Learning manual work

As we all know, we don't learn any manual work in school anymore. It is a subject that should still be taught, especially nowadays when we try to reduce our carbon footprint.

In our current society, we buy everything, and if something breaks, we buy a new one. If we learned how to work with wood and sew, we could buy less and repair things that break or modify objects that we don't need any more to make new useful items that we need and want. For example, with clothing, you can modify a dress to make a shirt if there is a stain or a hole in the skirt, or carve some wood that was from an old box to make a new decoration item.

Furthermore, by learning manual work, we could develop new skills that we are not able to develop in other classes as we are manipulating materials and thinking what to make and how. The art classes that we have in middle school are a great start to develop those skills, but we could go further and it would benefit the students all their life. It would also make it possible to change the popular view that to be intelligent, you have to be good at math and science in general and that there aren't any other ways, by changing it to the fact that there are many different kinds of intelligence. Students that have difficulties with science but are good with the manual discipline would not be marginalised and seen as stupid, but would be helped to find an appropriate study path that would allow them to be happy and succeed in their careers.
Céline

Why you should be writing a story

Wait! I know what you are thinking. Something like “ugh, how typical for a English Literature assignment.” I agree that it’s quite typical, but I believe you might be interested in what I have to say concerning this subject.

I like to compare the action of writing with the art of carving. In the beginning, you just have a block of clay. Your tools are your mind and imagination, and each one of the little strokes you give the clay is a word. But be careful ! Your strokes can’t be careless, or the whole sculpture will be weakened. Like your strokes, your words have to be carefully chosen so they can precisely render the effect you chose them for. For example, do you see the differences between “see”, “watch”, “observe”, and “notice”? They are quite slight, but choosing one of these words over another can change the meaning of a whole sentence. And once you’re done, once you’ve checked your work again and again for imperfections, you finally take a step back, and admire your masterpiece.

Of course, it’s a difficult thing to do, but in the end it’ll be a great experience. Writing will enable you to acquire a better knowledge of whatever language you’re experimenting with, and the quality of your expression will also improve. However, those aren’t the reasons for which I, myself, write. It’s actually something that can be found in Lisa’s post about drawing ; the feeling of being in control. When you are writing a story, especially fiction, the only limit to your power is your imagination. You can create whole worlds in the span of a few Word pages. You can create governments, histories, religions, animals.... You can write a story about drama, romance, adventure ! You can create characters, or use already existing ones. You want to write yourself into a story? Nothing is stopping you! You are a puppeteer, controlling everything with your words. All you need is a red thread to guide you ; a plot.

But easier said than done. A plot doesn't always magically appear in your brain when you need one - many writers that suffer from writer’s block can confirm that. However, inspiration can arrive anytime ; on the bus, in your bed, in class… If you are really blocked, I would recommend searching for writing prompts of the internet. They are thousands of them. For example, not so long ago, Solène sent me one that read “You finally build enough courage to talk to that cute someone you see everyday on the bus. Their face turns dark as they respond ; ‘you shouldn’t be able to see me.’” I took that, tried to do something with it, and ended up with a whole story about mythologies that had nothing to do with a scene in a bus. Once you get started, it goes very quickly !

When you are ready, sit down, make yourself comfortable, and take your computer - or your pen. Keep in mind that the best thing to do is write what you would want to read. If you need to read a story with a happy ending, write that. If you need to read something very dark, so be it ! That’s a good way to ensure that you’ll be satisfied with your works.

