The Only Constant Thing

Image courtesy of Man of Depravity

They say that the only constant thing in life is change. This seems like a huge contrast, but when you really think about it, it's true. Relationships, buildings, trees, even stars will go away. But things will always be changing. Cities will change, currencies will change, relationships will change, situations will change. Most of all, people will change. Things like habits and ideas will change as the person does. Different events in our life help shape and differ who we are as we discover new parts of ourselves. We can also look back on past selves and see how we have improved. There are different ways to look back at your past self, like pictures, essays, and blogs (wink wink). So, I am going to look back on how I have changed through the time I have had this blog (we all saw that coming).

Mostly, I have opened up more. My first posts were just descriptions of events. Things like the sports teams I liked, the teams I was on, just things that happened in my life. I also talked about my family and friends, the other people in my life. Later on, however, my posts got more in depth. They became more about the different aspects and feelings of life. More about the physical and mental obstacles we all face. And more about who I am, as a person. I love that. Being able to open up more about who I am and my life was awesome. This was also a place where I could blow off some steam, have a good little rant, and then actually have people read about my anger!

I also want to talk about where I got my inspiration. Because I definitely stole ideas and put them into my posts. I got these things from people like Allison, Maggie, and a blog called The Happily Ever After Project. They are so creative and inspirational on their blogs. The things they write about are fun to read, impressive, funny, serious, and, at times, perfectly personal. Like the crafts on The Balancing Act. My friend Allison does all these DIYs in her free time (I don't know how she has time, but she's already perfect so it makes sense). I have done a couple of them and my favorite one was the book box. This is where you cut out the inside of a book, modge podge the pages together, and use it as a box. It is so cool! Another one is Beauty and the Beam. The owner of this blog is Maggie, and she is also amazing. I loved looked at her posts about her gymnastics teams and tried to use things like that in my swimming posts.

This blog has been super fun to have, and I'm sad to be saying goodbye. It's okay though, we had a good run.

Signing off,

Natalie.

Here is a pig flying, you are welcome.

Looking Back

Image courtesy of Quotes Valley

This being my second to last post, I'm going to look back on how this blog has changed over time, and how I've changed throughout this school year. First though, a little side note to anyone reading this. I just wanted to say that having this blog has been amazing! What started out justas a graded assignment for an Honors English class has become a place for me to share my feelings with others. I have really loved posting on this blog and watching as people actually read what I had written. Every time I got a new page view, I felt so proud. Just being a tiny part of your guys' day is an honor for me. Thank you for everything, it’s been amazing.

Looking back now to my very first post...this was a welcome post as the enraptured new freshman (me) began to set up her blog. New to high school, she was excited at the prospect of having somewhere to share the "crazy new memories" she was sure to have. Setting up the background, font, and color scheme was super fun. I kept thinking about, the year before. This was when I had been an avid reader of my friend Grace's blog. Since she is a year older than me, I got to watch her blog unfold and was thrilled to be starting my own. Reading what she posted about what she did and where she went was really fun.

Next, developing my blog... when I started this blog I had no idea what I was going to post about. I hadn’t really given a lot of thought to the prospect of a theme, or even if I wanted to have a certain theme. I put up a poll to ask for input on a theme, but after a little while I realized that, if I was going to have a theme, it needed to be my idea. After all, it was going to be my name on the blog’s front page. One day, I thought about and decided on a kind of theme. I made the decision that I would begin to post about my life and the different aspects of it. It seemed like a good idea because I would surely be well informed on the subject (tee hee). I started to post about events, sports, obstacles, and different parts of my life that I felt would be worth sharing.

Looking back on how I’ve changed… we all change over time. I’m very lucky because keeping something like a blog is a great way to look back at my past self. It’s really cool to have the ability to do this. Since we have kept blogs over the entire school year, I’m able to look at how I’ve developed as a writer and a person. Over the year, my posts have not only gotten longer, but have been more in depth and personal. I stopped just talking about things I had done and started talking more about the mental features and obstacles of life.

To my beloved readers, thank you.

Me with our school colors.

