Hey guys! I thought today's post should be fun. That's why I've decided to dedicate a post about my prom day and night! I'll be giving you guys the lowdown about everything that happened. Let's start!
Prom was Saturday, May 26th, from 7:00 - 11:00. First off - that time clashes with something I was planning on doing. What is it you may ask? Some of you know that I am an avid fan of the Warriors (NBA team), and that date was Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals between the Warriors and their opponents - the Rockets. Game 6 out of the 7 game series. Obviously, the game was important, even more so because if the Warriors lost, the Rockets would have won the entire series and the Warriors would be out of the competition. Good thing they won, huh? Anyways, that was definitely a major problem for me, but continue reading to see how I figured that out. In the meantime, let's begin the events that happened. I woke up at 9:30, got the basics done (brushed my teeth, put in my contacts, dressed in sweatpants and a T-Shirt, and ate), and I waited for my friends to come to my house so that we could get ready for prom together. I personally have absolutely NO IDEA how to do makeup or hair and fortunately for me, my friends were generous enough to help me out. My friends were supposed to come at 10:00 AM sharp, but they came at around 10:45. Now, our photoshoot started at 1:00 PM, and that meant we had about 2 hours to get ready. It was definitely a time crunch because none of them did their makeup or hair yet, and they still had to help me figure out my own. We took our time the first hour, but the last was a huge RUSH. My friends gave me really natural looking makeup and showed me how to curl my hair. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the hang of curling my hair, and since everyone else already helped me so much and were busy doing their own thing, I decided to enlist the help of my grandma, who was home with us (my mom, dad, and brother were in Reno for my brother's basketball tournament so it was only me and my grandma for 3 days). Anyways she curled my hair and got the job done. After she curled my hair, I realized there was only 10 minutes left to put on my dress, apply deodorant and spray perfume, and put on my heels. I rushed through the process and started sweating but my friends and I were able to leave the house only 10 minutes later than scheduled, and made it to the photoshoot location 15 minutes late. Now here's the funny part - the photographer we hired wasn't there. She messaged my friend and told her she'd be late by about 30 minutes. "Great!" we thought. We were late but it didn't matter because the photographer was late as well. It ended up taking 45 minutes for her to finally show up, and the photoshoot began. Some of our group members (those who opted out of getting ready at my house because they were getting their hair and makeup professionally done) ended up being over an hour late, so good thing the photographer arrived late as well! It was at this time that I noticed one of my friends was on crutches. In fact, she got injured the NIGHT before prom day. She had a cast and everything but she still showed up because obviously you can't waste the prom ticket and all the money you spent just to stay home! The photoshoot was sort of weird. The entire time I was being photographed, my mouth couldn't stop twitching when I was trying to smile. I guess I was nervous or something because I've never been one to take pictures. I don't even know how to take a selfie! I've never been into taking pictures of myself or having others take pictures of me so it did feel a little bit weird. But anyways I got through it and the photos should be coming in about a week or so, after the photographer edits everything. All I can do is hope that the pictures look decent enough. Anyways, the photoshoot went into overtime because again, the photographer was late by an hour. We only had about an hour before we left for the party bus to take us to prom, and we were a bit hungry, so me and the group that got ready at my house decided to drive down to In N Out and grab some grub. I bought some regular fries because I wanted to save room for dinner at prom that night. My friends ordered animal fries and cheeseburgers. We headed back to my house and ate there, and the rest of our prom group showed up at my house as well for about 15 minutes before we went down to our school where the party bus was supposed to meet us. I made sure to pack a purse to take with me. I'm a bit paranoid and brought everything in case, including a portable charger, advil, a pad, extra napkins, tums, my school ID card, perfume, a hair tie, and of course my prom ticket. Afterwards it was time to head on down to our school. One of my friends who can drive people under 18 LEGALLY drove me and 3 other people, and the rest of our group took Uber! The party bus was super shaky. We live in Fremont and the venue was located in Danville, so it was about a 30 minute drive. A good portion of that was on the freeway. There were moments where the bus was so shaky that everyone jumped out of their seats whenever there were little bumps on the road, and we