Finally, ask yourself these three questions ;

1. Who is the main character ?

2. What does the character want more than anything ?

3. How can I prevent them from getting it ? 

Elise

Nudity does not equal Obscenity

The other day in my art class, I got very little respectful feedback from my (adult) classmates, and this due to the subject of my project. Indeed, I dared to draw a naked body, and my drawing was instantly called obscene. I utterly disagree.
       First of all, nudity is the obligatory way to represent anatomy and all its details; we can see for example in all the statues and paintings representing Greek or Biblical heroes that the hero is naked to show his strength with the details of the muscles and his sacredness (Michelangelo's David or other Italian contemporaries), or even today to show the extreme humanity of the subject (Schiele, Gauguin, etc).
       Linked to that, we can affirm that nudity is the purest form of humanity (and was used to show one's humanity in medieval religious paintings, like Adam and Eve), or represented the sacredness of a being (gods in mythological paintings of the following time period, like in Boticelli's Birth of Venus) and therefore is in itself the opposite of obscenity.
       Now, I agree that many artists (Rodin, Buffet, etc.) used nudity for eroticism, whose point is obscenity, and that it can hardly reach this goal without naked figures. But eroticism is very different from nudity, for the simple reason that eroticism seeks to shock the viewer through obscenity and nudity to convey the human or sacred atmosphere.
       So, if there is nudity in my works, it doesn't make them obscene. It shows the aesthetic of the body, the humanity in the characters, and transforms the atmosphere to something deistic. And disrespecting them because of that is absolutely idiotic.
Marlene

The Crossing

The big leap, the one you make once in a lifetime without ever looking back. This bridge that you cross between your primary innocence and the realization of the dirt our lives and world carry around everywhere we go. This bridge across which you walk as slowly as possible, slowly realizing what is at the end of it: going from our world of sweet pleasures to the one of harsh realities. This crossing when ideas blur and conceptions are turned upside down. When you do not what you should be thinking. When you are afraid to be called by everyone else a pessimist. When you are afraid of ever being able to enjoy the exaltations of mental freedom, of not feeling responsible, of not seeing, or, in fact, not even wanting or needing to look. It is at this crucial moment of your life that you start feeling the pressure of ourselves. It is at the end of that bridge that you see the other bank, colorful; colored by your mistakes, by our mistakes. It is during the crossing that you start living outside yourself. It is then, when you see your own life as if you were someone else and you cannot bear looking at yourself anymore, that you see how you do everything the wrong way. It the crossing that makes you discover the other side. It is then, when you sense that the other bank is dark but so much better already. It is halfway across the bridge that you decide, because, yes, you do decide, for this choice at least you are entirely alone, liberated from any pressure, entirely free to choose, to choose whether you keep on walking or whether you run back to the bank of recklessness, free of responsibility, free of pressure. It is this crucial moment that you know you will remember your entire life, the moment when you choose to turn your back on something.

Running away meaning you want to leave our problems out of your mind but you are now aware that you will always be, in a way, ignorant.

Walking forward, without ever looking back and deciding to become fully aware of our problems, becoming a lucid person and giving up any hope of enjoyment with an entirely free mind.

    Alone, lonely in the darkness of your thoughts’ turmoil, you try to determine what you want to see - now being fully aware - to choose and not regret,  what you want to live for the remaining time you hope you can get before cancer gets you and what you do not want to see. In both cases, you have to make a free choice, nothing; no one can tell you what to do but yourself and in both cases, you will be entirely responsible for what you choose.

    The bridge is long, and every time I take a step, I think deeply about the direction I place my foot.

Best Regards,

Chahin HOUMOUR

Why drawing is fun

Drawing is one of my favorite activities : when I have some free time (or when I’m in class but shhhh......), I always take a piece of paper and start drawing whatever comes to my mind.

Drawing is a very impressive form of art and it is also very fun and fulfilling ;  I will show you why you should try drawing.

First of all, you are the one who controls everything. You can draw whatever you want, you have total freedom over what you want to do : you can draw a man, a woman, lands, animals and many other things. Being the one who is in control and creating your own characters is a pretty fulfilling feeling : you’re always happy when you draw something that you can be proud of. It always amazes me how some people can create a world full of different characters who all have different features. You also have so many possibilities on what to draw and how to : there are so many positions, so many expressions, so many perspectives to explore that make the world of drawing really interesting with endless possibilities.

What’s really interesting in drawing is that it stirs up emotions : every time you look at a certain picture, you might feel a certain way because that drawing made you feel like that. 

