“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” -JP Morgan
Genesis. Noun. An origin, creation, or beginning.
With summer, I welcome in a new beginning. Finally, I return to endless rehearsals and memorization, backstage jokes, and late nights with sheet music and tea. Nothing has changed. Nothing but me. There are obvious changes, I've gained nearly an octave in range. I've also shed my image as the youngest, and hope to get a leading role. My biggest change is only mentally. This year has contained so much, from heartbreak, to death. New friendships and changing paths. And of course, new romance.
His name is Connor, and I truly believe the sun revolves solely around him. He might just be perfect. I've had a crush on him for months. Now that we're dating, every text makes me smile. I long for his next call, just to hear his voice again. Am I obsessed? Nope, just lost in a mix of excitement and ecstasy. For romance is just that. Full of excitement and happiness. Daring and bold.
So I welcome this new beginning. I welcome Les Miserables. I welcome rehearsals and over packed schedules. I welcome love. It's time to start. Good luck. Get ready. Get set. Go.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Evolution of Attraction
“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.” -Oscar Wilde
With Class Night, a graduation party, just around the corner, girls are continuously raising the bar. Manicures, pedicures, hairstyles, hair dye, shaving, plucking, the whole nine yards. What is it that drives us to fight for the perfect Barbie body? Everyday, we're surrounded by the images of “perfect bodies” displayed by the media, but strangely, that's not it. No, even in 15th- and 16th- century Italy, women were dying their hair blond. Studies have shown that even in Iran, where the voice of the media is limited, women are actually more concerned with their body image and want to lose more weight then women in America. Incredibly enough, there's logic behind the blond bombshell.
Age- This one's easy. Men tend to be attracted to younger women because younger women are usually healthier.
Hair- Once again, it's about health and youth. Blonde hair indicates youth. Shiny and lustrous hair indicates health, and therefore, longer hair indicates many years of health.
Waist- Women with a low waist-to-hip ratio are more fertile than other women. They have an easier time conceiving a child and do so at earlier ages because they have larger amounts of reproductive hormones.
Breasts- Until recently, "bigger is better" didn't make any sense, seeing as size doesnt interfere with a womans ablility to lactate, but anthropologist Frank Marlowe suggests that because of larger breasts sagging with age, it's easier to judge age with large breasts.
Eyes- The pupil dilates when exposed to something the person likes. The size of the pupil is easiest to determine in blue eyes. Therefore, Blue-eyed people are considered attractive because it is easiest to determine whether they are interested or not.
Personally? It's evolution, and in today's world of hairdye, lipsuction, breast implants, and color contacts, none of it is true any longer. Beauty exists in all forms. And altough the media may not have started these trends, it certainly encourages them.
With Class Night, a graduation party, just around the corner, girls are continuously raising the bar. Manicures, pedicures, hairstyles, hair dye, shaving, plucking, the whole nine yards. What is it that drives us to fight for the perfect Barbie body? Everyday, we're surrounded by the images of “perfect bodies” displayed by the media, but strangely, that's not it. No, even in 15th- and 16th- century Italy, women were dying their hair blond. Studies have shown that even in Iran, where the voice of the media is limited, women are actually more concerned with their body image and want to lose more weight then women in America. Incredibly enough, there's logic behind the blond bombshell.
Age- This one's easy. Men tend to be attracted to younger women because younger women are usually healthier.
Hair- Once again, it's about health and youth. Blonde hair indicates youth. Shiny and lustrous hair indicates health, and therefore, longer hair indicates many years of health.
Waist- Women with a low waist-to-hip ratio are more fertile than other women. They have an easier time conceiving a child and do so at earlier ages because they have larger amounts of reproductive hormones.
Breasts- Until recently, "bigger is better" didn't make any sense, seeing as size doesnt interfere with a womans ablility to lactate, but anthropologist Frank Marlowe suggests that because of larger breasts sagging with age, it's easier to judge age with large breasts.
Eyes- The pupil dilates when exposed to something the person likes. The size of the pupil is easiest to determine in blue eyes. Therefore, Blue-eyed people are considered attractive because it is easiest to determine whether they are interested or not.
Personally? It's evolution, and in today's world of hairdye, lipsuction, breast implants, and color contacts, none of it is true any longer. Beauty exists in all forms. And altough the media may not have started these trends, it certainly encourages them.
- 42% of 6-8 year old girls want to be thinner.
- 81% of kids 10 years old are afraid of being fat.
- 51% of girls 9-10 feel better when they are on diets.
Friday, June 12, 2009
The Bitterest Tears
Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't.
-Richard Bach
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a great American author, once said that the bitterest tears shed over graves are those for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. I'm not sure I agree. I think the bitterest tears are those shed for lost time. For those who leave too soon, when we only want one more day. Just one more laugh together. One more hug. One last goodbye.
Why is it that we are drawn to death? My best friend's father, who might as well have been part of my family, passed away, and his funeral was today. We are drawn to death the same reason we are drawn to birth. It is because deep down, the human spirit knows that Death and Birth are part of the same whole. Everything intersects. Every story overlaps.
