Guess what?

Guess what?
1. I've heard that pickle flavored Lays and mango popsicles are a great combination (Courtesy of my BFF Taylor).
2. Our school jazz band is playing next Friday, the last day of school before winter break, and we get to play for an hour and a half straight!
3. Our school has a concert next Thursday and I'm playing in the orchestra and the jazz band.
4. I got accepted to play in the 8th grade honors orchestra for a day! So nervous!
5. There are cheetos in our car. Yum.
6. There is a lunar eclipse tomorrow at 6 AM, and Ruthie and I are getting up at 5:45 to go see it. You can call us crazy, but it's not going to happen again until 2014, so it's very rare. AND, I've never seen a lunar eclipse before. Or a solar eclipse. But solar eclipses are much more rare.
7. This isn't something I'm happy about, because it's probably not good, but the moon moves a centimeter closer to earth each year. That means in a century, the moon is a metre closer to the earth! Scary...
8. I got to hold my newborn baby cousin today! And I got to see my aunt, uncle and my other cousin Chloe! :)
9. I have very soft fleece snowflake pajama pants. Comfy.
10. I got to swim in the hotel pool tonight, and I have my santa hat!
11. It's almost Winter Break!
12. We get to go to Maine in a week! I need to start packing!
13. When I go to Maine, I get to see my grandma's new dog Lucy and all the other dogs and cats, oh, and of course, my family. I love my family. :)
14. I'm very happy right now! :) :) :) :) :) :)

Anyway, my fingers wouldn't stop moving so I decided to type what I'm happy about. I'll try to write more often! Toodles! :P

Turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes, oh my!!!!

Thanksgiving was great except  have a small stomach and didn't eat that much except some turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. Oh, and cheesecake.
Tomorrow is black Friday and it is all the rage. Walmart opens at midnight (in an hour and a half). People have been trampled to death by ecstatic shoppers scrambling from store to store. I'm not going to die by getting trampled. I mean, it's such a morbid and stupid way to die! Who dies by getting tramples? Ever?
Anyway, my point is, I'm not going shopping. I'm going shopping on Saturday with my best friend at half price books and tomorrow my sister and I are going to Bartell's and QFC.
Well, happy thanksgiving! And even though it's really early, happy holidays!

-Blank- (again)

There's never anything to talk about on this blog anymore. I need to think of a new strategy. Sure, I'm writing a book, chapter by chapter, but I'm not brave enough to post it for all of the world to see. Noooooo way. No way.

I just put my thinking hat on. It's not working.

Any ideas, anybody?

Please?

-Blank-

I couldn't think of a title, so I'm just calling this blog post a blank.

Life's pretty good besides the fact that my English grade is down because I failed yet another AR test. I don't see the advantage of not letting middle schoolers read what they want to read. And since I'm in honors, I have to read above a 6.5 reading level, and that means mostly classics. Ugh.

Anyway, I made the jazz band! And I improved my mile time by a minute and two seconds since the beginning of seventh grade.

My obsession with chemistry persists, and I don't have a slight clue why.

Last year our school dance was kind of stupid, so this year my BFF and I are kicking it back at her place on Friday and we are going to watch cheesy love stories and eat popcorn, soda, and ice cream. Yum.

Well, it's late, I'm tired, and I'm going to church tomorrow, so goodnight! :)

Gone...

How do you feel when something (or someone) you loved and cared about so much is gone? Just... gone. Like, 'You will never see them again in this world', kind of gone.
Well, just remember, if something like that happens to you, just remember that God wants that to happen. It may be for your own good, or maybe He has some special little reason of His own. But it's always going to be a good reason.


Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.


To me, this means that we shouldn't let ourselves believe our explanations for why things happen the way they do, and why they do. We need to just understand that this was God's plan for us, and that whatever happened took place for a good reason. God doesn't want to make you sad, he wants to make you happy. So don't be angry at God. What did He ever do to you?
But trust God. He has a great plan for you, no matter who you are. He will make your path of life clear if you listen to him.

W-w-w-waaatttteeerrr!

