Author: Cho' Life

A Farewell to My Creative Writing Class

Dear Creative Writing,

I learned many things from you this year. I learned to abandon the strict essay rules of all my English classes before you in order to write what I truly want to. You taught me that there is more to writing than five sentence paragraphs, transitional phrases, and semicolons. You showed me that it was about more than getting a 4 on a writing exam. You taught me to stray from 12 point font, Times New Roman, and MLA headings. You set me free to share my inner thoughts in whatever format I want. Bullet points? T-charts? Venn Diagrams? You accept them all in their roughest form because their rawness makes them art. Your freedom finally set me free of the strict essay formats that have been ingrained in my mind for so many years.

You accept the light and the dark. You take whatever I am feeling  and thinking as long as it is true. You do not accept fake writing, and you do not make confines for my writing. You have free-writing posts and one word topics that lead readers on a winding road to wherever the writer wants to go. Point of view, passive voice, and phrases like “a lot” are accepted by you. You do not throw down my work simply because I say “my”, “like”, or “was”. To you, these are not mistakes. These phrases are simply my take on a situation in which I tell the raw truth of exactly how it is. I do not have to go back and edit my work ten times in order to receive a decent grade. As long as I write something with true passion and thought, I have done you proud, and that is what matters. I can come in to see you, give my best, and you accept it with open arms and no rubric. That is what counts to me.

Now, do not get me wrong. You still expect the basic needs of writing. I have to follow spelling, capitalization, and clean writing rules. I have to earn my grade with you, but as long as the effort is there, you let me be who I need to be. This coming school year, I will miss you, but I will take your lessons with me. I will not forget the way you challenged me to step out of the “English Essay Box”. I will remember that what I have to say matters more that a misplaced comma. I will remember to never compromise my thoughts and beliefs to complete an assignment the way it is expected of me to do. I will remember you fondly and continue my journey as a writer.

And who knows? Maybe the next time I run into you will be when I am writing my own book. I do not know what it will be, but because of you, I know it will be authentic and epic.

I will miss you but use you ever time I write.

Farewell for now from a student who learned so much from you,

Leanna.

PopSockets: The Ideal Accessory for Any Hand-Held Electronic Device

This post will be a review to the ideal hand-held electronics accessory, PopSocket. Some people may not know about this genius invention that allows your devices to be held easily, dropped less frequently, and have a stand for easy viewing opportunities, but after reading this post, they will.

Now, to be clear, this review will be mostly positive. However, I am not sposored to give this review, although I wish I was. I just really like Popsockets and want to share with the rest of you why they are a must-have accessory.

To begin, they allow for you to easily hold your phone while almost completely eliminating the possibility of dropping your device. The raised circular design with a collapsing center allows for two of your fingers to close around the Popsocket while the rest of your fingers and other hand are free to do whatever they need to do. However, I will say that I received a PopSocket once that had an adhesive that was damaged. After a day, the PopSocket fell off, and I ended up having to return the PopSocket and getting a refund to buy a different one. However, PopSockets usually come undamaged with a proper adhesive, so the easy holding feature that I previously mentioned should work just fine. Undamaged PopSockets allow you to securely hold your device upside-down, diagonal, frontwards, and any other way you can think of all due to just two of your fingers and the PopSocket. Dropping your phone while holding your PopSocket has become virtually impossible. So, you can say goodbye to a cracked phone screen with PopSocket.

Furthermore, the PopSocket also serves as a stand for your device. Laying in bed on your phone and want to read an article without holding your phone? PopSocket has you covered. Eating a snack and can’t hold your phone up, but you need to watch the newest episode of your favorite show? Just raise your Popsocket, and you’re good to go. PopSocket eliminates the need for propping your device against boxes and walls in order to multitask on your device during your busy life. Everywhere you go, you have a phone stand with PopSocket.

