When all else fails.

Last minute, you NEED a Halloween costume.

In my home, you can go into the storage room and scope out some costumes from the childhoods of four children. I'm pretty sure there's also an adult cow costume down there somewhere. But not everyone has a storage room filled with old costumes. It's time to get creative, and quick. Here's some witty costumes that require minimal effort, but will give you much praise from your friends.

1) Nudist on Strike- Dress in average clothes. Hold a picket sign with the words, "Nudist on Strike."
2) Lemon Surprise- Write the word, "LIFE," in black marker on a plain white t-shirt. Carry around a bag of lemons, while occasionally handing one out to someone.
3) Serial Killer- Dress normally. Get a giant plastic knife to keep in your back pocket. Your punchline is, "I'm a serial killer, because you can never pick them out from the crowd."
4) Leaf blower- Wear a hat, and tie one end of a string to the top of it. Tie the other end to a leaf from outside, so it hangs in your face. Blow the leaf out of your face.
5) Quarterback- attach a large picture of a quarter on your back. Football not required.
6) Game Show Contestant- Make a large nametag, and put it on the front of your shirt. Say things like, "I'd like to buy a vowel," or, "That is my final answer."
7) Pothead- Put a pot on your head.
8) The Lost TV Remote- attach a couch cushion to your front, and one to your back.
9) Refridgerator Magnet- Paint a shoebox black, and attach it to your back.
10) Cable Guy(for the party you don't want to go to)- notify friends what you are going as. Don't show up, because they never do.

And when you still don't have plans, just invite friends over for scary movies. Feeling ambitious? Do a group session for learning the Thriller dance. Whatever you do, make sure you have fun, because Halloween only comes once a year!

Halloween or bust.

Admit it. There's a time as a teenager where part of you wishes you could still trick-or-treat. So instead, you grab a small child, and dress up with the excuse that you are escorting them. Great excuse really, I'll use it in the future.

The past two years I have the excuse of trick-or-treating for a cause: trick-or-treat for UNICEF. Not entirely an excuse really, since I care for the cause too. However, I still get to dress up, and that's a huge plus.

So what happens when you're too old, even for that? Generally, you either have friends who throw costume parties, you stay at home and hand out candy, or you curl up to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Personally, I would love to bob for apples, but that's beside my point.

If you decide to hand out candy, but still desire to make it fun, then there's a number of things you can do. I would love to prank kids as they come to my doorstep for candy. Not the little-little kids- that's just cruel- but the ones old enough to take a joke. One prank is to sit in a chair on your porch, dressed as a scarecrow. You are pretending to be a real scarecrow, so it must be convincing. You have your bowl of candy sitting in your lap, with a sign that says, "Take 1." It's your choice who to scare them when kids walk up and reach into the bowl. You can jump to life and grab their hand. Some would jump and scare only those who try to take more than one.

If you're going to a Halloween party, and you don't wanna dress up, then you should stop being a wimp and dress up. Halloween is awesome, and unless you have a legitimate fear of plastic and synthetic material, then there's no reason you shouldn't get in the spirit and dress up. If you insist to dress with minimal effort, then dress in regular clothes, and carry a sign that says, "Nudist on Strike." Get creative, don't be a downer, and most of all, have fun!

When shows and movies go too far.

The first Shrek movie was amazing. An absolute classic from my childhood. I wasn't sure what to expect when I heard there was going to be a sequel. I was hoping for a good follow-up, and I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't as good as the first, but it was decent.

When I became aware of a third one being made, I was excited. I haven't seen that movie since I saw it in the theater, but I know that I didn't like it. It was a disaster compared to the first two. Then came the fourth, which I took my seven-year old cousin to. He loved it, and I thought it was a little better than the third, but still significantly bad.

So when do shows and movies need to stop? For Shrek, it should have stopped after the second. Some would say the first was perfect enough. When you have a good show or movie, businesses make sequels or more seasons to make more money, but often those follow-ups ruin the legacy built by the original.