Who loves water? I sure do. A few minutes ago I realized how dry my throat was. I drank a HUGE glass of water just now, and yet my throat is STILL dry.
Do you ever have a thirst that you can't satisfy, or possibly a hunger?
Whether it's literally a hunger or a thirst, or if it's just a metaphorical thing, we all have hungers or thirsts that we can't satisfy.
For me, something I can't satisfy is my greed for God to talk to me. Because all of my church friends at camp said, "Ohhh God talked to me! It was so cool!"
And I'm just standing there like, "Oh, yeah. That's so cool." And I'm secretly thinking in my head, Why can't that happen to me? Why am I the odd one out here?
And sure, I've felt God's presence, but He's never talked to me.
That's really the only thing that I have a never ending thirst for in life, besides the literal things like what happened to me just a few minutes ago.
But even if it seems like your hungers of thirsts won't ever be satisfied, maybe they are not supposed to be, maybe they are. It depends on what it is. But I'm not going to get into that.
But... don't get dehydrated, literally. Haha.

Sometimes Life is Like a Pair of Tangled Up Headphones... You Have to Untangle Them Carefully and Try Not to Damage Them.

You know the saying, "Life is like a box of chocolates... You never know which one you're gonna get."?
Well, you can use the same quote, but in a different context. I made up the headphones version today while I was laying in the sun listening to my Ipod. I was trying to untangle my headphones and almost broke them. So I thought in my head, Sometimes life is like a pair of tangled up headphones.
And by saying this I'm not saying my life is tangled up. Sometimes it sure feels like it though. But if you are just having trouble with something in your life, whether it's temptation, peer pressure, doubt, et cetera, just remember that anything can be fixed. Even though things seem like things will never be fixed, someday, somehow, they will be fixed. Just pray to God about it. And don't worry if things don't get better right away, because it takes time.
And let me remind you, God wouldn't give you any situation you're not strong enough for. Like the verse,

"I can do anything through Christ, who strengthens me."
~Phillipians 4:13~

Just keep that in your head and you will be reminded that you are strong enough. You will make it through whatever situation you are dealing with.
Just remember. God is with you. Always.

Don't Even Say the "S" Word.

I am so baffled at how fast summer has gone by. It seems only yesterday I was walking home from my last bus ride of the year, and now I have to make the most of the last week of summer already. I'm so sad. But I suppose school is good (oops, I said it). I just can't wait until I get to take chemistry in high school (and again).
Anyway, summer's almost gone. And I just can't believe it.
Let's see... what all did I do during the summer? I think I'll make a list.
- Summer Music School (!)
- Maine for 2 weeks
- Summer camp
- Great Wolfe Lodge
- Lots of bike riding
- Lots of going to the pool and seeing movies
- Hanging out with my neighbors and my friends
- Church and Youth Group (Oh yeah Jesus rocks!)
- Wild Waves
- Sleepovers!

I'll say this is a pretty awesome summer! I mean, how much more could someone ask for? Well, more probably, but for me this was a Totally Great Awesome Fantastic Wonderful Exclusive Totally Cool Rad Super Fun summer (TGAFWETCRSF summer-- I made that up all by myself)!
But you shouldn't dread going back to school, because you're going to have fun with your friends and learn a few new things! Whatever you want to be when you grow up, you should work hard, because starting in Junior High it even gets important. So try your hardest and don't give up, because if you try hard now, it won't be so bad in high school (!). I'm not saying it will be easy, either, but it will be better because you built up that confidence in Junior high and you will be able to say to yourself in high school (!), 'I can do this. I made it through 7th and 8th grade, so why can't I do it now?"
So I hope you get my point of subject. TRY YOUR HARDEST.

Airports.

