Tag: family

No Thanks And No Giving

zombiegxrlLeave a comment

Thanksgiving is my least favorite holiday. I have no trouble eating, but when it’s the fourth Thursday of November, my appetite seems to disappear. When I was younger my family had a huge and lively Thanksgiving dinner. My mom, dad, two half-sisters, my half-sisters’ dad, my grandparents, our baby-sitter, and our baby-sitters son were always in attendance year after year. So many people showed up to give thanks and enjoy a nice meal. I remember feeling overcome with happiness, warmth, and belonging during these celebrations. Things are different now. My parents got divorced, my two half-sisters moved out of state, their dad is never in town, my grandparents are too old to travel, my old baby-sitter is busy with new kids, and her son also moved away. This year I didn’t have a traditional Thanksgiving. I didn’t eat any Thanksgiving food, I didn’t see any family, and I wasn’t happy. Instead, I visited my mom and her new husband for lunch. We ate crab legs. Still a great delicacy but it just isn’t as magical as a traditional Thanksgiving meal. For dinner my dad dragged me along to a restaurant with his new girlfriend and her mother. Although I’m glad he is happy and has found someone he is thankful for, I don’t feel the same way towards her. Spending Thanksgiving without my family took away all the happiness, warmth, and belonging I once felt. I picked through disgusting pumpkin ravioli as my dads new girlfriend berated me with questions. I wanted more than anything to be at home with turkey, stuffing, and my own family. Everything that Thanksgiving is about has been stripped from me. I hope one day to start a family of my own where we prioritize each other especially on the one day designated for it.

Picture Credit- Google

This Week

Bl@ckBe@nsLeave a comment

Credit: Google

I think this week has been the worst week of my senior year so far.

Monday was fine; nothing really happened, it was a basic day. I went to my classes, went to sports, and hated that the weekend was so short and that I’m back at school. The homework was acceptably light, which made it better.

On Tuesday, I got up and got ready for the day. Unsurprisingly, an epidemic of sickness is currently occurring within the dorms. Everybody is either sick or getting sick, and not long, I know I’m going to be the next victim. But anyways, I didn’t have to go to all my classes since I had a volleyball gam.

Unfortunately, the volleyball game was in LA. We had to drive about two hours to get to the location, which was kind of annoying. We ended up getting there about thirty minutes early, which was kind of boring. Anyways, the. The team did really well. Although we lost pretty badly in the first and third sets, the second set was by far. The best set we’ve ever played, falling not far behind the rival team, losing only 22-25. I’m very proud of the team.

Wednesday is where it gets wobbly, not horrendous, but also not amazing. Honestly, I can remember most of it. Wait, yes, I do, it was actually pretty good because there was a town trip, which meant no sports. I actually did some work and got to relax. I did tutoring, which was easy because nobody showed up for English and History. I was really tired and was not able to focus on the task I was doing, so I watched a quick YouTube video. It kind of helped, but not really. I still felt really tired. After tutoring I went staright to bed.

Thursday was the worst. I woke up happy, because I was going to start my day with a free block, only to get it ruined by the notification” room check today.” It genuinely dampened my mood because, why out of all the days, is there a room check when I have my free block first? Anyway, I spent my free block in the bathroom because a teacher was checking the rooms ( turned out we could stay in the room while they did a room check). From there, my day spiraled. and progressively got worse.

Finally, Friday the one of the best days of the week. It is the final stretch of the week before the weekend. All my teachers didn’t assign weekend homework, which. I’m grateful for. So now I feel I can relax and fill out some more of my college requirements. Sadly, I know that once I shut my eyes, it will be Monday all over again.

Monday Munchies

thehebrewhammerLeave a comment

I had just gotten home from football practice and ran to my room to grab my clothes and jump in the shower. I cleaned myself in the hot water then got out to shave my face. I was in a rush and accidentally nicked myself. Despite the blood I felt fresh in my dapper outfit, and headed out the door towards The Oak at the Ojai Valley Inn.

When my Father, my Mother and I arrived we were greeted by my grandmother and her cousin, they’re in town for the week. My Grandma hugged me and handed me an envelope, it’s a card for my birthday which is on Wednesday so that was very nice of her.