I saw Madagascar with some friends, and I enjoyed it. I never saw the sequel, but I've seen the show, "Penguins from Madagascar." It's an awful show really; entertaining enough for children, but from a critic's viewpoint, not very good. The penguins were good as side characters in the movie, but when you make them the main focus, it dulls the plot. Those side characters are typically static, and most movies need a main character that changes throughout the movie.

There is a movie coming out, "Puss in Boots," that is doing the same thing: pulling a character from a previous movie, and turning the focus on them. Not having seen the movie yet, I can't criticize it. However, I can predict that the same thing will happen, while also hoping it doesn't. Who knows, maybe Hollywood spent more time on this movie to make it good, instead of doing it just because they know Shrek fans won't miss it.

TV shows too. I admit, I am a sucker for crime shows, but when the episodes turn to a more personal level with the characters, when it was originally supposed to be about the crime, then I don't like it as much. If it's a crime show, stick with the crime. They should establish ahead of time how personal they want to be with characters, and stay with that theme. It shouldn't change to a soap opera mid-season. It bothers me when crime shows turn into Grey's Anatomy.

I can't stop drawing.

the artists are building our own generation
go on try to stop us
we feed on oppression
we fight depression
we will give you sensations
to shake you to revelations

you can't see what we see
try to stop your jealousy
the colors flow easily
we look around and see what should be

snap a picture in your head
you'll tell your kids before you're dead
that you saw what lay ahead
because we paved away from certain dread

to create is expression
to need is obsession
what we have is opportunity
to stimulate the community

our wills crave what yours deny
don't you dare say goodbye
because you too could fly
if you only try

So I was going to sit down and write a blog, but somewhere along the way, I wrote a poem instead. Hence no capitalization or commas. Sorry OCD people.

I've been getting into this awesome groove, where I'm forcing myself to squeeze in drawing time between homework and school. It feels awesome, and I'm really happy about it. I have taken art classes the past two years, but only drew projects when they were assigned. Now I have all these ideas in my head of what I could make on my own.

I also have been starting to listen to music more while I sketch. It helps me loosen my mind, and actually inspired a couple sketches. I'm also researching different drawing and painting styles, such as automatic and speed drawing. Automatic is drawing without a predetermined purpose, so your ending product is completely spontaneous. Speed drawing is drawing under a time limit, with a plan of what you are drawing.

Unfortunately, the latter style is often confused with time-lapse video drawings. Searching on Youtube, it's very difficult to find videos of speed drawing in regular time(although the videos that come from that search are still incredible).

A Tale of Two Wizards

"After all these years?"
"Always."

Severus Snape. Once a hated character of the Harry Potter series, now loved by many. It's common knowledge to anyone who has ever seen a Harry Potter movie, that Snape hates Harry. But in the seventh book/eighth movie, his character is revealed for the role he played during the course of the entire series. *Spoiler Alert*

In the last book, Voldemort is getting very strong, and nowhere is safe. The end of the sixth book features the shocking scene of Snape killing Dumbledore, and revealing that he is a double agent for Voldemort. However, Snape is truly unmasked when he gives Harry his memories just before he dies himself in the seventh. Harry sees the memories, and becomes fully aware of Snape's past, and whose side he truly was on.

Lily Evans(Harry's mother) and Severus Snape were childhood friends before they entered Hogwarts. Entering Hogwarts, Snape was disappointed to be separated from her, with her being a Gryffindor, and he a Slytherin. She made new friends, and didn't like the friends he was making. But Snape was in love with Lily, and whether she was ever in love with him, we don't know. What we do know, is that despite their friendship ending, Snape still loved her. Lily married James Potter after Hogwarts, and didn't have much contact with Snape. He still loved her.

Snape began to work for Voldemort, and when Voldemort was making his plans to kill Harry, Snape asked him to spare Lily. Having no empathy, the Dark Lord didn't hesitate to kill her once she tried to stand in his way. Snape was heartbroken and devastated, and went to Dumbledore. Seeing how much Snape had loved Lily, Dumbledore trusted Snape because he realized that his love was greater than his loyalty to Voldemort. As Harry said, Snape was Dumbledore's the moment he started hunting down Lily.

