Any readers, please read! :)

So, I'm back in school now, and I've decided to post my weekday posts on the weekend, because my AP classes will start picking up. This weekend might be kind of crazy, but not to fear! I'll figure something out so that the site is bombarded with posts!

Thanks for reading!!!!

Peace,
           Turtle

Diary - Jan. 6

Jan 6. - Your zodiac sign and whether you think it fits you.

    Today’s going to be a short entry, because I have a Downton Abbey marathon starting in 22 minutes. (EEEEE!!)
    I’m an Aries, and I don’t think it fits me at all. While I can be stubborn, it’s not exactly a day-to-day trait. I don’t think of myself as courageous or confident in daily life, and I’m not sure I would categorize myself as a leader. While I could certainly be considered “tender” and “sympathetic”, I don’t think I have a fiery personality, as is generally characteristic of Aries.
    So, I don’t think that my zodiac sign fits me, which is sort of funny, because I’m almost in the very middle of the beginning and ending dates. It’s also kind of funny because most of the time, my horoscopes are pretty accurate...hmmmmm..
    As much as I could go into detail about this topic, I only have 3 minutes until my marathon!

    Good day,
        Turtle

Diary - Jan. 5

Jan. 5 - Your views on drugs and alcohol.

    Alrighty.... this one is tough. Let’s see. Maybe some background is necessary. I’m underage, like I said in my welcome message, so I shouldn’t do drugs or alcohol for legal reasons. My parents are SUPER strict about this type of thing, because both sides of my family have struggled with addictions, spanning generations. Soo, I’m at a greater risk for issues surrounding these two substance categories because of genetics. However, my family is not what you would call religious. My mom and I might  begin to approach the adjective spiritual, so, religious belief is not a factor in this equation. To top that all off, because of the amount of wealth where I live, drugs and alcohol are readily available, if you know where to go. Which I don’t.
    Now for my views. These are totally personal, so if anyone is reading this, please don’t be offended. Drugs and alcohol don’t sound remotely fun/interesting/like a good idea to/for me. I understand the concept of social drinking for adults, but I mean, people should like you without your having to drink something you don’t want to! Now I sound like every book written for tween girls ever. Fabulous. Parties, in the general high school meaning of the word don’t sound like that much fun to me either. This is mostly because I go a small charter school, which APPARENTLY even has people who do drugs, but that’s only a rumor. Anyways, even if we did have parties and all that stuff, being a nerd and a nobody, I wouldn’t get an invitation, and if I did, I’d just turn it down. That statement even shows I naive I am, because I’m assuming that there are invitations to that sort of party, which there probably aren’t.
    My goodness I get off topic. Let’s get back to it. I don’t think drugs or alcohol are for me, because they don’t sound like fun, or like an effective way of dealing with problems or whatever stuff they’re supposed to do. To me, they just sound like a one way ticket to screwing up your life. Please remember that these are strictly my personal views. I know that people do these things and turn out fine, but my knowledge of my family history, as well as the stories I hear from around my town just make me think that they aren’t worth it. That all they’ll do is screw up your brain and body and you’re only going to be screwing yourself over in the end. However, I don’t think that I have the right to tell people (other than my little brother, and in the future, my children) that they can’t do drugs or alcohol, because they need to learn their lesson.
    Do I believe in an age restriction for drugs and alcohol? Absolutely.

Do I believe in a Prohibition law, like there was in the ‘20s? Um, no. I mean, that was practically impossible to enforce, and only resulted in a growth of crime.

Do I think I’ll ever drink or do drugs? I don’t want to. I can’t predict the future, but I can see absolutely no appeal to either one, so what’s the point? If you drink or do drugs to forget, your problems are still going to be there when you’re sober. If you do it/them for fun, then I guess that’s what you do. I don’t think that either one would be fun, so I can think of no reason to.

Do I think that if there’s a medicinal property for a drug that it should be used for that purpose. Yes, I do. If the patient is willing to try this alternative treatment, I support it fully.

