GCC Times

  Photo source   In the Hunger Games series, the mockingjay is a sign of rebellion. They were originally made to spy on the districts but backfired when the rebels realized. They became a reminder that the government couldn't control everything.  In the first movie Katniss and Rue use mockingjays to communicate during the games. Unfortunately, Rue dies. This causes Katniss to hate the capitol even more and begins her journey into rebellion. The birds remind her of  Rue. In the second movie, Peeta paints a picture of Rue with flowers around her representing how she looked after she died. Another small act of defiance.  The mockingjay becomes a representation of Katniss being able to defy the government and still live. Her refusal to let Peeta die in the first games led to both of them becoming victors. The game maker for that game died because of it.  In the later movies, Katniss becomes known as the mockingjay. The key symbol to the rebellion in this dystop...

  Image source Social media plays a huge factor in trends today. Whether that be fashion, music, or slang. One of the biggest influences on trends is TikTok. I've noticed that people will quote trending TikTok audios. This affects today's slang. These sayings that we see on social media become part of out everyday vocabulary. For example, "rent free" while not commonly used on an average basis in most cases is used occasionally. This saying is to express that something is stuck in your head.  A trend I've seen a lot recently is sock curls and any other variation of overnight heatless curls. This trend shows people how to achieve these looks and promotes hair health. Along with heatless hairstyles, other types of hair health trends are becoming popular. Hair oiling has been around for thousands of years and is becoming a current trend on social media.  Social media trends can also affect businesses. People will post restaurants to go to. Applebee's was trending...

  Image source   Hashtags: Where did they come from, and why do we use them? Chris Messina made hashtags popular, intending to help group similar subjects in posts. However, the use of hashtags has definitely evolved from his original tweet. Now, people use hashtags on all popular social media platforms and even through texting. Hashtags make it easier to find specific posts of the same subject. Such as if you search #fitness you can find a variety of workouts, food ideas, and even tips for the gym. The other day I went down a rabbit hole researching bookbinding. Using a hashtag helped me find videos that showed the whole process along with different tools used and different designs.  Hashtags can help engagement of posts. On TikTok, people use #fyp on posts to gain more views and likes. The engagement aspect of hashtags has evolved activism. People will use certain hashtags to help spread awareness. #IceBucketChallenge was a popular hashtag used to help spread awareness ...

 Engagement rings can be a controversial topic. Traditionally they're a simple band with a diamond. image source Typically taught in elementary school we learn that diamonds are a level 10 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness. This means that diamonds are the hardest mineral. While diamonds are known to be extremely durable they tend to be expensive. According to  The Diamond Pro  " the cost of a one carat diamond can range from just $1,500 to more than $16,000 for an extremely well-cut, high-quality diamond". Not only are diamonds expensive but they can be unethically sourced.  Unethically sourced diamonds are known as blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. These diamonds are mined and sold illegally to fund rebel groups. Sometimes these diamonds are mined by children.  To avoid having these types of diamonds there's a certification called the Kimberley process that prevents blood diamonds from being sold. There are other options such as lab grown diamonds or ot...