Movie Review: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler was truly a movie that took me by surprise. In viewing the trailer for this film, it was honestly not a movie that appealed to me all that much, and I originally had no intention of watching it. But on one boring night with nothing better to do, I opted to watch Nightcrawler for some random reason and was quite pleasantly surprised with the film overall.
Nightcrawler follows the story of Louis Bloom who is looking for a job. Upon witnessing a car accident one night and seeing a news crew turn up to record the action, he eventually works his way into the cutthroat crime journalism industry. Becoming caught up in being the best in the business, Bloom walks the fine line between reporting and perpetuating the crimes that bolster his paycheck.
The movie itself is fast and precise, just like its lead character. There's no off-shooting storylines that weigh this movie down. I think this is largely why I enjoyed it, because I quickly got swept up in both the plot and the character of Lou Bloom and his brash way of operating. I actually had apprehensions about Jake Gyllenhaal playing the lead in this movie, as in my opinion some of his other characters have been somewhat overacted (namely Detective Loki in the 2013 film Prisoners). However, I found his portrayal of Lou Bloom in Nightcrawler to be a good mix of believable, idiosyncratic, and unhinged to the perfect degree.
The one negative aspect that I felt pulled this movie down a bit was the relationship between Lou Bloom and Nina, the news director that buys his footage. I found it to be bizarre and slightly off-putting in a way that's hard to explain. I can see the vision that Dan Gilroy (writer and director) had for this part of the storyline, but it was nonetheless an element of Nightcrawler that didn't seem to mesh correctly with the rest of the movie.
Overall, if you typically enjoy thrillers and crime movies and can stomach seeing some blood and gore, I would recommend seeing this movie. It's not a film that I would proclaim to be amazing, but it is certainly worthy of any award nominations that it receives and is worth a watch.

Rating: R

Genre: Crime/Drama/Thriller

Run Time: 117 minutes

Release Date: October 31, 2014

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Album Review: Goddess

I decided to do yet another album review here on my blog, and this one is for the album called Goddess by the singer Banks. This is her debut album, and overall I am enjoying what I've heard from her so far.
All of the songs on Goddess have a very smooth-sounding quality to them, with a combination of both electronic and R&B influences. I feel that this style of music that Banks has created for herself is a good mix of the electronic sound that dominates many popular songs today, but is balanced out well by the use of more soulful and slower R&B. It's the kind of music that one can slowly fall asleep to at night, due to it's slow and methodical qualities.
But despite the album's calm and soothing sound, the lyrics that Banks applies to her melodies on Goddess pull the songs down to a, for lack of a better word, depressing place. This is the one aspect of this album that I dislike somewhat, as its seemingly dulcet exterior gives way to woeful lyrical themes. In other words, listening to this album will not necessarily put you in your happy place.
Putting this one negative aside however, overall I have enjoyed the majority of the tracks on Goddess. I think that Banks is one musician to keep our eyes (and ears) out for in upcoming years, as I see a lot of potential in her debut album Goddess.

Artist: Banks

Genre: Electronica/R&B/trip hop

Number of Songs: 14 (plus 4 bonus tracks)

Release Date: September 5, 2014

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Album Review: Little Machines

I believe that this is the first album review that I've ever done on my blog, and so I figured that I would start with a really good one. The album that I'm reviewing is called Little Machines, and is by the Canadian musician Lights. I have been familiar with much of her music for a while, but it was only until recently that I began listening to some of the songs on her newest album.
I was not disappointed; several of the songs on this album became stuck in my head (in the best way possible) after only listening to them a few times. One aspect of Little Machines that I really find pleasing is the mix of well-written and heartfelt lyrics put to catchy, electronic-pop music. I find that most lyrically deep songs today are often quite melancholic while upbeat songs are often very lyrically shallow, but this album forms the perfect bridge between the two. You can lyrically relate to the songs, but the music provides a catchy and upbeat accompaniment to them.
I really do like all of the tracks on this album, but I would say that my personal favorites are Speeding (track 5), Muscle Memory (track 6), and Lucky Ones (bonus track 13). If you are at all familiar with this album, or the artist Lights in general, let me know what your thoughts are in the comment section.

