Dinner Table” event. Dr. Pistorello says these programs are vital to a students that may not have considered Counseling Services in the past.

However, when discussing engagement, Dr. Pistorello freely admits that the Counseling Center has worked with less students throughout the 2020 calendar year compared to the previous year. According to numbers sent by Dr. Pistorello on behalf of the Counseling Center, the Counseling Center found a 27% drop in students seen and a 17% drop in total appointments. However, the numbers also note that students on average attended nearly 1 more appointment compared to the previous year.

“Can we do better? Yeah, but I think that’s the case for all,” said Dr. Pistorello. “I feel like as a parent, I can do better, like in every area of my life. I’ve decided that this is the ‘good enough’ period.”

And to students struggling academically, she said, “I recommend to some students who are hard on themselves to give yourself a little bit of a break. Maybe this is the semester, where you do get some of the [S/U grades] you know, instead of the [letter] grade if you can.”

However, Diaz doesn’t believe that mental health resources on campus were enough to aid students suffering during the pandemic. The issues students faced stretched beyond basic mental health services, and were a result of the structure of university life and instruction as a whole. She found that drastic changes, due to the pandemic, were met with a lack of change in university operations.

For example, COVID-19 challenged not only students’ ability to learn, but also their ability of basic survival. The pandemic forced several stores to temporarily close, which led to many lost jobs. Diaz said that having a job was to be “blessed,” and that many students need to stay working, to sustain themselves. She said that there was little flexibility offered by professors, especially in terms of attendance and scheduling.

“I feel like there’s no consideration of the fact that we’re adults. We have adult stuff to do, besides school. They’re hard on students, because obviously you need to be in class and you want to engage in class, but people have work,” said Diaz. “I totally get it…But you know there’s just some things that have to be more flexible.”

Adding onto this sentiment, Pate views the university administration as cold, formal and professional. He said, “I can believe that they’re supportive, but do I see it? No…It doesn’t seem personal.”

Pate found a general lack of support and community from his peers and the university due to the separation, and found it difficult to find ways to make connections. Although he did have new roommates, he was alienated from them and does not experience a strong relationship with them.

“When you come back from outside, you really just want to be by yourself. You don’t want to be occupied with other people too much, because socializing is a lot now,” said Pate. “So it’s like here, I’m just alone.”

These experiences contributed to what appeared to be an educational environment that was hostile to the caring of mental health. Insight Magazine’s survey supports this: only 35.1% of students do not believe that the university is doing enough to support the mental health of students; 39.6% of students said that they did not know what the university has done to support the mental health of students. Only 4.5% of students definitely affirmed they believe the university is doing enough.

Another contention on the issue of systemic support is ASUN’s budget over the academic year. Insight Magazine obtained an updated version of the ASUN budget, which was current as of March 18, 2021. A review of the budget found $132,050 allocated for ASUN’s 25 senators (up from $74,100 in the previous school year) and $85,000 allocated for a Welcome Week Concert. Meanwhile, the budget of Pack Provisions, an on-campus food pantry located in ASUN’s Center for Student Engagement, was only allocated $58,669 including “outside contributions” as labeled on the budget sheet, and ASUN’s “FY21 contribution” towards the Emergency Tuition Assistance Program was $78,000.

“We’ve all watched the news. We really had to during [the summer], and you can’t sit there and say that you don’t know what people were going through,” said Pate. “I know a lot of people that go to sleep hungry. A lot of people aren’t able to get groceries, can’t figure it out or are too depressed to eat. You just have this money sitting around, and they did a concert.”

Although the Emergency Tuition Assistance Program and Pack Provisions are listed as external accounts, students, including Pate, expressed disappointment in what appears to be poor allocation approved by senators.

—— 

In a press release, dated March 17, 2021, NSHE chancellor, Melody Rose reflected on one year since the system transitioned to remote, COVID-19 operations.

“Today is a solemn time as we remember those we’ve lost and the many challenges we have faced,” she wrote, “but it is also a time for hope.”

In the same press release, Chancellor Rose announced that the COVID-19 taskforce recommended a transition back to mostly in-person instruction for the fall 2021 semester.

Moving forward, Vice Provost Shintani believes that his experience in crisis handling will be essential for the future. Although he admitted that each crisis is different, Shintani noted that communication was essential to keeping people connected. From pulling students abroad back to the United States to informing parents about the safety of their children, Shintani found that every emergency demanded quick thinking and careful consideration.

“I’m really impressed by the students,” said Shintani about the UNR community. “How adaptable they have been, how they’ve been able to be successful in a really difficult year. I really respect that they’ve had to deal with these isolation. They are having mental health issues, but they’re still persevering through it.”

A challenge is presented to the students of Nevada, who have changed immensely during the course of the pandemic but are offered the nostalgic imagery of a life before COVID-19.

