2011 Reflections

So the majority of people in the United States are familiar with the tradition of making a New Year's Resolution, usually something like losing weight, staying more organized, getting a better job, going to a good college, or quitting a bad habit. Most people make one resolution, and very few of them actually maintain or achieve their resolutions. Until last year, I was the same way. By February 1st, I had forgotten what I'd promised myself I would do. BUT NOT ANYMORE!

Last New Year's Eve, exactly a year ago today,I was feeling particularly motivated and I made an entire list of resolutions. Since I'm currently bored out of my mind and I need to think of a new list for 2012, I figured I'd share my resolutions with you :)

School-Related Things:

1. Get straight A's for sophomore year

Yes, I did get straight A's, thank you very much. Hello, number 6 in the sophomore class ranking ;)

2. Get at least one perfect SOL test.

Yes, I did. My World  History 2 SOL. I guess that's what happens when you have an awesome teacher who is in the Army.

3. Start off junior year with straight A's for the first quarter

*sigh* No. I came pretty close though! AP Physics just kinda killed me. I had a 90 Bright at the end of the quarter. So close, it killed me.

4. Miss no homework assignments

Yes, of course! Although I've had an incredible amount to do, I haven't missed a single homework assignment.

Band-Related Things:

1. Be first-chair in Wind Ensemble percussion

At the end of last year, when we had Wind Ensemble re-auditions, Yes, I was first chair.However, during chair placement this fall, my friend Caleb beat me, so I'm back to second chair again. But I kicked his butt at All-District auditions, so it's ok. We're even.

2. Make a higher chair than 7th (my chair last year) in All-District band

HELL YEAH I DID.  I kicked some serious butt and moved up to SECOND CHAIR this year. 2nd!!!! And that's not because a bunch of people graduated or anything. I mean, some did. But I jumped over a bunch of the people who were ahead of me last year. So I have actually improved alot.

3. Make a higher chair than 4th in All-County Band

OH YEAH BABY I'm first in the County W00T!

4. Learn more 4-mallet music

Yes, I played a fantastic piece called Rain Dance by Alice Gomez for a small ensembles' concert in the spring, and I learned an entirely new 4-mallet technique (I was previously playing crossgrip, now I know Stephen's as well)

Other Random Things:

1. Get better at driving (boat and car)

Despite the fact that I still don't have my Driver's License, I have improved a bit. So yes.

2. Finish Nature Wall

Ok, background story time. If you go here you will see the song from Discovery Channel about all of the awesome things about the world. I had the magnificent idea to illustrate each line and hang them in the rough shape of the world on the wall above my bed. I finished a total of 7 of the lines. In a year and a half. And they look awesome! But I'm tired of trying. So no, I did not finish the wall. But I do have a back-up plan. I received a super-awesome Periodic Table of the Elements puzzle for Christmas (thanks Grams and Grandpa!), which my boyfriend and I have already completed. The puzzle glue is drying as I type this. I plan to hang it on my wall, and surround it with the few Discovery illustrations I have. Maybe I'll even draw a few more. So I did not finish the Nature Wall, I improved it.

3. Start a Bucket List

Well.....mentally I did....ok fine. No I did not. Maybe in a blog post.....?

4. Read more Classic Books

YES INDEED! Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn, every Sherlock Holmes story ever written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robinson Crusoe.....

5. Expand music collection

Yes. And you don't want me to list all that XD Let's just say it's a ton of nerd music, Hank Green stuff, Spyro the Dragon soundtracks, and the occasional musical.

6. Attempt to participate in NaNoWriMo 2011

Ehhhhhh.......honestly....I didn't realize it was NaNoWriMo time until I was actually Thanksgiving. So no. My bad.

7. Maintain my journal

Yes, I did. I have managed to write about everything this year (I like to write things down so I can remember my life when I'm old. Y'know, like 30 XD) I didn't write as often as I wish I had, so I did a lot of massive journal entries. But Yes, I did write.

8. Keep control of fitness and health, even once gym is over

Yeah I did. Thank you, karate. BAZINGA.

