Bereft.

Helloooooooooooooooo readers. I trust your week has been good and now the weekend is here!
Honestly there isn't much to do but somehow I get by. :)

Lately, I've been feeling bereft, which happens to be the title of a poem written by one of my favourite authors, Robert Frost.

Where had I heard this wind before

Change like this to a deeper roar? 

What would it take my standing there for,

Holding open a restive door,

Looking down hill to a frothy shore? 

Summer was past and the day was past.

Sombre clouds in the west were massed.

Out on the porch's sagging floor,

Leaves got up in a coil and hissed,

Blindly struck at my knee and missed.

Something sinister in the tone

Told me my secret must be known:

Word I was in the house alone

Somehow must have gotten abroad,

Word I was in my life alone,

Word I had no one left but God. 

Source(s): StudyMode/Enote.

The poem describes a night in the life of a lonely man. The title, "Bereft" indicates that he has lost someone, leaving him "…alone" in his life. There is no evidence to suggest that the speaker is either female or male, nor is there any reason to doubt that the poet is the speaker. The speaker is very aware of sounds and movement around him, as one would be if alone. He believes that nature has orchestrated a "sinister… tone", because the secret of his loneliness has been discovered: "…my secret must be known". It seems to the speaker that nature is taking advantage of his solitude and attempting to intimidate him with its "roaring" winds, its "somber clouds" and its "sagging floor". The tone that is created at the beginning of the poem is an almost frightening one, as all the details of the dark night are listed. 

Although the poem is intended  for someone I personally relate it to myself. Being alone opens up ones attention span and thus they are more alert to their surroundings noticing the most trivial things about life. To say I have never completely felt alone would not only be dramatic but false. But grief as it is widely known is followed by wallowing self pity. 

Recently in my Neverland, a 19-year old boy, a fresh graduate and newly licensed driver met with an accident which took his life. Not that I was personally acquainted with the guy but I'd seen him around. He was somebody's son. Somebody's friend. But that's just putting it mildy. Truth be told? He was somebody. He had dreams. He had hopes. He had plans. Things he wanted to do. And he wasn't even given the chance to do that. 

So yeah, I'm feeling bereft and also extremely selfish because here I am with my whole life ahead of me. Or a day for all I know. 

I used to be obsessed with Archie Comics and although when I look back they were just about the constant love triangle between Archie-Betty-Veronica.( Yes, I always rooted for Betty) The only good thing I picked up was "Carpe Diem" which is Latin for "Seize the day". 

If you do the Maths(which I absolutely despise) one day is equivalent to 24 hours. Wow. A lot can happen in a week let alone a day. You can read 2 books. People are born. People die. You get the picture.

Anthony Robbins puts it quite simply; "Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human."

It is said that you should not worry about tomorrow because tomorrow has its own worries and with this I wholeheartedly agree. If we had all the time in the world human beings would all have the trait of patience but I think somewhere at the back of our minds we realize that time flies and this builds up anxiety and brings out the humanity in us which is desiring more than we can have or achieve.

But nobody ever said our imagination should be limited. After all, we do have opposable thumbs and the ability to think and strategize. We can achieve anything and everything we set our minds to. We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken. Remember you only lose the game(yes, life IS a game and a dangerous one too!)when you give up. Life's too short to even care at all! Play it smart.

Carpe Diem my dear readers. 

Seize the day. 

You might not get another.

Until next time,

XXO

Sara Malik. ©

Acquiesce.

Ciao my dear readers,

This week has been extremely exhausting and don't bother asking what I did because I myself don't fully recall, but thankfully tomorrow is Thursday which marks the weekend in my little Neverland which is Bahrain.

As usual I was researching all the possible things I could write about when I came across a site with interesting words. The one in particular that stood out to me was:

Acquiesce.

To consent or comply passively or without protest.

I've found that everyone has a dream and often that dream well....remains a dream.  People start out with big dreams and plans and eventually resign themselves to a fate that they believe to be theirs they become content working a regular job and living a regular life. Until one day they stop and look out at their life realizing that it's not what they had always dreamed about. They've gotten stuck in this monotonous, never-changing life that doesn't live up to what they'd hoped. And now in this realization, they start to lose that optimism that kept them going before of being something more.

