Things That Make Me Happy - Revisited

Well, howdy. How've y'all been? I've been not so great, but I'm getting better. :)

I was looking at an old post I put up in May about things I like to do. Here's the list from the post:

Read books
Write
Sing
Dance (in the privacy of my bedroom, or in a store, or in the middle of a mall)
Watch movies
Read blogs
Make lists
Study
Listen to music
Watch TV with my family
Drive with my family
Go to bookstores
Go to office supply stores
Watch the sun set
Watch the moon
Vacuum
Lay
Make easy decisions
Make hard decisions
Think about the future
Think about the present
Think about other people and how they got where they are
Watch YouTube videos
Speak French
Travel
Go to school
Be crazy
Be quiet
Be goofy
Be serious
Listen to the radio
Observe (especially people)
Watch teachers (they are so interesting!)
Jump
Listen to other's points of view and opinions
Single-task
Slow down
Sleep
Take the bus/train
Smile
Laugh

I really do enjoy all of those things. A lot. They make me really happy. :D So, in keeping with my wish to be truly happy, I'm going to make sure I make time to do all of these things regularly. I think that's really important.

Talk to you again soon.

Commitment

Hey, guys. How are y'all doing? How was Christmas? I hope everyone is having a great end of 2011. :)

I've been thinking a lot about my life (as one normally does). There are so many things that I want to change. Of course, that's not to say I'm not content with some things, but I really want to maximize my life. I want to look back in 1, 5, 20, 50 years and remember all the amazing things I did and am still doing.

But, the thing is that I always say I want to change my life. Constantly. But, there's never any change. I'm tired of that. So, this is it. I'm fully committing to start living my life exactly how I want to live it. I'm going to do things, see people and things, make things, listen to things that make me truly happy. There's no point in having a life if I'm not going to use it to its full potential, so I'm committing now.

So, yes. That's where I'm at mentally nowadays. I'm going to be happy. That's all I want.

I'll be posting again soon. Promise.

Oh, the thoughts.

Hey, y'all. I can't believe I didn't post yesterday. *facepalm* Failure aside, I had a pretty good week. It sped by after Tuesday, oddly.

I've been thinking a lot about college and my future and such. It's really exciting. But, as I once read somewhere, the future is made up of a bunch of nows. So, I'm working on making my nows great.

A couple of weeks ago I started with this Project 333 dealio. The basic idea is that you pick 33 articles of clothing, not including underwear, outerwear, PJs, etc. and use only those 33 for 3 months. My reasons for starting it were 1. I wanted to become less dependent on my outward appearance and let my personality shine through, 2. I wanted to stimulate my creativity through creating outfits with limited resources, and 3. I wanted to see how little I use some of my clothes, so I can see what I don't need. Pretty good reasons, I think. BUT. I've been pondering, and I don't want to limit myself. I want to develop my own style that reflects my personality. I want to be able to find something really, really cute and see what I can do with it. And, I can see what clothes I don't use by just observing how I dress normally. Soooooo, I'm going to end my participation in the project and do something different. With money from Christmas and my birthday I'm going to purchase a new wardrobe. I wear the same things all the time, but I don't feel comfortable or love them. So that.

Back to the subject of my university years. I've always known that I want to write. Novelist, columnist, and the like. Not poetry or plays, I don't think, though. Anyway. So, my major is going to be something along those lines. THEN, I think I'm going to minor in French. Or have a double major, or whatever. I don't really know how ye olde college system works as of yet, but I've an idea. I've always been fascinated by other languages and accents, and I've always wanted to speak a second language. French really appeals to me, which is why I am studying it at school. I plan to go to French III next year, then AP French after that, then study it in college.

Since I ADORE Europe, I'm going to travel and live there someday (starting with next summer - England!). I've also wondered if I should go to college there. Or, go to college in the States, but do a study abroad program for a few months. That would be incredible!

So that's where my head is these days.

Also, I've been thinking a whole lot about sports. I am going to do volleyball and basketball. I made the unwise move of not even trying out for basketball at my school for 2 years, so I know that I'll have to be really good to be on the team next year. I've been hard on myself about that lately, but I'm going to remedy it. Therefore, I'm going to start playing at a sports center by my house to get my sea legs back, then do a club. That way I'll be fully prepared for the season! I also want to be good at something, since I feel I don't truly excel at anything. Since basketball and volleyball and running have always been things I love and have fun with, I thought these would be good to be great at.

