Watch This. Now. Please.

This is a crazy inspirational, perfect, wonderful video. You must watch it. It will be in my mind forever. 

It's Happening Again

Slob Blogging

This week went by far too quickly! How is it already Monday again and how am I already so far behind on my homework again?
It was a seriously busy week. On Monday I found out I had been accepted to Simon Fraser University! SFU isn't my first choice and I'm still waiting to hear back from UBC but it feels amazing to know that I've been accepted to one of the best universities in the country!
On Tuesday I ran 5K. It felt so good! I feel like I'll be able to finish the Sun Run no problem!
Wednesday was the Education Forum at HSS. Around 40 students talked about educational reform and what they really want. What they really need for their education in order for them to succeed. I also went to dinner with my best friend, which was much needed. Very very good day.
Thursday I took the day off school to go to a branding workshop. It's all about branding Hope. We answered questions like, what does Hope mean to you? What do you see Hope being like in 10 years? It was basically just so that we can try to find the identity of Hope, there is much work to do in that process though. Also, I helped out at the middle school's carnival and ended up puking all night. Pretty strange day. I was feeling wonderful all week and then after the carnival I started getting really sick and I've had a cold ever since. I'm not too sure what's going on but I'm not digging it.
Friday I took a nap and went to Kevin's hockey game and then slept until 11 on Saturday. That was nice. I went for a run on Saturday afternoon and it was really difficult! It wasn't supposed to be a hard run but since my body is so rundown it really sucked. Not happy.
Today is today. It was so ridiculously lazy and so is this blog post but I'm not in the mood right now and I have too much homework and I can't wait for next weekend already. I suppose this is just the way things go!
I think one thing I will have to work on when I go to university is this silly problem I have with procrastination. I don't want to do homework! I want to be out in the world doing something I love!

Leave of Absence

On February 15 Kevin and I went to Leave of Absence, it was a reasonably dark play that dealt with religion, sexuality and love. I want to start off by saying how amazing it was to see a two hour play that was set entirely on one set. There was no set changes, nothing. It was all about lighting and the words they used that set the scene. It was really remarkable. I've never experienced something like it.
The play though, filled me with so many emotions! Anger and sadness and pride and it made me laugh at times too. I will admit, being very very unreligious, there were a few references to biblical stories that I didn't quite understand. They start off by drilling it to you how religious this town is and the different ways that each character interprets the bible and God. Then, the main character, Blake, who is 14? 15?, basically comes out as being a lesbian. This tiny town gets turned upside down by this. She starts getting bullied, isolated, so on and so forth and everyone in her school and church freak out. Also, she finds out that this super aggressive, "old country" Russian man that has lived in the same town as her and has gone to the same church as her since forever is her father, too much? Not to mention he's recently widowed and entered the stage without a shirt, grunting and boxing... The play ends with Blake getting brutally sexually assaulted by some boys from her school. Just thinking about it right now turns my stomach upside down and I can feel my anger starting to boil. She's founded by the local priest, who her mother is actually in love with (too much?), and dies in his arm while bleeding by the river. I hated it. I hated it so much. I feel angry thinking about it. Not the play, or anything but just that something like that could happen. This isn't a true story but the playwright witnessed something very similar to the assault when she was in junior high. The playwright, by the way, also acts as the mother of the main character. The anti-climax happens when the priest leaves for a spiritual journey (this goes about when he says, "I am taking a leave of absence because I have been absent." Too much?), the mother tries to commit suicide and then leaves with the priest and Leap, her father, breaks the legs of the boys that killed his new daughter and then goes to leave shoes around Europe because his dead wife, "would have wanted it."
Don't get me wrong, I did really like the play but at times, I feel like it could have been more simple. Possibly less overall drama with the mother. It makes me wonder it maybe the playwright wrote that role for herself and created all of this drama to perhaps, make her feel more important or to give herself more of a role, more lines.
I did like that it gave me the feeling of wanting to punch bullies in the face. You know? It made me angry and it made me motivated to move forth with the anti-bullying movement at my school.
I also really liked the whole hey, there are more important things than the bible theme. It's very true on so many levels. There are more important things than not eating meat on a Wednesday or thinking that homosexuality is wrong. I used to think that religion was a way for people to have a connection with something that represented hope. Like, an imaginary friend or someone you can confide in who won't judge you. I thought religion was for you to have your very own, very individualized relationship with God or whoever it is. I feel like so many people take it as more than that. As a way to live your life, like a set of rules and something that you should exploit to make friends, to give yourself a right or reason to judge people, for political gain, there are so many reasons that I feel people have made religion out of. In Leave of Absence Leap makes a really good point that in some places, there was a time where verses of the bible were sprawled on pieces of paper and people had to pray in their basements in have religious ceremonies in secret because they were afraid of the government knowing. Now people are afraid of God and religion is something people abuse.