Airports. Ah, you have to love them. Most of the time, there are people running like madmen all over the place(especially in the summer), rude and grumpy employees, and suitcase wheels running over your feet. The airport is an interesting place. It can be dangerous too, so always be on your guard.
My recent experience at the airport was... well, curious (I quote Wandmaker Ollivander in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone).
So, we get on the bus from Portland, Maine at 2:30 in the afternoon. There's tons of traffic, and we are anxiously watching Gnomeo and Juliet, listening to ipods, reading, writing, whatever. We don't get to the check-in desk at Boston Logan airport until, let's say, 5:05. We find out our flight is delayed and that we won't make our second flight. So the guy (he was really nice. Nicer than some of the other employees) tries to book us into another flight, which goes to Phoenix, and the second flight goes home. The second flight we would have gotten first class, and we got all excited, we're like, "Ohhh, I've never flown first class before, this should be fun!" But then the computer isn't working, so the guy is on hold with the "help" desk, for at least 30-45 minutes.
The reason I put "help" in quotation marks is because they weren't very helpful. Since we were on hold for so long, we missed our flight to Phoenix. Blah.
By now, we were all frustrated and tired. I swear we were at the check-in desk for an hour.
It's not done yet. So the guy booked us in a flight to Chicago, and then a connecting flight to Sea-tac airport. We are still on that flight, thank God.
We thought we missed the first shuttle, making my mom utter a few cuss words under her breath and making us even more frustrated. But then we figured out it wasn't our shuttle we missed. We felt so dumb.
So we took a shuttle to a Comfort Inn, where we are now. It's a really nice Comfort Inn, too. They're supposedly eco-friendly. Which I think they are, because they don't give you the little plastic bottles of lotion and shampoo, which wastes plastic.
Anyway, that was totally random. So tomorrow morning at 4 o' clock AM, we are catching a shuttle to Boston Logan airport again. But this time (hopefully), we won't miss our flight and get more confusion.
But I learned a lesson.
Next time this happens, have more patience. Because I was so impatient and anxious and it was awful. I kept telling myself, Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue. But of course that didn't help. That's just something people say to get people to calm down. I just need more patience. That's all I need is patience and I'll make it through future traveling. So everybody, have patience and life will go a lot more smoothly, if it's not going smooth for you right now. Because patience makes everything change. It changes moods, the environment, and lots of other stuff.
Patience is a virtue.
Haha.

Clear Blue Skies All the Way!

Last night I experienced my first thunderstorm of the summer. And we were also watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so that's an awesome combo. It's a dark kind of movie, so when there's flashes of lightning that light up the whole sky and booms of thunder, you get little chills up your spine. It's kinda cool.
It's fun here because you have cats everywhere and dogs everywhere begging for you to rub their belly or scratch their ears. It's really cute. One cat, Flyrod, is always rubbing up against my legs and my hands. He's  a big, fluffy black cat and soooo cute. And another cat, Madeline, is so tiny and likes to curl up beside me to take a nap. There's eight cats, and it would take forever to explain all of them.
After an intense thunderstorm last night, it's clear blue skies as far as the eye can see today! Later we are going kayaking and tending to the beehives... it's going to be awesome! Well, I'll talk to you later, everybody! Have a sunny, awesome, amazing, wonderful, fun day! :) :)

Take a Chill Pill Everyone...

Right now I'm in Maine and it's about to rain. If it weren't so cold outside, I would probably be kayaking or something. But it's cloudy and windy, so I'm rooted to a chair at the table. Maine is a pretty awesome place, and there's SO much to do. My grandma has 61 chickens, 9 cats, 3 dogs, beehives, and a humungous garden. In other words, it's a really awesome farm. She also lives right by the ocean and has a dock, so that makes it even more awesome. It got up to 110 degrees on Friday, and it broke records. At least it's warmer than Washington in the summer...
From the plane flight I saw the grand canyon from a very high view and it was really pretty...
So today I got this thing at The Map Store (The Map Store is a store where Eartha lives, a 45 foot tall model of the earth from space, and it has a gift shop too). It's a little light that looks like a pill; the top is white and the bottom is black. And when you twist the white part, it lights up. And the bottom is still rounded, so it kind of bobs back and forth when you set it down. It's from the Netherlands and they call it "The Chill Pill". And I suppose it helps you chill out, kind of. It has this kind of mellow glow to it. It's kind of weird that it does that.
So I supposedly have a ghost that lives in my room. This may sound really stupid, but I had recently read a book with the name Nelson in it, so I named the "ghost" Nelson. So if something was not where I had put it the night before, or something like that, I blame it on Nelson. It's become kind of a joke between my family and friends, but I'm almost convinced ghosts are real, because other strange poltergeist-like activity has occured. There's too many things to explain. But what's ironic is that my grandma has a rooster named Nelson. I laughed on the inside when I discovered that.

