Category: Good Reads

What Happened to Reading for Fun?

I can remember being eleven years old and being obsessed with Percy Jackson. I loved learning about Greek mythology and reading about Percy fighting off monsters and going on adventures with his friends. At first, it was just the original series. Then it was the spin-off, Heroes of Olympus. Then it was two more spin-offs of the original spin-off (“Magnus Chase” and “The Trials of Apollo”). 

There were some nights I didn’t sleep at all because I was so invested in the story. And then there were some days where I’d check out the next book at the library and the librarian would be like “Didn’t you just get a book yesterday?” and I would have to explain that I stayed up all night reading it. Each book built more and more on the world and characters. To this day, I still consider it to be one of my favorites book series/universes ever!

Reading started as something I was basically forced into. Of course, kids have to learn, so they’re forced to read in class and at home so that they can one day do it on their own. And then in second or third grade, I was required to participate in Accelerated Reading (AR) for school.

AR was basically just reading books and taking quizzes on them to make sure you actually read them. Each book you read had was a certain number of points based on how difficult the book was to read and how long it was. For reference, a Dr. Seuss book is 1 point if you get every question on the AR quiz correct. The first Percy Jackson book is 13 points. Each student had to reach a certain number of points every nine weeks, with everyone’s goal being slightly different depending on how strong of a reader they were. The average class goal was 25 to 40 points per nine weeks

I don’t know why, but I really liked getting points from reading. Most nine weeks, I doubled or even tripled my goal. By the end of AR (eighth grade), my average goal was 100 points or above every nine weeks, and I was still doubling it! I forget my complete point total, but by the time I stopped doing AR, it was over 1000.

Reading was such fun for me. Throughout elementary and middle school, I read hundreds of books. Reading was a huge part of my life. It was my escape.

That’s why it pains me to say that after I wasn’t required to do AR anymore, I stopped reading. Of course, there was the occasional new Percy Jackson spin-off book and class required reading, but I eventually stopped reading for fun all together.

Last year, I only read one book… and I didn’t even finish it. It was frustrating, because what happened to the girl who read the entire Harry Potter series in just three weeks in the 5th grade??

Reading got replaced with other things. The apps and games on my phone, Youtube and Netflix, and hanging out with friends. That fact on its own is fine, but it’s still kind of crazy to me. How could something I loved so much and that defined a lot of my life for a looooong time just disappear completely??

I’ve been trying to get back into reading. I finished a book this month and although it wasn’t very good, I’m still so happy I finished it. 

I’m president of MSA’s book club now, so I have to read one book each month now. Hopefully, that will push me to get back to how I used to be able to read. I miss the joy that reading a good book used to give me and since this year has been especially rough, I feel like I’m in need of a little extra joy!

The Girl Who Peaks in High School

If graduation never came, I’d be okay with that. I’d be over the moon, jumping for joy. 

I hear my friends, who are also seniors say things like, “I’m so ready to graduate,” or “I can’t wait to be in college,” but I can’t help but cringe at them. I have absolutely no desire to graduate or leave high school. 

I have spent the past 4 years in total bliss. I truly believe people when they say that these are the best years of your life because they have been. I’m not particularly “popular,” but I’ve always had a really great group of friends and people who support me. If my classmates were to describe me, they’d probably say something like, “Maleigh’s that weird, overexuberant girl that’s always planning events and making cheesy jokes,” and I am okay with that. I know who I am, and I’m not ashamed of it. 

I am ashamed, however, of being someone who peaks in high school, but I’m afraid it’s too late for that. I just simply can’t imagine that things can get any better than this amazing life. People say high school is overrated, but it’s my safe haven. In school, I excel. I may not be valedictorian or in the top 5 of my class, but I make good grades, I’m in a ton of extracurriculars, teachers love me. What’s not to love? Not to mention, I’m student body president which, I must add, was one of the best things to ever happen to me. I can’t express how much I truly love being a leader and getting to plan things and make things happen on campus. It’s one of the most rewarding feelings to serve the student body of MSA, and I don’t want to have to leave that behind. 

