Blog-o-versary

 YO.

  Kennyvents is officially one year old, woo! This is where it all started, ah. I've really loved having this blog as the main point of it was to make my novel analysing skills better. I will definitely continue blogging at uni as my degree is very literature based and part of my first year exams will consist of reading books and making commentaries on them, exactly what I do on here! So, I'll still be reading a lot of books. As it's a French degree, I'm afraid quite a few of the reviews will be en français but I'll share interesting uni adventures here as well, do the occassional rant and still review films if I can.

  It's a bit crazy at the moment in my house as we're trying to sort out admin stuff for uni. So. Many. Forms. It's long but still very exciting. My sister and I were supposed to jet off to Budapest yesterday on holiday but due to her last minute offer, she has had to stay in the country to sort out her forms because as a medicine undergraduate, there are wayy more forms, blood tests etc to get done. I'm still here too as I wasn't going to go on holiday on my own! But we're trying to see if we can squeeze in a quick visit to France before we part ways, sob sob.

  A few shouts before I go; my sister, Tai, who has guest blogged here a few times finally has her own blog- http://medicineandtai.wordpress.com/.

  I have a stylist (lol, I know) and she's one of my Mum's bestfriends. Our deal is that I help her with the crazy photoshoots for her fashion portfolio as a model and in return, she styles me for big events like my 18th birthday party and prom. She is absolutely brilliant and you should definitely check out her Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/DebbieFashionStylist?fref=ts or her personal website and blog where she posts pictures of her daily outfits- http://www.debbiefashionstylist.com/blog/. There are one or two photos of me on here as well...

  That's all for now, folks. Thanks a lot to those that read my ramblings. I see from my daily stats what countries people are reading from but reveal yourselves in a comment so I can thank you properly! Hopefully some reviews will be coming soon. Happz anniv, blog!

(This also happens to be my 50th post on here. I totally did that on purpose...)

Dominus Illuminatio Mea

   I still can't believe that it actually happened. It's been a week and it still feels like I'm dreaming. Maybe writing it all down on this blog will make it seem more real to me. So, I had my Carey Mulligan a la 'An Education' moment. I got into Dream Uni. And I can finally admit that Dream Uni is the University of Oxford. Yup, THE Oxford.

  I've talked about my interview experience on here but I'd like to explain how this dream came about. I decided that I was going to apply to Oxford at the end of Year 11. I'd visited the university and a few of its colleges on a Gifted & Talented trip with my school and I'd fallen in love instantly, especially with Pembroke College. I knew I'd be applying for a degree that had French in it as French was the subject that I was best at, it was also the subject that I enjoyed the most and I'd done my GCSE French two years early in Year 9, giving me an advantage.

  My GCSE results were okay. But I got a bit cocky in Year 12 and thought I could handle five essay based AS subjects: French, English Lit, History, Religious Studies (or Philosophy) and Economics. It turned out to be one of the worst mistakes that I've ever made. I was very very stressed throughout the year (my GP even told me that I was getting ill as a result of my academic stress), I started going grey, I rarely had free periods and I was buried under essays. I probably could have handled it all but in Year 12, I was also committed to many non-academic things such as theatre productions outside school, a part-time job, sport (Netball), volunteering at a local magazine, organising and being co-president of the newly formed Humanitarian Society in my school and so on. Stress central! To top it all, I was having difficulties in French, the subject that I'd always been so confident in as I was the first (and only) student to take it for A Level in my school. So, the department was highly disorganised, I went through about six teachers in the year as they didn't have a clue on the course and I didn't actually get a textbook until about January.

  Due to all of the aforementioned factors, my AS grades were...alright but at BBBBC, they were far from what I wanted. I cried and sulked a lot, especially because I'd gotten a B in French, a subject that had been my forte. After being bitter for a long time, I prayed a lot and Jeremiah 29:11 became my mantra: "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I started to see that God had a plan and my AS grades were a way of humbling me; they made me realise even more that God knows my future, not me.

