How to Write a Successful Blog!

Hey Everyone,
 

 So this is a little different from usual. It's actually a request from my wonderful teacher, Mr. Elkin! He asked if I would write a blog post about how to write a pretty good blog, and seeing as my blog is pretty good, I said "why not?" So here we are!
     I figured the best way to do this was to go step by step. I'll tell you the main things to do and give you some examples. I hope that if you are a first time blogger that this helps you out!

1. Pick a topic. It can be anything really. But it should be something that you know a lot about or you at least know you can talk about for a long time. And don't be afraid to get a little weird with your topic, just not TOO weird. For example if you are really passionate about dogs, you could write your blog about dogs and how to take care of different breeds, or different breeds' characteristics. Or if you're really passionate about cooking, you could have a blog where you try different recipes and review them. Stuff like that! Or give advice to people somehow. I feel like that is the point of most blogs despite the topic, just talk about something that you find interesting or helpful and try to get that out to other people. 
2. Find your audience. When you're writing a blog, you're typically aiming it at a specific group. Your topic shouldn't be too broad because then you'll have a lot of competition for readers with other, bigger, more popular blogs. But then again it shouldn't be too specific either. You have to kind of find your little niche. And most of all once you have decided both of these things, you need to stick with it!
   
3. Now it's time to Start Writing! This part if you have done the first two steps properly should actually be pretty easy. My best advice is to be yourself and write like yourself! What I mean by that is just sort of write, how you talk, so that you sound - like you! This will make you seem much more honest and will make your blog stand out more as unique because of your unique voice. Also, try to stay positive and stick with your topic. You don't want to just post some random rant at 2am and lose a bunch of readers. I'm not saying you can't rant about your life, just do it in a way that sticks to your topic! Also make sure that you are consistent with your blog. That's really important because if you aren't determined or persistent then you won't really get into it. To be honest, the more you do it, the more fun it is! 
   

Another tip for blogging is you want to break up your posts. Writing a lot is wonderful, but when someone looks at a page and sees this:

the interest goes away immediately. Make sure your blog is well designed and eye-catching and put in pictures or something of that nature to break up your post. That way even when you write a ton like I do, it doesn't make you want to instantly click off the page because it's just one huge block of text! Keep things fun and interesting!
     Once you follow those steps, you'll be good to go! You'll have a beautiful and interesting blog and you'll be sure to be successful! I hope this helped you and if you have any questions at all about blogging feel free to leave a comment below and I will try to help you as best I can!
Love to all!
-Autumn the Music Girl

Just Give Me A "Chelsea Smile"

Hello,

     So I'm kind of done with all the sappy songs for now and I'm getting back into some of my more hardcore stuff. Which is why I'm going back to some Bring Me the Horizon especially because I am probably going to go see them next month with Of  Mice & Men in San Francisco! Can't wait!
     So this is probably one of their biggest songs Bring Me The Horizon has ever had and it's from their "Suicide Season" album, and it's called "Chelsea Smile". The video for this song was released on August 15, 2008. However it was not officially released as a single until January 19, 2009. Fun fact about this album, it received rather mixed reviews from people who didn't like their change of style from the "Count Your Blessings" album, and when they went to perform songs from this album, they had bottles thrown at them before their set even started.
     Okay so now for the lyrics and stuff.  You can find them here. Okay so first thing you notice is that he is talking about some secret he has that he won't tell another person which could also mean that he isn't telling anyone what this secret is, at least not directly. Then in this first verse he refers to this secret and how it's actually pretty hard for him to keep it, how it eats away at him, whatever this thing is. And whatever it is is consuming him, he feels like he is just falling. Then we find out that this secret he is keeping could have something to do with a disease he has... have you figured it out yet? If you guessed depression then DING DING DING!!! You're correct!!! Because depression is a mental disease basically that eats away at you slowly, just like he is describing. People tell you to think positively and "count your blessings" but he says he has done that and now he will "count this curse" which is really interesting because really, depression is like a curse. it affects every single aspect of your life.