Artist: Lights

Genre: Pop/synthpop

Number of Songs: 11 (plus 3 bonus tracks)

Release Date: September 19, 2014

My Rating: ★★★★☆

Movie Review: Divergent

I guess I should begin this review by saying that I have never read any of the Divergent books, which this movie is based on. I don't know if reading them would have made me enjoy this movie any more or less, but putting this fact aside I do know exactly how I felt about the film.
To begin I'll give a quick synopsis of what the movie Divergent is about. Basically, it takes place in a future society where five different factions exist. The main character of the film, Beatrice, does not fit into any of the five factions, thus making her a divergent. Ultimately her identity as a divergent is compromised and her life is in danger due to this. The climax of the movie occurs when the leader of one of the factions, Jeanine, attempts to overtake the entire society by taking control of the members of Beatrice's faction and controlling their actions. Since Beatrice is a divergent, she is unaffected and must stop Jeanine.
Okay, now for the review itself. The movie Divergent failed on so many levels for me, from the sub-par and predictable plot to the hardly formidable villain that Kate Winslet portrayed. The entire time I was watching Divergent, I was conscious of the fact that I was always waiting for something else to happen that would really pull me into the story line or the characters in some way, but this never happened. None of the characters seemed to click, and their relationships with each other were not believable to me as a viewer. Even the main romance between Beatrice and the character Four seemed very unnatural to me, and was also very predictable.
I feel like I basically spent 2 hours waiting for more to happen. Even during the action scenes in Divergent, it never felt like enough was going on. To sum up all of my feelings about this movie, I would say that it's a stagnant story line featuring unconvincing character relationships, all put to a really bad-ass soundtrack (my one praise for this movie). Overall I would not recommend Divergent.

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Science Fiction/Action

Run Time: 139 minutes

Release Date: March 21, 2014

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

How Time Has Changed

I am sitting at my desk right now, pondering what to write. My last blog post was a week and a half ago, and I really want to stick to my New Year's resolution of posting once a week to this blog. So far I think I've done pretty well in fulfilling this goal, so I want to see it through at least until 2015 rolls around.
I suppose I will write about time. Time is a funny thing, isn't it? It exists, but it is not a tangible object that us humans can take over and control. When you step back and think about what time is, the only thing that comes to my mind is a bunch of numbers and units of measure that don't really seem necessary. Yes, our modern world of today completely revolves around time as we know it, but for life to continue to function, time is meaningless.
The human rhythms of sleeping, eating, hunting and gathering; essentially everything that our ancestors did, used to be based on when it felt right internally. When an individual was tired, they slept. When someone was hungry, they ate. But today, we seem to make a clock be the center of all of our natural actions. We assign bedtimes for our kids, we eat at specific times of the day, and we start classes and jobs at the same time each morning. Our modern technology, although they are absolutely incredible inventions, are also causing humans to become even more detached with their "internal time" too. You could say that it started with the light bulb, which began to interfere with the natural darkness that parallels with when our bodies should be going to sleep.
I guess to end this long ramble of a post, I will say this: what time is today is most certainly not what it was during Neanderthal times. We have changed from using the natural timing of the sun, stars, moon and our physical instincts to a modern system of days, hours, minutes, etc. Which is better? I don't know if there is an answer to that question. What I can say is that in our world today, we place such an emphasis on time, when if you really step back and look at the big picture, it seems almost ridiculous. Anyway, these are just some thoughts of mine. Give your own thoughts and opinions on time in the comments!

Really, just what IS time? . . .

