Ode to the North

Hello, humans. Guess what. GAME OF THRONES RETURNS TONIGHT. I'M SO EXCITED AND AFRAID. I can't wait to find out what happens. Unfortunately, I have a gut feeling that my beloved Sansa will die this season, and I really hope I'm proven wrong. However, I won't accept anything as cannon until The Winds of Winter comes out and I can know the *true* story. In case you didn't notice, I'm throwing shade at two particular men, but it doesn't matter. They make a pretty good show. We should at least give them that.

To celebrate the premiere of the long-awaited seventh season, I will share another poem that I wrote for my eighth grade poetry project with you. This one has to do with A Song of Ice and Fire. Hope you like it.

*****

Ode to the North

Wolves, lizard-lions, and bears

Home of ancient kings and heirs

Built of ice, honorable and just

We are worthy of your trust

But we destroy deceivers

We hold the old gods' favors

We have many different saviors 

Our trees have many eyes

Ancient, honorable, and wise

They'll answer our demands

Our blood is noble and ancient

We are fierce but patient

We have things long ago lost

We aren't bothered by a little frost

By the old ways we live

You may think we're defeated

But you're just being conceited

In no time we'll swallow you whole 

You won't leave without paying your toll

In the North we remember

*****

Winter is here, and only the pack will survive.

Love, 

Nan.

Pintor

Just like the average man, Robin spent most of his days in a cubicle. Still, his little station was different, for he worked in a garden. It was around the size of a small kitchen, but beautiful nonetheless. Its walls were completely covered in green vines, and all of Robin’s favorite flowers were present- marigolds, buttercups, and tall, red roses. Naturally, their lovely smell and bright colors attracted all kinds of butterflies. Robin enjoyed looking at the green longwings, blue morphos, and the occasional monarch. While he took all that wonderful sight in, he listened to the bluebirds’ song.

Robin stood serenely in that garden, palette in hand. With careful movements of his brush, he painted the ocean at night. Why would he paint the sea if he was nowhere near a beach, you ask? The answer is simple: he whiffed a faint scent of salt and a vivid memory of the ocean came to his mind.

Robin was quite a skilled artist: he could paint every image in his head onto a canvas. That was the way he created most of his works. In fact, he did it so well that it had gained him a considerable amount of fame. Kings, rich executives, and all kinds of aristocrats around the globe invited him to demonstrate his talent in person. Because of this he could live off his art, unlike many other painters.

This afternoon, however, Robin wasn’t showing his world-renown talents to anybody. He was painting just for the pleasure of it, and because once he had an image stuck in his head, it was literally painful to keep it in.

Now, the ocean that came to shape on Robin’s canvas roared with life. It wasn’t extremely turbulent, but it wasn’t static either. The waves’ impressive demeanor demanded respect and admiration. They crashed into the rocks at the shore, creating copious quantities of sea foam. Nevertheless, the waves didn’t convey fear at all. Seeing them from a distance made the observer feel safe and delighted by the sea’s majesty.

Up in the clear and dark sky, the huge moon delivered a similar feeling. It looked imposing and radiant while at the same time looking caring and motherly, like a loving queen. The stars seemed to be aware of her presence as they all twinkled beautifully and vigorously at her command.

Robin was in such a trance that he failed to notice when the darkness of his picture began seeping into his garden. In fact, he was only aware of it when painting became practically impossible due to the scarce light. Soon, it started getting cold and his younger sister called him inside. Satisfied with his day’s work, he gathered his equipment up and returned to his house.   

*****

Hello, humans. Here's a short story about nothing in particular. It was mainly meant to be aesthetic. Hope you like it.

Tomorrow I'll be going to camp and I'm *pretty* nervous about it. I don't like camping, but I know this will be an amazing experience. I'll tell you more about it when I get back. Wish me luck.

It's almost back to school time! Oh, no. I love vacations. Guess I'll have to return to the stress of IB soon *sigh*.

GAME OF THRONES RETURNS THIS SUNDAY. OH, YEAH. I'M SO READY FOR IT.

I hope you're all doing well. If you're not, then I hope you get better. Remember that every situation eventually changes because we live in a dynamic universe. Thinking about nice things helps a lot sometimes.

Love, 

Nan.

Some Old Poems

Hello, humans. I found a few poems that I wrote when I was in eighth grade for an assignment and I wanted to share them with you. Hope you like them.

