Syria's Attack

This Wednesday Syria had a gas bombing killing over a hundred people. What renders this attack is the impact that the images and stories have made. Could this be the swaying moment that has America begin to support intervention? I know personally these images hit a cord.

Sierra College

Well, one thing lead to another and I am now taking COMM 15 Media and Society at Sierra. I'm an academic enrichment student which essentially means I attend high school and college simultaneously.    I am not really sure if I want to major in communications but I love the subject and it will help me in the future regardless. So I've gone to 2 classes so far and love it. College is my cup of tea. No dress code. No bells. No one sizing you up constantly scanning you to see if your tank top is a razorback because it shows 5% more shoulder than a normal tank top. iPods and phones are encouraged. It's like heaven. My teacher, Dr. Zoffel is hilarious and has no filter. Not only is he passionate, he bases his class on discussion with students which leads to fascinating ideas because the class is so diverse. In front of me sits Michael, the first friend I made, a 25 year old who switched majors 5 times and finally decided on Communication studies. Behind me sits a 40 year old mom who is more invested in the class than anyone else. And across from me sits Warren Cain and Garrett Bank both alumni of the class of 2013 that I know rather well. Nevertheless, I have an interesting semester ahead of me. And college totally slapped me in the face too, $200 for parking + enrollment in ONE CLASS. And that is just COMMUNITY college. Oh did I meantion collectively the books were 60$? Yeah and I get 3 UC/CSU transferable credits but that's actually less than some of the APs I've taken. Anyways, I'm in it for the knowledge. Something I learn there will most definitely help me be a better journalism editor. In conclusion, community college is affordable and cool but take advantage of those APs! 

Ice Cream and Friends

It seems like there's a theme to this blog (only this one; if you don't know the theme, then check the title...) It's been a good two weeks since this happened, but I haven't exactly had the time to tell people this, so here it is! Liz, I swear you better not put this on FB, haha.

Here it goes:  It was a Saturday, I believe. I was furniture shopping with my mom and sister, so we decided to end our day with some Coldstone, which by the way, is as pricey is as delicious. Well, kinda. Anyways, we were sitting at a table and all of a sudden, there was a rush of people in the door. That, I didn't care about. What I DO care about is that this older-looking gentleman was with a younger woman. At first, I didn't really care, but then they got closer and closer and before you know it, they start like caressing each other's backs. :/ I looked out the window of Coldstone only to see their reflection as the guy...Oh god, how do I even word this?! As the guy takes a hold of *cough cough* her cheeks and proceeded to bounce them for a good couple of seconds. I WAS JUST TRYIN' TO EAT MY ICE CREAM, WHY DID THEY DO THIS?! IT'S LIKE THEY WERE 13! He might as well have added a "honk honk" or something equally hilarious while he was doing...the deed. I'm actually surprised and pleased to tell you I managed to keep my ice cream down, but it's like, FO REALS? :0 EW. I guess my story goes better with some hand motions to give you, I guess, a better picture of what I saw, but let me tell you, all ya'll, don't be grabbin' each others cheeks...because ya know, some innocent person just trying to eat their freakin' ice cream might see and be scarred for life. I do not need to see that! Have some control people! Faux pas people, faux pas.

Anyways, I do believe I will be buying some ice cream today because my best friend is leaving for college today. Sad and true, so if I have HUGE bags under my eyes, don't question it. I was probably drowning my sorrows in ice cream and Teddy Grahams.

However, this weekend I might get more ice cream because two friends I made over summer are coming back from their second week in college. I don't know whether to be happy or shake my head at them for coming back so soon.

Again, faux pas people.

Morning Runs

So it's 4:48 AM right now and I am awake because in exactly one hour I have to be at the school to run four miles,,,, my coach is a lunatic. Now why am I up an hour early you ask? That is because mornings are MY time! I have practice until 5 and then I clock into work at six and get off at 10. I come home, you know shower and whatever but quite frankly at that point I am beat an save most of my additional studying for the morning. Well now my coach has decided that we are going to meet as a team a twice a week for morning runs, totally throwing off my schedule. Also keep in mind this is in addition to the 7 miles I have after school. I'm trying to study for AP chem right now... I need a new system.

Why I HATE Schoology

Here's a few short reason why I have a passion of hatred for Schoology. First, why do I need this? To get homework updates? Hmm, that could be solved if people WROTE DOWN THE HOMEWORK THEMSELVES. Or, OR, just a suggestion, go to the teacher and be like, "Teach, what was the homework?" Two, when I read the accept these terms or whatever, it said there's a possibility that my teachers could read my e-mails. Ew. I'm sorry, why would they need that? Creepy much? Although it is slightly awkward and ironic I'm using my Schoology account to do this blog. Haha. Oh life, throwing me a new one....

But honestly, it doesn't serve a purpose to me. Even if I didn't know the homework, I doubt I'll check Schoology. Ridiculous. So now we have, what? Edline, Schoology, a new website, a new e-mail that comes with Schoology, an old e-mail. Like jeez. Can I get more sites to be a part of, dear old education system?

Anyways, I'm so lame and have no life, but I can blog about that later...in Spanish. MWAHAHA! JK, maybe I'll translate it.

Sweet Sixteens

Sweet Sixteen is a phrase that I have heard over and over again and throughout all of my childhood I have been anticipating for the wonderful day of my sixteenth birthday.  When I was young I could fantasize all day about how my party with all of my friends would be and how the party would last 12 hours long! I would wonder what car I would get.  I would think of how romantic it would be to kiss my elementary school crush and make it my first kiss at the end of the party... I was a rather imaginative child.
And now the day has finally come.  Posting this on the last day of being fifteen I realized that turning sixteen means not just a lot of freedom but a lot of responsibility.  Sure I think of how awesome it's going to be to receive more privileges and at the same time I realize I'm growing up.  And then I have a Louis Tomlinson moment "my biggest fear is growing up".
But then again looking on the bright side, sixteen years is just another adventure ahead.  Driving, Junior year, and for me dating! I hope this year of being sixteen is as sweet as I've heard. :)

 Thompson is a really great activities director and Rocklin                                             wouldn't be the same without him! 

Baby Everything

Pereira's little baby girl was born last Tuesday! It's so exciting, I'm so happy for him and his clan. Her name is Emily Marie and for those of you who don't know, she is Pereira's fourth child and first girl! His boys are adorable and now they have a sweet baby sister, I'm dying they're so cute. Anyways, where this is leading is that Lindsey and I went out shopping yesterday to get him a baby gift from the team. It was so fun and we spent like an hour and a half just obsessing over baby items. FYI Babies R Us has everything one could ever imagine for a baby ever, it's ridiculous. Baby stuff is so cute! Everything is just so tiny and cute and ahhh. We probably looked really odd, two teenage girls running around a baby store "awww'ing" at everything, but it was worth it. We ended up getting him an outfit that says "Daddy's favorite girl" (get it because she's his first), a baby tracksuit and sparkly, baby running shoes. I can't wait to give it to him but shhhh it's a secret.

VMAS

from the 1 hour I've been watching the VMAS, I'm very impressed. Ok Miley wtf was that performance?! I like her new song catchy tune it really is, but she has got to let the twerking obsession go. Kanyes performance gave me chills. And justin timberlake's hour long performance was legendary just like him. the only thing I don't like about the VMAS is how many great artists aren't included.. sigh.. well if you didn't watch the show,do yourself a favor and google the perfoormances! 

