bulletinedsolitude

[bulletinedsolitude]

NASA says it’s called The Moon

The cold night breeze blows, I extended my hands out just to feel the air flow Even though at dawn you said I mustn’t in the vehicle, clearly listening, I wasn’t

The wind just played along, Until I caught a captivating light not for long; a blue light contrasting the dark night I start to ponder why it moves, did I see it right?

Frowning, I asked, “Does it shift, the big ball? How does it? Does it walk, float, or roll? It’s as though it follows us—that’s fascinating Priceless guiding, unparalleled caring.”

I’ve known a long time that it was never right I’ve known the science of the moving ball of light but time and time again I’ve expressed; How you love, support, and caress—

It reminds me of my false perception of the moon no less.

This is one of the memories I clearly remember with you, not of the exact event, not of the exact time, and not of the exact place, but of the exact feeling and thinking. I will always remember how I thought the moon was (that when we travel, it goes along with us, moving with us wherever we go), a perception I know I shared with most kids before learning what the moon really is. It might’ve been disappointing to learn that the moon doesn’t really guide me during the dark (technically also during the day, just behind me), but you embodying that makes me feel more blessed than I should only be. It feels great to close my eyes at night and know a light is out there battling the darkness.

Happy Mother’s Day to my mother, the moon to the Earth that I am. :D

#WonderMom

[bulletinedsolitude]

You’re just right at my skull. Great!

A Huge Trouble

A huge trouble, I reckon Walking with a doubt upon Looking from the cowls, the masks the rocks, the so deadly mocks

So kid, daring and dreamer Walk, reason than chin taller For the assertive you lend, and for the terrors, do bend

For as the time calls for you, you may not hustle for clues of where the compass points to Just gaze at your stars, and you

Shall highly know what to do.

More or less an hour before that piece existed, I had a painful blank page in front of me. That is a story of my trouble trying to start working on how to introduce myself “creatively.” It is a way of convincing and finding my momentum of writing genuinely, because that’s how I naturally like it—my pen must always spit out raw thoughts, like the ones running in my head in a state of solitude, otherwise the things that come out of my mind will sound foreign to myself, and someone told me non-genuine literature is trash.

Speaking of solitude, to officially start introducing myself, I will explain why I went with the name of my blog, “Bulletined Solitude.”

The Story behind Bulletined Solitude (that sounds like a so sad, so lonely feature story :()

First thought when I heard about making a blog, I wanted everything to be real, because it’s easier to write that way, and from there, the words would come out of me naturally. Writing is one of the things that I have resorted to when I felt something, because I’m not the kind of person who’s easy to get comfortable speaking about things that are very personal about me, so I would end up channeling all the emotions through my pen and paper. But for that to happen, my environment must have the sense of peace and loneliness.

So, I thought having a blog that features my honest insights, would be like bringing my solitude into publication, and bulletined solitude means something like that to me, so I chose it. And you thought it was deep.

So, yes, genuine yada yada, tell us about yourself then!!!

One thing that comes with writing, is reading. So that means I read, apparently. I started reading (literary-wise) when I was 13. I remember it was Bob Ong’s Kapitan Sino that I ever read first. And that basically influenced what I have read after that, and what I will be reading in the future probably. It is a fine chop of fantasy, dystopia, and heroic fiction. And we’re not snubbing the little touch of romance there, of course. Up to this date, my favorite books so far are Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen Series, Veronica Roth’s Divergent Series, and The Eye of Minds by James Dashner.

While I think reading have shaped my mind better, I don’t take it seriously, so maybe it only does happen subconsciously. I jump into a book only with the aim to escape and be entertained, anything that comes with it is a subconscious blessing.

I really want to talk about my favorite book characters as well, because I’m an introvert learning only from book characters instead of going out and learning by myself. Kidding (jokes are half meant). But here they are:

Beatrice “Tris” Prior from Divergent. I love her basically because she’s brave and witty at the same time. I know the movies made her two-dimensional by portraying her as a stiff girl turned fighter and then she’s just that. But that’s expected for mainstream movie adaptations, always fails at shaping a character. In the book though, she was more than just that. Every choice she made meant so much more because her thoughts justified it, including the part where she sacrificed herself to stop the spread of serum that makes everybody lose their memories, which was sadly not featured in the adaptation. The movie series lost me there; I don’t deny that the first installment is still okay though.

