We Could Be Heroes, Just For One Day.

Recently I went to the cinema to see Lone Survivor starring Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster. Usually before going to see a film I research it or at least watch the trailer, with this film on the other hand, I did not, so going into the theatre I had no clue what I was going to see. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement, as Lone Survivor is now in my top ten favourite films of all time, which is a very prestigious list let me tell you.

(Taylor Kitsch, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster and Emile Hirsch)

The main reason as to why I have such a great love for this film is the realness you feel whilst watching it, the gut wrenching pain and anger you feel on behalf of the Navy Seals. This film isn't like most war films with mindless gun shooting and explosions, although there is lots of it, Lone Survivor shows you the grittier detail, just how much troops have to endure to survive and the conditions they battle through in the name of their country. You hear of soldiers dying every day but they're just nameless strangers, forgotten about as soon as the next piece of news comes on. This film makes you sit up and realise that these are real people with families and lives who leave behind broken hearted mothers and wives. 

(Marcus Luttrell and his "brothers")

What made this film even more emotional and effective is the fact that it's based on a true story, that men as young as 17/18 are going through situations like this day in and day out to protect innocent people against the Taliban. The men who died in Operation Red Wings were brave and valiant and every single one of them are my heroes. 19 soliders died in the operation and one survived, Marcus Luttrell, who is played by Mark Wahlberg. Reading up on the details of the mission and the cold hard facts really blows my mind, these men went through hell and back. Though it is not mentioned in the movie Luttrell was personally awarded the Navy Cross by President George W. Bush. 

Another important message the film gives is that not all the citizens of Afghanistan are part of the Taliban. Mohammad Gulab who helps Luttrell and gives him refuge is an honourable man and one of the many struggling against the violent Taliban in their hometowns. Without Gulab, Marcus Luttrell would have probably died in the woods or have been found by the Taliban and killed. 

I highly recommend this film to anyone, no matter what genre is your favourite or if you've hated war movies in the past, this is a film you need to watch, these men deserve some recognition for the outstanding service to their country.

That's The Thing About Pain, It Demands To Be Felt.

Recently in my English class at school, we read a blog post a man wrote about his father who had recently passed away. We then had to write an emotional piece on someone we know or knew. I wrote mine about my Dad and I might post it here someday.

But that's not why I'm telling you about the class. I'm telling you because a girl in my class wrote her piece about her Granddad and a week on I still can't get it out of my head. Her Granddad has passed away and she spoke of how tall he used to be to her, how strong and powerful he was and as she grew older, she got taller, her Granddad aged, became less powerful.

The thing that really made me feel as if there was a fist clenching around my heart was when she talked about when he got sick, how she felt that surely if you loved someone enough, your love should be able to keep them alive, if she loved her Granddad as much as she did, how could he possibly be taken away from her? I'll put my hand up and say that yes, I was crying, because she'd hit the nail squarely on the head.

Another reason for my writing this post is that yesterday marked the 27th anniversary of my Granddad's death and the 7th anniversary of my Nana's death. No, you didn't read those figures wrong, they did pass away on the same day twenty years apart. I'm not a strong person of faith, I'm far too interested in Science if I'm honest but I do believe that there is something after death, maybe just to deal with losing people, the thought that they're gone forever, into the ground and that's it is far too real, too final. It was very comforting to think that Granddad had come to take Nana with him, that they were together and she would be happy. I never got the chance to meet my Granddad and if I was ever given a wish it'd definitely be to spend even just a day with the man I've heard so many fond stories about.

My Nana on the other hand was so incredibly special to me. I have so many happy memories with her, dancing with her, listening to her warble old songs, spending Christmas in her house where dinner was like clock work every day. Seven years on and as I type this I still tear up. Grief has this weird way of never fully leaving you, it'll creep up on you when you're least expecting it and make you feel the pain all over again. I know the saying goes "Time heals all wounds," but I don't think it ever really does.

I think that yes, of course you can move on with your life and keep going, God knows you have to. But I also think that when someone you love so fiercely leaves you and you can't do anything to stop it from happening, even if you gave up your own life for theirs, that a part of your "soul" is forever tainted with missing them and you have to grow accoustomed to it. That's life.

Let's Catch Up, Shall We?

I haven't posted on this blog for quite some time now and for that, my deepest apologies. I've just been so uninspired and posting anything would have been a half hearted attempt. I'm currently preparing to enter into my final year of secondary school, which is extremely daunting and nerve racking. At the same time as being very nervous, I am also very excited, the end is almost here, after fourteen years of school, I'll finally be done.

I'll admit, hand on my heart, that college and the thought of "growing up" and entering the big bad world, scares the absolute life out of me, but I just cannot wait. This year will involve a hell of a lot of study, hard work, possibly even some tears but I know, or can dream, about how good it'll feel this time next year looking back and seeing all the hard work pay off.

I still have absolutely no idea what career or life path I'd like to peruse, still, with only a year left before I'll be there, doing whatever I eventually pick. So I am going to use this blog to explore the world in my own way, to hash things out and discover things about myself. Who knows, maybe one day I'll be a journalist and thankful for the experience of writing for an audience. So, I'll leave you with some quotes and images that I'm hoping will get me through this year.

Thanks for reading,

Emer x

Life Is But A Dream.

I've just finished watching Béyonce's latest documentary, Life Is But A Dream. I have so much respect for this woman and her outlook and opinions on life, I admire her as not just an incredible artist with a God given talent but also a human. Watching this has just strengthened my respect and admiration.