Rallies

          As a freshmen last year I was one of those people who is extremely competitive and wanted to win, freshmen never win. I was disappointed after the first rally because I knew that most people in my class didn't know what they were doing and that's why we should be embarrassed of how we preformed the first rally. The year progressed, we all became closer as a class and with that we gained class spirit. The next few rallies we got our act together and beat the sophomores the rest of the year. The senior rally was the best for our class, not only beating the sophomores but the seniors too.
       Now that sophomore year has come most of my class came ready to win. During lunch before the welcome back rally, I was talking to Mr. Douglas about how badly I wanted to put a stop to the senior's cockiness. He told me that its up to our class because the juniors won't put up a fight and the spirit of each class seems to skip a generation (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016). I thought we would come in third but as soon as we started our first chant I felt it, it's our fight and our chance to win. The mistake  of misreading the point total during the first game pumped the sophomore class up. They fixed it, but the freshmen class won that game. When we chanted as a class; super sophomore, we can't here you and welcome freshmen our stands shook and blared the other class out of the gym. But the rest of our chants were weak half of us were chanting a different cheer then the other and we don't know how to be quite. By the end of the rally we preformed poorly during most of the games but once the boxes of balloons came out the gym fell silent. We gave an applause for the freshmen in last but we roared when we heard the juniors came in second knowing that there is a glimmer of hope that we may finaly silence the seniors. I wasn't watching our box while Thompson was speaking. I was watching the senior's box and saw their reaction when purple balloons floated to the ceiling. I was crushed. My heart dropped a little bit. I, one of the most spirited people in my class, lost hope. But what made me smile was seeing Sean Gruber, Noah Young and other guys in the sophomore class holding two fingers in the air, happy for second but read to take first next rally. Seniors we are coming for you.

Goodbye Summer...

Tonight it hit me. Summer is over. Sure, it "technically" ended on Tuesday morning at 7:45, but it didn't quite feel like it yet. The first week of school is always pretty fun. It's exciting to see which teachers you get and who you have classes with, in addition to seeing people you haven't seen all summer. After the first week, though, the novelty of being back in school fades. Tests come, homework gets piled on, and suddenly you find yourself without a social life.

I had a pool party tonight with my church's youth group. We were sitting around at 8:00 and it was starting to get dark. That really made me miss summer. It's weird to be reminiscing already, as it's still only August, but I can't help it. I miss sitting outside on the curb with my neighborhood friends until nine or ten, watching for shooting stars. Between school, cross country practice, and homework, I feel like I already don't have time to sit around and just enjoy some relaxation.

As with everything, though, I'll get back into the swing of things and hopefully continue to enjoy school as much as I have this week. Fingers crossed it won't be too chaotic this year!

Just Friends

No, this isn't about friendzoning or any of that stupid stuff. This post is about the feeling you get when you are just really happy to be friends with someone of the opposite gender and you get so comfortable with them that if someone outside your group see's you with them, it's automatically, "oh my gosh, are you two dating?!" No, no! People are allowed to have friends that have no romantic relationship involved whatsoever and still be awesome friends. Just friends. I like to call this feeling of friendship 'Platonic Love', because you simply LOVE TO BE THEIR FRIEND. It's nothing bad, and the only reason I bring this topic up is because I get asked this A BUNCH about me and a friend that some (now sophomores) have asked me this and don't seem to understand that it's okay to just. be. friends. with. the. opposite. gender. without. having. any. sort. of. complicated. feelings. toward. them. at. all. And I feel like it's important now that there is the "friendzone" thingy that people understand that friendship is cool and will always be an awesome thing. So love your friends, friends!

First Week

Gosh, it's already Sunday night and tomorrow starts the second week of school. I don't know whether to be happy about it going both slow and fast, or sad that it's going both slow and fast. I know that this year will probably be the fastest of them all for me but still!!! Anyway:
1. Won the rally!! (WOO WOO SENIORS!)
2. I forget how fun the dances were (at times)
3. I forgot how sore I was AFTER dancing the night away with friends (saturday morning isn't supposed to be filled with pain and soreness!!!)
4. I suppose this happened before school started but I'm adding it to the list anyhow because I can!- Got reconnected to a really good friend of mine
5. Spent all day Saturday watching Disney on ABC Family and thinking about stories for the Flash.

How did your first week back go? Is anyone excited to be back, or does anyone wish it was still summer?

A Year At Rocklin

I've lived in Rocklin for around a year now, give or take a few weeks. It's kind of a weird thought.
Around a year ago, I moved from the city of Lakewood, Colorado (a small-ish town in the foothills of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains).
I'll be honest. I pretty much hated Rocklin at first. I had to go to a new school, at the beginning of sophomore year. Make new friends, get used to new teachers. On top of that, Rocklin was just too hot, too suburban, too not what I was used to.
Looking back to all of that, well, I'd admit I was pretty darn biased. It's true enough that Rocklin is very different, but there's good in all of it.
It took me a while to stop focusing on the negatives and come to appreciate the wonderful people here. I still miss the mountains, and the snow, and the snow days when we didn't have to go to school, but I've really come to enjoy my time here in Rocklin.
It all just reminded me how change can actually turn out to be a good thing!

Twitter?

So in the beginning of last year I made a Twitter because it was my first year of Journalism and it seemed like a good thing to have... I deleted it like half way through the year. Now here I am again, making another Twitter. This time though I think I will maybe enjoy it. I honestly have no idea though. I hate talking about myself so I will probably never tweet. My thinking is is that I will tweet something and then later on I will look at my tweet and think it is stupid and delete it. Thus, I will always have zero tweets. This time, though, I am determined to keep my Twitter account because it can potentially be very helpful. I got my Twitter today so I can follow Nichols and The Flash and Rocklin High. I mean I followed other things like bands I like and the RollingStone and some of my friends that actually have a Twitter. But, I am not going to follow everything because that will just get too crazy and cluttered for me. It will take me an hour instead of a minute to get to the information I actually need. Oh well! We will see how this goes! And who knows, maybe I will get addicted to the popular social media website, too.

Sherlock BBC

Ok so I have a bit of a problem with fandoms. But Sherlock is a whole new level of AWESOME. The second I started watching this show I was hooked and very quickly the contagion caught on to the rest of my friends. We have parties to watch each episode. What makes this show incredible is the level of in depth passion and attention to detail the director has. Not to mention the actors are perfect. Benedict Cummberbatch . . . enough said. The sarcasm and humor will make you laugh all night but the suspense and drama kepps you on the edge of your seat! So the clincher of this show is that each season (2 seasons total so far) only has three episodes! So it is quite an emotional roller coaster. Get Netflix. Just to warn you, this will consume your life. Happy Fandoming!

Music Moves

I have found over the years of homework and studying for tests that I would be nowhere without music. If my headphone  chords had not been bringing me the best of Relient K or even Two Door Cinema Club I would probably be back in first grade or not have passed any of my classes. Even though my hand-me-down Ipod is about 15 years old i still find my comfort in the wonderful tunes out of the ancient device.

Lyrics and different genres of music have given me an entirely different view of the society around me. I have found songs comfort me and some even have gotten me pumped up before a game or even gotten me in a dancing mood. I find  it weird how a sound has such a big impact on peoples lives.

First Week of School

So today is Thursday, and we started school on Tuesday, so its not really a full week. Not at all, in fact. Yet it feels like its been years.
I have all my core classes on blue days and ALL my electives are on silver days. Which is really cool because I have basically no homework half the time. But the other half, I have homework from two APs and two honors classes all due the next day. Sucks, because I am bad at planning and good at procrastination.
Oh well.
So I am in band. Its either one of the worst or best decisions of my life. Its been like infinity years, or rather like seven. but still. The days when we do nothing are super awesome because there is epic time for hanging out and there are soundproof rooms and Wheeeee! Also band is how I know a bunch of underclassmen. Who are actually pretty cool. And band is awesome because in middle school we went to Disneyland both years and this year we're planning a trip to six flags or something chill. Also we get to dress up, but all in black for concerts. Oh, darn. Well it's still fun.
I'm still in a little bit of shock that the school year is started and it won't end for a LONG LONG time. alright then.