So what did Snape do from there? Well in a nutshell, he dedicated his whole life to working with Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix to protect Harry from Voldemort. He was pretending to be Voldemort's spy, but was really on Dumbledore's side. Harry is a strange character to Snape, because in the image of his father, he is the reminder that Snape never had Lily, and that he never would. However, he is the last piece of her that is left, and that's enough for Snape to get along.
So in overview, a man dedicates his life to preserve the son of the woman he loved. Even though she is already dead, and she married someone else, he died to save that last piece of her, because it's what she would have wanted.

I don't know about anyone else, but this gives me some serious, A Tale of Two Cites vibes. In A Tale of Two Cities, Man 1 gives his life so that Man 2 could live. Man 1 was in love with a woman, and that woman was in love with Man 2. He gave his life so that she could be happy with who she was in love with. Quite a tragic story because, to me, that act in itself shows true love. Snape was truly in love with Lily, and he still did what would have made her happy even after she was killed.

There should be more men in the world who are like Severus Snape.

My problem with mechanical pencils.

In my very personal opinion, I do not like mechanical pencils. What's the point of them? It's just plastic that wishes it was a pencil. Not to mention, you have to constantly supply it with lead, so that it may actually function.

I look around my classrooms lately to see a large chunk of students using mechanical penicls, and I wonder to myself, "Of all people in the world, do teenagers really show the proper commitment skills to consistently use a mechanical pencil?" Honestly, I would hate to have to go to the store to buy lead for a mechanical pencil. I much prefer plain wooden pencils. They feel more comfortable and more familiar in my hand. Bonus: I'd much rather walk across the room to sharpen a pencil, then having to refill it.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problems with commitment. I would just rather not be in a commitment-required relationship with a pencil.

This was originally going to be a rant about my dislike for mechanical pencils, but I feel it slowly turning into a discussion of commitment.

Commitment to classes, friends, family, and previously-made promises are important. Commitment to making time for the priorities in your life, and learning to balance what's due now with what's due later. Also planning assignments accordingly with your schedule outside of school. These skills are developed through commitment, and trial and error. You soon use them later in life with your career and social life, or significant other.

I feel strongly about staying committed to promises. Saying you'll do something, than not doing it is one of my biggest pet peeves. It doesn't even require the actual use of the word, "promise," like it did in elementary school. Promising to show up somewhere, then leaving the person hanging without explanation is disrespectful, despite whatever reason they didn't show up.

If you want to create a committal relationship with your pencil, I don't mind. You will not find me making a promise to my pencil, "I will fill you up when you are empty, take care of you through the thick and thin, and try my hardest not to drop you under my desk in the middle of class, because we know how embarrassing that is for the both of us."

Just remember to keep your priorities straight- beyond my example of a completely exaggerated personification of a pencil.

Halloween is coming to town >:)

Halloween is coming up! One of the silliest, funniest holidays. More celebrated than April Fool's, but less serious than Christmas. And coming from a high-schooler, I would like to say that not one year has gone by since my childhood that I did not get dressed up.

Freshman year, my friend had a party on Halloween. I dressed as a "neon hippie" or as such I dubbed it. Last year, I did trick-or-treat for UNICEF through a volunteer club at school, which I was able to dress up for with my friends. That year I went as Hermione Granger.

Now I'm obviously getting older to the point that if I went trick-or-treating without ushering a small child, then I would be just plain weird. This year, I plan on doing trick-or-treat for UNICEF again, which I'm sure slides by, considering it's for a cause. Not that I'm only doing it as an excuse, of course, dressing up is just a plus. This year I think I plan on going as someone from the 80's, although I considered going as an all-out Voldemort. That would have been much more difficult, however.

So what's so great about Halloween? Well, I find it amazing because it's one big costume party! Picking out something to be for a night, and pulling it off well is always rewarding. The candy was the best part as a child, but now I prefer costume-ing it up with friends.

And of course the scares. I have not been legitimately scared on any recent Halloween, although I eagerly anticipate this year. I hope to venture scary houses with friends, and maybe plan a scary movie party. I usually don't like being scared, but something about this time of year makes me yearn for that thrill. It would also be extremely fun to incorporate a scare-prank on one my friends. That's always a good time. >:)

Yippee, gender roles.

