C.O.A.- Girl in Translation

     Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok is a novel during the Immigration Era through a chinese-american girl's point of view. Kimberly Chang and her mother emigrate from Hong Kong to Brooklyn. In Hong Kong, she was the smartest and most adored student in her class, however, when she arrived at her new school she became the dumbest and the social outcast of the class. Her teacher mocks her and on top pf that she begins living a secret double life. Trying to be exceptional schoolgirl during the day and a Chinatown sweatshop worker in the evenings. Kimberly has to learn how to constantly translate not just her language but herself back and forth between her two identities.
     The setting of Girl in Translation takes place in the late nineteen hundreds. I think that the setting thios bbok takes place in is very significant to the story. If it weren't for the time period I think that things would have gone better for Kimberly. Her life at school might have been easier and she wouldn't have had to balance out her double life at the factory. She could have focused more on her swchool work and not her work at the Chinatown sweatshop.
        Through Kimberly's story, author Jean Kwok, who also emigrated from Hong Kong as a young girl, brings to the page the lives of countless immigrants who are caught between the pressure to succeed in America, their duty to their family, and their own personal desires, exposing a world that we rarely hear about. Written in an indelible voice that dramatizes the tensions of an immigrant girl growing up between two cultures, surrounded by a language and world only half understood, Girl in Translation is an unforgettable and classic novel of an American immigrant-a moving tale of hardship and triumph, heartbreak and love, and all that gets lost in translation.

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.  
             

Test Prep --> #1 Poetry and/ or Song Lyrics

"What Makes You Beautiful" One Direction

You're insecure,

Don't know what for,

You're turning heads when you walk through the door,

Don't need make-up,

To cover up,

Being the way that you are is enough,

Everyone else in the room can see it,

Everyone else but you,

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

If only you saw what I can see,

You'll understand why I want you so desperately,

Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

Oh oh,

That's what makes you beautiful

So c-come on,

You got it wrong,

To prove I'm right,

I put it in a song,

I don't know why,

You're being shy,

And turn away when I look into your eye eye eyes,

Everyone else in the room can see it,

Everyone else but you,

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

If only you saw what I can see,

You'll understand why I want you so desperately,

Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

Oh oh,

That's what makes you beautiful

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na,

Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na [x2]

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful (Oh)

If only you saw what I can see,

You'll understand why I want you so desperately (Desperately),

Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,

You don't know,

Oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,Oh oh (x2)

That's what makes you beautiful

      One Direction is a British-Irish boy band that has taken over music and stolen most of Justin Bieber's fans.

Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan, and Harry Styles all auditioned independently for the

"X Factor UK" in 2010 and got put into a group by Simon Cowell. Over the course of two years their music has infected many people around the world, they have published two books, sold out many concerts, and have released an album. I will admit that I have Direction-Infection and that I am  true directioner. The song,"What Makes You Beautiful", is the most popular song on their recently released album. Most of the songs on the album are about girls, relationships, and love. However, this song stands out because the message that's trying to be delivered is that everybody is beautiful.

    
      To begin with, in the first verse it mentions this girl's insecurities and what she considers to be her flaws which are an example of reasons girls don't feel beautiful. Girls are always finding their flaws and stressing out about them instead of showing off what they love about themselves. In the first verse they say:                

"You're insecure,

Don't know what for,

You're turning heads when you walk through the door,

Don't need make-up,

To cover up,

Being the way that you are is enough,"

In the first two lines they are telling this girl that she shouldn't be insecure and if she is that they don't know why because to their eyes she is flawless. In lines four through six they are talking about how this girl doesn't need make-up and should accept who she is not try to cover up her flaws with make-up. The beat that they also start off with a beat that would make anyone stop what they are doing and listen to them. In the music video too. They are at the beach and Liam Payne starts off the song looking into the camera singing very persuasively. It's like he is talking to every single person watching the music video or listening to the song that they are all beautiful.   

       Next, the chorus of the song mentions various times in different ways that everybody is beautiful. The chorus repeats many times times throughout a song. The effect that the chorus has on a song and especially this song is tremendous. Especially the way that the beat changes gives it the catchy but not corny effect to the song. For example, the lyrics to the chorus are: 

Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know,

This entire verse is talking about how this special girl makes them feel and how beautiful she is. The first line talk about how just one glimpse of her can put a smile on their faces. The words "light up my world" are comparing this girl to the sun and saying that she is now their sun. Then they start singing about how when she flips her hair they get butterflies in their stomachs. Its saying that when she does things, even the littlest things, get them nervous in a good way. Then it ends the verse referring back to her insecurities by noticing how this girl looks at the ground when she smiles. This shows insecurity because people only do that when they hate their smile or think their laugh is discordant. One Direction created and amazing chorus to go along with the song and the theme; everybody is beautiful.

       All in all, One Direction's song is a very inspirational song and it's one of those songs a person puts on replay when they need a bolster in self esteem. Personally, I think that this song is amazing and is currently my favorite song along with the rest of their album. Truth is this happens in life everyday to somebody in the world. They find what they don't like about themselves and torment themselves until a point where you just need to be reminded that they are beautiful. Everybody is beautifully whether it is internally or externally.

Water in Baz Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet

            Baz Lurhmann's version of Romeo and Juliet was a great introduction into William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Even though he kept the script the same he changed the settings and made them more modern. While watching the movie, I didn't catch a lot of what the characters were saying, but the setting and what was happening in the background would help me infer what was going on. For example, when Romeo and Juliet got married there was bright lighting, cheerful singing, and smiles on their faces. Also the wedding dress kind of gave it away too. I also liked how he changed the Capulets and the Montagues using swords to the Capulets and the Montagues using guns in the movie.
            Throughout this movie I took notes on the symbolism of water. Water was everywhere in this movie. There was water when somebody would die, or when Romeo and Juliet would meet. It was like water played another obstacle to their love other than their families. Then again, I think that it is because water was everywhere in Verona. There were fountains, pools, beaches, fish tanks, tubs, sinks, and continuous storms. Water plays a huge role in this movie and it symbolizes how tragic and pleasant life can be.

