Goals af.
“Everywhere I go is my fashion inspiration.”
Vicky Mochama / BuzzFeed Canada
“You can see the difference across the provinces. We’re from Montreal and when we come to Toronto, we feel overdressed but that’s just how Montreal is.”
Vicky Mochama / BuzzFeed Canada
What is your fashion inspiration? "Myself. Wei Wei-ism."
Vicky Mochama / BuzzFeed Canada
Feline, fearless, faithful and true.
Hagen Hopkins
“Will you please tell me why this thing is in my house shouting about ‘squatter’s rights’??”
You’re not here to major in anxiety.
Whether you suffer from overwhelming stress or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), college can be a truly terrifying place when you add anxiety into the mix. But there are things you can do to help yourself. For starters, try these:
"ALWAYS make sure someone is taking notes for you and you know what you're missing if you skip a class. When you fall behind, it snowballs really quickly and you wind up a million times more anxious than you were the day you needed to skip."
— Hannah Deering, Facebook
If you tend to be a procrastinator, one of the best things you can do for yourself and your productivity is stop fighting it, according to James Hambrick, Ph.D., senior clinical psychologist at the Columbia University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders and clinician at the Youth Anxiety Center.
Everyone works differently, and this might just be how you're most efficient. Instead of beating yourself up about it, consider the possibility that you're actually more focused and productive closer to a deadline. "Remind yourself that it's a part of your process. Normalize it," says Hambrick. "It might have consequences, but those consequences are less stressful than judging yourself or trying to change who you are."
Want to carry your favorite book with you all day, every day? Ink is the answer.
Amy Sefton for Buzzfeed
From Matilda.
Nicole N / instagram.com
From The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Natalie Pohorski / instagram.com
From the Moomintroll series.
This is important.
They’re inconceivably good gifts.
Be careful as you slice or you'll end up a four-fingered man. Get it here.
CuttingBoredom / Via etsy.com
A very good reason to dedicate your life to revenge. Get it here.
ShirtAndCup / Via etsy.com
Most likely not deadly. Get it here.
Stardust Trinkets / Via etsy.com
For when you want to let a book reader know they're loved. Get it here.
Just4theArtofit / Via etsy.com
It’s tough to see a whole new world.
Creative Commons / Pablo Valdivia / BuzzFeed / Via Flickr: cakvalasc
Halloween was made for dogs.
Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty Images
Sarah Burton/Buzzfeed
Sarah Burton/Buzzfeed
The Magic Mike star will take on his wife, Jenna Dewan Tatum in Season 2.
Getty Images
It's gonna be a real family affair when Channing Tatum faces off with Jenna Dewan Tatum in Season 2 of Lip Sync Battle, BuzzFeed News has learned.
And making this double act even more insane is the addition of triple threat Beyonce, who will back Tatum up when he tackles one of her songs.
Tri-Star
Ready to have your Hallo-mind blown?
Everett
Back when a hashtag was just the pound sign on a telephone, the television sitcom A Different World sent a clear message that black lives mattered. The Cosby Show spin-off followed the eldest Huxtable child, Denise, to Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. The show brought African-American culture in all its Cross-Coloured glory into the homes of millions of Americans.
Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) had long been a silent guest star on The Cosby Show. As Cliff Huxtable, Bill Cosby had an endless supply of sweatshirts with names like Tuskegee, Xavier, and Winston-Salem emblazoned on them. But The Cosby Show centered on one family and, in doing so, presented Black culture through a singular, upper-middle-class lens, an image ultimately shattered by the contradictions between Cosby’s onscreen persona and the dozens of rape accusations the comedian now faces.
The Hillman gang.
NBC / Via looteridulhan.tumblr.com
But an HBCU campus is a kaleidoscope of socioeconomic backgrounds, interests, hometowns, and skin colors ranging from milky porcelain to deep obsidian. By depicting the environment on primetime television, A Different World introduced Americans — white and black — to versions of blackness beyond the walls of the Huxtables' brownstone.
A Different World ran from 1987 to 1993, but I became a devoted viewer when it was in syndication in the late '90s. When I was a young boy, I focused on classes, school activities, and not much else. This meant I spent hours in front of the television, gleaning life lessons from the characters on the screen. With my mother at work and my friends taking in the sights and sounds of Crenshaw Boulevard in Los Angeles, I was in my own bubble. I would sit with my legs crossed on the hardwood floor of my family's living room waiting for the Hillman gang to appear. Aretha Franklin's soulful opening notes of the theme song set the tone for the black excellence to come.
The show introduced Americans to versions of blackness beyond the walls of the Huxtables' brownstone.
