Damn it, I'm an adult.

First, as promised...

Double rainbow all across the sky-y-y!!

Acid unicorn. On steroids. Oh my god.

I WANT ONE.

Also, in case you were wondering, this apparently exists.

I don't see how this kind of advertising would help...

I'm going to ruin the moment now. Apparently I have issues with authorities and rules. Apparently.

Here in the US, we have that silly little law stating that you are not an adult until you are 18, and you can't earn money online unless you're an adult. I suppose this is a reasonable law considering the government probably doesn't want ten-year-olds selling avalanches of their old matchbox cars and photos signed by Justin Bieber, but lately it's been pissing me off. I've been thinking of all the ways I can possibly save (and spend) a little money before I head off to college, but it turns out that saving part can be difficult, especially since I tend to have gaping holes in my pockets. Darn it, I shouldn't have spent that $1092019 on Unicorn Farts; what was I thinking?? 

If I were 18, I would be able to make money selling old crap on eBay and Amazon, I could write articles for Yahoo as a freelance writer, hell I could even make like five cents a month on this little blog with AdSense. But damn it, I'm 17 so I am an invalid working three jobs over the summer so I don't starve in college. Ok. That was a slight exaggeration since I'm probably going to eat a truckload of food in college, but regardless, that's a lot of money that I could have earned. 

There is that option of mooching off of my parents' accounts, but for all of you out there considering doing any kind of joint account with an adult, just know that it is a total pain in the ass and it takes up way too much of your valuable time, not to mention the transfer of money can become confusing with all of the online payment methods and gimmicks out there. I say this from experience; last year I made a Kickstarter account with a friend of mine to fund a project, and though it sounded so simple at first, when the money started changing hands it was a temporary nightmare and for a few minutes I thought I lost about $2,000. Not good not good not good. 

There are so many solutions out there... Or so it seems. Can't sell things online? Sell them in the real world! All you need to do is just sit at a second-hand clothing shop and watch three people sort through all of your perfectly good slightly used clothing, only to find that they took two out of the twenty items you brought! The best part about this story is how I trudged home with my bag full of new-looking t-shirts that they didn't take when I had just seen a whole rack-full of hideous unwearable clothing. Honest to goodness, I found a cami with shoulder straps so long I could wear a shirt over it and make it look like a skirt. ...how does one even...

No, Early, it really doesn't.

On a happier note, less than twelve more hours until I see opening night of Man of Steel! I is exciteddd. I'll review that, then consider mentioning my mixed opinions about V for Vendetta. Got a movie you want me to review? Mention it in the comments! If you're awesome and check this blog out often and somehow like it, click that awesome little button on the right... The one under "There are no members yet" that says "Be the first!"... I'm worse at advertising than the guy selling Unicorn Farts.

Control Freaks

This post will be particularly hypocritical since I can be a bit of a control freak at times, but for now, let's talk about the control freaks with actual power in this world, therefore excluding myself.

Let me preface this rant by stating that I do believe that for the most part, the education system in America is declining at an alarming rate. Much like control freak-ish governments, the school systems believe that with just one more regulation or rule, everything will be right as rain and all of the problems will be solved. It's as if they've never even heard of thinking outside the box. Sorry to break it to them, but you can't fix motivation levels of students with simplistic incentives. People even tried money and regarding long-term results, it was mostly unsuccessful. I digress.

We, as human beings, tend to like freedom. We enjoy it in this wonderful country of ours, and we tend to get just a little bit upset when that freedom is threatened. Much like the country as a whole, freedom within high school is valued by many, but at this point, there are so many rules and regulations that it's impossible for the administration to even enforce most of it because they don't know what those rules are. The lack of logic in these situations can lead to inconsistent punishments, which can even lead to more discrimination within the school's disciplinary system. There was once a study done by one of the AP Statistics students: random students of various genders and races walk loops around the hallways without a pass to see how many times they're stopped by a hall monitor. It was pretty mind-boggling how many times the black students were stopped compared with the white students or Asian students. Apparently my school is racist after all.

So what is the point of the hall monitors anyway? They are, after all, supposed to stop everyone without a pass in the hallway. If they can't get that straight, what else could go wrong? Every time there's a reminder that there's a dress code, I get very confused. So they're enforcing it now? *walks two feet outside of the classroom* Whoops, I guess not.