  With all this in mind, I dropped History and RS and took English Lit, French and Economics to A Level. Year 13 French was a lot better than Year 12 as I got to spend all my lessons at the local Boys school, where the teaching was more structured and organised. The teachers were very supportive and I made a lot of good friends. Even though my AS grades were below the usual Oxbridge applicant standard, I still decided to chase my dream and apply to Pembroke College, Oxford, for English and French.

  As I mentioned here, I was unsuccessful for the English part and I only got offered an interview for French. Again, this was God working as even I know that I'm much better in French than English and for someone who stresses easily like me, a joint degree is perhaps not the best idea. Here, I mention how the interview went and it was here that I talked about when I received an offer in January.

  Fast forward to A Level Results Day last week. I couldn't sleep, I was petrified, nervous, sick, the lot. My insurance was Southampton but my heart was so set on Pembroke. I was shaking as I logged into Track at around half 7 in the morning and I screamed and cried when I saw, "Congratulations! Your place at Oxford University O33 for French R110 has been confirmed." To make things even better, my sister, Tai, got a last minute offer from UEA for MEDICINE on that same day and she tells her incredible story here.

  So, the A Level chapter of my life has come to an end and I shall be beginning higher education in October. I want to leave you guessing so I'm afraid I'm not going to say what I got in my A Levels. Sorry, that shall be my little secret for now. Maybe I'll share one day. Maybe.

  I'd better wrap up this post. It is called 'dominus illuminatio mea' as that is Oxford's motto. It comes from Psalm 27 in the Bible and it means 'The Lord is my light'. For me, this is even more proof that God has been helping me throughout this journey. He has been the light at the end of the dark and long tunnel that is A Levels and without Him, none of this would have been possible.

  To you, reader, never give up on your dreams. God has plans for you and He will make all the seemingly impossible things possible. God bless.

PS- Here is a fun Pembroke College fact: J.R.R Tolkien was a fellow there from 1925-1945 and he wrote the first two books of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit during his time there. Maybe I'll write my soon to be award winning trilogy. 'The Lady of the Bracelets' during my time at Pembroke....

The Scarlet Letter

  Kenny Rebecca's first attempt at reading Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter' was when she was fifteen years old and on holiday in France. However, after only reading a few pages, she put it down because it bored her. Three years later, Kenny Rebecca is eighteen and will hopefully be starting university in October. She finds her old copy of The Scarlet Letter in the dark abyss that is her bedroom whilst tidying up and she decides to try reading it again as she is now more mature and a legal adult. Will she like it, or will it nearly bore her to tears like it did last time? Read on to find out!

   I am sad to say that Kenny Rebecca didn't really enjoy The Scarlet Letter after giving it a second chance and I need to stop referring to myself in the third person. The Scarlet Letter was written by Hawthorne in 1850 and it is set in 17th century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts during the years 1642 to 1649. It is the story of a young woman named Hester Prynne, who begets a child through an adulterous affair and is shamed and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' (for adultery) for the rest of her life as a punishment, as well as being ostracized from the town. The idea of a red 'A' might sound familiar to you because the 2010 film, 'Easy A', which stars the very talented Emma Stone, was a loose adaptation of the novel, with the plot being reversed in a way. I enjoyed this film a lot and I was initially quite excited to read The Scarlet Letter as it is kind of the film's source material. Let me explain exactly why I didn't dig the book.

  In my opinion, Hawthorne waffles a lot. And I mean a lot. I personally think that some of his long descriptions with the olden day style language were unnecessary as they didn't particularly advance the plot. In fact, I found myself skipping a few of them and sighing with relief whenever he'd finally start with some dialogue. Secondly, I feel that Hawthorne could have built up the reveal of the man that Hester committed adultery with more and he could have made more of a mystery of it. I also didn't like how Hester's wronged husband, Roger Chillingworth, was portrayed as the villain throughout the novel as he tried to find out who the second guilty party was. Now, I'm not going to ruin the surprise of who the guilty man is. However, it annoyed me how it is not properly explained how the affair between them came about and I didn't believe that he loved Hester as he lets he suffer alone and in shame with their child, Pearl (a VERY irritating character, even for a child), for seven years, before finally confessing. If that's love, I definitely don't want it.

