END OF THE YEAR by austin

As junior year began I had academic and athletic goals. Those goals were met in different ways on both fronts. Academically I wanted to carry mostly A's, which I did, and get solid test scores which I did. So, actually I think I did meet my goals, but my processes of getting there were less than ideal. Athletically I wanted to have committed by now, actually I wanted to have committed before the year began, but that didn't happen. However, through dealing with controlling the uncontrollable world of recruiting, I have found myself still uncommitted, but being given athletic opportunities I once deemed unreachable. So, I have gotten closer to reaching my athletic goals, but not quite there yet, and again the road was quite different then I had imagined. Socially, I didn't have any goals, but rather morals. I would say I definitely stuck to my morals throughout the entire year. As far as failures go, I screwed up a bunch, but I can't think of a precise time. Let's just leave it with me being incredibly happy Junior year is over, well besides the daunting AP exams, and I can't say I ever want to live the academia of this year over again.

This is it

Junior year
If only I could like history more. Dont procrastinate (for too long).  Know when to ask for help. Make friends with teachers.
I loved my teachers. Its rare to have a year when you like all of them, but it happened. I am glad I liked them All because it allowed me to get to know them as more the teachers: as real people.  And they like it when you know they arent just tied to the school.

Whats next
After the next few weeks of testing, I get to research teaching tool and lesson plans and learning games so that I may successfully teach kids and adults spanish in my community.  I am going to the beach with freddie and his family for a week, and I might  get my family to take us to florida.  I might go to a concert or two, but I'm mostly planning on spending my summer relaxing and researching colleges. I might go on a few tours of campuses, and ill definitely seek out my moms college admin buddies.

Senior year
5 ap classes and one advance
I do not want to take a break from the challenge of ap courses, but I want to take classes I know I will enjoy.  This year will be about me and what I like, notwjats required of me.

I hope to stay in contact with my teachers like my mom did. I like them too much to let them stop teaching me.

Junior Year

Wow. I can't believe that I can already make a reflective blog post about my junior year. I could go on and on about how it seems like just yesterday I was starting my first day of freshman year, but I'm sure a lot of others have already written about that. This year has been one for the books and I really am (sort of) sad to see it come to a close. First off, it wasn't nearly as difficult as other people made it out to be. Yeah, sometimes I had a lot of homework, but the overall workload and rigor of my classes was definitely manageable. I was honestly expecting to hate my life after a couple of months, but that surely wasn't the case. One of the most important reasons for this, I believe, was the relationships that I have with my friends. I was able to strengthen many of the relationships that I already had with some students, allowing me to open up more to others, which is something I've never been comfortable doing. On top of that, I have formed amazing relationships with students that I hadn't been able to get to know before this year. In previous years, I was able to arrange my class schedule so that I have a lot of classes with my close friends whom I'm comfortable with (sophomore year, I had five classes with Meredith Scroggin... Yikes. (jkjkjk) (kind of)). This year, I didn't have my closest friends in all my classes, which allowed me to spend more time with awesome people I didn't know as well, but now luckily do. Also, I legitimately like all of my teachers this year. Usually, there have been one or two teachers each year who weren't my favorite, but this year, I honestly enjoy being in each one of their classes. Thankfully, I'll have the privilege of having classes with a few of my teachers from this year during my senior year. Senior year. I will be a senior in a month. I can say that to myself over and over again and still not believe it. I am so looking forward to next year and I know that it'll be just as good, if not much better than this year has been. I can't wait to see what that future holds for me and for all of my fantastic classmates.

Junior Year

Successes? Does surviving count? Everyone told me that junior year was the hardest and they were definitely right. But honestly my successes aren't primarily in the class room this year. (Dont tell my parents I said that) But, my biggest success has been enjoying this year and enjoying all of my friends, new and old. I can definitely say this has been my favorite year of high school so far and hopefully next year is even better, but I will get to that later.

 As for failures, there are a few tests that come to mind that were literal failures.... But other than that I really can't think of anything. That being said, with all of the AP tests and finals coming up there are plenty of opportunities for me to change that. 

Lessons Learned? Dont procrastinate. (I havent actually "Learned" that one yet, but I am working on it).

Risks taken? I cant think of any of the top of my head... And my first instinct is to say "Unfortunately, I have lived a mundane junior year with no risks taken at all." But thats not exactly true. I may have not taken any huge risks but my year has not been mundane, I have had some of the best times of my life without really risking anything major. So I guess I would re-word my response to say, "Fortunately, I have been able to have a great, exciting, year without putting it all on the line."

