wake up from the dream, girl

In the song, “Little Dreams” by Ellie Goulding, it shares the message of remembrance. I think what Ellie Goulding is trying to show is how powerful our mind can be. It can take over our actions and make us oblivious from the reality. I think this song kind of illustrates the story of a girl who is remembering the guy that left her that she is still in love with and it hurts to face the reality he is gone, so it’s easier to daze off into the memories. There’s a line that says, “You've got me caught in a place/Panic for a minute/Got my brain in a daze/I wish you weren't in it/There are so many ways/To lose your attention” I think this verse sort of shows the longing for the moment, but knows its wrong. the girl wants to move on, but she can’t. a lot of the song also portrays the message of past experiences taking over our emotional state. For example one verse it says, “If the streetlight smashed above me/I wouldn't move an inch/Turn the glass into stars/And your face is the moon/And the night turns to you/'Cause my mind is on you” this is towards the beginning of the song and shows the weakness this girl faces. She has startling dreams, but they always turn to him. This is like symbolizing instead of facing the pain, she pretends. Then at the end of the chorus she says, “You can break everything but so what?/I can take anything.” This shows the strength that she is rebuilding. Then my favorite part of the song comes. She tries to sort of convince herself that she is over him. But the last chorus she says again how her mind is always on him. This song reminds me of her mental thought process.

This song is so true. It doesn’t even have to be in the sense of losing a lover or something, but just how denial makes things worse. Its shows the pain in wanting something to be over, or wanting to be strong but always falling apart at the end. There’s a part of the song where she says, “There are so many ways/ To lose your attention” I think this line is really depressing. It sort of says, I can’t get you out of my head, and you don’t really care or remember me. It reminds me of a scenario of being left behind. Leaving something that was special to you is a really hard thing to face, but having the other person not care while you are dying of loneliness is the worst feeling in the world.  

a lot of people can’t admit that they aren’t over something. I think this is definitely something that is really hard to let go of. Part of the problem is facing reality, because it’s so much easier to just pretend it’s not happening or be in denial. Listening to this song really shows that it’s okay to be taken over by grief or emotional breakdowns, but there is a way out. When she says, “You’re the heat in my bones/ but you beat me with stones.” This line is my favorite. This line shows betrayal and cruelness and cold hearted people but it also shows that there is no way to stop that. There is no way to make them come back, to love you again, to be your friend again.

A Bind That Holds Two Together

I’m  currently reading You’re the One I Want, from the series of Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar. In the chapter I just read, Blair and Nate decide to get back together, again. They have been together since forever (kindergarten) and people call them soul mates. Blair and Nate have set their paths for each other so they can be together. But in senior year of High School, they face their difficulties. They are still together, but readers can see the space forming between them. They start fighting and break up several times, but always have a bind that forces them to get back together. this got me thinking about things that bind people together even though they have grown apart.

I think that Blair and Nate aren’t in love anymore, but they can’t let go of the fact that they have made the plan of being together for the rest of their lives so they would rather ignore the fact. I think part of it is facing your fears. They are both scared to let go of each other. There is so much history between them, that they woukd rather save that. But a lot of people realize that sometimes letting go is the best thing to do. Blair and Nate will still remember the history and the times they were in love, but what is the point of remembering something that they didn’t enjoy? It makes you think, wait wouldn’t the years they continue while they face the fight of distance cloud the good memories?

I’ve been in this position a lot. Usually it’s with friendships. Middle school, people change. The people you called your best friend start changing from who they were. You start growing apart and they become aliens to you. But it isn’t easy. It isn’t leaving the one you loved so much go. You don’t want to let the best times go away, you don’t want the reality that you aren’t friends anymore to become a reality. It hurts both of you usually, but it’s harder when you are left behind and the other person doesn’t care. That has happened to me and it literally broke my heart. But now, I feel better than ever. I have friends that I care as much as I did my first best friend and I still miss the person, but it gives you closure when you can let the bind go but not forget the memories.

Letting go doesn’t mean forgetting. Memories can last forever, friendships can’t always. 

Betrayal of Friendship for Fantasies

Reading the story, Fox, by M. wild and R. Brooks, it has lead me to a deeper meaning of friendship and betrayal. I think this book sends an important message to children and i think it's conveyed in such a well way that makes the children excited to learn and understand the meaning of a true friendship.

A theme that I came up with that i think really expresses the book is the message of be grateful for what you have and don't be greedy for more because when you do, you'll end up with less than what you started with. Magpie and Dog become good friends and they help each other and support eachother. they find what each of them needs, and helps them through it. Dog gives Magpie "her wing" and Magpie gives dog "his eye". Just this alone i think really stands out. I think this stands for a person with something missing inside of them. I think what the author does here is really clever and shows that the weakest people can join to be a strong person.

But then, there's Fox. Fox bribes Magpie into betraying her friend, Dog, because Fox promises her he is stronger than Dog. When magpie accepts i think this is where the theme comes in. I think that the author is showing how convincing people can be. But at the same time, the author is showing how people betray because they think they are going to end up with something better. The offer Fox gives Magpie seems so perfect to Magpie that she thinks about herself and Dog doesn't even cross her mind because she is only fantasizing about the wonderful encounters she will experience with fox. Magpie doesn't stop to think about Dog and how he'll be hurt and how she is making a wrong choice. I think this is an important message to send to children. It shows how brainwashed you become when you want more. When something isn't good enough and you think you can get better, that's all you focus on doing when really you should be taking for granted what you already have.

Magpie goes along with Fox, and leaves her friend, Dog, behind. It all seems so perfect to Magpie, until Fox betrays her. I think in this moment, Magpie feels what it's like to be betrayed and all the fantasies of having a better life leaves and she is just left with guilt that she left dog. I think the author did a really great job showing the consequences of betrayal and how wrong it is.

That leads me to my next part, about the resolution. This is probably my favorite picture book that we read because of the resolution. I think the author made a really strong choice of not making it an all "happy ending, lets all be friends again". I think that the choice of making Magpie realize how much that friendship with her and dog meant, and having her go find dog really showed the resolution to herself and how she decided to do the right thing, but the ending doesn't say if Dog forgives her, or if she ever even finds dog. I think this is such an empowering ending because it shows that there is no right answer in this. The author really wants the child to understand that, no matter if Dog forgives Magpie or not, she still betrayed her friends and that is wrong, but she faced herself and went to find him.