According to the Queen of Nerdom

Entertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version!

1. President Barack Obama’s “Bloody Sunday” Speech

Photo by Pete Souza

“And yet, what could be more American than what happened in this place? What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people--the unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many--coming together to shape their country’s course?

What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals? 

That’s why Selma is not some outlier in the American experience. That’s why it’s not a museum or static monument to behold from a distance. It is instead the manifestation of a creed written into our founding documents:

‘We the People...in order to form a more perfect union.’

‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’

These are not just words. They are a living thing, a call to action, a roadmap for citizenship and an insistence in the capacity of free men and women to shape our own destiny.”

Lately, whenever I’ve been feeling disgusted or horrified or overwhelmed by the outright displays of racism in America, I’ve been turning to the speech that President Barack Obama gave to commemorate the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” when more than 600 non-violent protesters were attacked by Alabama state troopers as they attempted to march from Selma to Montgomery. 

His speech inspires me to not lose hope, to remember that America is a teenager compared to her peers, and that, as Obama said, “the single most powerful word in our democracy is the word ‘We.’ We the People. We Shall Overcome. Yes We Can. It is owned by no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to continually try to improve this great nation of ours.”

2. “Humble and Kind” by Lori McKenna

“Don’t take for granted the love this live gives you.”

You’ve probably heard Tim McGraw sing this song, but it’s actually not originally his. Singer and songwriter Lori McKenna wrote “Humble and Kind” as a letter to her five children, and since her version came on my Spotify the other day I’ve been listening to it on repeat. 

3. Dany and Jon on Game of Thrones

Not trying to spoil anything for those of you not caught up (but come on, seriously catch up and get with the program. HBO Now is not that expensive), but I’m kind of loving the dynamic between Dany and Jon and the will-they, won’t-they potential for alliances and budding romance. It’s a little bit Pride and Prejudice with a side of dragons and possible incest. What’s not to love?

4. My People

Do you ever have that moment where you’ve been out with your friends, you get home, and you think, “These people are the best. And having them in my life makes me so fucking happy”?

I hope so. Because I did last Thursday after going to the Nats game with three of my favorite humans. I feel so lucky that the universe conspired to bring us together initially as work friends to become real friends. 

5. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful. Otherwise, you would threaten the man.”

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I just got around to reading this past weekend Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s essay We Should All Be Feminists based on a TED Talk she gave several years ago. I’d been out for a ride on my bike, decided to stop for coffee, pulled out my Kindle while sipping it, and read through it not once, but twice, because I wanted to commit it to memory. 

Adichie’s words struck a chord in me, and reminded me that my upbringing was incredibly different from most women I know. My parents always encouraged me to dream big, to be ambitious, to not care about whether or not boys or men were intimidated by me. As my dad so calmly said to me one night while out on our back porch talking about a boy, “Don’t ever make yourself less of who you are to be with someone.” 

6. Sunday Motorcycle Adventures

A post shared by Megan Gates (@queenofnerdom) on Aug 13, 2017 at 8:26am PDT

I had a planless Sunday this past weekend and since the weather was supposed to be gorgeous, I decided to take full advantage of it and spend most of the day on my motorcycle. We started off with a ride into D.C. to the Dew Drop Inn (a test to see if I could make it there for a motorcycle meet-up later on), followed by a trek to the National Arboretum, then to Misha’s in Old Town, out to Ashville to check out a new brewery with friends, and then back home again.

​Early in the afternoon on May 12, 2017, the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) confirmed that it had been hit by a massive ransomware attack that was spreading its way around the globe.

“This attack was not specifically targeted at the NHS and is affecting organizations from across a range of sectors,” the NHS said in a statement, confirming that at the time it was released, 16 of its organizations had been affected by WannaCry ransomware.

MalwareTech, a cybersecurity blogger and researcher, saw that NHS had been hit by the attack at approximately 2:30 p.m. That fact tipped him off “that this was something big,” MalwareTech wrote in a blog post.

