Monday, November 30, 2015

WEDIN Day 30: Awkward

My anxiety around strangers causes me to become very awkward. I start to get nervous so I start to act awkwardly as a result. I hate being awkward because I feel like affects everyone around me, but there's not much I can do about it.

I don't get awkward around my friends or family because they all know what I'm like. It only happens around strangers or adults. It even happens over the phone. When I need to call customer service or any other type of service I get very, very anxious as I wait for them to pick up. When the person picks up, I begin to feel super awkward. I don't think the other person can tell because they can't see me and my voice doesn't change but I find it very unpleasant. If I'm ordering food, when the person arrives at my door the same thing happens. I can't tell if the delivery person can tell that I'm feeling awkward because I try not to think about it.

When I'm meeting a famous person or youtuber, I can't be myself. I get so nervous that I just want to say "hi" and run away. I usually try to talk but start to feel so jittery that I end up leaving after less than 5 minutes. I usually regret it later but I know that even if I went back, not much would change.

All my close friends know that I'm very awkward because they see it happen when we go out. I've tried to stop doing that but I don't think I'll be able to because it's very closely tied to my anxiety. Maybe if my anxiety stats to get better then so will this? I can't know until it happens.

I can't believe it's the last day of WEDIN! I actually enjoyed this more than I had planned to. Writing a blog is very fun and I enjoy it much more than keeping a journal. I know that I'll write back soon, but I can't give an exact date. I don't have any events happening in December other than the holidays. If I do blog before then, it will most likely be a book review on one of the books mentioned in my book haul.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

WEDIN Day 29: Book Haul

Normally a haul is a type of video that youtubers make, but I'm going to do it in a written form. I've recently bought many books and I'm going to write a little about each one.

I got these two off Amazon on November 23rd:

All I Know Now: Wonderings and Advice on Making Friends, Making Mistakes, Falling In (and Out of) Love, and Other Adventures in Growing Up Hopefully by Carrie Hope Fletcher
I haven't read this book yet, but I'm very excited to. Carrie is one of my favorite youtubers and I love the way she speaks and gives advice. This book is Carries blog turned into a book. She writes about advice for teenagers and how handled her problems when she was a teenager. She is currently writing a fiction novel that I'm insanely excited for!!

Username: Evie by Joe Sugg
This is a graphic novel by another youtuber that I really like. I've only read about two graphic novels in my life before this. I was never big on comic books as a kid, but I think that's mainly because they weren't around me that much. I'd like to read more of these in the future. I read this the day it arrived and I did enjoy it. I'm not used to reading books like this so it was a very different experience. I think I personally would have enjoyed it more if it were an actual book because that's what I'm used to. I want to reread it trying to absorb more of the book. Hopefully that second read can make me like it more. The story was good and I hope there's a sequel. 

I got these next three at Barnes & Noble on Black Friday (November 27th):

Girl Online: On Tour by Zoe Sugg *(Some spoilers on the book in this review)*

I started this book on Friday, the same day I got it, and finished it yesterday. This post was originally going to be a review on it, but I decided to change it to this. Zoe is also a youtuber (as you can see there was a theme when I bought these) and she is Joe's (the author from above) sister. This is the sequel to Zoe's first novel, Girl Online. I absolutely loved the first book. I did enjoy this one as well, but I felt like it was slightly more boring. This book definitely had interesting bits, but I would have liked to see the friendship between Leah and Penny develop more. Also, I think I was slightly bored by the fact that all that kept happening was Noah screwing up and Penny being sad. Maybe if the book had been longer, like adding more detail to the planning of Elliot's surprise, and more on what happened after Noah and Penny made up, I would have enjoyed it more. Adding more to the end would have made the book more balanced (a balance between Noah's screw-ups and the make up time). This does seem very critical but I still think the book was amazing and I can't wait for whatever Zoe writes next. Zoe is still one of my favorite authors- her books never fail to impress.
Side Note: I got the signed copy of this book! I was so glad I was able to find it!

                                             
I did a book review on this two days so I won't write too much. You can read that here. I read this entire book the day I got it. I also read it while listening to the audiobook. So I guess I just listened to them read it me instead of reading it myself. The audiobook is a little over 4 hours long and I didn't take any breaks. I loved the book and think it was amazing. I love Dan and Phil so much and I think this book is the perfect representation of the world they have created. 
Side Note: This was also a signed copy!


This was an unplanned purchase. I was roaming around Barnes & Noble and stumbled across this!. It was 50% off!! I have loved the Percy Jackson series since I was in 5th grade and I still think it's amazing. This book is absolutely massive and insanely heavy. I haven't read it yet, but I'm so excited to because I love Rick Riordan's writing. I won't have much time to read this because it's not exactly something I can take to school. I'll find someway to read it.


Well this is a really long post. I'm pretty sure it's mainly because of the amount of pictures, but it's still longer than normal. That was actually more fun than I expected it to be. I love getting new books because it's so exciting, so it was nice to tell "someone" about it.

WEDIN is almost over! That went by pretty fast. The first time I got writer's block and had no clue what to write, I got anxious about finishing the rest of the month. Now I'm almost there and I think I did pretty well. (I have no clue what tomorrow's post will be.) Once this ends, I'm going to continue to write, but not as often. I'll most likely write about the events I go to and the occasional reviews thrown in there. I want to do another haul...maybe a Christmas one? I guess we'll see.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

WEDIN Day 28: Feminism

*This post is going to be very, very opinionated. I don't mean to offend anyone, and if that happens in any way, I'm sorry.*

I can't say when I became a feminist because I honestly don't remember. The definition of feminist is: "a person that believes people should have equitable (fair) places in society regardless of their gender". (From this article) I think that is some one isn't a feminist, then they are sexist. That doesn't apply to those who have no idea what feminism is- it's about those who have declared that they are not. Feminist stand up for all women around the world. I can fight for equal pay in the U.S. and also fight for the marital rape to be illegal in India. (A more detailed explanation of feminism can be found here.)

Many people believe that feminist hate men, which is very untrue. Some feminists may also be misandrists, women who hate men, but that is not what feminism is. Sadly, they are the ones that are most heard and always linked to represent the feminist movement, Most feminists don't believe that women are superior- they believe that everyone is equal. Also, feminists don't blame every single man for the oppression of women. This also means that feminists don't believe that women are "victims". I am lucky because my parents and teachers have never treated me differently because I was a girl. But when I get older and start working, will I get paid less than a man? If nothing changes, then I most likely will. Is that not a good enough reason to fight? I definitely think it is. We've been raised on the ideas that women aren't as important, so it makes sense that some men and women believe it; they haven't been taught otherwise. This article goes through explanations of why many think that feminists hate men and how that's not true.

