Movies

What makes a great movie? 

            Well i'd like to start off by saying that I really don't enjoy movies. If my friends say they want to watch a movie I yell at them. Why? Because if you're in a group of people that you care about why would you want to sit there in silence and watch other people have fun? Why not go out and do something fun? Socialize. Interact with each other. 

            But, when I have down time to myself, I have found myself enjoying a certain genre of movie. I usually like romances. I'm a secret sap. I love watching others fall in love. Usually a movie that I would consider enjoyable also includes a sad ending. In an article I read, it suggested that we enjoy movies that we can relate to. Well, I don't really love anyone, but I know someday I want to. So, I guess that's why I enjoy romances. A lot of movies I like also involve people being sick, or people making hard choices. Again, something i'm quite familiar with.

                                             Examples: 

If I Stay 
MOVIE TRAILER

(My all time favorite movie) 

"Life changes in an instant for young Mia Hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than she had imagined. The choice is hers if she can go on." (IMDB)

“I realize now that dying is easy. Living is hard.” 

― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

“I'm not choosing, but I'm running out of fight.” 

― Gayle Forman, If I Stay ...ugh this quote though.

“I just wanted to tell you that I understand if you go. It’s okay 

if you have to leave us. It’s okay if you want to stop fighting.” 

― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

“I have a feeling that once you live through something like 

this, you become a little bit invincible.” 

― Gayle Forman, If I Stay

A Little Bit of Heaven 
TRAILER

"An irreverent young woman who uses her humor to prevent matters from getting serious has a life-changing visit with her doctor." (IMDB)

Marley: "As I haven't found the right guy yet."
Vinnie: "Oh sh*t, who wouldn't want a girl like you?
You, are just afraid to let them in 
because if you do and they reject you
it is the worst than death."

Bride and Prejudice

 TRAILER

"Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice gets a Bollywood treatment." (IMDB)

Crazy, Stupid, Love 

TRAILER

"A middle-aged husband's life changes dramatically when his wife asks him for a divorce. He seeks to rediscover his manhood with the help of a newfound friend, Jacob, learning to pick up girls at bars." (IMDB)

These are the movies that I could watch a million times without getting bored. In the article we read, they also mentioned that in order to enjoy a move, characters that you felt a connection to were important. 

I totally agree with that! 

I love movies that show me something that I want. 

In If I Stay, the main character, Mia, has this amazing family that supports her in whatever she does. She falls in love and has a seemingly perfect life. 

A Little Bit of Heaven relates to me in a way that i'd rather not talk about. I love the fact that the movie ends the way it's supposed to. There is no magical cure. The movie is not considered happy or sad. No one really changes what they do because you're sick. Life continues on. Great lesson in there somewhere.

To be honest,  I like Bride and Prejudice just because Jane Austin always writes amazing love stories. Seeing the Indian version was really interesting. All of the colors and dancing makes for a fun watch. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love is a funny romantic comedy. I love this movie because it makes you happy, sad, and amused at the same time. It's just an epic love story that shows that no matter how bad things get, it can still end up okay in the end. Just because people don't end up the way you expected, that doesn't mean everything just ends.

20 Years of Advice and Almost Nothing to Show for it.

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Click Here For Music 

Click Here For a 
Creepy Adorable
 Song



      Throughout my years I have received plenty of good and bad advice. 

Surprisingly, a lot of the bad advice has come from my parents, and a lot of the good advice has come from some of my close friends. Seems backwards, does it not?

Bless my poor parents hearts. They tried, but advice was never really their forte. 

The most recent advice my step-adoptive father thing told me was to (excuse my language) screw everyone else and to just pay attention to me. He told me that everyone else is going to hate me, and that I had to look out for me and me only. 

He meant well. I know he did. But in the end, I don't want to live that way. It was a prefect example of the "Parents are People too," argument.

All of my parents "advice" is along those lines.

I remember when I was little, my parents told me that people weren't going to like me if I didn't change my personality. I was around 10 at the time, and I wasn't the happiest kid. I never really talked to anyone. This is what they were referring to by my "personality." I knew what they meant. I needed to talk and not look miserable all the time if I wanted to make friends. But things like that sort of tainted my thought about receiving advice form others. Growing up I remember thinking that people weren't going to like me because of who I was naturally, and I find that that still affects me today. 

