2013 in Review Tag (Part 1)

To herald the new year I have decided to make a long list of Bests. From best wake up to bonding experience, this will give a short summary on what has been a very long year. I hope you enjoy my reflections and post a comment or link me your response of the “2013 in review tag” which I have just made up right here, right now.

Best year 12 memory

My principal went to Italy and bought a picture book in Italian. She asked me to translate it into English and I said I would. One month later and just before an exam I rush to the office to drop it off. I hand it over and tell her how I organised it and she starts crying. “I really need to go to my exam now,” is how I responded to this sweet and unexpected outburst.

Best inspirational speaker

As a year 12 prefect, I went to a couple of conferences and events about leadership and service. Out of the blue at a Catholic school conference we had a keynote by Li Cunxin, the author of biography Moa’s Last Dancer. This biography begins when Cunxin is first chosen to begin ballerina training, his emigration of China to the U.S. and the dictatorial forces at work. I had seen the movie and heard about the book but it was completely different for the actual person to tell me. I admired his openness in sharing his struggles, some so extreme, cringe-worthy and heart-breaking that I saw many students pulling out tissues. I highly recommend the book and movie. Cunxin has changed my perspective on life for the better.

Best bonding experience

Sometimes the strongest bonds are made by accident. My friend was drunk, got into a fight and I helped her get out and looked after her. It was a vulnerable moment and although we don’t discuss it, I know that she knows I’ve got her back.

Best accomplishment

My hard work really paid off at awards night. Standing up on the stage as one of the Dux prize runner ups, I couldn’t believe what I had accomplished. Although I didn’t win, everyone told me afterwards that I had the biggest smile of the girls standing with me.

Best compliment

As a part-time scholarship I did two university subjects on creative writing and my tutor said that he loved my story. He said it was very much magical realism (which I intended) and compared me to a famous author (who I hadn’t intended but googled him later and felt very pleased about).

Best conversations

This is a difficult one but I will have to say my political/legal discussions with my friend Alex. Despite our lack of homework completion, we always had heaps to say on the subject and made the effort to dig deeper into the issues. Our discussion on saviour siblings for instance went for a good two days in classes, between classes and online.

Best phone calls

This is one of the things I will never forget about senior year: math is the only subject you MUST study for. If I had 3 subjects to do and only had time for 1, it would always be math because seriously... that stuff’s hard. Why on earth would you want to divide that? Where are they making this up? Why doesn’t  X just find itself? The best phone calls I ever had were the 2 hour math marathons with Georgie where it was dead silent on both ends until we finish the problem. “Did you get 93?” “Yeah I did.” “Cool. Moving on to chapter 9H, problem solving.”

Best Youtuber

I got very into the Youtube this year which was especially difficult during exam time. My favourite Youtuber is Dailygrace because she never fails to make me laugh.

Best OTP

Zalfie. They were so cute in Vlogmas.

Best Youtube series

The Lizzie Bennett Diaries are a phenomenal take on Pride & Prejudice. It was a brilliantly interactive, creative and addictive series. Emma Approved is also really kicking off now.

Best item of clothing

My green, paisley patterned dress. I love it, have worn it everywhere and wish to be buried in it.

*End of Part 1*

Remember to comment and post a response to one or multiple questions. I will upload the other half of the list as my next post. Ciao!

The most wonderful time of the year.

Happy holidays!

Christmas has me sufficiently spoiled, fat and lazy so I thought I’d share some of my new bookish acquisitions with you to make myself useful.

1. Champion by Marie Lu.

The final novel in the Legend series did not disappoint. I bought a digital copy of this book earlier in the month as a Merry Christmas present to me. Unfortunately, I could not stop myself from reading it before Christmas. It was very action-packed, suspenseful and romantic. But a little disclaimer, please don’t try read this right after Allegiant as I did. I do not wish such suffering on anyone.

2. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

This is a pre-loved copy I got at a bookswap for a very good price. It is one of those books that I had no idea about but the lady recommended it, and we book-lovers have to trust each other. I am very excited to read such a classic sci-fi. 

3. The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen.

I AM SO EXCITED. My sister –bless her soul- bought me this for Christmas to begin my Sarah Dessen collection. Weirdly enough, I have read all her books, adore them and do not own any physical copies. The situation has been rectified and I am ready to fall head over heels again. This is her latest book and will be for a while. So so excited.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling.

Ah, I feel as if a piece of me has been restored. I first read the entire series this year without having seen the movies. After being ostracised by the Potterhead community which included many of my friends, I quietly I borrowed the first book from the library and began my journey. A few years late but I made it to Hogwarts nonetheless. This is the childhood favourite I never knew I needed.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K Rowling.

