Good Books For The Summer

Over the Summer I know that the last thing you want to do is sit down and read. I just recently read an article that explained all about how reading can improve so many parts of your brain capacity. In turn, you become smarter overall the more you read. Here is a link to the article if you are interested: Can Reading Make You Smarter? - by Dan Hurley Anyways, in order to stay sharp for next school year you need to read a little over the summer! So this is going to be a list of books that I have recently read that I think you guys will enjoy!

1. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks
    I don't know if there are any guys that are reading this, but if so this may not be the book for you. Ladies this book is great. It really pulls on your emotions, just like every other Nicholas Sparks book. I actually just finished this book last night and I love the way he builds the characters. You feel like you know so much about them that they could possibly be real! It's a great read and definitely worth your time!





2. Fallen by Lauren Kate
    I read this book a while ago, but it was so good that I read it in like 2 days. I don't remember anything major about it, I just remember loving every word! Definitely worth reading!









3. Truesight by David Stahler Jr.
    I first read this book in 7th grade for school and I loved it. I actually ended up buying my own copy and re-reading it. It's a science fiction novel about a society where everyone is born blind in order to keep the peace. But eventually the main character finds out some crazy things about his society.







4. The Giver by Lois Lowry
    There is actually a movie coming out for this book soon, so you should definitely read it before you go see it. This is another book about a dystopian society, where they see no color, they live in "family units," and they do not choose their jobs or their loved ones. Of course this is all to keep the peace, but the main character ends up learning some terrifying things about his city. It's definitely worth reading.






I hope that you try at least one of these and just remember to keep reading! Until next time...

-Yours Truly

A Productive Summer?!?

Hey guys! So I want to talk about what we are all doing this summer. I realized that summer is meant to have fun and relax, but all of my friends are going cool places. So what am I supposed to do? Well personally, I've decided to be productive. In my last blog post I mentioned that I bought a new ukulele, so this summer I plan on learning how to play it! You guys may not know this about me, but I also play the flute. In addition to ukulele practice this summer, I plan on practicing my flute a lot too. I know this all sounds boring, but your activities will be fit to you.
    This post is going out to those of you who are like me. Your friends are all going on amazing vacations and you have the whole summer to spend sitting on the couch. I just want to tell you that if you waste your entire summer doing that, you will definitely regret it. Believe me. So go find what you like to do, go look for a summer job, go make new friends, go practice your instruments. Then you can come back to school in the fall and show everyone how much amazing stuff you did this summer.
    Sorry that this is a short post, but there will be more to come, as usual. Until next time...

-Yours Truly

You Can Do Anything!

So I have a quick little story to tell you guys.
Alright, so just today I was babysitting my cute little neighbor when I noticed that she had a ukulele. I picked it up and asked her a few questions, which she answered quickly, then she showed me the DVD that came with it so that she could learn how to play. And while I was sitting there trying to tune her ukulele I decided I wanted to learn how to play it myself! The thought that I could just go buy something and learn such a cool new talent was so extremely liberating for some reason. I had some kind of epiphany. So I went home and started looking on Amazon for a good quality ukulele with a starter DVD and I found one. After bargaining with my parents, who eventually agreed to pay half of the cost, I ordered my new ukulele and it will arrive on Friday!
    Now, you must be thinking, "what does this have to do with my life?" or "why should I care about you?" Well, I'm getting to that part. It finally hit me today that if you really want something, all you have to do is put your mind to it. If you want to go learn another language, go buy a book and learn it! If you want to learn how to surf, go to the beach and try it out. And if you want to learn how to play a new instrument, you go do it. But, the things you can do doesn't have to be limited to new talents and skills, you can learn to treat others better, or use better manners. It's all up to you! So I hope this post helps you realize your potential, and inspires you to go out there and do all of those things you've wanted to do. Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Saying Goodbye

It's that time of year when you have to emotionally prepare yourself for seniors to leave your school. The sad fact is, you may not ever see them again. Just the thought of that scares the heck out of me! I don't want to lose some of my closest friends! But not all of the people leaving are seniors, sometimes people move or find better opportunities. This doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye. So that's what I want to talk about today.
    Just recently my school held the end-of-year banquet where they show baby pictures of all of the seniors and it's just an insanely emotional time. It's so difficult to imagine them just not being there anymore. To imagine that next time you come to class, their seat will be empty, or filled with someone new. That is the sad truth about high school. Even though you have to say goodbye to all of your senior friends, you can see them leaving as a challenge to meet new people next school year, and to make new friends. It is so hard to see all of these people I have grown to love leave, but in the end there isn't much you can do about it.
    So how do you keep moving? Find new friends, keep in touch with those who have left, and remember that change is what keeps us all moving forward. Until next time...

-Yours Truly

Positive Attitude!

I'm sorry it has been so long since my last post, but a lot of fun and crazy stuff has been going on in my life lately! The biggest thing is preparing for exams, it has consumed a good bit of my time lately so this post is kind of relating to that. I have been really stressed out trying to cram a semester's worth of information back into my head. It's definitely a tough process, and I find that during this time I fall into almost a haze or kind of sad state. It is just a lot to think about at one time. So this post is going to talk about keeping a good attitude during these hard times!
    Everyone has those days where you are feeling kind of blue and you don't really want to do anything or talk to anyone. That is completely understandable, but for me exam week is just a week of torture. So the best thing to do is focus on the positives in your life. Think about that special someone, or something major that just happened.... for me this would be getting my adorable new car! If you just focus on the good things going on, exam week will fly by. Remember, it's just a test and you will do great. Just don't mess yourself up, you can totally do this! I believe in you!
    This is an extremely short post, but here it is. I hope that you can keep a good attitude throughout your exam week too! Good Luck! Until next time...

-Yours Truly