The majority of anti-feminists believe that feminism is bad because they are uninformed. Many women say that they aren't feminism because "they work hard and don't want everything to be handed to them". I personally think that makes no sense, because feminism isn't saying that women should get special treatment. I think that everyone should work hard to earn what they want. There are of are many more anti-feminist sayings that make just as little sense, so I won't go through all of them. If everyone could be educated on what feminism really is and how it actually works, I don't think anyone would disagree.

Also, when feminists fight for equal pay it's not just among men and women. In the U.S., women of color get paid less than white women. That needs to be fixed too! Wages should never depend on gender or race in any way. There is thing called "White Feminism" which is not all feminists that are white. White feminists usually are feminists that tend to know how to stand up for their rights but not the rights of women of color or in a different environment than them. They're not bad, they just haven't been educated all the way. This video by Huffington Post (the video is the first part of the article) does a great job explaining what this is.

It's so hard to try to include everything about feminism in one post. Especially because there is so much that is important. As time goes on I might have more to add to this. What I've written is not all of it, not even close. There's so much more, but I can't write about all of it. I've put links to some more websites and articles that can help add on to what I was trying to write here. I hope it helps in some way.

*Another great website/ article about feminism
* A website for an organization dedicated to gender equality
*An amazing speech by Emma Watson to the United Nations (it's slightly long but worth listening to)
*A CNN article about how feminism has become a word that many shy away from



Although it's a man in the drawing, it's still a good representation of feminism

Friday, November 27, 2015

WEDIN Day 27: Book Review

Book Review for The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil by Dan Howell and Phil Lester

*This review might contain spoilers (sorry Dan)*

I bought this book today and I already owned the audiobook so I spent the entire 4 hours listening to the book and looking at the pages without any pause. It was definitely worth it and I laughed quite a lot.

I don't know if I would have enjoyed reading this book so much if I didn't already know who Dan and Phil were. For the fans, this book is definitely a great way to relive amazing moments, learn some new things about them, and just to be able to go back to some of the highlights of Dan and Phil's entire careers.

The first thing I want to say is that I love the way the book was formatted. It seems like Dan and Phil are just talking to you about moments of their life. Also, because I know their voices it really does seem like they're speaking to me. It's so much fun to read, especially the parts that include bits of my favorite videos. The book is really a collection of everything anyone could want. I also really enjoyed the amount of pictures and cute designs scattered around the pages. You can really tell that it's their book.

The book beings with a small glimpse into Dan and Phil's lives before they began making their YouTube videos. It was so cute to see pictures from their high school years. I really loved the scans of their diaries as kids. I enjoyed being able to see what they were like before we all got to know them. There were also many pictures that showed the contrast between Dan and Phil, for example a picture of their wardrobe. (Dan's is entirely black and Phil's is an explosion of all kinds of colors.) There were also word collages (are those a thing?) with stuff said from the Phil is Not of Fire videos, a huge part of the fandom.

Ever since I finished reading it, I haven't stopped going back to random pages and re-reading parts or just looking at the pictures. It's literally the entire Dan and Phil universe at my fingertips, even more than their channels. I know I will probably end up going back to it often, whenever I'm bored or have nothing to do. It will definitely cheer me up if I'm feeling down and I don't need WiFi for it.

I would recommend reading this after watching at least one video of each or one video with both. More would definitely help, but I think one would be a good introduction. They do a good job of explaining why this book was made in the intro but I still think knowing even more before starting would help.

*Side Note: I got a signed copy!!! Their signatures look so nice and I'm so happy I could get it because I wasn't able to go to the book signing they did a couple weeks ago.*




Thursday, November 26, 2015

WEDIN Day 26: Happy Thanksgiving!! (and some random topics)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!


Thanksgiving isn't my favorite holiday but it always feels like it's the beginning of the holiday season and that's why I like it so much. For some reason, this year I haven't felt as holiday-y as before and that makes me sad. I'm hoping today can still give me that feeling, so then I can be ready for Christmas and my birthday and everything else.

This year's Thanksgiving is going to be pretty different from the rest. Three of the families that are always with us aren't going to be here this time, so that's already a major difference. I think that it will still be fine, but it does make me sad because I want as much people to bring the holiday spirit up. I'm going to be optimistic that everything works out perfectly.

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Tuesday night, I bought my ticket for VidCon 2016 and I'm so excited! I think it's going to be great and I'm really excited because I love that convention so much. I've only been twice and I know that there is so much more that I want to see and do while I'm there. On Wednesday, I bought tickets to see Troye Sivan and I'm also very excited for that. I got to see his second ever LA show and now I get to his fourth ( I think?) next February. It seems like a really long time from now but I'm pretty sure it will pass by very quickly.

I'm also very excited for Christmas! I can't wait to put up the Christmas tree (my family always until December has started before putting it up) and to decorate the entire house. If Thanksgiving doesn't bring the holiday mood that definitely should.

2015 went by so fast for me. It seems like the year started only yesterday and I can't believe it's ending so soon. I wish it didn't feel like time went by so fast. It's never a fun feeling knowing a full year has gone by. I also still think I'm around the age of 12 so realizing that I'm going to be 16 is very odd.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

WEDIN Day 25: Camping

For as long as I can remember my family has gone camping during summer break. Instead of traveling to other countries, we camp. It's not just us, of course. It's usually about 20 people in one camp site (although there's technically only 8 people allowed per camp site) and it's always tons of fun.

I'm someone that uses the internet every single day and the first thing I do when I'm bored is check my phone, but for some reason whenever I'm camping all that goes away. I don't really care about what's happening on Twitter or all the YouTube videos I'm going to have to catch up on.  It's actually really nice. It doesn't last though. As soon as we're in the car on the way back home, I'm checking everything again. I just find it so relaxing and it's always fun to spend a weekend with the people closest to me.

I've also brought my friend Angie along multiple times. When she's there it's even more fun. We get to spend hours on the beach playing random game and being in the water (if the waves don't look deadly and the water isn't -1000 degrees). She's the only friend I feel close enough to, to bring along. Also, she speaks Spanish so she isn't very left out when everyone is talking. She's come along so many times that everyone from the usual group knows who she is and it's like she's part of it.

We mostly go to Leo Carillo in Malibu and Sequoia National Park for camping. We try to go once a month, so about 3 times a summer. We usually go twice to Leo Carillo.. My favorite part of Leo Carillo is the beach. I've been so many times that I know it all by heart, and it never gets old. The water is usually freezing, but I still end up going in.  We don't go to Sequoia every year because it's about 6 hours away. When we do get to go it's always amazing. I can never get over how beautiful the trees and landscape are. It also has the best stars that I've ever seen; they're absolutely stunning. We've been to other places as well but those two are the most repeated.

