Day: November 21, 2025

5:34 A.M.

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The time is currently 5:34 a.m., and the temperature is sitting at a chilling 48 degrees. Unfortunately, I had to scramble my things together at the ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m. and step out into the biting cold to meet my driver. That said, I couldn’t be more excited to be heading home. Home, a place where the temperature still settles in the 70s and the ocean beckons with its warmth.

The flight isn’t terribly long, which gives me some downtime to work on my UC application. The PIQs don’t exactly fill themselves out, despite my hopeful expectation that they would. To speak plainly, I fear them. No, seriously, I am scared. It even makes me recoil to write the word “concrete.” I mean, I hate concrete. It is gray, dull, and brittle. Who wants to read about that?

Pulling myself back from that tangent, I am very grateful to have a week off from school, a rare chance to really focus on my college applications without the pressure of other deadlines. Hopefully, this week won’t shrink down to just two days, like most enjoyable weeks seem to do. Funny enough, the weeks that are grueling love to drag on, while the pleasant weeks fly by in a blink. I guess we will see.

PC: google

Thanksgiving Break

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It is the last day before Thanksgiving break starts, and I have been looking forward to it more than anything. The weather has finally turned cold, and it has been raining all week. This really makes it feel like fall, which makes me very happy. My sister will come home from college, and I can’t wait to see her. Being apart from my sister, who is only two years older than I, is very upsetting. She is like my best friend, and so I really enjoy it when she comes home. It’s weird going from seeing each other every day to only seeing each other on breaks. I got my first college acceptance letter, and I feel a tiny bit of weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that I can at least go to college. This year has been the quickest year of my life, and I feel like I’m not soaking it in enough. Senior year is supposed to be this crazy, exciting year, but it has felt like it’s gone by in literally a day.

PC: Google

Progression or Regression: Overreliance of Digitization

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Within the last ten years, humanity has made significant innovations in technological advancements. It has been proven to be undoubtedly useful in making certain actions efficient or accessible in both casual and professional settings. However, I feel as though society is diverging from technological implementations that serve to truly “assist ” us as users and now exist to either replace us or exploit us.

Some restaurants now require a digital menu where customers order directly from their devices, without the need for any direct human interaction. Cars and home appliances are increasing their reliance on digital technology, such as the tablets built into cars, or phone apps that remotely control refrigerators or air conditioners. While these products seem to be designed for streamlining, being advertised as the newest and most advanced innovations of today, they are more often than not accompanied by a subscription fee or other service demand that serves as the sole crux of the product’s capacity to function. Businesses intentionally configure their products to maximize profit over functionality, resulting in more things we depend on in our daily lives being susceptible to failure if the power were to go out, if there is no service, or if a subscription isn’t paid.

7 Benefits of Smart Home Appliances | Spencer's TV & Appliance | Phoenix, AZ

Picture Credit: Google

Californians in rain

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Usually, when it rains in California, everyone wears hoodies, jeans, leggings, or tennis shoes. Almost no one wears rain jackets, rain boots, or umbrellas because we’re so used to constant sun and dryness. In other states like Hawaii, Florida, and Louisiana, rainfall happens more often, so they know what to do; instead of Californians, who have no idea how to deal with rain. In other states that get more rain, people think it’s normal to just take a walk in the rain without noticing or being bothered. When people from California find out it’s raining, it turns to war, school gets canceled, everyone stays inside, and the heater is turned on. California only gets a couple of rainy days out of the year, so for the short time we spend suffering when we’re also remembering that the rain can be helpful in some cases. The rain can be nice when indoors because we can be warm and have free rain noise to fall asleep to.

“Raining Raindrops” by Pete Nowicki/ CC0 1.0

Jay and Me

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I love the rain. I love chilling at my house. I love my best friend Jay. Combine the three? Perfection.

This rainy weekend, which left me stuck inside alongside my best friend, was amazing. We ate like kings, played numerous Fortnite matches, and watched hours of Family Guy. On Saturday night, we went out to dinner together at Soule Park Golf Course, and Jay was granted permission to drive my mother’s Audi to the golf course. It was an immaculate vibe combined with Drizzy’s vocals and the rain at night, a time was had.

The next morning had that delicious after-rain smell in the streets as we walked ourselves to Bonnie Lu’s for some breakfast. I tried something new for the first time at Bonnie Lu’s, and it paid off as the taste factor was through the roof in my mouth. Perfection on Ojai Ave is Bonnie Lu’s.

After that, we pretty much did the same thing for the rest of the day, played some fort, watched Family Guy, played a bunch of Clash too, and lay in bed. While that might seem boring to most, I enjoyed it because Jay was with me the whole time.

pc: google

Giving Thanks

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In around 4 days (by the time I’m writing this), Thanksgiving will be here. Known for its turkey, family, and the unison of the pilgrims and the natives (oof, wish it went down like that), it’s a good season overall.

