A Blogger Family Q&A.

To commemorate my last day of BEDA 2012, I figured I would jump on the bandwagon and answer questions asked by my lovely Blogger Family.  (You know who you are.)

If you could only pick one book to recommend to the world, what would it be and why?
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli because it really spoke to me upon multiple readings.  I was able to glean something new from it each subsequent time I red it. I felt like the characters were honest and the themes universal without being considered great literature.

What one thing makes you smile the most?
Definitely my friends.

What quality is required in a friend?
Honesty.

What movie makes you cry every time you watch it?
Becoming Jane.

What food are you a boss at making? ex: pancakes, guac, cupcakes, etc.
Uh, I'm not sure.  Cupcakes, I suppose.

N*Sync or The Backstreet Boys?
I feel like this question is really asking Justin Timberlake or Nick Carter.  In which case, I choose Justin Timberlake.  I have no rationale for picking it; I might as well have flipped a coin.

What is your favorite book and why?
[This is kind of a repeat question, but:] Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli because it really spoke to me upon multiple readings.  I was able to glean something new from it each subsequent time I red it. I felt like the characters were honest and the themes universal without being considered great literature.

Do you believe in life after death?
Yes, I do.

What fiction character(s) do you identify with the most?
As in what type?  The bossier, strong females, for sure.

If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be?
I think is pretty obvious, but a panda.  THEY'RE ADORABLE.

Describe your dream life.
Living in Scotland surrounded by goats with a beautiful lover and passionate art.

If you could take only one book, one movie, and one album (including mixes) with you to a deserted island which of each would you take?
Paper Towns by John Green, Breach, and Coldplay's X&Y.  (Granted I didn't think about this long.  The hazard with doing this late at night.)

If you backpacked across Europe, where would you start and end?
I think a round trip from and back to Edinburgh, Scotland would be grand.

What's your main goal in life?
To be inspired and inspire others.


What's your favorite song?
Maybe I'm Just Tired by As Tall As Lions.  (A shame they broke up.)

What superpower would you want and why?
Mind reading because my friends seem to already have it and I just want to be cool like them.


If you could alter any moment in your life, which would you?
Being born.  JUST KIDDING.  No, in all seriousness, I've lived too young, too innocent a life to regret much.  If I had to, I would probably not tell certain guys I liked them, yet that seems so trivial and I am happy the way things turned out in the end.

Have you ever seen a ghost or had any supernatural experience?
I've never seen a ghost, though I am deathly afraid of the dark, so I'm not exactly hunting them down.

_____

I may not write for a while.  Try not to miss me too much as I plow through the remaining three weeks of my senior year.  Oh, and those ridiculous exams.  Swell

So thanks, everyone, for reading this whole month.  I truly appreciate it; you helped keep me going for thirty days straight.

Talk to you when I can, friends.

Days until I graduate: 20

Days until exams are over: 48

Days until I start college: 125

Into the Woods!

I just got home from my high school's production of Into the Woods. If you can believe it, this was the first musical (and now last) I've attended at the high school whist going there. (I don't count seeing Beauty & the Beast when I was in elementary school.)

I fell in love with the sets and the costumes.  And I really must give props to the tech crew; the lighting cues and sound effects were spot on. The story was entertaining, but the second act and its songs made me want to sleep. Not sure if its the play's fault or these particular actors' fault. Probably the former.  Overall, I thought they did a fantastic job, and I was glad I could see my talented friends perform, some for the last time.

Afterward, Emilia and I congratulated various members of the cast.

Have a good night.

Days until I graduate: 22

Days until exams are over: 50

Days until I start college: 127

Hands on the wall.

 This was my class' wall before everyone put their handprints on it.  Tori, the designer and painter of the mural you see in the center, did an AMAZING job.  I seriously couldn't be happier.  Sure, I would've liked something different than the Mayan calendar as the overall theme, but I think she made it cooler and less cheesy than it could've been.  In the center is a raider, our mascot, and along the circumference are various club and sport logos.  Neat, huh?

 This still isn't everyone so tomorrow I will take another picture straight on for a better "before" and "after" photo.  I think it would've been awesome to film a time lapse of everyone putting there's up.  But alas, I can't take both lunches.

I'm so so so excited for the rest of the school year! Almost every day now there's a fun event -- and we've yet to get yearbooks!  Online we are currently voting for senior and teacher superlatives.  Some are so hard to pick! I guess I should just put myself for all of them.  (Just kidding.  I'm not that desperate to have my name and senior photo in the school newspaper.)  What's ridiculous is the number of people trying to campaign for these, defeating the entire purpose of choosing them.  Needless to say I've promptly ignored their cries for attention.

