Winter Wonderland

      I don't get it. I really, really don't get it. How come it's December and there hasn't really been any snow? Well there was, like yesterday morning when I woke up to see pretty thick snowflakes falling onto the white ground I got so excited! Until later that day that snow turned into water, than my excitement turned into disappointment. I don't know, unlike a lot of people I know, I actually do like snow and I'll go as far as to say Winter is my favorite season. Why? Well, Summer is way too hot and sticky especially Iowa Summer's, meanwhile Winter should be cold and covered in a thick blanket of glistening snow. But for some reason, this year is just like last year, little to no snow. 
       Snow is a part of the weather, it's something most of us have dealt with for most of our lives, whether we like it or not we do know how to deal with it but for a person not to have a "White Christmas" is just not the same as a "Brown Christmas", at least not to me. Last year was the first year, that I remember, when we didn't have a "White Christmas", I was disappointed because it just didn't feel like Christmas, the feeling of fresh snow falling on the ground on Christmas Eve was gone and I don't know about you but I love that feeling! I love snow, I love how it sparkles under the moonlight every night and I love how crunchy it sounds underneath my boots on my way inside my house and I love the crisp air, Winter is like Wonderland to me. So it's really disappointing to see that it still hasn't snowed yet. 
       Who knows, maybe we will have a "White Christmas" this year but at this rate I find it very unlikely. I mean just last week it was seventy degrees out! Seventy degrees. Seventy degrees, in Winter, in Iowa. Iowa Winter's consist of the bitter cold, fuzzy socks, and annoying Winter jackets; they're not, they shouldn't consist of shorts, tank tops and sandals. This is just ridiculous! For the last few years the weather here in Iowa has just gotten more and more bipolar, it's confusing. 
        A White Christmas, that is all I'm asking for. I won't mind if we don't get snow until than but I'd really like it if it snowed on Christmas.

(405 words)

Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi

        Destroy Me by Tahereh Mafi is book 1.5 in the Shatter Me series. The reason it's 1.5 is because it takes place between book 1 (Shatter Me) and book 2 (Unravel Me due to come out on February 5, 2013). You don't really need to read this book in order to read the second book but I decided I wanted to because it's from the antagonist's point of view. This book is also, as far as I know, only available as a digital book, so I was able to buy it on my phone.
      Destroy Me follows Warner, the son of the leader of a dystopian society: The Reestablishment. The Reestablishment is divided into sectors and Warner is the leader of Sector 45. After being shot in the arm by Juliette in the first book, Shatter Me, Destroy Me follows Warner in his quest to look for Juliette, Adam, and Kenji. 
       Though it's not necessary to read this book before the second book, I decided I would because I thought it'd be interesting to read from Warner's point of view. What I liked about it is I was able to understand him a little bit more but it also left me with the same questions: Why is Warner the way he is? And what is with his obsession with Juliette? These questions were somewhat answered in the book but I didn't think it was enough and I really wish the author, Tahereh Mafi would have expanded more in her answers. 
         I liked that I was able to see a different side of Warner. In Shatter Me he seemed cruel and relentless but in this book I find him a lot more vulnerable and I almost feel bad for the guy. 
         What I didn't like about the book was the plot, well, actually, more like the lack of a plot. I don't know if it's because this book is in between two books but shouldn't a book still have a plot even though it's shorter than your average book? Not much really happened except that I got to see what he was up to after the events in Shatter Me. One of the most interesting things I would say happened was meeting his father and how he interacted with him, that at least helped me understand, a little, why Warner appears to be cruel. 
       Destroy Me was easy to read in a short time period, I liked seeing things from Warner's point of view, but I didn't like the plot. I give Destroy Me 3 out of 5 stars.  

