Happy Halloween!

Hi everyone!!! Instead of boring you with more words about my awesome Halloween here is a little photo snapshot of my day! At last minute, I decided to be Kiki from Kiki's delivery service because I am a HUGEEEEEE Miyazaki fan :) It disappointed me that more people didn't know who I was!

Kiki hides in the forest! 

Kiki finds her twin! 

Kiki and her friends!

Oh my gosh... coolest costume everrrr! Kiki met No Face today :) Click below for more fun photos!

Inside the Bubble

Hi everyone! Welcome to another Yoga Tuesday. If you haven't checked out the last one, I'd highly recommend it. Yoga Tuesdays are a continuation of my musings in a more centered direction. I always sit at home listening to some indie music with tea and of course, wearing yoga pants. Thus the name was born: Yoga Tuesdays. I hope you put on a pair of your own comfy pants and take a little moment or two to ponder a random issue with me. Today we take on the Bubble.

Song of the day: Out of My League by Fitz and the Tantrums
(I'm weirdly obsessed with this song...)

"What is this bubble you speak of?" you may ask. I don't know about you, but I live in a very safe neighborhood. People here have literally known each other all their lives. There are four elementary schools nearby and this dictates the characteristics you have. Then people grow up to attend the same middle and high school most of the time ending up with lifelong friends, and the Bubble. I moved to this area after 8th grade so I'm relatively new. Four years is nothing compared to some of these friendships. O (short for my location) is a fenced off little community away from the harms of the world. I personally haven't ever seen bullying take place at school. The teachers are all very well qualified and dedicated to their craft. The worst horror story I've heard is that a teacher gives way too much homework. There are no pregnant girls walking the hallways. I know drug use isn't absent but I've never been peer pressured to do something I didn't want. The most popular people are so nice to everyone and care deeply about the school. They're not popular only for looks but rather their kindness and hardworking attitudes. People are very involved in their extra curricular activities and my school is especially competitive.

We live in a bubble away from "real world problems." A school only 20 minutes away has a completely different story. They grow up in a community where the same number of people who go on to a college equals the number of people who go on to commit murder. I had the luxury of taking the ACT at one of these schools and the head testing coordinator had to verbally communicate that students were not to bring or drink alcohol during the test. It's a completely different environment than the one I've grown up in. People grow up a lot faster in these parts.

I'm a very idealistic and happy person but it's easy to do that in such a Bubble. My mom was reflecting on her years living inside a Bubble, how naive she was at times. It's important to leave the Bubble once in a while, both in physical location and in thought. It's easier said than done but going to a less economically stable part of a city or country and experiencing life through that lens leads to development and personal growth.

As someone interested in journalism, I always have people tell me how I should look beyond myself and my community. I am absolutely in love with my government and economics class because it gives me a snapshot of what life is like outside the Bubble. We learn about health care problems and the military industrial complex and it opens my eyes to the realities of the world. It's not a happy place. It's not a happy place, but it can become a happier place. My mom was saying how it's our job as educated people to go out and make the world fair.

That's what I love about journalism, especially political journalism. Politicians twist their words and messages to appeal to the people who don't always know as much about health care. They make it seem like Obamacare is socialism instead of necessary and helpful. The people who need it most are often forerunners of the opposition. Journalists are the voice of truth and reason in this confusion. Although it's supposedly a dying field, we need these people to notify the public of what is going on.

One of the most exciting parts of the college process is the thought of leaving this Bubble. It's scary at the same time to leave something so familiar and safe and diverge into the unknown. As I finish up my supplements, I hope I've left you with some sort of thought for Tuesday.

To Bee or Not to Bee

Hi everyone :) I've had a very busy week as you can probably tell from  my lack of posts. Common App added this horrifying clock symbol to remind me that my app is due pretty soon.... it's scary!! Tests, supplements, 5 page English essays: the stress is very real. I promise it'll get better in January!! Next week is Halloween and I'm getting ready to dress up as a cat! I don't know if I have any other life updates . . . my life is pretty boring as the guy who sits in front of me in Stat always likes to tell me. 

In:

Ranting about politics (health care, elections, etc)

Hot chocolate 

King Lear 

Saying no to dastardly jelly beans 

Sweater Dresses

K-indie music 

Ti-84

Museums & Zoos

Writing Supplements

Sleeping late

Pears 

Small wallets

Puffy Vests

Out: 

Ranting about biology (Gibberellin, plant hormones)

Tea

Hamlet 

Jellybean Roulette

Sweaters. 

Spanish music (Laura no esta) 

Ti-89 (I thought this day would never come)

State run parks 

Studying for standardized tests

Sleeping early

Tomatoes 

Large wallets (even Kate Spade..)