were all airborne for milliseconds. It was kind of scary but honestly I enjoyed it; it was thrilling for me. Another important thing I mentioned earlier in this post is the Warriors game. The game started when I was on the bus, so I pulled out my phone, asked my friend to hotspot me (she has unlimited data) and I watched the game the entire ride there. Again, I made sure to pack a portable charger in my purse, just for this. We arrived at the venue and the first thing I noticed was: STAIRS. And plenty of them. It was a hassle going up all of them but we made it. My friend who was on crutches was carried up by her friend which was really nice. We lined up in front of the venue because we made it there a little early, and at 6:45 we were finally let in. The venue by the way was a car museum, but it had exhibits about Native Americans in it as well. It was three stories with lots of stairs (yikes) but there were elevators as well. On the first floor was a room with the dining and dancing area, on the second was a karaoke station, and on the third was just bookshelves and lots of couches. The exhibits I mentioned before were scattered on all floors. There was a drink station in the front entrance, and everyone grabbed a drink first. There was lemonade, water, and fruit punch. Afterwards, the Warriors game was still on, and coincidentally my injured friend is a fan of them as well, so we sat down on a couch and watched the rest of it on her phone. This was perfect because if anyone asked us why we were sitting down at prom and not exploring any of the exhibits, we had the perfect excuse: she's injured, and I'm sitting with her to keep her company! Anyways, again the Warriors ended up winning which was crucial. Afterwards, it was time for dinner. We convened in the dining area and the appetizers were already laid out for us. We had sourdough bread and butter, and a simple salad to start off. My group and I sat together at one big table. In the middle of the table was a glass bowl full of beads and candles resting on the beads. We have some pretty childish people in our group and pretty soon, a couple of them started roasting their bread on top of the candles and melting the butter, which was pretty funny. Then we had our main course. There were three options: chicken, salmon, or vegetarian (which was a puff pastry dish with veggies), and I opted for the salmon because I adore fish. The chicken and salmon came with carrots, asparagus, and mashed potatoes, and the puff pastry sat on a bed of spinach. Surprisingly, the salmon was a full piece of filet, and they gave those who ordered chicken two pieces. The mashed potatoes were also surprisingly good. Finally, dessert was just a chocolate mousse tart. I didn't finish it because as I started to eat, the hosts announced that the BOBA was here - yes, you read that correctly. Our class officers ordered boba drinks from the famous Boba Guys and each person got one drink. One of my friends doesn't like boba, so she got one and gave it to me instead, so I had two drinks to finish which was great. I absolutely love boba. Overall, dinner was great. It was at this time that I tried to step out of my comfort zone and dance on the dance floor. I made my way through crowds onto the floor but I felt extremely awkward so I went back to my table. I spotted a couple of my friends and I had a mini photo taking session. It ended up being me and two other friends who didn't feel like dancing and so we hung out for the rest of the night. We sat for a while before we decided to walk around and look at the cars. After that, we went up to the museum exhibits and looked at the displays. We also went down to the karaoke area and sang for a bit. All this took up about an hour and a half, from 9:15 to 10:45. Prom night was over, but before we left, I drank another glass of water because I was super thirsty. We went out and waited for the bus and took the shaky ride back to our school. There, my friend drove us back to my house first, where everyone left their makeup and other materials. By then, it was midnight. I helped them recover all their personal belongings, we said our goodbyes, and everyone headed back to their own houses. I spent the next hour cleaning the rooms, taking off my makeup (which for some reason took really long), took a nice shower, and scrolled on my phone looking at snaps of the prom night on Snapchat and the photos people were posting already on Facebook. I finally went to bed at around 1:30. Now, that would have been fine if I got to sleep in the next day, but no, I actually had a film project I had to go to at 9:00 AM sharp. It ended up being alright though. And that was my prom experience! If you don't like dancing, there may not be much for you to do at your prom. Fortunately for me, there were many exhibits to explore and the venue was big as well, so it wasn't as boring as it could have been. I also took a ton of cute pictures. I don't think I'll be going next year. It's going to be a joint prom next year - meaning that we're going to have it with next year's juniors as well, and it won't be private like it was this year. Most of my friends won't be going as well. We'll see. Happy Sunday!
