The Party You Wish You Could Attend.

The Great Gatsby.

As summer movies rip through the cinemas of America, one currently caught my eye. The Great Gatsby on the big screen with Leonardo Dicaprio, Tobey Mcguire, Carey Mulligan and directed by Baz Luhrmen. It just sounded so good, but I knew that I needed to do my research before the movie. Will it be like the book? Will it portray every scene word for word? Well, I wouldn't know these answers till I read the book. I wrote down on my infinite list:

-Read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 

The 192 page novel had me enticed and bewildered by the sparkle and glam of the classic tale. I wish I was apart of the lavish parties thrown by the mysterious Jay Gatsby. The love affair was irresistible between Jay Gatsby and the lovely Daisy Buchanan. While the force between them makes you yell out behind the pages, you are also engulfed in a murder, several affairs and wonderful narration told by Nick Carraway. The setting is the perfect base layer for the 1925 novel. The pages are accompanied by the wonders of prohibition, the daring sensation of "flappers" and the endless amounts of leisure.

After I could appreciate the novel itself, I decided to expose myself to the movie of 2013. As I sat down in my movie chair with a kit kat in hand, I began with skeptical criticism but soon my heart softened. I automatically fell in love with every character as I was enticed by the glamful constumes and modern rap music. I have always been a Baz Lurhman fan and I have to give him a round of applause for accurately portraying the infamous novel while integrating the lyrics of Jay Z.

I highly recommend reading the quick novel and then indulging in the movie.
Write down on your infinite list:

-Read and Watch the Great Gatsby

I know for a fact, this blog post does not give you the full experience. Here is a movie trailer:
Movie Trailer

Blink.

Have you ever wondered if you were racist? Do you have a preference to the skin color you surround yourself with? Most of you will say "no, skin color doesn't matter, and we are all equal." I know, that was my response! Before I read the book, Blink, I believed that there is no room in this world for racism and discrimination, but we don't realize what is going on in our subconscious. As much as we like to think, we are not racist, our subconscious outlines what we "truly" feel. 

Every human being own a subconscious. It is a part of your mind that stores certain memories and judgments, that you are not able to access. They are expressed subconsciously and unknown, but they do define who you are. The novel, Blink by Malcolm Gladwell explores the ideas of that gut feeling that we all have at a certain point, and that we must listen to that feeling because it is from our subconscious. Through out personal, and factual stories, he outlines the importance of our subconscious. 

What does this have to do with racism? In a chapter, Gladwell explains that we don't realize that we all have preferences in skin color due to what our mind has been programmed to prefer. By the people that we come in contact every day and the people we rarely see shape the way our subconscious feels about skin color. At first, I tried to figure who I “prefer” the most, and I would guess white people. I say this because, I am white and the people that I come in contact with are mostly white. 

But “what you think”, is not what it actually is. Gladwell footnotes a website to visit in order to take a test of your subconscious and log your results. As I ventured over to the quiz, I became curious on if I am racist! Through a series of test conducted by a Harvard student, your mind associates a certain skin type with pleasant or unpleasant words. 

I was amazed by what the results hindered. It told me that towards the more “positive side” I associated positive words with White people and Asian People. And on the “negative side” I associated negative words with Black people and Hispanic People. The results showed that, I am more negative minded when it comes Black or Hispanic people. In a way, I felt a little guilty but it wasn’t my conscious that made these decisions, rather than an unknown reasoning buried deep in my mind. Some factors that play into these results are the types of people you see on a daily basis. Most of the people I come in contact with in a day, are caucasian. And where I work has a large customer demographic of Asians. 

Here is a link to the test if you are interested on seeing if you are a racist, old, conservative:

https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/Study?tid=-1 

Now, lets look at the side of why I chose to indulge in Gladwell’s reading. Not only has he hooked my attention with books like, The Tipping Point and Outliers, but he has a tone of writing that allows you to wonder why. Gladwell uses diction that is easily understandable by the average reader, and syntax that organizes a story into a whirlwind of wonder and curiosity. Some readers criticize Gladwell’s writing as childish an unimaginative, but I believe that he envelopes the reader by pointing out stories that we have all heard (and might not have heard), and pointing out the astounding connections to you and these wild stories. 

I am not quite sure how you would incorporate not being racist in your to-do list, but make sure to write:

-Read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

And this is when things begin to fall apart...

No matter how severe our mistakes our, we all make them. Some have more severe mistakes than others and other believe that their mistakes will determine the rest of their life.
Nic Sheff was a teenager growing up in the age of drugs. This was a time when everyone was doing it and didn't think of the effects or outcomes. High School was a breeding ground for addicted teenagers and headbangers. As Sheff was thrown into the mix, he did what his friends told him to do, "smoke this" "try this" "sit back and relax." As any other teenager, Nic gave in and got sucked into the dirty world of methamphetamines. Pills were his number one priority and he lost his relationship with his mother, father and the ones who loved him. In the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was wrong, but the craving for the buzz overthrew that care and love. Broken down, poor, dirty, and malnourished Nic hit rock bottom. No one would help, and he had no mode of helping himself. This is where the book ends in Tweak: the first novel written by Nic Sheff about his addiction. As he cleaned himself up, he toured around the nation advertising the book that pulled him out of the dark world and into the bright world of writing. As fans read his book, they felt connected and sad for the story that Nic lays in front of us. As the years went on of his on and off sobriety, he just couldn't take it anymore. He felt as if he was lying to the public about cleaning himself up due to his several relapses (while touring for his book). We All Fall Down is the epilogue that entails the story of his harsh relapses and the grueling effort to mend his broken wounds. If you read Tweak, you find that you are readinga very sad story about a messed up soul. But as you read We All Fall Down, you find yourself connected with a man that struggles to pick himself up again, but continues to fail. It is a personal story about his fight to become the person that he truly is and not let  the evil world of drugs take over his life.
I don't know about you, but I am the kind of person that enjoys reading real life stories. If you have the same feelings, write down in your infinitive list:
-Pick up We All Fall Down by Nic Sheff at your local bookstore

Am I not persuading you to read this book?
Here is a link for a book review: We All Fall Down Book Review

What makes you laugh?

