Sunflowers are great. They’re pretty, when you plant one you suddenly have 20 popping up in your yard, the seeds are edible, they’re easy to maintain, they’re not toxic to most animals, they symbolize loyalty, and every song with “sunflower” in the title is a bop. I really like them. Sunflowers are my special thing with my best friend, too. If I could just have one plant in my yard, I would choose sunflowers. I don’t really like yellow things, but I love sunflowers. I really want one of those teddy bears that have sunflower print on them. I’d name her Susan after Susan Storm. If anybody wants to get Susan for me, I’d be very grateful.
There I was, a passenger in my mom’s car at night, on my way to my grandparents’ house, when I saw him.
I noticed a shape out of the corner of my eye, but I hardly thought anything of it. I’m a naturally curious person, though, so I turned my head to look at it from a better angle after a moment.
At first I thought it was a cat. However, if it were a cat, it’d be a very short one, and it had toes that were unlike any cat I’d ever seen. My next thought was that it might be a huge rat.
And then it hit me.
I quickly exclaimed to my mom, “We have to turn around! I think I just saw a possum!”
My mom whipped a three-point-turn in the middle of the road and stopped just in front of the driveway of the stranger’s house. In the illumination of the KIA’s headlights, I saw him.
It was an opossum.
Over my mom’s warnings of, “Don’t you dare get out of the car and chase him!” I whipped out my phone and started taking pictures of the beautiful little guy. A second later, he heard our engine (for opossums have bad eyesight and the lights didn’t bother him) and scurried away. And he was fast!
See, most opossums are pretty slow. They meander at their own pace through yards and forests, and when confronted, they aren’t fast enough to run away from predators like mountain lions or bears, so they have a freeze reaction and play dead.
But this little guy went running like he had been training for this moment his whole life. In the blink of an eye, his short little legs went flying and he sprinted up the driveway at the fastest trot I’ve ever seen and proceeded to climb the outdoor stairs into the person’s yard.
He was out of sight – but certainly not out of mind – in just seconds. And then my mom, my grandparents, and later my aunt had to listen to my happy cries of, “A possum!! Oh, a possum!!” for the rest of the night.
I named him Bruce Banner.
Photo Credit: me (treefroggy)
Sorry for the wonky quality– the best quality picture I got showed too much of the street around the house for me to comfortably post it. Privacy, and all that. You can still see Bruce’s beauty and his speedy legs.
So I’ve been reading books for fun for the first time in about 4 years now, and I just finished Song of Achilles.
One word: devastating.
That’s not to say it’s bad- in fact, it was one of the best books I’ve ever read. However, it was horribly sad, which is expected with Greek myths and renditions of them, since everybody dies in most myths.
A quick synopsis of the book would be “two boys fall in love then go to war and die,” but there’s so much more to the story than that. It’s exciting, sweet, sad, and heartbreaking. There’s a ton of angst in it, especially during wartime, which is honestly my favorite part. It does end with a bittersweet happy ending, though, so it’s not just emotional torment to read.
If you read the Percy Jackson books, you’ll probably love this book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes Greek mythology, gay love, and angst. It’s got a ton of all three.
It’s no secret that I love opossums. I would do anything to have one as a pet. If I could wake up and be holding an opossum’s little toes, I would never have any problems for the rest of my life. I seriously am obsessed with those little guys. Every day I dream about coming home to an opossum and kissing its little forehead and petting its soft fur. I fantasize about finding an opossum on the side of the road and getting to hold it on my lap while I drive it to the vet. I just want to love on an opossum.
If I had an opossum, I would spoil it so much. I would give it little hats and feed it all the food it wanted. Any opossum that lived with me would live the best life ever. I would give my opossums cuddles every day and take them on walks so they stay healthy. Seriously, just give me a chance to have one of those little guys. I would take amazing care of them. I think I deserve a pet opossum.
I really, really love opossums. They’re smart, unique, friendly, and adorable. Here’s some cool facts about them.
