I Want to See the World Burn

Hi people. Thank you for visiting my blog again. I haven't written in some days, which I don't like; my original plan was to write one post per week. But work kept me really busy this week, plus some personal problems I was having. Nevertheless, here we are again.

For this post, I wish to talk about some of my unpopular opinions (most of them about books). I will provide a brief explanation for each, while hoping you don't come at me with pitchforks and torches... although I'd secretly love that, it would be fun. Please don't be offended for the things I will write; you are entitled to your own opinion, just like me. I'm not looking to offend you, this isn't a personal attack. Without further due, let's burn this world to the ground.

1- I've read better fantasy books than Harry Potter: I don't hate Potter, really I don't. I was in second grade when I read the first book, so it was my introduction to literature for which I will be eternally grateful. It's a very good series, with lots of imagination and wonder. But I do get annoyed when people want to shove it down my throat. Yes, it is amazing; no one can say the contrary. But it is not the only fantasy series in the world, and it's not the best. Of course this is a matter of opinion, but I've personally enjoyed other fantasy works more than Potter (and I'm not talking about "Lord of the Rings").

2- Captain Marvel doesn't deserve all that hate: When a man is cocky, confident, sarcastic and with a hero complex, he is praised as a great character. For example Tony Stark, better known as Iron Man. Now, when a woman shows these same characteristics, she's called a bitch. The best example for me is Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. Basically what you're saying is that girls should be confident, but not too confident; that if girls show they don't need a man, they are seen as having a superiority complex. Male superheroes don't smile all the time, are often serious, and no one bats an eye. But Carol should smile more because she's a woman. If a woman appears as a sidekick (yet again), she's a badass. But if she takes the leading role, she's full of herself. Carol deserves better.

3- Katniss and Gale would have been horrible together: One thing that strikes me the most about Katniss is that despite all the things she must do, she respects life above all else. Gale has no such respect. He once told her that basically she should hunt down her competitors in the Hunger Games, to which she stated that she only hunts animals; he replied "What's the difference?". That always left a bad taste in my mouth. Gale seems to me the person who believes that the end justifies the means, regardless of who must die; he doesn't show the compassion that Katniss needs to find in such a cruel world. You might not like Peeta, but he was certainly more human than Gale; I don't care how cute he was.

4- You're not better than others just because you don't like popular things: So you don't have any interest in "Game of Thrones"? Do you hate superhero movies? You think Star Wars is stupid? You believe only indie movies are good? I couldn't care less. You are entitled to have your own opinions and tastes, I don't mind. But please stop believing you're better than everyone else just for not liking these things. You've never seen Star Wars? If so, why should I care? Do you want a medal for that?

5- I really can't stand John Green's books: I've read a couple of books by this man, and... it's just not for me. I found the plots to be recycled! White teenagers who fall in love, but for some reason can't be together, they have weird and random tastes, most of them don't feel like real teenagers, and the plots get to be too predictable. It's like reading a Nicholas Sparks book: same white straight people, falling in love and full of annoying angst.

6- Narnia is an awful book: I will soon make a full post about this, because I have some serious issues with Narnia. Put briefly, I despise everything regarding this work. I find it racist, misogynist, full of religious propaganda, hypocritical, incongruous, and even boring; I'm sorry but the writing style was not for me. Not only do most of the children in this book sound the same (which proves to me that the author wasn't very good at writing characters) but the girls are treated specially awful. I will never forgive C. S. Lewis for what he did to Susan Pevensie, and how he destroyed her character just for discovering sex.

7- The "Umbrella Academy" comics are way better than the Netflix adaptation: Don't get me wrong, the TV series is pretty good. But it doesn't compare to the comics. Not only the story is more complex, but the characters are much better in the source material. They are more powerful than their TV counterparts, their adventures are more superhero-like, and they are not very good people, which I love because I deeply enjoy flawed and complicated characters. The source material is also darker than the TV series, which is something I adore.

