Journal #31

Personally, I do not think I actually "daydream" in a sense because I never totally just space out and allow anything to enter my mind. For the most part, I have sort of trained it to avoid that as much as possible, but I certainly do still distract myself from boring things like classes and work. But, if I were to really daydream, I think it might go something like this. There I was, sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun to rise over the horizon. There was also a friendly octopus there, who told me I was trespassing on his Octopus' Garden. And I looked around, and I noticed there wasn't a chair, but there were countless baby octopi growing from the ground. I screamed "Help!" but no one came to my rescue. The large octopus stared at me and asked, "What do you see when you turn out the lights?" I had no idea what to say at first, but I eventually responded from the back of my throat, "I can't tell you, but I know it's mine." "Oh, how I long for yesterday," groaned the octopus, "I have strawberry fields forever, and I love her, but that blackbird flies over her face so frequently. I guess I will just carry that weight." "Hey, Jude," I replied again uncertainly, "come together with the lord, and she will find her good day, sunshine. What is her name, anyway?" "Michelle," replied the octopus, sadly, "I've got a feeling this misery will bring no reply." "Something in the long and winding road of life will bring you both one magical mystery tour," I encouraged. The octopus was just so glum. "I'm down. I'm a loser. I lost my little girl. I'll cry instead." let out the poor creature. I stood up and looked at the heartbroken octopus and finally exclaimed, "I'm looking through you, and you do not really feel like she is lost at all. I saw her standing there, under the tall oak tree. It's getting better. You cannot just let it be! Don't let me down, Jude! Go on! Act naturally; all you need is love." "You're right," said the octopus, "all things must pass. Oh, look, here comes the sun. But trust me, it won't be long until the fool on the hill brings the end with his creative rain dances. When I'm sixty-four, you won't see me, but always think of me within you and without you. She and I will buy a yellow submarine, and we will twist and shout all over the ocean. Thank you, nowhere man, from me to you. I'll be on my way."

Journal #30

School uniforms is a difficult topic because there are so many people who grew up in schools with uniforms because that was just so normal for the time. Those people are now the modern day parents, and they are trying to keep the same philosophy going in their children's schools because that is how they were brought up as children. Nowadays, however, schools have become much more open to varying cultures and ethnicities in schools. So, this also allows the children to express individuality in the things they wear, and I think we at our school use this privilege well. There are rules over how clothing can be worn and how short a skirt is or how low a shirt is cut. These rules already give enough of a guideline to students, so there are not really any problems with dressing improperly. A uniform at our school will not solve anything, but it will cause more problems in the student body because no one really wants to have school uniforms, and that would mainly create problems for the principal and superintendent because they would have to listen to students complaining all the time. As it is right now, students complain enough about random things that they think should be improved or changed about school, one huge contributor to this is having snow days or not. In no fashion is it the job of the student to call a snow day, so, in a perfect world, I would say it is wrong for a student to complain about not having a snow day, but, since children are children, they always complain about it. In this case, I think it would not fall in the hands of the students to decide if they should have to wear uniforms, but we, being the rotten children we are, will always complain about something that goes even slightly against how we feel or think. Plus, ideas like these always spread like wildfire in their reactions to them. If one "popular" student says he does not like it, then most of the student body will conform to that person's feelings because that is just how the mind of a teenager works, knowing this because I myself am a teenager. It is very difficult to get the entire school, including students and faculty, to agree on a decision.

