Category: Junior Literary

this is a continuation of the last journal entries I uploaded previously!

Day 54- I found out how to clean my suit and I found the thing that’s been fucking watching me. I turned on the security cameras today once I finally figured out how to get them up and running. I also found out how to pull out our emergency barricades, so I put those up to I don’t know how to put them down but as of right now I don’t plan on leaving. But as soon as I turned on the cameras, I saw something outside of Charles room and then I heard screaming. First off he had been alive this whole time! Well, he wasn’t for long because I saw this huge creature crawl, or I guess dragged itself? Into his room and I don’t know what went down from there because thank God we don’t have cameras in our room. I’m kind of glad Charles died though he would be a pain to work with during all this. But I swear the creature looked at the camera before all the shit went down. Something about it felt so human though I’m going to see if I can slow down the footage and see what the creature really is. 

Day 56- Ok so it took me two days to get these shitty cameras to slow down and show anything but grain! It was worth it and not in a way because now I’m terrified and probably going to go insane. This monster or creature I will say because I now know it is human. Many humans stuck together forming a giant mass. To be honest it’s horrifying and all of them are the ones I presumed dead. I feel a connection to them I feel awful for their situation, but I also know they killed my coworkers, and I don’t know if I will be next. 

Day 60- I have found a contact that will listen to me and it’s one of my old work buddies. God, I wish I had just kept that stupid office job and never chosen this hell over it. Johnathen said he is talking with our HR boss the stupid big man both metaphorically and not who ran this whole operation. Ran it from the comfort of his office where he ignored my emails for help. Johnathen, unlike me, is good friends with him and said he talked him into sending a team to fly me out. He said the boss had laughed when he was informed that everyone in our team had been killed, he said he assumed the last team he had sent just quit. Apparently making crude remarks and saying they must have died due to poor work ethic and no survival skills; I don’t think Johnathen will remain friends with him after this interaction. 

Getting away from ruining and picking apart children’s shows, I’m going to analyze my favorite songs. I enjoy various artists ranging from The Foundations, Chappell Roan, and even Incubus. This causes the genres I listen to, to also be all over the place. You will see that as I go through the songs today. 

According to stats.fm for Spotify, my top genres for the past 6 months have been Rock, Pop, Alternative, Classic Rock, and Mellow Gold.

    The 3-minute song, “Build Me Up Buttercup” by The Foundations is truly magical. It is in the C key and 4/4 time signature. The song is a story told by a lover who feels he is not getting enough reciprocation in his relationship/situationship. His lover never calls him when they say they will but he will love them still. This cycle continues throughout the song of the man’s lover continuing to not do right by him. Although the song is upbeat and fun, the lyrics depict a one-sided relationship that is mainly over the phone. This can be very relatable to current long-distance relationships who only ever talk through texting or phone calls. Many relationships develop and work that way. I enjoy this song because of the upbeat rhythm and the relatable lyrics.

    The nearly 4-minute song “Kaleidoscope” by Chappell Roan is a ballad that is in the B Major key and has a tempo of 77BPM. The song travels through a relationship that has just ended. The two were originally friends but ended up as more, we see this in the lyrics: “I guess we could pretend/ We didn’t cross the line” Roan still admires the other member of this relationship as she sings throughout the song. In the last of the lyrics, Chappell sings “Don’t be afraid to hold it close”, this makes sense because she still loves her ex-partner as a friend. It is still love but it is not the same kind of love, this follows the “Love is a kaleidoscope” metaphor throughout the song. I like this song because it shows how confusing love truly can be.

    The 3-and-a-half-minute song “Wish You Were Here” by Incubus is one of my personal favorites off of the morning view album. The song is about feeling free from yourself to enjoy life for a moment. The lyrics “The world’s a rollercoaster/ And I am not strapped in/ Well, maybe I should hold with care/But my hands are busy in the air..” are very interesting for me because they show how free the singer feels. Being on a rollercoaster without being strapped in and not holding on sounds pretty free… it also sounds like many injuries (although it’s only a metaphor). Relating to the title, the singer wants to feel this freedom with a certain person. Throughout the song, he repeats the lyrics “I wish you were here” to emphasize that. I love this song because it allows me to relax and imagine a place where I can be with someone I miss. This band is also very special to me as it was one of my late mother’s favorites. 

