The School System.

You see, the thing is, I'm a student. You can read as many articles and you can take as many tests and studies as your heart desires, but I live through the school system almost every day of my life. I am told to do homework, and I am told to follow directions, I am told exactly what I'm supposed to do in life and exactly how to do it. I am told to follow the system perfectly. But the thing is, I absolutely hate it. When did everyone become so uniform? When did everyone stop being original? I sometimes just look around and all I see is a perfect system. But the thing is, humans aren't perfect. We are supposed to be different. We are supposed to have opinions. We are supposed to be different, but the one thing I strongly dislike in school is the perfect shaped mold of a student that you are supposed to be. Call me a propagandist. Call me a rebel. But I believe that every student is different, and from experience, and I know that they don't teach you to be your own person in school.
First of all, I would like to talk about the everyday classroom. You're supposed to get to class exactly on time, you get the same assignments as 34 other students in that same class, and you are told to do it and turn it in within the exact standards that are set. We all have a set schedule. Every day we wake up at the same time, we all get to school the same way, we are told to do the same things in class. Now, because of my occasional lack of concentration, and my somewhat lack of interest on schoolwork (which I am not proud of), I notice this more and more every year. I am sick of following the standards that I have been following for the past nine years. I'm not saying that I want to drop out of school, or stop doing all my assignments, but I need a new way to do things, before I lose my mind.
Now, a special portion about SEOPs. Sure, they can be useful in some ways. They help me change my class schedule, and they get me a break from class occasionally. But one of the things that bugs me most, is the path that they show and the way they tell you to follow it. As we get older, we are always asked what we want to be when we grow up. Sure, it started off as somewhat of a game. Answers were similar to "Princess", "Vet", or in my case, "Astronaut". They soon became more serious. I feel like I'm the only one that doesn't know exactly what I'm going to be, and exactly how to get there. And I'm in 9th grade. Being preoccupied with your future takes away the joy of the present. Now is the time to make mistakes, and learn from them. It's the time to enjoy life as we know it, and we can't do that with the limitations that we are born to live by.
For the sake of time, I'll start to close. After reading this, I highly doubt you agree with me. You probably think of me as another "Against the System" teenager. But I believe that school is one of the most important thing for kids, and I never said that it should be terminated. But I do believe it needs to be fixed. Students are classified as just that. Students. There is no individuality in that word, and we aren't treated with any. The word is treated with an idea of a single structure. A mold we all are supposed to live by. But the thing is, none of us are the same. We all have ideas and thoughts, and we are taken for granted just because of our age. Young people are thought of as naive. But we all are different, and we need to stop being treated as the same.

The Chosen book review.

I know, I know. I said that I would start posting short stories, but I need you to be patient. I've been super busy, and it is the end of the term, so I barley have enough time to get dressed in the morning. This week, I read the books The Chosen and I finished October Sky. It was a lot of reading, but I did it. A little lesson for the future, when you need to read two books for two different classes, don't procrastinate. So I wrote a summary for The Chosen, and I felt obliged to share it to you.

I thought this book was very interesting in many ways. The Chosen starts out in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, New York in the early summer of 1944 to fall, 1950 (the ending of World War 2). Reuven, our Jewish narrator, meets his unlikely friend at a softball game, where Reuven takes a line drive to the face after he pitches to Danny Saunders, and ends up in the hospital. There, he meets Tony Savo (a former boxer who had his eye removed), and Billy Merrit, who was blinded after a car accident. Danny comes to say he is sorry, and the two become friends and teach each other all sorts of lessons. For a time, Danny’s father, does not allow them to be friends, but then he after permits the friendship. The two finish high school together. Reuven finds out that Danny has been accepted to graduate programs in psychology, but his father Reb Saunders expects him to take over the ownership of his Hasidic community. Reuven finds out that Danny’s father does not talk to him directly (speaks to him through Reuven), and has raised his son in silence. Later Reb confronts Danny and tells him he did it to help him have a compassionate soul. Reuven and Danny graduate from Hirsch College; Danny goes on to Columbia University for graduate school, and the two say their goodbyes.

One of the main themes that I picked up in this story is the use of eyes and eyeglasses, which symbolizes the perception of the world and of oneself. After injuring his eye, Reuven gets a better thankfulness for his sight. At the beginning of their friendship, Danny works with Reuven to get him to have a better outlook on life and a better willingness to open his eyes to the world. This book also uses foreshadowing frequently throughout the book.

The characters in this book include Reuven Malter and Danny Saunders (our Jewish
friends), David Malter; an orthodox Jew, and Reuven’s father and mentor to Reuven and Danny. Reb Saunders, Danny’s father, who is a patriarch of the Hasidic dynasty, and who has raised his son in silence. Levi Saunders; Danny’s younger brother. Mr. Galanter, the gym instructor at Reuven’s school. There are many other characters worth mentioning, but I’ll leave it at that.

