podcasts.

Just like everyone else, I love podcasts. I listen to them all the time – at work, while cleaning up, doing dishes, going for drives… any time there’s an opportunity. I wanted to share my top 5 but after going through them, I couldn’t nail it down to five. So here are my top picks, however many there may be. Hopefully you find something new to listen to!

MY FAVORITE MURDER
I mean, obviously. Two comediennes talking about murder? Heck yes. I’ve been obsessed with true crime since age 12 and I love that it’s cool to talk about it now. Listening to Karen and Georgia talk about these awful murders that have haunted the world for years, while using laughter and comedy to work through the horror has truly been such a therapeutic thing for me.

THE LADYGANG
The hosts of this podcast are three smart and sassy ladies stumbling their way through womanhood – and it’s awesome. I love Becca’s no-bullshit attitude, Jac’s dry sense of humour, and Keltie’s often cheesy but also inspiring mirror messages. They definitely don’t stick to a pre-approved script in the Ladygang office, and it’s way more entertaining that way. This podcast really does feel like three friends who are just hanging out, and it’s so fun to listen to.

ROOSTER TEETH PODCAST
This was the first podcast I started listening to like 6 years ago, and I still look forward to the new episode every week. This podcast is hosted by the folks at Rooster Teeth, an online entertainment production company (as a side note – if you’ve never heard of them, I highly recommend spending some time on their website). They are hilarious and put a comedic spin on everything from current events to movies, video games, pop culture and of course, Gus’s horrible experiences with the US Postal Service.

SPITTIN’ CHICLETS
If you’re a hockey fan, you have to listen to Spittin’ Chiclets. It’s hosted by 2 former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette, along with Barstool Sports writer and lifelong Boston Bruins fan Rear Admiral. These guys lay it all down, no bullshit. They give their thoughts on the current state of the NHL, speak on what’s going on with individual teams, and provided the best no-fucks-given interviews with current and former NHLers. I am so happy they started doing 2 episodes a week during hockey season, it’s such a refreshing take after being bombarded with mainstream hockey media all week.

ALWAYS OPEN
Another Rooster Teeth production, and this one is for the women. Hosted by Barbara Dunkelman, Mariel Salcedo and friends, their advice on love, life and everything in between comes from a place of experience and reality. Their sex-positive views and open mindedness is so revitalizing and lovely to listen to, and I’m so thankful to these women for doing their best to make the world a better place.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Remember how I said I couldn’t nail it down to 5? The above are my top 5, but there’s still more I want to talk about! The Basement Yard is hosted by Joe Santagato – hilarious YouTuber – and his friends. It’s like listening to your goofy best buddies riff off of each other for an hour, and I usually have to hit pause several times because I’m laughing too hard to keep listening. Dark Poutine is another true crime podcast that I’ve been loving, but they focus on Canadian crime. As a Canadian, obviously I have a special interest in this. Speaking of true crime, The First Degree is also great – it’s hosted by Jac Vanek of The Ladygang, as well as Alexis Linkletter and Billy Jensen, and they cover cases while interviewing who is one degree away from the crime itself, someone who knew the murderer or the victim. It’s a really cool perspective on the whole true crime genre.  The Valleycast is a podcast hosted by what I firmly believe is the funniest group of people in the entire world – Lee Newton, Steve Zaragoza, Elliott Morgan and Joe Bereta. I have no description for this one – just trust me on this and go listen. Race Chaser is a RuPaul’s Drag Race recap show hosted by 2 of my favourite queens ever, Willam and Alaska. Other People’s Lives is another one hosted by Joe Santagato along with Greg Dybec. They anonymously interview people who live a little bit differently – like people with uncommon fetishes or professional ghost hunters. This one is actually super interesting and probably should have been in my top 5…

No, too late now, I can’t change it. I’ve been thinking about this for a week and I’m going to stop before I end up naming every show on my Overcast list! Do you listen to any of these podcast? What are your favourites? Any recommendations for me? I’m always up for a new podcast!

skincare.

Something I’ve recently been delving into is the world of skincare. Obviously taking care of your skin is important, even more-so when you wear the amount of makeup that I do (my vanity is my happy place!). For many years, I was a hot water, St Ives Apricot Scrub and some random moisturizer kind of girl. I had near-perfect skin all through high school and into my 20’s. It wasn’t until I was about 25 years old that my skin starting turning on me. My relatively normal, clear and happy skin was suddenly rebelling. I was noticing dry spots, but also started getting super oily. I suddenly started having adverse reactions to some makeup products. Worst of all, I had gradual acne that at its peak, was a deep cystic breakout that I’m still seeing reminders of now, 2 years later.