I know that I'm going to enjoy camping my entire life and when I gt older I'd love to go with my own kids. It feels like a vacation very far away from home and it's only just a couple hours.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

WEDIN Day 24: Book Review

Book Review for The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

*This review will contain spoilers.*

I know that I read this book for the first time at least two eyes ago. I can't remember what about it caught my eye, but I think it was the cover. I think that I first saw it at a library and decided to check it out. All I know is that from that first time, it became one of my favorite books. I remember thinking that it should be much more popular because it was so good.

The book is very different from anything that I've ever read. I can't relate to the main character in many ways, but I found her so endearing and interesting. The life that she had was so strange, but realistic and I still wonder where the author drew her inspiration from when creating that. The language of the book is so descriptive, it felt like I was watching it happen, not just reading words. Lennie's narration is is beautiful that it brings life to everything, even the music notes that you can't actually hear. When she describes music I feel as if I can hear what she is hearing because it's so vivid. The way it uses words reminds me of The Book Thief. It's very different from other books and that makes it so much more interesting.

I love how between each chapter is on note that Lennie has written. It allows the reader to get to know her so much more. Some were about Bailey, which allowed you to see more into her grief, while others are random, and let us get to understand more of Lennie.

The book is very, very romantic. I love the love story the author created. It's filled with so much adorableness and, although it's still very fairy tale like, it seems so much more realistic than other books. Lennie and Joe seem such original characters that it's impossible not to fall in love with them. Their stories aren't very common, and everything about them is fascinating to me.

Now, I've read the book at least 4 times and I don't think I'll ever stop re-reading it. Whenever I recommend it someone, I'm always worried they won't enjoy it. I can definitely see how this book isn't for everyone, but I still think it's perfect.

"But what if music is what escapes when a heart breaks?"
"What do you do when the worst thing that can happen actually happens?"
"...if you're someone who knows the worst thing can happen at any time, aren't you also someone who knows the best thing can happen at any time too?"
(It seems like all my favorite quotes from this book are questions...hm....)
"It's such a colossal effort not be haunted by what's lost, but to be enchanted by what was."
These are just some of my favorite lines (but if I were completely honest I would just put the entire book here because it's that great.)
The newest cover (and the one that I have).

The cover that caught my eye and led me to read the book.


Monday, November 23, 2015

WEDIN Day 23: Sadness

Today has been a very sad day. A very close family friend just got diagnosed with cancer and is in surgery right now and it's left me with a heavy heart.

I've been lucky enough to not have a lot of cancer in my life. My mom's best friend has breast cancer, but she lives in Argentina so I don't know her on a personal level. This is a very new and strange moment. I hate how useless I feel because all I can do is hope that everything will be okay and that's very unsatisfying.

I've been trying to distract myself all day because I know that if I keep thinking I'll go insane. It's been a pretty lazy day because of that.

It's also in these moments that I selfishly wish I was religious. That sounds weird because I can be religious if I want to but the only reason I would want to is so that I can pray (better than doing nothing right?). It's obviously very selfish and now how religion works but at least with that I could do more than think optimistic thoughts. (And, no, this doesn't mean I actually do this, it's just a strange sort of envy that is very irrational and just based on my feelings. I wouldn't abandon my opinions that quickly.)

By the end of the day, we'll know how the surgery went (which has lasted about 9 hours now) and what happens from now on. I'll do a short update later.
In this case, appreciate the peace before it all goes wrong. (Or appreciate your happiness before it goes away.) 

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Everything went well with the operation and she's recovering very well. The surgery lasted 11 hours, but it was a complete success. My family is going to visit her soon.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

WEDIN Day 22: YouTube

I love YouTube. It's a place that I know, without a doubt, that will always make happy. I started watching YouTube when I was about 7 and I would watch NigaHiga, Shane Dawson, FRED, and Smosh. From that moment, I began to discover more youtubers and watch more and more videos. Now I watch an average of 4 hours everyday. A lot of people, mainly adults, don't really get what the whole YouTube thing is, but I've watched it grow over the years and I know that soon everyone will know about it.

One of my main reasons for liking YouTube so much is that the people making the videos seem like friends because we, the viewers, can connect with them. They're not playing parts written by some person who has no clue what teenagers feel, they're just being themselves. I personally feel like I can relate to so many of the youtubers I watch.

I also love how YouTube can bring together so many people from all over the world. It's not just American people. I watch youtubers from all over the world and I get to learn about their countries. And there's fans from all over the world. On Twitter, I've met so many people who watch the same videos as me and they can live on the other side of the planet.

I've been to VidCon, a YouTube convention, twice now and am planning on returning next year. It's such a great way for me to actually get to meet some of my favorite youtubers and to actually see how big it has become. My parents don't really get why I would spend money on it, but I'm just lucky they let me do it. I also went to a concert in October and the artist, Troye Sivan, was a youtuber It's great to see how youtubers are starting to transform old media. 

YouTube has been a huge influence on my life. When I was younger it opened up my eyes to things like the LGBT+ community. (I watch at least one youtuber that falls into each category.) YouTube is one of the reasons that I'm so open minded today. Not just with the LGBT+ community, but with so much more. It's formed the way I think and see things in the world and even how I make my own opinions. I truly don't know who I'd be if I hadn't started watching those funny videos so long ago.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

WEDIN Day 21: Describe Yourself

"Tell me about yourself."
To me, that's one of the hardest questions that anyone can ask me. Whenever I get asked that, my mind goes blank and I never know what to say. Even now as I write, I can't think of an answer for that.

I don't know why this question is so hard to answer, but I have some theories. I'm really bad at receiving compliments and I don't like to compliment myself, so when I'm trying to describe myself words like, "smart" I don't use because it makes me feel weird. And although I can recognize that I do this, it doesn't change anything.

I also think that my age probably affects my ability to answer this. Teenage years are the "find yourself" years (at least that's what everyone says). Because of that, I think that maybe I can't answer that because I don't know the answer. It's such a hard question, although it may seem simple, and it's kind of scary not knowing the answer. Because I can't answer it, it feels like I'm not my own person yet.

This post is pretty short but I don't have much else to say. I can't believe there is so little left of November. The month has gone by very quickly.

Friday, November 20, 2015

WEDIN Day 20: Books

I realized yesterday that although I've talked about my love of books so much, I've never done a post on it.

I think that I loved books so much when I was younger because they could take me to another world. (That's still why I love them today.) It's so much fun to be absorbed into a world so different from mine and to try to learn every little bit about it. Also, the characters start to feel like friends because you get to see what they feel and, if it's in first person, they're talking to you.

Everyone that knows me, will know that I'm always reading. Even now I still feel like I'm being transported to a new world when I read. I think that's also why I love to reread books. It's so much fun to explore my favorite world and characters again. And you never remember all the details, so it's never exactly the same.