Next, we have PopSockets’ stylish designs. You can customize or pick from pre-made designs for your PopSocket. There are tons of options from animals, to landscapes, to quotes, to pretty much anything else you can imagine. You want it, you got it with PopSocket. So, there is no need to worry about your PopSocket being an eye sore on your device. You can choose colors, pictures, and so much more to match your device and life. There is no compromising when it comes to PopSockets.

Lastly, we have the PopSocket’s price. A basic PopSocket is only $10. Now, you may think this is an expensive piece of plastic, but just think about how much you pay for your phone, your other phone accessories, and all the benefits of a PopSocket I have previously mentioned. Paying ten dollars in order to help prevent the damage of a device that you spend hundreds of dollars on is a small price to pay. The other benefits of easy grip, a built-in stand, and a cute design make PopSockets worth every dollar. The only question you must ask yourself is: When am I buying my PopSocket?

Safiya Nygaard’s Lipstick Cake Video

On March 31st, Safiya Nygaard posted a video on YouTube where she made a Funfetti cake with edible lipsticks in place of sprinkles.

She spent the first part of the video explaining how she decided to make the cake, and that she was going to buy multiple colors of edible lipsticks to cut up and put into the cake as sprinkles. Now, while she did warn her viewers multiple times that she was not recommending that others replicate her edible lipstick Funfetti cake, the video still left me with a feeling that this edible lipstick cake may become a trend.

Safiya Nygaard also warned viewers that while the edible lipsticks were made from “food-like ingredients”, the lipsticks were not made for large consumption. Despite all these warnings and all of the excessive work that she did to actually cut the lipsticks into sprinkle shapes along with making the actual cake, I felt that viewers may still be persuaded to make this cake on their own, as well as possibly eat the lipstick cake as though it were regular Funfetti cake. Viewers may see this funky idea and jump at the chance to replicate the lipstick cake for either their own benefit on social media or just for their everyday life.

Now, I am in no way blaming Safiya Nygaard for any future edible lipstick cakes, and I do believe that this edible lipstick cake is an interesting, cool idea that was fun to watch being made. I enjoyed looking at the finished product and listening to Safiya Nygaard’s positive review of the taste and look of the cake. I am simply saying that some people love a good DIY project or are desperate for a chance to jump at a new trend that could go viral on social media. So, the question remains in my mind: Will this edible lipstick cake video eventually lead to a massive trend on social media and mass consumption of edible lipsticks?

10 Quotes of 10th Grade

"There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered." -Nelson Mandela
“It is possible to fail in many ways…while to succeed is possible only in one way.” –Aristotle
"The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who don't have it." -George Bernard Shaw
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” –Eleanor Roosevelt
"If you're going through hell, keep going." -Winston Churchill
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.” –Theodore Roosevelt
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." -Arthur Ashe
“If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased.” –Katharine Hepburn
“If you want to be happy, be.” -Leo Tolstoy
“Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” –Stephen Hawking

The Underappreciated Sun Jam

The Sun gives light to all,

And still stays in the dark.

No one thinks of the Sun.

No one thanks the Sun for its time.

Its rise and set in the sky

Has not once failed.

Yet, this feat is not praised.

 

The Sun could cease to be,

But no one thinks of this.

It gives so much,

But our gifts to it are none.

Dark’s loss to Sun is a great feat,

But it is thought of as a “for sure”.

Its praise has yet to be sung.

 

When will the light end?

When will the fuel run out?

When will dark be all that is left?

What will be left of the world?

When will the Sun give in?

When will its worth be seen by all?

 

How-To Turn Any Depressing Life Moment Into a Joke

This blog is about how to find laughter in some of the worst of situations. For example, say you are at school and have 10 hours of homework and 5 tests to study for in 30 minutes, and all of your friends around you are just as miserable as you are. Well, this is the moment to take a quick break to tell all of your friends how crappy the situation is in a tone that allows for laughter to arise out of everyone. 

Furthermore, let’s say that you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and NOTHING is going your way. You dropped your toothbrush in your toilet, your dog pooped in your bed, and your hair just will not cooperate. Simple, you call up one of your friends and tell them in the most sarcastic tone about how horrible your day is going, and I guarantee both you and your friend will crack up.

