I recently found my old favorite ourselves that never left my side. my canvas cloth, yellow, boombox bag that could fit a pair of shoes AND every notebook I owned in it. I guess you could say I miss it a little bit. It marks a fun time in my life.

We’re halfway through! Robotics is going great. Week 1 has been extremely productive so far. I have a good feeling about this season.

Not much else to report on today, so I thought I’d make it short and sweet with my picture of the day. I thought this was a beautiful jet contrail against such a blue sky. Wish you could have seen it like I saw it.

Woke up late this morning, but still managed to get endless compliments on how I looked. Spent all day at school, then stayed even longer by going up to the robotics shop to organize drill bits. THEN I went up to the other end of the school for a District Orchestra rehearsal, which lasted from 4:30 to 7:00PM. We’re playing awesome music.

I added it up: I spent a total of 11 hours and 15 minutes on my school campus this fine Thursday.

I’m not complaining! I swear. Just… observing. I love being so involved. But I may find school to be home for the next few months. Don’t we all wish we could live at school?

Picture of the day:

This is what made that annoying noise you heard at midnight on New Year’s Eve. But it’s pretty isn’t it? Something sparkly.

AtMM

This weekend is the kickoff for FRC Robotics teams. We’re all so excited to see what the game is. Today was also the first day back to school after a nice busy but relaxing holiday break. I realized that by waking up this morning, I’m throwing my life into a rapid whirlwind of chaos and business. I’m ready for it though. At least I think I am. Robotics every day, school every day, homework every day… and a lot of not so everyday things thrown in there too. Cello will be stressful this semester as well. Everything important comes now.

I’m determined to come out of this semester with confidence, an unweighted GPA of 4.0, a letter in Robotics, a I at districts, a I at state, and a better sense of who I am. Maybe even some extra money! I recently applied for a job at the local pizza place in our town. It’s called Waldo Pizza. There’s only two of them, one in Waldo and one here in Lee’s Summit. I think it’ll be a fun job, if I get it of course, and one that’ll teach me some skills and discipline.

With that money, I want to pay for a few big things. First and foremost: Space Camp. That’s more important to me than anything that I’m paying for. I only have a few more opportunities to experience that, so it’s important to me that it comes first. Once that’s all accounted for, I’d really like a Jeep Wrangler. A fun first car I think. With that I’ll obviously have to pay for gas and possibly insurance. I’d also like a new bow. If I get this job, and start paying for everything else, I think I’ll treat myself to a brand new bow that will last me through my high school years. Put I’m putting some parameters on whether I get it or not- if I get a I at state for solo and ensemble, then I’ll get it. I’ve worked hard on my piece this year. When I get it perfected, I’ll be sure to post a sound clip or vid of it so I can be proud of my accomplishments.

The picture I posted is my desk with all of my crap all over it. I like it though. I feel like it’s my space. When I’m home, I’ll be one of four places. The kitchen, the dining room, my desk, or my bed. There’s also a picture of my bed. And my favorite pillow. When you send me your prayers for my sanity, wish for me to be comfy in my bed snuggling with that pretty pillow. That’s heaven for the next 4 months.

Wish me luck on the craziest semester I’ve yet to experience.

atmm

First picture. I call it “Every Day is a Winding Road”.

atmm

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Christmas and holidays in general. I had a great weekend with my friends and family. I hope you all did as well!

Joyeux Noel.

Today is, obviously, Thanksgiving. We had our family dinner at my cousin’s house, and I’ve been looking forward to the food (that is now sitting in my stomach like a rock) for a week. But before we ate, my grandmother said a prayer. I didn’t get to hear much of it. Usually, we go around the circle and all say what we’re thankful. We didn’t do that this year. So, because I can’t share it with my family personally, I’d like to share what I’m thankful for with everyone reading.

1. My parents and family. They’re always supporting everything I do, and loving me for wanting to do it. I’m so happy I have the parents that I do, and my quirky sisters too. I love them all to pieces.

2. Having a healthy body. Though I have sporadic hiccups and I know I can always improve my shape, I have no health problems or concerns. I have a low chance of getting cancer, and the eating habits of my family have made it so I can enjoy life without being limited by my body.

3. All of my friends. I’ve made so many good friends this year, and I’ve realized the kind of people I like to be around because of them. I have so much fun with them and I hope that they have fun with me.

4. My location. Recently I’ve been thinking about the various turmoil occurring in other countries, and I realized just how lucky we are to live where we do as people of the United States. Yes, we have a crappy economy and jacked up priorities, but in reality, we are so, so privileged.

5. Music. I would not be who I am without it. That’s all there is to it.

6. The ability to read. At the moment I’m learning French, and I’ve realized how much we take for granted knowing how to read once you’ve been submerged in an environment where you can read a very small quantity.

7. All of the good times that I’ve had. Sometimes, memories are the best things someone can give you. You can lose pictures, gifts and Facebook posts, but you can never lose a memory if it’s dear to you.

8. Lastly, I am thankful for opportunity. The opportunity to do what I dream of doing, the opportunity to love people, the opportunity to experience life and its wonderful beings.

Take a second to think about what you’re thankful for, and remember moments you’ve had with your family that you may forget later on. You may realize some things about yourself.

Happy turkey day.

AtMM

After that, we chilled out for a bit at home, then went to dinner and souvenir shopping. We then saw the famous (in Estes Park of course) Cowboy Brad, then got ice cream. I got some great pictures.

Today, we went to the Alluvial Fan. It’s a really beautiful waterfall that’s actually a broken dam from a lake on the top of a mountain. When it first broke, it flooded the entire city of Estes Park. It’s still pouring down to this day. You have the opportunity to climb this waterfall, which we of course did. It had gorgeous scenery and beautiful plant-life. I got some fantastic pictures.

Now when we were done with all of that, the first thing I wanted to do was look through my pictures. They all turned out pretty darn good for a snapshot camera. And since we still had four days left, I checked my memory so I would have enough room for the pictures I would take for the rest of the week. To my utter dismay, disappointment, and any other synonymous word, I accidentally reformatted my memory card. Those adorable, great, fantastic pictures… were gone. I was devastated and fuming at the ears because of my stupidity.

So, moral of the story; screw camera memory. When your camera says its full, delete some pictures. Just don’t….don’t… DON’T mess with the card settings unless you know exactly what you’re doing. I mean it.

Also, during the next four days, I have to go retake a bunch of pictures so you readers will enjoy the posts of the last few days and this one too. (If you didn’t realize this, I wrote these posts a while before I published them, due to lack of internet in the mountains.) Wish me luck!

AtMM

It’s a simple sentence, but it goes a longway. Everything, in its own way, is a piece of art. Anything that has ever been designed, captured on film, or admired by somebody is in fact art.

As I sit in the backseat on the drive to Estes Park, Colorado, I think back to the sketch book I placed in my backpack this morning. I sometimes wish I could just think of something completely new and put it on paper, but then I think to myself that the things that tend to be the most beautiful are the things that already exist. And my goal with my sketchpad and pencils or watercolors is to capture that beauty to the best of my ability. Because a mountain or waterfall is nature’s art, I’m hoping to capture that sometime this week.

That was my hope until I realized I forgot pencils. Sigh.

AtMM