I've never been very into nonfiction and I think that's because they always get a little boring to me. I have read some nonfiction books and they haven't been bad but never my favorite. I enjoy all kinds of fiction, even historical fiction, but I can never get into nonfiction.

My love for books will never end and I know I'll always be excited to discover a new book.



Thursday, November 19, 2015

WEDIN Day 19: Mockingjay Part 2 Movie Review

(I'M STILL IN THE THEATER THE MOVIE JUST ENDED THIS POST IS GOING TO BE A MESS OF FEELINGS.)

So it's 9:34 pm and I just left the theater and I have a lot to say.

To start, I'm going to say this isn't going to be serious or professional in any way. There will be many caps and lots of emotions all over the place. Also, **this review will contain VERY HUGE spoilers**

So the first thing I felt was that everything was going by way too fast but I think that's because I kind of forgot it was "Part 2". There are a few things that are different like that Effie is in 13 and Coin seems much friendlier towards Katniss. Those differences came from the first part. I also always wondered why Gary Ross, the director of the first movie, decided to not make the stylist teams as important as they are in the books.

The entire District 2 mission was more or less exactly the same as the book.

NOW FOR A BIG DIFFERENCE. In the books, Katniss trains to be a soldier and best to go to the Capitol with a squad, but in the movie she sneaks onto a cargo hovercraft going to the Capitol (which makes no sense because the rebels wouldn't be sending anything toward their enemies). And then when she arrives, Gale is there? Which I never noticed he was gone. This leads to Coin showing her first inclination of dislike towards Katniss. (What I didn't like about this was that it seemed as if Coin's ill feelings and insecurities about Katniss came from no where. In the book, from the very beginning there was tension.) The " Star Squad" is still a thing and that entire thing, including Peeta's arrival, are also almost the same.

I think all the deaths were kept the same except for Mesalla, who gets his flesh melted off like a candle, because I'm pretty sure he wasn't in any of the movies. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would and that was probably because the deaths were filled with so much action that I was too anxious to cry. If I watched it again, I think I'd cry more.

The only thing I really didn't like was that after Prim dies, the way Katniss talks to Gale at their first meeting is very different. When she asks if the bomb was his, he doesn't mention that Beetee doesn't know either and it doesn't matter because she won't be able to forget it. And then Katniss dismisses him like she's ending the friendship, which never happens. Also, when Katniss and Haymitch leave the Capitol for 12 instead of Plutarch sending them away it's Effie. They use the same lines that Plutarch would have said but it's weird. And Haymitch kisses Effie which confused me very much. The rest of the ending was the same.

The movie was almost exactly the same as the book, as all the rest have been, and the only differences were small and didn't affect much.

I love this movie and I love the books. I love Suzanne Collins and Jennifer Lawrence and the entire cast. I'm going to miss this so much. I'll no longer be able to look forward to November. *lifts 3 fingers toward my Hunger Games poster.*

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

WEDIN Day 18: Learning

I like to learn. I say it often but I really like learning new things and that makes school, for the most part, very interesting. This is one of my nerdiest qualities.

From a very young age, I always enjoyed getting to go to school because I would learn more about the world. That hasn't changed. I hate being clueless especially if it's a big important topic, so I enjoy being able to educate myself. It's such a privilege to have a chance to be educated but many don't see it because sometimes school seems like a waste of time. 

Another reason I love learning is because I'm constantly fascinated by the world we live in. The idea that everything is made up of super tiny things called atoms and that 100 years ago people's lives could be so different from now and so much more is just amazing. There's also the cultures of the entire world. Basically the world is a book full of new things to learn and I want to be spend my entire life reading that book.

With all that being said, it doesn't me that I love school everyday. It doesn't mean the school is my favorite part of the day. It just means that sometimes I really enjoy want we learn.

Although this post is definitely shorter than the previous posts, it did take me a while to write. I'm not sure why it took so long, but I think I had a hard time organizing my thoughts.  

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

WEDIN Day 17: Lazy Days

Today has been a I-don't-want-to-do-anything kind of day. The cold weather definitely made me want to stay home this morning and school was very uneventful. School was very boring today. Everyone seemed to be tired.

I got home at 4:30 and watched YouTube videos in bed until 6. I didn't have any homework, so I was free to do anything I wanted. 

I hate that it's Tuesday because it feels like a Friday and I really don't want to go to school tomorrow. I have to volunteer at the library until 7 tomorrow so it'll be another wasted day. Thankfully, tomorrow is my last day volunteering.

I honestly just want Thanksgiving break to start now. I neeeeed that week off. It'll be so nice to have an entire week to relax and do what I want. I love Thanksgiving because it always feels like it's the beginning of the holiday season.

This Friday, Mockingjay Part 2 comes out and I need to find somebody that I can convince to come watch it with me. I've never missed the opening night of any of the movies and I don't want to miss this one either. I really have no idea who I can go see it with which makes me very sad. Hopefully I'll find someone.

I haven't been keeping track of time so I'm not sure how long I've been writing. There isn't much structure or point to this post so I'm going to end it here. 

Monday, November 16, 2015

WEDIN Day 16: Series Review

Series Review for the Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth


*This review contains HUGE spoilers.*

This series was pretty good. It was no where near The Hunger Games, but they were still compared quite often. I think it lacked something special to make it stand out from other distopian books. The series didn't stick in my head and it wasn't something that I continued to think about after finishing. I can't remember details from any of the books unlike many others.

Although I did enjoy the first two book of the series, the last book, Allegiant, definitely ruined it for me. It seemed like it didn't fit in with the previous books. It was kind of like the Maze Runner, where only the first book focuses in the maze and the rest are completely separate. It was very random and Tris and Tobias seemed to argue over the randomest things - something that never happened before. I also feel like the ending was entirely uncalled for. I understand that sometimes the main character dies, but Tris's death was so lame and unnecessary. It didn't add to the plot in any way. It also was very anticlimactic - she survives so much, including poison gas, but dies by getting shot. I just had higher hopes for the last book and it left me feeling very disappointed even now. I should probably reread it and see if my opinion changes at all.

The first book is my favorite because I find the entire universe that Veronica Roth created to be very interesting and they way it was introduced throughout the book was amazing. She did a very good job of establishing from the very beginning that there is a lot than meets the eye in every aspect of the book.

Insurgent I didn't like quite as much, because it seemed kind of slow and I wasn't as captured by it. It seemed much more dull than Divergent. 

If asked, I would recommended the series but with a disclaimer about how I hated the last book. 

