Eid Mubarak! & My Friends #3

Yesterday it was Eid! I had to wake up at 4:00 AM and shower. Always fun. This blogpost will be fun! Finally! Let's all just give out a big sigh of relief. Because man did I go all out talking about the future. Haha.

Well, after we all got dressed up and looked on point we headed to the Embassy of Indonesia which is located here in Oman. But of course, when you and your fam be looking good, your mom asks you to take a family picture. Here is the result.

 

 

Pretty nice, right? The boys be twinning. Anyway of course the embassy is already filled with lots of people and of course I had to trip on a microphone in front of the whole girl/women area of the embassy. The men/boy area was on the first floor while we (the girls) had to go upstairs in a very crowded, but big room. I barely knew ANYONE there but then I see a familiar face, my best of the bestest friend Uni! I was so happy, it's been so long since (we saw each other a lot of times before the summer started) we last saw each other. We've only been chatting through snapchat, that's all. But then I see that she gestures someone from behind her to follow her, a new girl! Yay a new person I can be friends with! The three of us sat down in a triangle formation so we could look at each other's faces.

Uni: SEVENTEEN. SEVENTEEN.

Me: Yes.

Uni: This is Alya, she likes them too. Oh, she likes the same guy you do!

Me: Yaaaaaassss. Wonwoo?

Alya: Wonwoo.

Our conversation was filled with so much laughter and giggling. Can I just say that that was one of the most happiest moments I have ever had while finding a new friend. Uni has always been my best friend, a friend that was totally like me. Since I don't know 2005? Since we were four? It's been so long! But as we grew up, the times we could spend together grew shorter. We are so alike. *inserting old photo of us together and most recent photo*

This was for an event.



 

 

We are friends who grew up together and who will stay together. Why was it one of the most happiest moments for me meeting a new friend and seeing Uni again? Let's focus on Uni first. Uni and I have always liked different things. I was more into the girly and cute style when finding outfits while she was into more grunge and chic. While she was more into the western culture - the 80's and everything western. I was into Korean culture - dramas, clothes, styles. But recently she tried out just watching one video of SEVENTEEN, a group. And she instantly fell in love. I, on the other hand, weren't really into them until Uni persuaded me to watch them. And then I was caught, I was drawn to them. Now, we fangirl over them together. Such a beautiful story.

Now over to Alya. We have never met each other although, Alya and Uni have been friends as long as Uni and I have been friends. She was also a SEVENTEEN fan and we have the same bias, Wonwoo. We could relate to each other so easily! Uni had another bias, Vernon, who she thought was the most handsome. Alya and I be in the corner like, "nahhhh mannnn, Wonwoo is life." Because we bonded over SEVENTEEN, we could understand each other and everything! It felt like we were friends for a long time. We talked about anything and everything. Things like this never happen to me so easily that's why I was so happy. Let me tell you, we have been snapchatting non-stop with each other.

The three of us had the best time together. We were laughing and talking so much that my mom was like "what are you guys talking about?" Which leads me to tell you about a short conversation we had with my mom.

Mom: Uni, how are you?

Uni: Good, tante (how we politely call a mom).

Mom: You're growing so much, you probably have a boyfriend right?

Uni: No...

*Uni and I exchange glances and we both grin

Me: Yes, she does. She has husbands.

Uni: OMG yes I do. I have like four!

*we give each other a high five, while Alya looks at us like we're crazy
Alya and I were basically the experts in Korean culture; me from 2012 and Alya from 2013. Uni was a new beginner. She tried saying some Korean words that were essential - the things that most of the celebrities in Korea say. Alya and I just looked at each other and shook our heads because she needed some practice. Uni always noticed us when we shook our heads in disapproval and we received a "I'm new okay? I just got into it a few days ago." And we all laughed together.

Because with me being in an American international school where people only look at the western side of things, it's hard to find people who love the same things I do. I was just so happy to find people I could relate with, it will forever stay in my heart as one of the most happiest moments in my life.
I hope I can meet them again! Because we had so much fun together.

My Dreams Are...

Well, hello again! I couldn't post yesterday because my family and I took a road trip and I had no access to a computer or internet at that matter. So, here is my promised post that will answer the questions from my last blogpost, "What My Summers Will Look Like". I know that most of my recent posts have become too serious and everything. But that's the reality when you finally have your mind set into a path that you are creating. When you want it, you go for it. And its unquenchable. You want to know how to get there faster and how to do more to reach your destination.

What exactly are my dreams? Why did I mention Stanford University and University of Texas - Austin? Why, what, where, when, how? Alright here it goes.