If you have not caught on to the theme here yet, it is all in the tone. Now, I do not know the exact science for this tone. To me, I just try a notch up from a dead pan tone to say my complaints, and that usually leads to the desired reaction. The best advice I can give you is to attempt this tone with trial and error, and hopefully, you will get the hang of it quickly. 

Like I said, there is no science to this how-to manual. You may not even like the idea because this trick does not actually make your situation any more amusing than it was before the joke. The only truly amusing part of this is the tone, and you may be one of those people who relies on an old-fashioned knock, knock joke for laughter. This probably means you won’t like this type of joke, and that is totally fine. I am just not a person who laughs at these classic types of jokes. I am sarcastic, and tend to get my laughs my making a miserable situations a little lighthearted. So, if you are trying to make an awkward, miserable, or boring situation a little better, consider using an almost deadpan tone to complain or make fun of a situation. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results.

The Balance of Success and Fun in Teenage Life

How are teenagers expected to balance a successful and experiential life? We are told that teenage years are some of the most important years of our lives, for both the career and experiential aspects. And yet, the adults who tell us this are the ones who ridicule teenagers for not focusing on their education enough. They tell us that teenage years are the time to have adventures with friends and make mistakes. They say that now is when we mess up and learn how to be better next time. And yet, we feel the wrath when we do anything other than excel in our academics and various extra curricular activities.  We are supposed to be focused on doing anything and everything to make us stand out to colleges so that we don’t grow up to be anything less than extraordinary, but what does this extreme focus on success do to teenagers?

Teenagers often go one route or the other. Teens will either go the route of completely ignoring their academic responsibilities to focus solely on having fun and making mistakes along the wild ride of their experiences. On the other hand, students may completely ignore their fun in order to excel later on in life. Now, both of these options come at a price. The question is, which price are you willing to pay? Will you risk your chance at a bright future in order to experience teenage mistakes, or will you give up life experiences for the chance at a better life later on? The answer is that you should not have to choose. There should be a balance between living and being successful. However, this is not what is drilled into many of our heads.

Most parents, teachers, friends, and other influential people in our lives do not exemplify or lecture about this balance well. Some parents or friends may tell you to slack off in school, go to that party, only do that optional, helpful assignment if you want to be labeled a nerd, or they are simply so indifferent about the topic the you don’t know what to do. On the other hand, those same influential people may tell you that you’ll end up with a horrible life if you don’t turn in that homework assignment, judge you about your “relaxed” lifestyle, make you feel bad about your decisions, or may tell you that you’re grounded from everything fun until you get that 98 back up to a 100. Where are these so-called balanced living people? Where are these people that are said to live the ideal life style?

To be honest, I don’t know the answer to my questions. I don’t know where these people are, or why there are so few of them around me. However, I do know which side of the scale I live on. I am the one who gives up fun for success. I have the friends, parents, and teachers that focus on me turning in every assignment on time in order to not fail at life. At this point, I don’t really know if there are people out there that live this “ideal” lifestyle. All I know is that I have to hope that these balanced people exist and that one day I could be one of them.

Summer: The Days I Long for…

I am currently sitting in a classroom with a set of standard thirty desks and chairs, a whiteboard, and computers as I write about how I long for the last day of school. I feel the days of sunshine and swimming calling out to me from the dark, dingy classroom. I can almost feel the rain and homework assignments turning into sun and pool noodles. I can see the school building morphing into my backyard littered with lounge chairs and friends. I can see the after school homework sessions turning into week-long sleepovers with friends.

