There were so many times I wanted to bat down my dad like the whack-o-mole game when I was watching episode 9 of star wars. When it comes to movies, my dad LOVES to do commentary and it SUCKS. Despite Star Wars Episode 9 being my favorite episode, my dad’s commentary does hold some truth and got me thinking about some gaps in the movie. If you found yourself conflicted about certain aspects of this Star Wars episode, you are not alone. Your support of this blog might inspire JJ Arbrams might make another episode or make a more satisfactory alternate ending. 

Lazy Force Ghosts

When Rey revisits the island of Ahch-To, she is greeted by the Force ghost of Luke Skywalker who offers her a ship to defeat Palpatine. What may seem like one of the most inspirational moments of the movie makes the entire movie somewhat of a joke. HELLO? WHY DOES REY HAVE TO SACRIFICE HERSELF AND FIGHT PALPATINE ON HER OWN WHEN LUKE SKYWALKER, A FORCE GHOST, CAN LIFT A MASSIVE SHIP OUT THE WATER?Look here,  Luke Skywalker is already dead so he obviously can’t die twice. So in a sense, Luke Skywalker is invincible and if not, more powerful than Palpatine. The whole defeating palpatine gig could be solved if Luke just stepped up.

Also, Anakin has a force ghost, Yoda has a force ghost, Obi Wan has a force ghost. Why can’t these force ghosts from a jedi army to defeat Palpatine with, well, the force? Their words of encouragement were nice but ultimately led to the death of Rey. And I hate to say this but during one of the saddest moments of the movie, when Rey is about to give up, I couldn’t help but giggle at the sound of Yoda’s voice. All seriousness was lost when Yoda’s wacko grammar lived on past his death. 

Kylo, The Boyfriend That NEVER Goes Away

Ok, after Palpatine knocked Kylo Ren into the bottomless pit, it seemed pretty obvious that it would be the end of the Skywalkers and that the title, The Rise of Skywalker,  was complete BS. However, Kylo Ren was able to sustain that fall and somehow CLIMB thousands of feet up that steep, steep crack. Just how on earth? And the funniest part is that it wasn’t the fall that killed him, but it was him sharing the force Rey? I don’t know whether Kylo is a super-boyfriend or weak sauce at this point. Nonetheless, I could not help but shed a few tears when he died because my Reylo ship died with it as well. 

Rose

Never mind the fact that Rose was one of the biggest heroes in the last movie. It seems as if she was just a side character throughout this whole episode. Based on the last episode, it seemed that Finn and Rose had a thing going on but that can also be put to question as it appears that Finn may have developed a second love interest on another planet. 

It took THAT LONG

Poe Dameron seemed pretty down about the lack of support the resistance was getting. It took 3 episodes for the Allies to show up after numerous distress calls, never mind light speed. Their arrival was almost like a quick fix to the plot because the writers knew pretty well they met a dead end in their own script and that the resistance was gonna get stomped by the first order. 

“Unfinnished” Business

Right when Finn and Rey were about to sink, Finn called out to Rey and said there was something he needed to tell her but was cut off when the sand got the best of ‘em. After surviving the sinking, Rey asked Finn what he was about to say but he blew it off. The second time, Poe asked him what he wanted to say, Finn also blew it off. And before we know it, the movie is over, and none of us have any idea what Finn was about to say. Isn’t that CRUEL??? Why bother mentioning something if you aren’t gonna give an answer? And I totally get the writers are trying to be mysterious and all but this was totally uncalled for and what Finn has to say isn’t super vital to the plot so they might as well tell us already, you know what I mean? 

To all ya Star Wars fans out there, just to make it clear, I am not a hater. The Rise of Skywalker was definitely a fun movie to watch and it had its moments. I’m just here to point out what the last movie could have done to satisfy our Star Wars cravings. Unfortunately, the Rise of Skywalker is the last episode so if you want a better wrap up of the series as much as I do, let’s join forces and email JJ Abrams to make another movie or ask him make up a happier, alternative ending for all ya Reylo shippers out there. 