Journal #29

Recently, I have stumbled upon this song by a very weird girl surnamed Lady Gaga. This particular song is called "Bad Romance." The beat is catchy, and she has a beautiful voice. Her lyrics are written by her own thoughts, and she is an amazing artist in general because of her thoughts in how to incorporate classy music into a modern form. Her real name is not Lady Gaga, but she has adopted that name as hers because it sounds weird, and that is her goal. She certainly accomplishes this, also, but this strategy has obviously captivated many people because her official music video on YouTube has over 330,000,000 views. Like Madonna, Lady Gaga has learned how to use the strangeness of her persona to her advantage because that is what people nowadays want and like to see. We like to see crazy people because it is very different than what we should be seeing in someone who is so well musically trained, like Lady Gaga is. The story in "Bad Romance" itself is about this woman, Lady Gaga, who wants a form of freakiness from the person she is talking to, who is not directly named but is a man in the music video. Also in the video, she is the subject of an auction in a strange, futuristic bath house. All of the main portions of music are there, like a good chorus, an interesting and very different break, and verses that go along the same rhythm and tone but are all equally different because of the phrases they hold. Also, the story of the song is rather sad. She is in love with a man, obviously, but the relationship is not "healthy" because they fight and make up so frequently, which is something that many couples can relate to. Being able to relate to the song or movie is another intriguing factor because it makes it seem much more personal and easier to comprehend.

Journal #28

Well, convincing people to do things can be sort of difficult. Honestly, when I really need someone to do a task for me, I sort of just force them to do it, I do not usually try to give them evidence to show them why they need to do it because that would take way too long for all intents and purposes. So, going along the same track, I cannot really remember a time where I convinced someone to do something, unless being forceful about it counts as convincing. So, instead, I think I will provide a story. So, once upon a time, there was a small boy named Jack. In Jack's backyard was an enormous plant growing from his mother's small vegetable garden. But, this was no ordinary plant. It grew so high, it touched the sky. His mother, after a long day of running errands in town, told Jack to go out into the garden and pick some beans from this immense plant. Being the good boy Jack is, he trotted out the door and began looking for some beans on the stalk. He could not find any at eye level, so he climbed up the stalk, almost to the very top, still in search of some beans. When he rached the very top, he looked back down at the ground and saw how very high up he was. He thought to himself about how he may never get to be up here ever again, so he stepped off the plant and onto the clouds. Suddenly, a nasty old troll came running toward the poor boy, screaming. The troll had huge, green hair, a creepy little half smile, and glassy eyes, staring deep down into the frightened little boy. The troll said, "Who do you think you are, coming into my land like this?" Jack, somewhat startled and confused responded quickly, "I am very sorry, sir! I had no idea anyone would be living so high above me!" The troll continued yelling at Jack, "Well, does your mother know you are up here, this late in the day?" "No," said Jack, wide-eyed, "she sent me into the garden to fetch some beans, and I was only curious." "Well, scram!" snapped the troll. Instantly, Jack jumped back onto the beanstalk and hurriedly climbed back down to be safe at home. When he stepped in the door, his mother asked if he had gotten the beans, like a good boy, and Jack was forced to reply with a no. He tried explaining it to his mother, but she simply had no idea what plant he was talking about. All of her bean sprouts were under a foot tall, and none of them could possibly carry a troll! Jack tried to show his mother, but she remained unconvinced, seeing that the enormous plant was, indeed, no longer present. The End. The troll convinced Jack to leave, and Jack attempted to convince his mother of why he took so long. But, after all of that, they still had no beans for supper that night.

Journal #27

Persistence can both be good and bad because of the ways one is persistent. Sometimes, I am too persistent, and it eventually is just annoying to the other person I am trying to get to do something. But, honestly, I kind of think that the annoyance was brought upon themself because if he or she had just done what I wanted in the first place, then I would not have had to be so persistently annoying. Does that not make sense? Just do what I want of you, so I will be able to stop wasting my time and yours. If people thought the same as do, I think life would be a lot easier for everyone because (most) of what I say and do is quite sensible. Also, if everyone did the same kinds of things, there would be no face to face problems among families, countries, and people in general. But, still, persistence is definitely necessary if something is at all important. If I need something done, of course I am going to keep telling you to do it because I need it done. That should not be too hard. But, however, there is the other person's side of the situation in which they might also be doing something important at that moment, something that might not be able to just be put aside for even a moment. Just like everything else in this world, there are two sides to this problem of mine that I, for some reason, share with so many people. I just do not understand why. Also, I do not like it when people are nagging at me. There is a difference between nagging and being persistence. Naggy people are usually just sort of whining about it, and they are certainly much more annnoying. They do not get the point across that they want you to do something. On the other hand, persistent people just say directly that the issue needs to be acted upon.

