I am NOT a Color (part one)

     I wrote this poem a while ago because I felt the need to express myself. When I shared it with a friend, I pretended like I didn't write it until she said she liked it. I always want to write more poetry about stuff that applies to me, but it's hard to find time and then become inspired. It's also hard to articulate what I mean. 
     I was totally going to share the poem with you, but I honestly believe that it's garbage, so I'm not going to post it. I just want to share something personal with you. 
     

OregonDOT / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

My mom is white and my dad is black, so obviously, I am biracial. This, however, makes me appear more 'black' than 'white' because I have darker skin than some people. It's a struggle everyday because I feel 'white' because I was raised in a city full of white people who know very little about diversity, but I look 'black' because of my skin. I am not 'black' though, I'm brown. It's actually an issue that I've had to deal with on my own because neither parent fully understands; my mom thinks people stare at me because I'm beautiful, but I know it's because I have one of the only afros in our city or because of my skin. My dad doesn't really comment on the issue.
     I don't like talking about this because I'm afraid that if I bring up how I feel about racism and things like this that people will respond negatively. I'm so scared that if I bring it up, someone I trust will turn out to be racist. I had a friend of mine do that to me. We were decent friends for a few years, then he tells me that he wants to burn a cross on my yard and hang me. It's funny how everyone knows I hate him now, but no one really knew why. Some people tell me to get over it, but it's because they don't understand. No one will unless they've been in my shoes! 

I am NOT a Color (part two)

     I started this blog post with one thing in mind, but I completely forgot and started going on this tangent. 
     My mom runs a school, and she has these creepy dolls that the kids love to play with in her office. They're all different races and some are disabled, and my mom likes to tell the kids to put them into families. One thing she's noticed is that the families always change, and they're never ever separated by color. I just think it's interesting that the children are color blind in a sense.

The multicultural dolls

They don't think about what the skin colors are  or if one is deaf or not. They just arrange them in a way so the dolls can be happy. This is so important to me because adults and teens hardly ever do this; we always have to put people in these categories and box them up, but we don't need to do that ever. When meeting a new group of people, it's way easier to find similarities than it is to find differences. 
     I just wanted to put it out there that people shouldn't be view as colors. I know it's fun to joke about race and stereotypes, but in all seriousness, I think that we shouldn't; it's just going to make it that much harder to break the molds we're supposed to fit into.

Thank You, Madame Greenan

Dear Madame Greenan,
   I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do. I've had you for a teacher since ninth grade. You gave me and some other students the opportunity to do French II over the summer and join the Honors French III class. I am eternally grateful for that, so then by senior year, I could complete AP French V. You also wrote my recommendation letters for college, and thanks to your amazing writing skills, I got into my first choice of college and received an awesome scholarship! 
     I will always remember the time when you handed back our practice exams and I was so down on myself, and you told me that I have something that some other students don't. You made me feel so much better about myself because I am an active participant in class even if I can't say it in French exactly. You encouraged me to do my best, and you always motivated me to do my Compte Rendus. I have so much respect for you. I think that you're an awesome mom as well. I love that you call Goldfish, "fishy crackers." I love starting each B day with your class. You are seriously my favorite teacher, and I'm going to miss you next year. 

  -Colette 

Random Acts of Shakespeare 2014

     For Random Acts of Shakespeare, Part Two, I was in a group with Tim P. and HanVit O. Tim called us 'POP Group,' but it took me a second to realize why. My snippet was from Act One, Scene Five. In this scene, Cesario, who is actually Viola, is talking to Olivia. Olivia is mourning the loss of her brother, so her face is covered. Cesario/Viola wants to see Olivia's face, but Olivia doesn't want to show him. After being a little playful, she removes her veil. Cesario/Viola says that she looks good, if it isn't all makeup. Olivia is offended at first, but then Cesario/Viola apologizes, and makes her feel better. Tim is playing the role of Viola and HanVit is playing Olivia. We did this in the library on April 24th. 