I don't really ask my adoptive mom for advice. I'll talk to her about my problems, but I don't ever ask for her opinion on how I should handle them. Another thing I have learned over the years is that when she gives advice, the outcome will benefit her more than it will benefit me. The rare times that I do take her advice, things usually don't end up going too well for me. In the video we watched, JK Rowling says this,
"I do not blame my parents for their point of view, there is an expire date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction."
I believe that that date comes when you start making decisions for yourself. So now if I mess up, I know is no ones fault but my own.

I never really ask anyone for advice. 

People will give me advice, but for the most part, I just do what I feel I need to. If I mess up, oh well. Such is life. 

As much as I believe in taking your own advice, there have been some pieces of advice I've either heard, read, or seen that have stuck with me. 

One thing that someone told me a long time ago was to never make any rash decisions late at night. People tend to feel worse at night. Physically and emotionally.
Click Here to Read an Interesting Discussion on Why We Feel More Depressed at Night 
I find myself using this advice quite often. One of my friends will text me late at night saying that they are sad and my response is always the same. 

Sleep. Everything is better after sleep. 

If I'm laying in bed and I want to give up on something, I know that I have to wait until the next morning to officially make up my mind. That way I will be thinking clearly. 

The next piece of advice I live by is something that I discovered by myself when I was around 12 or 13. 

When I was in grade school kids were always really mean to me over stupid things like my glasses, or the fact that I was really short. But I never was mean to other kids. My teacher always would ask me why I didn't just treat them the way they treated me. My response was always the same, and still is. 

What if that child goes home everyday and cries themselves to sleep? 

What if their home life is miserable? 

Maybe the only thing that is keeping them sane is knowing that they aren't at the bottom of the social chain. If they want to call me a mean name so that they feel a little bit better for a while, so be it. That might be the only thing that they like in their lives right now. 

So the advice I would tell myself was to treat everyone like they just had the worst day of their lives. 
You don't know what people are going through. 

Yeah, you think that suicide joke you told during class was funny? Well the kid sitting in the corner of the classroom that has been contemplating wether or not he deserves to live didn't find it as funny. 

You think that fat joke was pretty clever, huh? 

Well, that girl you just made fun of goes home and sticks her fingers down her throat in hopes that one day, just maybe, she will be happy with the way she looks. 

The other piece of advice that I love is one that is simple and to the point. 

Generosity is the most important thing we have to offer. Let go of the things you don't need.

I don't remember where I heard this. It was around freshmen year. I don't think this means giving a homeless man a hundred dollar bill and call it a day. Generosity is going to the store and buying that man food. Generosity is putting others above yourself. It is something that this generation is seriously lacking. No one wants to give up the things they have. Everyone wants to have as much as they can possible get. 

If someone I know needs something, I will do whatever I need to to make sure they get it. Wether they need someone to talk to, or someone to drive them home at 3 am. I'll be there. 

I have gained many things in my life simply by being selfless and generous. 

Most of the advice that I live by is common knowledge. 
They aren't hard things to remember.

Don't make important decisions without sleeping on them first, treat people like they have just had the worst day of their lives, and don't forget to be generous. 

Maybe Just for Today (messing around with some freestyle writing)

Click this for music 
Click this for music 


Let me share with you a little story.
It's about a girl who fell in love with a broken boy.

Sometimes in order to fix something,
 something else becomes broken in the process.
This is exactly what happened.
As she was putting him back together, he was ripping her apart.

Not on purpose,
and she didn't mind it.
All she knew was that she wanted to fix him.

Nothing was right, but it was working.

But every time something on him was fixed,
something on her broke.
"But that's okay," She would say to herself.
"He's getting better. That's what matters."
She said this everyday.
Sometimes with a smile.
Sometimes in tears.

But it didn't matter because he was getting better. 
He was becoming whole again. 

Months passed. 
He was healing. 
His wounds were becoming scars.
But her scars were starting to bleed. 
It was time for him to fix her. 
But she knew he couldn't do that. 
He's not strong enough for the both of them.
...and now...neither is she...