(428 words)

Warrior by Ke$ha

      Warrior by Ke$ha is her, official, second studio album. The album was recently released in the United States on November 30, 2012.  She has stated that this album is supposed to be more personal than her other albums (Animal and Cannibal) with "magic" as the overall theme. Another theme she wanted to capture was the idea that everyone has a warrior within them, which would explain the album being titled: Warrior. Compared to her past songs, her first album, and her EP's, her style in music has stayed the same with electropop, dance-pop, and electronic rock styles. There are a few slower songs then usual but they generally still have the same style within them.
      Listening to the album, I would say that only a few really stood out for me. These would include her first single: Die Young. Die Young is a song that can easily get stuck in your head when you initially hear it, it's one of those songs that you either really, really hate or a song that you just can't get enough of. For me, Die Young would classify under a song that I can't get out of my head when I hear it.
     Another song that I really liked is called Supernatural, it's a little different from her other songs but not as much. When I say it's different I mean the lyrics. I'm the type of person who likes not only the beat of a song but also the lyrics, if I love the beat and I can relate to the lyrics then it can be classified as my perfect song. Usually, when I'm listening to Ke$ha, I don't really relate to her songs. I relate to them sometimes but the enough, the only reason I like listening to her music is because her electropop style is something that's different for me and it makes listening to her fun.
      Anyways, so what really stood out about Supernatural was a slight change in her lyrics. I liked that I was able to relate to most of it but she still added in her usual, dirty little comments which made it still Ke$ha and not some completely other person singing this. This was somewhat of a twist when it comes to her sound, it still has that electropop vibe but I think it's a lot more slower than her usual songs and I liked this direction she was going with this song, it was different and it was fresh for her. I definitely liked this song and this would be a great track for her to steer into a slightly different sound than usual.
       Overall, the album was definitely a lot more personal than her past ones, she didn't completely eliminate her past sound but she did change up her lyrics which is what made it personal. I give the album 3 out of 5 stars.

(481 words)

Secret Santa

      The chiming of the Salvation Army bells, the chilly wind, the (sometimes, actually a lot of the time) annoying holiday music at the mall or really anywhere you go (you just can't escape it!), the smell of annual scents like peppermint, a lot of holiday cookies with colorful Christmas colors, and the anticipation from people like me for Winter Break to finally come! That could pretty much sum Christmas up but than again I feel like it's more than that. But than there's the biggest issue, what to get your family and friends.
     My family and my extended family always have a Secret Santa thing set up, we gather together on Thanksgiving and have a Thanksgiving dinner together then we all put our names into a hat and we pull out a name and we then have to get a gift for that person. That's how Secret Santa works. Then, on Christmas Eve we gather together at my cousin's house, we have dinner, then comes the gifts!
     Getting a gift for your person is always tricky though, I mean you want the person to like the gift, right? So when buying a gift you need to keep some things in mind:

• Think about favorites, take into account their favorite actor/ actress, movie, book (if they read, I realize not all people read because they hate it), sports team, band/ artist, or a place to eat.

     Once you have that favorite thing in mind then get something relating to it, say your best friends favorite actor is Channing Tatum and her favorite actress is Rachel McAdams, it would probably be an amazing idea to get her The Vow, you know, assuming she doesn't have it yet.

• Think about the price limit, you obviously don't want to spend too much but you also don't want to be cheap. So say the price limit is from 20 to 30, then spending about 25 seems pretty decent.

     And finally:

• Think about quality, I like my presents to last pretty long like most people probably do, so don't be too cheap and invest in something that seems like it's worth the price. Look up reviews online if possible, that's usually a good, helpful indicator. 

(369 words)

Reached by Ally Condie

      Reached by Ally Condie is the third and final book of the Matched Trilogy. It was released a while ago on November 13, 2012. The book takes place after the events of Crossed. This book is told from the point of view from three different people the main characters, Cassia Reyes, Ky Markham, and Xander Carrow.
     What I liked about this book was the fact that it was told by different point's of views, I always like it when an author does that because it gives me insight on different characters and it helps me get to know the character better and understand why they're doing what they're doing even if I don't support them for some reason. It's no different with Reached, I enjoyed reading each characters story and I liked seeing that they were doing their own thing and they weren't just moping around for their loved ones like some characters sometimes do in stories. 
      Another thing I liked about this book was the style, like the first two in the series, Reached was beautifully written. I feel like you'd understand once you've read the books, there's something about Ally Condie's writing that it poetic and almost lyrical. Her style is almost whimsical, it's fancy and it's somewhat playful and I absolutely adore it! When I was reading this series I thought so much about the style of her writing and how much I wished I could write just as good as her one day, hopefully I will be able to at some point in my life.  
     There are few things that I didn't like about the book but the biggest one would probably be the lack of foreshadowing, some things just sort of felt like they were thrown at me and I was definitely not expecting them. I felt like Ally Condie could have worked on that a little more by actually dropping some hints every now and than so I wouldn't be confused on where that came from. 
     All in all, I adore this series, it's different from other dystopia novels I've read (and since The Hunger Games, it's been a lot) and the biggest difference is her style of writing. It's beautiful and to me, it makes her really stand out. I'm sad that this series has ended but a movie is set to come out so obviously I'll go see it! I give Reached 4 out of 5 stars.