Anyway, enough about ghosts.
So everybody, take a chill pill, and enjoy your summer! Because if you spend the summer being locked up and antisocial, it's no fun. So chillax and do something fun! :))))))

The Sunny and Cloudy Days of Summer...

You know I planned to write in my blog everyday, but things have been so busy and I haven't found time to write. I'm so busy with Summer Music School, Hanging out with friends, church, and a lot more stuff. But anyway, that failed.
If I weren't so sore, than I would probably be up doing something productive or active. But last night at my acrobatics class was painful. I mean, the real circus stuff is awesome and fun. But it's what my coach calls "conditioning" that makes me so sore. It's basically stretching, muscular endurance exercises...  and, well, just about any exercising that makes you hurt the next day. You know what I mean.
Friday is the biggest day of the week. There includes good and bad news. The good news is that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is coming out and we're seeing it Friday night. The bad part is that my dad is leaving and he's going to be gone for three whole months!!! It really sucks... but I'll deal. I will miss him very much though.
I still have an obsession with the Periodic Table of the Elements. I don't know why. But strangely, I've somehow managed to memorize 15 of the elements. And tonight when we were making s'mores, my dad put this wood in the fire that had some sort of sealant on it. The sealant, once shiny and smooth, turned midnight black. And it was like spreading over the wood like wildfire. And I said, "Chemical reaction!" And my mom called me a nerd.
Well, it's what I get for being obsessed with science.
But my summer has been great so far. I see my best friends (which is basically all of my friends) almost every day, except for the ones that don't go to SMS or are my neighbors. But it's nice that I get to see my friends everyday so we can catch up and just have a blast together. It's funny, because we have this "trademark" where we write "Hi!" on each others arms, and you're basically "part of the family". It's just  a joke that we have. It all started on the second to last day of school.
Summer can get boring though, when your friends are on vacation, and the rest of your friends are busy hanging out with their other friends. It gets frustrating when you have nothing to do and you spend a perfectly sunny, warm afternoon inside watching movies and on facebook.
Anyway, life's goooood. Right now I'm watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire with my family. We are having a marathon up to Friday, when we are going to see the seventh one, part two. Now that I think about it, if we don't get tickets soon, we won't be able to see till' Saturday. I think I'm going to check. Goodbye, people! :)

Fourth of July Fireworks!!!!

Okay. It's 11:30 pm and I just got back from the Edmonds fireworks with my family and friends. The show was awesome!!!!! But one thing that they kind of messed up was that the fact that they blasted music throughout the whole show. And one exciting thing that happened is that the grass caught in fire because some bits of the fireworks kept burning and went out of range on to the grass. But it was really fun anyway. Well, I have SMS tomorrow--which, by the way, stands for Summer Music School, and I have to get up at 6:30--so I have to go to bed now. Goodnight, everybody, and happy 4th!!!!!

So I Had This Thought...

So today I had this thought. I thought about how much I've missed out this year and how many more friends I would have made. Honestly I was just to shy to get out there and I really regret it. In the last week of school I realized just how many people I could have been friends with if I had just talked and stood out more. Some people wrote in my yearbook, "We should totally talk next year!" And I know that they're right; we should talk more. Because they all seem like really nice people, and I regret not getting to know them because I know we would be good friends. But I am more than grateful for the friends I already have, because they've been nothing but caring to me. I appreciate that I have friends and family, because otherwise I don't know how I would live my life.
My friends all say I need to talk more, and I know I do. In this last week of school, I realize I'm not afraid to talk to people I don't know that much anymore. My opinion of talking to strangers has completely changed! I have surprised myself. Perfect timing, I know. I start talking more just as 7th grade ends. But I still have 8th grade at the same school, so I will try to talk to everybody I come across! Because I want to know people more than just their name, or what instrument they play. I want to be friends with them.
So next year, I will definitely talk way more, because when I was talking in a group of people I knew, I would just stand there and wait until someone said something to me. I would just stand there by my friends, watching them talk. And know people see me as the quiet girl, or the one who is shy and doesn't talk a lot. But not anymore! I will not be shy anymore! I will talk to who I want to!
So people, don't be afraid to talk around people you don't know! Don't be afraid to share your knowledge, because people won't challenge your opinions. And if they do, then stand up for what you believe in! Nobody can push you around! BEING SHY ISN'T ALLOWED!!!!!

