Well, lovely people, this is it.

I'll be leaving for London on Friday and holy crap am I nervous/excited/weirded out. I'll be there for eight weeks, and while there I'll be doing a few things:

1. Interning. The reason I have this amazing opportunity to begin with. I'll be working in PR for the full eight weeks and getting my first real delve into the professional world. 
2. Keeping a travel journal. This is both for me and for my school. I'm applying for a Distinction in Writing for my graduation in April 2015 and to do this, I have to do a great many writing-specific activities outside school. One of those things is keeping a travel log and writing in it every day I'm abroad for at least six weeks.
3. Travel blogging. For the entries that need a more multimedia presence. And to keep everyone at home updated on my shenanigans without spamming Facebook.
4. Contributing to an online magazine. I've already been doing this for a few weeks but it'll be quite a challenge writing articles pertaining to my school while I'm... not at school. 
5. Blogging for my internship class. I have to be enrolled in an internship course in order for my internship to count for credit. In order to receive credit, I need to blog once a week about either my internship or an assigned reading. This is on an official GVSU Writing Department blog, so these posts are more private.
6. Enjoying London. I've dreamt about working in London for a long time. And in order to really experience that, I want to gain every experience I can while I'm there. I don't know the next time I'll get an opportunity like this so I might as well enjoy it.

I leave for London in 11 days.

Woah.

As my departure quickly approaches, I find myself teetering back and forth between two extremes: extreme excitement and extreme anxiety. It's been my dream to live in London since before I can remember and now that it's actually happening I'm not quite sure how to wrap my head around it. I mean, I'm going to be in an entirely different country in a week and a half. That's heavy stuff. Plus, I'm going to be alone. Well, okay, not alone in the literal sense. I'll have roommates and program advisors. And I'll be working full-time so that'll be a nice distraction. But it's the small things that are starting to get to me.

You see, I grew up in the country. I live on a ten-acre plot of land on a dirt road behind a ginormous horse barn. You can't get more country than that. Unless of course I was living on said horse farm. But let's not get crazy. The gist of it is that the closest I've gotten to city life is living on a university campus that neighbors a corn field. It's safe to say that I'm a bit nervous about being plopped in the middle of one of the most famous cities in the word with just enough money to get by and spending most of said money to rely on public transportation. I'm no germaphobe but, again, the only real experience I've had with public transport was my college's jank bus system and a three-day trip to NYC four years ago. Supervised.

Jeepers.

I'm already predicting severe homesickness. I love my family and my bed and my crazy half-clean room. I also love my friends. I've been hanging out with them a lot lately since the beginning of summer had us all in a tissy schedule-wise and thanks to that I'm reminded of how much I'm going to miss them. International calling is no fun for either party and the time difference doesn't help even if I am on Skype whenever I'm at my flat. It's going to be hard to keep in touch and, honestly, I'm hoping that I'll be so busy enjoying the experience to forget about it. Because that's what usually happens, right? Right?

On the bright side, this will be one of the most amazing experiences of my life thus far, if not the most amazing. I'll be living in freaking London, gaining work experience abroad, and travelling around Europe (hopefully) all before my 21st birthday. I mean, that's a pretty big deal. At least that's what I've been told. Still, I've always struggled with homesickness and am afraid it will take precedence while I'm there. Plus, I'm kind of terrified of finding my way from the airport to my apartment. I've always been horrid with directions.

While it looks like the cons are outweighing the pros here, I really am struggling with being both excited and terrified. It changes hourly. Hopefully, as the date approaches, I'll gain some clarity and it'll kick my butt into gear.

You're going to London, kid. Stop being a wimp.

This week, the fifteenth installment of one of my favorite series, The Dresden Files, was released. I looked at it with hesitancy as the last two books haven't been that enjoyable compared to their predecessors. Harry had gotten himself in quite a predicament after the conclusion of the twelfth book, Changes, and, quite frankly, it dragged the next two plots along at a slow, dismal pace. The momentum of the series was seemingly at a standstill while Harry dug himself into a deeper hole. I also noticed a change of tone in Harry's usually sharp wit. While it's understandable after all he's been through - when you're on the fifteenth book in a series... you gotta keep in mind that it's the fifteenth book in the series. After a while, readers expect a path towards resolution and maybe even happiness for the characters. I prepared myself for a continuation of this lack of movement. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised.

