regret.

I didn't want braces.
I liked my crooked teeth, all weird and not lined y when I smiled.
I didn't mind them at all.

I did not ask for braces.
my mother did.

lovely hair.

photo by me.

I'm leavin' todayy...

Just two of the millions of pictures I took on my trip to New York last year. I thought they turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself :)

You can click on them for a larger view. I love seeing all the yellow cabs in the first one.

Alot of people (like my MOM) don't like New York because it's all city. They think it's ugly, smelly, and crowded. Which yes, it is in places. But I loved it so very much. I loved how busy it was, I loved all the different mixtures of people there were on one street, I loved that you could walk and take the subway to a ton of different places.

I liked the idea that if I lived there, I would never be alone. I might feel like it in my little, cramped apartment, but as soon as I step outside there's just millions of people there. Alone or not, they're still there. I can blend in while at the same time stand out. It's wonderful.

I cannot wait to go back.

the trooof

photo,words- me

Ohio, Summer 2010.

Sheesh..

It's been awhile. I guess you could say I took a break, but that was much olnger then a normal 'break...' So I don't know. Anyways, senior year just started, so hopefully I'll have more to write about and such. I'm excited because I'm taking a Creative Writing class, so maybe I'll be able to share some of my work with you? :D

I've also jumped back into my photography passion. I'll be sharing that stuff too.
It's my last year in high school.
!

It went crazy fast. Now I'm nervous, looking at colleges and stuff. Trying to decide what I want to do with the rest of my life, you know all that pressure.

So, I was kinda thinking about being an astronaut. or an FBI agent.
What do you think?
:)

"If death just meant leaving the stage long enough to change costume and come back as a new chracter...would you slow down? Or speed up?"

- Chuck Palahnuuk

Spring Break Day 2

"Run!" V cried as we ran down the street.

I sprinted past her. "What the heck do you think I'm doing?!" I screamed.

We ran blindly down my street, the only light was the moon and the street lights that streamed down. We weren't even on the sidewalk- we were in the middle of the asphalt, running up hill to my house. I managed to look back and saw the Stupid Little Black Dog still chasing. V was suddenly in front of me, a burst of energy propelling her further. I struggled to catch up. I couldn't believe the dog was still following us! And who lets their damn chiuaua out in the front yard at midnight?!

It was V's fault. We were playing catch out in the street in front of my house (we always play catch at random times during the night when she spends the night) and she threw a really bad ball that rolled all the way the hill and we had to follow. Now the Stupid Little Black Dog who lives down there was chasing us, barking like a maniac. Again.

Finally, I heard V yell and looked up. My house loomed into view. I gave out a triumphant yelp and we continued running and screaming, the dog on our heels. I jumped ahead of V and led the way to our big blue truck, leaping into the back bed in record time. V was right behind me. We were so scared we scrambled onto the roof of the car and sat there, panting, cursing, and watching Stupid Little Black Dog cautiously as he hopped around the car barking.

Finally, he gave us one more fierce bark, and turned to trot home. We sat there, still panting, and looked at each other. Then I began to laugh. We began laughing and laughing crazily until we were crying. Finally we calmed down.

"We were running from a chiuaua," I remarked, wiping tears from my eyes.

"Yes, but not just any chiuaua. Stupid Little Black Dog," she replied.

I smiled. "Nice start to spring break, eh?"

She laughed. "Best start to spring break ever."

Two weeks. Let's see how the rest goes :)

hahaha

All that complaining about recess made me think of one of my favorite shows when I was younger-

Do you remember it? Such a great show. I wish it was still on. I would totally still watch it.

Okay. I know I'm bad at this whole blogging thing...

It's just that I never have time! Gah. It sucks. School sucks. Darn school, taking up all my precious, much more important blogging time...


Aha(:


Anyways, today, after reading something, I could not hold off any longer. I read a blog article that informed me that many elementary schools in the U.S. do not have recess anymore.





What?! No recess?? That's just...just...stupid!


After reading that, I just got so angry and sad. How could you take away recess from kids? They're kids! I loved recess. Those were the key points of my school day. It's necessary for kids to get moving after sitting for hours working on seemingly endless spelling lists, letter printing, and math page after math page. Kids shouldn't be forced to have to sit that long of a time like that without a run-around break. And what really doesn't make sense to me is that now more then ever, America is suffering an obesity epidemic and trying to control it, especially in children. So why in the world would we take away the time when they actually get good exercise in, like playing tag or tether ball or dodge ball, swinging on the playground, playing hopscotch or with jump ropes? We know that when most kids get home, what do they do? Go straight to the couch and flip on the T.V. Or maybe grab their gameboys or x-boxes and mindlessly sit around staring at that for hours. That's what my eight-year-old brother does everyday. He's pretty chunky for a third grader too.

