Dreading School

     Happy Easter! Today was definitely a great last day of spring break. The weather was so beautiful that my dad and brother and I played basketball with each other outside! It was so much fun to spend some quality time together. I spent most of the day reading Harry Potter (I'm trying to finish the series before my eighteenth birthday, which is on April 16th, because I feel like I need to read it one last time before I turn eighteen, because the last book is when Harry is 17. I know I'm weird. I'm in the beginning of the Half-Blood Prince, so I need to read quickly!) and watching Skins. I reached and surpassed my goal of finishing the first two seasons -- I've started the fourth! It's literally the best TV show EVER. For our Easter dinner we ate ham, asparagus, fried potatoes, fresh pineapple, and key lime pie (which is the only kind of pie I'll eat). It was delicious!
     Tomorrow is both a very happy and a very sad day. It's happy because my brother is turning 16 and we're eating dinner at Oklahoma Joe's (famous for their amazing barbecue) and I get to give him the Vineyard Vines polo I bought for him that I know he'll love! But it's also very sad because my best friend's dad died on April 1st, 2010. It may seem silly that I should feel very sad about my best friend's dad's death, but I cannot express how special, loving, and kind he was. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met, and I miss him every day. I have horrible memories of that day, but hopefully I'll be able to get through it.

I hope you had a great Easter and wish me luck on my first day back at school tomorrow!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Last Days of Spring Break

     Happy Saturday! Today was very boring except that I got to read Harry Potter and watch Skins for most of the day, which is also how I plan on spending my Easter Sunday. I'm in a rather bad mood because I've had to spend a lot of money recently and I usually like to save my money! Sorry, I don't feel like writing very much tonight :(

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

An (Almost) Perfect Day

     Happy Friday! Today was both awesome and miserable. It started off great: my mom, dad, brother, and I took a trip to the Legends and ate lunch at Five Guys and Fries (they have the BEST burgers). Then we went to the J. Crew Factory because they were having a 50% off store-wide sale (three cheers for bargain shopping!), then we went to the Gap! After all of our shopping, we got ice cream at Russell Stover's! It was so much fun getting to spend quality time with the family and getting new clothes for spring, not to mention the beautiful weather! When we got home my dad and I took the dogs for a walk (is it okay if all of my work outs are just walks?) because we wanted to savor every last second of this sunny weather. Here is what I bought today:

Thank goodness for 50% off sales! I'm obsessed with the polka dot skirt :)

     Unfortunately, the day took a turn for the worse when the second half of the KU/Michigan game came around. My family and I are  HUGE KU fans and we were so sure that KU was going to win! We take March Madness to the next level; my throat still hurts from yelling so much! My mom even went to her room because she couldn't watch the last minute of overtime. It was definitely a very disappointing loss because we had such a good lead in the first half, and Elijah Johnson could have played much better, but hopefully we'll do better next season! I'm going to miss all of the seniors!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Spring Cleaning

     Happy Thursday! Today was all about cleaning, and it was very necessary! I cleaned the main bathroom and my bathroom, swept the stairs, swept the kitchen, mopped the kitchen, and, most importantly, cleaned my bedroom! I went way beyond just tidying up in my room; I did some major dusting, organizing, and deep-cleaning. I'm so glad, as I'm looking around my room right now, to see how clean and organized it is! I'm usually a very organized person, but lately I've just put off cleaning because I'm too lazy!
     After all of my crazy cleaning, I took my dogs (Maggie and Jack) on a walk for my workout (it was a pretty laid-back workout today) because it was such a beautiful day! It actually felt like spring! Unfortunately, Monday is supposed to be a mix of rain and snow with a high of 35 degrees :( which really sucks because that's my brother Thad's sixteenth birthday! He, like me, loves all things preppy, so I bought him this lovely Vineyard Vines polo:

It came in the mail and I gave it my (less-than-perfect) best effort to wrap up the box and I can't wait for him to open it on Monday!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Connecting to History

     Happy Wednesday! This post isn't going to be very long since it's 11:30 and I'm already super tired, but today was pretty nice because my family and I went to Topeka today to visit my Oma (German for "grandmother") so that I could interview her for my Oral History Project. It's for English and History, and I have to compare two people who went through similar historical periods or events. I chose to interview both of my grandmothers; my Oma, who was born in Germany and moved to America when she married my grandfather, and my grandmother, who grew up in Salina, Kansas (your stereotypical small town) and likes to connect with her German heritage.
     Interviewing my Oma was very interesting because I don't think she'd talked to anyone about what we discussed in a very long time. I think she enjoyed telling someone about her past. She was born in 1943 and she said her earliest memory was when she was three or four years old and her father, who was a Nazi, came home from the Russian prison camp where he had spent most of the war. I loved listening to her talk and it made me want to talk with her more often about her life, which has not been easy ever since she came to America. Hopefully I'll have the chance to talk to her more!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

P.S. I finished the first generation of Skins last night. Let's just say I've been an emotional wreck for the past 24 hours. You have to watch it, it's free on hulu!

