Friends With Benefits

I was very pleasantly surprised with the hilarity of this movie. Having already seen No String Attached, I expected this to be the same thing but with better acting (I would choose Justin Timberlake over Ashton Kutcher for anything), but it was so much better than that.

Starting with the beginning, with surprise appearances from Andy Samberg (whom I love) and Emma Stone (with whom I was very pleasantly surprised), I was laughing more than I have at a movie I have seen in theatres in a very, very long time. The whole movie ended up exceeding my expectations, from the acting to the storyline and even to the music choices. I am and have always been a Justin Timberlake fan (ever since his N'SYNC days!) so I had high hopes for him, that he undoubtedly lived up to. I usually find Mila Kunis annoying and too girly, but she showed a different side of her that was more real and easier for me to relate to.

As for the story, I was never squirming out of discomfort at the cheesy lines or awkward cliches. I laughed at every single one of the jokes, which was basically every time Justin opened his mouth. I even almost shed a tear (which means nothing, really, since I cry at almost anything) at the reality of Justin's character's father's Alzheimer's (which might also be because they played I Will Follow You Into the Dark, which is one of my all time favorite songs because it's so beautiful, and fit beautifully into the scene.)

Basically, to be cliche, I laughed, I cried, and I walked out of the theatre wishing I could sit down and watch it again right that second. I haven't been this impressed with a recent movie in a very long time!
p.s. Justin Timberlake is so sexy, I can't even handle it... (i apologize...)

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Before watching an old movie over the summer, I saw a preview for this book-turned-movie. I remember my mother and grandmother reading it and found it sitting on the bookshelf at my camp. I asked for my grandmother's permission and borrowed it from our camp, bringing it home and leaving it sitting on a table in my room for a few months. After a few months passed and I finished reading the current book for English class, I was looking for a good book and re-stumbled upon this. I picked it up and immediately couldn't put it down. I found myself taking this book out of my backpack during the school day, and staying up later than I should have, not being able to pull myself away. The setting immediately intrigued me, as I am one to search for knowledge of other cultures. What I did not expect, though, was how much I could relate to the characters. Although the tragedy of the story is more horrific than anything I could ever live through, the feelings of guilt, sorrow, and Amir's ability to eventually absolve his heavy self-inflicted burdens reminded me of my past and inspired me for my future.
I immediately became attached to every single one of the characters. Most books I have read have an easily lovable character and an easily hateable one, though as I learned about the regretful pasts of many of the characters, I could not help but to love them even more.
The growth and actions of the characters really made me think about my own life and how I've been living. I don't want to give away the ending, so I will keep it vague, but it truly inspired me. The way Amir acted at the end of the story, though he lived his whole life with the guilt of many important parts of his and his father's life, he acted with courage and ultimate strength.
When I make decisions now, and sometimes even randomly during the day, I think of this book and of Amir, Hassan, and Baba. It makes me think of how much your decisions can affect another person's entire life and how much courage counts. Courage, strength, and redemption: three very important things in life that this book taught me to always think about. Courage, for being able to strive for what you want; strength, to be able to persevere; and redemption, knowing that as long as you have the courage and strength to strive and persevere, you will be forgiven, in some way, shape, or form.

Because I thought you would like her as much as I do, scars and all.

yesterday, i went to the see The Last Song with Courtney and Amanda.

As much as I really do not like Miley Cyrus, I was really looking forward to seeing this movie, because although Dear John was a bit of a disappointment, The Notebook and A Walk to Remember are two of my favorite movies. Once I got over Miley's too-pouty lips and unconvincing acting, I actually enjoyed the movie. And unlike my Dear John experience, I don't regret paying $10 to see it in theaters. Although, I will not see it in theaters again, it will definitely be a movie I will rent (or maybe buy?) when it comes out on DVD.

I barely recognized Miley on the cover of the newest issue of Teen Vogue, and to be honest I was very disappointed since she really hasn't convinced me as being a serious actress. And to top it all off, I've already read a few articles on her from other magazines and she's just rather annoying. Although I haven't actually read the article yet, I flipped through the pictures and I have to admit- they're adorable:

I'm in love

This video (I can't embed it)
pretty much sums up my life.
Dancing around in my room.
Singing really loud and being really crazy.
Singing about my awesome teenage life.
And how much I love it.
I youtubed this song because I heart it on
a commercial for TeenNick
and I loved it.
And I am in love with the video.
and this guy.
He is my hero.
Watch this video and be amazed.
Or I'll find you...
(;

What a Wonderful Wednesday

I'd like to start off my saying thank you. to mother earth. for giving us a nice sunny day. even though its unbearably hot and humid, its better than the rain that started off the summer and the harsh winter that seemed to last a lifetime.

oh boy.. ohkay.
well, i've become addicted to Bravo reality shows. DON'T TELL. but The Real Housewives, Project Runway, The Fashion Show... you name it, i'm probably watching it. So when i saw commercials for this show i was quite excited, thinking to myself, "Yes! its like the Real Houswives, but with people my age!" oh, the exciting life i live... anywho, NYC Prep premiered last night. I was so excited to watch it after i finished this and this, i was pumped. hot guys, NYC, fashion, a dream come true! (the life i wish i was living...) anywho, after i tuned in, this is what i thought. the play by play;
kelli- i envy you for always getting the guy's numbers and living in NYC... alone.
sebastian- all you talk about is hooking up with girls. seriously. its obnoxious..
camille- i think its good that you worry so much about your grades. i assumed that everyone in the show would just party. all. the. time.
PC- honestly, i think you're just stuck up and rude. and obnoxious. ugh.
Jessie- I think your 'relationship' with PC is very unhealthy... i can totally tell that you're jealous when he flirts with other girls but then you try to hook him up with people... i just don't get it.
taylor- i think you're definitely the most relatable to the 'average teen.' you're mom cares about what you do and you just want to fit in with the 'in' crowd. but i think sometimes, you're just trying too hard... i do like you better with sebastian than kelli, though (:
ohkay. i'm done with that. hah.

still speaking of television, i've been watching the Game Show Network more. i just love the classy-ness of old television
MATCH GAME :D

Happy summer !

forgive me, father, for i have sinned.

