TWICE: Rejoicing Femininity

The fact that I hated these girls just for their concepts really hurts me to this day.

Like I promised in my last blog, I am here with a new article on another trendy and popular South Korean idol group known as TWICE. Currently they are the leading girl group idols in the Pop world of South Korea. In this blog, I will share my experience about how TWICE made me embrace my feminine, youthful and cutesy side while not making me feel fragile or unimportant. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who got converted.

Who are these girls?

TWICE is a group of nine beautiful and talented girls who debuted on October 20, 2015 from the popular company JYP Entertainment with their hit single “Ooh Ahh”. The members, in no particular order, includes Nayeon, Sana, Mina, Momo, Chaeyoung, Dahyun, Tzuyu, Jihyo and Jeongyeon. Among them, Sana, Mina and Momo are from Japan and Tzuyu is from Taiwan. The rest of them are South Koreans.

Their debut music video “Ooh Ahh” was the first debut music video which hit 50 million views on YouTube within five months of their debut and became the most viewed debut music video for any Kpop group. Well, I watched it myself and I know why it was so popular. Not only the music has a catchy beat but the concept of their music video was curing zombies with their amazing vocal and dance skills. And who doesn’t like a good zombie flick. It was mainly their unique concept along with a fantastic song that made them so appealing, and not to mention, each of them is an embodiment of innocent beauty.

How I got into Kpop aka how BTS became my bias group

BlackPink "Playing with Fire" photoshoot

Thanks to BlackPink.

I am fairly new to this whole Kpop thing but I must say I am very impressed and don’t regret anything (well, apart from the fact that I love so many groups and have so many biases and spend so much time streaming their comebacks and whatnot). It’s been only six or seven months, I guess, that I began to love this whole new world. Let me warn you newcomers, though. It’s an addicting world. So, enter on your own accord. Anyways, here’s the detailed story of how I got myself into this amazing mess.

BTS? Fire? What is this?

So, I was watching Superwoman videos on YouTube one day and like every other unicorns, I was skimming through the comments. And oh my Lord! The comment section was crazy! About 90% of the comments were something like “Lilly, please react to BTS-Fire!” or “OMG! Please make your parents react to Fire by BTS.” Even some usernames were like “React to BTS-Fire.” This got me really interested to see what the hype was all about. So, I made the best decision (or worst mistake) of my life.

Comparison of two songs in terms of Poetry

For Poetry Assignment this semester, we were given two iconic songs from the 70s and 80s and were told to find the similarities and differences in the songs. The songs are One of these things first by Nick Drake and I'm your man by Leonard Cohen.

So, I thought why not share my essay with you guys. You never know when you might need them whether for another assignment or a homework. Okay then, without a further ado, let's jump right in.
The following essay is about the comparison of the two songs: “One of these things first” by Nick Drake and “I’m your man” by Leonard Cohen. Click on the song titles to hear them.

Foreword: The essay informs about the similarities and differences of the two songs on the basis of their imagery, main theme, internal meaning, structure and pattern, repetitions etc. By the end of the essay, the reader will be aware of the messages each song provides and will know where they are similar to each other or different from each other.

Arsenic and Arsenocosis

Arsenic shown on Periodic Table

Arsenic

Definition: A natural semi-metallic chemical that is found all over the world in groundwater. [chemical formula: As]


Natural Source:

• Earth crust
• Volcanic materials
• Rock and mineral erosion
• Forest fires
• Sulfur-bearing mineral deposits (like gold and copper)
• Strong affinity to pyrites and iron oxides

Essay Sample: How to learn new things

Learning new things can be a fun and exciting experience. It brings color and variation in one’s life. However, one cannot learn anything new on a whim or without a proper planning. To actually gather knowledge about some fun stuff, one must follow these three rules: visualization, preparation and action.

No one can force anyone to learn anything new unless and until that person actually has interest in it. So, the first and foremost step to learn something new is to imagine it in one’s mind first and to find out if he or she is actually finding some interest in it. For example, if you want to learn origami, visualize yourself folding paper creatively. If it arouses any interest, go for it. If it does not, try to visualize something else. Without the correct visualization, things may go downhill.

Essay Sample: How Bogra is different from Dhaka

Dhaka landscape

Bogra and Dhaka cities are similar when it comes to high population density and living standards but they quite dissimilar in other ways. People who live in two cities have the same traditional cultures. Although there are several similarities between Bogra city and Dhaka city, there are many obvious differences between them as well.

First, the climate in Dhaka city is different from climate in Bogra city. This point proves that the climate of Bogra is very cold from October to December, warm from July to September and cool around year. In contrast, the climate of Dhaka is very intensely hot in the dry season but cooler during winter, though not as cold as Bogra. In fact, Dhaka does not seem to have winter at all, due to all the warmth still felt during the season. For instance, when you stay at Bogra, you feel the weather that changes follow the four seasons annually, whereas, the climate of Dhaka remains almost the same throughout the year. You barely feel cold during winter. It also gets less rainfall during summer or monsoon. Compared to Bogra, Dhaka is quite humid, dry and barren.

Paragraph Sample: Eating waffles for the first time

I had always been a foodie with a sweet tooth. So, when a friend suggested that I try waffles, I was more than delighted. We fixed a date and a restaurant which sold some great waffles in various flavors. On the fixed date, we went to the restaurant and ordered a plate of regular butter waffles with a drizzle chocolate syrup and a generous scoop of vanilla ice-cream. For those of you who don’t know, a waffle is a thick slice of round pastry made with eggs, butter, milk and flour and toasted inside a special pan. Anyways, when the waffles arrived, I was enamored with its rich chocolaty aroma. Moreover, when I took the first bite, I thought I was in heaven. It was very delicious and the chocolate and the vanilla added a burst of flavors to it. I am definitely going to try all the flavors of the waffles available in my neighborhood.