Standing Up

Image courtesy of DesiValley

We all have our beliefs in life. However different these things may seem, they are all based on the same main subjects. These are our values, our ideas, and our influences, and those are just the main of the many effects that the lives we live can have on what we believe in. Who we live with and relate to can also effect our thoughts. It is actually shown that when you are around a person/group for a while, their mannerisms and personality traits start to rub off on you. As social beings, we adapt to what works the best in a society. This acquisition of traits also effects what we believe. But, contrary to what some people might think or say, beliefs aren’t just about religion or faith. Although they can have holy ties, they don’t all have to.

In this country we are extremely lucky because we have amendments. Particularly, the first amendment. This means that as we all have our own beliefs, we also have the right to exercise and fight for those beliefs. We are very lucky to live in a country where we have this right. But I think that we don’t use this right enough. We shouldn’t just sit around and let all the decisions be made for us. If the decision of a group effects us, our lives, or the people around us we should check it out. If that decision effects in a negative way, or a way we don’t agree with, we shouldn't just let that pass by. We have a right to fight for the things we believe in and we should use that as much as we can. Too many people just sit around and let other people take charge of their future. You shouldn’t. Just remember that your life is your life, and that you can take charge of your life. We only get one chance at a life, so we should make it an amazing one.

Again, there is a huge range of things to believe in. You can believe in the existence of something, whether or not a goal will be achieved, or what value certain things have. You can also have cultural, political, and educational beliefs. Examples are that a God exists, that you can get an A on a test, that a doll have more value, or that a candidate is perfect to be president. Your beliefs may even conflict at times, or be a mashup of many. It can also be uncomfortable when what you believe in conflicts with the beliefs of others who are close to you. But you still need to fight through it all, no matter what. Once again, you need to stick with what you believe in because it is your life.

Stay with, and fight for, what you believe in and grab life by the horns.

Image courtesy of Indian Country

Risk

Image courtesy of Ali Davies

Throughout our lives, we will take risks. Some will be bigger than others, but all risks can be scary. This is because taking a risk entails that something could be lost or hurt. Just the risk of jumping over a small gap in a hill can be terrifying. This is only because we know that we could get hurt. But not all risks are physical, a lot are emotional. Emotionally, we can still lose things and get hurt, I think we all know this by now. The other side of emotional risks is that there can be BIG payoffs. Yet, we are still afraid.

If there were never any risks in life, it would be pretty boring. Constantly getting exactly what you want with no worry sounds great, I'll give you that. Still, it would get a little monotonous. Having something hang in the balance can be exhilarating. Not having risks wouldn't only take away what we feel when we fail, but also take away how we feel when we do succeed. And even when we do fail, we can still be proud of ourselves for taking a chance. I have taken risks that haven't ended well, but I'm glad that I took them anyway. It shows that I really wanted something, that it was worth it. It also shows that I was strong enough to take a risk with the chance of getting hurt.

Image courtesy of Back West

Image courtesy of Cambridge University Contemporary Dance Workshop

Image courtesy of Pix Good

There are physical risks. Things like leaping across gaps, doing that barrel roll you couldn't do last dance class, swimming a 200 butterfly for the first time, tackling the biggest guy on the other team, and so many more. We each have our own physical risks that we have, and will, overcome. Different lives lead to different risks because of different activities we do. Any risk can be scary.

There are also emotional risks. Personally, these are scarier for me than physical risks. I think that they have more weight on your life. Scrapes or cuts, even broken bones, heal over time. Emotional wounds might not. They might affect your decisions later in life, days, weeks, maybe months or even years later. Emotions are interesting things. Memories with strong emotional connections are the ones we remember the most. This is because these have the most effect on our minds, they stick there. We remember them in times of need and if we are in a similar situation. The outcomes of those old memories will most likely effect the situation you are in right then.

The risks we take can be based on family, friends, sports, beliefs, or anything else that has effected you and your life. We will take risks in almost everything we do in life. It makes it interesting. Having something to lose can be terrifying, but also exhilarating because you have something to gain. Don't be afraid to take risks, they can be extremely worth it.