Happy Father's Day Everyone!

Happy Father's Day to everyone that reads this! Today we should let our dad's rest and relax and we can do all the housework! 

Thankfully today is going to be nice outside (about 65 degrees and partly cloudy), so you can go do something fun with your dad outdoors if you want.

So... yesterday it was cloudy and rainy and cold. Not very good weather for playing around outside. But my friends and I did anyway. There was tons of water in our tree in our front yard, so we shook the branches and I got soaked with water. I looked like I had been sitting in the rain for a while. Then we played soccer, then my friend "accidentally" kicked it down the hill. as I was running down the grass to get it, I made a sharp turn and fell right on my hip and elbow. Ouch. But despite that I kept running own the road, which was slippery too. Yeah, that was fun. Well, one more week of school left! I can do this!

4 1/2 Days of Pure FUN!!!!!

Doesn't everyone love having fun? I sure do. The next (and the last) four-and-a-half days of school are going to be AWESOME. On Monday, we are getting Cougar Tales (a literary magazine with students poems, drawing, and works of art), Tuesday, I'm not sure what we're doing, Wednesday, probably the most fun day of the week, we are getting yearbooks and signing them and also having Sunshine Day, Thursday we are probably having a party in sixth period orchestra, and on Friday, it's a half day and NO WORK! Well that's my last week of school! I'm soooo exxiiiiiittteeeeeedd.
As kids get older, some of us think that it's just another 2 1/2 months of freedom, no biggie. Because sometimes summer's just so boring. You eventually find something to do, but the problem is waiting for something to happen.


Well, last week of school, here I come!

Bright Colors!

So today I died part of my hair bright orange. I thought it was going to be red, but bright orange is fine too! And I'm also wearing a bright yellow shirt, and bright blue sweatpants! Colors of the rainbow. On the last day of school, I plan to wear red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. But this one sweatshirt I have will certainly help because it has about four of those. I like bright colors. You can probably tell by now.
When I dyed my hair, everybody said it looked like something a circus performer would do. Since I'm kind of a circus performer (well, I don't perform, and I'm far from professional), it suits me. So when I go to my last class next week, I'll look like a real circus performer. Yeah, next week is my last class. I'm sad. But what's exciting is that I'm moving up to the next level, so I get to do more advanced stuff.
Anyway, bright colors are amazing. Not everybody may think so, but everybody is different. Some people like to wear dark colors, and that's fine. Whatever they choose.

Annoying Red Lines

Do those red lines on the Microsoft Word bother you? I think they are one of the most annoying things ever, besides a car alarm. But they remind me of lines or obstacles that prevent you from reaching your goals. When I say I'm going to finish something and reach my goal, later I end up either forgetting about quitting (although I've only really quit once). And that's when you reach one of those red lines. They correct your spelling and make you feel like you can't spell. Well, the red lines in life are what make you doubt yourself, and make you feel like you can't reach the end. But don't let those red lines stop you, because the red lines are worth nothing (even though they help you with your spelling on essays). So reach your goals in life and never give up.

