R1 - End of the Year

The end of the school year is my favorite time of the year because it means a whole summer away from high school. I feel like the end of the school year symbolizes a time for change. Many people come back from summer different than the last year. Though it is only 2 months, that time is critical in a student’s life because it’s a time to relax and prepare for another 8 months of learning. I personally love the end of this year because I don’t have to come back. High school is a tough place for many people because we think that who we are in high school is who were going to be forever. It’s hard to get around the idea that the friends you have now aren’t going to always be around. They won’t matter as you take you’re first promotion at a job you worked to get.

High School has its purpose it’s something that takes four years of your life to teach you the basics of education. Some understand it better than others, some drop out, and some wish it all to be over. I can’t think of a time that I will always want to remember because I’ve changed so much over the years. I know that the second I throw my cap in the air I will be on my own and none of those things will matter. 

                Alden’s education system is one of the best public schools I know, of course, but I can’t lie and say I will be sad to leave. I want to go and use the knowledge I’ve learned here and apply it in the outside world. Summer is my favorite time of year. I am very excited to graduate and head off to a new life. It’s been real Alden High School.

It’s been real.

Q4- Choice American Idol

I believe that I can write about this now. American Idol is coming to a close this season and we’ve got some seriously good singers poppin’ off. The top three include Joshua Ledet, Jessica Sanchez, and Phillip Phillips. The three are all unique in their own way but Joshua Ledet seems to be the shining star this season. He is an old soul and a throwback for the judges but he kicks the songs out of the park. He can work a microphone to his advantage and he knows just how much power to use. I think that if I had to choose who was going to win before next Thursday night, it would be him. He brings a huge gospel voice to the competition and it’s something the show has missed for a very long time.

He has been compared to Adam Lambert of season 8. He’s always consistent and continually surprising. We don’t have to worry when he gets on stage because we KNOW that he’s going to own the song and make it his own.  This is not the case with young Jessica. She has a very powerful Beyonce-like voice but she doesn’t have the consistency that Beyonce or Joshua has. She has conquered a few songs but fails to show us who she really is. I am surprised that Jessica is in the top 3 because I thought that either Colton Dixon or Skylar Lane was going to take her place, but throughout the season the others just didn’t compare to her power. She has a cruise-ship-like feel to her performance because she doesn’t make it her own. This is Joshua’s strongest point. He makes every song his own and shines every time he gets on stage. I am not sure who will win but I am positive in my heart, Joshua has taken home the prize. He deserves it, he’s an artist.

I don't like Phillip Phillips at all...so there's nothing to talk about.

Q3 - English

English is my favorite subject so I like a lot of the novels we read. I think that my favorite book is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. We read this novel in AP Literature. This novel was really well written and it talked about some of the things I’m most passionate about. The novel is set in 1899 and women were still considered property of the men of that time. I don’t know what that is like but I do know that I would not have survived in a time like that.  I feel like the life Edna lives is because she’s in survival mode. I find it difficult to understand how just because a society tells someone how to act they’re going to do it and be happy. If I lived in that time I wouldn’t be able to follow those rules. I don’t think of myself as a man’s property. I am independent and any man that I’m with has to treat me as an equal. Did Edna feel the same way I do? Is it because of the time period that it was so foreign for her culture?  It makes me think about the way we live today. Do the thoughts of people evolve over time? Is true independence for women only sought for in modern times?

I guess I liked this book because it made me think. I don’t remember a book ever making me think about life in such a way. I enjoy the Feminist Movement because I see myself as one of those women who just yearn to be equal in a world of superiors. I don’t know if that is ever truly capable because one is always higher than the other, but I do believe that it can level itself out. It’s definitely on its way.

Q2 - Cultural Icon Kirk Franklin

I have already written about my favorite actor, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, so I will not write about him anymore. I have chosen someone from my favorite genre of music. Gospel music has significantly changed my life and it started with a man named Kirk Franklin. Kirk Franklin is a man who has a talent that runs deep but understands the gift God gave him. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that he is blessed with a talent. His music consists of Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, and Contemporary. He directs a chorus of extremely talented people and preaches in the foreground.

Kirk has gotten me through many hard times. His songs, for me, are relatable and truthful. They explain what everyday people feel, every day. He works with some of the best Christian Gospel artists out there. The best thing about Kirk, though, is that he himself is a man who struggles with a bad past but chooses to follow Christ fully, and with joy. He has put 12 albums out in the past two decades. Every one of them have been filled with the best of the best when it comes to Talent and Spirituality. You can tell through his music that he loves himself some Jesus.