Sexism is often a touchy topic of discussion. Stereotypically, there's always the man in the room who has to say, "Well scientifically, men are stronger," and the woman who must defend every sexist aspect made for women, by adversely using sexist stereotypes toward men. "Woman are TOTALLY as strong as men because men just sit around all day while the wife does everything for them."

Ugh. I don't like battle of the sexes conversations. However, what bothers me is that I still find norms used in our society that originated back from our not-so-ancient patriarchal past.

"Man up," "Stop being a girl," and some other slightly graphic sayings, are still said daily. I've had them said to me, and I've said them before without stopping myself. But more than the idea behind it, what bothers me is that it's still said. Especially when it's obvious today- and been proven by Shawn Johnson, Jennie Finch, and Serena Williams- that women can be tough, and can excel at sports.

There are more women in the workforce than men. Statistically, that's true. Contrary to a hundred years ago, you wouldn't be able to find a woman with a job.

And when it comes to relationships- sure the guy can hold the door, dive in for the kiss, pull out the chair, etc, but it shouldn't be shunned if the girl does that too. I have a friend that admits she would never ask a guy out on a date, simply because she's old-fashioned enough to believe that the guy must be the one to do it.

And of course, the, "women in the kitchen," and, "women can't drive," jokes. I try to ignore those as much as possible, but in all honesty, those jokes seriously irk me. And I know I shouldn't let it, because the fuel of the anger it causes is what makes it successful. Grr, vicious circle.

Honestly, people who suggest women are better, annoy me as much as those who suggest the opposite. Is one really better than the other? My obvious answer would be no, but I think the better answer is, "who cares?" I think we all have something better that we could be doing.

Drawing Rant

A detailed and realistic drawing cannot be achieved without patience. You have to pay attention to details, look at proportion, shape, and lights and darks. It takes a long time, and I often find myself running out of time finishing a project that has a deadline.

Proportion always throws me off. Doing a figure, you have to analyze the size of the head in relation to the central body and the limbs. Particularly within the face, you must be careful with eyes, nose, and mouth. I still feel I am only amateur at drawing lips; they always look too small, too large, or too close to the nose.

I used to think shape was often the hardest part, but I see now that I often made it more difficult than it really is. Shape may be the simplest part. My art teacher always tells us to draw shapes, not things. If we are trying to draw a hand, we aren't supposed to think of it as a hand, but just simple shapes put together. The beginning sketch of a composition should usually be basic shapes, before you go back and correct angles and curves.

Shading seems to make many of my classmates groan. I did once, and some days I still don't like to shade, but I know that if I want my piece to look good, I have to have a keen eye for what I'm drawing, and take time with shading. Whenever I finish drawing something in detail, I always look at the subject in a different way. I drew my best friend's face once, and now I see all the curvature of the jaw line, the unique shape of the eye, and where scattered freckles may be. Typing it on the computer, it suddenly sounds creepy, but honestly, it isn't.

Then there's loose, expressive drawing. Some people think that art is purely for aesthetic purposes. Although art and drawings typically look good, and pleasing to the eye, they are often much more than that. The lines themselves are expressive, and have a purposeful- many times emotional- theme. Moving the pencil wherever the hand takes it, sometimes not even thinking about it, puts meaning into the piece the artist never planned.

I want to plan a spontaneous painting hour for myself, where I have my canvas and supplies all set up, and just paint for an hour with music going, and no intention of what I am painting.

Realistic drawings should take time, but art doesn't necessarily have to look pretty to everyone who sees it; art is expressing feelings or themes. Not all feelings in the world are pretty.

Guilty Pleasures

Everyone has guilty pleasures, or at least I would hope so. I would hate to have written an entire blog about guilty pleasures only to find out that only I have them.

But, I find that pretty unlikely, so here I go.

GUILTY PLEASURE: Something you like or enjoy. But you are embarrassed of your own taste, or what others would think.

I find that guilty pleasures are sometimes taken too seriously by the person who has them. As much as I dislike taking too much interest in what others think of you, I admit it would be near impossible to go through life without considering others' opinions of what you do.