This isn't about the book series, but I will say that so far the first two movie adaptations have been horrible. They took out many key parts and it has many more action scences that are very unnatural with the plot.
I'm Erudite and Divergent because I can't pick between "teaching" and "learning"


Sunday, November 15, 2015

WEDIN Day 15: Party Time

Today was my dad's birthday party, so I definitely had no time at all to prepare anything. Just to give an idea the first people arrived at 1:30pm and the last left at 11.

All of yesterday my mom and I worked on preparing the dishes that could be pre-made and cleaning the house. My dad and my brother worked on cleaning up our garage and taking down our old, and broken, trampoline. We prepared a 4 bean salad, which took a while because my mom prefers to buy raw beans instead of canned; defrosted the shrimp for the ceviche, a Mexican dish with shrimp, tomato, avocado, onion, and lemon/lime; and made the pasta salad. I preferred cooking a lot over the cleaning part. At 4pm we left to another birthday celebration so it was a pretty successful day.

I woke up at 8:30 this morning without any real reason. As soon as I got up, I started helping with what had to be made today. I chopped a lot of tomatoes for the ceviche and finished preparing it. I also started making the beef empanadas that we were also going to be serving. (Just as a side note, if this seems like a lot of food - it is. My mom always makes way too much and we always have endless left overs.) Once my mom took over the empanadas, I started preparing the appetizers. We put out 4 cheeses, 3 kinds of salami/ham, hummus, eggplant (it was like pickled, but not actually pickled. Don't know what it's called in English, but a similar way of adding flavor), olives, and 2 kinds of chips. In Argentine culture the appetizers of a party, called picada, is always huge and everyone gets full just by that. But we still eat the main course, because who cares about being healthy at these things. Oh, I also made these spinach triangles from Costco that are absolutely amazing.

At around half way through the party (4pm) I showed the Prezi that I made for my dad that included pictures from him as a baby onto the present (all 50 years of his life). Everyone enjoyed it and it brought a lot of laughs and awww's, especially for the baby pictures.

Everyone stayed super late because no party can end before 9pm - school night or not. I ate too much food, like always. I still feel full enough to explode. I sadly burned my tongue three times - twice with empanadas, and once with coffee. I also got to try some of the strawberry margaritas that were being made. It was pretty good, but I only got like 3 sips. I hope I'm not too tired tomorrow and that I have a successful Monday. I'm crossing my fingers.

Saturday, November 14, 2015

WEDIN Day 14: Photography

I love pictures - taking them, seeing them, anything to do with photography. Like words, I love how a picture can mean so much. One landscape can hold so many different POVs just from different different angles.

In my post about words, I explained how without words life would be very hard. What I think is different about pictures is that sometimes, we see or experience things are indescribable and taking a picture can help. The pictures I take help me remember the small details about my favorite memories. I love going back to my favorite days and/or trips.

I don't have a super fancy camera and I'm definitely not an expert on how to use it, but I don't think that matters. Since my pictures are mainly for me, I don't care about having the best picture.

I've always wanted to join a journalism or yearbook club  because it's writing and taking pictures, two things I love. Sadly, my school doesn't have journalism and yearbook is very serious and very focused on fancy camera use, which I don't know. For now, I'll just keep taking them for me.

Also, I love using my pictures to make scrapbooks. Scrapbooking so one of my favorite activities and when they're completed, it's so nice to look through and see all the memories.
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*Side Note*
It's currently 10 pm and I'm not home, so the pictures I include are just some from my phone. I wanted to add some from my camera. but I won't be able to do that.



Such a pretty picture....until a stranger photobombs it




Friday, November 13, 2015

WEDIN Day 13: Feelings

Today some terrible things happened in many countries around the world, but the one that was most noticed was the attack in Paris. The attacks left me feeling very emotional and because that's all I can think about now, I decided to write about it.

When I first heard the news, I had no idea it was as big as it turned out to be. I was of course as ashamed and saddened as I am with every terrorist attack, but a lot more was going to come. As the hours went by and more information was discovered, I felt so shocked I really had no idea how to feel. I am a very emotional person and this was a struggle. I got to a point where I was on the verge of tears, feeling anxious, scared, and mad. This mix of emotions was very hard to process.

Even now, I'm not completely over all those feelings. The anger has definitely not left, but I don't think it will. With every ISIS attack I become more and more frustrated at the cruelty of the world. And, of course, I'm still very saddened. I can't imagine what the families are Paris were and are feeling. On Twitter I saw so many people trying to find information on their family members and it left me feeling very hollow. It gives me chills thinking about how desperate everyone must have felt.

The only person from France that I known is my French teacher, but I don't know if she has any family in Paris. And although I didn't know anyone there, I felt as if I did. I felt so affected by this attack and I think that's where my emotional part comes out. I empathize so much with other people that I'm constantly emotional, especially in times like this.

I think I'm going to stop here. I don't think I wrote very much but my brain is very frazzled. And it's not very late, but I will be going to sleep because I feel so tired. Hopefully, tomorrow can be a more positive day.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

WEDIN Day 12: The Power of Words

"The limits of my language means the limits of my world." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

While brainstorming ideas for today's writing my mind wandered off into thoughts about words. Words have always been fascinating to me and my thoughts left me feeling very inspired to write about them. For as long as I can remember, I've loved to read. I can't remember a time when I wasn't reading a book or searching for a new one. As a child, I would read to find out what adventure my favorite characters would embark on. As I got older, I began to appreciate these books more and find some deeper meanings to what I was reading, even if the book was just a dystopian society crumbling under it's corrupt government. Now I know how beautiful words really are. They are so powerful and can cause so much to happen. 

The Book Thief is one of my favorite books because the power of words is emphasized so much. The narrator loves to read but has to do it in secret so she truly appreciates the books and words that she gets. That was one of those books that once you're done reading, all you can do is think about it. When I read it, it was one the first times I really thought about how much words really mean to me. I already knew they were important but that made me think about how much they have shaped my life.

I find it amazing how all the people on the planet could be thinking the same thing, but the way of saying it can be so different. I speak two languages fluently and am learning a third. If I could I would spend years learning as many languages as possible. I really want to learn sign language because I find that to be very intriguing. It's a silent language that holds just as much power as a spoken could. All languages are so complex and beautiful in their own ways. I can't really explain why I like the idea of languages so much. I just know that I always have.

"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite." - C.S. Lewis
I love this quote. I definitely think that sometimes words can be overused. As the quote says there is no reason to replace the word "very" with "infinite" for the sake of having as more complex sentence. Although I don't always use all the words I know, knowing that I can is all I need. I use the words that I have to use. Sometimes stronger words are needed and that's when they should be used. 

Words can be beautiful but they can also be horrible. Just as much as words could bring a person up, they could knock someone down. I think that's why sometimes bullying doesn't have to violent to be hurtful. In some ways getting beat up might leave less scars than harmful words being used as insults. I know how much simple words have helped me get through rough days or stressful times. That's why books and songs can be so helpful. No matter how many times I listen or reread them, they will always be there waiting. I always go back to my favorite books and read just my favorite scene, or sometimes the entire book, because it improve my mood. Sometimes I'll do nothing but read so I can block out the rest of the world. 

