Embrace.

Shabbat Shalom!!! I'm not Jewish, but my family just feels more of a connection to Judaism to the religion that we are now, so I know a lot about Jewish customs and such. Shabbat, which is a day of rest, begins before sunset on Friday when the candles are lit. You're not supposed to work on the Sabbath and should be peaceful, though partying is expected.

This post isn't about the Sabbath, so I don't know why I told you that! Regardless of what religion you are or if you even identify a religion within yourself, it's good to know. This post is supposed to be on the topic of embracing new experiences. I have had the opportunity to try many new things in my life and I am forever grateful for that. The ability to be able to travel (though mine has not been extensive, seriously), experience new cultures, people and things is invaluable. The education that I have received throughout my life has been the absolute best and I thank my parents and the schools that I have attended for accepting me and molding me into the young woman that I am.

I had the chance today to try something new and I did. Not because it was something to check off my bucket list, but because I truly wanted to do it. It did take me a while, and by a while I mean months to convince myself that this was a good idea, but I got around to doing it and it felt good. I felt at peace and I felt "full" knowing that I had done this thing that I have been afraid of doing for as long as I could remember. Peer pressure didn't plague me, my parents didn't force me, I did this myself and it honestly felt good. 

My point in this post was not to tell y'all about my new experience (clearly, I do not want to. I'm not comfortable sharing things that are that personal to me on the Internet, even if I am anonymous! I may reveal my identity later on). It was to share why you should embrace new experiences even if you're afraid. I'm known for being the scaredy cat, the girl that never takes risks for fear of embarrassment, failure or, I don't know, arrest (hey, I don't think jumping off the house into the pool is legal...is it?), but once I took this chance today and really looked back on it, I was happy that I did it. I was happy that I made this decision for myself and I felt better than awesome at the end of the day. So I leave you with this--don't miss out on those wonderful opportunities that are presented to you. Take that class you want to take. Buy that beautiful bag that your friends don't like, but you love. Bungee jump for all I care! All I know is that if you don't take that chance, nothing is going to come out of it and you'll be stuck at that point in your life that you've been dying to leave behind.

Signed,

Penelope P.

Chinese!

Hey y'all. I was having a lovely day until I began my Chinese learning. Some background on why in the world I would want to torture myself by learning this language first, though!

I like to call myself an inexperienced linguist. I've been taking French since I was 5 years old and I just started Spanish this past school year. I can hold a conversation in French about anything, so I guess you could say that I'm fluent (besides the frivolous grammar mistakes. *cough* passe compose versus imparfait *cough*). I was advised not to take two languages at one time because I would not have a free period and I would get confused...fast, but, being myself, I went against everything everyone said and took both because I really wanted to learn Spanish! The culture, the language and the people seemed were so intriguing, I just had to take a stab at it. No, I didn't have a free period, and yes, I experienced many cold, late, dark (see previous post on why it was dark) nights in my room, but it was so worth it! I love Spanish and I love being able to communicate with my Spanish speaking family not using English. I'm glad I now am at least a tad experienced in Spanish because it made me realize some career paths that I may want to take! I love learning languages and they're definitely my favorite subjects!

Okay, back to Chinese. My dad had to learn a little for a business trip to China back in September, so we have some books lying around not getting any use. In order to get something out of this summer besides fun and relaxation, I think learning Chinese would be good for my brain. Good for my brain and also something small to make me happy. As I said, I love learning languages and other cultures are fascinating to me. That absolutely does not exclude Chinese language/culture. As much as I want to learn the language, it's hard. It's beyond difficult actually. I'm one of those people that gets very discouraged if they don't get something right away, so after about 45 minutes, I closed the book, took a deep breath and decided to do something else for a little while.

Tomorrow, I'll definitely sit down again with the book and the CD and recite some more syllables, but in the meantime, I'm trying to relax a bit and remind myself that nobody is perfect and nobody understands everything right away. I try to go against that and name people in my life who are "perfect" and do everything "perfectly," but that's clearly negatively effecting me. It negatively effects everyone! Just a little life lesson that may seem obvious, but I fail to see it quite frequently: Nobody is perfect, nor should you be!


Signed,
Penelope P.

Did I tell you about boarding school? A quick day in the life!

A minor detail I forgot to mention right off the bat about my life--I go to boarding school! I cannot believe I forgot to say that because it's a huge part of my life. I'm not home during the week and I only go home when I can on weekends. I'm a local boarder, which is really nice because if I forget something at home, my mom or dad can just drop it off. I'm so fortunate to be able to have the boarding option because I absolutely love my school and the traffic where I live is out of control, so I can't drive everyday. Sure, it's all-girls and I have forgotten how to talk to boys when I see them in person, but the atmosphere, the amazing education that I'm getting and the people all make up for that. Below, you'll find an abbreviated day in the life of moi at school. Bear in mind that this was sophomore year and my schedule will be somewhat different next year.

6:55 (it was really 7:10)--Wake up!

7:40--Breakfast with friends in the dining hall (COFFEE.)

8:00-3:05/40--Class

4:00-6:15 (on days I wanted to stay for private instruction)--Dance

6:05 (on a typical day)--Dinner

6:45--Shower

7:05--Start homework/chat with people in the dorm/talk to teachers, house adults etc.

7:30-9:30--Study Hall (either in the library or my room; it's required for everyone besides seniors)

11:00--Lights Out

As you can see, everyday for me is very strictly scheduled. I must stay on this schedule or I get all off! However, that was abbreviated, as mentioned, so I do a lot more and am actually a lot busier that it seems. It's far from fabulous sometimes, but when I graduate and move on to the next phase in my life, I'll look back on my experience at my school and offer my greatest thanks to everyone that made it possible. Hoped you enjoyed this little glimpse into my life!