I’m embarrassed to admit that I grew up entirely on the Internet. My dad got me my first laptop when I was just 4 years old. Of course, he did it in good favor. I had always played games on his laptop so he just decided to get me my own. But instead of using his own laptop for work like he thought he would, he just spent all his time playing Club Penguin and Pixie Hollow with me. Times like that created the best memories I have to this day.

So when I moved to America in 2014, I was (unfortunately) chronically online at the ripe age of 6. I spent every single day on YouTube. Wasting hours of my day with my eyes glued to the screen. But honestly, I look back on those moments fondly. I had fun and that’s really all that mattered. I wasn’t doing anything harmful and I think I grew up to be an alright person. Hopefully others think I’m a little more than “alright,” though.

In my early days of YouTube, I got really into indie games (like most people). The first one I remember was Five Nights at Freddy’s but I refuse to talk about that one… So instead, I’ll discuss the ones that positively impacted me and still affect me to this day – like Undertale.

Words actually cannot describe just how much Undertale (and Deltarune!) impacted me as a person. I have 2 huge Undertale posters above my bed at home and a Deltarune print on my wall at MSA. I also have more merch on this year’s Christmas list so if anyone wants to get me a little something, you know what to get… 

Undertale was a game released in 2015 where you play as a little kid that falls into the “Underground” and you can either make friends with “Monsters” or kill them. I remember watching Jacksepticeye’s playthrough of it and then scouring YouTube to watch as many more playthroughs as little 7-year-old me could. I never actually played it, but I did play Deltarune which is kind of an alternate reality to Undertale.

Sally Face was another game that shook my whole world as a kid. This one was released in 2016, and I remember being obsessed with Gloom’s playthrough of it. It’s about a boy with a prosthetic face that solves mysteries and goes ghost hunting with his friends. I was so confused about the story and it took me so long to figure it out, because I was literally 8-years-old when the first chapters released. When I was a kid, I was really picky about the art styles of the games and shows that I watched, and I remember being somewhat grossed out by the style of Sally Face, but now I love it with my whole entire heart. I also have a giant poster of it in my room back at home (and it’s kind of creepy).

Stardew Valley actually changed me as a person. I would not be the girl I am today if Stardew Valley did not come out in 2016. Back then, I hated living in Mississippi and I wanted to move to big cities so badly, and then this little farming simulator came out and my entire world changed. It’s actually unhealthy. I’ll sit outside and think “this is just like Stardew Valley.” No girl, this is literally your backyard. I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve made it my goal to move to the countryside when I’m old just because of Stardew Valley. Y’all wouldn’t get it…

I’m a little worried about how much I’ve bared my soul in these blogs. That doesn’t mean I’ll stop anytime soon. I just love to overshare. I’d love to hear about anyone else’s favorite memories about their early days on the Internet or if they were obsessed with indie games too. Expect my next blog to be about Deltarune.

Subnautica is a videogame that released its early access in 2014. It’s an underwater horror/adventure games where you swim around an alien ocean collecting materials to find a way to get off of the planet.

I played this game last year with my friend who begged me to get it. I had already known what it was due to my favorite youtubers playing it when I was younger. I also had it already; I was just too scared to play it. I was scared of the big open ocean that I had to explore. But, because of my friends begging, I played it anyways.

When I got into the game, I started off in a shallow area where I could collect basic materials without much risk. I was even scared of that part, but I still played because I knew there was a story to the game. I eventually progressed so much that I had a submarine and could go to the deep ocean where there was a lot of scary sea creatures. I was freaking out throughout the entire time I was playing, but I had so much fun. It had me thinking a lot and was a very beautiful game. It had a bunch of journal entries and data logs around the map that gave you some lore about the things that happened on that planet. Some of the aliens there weren’t even from that planet.

