Love, break-ups, and closure

October 30, 2019

Dennis Amborski
LifeAtStart.com reporter

Back in the spring of 2019 I had a spectacular birthday, many things came out on that day, one of my favorite action movies, and my favorite album. Igor by Tyler, the Creator is one of the best produced albums that I’ve ever heard. The way he combined synths and drums that wouldn’t seem to mash together well, but creates a beautiful harmony. Another reason I appreciate this album because it’s very story driven, and it is a movie for your ears, it even has a three act structure.

The first act is about falling in love; the songs in this act is “EARFQUAKE,” “I THINK,” and “RUNNING OUT OF TIME”. “EARFQUAKE” is about discovering the feeling of love and how badly Tyler wants to be with the person he loves. “I THINK” is how Tyler and the other person are in love and how his feelings are strong for the other person. Finally “RUNNING OUT OF TIME” is the first example of conflict in this album. Tyler finds out that his lover isn’t showing his true feelings by him saying “Stop lyin’ to yourself I know the real you Halloween ain’t for a minute, lose the costume,” this is a good segue to act II.

Act II is all about conflict starting with “NEW MAGIC WAND” with Tyler discovering that is lover has feelings for a woman, how he wants her to be gone, and how he would get rid of her. The next song “A BOY IS A GUN,” is about even though his lover is not good for him, but he makes Tyler feel safe, making a comparison him to a gun. The third song “PUPPET” is how Tyler feels he has no control and that his lover is manipulating him. The final song of act II is “WHAT”S GOOD” is Tyler expressing all the anger that he’s been bottling inside, but at the end he finds peace.

The final act is about resolution beginning with “GONE,GONE/THANK YOU” with Tyler telling that his love is gone, and how he is afraid to love again, however he does appreciate the experience his lover gave him and thanks him for it. The second song “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE,” is a reinforcement of his feelings and how he doesn’t love this person anymore. The final song of the album “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” is Tyler asking his ex lover can they be friends and how he doesn’t want things to end on a bad note.

The way this album expresses the ups and downs of a relationship is magnificent. I wish I could say more, but I should let you make up your mind about this album. I would recommend “Igor” to anyone who likes to peel the surface of any type of media and likes to see more than face value.

Put down the phone, pick up a book

Tai'Yaunna Burress

Mary Mandley

October 30, 2019

By Tai’Yaunna Burress
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

Reading. Lately, it’s been underestimated quite a bit. It’s seen as boring, useless, and a thing for nerds and people who “have no friends.” But, reading is so much more than that. It brings out a type of imagination that a person could have been hiding for years or didn’t even know about. Reading brings inspiration, for example, to paint or draw pictures of what the characters would look like, or the setting the story takes place in. Inspiration to review books through different types of media can tell people how you feel about a character, how much the plot meant to you, and so much more. In my case, reading could also give you the inspiration to write a book of your very own. Books also create an escape for its reader from everyday life. The day not going too well? Read a book. Nothing good on Hulu or Netflix? Read a book. Bored at home? Read. A. Book. Books are practically entertainment on paper.

Another amazing thing about reading is that it contributes to everyday learning. There are plenty of types of educational books. Textbooks being the main one (they may not count for some people, but still.) Others include books about different cultures around the world, taking care of children and animals, learning how to prepare for the future, and so much more. In general, they teach us new words to expand our vocabulary as well. So, if you think about it, books are quite useful for everyday life, you just have to know how to utilize them.

The most interesting thing about reading would have to be the different genres: historical fiction, non-fiction, crime fiction, creative non-fiction, fairy tales, graphic novels, coming-of-age fiction, fan-fiction (which is my favorite genre), short stories, biographies, thrillers, and many more. There are lots of different genres for a wide variety of different people. They just have to put in the effort to find the right one. In the end, reading is not only good for the imagination, but it’s also fundamental.

