Test Prep--> Poetry and/or Song Lyrics # 2

"No Light, No Light" by Florence + the Machine

You are the hole in my head
You are the space in my bed
You are the silence in between
What I thought and what I said

You are the night-time fear
You are the morning when it's clear
When it's over you start
You're my head
You're my heart

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes
I never knew daylight could be so violent
A revelation in the light of day
You can't choose what stays and what fades away
And I'd do anything to make you stay

No light, no light, no light
Tell me what you want me to say
Through the crowd I was
Crying out and
In your place there were a thousand other faces

I was disappearing in plain sight
Heaven help me
I need to make it right
You want a revelation
You want to get right
But it's a conversation
I just can't have tonight

You want a revelation
Some kind of resolution
You are the revelation

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes
I never knew daylight could be so violent
A revelation in the light of day
You can't choose what stays and what fades away
And I'd do anything to make you stay

No light, no light, no light
Tell me what you want me to say

But would you leave me,
If I told you what I've done
And would you leave me
If I told you what I've become
'Cause it's so easy,
To sing it to a crowd
But it's so hard, my love
To say it to you, all alone

No light, no light in your bright blue eyes
I never knew daylight could be so violent
A revelation in the light of day,
You can choose what stays and what fades away
And I'd do anything to make you stay

No light, no light, no light
Tell me what you want me to say
You want a revelation
You want to get right
But, it's a conversation
I just can't have tonight
You want a revelation
Some kind of resolution.
You are the revelation.

You want a revelation
You want to get right.
But, it's a conversation,
I just can't have tonight.
You want a revelation
Some kind of resolution
Tell me what you want me to say

      Florence + the Machine are a British group who have been nominated several times for a Grammy and a Brit Award. They released two albums which have been both in the top ten  for consecutive weeks in the U.K, Ireland, USA, etc. Florence Welch is the lead singer with an odd taste for music videos and lyrics. However, I feel that is the reason why she is loved so much by her fans. The song, "No Light, No Light" was in the album Ceremonials, released in October 2011, and this song is about knowing a person who is slowly fading into the darkness.

      To begin with, the song's lyrics are very heavy. In order to comprehend what she is trying to say, one must read each line and sort of decipher the way she uses those words. For example, towards the beginning of the song she says: 

"You are the night-time fear

You are the morning when it's clear

When it's over you start

You're my head
    You're my heart"    

 In these lines she is describing a person by saying that they are the feeling of fear during the night, the morning when it's clear, her head, and her heart. When she says "night-time fear," I think that she is describing the fear that people have during the might-time. There's a reason why people don't do stuff at the middle of the night they might usually do during the day. It's pitch-black outside during the night and there are a lot of people in this world who are afraid of going out in the dark. These situations might also include if you live in a dangerous neighborhood, street, city, town, etc.  So in this line she is saying that the person she is describing is scary or should be feared. In the next line she describes him as "the morning when it's clear". The fact that she used the word clear is that she is saying that she can see right through him. The morning is also known as a time when you just wake up and a person can see right through you. In this line she is describing the person as a transparent person who you can see right through their lies and actions. She then describes him or her as her head and her heart. I think here she is saying that they have her heart and that they are on her mind all the time. This all shows how this person of interest is slowly fading away from her.

      In conclusion, this song seems like it was purposefully written describing somebody who is changing and not for the better but for the worse. The music that goes with this song helps the sort of dark meaning she is trying to convey. It is very heavy and sort of sorrowful or regretful. Most of Florence's music is very rock and soul but this is extremely soulful. Also, the music video helps convey the message too. She uses this African-American kid who does witchcraft throughout the music video. She is also singing and running away from this kid on a roof. Florence + the Machine's music is very creative and deep.  

Test Prep--> Narrative Piece of Writing #1

      I recently finished the book, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen, and fell in love with it. The main character, Macy, is a teenager who experienced the perfect childhood. Her life was perfect until her father passed away. That's when she decided to isolate herself from anything that reminded her of the life she lived when her father was around. Everybody and everything but Jason. Jason is her perfect boyfriend who puts his academic goals first and Macy second. However, it's the summer before 12th grade and Jason chose to spend it at Brain Camp and keep in contact with Macy by e-mail. Macy ended her first e-mail with the words "I love you" and in Jason's reply he told her things were over. Macy then meets the chaotic Wish crew and Wes and her whole perspective of life changes. I think that meeting these people are what change her and her summer.

      To begin with, the way Macy saw life was dreadful and not fun at all until the Wish crew came along. The first thing they did was give Macy her job and then things took off from there. For example, one of the people in the catering business was Kristy,a fashion-obsessed young woman, who every night after work goes to some sort of party, hoping she will meet a guy there. Every night Kristy invites Macy out but Macy politely declines until one day she decides to live life a little and accepts. Kristy takes her back to her apartment and dresses her up. Macy was wearing clothing she was not used to and uncomfortable in. This was way out of what Macy normal style. She usually wore jeans and a short sleeve shirt but that night she was wearing a tank top and a short skirt with nurse shoes. I don't know what made Macy change her mind about going out but I'm glad she did. It gave the story a little bit more edge especially since Macy would usually spend her nights studying SAT words. Soon Macy was accepting every single offer from Kristy and the crew. This was causing her to come home later than usual and much happier. I think that meeting these people was exactly what she needed especially for a summer like the one she was going through.

      Secondly, Wes is another reason Macy's point of view of life changed drastically. Wes also worked for the Wish crew and he was the bartender of the party and the one who usually fixed things. The first time they met was when Macy's mom was having a Real Estate party and hired the Wish crew as the caterers of the party. Macy was sent to get more fliers in the garage when Wes' brother Bert came out from behind her and screamed, "Gotcha!" Macy's fliers flew all over the place, Bert realizing he had made a mistake scurried to pick up the fliers. He then explained that the "gotcha" was meant for Wes and not her. Wes then also apologizes but Macy didn't hear a thing because she was astounded by Wes' beauty. After that night Delia, the manager of the Wish crew, offered Macy a job and she took the job. Also, she got to know Wes through the game of Truth. They would ask each other the most deepest questions and would answer it truthfully. Soon they fell in love but they were both in complicated relationships at the moment. It wasn't until Wes ended things with his girlfriend that Macy knew Wes was the guy. I thought that this book was amazing and when they introduced the character of Wes it became even more amazing. I would love a guy like that. Anyways, Wes made a huge impact on Macy's life changing summer.

      In conclusion, the reason Macy changed was because of the people she surrounded herself with. It's true that the people you surround yourself with have an impact in your personality and can change you too. That's what happened to Macy and that's what happens to many people around the world too. Your friends and the people around you make you see things different ways and they slowly shape the person you turn out to be when you grow up.