In honor of a movie which has just come out recently, I am about to write something that may seem quite radical, nay, insane, to some of you.
I love Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Beowulf.
I've read Charles Dickens, Eon Colfer, James Patterson, and Tamora Pierce.
I am excited to open up the newest Christopher Paolini book.
I am constantly craving new books to read and new worlds to enter.
And despite my love for well written books... I enjoyed the Twilight series.
Mind you, I by no means think that Twilight is a work of excellent fiction. I believe if you look up "Logical Reasons for my Hatred of Twilight," the author of that article has some fantastic points, all of which I agree with. However, these books are popular not because they are great works of fiction, but because they are happy love stories. Bella finds true love in the end and none of the good guys die. Yes. Bella is unhealthily obsessed with having a boyfriend, and the plot can get a little hokey specifically because all the good guys end up happy in the end; but when you're down in the dumps and need something to make you feel better, sometimes a silly novel about a plain girl falling in love with a sparkly creature of the night is what you need.
I know, I know. You're all thinking, "But Averee! Those vampires are such sissies! And vampires are supposed to be evil, you shouldn't fall in love with them!"
Well, first of all, it's fiction. Stephanie Meyer can make her vampires any way she wants. And secondly. Have you seen Gerard Butler in "Dracula 2000?" Admit it, you think he's sexy too. Humans are drawn to bad things, vampires included. I know I'm not the only girl who thinks Brad Pitt was fantastically good looking in "Interview with a Vampire." Yes, it's very silly for a human to fall in love with one of the more evil fictional monsters, but guess what? That's been part of the plot for half of the other vampire stories out there, everyone's just cranky that it happens in Twilight because they want a reason to be mad at the series.
There are a lot of good reasons to hate Twilight, the plot is cheesy and the fans can get a little crazy. However, for some of these girls, Twilight is a way to escape from their lonely lives in which they play the role of the plain girl who doesn't find love. I've been that girl, and "trash" like Twilight can help numb the pain for a while. Don't be so quick to judge these girls. Do they go too far? Certainly. Are they perhaps a little annoying? Definitely. But they have the right to escape to their cheesy love story for a while if that's what they need, and I bet that they think us Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans can get a little annoying too. So before you all start posting nasty Facebook statuses about how Twilight fans should die, think about how the books you read help you escape. Think about how some people think they are trash, because I guarantee you, someone out there does. Remember the feeling of excitement that you treasured when the final part of Harry Potter came out, or when you went to the premier of Tintin just to see The Hobbit's new trailer. Allow these crazy girls to enjoy their moments too, instead of poo pooing them. To the rest of the world, Twilight may be trash, but for some people, it's something to be enjoyed, and they have as much right to enjoy their novels as we do ours. And if you've never read the Twilight series, or even tried to, what right have you to tell Twilight fans that they're wrong, anyways?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Go Away!
I'm desperately trying to fill my page with posts not containing "PLN" anywhere in them. If I never think of Freshmen Year again, it will be too soon.
Yes, I could delete said posts, but that would be far too easy. And I was actually fairly intelligent in some of those posts, so they should be saved as proof.
Don't get me wrong, Freshmen Year was not the most terrible thing that ever happened to me, but between the missing three weeks due to pneumonia and the being constantly surrounded by people who made me depressed, the 9th grade is not a period in my life I care to think about every time I log onto this blog.
Good gravy and biscuits, that was a long sentence.
I'm hoping that as this year progresses, I will have more interesting things to talk about...
Monday, March 1, 2010
Coming Back
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I can't believe I'm on this blog
After an absence of two
....years.
Well, not a perfect rhyme scheme, but its the best I've got. I've used up all of my creative energy attempting to write a sonnet, which seems really simple.
Until you actually sit down to do it.
I love poetry, love it with all my heart. I write poetry frequently. I read it all the time. But something about sonnets, something about having to write a certain way drives me bonkers. And it blocks any creativity that might have otherwise been flowing forth like my nephew after too much chocolate.
The first problem is finding something worth writing about. Because frankly, I don't want to write about nature, or romance.
So what? What do I want to write about? I can't write about school--it would turn into a psychotic rant about taking too many classes and getting back aches from my two ton back pack. And as hilarious as I may find it, I'm not sure my English teacher would appreciate it.
If I write about family, I'll end up complaining about how my grandmother gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom directly above my bedroom. Soon to be followed by some chaotic scribblings about my dog, who was last seen attempting to bury her bone in my foam mattress.
Theatre would be fun, until I remembered all the hours I've spent not sleeping because of it. I could talk about the day my friend had a drill bit driven into her hand, but somehow, I'm not sure anyone but another techie would find that funny.
And after I've gone through the exhausting process of picking a topic, I have to make it fit either the Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Petrarchan format. I can spout out poetry all day, but making sure everything fits just right kind of makes me want to pull my hair out.
