Finding Mind-O

These past few weeks after Hawaii have just been a blur. With all the make-up work, tests, presentations, after school stuff, dance performances, not to mention more choir concerts, it's a miracle I'm still alive! I can't believe finals are already here! It seems like just yesterday that the first day of school began and I was ready for another year of...stress. Ha!
On a more positive note, I had the time of my life in Hawaii! With all the shopping, performing, beach-ing (is that even a word?), and sunshine, I REALLY want to go back right now. It was amazing that the meaning of most of the songs we sang truly hit me while we actually performed them on the USS Missouri. The feeling we had that day was amazingly unforgettable and I've got some great memories from there that I will cherish forever.
I really want to share my experience with all of you so here are a couple of the many pictures I took in Hawaii! One of them is of my hand holding a snail that I found, the other is a picture of us actually performing at Pearl Harbor, and the other two are just scenery!

Tired.

Wow. I'm tired. Not exactly stressed, but loaded with stuff to do! Sometimes it's a great feeling, but I'm just glad it's Friday! I made it through the Chem Test, which I think I did okay on. I survived our Spanish Quiz, which was pretty easy! Now I just have the weekend to look foward to. And more homework.

My Summer Reading Journey...

Well, first off, I must say that I am such a procrastinator!! I put off most of my summer homework until two weeks before school started, but luckily, I managed to finish it all!
The books I read this summer were Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte and The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy. I enjoyed both of these books a thoroughly, although I'll have to admit that at times they were kind of confusing! I always look for a hearty and interesting story in the books I read--a catchy beginning, with an exciting plotline, adventurous characters, and an unexpected ending --Wuthering Heights definitely had an exciting plotline, although most of the story was a flashback. My favorite part in the book would have to be the part where the younger Catherine writes secret letters to Linton, since she is forbidden to meet him in person. I was very upset at Heathcliff's character about half way through the book--I couldn't believe he had become so evil! It just made me really upset that he was unnecessarily venting his anger and desire for revenge upon his own son and Catherine! I would have to say that I liked The Return of the Native a lot better than Wuthering Heights. Initially, the author led me into a lengthy and prosaic description of the setting, Egdon Heath. Only later, was I able to understand the significance of these descriptions--the moods and qualities of the characters actually were a reflection of the setting in the story and that was really interesting for me! It was so adventurous and I often found myself literally angering at the characters for doing stupid things (like Christian gambling off the ginueas to Wildeve) and laughing at their quirks and actions (Eustacia dressing up like a boy to see Clym). I loved this book overall and it was a great and different reading experience!

The Countdown Begins Now...

The seniors are leaving, the school year is ending, finals are here...but SO IS SUMMER! Wow! This year has gone by so fast and has been by far one of the most enjoyable years of my school life. I can't believe I'm going to be a Junior in only 1 week! Yea! The countdown begins now...
So what are you all doing over summer vacation? So these are some pictures I took last year in Wisconsin and Minnesota--I'm thinking I might do something fun like that over the summer...

Rising From the Dead...

I'm back after about a month and a half--I've finally risen from the dead! Ya! This has been such a hectic week--but I survived all the late nights at school and the crazy tests and all the other stuff!
I would have to say that this week all the goods and bads have kind of balanced out. I found out on Tuesday that I am the new President for the Speech and Debate Club next year--I also made Link Crew--which I am extremely excited about too! Hmmm....there was one more thing...oh, I got to take a nap yesterday after a long while! Yes, it's funny laugh! You know you want to...

Oh, the Joys of Standardized Testing.

I had quite a day with CSAP today so I thought I'd lighten things up a bit with this blog.
Imagine yourself in the following situation: (oh and incase your getting suspicious I didn't do this during CSAP...I'm sharing my frustration in a fun, healthy way)

You're minutes away from walking into the classroom and you know your in for a worthwhile experience...CSAP. hip hip hooray times three. Oh by the way, your a sophomore, and you've taken this test year after year for a whopping 7 YEARS!!! Since 3rd GRADE!!! okay, so you take a seat in your chair and your teacher begins to read you the cheesy directions about what a bubble is, and how you have to stop when it says stop and how you use a "wooden, graphite based sharpened number 2" yada yada... In the middle of the test on the math section, you're under so much pressure that you forgot how to subtract54 from 67. Deciding you feel"sick", you politely but urgently ask your teacher if you can leave because you're about to THROW UP!!!! Now let's just say that something magical could happen and your teacher would allow you to go to the clinic. You take your final steps over the threshold and shut the classroom door. YAAAAAAAAAA! YOU'RE FINALLY FREE FROM CSAP!!!!! (No, of course you weren't going to the clinic, what did you think silly?) Now that you are liberated from this test taking melgomaniacy, where would you go? What would you do? How would you spend your time while every other decent freshman and sophomore is taking the test?
Okay, here's the catch, when you give me your creative story: I need you to use three things...
You must include the following:
1) A unicorn
2) A bulldozer
3) hot fudge sundae

Please try to weave these three items logically into a thrilling tale--wow me! Enjoy!

