Hold On To This Lullaby

I remember on a cold Christmas evening a couple of years back whilst I was watching telly on the sofa I got up and went to get a glass of water, as I was in the kitchen I heard this enchanting sound of an angel! I ran into my living room only to find that it was the end of a promo advert for an upcoming singer. I got a glimpse of a beautiful, long, cream dress and stunning golden blonde hair in an up do. It was just a picturesque site. I longed for the advert to return but it was only until weeks later that I heard it on telly. I remember thinking to myself that Taylor Swift is now my idol. The advert was of course for her dreamlike song Love Story.

Since then I have been a Taylor Swift fan. 

Eight reasons why I admire her:

• Her music is just so wonderful and relatable
• She is such a down to earth girl
• Unlike other mainstream artists she can actually sing perfectly live
• Taylor is flawless and an absolute darling
• Her outfits are of perfection and are always faultless
• Swift’s award ceremony outfits are always so elegant
• She has an adorable kitten called Meredith
• She cares for her fans. 

Her latest song Safe and Sound (which is the soundtrack for The Hunger Games) is definitely dark and unnerving. I suppose that’s the whole point seeing as the song is based on a fantasy-thriller movie that tells the story of a young girl who must fight for survival in a disturbing, corrupt and twisted society. 

I find this song really emotional, touching and meaningful, yet I also find it to be haunting with the collaboration of all three voices on the “oooohhh’s” … it is genius . Unless you have been living under a rock then you have probably heard about the craze for The Hunger Games Trilogy books! I am still to read them but I will beyond doubt be adding them onto my summer reading list alongside Speak!

I did a cover of Safe and Sound recently at an event at my school! Check it out below! 

"It happened. There's no avoiding it. No forgetting."

I’ve always wanted to express to other people how much I loved the movie Speak. I have watched Speak more than ten times and I have burst into tears every single time. Well here I go… Here is the basic information - Speak was originally a book published in 1999 by Laurie Halse and was then made into a movie in 2004.

Warning this may contain spoilers! :O

The movie starts off with thirteen year old Kristen Stewart who plays Melinda Sordino sitting in front of a mirror in her bedroom with a vacant expression. She’s applying eyeliner onto her lips to make them look as if they were stitched shut. Just from the first few seconds I already knew that this was going to be an emotional movie. 

 The movie is about Melinda Sordino appearing to look depressed in her first year of High School, with no friends but one, distancing from her parents and failing her grades. We discover in the course of the movie that during the summer before High School began she was raped by a boy in an older year called Andy Evans. The traumatic experience leaves her only to express herself through art and forms a moving relationship with her art teacher Mr Freeman. She paints and draws how hurt she really feels inside and seeks refuge in her art class. The distance between her and her parents escalates because her parents just do not understand her anymore and feel as if their daughter has become a different person … “All I know is that I had a sweet loving little girl and now she’s flushing her grades down the toilet”.

 She scurries up the courage to disclose to her ex-best friend but is considered a liar. This shatters Melinda’s world as she had not confided to anyone about that distressing experience and when she finally speaks up she was not believed. Eventually the school find out and her mother is called in to pick her up and as a result she finally speaks to her mother about what happened on that heartbreaking night. Christopher Libertino composes a beautiful piece of music to go alongside the movie, in actual fact the soundtrack does add a lot to the upsetting atmosphere. I applaud Kristen Stewart for her raw, honest and emotional performance. My heart literally ached every time that I watched it and even though I tried not to, the lump in my throat always became tears flooding down my cheeks. Melinda just seemed so tortured, you could feel the pain that she was going through… the isolation, the despair and the loneliness she suffered. My favourite scene was when Melinda shows Mr Freeman a collection of all her work from the beginning of the year in a small unused closet in the school. You can see the tears in his eyes proving that he really did make a difference to Melindas delicate year.

I am yet to read the book, but it is definitely in my to-do list for this summer! I without a doubt recommend anyone and everyone to watch this touching movie. So unless you have a heart of steel then I am guessing you probably will shed some tears during this movie, so be prepared! :’) 

Here's the link to Part 1 of the movie:

Crashing From The High

For this past week I have been completely addicted to Katy Perry’s new song Wide Awake. I'm not a huge fan of Katy Perry although I do love her songs. In my opinion Wide Awake portrays her past struggle to make it to Hollywood and how if she had known then what she was in for now then she should not have taken that route... "I wish I knew then what I know now". The way in which all of the pressure she is under by the media to be perfect, unable to just leave her home with minimal makeup and in just a casual t-shirt and jeans because she’s in fear of being snapped by the paparazzi and being scrutinised because of it. (What I thought from 2:17 – 2:32 of her music video).

I also think she's expressing her feelings towards the music industry, how they made her feel so special at first but have just left her 'on the concrete'. Also, how everything that we see about her life is not always what it seems, as we probably perceive her as a super rich, beautiful and famous woman living the dream, when in fact she doesn’t feel that way at all. Compared to her other energetic and vibrant music videos like California Girls and Last Friday Night this one seems much darker. Especially the scene where she’s being pushed in a wheelchair by a girl named Katheryn portraying young Katy Perry down a bleak corridor resembling one of a mental asylum. Katy looks dissociated and as she reaches halfway down the corridor she is obstructed by two sinister looking guards. To me this part of the video depicts the way that she feels disconnected from reality almost like a limp and lifeless doll. (What I thought from 2:35 – 2:55 of her music video).

In my opinion the last part of the video depicts her innocent younger self/mind saving her and reminding her that she can be strong and fight through the tough times. (2:56 - 3:44) On the whole this is genuinely one of my favourite songs by Katy Perry. I find the video enchanting, captivating and fairy-tale like.

 

Here's the link to 'Katy Perry - Wide awake' below!  Leave me a comment and tell me what you think! 

 

You're Dead Wrong

This is hopefully the start of something creative. First of all let me tell you a little bit about myself

• My name is Nadia and I live in London 
• I love dresses and cardigans
• I want to be a teacher one day
• I want to live a happy life
• I want to die knowing that I've made a positive difference to society

 All I seem to be surrounded by is a load of self esteem crushing T.V. shows, music videos and celebrities. Why can't I just turn on the telly without being bombarded by so many things that just make me feel that tiny bit more self conscious? I'm sick of it. The media just don't know when enough is enough... they are so close to crossing the line. Every year the media seem to get away with showing more indecently dressed women, bearing all for the cameras and degrading females to a disgusting extent. What angers me most is that they know how much of a huge negative impact it has on people, especially the young. Why must I see people posting links on their Facebook of young children aged 5 dancing and singing to Nicki Minaj's song 'Stupid Hoe'. These kids don't even know what they're singing along to. They are growing up in a corrupt society where it's OK for them to parade around the streets with more skin than clothes showing.
Now don't get me wrong. I am all for a women's right to wear what they want when they want. But I do believe that it goes to an extent. Why should a seven year old feel the need to apply layers of foundation, fake eyelashes and lipstick? Children should be able to grow up without feeling self conscious.