Last Friday!

I seriously cannot believe that this is the last Friday of the school year. It's kind of bittersweet. I've got a couple of senior friends that I'm really upset about them graduating, but it also means that we've got two-ish months of total freedom. I'd say that it's a fair trade.

I Know Biology.

I know that I know Biology. DNA Synthase and Malthus and Darwin, natural selection, binomial nomenclature, Oparin and Haldane. I've got it all down; it all stuck when it was first taught. I just need to stop psyching myself out. I'm good at science. I don't have anything to worry about. Geometry, on the other hand..

Huh..

You learn a lot of things by eavesdropping into conversations. I'm not condoning it, but when the people around you are practically screaming, you get a little curious. Especially when they're talking about so-and-so getting into a fight and swearing so-and-so out, or what this person did to have his girlfriend break up with him. It's fascinating, really, but maybe that's just me being some social science nerd.

Under Pressure

So, along with there only being three weeks left, there's also only a few opportunities left to raise my grades. I'm a total perfectionist, so it's killing me that I only have half of my grades being A's. The rest are B+'s. If I'm going to get my dream career in science in medicine or something, I'm definitely going to have to put things into gear. Yikes!

Wow.

There are three weeks - give or take a few days - of school left. Three. I seriously cannot believe that. It seems like just yesterday, I was walking into the wrong classrooms and getting lost in the hallways. (Well, okay, the second one still happens every once in a while, but you know what I mean.) I'm three years away from college. Spooky.

Untitled

After everything that's happened, I actually feel free. I've mentioned it a few times before, all of the drama that's been happening between my friends and I, and it only took up until this past weekend that everything truly fell into place. The friend, the one at the center of everything, won't even look me in the eye anymore. He 'unfriended' me, unfollowed me. Thing is, I beat him to it. And I've never been happier.

The John Green Book Club

I am a nerd. (Seriously, if you haven't picked up on that so far, just go back and read a few other posts. I'll wait.) Are you back? Alright, maybe I should explain. I adore books. Reading, writing, getting lost in libraries and losing myself in the pages. The other day, I even told my mom that there are plenty of times that I enjoy the company of books to people; books don't talk back. After a conversation with a few of my friends in biology class, we agreed to start a book club over the summer, solely dedicated to the works of one John Green (author of "Looking for Alaska", "The Fault in Our Stars", and "Paper Towns".) And I'm actually excited for it.

Speak.

It's just hitting me now that I'm going to have to get in front of my Biology class and make a speech tomorrow. It's not like I don't know everything I'm supposed to - I do, I really do - it's just that I'm an awful public speaker. Not the kind of awful that I end up throwing up in front of my audience, but bad enough that I start shaking and stuttering and stumbling over my words. It's not pretty. On a lighter note, though, my writing is getting better. Maybe it's just a trade-off. Who needs to speak when you can write?

ACTually..

So today, we had school-wide testing. Some grades took P-SATs and SATs, while the entire Freshman class took the ACTs. Most people didn't take it all that seriously, but I couldn't help but get a little strung-up on it, especially with all of the career decisions that had to be made in a matter of minutes. It did, however, help me shift my general interest from general biology (stem cell research and the like) to social sciences (sociology, anthropology, criminology, ect.) It's only a matter of time before I change my mind again, but for now, I feel pretty secure. Until I get my scores back.

A Little Sunshine

Yesterday night, I went to my theater troupe's benefit show. It was held on behalf of a little girl, Madi. Madi has A-T, Ataxia-telangiectasia. There is no cure, no treatments, and the immunodeficiency that results from it essentially turns it into a terminal condition. But from looking at this little girl, you couldn't tell. Despite all of the hardships she's faced, she's still smiling. And it's that optimism that really put things into perspective for me. If she can go through all that she has without giving up, I know that I can, too; my problems are so small compared to her's.
Myself aside, we raised $1400 for Madi and her family, $200 more than last year. Being at the show and seeing everyone come together for this cause was really the highlight of my weekend.

Stuck in the Middle

For the past few weeks, all three of my closest friends have been fighting. I love all of them, but seriously, it's becoming kind of tiring to keep up with all of it. I'm trying my best to stay neutral for the sake of not being accountable for anyone's hurt feelings, but mostly it's just because it seems like everyone has some sort of blame in the issue.
It's times like these I wish someone could be the bigger person and apologize so things could go back to the way that they were before.

Give My Regards to Broadway..

In my last post, I mentioned the theater banquet that we're having. Since my friend and I decided on our costumes, I feel like I've listened to nothing what Broadway soundtracks. Wicked - for "research" - Spring Awakening, and even some from a musical called Next to Normal. It's not a very well-known production, but the music is amazing, and the storyline very heartfelt. It's about a family that's trying to get by with a mother who suffers from manic depression after the death of her son. Sounds a little sad, but the music is actually pretty upbeat.
It's not an obsession, I promise.

Feeling.. Wicked.

