Monday 31 December 2012

Bye bye, 2012!

  This will be a very short one as I am off to go see the new year in at church! What a year this has been. I only started Year 13 in September but I can honestly say that Year 12 and January to about May were some of the most stressful months of my life. Highlights of 2012 include being in There Is A War at my local theatre, my tenth and final production, raising money for and doing work experience with the International Medical Corps, going to 'La Defense' in Paris during the summer to help me get over the disappointment of my AS results, meeting Justin Bieber for the SECOND time, getting interview at my dream university and making friends with brilliant, 'perfect' people.

Another highlight of this year has been this blog; I really feel like its doing its intended purpose of making me a better student! 2012 has been tough but awesome and I am very thankful to God for getting me through it.

Bring on more incredible things in 2013 and Happy New Year!

Guest blog: Facing and moving on from disappointment

My twin sister, Tai, has had quite the year and she wanted me to share this. Enjoy!


  Not going to lie, 2012 has been one of the toughest years of my life so far. Looking back on it now, getting through Year 12 sure was difficult, but here I am about to enter 2013 and penultimate term of my school life. I survived.

  As the title of this blog suggests, this year hasn’t been without disappointment. I’m not going to go into much detail because I don’t want to dwell on the past, but I had a couple of setbacks. I was really down for a long time and went through an internal depression and sadness. That period made me realise that it is possible to be both ecstatic for the success of your loved ones, yet deeply melancholy at the same time.

  So how did I snap out of it? By making Jeremiah 29:11 my motto and going back to it when things didn’t seem to be going my way.

   Life won’t always go how we expect it to. There will be ups and downs and you will get thrown curveballs that will leave you reeling. Instead of crying about it and feeling sorry for yourself (which I certainly did), look to the future and be comforted by the fact that things happen for a reason. God has our best interests in mind, and much better things in store for us than we could ever dream of, so as the Avril Lavigne song says, keep holding on.

   I don’t know about you, but I’m heading into 2013 with my chin up and looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me. I hope to get into medical school, but if He has something else planned for me, then so be it. This is terribly cliché but goodbye, 2012 and hello, 2013!

 I leave you with this:
Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.


Tuesday 25 December 2012

Merry Christmas!

   Merry Christmas and Joyeux Noël! I've had a great day as today is the first time in quite a while that I've spent the entire day with my family and it has been great! I am truly blessed with a awesome family. Today was also somewhat bittersweet as its my last Christmas living at home before uni next year. Scary times!
 
   Christmas is so commercialised nowadays and the true reason behind the season has been lost. Let's not forget what it says in the Bible:
 
 "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."- Matthew 1:21.
 
   Christmas marks the birth of Jesus Christ, God's beloved and only son who was born to save the world. It's not about Santa, eating, TV or posting pictures on Facebook of the many presents you received. Or even worse, complaining that you received something you didn't like. Just be happy and thankful for the fact that you're alive to see another Christmas. Not everyone is that lucky.
 
  Happy holidays!

Monday 24 December 2012

The Perks of Being a Wallflower


  I read Stephen Chbosky's 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' before I found out that it was being made into a film. I would just like state this because one of my pet peeves is when people read a book after watching its film adaptation and then decide that the film was better than the book. I personally do not see how that makes sense as books are the source material; without them, there would be no film but I am digressing and going off on a tangent.

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower is written in epistolary form from the perspective of a teenage boy under the alias of 'Charlie' who is beginning his freshman year of high school. The letters are addressed to an anonymous person that Charlie does not know personally and he describes various aspects of his life, especially his experiences at school.

  I really enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, the reader can really relate to and understand Charlie because he has such a clear way of viewing the world, describing everything he sees in such a naive manner that I sometimes felt uncomfortable reading. Also, the themes of introversion and confusing adolescence are heavily explored in the book, themes that teenagers face daily and can relate to. As corny as it might sound, I myself have been a 'wallflower' before and as a result of this, the character of Charlie was more real for me. Another reason why I enjoyed the book was that Chbosky's characters are well developed, from encouraging English teacher Bill to the opinionated Mary Elizabeth. Furthermore, despite the sometimes heavy themes (sexuality and drug abuse to name a few), the book did have its funny moments.  In addition, the book's twist will leave you reeling and crying but the latter might just be on my side because I tend to be overemotional at times.

  However, it could be argued that the book is clichéd and cheesy at times, as well as not being timeless due to the many references to the popular culture of the 90s such as with TV shows like 'M*A*S*H' and 'Love Boat'. But these references didn't stop me from enjoying The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012. In fact, thanks to them, I've been introduced to some really good songs!

  As I started this post by talking about the film, I'd like to end by saying that the film version didn't disappoint. Logan Lerman was a heartbreaking and believable Charlie and I really liked him in the role. Although Emma Watson's American accent was shaky at times, I still found myself thinking 'Hermoine Granger, who?' whenever she was on screen.

  The Perks of Being a Wallflower is very good and I'd really recommend it. Be sure to read the book first before watching the film though!