Puppy

I had a black lab, but we lost him in December.  He was 12 years old, and he lived a happy life. But, I miss not having a cute pup to come home to after school!  I want to get a puppy so bad.  My parents keep bringing it up, and I try to encourage them to get one.  It would be really hard to get a puppy with travel softball though because we are hardly home.  Maybe, the schedule will be a little lighter this fall, and hopefully I get a puppy!  I'll keep my fingers crossed.  Give me a cute puppy! (;

Second Day

Today marked the second day of my Junior year!  I thought it was a really great day and I was pleasantly surprised that I like all of my teachers, as of now haha.  My day went by pretty fast, and I got to see all of my friends out at lunch.  My day was going really well, but then I realized that I had a dentist appointment.  Ugh.  I mean, I got to leave from school early, which was nice, but I don't like the dentist at all.  Anyways, I got my teeth cleaned, and now they feel squeaky clean.  And, I am watching Dr. Oz.  Yes, I do watch Dr. Oz, and I love it!  It is so interesting.  Ok, I am going to actually be productive now.

Senior Year... So Far

First day of senior year yesterday was definitely a new experience. After I actually managed to get myself up and let my mom take a picture of me before I left, I got to school on time. Yay! Everything was like a dream. It was probably the combination of hanging out with friends every night last weekend and staying up until 1am to finish my AP Calc AB homework. But, all the changes Rocklin made this year threw me off even more. First, just sitting on the senior side of the gym was life altering. Then everyone kept talking about getting wifi and changing the school website and Schoology and new teachers at the assembly. I seemed to get through all of my blue day classes fine but then had to endure the longest lunch of my life. I have no seventh period or second period so thank goodness Alina had the same problem or I would not know what to do with myself. At seventh period, though, as almost all the seniors seemed to be in the cafeteria I saw students that I thought were seniors last year and students I haven't seen since middle school. Apparently everyone just loves to be back at Rocklin High for senior year! Life was way too confusing. I didn't even know how to explain how it "felt to be a senior" to my mom because it just felt way too surreal. Maybe I should get more sleep and stop living in a dream.

second day blues

The first day of school is always the easiest to me. I don't have trouble waking up because I'm more than likely excited. What really sucks in the gosh darn second day of school. I feel like a truck hit me. Waking up this morning was just a weee bit harder than it was yesterday. Enjoy you're first normal day of school everyone:)

"Don't Think I Don't Think About It"

I've had the song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" by Darius Rucker stuck in my head for what feels like days now. He sang it at Country in the Park last Saturday (which by the way was amazing) and ever since then I've had it on borderline repeat on my ipod. Though the song is about lost love I think it applies to all of life's losses. The meaning is just so honest and deep, he sings about regrets and "what could've been, should've been, all worked out," but at the same time recognizing that it doesn't matter because it's in the past. Finding that balance between letting go and holding is so delicate, especially at this point in most of our lives. Throughout high school most of us have had friends who have changed, boyfriends who have broke our hearts and most likely even evolving drastically ourselves. Knowing when and how to let go is, in my opinion, one of the hardest challenges we as humans have to make. Sometimes we want things to stay the same so bad that we hold ourselves back trying to remain in a certain state that in reality has already passed us by. The anchor that holds us back is often our own mind and feelings. Remaining static can be deadly and the worst part of it is we don't even realize it's happening until we are left in our own wake of lost hopes.

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye

Now that senior year is finally here, I find myself living in that constant battle of live in the now plan for the future. Life is throwing all these different things at me and don't get me wrong I have a pretty clear idea of what I want my future to look like...but where IN THE WORLD...will I find the time? All I know is a lot of film schools need the application by November. And for those of you who don't know...I've been considering studying screenwriting and production because I've always been really passionate about writing and movies and I think the perfect career for me would be in film or journalism like the perfect combo which would be documentaries or like a travel tv show. Anyways, I love journalism SO MUCH. Honestly I can't tell you how much I think about it. Story ideas, class ideas, or just how amazing this year will be with such talented people in the class. It truly is exciting, we are here in the midst of extreme change at RHS. Those lucky freshman get to wear tank tops right away in high school but at least I get to enjoy it my senior year. This year has so much in store, I hope I can manage it all. Please stop me for a breather when you can. 

Nemo is My Favorite Disney Princess

So watching Nemo the other day I realized that it is a really messed up movie. I know, I know what! How can that be? Look at this movie at a marine biology stand point. A clown fish, as many other fish, will change sex if needed to preserve species. In the very beginning of the movie the entire population of clown fish is wiped out besides Nemo and Marlin. Marlin, being the dominate male, would have to find a mate. Completely explaining his obsession with Nemo staying safe and close by. EWWW right? It gets worse so when Nemo is stolen the whole reason Merlin goes to get him is to make babies. So yes Nemo is my new favorite Disney Princess!

What A Great Day

Today was a really great day.  I had Link and felt that I impacted some freshman, and then I came home and was productive.  I wanted to relax, but my room was a mess.  So I listened to Pandora, which made me really happy because good songs played the whole time.  I did not have to skip any! That is probably the first time that has happened, haha.  Anyways, I cleaned my room.  I really did.  It is always a mess, but I guess I want to start the school year off organized.  Then, when I was finished, I had a really good workout.  It felt so good, oh my god.  After I worked out, dinner was ready.  It was delicious.  And that concludes my amazing day. See you all tomorrow!

Classes

Am I the one who is scared that tomorrow at school I won't be able to find my classes? Lost my first copy of my schedule and have only been at Rocklin for one year. I don't know the campus very well and i know ill be late to at least one class. But at least I know ill have friends in my classes, that's always good.

Prison Tomorrow

I seriously do not want to go to school tomorrow
Like, can I please just watch gossip girl and one tree hill all day?
Pleaseeee
Ughhhh
Flipside is that we get to wear tank tops now. If only we can have holes in our shorts. I mean, I understand dress code, I have accepted it..after living it for a year...and all I want are holes in my shorts.
BUT HEY WELCOME BACK IS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!!
Let's just get through tomorrow first..

School!

So I like my schedule. It is good! I have two hard classes each day, so it is the perfect balance. I also have one friend in each class, so I will know someone in every one! Yay!

Also, water polo is going good. The air quality was horrible today though, so it felt like you weren't breathing. Oh well, hopefully it will be better soon.

I had Link day today. It was fun. I liked being able to show them where to go and being able to help them out.

I don't want to wake up tomorrow though... 6:30 is quite early. 10 is more of a better time. hahaha

Well, I will see you all tomorrow! Goodbye! :)

Nerviosa

¡Increíble! La mayor parte de la clase (blogged) seis veces. Yo leí todos los blogs y comentarios. Estoy muy orgulloso. La clase parece estar en seria sobre la tarea. No puedo esperar. Yo traté encontrar historias para la clase. Lo es duro, pero siquiera la clase puede escribir sin preocuparse. La revista esta año va a ser la mejor! Hay unas personas que no tienen blog hasta octubre. Estoy orgullosa de la trabaja de Uds. Desafortunadamente, hay personas que no trataba comenzar la tarea. Yo entiendo que Uds. tienen cosas a hacer; eso es el problema con estudiantes ahora. Todos los estudiantes no quieren hacer la tarea sí ellos puedan estar con sus amigos.

Yo puedo decirte que yo estoy mejor a escribir. Yo sé...se me equivoque mucho.

Yo estoy nerviosa para mis clases. Yo tengo buenas clases, pero aún estoy nerviosa. A veces, me pregunto sí las frases tienen sentimiento.

Me sentaba aquí más de dos horas en frente de mi computadora. Me duele los ojos y el espalda. No pienso que yo voy a aprobar la clase de AP. ¡Mira a mi escritura! Terrible.... Necesito salir esta casa y hacer un camino.

Mock Trial va a empezar otra vez :). Mi entrenador, Mike, probablemente está furioso. ¿Por qué? Mike siempre está furioso. Él no puede leer en español, jaja. Así que, no tengo que preocuparse. Pero, él quiere hacer un equipo mejor. Ahora, Mock Trial no tiene estudiantes de segundo año. ¡Mock Trial tiene siete estudiantes en el cuarto año! ¡Siete! Ah dios mio.... No me lo puedo creer.

Yo pienso que la tarea esté lista. Yo espero. No quiero despertarse temprano en la mañana a terminar mi tarea. -_- El verano necesita ser mas días.

