I hope you had the time of your life.

My final blog post of not only AP lit, but my senior is going to be about high school. Many people told me when I was an incoming freshman that these next four years were going to fly by. At first I didn't believe them, I knew high school was going to to take forever and that it would feel like forever before I got my life started. But now as I enter my last week, it is now hitting me like a ton of bricks. I'm done. It's time to grow up and go out into the world. Which scares the crap out of me. How can shy and quiet Kathleen now be almost second generation alumni of St.Mark's high school is going to college in just 3 months. Sometimes when I say that, it makes me happy but for the most part it freaks me out. I don't think I am ready to do this all on my own. I loved high school, yes sometimes I would get fed up with my friends or get overwhelmed with school work. But the memories and the friendships I have created are something that I will never forget. I met my best friend, I fell in love and did some crazy stuff that I probably shouldn't have. But that's high school. You have to make every moment count, live for each day and seize every opportunity. Because one day, you are going to blink and be entering you last week of classes. These individuals used to be strangers to me, and now I have become friends with most of them. I'm sad to see high school be over, however I am so ready to get rid of this uniform. I've learned a lot of things these past four years walking up and down these halls, I found myself and realized what I am truly passionate about. Everything that I have experienced, that I have been a part of at St.Mark's will always be apart of me. No matter where we go or what we end up doing, the class of 2013 will always be united because there is no other class like ours. With our spirit and determination and our ability to learn. I would not want to be graduating with any other people. So, that's that. Thank you Mrs. Healey for being the best teacher I have ever had.

Gatsby, what Gatsby?

I know that I blogged about The Great Gatsby earlier in the year, but now that I have seen the movie it is practically all I can think about. For Mother's Day for my mom, my sister and I treated her to a movie. Of course, she chose The Great Gatsby and I was not going to object to seeing Leonardo DiCaprio. My biggest concern with the movie was that it was not going to be done right and that all of the motifs, symbols and themes would not be able to shine like they had in the book. But thankfully, I was wrong. Throughout the movie I was just having flashbacks to sophomore English class with Fio. And I hate to brag, but I rocked this book. For some reason I was just able to understand everything that F. Scott Fitzgerald wanted the reader to see about the 1920s. I always say that I was born in the wrong time and if I could be born any other time I would want to be dropped right into a party of Mr. Gatsbys'. This time period just amazes me, to be able to do whatever and say whatever and not have to worry about the consequences of the situation is what I wish I was able to do now in the time I live in. Being young and free is probably the biggest message that I got out of this book. Anyway, back to the movie. For one I really enjoyed how much the director focused on the green light and that he kept having Nick explain that the light symbolized Jay Gatsby's hope and his love of Daisy. All of the actors that portrayed the characters did an amazing job and for the most part, are what I thought they would act like in my head. For example, as much as I loved Daisy's character and how she was so innocent she annoyed me sometimes.  What that's how I felt in the book. She has this amazing guy, Gatsby, basically on his knees begging for her to love him and she won't leave her arrogant, pig-headed husband because she would rather have a secure life with him. However, George was not as how I had pictured him. Yes he was supposed to dirty and gross, but I was expecting a much younger man and maybe a bit more attractive? I don't know, I probably shouldn't keep judging people by their appearance. Overall I absolutely loved the movie because it brought the American dream alive again. It showed the struggle of races and the competition between new and old money. Whenever I really enjoy a book that has been turned into a movie I always sometimes wish that there would be a sequel. But for The Great Gatsby, I don't think there needs to be. Everything that needed to be said, was and that time period is nothing but a memory now.

