I should post more. Here's a Review of TFIOS

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

How does one even begin to describe how much this book means to me? I've recommended it to my mother, my best friend, and my boyfriend. All of them loved it. I've read this book twice in the past 6 months and I plan on reading it again very soon.

Clarification: This is NOT a "Cancer Book". This book is not about a child who has cancer and how he or she or the family gets through it. If you want that kind of book. Don't read this one.
Good. Now that we have that out of the way, we can continue.

The Fault in Our Stars (TFiOS for short), is a yet another brilliant novel written by John Green. Personally, I think this is his best one. TFiOS is narrated by 16-yr-old Hazel Grace Lancaster. Unfortunately, Hazel Grace has terminal cancer. This book isn't about how she gets through life with cancer. It's about how she lives despite of it. She's a regular teenager. She laughs. She fangirls. She watches TV. She reads. She falls in love.

This book is the best love story ever written. Better than Romeo & Juliet (they only knew each other for a few days, mind you). Better than any other you could think of. John Green captures the idea of True Love so perfectly. It's the idea that one can completely be himself or herself with the person they are in love with.


It's happy. It's sad. It's funny. It's life.

P.S. Here's a link to a song about the book. Not me. But absolutely brilliant. Amazing song + amazing book = Amazing-ness explosion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaIU0z...

P.P.S. If you're a nerd, like I am, here's a link to a cool Facebook page that posts cool pictures and stuff :) https://www.facebook.com/IfTheDoctorM...

View all my reviews

Prom

I guess I should start in the beginning. In the middle of April I went on a student exchange program to the Netherlands. I went with 3 boys, and 2 other girls and one of the boy's mom.

We spent 10 days there. There were absolutely beautiful and I had the time of my life. I also, sorta, maybe fell for one of the guys I went on the trip with. Anyway, long story short, we hung out all the time after the trip. I am currently very close with all these people I went on the trip with. Even all the friends I made while I was there. 

I am now dating this boy that I fell for on the trip (as of May 20th). At the moment, I think he's pretty perfect. Honestly, life is great right now. It's almost summer. I'm taking my final exams for the year. Two tests left.

On the first of June 2012, I went to his Senior Prom with him. He had asked me May 1st to go with him. He had written me a beautifully dorky poem to ask me. It's adorable. I still have it. Here are some pictures from that.

This is a picture with the other two girls we went to the Netherlands with. We're all such good friends.

We are aware of how adorable we are together. :)

Hi. I'm not dead! I have a lot to talk about but firstly, I am going to show you all my videos that I've made. I have NOT put one up on my main channel first before my trip to the Netherlands, but I have been updating my collab channel weekly.

This one was my friend subbing for me while I was away in Dutchland.

This was a "Thoughts from Places" video on The Netherlands.

This week's topic was Boys and Relationships

My success continues <3

This video was made in one take. The topic is Friends.

The topic: Self Confidence

And the video I made for today!

I had to do a punishment because I missed May 22nd. I actually slept through that entire day. 13 hours straight. it was beautiful!

Netherlands

We have a lot to catch up on. On Wednesday, I am going to the Netherlands. Here's a status I posted on my Facebook a couple minutes ago describing my feelings about this:

Yes. I will be staying with three different hosts families. I will be going to school for three of the days while I am there. I am going with two other girls from my town and 3 guys. I AM SO EXCITED, I may explode. 

April 4th-15th.

'twill be amazing. I can feel it. I've been trying to learn a little Dutch for the occasion, but it's not going too well, thank god they speak English there.

I have my moneys all ready. Euros are so gorgeous and they actually make sense. Very unlike American Dollars. They are all green and all the same size. Speaking of American bucks we should really get rid of the penny, but don't even get me started with that.

See you guys in about two weeks <3

Imma Veggie

It all started with a game:

      Karina, a chubby 12 yr old girl, and a bunch of her friends were sitting around their usual lunch table. Eight girls in total. They were all hunched over the table giggling over what Sierra just said.

"Hey, wanna see how long we can go without eating meat?" Christina asked me. Karina nodded enthusiastically, she had always wanted to be a vegetarian.

      It was tough for Karina at first. Her mother kept forgetting about her new diet. Her mom would make chicken for dinner or burgers and Karina would run out of the room crying.

