Elinor Appreciation

Today is a very SPECIAL DAY. (Okay well, I mean now, it's a special night. . .)

My instinct at the moment is to declare that I do NOT do mushy, emotional, pieces of writing, but the truth is. . . I really do. (I mean, for heaven's sake, I spent 2 hours writing appreciation notes for everyone on my color guard team instead of doing homework)

But today is special because (drum roll please. . .) IT IS ELINOR'S BIRTHDAY!!!

Now you may be wondering: who is this person? This "Elinor" you speak of?
To answer that, I say: She is the kindest, most wonderful human being on earth. I am at a complete loss for how to put in to words just how much this girl means to me.

Five years ago, a new girl showed up at school, and was, by some coincidence, in nearly every single one of my classes. I normally kept to myself and didn't talk to people, but I was feeling especially daring one day. I just up and said "Okay, I'm going to make a new friend today."
Next thing I know, I'm telling this new girl to come see my choir show, and figuring out how we can hang out, and since then, things have gone farther. A LOT farther.

We've shared everything from muddy flag football to noodles coming out of noses, and somehow, it made for one of the greatest friendships on the planet earth.

This past year, I left my hometown, and some of the best friends a girl couldn't even dream of having. I will be honest: I cried. A lot (WHAT, don't judge, I'm a crier. . .) Normally, I cry in private. It's not something I like to share, and crying is like my way of venting. Some like punching pillows, others like yelling a lot. I like crying. Alone.

But when I really needed it, my best friend got on her Nokia brick (an ancient cell phone that is shaped like a brick, and is somehow just as tough. . .) and talked me through some of the hardest times I've ever had in my life, and I'm MOST grateful for what she's helped me through.

So.

Thank you, Elinor, for being you. For being my friend. For everything.

<3Achan

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Dear Friend,

Today was one of those days where I just wanted to bang my head against a brick wall. 

This morning I woke up late. No later than I would have expected though, I usually wake up "late." I try to be up early enough to you know, properly pack my things and eat breakfast, but as per the norm, I ended up just shoving all papers in sight into my backpack and walking out the door with an apple croissant in my hand. (The ones from Sam's Club are DELISH). 

I arrived at school on time, thankfully, and my morning started off with out a hitch. In AP Lang, we did corrections for a multiple choice practice. To be honest, none of us really tried. I put in minimal effort into the corrections, and we suspect that the answer key is wrong in some places anyways. (But, as the teacher is pregnant, and has officially gone on maternity leave, we'll just forgive her.)

Midway through corrections, my nose spontaneously decided to erupt like the Mt. Vesuvius of Pompeii. That is to say, I had blood pouring out of my nose like nobody's business. So then naturally I kind of freaked out a little. All I had was the little wad of toilet paper from my purse to save me, and I just sat there like "I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding. I'm bleeding." Blood dripped on the table, on the chair, in my purse, on my sweater... everywhere. In the end, my classmate, Michelle, kindly walked me down to the nurses office. The nurse informed me that the proper way to stop a nosebleed is to pinch it and sit for a while. Good to find out I've been doing all wrong my whole life. Especially since that was literally the 4th nosebleed with in two days...

After that, I left the nurse's only to find that everyone was heading off to activity period, and I completely forgot where I was supposed to go. See, we have this thing called "Activity Period" where we go to a classroom or the library, cafeteria, or gym for like 30 minutes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

On the bright side, Michelle totally finished the last question of my corrections for me (she is my HERO). On the down side, I was completely dazed, and decided to just go to the library. I got there only to be told by my sister that I actually was supposed to be in the gym. But, meh, at that point I really didn't care.

Second period came and went, all was well... and then math class happened. Firstly, I got there and thought I'd lost my phone. Freaked out a little, but then got distracted by the fact that we had a test in front of us. I'm pretty sure I got NONE of those questions right. By lunch, I was completely drained. Not to mention, that we'd only taken PART 1 of the test. So after discovering that my phone was NOT where I thought it was. I just resigned my self to wallowing in my own despair. 

