Category: Junior Literary

Hi everyone, this week’s blog is going to be a yap session. So, please, enjoy. I think I’m going to talk about Sprite today. I have a lot of love for the drink, yes, I do. Something about it just quenches your thirst but leaves you wanting more of that fresh tang. I know you know what I’m talking about. And the green color of the bottle just draws you in. I have to say, my favorite kind of Sprite is McDonald’s Sprite. It just has Wendy’s, Burger King, and all the rest beat. And before anyone tries to say they all taste the same, no, they don’t. It’s like how different brands of water taste different. Aquafina and Dasani don’t taste the same. McDonald’s Sprite and Wendy’s Sprite don’t taste the same. As I write this, sitting comfortably in bed, I am in fact craving a Sprite. Anyways, next topic of conversation. Do you guys prefer red or blue Takis? I like them both, but for some reason, I tend to gravitate towards red. They’re classic, you know. And we all know how I feel about blue food. Scroll on my page. Find the blog. Blue food is overhyped, and people think it’s special/better just because it’s blue, when in reality, this is not the case. In fact, sometimes I think there’s too much blue being forced upon us. I’m not a blue hater or anything, but whatever happened to yellow? Orange? Purple? Going back to the blue food racism, I think this also might have something to do with sexism as well. No, think about it. Blue is a “boy color”. Blueberries must be boys and strawberries must be girls, but since society is telling us blue food is better, they’re programming us to think boys are better than girls. I am onto something here.  Call me crazy if you want, but it really is that deep. I mean, look around, you cannot escape the color blue. It’s like it’s being forced down our throats. Walmart, Best Buy, etc. I beg you all, please don’t feed into blue. Now, I’m going to go get a Sprite. Watch out for the color Blue, and in case I haven’t already said this, HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH! 

I think I first heard this term in like 5th grade; it was probably during one of small collection of books my library had in stock. two spirited is not as simple as it seems and you really cannot explain the full meaning in words without overly simplifying the meaning of it. I think the meaning means something different to everyone thought but right now were talking about what it meant to the indigenous people and how their cultural and sexual identity was defined by it.

two spirited usually a word you see in media referring to the trans identity in native American culture was not just as simple as that it’s meant to be a unique word referring to native Americans who didn’t occupy normal societal roles. they were known to have both feminine and masculine spirits who identified as two separate identities inside of one body. Their society never crucified them as typical American culture does with people who see themselves this way though they saw them as gifted beings who could do task such meant for men: hunting, fishing, leading and task meant for women: weaving, gathering, teaching. they saw two spirited people as beings with deeper insight and perspectives that they could never think of.  this word was never just meant to be used to refer to sexuality it was for healers, politics, and spiritual advisers. this word is mostly not even used by native Americans who identify as queer it’s mostly occupied by native Americans who identify as “straight”. two spirited is much more than a word it’s an understanding of life in two perspectives, it’s a sign of intelligence mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

two spirited was a word used to describe those blessed with the wisdom to deliver guidance maybe to them being two spirited was like being a prophet those who could speak and deliver the word of their gods. those whose thoughts transcend what normal human being is capable of. they who were angels reincarnated. ultimately what I’m trying to establish is that it’s meaningless and potentially offensive to categorize them and force them to conform into one theory or subject two spirited to me seems like the definition of not being made to understand I think in some weird way their like most of my poetry confusing they apply to all categories of life but never fit into  a single one fully , they have the capabilities to make you laugh or cry depending on how you see them, they can give or even heal you. 

I chose two spirited because it kind of relates to a term in African American culture or soulaan culture that I found people in church love to say when a child is extremely talented at something they brand them as having two souls or “having been here before” it kind of gives of the same mental understanding of not understanding something. I find it interesting how different races explore alike ideals even though they had different spiritual, and cultural traditions. 

what does the term “two-spirited” mean to you?

how do you think in your culture people refer to this?

do they act irrationally like European colonizers? do they accept them and the wisdom that come with them?

Welcome back to my Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind series! If you haven’t read part one, I highly suggest that you do or this will not make any sense. Also please leave me a few suggestions for what to write my next blog about. Alright I’m going to get straight into it; hopefully this blog won’t be as long as the last one. 🙂

I left off where he wakes up to find his car wrecked, empty spaces all over his apartment, and a feeling of something missing. 

He gets in his car and drives to the train station. This day just so happens to be no other than Valentine’s Day. We see him stand in a crowd, waiting for his train to arrive. While we see this, we hear his thoughts. He is complaining about how Valentines is just a holiday made by mass producers and card companies. As he is standing there, he begins to look around uneasily. In the blink of an eye, he begins running to the train heading for Montauk. Yes, you read right, Montauk. 