I had enough money for one more Harry Potter book and who could pass up this pre-loved, first edition hardcover? I loved this book to the moon and back and remember re-reading the epilogue everyday until I had to return it. Now that I have my own copy, no one can stop my obsession. Depending on your perspective, this is an excellent or terrible prospect.

6. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Last but certainly not least, a short collection of letters in reply to a young writer asking for review of his work and life advice. This book is a beautiful patchwork of Rilke’s sarcasm, wisdom and prose which I hope will inspire me to write and read the rest of my life.

Click on the titles to see the synopsis and other reviews. Also let me know what bookish gifts you received for Christmas – the good and bad. Ciao!

Christmas storytelling.

Since it's Christmas I thought I'd do a little post about the season. Apart from buying lots of presents, visiting friends and trying to fit everything into a tight schedule or budget, each year my family and I go to Christmas mass. This is a special mass where we sing Christmas carols, listen to the preachings about Jesus' coming on earth and the Christmas story.

To be honest, I used to hate going to church ESPECIALLY special celebrations. The masses are twice as long, unbearably hot (it's summer in Australia) and extremely crowded. Not good if you're in any way claustrophobic. But one day I just decided I'd look at mass as this story telling session. I can handle that. If I can handle 5 hour book binge reading then I can handle uncomfortable seating and repetitive scriptures for a little while.

Our nativity set 2013.

With this in mind my church experiences weren't nearly as bad. I think if other people took this approach Christmas carols and other "holy" things would be tolerable even if you aren't Christian and don't believe a word of it or it. The Christmas story can appreciate the Christmas story on a purely narrative level.


It was prophecised that a king would be born into the world to defeat evil once and for all- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S Lewis
His parents were turned away at every door- Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
Even so, he was born marked by love - Harry Potter J.K. Rowling
And because of him -a small, poor, rejected boy- there was hope for us all. There was hope of better things to come - I am the Messenger,  Marcus Zusack

I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

How to cry your eyes out- Allegiant book discussion

I’ve tried writing this several times now. But to be honest, I really don’t know what to feel. I may as well start from the beginning...

About a year ago I first read Divergent and Insurgent. Fast-paced and intriguing, it tells the story a Tris who makes the choice to change factions, jumps off buildings, falls in love with a boy of four fears, shoots guns, reveals government conspiracies and searches for some sort of truth. The highly anticipated conclusion to this dystopia increased on the release of the Divergent movie trailer. There was a lot of squeeling when I first saw the book on the shelves. Literally, squealing and skipping towards it in Target.

Brief combined reviews of Divergent and Insurgent:

 In Chicago, the government is controlled by members of factions. Factions divide the citizens into groups who have certain mental and moral structures. For instance, members of Abnegation- Tris’ original faction- dress in grey and are in charge of helping the city’s homeless as they prize selflessness. There are also other factions such as of knowledge and bravery. A person’s faction is usually inherited from their parents however when a person turns 16, an aptitude test reveals to which one they belong and a choosing ceremony forges their future. Tris’ examination reveals an anomaly, that she could belong to more than one faction. Tris is Divergent. Special and dangerous to the government. She commences the Dauntless initiation- the faction of bravery and dare I say, psychosis- where she meets friends, enemies, knives, tattoo artists and a cast of terrifying and fascinating characters. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Tris’ journey continues in Insurgent as she deals with the aftermath of death, killing, deception and knowing the truth when you don’t really want to. The concept of how different characteristics war in us – the good and bad, selfish and selfless, brave and complacent- is consistent in all three books and makes for a fantastic message in the finale. If this sounds appealing then please stop here. You really don’t want to be spoiled on such a fantastic series. When you read the books, feel free to come back and discuss. Ciao...

Okay. They’re gone.

Allegiant Review and Discussion

The novel begins a little while after the Edith Prior revelation. The whole city is a controlled experiment. I’m glad that’s cleared up but this opens up a wave of new questions. What is beyond the fence? Is it time to send out the Divergent to complete their original ‘mission’? Will Evelyn let them? It becomes obvious that the city is in danger of another uprising, this time of the Allegiant – a new rebel group dedicated to preserving the factions, overtaking the factionless and going beyond the fence. Tris, Four, Christina, Uriah, Cara, Caleb, Peter, Tori and Johanna head out of the city. This is where it gets interesting (straggling spoiler seekers, please leave. It’s for your own good and the rest may not make much sense).

The secret is that...

