The quote, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.” spoken by Albus Dumbledore relates and can be interpreted by me. I can interpret this quote by if I am really depressed or sad I can decide if I want to change my frown upside down. It shows me that I am in charge of my emotions and no body can make the final decision of my emotions. I resonate with this quote by Albus Dumbledore because I need to learn that I should decide when I want to be happy and I can let in hope when I want to. I can learn from this that I should not be influenced fully by others and the people around me shouldn’t decide who I should be now or grow up to be. The feel of this quote is very uplifting and I can understand how this could have gave Harry Potter hope through the books and movies. When Harry could have been at his worst, Albus could have uplifted others with this like he has inspired me.

Somebody I look up to as a hero is Camryn. She is an amazing 16 year old dancer on the local high school dance team and dancer at my studio. I’ve looked up to her since I was eight years old. Since, we were big buddies in elementary school and danced at the same dance studio, she’s always been my favorite. I greatly admire her because she is an amazing dancer. Camryn is a spotless performer who uses her stage presence and has great technique. Her great skills helped her to earn her spot on the highly competitive dance team at my local high school. Secondly, she is a supportive friend. Camryn is a supportive friend as she believes in me and can push me through my dancing. I love how she cheers me on and can give me tips and corrections when I need it. Lastly, Camryn always has a positive attitude. She can make you happy in a second making you want to be as cheerful as her. As you can see, I admire Camryn because she is a fantastic dancer, supportive friend, and has a positive attitude.

This year I am going to focus on the word open. I want to be open to my feelings and to myself for what I need. I feel I need to listen to my body more. After dance, if my hip is overworked, my feet are sore, or my thighs hurt I should try to treat it or not do too much with it the next day at dance. In 2024, I want to be open to new ideas and not shut down others ideas that I don’t agree with. If I hear new ideas, I should listen to others on why they think this is good before I want to disagree. I should take in strategies for school and different ways to help my technique at dance that I can use in my conditioning. I want to learn from my peers to make myself a better person! Lastly, I want to be open to change. I always want things to work out a certain way I picture it in my mind and if it doesn’t work that way, I get very frustrated. I want to work on allowing change in my life to happen without being upset about. This year, I want to learn that change can be for the better and doesn’t have to be the worst. These are three reasons why I want to be open this upcoming year of 2024!

This month, I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This is the first novel in The Hunger Games trilogy. This dystopian story takes place in the nation of Panem where there are twelve districts controlled by the gleaming Capitol. As a result of a failed rebellion against the grueling Capitol, every year they make one boy and girl from ages twelve to eighteen from each district fight to their death on live television for all to see. Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old girl from district twelve takes her sister’s place in the 74th Hunger Games. Katniss has been fighting for survival for years and maybe this will give her an advantage to coming out alive. She finds herself caught into rebellion and life or death choices that weighs out her chance at winning the whole thing to come back home to her family and friends.

I recommend this novel because it focuses on the characters so well and the world of Panem feels so realistic. It focused on the characters so well in showcasing their personalities making you like each of the characters for their own quirks. I liked how each of the main characters had a different quality from the rest that defined them as that character. The world of Panem felt so realistic because of its beautiful imagery and description. I felt like I was living in the world of The Hunger Games when I read this book because the storytelling was conveyed so well. I could picture each of the districts and the Capitol perfectly without being told what was which. This is a great trilogy with the topics of romance, drama, family, survival, rebellion, social inequality and has action-packed violence that you will want you to continue reading!

Katniss Everdeen was my favorite character in the novel of The Hunger Games. I love this character because she is a self assured, resilient, protective, rebellious, and an intelligent sixteen-year-old. Katniss does whatever it takes to win The Hunger Games so she can go home to her family of mother and sister. She is so protective of her sister that she volunteered to take Prim’s place in the games. Katniss is so intelligent that she knows what to do in a life or death situation. In the book, it shows Katniss’s trait of rebellion, “Only I keep wishing I could think of a way…to show the Capitol they don’t own me. That I’m more than just a piece in their Games.” (Chapter 18, Page 236) This explains she wants the Capitol to know she is important and that she is more than they think. Katniss has a mindset of her needing to stand out so she can show the Capitol her sides against them. As a result, Katniss Everdeen is my favorite character for various reasons.