Rating 4/5 ****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky/dp/1847394078/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356380693&sr=8-1


Wednesday 12 December 2012

A-OK!

  Have you ever met someone that you think is absolutely brilliant and amazing in a totally platonic way? You admire the person so much and really want to be friends with them and when you're friends with the person, it's the best thing ever. Getting to know said person is even greater because you realise that they've know you for ages and said person has also always wanted to be friends with you and has a high esteem of you. It's that brilliant feeling when you admire someone because you're just in awe of how beautiful and intelligent they are, both inside and out and said person is also a true gentleman.
 
   Few people have evoked such strong emotions in my sister Tai and I and they are so humble that if they read this, they probably wouldn't believe that it was about them. Our friends don't understand our feelings and they are convinced that we 'fancy' these people but that is not the case at all. In fact, we both have very cynical views on relationships but that's a post for another day.

   My mum taught me to be wary of people when I was growing up, so contrary to what this post might lead you to believe, I actually don't take well to people and there are few people that I genuinely like. So, to the people that have inspired this post, talking to you brightens our day, and to us, you are A-OK!

Tuesday 11 December 2012

The big interview

So, the big interview happened.

    I arrived at the university last Wednesday evening to find that there would be another whole day of waiting as my interview wasn't till Friday! And I only had one interview.

  Thursday and some of Friday were spent exploring the city, watching films with undergraduates and making friends with the 'competition' who were all surprisingly very nice! Such lovely people, the party at Staircase 16 (' The Pink Palace') shall never be forgotten. The only exception was this one guy from Eton (we called him 'Paris guy' as he's currently interning in Paris) on his 'gap yah' who totally thought he was better than all of us. Pshhh.
 
  The interview itself was...okay. Unfortunately, Baudelaire didn't come up but the poem that I was given wasn't too bad, I understood most of it. There were parts that I definitely think I messed up in but c'est la vie. I'm trying not to think about it too much.
 
  After staying at the university for four days, I really want to get in so that I can see all the great people I met again. Also, there's even more pressure at school because some people don't understand the system and they're spreading that I have an offer already! The chances are so slim but if it's in my future, nothing is impossible with God.

   Now, I shall leave you with these gorgeous pictures taken by yours truly of the place that'll possibly be my home next year. Jesus, take the wheel.












 

Saturday 8 December 2012

Monsieur Charles Baudelaire


   I am STILL on that French hype but this will be in English. Last week, a friend introduced me to Charles Baudelaire's poetry (some of the ones in Les Fleurs du mal- literally 'The Flowers of Evil' en anglais) and I have become slightly obsessed. This obsession is not all my own doing; after Baudelaire was mentioned to me, his work came up TWICE in two separate mock interviews that I had over the weekend to prepare me for the big 'un and I think this is a sign from God that there is a huge chance that Monsieur B might be mentioned in my actual interview.

  Two poems that I particularly love at the moment are 'L'Albatros' and 'Au Lecteur'. It pains me to admit that I only recently found out what an albatross is. In L'Albatros, Baudelaire uses the metaphor of the huge seabird to describe how mankind can often take something beautiful and make it ugly with their criticisms and cruelty. The poem's final stanza compares poets to albatrosses and how they too are majestic but man can take this majesty away with insults and boos. Deep.

  Au Lecteur is Baudelaire listing all the common sins of humanity such as avarice, stubbornness and associating with the devil before concluding (again in the final stanza) that man's biggest sin is 'Ennui', which can be interpreted as either boredom or misery. According to Baudelaire, everyone suffers from this, even the poet himself.

  As lame as this might sound, examining these poems has made me even more excited for French at degree level as I will probably be doing Baudelaire in my first year wherever I go. Also, the fact that I liked and could understand the poems (after a while) has affirmed that studying French is definitely for me.

Francophile out.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince)


     Another post en français. I apologise to the non French speakers.


   Récemment, j’ai lu ‘Le Petit Prince’, un roman par Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,  qui a été publié en 1943, pendant la guerre. Le roman a été un cadeau que mon prof de français m’a donné il y a trois ans parce que j’étais très bonne en français. C’est bien connue en France et partout dans le monde car la population l’a nommé le meilleur roman pendant la vingtième siècle et Le Petit Prince est le roman qui est le plus traduise dans la langue française.    
  
   Le Petit Prince est un peu comme une biographie car il me semble que le narrateur soit l’auteur.  En première lieu, c’est une nouvelle qui est seulement pour les enfants car le roman inclure des belles images et le roman est écrit dans une langue qui est simple mais ce n’est pas le cas. C’est l’histoire d’un homme (un aviateur) qui a une panne de moteur dans le désert du Sahara, où il rencontre un petit ‘prince’ qui vient d’une autre planète.  Le prince raconte ses voyages et les différentes types de personnes qu’il rencontre.      
   