Vancouver Arts Club Rant

Before I rant, I want to make two things clear that I am aware of.
1. Yes, I probably should have bought my tickets earlier.
2. The Arts Club is a business with people it has to pay.

Today I went online to buy 2 tickets for Ride the Cyclone. Now, I saw this play last year when it came to Vancouver and I really liked it so I thought, hey I'd like to see what changes they've made to it since it's back in town! Super stoked, I ask Kevin to go with me to see it. Today, I went to go buy tickets for the Friday show. They were $54 for the last row. Vancouver Arts Club, are you for real? By the way, the Arts Club only does a general price. No students/seniors, whatever. Not like almost every other theatre does... I can even get two free tickets for the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra but I can't get a discount on these, might I say, outrageously priced tickets. I mean, I understand that not everyone who goes to plays or music or any theatre production is a financially-challenged student and therefore can afford these tickets but unfortunately, I can't. So, this weekend I am missing out on seeing Ride the Cyclone because although I could potentially afford to go see it, I don't feel like giving into the man this weekend by spending 5 days worth of lunch money on an hour-and-a-half-revision-of-a-show-that-didn't-even-get-very-good-reviews. This is me sticking up my middle finger to the man.

I honest to goodness believe that every production should have a youth/student/senior price. We will pay full price when we have good paying jobs and a real life. For now, we just want to be exposed to the arts for god's sake! I want to be entertained in a way that makes me think and makes me question and makes me laugh and is totally, completely beautiful in any way, shape or form. I don't want to go see the latest Blockbuster. I'd rather spend my money on the arts, where I can see real people performing! And feel the atmosphere! I think businesses need to re-evaluate what they're doing and realize that the youth is the future! And we don't have a lot of money!

SO INSTEAD, we're going to go see Leave of Absence at the Pacific Theatre. Student tickets were only $25. We actually got two tickets for less than one Ride the Cyclone ticket. I'm really looking forward to seeing too. I've never been to the Pacific Theatre but The Province gave the show a pretty decent review.

Plus, I'm left with $29 to spend elsewhere. I WILL NOT GIVE INTO YOUR MONEY MACHINE MR. ARTS CLUB.

Helping Out Avec SH(OUT)

Puffy Eyes

For the first time in a very very very long I have been the subject of this strange bullying thing that girls do. I have been talked about behind my back in a manner that no one should be proud to admit to. I have been unfairly judged by people who don't know me. I don't know why this exist in such a modern age. I can't fathom why anyone would say means things about me. I don't understand it.
I have tried so hard for so long to be the best person I possibly can be. I work so hard for everything I achieve and so hard for everything I believe in but because of that I'm what? A try-hard? A teacher's pet? Is this fair? No. Is it happening? Yes. My grades are high but apparently I'm not so I must be getting extra help from my boyfriend? I try so hard to be nice to everyone. I do. I try. So why am I being subjected to such slander? Why? I forgot how much it hurt to know that people hate you. I'm realizing how much it hurts to think that what you thought your persona was, isn't at all what other people think you are.
Why are people to mean to each other? Why does this cruel attitude exist amongst us? I don't fucking understand these close-minded bastards. I am not who you think I am. You do not know me.

Fifty Shades of Gay

This is a really awesome TED video by iO Tillett Wright. Doing something so artistic and meaningful like this is absolutely incredible. Really powerful stuff.

Yogging

It's supposed to be wild.

Energizing

I've been finding lately that the days when I do workout I feel much more energized and happy. The days when I don't I feel sluggish and somewhat depressed. It's interesting to me that taking just an hour out of my day can change the way I feel completely. Tomorrow will start my fifth week of training for the sun run!
I got this new black tea from David's Tea. So good. Loves it.

CBC News Day

Yesterday I went to CBC News Day at the Vancouver Public Library. It was a one hour workshop talking about the CBC, journalism and the news day. CBC News Day is about 400 kids auditioning and the CBC picking 30 of them and then those 30 students get a $1000 scholarship and get to try out different aspects of the CBC like, writing, broadcasting, radio, etc,. Every time they said CBC Radio-Canada, the speaker on the videos said it with a harsh french accent and I really liked it. It sounds sweet.
Anyway, next Sunday I'll be auditioning! I have to pick an original news story and pitch it to people who work at the CBC. It's recorded and everything so it should be pretty cool! I'm excited for it but I'm nervous about actually picking a story. What will be interesting enough, can I get an entire story out of it, etc,. The cool thing though is that I can pick something from Hope! (I asked to make sure.) I also don't want to do a story that I think is going to be too mainstream. Like, bullying or depression, etc,. I'm going to take a drive around Hope to see if I can find anything interesting.
One of the speakers, I believe her last name was Goodsaul? Something like that. Was telling us about how her first story was just something that she had questions about. She had to take the Skytrain and there were little screens that were supposed to say how long it took for the next train to come but when she phoned to see why they weren't working apparently Translink had bought the system and it didn't even work! It was her first big story when she started working at CBC and it just came to her because she asked questions.