Stop Loafing Around and Get Bready!

                Carbohydrates. Grain. Wheat. Bread. 

                Bread. Is. The. Grain. God.

                I haven’t always been a bread enthusiast; in fact, I’ve only recently been awakened to the magical properties of it. I feel as though other people may like bread, but they don’t necessarily realize the full scope of the bread chain. I’m not trying to suggest that the bread chain is anything like a vertical food chain, even though that’s pretty ironic because bread is a food, but it’s more of a horizontal integration type thing.

                Yes, the point I’m trying to get across is that bread has a monopolistic control. Not only over my heart, but the hearts of the world. Bread is the worldwide uniting factor. Bread is the uniter, the worldwide superhero.

                Now I love Disney and Marvel and Pixar and DC Comics, but they could really improve themselves if they created a BreadPerson comic. I say BreadPerson because we have to be diplomatic on the Internet – bread would never want to offend anybody, and neither would I. Even bread made with peanuts and/or tree nuts does not aim to offend; it’s not their fault that they cause problems! To quote Lady Gaga, they were just “born this way” (I guess in this case it would be “[made] this way”). Unfortunately, bread cannot be quoted but I wish it could be because who knows if bread is like the new Einstein or Locke or DiCaprio. Ooooh, if

there is a BreadPerson comic that eventually gets turned into a movie, BreadPerson should be played by Leonardo DiCaprio, or if BreadPerson is a girl I vote Jennifer Aniston. She was one out of six of my favorites on the show Friends. Yeah, I know there were only six main characters on Friends, but how do you expect me to pick a favorite? That’s like asking a screenwriter to pick their favorite screenplay. Oh how I wish I’d written Friends. Anyway, I digress. Let’s hop off my train-of-thought and get bread-y to explore reality (yeah, that pun was pretty rough).

                I’ll be the first to admit  I am not a bread expert, and certainly not a nutritionist. Even more unfortunate, the facts I have memorized are not about bread, but they’re centered on due dates, historical events and dates, mathematical and scientific formulas, English grammar rules, and standardized testing (the national student nightmare). I know, I know - I live a life with little of the right knowledge, little of the bread knowledge. If you would like to know the facts of bread, visit this website. Now that being said, just because I don’t know specific facts doesn’t mean that I don’t know anything. I know that bread provides a plethora of nutrients to the bodies that consume it, all the while supplying the mind with a comfort that can none otherwise be known as love. We who eat bread can feel the carbohydrates energizing and protein firming our muscles. Meanwhile, the wholeness of the risen flour-and-water mixture fills us up and makes our minds understand that we have enough food in our bodies to stave off starvation, so we feel safe and secure, and therefore comforted.

                Bread is the fabric of our world, and it is not limited to only one fashion. White. Wheat. Whole grain. Pumpernickel. Rye. Naan. Focaccia. Brioche. Baguette. These are only a few types of the glorious realms of which bread can take us. Bread is both fantastical and real. For those that see reality as a problem, the solution is breads. Want a sparkly, princess escape? Eat brioche, because it’s a big poof and so rich in volume that it will make you feel rich. Want a thrilling, adventurous escape? Try rye bread, because it’s dryness, hardness, and rough texture will make you feel as rough and hardcore as a warrior like Mulan, or even a rogue like Jack (of course from Jack and the Beanstalk). Rye bread is rogue bread. 

That’s catchy – it should be on a bumper sticker. With a bumper sticker or without, finding a specific bread solution is simple deductive reasoning.

                “Why are you talking about bread?” you may ask. Well, think about this: bread is one of the worlds most common foods – so much so that it’s become overlooked in millions of cities. Our species has overlooked an innumerable amount of things, be it innovations, ideas, facts, or even the very things that have ensured our survival for hundreds of centuries. Our species has transformed life from its originally simple state to a difficult, complex, silicon one. Our species has been ignorant to the easy joy and creativity that can be caused by the simplest things in life. We constantly turn to electronics for relaxation, but oftentimes they actually frustrate us; however, when was the last time a single, simple object (like bread) frustrated you? Odds are, too long ago for you to remember.

                So next time you’re unhappy or frustrated or hateful of reality or anything else, how about instead of playing a game on your phone, you go down to your local bakery and buy some bread? Even if it only solaces for a few moments, those moments you won’t regret. Unless you’re allergic to gluten.