The Dead Poets Society

My dad was watching The Dead Poets Society the other night and asked me to watch it with him. The title sounded stupid to me but I did not have anything else to do so I watched it with him. And oddly enough, I loved the movie. I loved everything that it stood for, knowing that all the boys backed up their friend and appreciated each other. I think that most people have seen or at least heard of this movie. The movie was filmed in 1989 and the set was a local school that is actually near my house. In the movie, a teacher- John Keatings- is assigned to a class to teach english.  Where he introduces all the boys to poetry and how to seize the day. This movie made the phrase "carpe diem" extremely popular. A group of friends form the group called the dead poets society and all write their names inside an old book of poetry. My reaction to the ending was just extremely sad because even though I believe in following your dreams, the one boy did not have to die to make that big of a statement. I actually cried a little bit because of seeing how everyone else reacted to his death. The scene I disliked the most was when Neil (the dead guy) had just died and his parents force an investigation to take place because they believe they had nothing at all to do with the suicide of Neil. One of the boys even suggests that the best thing to do is to have the teacher take the blame for everything that is happened that way he loses his job and they can stay in school. After the fallout of the society, english class resumes and is now being taught by the headmaster himself. When Mr. Keatings comes into class, Todd tries to explain what has happened and that they were forced into signing the petition that he was the cause of the club being formed. Nolan, the headmaster, flips out which leads the boys to recite a poem while standing on top of their desks. Mr. Keatings leaves the room touched that his boys got the message he was trying to teach them. Fun fact about this movie, my mom's cousin was an extra in the film. This movie taught me that nothing should be taken for granted such as a life of someone. And that no matter what, you should always stand up for what you believe in. Because in the end, nobody can ever take away what you believe and what you stand for. 

Literary Death Match

It kind of makes me sad that AP lit is over, but at the same time it is a big weight lifted off my shoulders. During our final days of class, the literary death match was actually really helpful for me on the exam. Mainly because, in my third essay I wrote about one of the books that we discussed. Anyway, when we were reviewing and talking about the big picture of each book I will admit I was so confused about what was going on. Even though it did not seem like I was fully aware of what was going on, I was taking some notes and forming my own opinions in my head. What I liked the most about going over all the books was that it allowed me to relive the stories and reform my opinions about each book. For example, I was able to fall in love with The Great Gatsby and Frankenstein all over again. The two groups that presented these two books I was extremely jealous of. But they did a really great job on showing how amazingly well written these two novels are. However, some of the books I still disliked even after reading them before. Such as my own presentation about As I Lay Dying. I don't know why but I never liked this book, and of course I got a good grade on my in class essay for this novel. Overall, I enjoyed this exercise and I enjoyed even more that it was not a grade. My experience in AP lit this year was awesome, I made some new friends and found out a lot about myself and who I am. I'm so happy I made the decision to take this class, even though I don't fit in with most of the class they are individuals that I won't ever forget and will always refer to some of hand outs and essays for future assignments in my english classes in college.                                      

Ode to the West Wind

This is another poem that we read last year in Brit Lit, which has helped me sucessfully write my AP paper this year. Although I hate saying this, Percy's wife is much more well known then Percy. But, he does have some very well known poems that are frequently talked about. Ode to the West Wind being one of them. Each of the seven parts contains five stanzas, which are all metered in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme in each part follows a pattern known as terza rima.In the three-line terza rima stanza, the first and third lines rhyme, and the middle line does not; then the end sound of that middle line is employed as the rhyme for the first and third lines in the next stanza. The final couplet rhymes with the middle line of the last three-line stanza. Thus each of the seven parts of “Ode to the West Wind” follows this scheme: ABA BCB CDC DED EE. Something else that I noticed about this poem in particular is that, Shelley uses the West Wind to symbolize the power of nature and of the imagination inspired by nature. Unlike pieces he wrote however, the West Wind is active and dynamic in poems, such as “Ode to the West Wind.” While some others are immobile, the West Wind is an agent for change. Even as it destroys, the wind encourages new life on earth and social progress among humanity. Another awesome thing I discovered about this poem, was an actual note from Shelley himself.  Shelley appended a note to the "Ode to the West Wind" when it appeared in a Promethus Volume in 1820. "This poem was conceived and chiefly written in a wood that skirts the Arno, near Florence, and on a day when that tempestuous wind, whose temperature is at once mild and animating, was collecting the vapours which pour down the autumnal rains. They began, as I foresaw, at sunset with a violent tempest of hail and rain, attended by that magnificent thunder and lightning peculiar to the Cisalpine regions." This note from Shelley, bascailly backs up my hypothesis of him using specific experiences within his life to write his poetry.

