Looking In the Rear View Mirror

I'm moving on to greener pastures my friends. Image from Falsompastor.

As all of you may have noticed. This year is coming to a close, and fast. Not only am I required by my grade to write this post, but I feel like it's good way to close up this blog. I could make promises to keep writing, and to stay updated, but I feel like after this post, the magic will be lost. And let's all be honest, my readers and page views will go with it soon after. While I am definitely go to miss it, all things must end. Good things don't last forever, and they shouldn't, for that matter. The fact that they end is what makes them special and precious. I'm sure you will all forgive for getting all mushy right there, as it is the last time it will happen.

Looking back on my earlier post it's like I can feel myself holding back a little. I was afraid to share the personal little pieces of me that I give to you in my writing. Of course I was excited to write about things I thought could help people, but I was scared of making a fool of myself. In contrast, I am now a proud "goof up". This is because of you guys, my readers. I saw and heard my friends' interest in my posts and topics,  I realized I had slowly started accomplishing what I first set out to do. To have something so personal be the cause of someone else's joy created more fuzzy feelings than I can describe. And slowly over this year, I felt like I have opened up to you.

I keep talking about how personal this blog was to me, but how can that be? I am literally posting on the world wide web. Emphasis on world wide. Despite all that, my writing style is unique to me, and although I had not explored it very much at the beginning of this blog adventure, I was sure nobody was going to like it. Slowly as I gained more confidence, so did my writing. If you look back, you can start to see me bursting out of my bubble, and using more pop culture references, along with the always important figurative language.

I know I couldn't have done this without the inspiration provided from some other bloggers. Specifically Alexa, and my brother Charlie. I love all the blogs I read, but I always felt more creative, and determined after reading each and everyone of their posts. Speaking of creativity, I might have let mine run a little too free when it came to keeping to the theme of this blog. Originally, the majority of the posts I wanted to make were going to be about school, and balancing the different aspects of life as a teenager. Well, I did some of that, but I also spent a lot more time than I originally planned on the things I do to relax. In a way, I still accomplished my original goal. Through this blog I was able to relieve a lot of stress, and anxiety. So in the end, this blog helped at least one person balance their life.

For the last time, I wanted to say thank you, and good bye.

I've kept it PG all year, but just his once I thought it was okay. Image from QuotesBlog.

Throwing it All the Way Back

Recently I have been looking at old pictures from when I was younger. I'm going to say this in the most modest way possible, I was adorable. I honestly don't know what happened. Life was so simple and magical back then. I honestly believed in the mythical, spoiler alert, Santa, tooth fairy, and Easter bunny. Not only that, but it seems like I had no concept of embarrassment. Now I'm grown up, and am constantly feeling the reddening of my cheeks that occurs with an awkward moment. In this time of great stress and worry, I've decided to throw it back a little to some of my favorite memories of a simpler time. Besides, Thursday, as in throwback Thursday, is the fourth day of the week, and hey, it's fourth quarter!

Me running from a bear... probably

The first memory I'm going to share is of my family's so called "bear hunts." I have no idea how our parents thought of the idea, whether it was a tradition passed down from their childhoods, or we just had too much energy one night, but every once in a while all five of us would grab a flashlight, and head into our large yard at night to look for bears. We sing a stupid song that was both short and repetitive until we made it all the way around the house. Some nights we would even do multiple laps. Despite the lightness of it all, I was always certain that we were going to catch a bear. Even after an abundance of bear hunts where we came back empty handed, I felt there was no doubt that we would run into a bear in the middle of our yard. Looking back, a couple of questions come to mind. Specifically, Why did we want to catch a bear? When we were to encounter said bear, we would be empty handed, save for a flashlight. How were we going to capture/protect ourselves from this bear? Not once did we find a bear (thankfully), but I will always have fond memories my determination, and feeling of invincibility that came with hunting dangerous beasts with my family.

Second is another story from my backyard. After all,  backyards are places of infinite wonder and possibilities to younger kids. So in my backyard, we have a sand box. I'm almost debating putting that last statement into the past, because slowly it has become nothing more than a litter box for the neighborhood cats. Despite that, back in the glory days my siblings and I spent a lot of time there. And out favorite sand box activity? Flooding it. My brothers and I would build an elaborate kingdom, and then starting with just one small lake or river, we would start adding water features until it looked like the set from Water World. If you haven't purposely flooded, and in turn ruined, a small sandbox, I am tempted to say you haven't lived.