Junior Year Goals

It's a strange feeling, knowing that I will be an upperclassmen next year. I still can't quite wrap my head around it -- the idea that this time next year, I will be applying thoroughly frightens me, and I feel as if I'm running out of time. I wish I had a couple more years to think about what I want to do with my life, squeeze in more extracurricular activities and consider the fast-approaching future. But seeing as I don't have those few extra years, I am determined to make the most of the ones I do have.

This year, I have a couple goals I hope to meet. The first is keeping up my grades; ideally, I would like to maintain my 4.0 UW GPA, but this is the hardest course load I have ever taken, so I know that it will require a lot of hard work and time and effort. Still, I've promised to myself to push myself to do as well as I possibly can.

I'd also like to get a job or internship of some kind. This summer, I was lucky enough to work as an intern, and it was an experience I really enjoyed. I would like to participate in something like that again.

I also want to continue with the extracurriculars I'm doing now, all of which I genuinely enjoy, and try out a few new ones as well to broaden my horizons (how cliched does that sound?) I have a pretty packed schedule, but I truly want to be involved in as many groups, clubs, and organizations as I can, because I have really enjoyed the ones I have participated in in the past.

Most of all, I was to make sure I don't over stress myself and keep things in perspective. Yes, school is very important. Yes, I was good grades and I want work experience and I want to go to my dream college. But at the end of the day, I want to truly enjoy my high school experience, because you only get one. And I hope to make the most of it.

Link Day

Today was Freshman Orientation, or Link Day. This was my first year serving as Link Leader and it was such a fun experience. I had to wake super early, and now that it's over I am completely exhausted, but it was definitely worth the time and energy I put in.

My co-leader was my best friend, Holly, and we had a ton of fun getting ready for the day. Since she was in SoCal all weekend, we had to prepare everything the morning before, which meant I had to wake up at 5 -- way, way too early for a girl who's been waking up no earlier than 10 for most days this summer (at least, the days when I was not working).

We arrived at the school around 7, and set up our classroom and supplies. Then, around 8, we opened the doors and the freshmen filed in. They are such a huge class! Rallies are going to be very tightly packed indeed this year. We had a little welcome tunnel where the freshmen could get high fives as they filed in, but most were too nervous/shy to partake.

The rest of the day was a jumble of activities meant to excite the freshmen about being high schoolers, and hopefully introduce to them to new people and potential new friends. My group was extremely high-spirited and energetic, which meant there was nary a dull moment and I was always on my toes. There were seven freshmen boys in my group, and they were quite rambunctious. But I had a blast showing them around and getting to know them despite the terrible, hot, humid weather. They were pretty nice, and it's so weird to think that they'll be the class of 2017 -- it seems so far off! Anyways, I can't wait to do Link next year and I thoroughly enjoyed it this year.

Doesn't feel real

It does not feel like the end of summer. I cannot believe that school starts tomorrow. Summer just started and it is coming to an end. Usually by the time summer ends it feels like school should be starting, but this year it doesn't. I feel like as I get older time just passes faster and faster.

Comments?

Ok, so I can't remember whether or not part of the blogging assignment included commenting or not.  I'm hoping it doesn't because my computer always gets stuck on the comment screen and it never works. If anyone knows whether or not we needed to comment please comment on my posts and let me know! Thanks!

Oh, and if you know how many times we were supposed to blog, could you comment that too...I'm trying to catch up.

Chocoholic

About two weeks ago I found the best chocolate cake recipe on Pinterest! It was delicious! I had never made a cake completely from scratch so it was a fun experience. The cake was super rich and chocolatey. U was so happy with how it turned out and would totally recommend the recipe I used. It tasted great! For the frosting I made homemade mint icing. The chocolate and mint was a great combination. Loved it! Here is the link to the recipe. The only change I made to it was I didn't make the chocolate frosting (because I ran out of cocoa) and I left out the espresso powder. 

http://addapinch.com/cooking/2013/01/25/the-best-chocolate-cake-recipe-ever/#.Uf2k4aC9KK0

Friendship Bracelets

Ok, so I know friendship bracelets are something people generally make when they are younger, but I went on wiki and learned how to make them this summer.  They are super fun and a lot easier than I expected them to be.  I have made a ton. They are fun for the summer and look super cute around your ankle when out swimming or at the beach. :)

No Summer Homework

This summer was great! I was so happy because this is the first time in quite a few years that I have not had any summer homework...other than blogging. It has been so nice to not have anything to stress about this summer, I have been ale to forget about school for a few weeks and just relax. :)

Pinterest and InstGram

This summer I became addicted to 2 new social media sites...Instagram and Pinterest. I love the both! Pinterest is so great for. Organizing thoughts and ideas and making plans for the future. It is a great. Auto categorize things you like such as recipes, crafts, and ideas.  Instagram is so much fun because I love taking pictures and it provides a great way to share pictures with the world.

Smoothies!

Smoothies are so yummy. I make them all the time!  They are so great before and after workouts or runs.  They give you energy and taste amazing!!! I really like to freeze fresh fruit! It tastes great in smoothies and gives the smoothie a really nice texture. Lately I have been making green smoothies.  They usually have spinach, almond milk or juice, fresh fruit, and peanut-butter...which sounds sort of gross I guess, but it tastes really good and is so healthy!

Link Day

Two years in a row I have been turned down for Link orientation.  I am sort of bummed because I really wanted to help out with link.  I am hoping that I get into it this year because it is my last opportunity to participate.

procrastination

procrastination never goes away. once it's in your soul you will be cursed with it forever. so here I am, a procrastinator, on my last day of summer watching a video on the history of ancient China. oh lovely. I guess I procrastinated on my blogging too because I haven't blogged all of August (oops) until tomorrow my friends 

Give Me Food

I had Link from 7 AM to about 12:30ish.  I was rushed this morning, so I did not eat any breakfast.  Not smart.  I do not recommend it.  At 10:25, we had a break to eat a snack.  I had almonds and water, but it didn't quite fill me up like I had hoped.  Finally, it is noon and at this point I feel famished.  I get in the car, and drive home.  My dad and brother are home, but they are the last thing on my mind.  All I wanted was food.  I needed food to continue to function.  As soon as I walk in the door, my dad comes up to me and asks me how my day was and stuff.  I gave him brief answers, and headed straight for the kitchen.  My brother was in the kitchen and decided to ask me all these questions about my day too.  I didn't want to be rude, so I answered him.  I look at the clock and it is 12:45.  I am now so hungry and getting angry with my brother.  So, I just walked away and went straight to the pantry and the fridge.  I have my priorities.  Let me just say, Costco is open, and today might just be a great day to go grocery shopping mom. 

Link Day

Today was Freshman Orientation and I was a Link Leader with my friend Jade.  I didn't realize how short I actually was.  Pretty much all the freshman tower over me, or are at least as tall as me (5'2").  It was really disappointing (;  And then this morning, it was cloudy.  So, I figured that it was going to be a nice day, but it was humid and hot as soon as we went outside and started the tour of the campus.  Great timing.

It is crazy to think I was in the same position they were just a few years ago.  I was nervous for high school and extremely shy like most of them were.  Just looking at their faces, I could tell that they were really scared!  I felt so bad, and wanted to make them feel comfortable, so I tried to initiate conversation and make jokes, but most of them just looked at me and smiled like I was a crazy person(I'm pretty sure I did the same thing haha).

We also had to pick themes for our groups.  My group's theme was luau, which we thought was creative.  But then we showed up to Link and I think about five or six other groups had the same theme.  Haha, whoops. Overall, it was a fun day, and I am hoping that I have helped at least one frosh be less nervous for tomorrow.  Happy last day of summer!  

Blog Aleatorio

Ah, yo odio escribiendo en espanol. Es duro. De todos modos, yo estoy cocinando onigiri. Onigiri es arroz. Simplemente arroz y nori. No se la palabra para "nori." En ingles, la significa "seaweed." Me encanta todas las cosas de Japon. No se porque. El idioma es hermoso, la gente es maravillosa, genial! Yo soy un parte de Japones. Algun dia, yo espero que yo tener la suerte a viajar alli.

