Category: holidays

Break

pottymouth818Leave a comment

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. 

“Old Mammoth Road. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.” by Carol M Highsmith/ CC0 1.0

Christmas Songs

leapingwaterLeave a comment

I have never liked listening to Christmas music until at least after Thanksgiving. I weirdly grew up thinking that it was bad luck and that it just shouldn’t be listened to until the right time. Recently, I have decided that if its at least November, I can enjoy it. I know this sounds ridiculous, because it is. Today I have been singing and listening to Christmas music with my friends and I can’t wait until December. There is something about Christmas music and the holiday season in general that just puts me in a happy mood. While listening to the Christmas music earlier this evening, one of my friends was talking about how they hate Christmas because they aren’t in a relationship, which is really funny to me. Praying they can find that special person.

pc:https://st3.depositphotos.com/3356953/36769/v/450/depositphotos_367692474-stock-illustration-yellow-smiley-praying-vector-illustration.jpg

My Issue with Thanksgiving

uwucutiepatootieLeave a comment

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone whose favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I understand that it is time to reunite with family and celebrate, but it just stresses me out way too much. I always have a big thanksgiving with about thirty people and I feel like I’m being tested the whole time. People always ask what college I’m going to, how I’m doing in school and what my interests are. My cousins, who are older than me, are all in college or have recently graduated. All of them have their thing. They are all basically amazing athletes and students. They all go to really good colleges like USC or NYU and they act like those are really easy schools to get into. I understand that it is important to think about college, but they have been asking me which one I’m going to since I was in fifth grade. My Thanksgiving dinner is way too formal. There is a whole seating chart that separates me and my immediate family, so I’m silent most of the dinner. My final issue with it is the food. I despise Thanksgiving food and I always end up only eating mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pie. My family doesn’t really eat on Thanksgiving, so their stomachs are empty by the time we have our dinner, but because I don’t eat that much at dinner, I am hungry the whole day.

“Thanksgiving Autumn” by Element5 Digital/ CC0 1.0

Excited for Christmas Break

graypenguinLeave a comment

I recently got a plane ticket to go home for Christmas break, and I am very excited about it. I spend roughly 1/4 of the year with my family, but I still miss them very much because I have to live away from them for the other 3/4 of the year. Living away from my family in the dorms has made me appreciate them more.
I would like to write a little about what I am looking forward to on my next vacation.
The first thing I am looking forward to is my family’s annual tradition of visiting a shrine called Fushimi Inari in Kyoto during the year-end and New Year holidays. Also, on January 1st, the whole family gets together for Osechi, a dish that is served as a drop-off from the gods after the Japanese New Year. I like to spend time with the whole family and talk about the events of the year. I also receive New Year’s money from my family. This is one of the joys of the New Year in Japan. I also look forward to watching TV with my family and going to Hatsumode (New Year’s visit to a shrine) when the date changes from December 31 to January 1. The year-end and New Year’s holidays in Japan are a bit busy, but I look forward to spending a lot of time with my family.
Secondly, I am looking forward to meeting with friends. One of my friends just got accepted to a university today and is looking forward to spending a few more months in high school. So my friend and I are planning to go on a little trip.
I am also in the process of getting my driver’s license, so I am looking forward to going driving with them.
Winter break is only two months away. I am most looking forward to seeing my family. I will use the winter break as motivation to study hard.

pc;me

Summer Adventure

graypenguinLeave a comment

This summer was very fulfilling and gave me the opportunity to learn more about nature. I worked as a tour guide in the mangroves. Mangroves are a wonderful place. A mangrove is an entire tree that grows in brackish water where fresh water from the river and salt water from the ocean mix. I did not know that mangroves are good for the global environment until I worked there this summer. Mangroves can absorb about twice as much carbon dioxide as ordinary trees. However, in recent years, they have been dying due to global warming. Therefore, I decided to pick up seeds and plant them to regenerate mangroves. I also taught these activities to elementary school students as part of their education, creating an opportunity to connect the town with the environment. I also gave tours not only to Japanese but also to foreign tourists. These tours allowed me to see a world I had never seen before. I felt that being able to speak two languages would be a great weapon for me in the future. I also learned how wonderful it is to connect with people. By talking to nearly 20 new people every day, I was able to make many new discoveries. I believe that these will be great assets for me in my future life.Lastly, by canoeing every day, I was able to grow not only mentally but also in muscle.I hope that many people around the world will come to know about mangroves in the future.

pc: me

Why Fall is the Best Season

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Fall has got to be my favorite season. Winter means Christmas and lit fireplaces, but the weather gets to be a little miserable after a while. Spring is a close second, but blooming flowers = allergies. Summer is obviously great because there’s time to relax, but here in Ojai we’re forced to spend the day inside in order to escape the sweltering heat. Nothing really competes with autumn.