This book was pretty interesting, I found it a little hard to get into and had some very confusing Jewish terms that I had to look up, but I am still glad I read it. I would recommend it to anyone who can appreciate a good piece of literature and isn’t afraid to read a book they normally wouldn’t.

Well, that's my review. I hoped you liked it. Yes, I know this book review is on goodreads, but why can't I use it for this also? Well, until next week, goodbye.

Movies

Yeah, I know, bad topic for this week considering my last entry was called "Music", But stay with me. Next week I plan on starting short stories, so chill. Anyway, back to the topic. I do like to consider myself as very cinamatically educated. I do love movies. I love being able to experience something out of the ordinary, even for a couple hours. I think that watching movies is a good way to spend time with friends and they're just plain fun. Yeah, some people may just think that you are just sitting around wasting your time, but I have to disagree. I think it is a great way to spend time with friends, educate yourself, and come on, its the perfect dating atmosphere.

Favorite movie time. I have spend a while pondering this, and I have never come to a complete answer, because I love different movies for different reasons. But I'll do my best. One of my all time favorite movies is Inception. I felt like society finally needed a movie that you actually needed to think in, and Inceptioin is that and then some. But I also have favorite movies for different genres. For comedy; I would have to choose Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs or Megamind, or Hot Rod. C'mon, you can't not love those movies. For Horror; I would choose Insidious. Mainly because it scared the crap out of me. I usually am not that scared of movies, but I was absolutely terrified of this one. And I love scary movies (As I said from my Halloween entry). I also loved The Kings Speech and 127 Hours, but I'm not sure what genre they are. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you're bored by now.

If you read my "Music" post, then you can recall me saying that picking a favorite is like picking a favorite child, which goes the same for movies. I love almost all genres- from Romantic Comedies to your latest vampire film. It is very hard for me to watch a movie and walk out thinking I hadn't seen it, because there isn't such a thing as a bad movie. There are times when I may dislike a movie with a deep fiery passion, but the thing is, it's still for your entertainment, even it makes you want to shove bamboo under your fingernails.

To conclude until next week, I would very much encourage to go to as many movies as humanly possible. I think it is a great way to have fun and a great way to spend time with friends/family/date. I would like you to be open to all movies, not just the new or best rated. I would also like to recommend the movie The Kings Speech. Just a little side thought there. Anyway, like I said, I do think I will start writing short stories for this blog. So until next week, I bid you farewell.

Music

Lately, I have been really busy in homework, schoolwork, SBO work, getting ready for basketball season, the upcoming school play, and many other things. I sometimes just want to stop doing it all and sit around all day drowning myself in mountain dew and playing Call of Duty (which I sometimes result to). But I have found somewhat of a solution. One of my only saving graces is music. I absolutely love it. And not just a certain kind, that's like picking a favorite child. No, I love almost all kinds of music from rock to classical. I do believe that music improves your life drastically.
One thing that may have striked you as weird in the last paragraph is my love for classical music. You would think that I'm not the kind of guy who would be into that kind of thing, but it's one of my favorite genres. I listen to it during homework, working out, and sometimes before sports. It helps me calm down and not to panic. Strange? Maybe a little. But it will always be some of my favorite music.
Now, there is one exception to my love of music. I really do not like Country. Every time I hear Brad Paisley or Kieth Urban it makes me want to throw my iPod out the window and punch a baby. You are now probably thinking "Then take it off your iPod, stupid". I have but one answer. It's too much work. My sister and I share the same music library, and she has stained all the playlists with this "Music". It would take me hours to fix all of them, so I just choose not to. But don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I hate every song that shares this same genre. There are a few exceptions, so don't think of me as a full Country hater.
If you have any questions, which I highly doubt because I bet the only person that would maybe read this is my English teacher, but if you do, I hope to answer them in this paragraph. Yes, I do love world, blues, rap, and electronic music also. No, I don't think Justin Bieber would actually count as music, so I left that out. I could rant for ages on that matter, but I'll save that for another day. And yes, I do listen to some Adele and Taylor Swift also. I call it "Music Sexism" when people don't listen to a certain kind of music just because of the gender of the singer.
So, to wrap things up a little, I would like to restate my love for music. I love almost every kind of music, and I listen to it whenever possible, even when it isn't allowed. I could go on about how I think that music should be allowed in the everyday school system, but that could be saved for another blog entry. I do wish that everyone could share the same love for music as myself, and I'm sure many do, and I strongly believe that music can change lives.