Music Review

Song: Just a Dream (Cover)

Artists: Christina Grimmie & Sam Tsui

      If you haven’t heard of Nelly’s song, Just a Dream, I advise you to listen to that prior to this one. The beat of the original one is faster and has more pop than the one in the cover.

      I came across this song out of boredom, and the first time I heard this cover, I loved it. I liked it way more than the actual song. I have a taste for every genre of music, but if you are interested in slower music, you should check this song out. The two singers are not professional, but they are truly amazing. I chose this song because they aren't famous (yet) and some famous people create awful music, but the people who aren't discovered yet are really really good. They have other songs on their youtube pages if you want to hear more from them.

      In the video/cover, every beat, lyric is recorded by them. Both of them can hold long and high notes, their vocals are amazing, and it doesn’t sound bad or squeaky. If I rate them on a scale of 10, I would say 10. Both of them are truly talented and they don’t need any of their music to be edited because it sounds perfect just the way it is. They can sing different songs and still sound incredible. Honestly, I don't know exactly how to describe this song, but just go check it out to see for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT8gcZh_42w

Jay and Nick. - The Great Gatsby

Jay and Nick are different in their own ways. Jay is wealthy and likes to go according to plans. Nick goes with the flow and isn’t extremely wealthy, or extremely poor.

People may view Jay and Nick’s friendship/relationship fake. Jay is using Nick to see his love, Daisy. Nick is second cousins with Daisy so he could help Jay with seeing her again. However I disagree with that statement. Sure, Jay and Nick are different and come from different families, but they can still be friends.

Everyone has a friend who is nice and always there for you. They do favors for you when you need them to, even if it seems like you’re asking for too much. Nick is simply helping Gatsby and that is what friends do, so why is that considered fake? Is it not when a friend helps you, they are called a real friend?

Readers may believe Nick is using Jay for becoming more popular, or having the image of being luxurious. Or Jay is using Nick for Daisy. However, Nick does not like being a rich airhead, so why would he use Gatsby to appear so? Possibly, Gatsby only has his wealth as an option to repay Nick for helping him with Daisy. Nick also says Gatsby turned out differently than he thought he would, so possibly it could be a reason why Gatsby is not using Nick. I may be wrong since I did not read far enough to know what else their relationship is like, but at this moment I do not think that their relationship is fake. 

Winter Poem.

(By the way, this is not about anyone. I was just typing randomness and throwing it together. And since everyone loves Christmas and the holidays, I thought I'd write about the opposite. Also because winter is dark and cold.)

Goodbye fall, it’s back to December.

Did you forget when we’d dream about the times together?

Fighting for the cookie jar like it was a guilty pleasure.

Drink hot cocoa and have snowball fights for forever.

But please give me your eyes; I just want you to have a memory to take.

Look around and look at the snowflakes,

Doesn’t it remind you of our meteor shower?

We used to be so strong and have so much power.

You took me ice skating and played in the snow every day,

And you were always there for me during the holidays

But these things have changed and I surrender,

But don’t forget our December.

Thankful for a Classmate

I am a freshman at Whitney Young, therefore I do not know many people. But I am thankful for everyone in my class.

American Literature is one of my favorite classes, and it would not be the same without the people who made it that way.  Third period doesn’t make me tired in the mornings even though it’s my first class period. I am thankful for the interesting class discussions, and the randomness that occurs when we get off topic. Even though I do not talk much in that class, I still find that class fun and enjoyable. I am thankful for the creativity in the questions that are asked, the projects we are given, the blogs we have to write. I like the calmness of the class as well. Nobody gets in trouble or yelled at and class can be fun and serious at the same time. I am thankful for being placed in this class because this class is different from the other ones I take. My past literature classes were dreadful, but I am thankful that this one is not. The work we do may not be interesting but somehow I find it not that bad sometimes. I would like to thank everyone for making this class this way. 

I Am Plow.

A plow is a tool used to make the fields easier to plant crops and so they are easier to grow; it is pushed or pulled by a person to be able to use it.

I am not literally a plow, but I can relate to one.  My parents push me to do better. They want me to be better at everything I can do. They just want it to be easier for me in the long run when I get older.

My dad makes me do vocabulary 24/7; in the car going to school, over the summer, whenever he can squeeze it into my schedule. He never takes any of my excuses not to do vocabulary. He always says I’ll thank him when I have to study for ACT. He signs me up for extracurricular activities all the time, so I can learn new things, and not be accustomed to do the same things all the time. He forces me to go on vacations around the world so I can learn about the world, and to think about topics with a wider view.

Both my parents make me take Chinese classes. Everyday. I’ve been taking Chinese ever since I was about 6 years old. I’ve never paid attention to my classes on Sunday, so I still have to take them. My dad wants me to study Chinese in China next year, or to be tutored in Chicago all summer so I can take AP Chinese next year (not happening). I learned Cantonese when I was young, and my mom makes me speak it to her instead of English so I’ll remember the language. It sucks having to take Chinese everyday of the week, but my parents just push me harder to be successful in the future. 

Third Period American Literature.

American literature is one of my favorite classes and there isn’t anything I’d want to really adjust in that class. It’s enjoyable which is hard for me to say because literature isn’t my strongest subject. I like the idea of blogging, its creative and you can talk about your thoughts without worrying about grammatical errors. I like the journal entries and the music that is played during that time. The only thing I don’t like too much, is taking notes. Reading and taking notes is hard for me, it’s not fun to do at all. If I’m reading a good book, it’s hard for me to stop and write notes down if I can just remember it since it’s an important part in the story. If we have to take notes, we should be able to use them on a quiz or test. Besides notes, I like the class just the way it is.

Modern Slavery

sweat·shop

–noun

a shop employing workers at low wages, for long hours, and under poor conditions.

The thirteenth amendment officially abolished slavery everywhere in the United States in 1865. However, slavery still exists in other parts in the world, but we don’t know about it or possibly even care. Slavery is a worldwide issue and there are people working in sweatshops in many countries at this very moment.

I’m not allowed to do certain things because of my parents’ orders, just like other kids. However, they aren’t the type of regular things like be home before dark or finish your homework before you go out; but for me, I can’t purchase certain things, or wear certain shoes, like products of Nike. 

The first thing that immediately came to my mind for the topic of modern slavery was Nike. Millions of Americans are consumers of major industries that are associated with sweatshops, like Nike. A lot of people don’t know the Nike Company overwork people and the workers are only paid a very small amount. The largest producers of Nike shoes are the factories located in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, India and Thailand.

For example, Nike has been accused of taking advantage of children in Pakistan to make soccer balls. If we were to go to a store to purchase a soccer ball, the chances are that the soccer ball was made by one of the more than 200 children in Pakistan, which some are as young as 4 or 5. The more we purchase these items, the demand of the products is higher, which increases the demand for cheap labor.

Nike is a very popular company, so nobody cares about how the shoe was made, as long as they get to wear it. People don’t care about the hard labor on the children because they think, “well it’s the style, and a lot of other people wear Nike, so why do I have to be the one to feel guilty about wearing them? It’s not like one person can make the difference.” Or something like, “these shoes are so comfortable, so I don’t really care.” This is my opinion, but I know it’s the truth because people have said it to me before. I don’t believe the Nike Company will change the ways they produce their items, just like the way I don’t believe Global Warming will come to an end.

Indonesian workers make $2.46 a day, Vietnamese workers make $l.60 a day, and Chinese workers make $1.75 a day.

You pay over $100 for a pair of shoes that cost less than five dollars to make.