Night Life

In the past month or so I've read three outstanding books (they're not the only books I've read but they are the ones I liked the most). The first book was "The Great Gatsby", I read it for school but it was actually fantastic. It normally is rather painful to read books that are assigned but "The Great Gatsby" is a "great" book. Pun kind of intended. There were a lot of hidden things in the book, and I'll admit I didn't pick up on nearly all of them but I have a personal belief that not every author rights a book with the intention of having every word containing a hidden meaning. Sometimes an author will just write to tell the story that is inside of them, not to make a treasure hunt for readers. I honestly believe that those things that people claim the author intended something to mean something just make it up so that they appear very intellectual to those who will listen to them. I know this can happen because I've had to write essays before that contain that very thing. Made up stuff meant for someone to go, "Wow! I didn't know that's what the author meant!" (AP English class forces you to do that.) Now, don't get me wrong, there are definitely times where authors write with the intention of communicating a message but if a six year old wrote a poem that rhymed, the rhyming pattern does not always contribute to the meaning of the poem! The kid probably just wanted it to rhyme because they think poems have to rhyme. Not because it has anything to do with what they're writing. I know I've even written poems that rhyme before and I didn't think, I want it to rhyme this way to provoke this emotion. Sorry but it does not always happen like that. But "The Great Gatsby" definitely is a book worth reading. I was surprised how attached I got to the main characters. Even the title character!

The second book that I got swept away by was "A Doll's House" by Henrik Ibsen. I absolutely hated Nora in the beginning of the play (yeah, it's actually a play, not a book, sorry about that). But by the last Act, I actually found myself rooting for her and developing a life long hate for her husband. I had never even heard of it before it was assigned in my AP class.

The third and final book that I'll mention for now is "Night" by Elie Wiesel. It is my new favorite book. I do not even know if I can explain it in any way to give it justice. I never thought much about World War II before reading this. I thought it was a horrible time but I never really took the time to imagine what the people thought when it first started happening. I never thought what they really went through. Just as a human, like me, with real emotions. It was the most intense book I have ever read. Plain and simple.

Love and Monkeys -Maggie

The Beginning Once Again

So bloggers, here's the deal. My dad is making me write at least fifteen minutes every week in order to get my new phone which requires a monthly data package where as my current phone does not. Torture right? Well fine, I'm up for it.

I should probably explain why my father has such a keen interest in my blog all of a sudden. Right? Okay, well I want to go to this particular college that is much more expensive than a state college or a state university and is a private out-of-state college. This university offers a scholarship. Of about 25,000 dollars at least. I have a fairly good chance of getting it already because of my grades and it is for communication majors. Which I will be one once I actually get to college. But a key thing that is required is a portfolio. I have a little less than a year to develop a scholarship-winning portfolio. Apparently a blog is a great part to have in your portfolio according to this professor I talked to there. So yay! I already have one- this, duh- and now I need to make it so some person who has money will look at it and say- sure, we can give her our money. And that will be that.

I need an angle though. Something that appeals to a certain demographic. I think it will probably be along the lines of senior year of high school/applying for scholarships/applying to college journey type idea. Wow this was a lot longer than I expected.

But don't worry I'll still have occasional random posts that will be enjoyed by all. Hopefully.

So here's what happened this weekend. My parents got a call a few weeks ago from this company offering free airline tickets if they went to a 90 minute seminar about what they thought was a time share company. My mom was reluctant but both me and her have been planning two separate trips in the summer so we could really use the plane tickets.

The seminar was not for timeshares. The seminar was for a travel company that gets people top of the line stuff ( 5 star hotels, great rental cars, condominiums, airplane tickets, etc.) for ridiculously cheap prices. But you had to buy a membership. They decided to buy one in the first ten minutes. Hey, whatever works.

So now my parents are planning a bunch upcoming trips, the most likely ones to happen: Prague (my mom's idea), England/Ireland around Christmas time (my dad's dream) and the Netherlands (my dream). I'm going down to Texas to see my best friend in July too and my mom is going to Chicago and Florida sometime this summer. I love traveling and I am beyond psyched. Thought I'd share with all my fellow bloggers.

Live Long and Prosper.

-Maggie

I'll Write the Song That You'll Sing for Me Baby

Why can people never say what they mean?

I abhor people who don't have integrity.

Please, please, please, please, please, Say what you mean and Do what you say you're going to.

Then after you can show me that you can do that more than once... Then we'll talk.

Life has been crazy. I haven't had a moment for anything. I don't even know when I'm going to get a break again. but whatever. Life happens. I've been spending the majority of my time looking for colleges. I think I want to major in communications because I'm not sure what to do and that has a lot more jobs than just Sociology. I hate talking about colleges though. It's so overwhelming. SAT's frighten me too. I just want to apply and leave everything else alone. I can't wait to be done with it all.