    Personnellement, je le trouve incroyable. Malgré du fait que les enfants sont les lecteurs principaux du roman, c’est encore une histoire pour tout : Exupéry fait appel au lecteur de retrouver l’enfant en soi en le lisant parce que ‘toutes les grandes personnes ont d’abord été des enfants’.  L’auteur utilise beaucoup d’observations philosophiques par exemple, le fait que les ‘grandes personnes’ ont tendance d’ignorer la créativité des enfants, particulièrement si la créativité n’est pas académique comme ‘la géographie, le calcul et la grammaire’. Avec les personnages que le prince rencontre, sa naïveté et l’esprit des enfants qui ne cesse jamais de faire des questions, on pourrait dire qu’Exupéry fait une allégorie à la vie. Les personnages représentent les cotés d’humanité ; l’avarice avec le businessman, le vaniteux (le nom l’explique), le buveur, le roi etc.      
   
   Je recommanderais Le Petit Prince et comme ‘Le Silence de la mer’, les thèmes sont encore applicables aujourd’hui, c’est court et il y a une version anglaise ! Je le lirai à mon petit frère et mon cousin. En guise de conclusion, finissons sur ma citation préférée du livre qui selon moi est la plus importante : On ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.



Rating 4/5 **** 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Little-Prince-Bilingual-Includes/dp/0956721591/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1354712466&sr=8-2


Tuesday 4 December 2012

Le Silence de la mer

  This post will be done in French as I am still preparing for my big university interview, which begins tomorrow, eek!


  ‘Le Silence de la mer’ est une nouvelle par Vercors qui a été écrite clandestinement pendant la Seconde Guerre Mondiale. Le vrai nom de l’auteur est ‘Jean Bruller’ mais à cause de la censure, il était nécessaire dans cette époque pour les auteurs d’écrire en secret. Le Silence de la mer est le roman que j’étudie en ce moment dans mes leçons du français et le roman m’a rendu plus intéressé dans la littérature et l’histoire de la France.
  
  C’est l’histoire d’une jeune femme et son oncle qui sont les ‘français moyen’. Pendant la guerre, ils doivent loger un Allemand (l’ennemi) et ils n’ont aucun choix. Donc, ils décident de résister l’Allemand avec leur silence : ils l’ignorent complètement. C’est une grande difficulté. Imaginons, tu ne pourrais jamais parler à quelqu’un qui semble sympa ? La situation est aussi compliquée car l’Allemand est très agréable, poli, raffiné  et loin des stéréotypes des Nazis.

  Selon moi, le roman est fantastique car bien que ce soit assez court, néanmoins,  on peut analyser une grande variété des choses. Je suis la seule fille dans une classe qui est dominée par les garçons (oui, c’est vrai) et je pense que je suis la seule personne qui aime ce livre. En fait, les garçons le trouvent ennuyeux, qui est évidence du fait que les filles sont plus intelligentes que les garçons. Ha, je plaisante, je ne suis pas sexiste!
   
  En plus, les thèmes dans le livre sont applicable de nos jours ; le patriotisme, la futilité de la guerre (Iraq, par exemple), l’amour, l’importance de mettre votre pays avant tout, etc. Pour conclure, Le Silence de la mer est une nouvelle qui me touche beaucoup et je crois que tout le monde doit le lire. Si tu ne peux pas comprendre le français, il y a une version anglaise du roman !

Rating 4/5 ****

Wednesday 28 November 2012

I am torn.

Time to do some venting.

 I applied to university about a month ago hoping to study English and French and I already have conditional offers from Leicester and Southampton. Last week, I received an email inviting me to interview from my dream university but unfortunately, I was unsuccessful for the English part and they only want to interview me for single honours French. Also, my best friend in the whole world did not get an interview.

  When I got the email, I was extremely excited, slightly disappointed and emotional (I cried), all at the same time. I know I'm better in French than English, so maybe this is God pointing me in the right direction. The Bible does say in Jeremiah 29:11 that God knows the plans that He has for us. I'm very nervous because this is a really big deal for my school and I don't want to let anyone down.

  So, to prepare myself for the biggest interview(s) of my life thus far, I shall conclude this post with the reasons why I want to study French at a higher level;

- It's always been a dream of mine to be fluent.
- I have a passion for languages, French especially.
- I'm really interested in studying French literature and becoming familiar with the authors, especially literature from the Medieval era and literary theory.
- A year abroad would be an excellent way for me to immerse myself in the French way of life.
- I'm interested in the linguistics aspect of language.
And last but not least, I just LOVE everything French!

Jesus, take the wheel.

Thursday 22 November 2012

The DUFF: Designated Ugly Fat Friend


  From the title, it is quite obvious that this is another generic Young Adult (YA) novel that attempts to be 'hip' and relate to teenagers. The DUFF is the story of seventeen year old Billie Piper who is the stereotypical smart and 'ugly' one in her group of friends. At a party, the 'school hottie' (I am cringing), Wesley Rush, who Bianca initially cannot stand as he is a renowned womanizer, nicknames Bianca 'The Duff'. This stands for the 'Designated Ugly Fat Friend', people that boys have to pretend to be cordial to in order to 'get with' their prettier friends. As Bianca's life begins to go awry and she is desperate for a means of distraction, she begins a secret friends/enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley and finds that there might actually be more to him beneath his 'player' facade.