Future Plans

Foter / CC BY-SA

     I'm not sure if everyone knows this, but when I grow up, I want to be a Marine Biologist. My intended major at Drake is Environmental Science. What I really want to do is focus on coral and maybe do something with coral conservation. Lately, I've been looking at this website because the pictures are just stunning. Here's a picture from foter.com. I'm actually super obsessed with coral, but hardly anyone really knows that. 
     When I was at the doctor's office (which has been a lot recently), I saw a magazine: Dive Training. I was attracted to it right away because of its oceanic qualities. There's this part of me that is terrified to try scuba diving, but then part of me loves to try new things, so I'd be all for it. 
The article that I read inside was talking about using different kelp and algae to create medicines, vitamins, and cancer treatments. It was really cool. 
     When I was done reading it, there was an elderly man walking towards me. Fun fact about me: I don't like old people unless they are related to me or I know them. I was really nervous and I don't like talking to strangers anyways, but he asked me if I could help him put on his coat because he has carpal tunnel, so I helped him because I can't say no to things. I really just thought that would be the end of it, but he sat down near me and talked to me. Ick, I thought to myself...  
     He thought I was a college student, which I laughed at because I am 5'1" and have the face of a 14 year old. We talked for a while, and I told him about my future plans. It was so nice to be able to tell somebody about it and ACTUALLY, LEGITIMATELY care. No one seems to care about a lot of things that I say, but this stranger was generally interested in my future. He had to leave, so I held the door for him and he said, "You are so kind and thoughtful. I wish you the best of luck in your adventures under the sea." That was super sweet because old people say the nicest things when you get to know them; they're super wise. I've always said that I've wanted to die young, but maybe getting old isn't so bad. 

Finding Inspiration

     For me, it's really hard to think of things to write about. I can come up with ideas at random times when it doesn't necessarily matter too much, but when creativity counts, I can never think of anything!

I know it seems pretty cliched to write a blog post about not being able to think of an idea for a blog post, but I think that this activity can get my creative juices flowing in order to write more posts in the future (considering the Blogging Without Obligation (BWO) challenge, posed by Dr. N, requires ten posts, and I've only completed five).  
     I'm going to talk about some random things, and see if that can spark some inspiration to keep my blog alive and well. 
     My mom started saying recently, "to live a good life, you need something to do, something to look forward to, and someone to love." I definitely feel like I've got that covered! I have a lot to do, and I feel like I have no time for anything anymore. I am hanging onto the shreds of my social life, and let's not even mention my grades!
     I know that I have a lot to look forward to because I'm going to the Imagine Dragons concert with my dear friend, Maddie (you can check out her blog here.) I'm in Hairspray, and I'm looking forward to the performances. I'm in All in the Timing here at school, and that's going to be hilarious!

I got into my first choice/dream school, and I get to go there and start the next part of my life. I'm so blessed with all of the opportunities that I am given/have received. 
     I definitely have someone to love. I have a great family that loves me and supports me in everything I do. I am very busy and I can't drive yet, so my mom, sister, dad, and sometimes grandma are very nice and drive me places. I appreciate that more than anything. 
   

 I want you to tell me what you're doing, what you're looking forward to, and who you love! Comment below! Thanks for taking the time to read this nonsense. 
     

Nail Art Fun

    

Random design

     One of my favorite things to do is create nail art. On YouTube, I am always watching nail art tutorials. These are two of my favorites: Cutepolish and HannahRoxNails. They are very talented young ladies, and I get my inspiration from them. They always say that practice is the only way to get better, and you can't expect to be perfect the first time you try something. You can practice on paper, yourself, and your friends too! I simply love painting my nails because it's complete self-expression. I can do whatever I want on my nails and no one can tell me otherwise. It's kind of like a tattoo, but less permanent. 

Minions for clone day

For Homecoming, I did galaxy nails 

    Nail art is a great way for me to relieve stress. I also love the excuse, "I can't do that; my nails are wet!" I'm right handed, so naturally that means that my left hand will look better, but sometimes, I mess up my left and I take more time on my right hand.

Fun nails for the Katy Perry concert