Just recently, NY state created a new rule so that students can't enter a testing area with any electronic device on them with huge fines that come with violations of this new rule. The one reason this rule made me laugh was because it includes headphones when they say electronic devices. So I could potentially walk in a testing room with headphones in my pocket and nothing else and get fined thousands of dollars. "Uh, sorry sir, I didn't realize I could get in so much trouble for listening to... oh right, nothing, because headphones don't produce sound." Now, this rule doesn't really make me too upset because there are so many other ridiculous ones, but if I started naming the ones that really get on my nerves, we'd be here much too long.

If you went to high school here in the U.S., most likely you've heard of senior skip day. It's an age-old tradition that's right up there with senior pranks, and I am sad to say I did not participate because I'm paranoid about everything. But see, that's my entire point. There are schools out there that don't let seniors walk at graduation if they participate in senior skip day. I cannot express in words how pointless that is. Yes, you're encouraging your kids to go to school just one more day. Great. Question. What do seniors do in class in the last few weeks of school? Oh, right, NOTHING. Teachers give quizzes and tests on skip day to make sure their kids are in class. They haven't given quizzes in weeks! The entire premise behind these silly little stress-makers is one thing along: control. These people think that it's better to have the tightest grip possible on others so that they're the ones in power. On my list of things that annoy me, this is right up there with young adults who treat me like a two-year-old. Ughhhh. Rantrantrant.

Everybody likes freedom. And adults wonder why teenagers can be so rebellious.

P.S. I apologize for such negativity; I'll try to make my next post about rainbows and unicorns and puppies.

Now You See Me

I will talk about how I'm done with high school once it's actually sunk in that I'm done with high school. It'll probably take a couple weeks at least. For now, it's movie review time.

When I saw the trailer to the movie Now You See Me, I was actually a bit skeptical. I have this fear whenever I see a very cool trailer that it's just because of the music and that the pacing of the actual movie will be different and make me uncomfortable. Who am I kidding; everything makes me uncomfortable.

Here's the short: Four street magicians with very few resources are brought together by a mysterious man who gives them each a tarot-esque card. One year later, they stage three performances, where at each one, a large sum of money is stolen and given to the less fortunate in the audiences. After each one, they manage to piss off three different men who begin to chase after these magicians, trying to learn their tricks and catch them before their next act. Everyone is suspected of being someone other than who they say they are, and intense chase scenes commence until finally, the truth about the magicians is revealed to the audience.

Now, this ending sounds rather boring when you think about it since it seems to wrap up so nicely. But PREPARE TO BE AMAZED. "Because the closer you think you are... The less you actually see." What I particularly enjoyed about this movie was the audience interaction. When I say this, I don't mean the characters are breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience. I'm saying they don't break the fourth wall and they talk directly to the audience. When they say "look closely," they're not just talking to the other characters in the movie. So sit back, try and guess, because suspicion will be everywhere until the very end. I went with a group of friends so I know that I wasn't the only one who was surprised by the ending.

Plot-wise, this movie was amazing and I highly recommend watching it in theaters. With some movies, I can recommend that you go see it, but not necessarily in theaters because it wouldn't make much of a difference. Some movies, though, like this one, are just better on the big screen. Visually, it was captivating, with complex scenes and very nice and somewhat dizzying camerawork. I wouldn't necessarily say I was gripping the edges of my seat, but only because this film provided a different kind of excitement that was more on the intellectual level. It was like Inception with less emotional background and more action scenes, which in some senses was nice.

I believe that in order for me to properly critique this film, I have to give it some actual criticism as well. The characters in this movie have almost zero background, which wasn't bad for the plot, but it was bad for the audience. Background, though it may be inserted into some movies at awkward times and make the audience yawn, can make characters more relatable, therefore making the audience more attached to them. Example #1: (SPOILER ALERT) One of the characters dies. I won't say why, how, when, or who, but I will say that the only reason any of us were sad was because he's cute. That's not a good reason for the audience to be sad.

Second thing I'd like to critique: there's a point to which something can be too fast-paced. Action movies have the luxury of being as fast-paced as they want to be, but for movies involving intellectual backgrounds and subplots, the audience needs a bit more time. Don't get me wrong; I understood what was going on and I'm only a little slow, but there will always be a difference in letting the implications of a gunshot sink in and letting the implications of an underground, historical, and slightly mystical organization sink in. It just allows for the awesomeness (or the lameness) of a plotpoint to be fully appreciated by the audience before moving on to the next mind-blowing scene.