He slides through the closing train doors and admits he doesn’t even know why he did it. “I don’t know why. I’m not an impulsive person. I guess I just woke up in a funk this morning. I gotta get my car fixed.” When he arrives to Montauk, he uses a payphone to call his work, claiming he has food poisoning and that’s why he’s not there. 

The screen cuts to him walking the beach. We see in the distance Clemintine doing the same. He then has the thought of “getting back out there.” He says, “If only I could meet someone new. I guess my chances of that happening are somewhat diminished, since I’m incapable of making eye contact with a woman I don’t know. Maybe I should get back together with Naomi. She was nice. Nice is good. She loved me. … Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?” 

As soon as he finishes this thought, Clem pops up from the seat Infront of him. They have a small yet awkward conversation about Clem’s hair, and the word nice.  He ends the conversation by asking her to move because he has some writing to do. When they get off the train, it is nighttime.  Clem is walking in the cold, so Joel asks her if she wants a ride home. 

Clemintine invites him in for a drink, and he abides. She mentions how he is kind of quiet to which he responds, “I’m sorry. You know, my life isn’t that interesting. I go to work, I come home. I don’t know what to say. You should read my journal. I mean, it’s just blank.”

At the end of the night, Clementine is fully intrigued by him, even saying “I’m gonna marry you. I know it.” They have another small chat about the Charles (the frozen lake.) Joel tells her he needs to go because it’s getting late. They exchange numbers, and he heads home. They end up going to The Charles on a date, and he takes her home. While she runs into her apartment to grab a toothbrush Patrick (Clems new boyfriend) sees Joel outside and immediately knows what happened. 

She grabs her mail, and heads outside to Joels car. She opens her mail to see a package from the company that erased their minds. She puts in the cassette tape, and it begins playing.  “To all patients of Dr. Howard Mierzwiak. My name is Mary Svevo. We’ve met, but you don’t remember me. I worked for a company you hired to have part of your memory erased. I’ve since decided that this is a horrible… To correct this, I’m sending everyone’s file back to them.” Her voice begins to speak through the radio. “My name is Clementine Kruczynski. I’m here to erase Joel Barish.” They get into an altercation about this, and Clementine rushes out the car and past Patrick. She later decides to go to Joels house. 

When she walks in Joel is playing his version of the tape. He reveals that he found a painting he did of Clementine. She listens to what Joel says about her over the recording and decides to leave. Joel walks out the door and says “Wait.”

CLEMENTINE: What?

JOEL: I don’t know.  Just wait. Just wait.

CLEMENTINE: What do you want, Joel?

JOEL: I don’t know. I want you to wait for… just a while.

CLEMENTINE: Okay.

JOEL: Really?

CLEMENTINE: I’m not a concept, Joel. I’m just a f—ed-up girl who’s looking for my own peace of mind. I’m not perfect.

JOEL: I can’t see anything that I don’t like about you.

CLEMENTINE: But you will!

JOEL: Right now I can’t.

CLEMENTINE: But you will! You know, you will think of things, and I’ll get bored with you and feel trapped… because that’s what happens with me.

JOEL: Okay.

CLEMENTINE: [pauses] Okay. Okay.

JOEL: Okay.

Just like that, the screen fades out and “Everybody’s Got to Learn Sometime” by Beck begins playing. 

Just like that, the movie is over and we are left with MANY questions. Will they work out? Will it be a cycle? Does Patrick ever find out? While yes, this movie is superficial it makes me wonder, if I could forget someone, would I? If we had the option to wipe someone completely from our life, would we? The human brain remembers approximately 5000+ faces over a lifetime. If you could get rid of just one, would you? 

Thanks for reading todays blog; please leave your thoughts on this movie and concept in the comments. Love you guys, goodbye!   

Heyyyy y’all! So ya’ll see how the sun has been out, the trees are growing again, and the bugs coming out sadly. But all this is good, right? Yess, yess it is. Ya’ll wanna know why, gonna tell y’all anyway. The winter is gone (well almost). Spring is almost here thank goodness. I’m so ready for the cold to be gone. When the sun comes out that mean more cute pictures, bathing suits shopping, and clothes shopping. Yea I can say the cold had some good moments but I can’t stand to stay in the house so long. I couldn’t go out like I wanted to since I get sick too easily but now I might not have to worry about that, I hope. 

  but since spring is almost here I can still do some early clothing shopping and  see where I wanna go for spring break. Normally for spring break we go out of town,do a little swimming, go to escape rooms and even go to theme parks.  If I had to pick a favorite session it’ll be spring for sure. All the trees are getting its beautiful colors, the gorgeous flowers, the nice spring dresses they are having at the stores. And the time goes back. It won’t get dark out too early now, so more time outside. 