Prom Dress Shopping

     Happy Tuesday! Today was a lot busier than I had planned -- my mom and I spent four or five hours shopping for my prom dress and and shoes! We went to a lot of places, but I think we finally found the right one at Dillard's! It's a floor-length gown that's kind of a nude color with white lace and silver sequins and it's strapless and it has a slit in the leg. It might sound weird but I think it's really pretty! We bought some coral peep-toe pumps which also might sound weird to go with a nude dress, but we figured that although the dress is pretty, it's not very flashy so I needed a pop of color, and the coral looks pretty good (I hope!). I think I'll get the same color lipstick and maybe my nails to tie everything together. My hair will be up (no idea on the specifics though) and we're not sure about my jewelry either. But I'm glad we've definitely checked off the dress and the shoes!
     I'm not exactly sure why I'm so excited for prom, considering that I'm not going to be asked. Most people say, "Oh, Brooke, of course you'll be asked!" except I'm actually not, because I've never been asked to a dance. It's quite sad. I asked a guy to WPA (Women Pay All) freshman year, but that doesn't really count and it wasn't exactly my idea of a dream date, either. I know I shouldn't worry about it as much as I do, but I can't seem to quiet this voice in the back of my head that is constantly asking myself if there's something wrong with me. Like, most girls my age have had boyfriends and all of those first milestones in the romantic part of life, and I'm over here like "Hey I really like my laptop...," so there surely must be something really off about me that just drives guys away. Hopefully I figure that out pretty fast...

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Favorite Food

     Happy Monday! I'm not sure why, but lately I have been having the itch to cook! I've made dinner for the past two nights, and I have to say that they tasted pretty good! Last night I made a Southern dinner and tonight I made honey lime shrimp (I found it on Pinterest and it was amazing), salad, fettuccine Alfredo, and some peaches (which were just out of a can). I've also been making more nutritious breakfasts and lunches. I just really love to cook! Also, as an update on my new fitness regime, I did my yoga workout for today and it was really fun! Yoga is my new addition :) Anyway, I thought I would make a list of my top favorite foods, which changes all the time and I'm sure I'll think of more things that I love, but here goes:

1. Nutella

DUH. Nutella is obviously food from the gods and if you don't like it then you're wrong. Haha but seriously I could eat this stuff all day. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be this.

2. Pizza

Oh, pizza. I feel like I'm in love when I eat pizza...with the pizza. It's just so perfect. Those Italians sure did know what they were doing when they came up with this beauty.

3. Ice Cream

I have to admit it: ice cream is my weakness. It's just so pretty and there are so many flavors and it's so delicious! I've learned to not try to avoid ice cream, I fail every time. I bet you think I'm 300 pounds judging from my first three favorite foods!

4. Filet Mignon

Oh man my mouth is watering by just looking at the picture! I usually have this for my birthday dinner, which makes it more special than the first three foods because I only eat it once a year! It's so delicious and tender and perfect.

5. Shrimp

This shrimp is the honey lime shrimp that I made for dinner tonight (not my picture, but it's from the website where I got the recipe: thedoughwillriseagain.com) and it was so good. I also made shrimp and grits last night and I've come to the conclusion that shrimp is my new favorite food. I might even have to eat for dinner on April 16th, which is my birthday! It really is the fruit of the sea. As Bubba said, "You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it."

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Time to Get Motivated: Fitness

     Happy Sunday! During the past week of my spring break, I've been pretty lazy for the most part. I've taken the dogs for a few walks and done some yoga, but for the most part I just sit around the house. Today I made a "Southern" dinner (see my previous post, "Craving the South") for me and my family and it was so good but so unhealthy. I made shrimp and grits (to die for), biscuits, fried okra, peach cobbler (heavenly) and sweet tea. I felt very Southern, but very fat. I'm certainly not a very active person and I'm not going to pretend to be such, but I do typically try to do some form of exercise three or four days a week. Since I've not been doing so much of that recently because of the musical and I have more time now, I've decided to come up with a schedule to keep me motivated. Maybe since it's on the Internet it'll be more of an incentive for me to keep going? I'll keep you updated on how I'm doing! My goal isn't to lose weight or inches, but to get fit! I also realize that it's irrational for me to expect myself to work out every weekday, but I'm going to do my best!