Cuando yo escribo, me sentio triste. Yo escribo como un nino! Una estudiante no supone escribir con simple frases. Yo quiero escribir mucho mas. Pero, mi vocabulario es terrible. Yo trataba aprender mas palabras mientras mi verano, pero no puedo recordarlos!

Estoy tratando a escribir para una hora, pero mi comida esta lista. Necesito escribir mas.... ;(

Pero, es el ultimo dia de nuestros verano. Yo espero que Uds. esten felices para el primero dia de escuela!

(No mires a los accentos, yo estoy perezosa :P)

Finally!

I've waited waaaay to long, but I can finally drive now. No, I don't have my license (YET), but I got my drivers lesson almost a week ago. I had a great lesson with my instructor, Mike. I signed up for my drivers training through Referral, and I can say that they seem way better than AllStars. (Sorry allstars people.)
They are so nice! And my instructor never yelled at me, his voice was nice and calm the whole time and I loved how I could keep a nice conversation with him without it being awkward.
So if I keep up driving constantly, I can get my license in late September! Woo hoo!
Can't wait.
I just have to get a car though. Oh well. The time will come when I need one. Super excited though! My dad and I went to the Sierra College Car Lot and there were lots of cars that I loved.
(Mostly the Jeeps.) I really love Jeeps. When I was younger though I really wanted a yellow or green Volkswagen Bug, but I was the passenger in one of the Bugs a long time ago and I hated how long the dash was so I decided that the Bug wasn't for me.
Jeeps ! Jeeps!
Love em'.

Why does this happen?

I've asked myself this question numerous times and I can't seem to find a solution. Why do students procrastinate? Why does this happen? Now I think everyone procrastinates from time to time, but why? I just have to ask why because it makes people so miserable and stressed out and I really think that's bad for your health. I'm not saying I'm perfect because every once and a while I will put off a few days to do things, but really, not that often.
I bet that on the first day of school Nichols will talk about how many blogs there are about procrastinating and get all annoyed-like. Haha. Sorry Nichols!
Hope everyone has a wonderful last day of summer.

New Things

Speaking of new things, I was thoroughly pleased with the new ASB cards this year. It looks crisp and fresh, if that makes sense. I just think that last years ASB card looked tacky and taking a measly picture of the rooftops of our RHS classrooms was lazy. And also people complained that it looked like Whitney's rooftops as well. Anyway though, I think this ASB card is the best yet. So that makes me happy. Its the little things, that sometimes put a smile to your face. Is that weird?

So Here We Go

Believe it or not, on the very first day of summer, I volunteered at Rocklin Elementary with my boyfriend to do some community service. Woke up early in the morning, (I can hear you groaning as of now,) and helped the Rocklin Elementary teachers clean up their classrooms and move classroom supplies and etc. around campus. It was a nice relaxing morning and I didn't mind so much getting up early. So that basically explains my first day of summer.
Gosh I hate it when someone asks you what things you did over the summer and suddenly your brain decides, "hey, time to make you look stupid and boring," and suddenly wipes your mind completely from all memories possible. That's what just happened to me. Except no one has asked me what I did over the summer yet. I'm trying to remember. Grrr.
hmm.
Does anyone listen to Jesse McCartney's music?
Anyone?
I'm not saying I do...that would be absurd....
But really, did everyone forget about him?
He did kind of disappear from the red carpet a while ago eh?
He has a smooth voice, I think.
Whoops I mean, at least that's what the middle school Shelby would have said. :P
*hides behind curtains*
......................................................
I can't believe how many movies I watched in the theater, and at home this summer.
Let's see. I watched Wolverine, P.S I love You, Rain Man, and many more.
I have a short attention span.
I can't stop thinking about the Olive Garden dinner I ate last night. I can still taste it....
So delicious! :D Great place to eat. Very satisfying.
Oh okay! Also this summer, starting in the middle of June, I swam at the Sierra College pool for Sacramento Water Polo, a club dedicated to improving water polo players' skill levels and preparing them for their polo season in high school.
Two times a week, (not that bad), for two hours each practice. Mostly to condition you for school, nothing too exhausting. The first week was really difficult for me though because for me personally it takes a long while to build up endurance and not get so exhausted all the time.
So Sac Water Polo lasted until late July, approximately the 22nd. I had a great experience and I loved all of the coaches and how they dedicated their time helping young polo players.

I'm sure hoping..

Hey Everyone. It's been a while...too long. School starts tomorrow! ...How are you all feeling about this? I have mixed feelings. I'm bummed out because, ya know, summer is technically over once the 'dreaded' school session begins. Oh well. But then again, I'm excited for yet another new year, meeting new friends, new classes, and getting back into the groove and routine of things. I survive better with routines. Is anyone else like that? I'm kind of the weird one because all summer long, I think I actually knew what day it was... most of the time. Anyway though, this is kind of a Prologue to my summer adventures that I'm about to describe. Hope you enjoy, whoever reads this.
Also, I'm sure hoping that I don't get in trouble for blogging so late...
*begs on knees for mercy*
ok bye now.

Que Es El Verbo?!

Estoy haciendo este blog en español porque yo necesito escribir en español. Jaja, así que lo siento mis amores. Sí tú no hables español, ¡no preste attención al blog! Es muy difícil a escribir. Yo pensaba que este blog no tomará mucho tiempo. Fortunadamente, este blog va a ser mi tarea para la clase. Lo siento Sra. DeMeyer, yo estoy diciendo la verdad: aún no puedo escuchar nada. Es como una palabra MUY larga. Que terrible, ¿no?  Pero, estoy tratando. Oh, no tomando la clase de matemáticas AP. Yo estoy muy felíz. Ahora, yo voy a tomar la clase "Math Analysis." Esa clase es tan fácil. Pero, yo estoy pensando porque no quiero APs. Quiero un año fácil. Los otros años eran duros. Es la razón porque no quiero ir a la escula. Yo sé que estar fácila cambiar mi lista de las clases. Pero, me sentía que yo poder hacerlo con confidencia. Yo estaba equivicado, jaja. No sé hablar de.... Estoy eschando a Pandora. Yo odio Pandora. Pandora siempre está tomando las mismas canciones. Es terrible. Yo odio Facebook. No puedo dejar de hablarlo. YO ODIO FACEBOOK CON UNA PASIóN. Sra DeMeyer, por favor, ¡no más Facebook! Facebook es la peor cosa en el mundo. Yo estuve a borrar mi FB, pero ahora, yo lo necesito. Ahorita, una hora ha pasado. Estoy tratando a disfrutar mi verano o el último del verano. Aún, yo necesito a hacer mi bitacora (¿hay uno acento en esa palabra? Yo supongo que la palabra no tenerlo.) Yo hice la tarea, pero no hice la bitacora. Ah, yo procrastino demasiado. Yo deseo que la clase no tenga muchas dificultades. Yo deseo....Espero....Ah dios mio, necesito bastar a tener estes pensamientos. Yo necesito ir en la clase con pensamientos felices. :) Oh, ¿sabes que el verbo para "to blog"? ¿O es la palabra "blog" sólo un sustantivo? Eso es todo. ¡Hasta en la mañana!

Crazy Busy Summer!

Wow.  What a crazy summer. Travel softball has kept me away from home a lot!  With tournaments all over the place, my summer has consisted of pretty much nothing but softball.  It was a fun summer though because I got to travel to Colorado for a week long tournament and had two national tournaments: one in Huntington Beach and one in Sunnyvale. 

Finally, the summer season came to an end and I could relax.  Just last weekend, I went to Dillon Beach with my best friend and my dad.  We went with my aunt and her family, plus five other families.  It was a blast! We went crabbing, went to the beach, and of course sat around the campfire every night.  One of my aunt's friends plays the guitar and sings, so he entertained us with some music too.  He's really good.  It makes me wish I could play the guitar.

