Sunday Scaries

Sundays have this very specific, heavy energy that hits around 5:00 PM. The weekend isn’t technically over yet, but it feels like it is. Even if the day was good, the thought of Monday morning starts taking over. It isn’t always about having a test or homework due the following day, sometimes it’s just the dread of knowing the routine is starting all over again. It’s the part of the night when all I want to do is relax, but instead, I’m procrastinating on the one last thing I have to do while scrolling on my phone.

There is comfort knowing that almost everyone else is probably doing the exact same thing. We’re all just trying to stretch out the last few hours of the night as much as possible. Instead of being prepared for the week, sometimes all I can do is go to bed and make it tomorrow’s problem. By the time I’m finally ready for sleep, I usually just give up on trying to convince myself that the night is still young and that the weekend is over. I used to try to fight it and stay up as late as possible, but now I’m starting to realize that the more I dread Monday, the worse it actually feels.

Half of my Sunday is spent just waiting for Monday to happen, and it’s such a waste of a day. Most of the time, the week isn’t even as bad as I imagined it would be on Sunday. Even though Friday and Sunday are both on the weekend, I feel totally different on both days. On Friday, I feel like I have all the time in the world, and I’ll never feel stressed again. When it reaches Sunday, I always regret not just getting all of my work done during all the free time I had on Saturday.

What can cause Sunday scaries — and what to do about it | SBS News

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A Sad Day For OVS Baseball

The OVS baseball season started yesterday with a game against another local team, Vilanova. Vilanova is historically horrible at baseball, and that trend continues this year. The difference this year is that the OVS baseball team has taken many hits in its lineup and now consists of a forced-together team that does not play baseball. We were embarrassed by Vilanova after we lost 1-0, with 1 hit the entire game. Coach Pankratz was not pleased to say the least, and feels that the team simply isn’t trying in practice, and it reflects in the way we play. I think the problem is simply the lack of experience and not that we are not trying. What went wrong in the game did not relate to effort and were simple errors from never having played before. Fumbled ground balls were still blocked, which takes an effort. What I could take away from this game was not that we didn’t try hard enough, but that we have not played enough. I do feel that coach Pankratz was too hard on the team and that punishing us in practice is not an ideal way to address this loss. Rather than taking out our frustration on the new team and new players, we should be constructive in practice and really get down to the fundamentals of baseball.

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Game cancelled

I came to school excited, first game of the season, baseball finally here, it was time. But rain decided otherwise, many days hoping it would stop, the rain kept coming, running poles in the rain with coach Hank, and getting 4 new players to brighten our spirits. None of this mattered because the game got cancelled, and then it was a break; we were cutting cold turkey because there was nothing to do. It was a break next week, and we have no practice. Hank said we need to go watch “game film” in the seminar room. So I’m sooooo excited to do that with him. We might just play that stupid tennis ball off the wall game we did last time, which was immensely boring. It made my arm hurt. All in all, I’m very excited to play baseball this year and share the field with everyone. We move like a pack of brothers, like a pack of wolves out on that diamond, I’m telling everyone when we’re coming, cause we come HARD.

pc: Avery Colborn – On The Hill

Ojai Odaiko

On Tuesday, the school was given the pleasure of going to Lower Campuses GAC to watch an hour’s worth of beautifully played drums by Gavino and the Ojai Odaiko.

I didn’t know what to think of it at first because I saw them once when I was younger, and they were all uncoordinated, and I wasn’t impressed. But yesterday the sound those recycled wine barrels made shook my heart and elevated me on the Lunar New Year. 

When Gavino would scream and repeatedly hit those drums with all his strength, I couldn’t help but smile and sit up in my seat. As good as Gavino was, my favorite was this tiny lady who played the gong. Man, do I love hearing that gong go gong. It just brightens my day up. It’s the best instrument ever created. 

All in all, my experience of being provided a listening to the great Ojai Odaiko changed my life forever, I fell in love, it was love at first listen for sure.

Also, when they were finished, I stood up to give them a standing ovation, but no one stood with me, so it was embarrassing, but I don’t care.

I love Ojai Odaiko!

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Bye Bye Rams

Today, I bear bad news: the Los Angeles Rams have lost the NFC Championship to the Seattle Seahawks.

It was a heartbreaking loss as in the final seconds, the MVP frontrunner Rams quarterback Matt Stafford threw a beautiful ball to OPOY candidate Puka Nacua, and as he slid out of bounds to give the Rams one second left of play. But as his majestic, beautiful Gazelle-like body landed with the ball, the refs deemed Puka out of bounds, making the Rams lose the NFC championship. 

It was a very sad moment, and now Davante Adams, who had a beautiful first year in LA, is 0-6 in the NFC Championship.

I believe that Stafford has another year in him, and with our young defense and promising offense, we can make another push for the conference title and hopefully Super Bowl 61.