So here I go, telling the internet some of my guilty pleasures.

1) Taylor Swift. *cue mixture of groans and cheers* Yes, Taylor Swift, her music liked by many, many people, especially teenage girls. Some like her, and some don't. I do, though sometimes I feel like I shouldn't. Why? Because some say she is too repetitive, and sings about cheesy love stories. Bleh.

2) Playing old PS2 games. Such as two Spongebob video games that I have, and an old Sitting Ducks game(does ANYONE remember that show???). Sometimes, when I have free time(which is remarkably rare nowadays), I go back and explore the games of my childhood. Cheesy? Yes. Do I care? Sometimes.

3) Spongebob Squarepants. This is sometimes a guilty pleasure, but oftentimes what I will dub, a "proud pleasure." Spongebob- the character I grew up with. I love him as much as I loved him as a kid. I am not ashamed, but I still feel this belongs here, because many people I know consider him a guilty pleasure. Guess what I got last Christmas? The first 100 episodes of Spongebob Squarepants on DVD. If you aren't jealous, you should be.

Guilty pleasures, what do they say about a person? Well, sometimes they can tell you something you never would have guessed about someone, but that doesn't mean it makes the person unlikeable. Often, it's a funny quirk, that doesn't actually represent a significant part of the person. Just a little thing they do, or like.

Band Competitions.

Recently, I've taken to attending Kennedy's band competitions. I've been to band concerts before, but the competitions are surprisingly very much different. For one thing, they're a lot more epic than just band concerts. When it's marching band, it's more interesting, and even comparable to show choir competitions.

Having never been to a competition before, I decided to tag along with my friend, who is a Kennedy band alum. She also felt that she needed to assist me in learning proper, "band competition etiquette."

There are definitely significant differences when it comes to football half-time shows, and what I saw at my first competition. When the band plays, there is complete silence, unless you are applauding a soloist, or a particularly awesome choreography bit. You do not stand up in the middle of a show. That is frowned upon. And you also applaud other schools, even though they are not your school. Whereas in football, it wouldn't be strange for you to hear someone booing the other team. In marching band, it would be.

My band alum friend also told me stories of her years of being in marching band.
During one particular competition, a school had a Mission Impossible theme. They had a briefcase as a prop that showed up, and then disappeared a few times among the students within the choreography. At the last note of the performance, a saxophone held up the briefcase in the middle of the mass of students. Finishing the note, he sprinted to the opposite corner, soon followed by the entire band chasing him off the field. They disappeared behind the bleachers on the other side, and received a standing ovation.
You would have assumed that they stopped once they weren't seen anymore behind the stands, but to everyone's surprise, they reappeared clear on the other end, still sprinting after the briefcase. This caused everyone in the stands to roll in laughter.

Overall, I learned that half-time shows at football games do not live up to the awesomeness of the performances of an actual competition.

Also, this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZtCZOiZ-cg

Seuss-y goosey

"Big D, little d, what begins with D? A dozen donuts and a duck-dog, d d d." Even seeing that on the screen, I hear it with it's obvious rhythmic, almost musical beat.

I had many Dr. Seuss books when I was little- so much so that they filled my fancy four-section bookcase. With their colorful pictures, and consistent rhythms, I loved reading them.

I've always thought so highly of Dr. Seuss. Even growing older, I was amused while reading his stories. As one of my previous LA teachers told me, it can be difficult to try and incorporate rhythm into writing so it shows clearly to the reader. When you read Dr. Seuss aloud, it's hard not to read with the beat. I've often thought of Seuss and Shakespeare as similar writers, with their consistency of rhythm in all of their works.

And then, of course the fantastic pictures! I don't know who did the pictures, but they are as exciting and colorful as the rhythm and invented words of the reading. I keep seeing the Truffula Trees from The Lorax, one of the more famous Dr. Seuss stories. All the colors, and the description of their texture and softness, really did fascinate me as a child. Not to mention, The Lorax is a story with an obvious moral, spreading the awareness of taking care of the environment to children.