We returned to math class where I just completed the rest of the test without any enthusiasm.

Fourth period was okay. Which I guess meant that it was relatively awful, but by this time in the day, I JUST COULDN'T anymore. At least I found out that my phone was actually in my locker.

By the time I got home, I was ready to take a nap for two weeks, but NOOOOO. My water bottle spilled inside my purse. It was great. Then I had to quickly scarf down some macaroni, get dressed in nice clothes and go back to school for our school's NHS induction ceremony. 

From here, the story gets boring, because, well, as much as I complained about today, the Induction Ceremony was actually quite fun. I've already been inducted (last year) but I went in to help out. There was cake and friends, so, I'm okay now.

I think the greatest mistake of today has been deciding to write this post instead of doing homework, but my attitude today is just "Gah, screw this, Imma do what I want."

Great day eh?

<3 Alexis

Well that Happened #5: Where ya at brah?

Wasting time is my expertise. I just spent a good hour watching YouTube.

I should probably get a move on, and finish filming a video for my band leadership application, but... I said I'd put this story out there, so here goes.

So a couple days ago, I came home after school pretty late (like around 7pm). I came home and just sat around in our front room eating a snack when my mom called to tell me to help her get stuff out of the car. "I'm home," she said.

I looked out onto the driveway and she wasn't there, so I said in to the phone "ummm what."
She just told me to "come out side and help!"

Just at this moment, a boy from school came walking down the street, but I didn't realize he was there, so I said very loudly into the phone "Yo, Motha! Wer ya at brah?!" (You know, cuz I'm thug like that)

This kid just gave me the weirdest look. Even worse, my mom pulled up around the driveway, so he stood there, awkwardly waiting for her to drive past. I just told him to go ahead.

Good thing too, because then my mom told me to ASK FOR HIS ADDRESS. She doesn't seem to understand that I am an awkward teenage girl. He is a teenage boy. One doesn't simply ASK FOR A BOY'S ADDRESS.

I mean if I had cookies and was a middle aged lady interested in meeting the neighbors... maybe. BUT I AM AN ANTI SOCIAL GIRL WHO'S ON THE INTERNET ALL DAY.

I hope that ya'll have a good day. And aren't pestered to ask for addresses by your mothers.

<3 Alexis

On second thought, French Exams are also Trés Difficile

My last post, about essay writing skills and my lack of said skill. This post is about French-ing skills and my lack of this said skill.

In Missouri, it is optional to start a high school foreign language in middle school, therefore I opted to take that path. This meant that over 7th and 8th grade, I took what was equal to one year of high school French. By the time I reached freshman year, I was in French II. That means Junior year, I should be in French IV, yeah?

Plot twist: This summer, we moved unexpectedly. The day we registered for school, I arrived in Frisco after waking up at 7 am and driving four hours in order to make it in time for our registration appointment. Lets just say that I was feeling a bit out of sorts. Filling out all those enrollment forms absolutely fried my brain, and by the time I was actually supposed to tell the counselor what classes I wanted, I was just DONE.
After filling out a sheet where I wrote down what classes I'd like to take, I was told that one of the classes did not exist, two weren't required, and there were actually 2 other classes I should have taken before junior year. By the end of the discussion, I was thoroughly confused. I just agreed to anything and everything the counselor said with reckless abandon.

When it came time to decide on what level of French I should take, I decided I'd go out on a limb and take the AP level- French IV, because it was logical for me to take the next level of French. (It was definitely NOT a desire to seem super smart because I've got Asian standards to live up to ...)

The catch: In Missouri, the AP level French isn't until French V, so technically I needed another year of French to be at the AP level.

On the first day of school, I showed up in the class, and the teacher began spewing a slew of fluent French. The whole class nodded and acted on her instruction. I, on the other hand, realized I had made a GRAVE mistake. How on earth could I ever have possibly thought I could survive in a class full of smart people (three of which I was sure was fluent already anyway). I understood two statements the teacher made that day : Bonjour when I walked in and Au Revoir when I walked out.