"Mom, what I really need right now is your support. I really want to do this. This means a lot to me," Karina explained to her mother after 4 months of dedication to the game with her friend Christina.

      Her mom nodded in understanding. Her mother wanted to support her, she really did but it could be so aggravating trying to find a decent, balanced diet for her daughter. 

      No chicken. No fish. No pork. No beef. Honestly, there aren't many other dinner foods, she thought.

      The weeks went by. They were filled with loud arguments between mother and daughter.
      Six months passed since the first day of "el vegetarian-o" commencement.

"I can't do this anymore, Karina, my doctor told me I need to eat meat. I have some blood thingy," Christina announced. She had some sort of form of anemia.

      So they stopped. give or take. At the same time. It was Karina's birthday party and they both bit into a sausage at the same time, so it could be fair.

      A couple weeks later...

"I think I'm going to keep being a vegetarian," Karina told Christina. "Meat kind of grosses me out, now-a-days."

     However, the arguments still continued between Karina and her mom. They were all along the lines of:

Mom: I just don't know what to make you to eat any more!

Me: Whatever is fine. Just not meat.

Mom: *Sigh*

      After a couple more months of that, Karina could not take the fighting any longer. It was becoming a daily routine. She decided to compromise. She told her mother that she would eat fish and chicken. Fish, because it was healthy. Chicken, because she missed her mother's homemade soups and dishes.

      Thus, became to be the Treaty of Treats. Also known as, the diet of Karina that both satisfied her mother's wishes and her own personal values.

     It is almost 4 years later. Karina is still a vegetarian who does not eat red meat, and her mother and her have not fought over her diet in a long, long time.

     The End.

2012

As we know, the world is ending on Dec. 21, 2012. (Not really, but we like to scare ourselves). Maybe that's a good thing. Everyone says on the first day of every new year, "This will be the best year yet!" If we think that we are going to die, we try to do as many things as we can. We want to die happy. Although, the world ISN'T going to end, it's still a great way to live. Being productive, in other words.

For me, particularly, this year is going absolutely swimmingly. This is a list that I am working on consisting of all the first things that I have done this year. Also, all the amazing things I have done and I am very happy for.

This list is on-going until Jan 1, 2013:

• Met someone famous 1/11/12
• John and Hank Green
•  Went to Pittsburgh to visit my brother at college 2/17-19/12
• First time I went on a city bus without an adult
• Farthest I've ever been away from home without my parents
• Farthest I've ever gone with friends
• Went to first rock concert (Downtown Fiction, Anarbor, We the Kings, Mayday Parade) 3/2/12
• First time I've been on a plane without my parents 4/4/12 - 4/15/12
• Went to a new country without my parents
• Went to the Netherlands
• Had my own alcoholic drink
• Went to school in a foreign country

Tangled, A Batik

This is a project I did in my art class in school. It's called a Batik.

Batik, a Javanese  tradition, is the concept of dyeing and waxing a piece of cloth repeatedly to create a picture. The wax deflects the dye from getting to a particular spot on the cloth.

I chose an abstract sun because it reminded me of the Disney movie, Tangled. That movie to me represented the concept of being free and falling in love, the two most needed emotions for human beings. I chose the cool/warm color schemes because I liked the idea that two opposites although clashing, can create such an amazing picture.

Collaborative Channel

About a month ago...
I started a Nerdfighter Collaborative Channel on Youtube. There are 7 of us. Each of us take a day of the week. I make videos on Tuesdays! Yay for Tuesdays! 

Sunday- Julia
Monday- Ceara
Tuesday- Yours Truly
Wednesday- Dara
Thursday- Rebecca
Friday- Gabi
Saturday- Ashley

We are called fictitiousladies . Because we are all female. Also because we believe very strongly upon fandoms. 

What is a fandom you may ask?

It is a group of fanatics (mostly girls) who obsess over something that is usually fictional. It can be after a television show. For example avid followers of the TV show Doctor Who call themselves Whovians. People who follow the show Sherlock are called Sherlockians. People in these fandoms usually never think about anything else in their lives. I, for example, am a Whovian and a Sherlockian. So i don't do much else but make references to those shows all the time

Anyway, now i have 5 new friends (I've known Gabi for awhile now). I have a good feeling about this.
 

My latest video (to understand it, and any future videos, you should really just subscribe and watch everyone's videos!):

Latina Bloods (A Perfect Chemistry Fan Fiction)

 If you haven't read the "Perfect Chemistry" series by Simone Elkeles you may not fully understand this. This takes place around the time of Book Two. Just for the record, I do not encourage violence or anything of the sort. I just enjoy these books a lot.

This is Chapter One of my fan fiction. Or I may possibly just finish it here. Who knows?

I was born into the LB. My father traded me in when I was four years old for the freedom of his future children. Ma was pregnant with another kid at the time. Chuy always needed a Fuentes in the Latino Bloods. It was a fixation of his.

I am sitting on the floor of a warehouse, toying with the Glock in my hands. I know how to shoot straight blindfolded and upside-down. Chuy pretty much raised me. My father was here most of the time but he went home at the end of the day to go back to Ma. He got shot when I was 15.

I’m 26. I spend my nights gangbanging and my mornings dealing. None of the boys here accept me. There isn’t supposed to be a women in the Latino Bloods. That’s why it’s called the Latino Bloods. I get up and stick the gun in my waistband.

“Ahh, Fuentes, welcome back.”

I turn to see who’s talking. It’s Chuy but he’s not talking to me. He’s talking to a young boy, about a senior in high school. Fuentes? The boy gives me a curious look when he sees me. Chuy looks up and sees me, a nasty grin appears on his face. I nod my head in the young boy’s direction. Chuy’s smirk widens.

“Carlos, this is Esperanza.” Chuy says gesturing towards me. Carlos nods.

“What’s your last name, niño?” I ask the boy.

“Fuentes, chicka. Why you ask?”

My eyes dart at Chuy, he has that nasty grin on again. “No reason.” I tell the kid. “Chuy, we need to talk.” I say as I turn on my heals and leave the room. Another Fuentes? Didn’t my good-for-nothing father give me up to the gang so that this wouldn’t happen? What the hell is going on?

In a couple minutes Chuy enters the small room that I am in.

“A Fuentes!?” I shout as soon as the door shuts. “What the hell?”

“I couldn’t resist. I like my Fuentes. They work well,” As he says this he comes closer to me.

I back away. “That’s not fair. Let him go.”

“No. I don’t think I will,” he says as that disgusting smirk goes back on his face and he places his repulsive meaty hands on my hips. “Come on, chicka.”

“Go to hell, Chuy,” I say as I punch him in the face. I run for it. No one attacks the leader of the LB and gets away with it, including another LB. I can hear him cursing as I dash through the doorway. I grab a switchblade off the counter and head out the back door. The noise of pounding footsteps can be heard now. Chuy had told everyone to go after me. Since none of them particularly liked me anyway, I bet they were thrilled to finally have a reason to get me.

I make a sharp turn into a dark alleyway then jump a fence. I’m free. For now.

Paperclips

This is an interactive video that I made :)

 About something that means a lot to me!

VEDIF 29: Leap Year

VEDIF 28: Words

I have an accent. Obviously.

VEDIF 27: Stories

This is about all different types of stories, in all forms!
Is it weird to say that I really like my hair in this video and the one before. Well, they were filmed consecutively.

VEDIF 26: Excuses

I missed Sunday. I need punishments! I feel awful. I apologize.

VEDIF 25: Nice People

Once again, this video is not edited! and I'm pretending that my friends toothbrush is a microphone.. if you didn't catch what i was doing.

VEDIF 24: Trash Bin Adventures

well... I have no explanation for this one. No editing though. so claps for Karina?

VEDIF 23: Autobiography (Part 2)

VEDIF 22: My Autobiography (Part 1)

VEDIF 21: Collab Channel

I started a Collab channel! Which means: on Youtube, I make videos on one channel with other people. I make videos on Tuesdays. Click to go to that channel!

In this first video I introduce myself and also talk about my top five favorite youtubers.

This is my vedif video on my main channel. I was lazy so it's really just a link to the other video.

VEDIF 20: Party Rock Anthem

My friends and I danced.

This Means War Movie Review

I recently saw This Wars Mean (4hours ago in fact) and I hafta say. This is one of the best movies I have seen in a while. This movie features Chris Pine (who I have loved since Princess Dairies 2 and is in the new Star Trek) Reese Witherspoon (from Legally Blonde and Water for Elephants) and Tom Hardy (from Inception).

Five Reasons Why You Should See This Movie:

1. Along with featuring great actors, this movie was very witty. Usually movies these days have what I like to call "awkward humor". The movie will set up an awkward situation in means to make the audience laugh. It works, of course, but it gives the viewer a sense of discomfort. This movie had  authentic jokes. The lines were funny and the actors portrayed that well. 
Yesterday, I went to see Journey 2 with Josh Hutcher and Dwayne Johnson. The movie was pretty good, definitely not as good as the first (Journey to the Center of the Earth). However, the thing that really bothered me was Dwayne Johnson. He's a terrible actor! At the end of the film he says something along the lines of "Sean, hit that button at my signal". I thought he was going to go outside the submarine and risk his life or something. But no. His facial expressions are very misleading.

2. Chris Pine. Come on guys. What's not to love?

3. I have a weak spot for Spy movies. But not only is this a spy movie. It's a RomCom. I'm not actually sure if I would classify this as a ChicFlic for not. You'll have to figure that one out on your own I suppose. Anyhoo, this movie has a wide variety of genres in it really. Whether you like: spy movies, romantic, comedy, action...etc.

4. I'm not the only one who thought it was funny. This was one of those films where everyone in the theater was cracking up. I seriously could not contain myself. I was bent over because I was laughing so hard.

5. Guns, ledges, tables, paintballing, paintings, dogs, cool gadgets, children, grills, DVDs, and water are all featured in this film. Need I say more?

In all seriousness, this movie was quite enjoyable. I am buying it as soon as it comes out on DVD. I will probably not even wait a few weeks for the prices to go down I loved it so much.

I can't wait for the new Star Trek! or the Hobbit (featuring Martin Freeman)!

VEDIF 19: Footloose

I watched the new Footloose last night. I'll probably remake this video sometime in the near future though.

VEDIF 18: Radiohead & Tattoos

kjldsahfluehaenmfmdnfje.

wuzzup ma homies?

VEDIF 17: Book Review of The Hunger Games

I keep forgetting to post these!

VEDIF 16: Public Speaking and Flashmobs and Google

Idk what it is about public speaking. I have trouble speaking. I stumble upon my words all the time. Maybe I'll take a Speech class as an elective senior year. We have those.
I'm fine with speaking one-on-one with someone, even if it's a complete stranger. In fact, I am probably better at  speaking to strangers than I am to my peers. You should hear me when I talk to adults over the phone or teachers. I'm flawless (with my articulation). Articulation is a word? Really? I learned a new word today! Normalcy. Isn't it cool? It's such a simple word but it looks so alien. Anyway, my video is how I can't speak in public. I even trip over my words when I am with friends it is really weird.

Also, recently, (today) I switched to GoogleChrome as my internet browser. I usually use FireFox. FireFox is a little simpler, so I will probably use it sometimes. GoogleChrome is cool though. It's easier to check my Gmail and stuff. Did you know that Youtube, Gmail, and Blogspot are all connected accounts? How awesome is that? I love Google. google translate. google maps. youtube. google search. I would die without google and I am not just saying that. For goodness sake, google is a verb now! I googled it to make sure.

VEDIF 15: Anagrams

I wasn't feeling the whole vlogging thing today.. so this is me BSing it.

Oh, and this is about anagrams

VEDIF 14: Things I Can Do

Sorry. I forgot to post this. I did make one though! Happy belated Valentine's Day!

VEDIF 13: My Library

Here I show the books in my room!

VEDIF 12: Manhattan, Aliens, & Tea

This is a excerpt from a story I am writing. This video took way longer to edit than it should have, unfortunately. I really need to start making my videos earlier in the day, again

VEDIF 11: Mt. Fuji

My family and I go to Mt. Fuji restaurant every year for my brother's birthday/Valentine's Day. It's great there!

 

VEDIF 10: My Brother's Birthday

I made my brother a cake. It didn't work.