Here's a photo with my friends Aniesa and Puja!  We've been a solid trio since freshmen year, which I think is awesome.  We know each other so well and have more inside jokes than we could probably recite in one sitting.  I love it.

Oh, right.  I have that Physics lab to do from forever ago... YAY.

Hope you're having a good week.  It's almost Friday!

Days until I graduate: 24

Days until exams are over: 52

Days until I start college: 129

Learning to accept failure.

My freshman year I had the misfortune of having an incredibly condescending math teacher.* Not only would she poorly explain the material, when you asked a question she'd get defensive and sneer "why don't you get this?"  I'm not the only one in the class she was continually rude to, but sometimes I thought she had a personal vendetta against me.  It was hard to deal with, especially the last class of the day when everyone is itching to get home.

To put this into better context, I was one of only two freshman in an entirely sophomore class.  I suppose we were expected to be the geniuses, (we had skipped Pre-AICE math 1 after taking Algebra 1 Honors and Geometry Honors in 7th and 8th grade) yet I think that was an unfair assumption.  Maybe I was really apt to do the work, but I let the teacher beat me into a certain kind of submission.  While it wasn't like I aced the previous courses, I should've been doing better. 

I wizened quickly and rarely asked questions in class to save myself humiliation, and only towards the end of the year did I seek out tutoring.  As a result, I had to accept that I wasn't a straight A student and that I had essentially failed.  But I had to learn, albeit the hard way, that the world was not going to end if I got a C for the quarter. The world also wasn't going to end because I failed the AICE Biology exam.**  These failures humbled me considerably, and I am very grateful for the experiences.

Here's why: I feel better off than my classmates who have maintained a 4.0 GPA.  Don't get me wrong; I applaud their efforts to achieve that level of success, but I seriously wonder how they will fare in college having never really failed anything before.  While I know some will be just fine, (especially because they're only going to a state university) I seriously worry others will have to flunk out of a course to realize they're not all-that.  I am well aware that I won't be the smartest at my college, and I'm okay with that.

One classmate in particular has the inability to accept being wrong.  If she is wrong, (which is more often that she'd like to think) she'll either insist she's right or obnoxiously wail over how she doesn't understand it.  And if she's right, her overpoweringly haughty attitude makes me cower into a corner.  Whether she realizes it or not, she's a snob who throws tantrums.  For example, she insisted today in Physics she should still get the points for a question she may have answered insufficiently on the quiz.  I mean, she nearly attacked our teacher as we left class, vehemently saying she didn't have time to write it (when she did; we all did) and it's not fair.  At this point, with only 18 highly stressful days to go, I want to just scream "GET OVER IT!" or "SUCK IT UP!" but that would probably only land me a trip to the dean's office.

All of that to say I think failing is healthy.  Embrace your mistakes, friends.

That's all that matters. Truly.

*You could probably find old posts of mine from 2009 that support this statement.
**I was only one of three not to pass, and then the only one not to take the make-up exam in October.

Days until I graduate: 26

Days until exams are over: 54

Days until I start college: 131

Where the sun keeps shining thru' the pouring rain.

This recent blog post about Florida got me thinking: do things really seem "purer" in the Sunshine State?  My initial answer is no, absolutely not, but I am heavily biased.

I've lived here my entire life and I think I've fallen in love more with the other places I visit. Providence, RI and Minneapolis, MN are ten times prettier; Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, PA are ten times busier.  Granted these are bigger cities, and that could be a big factor, but there is something inherently dull about my hometown.

In Florida, I've had to listen to stories like the shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Casey Anthony trials on the local news.  I've walked the aisles strictly dedicated to orange juice and sunscreen.  I've experienced the devastating hurricanes circa 2006.  I've picked out my share of tourists on the beach and at the theme parks.  I've comfortably worn shorts in December.  I've felt at home in the Orlando International Airport.  (The list could go on, but I have a poetry assignment to work on.)

What do you think? 
Is Florida just the ultimate vacation spot in your mind? 
Do you have grandparents that live here?

Let me know!

Days until I graduate: 27

Days until exams are over: 55

Days until I start college: 132

A book haul of sorts.

Instead of just a picture of what I got at the book sale yesterday, I figured I'd make a video out of it.  You're welcome.

Here's to being stressed, sick, and tired.

Days until I graduate: 30

Days until exams are over: 58

Days until I start college: 135

Exactly a month.

I can't believe it. Exactly 31 days from now I will be walking across my high school football field to receive my diploma. I graduate in a month. This is nuts, guys.

Until then, I will slowly die from exhaustion. My eyes just hurt to stay open and to function otherwise is equally torturous. We have two in-class English Lit papers to write every week, for the next few weeks, and revision for everything else is starting. I really need to try to read up on current events and "study" for thinking skills, though from what I hear the exam is kind of a joke. Still, those are fast approaching -- as you witnessed yesterday -- and I want to be prepared.