Skin Game held many of the original elements of the series that had been missing for quite a while. Firstly, Harry was actually on a job for the first time in a few years. Since he started the series as a little-known crime-solving wizard - the original hook for the series, really - he has gained more momentum, more titles, and has gotten thrown deeper into Fae politics. Underneath all of that, the original feel of Harry going on a job, fighting the good fight, was lost. Skin Game brought that feel back and then some. While under the command of Mab, he went after one of his old foes, Nicodemus, and opened up a new doorway to the illustrious urban fantasy world that Jim Butcher has created: Greek Mythology. An automatic win, in my books. But I could be biased.

Another element that really helped regain the flavor of the series was the appearance of the entire Scooby Gang. At some point, each of the main characters (save Thomas, unfortunately) made an appearance. And they were all civil! Sort of. I'll be waiting for that Harry/Thomas brotherly awesome in the next installment, but, until then, I am very satisfied by the plethora of amazing characters I got to read.

The last hundred pages of the book were by far the most intense. Harry met a freaking Greek god, the final battle kicked a whole bunch of ass, and, in true Butcher-style, a last-minute curve ball was thrown into a plot that seemed completely covered. Also, my girly Harry/Karrin feels were very happy by the end. I honestly almost cried. Twice. I don't want to give a full play-by-play, but by the time I finished the book, I was fully satisfied while simultaneously getting impatient for the next installment.

Also while reading the book, I discovered something about my own writing, weirdly enough. I guess that whole "reading like a writer" thing actually taught me something. Anyway - I tend to break paragraphs in odd, fragmented ways when I write prose to bring attention to certain phrases/one-liners/etc. I didn't realize this tactic was unique until I took a few writing classes and got complimented on my stylistic choice. Flattered, I took it as a good sign. Little did I know that I was actually mimicking one of my favorite authors - Jim Butcher. I realized this a few chapters into Skin Game and had a little laugh. It's not uncommon for writers to adopt traits from each other. In the end, I believe everyone's style is unique while also being a hybrid of traits from others.

In conclusion, I was very happy with Skin Game. It rekindled my love for the Dresden series and made me eager for more. I have nothing but high hopes for the last few books in the series - and a few worries, obviously, but mostly on the character front. I always put a little too much emphasis on that. Oops. Anyway, I give this a 4.5/5 - there were a few minor things that didn't tickle my fancy but they were vastly outnumbered by other, better, elements.

Well, it's been a few days since I've seen the newest X-Men movie so I feel I've had enough time to mull it over during my breaks of hideous sickness. Being bed-ridden does that - gives you time to think. Not only about a movie you saw a few weeks ago but how horrible you feel. Seriously. Gross.

Anyhow, this review contains spoilers so, as always, proceed with caution.

As a whole, I was sort of let down after exiting the theatre. The plot, while compelling and action-packed, lacked a certain something that made the other films so great (let's not count X3, just for arguments sake). I think it started with my brother pointing out the poster on our arrival to the theatre (see right). Mystique and Wolverine are at the forefront, followed by a young Professor X, Storm, etc. It's no coincidence that the two frontrunners are X-Men's darling and Hollywood's most in-demand actress. While I am not diminishing each actor's talent or their ability to hold the lead role in a film, I merely suggest that perhaps too much attention was paid to them - to the point of negating the other character's presence at all. For me, I was most excited to see the past and future Magneto and Professor X crossing paths. The only glimpse we got into that possibility was a two minute heart-to-heart, which was all sorts of amazing, but a little underwhelming after it was over.

I believe this film made many promises about the crossover without following through with the results. If they would have marketed it differently, maybe I would have gone in with different expectations. As it is, I went in expecting an epic time-battle with all of my favorite Marvel nomads banding together to defeat a mutual enemy. Instead, I got an unpredictable Erik screwing things up for everyone. Again. I also got an vengeance-driven Mystique and drug-addicted Charles (who had an underlying sexual tension that I actually kind of enjoyed?). While these were formulae for a great story-arch, I completely discarded them because of my disappointment about the latter issue. Call me picky but I like me some time-travelling sci-fi and I thought X-Men was the perfect franchise to use it. I just wish they exploited the surefire formula for success more, well, successfully.

On the positive side, I loved Peter Dinklage's role in the film. He was just brilliant as an ignorant scientist. That man can do no wrong in my eyes. I also loved how all of the characters were very true to themselves - yes, even stupid Erik with his stupid mood swings. Mystique was a bit harder for me to wrap my head around. She arguably has gone through the most changes since we last saw her in First Class. I only wish we knew what kind of changes. We know that Erik was framed for the JFK murder and left his followers to their own devices. Now Mystique is pissed at him, and they share an intimate moment in a phone booth (or something), hinting of a possible romantic past. Since it's never fully explained, I can't see how Erik has no problem going after Raven nor why Raven hates Erik. I can only guess. I suppose as long as we get that sequel, I shouldn't complain.

