Friday, December 30, 2011

Drive

     Not everyone can be born a genius. But, to those of you who are born geniuses...I hate you just a little bit. Not seriously, I don't hate you. But I have always envied those kids in my class who get the same or better grades than I do by doing less than half the amount of effort I put in. I'm one of those people - as much as I shouldn't do this - who is constantly comparing myself to others. Not in an "oh I have to be better than everyone" way, but just for the sake of comparison. I am my biggest critic and my biggest fan. If I do something wrong, I beat myself up about like none other. But if I do something good, I feel on top of the world.
   Very recently, a wise friend of mine told me straight up that I had to stop comparing myself to others. If I'm not happy with what I do, that's my own problem. But I should not be upset about not doing as fantastically as the girl standing next to me. This came up in relation to ACT scores. I took the test for the first time, no classes, no studying, just a dry run at it. I did okay, not as well as I was hoping for. So naturally, I made myself sick, comparing my score to everyone else who took the test, making myself feel worse and worse.
   So after a couple of days of feeling awful and guilty, I start to get fired up. Perhaps I'm not a born genius. If you put a super complicated math problem in front of me, I probably won't be able to solve it with as much ease as some people. But one thing I do have, is determination. If I want it badly enough, I will work, and work, and work at it. Does that mean I'll automatically get a 36 on the ACT just because I work on it? No. But it does mean that in the end, after I've taken the test for the last time, and I send in my final score to college admissions offices, I can be proud of my score. Not because of whatever number shows up on my transcript, but because I'll know in my heart that I did everything in my ability to get the best possible score I could deserve. I get this drive and determination for perfection from my parents, and while it can sometimes be a curse, I believe it to be one of my best qualities.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Oh No! I've Lost My Wisdom!

     If you are a truly unlucky soul, like my sister or myself, you have, will, or might get your wisdom teeth ripped from your gums at sometime in your life. When I heard that I had to get my wisdom teeth yanked out over a year ago, I thought "pshh, no big deal!" I had had plenty of baby and adult teeth pulled in my life, this would be no different....right? WRONG! My wisdom teeth were impacted, I never even got to meet the little guys, they were trapped beneath a thick layer of gum tissue and nerves. This means, that I had to be put under anesthesia to get those suckers out. Back in January, when I got them pulled, was my first time being put completely under, my first IV, and the first time I have been that sore, for that long.
     You may be wondering why I am writing about this, seeing as I got my surgery almost a year ago. Well, this morning, the day after my brave sister's birthday, she got her gums torn open to free herself from her big honking wisdom teeth. Let me tell you, this is one of the least fun processes....ever. I remember from when I got mine out. When I woke up, all I remember was that I was crying, really cold, and in a ridiculous amount of pain. Now, if you're about to get your wisdom teeth out, I am not trying to freak you out. It's different for everybody.
     But, instead of dwelling on the bad part of getting these pointless teeth pulled, I would like to focus on the good. For instance, the food. At first, you may be thinking to yourself: "the food, are you kidding me? You can't eat anything solid for days!" And while this is true, once you ponder it, you realize all of the super delicious food you get to eat. For the first few days after getting your wisdom teeth out, you'll live off of smoothies, soup, pudding, milkshakes, ice cream, applesauce, deliciousness! Another great thing about getting your wisdom teeth out, is that you're in pain.
    Now before you go ahead and start thinking I'm crazy, allow me to explain. My sister and I are very similar people in the way that neither of us like to do nothing. We like to be productive and never have a lazy moment (her more than myself...I can be somewhat  lazy). If we're watching a movie, we're studying, drawing, writing, reading, or at least doing something while we do so. However, when you get your wisdom teeth out, you're in such pain, that all of that other stuff, just kind of drops away. We no longer feel guilty for not multi-tasking. It's a time when we can actually relax, and give ourselves a few days to do nothing.
    To contradict what I just said, you actually can get something done right after you get wisdom teeth pulled. Don't you just hate when dozens of movies come out onto DVD, and you just never have enough time to watch them all? Being in extreme oral pain gives you that opportunity you've always wanted! In conclusion, if you're getting your wisdom teeth out, I would do the following to prepare yourself.
1. Stock up on foods like soup, pudding, applesauce, ice cream (for milkshakes), smoothie ingredients, anything soft and/or liquid.
2. Don't freak yourself out, focus on the fact that you'll have a ton of relaxing time!
3. I suggest on taking Advil before your appointment, just as a precautionary measure. Trust me, you'll want it.
4. Dress as comfy as possible for your appointment, changing clothes will be the last thing you want to do afterwards. I suggest just wearing pajamas. In addition, I advise against wearing any makeup, you'll cry your mascara down your face (at least I did).
5. Make a run to your local library or Red Box to stock up on all of those movies you've been dying to catch yourself up on. Oh and probably rent some good stupid-chick flick-romantic comedies, because let's be honest, Richard Gere and Julia Roberts being silly and adorable in Pretty Woman can basically fix anything.
Follow these simple steps and you'll be good to go!

