On My Radar

I thought I'd enjoy talking about what's been on my radar lately. First off though, I would like to apologize for not posting anything for three weeks, or however long. I was wrapping up final projects and exams. But as of last week, it's officially summer!!

Chilin' at the Pool // 

The pool is a summer must-do. Lately, when I'm bored and it's a really nice day out I've been going to the pool with my friends. There are a few pools around town that I prefer over others, one reason being cost. Where I live, all the pools are a part of a club to which I am usually not a member. Some of my friends are members so I can get in for free with them. I should think about getting a few punch-passes though. 

The pool I sometimes go to.

Watching the World Cup //

Recently, for some arbitrary reason I have been loving to watch soccer. Honestly, I barely know the rules or what's happening at a given time, but I really find it exciting and fascinating how soccer is a huge part of a country's culture. I just watched the Spain vs Netherlands game and I was overjoyed that the Netherlands won 5 to 1. I can't wait to watch the rest.

Going Summer-Natural // 

I know what this sounds like, and I'm here to inform you that your initial assumptions are incorrect. What I mean by "going summer-natural" is not wearing make up, and letting my hair exist in it's natural state rather than blowdrying it straight (OMG that rhymed). To me this also means not having to shave my legs (yes!), it's such a pain in the butt. Weird fact: I actually shave more in the winter months than in the summer ones, I think it has something to do with the fact that no one from school is seeing my hairy legs in the summer. 

Driving //

It's hard to believe that I can legally drive with a parent now! I got my learner's permit about three weeks ago and I've been driving almost everyday since. First we did a couple parking lots, then various twisty neighborhoods with stop signs, and then we moved on to intersections and the highway! I'm learning really quickly and according to my brother, I'm actually kind of good.

Me with my permit 

I hope you liked seeing what's been on my mind lately! I like these types of post and I'll be sure to do one again!
xoxo,
Stella

A Year at a Glance

I cannot believe that this school year is over, I've had 90 periods of each class and it feels like I've only had about five. The strangest thing is, that summer is right around the corner and I can't even feel it. It's like my brain doesn't recognize it because it's too inundated with reminders for tests and end-of-the-year things. I don't think I'll feel the excitement of summer until school finally gets out next Thursday; I have an exam just about every day up until then. Looking back at the 2013-14 school-year, I have done quite a bit, especially for it only being my Freshman year in high school.

ONE // Science Fair

At SLVSEF with my beloved biochemistry project.

Science is my thing. You could say that I "geek out" over science, and it would beyond accurate. It just makes so much sense to me, almost everything has a reason, and I like reason 99% of the time. This year in my Honors Biology class, we were required to participate in the school science fair. I chose to do this project alone and initially I was nowhere near excited for it. But when things started to unfold and I was a finalist in my school fair, I loved it. I advanced to district fair and then to regionals (Salt Lake Valley Science and Engineering Fair). Seeing as it was my first regional science fair, I didn't expect to place or advance, but it was a great learning experience and it made me want to do it again next year. 

TWO // Uganda Fundraiser

I am the president of my school's Builder's Club, which is a subdivision of Kiwanis and this year we did many service projects mostly for the community, but this year our huge project was raising money for our sister school in Uganda, St. John's. Alexia a friend from the club and I decided to take this one step further and include my former elementary school in the project. We had competition between classes in which they filled their class donation jars with coins and bills. The winning class received certificates as well as popsicles. In total we raised about $500 that goes towards desks for schoolchildren in Uganda. It was pretty amazing, leading a fundraiser on our own, we learned so much.

TREE // Service Hours

As a part of the National Honor Society we are required to complete twenty hours of community service within the school-year. As you may know from a few posts back, I volunteer at the hospital once a week. Well three hours a week every week for this school year, plus numerous extra shifts taken, I was up to 110 hours of community service. I was awarded third place in number of service hours this year. 

I hope this post didn't seem too self absorbed, I purely wanted to reflect on everything I've done in my first year of High School. I'm sure I did more, but for now these are the biggest, most important things I can think of.
Thanks for reading!
xoxo,
Stella