Category: Junior Literary

hello. today i’m going to devote this entire blog just to things i love. small things, big things, people, inanimate objects. just everything i truly love. (yes i am running out of ideas).

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a long list of everything i love.

• music
• good acoustics
• the sound of a perfect acoustic guitar
• elliott smith
• the song “angeles”
• songwriting
• perfect lyrics
• poetry
• a combination of words that is just right
• rhythm games
• getting totally distracted by rhythm games
• human nature
• whenever i debate my own human nature
• sitting down and listening to albums all the way through
• the fall of 2022
• my boyfriend
• october as a whole
• haunted houses
• david foster wallace
• infinite jest
• friends who love books
• the way “prozac nation” by elizabeth wurtzel feels 
• being imperfect 
• waking up and not getting out of bed until an hour later
• being late to class but almost on time
• beating procrastination
• my obsessive traits
• finding friends who just get it
• the experiences people have brought to me
• my self respect
• the voice in my head
• my inner monologue would be better phrasing
• having ideas come to me randomly
• writing in a hurried state as soon as the idea comes
• my family, forever.
• the tv show succession
• eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
• graham coxon
• jennifer aniston
• my close inner circle of friends
• hippie culture
• reading about the 70s
• learning about WWII
• donuts
• going out because “why not”
• writing in general
• writing this knowing i’ll later remember so many things i left out
• my cat, izzy.
• rest in peace.

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so yeah, that’s it. just a simple blog to try and get my mind going with some writing ideas. have a good week.

1. Dolls Kill

This place sells the cutest and most interesting outfits, shoes, accessories, etc. but they are soooo expensive. The shoes range from $100-$250. Their longer dresses are $100. Even just a top is $50. You can definitely see why they are out of range. They have several cute outfits for many events. They also carry a lot of festival clothing and they do have sales often you can see at the bottom of their website home page.

2. Demonia Cult

Demonia cult it a shoe brand that makes several different types of shoes but they gained popularity for their platformed boots. Their prices range from $65-$200 depending on the type of shoe you get. Not as expensive as dolls kill but still out of my range. I got my hands on one pair of Demonia’s and a very ugly pair I got when I was 13. They mostly have shoes but there is a small accessories section with enamel pens ($8.95) and fuzzy leg warmers. I don’t understand their leg warmers because they’re all exactly the same but different price and color. Some are $27.95, some are $23.95 and $22.95.

3. Hot Topic and Spencers

Hot topic is probably the least expensive one on the list. They aren’t extreme but their stuff is still high. T-shirts are $25 for one which can pile up if there isn’t a T-shirt sale that day. All of the accessories are overpriced, especially for their quality. The accessories range from $6-$12. They are never real material and usually pretty weak. Most of my hot topic jewelry is broken. I decided to group Hot Topic and Spencers because they both have very similar if not the same pricing. Spencers jewelry is better quality to me as far as the earrings. Their body piercings are no good and not worth buying. You will probably get an infection. Both stores are the same besides the fact you can bring your kids in one and not the other.

4. Victoria secret

 

This one is quite obvious and you probably figured it would be on the list. Tell me why one set a bra and underwear is $100? Ridiculous. I own one thing from this place and it was cause I got a gift card for Christmas. That gift card had $100 on it and I still had to pay $5 out of pocket. This place mainly just infuriates me honestly. Women have to deal with having breasts their entire lives, and we might want the bras to be cute. SO make an affordable bra that does its job. Walmart bras work for smaller breasts, but women with larger ones get only one MAYBE two bra options that end up costing $75 bucks for only one bra. I could run on for hours about how much I hate the women’s underwear industry.

Hey guys! I am back and if I am being honest, I forgot I had to write a blog so uhm here is something off my life of ideas. Today I will be telling you guys about my favorite streamer. My favorite twitch streamer is Duke Dennis. He doesn’t have any negative people or energy around him. He is very honest and true to himself. He does not do things that do not align with his morals and core values just for views or entertainment. He is extremely funny and entertaining without even trying. His language can be foul, and he can say some kind of rude things but that’s only if you take it that way. He never really says anything rude to people, but he may say those things in general. I like that he does not play games every time he streams, and if he does play games, he does other things before that. He reacts to other streamers and youtubers, he has conversations with his friends about things going on in the world, and he also does p.o. box openings. He plays games like NBA 2k, outlast, overwatch, Fortnite, and grand theft auto. He is always open to trying new games and to playing with new people.  

