Hunger Games

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor."

This past Friday, The Hunger Games movie premiered in theaters. Opening night, Hunger Games grossed over $155, making it the 3rd highest film opening. Based on a trilogy by Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games has gathered millions of fans around the world, despite its somewhat controversial topics discussed.

The Hunger Games is set in a post apocoloyptic North America in which, each year as punishment for a previous rebellion, two children from each District, ages 12-18 are forced to compete in this event called the Hunger Games in which they fight to the death until the last one standing is the victor. To many people, myself included, the idea of reading (and now watching) teenagers kill each other is unthinkable. Many people won't even give this series a chance solely because of that. I would advise to give this wonderful trilogy a chance. These books are not centered around the killing of children; there are many more messages and themes that trump the violence. Children fight for their families, to end starvation, and in Katniss Everdeen's case, to also rebel against the corrupt government known as the Capitol.

Here's my thinking: If you love Harry Potter, you will love the Hunger Games. Both are extremely well-written books and an easy read. Both allow you to dive into a perfectly crafted world completely different from our own. No matter how dark, depressing, or frightening these worlds are, millions upon millions of readers find themselves thinking, "If only I was a wizard/witch..", "If only I lived in Panem District 12...", "Ron/Petta/Harry/Gale is the perfect man for me...". Readers want to become these characters, to live in these worlds...and I believe that makes these series extremely successful.

Go ahead, go see The Hunger Games (get your tickets in advance). I have a feeling you will join the incredibly large fan base...we welcome you with open arms.

More Info About Rome

As most of you have figured out, I will be studying abroad this summer in Rome, Italy. I figured this week I would give you all some more info about my wonderful excursion. Sophomore year in high school, I took a class called Art History and when we came to studying Rome and the Baroque period, I fell in love. Since then, Rome has been number one on my bucket list and I will soon be able to check it off!

I will be in Italy from May 25 through August 10 studying at an American Catholic University, St. John's. While abroad, I will be taking two business courses as well as an Italian language course and a Survey of Art and Architecture course. As part of the architecture course, our class will be taking trips around Italy to famous landmarks such as the colosseum! I will be living in a dorm on campus with one or two other girls, just like college life back in America...except I'll be in Italy so it's totally fine. Hopefully I will be able to travel on weekends to other countries in Europe via train such as France, Spain, and Ireland. HOW COOL IS THAT?

As I am preparing for this trip, I have to take a second to thank a wonderful set of parents that are fully supporting me in this trip and helping fund it as well. While in Rome, I have decided that the easiest way of blogging will be to continue to blog on Gainesville Goodies. I thought about creating a new blog just for Rome, but I think having everything in one place will be best for you all :) So, this summer while you are all on vacations (or in school) be sure to keep up with my blog as you can follow me through the biggest adventure of my life! YAY.

Hope you all have a fantastic Monday!

Take a Second and Smile

Hello everyone! This past week for me has been absolutely crazy, and I am also incredibly busy today with school work. So, this means that I will not be able to give you the full on typical Monday writing post, and I'm sorry for that. However, I would still like to make each of you smile. In hectic, stressful, and emotional times, it's important that every day we take just a minute to laugh and smile. With that in mind, please check out these very short Youtube videos that will be sure to give you a chuckle, and perhaps keep a smile on your face all day :)

#KONY2012

For all of you that are social media butterflies and follow Facebook posts and Twitter updates, you might have noticed that #KONY2012 is trending. No, this is not a late entry to this year's presidential race. #KONY2012 is a plea from millions of Americans for justice.


Who is Joseph Kony?

Joseph Kony is one of the world's worst war criminals and head of the Lord's Resistance Army (L.R.A). Kony abducts children, forces them to shoot their parents and to join his army. The girls become sex slaves and the boys are given guns and become young soldiers. The LRA originated in Uganda and has now moved to Congo, Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Active for 26 years, Joseph Kony's army has abducted more than 30,000 children. How could a criminal such as Kony go unnoticed for 26 years? Why are we just now fighting to bring him to justice?

What is #KONY2012? How can I be a part of this?

Invisible Children has been working for the past 9 years to end this conflict in Africa, and the United States has sent some of its forces to Africa to find and disarm the LRA and Kony. Here's the catch, though. If Kony isn't captured this year, the forces will leave Africa and the window to capture this war criminal will be gone. KONY2012 is the Invisible Children's campaign to raise awareness about Joseph Kony and hopefully get him arrested this year. Their actions have paid off, as this campaign is exploding with new followers and millions of young people determined to bring this man to justice. I am proud to say that I will be participating in KONY2012 as much as I can (which includes Cover the Night!), and I hope that you will too. Please take 30 minutes of your time to watch the video below that fully explains KONY2012 and the Invisible Children's mission better than I could ever do.

 

Where can I find more information?

http://kony2012.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com/

www.invisiblechildren.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army

http://coverthenight.com/

 

Dr. Seuss

"Today You are You. That is Truer than True. 

There is no one alive who is Youer than You"

 Growing up, Dr. Seuss was the author of most of my bedtime stories, The Sleep Book being my favorite. He was one of the most creative and imaginative authors of all time, and his 102nd birthday would have been this Friday, March 2nd. It was no coincidence that the movie The Lorax premiered on this day as children and adults alike gathered at theaters to witness this author's great work in cinemas. Most famous for his book The Cat in the Hat, most (if not all) of his children's books have moral messages within them, and the Lorax is no exception. The Lorax focuses on the environment and the growing necessity to protect it, specifically trees (a rather relevant issue of today). Voices for this animated film include Taylor Swift (yay!), Danny DeVito, and Zach Effron. Click Here for Trailer

Dr. Seuss' work has been brought to life not only in movies, but also in Seuss Land located within Universal Studio's Islands of Adventures theme park. Bright colors, interesting creatures, and (mostly) happy staff members make Seuss Land quite the wonderland for children of all ages. Upon visiting Harry Potter World this January, Ben and I had to pass through Seuss Land and decided to ride the "Sneetches In". Though less than adrenaline pumping, this ride brought my back to my childhood days and I was grateful for that. For those of you that do not know that story of the Sneetches, you'll find a video below of Dr. Seuss' great story. Even in 2012, he continues to be a legendary author, poet, and cartoonist and I imagine he will remain so.