This Is Our Youth Broadway

I saw This Is Our Youth for my 17th birthday. I've heard amazing things about this play and had to see it. Honestly, I was expecting to hate it. I thought that it would be the same as when I read On The Road by Jack Kerouac. I heard all these people rave about it and everyone telling me to read it because it is amazing so I did and I hated it. Now the reason I hated the book is because I did not imagine the characters complexly like I couldn't imagine people that are mean to each other complexly. I couldn't imagine that the people being mean to me in school were just dealing with their own issues. Now I have clearly evolved into a person that does not see everything as either black or white but, complex things that deserve our thoughts and attention. I loved this play and is now my favorite play of all time.

The play is set in the 1980's in New York City with three main characters Warren, Dennis, and Jessica played by Kieran Culkin, Michael Cera, and Tavi Gevinson. These three people that are not yet adults and not a teenager anymore trying to figure out life. I think we have two different ideas of what life is like as a teenager and as an adult but what about the awkward middle? This play explores the awkwardness. I constantly feel like I don't belong in either category. Some people have their own perceptions of which one I'm in. I just feel stuck. I have felt stuck many different times in my life, but what I'm feeling now is a very different kind of stuck. I feel stuck in being too much a kid and then being too much of an adult and most of all I feel stuck that I don't know which category I belong in. This play understands the complexity that is being young and not an adult yet. It is filled with great metaphors and so many emotions that I just sat in silence for a bit after trying to understand what I was thinking. I think the play really welcomes the silence that comes after. When you feel so many things at once that you could never tell them all so your only choice is to say them in your head. Imagine if those thoughts that you thought about in silence were said aloud you get This Is Our Youth.



Love,
Maddie

Fall

Dress: Vintage Marc By Marc Jacobs
Shoes: Steve Madden 

Bag: Phillip Lim for Target
Leaves: Backyard 

I am in love with fall and I always have been. I love the smell of leaves and how beautiful they look. They are colors you wouldn't put together normally, but somehow nature makes them look beautiful. I love how it's cold enough to wear boots but you're not freezing your butt off. I love going to pumpkin farms and drinking pumpkin spice lattes. I am also in love with Halloween. It is the one night where you can pretend to be someone else. You can be anyone you want for a day.

Fall is also the time when school starts again. It's been crazy trying to blog because I have a lot going on, but I will get better at it. I've also been having a hard time writing too. I know I'm making excuses, but it's the truth.

Now for the dress origins, this is anther one of my lucky NYC vintage finds I paid 19.99 for it. If fall was a dress this would be it. Needless to say I came home from New York with more then I went with.


Love,
Maddie

The Infinite Sea: The Second Book of the 5th Wave Review

During this book I was in a constant state of what the hell is happening. I was waiting for this book for a year. I bought it on the day it came out (Sep 16) because I read the first book when it came out and loved it! The 5ht Wave by Rick Yancey is about aliens that invade in five waves and follows a girl name Cassie that is trying to survive and trying to get back her brother. They are turning the first book into a movie and Chole Grace Mortez is playing Cassie. I think she will be amazing as Cassie because of Kick Ass. The Infinite Sea is so different from the first book. The whole book is contradicting and questioning everything that happens in the 5th Wave.

I was always thinking about everything that was happening. There was absolutely no part where I could just read. You really had to understand and rethink everything. Imagine the first book as a table and then the second book as the crazy person who flips that table (the crazy person is Rick Yancey). This book literally question everything we were taught in the 5th wave. Is it the government? Is it really aliens? I want answers Rick! But, of course in true book fashion I will not know until next year.

Overall I give this 100% for what in the world is going on category.


Love,
Maddie

Where She Went Book Review

I recently read If I Say by Gayle Forman and this is the second book. Review Here. It is about what happens after If I Stay. The after is just as important as what happened before. So, many times in books and media it ends with, "They lived happily ever after." In real life things never end like that and it teaches us that the after is unimportant. This book shows that the after is compelling, complex, and just as important. I loved how we got an after for Adam and Mia.

