P is for Paramore

I couldn't come up with a short story today, so I'm back to posting on music! Paramore is one of my favorite female-singer pop bands. They have a lot of good songs! Anyway, here's one of my favorites. 

~Mikaela

O is for Obligations

"Jessica, you said that you would help me with my project today!" My little brother, Tommy, whined. His arms were flailing around and the little sucker looked like he was about to cry. 

"But I also promised Jon that I would see a movie with him, so I can't." I tapped my feet, growing rather impatient. 

"Why do you always have to choose him over me? You promised me first, you just forget. What a great big sister you are." A waterfall poured down his face, and he ran into his room, slamming the door. "I hate you!" 

"Oh, Tommy." I muttered under my breath. I probably should have been sympathetic, but I used it as an opportunity to finally leave. 

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and picked up. "Hello?" 

It was my boss, Steve. "Jessica, where are you? I told you three weeks ago--we have a meeting today with the other staff. If you don't get over here in the next fifteen minutes, you're fired." 

I gulped. "I'll be there, just give me a minute." 

~Mikaela

N is for Never

I looked deeply into Charlie's eyes, tears blurring my vision. I wanted him to know that this didn't matter, that we could get through it. Sure, someone may have been pursuing him. But I was ready for that; I would stay with him through the end.

"I thought you said you would never stop fighting for us," I whispered, my voice thick from sobbing.

He placed his hand on his car. "This is me keeping that promise, Quin. I can't let them come after you, your family." He placed his hands on my face, giving me one last kiss.

"This is me keeping you safe. Please, just let me do that."

~Mikaela

M is for Masquerade

Tish pursed her lips and glanced over at me. "What do you want, Jackson?" 

"Why?" 

"Excuse me?" Tish looked highly offended, but I had learned that everything was not as it appeared on the surface. "Why did you act that way to Kam?" 

She batted her long eyelashes at me, ones that had captured the minds of so many men. But it wouldn't work on me so easily. "I did what I needed to do."  

I shifted in my leather seat. "And that meant convincing Kam that Jenny committed suicide because of him?" 

She nodded, raising her eyebrows. "It was for the best, Jackson. Surely you know that." 

I stood up and traced my hands against the polished gun that stood on the self behind me. "What I wonder, however, is why you care so much. Why are you working so desperately hard to prove that Jenny died that way?" 

She, too, stood up, and struggled for an answer. "I just do, alright? Jenny was a business partner of mine, and I care about what happened to her."

Tish seemed to sense that it was dangerous for her to continue being in my house. She held her chin high and turned around, walking towards the door. "I'm afraid this may be the last time you will see me for a while, I must leave to visit my... godmother." 

There was a bang, and she turned around, clutching her bloody stomach. Tish mouthed one word before falling over. 

Why? 

I put the gun back on it's shelf and murmured her an answer, knowing that she couldn't hear me anymore. "I did what I needed to do." 

~Mikaela

L is for Linkin Park

Linkin Park is probably one of my all-time favorite bands. They have some really good songs, and their music has a lot of substance. 

Leave out all the Rest 

New Divide 

~Mikaela

K is for Katy Perry & The Killers

Though I don't like all of Katy Perry's music, she does have some really good songs. Not the least of which is her latest, Wide Awake. And, The Killers, though not as widely known, have some great stuff too. 

Wide Awake 

Runaways 

~Mikaela

J is for Journey

Today, I'm going with something classic. I mean, how can you love alternative rock, have to post something about music that starts with J, and not choose Journey? They're straight up awesome. 

~Mikaela

I is for Imagine Dragons

I heard their song Radioactive in the trailer from The Host, and all the sudden, I needed to listen to it again. And again. And again. In fact, despite the fact that I'm a very cheap person, I actually bought their whole album. Their music is awesome. 

I'm the type of person who will listen to just about anything, so I think that's why I like them so much. They have alternative rock, rap, pop, and maybe even tiny hints of country. They're just so unlike a lot of today's music. Plus, they're music is also very clean. Enjoy! 

 Radioactive 

Bleeding Out 

~Mikaela

H is for Hoobastank and Here Without You

Weird name, right? 

But, despite that, they're actually a really good band. You might have even heard of their song, "The Reason." 

And then, "Here Without You, by 3 Doors Down. I absolutely love this song. 