I love getting random bursts of inspiration, like what brought today's post. This wasn't original idea for today, but I really wanted to write about it. I'll probably use the other idea tomorrow or some other day, when I have no inspiration. 

*I got the two quote above from here. This link also has many other great quotes about the power of words.*


Another great quote about words.



Wednesday, November 11, 2015

WEDIN Day 11: Setting a Goal (and some random things)

Aaaand here we are again - it's 11:18 pm and I have no nicely planned out post. I really wanted to write my post about feminism today, but I didn't have enough time to gather all the information I wanted. That is what inspired what I will write about tonight.

As I think about this weekend and the next one, I've realized that I have plans for both of them. The post will most likely be up during Thanksgiving week. That's the goal I've set for myself: sometime in the month of November I will write a post about my opinion of feminism and it will be nicely written and as professional as possible.

I don't usually set goals because I always feel like they give me something to stress about. Setting goals has never really motivated me to complete something I wanted to do. The only reason I'm doing it now is because I am very determined to complete that idea. I really would like to write about my opinions more often on this blog but I always want to state my opinions in very professional ways, so I need much more time than what I have now to complete that. More on how I feel about that can be found here.

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(Now on to the random babble part.)
Although I didn't get to write my feminism post, today was still a productive day. I got that hair cut I mentioned in the previous post. Hair cuts always leave me feeling pretty happy because I love when people play with my hair. Afterward, I went to French class, which also leaves me feeling happy. I love learning and since French is something that I've never been introduced to before, the class is very interesting. When I got home, my mom and worked on the slideshow we're making for dad's 50th birthday. His birthday party is Sunday. We're making a Prezi with pictures of him as a baby until now. It's been pretty fun to do because I love getting to look back in time all the way to the world of black and white pictures. (Also, finding pictures of my grandparent's wedding is all kinds of cute and brings many feelings.) We did this for my cousin's 15th birthday and it was just as enjoyable. 

Okay I've gone completely off the "main" topic. My random section actually gave me an idea for tomorrow's post, which was very helpful. 

WEDIN Day 10: I forgot....

So it's 12:15 am which means I kind of forgot to write for Tuesday. I was supposed to brain storm ideas but I got distracted and I've just remembered. So since I have no other ideas, today will be another diary entry.

I woke up very tired (I think I got 6 hours of sleep) and nervous for my test. When I got to school it seemed as if everyone in my house was freaking out - just like me. That calmed me a down a little more because I knew I wasn't the only feeling that way.

In P.E. we began the preliminary rounds of volleyball. Our team did so well today, which made me very happy. We won 2 out of our 3 games and the only loss was a tie breaker, so still very close. We beat two of the best teams!! My bicep of my left arm is kind of bruised because I accidentally hit a very intense serve with it. :( But we won so it's okay. I hope Thursday goes just as well.

The history test turned out to be as easy as the first one. I scored a 93% but we know that about 10 questions will be removed so that will definitely go up. Once the stress of turning in all my work went away, the rest of the day felt very dull. Elective was very boring because we did nothing at all. House was better because we at least got to goof off a little more.

I got home at 4:30 (buses suck sometimes). I took a very long nap at some point but don't even remember what time it was. I think I woke up around 8pm. I was home alone so no one could really tell me. I just spend the rest of the night doing some homework (and forgetting to do this).
Tomorrow I'm getting my hair cut and going to French class. I think that's the extent of my plans. I apologize for such a boring entry. This completely skipped my mind. I'm still not entirely used to writing everyday.
 

Monday, November 9, 2015

WEDIN Day 9: Stress

Stress is an old friend. It shows up quite often, but it is especially worst on days like today - days when I have a project or test the next day (or in today's case - both.) And when it's the day of the test or time to turn in the project, that's when stress and nerves take over completely.

I'm very self conscious about the work I do so when I have to turn in a project and I always find flaws in mine compared to everyone else's. I've always been this way and I don't really know why. I could have an amazing project (not saying that I make great projects, but it's an example) but as soon as I see another person's I instantly think that mine is horrible in comparison.  I know this will happen tomorrow. I'm already feeling it now. I haven't seen anyone's project, but I already feel like it'll be better. I should also mention that I really do like the project I've made. I just know that tomorrow, for some very frustrating reason, won't feel the same way about it.

Now on to tests. I have to say that I'm a pretty good test taker. I usually do well on tests, but hours before I take it, I become a bundle of nerves. I'm terrified that I'll fail it and that I will forget everything as soon as it starts. It also doesn't help that many of the people who took the same test today have gotten very low scores. I feel confident in the material that I will be tested on but I'm still very panicked. I just want to to get it over with.

I didn't have much time to study for the test because of the previously mentioned project, so my nerves are very high.

I think stress is something very common in high school teens because we're aware of the fact that everything we do could affect our grade. A grade that some college or university is watching. I think that having that in the back of our heads is a lot of pressure. I'm scared to have my grades drop below a 90% because of the impact it could have. This definitely adds stress to all the projects, tests, and quizzes that I take. I wish college didn't seem do scary.

Wednesday is a holiday, but I don't know how relaxed I'll be because I have another test on Thursday. And that test is waay scarier than tomorrow's.

That's all I have for today. Tomorrow is my dad's birthday which will be fun. :) I hope everything goes well tomorrow. 

Sunday, November 8, 2015

WEDIN Day 8: Friendship

So I have this great idea for a post, but I need time to plan it out and perfect it. My idea was to do it today but that won't happen because of procrastination and school. I think I'll do it Wednesday because I will have no school. I wish I had more time to dedicate to this blog because I really would like to post better things. Hopefully in the future, I'll get better. Anyway, today's post will definitely be better than yesterday but nothing too exciting. 

Friends are very, very important to me.  My friends make up who I am and are the best parts of my life. With my friends, I can laugh until I cry and create the best memories. Every time I've lost a friend it's been very hard on me. Luckily, I  still have my best friend, who I know will always be with me, and I'm constantly meeting new friends.

Because of my anxiety I have a hard time being 100% myself around a lot people. But I always know that around my friends, I don't have to be scared of  them judging me or thinking negative thoughts about me. I think that's one of the main reasons I love my friends so much. Without them, I'd constantly be hiding my personality. I also have a hard time opening up to people about how I feel. I get very anxious when I have to say I don't like something or I disagree with a person's thought. I always feel like I'm wrong even though it's my opinion. I know I don't have to hide my opinions around people I trust which is a nice feeling. 

