Tuesday, April 20, 2010

A Closet Cross Examination

DA: So Miss Bray, I see that your closet is quite...unorganized.

NB: Uhm...yes sir.

DA: I see here that you have repeatedly stored uncommon closet items in this space for several years now.

NB: Yes sir. I suppose I have.

DA: Do you not find anything odd about that?

NB: About what, sir?

DA: Miss Bray, could you tell me what this is?

NB: It is an unpacked box, sir.

DA: Hmm...suspicious. And could you tell me what is in it?

NB: Just some stuff from my old house.

DA: You mean to tell me that after living in this house for three and a half years, you still have not unpacked all of your belongings.

NB: I guess not.

DA: Hmm...suspicious. And these clothes...could you tell me where they were stored.

NB: I believe they were just sitting in my suitcase. Oh, and those were thrown on the shoe shelf. And that shirt was on the door knob.

DA: So it is true that you don't actually place things in your closet in a controlled manner?

NB: Well, yes.

DA: Upon entering your closet, we also found a roll of duct tape, an abandoned Mr. Potato Head, and a witch's hat. Tell me Miss Bray, are you a witch?

NB: Not that I know of.

DA: Well then why do you have a witches hat in your closet?

NB: I am not sure sir...

DA: Hmm...suspicious.

Hope to Me

a song warms my very
being

the music flowing through
my soul

and the words piercing
my heart

Monday, April 12, 2010

Celebration

I find cause to celebrate when I have worked hard to pull something off. Since January, I have been working hard every day on my part in The Sound of Music. I would walk around my house going over my part in the music that I sang, or I would run through my lines in my head.

All of my hard work paid off, because recently my high school performed our play. We had great audiences each night, and no matter what little snags we ran into along the way, we always got to the end with great results. Though I am extremely sad that the play is over, I am happy that my friends and I were all able to try hard enough to have a wonderful show.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

I Wear the Mask

I wear the mask like everyone else,
Hiding my face, hiding myself.
While on the outside I may revere,
Inside I am angry.

A merry melody I am ever singing
My voice forever and always ringing,
But what I am thinking is not like
The song that everyone else hears.

Happy every day, all the while
Staying tied together with a smile,
But as my emotion bottles up
I am slowly coming undone.

Even if I am hurt and sad,
Depressed, vindictive, sometimes mad,
My mask smiles on all the time
To protect everyone else

Disclaimer: I am not depressed. I do not have anger issues or schizophrenia. I just don't tell people when I am sad or angry(most of the time).

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

St. Patrick's Day

If you know me, then you know that I am NOT at all, in any way, a festive person. I never dress in holiday attire and get easily annoyed with people who do get "in the spirit." So I am sure you can tell I am not lying when I say that this morning when I put on my green shirt I was not even almost thinking about it being St. Patrick's Day.

Every year on this day I am swamped and crowded by a sea of green. And I don't like it. I have worn green on this day very few years, and if someone pinches me for not wearing the color... I typically pinch them back, regardless of if they are wearing green or not. So really, to be quite honest, St. Patrick's Day is not a big deal at all to me. It is just another day of the year of which everyone just happens to look the same.

At least I will admit my less-than-stellar view of this holiday, but you can call me a grinch if you want. (At least then I would be green[[:)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Persuasion

The persuasion technique that I use most in life is pathos, appealing to the emotions. Some of the circumstances I have used the method in include:

1. Convincing my mom to order something from a fundraiser. - Many fundraisers make their way to my family, especially from band. I can always convince my mom to order something by telling her that ordering helps the band get new equipment, and helps us travel. She knows I love band, so she loves band as well.

2. Getting myself ungrounded. - Once my mom grounded me from going to an event in town, but I let her know that I had already agreed to give a ride to friend, and that if I did not get to go, neither did the friend. Eventually, her sympathy and pity for the friend won out.

3. Getting a new puppy. - I told my parents that I felt left out because all the other children in the family had their own pet, and I did not. I guess they felt bad for me, because I totally got a new dog.

Others use this method in life all the time. One of the most common ways this method is used is in advertisement. Publicity agencies use this method all time to try to convince people to donate money, or help out with a special cause. Hospital ads use pictures of sick children to appeal to the emotions of people to get them to donate money for supplies or research. Charity organizations use sad stories of people whom they are trying to help to convince others to pay for food, or books, or whatever else the charity is asking for. Pathos can be seen everywhere, everyday.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

That Summer

In everyone's life, there is a time when everything changes, when a person's view on life is heavily altered. For Haven, the time was that summer. The one when her sister got married and she was reunited with her sister's ex-boyfriend. Sarah Dessen once again drew my attention with her novel That Summer.

Haven is a fifteen year old girl who is extremely insecure about her height. Falling at 5 '11, she is always trying to crush herself down, not only literally, but emotionally as well. Haven's world is turned upside down when her father leaves her mother and marries the local weather girl, and Haven starts searching for an escape to which she can run. She manages to find her escape in a twenty-one year old boy named Sumner Lee. Sumner, an ex-boyfriend of Haven's sister Ashley, managed to change Haven's life once, but can he do it again?

The theme of the story is tyring to learn to deal with and accept the obstacles that life has dealt. Life is, without a doubt, hard, but with the help of people who care, nothing is too much to handle. Another theme is the inability to avoid change. Change is inevitable, so people might as well try to live with it instead of trying to make things the way they used to be.

The character who intrigued me the most was Sumner Lee. the college student once dated Ashley, the older sister of Haven, but now constantly saves Haven from her thoughts and struggles. Every time Haven begins to feel overwhelmed by her life, Sumner is suddenly in her sight, instantly making her feel better with his personality and spontaneity. I can relate myself to Sumner because I am constantly on the go, often not even knowing quite what I am doing or where I am headed. I can also relate myself to Haven, though, because often when I find myself overwhelmed or faced with too much to handle, I look to my friends for guidance and strength.

I would recommend this book for girls of any age, because it is a life changing story that can offer advice to any age.

200 pages