sæglópur

á lífi

Kominn heim

Sæglópur

á lífi

Kominn heim

það kemur kafari

 

Alive

Has returned home

A lost seafarer

Alive

Has returned home

A diver comes

 

One of my favorite bands, Sigur Rós, wrote this song, and watching the video gets me crying every time.

 

 

Is there a song/music video or movie out there that brings tears to your eyes every time you hear/watch it? I find it fascinating that something made by a person that you do not even know can just reach in and get into the soft parts of your heart, figuratively speaking of course. In the video for Sæglópur, I find sadness. It kills me to see that boy get tangled up, and almost drowning. But when the diver arrives in the video, I am given hope that everything will get better. I suppose this gets to me because in my head, I automatically relate it to my own life. There've been times when I have been caught up in a group of people or an acitivity that was just bringing me down to the point where I had become fearful and I had just let myself die on the inside. Not being able to breathe underwater is completely different, but it felt as if I couldn't breathe the way I used to anymore, until one day, when I accepted Christ back into my life again. I was pulled out of my pain, and I was given a clean slate. I usually do not like to bring religion into my explanations for the reason of so many people believing differently, but this is the honest truth.  

 

That would have to be a video that affects me the most, but there are others. For example, The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. When I was younger, I balled my eyes out reading that book and watching the cartoon version of it. I have always loved trees. I still climb trees and hideout in them just like the good ole days. But all that was presented in the story of the Lorax tore my elementary school heart in half. I think I would love trees even more if they looked like they did in the book.

 

Another story would be the Fox and the Hound. I mean, c'mon, the friendship between two animals that were always meant to be enemies is sweet, but when they grow up and learn their place.. gosh, it's awful.

Waaaaaaaah :'(

part II

Honestly, tell me you found something wonderful in every photo. I am not saying this as in an "evaluate my photography and love it!" kind of way, but I am saying this as in a "look around and take it all in" kind of way. When I took those photos, I had seen something beautiful with my eye. I took them so that I could share what I had seen with others. We live in a beautiful world, and I feel as if its beauty is overlooked.

Kids these days are occupied by television/cinema, videogames, or sports. Though some physical activity may be outdoors, the atheletes are usually focused on their performance and their skill. I do not know many kids my age who actually go hiking or mountain biking for fun. I don't know many people who just like to take walks around the neighborhood. Why is it that our generation is glued to technology? With this, many of those kids go around saying that there is "nothing to do in Roanoke" and how they can't wait to get out of this dark hole of a place that we live in. Really? Nothing to do? There are plenty of activities to do. A drive on the parkway, kite flying at Green Hill Park, taking a rowboat ride in Carvin's Cove, biking, etcetera.

And are we spending our time to keep the area in which we live clean? It has been said that the threats that we have been able to detect as results of global warming are now becoming less visible to discover, which creates a problem in trying to stop the problem. Our world is suffering, and therefore, we are as well. But what do we care? We're pale skinned citizens that stay indoors being Gleeks (nickname for people who watch that show Glee?) and being completely into the latest episode of Lost. We've already started something that will keep going until it can't anymore. We're in some trouble here.

I like to take time to either sit, or walk around every day, and notice something that I hadn't before, or just take a second to completely absorb everything about where I was. I like taking in all the scents, sounds, and feeling the breeze or a small raindrop. I'll lay in the grass and peek through dandelions and blades of grass, thinking about what it would be like to be an ant crawling up a blade that is tiny compared to me. Trees are friends, and they wave in the breeze. Sometimes I wave back. I don't know if other people do the same, but I like to. I think that all things natural should be cherished while we have them. Our society keeps growing, and our resources are depleting. This is one message that I wish everyone would understand. Our planet is in danger. We knew the day would come when Jesus would come, or the Earth would stop spinning or any other theory that has been made would be likely to happen. Could this happen with our generation though?

You know when you're about to go to sleep and you're laying there thinking of possible scenarios of just about everything, torturing yourself? Well, this often pops up in my head and it scares me. I wish that there were more who cared about our environment, and took a look at it. Our world is truly a marvelous place.

just take a look at this (part I)

out there somewhere?

It’s hard to determine a “healthy” relationship these days. This does not have to be a reference to a romantic relationship, but really any type of relationship.

Sometimes I feel like it would almost be better without being so close to someone to have a relationship with them consistently. I know that I myself would not face the world alone, but I would not want to have any attachments. The time to oneself is for freedom, and for development of the person. If there is something present that would hold them back, what room do they have to grow?

Of course a good friend will stand beside you and help you in times of need, but they also respect privacy when one needs it. Is there a friend that you have that seems to feed off of your life for their own satisfaction? I didn’t mean to say it like that, but you know what I mean. Like, it’s for their benefit. Their life revolves around you.

It isn’t “healthy” to pry, and to restrict one from their wants. It isn’t “healthy” to know every single secret, or thought of a friend. When someone is trying to run your life, you know that there is something that just is not right.

This has been a problem for me lately, and I know of other people with the same problem of determining what exactly a “healthy” relationship is: A friend that had seemed so perfect at first turns out to be the biggest liar in the world, and ultimately leaves the other in pain; a recovering alcoholic that seems to be working hard and becoming a better person suddenly moves away and returns to old habits; all of these hurt. Those that are giving this pain to friends act as if nothing is wrong. Obviously, there IS wrong.