There are a lot of people to thank this season. Here are the people and things I’m grateful for:

  • My younger brother, William. You’re honestly one of the funniest 8-year-olds I’ve ever met. You always look up to me, and I try to be a good role model for you, even if I might not seem like the best influence of an older brother. Playing video games and watching TV shows, you will forever be the best person to do that with.
  • My mom and my dad, for supporting me no matter what, even if you don’t necessarily understand me. I know you’ll love me no matter what, and even through tough times and difficult decisions, I’ll still love you. Whether it be on the boat, at a concert, or in another country together, I will love you guys for supporting me and loving me.
  • My girlfriend, Evelyn. In 6 days, it will mark our 8 months together. I’m grateful that you will understand me and love me no matter what I do, and listen to me and my interests for hours on end. I love making gifts for you and going on dates, showing you pictures of my dog, laughing with you, and sitting in silence. Looking forward to the future with you.
  • My dogs, past and present. Hobson, Emma, Rincon, Pidus, Mondo, and my puppy, Snoop. I wish that you could understand me and how much I love you and how you were always there for me. Hobson, I’m gonna miss your grave when I move out. Snoop, you might be a piece of crap sometimes, and taking my socks out of my room, but you’ll always be amazing even when I move out of the house for college. Emma, Rincon, Pidus, and Mondo, I know that you guys are working dogs, but you’re very special in my heart.
  • Music, in general. Music was always there, helping me go through the toughest times of my life, and helping illustrate and make everything have a story.
  • All my friends who don’t go to OVS. Even if we might not see each other that often, you guys will always be in my heart, and if you need me, I’m always open.
  • All my friends who go to OVS. I can always rely on you guys for anything, whether listening to random crap that happens in my life, hanging out with each other every other weekend during breaks, or messing around for fun.
  • Cartoon Network, for shaping my childhood.
  • Mr. Alvarez, for helping me discover my love of writing and expressing myself through words, and for Humanities, a class that sparked my interest in philosophy and changed my life.
  • And last but not least, my struggles. My struggles made me realize that I’m gonna make it further than I would’ve ever gotten, motivating me to become better than I am now.

I’m just overall grateful for everything that’s happened to me leading to this moment, both the good and the bad. I’m happy that currently I have a roof over my head and a full stomach every night.

P.C, – Pinterest

Girls Soccer

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The girls’ soccer season just started, but I was told that I’m not allowed to play in the first game because of my club team, which doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, because all of my club teammates are allowed to play scrimmages with their high school team, and I’m not. If this tournament weren’t such a big deal, I wouldn’t play in it, but this tournament will be the first time my team plays as NPL, and my team needs every player they can get this weekend. Hopefully, the OVS girls’ team will be ok without me, but they might not do so well. But it is their first game, and no matter who they have, it always tends to be bad. I also hope that Paloma comes back soon because I feel like people listen to her the most, and I have a hard time getting my teammates to listen to Mrs. Carver and me when we’re doing a drill. 

PC=pintrest

Juno – Movie

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This movie was the first to ever make me cry. It is a coming-of-age comedy-drama (woah, mouthful) about Juno, and planning her unplanned pregnancy while also going through life and school that comes along with it. I find myself reflecting on the movie, from its soundtrack to its storytelling, it’s overall just an amazing movie.

The movie’s humor reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite, which is also an amazing movie, if you haven’t watched it, with a mixture of Superbad, which is also an amazing movie, if you haven’t watched it. It’s just so dry, yet also so well done, and it looks like it had the budget of a McDonald’s Happy Meal, but it’s amazing.

Now, I’ve seen a lot of movies, but this one is definitely one of my favorites. Sure, the description I said above sounds like a show you would watch on Netflix whenever you really don’t want to, but you have finished your favorite series, and it’s amazing.

P.C. – Pinterest

18th Birthday Thoughts

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As my 18th birthday inches closer and closer, the reality of becoming an “adult” is starting to creep in. My birthday is on the 19th of November. As I am writing this blog, it is just two days away! Just like any other girl, growing older is scary. Everyone says you should enjoy your youth while you still have it, but how am I supposed to enjoy it when it seems like the whole world is praying for my downfall? As a girl, youth is prioritized; no girl wants to think about themselves as old. Being a teenage girl is the best thing ever.

The more I think about it, the more useless it is to worry about age. It is what makes us human. I would like to say I’m not scared of getting older. But that would be lying. I’m so scared. Especially with the world my generation is inheriting. I find it hard to believe that a girl like me can succeed in such a world. It seems like something is going wrong every day, and that we are regressing. It is a scary world out there, and I don’t know if I’m up to the task.

Yet, I try to have hope for the future, even if each year added to my age seems like another year closer to impending doom. I’m trying to see aging as a beautiful thing. With age comes new experiences and new wisdom. My grandma is one of the beautiful women I know, and that is partly because of her vast wisdom. I wish I could be as graceful and beautiful as she is. The world is a dark and dangerous place for a girl like me. The only thing I can do is stay determined and remain focused on my goals. While not forgetting to cultivate my friendships and cherish the people I love.

credit: Pinterest

Finals

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Finals are coming up right around the corner, and I am more stressed than ever. I already feel unprepared, even though we still have 3 more weeks, including break. I don’t understand why humans are required to put in so much work to academics when, in the end, we all die. Obviously, the skill of being knowledgeable in life is important, but why does it have to drag to this level? There are some finals I am confident about, while others I have no idea how I am even going to start reviewing the material. The fact that we put everything we’ve learning in a semester in one test is crazy. But to be honest, I always stress as much as I can about it and end up doing fine. It’s just the concept of studying for every single class. I’m just going to accept my fate and pray that I do well. Test-taking isn’t my strongest quality, but I know I am capable, and if I can do it as a freshman, I can for sure do it as a sophomore.

“School desk are arranged exam“/ CC0 1.0