As hinted by the last scene at the end of the credits (a la Marvel predictability), the new villain was introduced: Apocalypse. It was more of an introduction of his powers and his history, but still made me curious and excited about the new installment of the series.

I'm going against the grain on this one and giving Days of Future Past a 3.5/5. I'm sure the score would be higher if the film came through on the trailer's promises. While films don't always have a tendency not to do that, I expected more of X-Men and Marvel in general. Come on guys, get your shit together.

I was going to post this last night after I got back from the movie to make my deadline but returned late and felt like a review written while I was half-awake wouldn't be one worth reading. It would have been a disaster. A funny disaster, probably. But still a disaster.

Recently, Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars actress Shailene Woodley has been under fire for her comments about feminism to Time. When asked if she considered herself a feminist, she answered:

No because I love men, and I think the idea of 'raise women to power, take the men away from the power' is never going to work out because you need balance

After the interview surfaced, feminist-friendly websites like Tumblr blew up with comments shaming Woodley. Following their stead were sites such as the Huffington Post and Jezebel, writing the actress off as ignorant and a shining example of what is wrong with the image of feminism. According to them, what she described is feminism and the fact that she doesn't consider herself a feminist is an insult to the term and society. Woodley instead labels herself as a believer of "sisterhood."

Not many have jumped to Woodley's defense but I would sure like to try. It is my belief that Woodley was a victim of the press and her statement, however true or not, is an overblown opinion that only received this outcry in result of a targeted article.

Feminism is a delicate subject, mostly because of the negative images that many still associate with it. In its early stages, feminism was denounced by right-wing parties during the late-19th and early-20th century. Many left-wingers supported these women but they were still seen as revolutionary in their own right. After receiving the right to vote, the feminist movement continued to move forward with calls for other rights such as equal pay. There were a few extreme cases of violence to achieve this goal and they did more to set the movement back than move it forward. In the 60's, the infamous "burning bras" image started with a group of protesters in Europe. These few extreme occurrences were enough to denounce the movement for many. Today, the images still stick and feminists are widely regarded as bra-burning, violent, and greedy. Their agenda is spun to be an open attack against men rather than what it really is - a call for equality. There will always be extreme branches of any organization, but as a whole feminists want equality - not a power-shift. Because of the tendency of the media to only report on shock-value news, the message has somehow been lost. While it is up to a person to label themselves whatever they please, a lack of information on labels such as feminism can prevent an "accurate" stance.

Hollywood can roughly be labeled as a liberal industry. Many celebrities are activists in the gay rights movement, charity for third world countries, and feminism (among others). When a celeb comes out as against any of the "normal" views of the industry, there's bound to be uproar. After a few choice comments, Kirsten Dunst was labeled as an anti-feminist and went under similar scrutiny as Woodley earlier this year.

The problem is not with Miss Woodley, the problem is with society and the media. If you read the entire article, it is framed to make her sound like an ignorant young starlet. An example can be seen with her mention of The Other Women, a movie she mistakenly labeled as being directed by Judd Apatow. They seem to have quoted her verbatim, with her direct statement being "There's that new Judd Apatow movie [sic] movie coming out, The Other Women, and that looks really good because I think it shows women coming together and supporting each other..." Later, they made the point of clarifying:

Not everyone agrees The Other Women (which was not directed by Judd Apatow) is so empowering

They used the [sic] marking (meaning, roughly, "this is what they actually said") in a negative way, making it blatantly obvious that she made a mistake and using it against her argument against feminism. The entire article is a subtle attack against Woodley and she is merely a victim. I cannot say whether or not this frame affected how others read it, but it sure stuck out to me.

The point of the matter is that Woodley has the right to say whatever she likes, whenever she likes - just like any other person. The only difference is that her opinion is broadcast for everyone to see. Especially now, in what can only be described as the taking-off of her career, whatever she says will be scrutinized. No doubt she had at least a dozen people telling her what to say and when to say it. That's a lot of pressure for anyone to feel. While her statement can be read as ignorant, if one looks into the source of her statements, they can see the larger problem. Miss Woodley's words were framed in a negative article, one that used her as a puppet to expose the taboo of feminism and how anyone labeling themselves as anti-feminist is wrong and misinformed. It's not fair to Miss Woodley nor to the public to put the blame on one person and use them as the face of ignorance. The face of ignorance is in the mirror, more times than not, and the only one that can prevent it is you.

