2013: The Year of Miley Cyrus

      Well if you haven’t realized already, I am a HUGE fan of Miley Cyrus. I don’t just like her because she’s had the chance to twerk on stage with Robin Thicke, or because she got to date Liam Hiemsworth, or even cause she has a lot of money. I like her because she’s her, and she won’t let anyone tell her differently.

       Ever since she was a little girl she loved acting and singing. I mean hey who wouldn’t be talented with these skills when you’re the daughter of Billy Rae Cyrus? She was always the girl who everyone looked at watched with amazement. Her smile lit up a room and her talents kept their attention. She always did what felt right to her, therefore she changed her birth name from Destiny Hope Cyrus to Miley Ray Cyrus. It first started as a nickname of “smiley miley” but then it was decided that she would just go by Miley. This was impressive to me because she did what she wanted to do and didn’t let anyone stop her even at an early age.             

        Her confidence began to grow as she was the big hit of Disney Channel, the girl with double identities. By day, she was Miley, the sun loving, teenage California beach girl who loved to hang out with friends and have a good time. By night, she was a sensational pop star named Hannah Montana, who drew in many screaming young girls and tunes that would never leave your mind. The way she interacted with her fans of the show, the countless autograph signings and meet and greets she was involved with, showed that once again she was confident with herself and had a genuinely caring attitude toward all her fans.

         But her way of life in 2013 has never made me more proud of her. She was enrolled in the cast of the Last Song, in which was an amazing movie. It is actually one of my all time favorite films. She then realized acting wasn’t her thing anymore and she began to focus on her music career. She was living in Philadelphia for a few months and her outlook on life changed forever. She said in a interview, “I just loved how I was able to walk my dogs down the street, or even grab a coffee at the local coffee shop without the paparazzi all over me like they would be in LA.” This made me realize that she really is just a normal person, who although has a lot of fame, cares about the little things in life that many people take for granted. During her time on the east coast, she cut her beautiful brunette hair off and decided to rock a short blonde look instead. This made a lot of people mad because supposedly “she wasn’t pretty anymore” but to me this made her even more beautiful. She knew this act would cause uproar but she showed her confidence to world by stating, “I don’t care, I feel like myself more than ever before.” Her short hair, acts of twerking in music videos and various live performances, and lack of clothing she prevailed began to become the talk of the century. Opinions started to arise everywhere, most of which were very negative. But then there was me. I loved the new Miley, and not because she was doing “slutty or inappropriate things”, cause I mean I don’t think I could pull of wearing little to none on stage while licking a foam finger, but, I loved her because although everyone was against her, she kept doing her thing and never gave up. I admire those traits more than anything.

         She is still the fun loving Miley that she always was. She still has incredible talent abilities. She still loves her fans more than anything. She is just showing her art in a different way, and she needs to be respected. She was named one of the most interesting people of the year, and I couldn’t agree more. Her confidence and respect for herself will always be my favorite traits about her and I will continue to be a devout fan to her. I can’t wait to go see Miley perform live in Philadelphia this spring!

Tradition

     Tradition is a very popular thing for most people. It could be school, family or friend related. Whether it is something that is original to everyone or is unique to your own life, it still has relevance and if it is adamantly followed it will make its way down to future generations.  These traditions will sometimes be lost along the way but as it’s passed down, it turns into a story, and story is what drives our human minds. Whether the story is fiction or nonfiction we are prone to intently listen and add in our own details as we repeat the anecdote to someone else. For me tradition brings out many colorful and interesting stories and will always hold a special spot in my heart.

        Being the family oriented person that I am, when I think of tradition my mind automatically wanders to great ones that are made with the people I love the most. Around Christmas time each year, everyone in my house is in a cheerful mood and we do many festive activities. My step mom is a personal chef for a living, therefore each year she bakes the most delicious cookies and each one of my siblings and I help her roll out the cookie dough, or add in the last chocolate chip. Although this could be tiring and messy at points, it is something that everyone can enjoy and the taste is priceless.

     Another Christmas time activity includes our family trip to Philadelphia. We wake up bright and early, quickly get dressed and make our way into the city. We first see the light display at the Macy’s Department store, and then we walk around the beautifully decorated city and stop at the Comcast Building. We see a 3-D show of a Christmas theme story and ravish at all the amazing new scenes each year. Then we walk through the Christmas village at Love Park, stopping at the stand to get some freshly made peanuts. Finally, we walk to a nearby restaurant and end our day with a marvelous dinner. Although it may seem repetitive at points, Philadelphia will always be one of my favorite places to go in during Christmas time and each year I find something new that sparks my interest that I didn’t pick up the year before.

