Spring Sports Soon

thehebrewhammerLeave a comment

With winter sports coming to an end, the spring sports are up ahead and I couldn’t be more ecstatic. Although the winter season seems to be the shortest of them all, it’s always a great action filled season and I enjoy every moment.

With Baseball on the way in spring I see no world where the Spuds aren’t making playoffs this year. Although losing some of our seniors was rough, the talent is still there and we got our guys ready to go this year. The first practice in on the 9th with the first game on the 19th, leaving us roughly 8 days of hard practice to get ready for our first game.

Last year was a great year, as I led the team to its only 2nd appearance in CIF round 2 in school history. We may have lost some seniors who were key pieces and 2 kids transferred away, but were not letting that get to us.

Every year the anticipation to play baseball in the spring gets more and more, and I think that’s because I keep falling in love with the sport. I also love winning, which I’m guaranteeing this year.

pc: Ojai Valley News

Tea

riceandsoysauce4Leave a comment

My night cannot begin without boiling water and herbal tea. Before I let myself fall into a deep sleep, I have to prepare my nightly cup. It is a small routine, but it feels necessary. It marks the end of my day.

Most nights, I drink chamomile and lavender. Sometimes it is spearmint or jasmine. It really depends on the mood of the night and how the day went. Recently, I have been adding chlorophyll drops to my tea, turning it into a dark blue drink that feels like a mix of sweet dreams and detox.

On the nights when I cannot be bothered to heat water, I never sleep as well. Even if I am exhausted, skipping my tea makes the night feel unfinished. My body may be tired, but my mind does not settle in the same way.

I look forward to my bedtime tea every night. It is not just about the drink. It is about slowing down, being present, and giving myself a moment of calm before the day fully ends.

PC: Google

A Perfect Weekend

LetsGetSendyy6767Leave a comment

I had quite possibly the greatest Sunday any man has ever had before. I woke up at around 9:30 and ate some brunch, where I found Mr. P. He told me he needed help on the baseball field, so after I went to the gym, we pulled weeds for 30 minutes.

After this, Archer and his mom came to pick up Ray, Mike, and me to play a round of golf at Soule Park. Even though I don’t work there anymore, the employees gaveme free golf and half off our lunch.

While on the course, we had a ball. Though the golf lacked in quality, it made up for it in laughs. I ended up shooting a 39 on the front nine with a birdie on hole 4 and an eagle on hole 5. That was special.

Archer began to get upset and blasted his TikTok for you page on the speaker instead of our music. It was at this point that we gave up, took our shirts off, and went downhill from here.

I ended golf on hole 13 when it got too dark. Luckily, my good friend, Isaac Thrope, was at the course too and played hole 13 against me for 20 dollars. I, of course, won with a par, and he lost with a double bogey.

Ended with dinner at Zaidees and went back to upper for some line dancing with the Ventucky Stompers. What a day.

Line Dancing with the Ventucky Stompers : r/ventura

P.C. Google

Black Hair

zombiegxrlLeave a comment

I’m usually not very impulsive. I always take my time thinking things out. Sometimes I take so much time it turns into overthinking, but last night couldn’t be more different. I’ve been contemplating dying my hair black for years now. I always find some worry or reason not to, though. My mom told me I should wait to get it done by professionals, but the waiting was what was shooting me down. The more time I had to think about it, the more I convinced myself it was a bad idea. Last night, as I was scrolling on my phone, the strongest urge suddenly hit me. I jumped up and called my friend to tell her it was happening. We drove to the store and bought dye, and just started painting the color in. I didn’t give myself the time to overthink it or back out; I just did it. Today I woke up with no regrets. I don’t know why I was so scared or why I didn’t commit sooner. I hope that this moment of impulsiveness will set me up to overthink less in the future. YOLO!!!

PC- google

Its Finally Done

Bl@ckBe@nsLeave a comment

Credit: Google

It’s finally over. I’ve applied to all the colleges and universities I wanted to. Now all I have to do is wait for the rest of my responses. The application process was not as bad as I thought it was, stressful yes, but when you get everything done, it feels accelerating and rewarding. 

Finishing the work required feels more rewarding than the actual reply from said universities. In my personal experience, getting the email saying “you’ve been accepted” hasn’t really done much for me emotionally. A couple of days ago, I received an email with my acceptance letter from a school in New York. I did not even realize I had received it until 24 hours later, and even then, I did not feel any acceleration. The only time I felt happy was when I saw the scholarship I received. 

In the upcoming emails, I hope I actually feel some over-the-top emotion and not just twenty seconds of mild happiness.

Complacent Divided

StrawberryMushroomLeave a comment

Hating is easy. Complaining about inconvenience is easy. Antagonizing the world is easy. Destroying in a tantrum is easy. But regardless of whether the hate is justified, it is in human nature to keep pursuing ease once exposed to and comfortable with it. And yet ease is rarely what we need.

