Photo's!

Here's a few of the North Carolina photo's I've been meaning to upload! (:

North Carolina

That last post kind of made things sound like I'm not enjoying my trip. Not true! I'm having an awesome time with my family (: I remembered that I said I would upload any pictures I took, and I've taken LOTS! haha They need an entire blog post of their own. Once I finish editing some of them, I post them.

Just Feeling Lonesome...

So this North Carolina trip has been great! Lot's of fun hanging out with family. But it just so happens that none of my family members I'm around right now are my age. They're all either older or much, much younger. My parents have decided that for this particular trip- no electronics are allowed. (Excepting of course my camera and getting online to post on 'Welcome to High School.')

I can't even look at my phone, can't listen to my ipod (even when no one is around), can't use Skype, and absolutely cannot get on Facebook.

Okay, so maybe I don't mind the Facebook thing that much. 'Cause I don't like seeing what other people are doing without me. The phone and Skype situation is worse though. I feel lonely. And when I feel lonely, I'll typically text, Skype, or call one of my friends. But up here, I can't.

My ipod is the major issue. Music is what keeps me going most of the time when I'm feeling down; and I don't even have my music...

I know the obvious Sunday School answer for this one- "God is with me!" Those obvious 'Christian' answers drive me crazy, but I ought to pay attention to them. Most of the time, as silly as they seem, they're true. I think sometime over the next week I'm just gonna sit outside and have a little chat with God. A literal out-loud conversation. Even if to anyone else it may look like I'm talking to myself, I don't care. I'm just feeling kind of lonesome and I don't know why. It's about time I talk to one person I know who will truly understand...

Finally, A Summer Vacation!

I've been at home the entire summer, and it's been amazing! No homework to do, no tests to study for! A few chores here and there, sure, but nothing major. I've been chillin' with friends- it's been great! But we almost always take a family vacation over the summer holidays. So, I was really excited to find out that we were going to North Carolina!

I'm really into photography, so North Carolina is the perfect place for me to take pictures (:  I will definitely be uploading any cool pictures I take while I'm on my vacation.

Here are some of my older pictures:

I took this one at the beach (obviously) the same time as the picture in my blog post, Free.

I took this at an art center, it's supposed to be a replica of either Mayan or Aztec ruins. But there's
 lots of biblical themes as well- so I'm not quite sure...

Also taken at the art center, it's really beautiful there. 

I took this at a park then added the quote. Robert Frost is one of my absolute favorite poets! (:

Taylor Swift Is My Hero

I can find a Taylor Swift song to describe just about everything I deal with as a teenage girl. That's why she's my hero. Music is a life-saver for me when I'm feeling lonely, and when I can find a song that has lyrics to fit my exact situation... it instantly becomes one of my favorites. With Taylor Swift, it's almost a guarantee that there's a song that fits my situation. 

I know some people hate her- although I don't know why, she's amazing. I guess some people just look for a singer to hate. Sad, but true. 

The lyrics to her song 'The Story of Us', 'Tell Me Why', and 'Jump Then Fall' pretty much describe my life right now. Of course, you'd have to know me to understand why or how. 

But my all time favorite song is still 'Yellow Shirt' by the Icarus Account. It's sung by a guy, whose singing to/about a girl. It's the sweetest song. And the lyrics never fail to make me smile. (:

Joyce Meyer

http://www.joycemeyer.org/BroadcastHome.aspx?video=Doing_It_Gods_Way_-_Pt_1

This recent message by Joyce Meyer really hit home for me. I hope it's encouraging to you as well.

Graham Stookey: "Jonah"

This kid is absolutely amazing. I'm pretty much in love with him. Not really(; But I love his voice! And his guitar playing? I'm speechless. Look him up on iTunes! He's is coming out with a new song called, 'Plan B'. 

I AM SO EXCITED! haha

Enjoy!

http://stookeymusic.com/

Free

 You know that moment, when all is right in the world and nothing beyond your immediate senses seems to matter? Your worries, your troubles, and your hurts cloud up so that you scarcely remember them. Suddenly all of the senses you take for granted become acute. Your emotions slide together until one is not distinguishable from the other. Your heart feels peace; and you know without a shadow of a doubt, that you are home.

            Where is home for you? Perhaps home is where you’ve been raised, or where your family has come from. Or maybe home is somewhere miles and miles away from your roots. My home is on the seashore. Not the ocean, it is far too vast and terrifying for a person like myself, but not the inland either, it is far too hot and dry for me as well. But the place where the waves crash onto the sand and then slide back in retreat… the shoreline. That is my home.

