Three Languages?

 As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, I was born in Iran. Where I was born, there were quite a lot of Arabs that lived there. My entire family was raised and grew up with that language, which is the reason they all know how to speak Arabic. I still know quite a bit of Arabic, but I speak very little since I started going to Persian and American schools. My older family members know the traditional Arabic and how to read and write in that language. I still think that I should try to prefect my Arabic, but every time I try to speak I sound like I'm trying to speak Chinese and my cousins make fun of me. Overall, I'm very thankful that I am able to have the ability to speak a few languages and have the influence of all three cultures in my life. 

DIY Rhinestone Cord Bracelet

 So for today's blog post, I'm going to be showing you  how to make a DIY rhinestone cord bracelet. This is my first time doing a DIY on this blog so bare with me. I honestly think this is a really cute and subtle accessory for any outfit, so if you want to learn how to make it, read along..

• Materials:

1. Sew-On rhinestones, amount depends on how many you want on the bracelet
2. Stretchy cord, with the color of your choice
3. 2 clamp ribbon ends
4. 2 jump rings
5. pliers
6. scissors
7. 2 crimps
8. a lobster claw

• Steps:

1. Cut two strands of the cord, each should be about 8 inches. String the cords through the holes of the rhinestones.
2.  Then, loop the crimp through both cords and do this for both sides of the rhinestone. Take some pliers and flatten the crimps, make sure to leave a bit of space from the rhinestone.
3. Adjust the cords to fit your wrist size.
4. Add a clam ribbon end to each side of the cord using pliers.
5. Add a jump ring to one clam ribbon, then go to the other side of the cord and add a jump ring and a lobster claw

Hope you guys enjoyed this blog post, all pictures and information is from http://www.swellmayde.com/2013/07/diy-rhinestone-cord-bracelet.html .

Coachella

Many of you have probably heard of Coachella and it's currently happening right now. For those of  you that don't know what it is, it's this really popular music festival that happens once a year. It's in the  Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Since it's located in a desert, everyone dresses in a bohemian and very vintage type of way. The music played there ranges from  Rock music, Independent music, Hip hop music, and to Electronic dance music. It's always extremely crowded and crazy there, there's also a bunch of celebrity appearances such as Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner,Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lana del Ray, and Vanessa Hudgens. All I see in my feed is pictures of people at Coachella and the hashtag, #coachella2k16 has been trending over and over again. Overall, I think Coachella is a really cool festival that I hope to experience with my friends when I'm older.   

Theo James ♡

So this is a long over due blog, because literally everyone who has ever met me knows that I'm head over heels obsessed with Theo James. How I first discovered him was last year in Mrs. Ballabio's  class when we were reading Divergent in our Lit Circles. After I finished the first book, I was disappointed and had the same "what do I do with my life now?" type of feeling like when you finish your favorite show on Netflix. My friend, Rena Sharim was also in my class last year and she read the Divergent series so I borrowed her books and finished reading the series. Then, I started watching the movies and I had already fallen in love with the character Tobias or "Four" so seeing someone like Theo James playing him was the best thing in the world. So then I obviously started ranting to Rena about it and we still hardcore fangirl over him to this day. I follow like 50 million Divergent and Theo James fan accounts on Instagram, I guess you can say I'm obsessed. I want to give a huge thanks to Mrs. Ballabio for introducing me to Divergent.  

My Journey to California

So as some as you might know, I wasn't born here, I was born in Iran. I was born in Ahvaz, Iran and moved at a very young age due to my parents wanting a better future for me and more freedom. Since at that time America and Iran weren't on the best terms, we decided to first make a stop in Europe since a lot of immigrants like us went there first in order to get to America. 
 I was about three years old when we arrived in Austria, Vienna. Vienna is now kind of a blur for me, but I still remember parts of it like the snow, the huge parks, and using a bunch of maps to get to each metro. We stayed there for about a year and a half exploring and meeting new people. Then, we decided it was time to move to America. 
 My uncle and some other relatives were living in Texas and convinced us to give it a try there to see if we liked it. I went to pre-k there and we stayed for about two years when my other uncle along with my aunt and other family members who were living in California told us how much better it is here in LA and said we would like it a lot better. So once again, we moved, and we came here. That's the story of how I came here to California.  