 This summer is going to be good. There is really nothing more to say. I have an amazing group of friends and there is no doubt we will do amazing things together.

Next year will be great too. Hopefully it will be even better than this year, as I was saying earlier. And maybe  I will take a few risks, maybe not, but one thing for certain is that it will be a year to remember.

Last post of the year!

My junior year has been a crazy year. A lot has happened; there has been many memorable moments. There have been ups and downs, and I have learned lessons from every one. Some of my successes have been getting into Youth Salute, inducted into NHS, getting first chair of the cello section in orchestra, maintaining great friends, and making amazing new ones. At the same time however, I've had some failures, like getting a few bad grades, and losing some good friends. One of the main lessons that I learned is that procrastination gets you nowhere. On one of our earlier blog posts I said that one of my goals was to not procrastinate...but that obviously didn't happen.
Seeing as how this year is almost over, I'm definitely looking forward to summer. I hope to do some volunteer work with Saint Joseph, while also working at Chick-fil-A all the time, and trying to get in some hours for my mentoring project. And in the midst of all of this, I still want to try to get in time at the pool or going on vacation.
For next year, I'm only taking three AP classes and two advanced, so the year isn't going to be too hard. I'm really looking forward to it, but it's crazy to think that we're already almost graduating high school.

junior year --anderson

Well, its almost over. Junior year was neither a success nor a fail. For the most part, just like every other year of high school so far.  But i did majorly fail on the whole goal of reading the apush book. whoops! First semester went a lot better grade wise than this one though. Lesson learned? I really should do all of the socratic seminars and take more notes in apush. Over the summer i will be working as a lifeguard at woodland. I will be taking a scuba diving trip in june. Going to portugal in july. And i will be taking as many different types of art workshops as i can. Senior year i want to have finally decide whether i will be going to college or take a year off and be confident in my choice. I want to focus more on school work and continue to raise my gpa so i can have more options for my future. 

Junior Year

I just can’t get over how strange it is that I am almost a senior in high school. When I was a freshman I remember thinking that the seniors were so, I don’t even know, I guess…old. And now that I am almost there at senior year I cannot grasp how quickly time has gone by. I still feel like that freshman walking into school for the first time. I have had a good junior year, a busy year, but a good one. One thing that hit me this year is how quickly college is approaching and how real my outside of high school life is becoming. When you are in your first two years of high school it feels like high school will never end, and now, as an almost-senior, graduation seems to be coming too quickly. I guess it’s just a natural downwards slope, and we juniors are already half way down the hill. Overall, junior year has been a great experience, I have learned a lot; but I sure can’t wait for this summer to start!

Sophia-The past, present and future.

This year has been a bunch of small things that have turned out to be boom-in-your-face-changes and successes and failures. I didn’t ever think that last year changed me that much but it did. So did this year. I never noticed till after the fact but that’s pretty much how it always is with me. Some of my small successes were making new buddies. There are some lovely people going to Henry Clay and I have been kicking myself for not realizing that fully freshman year. I also managed to make cinnamon rolls for the first time ever. The kind with yeast-you do not understand my struggles with yeast and for once I won. It was amazing. I hate to say that I've had true failures because I try to be the lessons learned kinda gal. I guess my biggest failure is not keeping up with my friends from last year like I should. I'm sad about that. One lesson that I've known for a while but is continuing to slap me in the face and remind me of itself is that it’s the memories you make that matter and those are your biggest successes. This is real, I know because my name is Sophia and I'm wise. That's a lie. Its because I'm super duper lucky. I'm not sure if I’ve taken any real risks. I've taken trips not risks and that’s fine with me this year. As for mistakes there are many small things that dont even add up to a big thing. The only thing that I guess is close is this darn fundraising project, which I hate. At least I know now that I should never ever do this again. As for summer, I think I get to see my cousins from England and I am pumped.  I am also in the processes of using my persuasive skills to convince my mother to make a road trip out of her trip to Santa Fe and to let me go. Letting me go is the hard part but I am working hard on it and I think she is faltering. For the rest of high school and on I hope I can just remember my lesson learned and make fantabulous memories. Because to have them is the best thing ever.