During this time, I developed this habit where every time I saw a new breakout or noticed some weird issue, I panicked and ran out to buy some new magical product to treat it. Obviously this did not work out well, but it did lead me to find a ton of products that I probably would never have tried if I wasn’t desperate. The best part is that almost all of the products that have worked out best for me have been super affordable! So today I want to talk about some of the products that have been the most helpful to me – my own personal all-star lineup.

If you consider yourself to be a skincare aficionado, you probably cringed at my earlier mention of the St Ives Apricot Scrub. For years, I believed that it couldn’t be a bad as everyone online said, because my skin always felt great after using it. I loved the sandpaper-like effect of this stuff, and always rolled my eyes when someone warned me about micro tears or irritation, but eventually I figured this many people couldn’t be wrong, so I explored other options.

While I don’t understand much of the science behind it, I was super interested in the idea of chemical exfoliation, and the NIP + FAB Glycolic Acid Pads came pretty highly recommended on r/skincareaddition, so I wanted to give them a shot. I use this as an alternative to physical exfoliation about 3-4 times a week, and to my surprise, it really does help to keep away the buildup of dead skin, especially around my nostrils. Plus I love the brightening effect it gives my skin.

…But ya girl couldn’t move away from physical exfoliation altogether, so I also use the L’Oreal Pure Sugar Scrub once a week. It definitely doesn’t feel like sandpaper but I’m still left with soft, fresh and polished feeling skin.

So, I got married in September, and about two weeks before the big day, I had massive breakout. Of freaking course I did. Obviously I didn’t want to be dealing with zits on my wedding day, so I fully panicked and started trying anything I could get my hands on. With about 5 day to go, I picked up the Dickinson’s Deep Cleaning Astringent out of pure desperation. It has Witch Hazel so it does it’s duty without being too harsh on your skin. After one use, my breakout was reduced by about 80% overnight. I was shocked, it felt like my own personal miracle, and I can honestly say I don’t think I will ever go without this toner. It was a life saver.

Once I found the toner of my dreams, I couldn’t stop using it. I was obsessively applying it multiple times a day in an attempt to kill my breakout before the wedding. In doing so, I didn’t realize how much my skin was drying out. My usual Garnier Skin-Activ gel moisturizer couldn’t keep up. I was at the point where I was counting hours and not days, so I needed something to work in a big way, and quickly. I picked up the Pixi H20 SkinDrink, and while it wasn’t an overnight miracle like the toner, it improved the condition of my skin massively in the short amount of time it had to do so. By the time my wedding rolled around, I no longer had flaky, rough skin and my makeup was able to go on flawlessly. While I don’t use this product as often as I prefer the Garnier gel moisturizer for day-to-day use, I like having it on hand for days when my skin really needs something special. I live in a super cold climate and winter can be harsh, so it’s nice to have something a little more nourishing on hand for those rough days.

I’ve also found that listening to your skin is just as important a the products you use, if not more. I know a lot of people talk about their super strict and regimented skincare routines and if that’s what works best for you then that’s great! But sometimes I notice that when I’m super regimented and using every product every day, my skin gets wise to my tricks and the products stop having any effect. In order to combat this, I try to mix it up and see what my skin needs to be it’s best self.

Anyway, that’s enough out of me! Did I mention any of your must-haves? What products have been game-changers for you?

2019.

Well hey there.

Allow me to reintroduce myself.

My name is Stephanie, I like soup, I hate winter and I have been thinking about this blog, this little corner of the internet, every day for like, a year.

I left it alone because I didn’t feel like I had anything creative or new or worthwhile to say. I lost my voice, and I didn’t think anyone wanted to listen to me. And honestly, I still feel like that, 100%. But I’ll never get to a point where I feel like my voice is worth hearing unless I try, and unless I put it out there.

So hello.