It isn't healthy. And it just isn't smart. But not only is recess important for the physical health attributes, but the metal and emotional ones as well. Recess is where I made my best friends. Where I bonded with others playing make-believe ship wreck games on the play set. Where I learned teamwork while playing dodgeball. I learned sharing, honesty, compassion. Life lessons, though I didn't know it then. It might sound silly, but it's true. How we act as young adults and adults depends on how we learn to act as we're younger, correct? Interaction with others happened on the black top and in the grassfield at recess everyday. We learned how to act with others, speak with others, be with other people. If you take such key opportunities away at such a impressible age, how will these act as they grow up?








Not all kids have good home lives to influence them either. Sure, in the classroom you meet and become friends with others as you sit in your little table groups or work on a group assignment of have the occasional legal holiday party. But it's not the same as playing and truly interacting with them like you would at recess. It's not nearly the same.








Sigh. Yes, I'm probably rambling. But for some reason, this just got me so upset and completely outraged. It's ridiculous. And it it needs to change.

Today I...

Knew the answer, but didn't raise my hand.
Again.

You see the smile that's on my mouth

All of these lines across my face

Tell you the story of who I am

So many stories of where I've been

And how I got to where I am

But these stories don't mean anything

When you've got no one to tell them to

It's true, I was made for you

I climbed across mountaintops

Travel across the ocean blue

I cross over lines and broke all the rules

And baby I broke them all for you

Oh because even when I was flat broke

You made me feel like a million bucks

You do, I was made for you

- The Story, by Brandi Carlile

Goodness.

It's been awhile. But I'm glad to be back :)


By the way...I read the second book to Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer, The Dead and the Gone. It really wasn't as good as the first one I thought, and I was very disappointed. This book followed a New York City family through the Moon-getting-knocked-closer-to-Earth-and-all-of-humanity-ending-crisis, which I thought would be very interesting, but it was just...disappointing. I don't know. But I just found out there's a third book, so I'm going to harass my school librarians until they give in and order it for me from the public library like last time. I'm crossing my fingers in hope that it will be better then this one!

Invisible Children

:)

They won $1 million from Chase Community Giving!

I was so happy. I had worked to make sure everyone I knew voted for them with one of their votes. Also, To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), another charity I greatly support, won $100,000. So many charities benefited from this contest. It was absolutely amazing.

It is human nature

"We lie to ourselves or other people because the truth might

require action on our part,

and action requires courage.

We say we 'don't know' what is wrong,

when we do know what is wrong;

we just wish we didn't."

- The Secret Life of Prince Charming

So.

I've sorta decided what I wanted to do. Okay, well not exactly decided...more like narrowed it down.

Last September,I had finally put all the careers I'd love to have down on paper and found out that I have a very long Dream Job list:

1. NASCAR driver
2. Helping kids, anywhere
3. Volunteer inter-national aid worker
4. Author
5. Journalist
6. Phycologist
7. Neo-Natal Nurse
8. Urban Explorer
9. Therapist
10. Photographer
11. Actress
12. Musician (Piano/guitar)
13. Teen Vogue columnist and possibly eventual editor
14. Make-Up Artist
15. Baker
16. Tattoo Artist

Lately though, I've been doing alot of thinking about what I want to do because college applications are just around the corner. And I think I've finally somewhat figured it out. Although doing any of those I listed would be absolutely fantastic, I've discovered what dreams have that are closer to my heart then others. I love writing. I love volunteering. I love helping people. So, my rough plan is:

- Graduate high school (Obvious first step)
- Attend community college, start taking Journalism and English courses
- Transfer to _____ (I'm not sure yet) and major in either English with Emphasis on Creative Writing or Journalism, minor in either phycology or music.
- Volunteer as much as I possibly can between school and probably a job
- Graduate
- Become a full-fledged humanitarian, volunteering around the world, maybe teaching English, join the Peace Corps., while continuing to write stories and articles.


That's what I want to do. I want to help, I want to volunteer, I want to save the world. But I want to write as well, and pursue photography and keep doing music...hmm.


Well, I've sorta figured it out.

today's Hawaiian lesson.

Today I'm learning:

Aloha kaua- hello.
(Pronounce it aloha-cow-oo-ah)

Pehea a 'oe?- how are you?
(Pronounce it pay-hey-ah-oui)

'Ae- yes
(pronounce it aye)

'A'ole- no
(Pronounce it ah-ole)

:)

If.

If you had a choice to make between doing something safe and doing something that could either make you really happy or completely blow up in your face, what would you choose?