Music Freak

As many of you know, I really enjoy art and I'm pretty good at it. But if there's one thing in life that I love more than art is music. I absolutely love music. Not like. Love, because there is so much that music can do besides sound pretty. Music has also inspired my art and helped me focus or, "get in the zone" if you will. I would totally persue music if I had any shred of musical talent (I took band in middle school...fail). So I guess that means I'm just stuck listening to music which I am perfectly fine with. It's fun to dance around your room like an idiot with a hairbrush microphone, or head-bang at your steering wheel. Have you ever found a song or songs that remind you of a certain place or person or experience in your life? I relate a lot of my best memories to songs that remind me of them. My friends and I have songs that are simply "ours", or they describe our relationships or they spark up a memory between us. Those songs are always my favorites, unless they remind me of a sad memory or of someone who isn't a part of my life anymore. The saddest part about that is they were songs I once really enjoyed, and I feel like I can't listen to them anymore without bringing back those memories I worked so hard to forget.

 

Not only is it fun to dance to and jam out in your car or have a private shower concert, but it's also therapeutic in a way. Really! Have you ever had a terrible day at school or work, or you just broke up with your boyfriend or girlfriend and you just want to vent but you don't know how to? As teenagers, we kind of use music to escape the real world when we're stressed or upset about something, and we focus on the melodies and the lyrics and it's calming, even when the music is very loud and crazy. I personally listen to loud, heavy, shredding guitar music when I'm angry, or sappy love songs when I'm depressed because they fit my mood to a point. Although, sometimes it's better to listen to songs opposite your mood so it'll help distract you and make you feel better. Honestly, song lyrics can express how I'm feeling better than my own mouth ever could. It's almost impossible not to find a song that doesn't express your feelings at any moment, which, I think, is pretty awesome. It's even been scientifically proven that music can help your mood!

 

Word count: 441

Ophelia

1.      The heaviness of death clings to the air like dew on the morning grass

2.      Nonsense melodies cloud her saddened mind

3.      The herb placed to her lips tingles, burns with eagerness

4.      She should not do this; she cannot do this

5.      Her footsteps are a storm as she stumbles through the wood, leaving heartache behind her

6.      A tree is her savior and her solitude from reality

7.      Splintering, cracking like her broken heart, its limb has no strength to save her from her fate

8.      The broken branch lies over the brook

9.      Willows weep softly; their tassels hang mournfully above her

10.  Her limp body floats, like a leaf, on the surface of the water

11.  Mermaid hair swims around her as she glides down the shallow creek

12.  Her heart stills, frozen with the absent warmth of love she wished to receive

13.  Her once-lovely pink lips turn pale, as her breath silently whisks away

14.  Petals float around her, the only color that remains

15.  Ophelia, her body wilted, slowly sinks down into depths from which she won’t return

My first technique was imagery. As you can see, I pretty much use imagery in almost every line; I was once told that poetry was constructed of sound and imagery, so I just went on from there.

Another technique I used was diction. This would be the sound part of my poetry construction, and I used this in lines 4, 8, and 11 especially. Line 4 is a parallel structure, 8 I used alliteration, and in 12 I used words that related to mermaids like “hair”, since it’s an important feature, “swims”, and “glides”. The entire poem could be considered an analogy for death.

I used quite a bit of personification in this poem in lines 1, 8, 9, and 13. I figured using these would make the images seem more alive so the audience would feel like they were actually witnessing Ophelia’s death personally. (You might be able to consider personification in line 15 in regards to her body since she’s dead at this point).

I used similes in lines 1 and 10 to compare the heaviness of death and her dead body to natural things, also making the story more tangible. I also used one in line 7 to compare the breaking tree branch to her already-broken heart.

I used metaphors in lines 5 and 6, labeling her footsteps as a storm, indicating she’s running quickly, loudly, wildly through the forest to the tree, my second metaphor, her savior.

This brings me to my zeugma in line 6, stating that the tree is her savior and her place of solitude and privacy in one.

My final strategy is anaphora, which you can see in lines 5, 10, 12, and 13 in my repetition of the word “Her” at the beginning of each of those lines.

