“Tell truths but say no lie, for you will regret your past and plead for me to imply.” – My Mom

I was in the kitchen with my mom looming above me, she was watching me draw, making sure I wasn’t eating any of my supplies. I repeatedly asked her “Can you draw something for me?” There was a pause. “PLEASE.” I was five years old so my mom had no choice but to withstand my begging and pleading by actually doing the task she was given. With a sigh, my mom picked up the pencil and started to draw. I watched with amazement as she drew. Her hand gracefully gliding across her paper like an ice skater descending across the ice. Her sketching was explicit, and her undercoat and overcoat was perfect( undercoating and over coating is the process of adding a compatable color to the color in hand, turning it into a unique color that can be changed and tempered with to your choosing).

When she was done I was shocked to see a little girl with thick braids as black as night, and her dress bursting with green and yellow hues as deep and wild as the jungle itself. Her eyes were a deep burnt sienna that looked like fresh coco beans gleaming in the sunlight. She exclaimed “It’s a picture of you, do you like it?” I calmly took the paper and stuck it on the refrigerator with a magnet. My mom smiled with amusement as I beamed with pride as I stood next to the refrigerator admiring the masterpiece that fell before my eyes. That was probably the best moment I had with my mother.

My mom is probably the most understanding person I know. She is always so kind and welcoming, I feel like I can talk to her about anything and everything. But what I have noticed the most is she never ever fights with anyone. Especially not my father. I haven’t seen them fight even once. That’s how big my mother’s heart is, she cares so much that she refuses to show her own opinion. I like to think that their are three kinds of hearts. A heart made of coal represents inhospitable behavior and a cruel and harsh manner. A heart of silver means you fight with your words, and your tough. You work hard and your kind and have a good heart and soul. But gold, that is something bigger. You don’t fight at all, instead you show your kindness to anyone and everyone, and show no sign of selfishness. My mother has a heart of pure gold.

 

Da Capo( Part 3 continued)

I thought about my dream when I ate, I thought about my dream when I wrote, I couldn’t stop thinking about it for even a minute. My father wasn’t always around, he always had business trips, or had some job to do. He was rarely home at all. As if he had something so important and explainable that he can’t even be home. Around noon, Peter visited me, but he had a far off look in his eyes giving me the sense that he was confused and possibly even scared out of his mind.  “Hey Calypso, have you ever had a dream so realistic that it felt as if a message was being sent to you, like a warning or something?” I paused and then I couldn’t believe what was going on.

“Oh my god.”

“W-what is it Calypso?”

“No.”

“What  do you mean by no?”

“Peter I-I had a dream like that last night.”

“Oh, god.”

“But there’s no way it can be the exact dream, I mean, what if we are both talking about totally different things?”

I started to explain, his expression became worried. Then he said, ” I heard the same prophecy, only instead of Apollo, the god of Fire, Hephaestus was speaking to me.” We pause. We started talking about how my dad was never home, and his dad wasn’t either. “What does this all mean?” I ask. “Either we’re demigods, or we’re completely insane.” I thought for a minute. “Peter, dreams are never that realistic, they never send messages like that. Most people don’t even remember dreams, but this is the only thing I’ve been thinking about.”  Right after I ended my sentence, a large beam of light started to creep rapidly around the room, like lava spreading around callused rock.

The room suddenly started to change. The monitors turned into tapestries, and the floor turned from tile, to hard polished marble. The room started to expand. The small hospital room was suddenly a gargantuan throne room. In front of us, we saw two thrones, one was of pure gold and extremely well polished with a sun disk made of arrows hanging on top. Then there was a throne constructed with every precious metal found. Everything had happened so fast, first we were talking in the hospital room, then we were in a huge throne room knowing nothing whatsoever of where we are and how we got here. But something about that symbol above the first throne was familiar. Then it hit me. My mark.

When I was born I was born with a mark exactly like the one hanging above the throne. I kept asking my mother “How is it so detailed mom? It can’t be possible!” She always denied my observations and just told me to ignore it and that it was probably just an act of nature. But to me, that mark, that symbol didn’t even look like I was even born with it. It looked like it was burned into my skin. Peter seemed to have a similar situation, but he had a hammer, that was crossed over with pincers.