More simply put- If you've heard the song Pompeii by Bastille you probably never gave much thought to the in depth meaning.

But it goes a little something like this.

Whether it be via large contributions(wars, poverty) or small ones(failed relationships, hopelessness) we inadvertently are the causes of the downfalls in our world. Our vices(greed, lust, wrong doings) are clearly visible in our everyday lives. Our world. Our life. We. Are all incredibly and fatally flawed. We have several hamartia's.  Over and over in anyone's life, there are problems and difficulties. Yet, when we "close our eyes" (stop thinking about the problems themselves), we realize that despite our recognition of these flaws, we really haven't changed our attitudes at all to help make things better ("nothing's changed at all"). For that reason, we keep making the same mistakes over and over again — we've "been here before," and we're making the same mistakes again, one reason why the metaphor of Pompeii and it's destruction is brilliant for this song. We want to change everything that's going wrong, when maybe we should be looking to change ourselves and our own shortcomings. 

One of the most powerful lines of the song conveys this message — "Where do we begin? The rubble or our sins?" In other words, do we just clean up and hide our messes, or do we dig for the root of the problem first? It seems to suggest that the first option will lead to continued failure and an endless cycle of destruction.

When you think about it the answer is right there in the title. 

Clouds rolled over the hills, bringing darkness over Pompeii when Mount Vesuvius erupted. 

The people were caught in their vices and in their daily activities, in poses as the dust of the eruption settled. 

And, perhaps most unsettlingly: 

Does it almost feel like nothing's changed at all? 

Well, of course it would. If a person from Pompeii, in the days when it was alive, visited the place as it is now, with the people frozen in time under the ash, they might almost feel as if nothing were different, when in fact nothing is the same at all. 

It's kind of disturbing when you look at it like that.

When did we start giving in and giving up? 

I doubt that if we were to start our lives over as kids that we would begin viewing them in ruins. There is hope. There is light. There is love. We are just too caught up in what's going on to plan ahead. To tell ourselves that this too shall pass. And it will. We will keep moving forward. We will keep dreaming. Our old dreams will still be dreams that we desire to accomplish. Life goes on and it doesn't wait for anyone.

In the same way we too will go on with our lives building cities from the ashes. 

Don't settle for acquiesce, guys.

DREAM AND ACCOMPLISH!

Until next time,

XXO

Sara Malik.©

                                  

The 80's > You.

Hello my dear readers! :)

First of all I want to say how happy I am that this blog is progressing! :) 846 views! Wow. I would have never expected this.Thank you! 846 of you somewhere in the world have seen this blog -unless I'm wrong and someone is viewing my blog over and over again in that case it would be creepy haha.

Secondly, I've chosen a very interesting topic which is close to my heart.
So I hope you all enjoy and leave your comments below!

From a very young age I suppose I was exposed to a lot of music and not just any music. The greatest music of all kind and for a long time at school I had people baffled as to who I was listening to and why?
Don't get me wrong, The Jonas Brothers were like total babes(not really) when I was growing up but there was something about the Beatles that just excited me.

So if you haven't already guessed it. I'm going to talk about the 80's.
I'm pretty sure most of you have watched Pitch Perfect(and are obviously anticipating the sequel as much as I am) and if you have, the name The Breakfast Club rings a bell ESPECIALLY the very last scene where Judd Nelson puts his arm in the air and Don't You Forget About Me starts playing.

This particular scene screams the 80's if I were to analyze it. Eh, what the heck? I will.
Okay, so Judd Nelson is wearing this extremely hobo looking jacket and these punk fingerless gloves which give him the complete Stoner look and actually make him look like a modern day Doctor Who when you take a closer look but this of course is my point of view entirely. 
To you, he might look like...well...a hobo. But I personally LOVE the way he's dressed. It's both preppy and punk all at once which brings me to ..

The 80's dressing.

The dressing of the 80's was so LOUD, wild and over the top with no expense spared for big hair, make up and stylish accessories. Hats off to the 80's kids because they managed to pull it off and bring it back once more! Everywhere I go I seem to see the 80's fashion coming back and that brings about a sense of nostalgia.(Despite the fact that I was born in the 90's)

Accomplishments of the 80's.

