Birthday Wishes

If you're wondering, on the ninth of November, I was supposed to blow out seventeen candles [my cake was lacking sixteen of those seventeen].


I just wanted to thank everybody that has been there for me the past year, and especially the two very special people that were there with me Friday.


Birthdays are only special if you share them with someone <3

It's been a great 16th, but 17 will be better.(:

Friend Cycle

It's funny how friendship works.

You start out as strangers. Two people tossed into a situation, whether good or bad, and for some reason, you make a connection. From there, the friendship has two options: to grow and become strangers turned best friends or to fade away.


Should the friendship continue, you learn more and more about each other. Through good times and bad, you promise. Through birthdays and inside jokes, it lasts. Until, one day the two of you know what seems like everything about each other. And then something happens. It doesn't have to be big or even trivial, and you have to make a choice.


To stay best friends or to fade away?


Slowly, the drift happens. Now, it might not be a fault of your own. Maybe it's time, or work or even other people. Until the final stage: strangers.


Now there's someone out there that was once a part of your life. Someone who knew you for a period of your life. They might know your favorite color, your birthday or even that weird habit of yours. Sure a "Happy Birthday" or "Hi" might appear, but you'll never reach that best friend point again.


Even though it's sad to lose friends, you just have to be thankful that they were there for you when they were. There's a lot of "maybe"s and "what if"s but you have to live in the here and now: the present.

Halloween

The months are just flyin' by, aren't they?

Well as you all know, yesterday was October 31, which means HALLOWEEN (:

Yes, I did dress up to pass out candy. But it's okay, cause Halloween only happens once a year.

My friends and I (:

Three of my friends came over, including Megan, but I'll leave her to blog about her own costume.We basically just chilled out and passed out candy throughout the night.

Don't ask what the kid in the middle's costume was. I'm still not entirely sure...even after he explained it to me. 



The cutest little boy made my day. He went up to me and told me in the most serious voice possible not to go into the woods. Then, he proceeded to explain to me that he was "Super-girl" and not Superman.
Too adorable.


Anyways, I hope you guys had a Happy Halloween!

Second Best

Being second best isn't nice. You don't get that warm fuzzy feeling of being picked first, nor do you get that pride that goes hand-in-hand with the word "first". In fact, being someone's second best is down right degrading.

I know that it's simply not possible to put everyone on the same level, but sometimes, when it's blatantly obvious, it can hurt.

Dance Your Night Away

If I had to describe my life in one word, it would be hectic. Enough said.

In a way, I love the crazy thing I call "life". You just have to go out and enjoy it.

This weekend was my homecoming, and I'm not going to lie: I had a freaking great time. Everyone always says that after freshman and sophomore year, that homecoming is stupid and lame, but seriously. It was amazing. Plus, you only have four of 'em, so why not?

In my little, 5-inch heels, you couldn't have peeled me off the dance floor. I credit it to all the years I did dance, haha. My poor date was probably wondering what he got himself into. In my defense: he is my best friend and I did warn him, so he should have expected the craziness.

Homecoming 2012. I decided to give my date/best friend a bit of privacy and crop them out.


Basically, where I'm going with this post is: It's good to challenge yourself and do things that you know you're not the best at, but every once in a while, go out and have fun [even if you do have 20 other things you should be doing instead.]

It's healthy. It's not healthy to over stress yourself and work yourself to a break down.

Just live once in a while <3

Things That Make Me Happy

So, recently, I've discovered this thing called: Just Girly Things. So thanks to them, for these awesome pictures.(: 

Things that make me happy:

Drama

Sometimes we say things that we don't mean, out of anger or just without thinking of others or the consequences. Other times we blow little things out of proportion, making the tiniest detail seem like a gigantic mountain that we can't ever get around. Often "I'm sorry" is the hardest thing to say.

Sure, I'll take my part and own up to it, but can you own up to yours?

It's funny how petty little fights seem so silly, but are often times the most destructive. Sometimes the people you care about the most are the people that are able to hurt you the most.

If you really care, you have to work to get through things. It takes time, effort and maybe a screaming match, but it's up to you whether or not you want to fix things.


Take a breather, think the situation through and admit your faults. Everything will be okay.

 **Google images was used for these pictures.

October

October already? Good gosh. I feel like we've barely hit September.


Something that cheered me up today:

Mustache Cookies!

My friend's birthday was yesterday and as a present, she received mustache cookies. She gave me one ^_^



It goes to show you, there's always a bit of sunshine even in the darkest places(: 

Happy Autumn!

So, the first day of fall was yesterday, and I forgot to put this post up... whoops.

It's finally Fall! (:

Say hello to the over-sized sweatshirts, warm hot cocoa, knee boots, scarves and colorful leaves. Embrace the crisp mornings, plaid shirts and the warm feeling you get when you walk through the door. Love the crunching leaves, bright oranges and jumping into leaf piles.

Thank you google pictures(: Everything I love about Fall <3

Caught In the Middle

Ever been caught in the middle? It's just one of those things that is completely out of your control, and you have to pick between a bad situation and a worse one.