He is in a group called AMP (Any Means Possible) and they are all streamers/youtubers. The name shows that they will succeed by any means possible, and they will not give up on their dreams. They all work extremely hard and have great content. They make videos together and separately and it never fails to make me laugh. Duke has brought his mom a home, he always talks about how that was his number 1 goal and how proud he is of himself that he was able to accomplish that. All the AMP members live in a huge mansion. It makes it easier to schedule their video shoots, and easier to make content if they all live under one roof. AMP has game nights where all 6 members play and whoever wins gets a cash prize or a gift. I believe that is one reason why their bond is so strong now. He is a quick leaner when it comes to games, and he is always engaging with the chat whether he is gaming or not. He never tries to get any money out of his supporters, and I really admire that. 

I’m a visual artist before anything. In fact, I’m just a little visual student disguising themself as a junior literary student. When it comes to being a visual artist, we have a multitude of ways to make our art. Similar to writers being able to make their art through creating poetry, short stories, or novels, artists are able to create their art through different paints and art supplies, or what we call art mediums. Even though I have tried a multitude of mediums, I have yet to try most of them. However, here are my favorite art mediums so far.

 

Acrylic

Acrylic is the medium I’ve worked the most in. It is a fast drying paint that is very commonly used. Even if you are not a painter, you probably have used acrylic paint at some point in your life. People most commonly see acrylic paint as the Apple Barrel paint that kids use. I like acrylic due to its cheap cost and fast drying time. The fast-drying cuts down on wait time and helps me get my pieces done more quickly. Overall, it’s a very efficient and convenient paint to use.

 

Gouache

Gouache is a medium that I have only been using for the past few months. I’ve known about this medium for a long time but have only gotten my hands on it this past Christmas. If I had to describe gouache, I’d say it is a mix of acrylic and watercolor. It’s a bright paint that goes down very opaque, similar to acrylic. However, unlike acrylic, you can water down gouache and use them like watercolor. I usually water down the gouache first and use it as a base, then lay down more opaque layers as I go. My favorite thing about this medium would be how you can rewet the paint. With paints like acrylic, once it dries, you can use the paint again, but with paints like watercolor and gouache, you can apply water to the pigment and keep using it.

 

Oil

I have a love hate relationship with oil paint. On one hand I love the results of the painting, how you can make it as loose or as refined as you need, and how it takes a long time to dry so you can continue to work however long you need. On the other hand, the paint is impossible to get off of any surface, it can be so expensive, and due to it taking so long to dry, the paint is constantly wet and can get everywhere. This past semester I’m learning to love oil. I’ve done a couple of paintings in oil and I feel vastly more confident in my ability to use it. Something about painting with it is so addicting. However, the slow drying time is not a good asset for art school assignments, so I will have to use it for my own personal use.

Have I said before that it was only gonna be a two-part series? Yes. Are there new books that I am dying to purchase and read and can’t help but share them? Also yes. Now, this time I am not gonna say that this will be the last part to the wishlist series because I don’t like making promises that I’m not gonna keep. With that being said, let’s get into this. Full disclosure: this will be a long post; sorry not sorry <3

1. The Island by Natasha Preston

If I am not mistaken, this is Natasha Preston’s newest book and I have been waiting for this to be in stores for a while. Now, the name Natasha Preston should be a little familiar to those who have read my previous blogs. If you’ve never heard her name from anywhere else, then you’ve at least heard me say her name a few times. A little recap: Natasha Preston is a very well-known author to those who love to read thrillers; if you want to read some really good, nail-biting thrillers, she’s your gal. However, if you hate books that end in big cliffhangers, I suggest that you read books from another author because cliffhangers are Preston’s specialty. But even though the endings break your heart, her books are all that you could want from this genre. With all that being said, I can list a couple major things that I should keep in mind for when I finally get my hands on this book: One, do NOT get attached to any of the characters, not even the main character; two, do NOT expect a resolved ending. No matter how much I can hope for one, I must know it will not happen. Being a fan of Natasha Preston is like having a younger sibling(this coming from a girl with two younger brothers), you love them but they have a knack for being annoying at that one thing.

2. Kill Joy by: Holly Jackson

Quick question: what do you notice about this book right off the bat?…Yeah it’s a really thin book; this is actually the new novella to the series that I dearly love known as A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. I absolutely loved reading this series and I already have big hopes for the novella because the last book in the series(don’t worry I won’t completely spoil it if you wish to read the three books) ended in not necessarily an unresolved ending, but rather one that still raises a few big questions. Hopefully, Kill Joy will answer those questions. Now, Holly Jackson and Natasha Preston are both really amazing authors in my opinion but Holly Jackson doesn’t leave her books ending in cliffhangers even if they are in a series. Jackson is a fairly new author with only five books now(I’ve already talked about four of them, so you can probably guess what I’ll talk about next). She is also one of three of my absolute favorite authors that write thrillers.