Anika Dragomir from Anatomy of a Misfit. This girl gave me good laughs, but more than anything, I related to her because of her flaws—from her thoughts and her deeds. She’s a character who tried to be shallow by being one of the cliché high school perfectionists, but always knew she wasn’t. She made wrong choices and did regret, which makes the whole story much more close to heart. Also, #NoToGuns.

Logan McDonough from Anatomy of a Misfit. He is an adorable, loving, selfless person. He’s one of those few characters that you think were so easy and predictable, but at the end of the story, an act he did is revealed, so full of impact and so inspiring that it makes all your past impressions of him fade away immediately. His family is basically abused by his father who is a gun owner/enthusiast (he has a collection, if I remember correctly) and Logan’s the person who has been protecting his siblings from his father’s violence until that night when it all had to end with the loss of life.

Tiberias Calore “Cal” VII from Red Queen. He is not gonna be the last character I will list here from the same story so I’ll have to explain a little bit. Basically, their world is the Kingdom of Norta, a dystopian country divided by classes of two: Silver and Red bloods (except in the later installments, there will be Newbloods), with the former being the powerful ones for having supernatural abilities and the red bloods who are ordinary people. I listed him here for his bravery of breaking boundaries by connecting to a red blooded person, which is supposed to be forbidden as a silver blood, that may be easy-sounding, believe me, in his case, it takes a lot of guts. He is also just enough of confident and self-assured, which is deserved because he’s the first prince. And he embodies that strong and fearless but bending warrior. And he bears the ability of manipulating fire, so what’s not to like?

“I am your rightful king, Silver-born for centuries. The only reason you're still breathing is because I can't burn the oxygen from this room.” — Cal

Killed. It.

Mare Barrow from Red Queen. She made everybody’s jaw drop to the ground when she, a red blood girl, turned out to have the ability to create/control electricity. But her character is more important and she is here because of three things: she’s a fighter, she’s strong, and she’s a dreamer.

“I have lived that life already, in the mud, in the shadows, in a cell, in a silk dress. I will never submit again. I will never stop fighting.” — Mare

I am gagged.

Maven Calore from Red Queen. Spoilers first: her mother turned him an evil. But I will never forget how true he was at the beginning and how dreamy he was as a character. He was so good and so kind, I wanted to be his friend. And for him to be caged in his mother’s influence, I am weeping inside.

“The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”

I have not lost hope for him. But…

(c) to owner

#MareCal since the beginning.

If it’s not enough evidence, I am obsessed with Red Queen; I need May 15th to happen because the fourth and final installment is released that day. War Storm, wait for me.

Moving on.

When it comes to television, I’m not denying my Super Inggo obsession back in the day. I craved so hard for a kwek-kwek every day. But recently, I’ve come to love English and Korean series/dramas also, most of them being anything fantasy or medical. Favorites are probably D-Day, Grey’s Anatomy, The Flash, Westworld and Stranger Things.

Power Rangers is on another level. It’s an interest I share with my brother (probably the only one). Now, I did not watch so much of it as a kid, I think I only watched two/three seasons, but lately I have been watching more because of him. And the 2017 movie deserves 5 stars, it was fantastic, it made me nostalgic.

I AM THE BLUE RANGER. Do not steal it.

I was a website layout enthusiast once; I don’t know how currently rusty I am at it because I’ve never tried it since Grade 10. My teacher made me attend this competition, Technolympics and I won it (surprisingly) when I was in Grade 8, but that was just a simple static HTML website, if I may be honest it’s the neat layout that made me win it, but it’s nothing special with the coding.

I was also a campus journalist; I jumped quite from different roles every time though: broadcasting team technician, to reporter, to paper layout artist, to news editor. It’s all over the place, so I really never got to develop one skill.

When it comes to my behavior, I am slightly that kid who stutters at first meeting, hard to open up, and just straight up awkward. I am very wary of what I say at first meeting, I kind of have trouble forming the perfect topic to throw out there to a person I just met. Even to people I’ve been with long enough, I always find a way to make up something funny just so we won’t go to the serious side. I also get crazy though, like laugh to the end of Earth kind of crazy.