Mondays: Yoga 

• Yoga for Abs Video (on my Samsung Smart TV)
• Relaxing Yoga Video (also on my TV)

Tuesdays: Arms (found on Pinterest)

•  20 minutes of cardio
• 20 chest presses
• 20 chair dips
• 40 bicep curls

 Wednesdays: Legs (found on Pinterest)

• 20 minutes of cardio
• 20 squats
• 20 lunges
• 25 dead lifts
• 40 crunches
• 40 reverse curls

Thursdays: Running (found on Pinterest)

• Interval Run

 Fridays: Abs (found on Pinterest)

• 20 minute cardio
• 1 minute plank
• 15 bicycle crunches
• 30 second side plank
• 15 bicycle crunces
• 30 side plank
• 15 reverse crunches
• 15 hips up
• 1 minute v-sit

Wish me luck!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Wanting and Wishing and Hoping

    

     Happy Saturday! One week of spring break down, one to go! Today I discovered something about myself: I find myself wanting things a lot. Like, I'll just think of things, material or bigger things, and how much I want them. It's really bad. I'll be on Tumblr and say things to myself, like "oh I wish I had those shoes, or that house, or that body," or so many other things. Why can't I just be happy with what I have? Am I so greedy that I'm jealous of everyone who has  something that I don't? It's so silly, and yet there's a small, evil part of me that says, "I deserve that more than she does! I work just as hard, or harder, than she does! Why does she get everything that I want?" I wish that for once I could just be content with what I have without wishing for more!"

Carpe Diem,

Brooke

College Visit #2

     Happy Friday! Today my mom and I woke up early to go to another Junior Visit Day! Although I'm glad that we visited the college, it is most definitely not for me. The first college I visited is definitely at the top of my list right now. I can't exactly describe why I didn't love this college, but I think it's because it was too small. There are only 850 students! It's also in a very small, very remote town out in the middle of nowhere. I just don't think I could live in that kind of environment. I'm not saying that I'd love a huge state school with thousands of students, so as of now a middle-sized school (like the first one I visited) sounds pretty perfect for me. I wish I could just skip through all of the APs, SATs, ACTs, college applications, and every other stressful thing involved with getting into college and just be in college.
     I've lived in the same house for as long as I can remember and I just need to get out of here! I know that I'll be really homesick and scared at first, but I think that once I get used to it, I'll love it! (I hope.) Have a great weekend! I think we're supposed to get another four to eight inches of snow :( isn't it supposed to be spring?!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Favorite Movies

     Happy Thursday! Today was much less productive than yesterday, but that's okay. I watched Steel Magnolias and the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood to help me channel my inner Southern Belle (see yesterday's post) and I'm getting ready to watch the Notebook (here I come, Ryan Gosling)! Unfortunately, we got more snow today and we're supposed to get six inches on Saturday, which really sucks because I can't stand winter for another second! I need warm weather! Oh well, at least it's an excuse for me to stay inside and watch more movies! These are my absolute favorites (it was so hard to narrow down my list!):

1. The Harry Potter Movies (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)

You all know about my obsession with Harry Potter, and the movies are not excluded! Considering how hard it must have been to make these movies, everyone did such an excellent job that I feel the need to watch at least one a month!

2. The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

I could watch this movie over and over again. Daniel Day-Lewis is amazing. If you haven't seen it and you like movies with war and romance (and quite a bit of gore), then I implore you to watch this movie. It is so powerful and emotional, and devastatingly heartbreaking.

3. Braveheart (1995)

You might think I'm kind of weird for liking war movies, but I think they're the best (I also love 300)! They're so passionate, and Braveheart is no exception. Mel Gibson is perfect as William Wallace (who happens to be my 23rd great grandfather!). This movie of Scotland's freedom from England is captivating and (once again) heartbreaking.

4. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

This movie made me have a major girl crush on Jennifer Lawrence. Her acting as Tiffany is phenomenal (I'm not the only one who thinks so -- she won Best Actress!). This movie also made me think about life differently. I can't describe it. It's just an amazing movie and I want to watch it all the time. I loved everything about it.

5. Forrest Gump (1994)

This movie changed my life. It is everything all at once. It's been my all-time favorite movie for as long as I can remember. I can't imagine a better movie ever. I could go on forever about why I love this movie so much, but this is what it boils down to: In the beginning of the movie when Forrest is a child, he has no hope whatsoever of being successful at anything, let alone living a normal life. He has a mental condition so that he acts like a child throughout his life, so that he isn't technically allowed to attend public school because his I.Q. is so low. The whole world is against him (except his momma, whom he loves very much) and it seems that nothing is going to work out for him until he meets Jenny, who teaches him how to read among other things, like how to love. This movie takes you on a journey with Forrest through the '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, and '90s, and you don't come back the same. Because against all odds, Forrest is successful. He's successful while having the innocence and personality of a child, and he's happy. Sorry that was still kind of a rant, but I just really love this movie!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Life as a Human Planner

     Happy Wednesday! I had a pretty great day; nothing special happened, but everything went according to plan. You see, I have this quirk where I plan out everything I want to do the next day, and at what time I want to accomplish something. It turns out that planning out every second of my day is rather strange and it freaks some people out, but it helps me know what I need to do and when I have the time to do it! Here's what today's schedule looked like:

9:00 Wake up, eat breakfast, watch TV

10:00 Read (today was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

11:00 Make your bed

11:15 Write your Oral History Project questions

12:00 Read

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Walk the dogs

2:30 Yoga

3:00 Shower

4:00 ACT Prep

5:00 Watch Skins (my new addiction)

6:00 Dinner

7:00 Watch Skins

7:30 Blog post (right on time!)