The Narcissism Of Humanity

Humanity is narcissistic. We all seem to have an obsession with our own endeavors and achievements as human beings. A great example is the thousands of tourists that each year flock to places like the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall of China, or even more modern icons like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Even the cities that we build over generations have come to be revered as magnificent feats of the human race.
Okay, let me back up a little bit. What got me thinking about this topic in the first place was a recent article on National Geographic (read it here), which was about how tourists are flocking to Pripyat, a city located in Ukraine. For any of you that do not know, this city was located very close to the Chernobyl power plant that suffered a catastrophic nuclear accident in 1986. Due to this, Pripyat was evacuated and subsequently became a ghost town, where no one returned due to the lingering radiation in the area. But now, apparently, tourists are starting to trickle back into this town.
So, I got wondering why this was happening. Why exactly do so many people have a hankering to go see a town that was destroyed by a terrible disaster? I think that it is directly related to what I was talking about in the first paragraph of this post. Along with our utter fascination of human glory and achievement, we are as equally, if not more fascinated by the downfall of humanity as well. Ghost towns, disaster zones, and other similar locations are becoming tourist destinations because we can't seem to bring ourselves to look away. Anyway, let me know what you think about all of this in the comment section.

What Makes A Great Movie?

What element can move a film beyond the point of being simply good and bring it to the point of amazing? There are obviously a ton of elements that help to make a good movie, such as the acting, special effects, story line, and even just the overall organization of the movie. But I really think that for me, the music plays an especially huge role in launching a movie to another level.
The music is what sets the mood for each and every scene within a movie; suspense, action, emotional moments, everything. When you think about it, a movie with no soundtrack would be void of most of the emotions that come along with watching a movie.
I'll give you some examples: the first is the 2013 science fiction movie Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise. As a movie in general, it's pretty good but in my opinion nothing out of the ordinary. It's the visual effects and, for me, the music especially that really make this film great. If you want a great example of how music can influence a movie, give Oblivion a watch sometime soon.
A second example of the influence that music has on a movie can be heard in virtually every horror/suspense thriller ever made. Just think about how the music always begins softly and builds in intensity as the climax of a scene is about to occur. It's this precise manipulation of sound that makes us as viewers jump out of our seats when something unexpected or scary happens on-screen.
Yet another example is in the form of movie trailers. In order to market a movie well and make it appeal to people, trailers always feature an epic song that accompanies the best scenes taken from the film. In many cases, I've found that the trailer for a movie is actually a lot better than the film itself. Take this trailer for the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, posted below. I've seen this movie, and it wasn't half bad, however the trailer builds it up to be an epic masterpiece. This is done by using the song I'd Love To Change The World by Jetta that, combined with the clips taken from the film, creates a certain epic intensity that forces you to become sucked into what's happening on screen. Just think how you would respond to this trailer if it didn't have music. It would probably be pretty boring, right? Anyway, take a look and see what I mean:



This all being said, music clearly plays an incredibly massive role in making a movie great, and also in marketing it to viewers. I don't at all want to demote the other facets of a film, because in a way they are just as important as the music. But I think that the soundtrack to a film is what puts the life, soul and emotion into a motion picture. Anyway, these are my thoughts on music in movies. Let me know what you think in the comments.

A Multitude Of Words

We live in a world of words. There are thousands of different languages on this planet, and every single living creature has some way of communication between each other. So it's pretty obvious to say that learning a new language is an extremely daunting task!
My native language is English, and I can both speak and write in English with ease. I think we all have at least one language that we could consider ourselves fairly proficient in, and it's typically the one that we grew up speaking with our family members. Recently ("recently" being the last 6 months or so) I have been taking Spanish classes and using Duolingo to enhance my Spanish skills, as I have always wanted to learn a second language. As of right now, I feel like I'm doing alright, and I am certainly learning so much each and every day.
However, there are those occasional moments that I think anyone who has ever attempted to learn a new language can attest to, where I feel completely overwhelmed with the sheer amount of words that there are! For example, I can be learning a list of vocabulary words for Spanish that are all different food-related words, and I will feel really good about what I just learned. Then, I will go on to the next activity, and there will be a whole new set of words that I need to memorize and learn that cover a completely new topic.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that learning a new language has certainly opened my eyes up to just how many words are out there in the world! You just don't realize it speaking your native language that you're proficient in, but when you are forced to confront a new language, I feel like you can gain a true appreciation for language in general. Anyway, let me know what your thoughts are on this topic in the comments. I'd love to read them!