Family: Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

Christmas pictures with my little brother (C.J.) and little sister (Rachael).

Since the dawn of time, there have been families. How long you stay with your family depends on your species. There are animals who never know their parents and have to strike out on their own, to others who stay with their families for life. Humans seem to have variations of these times. Some of us never get to know our parents, some of us stay with them for only a little while, some of us stay with them until adulthood, some of us stay past adulthood, and some of us stay even longer than that. Although we are able to live without our biological families, for at least the starting period of our life we need that  close group of people. Like with people who are adopted. They don't have their biological family, but they have a group of people showing them the world and helping them to learn about and explore it.

Can't live without 'em:
Families help us grow up and explore the world. They create a safe, educational, and compassionate environment in which we can grow up. They help us develop physically, mentally, and socially. Physically by showing us how to do things like eat, walk, go up stairs, run, etc. Mentally, they teach us how to speak and think. They read us stories and give us puzzles to strengthen our quickly developing minds. They also teach us how to function in the social world. By telling us what to do in certain situations and reprimanding us if we don't act well in others, they show us how to act in our society. They prepare us to have lives of our own with our own friends and relationships.

Can't live with 'em:
FAMILY CAN GET REALLY ANNOYING. When you have to live with a group of people, you see it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And the really ugly. You get to know the little things about them, like disgusting habits, weird rituals, and all around odd behavior. There are also the fights. Long road trips, sharing, or just being in the same room for too long can start an argument. You might not even know what you were arguing about the next day!

It is said that you always have to love your family, but you don't always have to like them. This is so true! Yet, it is all worth it. This is because these people will help and care for you throughout life (and if they don't they look bad). But seriously, be glad to have a family and you will realize that, in the end, they do more good than harm.

Image courtesy of My Repurposed Life

Emotions

Image courtesy of Stylist Stuff

Emotions bring more depth to our lives. If we couldn't feel, then our world would be very different.
Our ability to have feeling is what lets us be happy when something good happens, sad when something bad happens, and everything in between. There are so many emotions that it would be insanely difficult to name them all. So I'm going to try. There's happy, sad, angry, frustrated, stressed, confused, crazy, tired, lifeless, exhausted, worried, excited, acceptance, joy, rejection, surprise, fear, content, grumpy, depressed, disappointed, pride, temptation, love, disgust, awareness, quilt, sickness, pain, panic, and way too many more. Again, too many to count. It's incredible that we, as humans, have such a range of feeling in this world.

Emotions can also be triggers to us and our bodies. Emotions such as fear, panic, and pain give our bodies warnings to react to our surroundings. There are some people who can't feel pain, and that gives them a great disadvantage. This is because they can't react to things that we would, not because they shouldn't, but because they have no warning. When we put our hand on a hot stove, we instantly snatch it away. But, for these people who can't feel pain, it isn't that easy. If they put their hand on a hot stove, they won't realize it. Their hand will begin to burn but they won't know to take it away until they look down and see the damage that has been done. There is one girl who walked around on a broken ankle for weeks before her parents noticed a deformity. This was simply because there was no pain to alert her that it was broken.

I wouldn't want to live without emotions. Yes, that would mean no pain or fear or heartbreak, but I still wouldn't want to. This is because, without emotion, I wouldn't feel things like happiness, joy, contentment, or love. I don't want to, and don't think I could, live without emotion.

Image courtesy of Google Play

High School Sports

Image courtesy of Park City High School

Once you are in high school, things change. You start to have grow up as grades count, responsibilities multiply, and your future seems to constantly loom over you. But high school is also a chance to try out for things like sports teams. There are many sports that our high school has teams for; cross country, soccer, softball, baseball, track and field, football, swimming, tennis, golf, lacrosse, and more. These teams give us many new opportunities to show what we can do and connect with others. There are many good reasons to be attributed to one, or more, of these teams.