Where She Went is in Adam's point of view, were the last book it was in Mia's point of view. It's set three years after the accident. Adam is a famous rock star, Mia graduated Juilliard early and now a professional cellist. Adam and Mia are brought together for one night by chance in New York. Adam has lost his way, his love of music is dying because of how much freedom he lost from being famous. Adam feels like he lost the one thing that he loved, Mia. He hates being famous and people always putting him on a pedestal. This makes him feel utterly alone.

They have this one chance encounter where they have time to be honest about how they feel. This book was gut wrenching. It touched on so many tough subjects. Adam really let fame destroy him because he feels alone. In society we tend to look at famous people life's and think they are perfect. This book really shows 1. How fame is not all it's cracked up to be 2. Fame is not always a choice. Sometimes you do what you love and other people love it too so you become known. That's sometimes the price you pay to be able to do what you love. You just need people that can keep you grounded and that support you.

Overall I give this book a 85%

Love,
Maddie

Altuzarra for Target

Shirt: Altuzarra x Target
Skirt: Asos
Jacket: Vintage

Shoes: Dr. Martens
Bag: Topshop

One has to love Target Collections. Were people like me who cannot yet afford the clothes and designers we want. Can actually have clothes that well made, well designed, and affordable. Now I live in the middle of nowhere which usually I hate. But, for Target collections I can go any time of day even a few days after the collection comes out and it will be completely stocked. So these Target collections have been good for my wardrobe and my relationship with the town I live in.

It was a great collection with some great pieces. Although this was not my favorite Target collection. Mainly because it was about making the Target customer feel sexy. When to say that one, all woman want to be sexy and two that a woman can only be sexy if she is wearing six inch over the knee boots. When woman can feel sexy even if she is wearing sweatpants. But, if it does make some woman feel empowered, then it's great. Just it wasn't my favorite collection. My absolute favorite Target collaboration was with Missoni. I think I bought everything from that collection I just sold the stuff I had because I wore it so much. I only bought the blouse that I'm wearing which was 29.99. It was very reminiscent of the Alexander Mcqueen fall/winter 2014 collection where everything had these amazing huge bows. But the best part of the Target collaborations is guessing what the next one will be.

Love,
Maddie  

If I Was at Fashion Week

Skirt: Topshop
Leather Jacket: Lauren Conrad's Collection
Shirt: Topshop
Sunglasses: Nordstrom

Shoes: Miu Miu (vintage)

If I was at New York fashion week this is what I would wear. My invitation sadly got lost in the mail, but that is okay. There is always next time. But, I assume the best part of NYFW is what you wear. So, I planed out what I would wear and this is my first outfit. These shoes I found at the bottom of a bin at a vintage store for 20 dollars. I love them because they have this really awesome and different heel. I think this would be a great first fashion week outfit.


Love,
Maddie

5 Ways to Style a Pizza John (Green) Shirt

Black, White, and Red All Over
Skirt: Peter Pilotto for Target 
Shoes: Topshop

McQueen and John
Skort: Topshop
Scarf: Alexander McQueen
Shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs (vintage)

Festval John
Denim shirt: AE
Skirt: Lulus
Shoes: Minnetonka (vintage)
Hat: random shop in Florida 

Causal Pizza Friday
Jeans: Rag and Bone
Shoes: Converse

Pizza and Pizza
The Best Way to Wear a Pizza John shirt 

What exactly is a pizza John Shirt? Well, this is the face of John Green. If you are unaware of who he is or my love for his books read this:http://maddiereece.blogspot.com/2014/09/why-i-love-john-green_4.html There are many ways to have pizza. Pepperoni pizza, pineapple pizza, and breakfast pizza the possibilities are endless. The possibilities are also endless for how to wear a Pizza John shirt. This is just a few ways of how I wear my Pizza John shirt. I think we can all agree that pizza is the best food in the world. Just saying.


