I drove on the road for the first time in my life this past Monday. The first time I drove a car was this past winter break when I circled the parking lot with my mom. It was a very short drive, but my mom was screaming that she was going to be killed. I thought to myself that the passenger in the car must be many times more scared than the driver. My parents told me to go to the second driving school after I returned to my home country because it is much easier to get a driver’s license in the U.S. than in my home country. Driving on the road for the first time was scarier than I had imagined. The scariest part is when a car follows behind you. I was worried that I might cause trouble for the people behind me because I was driving at half the speed limit for the first time. I finally got the hang of it about 20 minutes after I started. I was still very nervous about driving but it was super fun. I am already looking forward to my next driving lesson. I can’t wait to get my driver’s license so I can go out driving with my family and friends.
Category: happy
My Galentines
Over the weekend I hosted a Galentines Day. It was supposed to be in my backyard but the weather was soooooo cold. With the weather being so cold I decided to switch the party to inside. It was a smaller group with about 11 or 12 girls. I decorated the table in hues of pink and white. I put together big and small bouquets of pink and white flowers. I am pretty happy with the outcome of the party too. I set up and practically put the party together myself. I am super proud. There would have been more stuff I would have liked to add but overall it was a success. The dinner was the definition of girl hood. Something I do wish might have happened differently is my chocolate fountain. I accidentally used the wrong type of chocolate so it hardened when it was supposed to fountain out. I love pink so much. And I love flowers so much. #PERF
PC:Karin
Perfume.
My favorite thing to do is collect perfumes. I especially like floral scents. Among floral scents, I love the royal rose and jasmine scents. Many perfumes are artificial scents, depending on the company, but I prefer scents that are closer to nature. I have nearly 10 perfumes now, and I use different ones depending on my mood of the day. Recently, I have been wearing a rose-scented perfume by Dior. I like it because it is not too sweet and it refreshes me. It always takes me a while to find a new perfume. My friends always follow me whenever I find a new fragrance. Not long ago I was not a fan of woody scents. But FREDERIC MALLE’s L’EAU D’ HIVER has changed my perception of woody scents. The perfume smells so calming that I routinely put a spritz of it on my pillow before going to bed. I am very much looking forward to discovering the next new fragrance.
pc https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSafS4U0uoS7nsRAcygy6mhVnTnNFOFmstPDw&usqp=CAU
Shooting Stars and Rising Sun, A Moment Suspended in Time
I remember walking along the edge of the pier, the sound of the sea drowning out my thoughts, and the warm breeze creeping under my T-shirt. It was 3 a.m., and I turned to my friends with the question, “Is anyone thinking of going home?” I could clearly see in their eyes the answer was “no.” I remember how soft music played from the speaker. I remember, as I gazed at the endless and clear sky, seeing a shooting star. That time, I made a wish to be happy, and to this day, every time I see a shooting star, I always wish for happiness. Although I had no plans to sleep, I still put in my night retainers (back then, I never knew where I’d end up at night, so I always carried the retainers in my purse). My lisping voice, due to the discomfort in my mouth, triggered a wave of laughter among us.
Dawn gradually claimed its rights, filling the quiet waterfront with sunlight. At exactly 5 a.m. I found myself in the warm Mediterranean Sea, watching the sunrise that ignited a new day with my best friends. I vividly remember the smell of the sea that day, it was bright and fresh. The wind blew in my face while I laughed as my friends tried to drag me under the water. At that moment, there was absolutely no one around us. We were the violators of silence in the early morning of a sleepy seaside town. Only the sun could judge us for our recklessness, as it became the sole witness to our mischief. At that moment, it seemed that all that existed in the world was us, the sea, the sun, and the music playing in the background.
We climbed out of the water as the song “Show Me The Way. by Vintage Culture” played for the tenth time. In a frenzy of laughter, happiness, and impunity, we began to dance, wet and slippery, stepping on each other’s feet.
I remember how my wet hair clung to my shoulders and face, how the mosquito bites on my legs hurt. I remember the look of happiness on my best friend’s face. I remember the smell of the sea mixed with a sense of carefreeness. I remember the dawn, the most beautiful dawn I had ever seen.
At that moment, wet and happy, I did not realize that it was my last evening with my friends, the people I loved so deeply. In the morning, when I returned home tired, wet, and salty, I received an email informing me that I had been accepted into a then-unknown small school in California.
To this day, I miss the fresh smell of the sea, the warm wind, and the music from the speaker. I miss the dawn terribly. I miss being happy.
PC: me
My Birthday
Yesterday was my birthday. While I always look forward to my birthday, I was not as excited this year. I thought it was just the same feeling I get during all of the holidays. As I grow up my excitement parishes little by little. I didn’t ask for anything this year. I wanted a surprise. So I woke up not expecting much but my day was amazing. I walked down the stairs to leave for school. Balloons, flowers, and presents sit on the counter waiting for me! The love I have for getting flowers is unmatched. I had a combination of all my favorite flowers in 4 separate vases. I opened up my gifts fast, and then I left for Starbucks. Music blares as I drive to Starbucks; it’s a fairly nice day, which makes me happy, too. When I get to school, a special someone waits for me. He walks over to my car and hands me a bouquet he put together himself with a note and a handmade card. The simplest gifts I realized make me the happiest. Then one of my friends walks up to me with another flower bouquet! I walk up the hill with messages flowing into my phone. Once I get to lunch, I am shocked to find my mom and her coworker walking up to my table with balloons and a whole box of donuts. To say I was shocked is an understatement. I go home and relax before my birthday dinner with my friends. My dinner was perfect and not awkward which I was worried about. The simplest birthday I have had, in the end, was the best birthday I have had. My birthday still isn’t completely over. I still have a few family birthday dinners to go to!