Before the pandemic, Pate wanted to become a surgeon. However, by the time he started his first college classes, he had changed his major. By the end of his first semester of college, he again had second thoughts about his career path and is now considering music as a way forward.

“This past year, building myself back up to who I am now is crazy. And you can say that’s the positive aspect of it too,” said Pate. “I’m a completely different person than I was last year. That happens, of course, over the span of a year, but when the whole scenario went down — all of that — it was just like I had a different outlook on life, different outlook on what I wanted to do.”

He also says he’s become much more of an introvert. Diaz shares this change, as her relationships with her friends aren’t as close or strong as before. She still craves that deeper social interaction from peers, but she finds solace in her family more than ever before.

“You know, obviously, you still have access to people. You can talk to people through your phone. But it’s that feeling of just, ‘This is it. This is my room. I’m here all day. I don’t have certain people here with me,’” said Diaz. “Now, the only way I can relax from school is to just go to the living room, where I don’t have class.”

“I spend more time with my brother. Now we watch more movies. I talk more with my mom. This brought us together, just because we’ve all been going through the same thing, so we understand where we’re all coming from.”

The most important thing right now is staying sane, according to Pate. Mental health persists as an issue in the state of Nevada, with the state ranking 51st out of all states plus Washington, D.C.. In a moment of uncertainty, when the end of the pandemic seems like it is near, Pate learned to manage the intensity and the emotional toll of everything on his psyche.

“Learn to feel your emotions. Don’t ignore it,” said Pate. “If you’re feeling lonely, feel that. If you’re feeling sad, feel that. If you’re angry, feel all of that. Allow yourself to fill it for the day. And the next day, you work to get yourself out of that situation.

“It’s okay to feel your emotions. I feel everyone is kind of scared now, at this point, to express themselves because we’re all going through it. But emotions are real. Everyone has them.”

—— 

Pack Provisions is located in the ASUN Center for Student Engagement in the Joe Crowley Student Union’s third floor. They are open Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. If you are in the Reno-Sparks area, Campus Escort may deliver to you.

The Counseling Center is located in the William N. Pennington Student Achievement Center in Room 420. Their Virtual Front Desk is available Monday through Thursday from 9 AM to 6 PM, and Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM. During regular hours, the Counseling Center may be called at (775) 784-4648. An after-hours crisis hotline may be called at (775) 297-8315.

Top Five Covers: The Gift that Just Keeps Giving

By UncategorizedNo Comments

You never quite know what you are going to get when an artist covers a song, and I think that’s what I like most about them. A ‘cover’ of a song is a new performance by someone who isn’t the original performer: allowing artists to pay homage to artists and art that came before them. A really good cover has the potential to breathe life into music that was once overlooked or forgotten. Some of the best ones take a completely new look at the way a song is composed and performed. Artists have a chance to make an old song their own, letting their personal style mix with the original artists. You really can’t go wrong with a good cover. It’s the gift that just keeps giving, time and time again. So, in the spirit of celebrating amazing covers, here is my current list of my top five covers: 

1. Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin 

‘Me and Bobby McGee’ is arguably one of Janis Joplin’s most recognized songs, though there is one snag– it’s not actually her song. Kris Kristofferson wrote it, and it was released by Roger Miller in 1969. Joplin cut a version shortly before her death in late 1970. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her version of the song on March 20, 1971. It is by far one of my favorite covers, and songs, to exist. 

 

2. Killing Me Softly With His Song by Fugees

Roberta Flack made this song popular in 1973, taking the song to #1 for five weeks on the Billboard pop chart. However, it was originally sung by Lori Lieberman a year earlier. The Fugees repopularized the song when they released their cover in May 1996. 

 

3. I’ll Be There by Mariah Carey (feat. Trey Lorenz)

‘I’ll Be There” is one of the Jackson Five’s most popular songs, without question. Released in 1970, on the groups ‘Third Album,’ it was their fourth #1 single. Mariah Carey has always been known for her soulful voice and effortless talent at performing live. Her version of ‘I’ll Be There’ (feat. Trey Lorenz) was performed live at MTV– showcasing her ability to make this old song her own by incorporating her signature vocal runs and high notes. This cover is undeniably one of the best covers in history, and I stand by that. 

 

4. Say My name by Hozier

‘Say My Name’ is a well known classic, originally sung by Destiny’s Child in July 1999. The song earned the group their first pair of GRAMMYs, as well as hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 after 12 weeks on the chart. Hozier, most popularly known for his hit song ‘Take Me To Church,’ covered this song, giving the R&B track a more relaxed country vibe. Hozier’s ability to make this already loveable song sound brand new is what solidified his place on my list of favorite covers. 

 

5. Friday I’m in Love by Phoebe Bridgers

Rounding out number five of my list is Phoebe Bridgers’ cover of ‘Friday I’m in Love.’I appreciate Bridgers as a singer and performer, so I expected quality content, but as someone who grew up listening to the original, I was cautious of expecting too much going into this cover. I can happily exclaim that my caution was unnecessary. Bridgers takes a slow and romantic approach to the song, directly contradicting its original whimsical and upbeat sound. 