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR BOTH THE BOOK AND MOVIE VERSIONS OF DIVERGENT

This weekend, I finally got the chance to watch Divergent for the first time in theatres. I read the book last summer but put off watching the movie 1) because I was very busy at the time it came out and 2) I'm still mad about the ending of Allegiant so I was kind of boycotting it. Maybe.

Divergent premiered with many eyes watching and waiting to see if it would become the latest casualty in the search for the next YA hit franchise. While I believe these expectations to be "The Next Hunger Games" are unfair and unjust to YA books everywhere, they unfortunately make a difference in box office terms. Many great YA series have been panned because of their "unsuccessful" adaptations and there was debate whether or not Veronica Roth's best-selling series would be among them. Turns out Divergent had just the right ingredients to draw in a large audience and can be deemed a success in its own right.

I went into the theatre with dilapidated complacency, mostly brought on by the amount of time I waited to watch it. With this neutral outlook, I was able to sit back and actually watch the movie instead of picking it apart like I usually do with book-to-movie adaptations. Plus, it helped that I didn't reread the book right before watching the film. So my outlook is one of whom that is familiar with the book but doesn't have it committed to memory.

Honestly, I really did like it. With all thoughts of Allegiant out of my head, I looked at Divergent as it's own story - which it is, really. It's the beginning to a revolution, as so many YA dystopian stories are nowadays. The film kept the momentum and tone I loved about the book: something both daunting and hopeful. The audience developed with Tris through her trials and triumphs. I did, however, notice a lot violence from the Dauntless initiation period cut down in regards to one-on-one combat and training. Specifically, with the character of Peter. In the books, Peter is a sociopath and it's no secret. In the movie, he's just a bully. While his fight scene with Tris was kept in and added to his asshole-image, the audience only sees him as a boy making all the wrong choices - which comes to fruition in the final battle sequence (SPOILERS. Highlight white space to reveal) when Peter is standing guard without the influence of the mind control serum. A very disturbing scene involving a knife was not included, which would have made Peter a contestable villain. I'm not quite sure what the angle of this was - perhaps to make Peter more sympathetic as a character? Maybe to portray Kate Winslet's character, Janine, as the main antagonist? Regardless, I'm eager to see what role he'll be playing in the future films.

Also noticeably absent was the role of Uriel, another one of Tris's friends in the Dauntless initiate class. His positive and flirtatious attitude would have been a welcome reprieve from the dark overtones of the film. The whole Tris/Al relationship was also understated. While Al's romantic feelings were unrequited in the books, I believe they were important in his overall motivation for (SPOILERS) the cliff scene and his eventual suicide. While it was clear that he was a weak-minded individual, his romantic feelings also added to Tris's emotional distance and how Four was the one to help soften that disposition.

While the movie did not follow the book verbatim, I still think it was a wonderful adaptation. It helped me remember what I loved about the first book in Roth's series. The Divergent trilogy as a movie franchise looks to be in good shape, if it's gross income thus far is any attestment. The sequel has already begun filming. While I have mixed feelings about the third book being split into two movies, as do many people, I still look forward to future installments and wish the best for this new success story in the world of YA book-to-movie adaptations.

The best conversations happen after midnight.

Recently, I had a talk with my cousin/roommate about where we were going to be a year from now. At face value, we'll be picking up our cap and gown and finishing our last college finals as undergrads. It's a scary thought. It became even scarier when we started thinking about our careers and how we were going to fair after graduation. Scratch that - it became terrifying.

My cousin is a Therapeutic Recreation major but she has plans to go into an accelerated Nursing program after graduation. Even with a relatively steady profession like that, she's still nervous about where the future will take her. Where she'll end up, if she'll succeed.

After talking with her, I began to realize just how universal uncertainty is when it comes to a person's career. I've been told time and time again that it's only something people majoring in the arts deal with (myself included). But really, everyone goes through it. With all of the stories about the economy failing and job security becoming rarer with each passing year, all professions are being affected. It's your job to make yourself more marketable and gain experiences that will make you a better candidate for whatever you want to go into.