  This book really irked me. The fact that the main character is supposedly intelligent is doubtful, considering the many stupid decisions that she makes throughout the story. I mean, what clever person begins having sex with a boy that she hates, who abuses her constantly just to 'escape' the problems in her life? Bianca also states repeatedly (the book is written in the first person from her perspective so the reader hears her side a lot, the joy!) that she feels 'dirty' after their intercourse so her reasoning behind doing it makes no sense. Even though I am seventeen like Bianca, I could not empathise with her as a character at all and I found myself becoming increasingly irritated at her and her poor choices. Keplinger gives off a negative message to teens: have meaningless sex with people you despise, don't worry about STDs and the risk of pregnancy and all your problems will miraculously sort themselves out, yeah!

  Another reason why The DUFF annoyed me is that Keplinger did that author fail of trying to incorporate teenage slang and swear words into the book and for me, they didn't work. I've never even heard of the expression of 'the duff' and I would say that I am fairly 'on it' with colloquial terms. I'll admit grudgingly that The DUFF does explore the themes of friendship, insecurity, alcohol abuse and divorce, and how appearances are not always what they seem, issues that teenagers face on a day to day basis but I critique the way that everything was resolved too quickly in an unrealistic manner. Furthermore, I felt that some of the characters were unnecessary or not developed enough for the reader to care for them. Bianca is also not a good model for teens. I read the book quite a while ago and I am still trying to wrap my head around why a character would cheapen herself so with a boy that cares nothing for her.

  My friends seem to think that I have become a sort of 'book snob' that only reads 'the classics' and hates everything else but I actually have nothing against Young Adult/Teen books that are well written, i.e The Princess Diaries. The DUFF was not for me. Yes, I did chuckle whilst reading but that was more at the book than with the book.

  I would like to reiterate that this review and entire blog consist of my own personal opinions that people do not have to agree with and I know that I can be quite harsh sometimes. Maybe I'll read more of Kody Keplinger's work in the future. In the distant future.

Rating 2/5 **

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Duff-designated-ugly-fat-friend/dp/1444903500/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353588496&sr=1-1




Thursday 8 November 2012

Life is a wonderful thing- 'The Incident'

Guess who's back, back, back....
  Once again, I apologise for my lack of consistency with posts. Oh the joys of Year 13, A Levels and a part-time job!

 It was half-term last week and whilst most of my peers were chillin' and de-stressing, I spent the whole week (1pm- 9.30pm to be exact) volunteering as stage management for a production of Watership Down at my local theatre. (Side note: the play was amazing as the young cast were very talented. It's a beautiful story that I'll write about sometime!) Although quite stressful at times, it was a very fun experience and I learned a lot as I had participated in multiple performances in the past but I'd never done backstage work before.

 On Friday, about an hour before the show opened, I had a bit of an 'incident.' Somehow, I managed to whack my head quite hard against a wall, which resulted in a massive bump on my forehead. It was HUGE.

 It was also quite embarrassing as I'd spent all week trying to build a stern persona for myself amongst the young cast and professional tech dudes and all this was lost. Everyone seemed to find it hilarious and I was known as 'Lumpy' for the rest of the weekend. It is also always embarrassing to fill out an accident form when the reason for the accident is 'hit head on wall.'

  On a serious note, after my incident, A&E was a possibility as I was feeling quite dizzy and tired, which are concussion symptoms. As melodramatic as it might sound, I became quite panicked and I genuinely thought I was going to die thanks to negative inputs from silly people.

  In the end, everything turned out fine; I was checked out by an experienced nurse at the theatre who said that all I needed was a good night's sleep and some painkillers.

  I hope none of you never have to experience the horrible feeling of fearing that you'll not wake up the next morning. I went a bit over the top, setting alarms for every hour to check that I was still 'alive' and I even had my uncle check in on me! My fears were quite silly; Jesus said that we were healed by His stripes and God is good so He'll never let His children die.

 I woke up the next morning thanking God for the gift of life and I'll never ever take it for granted ever again.

Note to self: watch out for walls.

I'll be reviewing Kody Keplinger's 'The DUFF' soon.

Saturday 20 October 2012

Lost in Yonkers

    Neil Simon's 'Lost in Yonkers' was recently performed at the theatre that I work in and as Front of House (an usher), I got to watch it about seven times. Normally, watching the same show over and over again can be a tedious part to the job but it was different for this particular play as I found it very interesting. Lost in Yonkers is set in 1942 and it is the story of two Jewish boys, Arty and Jay Kurnitz, who have to live with their intimidating, German immigrant grandmother for a year, so that their father can work to pay off the debts he incurred with their dead mother's hospital bills. As well as their scary grandmother, the boys also have to deal with their mentally challenged Aunt Bella, who is sweet but childlike in behaviour and their Uncle Louie, who is a 'bag man' for the mob. The play opened in 1990 and was very successful, winning the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as a few Tony Awards.