3. Five Survive by Holly Jackson

Now, there is another version of the book cover that I like better than this one(you can go look it up if you wish) but I used this one because if you can read it, the words on this particular cover tell a little more about the book than the other one does. It’s pretty simple: There are six friends who are trapped somewhere, there is a sniper threatening their lives, they have eight hours and only five will make it out alive. Eight hours for what? My guess: to decide which one of the six friends won’t make it. I know, no pressure and not terrifying at all, right? But still, from what I know about the plot of the book and the author, this is a read that I am excited for.

Also, not at all part of the list, but I feel it should be said. For those who are unfamiliar with Holly Jackson, what do you picture her as? Any ideas? Well, let me show you…

This beautiful ray of sunshine wrote the three books that had my family worried if I was planning on unaliving someone. Now, do not get me wrong, this is absolutely no hate whatsoever towards this woman; I love her as an author and I think she is very pretty. I was simply shocked because I am 100% convinced that this is what they meant by looks can be deceiving and to never judge a book by its cover(yes, the pun was intended).

Okay, last book for this part, I appreciate it if y’all decided to bear with me for this long <3

4. How to Survive Your Murder by Danielle Valentine

Now, I have no idea who this author is and I’m sure she is a new author, but I saw the title and I was immediately intrigued. Does that sentence in itself say a lot about me? Probably so, but moving on. Now, if I had to guess based on the title and the visual elements used for the cover, I’d say that it’s about a girl in high school who is trying to survive someone who has the intention to kill her. Probably what you would guess, too, right? Okay, so y’all can see why this is on my wishlist: one, this is the typical genre of books that I read and two, I liked that R.L. Stine’s review, “Great, nasty fun!” was included on the cover and I wish to see for myself if it is “great, nasty fun”.

Anyways, that is all I have to bother you with this week. I hope this post wasn’t too boring and that some of these books peeked your interest. If not, I completely get it. But that’s is for this week, and I will see y’all next time:)

Recently, instead of finding new shows to watch, I’ve been rewatching some of my favorite shows. I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, which may have something to do with me graduating soon. Or maybe it’s a fear of starting and committing to something new. Either way, I have once again dived back into my list of comfort shows and came back with three to rewatch.

 

Rise of the TMNT

Even though I just finished this series a month ago, I am already watching it again. I have loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles since I was in the third grade, however, I never got into this series until a friend introduced me to it this year. A brand-new rendition of the classic TMNT, this 2018 reboot has two seasons and a movie. I love everything, from the story to the character designs. Each episode is about eleven minutes long, making it easy for me to watch without losing my attention. If you’re a fan of TMNT or if you like to watch kids’ cartoons, then I highly suggest giving this show a watch.

 

Our Flag Means Death

I remember watching this show last year during class. Usually, I don’t watch live actions show. I typically stick with some nice cartoons or movies; however, I had heard how good this show was and knew I had to give it a try. Directed and staring Taika Waititi, this show follows Stede Bonnet’s (Rhys Darby) attempt of becoming a pirate and his encounters with the dreadful pirate Black Beard (Taika Waititi). The show has a lovely mix of comedy, love, and angst, as well as incredible LGBT character representation.

 

Good Omens

Surprisingly, I haven’t rewatched this show since it came out. However, I’ve been meaning to watch it again or give the book a read. Six episodes makes this an easy show to binge watch. The main characters, Aziraphale and Crowley, are an angel and a demon trying to do their job. But when they develop fond feelings for humanity, and each other, they decide to try to prevent the apocalypse from destroying the world they love. This show was very lovely to watch, and the main characters’ dynamic with one another made for an enjoyable ride. 

Hey, guys. I hope you all had a very good Spring Break! And since it is now officially spring, I thought I might share some things that I look forward to during the warm seasons. Of course my favorite season is autumn(I know, what a shocker), but there are some things that enjoy doing more in the spring and summer rather than autumn or winter. So, lets get into it; I hope you enjoy:)

So, sometime last year, I had found that I enjoy doing activities like reading or writing outside instead of inside. The reason for this is that it feels so much more calming to me when I’m in the fresh air enjoying a good book or writing a new poem. Looking out towards my surroundings also gives me some new ideas for a piece- it’s like I have a whole yard, garden, etc. of fun writing prompts. But, I am very particular about when the right time for me to go outside and do these things is. I prefer to do these things while it’s warmer and I know the daylight lasts longer, whereas doing it in the colder weather is not as comfortable and before I know it, I’ve run out of daylight and have to go inside.

