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Books I’ve Read In Spring 2020

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I’m going to be going over all the books I’ve read in the past couple months. As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been keeping track of everything on Goodreads, which makes it much easier to make this post. If you’re interested in finding out what I’ve been reading and my opinions on each book, keep on scrolling.

  1. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany – I don’t know how, but I was never really aware that this add-on to the Harry Potter series was a thing. I didn’t love everything about it (no spoilers here though) but I was happy to have anything added onto the series. In some ways, I think the series would’ve been fine without this add on, but I’ll take what I can get. I would love to see the actual play live someday. I rated it 4/5 on Goodreads.
  2. Child of the Moon by Jessica Semaan – My mom got this on Amazon as a whim and I read it after her. It falls under the umbrella of Instagram poetry, but since I write a decent amount of poetry in that style myself, I was still able to appreciate it. I also like work that relates to the moon/astrology so that was interesting for me. I rated it 3/5 on Goodreads.
  3. Almost Home by Madisen Kuhn – This was another book my mom ordered and I ended up reading. I thought the separation of the book into different rooms/parts of the house was clever, and I related to Kuhn’s sentiments about never really feeling at home, but I wasn’t particularly in love with any of the poems. Kuhn is another Instagram poet, so I’d avoid this if you don’t like that style. I rated it 3/5 on Goodreads.
  4. Lord of the Flies by William Golding – I read this for English class, and I really enjoyed it. I had actually been thinking a lot about the nature of man lately just because of everything going on in the world right now and our (our meaning society’s) reaction to it all. It was a short and easy read, and I was able to pick up on the symbolism in it. I rated it 4/5 on Goodreads.
  5. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley – We were supposed to read this in my English class but it got cut from the distance learning curriculum. I had already bought it in advance, so I read it on my own. Although I know the message behind the story is important, it was very hard for me to get through despite it being a short read. I rated it 3/5 on Goodreads.
  6. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer – This is an outlier on this list since it’s a spiritual self-help book, but I still wanted to include it. It’s enlightening but still in the way of being hard to take action and follow the book’s advice in everyday life. I rated it 4/5 on Goodreads.
  7. Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson – LOVED this. It was suggested but not required reading for my writing workshop. It was a super fast read and honestly my dream book since it incorporated supernatural elements with an otherwise realistic fiction plot. I rated it 5/5 on Goodreads.
  8. I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood by Tiana Clark – This is a book of poetry that’s required reading for my writing workshop. Clark’s poems are moving and I think everyone should read this and support her as a talented Black poet. I rated it 5/5 on Goodreads.
  9. Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson – This is a book with multiple short stories, all somewhat different from one another. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as Nothing to See Here, but I definitely do love Wilson’s work and hope to read more of it soon. I rated it 4/5 on Goodreads.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about the books I’ve read recently, and that this inspires you go to spend some time reading. Whether it’s an old favorite or something new, reading is always such a relaxing and nice pastime. Plus, it’s summer! Congrats to everyone who is finishing up/has just finished their school year. Stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

Home – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
home is the place i have not yet traveled to, 
a place i hope to one day know

where i'm familiar and comfortable with
every inch of what i see, it being as much

a part of me as i am a part of it. home is not
a building, something contained to four walls

and a roof dangling over our heads. home is
a concept, a feeling, and an idea. 

you tell me your home is the mountains, 
where you can catch snowflakes on your tongue.

you're comforted by the isolation and nature
all around you, with white Christmases for the family.

i tell you my home is to be determined, possibly
in some far-off land, possibly with a tropical climate.

but you are also my home, so we will settle
into a cabin in the mountains, sledding down

hills and cuddling with cups of hot cocoa. home is
here, for now.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! As someone who wants to get out of her current suburban bubble after high school/college, I have no idea where I hope to call home later on in life. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or any writing challenges you’d like me to try out in the near future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

A Few Wishes Of Mine – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
horseback riding on the shoreline, waters
turning darker shades of blue as the sun goes down
and i'm left with the warm animal under me and
my thoughts of how beautiful life is

wandering with wanderlust across the globe,
from small towns along the Spanish coastline to 
climbing the Great Wall. on top of the world,
experiencing it all

nights out in the city talking to people i've never
met and people i'll never see again, a sticky 
warmth enveloping me in the darkness while
the occasional bright light shines my way

too many lives i want to live, too many places i 
want to see, and too many versions of myself
i want to be. one day i'll pack a bag, set out for
adventure, and see which one wins.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! There are so many things I would love to do in life and so many things that I hope to accomplish; it’s sometimes overwhelming, especially being young with most of my life ahead of me. For now, I’ll continue to daydream. 🙂 Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or if you have any writing challenges you’d like me to do in the near future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Looking For A Way Out – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
i ask my friends, don't you ever want to leave this place? 
i'm alone in many ways, this opinion being one of them