Drawing is also a way of expressing emotions without talking : language is not the only way to communicate, drawing can also be used to communicate. It’s impressive how so many emotions can be felt strongly without any words.

Even though drawing is really hard and even if you might not be able to draw that well, just give it a try, I’m sure it’ll be worth it.

Thank you for reading my blog post.

Lisa

Why handball is the best sport you can play as a French teenager

First of all, as French or France-residing people you must all know that our men's national team is one of the best in the world as they have won at least a bronze medal in every single tournament they have taken part in for more than 20 years. 

Secondly, on a sport-based point of view, handball is really good for your health : it requires you to be strong and fit; it improves your speed in running and makes your heart work a lot, which is good for your health and for your body development. On a social level, handball is a team sport, and I think it is really important as teenagers to practise some team sports ; indeed, the relationships you forge between members of your team are really precious ones as you share a lot of moments together, from the victorious moments to the road trips across the country on a bus. 

Finally, handball is a good mental exercise ; in fact, the psychological pressure during a game is really important even for basic championship matches: As there are only 2 referees (maximum) the players often get hit or insulted without being seen, which creates tension on the field. Therefore, good mental strength (or the ability to make the opponents angry and unfocused) is an important feature of a handball player.

To conclude, I’d say that handball is in fact a really good sport to play, as it allows you to have good physical activity, gives you unforgettable moments with your friends and also trains you on a psychological level. 

Eddy

Why I am thankful for swings (and why you should be too)

As Thanksgiving was only a few days ago I thought I would take advantage of this blog post to express my gratitude for this special object that is the swing, this very ordinary piece of wood or plastic hanging proudly from two tight ropes clinging to a tree, a crossbar or anything solid enough to support a child's weight. This lonely memory of our childhood, impassive, silently oscillating to the soft touch of the wind. Have you ever considered the role this object played in your early years ? And have you ever tried to give it a second chance ? I will provide you with some knock-out arguments and I promise you won't be able to resist the temptation to jump on the next swing you meet and experience the swing-thrill again after.

            1- Swings are part of our childhood. And who said that following our inner child was an element that makes us even better people ? Actually a lot of extremely wise people did; you should just check out the number of quotations on this theme, as it is quite impressive. As a consequence, taking a few minutes to sit on a swing and rediscover your four year-old self probably won't hurt (only if your sense of balance is really primitive). You will forget about all the almost grown-up things you have to deal with and trust me it is totally worth it.

            2- Swings are at least as thrilling as rollercoasters. Imagine yourself sitting, your feet leaving the ground, your hair flying in a very romantic manner for a moment and then operating an incredibly fast U-turn and hitting your face, your eyes directed to the sky, the air rushing into your nose, your eyes, your ears, your clothes flying behind you, temporary Superman cape and your mind filled with nothing but a word « HIGHER »… Don't underestimate the swing-thrill.

            3- Swings are usually located outside and by that I mean that you can always use the fact that you have spent a few minutes on a swing to justify a whole afternoon of Netflix.

            4- Swings have been proven to have a beneficial effect on our sleep. Indeed according to scientists the movement of the swing could be associated in our mind to the gentle rocking our parents made us fall asleep with when we were babies. This association would thereby improve the quality of our sleep. How marvellous !

            5- Swings don't require a high physical investement but you can surely use it as a way to shape your body if you are determined enough.  This activity can be practiced as a way to relax and daydream a little bit by just gently swaying,  the top of your feet not even forced to leave the ground. On the other hand you can completely make of your swing session a gym session by swinging higher and higher, faster and faster and if you are very very determined without your hands on the ropes (that's doable but you should train first as I don't want to be responsible for any broken arms, noses, legs…). Again don't underestimate the power of swings.

I wish I could go on and on because I have several arguments left. Nevertheless time and space are starting to lack so I hope these points convinced you to be more thankful for swings. Who knows, maybe next time you walk past one, you'll give it a try.

Héloïse