Foreword to Informative Speech: Vlad, the Impaler

Vlad Tepes, collected

Why I chose him:

Honestly, I chose him because I wanted to do something out of the box. We all knew what Dracula is or who Bram Stoker is. But not every one of us knows about the real inspiration behind the iconic dark prince, Dracula. People should know that the person who was the blueprint for Dracula was even more sinister than the fictional character.

Dracula was vampire, he needed blood to survive. But his real counterpart was a flesh and blood human. He enjoyed hurting people only for the sake of his satisfaction. I believe he might be one of the earliest examples of a sadist. People my age really like to know about such historical facts about real life torturers, whether we admit it or not. So, I think this topic will be a bit more appealing because it is not usual. Also, I did not want to coincide with someone else with the same topic, so I chose someone who nobody may think about.

Impromptu Writing

How to do Impromptu Speech

Here are the topics our professor gave us to practice Impromptu Speech. Take a look.

Topic-1: Desire

Desire is a strong wish to achieve or get something. For example: one may desire to get a rooftop penthouse someday or an expensive BMW car. Desire also includes romantic attraction towards another person. Unlike wish, desire is more about passion. When we wish something, we don’t necessarily mean to get it. However, when we desire something, we work hard and passionately for it. We may or may not get what we want. But the effort is certainly there and that’s why we call it desire.

Desire is also a recurring theme in contemporary fiction. For example: there is a magic mirror in the Harry Potter books called the Mirror of Erised, where Erised is just Desire spelled backwards.

My experience with Public Speaking

I define public speaking as all kind of interaction with people using language. My experience with public speaking has faced quite a lot of ups and downs. At certain situations, like at home with parents or some close friends, I am very comfortable to speak. 

Other times, during hang-outs where there are a lot people, I may not be so extrovert. However, during a presentation or a performance (one which had a lot of rehearsals), you would not be finding me sitting quitely at a corner. I am rather active in such circumstances. In fact, I have hosted quite a few shows back in my school days. On the contrary though, I am not so good at prompt speeches.

Vlad, the Impaler

Portrait of Vlad Tepes III

Here is the transcript of the speech I gave on Information about a Person for my class project. My topic was Vlad, the Impaler. Hope you like it.

First of all, let me know if there is any single soul in this class who does not have the slightest idea about Dracula? Well, let me refresh, Dracula is the most iconic and pioneering character in the Horror genre who gave rise and popularity to a whole new Vampire sub-genre.

Now, do we know who the author of this famous character is? Right, Bram Stoker. However, today we are neither going to talk about the fictional Dracula nor its amazing author, Mr. Stoker. Today we are going to talk about what, more specifically who, was the inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s most famous anti-hero of all time: Vlad the Impaler.

Hello again, everyone, it’s Afifa Farzana and for the informative speech today, I have chosen the notorious historical figure, Vlad Tepes or Vlad the Impaler, who, according to Historian Vambery, was the main inspiration behind Bram Stoker’s Dracula. We will try to analyze what heinous deed this man did which prompted Stoker to write about such a horrific character. Yes, believe it or not, this guy, who looks like an Anorexic Charlie Chaplin, is the main reason the infamous Dracula took birth. And the reason we don’t see him in history books is because he’s way too gory to be in them.

Things to Know About Prophecy: A tale of two sisters

Final Book Cover

Basically the story is about two sisters who are born in a fantasy land with magical powers and because of the twisted nature of their fates, they are destined to fight each other to save the world from a bigger danger. But you guys should read it not only because of the plot alone. Here I will be stating five reasons of why should give this book a chance.

It belongs to the fantasy genre: The fantasy genre generally deals with daily problems using magic and mystique. It puts a different perspective on our daily chores and produces a lot of “what if”s. Fantasy genre is a great escape from reality. It is an adventure to a relatable yet different world. And since this book is set in a fantasy world itself, whether written poorly or good, it may not solve all your problems but it sure will at least relieve you from the stress of daily life.

It is short: Most of the time, the books in a fantasy genre tends to be long and in series. However this is a standalone book that roughly has about a hundred and fifty pages. It is a very quick read. 

You don’t have to invest a lot of time or brainwork into comprehend the story fully. Since it’s quite short, you can easily put bits and pieces of it in your work schedule and finish it off quickly. You won’t even feel like that you have wasted any time reading it even if you don’t like it.

Ramadan by Neil Gaiman

Being a practicing Muslim, the first thought which came to my mind is that this graphic novel is offensive and wrong. Islam is not about big cities and emperors owning thousands of concubines. But as I continued reading, I realized it was more about Arabian culture than Islamic teachings. Anyways, I could clearly see what the inspiration behind the story was.

The theme of the story is basically a satirical and quirky version of the Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights. In fact, it is purposefully told in a fashion as though the story was being told by a story-teller because of the unexpected plot twist at the end.

Here is my version of the analysis:

Protagonists: Caliph Haroun Al Raschid – emperor/caliph of Baghdad, who liked to spend his time wooing his beautiful beloved city and the exotic women present in his harem ready to give him any pleasure he wanted.

Antagonists: I did not see any antagonist in the story but a conflict. It was Al Raschid’s everlasting tension and anxiety about the lasting of his city.

Setting: I was set in the city of Baghdad, a middle-eastern Asian kingdom/country which was described in such a way that it felt like it was some utopian kingdom of the future.