9. Try to understand who I am better and what I want to do with my life

YES I DID. I have discovered officially that my passion is for math and science. I am no longer hovering between being a chemistry major and an english major/artist. And I have quit boxing myself in to just chemistry as well. I have branched out a ton. And I love it.

10. Dive into and express the things I love

Yes, I have definitely been diving into my nerd culture this year XD 

11. Clear my heart and get over my fear of love

This.......I don't remember writing this resolution. But it is oddly accurate. And yes, I did achieve it, completely on accident, since I forgot that I promised myself to do so. So yay me! <3

12. Collect more kougras *blushes*

Ok, I know. Neopets. Seriously. I did make a resolution about it. And yes I did achieve it.....9 times over XD

13. BE HAPPIER. Find what makes me happy and express it.

Well I don't know about you, blog reader, whoever you are. But I consider myself to be considerably happier than I was at any point last year. So there. Yes.

14. Really think about my friends and distance myself from the ones who aren't my true friends.

Yes, I have effectively done this. I have a good sense of who is truly there for me and who is just there because they want someone to talk to/ want me to help them with their math homework or proof read their essays.Which is fine. I don't mind helping people. That's what nerds do. It's just good that I know who I can trust.

15. Try new things.

Yes, oh my gosh. So many things. Pad Thai, new movies (Phantom of the Opera, Edward Scizzorhands, the last Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, 50 First Dates, TGI Fridays, participating in theater tech, Five Guys, Cookout Drivethru, all of the classic books I listed above, lots of fiction books, wakeboarding........I could go on for ages.

16. No more self-confidence issues.

Ok, fine. No.

17. Analyze the things I see, hear, or read. Have my own opinions and support them.

I wouldn't say I have a super-defined opinion about everything now, but I definitely know how to analyze things better now and I can support the opinions I have. So yes.

18. Set regular goals (every week or so) and at least TRY to reach them

YEAH. You should see my school agenda. It's packed with stuff. Up in the margins and everything.

19. Compose a 2010 reflection list

Haha, yes. I did that within the first week of the year. And then I put the list inside one of those sphere puzzles for safekeeping, like a time capsule, just not buried. Yup.

20. Be less stressed. Know how to say no when I already have too much to do already (aka manage time better)

Well......I'm pretty darned stressed out. But I have gotten better at managing time. So I'm going to say yes.

21. Make new memories.

So Many memories. Yes.

So that's my 2011! Not bad, 24/29. Here's to a fantastic 2012!

My Nuclear Rant

For my AP Environmental Science class, I was asked to tell whether or not I thought a new nuclear reactor should be built at the North Anna Nuclear Plant. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the topic of nuclear power, thanks to the fact that I am taking AP Physics (best class choice I ever made). Here is my rant:

Yes, I think another nuclear reactor at the North Anna nuclear plant is a great idea. Nuclear power is highly efficient, pollutes much less than coal, and is just an overall safer way to get power. Also, we are going to run out of coal in the near future (which is fine, because coal is awful for the environment anyway), and nuclear power is a smart replacement for coal.

Some people are scared of nuclear power, thanks to the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl disasters. The media focuses on the negative impacts of those catastrophes, and they don't know what they are talking about, alot of the time. Did you know that when a nuclear power plant is running at a Critical level, that means it is running EXACTLY HOW IT IS SUPPOSED TO?! The news broadcasters don't. They hear the word 'critical', panic, broadcast their panic to the word, and it's a chain reaction. Also, nothing bad really happened at Three Mile Island. The public was never actually in danger. The plant simply released its trapped bubble of Xenon gas up into the atmosphere, where there is already tons of poisonous gas, floating harmlessly above us. And then everything was fine.

Chernobyl was caused because Soviet Russia cut corners, both in building the plant and in training its employees. When things inevitably started to go wrong, the untrained workers didn't know what to do, so of course things got out of hand. Then, the disaster was hidden from the world, and Russia tried some really hairbrained ways to clean up the mess (for example, they dropped liquid lead on the burning plant. The lead was then vaporized from the intense heat and shot into the atmosphere. So then, poof! Radioactive lead raining down on Europe as well). So of course Chernobyl was terrible and frightening. It’s not surprising that people are afraid to have something like that happen again. But it won’t happen as long as the proper safety precautions are taken.