(405 words)

Take Me Home by One Direction

            The second album of the very popular band, One Direction, is called Take Me Home. Take Me Home was released on November 9, 2012 and it includes singles like Live While We're Young, and Little Things. According to band member Niall Horan the third single is going to be Kiss You.
           Take Me Home begins with the song, the first single off the album, Live While We're Young and it finishes off with Summer Love. What I liked about the album was that it was catchy, I mean who doesn't love a catchy song, right? And I liked a lot of the lyrics, lyrics are always one of the main parts of a song, and I think the lyrics of a lot of the songs from their album, Take Me Home were nice and relatable to a lot of people. The lyrics should always tell a story and remind you about your own story and that's exactly what happens on this album.
         The album has a lot of pop and the lyrics aren't something completely new but they do add their mark of originality in some way, depending on the song. The vocals of all the members is just the beginning of the originality the album gets because each member has their own vibrant, voice. Each song tells a beautiful story and snippets of lyrics from songs all over the album are relatable.
        There is one song that is quite a change from their usual pop sound and that was Rock Me, the song is definitely something I wasn't expecting and it was nice to be pleasantly surprised. I would say that Rock Me was one of my favorite songs and the chorus is still stuck in my head. The lyrics to Rock Me are somewhat typical in a pop album but they had a certain beauty to them and they were definitely catchy and easy to learn. I would say that it would be a crime if this song didn't become a single!
         Other songs that really stood out for me were Live While We're Young and They Don't Know About Us.
         Live While We're Young is a simple, catchy song that anyone can sing and even if you hate One Direction, I guarantee that when you hear this song blasting on the radio, it'll be stuck in your head throughout the day. Don't deny it, I'm sure it has happened.
         They Don't Know About Us is like your typical forbidden love, the Romeo and Juliet story. Two, young lovers can't be together and every one is against them. This song is a beautiful story, it's been told before but the melody and the vocals give it a different spin. Again, this is another song that should be a single.
         Take Me Home by One Direction has a similar vibe to their first album and I like it, I wouldn't mind seeing them do more songs like Rock Me though. The more popular they get the more variety they should have in their songs. I give Take Me Home 3.5 out of 5 stars.

(515 words)

New Trimester

           Finally! A new trimester! The last one seemed to go on forever and ever, I think it was the longest one I ever experienced and probably the worst one I've done, you know grade wise. Yeah, my grades were definitely what I would have liked them to have been which is why I'm going to try different things this term in order to improve. Maybe you'll be able to find something you can use to improve on some aspect of your life. Anyways, here's the list:

      

• Actually pay attention to what's going on in class and have complete focus, or enough of it to do well in class. Yes, I know this one is a no brainer but last term, for a reason that I won't share, I just seemed to be distracted like constantly, it honestly didn't matter what class I was in. My attention was never really focused on whatever class I was in in that moment, half of it was there and I don't know about other people but I can't do well in a class if I'm not completely focused on it in that moment.
• Use a planner. I own one but like most people, I say that I'll use it in the beginning of the year and I do at first but then I lose the habit of actually using it. This trimester, I'll actually try, again, to use it every day. Otherwise I forget what's due on a certain day and that doesn't help my grades in any way.
• Get my homework done when it's first assigned. A lot of teachers, I would actually say most of them, give out assignments and they usually give us a few days to a few weeks to get the assignment done. So I think I'm going to try to get my homework done when it's first assigned so that way I don't have to worry about it later on and that way I don't have piles of homework building up on my desk at home because then it's depressing to look at.
• Get help from teachers. So last trimester I did pretty decent in most of my classes except two which would by Algebra 2 and A.P.E.S and even than I did better at a college level course compared to a regular high school class, not going to lie, it's kind of sad. Anyways, this trimester if I have trouble than I will definitely go ask my teachers for help. Last trimester, I rarely did but this time I will.

(423 words)