If you have any questions, comments, or even ideas for the BreadPerson comic, email me at this address. 

Frustrations of an AP Student

It’s over.

The week every high schooler dreads from the moment they set foot in our under renovated building – AP testing week. Fourteen days of grueling Scantron bubble sheets, saran wrapped testing booklets, four-hour sleep nights and far too much Netflix for a healthy person to watch. This past Friday our high school took one collective sigh of relief as the last testing booklet was collected.

The recent barrage of AP testing seems to have left most of my class mates with baggy eyes, slumped shoulders, and battle stories of terrible testing proctors and miss printed Student ID codes. In the flurry of No. 2 pencils, I can’t help but itch the familiar question of why we subject ourselves to this torture in the first place. Since when did education become this painful?

*WARNING: Rant Mode ahead*

Behind all of the tests, grades, and other numbers assigned to our mental activity, schools are striving to help each student to realize their full potential for intellectual growth. Curiosity and the willingness to pursue knowledge are what have fueled our species from its very inception – from the cave man who first wondered what would happen if he hit a flint stone over a few twigs. As humans, our cranium is what separates us from ever other living, breathing animal on the planet. And with such awesome power comes the need to learn how to use it. Tapping into each of our individual learning styles and ways of growth is hard – that’s why we have education.

Ever since the beginning of group-taught education, educators have been trying to find an answer to how to evaluate this learning process. Every student responds differently to varying forms of testing, so how it possible practically to test each individual using their unique learning style to confirm that they are growing as learners and scholars? To this end, a complex web of standardized tests and exam guidelines and procedures have been devise, ultimately leaving students out of breath and without of true intellectual growth.

It seems to me that we have become so obsessed with the evaluation stage of learning that we have begun to lose sight of the real point of education. In an attempt to qualify the unqualifiable, we have invented a whole new genre of mental torture – hastily stuffing each uniquely sculpted mind into one squared shaped box, ignoring the bruises, bleeding, and cries for help. Not only are we drowning ourselves in the voices of those students who are lost in translation, but in the frustrated calls of those who are yearning to move ahead. Instead of helping educators get an idea of the progress of their students, our brave new world of standardized testing is hindering and frustrating the students themselves. We, the students, are forced to sit through hours of grueling evaluations which, for most of us, are not formatted in ways that fit our learning process. Multiple choice tests? I might not be able to pick B from four options (because you, dear test writer, have worded the question in a way I don’t agree with), but I can show you the exact same information in oral format.

Is this really what we meant for education to be centered around? Is this really what we want for our future minds? If all we are learning is how to put a letter from a four option multiple choice, how can we expect ourselves to progress? Finding answers to bettering education is difficult, and we don’t pretend to have fool-proof solutions. The only thing we know now is that our current system isn’t working, and we desperately need one that does.

If you're interested in more info on the need for education reform, visit this link.

Is Love a Puzzle that can be solved?

Is Love a Puzzle that can be solved?

Ever thought about love and the puzzle that hides behind it? I’m sure you have at some point in your life time. Love is a thought that can’t be escaped— except for robots, of course— but in general most people think about love and meeting their dream person. Though, in essence, what is love and how does one fall in love?

Though, as painful as it maybe, bear with me in saying that I do not believe in stars crossing together to create a pair of lovers.  We've all read those books with the star crossed lovers who are so destined by the gods of love to meet at all cost (cough* cough* Twilight).

What then, if not stars crossing together causes people to become so attracted to each other? Answer this riddle: what tries to always explain the unexplainable? If you said science, you are right! Let’s move away from the fictional or natural idea of love and focus on science. Science (specifically speaking, psychology) is attempting to solve the mysterious puzzle that behind love.

Everyone knows the old cliché of boy meets girl — their palms starts sweating, their hearts start racing and they feel high on cloud nine? Apparently palm sweating and heart racing are symptoms of this disease called love.  According to this psychologist Dr. Needle, “specific chemical substances such as oxytocin, phenethylamine, and dopamine, have been found to play a role in human experiences and behaviors that are associated with love. They function similar to amphetamine, making us alert, excited, and wanting to bond.” http://source.southuniversity.edu/the-psychology-behind-love-and-romance-70700.aspx

As far as am concerned, the only chemical that I know is dopamine which is apparently supposed to make you high on happiness. That is how when you fall in love, the world seems like a bright colorful place. The puzzle is not totally solved as to how we fall in love but at least we've got some clues now.

