u/Refrigeratormarathon

Ari had the perfect opportunity to address the elephant in the room - that she transforms herself into whatever she thinks people will love at the time, and her fall from grace is torturing her. I think it would have been so well received, and a huge hit, if she had showed some vulnerability.

The setup was all there:

I hate that I made you love me
Sorry if I made me your type
Yeah, I, I hate that I made you love me

And then she ruined the last line by saying “‘Cause I barely tried”. The lyric makes my eyes roll and is just so predictably Ariana. cringey, and immature. Ariana tries so hard to be tough all the time and pretend public opinion doesn’t bother her, but we all see she’s bluffing. “yes, and” and “the boy is mine” weren’t well received either because when you mess up, people want to see some humility and vulnerability.

If she had changed that last line to “and it’s killed me to try” or “and I’ve lost me inside” (I’m obviously not a songwriter but you get my drift) I think people would have eaten it up and the song would have gotten way more streams.

Edit:

a comment mentioned that they think this is an open letter to her exes which changes the meaning of the song entirely…but also makes it worse.

If it is about Ethan Slater, that changes the meaning of the chorus. “cause I barely tried” would then be a statement about his character. That he had so little loyalty to his family that Ariana didn’t even have to try to pull him away.

But if that’s the case it makes the bridge even worse. The bridge says "is it really my fault you all gave me your hearts on your own accord". That is plural, so it would have to be referring to her exes who were in relationships when she started dating them. That line removes her agency and complacency in cheating.

If a man has a girlfriend and he’s willing to cheat on her with you, or leave her for you, the right thing to do is say no. No one is mad at you because a man tried to cheat on his wife with you. People are mad because you should have said no, but you chose to take that man to feed your ego.

Hi everyone!

My friend and I want to visit on the 4th of July weekend to stargaze at night and go to a watering hole in the day. We want to avoid crowds and would like to go to a secluded spot where fish take refuge. We are looking for spots that are secluded enough that they may only be GPS coordinates.

I have been in other deserts before but I also want to ask you guys if you’d consider it to be too hot for this visit to be safe even if you prepare ahead of time. I have wilderness first aid training, an emergency beacon, and plan on bringing tons of water and umbrellas for the day.

We also won’t be drinking and leave no trace (aka absolutely no trash left behind).

All advice appreciated!