Steve’s Music Mix: What Am I On…?

I’ve been doing Steve’s Music Mix for a few weeks now.  I’m sure a lot of you already know how it works.

In a nutshell, Steve at Steve Says… chooses three questions and we put our music players (IPod, MP3, etc) on shuffle and we say the questions and whatever song it lands on, thats the answer to that question.

Got it?

Lets see if my MP3 is being cooperative this week, shall we? 😉

I’m on…?

–>A Dream – Common

I’m always dreaming, so I guess thats right.  I’m working on a dream as well and aiming to fulfill my dreams.  Most days, I feel like I’m on a dream.

*Confused yet? If that made no sense, its the cold meds, ok?*

I’m in…?

–>Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) – Kelly Clarkson

If you look at the context of the song, no, I’m not in a breakup and recovering.  Or maybe if you look at my job, I guess I’m in that phase right now: what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I guess that works.

I’m over…?

–>In The Dark – Tiesto ft. Christian Burns

I’m pretty sure I’m still mildly scared of the dark but I guess, I could take it that I’m over needing someone to be with me in the dark? Or maybe, just that I’m over the life I had when I was obsessed with this song because that caused a lot more bad than good, although I still love it but in a completely different way 😉

The answers are stretching it a little this time but I’ve had a less cooperative MP3 player before so I’m going to be content that it didn’t go completely nonsensical on me.

Check out more entries for this week’s Steve’s Music Mix HERE!

Freedom Writers (2007)

Freedom Writers is a movie I bought a few years ago out of the blue and it is one of the best finds I’ve ever had.  It goes perfect for a day where I need extra motivation to finish up some leftover work on Sunday.

Director: Richard Lagreveneuse

Cast: Hilary Swank, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, April Hernandez, Mario, Scott Glenn, Jaclyn Ngan, Kristin Herrera, Jason Finn

A while back, I had written a post about 5 Movies That Influenced Me The Most (you can read it HERE) and this one is one of them. Based on a true story and book, Freedom Writers’ Diaries, of the voluntary integration of the school system and how one teacher , Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank) chose to not leave her class to chance.  She took the time to use non-traditional teaching methods and gave them a chance to learn to express themselves through their own words and in turn learn that they can defeat their destiny and escape from gang violence from race prejudices and misconceptions of protecting their own.  She taught them that they can achieve more and inspire change in their lives if they wished to.  She showed them through past Holocaust issues how Hitler was compared to the current day gang and how racial issues was more than they could see.

I love this movie.  Its not only a true story but it touches my heart every time.  I like the concept of someone being courageous enough to inspire change and overcome personal obstacles and the norms because they learn that its doing the right thing.  I always get a bit misty watching this because its full of just pure awesome moments that tugs at our heartstrings.  It works just so much better because its the reality.  I know that it can happen if one can take matters into their own hands.

They craft this movie to look at also different backgrounds and their characters and the family values that they lead.  They also use parallels between the two that Erin Gruwell eventually employs of showing how no matter Hispanic or Asian, they both listen to the same music, have had the same incidents happen to them, but they also wear similar styles and act the same way.  I think that was pretty neat.  The young actors they use were brilliant.  They really owned their roles, reflecting the conflicts they had and the lives they  lived.  The fears they had to conquer deep inside and the will to change.

Hilary Swank definitely gets a perfect on this role.  She captured the interpretation of Erin Gruwell very well.  She was convincing to the max.  In the beginning when she finally realized the intense situation that she was in for the voluntary integration was more than she had expected and her character showed doubt.  When she hit the turning point of how these kids didn’t really understand the big picture, she showed anger but determination afterwards to let them see the light at the end of the tunnel and how their actions were not as worthy as they had thought it to be.  And in the end, she gave up a lot of her own personal life and challenged authorities to stick with these kids who needed her.

 

Touching, inspiring, uplifting are the words I’d describe it.  I know its the words on the DVD cover but this movie really is amazing and awesome! I’d recommend it for sure.  I tugged on my heart strings and moved me 🙂 I really don’t know how to describe it but its really an incredible movie and an amazing story.  So amazing that I went and bought the book right after the first time I saw the movie back in 2009 or 2010. Check out the movie if you haven’t already! Thats essentially what I’m saying!

If you have already, tell me what you thought about it.

I haven’t met a lot of people who have seen this, so it would be nice to not have people giving me weird faces or replies…

Daily Prompt: Earworm

Yesterday’s daily prompt: What song is stuck in your head (or on permanent rotation in your CD  or MP3 player) these days? Why does it speak to you?

As of Sunday, A Dream by Common has been stuck in my head.  Why? Because I watched Freedom Writers two times.  The review will be up in a bit.  That song is really good and it reminds me of the movie a lot.  Freedom Writers is possibly one of my favorite movies that I rewatch at least once every year.

I don’t have it on my MP3 right now.  Since I’ve changed to a new one (when my old one died in November), I’m still working on getting all my music over.  Point is, this song gets stuck in my head.  I don’t rap but the beginning part is really good with a mix of Martin Luther King’s speech and integrating it with the lyrics of the song for the chorus.

Whats best is that it reflects the movie  Freedom Writers is based on a true story about a teacher that wanted to inspire change in her classroom by using non-traditional ways to allow them to see their situation in a different light.  It gave them a sense to try and integrate with each other despite different races and values and to find their own path instead of sticking to what others view of them.

I watched the special features of the thoughts of Common and Will.i.am as they made this song. They had the right values and if you read the lyrics, it not only matches the movie and the story behind it very well but because Freedom Writers is based on a true story and actual events, it also reaches out to reflect actual social issues. Actually, I never knew that Common was the singer behind this, because when I saw the special features, I knew where I saw him last, in Date Night! Back on track…

So this is stuck in my head because it has a good message behind it, reminds me of one of the most influential movies I’ve watched, and it has a good beat with catchy chorus.  Here is the song if you haven’t heard it before:

The songs in my head change all the time so when this goes up, maybe something else has already invaded it.  Who knows, right? 😉