by Reilly Jaworski | Nov 11, 2021 | Opinion & Reviews
If you’re anything like me, you have a strong affinity for Halloween, but, surprisingly, really don’t like being scared. Are you wondering how you should proceed with your Halloween festivities with this sort of affliction? I’ve got you covered. Here is a list of my favorite Halloween movies that contain no shortage of Halloween flair, but are, thankfully, devoid of any jump scares.
1. Hocus Pocus
Quite possibly the prime Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus is one you’ll want to watch before anyone can scold you for neglecting it. Featuring ancient witches and spells, a talking cat, and the atmosphere of the ’90s: this movie has it all.
2. The Haunted Mansion
Quite possibly the most fun and inventive Halloween movie, The Haunted Mansion is an underrated charm you shouldn’t forget to check off your list before November 1st. Based on the famous Disney ride, the Haunted Mansion features intricate imagery and a unique storyline with no deficit of lightheartedness, courtesy of Eddie Murphy.
3. Corpse Bride
Being my favorite Tim Burton movie, Corpse Bride is a beautifully told story of the fragility and importance of life. The imagery alone is enough reason to watch this movie, let alone the melodic voice of Johnny Depp, clever writing, and original soundtrack. This is a must-watch movie, even outside of October.
4. Beetlejuice
The most humorous of the movies on this list, Beetlejuice is a classic you should be sure to watch to avoid references flying over your head. Additionally, any movie with an iconic Michael Keaton character is one you should put on your to-watch list ASAP. You may even be inspired to dress in a black and white striped suit and a green wig this Halloween.
5. Hotel Transylvania
For our cartoon-oriented readers, Hotel Transylvania is the perfect Halloween movie to relax to, not having to pay attention too heavily. Featuring a hotel packed with notorious (but friendly) monsters, one voiced by our school favorite, Adam Sandler, this movie contains no shortage of Halloween appeal.
6. Halloweentown
While not my favorite Halloween movie, many swear by it as being the perfect comfort movie. This movie will surely get you feeling Halloween-y without being put through any sort of apprehension.
Some of us enjoy Halloween despite our diversion to horror. For those of you with this predicament, I hope you now find that there are a good amount of Halloween movies that skip the scare scenes.
by Reilly Jaworski | Jun 10, 2021 | Opinion & Reviews
Even though it doesn’t feel like it, summer (and graduation for seniors) is becoming visible, waiting for us as we approach the finish line. With summer in mind, the most iconic high school movies of the 80’s are brought up in the same line of thinking. So, without further ado, here is a definitive list of the best John Hughes high school movies (I’ve left out the mediocre ones), ranked from worst to best, so that you can watch them before the school year draws to a close.
- Pretty in Pink
I’ve seen this movie at least seven times and I change my opinion of it, particularly of the ending, each time. This is a movie about a wishy washy upper class boy, tending to care more about the perceptions of his friends than his own feelings, who falls for a lower class girl that happens to be too good for him. With a memorable soundtrack featuring the best bands of the 80s and the ability to make you laugh and cry (characteristic of any John Hughes film), I would recommend this movie to anyone who doesn’t shy away from the forbidden love trope.
- Sixteen Candles
While incredibly unrealistic, this movie brings forth several opportunities for laughter as well as oozes every bit of the 80’s and what it’s like to be in high school- at least, what we all wish it was like to be in high school, as I can all but promise everyone reading this that your crush will not fall in love with you purely because they notice you staring at them. Despite its penchant toward the improbable, this movie is fun and you’ll likely want to watch it again and again.
- Weird Science
Though I’m embarrassed to admit it, I’ve never seen this movie, so I’ll have to take my own advice to watch this one before the school year ends. However, I have it on good authority from several parties that this is a funny and mindless movie that should definitely be seen and enjoyed. So, you can take their word for it and I guess I will too.
- The Breakfast Club
Still holding up today, this movie is probably the most realistic on the list and an accurate representation of the different personalities you may find through the halls of school. The beauty of this movie is that it shows that representatives from every group or clique in school have the ability to come together as friends, because no one is that different from everyone else. This movie will teach you that everyone struggles, even people whose lives you’d originally deemed as shining images of perfection. This is a movie that I recommend to every single person because everyone will surely get something out of it.