Overcoming is hard. Fixing what’s flawed is hard. Understanding one another is hard. Giving the benefit of the doubt is hard. But recently, it seems as though people have become complacent with ease.

More than ever, I believe that we need to be more patient and willing to cooperate with one another. As much as I struggle with social interaction, it is an immovable truth that both my school community and the world at large are filled with people I constantly need to converse and engage with. So why are we so hateful? Why are we so quick to point fingers and pinpoint a single source of blame? Why do we not think twice about the things we say? Why can’t we meet halfway?

Of course, not everything in life works out as intended. No matter how much they try, some people may be inherently incompatible. But that highlights my point: we have to try. Despite our school’s exceptionally small student population, a lot of us don’t know each other particularly well. And yet, everyone is so quick to complain, assume, and accuse. If we are all forced to coexist and depend on one another, then we might as well try to understand one another.

How Many People Have Ever Lived On Earth?

PC: Google

Soccer Struggles

LetsGetSendyy6767Leave a comment

The first week back from break, the OVS soccer team had a game against Newbury Park. The team was still sluggish because of the three weeks we had off.

I had my own set of challenges coming into the game because I left my soccer gear at my house in Palm Springs. Luckily, Kai had an extra pair of black shorts, and my white socks could be stretched to cover my shin guards. The shorts were nearly pants in size, but they worked, and I was able to play.

The game was difficult. None of us was 100% there. In between plays, I talked to Kai, who said mentally he is still in Japan playing video games. I know I was mentally still in bed or on a couch watching TV.

Over the course of the game, we kept getting slower and slower. The runs became jogs, and the team’s energy wasn’t where it should be.

We ended up losing the game, but came back stronger and won our next two games.

Athletics - Ojai Valley School

P.C. Google

Best Roommate 4Ever!

brownbeansLeave a comment

My roommate told me to write a blog post about her and our friendship. I love my roommate so much; we’ve been friends since sophomore year and roommates since junior year. I like how we have similar tastes in food and humor. The nights we don’t spend sleeping for 12 hours straight, we sing karaoke, gossip, and eat chocolate. She’s so funny even when shes not trying. Every time I talk to her, I feel myself light up and enjoy the world around me.

I enjoy our after-dinner chats. We enjoy sitting in front of the music room after dinner, listening to anyone playing music while discussing life. We bounce around from college to weekend plans to our ideal types. Those chats are things I’ll remember for a long time.

I hope we stay friends for a long, long time. She says she’s the nicest, cutiest, baddiest goddess in the whole world.

Credit: Pinterest

Forgotten Holidays

candystealer76Leave a comment

When I think of holidays, I mostly think of more major holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Halloween, but I don’t bring any attention to underground holidays. I would consider underground holidays to be Groundhog Day on February 2nd, St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, and even Easter on April 5th, even though I celebrate. I think that the more popular holidays are automatically brought to mind because they are most people’s favorites and are mostly talked about on social media. A favorite underground holiday of mine is Cinco de Mayo because even though I don’t celebrate, in Spanish class, we usually do an activity that’s not academic. I think the major holidays are so major because they come with seasons and usually have people excited leading up to them. Once the holidays are over, everyone I’ve talked to feels like they already miss the excitement of an upcoming holiday, and the actual holiday is going by so fast. Sometimes I believe that the excitement for an upcoming holiday is better than the actual holiday itself because you never know what to expect, especially on Christmas. There are also some holidays that I personally have never heard of, like World Sword Swallowers Day, which honors professionals who can swallow swords and the few people who still practice it. I don’t even know where you would have to begin to learn how to swallow a sword, but I guess it shows that some holidays are so sneaky we didn’t even know to celebrate them.

“Sword png sticker, weapon vintage“/ CC0 1.0

Trial Run

zombiegxrlLeave a comment

Two weeks ago, I was amongst many students who dragged themselves back onto campus to finish the gruelling second semester of the school year. During the annual three weeks of break, I usually forget about school completely, but this year was different. I realized that in a few months, this time away would soon be permanent. With graduation right around the corner, I finally took some time to consider what I’ve enjoyed about OVS. After complaining about sports practice for the better part of high school, I found myself missing it. I craved exercise, movement, and activity. Although the gym is always an option in the future, I’ll miss the team I’ve been gifted with. The first thing I missed going into break was the cafeteria’s crushed ice. Having become a staple in my daily routine, I found it disappointing to drink lukewarm water or water with big chunks of ice. Speaking of the cafeteria, I also missed the routine fresh and healthy lunches. I went from Cesar wraps, burritos, and baked potatoes, to a snack here and there. Although I’m ready to leave OVS behind and start a new chapter, I hope that these are the memories I will hold onto looking back.

PC-Google