Its the SUMMER. And for some odd reason people get really offended about the way females dress. Like wearing crop tops , bandeau tops , high waisted shorts , etc. When I’m on the train or walking, I get weird stares from many older women. Once I had a woman tell me that I should not wear those kind of clothes because men are going to “get the wrong idea” or that I’m attracting the “wrong attention”. In my opinion, men are going to stare regardless because they’re men. It’s human i guess. Why would i over dress myself when its almost 100 degrees outside? Also, I think if my parents are not saying anything about my outfits then a stranger has no right to tell me anything. Strangers may assume I’m not raised right, but both of my parents work for the law enforcement, so its expected for them to say more than a stranger. I am not saying its okay to be half naked all the time, because I’ll admit there are a lot of girls who really go over board and wear things that are basically under clothes. Honestly, at the end of the day, people are going to say whatever they want because they feel their two cents is so important. Oh, well.
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The Words of Love
It occurred to me one day that almost every song that I listen to sings of love. I haven’t written poetry since my heart was broken, and now that I’m in love, I feel the sudden urge to pick up a pen and write.
Why is it that it’s the easiest to write and be creative when it has to do with your heart? I know bands that have entire albums dedicated to a girl. I mean take Taylor Swift. I have never heard a song of hers that hasn’t been about romance. Hell, facebook began because of a bad break up.
As I doodled in my journal, I realized something:
Love is the universal language.
It’s like the math of emotions. No matter who you are, you can listen to a love song and identify with it. Maybe not completely, but there’s always like a sense of understanding between the artist and the listener. At least for me.
Then I started thinking, how would a person who isn’t a hopeless romantic relate to the endless mentioning of love in the media? Would they?
I’ve always wanted to meet someone that didn’t believe in love and ask them what they thought of love being the universal language.
I imagine it would go like this:
Me: Hi my name is Michelle. I just want to ask, what would you say to someone who said love is the universal language?
Tom (yes I made him up): (laughs) Love? A universal language? That’s funny.
Me: Why do you think so?
Tom: Love…It makes you do irrational things, makes you forget what’s really important in life. like what your future holds, and I mean the real future, not what you’ll have for breakfast tomorrow. I’m talking about where you’ll be in ten years, you know? It makes you forget about all that stuff. And for what? It gets you all off track and then dumps you. My motto is, it’s better just to live life and have fun while you can.
Maybe it won’t go that way. I don’t know. I just know that these people exist, and I would love to tell someone’s story why they feel that way.
Because isn’t that what journalism is about? Telling the stories of the people who don’t have a voice in society, and get their words out.
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Midnight Madness
It has become a tradition amongst Harry Potter fans to buy their tickets in advance, get dressed up in fancy costumes and camp out for hours to watch the midnight release of the movies, and this final movie was a perfect example of this practice. People started lining up for the midnight showing at six in the afternoon, with elaborate costumes resembling all the characters- From famous Harry, Ron and Hermonie, to a group of prisoners of azkaban, the infamous Bellatrix and Draco. One extreme fan even went the extra mile to dress as Hedwig, Harrys beloved owl. The costumes and enthusiastic movie go-er’s made the wait for the movie much more bearable. For me personally, going to the midnight release of the final movie was a new experience. I always wanted to go, but I was never able to get a hold of the tickets, or never had the time to go. But I was determined to go this year. It was amazing to sit amongst the most dedicated fans and watch as they played trivia, asking questions like “what is Albus Dumbledore’s favorite flavor of jam?” and other questions of the sort. And the movie was so good, I found myself tearing up near the end. The people who were calling out Dumbledore’s favorite flavor of jam, were crying their eyes out, with tissues and everything as if they knew they were going to be sobbing by the end.
I think that it hasn’t really hit people that the series is over, and there is no more Harry Potter. However, almost all the fans I talked to at the premiere said they are going to make their kids read the books and watch the movies. So if you think about it, Harry Potter will always be there. Forever.
Zumba!
I go to a gym in my neighborhood that offers Zumba classes. Zumba combines Latin and International music to make an exercise routine that I think is great. So far, I’ve gone to about seven 45-minute Zumba classes at my local gym and I think they’re awesome! It’s fun and not very hard. Anyone can do Zumba classes. In the classes, you see people of all ages, from 15-years-old to people in their 50s (no lie!). You also see people of all different shapes and sizes.
The music they play is usually Latin, like bachata and cumbia. Sometimes they even play reggaeton, and the dance moves are usually the basics. If people want to try an exercise that won’t bore them and isn’t repetitive, I recommend Zumba. I see Zumba becoming bigger in the future, and hopefully most people will have gone to at least one Zumba class. I really enjoy Zumba and I think that I’ll continue going if I have the time to.
I'll Make You Proud Dad
In a family like mine, making parents happy can be a very tough thing to do. My mother always nags me to straighten my back, because I am not tall enough. Or she insists I eat less, because I am not skinny enough. Or she pushes me to study 24/7, because a 95 average is not good enough. The same goes for my father, a man who will be deeply ashamed if I am not accepted into at least one Ivy League school. Of course, I am not angry at them. They do have a right to nag me. After all, they both have sacrificed so much in order for me to succeed in life, which means getting into an Ivy League school and getting a job that would pay me a fortune. However, what if my idea of success differs from theirs?
I would like to go into the field of journalism. I have also thought and dreamed about majoring in film. However, both of these jobs are the opposite of high-paying, and that is something my parents do not stand for. Only the luckiest people earn high wages in these fields, and high wages is something I will need in the future to repay my parents for all their hard work. It just tears me apart, thinking about my future. I would hate to have to wake up everyday in a sharp business suit and enter a boring cubicle of an office at 8 am. Money doesn’t really matter to me. As long as I have a roof over me, some food, some clothes and a job that I love, I think my future self will be satisfied. It’s just my parents holding me back from pursuing a job that I want. I need to pay them back, I just need to, and the reason I need to has been drilled into me since childhood.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say. Yeah, not everyone can live their dreams. Not everyone can be lucky. Sometimes, we have to leave what we want behind, so we can grow up and repay those that have helped us along the road. It is important to give thanks, and in order to do that, people sometimes have to give up their dreams.