Aaaaaanywho, thanks for listening. I'll sprecken to y'all next Friday on time. ♥

Hey, y'all.

*Blogger wouldn't let me publish this post yesterday for some reason.*

Howdy, guys. How are you doing? I'm swell. I've not updated in a while, but that's going to stop. I'm going to post every Friday from now on, and I'm actually going to start making videos on YouTube soon. :)

So, I've been very busy with school, but things are, thankfully, slowing down! I've finally asked for help, which is good. So, everything's dandy on that front. I had a great Thanksgiving! How was your guys'? Let me know.

So, I'm just keeping this post short, just to update y'all. I hope you guys have a fantastic week, and I'll talk to you next Friday. ♥

Letter from My 18-Year-Old Self

This post is inspired by "I Am Old" from Momentum Gathering.

Dear 15-year-old Evelyn,

Hey! I know you're working to get out of a rut right now, and I am so proud of you!

Right now, you're working to become a minimalist, but nothing is really leaving. You have a gigantic pile of things to get rid of, and you need to get it out of the house! Once it's actually gone, you'll be physically able to see the progress! I swear, it will feel gratifying.

You've just had your eyes opened to a new perspective that you really agree with - if you're not the one wearing, doing, saying, acting, or looking like it, you shouldn't care. If you're not the one judging others for doing what they think will make them fit in, if you don't care what other people wear, if you just focus on living your life FOR YOU, it gets so much better! Train your mind not to make judgments, and to think positively.

Keep being yourself. I know it's hard sometimes, because you want people to like you, but your friends now love you for exactly the person you are, not the one you tried to be. Right now, you're so worried about what people think of you, but you have to keep it real. Be aware if you say or do something that seems fake, and try to correct it.

I know you think it is, but school is not as big a deal as you believe! If you score low on a test or paper or can't seem to understand something, do not be afraid to go ask for help! That's the point of school - to learn and grow as a person. Don't get caught up in the gossip and judging and popularity. It doesn't matter once you graduate.

You have one life given to you, and you have got to make it count. It feels like you're waiting for something to happen, a spark for this big change, but you're the only one that can make things happen for you! No one is going to hand you a fantastic opportunity! You've got to be able to put yourself out there. Take a risk. Because this one moment is all you're guaranteed.

Love,
18-Year-Old Evelyn

My Thoughts on School

I recently read a blog post called "Leslie's Going to Boarding School?!" In it, Leslie writes about how she got accepted into a very exclusive boarding school and her confidence about it. But, the one part that really struck me was this:

"College Bound?
The funny thing is though… I don’t think I’m going to go to college. I’m not going to the school to prepare to get a scholarship and go to college. I’m purely going for a great experience. To learn, to grow, to push myself beyond my boundaries. I’ll be one of those people who messes up the 99% statistic for college goers."

The reason this part made me think is because I've been wondering why I want to go to college. I mean, as of right now, nothing I want to do in the future requires having a degree.

• I know how to write.



• I have the knowledge and common sense of how to run a business simply.



• Travelling doesn't necessitate a degree.

Right now, those are the three main things I want to do, and I already have the resources and ability to do them, so why is it that I feel the need to go to university?

Since I was little, I've always thought that everyone needed to go to college in order to get on with their lives. I feel like it's a building block experience of life. I do think that we've been conditioned to feel that. Teachers are always saying stuff like, "I didn't go to college for _ years for nothing." It seems like everyone is expected to go, but why?

I still want to go, so I can have that experience, those friends that are supposedly the ones you hold onto for life, and the feeling of accomplishment you get when they hand you your diploma, but, if I don't go, I'll still have amazing experiences, irreplaceable friends, and the sense of accomplishment of doing things that I'm proud of and want to do.

I probably will go, because I feel like it is a necessary bridge from living with your parents and having most things taken care of for you to living on your own with all the responsibilities that come with that.

School Right Now

The part where Leslie writes about how she goes to school to have a great experience is amazing and kind of enlightening to me. I'm really into simplicity and living in the moment and all that, but it never occurred to me to do that in school.

I am always planning and working towards the future, when it comes to school. In fact, I spent about an hour today going through scholarship and internship matches and filling out forms for them online. That seems like a good idea, money-wise, but I did it at such an inopportune time - while I was visiting with my grandma. That makes no sense, now that I think about it. (Sorry, Grammy.)