One of my friend's seems to think that Dr. Seuss's works are a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, that don't tell real story. When you think about it most of Dr. Seuss's stories have an important moral, as most children's books should. Oh the Places You'll Go! tells you that you can accomplish anything you want, as long as you set your mind to it. In The Sneetches and Other Stories, the Sneetches teach you that what's "cool" isn't always what's best for you, and that you shouldn't feel like you have to do what everyone else is doing.

I feel it cheesy to say that Dr. Seuss taught me to be myself, respect the environment, and that I am capable of anything. However, he planted the seed of those morals in my head, while also sparking my creativtity and love of pictures and stories.

However most unfortunately, my mom decided to give away my Dr. Seuss books to my cousin a couple years ago. I was surprisingly heart-broken.  I shall get those back when I have kids, whether my cousin likes it or not.

Google Guessing Games

Yes of course, the Google game. You begin typing, and it suggests what you are searching for based on what others have searched before you. Many times it's accurate. For example, if you type, "How to.." The first thing that comes up is, "How to tie a tie." Indeed, I have Googled that before. Strange, considering I'm a girl? Nahh.

Other times, the suggestions really make you wonder what other people do with their free time...
When you type, "Why do..." the first suggestion is, "Why do dogs eat grass?" Seems to be a question generated by pure curiosity. And then there is the angry, "I'm so mad right now! Why is this happening?? WHY ME?? ....hmmm maybe Google knows..." Building off the "Why do..." the angry suggestion is, "Why do men cheat?" You can only think, "Awww, poor girl. She must have been cheated on. Yet, she's asking Google for advice...interesting."

I like this game. Let's try something else. "What happens when..."
The first suggestion didn't exactly surprise me: "What happens when you die?" Very ordinary question to ask. Pretty philosophical/religious depending on how you look at it. Goes along with, "What is the meaning of life?" and "What is my purpose?" But again...how does Google know? Considering it's a search engine...and it can't technically die...*sigh*

Next search. "Who did..."
First one: "Who did Ashley pick?" At first I had no idea what that meant. Further scrolling down the screen informed me that the question is about the reality TV show, the Bachelorette. Yay.
Second, of course, the celebrity gossip question. "Who did Kim Kardashian marry?" I feel the answer to this will not benefit me in any way. Moving on.
Looking down, to the fourth suggestion, "Who did Draco Malfoy marry?" HAHA. This question actually interests me. Who did Draco marry? I am curious, however, I do not know. If the series doesn't tell you, I don't think Google will.

Going from helpful suggestions, there's the silly ones that are only there because too many people were bored. "Hi google" and "Hi google how are you" are suggested when you get to "hi go-"

I'm going to end this post with the humorous ones. Many of these made me laugh.
"Dinosaurs are..." ---> "Dinosaurs are jesus ponies."
"Let's..." ---> "Let's kill Hitler"
"Snape is..." ---> "Snape is Harry's father"
"What if the world..." ---> "What if the world was made of glazed donuts?"

P.S. Upon further inspection, I found that the last one is from a song. If you have a strange sense of humor you may enjoy listening to it. That is all.

Craving expression

Lately, I've really wanted to go out and just take pictures. Have a photoshoot of the fall scenery. I've had these cravings before- yearning to take pictures, or itching to draw or write.

I know that expression is extremely important, because without it, I don't think we would be able to function. Doing something we love, or just showing ourselves through our passions, is vital to being happy. Whether it be sports, music, art, or anything else, expression is a major part of being alive.

Encouraging people to try new things is also helping them find a potential passion or hobby. Through that, they find their way of expression. For me, drawing is usually my outlet. However, I've wanted to try my hand out at photography, but, unfortunately, haven't had much time to do so lately.

A blockage of expression would not be very healthy. To make an assumption- I think that some people who are depressed don't know how to express themselves, or just don't at all.

I also find expression through clothes. Everyday, I dress how I want: lazy, fancy, pretty, comfy, stylish, or just something completely new. Often, what I wear reflects my mood. I would hate it if I had to wear the same thing of the same gray color every day.

In my own words, expression through passion is necessary to be happy. Without it, we may not know our own purposes.