from the outside it's a paradise, a beautiful town in a 
beautiful state that draws tourists and transplants alike

but from the inside (my insides) it's a toxic bubble filled
with people that refused to grow up and get out themselves

a hike in the hills, a dip in the pool, a trip to the beach;
experiences that i cherish but that don't change my mind

i long for more. not in the materialistic way, in the way that
i want to feed my soul. i seek new landscapes and new skies,

new roads and new signs on the sides, new grocery stores
and new people watching. i'll latch onto anything as a reason

to leave that's drawing me elsewhere. to where? i don't know.
anywhere sounds desirable when you're looking for a 
 
way out.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I feel like it sounds a little too cliché, but it comes from the heart. I literally grew up in my dad’s childhood home (my parents bought it from my grandparents but we’ve since moved) and neither of my parents has ever seriously lived anywhere that’s not in this county. I’m dying to experience new things and move onto new places, so I can’t wait for college, and I’m sure lots of other kids my age can relate. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or any writing challenges you’d like me to try out. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Checkpoint – How Is 2020 Going?

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

The amount of things that have happened in 2020 so far is disturbing, astounding, and insane all at once. I’ll list the major events here real fast in case you might be forgetting any of the main points (not necessarily in chronological order):

  • Fires in Australia
  • COVID-19 pandemic which led to quarantines all over the world and economic downturn
  • Impeachment trials for President Trump
  • Death of Kobe Bryant along with his daughter and other passengers
  • Murder hornets
  • The horrible killing of George Floyd and many peaceful protests advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement as well as some violent riots
  • Ebola outbreak in the Congo
  • Stock market plunge and unemployment rates rivaling those of the Great Depression (I’m not an expert on the economy and I believe the state of both the stock market and the unemployment rate have already improved though)
  • Overall poor leadership from President Trump (my opinion) as most recently seen through him hiding in his bunker and building a wall in front of the White House

So, yeah. 2020 isn’t going too great for the world, as most of you probably know/think if you’ve been keeping up with the news. But what can we do now?

The first thing is definitely to VOTE in November– if you are eligible to vote, please make sure you are registered and are going to do so. We will not see change unless we vote for leaders that are going to take action and advocate for our rights/have the people’s interests at heart. Sadly I am not eligible to vote and I will not be for a couple more years, but I will be able to pre-register to vote in August when I turn 16. I think the laws about when you can pre-register might be different depending on what state you’re in, but if you are a teenager wanting to pre-register, please do that when you are eligible!

The second thing is to keep in touch with your friends and family and check in on them. Some people are reacting differently to the events happening in the world than others, so some people may need a lot more support from you. It’s especially important to have some interaction considering how long everyone’s been in quarantine.

Please try to keep in mind that we cannot lose hope in the world/the future just because of these unfortunate and tragic events that have happened lately. If anything, we need to keep our heads up and fight even harder for the issues we believe in. I know some of the things that have happened this year such as fires and the initial spread of COVID-19 were uncontrollable, but for the political issues it is so important to be an advocate and use your voice in some way. Things will get better and change will have to happen in some capacity if we keep fighting for it.

This is probably the hardest thing to do (MUCH easier said than done), but try to maintain a positive outlook and find the silver linings in recent events. It’s been difficult for me too and I’m definitely not perfect as far as being the most positive person, but I’m trying my best. Whether it’s appreciating your daily walks or the fact that you have some free time to catch up on reading or the FaceTime calls you have with your friends, find that thing that brings some joy and normalcy to your day.

I’m always here to chat with you guys if you want to leave a comment or contact me through the Contact page on this blog. I know it’s been a tough past few months, but we can do this. If our world can make it through everything that’s happened in 2020 so far, we can make it through anything. Please stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke

In The Distance – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
speeding down the freeway in California
it's a hot summer day but there's no traffic
around you; most people are coming in
but you're going out and leaving this place.

they say hindsight vision is 20/20, but
the mountains and blue skies blur behind
you. you only have eyes for what lies 
ahead. you could keep driving forever, 

stretching your existence across the country
like a rubber band and scattering the pieces
as you go, but you're going to stop when you 
get that feeling that it's time.

somewhere in the distance, that place awaits you.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It’s also a short one, but it just felt dreamy. I wish I could go on a road trip and leave the state right now. I’m a few months away from getting my license (actually who knows how long since the DMVs aren’t taking new appointments) and I dream of the days I can drive by myself and/or go on road trips. Please let me know what you thought of this piece and if you have any requests/writing challenges for me to use in the future. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

June Days – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
these are the days. June is spent out in the
budding sunshine next to the budding flowers

we bud like flowers in the sunshine. 

