Author: leapingwater

Random thoughts

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I remember when I was little my dad said to me, “Isn’t it funny how there are all of these people here, and we know nothing about them?”

It’s obvious, I know, but it always comes to my mind whenever I am in an airport, sitting and waiting at my terminal, people-watching. Not specifically airports, but really any crowded place. There are so many others around, and none of their faces I have ever seen before. I do not know their story, or their names, where they are going, or why. Are they traveling to see their family? Are they on a work trip? There is an extremely low chance of me ever seeing them again. It really goes to show how insignificant we are as humans (I know this sounds intense). We are so small in a world so big. Everyone has their own individual stories and future paths. Maybe the person we sit next to on the bus could be having the best day of their life, and maybe the person we were in the elevator with was having the worst day of their life. The thing is, we can’t ever know at first glance.

pc:https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/passenger-malaysia-airport-600nw-210042967.jpg

England

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I haven’t been back to England in about a year and a half. I usually go every year, and for this years summer I plan to hopefully go back! England is such a beautiful place, and I have always loved it so much. From busy London with it’s beautiful architecture, to the quiet countryside, it is truly lovely every time I go. Aside from my dad, mum, and brother, the entire rest of my family lives in or around Europe, especially England. When I visit, I usually go in June, July, and the beginning of August. At the time when I arrive, for the first few weeks my cousins are still in school. I really enjoy this time, though, because each morning I go and spend the day with my grandma and granddad at their house in the more of a city part of England. I always catch up with my grandma while my grandad spends hours tending to his garden, whilst I eat all of the delicious pastries and food that she always makes. After spending a few weeks in north-central England, I take the train down to west sussex to visit my grandfather on my dads side, in the countryside. He originally moved to this house when my dad was a little boy, and it was constructed in 1709. It’s a beautiful home, with a little vegetable garden, pool, and lots of space to run around in the grass, which I did a lot when I was younger with my older brother. I’m really looking forward to going back again this summer.

pc: me

Another break

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I just arrived back at school from break, but this time it feels a little bit harder to be back and away from my home and parents. My best friend came home with me this break, and we ate a lot of good food, once again! We had all sorts of things from pastries to ganjang gejang to shabu shabu, which my friend made for my family. It was also my dads fifty sixth birthday which we celebrated by baking him a cake, which was a strawberry cheesecake with a clear gelatin topping which was delicious and cute. I wasn’t actually able to be with my dad on the day of his birthday as he was out of town, but I’m happy we got to celebrate before that. Overall this break was very relaxing, and it’s time for me to look forward to the next one!

pc: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Korean_seafood-Ganjang_gejang-01.jpg

History of Los Angeles

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I recently came across this instagram account, which takes out pictures from old archives, specifically of Los Angeles (@ forgottenmadness_la). They pin down the exact location of where it was taken and often colorize them. These pictures come mostly from the early 1900s. They are particularly interesting to me because I grew up in Los Angeles, so to see how much the city has changed is really incredible. It looked like a completely different place (obviously), but its so crazy when I can actually recognize a building or where something was taken. In one video they posted you can even see the old apartment I used to live in. In general, the entire account is a great example of how much electronics and new technology have changed society.

pc:https://www.instagram.com/p/C2qVXN4v0cb/

Paths

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This is kind of silly, but do you ever think of the chances of something happening? Like, you coming across this blog post. Even if you are from my school, or in my journalism class, think about how rare that is. In this entire world of eight billion people, here I am, writing about something insignificant, and you are reading it. I think about this with friendships, too. For example, my roommate is from Japan, and I was born in America. The chances of us ever meeting were slim. What if she never went to school in America? What if I had stayed at a day school in Los Angeles? There are so many little daily decisions that you make, even subconsciously, that technically change the entire trajectory of your life. It’s weird to think about.

pc:https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/03/68/23/16/360_F_368231646_kbSRNKJN49KSB5b9DcbcfpJ3o7g4BuXm.jpg

My friend! :’)

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I am so lucky to have so many lovely and incredible people in my life, but my best friend is one who is very special to me. Without her I don’t know who I would be. I cannot imagine my life without her. We have made so many memories that I’m sure I will remember for the rest of my life. I’ve actually only known her for three years, but I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. I can’t wait to see what her future holds for her and I know she will be successful in any area of her life, and I can only hope for endless happiness for her because that is exactly what she deserves. She is such a kind hearted person, and I am so happy that I can call her my best friend.