And…I watch ASMR (a term for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos in YouTube. They are used to trigger a static/tingling sensation which you may feel from the top of your head down your spine. I do it to enhance my napping though. Try some:

Category is: Slam book Realness

I never had a slam book, neither did my classmates (because we’re all boring; okay maybe at least one did or it’s just me who didn’t have). But I’ll be trying to be cool once in my life so here is me trying to answer slam book template questions:

PERSONAL INFO Real Name: Judd Vander Rondares Birth Month: May Zodiac Sign: Gemini Gender: M Age: 17 Romantic Status: Single (since birth and not ever regretting hehe)

FAVORITES Color: Blue Song: I Don’t Know My Name by Grace Vanderwaal Singer: Grace Vanderwaal Movies: Love You to the Stars and Back and Big Hero 6 Actors/Actresses: Winona Ryder, Joshua Garcia, Katherine Langford, Eddie Redmayne, Models: Kris Grikaite, Kit Butler, Jordan Barrett, Jhona Burjack, Julian Schneyder, Mayowa Nicholas

OTHERS Motto: Outdo yourself. What is Love (this can’t be not done): God is love. :D

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING

Where do I see myself 10 years from now? Was my learning in SPUP vital to where I’m leading to? I see myself a fully realized professional, independent, responsible, self-sustaining, and helpful citizen of the Philippines. hehe Back in Grade 10, there was a career planning program, and for the activities, I would always not know what to write for my future plans because there were not a lot of people who gave me inspiration of what insights I should have for my future aside from my parents, and one of the things that I liked about going in SPUP is that I was surrounded by people whose aspirations boosted what I already had in mind, but not very sure of. But aside from that, of course SPUP was a good school to go for SHS, and to be honest, any school would have been okay, because I’m going for a four-year college anyway and I didn’t need a school that would make me ready for literal work/job already, I just needed something to give me background for my future course, and SPUP did okay in that department, I believe.

Was STEM the best choice after all? Yes, because now that I know the path that I’m taking (will be further discussed in the next question), it is very apparent that STEM was the best choice for me.

What course will you take in college and why? My answer to this is like a continuation for my answer in the previous question. I recently just decided to take Medical Technology, and it was after a few talks with my mother, I didn’t know it was what I needed to make up my mind. I don’t mean that I was persuaded to take the course, I just didn’t have the confidence to take it, doubting that I may not be that passionate about it so I wanted some advice. I’ve long decided that I will not take a course that I’m not passionate about, I didn’t have to hear it from anybody—I just knew it. So, when I learned that she does think my plan is worth investing and especially knowing my cousin has graduated from it, made me motivated to truly pursue it.

What topic would you like to learn more in this subject? I already have taken Microsoft Office lessons and some HTML, so naturally, I would like something that I have never taken before. Since we already took Photoshop (I wouldn’t be mad for more though), maybe Illustrator, or anything for video editing. It would be also nice to revisit HTML since I’ve forgotten lots of tags already, or JavaScript.

Ask Me Anything.  Sir, masyado bang maikli tong introduction ko? Sorry po sa grammatical errors, ang dami kasi, mahirap mag-spot. Haha

Along your way, you’ll see the deepest secrets of my brain, never be terrified.

[bulletinedsolitude]

Silent at dawn as the night goes down Rises with the nocturnal as the sun loses control Seas or mountains, you'll hear my call I am the nightfall.

Me trying to understand the eventual fall of every man’s life

[bulletinedsolitude]

Underdeveloped but ‘On the Right Track’: A Review of Imgur’s Android App

Imgur is an image sharing website founded by Alan Schaaf. Aside from that, it is identified by people as a reliable and organized image hosting website as it organizes your images through albums, and allows drag and drop for uploading, helping bloggers and forum members. About 1.5 million images per day are uploaded in Imgur as of 2015. Imgur just released an android application and the recent update was of March, 2018.

One thing that makes the Imgur app really cool is it doesn’t compress the images that you upload from your personal computer when you view it on your app as it allows you to log in on the app as well. So when it comes to sharing images from different devices, it may be of help, especially if you don’t really need the pictures to be literally saved in your phone or if you want the images for viewing purposes only.

As long as the graphics go, the background images, the color palette, the icons, and the animations are really polished, clean, and cohesive so it makes browsing easier, more enjoyable, and more user-friendly.

The home page consists of the Most Viral and Feed tab, wherein you get to follow tags which then would show in your feed. They are both necessary when it comes to finding something funny and to just scroll through and find something interesting. It is more polished now as a home page having the feed tab as compared to previous versions where random viral stuff just show. It also allows you to upload stuff from your gallery, so that is really very vital for an image sharing app. The search feature is also very helpful, as long as you’re only searching for tags. As far as privacy goes, the same settings from the website applies to the mobile app.

