Cardboard Boxes, Dancing, Ukuleles (and Fudge).

I actually wrote something. Not even joking. Wrote a poem last week, on a particularly difficult/intense day, and I know it may seem like it's a random jumble of words, but the words actually do mean something to me, so I suppose it's a rather personal poem, but I'm sharing it anyway *gasps for breathe*... 

CARDBOARD BOXES

Cardboard boxes in the rain

Folding laundry every day 

Afire love and black headphones

Blocking out muffled groans

Cut-off shorts and pale bare feet

Homemade bracelets and salty-sweet

Yelling till your voice grows hoarse 

Never-ending list of chores

Toothy smiles, paper bags

Brand-new clothes with price tags

Flip-flops slapping wooden floors

Fading behind large, locked doors

It all ends up at, once again, 

Cardboard boxes in the rain 

In other news... I've started dancing again, which is AWESOME and I've never felt so amazing. Maybe I have, but I don't remember. 

Classes cost money (it's lame), and I don't think there are a lot of great options around where I live anyway, so I've been doing YouTube tutorials and stuff. Last night I was dancing for like two straight hours and I was so exhausted and sweaty and gross but it felt really awesome. And I did some more of it this morning. It's gotten to the point ((already)) where my brothers are humming the songs I'm dancing to subconsciously x). My feet are super raw, but it's totally worth it. 

Doing online ballet lessons sounds kind of stressful to me (though I'll probably try it) so I've been doing more contemporary stuff. Which is awesome. Because I've always wanted to learn stuff like this. And now suddenly I can do all these things and it feels so great! In my twelve or thirteen years of dance experience, I've never done this kind of dancing before, and I love it, it's so much fun. 

I think its true that dancing brighten peoples moods. I've been in such a good mood and my creative levels are flying. I love being creative, and dancing satisfies that and also is a (slightly extreme) workout. Which is perfect. Lately I've been looking for something to do for exercise and so I started running but wasn't super into it... But I love dancing a lot, so this is perfect for me. 

This morning I was playing my sister's ukulele and improvising a song about how out of tune the ukulele was and how no matter what I did it was still out of tune. Basically going from C to F to Am7 and singing at the top of my lungs about my sister's out of tune ukulele. 

I'm in such a good mood. 

I also ate a lot of fudge. 

Dancing is such a wonderful thing guys, and is the remedy for all sadness. That and fudge are the remedies for all sadness. 

The Music Tag!

*clears throat* 

I'd like to thank the Academy. 

jk

I'd like to thank Grace Anne for nominating me for the Music Tag! She is amazing and wonderful and you should totally check out her blog if you haven't already x). 

Music is always in my house. My dad plays the guitar all the time and I'm constantly driving my brothers crazy because I sing too much/too loudly xD. My parents friends are super musical and write their own songs and someone's usually got Spotify playing. I kind of grew up surrounded by music and musical people. It's just everywhere here, and so music is kind of a big deal for me. 
Long story short, I'm super excited to do this post! 

*not my image*

 Rules:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and include a link to their blog (bc it's just the nice thing to do)

2. Answer the questions asked below

3. Tag 5+ bloggers and let them know

4. Add your own question to the end of the tag for your nominees to answer and answer it yourself (optional, but fun)

5. Include these rules in your post

Okay, lets go! 

1. Do you play any instruments? 

Haha, for all that talk about living in such a musical environment, I myself am not the most talented, instrument-wise...

I took piano lessons last year and I can stumble through a song if you put the music in front of me. And I took up guitar the summer after eighth grade, but I'm not sure if I could play it now!

2. What is your favorite music genre?

Hmm. I like country, but I also like pop-rock and folk-rock. I'm not super into like, mainstream stuff...? Like I'm not a huge Rihanna fan and I don't like Beyonce or Ariana Grande... So yeah. I like stuff like Ed Sheeran. Yup.

3. Is there a music genre you absolutely cannot stand?

Uh. I have a list. But I don't care for rap or heavy metal.

4. What is your favorite way to listen to music? (CD, MP3, Vinyl, Radio, etc.)

Oh gosh! I usually just listen to music on my phone, but I do like the radio and I occasionally use Pandora and YouTube.

5. Top three favorite bands/singers?

Ed Sheeran, R5, and Sabrina Carpenter. I think. Maybe. It changes all the time...

6. What are your three favorite chords?

I like major chords, because they sound cool, but I honestly don't know enough about them to pin-point favorites.

7. What is your favorite song because of what it means to you?

Afire Love by Ed Sheeran. At the moment. It might change tomorrow, who knows?

8. (Grace's question!!) What is your current favorite song?

I don't really do "favorites", I have a song that I obsess over for a few days and then I move on to the next one... And currently I'm obsessing over Easy Love by R5. So yeah.

MY QUESTION TO MY NOMINEES: What is your go-to feel-good song?