  Despite all my dissin', I'll admit that there are good parts to the novel. In America, it is one of the most studied novels in high school and this is evident in the way that there is a lot to analyse in it. For example, from a feminist reading, the patriarchal society is really evident as only the woman, Hester, is made to suffer even though both the man and woman committed the act. A major theme in the novel is sin and this is emphasized by the fact that Prynne rhymes with it. Another name that you can analyse is Roger Chillingworth's as he is a very 'chilling' character with ulterior motives. In addition, in the book, Hawthorne raises many questions such as whether religious leaders can be flawed and if this should prevent us from putting them on such high pedestals, a notion that was quite controversial when the book was published. Also, one big question that haunts me is whether one big sin can ruin your life and hope of heaven and if this sin can be undone by many good acts for the rest of your life. Adultery is a big sin to me and I found it hard to deal with how this was glossed over sometimes, with Hester being depicted as a saint. However as the Bible says, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7)'.

  I may have just committed 'book blasphemy' by bashing a literary classic like The Scarlet Letter but I guess I can't help my opinions. I hear the film version starring Demi Moore and Gary Oldman is atrocious though...

Rating 3/5 ***

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scarlet-Wordsworth-Classics-Nathaniel-Hawthorne/dp/1853260290

Things I Don't Like

   I'm grumpy. I am grumpy because my family is living it up on holiday and I won't be going away until the end of August. I am grumpy because I'm tired all the time nowadays. So, instead of wallowing in my bad mood, I thought I'd rant as one is overdue and I'm now going to channel all my grumpy energy into a post on things that I don't like/ things that irritate me.

1) I don't like pretentious people/ snobs. It really really bugs me when some people assume that they're better than others because of the school that they go to, usually if they're grammar or private school students. Not really.

2) I don't like it when people use grammar incorrectly/ punctuate excessively. The your/you're, there/their/they're, defiantly/definitely, except/accept, should of/ should have mistakes are just a few examples that baffle me as to how people could get them wrong.

3) I don't like bugs. As it's summer, 'tis the season for insect galore and they really creep me out. However, I count my blessings with the fact that instead of bugs, there could be rats and I am absolutely petrified of them due to an awful childhood experience.

4) I don't like fake friends/ hypocrites/ liars/ rude people. With me, I can confidently say that what you see is what you get. For example, if I dislike someone, I won't go out of my way to befriend the person and then say horrible things behind his/ her back, unlike some people that I know...Also, from my Nigerian heritage, I have been raised to always respect my elders. So, it really angers me when people my age are rude to their parents/teachers/ elders in general.

5) I don't like it when people compare me to my sister. Although we're identical twins, we are two very different people with differing life objectives.

6) I don't like mangoes. Just the smell of them makes me heave. I've only had them twice in my life and I've been sick both times so I might be allergic to them actually...

7) I don't like it when people swear unnecessarily. There are so many nice words in the English language. Why not use those instead?

8) I don't like to be late to things. Ever. Some call me KEENny for this. The fact that my phone time is nearly half an hour faster than normal time to avoid me being late for things is probably evidence of my keenness.

9) I don't like it when peoples' children scream all the time. Sure, I love kids. However, especially in public places/ when others are trying to rest, learn to control your wailing lil' monsters, parents.

10) I don't like it when people don't try hard in school then they blame their failure on their teachers. Nah, mate, it's you, not them.

11) I don't like angry atheists. Yes, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs. If you choose not to believe in religion/ God, that's your own decision. However, that doesn't mean that you should insult/ undermine the people that do believe (coughRICKYGERVAIScough).

12) I don't like boastful people. Modesty is the best policy...or is that honesty? Either way, stop bragging and tooting your own horn.

I'm feeling less grumpy after that. That's it for now, I guess. Dinner is calling me and I am starving but if more things irritate me, I shall definitely add them to this list. Kenny out.