In A Different World's first season, Denise was the star of the show. This changed when Lisa Bonet became pregnant with Lenny Kravitz’s child. After Bonet's departure, the spotlight shone on math whiz Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and his on-again-off-again girlfriend, the prissy Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). They were accompanied by a crew of lively college kids. Jokester and wannabe playboy Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell) was Dwayne’s partner in crime. Kimberly Reese, the med student played by Charnele Brown, balanced her determination to succeed with a razor-sharp wit. Jaleesa Vinson (Dawnn Lewis), a strong-willed divorcée, was the group’s voice of reason.
Dwayne and Whitley.
NBC / Via onetwo-t.tumblr.com
Of all the characters, I found my kindred spirit in the politically minded hippie chick Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer). Her creative and sometimes wacky ventures were rooted in an earnest desire to uplift those around her. While most Hillman students stuck to the same themes of love and academics, Freddie did everything from editing a poetry magazine to delving into archeology to hosting a tea social along with fellow classmate Whitley. Whether Freddie's ambitions were successful or not, at the very least she inspired her fellow students by the end of each episode.
Freddie with her activist boyfriend, Shazza Zulu.
Nbc / Getty Images
Whitley constantly urged Freddie to give up her carefree ways. Growing up, I dealt with much of the same. My friends at my virtually all-black high school insisted that quirky wasn't cool. Bolstered by Freddie's audacious spirit, I became the school's first male cheerleader, joined the salsa and Boggle clubs, and, on a whim, dyed my hair a temporary bright blue. This was South Central L.A. in the '90s – the epicenter of oversize flannel shirts, lowrider cars, and West Coast rap battles. I stood out at a time when people wanted to blend into the restless surroundings. Freddie taught me it was perfectly OK to follow your passion and maintain your individual sense of style while doing it. It was this line of thinking that made me who I am today.
Me, HBCU-bound.
Courtesy the author.
When I began applying for colleges my senior year, my extended family insisted that I attend a predominantly white institution like New York University or the University of California, Los Angeles. My strong grade point average and long list of extracurriculars meant to them that I should attend a more "suitable" school. However, during campus visits, I immediately noticed that the number of students who looked like me was few. Because of A Different World, I knew I didn't have to accept that fate. I didn't have to be an Other.
With my mother's blessing, I applied to an equal number of HBCUs: Grambling, Howard, Norfolk State, Southern University, and Morehouse. I wanted very much to study broadcast communication so I could become a music video director like my hero Hype Williams. I ultimately selected Bethune-Cookman University (then College), where I received my undergraduate degree.
As an HBCU alum, I look back on the early episodes of A Different World with a slight chuckle. Hillman could have easily passed for a predominantly white institution. The first season's plotlines were painfully generic. Students have to take care of an egg as part of a class project? A tired concept done on seemingly every other sitcom at the time. Dwayne Wayne getting stuck in the women's dormitory? Administrators would have caught wind of it immediately. Gossip at an HBCU travels faster than a running back at a homecoming game.
When industry icon Debbie Allen took the helm as director-producer in A Different World's second season, it changed the entire trajectory of the show. A graduate of Howard University, Allen added authenticity to a show that was in desperate need of it. Dry interactions were replaced with laugh-out-loud moments. Social issues rarely seen on television were explored in detail.
Tisha Campbell as HIV-positive student Josie Campbell, and Whoopi Goldberg as her professor, Dr. Jordan.
In one episode, Tisha Campbell is Josie Webb, a student coming to terms with her AIDS diagnosis. In another, Blair Underwood plays Zelmer Collier, an Army reservist preparing for deployment. His struggles mirrored the uncertainty of a country on the verge of what would become the Gulf War. Throughout the series, A Different World seamlessly blended political activism with the students' pursuit of love and better GPAs.
Hillman was fictional, but in many ways A Different World was true to my experience at Bethune-Cookman. Like Hillman, the cafeteria at my alma mater was the hub of activity on campus. The music pumping through the speakers was the soundtrack to our college experience. The servers in the school's blazing-hot kitchen would ask about my studies as they piled rice and gravy on my plate. They wanted to make sure I stayed on the path to matriculation. It was the nurturing environment an HBCU offers that sparked my interest in journalism as a career.
Me (center) with the staff of the college newspaper. A professor first suggested I write for them.
Courtesy the author
A Different World highlighted a hallmark of my HBCU experience: a support system that extends beyond the leaders who were physically on campus. In the episode “A World Alike,” which centered on corporate divestment from apartheid-era South Africa, the walls of the common space are adorned with photos of exceptional black leaders. The Hillman student body is surrounded by a constellation of luminaries that included Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr., Alice Walker, and astronaut Ronald McNair, all of whom attended one of the many HBCUs around the U.S.