To find out what was happening, he got a sample of the malware, ran an analysis, and registered an unregistered domain for $10.69 that the malware had queried.

“Now one thing that’s important to note is the actual registration of the domain was not on a whim,” MalwareTech explained. “My job is to look for ways we can track and potentially stop botnets (and other kinds of malware), so I’m always on the lookout to pick up unregistered malware control server domains.”

In the course of registering that domain name, however, MalwareTech effectively stopped WannaCry, the ransomware infecting 200,000 computers globally, demanding that users pay a ransom of about $300 in Bitcoin to decrypt their data.

MalwareTech’s efforts, along with an emergency patch released by Microsoft for Windows XP (which hasn’t been supported since 2014), stopped WannaCry. But that doesn’t mean they will be so lucky in the future as ransomware and other types of crimeware become more prevalent.

In the recently released Verizon 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, Verizon analyzed data from 65 organizations and found that 88 percent of breaches fell into nine patterns identified in 2014: crimeware, cyber espionage, denial of service, insider and privilege misuse, miscellaneous errors, payment card skimmers, point-of-sale intrusions, physical theft and loss, and Web application attacks.

Entertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version!

“There’s a place in my heart, I got room to spare There’s a place in my heart, I’ll make room for you there”

1. “Place in my Heart” by Lucinda Williams

Do you ever hear a song and it just lodges in your brain and refuses to budge? That’s this song for me by the wonderful and strange Lucinda Williams. Just listen, and you’ll understand what I mean.

2. Motorcycle Adventures

After a long day back at work on Monday, I decided to hop on my bike and do my first ride out of Alexandria to Mason Neck State Park. After stalling the bike once on Route 1 (downshifting quickly to stop at a light is still a bit of a challenge), I made it to Pirate’s Cove just in time to catch the sunset. It was a magical moment, and boosted my confidence considerably--especially after doing some twisties in the dark and making my way home without GPS.

“Withholding distorts reality. It makes the people who do the withholding ugly and small-hearted. It makes the people from whom things are withheld crazy and desperate and incapable of knowing what they actually feel. So release yourself from that. Don’t be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word ‘love’ to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.”

3. Emotional Honesty with Dear Sugar

In the spirit of honesty, I’ll admit that I have not always had the greatest track record of being honest about my emotions and being forthright about my feelings. But over the past two years, I’ve tried to be more open with the people I love about the good, the bad, and all the in between--to let them know that I love them and they matter to me, so when they need to know it the most they will.

A post shared by Jun (@nostalgia_memoir) on Jul 10, 2017 at 6:06am PDT

4. Nostalgia_Memoir on Instagram

I’m not sure when I started following Jun or how I even discovered him on Instagram--it’s been so long that the memory is hazy--but I’m so glad I did because his photos of his adventures in Salt Lake City and beyond bring a much-needed dose of wanderlust into my daily life. I love checking my feed to see where Jun and his people are going on their motorbikes, what camping spots I need to add to consider, and what helmets I need to add to my wish list. His feed reminds me that the United States is a giant, beautiful place, and I need to get out there and see more of it.

5. My Brother

I went to the Grand Canyon with my brother earlier this year, and while we were there we had several long discussions about taking the next step in life - about following your dreams and moving forward, even if it’s scary and hard and you’re not quite sure how to do it. Well this past week, he took some steps to move forward to the next phase of life beyond Missouri by accepting a job in Minnesota. I’m so excited for him and this journey he’s about to embark on, and so incredibly proud that he’s going for it. 

6. TCX Smoke WP Women’s Boots

After riding around the neighborhood, I decided I needed some more serious motorcycle boots that would protect my feet should I crash or drop the bike. I started looking online, and discovered these beauties from TCX that were reinforced, offered ankle protection, and were waterproof. I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to kickstart my bike in them because of the 1-inch heel, but after trying them on and doing a few test starts in the driveway, I got it down and quickly fell in love with how secure and strong they make my feet feel whenever I come to a stop or go around a corner. #safetyfirst #butstyleandwaterproofingaremajorbonuses

“Jimmy Iovine is the levitator. Dr. Dre is the innovator.”

