My Summer in Movies

So Labor Day is tomorrow. That sucks. It means back to school, back to work, back to real life outside of the hazy bubble that is summer. I'm currently taking a break from scrambling to finish summer assignments (which are utter bullshit in my opinion, but that's a conversation for another time,) and I feel that I should make a post about something before I get sucked back into my never-ending academic life. So I'm going to talk about movies, because I've seen a lot of them this summer. Without further ado...
P.S. - Each movie title is a link to its respective trailer. You're welcome.

Lucy - This movie had the potential to be so frickin' awesome, and that's probably part of the reason why the final product is so disappointing. The theory proposed within this movie is that if humans could access 100% of their brain power simultaneously, we would be able to do unfathomable things. As you can see, the plot potential for this theory is exceptional, but the creators of this movie chose to take it in such a snooze-worthy direction. There was hardly any action, which would've saved this movie a little bit, and Scarlett Johansson's character was so underdeveloped it was almost laughable. We know hardly anything about her character at the beginning of the movie, and when things start to pick up for her, they sequence of events are hardly explained at all. Essentially, this movie was a big disappointment and a general flop.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) - Given that I saw this movie because I promised my 12-year-old brother I would take him to see it, I wasn't expecting much. I saw the previous movie starring James Franco, and it struck me as such a bizarre story. I had absolutely no interest in following up with Caesar and his ape crew, but when I found myself in the theater actually understanding what was going on, I was slightly confused. Despite the strange premise, it is admittedly a movie that sucks you in once you succumb to it. My advice to you is avoid succumbing to it if you aren't into civilized apes and apocalyptic San Francisco.

Boyhood - This movie was such a redemption in comparison to the previous movies I'd seen in theaters (aka the previous movies I've mentioned). THIS WAS SUCH A DAMN GOOD MOVIE. Being a film geek, I absolutely adored the fact that this movie is about a boy growing up from age 6 or 7 to 18, and it actually followed the same actors and actresses for 12 years. I read an article about the movie, and apparently they filmed for 2 weeks every year for 12 years to finish this movie. It's literally been going on since 2002. I love that the main boy is just about my age, and went through the same societal things that I went through. The music playing in the background was music that was popular during that year, the clothes they wore reflected the style at the time, the movies and books they talked about were what was popular. It was like looking back on a parallel version of my life. Although this character went through family issues I've never experienced, I still felt as if I knew him on a deeper level than just a movie-goer/actor level. You get to watch this kid grow up and go through different phases of his life and react to his surroundings and the people around him and it's just so real. It did go on for almost 3 hours, but the more I thought about it after I got out of the theater, the more I loved it. I was so excited about it, and I went to tell my friend from film club immediately. He hadn't even seen it yet and was getting excited about it just by my description. Ugh, basically what I'm trying to say is that I love this movie because it was like looking at a time capsule I could actually relate to, and I would see this movie again in a heartbeat. It totally made up for the movies that sucked, which ended up being almost all the other movies in theaters. (Editor's Note (I'm the editor, so my note) - after watching the trailer, and remembering the movie anew, I can say with even more conviction that I love this movie so damn much it almost hurts.)

If I Stay - First things first, this movie's soundtrack is phenomenal. There are well-known songs and original songs by the love interest's band that are surprisingly fantastic. Other than that, this movie really wasn't anything special. About 60% of the lines were too cheesy to take seriously, and the only characters I truly liked 100% of the time were Mia's parents. They were badass but still so loving, and I adored them. Adam, the love interest to Mia, wasn't too bad either, but he had his insufferable moments. I also can't bring myself to like Chloe Grace Moretz's acting, as much as I try. In this movie at least, it felt like she was hardcore channeling Kristen Stewart, and it was painful to watch sometimes. The plot moved too fast in comparison to the book, (which I read in 8th grade, thankyouverymuch,) and hardly gave any time to anything other than the love story between Mia and Adam. Which, if that's what you're there to watch, is great. But I was so hoping they were going to give me the full story, and of course, they didn't. Like I said, the only redeeming thing about this movie is the soundtrack, which quite literally rocks, (soft-rock, but still).

Divergent - So, this movie came out forever ago and I am so late to the game by mentioning it now, but I saw it for the first time last week so I'm going to talk about it anyway. It did a pretty good job of translating the written story to the screen, and the acting wasn't actually that bad. I like Shailene Woodley a lot, especially the more I watch her movies, because she does a very good job of keeping her characters real and not overly dramatic. Except for that one brief stint of teen pregnancy (**cough** Secret Life of the American Teenager **cough**), all of her projects have been enjoyable. I like the way she goes into character so full force that she becomes the character she's performing. As for Divergent, Shailene was great, Ansel Elgort as her brother Caleb was great, and even Theo James as Four did a decent job, (despite his haircut, which didn't suit him AT ALL, but that's a minor detail). I guess because I wasn't a die-hard fan of the book in the first place that I didn't feel one way or the other about the movie. It was good, all things considered, and it's a good action movie with just the right about of romance mixed in - not too much, not too little, a very delicate balance most YA Novels Made Into Movies can't seem to get right. All in all, this movie was not a waste of time, which is definitely a good thing in my opinion.