    Outside of medicine, I wish that drugs could be outlawed, because they destroy so many peoples lives in a variety of ways. I know that alcohol can be equally destructive, but there are more cases in which the effect of alcohol was not anywhere near the level of destruction that drugs has, so I think that alcohol is fine for anyone who can exercise moderation.
    As of right now, I can’t see myself ever doing drugs or drinking. I can’t predict the future or make any promises, but I think that it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll ever do drugs in my life. The path that I’m planning on taking is steering me directly away from drugs, and I don’t plan on ever turning around or looking back. I honestly can’t see myself drinking at all. Wine looks weird and beer smells terrible, and hard alcohol has no appeal to me. At all.
    So that’s that. Please remember, if you’re reading this, that these are my opinions. You have every right to yours, and I have every right to mine. I’m not pushing my beliefs on you, because that’s not who I am.
   

Peace,

        Turtle

Diary - Jan. 4

Jan. 4 - Where you’d like to be in 10 years.

    10 years...... that’s a long time. If I only did 4 years of college, I’d be out with several years to spare. If I went to Medical School (no chance!), I’d still be in....
    I should probably start off with saying that I have absolutely no idea what I want to do with my life, and that is just fine. I know what I don’t want to do, and that’s basically anything to do with math or science. I don’t think I want to go to a large school, which is lucky for me, because I seem to be attracting attention from small schools both in California and in the surrounding states. I have no overwhelming desire to go to any school in Southern California, most of which are large schools that everyone and their mother is trying to get into.
    Anyway. Back to the topic at hand. 10 years. I see myself either already graduated from a small liberal arts college or continuing my studies further at, surprise!, a liberal arts college. I’d like to live in a nice apartment in a nice area, right now, I’m feeling a city vibe, like Portland or San Francisco, possibly with friends or a boyfriend. But I don’t think a husband yet. I’ve still got time. I’d really like to have a pet cat, because I love cats. Not in a crazy cat lady sort of way though...I think. Hopefully this cat will be a ragdoll, because while they are pretty expensive, they are TOTALLY ADORABLE. If I’m graduated, I hope that I’m putting my degree to work, but if not, I hope that I love what I’m doing. If I work in an office, hopefully is a fun place like ModCloth, or maybe even a school. If I’m still going to school, I hope that I’m passionately in love with what I’m learning, because I sure am dedicating a lot of time to it!!! I want to travel, so hopefully by 2023 (Oh my gosh, THERE IS NO WAY THAT’S POSSIBLE), I’ll have traveled the country and Europe. At the very least, the United States, Ireland, England, France and Spain. I’ve heard the Netherlands is nice, but frankly, the idea of Amsterdam freaks me out.
    I hope that I have a lot of really great friends, and at least one really close friend nearby whom I can rely on for anything, like Chinese food pig outs, movie nights, etc., maybe...just maybe, this person will be an attractive guy that I have feelings for who will feel the same way I do, you know, warm fuzzies in the tummy and all, whenever he sees me. But, I won’t put that hope on too high a pedestal. I sincerely hope that I’m still in touch with the friends I have now, because they’re really awesome people. I know I can count on family friends, but MY friends that I made ALL BY MY LONESOME. So, if anyone you my friends are reading this and somehow know who I am, I LOVE YOU! DON’T LEAVE ME! I hope that my friends are all successful and love what they do, because they all deserve to, for being such fabulous, outstanding people.
    In 10 years, I hope that my family, immediate and extended, are still close and less divided politically. I mean, we all are going to have to accept the fact that there will be Democratic presidents, and that there will be Republican presidents, and we are NOT ALL GOING TO LIKE THEM. But again, I won’t put this hope on too high a pedestal. I hope that my cousins on my mom’s side are successful in what they do, and that my girl cousin has a happy family with her husband, and that my boy cousin will still be loving our mother country (Canada!) as much as he does now with whoever makes him happy. I hope my older cousins on my dad’s side are all making serious dough, and that my guy cousins there are successful engineers/firefighters/rugby players. Whatever they do, I hope they’re happy. I hope my younger girl cousin is enjoying college, and maybe looking in the mirror a little less, and that my two boy cousins are enjoying high school, staying smart and have bright hopes for the future. Maybe they’ll be hoping to work for Lego and running the Chess Club. But, given the fact that those things aren’t really “cool” once you hit high school, they might abandon them. Such a shame. Who needs to be cool when you have Legos? Not this girl.
    So that’s the gist of it! I hope I’ve enjoyed/am enjoying school, am successful or hoping to be so in whatever job I take, am madly in love with a gorgeous boy who feels the same about me, and have happy friends and family members. We shall see!