I want my sonnet to be something I can share with the class (though its doubtful I ever will). I want to be proud enough of my creation that when I'm done reading it, I feel comfortable showing it to my friends. I want what I write about to be personal, something that is important to me. But I also want others to be able to read it, and enjoy it. I don't want people to come away totally confused by what they just read. This sonnet will probably never be read by anyone but my teacher, but I still want it to be something I'm proud enough of to send off to a contest, should the desire to do so ever arise.
Part of me just wrote down all of this to complain about doing work (something you'll notice about me: I do a lot of complaining). But another part of me sincerely hopes that someone will post here, and give me an idea before I go mad.
Violets are blue
I can't believe I'm on this blog
After an absence of two
....years.
Well, not a perfect rhyme scheme, but its the best I've got. I've used up all of my creative energy attempting to write a sonnet, which seems really simple.
Until you actually sit down to do it.
I love poetry, love it with all my heart. I write poetry frequently. I read it all the time. But something about sonnets, something about having to write a certain way drives me bonkers. And it blocks any creativity that might have otherwise been flowing forth like my nephew after too much chocolate.
The first problem is finding something worth writing about. Because frankly, I don't want to write about nature, or romance.
So what? What do I want to write about? I can't write about school--it would turn into a psychotic rant about taking too many classes and getting back aches from my two ton back pack. And as hilarious as I may find it, I'm not sure my English teacher would appreciate it.
If I write about family, I'll end up complaining about how my grandmother gets up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom directly above my bedroom. Soon to be followed by some chaotic scribblings about my dog, who was last seen attempting to bury her bone in my foam mattress.
Theatre would be fun, until I remembered all the hours I've spent not sleeping because of it. I could talk about the day my friend had a drill bit driven into her hand, but somehow, I'm not sure anyone but another techie would find that funny.
And after I've gone through the exhausting process of picking a topic, I have to make it fit either the Shakespearean, Spenserian, or Petrarchan format. I can spout out poetry all day, but making sure everything fits just right kind of makes me want to pull my hair out.
I want my sonnet to be something I can share with the class (though its doubtful I ever will). I want to be proud enough of my creation that when I'm done reading it, I feel comfortable showing it to my friends. I want what I write about to be personal, something that is important to me. But I also want others to be able to read it, and enjoy it. I don't want people to come away totally confused by what they just read. This sonnet will probably never be read by anyone but my teacher, but I still want it to be something I'm proud enough of to send off to a contest, should the desire to do so ever arise.
Part of me just wrote down all of this to complain about doing work (something you'll notice about me: I do a lot of complaining). But another part of me sincerely hopes that someone will post here, and give me an idea before I go mad.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
PLN Presentation Reaction
Well, from the comments I received, I did much better this time around. Most of my comments didn't give me anything that I need to work on. However, I know that I still rely on my notes too much, which is the reason some people said they couldn't hear me. In the future, I will work harder to practice my presentation beforehand, as well as speak louder.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
PLN 20
Once more, I scrolled through the teacher blogs on my school website, (no, I still have not escaped from my habits of monotony) and decided to check Ms. Crosby's blog. Her most recent post, Grading Practices talks about how students don't take the time to look at specific categories to see where their learning needs improvement, which can be harmful to their overall grade. Since this is a habit I myself have formed, I decided to comment on Crosby's blog:
As a student, I will admit that often times, I focus less on the details and more on the overall grade. I don’t concern myself with looking over categories to see where I need improvement. As long as I see an A staring back at me from the computer screen, I don’t particularly care how I am in specific aspects of the class. Although this is a terrible habit that many students face, I am happy to say that when the grade is not an A, I immediately set out to find the root of the problem. I know that a lot of students do this. My friends and I often talk about how certain things affect our grade and when we focus on those, grades improve.
Honestly, it’s tedious to look through every category of every class, but your right; we need to focus on the details. Our overall grade may be excellent, but that may just be because we participate in class. Our writing skills might stink and we wouldn’t even know until we fail our final paper. Sometimes, we students don’t realize that you place things in categories for a reason, and not merely for your own enjoyment. Grades are set up the way they are so we can pinpoint the exact problem in our learning. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know its there. Perhaps talking to students about different categories and how they affect grades would help students take more initiative in their learning.
-AvereeL
As a student, I will admit that often times, I focus less on the details and more on the overall grade. I don’t concern myself with looking over categories to see where I need improvement. As long as I see an A staring back at me from the computer screen, I don’t particularly care how I am in specific aspects of the class. Although this is a terrible habit that many students face, I am happy to say that when the grade is not an A, I immediately set out to find the root of the problem. I know that a lot of students do this. My friends and I often talk about how certain things affect our grade and when we focus on those, grades improve.