There were voice logs and crashed life pods everywhere that gave so much lore about the company that got the main character there. The main character isn’t even important to the overall story kind of. He’s just a janitor that just so happened to survive the crash landing and to something that really developed the whole story. What he does at the end of the game is really the only thing he does that contributes to the story. The rest of it is just him being vessel for the player to use to figure out the story and play the game. I thought that was really interesting.

Subnautica was a very big part of my early 2024. I loved going home to play that game knowing that I was closer and closer to finishing a masterpiece. I eventually downloaded the spin-off game and completed that too. All of this to say that YOU ALL SHOULD PLAY SUBNAUTICA. IT IS SUPER DUPER FUN. Also, Subnautica two is coming out soon. After years of waiting, we are finally getting it. So, when it’s here, don’t talk to me because that’s all I will be thinking about.

Shop is an album made by Jack Stauber that aired on adult swim in 2019. It consists of 8 songs, and I will be talking about the videos!

The musical begins with the main character struggling to choose a free sample. You can only get one and he’s not sure which on to get. The person selling it tells him to just take one and he walks away saying he’ll come back for it.

 

1. Milk

In the song milk a guy runs into an old lady saying “Pecan”. She wants pecan cookies, and he reaches to get them but grabs the wrong ones. The lady asks if he’s deaf then asks for him to get the right one, saying she’ll try the other cookies next time. He grabs the box but when he looks down the lady disappears. When he gets his milk, he sees that it’s expired.

The song consists of many questions. Like asking what kind of milk are you? What kind of life did you live? Was your life good or bad? Did you have friends or were you all alone? Did they laugh at you, or did you laugh with them? The song ends with saying your days are gone and the grocery list goes on. The guy eventually finds one that isn’t expired and puts it in his basket.

2. Bread

It starts with the guy looking at artisanal vitamin bread. A man grabs it from him and the guy calls it interesting and asks about it. The man says it’s for his dog, he says doesn’t shop there and practically calls the food inedible. The guy makes a joke about his dog being artisanal bred and the man asks if he’s deaf because he just said the dog ate the bread. He then leaves. 

The song starts with talking about everything artisanal. A house, a wife, a car, an artisanal life. Just to see what people would think of him. He asks, “What’s an artisanal me?” Which people are his artisanal friends? Does he impress you? Can he hide behind his success? Is it really success if he lets his things talk to him? Then they all go away and he’s on his own again. He then grabs a bread branded ‘WOWZA’ and puts it in his basket. (I just think it’s a fun name.)

3. Paper towels

This starts with a couple across the aisle looking for vegan hotdog buns. Something falls on the man’s head and it pans back to the guy where a glass falls in front of him. The employee asks if he just broke that, the guy says no. He then gets down and starts picking the glass up before cutting his finger. The guy asks if he’s okay, but the employee starts yapping about how the glass shattered instantly but it would take weeks to put it back together and it’ll never be the same. The guy keeps trying to talk but the employee keeps going on how even with his finger, it cut so easily but it’ll take years to heal. Then he tells the guy the paper towels are on aisle 8. He even says the more paper towels you use the more of a mess you make.

The songs start with saying messes are irreversible, unraveling, unstoppable. How can you contain it when it’s nonstop and endless? Can he put a halt on his? There’s an infinite gain but there’s a break in the chain. It’s out of his hands, the universe will expand! It ends with him finding and indestructible washrag. He even says, “No downside to mass producing these.”

4. Oatmeal

Starts with a man asking to guy to move out of the way. The man is clearly troubled and in a rush. He’s on a tight schedule and needed to be in the frozen sections 3 seconds ago. He won’t be able to have peas with his dinner this Wednesday! He says your body is like a clock and in you don’t plan accordingly you could, y’know. He stops explaining due to the fact he was behind. He then walks away, and the guy looks at oatmeal. A whole box isn’t expensive, for 100 bowls. He could eat it for the rest of his life!

The song starts with him saying he could have oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. He could have it when he wakes up and brushes his teeth. He could have an oatmeal job, and oatmeal home, oatmeal sleep. An everyday oatmeal routine. Life could have rhythm and harmony! The vibe of the song changes and talks about unexpected circumstances. How could you know what will happen? Is routine human? Is it a master? It’s disastrous without one, but you can adapt to chaos faster. The guy just grabs a mystery flavored oatmeal.