However, I am not quite there yet. The week-long dance camps are just beyond my grasp. The late-night TV-show binges and consequent late morning sleep-ins are held back behind the high school finals dates. I long for the sun, the warmth, the fresh air, the to-die-for sunsets, and the freedom. I long to be free of the the standard desks and chairs, the 5-hour homework sessions, the midnight turn-in dates, the 6 AM alarms, the dress code compliant clothes, the boring lunches, the public school transportation, and the all-too-short 7 hours of sleep. I long for these things, but still they don’t come. I daydream of  summer while sitting in my standard desk and chair, and yet, summer is still 7 weeks away. In fact, the days seem to go slower the longer I dream. I want to wear the shorts, flip-flops, and swimsuits, but still they stay in the back of my closet. The flip-flops sit dusty in a back corner while my backpack sits at my door full of homework that’s  ready to be done.

When will my precious days of freedom come? When will all the standardized tests end? Is time conspiring against me? Is this all a cruel joke? Will I ever feel the sun instead of the fluorescent lights of the school halls?

In the end, all I can do is hope that one day summer will come. I will hope that sunshine will return and that pools will fill with laughing kids. I will hope that the week-long sleepovers and dance camps will come. I will hope for summer.

 

Current Event: The College Admissions Scandal

The New York Times posted a news article on March 21st, 2019 covering student comments about the recent college admissions scandal. The article covers the backstory of the scandal of wealthy parents buying their kids way into elite colleges through money, fake ACT scores, false sports team achievements, and more. It also covered the country’s current students’ opinions on the scandal.

The students in the article mostly have one position: this scandal is a disgrace and those involved should be punished. Many go so far as to say that they are not surprised this happened in the United States. They say it is unfair, a product of socioeconomic inequality, and a disappointment to future applicants who may be cheated out of a chance to earn a decent education. However, many students simply commented on how this scandal is disheartening to them and a lose to the integrity of these elite colleges. Students want this behavior of the wealthy to stop, but what are people to do to stop the influence of money and power?

Furthermore, I have my own comments to give in relation to both the scandal itself and the student comments. I believe that this scandal is the movies and rumors come to life. Most people have seen the movies or heard of the tales where a family donates an entire building to the college in order to buy and/or keep their child in college. However, most people blow these movies and stories off as something of myths. Unfortunately, this scandal brings all the myths to life. The monsters walk the same ground and breath the same air that we do. We work with and let our children play with the criminals. The stories are no longer fiction.

Now, in comment to the students, I believe that most of them have got it right. This scandal reflects badly on the college admissions process, the criminals who bought their kid’s way into college, and the good name of our society. No one wants to admit that colleges have stooped to the level of bribes for college acceptance. Most of us agree that this cheating must stop, but how? How will people stop the wealthy from buying anything and everything? How will knowledge ever mean more than money? These are the questions I am left with. These are the answers that I search for when I think about my future college and job applications. These are the questions the represent my true feelings about the college admissions scandal.

Yo, Turn Up the Beat!- Life Soundtrack

Below are listed the songs that make up the “soundtrack” of my life. The songs are listed in no particular order, and be aware that some songs are marked explicit. Others may have explicit content, but only the songs officially marked explicit by Spotify are distinguished on here. If you want to listen to the songs, click on the name of the song, and it will give you a link that will send you to the song on YouTube. Enjoy my soundtrack!

60 Seconds by Quinn XCII *explicit

-I like this song because when I am over the day and need to let my frustration out, this song says exactly what I am thinking.

Weak When Ur Around by blackbear *explicit

-I like this song because it shows how affected people can be by others and that it is not always the worst thing to be affected.

Halloween by Jon Bellion

-I like this song because it is just a fun song that does not really relate to me but has a good, free vibe.

Put Your Head On My Shoulder by Paul Anka and Joe Sherman

-I like this song because of the calm tone and the idea of a simpler time it has.

Be Alright by Ariana Grande

-I like this song because it makes me feel like no matter what is happening, I will come out the other side in a better situation.

The Weekend-Funk Wav Remix by SZA and Calvin Harris

-I like this song because it has a good, fun beat, and it does not relate to me. I just get to escape to another world with a good song.

Hello? by Clairo and Rejjie Snow

-I like this song because it has a chill vibe and beat without too deep of a meaning.

NASA by Ariana Grande

– I like this song because it so perfectly represents how much I want to be alone sometimes.