I can't even tell you how nervous I was thinking about all my closest school friends and their expectations of where I live. 99% of the kids I invited hadn't ever been to Staten Island, but made the hike anyway. Staten Island is definitely not my favorite place in the world and I hate it sometimes, but it is nice to come home to quiet after being in the city all day. Anyway, my friends got there and immediately got in the pool. My sister said she could hear everyone on the trampoline laughing from upstairs. Everyone took advantage of the beautiful sunny day and just loved the pool and trampoline. I always forget that my normal isn't what everyone else's is. For example, in the beginning of the year I was obsessed with my friends apartments and how cool it was that they had the city waiting outside their door, but they didn't understand my infatuation because they had been used to that life for so long. I go to a very diverse school with kids who come from all boroughs and all different walks of life and I always found it fascinating learning about everyones different lifestyles. Even though I'm only about 17 miles from Manhattan, S.I. is still an hour and a half away, so I was so grateful when so many of my friends showed up. When they came to my neighborhood, I think it was some what of a bonding experience, because it was the first time my friends had actually gotten to see the area I come home to everyday. They also got to see the cats I come home to everyday! Key to fun party: have small cats. There were literally crowds of 14 year olds in my little den playing with my cats. It was so cute. At one point in the party, people were picnicking on my lawn which was a great idea that never even occurred to me! (Why hadn't I ever did that?). It was pretty fun (and the sunniest part of the yard). By the time 6 o'clock came, people had to start going home because they didn't want to travel in the dark. (The commute back to the city is an hour and a half and for some people even longer). In the end, I feel like the party was a success. I was so glad that this party was just focused on having fun and that there was no average high-schooler drama. This was kind of a practice run for my birthday party in August, so I planning on stepping up my game and buying extra seven-layer dip😉.

   So I know I said I would post #OOTW's, but it started to get a little boring after a while, so I decided to do a collection of outfits from this season.

*THIS PHOTO WAS A JOKE BTW*
My favorite jeans outfit (is that even a thing?) from: 
Jeans-Abercrombie 
​Shirt-Rad. (it says "I WOKE UP LIKE THIS")

My favorite sporty(ish) outfit from:
Shirt: Pacsun (it says "Plants are friends")
Shorts: Nike

My favorite top from: ????? (I think I got it at a boutique by the beach).

Last but not least, my favorite skirt outfit: 
Top-???
Necklace- Francesca's Collections
Skirt- Abecrombie

And there you guy! I can vouch that all of these outfits were comfortable and show my personality. Let me know which ones are your favorite!

   There have been quite a lot of big changes this year. New school, new work load and new classes. Also, instead of going to a school that was five minutes away from my house, I went to one that was an hour and a half commute away. In September, I was worried that everything would be too much for me but I knew that if I wanted it enough (and I did) that I would make it work. So I did. What I didn't realize was how much more effort I had to put into my studies than middle school. This whole year I struggled to keep up my grades up (with getting home so late and having other obligations) and was always studying. Halfway through the year though, I learned how to manage and now I can gladly say I passes (more than passed) both of my regents. This year has taught me that I have to work even harder for the things I want and to focus on them. Some of my friends didn't understand that even when I was home on a Friday or Saturday night, sometimes I just wanted to relax and other times I had to study and catch up on my school work from the prior week. This year has had many ups and downs but through out everything, Ihave stayed inspired. Inspired to create, to work hard, and to be better than I was yesterday. I have learned to not say "I don't have time" because the truth is that I have the time and I chose how to spend it. When I tell people some of the things I do everyday when I come home or show them how much I study, they say "How do you have the time?". And I tell them that if I really care about it, I will make time for it. Instead of saying "I don't have time for this", replace it with "It's not a priority" and you will see a great change in what you do. This school year has changed what I prioritize and most importantly, has been another piece of the puzzle that is, well, myself. 
Let's see what sophomore year has to bring. 
I can't wait.

    The second part to my full on Brooklyn experience, was meeting up with my friend Charlotte in DUMBO. It was a beautiful day so we got food and walked a lot. I really loved exploring this area, because it's different than the other areas of Brooklyn I've been in. We decided to make chocolate truffle's, with this recipe Charlotte found on Pinterest. Before we started, we made a stop at the supermarket in which I ran to in size 9 flats (I'm a 6). Not easy, but very funny. Anyway, we first put all of the ingredients except for the cocoa powder and the chocolate chips in a skillet and mixed it up until it was close to boiling. Then when it was down, we put it over chocolate chips and mixed. (IT TASTED SO GOOD). We poured it in a small pan (covered in wax paper so it wouldn't stick)

Waiting about 15 minutes in the freezer, (apposed to a half hour in the refrigerator), we rolled! (It was so messy).

And viola! Our last step was rolling in cocoa powder, and we were done! They were good, but I think we used a tad bit too much expresso powder.

Thank you to Charlotte for showing me around DUMBO  on this gorgeous day! I took so many photos, but here are my favorites:

     My friend Chloe who lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn invited me for a sleepover. At first I thought, 'Oh dear, how am I going to do this?'. I'm the worst with sleepovers: I get irritable and annoyed with everybody around me when I start to get tired, and I also hear one creek in the floorboards and I immediately assume that the house is haunted. Now, I was going to a sleepover where I couldn't easily call my mom and come home/convince that a ghost wouldn't follow me home. After some thought though, I decided to do it and I am so happy I did. First off, Chloe brought me to the Cat Cafe, which is basically a little store with couches and toys with cats all around who are up for adoption (there is a cafe next door where all the proceeds go to the adoption organization). I love cats with a legit burning passion, so this was heaven (although it was a little overwhelming for me, I must say). If you like cats, seriously pay a visit. I'm pretty positive I'm volunteering there this summer.