A new feature that is really helping the application is the favorites tab found in your profile, so then you get access things that you liked from any device.

What this is lacking is that, it does not allow you to search for a certain album or user, which you would like to see. So everything that you view either comes from your home page or your own album. It should have a feature where you can view someone else’s gallery/albums directly (perhaps using a link) rather than unintentionally seeing it in your home page since there is a privacy setting anyway, so as user, they could just turn on the private setting on an album that they don’t want others to see. This, I think, lessens the impact of the “image sharing” sense of the application. This makes discovery and access not that convenient at the moment for the app. I think this may have something to do with privacy, so I hope it’s under development.

Another one is the messy posts tab on the profile. I don’t get why they put on posts which is arranged only from newer to older or older to newer instead. Albums would be more organized, as they are used to categorize your images. For instance, you have an album for foods and another for technology. On the current app, they would just get mixed up, according to which was uploaded first to last or vice versa. By having albums, I would know where to go exactly when I want to access my photos that are on a certain category.

In addition, which may be positive or negative depending on which the priority is, it consumes a lot of space and data (lagging may come with it), because as mentioned, it does not compress the images and shows the real quality of the original uploaded image. But that may be perceived differently.

Overall, I conclude that the Imgur android app is truly going under positive development, but there are still a lot to polish. At the moment, it is underdeveloped, there are still replaceable elements to the application, but at the same time, a lot of things to enjoy including the really amazing/modern layout and color palette.

[bulletinedsolitude]

You say, I shall never meet you again But you persist, seeking me however you can You dig it, you live it, you breathe it You ask for it in every minute You say whatever, it feels exquisite.

Insecurity coming to eat your time

[bulletinedsolitude]

“If they stare, let them stare. They can’t blend in if you were born to stand out.” — A Wonder (2017) Film Review

MOVIE SUMMARY

 August “Auggie” Pullman is young boy born with a rare facial deformity called “mandibulofacial dysostosis.” He says that he has gone under surgeries for over twenty times and has been home schooled by his parents Isabel and Nate who he’s living with together with his sister, Via. By the start of middle school, his parents decided to put him in a private school, Beecher Prep.

When he visited the school for the first time, Mr. Tushman, the principal, introduced him to three students Jack, Julian, and Charlotte. The three students tour him around the school. When the first day came, his family accompanied him to school. Auggie felt anxious that he had to remove his helmet just right at the gate. Justin bullies him and it turned his day gloomy, not wanting to remove his helmet even at their own house, until his mother speaks with him.

On the other hand, for Via’s first day of school, she meets her best friend Miranda who just came from summer camp bumps into her who she notices  changed, mostly how she highlighted her hair with pink and that she has become distant. She later meets Justin, a music and theatre enthusiast. She then shares her insecurities about how she wants to be seen by her mother just as how her mother sees Auggie. On the next day, Via joined the theatre club.

Later, Auggie develops friendship with Jack once he shared his answers for a test in science. Jack starts to share lunch with Auggie while the latter even invited Jack to teach him in science after school at their house. From there, they start to get close with each other.

Via remembers her grandmother, who guided her when everybody else was looking after Auggie. Her mom invites to bond with her after school. During Halloween, Auggie hypes about going to school in costume, as he won’t worry about being stared at. When he reaches his classroom, he witnesses Jack talking behind his back. Auggie feels bad for the day but Via calms him down, making the former go out with Via to go trick-and-treating. The next day, Jack tries to talk with Auggie but he shows how bad he feels. Auggie stops wanting to eat lunch with Jack but Summer comes to his table.

Via learns that she got the understudy of the main character in the play and later introduces Justin to his family. The other day, Miranda sees Via bonding with Justin and makes her reminisce her happy days with Via. Miranda then calls Auggie to let him tell she misses Via. She shares that she pretended to be Via during summer camp because she can’t talk about his broken family.

After the holiday vacation, Jack finally realizes why Auggie stopped talking to him through Summer’s clue. During science class, Auggie and Jack gets paired for the science fair project where Justin suggests Jack to be in his group but Jack says he want to stay with Auggie. Justin confronts him for it which ended to them fighting and Jack getting suspended for two days. Auggie and Jack later reconcile through minecraft.