The oldest daughter spoke first. She started almost jokingly, recalling her happy childhood. She addressed the rest of the family, her mother, siblings, and her young son. She described how much he had loved them all. Suddenly she fell against the podium crying, "Daddy! Daddy I love you!"
I lost it, and tears poured from my face, my already soaking tissue providing no help. My friend next to me slipped her hand into mine, and I squeezed it and bit my lip, afraid to let go. I was astonished by the raw emotion in the room. Puffy eyes from crying, clinging to each other, and breaking sad smiles when funny memories were recalled. I learned something as well. No matter how heavy two hearts are with sorrow, together, the sadness is lessened.
I will always remember him. He was a boisterous, happy person, who thoroughly enjoyed life. I remember his laughter, and his joking sing-song voice when coaxing a smile from his children. I will remember his encouragement, the first person not to criticize my loud voice, but to compliment it. I will remember love. May he forever rest in peace.
-Richard Bach
Harriet Beecher Stowe, a great American author, once said that the bitterest tears shed over graves are those for words left unsaid and deeds left undone. I'm not sure I agree. I think the bitterest tears are those shed for lost time. For those who leave too soon, when we only want one more day. Just one more laugh together. One more hug. One last goodbye.
Why is it that we are drawn to death? My best friend's father, who might as well have been part of my family, passed away, and his funeral was today. We are drawn to death the same reason we are drawn to birth. It is because deep down, the human spirit knows that Death and Birth are part of the same whole. Everything intersects. Every story overlaps.
The oldest daughter spoke first. She started almost jokingly, recalling her happy childhood. She addressed the rest of the family, her mother, siblings, and her young son. She described how much he had loved them all. Suddenly she fell against the podium crying, "Daddy! Daddy I love you!"
I lost it, and tears poured from my face, my already soaking tissue providing no help. My friend next to me slipped her hand into mine, and I squeezed it and bit my lip, afraid to let go. I was astonished by the raw emotion in the room. Puffy eyes from crying, clinging to each other, and breaking sad smiles when funny memories were recalled. I learned something as well. No matter how heavy two hearts are with sorrow, together, the sadness is lessened.
I will always remember him. He was a boisterous, happy person, who thoroughly enjoyed life. I remember his laughter, and his joking sing-song voice when coaxing a smile from his children. I will remember his encouragement, the first person not to criticize my loud voice, but to compliment it. I will remember love. May he forever rest in peace.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Poetry
“With me, poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.- Edgar Allen Poe
Today, I was asked what a poem is. I began to reply, "Why, that's easy! A poem is..." I found I couldn't finish my sentence. A poem. What is it? Its technical definition gives it no justice. "A piece of literature written in meter; verse." It's so much more. It's passion on paper, captured music, a prayer, a wish.
I have come to define poetry as purified language. Each word is carefully selected to have perfect rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and purpose. The English language has hundreds of thousands of words, yet an average educated person only knows about 20,000 words and uses only about 2,000 words in a week. So much expression is left untouched. In Shakespeare's work, the longest word he used was "honorificabilitudinitatibus", which is defined as "the state of being able to achieve honours". I often feel that we are evolving backwards, resorting to primordial grunts.
Poetry touches the harmony inside all of us, and captures beautiful slivers of language and thought. It is the hole in ignorance, allowing knowledge and beauty to flow freely. In today's world, there are few people who can recite famous poetry. Read! Expand! Truly, what did the Robert Frost's woods represent? What did Edgar Allen Poe's raven mean? Secrets remain locked in the beauty of forgotten words! I leave you with one of my favorite poems, written by Langston Hughes.
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams,
For when dreams go,
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
Today, I was asked what a poem is. I began to reply, "Why, that's easy! A poem is..." I found I couldn't finish my sentence. A poem. What is it? Its technical definition gives it no justice. "A piece of literature written in meter; verse." It's so much more. It's passion on paper, captured music, a prayer, a wish.
I have come to define poetry as purified language. Each word is carefully selected to have perfect rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, and purpose. The English language has hundreds of thousands of words, yet an average educated person only knows about 20,000 words and uses only about 2,000 words in a week. So much expression is left untouched. In Shakespeare's work, the longest word he used was "honorificabilitudinitatibus", which is defined as "the state of being able to achieve honours". I often feel that we are evolving backwards, resorting to primordial grunts.
Poetry touches the harmony inside all of us, and captures beautiful slivers of language and thought. It is the hole in ignorance, allowing knowledge and beauty to flow freely. In today's world, there are few people who can recite famous poetry. Read! Expand! Truly, what did the Robert Frost's woods represent? What did Edgar Allen Poe's raven mean? Secrets remain locked in the beauty of forgotten words! I leave you with one of my favorite poems, written by Langston Hughes.
Dreams
Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die,
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
Hold fast to dreams,
For when dreams go,
Life is a barren field
Frozen with snow.
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