And Saturday's Forecast Is...

I'm so excited becuase I think this is the only weekend that I don't feel stressed out about some short-term school related project. I just finished watching a 3 1/2 hour movie, which I usually never have time for on weekends. Plus, I'm going to make brownies for our ALIS party on Monday--this is the perfect weekend. A Stress free, junk-food filled, movie mashed, sleep stuffed paradise. Oh, and the weather may not be perfect but it's good enough to make me happy. I actually like fog. I put the cookie there because that's something else that makes me happy!

Playing Mom

At this very moment, my mom is in Chicago. She's gone for the weekend to see my grandpa who recently had some leg surgery. This may be pretty surprising for many people, but it's the first time in my life that my mom has been away from my brother and me for more than 24 hours. Yes, it's a really weird feeling for us, but we're doing quite alright for the first time (as opposed to the insanity attacks that many people would have otherwise--just kidding!). So, where do most of the responsibilities fall? Onto my lap, of course! It's been a nice experience--I'm actually doing the dishes for once (not like I've never done it before--but who gets time during the school week?)!

I'd have to say that the main issue over here is food. When my mom was here, we didn't care what we ate or when we ate, as long as we were fed. Now that I have to put the meals together, I'm figuring out where she keeps the teabags, the cooking utensils, the dishwashing detergent...OH, and I learned how to work the dishwasher! YAY ME! I managed to cook a little bit of Indian food without burning anything...or many things... and I realized how much I spoil my brother when my mom isn't around! I mean, I made him a "royal" breakfast and this awesome pistachio/oreo ice cream desert after dinner... and I let him eat some junk! Ha! I spoiled myself too--boxed Thai noodles and lemonade for dinner...mmm...

I guess the entire moral of the story was I got to know my kitchen a little better and I realized how much work it takes to make a meal, and I didn't even cook half as well as my mom! I can't wait until she gets back tomorrow afternoon!

It's Been a Long, Un-Musical Week...

Ya, so I checked the cast list after school and I didn't get a part in the musical. Oh well. I was really bummed, becuase I LOVE the Sound of Music, but I decided that I would do costuming instead! I mean, it doesn't hurt to get a little experience backstage!
I kind of figured that my chances were minimized after I totally sang the wrong words at the audition! I blanked out in the middle of "I Am Sixteen, Going on Seventeen" and I felt really bad becuase I had practiced it so much and my monologue went really well.
The dance audition didn't go that badly--there were just so many really good dancers and I only do Indian dancing--oh, and I learned that I definitely can't waltz, so don't even ask! It was really fun though! I enjoyed all the auditions. Costuming crew, here I come...

Silent Colors: Getting to Know People

Yes!! I finally got my blog to work. It's about time I stopped being lazy. Anyway, I'll begin my first official post with some of my recent memories from last Saturday's Tri -School Leadership Conference! This was my second year attending and it was so much fun and such a memorable experience for me! We learned a lot about interacting with people and intiating activities in your community--not to mention meeting a bunch of new people and playing a 30-man game of maffia 'till midnight!!...But, yeah, the rest of it was basically just all that same old stuff about leadership.

I think the best part for me was learning about how to interact with other people who share the similar and different "color personality" as you. The four different personalities were:

1) purple people--social and emotional paranoids (that was me!)

2) orange people--creative, hyperactive, with the "I'm gonna party 'till I die" mentality

3) green people--Observers and analyzers who are completely quite and reserved

4) silver people--Leaders and organizational freaks would fall into this category..."It's my way, or the highway!"

People are never the same personality for a long time. Of course, your personality can change depending on where you are or who your with. For me, I figured out that my purple dominates most of the time, but I can have other colors that are stronger. Sometimes, if I'm really confident, I feel silver. Or if I feel smart and in the mood for school, I feel green. Usually on Saturday nights, at Indian parties I feel orange and no one's gonna stop me!

Overall, it was a great lesson on getting to know people, how they think, and their philosophies on life. I can't wait to go back next year!