“Hello Calypso.” A booming voice, that sounded like it was coming from everywhere. “I am Apollo. The god of the sun, healing, and music. I am also your father.” A tall man stepped out from the shadows, wearing traditional Greek men attire. Just like in my dream. Peter looked at me with wide eyes, that’s when I passed out.

The Prophecy( passage of Da Capo)

I found myself in a dark forest, the trees were bare and looked aged and old, the sky was the color of midnight, and looked deadly to begin with. I walked further into the forest, each step I took was painful and felt like poison was shooting up my leg.  But then I saw a women, she was dressed in what looked like a women Greek toga. Her eyes suddenly glowed a fiery gold, and her voice was felt like she was trying to charm speak me. She then said in a deep voice.

Two powerful demigods will answer the call, that will take them to a journey that shall make them rise then fall. To break the barrier that has rapidly spread, and find the key to endless death.

Right after she said death, she rapidly faded into dust being carried by the wind.

I woke up, sweat running down my face, my breath rapid and labored. The scars and scrapes I had now weren’t visible. Some of the cuts were so deep, but they didn’t leave any marks or anything. And that dream, it was so real, and it felt as if maybe the prophecy was about me? The women not only looked like Athena, but she looked like my mom as well. Something was going on, something mythical.

“You don’t have to be somebody different to be important. You’re important in your own right.” – Michelle Obama

Over the summer, I watched the speeches that were being made at the DNC( Democratic National Convention.) Each and every person made a meaningful speech, and each had something to say. But there was one person who really caught my eye. Michelle Obama. She serenaded the crowd with her powerful speech, but one of the lines that really caught me shushed the whole crowd, and it probably the most meaningful and it shocked the entire nation.

“I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves”

That single line had captured the minds and souls of every person watching, and it trapped the souls of each and every person who ever tried to underestimate the power of words and thoughts. Honestly there is no other person in that room that had her enthusiasm, strength and power. I seriously want her to run for president. I mean, just imagine, a president who cares about her nation and country and her people more than anything.

Michelle Obama lead the nation grace and she was the person who brought the nation together, she was a person of hospitality and unity. Everywhere she stepped, she brought hope and happiness with her. Her kind heart, strong will, and intelligence brought her to be one of the most inspirational people in the country(alongside her husband, Barack Obama.) Even when she isn’t in the office anymore, she still works night and day to help and restore, to reproduce and conserve, and to bring hope to those who have none.

So, thank you Mrs. Obama for keeping hope in the air.

“There are still many causes worth sacrificing for, so much history yet to be made.” – Michelle Obama

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Welcome to The Tech

“Okay, everyone assigned bus seven you can board the bus.” Yelled my science teacher. I was with my friends Jacqueline, Chanel, Esther, and a girl named Isabel. Esther’s dad was chaperoning, and constantly asking things like “You girls need anything?” “Are you cold?” “Everybody stay close together.” We boarded the bus, since we were the last to board, we couldn’t exactly find seats where we were close, so we had to split up. Luckily I found a spot in the middle of the bus that was empty and no one was there(unless you count the little dust bunnies under the seat). I was super bored, there was nothing to do except listen to a bunch of boy’s bloodcurdling yells and screams. Then I remembered that I had my mom’s phone in my satchel. I took it out and started to play a game. After dying multiple times in the same level, I got really bored so I put the phone back in my satchel and looked out the window.

The world passed by, it looked like I was traveling in a time machine, watching the farms turning into factories, and the large lakes and oceans turning into tourist attractions. Finally I saw a large orange building with a very big ultramarine blue dome on the top of it all. Then I knew it was it. We stepped outside, I just stood there for like to minutes. Though I looked calm, on the inside I was screaming “OH MY GODS I AM IN THE TECH MUSEUM OF INNOVATION I CAN’T BELIEVE IT WOW THE ARCHITECTURE IS AMAZING OH MY GODS  NO ONE CAN SAY THEY LIVED LIFE WITHOUT COMING HERE OH MY GODS OH MY GODS OH. MY. GODS.”( I may have exaggerated a little bit, don’t judge me I was excited okay.)

