alt-J Album Review

First of all, I would like to commend alt-J on "This Is All Yours," their sophomore album released in the late months of 2014. If I haven't heard them before, I sure as hell have heard them now.

When I first heard alt-J on Spotify, I was intrigued but unconvinced. I don't know why. Up until then, I had only heard "Nara", "Hunger of the Pine", and "Every Other Freckle", and found that they were catchy and fit under my Indie music tastes. I saved the whole album to my music on Spotify and took a listen to a few other songs. As I kept listening to more Indie music, I found myself coming back to those three songs in particular.

Their sound is addicting as much as it is amazing. I haven't heard of them until recently, and holy cow, their music is raw. They speak to you even if you don't know it yet. I think I'll be an alt-J fan for a very long time.

Second of all, I can never understand the lyrics or what they're saying half the time; but, for all I care, this whole album could be instrumental and still sound good. I'd still buy it. It's not until you look up the lyrics that a whole new meaning is unveiled, and you begin to understand the depth of the lyrics even if you don't think you do. There's something relatable for everyone.

Click the link below if you don't believe me...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/this-is-all-yours/id887763843

Closet Staples

Here is a list of things every teen girl (my age - 17) should have in her closet:

• Black moto boots
• Black and white Under Armour (or Nike, the more popular and expensive brand) running shorts
• T-shirts (lots of them)
• Comfortable jeans (I suggest American Eagle, their jeans are comfortable enough to wear on a plane, but then again, so are yoga pants...)
• Tall boots (preferably brown) to wear in the fall
• Comfortable crew neck sweatshirt (to wear with those comfy black and white Under Armour/Nike shorts)
• Hoodie (an all-american staple; if you don't have one, get one pronto)
• Tank tops (for all that layering)
• Black maxi skirt
• Jean jacket
• Lace shorts (black and white/cream color)
• Leather jacket

The Fault in Our Stars book review

I had ultimately heard of this book through word of mouth and my "job" as being a TA (teacher's assistant) to SLOHS's librarian, Mrs. Sawyer. She insisted that I had to read it, and I took her advice, knowing it would take me a while to read it anyways since I have no real time for reading lengthy (if you will) books. I, initially, didn't know what to expect from John Green, assuming that he was somewhat a serious writer with, maybe, a touch of humor somewhere within the depths of his stories. Every time I waltzed into Barnes & Noble (which, by now, is almost every day, precisely after school. My grandparents wonder why they haven't set up a cot, or some makeshift bed, for me yet. I'm pretty sure almost everyone that works there knows my name and is wondering why the hell I haven't gotten the membership yet...) I see the book up by the teen fiction section, accompanied by the statement "Okay? Okay"

It looks something like this.



If you have not already read TFIOS (the book's abbreviated state), you need to do so immediately. This book, in its entirety, has made me realize that life itself is beautiful. If you question whether life is beautiful or not, you have a problem. You need to read this book.

Here's a brief synopsis of how this book is so cleverly laid out:

Hazel Lancaster is a 16 year-old girl that has cancer in her lungs, and while attending "Support Group", she meets Augustus Waters. As they start to hang out with each other and fall in love, Augustus uses his dying wish to send them both to Amsterdam, where Hazel meets an alcoholic Peter Van Houten (who wrote Hazel's favorite book, An Imperial Affliction) who, with Hazel's insisting, refuses to answer her questions about what happens after the book abruptly ends. It is in Amsterdam that Hazel realizes her true love for Augustus, and that his cancer has returned. The Fault in Our Stars deals with the risky business of two star-crossed lovers being in love with a potential amount of numbered days.

The Fault in Our Stars makes the ordinary seem extraordinary. This novel is adored by people, young and old, everywhere. I strongly encourage every living soul to read it and read it again. It makes you wonder why you take things for granted and what you can do to, and I quote, "live your best life today."

Music

My favorite album that is currently out right now is by John Newman... You may have heard of him. "Love Me Again" is his current hit single. I fell in love with his record, and especially the song "Losing Sleep." It makes me think of perfect, sunny days where you feel as though you're on top of the world and preaching it all at the same time.

Here's the link to buy it on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tribute/id776124871

I highly recommend this album. I'm looking forward to more of his work and am intrigued by his raw talent and soulful voice. He brings a fresh, new perspective to the ever growing music industry and continues amaze me. I honestly hope he wins a Grammy one of these days. Yes, he is that good. Please support him and buy his album! I'm sure you can find it elsewhere, like Amazon, too!