       These are just a few traditions that occur during the holidays in my family, and they are ones that I wouldn’t trade for the world. Everyone says that December is the most wonderful time of the year, and for me that is 100% true, but not for the amount of presents we get, but for the valuable time I spend with the most important people in my life. I love telling people about these traditions and feel emotions of excitement and comfort when the words spill out of my mouth. Story is an intriguing part of most people’s lives, and tradition is one of my favorite branches of it. I hope I can continue to tell these stories of valuable traditions to my children and grandchildren and they follow the same ones and add in their own twist as well.

The Effect of Sayings

        Think about your favorite movie. Do you like it because of the characters? Do you like the setting? Or is it just everything about it that sparks your attention? Well most of the time, in my opinion, what catches peoples eye or ears is the small sayings that are proposed throughout each film. They usually have a comical purpose, but sometimes could be used for other ideals.

         Some sayings or phrases are what make the movie so popular. Take for instance, Mean Girls directed by Mike Waters. This is a movie about a girl from Africa, Kady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), who transfers to a school in the United States and she has to go through the struggles of the “new kid”, trying to find where she belongs. As with every high school, there are the Jocks, the nerds, the “Emo” kids and everyone in between. This may have a typical story line, but the character’s lines couldn’t be more comical. The popular girls say a boy named Damien “is to gay to function” or the dumb blonde Karen questions Kady’s nationality and says “if you’re from Africa, why are you white.” Or when they are having a retreat in the gymnasium, a random girl blurts out “I just wished we lived in a world of rainbows and unicorns.” These all may seem irrelevant, or seem to be nonsense, but you can’t think about this movie without referring back to these sayings. This movie has turned into a “must see” just from these small phrases.

             Elf, a popular movie among the holidays, is also famous for its sayings throughout the film. This is about an elf that works in Santa’s workshop, but isn’t your typical average helper. He is abnormally tall and has trouble doing things that come so natural to typical elves. He is eventually sent to the North Pole to find out who he truly is. Some of the most comical parts of this movie include “We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns and syrup.” When they are talking about the diets of their daily lives. Or “ You sit on a throne of lies!” also “I'm a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.”This refers to all the people he comes into contact with in the real world.  Finally the most famous line of the whole movie, “You stink. You smell like beef and cheese! You don't smell like Santa.” This comes about as he comes in contact with “Santa” at the local mall. All of these small phrases may also seem dumb, but they interestingly enough make the whole movie. This has become one of the most watched Christmas movies of all time, and will continue into the following generations.

             Mean Girls and Elf are just a few of the many movies that are filled with various sayings that have everyone locked for the rest of their lives. Next time you sit down to watch a movie, really take into consideration all the funny or quirky sayings that not only stick into your head, but also give the movie an even better effect. You not only realize that these phrases are used throughout the film but also out of everyone else’s mouths around you as well. It’s amazing what the directors of each movie know what will catch their audience’s attention for the rest of their lives.

The Influence of AP English

         I have to say, Sterling High School has a lot of great teachers. They really care about your education and do what they can to better your path for a more successful life for when you graduate. Going along with the teachers, they are great at the subjects they pursue as well. I personally believe that taking AP English has allowed me to expand my horizons and allow myself to be an advanced student, rather than just your typical high school student.

        In junior year AP English, we focused a lot on our writing skills. Mrs. Hewsen taught us how to add just the right amount of detail into our writing without being too “flowery” or too “shallow”. She also taught us about the various literary elements as in rhetoric, paradox, anecdote, similes, metaphors etc. We were not taught the definitions but also taught how to add them into our writing, allowing for all of us to seem like very scholarly individuals. Although, many complained about the repetitive essays we had to write every day on numerous topics, in the end they were a blessing in disguise. They gave a big advantage to me and from talking to others, they felt the same. We were able to go in to the AP test and feel confident with each word that we wrote down on the paper. Another effective part of AP English 3 included the amount of partner interaction within the classroom. We read a lot of short stories and not only did Mrs. Hewsen read them to us, we read them aloud to each other and explained our interpretations of them, seeing any similarities or differences. This allowed us to become open minded and see different points of views without always arguing against it. It was also helpful to role play certain stories like Macbeth. We would put costumes including holding swords, crowns, and capes. This made it seem realistic and more interesting than just reading it from the text book. Ms. Hewsen’s love for teaching English and helping her students really allowed me to enjoy English and perform better on my AP test than I ever thought I could.