This weekend, my family and I went to Lake Tahoe.  Low 80's was much nicer than this horrible 100 degrees here. We were staying in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, but there was a bike trail that led to the lake which was pretty cool.  The view on the bike trail was so gorgeous.  I had to stop about every five seconds so I could take pictures.  Although Tahoe was fun, I am happy that I am home now.  There is nothing like the feeling of coming home to the comfort of your own bed, and having cell service.   

Schedule

On Thursday, I finally got my schedule (I was a little bitter that my last name -- which starts with a T -- required me to wait an extra two days, but it's fine). Signing up for my classes last year, I was genuinely excited. Now, seeing their order, I significantly less so. For one thing, I have all of my AP classes on one day, and then Language Arts 3H. For another, I don't know very many people in a lot of my classes, which is pretty disappointing, but the least of my worries. I'm a little apprehensive about my schedule, to be honest. It will certainly be difficult to have so many rigorous courses in one day, though hopefully I'll be able to devise a system to manage it.

This is probably the first school year I am genuinely apprehensive about. Being a junior terrifies me. Most people I know are excited to be upperclassmen, but for me that just means one year closer to applying to colleges. I'm already nervous, but I'm determined to just do my best and manage somehow :).

Summer Reading

With a mere three days left before school (how scary is that?), I can finally and decisively say that I have completely finished my summer homework. Granted, compared to my friends, I didn't have an unreasonable amount. The APs I'm taking don't require much summer work on the whole, but I still have to set a good deal of time apart for my other classes.

What I procrastinated most on was probably the reading for Language Arts 3 Honors. Compared to what I had last year, it really wasn't too much. However, I put it off as long as possible as I'd heard horror stories about the novel we had to read: The Grapes of Wrath. Each time I began the first sentence of the first page, I somehow managed to find an excuse to set it down for just one more day. And then another day. And another.

Finally, as August approached, I realized that I had to get it together and began the book. I read the first chapter with a heavily critical eye, managing to find every flaw -- every dull moment -- every possible thing that could be wrong with the novel. But as I read on, I found myself a little less critical and a little more interested, until the middle of the book where I actually found myself enjoying it. I suppose the moral of this is to approach things with an open mind; each year, I find myself dreading the required reading, and each year I find myself surprise to learn that it really wasn't all that bad. In fact, one of my favorite books of all time was one I read for Adv. Language Arts 2: These Is My Words. Hopefully next year, when I'll have even more books to read, I'll finally learn my lesson and get an early start on them -- despite any previous preconception I have of them.

Random Thoughts

Sitting here in my bed not able to fall asleep I begin to look around my room. Seeing all of my hero posters and dirty soccer socks I think back to a better time. I time where I didn't have to worry about honors homework or about trying out for a team or school again. I could just be a happy little kid and not have any cares in the world. I remember not having to worry about tomorrow or about school work or even when to get up. I was free for a time until work and for me it seems feeling and emotions complicate things and mess up my life. But in another way they make me a better person and i learn from them. I find it weird that I thought of all this because of how dirty my room was and that I couldn't sleep . . . strange night.

No More Siblings

My last older sibling has finally moved out of the house and gone to college. He, unfortunately, left me all alone with my parents which is sort of a bummer. I have had two other siblings move out besides Kyle, but when he left i didn't feel any sadness. That is horrible I know but I have already experienced the other two leaving and he isn't even very far away. I should feel sad but do not, instead I look forward to another year of work . . . which isn't that much better.

Slacker for Sophomore Year

Sooo....I've been slacking off majorly..I still haven't finished my second book of summer homework and I'm just starting the questions for the first book. I guess it's my way of putting off the fact that school is actually coming. Sigh. I think the only thing I'm excited for is the rallies, dances, and football season. I can definitely say for sure that academics are the last thing on my mind. And, wow shocker, blogging is my way of putting off homework. I guess summer is still in me

SO MANY EMOTIONS! :( :[ :/ :l :] :) :D XD

Usually, I dread the first day of school. This one more than ever just because I want to make sure that I don't have AP Stats. I got the schedule change thing so hopefully it goes through and I get what I want, even though I don't know exactly what that is yet.

Aside from that, I'm so pumped to get through my last year here and I'm ready to take charge of not only Journalism, but Mock Trial as well. Prithvi, who some of you guys might know, is also trying to be the captain of Mock Trial, but I don't know.... I totally could see him as our pres, but I also want the opportunity. But the difference between us is that I don't want it for academic reasons. I straight up love Mock Trial with all that I have and I want to show the everybody that.

Still, I'm looking forward to looking at the deer-in-headlights faces when most of our journalists realize they didn't do the summer homework. Just because were not an AP doesn't mean that the outside world stops! Anyways, I'm not sure if I'd describe my feelings as being in the final let's-do-this-already mode or just genuinely excited...because I'm never genuinely excited for school.

I guess the only class that's really challenging will be AP Spanish simply because there's nobody to hide behind, so to speak. I can't BS my way through it, which sucks! Dang, last year!

I'M A SENIOR YA'LL! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO0OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Oh my gosh, can track please start again? Like, now?! I'm trying to think of ways to mark the booth so that I'll forever have a legacy as the first 4 year manager. I think I'm the first. Hopefully. But I'm so out of ideas, I honestly just want this year to be the best and not have to worry so much about academics because even though that's important, my life is not academics. My life is not my grades. My life is not stressing about tests. My life is living on my feet so that I won't die on my knees. Make sense? Anyways, I'll see all of your faces on Tuesday, be prepared! :D

PS I understand most of you don't read the blogs, but I am, repeat, AM reading and marking down how many comments you have (for those of you that do read, good for you!). It's a part of the assignment, so don't be surprised...

Sleep

Over the summer I have grown accustomed to sleeping in till about eleven-thirty or twelve. But now that school is starting soon I will have to start training my internal clock to wake up at six. I wish that school would start at nine and end at five so that way i could sleep in longer and could do homework before school in needed. But i mostly just want to sleep longer.

First Varsity Sport- Soccer

Began tryouts this week for my first varsity soccer season. All has gone well so far and I am excited to see where this team will go. Unfortunately I have not played as much soccer as i would have wanted this summer but still feel i will make the team. There aren't very many defenders so this is another boost that I will make the team. Hopefully looking for a starting position in a stopper or a sweeper position. For those of you who don't follow soccer the stopper and sweeper are the controlling defenders in the back near the goalie and they stop and push the ball back up to either the middle or forward positions of the field. Looking forward to a great season and many saved goals. Also want to at least win one game . . . unlike varsity last year.

Cracked Phone

Ok, so I drop my phone all the time and nothing ever happens. It's a pretty durable phone (not anything fancy, just a regular touchscreen with a keypad.) and it has a decent case on it. It's always falling on the cement,  but it never even gets a scratch. Anyways, yesterday I was walking out of the dentist office and I dropped my phone on the cement. I picked it up and it was cracked all over! :( the touch screen still works, but it looks horrible. :( it's all scratched up too. 

Yosemite

This last Saturday I went to Yosemite for the first time ever!!!! It was SOOO pretty! I loved it. It's kind of crazy because I have lived in Cali my whole life, and have never been.  My grandma lives in Fresno so we drove down there and spent the night at her house, then went to Yosemite during the day. It was really fun.  I was kind of bummed though, because Yosemite falls was all dried up, and a lot of the other falls were just a trickle. We hiked up to vernal, and it was like a creek!  

Sports

Ok, so freshman year I did JV track and Freshman Basketball, but I quit both of those last year because I had a super busy schedule.  This year I want to start up a new sport, but have no idea what to do.  It needs to be a no-cut sport, because I have no experience in any of the sports that require try outs. Lol.  Anyways, I was thinking of playing tennis or golf. I think they look fun and I'm pretty sure neither of them are cut sports. I know practice for fall sports has already started, but I'm hoping I could start with the school year. I just need  more information...and maybe a bit of practice. 

My Brother's Coming Home!

