Halloween

Soccer11Leave a comment

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and every year my family has a party at my grandparents’ house where my parents invite a bunch of their friends and we all eat dinner, and then we go trick-or-treating. But this year I’m too old for trick or treating, and I don’t want to hang out with my parents’ friends and their kids, so I’m going to my friend’s house. I’m probably going to go over to her house and get ready and redo my makeup and do my hair and then take pictures, and hopefully I’ll get to stay the night at my friend’s house because we’re probably going to be out pretty late. For my costume, I’m going to be an FBI agent, and my friends are going to be a firefighter. I’m hoping that this year’s the best Halloween yet because every other year has been boring, and I’m excited to not just be trick-or-treating.

This may contain: a sidewalk lined with lots of leaves next to a house covered in lights and pumpkins

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Halloweekend

uwucutiepatootieLeave a comment

Halloween is one of the most fun and stressful moments of life. This year it’s terrible because I have to balance out celebrating Halloween and also finishing up college work. The most difficult part of Halloween is figuring out outfits. Whenever I open TikTok or Pinterest to find inspiration, they are either over worn outfits, ugly, or too much. All the excellent ones are always worn a million times, but I also don’t want to wear something that no one would understand. Another obstacle is wanting to wear the same costume as your friend. I always tell myself that I will have my outfits planned and bought before summer ends, but this never happens. I’ve already used one of my costumes, but I have three other ones that are ready. This is genuinely shocking because usually I just figure things out really last minute, but I had to stop worrying about it and get it done, just like I need to do with college work.

“Halloween Pumpkin” by Skitter Photo/ CC0 1.0

Grades

myfatcats2Leave a comment

My grades right now are not an accurate representation of who I want to be as a student. My APES grade is not good at all. That test that everyone in my class took was so confusing. Other than APES, my grades aren’t terrible, a couple of A’s, some B’s, but I wish they were all A’s. College is not as far as it was last year, and I really need to start doing better if I even want a chance at getting into a good college. Not only is there stuff inside of school, but there’s stuff outside of school as well. I really need to spend more time focusing on school than worrying about other things. The annoying part is that there is no opportunity for me to even improve my grade in APES because the only things that change it are the tests. So, moving forward, I really, really, really need to study and focus because this path I’m headed down is not a good one.

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The Perfect Month

zombiegxrlLeave a comment

Living in such a small town has its benefits, but sadly limits my options for weekend activities. Weekends become monotonous for me, so I assume small town life must be affecting at least one other person in the same way. Luckily, I’ve found that in October, the options for how to plan out your weekend are endless. To help others who may struggle to get out and do things during the weekends, I’ve compiled a list of activities to fill the time. The obvious option is pumpkin carving. During the month of October, it’s an unwritten law that you MUST carve pumpkins. You could also bake pumpkin or banana bread. The changing weather makes baking the perfect relaxing activity with a delicious reward. Visiting Halloween stores is crucial. Since stores like Spirit Halloween are only open during October, you have to go while it’s around. Besides browsing the overpriced costumes, there is creepy decor that will elevate your room, especially for the holiday. Now for those who have the money, visiting a theme park during October is a peak experience. Theme parks really go all-out with scare actors and decorations. If you don’t like roller coasters, experiencing the Halloween vibes is still a great reason to visit. For locals, visiting the haunted hayride at Boccali’s Pizza & Pasta is almost like a tradition. It may seem silly now that we’re all grown up, but it’s always fun to get dinner, visit their pumpkin patch, and get nostalgic with the hayride. Not to mention October 18th is Ojai Day! Ojai Day celebrates our small town with booths, activities, and socialization. Everyone seems to show up for Ojai Day, so you should too. Finally, there are parties! October brings with it a rush of costume parties almost every weekend. If you’re sick of sitting inside and not able to find things to do, October is definitely the perfect month to fix that.

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Horseback Riding

ackley4167Leave a comment

I have been riding horses since I was six years old. When I lived in Uruguay, we would go ride these wild horses in a place called the campo. That’s where I found my love for riding. As soon as we returned back I begged my mom to start lessons, and that’s where my journey began. I would go to summer camps, ride 4 to 5 times a week, and completely devote myself. When I was about 12 years old, I had taken a little break, but I knew how much I missed it. I had switched from English to Western, but I knew I liked riding English way more. When I started my new school in Ojai, I did the riding program and loved it so much. Moving on to my freshman year is where my passion started drifting away. I would dread having to go and ride. I didn’t understand it though, because I had always been so excited whenever I got to ride. To this day, I still don’t understand what unmotivated me so much. I ended up quitting riding a quarter into my freshman year, and I still miss it so much. Luckily, horseback riding is a skill that just ingrains into you as soon as you learn it. It’s like something you will never forget. Maybe you will forget the little things, like putting on a saddle or a bridle. But I will never forget my love for those horses and for the sport.

“Animals Horses” by Omar Prestwich/ CC0 1.0

Holy.. Cold.