This is what I want to do

Mary Mandley

October 1, 2019

By Chris Smith
LifeAtStart.com

I like to do many things in my free time, I mostly like to play basketball, and record videos, but I can do both by doing YouTube. YouTube is something that I want to do because I can share my ideas, and do different things like pranks, challenges, public interviews, storytimes, Q&A, muckbangs, vlogs. I upload them so my viewers and supporters can watch, and support the videos that I post.

I post on YouTube because I like to record. I started a YouTube channel because of big YouTubers like DDG, Ceynolimit ,Deshae Frost, smooth gio, and prettyboyfredo. They inspired me to do YouTube, and they all show that you can do anything you want if you put your mind to it. I want to put my recording to use and do something fun and productive like YouTube, and make fun and lit videos, and hopefully gain a lot of subscribers on the way, and soon collab with one of my YouTube idols some day. And someday when I become big on YouTube, I can be somebody that people look up to and hopefully give inspiration to someone who’s trying to do the same thing as me one day.

Also, YouTube is a great platform, and can be a great way to make your own money. You get paid for posting videos and creating good content for your subscribers and you progress each time. You have to be willing to do all the work that comes with it like editing your videos for hours, and getting good thumbnails so you can have the best video every time you upload a video. Remember you have to motivate yourself to keep grinding to upload for your supporters, and each time, even on your worst days when you do not want to record and just feel like you just want to throw it all away, you just go to remember that you came a long way, you can not give up on something that you want to do just because it got difficult. Just like a time where I found out my uncle had cancer, and had three months to a year to live, I took it very hard and I did not want to do anything at, even playing basketball and doing YouTube. I just wanted to quit everything, but I pulled myself together and motivated myself to keep pushing, and do all the things I love to do.

I’ve also learned that if you really want to do something especially like YouTube, you have to grind your way up because at first when you start YouTube, nobody knows about you at all. You have to promote your channel on any social media platform like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and it’s gone take awhile for you to gain followers and subscribers, and that’s where all the motivation and hard work come in at. I will always push myself to do the best I can, and I will be successful in the future. Make sure you guys subscribe to me on YouTube CDUBB 2x~ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQV-sm02DcGCY0v7mUaEOlg/videos?view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

Crocs, ugly is the new cute

Mary Mandley

September 30, 2019

By Nijah Randolph-Williams
LifeAtStart.com

When you think of Crocs, there are one of two things that probably come to mind; either that they’re the worst shoes ever, or if you’re anything like me, you love them.

Crocs were not always as big as they are now, the company once went bankrupt in 2009, and even planned on closing in 2018, until they made a comeback. The company changed some things about their shoes making them popular among teenagers. The most popular shoe from the brand, clogs, began adding brighter colors, and many different designs to their line up, making them more appealing to the eyes. People might think Crocs aren’t high fashion, but the shoes are highly popular in the modeling world. Models regularly wear them on the runway, and one pair even sold for $850, before they were even on sale.

I always loved Crocs, I realized that they’re so ugly, it kinda makes them cute. Not only are the shoes comfortable for everyday use, but their great for certain athletes who play sports like softball or baseball, to have during practice. There are even fur lined Crocs that are good for the colder seasons to keep your feet extra warm. The fun thing about having a pair of Crocs, is that you can customize them and make them your own personalized shoe. There are things called Jibbitz, which are charms that you can use to fill the holes in the shoe. They come in many different styles from characters Jibbitz, to food Jibbitz.

The brand has one strategy for continuing to stay popular, stay ugly. The company has no plans of changing the shoe in any way besides color and graphics. They believe if they change the look of the shoe, it will no longer stand out and be unique, and I agree. The shoe wouldn’t stand out if it looked like any ordinary shoe. The part that makes it stand out is that everybody thinks they look bad, but it doesn’t stop most people from wearing them either.

Over the past few years, Crocs have become a billion dollar company, and more and more people began wearing the shoe. I think it goes to show how not all popular things are what you would expect them to be, and being unique is kinda cool. Overall, the company has continued to let people show their creative sides, while in the process of rising to be one of the most known shoe brands.

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