School vs. Summer
I find it very interesting that during the school year, especially during the last months of school, everyone is dying for the school year to end. All the students are talking about how this summer is going to be amazing, and how they just can’t wait until they’re finally out of school. But then summer comes, and everyone is still complaining. People feel that they’re bored, that they have nothing to do, and that school needs to start already.
School is so stressful. Some students feel they need the summer to finally have fun. But, other students need school to start so they can be productive. My friends and I complain how we won’t have time for each other during the school year, but somehow we end up hanging out all the time, and we don’t even go to the same school or live in the same neighborhoods. However, when school is done and summer arrives, I barely ever see my friends!
It bothered me for a while and I couldn’t understand why that happened. But, when I think about it, teenagers are always busy. Teenagers have deadlines, homework, tests, projects and they can barely think straight. Teenagers are more motivated to escape their crazy hectic lives and reach out to their close friends. If they need to vent or just need to laugh, they will want to want to hang out with their friends.
Teenagers seem to be a lot less stressed during the summer, and yet they don’t use their free time to do all the activities they said they were going to do. I know this doesn’t apply to every group of friends, but it definitely applies to mine.
Summer is hot, beaches are open, water parks are just a car ride away and fun seems to be everywhere.Yet, my friends and I barely see much of each other.
As much as I do not like the stress and work of the school year, being able to spend time with my friends makes it worth it.
Time Ticking By
Time passes us in an instant. It speeds across the world and is a part of life. Time effects everyone and people deal with it in different ways. For me, it’s hard to fully embrace the concept of time going by. I suppose I’m scared to admit that it is summer, for the fear that it will quickly end.
When I go to California at the end of the summer to visit my family, time goes by so fast, despite me trying to hold onto every second. I spend my summers in Julian, California, where my brother and I would run barefoot across the caked earth to see the mesmerizing sunset every night, in every shade of color possible. I used to close my eyes and pray that moment would last forever. Yet, as part of nature, time just goes by and the moment soon ends.
In 3rd grade, I remember reading the book “Tuck Everlasting.” I used to wish that I could live forever like the protagonists Tuck and May. Yet, as time went by, I came to terms with Winnie Foster’s decision to not live forever, because then life wouldn’t be the same. If I could live forever I wouldn’t treasure the small things in life, like hearing rain storms in the country or swimming in the salty ocean with the sun beating across your skin. When I think about it now, I’m glad time goes by quickly and allows me to experience new chapters of life. Yet, once you admit that your childhood has slipped away, it’s even harder to admit that summer will come to an end, and the new school year will occur in no time. So, despite it seeming foolish, summer is a small part of me that I never want to slip by.
Around The World in 80 Seconds
I never realized how quaint of a neighborhood Jamaica is. Located in the heart of Queens, Jamaica truly exhibits the idea of New York as a “melting pot”. Here, South Asians, African Americans, East Asians, West Indians, Hispanics and European Americans can all be seen mingling in one central area: Hillside Avenue.
A short walk down this neighborhood is almost like touring the globe. On the corner of 168th Street, South Asian women proudly wear traditional garb (the selwar-kameez) or religious wear (the burqa) and gossip about the latest happenings in the Desi community. Nearby, Hispanic day laborers banter away in rapid Spanish as they wait for the next Manhattan-bound bus. Occasionally, a visitor can hear the unique twang that Caribbean English possesses when Guyanese and Trinitarian members of the community are talking.
Jamaica residents come from all walks of life, and success crosses all color barriers. Asians, Latinos, blacks, and whites alike own businesses throughout the area. College students of all colors can be seen taking the Q46 up to St. John’s University. What fascinates me most about Jamaica is the mosque. Masjid al-Mamoor, better known as the Jamaica Muslim Center, is unlike any mosque I have ever came across. For starters, the mosque has separate accommodations for women, which is uncommon among most mosques in New York City. Evening prayers usually have congregations of 100 people, greater than that of most other mosques. Even the imam is different. Imam Shamsi Ali is the most progressive and moderate imam I have met. Unlike most imams, this spiritual leader is not camera shy and is open to interviews with the media.
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New Song Review: Otis Redding by Kanye West & Jay-Z
In todayâÂÂs society, it seems as though the entire Hip-Hop genre has been misconstrued and given a new meaning. With new artists recording mediocre and expletive-filled music, not only are the songs hard to listen to, but the songs also insinuate that this is not a genre that people should continue to take seriously when in fact, it is. Fortunately, a bit of life was implemented in Hip-Hop this evening when Jay-Z and Kanye West leaked: Otis Redding, a song off of their upcoming album âÂÂWatch the Throne.”
While listening to the song, I was immediately drawn to the soulful and simplistic vibe it exuded. It’s not everyday that you come across a Hip-Hop song that doesn’t have an obnoxious beat which, in most cases, is the decisive factor that determines if a song will be popular or not. After being drawn in, I was captured when both artists took turns rapping without uttering an overwhelming amount of expletives or degrading lyrics. Both Jay-Z and Kanye West have proven themselves to be artists who are capable of producing music of quality and versatility. In my opinion, Otis Redding is the paragon that supports this statement. Essentially, I can honestly say that I am disappointed with the turn Hip-Hop has taken. However, with artists such Kanye West and Jay-Z, I am confident that despite the immense amount of ignorant music, there will be more music of substance to look forward to.