Happy New Year!
This can only mean one thing. New Year's Resolutions. They're pretty hard to keep to, but here are a couple of tips that might help. Have a Plan There's no point in trying to do something blindly. Figure what you want to do, how you're going to do it, and what steps you're going to take to do it. For example, if you're trying to lose weight, get a gym membership, plan to go running every week, do yoga, etc. Reward Yourself When you've successfully done something, nothing feels better than a reward or a break. If you've managed to keep your resolution for a couple of months, give yourself a reward. Remember to make your reward reasonable, though. Something that woun't distract you from your resolution. Stay Positive Even if you feel like you won't be able to do something, don't completely lose all hope. If you keep your head up and your self-esteem high, you CAN do it. Don't lose faith in yourself. 2016 has been a pretty bad year, and I'm pretty sure most people will agree. For example- So many amazing people gone Horrifying terror attacks BREXIT and the US Elections And so many more things. It's sort of unbelievable. It's like everywhere you look, people are talking about how bad 2016 has been. But let's look at the bright side- And maybe for you, personally, a lot of good things did happen. 2016 has been one crazy ride, but focus on the bad parts too much. Remember that amidst all the chaos, there were at least a few things that were a candle in the darkness. They might not be much, but at least one of the things above might have made you smile to yourself. Let's hope for a better 2017. And not just hope, but try and make it a reality, because we all deserve it after this. Keep Smiling. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is one of the most beautiful yet terrible things I have ever read. Of course, I was glad for a new instalment in my favourite series, but it wasn't exactly what I expected.
If you haven't read it yet, I think you definitely should! Just remember that
It might not live up to your standards, you might hate it, you might love it. My feelings on it are still mixed. It's marketed as the eighth story in the franchise, but most people don't consider it worthy enough to gain that title. Click read more to see the good, the bad and the ugly of the Cursed Child. (WARNING: there will be spoilers.) YA is one of the most popular genres in fiction these days. Usually, female characters aren't written very well and are usually just there to fill some empty space. However, here are five popular YA characters, not necessarily the main characters of their books, who I absolutely adored. because of their character development and personalities. Note: Major SPOILERS, it's best not to continue unless you've read-
5. Alaska Young One of John’s Green remarkably amazing female characters. Alaska is written so well it makes me feel like she is a real person who I’ve grown to like as the book progressed. She isn’t perfect, every girl has her problems, but she is mischievous, crazy, spontaneous, yet troubled. Her ending was horrible and gruesome, but the book was still exceptional. It showed how even the best people could not overpower death. 4. Isabelle Lightwood Isabelle Lightwood was one of my favourite characters from the Mortal Instruments because of her assertive, fierce side, and her softer, caring side. She is described as rebellious in the way she goes against what her parents want. On the outside, she appears bold, beautiful and confident, but really, she is insecure about her scars and her height and a lot of other things, which is surprising because she seems perfect. I also have to mention how she is viciously loyal, and will do anything to protect her family and her pride. 3. Hermione Granger Who doesn’t love Hermione? She’s one of Harry Potter’s best friends, a saviour of the Wizarding World and a pretty badass character altogether. Yes, she is nerdy, likes following rules and can be a bossy know-it-all, but she is proud of who she is, and has definitely saved Harry’s life more than a couple of times. I guess I liked her so much because she was not afraid to stand up for what she believed in, whether it was house-elf rights, muggle-born rights or female rights. 2. Luna Lovegood I fell in love with Luna from the minute I met her. Everything about her character is so unique and intriguing, you can't help but instantly like her. She is portrayed as an open-minded, carefree person who doesn’t care about what other people think. She’s very blunt, and tells things like it is, which makes people uncomfortable, but she has a very rare personality. Luna is sort of like the opposite of Hermione, since Hermione believes in facts and logic, while Luna thinks anything can exist unless it is proven not to. 1. Margo Roth Spiegelmann
My all-time favourite. I feel like she is the best John Green character, in my opinion. She is the most popular girl in school and very well liked, but she struggles to break free from her normal, everyday life. She’s a wild child and runs away from home occasionally. But in the end, we find out that Margo is not a miracle or an adventure, but a girl. A human girl with insecurities and problems, because nobody's perfect. So what did you think? Who are your favourite female YA characters? I might do a post on male characters soon. Unless you've just connected to the internet, you will know about Alton Sterling and Philando Castille. They are two people who were shot to death for no apparent reason. Many people claim that the police officers who shot them were being racist. Were they? A lot of people don't support the Black Lives Matter movement. I think that most of them just misunderstand the meaning of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Someone will post that, then another person will respond with #AllLivesMatter and then a huge social debate will spring up. Saying Black Lives Matter doesn't mean that other lives don't matter. All lives definitely matter, and if you don't believe in that, then you are being a little ignorant. People who believe that black lives matter are only saying that sometimes, black people are discriminated and, they are all fighting for equality. Nobody said that all other movements that support other things must immediately stop in favour of black people. People on the internet just tend to misunderstand. But sometimes, people take it a bit too far. There was a black man who shot five white police officers, just because of the shootings of Sterling and Castille. The man claimed that he wanted to kill white people. That is racism. If you want to hurt people based on their race, then it's pretty clear that it's racism. There are also a lot of other groups that are being discriminated. Muslims, trans people, homosexual people, etc. Why don't they get any support? There's so much hate against Muslim people, just because there are a few Islam extremist groups.
