More than a Twerking Queen

Growing up, idols and role models were utterly important to me.

They could be my mom, my aunt, my grandparents. When I got older, it was JK Rowling, then came the less socially acceptable ones like the Highschool Musical cast and - Miley Cyrus.

So, I know there's  a lot of hype going on and I'm pretty sure most people aren't up for any more Miley- talk, but I will talk about her anyway.

I was her biggest fan during Hannah Montana times. I'm pretty sure everything I believe about dreaming and achieving goals and being true to yourself is straight from that show and Miley's attitude in general.

 

After Hannah Montana, there was that weird period of nothing, her amazing album, then nothing, then a lot of drama and scandals.

But you guys know everything that happened already, right? So, I'll skip that part.

My admiration for Miley cooled down to almost nothing in the past couple of months and years. I grew up, I am  starting my own life, I feel like the time of role models has come to an end for me.

Or, that's what I thought until 20 minutes ago.

For whatever reason tonight I decided to look at an interview with Miley. I guess it's just because I didn't understand what she is doing at all and was - admittedly - very upset about what my childhood role model was up to.

I saw this video with her on the Ellen show, though and that changed my mind.

I like her again. I find her attitude interesting and I don't think listening to her is a waste of time.

I am in no way as intense as she is and I do believe there are different ways in which people are trying to get messages across but - and this is a big but, so listen up! - she again is a couple of steps ahead of me.

I am about 3 years younger than her. I think. I'm not even sure.

What she said in this interview really left an impression on me.

I am that kind of goody-two-shoes girl. You know, that super-nice, super-caring, annoyingly bland girl?

I have strong opinions on things, but I never say them out loud.

I disagree with people, but I always stay diplomatic.

I hate people, but I still try to be nice to them.

I get ignored and looked down on a lot, because I tend to be quiet and reserved.

Why do I keep acting like someone I'm not? Why do I try to please everyone I know and get to know instead of simply doing what I want?

I get why some people think Miley's craving for attention with her almost-naked dancing, her provocative songs and her uber-confident attitude.

But before you judge, think again.

I am one of those 18-year-old girls who grew up with her as a role model. I am insecure and scared of life and scared of failing and scared of not making friends and scared of saying the wrong thing.

And I have a role model again, now. Because I know I don't want to be scared and miserable. I want to be my own person. I want to be loud. I want to show people who I am.

And Miley, in my opinion, does an awesome job at encouraging people to be loud like that.

 

Okay, if this is not a post to comment on I don't know what is? I would be sooo happy about comments, because I'm just really interested in what you guys think about all this!

Different opinions are absolutely welcome!!!

 

 

 

Top Ten Books I NEVER wanted to read

School Books I Never Wanted to Read that Were Actually Good:

1) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Books From Friends/Family I Never Wanted to Read

2) The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (the bomb.com)

3) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (way better than I expected it to be - obviously)

4) Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (loved this one, but hated the rest of the trilogy)

Books I was Pressured Into by Society:

5) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (a given)

6) Ashes & Shadows by Ilsa J. Bick (different from everything you've ever read!)

7) Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry (hearbreaking)

8) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (brilliant)

9) Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys (maybe the most important book I ever read)

10) The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead (Vampires, but JK Rowling style)

So, what books were you forced to read that you actually like? And by whom?

A Day in the Life

This post is inspired by that thought I had recently that book bloggers are probably the most hard working kinds of bloggers ever.

Every - really every - other kind of blogger just talks about what they DO in their lives and then occassionally reviews a running shoe or a CD or whatever. Only a book blogger sees the need, though, to read four books a week (at least) and type reviews of the length of exam papers.

If you ask me, that's honorable, but also a waste of potential. I personally LOVE to read about the blogger behind the review, so today - and from today on - I will blog a bit about my life in general and a bit about all the things I do besides reading and a bit about my life as a reader, too. I hope you're up for it :)

Despite uhh every single other student in my dorm, I actually wake up early. Like..wayy early. 

I'm up and running at 6 or 6:30 every morning and I love it!

There's just something so fresh and free about early mornings. Usually, I am literally running at that time, but since I was planning to meet up with my running group at 10, I decided to just be a bit productive.

Which I was, really. I planned all my workouts until Friday and then went on Facebook for a decade and Twitter for some time, and sat around doing nothing and...you get the picture.

If you know me, you also know that I love Peanut Butter. We are a thang, PB and I. Inseperable. So that's what my breakfast consists of (just in case you were wondering):  About 4 cups of oats, water, half the can of PB and a teaspoon of honey. For normal human beings, you can reduce those oats to a 1/2 cup of oats, but that robs the fun of life.

After breakfast I did a bit more of nothing and THEN finally headed out to run with my group which was amazing, because it was the first time we met up and there was a lot of chatting and laughing involved. 

(The view from the hill we ran up - it was so worth it!)

The only bad thing about chatting and laughing was that I didn't really get the required dose of 500000000 endorphins a day, so I went home, grabbed my gym bag, marched to the gym, realized I'd forgotten my ID, marched back home, took the ID and  then marched back to the gym.

I talked about running and fitness on the blog a while ago and a couple of people said they'd like to know what I do running and fitness wise, so I will tell you what I did today:

run: 5-mile-ish, but with a lot of stops and walking in between

elliptical: 30 minutes

rowing: 15 minutes

awkwardly sitting on a machine I don't know how to use: 5 minutes

strength training: 35m minutes

For strength I did:

10 lunges 

10 side lunges

10 backwards lunges

20 squats

20 plié squats

40 crunches

20 of those things where you sit up and lie down with the dumbbell over your head

30 sec bycicles

30 sec plank

20 back risers

and then I did 2 sets of that.