Our theater banquet/induction ceremony is coming up in May, and, from what I've heard, the theme is Broadway. I've only ever seen one musical in person in my life, The King and I, so I was kind of at a loss when my friend asked what we could go as. I was rattling off what I'd found, and almost immediately she agreed that we go as Glinda and Elphaba from the musical Wicked. She doesn't do pink, and I don't do black, so I'm going to be wearing the outfit inspired by Glinda (the good witch) and she's wearing the one inspired by Elphaba (the "wicked witch"). If everything goes as planned, another friend of ours and her boyfriend may go as Nessarose (Elphaba's sister) and.. Well, we're not too sure about him. The Wizard of Oz, maybe.
Now all we need to do is get our dresses!

Love is in the Air

I'm friends with about four different pairs of couple, and I don't even care. To be honest, I find it kind of fun to creep on them, especially when they're adorable. And super awkward. (Or are practically the same person just as a boy and a girl.) I've said it before and I'll say it again: I live out my relationships vicariously through others.

Happy Hunger Games.

It's less than one week until The Hunger Games movie comes out. People are starting to say it's like the next Twilight, but, thankfully, there are people with enough sense to realize that it's twenty times better. Too bad it's only one in maybe twenty teen films that will come out this year that will end up being worth seeing. Oh well.

My Last Post About the Musical (I Promise)

I can't believe tonight's closing night.
Everyone has put so much effort into this show since it first started up in December. We went from a "disappointment" at the beginning of tech week to getting a crowd so large that we had to turn people away. I never set foot in front of the crowd during the show, but when you can hear them laughing or aww'ing or cheering, it's hard to keep from getting pumped up. I've not only met so many fantastic people through this show, but I feel like this has brought me out of my shell. Being a part of this show - and the theater company in general - has been one of the best things to ever happen to me. They've become a second family, and I really feel like I've found my niche.

Also, for the musical, I'm surprised that we're getting recognized by actual businesses. One of the auto shops outside of school has it on their sign, and my mom found an article in the newspaper about it.

The Sun Will Come Out...

So tonight's the opening night for the spring musical: Annie!
I'm so nervous I can't even contain myself. Especially because this is my first actual show that I've been a part of. Ever.
Yikes.

Technically Speaking..

I feel like I've sold my soul to theater.
I've stayed after school nearly every day for the last week, and again every day this week until nine in preparations for the musical. The first few hours isn't too hard, the costume meetings. It's a lot of sewing buttons and ironing and hot-gluing, simple work. But the actual rehearsals are killer. In-between scenes, it's me and about six-ish other run crew members (all girls!) moving full-sized beds and fireplaces and flipping wall pieces around in the period of a three-minute song. It's stressful, and a lot of hard work, but it's so rewarding.
On a related note, I don't think I will be able to listen to NYC (from Annie) ever again.

Picture Perfect (Part Two)

The sun rises over 210th Street in Dyer, setting the sky alight with purples and pinks. Note that this picture was NOT photoshopped at all.


Clouds loom ominously in the distance outside of a second-story window at Lake Central High School. They didn't bring rain, though; they brought snow!


Cars racing on 41 aren't an uncommon sight. However, it was a rare opportunity to snap a picture that really captures the speed, motion, and beauty most people don't expect out of a common intersection.

Picture Perfect

I got a new camera a few weeks ago, and I feel like I've been taking pictures non-stop. Even though most of them were for the journalism project. I'm by no means a photographer, but I still think it's fun to be able to capture things that may only happen once or twice.
It's like keeping your own little piece of time.

Valentine's Day

All that I heard yesterday was people calling Valentine's Day 'Singles Awareness Day'. I don't really see the point of that.. It's still Valentine's Day. You don't HAVE to celebrate it. For me, it was just another normal day. I was happy for people that had people to celebrate with, but I wasn't bitter about it.
Sometimes I think people just look for reasons to gripe.

The Show Must Go On

I'm pretty sure theater has taken over my life.
Four days a week after school, alternating costume design meetings and set construction. I'm starting to measure my life in how long it's been since we finished the maid hats and what days to bring junky clothes for painting. Being a techie is hard, but it's one of the most rewarding feelings to see something you built or sewed or picked out bring used or worn by the actors.
And, on a related and shamelessly-advertising note, don't forget to come see the school musical, Annie, in March!

Huh..

The weirdest conversations always go down in the nurse's office.
In the span of laying down for twenty minutes, I listened as the conversation transitioned from good Chinese takeout places to Winter Formal to Ancestry.com.
I guess sticking thermometers in high schoolers' mouths leaves room for a lot of deep thinking. :P

The Inner Workings of a Perfectionist

Report cards came out last week, and while most people were freaking out over their parents seeing C's and D's, I was worrying about my own frustration: a B+.
I understand that I'm working at a faster pace, and a higher level, but with four A-'s, why couldn't my Geometry teacher just round the grade up one hundredth of a point for one more?
It's a silly thing to get worked up about, but seriously?