My favorite quote by Suzanne Collins from the novel was, “You don’t forget the face of the person who was your last hope.” (Chapter 6, Page 85) I love this quote because after Katniss’s father died and her family ran out of money, Katniss, Prim, and her mother could barely be kept alive. Peeta saw her outside his family’s bakery and made a loaf of bread burnt on purpose so he could give it to Katniss instead of the pigs outside in the rain. He cost himself a hard spanking for keeping Katniss’s family alive. The kindness he showed towards Katniss was so nice that Katniss would never be able to forget it. I believe it is true that if people impact your life greatly, you will always remember them.

In December, I read Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau. This novel is about a seventeen-year-old girl named Mia Jenrow who is destined to pursue her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. According to her families stories, her great, great, great grandmother was a ballerina for the Paris Opera and was painted by the famous artist, Edgar Degas. She is planning to have a magical summer in Paris, France but some things might not be fit to plan. To Mia’s surprise, her rival named Audrey turns out to be her roommate and will do anything to be one step up than Mia. Secondly, Mia’s ballet instructor is very intense and pushes his students to their absolute limits. Lastly, Mia meets Louis who is the dreamiest and the most charming of all. Louis is eager to show her the city of Paris and Mia cannot wait to jump on his Vespa while she is head over heels for him. How will Mia balance her summer and stay true to focusing on what she came here for, ballet.

I recommend this novel to others because it explores the magic of Paris, includes fun French phrases to learn, shows a cute rivals to friends relationship, and explores a forbidden love story. This story’s relationships were described so well making me feel like I knew those people. For example, I liked Mia and Audrey, Mia and Louis, and Mia and Monsieur Dabrowski’s (her ballet instructor) relationships. I hope you read Kisses and Croissants for the ballet, travels to Paris, France, and romance aspects!

My favorite character in the book was Mia Jenrow. I love her character because she has the same name as me and loves ballet as much as I do as I am also a ballerina that received the lead role of Clara in my Nutcracker Ballet like her getting Odette in Swan Lake. Mia Jenrow is very balanced, independent, dedicated, and hard-working. Mia is balanced by balancing her time with ballet and hanging out with friends and Louis while still maintaining her self well-rested. She is independent as she traveled to Paris alone to come dance at her summer intensive taking care of herself for six weeks. Mia is hard-working as she is a ballerina who was so good she got moved up to the highest level (five) from level four from her prestigious dance teacher on the first day. She knew moving up meant she had to work hard and she did do so well in level five that she placed one of the two lead female roles. A quote from the text shows Mia’s dedication, “ The only way to make it in this world is to want it more than anyone else.” This proves Mia has dedication because she has tried so hard as she gives up all her afternoons and weekends practicing at her ballet studio. She wants to achieve her high standards that she makes for herself along the way and wouldn’t want to dedicate her time anywhere elsewhere. For all her dedication, she truly earned the role of Odette in her Swan Lake performance. As you can see, I love Mia Jenrow because we have the same name, she’s a ballerina like me, she’s balanced, independent, dedicated, and hard working.

My favorite quote in Kisses and Croissants was, “ I’m sure you’ve had croissants before. You can get them pretty much anywhere. They usually taste fine, a little bland, maybe. But when you come to Paris, the croissants are unlike anything else you’ve eaten before. They’re warm and soft, golden and buttery. Like baked clouds. Deliciously decadent clouds. They may look the same as the other croissants but they are far superior in every single way and why am I thinking about that right now? Because croissants are like kisses. You don’t fully “get” them until you’ve had them in Paris. And now I know this: French kisses taste a million times better in France.” I love this quote because it describes Mia’s journey of new experiences and the different life she gets to live for six weeks. It makes me imagine the croissants perfectly in my mind with the beautiful description. I liked that this quote can have multiple meanings behind it and makes you want the urge to travel to Paris. Overall, this is my favorite quote of the novel for various reasons.