2018 was … so long. Usually at this time of year, you hear people say stuff like, “Wow, the year really flew by! Can you believe it’s already the new year? It’s crazy,” and usually I’m right there with them but to me, 2018 felt like a damn lifetime. You know how at the end of the year where there’s all these roundups of the biggest news stories or memes or songs from the year? I was going through those and there were so many things mentioned that made me think, “That was THIS YEAR?!” I swear kids were eating tide pods and Mark Zuckerberg was being a weird alien robot while discussing the Cambridge Analytica scandal like, 3 years ago. But no, that was *this year* – er, last year, I guess.

2018 was a big year for me. I experienced the most amount of love and happiness that I think I ever will in a single day – I got married. And I experienced a type of grief, stress and loss that I didn’t ever see coming, over something that I didn’t think would – or could – cause the amount of sadness it did. I’m not totally ready to talk about it because I don’t really know how to put my feelings into words, but I lost something that has been so important to me for 15 years, something that I have grown up beside and that has shaped me – my personality and how I see the world. I lost my favourite form of therapy, my go-to stress and anxiety reliever, my instant joy creator. I lost one of the most influential and meaningful pieces of my life …probably.

I say probably because… I don’t know yet. I have a lot of feelings to sort out, and I have a lot of waiting to do. But either way it will never be the same, and I’m devastated. Maybe one day I’ll talk about it, but I doubt it.

But without the painful lows, how can we properly appreciate the ultimate highs? In 2018 I got married to a man who makes me genuinely smile through my weakest moments, who makes me feel smart and confident in a way I never have before, and who shares with me in a type of love that I didn’t think existed. It’s the best, and I can’t imagine my life without this. I’m so happy that sometimes, my heart can’t take it. Also he has a really great butt and these tiny little ears that are super cute.

Back off, ladies.

All in all, 2018 was, I guess, a defining year for me. I grew up, I learned and I stumbled my way through a lot and now I feel like I want to share some pieces of myself, even if no one is here to listen anymore.

So hey there, blog. Let’s do this.

monday morning.

Not to sound too much like an orange cartoon cat, but I hate Mondays. I have a great distaste for them that is only growing as I age. And Monday morning in particular, can suck it. I’m already pretty notorious for only giving myself exactly enough time to get ready in the morning and not one minute longer, so after a weekend of staying up late and sleeping in later, Monday mornings are damn near impossible. My alarm goes off way too early, the sun shines in through my windows and makes it impossible to capture those last few minutes of sleep while I hit snooze, and I do not feel like I want to get up and face the day. But I’m an adult with a job, so I do anyway. I have to.

I’m the first one to arrive at my office, and I’m alone for a good part of my morning, as people begin to trickle in and start their days. Armed with hot coffee, cold water & the unsettling silence of my small office building, I begin my day. This always includes logging into Google Play, and hitting the “play” button on a carefully curated soundtrack of songs just perky enough to wake me up, but calm and gentle enough to do it slowly. I’m going to share that playlist with you today, in hopes that it will improve your Monday, and your morning routine, whatever it may be.

• Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High – The Arctic Monkeys
• Ancient History (acoustic) – Set It Off
• Bloodstream – Ed Sheeran
• Gold Dust – Banners
• Islands – The XX
• I Took A Pill In Ibiza – Mike Posner
• Death of a Bachelor – PANIC! At The Disco
• There’s A Ghost – Fleurie
• Sympathy – Hedley
• Porcelain – Skott
• Wildfire – Demi Lovato
• Hell No – Ingrid Michaelson
• Here – Alessia Cara
• Boyz n’ Poizn – Phoebe Ryan
• Wild – Troye Sivan
• Too Good – Drake
• Burn – The Temper Trap
• Hide Away – Daya
• Holiday From Real – Jack’s Mannequin
• Close – Nick Jonas ft. Tov Lo
• She Looks So Perfect (cover) – Against The Current

My parents always taught me that sharing is caring, so here, have a link to listen to this playlist yourself.

makeup.

There are a lot of celebrity women who are suddenly promoting going makeup-free and living a bare-faced life. All in all this isn’t a bad lesson and is something that needs to be said over and over again to people who are growing up in our filtered, photoshopped, face-tuned world. But I want to talk about it from the perspective of someone who loves makeup, and chooses to do a full face each morning… okay, most mornings.  Whether it means to or not, this movement misrepresents women who do wear makeup on the daily. Promoting a makeup-free lifestyle says more than just “love the skin you’re in,” it also implies that women who put on makeup each day do it for any reason other than just… because they like it. I have yet to meet a woman who hates makeup, yet still takes the time and money to invest in it. If a woman doesn’t want to wear makeup, she won’t – period.