Yesterday, after writing that, I felt compelled to visit the counselor. I was really struggling, and I’m not usually one to ask for help, but it seemed like something I needed to do. 

After our visit, I left teary-eyed, but I also left with having told another human being how I was really feeling. Too often I swallow my emotions and force a smile no matter how I’m feeling, so it was a huge step for me to admit my shortcomings, or what I think are shortcomings, and be unashamed to say them out loud. 

In my house, you just don’t talk about these things. Everything must be kept private, concealed, but what if we did talk  more? What if we acknowledged that we are , in fact, riding the struggle, or have been for far too long. Because, at that point, we are taking the first step in taking care of ourselves.

Yesterday, I took the first step, and I talked to someone. I said, “Hey, I’m not okay,” and I was met with open arms and unicorn encouragement cards (Thanks, Mrs. Harlie). So, take that first step, and take care of yourselves. 

Now, I’m still not completely sold on the idea of this not being my peak, but I have moved closer to accepting that and reminding myself that this is only the beginning of greatness and that there is so much more to come for me. 

So, maybe I won’t be the girl who peaks in high school or maybe I will, but today, I am choosing to just be a writer, to just be me. 

My Thoughts On Halloween

In some capacity, most of the widely recognized holidays hold a special place in my heart. New Year’s Eve has a cute Charlie Brown special and staying up until midnight was always fun to me as a child. Valentine’s Day was just an excuse to get free candy at school. But the holidays that hold the most of my heart are Christmas and Halloween. And as Halloween is only a few days away, I’ve started reflecting on what exactly it means to me. So I present to you, my thoughts on Halloween!

Halloween (to me) will always be the estranged cousin to the rest of the holidays.

Every holiday has a few key things in common:

1) Each has at least a few or more movies, songs, or television specials centered around them.

2) Corporate greed has distanced them so far away from their original meaning that they’re now all about buying things (decorations, outfits, gifts for others).

3) Most of them have happy, celebratory connotations.  


Halloween is a little different. It originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. It has plenty of movies, songs, and of course the tradition of Trick-Or-Treating in costume. Halloween will always have some element of childishness link to it for me,  but it will always have a darker, more supernatural feel to it than other holidays. Unlike other holidays, fictional monsters, terrifying horror movies, and haunted house (mazes, hayrides, etc.) will always make Halloween stand out.

 

As I’ve grown older, I’ve grown to like Halloween a lot more than the other holidays. The mature and supernatural aspects of the season have always interested me, even though I’ve not always partaken in them.

I’ve never been a fan of horror movies. I’d never even watched one all the way through until last year. But for this Halloween season, I’ve watched more in the past month than I have in my entire lifetime. I don’t think I’ve gone and fallen in love with them yet, but I’m having fun exploring the genre.

As far as haunted houses (mazes, hayrides, etc.) go, I’ve only ever been to one good one, and that was just last weekend. Before then, the only one I’d ever been to relyed so heavily on strobe lights that you couldn’t even see how bad the jumpscares were. Last weekend I visited The 13th Gate in Baton Rouge, one of the nation’s best haunted houses (supposedly). I waited for 3 hours JUST TO GET IN LINE and then journeied through a house full of bloody people, clowns, and one gigantic rat that I did not care for. It wasn’t worth the three hours, but the set, animatronics, and actors were so entertaining and incredibly well put together that I still had fun!

These however have not been the main reasons I’ve grown to love Halloween.

I love it because of the atmosphere it creates. I love wearing a costume that other people think I may be too old to wear but that I think I look really cool it. I love hearing about ghosts and witchcraft even when I don’t really subscribe to those beliefs. Halloween is just a time to be weird and enjoy the fall weather, which are already too of my favorite pastimes. It just has something for everyone, especially people like me who appericated a creepy/fall vibe.

So in conclusion, Halloween is the superior holiday. And I hope whoever is reading this has a happy one!

