Encouragement for Your Health Journey

Health can be such a tricky thing to fix. You can try and try but there can always be something else that is wrong or broken. It can be severely discouraging experience, but you can never lose hope! I am personally trying desperately to be healthy so I know the struggle. It is like a never ending battle between needing the energy to get healthy and needing to get healthy so that you have energy. The only way to change it is to break the cycle. To do this you need to find any way possible to stop it as soon as possible. Usually you cannot do this on your own, so you need to ask for help. Do not be afraid to ask for help! If I had not asked for help then I would not be about to apply for a job and go to dance next week. Little steps lead to big steps. It is okay to take a little time get your balance. 

School Begins!

     Today I went and met my teachers for the enrichment program I am completing. I have two teachers but three classes as I mentioned before. Two of the classes are taught by the same teacher: Beginning Piano and Beginning Guitar. I have played both of these instruments before but I have never been taught or played regularly. The best thing about this program is that I am going to be a Student Assistant for one of the classes because I have an off hour. There are two math classes, a composition class, and an art class available to be an assistant for. Obviously I am hoping to assist the art teacher since I am considering getting a minor in art so that I can teach it but I never have tried teaching. I would not decline the other classes but I would be very disappointed. I met a few people that have at least one class with me. One is older, one is younger, but they seem really nice and maybe I will befriend them.
     I cannot wait till I get my Physics curriculum. Everyone seems to be sold out of the Chemistry I am going to take this year but I do not need it till January. I still need to get Adv. Math, but that is not a pressing issue since I still need to finish Algebra 2.
     So a little while ago, I convinced my brother to read the Harry Potter series with me. Before, I was three books ahead of him but now I am half a book behind. Right now I am exactly half way done with the series. After this series is done, I think that I will convince him to read the Percy Jackson series since I know that it is a lot of mythology. I know it has lots of spin-offs with different mythology in them so I think that he would enjoy it. In case you did not know, there are five books in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series, five books in the "Heroes of Olympus" series (the fifth book is being released October 7th, by the way), and three books in the "Kane Chronicles". So that gives us at least 13 books to read after Harry Potter and then we can say we read twenty books together! After that, I have not planned that far ahead...Eventually, the Norse mythology series will come out and we will read that!
     Well I should go sleep....or read..... or both...no wait both wont work....dernit...it is three o'clock in the morning and is both too late and too early for this...

High School Junior 2014

     My life...what a stupendous mess...the last time I blogged was a year ago! This last year was one of the hardest in my life. The first semester was actually pretty good! I started school, I got two solos in my productions at dance, I was feeling good and doing well. This year is very different. I am not performing in a production and I am going to a new school. The second semester of last year I got mono. This completely ruined seven months of my life and is still affecting it. I did get back into reading a lot and watching really good shows and movies but if I had had a choice, I would have rather danced and been well. My worship dance company has moved me into advanced levels which I an exceedingly grateful for. I stopped running very long ago but I hope to continue that as well as swimming and ballet.
     Recently, I have had a wonderful obsession with film, acting, and things of the sort. I have been weighing my options of pursuing acting or ballet as a career. Neither will be easy or convenient and I love both, I think. I have only had experience long enough in ballet to judge whether I love it or not. Dance has always been a passion for me and while I can see myself acting, I really love ballet. I could dance for now since there are so many opportunities for dance where I live and very few for acting.
     The most recent film I have been enamored with is The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have always loved these and saw them when I was very young, but in the last two days, I have seen all three with the cast commentary. I never thought that I would be able to understand or immerse myself into the world further (without reading the books of course) but I was. Every time I would usually cry, I cried so much harder because I knew what the actors were perceiving and thinking and their mindset behind what they decided to do. Also, without listening to the soundtrack and dialogue fully, I was able to see all the visual techniques that were used by the amazing Peter Jackson. It is like when you lose one sense the others become stronger, I believe. I have never wanted to read the books more!
     For school this year I am learning many subjects since I missed a few credits last semester. I am studying Chemistry, Physics, Algebra 2, Advanced Mathematics, U.S. History, English, French 2, and taking classes in piano, guitar, and research essays. My English class is the most complicated. I have a grammar book, the essay class, Shakespearean Literature, general reading, this blog, and NaNoWriMo! Oh the joys of homeschooling! It sure is a lot but I have an entire year to complete it so I am not worried.
     I am really trying to get well enough to get a job soon. Otherwise I cannot pay for my dance classes. Or anything else for that matter. There are so many things that I "need" that I can only buy for myself, just because my family does not have enough money to get everything for me, so I need to be able to get money myself. This is probably the hardest because I have fairly bad anxiety and depression so it is a struggle for me to think through that situation. I keep fading between "wow I being such a wimp. Just suck it up and get a job..." and "Oh dear Lord, I am having a panic attack, I can't breathe, oh my, I need money, I need this and that and and and........stressful..." So yeah I am kind of lost in my stupendous mess of a life.
     In other parts of my life, I am trying to reduce my possessions. I have an abundance of yarn so I am knitting a bunch to use it up. I am using up my paints and things in my art collection to reduce that a bit. I am also trying to find lots of D.I.Y. projects to use up some things in my collections. Reduce, reuse, and recycle, right? Also, BBC has ruined me for most American shows and movies with actually character depth... :)

