The Wait

A few minutes ago, I sent in my application to MIT, marking my last college application (unless I for some reason make a last-minute decision to apply to another school during what little remains of 2012). The college application process has been a bit nerve-wracking, although it is a nice boost to your ego to have to explain in full detail why you are smart/talented/organized/awesome enough to be admitted to various institutions. Well, now 10 colleges will have the pleasure of looking over my record and several pieces of my writing (I feel like I've typed out the equivalent of a small novella in the past few months). And I will have the pleasure of waiting for them to make their decision.

I don't like this type of waiting much. I'm usually a calm and collected person, but when it comes to academics, I'm the type of person who'll pay 8 bucks to hear their AP scores two weeks earlier than everyone else. But here I have no choice. University of the Pacific should email me sometime soon with their decision. If I qualify for one of USC's top scholarships, I'll get my decision and an invitation to interview in late January. Same deal with U.C. Berkeley, except for it will be more like early February. Everything else will come around March and April. That 4 months seems like an eternity right now.

 Well, I'll just have to occupy myself with academics, extracurriculars, scholarship applications, and the many forms required for financial aid at all the colleges I just applied to. 2013 here I come...Happy New Year!

Carly Rose Sonenclar

Although I haven't been able to watch that much TV this year since I never have time, I did get to see bits and pieces of the second season of the xfactor.

There were some singers that were alright, but there was one that stood out the most. Carly Rose Sonenclar. She's only 13, but her voice sounds like she's 30. It's crazy!

I can't believe she didn't win--

If you want, check her out on YouTube. All her XFactor performances are uploaded. I think the best ones are probably Feeling Good, and It Will Rain (Below).. As Long as You Love Me is phenomenal too. Basically they're all crazy good. Haha! Enjoy!

It's Christmas TIme

Okay so I woke up at 3. PM. What?! I think school took more out of me than I thought. This is the latest I have ever woken up in my entire life.

The best part is that we have TWO ENTIRE WEEKS to relax and do whatever we want. I am going to enjoy this break so much more than all the other breaks I have ever had.

On a super happy note, Christmas Eve is tomorrow. I feel like this year has gone by extremely quickly.

Merry Christmas!

Sigh of Relief

One day left. Just one. One more test for me. As soon as its Winter Break, I'm going to crawl up into my bed/ and or somewhere else really warm and snuggly and read so many books that my brain will explode.
I can't wait.















:D

In The Event Of Cold, Don't Apply Lotion

So you always hear about if you're on fire, don't run around, no matter how logical it may seem. Well, here's my tip to you to help you through the cold/flu season:  don't apply lotion.

Well, I have a cold. I feel gross and let's face it, my nose looks worse. All red and whatnot (is that why Rudolph's nose is red? He just had a cold? Hmm, interesting.)

Oh, congrats Devin. I wish I had an iPad.

Back to the point, my nose...it hurts! I kept rubbing it because Nichols doesn't have tissues and I had to persevere with those stupid bathroom towels that are hard and rub your nose raw. Pereira didn't either, so I just kept sniffling. Then, I had a quiz in Wecky's class, and of course there were none. I went to Kirk's room and pretty much stole the whole box (not really). Anyways, half-way through the quiz, I used up all of the tissues! Nooo! It was horrible. My nose be dripping everywhere. Soooo gross. Anyways, I have no tissues at home. [Insert really sad Julie face here.]

My nose hurt when I came home, but I had a realization. People often advise to put lotion to help your nose and stop the pain, HOWEVER, I say otherwise. I have so many lotions in my house, it's ridiculous. So of course, I figured if the lotion is going on my nose, then I'd want to smell the best-smelling one. BUT that lotion didn't contain any sort of healing stuff in it. Oh, the pain. I quickly washed it off, optimistic that the next one I chose would be better. It had Vitamin E in it and some other stuff that I didn't care about, but the Vitamin E got me. I put that on, only to find the same results. Only, it was about 3 times worse than before. I again washed it off of my upper lip and nose, looking for a lotion with Aloe Vera, which is my friend in times like this. Or supposed to be. I found one that didn't smell as appetizing as the first two, but oh well, I thought, I'll feel better. No! It still hurt, at first it was soothing, but the truth came to me, no lotion will make my lip feel better. I still feel some tingling, but now I ran into a new problem. I can't blow my nose because if I do, then I'd just wipe off the pain and suffering I just applied. I can't go through that again, I just can't!

The point to this: lotion isn't a good idea. It burns and aches and you can't blow your nose.

I had my whole day planned out, but this cold makes me drowsier than ever (not that I'm already drowsy normally). I have a sore throat, mild coughing, I breath like a creeper, headache, sniffles, and let's not forget the fact that I'm overly-emotional. I think I cried about 6 times throughout the school day. That's bad. I laugh at things that aren't funny, I cry at things I shouldn't have to, and I look like I don't understand what's going on around me.