Hi there,
Today I am reminded that, "older people always tell you the one thing they know is true." (An Abundance of Katherines) And I, being young and apparently naive looking always seem to be privy to these types of things. So the story that I was told was this:

There was a young priest, an old priest and a donkey travelling to another town. The young priest led the donkey on foot while the old priest was on its back. They passed some people on the road who remarked not too quietly that the priest was giving the younger priest a bad example. When they had passed the people the priests decided to swap positions. The next group they passed said that the younger priest's lack of compassion for the older man was disgusting. When they both got on the donkey, the people cried out that it was cruel to make the donkey carry them both. Finally they both got off and the people laughed at them. 'Look at these idiots, walking when they have a donkey.' Moral is that you can't please everyone at once.

Many people would dismiss this as cliche and nothing can be cliche in a good way.

They're outdated. Irrelevant. False. Too simple.

This is what Shay Carl has to say about it and I am 100% behind him. Follow the link to see his wonderful pep talk.

"The secret is that there is no secret."

Ciao!

Holiday Reads

Hello again,

Brief life update: I graduated about 2 weeks ago. It was crazy and weird and it's freaking me out how non-emotional I was compared to how I thought I would be. Christmas is also coming up very soon and I am extremely excited to be singing Christmas carols and watching endless Vlogmas videos on youtube.

Which leads me to my main post- Festive reads. There is really nothing better. Not only are these books fantastic (trust me) but they are a lot of Christmasy fun and would make great gifts too. Message to my parents, 'THEY WOULD MAKE GREAT GIFTS. Thank you.'

Sneaky bookshop photo.

Book 1- The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky.

A long time ago in the magical world of childhood innocence, a boy called Charlie celebrates his birthday on Christmas Eve. Family happens. High school happens. Christmas happens again. Although this book may leave you a bit misty eyed, I guarantee that your heart will be warmed by Charlie's raw letters as he braves the world.

Book 2- Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan.

Lily leaves a little red book in a bookstore hoping a potential friend will find it. Dash completes the first mission and leaves the book for Lily. This treasure hunt through New York is hilarious and sweet. One of my sister's all time favourites.

Another sneaky bookshop photo.

Book 3- Let it Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green & Lauren Myracle.

3 random strangers caught in a Christmas snow storm who quickly become your best friends. A quirky combination of intertwining stories of love, joy, friendship and a little pinch of magic for taste. My favourite authors all rolled into one. This book will have you dreaming of a white Christmas.

Let me know if you've read any of these or are planning too. Also, what's a new Christmas read I can look for? Ciao.

How to run a maze

I thought it time to reveal the extent of my nerdiness. I read this novel in 2 sittings...

James Dashner’s novel The Maze Runner just taught me how to run a maze. ‘If you want to run a maze,’ I imagine Dashner saying, ‘you run hard so you and the audience are out of breath. You need to make sure the maze is dangerous and exciting so the audience can know how scared they should be. You’ve got to lead them right to a Cliff and jump off.’ Dashner knows this is the only way to run mazes and boy have I enjoyed the ride.

The concept of The Maze Runner is incredible.  This man had a plan and executed it with stunning results. Thomas’ sudden appearance in a complex maze with no memory, no friends or escape ideas to speak of really thrilled me- I was just as confused as he was and just as curious. His interactions with the other Gladers –the inhabitants of the maze- were carefully constructed to pike interest but not give the ending away.

The Maze Runner, book 75 in my Goodreads challenge 2013

My favourite scene was Thomas’ first run in the maze. Dashner’s very visual writing style highlighted the maze’s eeriness and the mad dash from the monsters was easy to imagine. The big reveal of Thomas’ memories was diabolical.

The only thing that bothered me was a lack of subplot, a problem I found most annoying as various subplots had time and opportunity to develop. However, I have no doubt that Dashner will use The Maze Runner as strong foundation for the rest of the trilogy.

To wrap up, I gave The Maze Runner 4/5 stars on Goodreads and I will definitely read book 2. Fans of Maximum Ride, The Hunger Games, Virals and Harry Potter will love the mystery as well as the fresh voice of Thomas. Read it before the movie in 2014.

Ciao!

Writing letters

I have always been a big believer in the power of words. Some people don't think that words are all that useful in capturing exactly how a person is feeling at one moment but I really do. So for my graduation gifts -you know, the ones students give teachers at the end of high school to say thanks and don't miss me- I've decided to write people letters. Not just teachers either, friends and random people who've helped me so far. I am writing them all by hand and then folding them up into little envelopes like this. Consider me a postal service.

In year 9, I wrote my friend a short story about how we first met and why I respected her so much and thereafter all my friends wanted their own story for their birthdays too. Not only are stories or even memories hard work to put on paper, I sometimes felt as if I'm giving bits of myself away and opening myself for judgement. What if these feelings were one sided? Does the other person even remember it? I figure that since I'm leaving and may never them again, I will go for broke.