Society make the mistake of thinking women wear makeup because we’re insecure. Boys make the mistake of thinking women wear makeup because we want them to think we’re pretty. Truth is, some of us just like putting stuff on our faces. As a woman who wears her paycheck in the form of matte lipsticks and winged eyeliner, here are some thoughts:

• Some people do yoga or exercise in the mornings, but I really like taking that time to drink a cup of coffee and put on my makeup. It’s relaxing, it’s not something I have to use too much brain power to accomplish and taking that time to take care of myself sets me up to have a really good morning.
• It’s my favourite way to express creativity. I’m not an artsy person – I can’t draw, paint, or design anything. I write sometimes but that’s not something I find the time to do a lot. So I take my creative energy out on my face. I like experimenting with different colours, textures and shapes. I like figuring out how to enhance my already usually good skin and bright eyes. It’s important to me that I have this outlet to express different parts of my personality with differently styled makeup looks – it’s fun for me.
• I very rarely leave my house without at least a little makeup on – BB cream and brow gel for sure – but that’s not an insecurity thing. I don’t have great skin all the time, my eyebrows are funny shapes and I have a really round face that makes me look about 6 years younger than I am. These are all things that I can (and do) change with makeup but I know that there’s nothing wrong with any of it – I accept the fact that my face is not flawless. I have no problem being bare-faced in public but I’ve never been the type of person who likes to feel sloppy. I’m not a sweatpants person, I don’t own any stained t-shirts, and I do not wear running shoes outside of the gym. To me, taking 5 minutes to put on a little bit of makeup goes hand in hand with putting on a pair of jeans instead of wearing your pajama pants to run errands.
• For the most part, the makeup industry does not pander to the preferences of men anymore. We’re seeing this a lot more with unnatural coloured lipsticks, bold highlights and extreme contour becoming popular. If we wore makeup only because boys liked it, we wouldn’t wear half of what is trendy right now. In my experience, boys don’t like blue lipstick or neon eyeshadow or huge falsies. I own all of those things, I like all of those things and if a man is going to go out of his way to tell me I’d look better without them – byeeeee. This isn’t to please you honey, it’s for me. It’s a small way for me to express who I am to the rest of the world and if who I am that day wants to wear black lipstick and bold eyebrows, well dammit I’m gonna. Sorry, not sorry.

It’s important to be comfortable with who you are, and with what you look like. It’s absolutely wonderful to have total confidence in yourself and be okay facing the word without a good foundation and concealer combination to protect you, and I would never try to discredit that message. But a solid contour game and overdrawn lipstick does not mean I am insecure with who I am. So no, I will not participate in #NoMakeupMonday. I will not post a bare-faced selfie for your natural beauty initiative on Facebook. I will not consider going makeup-free for 1 week. I like wearing makeup; I don’t find it daunting or difficult. I don’t feel pressured to look a certain way, and I don’t find your ,”look at me, I’m not wearing makeup because I’m super brave!” attitude to be at all revolutionary. You’re no different than me, except my eyelids are gold and sparkly, and my lashes hit my glasses when I blink.

christina.

I don’t know why tragedies have this way of bringing people together like few other things do – like we all want to experience the same sadness and heartbreak, and feel the same pain as everyone else. It’s so weird to me – I never want my strongest bond with someone to be over a shared painful memory.

But tonight, the Internet is bonded. Tonight our hearts collectively ache and we share the same confusion and anger. Tonight, a beautiful and talented 22 year old – who many, including myself, watched grow up via YouTube – is dead and we will never understand why.  What was the point? How does something like this even happen? Where was venue security, or even her own security detail? How are water bottles and cameras confiscated at concerts but guns manage to slip through the cracks? These mistakes are not okay – these are the type of mistakes that quite literally end lives.

My heart is absolutely shattered for her family. I can’t … I truly can’t begin to imagine their state of mind right now. Her parents will never understand why their daughter is gone. Their pain will never go away. Her brother, the guy who tackled a man with a gun to save his sister, will spend his life thinking he could have reacted faster, and done more. He will never forgive himself for the actions of an absolute sociopath. I’m trying to comprehend what he might be feeling at this moment and my brain won’t even let me go there. My brother is one of the most important humans in the world to me and if, God forbid, we were ever in a similar situation …  I would hate myself every single day for not doing more. For not being able to save him.