   I lived with my own grandma for while when I was little, so I could relate to the two protagonists but thankfully, my grandma was not as mean as Grandma Kurnitz. Simon's play is brilliant in the way that not a single word of dialogue is wasted; every word means something and adds to the story. The build up to Grandma Kurnitz's first entrance is superb and one of the best that I've ever seen as the two brothers are comically terrified of her: 'I once drew a picture of her, called it 'Frankenstein Grandma'.

  Beneath the play's comedic aspect, the subtext is painfully touching. Grandma Kurnitz is a character who has been hardened by loss and a harsh childhood and is ruled by the idea that one has to be 'like steel' in order to survive, which is why she does not stand for any sign of 'weakness' within her family. It seems that being like steel is a part of Germanic culture as the character of Marta in Francine Rivers' 'Her Mother's Hope' too is harsh on her children to harden them and make them 'strong'. Yes, it is vital that children are raised as strong individuals but this can be done in a loving manner. This is the main message in Lost in Yonkers because all of Grandma's children grow up to be flawed in a way and immensely scared of her, due to the coldness that they have endured at her hands. Aunt Bella's vulnerability is especially believable and heart breaking; she is a challenged thirty-five year old woman that is still living with her mother but dreams of marriage and her own family.

  Despite being set in the 1940s, the play is not dated at all and the sole setting of Grandma's apartment is never dull either as multiple sets would distract and move focus from the importance of the dialogue. The play is mainly from the perspectives of fifteeen year old Jay and thirteen year old Arty and as they are children, it is interesting to see their takes on the complex relationships. One minute flaw is that the first half is a tad too slow and long but the main character development occurs in the second half, where Jay and Arty mature and begin to understand their grandmother better.

  Lost in Yonkers is a great play and it is very thought provoking. Thank you very much, Mr Simon, for making work enjoyable for ushers such as myself.

Rating 4/5 ****

http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Yonkers-Drama-Plume-Simon/dp/0452268834

Friday 19 October 2012

Guest poem: My teacher


My brother, AD, recently wrote a poem for a competition and I think it is great and I want to share it. I may not say it all the time but I'm really proud of my brother; he is an amazing artist, so good that he's doing his Graphics GCSE two years early! Here is some of his art work and his poem which is called 'My Teacher'. Nice one, bro! A review of Neil Simon's 'Lost in Yonkers' will be up soon.

My teacher

First day of class,
As I am excited for maths
I am eager to learn
Hoping that this teacher isn’t stern
He hands out a paper
Like 10 seconds later
I fill it out,
With no reason to doubt
So many things to say,
Then it is taken away
Later on a shock, from what my teacher has said,
In his exact words "what’s going on in your head?”
My mind spins,
As he continues and cheerfully grins
And looks at me as if I have sinned
What have I done?
That he hates me a ton
I took extra classes to make my work load lighter
I don’t want to be a writer or a cage fighter
I just want to be a little bit brighter
Nagging me saying I am doing wrong
Well it is you sir who doesn't respond
You hear my continuous cries for help
But yet you decide to go help someone else
At first I ignored and forgot it,
But know I have decided something needs to be done about it
The time to listen
Or create an un-biased system
It’s not fair
Knowing that your own teacher doesn't care
Because sir if you don’t care about our education
Then what is going to happened to our generation?


Wednesday 10 October 2012

Things Fall Apart (the centre cannot hold...)


  Right, my university applications have been sent off (eek!), I am marginally less stressed and I can finally give my two cents on Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'. This novel means a lot to me and even though I only read it recently, I've come across it many times.  First of all, the title derives from William Butler Yeats' 'The Second Coming', a poem that I studied for AS English Literature and can still quote:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
The falcon cannot hear the falconer
Things fall apart;  the centre cannot hold,
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world...
Ah, Yeats.

   Achebe clearly likes his poetry and in fact, I studied one of his poems, 'Vultures' for GCSE. He is arguably Nigeria's most prolific author and Things Fall Apart was one of the first African novels to receive global and critical acclaim. So, as a Nigerian, this novel is part of my literary heritage and in my opinion, it is one of the best books ever for understanding colonisation from the native's perspective, (I am totally unbiased, of course). The novel shows how British colonialism affected Nigerian culture and society,  both for the better and for the worse.  Things Fall Apart is seen by many as Achebe's response to Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', which depicted Africa as a primitive black hole of uncivilised natives who lacked reasonable customs and Achebe disproves this. His novel is set in the late nineteenth century amongst the Igbo people in the fictional village of Umoufia, one of the nine villages of Nigeria. It follows the life of Okonkwo, who is a reverred warrior, leader and wrestler in the village. The character is ruled by his fear of being seen as a 'weakling' like his father was and his determination to be the complete opposite of his father leads to conflict as British Christian missionaries descend on the village.

