Tag: friends

Friends?

raining17Leave a comment
Photo Credit: http://www.mynamenecklace.com

The need for true friends is becoming less relevant everyday due to the newfound possibility of online friends. Nowadays people are meeting over shared likes on Instagram, or mutual friends on Facebook. Although they will never meet and only talk online, they consider each other friends.

However nice that may be, it’s causing friendships to become less important, which makes an everyday social life sad. The concept of a genuine friend is changing. People can be less authentic in their conversations, and be more than acquaintances with people they don’t necessarily want to be friends with.

It’s important to make friends with relatable people, and if one befriends people knowing they have others to fall back on, it’s not an honest friendship.

Friends are an important aspect of life, and are usually needed to maintain a happy life. If one spends time with people they don’t truly like, it causes them to be unhappy and not live to their full potential.

Unison

indigoshellLeave a comment

You stay up late the night before, preparing a presentation for that class you hate.

Everyone has to present. Everyone was assigned one section of a rather specific topic, and was told that they would be presenting on that specific day.

So the day comes and all your classmates quietly meander in, as if reciting the material to themselves.

Then the teacher comes in and starts the class.

You exchange a glance to the classmate to your left. What about the presentation?

The person to your right catches your eye. Did I read the homework sheet wrong? Were we not supposed to present today?

Eyes wander the room and relieved grins are held. Everyone almost telepathically nods at each other, thinking in unison with each other, you say nothing, I say nothing, we will all say nothing.

And thus, the presentation deadline has been extended.

Valentine’s Day

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

As most of you know, or should know, Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, and as ever, Facebook is lamenting “Single Awareness Day.” Every year, there is a group of people who don’t hesitate to make it known that they hate Valentine’s Day because it makes them feel bad about themselves, when really, if having a relationship determines your self-worth, you should feel bad about your principles.

And then there is the group of people who do have dates for Valentine’s. They fret about the perfect gift for weeks, hoping that they can show their date just how well they know their other half through the present they get for them. This causes people to go all out and spend pretty much all the money they have worked so hard to earn. What should really be a simple romantic holiday has been turned into a commercialized event that makes people feel left out.

Instead of going out and buying the most expensive gift you can think of and still somewhat afford for your date, you should try to hand make something a little more heartfelt. It’s through being creative that you can really show someone how well you know them, and not that you just listen to them talk about something they really really want. And people who don’t have a date should use Valentine’s Day as a chance to be goofy with friends, or have a girls’ night. Valentine’s isn’t designed to rob people’s banks and make others feel bad about themselves. It’s designed for you to be able to show your love to someone – whether it be your boyfriend, parents, siblings, or friends.

Braai

Daphne Psaledakis1 Comment

While I was in South Africa I experienced a lot of different traditions. One of them, and probably the most significant one, is that of a braai. A braai is basically a barbecue – except so much better.

Instead of using a grill, they cook the meat over a fire. Honestly I don’t even know how it works, but it’s like all the flavor is locked inside the meat. It doesn’t dry out, and the meat is perfectly done.

Weirdly enough though, and this is the part I couldn’t quite understand, they don’t braai hamburgers or hotdogs. For the most part it’s chicken or lamb, sometimes steak.

A braai is a way for family and friends to come together. They occur far more often than our barbecues. I was there for five weeks and we must have had four or five braais, if not more.

The friends and family come over, and while the meat is cooking, the kids play around in the yard and the adults sit and talk. It’s a chance for everyone to connect. And once the food is done, everyone sits down together and eats until they’re absolutely stuffed.

At least that’s what I did.

I thought it was a great tradition. We should definitely have more traditions like that back home in the states. I brought my dad home a braai cookbook, so hopefully we’ll be having our own little braai back home in Aspen, Colorado sometime soon.

Unforgettable Summer.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Summer vacation would never be better than spending time in a big city like New York.

I personally always consider the Big Apple an artist. She paints herself into a large, colorful picture that embraces different views and various culture.

However, instead of hanging out and having fun in the crowded city, my summer was mostly spent at a more academic spot –NYU.