Link to buy the Pizza John shirt: http://dftba.com/product/1d5/Pizza-John-Shirt 



Love,
Maddie

Why I Love John Green

His books and the Yeti

There are many reasons why I love John Green. I first found his Youtube videos that he makes with his brother Hank Green (Vlogbrothers). They break apart the world in a way that doesn't destroy it, but helps people better understand the world we live in. Fast forward a year I was in a clinic and the educational advocate told me to read Looking for Alaska first to see if I like it. Then, read The Fault in Our Stars because it's hard to read. I read his other books before and fell in love with them (this is an understatement). They helped me have friends my age when I did not. I finally felt like a "normal" teenager reading them. People say normal is overrated. But, they should say normal seems awesome to those who will never have it. Desperate I finally read The Fault in Our Stars in 2012. I never thought a book could understand my life and mind in a way I didn't even understand it, until I read TFIOS. Everyone sees grave injustices, but I know this all too well. When people, my friend's lives  were not as long as others. His book helped me cope and deal with it by showing me that short lives can be good lives. When the end of the book eventually comes, I was not crying because of the death of a character. I was crying because this was all too real. So real and so deeply true that the only way I could express this was through my eyes. He understands that the world doesn't give you what you want and life doesn't exactly turn out the way we planned it to.

People are so afraid to feel sad. This makes complete sense but when we are so closed off from sadness. It makes us numb to every other feeling too. Being sad requires us to be real with ourselves and how we feel. People are terrified of this because when we are nothing but honest with ourselves and each other it makes us vulnerable. Once we show that side of ourselves to someone we are afraid of being rejected. John Green pushes through that fear and is real and honest with his readers. I appreciate this because in world of fake Facebook photos and Kardashians there is an author who just gives it like it is and can still find humor. I think I am that way or at least try to be like that. 

My teacher once told me that life gives us people when we need them the most. This is true and whether or not John Green did this or some greater force his books found a way into my life when I needed them the most. His books and videos have shown me that I'm not alone, not everyone thinks I'm stupid because of my age. He allowed me to be a normal teenager through his books. Thank you seems like a strange thing to say to an author. Like, "Hey, John Green thank you for picking a career where you put letters into words on paper and then I buy it." There is so much to say and I never know if I'll find the words. So, I would like to give him a hug to say thank you in a way you can thank an author. Also give him a pizza and talk about awesome things over the pizza.

This is my favorite Vlogbrothers video and proof that things come into our life when we need them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u90dGnKhhlk&index=22&list=FLUBpymE_djq3f8mFIb1nqVA

Love,

Maddie

(End of) Summertime Sadness

shirt: Urban Outfitters
denim: gap
shoes: Sam Edelman
necklace: Topshop

This has been my go to summer outfit. I have worn this outfit a lot this summer.

Summer is officially over. There is no denying the wave of sadness I feel when I think this. Whenever the summer ends I always feel like my freedom dies with it. I'm going to miss the long beautiful nights, meaningful conversation at campfires, exploring all the time. I'll miss riding trains watching the world go by taking me somewhere exciting and finding amazing bookstores. Most of all I'll miss my friends that I see a lot of in the summer. I am allowing myself feel nostalgic so I can move into the next chapter in my life.

These denim shorts have been through a lot this summer. They were with me when I had to find art supplies before I started classes at Fashion Institute of Technology. They were with me many times during class at FIT. They were also with me when I went to the beach just watching the sea. Until next year denim high waisted shorts. I will miss you and the summer. 

Love,

Maddie

If I Stay movie and book review

If I Stay is based on a book by Gayle Forman. It is about a girl Mia whose family gets into a car accident. She is in a state of comatose and is outside herself watching everything happen to her. She has to decide if she wants to stay or go. It tells a story about love and really reminds us all that life can change in a blink of an eye. 

Gayle Forman in her books can always create real, honest, and funny characters. The book is heavy from the very beginning. We only know the character and her family for about 20 pages then their lives change forever. To only know a character for a brief time a feel so much for them is truly impressive. It switches back and forth from her past life and what is happening in the present. Mia is cellist who is thinking about Juilliard. Her dad was in a punk rock band and her mom was a feminist bitch (as described in the book). Mia is also completely in love with Adam who is in a rock band. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and learning about them. My absolute favorite part of the book was all the punk rock references from Debbie Harry to Iggy pop, Velvet Underground, and many more. Usually in Young Adult books there are not punk rock in it, which is a subculture greatly overlooked in books. 

