A Day Like Any Other

Today was another day in the life of a student. Last night I went to sleep at two for procrastinating over an english assignment. But I believe I slept early because other classmates, who also put it off, slept at four. But maybe four isn't sleeping at night any more, just sleeping early in the morning. It's kind of sad to realize that this is now normal to student life.

As usual, the day began slowly. There was a quiz here, and test results from another class. I was not very successful in either of these, but what can a person do? It's disappointing to think that after all the work you put into something, you just can't get it right. I received a zero on a homework assignment because my teacher thought that my classmate had cheated off of me, however, we did our work together and of course we would have the same answers. Teachers have no mercy. This is supposed to train us for the harsh world of reality, but classrooms are not democracies, they are dictatorships.

Not to "slam" on school, but it's not getting any better. Teachers are teaching less and society is expecting us to know more. We spend seven hours at school most of the week, and hardly learn anything whilst there. The new things that people learn everyday are the whispered gossipnews and how a person's legs jiggle in small shorts.

If society truly is in a mental decline, which I do not doubt, then change must start at school. School is where young minds grow an understanding of society, and today I learned a different and new use for the "f" word and that teachers do not listen to the quiet student, but will carry a full discourse with the pretty blonde in front about how a hairstyle can completely alter a person's appearance.

This is ridiculous.

Emancipated Minor

So today my mother was upset with me, as usual, because I never seem to do things the right way. Or at least her way of right. And she wonders why I don't cry when she's throwing her love out there at me, it's because I know a criticism is coming next. I know some people, or rather kids, suffer from physical and verbal abuse, but I suffer from ego abuse. Still I know I don't really have much to complain about.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, the house should be immaculate. Because I wasn't home last weekend, due to a church retreat, I was supposed to clean triply well today. Which doesn't really make sense if all I can do is dust furniture. I'm not going to wait around for the dust to settle, resettle, and resettle again before cleaning.

So at breakfast, while I was reading a magazine, my mother stopped by to state that I needed to catch up on my chores. I nodded and she walked away. Then she came back to tell me that my cleaning was horrible and that I should clean up my act. [I inwardly giggled when she said that, but she was quite serious and probably didn't notice her pun.] She was also very disappointed to have such an unorganized and messy daughter. This killed my morning and has been distracting me all day. I did clean the house in the hour that I was left at home alone today. [My parents took the van to get fixed and my sister went to watch Twilight.]

My sister is a whole 'nother subject. She comes home every weekend, but she goes to college about an hour and a half away. I don't understand why she thinks she can live here part time and not clean up after her own mess. I'm the younger one and I've got classes seven hours a day, five days a week, and yet she never stops to think that she can actually help me by doing chores. Of course my parents are so excited to see her every weekend, and usually let her do her own thing. I just don't understand why I am left to pick up the chores, especially when they disapprove of the work I do. I'd like to just stop doing them, but of course, that would not help anything. Then again, it might help my ego to be some sort of rebel.

While my mother was talking behind my back, literally, because we were in the same car, she said that I couldn't clean the house well enough. Which is probably a completely random subject that parents don't usually get upset with their children over. It's not just my room that I need to clean, but the entire house. And because my sister is gone, I now have to do her work too. But while riding along, my mother mumbled something about how one day they're going to wake up and I'll be gone because I'm fed up with chores. She said I'd be an emancipated minor. She laughed to herself because she knows I can't survive without the support, but still it made me think.

If I were an emancipated minor, what would I do? Get a job, an apartment near school so I don't have to worry about driving. And maybe make enough money to purchase some cheap used car that is miraculously still running. I fantasized about all the things I could do without being under the strict rule of my parents. Like go to a sleepover, or watch a movie at midnight, or have a dog!

But sadly these were just hopes and dreams that I know I will never attain. But who knows -- maybe one day I'll book it and end up somewhere in Canada.

Twilight Critique

So today, or rather last night at midnight, Twilight came out in theatres. Now I know I can't speak for the world, but I'm sure literate girls everywhere have already seen it, or are in the process of going to watch it. And because I'm fortunate enough to have girlfriends who have read the book, and others who just want to see why we're so excited, we all went to watch this afternoon.

Our local theater has one showing about every two hours. This was surprising because there was so much hype about the movie that you'd think they'd have a showing every hour. It was a good thing that my friends and I had checked the hours before hand, because people were getting their tickets early, and they were selling out fast. I heard that the 7:45 showing was getting booked really quickly because some girls wanted to watch Twilight at twilight, cute. And of course many others went to watch at midnight, which I'd love to do, but my parents don't let me out that late on school nights. And so, my friends and I took the earliest time we could get right after school let out; 4:45. After getting some cheap snacks and smuggling them into the theater, we got in line at about 3:40, some of my friends had gotten there around 3:25 and saved us a spot in the line. We thought it was the front of the line, but it was the front of the second line. While we waited about thirty minutes before they let us in, we examined other fans' shirts. There were some pretty random ones, of the homemade type, and some girls all wore the same shirt. My plan was to just buy apples and hold them. Cheap, book-related, and we could eat it later. But in the rush to get in line, we decided to forgo the plan. Most of these fans were teenyboppers, young teenage girls who got caught up with this hype, and their moms.