(my answer to this would probably be Just Haven't Met You Yet by Michael Buble)

I NOMINATE:

Olivia - the cwtch

Monica - Erasers and Pencils

Emma - The Little Sunflower
Olivia - summer of 1999
Claire and Jo - Stories and Sketches

Thanks so much Grace Anne for nominating me!! And if you want to do this tag, I NOMINATE YOU TOO!! Leave me a link in the comments so I can check it out! 

Camp NaNo.

So I'm doing Camp NaNo this year for the first time ever... and I'm a little nervous? Blah, I always do this to myself. It's ridiculous. 

This is how I'm killing two birds with one stone: I get to try out Camp NaNo for the first time ANDDD it's motivation to start the second draft of my story and hopefully make it better and longer ((and better, did I say better?)). 

I went to the beach today, in other news, for the first time in forever, which is ridiculous, because you can literally see the ocean from my bedroom window... I'm so ridiculous, why am I so ridiculous? 

But yeah! Camp NaNo! I need encouragement. If you've got any advice for a first-timer like myself, it would be so appreciated and I will send you Oreos and love you forever! 

Now have more beach pictures, because the beach is just so gorgeous. 

I know I promised that I would post about interesting stuff... That wasn't a lie, I will at some point. 
In the meantime, I apologize for being so boring xD 
Abby

Photo Dump.

Hi! I have most certainly not forgotten any of you. I really truly haven't. Life's been full lately, what with family vacation and a school dance and the My Fair Lady cast party... And the no sleeping bit. For the past week or so, maybe longer, I haven't been going to bed until midnight or later. I don't know why or how, but I do like sleep so I'm confused. 

Today I was super exhausted. Maybe tonight I'll go to bed earlier than midnight?? 
Oh wait, I have a teenage brother. And a twelve-year-old brother. And a ton of cousins and little sisters. And tea. 
Nevermind, I may never sleep again. 
Well that's good. 

Maybe I'll just show you guys some pictures from this past week. 

The photobombing skills of this bird are on point.
I was just hoping to get the waves.
Thanks bird. I love ya. I'll call you Barnie.

My brother. This wasn't posed, he just naturally was sitting like that.

Twelve-year-old bro. I know you can't read his shirt, but it says,
"I'm sorry for what I said when I was hungry"
...
But that oak tree tho

SoCal vineyard

Myself and my cuz

Pic of a book I'm re-reading for the millionth time.
And my Arnold Palmer. So that's good.

Just stop just look at this just wow

Uh, okay, so my brother and I were bored and we started fighting each other with sand toys, like Star Wars lightsaber style. I think I'm holding a rake and he's got a shovel and we basically tried to stab each other while he shouted TRAITOR at me and swung his shovel around like the storm-trouper in Star Wars: the Force Awakens. 
And that basically sums up our relationship.

I've been prepping some other posts and stuff, so I haven't forgotten this blog. I'm just busy and writing up posts is a process for me. 

I'll be back soon with interesting stuff to talk about, I promise. 

Things I Learned in Sophomore Year.

Credits to Grace for giving me this idea. Check out her list too, it's probably more interesting than mine xD. 

Sophomore year. The whole time you're basically just thankful to not be a Freshman anymore. But you're still a Sophomore, hence the "wise idiot" thing. 

If you're going into Sophomore year, I hope this list is somewhat helpful, and if you're done with Sophomore year, I hope you enjoy seeing my take on the year! 

1. You have to learn to take it one day at a time
2. Sometimes rainy days and long hugs make you feel very put-together 
3. Tea is necessary for life
4. Laugh. Laugh a lot. 
5. Bad days are temporary and tomorrow will be better
6. It's okay if people go on without you. Go at your own pace. 
7. Don't feel forced to enjoy every second. Crying's okay. 
8. If you mix hot chocolate with coffee it makes magicalness. 
9. Sometimes, your desk will look something along the lines of: 

observe the desk calendar still on December... I took this pic last week....