 

Though these covers are my current favorites, I must admit that there are many more that I appreciate very deeply. Linked below is a playlist of some of the ones I think everyone should hear, and perhaps some songs you didn’t even know were covers. Take a listen!

Insight: Covers

Artistic Picture of Insight Bad Bunny

Summer in November: Bad Bunny’s ‘Dakiti’ Song Review

By UncategorizedNo Comments

Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez have returned with a new collaboration and it’s a banger! Their new song “Dakiti” debuted number one of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and remains having the biggest week in terms of streaming. “Dakiti” is Bad Bunny’s sixth number one and Cortez’s first number one.

Since Benito’s latest album “Las Que No Iban a Salir” (those who weren’t going to go out) that dropped back in May during quarantine, he has still managed to release new music, with “Dakiti” being the first single that gives us a taste of his upcoming music. The song was produced by Bad Bunny, Cortez, and fellow Puerto Rican singer, Tainy, and is only the beginning of what more he has to offer before the end of the year. 

Right off the bat, “Dakiti” serves as a spanish ubeat club anthem. It’s upbeat yet slow-burning with hints of electronic sounds. The song itself showcases sounds of future reggaeton with a cool synth edge. Alongside the single arrived a music video as well that displays Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez partying in an isolated box on the beach. 

In the “Dakiti” music video Bunny and Cortez party at the beachside with a lot of women. They’re secluded on the beach, piloting their own yachts, and performing on the sand. The music video is very aquatic, artistic, and intense. It fits the overall mood of the song very well. Albeit being released in the middle of November, “Dakiti” is a summer night anthem that everyone can vibe to, whether you’re partying at a nightclub or just hanging out by the bonfire. 

However, the most anticipated and exciting part of the video was the ending, when a big semi-truck zooms by with the phrase “El Último Tour Del Mundo” (the final world tour.) Prior to this message, Benito has been hinting at an early retirement for a while as heard in his previous album “Las Que No Iban a Salir.” Being a Bad Bunny fan myself, I only hope that it’s a joke and he’s really not retiring. But from the looks of it, maybe the end is really near.

Picture of Plane Overlooking Mountains

Society Says Long-Distance Kills Relationships, I’m Here to Prove Them Otherwise

By UncategorizedNo Comments

They say that long-distance is the killer of love; someone is bound to cheat, they never work out. Sure, not every long-distance relationship works out, but not every close-distance relationship works out either. Not being able to see your significant other often is difficult, there is definitely an added strain, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t successful or worth the fight. Coming from someone in a happy and loving long-distance relationship that has handled it prior to and during an international pandemic, don’t give up on someone you love because of distance. It’s difficult, yes, but if you love someone, it’s worth it.

It started with some innocent swiping on a dating app, never expecting to find someone I wanted to pursue a relationship with, let alone a long-distance one. I had a week with my current boyfriend, Chase, before he went home to Las Vegas for the holidays. We weren’t officially dating, didn’t even know each other, but we both decided the connection was strong enough that distance didn’t matter. I barely knew him, there was no obligation to text or call every day, yet I still received a call, even after my late-night shifts.

 It’s been a year and eight months and I still get a call every day. It doesn’t matter how busy either of us are or how late it is or if the call is only five minutes, we make sure to call. The first step to having a successful long-distance relationship, or any relationship at all is communication. This doesn’t have to be a call every day, it can be a couple texts or even just a video that reminds them of you on Instagram. If someone doesn’t want to talk to you, they won’t. The communication doesn’t have to be serious relationship talks, just let them know what’s going on. 

For the entirety of our relationship, one of us or both of us have been in school. It’s important to let the other person know when you aren’t available, whether it’s in class, studying, or at work. It doesn’t have to be obsessive, but the less your partner knows where you are or what you’re doing, the more panicked and unsure they become. If Chase tells me he is working or hanging out with the boys, I trust that he is doing just that.

When you can’t be around your significant other, whether for a couple days or a couple months, no matter the distance there must be trust. There’s no point in trying to make any relationship work if you can’t trust the other person. If the guy says he’s out with the boys, you have to trust that he’s out with the boys and not sneaking around with another girl. The second that you start to doubt him, yourself, and the relationship, is the second that the relationship starts to fail. Especially right now, during a pandemic where people should be limiting how often they go out, it’s unnecessary to assume he isn’t responding because he’s hiding with someone else. The reality is, he’s probably playing Call of Duty or watching football.

In a relationship where distance is involved, especially during a time when travel can be unsafe, it’s natural, normal, and honestly healthy to miss them. There is less opportunity to travel to see each other, especially if they live in a different state and that state has heavy travel restrictions. Any time that you get to spend together, whether in person or over the phone, is valuable. Don’t let distance, family, society, or a pandemic get in the way of a relationship you believe in.