Journal #26

Snow is so pretty, but I also hate it. However, I really like it when it gets me out of school because I really hate school. Snow is just so pretty and white, and I like to watch it fall. It makes everything so peaceful, except, of course, when there is a blizzard. Have you ever been caught out in a blizzard? It is really scary. Everything, literally, is totally white or grayish white, and there are only slight outlines of objects. It makes it completely impossible to drive in, and it is still really cold. But, snow usually brings about memories of sitting in my living room with my family in the lack of power, talking about some random thing or struggling to find candles to play a board game. Or, snow also makes me think of Christmases I have been to, but that makes me think of sad things, knowing that Christmas will never be the same. I love Christmas, though, because I get so much food and a few gifts, and it is the only time in the year that my whole family gets together for one common purpose. But, like I said, I will never have the same Christmas experience again. So, as I return to typing this blog late at night, I look out the window and still see snow on the ground! If it is not quite clear, I like having snow on the ground, especially when there is just enought to make a small sheet over everything, so that I am still able to see the outlines of things. When there is too much snow, all the trees just look like a blob of white mixed with the land below them, and it is not as pretty. Also, I really like looking at pictures of mountains because they usually have snow on the peak, but it is the right amount because I can still see all the crevices and outcroppings all over the side. Something about it just makes me marvel at the world and how awesome it is, kind of like the ties that bind us all. So, now that I have pretty much covered (ha get it? Covered? because snow covers everything!) everything I have to say about snow, I think I will go to bed now. Good night, internet!

"The Minister's Black Veil"

Honestly, I find it somewhat difficult to describe this story, "The Minister's Black Veil," as part of the Dark Romanticism style of writing because it is merely a story. There is not much left up to the reader to be afraid of or be confused about, other than the obvious fact that the minister is wearing a black veil for no apparent reason. It is really only confusing that the minister has a sudden and totally radical change in thought and begins wearing this. The reader, or any of the townspeople, for that matter, does not understand the reason behind the minister's veil. The parishoners just think it must be the work of the Devil simply bwecause they do not understand the minister's thoughts. The veil was a sort of "shield" between the man of God and the rest of the mortal world, nothing more, and nothing less. I thought it was sort of ridiculous how long and drawn out the story was; much of it seemed very repetitive and just plain boring. But, still, the people of the town were certainly confused. "'He has changed himself into something awful only by hiding his face.'" (Hawthorne, 281). This is totally true; all the poor man did was put his face behind a thin piece of cloth, and the whole town reacted so violently. I suppose, psychologically, since the minister was the town's source of God, they have a good reason to be scared and confused. They are used to the minister being somewhat melancholy and somewhat indifferent, but this mask made it so they were not able to read his emotions as well because they could not see his face. Listening to his words was made much harder because they were constantly distracted by the confusion behind his black veil. Also, as I said before, they are very uncertain of the origin of the veil because it is black, and the color black is usually thought to be of the Devil. It is usually associated with death and dying, so it could be assumed by the town that the minister is dying or his faith is dying, where in reality, the minister simply wore it to show, physically, the black veil that every person wears. The townspeople just did not really think about their own black veils because they are not as prevelent as the minister's veil. He did this act to sort of trick the town into realizing their own faulties and "veils" they use to hide those downsides. Everyone, even today, puts on a mask sometimes to hide their emotions because they are trying to deal with s difficult time in life. The minister simply wanted the town to become aware or these masks. Their reactions were very justified, though, because they were afraid of the veil, since they were not quite aware of their own. It was quite different to the town. It was a wake-up call done by the minister to the town in that he knew they were all guilty of wearing these masks, but he just wanted the town to know it like he did.