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

Santa Rosa Island

I just arrived back at school from our 3-day camping trip to Santa Rosa Island. It was my second time going to Santa Rosa, but this time was even better. The best part for me was that my best friend was on my trip, as well as my mum. We did a lot of hiking, which was a little difficult, but games and stories along the way made the journey easier. I feel like I got closer to a couple of my friends, which I am really happy about. I learned how to play so many card games, which was definitely a highlight of the trip. We also saw many whales and dolphins during both boat rides and saw the whales’ incredible breaching. I also really liked the fact that the camping trip was not too long, I don’t think I could go another day without showering. Overall, it was a beautiful trip, and I highly recommend that you visit Santa Rosa Island if you get the chance to.

pc:https://visitventuraca.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/35308159650_73711e9983_o-1.jpg

Comfort Zone

I have never been that good at getting myself out of my comfort zone. As a child, this was extremely tough for me. My mum would encourage me to do things, but I would shy away from actually trying. Looking back, I really do wish I had pushed myself to try different things. Once I turned 16, I decided that I wanted to try and push myself out of this comfort zone more. Even starting with the little things, such as making myself go on rollercoasters, which I have always been afraid of. I now really love rollercoasters! (Except for the ones that go upside down like whaaat.) My best friend is a huge reason as to why I push myself to do things I am afraid of. She always helps me to have more confidence, which I am forever thankful for. Today I sang for the first time in front of people. I was really nervous, but the support from my friends and family helped me feel so much better. I hope that I can continue to do things that scare me, because so far, I haven’t regretted doing that.

pc:https://images.pexels.com/photos/164829/pexels-photo-164829.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=1&w=500

Best friends

All my life, I’ve considered many different people to be my best friend, and these people have come and gone. During my freshman orientation, my eye caught a girl wearing the same outfit I was planning on wearing. After an hour of name games and icebreakers, I decided I was going to talk to her. The first thing I said, which we still joke about today, is “To be honest you look like the only normal person here.” She brought me to her room and then we went to lunch together, little did I know she was going to be my best friend. On the first day of classes, I realized she was in my history and we quickly got close. The next weekend I had an argument and fell out with my school friends from the previous year. I started only hanging out with her and I learned to love her so much, we found out we had so much more in common then we could’ve imagined. As the year continued we just grew closer and closer, we ended up going to a concert together and hanging out outside of school. In April i got very close with two other girls and subliminally pushed her away. I didn’t stop being friends with her, I just started hanging out with these other girls more. As summer neared I worried our friendship would fade as she lives in LA and we both were traveling a lot. The exact opposite happened, we talked every day and got way closer we only saw each other once which was sad but we enjoyed our day together. In the middle of the summer, I had a falling out with the two girls I mentioned earlier and I was crying in the car with my mom when we passed her mom’s house and saw her mom outside. As our moms talked she came out and hugged me and held me as I cried in her arms. At that moment I realized she was more than just another best friend she was like a sister. I’ve never loved anyone the way I love her I genuinely don’t know what I would do without her. Sometimes we make jokes about being platonic soulmates and that may or may not be true but one thing is for sure she’s my best friend. She isn’t like any other “best friend” I’ve had before and I know she’s going to read this. I was thinking about what I was gonna write my post about this week and someone said write about something you really love and other than Taylor Swift, I truly love her. This year we have almost every class together and nothing could make me more happy than spending my whole day with her.

Pc mododeolhar on Pexels.com

Thoughts on Starting a New School

Friends, family, neighbors, and peers often ask me how my new school is going. Again and again, I tell them: “It’s a big transition.”

Coming in as a junior is challenging because everyone is already familiar with the teachers and classes. I finally feel I’ve adjusted to the academic side, but it took at least a quarter of the school year.

Socially, it’s also been difficult, as everyone already has friend groups that have formed over the length of two years. It’s not that I don’t have friends at school – I have people to talk to in class, people to sit with at lunch – but outside of OVS, I tend to see people from my old school.

I miss them so much. I miss sitting next to Ula in every class and laughing with Siya in the lunch line. I miss my favorite teacher, Marie, and our advisories out on the soccer field. I miss hugging Danielle and Estrella each morning, working with Tomoki on math homework, and all the other mundane activities that, in reality, meant so much to me.

I spend every weekend catching up with these incredible people, but for the other five days of the week, it feels like a piece of my life or even of myself, is missing. “It will take time to adjust,” I tell people. Eventually, I will find a balance between these two parts of my life. But for now, I’m trapped in the space between.

PC: https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/S8C_OVS-Buildings-twilight-Aug-2021_01.jpg

^^ Our beautiful campus here at OVS.

My Best Friend

Last week, I noticed a blog post about the author’s best friend, which has inspired me to talk about one of my strongest relationships.

My best friend is named Ula. Ula is 5″8 with brown hair tinged red and green eyes streaked with gold. Freckles speckle every inch of her skin and someday she is going to get a dot tattoo to symbolize the love she has developed for this feature, as well as her womanhood and power.