As a writer, I have a lot of dreams. But the most important one to me is getting a book published. I've have one of my short stories published in an on-campus journal, but other than that I know next to nothing about the publishing world or how to make myself stand out. And since I want book-writing to be my main source of income one day - with my work hours clocked in my own personal library, typing away at my computer - realistically, I'll need to find "normal" job first. Naturally, I want that job to be writing-specific so I won't hate going in to work every day and be using my strengths to their fullest potential. Call me greedy or what-not but I really don't want to work in retail for the rest of my life.

So, I'm trying to get experience that will make me marketable to magazines. Or maybe even newspapers. Anything to make me a prime candidate.

Yet as a writer, I am constantly hearing and reading work from people who are much more talented than I am - much more accomplished. While that serves as a sort of fuel to get me going it can also be my greatest drawback. I'll read short stories from fellow students and be like "Wow. This is amazing. How can I ever compete with this?" The same goes for my reading habits. I'll read a book and marvel at how amazing it is and how I'll never be able to write like so-and-so. It's really depressing, honestly, and I find myself fishing for compliments from random friends and family members to make myself feel better - not caring if they're telling the truth when they say they love my work.

Today, I gave a three-minute reading in front of a class for my final. It was a humor piece and my goal was to make everyone laugh, which, strangely enough, I did. After that, a classmate came up to me and asked if I considered to apply to the Lanthorn (our college newspaper). I'd been tossing around the idea for a while but didn't think I would be a right fit. I'm no journalist.

"Well, you should apply in the fall," the classmate said. "If you wrote for them, I'd actually read it."

My face reddened after that. It was a compliment I didn't ever expect to get - especially from a classmate whose work I admired.

For background: The Lanthorn, along with any college newspaper, doesn't get a lot of traffic with students. Sure, some headlines catch campus-wide attention but other than that, most don't take the time to read it. I'm guilty of this. I mean, I pick up a copy every new addition but I only graze the articles and look at the comic. There are editorials also, usually written by writing majors, but I never read them for fear of feeling inferior. No joke. I'm pretty petty.

So when someone suggested I apply to write those same editorials, I was pretty floored. Flattered beyond belief - but mostly floored.

Getting a compliment like that really made my day. Any day when someone compliments anything about my work is a good day. Just a simple "I really love your writing style" can mean a world of difference to me. And I'm sure the same would go for anyone else.

If you like someone's writing - tell them. If you think their dress is cute, tell them. If you think they're funny or liked what they had to say in class, tell them. Don't back down on account of sounding creepy or fearing that they won't appreciate your compliment. Chances are it'll make their day. Personally, I was having a pretty crappy start to finals week, worrying about deadlines that were approaching too quickly, when someone came up to me and told me I should write for the Lanthorn. With no fear of sounding cheesy, I can confidently say that the sun shined a little bit brighter on my walk to the bus stop.

Moral of the story: Make someone's sun shine brighter. Make them feel confident about their job choice. You never know what could happen.

 In the wonderful world of books there are so many genres that it's hard to pick just one as the reigning champion of awesome. Everyone has their favorite world they like to dip into whether it be a tantalizing mystery, heart-pounding romance, exciting adventure, or a thought-provoking classic. Throughout the pool of amazing talent lies genres that are both revered and rejected. While the most popular for movie and television adaptations nowadays, fantasy seemingly drew the short stick in regards to respect in the literature field. A fact I find both shocking and demeaning.

Last semester, I had a bad experience with a professor who not-so-subtly put down the fantasy/sci-fi genre along with many others that did not fit into the "literary" category. They argued that these "genre writers" focused only on plot and left two-dimensional characters in their wake, making the book only satisfying as a one-time read. They demeaned the "page-turner" quality of fantasy, sci-fi, and mystery books as as a factor that should not be the desire of any writer - according to them, a writer should write complexly with stories that have multiple layers and focus on character more so than plot. She listed Lord of the Rings as the only exception.

"But I don't think any of you will be writing the next Lord of the Rings," she said. "So why try?"

There may never be a "next Lord of the Rings," nor should there be. It is a writer's job to create something new out of a bunch of used materials. Ever hear the phrase "There's no such thing as an original idea"? Well, that's true. It's what you do with that idea that makes it original - how you tell the story in a way only you can tell it.

Thankfully, I already knew that. My former professor didn't seem to.

I like to consider myself a well-read person. I have read books of every genre - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I have my own preferences, obviously, but I also respect other genres for what they bring to their fans. Yes, even erotica. I also have a writer's perspective on the whole ordeal. Granted, I am aware I still have a lot to learn. Writing is a constant learning experience with a neverending need to improve. But what has always remained constant is my taste in books.