As we walked around the building to the entrance, we started to walk side by side with my friend Jayden’s group. “You’re freaking out, aren’t you Wise Girl?” He said with a goofy smirk. “You have no idea Feline Face.” I said with a huge grin. Those were our nicknames for each other. His favorite animal is a cat, and everything he owns is literally a cat or anime related thing, hence the name Feline Face. He calls me Wise Girl, because he knows how much I love the Percy Jackson series, and he and our other friends think I am exactly like Annabeth, one of the main characters in the series. Anyway, we walked past this huge pillar that looked like it was made of Lego’s, we arrived at the entrance my eyes went wide. “Oh. My. Gods.”

Jayden smiled as I stared in awe at the structure in front of us. It was a wall of colorful tiles, that were arranged to represent molecules, and the the human DNA. My friends and Esther’s dad laughed as I jumped up and down in elation. Before we walked in, the staff that worked in the museum passed out little slips of paper. Before they explained what it was for Jayden started to blush like crazy, and then said. “Hey, my group got these tickets to see one of the interactive exhibits that is really new, and I thought you would like it so–” He handed me a slip of paper that said, ” Medical and Health Exhibit.” Each person got a slip of paper with an exhibit that was unique and new. I accidentally had received two, but everyone had already gotten one, and mine said, “Video and Animation.” Since we were still allowed to visit each new exhibit anyway, I said. ‘Well, I thought you would like this too.” I said with a sly grin. Jayden’s eyes popped as he read the title, a few seconds later he was hugging me and saying, “OH MY GOD THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!” We both parted ways as we entered.

“OHMYGODSOHMYGODSOHMYGODSOHMYGODS.” I said under my breath as we entered into the(amazing) pavilion. It was so unique, nothing like any museum I’ve seen in my life( then again, I’m only eleven.) The entire grade was supposed to meet in this large room. Mr. Vega (Esther’s dad) led us there, while my friends and I trailed alongside each other. After we got there, the rest was just instruction. Then the entire grade broke to go explore. We first went to a section called “Coding and Engineering” I saw my friend Zach( aka Zoom Zoom) and he told us about this one really cool section of the exhibit, because he has been here four times already. But I wasn’t paying attention. I saw a little area, my friends trailed alongside me, and we saw a little dinosaur in a glass case. There was a screen about the size of my face. I put my elbow on the surface below. But then I clicked something. The little dinosaur kissed the glass, in which we were looking.  I desperately searched for what I did. My friends stared in awe at the dinosaur, as I clicked and clicked more buttons.

WAIT A MINUTE, THAT’S SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! I realized. Coding and Engineering. I just coded a dinosaur to kiss the glass. I JUST CODED A DINOSAUR TO KISS THE GLASS. That was so cool. No that wasn’t cool, that was innovative. I didn’t realize until now how much coding really changed people’s lives. My friends started to make the dinosaur do more things, like making it dance, or do a funny face. We then went to a different exhibit, where we got to design our own robots, and construct them. I wanted to create a robot that could write and compose music for any instrument to play. Of course it took a lot of coding. As I coded and designed, my other friends made cat like robots, or robots that would dance on the walls. It took ten minutes to code the robot to find musical notes from the internet and create music with it. And it took an additional ten minutes to figure out a design. But finally I was done. As my friends started to leave, I was about to disable my robot. But then one of the staff walked up to me and looked at my robot. “Wow. Impressive! How old are you?” “E-eleven.” I stuttered. I hate dragging attention to myself, so this was a huge loss for me,” The worker had a shocked look on her face and then asked “What does it do?’ I started to explain and when I finished she looked bewildered and in wonder.  “Is it okay if I could show this to my co-workers?” She asked. I stuttered in a shocked tone “Yes, of course.”

My friends and Mr. Vega must have been watching, because when I confronted them, they looked at me like I was a goddess. It was around lunchtime, so we headed back to the main room where me first met. We got out our lunches and I took out the map we were given. Since we had loads of time after lunch for more exhibits, we planned out which ones we will go on. Then I saw my slip of paper for the medical and health exhibit, I stared at it with wonder in my eyes. Mr. Vega’s expression told me we both had the same idea.  So after lunch, we were about to become doctors.