5. Coffee

He thinks he has the whole aisle to himself until a lady appears out of nowhere with a cup of coffee in her hand. The lady talks very fast before just stopping, her entire face drops, and he’s confused. She fell asleep and all it took was a sip of the coffee to wake her up. She looks at the time and says she forgot her son at daycare. She asks his name, and he sits in silence, so she asks if he’s deaf, she then leaves and says she’ll pray for ears before he spaces out.

The song starts with asking is it needed? The coffee. How it makes you feel alive, but do you really need it to survive? Just a sip, the coffee is coaxing him into having more, but he’s conflicted on if he needs any more. The coffee is turning into an addiction, he spends money on it and not anything important. He says maybe he needs a cup of self-control. The song ends with him just getting decaf coffee. 

6. Cheese (and all of the cheese puns)

In this song he doesn’t meet anyone. Instead, it starts by saying, “A dark walk through the five aisles of grief.

In the song he is overwhelmed by choice “This can’t brie”. There’s so much cheese and he doesn’t know which on he wants. “You gouda be kidding me. I can’t make these decisions on my provolone.” He’s conflicted and unsure on which one to chose. It’s a throwback to the beginning where he’s indecisive. “Could someone else select my cheddar?” He’ll just look the other way and let the universe choose for him. He did! Dairy free maple coconut water cheese. He says I could’ve picked something better than that.

7. Finale

In this song he realizes that he can make his own choices. He could pick something better for himself than anyone else could! His decisions make him a good go-getter. All milk expires and sometimes your oatmeal/routines need to be tossed and something new can come out of it. Moderate your coffee! Life gets messy and the things you own do not define you. 

The musical ends with him going back to get the free sample. He tries strawberry and thinks it’s amazing! He asks to try the other and the man tells him no. 

Trigger Warning-Some songs pertain to self-harm and suicidal ideations which will be discussed down below.

Are you into alternative forms of music? Melody’s that make you question what its creator wanted you to feel? Along with lyrics that if paid attention to reveal unnerving stories and truths. Well then, I have a creator perfect for you and today who exactly they are and what they do.

Sodikken is both a music artist and YouTube creator who blew up in the 2021 through 2022 era. They are known mostly for their songs Misery meat, People eater, and HANSEL of course along with GRETEL. If your Tik Tok for you page is more music based on lands you on the niche sides of things you have probably heard snippets of these songs. Onto what some of these songs are about though as they play an overall theme in most of Sodikken’s songs. The creator is known to create upbeat and joyous melodies that seem conflicting with the lyrics being sung. Examples of this can be found in the song HANSEL and the character that Sodikken created who we know as Hansel. This song is about a boy who lives in a family of four and along with another main character in Sodikken’s series Gretel. We come to learn Hansel is the least favorite member/ child in the family and this deeply impacts them. This is what the whole song HANSEL revolves around is Hansel speaking on how they self-harm with knives and fire for attention as they never get any. They also go on to speak on how they are jealous of their sister Gretel and wish they were like them or even were them so they could receive love. The song ultimately ends when Hansel commits suicide and makes commentary on how they finally received a party to celebrate just them when in reality they are talking about their funeral.

The song HANSEL only gives us one side of the story though. The story Gretel shows us that Gretel did not have as easy and favorable of a life as Hansel made it out to be. Through this song we learn Gretel has a skin condition known as FAMMM (Familia Atypical multiple mole melanoma). This condition led to Gretel being relentlessly bullied and made fun of for her appearance. This leads to her becoming aggressive to those who have mocked her or make fun of her condition. One day while on a walk she is stabbed by a man who mistakes her for a monster due to her condition and anger but before this there are other concerning lyrics that hint to the fact, she may have already been planning her death.  The song has many mentions of mangos and cherries which the pits in small amounts contain cyanide. Keep in mind while both songs HANSEL and GRETEL are being sung if one were to not pay attention to the lyrics these would seem like upbeat and cheerful songs.