So, what do you think? Do you still believe in love as some sort of mystical thing that “coincidentally” happens or do you think, like scientists, that there is more to love than we give it credit for?

Personally, I believe it’s both. Love is unexplainable as in why it happens or when it happens because you can fall in love anytime as a child or an adult and maybe, he or she may not always be the “one” but you still fall in love with him or her anyway. Though I have this opinion, as a future scientist I want to solve the mystery of the unexplainable and believe that science can account for love too.

What’s your opinion? Email me at dorothyamankwah5@gmail.com to tell me what you think about love. 

Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!

Who are these fine people? These are Hange Zoe and Levi Ackerman, the most adorable couple from the most amazing anime ever, Attack on Titan. No, they’re not a canon couple, but no one can deny that they belong together. This is called shipping, my friends.

For those of you who don’t know, anime is a genre of Japanese animated productions, from movies to TV shows, that are hand-drawn or animated via computer. The word “anime” itself is simply a shortened form of “animation” in Japanese. While anime itself is, technically, a genre of shows and movies, that doesn't mean all anime is the same. Some are dramas, some are adventures, some are sci-fi… You get the picture. Anime can be about anything.

If there’s one word to describe anime culture, it’s without doubt “fandom”. “Fandom” describes the fan-base of anything, fact or fiction. Fandoms don’t just watch and talk about their given drug, however--they create fanart, fanfiction, cosplay characters, and the like. Above all, they ship. Think of “ship” as short for “relationship”. To ship something is to pair it with something else, usually in a romantic--and often canonically impossible--way. Not that Levi and Hanji are canonically impossible, just unlikely.

There’s another level of shipping: OTP. OTP stands for One True Pairing, denoting your favorite ship in a fandom. You can only have a single OTP per fandom--it’s the favorite, after all. It’s different for everyone. There’s no “official OTP”. There might be fanservice (official artists and animators playing to the desires of a section of the fandom) for a particular ship, but that doesn't make it the “official” ship.

Despite the passion and compassion inherent to many fandoms, there seems to be something of a social stigma against those who are most outgoing about their love for anime. The question is this: How did anime acquire such a label? Perhaps it is that, in the end, anime is taking over the media scene of the younger generation, and it is not of American origin. It’s different--its style, storytelling, and continuity. Anime is fast-paced, often violent, and unforgiving. It doesn’t hold back any emotion, and can get to you if you let it. That said, there are few things more inspiring and more amusing than anime, and everything that comes with it.

"Why Can't We Be Friends?"

In the immortal lyrics by War, “why can’t we be friends?" We as humans are naturally social and depend on one another to survive. So, why is it so hard to keep a friendship alive? Is it that we suddenly recognize their faults and are too incapable or stubborn to look past this occurrence, or is it us? Is it that we always find a way, especially as teenagers, to use our hormonal behavior and desires to drive others apart from us? Is the greed and jealousy and insecurity fueling our hateful fire? Is it that we were blind to the faults in front of us, as we wished to believe in true companionship? Or is it them?

 It’s the classic scenario: we meet someone, we fall in love with their charm, and suddenly the “it” factor is masked by the fact that they dominate every conversation, or only talk about three different subjects, or can’t have a talk without butting in their overly biased, personal opinion. What gives? How did this go downhill so fast?

 And you can’t help but feel like a horrible person when all of a sudden, this person you raved about and shared so much with is now your enemy. You can’t stand to hear them or look at them and suddenly, every action they do pisses you off to no end. You can’t help it. That’s the point. We can’t change or apologize for how we feel; we can only alter the way we present ourselves and act around this person. But, does this mean the friendship is over?

In a sense, the friendship and relationship you once had is irrevocably changed forever, and nothing can be done to revive this once strong bond between friends. You go along with your life, at first with distance, later with little shameful and shy waves of hello completely countering the enormous bear hugs you used to give one another. Then, in the final stage, you are strangers. You pass eachother in the hall or at a store and act as if the intimate and passionate relationship you once shared never occurred. Vansihed. 

How are we supposed to deal with this? It seems as if this empty space stings more than the relationship. We try to justify it, saying it was their fault or ours, or that it was somehow better to end the interaction. But logic and reasoning cant justify the feeling of having nothing to do on a Saturday night. It can’t help with the pain of watching your groups take sides between once close partners.