Source: https://360degreesound.com/10-great-versions-of-jazz-standard-autumn-leaves/

It is the golden light, crunchy leaves, steaming chai and pumpkin bread that make me fall in love with this season again and again each year. Not to mention scented candles, long showers, cinnamon, football games and Gilmore girls. There’s a perfect balance between the lingering sunshine and cool, crisp breeze. Halloween means candies and costumes and parties; Thanksgiving brings with it cranberry sauce and family time and TV. Beyond festivities, I like to read books, listen to music, see friends, go thrifting and on afternoon bike rides in the meadow – all of which just feel special at this time of year.

And don’t even get me started on clothing. I won’t freeze to death if I wear a skirt or tank top, and neither will I drown in sweat if I opt for a knit cardigan or turtleneck. Plus, I recently got a pair of Doc Marten’s for my birthday, and though they weigh an obscene amount, I love them with all my heart. (They also make me another 2 inches taller, which is nothing to complain about).

All in all, autumn is without doubt the best season, and I’m looking forward to these next couple of months.

The City So Nice They Named It Twice

ojaipizzaLeave a comment

I thought New York was such a mess all around. I thought New York has so many crimes happening every day. I thought New York only had cloudy days. I thought New York had nothing that attracted me. I thought I knew all the facts about New York. 

My parents told me so much why they didn’t like New York. 

I watch the news on television about how terrible New York is.

However, It’s really different from what I expected. 

My parents are right about the environment. It is a little messy all around the street, plus, there are lots of homeless people who come to me asking for money. Although there is trash all around the city, New York City is still attractive to me. After all, the people, the city, and the weather make it impossible for me to not see how perfect NYC is. 

The best part that I will never forget is when I went to Time Squares for the first time. That night, right after dinner, my friends took me to Time Squares. The city looked vivid with the colorful LED lights and screens shining all over the city. As I walk towards the center of the street, listening to some random people playing the song, Empire State of Mind by JAY- Z, I feel alive again for the first time. At that moment I knew I became a New Yorker and I wanted to be a New Yorker. Watching people walking pass by with smiles on their faces. Don’t tell me it’s not paradise while everyone can be whoever they want to be and enjoy the night with their loved ones. It’s difficult to describe with words as there are so many beautiful and exciting moments happening every second.

Covid decides to run it back

navraj22Leave a comment

As of last week, I have now gotten covid two consecutive winter breaks. My take on Covid, at least how it affects me, is that it is more of an inconvenience than anything.

Not being able to taste sucks. It makes food borderline unenjoyable. I have been postmating food from all over trying to get a taste of something, but it all tastes like nothing. It straight-up sucks.

Other than that, I am congested and whatever, which isn’t too bad at this point, and I have brain fog. Maybe I don’t have brain fog but it is a solid excuse to procrastinate.

The most annoying parts are not being able to see my friends, play soccer, or stay caught up on school because I have a LAUNDRY LIST of shit to do, half of which I don’t even understand.

I am kind of concerned about OVS’s covid approach. Without guidelines changing, I predict that school will just become a place where the new variant spreads semi-easily. I hope that school provides online as an option at least, as leaving students who are sick in the dark about their schoolwork makes it very difficult to keep up, and if I hadn’t already had covid I would want to have the option to not have to go to school and get covid.

photo credit: CDC

Summertime Sadness

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Photo Credit: The Guardian For 200 Years

I know summer is already over, but I still want to give some throwbacks on what happened during the summer. It’s been a year when the pandemic happened, before the summer started I struggled with school so badly. I felt like I was drowning and couldn’t swim up to the surface all while my legs were tied up by an anchor. However, when the summer started, I felt like I have been to heaven for a minute. I could literally feel tears of joy slide down upon my face. The time has come!

Just before I’m about to get back to Taiwan with delight, my heart is immediately crushed into pieces. The Covid-19 cases in Taiwan suddenly rise from zero to thousands, and the number was still growing. I just couldn’t believe that all of it happened in a blink! 

When I got back to Taiwan after the quarantine, I stayed in my house for the whole summer. Exercise, games, practice for SAT is all I did for my summertime. I couldn’t hang out with my friends, I couldn’t travel around Taiwan just for a short vacation. I couldn’t go out and do what I usually do, which is dance. No matter what, I just hoped it would end soon!

Scheduling

pinkcube18Leave a comment

As graduation comes near, I have filled nearly every block in my schedule with events. I’ve needed to purchase more clothes to accommodate the frequency at which I will need to dress up.

With back-to-back formal events, it feels as though we are making up for a year of lost time. Due to quarantine, I have not worn formal attire in almost two years. This schedule is typical for end-of-year seniors, though I often find myself opening my planner a bit too often out of excitement.

Having a filled calendar gives me something to look forward to each day or week. Even if it’s just a final exam, that day has something written on it. My school planner is running out of pages, and the schedule has grown so long that I may need to purchase next school year’s calendar early.

With all of these plans, I hope that the blank days following graduation will not feel empty. I have plans for the summer as well as college to attend, though, while I look forward to the break, I plan to enjoy every day of this busy May.

Image Credit: Quapaw Area Council