Now if we are talking about romantic relationships here, we’ve really got some issues. A friend that I have has a coworker that she says is who she wants to be when she is older. This woman has a husband, and a child, and every week they have a designated evening for dressing in their pajamas and playing with Legos. Her face lights up and she giggles whenever she hears her husband’s name. It is evident that she loves her family, and that she is perfectly content. What’s her secret? Can we have good relationships that will make us feel this way? That’s something I would like to know.

hey you! be like this!

Today, a blog by the name of Yes and Yes featured a guest post by a woman who was writing about how women feel the need to conform to the standards and qualities that either men or their society’s culture look for.
“Stop judging your worth by your appearance, like you're some collector's doll or a show dog. Stop doing things that you think are stupid just because it's culturally mandated. Stop accepting standards of beauty without asking where they come from, what they signify, what you think of them. Stop, stop, stop.”

A comment on this post read, “Isn't it interesting that our conformity ends up making everyone more isolated?” If you think about it, this statement is true. Everyone is beautiful in their own way, and there is no reason that any woman would need to want to look different than they already do.

Society has set these standards that have alienated the individuals out there. Women have a hard time keeping up with these outer appearances that make them desirable to those around them. What if you do not look like what is accepted? Will that mean that you will have less friends, be without a partner, or not get a job that you have applied for? Really, what is it that makes us judge by what is on the outside rather than what is within? It’s human nature. We can’t help it. But maybe we could try to digger a little deeper than what we can see with our eyes. Finding a soul that is genuine is much more rewarding than finding someone’s appearance to be unique and attractive to look at.

So please. Don't think this way. You are pretty. You are yourself. You are your own.

"pleasing everyone"

Today I was given a sneak peek at the song list for our upcoming prom, and was not pleased. But, this list is to "please everyone" and give a "variety" of what people our age listen to. NO. I know that my friends and I have different tastes then today's mainstream top hits, but really, if there were to be a variety for all people to enjoy, it would NOT look like the list that I had seen.

Not only is the dancing at school dances distasteful, but the music is even worse. I sound like the typical teenager when I say that music is my life, but really, music is my life. My mother is a music teacher, and I have been playing instruments since before I was even four years old. I was raised listening to Radiohead, The Police, R.E.M., Duran Duran, Dave Matthews Band, and U2 with my father, and Elton John, James Taylor, and the Carpenters with my mother. I was also taken to many symphonies when I was younger, and was exposed to various types of classical music. I actually didn't even listen to the radio on my own until I was probably in the third grade when I listened to a station that played chart hits from the thirties through the fifties, and to a station that had played contemporary Christian and worship songs. I began taking violin lessons when I was almost four years old, and have played ever since. Since then, I have picked up guitar, french horn, ukulele, melodica, and various other instruments. Each of these have different types of music that can be played with them. With violin, I play primarily folk music and old jigs from different cultures. With the french horn, I play regular band arrangements, and with the guitar, I will play anything from Jimi Hendrix to Bob Dylan to Coldplay. I would say that I am well educated in music, or at least I can appreciate most music at any level. Every type of music that I have ever been surrounded with has differed greatly from the next, which provides me with a diverse range of likes and very few dislikes. However, there is that music that I may find talentless, or really just all the same to me when I hear it, and that is what is played on radio stations like K92 or whatever those rap stations are.

I do appreciate music in all forms, but I find it to be a let down to turn on the television flipping past MTV and seeing rappers talking about women and money, with ladies all over them. I hear my little sister singing these lyrics, and I feel horrible about what kind of society is being brought up by this type of music. The melodies are not creative, and neither are the lyrics. And a slow song is definitely not "No Air" by Jordin Sparks. Just listen to it. I could make up a playlist right now that would make acceptable dancing music, without having vulgar language or lyrics that are just like anyone else's. With this being a school event, shouldn't music with those types of messages not be allowed? Look at how the kids are dancing, and listen to the words. Is this really even a dance at all anymore? If we're going to listen to rap, how about we check out some Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip?





How about that as a message? It's still got a good beat, and it has something informative to the audience.
So how about we change up this mix of Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Soulja Boy, and the Plain White T's.

life as a musical

“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” –Oscar Wilde

Theatre is an art that is ignored greatly among Americans, but treasured by other cultures. Why not spend more time in a theatre rather than sitting at home playing video games or watching television? Why go to the movies every weekend when there is a production playing close by that could in fact, have much more substance than the film that you are going to see? Not only plays, but musicals are a delightful source of entertainment, but they are often overlooked by many. Men, especially in adolescence seem to not particularly like theatre. It could either be that they are not comfortable enough with themselves or as they could say their “masculinity” to be seen in a setting such as that of a theatre. There is no need to be uncomfortable in the theatre. It can be appreciated by anyone.

Acting and singing as a combination, can express so much more than anything that could be said nowadays. The emotion is there, and all expression is raw. It is as real as it gets. Have you ever had a feeling that is so strong that you feel as if you will burst? Now, that does not always mean to burst into song, but just overflowing with that certain emotion. If life were to be a musical, or a play, everything would be more dramatic obviously, but it would be evident to everyone how a certain person was feeling, or what was going on. There would not be anything to hide. If only our experiences could empower us enough to sing and dance, or just even be a little more dramatic. As Wilde had put it, it is “the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” It reminds us that we are alive. There are stirred up feelings swirling about everywhere inside of us, just waiting to be released, but usually, they are just held in.

A talk with my guitar teacher, Cyrus, left me thinking about what life would be like if we were to go around singing and dancing, or just acting dramatically, for one single day. It would be completely different from anything that we’re used to, but it would be thrilling. I wish that this form of entertainment was appreciated more.

http://improveverywhere.com/?s=Musical
Now that’s what I’m talking about.