“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” by Suzanne Collins is an impactful novel-turned-movie taking place before the events of “The Hunger Games” trilogy. The story follows the antagonist of the original series, Coriolanus Snow, and his rise to power. It is beautifully written, and illustrates the stark contrasts between purity, innocence and love compared to cruelty, human nature, and greed. As a book lover, I did not have high hopes for this movie. I was pleasantly surprised. There are three things that make this movie a victor among film adaptations: the casting, the videography, and the constancy to the original novel. The movie stars Tom Blyth as Coriolanus and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird. Both actors fit their roles perfectly, accurately portraying the emotions the characters feel in each scene. I was surprised and delighted by Zegler’s rich, country voice in her numbers, which had a profound impact on the mood of the film. The chemistry between the characters maintains the same tension and wanting that the book describes. Another notable cast member is Viola Davis, who plays Dr. Volumnia Gaul, a key antagonist in the story. The emotion she invokes with her performance is unsettlingly comedic and dark in equal measure. I admired her creative take on the character, and left the theater quite satisfied by her portrayal despite the inaccuracy to her book counterpart. She still manages to elicit the same eerie feeling of her philosophies and dark morals. The videography is equally as impressive. The cool color-grading of the capital creates and atmosphere of mystery and tension, keeping the viewer with high anticipation of Snow’s next move, while the warmer tint of the covey scenes allow the viewer a short break of comfort and relaxation before the jarring change back to the main events. The complex maneuvering of the cameras adds more to the dramatic retelling. The soundtrack mirrors the mood of each scene. I was also pleased by Snow’s transition from capital golden boy to military enforcer. The layered costume hiding Snow’s athletic build previous to moving to the districts was genius, and with his shaved head and muscular form, he looks much more dangerous. All of these details add up to create a masterful presentation. The movie did incredibly well with keeping to the plot AND the ambience of the story. The only complaint I have is the portrayal of Coriolanus’s affection for Lucy Gray Baird. In the book, Coriolanus’s reasoning for each act is carefully articulated, and his affection is more obviously composed of possessive and selfish reasons. I feel that Snow was romanticized for the sake of hormonal teenage fangirls, and stirs sympathy for a character whose goal would be to misuse your trust and abandon your sympathy. Aside from this change, his character is accurately portrayed, specifically his desire for power and popularity. Overall, the movie is artistically developed in a most satisfying manner, and allows for a larger audience to enjoy its powerful story and thought-provoking narrative. I hope that the movie drives its viewers to read the book and see for themselves the care Collins put into her work, and spawns deep discussions about the corruption of society and the impression of a single soul. Read this novel, watch the movie, and discover it’s impact.

She played a song. Sure, a lot of teachers play music in their classroom. But Ms. Reed was different. The song was “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin, and she played it on the first day of school, the second day, and all the way to the last day. Accompanied by some incredibly unique choreography and her warbling elderly voice, it might not sound enticing… but it certainly made an impression. It made a difference, and I will remember her for the rest of my life. This is my goal as I journey forward into my college career as a secondary English teacher: make a difference. I have always had a special pull to teaching. Perhaps it is partially due to my large family, and how often I have helped my six little sisters in their educations. It could also be my passion for learning, and desire to encourage others to discover the same passion. Whatever my inclination is, I have been acting on it for years. I have been an online tutor and a school mentor during my high school years, and I have taught piano and crafts and any other passions I have. When discussing our future careers, I always thought of teacher first, but Ms. Reed sealed the deal. Teachers have had a special place in my heart and my life. My mother taught disabled children for years before becoming a stay at home mom, my grandfather wrote religious study books, and my father has been quick to share his passions and knowledge to everyone around him. I admire teachers for their work, because they don’t do it for the money. That much is sure… Ms. Reed was no exception. She was a single African American English teacher with medical issues that kept her from teaching at a brick and mortar school. Instead, she taught at Lawrence Virtual High School, until she finally retired after decades of dedication to teaching. Yet somehow, she kept class more lively and engaging than any other teacher I had encountered. I wanted to be like her. She got me so excited, so passionate, that I could hardly wait for each assignment in her class. Even the grammar unit was bearable, with her fun ways to remember words or rules. In addition to teaching, she also hosted the school book club, which I attended several times. When a student advisory assignment required me to find insight into a career of my choice, I knew exactly who I wanted. I sent Ms. Reed an email requesting a virtual meeting and soon we were able to meet. I asked her a few questions, and we talked. She showed so much genuine interest in me as a person, I couldn’t help but smile. She gave me some advice that I will never forget. She said she could see my passion, and told me to keep a hold on it, because as long as I have that passion, so will my students. She told me not to worry and to be happy. We ended the meeting. Although that was one of the last times I would have the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Reed, she left a life long impact on me. It seems only fair and right for me to be able to press forward in my own career, following in her footsteps, and make the same impact on a future student. And maybe, someday in the future, that student can impact someone too.