This is the end of my unpopular opinions. If you guys would want to read more about this, just let me know in the comments below. I hope we'll read each other soon.

P.S. Zulmarie thank you for ranting about J. K. Rowling with me, we do love a good rant. Yamaris thank you for discussing Harry Potter with me, it's extremely fun. And Dianaryz, thank you for having the patience and the good laughs for both topics. Love you girls!

Am I the Carrie Bradshaw of my Clique?

Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog. I see I have been receiving some visits, which makes me very happy. Today I come to talk briefly about one of my passions: "Sex and the City". 

For those of you who might not know, "Sex and the City" is a television series inspired by a book of the same name by Candace Bushnell. It tells the story of four female friends named Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, and their adventures living in New York City. During the series we see these women go to parties, meet and date men, explore their sexuality, grow as people, professionals and friends, and how they learn to love themselves more and more. 

I am part of this group of friends, all female but me. I have to say I love them with all my heart. I won't mention their names, but they are also big fans of the series, and once we assigned the four main characters to each of us depending on our personalities and love lives. 

One of them got Charlotte, for being the most artistic of the group, having a long and steady relationship, and being very sweet as the character. My other friend got Samantha, for reasons I won't discuss here; let's just say she loves her independence more than anything else. Last but not least, I've made an awesome new friend who got Miranda, because she always speaks her mind, she's sassy and super funny, and also has a very long standing relationship. But then I realized I was left with Carrie. I wondered, is this a good thing at all? 

Carrie is, arguably, the one with the rockiest love life. At the same time, she enjoys great sex but can't help but long for that one true love; she's a hopeless romantic. She's also a writer who loves shopping beautiful clothes and fancy things. She loves being with her friends and finds in them the biggest support. To top it all, she's desperately in love with the devilish handsome Mr. Big, who entered her life and changed it forever. 

The thing is, Carrie is not perfect (as any good character). She can be superficial, egotistic, somewhat impulsive regarding her feelings, and sometimes makes permanent decisions on temporal situations. And I have to say something I am not very glad to admit: I relate to her in more ways than I'd like. For the good part, I'm beginning to write here and I'm an English teacher, so I spend lots of time writing or reading. I love shopping beautiful things and clothes as long as I can afford them, and I'm a hopeless romantic who still enjoys the occasional date. But I can also be impulsive, I take rash decisions, and I can be a little arrogant. 

So, I wonder: is being a Carrie a good thing? Am I ready to play this role? It's not like it's life mandatory, but I do see myself falling into this role more and more with my friends. We have sweet Charlotte, independent Samantha and sassy Miranda; am I the romantic Carrie? I am a hopeless romantic after all. I believe in romance, in dancing a waltz in my wedding. There would be white and pink flowers, my friends and family present, and a gorgeous Mr. Big by my side. This might seem great, but Carrie has a very unsteady love life in general. Am I doomed to have a bad love life as well? Is this a part of the character I can't avoid? Sometimes it seems like it. 

Nevertheless, writing this has given me some perspective. Is being Carrie that bad? I say no. She may have a bad love life, but she learns from her mistakes and doesn't let them erase her smile. With her friends' help she learns to love herself before she loves anyone else. She continually makes progress in her career, she explores her sexuality shamelessly, and she can be humble enough (sometimes) to admit she was wrong and ask for forgiveness. 

I take all the good and bad from Carrie, just as I am learning to accept all parts of me. I take her power and strength, her passion and sexuality, but most of all her love for herself and her friends. More than the love she has for Mr. Big, I will always keep in my heart the love she had for Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte. Men can come and go, but good and real friends are forever. I am deeply grateful for the friends I have, who constantly show their support and love, and remind me that I'm not alone in this world. 

And they also remind me that having fun between the sheets from time to time is not a bad thing at all. 

With love, 

Ema 

P.S. Carrie Bradshaw, I sincerely hope I become as good as a writer like you someday.