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The crème de la crème, the prime teen movie and mother of all John Hughes films, Ferris Bueller’s day off. If you’ve ever had a teacher say, “Bueller?” after saying someone’s name in attendance, I can tell you with the proudest certainty that this movie is where that reference stems from my friend, and many more for that matter. The story features a universally beloved high school student and his two friends as they play hooky from school and make their mark in Chicago. Funny and unpredictable, this movie is one that anybody with senioritis or a general hankering to get out of school can surely appreciate, thereby making it the perfect movie to watch just before summer break.
High school doesn’t last very long, which makes some people smile and others frown. No matter who you are, though, or how you perceive these four years, any and all of John Hughes high school movies can be a surefire source of joy for you.
by Reilly Jaworski | Jun 8, 2021 | Advice
All around, popping up at every corner, are countless problems with our environment. So many in fact, that we become easily overwhelmed; those of us who want to help, end up asking the question “How can I help?” My hope is that this article will help answer this question, giving you feasible and easy solutions to the bettering of the world that continues to be so important to our lives.
- Notice the small things. The simplest thing you can do to help, is fixing problems rather than ignoring them. I’m talking really small, like picking up litter that you walk by on the street and throwing it away. Even if you weren’t the one who littered, we all live in the same world and are consequently all impacted by the decisions of others. Little things like picking up trash and making sure your windows are rolled up if you have trash in your backseat are the little things that make big differences.
- Grow a butterfly/bee garden. Pollination is a process too far overlooked. Not only is a butterfly garden fun to build and aesthetically appealing to view from your porch, but it provides an opportunity for pollination to occur, helping plants produce more seeds and keep our world looking classy.
- Ask for paper instead of plastic. The next time the bagger at the grocery store presents to you the same familiar question, try switching up your answer and replying, “paper.” This goes a long way, as paper bags are recyclable. Alternatively, you could bring reusable bags and ask for your groceries to be put into those. Not only are there environmental benefits of this decision, but you also keep the bagger on their toes.
- Volunteer for cleanups. This one requires slightly more effort, but if it’s something you’re interested in, it could really be of benefit. I say, give it a whirl. Who knows what animals you will save or harm to the environment you will negate?
- Use energy efficient light bulbs. Not only do they contribute less to greenhouse gases, but these bulbs last longer so not only are you saving energy, but money too!
- Ride your bike. This one can be tricky to do sometimes depending on your destination, and it can also be a bit tiresome. But, when you can, I highly encourage you to ride your bike the next time you need to get something from the grocery store or go to a friend’s house. Plus, you save gas money.
Of course you don’t have to do all of the items on this list, though, all the more to you if you do. I encourage you to pick one thing off of this list and stick to it. You may be surprised just how easy and rewarding helping the environment in little ways can be. Everyone has the ability to make change big and small, good and bad. I hope that you choose to make a good change.
by Reilly Jaworski | Jun 1, 2021 | Advice
The repercussions of an idle mind are seldom discussed. While curiosity is a natural human state, we often distract ourselves from it and shrug it off our shoulders. The route that our minds take during moments of curiosity is what brings about so many of the great things in the world, claiming rights creations and bits of joy that pop up in our lives. Yet, there seems to be a dip in the growth of curiosity, probably because we as a society have evolved to stifling our curiosity, deeming it a misuse of our time. Why should we deprive ourselves the formation of new wonderful things? Why should we deter ourselves from getting distracted?
I like to look at curiosity as meandering through your thoughts, letting your mind go to many different places without an agenda. You sort of just let your brain know that it’s okay to get excited over anything it wants to. Your brain needs to hear that sometimes. If you loosen the leash on your mind and let it roam around, there’s sure to be some benefits waiting for you on the other side. You might even learn something about yourself; there are things that you like that you don’t know you like yet, miscellaneous facts you’ve yet to learn but that your future self is getting ready to tell at a party, and a lot of happiness yet to be revealed. The trick is letting your brain go off on tangents for a while, which can be a bit of a challenge to let happen. There are ways to go about it, though.