My Brother has been at BYU all summer and I am super excited because he comes home tomorrow!!! He has about a 2 week break in between semesters so he will be home for a while! I can't wait to see him.  I have Skype/called him a lot, but haven't seen him face to face in forever! He flies In Tomorrow night. :)

New School Site

I really like the new school webpage! It was a lot more organized, and I felt like it was super user friendly! I found everything really quickly and it looked really professional. It seemed a bit dull because the main color was white, but it looked really nice. I am pleased with how it turned out.

New ASB Cards

I must admit I am not thrilled with the design of the new ASB cards.  From a distance the cards do not look like a Rocklin High School ID card.  They are maroon and yellow. I know it is a picture of the basketball court, but the blue R is not as noticeable as the bright yellow and maroon colors that take up most of the card. It looks nice, but I feel like there should be more blue and silver.

Last Minute Blogging

I haven't been very good about blogging this summer because I honestly cannot remember how often we were supposed to be blogging. I sort of forgot about it, and so I am currently squeezing in all of my blogging the last week of summer. Although I am a pretty organized person, I tend to procrastinate. Luckily I have had a pretty busy summer, and so I should have lots to blog about. :)

Summer is coming to an end!

Summer is almost over and I don't even want to think about school.  This summer has gone by so fast! I feel like it was only yesterday we were getting out of school. A couple months is not a long enough break from school. Although I am excited to see friends and meet teachers, I am dreading tests and homework.  

Living while Dead

What if someone was in like a  horrible accident and slipped into a coma for an extremely long time. What if while the persons body was unconscious in real life the brain kept going as if nothing had happened. As if  the brain created its own world with thoughts and feelings and everything a normal person experienced but set it up in the coma. Then the person woke up and had this complete shock of change and a shock of having to revert to the real world after being in this fantasy for such a long time. But what if also they never woke up and the family and friends of the person in the coma gave up and pulled the plug, would the person in the coma just die like in real life or would his brain have enough time left to create some way for the person to die in the fake world? Would the fake world become reality? What if you or someone you knew fell into a coma. Would you know?  Would your best friend remember you as you were or would his brain have made up changes for you?

NOOOOOOOO, NOT STATS!

So at the end of the year last year, junior year, I signed up for AP Stats. I've heard from countless people saying how easy it was, but in my eyes, it's like heaven and hell. I do not see the easiness in statistics and quite frankly, I'm looking for any way out. I would literally go through Pre-Calc hell again if it meant having to escape the class. It is nothing against Trejo. It is against the math. I have spent countless days and I guess now it's been a month and a half of contemplating whether I should just go with it. So hopefully when I get my schedule, I have some sort of conflict in which I can easily give up stats for something else that I might possibly enjoy. Like that'll happen. Although, I've never had to make a schedule change so I'm kind of nervous if they'll let me. Urgghhh, I really don't want to show up and not do my homework though because I doubt they'll change my schedule ahead of time. There's too many choices to make! I'm not ready for this!

Not to mention college...You know what, I won't even go there.

Summertime Sadness

As another summer draws to a close I find myself contemplating the essence of time. I know everybody always complains about how fast summer passes and it's true, but this depresses me not only because summer is over but because it forces me to think about how fast our lives pass. It truly feels like just last week I was anxiously waiting for the bell to ring thus releasing me to an endless summer and I am already blogging about returning.

How sad is it that for most of us we are just blindly holding on as the hours pass waiting for our next ounce of freedom or big event that will inevitably last shorter than the time we spend waiting for it? Students wait nine months starting on the first day of school for just three months of summer. That means we spend triple our time waiting than we will spend enjoying what we are waiting for. Yeah, I am excited to be a senior but once the rush of a new year passes I know I am going to fall back into this trap of waiting.

Soon it will be, I can't wait for homecoming: an event that most of Rocklin spends a month stressing and planning for that is only one night of our lives. Then it will be, I can't wait for Thanksgiving break, then Christmas break, then Spring break, and so on and so forth. I spend the majority of my year waiting to return to Lake Shasta where my family spends just one week every summer. Literally from the minute I am done packing I think to myself, "I can't wait for next year." Therefore I spend 51 weeks every year waiting for just one that I get to spend in my favorite place on Earth. Thinking that makes me so depressed.

People like to say "live each day like it's your last" and while this is a great theory it is so unrealistic. It would be great to have the luxury of living each day to the fullest, but stuff needs to get done, life has responsibilities. You're telling me that when you are cramming for AP tests, that is how you would spend your last day on Earth? No, but the possibility that it is your last day does not diminish.  The reality is our last day on Earth will most likely be just like any other only with a different ending.

Colleges, Disney, Car Rides, Last Week before school starts

Man that title says everything huh? Let's see:
Colleges: I just visited about 6 colleges this past week and already I can hear my brain yelling in a confused voice "which one will you be attending? Which one will you be applying for? How much did you like the one with all white buildings to the one with a prettier campus?!?" (yes, my brain is quite tired from having to think and yell at itself.....)

Disney: My reward for visiting 6 colleges at the end of the trip. Let's just say that I could spend my entire life in Downtown Disney and never be fully done experiencing/shopping.

Car rides: Okay, so I'm fine with them... it's just having a three hour car ride (or 1 hour at max) everyday is not the best thing in the world, in my perspective. Plus a seven hour drive back home... aren't car rides just the best thing in the world? (eh heh..heh....)

Last week before school starts: Do a review on a school book, go see Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (HOLY COW YES IT'S FINALLY OUT AND I'M JUST SO HAPPY), go to a meeting, use my house as a gathering place for some peeps, get my schedule (I'm actually really excited!), and then silently chant that this year will be okay if I just focus on one thing at a time.

Yep, this is gonna be a fun week/year! Now I'm off to bed before I start to ramble on and on and on. There's nothing worse than a tired Liz who rambles without a meaning to actually ramble.

New Site

Even before summer began, I knew that we were going to be having a new school site. How different would it be? What would the layout be? Questions like that ran through my mind and I knew it would be good either way, but it was the curiosity that killed me (as it always does). But I have to say, (I am sorry that I honestly don't know when it went up for being used.... like... being able to be used... hopefully I just made sense there) it looks fantastic.

I just got back from another (AND THE LAST *phew!*) summer 'vacation' I had to worry about and my brain is fried and my body is tired. So sorry for using () <---- because I felt the need to add a couple of them in to sort my jumbled up thoughts. Did I mention that I don't like long car rides anymore? Hm, maybe I'll get into that rant on another blog post.

Hope everyone is squeezing every last bit of freedom out of their summer whilst it still lasts! Keep on blogging and sharing thoughts (or like me just randomly inputting several thoughts into a jumbled up post that really has no point in being this long- but heck, whatever.) All in all- I like the new site our school has. :)

Chick Flick Night

Just had a chick flick night with a bunch of friends. It was awesome because the guys didn't have any clue what they were getting into! We had it all every chick flick movie from Cyber Bully to Dear John. It was estrogen central. We did nails, facials, hair treatments, and baking. Yes the guys did all of this as well. They were such troopers but I think they actually enjoy themselves. At one point we had a chocolate facial on all of us. So, of course we decide to scare the poop out of the neighbors at 10pm. We went up to our friends house and jump out at the door she was beyond terrified. We laughed so hard we were crying.

Mud Hut

Missionary . . . that is what I want to be, this is m career path. Might seem crazy and out there but it is what I want. I never feel more happy and relaxed then a hard day of work as a missionary. The reward is not in money and worldly things but of smiles on people faces. Might sound corny but when you are covered in dirt and sweat It means a whole lot. The hardest part is that I need patients to become a long term missionary. I want to live in Uganda and get my nursing license to help and bring basic nutrition/ health to tribes. As well of course evangelizing. Guess what yeah ou have to go to college to become a missionary!!! Yeah haha there is missionary degree as I look more and more into it. I now understand how much college will benefit me as a missionary. Between intercultural classes, theology, world studies, and multiple language classes here I go! Yup Yup so when you are living in a house with running water remember me living in a mud hut!

Esther

So last Monday my parents and I went to the airport to pick up our foreign exchange student, Esther, from Germany. Well, actually from the Sacramento airport, but you get the point. At first I though it would be really awkward and it was a little bit but now it is cool.