So there it is. If you read this while it's still in theaters, go see it! If not, then watch in on the most high-quality device you or a friend owns because it's certainly worth a cinematic experience. 

Distracted from Distraction by Distraction

I might've mixed the title up; I can never remember how it really goes. Anyways, I apologize for being boring lately, but I've been busy... Having fun... Got back yesterday from the Pocono Valley Resort for my class's senior trip, where I only found out at the end of the day that during the summer, it's a weight loss camp. Makes sense, because I am pooooooped. For one day, though, it was absolutely fantabulous.

I still have lots of work to do, so to keep y'all entertained, I give you my AP Calculus final project. It was super fun to make and hopefully you'll learn something. Whoo yay for entertaining animated stick figures and complex psychological discussions! There's a bit of math in there, too. Kind of.

If you don't know me, chances are you won't get the the little inside joke. You'll know what I mean, unless you too know a Michelle with amazing math notes.

Crap, I just realized you can see who I am at the end of it. Um... That's not me... That's my distant cousin three times removed... Awk.

The Truth About Honesty

Hoorah for a four-day weekend! Everything that would've made me busy today was cancelled so I had the opportunity to waste a little time and watch movies and procrastinate so much that I've forgotten how to type. Seriously. It took me five minutes to type that first bit; sitting around all day does some weird stuff. Anyway, I just finished watching the movie People Like Us. I've been meaning to watch it for a while... I love me some good family dramas.

People Like Us is about a man who's not doing so well with his job. He thinks he is doing well until he destroys his career with a technical error, shooting him into a pile of debt. Meanwhile, his father just died, though this gets an odd reaction from him since the main character (Sam, played by Chris Pine) hated his father as a kid. His father leaves behind a little bag full of $150,000 to give to a nephew he never knew he had, so Sam gets to know his nephew and half-sister without telling them who he really is. There are a ton of subplots too, but I've gotten my main point across.

The real problem with almost all of the characters in this movie is that they lie. I can see their lying faces, and they can see each other's lying faces, but other than getting angry about it, nothing is done to fix the constant lying. It's the whole reason there's a conflict of emotions for Sam and it's why he waited so long to tell his sister about the money.  I realize if he had just been straight with her and told her everything, there wouldn't have been a story, but honestly, it's hard not to think about those kind of things.

Keeping secrets, telling lies, and avoiding people are some of my biggest pet peeves. Mostly, I'm a terrible liar so I avoid it when I can, but when I hear someone talking about waiting until the "right moment," I just want to go up to them and tell them to cut the crap, because there is no singular right moment. There are an infinite number of "right moments." Whether it's telling someone you're their brother and that you've got $150,000 sitting in the car or you're nervous about telling someone that you love or don't love them or anything else, there is no limit to the number of right moments that a person can say these things. I understand that in some cases it's a good thing to wait until there's more information available so you don't go making stupid mistakes caused by a lack of knowledge, but having a secret or keeping up a lie and just telling yourself that you'll come out with the truth later is complete bullshit. 

Lies and secrets are ironically like money in the bank: the longer they're there, the bigger they get, and sooner or later it's going to get out. Only one of those scenarios is good, and we all know it. So what is it that makes us procrastinate when it comes to telling the truth? We know that the lie can only get worse, but we get stuck with it anyway. I guess lying could be compared to avoiding homework or taking out more and more loans from a bank, but unlike those things, you have complete control over the scenario. With homework, your dog could have actually eaten it, and with loans, maybe the bank decides your credit score is questionable, but with lies, it's much harder to lose sight of the truth that you're keeping to yourself. Fear's a big factor in all of this, but it'll be a bigger factor the longer you wait.

Oof... I tried avoiding using "you" to make this not look like it's a personal attack on you lovely readers. I assume nothing! Maybe you've never told a lie in you're life; how would I know? It was just easier for me to write in second person and I'm too lazy to change it. End of lecture. Time to go regain feeling in my legs... and brain.

Time for Some Edumacations

Greetings, strangers! It's certainly been a while. I've been pretty busy... doing nothing. Lucky for y'all, senioritis got so boring that I'd go crazy if I really spent the last few weeks of school sitting around being so unproductive my brain melts and I revert back to being a monkey.