Getting to know Percy Bysshe Shelley

In my first blog of the quarter, I mentioned a little bit of information about my poet, Percy Shelley. But I thought it would be better for me to do some more research on him for two purposes. One being that I hardly knew anything about him and two so that it would make my paper a bit easier to write. As I said before Shelley is known as one of the greatest epic poets of the 19th century and is very well known for his long-form poetry. While at school, Shelley was severely bullied; physically and mentally- by his classmates. After finding this out, I can now understand why he wrote some of the pieces he did. While in college, Shelley developed very strong anti-beliefs and published an article about it in school. He was then expelled and his parents immediately demanded that he take back everything he had published. Instead of doing what he had been asked, Shelley eloped with Harriet Westbrook, who he had also been banned to see by his parents. Clearly, his parents had an issue with everything that he said and did. Shelley grew to hate his wife, and eventually abandoned her for the very well known, Mary Shelley (author of one of my favorite books, Frankenstein). And to make things even better for Shelley, Mary was the daughter of his hero, William Godwin. Surprisingly Godwin did not approve of the two of them being together and ended up not speaking to either of them for several years. Death was something that majorly affected Percy Bysshe Shelley. In the fall of 1816, the young couple came home from a trip to discover that Mary's half-sister had committed suicide. Shortly after, around December, within the same year Harriet had committed suicide as well. She was found drowned in a river in London. Finally after waiting several years, Mary and Percy married- only for everything to come to a very fast halt because the courts ruled not to give Shelley custody of his and Harriet's children; assuring everyone that they would be better off with foster parents. On July 8, 1822 just about to turn 30, Shelley drowned while sailing. Shockingly, his death has been ruled as an accident even though there was evidence that said otherwise. As you can see, Percy Bysshe Shelley's life was certainly uneasy and very stressful. I actually sort of feel bad for him, but at the same time I think because of his day to day life- it bettered his poetry. He was able to express what others would not allow him to verbally do and just put it on a page.

Beautiful Creatures

In the midst of all this poetry research we have been assigned to do in the past several weeks, I have been trying to keep up on the book I am currently reading. My sister ordered the book Beautiful Creatures from amazon and I snatched it up first because I knew I would finish much quicker then she would. As most people know, this book has recently been turned into a movie and I can totally see why; it's amazing!! This book is written by authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the book is also the first in the series called Caster Chronicles. I finished the book and went and saw the movie this past weekend, once again the book was so much better. Set in South Carolina, the novel is from the point of view of Ethan Wate who keeps having reoccurring dreams about this mystery girl. Later in the novel, he meets Lena Ravenwood who is commonly referred to as "Old Man Ravenwood's niece". Once the two of them meet, they form a friendship instantly and become much more than just friends. Something that I love about this book is that it mocks the phrase "I love you to death" because in reality love and death are the main purpose of this novel. Ever since I started middle school, I have always reached for books that are about fantasy, romantic stories. Maybe it’s because I have a lack of romance in my life or maybe it’s because I have always wished that magic and true power were more than what I read on the pages of countless books. Later within in the novel, Ethan finds out what Lena really is; a caster. So basically, she is a witch. And on her sixteenth birthday she will either be claimed for the light or the dark (creepy I know) but Lena is determined to keep herself good and go towards the light. And more importantly, she wants to stay as good as she can for Ethan. Another phrase that I have also associated with this novel is "love conquers all" which is determined by the ending. But obviously I'm not going to tell you the ending because I want everyone to read this book and enjoy it just as much as I did!

All poetry does not stink.