7. The Defiant Ones on HBO

My gangsta rap knowledge is pretty limited. But, I love music documentaries. So when I heard about The Defiant Ones on HBO about the relationship between legendary music producer Jimmy Iovine and rapper/innovator/all-around genius and badass motherfucker Dr. Dre, I knew I needed to devote some weeknight time to watching it. And HBO did not disappoint. This documentary is basically a who’s-who of the music industry that weaves business, innovation, and artistry together to create a four-part series that’s a masterpiece--even if gangsta rap is not your thing.

8. Austin, Texas

Entertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version!

1. My bike

Right before visiting my family for the Fourth of July, I went out to Herndon with some friends to test ride a 2015 Yamaha SR400--a fuel injected kickstart only motorcycle. Aka, a hipster’s dream. I immediately loved it, but was worried about learning to ride on a kickstart only bike and the seller was asking for a bit more than I wanted to spend. 

Fast forward two weeks and a bad test ride later, I was still thinking about the Yamaha SR400. I texted the seller, it was still for sale, we made a deal, and two weeks ago, she became mine!

My first weekend with her was a bit of a challenge (so much stalling, a battery death, being a general giant scaredy cat on the throttle), but after lots of hours in the parking lot and cruising in my friend’s neighborhood, I’ve become much more confident. So much so, that last weekend I rode the GW Parkway into Old Town to my second favorite coffee shop without stalling a single time. 

My goal is to ride five days every week to continue learning and building up confidence, but I can’t wait to see what adventures we have together.

2. Mad Men

Mad Men premiered on AMC in 2007 and while I was late to the show (college had a habit of interrupting my TV viewing), one of my favorite humans recommended I check it out on Netflix to get caught up in time for season three’s premiere. It quickly became my favorite show of all time, and Sunday nights were devoted to watching it and analyzing each episode with my fellow Mad Men lovers. In honor of its 10-year anniversary this week, I’ve been rewatching the first season and it’s just as magical now as it was then.

Photo by Alessio Lin

3. The Last Mile Works

One out of ever 140 U.S. adults is in prison or jail. Ninety-five percent of those inmates will be released at some point. And two-thirds of those released will be back in prison within three years. Those are horrifying statistics, which is why The Last Mile Works and programs like it are incredibly important. 

The Last Mile is a program that teaches inmates to code; The Last Mile Works is an offshoot of this program, which hires inmates as part of a web development startup to create websites for real businesses and organizations. The program is designed to give inmates work experience to help them find employment once released from prison, key to successfully reentering society and staying out of prison. WIRED recently did a short write-up of the program. It’s highly worth a read.

“Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” - Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 1940

4. Dunkirk

I’d heard about the evacuation at Dunkirk, of course. It was briefly mentioned in my history classes in middle school and high school. But just that, briefly. There was no explanation of what it must have been like to be one of the 400,000 men on a beach in France, waiting to be evacuated back to England and wondering if they would ever make it home. Which is why when I heard that Christopher Nolan was writing and directing a movie about the evacuation, I immediately put it on my Must See List. I decided to splurge and see it in IMAX over the weekend, and it was, without a doubt, completely worth it. If you haven’t watched it already, make plans to do so. You’ll understand what I mean afterwards.

A post shared by Megan Gates (@queenofnerdom) on Jul 23, 2017 at 6:32pm PDT

5. Spontaneous Sundays

Sunday morning after I finished my ride on the GW Parkway, my friend Jason texted me and invited me to go to brunch and a winery with him, his girlfriend, and another mutual friend. Without hesitation, I said yes, which is how I ended up in Leesburg, Virginia, for the afternoon looking at this gorgeous view with some of my favorite humans. 

“Late in the evening, feeling the wind blow Tall through the treetops, warm in the sun Lying beside you, watching the moon rise That’s all there is babe, ain’t it enough?”