Word count: 485

I Know You're Ignoring Me...Facebook Said So

Do you ever want to talk to someone really bad, but you're at war with yourself because you don't want to annoy them? Yeah, me, too. Eventually you give in, you text them and get nothing back after a long time, if at all; it hurts, right? Especially when you know that they're the kind of person who always has their phone attached to their hip. Being ignored sucks. Sometimes you just want to go full stalker mode and talk to their friends, find out what they're doing, why they aren't texting you. It's a girl thing. Or maybe it's just me and I'm some kind of stalker freak, I don't know. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who's felt the sting of being ignored by someone whom you really want to talk to.

One of the worst feelings is when they initiate hanging out with you sometime earlier that week or even earlier in the day, and then when it comes time to when they wanted to hang out, they suddenly fall off the face of the earth. No amount of texts or phone calls will work. You're sitting there pouting because you got your hopes up and your makeup all done. You go back into that vicious circle of internally beating yourself up because you want to keep texting them, hoping they'll take the necessary 30 seconds to type out a response. That's what I don't understand: unless you're asleep or at work where you can't have a phone out or something along those lines, I doubt anyone is so busy all day long that they can't take a simple 30 seconds to a minute, at most, to at least say hey. Men, I swear. They just don't get it.

Another issue is when you're hanging out with a friend, and they're constantly texting their significant other. The catch is, when they're hanging out with said other, obviously they're "way too busy" to text you, right? Wrong. That's total bullshit in my opinion. And, quite frankly, it's really inconsiderate. Why even hang out if you're just going to be talking to a billion other people, but then ignore everyone else when you're with that one "special" person? I realize the person they're with might not appreciate them texting either, but why should they think it's okay to do one thing to one person or not the other? It's just not fair. I hope some of you can relate to my little ranting session.

Word count: 423

Nap Time is a Must

            When you get home from a long day of intellectual stimulation and torture, otherwise known as school, sometimes it's really nice to just take a nap. We poor children haven't been able to take naps since Kindergarten, and we're always so damn tired because we go to work after school some days and stay up until the wee hours of the morning doing all of our homework. But on those occasional days off, what smart, sleep-deprive high-school kid isn't thinking of taking advantage of maybe an hour or two for a little snooze?

            Some nights when you have little or no homework, you could just eat dinner and then go straight to sleep really early. That feels fucking AWESOME. Not just the feeling of having no homework but also being able to catch up on some very-much-needed sleep. As we all know, sleep is essential to our learning. Uck. No. Sleep is just fun and it keeps you from waking up like a zombie or being a real nasty person to be around. My sister is that kind of person. She doesn't do well on little sleep. She will fall asleep right when we get home from school and sleep straight through dinner sometimes, wake up for maybe an hour and then go right back to bed. Even when she gets tons of sleep she still wakes up in a pissy mood sometimes.

            I just woke up from a pretty fantastic three-hour nap myself and it inspired this post. I don't know what it is, maybe I'm just weird, but I am really comfortable sleeping on the floor. Hell, I can fall asleep and nap pretty much anywhere: floor, couch, chair, sitting up, on a pile of pillows/blankets/clothes, you name it. Anyone else like that? At least it means that I'm not picky when it comes to sleeping somewhere. Like when your family goes on vacation and there are only two beds for the six of you; of course your parents will have one and your selfish siblings claim the second so you're kind of forced to create a make-shift bed on the floor. Either way, no matter where I sleep, naps are amazing. But they gotta be at least an hour. Or two. Or more.

Word count: 380

"I'll just do it later"...

I must admit that I have a serious problem with procrastination. Sometimes it just sounds better to spend an hour or so hanging out with your best friend, or watching a movie and then studying later, or taking a 30-minute power-nap that turns into a couple hours. My difficulties with buckling down and cracking the books have only gotten worse since high school opened its ugly doors for me. Balancing five college-level classes, including all those heavy textbooks, and a part-time job is damned near impossible some days. Putting off that paper and reading assignment for a little while to give myself some free time always sounds like a good idea, until my test comes back with a big, fat “F” on it. I know it’s hard to get into the habit, but doing my homework right when I get home really is the best idea if I want to do well in school. I need to be more self-disciplined and actually follow my planner. That way I won’t have to cram all my assignments into one night and lose precious sleep over it.

