Parks

There's something about a park that's really amazing.

I think it's a combination of the fresh air, the blue sky, the expanse of green grass, the wildflowers, and all the people talking and running and reading and relaxing.

Parks just make me happy.

Nothing really serious is ever going on in a park. People go to parks to relax or to have fun. And because of that, there's always this lovely feeling in a park.

I love that I can go play Frisbee or soccer or have a picnic or lie on the grass and read a book, and probably no one is going to bother me, or tell me to move, or anything.

Because people in parks are happy.

Hyde Park in London is this massive park-- just this huge area with the greenest grass ever and a lake in the center and bridges and fountains and statues. And it's incredible, because on the outside of this park, there are skyscrapers and you can see the London Eye and Parliament in the distance. But it's so rural and relaxing in the park. It feels like somewhere else completely, out of the city. But really, it's just smack dab in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world.

But it's such an escape. It's like magic.

There are always ducks or little birds chirping, and nice paved paths to walk along. There are benches to sit on if the grass is too wet. There are a million things to do, really. Anything you want.

I think what I love most about parks is the feeling of absolute freedom. There's really nothing there except grass, and you can do whatever you want. And I don't think there are many places, other than parks, where you can do anything. A park is like this open book, where you just sit down and pick what you want to do and how you want to do it. And then it's written, for that day or that hour or that minute. How you'll spend your time.

No one goes to a park to be stressed out or angry or to yell at people. And if that's ever happened in a park, you're probably in the wrong park.

But normal parks are probably the most relaxing places on Earth.

It's spring now, and the sun is coming out, and daffodils are blooming, and the sky looks super blue. It's prime park season. And it's beautiful.

And standing in the middle of a beautiful park just makes me think about my life, and how happy I am, and how lovely it is, and how lucky I am to have a free minute to spend, just walking in the park.

 

Hyde Park in April

Theater

I've been living in London now for nearly two months, studying playwriting and screenwriting. And so I've seen a ton of professional plays in the West End.

And seeing all these plays has just cemented in me this crazy, exciting love for live theater.

It's such a bittersweet feeling, watching a great play. Because I enjoy it so much, and immediately, when it's over, I want to watch it again. But I can't. Because it isn't a movie I can just put in and rewind. I'd have to buy more tickets and go again. 

But that may just be why it's so special.

I love the fact that the actors are right on stage in front of the audience, pulling off these incredible performances. They seem so real. Because they are. It's like watching a 3D movie, but actually good. 

I'm amazed by all the sets and costumes and how the directors decide to change the sets and costumes and characters. For example, I saw a show called Port, and each new set came up from inside the stage or down from the ceiling. So, while the other set was descending or ascending, the main actress was walking from one set to the next. 

I saw a play called The 39 Steps, where there are four actors in the whole show playing tons of parts. And they'd just put on a new hat or coat right on stage and change characters.

I'm blown away by lights and sounds and endings and beginnings and even intermissions.

I just love it all.

I feel like, at most of the plays I've seen, I watch the majority of the show with my mouth hanging open in awe. Because there's always some kind of crazy, new, magical, trick. Like in this adaptation of Metamorphosis, the Gregor character climbed around on the walls the whole time, then rain came in through a window. And it was all so amazing to me. I couldn't even shut my mouth. 

I've just finished seeing a post-apocalyptic version of Macbeth, which was absolutely incredible. James McAvoy played Macbeth, and played it so, so, so well. He was so convincing and amazing, and straight-up crazy. I've never seen an actor I've seen in movies play a role on stage before, and it was just fascinating to watch. Because in a movie, they seem so fake. And on stage, they're real. And this man can really, really act.

I've seen all sorts of plays, from Wicked to Fences. And there's something about them all that I love. Even the weird ones. 

I just appreciate acting so much more when I watch a play, as opposed to a movie. I can see how hard it is for the actors, how much they're really giving in their performances. And then I realize they have to go out and do this play every single night for months, sometimes years. And always, always, always give their best.