The first reason is to show off your work ethic. Being on a sports team, or multiple, for four years straight shows commitment, skill, and the ability to do hard work. Going to practices after school, five days a week, how many weeks depending on season length, for four years is impressive. Your resume will look even nicer with that on there. Plus, colleges LOVE you to have loads of extracurricular activities! (Because we, students, totally have time to belong to multiple clubs and teams after going to school for seven hours, and then doing the hours and hours of homework our classes give us. Well, we do have time, but only after giving up things like friends and sleep!) Seriously though, sports teams can look really good on records, speaking of records...

Like my segue? I know I did! Now, onto what I wanted to talk about. You don't even need to be super talented when you're starting a sport to succeed in it. With a high amount of practices, plus great coaches, you can get really good really fast. If you get good enough to set records, personal or statewide, that also looks good. It chiefly helps if you want to be on a college level team when you get older. Setting records in high school can also just be really cool :).

Last, and I think most important, is the teammanship (yes I made that all one word). Belonging to a team and having to work with that team gives and develops skills. Skills like how to work well with others, how to integrate yourself, and how to make, and keep, friendships. During the swim season, I gained so many incredible friends. Belonging to a team that work well together and care about each other is a great feeling. Mostly I loved the difference between the water and land. If we were at a meet, we competed against each other. In the next lane over your best friend in the world could be swimming, but you would still try and kick their butt. Then, after the race, you'd be congratulating each other. I liked this because it showed that we know how to work hard and that we value our individual goals, but also that we can value each other's goals too.

High school sports teams are pretty great. You gain skills you never would have alone, and you get a great sense of belonging. Just maybe don't try diving anytime soon...

Image courtesy of You Can Be Funny

Thank You

Dear readers,

I have just reached 1,642 pageviews. My goal at the very start of this blog was to get at least 500 pageviews, and, apparently, I've surpassed that. Having to change my goal was a great feeling, because I have achieved way more than I thought I could. But I couldn't have done this alone, well maybe I could have, just reloading and reloading my blog, but that's not the point. The point is that you, my readers, make an effort to check out what I do. Some of the best things you do are:

Image courtesy of The Chinese Quest

Voting on my polls. If I need inspiration, one of my tactics is to make a poll. Having a question and seeing what the majority thinks can inspire me to write. Whether I agree with it or not, I like finding out what my peers either want to see, are seeing, or believe. Polls are also just great to see what's up in the world. An example is my holiday poll. Around Christmas time (for me) I put up a poll to see what holidays others were celebrating. It was really cool to see the diversity in culture and religion we had right here. So, thank you.

Image courtesy of Spiritual Badass

Commenting. Getting feedback on how I'm doing and what I'm doing is really beneficial to me. I always like to know if I'm doing something wrong, just as much as it's nice to know if I'm doing something well. This makes me better for myself, and for you. Constructive criticism is always welcome because I want to be the best possible for you, my readers.

Image courtesy of Clipart Panda

Just reading my blog. Taking time out of your day to check out my blog makes me feel extraordinary. It doesn't matter if you give me two, five, or ten minutes. Just the thought of someone wanting to spend some of their precious time on me is superb. Whenever I check my stats and see that I've had a couple pageviews that day, I'm filled with a feeling of pride. Knowing that I'm even a small part of someone's day makes me feel valued.

Image courtesy of Kerigan

Once again, thank you. Thank you for voting. Thank you for commenting. Thank you for reading. Thank you for everything. I could never have done this without my amazing, incredible, magical, crazy, hilarious, and devoted readers.

Community

“We are neurologically hardwired to seek out people like ourselves. We start forming cliques as soon as we’re old enough to know what acceptance feels like. We bond together based on anything that we can - music preference, race, gender.” -iO Tillett Wright

Communities are formed by many different things. Neighbors, sports teams, musical preferences, interests, etc. Throughout life, we will each belong to many communities. These have many different people in each of them, and they shape who we were, who we are, and who we will become. The people we spend our time with can directly influence our decisions and personalities. I believe that communities are very important in people’s lives. They give you things that you can’t just give yourself.

Image courtesy of Ignitum Today

First, just the act of having people around you is beneficial. Humans are very social beings, we like to have companionship throughout life. Without companionship we may feel left out, excluded, and lonely. Loneliness actually has physical effects on our bodies. Remembering a time of loneliness can make people estimate that a room’s temperature is significantly colder than it actually is. It can make our actual skin temperature drop. It also makes our bodies feel under attack. Loneliness increases our blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Loneliness also “activates physical and psychological stress responses.”