*****

January Day

The wind moves the trees

Its leaves like a thousand butterflies

Flying for the first time

The green grass grows

Too slowly to be seen

Waiting to be cut again

The azure sky looks calm

Like the sea in a summer day

No waves, no ships, no movement

The clouds cry a thousand little tears

That fall down to give life to the trees

The grass thanks the sky for its rain

*****

Bliss

I open my eyes and see the sky

I stand up and start walking

Realization grows in me and confusion leaves

I remember this place

My heart leaps where it sits

My feet want to run as fast as they can

Happy tears fill my eyes

This feeling, it’s stronger than before

I’m no longer who I used to be

I let go of what I had and what I was

I now know I can’t feel bad or sad

For I am finally where I’ve always wanted to be

*****

25 and a day

25 and a day

Day of the great fail

I haven’t been here since May

And then the bake sale

Hair bouncing up and down

A high jump and a score

I feel I’m going to drown

October one plus twenty-four

Nobody said it was easy

Always there in my mind

Always feeling this uneasy

With nothing new for me to find

Three years have gone by

And still here I lie

           

*****

I’m sorry because I haven’t posted anything in a while. I’ve been extremely busy (and kind of still am). The work ain’t gonna do itself haha. Also, I don’t like posting most of the things that I write (yikes). However, I’ve got many ideas and I’m thinking about maybe posting a poem. Let’s see if I’m bold enough.

Love,

Nan.

Doña Chilo

No me puedo dormir. Me voy a caer del tren. Tengo que seguir rezando.

Dios te salve María, llena eres de gracia… qué rosario más bonito el mío. Tanto que se lo quería pasar a la Angelita. Ay, qué chigüina más linda. El día que me fui me llevó una conchita que se había encontrado en la playa. Mire abuelita, para que se acuerde de mí. Como si la pudiera olvidar…

Levanto la cabeza de un solo para no dormirme y agarro el rosario bien fuerte. Madrecita, ayudame. Y cuidá a la Angelita y a sus hermanitos y a su mamá. Pobre la Brenda, cuidando a los niños y todo el día el Enrique afuera. Trabajan duro y nada les pagan. A como está la situación… por eso tuve que irme.

Ya me había ido una vez, a cuidar unos chavalos a Costa Rica. Les tenía tanto cariño a esos niños hermosos, tanto que aprendieron a decir Chilo antes que mamá. Cuando la patrona me dijo que ya no me podían pagar sentí un vacío en el pecho. En el bus de vuelta a Nicaragua lloraba, pero tenía que ser en silencio. Como ahora.

Me percato que estoy llorando, pero al menos así no me voy a dormir. Los extraño tanto. Yo no los quería dejar. Pero me pesaba más en el alma ver a los chiquitos durmiéndose sin un grano de arroz en el estómago, ver al David chavalito, yéndose a trabajar con el papá, a sus diez añitos.  A la Brenda ardiendo en calentura mientras el tierno en puro llanto. Los ayudo más yéndome para los Estados Unidos que estando ahí, siendo otra boca para alimentar.

Espero hallar trabajo, pero no sé cómo son las gringas. Yo no soy holgazana, siempre dejo todo nítido y no me robo ni un real. Diosito quiera que me encuentre a una patrona que me trate decentemente. Y que con lo que me pague me alcance para mandarle a la Brenda y el Enrique.

Se me están cerrando los ojos. Ya no puedo más. Ay jodido, me mata el hambre…

Certamen Literario 2017

Hola, humanos.  

He aquí mi primera publicación en español. Se trata sobre algo que pasó hoy. Espero que les guste.

En mi colegio, se realiza un certamen literario anual desde hace tres años. Usualmente son tres categorías: primero a sexto grado, sétimo a noveno grado (poesía y relato corto), y décimo y undécimo grado (poesía y relato corto). Este año nos tocó a un grupo de compañeras y a mí elegir a las ganadoras de la categoría de relato corto de sétimo a noveno grado. Aunque eran muchas producciones literarias, fue sumamente entretenido leerlas. Al final, las obras ganadoras me encantaron. Me impresionó mucho el primer lugar: una maravillosa historia escrita por una genial escritora de sétimo grado sobre un ruiseñor y una canaria. De verdad la amé, al igual que mis compañeras. Se nota que la autora tiene un gran talento y espero que continúe escribiendo.

Después de la premiación de la categoría que juzgamos, anunciaron a las ganadoras del relato corto de décimo a undécimo grado. En esta categoría, a diferencia de las demás, solo fueron premiados el primer y segundo lugar. Cual fue mi sorpresa cuando, al anunciar uno de los relatos ganadores, escuché el título de mi relato corto, Doña Chilo.

No lo podía creer. Había ganado segundo lugar.

En realidad nunca creí que ganaría nada. Me pareció que el relato (que pueden leer haciendo clic aquí) no era muy bueno. Ganar fue realmente una sorpresa para mí, tanto que no sabía a dónde ir cuando me entregaron el premio. Aunque todavía estoy un poco confundida, también estoy feliz. 

