Did You Really Just Ask Me to Choose My Favorite Musical?

I’m not much of an actress or singer myself, but I do love musicals. So to tell me to choose just one as my favorite? A rookie mistake in the musical world.

So instead of choosing just one musical, I’ll describe a bunch of my favorites. Enjoy!

 

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat  –  one of the first musicals I ever watched, based on one of the first Bible stories I ever knew. And, cough cough, Donny Osmond, am I right? (ignore the crazy looking Pharaoh, his character is supposed to be a sort of Bible-times Elvis… it sounds strange, but it’s hilarious, trust me!)

Mamma Mia!  –  This musical is based off of all of the band ABBA’s music. It features Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a bride-to-be, and her mother, Donna (Meryl Streep), who is confronted by three men of her past who all believe they are Sophie’s father and show up to the wedding to walk her down the aisle. It’s chaotic, but hilarious at the same time! Also I’m going to go see this show at the Buelle in April, so I’m excited for that as well.

Wicked  –  Of all the musicals on my list, this one might be my favorite. At least, it’s my favorite modern musical. It describes the college lives of roomies Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (later Glinda) before the whole Wizard of Oz plot takes place. This musical is so empowering! I saw it at the Buelle two summers ago and it blew me away. If you need an explanation, look up Defying Gravity. It’s stuck in my head just as I’m writing this…

Les Miserables  –  This musical is based on the Victor Hugo novel describing the June Revolution in France. It’s historical fiction and uncovers themes such as faith, redemption, social/political injustices, poverty, love, and loss. The plot is so intricate so you should just go watch the movie… they made one in 2012 with Hugh Jackman (wolverine), Amanda Seyfried (again), and Anne Hathaway (she dies like five minutes into it though, sorry). Do you hear the people sing?

   **I can’t put a video in the blog, but go watch:  https://youtu.be/PUlQNsl4Qvk

Phantom of the Opera  – Another musical I was introduced to at a pretty young age (not too young though, it’s pretty dense), the Phantom of the Opera will always hold a special place in that helplessly romantic and soap-opera-esque piece of my heart. Please please please go watch Music of the Night  preformed by Ramin Karimloo at the 25th anniversary, I almost die every time… ah now I have to go listen to it. Anyways, I love this musical so much and I hope I have the chance to see it live someday.

 

12 Weeks… and I’m Back :)

For this “free” week, I figured I should follow up on the subject a couple of my past posts. That being, my injury. Yes, I was dramatic about it… but this post should justify all that drama, so bear with me!

So you guys all know that I sprained my ankle playing volleyball in late November, and that I was hoping to be back on the court by January. The recovery has proven to be slower than we expected, and I was worried about it maybe being a worse injury than we had originally thought (according to Google, I had a snapped tendon that would take six more months of recovery 🙂 ). As it turns out, the slow progress is just a result of the sprain being in the same spot I had some ankle-structure-and-bunion-fixing surgery on a few years ago. The scar tissue does not help the swelling, but it’s nothing to worry about, thank goodness! I was finally cleared to practice tentatively during the week of January 8th. No jumping yet, but it was a start. I did get to serve THREE WHOLE SERVES at the tournament we went to that weekend (and they were great, I might add 🙂 ) so that was exciting.

Throughout the following weeks, I grew stronger and more confident in my ankle’s stability. I began to jump again, but still tentatively. I was really worried about re-injury when I thought about going back to practice fully, but when I got on the court, my want to play overtook that fear and I got over it. Since then, I’ve been back full time. I’ve played multiple games with my team as the main setter, never subbing off the court. I am now preparing to go to Crossroads, a national qualifier, in two weeks! My progress has been quick and although my ankle still swells and hurts after practice, being able to play has served (haha, served) as enough motivation to stick my foot in an ice bucket, down a couple of Advils, and mostly ignore the pain.

So I’ve reached my resolutions! I will arrive at the tournament fully prepared and confident, at least with the way training has gone so far. I’m ecstatic to be back and I’m so glad I found the motivation to stop complaining about my circumstance and just move on in spite of it. My serves have become killer because there was a long time that I could do nothing at practice but stand there and serve… that was brutal. But I proved myself able to push through it all and come out on the other side stronger than I was!

See, I told you my dramatic posts would be justified!

Pardon My Poetry

why did i pursue Her?

Her heart, full of the ice of a mother

somehow filled mine with burning fire

Her indifference to my confessions

only made me crave acceptance

Her gaze, cold and hard as  winter nights

drew me, slowly, away from daylight

why did i not choose another?

there were others, there in front of me

i realized too late Her heart was stone

i waited for Her to hear my pleas

and then i was left all alone

why do i still love Her? i can’t move on

i pleged myself wholeheartedly

with no chance of turning back

i became ignorant

dependent

addicted

devoted to Her endlessly

until i had no energy

i was not enough for Her

nor for anyone else

i have become the Bride, frozen and still.

Punishment: Restorative or Retributive?

As we (finally) get to the interesting conclusion of Great Expectations (took you long enough, Dickens!) we learn more about Magwitch’s story and his connection with a man we know as Compeyson. The two men were criminals, and we learn from Magwitch that Compeyson framed him as the leader of the operation, giving himself a shorter sentence when in reality, he was the one to blame. Later, Magwitch changes for the better, giving Pip a gentleman’s life as payment for the kindness Pip had shown him that one day on the marshes. He represents the “Evil Figure with an Ultimately Good Heart”. We can only assume Compeyson has not changed from his criminal ways, however. Should we find Compeyson and Magwitch in court once again, how should they be convicted? What is just?

The controversy that comes with a question like this is evidence enough to say that restorative punishment is ultimately a better decision. Justice is (or should be) such a case-by-case idea that it is hard to know what is right. If we just looked at the facts, both Compeyson and Magwitch would be convicted equally, right? Therefore, I believe it makes more sense to “put off” a decision like this and wait to see if either man turns his life around. In our example, I believe it would become clear rather quickly that Magwitch has a good heart and Compeyson is too far to turn back. Restorative punishment gives the opportunity for convicts to turn their life around, even if they don’t choose to do so.

As for capital punishment, I believe that’s a topic for another time… you don’t want to be here forever, do you? 🙂