If you follow me on any of my social media outlets, you probably know that I'm a massive fan of the ever-famous British/Irish boy-band, One Direction. And on July 22nd, I got the privilege of going to their Dallas concert as an early 16th birthday present, thanks to my grandparents. It was a special event, since the tickets are expensive and hard to come by. I never imagined I'd get to go to one of their shows, and it was even more special because it was both me and my sister's first concert.
It's definitely a night to remember on many accounts...For one thing, I got to see the five members of my favorite band in person (although at a distance, it was still amazing). But for another, I'll never forget how the crowd reacted to these unrealistically attractive singers.
As expected, it was crowded. And as expected, it was loud...but it was much louder than I ever imagined it would be. Literally every girl in the stadium screamed every single time the commercial for 1D merchandise at Claire's came on the big screen - and the boys weren't even in the ad. (I yelled at them all to shut up but nobody really listened to me.)
You can probably imagine how bad the screaming got when the real boys came out on stage. It was mind-bogglingly loud. It was so loud that it felt like my ears were bleeding - it was as if the screams were inside my head at some points, and I couldn't escape them. On top of that, the speakers were turned up as loud as they could go in order for us to hear what the boys were saying/singing over all of the screams. There were many points in the show when I realized that the boys' voices sounded high-pitched, as well as my sister's voice next to me and every other girl around me. I don't know why, but the level of noise finally got loud enough that we all sounded like chipmunks. It was the strangest thing I've ever experienced. My poor ears will never be the same. I admit, the conert would've been more enjoyable if it weren't so loud. Girls are extremely obnoxious creatures, I've found.
One thing I've realized after going to the concert, though, is how strange it must be for the boys - and all celebrities, for that matter - to get such response everywhere they go. And not always positive response...it's often negative. I've read a lot of terrible things about these boys on the Internet and I've seen how it affects them. The truth is that they're people too - they're doing their job just like everybody else, and believe it or not, even being a singer is hard work. It's exhausting. But from a lot of people, all they get is hate for it. But they never complain - in fact, they often apologize for it, though they've done nothing wrong. I don't really understand that.
I just don't see the point in spending our time telling celebrities how much they hate them. For example, I'm not a big fan of Justin Bieber. But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell everyone and their dog about every bad thing he's done in his life. It's just wrong. Because he's a person just like us, and although he may try to ignore it, having those things said about you does take a toll.
So that's what I felt like addressing today. Celebrities are a very controversial subject in today's society - some people love them, some people hate them, depending on who we are. And I get that they're rich and have "everything," but I just don't see the point in hating them so much. All of them. They're just human beings - they've done wrong stuff just like us. It's not rocket science. It's their life - let them live it, and worry about your life instead. Celebrities are people we should be praying for rather than hating on.

Man of Steel

As some of you may know, I am a HUGE movie fan. There may be many reasons for this, whether it's my love of entertainment or my built-in, teenage-girl hunger for a little bit of romance. (Whether you like it or not, ALL girls like romance at some point in their lives. Even me. It's a given.) And since it's summer, and I have not done ANYTHING vacation-wise until this week, I have been frequently asking my parents to please, please, please take me to the movies.
Please.
Now, there are plenty of good movies out this summer. There's the largely anticipated Monsters University, that takes the 90s kids back to their childhood, and Despicable Me 2 coming out on the 3rd, which my little cousin Jonathan is extremely excited about. There are also comedies such as The Internship, and thrillers like World War Z or White House Down. But one that has caught the public's eye is the epic, action-packed, explosive Man of Steel movie, which follows a very handsome Clark Kent through his journey in becoming Super Man.
The movie is different from other Super Man movies, since it's more about evil aliens than human villains. It's received criticism because it's a little slow, and a little loud, and a little violent. (Or a lot of all of those things.) But I saw it for the second time today with some members of my family, and my grandmother couldn't help but notice one important detail.
In the movie, Clark Kent mentions that he is 33 years old. As it turns out, Jesus Christ was 33 years old when he began his ministry. Clark was sent to Earth to be a hero and a hope for humanity, like Jesus was. He had earthly parents, but he also had a father elsewhere, like Jesus did. (Not to mention that his earthly parents' names were Martha and Jonathan, which sounds similar to Mary and Joseph, Jesus' parents. He was also their only son.) On several occasions, you see Super Man with his arms outstretched in a cross-like form. There is a scene that takes place in a church where the pastor says that "Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes later." Also, Clark Kent was devoted to helping people, even his enemies. He was devastated and heartbroken when he had to kill the villain in the film, who actually had a hatred for Super Man himself.
Just like Jesus.
These are just a few of the many connections that we noticed in Man of Steel that link Super Man to Jesus Christ. If you really think about it, you can probably find many more that are all amazing. Now, I'm not sure if the people who wrote, produced, and directed this movie did this intentionally, but either way, it's very interesting to think about. The man we know as Super Man has quite a few similarities to Jesus.
It's strange to imagine Super Man ever being surpassed in strength by another hero, villain, or even human being. But Jesus Christ by far surpasses all of us, even the amazing Clark Kent. He did all of the things Super Man did - coming to Earth, starting a ministry at age 33, and helping people. But he did even more. He worked miracles before people's eyes, healing the sick and bringing the dead to life. He even laid down his life to save you and I from our sins - from an eternity of pain and regret. He suffered the most miserable crucifixion with all of us in mind. And then he beat death and rose from the grave.
Jesus is the ultimate Super Man. He is a Man of Steel, but he is also a Man of Hope. His mercies never fail and his powers never die. I'm not sure what you're going through today, but whether it's good or bad, just keep in mind that you've got a Super Man who's always there to save you in a heartbeat.