So far I have maybe 6 letters with many more to come. There are a couple for my subject teachers, friends, fellow captains and some people who have just had a perhaps accidental impact on my life. An example of this accidental impact is my year 10 English teacher who introduced me to Atticus Finch. Another is a particular librarian to whom I recommended a book and received it new, uncovered and fresh from a bookstore the very next day. I was first to read it. Another to whom I will write is my principal who I have a strangely friendly relationship with. Another to a teacher who always teased me about my hair until I teased him back. It is odd to think I am leaving these people for good. I hope that if they've forgotten what I'm talking about, they'll try to remember.

John Green quoting his wife wrote, "Thinking about the future is a kind of nostalgia." 

To this I say, "Exactly."

Let me know if you've ever written a letter to someone that you've regretted or what you gave for graduation gifts. Ciao.

Multilinguism: is it special?

As most of you have probably guessed by my name, English isn't my first language. For a long time in primary school I thought it was a bit weird that no one else spoke another language with their parents. Even as an Australian citizen, I still felt quite ostracised from my friends, especially when their vegemite sandwiches  (the grossest thing I've ever eaten) sat next to my pastellitos. Somewhere between primary and high school, speaking another language became special. People would ask me to say sentences in Spanish. I was able to pick up a third language -Italian- quicker than my classmates. My initial defect was now seen as a talent.

A portion of my bookshelf. Currently reading Il Diario da Anne Frank and really enjoying it.

This all changed when I went overseas to the United States. Sitting in an American diner, the waiter would suddenly join in our Spanish conversation. In Disneyland they play rides' safety instructions in at least five languages. I felt smaller still when visiting Italy this year. Italy's economy depends on tourism thus, most retailers I encountered spoke multiple languages pretty fluently. I realised pretty quickly that my supposed "talent" wasn't so special after all.

Don't get me wrong, I love Australia to bits. It just seems to me that for a country whose original owners spoke over 500 languages on the one island, our attitude towards cultural expansion has diminished somewhat. Languages are seen as a talent and non-essential. I personally know immigrants who have "Australianised" their name into its English equivalent to make life easier. Much is lost in translation.

I wonder if any of you have had a similar experience where your talent is found to be common somewhere else? How many languages can you speak? Is it even important? Let me know. Also check out this great video which I found  about being bilingual.

Ciao!

The Crew

Disclaimer: what follows is sappy. Read if you so desire.

So yesterday was the school award's night, my last ever awards night as a high school student. I swore I wouldn't cry and I was very close to successful. I've been so lucky, blessed, to be part of the leadership "crew" 2013 at my school. I am one of the ten captains who sit in the front row. I am one of the ten who handed out trophies and medals to their worthy recipients. I am 1/10.

I don't think I can adequately explain how being a part of something bigger than you, being part of a united front, can make you feel. It's a family. We fight and some days we say the wrong thing and hate each other. In just under two weeks we will finish high school together, the gates are waiting for us and for this moment we cling to each other like life rafts.

#glorydays

I feel her pent up excitement next to me all night. "I'm so happy for you," Olive says to me. She's smiling like she just saw something wonderful. I feel that we are each others' cheer squad and that if anyone dared take it off me, my team would be all over them.

There is this euphoria as we received our gifts, as my class was called out and as the cameras flash. I am proud of everyone although there is nothing about them that I could take credit for.

To finish, I've included an awesome youtube video of a college graduation. This is definitely something I want to do in my last few days of school and it has great music.

Please let me know what your thoughts were at graduation, if you even remember it or what you feel about it now. 

Ciao.

Succumbing to the blog button

Hello,

My name is Yanery. I am at that stage in life where I just want to do stuff and no, not assignments. We'll call it a quarter life crisis as I am in fact just under four weeks away from my high school graduation. In my free time I love travelling, reading, writing and watching Youtube. I like learning fun, non-useful skills such as magic tricks, weird knitting patterns and how to work cameras. If you've read up to this point, thanks.

Picture by Kirtock at http://www.kirtok.com/benefits-of-writing-a-blog-for-retail-store-owners/

I decided today to just do it -just make a blog, you know you want to- and succumb to my desire to share things on the interwebs. Why you may ask. Well one night, Julie Powell -now famous author and food blogger- pointed a knife at me through a television screen and said, "I should write blog. I have thoughts." And wasn't the world a tiny bit tastier, funnier and ultimately better due to Julie's decision?

So my aims for this blog are revealed. I want to make the world a tiny bit nerdier and sappier. Hopefully, I can accidentally make it a bit funnier and better. I hope you stick around to see.