My Junior Year

Junior year has been stressful. The year has been filled with constant, overwhelming work and it's not even over. It's been a combination of intense intellectual stress and planning for next year or college. Although, I had always heard that this year was the hardest year of high school and I just never took heed of the warnings. This year hit me hard and greatly surprised me. This summer I already have an internship lined up that will get me 100 hours toward my mentoring project and I will also get paid for it. The internship is at the UK center for behavioral sciences. Also, this summer I am going to Bonnaroo. I am really looking forward to this as an experience that I will always remember. For my senior year I am looking for an intellectually stimulating year, yet one that is less difficult than this one has been. I will be spending much of my time outside of school on my mentoring project and the 3 AP classes that I will be taking. I’m looking forward to next year as being the best year of high school yet.

super late playlist post yeee hawwwww cowboy

well first things first

(((its only one song but now you cant say i didnt warn you)))

okay here we go
witch house playlist - perfect for chilling and enjoying the ethereal and dark sounds of the pastel goth and soft grunge worlds

SPOTIFY LINK (incomplete): Halogenic nvm dont even bother clickin just do the youtube one
YOUTUBE LINK (full playlist): Halogenic

first up is gvcci hvcci (r.i.p. im still not sure what happened to you or if youre even dead but nobody has heard from you in months and they are saying you died sorry bout that friend your music was great)

1. Gvcci Hvcci feat. RITUALZ - Ghetto Ass Witch [Blind Bindings Remix]
    from the album $wagged Out & $cuba Divin'

this one isnt in spotify sorry
gvcci hvcci is the grimes of the rap world - characterized by her light flowing velvet vocals and classic big electronica beats, she is grimes meets die antwoord - aggressive in her lyrics but ethereal in her tone. she starts of this playlist, building up energy that will slowly fade through the ever softening tracks that follow

anyway.... next song

2. Grimes - Genesis
     from the album Visions

grimes (aka claire boucher) is the goddess of the dark wave/witch house world. shes gorgeous and talented and oh so profitable. her work is characterized by huge amounts of vocal tracks (im talking 40-70 separate tracks) layed over one another to create a soft and dense wall of harmonics that envelop the mind. this song is a pretty big contrast to the first one, but its a good cool down off of gvcci's pounding rhythms.

3. Crystal Castles - Transgender
     from the album (III)

crystal castles is my favorite band so youll have to excuse me if i go on a huge spiel here (ill do my best to keep it short.) the two person band is known for their strong electronic beats and echoing vocals, and transgender is a perfect example of some of their softer works. theres no good way to describe crystal castles, you really just have to experience them

4. Grimes - Oblivion
     from the album Visions

back to grimes for a more vocal driven track, mostly chosen to clear out the monotony of largely instrumental driven pieces. still a good song though.

5. Crystal Castles - Magic Spells
     from the album (I)

back to another of crystal castles' softer pieces, Magic Spells is characterized by soft repetitive beats that lull the listener into total relaxation. some of you more attentive people may recognize the reference to the 1984 miniseries "V" about an alien invasion

WOAH
BONUS TRACK????////??!/?1//

yeah thats right children i couldnt leave out this one (((but you only get to hear it if you look it up - spotify doesnt have it)))

6. Chromatics - Red Car
     from the album Running from the Sun

i dont know anything about chromatics but this song is a perfect song for a final piece - its slow, soft, and incredibly relaxing.

a very informal and entirely inane analysis of junior year

yeah so im gonna just drop the formal tone and grammar for this one since introspection is not something i can really do all hoighty toighty and stuff so be prepared for a lot of idks and nbds and ums and like exactly zero periods yee haw

i guess i should start with failures because theres a hella lot of em here goes
most of my failures arent actually academic though i mean my grades sort of suck? but thats nothing new (hey its better than last year)
yeah its really in my social life. although i suppose that if you consider the fact that in august i chose to completely dump my old crew of friends and (re)make new ones its not so bad. theres been a lot of conflict but in the end it sort of settled down and now after all that ive got the best friend anybody could ever possibly want. ive found possibly the only human being who puts up with my crap and doesnt complain about it and i dont think theres anything else anyone could ask for. wow that was stupid sorry
anyway yeah tl;dr on failures: grADES AHAHAHA, i spent all year getting into fights with people who i pretended to be friends with, i have no social life outside of like two people (shout out to paula and bay you people are the only thing keeping me in touch with the rest of the world thx guys)

