DJ mix

Mixing music can be fun once you start to learn it but before figuring out the controllers and all the techniques in mixing music, it can be stressful. It all started in the winter of my freshman year. I got my first ever DJ controller, Pioneer DDJ Rev1 It took me a long time to finally figure out how to get the sound out from my speaker and how to put songs in the software. That’s when I decided to start this new hobby. I start mixing songs with friends when hanging out with them and messing around. However, I stopped playing with it in sophomore year because I started losing interest in it. Now that I just got another new controller and mixer I have decided to start playing with it again. There are lots of things to be careful about. For example the most important thing starts with the BPM of the song. Usually if songs are different in between 0-5 bpm then it should fit just fine. Secondly, is the transition. It is not easy as it seems. It takes practices to make good transitions in between songs or from one song to another. Lastly is it requires basic music theory to be able to create good mixes and transitions. Anyways, mixing music has became a big part in my hobbies it helps me relax and just have fun messing with the music. It’s also one of the ways to hang out with friends for me which is why I love it now.

pc: https://www.google.com/imgres?q=dj%20mix&imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.optoproductions.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F03%2F10-Tips-To-Craft-The-Best-DJ-Mix.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.optoproductions.com%2F10-tips-to-craft-the-best-dj-mix%2F&docid=LlGmsl4nsOdnIM&tbnid=liJC6cN16XT_yM&vet=12ahUKEwjouc7zpeuIAxUqL0QIHdxwOp8QM3oECFYQAA..i&w=640&h=426&hcb=2&ved=2ahUKEwjouc7zpeuIAxUqL0QIHdxwOp8QM3oECFYQAA

Journalism

Obviously I am in Journalism. I joined because I like the teacher and I thought it would be a fun class where I had a lot of control over what I do. After the first day I thought this is going to be so easy. And so far it has been pretty calm but it is easy to forget due dates and blog posts because there no teacher yelling at you about assignments and things like that… well sometimes there is but most of the time you have to be on top of yourself. Clearly I’m not. I came into to journalism thinking all I really needed to do is Interview Mr. Kuelling and start on my story, then with 30 minutes left in class I realized I have a blog post to do. Overall I’m happy in Journalism and I think it’ going to be a fun but challenging class.

photo credit – https://ubuntunarratives.wordpress.com/2018/05/11/on-writing-from-anger/

Golf

Golf is a fun activity for hanging out with your friends and relaxing but not when you flipped the cart accidentally. I went golfing with a friend last Sunday. We played 18 holes at the Ojai Valley Inn. He shot 91 and I shot 98. I was happy with my score since I finally broke 100 within only 7 months of playing golf. We had a took a little break after the front 9. We had lunch with another friend and his family. It was the first time meeting them. They were all really nice and all. They even invited us to visit their house on one of the weekends. Anyways, after the lunch and the back 9 we realized I left my jacket at the 9th hole. Therefore we drove the golf cart back and grabbed it. After finding my jacket we started heading back to return the cart to get ready to get back on campus. Unfortunately, when we were making a U turn to get back on the road we went flying off a little bump on the ground that we didn’t notice. The cart flipped and he got hurt badly. I didn’t get hurt, just a few scratches. I gave him my golf towel to try stop the bleeding. I flipped the golf cart back and drove us to go seek help. After noticing the head of school, he sent teachers down here to pick us up to go Emergency room. In the end he is all good now, waiting for him to recover fully. In conclusion always look out on what is on the road.

pc: https://golf-pass.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/80a975e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1440×929+0+15/resize/930×600!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgolf-pass-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F3e%2F30%2Fceacab56f04d8a2a0d3c36edf24d%2F122154.jpg

License

I have been wanting my license since I before I can remember, and I was confident I was going to get it. I passed my permit test first try and I barely studied so I felt confident in the fact I could get my license. From both my friends and family I have received compliments for my good driving. I went to the DMV confident in my abilities but then I failed. I failed because I didn’t look over my shoulder when making a right turn into the DMV. I was, to say the least extremely upset when I failed because the driving instructor literally told me to make this right turn very suddenly and I was not prepared. When you fail your test you have to wait 15 days to wait before you can retake it. So I’m taking my test again on September 26 and I will definitely look over my shoulder this time.

Cars Traffic” by Nabeel Syed/ CC0 1.0

Collage applications

I must be missing something. I feel like I have finished my college applications. I mean I have all of my writing done and it’s all final drafts. I’m proud of my work and feel like I’m ready to submit it all. I finished all of my questions and input my grades. I did extra stuff that I didn’t have to and I looked over and revised it all. I even toured almost every college on my list. Everyone said that applying was the most stressful part of high school but I think I must have over prepared for the stress this summer. I’m joining the volleyball team because I have so much extra time. I love it don’t get me wrong, but I’m just confused. I even wrote all of the Personal Insight essays before I realized there were only four. I don’t feel myself getting senioritis like everyone says. I must have just not had as many supplemental essays as anyone else. who knows. At least I get to do volleyball though.