School and Society

School and society are a horrible mix. I've been exposed to multiple "needs" and "priorities" and "necessities" that all the schools I've attended almost require, seemingly to no end. In reality, I have great grades. I work my ass off for them, sometimes more than I need to. I truly feel like, at this point in my life, I don't need to put so much effort into something I've already achieved.

I'm definitely taking some time off after I graduate. I want to differentiate between colleges and what route I want to take for my career, work, and (possibly) college. I would also love to utilize the time to pamper myself, to relax and not have to worry about homework and projects and drama... Right now, I'm worrying about homework. How can I not? I have two projects hanging over my head. I honestly think that homework should be banned. The day ends (at least for us) at 3:10. When we go home, as do teachers, they don't want to have to think about what they have to get done and waste an hour of their time frustratingly writing down answers to something they could learn the next day. I hate everything about homework. When the school day ends, the rest of the time is supposed to be open to the students and the teachers. I had a teacher who saw it that way, and rarely gave us homework. I loved it. It was one less class I had to worry about.

What really motivates me?

Honestly, I'm still trying to figure this one out. I've changed my mind a few times about what really compels me to move forward and take initiative. Autism has always been part of me and I embrace it now more than ever. It has been a controversial topic, although I don't know why, and I only see one "solution" to it. The only thing you could ever use as controversy is how to cope with someone who is Autistic. But even then, it's not really controversial at all. It's more of a discussion. I will never understand why there are bad people out there who like to put down people with Autism or simply deny them, as if they were putting themselves down as a person, an individual. I feel very strongly about the teachers and other people in my life (some specific people from my early childhood I don't know about) who think that its okay or logical to deny my Autism. They are usually very stubborn about it, often saying, "she doesn't have Autism, there's nothing wrong with her." There is nothing wrong with me, in a bad sense. In a more general sense, my brain is the only problem. Everything else works just fine.

I may ramble onto different topics... just have to bear with me. I found out what I'm passionate about, at least... Everyone says that I'm "too young" to figure out what I want to be or what I want my future to look like. Why? Is it because that's the overall societal "rule", that you shouldn't worry about growing up when you're 17 years old? It is only another 3 years until I'm 20. I feel it is my duty to start to plan out my future so that I'm not dawdling around when I'm in my 20's or early 30's. I want to at least start to plan my future. What am I even going to do for college? A good friend of mine gave me some eye-opening advice the other day:  is college even worth it? After all the money, the stress, the preparations, the classes, the struggle, the lectures, is it worth it? It would be an incredible experience, I won't deny that, but in the end, what do you gain from having gone to college? High school sure doesn't prepare you for college. I haven't been manually taught about independent living. I took a course online about it, but that doesn't really compare. There should be a mandatory class on independent living.

Overall, I think I know what motivates me. I hope I'm able to bring it to its full extent.

Far Away

Sometimes, I just want to be in a different place, just to escape all the madness of the city. Even though I love it so much, it is reality in its truest form. I would love to spend a week in a place where the air is crisp and fresh, like Bend, OR. I fell in love with the substance of the city when I visited briefly over Thanksgiving break; I think I plan on moving there spontaneously at some point in my life. It would be really fun. There's a Barnes & Noble there, too; I would go there every day, like I do here.

One thing I've noticed is how big cities are looked at. Take Los Angeles for an example; it's a huge city, but that's not what everyone focuses on. They all like to point out L.A.'s bad side and the negatives of living in such an enormous city, such as the smog and the crime, etc. I always try to look at the brighter side of things when the general public thinks otherwise. I think one of the advantages of living in a big city is that you'd never get bored. There's always something to look at, to memorize. I think people take that for granted. They never enjoy the real beauty of L.A., like the palm trees and the sunshine. There are, of course, people that do, but whenever living in a big city comes up, there is always a negative side comment. Explain to me why thousands of people live there, then. I view big cities as huge opportunities to expand your abilities and skills, to hone them into something extraordinary. I would love to live in L.A. even if just for a month or so.

My favorite part about life is that we can travel wherever we want to; except the cost of traveling and schedules holds us back. I want to travel as much as I can when I am able to; if I'm going to live on this planet, I want to be able to see it. Who knows what the future keeps? Anything could happen.