I think I can safely say that about 98% of teenagers have procrastinated. The other 2% are probably lying. One thing I’ve learned that helps with my procrastinating is to write things down. Staying organized and keeping track of all the things you have to do really helps because it creates a sort of guideline for what projects you need to finish first and which ones you can afford to put off for a while. If you have multiple assignments due around the same time, and you have, say, a week to do them, spend a little time every night working on each project so that by the night before they’re due, it won’t take as long to finish everything. That way you also have time to finish smaller assignments given to you throughout the week that are due the next day without feeling pressured with the heavy workload.

Another problem that contributes to my procrastinating, and I’m sure others’, is the temptation of electronics; you feel your phone buzz and you think that you have to look at it that very second or it’ll explode. One thing that helped me was keeping my phone in a different room while I worked on homework. That way I couldn’t hear or feel it vibrate and I was able to concentrate without worrying about who was texting me. If you must use your phone for researching or something like that, sometimes it’s better to use than a computer because there’s the temptation of opening tabs for Facebook or YouTube or Twitter. Since switching pages on your phone is more difficult than on a computer, it won’t be as easy to get sucked into the social websites; as long as you’re not texting, of course.

If you have a study hall period, take advantage of it. It’s much easier to concentrate when you’re in a school setting; it’s quiet, and there aren’t those temptations like a T.V. or a comfy couch. That way you can get some assignments done and you can actually take the time to relax and watch your favorite show when you get home.

Procrastinating is a nuisance, but if you have the organization and self-discipline to get your work done first, your grades and your brain will thank you.

Word count: 564

Prom?

I've been debating lately whether or not I want to go to prom. I know it's my senior year and it's really my only opportunity ever to get to go, but I've never been a big fan of dances. I've gone to Homecoming every year, but how different is it from prom, really? It's more expensive. I mean, look at those dresses! The tickets are more since prom includes a fancy country-club dinner, the dance itself and the party afterwards. Everyone spends so much money on hair and makeup and nails when they could honestly do most of that themselves or have a friend do it.

            Another thing I'm not too excited about in regards to prom is the fact that I do not and probably will not have a date. I know it's not a big deal and it would most likely be more fun going with a big group of friends, but every girl wants a guy to ask her to prom in a really cute way. Seeing all the adorable little couples with their balloons and posters and pictures clogging up my news feeds makes me sick and a little sad, to be honest. It makes the prom experience less exciting. It sucks even more when the people I'd be in a group with have quite a few couples in there, too. It's like I never get away from them!

            I don't want to have to spend a ton of money on a dress that I'll probably never wear again, shoes I can't really walk in, and get my hair and makeup done all nice just to get sweaty and gross during a dance, in the dark, where no one can see. I think we get all dressed up for the pictures and that's it which is honestly really funny because everybody takes pictures of themselves pretty much every day anyway.

            Even though I'm not feeling this whole prom thing, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go just to say I went, and I might regret it when I'm my mother's age and I didn't go. I don't want to be Drew Barrymore in "Never Been Kissed", waiting until I'm 25 to go undercover back to high school so I can go to my senior prom. I might as well take the chance now while it's here.

Word count: 401

LOST

            I've just recently gotten into the popular tv show Lost. I never really watched it when it was still showing on tv, but I had seen bits and pieces and I'd heard people talking about it, so I became interested. When my younger sister got the first two seasons on DVD, she and I started watching them together. I'm pretty much hooked, to say the least, even though I'm still only into the first season.

            I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who hasn't seen the show yet, but I need to rant or at least talk about it a little bit because it's just that good. The basic idea of the show is these people are stranded on an island after their plane crashed. There are roughly 40 survivors settling on this island trying to receive help, but the radio in the plane doesn't work and they cannot pick up any type of signal. The island is enchanted or magical in some way. If this is considered a give-away, it really shouldn't be because it's pretty obvious in some of the events that take place within even the first few episodes. I can't really say how or why because, well, I honestly don't know yet.

            Not only do these poor survivors have to endure the surprises of the island, but they have to learn to live amongst each other; they're all strangers, some criminals, addicts, doctors, others keep to themselves and you question the character of some of them. I won't mention any names, you'll just have to find that out for yourself.