Going into the movie I was not expecting it to be good at all. Heres why, I've seen the previews and it looked very sentimental. That is a part of the book but, it really is not the whole book. When big movie studios imagine teenagers they think of stupid, unempathetic, and self obsessed people. So, I always get nervous when big studios adapt Young Adult books to movies. I was pleasantly surprised when the movie was really good! I thought they did the movie very wisely, and the placing of everything really worked. I was worried it would be confusing or mess up the flow having to jump around it did not. They really set everything up perfectly and made the most of what they had. A lot of my favorite dialogue that was in the book was in there too. The music aspects of the story really felt real and true to the book. The punk rock came across really good in the movie. I was very happy with it and if it wasn't I knew I was not going to like the movie. Both the movie and the book are great. 

Overall I would give both a 90%

Love,

Maddie

New York, New York

Photos taken at Top of the Rock

What I wrote on my way home from New York City:

As I'm leaving a place that has been my home for a month, New York City. I'm thinking about why I love it so much. Maybe it's that you can have a interesting conversation with anyone, all the time. Maybe it's the art that is all around. You have the worlds best museums, broadway, endless street art. Maybe because this is the one place where people don't judge me, they like me for who I am. That it showed me that the outside world doesn't suck as bad as high school. The endless trains and cars taking you anywhere you want to go, any time of day. Or maybe because the whole world is at your fingertips and all that you have to do is walk outside. I think a major reason that I love New York is that Fashion Institute of Technology is there, and that's my favorite place in New York. I went there and everything is different. People are different from high school even though these kids are in high school. They got to know me as Maddie and not the labels kids in high school do. I was excited to go to school I don't remember ever feeling that. Ever. I could talk and people were listing to me. No one cared who was "cool" because we all were. To know that people my age were thoughtful and nice like me was amazing. I know longer counted down the days, I was sad when the day ended. I experienced not good times day to day for so long that I just forgot that it could ever be different. My problems seem unimportant now realizing that it was really just a high school thing. It helps to know that it's not just me. Even though I'm leaving NYC I'm not really. The only thing I'm leaving is the past, thinking that anyone couldn't be different. Even though I'm going back to where I live. I will never lose the part of me that knows that things will get better.

This Lana Del Rey video captures the nostalgia I was feeling when I left:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj_myXdOLV0

Landline reading with Rainbow Rowell

Yes, I look dead, yes she is wearing a lobster necklace. 

Before I talk about the reading and how cool Rainbow Rowell is. Let's talk about how I look. Wait. This is not some way for me to be self absorbed and, talk about myself. I look like I am barley alive. Let me tell you why. So I went to Tribeca after my classes at Fashion Institute of Technology for this reading.  We left right at 4:30 and the reading was at 6:00, so I had time to eat. But, the taxi driver dropped us off and we got lost. We ended up walking up and down two different blocks, couldn't find it, and now it was 5:20. We still haven't eaten, we ended up eating at some Mexican place. Found the Barnes and Noble on my GPS. What did people do before GPS? I mean really. We got there late and she was already speaking, but I got a ticket! Not a seat so I just sat on the floor until a worker yelled at me. Then, because we got there late we had to wait for two and a half hours to get my books signed. That is why I look like crap because all I could think about was how amazing my bed is going to feel when I get home. I know. I'm talking to Rainbow Rowell and half of my brain is focusing on her and, the other half is thinking about sleeping. Does that make me a bad reader? Well, whatever I am a human first.

