"Leaving" multimedia

"Leaving" song and Analysis

You’re leaving off to college
I’m not gonna say that I don’t want you to go
You know I’m really going to miss you
Handle my emotions to stop my tears from flowing

You’re leaving off to college
Starting over again
Having a great time
You know we’re all gonna miss you
Especially that girl that you really thought you knew

And the way how you always knew everything
The only one who would make me say
I don’t feel the same without you
You’re so far away
I wish you could staayy
Staayyy

Well I’m just trying to tell you
In any kind of way
But I find it hard to say this,
When you’re so far awayyyy
Awaayy

Leaving everything behind
Eyes aren’t feeling so dry
We all love you so don’t you fear
But you know I’ll always be here



Analysis for “Leaving”


My oldest brother, Keola, is the inspiration for this song. This song is titled “Leaving” because this fall he is leaving for college. He is 18 years old and extremely wise for his young age. He has always been motivated to make a difference in the world and his positive attitude radiates towards everyone he meets.
Keola has always been my best friend, even since I was a young girl. He was always my role model because he was so well liked and very optimistic. The way he interacted with new people and instantly befriended them was amazing to me because I had always been a little shy and he forced me to break out of my shell and become outgoing.
The track I used for this song is called “seaside” by The Kooks. The flow of the song seemed right for the lyrics, and the lyrics in the original song slightly matched the mood I had written for my brother. This is one of my favorite songs and the lyrics are extremely relatable, especially after I have re-written it.
“You’re leaving off to college” is the first line in the song and it repeats itself because I feel it gets the message straight to the point. Mostly everyone shares this melancholy feeling when ones sibling is leaving for college. It is a depressing time in your life; I know the feeling because right now Keola is living it up with his friends for the last few months before he leaves for college. Which means he is spending less and less time with his own family, and it absolutely crushes me. The first stanza is simply stating how much I am going to miss my older brother when he leaves.
The next verse also starts off with “You’re leaving off to college”, but it gets more in detail. “Starting over again, having a great time” is basically saying that when he enters college life, he is starting a new chapter and he is going to have a great time. The last two lines in the verse state “You know we’re all gonna miss you, especially that girl you thought you knew.” Those lines explain how his girlfriend of five months is going to miss him more than anyone. His girlfriend is also a good friend of mine, and her and my brother are devastated with the fact that he’s leaving in the fall.
Following that, the next two stanzas basically just say how I don’t know how to tell him how badly it’s going to be without him this fall. I do have another brother who I love and care for, but Keola and I have become practically inseparable this year and it makes me sad how he has to leave so soon. Even though I know he’s going to be having a great time, I know he will miss the support of his family because he knows we will always be there.
This song is very special to me. Especially the ending, which is telling him that he won’t be replaced within the years he is gone.

Sonnet/Analysis

Day in and day out my broken heart yearns
As cold as winter, my mind is frozen
With every lesson taught, I fail to learn
Never have I been the first one chosen

To my despair I am left alone
I'm feeling broken hearted, at its peak
The grass beneath my feet is overgrown
Another love like the last, I will seek

Every spring flower has ceased to blossom
Trinkets of lost love causes my heart ache
Drops of rain pour, I'm not feeling awesome
I smile, although we both know it is fake

Gloomy clouds gather overhead as I wait and sit
It is nice to say that I'm over it

Analysis:
In this sonnet, I am expressing a side of myself in which nobody ever sees. Normally, I am not a depressed person and I really dislike sharing my innermost feelings with others because it makes me feel vulnerable. This sonnet is not about something that has happened to me personally but something that everyone experiences.
The main point I was getting at in the whole picture was that everyone will experience heartbreak sooner or later, and then eventually they move on. It's apart of the cycle of life and it is a real emotion that nearly everyone can relate to. The metaphors I used such as "As cold as winter, my mind is frozen" express the loneliness and thoughtlessness you experience during a heartbreaking situation.
Woven between the first four lines, I have written a message that silently lets the reader know that even though I may seem put together and sane, but really I have made plenty of mistakes. Life throws me tons of lessons, and I try to learn, except the fact that I'm just not a good student. Also, in most situations where there has to be someone chosen, it seems that I'm always second best; no matter what.

Towards the last lines I wanted to elaborate the fact on how every time someone's heart is broken, there is normally a process of moving on.
I think that mostly everyone will understand what I mean when they read this.
I wanted to contrast winter and spring, with spring meaning love and winter meaning the desolation of a heart break. First loves are always the most important you will have in your life, and it is something you will always remember. Even if you may be over it, you never really are. The last two lines in this sonnet is supposed to be like a twist because the whole poem is so sorrowful I just wanted to lighten it up a bit at the end.

Sonnet

Alone Sonnet


Day in and day out my broken heart yearns
As cold as winter, my mind is frozen
With every lesson taught, I fail to learn
Never have I been the first one chosen

To my despair I am left alone
I'm feeling broken hearted, at its peak
The grass beneath my feet is overgrown
Another love like the last, I will seek

Every spring flower has ceased to blossom
Trinkets of lost love causes my heart ache
Drops of rain pour, I'm not feeling awesome
I smile, although we both know it is fake

Gloomy clouds gather overhead as I wait and sit
It is nice to say that I'm over it