Almost Famous - Ok, so there is a short story behind my reason for seeking this movie out, because it most certainly isn't new and therefore I did not see it in theaters. So in the May 2012 issue of Teen Vogue, they did a two-page spread on One Direction just as they were infiltrating every media outlet in the United States, and subsequently the world. It was their "My World" segment, where the subject gets asked questions like "What's on your playlist?" and "Celebrity Crush?" One of the questions was "Favorite Movie," and there was only one answer listed, Harry Styles'. His answer was "Almost Famous. I love this film. It is beautifully directed and acted. If you haven't seen it, you need to!" Me in 2012 was decidedly on the hunt for this movie, because if Harry Styles loved it, I loved it. It took me 2 years and the act of growing out of One Direction a little bit until I found the DVD at Target for $5. I bought it and after letting it sit on my bookshelf for a few days, I watched it 4 days ago. And let me tell you, Harry Styles was 100% right about this movie. It is, in fact, beautifully acted and directed, as well as scored and edited and written. Kate Hudson is generally not my favorite actress in most situations, but she did SO FREAKING WELL in this movie, it's unreal. The complexities of the relationships described in this movie are fascinating and the fact that it takes place right amid the 70's rock scene makes it even more awesome, especially because that means the music playing constantly throughout the movie is amazing. 10 out of 10 would recommend. ;P

Good Will Hunting - I quite literally started watching this movie for the first time 24 hours ago as I am writing this. Again, late to the game, but you just have to let me talk about this movie because OH. MY. GOD. So effing good. I love that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote this movie themselves, and Robin Williams, as always, was phenomenal. It seems, on the surface, that this movie is just about a troubled kid who happens to be a math genius getting help from a snarky therapist. But of course, it's so much more than that. It addresses the cost of a relationship in regards to what it's actually worth, relationships with people we've known for years and yet seem to know nothing about, and indirectly, the effects of the ineffectual foster care system, especially on people with untapped potential. It's not a feel-good movie, or a comedy, or a romance. It's a story about people, and a little bit about math, but you don't actually have to pay attention to the math so much as what Matt Damon's character does with it. Also, the woman who plays the love interest in the movie is the voice of Jane in Disney's Tarzan, just for future trivia knowledge. :)

I still have a lot of movies I need to watch, and as soon as I watch a good portion of them, I will publish another post about what I think of them. But, just to satisfy your curiosity, here's a list of a few of the movies I plan to watch sometime soon.

Uptown Girls
Casablanca
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
The second half of Pearl Harbor (saw the first part and had no motivation to watch the second half)
Dead Poets Society
St. Elmo's Fire
P.S. I Love You

One day, I'm going to have a t-shirt for each of my favorite movies, and they will include Changeling, and The Breakfast Club, and every Harry Potter movie, and Forrest Gump, and Almost Famous, and Boyhood, and American Teen, and Good Will Hunting, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and The Virgin Suicides, and 13 Going On 30, and whatever other movie I come across in my life that speaks to me. :)

Things That Are Keeping Me Busy

Between my last post and this one, a lot has been going on in my life. Ramadan just ended last week, (yes, I am an American Muslim teenager - one who wears shorts and shows her hair, but whatever), I started working for my dad again, and the Common App opened on Friday. The Common App, for all you non-American students out there, is a general college application that you can send to multiple universities at once. The one for the 2014-2015 school year opened on Friday, a fact I was unaware of in June, when I made an account to get a head start on my essays and such. That application was for the 2013-2014 school year, and was deleted at the end of July, much to my dismay. The fortunate side of all this was that the essays remained the same, and I ended up being able to fill out my entire Common Application in one sitting because I'd already written my essay. So that was good. :)

A Snapchat I put on my Snap Story documenting my inner turmoil over college apps

Aside from college applications and general school stress, I've also been very preoccupied with music lately. I just recently discovered the beauty that is Spotify, and it is literally my new obsession, (I know, SO late jumping on that bandwagon, but better late than never, right?) I'm listening to it as I write this, in fact, and I can't even believe I liked Pandora more than this at one point in my life. I still like Pandora because it's a simpler radio format, but sometimes I just want to listen to the same song over and over without having to buy it, which is where Spotify comes in and saves my life. Because of Spotify, I think I want to make more posts on this blog recommending music. I tweet all the time about songs I'm currently loving, but they hardly get any response (as far as I know), so I'm just going to blog instead. I'll include a list of the songs on my most-listened-to playlist at the end of this post. Honestly, music and makeup are some of my favorite things to blog about, so I might end up writing more about it. Books, too. Anyway, I'm getting off topic. Spotify is amazing and you should make an account RIGHTNOW if you haven't already. :) Moving on.

A screenshot of Spotify playing on my computer. If only it showed the number of times I played each song...