Me and My Hair: A Love-Hate Relationship

After rereading Bri’s “hair tips from a redhead” from last year and reading Emma’s “My curly hair journey” from last week, I’ve been inspired to also talk about my hair!

When I was younger and my curls were still completely unruly, older women would always come up to me and ask if they could have it.

“Oh, I wish I could have your hair!” 

“Would you just give me some of your hair? You have enough for both of us!”

“I wish I had hair like yours!”

As a child, I used to think they meant it literally. So when they asked, I just stood there awkwardly and said thank you, even though on the inside I was trying to figure out how to tell them that I was too young to be bald.

Even still, I absolutely hated my hair.

The girls in my class started spending hours styling their hair before school as young as the second grade! Of course, some would sleep in rollers to curl their’s the night before an important day, but I always seemed to focus on the other curly/wavy haired girls that would could to school with their hair straighten.

My sister and I are the only ones in our family with curly/wavy hair. Everyone else’s is straight as a board, so there was no one to teach us how to take care of our hair properly. That’s probably why it’s taken until this year for me to really understand what it takes to have curly hair.

I used to try and straighten it, brush it out, and cake on products after products just to get it to lay down flat. My hair was fizzy and crunchy and just overall awful, which didn’t help my feelings toward it. Now I know that I was going about it all wrong.

The first thing I stopped doing was washing my hair every other night. I learned that when I shampooed my hair daily, it hurt it more than help it. From what I could gather, shampoo dries out curls and rids the hair of the natural oils that hold the curls together! So while I do still shower daily and condition every other day, no more shampoo!

I’ve also started cutting my own hair. The woman who used to cut my hair would straighten it first, then cut it, which didn’t look good curled. I’ve learned that my hair needs more layers to look good and while I still have a lot to learn, I’m enjoying the outcome so far! And I’m saving money, so that’s always a plus!

I’ve also cut down on the number of products I use on my hair. I use one conditioner in the shower, wash it out, put in leave-in conditioner (along with some oil I don’t know the name of) while it’s still wet, and then brush it out. I then wrap it in a t-shirt and usually just go to bed with it like that (I’m just lazy). In the mornings I use some sort of mousse (or gel/cream stuff) to make everything look okay and then I go on with my day. 

I understand that could have been a little confusing to read, considering that I don’t know exactly what any of the products I use are called, but I do hope it was somewhat helpful.

I found Bri’s and Emma’s blogs helpful and reassuring, so I just thought I’d give my two cents! Of course, I’m still learning. But I think that with every new thing I learn about my hair and how to take care of it, I grow to love it even more!

Of course, I still have bad hair days. Even as I write this I’m not too happy with how it looks. But even still, I love it. It’s beautiful and it’s something that I should love and take care of because’s it’s apart of me! And if another curly-haired person is reading this, just know your hair is also worth the time, effort, and love!

All That I Am

Note: I wrote this spontaneously during a bout of insomnia spurred by an overactive mind: the night before, I had finished a life-changing piece of fiction that liberated me from previous writing fears. It is abstract, messy, and different from my usual blogs, but it is relevant in its early morning authenticity. (:

I feel so much—more than I want, more than I understand. But I am nothing but alive. I feel the breath in my lungs, the black of the night, the reality of failure. I feel the light rain on my skin like a scintilla of some feeling; I feel everything.

Whenever the walls creep in too close for comfort, I escape into sky. I spend hours outside searching for sanctuary: I walk in endless circles until my ankles bleed, listening to lame music and mulling over deadlines; I spend hours lying in the grass, unbothered by curious insects; I drink my coffee in rocking chairs and think of nothing but the moment and the hushing of pain. I feel safe here, wrapped within the limitless depth of the ever-changing sky. I feel the soft blue reflected deep within me; I feel the clouds swallowing all of my apathy. I chase the sunset every evening, as I feel whole when the dying sun eats me alive with all of its desperate color. In those moments, I am. I exist, and that is enough. The light warms my skin, and I am revered, restored. This is plenty.