Honestly, it’s tedious to look through every category of every class, but your right; we need to focus on the details. Our overall grade may be excellent, but that may just be because we participate in class. Our writing skills might stink and we wouldn’t even know until we fail our final paper. Sometimes, we students don’t realize that you place things in categories for a reason, and not merely for your own enjoyment. Grades are set up the way they are so we can pinpoint the exact problem in our learning. You can’t fix a problem if you don’t know its there. Perhaps talking to students about different categories and how they affect grades would help students take more initiative in their learning.
-AvereeL
Sunday, May 11, 2008
PLN 19
As I scrolled through the learning network blogs on my school's website, I decided to explore a bit and try a new blog. As you have probably figured out, I have a tendency to be a little monotonous. I looked at one teacher's blog (her name is Cheryl, but it somehow feels wrong to call a teacher by their first name) and was a little shocked at what I read. On her blog, Cheryl posted about one article called “Awaiting—still—a renaissance of wonder,” . I suggest you read it for yourself on her blog: "Even in heaven they don't sing all the time" . What I read really affected me, and so I decide to add a little input of my own:
After reading what you had to say about Michael Mazenko’s post, I decided to check it out for myself. I have to say, what I read was a little upsetting. As a student, I know how hard it is to show passion in everything we do (like Mr. Mazenko seems to expect). Often times, we have other things on our minds, or the subject we are discussing hits a little too close to home for us. Silence does not mean a lack of passion, merely a lack of words to express it. We go though the monotonous and laborious schedule of school everyday. Most of us cannot express the love of knowledge that teachers like Mazenko want from us. We’re teenagers. We can’t even find the right words to ask a person out on a date, let alone go into a deep conversation Ferlinghetti’s poem right after school has started. Some times, we just don’t have the energy to be deep thinkers and functional speakers.
It was quiet discouraging to read what Mazenko thinks of teenagers. As you stated, “Just because teenagers don’t behave like kindergartners doesn’t mean that school has “killed” something in them.” We are interested; we just have difficulties saying so. Our “mundane” questions are often an escape from the realities of the world that we face every day. Sometimes, we need something simple in our lives. Your son is 16, and has already faced many hardships. Most of us have. Poems can bring up the oddest, and most painful memories for us. Simple phrases can make us worry. We give simple answers because thinking too hard about it might be too painful.
Perhaps I am just repeating everything you have already talked about, but to hear that a teacher has lost hope I his students saddens me. Do we always wonder aloud? No. However, it doesn’t mean we aren’t still wondering. We’re teenagers, we’re always questioning everything. We can’t always see the beauty in the world because we are starting to see the harsher side of it. You’re right; we know the joys of life, but we still see the dark side of it. Simple answers don’t mean simple minds. They mean that we are trying to make something in our lives just a little easier. At least for the class period.
After reading what you had to say about Michael Mazenko’s post, I decided to check it out for myself. I have to say, what I read was a little upsetting. As a student, I know how hard it is to show passion in everything we do (like Mr. Mazenko seems to expect). Often times, we have other things on our minds, or the subject we are discussing hits a little too close to home for us. Silence does not mean a lack of passion, merely a lack of words to express it. We go though the monotonous and laborious schedule of school everyday. Most of us cannot express the love of knowledge that teachers like Mazenko want from us. We’re teenagers. We can’t even find the right words to ask a person out on a date, let alone go into a deep conversation Ferlinghetti’s poem right after school has started. Some times, we just don’t have the energy to be deep thinkers and functional speakers.
It was quiet discouraging to read what Mazenko thinks of teenagers. As you stated, “Just because teenagers don’t behave like kindergartners doesn’t mean that school has “killed” something in them.” We are interested; we just have difficulties saying so. Our “mundane” questions are often an escape from the realities of the world that we face every day. Sometimes, we need something simple in our lives. Your son is 16, and has already faced many hardships. Most of us have. Poems can bring up the oddest, and most painful memories for us. Simple phrases can make us worry. We give simple answers because thinking too hard about it might be too painful.
Perhaps I am just repeating everything you have already talked about, but to hear that a teacher has lost hope I his students saddens me. Do we always wonder aloud? No. However, it doesn’t mean we aren’t still wondering. We’re teenagers, we’re always questioning everything. We can’t always see the beauty in the world because we are starting to see the harsher side of it. You’re right; we know the joys of life, but we still see the dark side of it. Simple answers don’t mean simple minds. They mean that we are trying to make something in our lives just a little easier. At least for the class period.
Friday, May 9, 2008
PLN Presentation Reaction
Well, I definitely did better this time around. The two things I really need to work on are eye contact with my audience and speaking louder. I rely a lot on my notes, which distracts from my presentation, so hopefully next week I will be a little more prepared. This week was a little more difficult for me. I caught pneumonia from one of my friends last week and I am still suffering from side affects. My voice was a little shaky because I was afraid to have a coughing fit right in front of the class. However, I know that I can't blame all of my blunders on being sick. I need to learn how to be less reliant on my note cards when I talk. I also need to speak louder so that people can actually hear me. Hopefully next week will go a little better, but I have still improved since last semester.
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