Quisiera felicitar a las demás ganadoras en todas las categorías. Sus obras estuvieron increíbles. Ustedes son sumamente talentosas.

Muchas gracias a todas las personas que trabajaron en este certamen. Aprecio mucho su esfuerzo. Les agradezco por darme la oportunidad de ser juez y de poder ganar un premio.

Me disculpo por no publicar tan frecuentemente. Aunque tengo muchas ideas e inspiración, he estado extremadamente ocupada. Es demasiado frustrante tener una historia en la cabeza y no poder escribirla, en serio. Hasta duele físicamente. Espero poder escribir más pronto. 

Con amor,

Nan.

Skeleton In the Clouds

Hello, humans.

I was watching the new episode of Sherlock, but since it's almost midnight I had to stop to write. It's been pretty amazing so far. I love Sherlock because he's so clever and I like his sense of humor. I wish I had his deductive skills, but alas I'll have to stick to math haha (obvs jk).

Something bothered me today. There's a certain *someone* who has a sibling who looks just like them, and people can't stop comparing them. The sibling gets a lot of crap for not 'being like that *someone*' and I think that's really messed up. The sibling is just less publicly known than that certain *someone*, and it's their choice. People shouldn't be mean to them because they aren't doing what their *sibling* is doing. For God's sake, you don't even know them. Stop.

There's something I really like about the way my parents raised my sister and me. They never compared us to each other. For example, I love math, but it's not my sister's cup of tea (she's extremely good at it though). She doesn't want to compete in math because it's not something she enjoys, and she prefers baking and doing more creative things (she's a great baker by the way). Our parents have never forced my sister to compete in math or forced me to cook. Instead, they celebrate our individual talents. I really appreciate that.

What I want to say with this is that you should never compare people to other people. Each person is unique and special and no one should be forced to be like another person. Every person has something to offer, and no matter how 'insignificant' someone might think that is, it's important. This includes not comparing yourself to other people, too. You have your own talents and skills, even if you don't notice or downplay them, and they are as essential as anyone else's.

To illustrate my point, I'll give you a weird example. Imagine if the other organs told the liver to be more like the kidneys to the point that the liver started comparing itself to the kidneys and being miserable. It wouldn't be pretty logical or functional, would it? They both have different, but crucial, functions. If the liver spent all they wishing it could be the kidneys instead of doing its job, the whole body would suffer. That's exactly what happens with humans. If we have a horde of sad, unsatisfied humans, humanity also suffers.

You are immensely worthy. Never let anyone make you feel less because you aren't like someone else because your worth isn't tied to other people. You are worthy because you are yourself, and no one can take that away from you. Stop believing the lies that society tells you.

In other (cheesy) words, you have mass and take up space. You matter, my friend. 

Love,

Nan.

Moana Mini-Analysis

Hello, humans.

About three weeks ago, I went to see Moana with a friend, and I absolutely adored it. It is now my favorite Disney movie of all time (Baymax is still my favorite Disney princess, though). In fact, I loved it so much that now, without having read any reviews (only the Christian Spotlight one because that website is crap and I wanted something to complain about), I will write my own small analysis. It contains spoilers, so beware. It also contains Christian topics.

First of all, I'm going to say that the animation was marvelous. The colors, the texture of the water, the night sky, the spirits, everything was so aesthetically beautiful. I also loved that traditional Polynesian art was included. Then, there's the long shot of the scene where Moana is hugging her grandmother's spirit and the beautiful night sky can be seen in the background. That was, aesthetically, my favorite shot of the movie.

Now, let's start analyzing this movie's messages. First things first, Moana was not a traditional Disney princess. She wasn't even a princess at all, as she told Maui. Her body wasn't slim and her skin wasn't white. She had dark, thick hair and dark eyes. Her hair was awesome, honestly. Even though she had that annoying, signature Disney princess face (you know, the one every female lead since Rapunzel has had), she didn't stick to traditional, Western beauty standards. When we were going to watch the movie, my friend told me that she was glad that there was finally a princess who looked like her, with wavy hair and darker skin. That is very important because these characters are what children look up to as they grow up. It's easier for a child to relate to a character if it resembles them. 

I don't know how succession works in Motunui, so I can't be sure if Moana was going to become the next chief just because she didn't have any brothers. Regardless of that, she was going to become the chief of Motunui, and she wasn't facing opposition. She wasn't even being pressured into marriage. Men and women alike came to her for advice. People understood that her being a woman didn't make her less suitable for her role as chief and that she didn't need a man to rule beside her. Also, Moana's mom didn't die to give her a tragic backstory; I'm glad that we've gotten past the 'mothers are only plot devices' phase. It looks like Disney is finally beginning to understand that having a wonderful prince to love them is not every girl's ultimate wish.