Yet another thing keeping me busy lately is makeup (as mentioned before, I love talking about it). I've recently come to the conclusion that I adore dark, vampy lipstick, and statement colors, even in the summer. I've bought 3 lip shades in the last 2 weeks that satisfy my longing for gothic/almost-ridiculously-colored makeup, and I am loving them. The first one was a Rimmel London: Kate Moss shade in 124 Bordeaux. It's creamy and smooth and it makes my teeth look so white because it's such a dark, red wine color that's almost purple. The second product was the Revlon Colorstay Moisture Stain in 005 Parisian Passion. It's similar in color to Bordeaux, but it's a lip gloss-meets-lip stain. It goes on pretty pigmented but when it dries it looks like more of a berry color. It's really pretty on, though, despite it not remaining pigmented, and it isn't sticky like some products I've tried. The third product was actually a very recent purchase (two days ago), and it's a Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 440 Cherries in The Snow. It's a creme consistency, which I've found I like more than matte textures, and it's hyper-pigmented. I normally shy away from red lipsticks just because most of them have orange or pink-y undertones, which don't look good with my skin color and make my teeth look really dull or yellow. BUT THIS ISN'T ANY NORMAL RED LIPSTICK. This is the most beautiful red lipstick I've ever seen, and I can say that with conviction, (mostly because I haven't really seen that many red lipsticks, but still). This lipstick is bright red, with bluer undertones that, again, make my teeth look whiter (which I clearly look for when shopping for lip products), and when I opened the tube for the first time, I didn't want to try it on like I normally do with products I've just bought, because it looked so pristine and perfect and unreal. So naturally, I went home and took copious amounts of pictures of a single tube of lipstick before trying it on. Then I put the pictures on Tumblr because I couldn't NOT share this latest discovery. This upcoming school year is my last year of high school, and I made a pact with myself to be more adventurous with my style, (which is saying something because I already dress "weird" as my sister so kindly puts it). This includes more lipstick, because I LOVE THE STUFF AND I DON'T CARE WHO KNOWS IT.

My super edited pic of the best red lipstick ever

One last thing I just have to talk about before I go. Okay, two things, but it's brief. Recently I started watching Teen Wolf (yet another thing I'm late to the game for), but OH MY GOD I love that show. My best friend and I have this thing where we'll pick a show and watch all the episodes together, and in the past it's been shows like The Lying Game (which sadly got cancelled halfway through the second season), and Kyle XY (which we never finished). But now it's Teen Wolf and we're both obsessed. The second thing is that I tried out one of those Sally Hansen nail design tool kits, and yet again, OH MY GOD those things are genius. I love nail art but never had the necessary tools to be able to do cool designs. Now, however, I can do allllllll the cool designs and I loovvvveeee it. :):) (I PROMISE I'm not sponsored by any company I mention, even though it totally seems like I am.) (Maybe one day I will be but not today.) :)

My caption for this picture on instagram was "Kinda proud these don't totally suck." Still applies. :)

Anyway, as promised, here's the playlist. I won't bore you with super long descriptions of why I adore these songs, because eventually all the descriptions end up being the same, so yeah, here they are, with short comments - as short as I can physically make them. ;)  ADORE THESE WITH ME, PLEASE!!!

• 5 Seconds of Summer's new album (AMAZING, I LOVE IT COMPLETELY AND WITH NO EXCEPTIONS).
• Ed Sheeran's new album X (THE ENTIRE THING IS A POETIC MASTERPIECE and it's a beautiful sophomore album and his newer sound is even better than his old one)
• Falling in Love At A Coffee Shop by Landon Pigg (cutest song to ever be put on an AT&T commercial) (Alternate music video)
• Salute by Little Mix (don't judge, it's kick-ass)
• Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus (covered by many, perfected by one)
• Fast Car by Tracy Chapman (sorta depressing 80's song, still awesome anyway, and probably one of my favorite songs because I could listen to it on repeat for hours and not get bored.)
• Year 3000 by Busted (WAY better than the Jonas Brothers' cover, bc it's the original)(except, not gonna lie, Joe Jonas circa 2006 was pretty attractive)
• Easy Love by R5 (so so so catchy)
• I'm Ready by AJR (Spongebob intro. 'Nough said)
• In Your Atmosphere - Live at the Nokia Theatre by John Mayer (his songs are beautiful and he is so good live and this song is so amazingly performed)
• Chasing the Sun by Hilary Duff (not the most amazing song but HILARY DUFF HAS NEW MUSIC SO I LOVE IT ANYWAY BC IT SOUNDS LIKE 2003 AND I LOVE IT)
• That Girl by All Time Low (I've loved this song for years now and Spotify lets me listen to it ALLLL THE TIME) (I swear I'm not sponsored by Spotify. If I was more people would read this blog).
• Happy Little Pill by Troye Sivan (I keep singing the Gucci part in my head and I don't even know if he's saying Gucci...)
• Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by STRFKR (even better than Cyndi Lauper, which is hard to do)
• She Ain't You by New Hollow (literally the only song released on iTunes by this band for YEARS but I love it, it sounds so much like a 90's meets late 80's rock/pop song) (Another song I could listen to on repeat forever)
• All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor (I had to.) (Emblem3 did a really cool cover of this song, too). 
• Maybe You're Right by Miley Cyrus (such a surprisingly good song)
• Love On Top by Beyonce (the music video for this song makes the song even better)
• Orbiting by The Weepies (BEAUTIFUL SONG)
• Femme Fatale by Nico & The Velvet Underground (weird at first but after you listen to it about 20 times you find yourself singing it to yourself so you like it by default)
• Who's That Chick? (feat. Rihanna) by David Guetta (a DJ remix song I actually really like) (don't watch the video in the dark, it's like strobe lights in technicolor) 
• Somebody to You (feat. Demi Lovato) by The Vamps (love the intro, Demi's part, and the chorus more than the rest of the song, but I still like the song a lot) (Never mind, just watched the video again, and I like the whole song equally. Which is a lot.) :)
• Twist and Shout (Cover) by The Vamps (Saw this for the first time, and it just made me happy bc even though they've released an album they're still doing covers, which is what they're known for and I find that cool) (The cover is also pretty good) ;) 

Tunes on Tunes

I am procrastinating homework. And one way I like to occupy myself is to blog, which I don't do often enough. I haven't made a post about music in a while, and I've been listening to a lot of new stuff lately that I want to share. If my writing at any point gets kind of loopy or incoherent, you'll have to forgive me because my room is currently OPPRESSIVELY HOT AND STUFFY.