All my hard work, the pushing, the staying up late, the doing homework during lunch instead of catching up with my friends, doesn't seem worth it, really. When I do that, I'm working towards a goal so far into the future, that it doesn't make sense to put off what's important now. Sure, pushing yourself and expanding your knowledge is good, but not to the point of ruining the only thing that you are guaranteed right now, the one moment you're in.

What if, God forbid, someone works so hard to get good grades and fills her schedule with extra-curriculars so she can get into a prestigious college, and her life is cut short or she is unable to go, for some reason? I feel that it's more important to enjoy this moment, than use it to get you ahead in an unpromised future.

How I'm Going to Change

Well, now that that's been said, here's what I'm going to change about how I do things in school:

• No working at lunch, unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm going to use this time to hang out with my friends, to refuel so I don't negatively impact my health or feel groggy later, and to slow down, so I can fully remember my high school experience, so it doesn't seem like a blur.


• Break down projects to the smallest possible steps, so it's hard for me not to start. For example, if I have one week to write a paper, the day it's assigned, I'm going to go home, type out the header on a word document, and come up with topics and thoughts on them, based on the assignment. The next day, I would expand each topic and pick which one I feel I would write the best about. The next day, I'd pre-write the introduction, and so on. *Ever since I was younger, I finished every project the day before it was due, if not that day. This causes so much stress, and doesn't leave me time to enjoy the assignment or do my best.*


• Only join clubs and participate in service learning opportunities if I feel like they are something I want to do. I signed up for something like 9 clubs last year, just because they sounded interesting or because my friends were doing them. Of the 9, only 4 gave me more information, like meeting dates, and I only attended meetings of 3 of those. In the end, I didn't follow through with any of the clubs I had signed up for, because they weren't in line with what I felt most passionate about. This year, I'm going to focus on activities that actually make me happy and make me want to do them. Plus, I'm going to look for things outside of school, like a job at an independent bookstore and making videos on YouTube; things that really excite me.


• Don't go 110% on things that don't really matter. Last year, I thought every single thing we did in class was going to be on the quarter test or final exam. This led me to study a little bit of everything we'd covered, instead of paying attention to what we spent the most time on or what was emphasized the most. I spent countless nights up late, just to make sure I had the perfect wording on a rough draft of a paper, or to finish coloring a time line for extra credit. Stupid stuff like that, that doesn't even matter.

To Summarize

I'm going to keep this year really simple. My locker, my schedule, my workload. I'm going to work on taking each day as it comes and staying in the moment, instead of working blindly towards a goal I may never have the opportunity to achieve. This year is going to amazing and much less stressful than last year, which I am really looking forward to.

Thanks for reading this exceptionally long post! I really appreciate it! ♥

Rest of the Summer to Date

So, to finish up my Summer 2011 series, I'm just going to list some things that I did.

1. July 11 - got contacts.

2. July 13 - had another meeting for England (I'm really getting excited!) and went to a picnic for my father's work.

3. July 14 - went to Navy Pier with a couple of my best friends. :)

The skyline is magic.

4. July 16 - went to the Renaissance Faire with my sister and uncle.

5. July 29 - went to Pierogi Fest with my aunt and sister + had way too much food.

6. August 1 - WENT TO THE PAUL MCCARTNEY CONCERT! This was absolutely amazing, and I can't believe I got the chance to see one of my idols, a member of the Beatles, someone that changed entire generations of people, with the people that grew up when the Beatles were huge. Incredible.

7. August 10 - WENT TO THE TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT! This time, it was a different cousin, my sister, and I, and it was the best TS concert I have been to so far. I don't know why, but I enjoyed myself more (probably because I let myself experience it, rather than taking a whole buncha pictures) and it was more magical. Plus, we had a better angle to the stage, so the view was perfection. :D

8. Mid-August to present - volleyball tryouts, then practice, because I MADE THE JV TEAM! I've been having a pretty good time, but my shoulder is a tad messed up, which sometimes brings me down mentally. Either way, as of now, our record is 1-1, but we should be undefeated. I've not played in a game yet, but I hope I'll get my chance to soon!