Holden Ten Years Later

Snow flurries landed on my windbreaker as my muddy brown hiking boots stomped the slush-covered ground. Jane and I walked hand in hand, towards the lake that had always captivated my childish brain ten years ago. Jane gasped as we neared the lake, which was surprisingly occupied by dozens of ducks! She looked at me lovingly, as I felt peaceful and happier than ever.
It was amazing, really. As I thought about how my life was ten years ago, nothing compared to how it was now. Jane and I married around eight years ago when she finally realized that no stupid jock could ever make her happy the way I did. For Chrissake, they were just a bunch of Goddamn phonies. The real amazement here was that it was almost the dead of winter in New York City and there were ducks! Never in my life have I seen such a miracle. It truly was a sight to see.
In case you're wondering if I had made a complete turnaround and changed altogether, you are very wrong. My smoking habit has not ceased and I still cuss like a madman. I mean, I really am not the perfect gentleman, but thanks to Jane Gallagher, my love, life has never been better. Besides Phoebe, Jane was the only person I had any respect for and completely admired. Everyone else were just phonies.
We live in a one-bedroom apartment on the twenty-fourth floor in New York City; very close to Central park. Why Jane and I live there and not somewhere in the suburbs was my idea. Jane wanted to move out to some country-like place and being the hard-headed Taurus that I am, I simply could not go for that. When Jane questioned why I had my heart set on living in the city, I explained that how much I loved the "rush" of things in New York City and the nightlife. Shortly afterward she agreed to it and had no further objection. Since we moved to the Big Apple, we visited clubs and went out almost every night. Even old Phoebe came to visit once in a while. She is still as sharp as a tack, I tell you.
Anyway, there stood Jane and I at the lake in Central Park. Being there made me reminisce about the time I waltzed in to the park piss-drunk in the middle of the night to come see the ducks. I felt a sharp pang of sadness as I remembered all of the depressing thoughts that had came to my mind that one night. How I thought that I would die of pneumonia and that I didn't want a funeral because when I remembered Allie's funeral, all I could think of was how our aunt's and uncles who came were just a bunch of phonies. Who needs em' anyways.
"Holden, are you okay? You don't seem all here." Jane quickly snapped me out of my flashback.
"Yes Jane. I'm fine, I'm sure of it." I blatantly retorted.
"How 'bout we go home then? Hey? Would that be alright?" Jane warmly asked.
I didn't reply, I just nodded my head, gave one last look at the lake, and out of nowhere, the ducks were gone. Peculiar, I thought. Anyway, we trudged slowly back to our apartment, rode up the elevator, and after what seemed like hours, we finally made it back into our quaint home. It wasn't all that much but it was still home. Jane sauntered off into the hallway as I plopped down onto our sofa. I heard Jane going through a bunch of stuff and I hollered, "Hey Jane? Watchya doin'?"
She didn’t' answer me. Jane came back with a chessboard and a crooked smile on her face. I knew what she wanted outta' me and I smiled back at her. She placed it on the floor and she sat down by it and started to put all of the pieces in place. I came over by her and we started an intense game of chess. Like she had always done before, Jane placed all of her kings in the back row. That really killed me, boy did it kill me. I couldn’t stop laughing and neither could she. I kissed her all over and told her I loved her.
THE END
The reason why I made Holden and Jane be married ten years later is because from examples in the book, it showed that Holden really loved her and cared for her. Whenever Holden had flashbacks about him and Jane playing chess, or when he rambled on and on about her, it made me want Jane and Holden to get together more than anything.
Also, Holden was a wild-child when he was younger. He was the epitome of what a rebel was the way he cussed, acted, and the way he had no self-remorse for any other person but himself. The only people that he really showed that he cared for were Phoebe, Allie, and Jane. Holden also admired his older brother D.B. and James Castle but D.B. was never around much and James Castle was dead. I wanted to make this story a happy ending for Holden because I feel that sometimes when you're misunderstood and rebellious as a child, you tend to be more well-balanced as an adult.
After Holden got the boot from Pencey, I wanted to make it clear that he straightened out his life and got everything back the way it should be. Everyone deserves a happy ending, even if you are someone like Holden Caulfield.

Shadowing Holden

I swear to god, I didn’t sneak out of the house because I was up to no good. The real reason was based on good intentions. If you really want to hear about it, I’ll tell you because honestly it was a big misunderstanding.
It was a typical Friday night; my whole family is at home and about to go to sleep. The time is somewhere around 10 o’ clock. I tell my mother, “Goodnight Mom, I’m going to sleep. See you tomorrow,” and she smiles warmly and tells me “sweet dreams.” As I saunter off to my bedroom, I dial my friend Brittany’s cell phone number.
“Hello?” a distraught voice on the other line answers.
“Hey Brit, what’s up?” I ask.
“I just found out that my grandpa died. Come over, I need some company!” She cries.
“Alright, I have to sneak out of the house to go, but I’ll come. I’ll be there in 15 minutes,” I reassure her.
I stuff my bed with pillows to make it look like there’s actually a person in the bed and shut off the lights. The door creaks open, and I tip-toe outside of my bedroom and into the hallway. As I make my way to the door of my house, I feel an adrenaline rush because it felt so unnatural to be leaving the house without my parents knowing.
I run up my driveway and out to the street. Brittany’s house isn’t too far away, so I begin to jog. Five minutes later I reach her home and go into her room. We sat there watching “A Cinderella Story” and eating chocolate ice-cream for about an hour. My cell phone starts to vibrate and on the caller ID it shows that my house is calling and my body becomes shaky.
I answer meekly, “H-h-hello?”
“SAMANTHA! WHERE ARE YOU?!” my mother’s angry voice screams.
“Mom, I can explain! I’m at Brittany’s house, her grandfather passed away!” I reply.
“I don’t care, just get home immediately!” she responds and hangs up.
I apologize to Brittany and then I head home. My mom is waiting for me at the door and she tells me that I will be grounded until further notice. She sends me to my room, and will not let me explain why I lied to her. A few weeks later, my grounding ends and I have certainly learned my lesson. I will never sneak out of the house again.

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