Via invites her family to go to the play. For that night, Miranda pretends to feel not well, making Via get the role. Miranda ends up feeling happy for her best friend and later seen bonding with the Pullmans and Justin. Auggie on the other hand gains more friend as he and Jack wins first place during the science fair. Julian continues to bully Auggie by sending him rude notes and even editing him out in the class picture. This gets Justin suspended for two days, making him unable to attend his class’ nature retreat. After the nature retreat, Auggie has gained more friends.

At the school year’s end, Tushman awards Auggie the Henry Ward Beecher Medal and gets a standing ovation. He realizes that he is after all not ordinary and that it’s the point, and it applies for everybody—everyone deserves a standing ovation.

GUIDE QUESTIONS

What life lessons can be learned from the movie? To sum it all up, I would say: embrace who you are. For being an unusual kid, it may cause people to stare at you, want to see you feel down, and laugh at you, but it should not affect whatever in the world you want to do. However unconventional or conventional you are, it is not a measure of what you’re worthy of. We all deserve a recognition, we all deserve love, and we all deserve respect. This movie is a revolutionary story for simply being told to the world. It is simple, but it shows us a whole different perspective to the concept of understanding for people that are not like us and for people who think that we’re not like them at the same time. Everybody has a purpose.

What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why? This is very tough, but since I cannot really choose, I’ll say both. The first one is when Auggie cried in front of her mom and said that he’s sorry after the first day of school. It melted my heart of how a vulnerable person can get easily scarred once he’s thrown out there in the real world. I cannot explain how I wanted to comfort him and how sorry I am.

Second when her sister said, “If they stare, let them stare. They can’t blend in if you were born to stand out.” It touched my heart and reminded me that family is really basically the only people you can count on, and it was perfectly proven with this scene. Simple and just a sentence, but moved me.

Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why? To say I love every character is an understatement. Every one of them were so endearing, and most of them I aspire to be. But if I ask myself whoever I’ll remember when Wonder is mentioned, it’s going to be Auggie, WHICH is not because he’s the main character but because I relate to him and I look up to how wise he is. I am a little weirdo myself which makes me relate to some of his emotions and ways to cope with them (e.g. anxiety, insecurity, and immersing myself to a thing to forget these emotions). I also said that he is wise because if I think about it, he had the most to understand. The people he just met had a hard time understanding him, but it was a heavier kind of understanding on his part; it makes me think that for such a young age, he has such a strong mind.

Did anything that happened in the movie remind you of something that has occurred in your own life or that you have seen occur to other? The scene where he felt so terrified for the first day of school. It reminds me of how I would feel every time I step to a new journey of my life. I admit that I can be pessimistic, but I like to think I’m just being realistic and it makes me think and expect of the worst things that could happen, all the time. Believe it or not, I still feel anxious and terrified every time the school year starts. I immediately understood how he felt that day that I wanted to tell, “I’ve been there.”

If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be? I would straight up ask Auggie if I can be part of his friends. He and his friends is a dream team.

Time for #FootNoteMessage

If anybody doubts you, remember you’re a wonder of your own. :)

[bulletinedsolitude]

I'll draw you, I'll sing you I'll paint you, I'll dance you I'll think of you and work hard for you I'll stay, I'll hold, until I get to you.

To my dreams

[bulletinedsolitude]

“The stars came out in search of the moon.” — A Lion (2016) Film Review

MOVIE SUMMARY

Saroo, a 5-year-old boy, lives with Guddu and Kallu, his siblings and Shekila, her mom in Khandwa, India. Saroo and his brother Guddu steals coal in exchange for milk. A day came when Saroo was supposed to look after Kallu, but instead followed his brother to his job. Arriving at the destination through a train, Saroo felt sleepy, so his brother left him in a bench to go for work. When he woke up, the place was empty, and looked for his brother, eventually entering a train on stop. When he woke up again, the train was already running and it went for days until it stopped in Calcutta.

In that place, he tried to find way to go back despite that the residents of the place speak Bengali, which he doesn’t understand. He then faces a series of struggles, like running away from kidnappers, going after a woman who seemed nice but had bad intentions, and running again. After two months of living near a bridge, he brought by a man to the police where he said he was from “Ginestalay” that turns out, does not exist which led him to an orphanage, and finally meeting Mrs. Sood who found him a couple that wants to adopt him.

