Happy: One Girl's Day Off from School

Creme Brulee food truck, Darcy the adorable hedgehog, and the Pier! 

My name is not Ferris Bueller but my life was pretty charmed today. Every senior in the United States has something called ditch day. Seniors collectively choose one day to purposely skip and enjoy together. It's a tradition at my school to go to the beach. When one of my friends couldn't go to the beach because her parents didn't trust teen driving, J and I decided to go to San Francisco together. At the end of the day, I couldn't leave one of my close friends behind to hang out with people that I didn't really know. I was sorely torn because I've missed every other class wide event (I decided to sleep over at J's house after ball, I decided to not participate in the schoolwide camp out). I go to San Francisco frequently and I didn't think it was going to be as much fun as sitting on the hot sand with the waves lapping at your feet. R, Jenny's "friend" (if you know what I mean) also skipped school (he doesn't go to our school...) and joined us! They're too cute together. It was more than the perfect day I have ever wanted.

Senior Ball!!!

Hello! This weekend was ball and I finally rounded up all the photos! It was a very fun night and I always enjoy getting ready and all dressed up!

I know I haven't been blogging regularly but the only thing I do is watch Gossip Girl and run... there is nothing stimulating to write about and Adventure Time hasn't returned yet. 

I'll work on it though! xx

College Shirt Day

Senior festivities are in full swing!! College shirt day was today and the start of many more fun celebrations to come :) 

I haven't done a playlist in a while so here we go! 

..May..

Fancy by Iggy Azalea

The Hornet by Yellowjackets

Stay Stay Stay by TSwift

Move Along by American Rejects

Dirty Little Secret by American Rejects

It Girl by Jason Mraz 

Live High Jason Mraz

Problem by Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea 

Stolen by Dashboard Confessions

Shark in the Water by VV Brown 

Epiphanies of the Week

Hi everyone!! My life is back to a happy medium. I'm at a really stable, good point in my life. I've been able to let 70% of old feelings go and I just feel like a square (someone who hasn't done anything risky or slightly bad). That's not to say that I haven't done ANYTHING slightly bad/risky but I certainly have never done a lot of cliche high school activities. Adventure Time is airing again in June so unfortunately, I won't be able to review them. I was playing Quiz Up Adventure Time and lost quite a few times just because I don't remember much of season 1 and 2. I started being a SUPER dedicated fan in the middle of season 3. I tried going back and rewatching them but I miss the emotional density that exists in the later seasons. I just can't deal with the stupidity and lack of deep moments that dictate season 1 and 2.

• I've started running again and running and releasing endorphins does make me feel good about life and what is to come ahead. 
• There is nothing more fulfilling than taking a shower after running for about an hour
• A clean room does refresh the mind
• Doing things with friends is so much more encouraging than by yourself (running/gossip girl/life)
• I hope to one day start a walking group after 50 years
• I will graduate at 21...
• I am an orchid type of girl
• I hope to wear tights in freezing Boston winters
• What is a day of missed school when you can have the most amazing experience?
• Someone who you love one moment, may be the same person who you pretend not to know
• I wish I had done drama
• Emma reminds me of my own life. Do I get my own Knightly? 
• Ball is in two days...

I'll update again before Ball with more substance! I didn't feel inspired (angry) about any gender issues this week. 

Let Guys Watch Gossip Girls

Hi! So as the craziness of senior year bubbles down, I have a lot more time to muse, to think, and to just write something that's bugging me. I think I have a tentative schedule going! Come back every Monday for some thoughtful analysis of Adventure Time (tied to life lessons and literature) and Wednesdays will be reserved for musings mostly about feminism and gender roles. 

So today is all about gender roles (a break from feminism rants). With all the ball chaos, I met one of my friends' dates. (I am the reason they are going together, or at least I like to think I contributed). Let's call him R. There are just some people I connect SUPER well with. L is one of them as is TG and S. Some people say that friendships and relationships are built over time and I agree and disagree with that. There are some people you will never connect with on a deeper level despite how much time passes. With S, I didn't initially like him romantically but that changed over time. Anyways. I promisee that R is just a platonic friend (he's really NOT my type). We are like the same person and it's nice having someone to rant to and talk about past heartache with. Someone who hates being alone and someone who feels that emptiness sink in when all the people have left. 

R started watching Gossip Girl because of something to do with J (the date to prom). He was telling me that some people in stat ruined the last season because they were talking about it and how he couldn't tell them to stop because he didn't want anyone to know that he also watched. It seems a lot more acceptable nowadays for girls to do whatever they want to. When a girl takes up basketball or something deemed masculine, there seems to be a lot of support for her. Girls challenging the norm (asking guys to ball/prom, being CEO, arguing) is highlighted by the community. Yet guys are not applauded when they also things that are deemed more feminine (watching Gossip Girl, cooking, taking care of the family). Just as girls should be confident, good at math, and daring, guys should have that freedom to like drama (or dramatic tv at least), fashion, cleanliness, etc. 

If a guy wants to watch Gossip Girl, what is wrong with that? If a girl knows everything about football, why is that strange? 

As I said last week, #feminism is a bad slogan. By encouraging only gender to pursue things that aren't in the social norm, guys are not receiving the support they deserve either. People should be encouraged to do whatever the heck they want to do. 

The Beauty of Adventure Time

The most recent episode called Sad Face. 

Hi everyone! I'm really pleased to see this section of my blog take off. I am such a dedicated fan of Adventure Time and I'd love to share all that joy and enthusiasm for the show. This show is so random yet full of moving and touching messages that aren't found in contemporary TV. I was watching some Gossip Girl and I just see the worst side of human nature. In Adventure Time, I see characters growing up and facing real problems in an abstract and lovely, fantasy world. I won't describe the whole backstory of Adventure Time today but just join in my own analysis of why this episode was so particularly moving and sweet. I wasn't expecting that from one of the filler episodes but this episode really raised the bar for future eps.

