Category: animals

riding

shallahan#1moochLeave a comment

I have been riding since I was basically 2 years old. My first show was with OVS around 4th grade, I’m guessing. It was at Canada Larga on Jackie. She bucked me off like 2 times before it was my turn. I went into the ring nervous I would forget my course, and I almost did. In the end I completed it successfully. After the next few people took their turns the results were decided… I scoured 4th. I of course would have prefered a higher score but I was still pretty happy with that. Last year I went to Nationals for IEA in North Carolina. I flew all the way there for one ride. I placed 4th. I was very happy with that because I never even thought I would make it to regionals. When I was riding at regionals in Oregon I wasn’t even nervous because I never thought I would make it, which I think is why I ended up qualifying. Riding has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember and I’m so grateful I’ve gotten the opportunity to do this.

photo credit – https://www.britannica.com/animal/horse

Remember who you are!

leapingwaterLeave a comment

Hello whoever is reading this. You are alive. You are in a body that is working to support you. There is so much here for you to enjoy on this planet. Small things like that smell of cookies coming out of the oven, and big things like your future marriage (wink wink), or not.. if that isn’t your vibe…

You have more hikes to go on, and more sights to see! You have languages to learn, and foods to eat that you have never even tasted before! You have arguments to have and lessons to learn. You have cats to pet and birds to listen to sing outside of your window as you wake up in the morning. You have coffee to enjoy or continue to wait to find out if it really tastes good or not. You have rooms to decorate, and candles to light! You have stories to tell and songs to sing. You have people to tell you love them again and again and for them to say it back. You have hugs to give and adventures to go on. You have silly gifts you need to buy for your friends and photos to take. You have jokes to tell that will make you laugh until your stomach physically aches. You have a world with endless opportunities ahead of you. You just have to reach out and grab them for yourself.

There is so much for you here so don’t go anywhere yet!!! There is so much left to discover! Remember who you are and don’t forget it. You have no idea the effect you have on other peoples lives and all of the days you will continue to brighten.

pc:https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f8/05/b4/f805b4805eddbbdf404e6e4e083b8978.jpg

3 things I am grateful for #4

poofypuffyLeave a comment

I noticed a lot of the things I write about being grateful for are foods. I do not think that is an issue because food is good and often taken for granted, but I am going to try to write about all non-food things today just to diversify things. Although I am eating my greek yogurt right now and it is so good that I started singing about how much I love yogurt.

  1. Graduation. I am very grateful for graduation coming soon, and I am grateful for my education, and also grateful to end one chapter of my life. My cousin has a sign in her room that says something along the lines of “Every beginning starts with an end.” I didn’t get it, and she explained to me that every time something ends, it signifies the beginning of something else. Every time something begins, it came at the cost of something else ending. I liked that a lot, because sometimes I get so excited for the next thing, not realizing it comes at the cost of the first thing ending. To me, it is a reminder to appreciate the things we have when we have them.
  2. Cups. Right now, I am drinking out of a metal cup with nature propaganda on it. I don’t understand what it is talking about but it has REI, North Face, Merrell, Patagonia, and Keen printed on it. I am grateful for it because it is a cute cup. 
  3. Mice. Mice are cute. Today, Rory showed me a poster that had the Mouse Grimace Scale. It is made by people who are trying to reduce animal testing. The poster is supposed be scientific and show different levels of various types of reactions by mice, but the poster looks like it is just a bunch of mouse faces.

Photo Credit: https://www.nc3rs.org.uk/3rs-resources/grimace-scales/grimace-scale-mouse

weeding

poofypuffyLeave a comment

I had field studies today. I hadn’t been on one yet, so I thought I had eluded field studies, but I was wrong. Yesterday, I got an email telling me I had field studies today. I walked down the hill to the creek today, thinking about how silly it is that we replace real classes with field studies. However, we got there and I pulled weeds for the entire time, and I really appreciated it. It was mindless work, but I enjoyed it. I would have enjoyed it more if there were no ants and strange bugs, but I worked around them. I also saw a snail! It was green. So the “wildlife” canceled out I guess, because the ants and weird bugs made it worse, but the green snail and the worms made it better. I was happy to have weeded and gotten my hands dirty instead of having a long block of English, not that English is bad but weeding is better because I really like weeding.

Picture credit: Marina Grynykha

My friend! :’)

leapingwaterLeave a comment

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

Camping trip

graypenguinLeave a comment

I went camping last Wednesday through Friday. I like camping, but not being able to get in the shower is a bit of a pain. I hate feeling like I am dirty all the time. I have a routine before I go camping. I get up two hours before the camp leaves, and first I wash my bedding. While I am waiting for the laundry, I take a shower. I always miss the shower when I know I won’t be able to shower for the next few days.
After the shower, I wash my clothes before drying my hair. Then I get dressed and go.

This is my first visit to Santa Rosa. I had only been to one channel island, so I was very excited because my friends told me that the view from the beach there was exceptional. The morning of the camp was very early, leaving at 6:15 a.m. We went to the harbor early in the morning and spent several hours on the boat to get there.
If I were to describe everything that happened at the camp, this vlog would never end, so I will write about my favorite part of the camp and the hardest part.

