Let it Burn

Yes. It's a Minecraft Let it Go parody that takes place in the nether. This is Herobrine singing as he claims the nether as his home and kingdom after he's been banished from the overworld.

The lava flows in bright rivers here,
Where my past is history.
Dimension of conflagration,
I will claim it as the king.

Its fires mirror the
Resentful pain inside.
Sorrow, anger, hurt
All too much to hide.

Just hold it back
Like all these years
Drowning, fighting
In seas of flaming tears.
Please quell the flames
So they can't learn.
How can they learn?

Let it burn, let it burn.
Let the flames run unrestrained.
Let it burn, let it burn.
I have lost and now I've gained.
Light's not bad.
What evil is day?
Let the blaze spread on.
It was be burnt or burn anyway.

Bitter is the flavor
Of ashes in my mouth,
But the taste of freedom's sweeter;
They can't control me now!
Here by myself,
Don't have to fight,
Freed from the bonds
Of wrong and right.
No stone, no sword
Can limit me.
I'm free!

Let it burn, let it burn,
Going up in roaring flames
Let it burn, let it burn
And melt away the pain.
Sparks ignite.
I'm burning bright.
Let the blaze spread on.

Away from trees, strongholds will topple to the ground.
Chaotic power surges through my veins and all around.
I'll doff my sorrows in a radiating blast.
To what should I go back? The nether's all I have!

Let it burn, let it burn
Like a phoenix, I will rise.
Let it burn, let it burn.
They'll see it through my eyes.
Sparks ignite
Where chaos reigns.
Let the blaze spread on!
It was be burnt or burn anyway. 


Note: You are welcome to sing and make a Minecraft animation for this. If you do so, credit me as the author of the lyrics and send me the video.

Kindness Report Series Introduction

How It Works: I will log on as a new player for any amount of time (in one day) on a new (to me) Minecraft server and take screenshots of the chat, a kindness rating (1 is worst, 5 is best) and other things that reveal the overall character of the server. Then, I will post screenshots and a description of my experience. I will also list possible biases that might have made me misjudge the server's character.

Why I'm Doing It: This will help new players get the "feel" of a server by showing what existing players are really like.

The Motivation Behind This: I want to make sure that everyone is the salt and the light to another person, even on someplace like a Minecraft server. Your words affect other people no matter where you say them.

How the Scale of 1 to 5 Works
The server will be rated 1-5 in these categories. The mean of these ratings is the overall rating.

Attitude Towards Other Players
Treatment of Others' Property
Respect For Staff (if applicable)

Going the Distance: On Achievement and "Inspiration"

The video above features Lea Salonga's version of "Go the Distance". 

I had to overcome a lot to get this far--and I still have a long way to go. Anxiety and a fear of failure are my main pitfalls when it comes to success. The reason why I might hesitate before saying "Hi" to a prospective new friend is a fear of rejection. I may not take a leadership position as readily because I know I will become corrupted and cause people misery. If I didn't receive the proper support in my childhood, I would spend my days languishing in bed where I can't hurt or disappoint anyone. As "perfect" as I may seem, I am still human--awkward, imperfect, sinful and very much human.

If someone slapped an image of me maxing out on a squat on the Internet and captioned it with something along the lines of "This girl is autistic. What's your excuse?", people would call it "inspirational" for the wrong reasons. (A lot of these things have to do with physical feats. Why not celebrate the strength of the mind or faith?) For one, it undermines the hard work I did to even get a bar on my shoulders. It shows one moment of strength without putting the frustration, failures, sweat, or previous success into context. The image would objectify autistic people with an achieving athlete stereotype and make non-athletic autistic people seem worthless. If you don't see how "positive" stereotyping would hurt remember this: Positive stereotyping hurts because it subjects the affected group to undue and/or unrealistic standards (i.e. most Asian stereotypes).

Being inspirational for the right reasons is serving as a role model for people with similar or different disabilities or people in general. I want to lead the way for other students like me, who get good grades (like As and Bs), but need help in school. I'm still waiting for the far off place with my hero's welcome, but I know it will be there if I can stay strong. I want to show that autistic people can live fulfilling lives and that they are not a tragedy, mistake, burden (at least not more of a burden than a human would be), or something to be fixed. I hope people will see this through what I do.

Beyond the Bun: Concert Hairstyles

You have your dress, shoes, music, and instrument, but what about your hair? Should you keep it in a bun leave it down, style it, or what? Of course you shouldn't have such an OTT hairstyle that it detracts from the music, but, unless you have a director that wants a specific style, these should be just conspicuous enough to be distinctive, but not overly distracting. I formulated three easy styles to fit different concert types, musician ages, and preferences.

Style #1
Recommended For: Concerts that feature contemporary music, show visual art, are more trendy, the stylish musician
1. Braid a thin section of your hair that frames your face. Stop when you have 2-3 inches of fringe left.
2. Wind the braid around itself and pin it in place.
3. Gather the rest of your hair into a high ponytail.
4. Smooth your stray hair back with gel, hairspray, or mousse.

Style #2
Recommended For: Younger musicians, day or afternoon concerts, cute types, outdoor spring or summer concerts
1. Divide your hair into two sections.
2. Braid each section and leave half of the length of your hair loose. Tie them off.
3. Add bows to each braid if desired.

