It is rather funny that people have so often gotten used to saying sentences like “Those are only words, they don’t mean anything”.
Words are, in my eyes, the most powerful and precious thing that exists. It can make one’s world, or completely destroy it. A simple assemblage of letters is capable of such. The fact that people consider words as something that should be overlooked because they are just words is mind boggling to me.
Words are beautiful. Words are powerful. Words are more than letters put together, thoughts uttered. Words are indelible, they are weapons that can make any day the best or worst of one’s life. Words need to be weighed with the utmost caution because once uttered, they cannot be taken back.
Words are the best thing I can offer you and the world beyond. Words are my ally. Something I can never let go off. If I write you something, you must know how important you are. For true, heartfelt words are only given to those who truly deserve them, those who can live up to them.
My Creative Writing professor once said that you know you’re a good writer when if you delete or change one word in a story, in one sentence, and the whole piece either changes or crumbles, then you mastered your art. That is how powerful a word can be. It builds things from scratch or breaks them up into the tiniest little pieces. So next time you have to say something, think of its weight. Think of how powerful those words are and most importantly, remember that no sentence or expression is ever “just words”.
I am sorry I have been rather absent lately. I have to admit that with the internship I have less time on my hands. Plus the commuting is getting its toll on me.
I’m gonna leave you with this rather interesting ambient mix I just found on Youtube. Sleep tight!
I started my internship last Monday. I believe it is safe to say that this week is somewhat hectic. The first day at the office was just me discovering my surroundings, getting used to the fact that I have my own desk and trying to remember everyone’s names and functions.
On the second day, I missed the morning because there was a press conference I did not have to attend and had to go to the Casablanca airport to pick up the yay you finished freshman year/good luck with your internship/ happy early birthday gift my brother Jacob mailed to me. Let me just say that dealing with administrative stuff is definitely not my thing! But anyway, when I got to the office I had some paperwork to go through and things to do and people to help, so I basically didn’t have time to breathe.
The gift. My Ideal Bookshelf.
On Wednesday, I woke up with a migraine so bad that my eye sight got even worse than it already is. I could actually see double with my left eye for a little while. But I got my dose of ibuprofen, hopped on that train and made my way to the office where I learned I would be working on designing a bulletin. I have never hated my tiny computer as much as I did on this past couple of days. Designing 4 pages on a 10.1″ screen is really not the best thing to do. After endless hours and an almost sleepless night, I got it done for Thursday morning but then spent the whole day making little changes. I actually have 9 or 10 different versions saved on my computer, but at least it was well done!
In short, I’m gonna spend my six weeks with Amnesty International Morocco designing and writing brochures, pamphlets, flyers, bulletins and newsletters for the different campaigns going on right now. I’m actually really glad I have something to do. Plus I get to dust off my InDesign skills which got a little rusty over the past couple of years.
Other than the boring details of my internship that I just could not spare you, I finished reading Pride and Prejudice last Monday. It’s just one of those books that I read really slowly at the beginning and then once I hit a certain point I can’t stop anymore. I basically spent 10 days reading 200 pages and then as soon as I got to Chapter 34, the book was glued to my hands and I read the rest in less than two days, mainly because I kept getting interrupted by my stomach growling at me to go feed it. I’m not going to go over the details of how I feel about Lizzie and Darcy. You can check that out over here!
As you must know, I have a reading list I have to go through. When I finished Pride and Prejudice, I put five of those books in front of me and tried to decide on which one to start first. I ended up deciding on Chinua Achebe‘s No Longer At Ease. However, since I always find the train too full to be seated on my way to work, I can’t really read standing and haven’t started it yet. And I might or might not have changed my opinion and decided to read Austen‘s Persuasion, thanks to my sisters who were watching The Lake House earlier and I loved/hated the fact that I could to a certain degree relate to the story line of the novel. Let us see how emotionally damaged can Jane Austen get me to be yet another time.
All in all, I feel like I’m steering everything towards some direction I am not yet sure of. All I know is that I really should make some specific time to write. I need to.
I created this mix almost three months ago before I went on the Trip to the South during my Spring Break but I ended up never really listening to it. I’m doing so now, obviously. It makes me want to go on a random road trip with no particular destination in the middle of the night.
Feel free to listen, like, share or comment here or on 8tracks. It would be greatly appreciated!
“There are so many things I want to do, but I end up doing not much.”
This is a quote from one of my favourite sequels ever, Before Sunset. I’m not going to go in the details of the movie but I’ll just say that is exactly how I feel right now. If you’ve read my earlier posts, you might be familiar with my big summer plans of reading, writing and catching up on my t.v. shows. Well, for some unknown reason, I find myself unable to do that. I can’t get past the middle of most of the books I started reading lately. Movies don’t appeal to me anymore. I find nothing to write about and I can’t even finish an episode of NCIS.
An intervention is in order I say!! Or maybe I just need to spend less time sleeping and eating. In all honesty, it is not very fun to be the only one done with school. All of my friends are still preparing for their finals and wish them all luck!
On another note, I got the internship I applied for so starting Monday, June 3rd I will be working as an intern at the Moroccan office of Amnesty International. Can you hear me squealing with excitement?
With this I bid you goodbye and wish you good luck with your endeavors!
Oh Matt Corby, your voice ever so enthralling. This song came out two day ago and I simply can’t get enough of it. If we are Facebook friends the audio version might have ended up on your newsfeed. I’m making it up to you by posting this newly uploaded footage of the song being recorded in studio.
Or how to spend a whole day squealing like teenager over a 200-year-old OTP!