The Periodic Table of Elements

Lately, I've been thinking about the periodic table of elements. I don't know why, but I find it really fascinating. I know "Au" is silver, "Ag" is gold, "U" is uranium, and "Pt" is platinum, but that's all I know. I wish I knew more. In my family, it's a common dinner-time conversation. We test each other on the elements, and what's sorted where, and I'm like, "Huh? What the heck does "K" or "Yb" mean?"
I've very recently figured out that "Zn" is zinc, and "Yb" is ytterbium, and "Xe" is Xenon. But what the heck is ytterbium and what is it used for? I'm perplexed.
Anyway, I've just had this obsession with the table of elements. There was a poster hung of in my science classroom, and she took it down because they were fixing the wall or something. I was sad. When I was bored, I would look at it and try to think of stuff that the letters might stand for. Like "Uuh" (I'm not kidding, "Uuh" is actually an element. It stands for Ununhexium. I find that kind of funny. Like, if you were in Science, learning about the elements, you could answer a question with "Uuh" and the teacher might think you were going "Ummmmmm?"
Well, I just needed to ramble about that.

What a Death Sentence is for Middle Schoolers

When us teenagers have to do a big test, and we don't know half of the material we're supposed to, we freak out, and we're like, "I'm gonna die!". The truth is, you won't die. You might fail (although I seriously doubt that will happen), but you won't die because you have a big test coming up. I had my EOC (end of course) exam today, and before, my teacher acted like it was going to be really hard and we had to study, like, four hours a night. But I didn't though. I just did ten minutes of last minute studying the night before, and none of the material I studied was on the test. The test was surprisingly easy-ish.
Okay, getting a little off topic here. My point is, don't worry about tests or anything like that, because you'll only get more stressed about it. That will cause you to panic, which will lead to not being able to concentrate on the test, and more. It's just a cause and effect chain that goes on forever and ever. As long as you try your very hardest, nothing else matters.
So now I'm going to talk about what middle school students take as a death sentence. It's a short list, but it's true.

1) More than 25 problems of math, algebra, or geometry homework.
2) Two hours of the class they hate most.
3) Lots and lots and lots of detention

This is kind of a joke when I say they take it as a death sentence, but maybe some people, if they are in one of these three situations, maybe they do feel like they're going to die. I dread it very much when I have two hours of algebra on Tuesday's, and sometimes I do feel like I'm going to wither away with boredom. But don't worry about tests or anything, don't sweat it. It will all be fine as long as you try your hardest. ;)

Happiness

Ok. Another one of my corny descriptions of something that happened today. Hope you don't mind.
So anyway, have you ever felt so happy that nothing could ever go wrong again? Sure, there are problems in everybody's lives, but sometimes you get that warm, quick feeling of pure, intense happiness. You want it to stay forever, yet it only lasts a few precious seconds. That's the way I felt today at one point, when the sun was shining on my face, and I was with my family and friends. I just felt so... relieved. I know that's a weird description, but that's how I felt. I felt so lucky. And I can't really explain why. It was just one of those odd feelings or moments.
But have you ever felt this way? I'm sure everybody has at least once in their lifetime. Whether it was so long ago or very recently, I hope everybody has experienced it. Because that's what part of our lives should made up of, is happiness. I mean, not all happiness. If we didn't have problems in our lives and there wasn't anything wrong with this messed up world, then we wouldn't be human and the world wouldn't be... well, the world, I guess.
Happiness is something we all want, I'm sure. This may sound snotty, but don't deny you have problems in your life, because everybody does. Don't be afraid to admit it. Even if some people seem like they are having the time of their lives everyday, and it seems like they have a perfect life with a loving family, friends that care about them, a home they can go to every night... deep, deep down... there is something that's going on in that persons life, too. Whether it's despair, jealousy, something that they regret very much, et cetera. My point is, everybody has a problem. Nobody likes it, but problems are life. If we didn't have problems and faults, everything would be absolutely wonderful. But there are always those movies and books where a character wishes for everything to be perfect because they think they've got a horrible life, but when everything is perfect, they realize that they already had the best life ever. You don't want anything to be too perfect.
Okay, now I'm just rambling. But I needed to get that out. Because lately, some people act like their lives need to be perfect just to fit in. They wear skinny jeans and designer brands (I'm not saying you shouldn't wear those things), they gossip about pointless things, and much more. I just feel like everybody's doing that so they can be known around school. But the truth is, you shouldn't need to do anything to get people to notice you. Some people want to get out there so badly, and others hate drawing attention to themselves. Everybody is different in their own way. But people depend so much on the outside layer of the person to know who they really are. That is what needs to be fixed in a lot of schools. This is what a lot of people say and hear, but focus what is on the inside of the person, not how they appear. Looks can be very, very deceiving. I learned that the hard way.
Okay, back to where we started, to the feeling of happiness. I used to wish my life was all happiness when I was little, though I was a very happy person. But I learned that there is a wrong kind of happiness and the right kind of happiness. I would explain it, but that would be a few more expository paragraphs I'm sure you don't want to read. Whoever reads this, I hope that you're happy with your life. :)