Omg, I just had a thought. We can do a junior literary picnic on that black stage outside. Would y’all be down for that? We can go buy some snacks, do some work if ya’ll want, we can vibe to music, we can even just chill and talk while eating the snacks lol. I feel like that would be something fun to do since we don’t really do much together. If ya’ll are up to that we should most definitely talk about it.

Spring time will be a good time, well that’s what I’m telling myself. Winter was not the best so we are going to make spring time a time to remember and have fun. I hope y’all had fun with the winter weather because you can say bye bye cold and hello sun and heat. And get ready for the good oh pool time.

Well that’s it for this blog. Thanks for reading until next time.

This blog it going to be a bit different from my usual blogs. I have always had an interest with this subculture but recently I have gotten into it again. 

For those who don’t know Punk is a subculture that is a global movement that emerged in the mid 70’s in the US. UK, and a few other nations. It is a countercultural reaction against mainstream commercialism. 

Punk emphasizes non-conformity, anti-capitalism, and individualism at its core. It is a movement against authority. It stems from political, economic, and social frustrations. It also focuses on raw emotion, passion, politics, and D-I-Y ethics. It is a truly incredible movement that I don’t think gets talked about as much as it should.

Many people when they think of Punk they think of anger and aggression which is partly true but Punk is much more. It is seeing something and doing something about it. Its standing up when no one else will. It’s knowing what is going on it your world. Due to a few individuals the punk scene, to some, has been lumped in with racism and negative and harmful ideologies, but this isn’t the case. Only a very very small, rare percent of Punks have these harmful ideologies. Most are very anti-racism, anti-fascism, anti-authoritarian, anti-white supremacy. Punks have actually significantly benefited many communities. Punk communities often operate in mutual aid, meaning they establish food programs for the poor, and establish support for the homeless and disabled. The Punk scene has also created a very welcoming and inclusive safe space for those who are in marginalized groups like LGBTQ+ and women. Punks have also been a big part in activism. They have fought against racism, sexism, animal cruelty, environmental issues, and even war. They often use bands as a platform to voice their opinions and impact society.  

Most people think that Punk is just a style or music but the ideologies that go with the subculture are so much more important to the punk community. The style and music has a huge role but the ideologies have a much bigger importance. Without these the punk subculture in my opinion wouldn’t exist. Some people say they are punk and do not align with the ideologies and I think that is a problem. A much bigger problem than not looking the part. This happens in a lot of subcultures, Goth for example. I think the mindset, especially in this particular subculture, means the most. 

But music and style plays a role as well. I could go on forever about this subculture and its ideologies, concept, and how relevant it is today but I fear this blog would be too long so I shall move on to talking about style and music for the moment. I may make another blog on this topic in the near future going further in detail. 

The style. THE STYLE! I personally love the punk style. Some may see the style as too dirty or grimy, but I personally love it. Liberty spikes. Handmade pieces. Self-sown patches. Big chunky boots. Safety pins, chains, studs galore. leather in any form. Ripped band tees. It is such an art really. It is a statement. A statement that goes with the anti-establishment and non-conformity ideologies. It rejects consumerism at its core, something I think is very needed in today’s society.

The music is what really introduced this subculture. The music started it all. It is a genre defined by aggressive fast-paced songs. It started in the 1970’s and continued to grow and evolve. It now has spread into many various forms like post-punk, hardcore, Oi!, Pop-punk, etc. (there are way too many to name.) Some punk bands during the Proto-punk era include MC5, the Stooges, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Death, the Sonics and the Seeds, the Dictators, the Monks, and Blue Cheer but these are only a few of the bands that fit into this category. Next category is the NYC scene. This was around 1974. This consisted of bands like Television, Blondie, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Patti Smith, and Lydia Lunch. Many off these bands played at a venue called the CBGB club. It is what made this era the NYC scene era, seeing as it was a small legendary music club in New York that hosted some of the most influential punk bands to this day. Next is the UK scene which took place mainly in 1976. It centered in London- hence the name “UK Scene”. The key bands in this era were the Sex Pistols, The Clash, the Undertones and The Damned. It quickly split into 80’s subgenres like Anarcho-punk, Street punk (UK82), and OI!, to name a few. Many of the key venues for the UK Scene were the 100 club, the Roxy, and the Vortex. In the 90’s Punk grew even more reaching a huge audience. In the 90’s punk became a huge mainstream appeal. It was mainly through Californian pop-punk and skate punk. The bands that were most influential during this time were bands like Green day, the Offspring, Blink-182, Sum 41, Fugazi, Rancid, and NOFX.