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Recently, my school underwent a process that allowed all juniors and seniors to preregister for voting as an American citizen. When I found out we would be able to do so, I jumped to my feet and I had a huge smile on my face. I thought to myself, "Finally!" Voting to me is really important. It's a way to get my voice heard. I'm currently 16, and there's so many issues that I have strong opinions on, both locally and globally. However, since I am underage, I've never been able to vote thus far in my life; the only thing I've been able to do is speak out my opinions and what I believe in through social media and also contact my local representatives through email. For example, I recently wrote to Congressman Ro Khanna about gun control, after the Parkland High School mass shooting incident. I definitely agree more with the Democratic view rather than the Republican view, and here's why. Here are some of my views about current social problems. As for abortions, I believe that the woman carrying the child should be able to make her own decisions. Up to a certain point, the embryo is not alive. When it comes time that an embryo is able to survive outside of the mother's body (around 5-6) months, THEN it is considered to be alive. This is what I believe. A woman should be able to make the choice that is best for her and have an abortion if desired. It is HER body and she should decide what she wants to do with it. I do believe in the second amendment, that people should be able to own guns for self protection. However, the second amendment needs to be more limiting. For example, I believe that people should be held to ownership of only a few guns, 3 at most. Who in the world needs a whole collection of guns? Who? Not the average citizen. We also need stricter background checks. These recent shootings have occurred because these UNDERAGE students were able to purchase guns even though they'd had previous altercations with law enforcement. It's outrageous, especially the part where they're underage. I want better immigration reform. Right now, with Donald Trump as POTUS, immigrants are feeling especially threatened by the American system. Those that are illegally here are deported instead of being helped to gain citizenship. If they are able to successfully find a job and make money in America, they should be able to stay. However, the majority of Republicans are extremely against immigration, and agree with Trump that a border must be built between Mexico and the US. Onto gay marriage. Republicans are against gay marriage while democrats are for. I really don't see what the problem is with same sex marriage. I get that some people find it "unnatural", or that it "goes against" the Bible, but they need to get over themselves. It's 2018. Society as a whole isn't conservative anymore; it's liberal. People should be allowed to marry anyone they want to marry, with the exception of immediate family, of course (that's just wrong). I firmly believe that young people should exercise their ability to vote to the fullest potential. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case so far. Ever since the age to vote has been decreased from 21 to 18, there wasn't much of a change in the total amount of people who vote. It's like most of them don't even care, you know? Obviously, this did change during the 2008 presidential election, where there was an opportunity for the first African American man to become president, Barack Obama. But voting has slowed down once again. I hope to be part of the generation where participation of young people reaches its fullest potential. It's up to us to create our own future. I'm calling out to my young readers out there. VOTE. If you're not old enough, educate yourself. Make sure you're voting for what you believe in. I still have 2 years before I can actually vote, and I'm waiting eagerly for that time to come. The Selection Series is by far one of my most favorite book series I have ever read. The series consists of 5 books, and I have read each one four times. Let me tell you a story about how I almost rejected reading the series, solely based on the cover designs and my prejudice about the series.
Basically, in middle school, one of my friends started reading the first book of the series, titled “The Selection”. When I asked her for some book recommendations, as eighth grade was the time I really started getting into reading YA novels, she advised me to read this particular series. At the time, there were only three books in the series, with the fourth one coming out in 2015 and the fifth and final in 2016. Now, at first glance, I immediately assumed that The Selection Series was nothing more but another cringey stereotypical princess story with mushy romance and the story being all flowery and girly, and just NO. Like I wasn’t going to waste my time reading this trash! The covers of the books, although gorgeous (I love the model so much, her name is Audrey Hollister), basically backed up my inaccurate preconceived thoughts of the books. But, because my friend got all my other friends HOOKED on the books, I thought I would give it a try. My rule at the time was that if I didn’t like the story after the first 50 pages, I would stop, which is, I understood later, a TERRIBLE way to go about trying new books. Seriously, a lot of amazing books are okay in the beginning but are just mind blowing later on. But yes, like my other friends, I became so obsessed with the series that I found myself counting down to the day that the fourth book would be released. Then the fifth. I just loved the series so much, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I had been so WRONG about it. Alright, onto a brief description of the series. If you like romance but also action in a book, you should definitely try out the series. That’s also the main reason I love this series; there’s CONFLICT, violent I might add (there’s people being murdered in the books?!?!). And BETRAYAL. Yet the love story at its core is sweet and refreshing. It gets you feeling a lot of things. The first three books of the series are about Prince Maxon who has to host a selection; that is, he has to find a wife. Basically, women from all over his country submit their application to take part in this selection to have a chance of becoming his wife and therefore the queen someday. 30 women are selected and they participate in what is essentially a contest. The point of view is in fact one of the selected women, named America Singer. It might sound kinda weird and cheesy right now, but trust me, there’s a lot more to it that I cannot talk about because it’s mostly spoilers. The five book series spans over two generations, so the last two are now in the point of view of a princess who undergoes her own selection. And, you guessed it, the princess is the daughter of Maxon and the woman he chose during his selection, and we get to undergo the same process in an entirely different perspective, which is super cool. All in all, an amazing series. At the end of the last book, I actually started crying, because the author Kiera Cass wasn’t going to continue the series. The books are beautifully written and the story will (most likely) break your heart. But it’s so worth it. Ah, the junior year experience. Daily grinds, heavy eyebags, and moderate hysteria perfectly sums up the 9 months of incredible stress.
