I was struggling to find a blog topic to write about this week, so I decided to go back to what I am good at – Comfort. Whether it be comfort characters, movies, or in this case- songs, I genuinely enjoy sharing what comforts me, just as much as I learning about other peoples comforts! 

IU – Love Poem

As a huge fan of the artist IU, I have to say that I am totally in love with everything she writes/sings, but this song in particular is just so melodically beautiful and soothing to the ears. I have a habit of listening to this song when I can’t sleep or when my mind seems to be going too haywire.

If you are open to listening to songs in different languages, I highly suggest this one. 1000000/10

Bruno Major – The Most Beautiful Thing

As you may have figured out by this point, I am a sucker for a good love song. I do claim my status as a hopeless romantic, and I think this song is literally the hopeless romantics anthem. It’s basically all about knowing that one day you will find a extraordinary love, but until then all you can do is dream about it. Other than the incredible lyrics– I am in love with Bruno Major’s voice in general. His voice is just so soothing.

100000000000/10

Van Morrison – Moondance

Surprise! Another happy lil love song. While this one is a tad bit jazzier than the others, It is still in the same court. What can I say? I just happen to be comforted by all love songs. Anyways, I have loved this song ever since the first time I heard it, and it never fails to bring me comfort. I love listening to this when I’m writing and pretending as if I am in a little jazz café.

100000000/10

Your Turn!

I would love to hear about yall’s comfort songs too! It is really fun to see all the different types of music that bring people joy! 

Anyways, bye lol

— Adelel

A common theme with every one of my blogs is basically- anything. I usually write about whatever has been on my mind at that moment. Whether it be K-pop, Broadway, Movies, so on and so forth, I usually can come up with a topic to blog about fairly quickly. But something about this week, I don’t know, the blogger in me is just … failing to blog.

So I guess I am claiming emptiness of mind this week, and I am going to post a blog about none other than my official proclamation: head empty.

The lack of bloggability of my mind could be attributed to other literary endeavors. As my fellow literary classmates know, National Novel Writing Month is – stressful? Well, I don’t even know whether to classify that last sentence as an overstatement or understatement. Because while NaNoWriMo has been incredibly stress inducing, it has also been something that all of us have been keeping up with almost daily, and that is a pretty rewarding task.

I’m almost 95% sure that I am not the only person feeling a little burnt out as thanksgiving break is approaching. I for one, have been holding on to the idea that I’ll be able to basically drown myself in carb-loaded foods next week to get me through the stresses of life. 

Ok, the last thing I want to say to end this rather hectic blog – MSA  students: I am very very very proud of all of you! We are almost halfway through the year , and we have so much to show for it! Last night as I was walking through the gallery while waiting for the junior theatre’s production of Women of Lockerbie, I realized how amazing it is to be a part of a school that showcases such talent weekly. While the work load here may be a tad bit stressful at times, the skills and experiences that we are able to get everyday are totally worth their weight.  So, yes, we all deserve a little praise for making it to this point! 

I kind of thought this blog would be more of a “things to do when life hurts” type of deal. But now, sitting down to write, I’ve realized that I don’t know exactly what to do when life hurts, other than just… let it. 

I am going to be completely honest. It has been a pretty hard week. Now, I won’t get into specifics, because after all this still is a blogspace- not a personal diary. But I figured there is some value in letting others know when you are having trouble. Even when you just speak into the void of internet users in passing.

Everyone has these times when you miss home, family, or some sense of what normalcy used to be.  Times when whatever higher power that be throws you something you aren’t fully prepared for. Those times are upon me at the moment, and I’m not gonna lie… it sucks. But I have learned, when life hurts, there truly is no other way to get past it than, let it. Let yourself feel it. Truly, deeply feel it.

Tears. Headaches. Sadness. Longing. Fear. Pain. 

Because letting yourself feel the pain deeply also opens up your heart to feel the support you get deeply too.

Hugs. Phone calls from home. Words of encouragement. Favorite shows. Chocolate. Warm sweaters. Music.

So, I guess I’m writing this blog as a comfort to myself. To reassure myself that there are reasons for things. That the hurt I am feeling right now is leading me to write a blog that someone can relate to. That the hurt I am feeling right now will encourage me to feel things deeply- good and bad.

I needed somewhere to speak all of this, so whoever is listening, thank you. And if you relate to this, I am here. Rant to me. Cry to me. I am always glad to be a friend.

 Adele  <3

Ok. So this may be a little bit of a cheesy post but it is something I felt the need to do. Recently I have bee struggling with topics to blog about, but then I realized I could literally write about anything. Whatever makes me happy. Whatever makes me sad. Moments in life.

I just think that it is so cool that we are given a space here to completely nerd out over our interests, hobbies, friends, or practically anything else. We are given a place to basically rant to a friend that never gets tired of hearing the same things over and over. 

So, I guess this week’s blog is just… a blog appreciation. I am so thankful for this place where I can tell you all about what I love, what I don’t, and everything in between.