I went home feeling rather dejected, but decided to persist with the class anyways. I am supposedly a respectable Asian who DOES NOT GIVE UP on any account! I muddled through a semester of the class and miraculously ended up with an "A" in the class by winter break.

Now standing on the other side of the New Year, the AP exam is hurtling towards me with the speed and force of stampeding cows. After several practice speaking exercises, reading and multiple choice exercises, and essays, I'm realizing that maybe I should have NOT taken AP French IV. Someone rescue me because this French IV life isn't working for me.

Thanks,

Alexis

College Essays are Trés Difficile

Goodness, time is just flying by. I swear yesterday was February 20 or something. But apparently today is not February 21, it is actually March 3. My mistake.

My kind and very considerate mother signed my sister and I up, the other day, for a seminar on how to write amazing college essays. I was rather reluctant to go, because, let's be honest, I got better things to do! But, I figured, it can't hurt to just show up. So, at 6 o'clock, I duly left the house, and drove to the seminar hall with Emma in tow.

As much as I'd like to be hip and scoff the idea of actually taking to heart what the speaker said ( I mean, what nerd ACTUALLY LISTENS to silly speeches like that?!), I was really quite impressed by the speaker. Yes, there was the usual load of waffle consisting of cliché statements like "You may think you're ordinary, but you're EXTRAordinary!!" But, on the other hand, she did really mention how admissions admins choose which applicants are suitable for acceptance.

To make a long story short, it was indeed a pretty good presentation.
My problem lies in the fact that sometimes my life is like...

Person: Anyone, even YOU can be extraordinary!
Other people: *tries very hard*

Person: See? I knew you could do it!

Me: *also tries pretty hard*

Person: . . . You gave it your best!

I guess, maybe I underestimate my self a little, but the whole time, I got so excited because I was actually being told what ideas to build off of and how to go about doing things, and then I remembered that I'm not good at essays.

x Alexis

Sea Cucumbers

It's the week before Winter Break. I should be at home sleeping. Everyday. Of. The. Week.

Instead, I'm up writing presentations about Sea Cucumbers. It's been quite a long day. And in the end, all I've learned is that Sea Cucumber fishing in Seychelles used to be a problem because sustainability was a concern, and that it is very important to learn about in school. Such arbitrary things to learn at school, yet I have to waste my brain cells on weird sea creatures somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

Why can't I spend this week lounging about in my pajamas and looking at pictures of unicorns?

Thankful

Here I am, a week 'n a half after the ACTUAL Thanksgiving day. . . writing a Thanksgiving post.

I am thankful for a lot of things, so Imma just hop right into this!

1. Friends- I miss my old friends so much, but they're still a part of my life through facebook or instagram or skype and even good old fashioned phone calls. I'm also grateful for new friends too. Like with out my new guard buddies or classmates, I would be such a LONER...

2. Siblings- Being in a new place, like now, has made me really appreciate how much I actually love my siblings. I'm not able to hang out with friends as much, and Emma and Ben have been there to keep me company (even though they do annoy the crap outta me sometimes)

3. Parents- My parents are amazing, strong people. For some reason, I spend alot of time arguing with them, but I really am thankful for all they do for me.

4. Ice Cream- If not for ice cream, I would not be alive today. 'Nuff said.

What are you thankful for (even though it's wayyyy past Thanksgiving?)

BEDN Blitz #5- Mmmmuuhhhhh?

17- Rehearsal
18- Home
19- French Shtuff
20- Nicole's Blog

Hello there lovely and handsome friends (for those of you who happen to be male). How are you? Oh! Great you say? Well that's good to hear.

I, however, am a little tired and quite sore... Why? Well. Lets See. Yesterday, I had a Color Guard rehearsal from like six thirty to nine. Today, I had rehearsal from 9 to 6:30. We learned drill for our entire winter show, and learned bits of flag and dance.
See why now?

