Author: Blondebundles67

Skin

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Ever since I was a little kid I have struggled with skin issues. My skin is extremely sensitive, I am allergic to things such as fragrance, parabens, and a lot more ingredients that I can’t even pronounce. I can’t wear perfume, I have to double check ingredients lists, I need ultra sensitive laundry detergent. Living in a sensitivity bubble has affected how I live my day to day life. I live in fear of waking up with a rash on my face. I have lived this reality too many times, waking up with a dry, red, painful allergic reaction, not knowing what caused it. Not only is my skin sensitive but I have also struggled with acne since 6th grade. Multiple trips to the dermatologists office with no end in sight. The options I was given, eating healthier, going on accutane or starting tretinoin. I already eat a balanced diet. Accutane has side effects that will follow you throughout life; back pain, dry skin to the point where your skin cracks, liver failure and a plethora of other issues. Tretinoin makes your face extremely sensitive to the sun and causes your face to be extremely dry. The options that I were given would not help me and so it only got worse. Throughout middle school and into high school my skin was my biggest insecurity. I have learned to love my skin for how it looks, I do have my off days where I am more insecure but I refuse to let something I cannot change impact me for the rest of my life.

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And They Were Roomates

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Laura and I were roommates from Freshman year to Junior year. I decided for my Senior year that I wanted to live at home so that meant that our 3 years of living together were coming to an end. Sleepless nights that we spent laughing, playing kiss, marry, kill and eating late night snacks. We became so close that we did what most siblings do, we fought and we fought a lot, mostly over small things. These fights never had evil intent, if anything it brought us closer together. Living with someone creates a different kind of friendship. A friendship where you have to master the art of communication. I am so happy that at the end of a long day I could come back to my room and we could talk about every moment of our day and decompress. I was truly blessed being randomly assigned to be roommates with Laura my freshman year, it was kismet and now I can’t imagine going through high school without her.

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College Applications

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PIQs, activity lists, FAFSA and a million other things. Writing and rewriting personal essays. On top of all this I have to keep up with my current classes, 3 AP courses, cross country practice, roller derby practice, work and finding time to spend with my family and friends. The time where I have nothing to do I spend stressing, stressing about the future, stressing about school or friendships. I underestimated the stress that senior year brings.

All this stress in hopes of going to my dream college, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The location, the weather, the campus it is all perfect except for the acceptance rate, around 27% and depending on the major it dips even lower.

I have my ways of rewarding myself for my hard work. I love treating myself to Starbucks or an açaí bowl. I still somehow find time to doom scroll on Instagram as I decompress from my day.

I am excited for what the future holds for me, but I am also terrified.

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Second Hand Shopping

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I started thrifting a lot when I got my drivers license because I could go whenever I wanted. Now more recently I go more because I have a job and access to more money. Around 5 months old ago I found out about a large flea market in Thousand Oaks called the Jack and Jill Flea Market. The first thing you see when you drive into the Thousand Oaks Mall parking lot is about 100 pop up shade covers. Beneath those covers are hundreds of clothing items from shirts to shoes, bags, skirts, dresses and accesories. The clothes at The Jack and Jill Flea are more expensive than regular estate store items because they are curated clothes. The clothes are carefully picked and sourced rather than being old clothes from someone’s house. I also like to shop on Depop which is an online site for selling clothes. Words like “Vintage” and “Y2K” are used as tags in posts as buzz words to attract attention. Reselling clothes has become a popular form of making money. Many teenagers rely on places like the Goodwill bins to source vintage clothes that they can sell for 30x the amount they bought it for. Second hand shopping has become very popular for Gen Z, I can speak from personal experience. People are beginning to realize the implications of buying first hand such as pollution, the fast fashion crisis, child labor and much more. Shopping second hand is the best, cheapest and most sustainable way to shop.

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Halloween

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As a kid, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. I got to dress up, eat candy, and stay up past my bedtime. Halloween means something different to me now. I don’t go trick-or-treating. I still dress up, but the magic of the night is gone. When you’re a kid, the world is a magical place. Almost everything is bigger than you, and there is so much beauty to see. Now that I am 17, I don’t fantasize about Halloween like I used to. This year, all I am doing for Halloween is watching scary movies at my house while I eat popcorn and candy, which I bought at the store. I’m bringing a little more whimsy into my life by dressing up as a ladybug. Ladybugs are the epitome of whimsy to me. They are beautiful, free creatures. Although Halloween will never be like it was when I was little, I am still going to try my best to make it fun.

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The Cornell 57

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I fail to see change and accountability in the scary world I live in. I remember the day when I first saw an Instagram post about The Cornell 7; safe to say I was disgusted but not surprised. As the day went on my whole feed was flooded with posts about what happened to Jane Doe in October of 2024, I saw people arguing for justice and supporting the 7 fraternity members. I have heard people say things like “It was the hormones,” “they haven’t been charged with anything so why are we ruining their reputation,” “they are wrongfully accused.” Again I am not surprised. What makes me lack hope in humanity is the fact that there were 57 boys, and I call them boys because they are not men, in that group-chat. Not a single one spoke up. Cornell failed Jane Doe. The punishment for the 7 men who are accused of assaulting and took advantage of Jane Doe was to write an essay. An essay! Cornell swept the situation under the rug in hopes the public would not find out the fact that they failed to protect their students. Who knows how many more instances have been covered up to protect their identities of disgusting men who do not know how to control themselves around women. I hope that whichever college I choose to go to works hard to ensure that women feel safe on campus. Women had to fight for their education and the right to go to college. Now we have to fight for our safety. What will we have to fight for next?

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The Summer I Worked All The Time

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This past summer, I turned in my resume to over 10 businesses. I only got one call back. I knew that getting a job would be hard, but I never thought that it would be nearly impossible. When I got the call from the manager at Skating Plus that he wanted to interview me, I was over the moon. After my interview, I was sure that I would get the job. I already had 4 friends working at Skating Plus, so they could put in a good word for me. The day I got the call, I was in Ralph’s shopping for pickles. The moment I heard “we would like to hire you”, I jumped up and down, holding my jar of pickles. Still on the phone with the manager who had just hired me, I walked around the store continuing our conversation. The second the phone hung up, I called my best friend and roommate, Chelsea, who worked at Skating Plus, and told her I got the job. A week later, Chelsea was the one training me for my very first shift. I picked things up quickly and soon became friends with my new coworkers. I made over $3,000 that summer from working. I would work mornings, nights, and doubles. My first paycheck, I went on a shopping spree, because I had earned it. I am still working at Skating Plus, trying to balance running cross country, going to school, doing homework, and spending time with my family and friends.

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