Now let us talk about the reading. Do you know when writers are not good at speaking? Well, Rainbow Rowell is amazing at both. She first read a few pages from Landline and they were obviously amazing. She then took questions from the audience. She talked a lot about her family and her mom. When she spoke of them you really got a good idea and image of whom they were. Someone of course, asked her about the ending of Eleanor and Park she did hint that the three words were good and, maybe, "I love you." Then she said that is why she think's John Green killed off his character, so no one will ask if they end up together. Which of course made everyone laugh. Then, she started talking about her Caesarean section which was really gross. But, what was funny was the secretary guard this big looking tough guy. He was shaking his head, his hands running over his face, and looking like he was going to pass out. Clearly he was not prepared for this conversation.

Rainbow Rowell was really funny and, very sweet. After waiting for two hours (but I had Starbucks so it was fine). I got to talk to her and we talked about Eleanor and Park and she commented on my "real camera" and said it was nice. This was a really awesome thing to be able to do and, Rainbow Rowell was awesome. My mom also said, never reading her books, she was funny and told amazing stories. Now I have signed copies of her books!

Love,
Maddie

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

What I'm wearing: Topshop skirt, crop tank

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is the most fun I've had at a broadway show. Ever. Nail Patrick Harris captivates his audience in a way that makes him a force to be reckoned with. Brilliant acting, signing, music, set design, and costume design. Everything about this show is amazing. Under all of these layers that make up a masterpiece, there lyes a great story. The tale of transgender surgery gone wrong, and an internality ignored song stylist, left with an angry inch. A person just trying to make it as themselves, and struggles because there is nothing wrong with them. Just the world they live in, and how they want to be accepted for who they are. Without being labeled as woman, man, or worst of all, freak. You don't have to be trans gender to sympathies with the characters (myself as example). But, something everyone can relate to is wanting to be accepted and loved for who you truly are. Not a fake version that we lie to ourselves, just to please other people. That's why people love this show, not because it makes you laugh your ass off and pushes your boundaries. A story couldn't survive if that is all it is. No, it's because we can all relate to when life goes not wrong or right, just different. When this happens, all we want as people is love and acceptance. This whole show is a success not defined by the awards it's won. But, they found a new way to express something that is a major part of the human experience. If you are lucky enough to see this play before Nail Patrick Harris leaves, go! I feel incredibly lucky that I was able to experience this masterpiece.

Here is the amazing performance at the Tony's: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY1y-c_cIjI

Over all I give it 120%

Love,
Maddie

What I wore to the Met

What I wore: Brandy Melville crop top, Topshop skirt, Toms black canvas shoes

Vincent Van Gogh painting

Is this real or did I just walk on to the set of Marie Antoinette?

So, I went to the Met to see the costume exhibit, this year it is Charles James exhibit. I thought it was really interesting, I liked how it had cameras showing how the dress is made. I'm just learning how to drape I was so amazed at how he created these dresses. He created silhouettes that designers such as Oscar de le Renta uses now. He was ahead of his time when he created them. To be honest I knew I was not going to like this as much as last year's exhibit. Because, last year I loved the Punk Chaos to Couture. It wasn't that I loved it, it influenced me as an artist, as a person, and was by far the most I ever took away from a museum exhibit. So, I would be disappointed by anything after having that amazing experience last year. But, I did see some other amazing art. I mean look at this room? I want to live in that room! Overall I had a great day.

Love,

Maddie 

Of Mice and Men on Broadway Review (Meeting James Franco)

What I'm wearing: Chloe vintage dress

My shoes: Tory Burch Flats

I saw this play the day before it was leaving broadway. I feel very lucky that I got to see this amazing show. I was forced to read the book for school, as most people are. I have never liked a book I was forced to read. Ever. So it goes without saying that I did not enjoy the book. But, I think it was because of the teacher I had. The only reason I wanted to see the play was because of James Franco. So, I went and was amazed at how much I loved the play.

As soon as the first scene started I forgot these were actors. I didn't see James Franco as James Franco   I saw him as George. For movies it is tricky to cast a big star, for such an iconic character. Its even harder for a play. They did an amazing job casting, all of these actors really fulfilled out their role as these characters. James Franco did an amazing job, in the book I really hated his character. But, somehow he made the audience sympathize with him. In the book, it was really hard for me to connect with the characters. As watching the play I didn't judge the characters like I did in the book. I was surprised at how differently I thought of the characters in the book vs the play.