It makes you hate who you are and regret just about everything, which is why he says "I'm buried and breathing in regret".  Then he repeats the secret, because most people who suffer from depression don't want people to know how they're suffering, they try to keep it a secret for several reasons. Sometimes it's because they don't want people to worry or they think people won't care or they are ashamed of the way they feel. And they hide it a lot of the time, just like he says here that he might seem happy but none of it is genuine,

And there are always people waiting for you to fall. He puts on an act a lot of the time but that's all it is and he knows that if he lets the truth show, some people will jump on him and make fun of him for being weak because of this depression. And once they find out his "shame" it's like he is being attacked by the "vultures".
     Then it goes into this part where he repeats "repent! repent!" and I think that part is about how some people of religion will try and bring God to someone suffering in this way and some people even say that you suffer from depression because you don't have God. Now, I'm not going to go into religious debate but personally I think that religion is a choice and we all have a right to that choice, so don't be like how he is describing in this song, screaming at everyone to repent, okay?
    

 

     So then he goes into this little bit about how all of us hide things and feel things that we wish we didn't. We all get a little depressed sometimes. But for the people who suffer from the actual chemical imbalance known as depression, it drags you down and drowns you like he says here. It is overwhelming and consuming and everything seems hopeless. And then he makes another religious comment about how if he doesn't believe in God, why would God believe in him? Again, not going to go into a religious debate. And then he repeats the chorus about his secret.

     As someone who has suffered from very severe depression, I believe I know what I am talking about when I say all of this. Yes, depression is different for everyone who has it but the underlying feelings are pretty much the same. Knowing this, trust me when I say it gets better. Sometimes it gets better on its own and sometimes you need a little help. Talking to someone helps, even if its embarassing or you have a hard time trusting people... talking to someone about what you're going through and how you feel, really does wonders as long as you are completely honest. And if that isn't enough, talking to someone about maybe getting on some medication also really helps. Sometimes it really is about your brain and not having enough seratonin or dopamine and having something that will balance out your brain chemistry is really helpful! I know from experience!

     Above all, know that you're not alone. That's why I love bands like this and why I love music. Because even when you feel like you are the only person to ever experience what you are experiencing, music shows you that you aren't!

Love to All,

-Autumn the Music Girl





Let You Go, And Let "The Lonely" In...

Hey Everyone,

     Well things in my life have taken a dramatic and lonely turn so I've decided to stick with my Christina Perri streak and go with her song "The Lonely" for this week's blog post. This song was released as the first promotional single for her album, "Lovestrong". It was released to iTunes on March 29, 2011. The lyric video was posted to YouTube the following day. The lyric video for this song is one of my favorites and I hope you all watch it after reading this, because it will be posted below! Now as for the inspiration for this song, Christina Perri has said:

"It's lonely personified. It’s my relationship with no one, and I’m very happy I kept it superdramatic and simple at the same time. It’s me, a piano, plus a nineteen-piece orchestra."

And with that, let's get into the lyrics!
     You can find them here. So this first verse here depicts a scene of this woman who is very damaged and completely consumed in the loneliness she feels. It keeps her up at night, to the point where she doesn't even know what to do. And in this little pre-chorus part, which I think is a vital portion of the song, she talks about how she is losing herself. She's becoming a person she no longer recognizes because of this brokenness she feels about herself.

So then she goes in to talk further about her experience with this. She feels so lonely, like she is "dancing slowly in an empty room", which is a really sad image when you think about it. I even picture it in like, black and white. Feeling like a sad song is playing in your head and you are so alone and you don't know what to do besides dance to it, but you just wish more than anything that someone would be there to dance with you. And from the next line it seems like she had someone to "dance" with her before, but whoever that was left her. And she wonders if this overwhelming loneliness will be able to fill her heart to some extent and replace the love of this person. And this last part really shows how she is accepting that this person is gone. And this girl is afraid of her own emotions. Which is pretty common especially in females because emotions are powerful and can be very overwhelming and it can make you not want to deal with them. And that is what she is expressing here. She is scared to feel her own pain and sadness because she doesn't want to let this loneliness consume her but at the same time she knows that it's pointless to fight it. And that's when she sort of gives up, which I feel is really expressed in the lines "But the loneliness will stay with me, and hold me 'till I fall asleep". And she reiterates that she doesn't know what she is becoming.