To me, fantasy should garner much more respect than it receives. It is an audience favorite in many respects, which is great. But to the writing world, it seems to be more of a nuisance than a comrade. A good number of teachers I've had in my career as a writing student always seem to advocate against fantasy as a genre and advice that writers go for a deeper and more meaningful storyline.

I have read high fantasy, urban fantasy, teen fantasy, and pretty much every in-between niche that the genre has. As a majority, they have some of the most complex and sympathetic characters around. To name a few: Harry Dresden, Kvothe, Severus Snape, Kylar Stern, Katniss Everdeen... the list goes on. I have related to and been enamored with these characters a lot more than Jay Gatsby, Elizabeth Bennett, and Oliver Twist. Not to demean any of those authors or books, I like them all well enough, I just think the aforementioned pioneers of fantasy novels have much more depth and deserve as much respect as their literary brethren.

 As for fantasy writers relying heavily on plot - that's true. Of course it's true. Fantasy has the burden (and the privilege) of transporting the audience into a new and confusing world. What's the best way to cement this world? Have the characters go on a new and confusing journey so that the rules of the world will be revealed  slowly, not scaring away or confusing the reader. As the characters are occupied with other things like life and death, things like their long forgotten cities and/or their complex, infuriating families are not just thrown in with chapters upon chapters of needless mind-dwelling. The characters instead are revealed through their actions and interactions, which I believe is a much stronger testament to who they are than sitting alone in a darkened room, brooding and contemplating their life. A character can very much do that in fantasy or any other genre, but if it makes up the bulk of their character development, the character loses interest.

As of late, I have been a part of many conversations that label setting as it's own character. It didn't take me long to recognise that I am a firm believer in this, as should be any fan of fiction. And which genre has the most detailed and intricate setting? Fantasy. I mean, come on, Hogwarts and Middle Earth have just as much character development as their title characters. Look at all of the crap they're put through. All the history wraight in their infrastructure. All the blood spilt on their soil.

Even if none of these points reach you, there should be one thing you are absolutely aware and respectful of: The craft of fantasy. All writers go through an outlining stage where they craft the basic plot, characters, conflicts, etc. For a writer working within the rules of the world as we know it today, they can focus more intently on niches and individualities for their stories to possess. Fantasy writers can do this, too - on top of the worldbuilding stage. Worldbuilding is exactly what it sounds like. Hogwarts, Middle Earth, and Westeros all took hours upon hours of rule making, land building, history crafting, and more to come to life. Since they are worlds completely separate from our own, they require their own set of rules. Some rules can overlap, but for the most part the worlds have to be original and concrete. This takes up much, if not most, of the outlining stage of writing. In some ways, worldbuilding never ends. This process is long and draining but the result is nearly always worth it. The authors create a new world readers dream of escaping to and that talent it is taken very much for granted. Not to demean any other genre of literature, for there are countless amazing stories and plots of all genres, but there is no question the amount of work that goes into writing fantasy. This is the main reason why the lack of respect for this genre boggles me.

The fans of fantasy are also not usually looked upon with high regards. From television to books to RPGs, fantasy fans are deemed social outcasts to the point that many feel the need to hide their passions so as not to be ridiculed. I find this ridiculous. As a former D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) player and LARPer (Live Action Role Play), I also continue to feel these pressures. But with the growing popularity of shows like Game of Thrones and games like Skyrim, I feel there is a change coming. At least, I hope so. It is now very common to run into someone reading A Song of Ice and Fire or geeking out with their friends at the newest episode of GOT. Fads in television and books have had both positive and negative connotations throughout the years. When I was growing up, everyone wanted to be a wizard - a la Harry Potter. Now everyone is a closet Harry Potter nerd, it seems, and those who have not seen it or don't like it are the outcasts. A few years later, the Vampire craze hit. That one wasn't as pretty. But now it seems like high fantasy, or really fantasy in general, is becoming the norm. I hope this respect and love for the genre seeps through to more than just the general public and is also felt by critics of literature and the writing community because, as it has been for years, fantasy is not going away anytime soon.

Fantasy has drawn the short end of the stick in many regards but it still remains my favorite genre. True, there are many bad fantasy stories. But there are also many bad literary stories. Just because someone went the extra mile and used their creative energy to create a new world on top of a story with colorful characters and plot to tell does not demean their talent. It extends it.

A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep.
- Walt Disney's Cinderella, 1950

Dreams are weird.