You really re lived the story. They brought life and dimension into a story that is told mostly in a classroom. Even though everyone knows how it ends, everyone jumped at the jun shot. When you watch it and know what's going to happen, there is this part that of you that wants it to end differently. Even though it doesn't. They created suspense and life in a story that has been told a thousand times.

When I went into the theater I asked if the actors came out after the show. They said they do, just come out and wait. The guy said, "You looking for Franco?" I'm like yes! After the show I came out, and there was like 200 people. I'm thinking, "Oh no I'm not going to get my book signed." (Palo Alto by James Franco) I went to the very end and there was a space. So, I stood and held my book up and the security guard took my book handed it James Franco. The guy asked me my name and I said and spelled out my name. TO JAMES FRANCO! I still couldn't believe I got my book signed. It is defiantly my favorite signed book.

I give it 100%.

Love,
Maddie

Yves Saint Laurent Movie Review

I saw this film in a little art theater in the South Village in NYC called Film Forum. I luckily caught it just before it wasn't going to be playing anymore. This film was amazing and really got into the life of Yves Saint Laurent, not just the legend. I could see how they would be tempted to make this into a glamorous story of a "fashion legend". To be completely honest I was quite afraid that the movie would become that. But, they didn't they didn't leave any of the gritty parts of his life out at all. Which made me very happy and pleased with the film.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXQoO9r_CuY (The link to the trailer)

We all the know the story of Yves Saint Laurent. He worked for Dior then took over as creative director when Dior passed. While working there he was enlisted in the war and then taken out because of psychiatric issues. He was then hospitalized, and came out far worse then he went in. Created his own fashion house. Turned to drugs then became better. He kept working until his death in 2008, he died of brain cancer. With history you cut out a lot and when someone becomes a legend you never hear how they acted, or loved. When we talk about someone who accomplished so much and had an amazing talent. That's the only thing you hear about. This move really gave more information than what we get in the museums.

The whole movie felt very intimate, it made you feel like a fly on the wall. Imagine looking through a curtain and seeing something you are not meant to see. That's how the whole movie felt. They showed how he was living for his work. There was one line that really stuck with me "If I can't express myself, I'll die." Is that not what your job should be? That you would die if you couldn't do it. Maybe that's a bit drastic, but it really shows how much he loved his work. Also, how much he loved men and woman. They showed how that got complicated at times. I really related to when he was asked what he was afraid of and he said, "That I'll fail." That is something I am afraid of especially when I saw the movie. But, he said I'll try my best and he stuck to his word.

The performances in the movie were amazing. I felt like I could really imagine these actors as the real people they played. It never felt forced, it felt very authentic. Pierre Niney did an amazing job playing such an iconic character as did all the actors.

Over all I give it a 98%

Love,
Maddie

Sundae School Cape Cod

381 Lower County Rd, Dennisport, MA 02639

Sunday School is an ice-cream place in Cape Cod, but it is one of 

the best ice-cream places in the world. They make all their own ice cream and whipped cream. They use all fresh fruits, and at night they have security to handle the traffic because there is so many people. I went here every summer for the last four years and it really never feels like summer until I go here. Even though I have changed every summer and my life is constantly changing. This place never does, its the same music, the same building, and ice-cream and it has been for many generations. Other than the amazing ice I think it is so popular is because when we feel like everything and everyone is changing around us. We all can go with our friends and family and feel the same way we did before.

Banana Oreo ice-cream with Strawberries. Yum! 

Picture from 1910

 This picture really shows how much the world has changed in just 104 years. When change is happening it doesn't seem that drastic. Only until we see pictures of our old life do we truly understand how much things have changed. In my life right now it feels like everything is changing, all change that I wanted. Change to me is always scary even through I'm excited about the changes that are happening. I know that I will look back at these pictures and see how much my life has changed. This seems daunting to me but I know that some things will never change and that gives me comfort.

Shirt: urban outfitters
Glasses: Marc By Marc Jacobs  

Shorts: Forever 21