Her family’s pain will never be gone. Over time it will lessen but it will never go away. They will never have answers, or understand the reasons or motives behind this fucking insanity. For them there is no silver lining, no greater plan or lesson to be learned. Their lives are forever changed.

I have no political stance or life lesson at the end of this. Frankly I don’t think this is the time. I can leave you only with this: Love each other while you can. Tell those that you love how important they are to you, every chance you get. Love intensely. Love powerfully.

Love always.
Love all ways.

(This was my favourite Christina Grimme performance – from when she was on The Voice a few years back. I know everyone is talking about her cover of Titanium or her original music but… I just always really liked this one.)

tucker.

You are such a brat – you bring the ball within 2 feet of me and as soon as I reach out to grab it so we can play together, you take off and make me chase you. I’m not sure if you just haven’t quite figured out the basics of fetch yet, or if you like this game better. You are needy, loud and obnoxious. You don’t understand “stranger danger” and drive me crazy when you decide you want to go on an adventure with some random person who happens to be walking down the street. You insist that you’re not too big to be a lap dog (spoiler – you are, but I let you sit on my lap anyway). You push every limit, you make me feel guilty for eating my dinner without sharing and because of you and all of your fur, I will never be 100% clean again.

But I can’t imagine living life without you. Thanks for being the best part of every day.

zach.

I’ve been watching Zach Anner’s videos for a few years. I first discovered him in a documentary about YouTubers called Please Subscribe, and then realized he does work with Rooster Teeth,a channel and community that I was already very familiar with. I quickly fell down a classic YouTube rabbit hole of watching Zach’s videos, and was drawn to his content because – well, because he makes funny videos and I like to laugh. But I stuck around and have continued to watch because Zach is inspirational in a real, honest and effortless way. He’s not one of those so-called inspirational gurus who post generic “mirror mantra” quotes on Instagram, or someone with a sad story who shoves his life journey down peoples’ throats saying, “if I can do this, SO CAN YOU!” You know the types. Frankly I don’t hold a lot of value in inspirational quotes or comparing your own situation to someone else’s unique set of circumstances.

Zach recently wrote a book, which I own, have read, and I can’t even explain to you how great this book was – please read it. In his book he talks about wanting to be seen for the person that he is, rather than just a guy in a wheelchair. At this, I think he has succeeded, because he’s never claimed victim status. He’s never really said, “oh, I can’t do this because of my chair”. He’s problem solved and said, “how can I do this, despite my chair?” And that, I think is so powerful and something that I truly admire.

Actually there’s a lot of things about Zach that I admire – his self-deprecating humour, his realistic-but-always-positive outlook, and his stubborn approach to what he wants to do with his life, to begin. Recently I had the opportunity to hear him speak when he was in my little hometown. He was here promoting his book and at that time, I hadn’t finished reading it yet. I got to hear some parts of it for the first time, directly from him, which was pretty cool. Listening to him speak was really wonderful, and hearing him share hardships and how he found his way out of them was, in all honesty, a wake up call. I was so moved by what he was saying that night. He spoke about believing in himself and not giving up – which is kind of cliche but like, there’s a reason it’s repeated by everyone, and that’s because it’s true. It just is. You do have to believe in yourself and if you give up, you really will never get anywhere. But my biggest takeaway from it was “what’s stopping you?” Like really –  what, exactly, is stopping me from doing what I want in life? And honestly? The only thing stopping me is that I just don’t know. I don’t know what I want to do, what type of career I want to have or where I want to end up. I really don’t, but at least now I know that as soon as I have that small detail figured out – there’s nothing stopping me anymore. Thanks for that lesson, Zach, and thanks for taking the time to chat about Rooster Teeth, hockey and Josh Flanagan’s sexy, sexy bod. You’re the man – truly. 

new year.

For as long as I have been alive, I’ve never made a New Years Resolution. I guess I’ve never believed in the concept. People can’t magically change when they pin up a new calendar. Some people see the new year as a clean slate and in theory, that’s great but like, 2015 doesn’t disappear. You don’t get to start over, or become someone else when the clock strikes midnight. You’re still you, I’m still me, and we still have the same lives.

