LOL... Five

So today, i realized something. I realized something that i never really understood before, until now. You see, before, i always thought that love was this magical thing. A simple, heartwarming feeling that two people shared. Like a girlfriend and a boyfriend, or a husband and a wife. But today, i spent my day watching re-runs of One Tree Hill and celebrating an "early" thanksgiving with my family. A simple day, chill, comfortable, relaxing, being thankful for everything life has given us, but as i was lying in bed, watching these reruns, and i found myself being selfish. The truth is, i don't like celebrating holidays anymore. Well i do, but ever since me and my family moved to Canada, every holiday: Christmas, easter, thanksgiving, i have spent with my mom, dad, and brother, while the rest of my family have been in Scotland. Together. I'm here, on this long weekend, in my house, with food, a room, a family... and i am so thankful for all of that; but sometimes, i catch myself being selfish. How can i be surrounded in the love of my mom, dad. and brother, but at the same time be so angry and unhappy, because i'm not with everyone that i want to be with? Its not fair. Its not fair that we take love for granted. I realized that love comes in all different shapes and sizes; there are marriages, friendships, relationships. We can love boy friends, husbands, friends, pets, and all the same... it is still considered love. I realized that sometimes we have to open our eyes and look around... because love is all around us; all we have to do is acknowledge it.

LOL... Four ---Life without love---

Life without love,

Is a bee without its hive.

No sweetness to bear,

And no family inside.

Life without love,

Is a black and white flower.

No emotions or flare,

To flaunt it's colour.

Life without love,

Is a sun without shine.

Not a ray of light,

To make one feel alive.

Life without love,

Is like war without peace.

No end to the hatred,

The world will unleash.

[CHORUS]

Life needs love, and love needs life.

When you mix them together,

The world's just right.

When you're missing a link,

The pieces will fall,

Cause a life without love,

Is no life at all.

[VERSE TWO]

Life without love,

Is a book with empty chapters.

Nothing to imagine,

And dream about after.

Life without love,

Is symphony without sound.

No beauty to hear

Or magic to be found.

Life without love,

Is laughter without a smile.

No contageous grin,

To keep you happy for a while.

Life without love,

Is a bike with no wheels.

Nothing to keep you going,

And no wind to feel.

When you're missing a link,

The pieces will fall,

Cause a life without love,

Is no life at all.

 ~ Written for this purpose of this blog by Rebecca Callender (Grade 11)

---This song, to me is proof that in todays society, people feel like without love, life is somewhat "incomplete".  When i asked Becca to write a song from her perspective about love and life, i wanted to see what she would write so that i could analyse it for this blog. However, i learned something more. I learned that the way Becca thinks is the way so many people, including me, think. We all want love, we feel like we need love. Without it, we believe to be incomplete. From the song there is a line,  "A life without love is no life at all" this line proves that we feel that without love in ones life, there is an incomplete feeling.  Nothing in life is the same without love, things would be so different. We depend so much on our feelings, we want to feel loved, however, since, as teenagers, we all have different interpretations of love, which causes confusion. This song is beautifully written, and truly captures the general feeling of love from a teenager. Thank you so much Bee for writing this amazing song! You have talent my dear! 

... Lisa D <3

LOL... Three

In today’s day and age, we have discovered so much, we have worked continuously to find the solutions to life’s problems, the answers to our own questions. However, there are some questions that still remain unanswered. There are still moments that we wish we could take back, and still problems with no solutions. Over the years we have come to realize that the unsolved problems, the unanswered questions, the unstoppable, these are the things that we fear the most. We fear death, we fear life, we fear endings, we fear beginnings, and we fear love. Death, life, endings, beginnings, and love; also known as: the unanswered. Although it is hard to admit, we aren’t perfect, no one is. We can get hurt, we can be scared, and we cannot know everything, if we did, there would be no such thing as the future. With this knowledge, I have made the “unanswered” my passion. More specifically, I have made love my passion.  Love is the unanswered, it scares us, hurts us, and confuses us, but all the while it makes us wonder. Love is a temporary insanity. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides, and when it subsides you are faced with a decision. You have to figure out that your roots have become so tangled together that it is unimaginable that you will ever be separated. This is not what love is, that is what love is thought to be. However, love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the declaration of promises of never ending passion; no, that’s just being "in love" which we can all convince ourselves of. Love is one of the most confusing aspects in life, and it gets us every time; the difference between love and infatuation. Love itself is what is left over when being “in love” has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Love is what happens when we have roots that grew towards each other underground, becoming tangled together, and when all the beautiful blossoms fall from our branches, we find out that we are one tree and not two separate trees. This is love; the one thing that has been on the minds of everyone for so many years, the one thing that has, and always will, bewilder us, the one thing that keeps us wondering all throughout life. There is one thing that I have realized, but I haven’t found the answer yet. No matter how hard the question, if there is no answer; people are automatically attracted to it. Like the things we want are the things we can’t have; we know we can’t have them, but we spend so much of our time trying to get to them, only to be hurt in the end. Maybe it is just the curiosity of human kind that keeps us in search of love. Or maybe it is the fear of not knowing, so we allow ourselves to be hurt, in attempt to find the answers. The truth is I don’t think we will ever know the answer, however for as long as we don’t know it, we will search for it. Its human nature I suppose; determination, wonder. It teaches us lessons, lessons that keep us intrigued, lessons about the unanswered, the unknown. They are the Lessons of Love, and they are my passion.  