Lastly, I remember the nights I pretended to fall asleep at random locations in the house just so my mom or dad would carry me to my room. For example, one night I couldn't fall asleep and I heard my mom in the kitchen. I decided to get out of bed and lay on the kitchen floor with my eyes closed until someone carried me back to my room. All was going as planned, I was about to be picked up by my mom when Charlie (my twin brother with a most excellent blog) sleep walked his way to where we were standing. We asked him what he was doing, unaware that he was unconscious. He then turned around and walked right into our kitchen counter. Being young and short at the time, he hit his head pretty badly. I faintly remember him crying as my mom carried him back to bed, but by that time most of my surroundings were blacked out by my rage. I didn't care if my brother had hurt his head! I just wanted to be carried back to bed. Me being the ridiculous child I was, I stood there waiting for about another five minutes until I realized that my mom wasn't coming back for me. I still hold a grudge to this day. I'll never forget.

You think we are sleeping? Nope. Acting.

Sorry for the long post. I hope you make it through the large amount of stress these coming weeks. Just take deep breaths and try to remember a time when your biggest problem was getting the wrong flavor of popsicle.

The Key to Craftastic Chords

We all remember my snazzy friendship bracelet style headphones I shared with you guys right? Well, I thought you might want something similar to that. Especially now that summer is coming along, its time to break out the hot pink nail polish, and open toed shoes (boys included). And by that, I mean it time to let the light and bright things back into your life. How we are going to do this today is decorate some charger chords. Some of its pros are: makes you a positive and optimistic person by just looking at it, protects your chords, works on headphones too, and it makes the chord undeniably yours (in cases of sibling theft). Another added bonus, this DIY is even easier than the aforementioned headphones project! With a little time, and a very small supply list, no one will be able to deny your arts and crafts swag (it's a real thing, I promise)!

No Charlie, these are not your chargers. Yours are not nearly as fabulous.

The things you will need are very few: a chord of any kind, perler beads (bringing back those childhood memories), and small scissors (I used my mom's sewing scissors). Now that you have all you supplies it's time to start designing! Pick the colors you want, and decide on a pattern (like alternating, or just random). Remember, the more colors you pick, the less sorting out you will have to do to get enough of them. Speaking of sorting the beads out, I got efficient by using the self designed technique I like to call "insert creative name here." It just consists of grabbing a handful of beads out of the bucket, take the ones I want out of my palm and into the bucket lid, and placing the unwanted colors into a separate bowl.

A picture showing many of the techniques
described. Ten points to me for that photography
 skill! And five points to Gryffindor.

Now that you have the beads you want, it's time to put them on you chord. Use your small scissors to cut an opening in the bead, and then use the same scissors to hold the opening wide enough to push your chord into it the bead. Repeat these steps until your chord is covered. It may seem slow at first, but as you work out a process, you will soon get to a speed worthy of the Flash. I was able to finish mine in, give or take, an hour and twenty minutes. Try to beat that! Despite the blisters, it was a fun thing to do with my free time. Added bonus, binging on some Netflix is a perfect way too multitask while doing this DIY.

I hope you enjoyed what will probably be my last DIY as this year comes to a close. Just a reminder, there is still time to stalk, I mean follow, me and this blog. I still have at least one more post coming, and I would love to see your comments and suggestions. I hope you all live through the stress of the coming weeks, and let's be honest, the coming lifetime. Don't stop being incredible, and yes, that is an order.

Living Life In Color

Excuse the cheesy title, but I have been waiting to use that one for a while now. So on Sunday, March 29, I attended the festival of colors, otherwise known as Holi, at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. This, if you do not know, is a celebration of good over evil, love, and equality among all. It can be considered a religious ceremony, but I think everyone should go at least once in their life. It begins with a bonfire the night before, which I did not attend, but the following event the next day is when the clouds of color begin to form. People come and buy a colored powder of the same consistency and taste as flour to throw at each other. I can tell you this from personal experience. Speaking of experience, I wanted to share mine with you, along with a couple tips.

My title for this post does not get more literal than this. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

As I mentioned before, this is essentially a festival of love and happiness. The moment you walk through the entry gates, you can feel people sharing that with you. I mean that literally, the moment you walk in, there is welcoming committee of people with the colorful dust ready to ruin that perfectly white shirt. The cleaner you are, the more of a target you become. This, despite what it seems like, is not a bad thing. The more you embrace it, the more fun you will have. The best way I can explain it is that you start as a blank canvas that everyone contributes to. Not to mention the large number of works of art you will contribute to. Nobody likes an uncompleted work of art with white spaces, so don't expect to come out clean (my dad bet ten dollars to anyone that could). Never have I been so happy to have my face continually hit with rainbow dust.