Stanford University and University of Texas - Austin are from my list of dream schools, basically two of the schools that I want to apply for college. What?! Yeah, I'm aware that Stanford has a very low percentage at admissions, that's why I am trying so hard and doing my best in school. And not just in school, everywhere else and in anything else I do. Since we are in the topic of dream school, the other schools I am looking at to apply are Texas A&M University, University of Southern California, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Tulsa. Although things could change, Stanford, Texas - Austin, Southern California, and Texas A&M are going to stay in my list. For sure.

What exactly do I want to study? Engineering. More specifically petroleum engineering which really focuses on science, geology, mathematics. Some of the most disliked subjects by students because they're hard. But I really enjoy the two subjects, I really do. The colleges I am researching and picked have some of the best schools for engineering, that's why I picked them. Throughout high school I will be challenging myself to take all the hard classes that can give me the knowledge that I need to become a petroleum engineer. And of course, I will try to gain knowledge outside of school too. I am planning to get a Master's degree in Petroleum Engineering.

Why petroleum engineering? It's funny because I have always dreamed of becoming a doctor, a surgeon. Because helping people while working was always nice. But then, when I researched what the reality of the process of becoming a surgeon was really like, I backed up from that dream. Plus blood was not something I could look at so easily without feeling dizzy. And the years of learning was too long for a female, in my opinion. My inspiration to become a petroleum engineer was my very own dad. Who himself is a petroleum engineer. "He lives a good life and enjoys his work, maybe I should try that." I researched about petroleum engineering one day, and I liked the idea of me one day becoming one. I always had an interest in creating, making, and testing things, so...it's a good match! Energy is used and wanted everywhere in the world, I want to help to maintain it, find it, and conserve it. So there isn't too much nor too little of it. It could give me a new way of looking at our world. I just really like to think of the world scientifically and mathematically, it's really amazing when you finally use all the knowledge you got in school in the real world. In real situations, in real time.

What My Summers Will Look Like

I'm preparing myself and trying to understand that this upcoming summer (Summer 2016) will be my last summer of being able to stay in Indonesia and meet my big family. Generally, it will be my last summer of being able to do nothing and just watch K-Dramas or just relax. Because I am planning to travel all the way to America during the summers of 2017, 2018, and by 2019 I will be in America getting ready to go to school/college. Yes, I am planning to apply to universities in America. And I know that it will be hard, that I have competitors beside me, but I will thrive to be different and to do my best in everything that I do.

Even for this summer, Summer 2016, I will be applying to take online courses from the high school online program from the University of Texas - Austin (hint, hint). I will be taking a good amount of different subjects but mostly, math and science. And I just want to thank the other parts of my family all the way in Indonesia for helping me find different internships that I can apply for. Honestly, all the new stuff that's being thrown at me doesn't make me feel burdened at all. I'm really excited to experience new things and explore the world. I believe that I will be taking Pre-SAT courses starting January of next year. I am fully aware that the SATs have been changed in some ways to fit what we, as students, really need for college and career. I have also purchased a huge book about the new SAT by The College Board, I have already started reading. It really helps. So that's what I am going to do for preparing for college in 2016.

Then for the Summer of 2017, I will be applying to go to the summer program in University of Texas - Austin. And yes, it actually means I have to go to the school campus. Even though, we still have a fairly, long amount of time to start thinking about it. My parents and I have already planned and for now, they are suggesting that they will come with me. While I stay in the school campus, they will just be there exploring and meeting me from time to time. We are also thinking about applying for internships in America, because the program only lasts for about a month. And to be able to do that, I need to keep my grades high. Since, Grade 10 is the time we take the Pre-SAT test, I will still be taking the SAT courses throughout the school year to keep my knowledge and to be able to score high.

Summer of 2018 will be an interesting one. I will be traveling to America to participate to yet another college. This one's a prestigious college, Stanford University (hint, hint). Now, I know that even for just applying to go for the summer program will take a lot of hard work. They ask for SAT scores (if you have done it), an essay about one of the two topics they let you choose from, teacher/counselor recommendations, your transcripts, and a few others. I am really excited for the future to come although, I don't want to grow up. And if I have time left, I will be applying for internships and working in America until my time there is over (when my parents call me back home).

And by Summer of 2019, I will be accepted to my choice of colleges and already have picked which one I will be attending to get my major in. But of course, that does not mean I can relax. No, no, no. I will be using up my summer to gain knowledge of my career and how work will actually look like. Yes, you got it. Internships. Again. Because knowledge and being able to be ready of what to face in the future is important.