PC: College Flags and Banners Co.

Humanities

Humanities is a freshman class at OVS taught by the wonderful terrifying Mr. Alvarez. I was the only student in the whole class to have all tens on all of my reading journals in both semesters. I had a love-hate relationship with that class, but now that I’m a Sophomore and I’m not in the class anymore I’ve started to miss it. Luckily I still get my weekly fill of Mr. Alvarez because I’ve joined journalism.  I like how we have jumped straight into writing, but i’ve never really done any writing like this so it’s a little confusing. So far journalism has been pretty good. Clearly I like the teacher, but I also like the students. I’m the only Sophomore in journalism which is a bit intimidating. So this is my first blog post and there is still so much I don’t know. I just turned in my first story and I’m already starting on my second. Hopefully I’m doing this right… 

Photo credit https://www.ovs.org/academics/high-school/high-school-faculty/

Falling Leaves

(I first wrote this when I was around 13 or 14. It’s a bit disorienting to think that I was of the mind to write something like this, but this oldie is still a goodie.)

These green leaves

In their impetuous youth

Would spend their year of life

On watching humans live

The lives they never could

It was a wonder seeing them

Them, showing off their longevity

To choose their ways, to choose their fates

To weave their strings of life themselves

When leaves are blown adrift in wind

It’s helpless to resist, they say

In spring they envy cherry blossoms too

Off white small petals that would die in weeks

But even if it sounds too crazy, know

That blossoms rave so bravely in death

That their plight’s much more celebrated, cared

And have the simple leaves been loved before?

For leaves, they’re doomed

For brevity

For nothing in

Their future but

Repeating their

Colossal faults

Till end 

Then they’re

Tumbling

Down to

Earth

Bobbing and weaving and dancing through the air

Trying to be flames

With their brittle, brown carcass

To shine before the end

To roots centuries old

Bony and formal and cold

That leaves had always flown above before

They were weaving for a new fate.

But now it lies dead.

All because of what they were.

Not even to see the crescendo of freeze.

Leaves Fall” by Kelly Ishmael/ CC0 1.0

Bad/Good Days

I’ve always thought of happiness as something that comes and goes too easily and quickly. Some of the bad days feel like they will never end, and it also feels like good days will not come again. When the good days would come all I would be thinking about is how they are only temporary. I’ve learned that ups and downs are sort of what life is about. How would I know what a good day is like if I hadn’t ever had a bad day? I’ve come to learn that we cannot always control situations, and how they work out, but we can control how much we let things affect us. Taking a step back and thinking, “Hm…does this thing really have to ruin my day?” can be a simple enough thing, but implementing it into life really can help you stop overthinking and enjoy the possibility of the best day ever!

pc:https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSJa9ltMULhfWJEdJJs2APoOYzRGE8YrfcsrboNTckjZA&s

Yapping

I actually forgot about blogs. I have been forgetting a lot recently, and I am not really sure why, either. Maybe it’s stress from AP testing or the excitement of summer coming. OMG. Speaking of summer, I just can’t wait any longer. I have so much anticipation. I don’t have any vacations planned, but I will be super busy anyway. I will probably go to some type of amusement park in LA or something. I will probably go shopping a lot too. I really wanted to go on a vacation but now that I am thinking about it I really don’t have any time. I think it will be kind of fun staying home and getting to see friends. I will have time to do things in Ojai I normally wouldn’t do. I think maybe I will emerge myself in the fun aspects of home. Unless my family and I decide to go on a last minute trip I need to make the most of it. It is weird to think I am going into my last year of school here at home. Once I graduate I will live somewhere else. Anyways this whole bridging process is so interesting.

PC:ME

Italy

 My favorite part about this summer is going to Italy. Whenever I go there, I feel a sense of peace that I don’t feel anywhere else. I stay at my Italian stepmom’s family house in Puglia and her family is so nice to be around and always makes my trip so enjoyable. One of my favorite things about going there is that I can eat an insane amount of food, and gain no weight. The food there is processed and filled with chemicals like most food in America and whenever I overeat in Italy, I never feel sick. Whenever I come back home, food makes me feel sick for a week because I become used to the food in Italy. I start my mornings in Italy by eating lots of fruit, cake, and cookies for breakfast. I eat an insane amount when I’m there. I probably eat ten meals a day. Typically during the day, we will either go to the beach, swim in the pool or go out to town. The only issue is that it gets so hot over the summer so if I’m not at the beach or pool, I need to stay inside. At night, we occasionally go out to town or go to my stepmoms friends hotel for dinner. I have been to Rome, Puglia, and Bari but this summer will be the first time I’m going to Venice and the Dolomites. My stepmom doesn’t like Venice because it’s just filled with water and there really isn’t much to do, but we are only going there for one night and I’m just happy to see it. The Dolomites will be fun but I know that my dad will make me hike all day in the heat which will be intense.

Positano coast Italy“/ CC0 1.0