Photography

Not all pictures on this blog are mine. Sometimes I will post my own but a lot of times I will use other people's who have a lot of talent and pick one that fits best with my theme of the post. The second to last post is from my best friend Jessie Allen. Not Jessica. Same way I'm Maggie not Margaret. See how we're so great?

I'm going to try and get an official post out tomorrow or on Christmas day itself. Ironically I should have more time Christmas day than just Christmas Eve. Who knows maybe later tonight even? I don't know we'll see how everything plays out.

I've been caught up in a story I'm writing called Leila, Darling. More to come on that soon.

-Oh, and the picture in this post is actually mine. It's me and my new shiba inu Oliver :)

Run Around in Circles

In my literature class we read a couple sonnets. Then we had to write our own, either by ourselves or with a partner. I actually ended up co-writing one with a friend of mine on another topic. If I can get ahold of it I will post that one too. But it's vacation now and I ended up writing another one. Here's a couple things about a sonnet: it consists of fourteen lines, the first eight are the octet which follows a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA generally. The last six lines are called the "sestet". The sestet's rhyme scheme is less predictable I used CDCDEE for the sestet this time.

Run around in circles until the world is spinning

You're not the only one there but that is how it feels

Everyone watches you as you make your deals

But let it fade away and keep on grinning

Keep on going child this is only the beginning

As you turn, they all can see how you're head over heels

The longer you go the more it blurs like a race car's wheels

Keep going though, you're still winning

Even though it all looks fine, you feel sorry

Every thought you think leaves you confused

Wandering through the world with your eyes so starry

Will only leave you alone and abused

And just like this

Everything else fades into the great abyss

One of many Passages

I mentioned the Inside Passage briefly awhile ago. Back in August or July.

Since then I've developed different rules for it:

1. I only right in blue BIC pens or black fountain pens for the reason of i dont want to ever erase what I put down.

2. I will never rip out a single page no matter what it might say. Even if I just used it for scrap.

3. I don't date anything or write cliche things like: Dear Journal. I don't want to be bothered by that. And it's not just a journal. It's just me.

If that makes any sense

Here are a couple they may make no sense but maybe someone could relate in some little way:

I keep watching as reality runs farther and farther away from my grasp until I'm completely alone sitting in utter darkness. That sense of complete

loss, abandonment, and confusion encasing me.

So I wrote.

I wrote and I wrote and I though I killed it at the time. Now I know that I did not.

Look at me. I'm right here. Maybe not for long physically but in this exact moment I am here in front of you. Stop trying so hard to deny it.

Can't you see it isn't working?

Writing is what I can control because apparently I can't control a single thing that goes on around me.

Maybe that's why I do it.

Maybe that's why I get so involved in it and put me into my characters.

Maybe that's because I don't know how to even put me into me.

I try acting like I never gave up. But it's so obvious that I did.

When I forget it even for a minute it just crashes again and I remember a little more.

People say that a blank page is scary.

But it isn't the emptiness that scares them. It's the truth about themselves that will be revealed on it.

I believe that everything we write down reveals a truth about who we are.

(and just because I havent written in awhile I'll give you an extra long one)

What's it like when someone you love moves away? :

It's like you're driving down a road and you see signs telling you: "Brick wall ahead!"

You ignore it for the most part though because there's a great song on the radio and you don't want to miss it.

Then the signs start counting down how close you are to it.

And you keep going and then you crash into that brick wall.

And the music has stopped.

Just like that, everything is in pieces all around you and you don't know how to move forward after this.

You feel stupid; there were all the signs and you knew what they meant but until you crashed you didn't know what it was going to feel like.

And it feels worse than anything you could have imagined.

You feel abandoned.

And they're no where in sight.

You hear someone say: "Just wait and see who else comes!"

But you know they won'te even come close to what you had because you had the best.

And even if the next person comes close, though it hurts just thinking about this,

But you know it will be ages.

And you know you'll just be tossed aside like every other person always does because you just don't "stick out".

Just like that: they're gone and it feels like a death.

They were the passengers in you car and you're lying alone on the road on top of bits of glass.

Okay there you have it.

Picture is by my photography friend: shattered-spectrum.deviantart.com/

Feel free to stop by and say hello.

Chancing it

I'm really defensive at the moment. I'm not so crazy about people telling other people what I tell them within the same minute I tell them so person number two starts talking to me about it. If I was talking to them I would have chosen to tell or not tell them myself. I'm fed up with people.

School's been taking up every spare moment and I feel guilty I'm writing this when I should be studying for Honors Literature's second term quiz of the quarter. I've had too many things running through my mind. Way too many, more people keeping popping their heads into my lives to either jump out a moment later, or make me wonder in a way I feel I should not wonder.

I'll write a real blog tomorrow. Pinky promise!

~Maggie.