Alrighty then. Here we go. :)

"Do It 2 Me" by Allstar Weekend - This song is so catchy, and even though it's obviously about sex, I don't really care. This entire album is full of catchy songs that I could literally listen to over and over. It's not new, but it's darn good!

"Chelsea" by The Summer Set - Again, not a new song, but SO GOOD. It's made even better by the fact that it was written for a girl named Chelsea, who happens to be Chelsea Kane from the show Baby Daddy, and she appeared in the music video, which I thought was especially cute. Then, when she was on Dancing With the Stars, they had to pick a sentimental song, and she chose this one. So cute, so cute. :)

"You're Not the One" by Sky Ferreira - I heard this song on Tumblr awhile ago, and I had saved a screenshot of it to remind myself that it was worth listening to again. When I found the screen shot, and listened to it to remember, I was justifiably surprised. I had always thought that Sky Ferreira made quirkier music, but this song is the perfect mix of bubblegum pop meets Marina and the Diamonds angst. I love it.

"I Blame Myself" by Sky Ferreira - As I was looking up the video for "You're Not the One" I stumbled upon the video for this song, and let me tell you, it is probably the epitome of "cool kid". It sounds like a song straight out of the 80's, (a decade I personally identify with for some unknown reason), heavy on the keyboard and synthesizers and it's just so cool and I love it. I so wish I had known about it, and Sky Ferreira, before I spent all my iTunes gift card money.

"God Only Knows" by MKTO - I first heard this song on YouTube after watching the music video for "Classic" and seeing the video for this song in the sidebar. The rhythm of the song is romantic, but dance-able, if you're into that (which I am), and the video is clever, to say the least.

"Girls Chase Boys" by Ingrid Michaelson - The first line in the song is "All the broken hearts in the world still beat, let's not make it harder than it has to be." On top of that, the actual music which accompanies the lyrics is not gloomy at all, in fact it's lighthearted and head-bop-inducing. If that doesn't constitute endless replays, I don't know what will.

"Fancy (feat. Charli XCX)" by Iggy Azalea - I don't normally gravitate towards rap or hip-hop music at all, and at first, the only reason I bought this song was because Charli XCX's part was really cool. But after a whole week of listening to this song within a playlist of 10 songs, Iggy's rapping started to grow on me. It's entertaining and funky and cool, and I think I like it. :)

"Wild Heart" by The Vamps - Words cannot express how much I wish this band's debut album would be released in the US. This song is available on American iTunes. BUT THAT'S IT. It's not that they're some lyrically genius, musical masterminds, but their songs are really good as far as pop music goes. And I don't like being denied things because of the country I live in, like c'mon America, get your shit together. Please and thanks.

"I See Fire" by Peter Hollens - THIS SONG IS BEAUTIFUL. Ed Sheeran did a cover of it for The Hobbit soundtrack, and I heard a remixed version of that cover on Tumblr, so I looked it up on iTunes. This is (I think) the original version of the song. If you don't like slow songs, it won't even matter because you will love this song. It sounds like the kind of thing you would hear on the Scottish Highlands during a medieval war. It's powerful musically and lyrically and it gives me chills.

"Dernière Danse" by Indila - This is a French pop song that we listened to in French class throughout this past month for a song analysis assignment, and as soon as I heard it, I distinctly remember thinking "I am so going to buy this song." I fell in love. It's so poetic, if you know what the lyrics are saying, and even if you don't have a clue, you can still appreciate the fact that the song is arranged nearly perfectly.

"Disconnected" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I bought the physical copy of 5 Seconds of Summer's EP "She Looks So Perfect" from Target as soon as I could, and I couldn't have been happier about it. This song was a physical copy exclusive track, so I had no idea what I was in for (I had listened to the other tracks on YouTube before buying the CD, just to make sure it was worth it)(It was so worth it). Disconnected was co-written with Alex Gaskarth, the lead singer of another band I love, All Time Low, and you can hear his influence in the tone of the song. It works out perfectly though, because the All Time Low influence mixed with the 5SOS spin creates such an amazing song. The EP only has 4 songs on it, and it's all I listen to in the car. As I listen to it now, I feel like I should be driving.

"Heartache on the Big Screen" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I remember finding the leaked cut of this song on YouTube about a week before it actually came out, and being absolutely blown away. As soon as I heard it, I was so angry that I couldn't buy it immediately. It's one of those songs that you instantly know will be stuck in your head for days. I love it not only for that, but also for the clever extended analogy, referring to a relationship gone bad in terms of movies.

"She Looks So Perfect" by 5 Seconds of Summer - This is the band's first single from the EP, and it is so much fun. From the beginning of the song, I find myself wanting to belt out every lyric. The video is also really cool, and kind of liberating because, while they have people in their underwear dancing throughout the video, they're not just stereotypical "pretty" people, they're people of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and that's awesome. Oh yeah, and the lead singer's vibrato is TO DIE FOR.

