A Mission

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I’m running, on a mission. I was told that I had until midnight to figure everything out, and I scramble to collect every clue I can find.

Scavenging for money, I throw it all in a suitcase, get my sister, and run. We have the supplies, and I’ll return the money later, I promise.

We suddenly find ourselves in an elevator, going deep underground in an unknown building. We are in spy headquarters, and I am a double agent. I have to find out who I’m pretending to work for, and what they want from me.

I find myself going on adventures and expeditions; I am in places I don’t recollect traveling to. From walking through city streets to exploring exotic jungles, I drag my suitcase behind me and hope for the best.

My sister is close behind me, and together we keep an eye out for them. We don’t know who we’re looking for, but we look out nonetheless.

We walk for what seems like hours, days, and without talking we focus intently. The suitcase seems to drag behind me  – carrying the weight of distress and lies.

Finally back at the headquarters, we are told what we are looking for. About to find out, we are suddenly moved back home, where we return the money. It didn’t get used anyway, it was for protection, and to appear legitimate.

We shed our jackets, take off our glasses, and sit down. We reflect on the mission, for it was unfinished, and needs to be accomplished.

Photo Credit: http://www.jazzhostels.com

Happiness

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Can you think of one thing everyone has in common? Public school kids, lawyers, locksmiths, princesses, Canadians, Obama… We are all on a quest to find true happiness.

But what is true happiness, really?   Is it doing what you love, being with who you love, loving yourself, or helping others?   I guess it’s different for everyone. In my case, I think happiness is when you can do what you love with support from the people you love.

Others, however, are willing to give up who they love for what they love. I personally don’t think this will leave you being truly happy, for as long as you are not surrounded by people that will keep you happy, I think you will not be able to find happiness in just an activity.

It is true that happiness is relative, of course, so I extend the question to you – what makes you happy? Do you think you are a happy person? Why?

I wish you all luck on the quest to living life to the fullest.

Photo Credit: http://www.wikipedia.org

School Dances and Ghostly Trances

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At OVS, Halloween is celebrated in a unique way. Although boarders don’t necessarily go trick or treating, through the Halloween dance and spirit days, festive spirit is present.

Photo Credit: staticflickr.com

Day students are able to go home and celebrate Halloween in a more standard way, whereas boarding students get to spend their time at school. At the dance, people dress up and show off their costumes. On the day of Halloween, costumes can be worn to school.

On the other hand, boarders spend Halloween night in the dorms. That can be fun, spending the night binging on scary movies and eating a ton of candy. However, there’s something special about being outside on Halloween night, with spine-tingling stories being told and that spooky feeling in the air.

It’s not really explainable, but all those stories about witches and goblins, haunted houses and the curses that come along with them – it all seems so real on October 31st. Maybe it’s just me, but on that one night, the air seems like it’s buzzing with ghostly presences, just waiting to be discovered.

Thanksgiving

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Photo credit to http://alt-gcs.com/
Photo credit to http://alt-gcs.com/

Thanksgiving is at the bottom of the favorite holidays list. Somewhere the meaning was lost and people don’t think about the history behind it, they just think of it as the day before Black Friday. This holiday doesn’t have decorations, unless you count Christmas trees. It’s just to pass time between Halloween and Christmas. Just a reason to get a few days off.

Some think of it as a punishment. Having to eat the same dried out turkey, flavorless mashed potatoes, and bread all covered in somewhat good gravy, year after year. It’s not an exciting holiday, there are no gifts or fun activities. Just sitting at a table with family for hours. Then, after dinner, having to do all the dishes.

But just think – the reward for all this is a week off of school and a huge sale the next day. It’s like a boring desk job. Being miserable while working but enjoying the large amounts of money you make.

The Happiest Place on Earth

kennyroo1 Comment

Rightfully named “The Happiest Place on Earth”, Disneyland is one of my favorite places of all time. No matter how hard I try, this is going to sound awfully cheesy; but there is something magical there.

Maybe it’s the adrenaline from Space Mountain, or getting to see your favorite character in person, but there is definitely a certain buzz emanating from the Disneyland grounds.

This last weekend I got the fortune to visit this very magical place once again. Straight away we were off to Tomorrow Land which houses two of my favorite rides – Space Mountain and Star Tours.

https://i0.wp.com/thehostelhopper.com/uploads/3/0/0/4/3004751/35617_orig.jpg
Photo Credit to: http://thehostelhopper.com/

These two rides never seem to lose their lust with me. But maybe that’s the thing about Disneyland – no matter how old or young you are, or how many times you’ve been there – fun has no age or time limit.

Drowning

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“Swim deeper,” they said. “You’ll be able to breathe.”

I’m drowning – the water is swirling over my head, pushing me down and shortening my breaths. I’m told that I’m doing fine, but in reality I’m plummeting.

I’ve been told that this is normal, that everyone should be able to breathe when pushed underwater. However, I know that something’s off.

Maybe I can learn to live while drowning, and pretend that it’s as easy for me as it is for everyone else. But there is a solution, and it’s the realization that I’m ten feet under that helps me to get there.