Spring

So lately the weather has been getting warmer and I've been getting super excited. Spring is my favorite season out of all of them. It's the season that my birthday is in and the weather is absolutely perfect. I love spring clothing and all the color that goes in it. And honestly, being able to go out and wear tank tops and flip flops is one of the best feelings ever.
 Another great thing about spring is the fruit that is harvested around that time. The different berries and watermelon and gojesabz (for the Persians reading this). The days are also longer, which means you have more time to do the things you want and things you have to do (like English homework).  Spring time also means Nowruz which also means money. Okay I'm sorry, but the only good thing about spending 5 hours at a relative's house is the eidi (or the present/money) they give you afterwards. That's all I have to say for this blog post.

Seriously?

So yesterday I went to the park, and no, I'm not going to be talking about my time at the park because no one wants to hear about that. Instead, I'm going to talk about one of the rather disappointing things that I saw there. So I was on the swings and then I saw a little boy who looked about seven years old and chasing his little brother, but he was on a freaking IO HAWK. Now I have absolutely nothing against them, and I think they're one of the coolest things our generation has invented, but the part that really got me the most was how a seven year old was playing tag with his brother at the park WHILE ON THE IO HAWK. 

 It's just really sad how lazy this generation has become that even a little kid would rather get on a machine rather than to physically run. The mother was on her phone taking selfies the entire time and didn't even care. And then it hit me, this is only the beginning.

Damn Daniel

So when you saw the title of this post you probably did one of these two things: groaned and rolled your eyes, or said "Daaammn Daniel in your head". So yes, this compilation of snapchat videos made by a sophomore in high school has gotten millions of views. The videos itself is a bunch of snapchat videos of Daniel Lara, showing his different outfits with recorder, Josh Holtz saying the phrase "Daamnn Daniel" every time. It also features his white slip-on Vans which he seems to be wearing a lot. Ever since this video was uploaded, it's been blowing up the internet. It had gotten so popular that the boys even made it on to The Ellen DeGeneres Show. On the show, they of course talked about the video and the story behind it. Daniel got a contract with Vans, which got him a lifetime supply of shoes, and Josh got a signed Ellen surfboard. I honestly think  this viral trend is extremely annoying and reminds me a lot of the whole Alex from Target thing, someone getting recognized and famous because of their looks. That's all I have to say for this post.

Fuller House

For this blog post, I'm going to be talking about a sit com that everybody had been talking about these past couple of days, Fuller House. If you don't know what Full House is then you, my friend, probably live under a rock. Full House is a family sit com on ABC that aired in the  late 80's. They still show re-runs of it on Nick at Night and it still has a lot of views and supporters. Fuller House, is a sequel to it, showing the kids all grown up and having kids of their own. It's extremely cool to see the characters all grown up, but still having hints of their childish personalities. I loved seeing them all together like before and to see Stephanie and Kimmy actually getting along, lol. It was also really funny how the Olsen twins didn't want to be on the show, so they threw shade low key evey once in a while like the episode for Ramona's party. That's all I have to say as of right now, I can't to see the next season.

Allegiant

For this blog post, I'm going to be talking about an upcoming movie that I'm very excited about. As you can probably tell by the title of this blog post, the movie is Allegiant. It's a sequel to the Divergent series and it starrs Theo James as Four (Tobias Eaton), Shailene Woodley as Beatrice Prior, Ansel Elgort as Caleb Prior, Miles Teller as Peter,and Zoe Kravitz as Christina. For the people that have read the books, you probably know it's about Tris having to escape Chicago with Tobias for the first time in an effort to try to find a solution to the chaos going on in their city. When they go, they find out shocking truths of how their society was created and the people that are in it. While all of this is happening, Tris must make a decision between love and saving her city. The movie comes out on March 18, and I'm more than excited to see it.  