My favorite part of the camp was going out at night to take pictures of the stars. The sky was so clear, and the stars looked so clear and beautiful. My friend taught me how to take pictures of the stars, and I feel like we became closer friends. The hardest part of the camp was walking over 13 miles on the second day. It was hard, but I enjoyed talking with my friends and singing with them. I also saw a fox along the way; it was very cute. I also enjoyed napping on the beach with my friends. We also played card games on the boat and on the beach, regardless of where we were. I learned two new card games at this camp.
We also saw whales and dolphins on the boat, both on the way there and on the way back. Those things made us feel like they were inviting us to the island.

pc;me

pc;me

Stanford duck syndrome and another rant about college

poofypuffyLeave a comment

Duck syndrome, first coined by Stanford, is the concept that everyone seems to have everything together, in the way that a duck seems to peacefully glide across the water, but it turns out that we are all struggling and working pretty hard to keep it together in a competitive environment, like the way that under the water the duck is paddling furiously with its little feet. 

When I learned about duck syndrome, I first thought it was pretty cool that there is a “syndrome” named after one of my favorite animals. However, it’s comforting to know that sometimes, even though everyone else seems to have everything together, they could be just as stressed and tired out as I am. 

However, I really hate the way that school is set up, especially college. Everything seems so focused on what is to come instead of the present. That sounds good in a way, but I don’t like certain aspects of it. For example, the way that your entire high school career, or at least the last half of it, is focused less on exploring and growing as a person and more on boosting a resume. With less pressure to fit a certain image of a worthy college applicant, students would have the time and energy to spend on passions and explore new interests, which would lead them to be desirable applicants anyway. Additionally, why are high schoolers expected to “specialize” and have their future figured out? Most seniors are barely legal adults; why are we expected to know exactly what we want to do for the next six decades of our lives?

Picture Credit: Guy Bianco IV

Top 3 Animals

leapingwaterLeave a comment

These are not necessarily in order of which animals I love the most, because they are all amazing.

  1. Giraffe – Giraffes are so silly. When having this conversation the other day with a friend, it was a surprise to them that Giraffes are my favorite animal. They have always been my go to answer to that question for as long as I can remember. My grandma has lived in South Africa for a lot of her lifetime, and every time that she would come back and visit me should would bring me a hand carved wooden giraffe. They started out small but she started to bring even bigger wooden giraffes that literally were a half the size of me. Giraffes look so cute when they run, please go look it up on youtube. Also, what a strange animal, they are kind of like long-necked horse- camels.

pc: https://www.awf.org/sites/default/files/styles/species_hero_d_1440x750_/public/Website_SpeciesPage_Giraffe01_Hero.webp?h=ba6751a8&itok=MPx-Qjkl

2. Capybara – This summer, I got the chance to see two capybaras up close and personal when traveling to Japan. They are a friend of all animals. They are also known to be extremely caring, social, and gentle creatures. Capybaras have gained an insane amount of popularity recently, and are loved by people all over the world. They are the worlds largest rodent, and they can even stay underwater for 5 minutes. Overall, they are amazing creatures that are brilliant to see in real life. I highly recommend going to Moff Animal Cafe in Japan.

pc: Towako Hiramatsu

3. Red Panda– Red Pandas are not actually related to Giant Pandas, but are actually more closely related to the family Mustelidae, which includes otters, wolverines, and weasles. They look like cat-bears. They are adorable and they even sleep in their tail, which they use to warm themselves up. With their sweet faces and lovable personality they are the perfect animal for this list. I hope that one day I can see one in real life again.

pc:https://redpandanetwork.org/get/files/image/galleries/15_facts_header.png?resize=1920×0&crop=1920×1040

I would be a duck

poofypuffyLeave a comment

If I could be any animal, I would be a duck.

First, ducks have small brains. I think it would be nice to just hang out in the water all day thinking about nothing but food. Actually not all day, like your whole life.

Secondly, ducks are cute.

Third: ducks can fly. I think it would be so nice to fly, so just be above everything and look at it from afar. Also, being high up is scary to me, to the point where it’s kind of exciting so I think flying would be cool.

Fourth of all, ducks are all-terrain. They can go in the air, land, or water. I think the water would be the best part, if not the sky. To just float in the cool water for your whole life would be so nice. No college applications. No class, no grades, no tests, no SATs. No worries, no stress, no hurt, no tears, no disgust, no listening to people cry and not being able to do anything about it. 

Fifth of all, ducks look very soft. I just want to pet one so bad, but they don’t sound like very good pets because they poop everywhere. A duck would probably be happier in the wild anyway. Also, I have a cat that would definitely attack the duck.

Photo by Prathap Karaka

studying

junglebeats679Leave a comment

I need to study a whole lot. This weekend is coming up and I’m so excited. Studying for exams has to be my favorite pass time ever, with a pencil, paper, and a computer I could study the rest of my life away. Personally, my favorite class to study for is math, I love memorizing all the formulas and everything in between. My favorite class is Algebra 2 and I’m soooooo good at it. I’m definitely one of the best in the United States, if not the whole world at Algebra 2. If you were to give me the hardest Algebra 2 problem in the world I would be able to solve it in sub 30 secs. Anyway, super hyped for all my ap tests and I’m definitely going to try my hardest to score a 5 on my upcoming AP Spanish exam, for some reason, they thought that I slept through my APES exam but that is a lie.

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Photo Cred: Me