            I think my favorite part about the show is that it keeps you on your toes at the end of every episode. Not even the end really, because new thing happen throughout the entire thing. Every little detail is important and it all fits together like a puzzle. It's crazy how much I already know after watching most of the first season. I wish I could go into full discussion mode with this but I REALLY don't want to give anything away. I think this show is way too good for anyone NOT to watch it.

Word count: 372

AProblems

          I’m sure other students about to take AP exams feel the same way I do right now: I’m freaking the hell out. As I’ve progressed through the year, I didn’t think that my AP classes were all that hard. The thing that’s really scaring me is that I have to try and remember everything, literally, EVERYTHING I’ve learned this entire year to prepare for the tests I’m taking.

It’s one thing when you have to remember the content from one or two chapters for a test, but it’s a whole different ballpark when the test is compiled of information that was learned over the course of nine months and is entirely cumulative. And it doesn’t help that the content itself is already difficult since they’re college-level courses.

I’m taking two actual exams and submitting a portfolio for the tests. My tests are in AP Psychology and in AP Art History. For AP Psych, memorizing all sorts of body functions and behaviors and scientists and syndromes and diseases and all sorts of other scientific things gets really confusing. You’d think that having a chapter on memory would help when it comes to memorizing so much material, but it makes it even more difficult because you learn how we memorize things and why certain things stay in our brains when others don’t. The plus to that is it explains what methods best help us remember things, so hopefully by studying those it will help me when it comes to my test. Multiple choice isn’t a problem; it’s always those damn FRQs.

I’m a little concerned about Psych, but my Art History test is making me lose sleep. I know what you’re thinking: how hard can a class about art be, really? The thing is, it’s actually the hardest class I’ve ever had. Art History starts with ancient Mesopotamia back in 3000 BCE and earlier and it progresses up through modern art of the mid to late 1900s. Let's just say, it's A LOT of information to try and retain. I have to remember and recall thousands of years worth of information that I learned over nine months into a three-hour test. To me, this sounds damn near impossible. I'm not good with names of people or places or specific dates for anything or particular cultures, countries or religions or political stuff; this class combines all that and more. Art, of course. It's probably the hardest class I've taken. Although I love the class and the subject matter, the test scares me shitless.

My last AP "test" isn't really a test necessarily; I have to submit two art portfolios that consist of my best pieces over the course of this year. One of them is a breadth portfolio, which can be anything I choose to do. I decided to focus on 3D art, so all of my pieces have to be 3-dimensional so I can't draw or paint anything. This made it really tough for me in the beginning because I was running out of ideas on what to make and what to use to make it. I used clay, plastic, wood, matches, plaster, stone, wire, glass, and paper, just to name off a few things. I'm really stressed about this test because I'm behind on pieces, and I need at least 12 for each portfolio. I'm having an artist's block and I don't know what to make anymore.

As I see it at the moment, nothing good can come of these tests UNLESS, by some miracle, I'm able to pass them. I'm not so confident about that, honestly. Hopefully I can get my shit in gear and finish everything and study my ass off for these tests. I'm crossing my fingers.

Word count: 621

I'm a Big Kid Now...

It’s really hard to believe that I’m almost done with high school. It seems like only yesterday I was walking up the steps in front of Kennedy for the first time, stumbling through the doors and into the hallways flooding with strange people I didn’t know. I even remember what I was wearing on my first day of high school. It’s scary to think that in a few short months, I’ll be a big college kid, and I won’t have the secure environment of my high school anymore. Everything is familiar in high school: the teachers, the hallways, the annoying underclassmen, the rules, the noises, the smells. I used to be so afraid of this place because it was so big; all the classrooms were organized in such weird ways; there were just SO MANY PEOPLE. But after a while, I learned where everything was, where to go for assemblies, where the bathrooms and the cafeteria are. In college, I’ll have to do all of that all over again, and I’m freaking out a little bit.

I think I’m most afraid of not knowing what to do when something goes wrong when I’m in college, because I’m going to be about an hour away from home and I won’t have my family there to help me or give me advice. I’m worried that I might run out of money or I’d get lost, or that my car might break down somewhere and I won’t know what to do, silly little things like that. I’m also worried that my roommate might be a total bitch or a crazy person, or that we’ll end up fighting all the time and I’ll be miserable. I hate that I have to grow up so fast.

Word count: 293