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”.