Tomorrow, we're going to get up way to early to drive ten hours to get to St. Louis. Though, I'm quite unprepared for a ten hour drive, I'm very excited to see my friends again. Over break, I'm going to stuff my face with food, hang all day with my buddies, then stay up all night talking with them. Good plan right? ;)

Lately, I've also been listening to a lot of French songs because I'm a nerd like that. Also because we had a project in French class that involved presenting French songs. It was actually quite fun.
Here are a few that I liked:

Papaoutai-Stromae
Dernier Danse- Indila
On Danse- M. Pokora
Soulman- Ben Oncle Soul

Also, I found this penpal webside called studentsoftheworld.info where you can put up an "ad" and message people via the website. It sounds creepy, but I find it actually rather interesting. Or maybe I'm just weird. Either way, give it a try if you want to awkwardly converse with foreign people :D

Finally, I found out today that a friend of mine named Nicole also has a blog. I read like two posts, and they were hilarious. Just the way she tells stories makes me laugh. Her blog is: nicolesundays.wordpress.com
(Nicole, if you read this, I hope you don't mind me posting it, but it really is good...)

Well, that's about all my brain is capable of thinking right now. I'll post another blitz either tomorrow or the day after to catch up. I hope you have a supercalafragalisticexpialidocious day/night or whatever time it is.

Okay I'll stop now.

K

bye

<3 Alexis

BEDN#3: Auditions Part One

Heyy!

Today we had part one of our winter guard auditions. I didn't get any pictures, but we were just in the school gym.

First thing after school, I went to Band rehearsal and we literally marched a circle outside the school to prepare for a parade this Saturday. It doesn't sound like much, but our school happens to be quite large, and my calves were so sore by the end of it... (because the color guard has to point their toes when they march.)

Then after that, we had a half hour break before all of the people who wanted to try out for color guard went to the gym and we learned basics like across the floors, and drop stops. We also learned a bit of a routine that we will use for try outs next Monday

It was really quite fun for auditions, except that we were going excruciatingly slow...

Anyways, after auditions, we folded the floor, and our coach gave us a good talking to and a great long lecture. She was EXTREMELY disappointed in our behavior during the try outs, and apparently we were being disrespectful and bad leaders...

I completely understand where she's coming from, and I do agree that some of us need some attitude adjustments. I feel guilty because at one point I did stop to talk to another girl when I should've been helping my partner.

Next week on Monday when we have part two of auditions I will work harder!!

Well that's all about auditions for now. It's late and I have to get off to bed!

Goodnight <3 xoxo

Alexis

BEDN #1: Forthcoming!

Hello all! Sorry for not posting yesterday, but our internet was being sketchy. I went to our school's "Forthcoming" dance yesterday! :) It was a "Forthcoming" because our school is brand new, so there isn't anyone to welcome home.

Anyway, I was excited to go because we helped decorate the school and it was AMAZING. I'll just include a couple of pictures from last night here, then write another post for today:


Sister and I before leaving for the dance.

Changed dresses, because mom liked this one better.

#selfie!!

HELP

Hallo!

Recently I've encountered a huge writing block (or whatever it's called). I've been so busy that whenever I have free time, my brain is so fried I can't focus on anything. I feel guilty and a bit sad for neglecting my baby blog so I'm going see if I can blog everyday in November. I think it's #BEDN (Blogging every day in November).

So, what I need help is. . . what do you guys want to read about? If there's anything anyone absolutely wants to hear my opinion on or to read about, I will gladly write about it! Otherwise, it'll just be kind of like a diary of sorts about my life.

Thanks guys <3

Alexis

Moving Vlog

Finally getting this video up. . . Wow, I am such a slacker. It took me TWO WHOLE WEEK.