Studying for APs really made me think about what I've done this year. I started writing this post about a week ago but couldn't finish because I was overloaded with things to do. I ended up skipping a week and didn't post. Now that APs are finally over, guess what I get to do? Not just writing more posts for the blog, but also - more studying! Yes you read that correctly. I still have my SAT subject tests on June 2nd that I need to cram for. We really can't catch a break junior year, can we? Back when I was a sophomore, I didn't actually think junior year would amount to what upperclassmen were saying. "Literal hell," they were calling it. And yeah, I knew that there'd be a ton of stuff to do, with SATs, AP classes, AP tests, finding colleges, VISITING colleges, added to daily homework and projects, but I honestly thought I would be able to handle everything with ease. I pride myself in my ability to avoid procrastination, and my work ethic is well developed, and so I believed that it would be an okay year. Boy, was I wrong! Even though I'm pretty good at getting my work done, junior year has just been so overwhelming. This was the first year I took AP classes (AP French and AP Biology) and the workload is nothing like I imagined. It's so much worse. In AP Biology, specifically, we have tests basically almost every week, if not every other week, and so I constantly find myself studying over the weekend in addition to other homework I might have. This extremely limited my free time over both the school week and the weekend. My mom would ask me if I want to go to Great Mall with her or accompany her to buy groceries and other tasks and I would always have to say no, because of all the work I had. It's also extremely hard to make plans with friends because everyone is just bombarded with work. Not that I would actually try to hang out with people from school over the weekend...seeing everyone 5 times a week is enough in my opinion! But still, it's a nuisance having to plan based on everyone's busy schedules. I still try to allocate time over the weekend to myself. I try to workout once a week, either Saturday or Sunday, and I give myself some Netflix time as well. Something I've set this year and that I've followed so far is a rule I like to call: 9 o'clock downtime. Basically, I don't let myself work after 9 PM. 9 PM to whenever I sleep is strictly for fun. I work during the day and relax during the evening. This is how I'm able to be efficient over the weekend yet have a bit of free time to just wind down before bed. That's also why I believe I'm pretty good at time management. This pushes me to work harder because I know I won't do anything in the evening, and so I'll be more motivated to work harder during the day because I don't want to feel guilty about being unproductive. It works for me! I always find myself the most productive Monday afternoon after school. I think it's because it's the start of the week, and I'm not worn out just yet. Thursdays are the WORST. I'm still able to get my work done but I find it harder to motivate myself. I started noticing this phenomenon this year. Past years, Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays felt the same. Stress has been a big factor this year. I'm not talking about the daily stress when it comes to homework and classes, it's the COLLEGE and CAREER SEARCH that's been giving me major headaches. It takes time to research every college and university I've compiled, and to see whether I'd fit in or not, yet I don't really know until I've visited the campus. I've also been super stressed about finding a career path. I love graphic design and so I'm aiming for a career that incorporates that, yet it's not the main component of the job, so I think advertising would be the way to go. A specific job I found is the art / creative director. Basically, this career allows you to work with a team of other people to create art media, and you'd be working with a lot of the other branches of the advertising firm, for example the marketing branch, and not just graphic designers. I think this is perfect because like I said before, I want to perhaps lead a team of people but still be able to create. From junior year, I've definitely improved on some skills that are extremely important to have, for college, work, and life in general. Out of all the skills, I'd say my time management has increased, due to again the workload I have to balance. It has taught me even more to try, work hard, and ultimately success will follow. If junior year is accompanied by this much stress, I can only imagine what college is like. In less than two years I'll be living away from my family, and taking care of myself. With more freedom comes more responsibility and I can tell that I'll learn even more along the way. Junior year is just the start of a whirlwind of new experiences. I'm pretty excited for college, but I'm also a bit intimidated. What if I end up choosing a college that I hate? Switching schools is a definite option, but there's a ton of work that goes into it. I'm lucky to say that even though I don't have any older siblings, I do have two older cousins who are currently in college right now, so I have someone to talk to about all these fears. Alright, I have much more to say but I'm going to keep this post short, to keep the balance the same through all my posts. Now I have to get back to studying for some SAT subject tests! I'm taking SAT Biology M (molecular) and SAT Math II. It's going to be a tiresome few weeks but I have faith I'll make it through, because hey! I survived my first round of APs, I can take on a couple more tests! It's not like this is my first rodeo. Happy Sunday! |
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