Mock Trial caroling tomorrow! That'll make me feel so much better <-sarcasm. I'll have my little white tights and an over-sized sweatshirt with blankets surrounding me inside so I can stay warm. If it rains, I'm just going home. But faculty follies! I really want to watch it! I didn't have the opportunity last year to go, but I shall prevail through my sickness and conquer what I must. Hopefully, I'm so procrastinating on the homework I missed from Monday right now.

A nap calls to me though. Oh no, I have my driving test tomorrow! I'm so nervous, I know I'm a good driver, but the thought of some intimidating person sitting next to me writing whatever he wants and possibly failing me if I don't do something 100% makes me not want to go through with it. So nervous! Wish this girly luck!

Rudolf

Thanks to Juli, I now have a new perspective on reindeer.

Christmas time is the time for the singing of "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer". Everyone knows he has a shiny nose and that it glows. But happens when you read in between the lines?

Before Rudolf became the shiny hero, he was shunned by his society. They wouldn't be nice to him and kept him out of their business. And then BAM- Santa comes along and says "Hey you! Rudolf. Come and guide me to the people so they can get their presents!"

And then the story ends happily and yada yada yada. But what ever happened to the other reindeer??? Some of them might be all like, "GO RUDOLF!! SAVE SANTA AND CHRISTMAS!" But maybe some of them kept grudges.... and were all like "Rudolf?? You think you can be shunned by society by us and then LOVED BY THE WORLD ALL of a sudden?? NO! Just no. That is NOT okay! You may be loved by the world and by the little kids with all of their toys, but we shall hold a grudge!"

AND THAT is why I am now afraid for Rudolf, for whenever he returns to his home and all of the other reindeer, I am worried that this will be his "welcome home" and I will now go and cut up extra carrots for him and then write a letter to Santa to let him know of the apparent shunning of his favorite reindeer by his society.

Not Stressed

This time of year is when most people are stressed out with all the finals they have. Usually I am too. And now I am scared. And relieved. I don't have that much stress! Yes, I have the worry about my grade, but it's weird feeling not as stressed as usual. Everyone I know around me has some sort of stress for their classes and the one class that I COULD be stressing about isn't all that bad. I have a test and it's on a concept that I am pretty stable in. So yeah, I am just happy that I am not that stressed because I usually am.

Ants

I hate ants with a passion. I swear, no matter how many of them I kill, they always seem to multiply out of thin air and attack me. It's gross and it's starting to make me paranoid.

Here's how my day went:
3:15 Oh f#$^@$%&@#$%^. Gotta read 11 more chapters of Catcher in the Rye. Actually, it was a lot better than expected:). I actually kinda like the book.
5 Naptime!
6 Bleh, another school day
6:45 Go to put on my shoes to find a MASSIVE LINE OF ANTS ALL OVER MY SHOE. Spent about 15 minutes figuring out if I should leave it or deal with it when I come home.
7:15 My sister couldn't go to school because she's sick and someone has to watch her, so lucky me:).
7:20-now Dealing with the ants. I don't know why, but there are sooooo many of them in my room. I know my room isn't the nicest place, but jeez, these ants need to relocate.

I kinda regret not going to school because of the debate in Pereira's class. I really wanted to tell off Kaitlyn about something she said earlier that I had to shake my head at. I even had my facts and all that. Pretty impressive for me.

Anyways, because of the ants, I haven't really done much except make my sister take her medicine and all that. It's cold outside.

I Wonder If Rapunzel Had This Problem

As all of you may know, my hair is long. Very long. I haven't cut it since before freshman year and next year is the year it'll all go away. I'm cutting it! Yay. I still have a while, but I'm so excited.

I'm particularly excited because whenever I brush my hair, about 30 stands come flying out. It's quite horrible. I'm losing most of my hair! That, and I get so many tangles throughout the day that I wonder how many tangles Rapunzel would've had if she were real. My carpet. Oh, my poor carpet! I kinda just slide the hairs that come out onto the floor, thinking I'll pick them up later, but eventually forget. Does anybody else deal with this?

WANTED: art-worthy subject. I keep telling people that I need a striking picture (one with lots of emotion and the background has to go with the the focus) (that's technically theirs) that I can use to draw for a contest/fun. I don't think I'm really gonna enter the contest on the basis that it costs like $50 to enter, but I do enjoy drawing, and I want something to keep me busy if I ever find free time.

Is this the last week before the "winter" break? I hope it is. So close!

PICNIC CLUB:  I hate using the blog for this, but there's a picnic on Wednesday, the 19th I think, in Hurrianko's room at lunch/plus. Please bring what you can. Tell your friends! Tell your friends to tell their friends! It's so last minute, but endure!