8:00 Watch Skins until I fall asleep

I know. I have such an interesting and busy life. It's so hard to keep up with. :)

      Although I do get stuff done when I actually follow my schedules, I tend to get very upset when things don't go according to plan. It's very frustrating and difficult for me to accept when something just can't be done at its allotted time, which simply isn't reasonable. I need to work on being more flexible, which is going to be really hard for me because I like planning things out so that I know what to expect! I'm such a freak. Oh well, I could be weirder about other things!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Craving the South

     Happy Tuesday! Recently, I have been obsessing over everything related to the South. I've been wishing that I could live in the deep South, like Georgia or South Carolina. Both sides of my family come from the South, so I guess I count as a second generation Southerner? Something about their way of life is so appealing; they seem so relaxed and carefree, they care about tradition, they have the best food (in my opinion), and their accents are to die for. Their values are different from most other places in that they care more about how they look and Friday night football and barbecues and thank you notes. My beliefs are probably a little too liberal for most Southerners, but other than that, here are some of the things I love the most about the South:

I found these ideas on Tumblr, sorry I don't know the source!

15 Ways to Channel Your Inner Southern Belle
1. Plant a magnolia tree
2. Tailgate!
3. Never leave home without your makeup
4. Eat grits (my favorite grits are with shrimp!)
5. Call everyone "Darlin"
6. Make some mint juleps (except they have bourbon in them...so I'll stick to sweet tea!)
7. Always wear pearls
8. Join a quilting circle (this one's not for me)
9. Bet on a horse at the Kentucky Derby (or just watch the race on TV)
10. Monogram anything and everything (this can get expensive really fast)
11. Pledge a sorority (Kappa Alpha Theta, here I come!)
12. Give your man bow ties (or just admire them online)
13. Throw a crawfish boil (I would totally do this if anyone from where I live actually ate crawfish)
14. Embrace needlepoint - slippers, belts, pillows (again, I'm simply not talented enough for that)
15. Mind your manners

Classic Southern Films
1. Gone with the Wind (As I've mentioned in a previous post, it's one of my favorite books and I love the movie just as much!)
2. To Kill a Mockingbird
3. Steel Magnolias (LOVE this movie)
4. Fried Green Tomatoes
5. Sweet Home Alabama
6. Forrest Gump (my all-time favorite movie ever)
7. The Notebook (what girl doesn't love this movie?)
8. The Help

Southern Dining
Drinks: Bourbon (again, not for me), Milk Punch (contains Bourbon), Mint Julep (also contains Bourbon), Sazerac (contains whiskey), Whiskey Sour (so much alcohol!), and Sweet tea (finally!)

Sides: Buttermilk Biscuits, Collard Greens, Corn Bread, Deviled Eggs, Fried Green Tomatoes, Macaroni and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes, Okra (so good when it's fried)

Main Course: Chicken Fried Steak (or just fried chicken), Fried Catfish, Jambalaya, Ribs, Shrimp and Grits (my favorite!)

Dessert: Bread Pudding, Peach Cobbler, Pecan Pie, Sweet Potato Pie

I'm feeling my Southern roots!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Not-Exactly-Ideal Spring Break

     Happy Monday! So today was my first official day of spring break, and while most of my friends are posting pictures of beautiful, tropical beaches on Instagram, I spent the whole day trying to figure out the title for my car!
     My mom woke me up at 9 am, and we went to the Highway Inspection Patrol or whatever it's called, and they inspected the car (my car has had many issues with the title, and the DMV had to correct it), but they passed the car, and so then we went to the DMV to get a license plate, but the Highway Inspection Patrol messed up on the title, so we had to go all the way back there to fix it, then all the way back to the DMV, and after a total of five hours I finally had my license plate! Except now the car shakes whenever you drive it, so we have to fix that. There's always something wrong with that car.
     Anyway, after we finished at the DMV, my mom and I went to the dentist, and they had to numb my mouth the fill two small cavities, and I still can't feel anything in my mouth, which sucks. I certainly wish I could have a better spring break, but I'm afraid that for the rest of these two weeks, today will have been the most exciting. I certainly hope not!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

     Happy St. Patrick's Day! For the most part my day was pretty lazy. I slept in, watched two movies, and just lay on the couch. It was great. Later, I prepared our Irish feast, which consisted of corned beef, cabbage and carrots, soda bread, and boxty (pretty much fried mashed potatoes). It was SO GOOD. Here's a picture of the results:

We're about to watch Braveheart (yes, it's Scottish, I know) and eat the chocolate and mint brownies I made! I hope your St. Patrick's day is wilder than mine!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW!