Innocence was the key 
 She fell in love with a broken boy
 She wanted to set him free 
 She wanted to bring him joy

He wanted someone
 But he didn't want her
 He didn't know what he'd begun
 The next months were a blur

Every minute was for him
 But his broken eyes couldn't see
 Loving him was grim 
 But she couldn't leave him be

As she was fixing his heart 
 He was tearing her apart



Just messing around with some writing! Let me know what you think if you read it please :) 

Dear English:

                                                       Read Until the End. 

  Click here for my feeling about this post put into a song.



            Creativity is a wonderful thing. It separates the boring from the unique. Quite frankly, I don't like people who aren't creative. 
        I absolutely hate people that look at things and say, nah I'm not good at that, i'm not going to try. If it's mountain climbing or skydiving then I can see where the risks outweigh the pros. But in general, get your act together. 

          Back to my point about creativity. GET YOUR OWN. I'm all for helping people with things that need help with. However, if you use my ideas without my permission, then I get really ticked off. I try extraordinarily hard to guarantee that everything I either write or create is unique. 

        For example, my blog posts are purposely set up much different than my other classmates blog. I often use listing, or bullet points. I do this to avoid the classic structures of MLA format. I think it makes for a much more interesting read. Plus I hate when I look at someone else's art and see my own within it. I also change the prompts enough so that the information given in my posts is much different than others. It takes me a good while to sit down and plan out how I am going to write my posts, what pictures I am going to include, and the content in which I will share. 

        Again, I don't mind if people look at my blog for an example, but when they decided to just copy my ideas I get really dissapointed. Especially when it's more than one blog post that has been posted. The sentences are similar, the unique opinions are similar, the structure is exactly the same, and the subject matter is exactly the same. If it was anything other than writing, I wouldn't be as upset. But quite frankly, i'm a little cheesed off. 
    
       It would be very different if it was only one thing that they were copying. But no, it's multiple things on multiple posts. I'd be happy to help anyone from my class with blog posts. Just email me at mad2144345@maricopa.edu and I will help you with whatever you need. 

Don't just use my ideas and claim that they are your own.

Don't copy my opinions and pretend like you just came up with them on the spot. 

Don't pretend like you care about the political parties on Facebook. 

Don't pretend like you feel the same way about praise as I do. I have very specific reasons why I feel the way I do about the things I do.

Don't pretend like you came up with listing all the Amendments in a row because you didn't want to write about what you think freedom is. 

Don't pretend like you don't care about your own personal freedoms. You clearly copied my opening statement and reason for writing in bullet points because you later on go to explain that you do have strong opinions about your freedoms.

Don't pretend like you thought of listing out all of the social medias and separating them into categories by how much you use them.

Don't post "Don't tear them down, build 

them up and give them options.What I'm 

really trying to say is set the example of 

not giving up easily and work hard and 

show your little mini-me what mommy or 

daddy can really do and what they can do 

in the future. If one doesn't work out 

then they have some other option to turn to. " and pretend like that isn't just 
my opinion reworded!!

Don't post "Kids now a days will listen to anything you say and take it to heart." AND AGAIN PRETEND LIKE THOSE ARE YOUR OWN WORDS! 

AND NO I'M NOT PROPERLY QUOTING YOU BECAUSE YOU NEVER DO THE SAME FOR ME. 

Anyways...I know you'll read this because I know you'll be looking at my blog for your next post. 
SO....hope you learned something. If you need help with something, ask. It's not the story of your life actually, it's the story of mine. If you copy me again I am going to formally invite you to square up. 
-Madeleine Bright

Kids Are Scary

            BEFORE YOU START! CLICK ON ONE OF THESE 

         Music Of Course!! >>>>>> Click Here Before You Read!    
                                              >>>>>>>>>>  OR HERE              
                                                 >>>>>>>>>>>> OR EVEN HERE
They're all pretty rad and unplugged(wow!) 

