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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Gcrx2Ab0FM

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!

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

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!

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.

 

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.

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

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 ****

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silence-Sea-Mer-Resistance-vercors/dp/0854963782/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354650880&sr=1-2