Halos_击Leave a comment

Today marks Tuesday, October 14th, 2025. It’s pretty much the first rain of the school year, since I don’t really count the one at the beginning because I wasn’t there that day. I woke up at 3:32 AM because I had a dream where I stuck my hand into a vat of… what seemed like ink(?), and woke up extremely nauseous. I lay in bed until it was 4:30 AM, where I heard my mom wake up.

My room was frigid whenever I woke up at that stupidly early hour, but thankfully, I ended up going back to sleep. I woke up again at my normal time of 6 AM, since I live an hour away from school. Mid getting dressed, I hear my mom call out, “Percy! We have to leave early!” Since I didn’t wanna communicate with her from my room to the kitchen, which was a long way away, I got my hoodie and the things I needed for the day.

Running out of the house, the cold as heck air hits my face, wakes me up. I wanted it to be sweater weather, not full-on parka weather. I hope it rains again where it isn’t stupidly cold.

I.C. – Pinterest

Work

unicorn123Leave a comment

I have a love-hate relationship with my work. I love making money. But I absolutely hate dealing with customers. For example it was a busy Friday afternoon, I was doing my regular work routine. All of a sudden a old customer calls me over. Mid bite of her arugula salad she starts explaining how terrible the chicken is. She starts telling me its disgusting and dry. I apologize but she continues complaining. I Leave to get her a new side of chicken. I bring the new chicken to her and she makes me wait so that she can try it to see if it’s up to her standard. She tells me it’s terrible dry and not edible. I apologize again and explain we roast our chicken early in the morning and warm it up to be served so it must be a dry chicken or something. All of a sudden she screams at me and explains how terrible of a waitress I am and instead of explaining why its dry I should go give the kitchen the feedback. I assure her that I will and we will fix the problems. Apparently that’s not good enough so she continues to tell me how her family used to be in the restaurant buisness and so she knows everything. She tells me she’s never coming back. When I walked away me and my favorite coworker talked about how we would rather have customers never come back or just dont come in the first place rather than yell at us. My paycheck doesn’t get affected if we have one less customer comes it doesnt even change if 10 customers dont come back. I am sick of working.

Credits: Google

Fall

LetsGetSendyy6767Leave a comment

Fall weather comes at just the right time. The heat of summer begins to dwindle as the bitter and crisp air approaches. The colder mornings are always a giveaway that fall is near. There is no better feeling than putting on a hoodie in the fall.

The changing colors of the leaves and the darkening skies bring a cozy and homey feeling to life.

Rain and cloudy weather are a welcome respite after spending 3 months in the summer heat. Having the time to now relax and enjoy a night in is fall’s refreshment.

I have always enjoyed all things fall brings. My birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and other exciting seasonal activities all take place during this time of year. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from the fall, like visiting the pumpkin patches or watching fall movies with my friends and family.

Fall is an embrace that is often short-lived, overshadowed by the excitement of the holidays and all they bring.

Why People Are Loving Fall | Cheryl's Cookies

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Investing in Happiness

StrawberryMushroomLeave a comment

It is often stated that we should capitalize on our childhood and adolescent days, cherishing our time young before the responsibilities of adulthood. But while the future is always uncertain, it is also strongly emphasized that our choices, habits, and achievements during our growth, particularly during high school, heavily dictate the course of our careers and future well-being.

It feels as though the happiest people among my generation are those who care less and thus worry less. They bury themselves in constant temporary pleasures to shield themselves from unwanted responsibility and discomfort.

These people tell me I worry too much.

Then, there are people who put every waking moment to good use. They bury themselves in constant work, sacrificing momentary pleasure in favor of ensuring that their future is abundant in possibilities and is as stable as it can be.

These people tell me I’m not worried enough.

Nothing is in black and white. I can’t tell if I’m wasting my time or not making the most of my youth. I am left in a state of paralysis, unsure whether to be happier now or to invest in future happiness.

Worried about the future? The science behind coping with uncertainty | New Scientist

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School

brownbeansLeave a comment

I know the schedule is supposed to be random, but it is not. I have all of my hard classes on day twos and my day ones are so easy. My day twos are: AP Stats, AP Lit, AP Psych, and yearbook. I love yearbook, but it is so hard having to edit all of the pictures that go in the yearbook and having to make like twenty million pages at the same time. It is essentially another class with a bit more homework, but without any tests or studying. My other classes during day two are very reading-based and have to be studied intensely. It is even harder because volleyball has at least two games every week, so I have less time to do my homework, and I’m super tired from traveling all day, making it difficult to even think about homework. I have a severe disdain for day two.

Day One, on the other hand, is the most blessed ever. My classes are Gov, Journalism, AP Computer Science Principles, and Free block! I love gov, I wish I had gov every day because it is so fun, and it is what I want to pursue in the future. I also love the teacher, and she is always willing to discuss current events with me after class. Journalism is so chill, and the class is so good. AP Comp Sci Principles is so funny. I sit with my friends and we spend all of class laughing. I think the teacher thinks we are crazy. Finally free block, I sleep, do homework, and eat snacks. It is a nice break from dealing with people and allows me to relax before going back to school. The contrast between the two days cannot be any more different; one day I look forward to, the other makes me so sad and stressed.

credit: Pinterest