Taking a selfie with my mom after getting powder in face at least five times.

Another one of my favorite parts is the atmosphere of the place. No I don't mean the cloud of dust continually drifting above. I loved how genuinely happy everyone seemed to be. The good mood was contagious, and I was still feeling blissful for the entirety of the next day. It felt like everyone knew they were sharing something special and unique, and just being there made you part of some exclusive club.

So artsy. I couldn't help myself.

The festival of colors is fun, but there are some things you need to do to make it that way. Th most obvious is wearing clothes that you don't care about (preferably white). While the rest of my family and I were able to brush most of the dust off, some was still left in my shirt. You should also where easily washable shoes like flip flops, or Crocs for the brave. When going to the festival, you may not be planning on getting hit in the face, but other people might have different plans. This means you should bring sunglasses for eye protection. Bandannas to cover your mouth are also an option, but I was fine without one. Also a must, a bag for your phone. You need to protect your phone while taking those artsy selfies.

I hope you decide to attend this awesome event in the future! Something that is also awesome is you people! That's right, you! Thank you for reading my blog! Challenge for the break, let go of your reservations, and have fun with something you wouldn't normally do (stay safe though, I need your page views).

Easter is Coming

While Easter may not be the biggest holiday such as Christmas or Halloween, I have always loved its bright colors, joyful energy, and not to mention it abundance of amazing candy. My favorites being robin eggs, and cadbury creme eggs. Back on topic, I thought that this year I wanted to be a little more festive than usual. I don't plan on going all out, but just small things to brighten my day. Then I thought, "Hey, I wonder if my readers want to be more festive too!" And so this post was born. So today (as in the day you're reading this), I'm going to share a few small ways to be festive in your everyday whereabouts.

1. The Computer

My desktop at this very moment.

So assuming that all my readers have some sort of device connecting them to the internet (kudos to those that don't and are somehow managing to read my blog. MAGIC), then that means you have a desktop, or phone background of some sort. Something you might already know about these backgrounds, is guess what! They 're customizable! In the spirit of Easter merriment, I have changed my backgrounds to things such as flowers, colorful Easter candy, and my favorite, bunnies! I can't handle it, it's too cute. Now opening up my computer to complete that Vital Vocab is as hard as I thought it would be.

2. The Room

If you are like me, then you might spend a good amount of time in your room. That also means your room is the perfect place for some Easter festivity. As you can already tell, I love Easter candy. Anyway I can convince my mom to buy more of it, I will do. So my first idea is, no surprise here, a jar full of candy. It's colorful, cute, and delicious. My only suggestion think about buying a candy you don't like, that way you aren't tempted to eat your new decor. Not a candy person? Try anything with flowers. You can put them in vases, or make paper flowers for a garland to decorate your walls.

3. The Bag

You take a bag or backpack almost everywhere you go. So why not take some Easter enthusiasm along with it. I'm not asking you to make a world class, hand sewn bag made from just scraps of cloth laying around your house. Just small things like tying colorful hair ties or ribbons to the zipper. The hair ties are perfect for controlling you hair in the ever changing weather that arrives with spring. That is, unless you like that windswept look.




You guys know the drill. Comment, follow, suggest, all that good stuff. Just make sure to share all your newly found gusto with all those around you. And while your sharing, share how amazing you think my blog is. They say there is nothing like "the word of mouth," except for maybe Easter candy. Help, I'm obsessed. I wish you all luck in these final days in the quarter, I'll see you all at the Easter candy obsession support group.

Pecularily Passionate

I don't know about you guys, but there are things that I get weirdly passionate about. Things that, as my can mom tell you, I can rant about for hours. And because my family is tired of hearing about the same irritating topics all the time, I thought I would share it with you, the internet. Because that has never gone wrong before for anyone else. Not to mention, talking about what bothers me often gives people an idea of my weirdest parts, and hey, what's just a little bit more widespread embarrassment right?

Pretty much sums it all up. Image courtesy of Tumblr.

Well, one thing I never understood was why people would stop trying in school. I am not talking about one person specifically, but I'm always confused when people don't even try to complete an assignment. I completely understand if you got confused on how to do the assignment, if you forgot about it, or even if you were absent. I do both of those things regularly. What makes me rant is when people knowingly take the zero. Is it that hard to just try it? And keep in mind,  you're going to have to know this information for the test anyways. Getting that zero now is just asking for another one later on. Besides, any amount of points is better than a zero for your grade. Just suck it up, and do the assignment. Most of the time, it's not half as bad as you think it will be.