Signed, 

Penelope P.

My Babysitting Nightmare

Hey y'all! Hope your day has been treating you well (mine hasn't). I'd like to share with y'all a little story about my day--hope you enjoy!

I woke up this morning at around 11. I'm on my first two weeks of summer vacation and I dare someone to tell me to wake up before 9. I woke up, got dressed in my workout clothes and went downstairs to begin making my breakfast. Considering I was on a tight schedule, I was moving pretty fast and just ready to get my behind to the gym for a good workout. This tight schedule was all due to the fact that I had to babysit at 4 o'clock the three boys on the corner of my street. Now, I had been dreading this job all week. Why, you ask? The eldest is in 5th grade I believe and can take care of himself (which his mother made very clear to me), but the two younger ones, aged 6 and 4, are a handful. They're fun and adorable, so I do love watching them from time to time, but this was the first time I had had to deal with bedtime. Oh, the dreaded bedtime. I was told to brush their teeth at 7:45 and put them in their beds at 8, but the 4 year old was so not up to doing this task. As soon as I told him he had to brush his teeth, he got the I'm-about-to-start-bawling look on his face and said in a whisper-y voice, "Do I have to go to bed?" It was terrifying to say the least. He did start bawling and I had to call his mother, who then had to speak to all of the boys. I eventually got the two youngest in bed and did their dishes for them to make up for the fact that earlier, the youngest had been playing around and hit his head on the wall, leaving a huge bump. I mean huge. I iced it and was petrified of the mom that would see the bump and think her baby was abused by the babysitter. At the end of the night though, both the parents returned home and I told them everything that happened. Yes, this saved me from never being hired again indefinitely by not telling the parents about their son's injury, but it didn't save me from the embarrassment I felt, one, not being able to put the kids to bed, and two, not being stern enough with the youngest. On top of my embarrassment, I felt like I had let down not only the parents who had paid me to watch, entertain and protect their sons from any harm, but myself for not doing better.

All in all, it was a nightmare, and I need to get my babysitting skills together because, let's be honest, we're in a recession.

Signed,
Penelope P.

I workout.

Second post of the day--WEEEEE! Haha, anyway, I want to talk about my obsession with the gym (which may or may not be unhealthy yet. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.). I've been going to the gym near my house since Saturday. Yes, I know, it hasn't been long, but I go every other day and I feel ahhh-mazing! I love the feeling after a good workout and I never thought I'd ever say that considering where I was a couple of months ago (I used to despise the gym. Despise). I love the sweat coming down my forehead knowing that I worked a heck of a lot harder than the people sitting on the couch!
I'm a dancer. I've been dancing since I was 3 and I love it so much. It is my life. However, I've come to the realization over the past couple of months, after knee and ankle injuries kept me off my feet for a couple of weeks, that the favoritism in my studio is not to my liking. I hate the fact that I don't get more opportunities to dance just because my director likes some other girls more than me (and this has more to do with my insane schedule than my dance ability because, I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I'm good). Therefore, this upcoming fall, though I will still be dancing a little bit, I've decided to take up...drum roll, please...field hockey!
I've never been an athletic person, to be honest, but my school is very big on all the girls (if you didn't read my first post, I go to an all-girls school) trying something new and different and not feeling self-conscious about it. My best friend played field hockey for the first time last year and she loves it. My older sister plays and she loves it, so I thought, why not give it a try. This led to my first trek over to the gym to jump on the treadmill because I cannot run to save my life. Seriously. If a bear were chasing me, I'd give up and take that as a sign that God was ready for me to leave this Earth.
Along with my obsession with working out comes my obsession with workout attire! Look, lululemon is expensive, but their workout gear is actually beautiful. It's beautiful and I believe it's worth the price. Below are some things that I'm currently lusting over and that I'll gladly save up for!

Energy Bra

Flow and Go Tank II

Scoop Me Up Tank II

Run Inspire Crop II

Beach Runner Crop

Signed, 

Penelope P.

Welcome to My World.

Greetings (does that sound too cheesy?)! My name is Penelope (okay, we're gonna get this straight right now, my real name is not Penelope. I'm operating this entire blog off of pseudonyms for privacy reasons!). I'm 16 and live on the East Coast fairly north, but I'm more of a southern girl at heart. I go to an all-girls prep school and live in a world of shiny new Bentleys and Beemers, beautiful homes and perfectly manicured lawns with white picket fences. I decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons, as follows:

1. There is so much more to this world than shiny new Bentleys and Beemers, beautiful homes and perfectly manicured lawns with white picket fences, and I feel like I am surrounded by many people who do not understand that. I want to be able to voice my opinions about real issues that happen in this world while letting y'all know how fabulous life can be.
2. After one heck of a sophomore year, I need to de-stress and I think the perfect way to do that is write, which perfectly segues into my next reason...
3. I love to write. I may not be the best writer (haha, clearly), but I love it so much and I want to be a journalist one day.
4. Its about to be an insane summer. Some wise seniors at my school told me that junior year is going to be one of the hardest years of your life, so I should have an eventful summer. I want to share with people what this teenager is doing to occupy her summer time (besides the pile of summer work that needs to get done before August 29th...), and the crazy things that I may, or may not do.

Well, I think that's enough to start with!! I mean, I don't believe anyone is reading this so what the heck am I doing....

Signed,

Penelope P.