There are also other activities that me and my family like to do during spring such as going to Percy Quin State Park. We usually do this only whenever my cousins decide to have a birthday party there. And since I have a lot of cousins, that is more often than you might think; and it’s always a very fun time when we go.

Well, that’s pretty much it, guys. I know that it definitely was not a lot of activities that I do during the spring time that I don’t during all other seasons. But I hope that you have enjoyed this very short post and I will see you guys next week:)

 

Okay, so prommmmmmm season is HEREEEE! I’m so very excited! I love dressing up, taking pictures, and being cute. Today is Tuesday March 21st and prom is on Saturday March 25th. There is so much time but no time at all. Oh my gosh, I have so much to do. I have to customize my suitemate and I’s wigs. I have to do my friend’s hair Thursday as well as get my nails and toes done. I haven’t even decided what nail design I’m getting yet. I have to do my suitemate and I’s hair Friday. I have to do another one of my classmate’s hair on Saturday.  

I still need to go find silver glitter eyeshadow and a new concealer for my makeup look, because I’m running out. I also need some black hair dye. (For my wig, I’ll never go black.) I need to get my nails done Thursday. My dress is black, and the top is a little sparkly. It has a see through corset in the middle with the back out and it’s lace up. It’s very long with a high thigh slit, and I have some platform black heels to go with it. 

I have some silver jewelry and this cute little hair clip that’s going in my updo. My wig is black, and I’m going to have an updo with curls in the front. I still don’t know exactly what my makeup is going to look like, but I do know what colors I’m using and what shape the shadow will be. Ohhhh I also have some sparkly little gems that are going on my eyes and it’s going to be so CUTE! You guys do not understand how excited I am. I only want to take pictures and dance. Everything else is just a plus. I am obsessed with my look and how it’s coming together. I can’t wait to put everything on at once.  

I’m a part of prom committee so I know how prom is going to look, since I’m helping to decorate. It’s coming along pretty well, and we have lots of help so everything should be done in time, no problem. I’m head of the cleaning committee, so after prom I have to help clean up everything before I go home, which is insane. There are no after parties or anything going on so that’s kind of weird. I’m used to over the top proms. Like met gala like proms, where people spend thousands of dollars preparing for prom and have parties before and after. They rent or buy cars for the line-up and all meet and take pictures before going to prom. This is a really different experience for me, because it’s kind of treated as any other day and people come as they are. It’s more comfortable to prepare for but not as exotic as I’m used to. I want to show you what I’m wearing, but that will probably be in next week’s blog after prom is over, and I’ll give all the details of where I got everything and how much it cost. That’s neither here nor there MSA prom 2023 HERE I COME! You guys should look out for me… 🙂  

 

hello. it has been a while since i’ve done one of these, so i’d like to refresh everyone with a new edition to the series. i am slightly running out of ideas, so i’ll be using this post as an easy way to get back on track. anyways, here are the songs currently in my rotation !!

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thy mission – the garden

the attitude that the garden present in their music is absolutely addicting. i had this song liked for a while, but i never really listened to it as much as i have recently. i love the lyrics, and i especially love the way they are sung. this song reminds me of the ideal group of friends i imagined i’d have by now. it overall reminds me of being a teenager, and more specifically, being a dumb teenager.

call the dogs out – the garden

another one from the garden. i liked the attitude in the last song, but in this song, i 100% love it. there are some days when i’m just annoyed by everyone and everything, and this song is the perfect additive for those days. whenever i get in those moods, it’s best to just amplify them and allow myself to be annoyed for a day. i don’t know why, but being annoyed is so much more enjoyable when this song is playing.

alone again (naturally) – guilbert o’sullivan

even just hearing the chord progression in the beginning of this song makes me teary-eyed. it didn’t use to affect me much, but after the bad spell of emotions i’ve been having recently, the song absolutely breaks me. i found it because someone said it sounded like what the beatles would of sounded like if they were still together in the 70s (to whoever said that: you weren’t kidding). the lyrics are so desperately sad, but the way it’s sung almost passes the emotions over as any ordinary event. i guess that’s where the title comes in. alone again, naturally. 

the only living boy in new york – simon and garkfunkel

i love simon and garfunkel. this song is so homey to me, and i genuinely love it so much. it’s so light and almost melancholic. however, i don’t think the lyrics reflect those two descriptions in the slightest. or maybe they do. this is definitely my favorite song by them, and i love listening to it during rainy car rides on the interstate- much like the ending scene of good will hunting with elliott smith’s miss misery playing.