   Although the novel is written in English, Achebe is brilliant in the way that he uses various parables and tales to show the richness and nuances of the Igbo language, sometimes incorporating Igbo words into sentences, with the glossary of words at the back of the novel aiding with comprehending. Some critics state that the novel is difficult for non-Nigerians to understand because some of the names are too complicated (Nwoye, Ikemefuna and Unoka for instance), but these names are essential to understanding the novel as they have meanings and elucidate the characteristics of the various characters. Also, Achebe choosing to write the novel in English could be seen as a further example of the power of colonisation.

  Things Fall Apart presents both the good and bad side of colonialism. On one hand, Christianity was good for the people Umofia in the way that it saved the lives of many. Prime example are the many innocent twin babies that used to be seen as evil abnormalities in Nigerian culture. As a twin, I am particulary touched by this. On the other hand, Achebe also shows how a huge change such as Christianity (the Igbo were immensely spiritual and reliant on wooden gods pre-colonisaton) can completely eradicate and change a culture and have negative effects on people like Okonkwo that refuse to submit to it.  The novel is one with many layers, interpretations and themes that range from gender, society, success and failure to the aforementioned theme of colonialism  vs the native and tradition.

   Things Fall Apart is an absolutely brilliant novel that I would recommend to everyone regardless of ethnicity or colour. I loved it so much that it is the book that I have chosen to discuss alongside Maya Angelou's poetry and Wilkie Collins' 'The Moonstone' for my A2 English Literature coursework. The book will also give you a glance into an aspect of Nigerian history, and it was interesting for me to learn about this aspect because I am from the Yoruba tribe, not Igbo, so before reading the novel, I was not too familiar with their customs. In regard to the novel, I would like to end on this question: Can colonialism ever be justified though?

Chinua Achebe, you make me very proud to be a Nigerian.

Friday 5 October 2012

Busy bee

An opportunity to use the snazzy app (Windows Phone, hollaaa)! I haven't been here in a while and I miss it but I've been immensely busy. UCAs has pretty much taken over my life and you'd think that three A Levels wouldn't be stressful for someone that did five AS subjects last year! A review of 'Things Fall Apart' will come soon, as well as a review of Neil Simon's 'Lost In Yonkers', I promise!

Sunday 16 September 2012

Guest blog: September

My twin sister, Tai, is an avid reader like me. She could totally have handled A Level English Literature but she has a strong aversion to essays and was boring and went down the Sciences route. I'm kidding. She's not boring; she'll be a great pediatric doctor one day. Anyway, she's interested in blogging but too lazy to make her own blog (her words, not mine!). So, we found a solution to this and decided that she'll guest blog for me from time to time. I'll be reviewing Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart' soon but this is Tai's 'September'. Enjoy.


    September. This is the month many young people dread most. No more late nights, no more summer holidays because with school starting again, surely the idea of ‘fun’ must no longer exist. Personally, I wish the holidays lasted longer because I’m not particularly keen to start school again. I’m sure adults reading this must be internally rolling their eyes, probably thinking that I should stop complaining as compared to the grown up world of working, having six weeks off is a luxury. With that in mind, it’s greedy to want more time off school, but that’s not why I’m hesitant to resume.

   This school year will be my final one before university and without a doubt the most important of my life so far. I guess you could say I’m a bit nervous to be thrust into the grown up world because it is in this school year that I will turn 18, and legally be an adult. Sometimes I do get scared and worry about what the future will bring, which I’m sure we’ve all done at some point. It may not be regarding school like me, but everyone has areas in their lives that cause them stress. What keep me going are two scriptures that are very close to my heart. The first is 2 Timothy 1:7- “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

    My mum used to read this to me all the time when I was younger, and it’s stuck with me since. So if God hasn’t given us a fearful spirit, why fear or worry about situations? God is looking out for us, so things will definitely turn out right. The second verse is Jeremiah 29:11- “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

   God has big plans for us. For each and every one of our lives, actually. So there’s no point in worrying about the future because God’s got it all sorted! Just continue to trust in Him, and things will look work out in the end.

  Finally, to everyone going back to school this month, endeavour to make this year the best one yet. Try not to get stressed or feel overwhelmed. Remember God has plans for you. I personally know I’ll be keeping hold to that this year!

Racism hurts

  On my way to work the other day, I had a bit of a 'mare. I was listening to music through my headphones when suddenly, a drunk man came out of an alleyway and stood right in front of me. He then proceeded to call me a 'f*cking black c*nt' as well as many other colourful things. I was petrified because there was nobody close by and I thought he was going to attack me. He circled me for a few seconds, called me the derogatory term for 'coward' repeatedly, a word that rhymes with 'wussy'.

 Thankfully, I was right outside my workplace so I quickly ran in. I was so scared and shaken that I had to go to the toilets to calm myself. I've never personally encountered such racism and it was a harrowing experience. I should have defended myself instead of just running away. I should have done something...anything!

 I think back to the 1960s and the prejudice that African Americans faced. I also think back to the Civil Rights Movement and peaceful protest. If I had retaliated and sworn back, then I would have been no better than him. I can't even say that I'll never experience something like that again because the world is full of mean people. Racism hurts but I thank God that I didn't get hurt. Well, at least not physically.