6. “Ain’t it Enough”

While I was in Iowa, this song came on the radio in the car while my mom and I were driving around town. Since then, it keeps coming back to me when I’m feeling stressed out or confused, reminding me to be present and thankful for the moment just as it is, because it is enough.

"You’re asking the wrong question. It’s not about getting over and letting go. It’s about honoring what happened,” she said. “You met a person who awoke something in you. A fire ignited. The work is to be grateful. Grateful every day that someone crossed your path and left a mark on you.”

7. “The 12-Hour Goodbye That Started Everything”

gEntertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version!

1. My Family

For the Fourth of July, I flew back to Iowa to spend a week with my family doing all the Midwestern things--grilling on the back deck, going for bike rides, listening to live music, playing yard games, etc. It was a fantastic week, and a much needed one because we hadn’t all been together since Christmas. 

“I didn’t feel like a big fat idiot anymore. And I didn’t feel like a hard-ass motherfucking Amazonian queen. I felt fierce and humble and gathered up inside, like I was safe in this world too.”

2. Wild by Cheryl Strayed

There are a handful of books that I continue to go back to and read, over and over again. Wild by Cheryl Strayed is one of them. I first read her memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in college after a review copy was sent to the student newspaper that I worked for. It was like nothing I’d ever read before. It was raw, and painful, and so full of Cheryl’s heart that at times I felt like I could reach through the page and touch it. Every time I read Wild, I get that same feeling, and it inspires me to be the strongest and best version of myself possible. One step at a time.

3. Being Mary Jane Season 4

So, I know for the rest of the cable-watching world that season 4 of Being Mary Jane came out in January. But as a member of the Netflix and HBO Now nation, this season just came on Netflix and I can finally watch it--or devour it as I’ve been doing over the past week. 

A post shared by Justin Chatwin (@justingchatwin) on Jul 9, 2017 at 11:06am PDT

4. Justin G. Chatwin on Instagram

Confession: I’m a total Sophia Bush Instagram squad junkie. Which is how I discovered Justin G. Chatwin, who’s doing a month-long motorcycle trip with one of Sophia’s friends - Cory T - across the western United States. I’m loving waking up every morning, scrolling through my feed, and seeing where they are and what they’ve been exploring - like this shot from Glacier National Park.

5. Wonder Woman

After a rough Saturday, two of my good friends invited me to go to Georgetown with them for a sushi picnic and to see Wonder Woman. I (embarrassingly) had not seen it yet, so immediately said yes. And I’m so glad I did because while the dialog was a bit rough in some parts, it was amazing. To see a movie about a female super hero, with tons of female supporting cast members with speaking roles, with lines of dialogue, not about men, was a powerful moment. So much so that even after having been up till 2 a.m. the night before, I left the movie theater at 1:30 a.m. wide awake and ready to take on the world.

A post shared by Megan Gates (@queenofnerdom) on Jul 8, 2017 at 6:38am PDT

6. Movie night at Union Market

After being elected as the next U.S. president, Donald Trump put out a statement saying that he would create a national cybersecurity plan within 90 days of taking office on January 20. “It’s the difference in the cultures. One culture is dynamic, entrepreneurial, and innovative. Unfortunately, that’s the bad guys,” says James Lewis, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). “And the other culture is a little more bureaucratic. How do we address that? How do we fix that?”

“We must defend and protect federal networks and data,” Trump said in a statement. “We operate these networks on behalf of the American peo​ple, and they are very important and very sacred.”

While creating that plan, the U.S. Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity released a report that commission creator, then-U.S. President Barack Obama, requested to aid the next administration.

“We have the opportunity to change the balance further in our favor in cyberspace—but only if we take additional bold action to do so,” said Obama upon the report’s release in December 2016. “My administration has made considerable progress in this regard over the last eight years. Now it is time for the next administration to take up this charge.”