Image courtesy of Daily Mail

Second, having people who care about you around you is spectacular. We all have times that are scary, sad, stressful, and hard. Having people who will help you through it, or just give you a hug when you need one, is amazing. Knowing that you can rely on this community for a "good morning," or a "how are you" is incredible. Once again, having the companionship of these people is incredibly beneficial to your mental and physical states.

Image courtesy of Keene Trial Consulting

Last, but not least, is that a group of people can give you things you can't just give yourself. The biggest of these is a feeling of acceptance. Yes, you can accept yourself for who you are, but we as people need others to feel truly accepted. Exclusion is not a very good feeling. Being pushed out or away from people makes you feel unwelcome and unwanted. Exclusion can lower self-esteem and even lead to depression. But when you have people around you who accept you for who you are, you don't have to feel that. You can know that you are loved, wanted, and needed.

Being in a community can be an amazing feeling. Whether it's for a couple days, weeks, years, or life. You should treasure when you find a group of people who you fit with. I know I do.

The TMJH Library's Breakfast Club

Invisibilia

Lately, I've realized that there are too many things we take for granted in this world. I don't blame us. Some things are just there, and they always have been, and they always will be. But some people don't realize is that if you just take a second to look at everything you have, it's pretty cool. In light of this recent discovery of mine, I'm going to tell you the things I believe are taken for granted, and why they shouldn't be.

Image courtesy of Discover Magazine

First, the sun. It's a big yellow ball in the sky that you see during the day and don't see during the night. Yet, this big ball of hydrogen that's up in our sky is so much more than that. The sun is an incredible thing that we cannot live without. Earth is at the exact distance where the sun gives us just enough heat and light without frying us. How cool is that? If there was no sun, there would be no us. It's as simple as that. It's a source of light, a source of heat, a source of energy, and a source of life.

Image courtesy of 22 Words

Next, trees. Trees are completely underrated in society. First, they are GREAT to climb! Climbing trees is a great childhood memory for almost everyone (except for children of course, they're already living the dream). Getting up to the highest branch of a tree is such a great feeling! You feel like you can see everything on Earth from up there. You can even just sit in the middle of the tree, surrounded by leaves and branches. You feel like you're in a secret place that only you, squirrels, and birds ever have the pleasure of being in. Another great thing about trees is that they provide us with oxygen. Yes, the oxygen that we need to breath and live. As we keep slashing down trees to build homes, and make space to build homes, we have huge affects. We take away oxygen, increase carbon dioxide levels, and take away the homes and habitats of animals everywhere. Trees are amazing things, don't take them for granted.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Also, the stars. I myself am a huge fan of the stars! I think they're incredible. Astronomy is such a cool science because it helps us look at something we're made of. It's amazing that the tiny specks of light we see at night are huge balls of burning gas hundreds of lightyears away from us. These stars are the remnants of what created the universe, they are formed out of the chemicals that were left after other things formed. There are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on the Earth. Needless so say, that's a lot. Stars are also incredible things to just look at. One night, go outside and lay down and just look at the stars. It's pretty cool. Here's an amazing video by one of my favorite scientists on stars.
We have a lot in life. We're lucky to live in the U.S. where we have opportunities and education and everything we need. But we should also take a step back once in a while and remember the basics, and how great they are.