Why did the Disney Channel lie to us? I thought we would go to class, learn a big life lesson every day, develop a group of goofy but reliable friends, and probably find a secret hangout in a janitor’s closet or on the roof. How utterly disappointing… But most disappointing were the teachers. Where was the passion? The connection? The ambition? On and on it went: new class, new teacher, new inescapable hell. I had always wanted to teach, and now the deal was sealed. I was GOING to make a difference. I have always had a deep love for reading and writing. Essays, novels, short stories, a comparative guide of all the musical nuances in the Concept Album: Epic the Musical, (yes. I am a nerd.), and above all SHARING my talents. I knew from the time I was in second grade that I wanted to write, and more importantly that I wanted to teach. The idea of igniting passion in another person excites me more than any other. I have spent over twenty hours tutoring at-risk or financially unstable kids from a variety of schools using the free tutoring service ‘UpChieve’. I have spent double that amount of time writing a novel that I plan to publish. Already, before I have even graduated, my ambition has made a difference in many lives. This drive has connected me to Captain Young, and his similar passion. After studying John Young, who is the inspiration behind this scholarship, I have been able to relate to him on a personal level. My favorite quote of his was said after the launch of the Space Shuttle Program. “The Dream is Alive”. It certainly is, at least for me. I have so many dreams that I plan to fulfill. I know that I can and will make a difference, just like he did. I plan to share my passion with my future students. I hope to connect to them and impress them in the short time I know them. I may not be the greatest of all time, but I could teach the person who will be.

Ever since I was in the first grade, I have found equal measures of joy in both reading and writing: exploring and creating worlds. Since then, I have enjoyed writing short stories, poems, plays, and research papers, going as far as writing a 5-page essay on the Blobfish (an animal I was fascinated with in fourth grade) in my spare time. I have taken college research and literary classes, and have most of my electives are based around creative and informational writing. In more recent years, I have been creating a novel about another fantastic world. Not only have I written countless outlines and excerpts, I also own two notebooks with world-making information. One is dedicated to the people and creatures of my world, and the other to the rules, logic, and setting of the world. I love writing with a passion, and my devotion to this art form is evident in my decision to become a secondary English education major, where my deepest goal is to share my talents and knowledge with the next generation, and inspire them to embrace their natural talent and develop their own skills. I plan to finish and eventually publish my novel(s), which I expect to be a trilogy. I would love to see my works in a library. Libraries have also held a special place in my heart. There was one memorable situation in which a series of events (including new Junie B Jones books, a comfy bean bag, and a distracted first grade teacher), ended in my name having to be announced over the intercom in a desperate search for a book-hugging elementary student. Luckily I was able to recognize my name over the speakers despite the haze that was pure nerdy excitement. At that point, I decided that I wanted to write like that author: to pull my readers into a world where silly things like ‘mathematics’ and ‘chores’ simply didn’t matter, and where fascinating and engaging characters could be nearly tangible. So I did. I wrote my very first outline of an adventure titled ‘The Trap Door’. Although it mostly contained poorly drawn illustrations and horrible misspelled sentences, I was excited to share my special world. I took the story to the playground (although I believed recess was horribly overrated, and everyone would do much better to stay in the warm school with a book), and read it to one of my friends. At the time, I thought it was quite genius (though looking back I have discovered my writing may not have been as developed as I had then thought). I was ecstatic when she asked me to write another! My writing has greatly improved, and using my first grade outline (which I kept with the hope that some publisher would come along, swing me around, and declare my utter genius in the field of writing) I rewrote the short story in my more mature style. Every sentence written sparked excitement and nostalgia within me, and my finished product was nearly as good as the original. As my writing has improves and my passion increases, I hope that someday a young girl will read something of mine, and get so sucked into the story that she is inspired to write her own story. I hope to create worlds, and to create human connection that can be forged only through the expression of written creativity. The Bible did it, Dickens did it, hundreds of people from all cultures, colors, and nations did it, and I plan to do it next.