The commission’s study, Report on Securing and Growing the Digital Economy, recommended that the Trump administration focus on deepening public-private cooperation to protect critical infrastructure and respond to cyber incidents. It also recommended investing in research and development to improve products and technologies, expanding the use of strong authentication to improve identity management, and continuing to prioritize and coordinate cybersecurity efforts across the federal government.

Entertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version!

“I broke a promise to myself, and made a couple to a brown-eyed girl, who rode with me through the mean old world. Never say die.”

1. “Molotov” by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell’s newest album dropped this past week and I’ve been listening to while walking to and from work, cleaning my apartment, and basically doing anything and everything. But this song, is by far my favorite from the entire album. It’s got all the essentials - great lyrics about love and motorcycles, Jason’s spectacular voice, and a killer opening hook. 

2. Writing

I love my job. I really do. But there are days when it’s a grind--interviewing sources, taking notes, sitting at the computer staring at the screen, and trying not to wig out about the fact that deadline is tomorrow and I haven’t written anything for my 3,000-word story. But those days are inevitably surrounded by great days, where after a cup of coffee, I write two stories back-to-back, turn them in to my editor, and she tells me they’re perfect for our September issue. Moments like that prove what Uncle Stevie said to be true. “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.” The words and then the story will come.

3. Bilt Dexter Women’s Shoes

I know what you’re thinking. Bilt is so basic. And yes, it is. But there’s a reason the guy at Cycle Gear told me they were having trouble keeping these babies in stock--because they’re awesome. They’re comfortable motorcycle boots designed to look like sneakers, aka the perfect thing to keep my feet safe and cool during the summer riding season.

A post shared by #girlgaze (@girlgazeproject) on May 23, 2017 at 11:13am PDT

5. The Girl Gaze Project

How do creative women see the world? The Girl Gaze Project by  Inezandvinoodh, Lynsey Addario, and Sam Taylor Johnson attempts to share it with us - from the beautiful scenes to the painful ones that are difficult to look at, but impossible to turn away from. If you’re not already following @girlgazeproject on Instagram, you should be.

6. These Cool Kids, aka the Gates Crew

I’m headed to Iowa next week for the Fourth of July holiday, and I can’t wait to see three of my favorite people--my Dad, Mom, and brother--all in the same place. We haven’t all been together since Christmas, and even though we talk on the phone, Skype, and are connected through social media, it’s not the same as all being in the same location at the same time. 

7. My Saxophone

I started playing alto sax in fourth grade and played in school until my junior year of college when my journalism classes and the student newspaper had to take priority over band (sorry, not sorry). I’ve kept my alto sax though, which used to be my cousin’s back in the day, and play it every once in a while. This week, after having a beer with a mutual friend who told me about a community band he plays with, I got my alto sax out and played for roughly an hour. I didn’t sound nearly as good as I used to--my embouchure was on the struggle bus and I my fingers were a bit fat on the keys--but it reminded me how much I love to play. And that I need to make it a regular habit again.

8. Friday Night Lights

Photo by William Iven

​The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its final guidelines for digital identity verification after a year-long cross-industry effort to craft them.

Digital Identity Guidelines was released Thursday and includes a score of documents that address digital iden​tity from risk assessment to deployment of federated identity solutions. The guidelines are designed to “provide technical requirements for federal agencies implementing digital identity services” and cover “identity proofing and authentication of users (such as employees, contractors, or private individuals) interacting with government IT systems over open networks.”​

Identity proofing is the practice of proving a person is who they claim to be, a process that has become more complicated with the increased use of technology and rise of digital identities.

“Digital identity presents a technical challenge because this process often involves proofing individuals over an open network, and always involves the authentication of individual subjects over an open network to access digital government services,” the guidelines explained. “The processes and technologies to establish and use digital identities offer multiple opportunities for impersonation and other attacks.”

To prevent impersonation and mitigate risk, the guidelines provide new ways to strengthen the identity proofing process while also creating options for remote and in-person proofing, wrote Paul Grassi, senior standards and technology advisor at NIST, in a blog post about the guidelines release.