Well before there was YouTube and streaming there was MTV and before August 1981 there was NO MTV. The 80's saw the revolutionary of MTV and the very first music video played was Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles.

McDonalds Chicken McNuggets were introduced to it's menu in 1981 changing the lives of children everywhere in the world!

There were a total of 8 Friday the 13th movies in the decade ensuring at least a few days of sleeplessness during the year.

The drink which gives you wings, Red Bull, was first officially available in 1987 along with the same slogan used till date.

Before the 80's nothing was censored.

The 80's music.

This is my all-time favourite! 

The 80's music was and still continues to be legendary. My personal favourites are the Beatles, Guns N Roses, The Cure and The Police. Not to mention some of the classics like Hall and Oates, Pat Benetar and Duran Duran. 

Don't You Forget About Me- Simple Minds.

Boys Don't Cry- The Cure.

Love Is A Battlefield- Pat Benetar.

Uptown Girl- Billy Joel.

Many people I know don't really like these tunes but they speak to me on a very personal level because they're clean and positive and lively which every good song should be. I absolutely detest the techo-house music they play on the radio these days but to each its own I suppose. Also, songs back then had meaning where as now songs are(as cliche as it is to say) all about Sex, Drugs, Money and Fame.

Things the 80's made.

  Source: nme.com                                                       

1) Mixtapes.

Ugghhhh, CD's ruined everything didn't they?

There was just something about selecting a song, setting up the tape deck and designing the cover of the tape with a personal message for that special someone. Making a playlist just isn't the same, isn't it?

2)Teen Movies.

The 80's saw the rising of the teenage movies. From Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club to darker ones like Heathers. All these were resonant and beautifully captured movies about the reality of being a teenager.

3) 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.'

The 80's was the ultimate era of change for girls and women alike. Cyndi Lauper combined cartoons and bubblegum pop gems for her style. It is described as a "strong feminist statement", an "anthem of female solidarity" and a "playful romp celebrating female camaraderie".

4) The Cure

Robert Smith and his smeary lipstick gang filled the 80s with single after single of bizarre,cryptic and urgently wonderful tracks. Their run of game changing songs saw them repeatedly reinventing themselves and what they did.

5) The Smiths.

The Smiths' run of singles from ‘Hand In Glove’ to ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ was of one the greatest in popular music. Jangling riffs met intelligent lyrics with psychosexual undertones - the effects were seismic for indie and music in general.

6)Super Mario Bros.

A time before computer games had an insane masochistic learning curve and a metatexual bent? They were happier, simpler times, where two badly drawn wise guys had to run away from dangerous mushrooms and save a princess.

7) Saturday mornings=music 

Waking up and realizing it's a weekend is the best feeling in the world! Back in the 80's they used to bliss out all day to the Chart Show and other music-heavy programs. Best way to relax if you'd ask me.

8) Weird toys.

You know what, maybe toys have always been weird. Maybe not. But the 80s was the decade of the Cabbage Patch Kid. No wonder it was also the decade that birthed Child’s Play with evil toy demon Chucky at the centre of the drama.

9) Saving up to buy an album.

Before we could download the entire history of music at the click of a button, there was a period of time where the goal was to amass £5.49 to get an album on cassette tape that’d you’d been wanting for ages. That was about two months' worth of pocket money. Can you imagine?

10) The revelation of the music industries royal family.

This was the decade when a trio of ridiculously talented musicians (Prince, Michael Jackson and Madonna) ruled pop’s roost. Today we have Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Adele. You can't help but feel something went wrong there. They also invented the moonwalk, power ballads and mullets!

11) Fan clubs.

Before the advent of the internet, the special relationship between fan and artist was harder to bridge. That’s where fan clubs came in. Membership of this elite organization afforded you entry into special newsletters, merchandise and behind the scenes stuff. Following Lady Gaga on Twitter and writing fan fiction is not the same thing.

Well these are all the things I love about the 80's!

Which era do you prefer and why?

Until next time!

XXO,

Sara Malik.©

Fitness First? Mind Over Matter.