It's especially hard when both sides happen to be equally important to you. I guess in situations like this, you just kinda have to pick one, even if it means loosing something important, and just bearing with it and hoping for the best <3

Don't Lose Hope

With the new school year and the cool, crisp weather, it's sometimes hard to remember to sit back and take a breather. Stress, drama and countless sleepless nights are to come, and the big looming "future" is waiting for the right moment to crash down on you.

Point is, we've got to take life as it's dealt. And even though it's hard, there are some things that are worth it that make life just a bit more bearable. <3 As long as you have hope, ambition and a dream, you won't stay down for long. (:

Much thanks to Google for these pictures(: I don't own them.

Turtle Adventures!

If you're like me, school just started up [today being my first day] and it can be a bit draining. With all these upcoming tests, quizzes and projects, you just have to learn to balance your life out. It's important not to forget to have fun and appreciate the good things in life.


That being said, today, while working in the backyard, my mother found a turtle. To say that was a nice surprise is an understatement.

We put the turtle in a bucket for a ride to the river(: He's not very happy...

Figuring that we needed to return him back to the river, we took a 10 minute walk through the trails to find ourselves at a nice little pond. It's not a very good picture, but there's him swimming happily where he belongs.


Just goes to show you that the little things in life can really brighten your day(:

Worst Luck

I probably have the worst luck in the world.

After a month of avoiding Figment, I actually started to write the other day. After spending around two hours typing and perfecting, I saved the piece and went to bed.

You'll probably guess what happened next.

It didn't save. -__-

Apparently, I didn't hit the 'publish' button on Figment. Ironically, it saved the cover art...


Random pictures that brighten my mood. Thanks, google(:

Friends

This summer has been spent re-inventing myself.



Goals have been set. Dreams have been dreamt. Life has moved on.


Throughout this process, I've realized a handful of people have really been a constant in my life. Besides, family, who are obligated to support you, friends played a huge role.


Whether to bring a smile to your face or listen to your problems, they're always there. Teenage years are hard, but friends make it better. Here's to all the best friends in the world. <3

Into the Wild

Ever read the book Into the Wild?

It's a book written about a twenty-something year old who hiked out to the Alaskan wilderness without proper supplies, and dies. I bet you're wondering how the author got two hundred pages squeezed out of that story. Well, like every story, it's more than that.

It talks about the boy's, Christ McCandless's, rejection of mainstream society. His desire to find himself, and to do so alone, in solitude chasing adventure. It's tragic that when he finally found himself, it was too late.


I'll admit, at first I thought McCandless was reckless, arrogant, and a bit off-his-rocker. As his story progressed, I can't say that I still didn't think those things, but I learned a bit more about him, about society and about finding yourself.


Here and now, in our materialistic society, it's sometimes hard to stick to morals or determine what's really important. But at the end of the day, it's you who make those decisions.


It's your choice. So don't be afraid to be happy, to chase adventure, to live life and to laugh. A lot.


Just something I've been thinking about. (:

DIY Bracelets and Beach Packin'

Recently, I've really been into making bracelets and such since I've been taking a break from Figment [See aggravation over lost stories on last post...]


I've always liked the idea of friendship bracelets and figured I would make them myself instead of going out and buying some. Last year, my friend showed me how to make this bracelet and I literally wore it all year [I couldn't get it off my wrist] until it fell off a couple weeks ago.

So there I was, bare-wristed and I figured I would just make another one. Well, "another one" turned into several, and now I'm making them for my friends... Gosh I should really start charging.

Two of the end products(:

Along with bracelet-making and summer-assignment-reading, I've been all prepped and ready to go to the beach. Packing -- let me tell you-- is not one of my fortes. I literally pack, repack, then re-repack, because if I don't, I'll end up bringing a suitcase. Full of random junk I won't need. Did I mention this was only a weekend trip? 

Packing [mostly] done(:

My doggie is having the time of her life watching me pack...

My Laptop Lives!

I've been having computer problems for the past week, and because my laptop is roughly 3-4 years old, I didn't want to shell out cash to fix it [or to get a new one]. My dad promised me a brand spankin' new laptop when I go to college, and it's a bit useless to buy a new laptop to get ANOTHER new one in less than 2 years.

After a week of not turning on [it wouldn't go past the load screen], my dad and I found this helpful tip about setting the laptop back to it's factory settings, and my laptop works again. (:



Unfortunately, I had to set it back to it's factory settings. Basically, I lost everything. I didn't really mind because I didn't really have anything that important on my laptop anyways. Except two things: My pictures and my stories.


I'm that type of girl that takes pictures of anything and everything, so I'm a bit upset that I lost half my pictures [I have the other half saved on the family's desktop]. My stories, however, are another thing.


Writing is a big part of my life [even though I don't do it that often] and I'm extremely mad that everything I put endless amounts of effort in disappeared overnight. It's definitely going to take me time to sit down and write again...