So yeah, thank you fellow blogspacers (and my parents lol) for listening to me. 🙂

-Adele 

Okay, I am trying not to make my blogspace presence completely revolve around my hobbies, but I was just listening to the older BTS albums (as one does), and I couldn’t help but feel inspired to tell my fellow blog-spacers why their album, Skool Luv Affair, is my favorite. So bear with me as I elaborate on my obsession with this album by giving some descriptions of my favorite songs on it. 🙂 

5. Just One Day

This. Song. I am sure that every BTS fan has had an obsession with this song at one point or another. The beautiful vocals and raps throughout it just make listening to the song so enjoyable. Overall this song is just an amazing song, which is why there isn’t much more I can say. 

4. Boy in Luv

Another staple in the Bangtan Sonyeondan fan experience, this song is just too good. The beats in the song make it so fun, not to mention the raps in it. J-Hope’s iconic ‘Hakuna Matata’ in the song is always stuck in my head. I also find it kind of funny that the lyrics are basically just flirting with a girl and acting all tough when, at that time, BTS was rocking this style: 

3. Jump 

Ok. If you are familiar with BTS, you probably already know why I am obsessed with this song. Not only V’s iconic lines, but also the whole Jump performance makes this song one of my favorites to watch and listen to. Although the choreography and musicality of this song are some reasons why I love it, my favorite effect of this song is the “V” line. Because of Taehyung’s iconic lines in the song, a common occurrence when hearing the stage name is to completely blurt out his part of the song.  

The “V” Occurence lol:

2. Spine Breaker

This song is genius. The lyrics and every part of how it is set up is just so well planned. In the lyrics a jacket is mentioned, and the translated lyric exactly is “With shoes worth a couple hundred, padded jacket worth a couple thousand.” This lyric is calling out the societal standards in  Korean school and how the brand of padded jackets is a common indicator of social status there. The song then proceeds to call out the capitalistic ideals that society holds and how detrimental they are to the youth’s perception of “Wealth.” Overall this song is such a good call out to the world, and even though it was written in 2014, it still relates to the world today. 

1. Tomorrow 

Although I do indeed love the lyrics of this song too, I primarily am obsessed with how it sounds. Not only the vocals, but the backing vocals, ad-libs, rap, and most of all the electric guitar in the background. This song is just so different from most of their other songs in the ways in which it was produced and everything about it. The lyrics also talk about the common feeling of life when you feel as if you aren’t doing anything important. Really, this song is just one of my favorite styles of songs.

Anyways, that is it for this blog. I know K-Pop might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so if you have made it this far I applaud you! 🙂  

Childhood tokens. I feel like almost everyone has one, if not more, objects that represent childhood memories. Like a travelling memory token  that stays with you through the years, it is common to hold onto something that reminds us of past years. One of my main goals that I had hoped to achieve with these blogs was to make others who have childhood tokens feel less embarrassed, and to be proud of them.

On the topic of acquired tokens along the way, this week’s blog is about my dear friend Hannah Lockett, and her stuffed toy named, “Weeble-Wobble.” Weeble-Wobble is a small stuffed rabbit that Hannah has carried with her since she got it after a surgery. Hannah has recounted to me many times the stories of Weeble-Wobble and how devastated she was the time she lost him.  She told me the stories of times she’d bring him with her to different states, and she told me of the comfort he brings whenever she isn’t feeling well.

I wasn’t able to get a picture of Weeble-Wobble, but I am sure my audience can imagine a white stuffed rabbit pretty clearly.  The little stuffed rabbit is probably something you won’t have to try hard to imagine, seeing as most of us have had our very own stuffed attachments before, whether it be a bear, rabbit, dog, or cat plushie. 

Anyways, that is it for this week of “Adele rambling about lifeless objects.” See ya next week folks!

Although I still am working on my series “Inanimate Attachments,” I recently watched a movie that could be described as nothing less but really good-bad. So, instead of publishing another installation in the inanimate attachment series, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to take a break and revisit some movies that I have a constant love-hate relationship with. 🙂

5. Ma

This horror movie starring Octavia Spencer is almost satirical in it’s attempt to make a scary “Cool Mom” stereotype. Throughout the movie Sue Anne, aka ‘Ma’ is a character that, due to her past high school trauma, seeks out revenge on the children of her classmate’s . While this movie is on this list for being ‘bad,’ it is actually quite fun to watch with friends. The mediocre teen acting and almost comedic plot twists lead to some very interesting jokes made amongst friends.

4. A Cinderella Story

A classic amongst many of our childhoods, this movie is the epitome of revisiting old favorites just to realize the acting… wasn’t that great. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a big Hillary Duff stan, but I can’t lie and say that the acting was phenomenal. Through the wonderful stylings of Jennifer Coolidge as Hillary Duff’s stepmother, and the outstanding “Waiting for you,” monologue towards the end, the nostalgia of the movie has stayed constant through the years. It truly is one of my favorite examples of when “too much is just enough.”