    Peace,
        Turtle

Diary - Jan. 3

Jan. 3 - Your relationship status and how you feel about it.

    Oh boy. Well, let’s just get this started.

I’m single, and I’ve never been in a relationship. I’ve never been kissed, unless you count a kiss on the hand in 1st grade by my first ever crush when he found out that although I was wearing green, 3rd graders had pinched me. It was St. Patricks Day. Frankly, I’m not really sure how I feel about these facts. While I really do think that this whole situation will make my first relationship all the more special, I feel like that might also be a bad thing. Like, instead of being in 7th grade and being able to brush off a first “boyfriend”, I might become too attached because I’ve never been in a relationship before. I have a similar fear about kissing. Most people my age have at their first kiss at the very least, but not me. I feel like when (should I add an if?) I’m kissed for the first time, I’ll be WAAAAAY behind in that whole department, and will suck. Big time. Then again, if the boy/man/guy that I’d be kissing knows that I’ve never been kissed, 1) obviously he doesn’t care, and 2) he’s probably more than happy to help me. I mean, if he wants to kiss me, teaching me how to kiss is pretty important, and it means that I get to spend more time with him, well, kissing him, until I get it right/down.

    I think more than anything, I’m confused about my relationship status, and scared about changing it. I’m confused because I like being single, but when I people together holding hands, holding each other, kissing, or even when I read about these things, I want that too. I’m just not sure how I would handle it. But I guess that would gradually change if/when I’m in a relationship. Another confusing aspect of my situation is that because I have always been single, I do have this feeling deep down that something’s wrong with me. I know that I’m shy, and I tend to come off abrasive/defensive when I meet people, but I feel like if someone really liked me, enough to want to try and have a relationship, these things wouldn’t matter. When I’m feeling particularly sorry for myself, I say that it’s not a fault in me, it’s a fault in the guys of the world who don’t see how fabulous and amazing I am. But then I feel like I’m being conceited, and that in the end, I tell myself that it really is my fault for being so shy that people don’t even know how to approach me.
    I’m scared about ever changing my “relationship status” because as of right now, I have no idea how to deal with any of the things that I have seen or read about regarding relationships and the issues involved in them. I have my theories, like if the guy cheats, you should probably let him go, and you should definitely never lie or keep secrets about important things. I mean, if you have an ingrown toenail, and THAT’s why you never take your socks off, that’s not really important, but if you have an entire secret second life, that’s a problem. I also feel like if you have any reason to hide a relationship from family or friends, unless it’s your first and you’re figuring out how to tell everyone, that should be a red flag. Not necessarily a reason to end the relationship, but I feel like if I was in the situation, I would need to evaluate and assess the relationship. I’m a fan of evaluating and assessing.
    Another reason that I’m scared to change my relationship status is that I have a lot of insecurities. It’s been said that you have to love yourself before you can love another. I really believe in that sentence, and I feel like I need to come to grips with my insecurities before I could enter a relationship. At the same time, I feel like having a person to rely on (I can’t write the “B” word! I can’t do it!) might help me to overcome or understand my insecurities more. Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to have someone contradicting every negative thing I say about myself and making me believe that those things aren’t true. I mean, really. Who wouldn’t love that?
    I’m thinking that that’s a pretty sufficient entry for this topic, so I’ll end it there.