While the last paragraph may outline something irritates me beyond belief, it does no affect my behavior like competition does. No matter how small, or pointless the competition is, I aim to win. This wins me glares, stares, and laughs from other people at times, but I am usually oblivious to all of that. While competitiveness isn’t always considered a bad thing, it can lead to a lot of disappointment for me. Especially when we are playing against other people in P.E. There is a saying, “Calm down, it’s P.E, not the Olympics.” Hearing this only encourages my determined behavior. Why should I have to calm down? Is it a crime to try? I understand if you don’t care, but don’t go criticizing me for putting in effort.

I could continue on that topic for a whole blog post, but we have to move on. The last irksome thing that we are going to talk (I say we, but it's really just me talking to myself) in this post is when people take authority. I don't mean teachers, or public authorities like the police or government. I mean when students are asked to lead. A recent example, if you're confused, is in ballet class a couple of weeks ago. My teacher couldn't make it to class so she appointed to other students to be in charge. I have no problem with that. The problem is when someone who I consider to be on an equal standing with me decides that they get to tell me what to do.  So, probably because I was jealous, I started trying to annoy this new leader in as many little ways as I possibly could. Upon reflection of my actions, at the break in the middle of class, I realized how terrible I was being. I apologized, and improved my attitude for the rest of class, but I still proceeded to complain about it to my mom afterwards.

Me during the second half of ballet class. Image courtesy of Pinterest

Moral of the story, I'm insane, and get set off about small, pointless things. Now if your not done judging me, continue to my other posts for more embarrassment. I hope you all have a relatively rant free day!

A Guide To Gifting

Believe it or not, but birthdays, and holidays tend to be an annual thing. The annual part can be hard when it comes to getting gifts for the different people in your life. I have trouble especially when it comes to unknown relationships. Gift giving is dangerous territory, but with this guide, and practice you can become the non-mythical equivalent to Santa. All this for only a payment $99.99 a month for 9 months. Just kidding, it's all free, you're welcome.

Possible reaction to a mediocre present. We can do better than this people. Image courtesy of Elfarandi.

1. Best Friends "Five-Ever" ( Get it? It's bigger than "four-ever.")

Don't let this title mislead you, this section of our guide is not only for very close friends, but also family. This grouping of loved ones can is most of the time either the hardest, or easiest to shop for. While these are the people you know the best, the pressure is on to get them the perfect gift. My suggestion, make it personal. I have gotten my "bestie" a variety of gifts customized to reference our inside jokes. This can mean customized phone cases, headphones, or even t-shirts. Also a possibility, make something yourself. DIY's are fun, and are often the perfect gifts, and guess what! I have posted pages of ideas for you to choose from. Other ideas I have include a surprise room decoration, planning activities to do together like planning a whole day together. The reason you are close with this person is because you love them so it's important that these gifts come from you, not from a store.

Results may vary. Image courtesy of Elloecho

2. Just in School Friends

This section should be used as help when deciding on a gift for an acquaintance. I use the word acquaintance very specifically here. This section is for those friends you aren't extremely close, and maybe don't know as well. Here it is more acceptable to buy things from a store. I commonly go for gift cards, or clothing and accessories if I know their style. Gift cards are perfect because you can  buy one from a store they like to make it personal instead of just handing them cash. Another good idea could be a colorful box or basket full of candy they like. This is inexpensive, but anyone you give it to will love it!

3. That Special Someone

Now you know you've done it right. Image courtesy of Popsugar.

Before you get too excited, I'm not going to talk about what to give you boyfriend or girlfriend. I have no experience in that area, and my advice might do more harm than good. While that may be the case, I know what having a crush feels like. I know that getting a gift for someone you like can be a tricky subject when they don't know about your feelings. So, my suggestion for these gifts is to do it casually. The gift shouldn't be really expensive, or big. Making it really personal might also freak them out. My go to is to make a batch of cupcakes for all your friends, and just happen to have an extra one when you run into him or her.

Well guys, I know was a random time for this post. It would be better received at Christmas, but recently I've felt like a gift guru. So, no more judging for today, unless you decide to look at my other pages, and posts, and also decide to follow me. I promise I won't file a restraining order, even though stalking someone is really creepy. Have a great life, and I'll blog again very soon because I love you all. (Honestly it's because I need more posts to get an A in English.)