Well, I've finally finished editing and uploading my moving vlog. I feel kinda bad because I didn't really film a lot of it either. Life has been kinda sorta a little bit crazy, so I didn't have a lot of time to film or edit.
I hope you enjoy it anyways!

Also, I'm working on the Liebster blogger award, so that should be coming out soon :D
<3 Alexis

Moving Day!!!

Ohhh no. . . I hope I haven't forgotten anything important! But, I guess its time to go!!

Hey guys!! Today is moving day and this morning has been quite the hassle! We finished up the loading of the UHaul Truck, and I did some last minute box-stuffing. It feels very strange, because my room still has quite a bit of stuff in it. We aren't leaving this house for good, because I'll be back for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Besides, the apartment couldn't possibly carry all the junk I've been collecting over the years :P

Anyhow, I'm kind of excited to get there. That way we can actually enroll in school, and then I'll feel like I belong somewhere. I'm just SOOO tired from all the box carrying and stuff.

Well, that's about it. If you wanna keep up with like how moving is going in video form I want to keep like documenting the trip on camera so, you can go to my YouTube channel to find those videos, but they might not be up for a while.

Sorry the picture got flattened in the uploading process, I'm not usually that pudgy. . .

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI71vLXb0tzZyd_RfDS2VDw

Kay love ya!
Bye :)

What?! Its AUGUST.

Oh, don't mind me. I'm just freaking out a bit because it is AUGUST...(cue face of utter surprise) WHAAAAAT??

Goodness gracious. Last I checked it was July. When did August come about?! I feel like lately, my life has gone into double fast forward mode (is that even a thing??). Summer camp is over. . . And although so much is happening around me, I really don't know what to do with myself. I'm bad at writing so I'm just gonna list what I've been doing:

1. Gradually packing my stuff in to boxes for moving!
2. Watching lots and lots of YouTube
3. Constantly scrolling through Instagram
4. Writing mini letters to all of my friends :)
5. Reading blogs (it was Holly's Blogust that reminded me it was indeed August...)

It doesn't look like much, and that is exactly why I feel like I don't know what to do with myself :P

My family and I will technically be moving in less than two weeks!! YEEP!! So. . . I need to start getting back into the school mode and stuff.

Well that's about it. . . Soooooo (sorry my life isn't more interesting at the moment...)

G'bye!!

an UPDATE

*SCREEEEECH* That was me slamming the brakes because I was driving too fast. Happens a lot when I'm sleepy :P

Why 'Ello there! I know I've been gone for quite awhile. Mostly because I've been doing this musical camp at our local YMCA. Also because we are in the midst of moving-house-chaos. Aaaaanndddd. . .  I may have beeen just a smidge lazy. (pls don't judge!!)

Anywho, I felt that I had to make up for being "away" from my baby blog for so long. Therefore, I am sitting here updating you on whats up! Like I said before, I've been doing this camp at the Y. It ended this Sunday and I'm gonna be sad to go. (Sunday?? you may be thinking, well technically camp ends on Friday, but we had performances on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.) I'm gonna really miss the fun, the improv scenes (except I'm awful at them), and mostly the people. I've met some incredible people doing this camp, and its kind of sad to think that I may not ever be able to see them again. I'm a CIT (Counselor in Training), and there'a another one named Andrew. He's cool, and just naturally funny. I don't get how it works. Then there are three actual Counselors called Matthew, Kate, and Morgan.
It's so hard to explain in a blogpost just how fun it was to be in this show. I was a replacement for one of the girls and... lets just say I make an awkward guard!

There are ups and downs to my life, and camp was an up. The downs was that I went to bed every night kind of sad and depressed. During the day, it's easy to forget about the sad stuff that's going on, but at night its really quiet in my room and it gives me too much time to think about moving. I still don't think it's completely sunk in yet that I'm leaving St. Louis.

Also, I've had sooo much stuff going on, I haven't been able to film the routine for my guard try out, so Imma have to do that soooon.

Well that's pretty much it for now. I'll write more when I'm feeling inspired or something.

c yaaaaa