By now, you're probably thinking, "what is she planning to be? What does she want to major in? What ARE her dreams? What dream is making her so excited for her future? Stanford University? University of Texas -Austin?" Well folks, you better stay in touch for more! I will be posting about the questions above soon!

My Digital Media Class + The New Look!

So...How do you like it? It's a pretty huge change from what it was before, at least I think so. Thanks to my Digital Media class, I have more knowledge in making better edits to put on my blog! Now, I don't think this will be the end of me trying to make my blog more better, it's just the beginning. I know what I said before, "that I won't be able to start updating the look until a few weeks", but when you have a lot of determination in you, you try everything to do it right at that moment. And that's what I had. I took about five hours straight trying to figure out how I could process all my ideas for the new design onto my blog. And ta-da! Okay sure, it's not really a makeover that I did ALL by myself, I give credit to any of the owners of the pictures.

But the editing was my work, right? I think. I hope you like it and I will be sure to improve it as my skills and knowledge grow through my years!

Ever since I finished my first project in Digital Media class, I was always thinking about putting my work onto the blog! And finally, I am doing it! Digital Media class is a course where we, the students, get to learn and/or improve our skills in editing photos on Photoshop. It's been fun but sometimes the complexity of the instructions given to us can be quite frustrating. So before I show my completed products, I will give an explanation about each project first.

The first project was an overall easy project to do, although I had to restart the whole process about five or six times. All we had to do was find a picture that fits the "rule of thirds" and put a wordle about yourself on it, consisting of at least twenty words. But the trick is, you have to make a good contrast between the words and the pictures. And some of the wordle designing websites were really bad at helping us do that, hence the reason why I had to restart my whole project five times.

 

 

The second project was a fun and hilarious project. We were given three random-generated websites that gave each of us random passages that either became our album name or band name. And then we were also given a website that gave us random pictures to use as our album cover. We were to create an album. I admit that my Photoshoping skills are probably really bad, but I am very satisfied with my result.

 

 

The most latest project we did before taking our Eid break (which is currently happening right now), was called the "3Me". We had to take three separate photos of ourselves in the same location while telling a story or a sequence between the pictures without overlapping. We then combined the three pictures through Photoshop using the masking tool, that lets you make a part of a picture appear or disappear. Using the colors white and black, black for disappearing and white to be able to make the photo appear. I can't wait for improving and developing new skills on Photoshop throughout this semester! So keep looking forward for more of my edits!

 

 

New Look Coming Soon!

Alright, so...I am in the process of planning out how my blog will look. I won't be able to update the new stuff until a few more weeks because right now, the computer I'm using just can't process really well. I've been trying to update the banner for this blog, but it keeps deleting it and just wiping all of my data. All of it. I will be also trying to blog and post more here! Look out for new stuff on "Princesse de Bonheur"!

High School & Goals Ahead

    It's that transition from I-don't-need-to-care-about-my-grades to grades are life and everything I will have to think about. High School. At least for some people. And of course, many other things go into your success in high school. Extra-curricular activities, SAT scores, the things you do outside of school, and many more. Passion and goals. And that's what I have in me now.

    Walking through school everyday on a daily basis made me start to really think about my peers, what do they think school is for? What keeps them going? Their dreams? Friends? Who knows. There are many of them who don't think too much about what they are doing. "All I know is that I have to get As and ace my classes," said one of my friends. But I don't think that actually makes them successful - if it does than well, I was stating my opinion.

     I truly believe that when you have a dream you want to catch, you become more diligent and focused on your tasks. "High school is a place where you start to find yourself," they say. Sure, of course it is. But I see flaws in the way some of my fellow peers interpret those words, they pick too many classes they like and try to stay away from the harder classes that are given to us as choices. But when you have a dream, something you're passionate about - you are able to plan ahead, to search for which colleges/universities you dream of going to, find out how to apply. No dreams are impossible, you're the one that just has to try and make it possible for yourself.

      I asked my friend the other day, "what college or university do you want to go to?" 

      And she replied, "Cambridge."

      "Cool. What are you planning to major in?"

      "I don't know."

      Sometimes I want to give my friends a long lecture about finding themselves early in their high school year so that, when it's time to apply to their colleges, they don't get too stressed out. I'm 13, a "freshman" in high school and I have already researched my top six colleges. If you asked me what I want to major in, I would already have the answer. I have already looked at what SATs are and signing up for courses near my house. No dreams are impossible when you put your time and effort to catch them. There's no more relaxing, do-nothing summers ever again for me. My relaxing summer times are done. Because I'm curious and want to be ahead and take online courses, do internships, do community services and help people, and join summer schools. Instead of feeling burdened, I'm actually ecstatic for the summers to come. Not because of no school but because of being able to use the free time to be more educated and experienced about the world outside of school. 

