Left alone wondering
Will it ever bloom
Will the time come with the June gloom.
Brighten up the day
In this spring time
Hopefully you’re mine,
For the summer time.
The sun shines down,
to expose all your beauty.
Will you be mine?
Forever and always
Yours Truly.
I had my first bee sting of the year today, and man it hurt a lot more than I remembered.
So I was casually reading my book as you do on a Sunday afternoon, admiring the view from my porch chair and relaxing in the shade of the huge oaks over head. The birds chirped away singing sweet songs as they played and splashed in the water of the bird bath unaware of the dangers that accompanied them in their play.
Yes, it turns out bees like water too. In fact one may say it is the typical hang out or meeting spot during the spring/ summer months. Little did I know reading my book sweetly would I become a target for their fun.
Now I’m no wimp, and if a bee were to buzz around me I would remain calm and still but when one lodges itself in your finger it’s not that easy to do either of these things.
It was well and truly stuck, chained down by the sting that was embedded in the tip of my middle finger and you know what I was scared to pull it out incase it stung me. Obviously it had done that already but in a moment of panic I just let it stay there wiping it off carefully, after a few minutes, with a pair of tweezers afraid of its next move.
Little did I know its next joke was to leave the sting in me, how cleaver, leaving me deal with the pain for a little longer. I’m sure it sought amusement from that.
I eventually managed to get it out after a refusal for help from my father “because he didn’t have his glasses,” but luckily my Mum came to hand proving her skills on Mother’s Day.
So now I have the biggest swollen middle finger ever. I may just have to go and use it swearing at the rest of the bees.
When thinking about the summer, I was always overly excited to graduate, go back home, and spend time with friends and family.
But, recently, those plans have change. I am still graduating, of course, but I am not going back home. Instead, I am staying right here in Ojai and working for OVS‘ summer camp program!
I knew I would need to get a summer job this summer. So, I started looking for many places back by where I live, but not many of them wanted to hire someone just for a few months during summer. My friend had told me that she was planning on staying in Ojai and working for OVS this summer. I figured it would be a really good opportunity and I would also be making a good amount of money.
I am pretty excited about this opportunity! First of all, I love kids and I am excited to work with the younger kids this summer and do fun activities with them.
Secondly, I am happy that I will be around a lot of my friends, since most of them are day students and live around this area anyways.
After I work, I will be able to go home in early August and spend a month at home with no obligations. I can see my friends and family and then, after that, it’s off to college at Cal Lutheran! I am so excited for this summer and for what’s to come after it as well! 🙂
6 weeks.
I CANT WAIT.
I’ve been counting down from 100 days, but spring break was our LAST BREAK OF THE YEAR!
Everyone keeps saying to avoid the disease known as Senioritis, but at this point, I have no idea if that’s possible. Even a few of my teachers seem to be counting down the days.
In 2 weeks, AP testing will be going on. I’m nervous for my 2 tests, AP Psych and AP English, but also excited because after the test in Psychology, we’re leaving our text book behind and watching movies and doing fun activities. Also, we will already have taken our final exam, so I will have nothing much to worry about in terms studying for that class.
As for my others, I will still be having finals and homework. But, for Law and Society, we will be having a big mock trial as our final, and I have a feeling that it will be really fun! I’m excited to see what it’s about.
College is in the very near future, and I still don’t know where I’m going yet. My first choice is way too expensive, so I’m just very unsure at this point. I have to decide by next week, though, so at this point I’m just hoping I make the right choice.
Let’s just make it through the next few weeks! Then it’ll be a nice break from school until I embark on a whole new adventure.
With summer (and graduation) just around the corner, I have been trying to get fit. My goal is to lose about 5 pounds and get muscle tone.
Well, this weekend was a good step towards achieving my goal.
This morning, I went to the Dailey Method in Santa Barbara with my friend Emmy for the first time. I thought this class would be a breeze but boy was I wrong.
The Dailey Method kicked my butt (or, if i wanted to use proper Dailey Method terminology, it had kicked my seat).
The Dailey Method is a system that combines barre, core, yoga, and orthopedic exercises. There are multiple Dailey Method locations all around America, although many are concentrated in California.
What drew me to the Dailey Method was the way it toned your body to keep it in alignment. I have scoliosis in my upper and lower back that often makes me very tense. The end result of this tough workout was, surprisingly, a more relaxed body. My back feels great and I am not sore at all.
I only wish that they had a location in Boston, where I hope to go to college. For now, I will try to go to as many classes as I can!