"Mad World" Tears For Fears remake by Gary Jules

  "Mad World" by Gary Jules is a remake of the original Tears For Fears song. Although they have the same lyrics, the two songs have very different effects on their listeners. In the original version of the song, the music is more upbeat and gives the song energy while in Gary Jules remake, the music is slower and mellow. The music in the original version is more 80's and techno, using instruments like drums, and electric guitar to add to the song. In the remake, the music is transformed and becomes very calm using a simple piano. The settings in the original is also very different from the setting of the Gary Jules version. The original takes place inside a large house, with the artist looking out a window out onto a field. It is almost as if he is wanting to be freed, or to explore a new aspect of life. In the remake the setting is very different. Now, instead of the artist looking out into an empty field, Jules is standing on a rooftop in, what appears to be, a city. He is looking over top of all the people in the city, watching how they move, and realizing the world below him. These two versions of "Mad World" show that even when the lyrics are the same, the overall mood of the song can be completely transformed just by the way it is sung.

LOL... Two

So... this is the perfect picture... it used cards to write the word "Love" however cards are a game, they are used for gambling and they always have a "some you win some you lose" ending to every game. Just like love. We never truly know how to play the game of love, we just play it, because we, as humans, enjoy the drama that it brings, we enjoy the crap that it causes, because with drama and with crap, we get attention. And we also love the good parts of love, like the feelings we get when we are with the person we love. That happy feeling in the pit of your stomach, that makes you say to yourself "i never want this to end". But then we wake up one day, and reality hits us hard... and we come to our senses and realize that, love is like a game of cards: some you win some you lose, but you never stop playing them, you can even become addicted to them, because we like the feeling, it is our natural "rush". It never gets old. This isn't always a bad thing though, because, well, HEYY! its fun isn't it?!?!? not knowing if your going to win, not knowing how to properly play the game, just taking it day by day, and putting your heart on the line. Its what we do... so for some people: gambling is their addiction, but for others: their addiction is simply love. Its a game! A love game! so... go play :)

Assignment #2: song cover

Michael Jackson is the ultimate king of pop, his music was and probably always will be sang by millions of people across the globe. His song "Wanna be startin somethin" had a great African style beat in the background. The beat went "Mamase, mamase, mamasa, mamacosa..." This beat was huge, and it has been used in so many other songs over the years. One song that used this beat is Rhianna's "Please don't stop the music". This song was one of Rhianna's first songs on the charts, it helped make her who she is today. It brought her fame and success, and it used this famous beat to do so. Also, since both singers are of African decent, the fact that they shared this beat to help get their careers off the ground is awesome. Its a great thing to have in common, and it is a very special way for the two artists to relate to one another.

Assignment #1: song cover

The original version of heartless by kanye west was huge when it first came out onto the charts. It was a great song by a very popular artist at the time. When i listened to Kanye sing this song it sounded like he was angry. It felt like the song was his way of sharing emotions with someone. It reminded me of times that were hard to deal with. So maybe Kanye was going through a tough time and he wrote this song to one person in particular. I felt like maybe he had experienced a break up with his girlfriend, or a death, and he was angry and sad about it. Then when i came across the cover of this song by The Fray, my point of view changed. I now felt sad and confused, instead of angry. It changed the whole perspective of the song. When The Fray took this classic R&B, Hip Hop style song and made it into an acoustic, soft rock song, they changed the overall feel of the song. Now, when i listen to this song i feel like they experienced a very sad time or depression, and this is their way of expressing it. They could be talking about anything from a death to an illness. They now are going through mixed emotions, they feel sad, and like someone left them so they are lonely. He is wondering how someone he loves can be heartless. The difference between these songs is that Kanyes style is more hard core, and angry, whereas the frays style is more soft, sad, and slow. The difference of genre and style can change the mood of the song entirely. In my opinion, both songs are amazing, but the frays cover was my favorite, since it made the song easier to relate to.