       I think its amazing when we learn new things, our brains start to change the way we think. Like the time when I was introduced to Physics, my mind was blown. When I was in the car with my family, all my mind could think about was the speed of the car and how we were actually going as fast as the car. Momentum, velocity, speed, those words stuck to me when I moved or when I saw someone/something else move. Education can do you good.

       To end this, I will be using a physics quote, "an object in motion stays in motion unless an unbalanced force is applied to it." The object is your dreams/goals, effort, motivation, and passion. The unbalanced force is you.

Summer is Over! High School!

I have just finished the first week of high school! I'm not gonna lie, I was super terrified but because my friends were there I felt in peace. New teachers, new environment, so many new things. It's pretty overwhelming but that's just how life works. Hahaha. We were at the top - the kings and queens of middle school and now we're the little, innocent babies of high school. "The Freshmen" as they call it. But you know what? I'm sticking to calling my self a "ninth - grader", I feel younger that way. Because when you put aside my age and grade, I am still a little girl at heart.

When I first came to school everything seemed new, it felt like I was going into a new school. Boys grew taller, the teacher's faces were new to me, new students, the upper - classmen were everywhere. I was terrified but I did not cry or anything. Which reminds me of the time when I was going to middle school for the first time, I was so overwhelmed of my surrounding that I just burst into tears. Yeah...that won't ever happen again.

I am really looking forward to an awesome school year! Don't look at school as a place of torture, look at it like it's a place where new beginnings start and thousands of opportunities come!

 

 

Here's a picture from my summer (the one behind me is ma brother)! Oh and I was totally fashion goals. Fashion goals af.

 

 

Physics Project (Science)

Hey again! Just thought that I needed to post more about my last-weeks-of-eighth-grade school life. Science has been fun but at the same time, pretty hard. Because we have to think about our roller coasters AND about our learning of physics. I am really into physics, I don't know, but it's really fascinating to me. I now think of every single movement in the way of physics. But let's put that all aside, for now. 

Next class, I hope to finish the first parts of our roller coaster. Yes, we have done building it but what I mean by finishing it, is that if we try it with the marble it will go through successfully. I also hope to finish the background we are planning to decorate to show more of the theme of our roller coaster. And to start planning out our presentation and what we want to say.

Tape is a wonderful tool for these types of projects, but sometimes it can be pretty hard to deal with. But we shall talk about the good things tape can do for us. First of all, there are lots of kind of tape that are unique to their use. For example, you've got sticky tape, you've got double-sided tape, duct tape, washy tape, clear tape, and so many more. And they all come in good use. Tape unlike glue, is easy to peel off when you think that something just doesn't work out on where you put your tape. If you needed something to stick on a wall, it would be hard to stick it on with glue. A, I don't think it will be easy. B, I don't think that's a good idea to stick something on a public wall with glue.
Now to the cons of tape. When you use tape, you can clearly see it. And sometimes, it's not a very pretty view. Unless, you find out a way to use tape without showing signs of it. Then, you've got the biggest struggle of using tape. It's sticky. I mean real sticky. It gets stuck to your fingers, if you don't be careful from that happening, it leads to the tape becoming uglier. You know, when the tape sticks to itself and sometimes we all just get too lazy to get another roll of tape? Of course you know.

Too much energy has caused our marble to fly off our roller coaster track before it even stops at where we finished building. We had to remake our first hill over three times to make it work. But that's ok, because mistakes that we make become lessons that we learn. Too little energy has made our marble to not be able to make it through two loops. We always have to be able to measure and make sure we aren't giving too much or too little energy. So, that our marble can go through successfully.

Newton's 1st Law states that an object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion stays in motion unless, an unbalanced force is acted upon it. The very first evidence of this law on our project is when we first let go of the marble at the very first hill. That's when the marble is at rest and then we, our hands let it go which means we are the unbalanced force that put the marble in motion. And when the marble is at motion, there's no way to stop it, so if it falls out of the track, it falls out until an obstacle or if friction starts to get in its way. It's amazing to think about every movement, every motion in the way of science. It's really, really amazing. Seriously.