The Most Horrible Thing I've Ever Heard

I can't even to begin to understand how someone could walk into an elementary school and kill children and teachers.  How can someone be so coldhearted that they would think that it was logical or something that they should do? 

These shootings make me realize how lucky I am to have a safe place to live, and a family that loves me and will protect me. I have a whole new appreciation for family and friends.

 My heart goes out to all who have been affected by this terrible tragedy and they are all in my prayers.

Surreality

There are no words to express how true my sorrow is for the families that have lost a member of their family today in Connecticut. If you haven't heard, there was a shooting at an elementary school. An ELEMENTARY school. What kind of sick person kills a bunch of innocent children?

I've heard several tidbits of the story. Last I heard, one of the shooters was shot. Last I heard, 27 were pronounced dead. It's hard for anybody to wrap their minds around it. The teachers that heard or read about it were taken aback. I know I was.

I know I say that I don't like children. However, there's not a doubt in my mind that they should die. Their lives, cut short, by two men.... How anybody can do such a thing, I can't tell you. I can't tell you why they would do it, not that it matters because it doesn't change the fact that teachers and students were killed.

The shooter was 20 years old. Barely an adult. Not even.

I'm still in shock, honestly. If I were a parent, I couldn't even begin to think of what I'd say or think or feel. My heart goes out to all of them, for their lives will never be the same.

I know that this story does not necessarily pertain to me and my life, but I can't ignore such a thing. How could anyone?

I'm sorry such a thing happens. I wish the best.

Oh Blogging

Blogging. What a wonderful thing to do. Whether its when you procrastinate, have some free time (yeah right), or just because your bored, Blogging will always be there.
Now I know some people have it way worse than I do, with the 4+ advanced classes, honors, or AP work, but I have numerous tests next week. 5 to be exact. :P I hope my teachers don't assign anymore of them. I don't understand how that, even though they need to cram all this information into our brains before the semester ends, that us students will be able to pass every single one of them. I do not know how thats even possible. This week and the following week will is the worst yet for most RHS students, as far as I'm concerned of. Hopefully we can get through all the madness.

End Of The World? No, But Definitely The End Of Keys

I had something very troubling happen two weeks ago. I was getting ready to watch some show on Hulu and I was cozied up with some food, cookies, and milk next to me. As I prepared myself to relax, I pick up my glass of milk to stupidly drop it on my laptop. Joyous! My initial reaction: F#@^%$&$#!&$^(#$%^&@$%*$^&(#%&@$*$%^*% NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That can't happen! My beloved laptop that has all my newest essays and old essays and stuff on it! So I grabbed the closest thing to me which happened to be a shirt that I just got out of the laundry and ruined it by cleaning up the milk. I was relieved because there was barely and milk on the keyboard and I flipped my computer upside down and cleaned the rest of the milk. I read to turn off the computer and leave it there so the liquid can dry and whatnot that liquid does, but alas, I couldn't stay away because I had an essay due the day after I spilled milk. After that, though, I left it alone. Now, my keys are forever broken and I am forever displeased with the computer. I feel like my keyboard just abandoned me. I didn't even spill that much on it. I swear I'm going to start singing "Baby come back!" to my keys, it's not the same when the letters like n, t, f, c, etc. aren't working. I figured, it's chill if the keys don't work because there's a computer in the living room. To my dismay, I find that nothing will make that computer work. I swear everything is on, but the keyboard for that and the mouse don't do anything. I. I am displeased. I'm sorry keyboard! Come back to me. Become a zombie, work again, d#%^ you! If Santa's real, then get me a new keyboard or laptop! I can't live without my keys!

Christmas Time

Do you want to hear a Christmas joke? No? I'll tell you anyway.

If sports players get athlete's foot, what do elves get???

Answer: Mistle Toes!!!

Now, didn't that put you in a much better mood? This is from the Christmas app I have on my phone, and I love it!

Christmas music is the best part of Christmas. I have it on replay on iTunes, and it is all that is joyful. Not really, but that sounds dramatic. My favorite song is Last Christmas by Wham. What's yours?

Final Two Weeks

These next two weeks are going to be the hardest of my entire life. Almost all of my classes have at least two more tests to go, including the finals. Plus, we have busy work, busy work, busy work. For APUS I have to find time to read a book, and write a review thing for it as well as everything else. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to finish everything. Five of my classes have so much work, so I am so grateful for the easier classes. I'm at the point where I'm picking and choosing what to study for. If I have a 90% I study for that class; if I have a 95% I don't study for that class. I hate that school has finally come to that. All I want to do is sit and watch a Christmas movie, but I can't! The last day of school, I am going to a friend's house. I haven't seen this friend in literally months because of school. So... I'm excited for Christmas. A lot.