They are the only marsupial that isn’t native to Australia.
Opossums are marsupials, which means they’re a subspecies of mammal that carry their embryo out to term in a pouch on their belly. The most commonly known marsupial is probably the kangaroo. Opossums aren’t much like kangaroos, but they also carry their joeys – a litter of which can contain up to 20 babies – in a pouch and then on their back until the joeys are ready to live by themselves.
There are several species of opossums, all of which are native to the Americas. They range all the way from South America to Canada.
Much like apes, humans, raccoons, and some other species of animals, opossums have opposable thumbs. This means they have a fifth finger on the side of their paw that allows them to grasp objects and handle them in a way most that other animals can’t. Opossums usually don’t use this advantage for evil, though. Raccoons, on the other hand (pun not intended), will use their opposable thumbs to get into storage bins, to open trash cans, to unscrew lids of containers, to open doors, and other nefarious things. Opossums are much kinder than raccoons. Plus, it’s unbelievable cute when they hold things in their tiny hands.
Prehensile tails are a trademark feature of monkeys, but opossums have them too. They use their tails to hold onto thin surfaces better, to climb, to hang from branches, and to balance them as they walk. Their tails look a lot like the tails of rats, but there are muscles in their tails that allow them to use them much better than rats can. I, personally, think that their crusty, scaly tails are super cute.
They are omnivores, but don’t hunt mammals(except for mice).
Opossums are omnivores, which means they eat meat and plants. However, unlike most meat-eating animals, they don’t hunt almost any live mammals as their prey. Opossums usually scavenge food from unlocked dumpsters, left out pet food, or road kill. The only live prey that they consume are worms, bugs, mice, and sometimes smaller birds or snakes. If they are really starving, they might go after a larger target like a chicken, but this is very uncommon.
“Playing possum” is a popular expression for pretending to be dead or asleep. Opossums have an flight instinct that causes them to fall to the ground, loll their tongue, un-focus their eyes, and pretend to have died when confronted by predators that they can’t easily escape. They won’t get up even if they’re jostled around. It’s pretty cute. To humans, it just looks like the opossum is having the best nap of its life.
They like to play dress-up.
This fact isn’t scientifically verified, but look at these guys! They sure do look like they’re having fun. They look adorable, too. So stylish.
Sometimes opossums look like they just tripped and fell in front of the popular kids and the popular kids all saw their Paw Patrol lunchbox fall out of their backpack. It’s like my favorite thing. Look at this little guy.
(Photo credit to @gladysopossum on Instagram)
All in all, opossums are pretty cool little animals. If you see one near your house, don’t bother it or hurt it. They’re non-threatening creatures and it’s just living its life. If you can legally rehabilitate opossums or care for disabled ones as pets, definitely do. They’re sweet little guys. I love them so much.
I’m going to a Glass Animals concert soon because they’re my favorite band, so here are my favorite Glass Animals songs. They’re a great band, and if you don’t know them you should definitely listen to them.
Content warning: talk of drugs, self-destructive behavior, mental illness, suicide, sex, pedophilia, and other mature themes
Also a disclaimer- my favorite album by them is How To Be A Human Being so most of these will be from that album. This album explores the stories of 11 characters (some based on real people) in the 11 songs on the track. The album cover shows every person who’s story is told. The album is seriously amazing, both sound-wise and because of the story behind it.
Number 5- Agnesfrom How To Be A Human Being
Agnes is such a beautiful and bittersweet song that I can’t help but put it in my top five. The song is about a woman named Agnes who is struggling to cope with addiction and mental health issues. It is told from the perspective of someone who is presumably very close with her. It’s a meaningful song for people who have watched a friend – or even themselves – be lost to their self-destructive tendencies. The song ends with the narrator implying that Agnes has committed suicide, which is fitting because it’s the last song on the album.