Redecorating

Recently, I was inspired by one of my friends to redecorate and organize my room. I swear, that girl has the most organized bedroom...when it's clean. No, seriously. That girl has a knack for decorating. She cuts out letters from random pictures in magazines, uses household items to make into the cutest storage and makes all her wall-decors.


Basically, what I'm going to do is take everything out of its place, sort through it, and put it all back. But in a neat fashion...


So far, I've cleared the surface of my desk, dragged a huge CD/shelf holder up into my room [to be decorated] and piled crap stuff into shoe boxes...


What I plan to accomplish is:
-Making [probably buying] a magazine/paper storage for the random papers that take over my desk
-Decorating the shelf that I spent 10 minutes dragging upstairs into my room
-Putting something up on my now-blank walls
-Getting some neat storage boxes to put all the stuff I dumped into shoe boxes
-Going through my closet and donating the stuff I don't wear
-DECORATE

This is kind of what I'm shooting for...'cept imagine a whole room. Sure, it's unrealistic and I'll probably fail, but it's good to have a goal... Picture found on Google (:

New Glasses

So I'm convinced that I'm the only dork that freaks out and gets excited over new glasses.

Did I mention that I wear contacts? All the time. Until the wee hours of the night. Heck, there are so many countless nights as to which I've fallen asleep in my contacts...



Basically, to sum up all that unnecessary information above, I'm insanely excited about my new glasses that I'll most likely never wear.



And yes. I went there. I got hipster glasses.

The lighting's a bit wonky, and I'm a bit of a mess, but here I am, with my new glasses(:

College Visits

Oh, good gracious. Has it really been a week since I've last updated?



This week, I've worked, successfully finished one of my summer assignments, caught up with friends and gone shopping.


Yesterday, in particular, was a HUGE day. I went with my friend Megan, who I mention constantly on this blog, to visit a college campus and then go outlet mall shopping (:


You would think that would sound simple...


Unfortunately, college visiting and an over-excited cousin who had previously attended the school don't mix well. By that I mean, we spent hours 'oohing' and 'ahhing' over new buildings that had been built within the last ten years since my cousin had attended the school, told several sporadic stories about college life, and taking old short cuts that turned out to be excess zig-zagging across campus.

Not to say that it wasn't fun. Oh, no, it was fine. Except, y'know the rain. And the fact that a tiny campus took us so long to explore.


All kidding aside, the college was really nice, and I'm looking forward to visiting again... y'know, when it's not pouring down rain.


And no, after posting several pictures and personal facts about myself, I will not post the name of the college because I feel like it'll reveal my location...and you don't know how many creepers are out there on the internet O.o


After that, we ducked into the outlet malls, where Megan and I spent a good portion of our time buying cheaper-than-normal overly-priced clothes xD Seriously. I got a Ralph Lauren sweater for $20, and Megan walked away with several Calvin Klein button-ups for around $20 each. Oh, and we also got matching shoes. Cause we're best friends. And freaks. (;



Thus concluded my day...or... yesterday..? And in a few hours [when it's a decent time to be awake], I'll have to run out and buy food for my friend's surprise birthday party.

This is what Megan and I do. At 1-2AM. Hours before college visiting. Yeah. We' cool.

Hiking and Hectic Schedules

This week. Wow.

I feel like summer's just going by in a blur, and I'm just here for the ride.


This week, I spent Monday through Thursday in an SAT Prep class, which took up a good majority of my time.

I guess you could say the class was informing... However, teenagers, school and early mornings don't mix.  Waking up at 6:00 isn't pleasant, I'll tell you. It was amusing because the class was optional, and every day, there would be less and less people. My class ended with about 7 out of the 20-something we started with.


Then, I had a sleepover with my friend Kate, and it was nice catching up with her, considering that I don't get too see her as often as I'd like.

Today, I went hiking with Megan. It's a bit ironic, because I'm probably the worst person to take hiking. I'm more of a city person, and climbing through woods isn't my cup of tea.

Surprisingly, I really did enjoy myself. It was nice, and I spent a good portion of the time walking ahead the rest of the group, which I'm a bit proud of. ^_^







 This was my first time hiking, and I thought it was pretty fun. I definitely liked the uphill [I'm a freak] better than the downhill. Mostly because I had a tendency to slide/fall on the rocks and I felt like I had more control and balance going uphill. 

There were awesome waterfalls!

Everything was so pretty and green(:

Cave I found!

I found out today that apparently rocks and I don't mix. By that, I mean, every few seconds [mostly when I was going downhill] I would trip, slide or lose my balance on the rocks. And yes, I did fall. Three times. And I've got a battle wound on my knee to prove it, haha.

Awesome leaf I found

The hike was around 1.7 miles, and the journey up and down was 3.4/3.5




The top was the best part. The view was absolutely amazing, and I'm pretty sure we spent around 30 minutes sitting either by the water or looking out at the mountains.

Amazing view. Oh gosh, I look so tired, haha.

The water in the creek was so cold. It was nice(:

Megan chillin'

 











Overall, despite the multitude of falling and my minor flesh wound, I had an amazing time hiking. It's duly noted that I should bring a First Aid Kit the next time I go hiking.