In The Pursuit of Happiness: Adele on Being Yourself

Hello!! Adele is certainly having a moment, isn’t she? After a four-year hiatus, the tell-it-like-it-is singer is back and better than ever — she’s even toppled *NSYNC’s first-week album sales record! And if that wasn’t enough, she recently shelled out a heavy dose of inspiration in an interview with SiriusXM…

“I do have body image problems, for sure, but I don’t let them rule my life at all,” she says. “And there’s bigger issues going on in the world than how I might feel about myself. There’s only one of you, so why would you want to look like everyone else?” she said. “Why would you want to have the same hairstyle as everyone else and have the same opinions as everybody else?”

We see celebrities like Adele and think they have these glossy, airbrushed, perfect lives. They seem to have the right clothes, the right hair and the right makeup. So when they come out and “get real” about life, you can tell that it comes from a genuine place. This is why we can all relate to Adele. She’s our Spirit Animal and basically says everything we’re all thinking, which is so refreshing, if you ask me. In a world of fakeness, we definitely need something real to counteract all that negativity.

Are you an Adele fan, friends? What’s your favorite song? You all know I’m in love with Someone Like You — I’ve been known to walk roll around the house singing it all day long. Thanks for all the Girl Crush inspiration, Adele! xoxo

P.S. A new Tuesday Tunes is coming up soon! 🙂

[Via Marie Claire]

In The Pursuit of Happiness: Demi Lovato on Mental Illness

Demi Lovato fights for mental health reform

Mental illness is one sick, insidious and painful disease. It forges a mighty path of destruction and leaves devastation in its wake. It doesn’t care about the people it takes down or about the amount of lives it affects.

And what’s even sadder is society’s perception of it all. Thankfully, things are finally beginning to change for the better, but we’ve still got quite a long way to go as a culture. Luckily, celebrities like Demi Lovato are speaking out. The singer recently took the fight all the way to Capitol Hill, where she continued her crusade for mental health reform. She was there on behalf of the Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health initiative and spoke to legislators at the National Council for Behavioral Health’s Hill Day…

“I think it’s important that people no longer look at mental illness as something taboo to talk about. It’s something that’s extremely common, one in five adults has a mental illness, so basically everyone is essentially connected to this problem and this epidemic,” she told PEOPLE magazine. “The problem with mental illness is people don’t look at it as a physical illness. When you think about it, the brain is actually the most complex organ in your body. We need to treat it like a physical illness and take it seriously.”

It’s SO important to keep this sort of positive dialogue going, and it’s so refreshing to see Demi step up and be that voice of change. Here’s someone who can envision a brighter, more understanding future — someone who isn’t the least bit afraid to be open and honest about her past struggles. I’ve always felt a sort of kinship with Demi. We were both in the hospital around the same time in 2010 and I appreciated that she didn’t hide or cite “exhaustion” as the reason for her hospitalization like some celebrities do. I think it helped open a lot of eyes and ears, even back then, and she’s been working hard ever since — both of her recovery and outreach efforts!

Although I may not have the same platform that she does, I work very hard to stomp out those mental illness stereotypes on So About What I Said. It’s something I take very seriously, and even before my own struggles, it was never something I took lightly. It’s too important of an issue to just gently sweep under the rug and pretend like it doesn’t exist.

Because it does exist. All over the world. In our own backyards. It could be your mother, your sister, your boss, your best friend. Sadly, mental illness doesn’t discriminate, which is why it’s so important to NEVER back down and ALWAYS fight back. I hope you’ll join us in this fight, and remember, never be afraid to share your story! xoxo

In The Pursuit of Happiness: Bindi Irwin on Making Her Dad Proud

I’ve talked about the universal need to make our parents proud, how that need is still present in adulthood and how, especially since my father’s death, I’ve wondered if he’d be proud of me.

Well, it looks like I’m not the only one who feels this way. Bindi Irwin recently chatted with US Weekly about her famous dad, the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, who died in 2006 following a stingray attack…

I hope he’d be proud. That’s my end goal. He was like our living, breathing superhero. He was so passionate and clever…You never knew what to expect with Dad. He was like a living hurricane. But it was always fun and it was always an adventure. We [Irwin’s family] try to surround ourselves with love and light. You have to be there for each other. As a family, we are trying to make sure everything Dad worked so hard for carries on into the future. We’ll continue to expand the zoo and try to spread his message. It’s a big job, but we’re hoping to make Dad as proud as possible.