"Magic" by Coldplay - All I'm going to say about this song is that if you can't picture this being played at your wedding, what's wrong with you?

"Don't Stop" by 5 Seconds of Summer - I'm sorry I'm including so many songs from this band.... Actually, I'm not sorry, because I think I love them, and I'm not apologizing for that because life is too short to apologize for the things you love. But anyway, this is the absolute newest song they've released, and it's only currently available for purchase everywhere but North America, which sucks, but at least they released the lyric video for it on their YouTube channel so the whole world can listen to it. Thank God, too, because that song is damn good. And again, the lead singer's vibrato makes me want to die and burst into tears and laugh until I cry because it is so SO good.

A Catch-All of Things I Haven't Said ;)

So, remember a few posts ago I said there was going to be lots to come in terms of content on this blog? Well, obviously, I've been slacking, so to make up for it, here is a mass post of all the things I've been meaning to tell you all about. :) P.S. - For once, all the pictures featured in this post belong to me, and are not Internet-generated. Props for utilizing a camera!

First of all, let's throw it waaayyy back to early November, when I went to a Paramore concert with my sister and cousin, because that was one of the most magical nights of my life, hands down. It was just us, no parents in sight (that belonged to us, anyway,) which was a first for us, because we are lame, sheltered American children. But anyway, we got there like an hour or so early because we were afraid of lines and ticket complications and whatnot. But once we got there, we were so buzzed with energy and excitement. That's the thing about concerts - the anticipation of it is almost as good as the actual show. Once the show actually started, though, I was in a complete state of bliss. Hellogoodbye and Metric opened for Paramore, and they were hardcore awesome, if I do say so myself. Paramore, however, was phenomenal. Every single person in the crowd was up on their feet, dancing and singing along. I'm proud to say that I sang along, at the top of my lungs, to every single song, even the ones I wasn't completely familiar with. At one point, they were singing one song and went straight into "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac right in the middle, and then went back to their original song. It was kind of totally awesome. Essentially, what you should get from this is that I am totally in love with Paramore in all their laser-light-show glory, and if you go to one concert for the rest of your life, it should be a Paramore show, especially because Hayley is really good at engaging the crowd, in a way that makes it seem like she's your best friend talking to you in the middle of a huge amphitheater. Gotta love it!

Final bows at the Paramore show. They showered the floor crowd with green and yellow balloons from the ceiling and it was awesome. 

Secondly, let's talk about Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a great day that day, even though it was like a month and a half ago. I sure did, even though it was at my house and holidays at my house are the best kind of stressful, but stressful nonetheless. We started our day trying to catch a little bit of the Macy's parade on TV (which I love with all my heart, I can't explain it but I do,) before getting ready to go serve dinner at a local church for people who, for whatever reason, couldn't have a meal at home. It was our second year doing that, and every year, I love it, because I feel like, of all days, what better day to go out of your way to help people? Anyway, once we got back home, my extended family started to arrive, and that's when the fun began. It was kind of awkward at first, because we all hadn't seen each other for a while, but after a while, we all started talking and goofing around, and it was, for lack of a better word, heartwarming. All of us are pretty grown-up now, in regards to the cousins, so we're past our awkward stages and can actually have conversations, which is awesome. Cousins in general are awesome, am I right? Anyway, that was probably one of the best Thanksgivings I've ever had and again, I hope everyone reading this had just as much of a fantastic day as I did. 

P.S. - I took this pic, so I'm not in it, but here's my family, just to give you an indication of the environment in which I was raised. ;) 

Alright, moving on. :) The next thing I wanted to discuss was my trip to New York City for my birthday. We went about a week after Thanksgiving,  on December 6-7th. We began the day by getting up at ungodly hours, (we being me, my mom, and my best friend/neighbor). We left for the airport around 7:30 AM. Once we got there, we were in a state of excited delirium. It was rainy when we took off, but blindingly sunny above the clouds, which was surreal. Once we got to NYC, we checked into our hotel, which was right around the corner from Times Square, sufficiently fancy, and perfectly New York-ish. We then headed straight for the streets for a good ol' round of sightseeing. That first day, we visited the Times Square American Eagle, M&M World, the world's largest Forever 21, the Disney Store with a princess castle inside, and had lunch at Planet Hollywood, (which was magical and awesome inside and I loved it so much). After we tired ourselves out, we went back to the hotel to rest for a little while and get ready for the evening. Because the trip was my birthday present, we were going to have a birthday dinner and see a Broadway show. We walked from our hotel to Restaurant Row (the apparent name of a strip of fabulous restaurants,) where we had a superfancyandgrownup Italian dinner at a cute little restaurant called Latanze. After dinner, we walked around the city a little to work off the food, and ended up at Rockefeller Plaza, where we of course took pictures in front of the enormous Christmas tree. After that we took a cab to the theater to see Cinderella on Broadway. Even though our seats were way in the back and you kind of had to focus in on the stage to see, it was epic, and I don't use that word often or lightly. It was truly spectacular and the entire production was magical, from the cast, to the costumes, to the effects (which blew my mind completely). After a whirlwind day like that, we went back to the hotel and fell asleep in anticipation of the next day. The next morning, we woke up and got dressed quickly so we could get breakfast as fast as possible so as to not miss out on one single minute of the city. We ended up spending the day walking the entire length of 5th Avenue, seeing/witnessing Rockefeller Center, Macy's, The Empire State Building, Tiffany's, Harry Winston, NBC Studios, Trump Tower, Sephora, The American Girl Store, Papyrus, FAO Schwartz, the very edge of Central Park, the Apple Store, and of course, the New York City Public Library, among other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. At around 5-ish, we went back to our hotel to collect our bags and make our way to the airport to go home. I'm so lucky and blessed to have had this opportunity, because it's literally been my dream since forever to sight-see around New York City. The one thing I realized about the city, however, is that as magical as it is, it is more magical on TV. We all agreed at the end of the trip that while we loved it, we are definitely not cut out for a New York City lifestyle. I don't mean to sound ungrateful at all, because I am totally grateful. I now know, though, that even though I used to want to live in New York City, I don't think I'm cut out for it, as sad as it is. I would go back for vacation in a heartbeat, though. Most definitely. Especially because they apparently have Gossip Girl tours. ;) 

