Charlotte’s Blog

  Today, for the first time this unit we began to actually write our own poetry. The only problem, what should we write it on. We have studied the effects of poetry and the devices used to make it, but somehow coming up with something to write about seems much harder. A lot of the poems we read about have very profound ideas and themes, but poetry doesn’t have to be complex. Some of the best poems are about things we see and experience everyday, just from a new viewpoint. For example: Everyone loves sunsets, With their vibrant waves of orange and red. Shifting blue to gold, A riot of color to welcome the dark. Yet I’ve always preferred a sunrise. It's not as bright, It’s colors muted. But there's a silence, Like the world holds its breath Awaiting the sun  A sunset may be brighter, Louder, and prouder But even it cannot outshine the simple beauty  of a new beginning

  These past weeks, as we began our poetry unit we’ve also begun analyzing songs by one our favorite musicians. Like most other students, I chose an artist that I listen to often enough to already know the lyrics to most of her songs. Although I’ve been listening to these songs for months, I never noticed a lot of the meaning behind them, until now. The most recent song I analyzed was Drew Barrymore by SZA. At first glance, this song is about a girl going through a breakup. Before I was told to actually study the lyrics, that was about all the meaning I gathered from it. However, after beginning to study the way she arranged her lyrics and the multiple shifts in tone, I realized a lot more thought went into this song than I originally gave it credit for. The beginning of the song particularly stood out to me because of how it doesn’t seem to fit in with the rest of the song. It begins by saying multiple random phrases someone might hear at a party, such as “oh, so glad you made it”...

When people ask for favorite songs or books or movies there’s always this moment of stress where you try to decide whether you should say something impressive and profound, or the truth. Sometimes your favorite movie is a film with complex themes and characters, but let’s be honest sometimes our favorite movies are childish and fun, only meant to entertain, not educate.     Personally, one of my favorite songs is Olivia by One Direction. Like most One Direction songs, it isn’t necessarily the type of song someone might consider a work of art.Still, it still has the unique ability to make me happy each time I listen to it. It has a great beat that makes you want to dance. The song doesn’t have any powerful lyrics that seek to inspire the listener, it’s a basic song that repeats most of its lyrics multiple times. Compared to most other songs, it’s not inspiring, moving, or even that well written.However, great songs don’t need to have a powerful message, if they are able to...