Sick of the Radio

I take pride in my taste for music. Yes, I listen to the same songs that most teens listen to. I rap the popular raps, dance the popular dances, and sing my heart out to the radio. However, there’s more to me than that. I listen to music that no one in Northbrook would ever consider putting on their iPods, primarily meaning foreign music. I love listening to songs in different languages and by European DJ’s. First of all, I grew up with my mom playing Israeli music as she’d clean the house and cook, while Persian music was the choice at family parties. I have always been used to hearing different languages around me. When I was first introduced to rap and pop, I truly enjoyed it, and who doesn’t love screaming the words to songs with your friends till your voices were gone? I constantly would listen to the radio growing up, hoping to hear new songs before everyone else. But in the last year, I realized that the radio gets annoying! Every song becomes so overplayed, which ruins the song for me. My solution has been to turn to my favorite foreign songs to refresh my ears. I have friends from all over Europe, Namibia, and South Africa, so I always make sure they send me hit songs from their hometown. Music is a phenomenal way to connect to different cultures, and I have plenty of interest in getting in touch with the world’s cultures. There are days where I just go on Youtube and click on song after song in a particular category. There are Israeli days, Persian days, European dance music days, Spanish days, and simply everything else! I never get sick of them! I don’t want to be just another suburban girl who listens to the same Kesha and Rihanna songs fifty times a day!

Blizzard of 2011

I love summer, primarily because of the scorching hot weather. I think seeing flowers and constant green everywhere is beautiful, and it’s always nice walking out of the house not worrying about layering up. However, as much as I look forward to summer, there are instances in between summer breaks that I thoroughly enjoy. The complete opposite of blistering weather is—SNOW! Watching the snowflakes fall and cover up the earth makes for the most beautiful scenes. This past week, I had no choice but to stare out my window, witnessing the Blizzard of 2011. All of Tuesday during school, every conversation revolved around the upcoming blizzard. There were talks of snow days, several feet of snow, and super fast winds. Everyone was alarmed, anxious, and worried. I loved the excitement! Although I was stranded at home the entire night and following day, I constantly looked at the beautiful scenes surrounding me. In the morning while “shoveling the snow”, I went around the house with my waterproof/freeze proof camera, capturing every moment that simply wowed me. This wasn’t an easy task though. When I tried taking normal steps, the snow was so deep that I couldn’t bring my foot up without my boot falling off. This led me to resort to 1) rolling down the snow dunes, 2) crawling through the snow, and 3) using my arms to swim through the snow. I was literally doing the breast stroke to help me get through these insane depths! It was crazy! Last year I climbed the sand dunes of the Namib Desert, this year I was climbing the dunes of my own backyard! In conclusion, I had a terrific snow experience. I like to go through it all—hot sand and freezing snow and ice. Living in Chicago may be unbearably cold, but it’s an advantage to experience all 4 distinct seasons, and it’s nice to fully appreciate the warmth of summer when it comes back around.