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Story Time

*This evening, a friend asked me to tell him a story. Little did he know that I get really into my stories. So now I am going to share my story with you.*

      Once upon a time, there was a baker. This baker made everything: cakes pies, muffins, you name it. But when you stepped into his bakery, all you could smell was his gingerbread. The scent of his warm spicy gingerbread wafted out his door throughout the kingdom. The Christmas season was upon them. This was, of course, a busy season for the baker, what with all of the orders of fruit cakes, gingerbread, and the like. But on the eve of Christmas, the king had a demand unlike all the others.
    The king wished to impress his wife with a gingerbread house exceeding any he's made before. One big enough to live in, and so delicious that it couldn't be lived in for long. One with a chocolate roof and a candy cane chimney. In return for this gingerbread castle, the king would make the baker rich beyond belief. He would make sure that the baker and his family would live in comfort and luxury for the rest of their lives. And the baker would be the official kingdom baker for years to come. But if the queen was not pleased with the gingerbread castle, he would be condemned to the dungeons for eternity.
    Since the baker was used to a modest life with times of financial struggle to support his wife and children, he eagerly agreed to the terms of the delicious endeavor. So he began construction of this luscious palace. Hundreds of pounds of gingerbread dough formed the walls. The chocolate roof had to be lowered on by a crane; made of the richest chocolate available. The windows were lined in pretzel and red licorice smothered in frosting held together the gingerbread bricks. It was the grandest palace the world had ever seen.
   The baker worked through the night, fastening the chocolate turrets and furnishing the entire castle with white chocolate furniture and even a full set of white chocolate orchestral instruments for the royalty to enjoy. He was just putting on the finishing touches when the king officially summoned the baker to his private living quarters. The baker was led to a grand dining room and sat on one end of a table set for at least eighty. The king and queen seated next to each other on the opposite end. 
    The king's voice echoes through the tall room, "the time has come. Please escort my queen and myself to my grand gift." So the baker stood and brought the royal couple out to his masterpiece. He unveiled it with more pride than any other treasure he had baked. The queen looked the palace up and down. She crossed the chocolate moat and entered through the gumdrop lined doorway. She analyzed every inch of the castle, tasting bits and pieces here and there, letting no emotion seep through her face.
    When she was done, she faced the baker and uttered one simple work: "denied". And with that, two large guards grabbed the weak baker by each of his arms and dragged him to the deep dark dungeons. At first, the baker simply didn't understand. He had created a masterpiece, used the finest ingredients, he put his heart and soul into the gingerbread wonder. But the queen was a selfish and unyielding woman, unwilling to compensate the baker for his work. When the baker's family was informed of their father's imprisonment,, they were distraught. What were they to do?
     So they did the only thing they could think of. They hoped and prayed to the spirit of Christmas. "Please!" they begged, "Please let our beloved baker return to us!" The next day, in the depths of winter, the sun shone brighter than ever before. It glared and cast brilliant warmth over the entire kingdom. The greedy king and queen were enjoying their gingerbread castle, lounging on the white chocolate couch with marshmallow cushions, when all of a sudden, the king felt a drop atop his forehead.
    At first he thought rain might be seeping through the roof. He wiped his forehead and looked at the single drop. Alas, it was some of the richest chocolate in all the land. Then, all of a sudden, the drops fell harder, harder, and harder. The king exclaimed and the queen shrieked. It all happened so quick, there was no time to escape. The rich decadent chocolate roof collapsed, and the entire palace fell to the ground.
    The king and queen were no more, and everyone was now free of their oppressive rule. The baker was liberated and the kingdom rejoiced for a full seven days and seven nights. He returned to his family, and was given what was promised to him. A life of quiet luxury, surrounded by his family, friends, and his bakery.

The End

Sunday, December 11, 2011

A Word On Ugly Christmas Sweater Day

     The holiday season is upon us. It's a time for hot chocolate, snowflakes, brightly colored ribbons, cookies of all shapes and sizes. It's a time to be joyous and jolly, enjoying sudden bursts of Christmas caroling and feverish counting down to Christmas. In these next couple of weeks up until Christmas, a lot is going on in my life. First off, I took the ACT yesterday. Then I have a huge physics test next week. But besides all of that school stuff wrapping up before the end of the year, there's a lot of fun stuff to look forward to as well. My house is now decorated from head to toe with garlands, lights, and wreaths. Soon will be time to make and decorate our classic Christmas cookies. And I can't wait to start wrapping presents, I've always found that fun! But one of the days I look forward to most, is coming up this Thursday. That day, is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. The day everyone in our school is probably better dressed than they are any other day of the year.
    This day is one to rummage through your Mom's closet, finding the most ornate, embroidered, elf-clad piece of knit monstrosity that you can find. Yes, this is the embodiment of Ugly Christmas Sweater Day. Unfortunately, my Mom threw out all of her truly heinous Christmas sweaters years ago, so I had to resort to rummaging through a friend's mother's bins (yes, bins...plural) of holiday sweaters - we had to tell her it was Christmas Sweater Day...dropping the Ugly to spare feelings.
    Now let's put this into perspective...there are a lot of ugly Christmas sweaters out there. There are those with images of reindeer, Santa's face, the list goes on and on. But the festive vest that I ended up with last year, I believe to be one of the winners. It was a red vest with white buttons, little gingerbread girls and boys were popping off of it. Gold tassels covered the thing. There were candy canes, elves, ornaments, the whole shebang. This is what Ugly Christmas Sweater Day is all about. Wearing the absolute ugliest masterpiece of true unadulterated ugly, and sprinkle some pure Christmas spirit on top. And on this day, my high school all comes together to share in the ugly, and just be happy to be happy, healthy, together, and ugly. This rings in the holidays for us all, wishing everyone a bright and merry Christmas! 