Could it have been prevented? Could I have done more? Could they have tried harder to control their behaviors, or should I have tried harder to look past them? Who is to blame, and how can we stop this horrible event from tainting future endeavors to a harmonious and happy social life? 

The Fault in Our Stars!!!!

So, I was dozing off in my world history class, after I had just binged watched 30 episodes of John Green's Crash Course history videos. A few seconds later,  I wake up to find that my friend had been talking to me for no less than two minutes. Her last words were "by John Green". I quickly come to focus and nod my head, saying that "yeah, I did watch the crash course videos". My friend, seemingly annoyed at my lack of attention, went on to explain to me that she was talking about a book she had recently read, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I wish I could say that I learned my lesson, and started listening to her while she explained the plot of the book, but truly, I started nodding off again.

Later that day, after I had taken my needed nap, I started my daily routine of looking through social media. Somehow, I was faced by the title The Fault in Our Stars on Instagram. I knew the title sounded vaguely familiar, so I further searched the book and found that thousands of people had written rave reviews on the book. Knowing that I am a stubborn person, who will only believe something when she sees it for herself, I checked out the book the next day.






I started the book with some skepticism, (because really, how would a history buff know how to write a YA fiction?), and lost that skepticism from the first page. Apparently, history buffs are one of the best book writers, as proved by John Green! Let me tell you that this book, about a boy and a girl with cancer, made me laugh, cry, smile, and even scream. Just so you know, I'm not a big bawler ( I didn't cry during Titanic, My sister's Keeper, Marley and Me... you get the idea?), but truthfully, I sobbed for days after I read the book.

So now that I've read the book,  I want everyone else living under a rock to read the book too so that we can talk details (didn't include any in here so I don't spoil the book for you). I know some of you out there are lazy people, so here's the link to the trailer of the book. I can guarantee you that after you see the trailer, you will be getting off your lazy butt and then you will blindly drive (I am not responsible for any damage done to you, your car, or other people.....) through the streets to the nearest Barnes and Noble. You will then stay up all night reading this soon to be classic. Send me an email telling me how many tissues you used to wipe away your tears by the end of the book.

The Sounds of a Musician’s Life

Getting paid to play music would be the greatest thing on Earth to me. In my most humble opinion, I choose to believe that this world would be hopeless without music, and that it will always be getting better. I can’t help it, I’m too much of a music nympho for my own good, but you know what? I love it because it’s freaking awesome. When I’m recording or playing in front of people, it’s like being in a whole different dimension. I don’t know what it is, but it’s fun. I just hope I can keep this up for the rest of my life.

            For as long as I can remember, I’ve been this maniac for music my entire life. When I realized that I may actually have a chance to DO something with my own music, I just blocked out everything else and focused on it. And that’s not me being cocky- I don’t think I’m the best musician- I just believe that my style and the abstract vibe of it has a chance to stand out, and there are many paths I can take to be what I call “successful”.

            To me, success is being able to pay my bills with my music. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not in it for the money; I’m in it because it’s a blast and I want to have fun for the rest of my life. But let’s face it, this world revolves around money, and you need it to live. So all I want as far as money goes is to be able to live comfortably by financial means. That’s a goal of mine, and in my eyes, I don’t have to be a full time musician to do that (although that’d be amazing!). What I mean by full time is touring, performing, recording, day in and day out. That’s all I want to do really. But first things first; I want to get a bachelor’s in Physics, maybe even a double major of physics and music production. But that’s in a few years.

            I’m too much of a dreamer and I get super anxious after a while when things don’t change after all my hard work. I’m constantly trying to balance out school and music all day every day. I perform when I can and work my butt off to get people to go out and sometimes it doesn’t always work out as I hope, but at the end, performing is still so much fun. If I could put the experience in words, I would. It’s ethereal. But I’m going to be honest; recording an album and new songs is a billion times the fun. At least right now, I haven’t performed enough to say that I know what I’m doing as far as concerts go. Getting gigs and selling out shows is still a struggle.

            Recording a new song and hearing it as a whole for the first time after the countless hours of layering drums and finding the right key to play that one chord and chopping samples just right- it’s awesome, let me tell you that much.

            All this is basically a fragment of what’s going on in my head, daily. It’d be awesome if you supported my hopeful endeavor of being a successful musician. There’s the link; press play and enjoy. www.moestafa.bandcamp.com

Where I hope to go one day... Except without the hair and shorts.