Lines from the song that hit especially hard are, “I want to hold you like you’re mine,” and, “You’re gone but you’re on my mind; I’m lost but I don’t know why.” The first line implies that the narrator might be in love with Agnes but never got the chance to act on his feelings because she killed herself. The second line makes the concept of suicide feel more real for people who have never had someone close to them commit suicide or attempt to. It also gives perspective for suicidal people that people care about them and they have so much to live for.
The narrator of Agnes is pictured in the center of the album cover on all three covers. He is either holding a camera up over his face, looking straight ahead, or holding his hands over his face. He faces forward in each album cover whereas every other character has their back turned on one version of the cover.
Number 4- Poplar Stfrom How To Be A Human Being
Poplar St is told from the perspective of a boy who lived on the street the song is named after. He starts off talking about his childhood living on Poplar St and how he would climb trees and scrape his knees. He mentions that he saw a woman named Mrs. Moore having sex with one of his other neighbors. Since she uses the prefix “Mrs.” it’s likely that Mrs. Moore was having an affair.
In the next verse, the narrator says that his mom never liked Mrs. Moore and thought she looked like a prostitute because of the clothes and makeup she wore. It’s assumed that the narrator has aged and hit puberty because he then says that Mrs. Moore seduced him and brought him to her house to have sex with him. This reveals the true nature of Mrs. Moore that was hinted at in the first verse. She’s a predatory woman who uses men – or even teenage boys – for sex.
The first line of the chorus makes sense now- “I feel like a new man.” The narrator is only a teenager, but he feels like a mature because he has a relationship with an adult woman. He is driven by hormones and doesn’t realize that what he is doing is completely wrong.
In the last verse, he says, “Just another boy who lived on Poplar St; tangled up in lust and her exotic needs.” He isn’t the only teenager who was a victim of Mrs. Moore’s pedophillic actions. He then says that Mrs. Moore called collect (which is charging the calling fee to the person who you call, so he had to pay the fee) and broke up with him over the phone.
Mrs. Moore is on the right side of every album cover. She wears a white dress and sometimes sunglasses.
Number 3- Heat Waves from Dreamland
Heat Waves has been Glass Animals’ top hit since it came out, and for good reason. It’s a great song that has addictive sounds and meaningful lyrics. It’s stated by the band on the storyline feature of Spotify that the song is about noticing that you’ve changed from who you used to be and that an important relationship in your life has been ruined by who you’ve become. This hits home for me because I’ve definitely had points where I realize that I’m a different person and that I can’t go back to what used to be. I’ve also seen it happen to my close friends where they drift away because they’ve become someone who isn’t compatible with me.
The line “Sometimes all I think about is you” makes me think about myself before my ADHD started to really impact my life. Everything got harder around the time I hit puberty because of the new mix of hormones interacting with my ADHD. Sometimes I think about where I would be if I didn’t have ADHD, but then I realize that I am who I am because of my ADHD. My favorite things come from my hyperfixations, my personality from my symptoms, and my mannerisms from mimicking the people around me. It’s a lot to deal with sometimes, and I feel like this song encapsulates my own struggle even if it’s not specifically about my situation.
Number 2- The Other Side Of Paradise from How To Be A Human Being
This song is my favorite solely because of the music behind the lyrics. It’s mentally stimulating to listen to, especially with the volume all the way up and the bass boosted. It’s catchy, fun, and kinda gives me an adrenaline rush if I’m being honest. The story behind it is cool too, but honestly the instrumental is my favorite part of it.
The Other Side Of Paradise was their top hit before Heat Waves came out. It was definitely my favorite song by them at one point. I love to listen to it when I’m writing fighting scenes because I think of choreography while listening to the song and then translate it into words.
The story of the song is about a man who leaves his girlfriend to become a professional basketball player and ends up becoming a totally different person than the person she had been dating. The girlfriend is the narrator. The character of the basketball player is pictured in the center behind everyone else. He is either spinning a basketball on his finger or holding the basketball in every cover.
