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“A balm for the soul”
  review on Goodreads
GOOD PEOPLE Book
upworthy

billie eilish

Billie Eilish/YouTube, @carie_momo/TikTok

Life is beautiful.

Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” can bring most folks to tears already. After all, the song, created for a pivotal part in the “Barbie” movie, touches on the special kind of grief one feels for their younger, more carefree self that often fades away as we become adults. Plus Eilish’s airy, wistful voice feels innocent and weary all at the same time, touching right on the heartstrings.

Now, add onto that home video footage that perfectly shows the beauty and wonder of childhood that exists beyond the limits of time and space… and…excuse me? Does someone have a tissue?

In a viral video created by Carrie Moses, we see a side-by-side comparison of clips from her own childhood and those from her mom’s childhood, all while the song plays. There’s something so beautiful and healing about seeing how, whether it’s in the 60s or the 90s or even today, childhood still feels the same.


Joyful. Playful. Full of games. Full of dancing. Full of silly faces and pretty dresses. Full of zest. Full of life. Full.

Somehow along the way, our lives become full of responsibilities, worries, regrets…you know, adulting. And that light begins to dim. But it does come back in fleeting moments.

Moments like the ones below. Watch:

@carrie_momo Replying to @Vanessa’s Travels & Tips 🛩️🌎 Ask and you shall receive! Had to do a part 2! Me and my mom are overwhelmed by the response to the first one. My mom is so happy. She’s watched it so many times and read all the comments. First clip is mom with Midge (Barbie’s BFF 😭😍) FAQ: to transfer I bought the Wolverine super 8 movie maker on Amazon. Expensive but worth it for the memories. Thinking about opening up a service to transfer Super 8 reels to digital when I get back from my trip. #barbie#barbiemovie2023#barbiemovie#billieeilish#whatwasimadefor #whatwasimadeforbillieeilish #thenandnow#super8 #super8film #fyp ♬ original sound - Carrie_momo

As you wipe the snot away, I leave you with one last touching quote from "Barbie," which clearly resonated with Moses as she created her montage, since she put it in her TikTok video:

“We mothers stand still so our daughters can look back to see how far they have come.”

Images via Wikicommons here and here

Billie Eilish and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

It seems like every year someone makes a splash at the Met Gala with their fashion choices. In 2018 it was Lena Waithe's "queer cape" that enthralled the press and public alike, with its simple but powerful message about inclusivity and LGBTQ rights. In 2016, Emma Watson used that year's technology theme to send a more subtle but equally powerful message about the environment with a dress made entirely from sustainable products.

Even with America and much of the world still reeling from COVID-19, this year is no different.

In fact, two dresses, in particular, have gone viral with very different but very powerful messages about life in 2021. This year, the honor of showcasing the most talked about outfit is being shared between singer Billie Eilish and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). And much like Waithe and Watson before them, one dress wore its heart on its sleeve (or tails to be exact), while the other was subtle in its vital message about animal rights.


First was Eilish. Everyone is talking about her stunning homage to Marilyn Monroe and we get it. Eilish has been getting increasingly comfortable stepping out publicly in more adult, form-fitting attire, such as her appearance on the June cover of Vogue. During the Met Gala, Eilish talked about finding new confidence in having her figure on public display and the personal empowerment she's gained while staying true to her past comments about body positivity. "I've always wanted to do this," she said during her red carpet appearance when asked about the Monroe comparison.

However, it wasn't just about a killer gown. There was a catch and we love Eilish all the more for it: She only agreed to wear the Oscar de la Renta dress on the condition that the acclaimed fashion designer agrees to stop using animal fur.

"It is an honor to wear this dress knowing that going forward Oscar de la Renta will be completely fur free!!!" Eilish, who is vegan, wrote to her 91 million Instagram followers. "I'm honored to have been a catalyst and to have been heard on this matter."

At the same time that Eilish was going viral, AOC was making waves of her on the political front. The New York Democrat showed up to the Met Gala in a white dress with red lettering on the back that read "Tax the Rich." Ocasio-Cortez said she was proud that her dress was drawing attention to what she called the nation's unfair taxation system which enables seemingly endless loopholes for wealthy Americans and corporations.

"When Aurora and I were first kind of partnered, we really started having a conversation about what it means to be working-class women of color at the Met, and we said, 'We can't just play along, but we need to break the fourth wall and challenge some of the institutions,'" AOC said during a red carpet interview about her collaboration with designer Aurora James. "While the Met is known for its spectacle, we should have a conversation about it."

Ocasio-Cortez did receive some criticism from both the political Right and Left for her appearance, with some saying it was hypocritical for a public servant so critical of economic privilege to appear at an event with a $30,000 ticket price and attendees paying an estimated $250,000 per table. However, others praised the lawmaker for bringing her message of equal taxation directly to those who would be most affected by it.

Regardless of your politics, it was refreshing to see both Eilish and AOC using their respective perches and power to make bold statements for the causes they care about. And let's be honest, it doesn't hurt when those more serious topics are conveyed with some top-level fashion sensibility.

via crommelincklars / Flickr

Billie Eilish has gone from being a pop star to a superstar over the course of about a year. Her meteoric rise to fame has forced her to reevaluate how she deals with her fans online.

She used to be happy to read the comments on her Instagram feed, but the tone of the posts has become exceedingly negative. So she's decided to stop reading them altogether.

According to psychologists, that's a very good idea.

Eilish admitted she quit reading the comments during an interview with Louise Minchin from the BBC where she was joined by her brother, writer and producer, Finneas.


"Do you still read everything that's on Instagram?" Minchin asked.

"No, no. I stopped like two days ago," Billie responded. "Literally two days ago. I've stopped reading comments fully. Because it was ruining my life. It's weird. The cooler the things you get to do are, the more people hate you. It's crazy."

"How do you make it better?" the interviewer asked.

"The internet is a bunch of trolls. And the problem is that a lot of it is really funny," Billie said.


"Everyone is much braver behind a cell phone screen than they would be if they walked down the street," Finneas added.

"It's way worse than it's ever been right now," Billie admitted.

"It's insane that I even have been reading comments up until this point. I should've stopped long ago, it's just the problem is I've always wanted to stay in touch with the fans and keep talking to them, and people have ruined that for me, and for them. That sucks," she added.

However, the negativity Billie has faced online hasn't affected how she treats her fans in public.

"If I see fans anywhere, I just want to talk to them and be around them, because they're people. They're me! They're like other me's," the "Bad Guy" singer said. "They're like friends of mine, but the internet is ruining my life, so I turned it off."

Reading the comments on social media shouldn't be a huge problem for those of us who post things that are only seen by people we know. But for anyone in the public spotlight, being bombarded by negative comments day in and day out can be damaging.

That's because of a psychological trait called negativity bias.

According to Psycom's Margaret Jaworski, "We're more likely to register an insult or negative event than we are to take in a compliment or recall details of a happy event. The negativity bias can even cause you to dwell on something negative even if something positive is equally or more present."

Research suggests that it takes three positive comments to cancel out the effects of one negative remark.

Billie Eilish is smart to protect her own sanity by staying out of the comment section and not allowing it to affect her art or life. It's fine for the public to have access to her art but there's no reason she should be handing over her sanity as well.