And that's when this little bridge portion comes in. She feels like she's sort of fading away without the love of this person who left her. She feels like she's dying a little bit every day- "barely breathing". And she feels abandoned and she doesn't know what to do or how to deal with it or accept it. She is broken. So she lets the lonely take over.
     As sad as that may be, that is the end. Now as far as advice, I would say a few things. First, don't think that you can just replace lost love, at least not right away. There will be a missing piece there for a while. But it's normal and we all go through it. Second, even when you feel like no one understands, someone does, so you don't have to go through it alone. Third, yes, your loneliness may be overwhelming for a while, but as is often said, this too shall pass. Life never stays the same. There are ups and downs and though this may be a really really low down, you WILL go back up. Know that you will not always be alone. The lonely will leave as swiftly as it came and you will be okay. I promise.
Love to all,
-Autumn the Music Girl

You Put Your "Arms" Around Me And I'm Home

Hey Everyone,

     So like I said I am sort of obsessing over Christina Perri and this song is also one of my favorites off of her album, "Lovestrong". It's called "Arms". It was released as a single on March 15, 2011 and was the second single to be released from the album. Its a very beautiful and happy sounding song, built around a piano melody. As for the song meaning, Christina has talked about it pretty in depth, saying:

"'Arms' is about the fight between your heart and your mind. Your heart wants to be loved but your head is always telling you reasons not to be with him or her, or how you are not worth the love. It's about the struggle and finally giving in when you're wrapped in their arms. Then you get it. Then you feel loved and love wins."

I definitely agree with this message and I will go into depth with it so I hope you like it!
     You can find the lyrics here. So this song starts off really sweetly, saying that she basically didn't expect this guy to come around and make her feel loved. Then she thinks that she doesn't deserve it and that it would be easier on him if he just left, but then she realizes how great she feels with him. Then she talks about how she can't decide what to listen to- her heart or her head. And he knows about this battle she is having but he is staying, which is a different thing for her. She can't decide how this change is going to affect her or how she's going to deal with what's going on in her mind. She knows she can be happy with him... like, REALLY happy. But she also has this idea in her head that she doesn't deserve it so she might just drown in her own internal battle over this whole issue and miss out on a really amazing and beautiful relationship. She knows that she has put walls up against love but she hopes that he is different and is able to get past them.

She can feel herself already starting to fall in love with him and she has never really been that close with another person before because she hasn't ever felt like she deserved it. She has always pushed them away and gone with the side of her that says "you aren't worth him". But with him, she's thinking that it's different. Then of course while she is dealing with this war in her head, there are other stressful things going on in her life making her feel even more worthless. Maybe people are criticizing her relationship or just criticizing her and in her mind, they're right. And she realizes how important this guy is to her and she could see herself spending the rest of her life with him, but she's scared of herself and her anxiety and her issues with her self-worth and she doesn't want him to have to deal with all of that. And then she repeats the chorus and stuff and then this little bridge part comes up where she talks about how she didn't want him to see the side of her that is dealing with all of this and she's never let another person get so close to her and she knows now that she is in love with him and she doesn't know what she would do without him. And like Christina herself said, love wins.

     I think this is a rather moving story, really. Because it shows that though you may have your doubts about your own self worth, everyone deserves love and if he really loves you, he won't leave or get freaked out by your anxieties. He will be there for you and care for you and when you're in his arms you'll realize that you finally feel home and everything will be okay. Love will win, because love always wins.

Love to you all,

-Autumn the Music Girl