And that's what I think makes it so amazing. It's a unique, once-in-a-lifetime performance you get to see, and it only lives in your memories. You can't pop in the DVD and rewind it to your favorite part. So you enjoy it while it's there and play it back in your head, over and over and over.

LOST

Ok, so there's seriously way too much to write about. If you could hear me talk about Lost in real life, you would see that I'm completely obsessed. In fact, when the final season was airing on TV, I dropped a night class, because it interfered with the air time. Seriously.

Anyway, I'll simply list the reasons why I love Lost, and why everyone who has ever lived should watch it:

1. It has THE most incredible character development. Ever.

2. I'm convinced it revolutionized TV and made it incredibly better.

3. Hawaii is beautiful.

4. The cliffhangers are THE BEST!

5. The writing is amazing.

6. There's action and love stories and comedy and...oh, yeah, awesome characters. Sci-fi, too. And explosions. And polar bears.

7. The music is phenomenal. 

8. It's so horribly sad sometimes.

9.  The series was planned out from episode one.

10. It's like 100+ amazing movies with the same characters.

And for all of you that have never seen Lost, I'll tell you that you need to set aside a few months of your life for it, because it's like a drug, and when you start watching it, you can't.stop.

But if there's one reason for you ever to watch the series, it's this: the season 3 finale, "Through the Looking Glass," is the best thing-- movie or TV episode-- that I have ever seen.

Olympics

There are so many reasons why I love the Olympics. I love summer Olympics and winter Olympics. I love them all equally, and each time they're going on, I decide I like the one that's on better than the other one. But the truth is, I can't decide.

But I love all of the Olympics for multiple reasons.

First, most Olympic athletes aren't making $10 million a year. They're doing this because they love it. They've dedicated their lives to training and competing for this moment, every 4 years. And that is absolutely incredible.

I love watching people do something they're passionate about and living their dreams. I love when they cry or fall down after their event because they're so incredibly excited. I just love it. Sometimes I even want to cry. Sometimes I almost do.

The second reason why I love the Olympics is because people are amazing. This year, there is a double amputee running. He raced in th semi-final for the men's 400m. There was another guy racing from the U.S. who was caught in a random shotgun crossfire a few years ago and just had the last fragments removed a year ago. The gymnast who began gymnastics as part of a free inner-city program and dreams of winning a medal to move his family out of the ghetto.

The commentators always talk about the Olympic spirit, and it's so true. These people are amazing.

Another reason the Olympics are awesome is that there are all these incredible sports that never get the attention they deserve. I, for one, think swimming and gymnastics are much more exciting than golf or basketball or baseball, but you don't see them aired on TV every week. And some things that you would never think are exciting actually are, like crew and archery.

They seem a little boring, but I find myself cheering for the athletes anyway, no matter what country.

Which brings me to another reason why the Olympics rock. Because every 4 years (actually every 2, since there's summer and winter), the world competes in sports against each other. The entire world!

The whole world works together and competes together and hugs each other and congratulates each other and gets excited together and has these awesome ceremonies together and roots for one another. 

And that, to me, is incredibly amazing.

It's a shame the world can't get along that well any other time. But that's another story.

And I can't leave this blog post without talking about one other thing that makes the Olympic Games awesome. Actually, I could go on forever, but I'll have to contain myself.

The final things I'll mention are the Visa Go World commercials.

I know they're commercials advertising a corporation and all that, but they make me cry. Seriously.

To gear up for the 2012 London Games, I sat in my room and watched Go World commercials on YouTube. And I cried.

The Michael Phelps one from Beijing when he won more golds than anyone ever!

The Derek Redmond one where his father helps him finish the race!

The Nadia Comaneci one!

They're all so inspiring and amazing. I love them. Triumph of the human spirit, indeed.

Oh, and one more thing before I go. I love that the Olympics are everywhere around the world and you get to see all these different locations and different cultures. I dream of going to the Olympic games one day. Hopefully that will happen.

Wildflowers

I'm not a big flower person.

I think they're pretty and everything, but they cost way too much money and die right away.

But wildflowers. Now those are amazing.

They're cheap, and much prettier than any rose or carnation in a flower shop. 