For the past year-and-change, I've been keeping a dream journal. I try to write in it every morning but usually only have the patience for it a few days out of the week. It's taken many forms. First, it was a tiny little spiral notebook I found on sale at Meijer with little pink and brown stripes. Then, it was the fraternal twin of journal #1, only this one was polka-dotted. Now, it's my used Gender Studies notebook. Don't worry - I ripped out the three pages I used for the class.

Through these journals, I've learned a lot of weird things about myself. Supposedly, the purpose of a dream journal is to "familiarize the person with their dreamscape" and help people become lucid dreamers.

(lucid dream: a dream where you know you're dreaming)

I can definitely attest to this theory. I don't have lucid dreams every night, mind you, but I have them a lot more often since starting the journals. Even then, I don't realise for a while. I'm working on that bit. But they allow a nice escapism. The rest of the time, I'm left at the mercy of normal dreams. Which is usually fine.

Usually.

I  don't have nightmares often, thankfully, but I have been having some lately. Normally, I would just disregard them. But since I don't usually have nightmares, I figured I would try to pinpoint the cause. After some thorough research (and by that I obviously mean clicking on the first link on Google) I found the answer.

Stress.

What a shocker.

A few days ago, I was talking to a friend about a breakup. The two had been going out for a long time and he was pretty devastated. Obviously, I felt horrible for him and tried my best to comfort him. A few nights later, I had a dream about him retelling me the story and his ex stalking us around a building. The nightmare progressed into something out of a slasher fic. It was horrible.

I woke myself up, terrified, and wrote down everything I could remember. It was so vivid. So fresh. So freaking terrifying.

I went through the rest of the day in a sort of haze. I was tired and generally felt very down. The nightmare had seemingly sucked away all of my energy. I couldn't focus on anything. The haze built up until I was forced to pull an 8-hour homework binge because I had neglected to finish it earlier.

The point is, I went to bed stressed. I was stressed for my friend. Stressed about my own personal stuff. They were the last things I thought of before going to sleep.

Well, that was a mistake. And I have the journal entry to prove it.

It's my belief that dreams tell us more than we realize. They reveal how weird we are, how we think, and what's really hidden underneath all of those song lyrics. I've realized a lot about myself from rereading old dreams I wrote down. They were telling me things I needed to hear. They also revealed the times when I really needed to take some time for myself.

I believe my nightmares were telling me to calm down. To take it easy. I have a lot of stuff going on but that doesn't mean I have to stress out about it 24/7. I'm allowed to have some me-time. And that goes for everyone else as well.

I recommend that everyone try keeping a dream journal. If anything, they'll be therapeutic. They also might tell you things you hadn't realized just yet. And isn't that what we all want, really? To know what we want?

Everyone loves movies. Some people even love to hate them. But like it or not, they're a huge part of our lives. They are as diverse and emotional and controversial as life itself. And because of this diversity, different movies appeal to different people. Hell, that's pretty much the function of genre itself. Genre distinguishes the main themes of movies and books other art forms as a sort-of psychic paper. It allows people to see what they want to. (That one was for you, my fellow Whovians.)

Some people like Horror. Some people like Drama. Some people like a strange David O'Russell hybrid that can't even begin to be defined. Different people have different tastes in things. It's common sense. It's what makes people unique and interesting. I wrote about this in a post back in February dealing with how people get different things from books. The same goes for movies. And music. And pretty much everything ever. People are different. Get over it.

That being said, I'm going to tell a little tale for a second. It's about me and my brother. We're alike in many ways - we both love music, theatre, performing, and reading. We're also different in many ways. I won't list all those for your sake. The important thing we disagree on is movies (well, important for this post, at least). He's going to school for film, I'm going for writing. It's safe to say we get different things out of different movies. Don't get me wrong - we agree on a lot of things as well. But recently, that hasn't been the case.

Over our winter break away from college, we went to see American Hustle. He loved it. I didn't. I thought it was too long, too dry, and was trying too hard to be something it wasn't: An Oscar-winner. My brother, on the other hand, didn't agree. He thinks David O'Russell can do no wrong. That's all fine and good. I loved Silver Linings Playbook. Whatever. But when I broke the news to him that I didn't like Hustle, he became super defensive and started throwing questions at me like a baseball-shooting machine.

"What?! Why didn't you like it?! It was perfect! Oh my god. How could you - no. No it was amazing. Don't even."

I listed off my reasons, not trying to change his opinion or anything, just stating what I thought. He stuck out his hand in a very preteen manner, giving me a look, and just couldn't deal. How dare I? Rotten Tomatoes gave it a great rating. That means it's amazing.