Times Square baby! <3

After the excitement of New York, and my birthday (which was on the 10th,) the next thing to get hyped about was Christmas! I love Christmas, not just because of the presents (although, let's not kid ourselves, we all love the presents,) but also because of the time I get to spend with my family, the universally-acknowledged Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and bacon, swimming around in a sea of wrapping paper, getting dolled up in a new Christmas outfit. It literally makes me want to sprawl out on the floor and smile up at the ceiling whilst belting "Jingle Bell Rock" just thinking about it. This past Christmas was the best Christmas I can remember. We went to my mom's brother's apartment for dinner, and because it was an apartment and there wasn't a whole lot of room to spread out, all of us kind of had to be around each other and engage in conversation, which, again, was way better than it used to be. I also made everyone a DVD as a gift, because I'm good at them and I'm also really broke. It was just a slideshow of pictures of the family put to music, but we ended up watching it and everyone loved it and I kind of felt really awesome because I was so happy that they liked it. Anyway, after we cleaned up from dinner, it was about 6 or 7 by then, and everyone started to head out, so we did as well. But because we go hard and party hard, we went to another family Christmas party, this time at my dad's brother's house, and it was also a ton of fun. We just hung out and ate chocolate cake, but I love being around my family, and I think I was still high off of the previous family party so nothing could bring me down. I hope you all had a fabulously awesome love-filled holiday, no matter what you celebrate. 2013 was definitely the year of successful holidays, for sure. Hopefully 2014 brings the same luck. :)

I'm finally in this picture! I'm the one in the middle with the white polka-dot shirt. :)

Lastly, I want conclude this post with a list of all the songs I've been listening to of late, that I absolutely adore and wish to share with you because you can't complain like people in real life do when I say such things. :) Here ya go.

• "Classic" by MKTO (I absolutely adore this song and I could listen to it on repeat for days.)
• The entire Midnight Memories album by One Direction, but "Little White Lies," "Does He Know?," "Better Than Words," "Strong," and "Alive," in particular.
• "From This Valley" by The Civil Wars (I included this in my Christmas video for my family, and they loved it.)
• "Same Old Same Old" by The Civil Wars (basically anything by The Civil Wars is worth listening to and loving, but this one in particular is especially wonderful.)
• "Chocolate" by The 1975 (Love love love love love. Enough said.)
• "Girls" by The 1975 (This song is so good and so catchy, and I love the cover by R5.)
• "Oh My Goodness" by Olly Murs (Every time this song comes on Pandora, I jam out hardcore and dance around like nobody's business, so of course, I bought it.)
• "L-O-V-E" by Nat "King" Cole (This song is a classic. It WILL be played at my wedding one day.)
• "Look What They've Done to My Song" cover by Miley Cyrus (This is an old song by a person that I am not familiar with, but Miley covered it a while ago on YouTube and I illegally downloaded it and listen to it often because I love it so much.)
• "Wishing I Was 23" by R5 (This band is my guilty pleasure, because they're not technically a Disney band, but they're featured on Radio Disney, so they kind of are, but I don't care because I think they're really good and this song is catchy as heck and I bought their entire album with no shame, ok? Ok.)
• "Everybody's Got Somebody But Me (feat. Jason Mraz)" by Hunter Hayes (I like this song a lot because I can relate to it on a painfully accurate level. It's also catchy and I like Hunter Hayes's voice with Jason Mraz's voice. They make pretty sounds come out of their mouths and I love it. This mashup video featuring Jason Mraz, Hunter Hayes, and a bunch of YouTubers is also phenomenal.) 
• Also, the Live Lounge sessions on the Youtube channel for BBC Radio1 is addictive and so awesome and you should check it out.

Revlon Lip Butter HEAVEN!

