Olga's Poetry & Thoughts

Does anyone even keep a blog anymore? No? That's fine. I'm going to share with the world (or the endless void that is the Internet) my top 5 books that I read in 2018, just in case you're wondering what to read next: 5.  Crazy Rich Asians   (2013) by: Kevin Kwan Favourite quote:  "Just because some people actually work for their money doesn't mean they're beneath you." Reason to read this book: It's an awesome beach read, or in the winter, a cozy read by the fireplace that transports you to a crazy world. If you've already watched the movie, it's still worth it to read the book. Kwan is an incredible writer; he gets you hooked on the story from the very beginning and transports you to a world that most of us can't even fathom. It's a world where millions of dollars are spent on frivolous things, like fireworks, and it's also a shallow and sad world, where the richest of the rich judge each other based on the price of one...

It's that time of year again! The best time of the year is when I review the top 10 books that I read from January to December. Note: these books were not necessarily published in 2016, in fact most of them were not. These are just my literary recommendations for my fellow book nerds. 10.  Gulliver's Travels   (1726) by: Jonathan Swift Favourite quote:  "I cannot but conclude that the bulk of your natives, to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." Reason to read this book:  it's a classic , and it will make popular references to this book make so much more sense I had to include this book on here. I read it at the beginning of the year for an English class I was taking, but I totally fell in love with the tale. The whole story mocks the society in which we live. Gulliver is too big in one world, too small in the next, and is made slave to horses in one of the worlds! A bizarre an...

Here is a little wish list of mine: I wish I could tame my emotions with a lasso. I wish I agreed to things without picking a fight. I wish I were more accepting of others. I wish that my face would not reveal my emotions so obviously. I wish I were less cold. I wish I quit holding grudges. I wish that every word that came out of my lips was firstly filtered of toxins. I wish I had no bad habits. I wish I stopped worrying about the past, present, and future simultaneously. I wish I loved myself. I wish I stopped being my own worst enemy. I wish I stopped blaming myself for everything. I wish I saw things for the way they really are. I wish I smiled more. I wish I were just a little bit sweeter? Okay, so I’ve established that I’m cold and not sweet. That definitely means I’m not a delightful scoop of ice cream. Maybe I’m like frozen beef. Raw. Filling. And can also leave you with a nasty bruise if you’re struck with it. Most people succumb to t...

For as long as I can remember, I've had the same unachievable goal, which I believed to be my life's purpose: to achieve perfection. I wanted to be a straight A student, an idol for the younger generation, the prettiest girl on the block, the girl with the perfect boyfriend, the perfect balance of everything that is wonderful and exquisite. Little did I realize that perfection is just a myth, like Big Foot or the cookie monster. I now type this blog post, feeling both shock and excitement, about my new found discovery- that the thing I've been trying so hard to attain all these years does not exist. It's a big pill to swallow, but hopefully a glass full of water and reality will ease the pain. The biggest problem with trying to be perfect is having the constant feeling of guilt and failure. Since perfection is an illusion, I'm chasing after nothing. I feel guilty for not being perfect and, by this definition, I'm a failure because I'm not perfect. This sou...

A while back, I wrote about the things I looked for in my "other half" ( http://www.olgapoetrytree.blogspot.ca/2013/01/on-origin-of-love.html )- respect, intellectual stimulation, devotion... These things are important, but now I'm starting to think that I'm looking for something much deeper than that. I am on a personal quest to discover myself as a student, a daughter, a writer, a woman, a human being with qualities that contribute to society. And at the same time I wish that my quest will intertwine with someone else's, and that this someone will help me on my quest as much as I will help him. A while back, I gave up. I forgot about my personal quest and I got lost in a forest of self-destruction and defeat. Now that I am getting back on my wobbly legs, like a newborn calf, I am starting to realize that the person I want to share my journey with has to do much more than just fulfill my basic requirements. His high paying career path is a plus, but not a must. H...

Stage 1: Indifference Upon receiving your exam schedule, you divide your time accordingly, maybe even writing a little study schedule for yourself. The world is your oyster. You feel indifferent towards your schedule, as exam time has not yet begun. You know that you have all the time in the world to start preparing. Stage 2: Determination As exam time creeps up on you, you start preparing your notes and looking over lectures, maybe doing some practice exams. You are determined to ace these finals and you know that you will do your very best. Stage 3: Anxiety You slowly start to realize that the amount of work you still have left to do is disproportional to the few days left that you have before the exam. The failure of your self made study schedule is revealed. You start feeling pangs of anxiety, maybe even calculating how badly you can do on the exam so that you don't fail the course. Stage 4: Denial You begin falsely assuring yourself that there isn't that much to ...