As much as I love English and reading, my downfall since I was ever introduced to it has been poetry. I'm more of a literal person, so when I read a poem the metaphysical imagery is not easy for me to pick up. My first reaction when the poetry unit was announced was "great, now I’m going to fail". But somehow my grade right now is exceptionally good for the quarter. For my third quarter paper, I decided to choose Percy Bysshe Shelley as my poet to learn more about. One of the reasons that I chose him was because he is one of the few poets that I actually enjoyed reading in Brit Lit and then again this year in AP. The research I have done has given me hope that maybe ALL poetry is not as horrible as I thought it was. Percy Shelley is noted for being one of the most major Romantic poets and lyric poets. This is an added bonus for me because I prefer the lyric poems to the more unstructured ones. One thing about Shelley that has really stood out to me is that he wrote what he felt; he did not conform to what others were thinking. In fact, most publishers and journals declined to publish his work for being arrested and charged of blasphemy. To me, that is just so cool. It makes me feel like his poetry really did have a message and even though people didn't agree with him it did not discourage him from continuing to write. Shelley has many well-known published works, including one of my favorites- Ozymandias. I chose this poem to use in my paper because I have read and analyzed this poem several times and my understanding of the sonnet is very clear. The central theme of this poem is about the decline of all leaders and the empires that they strive so hard to form, no matter how big and powerful they are. After doing some research, I found out that this poem represents a transliteration into Greek of a part of Ramesses' throne name. Ozymandias is a fourteen line poem, metered in iambic pentameter. Something that I definitely think Shelley did on purpose was that he used an unusual rhyme scheme. This poem is Shelley's way of trying to get a message across, not just to sound good. I know I said above that I enjoy lyric poetry (and I do) but I enjoy this poem simply because it is different. And who doesn't like when things are different. This blog post is probably the most unorganized thing I have ever written but that is how Ozymandias is supposed to be looked at. And that's really all I have to say about that! So thanks Mrs. Healey for helping me see that all poetry does not stink.

The Last Song

Over the weekend, I watched a movie called The Last Song which is a recreation of Nicholas Sparks' novel. After the movie was over and I finished drying my tears, I realized something. Why are his books able to make me feel like emotional? For the most part I think it is because I am a girl, but I also think it's because Nicholas Sparks is able to express the raw emotion that one would feel when put into the situations he creates. As I said the movie was based off a book, and I did in fact read the book before I went and saw the movie. I don't know why, but I always prefer reading the book first and then viewing the movie. Which, now that I think about it, is kind of dumb because if the book is great and the movie stinks. My expectations have been let down and I probably will just not like the movie/book at all. But with all of Nicholas Sparks' books, I always love the book and the movie equally. In all of his books I have read (The Last Song, The Notebook, Dear John, Safe Haven, The Lucky One) the movies always bring me to tears just like the books do. If you did not know, all of his books revolve around a love story that should not happen and somebody always dies as well (depressing, I know). But the reason I love the book The Last Song so much is because I feel everything he wants the reader to feel. He wants me to feel joy when Ronnie and Will fall in love, and he wants me to feel pain when you find out that Ronnie's father (who she doesn't get along with) is diagnosed with cancer. Right up until the last page of the novel, I can truly feel what Ronnie is going through and understand the heart ache and the disappointment she feels. Not many books do this to me might I add. To boys, these books and movies are just dumb chick flicks that feed their needy souls on finding love, but to a girl they are so much more. All of Nicholas Sparks' books show human emotion not just a girl's emotion. He allows the reader, whether the reader is male or female, to understand what it feels like to go through so much pain and hurt, that is the true reason why we cry when reading or watching the movie.