Going Past The Boundaries Of Genres

So many times, people will ask me "what kind of music do you listen to?" or perhaps "what kinds of books are your favorite?" And every time I get asked these questions, I find it very difficult to answer them.
You see, I am one of those people that just likes what I like; there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to it at all. In terms of music, I can quite literally be listening to a rock song with heavy metal elements in it one minute, and listening to a relatively quiet and melodic tune the next. I am also this way with books and films. For me, what makes a good book or movie all depends on the interest and complexity of the plot, how the characters interact with each other (and how well the actors do in the case of a movie), and many, many other factors come into play as well.
The bottom line is that the genre of a song, book or movie is not what makes me like it or dislike it. It has to not only hold my interest, but has to make me feel something as well. So, I guess if this short little blog post has any purpose, it's this: don't let the genre of something hold you back from having a new experience. Maybe you purposely have not given a new band a listen to because they are of a certain genre that you typically hate. Or maybe that new book you got for a birthday gift is sitting on your bookshelf right now, collecting dust because you think you hate science fiction books. But why not give something new a try, and put its genre aside? Maybe you'll hate it, but you'll never know until you try! I know that some of the best music I've listened to, books I've read and movies I've seen have come out of me simply being adventurous with wandering outside the lines of the genre's that I thought I liked best.

Book Review: Reality Check

This past week I read the suspenseful young adult novel Reality Check, written by Peter Abrahams. I mainly decided to read this book simply because I love the Echo Falls mystery series, which is also written by Abrahams. So I figured, why not give Reality Check a try?
First, let me give you all a brief overview of the plot of this book, without giving away any spoilers of course. The protagonist of the story, Cody, lives in small-town Colorado, plays football, and has a girlfriend by the name of Clea. His girlfriend ends up getting sent to a private academy in Vermont, and around the same time Cody suffers a football injury and can no longer play. After realizing that his girlfriend Clea has gone missing in Vermont, he drives there in order to search for her himself. Once in Vermont, he realizes that there is much more than meets the eye to Clea's disappearance.
Overall, I thought that this book was pretty solid. The first 100 pages or so I found to be a bit slow, and it took the main plot of the book awhile to get underway. However, the pace quickened significantly once Cody reaches Vermont and begins to look for Clea. In terms of the mystery part of this book and trying to figure out who did what, I expected early on in my reading who would turn out bad, so to speak. In other words, there were really no surprises for me at the climax of the plot. However, I still really enjoyed this book and was thoroughly entertained by it.
In conclusion, I would not say that this is a must-read page turner of a book, but I would most likely recommend it if you have the time and are a big mystery/thriller/suspense junkie like myself.
Author: Peter Abrahams
Genre: YA Mystery/Thriller

Pages: 330

Year Published: 2009

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

How I Find My Favorite Songs

Everyone has at least a small handful of songs that they just love to listen to, myself included. But, can you remember how you first started listening to those favorite songs of yours? I feel like for me, there are two ways that I can get hooked on a specific song. I either listen to it once somewhere and BAM, it's my new obsession, or more often than not I have to listen to a song a few times before I even start to like it.

I'm bringing up this topic because recently I have been introduced to a new artist that I've never heard of before, called Foxes. I am specifically speaking about her new song "Glorious," and the first time I heard this song I didn't mind it, but it was not a song that I was planning on going back to listen to again in the near future. However, for some reason I did, and it gradually turned into me listening to this song multiple times and it getting stuck in my head all day yesterday. It's just so interesting that a song you don't think you like all that much can morph into one of your current favorites.

However, I've also listened to a song for the first time and love it from the get-go, as in the case of Ellie Goulding's song "Lights." I heard that song playing on the radio way back when it was first released, and it became one of my favorite songs at that moment. So, how do you typically find the songs that you love? Do you just have to listen to them once and you're hooked, or do you need some time and the repeat button to realize what an awesome track it is? Let me know!

Movie Review: The Way

A couple of days ago, I checked the movie "The Way" out of my local library kind of randomly. It had been recommended to me a while ago, but I had never gotten around to actually watching it. So when I figured out that my library had it on DVD, I figured why not give it a try?