Changing my Theme..

For this blog post, I'm going to be talking about changing my theme for my blog posts. Even though only about 10 people read my blog, I just felt it would be appropriate to make a border of some sort of my old posts and my future posts. The reason is pretty obvious and predictable, I want to blog about other things. A lot of people that know me know that I love The Outsiders, but it's been stressful to do and it's not as fun anymore. It's also quite time consuming. Having to make sure everything I say is accurate (even if I know it for a fact), looking for other ways to say what I mean, finding quotes, and a whole bunch of other things takes a minimum of half an hour. Anyways, I'm now going to be blogging about things that are going on in the world or in my life, and in general, random things. So that's my little rant about my theme. That's it for this blog post. 

Things you probably don't know about The Outsiders pt. 2

For this blog post, I'm going to be continuing my last blog post since it interests me a lot. It's going to be continuing the facts about the process of the book, the thoughts that went into writing it, and the outcome of it being published. 
  The publishing of an original and relatable novel helped teachers to grasp the attention of students who had gotten tired of using boring, traditional books in English class. It really made a difference in schools and helped teachers see the perspective of the students.
   Another fact about the book is that it was actually the fans of Hinton who convinced a big time director named Francis Coppola to make The Outsiders into a book. Francis started considering directing the movie when high school students in California sent him a petition, appointing him as the best suited director to adapt the novel they adore so much. If it wasn't for the love and support of Susan's fans, Coppola might not have found the book to make a movie out of. That's it for this blog post.

Things you probably don't know about The Outsiders

 This week, I'm going to be talking about some of the things in The Outsiders that you probably don't know. I consider myself to be a huge fan of the book, but even I didn't know about a lot of these things. 
 One of the interesting facts is that Hilton, (the author of the book), wrote The Outsiders based on the division of class in her high school. It was between the "Socs", which were the upper class kids, and the "Greasers" who were the lower class. Things were so intense between the two groups, that they even had to enter the school through two separate doors. Hilton herself was in neither one of these groups, but she decided to write the book in the point of view of a Greaser in order to civilize the gang. 
 Now you may have noticed that the book seems like it would typically be for boys, but Hilton had very specific reasons for that. One of them being that boys have fewer books written for them. Along with that, girls are willing to read boys books, but boys usually won't read girls books. Susan, at the time, was also a tomboy and most of her friends were boys, so writing using male characters was easier for her. That's all for this blog post.

Another Quote Blog..

This week, I'm going to be talking about another significant quote in the story. The quote I'm talking about is "It's okay..We aren't in the same class. Just don't forget that some of us watch the sunset too." Pony says this to Cherry after him and some of the gang went to the drive-in, and spent time with Cherry and Marcia. This quote is significant in my opinion, because he shows Cherry that even though the Greasers and Socs have extremely different ways of living, personalities,and financial situations,they are still living in the same world. By saying "some of us watch the sunset", Pony is trying to shine a light on the fact that not all Greasers live up to their stereotypical expectations. Some still notice things like sunsets and nature. By a simple saying like this, it leads Cherry into ditching the stereotypes that everyone says and to be friends with Ponyboy. That's it for today.      

Rant

This week, I'm not writing something relating to my theme. Instead, I'm going to be ranting about winter. Honestly, this is my favorite time of year. With winter break and Christmas right around the corner, I'm so incredibly excited. The idea of having a three week off from school puts my mind in a relaxing state. Plus, can we take a moment for the amazing weather we've been having in LA? It's perfect, not too cold and not too hot. The satisfaction of getting a warm drink from Starbucks when it's cold is indescribable. It's also sweater weather, and you're finally able to wear boots and hoodies. Can we talk about how mood boosting it is to hear holiday songs on the radio and sing along at the top of your lungs? Anyways, I know this blog post wasn't as thought-out and organized as my usual blogs, but I felt the need to rant this week. See you next week.   