Style #3
Recommended For: Traditional concerts, conservative types, anyone who needs a quick concert hairstyle
1. Gather your hair into a low ponytail.
2. Divide the ponytail into two sections and twist them loosely around each other.
3. Tie it off at the end
4. Apply gel, mousse, or hairspray to the braid. Decorate one or both of the ties if desired.

What Being Smart Is: A Parody of What A Girl Is by Dove Cameron, Christina Grimmie, and Baby Kaely

This parody is dedicated to anyone fed up with numbers, standards, and tests.

I don't need a perfect ten
To be perfect as I am,
So fie on your numbers!
Just look past the numbers.

And these pointless Scantron tests,
Fail to reflect my very best.
And why does it matter?
Graphs alone have no power.

So over all the assessments around,
I am fed up with numerical shrouds.

Don't you know what being smart is?
Despite results, you're worth it.
Who cares about a test score?
They can't determine how you perform.

I'll step up now
And shout it loud.
I'll show what being smart is

These tests just skim the surface
To show what being smart is

This is just a skin.
Numbers just mean certain things.
I'm done wasting my time.
There's much more to my mind.

So over all the assessments around,
I am fed up with numerical shrouds.

Don't you know what being smart is?
Despite results, you're worth it.
Who cares about a test score?
They can't determine how you perform.

I'll step up now
And shout it loud.
I'll show what being smart is

These tests just skim the surface
To show what being smart is.

You are more than what the numbers say,
I swear.
Go beat the odds and just put yourself
Out there.

It's pretty clear that there's more to us than grid lines.
Improvement's taking over, standing like a high rise.
And if you ever doubt the things that I can do,
Sit back and we will show ya.
It'd be really nice to know ya.
No doubt we're a force undeniable
Get together and your ideas will fall down on ya.
I got a feeling that we're there for ya,
Sit back and let us show ya.
'Cause improvement's taking over.

I don't need a perfect ten
To be perfect as I am,
So fie on your numbers!
Just look past the numbers.
Don't you know what being smart is?
Despite results, you're worth it.
Who cares about a test score?
They can't determine how you perform.

I'll step up now
And shout it loud.
I'll show what being smart is

These tests just skim the surface
To show what being smart is.

All About those Brains

Meghan Trainor’s “All About that Bass” is all about body love, but what about mind love? Are not minds am important part of our identities too?

Because you know I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains,

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

Yeah, it’s pretty clear. I’m not all normal,

But I’ve been trying, trying, like what you asked for.

‘Cause I’ve got persistence and have what it takes

 To stay strong in school and find my place.

I see those bubble tests working those numbered scores.

We know we’re more than that.

Come on now, are those facts?

If you don’t conform to standards,

Just raise them up,

‘Cause every mind that thinks is worth it,

From the bottom to the top.

Yeah, GPA is just a number like age and size.

I say, great thinkers will never just fit a mold or type.

You know I won’t be a test-acing 5.0 fantasy,

 So if that’s what your standards are, wait ‘till you see me.

Because you know I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains,

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains

‘Bout those brains, not systems.

I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

I’m bringing learning back!

Go ahead and tell all those conformists that

No, I’m just kidding.

Failure, you fear that,

But I’m here to tell you

Every mind that thinks is worth it

From the bottom to the top.

Yeah, GPA is just a number like age and size.

I say, great thinkers will never just fit a mold or type.

You know I won’t be a test-acing 5.0 fantasy,

 So if that’s what your standards are, wait ‘till you see me.

Because you know I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains,

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

Because you know I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains,

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

Because you know I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains,

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

I’m all about those brains,

‘Bout those brains

Not systems.

Hate Comments (Trigger Warning: Extreme Ableism)

You may have heard about this girl with Down syndrome covering “All of Me” by John Legend. After hearing her and scrolling through some negative comments, I commented about how we should give her credit for putting forth the effort that comes with performing a song. Having uploaded videos myself, I have also dealt with my fair share of haters. My most recent hater left two comments, one being “You bampot” and the other being “You’re dirt”. The user who left these comments is SteadfastFactNotionMaker and, after looking at his/her channel, found him/her to be part of a YouTube hate network. This person even subscribed to a channel called QuinPaperwasp, whose tagline (General Trigger Warning) is as follows:

  

For those who cannot read the image, I will transcribe it with the original punctuation:

i embitter, afflict, stress, and rigorously attach and hurt autistic people, suicidal people, and others i want to. thus, i wreck their pathetic lives and i derive a lot of joy from their suffering and struggling.

There is a line between expressing your opinions and verbally abusing others at their expense. The latter part of the tagline reminds me of the cruel dictators I studied in my history classes, which leads me to think that they fear a lack of power and influence like an autocrat would. Thus, they resort to belittling others for their pleasure. They erect walls of malice to conceal their vulnerability and, yet, in real life, they may be lonely, alienated, lacking in confidence, or experiencing hate themselves and lashing out at others via the Internet to cope with it.

I’m not much of a laissez faire type, so I wanted to draw attention to this issue. I see it, not just on YouTube (though that's the place I most see it), but on other regions of the Internet such as blogs. This is not just about censorship or language policing, but about the value and respect of mankind as a whole.