Before I get into my opinions of this movie, let me first give you all a very brief overview of its plot. Basically, the son of an eye doctor has an accident and dies while walking the Camino de Santiago trail. His father (the aforementioned eye doctor), travels to France to collect his sons body, but eventually decides to carry his sons ashes to the end of the Camino de Santiago. Throughout his journey on the trail, he meets other travelers who are all walking the trail for different reasons, and he undergoes a lot of personal growth and realizes what life is really all about. This is of course a very brief summation of what occurs in the movie, but hopefully any of you who are unfamiliar with the plot of The Way can now understand the general gist of it.
My overall impression of this movie was a good one, but not a great one. Overall, I really liked the plot of The Way, and I think the overall message that it's trying to get across to viewers is a really inspirational one that's lacking from a lot of movies today. However, all of this was not enough to launch it to the next level for me. Many of you know the feeling after watching a great movie; you walk out of the theater just thinking about what you watched, maybe blown away by some aspect of it, and you just cannot stop thinking about the movie for several days afterwards. This was not one of those movies for me. As soon as the end credits began to roll at the end of The Way, that was it for me. I don't want to make this movie out to sound bad, because it wasn't. It just lacked that magic spark that some movies have, and frankly there were certain parts of this movie that seemed a little slow and, for lack of a better word, bored me a bit.
So overall, I would probably not recommend this movie. If it's been on your "to watch" list for a while, maybe it's worth giving a chance. You very well may like it a lot more than I did. There is a lot of potential behind this film, but it just lacked the energy and uniqueness that makes a movie great.
Oh, and a total side note, but this movie has a really good song by Coldplay in it, called "Lost." It may be worth listening to if you're a Coldplay fan.
Rating: PG-13

Genre: Drama

Run Time: 121 minutes

Release Date: October 7, 2011

My Rating: ★★☆☆☆

To Plan Or Not To Plan?

I am a planner: I love figuring out the logistics of a trip that I'm going on months before I even set foot on the airplane that's flying me to my destination. In a lot of ways, I feel like this is a gift, because by planning things out I can often find the best travel deals, places of interest that I would not necessarily know about without planning first, and just in general I learn more about the place that I am visiting through planning for my trip.
However, there is a downside to this aspect of myself as well. There is something to be said for simply booking a flight to a faraway destination, and knowing absolutely nothing about where you are going. I feel like this way of traveling somehow makes you feel more ingrained in the culture and general flow of a place. You're no longer a tourist simply visiting and snapping pictures of the most famous sites; you need to rely on communication with people and locals around you to learn about the best places to go visit. In other words, you are more like one of the locals when you don't plan a trip somewhere.
But again, planning does have its positives as well, and I think that even a little bit of planning is a wise idea before going on any trip, if nothing else than for your own personal safety. So let me know, do you enjoy planning out your trips in detail, or letting life lead you to new and exciting ventures? Let me know!

Faster Isn't Always Better

In this modern day and age, it seems like people just keep going faster and faster. Multitasking in our society is looked at as a good thing, and the better you are at multitasking the more you can get done in one day. Caffeinated drinks are selling like hot cakes, and just in general our pace seems to be quickening at an alarming rate.
I think it's time that we, as a society, take a step back and allow ourselves to  s l o w   d o w n . . . there is nothing wrong with doing nothing. We tend to look at relaxing and allowing our bodies to rest as laziness, when in actuality a little R&R every now and again does us so much good, not only physically but mentally as well.
I understand that many people have busy lives and grueling jobs, or maybe you're attending school and have hours of homework to get done every night. But I urge everyone to just try and do things with a little more calmness; you don't need to be checking email while you're sipping a coffee and studying for an exam all at the same time. Maybe just take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day to enjoy that latte without having any other distractions detracting from the experience. I think that many people would highly benefit from this, and slowing down is something that should not be frowned upon but embraced. Let me know what your thoughts are on this topic!

Molly's Recipes: Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Milkshake

This is the ultimate warm weather treat! Cold, rich and downright delicious, this recipe is perfect for a quick sweet fix on a summer evening.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Banana Milkshake:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk (make this recipe vegan using soy milk!)
1 frozen banana, peeled and halved before freezing
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 cup crushed ice (optional)

1. First pour your milk of choice into a blender. Add the two frozen banana halves, cocoa powder and peanut butter.

2. Blend all of the ingredients together for about a minute until the consistency is very thick and creamy.

3. At this point, add in the optional ice if you want to make it a slightly more frosty and less milky consistency. Blend until the ice is well incorporated into the mixture.

