Getting Crafty

      Happy Thursday! I'm super excited that it's almost the end of the week because this weekend my family is going camping at Lake Pomona! We usually go camping three or four times each summer and this weekend will be the first one this year. I typically like to read, ride my bike, take my dogs on a walk, swim at the beach, and eat s'mores. This time there's something new I want to try: crafts! For as long as I can remember, I've never been the artistic/crafty type; in fact I'm really quite terrible at those things. But recently I've gotten the urge to paint. I don't know why, maybe it's from seeing paintings on Pinterest or from my visit to the art museum today, but something about painting seems very therapeutic.
      After work today I went to Joann's and got canvases, paint brushes, and paint. I wish I could have gotten nice acrylic paint, but they're pretty expensive so I just got a cheap set with your basic colors. I would really like to paint the sunset at the lake this weekend, it's usually very pretty! Hopefully my cheap paint will be sufficient! Also, I see a lot of cool crafts with Mason jars, so I got one of those as well. Maybe I'll make a candle or paint the inside and put flowers in them. I can't wait to see how my crafts turn out!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

New Addiction: Gossip Girl

      Happy Saturday! So I know I'm pretty late on the Gossip Girl bandwagon, but I knew that I wanted to watch it this summer and I'm SO GLAD I DID. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend getting a Netflix account just so you can watch this show! It's definitely not my favorite show ever, or the best quality, but something about it is so addictive. You can't help but want to have the glamorous life of Blair Waldorf, and you can't help falling in love with Nate's face (he's absolutely gorgeous). I only started watching them last night and I'm already on episode 8; I seriously can't stop watching them. I wish I lived on the Upper East Side of New York City, lived in the penthouse of the Plaza Hotel, had a chauffeur who drove me in a limo everywhere, and attended the most lavish parties...sigh. A girl can dream, can't she?

Aren't they so beautiful?

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

SUMMER

      Happy Thursday! Today I finished my last final and at commencement dinner I officially became a senior! I didn't expect to feel so cool when I thought of becoming a senior. I don't want to have too high of expectations, but I feel like your senior year of high school is kind of one of the most important years of your life. It's your last year living with your parents (hopefully), your last year as a "child," and your last year before you have to enter the real world. It's very frightening because I know I'm going to have to do a lot of hard work and figure out where I'm going to college, but I'm also excited because the pay-off is going to be amazing. My friend and I are going to celebrate the start of summer tomorrow by going on a shopping spree, I can't wait! I want this weekend to be super fun, since the rest of the summer is going to be spent at work. If you still have finals: hang in there, they'll be over soon! Good luck!

Carpe Diem,

Brooke

Start Living

      Happy Wednesday! I've got four finals down, one to go! Unfortunately, it's math, which is one of my worst subjects. And since it's the last day and I'm so close to summer, my brain is completely fried and I don't have the energy to study for/care about finals. Even though I am looking forward to the end of school, I'm not exactly looking forward to the start of summer, because summer means summer job. I don't have a bad summer job, but I do really regret not having a summer because I work pretty much every day for the whole twelve weeks of summer (yep, on my first day of summer I'll be up at 6 am to go to work). Everyone else gets to go to the pool or go on vacation and hang out with their friends and do the typical fun summer stuff, but I don't really get to do that, so it's a bummer.
      I know I'm being a bit of a snobby brat about it, because plenty of kids really need a job and mine really isn't that bad, but I watched a video today that made me think about how I live:

 

"You don't have to find out you're dying to start living."

Can you honestly say that you live as if you'll die tomorrow? I know I can't; I've spent the past week in the same hunched-over position studying for finals. I know it's not reasonable for an average healthy person to live as if today is their last day, but I seriously think I could do a lot better at not taking tomorrow for granted. There's so much that I want to do that I'm lucky enough to have the time for (aka I'm not terminally ill) but I always have an excuse to not do things. For example, I really want to travel. But I need to save my money for college. I really want to get fit and become more active. But Friends is on TV. I really want to quit my summer job and actually enjoy the precious three months I have away from school. But, once again, I need the money for college. 

      The fact of the matter is that I need to start living my own life, not living on the terms of someone else. However, it's really hard to judge whether you should do something because you want to, even though it may not be the "smart choice." Like quitting my job would be great, but I actually really do need that money. So do I do what I want, or what's "right"? I should probably try to find a balance of the two: keep the job, but set aside some money from every paycheck to spend on something I want. Sounds like a good plan! I'll try to do more things my way in the near future :)

Carpe Diem,

Brooke

Best Study Music Ever

      Happy Sunday! So this weekend I have finally commenced the studying of the dreaded finals, which are on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I have finals for Latin IV, U.S. History, English, Physics, and Pre-Calculus. I've slaved over translations, essays, and what feels like hundreds of pages of notes. And I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of these three soundtracks/album to listen to. Usually I listen to The Neigbourhood Radio on Pandora, but since I've become familiar with most of the songs, I can't help but sing along and get distracted.
      The Bon Iver album is lyrical, but the vocals are so mellow and almost subtle so that it's really not distracting for me at all, and my favorite song on the album is "For Emma." I've loved The Last of the Mohicans since I was a little girl, and I've always loved the music, but I just started listening to it to help me study today, and it's so effective! It's so passionate, and it makes studying exciting (never thought I'd use "studying" and "exciting" in the same sentence). My favorite song from the soundtrack is "The Kiss." I just discovered the Amelie soundtrack today and it is such a gem; the French classics and modern pop create a beautiful and catchy melody. I can't get enough of it, and I keep putting the Theme on repeat.

1. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago



2. Trevor Jones: The Last of the Mohicans

3. Yann Tiersen: Amelie

If you're also preparing for your finals, best of luck and I hope this music helps you out!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Working Girl

      Happy Friday! Although I'm glad it's the end of the week, this weekend is going to be miserable because I have to cram everything for my finals, plus I had to babysit tonight, I have to babysit tomorrow night, and I have to go to a thespian thing on Sunday. Oh yeah, and still no motivation to study. I went through some Latin translations while I was babysitting earlier, but I still have so much to do that this weekend just seems like Mission: Impossible. Also, I just got my work schedule today for the first three weeks of summer, and I'm working all three. I know that I'm very lucky to have a good job, but I just can't help but hate the fact that my friends get to do all these cool things and travel the world while I'm stuck working every single day.
      Oh, did I even tell you what my summer job is? I work at my school, which has a summer camp thing and I work as an assistant to the teachers in their classes. It's not so bad for the first couple of weeks, and then you start to get kind of tired of the kids, and then you have another ten weeks and you end up wanting to do something drastic. In fact, during the summer, I miss school. I can't even explain properly why I'm not the biggest fan of my job; maybe it's because the parents kind of treat me like the hired help, and I've never been treated like that before I started working there. If you haven't experienced it, let me tell you: it's not the best feeling.
   
Wish me luck with studying for finals...

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

The Neigbourhood

      Happy Thursday! I still haven't started studying for my finals, which start next Tuesday. I keep feeling like I'm done after tomorrow, which is the last day of classes. I always find excuses to not study, like taking super long showers, shaving (something I rarely do...), and painting my nails. I just can't find the motivation to study! I know I'm going to hate myself so much for not studying come Monday night, but my future self is just going to have to live with it because I don't care one bit about my finals right now (oh how that opinion will change tomorrow night when I have to realize that I have to re-learn five months' worth of material for five different classes).
      You know what a great album to procrastinate to is? I Love You by The Neighbourhood. You've probably heard their song "Sweater Weather" on the radio, but their whole album is just on point. I particularly like "How," "Female Robbery," and "Alleyways." I also highly recommend listening to The Neigbourhood Radio on Pandora, which I've been listening to non-stop for about a week now. It plays a lot of Bon Iver, U2, Coldplay, plus a lot of indie stuff that I've never heard of, but I love it.

I hope you enjoy your weekend, I'll be spending mine (hopefully) studying!

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

So Close, Yet So Far

      Happy Wednesday! I'm super happy right now because I finished my second and last AP exam today! It was AP U.S. History, and it was brutal, but I'm fairly confident that I passed, which is all that matters to get college credit. Now the end of the school year is so close that I can almost taste it...except that I have to take five finals next week. And I haven't started studying for any of them. Maybe it's just because it's the end of the school year, maybe it's because of the beautiful summer weather, but I can't seem to find the motivation to study. I just don't care anymore.
      You know how I always sign my posts "Carpe Diem, Brooke"? Carpe Diem is one of my favorite quotes, not only because I take Latin, but it's so beautiful in its simplicity. It's a nice little reminder that our existence in life is just a millisecond compared to eternity, so we need to take the precious time we have and spend it how we want to, instead of worrying about trivial little things like tests. I actually really resent the government and whoever else is "in charge" because at one point they decided how everyone was going to live their lives, to a certain extent, but I really can't break out of the system if I want to be successful (unfortunately.) I guess I will have to study for my physics test...even though I'd rather be in a Parisian cafe reading beautiful poems and novels and drinking coffee :)

Carpe Diem,
Brooke :)

The Great Gatsby

      Happy Friday! Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly; I've been super busy studying for AP exams. Today I had my very first AP ever: AP English Language and Composition. It was miserable. English is definitely my best/favorite subject, but four straight hours of reading and writing for a grade that determines whether you get college credit is not so fun. I'm pretty sure I passed, but I wish I could have done better. Oh, well, what's done is done. Now I have to worry about the AP U.S. History, which is next Wednesday and it's supposed to be one of the hardest APs!
      Anyway, today after school my friend and I were so drained from the test and we decided to reward ourselves by seeing The Great Gatsby, which opened today! We read the novel recently in English, so we were super excited to see the movie. I encourage everyone to see it; it's definitely one of my new favorite movies. DiCaprio has to get his long-awaited Oscar for this one! I feel like the film itself was very innovative in that the image was very clear and sharp, but the best part was the acting. Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire as Daisy and Nick were also great. I want to watch it all over again!
      Now, I must return to mindlessly reading AP flashcards...