 

Works Cited

https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/36/590x/secondary/force-ghosts-2207807.jpg?r=1575985771143 

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b4/e7/b3/b4e7b3d6d20862aa083f6e9b6470d2eb.jpg 

https://static3.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Star-Wars-Last-Jedi-Rose-and-Finn.jpg 

https://em.wattpad.com/28ee085051c7d9dfbca5c8b735ca9021b1ae8e63/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6a6143746a5a574131547a3275673d3d2d3538353034333333392e313533353636316538303037646337393536323433373436353939372e676966?s=fit&w=720&h=720 

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All day long, our fingers are double tapping on Instagram, swiping through tweets, or punching random questions into google like: What kind of shampoo does Adam Driver use? DON’T GET ME WRONG, THE INTERNET IS AWESOME. But the problem is that once we’ve exhausted a social media platform or googled away our questions, we often go about searching for other social media platforms or generating more random questions to escape the bottomless pit. Our addiction to the internet has put us in a vicious cycle no matter how much you try to entertain yourself with it, you will always return to the bottomless pit. 

If you are finding yourself stuck in this bottomless pit, I know of a ladder that will get you out: guitar! I bet you weren’t expecting that and your head must be loading up with questions for google right now. But before you tap away into that search engine, give your fingers a break and allow me to provide you some answers as to why this magical instrument should be in your hands right now. 

Letting out the feels

You just had a bad break up. On one hand, you have a glorious banana split sundae. On the other hand, you are on your phone, scrolling through your ex’s insta. The problem here is not the ice cream. What really needs to be addressed here is do you feel any better after confiding in your phone? Chances are, probably not. Stalking your ex will only leave you feeling more infatuated and make the process of letting go even harder. Right now you have two things you gotta deal with: feelings + moving on. Although you might not necessarily be bored in this situation , you will certainly be miserable and your phone is not going to help you, but a guitar will. 

When you pick up that guitar, you have two options. You can either compose a song or learn a song. Either way, you will still be playing a song and every song is a channel for emotion. Playing a sad song after a difficult situation will make you come to terms with your emotions and accept them. Opening that bottle of emotions with your guitar will leave you feeling liberated of those hard, lingering feelings. Furthermore, guitar will help you take your mind off the tough subject because much of your brain power will go towards playing those strings instead of dwelling. If you ever need a way to ease off some tough emotions, guitar will be your best friend.

Becoming a Rock star

Your mouth drops. You cannot stop yourself from head banging. Your eyes are glued to that video of Angus Young playing that killer guitar solo on his gibson. Once the video is over, you cannot help but repeat it, over and over and over until that song is stuck in your head and …you get bored. 

Instead of getting bored over your favorite song, how about you learn to play it? There are so many tutorials out there for guitar and so many arrangements ranging from easy to hard. If it’s your first time playing, start with an easy version of your favorite song. Once you master that song, you will have to play it 50 times on your guitar opposed to 5 times on your phone to actually get bored. The reason being that you will learn to appreciate the song the more you play it. You will become familiar with the beat, rhyming, and notes that made it such a great song in the first place. Mastering your favorite song will make you fall in with it even more and leave you feeling like a rockstar. 

Making a Puzzle

All that fruit ninja and temple run must have left you feeling suuuuper unproductive and bored to the point you want to delete em off your phone. If you want to exercise some brain power, a puzzle is one of the best ways to do so. BLEH….puzzles? OK CHILL OUT DUDES, what I meant is that you should compose a song. 

The beauty of guitar is that it’s easy to learn. A few chords is all it really takes to make a song and because of that, there are tons of songs out there. There are love songs, rock songs, and sad songs and whatever more the guitarists of the galaxy can come up with. Writing a song not only works the muscles of your fingers but it also requires you to use your ears and exercise your temporal lobe so you can come up with a tune of your liking.

The amount of work you have to put in to write a song will leave you far from bored. On the contrary, coming up with that song will leave you feeling like a mastermind and mad scientist because it takes a lot of brain juices and experimenting to make that baby sound good. The best part is that you get to perform it and woo your folks. Who knows, you might even serenade a girl to prom! That would surely be a thrill!

I don’t know about you but guitar is a gift of the gods. Now that I have shared with you its beauty, I hope you would hesitate to toss it into a volcano if the Greek gods descended from heaven and asked you to sacrifice either your phone or a guitar to save the world. Guitar does wonders, allowing you to channel your emotions, rock your mind out, or exercise your brain. If you find yourself bored out of your mind, whether it be from googling or counting sheep, I suggest you pick up a guitar.

Works Cited

https://i.imgur.com/vjz63d2.gif 

https://media.giphy.com/media/avVqQ7EoaTXb2/giphy.gif

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Hey you ! Yes you! The one who’s been running on the treadmill running for hours upon hours with your lungs burning and your hair dripping sweat! I hate to break it to you but hours upon hours of cardio won’t do much for you, which is why the word “cardio” must be making you gag right now. Believe me, I’ve been there. It’s time for you to take a vacation from the treadmill and pick up a barbell instead.  Join me on this quest and I will show you the miracles of weight lifting. 