Impossibilia

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

We hear crazy stories all the time. Some are clearly real, but there are some that we aren't sure about. It can be hard to believe someone when what they're saying seems utterly ridiculous. Here are a couple stories that can be true or false. Try and guess for yourself, and then highlight the black space under it for the answer. Good luck!
1. Mike Stewart, 31, of Dallas was filming a public service movie in 1983 on "The Dangers of Low-Level Bridges" when the truck he was standing on passed under a low-level bridge -- killing him.
True
2. U.S. custom agents seized 900,000 gummy bears that were loaded with Aye Caramba Beer.
False
3. In a case of "one thing leading to another", seven men, aged 18-27 years, received jail sentences of 3-4 years each in Kingston-On-Thames, England in 1979 after a fight that started when one of the men threw a french fry at another while they stood waiting for a train.
True
4. In 1983, a Mrs. Carson of Lake Kushaqua, N.Y. was laid out in her coffin, presumed dead of heart disease. As mourners watched, she suddenly sat up. Her daughter dropped dead of fright.
True
5. The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, they were both eaten by a killer whale.
False

Scoring:

4-5 correct: You have a knack for catching lies, good job!

2-3 correct: Ehh, you're alright at this. 

0-1 correct: Haha, you must be gullible (but it's okay).

Credit to: The Spoof

                Less Smith

Here comes my crazy story. You guys can determine if it is true or false!

During the time that my dad lived in Alaska, he and a friend decided to go on a trip and fly around in a small plane they owned. After flying for a while they decided to land and spend the night. They went to sleep and, in the morning, they woke up to find that they had been visited by a grizzly bear. It had eaten the slide of the plane and the horizontal rudder on the plane. Being stuck in such a predicament, they had to use what was available. To replace the side of the plane, they used layers upon layers of duct tape. To replace the horizontal rudder, they used a piece of broom handle, then covered it with more duct tape to secure it. My dad flew it back successfully and got it repaired professionally.

Is it true? Is it false? If you would like to stick with your opinion, then good on you! If not, and I totally understand, you can either email me at nhaerter18@pcstudents.us, and if you know me, just come talk to me and I'll tell you. Good luck!

I'm baaaaackk!

Sorry that I haven't posted in so long, I got a concussion while swimming and couldn't use the computer or write for a while :p. My head still hurts but I can go to school full time again and actually do work (who woulda thunk it?). Yet, even through injury, here I am, ready to rise up once again and pour a little more of my heart out in each and every post. Get ready world! Also, if you did notice I was gone, then aww that's so sweet! If not, good job, you probably have better things to do anyway. So.... here's a funny picture.

Image courtesy of Pinterest

Can I Quote You On That?

Image courtesy of Buy Me Laughs

I love quotes. Inspirational ones, sad ones, happy ones, funny ones, loving ones, even confusing ones.  They are great ways to express how you feel. It's also great to be able to relate to someone else's words. Here are some of my favorite quotes, and why I love them so much.

Image courtesy of Brainy Quote

3. This on give you an outlook on life that's shockingly true, yet hilarious at the same time. We all know that we will die someday, we are mortal after all. Some may take this as a grim and depressing quote, but I think it's quite the opposite. It means to enjoy life while you have it, because it won't be forever.

Image courtesy of Brainy Quote

2. This is so true! People need to realize that sometimes we need to follow what we feel instead of what we see. Even if we can't see or feel something, like emotions, they are real! Embrace the fact that you have a heart and a brain, and that you can use both.

Image courtesy of Brainy Quote

1. This is so incredibly true I can't even tell you. Having a friend who has known you for a while is amazing because they know who you are. You don't need to be careful about how you act around them, you can be yourself. Also, you can do dumb things with them and have a good laugh over it all.

If you have some free time, try looking up some quotes. They can be about anything, sports, love, happiness, sadness, anything. Save your favorite ones in a folder or on a document and use them when you can. Have fun quote hunting!

Color

Image courtesy of Engaged Marketing

Color: the visual perceptual property corresponding in humans to the categories called red, blue, yellow, and others. That's the technical definition at least. Yet, isn't color so much more than just a visual perception of the world? Different colors can make us feel different ways, color combinations can please us, and almost our entire way of describing things revolves around color.

First, different colors can create different emotions for us. Just looking at a color can make us feel a certain way. Warm colors, like red, orange, and yellow, can make us happy and optimistic. Yet another thing red can do is make us hungry. That's why red is used on so many fast food signs and logos. Such as:

Image courtesy of Think.Shift

Other colors, such as blue, green, and purple, can be calming, but also sad. The way they are used and mixed in with brighter, warmer colors can affect how they are perceived.