She speaks English pretty well. Its funny, because she messes up the same stuff that I do when I'm in Spanish class. Like the difference between watch, look, and see. And all that.

The weirdest part is trying to explain what a word means. It's actually pretty hard, depending on the circumstance. Or, the difference between two words. How do you explain the difference between "shade" and "shadow"? I try, and end up using even more words that she doesn't understand.

Right now she is actually reading Eragon, because she says that she read the German version already, and she hoped she could understand it better in English. She is actually pretty good at conversationalist English, and says she understands English a lot better than she can speak it.

Well, yeah. Its pretty cool. 

Out of Rocklin

So a couple days after school got out, my family and I left for the east coast. We took the train, and it left out of Roseville. That miserable three day train trip was... well, miserable. Not so bad, but the food selection was varied, the bedrooms were impossibly tiny, and there was just no SPACE to walk or even move a whole lot. But it was a cool experience. We arrived in Chicago, spent a few days up there. We did all the touristy stuff, and even this cool architectural boat ride thingie.
Then we went to Boston, and did all of THAT touristy stuff. Boston was my favorite, we went to the shoreline harbor thing, and we walked the freedom trail, and went on some really cool really old warship, and we had awesome pizza.
And then New York, and ditto on the tourism. The weather was perfect and we saw a Broadway play and walked the abandoned L-train track that they turned into a walking path/garden thing, which was really cool. We walked times square, and all that. And then we flew home. And it was awesome.

Grapes of Wrath

So I read Grapes of Wrath for junior honors English summer homework. When I first started out the book, I thought it was pretty boring. Not bad, but just a little slow.

Further on in the book, I really got to like the writing style. I especially loved the chapters where no main characters were involved, but the author just wrote about the scenery and typical occurrences and stuff. And the characters were cool, too. I liked the way they talked, and the way I imagined their accents due to the poor spelling of the words.

But then I got to the end. It sucked. It is not a proper ending, it is more like a pause button. I thought, Okay, what happens next? But there is no next! It just ends! Oh, and also a lot of people died.

Sorry for that little spoiler. But wow.

Water Polo

Nothing much to say about the subject, except that we started conditioning last Monday. Real practices start on the 12th. I was super sore after the first few days (I was a lazy slob all summer) but it was really nice to be back in the pool.

But I know that when water polo starts, school is not very far behind. I can't believe I'm going to pick up my schedule in less than a week! As usual, time flies. sigh.

Oh, and also with the pool, comes the chlorine. I was not prepared for the damage it does to my hair. Gah. No, there are no hints of green, but gosh is my hair a frizzy ugly mess. God bless chlorine removal shampoo.

Okay, thats all. bye!

kittensssssss

Earlier this summer, I fostered kittens for the SPCA. I took home 4 3-week-old kittens and their mom for 1 month. They were soooo adorable, and at first were really shy and scared. In the following month, they commenced to terrorize my entire room. They learned to claw their way up my comforter and onto my bed almost instantly. They were really friendly after they settled in, and very affectionate. The only problem was that they didn't know how to control their claws. I had millions of puncture wounds and scratches by the end of it all. The mom cat was super cool too. It was so awesome to see her herd her little babies around my room, groom them, and nurse them. When they nursed (like all the time) all the kittens were purring and it was so cute! The mom was already named Gracie, but I got to name the kittens Henry, Opal, Anton, and Boo. They were the cutest babies ever and I was sad to give them up. But it was okay, because they were really messy and stinky anyway. And also I checked on the SPCA website three weeks later, and all the babies were adopted. YAY :)

Things On My Mind

So I was going to just have this post about fundraising, but I just found out that Mrs. Cutts retired!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so upset right now! I went into her room a few times last year to talk to hear about scholarships, the SAT and ACT, and different colleges. She helped me so much and I was so excited to get more help throughout this year and next, but that won't happen. :(  Man, that is sad.

Anyways, I started water polo on Tuesday and I am so tired!!!!! I expected to be, but I am wiped out. All that dry land and conditioning makes me tired. I am glad I am doing it though. I like knowing that I am tired because of doing a great water polo workout.

Onto my original topic: Fundraising. For my trip to Australia, I need to fundraise because the trip is really expensive. I have already thought of doing bake sales and washing cars, but I don't know what else to do. If you have any ideas, please tell me!! Thanks :)

Well, that's it for now. Goodbye!

These Is My Words

Since I'm taking advanced LA next year with Hurrianko, I have to read These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner this summer.  It's basically a diary of a young woman from 1881-1901.  It is unbelievably sad!  I don't want to ruin it for anyone else taking the class, but I'm not even halfway through and so many bad things have happened.  For those sophomores that haven't started it yet, I highly recommend reading with a box of tissues handy.

On the bright side, there is a love story in addition to the tragedy and hardship the characters face during everyday life.  I think I've mentioned to you all before that I'm a sucker for romance, so personally I think the lovey-dovey stuff compensates for all the other not so pleasant parts of the novel.  Good luck to all my fellow advanced LA sophomores reading this at the last minute like I am :)

The August Blues

So I know we still have over 2 weeks until school starts, but that's not enough!  Summer went by way too fast, as usual.  Plus, I don't even really feel like I got a break due to dumb summer homework.  I probably shouldn't be complaining since I'm going to be a sophomore and I'm sure the summer workload is much worse next year, but it still sucks.  I'm really not looking forward to a busy schedule and lots of homework. 

On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to the Welcome Back rally and dance, Homecoming, and everything else that comes with fall every year.  As much as I complain I really do enjoy high school.  And the best part is.... I'm not a freshman anymore!  I'm very excited to have another great year at the best school in Placer County. :)

Tea Boy

So I got this friend named Arnav and he's from SoCal! I met him in my cluster and he is "way" chill. (They say way down there instead of hella). Anyways, to explain the title of this blog! He always steals my tea from my room because I was smart and brought tea bags and a water heater :3! So technically guys are not allowed in our rooms but he always comes in here anyways. Now I have some cute, little, naive people in my suite and the first time he came in they were so shocked and scared. But now they are used to him but call him "Tea Boy." They are so fricken adorable :D!! One of them, Natalie, has the cutest little voice! That's all I have for now.

Steeeve, SHUT UP!

GOT NOTHIN' TO DO LATER TODAY, SAY 6-8 PM? WELL, COME JOIN ME AT ORIGINS, MOST LIKELY IN THE CONFERENCE ROOM, TO LEARN ABOUT THE LOVELY WORLD OF MOCK TRIAL. SNACKS/DRINKS WILL BE PROVIDED...BY ORIGINS.

I have recently gotten hooked on a daytime talk show, which is not usually what I'm into because I think a lot of the hosts are fakes in a way. Like, I do NOT like Dr. Phil. It's just so unexplainable! I'm at a loss of words.

Anyways, back to my point, I've started watching the Steve Wilkos show, which is about an ex-police officer that talks some sense into pedos, child molesters, and abusers. I explain the show as a mixture of Dr. Phil and Jerry Springer. Hate Dr. Phil, love Jerry Springer. Haha, so I guess it's a win for me.

The only thing, well two things, I cannot stand about this show is that it looks scripted, which goes with the talk show territory, but the audience. They just cannot SHUT UP. Steve says many witty things, as well as the cold truth. And even I'll go, "Thank god someone's saying this to stupid people/parents!" But the audience will go "STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE" and clap at pretty much ANYTHING. It's so annoying! They really sound like zombies. They can't go five minutes without making some type of noise. I'm just sayin', let me watch in peace!

I've been going to my friend Charisse's house for a reason you won't care about. Anyways, I was waiting for her to come home, and the neighborhood cat decided that would be the perfect time to jump on top of my car and then subsequently find it's way through a window to be petted by me. I opened the car door to let him out, but instead she decided to jump in the back. So then everyone had to get out of the car while the cat just made herself at home. Eventually I had to throw her out (not literally), but it was just too cute!