            All my senses come alive, I see the water and I swear it’s a deeper blue every time I blink. I can taste the salt in the air. My ears take in the beat of the ocean. I breathe deeply and that unmistakable peace steals over me; it mixes with the outrageous desire to tear off down the shore. When no one is watching, I give in to it. I run as if I’ll never return. Breathless, I eventually slide to a stop. The water nips playfully at my feet, while a gentle breeze wraps around my shoulders. It is that moment when all is right in the world.

            And I’m free.

More About My Life...

Today I went to lunch with a few friends of mine. (Several guys and two other girls.) I don't know what happened to me... I was fine before we showed up, and I was fine talking to some of the guys... but at some point during lunch, I could feel myself getting nervous. When I get nervous, I go brain dead. Like literally. My mind goes blank. I can want to say something, but I don't have anything to say... I get tongue-tied. The best thing I can compare it to is writer's block. 'Cause I don't stutter or anything. I hate it. 

After lunch we went to see a movie, and throughout everything I was still 'brain dead'. There was nothing I could think of to say. Then the moment the guys and other girl left, and it was just me and my close friend... I felt everything come rushing back to me. I made a joke and my friend and her mom laughed. 

Why couldn't I have been that person 10 minutes before??? 

Maybe that's why it bothers me so much when people call me 'quiet'. Because, I'm not. I'm quiet compared to some people. And true, I don't need to be the center of attention always. In fact, I don't like being the center of attention at all. But I'm not a quiet person. With close friends and family- I hardly ever shut up. I can make people laugh easily, I can converse easily, I'm my normal self. When I'm 'quiet', I'm either listening to what someone else is saying, I'm tired, or I'm nervous. I had a World Civ. teacher last year address our class before a test, "Now nobody talk! You're too loud." Then she looked over at me and said in front of the whole class, "Well not you. You're the quietest person on the face of this earth." 

She said it like I was this nobody who had nothing of value to say. Is that how my class sees me? I don't think so. But they do have some things confused. All the kids who don't know me too well sign my yearbook, "You're so sweet and kind..." My close friends say stuff like, "kind, sassy, strong, always there for me." My close friends always get it right. The last adjective I would use to describe myself would be 'sweet'. I'm not a mean person... I'm just not 'sweet'. 

Go watch Jane Austin's Emma. Look at Emma's personality, and you've practically just seen my personality. Would you describe Emma as 'sweet' or 'too quiet'?  

Introduction to Poetry

I feel like there is some unspoken rule or etiquette that says I can only post one blog update a day. I strongly disagree with this. It's my blog, I'll update it whenever I want (;

A friend of mine introduced me to this poet Billy Collins. This is one of my favorites:

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light 
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means. 

Odysseus And the Pointless 20 Year Voyage

I'm just going to be straight up here: I hate studying Greek mythology.

I'm working on my summer reading assignment right now. My assignment was to read the second book in the Percy Jackson series, then to write an essay comparing each mythological character depicted in that book to the "real" characters. No big deal. Maybe a 8-10 page essay? Considering how many characters are in the book?

That's no problem, I'm actually excited to have a challenging essay to write. (Yes, I am a total nerd.)

The problem is that in class this year we are reading the Odyssey by Homer. I read the Iliad in 6th grade, and we reviewed it sometime in the next two years. Last year at my first high school, we read the Odyssey, now this year, at my 'new' high school we are reading it again.

I'm beginning to feel like I'm on a 20 year journey.

Here's the basic plot, in case you haven't read the book:

Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War for the Greeks. On his way home, Odysseus almost gets eaten by a Cyclops. The Cyclops is Poseidon's son. In order to escape Odysseus blinds him. Poseidon gets all offended because the Cyclops is his son. Being one of the Greek gods, (5 year olds that live forever), Poseidon stays true to form and throws a little temper tantrum.

Only problem with a god throwing a temper tantrum- is that, well, he can make life pretty miserable for you. Poseidon decides that he is never going to let Odysseus get back home to his wife. The result? It takes Odysseus twenty years to get home. He's almost eaten by the monsters Scylla and Charybdis, plus half a dozen other mythological creatures that I can't remember the names of.

Finally he makes it home only to find men living in his house wanting to marry his wife. So simple solution really, he kills them all. His wife and son are like "OMG! Odysseus is home!" And it's all happily ever after. The end.