Okay, let me press the pause button here.

Rotten Tomatoes is a fairly famous critical site that rates movies on a percent-scale by combining reviews collected by several "reputable" critics (I only put quotes around reputable because Rotten Tomatoes lists them as "top critics." I have no idea how this is determined). Now, I've never been one for critical sites. At all. Ever. I like to watch a movie and form my own opinions without bias before reading what other biased people have to say. My brother practically worships the site. Before he watches any movie, he has to check the rating on Rotten Tomato. It's apparently like the law or something.

It gave Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows a 78%. That's pretty much my main argument there. But, like I said, I'm completely biased. But so is everyone else.

Take, for instance, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. As a fan of the books and being within its age demographic, I feel like my opinion is rather valid on the quality of the film. I'm also quite critical of any book-to-movie adaptation so, if possible, I might be at least somewhat qualified to write a review about the film (which I did, btdubs). I liked the movie. I thought it did rather well for a first go at the very complex and detailed world that Cassandra Clare wrote. It was a bit rocky, not sure of itself. But overall, I think it was good and deserved a second go with a sequel.

This is the score that Rotten Tomato gave it:

(1) The only thing similar to Twilight is the romance. And even then, it's completely different. No emotional abuse here. Well, not really. Most YA fantasy series have romance. It's part of the formula to appeal to the female demographic. Chicks dig romance, man. It's a thing.

(2) This review isn't even about the movie. Keep your opinions of the book to yourself or post them on a book review site. Books and movies are not the same thing. Unfortunatly. (If you want a four-hour Harry Potter movie clap your hands!)

(3) For those of you who don't know, Cassandra Clare is a former fan fiction writer. Harry Potter, more specifically. She then wrote her own fantasy series. Which bares no resemblance to Harry Potter except that it's fantasy. I mean, there are witches and warlocks but the magic is completely different than J.K. Rowling's version. By far. I have no idea why this "Flick Filosopher" called the film out as being a "bad name" to fan fiction when it isn't fan fiction at all. I should know. At least I hope so.

Now, as a counterpoint to these negative reviews, let's take a look at the thing I would recommend paying attention to if you were to check Rotten Tomatoes for a film rec. The audience score.

This is Evelyn. She's seventeen. Loves the rain, asking questions, and eating bread right out of the bag.

She's also a character I started writing last summer.

I've been playing Sims 2 since I was in middle school. I loved decorating the houses, making the cute little babies - but most of all I loved creating the Sims themselves. Seriously, I would sometimes spend two hours in the Create-A-Family mode, move them into a house, and then never play them again. I would also import characters from books that I read and have them marry the characters they should have ended up with. With no regrets.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I started using Sims for a different purpose.

I had my first idea for a book when I was in high school. The project has since been filed away for future use but at my planning stage I was having trouble grounding the images of my characters. I had named them, given them careers, and outlined the basic plot of their story. I just couldn't picture any of it.

One day I was playing Sims, getting bored of the family whose lives I was ruining, when my eye caught the piece of paper where my characters' names were written down (my desk is like a war zone most times so "re-finding" things is a pretty common occurrence). Then, I got what I deem to be one of the best ideas I've ever had: Creating my characters as Sims.

Within a few hours, I had grounded the likeness of all four of my characters into the game, moved them into a house, and started building their backstory. Well, granted, the backstory bit went a bit wonky. As any frequent Sims-player can attest to, sometimes the Sims themselves get a little hard to control and end up running off and doing their own thing. Which is kind of like writing characters - sometimes they dictate their own story. But at the time I didn't know that so it freaked me out and I stopped.

My game has crashed since then and I don't have those characters imported anymore. But I have the Addams family (pun not intended... not really) all created and moved in, which includes Evelyn and her parents. I also plan on importing all of my other original characters into a city I built called Bookville. Not creative at all, I know, but I started the neighborhood not to play necessarily but more to worldbuild.

If you are a writer and have any version of Sims, I highly recommend using it. Especially if you're just getting into writing and having trouble with any aspect of worldbuilding/character building. I used to constantly berate myself for not having any artistic talent but thankfully I found something to remedy that. Hopefully, with this insight I can bestow that relief onto someone else.

The Vampire Academy book series is one that captures its readers. It's sexy, daring, funny, and even original.

"What I will say is that I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione with Ron."

. . . 

"In some ways Hermione and Harry are a better fit,"