This past week was been a very busy week.
sorry i've been neglecting you guys!

my first tennis practice was tuesday. it was huge amounts of fun! i had practice tuesday and wednesday at the elementary school, and then friday at the racket club. friday was a bit depressing, though. for one, we actually started playing and learning and i learned that i need to practice a lot! i bought a new racket, today, though, so i'm excited for next week's practice.


What is Bravo!?
Bravo! is a lip sync contest performed by all students in foreign language classes grades 9-12.. The lip sync contest requires students to memorize and perform (in lip sync fashion) a song that their class chose in early December.
thursday we performed! our whole thing came together so well! our song was Aux Arbres Citoyens by Yannick Noah. Our performance was so cute! we had a bunch of dancing trees, flowers, and shrubberies in the background (i, myself, was a dancing flower!) and a bad earth killing group and a green group. it was basically a 'dance off' between the two groups and in the end the corporate people turned green and saved the earth! in the competition, french competed against french, and spanish against spanish. the categories were best costumes, best coreography, best lipsyncing, and best overall. if you won best overall, you couldn't win anyother category, though. and then, there was also a category for just all of the 9th grade classes french and spanish: best debut. our class won best debut AND tied with one of the junior classes for BEST OVER ALL! it was great (: AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL.
i can't wait for the next episode (: i don't know yet who i like, but i sure know who i DON'T like. i'll comment more once we get closer into the season (:
MOVIES.
the invisible: INCREDIBLY not what i expected. and INCREDIBLY good. i can't explain to you the goodness of it without giving the movie away. just watch it. its soooo good !
changeling: really really really good. this movie inspired me so much. the main character is such a strong woman, and is very inspiring. also, the time period is the late 20's early 30's. fashion? beautiful. CHURCH SCHOOL.
i was wicked nervous to go, at first. then i got there and found out that of the 12 people in my class, i am the only girl. fun. but then i got to know the guys in my class, because they all go to a different school then i do since the church by me doesn't have faith formation, and i'm not too sad afterall... i am actually quite looking forward to my hour of church school every tuesday night... (:

love always,

Amen.

i watched this movie on ShowTime last night. Although it only recieved 1 1/2 stars, i was not disappointed. I could go on and on about the positives and negatives of this movie, but rather, i'm going to go on and on about my mind. if anyone has seen this movie, you see in the beginning of the movie how the main character, Rachel (played by Lindsay Lohan), acts like...well, kind of a slut. and i'm really against all that kindof stuff, so i was like "Wow, she's such a hoe." and stuff like that. and then as i watched the movie, i found out that the reason she acted that way was not because she chose to act like that, but because (Spoiler!) her step-father sexually abused her, and her mother had and alcohal problem and didn't even notice. i realized by watching this movie was that i judge people too quickly. if i had actually waited to hear what she had to say, before labeling her, i wouldn't have judged her actions so quickly. i think that every bad action that people do, whether its acting like a 'slut,' yelling at someone, failing a test, it has more meaning than just what you see on the outside. maybe she's acting like a 'slut' because she doesn't know how to act anyway else, or because that's all she knows. maybe my friend, stephanie, yells at me and fails her tests because she's stressed out and is treated badly at home. so, for lent, i've decided to stop judging people so quickly. when stephanie flips out on me, i'll talk to her and let her know that i care about her. when i see someone make an immoral choice, i'll look beyond the surface and because what you see isn't always what's going on on the inside of someone's mind or heart. so basically, i just want to stop judging people so quickly, look beyond the surface, and try to understand where people are coming from.

My Complete Lent List; stop judging to quickly, quit swearing &+ give out a compliment everyday. that's all i have for now, but i might be adding more to the list (:




these pictures are really cool, too. my favorites are the first and third. her photographs are so 'every-day' -- with lack of a better word. But the pictures are of simple things, but made interesting because of the colors and angles. They're so inspiring.

sp1inderella

you're gonna be a shining star, with fancy clothes and fancy cars.

bowling is fun.
i had the best time last night with my friends (:
becca kept bowling at the same time i did so we were bowling down two balls at the same lane at once. it was hilarious, because one ball would make it through but then the other ball would get stopped in the gutter because the machine would go over the pins to take them down and it would hit the ball. at one point, i threw the ball down really slowly and it got stuck so becca bowled another ball down, but at the same time melissa bowled so we had one ball stuck in the right gutter, and another one stuck in the left gutter, and so melissa threw another ball down to hit one of the balls through but it hit beccas ball down and melissa's ball came back up so then we had THREE balls stuck in the gutter. it was hilarious. seriously, one of the funnest nights of my life. oh yes, and the 32 oz mountain dews that we bought helped a bit (:

i love these pictures. they make me feel so light and dreamy, and carefree.

vampire-zombie

i'm in the mood for an 80's teen movie night...




my wall of life.


my weekend is consisting of...
reading and kitting (: