Assignment #7 Pop Culture

There’s one thing that I've always been interested in. I hope to make a career out of it, and so far eveyone has supported me in doing so: my love for the performing arts. Whether it be acting or singing, there is this thrill of being on stage that is hard to explain at times. It’s like my high, really. Being under the lights and out in front of all those people might make some, or most, people nervous, but I can hardly wait till that curtain parts on opening night. The rehearsals are hectic up until the day before the first show, but it’s really all worth it in the end. Hundreds of people giving you a standing ovation after your solo song or dramatic entrance is the best reward that an actress can get.

The week before the show, mostly well known as “Hell Week,” takes an immense amount of time, energy, and patience. Practicing last minute dance routines, or that one tricky scene; Going through costume changes and hair and makeup fixes; The crew getting their cues for lighting and set changes; The loss of props, tripping in the dark backstage, being as quiet as possible in the wings. A lot of work goes into a show, and Hell Week, with all the time and practice and hard work involved in it, all leads up to one thing: opening night.

Opening night is in my opinion the best night there is, show wise or other. When that curtain opens, and the lights are bright and hot, and the house is full, just a vast space filled with people staring up at you, hanging onto your every word, laughing and applauding and smiling. You’re making a difference in someone’s life that day. No matter how small it is. Maybe they were having a bad day, so you gave them a few laughs. Maybe they can relate to the drama on stage.
There are a hundred different reasons why people go to see a play. And you’re one of the people that make it all happen.

Independent #6

Another piece inspired by Amy Lee. I probably should be doing the pop culture assignment, but its just one of those days where you blast your music, shut everything else out, and just write. Already its only 3rd period and I’ve written enough material to last me the rest of the quarter as far as independent pieces. So while deafening myself to the tune of Evanescence, I started really getting into it, feeling what Amy was going through. So I’m trying to depict her writing style, although nothing compares to the way she expresses herself through her music. So, enjoy?




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You won’t cry if I’m gone from this place.
Would anyone notice if I just happened to vanish from this place?
Because I need to get out,
Need to get away from the lies, the hurt.
And because I am so insignificant,
Would it even matter if I left this place for a while? Possibly forever?
Maybe one day you’ll notice…something is missing…
Am I that unimportant? That you can’t even notice the pain I’ve left behind?
The pain that you’ve caused me.
And I'm dying to know if anyone would miss me
I would die to know you loved me
I would die just to hold you
So now maybe I will.
And I don’t need your forgiveness.
Because I’ve found my way out.

Independent #5

This was inspired by my favorite artist, Amy Lee. She wrote a song on her own before she decided to start the band Evanescence. She wrote a song about running away in the rain and how it disguised her tears as she fled from everything she wanted to get away from. So this is sort of Amy Lee-esque, and it really just flowed out of me. So I hope you like it.


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Listen to each drop of rain
Each holding secrets in vain
Frantically searching for someone to listen
Their stories carry more than remorse
Please don’t let go
Can’t I stay for a while?
It’s just too hard to say good bye
Listen to the rain weeping
I stand alone in the storm.
Suddenly sweet words are heard.
Hurry they say for you haven’t much time…
Open your eyes to the love around you
You may feel you’re alone
But I’m here still with you
You can do what you dream; you can be who you wish
Just remember
To listen to the rain.

Independent #4

Another piece from spring break! This one’s a little closer to home. I was thinking about summer, since I was out in the rain before, so this is sort of my surreal hopes for the summer.


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He’s always on that board. If he cant be in some skate park showing off, he’ll find somewhere to board. Always skating off somewhere. He can’t stay in one place for long, jumping around, on the move. Whether it’s a “break-in” at the skate park or trips down to the pier, I love to tag along, just to watch. To watch him move. He’s not so graceful on his feet (maybe because he refuses to get a belt for those baggy pants he wears, although he insists they fit him perfectly) but get him on a board and he is poetry in motion. Well, maybe not poetry, with all the crazy moves he does. Its really unbelievable to see this skinny, tall, doofy looking teenager become a completely different person when you get him on that board with those four wheels.

And the worst part is, every time he steps onto his skateboard, I fall in love all over again.

Summer is our time. It was last year and it will be this year too. Same spot for summer homes, coincidentally, luckily. But I always feel like I get in the way, what with all his friends there. But when I tell him this (I tell him everything), he dismisses these concerns of mine. Tells me that I’m one of his best friends. But that’s not what I want to hear.

I need to figure out how to show him what I really want. How can I explain to him that I’ve fallen for one of my best friends? I try telling myself we should keep it that way, just friends, but when I see him I cant control that feeling I get. I try to tell myself what’s the use, if I only see him twice a day? Because I cant help getting so incredibly nervous before I see him those two times a day. My friends laugh at me and make fun of me because I wait all day for him to come up to me, talk to me for about 5 minutes before running off to his next class. But lately, that’s all I look forward to.

This skater boy is taking over my life, and he’s not even in it yet. And I’m letting him, because I love it.

Independent #3

This piece I wrote over spring break. I was pretty much grounded, so I was listening to music a lot. This one was sort of inspired by a song I really like, “The Fourth Drink Instinct” by Cute Is What We Aim For. It’s about a underage girl who has a fake ID and gets caught up in a one night stand. So I sort of took that concept and twisted it a little, and got this. So enjoy.



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I guess you could say it started when we decided to take some vodka to this party we were going to. We put it in water bottles and no one suspected a thing. She was thinking that she would get “drunk” (really it would take her a lot more that a water bottle full of vodka to get drunk, she holds her liquor pretty well) and have that be and excuse to be all over the guy she liked, TJ. Her and TJ had sort of been on-off over the summer, hooking up here and there, but nothing really solid. We would hang out all the time, me, her, TJ, and our other best friend, James. He was really good friends with TJ, and even then, she would always say that if she didn’t like TJ she would totally go out with James. But anyway. This party we were going to, we brought some vodka to have a little fun. She was all excited to flirt with TJ, thinking this would be the night they would get together for good, and finally be a couple. Well, guess who wouldn’t make it that night.

She convinced James to come since there were no other guys we knew there. She flirted with James a lot that night (she told me later that she still liked TJ) and everyone thought it was because she was drunk. But she wasn’t, and she defiantly wasn’t just flirting with him just because he was there. I know her. I know her so well that I even knew what was going to happen in the course of the next few weeks. And sure enough, about a month later, she told me she had a huge crush on James. Now you have to know, this doesn’t make her a whore or anything. We figured that she’s always liked James, but she was too focused on TJ to notice. And now that TJ was treating her like crap, she just wanted someone better, someone she deserved who wouldn’t screw her over like TJ had. Only, now she’s worried that James wont want anything to do with her because her and mike were sort of an item.

But when James sees her (and all of our friends agree with me on this) he has this smile on his face that you only see when they’re together. I mean, the kid smiles plenty, but its different when she’s talking with him. So hopefully they’ll get together soon, everyone agrees that they’d be a better couple than her and TJ. Only it doesn’t help that he’s away over Christmas vacation, because he’s missing a huge party that might have been one of the few chances we get to hang out with the guys.

Enough drama and confusion for you? Add this to the mix. I’m in love with TJ and James’ best friend.