The best thing you can do, and I know you don’t want to hear this, is to listen to your incessant inner dialogue. That little voice in your head that never pipes down is crucial in revealing your inmost desires. It reveals a lot of other stuff, too, but I don’t want to get to Freudian here. That voice in your head that’s always getting distracted while you’re focusing is really important. The next time that little voice tries to tell you something, I want you to listen to it, humor it, and ultimately decide to let it take the reins. Once you let your thoughts be consumed by curiosity, you’ll probably find there’s a lot you’re interested in. Naturally, the next stage is to Google absolutely every question you ask yourself. We’re talking about who invented ice cream, what is the temperature like in outer space, and can you really get sick from eating too much raw cookie dough? Everything. What’s really advantageous, is that with practice, Your inner voice will probably lead you down more winding paths These more intricate inclinations toward the Google search bar may feature topics such as daily lives of ancient civilians, how to read Latin, and theories about the Library of Alexandria. Watching YouTube videos and documentaries, reading articles and asking people what they know about certain topics will surely lead you to interesting areas of knowledge, no matter where they take you.
You’ll find that letting yourself become curious about many things will give you many things to learn, be excited about, and pursue. You’ll be able to boast your newfound discoveries to whomever may listen, including yourself. It’s always nice to carry a little extra knowledge around– no one can ever take what you learn away from you. Curiosity is merely the starting point for new developments in several areas of yourself. The next time you find your inner voice asking you “Why?” like an aggravating toddler, I encourage you to give it an answer.
by Reilly Jaworski | May 11, 2021 | Advice
The aim for each day is to make it something that you will feel nostalgic for in the future. Days are meant to be lived so well that we will ache to go back to them. This feeling is accomplished when we make the conscious decision to provide ourselves with as many sources of fun possible at each moment that we face.
You are the only force that holds the ability to make your life memorable. No one else can instill within you the urge to make something great out of each day you are given. While present in everyone’s life, obligations will not be the memories we think fondly back to in our old age, and while necessary to complete, responsibilities are no excuse for the abandonment of joy. I started writing this when I got back home the day after taking the ACT, and I still managed to make that day enjoyable, so the implementation of fun within conventionally un-fun days is feasible. If you have something to do on a certain day and it isn’t something you are particularly excited about, the best thing you can do is add things you are excited about to that very day. Ultimately, you must understand that you are the only force that decides how good or bad your day will be. Now that you know this, it’s important to discover ways in which your life can be made more memorable.
An absolutely necessary step to take towards a life of exciting days is to stop taking everything so seriously. This is something I could use a bit of work on too, but worrying over present, past, and future stressors is wildly useless. Looking at minor problems with a passive point of view is not only the healthier decision, but the decision that will be more conducive to your daily happiness. If there’s something that you can not control or make better, then there really is no use lamenting over it. This includes thinking about unfortunate events from the past and about hypothetical situations that will likely not present themselves. This is not to say that you should ignore issues in your life, but more that you should look at issues with an objective perspective without turning to dramatics as a coping mechanism. Limiting the amount of self inflicted stress in your life will unquestionably make your days more enjoyable.
If the level of enjoyment of your day is being diminished by your bad mood, there are a few simple ways to fix this. The first recommendation I have to brighten up your day is to listen to happy music. Music is an instant mood booster, and taking advantage of living in the century that you do and having music at your disposal will boost your mood, guaranteed. Next is to bake something or watch a favorite movie, and if you can, do both simultaneously. What’s more fun than eating brownie batter and watching your favorite story unravel? It’s a combination rarely defeated. Another simple and immensely effective way to improve your spirits is to do something kind for someone else. Watching their mood lift will equate to the brightening of yours, and voila: the days of two people have been made better.
You are in control of your days, and it’s important to remember that life is not just about passing through, forgetting the things you want to do in the midst of the things you have to do. Get your stuff done, but ensure that you have a good time on this vast world that we’re only privileged enough to live on for a short time.