Hello my dear subjects of interest!
Okay that sounds creepy buuuuut I AM interested in knowing how you guys have been feeling about my posts! So please do let me know.

I know it seems like my theme is book/poetry related but to be honest I have no theme. I've decided to go with a free flow and maybe you liked me as a book/poetry analyst but I've decided to play the field and see where it takes me. (Which is why I appreciate your feedback!)

So for today I've decided to work on a Fitness post. I know it's probably Summer where most of you are and if not, this still applies because I do believe Summer does appear worldwide at least once a year, right?
If you're like me and sitting at home munching away your Summertime Saddness you are in BIIIIIG trouble.
But don't worry there's still hope.

And like you will draw your hope from me and I too have drawn my hope from a very good friend of mine. :)

I had interviewed my friend as I intended to make this an interview kind of post so I will be listing a few of the important questions I asked alongside the equally important answer.

Interview

Source(s): JR

In your opinion what is the best thing about being fit?

• The best thing about being fit is that you are able to do other things that the everyday person is unable to do. Not just that though I always think people tend to look better when they're fitter and they feel better about themselves both physically and mentally. Their body just generally functions much better!

What do you think people do wrong when they work out?

• They don't understand how the human body works. For example; many women tend to think if they lift weights they gain muscles but that's not the case at all, what it does actually is help them burn fat alot quicker and their metabolism increases and from there the gain a sort of nice, toned physique. When alot of people look into fitness they sadly look into the wrong sort of cardio training as well and that can make it very hard for them to see any results in the short or long term. It's about being SMART not training harder so I guess less is more the best way to put it.

If strategically, a person is just trying to remain healthy, should they do cardio or circuit and why?

• Well I guess that depends on what a person defines as healthy. I'd probably recommend a little bit of both. If you're doing circuit training what would happen is that it would allow you to remain interested in fitness. If you're not interested what will happen is it will become hard for you to sustain it in the long term so I would always recommend you to do exercise whether you're male or female and combining that with a nice cardio program as well so let's say 50/50. So lets say you'd spend an hour at the gym you'd spend half an hour doing circuit training and half an hour with your cardio. You should always do cardio after weights it's because you need all the energy that you can store in order to do weights properly It's always a good thing to have all the energy stores available for when you need them and towards the end you can burn off all your excess calories during cardio!

According to you what is a healthy diet and do slimming foods such as detox juices or detox water help?

• What everyone should understand is that it depends on individual circumstances. Most of the time I would say a healthy diet is one with the minimal sugar intake. Sugar stores easily in the body and I think that if there's an overdose that creates a bit of an issue. The other thing is items like fat-free foods are no good either because what they're trying to do is add more flavours with more sugar to try and cover for the fact that there's no fat in the item. The media is very misleading and people need to remember that companies may advertise for more healthier options but they might not be healthier.
• The other thing is you should try and have 4-5 small meals during the day instead of 3 major ones this causes your body to burn fat more often. And also the water intake is very important obviously so the bigger you are the more water you need.

I hope all that was new information for you guys because it certainly was for me! I'm going to list a few other things I learnt from my talk hopefully the word 'healthy' comes to mind the next time you want to pick up a packet of chips.

• Fruits and vegetables are good! But you need to be careful about certain types because they already contain a natural sugar store. For example it's always better to eat half a banana and something else because a full banana is usually too big a sugar hit. 
• Detox is a short term solution. The weight you'll be losing is ONLY water weight! How sad is that? I really liked the colours in the fruit mixture! :(
• Although there should be a balance of proteins, carbohydrates and fats in your body eating proteins makes your body feel like you've had a full meal which helps when you're trying to cut down!

I am so excited to share this with you guys and help you start getting into shape! It's important to be healthy but you're all beautiful the way you are and there is NO NEED to starve yourselves. Hard work pays off guys so don't give up!

Until next time!

XXO 

Sara Malik.©

I Go To Seek A Great Perhaps.

Hello dear readers!
I think I've spent this entire week blogging or thinking about blogging and I have to say it has given my creative side great satisfaction. I really want to thank everybody who has taken the time to sit down and read whatever I have written so far and I hope you all continue to enjoy my work.