pc: me
Korea town with my bestie…
Last weekend my roommate and I spent some time outside of school. Our main goal was to go to Korea Town for some good food and shopping. Saturday morning, we woke up at 8:00 and went to Korea Town. We ate Sundubu right after arriving there. I felt like I was on a trip to Korea because of all the Koreans around me. The food was very delicious. After I finished eating, I went to a nail salon. I had black nails, so I decided to get white nails to make me feel like I was going back 180 degrees. I also had a Valentine’s Day design heart painted on my nails. Nails make me feel good and motivate me to do everything. After that, I went to a cafe because it was very cold that day. There we had warm tea and taiyaki. The dough was sticky and the outside was crunchy. Finally, we went shopping. I bought a lot of food. The things I was most happy with were grapes from Korea and a key chain for my cell phone that my roommate bought me.
That night we went to a Japanese yakiniku restaurant called Gyukaku. It was a happy day, eating delicious food all day long.
pc;me
Positives of this year
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
You begin to miss
I miss SDLC. I miss my familia. Take me back.
It was actually the best experience I’ve ever had. If you don’t know what SLDC is I’ll explain it.
It’s the student leadership and diversity conference, otherwise known as the POCC (people of color conference) At the conference we talk about things that normally aren’t addressed at our PWI’s (Primarily white institutions) We talk about microaggressions, inappropriate comments, or jokes, codesiwtching, and being proud of our culture. We have amazing inspirational strong guest speakers, who talk about their experiences as people of color. We have family groups that intermingle everybody of all races, cultures, sexualities, and ethnicities. They are huge groups of about 70 people. Home groups are smaller groups in our family groups where we can talk about topics more in-depth. We address things like abortion laws, cancel culture, and socioeconomic status. It is safe to say all these people were on a totally different level of maturity that isn’t in most teenagers. Not only that but they understood what it was like being in a PWI and related to the problems we went through. When I thought I was the only person going through this stuff at least 20 other people spoke up about similar if not the same experiences.
It wasn’t all serious talks and guest speeches. We didn’t sit for hours listening to one guy speak over and over. we would joke around, laugh, rap, dance, and party. The guest speakers would rap their speeches reaching into the depths of your soul.
It was life-changing.
I met the most amazing people ever. I got a whole new familia. My affinity group, the Latinx group, the loudest best most fun group, was probably the highlight of my trip. I met the most amazing people, I came out of my shell and was dancing with everyone. we had our own dance party at dinner which continued into our affinity group time right after. I have never felt so at home. I never wanted it to end.
alas it did, I cried a lot. The closing ceremony was a lot. One of the main speakers had us do an exercise where we found people we love, people who changed our lives, and people who made our experience. I didn’t last two seconds without crying. People came up to me thanking me for dragging them into the dance circle and teaching them to dance. I cried while hugging people I literally met two days ago. i probably cried for hours that day, my friends all made fun of me. I miss them.
I plan on using what I learned there to make OVS better. Making people aware, it’s hard but I’m working on it.
What is the call, free us all!
SD!
My issue with Spotify Wrapped
On November 29, I woke up and connected my phone to my speaker and noticed Spotify wrapped came out. I was excited at first, but I realized my disappointment at this same time last year. I personally believe Spotify wrapped is hacked for two reasons. First, on my top artists list, I had 21 Savage, who I never listen to unless he is featured on a Drake song. I personally listen to a lot of Zach Bryan and Lana Del Ray, and I believe they should have been there instead of 21 Savage. Secondly, I believe I listened to way more minutes because I always listen to music when doing homework, getting ready, showering, eating ,biking and often have aux in the car. The one thing I do like about Spotify Wrapped is everyone posts it and it gives sorta a insight in peoples lives. The music people listen to say a lot about them and Spotify Wrapped is a good way to learn a little about people you don’t know.
Break
Thanksgiving 2023.
I spent Thanksgiving this year in Mammoth. I essentially did nothing and that in itself was amazing. I got to catch up on family time including going on hours of dog walks with my mom. I also loved seeing that there was finally some snow on the ground.
I’m not sure if it’s surprising to me or not but the highlight of Mammoth was going to see the new Hunger Games movie with my family. What was surprising was how much my brother enjoyed the movie. That was something I didn’t expect. I’ve always loved watching all the Hunger Games movies but my brother hadn’t even seen all the movies in the series. Since watching the Prequel I’ve successfully gotten him to watch them all; As his sister, this is a big accomplishment.
The best part of the movie though was when my mom emulated every Karen in the world and told 3 annoying girls to stop talking. The greatest thing about this spectacle was the way multiple other random people in the movie theater joined in and told them to be quiet.
Being a dormer you really start to appreciate the time spent with your family because it unfortunately becomes few and far between.
The enthusiasm for watching movies then continued throughout break as my parents and I later watched the movie NYAD. I liked the movie but I did find the main character rather annoying. She was so intense and abrasive the entire time. I wouldn’t want to be friends with her. Despite my feelings about her, the movie was great. My mom loved it the most out of the three of us; she loves movies about crazy athletic achievements.
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