but on the other hand
ive had some successes i guess
ive made more friends
through the support of my closest friends ive finally developed my own identity outside of the pressures of my peers - ive purified myself in a way
ive learned to lead (wooohoooooo project leader in history club yeahhh (its actually nbd i just pretend like it is))
and i have a
totally
sick
blog

wow this was literally the worst thing ive ever written gomenasai

Makes You Stronger

The rapid succession of questions for this prompt makes me feel almost as overwhelmed as this school year has made me feel (actually no where near but it does prompt similar feelings). Last year I remember hearing that Junior year was the hardest one, which might be true, though I can't say until I'm out of high school. What I do know for sure is that it's the hardest one so far. My classes were much more difficult this year than ever before and it's also the first year of high school where I have gotten more than one B (two, for the record) and that was in the first semester of this year. Calculus has been one of the most baffling things ever and as such it was one of my B's last semester; the other one was Spanish, which is hardly a surprise either, since Spanish tends to be one of my worst subjects.

As I try to think over my possible successes, absolutely nothing comes to mind. I'm sure there was something that I was successful at, though I can't remember anything large enough for it. It's not that I see this year as a failure in itself, more so that it proved to me yet more so that I am just incredibly mediocre. I do know where this problem comes from, though, and I plan to improve on that next year. I appear to have contracted an advanced form of senioritis, but as I have already had my brush with it, I hope to be immune to it next year and try to improve then.

How am I gonna do that? Well I'm still puzzling over that a bit, but I suppose the best way to go about it would be to get off the internet and actually do some studying for once. That might be a good start.

I only talked about school work, and that's how I'm gonna leave it. I honestly couldn't adequately sum up my junior year socially, if only because I have no idea how it compares to other years. (Sounds weird, I know, but I promise that it's just that I don't know how to judge how bad it is in the moment). I would want some form of objective view, and I can't say I have that yet. But I've had good and bad turns, socially, so I can't say it was completely one direction or the other.

But hey, I'm still here? And probably better off than some people. Maybe.

Junior year = ?

So my Junior year has been really really cool. I mean my grades are pretty much awful and I'm gonna have to like just brute force the work on myself but I will do it I suppose. First things first, I have had many new experiences and I have loved them. This whole year is just insane and I haven't understood a minute of it but it's been really really cool. I mean the chicago trip might have to be my favorite part especially the almost getting arrested part and my subsequent confusion as Trevor created #freecarsondooley. Oh also Barrett being on Jeopardy was pretty crazy. Oh well. I am out of things to say but I have loved this class and everything about this year. Feeling a little more relaxed as I just listened to my playlist. Thanks for the blogs Mr. Logsdon I feel like I know myself better. Bye.

Fiction is me

I would want to be Fry from the tv show Futurama. I know that Fry is pretty lame by himself but with his friends he is really very interesting and his life is never boring. I think that traveling and expiriencing the way that Fry does would be incredible no day the same future ridiculousness all over the place it would be really really neat. Also I just think that meeting Zoidberg would be so awesome although he might try to eat me... Oh well I suppose it would be worth the risk for all the incredible benefits, like slurm. The incredible new mountain dew that makes you glow.

Playlist to relax and not feel like the world is falling on youNerdy

1. Drunk - Ed Sheeran. Yes I understand that this is a very popular song and that it's not quite what some people might call good music but I like it and it is very relaxing so I feel drawn to putting it on this list as stressed as I am right now.
2. Letter to me - Brad Paisley. So as I was thinking about this list this song came into my mind. Just to clarify I don't like country music nor do I like this song however it does remind me that it's not the whole world and to relax and take it easy.
3. Take it easy- the Eagles. Now this song is something from my childhood I love it and it reminds me of my grandfather which brings back good relaxing memories.
4. Energy- the Apples In Stereo. This song is so relaxing because it brings up all the peace that thinking of how tiny you are and how everything is connected.
5. Lighters - Bad Meets Evil. I find this song very relaxing because it reminds me that while things may seem bad it could be worse and that it will get better.