Before my summer started, I applied to NYU’s precollege program and  waited a long time to start the exciting experience.

When I arrived at the campus, which consisted of lots of different buildings located around the Washington Square, my heart started to beat strongly and eagerly. God, I do love this place.

Then my six-week school prgram started. Just like colleges, each student had their own schedules and for me, as I applied to the journalism program, I chose “Report in NY” and “Multimedia Journalism” in order to get a more professional experience as a journalist.

The classes went well. For the Multimedia class, we stepped outside the classroom and shot pictures and videos, and interviewed people -basically everything about the topic of the story we were dealing with. As for me, I did a profile story on a subway musician at Times Square Station; a story about the heat in the city and how the weather affected people’s lives; and a review story on the CNN Tour we went on as a class. My favorite -or my most successful- project was the final which was about, “Dining at NYU.”

It was a brand new experience for me to present news via multimedia ways. I learned a lot about shooting skills, and the editing process of videos and what should be shown or not shown. Six weeks were absolutely not enough to become super good at it, but at least I got a unique opportunity to start something valuable.

Walking around in NY with my camera shooting the life of the city, has been my dream for a long time, and it came true. I did enjoy it.

“Report in NY” class was more traditional compared to the other one. We found stories by ourselves and did all the interviews and edited them until it reached the perfect level.

The most part I liked about NY was that it was not hard at all to find stories. Things were happening all the time around us. The city was busy and so as the people.

Talking to different people and listening to their stories only made me more obsessed with journalism. Because I do want to share them with others and let more people know about the world around us. And I guess that’s what I’ve learned this summer.

Besides studying, I also went to other places in the city to relax. It’s New York, as long as you are in the city, it would never be boring.

My summer was busy with classes but at the same time, I felt fortunate to learn something new, to meet new friends, and to get more knowledge about New York.

It was a life-long unforgettable experience for me and I will miss that purple place very much.

Hello, Love, Goodbye.

eternity1030Leave a comment

Dear Junior year,
Hello! Hope everything is going well with you.

I really haven’t noticed that you are leaving me shortly. Therefore, I want to thank you for this fantastic whole school year.

I still remember the first day we met. I was nervous because I thought you would be a tough year. As I expected, you were difficult.

However, you were not as horrible as I imagined even though there were hard AP classes, homework, SAT and so on.

I became the junior class rep this year which was such an awarding experience.

We had “Team Competition” and my team the “Eagles” got second place for the first semester and the third place for the end of the school year. We had the funnest event of the year – Spuds Fest and I had great time.

Starting in September this year, I ran the Crosscountry for my very first time in my life. That was hard indeed. I wanted to challenge myself and fortunately, I did it. For the first time, I felt I was actually faster than a lot of people. I found confidence.

This year I also started journalism class for the first time. I felt so lucky that I actually enjoyed the class. We found and wrote stories. I learned how to look at the world differently.

Life is a story, and the best way to learn it is to write it.

Sincerely,
SX

Dear Junior year,
Love.

I was lucky enough to meet lots of new people this year and they were all lovely friends who colored my year with laughters and joy.

From you, my junior year, I felt I had become closer with our community. You brought me courage and confidence to talk to people more openly and comfortably.

But why you taught me a lesson by hurting me though?
Why did you take him away and told me brutally that love did not equal to ownership?

And then I realized that love had no right or wrong indeed. You were correct, some people were supposed to come into your life, taught you something and then left. So don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok.

Then our junior class organized a fairly successful prom with a theme of “Candy Land.” I had great fun with my friends and that was an unforgettable and “sweet” time.

After the prom, I headed to New York and Chicago for my spring break. That was a trip to heal my heart.

Days always got busy after the break. AP tests, finals and tons of projects were thrown to me.

But overall, thank you to make me feel love.
I grew up a lot.

Love,
SX

Dear Junior year,
Goodbye.

You’ve given me so much more than I could remember.
And then you told me it’s time to move on to the next station and Senior year is waiting for me.

Please remember me like I would never forget you.
Take care and farewell.