4. Pour into a small serving glass and enjoy immediately!

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes

This is a perfect recipe to add your own personal touch to. You can sweeten it even more with added agave nectar or maple syrup, or perhaps add even more peanut butter for some added peanut goodness! Whatever you choose to do, share it with me in the comments!

Molly's Recipes: Easy Maple Apple Compote

I was craving a warm, fruity dessert so on a whim I decided to make a sort of improvised apple compote. I think it turned out pretty delicious, so I though I'd post the recipe here. You can make loads of changes to this recipe to make it your own, so let me know what you think!

Easy Maple Apple Compote:
Ingredients:
2 small/medium apples
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Begin by peeling, coring and dicing the two apples. Add to a small saucepan along with the water.

2. Heat on high until the water begins to boil, and then reduce the heat to medium until most of the water has evaporated and the apples are soft and tender.

3. Add the cinnamon and maple syrup to the pan, and continue to cook for a few more minutes until the remaining water and maple syrup have reduced into a thick syrup.

4. Pour the apples into a serving bowl, let cool for a few minutes and enjoy!

Serves: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

Photography As Meditation?

Photography is an art that really forces you to slow down and see the world in a different way. It pulls you into the present moment, and all of your attention is focused on what is happening around you instead of what happened the other day or the wonder of what tomorrow will bring. I experience this all the time when I shoot pictures, and it's one of the many reasons that I enjoy photography so much.
What got me thinking about this whole topic is because I was out shooting athletes playing tennis and softball the other day. I was taking pictures of the players, and realized that I had no idea who was winning the game that was being played right in front of me. Instead of focusing on the score of the game, or which team was performing better, I was just caught up in trying to capture the little details of the game and the players.
So, the bottom line is that photography forces you to stop, slow down and really focus on what is happening around you. Even if you go somewhere to take pictures, and you haven't pulled out your camera yet, you still have to look for interesting subjects to photograph and this forces you into the present as well. Basically, photography is like a form of meditation, and it's a form that I quite enjoy.

Review: Duolingo

Today I would like to take the time to review a wonderful little program called Duolingo. If you've never heard about it, then I shall enlighten you: Duolingo is a website where you can basically learn a new language without paying so much as a penny. By either installing the Duolingo app on your phone or going to their website, Duolingo.com, you can sign up and begin to learn a new language.
Now, I want to stress that I have no affiliation with Duolingo, in fact they probably have no idea that I exist. But I LOVE this program, and have been using it every single day lately, so I thought I better review it for you all. The main thing that I love about Duolingo is obviously the cost of it (or lack thereof). It essentially does exactly what Rosetta Stone teaches you, but it doesn't require you to spend an exorbitant amount of money on a language program. Another thing that I have really been liking about Duolingo is that it shows when you have a "streak" going; that is, how many consecutive days you have been improving on a new language by using Duolingo. By having this streak feature displayed on my Duolingo profile, it makes me want to lengthen my streak even more.
Also, both the app and the website are extremely user friendly and very easy to use. There aren't a lot of over-the-top features, it's just a straightforward program with loads of vocabulary for you to learn. They offer 5 languages currently for anyone to learn, and you can even learn multiple languages at the same time. That's a little too much for me, I'm just sticking to Spanish for the time being! But they offer Spanish, French, Italian, German and Portuguese for all to learn.
So, here is my final review for Duolingo, summed up: a free, fun, easy to use program that is very effective in teaching you the basics of a language. I would HIGHLY recommend it to any of you who want to learn one of the 5 languages that they offer, and why not? It's completely free!

A screenshot of a Duolingo account.

Why Do We Need A Reason To Learn?