June is spent underwater, splashing in the 
pool and skin getting a few shades darker

our skin darkens while we splash underwater.

but we can't really splash underwater. our limbs
cut through the water and continue to be 

surrounded by more water. we are water,
we are sunshine, we are flowers.

we are growing and changing in June with the seasons.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! It was definitely a fun, feel-good one to write. Please let me know if you have any feedback on this piece or any writing challenges you’d like me to try my hand at in the near future. Stay safe and healthy out there– I can’t believe it’s already June.

Brooke

Education Proclamation – Prose

BrookeLeave a comment

I want to know why our country doesn’t value education. I want to know why schools are underfunded, why children aren’t even educated on the workings of this country, and why younger generations are constantly cut down and called lazy and stupid when most of these kids aren’t given a chance to learn and grow. It’s a broken system.

I want to know why my governor (California– Gavin Newsom) proposed to cut funding for schools by 10% when our state ranks towards the bottom half of all rankings I’ve seen for public schools/education in the country. Schools are already so strapped for money, even in mainly well-off areas like where I live. He’s probably never attended a public school in his life.

I want to know why our government doesn’t prioritize the next generation when they are this country’s future.

I want to know why wealthy people, some of whom have never stepped foot in a public school, have control over the public school system. Not only do they have control, but they don’t even prioritize it or work towards making it better. Budget cuts increases every year, the schools suffer, and the students suffer. It’s a cycle.

It frustrates me that in such a wealthy, technologically advanced country, our education systems are lacking. Our education system is so inadequate compared to European countries and such.

I am lucky enough to go to school in a highly-ranked school district in my state since I commute to school, and I recognize that my school exceeds the state/country standards in many ways. However, I still get fired up about this topic because my education has been such an integral part of my life so far and I want other kids to have the same opportunities nationwide.

If you are eligible to vote, please do when it’s the time to do so. Vote for candidates that understand how important education and our public schools are to communities and to securing a better future for America’s youth. Vote for candidates that plan to serve everyone as best as they can, especially the next generation that is growing up during these scary times.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. It’s definitely more political, but it’s something I’ve been dying to say and needed to formulate into words and throw out into the universe. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Time Is Running Out – Poem by Me

BrookeLeave a comment 
the clock is ticking; the alarm's about to go
off. it's up to you whether you want to turn

it off, ignore it before the ringing blares
throughout your ears or roll out of bed and

face the world. you choose to face the world
today. a smear of red lipstick and a tousling of

two-day old hair will suffice-- who knows
what's hiding around the corner from you 

today. you don't waste a moment. not on getting
ready, not checking up on current events, not 

on early morning coffee. it's your day, and you're
not letting it escape your clutches.

I hope you enjoyed this piece! I feel like it expresses how a lot of young people feel– the world is a scary and overwhelming place, and some young people stay away from the media and informing themselves. However, it is so important to educate yourself, no matter how hard the information is to stomach sometimes! We are all in this together. Stay safe and healthy.

Brooke

Why America Has To Change

Brooke3 Comments

Hello everyone!

Normally I try to stay away from being too political in my posts since my blog isn’t focused on politics or similar issues, but today I’m going to get into it a little more. If you haven’t seen my last two posts (poems about the George Floyd protests and situation), you should check those out too if you want to get a sense of my beliefs.

Frankly, our country is in shambles right now. The coronavirus has rocked the world, but even that has to take a backseat when describing the injustices and institutionalized racism that thrive in our country everyday. I do not condone the violence that occurred/is occurring in protests and understand that some of these people are acting out without actually protesting for the cause, but something has to be done. It’s foolish to think that protests will always be peaceful, and with a huge injustice like this, it does make sense why things got out of hand. For people wanting to protest, I suggest you participate and use your voice peacefully and watch out for the people who are committing acts of violence, but I understand people need to do what they need to do.

I am disgusted by President Trump’s failure to address the situation in a humane way and respond, but I’m not surprised. During his presidency, racism and hate has been encouraged and exacerbated in our country, and it will continue to be unless he is gone. I can’t believe we have a president who tweets out garbage like “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”

Our country was built on the principles of freedom and equality, but it’s clear from our history up until now that those principles are not applied to minorities as they should be. It’s time to break the system and the attitudes of people and shape our country into what it’s supposed to be but never really has been.

It’s also important for me to acknowledge that I am not a POC. That being said, I am an ally and I am here to stand up for POC and others accountable to treat everyone as they should be– equally.

For those of you who can vote (I wish I could), PLEASE show up to the polls when the time comes. Vote for candidates who are going to bring change, who want to make the United States of America a better and safer country for ALL people, regardless of race or gender or any other factor. Please don’t let Trump win– with another term for him, that brings our country closer to an authoritarian regime and a one-party system (but that’s an issue for a different post).

Please take action. Sign petitions, speak up, peacefully protest if you are able. Enough is enough, and we need change. Do it for George Floyd, and do it for the countless other lives that have been lost unjustly. No lives matter until black lives matter. Please stay safe and healthy out there.

Brooke