I’ll miss you, my Junior year.

Yours,
SX

It’s a Whole New Year

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

Most people measure their years beginning and ending at New Year’s Eve. But when you’re in school, Summer marks the beginning of a new year. You have three months off, to relax, sleep, recuperate from the endless studies and homework. Then in the fall, you go back to school and you start a new year.

Some people never want the year to end. They want to stay near their friends, and they don’t want things to change.

For me, it’s different.

At the beginning of every year I’m excited for what it will bring. For the new friends I will make, and the new things that I’ll learn. But a couple months in, I start getting tired. Tired of school, and of a lot of the people at school.

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True Friends

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

I think a lot of people, including myself, struggle with the concept of friendship. What does it mean to be a friend? What the difference between friends and best friends? How should a friendship play into the romantic relationships in your life? In all honesty, I think the answers to these the questions depend on each individual person. Friendship may mean something entirely different to someone else than what it means to you.

To me, and this is just my opinion on the matter, friendship means knowing someone so well that you can laugh at each other, know what they’re thinking based on the look on their face, support them through hard times and all the times they make the absolute worst decision possible.

A best friend is when you tell someone things you never tell anyone else. You laugh with each other, spend time with each other whenever you can, listen withought judging, and can buy the perfect birthday present no problemo. All because you know that person so well, you know their reasoning behind their actions, and eventually you start to see eye to eye with them. And when someone else criticizes your best friend you immediately jump to their defense, not because the voice in the back of your head is telling you to, but because even though they have made terrible mistakes, you know why, and you can honestly stand up for them no matter what. And a best friend doesn’t care if you third wheel, in fact, they relish it. You know without a doubt you are an important part of their life. That is a best friend, and what it means to be a best friend.

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Drama, Drama, Drama

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

As you would expect of a dorm filled with girls, there is a lot of drama here at OVS, and probably more than usual because of the small size of the student body. We’re all friends in the girls dorm. Sure, you get the couple of girls who absolutely hate each other, or the few that don’t bother to speak to the rest. But I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re all here for each other.

That being said, I don’t understand how we can be so awful to one another. It begins with the infamous Freshman drama, which I am ashamed to say I played a part in last year. But looking back now, I see that we argued over the most pointless things we could possibly have thought of. And this years Freshman class is doing the exact same thing.

After the Freshman drama comes the realization of who your real friends are. I imagined this as being a mental process you think about inside your head, and don’t necessarily talk about to other people. After all, talking smack about others is the root of pretty much all the problems.

Unfortunately, I was wrong. I thought the cattiness would end after last year, but it’s far from it. I sit on my bed and watch a stream of girls come into my room to talk to my roommate, either about their drama or hers. I honestly can’t keep up with it all.

We all live together. We go to school together. We eat together, sleep in the same building, use the same showers. We know each other so well, and if we tried we could all be as close as sisters. We just all have to learn to get along. I understand that it isn’t easy when you throw a bunch of hormonal teenage girls into the same radius. But instead of tearing each other apart, we need to learn to live together and start letting things go.

My Second Family

Daphne PsaledakisLeave a comment

As I step off the plane, my friend texts me: “Welcome home!” Normally, I wouldn’t even think twice about this. I would respond saying thank-you, and how excited I was to be home. Only this time, I paused for a second. I had to think twice about it.

I spend the majority of my time here at OVS. I live here, I go to school here. And at some point, withought me even realizing it, I started thinking of it as home.

My family is in Colorado, and when I’m on break that’s where I go. Aspen is beautiful, but at the same time it’s hard for me to be there. The friends I had while going to school there I have grown apart from.

It’s hard to go from living in the dorm, where almost all of my friends are around me 24/7, to Aspen where I don’t have very many people to connect with. When I came to school here my friends slowly became best friends, and from there they morphed into a second family.

Image.

And while I miss being home at times, when I’m home I miss being at school.

So when my friend texted me that welcome home message at the beginning of break, I thought to myself that it’s just one of my homes. The home where my family is. But my life, my life is back in California.