Change is Terrifying

       Now that we've gotten to know each other, I'm sure most of you know that I'm one of those people that absolutely hates change. It literally makes me physically sick. The anxiety that comes with change is pretty killer too. A part of me really dreaded the start of senior year. Even though all through sophomore year I longed for the day when I could give myself the "junior" title, transitioning grades still meant new teachers, new classrooms, new schedule, new classmates. In my opinion, changing 8 hours of my day takes too much effort. But I did it (as if I had a choice) and I didn't hate it. Sure it wont compare to my expectations for senior year, but hey, can anything really? (I pretty much got Senioritis once Spring Break hit)
        Junior year was filled with the typical teenage angsty roller coaster of drama - some good, fair share of bad, but all tolerable. Successes include some personal strides and realizations along with the typical *pass all my classes/get straight A's/not make my teachers hate me* type things. Not dying from physics overload is also a pretty big accomplishment (at least in my eyes haha). Try and as much as she may, no matter how much I love Mrs. Gill, there is no way I could survive in her AP Physics class. To all those attempting it next year, I tip my hate off to you (I'll also be the one making you pot after pot of coffee when your screwed and your Web HW is due at midnight) How I'll handle Dewees next year is an entirely different question.
        This years failure is well, basically my social life. That kind of died. Epically. (It's buried somewhere in the backyard. I'll have to dig it out for the summer.) Last year, signing up for classes, I didn't necessarily realize what I was getting myself into. But, as the year went on, I think I mastered the fine art of multitasking and balancing (at least to some extent). Yet on the other hand, I wouldn't completely classify this as a failure either. Maybe just an extended vacation. From everybody. It kind of felt nice, not going to lie. Annoying people aren't good for those with a short fuse and an over-anxious mind. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to re-evaluate my priorities and see where I and those around me stood.
        Although Junior year wasn't as, to use a technical term, sucky as I expected it to be, I really don't think it'll compare in the slightest to what next year has in store for me. This summer will be filled with wonderful experiences like seeing friends, expanding on my mentoring project, and several wonderful summer programs that will give me the opportunity to experience college life. Oh, and maybe a couple exciting trips up north as well! (Which reminds me of another failure: college preparedness. You have less than a year Lu, get your act together!) Not to be cheesy but I really do feel as if this year has just sped by me without so much as a blink of an eye and I can't believe the end is almost near. That's pretty terrifying. I have absolutely no idea what I want to do. Where I want to go. How I want to live. What to study. What to work. See, this is why the future scares me - its inability to reassure me that everything will work itself out is what I fear most. But then again, I guess thats what it means to grow up. Trying your best and taking everything one step at a time. More so than anything, I feel as if I did everything in my power to prepare myself for the "real world" this year. Plus, I celebrated my 16th AND passed my permit test (in one attempt if I may say so myself :) )


All in all, not a bad year. Not at all. At least, one I'll never forget.

Junior Year

I guess Ill go in order haha. My successes this year were making a lot of new friends, becoming more active with people in the academy outside of school, finding ways to scrape through school, and becoming a starter on the football team. Oh and not being called to the office this year! My failures have been procrastination, which always leads to me receiving zeros or getting in fights with my parents, or not trying as hard as I should and doing half hearted effort, which receives a half hearted grade. Haha many of the risks I have taken involved talking to girls that may or may not be in a relationship with another guy or hanging out with austin, sammy and quentin for the first time and being in the car while paintballs were dispersed at someone's property(unwillingly). In the summer I plan to workout and do all I can to prepare for the next season, hang out and make life lasting memories with my friends that are going off to college and have an amazing summer. My goals for senior year are to raise my gpa up and not regret anything. I plan to reach my goals by hard work and something I have never done..... STUDYING