“No longer will agencies be required to ask for ‘one government-issued ID and a financial account,’” he explained. “The proofing guidance moves away from a static list of acceptable documents and instead describes ‘characteristics’ for the evidence necessary to achieve each Identity Assurance Level (IAL). Agencies can now pick the evidence that works best for their stakeholders.”

Entertainment Weekly, aka my favorite magazine, has The Must List in every issue–a rundown of the top 10 things EW loves that week. Here’s my version…a little later than normal, but it’s been a busy week!

1. “I Could Use a Love Song” by Maren Morris

I’m a little late to the Maren Morris party, but this song came on the radio the other day and it’s been stuck in my head ever since. Now it makes sense why she was named the 2016 CMA New Artist of the Year.

2. How to Write Short by Roy Peter Clark

“No rub means no friction. No friction means no spark. With no spark, there can be no fire, no illumination. Rub, friction, spark, fire, light--all these derive from the power of two.”

I heard Dr. Roy Peter Clark speak at the Poynter Institute of Journalism earlier this year, and he was fantastic. It felt like I was back in college, listening to a great lecture that was equal parts entertaining and thought provoking. After hearing him speak, I picked up his book at a local bookstore and have slowly been making my way through it to learn how to write better, and shorter. 

3. The Washington Nationals

I managed to go to not one but two Nats games this week. And while they lost both times, there’s nothing like being at the Nats Stadium watching the game, eating a hotdog, and drinking beers with your friends. It was the perfect way to spend the week.

4. RevZilla’s YouTube Channel

During my motorcycle research this week, I Googled “How to Clean a Motorcycle Chain?” and this video by the RevZilla team came back as the top result. After watching it, and too many of its other videos to count, I know why. RevZilla does an excellent job of talking to you, like a normal person, while demonstrating a seemingly complicated task with enough instruction that I feel like I could do it myself after watching the respective video a few times.

5. Americanah: A Novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“How easy it was to lie to strangers, to create with strangers the versions of our lives we imagined.”

I borrowed this book months ago from my friend, but just started reading it over the weekend. But I shouldn’t use the word reading--I should use the word devouring, because Chimamanda writing style is so easy to read, yet full of so much life and description that putting this book down is almost impossible. If you haven’t read it yet, start reading it now.

A post shared by Scott Dadich (@sdadich) on Jun 18, 2017 at 5:22pm PDT

6. Scott Dadich’s Instagram

What’s Scott drinking today? What’s Scott looking at today? Who’s Scott meeting with today? The Scott in question is Scott Dadich, co-CEO and founder of Godfrey Dadich Partners, a design firm based in San Francisco. He’s also the former editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine and has a killer Instagram full of cocktails I want to drink and designers I want to work with.

7. Asking for Help

In honor of the GIFs (belated) 30th birthday, here’s a rundown of my top 10 favorite GIFs of all time. (Sidenote: I know that Steve Wilhite--inventor of the GIF--pronounces it with a soft “G” but you should say it with a hard “G” because it’s short for Graphical Interchange Format.)

10. The Han Solo Shrug

Always the perfect response when you’re feeling blase.

9. Ron Swanson Wasted Happy

The perfect GIF to bust out when you’re feeling super happy and excited about something. Or everything. 

8. Ice Queen Claire Underwood

For when you really need to make your point clear.

7. Stephen Colbert Face Palm Assist

For when someone says or does something incredibly stupid.

6. Betty Draper

For when you want to say “Deal with It” without saying “Deal with It.”

5. Petals for Me Lady

For when someone does something incredibly, perfectly sweet.

4. Ygritte Telling Jon What’s Up

For when you need a quick comeback.

3. Michael Scott in a Panic

When you need to freak out, especially in response to office drama.

2. Lena Dunham Keepin’ it Real

For when you need to give yourself a pep-talk.

1. Peggy Olson in Mad Men