3. Daddy Day Care

While this can be said about many Eddie Murphy movies, this movies is just so incredibly good-bad. Throughout the story, Murphy’s character, Charlie, starts a day care center with the help of a friend Phil (Jeff Garlin). I always enjoy movies with Jeff Garlin in them, but especially in this movie. The reason may have been because I was so young when I first watched it, but this movie has always made me laugh my socks off. 

2. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

As a big fan of the books, I have to say the first movie did live up to all the cheesy expectations I had set for it in my mind. While many people feel as if the movies contain too much… gouda, per say, I think that the first movie has just enough parmesan grated on top of the perfectly plated spaghetti. (Yes, I am hungry right now mind ya business.)  Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship in that movie is almost exactly as I envisioned the books when I read them, so I for one thing it was just perfect.

1. The Twilight Saga (Yes, all of them.)

As I have stated in a previous blog dedicated solely to this topic, The Twilight Sage is collection of movies that I am unconditionally, and irrevocably in love with. (If you know you know.) Anyways, this sage was so bad for so many reasons, but also some of the best movies I have ever seen. I can’t even begin to try to explain it, but what I can say is that it just… makes sense. 

And that is the purpose of a good-bad movie. 

This week’s installment of inanimate attachment is going to be focused on none other than my dear friend and roommate: Emma Stapp. Emma’s inanimate attachment is one that she acquired many years ago during her childhood, and has kept until now. The object Emma has chosen to let me talk about in this blog? A timeless classic: a Cory Monteith silver locket. 

When asking Emma about what her inanimate attachment was, she recalled how this became significant to her. Emma told me that she acquired the locket one  summer day when she was around 5 years old. She told me that the locket is an important object to her because it reminds her of the summer days just like the one she got it and the family member that bought it for her. The show Glee was also a big part of her childhood, so when recalling all the sentiments attached to the necklace, Emma also recalled how the necklace was also a representation of her childhood in that sense too.

When talking to Emma, I learned more about her and why this small trinket I had seen on her desk many times was so important to her. Throughout this series I plan to do more of exactly what this experience so far has done – I want to connect. I want to hear of other peoples’ important little stories, experiences, memories etc. I want to listen, learn, and share with you all! 🙂 

I figured for the first installment of this blog, I should begin with my own lifeless sentimental attachments. As a person who loves to give names and personalities to almost every thing I own, I have quite a few that I could mention, but I will just stick to mentioning the main ones. 

The first object that I somehow formed an emotional attachment to is a slice of a walnut shell that I found while walking on campus one day. A few friends and I were heading to get pizza when I saw it on the sidewalk. The day I found the walnut shell was a day in which my anxiety was particularly high, so when I found it, I used it as a sort of grounding tool. I held it in my hand the whole walk to get pizza and back, and now, I keep it to remind myself to not be so caught up in my head that I forget that there are small pieces of the world waiting to be found.

Upon further research (aka MSA word of mouth), I found out that the slice of walnut shell was from a coaster of some sorts that fell apart. Even after finding out the uneventful past of the walnut shell, I still think it is one of the coolest things I have because I found it when I really needed it. 

Anyways, here is a picture of Wallace the Walnut Shell:

I feel like everyone has experienced an attachment to an inanimate object before. Whether it be a childhood stuffed toy, or an old tattered blanket, I feel like forming an emotional attachment to a material object is just a part of life. Forming an inanimate attachment is just a step in childhood, and one day parting from it is almost a coming of age rite of passage. Although, for some, the ability to put sentiment behind non-living objects never goes away. The childlike joy of figurines or papers never fades, and inanimate attachment grows with them. 

Topics like this are some of my favorite things to talk about. Pieces of life that are so miniscule, yet they hold so much value through the right set of eyes.  I love hearing about others favorite stuffed animals, or blankets that they’ve carried with them since childhood. Something about getting a glimpse into peoples’ ‘fragments of affection’ as I like to call them. 

To me, hand-written notes are something I have recently begun holding dear to my heart. Since coming to MSA especially, I have held notes in high regard. From a letter from a senior on the first day of living at MSA, to notes my mom wrote on Parent Day. I keep each one, and for some reason, the pieces of paper that stay in my desk drawer bring me happiness. Maybe it’s because I am a particularly sentimental person, but I really think there is value in being able to find sparks of joy within seemingly lifeless objects.

I am not writing all of this just to inform the fellow blog-spacers of my attachment to pieces of paper (although I very well could have wrote a whole blog on that topic). Through this blog post, I really just wanted to encourage others to not feel ashamed of  their inanimate attachments. Because what constitutes what can or cannot bring you comfort? Shoot, it could even be a lucky paperclip for all I care. Just own it, Whatever your object is, I encourage you to be proud of it, because life is hard enough, and if you can find something as miniscule as paper (in my case) joyful, I think that is something to be proud of. Being able to find joy in things as simple as an old blanket or toy  is something that not everyone can do, so if you find yourself, I urge you to embrace it!

In the future I hope to continue this blog as a series of introducing other’s (and my own) inanimate attachments! Hopefully it will be a good way to take a glimpse into what brings others joy. 

🙂 

-Adele