My Junior Year and what I'll be Doing Next Year

This year has been a complex array of emotion, physical exertion, and intellectual challenge. They always tell you that your junior year of high school is the hardest, the one that really counts; well, I can't do anything but agree with them. I started off the year taking 4 AP classes, 3 of which I knew I could handle and one I was worried about, biology. Although I was in the class with a group of close friends I ended up wussing out right at the end of the first six weeks, regrettably switching into sociology. It has been nice to have that easy class but it has also frustrated me how little it helps me. Anyway the year coasted along, and I found myself with a girlfriend. This was my first real girlfriend. Before I continue let me first admit that I feel like a total wuss writing about this kind of stuff right now, but hey, its the last blog of the year so go big or go home.  The first 3 months were great, I was enjoying life and school was going pretty well. 2012 wrapped itself up with an awesome Christmas holiday, cementing itself as one of the most entertaining years of my life to date. 2013 however, is proving to be a different story. School started out fine as usual, but unexpectedly my history grade plummeted and my should-be-easy Spanish V class is turning out to be a little difficult. The primary decline though, was with my relationship. Somewhat sadly, though necessary, it ended at the beginning of March. Since I've been getting along fine, but things haven't been the same. People treat me differently now and I don't like it at all. What sucks even more is that since she now hates me it forced the awkward dilemma upon some people to choose whether they would stay good friends with her or me. Unfortunately I lost in that category. So the last 6 weeks have been strange, no doubt, but I've managed. And I can't complain, and don't want to, because I after all am the one who brought all this stuff on me. At this point I've probably forced you into boredom and you've stopped reading, so I will continue on to the next phase of the prompt in an incredibly blunt way, since I can't think of a good transition at the moment. (Don't judge my writing ability on this blog post) Ahead of me I have 8 months of hell, then some time to relax before college. In the next 8 months, leading up to December, I will be taking the APUSH EOC, 3 SAT subject tests, 3 AP tests, finals, getting as good of grades as possible, the ACT, the SAT, writing my college essays, applying to what looks like could be 11 colleges, getting the best possible grades in my ridiculously hard senior year schedule, my 200 hour minimum mentoring project (internship at a law firm), a two week medical/dental mission trip to Honduras, a trip to Wyoming, a trip to Killarney, 2-a-day summer soccer practice, soccer every day after school, everything else which soccer season thrusts upon me, International Book Project volunteering, being President of Book Club, restoring Young Republicans to the status of relevance at Henry Clay, my real job at Suggin's, finding some way to make the Library Advisory Committee helpful, convincing Beta Club officers to gift Book Club the IBP events, drives, etc which we have been pursuing but don't have the power to attract people to, figuring how in the heck I am going to find a way to stand out to colleges (instruments, service projects, other cool stuff; I'm open to suggestions), and on top of all of that I have to find a way to get enough sleep, enjoy my family, maintain a healthy social life, and above all else, find a way to be happy in the midst of all the turmoil. Frankly I don't know how I'm going to do it all, but I sure hope I can. A better life here I come.

Waiting for the hint of a spark (shipping playlist)

Well, all but one of my playlists are tied to some ship or another (remember that vocab word we learned about it class? Yeah that's still a thing). Otherwise, I just listen to whatever strikes my mood, which tends to be lots of one artist or another after the other. 

So to skip all of the junk and such, I'm just gonna go with a fanmix for one of my pairings! (Seeing that Bay did something similar encouraged me to go ahead and do it anyway). As much as I would love to treat you to my Johnlock fanmix (John/Sherlock, for those who are unaware) it only has three songs right now so I'll simply go with Kyouko/Sayaka which is (surprise, surprise) a ship from an anime I like called Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

1 - Kiss With a Fist by Florence and the Machine

"You hit me once/I hit you back
You gave a kick/I gave a slap
You smashed a plate over my head/Then I set fire to our bed"

Before you ask, no, their relationship isn't (wouldn't be, they aren't actually together within the story) abusive, the world in which PMMM is set is...violent, and the two of them are magical girls who fight the evil witches. They aren't on the same side at first, though, as magical girls aren't typically pushed to work together, and their philosophies on life don't exactly mesh, so the two of them...clash.

2 - What You Know by Two Door Cinema Club
"And I can tell you just what you want
You don't want to be alone"

After the first few encounters, the two of them stop fighting a bit, and they, well, bond. Kyouko learns that Sayaka isn't as stuck up as she first seemed to be, and Sayaka learns that Kyouko isn't nearly as hard-hearted as she had previously seemed. And they both realize that the other is tired of feeling lonely and (more so Kyouko, as I see this from her point of view) and that realization hit them pretty hard. And helps them become closer.

3 - Home by Phillip Phillips
"Don't pay no mind to the demons/They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down/If you get lost you can always be found
Just know you're not alone/Cause I'm gonna make this place your home"

Again the alone motif reoccurs, but this time it focuses more on the fact that Kyouko is starting to feel protective of Sayaka and wants to protect both her and her more optimistic view of the world against the witches and the more general personal demons that come with being a magical girl.

4 - I Will Follow You Into the Dark by Death Cab for Cutie
"Love of mine someday you will die/But I'll be close behind
...
If there's no one beside you/When your soul embarks
I'll follow you into the dark"

Literally all of this song is perfect for these two and I just chose the most obvious lyrics for this one. Up until now, the songs have mimicked their canon relationship pretty closely; this one is the very last kick as in the end (spoiler alert for those who care) Sayaka is consumed by darkness and becomes a witch, and not wanting to keep going and not wanting to leave Sayaka on her own, Kyouko sacrifices herself in order to defeat her. 