Fitness Plan: June 12, 2013

For nearly two weeks, I have been following an exercise plan and eating a healthier, more clean diet. I want to say that what I have been doing (for only two weeks) has made a significant difference in my lifestyle and how I feel and look. Here are the changes I have noticed: I have more energy even though my sleep schedule is not the best, I am more creative and relaxed with art, my clothes that fit nicely are getting loos around the waste, I feel stronger and more able, I can run/walk/jog a mile without dying for a couple days, and even my mom has noticed that I look better. I do not like to weigh myself because the number not only doesn't matter very much but also can give a false perception of yourself. I used to weigh myself every day but I completely stopped. Now I go by look and feel because if you feel tired, sluggish, and weak, but weigh a perfectly fine number, doesn't mean you are healthy. It is really exciting because the videos I have been doing are long and hard and I cannot do it without breaks, sometimes I don't finish, and some days I need to do only one or two. The program is suppose to make you lose 4% of your weight in one month. I didn't take a before picture but at the end of the month, I am going to buy myself some jeans or a top that is a new size and that I like as a little reward. I actually look forward to my mile run and Fridays now...I have always liked running but I have had asthma and fatigue my whole life but now that I have cured those, I was able to try again. It was more enjoyable but I still hated how I felt. Now I am strong enough to run!!! I am so happy! I really want to run the Color Run with my best friend...I love this! It is exciting! I cant wait to update you at the end of the month!

9 Fun Summer Past-Times

Hey guys! Summer is quickly approaching and school is almost over! Everyone loves the fact that we have a bunch a spare time but as soon as school is out, we seem to get bored and lay around watching TV and surfing the web. Then it turns out to be not as fun and exciting as we expected. So my brother and I have decided to come up with a few ideas to keep you busy during the summer.

1. Make a Reading List. This is always a good way to keep your brain agile so that when school starts up, your brain will not have to catch up so quickly. I always like to buy books and then say "I can't read it YET! I still need to finish the books that I just got from the library!" And then they get forgotten and land up gathering dust. So the first books on my list are from my own house. But if your library is within reasonable walking distance, you could also get moving and borrow books from there instead.
• My choices include many classics I have never read such as Little Women by Louise May Alcott, many books by Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, and more current books like the Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.
2. Buy a Sketchbook. I am an artist and I love to draw, but I think that everyone should at least try to do some art and sketchbooks are actually really inexpensive. You don't need the fancy special paper or binding; just a spiral bound normal paper book would work great! If you do want to get one for Multi Media, then you could use wet mediums too instead of only dry.
3. Square-a-Day Challenge. You know how you always buy lots of graph paper at the beginning of the year and then have some left over? Well now you can put some creativity into it! Now a regular piece of 1/4 inch square graph paper has 1299 entire squares...It would take 3 and a half years to fill it out with only one square a day (a cool challenge but WAY too long for summer). So here is my advice: cut one piece of graph paper into fourths (20x15 not including the border) and then you only to 3 squares a day. Then you can do one pattern, one object, and one letter everyday and you will have such a wonderful piece of art to put in a scrapbook or memory box! And you can share!
4. Make the Stuff You Pin on Pinterest. Face it girls. We don't do that. So this summer, how about we all make the stuff on our boards! It would be so fun to see what could happen and what holy grail recipes or creations we will find!
• I found one recipe for grain free pancakes that are the best things I have ever tasted! I eat it most days! I can do a post on how I cook them if you want!
5. Re-Do Your Closet. I don't know about you guys but I am always so busy in spring (or if spring is really a 2 week period between freezing winter and boiling summer) that I can never rearrange my closet. So summertime is the best time because it is completely different from winter and fall so no warm clothes or pajamas would be needed!
• It is also great to remake some stuff. Add embellishment to things or add some flair! I am turning some torn up jeans into shorts and making them gorgeous!!!
6. Go Through Your Makeup Collection. So this is a good time to go through your cosmetics and hair collection to see if anything has expired or if you don't like something anymore. This is also part of the spring cleaning in summertime. You could even reorganize or relocate your collection to change stuff up!
7. Take Summer Classes or Workshops. Lots of art schools, dance companies, and other things have summer workshops  that are really fun and definitely worth it! You could even take a school class but if that is not exactly your picture for summer, there are so many other options!
• I am actually taking a school class (Algebra 2) so that I don't need to next school year. I am half a year through and I don't want to have separate subject in the same year (I am taking AP Pre Calculus next year). I am also doing lots of dance intensives and maybe an art workshop in there!
8. Start a Blog. If you don't have a blog and you are passionate about something (or multiple things) then a blog is a great idea! I started mine for a past time one summer and I have enjoyed it immensely!
9. Get in Shape. Because there is no school to worry about, we can think about how to improve our lives. One way that makes life easier is to get in shape and be healthier. you are at home so you can think about what you are eating most of the time. And whenever you think of it, you can go exercise! I personally wear less makeup in the summer since so much of it just melts off...that also allows me to not worry about exercising with makeup on.

Well those are my ideas! What are your ideas/plans for summertime?