This is getting to be a really long blog, so I am going to make a part two with some of my favorite bands, styles, and a talk about a few of the ideologies deeper. 

So… If someone ever were to tell me they never spent more than at least five minutes on a character customization file, then I’m calling you a liar.

When it comes to video games, Dungeons and Dragons, characters I own I can get pretty technical down to their every design. I don’t know why but whenever I see a really advanced and technical character customization screen come up (and I mean you’re changing this whole character’s BONE structure) I swear I light up like a Christmas tree. 

A lot of my most well developed characters that I use in my writing activities also get thoroughly detailed descriptions. Their clothes, the way their hair is styled, if they have leather straps on their boots. All the technical designs you normally wouldn’t think about, I do and It’s NON-STOP. When designing my characters I don’t just simply start with a shirt, pants, and a pair of shoes. I go literally loophole diving in multiple different eras. I’ll stick my nose anywhere if there’s so much as a spectacle of good fashion or something I can use and turn it into a character significant stylistic taste. 

I really like taking from real world History designs, because we don’t really have anything else to refer to. I’ll even mix era fashion, [I mean its history, worst case scenario they come alive and smack me over the head.] Some of the older historic fashion designs actually pair really well with some of the newer designs. The French and the Victorian Era and maybe some of the Renaissance and dare I say Greeks and The Romans (Danny-stay seated) have also really well-developed fashion taste. But again, It’s all about the timing of the era. Some of the more royal and noble clothing some higher-class pedestrians would wear just would look silly. It’s more of the fabrics and materials used in the clothes that makes it so high coin, not the design. 

I mean come on… 

I don’t want my characters looking like that…. Lord Farquaad got it handled…

The point is, there’s no actual fun for me in just being stuck in one era, and this is why it takes me FOREVER just to design a character on a simple piece of notebook paper. I think of literally everything. Weight, Height, Age, skin types, skin color, moles?, Teeth, smell, accent, dialect, and I’m not even remotely close to what I consider “Halfway” done with character designing.

But when it comes to video game characters, I’m limited, which helps it keeps me from diving down another rabbit hole.

Now I’m not saying you HAVE to spend that much time on a character, I do it by accident mostly I just get locked in too quickly, but it’s good to do, just make sure your notes and paper or clear and eligible. 

So, I am currently playing with a sim. Her name is Fallon Winslow, and she dreamed of becoming a famous music producer, but on her first day in the town of Del Sol Valley, she met a man. Don Lothario, any Sims player knows Don is a massive Playboy. Serial romantic, non-committal. Not to be trusted. Alas, they start talking, getting along, and one conversation turns into four, and before they know it, they’re great friends. A day passes, and Don asks to come over; they flirt, giggle, and talk. Things go much too far. They both say it won’t happen again, but it does. The cycle repeats until a tragedy happens. She gets pregnant. For some reason, maybe it’s guilt, maybe it’s because she knows Don’s mother struggled to have him, she keeps the “baby”. Don moves in, and the pair make a cute couple; they get closer and closer as Fallon’s belly grows and grows.  By her third trimester, they finally go on their first date and make their relationship official. They come home all smiles, not knowing what the next day would bring. Fallon wakes up in pain but brushes it off; she has to get to work after all. She’s pregnant, she has to support the “baby”. Fallon leaves for work as Don gets home from his job. Don invites a friend over. An hour passes, another, and she goes into labor. Fallon rushes home, panicked. Don sends his friend home and hurriedly tries to calm his woman down, to no avail. Fallon is in labor for hours until finally she gives birth to a baby boy. Daniel. They think it’s over, until there’s another cry.  A baby girl. Elisse. Twins. They had twins! 

“How happy is the blameless vestal’s lot!

The world forgetting by the world forgot

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray’r accepted and each wish resign’d”

-Alexander Pope

Do you enjoy concepts of brainwash, and wiping memories from people? Well, do you also enjoy tragic stories of star-crossed lovers? If so, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a movie for you. With sci-fi themes, and a haunting story of two doomed lovers, this film covers a codependent relationship.

The directors of this movie have it set up where it is out of order, however, to avoid confusion in this blog I will be going in order. 

Joel meets Clemintine at a party on the beach. The first conversation they have just so happens to be about the name “Clemintine.” Clem sings him “Oh My Darlin’.” They immediately hit it off and hangout. They inevitably get together, and in this relationship, they are very dependent of each other.  They take things serious on the first night, and they are determined to make it work. Though this sounds like a good thing, it is not. They would push back their problems and find temporary fixes. 