We saw a sign that led us to the health exhibit and followed it. When we got there, I was in utter shock. Inside was a huge room, dedicated to medicine, exhibits, that included designing and of course medical activity. As my friends wandered around I went to a simulation where you got to do surgery on a human body. I chose the cardiovascular surgery so it took a bit, but for some weird reason I knew exactly what to do. I didn’t notice Mr. Vega standing above me until I finished. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” he asked in unison to his thoughts. I paused and then said “Anything in the medical field, but specifically I want to be gynecologist.”

I continued to wander. I found one area where you had to design a swaddle warm enough for a premature baby to be in( premature babies have to be kept warm, or they will surely pass). I designed a material that was made from reused microfibers, that part was for the inside. On the outside a created a special fabric kind of like that material on really puffy sports jackets. But instead of the material being cool and smooth, I designed it to have more insulation so the body heat from the baby could be trapped inside the swaddle. Making sure no heat transfer happened. When I finished, it was tested on a virtual baby, that was designed to feel and act like a baby. This made sure that the swaddle was cold-proof. One of the directors for this activity watched as I finished up. The screen showed that my design was successful. “You know, the best designs go to designers and doctors, to maybe create.” I stared in shock and before I said anything he said “Looks like this ones a winner, great job kid.” Then he walked away. I walked towards my friends to go to the next exhibit.

We were now in the space exhibits. And let me tell you was only able to say one thing: OH MY GODS. There were simulators, interactive exhibits, and even a place where you could try on a space suit. I tried that first with my friends. It took each of us a while to put everything on, because the suits were actually designed for future teens astronauts. It was so big and bulky, and I felt like I was really an astronaut about to shuttle of. We even got to try space suits for trips to Mars for when teens go. The suits were way more flexible then the other ones. Since we each got a suit to where at the same time we all started laughing because one of our friends put on hers backwards. We took of the suits, and went to the space launch simulator where you got to go on a real mission.

My friends voted me as the pilot and leader, so I went to the main seat that had the controls. We put on our seat belts, closed the door and we counted down for ignition. “5….4….3….2….1…” Then we took of. It was such a weird feeling. It was so strong, I felt like I was being impaled into the seat. Luckily we go into orbit. We saw stars and nebula’s everywhere. Then we saw Earth from the distance. Put then I felt a strange feeling like I was floating. I unbuckled my seat belt, and I floated up, I saw my friends and Mr. Vega flying too. This was the best simulator I ever went on. No not a simulator, it was like a ride! I did back flips in the air.  THIS IS THE COOLEST THING IN THE WORLD, WAIT I TAKE THAT BACK, THE GALAXY! I thought. Suddenly little packets of space food ejected into the zero gravity like atmosphere. Freeze dried ice-cream. I thought not bad. I realized that they made the simulation so realistic because they used indoor sky-diving like technology. Wow, smart, I thought. Then it was time to go back to Earth, uh, I mean the exhibits.

As we got out, I felt like I was going to feel like I was floating forever. Since we were done with space, we went to an earthquake simulation that was nearby. As we got on, I felt like was going to instantly going to break my skull. The ground shook so suddenly that I toppled into the railing beside me. Wait, this is the Chile earthquake. The strongest earthquake in history. 9.5 is pretty strong. It was only a few minutes long, but to me and my friends, it felt like eternity. When it was over we stumbled  out of the simulation, and had to make sure we all didn’t fall at the same time. We had about an hour before we had to leave. So we went to all the small activities.

There was this really cool one where you designed your own roller coaster, and got to ride on it. It was so much fun, my coaster was designed to do to double flips, and then at one point of the ride, it goes super fast, and then the whole rail is just cut of, causing the coaster to soar in the air, and then land back in the rail. We then went to this really cool area, where there was this huge black screen, and we had to try to use our body heat to create kind of a mutant molecule. Then we went to a big room where we designed an earthquake proof building, using tape, woods, and of course, power tools. But then sadly, it was time to go. We still had a ton of stuff to cover, but I promised myself that we would come again soon.