                                           
        

       Kids are scary because they actually listen to what you are saying. If you tell them that one of their eye's is three times the size of the other, they will believe you. Why does this give me so much grief?; because, I am a sarcastic dry person who's filter has been slowly eroded by cigarette smoke, energy drinks, and unfortunate life events. The article we read about talks about children not wanting to try hard at something that they know they can already do well. I don't think I've ever seen this first hand, but it sounds plausible. 

           When I was a kid, (8-16) I grew up with a lot going on around me. I think that the things I excelled at were overlooked by the guardians I was given simply due to the constant drama surrounding my older siblings. At the time, I never really thought about receiving praise for the things I did. If I ever put forth a lot of effort to do well at something it wasn't for approval, it was for myself. I wanted to be better than everyone else at very specific things. 
       

  In Karate I had to be the youngest to get my black belt. 
          In English I had to have the highest scores on all of
           our assignments. 
          I had to have the highest scores on the standardized tests. 
          I had to be the best horseback rider in my town.
          I had (and have to) accomplish more than my siblings did.


      I didn't do any of those things expecting praise. I did them out of...boredom(?). It was more of a..."Yeah, why the Hell not?" (#LiveOffTheWall) Why not be the best at one thing this year? Next year, I'll be the best at something else. I don't think I even told my parents about anything along those lines. I went to my Karate belt graduations by myself, and all my schoolwork I did on my own. Again, I don't feel negatively about it though. My parents had a lot of other worries at the time. It taught me to be independent. It also taught me how to find satisfaction from within. You shouldn't need other people's approval to feel good about your accomplishments. 
       I don't think kids nowadays should have their parents constantly telling them what wonderful little people they are. I also don't think that parents should tell their kids how awful they are, either. I'm not really sure what a 'good' parent is though. Is it

someone who raises their children to be happy, or is it someone who raises their children to be successful? Is it both? Should the credit go to the parents if the child ends up to be both? There is a grey area that is hard to define. 
     I think that parents should think about what they say to their children before just blurting out things. Children are very sensitive. They remember the little things that adults say to them. They hold onto it too. They carry it around with them for the rest of their lives. We all end up surprisingly similar to the people who raised us. It is an unfortunate factor of growing up. We slowly melt into the mold that our parents set for us. So, a fun little thing for all you young adults out there; Set a good example. Little ones are watching. 
   

 Don't tell your kid that they suck at sports. Just encourage them to try different things. They are young. They have all the time in the world to find things that they love. Don't lie to them and tell them that they are the best at something that they aren't. Don't force your kid to do something just because you want them to. Let them find something that they WANT to be the best at. 
    Basically, just let your kid be themselves. Be honest with them, but keep in mind that children actually care about what your are telling them. Keep in mind that you have the power to either make or break a person. That's a lot of responsibility...and you know what they say; "With great power, comes great responsibility." Superman.  

The Hardest Button to Press

        The Delete Key 
click here for music for this post

Deleting things is very hard for me. 

I realized this about a year ago. 

While scrolling through my phone I came across an old friend of mine's number. Mikey Campbell.

CLICK HERE Mikey Campbell Swaggiest Kid You'd Ever Meet

Mikey passed away a little over two years ago. As I was staring down at my phone screen I found that I didn't know what to do. I kept thinking about all of the times that he called me at 1 am saying things that I should have paid closer attention to. All these memories of that crazy kid kept flowing through my head. 

I felt like if I deleted his number it would be like me officially accepting that he was gone. No, i'm not crazy, I know how death works. But never the less, I couldn't bring myself to delete the number. I knew that once it was gone, it was gone forever. I now have a few numbers in my phone that I am having the same issue with. 

It took me getting a new phone to get rid of my grandfathers (deceased)  and ex boyfriends number. 

Same thing goes for pictures as well. 

It took me about a year to delete all of the pictures on my phone of my ex. 

Why? 

Because I know that after I deleted those, the memories would slowly fade and eventually go away all together. 

It's not that I mind forgetting things...it's just knowing that I would have to let go of something that I at one point loved. 

It's much harder then expected. 

Don't believe me? 

Here's a little challenge for you. Go through your phone and delete one contact from your phone. There is at least one contact in there that you don't need anymore. Someone who you either don't need to get in contact with, or someone you can't get in contact with. 