       Now as I am enrolled in senior year English, my perspective has continued to grow as English continues to become my favorite subject. This course focuses on more stories. I am an avid reader, but I usually pursue romantic types like Nicholas Sparks, but obviously we aren’t going to read that in class. We just recently finished The Odyssey and to my surprise it was very interesting. Mr. Carty was able to read the epic with such an animated tone, and explain with such detail that made it very entertaining and easy to understand. He really focuses on our questions and how to make us better listeners and how to focus on the important details of the book. We are now reading Dante’s Inferno and although it is a hard concept to grasp, we thoroughly talk about the characters and the important details of the novel. Another effective part of this year’s English, is the AP practice worksheets. I feel that continuously looking at harder materials and trying to figure out an answer higher level questions allow my brain to work harder and will be used to this material by the time we take the AP test again. The conversations we engage in, whether they are about the story we are reading or just about another topic of English, really catch my attention and I really enjoy coming to the class every day. Mr. Carty’s influential character and grasp of the stories and language allow me to become a highly educated student and continue my progress to do well on the AP test this year.

Cyber Slang vs. Written Language

Technology makes the world go round.  Individuals especially Americans are attached to their Iphones, Ipads, laptops etc as if it was their child. These devices carry everything from the next soccer game or birthday to pictures that could last a life time. Cellular devices are most popular and are amongst the most familiar way to communicate with someone without having to be face to face with them.

   From the time we are a child and through our teenage years we are taught how to write precisely and show we are fluent with the language and syntax. Teachers work day in and day out trying to perfect each child’s abilities with hopes that they will show succession throughout their lives. Technology is getting in the way though. Millions of text messages are sent each day and most people, especially teenagers can type an abundance of words a minute without any real effort, but when it comes down to writing a scholarly paper for a class or other activities, the process is much more difficult and causes much stress.

      Texting and social media networks don’t require full sentences or correct grammar therefore it is not applied. Most teenagers say “k” for okay or “gtg” for I have go.  Or for an even bigger eye sore, sentences are written as “where u at” or “im gonna be there soon” without any capital letters or punctuation marks. This may be useful for small talk but in reality it is not acceptable.  This phenomenon of “cyber slang” has swept the nation, and it has affected many people, including myself. Your brain is habitually trained to shorten up words and sentences when texting, tweeting , commenting etc and then you get your first term paper and you feel as if you’re a young child again, confused on how to spell or write words in a sentence. From personal experiences, not only does this cause a problem for average students but for students in the advanced proficient classes as well. Writing exemplar papers is supposed to show your progress and succession throughout college, in order for you to earn your degree and live a successful life, but if the cyber slang continues, we will have less educated people in  the world, in which will result in a extravagant, detrimental issue.

   The only solution is to stop using technology as much… but how is that possible when a new form of technology used for communication is invented each and every day…Have you fallen into the trap of the “cyber slang users”?

Nicholas Sparks

        The most recent and popular films/ novels are all based on similar aspects. One may be comprised with a girl who dies from cancer, and through her last struggling months she falls in love with the bad boy at school, or another may be a girl who is abused and runs away and eventually ends up with the guy of her dreams. All of these scenarios fall under the category of “chick flick”, in which has the intention to bring out the “inner girl” in everyone including crying, laughing, gossiping and lots of junk food. Whether someone is 14 or 46, these stories are being heard and bringing in the fame and fortune. As there are many authors that have written “feminine” books, Nicholas Sparks is among the best. He is mostly known for his works, The Notebook, The Last Song, Dear John and A Walk to Remember. Every one of his stories captivates your mind and heart, with each ending to allow feelings of happiness for the characters and sadness as well because you feel as they have become a part of you and will now disappear.

              Although Nicholas Spark’s is always put in the category of Romance, he believes his work should be defined with much more. In a recent interview with Sparks he stated “It's the difference between Cinderella and Romeo and Juliet. Cinderella is a classic - it's what the romance genre is: a fantasy, romantic escape. That's not what I do. I do Romeo and Juliet. Love and romance are a part of it, but so is the rest of the range of human emotion. And sadness is part of that and can come in different forms.” He is trying to get his audience to realize that yes; he writes about love and happiness but also wants his audience to feel the other emotions that go along with loving someone. Not everything will always be rainbows and butterflies in a relationship or companionship.  In correlation ”it is important to understand the link between love and tragedy: all great love stories, by definition, have to end in tragedy. The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when one of them dies.”  Sharing this input on his writing shows that he is not just about coming up with showy, fake stories with the fairytale ending. He writes stories based on scenarios that are very frequent or possible to happen in our everyday lives, in which leaves such a great affect on the audience.