Monday 10 September 2012

I love you, Mr Darcy

   During the summer holidays (ah, I miss them already!) on a random whim, my sister and I decided to watch the 2005 adaption of 'Pride and Prejudice', the one with Kiera Knightley and Matthew Macfayden. I'd never seen the film before, but I had read the book and seen the Bollywood version, 'Bride and Prejudice' when I was about ten years old and loved both. The novel mostly follows the Bennet family, the witty second born Elizabeth especially and deals with the importance of a 'good marriage' for the less wealthy as well as other issues such as the class system, the role of women and education in the Georgian era.

  Pride and Prejudice is loved by many and it has been adapted numerous times, the popular 1995 TV series and Bridget Jones' Diary being examples, both starring Colin Firth as 'Mr Darcy'. Ah, the popular 1995 TV series...I must admit that my teenage eyes have not yet grasped the appeal of Colin Firth in 'the lake scene', which is ranked in many polls as one of the most memorable scenes in British television but I'm sure that the appeal will come in due time. I really enjoyed the 2005 film because it brought so much life and youth into Austen's best loved classic, whilst still adhering to the novel. Its beautiful swooping shots also made me, a firm city dweller, appreciate the English countryside more. Kiera Knightley's performance as Elizabeth was well deserving of the Oscar nomination, her on-screen sisterly relationship with Rosamund Pike's 'Jane' being believable and quite sweet. As a sucker for romance and handsome men, I fell for Matthew Macfayden's Mr Darcy and even sought out the alternate American ending which was heavily romantic and swoon worthy. Although English critics despised it, I personally loved it as I have a cheesy heart and I'm a fan of the cliched 'Hollywood kiss'.

  The film rekindled my forgotten love for Pride and Prejudice and I took the novel with me to read again in Paris. I'm kind of an Austen keeno- she has an unparalled way with words, evidenced with Elizabeth Bennet's wit and vivacious conversations with Mr Darcy. In my opinion, gentle declarations of love such as the ones that Austen uses in her works outdo the smuttiness of some of the so called 'literature' of today. (Fifty Shades of Grey, anyone?) It could be said that Elizabeth is an early feminist role model; she defends herself and her family on occasion, never allowing herself to be belittled by those who see themselves as superior to her and she refuses to conform to the norms of the patriarchal society.

  Pride and Prejudice gives insight into the world of the Georgian era, when marriage was essential for fear of  poverty, in the case of the Bennet family or becoming an 'old maid'. This is why women often fell into loveless marriages in order to prevent this, exampled by Charlotte Lucas' (Elizabeth's best friend) marriage to the odious Mr Collins. The novel's title gives away the novel's two main themes- it is Darcy's pride that initially prevents him from viewing Elizabeth and her family as his equals and this pride results in him insulting Elizabeth's vanity by saying she is 'not handsome enough' to tempt him. The words cause Elizabeth to be prejudiced towards him for the majority of the novel, as she refuses to see any good in him - 'vanity, not love has been my folly'.

  As I re-read, I found myself wishing that men of today were more like Bingley and Darcy, with pleasant, loving words and more. Someday, I want my own Mr Darcy, someone who will love me enough to go the extra mile for me, inconveniencing himself as well as willing to to participate in a few verbal spars with me from time to time! (I can be quite adamant to my own opinion sometimes, hence why this blog exists).

   Right, enough of me dreaming up my perfect husband. Pride and Prejudice is a really good story that is timeless and a story that one can read over and over again. If you haven't read it, you must!

Rating- 5/5 *****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pride-Prejudice-Jane-Austen/dp/184317569X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347287103&sr=1-1

Wednesday 5 September 2012

Adventures in Paris

  Last weekend, I was in Paris for a 'long weekend'/ short getaway with my sister, brother and Dad. We go to France whenever possible because my Dad used to live there and he still has a lot of connections there. These visits are also ample opportunities for me to practice my French with natives; many of them were impressed with me, huzzah!

   This time however, things were a little different because my Mum wasn't with us and my Dad was completely in charge, l'horreur! It was really sweet to see how completely lost he is without her. Even shopping for the things that we needed during our short stay was a struggle as Mum usually handles those things, so my Dad was completely out of his depth. Massive shout out to all mothers out there and my Mum especially for being there; we are all lost without your care!


La Défense in the day
  In general, I really enjoyed the trip. Paris is one of my favourite cities in the whole world and I'm always happy to go there. We stayed in  La Défense and we saw amazing architecture and buildings! During the trip, I bonded with my siblings (Cringey I know, but this was probably my last holiday with my brother before I go off to university next year, sad times), I got over some bitterness that I won't dwell on and I was reassured by the fact that God has a plan in all situations- Jeremiah 29:11.

La Grande Arche de la Défense
 


The only downside to the trip was this guy that we met who felt the need to tell me (after only knowing me for an hour, might I add) that my choices in regard to university courses were 'completely wrong' and 'too easy'. He even had the audacity to tell my father that he should force me to do Economics and French or any course related to Business as those would be much better and 'challenging'. The nerve! Thankfully, my parents are very reasonable; they trust me enough to let me make my own decisions and they would never dream of forcing me into anything.