Revlon Lip Butters in
Wild Watermelon #063 (left)
& Sorbet #053

Today, I made one of my proudest beauty investments of all time. I was shopping with my mom and I was picking up a few essentials for back to school, (i.e.- the 902-page September issue of Vogue, a HUGE bottle of hairspray, Tresemmé Heat Protectant spray, Revlon Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Finale #095, and the-subject-of-this-post-to-be-identified-shortly,) and I came across a product I've been meaning to try out for a long time. Revlon Lip Butters have always appealed to me aesthetically, meaning: the packaging was really, really pretty. (Whoever designed that deserves a hearty high five and an extra twenty dollars, just saying.) But anyway, my longing for them was only solidified when I saw a vlog by YouTuber Zoella280390, in which she's talking about buying nearly all of the available colors of the Lip Butters while in Florida this past March for the Playlist Live convention. I usually trust her opinion when it comes to all things beauty/fashion related, and this was no different. If Zoe likes them, surely I would too! So, as soon as I got to the Revlon section, I picked out the brightest colors I could find, Wild Watermelon #063 and Sorbet #053, and bought them without a second thought. I generally enjoy lip products, and find myself buying products in pretty colors, though ones I would never wear to school. These up the ante though, in terms of wear-ability. I tried them on as soon as I got home, and I was amazed, I was shocked, I was in love. The Revlon Lip Butters are exquisite! They glide on smoothly like Chapstick, yet are just as colorful as any lipstick. They aren't as heavily pigmented, though, so it makes for a look that's softer and more relaxed than that of a lipstick. I absolutely adore both of the colors I bought, and I feel just as tempted as Zoe to go back and buy them in every color, even if I will never wear grape or mocha colored lip products! I am so excited to wear these to school. I feel like they are easier to pull off than even the Revlon Lip Stains or Clinique Chubby Sticks. They also feel very moisturizing and lotion-y, if that makes sense. I think they have some sort of shea butter or cocoa butter in them, (hence the name,) because the texture is smooth and they have that slight scent to them. Wild Watermelon #063 is a bright, vibrant watermelon-shade of red that looks great for summer and will transition excellently into fall. Sorbet #053 is my favorite of the two; it's the girliest shade of pink that will look great with black clothing or other brights. Despite it being hot pink, it's super versatile, especially given the texture of the product. I literally cannot wait to have an occasion to wear these, (one of the only good things about going back to school next week!)

I Should've Gotten Over Them and Yet...

Right this very second, I'm listening to the new Backstreet Boys album, "In A World Like This" to prepare myself for their concert next week. Admittedly, I have NOT grown out of my boy band phase, and I can't tell you if I ever will. There is just something about the dynamic of a band of boys, even if that something is simply me with an excess amount of hormones. That being said, the new BSB album is actually really good. It still has, in essence, the classic feel of their old albums, but they're all older, with more mature voices and the influence of a 10 year hiatus. They've adjusted to the changing times, but they're still singing about the same kind of things they sang about back in the day, i.e. - Girls, Love, and That Sort of Thing. That doesn't mean the appeal has lessened one bit. ;)Plus, if anything it's amusing hearing five 30-something men singing the same type of songs they did when they were teens, yet... We all know we still love them. Some of my favorite songs so far are "In A World Like This," "Breathe," "Madeleine," and "Trust Me." I appreciate this album because while they still sound like the typical boy band with the synchronized harmonies, I like the fact that they tried out different sounds with each song. "Feels Like Home" starts out with a country vibe, and "Madeleine" sounds very Jack Johnson-meets-John Mayer. Overall, I give it a 9.3 out of 10.

On another note, I also recently acquired two other boy band CDs - Emblem3's "Nothing to Lose" and *NSYNC's "Greatest Hits." Emblem3 are considered rap on iTunes, but they sound more like if Bob Marley and Blink-182 had a baby and it was raised by One Direction on the beaches of California. In other words, it's kind of awesome. And *NSYNC's "Greatest Hits" speaks for itself if you lived in the general public within the past two decades. No commentary necessary. ;)

  

Netflix is My Hero

Now that we've got the rescindance review out of the way, we can move on to an actual review. (I swear, this blog is not going to be purely reviews, but sometimes it will be so just bear with me.) Today, while searching through Netflix again, (thank God for instant streaming,) I found a movie that I'd seen at the library on DVD plenty of times but never cared to watch. It's called "Dakota Skye." It's about this girl, named Dakota Skye, from Scottsdale, Arizona, who knows the truth behind everything everyone says, and is kind of bitchy and cynical as a result because she realizes that nearly everyone she knows is a liar, even if they don't know it themselves. She has a boyfriend she tolerates and a best friend that is only her best friend because they've known each other for "the better part of 12 years" and no real academic desire. She is tired of being pressured to figure out her life at 17 years old. Then one day, her boyfriend's old best friend comes to visit from New York, and she is surprised to see that he doesn't lie. It's both refreshing for her and confusing. She quickly comes to like him and is more attracted to him than her boyfriend. I won't give away so much of the ending like I did with "Dare," because while both of these are worth seeing, this one is more evidently worth seeing. ;) Both are rated R though, so if you have either a problem with foul language, however humorous, or teenage sexuality, than you probably shouldn't watch either of these. But you're totally missing out on some real cinematic genius. Just so you know. ;) (P.S.- This movie has an excellent soundtrack, despite the intolerable boyfriend's band.)

"Predictable doesn't always mean boring, lust doesn't always mean love, near doesn't always mean close. New doesn't always mean exciting, different doesn't always mean better, far doesn't always mean distant."

I TAKE IT BACK!