~Mikaela

G is for The Goo Goo Dolls

I've decided that from now until... well... I guess when I decide not to... I'm going to be posting on music for A-Z. So sit back and enjoy! I have some good stuff coming.  

I love The Goo Goo Dolls, for a lot of reasons. Their sound is great, and their music is fairly clean. Plus, they started out pretty close to where I live. These are probably my two favorite songs from them: 

 Better Days 

Name 

~Mikaela

F is for Fair

"But it's not fair!!!" 

How many times have we all said this line? Probably more times than we could ever count. I know that, in my life, it's easy to see how I'm getting screwed over. Because there are situations where I actually am. 

But I can also see places where I have been given something I didn't deserve/earn. My new bed. The food I eat freely. The car rides to all of my various events. The summer camp I get to go to. The classes I take. 

Is it "fair" that I get those things? Well... no. We, as human beings, have a natural tendency to look at the negatives. But, when something isn't "fair", remember the things that you didn't deserve, yet were given to you anyway. Suddenly your issue isn't as big of a deal, or is at least easier to tolerate. 

~Mikaela

E is for Edit

I don't know about you, but I'm terrible at editing. As you've probably noticed from my posts, I write run-on sentences and begin lots of them with and and, but, and because. I'm not fully sure why.

Lack of vocabulary, maybe?

I guess I just like the flow of it better. What about you?

~Mikaela

D is for Digital

I have to admit, digital things are nice. I have my iPod Touch and a cell phone, and I love them. I can take tons of music and books with me wherever I go, and it helps that (especially a teenagers budget) digital versions of things are less expensive. 

But... 

I also don't think anything can compare to holding a real book in your hands. Flipping through the pages, seeing how much you have left to read, and going back to read parts over. Reading a book just isn't as fun digitally. I also love having the actual CD's and movies. 

Your thoughts? 

~Mikaela 

C if for Character

I hate how much character has been devalued in today's society. Call me old fashioned, but I'm a fan of chivalry and am sad when I see how women have shoved it away and men have stopped offering it. I mean, it's not that women can't take care of themselves; it's showing affection and kindness, and well... character. 

And it goes above just manners. It's the heart behind it. When manners are gone, it shows a lack of care for anyone other than self. The every-day things mean so much. 

But if they're gone... where is kindness and love? True love for others just can't exist if you won't lay yourself down and put other people first.  And love should be producing character. 

Simply put, life without love sucks. For everyone. 

~Mikaela

B is for Beauty

What exactly is beauty?

Our culture throws so many definitions at us of what is and isn't beautiful, and it can be very confusing. Up until a year or so ago, I considered myself unlovable because I wasn't the world's definition of beautiful--skinny. 

I have since discovered how amazing it feels to actually take care of myself. But, more than that, I learned that I am loved, so much. I pictured myself getting fit and showered with affection.

After I lost some weight, I noticed something. Sure, maybe guys gave me more attention than usual, but that wasn't beauty, it was lust. My friends and family still treat me the same way. 

So yeah, physical fitness is important. It allows you do do more with your life. But it's not beauty. Beauty is true, unconditional, agape love. 

~Mikaela

A is for Architect

Yep, architect. I love this word, because whether we acknowledge it or not, we're all architects. Sure, maybe we don't all build huge buildings that graze the skyline of famous cities, and maybe we don't know the first thing about actually designing a building.

Maybe you do make skyscrapers. Or maybe you're building a home. Perhaps it's that Microsoft Word file that builds up, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence. Or that painting, that you spend all day working on.

Sometimes it's easier to see progress with some things than it is with others. That's why I love jogging--I can go five miles and look back to say, "Wow, I did that."

Immediate payoffs are nice, but most of the time we don't get them until far after, if ever. Like building a family; you won't see results from that for a while, but when you do, they'll bring you so much joy.

Or touching peoples hearts through everyday acts of kindness. You might never see the smile on that persons face, the strength your advice gave them, the nourishment that food gave him. But those are the things that, at least I think, leave the most legacy. Because they go beyond you. It's sort of like a pay-it-forward type of thing. Now, I'm not saying that every person you open a door for is going to take that and change the world... But I am saying that when all those little things add up, it's a spectacular building (whether we see it or not).

So, we're all architects in some way. The question is, what are you building?

~Mikaela