Life hurts. In so many ways, it does, and it hurts for everyone. 

I attend one of the best high schools in Mississippi, and I love it. I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed of (and deserve), and so many more months remain. I near the precipice of my true beginning, of my own unapologetic existence in this vast, horrifying world, and I do not fear the strife that awaits me. In my dorm, I have two drawers overflowing with snacks, and I now have the ability to play “Jump” by Van Halen on random keyboards. I have dreams and aspirations, and I am balancing my stress with creativity. I am surrounded by people I care about, and I want so much. I want to succeed; I want to awake each morning; I want to be alive.

But my sleeping schedule lies in anarchic ruin. Every minor grade is directly connected to the state of my future. Radical changes manifest in every aspect of my life. I have no stability. I have no certainty. I know nothing but deadlines and stress and the need to escape. I want out of my skin; I want to rid myself of every worry, every doubt. An incessant river of chaos rushes within me, and I feel it bubbling towards the surface of my control. I feel so lonely or so crowded at times. And I long for my junior year: I never wanted it to end, and time felt so infinite as I indulged in every moment of this new adventure at MSA.

But I am alive. 

There is something so powerful about resilience, about the will to adapt and overcome. And I feel this every time I submit an essay I panicked over, every time I close a hundred tabs. I feel this every time my head hits a pillow after midnight, every time someone smiles because of me. I am alive in this moment, and this is enough. The pain is necessary because it is a good pain—the kind that results from feeling too much and aching to accomplish more than humanly possible. It is trying.

Throughout the years, writing has served various purposes for me, but it has always existed as an escape. As I forget myself in my work, I feel the words escaping me, this year. I feel them growing more bold, more bare. Every piece is of desperation, for I am beginning to relinquish all that I have, all that I am, to the page. I am beginning to surrender to myself and my fear. I am escaping. I am no longer bound by the same insecurities. I am beyond myself and my fragile understanding; I am the words I speak. My fingers punch the keyboard, and I see myself for what I truly am: a living being. The stress evaporates, I slip into a comatose state, and I emerge hours later feeling not quite like before. This all sounds quite pretentious, but I am in love with slipping outside of my body and just being. I exist only as a writer in those moments (meanwhile, the piece is about tacos…HAH!).

You are more than your pain, your past. You are everything and more. You are indomitable. You are your own artist, your own home, your own breath. Fall in love with the little things, and you will feel full. Discover your own meaning, your own truth. Surrender. Trust in the strength of vulnerability. Learn to let your heart die, sometimes. Learn from everything that surrounds you, and you will understand. You will feel full.

trauma isn’t a competition

Full disclosure, I was the toxic friend.

Before coming to MSA, I used to go to a very small private school. I attended this school from Pre-k 3 to sophomore year, making that a full 14 years with relatively the same 40 classmates. I jumped around to a few different friends groups over the years and eventually stuck with my current one in middle school. 

Each of our lives were deeply complicated from a young age, due to one thing or another. When certain, intensely emotional things happen in life, the natural thing you’d want to do is talk about it with someone! However, it’s difficult to talk about it with your friends when they’ll interrupt you saying sometime like “Well, that’s not as bad as what I’ve been through!”

I have also been guilty of this. While in middle school, I somehow came up with the idea that if my life was more tragic, then that would have me better than everyone else. So I embellished my own hardships as way to invalidate other people’s.

Now at this current point in time, my friends and I are in much better places. So I’m not here to bash them or bash myself for acting this way in the past. This is just a warning to those who may be acting this way now.

Don’t. Compare. You’re. Hardships. To. Other. People’s.

This is such toxic behavior. Because my feelings were always being belittled by others that didn’t take them seriously, it took me a long time to realize that my feelings actually mattered and that I shouldn’t feel guilty about them. I know that someone will always have it worse than I will, but that should never invalidate how I feel about my own problems.