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At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” – Frida Kahlo

A few weeks ago I was in the school library with my friend, we were both in the biographies section of the library. I wandered into a shelf full of books about artists and I got very excited, touching  the spine of each book. Then i found a thick book with a picture of one of my favorite artists. It was called  Frida Kahlo: Painter of Strength. Last year I learned about her life and I studied her paintings, so I was really excited to find a big thick book about her, written about the phenomenal painter herself. I sat down at one of the large comfy couches that was near by. I started to read, and read, fifteen minutes passed and I was bursting with shock and sadness. But at the same time, I was grateful to finally be able to learn and comprehend this lonely renegade artist, who was a fighter at heart. My friend had found me, and when I looked up a single tear rolled down my callused cheek. “What’s wrong?” He asked. I replied just by saying. “Poor, poor, Frida.”

Frida Kahlo was born on July 6, 1907, but sadly at the early age of six, she was diagnosed with polio. Her right leg was extremely shorter and thinner than her left leg. With both of her parents often sick, she described her early life as “very very sad.” Years later, she was coming back from school when a large wood bus crashed with a car, many people killed, but Frida experiences severe injuries, a handrail had gotten impaled right into her pelvis, and she fractured her legs, collarbone, and ribs. When she started to recover, she had unfortunately found out that she was suffering from three displaces vertebrae.

Her dreams of becoming a professional doctor were shattered. But soon her family found an easel that she could use to paint with while in bed. She spent most of her time painting, but she mainly painted her emotion and pain. Her paintings were the only things keeping her together, keeping her alive. She mainly painted self portraits because in this quote she states “I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best.”  She painted herself and others) in many different ways. In one painting she depicts herself,  but instead of her normal human form, she is a graceful deer. In another, she paints not one but two Frida’s, one in traditional Mexican clothing, the other Frida wearing nontraditional attire. Representing her true and fake self.

What really caught me the most about her, was even through every sorrowful and painful moment in her life, she continued to stay Frida. She continued to be calm, and poured every single tear, every single moment of anger, or fear into her work. Into a series of paintings that is her life.

“I wish I could do whatever I liked behind the curtain of “madness”. Then: I’d arrange flowers, all day long, I’d paint; pain, love and tenderness, I would laugh as much as I feel like at the stupidity of others, and they would all say: “Poor thing, she’s crazy!” (Above all I would laugh at my own stupidity.) I would build my world which while I lived, would be in agreement with all the worlds. The day, or the hour, or the minute that I lived would be mine and everyone else’s – my madness would not be an escape from “reality”.”

– Frida Kahlo 

 

“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney

Disney. That’s a name that most people have probably heard multiple times. But do you really know how to comprehend what he went through in his life? A few months back I watched a movie with my family called Walt Before Disney. It definitely changed my perspective of how I saw him not only as a famous animator, but a young man who was struggling to live his life.  Most people think that just because Walt Disney wanted to represent magic and happiness( in which he successfully did). He lived a life where he didn’t have a care in the world. Well that is definitely not the case. At one point he was bankrupt when he first started to animate and film. In one scene in the film, it showed Walt trudging inside trash cans to find a single morsel of food. Suddenly a little gray mouse scurried towards him, running along his arm to his shoulder. Luckily Walt had found a small piece of a sandwich. But you know what he did? He shared that single sliver of food with the little helpless mouse.

What I am trying to say is though people may seem very happy and optimistic, their backstory may not be so. Walt Disney is a perfect example of this. He grew up in multiple farms, drawing, and playing jokes. But as his brother soon started to get quite ill. He had to soon find a way to make a living for himself. Thus creating a team of hardworking renegade artists and writers, who were his friends and comrades. But they quickly become bankrupt and are searching for more workers. In desperate need of help, he turns to his brother, Roy Disney. With there partnership they create Disney Brothers Animation. Over the years, Disney films and shorts have captured the hearts of people around the world and it’s morals and fables have not only taught us lessons, but brought in and out new ideas and encourage people to believe there is sometimes magic coming our way.

” The difference in winning and losing is most often… Not quitting.” – Walt Disney

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” Mankind was born on Earth … it was never meant to die here.” – Interstellar

What do you think would happen if global warming wiped out the only planet that supports life? What if their was a huge dust bowl that was about to take out the entire human population on the planet? What if I told you that you and a team of other astronauts were going to do interstellar space travel to find a new planet to support mankind? Well if you want to find out what would happen next then you might want to watch Interstellar. This science fiction movie took the world by storm. And will definitely leave a dust bowl in you mind.