9. August 13 - block party + sleepover. Fun!

10. August 20 - picnic for my family's old neighborhood + sleepover. Very fun!

Of course I did more fun stuff than that, but those things stood out to me. Tomorrow, I'm going to catch a movie at an old theatre in this neck o' the woods, and Sunday, I'm meeting up with my friends at our little hang-out restaurant.

Happily, summer has been really exhilarating, but it is almost over. I'm excited to go back to school, because I am going to make this year ROCK! I hope y'all have a marvelous weekend. Payce!

July 2-8

Today, my cousin picked my family up (at 5:30) and drove us to the airport. We got there, printed our boarding passes, checked our bags, got breakfast, and waited for our plane to arrive. Where, you might ask, were we going? To Las Vegas! This was a pretty big deal, because my sister and I had never been farther west than Texas. The purpose of the voyage was to go to a family friend's wedding, but my family made a trip out of it!




When we landed, we drove around a bit, got lunch, and went to the church! It was a very pretty, simple ceremony, and the bride's dress was gorgeous!




Afterwards, we went to our hotel and took a nap! We then got ready and dolled up to go to the reception, which was held at a resort in the mountains.


The view was incredible!

The food was great, the music was pretty good, and the dancing was fun! I kept an eye on my little cousins, which is always a blast.

The night ended late, and we slept in the next day. :)

On the 3rd, we checked out a bunch of the swanky casinos, one of which being Paris. We, of course, went up in the Eiffel Tower, which was crazyawesome! My sister forgot about her fear of heights until we were up there, so she stayed glued to the middle of the viewing deck.




We went to Hoover Dam on the 4th of July, and I thought the video that they showed us before we went up was pretty dang cool (mostly because it looked like it was made in the 60s, which I love). :D The view here was pretty breathtaking, too. My sister and I got the obligatory one-person-standing-on-each-side-of-the-Nevada/Arizona-boarder picture, which was fun!

The next couple of days, we traversed from casino to casino, and had a whole lot of Panda Express. Here are some more pictures from the trip:

(My first time zip-lining - pretty fun.)

I think this post or my next one will be the last in this series, because I don't really feel like writing about every single thing I did, and I'm sure no one really wants to read that. Plus, I have some cool topics to write about.

Laytah.

June 30 - July 1

On July 30th of this year, my family packed up our stuff and decided to leave Minnesota. The original plan was to leave the next day, but we liked the idea of more relaxing time at home before our next adventure.

It was a really pretty drive, actually. We went through Duluth over a few bridges that overlooked some gorgeous lakes or rivers, I don't remember which. My sister and I took turns staying up with my dad, so he could stay awake while driving, which was very fun. :)

We got in some time in the early AM, and slept for a looooong while. We did laundry and packed our clothes into suitcases and relaxed.

I know this isn't the most interesting of posts, but the upcoming ones will have a little more action. :) I'm going to start grouping the days and publishing more frequently, so I can get this series over more quickly, so I can move on to some more focused and more beneficial articles.

I really appreciate that you're keeping up with the blog. Thanks!

June 18-30

My home away from home:

The beginning of our stay there involved some technical difficulties, but we eventually got them straightened out. Then, by the time that was fixed, the weather was awful! It was pouring buckets for the next couples of days and getting into the 40s! Not what I'd call summer weather.

Because of the bad weather, we didn't get to fish as much as usual, but our pickins weren't too bad. I only went fishing a few times, but I definitely want to go more next year. Even though I will only be there a week next year, because, as you remember, I'm going to England!

My family and I had a glorious time of relaxation, fun playing cards (Back Alley Bridge), and going into town. I love that in little towns, like the one we were near, you say "going into town." I can't really say that here, because I live in the city. Here's a picture of a shop that looked unbearably cool from the outside, but turned out to be a bit disappointing in the innards.

I was really excited to go in here, because the outside looks similar to a store that I've been to and loved, called Lemon Sky Unlimited. But, alas, I didn't find it to be the greatest. Yes, everything was either handmade or vintage, which is awesome, but nothing really caught my eye. The prices were a bit steep, too. Here's the website, if you'd like to check it out: yellowumbrellashop.com. They also list their stuff on etsy.

My daddy got me a box of Reese's fudge mix, so here's a picture of me and the final product! It didn't turn out as pretty as the picture, but it was really good.