For 2016, instead of making unrealistic goals that I’m only going to stick to for about 3 weeks before falling back into old habits, I want to focus on developing areas of my life that I feel need improvement. I want to work on turning the human that I already am into the best possible version of myself, and get one step closer to my final form (10 points if you get that ridiculous reference).

1. I want to be more consistent. I don’t want to go to the gym more often, I just want to go more regularly – none of this 4-times-in-one-week-then-skip-9-days bullshit. I want to post here often, and I want to post about things that I care about. I want to keep up with the things I start, and follow through.
2. I want to become a morning person. This one feels really resolution-y, but I just really want to be one of those people who wakes up with the sun, brews a cup of tea and enjoys their morning. I’ve come a long way from the girl who woke up 20 minutes before her shift started and did her makeup in the back room after morning paperwork, but I could still do better. I genuinely envy people who have actual time to do real things in the morning –  personally, I’m lucky if I get to wear eyeshadow.
3. I want to wear lipstick every day. I don’t know about you, but it’s hard for me to have a bad day when my mouth is hot pink.
4. I want to become a “wine person”. Currently, my knowledge of wine consists of the 2 bottles I purchase every Friday. My ultimate goal in life is to be Jules from Cougar Town (…I joke… kind of), and I can’t be like Jules if I don’t have a handle on my wine situation.
5. I want to drink more tea. It’s like sometimes I forget that tea exists. In the times that I remember, it’s like I’ve literally found joy in a cup and it is heavenly. I don’t know why I deprive myself of things that are so very lovely.
6. I want to read more. I already read a lot but like… not enough. Again, this one does feel very much like a resolution, but I never want to be the person who can’t remember the last book they read. Whether it’s angsty teen fiction, an autobiography written by someone who clearly needed an ego boost, or something a little more challenging, I always want to be able to say I’m reading something.

To me, a new year does not equal a new slate or a “new me”. It doesn’t signal anything except another successful rotation around the sun. However, I do believe that people can improve themselves whenever they want, given the resolve to actually follow through. I just hope that this time, I have enough resolve.

paris.

Tonight, I can’t sleep. Tonight, I am coming to you with tears in my eyes and a heart that is breaking. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m currently reading a book detailing the events of one of the most well-known American tragedies of our time, or simply because I can’t fathom how this keeps happening. I really can’t. I don’t care about your political views or your opinions on gun control, today’s (yesterday’s) events in Paris should never, ever happen.

Just a few days ago, I sat with a large number of people and spent the morning honouring those who put their lives on the line to protect my country. We were reminded of the sacrifice that were made by the soldiers of WWI , and the sacrifices that continue to be made every day, so that we can live a happy, healthy life under the protection of these brave men and women. We remembered the fallen and showed our respect for those currently serving, and the whole time, I was overwhelmed by how lucky I am to live in this great country. The attack in Ottawa last year shook me in a unique way. The feelings of fear and helplessness I experienced while watching the news coverage, surrounded by my coworkers, are not anything I ever want to feel again. However at this point I’m sure that I will again in the future. I couldn’t believe that it could happen in Canada – my Canada.

As a human being, I feel so violated when I hear about these terrorist attacks. Every person has the right to feel safe, and when cowards like those today (yesterday) in Paris threaten that safety, it destroys us as people a little more. We only get one shot at this “mankind” thing, guys – we can’t waste that shot killing each other. Hatred and evil is found in cowards and villains, but bravery and love is found in each of us, and it will always win – that’s not something that only happens in fairy tales.

Because I am, always have been, and always will be a silver lining kind of person, I’m desperate for some kind of positive message or sign of hope to come out of this, and thanks to Hank Green, I have one. Tonight, there was one act of terrorism in Paris, but tonight, the great majority of acts in Paris were out of heroism and love. There will always be heroes, helpers, and those who put their lives on the line for the sake of others. These are the people that mankind will always need, and I am forever thankful that they exist.

While I love seeing countries unite in the wake of senseless and unnecessary tragedies like these, I wish it …lasted longer.  I wish we as people would learn, take these experiences and somehow, create a plan to eliminate terrorism and hate. I’m not smart enough to create that plan. I don’t have the answers, obviously. But I believe they’re out there. Terrorism will never destroy democracy, and while it may take a chip out of us sometimes, terrorism will never destroy mankind. We cannot – and will not – let it.

Tonight, we stand with Paris. Tonight, we are all Parisians. Ce soir, nous sommes tous Parisiens.