A few years into the future, global warming, and  a second dust bowl are slowly eating away the planet that supports seven billion peoples lives. But one brilliant professor plans a mission to send all of humankind into a wormhole. But first, they have to send a team of astronauts to find a new planet that has all the things a human needs. Water, wind, and oxygen, and an atmosphere that won’t kill a human in under 2 seconds. NASA sends former NASA pilot, and a team of researchers to go into  a wormhole and into the galaxy to find one of three planets that will support human life.

This movie definitely caught the world by storm. bringing on an amazing story line that kept me one my toes as I watched. The graphics were explicitly accurate. And the dialogue was more than meaningful. What surprised the most is how powerful the movie itself was. From the quotes to each and every character’s traits and actions. This movie is perfect for anyone. Especially people who want to find out more about space, and our own survival. And remember this quote from the movie that was probably the best line produced and said in the movie.

“We’ve always defined ourselves by the ability to overcome the impossible. And we count these moments. These moments when we dare to aim higher, to break barriers, to reach for the stars, to make the unknown known. We count these moments as our proudest achievements. But we lost all that. Or perhaps we’ve just forgotten that we are still pioneers. And we’ve barely begun. And that our greatest accomplishments cannot be behind us, because our destiny lies above us.” – Interstellar

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“Every time something goes wrong, the world forgets why we fly.” – The Martian

Sur-viv-al  – Noun – To continue to live or exist in danger or in difficult situations. Many people around the world have to try to define this word to continue to even live. Survival sums up what every human being has to do at least once in their life. Work. You have to work for what you need to fight for. You have to fight for what you need to win.   This is basically the key concept to one of my favorite movies in the world. And that movie is The Martian.

A team of astronauts had been sent into space to go to Mars and retrieve samples of the soil and sand. Unfortunately a hostile storm hits,  though leaving time for all of the astronauts get safely back to the spacecraft. But leaving behind one man. Mark Watney, a professional botanist, and scientist in botanical studies. The astronauts(and all of Earth’s population) assume that he is dead. Luckily, he was only unconscious, and though had been impaled through his stomach with a piece of debris. He manages to get back to the shelter, holding a meager amount of supplies he can work with to survive his inhospitable stay in Mars . With scientists working day and night to retrieve him, and bring him safely back, the rest of the Mars Mission crew hatch a plan of their own to bring their fellow crew member back.

Though I myself have not been in a situation where I had to use survival as a skill. I was able to feel the urge to shout out an idea or solution to a problem when I watch this movie. And that is exactly what a movie or book should do. What surprised me the most about the book and the movie, is the accuracy. From the spacesuits. To how the author explained how one of the rover’s mechanism worked. This movie is great even if you didn’t read the book or not. The story line is the best and I love the emotion, and the adventure. It is one of the best science/survival movies I have seen. So sometimes you have to remember, “Every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out.”  – Andy Weir, author of The Martian

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“I think I’ll try defying gravity and you can’t pull me down.” – Gravity

Gravity, it is the thing that is keeping us together, it is keeping us on the ground, it’s making sure we don’t drift away. That’s not the case for two astronauts. Dr. Ryan Stone a very brilliant medical engineer, and veteran Matt Kowalsky are sent into space for a shuttle mission. But then disaster strikes when they go into a spacewalk. The ship is destroyed. Debris floating away slowing in the zero-gravity atmosphere. Leaving Stone and Kowalsky alone being tethered only to each other, drifting away into the darkness of space. Quickly loosing contact with mission control, and loosing sight of Earth itself.  Every breath leaving little oxygen eating away chances of survival , but it seems the only way to get back, is to go further. Further into space debris. Further through the cosmos. Further into nothing.

This movie is absolutely incredible. From the story line, to the characters emotions and threats. This movie really brings the audience into the cosmos and brings suspense, fear, and adventure. Bringing a question to everyone. “What would you do, how would you feel, how would you survive? If your obsessed with adventure and sci-fi( like me), or you have no interest in science and space whatsoever. This is a perfect movie for everyone. And remember. Don’t let go.

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