Category: Lifestyle Posts

TEDxYouth: What Really Is Love?

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Okay, so this whole thing came about because I was watching some of my fellow peers talk about issues that are prominent in their lives through TEDxYouth, a program created from the regular Ted Talks (which are completely brilliant and a must watch!). There I stumbled upon this amazing 17-year-old named Benya Kraus who had a lot of interesting things to say about how society views love compared to what love really is. Hearing the reasons behind that sudden lack of passion felt between two people, as well as society’s role in it, actually helped me understand and improve my feelings toward my relationship. Whatever your current status is, I seriously recommend watching this video. Who knows, it might save you in the end!

‘Til next time,
Marin S.

Final Writing 101 Prompt

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PROMPT: What is something that you cherish most in your life?

The thing that I hold most dear in my life is my teddy bear named Beary. I know, super original right? Well I admit that even though I was fairly creative in my tiny years, I could never remember the names I would give my stuffed animals. So I went old school and the name Beary just seemed to work for him. Anyways, I got Beary when I was about five or six. I was at this birthday party for this girl I used to be friends with in elementary school and the party was hosted at the Chelsea Bear Factory, which is a lot like Build-A-Bear Workshop but better. There I scanned my tiny eyes over the different types of bears I could chose from, all empty and without love until I chose that one special bear to fill with my affection (and stuffing). Most of the kids ran towards the super soft ones or the colored ones or even the ones with patterns on them! But I did not falter. I was looking for THE teddy bear, the one that I was sure to live with for the rest of my life. So you can only imagine how excited I was when I found the one bear for me.

 

The little thing has followed me through a lot. He is not fluffy, not extravagant, and not at all what people would expect from a cute toy. His eyes are a little too close together and his nose a little too large, but he does his job. For ages I thought I had lost Beary until I found him cleaning out our basement a couple of years ago! The spark was instantly brought back to life and to this day I can’t get to sleep unless I kiss his head. He is the object in my life that I truly cherish and I can’t see myself living without.

 

Hey, so hope you enjoyed that quick look into my life! Please stay in tuned for more Things Worth Talking About!

Thanks,

Marin S.

Writing 101

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Prompt: Write about an event that has impacted you and what would happen if it was cancelled.

Top of the Park is cancelled? FOREVER? Now every night from Tuesday to Sunday will be bleak and empty. If you live in Ann Arbor you understand that Top of the Park (or TOP as the locals so affectionately call it) is the biggest freakin’ deal in modern life. All of the high schoolers wait patiently for the music festival that also displays feature films at 10 PM. All of the young kids run through the park, going from one activity to the next, while the parents have an ice-cold beer and listen to some local singers performing just for them. Every day for the month of June this beautiful, wonderful, unique festival occurs (except Mondays of course) and the whole city participates in it. People even come from across the country to listen to one-of-a-kind musicians and bands perform here. I can’t even begin to fathom TOP disintegrating into nothingness, leaving all the people of Ann Arbor without nightly plans. The summer would not be the same if it didn’t exist. The People will morn the loss of such a great program. Many will weep for months afterwards. Some will just die of boredom. But that would not last for long, no sir, because the people of Ann Arbor are strong and witty and hard working! We will avenge TOP and create a new music festival during the month of June! It will be called something along the lines of Top of the City (TOC) or maybe Ann Arbor Music Festival During the Month of June (A2MFDMOJ). Probably something better than that but it will happen nonetheless. The citizens of Ann Arbor will be bored and lifeless no more. 

Writing 101

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Here is another! 

Prompt: Write about a Real Life Conversation that Affected You.

The first thing that popped into my head for this prompt was to write about a small conversation that I was listening to after school one day. First, a little background information about myself: I am shy. Well, okay, I am an extrovert when comfortable and an extrovert to myself when not. I have never really gotten into expressing my opinions while in unfamiliar territory, and this situation did not disprove that. Anyways, there was this extremely attractive tenth grader who was just about the hottest, smartest, most popular kid in school, or at least he appeared to be to my ninth-grade self (which was only a year ago). So he was in a discussion with my homeroom teacher and I walked in to drop off some papers when I heard that they were talking about Dance Body, which is my high school’s dance class. I had been a part of that class during this conversation so I lingered a while to see what he was saying. To my surprise the kid was totally ratting on the class, as well as the girls in it, all in an effort to prove that the money for the arts programs should be re-invested in the Jazz and Theater programs. Now, I am not going against Jazz or the Theater at all, but it caught me off guard to hear this boy (who seemingly thought that he was “all that” because he had been in multiple plays and had seemed to endorse the arts programs whole-heartedly) in the act of disproving the class that he appeared to appreciate.

