Lily’s blog

Today I shall be telling you about my three favorite bands. They are Slipknot, System of a Down or SoaD, and My Chemical Romance or MCR. Without further ado let’s get right into it.

My first favorite band is Slipknot. Slipknot is a Nu-metal band first formed in 1995. There are a total of seven members currently in Slipknot and they are Shawn Crahan, Mick Thomson, Corey Taylor, Sid Wilson, Jim Root, Alessandro Venturella, and Micheal Pfaff. Their most popular song is Psychosocial, and my personal favorites are Custer and The Devil in I.

The second band is System of a Down, also known as SoaD. System of a Down is also a Nu-metal band formed in 1994. There are four members currently in SoaD. They are Serj Tankian, Daron Malakian, Shavo Odadjian, and John Dolmayan. Their most popular song is Chop Suey, and my personal favorite is Sugar. 

Last but not least is My Chemical Romance also known as MCR. My Chemical Romance is an emo, pop-punk band formed in September of 2001. There are four members of MCR and they are Gerand Way, Ray Toro, Mikey Way, and Frank Iero. Their most popular song is Welcome to the Black Parade, and my favorites are I’m Not Okay(I Promise), Mama, and Dead.

Those were my three favorite bands. Just to recap, they are Slipknot, SoaD, and MCR. I hope you give them a chance and listen to at least one of the songs and/or bands!

I love sharks so I will tell you my three favorite kinds of sharks, with fun facts about them, like how big they are. The three I will be telling you about are whale sharks, nurse sharks, and frilled sharks. 

The first shark is the whale shark. At birth they’re 1.8-2.1 feet long. Males when fully mature can get over 19.7 feet long. As for females, when they’re fully mature they can get to over 26.2 feet long. Their max reported length is between 55.8-68.9 feet long. The second shark is the nurse shark. Most encountered are less than 10 feet long. Males at least get up to 8.4 feet in length. Females grow over 8.5 feet in length. To mature it takes a male 10-15 years to reach full maturity. On the other hand, females take 15-20 years to fully mature. One extra fun fact about nurse sharks is that their litters range from 21-30 pups! Last but not least, the frilled shark. At birth they are 1.3 feet long. Fully mature males get up to 3-5.3 feet long. Fully mature females get up to 4.3-4.4 feet in length. Their max reported length is 6.4 feet long! They have a habit of swimming with their mouths open while in captivity. Some believe it’s to lure prey.

Those were my three favorite sharks. Just to recap, they were whale, nurse, and frilled sharks. I hope you learned something new about sharks, and if you didn’t, thanks for reading anyway.

What’s your favorite band? Mine’s Lovejoy. You probably don’t know who they are, so I’ll tell you. The things I’m telling you are who they are, where they started, and what kind of music they make. First, who they are. The main singer and rhythm guitar player Wilbur Soot or William Gold, on bass, Ash Kabosu, the main guitar player,Joe Goldsmith, and on drums, Mark Boardman. On their tours their trumpet and keyboard player changes. Currently they’ve been on five tours, with the “Road to 100” in December being their sixth. Second, where they started. In 2021 Wilbur and Joe founded Lovejoy. Will started out his music career with making solo music like songs “Saline Solution” and one of his most popular songs “Your New Boyfriend”. Before Lovejoy, Mark was studying at a university with a major in editing, Ash was TV broadcasting, and Joe was a tree surgeon. Finally, what kind of music they make. They make British indie rock music from Brighton. Most if not all of their lyrics center around a failed past lover. Currently their top three most popular songs are “One Day”, “Sex Sells”, and “Taunt”. Their newest song “Normal People Things” released October 6th. I hope this tells you enough to make you want to listen to Lovejoy. With who they are, where they started, and what kind of music they make, now you’re an expert like me.

Are you sick of the basic murder mystery books like Sherlock Holmes or Angels and Demons? Do you also like a little sprinkle of romance with your murder? If this sounds like you, well do I have the book for you! A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. This is what I will be using to sway you to read this book, but first I would like to say that I have not finished the entire book yet so take everything I talk about with a grain of salt. I will be telling you what I like about the book, what the book is about, and what other people think of the book.  

To start this off, what I like about this book is that Holly Jackson uses different ways of laying out the information. For example, she used interviews, social media posts, and project logs to show progress. It’s not all research for her project though like in chapter three the first part of it is spent comforting a friend after a breakup. It also feels like I’m actually reading a true crime case, it has information about the victim and the alleged suspect. 

You might be wondering now what in the world is this book even about, and I will tell you. Five years before the book takes place Andie Bell is allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, Sal Singh. The body of Andie Bell was never said to have been found. While searching for Andie’s body, they found a body but it belonged to Sal who had killed himself. Pippa, the main character, suspects that it wasn’t Sal. She decides for her senior capstone project to investigate the case five years after the murder. 

Now, you know what I think of it and what it’s about, now what are other peoples opinions on this book? I did a little digging and I found four websites reviewing this book and the reviews were overall pretty positive. The way I found this book was through people’s online recommendations. If you look up book recs on TikTok this book will 90% of the time be on that recommendation video, and I saw it so much I decided to give in to the suggestions and read the book.

   So I have told you what I think of the book, what it’s about, and what other people think. If all of this sounds interesting to you I suggest reading AGGGTM. This may also be interesting if you like to read out of your comfort zone. Do be cautious though this book does have minimule vulgar language and a description of the way Sal killed himself. So if you like to read books that are new to you go out there and read. Happy reading!