Right after we went to our table and were assisted by Danny who gave us ice waters and some warm bread and butter, which was amazing. Shortly after Tyler, our server came and I requested a Diet Coke which was brought to me. All 5 of us examined the menu and the growls in my stomach only got louder. Tyler came back and oh boy we were ready. Small but pricey was the restaurant, I ordered the Scallops, Bistro Steak, and a charred and cheesy side of Brussel Sprouts.

After I ordered we waited and waited for our food and all of had great conversation. From my school, to camping , to my parents at work almost everything was covered in that 20 minute wait for our meals. But I believe it was all worth it.

The food came and in an instant I absolutely slammed my meal, everything was so delicious I just put my head down and went to work. After I absolutely housed my food and Danny came back to clean the table Tyler brought out the check and a surprise dessert for my birthday.

The small Mason Jar was aglow on the outside patio complimented with a single spoon and a tiny chocolate with the words “happy birthday” spelt out in gold. The tiny yet deliciousness of that chocolate lavender concoction just put a smile on my face. The simplicity of the desert and presentation made it all worth it and man oh man I loved that thing.

That was my Monday Munchies and I hope you aren’t hungry reading this, because I was one happy little boy.

PC Google

My Other Half

uwucutiepatootieLeave a comment

This year has been really sad for me because my person went to a different school. I still talk to her everyday and see her on weekends and even two times this school week, but I feel like I’m missing my other half. I remember my first day of school with her freshman year, looking around at my classmates confused. The second I laid my eyes on her I knew that we would click instantly. She walked up to me and instead of saying a kind greeting like “nice to meet you” she said “you look like the only normal person here.” That really summarizes her character. As we walked together she told me that she was going to wear the exact outfit I wore that day and I felt like that was an even bigger sign that we were so similar. Ever since that day, my relationship with her grew into something more powerful than a friendship, but a sisterhood. I feel like we can be really confusing and misread by most people, but I really don’t care because we understand each other. We don’t need to waste time explaining why we feel or acted in a certain way because we just get it. Sometimes I feel like we are telepathic. I have never had to think before saying something to her because we are both very direct with each other. Not all friendships are able to have this and some people would argue that we are bad influences on each other, but no one has made me grow more than she has because of her honesty. We don’t spend time with each other just to do interesting things or talk; her presence even in silence scrolling on our phones, brings me a sense of security and happiness that nothing else can compare to. I feel weird being here without her by my side. This past week I have caught myself dosing off the entire day just thinking about how much better life would be if she was here with me. I know that no one can replace her, so I will just finish the year with only a half of me.

“People Friends” by Clarisse Meyer/ CC0 1.0

Hey I Like My Dad

scarlettoharaLeave a comment

Yeah I’m going there. I am willing as a teenager to express gratitude, and other positive emotions. Because dang it, we have no predetermined purpose and cynicism has been trending since Franz Ferdinand was shot. While there are many people who would like to make our troubles worse by complaining, complaining and complaining in their everyday life, I would like to do something more helpful to myself by, perhaps, being satisfied with what I have in life. So here is a nice and accurate, but not exhaustive, list of the things I love that my dad does for me, since I know plenty of dads don’t bother with the least of what he does.

  1. He always drives six hours roundtrip to pick me up. It was only this year that he stopped taking days off work just to get me on Fridays, since his company didn’t like he was out of work so often.
  2. He gets me the best snacks. My dad works for H-Mart. That’s the company that tightened its leash on him, so he’s not exactly flowing in cash. But what he is flowing in is coupons. My dad never lacks in giving me free treats, the sorts I can never find in most grocery stores nowadays. I always wait to refill my childhood memories.
  3. He gets free Starbucks too, and always gives them to me.
  4. He gives me strategies for growing up. My dad sometimes felt like the bad cop growing up, especially when my sister and I were used to our mom doting on us. But it turned out parenting is a balance between the old adage of “you can do anything you set your mind to” and telling your children about those who seek to take that away from them. My mom is the dreamspinner, my dad is the postwar cynic. Huh, maybe I have to give those postmodern critics some credit.
  5. He has the oddest sense of humor. It’s not dad jokes exactly, but it’s hard to describe. It’s a little funky, maybe a bit something like out of a Taika Waititi production, which certainly explains my taste in media.