Amour

  It's been a busy week that has consisted of work, seeing friends, helping out at singing workshops and prom dress shopping. Dream Uni has been sending me lots of stuff as well, a reading list included, and I am both excited and petrified about it all as Results Day is ten days away... Dream Uni said that I have to begin re-immersing myself in French so this post shall be en français, a review of the 2012 French film, 'Amour'.

  Amour est un film qui a été réalisé par Michael Haneke. Il est un réalisateur qui est bien connu avec ses œuvres comme ‘The Pianist’ et  ‘The White Ribbon’ mais ce film est le premier film de lui que j’ai jamais regardé. Pour ceux qui regardent les Oscars chaque année comme moi, vous vous souviendriez qu’Amour a gagné l’Oscar du meilleur film étranger. Emmanuelle Riva, un des acteurs principaux a été nominée pour la meilleure actrice pour son rôle. En fait, c’était un exploit historique car elle est la plus ancienne actrice à avoir été nominée mais Jennifer Lawrence a gagné cet Oscar.

  

   Les cinéphiles qui aiment les films francophones connaissent bien Emmanuelle Riva, particulièrement pour les films qu’elle a fait pendant sa jeunesse comme ‘Hiroshima mon amour’ et ‘Thérèse Desqueyroux’. Jean-Louis Trintignant, l’autre acteur principal est aussi bien connu pour les films comme ‘Z’, avec lequel il a reçu le Prix d’interprétation masculine au Festival de Cannes en 1969. En ‘Amour’, Riva et Trintignant jouent les rôles de Anne et Georges, des octogénaires qui sont mariés. A la retraite, ils ont été professeurs de musique (le piano) et ils adorent la musique classique en particulier. Un jour, Anne souffre silencieusement d’une petite attaque cérébrale et quand elle revient de l’hôpital, Georges lui promet de jamais la renvoyer à l’hôpital car elle a peur de ça. Le film suit les difficultés qui sont associées avec ce promis et le film soulève aussi la question de la vraie profondeur de l’amour entre les deux comme on voit la dégradation de la santé d’Anne.

  

   A mon avis, ce film a été absolument incroyable, triste et choquant pour plusieurs raisons. D’abord, c’était complètement dépourvu du ‘fluff’ d’Hollywood, où ceux qui sont malades apparaissent fabuleux, qui n’est pas une vrai représentation. Ensuite, de temps en temps, c’était très difficile à regarder à cause de la réalité qu’on peut voir en le regardant. L’appartement parisien de Georges et Anne devient un type de prison car ils ne le quittent pas tout au long du film sauf au début. Riva et Trintignant méritent vraiment leurs récompenses pour ce film car c’est les deux qu’on suit pour la majorité de film et la qualité de leur action est superbe. En le regardant, vous penserez des membres de votre famille qui sont malades et si vous les aident quand ils ont besoin car Georges a beaucoup de difficulté avec sa femme mourante. En plus, car Riva et Trintignant sont célèbres pour les films de leurs jeunesse, dans ce film où ils sont très vieux, vous penserez du fait que la mort est une chose inévitable, qui même les grands célébrités doivent faire face à la mort un jour dans l’avenir.

  Maintenant, je ne veux pas ruiner le fin du film pour vous mais, je dirai que c’était l’aspect du film qui a été le plus perturbant pour moi et personnellement, j’ai deux interprétations pour cela. Si je le dit, je ruinerais le film. Donc, si vous voudrais mes opinions, vous pourrez me demander face à face.

  

  En guise de conclusion, Amour est si merveilleux et je le recommanderais beaucoup. Si vous ne parlez pas le français, vous n’avez aucune excuse car il y a des sous-titres anglais !  

Rating 8.5/10

Wow, that's the first bit of French that I've written since the 14th of June (birthday and day of final exam-French) and it took me nearly two hours and was a challenge, admittedly. Guess Dream Uni was right; I'd better get cracking on that re-immersing or I'll remember no French come October!