First Semester

AP English Literature and Composition has been one of my favorite classes this year by far. One of the parts I loved from the first semester of AP Lit was the discussion on philosophy that spanned several class periods. I have always been interested in philosophy, but I didn't know anything about existentialism, and I found it a very enthralling topic. I found the short story unit to be surprisingly fun. I didn't think I liked short stories, but this unit definitely changed my mind about that. Also, I love all of the reading that we do. I know that should kind of be a given with the whole AP "Literature" thing, but reading is one of my passions, and this class certainly fulfills that to a great extent.

I have been frustrated by something this semester, however: the outside reading essays/assignments. I love reading, and I happily read many books on my own outside of school, so the fact that reading was assigned was not a big deal to me. However, I was not a big fan of the essays that came with it. I understand that we need to practice writing, but I think we should be trusted to read our books without having to be tested over them (though I see the obvious problem with this).

We have already been informed that next semester the outside reading has changed, and I like the new format more than the last one. I still dislike the fact that we are being tested over our books by writing an essay, but I like the idea of reading books in order to answer some kind of discussion question. I very much look forward to the unit on novels next semester as well.

As a final note, I really love the blog posts idea. It can be hard to come up with good topics every week, but I like writing like this for fun on a topic of our choice. It's relaxing and a fun exercise.

This video is unrelated, but awesome. So here ya go!

Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek, by Imogen Heap, is one of my favorite songs of all time. It is incredibly beautiful and powerful. If you haven't heard it before, I strongly suggest listening to it with headphones turned up a bit- it's quite an experience. If you have heard it before, I would still encourage you to watch the video, as it has the lyrics, which are hard to decipher from just the audio.

I've listened to this song a lot, but I have never understood the lyrics before. Once I looked up the lyrics, I found them to be meaningful and well-written. So what is this woman singing about anyway?

Of course there are different opinions on the lyric's meanings, but, for me, she is singing about a new beginning after breakup of some sort, and sometimes uses the analogy of a new house. She is very upset about this turn of events, and she blames her ex-partner for it. This story is nothing unusual, but the poetry that she uses to tell us the events and her feelings is beautifully written.

If you want a line-by-line analysis, I've done a basic one below, though I can't decipher all of the lines.



Where are we? --Where are we in our relationship?
What the hell is going on? -- How did we get to this point?
The dust has only just begun to form -- Our relationship has recently ended, and I am just beginning to get over it
Crop circles in the carpet -- (Furniture being moved around) You have moved out of my thoughts/heart
Sinking, feeling
Spin me around again
And rub my eyes -- Try to wake me up, as this feels like a dream
This can't be happening -- How could our relationship have ended?
When busy streets
A mess with people
Would stop to hold their heads heavy -- Even strangers would find this situation so depressing that it would make them stop in their tracks

Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines -- (I honestly have no idea)
All those years
They were here first -- Before this emptiness that now occupies my soul, we spent years together
Oily marks appear on walls
Where pleasure moments hung before -- The places in my mind/heart where happy memories of times with you were stored have now been cleared out and those memories have been put away
The takeover
The sweeping insensitivity of this
Still life
Hide and seek
Trains and sewing machines

(You won't catch me around here)
Blood and tears
They were here first -- Before this emptiness that now occupies my soul, we bled and cried together (meaning we were very close)
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that you only meant well
Well of course you did -- I know you were well-intentioned, but that doesn't change that you hurt me
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's all for the best
Of course it is -- I know you think this is better for both of this, and that may be true, but it still hurts
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, that it's just what we need
You decided this -- You were the one who decided that we needed to end our relationship- I was ready to try and fix it and continue our lives together
Mm, what'd you say?
Mm, what did she say? -- (Possibly hinting at an affair)

Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth --You keep trying to take things from me (breaking my heart?)
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts --(I am not sure on this one)
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit
Ransom notes keep falling out your mouth
Mid-sweet talk, newspaper word cutouts
Speak no feeling, no, I don't believe you
You don't care a bit, you don't care a bit

(You don't care a bit)
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Oh, no, you don't care a bit
Uh-uh, you don't care a bit
You don't care a bit
You don't care a bit