 

BECOMING FEARLESS

I get it. Walking into the weight room for the first time can be intimidating, that’s probably why you’ve never been in the first place. I felt the same way, I never stepped foot in the weight room until my senior year. There were times where I would contemplate going but seeing the jacked gym-sharks lift a million pounds and drop their weight with a huge “BAM” kept me out. I was afraid to pick up the barbell because I felt insecure about how little I could lift, my lack of experience, and potential injury.

There eventually came a certain point during the summer where my boredom with cardio got the best of me so asked one of my karate classmate’s dad how to dead lift. The moment I lifted that barbell, I felt liberated.Conquering my fear of the weight room gave me the opportunity to switch up my work out, making my time at the gym an adventure instead of a torture. 

I encourage you to step foot into the unknown, as scary as it may seem, because before you know it, the weight room will be your personal man cave-a place where you can have fun and destress. Overcoming your fear of the weight room will leave you feeling unstoppable and open you to a new world of exercise.

 

MAKING FRIENDS

Remember, not everyone starts out lifting twice their weight or doing a thousand pull ups. We were all awkward and clueless at one point and that’s totally okay. To get from point A to point B we all need a sense of direction to guide us. Okay, what I’m saying here is to not let yourself be intimidated by these gymsharks.

 In fact, you should go ahead and talk to them. If you need help mastering a technique they are the best people to talk to because A. they know what they are doing and B. learning the technique right will prevent you from serious injury. And if you need one of ‘em to spot you, don’t hesitate to ask. Gymsharks need to be spotted themselves too, otherwise, how else would they safely meet a personal record without being crushed by a weight? 

Getting to know people in your weight room not only ensures your safety but it will also make the weight room much less intimidating. In fact, you might even make a few friends. There have been times when I’ve been stuck on the bench press and if it weren’t for the gymsharks, I would have wound up hurting myself. Trust me, underneath all those muscles are some of the kindest people you will meet. 

 

BECOMING STRONGER

When I say stronger, I don’t mean physically but also mentally. Weightlifting calls for a lot of positive self-talk which ultimately drives you to take on the challenge, whether it be stepping onto the weight room for the first time, lifting a heavier weight, or trying a new exercise . Ridding your mind of  “I can’t” and replacing it with “I can” will make you into a strong minded person because you will tackle whatever challenges lie ahead. If you need a boost of determination, weightlifting is the sport for you!

 

PHYSICAL GAINS

Along with the mental gains comes the physical gains. WAIT….GAINS? Yes gains. Weight lifting will make you gain weight but the weight you are gaining is MUSCLE. So even though the scale says you gained ten pounds, you will look like you look like you lost fifteen because muscle burns fat, so the more of it you have, the higher your metabolism will be. This is essentially the reason why you cannot depend purely on cardio. 

Cardio is a wonderful calorie burner but it is not a great muscle builder. When you do cardio, your body taps into the glycogen stores of your muscles along with your fat stores to supply energy, hence, too much cardio can actually deteriorate your muscle. Cardio also fails to provide an afterburn, so the calorie burning stops as soon as your workout is over. 

To maximize the benefits of your workout, it’s best to do both cardio and weights. Doing weights will help you build the muscle to elevate your metabolism and burn fat in the long term. Doing cardio will allow you to burn extra calories to help with weight loss and toning. Weightlifting is one of the best tools for sculpting your body and improving your sport performance.

 

Alright, if I still haven’t swayed you to pick up a barbell, good luck keeping up with the more painful, bland, cardio workouts. If you still feel uncomfortable going to the weight room by yourself,go with a friend or take a class or two so you learn the proper technique and don’t injure yourself. Weightlifting is a miraculous sport and hobby because it makes you strong in both mental and physical aspects. It also opens up opportunities for you to make some friends! So don’t WEIGH your options any longer. IT IS TIME TO GO BEAST MODE.

 

Sources

https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2014/your-ultimate-guide-to-spotting-graphic-3.jpg 

https://fitnationmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/shutterstock_225746320-750×400.jpg 

https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/h2NJn9xt0r4fQf3ndMap1bxcj_A/fit-in/1024×1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2018/03/16/892/n/1922729/addurlsVAb9L/i/Cardio-vs-Weights-Weight-Loss-Transformations.jpg 

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