I was just sitting outside of my aunt and uncle's cabin with my dog, reading, when I decided to get my dog some water from our cabin. When I walked up to the door, this is what I found:

An itty-bitty, colorful birdy! It barely moved when I got near it to take a picture, and stayed there for a while. My sister kept yelling at me not to touch it, but I wanted to make sure it was okay! I guess it was okay, because in 15 minutes it was gone.

Here's my precious doggy, Cody. :)

Either way, we really enjoyed ourselves, even if the weather didn't cooperate too much. :D

June 18

On this day, my family left for Up Up North. I use 2 "Up"s, because this is farther north than where had stayed for the past few days.





I can proudly say that I did not sleep the entire way up there. :) We ate at Bonanza, which is a buffet-type restaurant that we've been stopping at for as long as I can remember. It's always fun to have little traditions like that. I don't really remember very much of the trip, so it was probably the usual stopping at gas stations every couple hundred miles, sleeping, and listening to music.





When we got there, we unloaded the boat, got it in the water, and started to cozy up our cabin. We put all the food where it needed to go, started to unpack our clothes, and relaxed after a long day of driving (in my dad's case).

June 17

On this day, we went to the Mall of America! My family has been coming here since before I could remember, and it's always tons of fun! I remember when it was Camp Snoopy (ah, childhood), "the park at MOA," and Nickelodeon-themed, as it is now.





We didn't spend as much time here as we usually do (I forget why), but it was still a good time. I made a short list of things that I knew I wanted to get (mostly clothes, because there's no tax on clothes in Minnesota) and set out to find them.





My family ate at Tony Roma's, as per usual (it's my dad's favorite restaurant there), and we had a lot of fun, overall. :)

June 16

On this day, I went to a Twins/White Sox game with my family! I'm not too into watching sports intently, but something about professional sports just inspires me. Though, for some reason, I think that baseball is such a weird sport to watch. Just something about it makes it strange to me.





I spent most of the game walking around the stadium with my sister, so we got to talk and be silly in ways only twins can. :)

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures today. TTYS!

June 15

Alrighty, who's ready for the first official post of the Summer 2011 series?! I know I am. :) Aaaand, begin.

On June 15th of this year, we (mostly my dad) packed up our clothes, boat, and everything else we needed for 2 weeks in the "wilderness" that is Minnesota. We left early in the AM and made few stops. I didn't mean to, and I hate that I did, but I slept the. entire. way. there. That's like 6 or 7 hours after about 4 the night before. I know, I know. Lazy. So, unfortunately, I missed the gorgeous journey from city to suburbs to pure country to suburbs and city again.

And guess what I did when we got there. Yep, I took a nap. :)

A few hours later, I got up, showered, and got ready to go to the first Taylor Swift concert of my summer! (I'm going to another one in August, but that's another post.) My aunt made quite possibly the most delicious meal I'd ever had (pork chops, I think, with rice and mushroom sauce), and my cousin drove us to the venue.

It was glorious. :) There were giant posters, like these, that were available for taking pictures in front of.

Plus, we got in line for a special picture (which, I don't know where it is) and we got free tubes of CoverGirl's gloss balm. If you don't know, and how could you not?, Taylor Swift is the face of CoverGirl's Natureluxe line. PLUS, they gave us a coupon for more Natureluxe stuff. Pretty cool.

So, we got to our seats, which were really close to the stage (thanks, Pa!), and waited. There were gigantic screens that played Taylor's CG commercials and little behind-the-scene videos from her music videos and such. Then, Randy Montana came on to open. Then the official opener, Need To Breathe, played.

Finally, Taylor Swift came out. Her first song was "Sparks Fly" and it was magic. Every song's set was so well-thought-out and executed so perfectly! Here are a bunch of pictures from the show:

She played 2 medleys: "Back to December" with "Apologize" and "You're Not Sorry" & "Fearless" with "Hey, Soul Sister" and "I'm Yours." The "Fearless" medley was on ukulele and it was dang awesome. That's the picture where she's sitting under a silver tree. And, she played "Fifteen" and "Love Story!"

I had an absolutely incredible time, and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to be able to go to another of Taylor Swift's concerts this summer! That's surreal to me, but it's coming up soon. It's hard to describe how much I look up to Taylor Swift. She's so wholesome, kind, generous, magical, and original, which is exactly how I try to be. She seems to be full of passion and dedicated to what she does, which inspires me to find my passion and pursue it in the same way.

Talk to you soon!