I went to a book sale at the library earlier and found some pretty good finds. I'll feature a picture of my "haul" in my post tomorrow.

On one last awesome note, my friend Simaya unexpectedly gave me a mix CD today. I think I'll give it a listen while I write about the ethics of animal research.

Days until I graduate: 31

Days until exams are over: 59

Days until I start college: 136

April come she will.

shirt -- Target, shorts -- J.C. Penney's, shoes -- Payless, necklace -- F21, ring -- World Market, watch -- Kohl's, headband -- F21

Tomorrow should be better.

Fewer distractions.

Days until I graduate: 34

Days until exams are over: 62

Days until I start college: 139

Electioneering.

I just really love this song.

I need music suggestions or I will be forever listening to this song on repeat.

Until tomorrow.

Days until I graduate: 40

Days until exams are over: 67

Days until I start college: 144

Happy Easter!

Okay, this picture was too cute not to share. I just love how none of us are looking at the camera. Priceless.

It's amazing the number of Facebook friends I have showing off their Easter baskets. Call me judgmental, but why are juniors and seniors in high school still getting baskets with candy? I can understand candy, but baskets too? With the fake grass? It just seems a little bizarre to me. I suppose if I think back the same thing happened with Halloween too.

Which gets me wondering: why, as a society, do we make such a big deal of what we receive? Why not share what we give to others? Just questions to be answered at one point in my life, I'm sure.

My modest haul of Easter candy.

I watched Midnight in Paris for the first time last night. I'll admit, I went in with low expectations and general skepticism for the movie. I think that is why, in part, I ended up enjoying it. I thought the costumes and soundtrack were well done. I especially fell in love with Adriana's wardrobe, secretly wishing the Prom theme was 1920's (like it was originally supposed to be) so I could dress like her. Oh well.

Speaking of Prom, I've decided not to go to mine. It's planned for this Saturday and just too many events are also happening that day. Math Bowl, Relay for Life, an art exhibit I would love to see, etc. Besides, I got asked to babysit for the first time in forever and it's so hard to pass up earning money. A few of my male friends are disappointed, having assured me I would have a good time, (though none would go themselves, so, how could they really) but given the circumstances I feel better not going. If I end up missing out, so be it. I think it's silly to live with regrets.

See you guys on the flip side.

I want to join crew in college.

I've spent most my day surrounded by books.

I started off the day reading Slaughter-House Five as I ate breakfast. (Granted the whole book isn't very gruesome, but even if it was, it probably wouldn't affect my appetite. I remember I once ate breakfast while watching some documentary on Jack the Ripper. I'm sure my brother is cringing as the memory.) Anyway, then I had to go to school and do boring stuff like study for Chemistry and it ruined the whole thing.

Most of my friends moan about having English first period, yet since I get to school at the crack of dawn (the hazards of car-pooling with a staff member), I have grown accustomed to reading and writing at such a time. I honestly prefer it. I want to nap too much in the afternoon. Today we were given time to read An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde and I found myself engrossed. Maybe if I have the proper motivation I will take time this three-day weekend to finish it. I already recommend it.

After English I had a field trip to another high school for a collective book club gathering. Puja and I have attended this for the past four years so we're veterans. I think it's always fun to note the changes. It has certainly grown these past few years, leading me to believe word got out that you get to miss class, eat free pizza and pick a free book. They really spoil us.

For the past two years they've gotten an author to talk via Skype about their book. The author last year was Gayle Forman, and she spoke about If I Stay, which was featured on the Florida Teens Read List for 2010-2011. She was kind and all, but this year we spoke with Kiersten White who won me over with her quick wit and eloquence. It made me feel bad I didn't read her book, Paranormalcy. The craziest part, in my opinion, was that she mentioned John Green and his explanation for using the name Hazel when asked how she thought up the names for her characters, saying she was not as thought out as he was and enviously so. I could be mistaken, but she sounds like a Nerdifighter and that made me happy.

A quick summary of the trip otherwise:

Food: 2 slices of cheese pizza and a handful of chips

Drink: Sprite

People I talked to outside of my friends: three

Free book: Looking For Alaska by John Green (because you know, why not?)

Pictures I took:

I promise they're not high.

I know this BEDA post has mainly been a summary of my day, but I assure you tomorrow's will be better. It's as much about you as it is about me. I am learning some really far-out stuff* and I want to do my best to share it. I might even film a vlog!?

The Easter weekend is almost upon us! How do you plan to celebrate? My family isn't even dying eggs anymore, not to mention hiding them. Oh, the woes of being a youngest child.

I will talk to you tomorrow.