So yesterday I came back from Washington D.C., where I spent three days touring around with some of my friends in the music program at my school. Friday started off with a bang -- I got to see Stephen Schwartz perform and talk onstage at the Kennedy Center, featuring songs in tribute to his successful career. Last year, the music trip was in New York City, where we watched Wicked on Broadway, so it was simply a happy coincidence that I had the opportunity to listen to the composer and overall mastermind behind what I saw last year. Long story short, IT WAS REALLY EXCITING. As a lover of creative processes and writing stories, I was incredibly happy when Mr. Schwartz began explaining how he came up with ideas for Wicked and how the story changed over time. He also played snippets of concepts for songs that never made it in the musical, which was a real treat. Also, for you Smash fans out there (awkward, I'm not one), Jeremy Jordan appeared throughout to sing some of the songs.

Though I did also see Show Boat, a dolphin show, and various museums, I did actually have something I wanted to talk about today. On the bus rides to and from the captiol city, I got super bored so I started reading a book I found called Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni. Did you know that if you press the palm of a newborn baby's hand, its mouth will instinctively open? This is because our hands and our mouths are controlled by nearby parts of the brain. It's an evolutionary feature of many species that use their hands to eat, which is why we eat with our hands and our dogs and cats do not. Allowing a baby to suck on its thumb is a way of training for bringing food to the mouth.

Ever wondered why we get so emotional during movies? Those guys are fictional; you don't need to cry because they're not really dead! When humans see facial expressions, we literally mimic those expressions with our muscles, sending signals to the brain that recognize the emotions as sad or happy or angry. Put a pencil in between your teeth and try recognizing different facial expressions. It's harder to do, right? The pencil acts as a mental and physical block, disabling your ability to mimic the expression and fully understand the emotion connected with the face being made. Mirror neurons in the brain allow us to recognize any action  that we see or hear. For example, the same part of our brains light up when we type on the computer and when we see or hear someone else typing on the computer. Confused? Awesome.

Speaking of mimicking, humans can pantomime; monkeys, apes, gorillas, and chimpanzees cannot. Pantomiming is using motions to reference an action without actually doing it. For example, air guitar. Even if monkeys could play guitar, they would not be able to understand air guitar because of the absence of the actual instrument.

Basic mimicry is instinct for many species though. Yesterday at the Baltimore National Aquarium, I saw a dolphin show where many of the complicated tricks were achieved through copying exactly what the trainers were doing. This is probably the most basic type of training, since it's natural for animals to imitate those around them, especially trainers with whom they have a stronger bond and relationship. I'm guessing the training to get dolphins to splash the audience takes a lot more time and energy.

Am I boring you yet? Ha, of course not because this stuff is AMAZING. I've laughed and gasped in shock at this book more than I've ever done for a novel. Nerdy? Yes. Unproductive? No.

I have a theory about all of this psychological business. It'll probably be discussed later in the book (I haven't actually finished it yet), so before I ruin it for myself I'll share my thoughts with you guys. This book covers all of the rules that human beings follow regarding feeling empathy and learning through mimicry, but what it hasn't covered yet are the exceptions to the rule. There are people out there who either don't feel empathy or do a darn good job hiding it. Sometimes our anger or hatred can override pity or sympathy, and as I read this book, it suddenly feels like that goes against human nature. We are built as a species to help each other out and understand each others' feelings by showing outward emotion; it's why we blush and cry. How can people possibly not understand another's pain or even cause another's pain? I believe the experiences we have in life (just the really bad ones) can create chemical blocks, preventing our mirror neurons from either working or from sending those little empathy vibes that make us understand one another.

So get those mirror neurons whirring and just be human. It's why laughs are contagious, it's why one Negative Nancy can cast a cloud over a whole group of people, and it's why people in this world can be inspirational and loved. Point is, be happy. Hakuna Matata.

Because APs

So with AP tests coming up in... Oh wow, that's tomorrow? Right-o! Well then! Better get studying!

Just kidding. I'm a second semester senior; it's all good. Anyway, to procrastinate, I've been watching the most random YouTube videos ever. I'm a big fan of humor, and I hope you are too, because I now present to you some of the craziest people I wish I knew. Mostly I was just too lazy to write a lot.

This is me, only with a sip of coffee.

Someday I'll follow their advice and become the best mother ever.

This be mah favorite.