It's very touching to see her stripped back, talking about her emotions and thoughts quietly, as if she was talking to herself. I think we should be very grateful to her for allowing us to witness this. I've learnt a few things from Béyonce whilst watching this, I've learnt that even the most wealthiest people in the world go through day to day struggles in life, as she did with her Dad. I've learnt that life really is just about happiness and about being true and honest to yourself. I've also learnt to value the people in my life and that girl power really does exist. Below are some of my favourite bits of the documentary.

And in the last 10 minutes, we are introduced to Blue Ivy. The love Béyonce has for her daughter is fierce and it really shows. I think that this was an amazing piece of film and that everyone should watch it, even if you aren't draw to Béyonce musically, you'll definitely admire the person that she is.

Ben Howard, What A Beautiful Man.

I can't even remember how I stumbled across him, it was so long ago. But I do know that ever since then, I've been utterly obsessed with his sea like voice, it so velvety smooth with grains of salt in it and it's just pure heaven. I honestly think I've watched ever video he's ever been in on YouTube, from covers to acoustic sets. I watched him doing the festival circuit on my tv and I cried a bit at a few songs, probably a bit over the top but when I say obsessed I mean it.

His songs are pure brilliance, a little piece of heaven in my ears. No matter what mood I'm in, I pop in my earphones and get lost in a world filled with sunny days spent in the sea and summer nights spent sitting around a camp fire with an acoustic guitar. Some of his songs are my night time lullaby's and some of his songs are my inspiration on days when everything's a little bleak. He played The Olympia in Dublin last year and it broke my heart when I couldn't get a ticket, but hopefully when he gets back from his tour Stateside he'll come back.

Ben has an amazing technique of playing guitar which he uses in his songs Under The Same Sun and These Waters, when I first saw him play like this I was mesmerized, it's genius, intricate, beautiful if you will (as seen below.) The way he sings conveys so many emotions and memories. He deserves so much more recognition for his talent than he's given, but at the same time I want to keep him all to myself.

I think that's all I have to say about Ben, and if you haven't listened to him yet, I hope I've convinced you to give him a try, I promise you won't be disappointed. I'll leave you with a few of my favourite lyrics from his songs, hope you enjoyed this, bye :)

Les Misérables.

Last night, I went to see Les Misérables with most of the cast of West Side Story. I've never really looked into it before, so I didn't know the plot, just that it was set in Revolutionary France. I didn't have any expectations for it, as I had never seen the stage version and had nothing to compare it to, but even if I could of had expectations, they all would have been surpassed. Saying this film was amazing is an understatement, a diservice almost.

I love musicals, but this wasn't just a musical like Grease or Annie, this was a piece of art. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway in Act One were just breathtaking, not only did they sing, and sing beautifully, they acted while doing it, putting all of their raw emotion into the film. It was quite moving really. I'm not going to get into the story too much just in case anyone reading this hasn't seen it yet, and if you haven't, you must, you really must.

The picture above has the lyrics of one of my favourite songs from the score, although, truth be told I loved every single one of them. I don't think I've ever been so moved watching a film, not even watching Forrest Gump. So many moments in the film broke my heart and a tip when going to see this would be to not wear much or any eye make up, it will be halfway down your face at the end I guarantee it. The end scene was just beautiful and that's all I have to say really, it was the first film I've seen in 2013 but I'm sure it'll be one of the best by far.

The Meaning Behind My URL.

I'm just procrastinating tonight, I should be studying but oh well. So, the story behind "Happiness is my aim", is that one day about a month ago, in Religion, we were learning about the parable "Who Moved My Cheese". It was a bit boring but then our teacher gave us question to "reflect" on the story. The basic plot is there's this cheese that the mice and little people have and it represents their happiness, blah blah blah. 

So one of the questions was "What does the 'Cheese' represent for you?" and I answered:

"For most people, finding 'cheese' might represent getting a good job or a nice house. I don't really know what the 'cheese' in my life is. There isn't much that I'm lost without, maybe my family but I do spend a lot of time away from them. And in the future there's nothing that if I don't get, my life won't be complete or fulfilled. Happiness is my aim, everything else is just a bonus."

That's really my own personal motto in life, it just popped into my head as I was answering the question. And it's true, my one goal in life is to be happy and whatever else I achieve is just a bonus, as long as I'm happy, I'm all good. 

Four More Years.

I never doubted you Obama. I think when it was announced, the whole world breathed a collective sigh of relief. I didn't pay too much attention to the campaigns, just the general ideas of both sides, and the fact that Romney was even elected to run for President astounded me. He was so totally against everything that's good for a country, good for people. 

For a while it seemed that it could go either way, that there was enough close minded, backward people who would vote in favor of Romney. Now that was a scary prospect. Obama just has everything right with campaign. Equality for people. Better chances for people to go to college. Better job opportunities. Healthcare for everyone so that people aren't in massive debt if they get sick. Women's rights to control their own health choices. The list goes on and on. To me he is the best President possible. 

In the concluding paragraph of his Victory Speech he said "The idea that, if you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are, or where you come from, or what you look like, or where you love. It doesn't matter if you're Black or White or Hispanic or Asian or Native American, or young or old, or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight. You can make it here in America, if you're willing to try."

That right there is why I love him, his acceptance for all people, of all walks of life. We need more world leaders like him. Four more years, I can't wait.

You can watch the Victory Speech here.