   After that we got dinner, did Broadway karaoke (What could be better?), and watched Sherlock while eating fro-yo. Btw, I am now obssessed with that show, it's just so good.
Also, shoutout to Chloe's little sister, Lucy. for not being the annoying litter sister thatI used to be! And of course, thank to Chloe showing me around her neighborhood!💛

     This Wednesday, I had my first musicale on Wednesday. For anyone that doesn't know, a musicale is not the same thing as a musical. Anyway, I am currently in mixed elementary chorus where we have been diligently working on our pieces we've been given. Some of them were quite hard (*cough* Laetatus Sum) and some of them got us all dancing (Dubula and Shout Glory). In the beginning of the year, I wasn't excited at all about being in a chorus. It just seemed so pointless to me. Little did I know that it would teach me new repertoire, how to work well with other singers, and it forced me to practice my sight reading. The most important thing it has done, is that it created a community. I am so thankful for the oppurtunities that this school has brought me, especially chorus. At first I didn't think we did very good after the performance, (even though we had so much energy from being on stage, I couldn't possibly feel upset), but after watching the video's, I thought we sounded pretty good. The support we got from the other choruses and the whole audience really put a smile on my face. Girls chorus cheered for us like no tomorrow and gave us standing ovations. (Which means a lot, considering they're set was fricken awesome. Definitely try to find a video of it). The musicale was so much fun and a great introduction to the LaGuardia stage. 
​If anyone wants to see the set, here are some videos my mom took. 

​   I recently just saw the movie, "Me Before You" with my sister and her friend at the dine in movie theater in Menlo Park Mall (totally recommend it). I read the book and loved it. It was one of the fastest books I ever read. (It literally took me a week and a half). My sister and I loved it so much and marked down the day the movie came out in new excitement. So we went, and I had mixed emotions. I really loved it because it was such a great representation of the book, but it was almost too much like the book. There were a lot of details though that I thought were important that were not included SPOIL ALERT: When Clark's mom basically threatens to disown her if she goes to Switzerland. That is such a good moment because it shows how much Lou was willing to give up for Will. Also, when Louisa breaks up with Patrick. WTF THAT IS SUPER IMPORTANT. The thing that was perfect though, was the ending. It was exactly like I imagined it would be in the book, but better and with way more closer.
Overall, the movie was pretty good and if you didn't read the book prior, it'll be even better. 
But seriously, read the book.

Okay, I have a confession. I. Do. Not. Know. How. To. Cook. I've posted recipes on this blog, but it's all very easy and store bought stuff. After a minor stove & Fire incident, (while making tea) I tend to not even attempt actually cooking. Last week my good friend, Ming, and I were trying to think of things we could do and then I told her I couldn't cook. She immediately found a recipe that involved a stove (which made me slightly nervous) and we started cooking. (BTW: her house is adorable). The recipe was, , which she found on Blue Apron. First, we cut up vegetables and then we made the rice (don't forget to put in the vinegar or else it will taste bland.). (Fun fact: up until now I actually didn't believe that onions made you cry. That's how much of a cooking-virgin I am). Then we made salsa, but I wasn't really into it (it involved peaches). Then we cooked the pork chops. I was most nervous about that, but it was really fun (even though the smoke made the fire alarms go off). I flipped those chops like a pro by the time we wear done! (EW I can't believe I just said that). I suggest seasoning them with not just salt and pepper but something fun like a little chili powder or burger seasoning. To give the rice a little more flavor, we added a little salt and a lot of lemon.

Click here for the recipe if you would like to try it yourself!

   As my avid blog readers know, (Hey mom and Jade!), I struggled with losing weight for my whole life and only started to get in healthy shape about a year ago. (Note: I'm not saying "losing weight=healthy", I'm just saying that I was overweight and very unhealthy, and as I got healthy I lost weight). For the past few summers, I have actually wore the same polka dot tankini and swim shorts, because I was too self conscious to wear anything else. So this spring, my mom brought it up to me that we could go bikini shopping for summer. It was immediately a scary thought. The thought made me feel so vulnerable. I scrolled through them online and thought "Can't wear this one, can't this one. ugh i'd look terrible in that one". It was such a weird thought to see myself in a bathing suit that I was looking at a model wear. As I hesitantly tried them on though, I grew more and more excited. I realized that if I wore them with confidence, I would gradually feel confident in them. And that's what happened! I danced around my room in my favorite one that I ordered and I self empowered and excited. I never wore a bikini in my life so this is all new, so it was normal to feel uneasy. I wore it for the first time this Memorial Day and self consciously crossed my arms over my stomach for a little bit. Eventually it felt fun to feel free and like I was just a normal teenage girl in a bathing suit. (I did have to do some sit ups right before to give me a little extra courage). I'm still working on my beach body, but I've come to realize that this all wasn't about the bathing suit itself, it was my demeanor while wearing it.
So remember, it is not about what you wear, it's how you wear it.☀️