Things like grief and sadness affect people differently! And different events can trigger different emotions and reactions from different people! So everyone’s feelings are okay, because they should be allowed to feel however they’re feelings.

I have since learned how to be a better listener, friend, and just person in general. Sure, my life may be waaaay harder than whoever is talking to me about their problems. And it may not be! It’s irrelevant! What’s important is that I listen to them and encourage them to work through how their feeling, because in the end, that’s what’s going to be better for both of us!

my comfort youtube videos

Every now and then, I am sad. I’m sure this is something that most, if not all, of you reading this can relate too.

Usually, I have a valid reason to be upset, but every now and then I don’t really have a good reason to be sad. Like, maybe I’m just feeling down for absolutely no reason. When this happens, I tend to revert back to the same few youtube videos to make me feel better. They’re my “comfort” youtube videos if you will, each made by a YouTuber that I really enjoy! So if you ever are feeling sad for no reason, there are some videos that you could check out!

 

Safiya Nygaard’s “I Got A Tokyo Makeover”

Honestly, any of Safiya’s Japan/Korea travel videos could be put in this slot. I love learning about Japanese street fashion and this video specifically is where it all started. I started watching Safiya a few years ago and I’ve seen “I Got A Tokyo Makeover” the most out of all these videos BY A LOT! In the video, Safiya and her now-husband Tyler travel to Tokyo and consult Japanese fashionistas to put together three outfits inspired by current Japanese street fashion trends!

I don’t know what it is about watching Safiya travel through various Tokyo stores to piece together outfits, but this video always makes me feel better if I’m in a bad mood! And if it doesn’t fix my mood completely, I move on to the rest of her “travel videos” playlist.

bestdressed’s “my favorite tv shows”

This video is almost 30 mins long and boy do I love it! I could listen to Ashley (bestdressed) talk all day long. In “my favorite tv shows (according to a film major)”, Ashley lists her favorite tv shows and television specials of all time. Really, bestdressed is just my comfort youtube channel! I’ve seen all of her recent videos dozens of times! Normally she makes more fashion-centric videos, which is great for my little clothes loving heart!

Dollightful’s “Repaint! Budget Customizing Theia Thriftford”

I am not interested at all in customizing a doll myself, however watching someone else do it is so incredibly satisfying! Katherine (Dollightful) takes old Monster High/Ever After High dolls and transforms them into dragons, Pokemon, and more! This video, however, is a little different. usually, she used expensive tools and art supplies to modify the dolls. For this video, she makes a doll on a budget! She travels outside to find leaves, grass, and even trash to transform a thrifted, damaged doll into something really cool and unique!

Danny Gonzalez’s “This Is The Strangest Low Budget Movie”

Danny Gonzalez is one of my favorite commentary YouTubers. This particular video was the first movie review of his that I ever saw and oh my gosh I have no idea why I like it so much, but I’ve seen it a few times too many. Any of his movie reviews could have made it onto this list, but this one is probably my favorite!

In the video, Danny comments on a low-budget film about a genie that helps a father move past the death of his son and save his marriage. If the movie’s premise wasn’t strange enough, the acting choices and genie lure don’t really help. With Danny’s commentary though, the movie becomes quite entertaining!

Drew Gooden’s “This Movie Has Every Stereotype”

Once again, another commentary/movie review video. If you don’t already know, Drew Gooden and Danny Gonzalez are so similar that they are often confused with each other. This happens so often in fact that it became the entire premise of their 2019 tour “We Are Two Different People”. So it’s no wonder that two similar videos by similar content creators made it onto this list.

Anyway, “This Movie Has Every Stereotype” covers a movie about an Italian family in which every single Italian stereotype is implemented. It’s an insane romcom that I wouldn’t have taken any interest in if Drew hadn’t made this video about it.

So Why Do We Have Comfort Objects?

Comfort objects are used to provide psychological comfort, especially in unusual or new situations. Most of the time, they are associated with the idea of a child having security blankets or toys. But just because you’re not a kid anymore doesn’t mean you don’t need to be comforted by something familiar.

