Samaria Johnson

Writer/Editor/Content Creator (but in a fun, cool way)

Did You Hear the News?

Let me fill you in...

Babe •

'Do you two have the same dad?': What it’s like growing up as the darker sister

Even though I’d deny this in a heartbeat if you asked, my older sister is better than me. She’s taller, prettier, smarter, stronger, and she actually has boobs. She cleans for fun, has better comebacks, and dresses like a J. Crew model. She even says terms like “niche community” in casual conversation.

She also has darker skin.

As a self-centered troll child, I never thought about how these shade discrepancies possibly affected our views on life. I was fortunate to not have any Tragic Racist Moments...
Bustle •

The NAACP Missouri Travel Advisory Proves Michael Brown's Death Changed Nothing

The NAACP recently issued a travel advisory warning minorities to use abundant caution while in Missouri, citing incidents of racial discrimination in interactions between Missouri police officers and civilians of color in its reasoning. When I heard of the warnings, I thought of recent deaths in the state, such as Tory Sanders, a mentally ill black man who died after repeatedly being shocked by a stun gun while in police custody. But what instantly came to my mind was the death of Michael Brown
Babe •

Missouri wants to fire women for using birth control

Missouri, literally no one’s favorite state, is trying to make it legal for women to be fired for using birth control.

Senate Bill 5 wants your landlord to not only ask you if you’re on the pill, but also deny your right to housing if they don’t like your answer. That amongst other things – they also think it’s cool for your boss to ask you the same questions and then let them fire you over it.

Like most bad ideas, this bill has quite the origin story.

In February, St. Louis City passed an or
Babe •

Get ready to pretend to be shocked by Forbes' list of richest entertainers

Forbes just released its annual list of top-paid entertainers, so get ready to pretend like you’re surprised by the lack of diversity! Out of the world’s 100 highest paid celebrities of 2017, only 16 are women, and only four of those women are women of color. Shocking!

In fairness, women have been pretty busy in recent years. A lot of work goes into getting an amendment passed to make sure we can vote, and it’s still legal for us to only get paid 77 cents for every dollar that a dude makes, so
Babe •

My daddy issues got in the way of me finding a sugar daddy and I feel cheated

My dad and I have had a rocky relationship since the beginning of time. Sometimes this makes me “cool” and “relatable,” and other times it makes me “overly emotional” or “unstable.” It depends on the time and place.

As we’ve learned from millennial social exposes such as Girls Gone Wild and that CNN special about college kids on spring break, girls with daddy issues often have a lot of baggage to bring to the table. Girls like us need an overabundance of male attention, and my student loans...

My First Time Being A Victim Of Hate Speech

I grew up in a suburb of St. Louis, in a town that happens to be just 30 minutes away from Ferguson, Missouri. I remember going into Ferguson a few days after police officer Darren Wilson escaped being indicted for killing a young black man named Michael Brown. The National Guard was set up in a store parking lot, and a gas station on the corner had burned down. I saw firsthand what discrimination could do to a city. I saw what racism looked like. 


But I didn’t live in Ferguson. I lived a...
MOGUL •

[Almost] Everything that You [Might] Need to Know About Missouri’s 2016 Election

[Almost] Everything that You [Might] Need to Know About Missouri’s 2016 Election

I had no idea what I was doing the first time that I voted.

Well, no, the voting process itself is actually beyond simple, but there were, like, 978 other things on the ballot that weren’t voting for the president and my world was ROCKED because I hadn’t prepared for all of that content that was getting thrown at me.

It’s overwhelming when you walk in expecting to answer, like, three simple questions and are instead...
MOGUL •

What's Actually Going On in Women's Bathrooms?

People are getting ridiculously heated about the possibility of someone who was biologically born with male anatomy being in a women’s bathroom. They assume that women are fragile little creatures that cannot possibly relieve their bladders knowing that someone with possibly different genitalia is in a closed-off compartment a few feet away from them.

But has anyone actually ever been in a women’s bathroom before?

Some of those little fortresses are private as hell. Sure, your average...
MTV News •

Why I Choose To Live With Chronic Pain Instead Of Being Habitually High

Not only was I in virtually no pain, but life was also a blast. I had zero social inhibitions. I was fearless. It was like nothing could go wrong. Except it did.

The first time I took gabapentin, I was so high that I cried. I hallucinated colors that were so beautiful and vivid that I became distraught upon realizing no one else could see them. The second time I took gabapentin, I cried again, but that time it was because I was so emotionally compromised that I thought Alvin and the Chipmunks:
MTV News •

The Truth About My 'Picky' Eating Habits

When I was three, I refused to eat anything but crackers, apple juice, and, if I was feeling festive, yogurt. That year didn’t turn out to be an anomaly or a phase. By the time I started kindergarten, I only agreed to consume about 12 different food items, while my siblings ate everything that couldn’t outrun them. My parents were understandably concerned and took me to a doctor to discuss my eating habits. I remember being too shy to tell him the truth: that I felt as though I would literally d
MTV News •

The Day The Neo-Nazis Came To Town

I was in the seventh grade when I first saw what pure hatred looks like. My family was driving back from a vacation on the East Coast when, somewhere in the middle of Tennessee, we looked out the window and saw banners praising the KKK and signs that made it clear black people were not welcome there. My older sister and I ducked down in our seats, scared of the evil that targeted us, that maintained our existence to be invalid, and that lurked just outside of our vehicle.

The following year, a
Runt Of The Web •

HGTV To Hold Border Wall Design Contest

HGTV has created a new reality-style competition in order to find a design for President Trump’s proposed border wall.

Twelve teams of two will present their original ideas for what they believe the border wall should look like. Each week, the competitors will be presented with challenges that will push them to scrutinize every element of their proposed designs. From determining what materials they’ll use to deciding on a color scheme, American families will witness the entire step-by-step design...

In Defense Of Post-Disaster Tweets - Youthgasm

March 21st, 2016 was the ten-year anniversary of the launch of Twitter. The next day, March 22nd, 2016, the Belgian city of Brussels fell victim to a brutal terrorist attack.

Twitter responded the way that it normally does during a crisis of the modern era: illustrations signifying support, hashtags and new information, as released. But somehow, amidst all of the breaking news bulletins, one random tweet from an online stranger jumped out at me:

What’s your hashtag going to do?...
Megawatt Content •

Working with a Disability: Things to Look for in a Workplace

What to look for in a future employer

Some companies offer benefits that are more lucrative to people who suffer from chronic conditions. Before I looked at a single job application, I made a list of my requirements for a future employer.

PTO that doesn’t make you choose between health or fun

Even the most well-controlled chronic conditions require regular medical appointments. You should not have to choose between maintaining your health and enjoying a break from work. I would hate to have t