  It really annoys me when people like that man believe that they know best just because they're older. As it is my own life, which I only live once, I think that I am entitled to live it doing whatever I feel is right for me.

  Right, rant over. A review of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' is coming soon.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

The Atonement Child: Pro-life vs Pro-choice

   I've been a fan of Francine Rivers for as long as I can remember, mostly due to the influence of my mother. She owned all of Rivers' books and I get my keenness for reading from her; she can demolish a book quicker than anyone I know. I say 'owned' because somehow when we were younger, in our desires to emulate our mother, my twin sister and I managed to misplace most of the books in her Francine Rivers collection. Oops. We've been slowly buying her the books back over the years but I digress.

   The Atonement Child. Although Rivers published this novel in 1997, I've only just recently read it because I wanted to be mature and learned enough to fully understand its content, in order to develop my own views on them. The Atonement Child is the story of young Christian woman Dynah Carey, whose life is going swimmingly well; she's engaged to the seemingly perfect and respectable Ethan, who is also a Christian, she has loving parents and she has deserved her scholarship at one of the best Christian colleges in the country, as her grades are perfect. However, this perfect world begins to fall apart when she is raped one evening on her way home from work. Things get even worse when Dynah falls pregnant and the police are unable to apprehend her attacker, as Dynah did not see his face.

   This was a very interesting yet hard novel for me to read because as a Christian myself, I could totally put myself in Dynah's shoes. Whilst reading the book, I had to stop myself on many occasions from judging the characters too harshly on some of their infuriatingly selfish decisions. This is because it is a difficult topic that one can never fully know what one would do, unless actually put into the situation. The Atonement Child raised many questions in me; Is abortion alright if the foetus is the unwanted product of rape? Are Christians pro-life or pro-choice? The word abortion is never actually mentioned in the Bible so that makes it right, right? These are very difficult questions and abortion is still a very controversial topic today.

  Rivers is very effective in showing the hypocrisy that can exist even amongst Christian circles regarding this topic. It shocked me how quick some of the faith leaders in the novel like the college's Dean and Ethan were to tell the protagonist to abort, even kicking her out of school for hesitating to do so, without even considering her circumstances, their only intent being to maintain the 'name' of the school. I praise Rivers on the sensitive way that she deals with these themes of unwanted pregnancy, rape and religious viewpoints on both, as well as exploring (without being too 'preachy') the emotional trauma that abortion can cause, an issue that is not often talked on.

  Although some might criticize her novels for being too 'wafflly' and 'corny' at times, I particularly like the way that Rivers develops her characters in such a way that even their names aren't chosen at random. (Bible trivia: 'Dinah' is the name of Jacob's only daughter, who was raped in Genesis).  The Atonement Child taught me that the repercussions of a person's actions can be felt by later generations, it is never good to hold on to old hurts; communication is key and God always has a plan, in the bad as well as the good.

   My only criticism of The Atonement Child is in one section, where a character states that Dynah should abort the baby because, 'What if the rapist was black?' I wasn't exactly sure what Rivers was trying to get across here but maybe I am reading too much into it.

  Does Dynah keep the baby, does she abort and what happens with her fiance and family? Well, you're going to have to read it yourself to find out what happens. It really is a fantastic, engrossing read.

Rating- 4/5 ****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Atonement-Child-Francine-Rivers/dp/0842300414

Monday 27 August 2012

Hello, internet.

  I've always wanted a blog. In fact, blogging has been on my 'to do list' for quite a while but I've never had a topic. I'm a firm believer in the idea that blogs should have a topic, instead of random posts such as 'I went shopping today' or inane ones like, 'OmG, i h8 ma lyf!!11!!!' Okay, maybe the latter was a bit extreme.

   I think that I have found 'Something To Blog About' (that's the title of a fabulous book by Shana Norris) at last, and with that little clue, I shall be blogging about and reviewing the books that I read. Well, mostly. Sometimes, I will vent (URL reference, ha) about things that irk me and I will try my hand at reviewing other things like films, music etc.

   Why am I doing this, you ask? In September, I shall be entering my second year of A Level, studying English Literature, French and Economics and I intend to study English and French at a higher level in university next year, God willing. Who knows, I might even do a blog or two en français. I think that having this blog will improve my analytical skills as an English student and the upside is that I'll be having fun whilst bettering myself!

   I'm also an avid reader and I always have a lot of opinions on the books that I read, as well as on other things. I am often told that my opinions are 'too harsh' by my peers and twin sister, who is a budding medic that isn't pleased when I share my 'crazy English ideas' with her as the majority of the time she 'doesn't care' (love you, Tai!). So instead of annoying those close to me, I thought that I would be productive and share these aforementioned crazy ideas and opinions with the internet and whoever decides to read my blog.

  I hope to update this as often as possible; I even downloaded a blogger app so that I can 'blog on the go', lolz.

Watch this space!