VEDIF 9: Tour de Nerdfighting

Yet another thingy about the TFIOS tour!

VEDIF 8: Hungger Games & Twilight

Just a little vlog :)

VEDIF 7: Sherlock

Just to prove my loyalty to Dear Sherlock Holmes.

I believe in Sherlock

VEDIF 6: Book Review

I very crudely made a book review of my favorite series at the moment. The Perfect Chemistry series:

Enjoy!

VEDIF 5: My Favorite Things

It's day 5. This video was painful to do. I wasn't in the mood to vlog but I made one so I'm not energetic in it. And it took me forever to edit it. Then the program wasn't responding and I thought it deleted itself. Anyhoo, here it is.

VEDIF 4: Jimmy0010

Jimmy0010 is a youtuber that I like a lot. 'nuf said.

VEDIF 3: Cats

Yeah... I think I'm getting a little carried away with this whole video thingy.

Please don't judge me

VEDIF 2: Chopsticks

The Fault in Our Stars

My copy of the Fault in Our Stars

My copy of An Abundance of Katherines

Hank Green signed his exclusive tour cd <3

I'm the one in the pink circle. And the red circle is John Green signing my book! yay!

Sooo I saw John and Hank Green at the Tour de Nerdfighting 2012. It was absolutely amazing. I had so much fun. I saw them in the flesh! My friend bought me a ticket to see them for christmas. We went on Wednesday, into NYC. I recorded it all so you can go on my Youtube to see them all if you would like.

I finished TFIOS (The Fault in Our Starts) today, this morning. It was so good. Definitely John Green's best work so far. Although, I quite enjoyed An Abundance of Katherines. 
John Green has inspired me to write a book. I'm sort of doing that. I just don't have the time and I'm in a kinda writer's block. HEY. The Fault in Our Stars took John Green 13 years to write. So.

:)
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The Fault In Our Stars Tour

Click the Link to watch!  (At the current moment the videos are still uploading. But they should be up soon)
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I took these next two photos off my friend's FB.

John Green reading from the Fault in Our Stars

Hank Green playing a song

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Hank Singing "This Isn't Hogwarts"

Other Nerdfighter blogposts:
Don't Know what Nerdfighteria is? Or what DFTBA stands for? 
 This isn't John Green's first book! Need to Update Yourself on His Previous Novels?

John Green

It's John Green Week!

Okay. Yeah It has been for the past 5 days.. but I sort of forgot.. maybe. No, don't get me wrong. I didn't forget out The Fault in Our Stars. I've been keeping up with my Vlogbrothers videos. Here, you can watch the author read Chapter One of TFIOS.

On Wednesday, my friend got me a ticket to go to John Green's book signing (Hank's gonna be there too!) I'm very excited.

Am I the only one who thinks at least one of John Green's books should be a movie?

 Looking for Alaska: "Miles "Pudge" Halter is abandoning his safe-okay, boring-life. Fascinated by the last words of famous people, Pudge leaves for boarding school to seek what a dying Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps."
Pudge becomes encircled by friends whose lives are everything but safe and boring. Their nucleus is razor-sharp, sexy, and self-destructive Alaska, who has perfected the arts of pranking and evading school rules. Pudge falls impossibly in love. When tragedy strikes the close-knit group, it is only in coming face-to-face with death that Pudge discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.
John Green's stunning debut marks the arrival of a stand-out new voice in young adult fiction."-Amazon

Will Grayson, Will Grayson: "One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage. Told in alternating voices from two YA superstars, this collaborative novel features a double helping of the heart and humor that have won them both legions of fans."-Amazon

 The Fault in our Stars: " Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love." -Amazon

An Abundance of Katherines: "When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton’s type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washedup child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy–loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself."- Amazon

Paper Towns: "Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues - and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew."-Amazon







I just finished watching John Green read the first chapter of TFIOS on Youtube. And I have to say. I am impressed and very excited. Normally, John Green seems to have the same sort of basic plot. But this one is different and it's really good.

John Green is a really good writer and he has inspired me to write my own story (I'm working on it! I just don't have any time. and I'm stuck. soooo.. after my midterm exams I'll do that.) Love you John Green! See you on Wednesday. DFTBA.