Ula is beautiful. Her smile is one of the most radiant I have ever witnessed and a contagious laugh. Sometimes we laugh together to such lengths that no sound escapes our lips and we gasp for air between fits of giggles.

Ula wouldn’t hurt a fly. She rescues spiders from her bathtub, lets mosquitos feast on her blood rather than swat them away, goes on camping trips in cow pastures, and wouldn’t leave her dog’s side during its final days. Sasha is now buried under the oak tree on her property and when Ula thinks of her, her eyes well with tears. Ula will not lie either. On the rare occasion that she must, her voice grows timid and shaky, a pitch too high, and her golden green eyes will not make contact with another pair.

If Ula were a season, she would be springtime, and if she were a place, she would be a wildflower meadow cut through by a rushing stream. If Ula were an animal, she would be a smiley manatee. And if she was an emotion, my Ulita would be pure joy.

(My favorite baby picture of Ula) PC: Me

Fantasy Football is No Fantasy

Much like other young to middle-aged men at the beginning of fall, I am now the coach, general manager, and owner of my own football team. This is a serious occupation. I spend much of my time researching free-agent players to see if I can improve my team. I consistently read the injury report to keep my players healthy. I constantly communicate with my fellow coach/general manager/owners to facilitate trades. While some may call this “fantasy” football, it is no fantasy. This is a real commitment, and some people just can’t handle it.

I build a relationship with my players. Forever after the season’s end, I will never forget the players who played for me. I hope Justin Herbert, Chargers QB, will take me to glory this season. The first week didn’t go so well, but I hope to have a strong season. Derrick Henry aka King Henry is my star player, he totaled 8 points in week one, a disappointing performance. He is, however, called King for a reason, so I know he will bring me my crown this season.

pc: me

Working

I have a job at a local bar, or pub, I guess. It’s got a bar but also has places to sit. Anyway, I’m a busser and the Host, which is kinda cool. I get $15 an hour plus tips every night, and I usually get like 10-20 bucks from each server and sometimes the bartender, so I end up going home with like 30ish dollars every night I work, which is two to three times a weekend. In addition to the 8-12 hours, give or take, I get another 60-90 dollars per weekend. It’s pretty good money, it pays for gas and car insurance and stuff. After a while, I’ll have a solid amount of money and that might help me when I go to college and stuff.

But, there are definitely downsides to working every weekend. For one, I don’t hang out with friends very often and I don’t really have a lot of time in general. I end up missing a lot of school events and things, and sometimes that kinda sucks you know? Sometimes it feels like I’m losing friends because I work so much, and It’s not exactly necessary for me to work, but I want to have a car and I need to work to have a car so here we are. Anyway, I’m gonna quit at the beginning of next summer so I can have one more summer where I do whatever I want so I guess I’ll just look forward to that.

Five Swedish restaurants with fantastic locations | Visit Sweden

Credit- visitsweden.com

I Really Like Sunflowers

Sunflowers are great. They’re pretty, when you plant one you suddenly have 20 popping up in your yard, the seeds are edible, they’re easy to maintain, they’re not toxic to most animals, they symbolize loyalty, and every song with “sunflower” in the title is a bop. I really like them. Sunflowers are my special thing with my best friend, too. If I could just have one plant in my yard, I would choose sunflowers. I don’t really like yellow things, but I love sunflowers. I really want one of those teddy bears that have sunflower print on them. I’d name her Susan after Susan Storm. If anybody wants to get Susan for me, I’d be very grateful.

https://www.milwaukeemag.com/7-sunflower-fields-to-check-out-this-season/
https://www.buildabear.com/online-exclusive-build-a-bear-x-van-gogh-museum-sunflowers-bear-bow-bundle/329739_29738.html

Who I am

Do you know this feeling, when your heart drops and it feels like someone just dug a knife through it. That feeling that shivers down your spine and makes the hair on your arms crawl up. You’re pumped with adrenaline. Your heart is beating out your chest. And then, just silence. You don’t know what you feel anymore, it’s too much. Tears start rolling down your face. Your breath gets faster and faster.

Thinking about it, emotions are a fascinating and scary thing. One moment they make you feel like you are on top of the world, the next they crush you down to the floor. But I am not saying that that’s a bad thing. They help us learn, they help us communicate with other people without using words. People can connect, solely through their emotions. It helps us understand each other more. 

For the longest time, I tried to suppress my emotions. I feel weak showing my flaws and I don’t want people to see me cry. It is still something I am struggling with to this day. But I have found ways to deal with it by myself. Running, singing, playing tennis, are all things that help me burn off stress. But camping is probably the thing that has helped me most throughout my life. 

When I am outside camping with friends, I just forget all my worries for a while. Everything is ok and I just feel free and relaxed. Its like I’m in a completely different state of mind, like bad things can’t even get close to me. And at night when I look up at the stars, I just feel thankful for the life I have. How lucky I am to have such great friends and memories of traveling around the planet. How supportive my family is, and how excited I am for my future. 

Feelings are a important part of who we are as a person. They define us. And we shouldn’t be ashamed of them. even though I still struggle, I know there are people out there who care for me and who support me in anything I do. 

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