With a 50% divorce rate in Canada, it is no wonder that the definition of "family" has been meddled with. The stereotypical Berenstain Bear-esque family consisting of two chubby parents in overalls, a protective older brother and a sister in a bow tie has been long diminished. Maybe children's television shows should show some foster families or single parent families instead to appeal to the masses. But then again, a programme like "Franklin & His Single Mother" would not be considered a "mainstream" show. There are many myths surrounding single parent families; it's as if it's taboo to talk about it. But I'm going to go ahead and list some of the assumptions that really bother me- concerning both single parents and children of those single parents. A single parent family is poor. Sure, when a couple splits up, they are usually left with a considerably lower income than before. In addition to salary, the single parent also receiv...

I've been thinking about my history lecture last Thursday. We were learning about the history of America's encounters with the Natives. The professor put up a slide explaining The Wild West Weekly , a "Cowboys and Indians" magazine with stories and sketches of western life. This weekly subscription from early 20th century America would usually not spark my interest, but what intrigued me were its characters, namely Arietta Murdock. She and Young Wild West (a handsome youth with the body of Apollo, as he is described) go on adventures and kick ass, basically. I'm proud of this Arietta character, who is a golden haired heroine in a time when women weren't even allowed to vote. The reasons why Arietta Murdock is badass: - She is a highly skilled horseback rider and rides vicious broncs - She saves Young Wild West's ass when he's tied up and about to get killed by the Sioux - She is also really good with weaponry - She is considered physically st...

Last week was just mildly depressing, with the storm and all, but for some reason I had a huge "It's a woooonderful world" feeling today when I walked out into the world. I stepped into a foot of snow that made my socks wet. Then I looked at the park beside my building, which was completely covered in pure white glistening beauty that twinkled in the sunlight like Edward and I was like holy shit, only God could've blessed me with such a sight today. So although I could barely make my way through the half-plowed sidewalks, I realized that today I was much happier than I had been in a very, very long time. If only briefly. See, my main problem is that I have an extremist view on things. I screw something up and I think damn, I've screwed it so bad this time that I might as well quit trying. For example, in grade 10 I got a 60% on one of my math tests and I bawled my eyes out because I thought I wouldn't get into university. I barely skip classes and I feel l...

What does society want? For women to achieve impossible standards (and, by the way, it is NOT possible to achieve something that is impossible). Society wants us to be living contradictions...cabbage heads on stilts... airhead rocket scientists. Society wants us to be things that don't even exist in fiction, but only in the glossy pages of a Cosmopolitan magazine (look at me! I'm so skinny! So happy! Sexy all the time!). As I heard said many times before, "even Victoria's Secret models don't look like Victoria's Secret models." The way the proportions are warped, each pimple bleached, each hair trimmed down to pre-pubescence, toes and fingers without a scar, and the face angelic and so happy... it makes me sick. It makes me sick because of the contradictions, because women are expected to: Be sexy but not slutty Be innocent but not prude Be virgins but also fantastic lovers Be independent but submissive Be good mothers but maintain careers Be...

So, I was researching something that I learned in literature class today (because that is what I like doing on Friday nights). We recently read the screenplay Hedwig and the Angry Inch and one song in particular really intrigued me- "The Origin of Love." What is the origin of love? Here is a summary of Hedwig's song, based on Aristophanes' mythological philosophy that is mentioned in Socrates' Symposium.  (Oh yay, story time!) Well, a long time ago, there were three sexes: the men (of the sun), the women (the earth) and the androgynous (the moon). Each sex had two heads and four legs, etc. and they were very powerful. The gods became angry with the strength of these sexes, so Zeus cut the people in half with lightning bolts. Therefore, it is now in our nature to seek  a sort of completion. Meaning, we have intrinsic desires for love and sex and finding "our other half" (as cheesy as it sounds, this is exactly what Aristophanes meant). Of course, this c...

In alphabetical order. Cause I'm bored and procrastinating. 20-minute bubble bath A good night's sleep after a long day Alien All other crepes All the nailpolish colours of the rainbow All-you-can-eat with scrumptious desserts American Eagle jeggings Archie comics Arts and crafts Attempting to dance Attending school events Barbeque chips- my studying snack Bath & Body Works hand lotions Blogging Breakfast at Cora's restaurant Britney Spears perfume Browsing through the Forever 21 website Butterflies Buying clothes on sale Buying new heels Buying things with money I earned Candy canes Canoeing Cats Chicken wings Chocolate Coca Cola Comfy pyjamas Criminal Minds Cross country skiing Cuddling Deep fried bananas Dr. Seuss stories Dress shopping Driving Dubstep Facebooking Fashionable sunglasses Finding change on the ground Fishing French crepes Getting a haircut Getting my writing published Going bowling Going camping and makin...