The workout is basically a mix of my favorite ab workouts (yes.I love crunches. yes. I know) and super efficient leg workouts that I really, really hate (those squats...)

And just because dinner was really good and really cheap I will tell you what I had:

-rice

- fried cauliflower

- peanuts

I spiced it up a bit with salt, pepper and mixed herbs and might have added a little butter for taste (shhh) and it was amazing! Also, as weird as it sounds, don't forget the peanuts - they're amazing!!

Right now I'm deciding how to spend my evening...

(You realize how HUGE that textbook is???)

Review: The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg

Dying of a broken heart is just the beginning.... Welcome to forever. 

BRIE'S LIFE ENDS AT SIXTEEN: Her boyfriend tells her he doesn't love her, and the news breaks her heart—literally. 

But now that she's D&G (dead and gone), Brie is about to discover that love is way more complicated than she ever imagined. Back in Half Moon Bay, her family has begun to unravel. Her best friend has been keeping a secret about Jacob, the boy she loved and lost—and the truth behind his shattering betrayal. And then there's Patrick, Brie's mysterious new guide and resident Lost Soul . . . who just might hold the key to her forever after. 

With Patrick's help, Brie will have to pass through the five stages of grief before she's ready to move on. But how do you begin again, when your heart is still in pieces

Absolutely not my cup of tea. NOT for me.

What I expected this book to be:

A heartbreaking romance with a lot of cheesy 80s songs to listen to.

What this book really was:

An after-life experience with an awful lot of Paranormal mixed into it.

Did I hear someone on the backseat whisper mean things, hm?

Well, to that someone I can say - this was not my fault! 

I did not pick this book up despite knowing it was paranormal! I really honestly thought it was some kind of contemporary romance.

If someone had told me before that the book is really about a dead girl that wanders around in afterlife trying to fix the things she did wrong (not a spoiler, happens on the first page and in the synopsis) I wouldn't have bought it!

However, almost 1.5 years ago I read a review somewhere and loved it. And that person loved the book and I especially love book with song references in them , so I had to have it.

Then it sat on my shelf until now.

It started out...fine. Really, the first 50 pages or so were okay.

Then it bored me.

Then I hated it.

Then I had to motivate myself to turn the page every. single. time.

Don't get me wrong, this - like so often these days - is on a great part my own personal problem.

If you like paranormal books or the kinds that are set in some weird pathway between life and death - go for it. you will probably like it. If that's what you're looking for you're very likely to find it unique and love it.

If, however, you have a terrible time trying to imagine that you will end up in your favorite pizza shop post-death, you should probably head over to another section of YA, because this book will not cut it.

I found it too unrealistic at first, then too boring (nothing happened for like...200 pages) and then too long and then too cheesy and dramatic.

And that pizza shop really annoyed me.

So, all in all, not even the music references could save this book from my absolute disapproval!

Wishlist Wednesday

I reeeaaallyyy want to read this book! Not just because it's JK Rowling (but mainly because of that). Additionally, it is supposed to be SO good and I remember last year around exactly this time I read A Casual Vacancy, so that means it's kind of mandatory I spend 20 bucks on this one, right? No? Oh, then I've got another reason - this book could be November read for my Uni bookclub, so that's why I have to buy it no matter what :D

But honestly, have any of you guys read it already? Better than ACV? Worse? Equal?

What are yo' thoughts?

Hehe, have a beautiful Wednesday, my dears!

The Top Ten Best and Worst Series Enders Ever!

I don't know about you guys, but I always get really excited about series enders. Like...so excited I preorder them months before release and then think about rereading the whole series and in some cases watching the movie and all that stuff.

Then, release day comes and I haven't done any of these things. Also, I usually read the book months/years later. I know I'm weird.

Anyway, these are my five worst series enders ever:

1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

There were a couple of tiny details I wasn't too happy with, but the book is so, so amazing that I simply forgot what they were (and I read the book 7 times, so that means something!)

2) Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margeret Stohl

Mehh, I liked the third one best. But this one was okay. Pretty good. I personally enjoyed it, because you got to "say goodbye" to all of the characters, but I understand why people wouldn't like the overall setup, or the ending, or the lack of action.

...... (this gap is to indicate that I'm the master of finishing series and can actually come up with ten - which I absolutely can't. So let's just assume I'd be the dutiful reader I should be and move on, k?)

9) Reached by Ally Condie

A series ender should be mindblowing. Seriously, I don't care if book one was nice and book two average - the last book needs to rock my socks!! This one clearly didn't. It was boring.

10) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

But this one doesn't have a lot to do with it being the last book. It was fine, but I'm not a huge fan of the series in the first place.

It's Back: A Peak Into My Pocket

You guys all know Pocket?? That beautiful app where you can save practically everything you see on the internet? Yeah, I use it religiously and every Sunday, I share my favorite links with all of you!

You Beautiful Creatures fans out there? What do you say to this??

I liked Codename Verity but I'm sure I'll love this

This makes my mouth water

This, too

This helps not only with reading and blogging, but with life

I just want these

Okay, that's it for today. I hope you like some of the links - and share your own!

Which pages on the web have you been obsessed with lately?