I’m sorry that first sentence might be a little bit confusing but bear with me as I explain how I spent today. It is nearly 2 a.m. and I just watched the last episode of The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, episode 100. Can you believe it?! I know I can’t!
The Lizzie Bennett Diaries is a modernized online adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1813 classic Pride and Prejudice. It is a set of 100 episodes on youtube that last from 2 to 8 minutes. You can find the first episode at the bottom of this post. I am not going to go over the details concerning the production and all, but if you want to have an idea about that you can follow this link. However, I am going to say that one of the developers of the idea happens to be Hank Green who is John Green’s brother, John Green being one of the writers behind my emotional instability and some of my worst book hangovers.
I first heard about TLBD from one of my closest friends and roommate who watched the whole thing in the shortest possible amount of time, as is always the case with her actually! Later on my best friend also spoke about it and mentioned Hank Green’s name. By that point I just could not ignore the fact that it existed. However, both of them had only one advice for me: DO NOT START IT BEFORE FINALS IT WILL CONSUME YOUR LIFE. I swear I am not exaggerating with the caps! Maha really did shout that to me!
Anyway, needless to say I did not hear them out. I started watching it a couple of weeks ago. I was at the first episode and without even realizing it I was already at the fifteenth. That was when I figured I would be better off starting it after finals are over.
So here I was today, sitting on my bed with nothing better to do when thought “Let’s go see what the Bennets are up to!” Not that I don’t know what the story is about of course. I have read the novel before and watched both the Hollywood AND the Bollywood movie adaptations, therefore I was more than simply familiar with the story line.
The thing with this adaptation is that it is REFRESHING!
You know how people say that when you re-read books you discover new things? That was the case for me while watching this! Everytime I read the title Pride and Prejudice, I thought that Darcy was the prejudiced one. I am finally realizing that it is mainly because Elizabeth, or Lizzie, is the one who is prejudiced and full of pride. Thanks to this series, I am noticing that before I saw everything through HER eyes, which might make me rather prejudiced myself. What makes this adaptation special in my eyes is that it is so well adapted into the 21st century. Twists and turns were made in the story line, not actually changing the purpose for which the novel was written in the first place but rather endorsing it! I don’t really want to give examples to explain this idea some more because I feel like it would ruin it for you if you ever decide to watch it.
Another thing I absolutely love about this adaptation is the acting and character development. I seriously cannot talk enough about the cast and their perfect, pinpoint performances throughout the webseries. I remember Wissal telling me that comparing the first and last episodes would really show that development and now I see that! It was done so smoothly and eloquently that at first we don’t even realize.
Something else that was eloquent and subtle was the messages sent in the adaptation, notably through the changes I spoke about earlier. There are some lines that are literally game changers but we don’t realize that until we go over them again. I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed that!
Lastly, how could I NOT talk about the infamous William Darcy? I believe it is safe to say that since 1813, Jane Austen has contributed through this character in raising women’s expectations of men. I am not sure whether she should be thanked or cursed for that but for now I urge you to go watch every single episode RIGHT NOW. I can promise you one thing: you will be at the edge of your seat until he shows up on the screen. I know I was!
As for me, I am going to re-read the novel. Well, not tonight. I need to wrap my head around all of this and GET SOME SLEEP. But I do need to start that Books Writers Should Read List soon and P&P is on it. Might as well right?
I am leaving you with this:
Remember: DON’T START UNLESS YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO. Next thing you know it is 4 a.m. and you are at episode 98. Mark my words!
I have been wanting to write this for a little while but as you all might know, my first year in college has finally come to an end. I am not really sure of where I’ll be going with this blog entry but things might get a little sappy. Please forgive me!
Thinking back I realize that there are not many things I remember specifically. Some of my friends might be laughing when reading this because they know my biggest fear is to forget. But for once, I am okay with the things I remember.
Despite all the ups and downs. The frustrations and laughter that paced my days. The doubts I had and unspoken fears. I am happy with where I am today. I spent this past year thinking too much. But that really is no surprise. I spent this past year going over all the details in my mind, all the plans that happened and the ones that fell through leaving me staring blankly at empty pieces of paper trying to think of where things went wrong.
Right now, I am looking at the mess caused by the ridiculous amount of unpacked bags and containers a bit all over the place, thinking of my last Creative Writing class where my professor said “This is but the beginning“. For some reason nothing else made more sens than that single phrase and every-time I try to see why it might have been so important, I somehow fail. However, right now I’m thinking of the fact that everything is a beginning. Every moment is a beginning of something. And this moment right now is when I am accepting that I am happy and content without really asking questions. Before, whenever I’d be happy, I’d start asking myself why to the point where I end up being miserable for no particular reason. It is not going to happen this time!
I am officially on summer break with a ridiculous amount of time ahead of me to read, catch up on television and cinema and other emotional breakdown inducing media, sleep, knit and most importantly WRITE! That’s my real plan: Find a perfect time of day and simply write! I also need to see all the people I didn’t get to spend enough time with this past year. I might have to wait a few more weeks for that though since I am the only one who is done with final exams as of right now!
When it comes to the blog, I will try to write on a daily basis. Maybe even have more book/movie/tv series reviews.
Let’s hope for the best I guess, and good luck with your endeavors lovely readers!
Because these covers are some of my absolute favourites around.
I am sorry I haven’t been very active as of lately. It is mainly because I am drowning in schoolwork due to the fact that this week is Finals Week. I promise I will post more often as soon as I am done!
Until then, enjoy the mix and good luck with your exams!