Finally, some people will point fingers at the Fukushima plant in Japan, and claim that it was not built to withstand earthquakes. Well, here’s some news: it was. And it withstood a HUGE one, and a tsunami, in the same day. And there is sufficient proof that Fukushima, like Chernobyl, wasn’t completely up to date on its safety requirements either. It had been failing inspections for months, but somehow was still kept running. So once again, it’s not surprising that something went wrong when the plant was slammed with extreme natural disasters.

Nuclear power plants are built extremely safely, with tons of redundant safety precautions and backup generators for their backup generators.  They have a huge margin for error, and are built to withstand massive amounts of stress and extreme conditions. It would be a good idea to build a new reactor in North Anna, since our current reactor is a little outdated anyway. Then, we could be up to date on all the latest nuclear technology, and Virginia would be less reliant on a filthy polluting fossil fuel like coal.

Gosh I'm a nerd ^-^

Audience-Induced Dual Personality

So I've noticed, especially since I've been back at school, that I unintentionally act differently when I'm around different friends. I'm not the only one who does this, I've noticed my friends' personalities change based on who is present as well.

For example, around my best friend that I've known since first grade, I can be open and not worry about whether I'm being judged because we know everything about each other and nothing will ever break up our friendship. Around her, I'm a follower, most of the time. We do alot of relaxing and talking and making bracelets and listening to classic rock and singing in the car on the way to the mall to share a box of delicious honey chicken. We run pointless errands just for somewhere to go, go to extremes just to properly embarrass each other, and don't mind helping with the less-exciting tasks, like cleanup after a Halloween party (ohmygod I love Halloween so much I can't wait!) or organizing rooms or school shopping.

When I'm around @MegginLovett (or Twitter in general), I'm a full-fledged 24/7 slap-things-with-a-fish Harry Potter-loving musical-singing overenthusiastic and occasionally crazy Nerdfighter. When I'm with my family, I tend to be quieter, and logical, and in general just calmer and less exciting. With my karate friends, I am powerful, experienced, mysterious, looked up to; whatever a disciplined karate teacher should be. With some friends, I'm stoic and listen passively rather than talk, and with some I'm the center of attention, cracking jokes and laughing constantly.

All of those traits are me, I'm never being fake or pretending. Different people just bring out different personality traits in me. But it makes me wonder, since I am so comfortable with who I am, why can't I always be all of those things? Why can't one person see every side of me? Why do I sometimes hide my nerdiness in a fruitless attempt to fit in, and other times I am outrageously flamboyant? Why are our true selves only known by ourselves?

Books Read: 27

Grenade

I hold a grenade.

A grenade of truths.

Full of secrets, of love, lies, and laziness.

Held by anyone else,

This would be a time-bomb;

A weapon to be used against those who made it.

But in my hand, it nestles,

Its pin securely in.

I know what's inside it,

Foresee the destruction it would cause

If ignited.

I must maintain the balance.

Is there not enough chaos already?

I padlock the pin, put the bomb in a safe.

Six feet under, it rests in an unmarked tomb.

Giving new meaning to

"I'll take it to the grave".

Your secrets are safe with me.

Books Read: 26

Summer of '11

Tomorrow, I shall return to the horrors of four classes a day, thirty minutes for lunch on a hard plastic stool, and the agonizing glares from the students who believe themselves to be better than me. I will march proudly into the place where my every outfit is criticized, my behavior is analyzed, and every word that passes my lips is twisted by gossiping numbskulls into things I never intended. I will dive headfirst into the sea of peer pressure, but I will swim against the current. Who says I have to follow them in their stupidity, and make the same mistakes as they do? I have my own tide to flow by.

Before I am totally occupied with quizzes, tests, and homework, I just wanted to take a minute to reflect on this summer.