I know that I’m an anxious person. This is why whenever I get upset and can’t figure out why, I go back to the same things over and over again. Maybe it’s YouTube videos, maybe it’s rewatching Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the 12th time. But whatever it may be, I like the idea of having consistent, familiar things to come back to.  

So those are my comfort youtube videos! Honorable mentions go to: 

Dan Howell’s “Halloween Baking – Creepy Crispy Cakes CONJOINED CHALLENGE”
Thomas Sander’s “BLOOPER REEL!! The Bloop Awakens!”
EroldStory’s “Dumb Things I’ve Done Sleep Deprived”

When the Writer Stops Writing…

I am writing this as our first week after hybrid comes to an end. To say this week was stressful is an understatement, and I don’t think I realized, until this week, how many hats I actually wear: student body president, RISE editor-in-chief, writer, student, daughter, sister, friend, cat mom. I do sometimes get overwhelmed and feel myself being spread thin. I know that I cannot give my all in everything and that it’s okay to say no and to give up control, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still struggle with it. This week, my writing suffered. Sure, I had some very successful SGA meetings, launched a digital newspaper, planned some school events, did my school work, applied to college, hung with friends, and still managed to sleep, but at what cost? 

I submitted a short story last week that was quite possibly the worst thing I have ever written. I have never been more ashamed of anything I’ve turned in. My friends tried to encourage me, but I know that it wasn’t my best work, and I feel like I let, not only, myself but my writing community down, and that is my biggest disappointment.  

This week, we were challenged to just be poets and writers and create poetry, but I have to admit, it was one of the hardest assignments for me. We were simply told to write poetry, and I had to force myself to produce content. Writing has never been this hard for me, and I can’t deal. I feel like I am losing apart of my identity.

And if I’m not a writer, who am I? 

During quarantine, I didn’t write. I wrote a single poem during the entire 6-month break. I blamed it on lack of inspiration, but with what’s going on in the world, there’s no way it was that. I think I just didn’t want to admit to myself that writing had stopped being fun. The thing that I used to love most had become a chore. I stared at blank document after blank document, watching the bar blink at me. It’s all I could do. 

But, here I am, stuck in this funk, wondering when it will end. When will the joy return? When will the words stop being something I loathe?

When will the writer in me start writing again?

This was pretty candid and personal, and I normally write things like this in my journal, but I felt the need to share in case any others seem to have lost their writer’s voices too.

 

Yes, I have a playlist for that

Just as the title may suggest, I have A LOT of playlists of Spotify. So let’s go on a tour of them together, shall we?

 

Currently, I have 25 playlists and counting, with over 500 hundred songs and hundreds of hours of music across all of them. However, only 15 are public.

 

“when you give me the aux” is titled so because it’s a list of songs I deemed worthy effort to play around other people. I very embarrassed about my music taste, so having a playlist for “Oh, you can play something” has been extremely helpful!

 

This playlist includes several remixed Lin-Manuel Miranda show tunes, as well as songs by Billie Eilish, blackbear, and Taylor Swift. Basically, if I’ve cried while listening to it, it’s on the list.

 

“h e a v y” was created in the beginning of quarantine, just as the full realization of what all was happening was finally hitting me. The entire playlist has a let-me-just-lay-here-on-the-floor vibe.

 

Sometimes I just want to dance around in my room all by myself. Sue me!

 

This summer, I found myself without anyone to go to the lake with or to swim at the beach with. I spent more time tanning this summer than I ever have, so I made a playlist for it.

 

Just a playlist of uplifting music for those happy days.

So I went through an emo phase. If you’ve seen some of my more “edgier” outfits around MSA, then you could have probably guessed that. “why can’t it just be a phase” * is just for those times where the emo jumps out again.

* I know it’s misspelled in the screenshot

This sounds dark and edgy, but it’s just songs that I work to that are completely instrumental, so technically.. there are no words are this playlist.