Cardigans 

Music: 

Caffe Latte by Geeks

Growing Up by Run River North

Katy Perry Prism album

The Love Club by Lorde

Avicii

So here's the speech I've been working so hard on for public speaking! Enjoy :) NO STEALING!

How to Have a ME Day

Have you felt stressed out, sad, and hopeless over these past few weeks? I know I have. Although I rarely think about how my emotions are affecting other people when I'm unhappy, your unhappiness and snarky attitude towards others negatively impacts others as well. If you're not emotionally balanced, it's a disaster for all your friends and family. Lately, I've been getting into really serious arguments with S over nothing at all. Sighs, and I'm not the type of girl to get jealous easily but when I'm at such an emotional low, it's hard to not lash out at him. He's been stressed out too and it's just been a constant battle with a couple good moments. I decided to take today as a ME day, a day centered around me, doing the things I want to do. Having a ME day is really simple and a balancing act between things that make you smile and the work you need to get done.

Ollie, College, and Empty Sockets

say hi to my love, Ollie! 

Hi everyone :) It's been a terribly long time since I've posted. I'm going to start posting some things about the college process and how that's been going for me. I am applying early decision to a fabulous college that I love and I'm almost done with the supplements. The Common App is not my friend but it is one of my most visited websites. You can blame the Common App for the lack of my online presence. School has been hectic like normal and I haven't found any time to blog or even the motivation to think of interesting topics. I know I skipped a Yoga Tuesday this week but expect one next week! I had my first public speaking tournament of the year as well as the Homecoming dance. It's definitely a celebratory moment in the last year of high school. Due dates are everywhere and the post its on my wall are just growing in number and size. S and I have had some serious arguments but we're making things work.

As I write this, it feels like my eyeballs are going to fall out, most literally. If you haven't yet, check out my tumblr! The url is pinkstoryofme.tumblr.com! I reblog pretty photos and accidentally put all my blog posts on there.... follow me at pinkstoryofme.tumblr.com. It's really convenient!

My dad found me a typewriter and I named it Ollie! I'm so excited to buy some ribbon and start using her :) I am slowly becoming super hipster. . . I love artsy, crafty things and I'm so obsessed with Whole Foods. I love wearing pretty yet edgy and really interpretive outfits with lots of patterns haha. Oxfords are the best. read more for some college advice :)

I'm not dead, I promise!

Hi guys :) It's been a very long time since I've posted anything! I apologize for that but life has been inundating me with things to do. I'm memorizing my speech about bees, cutting trees out of wallpaper for my speech about bees, making posters for my speech about bees, fighting with my boyfriend about how much time I spend on this speech, writing college apps (not about bees..), trying to understand physics, studying for SAT, etc! I'm not trying to complain or ask for pity but rather tell you why I haven't been posting because I feel like you guys have a reason to know :) It's definitely not because I found something better than blogging (if such a thing exists...).

This is basically an update post about what's going in my life. I think I have finally finished test taking but I can never say that with conviction. A new member has joined my family! Meet Ferguson, my cactus!!! I picked it up from the Faire a while back and I can't believe I'm just introducing it (I don't believe in assigning genders for non existent things) now. Ferguson had a friend but I gave it away to one of my best friends for her birthday :) Spreading that cactus love!

I did have a pretty cool outfit for a college session in San Francisco but sadly, I didn't think to take a picture. I hate taking pictures of myself... I don't know how to get that fashion section up and running because pictures and me...we're not friends. Would it still be worthwhile having pictures of just outfits? Hmmm.

My life is mostly all the same. Public speaking tournament and Homecoming coming up soon (as in this weekend..) so I'm kind of frazzled and stressed for that.. Lots of tests and college visits this week so I'm sorry if I don't post until Sunday.

Here are some more pictures of the speech I'm working on! I went to a craft store and picked up all sorts of boards and paper all for just $7! I ordered A HUNDRED magnets on amazon.com and well... yeah. Not much else to say about that.

The big tree wouldn't stay still...

Heheh progression! 

The almost final product!

On the other hand, I cleaned up my room and now my bookshelf is really organized... AND one last update, creators of the Lizzie Bennett Diaries have started their new series called Emma Approved. Awesomeness! 

Yoga Tuesdays: Enraged Over Health Care

Hi everyone! I know my blog has not been a platform for much political thought. However, on this particular Monday-Tuesday, my love for politics and yoga pants combined into this particular thread. I know my fashion page is wayy lagging but that's because well, my interests have been vested elsewhere. Yoga Tuesdays is going to basically continue those Tuesday musings that sort of died out. I am taking a class of government/econ and it's giving me new things to enraged about. Gov is my new biology this year. I don't know if you guys remember all those bio posts but now I'll post all about the problems of government. If this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you skip over it! But for the sake of our country, I do hope you'll put on a pair of yoga pants and sit for the show. This week's issue is Health Care (I promise they won't all be political...)