Adventure Time has cycles of filler episodes and the episodes that continue on the story. In the first season, there was absolutely no story. As time went on, story arcs developed and the main one revolves around Finn's romantic endeavours and the backstory of Marceline and Ice King. For those of you who know nothing about Adventure Time, Finn is the only human in a post apocalyptic world. Jake is his dog/brother. When Finn was abandoned by his father (WHO IS A EVIL SCUMBAG), Jake's dad adopted him. Princess Bubblegum is the ruler of the Candy Kingdom and Marceline is the Vampire Queen. Ice King is the antagonist who has become more of an understandable character with the most tragic backstory. It sounds crazy and complicated but I hope this encourages you to start watching or at least read a little bit about it. Season 5 blew me away and season 6 has been very strong so far.

Not #feminsim, #equality

In the midst of AP testing and all this ball drama, I've been pretty stressed out. Nothing stresses me out more than guys and some of their insensitive comments. I don't want this blog to turn into a feminist rant but some things must be shared and thinking must be altered. 

During Spanish Class:

There's these two guys who sit next to me in Spanish. One of them is pretty nice (E) but they pretend to hate each other and sometimes it turns violent. I never hear the mean comments that L (the other one) says and I only see the violent reaction that E has. But today I caught a bit of something L said as a clear insult: "You have two pairs of chromosomes." For you guys who don't take bio, he's just hinting that E is a girl. 

E wisely quipped: what's wrong with that? 

I'd like to ask everyone that question. WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING A GIRL? There is NOTHING wrong. I'm so tired of being part of the "subordinate" gender. That is the basis of feminism. The feminism movement is not saying ANYTHING about women taking over the world (okay, there are some extremists) but rather having equality amongst genders. 

Check Your Privilege

So lately there's been this angry op/ed by a Princeton student called "Check Your Privilege" floating around the internet. Basically, this white male decides to post about how America is completely fair and how his hard work shouldn't be shrugged upon because he's a white male. Once upon a time, his familial ancestors also worked incredibly hard to help him gain the advantages he's had in life. When you get accepted to an Ivy League, there's not that much doubt that you are intelligent and were chosen based on merit (unless your family literally paid for you to be there..). I don't think anyone is questioning his hard work but at the same time, he's had it a bit easier than an ethnic minority who gained the same result. That's undeniable, and if you don't see that then you are an idiot. 

I posted a similar thing about this regarding the film industry and Rebecca Sugar. Literally everywhere you look in America is dominated by white males. Everything we read in English class is usually written from the narrow scope of a white male (Shakespeare, Heart of Darkness, EM Forster, etc). Last year was the first time I had read Asian poetry and this year we read Things Fall Apart. Our education system, history, and attitudes are geared toward white males. Can I just mention that Obama is OUR FIRST non-100% white male president? How many minorities or women are CEOs? 

Unless you regard minorities and the work they produce as subpar to that of white males, what other reason is there for a society with such hierarchy? Sure there may be laws in place to promote equality, but deep within all our psyche is a sense of racism and inequality. 

Privilege isn't something that you just give yourself. It's not that gold sticker a teacher gives you to reward you for good behavior. It's something that just exists in the system. There are little nuances that people rarely realize but hold you behind. 

Women have been living for years under the standards that MEN have built for them. Have you ever noticed that you never call female political figures by only their last name? Those little things are all setbacks that women and minority groups have to overcome. Non-white and/or non-males start the game with having something to prove while this extra hurdle does not exist for white males. 

At the end of the day, I understand that familial ancestry points to a hard past but that's not YOUR life right now. The challenges for white males began a long, long, long time ago and by now you no longer have to jump that hurdle. I think it absurd to say that America is based on solely meritocracy. 

xx stay lovely

Dot Patrol

Hello everyone! Perhaps you've noticed that there are some major changes on my blog. I'm back for real :) However with AP tests looming (literally at my nose), these two weeks will be tough to post anything insightful, inspirational, or even zany. I'm just going to be working on some of the minor design changes while waiting for the storm to pass.

Things I have accomplished thus far:
-new blog layout! do you guys like it? I went for the clean, easy, yet whimsical look. I got rid of the button and the chat box thing because I felt that they weren't that useful... comment your wonderful thoughts instead :3
-one photo thing. So I found a great way to integrate instagram into this blog. I have a brand new instagram meant solely for capturing one daily moment of every day. The app reloads every 30 mins so there should be a new little photo waiting for you :) It's a lot simpler for me to take a pic and have it upload straight instead of having a tab and a collage and what not. It also kills two birds with one stone, because I'll take pictures of my better outfits :) My fashion isn't developed enough to have a whole tab. If you click one photo, my profile comes up with all the photos I've taken so far with this new instagram. If you have a hankering to keep up with my daily moments follow at yawn1.
-I WILL update my reading and exercise tabs. I just don't have any new content yet..
-I'm still working on that schedule and a place to put it too.

So I also found a new url that represents this stage of my life better than pinkstoryofme. Dotpatrol seems my essence. It doesn't really make sense but it's quirky and adorable for reasons unexplainable. There's no larger story or deep message to it. You miss a lot of things when you overanalyze, as I've slowly been learning. I'm not a hipster in a sense that I like things from the 1970s or obscure movies and literature just to be anti-mainstream. I just get really excited by obscurity and the word quirky. This blog is simply dotpatrol. It's simply me.

xx see you soon