There's just something about hiking in the woods an coming across a patch of wild daisies or little purple flowers or unidentifiable pink ones. 

It's like a little colorful break in a sea of green grass and moss and leaves, and it's so beautiful.

They have character, wildflowers. And they're like couches for fat little bumblebees.

I went to the Smokey Mountains once, and I had never seen so many wildflowers (or bumblebees!) in my life. The flowers were beautiful, all different colors, stretching across such a huge surface.

Like I said, I'm not huge on flowers. I don't plant them and I don't buy them and I don't have a million fake ones around my house. But if I see one flower in the wild, I'm all over that. I pull out my camera and take half a  dozen pictures of this little, lone, flower. 

Because they're just there. No one planted them and no one takes care of them. They just live. 

And they're beautiful.

 

Flowers everywhere!

Sunshine

I know it sounds pretty dumb, because who doesn't like sunshine, right? 

But I never realized how much I love sunshine until this year. I've always lived in Michigan, where it's winter half the year, and I was used to it. But this year, I lived in Georgia for most of the fall, and when I came back to Michigan, it was late-November.

And late-November in my part of Michigan is gloomy. And so is December, and January, and February, and March, and even most of April.

So, I'd come from Georgia, where it was sunny all the time, back to Michigan, where it was dark every day. And it was only then that I realized how incredibly amazing sunshine is.

Because it's only sunny a few months of the year, I have to take advantage of it when I can. I have this thing where I can't possibly sit inside when it's sunny out. I have to be outside. It drives me crazy if I'm inside. 

So even when there's the slightest hint of sun, I'm outside reading or writing or walking or playing yard games. Anything to get out there.

I used to get rashes and headaches from the sun, so I had to wear this really geeky visor around to protect myself. But I still went out in the sun, because it's impossible for me not to.

Now, I've realized that if I wear sunscreen, I don't get rashes, and if I wear sunglasses I don't have to squint to see, and I don't get headaches. So I look much more fashionable in the summertime.

The other problem is that sunshine kind of sucks the life out of me. I get dehydrated really easily, and one time, after a trip to Georgia in August, I had to go to the hospital and get an I.V. to replenish my body.

But I still love sunshine!

It's a complicated relationship, mine and the sun's, but it's certainly not a love-hate one. 

Just love.

Good Movies

As a wannabe screenwriter, I have an immense appreciation for good movies.

Or, at least, I should.

And I do. Really.

There's something about a good movie-- and by "good" I mean super well-made, cool story, great acting, awesome everything-- that makes me feel so pumped when I finish watching it.

When I finish watching a good movie, I want to go out and tell the world about it. I want to stand on top of the Empire State Building with a megaphone and shout out everything that's awesome about it.

Only I'm afraid of heights.

But good movies are like endorphins. They give off the best feeling in the world. Even better than concert-high. More on that later.

The reason I'm writing this is I just finished watching Drive, which was, quite possibly, the most well-made and cleverest movie I've seen in a while. That shadow shot was incredible. INCREDIBLE! If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Last week at a film school interview, I was asked why I liked Taxi Driver. And all I could come up with was: "It was entertaining. And I liked the look of it."

Really? That's it?

That was it.

But then I remembered exactly why I liked it. And the reasons are many.

First, it was Robert De Niro. De Niro! Suuuuuuuuuch a good actor! That final scene, when he looks in the rear-view mirror is seriously some of the best acting I've ever seen.

Secondly, the deconstruction of that character. What a change!

Third, yes, the look of it. Of course the look of it! It's film noir! It has a dirty city and newspapers and dull colors and dimly-lit streets.

And Martin Scorsese is amazing. And it has awesome camera angles! And the fact that he survived is pretty crazy and kind of cheesy, but whatever! It's De Niro!

And all of those things, I couldn't think of when the time came.

So I had to say them now.

But it's that kind of excitement that good movies invoke.

And I don't always like well-made movies. There are a lot of well-made movies that I think are boring or depressing (Here's looking at you, Aronofsky) or just overrated.

But movies like Drive or Taxi Driver are just movie magic.