My friends have also influenced me a lot. They've made me into the person I am today, even if we don't talk anymore. To this day, I can remember all my closest friends from preschool through now. They have all in some affected the person I am today. I won't go through all of them, because that would take ages, but I'll mention some. In second grade I met Angie, now currently my best friend.  She was the first friend I had who I started to be myself around. Even in first grade I would get anxious around my friends. (I still liked them but I would get shy to be myself sometimes.) She was, and still is, one of the most accepting people I've ever met. Angie has probably had the biggest influence on my life.

Although this isn't exactly what I had planned to write I, as always, still enjoyed writing it. I think just writing anything can make me feel good. I hope that I'll have more time to produce better blog posts than I have these last couple days. I guess we'll see.

Saturday, November 7, 2015

WEDIN Day 7: Very Late Nights

I really have nothing to write about today so I'll just write a diary/journal entry about my day.
So I woke up at around 10 and stayed in bed until 11 watching YouTube videos. I was home alone so I had nothing to do. Then I got up and had breakfast. Afterward I went to the couch to continue watching videos but the living room was cold so I returned to bed. At around 12:45 I got dressed and started my homework.

My mom and brother came home at around 1:30. I finished my science notes and flipbook at 5:30. I ate lunch and watched Dancing With The Stars, so I wasn't very focused and it took me longer than normal. I took a shower and got ready for the party we were going to.

I'm currently at La Cañada and still at the party. It's with all of our family friends from the Argentine school I used to attend. That's why it's almost midnight and no one is on any hurry to leave. It's been nice to talk to my friends that I haven't seen in a while. I used to see them every Saturday but since I stopped going to the school, we see each other on rare occasions. We just finished watching Jurassic World, which I had never seen. It was pretty good, but it was pretty predictable (not that I expecting very special).

I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon, not that I really mind. Tomorrow I'm dedicating the day to finishing my World War 1 scrapbook. I'll hopefully have an idea for a post by tomorrow.

Friday, November 6, 2015

WEDIN Day 6: Opinions

During one of classes today, I got into a small debate/argument on feminism. I got very frustrated during that, so all day it was in the back of head bugging me. I decided that instead of writing on feminism, I'd write about how I form my opinions.

I think forming a valid opinion on a issue, especially if it's a big one, is very hard. Most people hear one thing and instantly take that stance. I think that is the worst way to form an opinion. I like to find out all the information I can and see both sides of the argument. I want to be as informed as possible on the problem, because then when I decide to form or voice my opinion I can support it. Although everyone is entitled to an opinion, I do think many do not realize that they should take time and effort into creating these opinions.

I have many strong idea and beliefs (not religious, just personal values) so, opinionated discussions can make me very emotional. I get so frustrated when the other person is too stubborn to want to listen to the other side of their argument or, even if something they have said is incorrect, will refuse to believe they can be wrong.

Opinions are a very complicated. They involve so much and can vary in thousands of ways from person to person. Opinions can be affected by so much and can also cause a lot.

All these memes made me smile so I decided to include them.


How opinions make me feel (sometimes)

Thursday, November 5, 2015

WEDIN Day 5: The Scary Future

When I was younger, I always would say that I wanted to be an author because I loved books so much. As I grew up, I started to realize that it might not be the best career for me. (I briefly mentioned this in my book review of Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.) Because I knew I wasn't going to pursue being an author, I would always wonder what I was truly interested in. I love Language Arts and know I always will, so that will most likely (I guess you can never be sure until it's time) be what I study in college. Today, my friends and I started talking about college and I started to feel nervous. That is what to led me writing this post today.

I've discovered some jobs in English that I think I would enjoy. I really liked the idea of being a commissioning editor, which is a person that reads manuscripts and if he/she likes it, the next step is to convince the publishing company to publish the book. This seems kind of like a dream job because, in a very basic way, it's reading and talking about a book that you like. I really think I would enjoy that job. A more in depth description of the job can be found here. I also am very interested in journalism and non-fiction writing. I would really enjoy writing articles for magazines or newspapers. I wish my school had a journalism elective or club, because I would love to get to experience more of that.

Now to explaining the title of this post. Although I do have some ideas on what I would like to study, there is still the entire college part. I know I still have two and a half years left, but I'm very scared for college. The entire process of getting in to actually attending seems terrifying, but at the same time I've always felt very ready for college. I have always been mature compared to others my age and that left me always wanting to find more people like me. Also, the freedom of college sounds lovely. Not just independence, but the educational freedom of really getting to just study what I love. I'm also very scared about the financial part of college. My family is in no way poor, but college is so much money. Also, my brother starts next fall and I don't know how that will go.  I do believe that I might be overreacting a little, but I just everything to work out.

I didn't this would be my topic today, but I'm very glad I did. Although no one is really reading this blog now, I do feel like I'm talking to someone as I write. It's definitely a nice way to let out my opinions without needing to have someone with me. There wasn't a set point to this, but I enjoyed it. I'll be back tomorrow. :)

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

WEDIN Day 4: Mockingjay Part 2 and Having Nothing to Do

Today has been been a pretty boring day. I don't have much to write about, but I'll try anyway. I have been tired all day and I'm pretty sure it's because of the weather. It's cold and it feels like perfect weather to just stay inside and be home. But then there's school.  I didn't get home until 7:30 (yay for volunteering) and all I wanted to do was just curl into a ball and not have to do anything for a long while- that didn't happen. It's also 9:30 right now and I still have to shower. I feel like I'm forgetting to some assignment and not liking it. I think I've been slightly panicky all day, but I'm so tired that I laugh at everything, so that's helping hide it. I just stress very much before all tests and project due dates, so having multiple tests and projects coming up is scary. I'm getting nervous about all these little things. For example, I'm very scared of my upcoming English test because having to write an essay with a time limit makes me feel like throwing up. (Sorry for that image- didn't really know how else to describe it.) Also, I have a history project that although I think I'll do fine on, I'm imagining everyone having some grand masterpiece and that, of course, mine will suck. Okay, I need to go back to positive thoughts and just stop thinking.

*This paragraph contains some spoilers about Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.*
MOCKINGJAY PART TWO!!!!!!! I'm so excited that I want to just scream. I know I will cry very much, because all the characters I love die. What is with authors and this intense killing of great people in last books. At least J.K. Rowling spread out the sad death. (There was a lot of death in the last book, but that was expected.) Anyway... Francis Lawrence, the director of Catching Fire and both Mockingjay movies, has done such a good job with the past two movies that I just can't help but feel so excited for this finale. Especially because it comes out this months. THIS MONTH!!!! I loved the Hunger Games trilogy so much and I don't think any of the moves has been a bad adaptation. There are always going to be things I'd like to change, but they are still really good. (Better than Percy Jackson.) I'm 99% sure my friend Angie, same one from my first post, and I will see it together. I've always said that this movie would be the most different from the book because there are some ways that characters die that seem to gory for a PG-13 movie. For example, when that character gets his flesh melted off like a candle. It isn't a very huge part of the plot, but I think it adds to feeling of hatred towards the Capitol.
From this very interesting Forbes article


So today's post is kind of all over the place. When I asked for ideas on what to write, I was told to write about how I have nothing to write about- so I did. Tomorrow's post will be better because I hope to get out of this bleh mood by then. (My vocabulary is not developed enough to know an actual word to describe how "bleh" feels. It's all I have for now.) I might write about something deep and opinionated or another review of sorts. We shall see what the day brings.