     Happy Saturday! Ok so I'm super excited because today was pretty boring; I went to my friend's house to say good-bye to her because she's going to Costa Rica tomorrow, then I babysat, and I was watching the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (it was on abc family) and my other friend (the crazy, wild one) called me and told me that we should go see Rocky Horror Picture Show tonight! It's one of my FAVORITE musicals! It's late, it's in a sketchy part of town, and there was no way my parents were going to let me go. But after 15 minutes of convincing, my dad said I could go and that he would pick me up after the show! I'm so excited! Ahhhhhh it's like I have a life! Have a great night!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

SPRING BREAK 2013!

     Happy Friday! I am SO glad this week is finally over, because it's officially spring break! Woohoo! I've been waiting for this day for so long, but it's never really quite what you imagine to be. I was lucky that we got an 82-degree weather day, but I kind of imagined myself having a fun time partying with friends (and by partying I mean eating frozen yogurt) instead of sitting alone in my room. And it's not because there isn't anything going on. My friends are having a birthday party for our other friend, but I just wasn't really invited. SO THAT'S COOL. Oh well, at least I can wear pajamas and eat ice cream while watching TV all night! I hope you have a great spring break!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Books to Read

     Happy Thursday! This week is killing me. Thankfully I've done all of my tests and quizzes for the week (finally) but I still have one more day of school! I finished all of my homework for tonight, so it legitimately feels like Friday night. While I'm taking notes tomorrow, I'll be thinking about these books that I'll (hopefully) get to read over spring break!

1. The Book Thief  by Marcus Zusak

2. Looking for Alaska by John Green

3. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

6. Atonement by Ian McEwan

7. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

8. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

9. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

10. On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

In Spring Break Mode

     Happy Wednesday! So this is the last week before spring break, and I cannot wait for those two weeks when I don't have to worry about school. Unfortunately, all of my teachers decided to pile on the tests this week, which is super annoying because I'm already in spring break mode! I have two more tests this week (both are tomorrow) and I just really don't feel like studying for them. I'm so excited for spring break that I've decided to make a list of all of the things I want to do over my time off from school, so that I don't waste a single day. Here's my list:

1. Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

I've always loved St. Patrick's Day -- I love to pretend that I'm more Irish than I really am (I'm maybe 15% at best?) and I've always been obsessed with Ireland and Irish culture. I'll definitely wear green, cook a dinner with corned beef, cabbage, and mashed potatoes, and I might even go to the parade! How will you be celebrating the day of luck?

2. READ

There are so many books I want to read over break. I'll probably make a post on my to-read list...I think there are maybe 30 books on there as of now.

3. Study for the SAT and ACT

This is one of the things that I'm not exactly looking forward to for spring break. Yep, while most of my friends are tanning at the beach on some tropical island, I'll be crying while trying to read this soul-sucker.

4. Study for the APs

This will also be a source of depression during spring break, unfortunately. At least I'm only taking the AP for U.S. History and English, though.

5. Watch "Skins"

So I've only watched the first episode of this show, but I really liked it and I've heard a lot of good things about it, so I'm going to make it my goal to watch the first two seasons (plus it's on hulu for free!).

6. Bake things

I don't know why, but ever since the snow days I've had this urge to bake desserts. It's probably because I like to eat desserts, but I actually enjoy the process of baking something, especially something new. I'll have to try out some new recipes over break!

7. Work Out

 Ugh, this one's going to be so hard for me to motivate myself to do, but I really do need to try to get in shape. I probably won't be doing it on a scenic beach like this girl, nor will I look as good doing it, but hopefully I'll be able to be a bit more active than I have been (which, if my calculations are correct, adds up to 0.0 hours a day).

8. Go Exploring

Ah, the open road. Definitely one of my favorite things. I hope I'll be able to see some of this while exploring with my friend!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Inspirational Women

     Happy Tuesday! Nothing too interesting happened to me today, so I'm going to write a post about the women who are the most inspirational to me. I sincerely wish that I could meet each of these women so that I could tell them how much I look up to them, and how they have influenced me and my outlook on women as a whole.

1. My mother. My mom has to be one of the most inspirational women I know. She works at my school as the director of alumni affairs, and she is an amazing mother. When I see her talking with other people, it's so clear how much everyone loves her. She's hilarious and she has an awesome sense of style, which is why we're friends, too. She's the best.

2. J.K. Rowling.

You all know how much I love Harry Potter, and my love for this woman is the same. She's such an inspiration because she was a waitress living on food stamps, and then she became one of the wealthiest and most successful women in the world! She makes me feel like I am capable of anything.

3. Kate Middleton

 
Kate Middleton is just, like, who I want to be. Honestly, if I could be anyone in the world, it would probably be her. Obviously, she's a princess (I know, she's technically a duchess) and she's married to Prince William and she's going to have his baby (so excited!) and she's absolutely gorgeous, but she's even more inspirational for me because she seems to define grace and elegance.