Drama and the Messenger

Have you ever felt like you're the messenger between two of your friends, and you're stuck in the middle with no way of getting out? Something similar has been happening to me lately with some certain friends of mine. They had a really pointless fight and I guess they're not friends anymore. At first, I was like, "Pshh, this isn't my problem. They can work it out." But then I really felt involved when my friend whispered something to me about my other friend when she was right in front of us. Then later she asked me what my friend whispered to me. That's when I felt like the messenger. I felt like I was a backstabber and a liar, so I didn't tell her.
It's these things that every middle school teenager gets caught up in. Useless drama and gossip. I try not to get caught up with these things, but somehow I get caught up in it. Somehow. But I have myself to blame for that. Sometimes we get into drama just because there's nothing else to make a fuss about. We middle schoolers need to always be making a fuss about something. That's not meant to be an insult, but it's merely human nature. Sometimes we don't like all the drama in our lives, but sometimes we just have to deal.
I mean, there are ways to get rid of some drama in your life besides ignoring everything that goes on in your school completely. When a friend tells you about something that's happened to him/her, just say, "Oh, that's too bad. I hope you guys can work it out", instead of, "Oh my gosh, how can I help? Do you want me to say something?". Because just a few words can get you involved in a fight that you weren't even part of in the first place.
 I'm not saying you shouldn't help your best friends with their problems, just don't get so involved that you're eventually taking a side, because that's when it can get bad.
I really hope everyone's takes my advice into their thinking, because it might help you as it helped me get rid of drama in my life.

How Embarrassing!

 Today was very humiliating. In health we were acting out skits for this program called S.T.O.P. (it was for the CBA). It's kind of like the "just say no!" thing. I partnered up with my friend Lily (BTW it's her birthday today) and guess what topic we got?
She was going to say, "Hey Emma, let's go let off a stink bomb!"
Happy birthday, Lily.
Anyway, when it came time for our skit, we walked up to the front of the room and we started our skit. But during the middle of the skit, we both forgot our lines and burst out laughing. Then once we got hold of ourselves again, we finished our skit. At the end, we planned to link arms and walk back to our desks. But instead (this was probably really funny to watch), we linked arms but I went one way and she went the other way and tripped over the trash can. Only one person clapped and I was too embarrassed to pay attention to who it was. I was so embarrassed.
And to add to that, Ms. Ross (my orchestra teacher) made me play a few measures of a song in front of the whole class because the cello section was apparently "out of tune". I don't like playing in front of everybody. It just makes me feel weird.
But the truth is, you just have to get over these things. People will eventually get over the many humiliating moments that they witnessed and stop making fun of you. If you don't let these things pass, they will boil inside of you for a long time and at some point you won't even want to be around your friends anymore because you're so afraid something humiliating might happen. And it's okay to playfully make fun of something that happened to one of your friends as long as you don't make them feel bad. I've been thinking about embarrassing moments lately and I thought, What's the point of making somebody feel bad about something humiliating that happened?
I mean, it's not like they were involved in the situation. What benefit will they get from teasing the person to make them feel bad? People were laughing and pointing at me for the rest of the class. It made it harder to get over the situation. But try your very hardest to ignore the jerks who are making fun of you and proceed with your day's destination. Don't let those people who think they are better than you get you down. If they think you are immature, the truth is, they are being the immature person.
Well, it felt good to rant about my embarrassing day.