As we can see Sodikken is an extremely talented musician and both writer t0 think of tackling such serious topics while still being able to produce such melodies. If any of these songs or their meanings sound like something you would find interesting, I encourage you to check out their music! They have yet to upload any music since 2022 but the albums they have produced before then are something truly remarkable.

I first read the House on Mango Street in my 7^th grade English class. Back then, I didn’t find detailed heritage books interesting. There was a lot of Spanish in it and the main character had a funny name, that was all I knew. This year, I reread it. Mostly, because it has some interesting language. Partly because my friend was reading it, and she has good taste. Anyway, this friend was showing me the books she planned on reading this month, and in them was a small novel. It looked like 200 or so pages. When she pulled it from the shelf, I immediately got flash backs of my English teacher reading aloud the life of Esperanza Cordero over a glitchy zoom call. The weird thing about class novels is no matter how uninteresting it is at the time; you don’t forget it. You may not remember any events of it, but you can recall reading the great Gatsby in 9^th grade.

What surprised me was my reaction to the book. I didn’t think I would be enthusiastic to see it again after 2-3 years. The memory of hardly staying awake during its reading came back to me and I thought: Why am I happy to see it again? Part of me was very reluctant to read it, but another part of me just wanted something to read. So, I read it, and it was good. The house on mango street follows the life of Esperanza, whose family just moved into a new neighborhood. It’s a poor area mostly sustaining of Mexican immigrants. From a first person POV, Esperanza vividly tells the story of living on mango street as well as her experiences as a 12-year-old Mexican American girl.

Honestly, I read the book for the writing style, which is so raw, vulnerable, and deltaic. But what hooked me was the theme of childhood. And I’m not connected to my own inner child or whatever, I just deal with age. However, the life of Esperanza opened doors to this thinking. The trials of childhood are too significant for us to leave and never look at again. Why? Because we need to learn about ourselves. Reminiscing about your childhood could provide answers to a struggle. I didn’t know that I preferred going to the playground over the movies because I wasn’t allowed to go to the playground. My mom worked a double shift, and she didn’t have enough energy to take me. But at the movies, she had time to rest her eyes, and I was entranced in finding nemo. I realized I only went to the movies because I felt like I had to.  At 17 years old, I was still carrying around the disappointment of having to sit through finding nemo instead of swinging on the swing set. This is why going back to those distant, unpleasant memories feeds our current selves. So, we can grow into our true selves with no mental restraints.

 

 

 

               

This weekend, I had the pleasure of going to bot Miscast shows. I wasn’t able to get tickets when they were on sale, so I thought I wasn’t going to be able to attend. Thankfully, I met some really nice people who gave me free tickets. Seeing that show was life changing to me. I have seen your average choir performance before, but that show was something else. Not once have I ever sat down and heard someone sing like that in person. I don’t think a single person did bad. They all sung their hearts out and you could really tell how hard they were working.

The point of Miscast is for people to sing songs that they normally wouldn’t sing. So, girls would sing songs traditionally sung by guys, and guys would sing songs traditionally sung by girls. They all got a chance to come out and sing solo songs and some got to also do duets or quartets. Some people had more theatrical songs that required them to move around and act, and some had less theatrical once that had them just sing their hearts out.

I have heard the vocals practice in the morning with warm-ups and stuff, but I have never heard them go all out. I’ve never even heard my roommate sing like that and he sings in the room all the time. Therefore, it was amazing to see all my friends in vocal and other people sing with their soul and give it their all. It really reminded me how talented people here really are. I was so happy to congratulate all the people who sung and worked on the show. The lights were stunning, the stage was set up nicely, and everybody did great. Except for a few audience members that didn’t know proper theatre etiquette.

I got to meet a lot of parents and new people while I was there too. Everyone was just so sweet. Also, I think the quartet and Keegan Carpenter’s was the best ones. The quartet sounded so nice and fun, and you could really tell they worked hard on it. Keegan is my roommate so I’m very biased, but I was so astonished to see him sing like that. It was so amazing. 

All in all, Miscast was a near lifechanging experience for me. The music was beautiful, it was set up with care, and everybody was nice. I can’t wait for the next vocal event.