Free Speech Does Not Mean Free Insolence

This week in the language arts honors classes, we have started our debate unit. Specifically, whether or not an ammendment should be added to the constitution prohibiting the burning of our American flag. The answer to this question is yes.The American flag represents everything that our country stands for: past, present, and future. Defacing this national symbol not only slams the country as it is today, but how it was intended to be as well as all of the people who have sacrificed their lives for America. Just because you disagree with what is happening in the country today, does not mean you should be allowed to destroy a symbol of the country as a whole.

Most people opposing this arguement were stating, "I don't want to burn the flag, I just want the right to."
Okay, that is a hypocritical statement within itself. You are literally agreeing that flag burning is morally wrong, yet you want to protect the right to do this? Some stated that it was a "peaceful protest." No, I'm sorry there is nothing peaceful about flag burning. People who wish to burn the flag are not peaceful people. There are many other ways to protest the government other than anhilating such an iconic symbol.

The flag represents what gave you the right to free speech in the first place. You would be burning the symbol that protects your right to free speech, in the name of free speech. A classmate informed me that  in America it used to be considered morally wrong to have an interracial marriage, therefore the flag also represents that view point if what I was saying is true. Uh no, as a country we realized the error in that way of thinking and fixed that law, ammended that law. Laws are meant to be changed and transformed and to grow with the country.

Additionally, a "snowball effect" was proposed to happen, claiming that if we prohibit this what else will the government ban. That arguement goes both ways, if we allow flag burning what else will we allow? People cannot have total reign to speak out in any way possible. If this were allowed, chaos would ensue and those truly against our country could cause serious harm.

If you do not have enough pride in our country to feel angered and insulted when somebody burns our national symbol, then maybe you should reflect upon yourself and consider living in a more "free" country that allows defemation of their national symbol.  Good luck finding a place that gives you as many rights that we have here and when that fails maybe you will realize that America protects freedom of speech to an extremely high level of degree.

Youtube Procastinator Problems

Maybe I'm the only one to do this, but I love watching gymnastics videos on youtube. Maybe it's because I can't even attempt a handstand, but I think that what they do is absolutely amazing!

I follow all of the olympic gold medalist team, the fierce five, on twitter, and Shawn Johnson and I talk about them all the time. Ask my mom. I make her watch all the videos. Yup. I'm that kid. Like, right this second, I'm watching Shawn Johnson in 2011 on youtube.

I never watched Dancing with Stars until she was on it. I usually just watched her dances, and then stopped because she was the best! She definitely should have won.

First Spielberg

I've heard of a ton of movies he's done. I've known about certain scenes and whatnot. But I haven't ever seen one of his movies (that I am aware of) until last night when I saw Lincoln. Lincoln was my favorite President- he made me believe in equal rights so strongly today, and the fact that i saw this movie with my dad, someone who I can share all my thoughts with, was something very big. He's not a fan of Spielberg, but he had to admit that this movie was amazing.
This movie had the perfect amount of action, drama, comic relief and seriousness of everything. Well, at least for me. As well, the actors in this movie were superb. JUST SAYIN. So yeah, I loved this movie like I haven't loved a serious movie in a while and I just wanted to say that I loved Lincoln's laugh. and his lines. and the guy that played him! I'm outta time now- I just loved the movie and I had to tell somebody!

Just a spoonful of rice helps the talapia go down!

So last night I was feeling like my mom needed to be cheered up. She's a teacher and the end of the semester can be a bit stressful for her. Off topic: I absolutely despise people who think their teachers do not have feelings. I mean, come on! They are people two! I think I have a different perspective of teacher because I have grown up with one, but high school students seem to think the world revolves around them and teachers must cater to their every whim. 
Now that I got that out of the way, beck to my story. We were eating Talapia for dinner (Which is a type of fish) and rice. I LOVE RICE. I had eaten all mine and was going to go back for more when I started humming "A spoon full of sugar" from Mary Poppins. I then proceeded to start singing it out loud. But I changed sugar to rice and medicine to Talapia. "Just a spoonful of rice helps the talapia go doooooooooowwwwnnnn!" and sang it over and over. It was an interesting dinner . . .

Not Quite Sure

I'm not positive on how this week will go... I'm not sure if I should be prepared for a ton of work, much like last week, or if this will be one relaxing week of school before the last two weeks of the semester kick my butt and irritate the heck out of me.
I have two tests this week; World History and Adv Spanish II, so hopefully those will go well. But other than that, I don't think I have a lot going on this week, thank God. Maybe this week I'll finally have time to write those journalism stories I couldn't write because I was so busy with water polo from August to late October! :D I need to write more web stories. I have to admit, sadly, I have been slacking. Gahh. Just submitted a story today though, and another one I will turn in later this week, hopefully.
Anyway, I've run out of things to say, so... Do I say bye? Thats not what people usually do on Blogs... I'll just end it like this.
Fin.