Rainy Days

Even though rainy days are horrible to most people, they do have their benefits. Since almost every day is a rainy day here in Washington, we should all be used to it.
You know how Seattle and the surrounding area is called the "Emerald City", and all that? They say that because the grass is so green bla bla bla bla. Why isn't my grass green? And no, it's not because we don't take care of it, because we do. We try everything to make it green, but nothing works. I guess time will tell (even though we've lived here for about three years).
Instead of being bored out of your mind on rainy days and watch the rain outside go down, down, down, and watching TV, get up and do something. Let's see... you could bake brownies or cookies (yum), clean out you fish's tank (if you have one), practice cartwheels if you have room, find bouncy balls and juggle, whatever. Here's a list of stuff you probably won't want to do, but if you're really desperate, then this list is for you:

-Clean your room
-Study for any upcoming tests
-Make dinner for your family
-Take out the garbage

You get the idea. There's lots of stuff to occupy yourself on rainy days.
When I used to live in Ohio in 3rd and 4th grade, I went to a school called Kensington Intermediate. Every Friday, we got to have an extra recess and got to go outside earlier so the recess would be longer. And usually, unlike in Washington, Friday's would always be sunny. Anyway, if you got in trouble that week or if you had to finish work, you had to stay in the cold and boring school hallways and serve time there. The school called this "study hall", and if you had to go to study hall, the students took the news like they were being sentenced to death. And I'm being serious. Having to go to study hall was the most unpopular thing to do.
Well, anyway, I got study hall once, and my friends were like, "Oh, I'm sorry. Too bad you'll get to miss it. It's really sunny."
I don't know why I had to go to study hall, for some stupid reason probably. My 3rd grade teacher wasn't very nice to me. I think I forgot to bring a pencil to school. Something like that.
I just grumbled an inaudible reply and as the bell rang, I grumbled some more and sat in the hallway. No one else joined me. I was alone. How depressing. I heard a weird tapping noise on the roof and windows on the school. I looked up from staring blankly at the wall a few minutes later, and guess what I saw?
Five words.
It. Was. Pouring. Down. Rain.
Haha! Best study hall ever.
See? Rainy days have their benefits. This may sound mean, but you get to watch other people get soaked to the bone while you're inside a warm (well, compared to outside) building.
I don't go to a school where they have study hall anymore, thank God.
Remember earlier I said a way to stifle your boredom is to make brownies?
I think I'll go do that.

Summer's Coming! :)

Have you ever looked at the last day of school on the calender? And while looking at it, thought, Only three and a half weeks of school left. I can do this. 
Well, I thought the same thing when I was in fifth period algebra today. I've (and probably several of the algebra students) been dreading the end of course exams forever. It's three hours of torture with nothing but algebra and I don't even know how to graph a parabola. And for some people math just comes smoothly. They see a math problem and it's like click! in their head. And to be honest, I'm kinda jealous. Kinda. I really hope I don't fail.
The last day of school is approaching, slowly but surely. And when I look at the last day of school date, I just imagine what it will be like. This might sound corny and all, but it's what I imagine it will be. I imagine the sun shining (please please please let it be sunny), empty backpacks, ecstatic teenagers, a smile on everybody's face, and stuff like that. I'm not pointing fingers, but some people have just given up because they think that we don't have to do as much work, given that it's the end of the school year. But the end of the year is when you need to try your very hardest. This is what a lot of teacher's say, and I think it's their passive-aggressive way of saying, 'You're not trying hard enough.'
But don't let that get you down. If a teacher says that to you, just think about the positive side of it. If you got good grades all throughout the school year (and even those who are struggling in some subjects) and if you do good at the end of the year, you will have a good life. I know that's a big "if", but it's worth it to think about the positive side. It encourages you.
So please, for everybody's sake and yours especially, try your hardest at the end of the year. You might miss fun times with friends, but you'll make up for it in the summer. Approximately three months of freedom!
Don't give up yet.

New Blog

So I'm going to do a blog for who knows how long and I'm just going to see how it goes. I'm going to talk about cooking, school, acrobatics... whatever. Just life in general. We'll see how this goes. :)