I do often wonder if my own dad would be proud of where I am in life and what he’d say about the person I am today. It’s weird, but in my eyes, I’m still sort of that little girl when I think of my father. Time has stopped at the point of his death and everything is frozen. We’re not going to be making new memories and we won’t get the opportunity to see our roles reverse. For all intents and purposes, I’m still a “kid” in the context of my relationship with my father. That is something that will never change.

Is that how all adult children feel when they’ve lost a parent at a relatively young age? I wonder if we’re forever trapped in that regressed role. Sometimes I actually imagine the conversation I’d have with my father, how we’d talk about everything that’s happened, and I’d finally get the chance to say everything I’ve always wanted to tell him.

In The Pursuit of Happiness: Stephen Colbert on the Power of Women

Have you got your DVR set for Stephen Colbert‘s big debut on the Late Show on September 8th? I’ve always admired everyone’s favorite funny man, and although he’ll be shedding his brash ‘Colbert’ persona, it’ll be refreshing to see a more human side to the comedian.
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He’s still got that spunk, though, as he showed in this hilarious essay he wrote for this month’s Glamour. He manages to proclaim his love for women while also poking fun at those crazy, outdated gender stereotypes…

I will continue to fight for women, because I’m a man who is deeply in touch with my femininity. I believe gender is a spectrum, and I fall somewhere between Channing Tatum and Winnie the Pooh. Pooh and I definitely agree on the no-pants thing. As soon as I’m home, off they go—and I’m knuckle-deep in a pot of honey…I love all the things women love: exfoliating microbeads, period costume dramas, Joe Manganiello’s second row of abs, pay commensurate with my skill set, York peppermint patties, Legolas, the respect of my colleagues, and being warm. 


I’m here for you, and that means I’m going to do my best to create a Late Show that not only appeals to women but also celebrates their voices. These days TV would have you believe that being a woman means sensually eating yogurt, looking for ways to feel confident on heavy days, and hunting for houses. But I’m going to make a show that truly respects women, because I know that there’s more than one way to be one. Maybe you’re a woman who likes women. Maybe you like women and men. Maybe you’re a woman who’s recently transitioned. Maybe you’re a guy who’s reading this magazine because your girlfriend bought a copy and it looked interesting.

I love that notion, the fact that there doesn’t have to be a “us” and “them” when it comes to men and women and that we really could be all in this together. And, yes, maybe that is some sort of pie-in-the-sky dream, but I’d say it’s one worth fighting for. If we already do such amazing things on our own, imagine all the things we could do if we teamed up.

Do you think the gender gap has shortened over the years, friends? Has Colbert got it right? I can’t wait to see what he does with his new show!! xoxo

In The Pursuit of Happiness: Lauren Conrad Shuts Down Body-Shamers

Fat.

Skinny.

These are my two least favorite words in the English language. In fact, they’re my least favorite of all time, in any language.

Have you ever noticed how fat, in particular, is such a short word, but seemingly wields so much power over us? It’s just one syllable. That’s it. Just one. It takes less than one second to say, and yet we spend countless hours obsessing over it and looking for it and comparing ours to other people’s. It’s enough to drive anyone bonkers — and it does. All. The. Time. Skinny is a word that also weighs heavily on our minds. The irony, I know. For some reason, the embodiment of all things skinny has become something of a sought-after goal, as if it was some sort of status symbol. At the very least, it was something to be proud of.
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But luckily for us all, fashionista extraordinaire Lauren Conrad is taking a big stand for Girl Power by making her little corner of the Interwebs a safer and more positive place. In a blog post last week, she outlined her plans…

“When we’ve talked about getting in shape in the past, words like “skinny,” “slim,” and “thin” have often come up. Starting this month, we’ll be banning any body shaming terms from the site, and shifting the focus to words like “fit” “toned,” and “healthy.” We try do to this for the most part anyway, but now we’re making it official! The word skinny will now be reserved for skinny jeans. My editorial team and I had a long talk about it, and we want to make sure that the focus is on being fit as opposed to a number on the scale. Every body is created differently—and healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes.”

Amen, Lauren! She’s always been one of my favorites. I love how she’s been able to transcend her Laguna Beach and Hills past and become such an inspiring business woman. She seems like the type of person who knows exactly who she is, isn’t willing to settle or pretend and ultimately makes NO APOLOGIES for any of it. Now that’s some solid business model I could get behind.

Just like I said a few days ago, there’s a certain strength in being who you are. Lauren, obviously, owns it, too, and I’m glad she’s a role model for so many young women these days. I can’t help but feel like she’s inspiring the Lauren Conrads of tomorrow, don’t you, friends? Rock on, Lauren! xoxo