When underwater, it’s easy to pretend that I’m above, and to fake it until I truly do well. I can either learn to live under the surface, or swim to the top. It is on the surface that I can succeed.

“Swim back up,” they say, “You can make it.”

Photo Credit: http://www.c2.staticflickr.com

Time to Change

kennyroo

Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.

The basic idea of Feminism revolves around the sole principle that because our human bodies are designed to perform differently in order to procreate – our intelligence, social functions, capabilities, and rights should be considered equal.

The word “feminist” has picked up a negative connotation in recent years. Why is that? How did independence turn into “man-hating”?

Men and women pay the same for college tuition. So, how does it make sense that we could leave college, get the same job, but as woman I make 75-cents for every mans dollar?

Women were, and in certain ways still are, treated as inferior to men.
Sexism began as early as Aristotle, who claimed that women were ‘imperfect’ men since they did not contain a male reproductive system.

Children are taught in princess movies that a prince has to come and save the day for everything to be okay. How about we teach our daughters that they can save themselves instead?

https://i0.wp.com/snd1.splashpress1.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Emma-Watson.jpg
Emma Watson speaking about feminism and her campaign, “He for She” at the U.N. Photo Credit: socialnewsdaily.com

Actress, model, and spokeswoman, Emma Watson, was named U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador. She gave a life altering speech recently on this very subject, feminism. The speech left the entire room in tears and on their feet clapping – both women, and men.

We expect society to change – when as a society, we do not do enough to change it.

An Abundance of Autumn

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However it is celebrated, autumn is a season to rejoice – the weather becomes colder and Halloween is just around the corner.

Although some don’t love the cold, to most it means oversized sweaters, and relaxing in the fresh air. California’s hot weather is nice for a while, but by the time fall rolls around, many are grateful for the change.

The smell of leaves changing is an important aspect of autumn – it embodies the season perfectly. Here, there aren’t enough trees to jump into leaf piles, but it’s nice nonetheless.

By the time fall comes along, Halloween is in the near future, and is already highly anticipated. Whether that means preparing a costume, or just enjoying all the spirit, Halloween is an exciting Holiday.

Not only is autumn important on its own, but it is the gateway into the winter holidays, which leads to an abundance of spirit. As a whole, fall is a wonderful season, filled with many great features.

Photo Credit: http://www.get-frenched.com

ASITs, attention! ASITs, begin! Work more, work more!

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Sometimes, our classes and courses get cancelled. Sometimes, we have 28 ASITs and not enough relevant classes to stick them into. The ASITs without a job, or wanting to do something different, can do Chores.

Chores are basically what they sound like; they’re chores. Some Chores are easy, like refilling Turtle Pond (the size of a very large kiddie-pool), or difficult, like deep-cleaning an enclosure (taking out all the shavings, scrubbing down the walls, then bringing in 2-4 more bags of heavy shavings and emptying them).

Some ASITs (me) request to do Chores because they don’t have to deal with numerous amounts of people. Some people are just put into chores simply because there really isn’t anything else to do.

Chores were then renamed “Projects” because, for some reason, the word “chore” seemed to have some sort of negative sound to it. None of us agreed, but of course it’s not any of us changed it anyways.

The three Golden Rules of being an ASIT are:

1. Always ask for more work
2. Always be enthusiastic
3. Always follow the rules

ASITs are always working, so if you ever take a rest, you better be sure to either hop back to work in a minute or two, or that everything is done. Then, when you’re finished – you’re not really finished until you ask someone for more work and they say that everything is done.

Ever tried to be helpful and enthusiastic for every second you’re with campers? Neither have I, because it’s utterly exhausting. Unless you’re naturally an extrovert, there’s no way to always be enthusiastic. I wasn’t known for my enthusiasm. In fact, I was known for how stoic I was, but nobody gave me grief about it because it was my “thing.” Believe it or not, we can be punished for not being enthusiastic enough. One or two bummers could ruin the whole ASIT crew’s night.

Sneak Peek

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Hi, people.  I’m writing a book right now.  I’ve gotten about 16 pages done — aren’t you proud?  Here’s a chapter.  Hopefully you can read all of them next year, maybe even in a published book.

 

8-

I am running.

Footfall after footfall, the black street disappears behind me as a I fly through the night.

Out of breath, I whip my head around. They are still following me, almost about to catch me.

The game soon becomes a chase, similar to how a cheetah chases a gazelle.

I hop over logs, stumbling but righting my balance. I launch forward onto my hands and swing my legs up and over my body. This sets them off a few paces.

I continue running.

This is true freedom.

Fighting for my survival, fighting to win, to be safe. The wind passes through my hair and keeps it upright behind me.

I do not slow down.

They are laughing, stumbling, trying to catch up. We are all full of pancakes, bacon, eggs. It is slowing them down.

I keep going, ignoring the sharp pain in the bottom of my stomach.

I turn a corner, taking it like a race car, slanting so far down that I am almost parallel to the grass on the side of the street.

I am aware of everything around me – the gas station on the corner, the yogurt store across from it, the three boys behind me, my white converse hitting the ground.

I am exhilarated.