               As I mentioned his writing skills very specifically, his skills in film making are a noticeable feature as well. When questioned about his books verse his movies he replied “What a lot of people really don't know is that in many ways the novels are just as powerful as the films. You can watch The Notebook, and love The Notebook, and look at the book and think to yourself, "I don't have to read that because I saw the film" or "I already know the story, so the book won't move me the way it did" - and yet it will. It's the same thing with The Last Song. I don't care if you've seen the film, the book is worth reading. I made them purposefully different.” By creating and adding different details in his books and movies, he’s giving an interesting and impressive effect that most authors cannot master. He wants the same message to be portrayed throughout each but doesn’t want to keep his followers from sticking to one over the other. It may seem stereotypical, but Nicholas really captures a girls mind and brings out every emotion he can. I have read many of his works and will continue my journey as he continues his writing career. I mean I have never met a girl who hasn’t dreamed about being the girl in his novels, who are always being saved by the beautiful guy, and steals the key to her heart.

The Following

         What comes to mind when you think of a show that is intense, suspenseful and also jaw dropping? Well for me, it is The Following created by Kevin Williamson. It revolves around the main character, Joe Carroll and his insane sense of living.  He is an English professor that is intrigued by the dark, mysterious, scary works of poet Edgar Allen Poe.  From Poe’s poems, Carroll comes to the conclusion that a woman suffering and dying is one of the most beautiful scenes and decides to kill them himself, becoming a nationwide serial killer. The big catch though… He isn’t alone!  Carroll comes into contact with other active serial killers and trains them to be his “groupies”, in which they follow his every command, continuing his plan to kill women. The FBI is heavily involved in this case, especially Ryan Hardy (head agent) who risks everything he has to keep Claire Matthews, Joe’s wife and  also his  long lost lover, and her son Joey safe from the dangerous world they are living in. Every scene is full of blood, gun shots, and cries for help from innocent people in desperate measures. What would you do if this scenario was occurring in your neighborhood?

            The scene of criminals being chased, and agents finding the evidence to figure out the case has always sparked my interest, but The Following has brought out another level of interest. It is the type of show that when it comes to a commercial break, your head is spinning, begging for more. The most significant part about the show is the continuous, twists and turns throughout every episode. You may think you have gathered enough clues to figure out where Joe Carroll or his followers are but then BAM! Something else comes in the way, leaving your mind in utter despair. For Instance, in the season one finale Ryan Hardy had just returned to his apartment in New York along with Claire Matthews feeling more at peace with the situation, allowing the audience to catch a breather as well. Then all of a sudden an attractive woman, one of Hardy’s other lovers, also a neighbor of Hardy has mysteriously snuck into the apartment, stabbing Ryan and Claire in the back. There is only one explanation for this… She is part of Carroll’s clan, and could it be that she is jealous that Ryan has moved on to a bigger and better life with another woman? You never know who or what Joe Carroll’s next victim is and it won’t easily be identified.  The character and plot development that Williamson has created is one of a pure writing   genius, and one other writer should look up to. There are two rules when watching this show: Get your thinking caps on and be prepared for the thrill of a life time!

The Help

       The novel The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, which was also made into a motion picture, is one of the most inspiring books i have ever read. . The pages are filled with a whirlwind of emotions including, laughter, sympathy, sorrow and pride. The story is told through many peoples point of views. Minnie, is a plump, African American women with enough attitude and confidence that could blow you away. Abileen is also an African American women, but she is soft spoken and cares for all children as if they were her own. Finally, Skeeter is white woman, who isnt afraid to stand up for what she believes in and also has aspirations to be a writer. These three women and narrator's of the story should be considered "heros" or role models in everyone's eyes.
      Stockett not only wrote a phenomonal story, but was able to portray her characters in a way that was impossible to forget. She wrote and added different anctedotes with relevant details to keep the reader wanting more. For example, Stockett wrote about Aibileen's relationship with Mae Mobley, the daughter of one of the familie's she was a maid for. Her love and compassion for her was heart wrenching and made me love that little girl as well. She also told about Minnie's hard marriage with her abusive husband and how she had to raise her own children in such an unstable environment. I couldnt help but want to give her everything she needed to get out. Finally, Skeeter was established as not the most attractive woman, but someone who didnt care what the social norm was, and would help someone in a heartbeat whether they were black or white. Most importantly, Skeeter was looked up as a great person in society in which is everything she deserved. These character's were brought to my attention as intriguing indivuduals with hearts of gold.