Not every Muslim is a terrorist, and not every terrorist is a Muslim. 94% of American terrorist attacks are non-Muslim. And only about .00006625% Muslim people are extremists. And of course, people hating gay or lesbian people just because that is the way they were born. Trans people, because society believes it is wrong to change your birth gender. Women. Men. Different nationalities. Jews. Native Americans. Disabled people. There's just so much hate and violence everywhere. I don't think that the world understands that we are all made just as we are supposed to be. You shouldn't JUDGE people because of their individuality. Every one receives hate to some extent. In the end, I think it's all about how you accept the hate. You can lower your head and take it, let people destroy your pride and dignity. Or you can stand up to it. You can change discrimination. Haters will hate, but maybe it's time to change that. In the future, maybe one day, people will look back on all of this and be disgusted, because in the future, things like this, hate crimes and murders, discrimination, it will cease to exist. That's what I wish for. Recently, I've been sort of obsessed with this game called Undertale. Have you heard of it? Undertale is an amazing RPG video game that was released in 2015. Yes, I know I'm a bit late, but you should definitely try playing it, if you haven't yet. It's best to play the game without knowing anything about it beforehand. It's one of those games that are best played WITHOUT spoilers so you can really immerse yourself in the story. So basically, the story is that two races used to live on Earth: Monsters and Humans. One day, a huge war broke out. After a long battle, the humans won. The monsters were banished and sealed underground with a magic spell. Years later, in the year 201X, a human child (you) come across Mount Ebott, a mountain on the Surface of the Earth. It's the entrance to the underground where monsters live. You fall in and discover the magical, mystical, horrifically intriguing world of Undertale. I love games like this that have an actual storyline and isn't just a bunch of animated characters running around. That's you! Isn't it cute? Undertale is full of creative, unique, pixelated characters. And really frustrating puns. So you should definitely give it a try. Click here to download it.
Don't worry about any viruses, it's completely safe! Have fun! From the moment we are born, we have colours, characteristics, interests and everything else instilled into us. From the whole 'pink is for girls, blue is for boys' thing to the belief that girls should not be rowdy, wild or loud, because that kind of thing 'is for boys'. Recently, girls being tomboyish and having certain characteristics that are usually associated with boys (and shouldn't be) is cool. For example, not liking to dress up or wear makeup, etc. That's fine, of course. People can choose to be however they want and not have to follow gender roles. But my question is why boys can't be feminine, because they'll be shunned by society and social media if they do. Boys being sensitive, emotional, crying, liking pink, makeup, etc. cause them to be called 'gay' by social media and pretty much everyone. Why? Why can't people just be whoever they want to be without having to adhere to the rules of society and gender roles? If girls can act 'masculine', then boys should be able to be 'feminine'. Your personality should not be defined by your gender. People think that male and female brains are wired differently. This, even though it's a popular belief, is completely untrue. Recent science has shown that you can't really tell if a someone is male or female by just looking at a disembodied brain. It's true that certain areas might be different, for example, the male left hippocampus is generally larger than the female left hippocampus. But after experimenting on over 1400 different people, it's been proven that it really depends on the individual. There are males whose left hippocampus area is smaller than the average female, and vice versa. So never, ever believe that you have to be a certain way just because stereotypical male and females are that way, or because everyone around you tells you to. You are your own, individual person, and nothing should stand in the way of you being you. Have you ever wondered how blog posts are created? How does one write and publish a post, and what are all the steps involved in the process? Step 1- BRAINSTORMING This is the first and most essential part of blogging. The blogger must be inspired and have something to write about. They can do research, read other blogs, go outside, listen to music, the list's kind of endless. We just keep going until we've got an idea for a blog post. Step 2- WRITING Now that there's an idea, it needs to be written. Readers can't just read a clump of boring text. This is also a very crucial step, because the blogger has to write it in such a way that the person actually WANTS to read it. Step 3- PICTURES No blog post is complete without pictures and gifs. These make the post more exciting and interesting to read. They're not compulsory to include, but it's highly recommended. Step 4- EDITING Now, you have to purge and clean your blog post of any mistakes in grammar or spelling, or sneaky little typos that you might have not noticed the first time. This part is extremely important, otherwise the grammar Nazis of the internet will attack. Step 5- PUBLISHING Finally! We can publish it and send it out to the world! People can read it and comment about what they liked and what they thought about it, their opinions, etc. Definitely the best part. Makes you feel accomplished. STEP 6- GLITCH This rarely happens. The computer glitches or turns off and all your writing is deleted and all your hard work and hours of toil are gone. This makes me want to smash something. So basically, think of it like a cake being baked. Step 1 is finding the recipe, Step 2 is baking the cake, Step 3 is decorating, Step 4 is taste-testing, Step 5 is serving it to other people. Step 6 is like dropping the cake on the floor. As much as you might not want to get out of bed in the morning, you'll have to, and you have no other choice. So, here are a couple of ways you can feel more refreshed and energized every morning when you wake up, and actually feel like getting out of the cozy cocoon of warmth called your bed. I'm going to try not to use the classic tips like do exercise or do a fun morning activity. 1. Drink Water Drinking water (cool water is a good choice) can make you feel more alive and awake, so keep a glass of water by your bed in the night, or go get one every morning. BONUS TIP- If that doesn't work, splashing the water on your face definitely works. Cold water is recommended for this. 2. Set a Loud Alarm Even though this might scare you slightly, it really works. Set a loud or violent song/sound (I once had a rooster crowing) as your morning alarm. This will either a) make you feel motivated to wake up, b) scare you out of your skin or c) eventually wake you up in the haste to turn it off so nobody else accidentally wakes up. 3. Have a Reason To Wake Up I always find that if you have a goal or a reason to be up, something to do that day, you find waking up easier. So tell yourself "Are you going to stay in bed and waste this day? Or are you going to get up and take on the world?" and you might feel a little more encouraged to get out of bed. |
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