4. Audrey Hepburn

 Audrey Hepburn was a model, an actress, a fashion icon, and a humanitarian. My favorite of her characters is Holly Golightly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's," probably her most famous role. I love her because of her beauty and elegance, but also because of her work with children in Africa, which shows how beautiful she was as a person.

5. Marilyn Monroe

 Oh, Marilyn. This woman defines "icon." She was so much more than just a model, actress, and sex symbol. She was, in many ways, a feminist, in that she made it okay for women to be more liberated with who they were. She was unlike anything the world had ever seen before, and there will never be someone quite like Marilyn.

6. Dame Maggie Smith

Maggie Smith is so inspirational to me because she is so much more than just a pretty face. Her talent as an actress in unsurpassed, and I will always think of her either as Professor McGonagall  (above) from the Harry Potter movies, or as the Dowager Countess of Grantham from "Downton Abbey," even though I have seen her in other roles. She's quite the bad-ass.

7.  Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston is another one of my favorite inspirational women, again for her acting skills. I watch an episode of "F*R*I*E*N*D*S" almost every day, and I love her as Rachel Greene! She always seems to be so happy and positive, which is truly inspirational.

8. Emma Watson

Emma Watson has been my role model since I saw her in the first Harry Potter as Hermione Granger when I was six years old, and I feel like she and I have a personal connection that other people can't understand. She is the epitome of grace and beauty, and I think that more girls should try to be like her.

9. Jennifer Lawrence

I have the biggest girl crush on Jennifer Lawrence, and I'm definitely not alone! She is so beautiful, so funny, and so talented. She was absolutely amazing in "Silver Linings Playbook," which is why she won the Oscar for the Best Actress in a Leading Role. I hope that one day I can be as confident as she is.

10. Diana, Princess of Wales

I actually cannot tell you how much I love Princess Diana. Out of all of the aforementioned women, Diana is my favorite and the most inspirational for me. I aspire to be her. Everything she was is what I hope to be. No woman has ever exhibited such grace, elegance, and beauty while trying to make the world a better place. Her work in Africa was so groundbreaking because she proved to the world that if she, a princess, could help people, anyone else could too. I wish more than anything that she was still alive today.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke
 
 
 
 
 

Life's Limits

     Happy Monday! Today went a lot better than I expected; I think I did really well on my math test and my physics test, and I also got to spend some time with one of my best friends, who goes to a different school! I'm actually really glad that I got to talk to her today, because she is more of what some would call a "free spirit," which is why I love her so much.
      She and I are so completely opposite in that she is very spontaneous and doesn't see any of "life's limits." I, on the other had, am typically quite boring, I always do what I'm told, and I follow the structured path that has been carved out for me since I was born. The worst part about me? I never do what I want. It's pathetic. I mean, if it's a little thing, like I want to eat a cookie, then yeah, I'm going to eat the cookie (which usually turns into like eight cookies...) but if it's actually a major decision, I'll just do what the grown-ups tell me to. I honestly don't remember, in my entire life, making a decision that was not in some way influenced by my parents, a teacher, or really anyone with any authority. I follow the rules so rigidly that I'm not even living. I hate it, but it's the only way I know how to function.
     My friend helps me live a little bit on the "wild side," if you can call it that. Sometimes, she'll just randomly show up at my house and demands me to go "exploring" with her, which basically means driving so far away that we spend most of the time figuring out how to get back. Today, we went to a place that I'd never been to before, even though it was probably only twenty minutes from my house. She insisted that we go into this sketchy gas station to get a snack, and I was freaking out the whole time (yeah, I'm that sheltered).
     Toward the end of our time together this evening, she told me that we should go somewhere together over spring break, and I said, "Yeah, we should go to like a local lake or something." (thinking that even a few hours at the lake would take some convincing for my mother), and my friend was like, "No, let's go to Canada! Or Mexico!" I totally went along with it, acting all excited about this big trip of ours, the whole time thinking that there was absolutely no possible way that either of my parents would ever let me go anywhere out of a one-hour radius of my house alone with my friend. But then I got to thinking, "What if I did? What if I just packed a suitcase and went away on an adventure with my friend?" Oh how I wish I could do what I want, but I'm afraid I simply don't have the guts. I'm not even scared of getting in trouble with my parents, I think I would be too scared to act like a real adult and step out of my comfort zone for just a few hours. I'm gonna need to work on that.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Favorite Books

     Happy Sunday! I am so dreading this upcoming week: I still seem to be constantly tired, and I have five tests this week (two tomorrow, one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and one on Thursday), and this is also the last week before spring break, except I feel like I'm already in spring break mode, so it's even harder for me to find motivation to do anything. A project I'm planning for spring break is reading new books. I never have any time to read books that I want to read because I'm always reading books for school, and I won't have any assigned books for spring break, so I'm really looking forward to just reading for pleasure. I hope I can find some new books to read, although I might have to peek at my old favorites every once in a while, too. These are my all-time favorite books:

1. The Harry Potter Series, by J.K. Rowling

I've already dedicated a whole post to how much I love this series, but I just can't explain how much I love these books. They are my childhood.

2. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

This book took forever for me to read (it's over a thousand pages!) but it was so worth it. I have a theory that every girl is either a Scarlett or a Melanie. As for me, I wish I was more like Melanie, but I'm definitely more of a Scarlett.

3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This is one of the few books for school that I've actually enjoyed. I somehow feel very similar to Jane Eyre in that we are both truly plain (not ugly, but plain). I love how she is able to have her happy ending with Mr. Rochester, even though she is a penniless orphan who has never known love, and he has more money than God.

4. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

It's been a while since I read this book, but I remember loving it. It describes the stories of Chinese mothers and their daughters, and how they come together through their heritage. I need to read this one again.

5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This. Book. I fell so in love with this book. As you might have guessed, I titled this blog as "How to Live as a Wallflower" in relation to this book. I certainly consider myself to be a wallflower in many ways. I feel like I have a deep, personal connection with Charlie, Patrick, and Sam, which shows how talented Chbosky is at writing. This is an absolute must-read.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Into The Woods!

     Happy Saturday! Last night was my high school's production of Into the Woods, and I have been so proud to be a part of it! Last night was a huge success! Everything (for the most part) went smoothly, and I'm so excited for tonight (our second and final show). I have thoroughly enjoyed being involved in the musical for the third year in a row, but I must admit that I am very much looking forward to being able to go home right after school, instead of getting home at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 o'clock or later. For the past few weeks, I have been constantly tired, and therefore constantly in a bad mood. Even though I got to sleep in this morning, I am still so tired. It's terrible. Even worse, I pretty much hate every single person in my life right now. Like if someone says anything to me, I get so pissed off at them. I can't wait to return to my happy, bubbly self! I don't think I'll even be going to the cast party tonight because I'm so sleep-deprived and daylight savings time begins tomorrow, so we'll be losing an hour. Unfortunately, I have a ton of tests next week so I need all of the studying time I can get tomorrow. Can it just be spring break already?

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

The Troubles of Being Empathetic

     Happy Friday! I am so glad this week is almost over, and I'm super excited for the musical tonight! Okay so yesterday something extremely sad happened and I didn't mention it in last night's (this morning's?) post because I was so tired. Before school started yesterday, my friend came up to me crying, saying that her friend had committed suicide last night, and although they hadn't kept in touch, they had been really good friends when they were younger, and she couldn't understand why she did it. Her friend, Claire, was apparently cyber-bullied and she was living with a friend at the time of her death. While my friend was telling me about Claire in the bathroom, she was crying uncontrollably, which made me cry. She refused to listen to us about not going to class, because she didn't want to make it a big deal. Seeing her so upset made me so upset because I'm pretty much a freak who gets sad about things that don't even involve me. Death has been a prominent character for most of the story of my life, and each time it comes back, I simply fall apart. I was already an emotional wreck just from being sleep-deprived, and after the news about Claire, I just couldn't hold in my sadness, and I was depressed for the rest of the day.

Claire is the girl playing the guitar. She was so incredibly talented! Claire, I wish I had known you, and I wish that we didn't live in a world where people felt the need to kill themselves. I'm so sorry that people made you do this. Rest in peace, darling.

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Super Quick and Short Post

     Happy Thursday! Okay so it is currently 12:15 AM and I am not tired at all like I had so much coffee and the musical is tomorrow night (technically tonight...holy shit) and I don't know how it's gonna turn out, we'll just have to see. I literally could not care about school any less than I do now, so I just want to stay home and sleep until I'm called for the musical but that's not gonna happen so I'll probably get around five and a half hours of sleep and I'm so hungry like can a girl get a brownie? Jeez. Well I just reread this post and I sound pretty crazy, I should probably go to bed (aka go on Tumblr). Good night and wish the cast of Into the Woods and me good luck!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Bad Day Rant