I’ve been worrying about what I could have left in the coming years. I consider myself an average, perhaps lucky person, but luck doesn’t run as far as it used to. I sense that if things were to go haywire there would be many fronts for “these unprecedented times” to attack me on, because I already see others being persecuted for those same things lol. But since half a person’s salt comes from their dad, I’m glad I have his principles and taste in comedy to weather the storm with.

PC: Google

England

leapingwaterLeave a comment

I haven’t been back to England in about a year and a half. I usually go every year, and for this years summer I plan to hopefully go back! England is such a beautiful place, and I have always loved it so much. From busy London with it’s beautiful architecture, to the quiet countryside, it is truly lovely every time I go. Aside from my dad, mum, and brother, the entire rest of my family lives in or around Europe, especially England. When I visit, I usually go in June, July, and the beginning of August. At the time when I arrive, for the first few weeks my cousins are still in school. I really enjoy this time, though, because each morning I go and spend the day with my grandma and granddad at their house in the more of a city part of England. I always catch up with my grandma while my grandad spends hours tending to his garden, whilst I eat all of the delicious pastries and food that she always makes. After spending a few weeks in north-central England, I take the train down to west sussex to visit my grandfather on my dads side, in the countryside. He originally moved to this house when my dad was a little boy, and it was constructed in 1709. It’s a beautiful home, with a little vegetable garden, pool, and lots of space to run around in the grass, which I did a lot when I was younger with my older brother. I’m really looking forward to going back again this summer.

pc: me

Golf

graypenguinLeave a comment

Golf is generally useful for many things. It is a great sport that you can continue to play even as you age for future business. I started playing golf when a family member of mine was a golfer and told me that if I couldn’t play golf during our summer vacations, he wouldn’t take me with him. I started playing golf because of that little thing, and now it is my favorite sport to play. Originally, my motivation for golf was to drive a golf cart. However, now my motivation to play golf is to score well. This year, for the first time in my life, I competed in a golf tournament. Although my score was not good, I was more honored to be able to experience it for the first time in the United States. My driver has been good lately, so I would like to improve my putter. I would like to practice more and be able to play all the holes under 100.

pc:https://www.npr.org/2023/05/08/1160319153/golf

Another break

leapingwaterLeave a comment

I just arrived back at school from break, but this time it feels a little bit harder to be back and away from my home and parents. My best friend came home with me this break, and we ate a lot of good food, once again! We had all sorts of things from pastries to ganjang gejang to shabu shabu, which my friend made for my family. It was also my dads fifty sixth birthday which we celebrated by baking him a cake, which was a strawberry cheesecake with a clear gelatin topping which was delicious and cute. I wasn’t actually able to be with my dad on the day of his birthday as he was out of town, but I’m happy we got to celebrate before that. Overall this break was very relaxing, and it’s time for me to look forward to the next one!

pc: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Korean_seafood-Ganjang_gejang-01.jpg

a blog devoid of substance #1

poofypuffyLeave a comment

When you turn 18, 90-96 percent of the time you will ever spend with your parents is over. 

When I read that, I was pretty shocked. Logically, it makes sense. Your parents care for you as a child, and then you leave home to lead your individual life. You make your own way and surround yourself with the people you choose. At times, visiting home seems to be an onerous chore. 

However, I’ve gotten closer to my family in the past few years. As a little kid, your parents are the people who tell you what you have to do and what you can’t do. The other day, my mother, at the dining table, said she saw me as a friend. 

What’s interesting is my sister looked at me, gloating. “A friend? Like, you’re not even a part of the family anymore!”

I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but I think this meets the word count requirement and this blog is already late. 

Picture Credit: https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/1379673022/cartoon-family-clipart-portrait-of-young

You begin to miss

urmom8beanLeave a comment

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!

PC: my friend