Moana was extremely brave. When she was a child, she enjoyed her grandmother's scary stories, unlike the other children who burst into tears when they heard them. That courage stayed with her when she grew up. Who would have the courage to set out on a mission on the sea by themselves after they've been told terrifying stories about it all their lives? Only an insane Gryffindor like Moana. She was also incredibly strong. Even when Maui trapped her inside a cave, when some coconut pirates stole Te Fiti's heart, when she was alone and defeated by Te Ka, she didn't abandon her mission. Her courage did falter from time to time, but she always kept going. 

I love stories set in the sea because being alone in the sea forces people to pause reflect on themselves, and that allows people to grow personally. Also, this might be controversial, but I liked the role that they gave the ocean. The ocean chose Moana to return Te Fiti's heart and to redeem Maui since she was little. It waited patiently until Moana was ready to set on her mission, and it allowed her to choose whether she wanted to go. Then, the ocean helped her. When a storm came, resulting in a shipwreck, and Moana thought the ocean had betrayed her, she noticed that it took her to Maui. That's an awfully important detail because that often happens to us, humans. We don't know what God is doing and it seems like He has abandoned us when He has actually been with us the whole time and knows that He's doing. We should learn to trust God because at the end He will take us where we need to go. 

This movie also taught me that destiny isn't everything. Moana's destiny was basically saving humanity, but she was allowed to choose whether she wanted to follow her destiny or not. She is given many chances to give up throughout the whole movie. Sometimes, the idea of destiny isn't that pleasant. We don't want to be forced into doing something great because we are afraid to fail or because we simply don't want to do it. The truth is that destiny is a choice, and we only follow it if we want to. You shouldn't be pressured into doing something because it's your 'destiny,' but you shouldn't be afraid of it either. Everything will be fine at the end. Seize your destiny.

Maui was also a very important character. Maui was abandoned by his parents as a child, but he was rescued by gods that knew his true potential. This teaches us that some people who society deems as useless are actually very valuable. God takes those outcasts and shows them their worth. 

Maui struggled with insecurity throughout his life. He believed that by giving humans everything they asked for he would be loved by them. The problem is that humans are never satisfied, and they will always ask for more. Maui did everything to try to please them; he even sacrificed his own life when they asked him for Te Fiti's heart. When the humans noticed that asking him for the heart was a mistake, they blamed him, making him feel even worse. His desire for admiration was rooted in a deep insecurity that also manifested itself by his need for his hook. Maui thought that without his hook he was no one, but the truth is his worth wasn't defined by what he had; it was defined by who he was. A person is worthy simply because they are a person and not because of anything they have or achieve. 

The plot twist at the end of the movie conveyed a lot of meaning about a person's worth. Some people are treated poorly and told that they are a failure and worthless throughout their lives. After a while, they start to believe it. They grow mean and bitter and start making other people suffer. This same thing happened to Te Fiti. When her heart was stolen, she got furious and tried to take revenge on the humans by slowly destroying Earth. Humans ran away from her and feared her instead of apologizing and helping her, and that made the problem worse. Until Moana gave her her heart back and reminded her that that was not who she was, things changed. By remembering who we are, humans who are worthy of love, we will start to treat people with love too. 

Don't worry, I won't leave without addressing the elephant in the room: cultural differences. Moana's spiritual content bothered many Christians: the gods, goddesses, reincarnation, the ocean, and magic. First of all, watching a movie with mythology won't hurt your child's faith. If you're bothered by that fact you probably force them to go to Sunday school every week, so what they should believe must be very clear to them by now. We all know that most of the things we see in Disney movies are fictional, and if you say that to your child they'll believe you. News flash: not every culture's religion is Christianity. How do you expect the people of Motunui to know about Christianity if no one had told them about Jesus? Even now, some people haven't even heard about Jesus. Historically, people have always had the need to know how the Universe and humanity came to be, and the story of Te Fiti is just the people of Motunui's explanation. Cultures are different, not everyone is Western and white (not even Jesus), and that is not a bad thing. Deal with it. 

Before I end this, I would like to say a few minor things. I didn't like this movie's soundtrack very much, even though I loved How Far I'll Go (I love Alessia Cara). I thought that Disney throwing shade at themselves was pretty funny, like when Moana's grandma said she acted weirdly because that was what the village's crazy lady had to do and when Maui told Moana to not burst into song. Sebastian's revenge was funny too.

Overall, Moana was an excellent movie, even though it had some small setbacks. I would definitely recommend it. 

Love, 

Nan.