pc: https://i.pinimg.com/474x/fb/b0/92/fbb092a7d4c6ef639fddb82d684a9bf2.jpg

Self-Driving Cars

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Advancements in technology are terrifying sometimes. Over the holiday break, my brother and I were shopping for Christmas presents when our mum told us that her friend was going to pick us up. What we didn’t know was that he ordered a self- driving car. I had never seen one of these in real life, but once the car started moving I actually felt scared. What if it had like a malfunction and didn’t stop for other cars or something??? My brother wasn’t scared by it whatsoever. As the car was driving us, people were staring, and were just as confused as I was. I’m very glad that we got to our destination quickly, but it was also cool to experience this.

pc:https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screen-Shot-2020-03-05-at-3.56.40-PM.jpg

Waiting

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It is a very human thing for us to always be waiting for something to happen, or to be better. For example, if there is New Years Day coming up, people tend to say that they will change their habits, and become an entirely “new” person, but only once the year starts. We hold off on using that special perfume we were gifted, or wearing that outfit that we are saving for the “right” event. We wait our entire weeks for the days of work or school to end so that we can have those two days of freedom. We repeat this cycle over and over again of waiting for the satisfaction of the next “big thing” because that is what keeps many of us going. Sometimes this is just naturally something that can help motivate us, but there is a line drawn when it consumes your daily life to the point that you are hoping and wishing for a day to end. It is difficult, but its good to remind yourself that you must appreciate every day that you are living even if you are doing something simple. Waiting for the next great thing to celebrate might never come, so celebrate the things that you have in your life in the present moment.

pc:https://t3.ftcdn.net/jpg/02/77/41/26/360_F_277412640_WVE1FmtHzgIiVCMTrTkvZC13dNzLD04Z.jpg

Positives of this year

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It is absolutely unbelievable, but this year is almost over. I am writing this 30 minutes away from November 30th, and I still feel like November just started. So many amazing things have happened this year that I will never forget. I have been able to be roommates with my best friend for a second year now, which has brought so much happiness to my life. I am so thankful for everything she does for me, as well as her loving heart, sense of humor, and our constant singing together everywhere we go with songs that will not get out of our head. I am surrounded by so many beautiful friends, and I have continued to make new ones as well in this past year. I have gone on very memorable camping trips. Even though I really was thinking the entire time how much I would love to take a shower right in that moment, looking back I am really happy I had gone and made memories, and met new people. I am thankful that I have such an amazing family, and that they are in great health. I had a really fun sixteenth birthday with my family and friends from inside and outside of school, where we all decorated cakes (which didn’t all turn out looking so good…) I traveled to Japan for the first time with my best friend. I passed my permit test! I went to a concert with my friend which was really fun! I’ve had a really amazing year, and I can’t believe that just in a month, it will be a new one.

pc:me

Top Trader Joes Items

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Almost everything from Trader Joes is scrumptious to me. Through this blog, and after looking up the products I have come to find that they have removed some of their best items. Anyways, it has been my favorite supermarket for my entire life, so I would like to share with you my all time favorites. These are not in any particular order. I also had to cut out quite a few because there are too many.

1.PB & J Bars

These unfortunately are the ones that I cannot find online, so I suspect that they have been removed. I remember eating these all the time in middle school and elementary school. I was able to finish a whole box of these in on sitting. They are so scrumptious.

pc:https://ovsjournalists.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/ce00c-pbandj2bbars-2.jpg

2. (PREVIOUS) Mini Chicken Tacos

I cannot explain enough how much these were my favorites. I had been eating these forever. I miss them so much. One day, I think a couple of years ago, I went to Trader Joes, and found that they had remade the mini chicken tacos. Bring the old ones back please.

pc:https://www.becomebetty.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/wp-1480194333365.jpg

3. Dark Chocolate Covered Pineapple Gummies

These are actually a very recent discovery for me. I learned about them this summer when my friend Rory and I were dragged in by a Trader Joes salesperson. We tried them and we looked at each other and realized we had to buy them. We were victims of their marketing. I want more. I just looked them up… they have also been removed from Trader Joes, I am not happy. Rory just told me she thinks they are summer limited edition which makes sense actually.

pc:https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/B6cAAOSw~TtlDwA0/s-l1200.webp

4. Mushroom and black truffle flatbread

My dad actually bought this for me for the first time after online school during covid for lunch. I highly recommend.

5. Vegan Vanilla Cookie and Creme Bonbons

My mum showed these to me when I asked her to get some ice cream on our way back from school, and she told me that we had dessert at home. I’m so thankful that I tried these. I’m not even vegan but I would choose these over the non vegan ones any day. 1200/10.

pc:https://www.traderjoes.com/content/dam/trjo/products/m20604/68059.png/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1280.1280