The previews started and many looked interesting, but when Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince showed up, it elicited cries from the audience, most of these people were into movies based off of books, which, I admit, is what I am. Then came the Feature Presentation sign. Everyone was screaming, I got into it, but enough was enough. It's difficult to put into words the excitement that we all felt.

The movie started with almost abstract shots, which easily caught attention, more screaming. The movie jumped right into the plot, introducing characters quickly. Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan fit her role quite well. She is not gorgeous, but pretty in a plain-Jane way. I'm not sure that she was always this pale, but she looked fragile and vulnerable just as Bella should appear. Later, during the scene where the Cullen siblings were introduced, people were shifting and nudging and screaming. Then at last, they introduced Edward Cullen, portrayed by Robert Pattinson. He looked somewhat like he was mad with the world in some scenes, but in others he looked so relaxed. The character does have strange mood swings and he accommodated the changes well. In my honest opinion, and I can tell that the girls around me in the entire theater thought so too, Robert Pattinson is indeed fine. Now perhaps it's the character that he plays that people are in love with, (And what girl is not attracted to a good-looking guy that will die for her?) but he is still just a handsome guy. His hair was a mess and all I wanted to do was run my hands through it. In a scene where his shirt is half open and his skin glimmering in the light of the sun, I swear, I heard moaning. I don't think it was me, but in my mind I was thinking it. A few of my friends down the aisle from me were saying, "Oh damn." And was the perfect phrase to describe it. The character Jacob Black, Taylor Lautnor, was not in the movie enough. It's true that in this book there was not a lot of emphasis on him, yet he showed up only four times in the entire movie, I think they'll regret that decision later. As a Native American, a Quileutte, he had long hair, I think that he should have tied it up because it looked like it kept getting in the way. In the first scene with Jacob and Bella in an old truck, I saw him moving his hair away with both hands, quite a distraction. Charlie, Bella's father, played by Billy Burke, was depicted well, a father with not much to say, but always there to care for his daughter, and Forks, because he is the Sheriff. Bella's mother, Renee, had few scenes and was portrayed well. Alice Cullen had a minor role, as did Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, and Esme. Ashley Greene fit the physical role, but Alice wasn't shown much. Jasper was supposed to look like he was in pain, but looked constipated through the movie. I think he had about four lines in the movie. Emmett, also with few lines was not shown enough. Nikki Reed, playing Rosalie, was not what I had imagined when reading the book, but she acted with the cruel jealousy of the character. Esme was what I was expecting, but her role was also very small. Dr. Carlisle Cullen fit his character well. However since he played a vampire he was supposed to be pale. His face was pale enough and the bleachblonde of his hair clashed with the powder. Also, the powder apparently did not reach his throat, which was actually pretty tan. Bella's schoolmates played their roles well and were quite humorous. As for the villains, James looked creepy and played his pscyho role well. Victoria and Laurent were pretty much left out of it though.

The plot, as I said, was developed really fast and when Bella met Edward, it got slow. As conflict arose, it was rushed. I am just a big fan of love stories, and this movie put a lot of emphasis on this impossible relationship. People who haven't read the book and fallen in love with this relationship already will fall for it now. I don't think I've ever heard so many contented sighs when watching a movie. I do think there was a little too much emphasis on their relationship, but with two hours, it's difficult to put it in with all the other elements. And so the other elements got pushed out! Many main characters felt minor because their stories were not built up enough. Yet perhaps it is because of my feminine side, but I am content with just the love story, and everything else in there is just nice. But really, where's the rest of the book? (I did enjoy the quick shot of author Stephenie Meyer though.) The courtship of Bella and Edward did escalate rather quickly into heated kisses, some of which I was expecting to develop into more, but because I've read the book, I knew it wouldn't go any further than kissing. (That does not mean I wasn't hoping for more, he's hot!) The end of the movie was sweet, but it also prepped us for an upcoming sequel.

Out of 10, I think the movie would be a 6, due to a very loose following of the book, lack of action, and even though I'm a weakling for love stories, not all people are. (Also lack of love action. Just kidding.) Also the acting could have been a lot better for the minor characters. But if I did not think about all of which I just critiqued, I'd give it 13892347, because it's a LOVE STORY and Robert Pattinson was so good-looking, it was distracting and I might never have been able to understand the plot because of him, I would be so lost had I not already read the book. I feel bad for those girls who did not read Twilight. But I think they too were just intrested on the eye candy. He makes it hard to ignore him, especially with that ruffled look and his chest out for everyone to see. I hope that that doesn't make him feel like some sort of object. I loved it anyway. I guess I'm just one of those crazy fans.