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

My Favorite Musicals

      Happy Monday! Sorry I haven't posted in the past few days; I've been super busy working on the play, studying for AP exams, and watching TV. Typical. So the thespian group at my school can't stop talking about next year's musical, which is supposed to be announced next Monday. Everyone thinks we'll probably do Fiddler on the Roof (which, unfortunately, I haven't seen) but they want to do Les Mis or Sweeney Todd (both of which, quite frankly, are very far out of range for our school). Musicals are my favorite things; they're a concert, a play, and a grand ole time wrapped up in one. If I had to pick my favorite musicals, this is what they would be:

1. Grease

2. Mamma Mia

 

3. Sweeney Todd

4. Les Miserables

5. The Phantom of the Opera

Do you like any of these musicals, or are there any others that you prefer?

Carpe Diem,
Brooke

Miss Representation

      Happy Friday! So a club at my school showed an optional viewing of a documentary called Miss Representation, which is about how women are portrayed in the media and how it affects our lives. I always knew that the media portrays most women as either dumb blondes who exist to make babies and put dinner on the table or as evil bitches who nag about everything, but after watching the documentary I saw how much more in-depth it is than I thought. We have been taught things since a very young age about gender stereotypes that we don't even recognize them as sexist; it's just what we perceive as normal, it's how things should be. But it shouldn't.
      Did you know that 1 in 4 women have been or will be in an abusive relationship? Did you know that 78% of 17-year-old girls are unhappy with their bodies? Did you know that only 34 women have ever been governors, but 2,319 men have been governors? Did you know that 51% of women are the American population, yet only 17% of Congress is women? This isn't okay! How have humans been around for over a billion years and we're still so delayed in development? The documentary says that all of these statistics are because of the media, where men are taught that if they aren't masculine  (or even violent) or if they show emotion, then they aren't being real "men," and if women don't have big boobs and a tiny waist or act like they're stupid, then they are undesirable to men.
      Women are shown as sex objects in the media every day and we don't blink an eye. You might think I'm overreacting, but I've never been so furious in my life. How have we put up with this for so long? Eating disorders shouldn't exist. Abusive relationships shouldn't exist. Rape shouldn't exist. And yet they do. They are major components of many people's lives, every single day. If I have any male readers: please know that it's okay to show your feelings. Having emotions is what makes humans, humans. And if you ever see anyone being disrespectful to a woman/women as a whole, please take a stand. Getting men on board is half the battle. To the girls: you are beautiful in every way. I know from personal experience that it's so much easier said than done, but loving yourself is the key to happiness. Never go under the knife. Don't put too much pressure on yourself, and remember that everyone makes mistakes.
      I'd like to share a story with you. When I was around 7 or 8 years old, I have this vivid memory that I was running laps around my backyard. I would run maybe 10 laps, and then run inside and jump on the scale and weigh myself, then go back outside and repeat the process, trying so see if I could lose any weight. At 7 or 8 years old, I was already taught to worry about my weight. I couldn't have weighed more than 45 pounds and I was already weighing myself on the scale. My mom discovered what I was doing, and I remember being so confused as to why she was yelling at me because I thought I was doing something good, something healthy. Later, in third grade I decided I was going to stop eating lunch, so my mom (who works at my school as the alumni director) had to eat lunch with me. This shouldn't happen, but I can assure you that my story is very tame compared to many other girls and boys who obsess over their physical appearance. I could go on for a lot longer, but I'm getting tired and I have to wake up early tomorrow morning. I strongly encourage everyone to watch the documentary; it is truly life-changing.

Be the change that you want to see in the world.

Carpe Diem,

Brooke

     

Where is the Love?

      Happy Thursday! Do you ever have one of those days where nothing goes right at all? It seems like I've been having a lot of those days recently. Maybe even some of those weeks. This isn't normal. I'm usually the girl who's in a pretty good mood, the girl who is genuinely smiling. I don't genuinely smile very much any more. And I honestly don't even know why. Maybe it's because it's snowing in May, maybe I've lost faith in humanity.
      I listened to a heartbreaking interview on NPR with a father of one of the children killed in the Sandy Hook shooting. I saw a boy flip off a driver in the street. A guy in my grade called me two very mean names. Tonight an old lady was very rude to me. I never see people being nice any more. People (including myself) seem to be more selfish than ever. Is there something wrong with the world, or is it that I have a negative attitude about everything? I find myself thinking pessimistically, and bad things seem to happen to me. I get bad grades on tests, my skin breaks out, I gain weight, and it seems like I'm more alone day by day. Whenever I try to change my attitude, something else happens to bring me down. When does the cycle end?

Carpe Diem,
Brooke