P.S. Don't make fun of the picture, it was early, a year ago, and I'm just getting in the ugly spirit.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

'Tis The Season

*Note: This is an excerpt from a letter I wrote to my older sister one day in English class during a particularly boring lecture. This letter was never actually sent to her.*

Wednesday December 7th, 2011 9:46 A.M.

My Dearest Sister, 

Nine days from today, school will release us for a full two weeks of freedom. In fourteen days, you'll return from college to us, your loving family who has missed you so much. In seventeen days, it will be Christmas Eve, my single favorite day of the year. And then will come Christmas, the day that has been anticipated by all for months now. Around here, the holiday festivities are in full swing. The other day I had my first round of Secret Santa exchanges. Tins of gingerbread and peppernotter cookies clutter the kitchen counters. Christmas cards have begun to fill the mailbox, and UPS comes at least once a day to deliver a multitude of packages. In a couple of days, the naked tree with be clothed in a blanket of homemade ornaments from each of our preschool and early grade school years. Plenty of gold macaroni and reindeer handprints decorating the lit branches. 
       This last full week of school will be torture for everyone. The Christmas spirit is bubbling up inside of each and every student. During tests, instead of focusing on the material, all that will be going through our minds will be sugar plum fairies while we hum a Christmas carol. One of my favorite days of school is to come in the week though, and that is Ugly Christmas Sweater Day on Thursday. The week will pass - however slowly - and then it won't be long before you return to us, your home. Then it will be truly a time to celebrate. It will be time to break out the cookie dough for our classic rollout Christmas cookies. Though the best part of making these cookies - other than eating the dough - is seeing what creative way you decide to decorate your little men. One year you had a little Phantom of the Opera (complete with mask), a Pi symbol, and Hannibal (bloody mouth and all). 
      At this point the days will go quickly, leading us up to the holiday. As our first December with you at college, I've got to say, we're all missing you like crazy around here. But I know you're having a great time where you are. So in the time between now and when you will come back, every time you hum "Sleigh Ride" to yourself, think of what fun we'll all have playing in the snow together. If you ever eat a Christmas cookie, think of the tin of sweet gingerbread cookies on the counter with the "O" shape inside just for you (Olivia). And most importantly, if you feel even the tiniest twinge of homesickness over the next couple of weeks, just think of us all laughing around a fire, tea in hand, watching the snow drift from the black night sky.

Love Always,

Hanna 


Friday, December 9, 2011

No Pressure....Just The Fate Of My Future

       These days, when applying to college, there are so many factors that decide what colleges accept what students. First and foremost, there are the grades. An impressive GPA certainly puts an application in the spotlight. Then there's extra curricular activities; colleges want to know that you don't spend all of your time sitting home and studying to maintain that GPA. A good essay can catch the eye of an admittance office worker. A solid interview can also tip the scales in your direction. However, what seems to be possibly the biggest ticket item on your application these days is the test that people prepare months in advance for. The exam that most students take several times in order to get a desirable score. That test is the ACT. That test is also what will be slapping me in the face bright and early tomorrow morning.
      All day long, my friends and peers have been telling me to relax and not freak myself out over this exam. They tell me it's only a test, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. All I've heard is "it's not that bad." and "you'll be fine!" But how can I go into this test and not be nervous? A great ACT score is what could set my college application apart from hundreds of others. A number on a piece of paper could be the difference between accepted and denied. The difference between reaching my aspirations of becoming a successful dermatologist and ending up being an unemployed med school reject. That's probably looking a bit on the pessimistic side of things, but I just refuse to take this test lightly.
    Every teenager must face this five hour exam sooner or later. We must work our way through the hundreds of multiple choice questions and attempt to craft an impressive essay under strict time constraints. However, I think it's about time that I start pumping myself up for this test; getting myself ready to face what lies before me. So here is my wonderful  pre-exam "get in the zone" method. First, I'll put on my inspirational playlist, so through my earbuds will come something like "Somebody To Love" by Queen or "And We Danced" by Macklemore (don't mock what gets me in the zone). Then I will repeat to myself: "I am going to kill this test. I am going to kill this test!" And then I'll just know that everything will be alright.
    So to all of those juniors out there like me who are out there cramming for tomorrow's ACT: it's 9:30. Close the books, put away the practice tests, and take a shower. Let the warm water relax your muscles and melt your anxiety. Cuddle up in your comfiest pajamas, get in your bed, and get a deep and long night of sleep. You'll wake up refreshed, relaxed, and ready to kill that test. Good luck to you, good luck to us all.