Please check out the website: http://www.thedaileymethod.com/index.html
And the video:
My entry for the 2012 Ojai Valley School Love Poetry Contest:
Love has its seasons
Ever shifting, ever reeling seasons
The fierce flames of summer,
Perish in bleak midwinter
The struggling buds of spring,
Wither and droop in autumn
Like summer, love is hot
Burning, consuming,
Outshining all other emotions
It warms and electrifies,
Turning laughter to joy
But like winter, it can turn bitter
Love is like snow
Beautiful, exquisite,
But brings frostbite to flesh
Freezing and failing,
When harsh winter winds blow
Even so, love is like spring
Despite bitter winter, it grows again and again,
Blossoming, fruitful,
It comes anew, fresh and inspired
Innocent in its soft whimsical hope
And like autumn, it wilts
Turning those vivid hot colors,
To dying gray and sallow brown
The limp, shriveled feelings,
Crumble and skitter away
My love for you, has seen all these seasons
It flamed bright in summer
It departed in snow
It waxed strong in spring
Wasted away in the fall
But through each of its seasons,
My affection grew wiser,
I know now I’ll never,
Forget or forsake you
Your curling dark hair,
And deep, laughing eyes
That easy-calm smile,
And your dusky bronze skin
Through spring and through winter
I only wish that you knew,
Through the summer and fall
All seasons, I love you.
It’s funny. I didn’t think that I’d find such depth and meaning in my summer reading.
I was assigned four books over this past summer, one of them being Toole’s The Confederacy of Dunces. In reading this book, it opened up my eyes of the vicious circle that has been plaguing our society since the birth of mankind and undoubtedly will do so for eternity (or, in my mind, the Rapture).
People want to be viewed by others a certain way. They portray themselves accordingly depending on who their audience is. As shown through the main character of Ignatius J. Reilly, one might strive for acknowledgment but receive nothing but judgement in return.
Prejudice is a instantaneous reaction, an almost inbred behavior. It may take your brain a few seconds to scan a stranger before you feel like you already have a grasp of the kind of a person he or she is.
People, whether conscious of the fact or no, put on a guise in order to recreate themselves. Most people describe going off to college as a time to “start with a clean slate.” This is essentially people putting on a new persona. You are given the opportunity to leave your past behind. So you used to be the girl who was too shy to approach anybody? Well now that same girl is the first to introduce herself at her new college. You are allowed to break the binding chains of the stereotypes that you had been associated with during these chance times. And in this vicious cycle, there are many opportunities to change.
We are afraid to be judged (on different levels of course) yet, we judge almost all we see. The circle feeds on insecurities, on fears, on secrets and it generates even more. Just as Van Gogh‘s potentials were never realized (at least not until after his death) and Ignatius’ motives were misinterpreted, humanity will always reject what is not the norm. And, in one way or the other, people will always strive to live up to the standards of their peers.
Ever need some dance but good quality music for the summer months? Well Friendly Fires offer the perfect solution for this problem. The group’s alternative beats and sounds, described as dance punk, along with their fast and spontaneous lyrics combine together to make the perfect summer BBQ music.
Forming at the age of 14 in school, the St Albans group came together to produce great music. As the group progressed through the different stages of education so did their music and in 2009 they released their first album “Friendly Fires.” Including hits such as “Jump In the Pool” and “Paris” the album was announced as one of the shortlisted bands for the Mercury Music Prize.Now, two years later, the English band is set to release their second album “Pala.”
Expected to be released on the 16th of May in the U.K and the 24th in the U.S, the first song off the album “Live Those Days Tonight” has already been previewed. With similar but more grown up sounds in comparison to the first album, “Pala” is deemed to be a great success in the coming months.
Although the sun has currently disappeared in South California the summer sun will once again return in the next couple of weeks, we hope. The grey days may sadden many but this doesn’t mean it’s time to put on some heavy metal; instead we should listen to those summer songs that make us feel happy once again.
The music of Angus & Julia Stone is the definition of great summer music. Their rustic tones and acoustic sounds paired with simple lyrics such as and rhythms make for music that is truly great.A brother and sister combo from New Port, Australia the pair have astonished many with their paired talent and unique sounds.
Growing up with a strong love for music the siblings decided to give the profession a go releasing their first EP “Chocolates and Cigarettes” in 2006. This followed on to the release of a second EP in 2007 titled “Heart Full of Wine” and the later album “A Book Like This.” Their first album went platinum in their home country following on to its release across the world.
At the beginning of last year the group released the album “Down the Way,” which reaped much success. Featuring songs like “Big Jet Plane” and “Hold On” the album won numerous awards with many of the group’s song featuring on TV shows across the globe.
The pair create great music which is simple but great, proving that often simplicity is often the key. If you need to get in the mood for summer blast out some Angus & Julia Stone and I assure you it will make you feel better.
As the sun and heat have returned to California, us residents often celebrate by going to the beach. For me this means I get to wack out some of my all time favorite tunes and listen to the sweet acoustic sounds of great bands. Such artists include my ultimate favorites, The Kooks.
Listening to both albums just fills me with warmth. The Kooks music is full of merriment in the form of unique guitar rhythms, rusty tones and quirky lyrics, each song setting the scene for the perfect picnic at the beach or breezy bike ride through the hills of the countryside.
An indie pop band from the seaside resort of Brighton, a place I also associate with home, the group started off very successfully, getting signed 3 months after forming by Virgin records. In 2006 they released their first album “Inside In/Inside Out” and followed with”Konk” in 2008. Both albums were extremely successful and we can only hope that they will release some new material soon.
So as the sun is shining I would recommend that you get into the summer spirit and get listening to The Kooks !
OVS Journalism Blog 
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