From the first day of the school year on, the student body at a historically black college is educated about the legacy of scholars who came before them. Every HBCU student can name some of the famous alumni who once roamed the halls of their collegiate home. This sense of pride is further buoyed by the black Greek system. Even before I pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., I could easily recite prominent Alphas: W.E.B. Du Bois, Jesse Owens, David Dinkins, Duke Ellington, Stuart Scott, and of course, Dr. King.
Sinbad, as Coach Walter Oakes, talks about consent with Kadeem Hardison, as Dwayne Wayne.
NBC / Via onehellofascene.tumblr.com
The moment I received my acceptance letter from Bethune-Cookman, I felt the importance that the scholarship I was awarded carried. I was expected to go on and do big things in the name of the university. Ten years later, I’m still reaching for the stars that my alma mater set my sights on.
My time at Bethune-Cookman inspired me to write DO U., a novel set on the campus of a fictional historically black college. It is an extension of the love for HBCUs that A Different World instilled in me when I was younger. I wanted my fellow alumni to see a reflection of themselves in books that are often as lacking in color as the pages they are printed on. I wanted my community to recall the warmth of their professors, to remember the electricity of a step show or the twinkle of the campus queen's tiara. I want readers to see us, the HBCU students and graduates who are interwoven in the fabric of this country.
Hillman is a fictional college but we all treasured it.
When I mention in conversation that I graduated from Bethune-Cookman, most white people return a shrug. The same statement to a black person usually results in an enthusiastic "I know Bethune-Cookman!" with a side-eye thrown in for doubting their knowledge of the HBCU family. You’ll get the same reaction if you reference Hillman. It may have been a fictional college but it was one we all treasured dearly.
In the period that A Different World was on the air, there was a significant increase in new student enrollment at HBCUs. Netflix and Hulu nearly caused a frenzy when they added the show to their digital rosters. Every episode featuring the Hillman gang is now available for a new generation of viewers. Hopefully they are as inspired by the show as I was. Although the clothes, music, and cultural references on the show may mark a specific moment in black history, A Different World will always be timeless.
One… more… page.
Very poorly-drawn NSFW filth ahead.
BuzzFeed Canada
BuzzFeed Canada
BuzzFeed Canada
Love may be blind, but it’s not monolingual.
The illustrations are the brainchild of Vashi Diamonds; the British company's employees scoured lists of romantic phrases that only exist in other languages and reached out to friends and family overseas for their input. (A representative from Vashi said that the translations are rough estimates, due to the fact that there are no equivalents in English.) Regardless, the results will warm your heart and freezing fingers and toes.
Emma Block / Via us.vashi.com
Emma Block / Via us.vashi.com
Emma Block / Via us.vashi.com
Emma Block / Via us.vashi.com
She is Supergirl, and she’s here to save the world…
CBS
Supergirl is a superhero show that is sure to dive headfirst into dramatics and high stakes. And the dark, brooding thing works supremely well for some shows — see: Netflix's Daredevil. But not every superhero property has to be weighed down in shadows and grit. As Supergirl proves, it's OK to live in the sun sometimes and revel in the joy of making the world a happier place.
CBS
WELCOME TO SUPERGIRL. This is what they trade in.
CBS
“It should be OK by now.”
Clive Mason / Getty Images
A story in the Daily Mirror said that two Premier League footballers, one of whom has played for England, have told their friends and family that they are gay, and that they will soon make a public announcement because they "believe the time is right to come out".
Sky News
Mike Stobe / Getty Images
These leaves could use a little something.
Nathan W. Pyle / Via Buzzfeed.com
Nathan W. Pyle / Via buzzfeed.com
Nathan W. Pyle / Via Buzzfeed.com
Nathan W. Pyle / Via Buzzfeed.com
DON’T. TOUCH. IT.
Bicycle helmets, seat belts, low-hanging branches, the entire outside world.
10 years can make a big difference.
LeBron became a professional athlete straight out of high school. He was drafted #1 overall in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. After a 4 year stint with the Miami Heat, LeBron has come home to the team that raised him. He's entering his 12th season in the NBA and ranking in at 6 foot 8 and 250 pounds.
The Real Madrid all-time leading scorer is one of the fastest—and greatest—players in the world. The all-time leading goalscorer for Portugal has played in 3 World Cups and has won 3 Ballon d'Or trophies. At age 30, he ranks in at 6'1" and 180 pounds.