Remember what I said about the movie "Dare"? Well, I take it all back! After I watched it this past weekend, I couldn't stop thinking about it every day since then. Before, I totally didn't understand the point of the movie. I knew it was supposed to be about the coming-of-age of three teenagers, but it just came off as incomprehensible to me. But then, I read online reviews of it and I began to look at in a new light. Then today, I finally re-watched it and had a whole new appreciation for it. Only really good movies stick with you the way this one did. I guess I was being ignorant of the underlying story when I reviewed it before. I've come to understand that it really is a coming of age story, still centered around Johnny, but it's bigger than that. The acting really was phenomenal and they conveyed brilliantly the sense of despair in trying to figure out yourself and what you're going to do with the rest of your life and who you're going to be. Johnny's story was really about more than just a rich kid with emotionally detached parents. He suffers from panic attacks because he really has no one around that truly loves him, and that's all he's wanted for a really long time. He jumps at the chance that Alexa might actually start to love him, and when Ben takes a liking to him, he feels euphoric, and more happy and complete than he can ever remember feeling. No matter what happens throughout the movie, I've gathered that the entire plot line is centered around the adolescent quest to find someone in this world that will love us, and the willingness to be hurt in the process. Like I said before, the more I watch this movie and the more I think about it, the more I like it. I might actually be starting to love it. I think it's just because I finally think I understand it, but still. I don't mind it anymore. :) (It doesn't hurt that Zach Gilford gets cuter and cuter the more I watch this movie.) ;)

Time for a Sick Day ;)

I just finished watching the movie "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" and I have to say, it is definitely one of my favorite movies. John Hughes, the director, is my idol. How does one person create such masterpieces such as this, and "Sixteen Candles," and, of course, "The Breakfast Club"? However he did it, I'm glad he did.

This movie in particular is quite amazing. I can just imagine the kind of chaos it caused when it came out in the 80's. I know if it came out now, kids would DEFINITELY try to pull it off themselves. I know I would, if I were that gutsy. Anyway, I definitely recommend this movie to every student who's desperately needed a mental health day. ;)

Speaking of Summer...

Clearly, I've spent waayyyy too much time on the Internet today, because I have yet another thing to tell you about that I found via the interwebs. It's a band called The Summer Set. I've liked them ever since I heard their songs "Punch Drunk Love" and "Chelsea" on Pandora maybe 2 years ago. They've released 2 albums since that first one I heard, ("Love Like This",) and each one was better than the last. Their most recent album, "Legendary" is amazing, in its entirety. I absolutely adore every single song, and that rarely happens. I think the last album in which I loved every single song was "Electra Heart" by Marina and the Diamonds. Those kinds of albums, along with those kinds of artists, are a dime a dozen.



"Legendary" is packed with catchy rhythms, poetic lyrics that are constantly stuck in my head, (I had the chorus of "Boomerang" on replay in my head for days,) and overall, it's an album that shows the utter growth of a band that truly loves and cares for what they do.

Not only do they care for and put immense effort into the music they make, they also truly care about their fans. So much so, in fact, that they started a program called Half Moon Kids. Half Moon Kids is a program in which The Summer Set help kids "follow their dreams, overcome their fears, and be the best version of themselves they can be." Basically, the band seeks out kids and empowers them, gives them confidence, and provides amazing opportunities. I feel like, for a band to take that kind of time and show their fans that they can meet their goals or overcome their fears, is such a great display of a group of people that really want to give back to their fans in ways that no one has ever done before. By doing this, they've deepened my respect for them not just as a band, but as really good people in general. Because of this, I will be a fan of The Summer Set for a very, very long time. :)

Aren't Movies Supposed to Have Endings?

Yesterday, I was on Netflix (as per usual,) and I found a movie that looked kind of interesting. It was called "Dare." The movie is based around 3 teenagers, Alexa, Ben, and Johnny, who are seniors in high school. Alexa is a smart, well-mannered, well-behaved girl who, instead of wanting to be a doctor or lawyer as people expect, wants to be an actress. She is told that she is too sheltered and hasn't had any pain or heartbreak in her life to draw from that can make any of her performances believable. Ben is Alexa's best friend, and she is his only friend. He is shy and dorky, and becomes jealous when Alexa starts becoming popular, and spending more and more time with Johnny, (who is her costar in the school play). Johnny is the most popular guy in their school, but he is unstable, detached, and depressed. He has "sexual relations" with both Alexa and Ben (who turns out to be very gay,) and they all become a weird set of friends. Johnny hooks up with them to feel closer to people, because he realizes that he doesn't have any actual friends that know him, and his dad and step-mom couldn't care less about him, while Alexa and Ben are just thrilled to have someone want them in that way, especially someone as popular as Johnny. They care for Johnny, but not in the way he believes they do. The movie ends with Johnny disappearing for months after an incident at a party, and Alexa eventually sees him again outside of a restaurant.

Overall, this movie was kind of a flop for me. I've been thinking about it since I watched it, and I've figured out that it's supposed to be hugely metaphorical and deep, and I get it. But I just feel like it had no real plot line. The movie is centered around Johnny, but it's hard to gauge that from the way it's set up. The exposition sets you up to believe the movie will be about Alexa becoming a bad girl to get the guy and her best friend is jealous of the time he's missing out on with her, and in a way, it is about that. But it's more about what's wrong with Johnny and the void in his mind and heart. The actors were pretty good, but the entire movie felt awkward and the plot totally bombed. I'd give this movie a 2.5 out of 5, possibly a 3 if you're looking for a teen movie that makes you think (really, really hard.)

Here's the trailer: