Carpe Diem

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Gil Bailie

When asked what makes me come alive, a million memories run through my head. There are so many things that can make me come alive, but I'll sum it down to the things that mean the most to me.

One of the major things that makes me come alive is music. Music influences me in pretty much every single way possible. It can change my emotion, inspire me, and even change my overall outlook on things in life. Just by a certain choice of song I can go from being upset, to being the happiest I've ever been. It's all because of the affect music has on me. Music moves me in many ways that other things would never be able to, and I absolutely love that.

The second thing that makes me come alive would be dancing. Dance partially makes me come alive because there's music involved with it. Dance gives me the opportunity to express how the music is making me feel deep inside me. A good description of this feeling would be how I feel right before dancing in dance recitals every year. I'm onstage stuck still in an exact position that I always start the dance in, the lights are down, and everything's quiet. Right in that moment my body is completely filled with jitters and I have a huge smile on my face, and then the music starts. The jitters start to slowly ease away, my smile gets bigger, and the dance comes with ease just as it always does when I practice it. And in those few minutes, the stage is mine and I feel infinite. Once the dance is over I run offstage and feel pumped and instantly my mood skyrockets.

The third thing that makes me come alive is adventure. The idea of traveling to Europe, or LA, or NYC, or Seattle, or really anywhere makes me feel jittery and happy. I love getting to see new places and just getting to explore new things. Every year my family and I either go to the mountains or the beach at least once just to get away for a day or two. Each year it's the same exact scenery, but it never gets old. Sitting on the stone wall at Lovers Leap and just looking out at the vastness filled with trees and fog, it's just beautiful scenery. It's the same thing with the beach. The warm, salt-filled air, the beautiful sunset, and the overall feeling of carefree-ness of the surrounding people. It's ecstatic! Being in new places and traveling just makes me feel so free and alive, because I'm experiencing new things that are more beautiful than I could ever imagine.

The fourth and final thing that makes me come alive would be long car rides. Right about now you're probably thinking I'm crazy because I like long, boring car rides. But you're wrong, so let me explain first. The long car rides I'm talking about are the ones you take with your best friends. The ones where you pack up your car and ride to the beach with your friends when you're a teenager.  Your windows are rolled down, the sun is out, your music is up, the wind is in your hair, you sing along to your favorite songs, you laugh about the little things, and you feel electric. Those are the long car rides I'm talking about. The ones where you feel so free that nothing could hold you back from any of the things you wanted to accomplish in life. Those moments with your friends when you feel like nothing else matters other than right then, and right there. These are the car rides that are worth living for, the ones that make you feel endless. I love those long car rides.

So, these are a few of the things that make me come alive. Now you should think about what makes  you come alive. I hope you enjoyed hearing about what makes me come alive. Now go find an adventure to take!

~Taylor xx

Character Explanation ~ Ismene - Lines 1-99

We chose this character for our Voki because she looked like Ismene. She looks very woman-like, and also very fierce; like she really knows what she's doing. This makes the character really reflect how Ismene acts in the text.

The Voki looks like a very strong and put together woman, this is what Ismene has to be in the book because of Antingone's actions. The Voki explains Ismene's anger towards Antigone for wanting to bury their brother, Polyneices, when it is forbidden.

Originally, Antigone had wanted Ismene to help bury Polyneices, but she refused to do it because she didn't want to go against Creon. Ismene warns Antigone that she will be killed, but Antigone defies her sister.

Even though Ismene is contempt with Antigone with this, she still cares and worries about her.

                                                            -Taylor xx

Fraction Friends

Who are the people you spend the most time with? Your friends? Family? Teachers? Co-workers? No matter who they are, they tend to affect your personality. The most important parts to consider with these five people is if you accept how they affect your personality or not, if it bothers you that they affect you, and if you feel like you've become a better person because of how they affect you. 

The people I spend the most time with are my small group of best friends: Chelsea, Amy, Nicole, Alyssa, Kayla, and Bryson. I do agree that all of them have some affect on my personality, but some have more of an affect than others, and they all affect me in different ways. The person who has the biggest affect on me is Chelsea. I partially think the reason for this is simply because we spend so much time with each other, and because we've been friends for practically forever. However, I also think that why she has such a big affect on me is because she understands me on so many levels and she's able to connect with me on almost all of them. 

All of my other friends have the same amount of influence on me, and that isn't really a problem with me. Overall, I don't mind the affects they have on me at all. I don't feel as if I've become a better, or a worse person because of how they affect me either. I actually try not to let my friends influence my well being because I feel as if it interrupts my ability to form "myself". What I mean is that I don't want myself to become what my friends are, I want to be my own person. 

So now I leave you to answer all of these questions on your own. Do you think the people around you affect you? Do you mind? Are you a better person because of it? 

~Taylor xx

Society, Why Can't You Solve Your Own Problems?

We all know that we have internal and external problems of our own, but do you ever stop and think about societies problems? If so, then what would be the biggest problem that today's society has?

I believe that the biggest problem society has is setting a specific standard for everyone. What I mean by this is that society sets a strict example of how everyone "should" be, and then the expect you to follow it. If you don't follow the trend that they set then you're considered an outsider.

For example: in the U.S., the "proper" image of how a girl "should be" is to be skinny, tan, have flawless make-up, and to most importantly be pretty. The "proper" image of how a guy "should be" is to have a six-pack of abs, to be tall, to be athletic, and to be attractive. Society has these standards and they are very evident, because instances when they occur happen quite often. If a girl isn't tall enough or skinny enough, then she could be turned down from a modeling job because she "isn't good enough." A guy might even be turned down by a "popular" girl because he doesn't fit her "image."

This is a huge problem for society. Not only does it make a big impact on peoples self-esteem, but it also affects how society acts together as a whole. People push themselves to great lengths to fit these "perfect" images of how people should be, and it's detrimental to their health.

But why does society have this issue? Well, this question can be answered about two different ways. The first way it can be explained is by saying that society has become accustomed to what they think perfect is supposed to be, when no one can be perfect at all. Another way to think about it is that each person in our society is in "competition" with each other. Meaning that it's always a race. Who has the best clothes? Who has the best make-up? Who doesn't have any zits? Who has the brand new iPhone? It's always a race to have all of the top-notch things.

I think a really great way to solve this problem would definitely be to have more campaigns like the Dove campaign, and less of the Victoria's Secret campaigns. Dove  has a campaign and it says that "everyone is beautiful." This is what people need to hear, and to be told instead of seeing one-hundred pound supermodels in undergarments and then have other people expect them to be like that. If there were more campaigns like the Dove campaign then I definitely think people would start believing that they're beautiful.

Another solution would be for everyone to take a step back from the norm and realize that everyone's different, and no one's ever going to be perfect. Therefore, stop trying to be perfect. You're absolutely fine the way you are. Always remember: "what you feel is what you are, and what you are is beautiful."



                                                        ~Taylor xx

A Whole Person Score

When you think about your life, and all of the things you've achieved, do you ever rate yourself on certain aspects? For instance: you make straight A's on your report card, so you get a certain amount of "points."

Well, this weeks blog is going to be a "self-rating rubric." After I've completed the rubric I'll use it to grade myself. The way it will go is that I will make a list of miscellaneous things and they will each have a point rating. From there, you will be able to add up anything on the list that applies to you and you can come to a complete score.

*Keep in mind that you may have a different set of criteria for the list. This list is just what I came up with.*


Being honest: 75
Making good grades: 20
Doing drugs of any kind: -45
Lying: -35
Being nice: 50
Playing a sport: 55
Owning a pet: 15
Having/keeping a job: 85
Being a safe driver: 100
Keeping yourself healthy: 100
Spending time with loved ones: 50
Dropping out of school: -75
Reading regularly: 40
Completing assignments on time: 20
Having/keeping a pet: 35
Keeping promises: 95
Staying in school: 200
Playing a musical instrument: 20
Going to college: 150
Buying a house: 250
Keeping your room/house/apartment clean: 30
Studying: 35
Having close friendships: 45
Being responsible: 50
Being involved with school clubs: 20
Traveling: 100
Getting your driver's license: 50
Graduating high school: 100
Having respect for yourself and others: 75
Going to church: 50
Standing up for yourself: 50
Having your own opinions: 75




So there's my list! It isn't too long, but overall the list contains most things that are really important in life. There are many things on the list that I haven't achieved yet, but they still will still count someday.

Now would be the time to rate myself using my own list. Overall, I would give myself a score of 1275.    I guess you could say that I'm not doing so bad since my score looks pretty good! However, realistically, I'm sure that score would be much higher or lower depending on who you are or what you've achieved, rather. Either way, it's just a fun way to total up some of the things that you've done and see what your score is!



                                                             Hope you enjoyed!
                                                                 -Taylor xx

All of the Things You Said, Running Through My Head

A lot of things go through everyone's head. Whether they're good thoughts or bad, we have to live with them. Something very common in everyone's head would be the thought of re-doing something in their life. Either because they regret doing it, or just feel like they didn't do it right. Almost everyone wishes that they could change something they've done in their lives, and I can't blame them because I feel the same way too.

Out of everything that I've ever done in my sixteen years of life, I would have to say that the thing I would want to re-do the most would be a short time period of events that happened throughout seventh and eighth grade. Now, you may think that's a silly or petty thing to go back and re-do, but understand that everyone is different in what they regret in life.

During the end of my seventh grade year, I liked a boy very much, and so I decided to tell him that I liked him. That sounds pretty normal right? Wrong. The problem here was that the boy did not like me back, but instead lied to me that he did. I went on the whole summer thinking that this awesome boy liked me, and that was the first time that had really happened to me so I was ecstatic.  That was, right up until his cousin told me that it was all a fluke.

I was so upset that I could be so gullible, and how I could let myself get lied to so easily. Not to mention that I was already extremely self-conscious in seventh grade, so this whole "relationship" made my whole situation worse. Anyways, in eighth grade I texted him one night and he was really upset and so he apologized sincerely about the whole situation. At the time I could've really cared less because I was still upset with him, but I told him that everything was fine between us.

Little did I know that this would be the budding of our friendship. We talked everyday and every night for as long as we were able to text. It felt amazing to actually be getting to know this boy that I felt like meant so much to me. Immediately I starting really liking him, but once again something got in the way. He started taking a liking to one of the girls in the grade below us. She was similar to him in a few ways, but I thought she was just annoying. Suddenly all of our conversations were about her, and what he could do to impress her, or what he thought about her. The whole thing was just annoying and it made me kind of mad. Overtime I accepted it a little bit that I didn't have a chance with him, ever. That still didn't make me feel better though.

I can't remember too clearly what had happened between the two of them, but they had a harsh break-up and he was extremely upset about it. I tried really hard to make him feel better, and pick him up to put him back on his feet, and it worked. It worked significantly well, because now I was the girl who had been rebounded. I'll admit that to an extent I knew that I was on the rebound, but I didn't want to accept it. The feeling inside that I got from him being sweet and friendly and calling each other cutesy names was overwhelming, and I liked it.

We even discussed dating because we actually thought that we liked each other. Well, he thought that he liked me at least, because I knew that I liked him. The tricky part was that he refused to lose me again after the situation that had happened the first time between us. I honestly didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. Here I was practically waiting for him to make the move, and he wouldn't budge. But then again, it could ruin everything that I had fought so hard for.

What happens next? Something else comes in-between us. I guess I could've seen it coming because he had been acting differently towards me for a few days, and now there was another girl that he liked. I didn't like her at all. Not only because she was annoying, but because she wasn't a very nice person at all. They talked for a short time but they never tried anything together because she was supposed to be moving to a different school for high school.

One thing was different about this time though. I wasn't there for him this time, in any sort of sense. I had had it with the games that we would play. Honestly it was ridiculous for me to continuously sit around and wait for a boy who was never going to "come around" to liking me. I didn't text him, I didn't speak to him, and I didn't even talk to him during school.

Instead, I branched off and became a whole new different person. I liked new people and everything. During ninth grade we didn't really talk at all, but this year has been different. We're both in tenth grade now and we're really great friends. Honestly I didn't expect us to ever get to a point like this with everything that had happened between us. Surprisingly though, we're kind of still in the same exact situation.

Underneath all the wraps I still like him in some sense. But it's very different, it's almost as if I love him as a I would a brother. Honestly though, I think the only reason I feel that way is because I know I'll never have a chance with him. Either way: I'm still his best friend, and I'll always be there for him no matter what. That will always be what it comes down to, and he's one of the best friends that I've ever had.

Therefore, in a sense I guess I'm kind of glad that all of that stuff happened between us in the early years. Mainly because it got us to the point we're at now: friendship and peacefulness. However, even though they got me to where I am today I always look back and think about what would've happened if I wouldn't have made all of those decisions. Honestly, I have no idea.


                                                               ~Taylor

Quote me on that!

In today's blog, I am assigned to pick five quotes that apply to me. There are many quotes that I use in every day life. Things such as: "sucks to suck", or "life goes on". But the quotes I will be writing about today have a little more meaning than giving myself a laugh. These quotes are things that really apply to my life , and most likely other people my age. They're the quotes that lay the lessons on thick so that you get the "big picture" rather than a small image.

Without further a due, here are my quotes.

1. "You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying there."
-This quote is very easy to get. Often times, we get caught up in everything life throws at us and we end up breaking down and getting upset because we think we can't handle it. What it really is, is that we're giving up a little too easy. No one ever said life would be easy, did they?

2. "People are more what they hide that what they show."
-I think this is a very common thing in adolescents. A lot of people feel very self-conscious because of who they are and what they're like. So what they do is they change themselves and only show others what they want to see. In a way, this hurts who you really are underneath it all. I promise you that you're perfect just the way you are. Also always remember that those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter.

3. "The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too."
-I feel like this quote represents a number of people my age. Sometimes we end up liking someone so much that if they don't like us back we feel like we aren't good enough. Basically, our self-esteem takes a big hit. We need to remember that sometimes people aren't going to like you back, and that's just how life goes.


The final two quotes will be quotes that I've made up on my own. Not only do I have to make them up, but I can't have any help with making them up. So, let's get started.

4. "Nothing is infinite."
-This quote has a lot of meaning. We all focus on our looks and trying to be a certain way for everyone else. In all actuality, it won't matter anymore in a few years. You'll get older, you'll start a family, you'll make new friends, etc. Nothing will ever stay the same, ever.

5. "Don't doubt yourself."
-I actually use this quote quite a lot. Everyone has doubted themselves at least once in life when all you need to do is just believe in yourself to get through things.

~Taylor