Sue and John Brierly, Saroo’s adopters lived with him in Hobart, Tasmania, wherein after a year, another boy named Mantosh who is struggling with self-harm was adopted by them. After twenty years, as a young man, he moved to Melbourne to study hotel management where he meets Lucy who she forms a romantic relationship with. When he made friends with other Indians in the place, he came to see jalebi, an Indian street food which he always wanted as a kid, but never had because of poverty. This made him open up his story to his friends, paving way to the idea of finding his hometown through Google Earth.

He pursued the idea, but along the way he got too immersed with it, affecting his relationship with Lucy, Mantosh, and his parents. When he found out that his hometown is instead Ganesh Talai, he tried to fix his relationships, and his adoptive mother Sue, fully supported his want to check his biological family. Saroo then went to Ganesh Talai, discovering that his mother and sister was alive whereas Guddu has passed away. In the end, Shekila appreciated Sue’s care for her son and accepts that they Saroo’s family. Saroo discovers that he has been mispronouncing his name which should be “Sheru,” which means lion.

GUIDE QUESTIONS

What life lessons can be learned from the movie? First thing in mind: this movie gives us a new angle of reality—of what the hard life is out there—I realized never had any right to complain for anything; there should be no excuses for me. Other than that, there is still so much to learn in this movie that can be picked up throughout Saroo’s journey, namely: fortitude, perseverance, gratitude, not giving up the trust that there are still kind people, and not losing the ability to look back where you came from. You can identify the fortitude and perseverance in Saroo’s character when he did not give up looking for his family when he was lost at such a young age and when he decided to find his real hometown through Google Earth. As a reflection, I learned that he had that strength for facing a such a low time in such a young age. And then, the fact that he found a way to still get through life with the help of people, taking note of the young man who brought him to the police and his adoptive parents, I realized that there are still people who choose to be bigger by being kind. Gratitude and the ability to look back is seen with the way he respected his adoptive parents and how he pursued finding his biological family. If I summed it up, I would say the main thing I learned from this is, “Never forget where you came from, but do not lack gratitude for what you have now.”

As for the other characters, Sue, John, and Lucy, taught me the importance of understanding and open-mindedness, I deeply admire how they kept their support throughout all that.

What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why? I have to list two answers for this one. First is when Sue admitted that she could have had kids on her own, but decided to adopt them as a help. It is a simple concept, but she made it so great, because…just imagine the sacrifice and control with that. She has a great heart and a great mind which makes her overall a great woman. It made me think that there is a possibility of many other people that could live just the same life as she had, selfless and generous.

The second is the moment when the kids in the orphanage sang the lyrics “the stars came out in search of the moon.” A simple lyric, but how it was delivered poked me the idea of how hard really their situation is—of the loneliness, the fear, and the cluelessness.

Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why? Saroo would best fit as my answer for this one. It is his story, and he carried me all throughout his journey, and I never was bored. For him to live such experience and survived it, it is like a privilege to know his story, and learn from it. Apparently, I read a synopsis before I watched it, and it was enough to make me thrilled of his journey. Additionally, basing from what I listed as the things I learned from him, he obviously did not disappoint at all.

Did anything that happened in the movie remind you of something that has occurred in your own life or that you have seen occur to other? The selfless act of Sue makes me see a reflection of what my parents do for me. It is not of the same way, but of the same intention and the same root: love.

If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be? I would ask Saroo of how he dealt and coped from being afraid of all his experiences the moment he got lost that night, because it was an extreme shock, and I want to know his insight after that terrifying experience.

Time for #FootNoteMessage

Never ever lose your heart.

[bulletinedsolitude]

So there is stigma for mistakes, triggered in every wrong a man makes. But a few accepts that everytime he takes, there's more learning he makes.

No regrets.

[bulletinedsolitude]

“...And Nina would give another of her arms to eat.” — A Short Term 12 (2013) Film Review

MOVIE SUMMARY

Short Terms is a movie which revolves in a home for teens at risk, the line workers, and the issues pre-existing in their world. Grace (Brie Larson) and Mason (John Gallagher Jr.), a couple working as line workers, introduces Nate (Rami Malek) to their job environment as a new coworker, showing different characters—of the views and stories of teens who went under extreme experiences, how they are currently dealing with it, and how the these people in one place are playing out as a dynamic.

The movie introduces us to the teens when Sammy barges out of her room, screaming and the line workers try to calm him down. Marcus (Lakeith Stanfield) and Luis (Kevin Hernandez) are also two of the teens majorly featured, particularly their disagreement, often during community meetings; where the former plays an almost-eighteen boy still trying to get over his abusive mother and the latter consistently trying to get into Marcus’ nerves.