Bye for now,
    Turtle

Dairy - January 2nd

Jan 2. - 30 facts about yourself

1. I love to read.
2. I’m getting back into writing, but chances are, school will force me to put homework before writing. Boo.
3. I also really enjoy photography, but it’s hard for me to get really inspired, except in spring and summer.
4. I have 8 chickens.
5. I have a pet rabbit that my family adopted from a friend (who moved to Manhattan!), named Bunny. Bun-Bun for short.
6. I really like watching YouTube videos by beauty gurus, even though I’m far from being one myself.
7. Lush’s Sexy Peel is probably my favorite soap there, but it’s SO EXPENSIVE.
8. I’m going to Greece for 13 days this summer, and I can’t wait!!
9. I’m a self-proclaimed nerd, but I’m fairly sure anyone would agree with me.
10. I like to sew and do other creative things with my mom.
11. My mom is definitely my best friend, although I don’t disclose EVERYTHING to her.
12. I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time in 7th grade, and have probably read it a bajillion times since.
13. My favorite food is salad, and I’m lucky enough to be able to have it all year long.
14. I love to cook.
15. I love to bake, although I don’t do it that often, because my dad and brother tend to scarf down whatever I make in record amounts of time.
16. The first sport I ever did was dance.
17. Soccer was my least favorite sport that I ever tried.
18. I’ve done recreational gymnastics for six years. I started out with artistic and made through 4 levels, but switched to Trampoline and Tumbling last year.
19. I’m very shy.
20. The last time I remember giving a speech was in my Leadership class last year, and I won Best Speaker for our debate that day.
21. My least favorite subject in school is Science.
22. Ironically, this is the class I’ve been able to make the most amount of friends in.
23. My favorite subject in school is History.
24. Ironically, this is the class I’ve made the least amount of friends in. Probably because I’m the only person my age in the class, and the older students clearly don’t like that.
25. My favorite type of history is Ancient History, specifically Greek and Roman, but I also enjoy World History.
26. I’ve made some pretty horrible mistakes in my life, but some of the people affected by them have forgiven me, and mean more to me than I could ever imagine.
27. I don’t think anyone has ever had a crush on me, but if they have, they’ve done an excellent job of hiding it.
28. My favorite Olympic sport is gymnastics, followed by figure skating, followed, hopefully in 2016, by RUGBY! (And I’m American!)
29. The town I live in is full of pretentious people, although not everyone is this way. It gets worse the further away you get from the part of town I live in.
30. I enjoy meditating, and the Yoga Channel on Pandora is one of my favorites.

Sorry for being late - again!

Adieu,
    Turtle

Introducing....365 Day Diary Challenge!

Happy January and Happy New Year!

    I’m a day late, I know, but better late than never, right?  Without further ado, I introduce..... 365 DAY DIARY CHALLENGE!

Jan. 1 - What is your biggest goal this year?

Hmm... Ok. So the first thing that crossed my mind was lose weight. I know, I know. That’s 1) totally cliche and 2) totally NOT what your biggest goal is.  I  guess I would have to say get in shape, NOT lose weight. Now, all my friends, if they read this, would be like, “But you do gymnastics! You’re in shape!!”. My family, if they read this, would say, “You’re the fittest person in this family!” Which, by the way, is probably not true. My brother, though he doesn’t look it, is probably the fittest person in our family AT THIS VERY MOMENT.

Why, you may ask, is this my goal? Okay, it’s true, I do do gymnastics twice a week, for a total of 3 hours a week. But my classes are back to back, and other than walking up and down the stairs at my school to both my locker and my physics class (which I do at least 6 times a day), I don’t really exercise outside of class. On top of that, one of my coaches will be leaving for nursing school at the end of the month, and I have no idea who will replace her. I’m considering keeping one gymnastics class and taking up yoga, but who wants to do yoga by themselves with a bunch of adults? Not. Me.

    Also, and maybe this is a bad thing, I feel like I would be happier if I was fitter. Right now, I honestly do worry about how I look in clothes, even though I know that you’re not supposed to. Honestly though, who always does what they’re supposed to? If I was fit and 100% confident in how I look, I think that I would be happier, because I would be so confident in myself, and that’s a good thing!
    So maybe, at the heart of all of this discussion about appearance, my biggest goal really isn’t being fit or losing weight, but about being more confident in myself. I’ll need to reflect on that, and I’ll report later.

Au revoir,
Turtle