You might be able to do it with ease.

But trust me...when you have that delete that 

one person in your life that 

you aren't ready to stop loving...then it's going to be much harder. 

Social Media

Social Media 

Music to Quietly Listen to 1

Music to Quietly Listen to 2
Music to Quietly Listen to 3

I love social media.
 You will never find me without a phone in my hand. 

It is the first thing I do when I wake up and the last thing I do before I go to bed. I always have to know what's going on with Facebook, and who is posting what on Instagram. 

(Personally, I am not a fan of Twitter. The only time you'll ever see me on Twitter is if I am stalking a new crush or something along those lines.I MEAN..WHAT?! I DON'T DO THAT?!) 

Back to my point, I love social media. Without it, I wouldn't know anything that is going on around me. Facebook is usually where I get all of my news from. When I was in high school I would come home and turn on the news to find out what was going on locally. Now that my days go from 7 am-10 pm I don't really have time to turn on the news and waste an hour watching kittens being rescued from trees. When I go on Facebook, I can scroll for about 3 minutes and find out all of the new things that are currently happening. It is exactly what I need! It saves me time and energy. 

Without Facebook I wouldn't know about elections, events, important issues, or anything along those lines. Honestly, I most likely would have no opinion on Donald Trump if it wasn't for people posting about it. 

I would most likely miss important dates because I would forget to look up information about them. 

I wouldn't have any understanding about any issues that were currently going on around the world. 

I am absolutely obsessed with Tumblr. I can tell you any popular ongoing jokes that are told throughout the site. I think I am up to about 400,000 followers now. Tumblr has become my very own
 counselor. If I am sad, or upset, I just scroll through there and it changes the way I am feeling or thinking. Sometimes,  I just look up the hashtag of whatever I am feeling and wallow in it for a little while. I'm not sure why, but occasionally it makes me feel better. 

Instagram is another social media that I am absolutely addicted too. (BEACH_GLASS_BLUE ....FOLLOW ME) 

Instagram let's me stay connected with brands and all of my skateboarding connections. Oh my gosh, if you ever want to be a pro skateboarder you absolutely must have an Instagram.  To be a pro at any extreme sport Instagram is a must. (Hallofmeat is a funny one to follow. It is not as weird as it

probably sounds.) Instagram is important because many recruiters are actually discovering people using that app. That is why it is always important to show off your best tricks on there. You never know who will be viewing. I can not get enough of that app, it constantly keeps me entertained. 

I use a few other apps, but Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram are my main ones. Very rarely I will go on Pintrest. I haven't quite figured out how that application works. Now that site has been
taken over by middle-aged women. Not that that is a bad thing, it just makes it harder for me to relate to the content. 

Oh, I almost forgot about Snapchat! Snapchat is cool, but now that I am in college, I find it very hard to care about what all these kids in high school are doing. Also, Snapchat requires me to take the time

to stop and record what I am doing. I believe that the best moments in our lives aren't recorded. They just happen. So I don't really use that application much anymore.

HAHA okay there is one last social media application that I like.

 (This one I am not proud of, so don't judge me)

I have fallen victim Tinder. No, I am not one of those people that goes on there to hook up with people. I just enjoy judging people...as awful as that sounds. I only go on this app when I am really bored and there is absolutely nothing else to do. So, if you haven't ever been on Tinder, it is basically a site where you judge people on a profile and a few pictures that they post. You can either vote them up, or you can rate them down. If you rate them up and they also rate you up, then you can chat with them. I've never responded to anyone on that site, but apparently it is a very common place to meet...erm...partners. I think it would be really sketchy to meet a stranger that you met online. How do you know that they aren't totally lying about who they are? They could be a murderer or...or a Republican or something?! Haha, no, I am totally joking, no disrespect.

I think those are all of the main ones that I go on. Without these social media apps, I would be lost. I wouldn't know anything that is going on around me. I would be the most uncultured swine to ever walk the Earth. I am thankful for all of the wonderful apps that were created because they make my life much easier and convenient. So thanks all you creative people that got lucky and made amazing things! You're all awesome!