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

WEDIN Day 3: Pizzelle Baking

My Spanish class is having a multi cultural "art gallery" tomorrow and everyone was encouraged to bring some sort of food to celebrate. I decided that I would make pizzelles, which I describe as an Italian "cookie" because I really don't know what else to call it. (I just googled pizzelle and it is described a waffle cookie, so I was pretty close.)

I first tried pizzelles at a very close family friend's home, where every party or event, even now, there is plate full of them. She knew that I liked them very much and that I enjoyed baking, so as a gift she gave me a pizzelle maker. It works like a waffle maker just with a different pattern. I've baked pizzelles about 6 times- I don't really get to do it very often.

The dough of pizzelles isn't very special. There are variations, like chocolate or maple pizzelles, but I made the original recipe today. Vanilla extract and anise are two ingredients that, while optional, really change the flavor of the entire cookie. I only used vanilla because I personally do not like anise and I think that, because it isn't a common ingredient, many of my classmates might not like it. The baking part is also very basic.  All you do is scoop the batter into the center of the shape and close the baker. They take about 1 minute or less to cook because they are very thin. When they are barely removed off the baker, they are still very soft and can be shaped, maybe into cones, and then they harden. They are usually topped with powdered sugar, which I did. 

My favorite part about making pizzelles is the smell. I absolutely love the smell of vanilla extract. The smell reminds me of walking into Cold Stone on a cold day, when it's very warm and you can smell the sweet waffle cone smell. ( I don't know if everyone notices that, but it's one my favorite parts of Cold Stone.)

Tomorrow I'm going to add my class's reaction and update about how it all worked out. (Whenever I bake anything I'm always extremely nervous about how people will like it, so I hope this goes well.)
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Everyone really enjoyed them, so it was a success!! It made me pretty happy to hear everyone be so nice about it. 



My pizzelle maker
The patterns for pizzelles





After
Before

The end result
The last one (at the very top) is never perfect










Monday, November 2, 2015

WEDIN Day 2: Book Review

Book Review for Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

*This review contains spoilers.*

I love this book. It is one my favorite books and I have read it at least 3 times. (I love to reread books.) Although the book is about a girl in college, I still felt like I could relate to it very much.

The main character of the book is a girl named Cath. She is in the Simon Snow fandom ( a sort of parody of Harry Potter) and her entire life revolves around that. One of the main plots of the book is that Cath has to try to adapt her fandom life, which many don't understand or find immature, to her life as an "adult". I related to this a lot because I am part of many fandoms and can't imagine my life without them- they make up who I am. People always tell me that I'll "get over it" one day, but I know that's probably not going to happen. This led to me liking the book because it was unlike anything I had ever read before and the author really knew what she was writing about. I'm pretty sure that the amount of books on fangirls and internet culture is still very low.

Cath is studying to be a writer, because she loves writing fanfiction and is very good at it. But when she tries to turn in an assignment using the characters from Simon Snow, she realizes that fanfiction doesn't count as real writing and it is considered plagiarism. (Although some might find this debatable.) I also related to this because I love writing and reading, but I am sadly not the most creative person. When I was younger I dreamed of becoming an author, but I know that won't happen because I can't think of own ideas. I wish I could make up stories about my favorite characters, but I can't.

The book is also very, what I call, "mushy". Which is basically a very fairy-tale like love story with very adorable moments. I LOVE romantic books, so this was just a very nice bonus.

This book was just perfect for me. I think that if I had read it not knowing about fandoms, it wouldn't of had the same impact. It definitely would only make sense to those who truly understand the world of fangirling.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

WEDIN Day 1: Halloween Weekend

A small note before I begin: WEDIN stands for Write Every Day in November ( I know "everyday" isn't two words but oh well) and I made it up just because I like acronyms. 

Around the beginning of October, my friend Angie and I began discussing Halloween costumes. We both had no ideas and knew that we wanted to do something unlike what we had done before. Also, because Angie recently moved about 40 minutes away, it had been a very long time since we had seen each other. We eventually decided that we would both be dark fairies and that we would spend the entire Halloween weekend together.

On Friday, Angie picked me up from school and went straight to my house to get ready for the dance that night. We goofed off and talked for about 2 hours. And then, it was time to get ready. Angie had bought the wings for our costume and I am so in love with how great they looked. They were perfect for our costume.
Our fairy wings


We did our makeup and got dressed and went back to school. We spent the night doing our random "dances" and it was the best night in a long time. When we got home we were both slightly tired and so we changed straight into out PJs and got in bed.

Saturday morning, we woke up around 10:30 and stayed in bed for at least an hour.  IT WAS FINALLY HALLOWEEN!! We were going to be home alone until 5, so it was going to be definitely be a fun day. Every time Angie comes over we spend around 15 minutes deciding on breakfast before picking something like cereal (EVERY TIME). I really wanted to break this tradition so I found some pancake mix and we made some amazing chocolate chip pancakes. We each ate about 3, which left us feeling very, very full. After eating we decided to watch Gone Girl, because I had read the book but not seen the movie. It was very long, but a very good adaptation of the book. It was about 4 when we finished the movie and we both realized we hadn't had any food since breakfast. We still weren't very hungry, but we made some chicken pasta just to eat something. When my parents and brother arrived, we began getting ready. We did go trick or treating for about 2 hours, but this year seemed to very empty and not as great as the previous years. We also opted out of the haunted house, because it was a repeated theme, and one that we both disliked the first time we saw it. Although Halloween wasn't as great as we had hoped, we still had candy and Friday had been loads of fun.

Today, I got up around 9 and Angie around 10. We showered, finally removing the temporary color from our hair (that had been there since Friday). I was still in a baking mood, so I made some blueberry muffins for breakfast. While eating we watched Mockingjay: Part 1, because it was only movie of the trilogy that we hadn't seen together. Angie left around 2 and since then I've been procrastinating on doing all my homework, including this.

This weekend was amazing and has left me feeling very happy. I can't wait to see Angie again and for the rest of the holidays. :)
Our costumes

Don't really know what happened here, but it's very much something we would do