This is the summer that I spent making bracelets, not only for myself, but for my friends and a wonderful group of people that I had the fortune to meet. This is the summer during which we used a sock-covered chimes mallet to play a bass drum during graduation, and afterward wore party hats. This was the first summer I've been on Twitter, and the first time I've shared my experiences via Blogger. This is the summer I wore a bathing suit in public, on more than one occasion. This is the summer I tried fried tomatoes, put hot sauce on spaghetti, and devoured more popcorn than should be legal.

This is the summer of dozens of sleepovers, with grandparents, cousins, and friends. This is the summer of the last Harry Potter movie, when the tears didn't stop until I heard about Pottermore, and realized that this is not the end. This is the summer of movies, and this is the summer I spent a huge part of without electricity, running water, and air conditioning (all at the same time!).

This is the summer I spent at the river, because my dad was finally off from work for the whole entire summer. This is the summer I learned how to wakeboard, from a science-loving sculpture professor who looks sortof like Johnny Depp. This is the summer of bike-riding, fist-pumping, fish-catching, car-driving, pier-jumping, earth-quaking, hurricaning, twig-raking, kitten-saving, nerdfighting AWESOMENESS.

This is, byfar, the best summer I have ever had. Maybe someday, another summer will bypass this one, and I will get to say that again. But I really don't see how it can get any better than this.

So I'm leaving you now, my friends, to pack up my backpack and prepare myself for the unknown craziness to come. Tears are literally pouring down my face as I type this, because I already miss doing all of these things that I love. Thank you for being here with me and reading about my insanity, and best wishes to any of you who must also return to school tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some interesting occurrences to tell you all about in the near future. In the meantime, DFTBA!

Books Read: 25

I Hate Public Pools

Hello Blog Buddies!

I have finally returned after surviving a whole week without electricity due to Hurricane Irene. I hope you enjoyed my last BACTIA posts (thank goodness for Blogger's scheduled posting...), and I'd like to apologize for the fact that, because my power was out and I couldn't update it, my Book Counter has been inaccurate for the last 9 days. Anyway, here is a poem I wrote after I was forced to spend the day at the pool while we waited for our electricity to be restored...

Arriving, toting toys, towels, and coolers.

Seven dollars to bring a friend, what?!

People gaze up from a heat-induced stupor,

Watching us as we search for a seat.

Obnoxious kids splash at our ankles.

Why can't they just leave us alone?

Aromas sting our senses as we spread our towels

On cheap rubber lounge chairs sticky with sweat.

Smells of chlorine

And sunscreen

And crappy snackbar food.

The smells of vanity and overindulgence.

Constant discomfort as we try to tan,

The air is too hot, too humid.

The water is too cold, too crowded.

The feeling that everyone's watching you,

Even if they aren't.

Noticing your every self-conscious flaw.

"When can we leave?"

But we want to be tan.

We've joined in the fad of destroying skin cells.

So we lay there and sweat all our happiness out,

Wasting our freedom, our summer,

And the time we could be spending having fun.

Books Read: 24

I Am a Hopeless Fangirl

Ever since I officially joined Nerdfighteria last summer, I have wanted to go to a Nerdfighter gathering and meet John and Hank Green and see how nerdy they actually are off of the internet. Ever since I started watching Mythbusters back in middle school, I have wanted to watch Adam, Jamie, Kari, Grant, and Tory blow something up in person. Ever since I plunged into the young adult section of my local library and discovered Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, and David Levithan, I have wanted to tell them in real life how brilliant I think their books are.

Whenever I imaging these real-life scenarios, I imagine myself as being calm, cool, and collected, saying something witty and intelligent, impressing those incredible people and actually having them remember me, instead of just belonging to their endless seas of fans. I don't picture myself being clumsy, blushing, squealing, nearly crying, grinning for like three hours straight, and in general just plain embarrassing myself.

However, all of those embarrassing things happened anyway, simply as a result of these:

So I'm prettymuch doomed to embarrassment if I ever do get the chance to meet them. :D

Books Read: 19