Here is a fun story on the humor of laughing. As you read, think about "What makes you laugh?"

"Being tickled, jokes, slapstick comedians-but why? We dont really know, although researchers in California have found that may be responsible. The doctors were performing brain surgery on a 16-year old girl for epilepsy. Every time a small area at the front of her brain was electrically stimulated, she burst out laughing. The girl always came up with a reason for her mirth- "You guys are just so funny!"

Here is the website for this quote: What makes you laugh?

Now, what makes you laugh? Is it comics? Comedians? or a funny story?
Write down on your infinitive lists:

-Laugh more often.

Jill Stein, WHO?!

     Day after day, we turn on the TV, read a magazine, read a newspaper and all we see are ads on the current presidential election. Literally days before the election, I don’t understand how you can be an undecided voter, but this article is written for the one or two undecided voters out there! 

     I was informed that if I had the ability to vote, Jill Stein would be the candidate that would best represent by beliefs. I am here to give you some information for the third party candidate. This can give you a perspective of the problems that America faces in the 21st century. There are three main topics that tear at American citizen lives. Budget/Economy, Civil Rights and Tax Reform. Jill Stein has outlined a specific platform that (in my opinion) would bring America to success. 

     Budget/Economy. Jill Stein has proposed that the main source of revitalizing our economy would be through jobs. Focus on increasing jobs for Americans. She believes that the stimulus plan was not big enough, the middle class are the ones that are in a crisis, and reduce spending for the military. This is a great way  that America should go. The majority of America are the middle class. Most likely, more than half of the people that read this blog post, belong to the middle class. Doesn’t that mean that we are the ones that run America? We put in our work in order to succeed in this day and age, and Romney is introducing a tax cut for the 1%? I don’t know about you, but the 1% have more than enough money. Let’s worry about the people that actually make up the majority of America.  Another thing that Stein proposes is reducing military spending. 2013 is a new year of self sufficiency. America is turning a leaf of being self sufficient on America. We should no longer rely on foreign affairs, and start relying on ourselves. This starts with cutting down on a military we no longer need. 

     Civil Rights. Jill Stein has a Civil Rights platform consisting of equal treatment for both men and women, pro-gay marriage, pro-life. I completely agree with this section of Jill Stein’s platform. I believe that men and women that live in the same country, have the same job, and have put in the same amount of work should require the same pay. It makes absolutely no sense that a man should be payed more than a woman that can do just as good of a job. Don’t confuse this concept with feminism, this is just a concept of equality. Another issue is the pro-gay marriage idea. This is a dilemma that affects our younger Americans. We live in a day where people want to express themselves and live the way that they want to. Why should it be that we can limit what others can and can’t do. I know that no one wants to be told what to do in order to achieve happiness. 

     Tax Reform. Stein’s platform states that the 1% don’t pay large enough taxes, taxes hit the middle class the hardest, and that all tax loopholes must be closed. As a middle class american, you make enough money to sustain your lifestyle with little spending money. This doesn’t mean that you are poor, but you must maintain a steady, hard working job in order to live. Now, this is the American way. Not all people have lived the middle class life, and have been lucky enough to make it to the 1%.  The 1% is categorized as a household that makes more than $500,000 a year. Not many people make this much a year (thus the 1%). Wouldn’t you say that a one percent-er should have a higher tax rate than a person that makes $60,000 a year? Simple math for the simple mind. 

     This persuasive essay gives you somewhat of an idea of what problems we face and how Jill Stein plans on mending the holes. Take away these facts, do some research, and make up your mind for who would best represent the people in the 2012 election. 

Take out your sparkly pen and write a To Do in your infinite list:

-Go cast your vote for the 2012 election on November 6 ' 2012

The Perks.

Being in High School, you observe the people around you. What is she wearing? Why is she sitting with him? How old is he? Not only do you ask infinite questions, but you also get an idea of what High School is like, and how you are supposed to act. How should I dress? Who should I hang out with? High School will do this to a teenage girl, she will question herself and question the people around her. I say this because I am a 16 year old, girl, high school student, and I know firsthand what this world can be like. Perks of Being a Wallflower explains what high school is like, and the problems that teenagers face, whether it is deciding how you should talk to the girl next door, or how you plan to fit in. 
Chbosky writes a novel that explains the messed up, questionable, and extraordinary life of Charlie. He is determining who he wants to be, how to get the girl that he is in love with, and who he should hang out with. Sounds like another cliche teen heart-throb book, right? But here is the thing, Chbosky runs outside the lines and steps into the touchy, sensitive subjects of a teenage boy's life. 
This book is so appealing because it wraps up a high school experience in a tight package. He makes you imagine this story that weaves through a wonderful high school year with two amazing friends. I read each sentence with excitement to see what happens next. Wrapped up in a quick 213 pages. 

Did I not catch your attention with my blog post? Maybe a link to the movie trailer might :)

Take out a pencil, and scribble this in your infinite list: 
        -READ Perks of Being a Wallflower