Have you ever heard of the word neurodivergent and not known what it meant? Have you also not understood why people say that neurodivergent kids need more help? First of all, neurodivergent means differing mental or neurological function from what is considered typical or normal (frequently used with reference to autistic spectrum disorders); not neurotypical, but being neurodivergent doesn’t just mean being autistic but also consist of ADHD, dyslexia, or Tourettes. It is also amazing to understand the difference between neurodiversity and mental illness, mental illness is like depression and anxiety, as neurodiversity is ADHD and Autism. Well, I will tell you how to help them more, you can do your own research for why. The first way is to reduce or rid of your expectations. Expectations can border joy and enjoyability of life, and it can also cause unwanted stress for the child. Second, don’t scold the child for not sitting still or being fidgety. Instead, try to find a way to reduce it or figure out why this is happening so much, and what you can do to help. Lastly, be patient with them. Sometimes it feels like to me that your brain is going a thousand miles an hour and that makes it hard to process your thoughts fully, so it takes longer to answer. Don’t just rely on this, do your own research in your own time. If you want to learn more about mental illnesses like autism, NEVER EVER GO TO AUTISM SPEAKS! It holds misinformation like that autism is a disease that is curable. So go out there, learn more, and help more.   

Have you ever stepped out of your comfort zone? If you have, magnificent. If you haven’t, you should sometime. That brings me to my main point: you should come out of your comfort zone every once and awhile. For me, there are three ways I step out of it. They are, to try something new, to have more confidence in myself, and to do something I might not like and isn’t really my thing.  

The first reason I step out of my comfort zone is to try something new. It’s basic but true. You always come out of your comfort zone when you do try something new. Some examples of this are a food or a drink, an amusement park ride, or a place you’ve never been to. This is one way of discovering new things.

The second reason I step out is to gain more confidence in myself. Why you would do this is actually quite simple really. To think better of yourself if you happen to have low self-esteem. Some examples are going out with friends, or doing an art thing you’re not too confident with and want to have another shot at so you can build up your self-esteem with your art. That is the second way to step out of your preferred comfort zone. 

The last way I step out of my comfort zone is doing something I might not like and that isn’t really my thing. You might be asking yourself ‘Why would you do something you might not like?’ I’m glad you asked! My mom always says ‘You don’t know you like it till you try it,’. Some examples are as follows, food and drink or a place you’ve never been to. That is the last way I push myself.

If this encouraged you to step out of your comfort zone, tell me about it, I’d love to know. If it didn’t, I hope it will help some time in the future. I know that stepping out of your comfort zone can be a big jump, it’s good to do it when you’re ready. Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is not always good, it could lead to addiction if you go out with your friends too much. So if you do decide to come out of your shell remember to stay safe and have fun with your time. 

Everyone should try something new at least once. Trying something comes in many ways like a new sport, a new form of art you’ve never dipped into, or new foods, like foods from a different culture or something from where you are now that you haven’t had. That’s what I want to try some foods from Japanese culture that I’ve never had or seen in real life. Some examples of the foods I want to try are dango, onigiri, and mochi.

The first thing I would like to try is dango. Dango is a Japanese dumpling made with rice flour, sweet rice flour, and water, to put it shortly it’s a Japanese dessert. One of the reasons I want to try it is that it seems really sweet and chewy. Another reason I want to try it is it looks really cute and tasty, and it has flavors I’ve never had before like matcha. The second thing I want to try is onigiri. Onigiri is a Japanese rice ball that is made with steamed rice compressed into a triangular ball, filled with fish like tuna and salmon, and is wrapped in dried seaweed to hold on to. The first reason I want to try this is it’s not just fish you can put in it, there is a kind of onigiri where it doesn’t have fish in it but is sprinkled with rice seasonings all over it. The last reason I want to try it is because it doesn’t just have to be in the shape of a triangle, it can be a cat or a panda, or any cute animal. The last thing that I want to try is mochi. Mochi is a Japanese sweet treat made with sweet rice flour and filled with sweet red bean paste or mini scoops of ice cream. The first reason I want to try it is because it sounds very sweet, especially with the mini scoops of ice cream. The last reason I would like to try this is that it just seems genuinely appealing to eat. 

Those are some of the foods and reasons I would like to try them. I hope that encourages you to try something new like food. If you didn’t I hope you find your motivation to try something new with your time. So go out there try something new like learn a new language, learn how to play a sport, learn to play an instrument, learn a new art form,or try a food you’ve never had. You could also step out of your comfort zone and retry a food you don’t really like and had for a while.

Have you ever wondered what mental illnesses can do to a person? If you have, I will tell you, if you haven’t why are you even reading this. Firstly, they can affect normal daily living. How it affects your living is making you feel not like yourself. You also may not feel enjoyment in the things you used to. Secondly, they can make doing daily tasks difficult. For example, say you have Tourette’s (Tourette’s syndrome is a disorder that involves repetitive movements or unwanted sounds [tics] that can’t be easily controlled) doing things like dishes or cooking can be hard for people with Tourette’s. That’s just naming one, there are many more that can make things like that hard. Third and lastly, they can make just living hard. How it can make living hard is giving you a hard time making friends, difficult time focusing on work or school, a hard time falling asleep or waking up or even just getting out of bed in the morning. Though some people with mental illnesses learn to work around these problems, and some the problems can be fixed with therapy, but some really can’t. I hope you learned a little bit about mental illnesses, if you didn’t, do your own research.