Awkward.

I'm an awkward person. I'm extremely clumsy. I run into walls, fall down stairs, trip over thin air, and randomly fall off balance. This is without any distractions, such as texting. My friends are used to it. They show no sympathy, they merely laugh and say, "Blonde moment."

I recently found out that one of my ancestors came to America on the Mayflower. His name was John Howland. It's hard for me personally to trace my family line back that far, but I have an awesome relative who has done all this research and found out how we are related. Anyway, I googled his name, and guess what my ancestor has gone down in history as? 

The man who accidentally fell off the Mayflower.

Go figure. 

Don't Give Up

This is for all the other people out there who've tried to make a difference. This for those people who've dreamed big, but gotten discouraged.

You wanted to change the world. You wanted to make a difference. Right? 

News flash: The world doesn't like change. The world doesn't like 'different'. 

Are you in this for acknowledgement? Are you trying to 'change the world'? Or is it really that deep down what you want is for people to think of you as: 'the person who started it all...' 

Is that what you want? Because if it is, you'll never be satisfied. If it's all about you, then this is what will happen: Small encouragements, that would mean everything to someone focused on a cause, will not matter to you. And small setbacks, that someone focused on a cause could let roll off their backs, will devastate you. 

Look at all the great organizations that are helping to change the world: Invisible Children, The Rebelution, I Am Second, World Vision, and many others. Do you think they started off as well-known organizations with tons of supporters? They didn't! Yeah sure, maybe some of them had more support than others at the beginning, but not much. 

If you really care about the cause you're supporting, starting from scratch won't bother you. You should be excited about every single opportunity to move forward. No matter how small or simple. One more follower for your blog, one more 'like' on Facebook, one more 'I'll help! Just keep up the good work'. If it isn't all about you and your image then you won't overlook any of these encouragements.

Don't be discouraged. Keep going. Just be warned-> if you are willing to lie down and give up over obstacles at the very beginning, where does that leave you later on? God can use someone else if you aren't willing to deal with the obstacles, road blocks, and hard work. But when He does, you won't be along to enjoy the end result. It isn't always easy to get there, but if God's involved, it's definitely going to be worth it. 

Late

Why am I always running late? It doesn't matter where I'm going or what I'm doing, I'm almost always at least ten minutes late. Occasionally, I decide to be fashionably late. Like a few weeks ago, I went to see the new Pirates movie with two of my best guy friends. My dad and I left our house about ten minutes early but when we got there I only saw one of my friends. I said, "Dad, that'd be awkward just standing there with him until my other friend shows up." So we came up with a solution. I was fashionably late. About 3 or 4 minutes later (my dad circled the movie theater like, seven times) I came walking up and both of them were there.

Then there are times when I do not want to be late. I always am. Whenever I am ready on time, one of my parents is not. And when they are all ready on time, I'm not. Am I the only one with this problem? Lol

Summer Reading Assignments

Most people generally hate summer reading assignments. They also hate the unavoidable essay that comes with them. It just so happens that I love to read, and I love to write. So I am one of the very few who does not hate summer reading assignments. But I do have a non-conformist learning style. Sounds scary, but it's not I promise! (= It's part of the whole learning styles thing with Dunn & Dunn. (Google it) Basically, it means that I like to decide for myself what I am going to learn. If I can't do that then I will at least push the limits when it comes to assignments. 

Example: my freshman year English teacher assigned for us to read 'The Life of Pi'. This book is probably the most boring story ever written. I mean, how long can you keep someone's interest while your main character survives a two paragraph long sinking ship ordeal, then floats around in the ocean the rest of the book. Sure, the author throws a Bengal tiger into it, but it doesn't actually do anything. It doesn't eat the main character, it doesn't befriend the main character; it's just... there. Anyhow, my teacher assigned for me to write a 'message in a bottle' to Pi, (the main character) and then to write back as Pi. I was feeling extremely lonely at the time so I focused on his emotions. I focused my paper on how lonely he must have been. And I did a great job too if I do say so myself! (; But of course I got back- 'Not enough details from the book.' 

My bad-> He was on a ship. The ship sank, so he got on a life boat. The life boat is in the middle of the ocean. He has to eat fish. There's a tiger on the boat too. It doesn't do anything. The main character can't make up his mind about what religion he believes so he practices Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. 

My, oh my, how extremely interesting! I can barely contain my excitement... -.-