Second, different color combinations are more pleasing than others. The most pleasing combinations are what people like to call "complementary colors." An easy way to explain the concept of complimentary colors is this. Find a color wheel. Now look at the colors that are across from each other on the wheel. Notice how well those two colors would go together? That's because they compliment each other, hence the term complementary colors.

Image courtesy of PixShark

Lastly, our way of describing things primarily uses color. Grab an object, any object. It can be right next to you are halfway across your house, you choose. Now that you have the object, describe it. I'll bet that a color popped into your head just then. This is because color is an easy way to distinguish objects from other objects. Imagine if the entire world was just black and white. It could be hard to instantly distinguish one thing from another thing because the most striking physical difference isn't there. Yes, shape and size are also big physical factors, but I've found that the thing you notice first about two objects is the similarity/difference of their color(s).

So color isn't just something pretty to look at. It is something that can calm or enrage you, help you or hurt you, and definitely stands out to you. I don't believe that color is something that should be taken for granted, but something that should be wondered at and appreciated. Color is a way we can express personal feelings and thoughts, and can effect other's feelings and thoughts too. Love color for all it is and be happy that it's there. I'm sure that if you do, it will appreciate it.

Everything's better, down where it's wetter, under the...pool!

Image courtesy of Disney Wikia

Today we shall talk about swimming, my dear readers! On top of taking up two hours a day of my life, it is my favorite thing to do. To give you an inside look at a BIG part of my life, here are the main reasons that I get in the pool everyday.

1. The water- I LOVE the pool! Honestly, it's my favorite place. The water is cool and refreshing, and it's a place to just let the stresses of the day flow away. Sometimes the water is a little too cold at first, but once we start working, it feels good. Once I start swimming, I get into this rhythm that almost counteracts the chaos of the day. As I go along, I can feel my body relax and let my mind wander. Sometimes I think about what I need to do after school, sometimes I think about problems my friends or I are having, or what I'm going to eat next. The latter seems to be a favorite topic of my brain and stomach.

2. The people- Everyone on the team is just amazing. They are all sweet, kind, caring, and want to help others in every way. Team dinners are a good example of that. Once in a while, we have a team dinner where everyone gets together, usually at a team captain's house. There is tons of food and everyone just hangs out and relaxes. These dinners are usually right after practice, so almost everyone who can't drive needs a ride from someone on the team. There have been times where people literally fought over who they wanted to drive. Another time my team mates are especially amazing is at swim meets. If you get a bad time or seem sad, they will approach you as soon as they notice and make you feel better. However, if you get a new best time, they will be just as excited, if not more, as you are about it.

3. The benefits- There are many benefits of swimming, but my favorite one is the ability to eat whatever. Swimmers may be skinny and strong, but it's definitely not because of small eating habits. It's the contrary. Any swimmer on my team will tell you that they eat a ton. The only reason that I get away with eating my body weight in food every day is because I swim. If I stopped swimming I would balloon up and gain just about four-hundred pounds, give or take. At every practice I burn an insane amount of calories (remember, sweat is just fat crying).

In conclusion, yes, practice is hard everyday, and yes sometimes I don't want to even touch the pool. But I love swimming too much to ever quit it. Even if I didn't love swimming, I wouldn't want to leave all the amazing people who are on my team.

Stress!!!

Image courtesy of Mindwerx

Now, as every high schooler knows, stress is a big part of our life. Juggling deadlines, projects, sports, clubs, and still trying to have time to be with family and friends is a full time job. Personally, I know a lot about these stressful times. Since this is such a common problem, I thought I would write  about how to handle and maybe even decrease this stress.

First, DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. I know it sounds appealing, but putting things off until tomorrow is not the answer (although I wish it was). Here's a little step by step on how to avoid procrastination:
1. First, find a comfy spot to do your homework. Grab a pillow or a blanket, maybe a snack, make yourself nice and snug. I've found that if I'm comfortable, I'm less bummed about doing what I need to get done.
2. Now, make a to do list. What I like to do is to go through my classes and write down what I need to do in all of the them, and when everything is due. The due dates help me plan on when I need to get everything done by (well, duh). But really, seeing the exact date of when something is due helps me.
3. Go down your to do list, completing everything in the order you wrote it. As you complete a task/assignment, cross it off. Keep going until everything is done. Congratulations! Now you can do whatever you want to do, as in sleep.
*A little tip from Natalie- take breaks! Just because you want to get everything done doesn't mean that you need to completely overload yourself with information. Every forty-five minutes or so, take a ten minute break. This has helped me a lot, and I think it will help you too.

Another way to decrease stress is to see if you can get assignments done early. In my H. English class, we have a weekly assignment called Vital Vocab. My teacher (hello Mr. Parker) has a page where we can find all the Vital Vocabs for the entire quarter. This has been awesome for me, because when I had some extra time, I got all of them done. This helped because I no longer had to worry about forgetting to do them or having to keep up with the deadlines. Getting something done early is an awesome way to avoid the stress it could have caused you.

I hope this helps you guys! Remember, stress and problems are temporary and can be avoided. High school may seem hard, but I know we all can get through it and succeed in it. Remember that your teachers, counselors, family, and friends are there for you whenever you need it. Don't forget to make memories, not just of stressful nights and long days, but of football games and sports teams and friends and good times.

Gif courtesy of Animations A2Z

The Loving Connection Between Books and Romance

Image courtesy of Love Quotes on Twitter

Pick up a book. Any book. Now, if you have read it, remember what happened. Was there some sort of romance going on between any characters? The answer is probably yes (with some exceptions, such as "The Cultural Landscape," my AP Geography textbook, which has no love in it whatsoever). I've found that if there isn't anything going down between zombies and aliens at the moment, or the characters have stopped being hunted down, the author still needs some way to keep the story going.
A largely popular way to do that is to create a romance between two characters. Since now every love is the same, I have found that there are three different types of novel romance...

Image courtesy of Straight Up Love

Number one: the love at first sight. These two characters fell in love the moment their eyes met! They are instantly physically and mentally attracted. There is usually a scene where the author describes, in great detail, every moment of their first meeting. They are shown to be perfect for each other, harmonizing in ways you never knew they could, and understanding each other about every hardship that they endure. The reader finds a satisfaction with this type of romance because it's the ideal relationship. Everyone wants someone who is simply perfect for them.

Image courtesy of Greater Than We

Number two: the big secret. This one is a little more complicated to explain, but here goes. Okay, so he loves her, and she loves him, but he doesn't know that she loves him, and she doesn't know that he loves her. This one is more of a secret between the author and the reader where the author slips in scenes from each character's point of view showing how they feel about each other. At this point, the characters are still in their own little worlds. As the book goes on, however, the author lets more and more of their feelings for each other show. Hopefully, the characters reach the ultimatum of knowing that they are in love and being together. This intrigues the reader and leaves you frustrated and screaming, "They need to be together!!! They just don't know it yet," to your mother at three o'clock in the morning because those two need to get their lives together and be in love already (not that I've ever done that.....)!

Image courtesy of Blog(dot)PosterJack

Number three: the meant to be. This is only slightly different from the love at first sight, but enough so that I thought I would recognize it. These characters also fall in love at first sight, the difference is they don't know it yet. Instead of knowing that they love the other character (like in "the big secret"), they don't even know their own feelings. Sometimes the author lets us see little moments that they have, like locking eyes with the other person and feeling their heart beat just a little bit faster. Or when they see the other character with someone else, they feel jealous and don't know why. Eventually we hope that they will discover their love, and that's usually what happens. I have yet to come across a book where they never realize their feelings, and if I did then it would be a very stressful read. The reader seems to be able to relate to this kind of love, and they like slowly watching the characters become knowing of their own emotions.

Romance is incorporated in a lot of books, and is a way to keep both the story moving and the reader interested. It gives us another layer of the story that makes the story itself more plausible. Whether the characters are in a huge arena fighting for their lives, or in a society that's trying to kill everyone who is special, romance brings the story back down to earth. Readers just seem to love love, and authors everywhere know it.