10. No awkward situation stays awkward forever. 
11. I'm exceptionally good at creating awkward situations (but that's no surprise)
12. One good thing can make your whole day :)
13. Music helps. 
14. So does being organized. 
15. Get your assignments in on time it's so much less stressful! 
16. Make sure you're doing the right homework before you do it... 
17. Learning to take good notes will save your life and it will be so helpful in the future. 
18. Learn to take good notes. 
19. I cannot stress enough how helpful it is to take good notes. 
20. If the teacher repeats something, it's important. Remember it. 
21. Seriously, write everything down. 
22. Eat. 
23. If you go to the Reagan Library, don't eat the burgers at the cafe. For your own sake. 
24. Pizza. Three meals in a row. Sometimes its necessary. 
25. Dancing makes you happier. 
26. The world is a loud place. 
27. It's good to find some quiet in your world and listen. 
28. Sometimes not saying anything is worse. 
29. Some people aren't worth it. 
30. They say you'll only regret the chances you didn't take. Not always true. 
31. High school is nothing like High School Musical. It's a shame. 
32. If you wear heels, wear heels that you're comfortable spinning in. 
33. Don't wear heels if you can avoid it. 
34. Theater is magical
35. If you don't want to wear makeup, don't. 
36. Make yourself exercise. 
37. Vanilla ice cream is only good if there are toppings. 
38. Sweats are great, but you should put on real clothes once in a while. 
39. Guys are much easier to work with than girls because all guys do is agree with each other.
40. Remember peoples birthdays!! 
41. Eating Krispy Kreme at 10:30 pm in LA. It's a happy thing. 
42. If you're still thinking about it a year later, then it's important. 
43. God really is in control. 
44. There are little miracles every day, and if you open your eyes to them, you'll be amazed
45. LA is a big and scary monster of a place, unless you're not alone x)
46. Observe the world around you because it's always changing. 
47. It's always easier said than done. 
48. You can't lie to yourself forever. 
49. It's hard to wait for something you know might never happen.
50. It's good to strive to go somewhere beautiful 
51. Windchimes make the most peaceful sound ever. 
52. Inspiration comes from everywhere
53. Giving up can be hard
54. Just the whole general concept of fire is really cool if you think about it... 
55. My brother screams a lot... 
56. If you're sixteen and you don't know how to play "Clue"... you should probably learn.
57. Paint and draw, even if you're bad at it. 
58. Smile. People prefer to see you smile. 
59. We become different people depending on the situation
60. Things change so quickly in so little time 

THERE. Sixty things I learned in my nine months of being a tenth-grader and none of them are academic-related! Except for the notes thing I guess.   

On a completely random topic, I just had sushi and sushi is life. 

Let me know what you think! (of the list, not the sushi)

Umbrellas and Rainstorms.

I was super inspired today. 

For those of you who've been reading this blog for a while, (oh those dedicated four people xD) you've probably heard me mention Leslie before. I could do multiple posts on the wonderfulness that is Leslie, but I restrain myself. But I'm allowing myself this one. 

Leslie isn't her real name, but I figured for privacy sake I've given her a nickname. She got me into writing in the first place, back in the seventh grade when we would create little worlds and share them with each other. Because of her I'm still writing. 

She sent me document of something she'd written, and I sat down and read it and I got to this part where she talks about human relationships and my mind was kinda blown. It was so. good. 

We have friendships and relationships with other people because we're a social being. We should share our love with the people around us.

People are everywhere. We find people we love and have friendships with them. In a perfect world, you would find someone and laugh through every day with them and have a perfect friendship. 

But this is clearly not a perfect world and we are clearly not perfect people. But what makes a beautiful relationship between people? 

It's when life has tried them. It's when life has brought boulders to weigh them down and they still manage to conquer it. The most beautiful relationships (and I'm not just talking about romantic relationships) are the ones that have survived through all the difficulties and disappointments of life. They're the ones that picked up an umbrella and walked through the rainstorm together. 

Everyone has different ideas of a perfect friendship. I believe there is no such thing as one. But the most beautiful friendships are the ones that stayed strong despite the imperfections. 

I've seen Leslie maybe twice in the past three years. The last time I saw her was a good year and a half ago. One of my best friends lives half-way across the country. My cousin, who has been my best friend since we were two or three, lives far away too. 

I value my friendships with these people so much because they're still there despite the distances and the difficulties. 
And Leslie was the one who got me into writing in the first place. Where would I be without that. 

I thank God for the wonderful people in my life :)

Hello June!

welcome back, summer

I remembered another goal for this summer, and it is to get rid of this ridiculous sock tan I've acquired over the past nine months of wearing Keds and ankle socks every single day.... It's so bad. 

MAY IN REVIEW

THERE'S SO MUCH TO SAY!! I finished Sophomore year of high school??? I survived exams??? I was dying to watch the Harry Potter movies so when the very very last one was on TV the other night I watched it??? 

Why do I do this to myself. I watched the last movie first. AT LEAST I READ ALL THE BOOKS. 

I performed My Fair Lady. I finished Sophomore year and I'M DONE WITH GEOMETRY!! I went to graduation and said goodbye to some wonderful people. I ran into a bit of writer's block, which is still kinda with me now and 'm trying to decide when I should start writing the second draft of Miette's story because that needs to be done but I can't do it with the Horrible Block of Writers (...sounded better in my head). I completed TWO seminars, one on Antigone and the other on Julius Caesar. Also, I ran out of tea and I'm slowly dying, so if someone could send me some tea, that'd be great. Coffee is only an option for me if there's hot chocolate in it. My brother turned twelve?? He's old. He's also pretty big, like I think he could beat us all up if he so desired. 

Yesterday I heard my brother shout from the next room "Get this banana out of my hair and go away!"

May was awesome. 
Hopefully June will be too. 

How was your month?