            Water represents the enchanting things in life because that is how Juliet is introduced, it's how Romeo and Juliet meet, etc. In the beginning Juliet is introduced with her head plunged into a sink of water, her hair is floating, and her eyes are wide open. With her hair floating around and the fact that she has no make-up on gives off this feeling that a lot of her image has to do with beauty and sexuality. But then again it makes her seem so pure. I think in that scene, Juliet is trying to escape the world outside of her sink of water. She's looking for a way to leave this party without actually leaving. Later on, we find Romeo also doing the same except he's not trying to escape. Earlier, Romeo had taken some kind of drug which was making him hallucinate. He had gone into the bathroom to try and wash his face to see if that helped a little bit. In this part he is positioned exactly like Juliet. His head is in the sink of water, his hair is floating, and his, clear ocean blue, eyes are opened wide. I think that here Baz Lurhmann was trying to show the little similarities that Romeo and Juliet had. It was like he was using the saying that, "your eyes are the window to your soul." I felt that you could actually see a tiny piece of Romeo and Juliet's soul. Also, when Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time. I thought that was a magical moment. It was love at first sight. What appealed to me was that their figures were distorted through the fish tank. I interpreted it as if Romeo and Juliet's family think so big of themselves that it would be impossible for them to ever have a relationship. Like their pride is worth much more than shaking hands and letting their children have a relationship.

            Water also symbolizes the tragedies that happen in life. For example, Tybalt dies, Mercutio dies, Romeo is depressed, and Romeo is banished. Tybalt and Mercutio both die in the same scene, first Mercutio dies and then Tybalt quickly follows him. Tybalt is killed by Romeo and Mercutio is killed by Tybalt. These deaths both happen near water. Romeo and his friends are at the beach when Tybalt and his friends drop by. Tybalt was furious because Romeo was at the Capulet party that he was not invited to and therefore Tybalt had come to get his revenge. Unfortunately, Tybalt ends up on the ground but quickly grabs a piece of glass and stabs Mercutio, Romeo's best friend. While they were fighting there was thunder rippling out of the dark, gray sky. When Mercutio dies it starts to pour and that's when Romeo loses it. He jumps into his car and steps on the gas to catch up with Tybalt. He wasn't going to let Tybalt get away with it. When he catches up he collides into Tybalt's vehicle, tumbling it all over the place. It was currently pouring like crazy and somehow Romeo gets Tybalt at the top of the stairs to the fountain. That's when he pulls the trigger multiple times on Tybalt. As Tybalt dies he falls backwards into the fountain behind him. He leaves an enormous splash behind him. I think that this part of the movie is where Lurhmann tried to include water as much as he could. He was trying to get his point across to the audience that water doesn't only symbolizes the clear, pure moments in life but also the fatal. And he absolutely got that point across to me.

             Baz Lurhmann did an amazing job with this movie. To convert the play from an old english time to modern time is difficult to do. Not only that but he incorporated color, the use of weather, camera angles, light, and sound to make this movie amazing. I also think he did an astonishing move by casting, heartthrob, Leonardo DiCaprio as Romeo. He accomplished the difficult personality of Romeo and also Romeo's ravishing beauty.  

You Can't Learn How To Love

            I am currently reading the book Lovetorn by Kavita Daswani. Shalini, the main character, is from India and just recently moved to L.A. Like most Indian children, Shalini has an arranged marriage, and has been forced into "love". She has been engaged since she was three-years-old with a boy named Vikram that's about four years older than her. They have gone out on dates, e-mailed each other, talked on the phone like a regular couple and think they feel love for each other. Shalini doesn't figure out that she has been living a false relationship until she meets Toby. 
             Shalini has an arranged marriage, and has been forced into "love". I put love in between quotation marks because the kind of love she thinks she has found is one that she has been taught to feel since she was three-years-old. It's not the true feeling of love that you feel when you first see that someone. The butterflies in your stomach. The feeling of your lungs suffocating for air. And your heart beating so loud, it's about to break through your skin. All of this is the true feeling and meaning of love. And I might be wrong because all of my information is based off of my parent's relationship, television shows, movies, etc. I might not be a hundred percent sure but I'm confident that I'm close.
             I think that arranged marriage is a crime and it should be illegal. The family of the two "lovers" should go to jail and the "lovers" too, for pretending to feel something they don't to please their families and fulfill their traditions. Love isn't a feeling that you learn to do, it's a feeling that comes naturally from the soul. I predict that Shalini goes through these feelings and questions in the book. She's going to ask herself the purpose of these marriages, the meaning of love, and something about herself along the way. I also predict she's probably going to put her parents through a nightmare when they find out about . From the minute that I read the blurb on this book I knew that I needed to read it. The fact that it was about how an Indian girl with an arranged marriage finds true love told me to check it out. I still haven't finished the book but I have a feeling that it will be great.
                           

The All Star Mentor

          My nomination of the all-star mentor should be Elsie. In this blog post she has everything well thought out and written. Also her paragraphs show how much thought she put into this. Her first paragraph was her retelling, but it wasn't the kind of retell that made you want to fall asleep, it was the kind that made you want to go a library and check-out the book.She also did a good job of elaborating on her paragraphs. Another reason she deserves this award is because not only does she put effort in her posts but she also made her background very amusing and she has these slide shows about things she loves. My point is that her blog is eye-catching and jaw-dropping. All in all, I nominate Elsie for the All Star Mentor award.
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