Kirk has won seven GRAMMY® Awards, 35 Stellar Awards, 11 Dove Awards (CCM), five NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards, and an American Music Award.

I can’t imagine how I would have gotten where I am today without the influence of his music.

Kirk directs a chorus of extremely talented and undoubtedly anointed singers. They bring heart, drive, love, and peace to a very sticky situation. It’s a gift that I believes comes directly from God so that he is able to bless people like me with a voice like his. I can honestly say that out of all the music I listen to, Kirk Franklin brings it all to the table. He comes ready to play.   

Q1 - A Single Man

Look out; this choice blog is going to be FULL of spoilers. To all those who don’t like to know anything about a movie before seeing it, don’t read this.

A Single Man

A film starring Colin Firth as George, Mathew Good as Jim, and Julianne Moore as Charley. On November 30, 1962, George, an English professor at a college in Los Angeles is finding that coping with his life is becoming a hard thing to do. 8 months ago he lost his partner of sixteen years, Jim. He decides on this day that he can no longer pretend to be someone he isn’t.

“George: It takes time in the morning for me to become George, time to adjust to what is expected of George and how he is to behave. By the time I have dressed and put the final layer of polish on the now slightly stiff but quite perfect George I know fully what part I'm supposed to play.”

He dresses in the morning, like always, but changes his path forever. He has decided that he’d commit suicide that evening. Throughout the day he gathers his important belongings, his money, and his funeral outfit, everything for pre and post funeral. He goes through the day remembering his life with Jim, the love they shared, the dogs they had. Meanwhile, he meets people who are noticing him slowly changing. Carlos, an immigrant/actor, Charley, his best friend and ex-girlfriend whom still has feelings for him, despite his sexual orientation, and Kenny, a student of his who has a curiosity about who his teacher really is.

This film explores everything from a gay relationship, to philosophical truths, to beautiful cinematography. The scenes move from under-saturation to over-saturation based on George’s feeling of the situation he’s in. This film is absolutely beautiful and totally meaty. This is a true love story, one that you simply don’t see on the Regal screens.

“George: I always used to tell him that only fools could possibly escape the simple truth that now isn't simply now: it's a cold reminder. One day later than yesterday, one year later than last year, and that sooner or later it will come.”

Colin Firth was absolutely flawless in this film. He won ten awards for Best Actor was nomination for nine others. Mathew Goode was exceptional. I have written about him in Brideshead Revisited. This is another level for the both of them. You wanted to be in the room with them just to listen to them talk.

Alright I’m done, it was phenomenal…for real.

P5 - Choice #2

This blog is going to be one of the more intense. I have watched two movies in the past weekend that have significantly changed the way I view my life. These movies are meaty. They get your attention and they don’t let you go until you go to bed that night.

The first one is Dancer in the Dark, a crime and drama thriller. The film made in 2000, starring the Icelandic singer Björk, is all about a woman who moves from East Europe to America with her young son. She expects that life in America would be like a Hollywood film, little did she know, it’s a lot different than that. It’s 1964 and Selma is in search for a cure for her son’s disease. He is at risk of suffering from the disease she currently has. The disease will inevitably make her blind. She works day and night to save up for the operation. She has the energy because she lives life through her love of musicals. When things get hard, she can escape to the musical world she believes exists, but only for a few moments. This film was extraordinary, the writing was some of the best I’ve seen, and Björk was brilliant. As the lead actress and main character Björk won best actress in the Edda Awards (Iceland), European Awards, and many others.

Jeff: You can't see, can you?

Selma: What is there to see?

The Piano is the next film I’m going to suggest. This film was brilliant. Starring Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, and Sam Neill, this film explores life in New Zealand during the 1850s. Ada McGrath, a mute woman, her piano and her daughter, Flora, are sent to live with Alisdair Stewart, Ada’s new husband. The two were arranged, which can only mean hostility. The wealthy landowner brings his new wife home, and she’s soon lusted after by a local plantation worker. Her new home is not what she thought that it would be, and things get worse when her husband forces her to give her piano to the neighbor, George. She is asked to give him lessons on her piano. Soon she learns that she can get her piano back from George, under a few conditions. At first, Ada cannot stand George but as the relationship progresses it turns into something very different.  The film is beautifully shot, well-acted, and edited perfectly.

Ada: [signing] I have told you the story of your father many many times.

Flora: Oh, tell me again! Was he a teacher?

Ada: [signing] Yes.

Flora: How did you speak to him?

Ada: [signing] I didn't need to speak. I could lay thoughts out in his mind like they were a sheet.

Flora: Why didn't you get married?

Ada: [signing] He became frightened and stopped listening.