5 - Nothing Left to Lose by The Pretty Reckless
"Now I see that you and me were never meant
Never meant to be now
Now I'm lost somewhere
Lost between Elvis and suicide"

This is the hypothetical wrap up after they are gone, which could reflect Kyouko's thoughts (most if not all of my songs for the two of them are from her point of view, mostly because she is hinted more at having feelings for Sayaka within the actual story). Mostly this song is Kyouko reflecting on their relationship (or lack thereof).

The Playlist to Scream Every Word To:

This playlist is one which is full of songs that you know all the words, or at least the chorus and 1 or 2 verses. Keep in mind that this is not meant to apply to everybody, though in many cases can, but is instead a playlist of songs which I know. Also, fair warning, at first glance this could look like a guilty pleasure playlist since most of these songs are those catchy, enjoyable, yet sometimes annoying long term songs. That being said, you have to be in the right mood for this playlist, especially since it is only meant to be played when you can belt out the lyrics and not worry about anything or anyone else. As well, I advise using shuffle for this playlist since there is no real progression to the songs, instead they are just meant to be a random blast of joy and entertainment. So, here we go:

1) Our Song by Taylor Swift- This is a classic song which I have loved for years, how could anyone not. In classic T-Swift style, the song is upbeat and the lyrics are simple enough for anyone to learn. I find this song especially amusing because, unlike most of her songs, this is about the positive side of one of her relationships as opposed to the break up or bad times. I find it unique and happy, making it great to just yell out the lyrics on a lazy Saturday.

2) Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show- I owe my love for this song to my summer camp where I probably learned every word to it after the second day. I think it's funny that I loved this song in the middle of 2007 and in 2011 everyone was like "OMG have you heard this great new song?!" It made me feel original and I enjoyed laughing at the people who called themselves trend-setters for bringing this song to Lexington, HA! Anyway, normally I don't like folksy music too much but I find that this song has a perfect mix of country, pop, and folk. Not to mention the lyrics are clever, quick, and relatively simple. Not to mention, who doesn't love "singing" off-key "ROCK ME MAMA LIKE A WAGON WHEEL, ROCK ME ANY WAY YOU FEEL; HEEEEEEYYYYYY MAMA ROCK ME!"

3) Just Dance by Lady Gaga- This song was the first Gaga hit, and it is still my favorite to date. The song is a strange but interesting mix of techno-pop as well as what could be argued as an early version of dubstep. The main reason this song is so recitable though is because of they constant echoing. The repetition of words is really fun in my mind and I love the do, da, de parts as well, the less lyrical more beat-like parts. This song is vital to the playlist too because after Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga is probably the most singable artist.

4) Disturbia by Rihanna- Somewhat similarly to Just Dance, this song is based around the repetition and odd pitch of the word Disturbia, as well as everybody's favorite part: "bum bum be dum bum bum be dum dum". I will say that the verses are the most difficult of all the songs on this playlist to grasp, however, nobody will have a problem mumbling through them since this song is more about the beat, tempo, and rhythm than anything else.

5) Payphone by Maroon 5- As I'm sure everyone has heard this song a thousand times over this past summer, we all might be getting a little tired of it. However, if you're in a good mood and this song came up, then let's face it, you would have no choice but to give it 110%. The words are simple and fun. Even the rap part is relatively basic, depending on your rap ability.(?) But if you aren't one for rapping then no problem because it is short and sweet.

BONUS TRACK:
6) Thrift Shop by Macklemore X Ryan Lewis- A tandem which is gaining ground quickly on the other industry superstars, this song has been one of the most popular in a long time. The beat is fantastic and the lyrics are clever. Curse words or not, I am yet to meet a person who doesn't enjoy this song at least a little bit. The chorus is decent sized and easily singable. Again, depending on your ability to understand the verses and your own rapping ability, the verses and bridges can be somewhat difficult to get out, but like Disturbia, there should be no problem humming along to the beat during these times as it is still fast and enjoyable.


The truth is that I do not even own every single one of these on my iTunes, but undoubtedly if I hear these songs come through a speaker of any sort, and I've not had the worst day ever, then I will be screaming the lyrics, happy as can be.