swamp – the talking heads

i’ve also had this song liked for a while, but i never listened to it much until i decided to clean my entire room at home while listening to the talking heads on shuffle. this song came on, and something about it drew me in. it doesn’t sound like a talking heads song i would even like, but i do- increasingly so with every listen. i think it’s the chorus. the melodies in the chorus are so addicting, and leave it up to the talking heads to create some of the most catchy rhythms and melodies. 

my sweet lord – george harrison

before you say anything, this song is not about any religion in particular. however, at the end george does sing the hare krishna mantra of the hindu organization he follows, which i think is really cool. i absolutely adore george harrison, and i don’t care that this song is his most popular, it’s 100% my favorite. for some reason, it reminds me of looking out of the window of my moms car at the passing forest scenery. the guitar riff is instantly recognizable, and even the mantra at the end of the song becomes this sort of catchy riff. 

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so yeah !! that’s some of the songs that i’ve really been into recently. thanks for reading !

 Welcome back to regularly scheduled blogging now that the lore is complete. I wanted to talk about 1 game I have been playing recently. The game is called Stray. I’m just going to give some info about the game, the plot, and my own opinion. Also, do not worry about spoilers. I kept those out in case anyone reading would like to play. AHEM! A slightly important notice: I got all screenshots from Steam in amazing quality, BUT the blog website heavily lowered their quality so they may seem pretty blurry. Sorry lol. 

Plot

In the game Stray you play as an orange cat. How cute is that. At the end of the basic tutorial you get separated from your family (3 other cats). Once separated you end up in a dystopian, forgotten cyber city. As this cat you have to complete missions to unlock the ancient mysteries of the city to find your way back home. You roam and climb high and low through the murky environments. You befriend droids and run from dangerous creatures at times. The game has 12 chapters for you to complete.

Stats, facts, reviews

Stray came out July 19 of last year. It was developed by Blue Twelve Studio and comes from the franchise Annapurna Interactive. The game is available for PlayStation 4 and 5 owners as well as Windows for the PC. I personally use PC, but the game creators actually recommend it to be played on a controller. If you’re used to a PC though I play perfectly fine on my keyboard and mouse. I purchased Stray through Steam for about $30 without a bundle. The price is the same for PlayStation consoles. It is an indie adventure game supported by 16 languages. It is single player as well. Now, the reviews. I got all the information you’re reading from Steam besides my personal opinions. In the all reviews category it has 103,148 that are categorized as overwhelmingly positive. 97% of these 103,148 reviews were good ones. I took a look into the bad review category to see which ones were important and differentiate how many of these were just people owning sucky consoles. One review seemed important and stood out the most to me. It discussed how the game gives no warning of “body horror.” Now, this review is picky on what you consider body horror because I don’t see that in Stray. The point the review was trying to make is that the people in the game are human like machines and in one scene the walls blink at you. In my own personal words body horror is more of gore factor torture and that is not displayed in this game. I thought I would still mention it since the game slightly had body modification. Secondly, I saw a lot of reviews saying it wasn’t worth $30. I could slightly agree. I’d say if you want the game wait for it to be on sale. You get maybe 8-10 hours of gameplay that, to some people, can be repetitive. I personally don’t find it repetitive, but a lot of reviews did.

My opinion

Now, for my personally outlook at this game. I absolutely love this game. I find it very adorable that we get to play in 3^rd person as a little orange cat. The gameplay to me is very relaxing. You do different types of parkour with the cat to navigate the cyber city. Which also means he rides down zip lines in a little bucket sometimes! So cute. I do have to agree with one of the reviews though. It isn’t a lot of gameplay especially if you are an avid gamer. I played it for about one hour a couple days ago and I had already gotten to chapter 6 out of 12 and was already preparing the cats escape back home. When that part came up I paused for a second and thought about how fast that came up. BUT I do think it was still worth the $30. The game is excellent quality if you have the PC stats to run it on a PC. Very clear and beautiful images and smooth movement. You also get a very interesting plot with different gameplay types. By that I mean you don’t just run around, jump on things, and complete missions. It comes with different types of parkour, puzzles, talking to the droids, unlocking equipment, finding collectables, running from enemies, and even playful interactions as a cat. When your in one of the apartments in this city you have several cute options around the house that cats typically do. You can scratch their furniture and walls, turn on/off/change their radios, make biscuits on the carpet, and knock things over. Even outside of the apartments you can find other cute interactions such as those. Overall, I really enjoyed playing this game. It was so cute and very enjoyable.