With the Rams facing devastating defeat in the playoffs again, I think there is no shot for the Patriots to overtake the Seahawks in Levi’s Stadium.

I guess there is only one way to find out, and that is to wait and see, poor Rams, but there is always next year!

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Instagram

Lately, I’ve noticed how much Instagram and social media are part of everyday life at school. Many of my friends are trying to build their pages and grow their followings. They spend a lot of time choosing the right photos, editing them, and posting at certain times.

It’s interesting to watch because it almost feels like everyone is learning how social media works. At the same time, they’re still in high school. Some people post reels, follow trends, and even help each other by liking and sharing posts to boost engagement. A few of my friends even talk about becoming influencers someday.

At the same time, social media can change how people see things. Sometimes it feels like people care a lot about how moments look online, not just how they actually are. Instagram isn’t just an app anymore; it’s become a big part of how people connect and present their lives. Especially when it comes to college. That is everybody’s first impression of you and who you are.

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Acceptance and Rejection

With the month of March comes college acceptance/rejection decisions. I’ve always said to myself and others that the rejections won’t affect me because I’ll make the best of wherever I end up. This positive outlook has changed a bit since then. I got my first true rejection last week. Not a deferment, and not a waitlist. A true, solid rejection. UC Davis apologized for not being able to offer me admission because of their large and competitive applicant pool. Since I first toured the campus of UC Davis I’ve been preaching that it just isn’t the place for me. Cow country, surrounded by the relentlessly hot and barren central California, just isn’t my top choice for the next four years of my life. Besides, I already got into UC Santa Cruz where I’d love to attend because of the beautiful campus and its equally gorgeous surroundings. Despite all this, I still felt the heavy weight of disappointment when I read the first sentence of my rejection letter. Although I didn’t want to go, I still wanted to be accepted. I wanted the validation that my hard work throughout high school was enough to get me into Davis. Sadly, this validation wouldn’t be fulfilled by Davis, and won’t be fulfilled by many other colleges as rejections continue to roll in. I’m glad I received my first rejection from a school I didn’t have my heart set on, because then my disappointment might’ve swallowed me whole. I guess I’ve learned that I’ll need to provide my own validation now, because the world is too tough to cushion every landing.

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Changes

Do you ever look back at old memories and actually see how much you’ve changed? While we are living in the moment, we don’t notice the changes happening. Slowly, our hair grows out, our friends come and go, and we are completely different people.

As I was making my (very beautiful) senior page, I was going through memories I had forgotten about. I saw old friends, some I wish were still in my life, others I wish I had dropped sooner. But they were all learning experiences that helped me grow into who I am now.

I found pictures of my middle school friend and me. We moved to different high schools but were still close in our freshman year. At one point, she was my whole world. But the distance grew between us, and we slowly drifted apart. I think I blocked her on social media.

Some things never change, though. My best friend, my weird hair, my love for cute water bottles, and my fondness for my friends. I can’t wait to go to college and change up my environment again. I’ll miss this boring, predictable school.

credit: Pinterest

College pt. 5 mil

Going to college genuinely terrifies me, not like it terrifies everyone else. When I think of college, a huge drop happens in my stomach. Don’t get me wrong Im excited, I have a Pinterest for my dorm room and stuff. However, I don’t do well with change, and I think that’s something I need to work on with myself. I have a system of how things are now, where I’m surrounded by everyone I love, and they are just a few steps away. When I go to college, that will be different. I’m worried about how well I can live without my mom, and I know this sounds childish, but she has been my person through everything that I have gone through. I’m scared to be away from her, because this is a new chapter in my life where I won’t have her around as much anymore, and that brings tears to my eyes as I write this. Also, I think that I’m overthinking this way too much. But at the same time, I’m scared, and I’m sad. I think about this so often, but I also understand that I’m getting ahead of myself a bit. I spiral and think about how life is so short, and then we die, and that’s just it. (unless you believe in heaven and hell, which I don’t) So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m nervous, scared, excited, and sad to see and start this new chapter of my life.

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Miami Vs LAFC

This saturday im going to a Miami vs LAFC, which has some of my favorite soccer players like Messi and Son. One of my biggest dreams has been to see Messi play, and I finally get to do so this Saturday. I’m going with my siblings, who also love soccer, but they definitely do not as much as I do. This might be my only chance to see him play soccer because he might be retiring soon, and i dont have enough money to go to the World Cup, which he is playing in, in the summer. He’s always been one of my idols, and I can’t wait to see him and his teammates finally play. I really hope they beat LAFC because I’m a LA Galaxy fan and they’re really big rivals. I’m so surprised my dad was able to get tickets because by this time, they usually sold out. I’m really excited, and I can’t wait to see the best soccer player in the world play. 

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