Number 1- Season 2 Episode 3from How To Be A Human Being
This was actually the song that got me into the band. I heard it on TikTok and immediately searched the lyrics to figure out what song it was. I listened to it alone for a few months, then decided to check out the other songs in the album. The rest is history.
This is another song that I love because of the music. Glass Animals has great percussion in all of their songs, but this one definitely is the best. The vocals are super good too, though.
The story is about a girl who’s has a marijuana addiction. It’s told by someone who is presumably her partner. They talk about how she can’t seem to get off the couch, is always high, and isn’t prioritizing their relationship anymore. They say, “So it hurts to say it’s hopeless; and we ain’t gonna make it.” Her partner is planning on leaving her because of her dependency on marijuana to get through the day and inability to live without it. It’s a message about the ways drugs can change people for the worse, like a few other songs on the album.
The girl being described in the song is in the bottom left corner of the album cover. She wears a blue sweater and has a small gaming device in every cover, which is a reference to the style of the music video.
Those are my favorite Glass Animals songs. It was hard to choose rankings for them. I’m really excited to see them live.
Update from after I saw the concert: it was SO GOOD. They’re amazing in person and so passionate about what they do. I love Dave so much.
I could eat it for every meal if I had the opportunity. I eat all kinds of soup, from ramen to loaded potato soup. Most mornings I love to make egg drop soup. This type of soup is originally from China.
Egg Drop Soup is really easy to make and very customizable. Different veggies and go in, as well as different forms of protein. You could make full of spinach and crab, or have it plain and add a bit of chili oil. The way I make the soup could feed up to four people, but I end up eating it all by myself.
photo credit: The Woks of Life
Ingredients:
six cups of chicken stock, or veggie stock.
cut 2-4 green onions
2-3 cloves of garlic
Some ginger
four eggs
chili pepper flakes
white pepper
salt
cornstarch
water
sesame oil
whatever veggies and proteins you want to add
chili oil, if wanted
How to make the soup:
Broth:
Boil the chicken or veggie stock in a pot
Mince the garlic and add it to the pot
Grate ginger into broth
Shake white pepper and salt into broth for taste
Egg mixture:
In medium bowl crack four eggs and stir
Dice up green onions, put half into eggs
Add white pepper, salt, chili pepper to taste
Cornstarch slurry:
Add two tbsp of cornstarch into a small bowl
Stir in two tbsp of water
Add chili pepper flakes to the slurry
Soup:
If you want to add any protein or veggies do it now
If the protein needs to be cooked ahead of time, cook it while the broth is boiling
Add the eggs to the boiling broth, let it sit for two minutes
Stir in cornstarch slurry and let sit for another minute
There are moments when I find myself caught in the cross fire between my heart and my head. I often cant decided weather or not I should listen to the voices in my head telling me what to do, or my heart guiding me in in the direction of possible heart break. I want to follow the direction of my heart, but my head always stops me and poses the question of “what if”
So now when my mind is blank, the thought of the matter at hand will cross my previously calm mind. And suddenly, there’s a sense of panic that overtakes me and I feel uneasy. As if I am stuck with a decision that for one reason or another, my mind can not physically comprehend because my heart will still get in the way.
One way or another, my heart and mind play tricks on each other, but both only have the best of intensions for my own happiness. So there lies the conflict, when is it that I listen to my head, and when do I listen to my heart?
Is it worth the minor lapses of fear and judgment for potential happiness? Or is it that I should disregard both and simply try and play it safe.
Even that question is too grand to answer for myself. So I still remain to question decisions, or simply protect myself from a risk just to avoid the confusion of my heart. I consistently bombard myself with the age old question of “what if?”
But maybe someday, I will listen to the deep feelings being stirred in my heart and follow that, for it could lead me to my greatest potential happiness. Maybe I will rebut the question of “what if?” with “why not?”.
OVS Journalism Blog 
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