            After about ten more minutes of his incessant speeches on how “Dance Body only has popular girls” and “It is not nearly as good, or as appreciated, by the school and the community. By this point I was very ready to say that the girls in said class are indeed popular, but that doesn’t mean they should be punished. And that is would be a lot more popular if there would be money in the budget that was not already being forwarded to Theater and Jazz. Now, personally I hated Dance Body. It wasn’t fun for me, the teacher was rude, and the environment was not as accepting as advertised. The thing that really got me though was that this tenth grade, know-it-all boy, didn’t respect that dance meant something to these girls. For some it was their salvation, a place where they could express their emotions during tough times in their lives or just have some fun. Dance Body was made for the girls who couldn’t dance anywhere else. Yes, it was not the most welcoming program, but for many just being able to dance was something that they, including myself, really loved.

            In the end I just sat there, staying quiet and wanting to blurt out all that I was thinking, but not having the courage to do so. I have never forgotten that conversation, not because of the boy or Dance Body or my teacher, but because I had a really strong opinion towards what he was saying and I still didn’t speak up. Even when I was so sure of myself I still didn’t do it. That was the moment when I realized that I continuously get in my own path when I am doing something productive. It’s a habit that I am trying to break and is a large reason for why I am blogging. I want to be comfortable out of my comfort zone, and so far it has helped.

 

*Side Note: One year later the same boy praised Dance Body for all it had done for the school and the girls AFTER they invited him to read his poems at their fall performance. Just if any of you were wondering about what happened to the boy.

Writing 101

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I have been taking a lax writing class through the Daily Post on WordPress and and I would Like to share a couple of the responses I wrote. Other than that I know I have dropped off the face of the Earth but I am back now!

Prompt: Describe childhood home.

My home that I lived in as a child is the home I live in today. It has been 13 years since my family bought and moved into the small, 3-story house on Arborview Blvd. Just down the road from the downtown of our small city, our house sat perfectly waiting for someone to inhabit it. This is not to say that the house was at all perfect, because it’s not. The floorboards constantly squeak with age as well as the doors throughout the halls. The first floor bathroom is located off the kitchen and is not at all sound proof so unless you want to hear the noises of someone taking a piss while you are cooking dinner, you should ask all guests to go upstairs to do their business. Then there is the back door that swings inwards, just barely missing the refrigerator, and making it impossible to close since the lock is jammed.

 

In the basement we have the oldest living washer and drier known to man that came with the house (we thought it was a nice gift from the previous owners but it turns out there is not enough room to move them out of there). With the knobs broken off and the unsettling smell of old laundry coming from the washer every time we use it, you tend to get slightly fed up with the current predicament. Unfortunately they still work and thus there is no need for them to be replaced.

 

Once upstairs the house is much better. Except for the fact that it gets extremely hot or incredibly cold. It’s practically like camping outside except worst because it is stuffy and enclosed. Opening windows help air flow, but then you can’t escape the loud noises that accompany the early morning as well as the late night drivers that speed down our street at one in the morning. Aside from the poor ventilation system, I happen to have a little trap door that leads to the attic. The. Most. Terrifying. Place. Ever. Since I was little I have always had nightmares about something coming down from the attic, a place I have never been and truly don’t want to see. It was never a problem when I was littler since my bedroom was in the room next door, but when I got older and needed more space, that room became my sleeping place. I don’t really worry about it much anymore but I still have nights when I stare at that little door and worry to no end about what could be up there. Another thing wrong with the upstairs is the ceiling fan in the bathroom. It’s a small one built into, well, the ceiling and is surrounded by installation, which means that every time someone turns it on, it starts to rattle and shake and eventually burn. I have a fond memory of when we had to call the fire department and evacuate my assortment of pets at the time because someone had left the fan on and it was burning the installation. After that day no one has touched the little switch that turns it on, and if a friend accidently (or just plan naively) flips the switch everyone in the house rushes to fix the problem.

 

Throughout my life there have been a lot of ups and downs and this house has seen it all. It is my family’s house and it will continue to be our house. With all its quirks and possibly life-threatening aspects it seems to work with us, thus becoming one of us over the span of these 13 years. I love all that it is and will be sad to leave it when the time does come, but I am grateful for all that has happened inside these walls.