Why is it that so many of us only attempt to learn new things either for school or a job? Why don't we take the time out of our lives to learn something new for no reason, simply because we think it will be fun? What has brought this topic to my attention and inspired me to write this blog post is the fact that I am currently taking a Spanish class for school, and so far am thoroughly enjoying it. Since I am enrolled in this class, I obviously have an incentive to learn as much Spanish as I can in order to do my best in the class. But why is this?
I've always wanted to learn a second language, and I have attempted to learn Spanish in the past, but I never really gave it a good attempt. Even though it was something that interested me and that I thought would be really fun to learn, I didn't stick with it. I think the reason for this was because I really didn't have a purpose to learn it. But now that I do need to learn Spanish, I am reviewing and doing homework every day in order to soak up as much as possible in preparation for my Spanish class.
So I guess this all leads me to my ultimate question: why do we need a reason to learn something new? Many of us (myself included) do try and learn something new based on the fact that we think it's fun, but typically we give up and stop trying. Only when we have a reason for learning it, whether it be to pass a class, complete a task at work, or because someone else is telling us to go do it that we keep up with learning something new. So, I will end with this: go learn something new because YOU want to, and make yourself the incentive to learn it!

The Delicate Balance of Work and Play

I am currently a student, and with that comes the homework, due dates, assignment deadlines, and basically just a hell of a lot of stuff that I have to keep track of in my life. And I know a lot of other people who are in the same situation, whether it be another student, someone who simply has a crappy job that they despise, or even if you have a job that you love (good for you!) you still may have lots of deadlines to deal with.
But with all of this being said, I feel that it is not only a good idea, but a necessity, to take at least a tiny bit of time EVERY day to do something fun and enjoyable for yourself. This could include taking 30 minutes to take a brisk walk outside, or to read a book that you have really wanted to read but haven't made the time to yet, or even just 5 minutes of quiet time to lay down on your bed and take a breather. Whatever you want to do for yourself, do it.
Now, I'm not saying to jeopardize your job or your role as a student by putting off too much stuff so that you can go have more fun. We all still need to be committed to these things no matter how much we may utterly hate them. Simply what I am saying is that it wouldn't hurt if you planned just a few minutes of the day to do something for yourself, to give yourself a little slice of your precious time.
Again, this doesn't necessarily mean you need to plan some extravagant trip for yourself to an exotic location (although go for it if you have the time and money!). It just means that I think we all should give ourselves a break every now and again, and it's not going to hurt us. In fact, if anything it will probably help us a lot more than we realize.

Molly's Recipes: Refreshing Fruit Smoothies

The weather is just beginning to turn now, and it's starting to get to the point where I can actually enjoy some cold foods again! Lately, I have especially been craving fruit smoothies, and so I've been making a lot in my blender lately. Here are just two recipes that I've made that are extremely fast and easy to make. Enjoy!

Berry Blast Smoothie:
Ingredients:
6 frozen strawberries
1/4 cup frozen blueberries
1 medium frozen banana
1-2 cups water

1. Start by combining all the ingredients in a blender. Turn on low speed and gradually turn the speed higher and higher, until everything is well combined in the blender.

2. If the smoothie is giving you a hard time when trying to blend it up, add more water to thin it out.

3. Pour into a large serving glass and enjoy!

TIP: If you're like me and you love the flavor of banana in your smoothies but texturally you don't like them, try freezing your banana overnight before making your smoothie. This way, you can incorporate the flavors of banana into your smoothie but the funky texture of the banana will not be present in your beverage.

Serves: 1

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Tropical Medley Smoothie:
Ingredients:
6 frozen strawberries
8 frozen mango chunks
1 medium frozen banana
1-2 cups water

1. Start by combining all the ingredients in a blender. Turn on low speed and gradually turn the speed higher and higher, until everything is well combined in the blender.

2. If the smoothie is giving you a hard time when trying to blend it up, add more water to thin it out.

3. Pour into a large serving glass and enjoy!

Serves: 1

Prep Time: 3 minutes

And there you have it, these are just 2 of my recipes for delicious and refreshing healthy fruit smoothies. Even though these two recipes are only different from each other by one ingredient, they taste really different, and I urge all of you to go try a fruit smoothie for yourself! You don't have to stick to just these two recipes, either. You can always incorporate milk to make it creamier, frozen greens to make it even healthier; really whatever you feel like adding! Leave your own smoothie recipes in the comments, I'd love to try them for myself.