Junior Year

Junior Year
Art of Ocularistry

I have been apprenticing with my dad to become an Ocularist
(someone who makes artificial eyes).








Equestrianism

Even more horse back riding!

Science of Ocularistry

Poetry

Some poems I wrote.

Lost

I lost you
Someone I thought I would have forever

But even when you lose you gain something too

A better you





The Seasons

Summer is a haze

Swimming pools and popsicles 

90 degree days

Friends gathered around bonfires

Fall is a killer

Leaves change color and begin to die

Halloween is coming, kids are carving 

Parents, relieved with a sigh

The night ends safe 

Winter is a breath of fresh air

The water turns to ice and the grounds freeze over

Nights end by the fire, parents coddling their kids in the rocking chair

Spring is our new beginning 

New flowers bloom and trees sprout

Once isolated indoors,

The children come out

Introduction to Horror Film

I love scary movies. Here's a paper I wrote for my Intro to Horror Film class.

Favorite Horror Film Report

The Movie Scream

Scream is a American slasher/horror film that was released in December of 1996 and was directed by Wes Craven. Scream is a clever and interesting film and it is one of my favorites because it was one of the first scary movies I saw. Not only is it scary, but it is also funny. The viewer gets to laugh while still being afraid that the killer might come into their house and throw a chair through a ridiculously huge window. Also, Sidney, the main character, is a total boss. In most scary movies the girls cry and scream for help, and of course she does that too, but she also actually puts up a fight against the killer.

In the opening scene of scream, you see Casey Becker, played by Drew Barrymore, a cute and innocent blonde teenager. Her telephone rings, she answers, it’s a man who says he called the wrong number, so she hangs up. He calls again and tells her not to hang up, but she hangs up anyway. He calls her three times and at first she's annoyed but then they get to talking and she starts to flirt with him a little. He slips up and says he wants to know the name of the girl he’s “looking at.” She hangs up on the now super creepy caller, but he keeps calling and begins to threaten her if she hangs up on him again. It’s set to seem as if she's in the middle of nowhere, with cornfields and trees all around, obviously it’s night time and, of course, most of her house is made of uncovered windows. And so the fun begins.

Throughout the movie they hint who the killer is multiple times, but they keep you guessing. That's why after you've finished it you should watch it again, because it's even more fun the second time around. There is a lot of funny dialogue that keeps the viewer laughing, and the characters are cartoonish.

Stu, played by Matthew Lillard reminds me of Shaggy from Scooby Doo, except

 with with a twisted sense of humor. While all of the characters in the movie are funny, there is one who is dead serious.

Sidney, played by Neve Campbell is a badass. She kicks the killers butt more than once throughout the movie, and she out smarts both of the killers at the end. I really like her because she knows how to put up a fight and sticks to her gut feelings. It is nice to see a young woman take the lead and be more serious than the goofy males in the movie. In the end she solves the mystery which leads to the death of the killers.

I have watched this movie more than once and each time I watch it there are more things that make me laugh and I never get tired of watching Sidney kick butt.

Contemporary Literature II

My final project for Contemporary Lit was to compare and contrast Margaret Atwood's book to the new HULU series.

Handmaid’s Tale

In this essay I will compare and contrast the Hulu show and book Handmaid’s Tale written and produced by Margaret Atwood.

Handmaid’s Tale is about a woman once named June, but her name has been changed to Offerd because she now is forced to live in a world where new laws and her previous lifestyle has been altered drastically.

June is taken from her husband and little girl while trying to escape from these new, crazy laws to be used as a baby maker in a post war world where fertility is hard to come by. She is forced to live with the Fred Waterford the commander of Gillad (once known as the city Boston) and his wife Serena in order to create and carry a baby they will call theirs.

The differences between the book, published in 1985, and show are very subtle, but yet obvious. I truly appreciate this because I think the series does an excellent job of switching things up to be modern and yet it manages to also keep with the very important themes of the book. There are simple nuances to be noted as well, such as the lowering of Serena and the Commander ages, or the series’ revelation of lesbian characters, which is not displayed in the book.

I also believe the series describes more about June and her past than the book does. The book is mostly all about June, but almost in a different light. In the book they never really talk about what her husband Luke or child Hannah look like or whether Luke ever did reach the boarder like the tv show does. The book describes how June wants to find them and needs to know that they're okay but that is it. The series goes so far as to follow what's happening with both Luke and Hannah post losing June. It delves deeply into June’s past, unlike the book, sometimes having entire episodes on the life she lived before Gilliad.

The series shows more of the lives and personalities of the other characters (other handmaids; those rebelling; members of Gilliad council) pre and post Gilliad and describes them more, so much more that sometimes they can seem like different characters from the book altogether. For example, in the book Janine is completely sane, as for the show we learn and know so much about Janine that we discover she's absolutely nuts. Entire episodes can be devoted to characters other than June, unlike the book.

However, the series keeps in tune with the book as well as swaying from it. For example, the end of the book and the first season of the show are very alike. In both the series and the book, when June is forced into the van we’re left wondering if Ofglen (June’s shopping partner) died and was forced to rat June out since we know their walks included talking about things they shouldn't have been talking about, including being non-believers. That’s also the beauty of the series- simply put, it goes on. The book ends and so we never find out what actually happened to Ofglen. We never know what happens to any of the characters. We just know June gets in the van and that is that.

I personally prefer the series over the book, even though I know there would be no series if not for the book. The actors really bring the series to life, the stories are horrifyingly amazing, and I highly recommend watching to anyone.

But the bottom line is the story of The Handmaids Tale, whether book or tv series, is jaw dropping, and in my opinion anyone and everyone should experience it one way or the other...or both!