After two years of running off of this unhealthy relationship, they break up. Now this is no ordinary break up. This is one of those breakups that you can run away from. So, after a while of thinking and processing what just happened, Clemintine decided the best thing to do would be to completely erase Joel from her memory. A company named Lacuna did the procedure for her, and it worked.

Joel goes to Clementine’s job post-breakup to ask for her back and sees her with another guy. He gets upset and runs to his friends. Soon after Joel comes complaining, it is revealed to him about her wiping her memory of him. This sends him into a flurry of emotions. Not truly thinking, he consults with the doctor that did Clementine’s procedure. This is where he decides that it is the right thing to do to get her erased as well. 

In order for this operation to work, you are not allowed to be around anything that could remind you of the other person. He got a bag full of Clementine’s belongings, and things he got her, and took them to the clinic for them to dispose of. Before they dispose of the items, they place Joel in a machine and get him to react to them in order to make a map of his brain. He then went home, took the pills the doctor gave him, and went to sleep. The doctors walk into his home after they are sure he is asleep. The doctors who are in charge of his procedure are HIGHLY unprofessional, even stealing his drinks and inviting people over to his home. 

The first memory Joel is taken back to is the last time they talked to each other. Clemintine had just wrecked his car, prompting them to break up after a huge argument. We see the world slowly deteriorate as we move onto the next memory.  The next memory is of them arguing about if they were ready for kids. 

While Joel is replaying all of these memories, and slowly losing Clemintine, she can physically feel the connection dropping she just doesn’t know it. She begins to feel like her skin is coming off, and like she needs to be on the move. Funnily enough, the one spot she wants to go is Montauk. One of the major mini plots is that Clemintine loves to go to the ice, and that’s where Clemintine and Joels first date was. That was the date that determined the whole course of the movie, so the fact that she wants to go there while Joel is slowly forgetting her and their memories on the ice is just so peak. 

After a few bad memories, he gets to more of the good ones. He remembers this one where they are laying in the bed, Clem is snuggled up with him and randomly asks, “Am I ugly?” to which Joel says no. This leads to one of my favorite scenes in all of cinema. 

CLEMENTINE: When I was a kid, I thought I was. Can’t believe I’m crying already. Sometimes I think people don’t understand how lonely it is to be a kid. Like you don’t matter. So, I’m eight, and I have these toys, these dolls. My favorite is this ugly girl doll who I call Clementine. And I keep yelling at her, “You can’t be ugly. Be pretty.” It’s weird. Like if I can transform her, I would magically change, too.

JOEL: [kisses Clementine] You’re pretty.

CLEMENTINE: Joel, don’t ever leave me.

JOEL: You’re pretty.

JOEL: Mierzwiak, please let me keep this memory. Just this one.

CLEMENTINE: I don’t want to hold your hand. Come on.

JOEL: Stop it! I could die right now, Clem. I’m just so happy. I’ve never felt that before. I’m just exactly where I want to be… Clem? I want to call it off. I’ll give you a sign. I want to call it off. Can you hear me? I don’t want this anymore! I want to call it off!

Imaginary Clemintine and Joel are now on a full-blown mission to stop the erasing from happening, so they try to hide in Joels oldest memories where Clemintine has no business being. He takes her to a memory of his childhood, where Clemintine takes the place of Mrs. Hamlyn. After they are found here, he continues transferring to different childhood memories. No matter if it was a happy memory, or a horrifying one, they kept running and hiding.

Inevitably, the last memory they could go was their first time meeting. Clemintine begins to talk to Joel, and they spin off into conversation, except this time he says what he wished he said before. They begin plotting on what to do but just decide it’s time to just “enjoy it.”  They break into a beach house just like the first time the hung out. She is so absolutely wreck less, and he is paranoid and worried. 

The house begins to deteriorate, and they both know it’s over. Joel begins to reflect on his past decisions and how he regrets them. He talks about how he wished he stayed that night when they met. She asked him if he could change how it ends, and to at least give her a finial goodbye. The lost words they shared with each other were as follows: Joel- “I love you.” Clem- “Meet me in Montauk.” 

The ride home begins to play through his mind, mixed with little memories of Clementine. After they finish his procedure, they leave his house and act as if nothing happened. He wakes up to find his car wrecked, empty spaces all over his apartment, and a feeling of something missing.

Okay, so unfortunately, I need to wrap up this blog, however there will be a part two. And yes, there is SO much more! I never really write blogs this long or anything, so please tell me how y’all feel about this! Love yall, bye!