"If you had a chance to change your fate, would you?"

When I walk into a movie theater, I don't plan to analyze a movie in a literary way. Especially when it's an animated-children's movie. But as I watched Brave, I couldn't help myself at analyzing it. There was sooo much to think about! To begin, Merida, has bright red hair. I mean bright red hair. I didn't think anything of it at first. Then again, as the movie went on, I noticed she was daring and ambitious and wild. Her hair is a big poof fall of frills-which to me meant she was all over the place, as she was. She didn't want to be the princess she was destined to be. She was in that awkward stage between teenager and adult. She could still be a child but she wanted to be able to have adult conversations. She didn't want to marry someone she didn't love. Like most of the other Disney princesses, she wanted to fall head over heals for someone. She wanted the power to decide her fate. When it comes down to three bachelors participating tournament to see who wins Merida's hand, she rebels and says "I am Merida, and I'll be shooting for my own hand" which of course aggravates her mother who is doing her duty of queen. Speaking of her mother, her mother has long brown hair that is laced up tight and is very graceful and in control. As usual, there is a hidden female character that is the one really pulling the strings. Her long, straight hair shows she is wise and is used to sticking with the rules. Her mother is the only one in the family who has brown hair. Also, Merida's dad and three brothers are also more ambitious and less likely to follow the rules. When Merida decided she is sick of everyone making decisions for her, she escapes to a witch for help. As we can anticipated, the witch's potion did what Merida asked for, but not in the way she was thinking. Merida's mom is now a bear- the beast of their clan that everyone wants to kill. In an instant, the queen who keeps everything on track, is what everyone hunts. Merida and her mother learn how to understand each other without words and with actions. They have to put their differences aside, and work together to keep Merida's mom alive. In the end, Merida ends up saving her mom with her fierce ambition and learning a very valuable lesson. Never go to a witch for help. But she also learned to look at the other side of the story and see their reasoning. My favorite part in the entire movie is at the end when Merida and her mom ride their horses together, both of their hair down, blowing in the wind freely. Her mom has realized her daughter is not going to be who she wants her to be. Merida is going to be her own person. It also reminds me of everyday problems of mother's knowing exactly who their daughter is going to be before they are even born. I love that I can actually look deeper into movies now and see hidden puzzle pieces. I am solving the mystery to certain words, certain colors, and certain features. With that being said, "If you had a chance to change your fate, would you?"

Look at me for who I am. Not what I look like.

Over the summer, I was planning on reading a lot of books. Starting off with summer reading. I wanted to get that done first so I could relax and enjoy the summer with less-brain-occupational books, if you will. But that didn't happen. Summer took it's course and I got busy with all the fun things summer throws at you. However at the end of summer, I didn't have some time to start reading Look Me in the Eyes by John Elder Robinson. Robinson as a young boy was ostracized. He didn't understand why until a few years ago. Robinson has Aspergers-an Autism like disease that makes socializing difficult. Robinson knew he was different because his classmates would talk with him and he wouldn't say that they wanted him to say. He didnt understand that they liked small talk. He was talking like an adult and thinking like one before they were. Ok something just hit me like a wall of bricks. Creature from Frankenstein is like Robinson! Both outliers and both rejected. For different reasons, yes but same idea. Robinson was rejected because he acts different from so called "normal" people and creature just looks different. Funny now society works isn't it. Do one thing the wrong way and you might as well move to East Africa or a secluded ice cave. I well see that society hasn't changed one bit. Differences are looked down upon. This is the subject that boils my blood. I mean boils my blood. Can everyone stop focusing on themselves and how others are different and stocks on how others a different in their own way? Apparently it's hard to do because we can't seem to get over the fact that people are different. Poor creature started off will a good heart and a bad appearance. He was rejected immediately by his creator and everyone he encountered. Robinson, on the other hand, is the opposite. He looks "normal" but the way he acts is different than what society expects. While at a party, Robinson asked something along the lines of "What's easier to put in a garbage truck,  bowling balls or babies?" First I thought about how weird of a question that was. Second I hoped I had the right answer. Robinson said, "Babies. Because you can use a pitch fork." Who says that. Who thinks like that. That is what I first thought. Society has trained me to noticed the weird and either stay away or gossip about. Am I proud of that? No. Do I want to change it? Yes. It's a lot harder than I thought. In the past couple of weeks I have been trying to be more open minded and give more people the benefit of the doubt. While doing so I've noticed how harsh people are. Including my own family. It's easier to judge those who you do not know, harder to judge the people you do. Maybe that's because we judged them at first and thought "oh, I can see myself being friends with her." There's never a moment where we aren't thinking not to do or to do something. Our brains are always churning about who slept with who, who got a new haircut, or how ugly her labradoodle mix is. So this week, think about creature and Robinson. Think about how you would feel if what you think is normal is different to society. What would you do?

For Each Morning

"For each new morning with it's light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything thy goodness sends." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

I absolutely love this quote not only because it is a great prayer but also because it helps me remember what I should be thankful for everyday. I have friends, and food, and I am thankful to wake up in the mornings and start a new day. I thought of Frankenstein's creature because he didn't have "love and friends" but he had everything else. He woke up in the morning and got food or kept trucking along with his sad and lonely life. I had trouble with my feelings towards creature because I felt bad for him because he didn't have anyone. But then I was angry at him for murdering William and Elizabeth. It was just a back and forth, back and forth feeling for me. I felt especially bad when he had spent so much time helping the DeLacey family and learning from them and they ended up rejecting him. If only they could hear his story and realize what he had gone through. All of the trekking by himself and hearing screams every time he went for a walk around people. How miserable would you be if that was you? I would never ever ever EVER be happy. I wonder if I would turn to the same paths creature took. If my creator and the world rejected me, how would I react?? Would my creator be able to listen to me like Victor did to creature?? I'm surprised Victor didn't drop dead with a heart attack after exchanging a few words with creature! After all the suspense of finding creature and killing him all Victor did was listen. Was it really that hard? I mean c'mon. Yes he's a murder and quite hideous but it's one simple conversation. Creature had "rest and shelter" and "food" but he didn't have "love and friends!" I think that's the second most important part of Emerson's quote. We, as humans, obviously need food to survive, but being alone is what truly scares me. When I think of growing up, I'm not scared of not having food or shelter, I'm scared of being alone. I'm scared of dying alone. And that is where I feel the strongest sympathy towards creature. He did die alone. But what flips the coin of anger is when he kills Elizabeth! If I was sad and lonely and just downright miserable, I would not want to inflict that on anyone else. However, I do see where creature was coming from. Creature was able to ask Victor to create another creature. He had the chance but it was destroyed. I, on the other hand, might just turn out to be a frog lady. I might not have the opportunity. Creature's mate, if you will, was right there in front if him, literally. He was watching Victor as he made and destroyed her. And that is what destroyed him and what would probably destroy me too.