So I was looking up Interesting Topics for Conversations when I came across this site that had the question; "What historical figure do you identify yourself with?"


Well, I cannot talk about history. Nor can I identify myself with any of them for the simple reason that if they are notable they have done at least something great with their lives where as I very regretfully have not done anything worthy of note yet.

The good news is though, I have the rest of my life to get there and I will, hopefully.

Since I cannot talk about history I will talk about fiction. They say that it is no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.
Source(s)- Mark Twain/Brainy Quotes.

And well Alaska Young makes perfect sense to me.

The 2 central questions that she constantly battles with throughout the book are questions that I often ask myself as well. 

"What is the best way to go about being a person..what are the rules of this game and how might we best play it?"

And then of course, there's my personal favourite.

"How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?"

I'm well aware of the fact that Alaska is portrayed in an illustrious manner but that is not why I identify with her. Towards the end of the book the labyrinth, how to escape it and what the labyrinth actually is are the main concerns of the characters but what I noticed was that Miles' image of Alaska being the perfect girl slowly shatters and he ultimately realizes that Alaska herself is the labyrinth. 

For example when he says: “I realized the importance of curves, of the thousand places where girls’ bodies ease from one place to another, from arc of the foot to ankle to calf, from calf to hip to waist to breast to neck to ski-slope nose to forehead to shoulder to the concave arch of the back to the butt to the etc. I’d noticed curves before, of course, but I had never quite apprehended their significance." The different curves of Alaska's body refer to the curves and edges you would find in a maze.

Alaska is different from the other characters because she is aware that the labyrinth exists whereas the others are at first oblivious. With this in mind she drowns herself in the labyrinth that compromises of pain and suffering and being mistreated. She constantly blames herself and with this I can wholeheartedly identify many a time when things take an unexpected turn. 

I didn't agree with John Green when he said "The only way out of the labyrinth is to forgive." But I did agree with Miles when he said "The labyrinth blows but I choose it." There is no proper way out but we keep living, we keep choosing the labyrinth. 

Every.
Single.
Time.

And finally I have to say that the way to go about being a person is ...undecided. It is very much like the Great Perhaps. There is no set way to live. Alaska's strategy is straight and fast before suffering anymore. And I identify with her but I don't agree with her. She's beautiful and smart but she's selfish. 

How do you think you can escape the labyrinth?

Until next time 
XXO
Sara Malik.©

Original Poetry.

So I decided to do something original in honour of the starting of this blog! I hope you guys enjoy! Please leave your comments and let me know. C:

The sea and the sky were made to collide,
There's no silver lining,
With the exception of time,
That isn't on their side.

Just like you and I,
And our hearts that have slowly died,
How strange it is to suddenly heal,
And feel the presence as we enterwine,
How strange it feels to feel alive,
When both you and I have died a thousand times.
How strange it feels to need you to be alive.

Till next time!
XXO
Sara Malik.©

Poetry Wednesday- Discussion

Hello my lovely readers! 

So what did you think of Having a Coke with You? Personally, I adore it. It's my favourite right next to Stopping by the woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost.

Right. So I'm going to be discussing what I think the poem means ANNNND towards the end I will be leaving you a few questions so please answer them because I would love to know what you think. :)

Obviously, like any other grand romantic gesture Frank O' Hara has written a poem about the love of his life and he goes on to say how he enjoys her company over any ancient piece of architecture that the world has to offer.

I particularly like this poem because he doesnt talk about himself alone but talks about the girl too. "Partly because of your love for yoghurt." Very honestly I can say that there is something very genuine about the way he has written because he talks about the most trivial things like her orange shirt or standing next to the right person when the sun sets when he could be writing about how he would feel if she died.

I really liked the part where he mentions the Nude Descending the Stairs and all the paintings because he's really talking about how looking at other women no longer gives him pleasure. According to him they could walk past him nude and he wouldn't even flinch. 

And last but not least Frank talks about(as I mentioned earlier) the trivial things that actually mean everything to people and not wasting any time by not letting them know how you feel.

SO QUESTIONS.

1) Which was your favourite verse and WHY?

2) Do you think trivial things matter?

Leave your comments below!
Until next time guys!
XXO
Sara Malik.©