"Stay Gold"

This week I'm going to talk to you about in my opinion, the most important quote in the book. That quote is "Nothing gold can stay." This quote is from the Robert Frost poem that Pony recites to Johnny when they were hiding out in the church at Windrixville. This line from the poem is saying that all good things eventually come to an end. I think that by the end, the boys relate this quote to the innocence you have in your years of youth, and how you can't be forever protected by the harshness of life. Johnny's last words before he passed were, "Stay gold Ponyboy, stay gold." Referring to the quote above, Johnny was trying to drive Pony into remaining gold/innocent. It was now clear to Johnny how useless fighting is and deep down knows that his best friend is more than the "hood" that others assume he is. He wants him to cling onto the qualities that differs him from the rest of the guys in the gang and makes him so individually unique. That's it for this week.

Steve Randel

This week, I'm indroducing you to Steve Randel. Even though he's not a huge part of the story line, I still thought it was crucial to mention him as one of the characters. Steve has been Soda Pop's best friend since grade school, and they both work at the gas station together. Steve is seventeen. He's very tall and quite slim.  He's also extremely cocky and is also bright. Steve isn't really favored by Pony either. He considers Pony as a "tag along." Steve isn't really talked about a lot in the story and in the movie. That's it for this week.  

Johnny Cade

This week, I'm introducing you to Johnny Cade, one of the boys in the gang. Johnny is "the gang's pet," he's the quiet one in the group of boys that they couldn't get along without. He's been hurt both physically and mentally, he's kinda like "a puppy that's been kicked too many times." Johnny was badly beaten by the Socs, that's why he started carrying a switch blade around with him and vowed that he would kill the next person that hurt him. Along with the incident with the Socs, he is also always being both verbally and physically abused by his parents. Because of that, going home is the last thing that we wishes to do. If it wasn't for the gang, he wouldn't know how it feels like to have love and affection. Johnny is a bit smaller than the rest. He has these big black eyes that are placed on a dark tanned face. His hair was jet-black and heavily greased and combed to the side, but it was so long that it fell in shaggy bangs across his forehead. He also always had a nervous, suspicious look in his eyes. That's it for this week.

Cherry Valance

This week, I'm not introducing you guys to one of the boys in the gang, actually someone who is quite the opposite. This person is Cherry Valance. She is a redhead Soc girl, Bob's girlfriend, who Pony-boy meets at the drive-in when Dally is bothering her and Marcia. Most of the other Socs are stuck-up brats that always have everything handed to them, but Cherry is different. She's like Pony, she's a dreamer that's not like the other kids in her pack. Cherry is nice, caring, and stands up for what she believes in. She tries to get Pony to see how the Socs, like the Greasers, can also be individually unique and just as troubled. Cherry later then,acts as a spy for the greasers. She wants all of the fighting to end between the two rivals, and does whatever she can to balance out the two. In the book, she is described to be a beautiful red-headed cheerleader. That's it for this week.

Two-Bit Mathews

This week, I'm going to indroduce you to Keith Two-Bit' Mathews. Two-bit is the oldest in the pack, and as you might have guessed by his name, he's also the jokester of the group. He's the fun and talkative person that you like being around and makes uneasy situations lighter. Two-Bit makes a smart comment to say to anyone, even the cops. Everything seems funny to him, even stealing, which he does quite often. Two-Bit is kind of like a grown up kid, he likes cake and Mickey Mouse,but he also likes beer and cigarettes.(As seen in the gif above.) Physically, he is described to wear long and rusty side burns. He's about 6 feet tall and is quite pudgy with this pair of gray eyes. Two-Bit always carries around a handled switch blade that he has been sharpening for a long time (which he later then hands over to Dal). That's it for this week.