My Favourite Movie of All Time...

Over the summer, I watched a movie I identified with so much and it has become my favourite movie of all time. I've watched this movie several times throughout the year and it touches me every single time. "Celeste and Jesse Forever" is said to be a romantic comedy. However, it is nothing like a typical romantic comedy. If it were up to me, I would say that it is a light-humoured drama. The story is set in modern times and Celeste is the main character. She is a successful trend analyst and owns her own company. Celeste lives with her best friend, Jesse, who was also her husband of 6 years, however, they are now separated but continues to live together. Jesse is an underachieving artist who fails to grow up. This is partially because he is living with Celeste. Celeste and Jesse are high school sweethearts and I feel that Jesse has been stuck in this high school mindset all this time he has been with Celeste. Celeste is a girl who knows exactly what she wants and strives to get it. She believes she is smarter than everyone in the room and that she is always right about everything. However, she gets proven wrong at many turns throughout the movie. It was insane how much I identified with the character, Celeste. However, I am suppose to identify with her because usually romantic comedies intend on the watcher to identify with the main female character. In my mind, it was different, I felt like I was Celeste. Celeste left Jesse because she didn't see him as being the father of her children. As soon as Celeste shut down any possibilities of them ever getting back together, Jesse's life changed in a dramatically positive way. The two experience the different sides of a break up and everything happens quite gracefully. It doesn't have an ending that you would want to watch, but it is an ending that had to happen. I respect movies that do that and I loved "Celeste and Jesse Forever" dearly.

Equality

Equality, in my mind, screams bland. If everything was to be equal, how boring would the world be? It would be great for all the racial and gender prejudices to go away. However, total equality would resolve in a very boring world. Aside from that, equality is impossible to achieve anyway. For everyone and everything to be equal, we cannot have any differences, but we clearly do. The differences is what makes us who we are. Men are men and women are women. We cannot change anything about that and therefore, we cannot be equal. Everything in this world was created to be unequal. Everything is unique and different naturally and equality is just a silly and unreachable ideal. Some of us strive for equality with every breath of our lives, but why are we fighting nature? I will never understand that. I do understand that everyone should have equal rights. That is a different topic than equality. Equal rights are important for a society to function. Giving everyone an equal chance at achieving a life they wish to have is something every person deserves. Withholding that right from someone because of their race, gender, religion or sexuality would be a great crime. Everyone should have the ability to live the life they wish to live, none of us have the authority to take that away from anybody.

My Favourite Book of All Time...

My favourite book of all time has got to be "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky. It isn't a very long book, but it surely was beautifully written. It was a very easy book to read because it was in the point of view of a teenager. I really found myself being able to relate to the protagonist, Charlie. Charlie is a shy, introverted teenager. Charlie describes his freshman year of high school experiences through letters written to an anonymous character who he describes as being accepting, nice and kind. There were many allusions in the story, which I enjoyed as well. Everything about the novel felt so real, which makes "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" very refreshing. The characters were so dynamic and lively. I felt like I was also going on adventures with Charlie and his friends. I felt like I was a part of the high times and the lows. This book did a great job of connecting me to the characters in the story. It also demonstrated a good reality of what a teenager's life really consists of. It isn't all just parties, homework and hanging out with friends. It deals with issues like discovering and often times, struggling with your sexual orientation. It deals with depression, harsh realities, and how we deal with them. Often, we deal with them on our own and the novel shows that. It gives the "wallflowers" of the world, a voice. When you're a wallflower, you're not a part of the centre of the action. You are an observer, and the voice of an observer is very powerful. I learned that from reading this novel. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower."

Genie

Naturally, if a genie had agreed to grant me three wishes, I would ask for a million more wishes. In a perfect world, that would be the case. However, in the real world, if a genie were to grant me three wishes, I would first ask for a personal gourmet chef. It has always been a struggle for me to put meals together. Often times I would just give up and go out to eat at a restaurant. One cannot simply live this way, so a personal chef would make everything a lot more convenient. Besides, home-cooked meals are much better for me anyway. For my second wish, I would ask for a sustainable and once again, bountiful Earth. An Earth that has more than enough resources and land for everyone on this planet. This will ensure that everyone lives peacefully and will not fight over silly things such as land, oil or resources of that nature. Everyone can live happily together and my kids and their kids will have enough for many generations to come. My third wish, I would ask for the health and safety of all my family members and friends. I have tasted what it was like to lose a loved one, and it is not something I would like to experience again. This wish would also include the sustenance of their health as well, of course. To live a peaceful, happy and healthy life with my family and a gourmet chef is all I can ever ask for in this life.

GMO Foods

The topic of genetically modified organisms has come up many times in my school. Whether it's during presentations in Economics, or current events studies also being presented in Law or Geography. I agree with the debate that we should have labelling for foods that are genetically modified. Genetically modified foods pose a health risk to everyone. It should be a lifestyle that we should be able to avoid or accept according to our views on the subject. We should be made aware of which foods are genetically modified and which foods aren't. Putting labels on the genetically modified foods will make us more conscious of what we are putting in our bodies. Tobacco companies label their cigarette packs with health risks, and I believe GMO foods should do the same. GMOs have been proven in some studies to have cancer producing effects as well as increasing of allergies and other diseases in our bodies. These are things consumers should be aware of. As a consumer, I believe I should have the right to know what it is that I am putting in my body. Although I understand that GMOs can be beneficial because it increases productivity and decreases wasted resources. In my opinion though, I think nature should not be altered with.