 

Just some soft, cuddly songs. They are also nice to nap too.

 

Just the opposite of the last one! “dancy love songs” is basically the dance-party-in-your-room, just with someone else!

 

The title of this playlist is still in the works, but “a hot shower on a cold afternoon” sums it up nicely I think. This is an extremely calming playlist that not only have I had spa days too but have also fallen asleep listening to.

 

I don’t know why it smells, it just does. This is just a list of songs that take me back to the early 2000s and my elementary school years.

Last, but not least, is my collaboratory playlist. It’s fairly new but it’s a collection of music that my friends can recommend to me. I’ve always had an issue with listening to the same music over and over again. This way, I always have to need music to listen to.

Thank you for taking this journey with me through my Spotify. If you ever need a music rec, feel free to ask! And I’m open to new music all. the. time. So if you hear something good, let me know!

The Manic Pixie Dream People

Stereotypes can be defined as an over-generalized belief about a particular group of people. They can span everything from race to religion. Society has been known to push stereotypes in media, whether it be in television, film, or marketing advertisements. Gender stereotypes and tropes in particular have never been my favorite thing. However, this doesn’t mean there haven’t been some instances of me enjoying seeing them on screen!

In The Princess Diaries (2001), the trope of “nerd girl isn’t pretty until her makeover” is presented at it’s finest. Anne Hathaway (an undoubtedly gorgeous actress) is presented as a less than pretty, shy girl until she receives her iconic makeover. After her makeover of contact lenses and straighten hair, her crush notice her and the world accept her as royalty. I hate this trope with a fiery passion, but that doesn’t stop me from watching this movie at least once a year, without fail!

But this isn’t about nerdy, shy girl makeovers. This is about The Manic Pixie Dream People!

Manic Pixie Dream Girls/Boys

I’m sure you’ve already been beaten over the head with reasons as to why this trope is bad and harmful but just bear with me.

Manic Pixie Dream Girls are usually presented as saviors to their male counterparts in a time of need. They fix their lives, have a brief romantic relationship with them, and then disappear without a trace. They serve only to further a male character’s growth and usually have no significant character arch of their own. A popular MPDG is Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim VS. The World.

For a while, like most, I didn’t consider that there would be another side to the Manic Pixie Dream coin. But alas, there’s more!

If he’s mysterious, charming, pretentious, and “deep”, then he’s definitely a Manic Pixie Dream Boy! The most popular example I can think of is Augustus Waters in The Fault in Our Stars. MPDBs fair sightly better compared to MPDGs, as they usually have a bigger storyline of their own and most likely get the girl in the end. However, in most instances I’ve seen, the MPDB will die by the end of the story. The real kicker is that their love interest most likely will mourn their death for the rest of their lives and never really get over them.

So after all that, you probably have a few characters in mind that fit these descriptions. This brings up an alarming question. If these characters are so harmful, then why are they so popular?

The answer is kind of simple. People want what they can’t have.

I’m not saying this to judge anyone, I promise. I vividly remember times when the thought of a mysterious stranger sweeping me off my feet and making all my problems go away sounded pretty good.

The reality of this is that MPDGs and MPDBs are nowhere near being real people. They set impossibly high standards and incredibly unrealistic expectations for relationships. Real relationships consist of two completely flawed people just trying their best. One should not rely on the other to solve all their problems. And there should always be an equal give and take. And usually, normal relationships don’t last, which is completely okay! 

The constant repetition of stories such as the one depicted in The Fault in Our Stars makes me wonder why everything gets turned into a love story, but that may be another blog topic for another day.

So to end this, here are two of my favorite movies that I believe accuratly present romantic relationships! When Harry Met Sally... follows two friends throughout the twists and turns of their life as they slowly fall in love with each other (funny). Marriage Story follows two sides of a divorce as the once marriaged couple tries to figure out what to do next (sad). If you end up watching either of these (I think they’re both on Netflix), I hope you enjoy them and please let me know what you thought!