     Happy Wednesday! My Wednesday pretty much sucked. Have you ever had one of those days where it just seems that nothing goes right? Yeah, that pretty much sums up my entire day. So I woke up ridiculously tired not only because I got less sleep (thank you, rehearsal) but I also had this horrible dream that my dad died, and it just felt so real that when I woke up I actually had to think for a second about whether my dad was alive or not. Not a great way to start your day.
      Next, we were running late as it was, and then like five minutes into my 20-minute commute to school, I realized I left my phone at home and I absolutely have to have my phone, so we had to go back to my house to get it, then resume driving. Then in Latin I didn't know how to translate any of the passage on our quiz, which made me feel so awesome. Even worse, in math we got our quizzes back and I got a 58%. Solid. And I did really badly on our last quiz, which means I probably have like a D in the class. And the quarter ends next week, and I have no clue what we're learning about right now, so I'm probably going to do really badly on the quiz on Monday (so stressed about that right now).
      Later, before choir two of my friends (who are also in the musical with me) and I went to the bathroom and we started talking about another girl in the musical, and how perfect she was. Then we started to pick out some of her flaws, until (I'm ashamed to say) I was saying things about her that I would not have said to her face. In the middle of my sentence, our pianist for both choir and the musical comes out of the bathroom stall and I could see how disappointed she looked. She told us that if we didn't have anything nice to say, we shouldn't say anything at all, and we should think about what if it had been the girl we were discussing that was in the bathroom stall and we didn't know it. I actually almost cried. I consider myself to be a generally nice person, but there I was blatantly insulting a girl I barely knew. I hadn't felt so ashamed in a very long time. I definitely need to work on keeping my mouth shut.
    To top off my bad day, after rehearsal our director told us we told a terrible job and if we want to have a decent show by Friday night we have a lot of work to do. Um, sorry, but this is a high school musical, not Broadway. I'm pretty sure he's not allowed to tell us that we're "terrible," and it honestly wasn't even that bad, considering that we are high schoolers, we lost four rehearsals because of the snow days, and Into the Woods has some of the hardest music in a musical ever. Ugh.

Thanks for putting up with my rant!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Pondering History

     Happy Tuesday! Today in history we had a discussion regarding President Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945. I'm certainly no expert on the matter and there's probably a lot more that I should know about it, but for some reason I've become fascinated with the subject. Think about how hard it must have been for Truman to make that decision, knowing that people were going to hate you for it no matter what you chose! I seriously have so much respect for that man, even though I wish the bombs hadn't been necessary. I have come to the conclusion that as President of the United States, your first priority is to protect American lives, and Truman had to choose either ending Japanese lives or risking American lives, and in the end it saved more lives than it took. I am absolutely, positively, 100% always against war and violence, but in those circumstances, when we had already been in a second world war for three years, and American soldiers were dying, the war needed to end as quickly as possible.
     I think this situation is very interesting and complex, and to some degree can even apply to decisions we make in our own lives. We know now about radiation-related illnesses that have affected the Japanese, but at the time we knew nothing about it. Maybe they should have done more research? But would that have changed Truman's mind? What if we dropped the bomb from 20,000 feet instead of 2,000 feet? What if we only dropped a bomb on Hiroshima, surely a second one in Nagasaki wasn't necessary? But then that might have made Japan think that we only had one bomb, with two bombs it was a message to them that we could have more and that we weren't afraid to use them. What if we weren't trying to prove a point to the Soviet Union? What if we knew that Japan was planning on surrendering? The list of 'what ifs' goes on and on. My point is that we can't look at history from what we know now; we have to imagine ourselves in that time period, knowing only what they knew at that time.
     Sorry for this whole spiel about American history, but I find it interesting that we really can relate this subject to our lives, like when you have to make a tough decision and you sometimes have to commit a necessary evil, and you have to think about whether the ends justify the means. Just something to think about!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Oh, The Places I Wish I Could Go...

     Happy Monday! I hope you've had a good start to your week! My Monday went pretty well until rehearsal, when I literally stayed until 7 p.m. for no reason and I have so much homework. I'm not very impressed with my directors' organization skills. I probably could have left at 4:30 and I wouldn't have had to stress about getting my homework done! Anyway, while I'm worrying about trivial things like getting my reading for English done, I imagine myself in exotic places that I wish I could be in.
     For as long as I can remember, traveling has been my top priority for what I want to do with my life. As chance would have it, however, traveling the world happens to be a little expensive. I've only been to 11 states, and most of them for very short stays (Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Colorado). My mom was lucky enough to go to Japan as an AFS student when she was sixteen (paid for by her grandmother), and she went to Austria in college for an independent study. My dad has been to Germany two or three times to visit his German grandparents. Now where is my wealthy grandparent who can pay for me to go somewhere? I know I sound like a brat, but I will admit that I'm rather bitter that both of my parents got to go on several trips to countries around the world, and even though I would never tell my parents this, I wish they had found some way for me to be able to go somewhere. Unless you're like me, you can't possibly imagine how many hours I've devoted to planning out my trips across the world that will most likely never happen, imagining what foods I would eat, sights I would see, and things I would do. Sometimes I just look up pictures of cities and stare at them in awe.
     Perhaps I wouldn't be so bitter about it if I hadn't gone to a private school, where almost every one of my peers is in the 1%. Having to hear about my friends' latest travels after summer, winter, and spring breaks are always painful to listen to; Rome, Spain, Costa Rica, Belize, Australia, England, Germany, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, and the Caribbean just to name a few of their family vacations. I've put a lot of thought into it, and if I could go to only five countries (even though I wish I could go to all of them) these are the ones I would go to:

1. Japan

2. Scotland and Ireland (I would go to these countries in one trip!)

3. France

4. Germany

5. England (the country I want to go to the most!)

Carpe Diem,
Brooke