Whereas as newcomer Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) arrives, Grace tries to bond with her despite the girl’s distant and violent behavior while she deals with own issues trying to haunt her like her pregnancy as it reminds her of her past. Jayden rages and harms herself when her father failed to pick her up by weekend. She was calmed down, and they threw a party for her birthday. For a while, she was happy, but after that, she ran away with Grace following her. The girl led Grace to their house and finds that it was empty, so they return to Short Term 12 where Jayden later on reads Grace a story which made the latter suspect that Jayden was abused by her father.

Mason brings Grace to his foster parent’s party, where he proposes to her. Grace accepts the proposal. Later on, they discover that his father who abused him as a kid is going out of jail in a week. That day was a mess for Grace as she finds out Grace’s pass was approved and Marcus attempts suicide after his fish died. She then brings Marcus to the hospital and later on breaks down. She tells Mason that she doesn’t want to marry him anymore and she has made an appointment for abortion.

Grace leaves the hospital and entered Jayden’s home, attempting to physically hurt Jayden’s dad with a bat but Jayden sees her so she stops and instead damaged his dad’s car. Grace finds the courage to share how his father abused her and shows her bruises. They then proceed to Short Term 12 where Jayden finally opens up to how his father really treats him.

When Grace goes home and apologize to Mason, Mason accepts it and assures her that Marcus will be okay. The scene jumps to a moment where Mason and Grace are seeing their child in an ultrasound, happy and thrilled.

At the end, Grace and the other coworkers are shown in another normal day at Short Term 12.

 GUIDE QUESTIONS

What life lessons can be learned from the movie? There is a lot to learn from the movie. Because of its authenticity, first of them is understanding such complex characters (and there are multiple of them in the movie). The actors effectively portrayed the raw emotions, that’s why you get to have a better perspective and knowledge of the people you—if not, you’ve seen others—once made fun of, and so it ends your ignorance and eventually opens your eyes of how we should deal with or more importantly, help them. Secondly, the main message of the movie, is finding the courage to seek for help when you’re in need. It wakes us up of how abusive or violent acts can destroy one innocent person’s life and how important it is to act for it as early as we could. What comes with that is that we should remind ourselves that somebody out there is willing to help us and care for us if we think nobody is—we’re not alone. And lastly, we should not even be abusive to each other in the first place, and it is important to contribute into giving everybody a safe place to live in.

What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why? There are two for me, and I cannot choose only one of them because they pretty much interpret the same thing. It is the scene where Marcus gets shaved by Grace and when Jayden creatively confessed to Grace through the story of the shark and the octopus.

Those are the two scenes that spoke to me more than any part of the movie, of why violence is such a terrible thing. It’s that point when I realized violence creates insecurities, difficulties of opening up, and burdens in the heart. Those things are enough to snatch years and years of learning and growing up from you.

Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why? Every character was done so well that it’s hard to choose. I got connected to all of them effortlessly. But ultimately, I choose the character that I aspire to learn something from or to be with for a while, and it’s Grace. There were different kids, and she just had this view that everyone was important, and she judged no one. There was no malicious intention from her that it felt like if I was to meet her, I’m going to be immediately comfortable of talking with her because she would instantly accept me of who I am, that’s coming from a person who’s hard to open up.

Did anything that happened in the movie remind you of something that has occurred in your own life or that you have seen occur to other? My answer’s vague for this one, and it is whenever someone cannot communicate what they’re going through (e.g. Grace and Jayden). Most of the low times in my life, I’ve never shared it to anyone, even my parents. It always comes with fear. I understood that part, and knew it was real. I was never violated and abused, but it just comes naturally to everybody, I guess, that you don’t get immediately comfortable into sharing a very vulnerable time of your life.

If you had a chance to ask a character in this movie a question, what would it be? There is one person I’m not that contented with story-wise, and that’s Luis. I would ask him his story—if he’s up for it that is. He was the least three-dimensional character out of the more featured ones because of the lack of backstory, so he would definitely be the one I would ask.

Time for #FootNoteMessage

Be there for somebody, and learn to let others be there for you.

[bulletinedsolitude]

For now it's the deepest, but know I'll be digging deeper. I'm yet to get the best, so until then I'll keep getting better.

:)