The Art of Being a Classy Woman

Over the Christmas break, my aunt gave me a book called Classy by Derek Blasberg. As I was opening the present, she told me that this book would help in college and that my ability to charm others with my personality was going to grow as I read this book. This book can also go along with the second book I am reading, How to Find Your Soul mate Without Losing Your Soul by Jason Evert. Reading these books simultaneously, it makes see how badly girls have lost the essence of being a true girl. Going back to the book by Derek Blasberg, which is more of a what not to do to better yourself in the society. Giving tips on how to dress, how to act and how to get male attention without having to lower your standards or act like someone your not. What I really enjoy about these two books is that, the majority of these things that Derek and Jason tell girls to do, I am already doing. It makes me feel good knowing that my parents have raised me to respect myself and others, so that I don't get treated like something on the sidewalk. When Jason Evert came to our school and talked to us, I really thought it was going to be a stupid sex talk that would bore. But thankfully, it was funny and it actually got through me. Some of the things in the book that he said to us really made sense. For example, looking for your bridesmaids in high school instead of your groom really hit home for me. In my four years I have come to the conclusion that 99% of girls only come to school to get a boy's attention. Which is something even I have done, and I have stopped doing. Most relationships in high school are not going to last past graduation. Another thing that has also occurred to me is that how can you expect someone to love you, if you can't even love yourself? As I continue reading these books, I have made it a point in the New Year to start loving myself and realizing that I deserve nothing but the best. This does not just go for me but for all girls. We shouldn't lower our standards just because the cute guy in our bio class smiles at you. With these two books I really do think that I can better myself for the rest of high school and as I enter college.

Murder in the Cathedral

Being an avoid reader when I was younger, most of my time was used by reading books about vampires or falling in love with a supernatural creature. But now that I am in high school, it has occurred to me that not only do I read much less then when I was in middle school, but the pieces I read are much more grown up and have an underlying meaning to me. Entering my senior year,  I had no idea that AP English was going to be mostly based on my opinion of a book or play and if I even understood what I was reading. Recently however, the assigned novels and plays have been more easier to read and I have enjoyed them more. The most recent play assigned was Murder in the Cathedral by T.S Eliot. From the very first page, I had the feeling that the play was going to be dark and that I would have to pay attention to what Eliot was trying to get across. The basis for the play was Thomas Beckett's internal struggle. What I also loved was how during "part one" of the book that the Chorus that is introduced sort of foreshadows the coming violence of what is to come. When I say the coming violence I am referring to the assassination of Beckett. The Chorus also provides a key aspect with the drama, with its voice changing and developing during the play, which offers comments about the action and provides a link between the audience and the characters and the action occurring. During "part two" of the book, the Chorus makes another appearance when Beckett is being accused of not being loyal to the king, when actually the king is just tired of him. Once Beckett understands that the king's knights are here to kill him, he says he is ready to die. Which I still don't understand because why would anyone want to die? Disregarding what has happened previously in their life, no person should be okay with the fact that knights were told to murder. Even though their were some parts of the drama that I did enjoy, as a whole I probably wouldn't have chosen to read this on my own or even want to see it performed.

Pity the Beautiful

The poem that I chose to recite for Poetry Out Loud was Pity the Beautiful by Dana Gioia. If I haven't ever mentioned before, I strongly dislike poetry all together. None of it makes sense to me and I just can't grasp why everything has to have a meaning that leads to something else. So of course, when Mrs. Healey announced that POL was starting again I began to feel worried. Not only did I hate poetry, I hated talking in front of a class even more. When I began my search for my poem, I never thought that I would enjoy reading it this much. Pity the Beautiful is a poem that I feel like I can truly understand. Being a five-stanza poem, it was relatively easy for me to learn it quickly and be able to rattle it off in maybe fifteen seconds. The more I rehearsed it, the more I liked it. The first three stanzas say that we should feel sorry for the beautiful women and handsome men. It may sound like a crazy thing to say, but it makes sense. However, the last two stanzas reveals the true reasoning as to why the speaker thinks we should feel sorry for these people. It is because these beautiful women and handsome men won't always be this good looking and desirable forever. Not only does this make me laugh a bit, but it shows me that the speaker and I have something in common-we see people for who they really are. When I look at a person, I don't automatically judge them. And I try my best as to not let others think that just because I look this way, does not reflect it. What I also don't like is how beautiful people get things handed to them, just because they are beautiful. Knowing that the person right beside them might have worked even harder for that very same thing and not even getting it. This poem is a great stab to society and even celebrities. I'm glad I'm not the only person who can see that 'beautiful people' such as Kim Kardashian or Justin Bieber, won't always be looked upon as the "babes with big daddies granting their wishes" or "the golden lads whom success always follows”.