All in all, I think I'm pretty proud of my project AND of course, my teammates. The project is going well, and I just hope that it won't stress out any of my teammates. And that we can be each other's support when we need it. It looks plain for now, but let me warn you, it will steal the eyes of lots of people. Preferably children. And me. Haha.
We are really excited about how our roller coaster might look like, we have just started to decorate and put in the fun stuff to customize our roller coasters. A frustration I have is that sometimes our roller coasters just doesn't work out, and there have been times when we had to destroy what we did to somehow make our roller coaster work. Basically the frustration is mainly the building of the roller coaster and the self-learning of this big unit. But I think I am handling it pretty well, by staying in for lunch to build, doing the worksheets and required learning early, and spending a lot of time to piece this project together.

 

 

 

 

My Friends & I #2

I haven't been active with the "My Friends & I" series on my blog! But here it is, it is back! Yes! Alright. We have had a concert, a party, and a hang out after school together. Which means we totally took squad photos! So here they come!

Two of ma friends and me with the 7th Graders.

 

Summer is Around the Corner! #WHYBD

Summer is around the corner for me! June 9th! But hold up, that means I would be an official 9th Grader. Yeah, I'm one of those typical, innocent girl who's scared of going up to high school. But do you know what kind of girl I still will be? A girl who never gives up even when things get hard on her. Oh, and I will never lose my happiness or my caring heart (because somehow, some high schoolers lose that). Cause I have my family who is always there for me!

What shall I talk about first...? Have you seen Pitch Perfect 2?! I have with my brother who sadly look like he is older than me but he's not. It was amazing! There was much more humor in this movie than the first one. And all the mash-ups and soundtracks were very well put together. The next movie(s) I'm anticipating is Minions, Jurassic World, and Inside Out.
Also, also. I will be maybe posting a new "My Writing" episode(?) Maybe. If I have the time in summer to type up a good story! I have had this in my mind for a long time. I think the sound of vlogging is cool to me. Like I've been watching Aspyn Ovard and vlogbby11 on YouTube, they always have so much fun vlogging. I have the perfect camera already...so I don't know. Maybe I could start that! You know, make my summer more interesting! But maybe...I'm too young? Let's see, let's see.
Well, school has been pretty tough on me lately. I have a speech, two video projects, a roller coaster project (if you want to find out more go to my other blog), and on top of all of that, I have tests and final assessments. Oh, and homework. Don't forget the homework. I know, I know there must be people out there who are dealing or who have dealt with worse. So, that's why I am not going to make a big deal out of it.
Oh my god. How could I forget?! Before I went to Space Camp, I went to Japan with my family! I had to skip like two weeks of school but, it was all worth it. We saw cherry blossoms, some sakuras, Mount Fiji, went to DisneySea, Universal Studios, LOTS of shopping, and so much more. Should I upload some pictures? Yes? No? Maybe so? We'll see! I'll be posting a lot!

That's what I've been doing lately...how about you?

Space Camp

Haha. It's been a long time. And...the pictures and videos I'm going to post are from like, March. These pictures are from Space Camp, basically an optional trip to Turkey to learn more about space and astronomy and cool stuff like that. It was pretty stressful (cause of all the homework I had to do, and all the classes I missed) but, I got through it. Yay me! *one person awkwardly claps* Anyway...Let's get to it!

 

 

 

 

Face To Face

Yo, guys! It's been a while since I have last posted. Happy New Year! I am mad at myself for not posting ever since November. But, hello, good day! How are you all? I am going to be traveling to Abu Dhabi to go to the MS Fine Arts Festival on the 28th of January! Even though its so close to where I live (Oman), I am still really excited! It's my first time going somewhere out of Oman without my family. I'm gonna miss them of course but, it is still a great opportunity for me! Anyway...Let's get on to the art!

Face To Face

36 cm x 61 cm

Black pen, colored markers

For our first project, we all did a contour-self portrait drawing of ourselves. We had to draw our classmates and they got to draw us, too. We then had to pick out which one we thought could be appropriate and fitting for our final piece. We practiced our color and value on our spare drawings, to make sure we don't mess up. We then stuck both of our final drawing on to a big piece of black paper with glue. The purpose of our project was so we could practice on value, shape, line, and color. That is why we have two different drawings of ourselves. One that can clearly show color and another one that mainly focuses on value. 

I felt successful with my first project because, I think that I did a good job of bringing out the value for the picture on the right. Even though it does not have any color, the one in the right stands out more than the one on the left. Some of the patterns can show depth in them and even though some patterns are repeated, there are many different ones if you really look closely. I am also proud of this project because of the colors And how I used them. They aren't really close to each other in the color wheel but, they show unity and actually look like they fit with each other.

If I could do this project again, I would want to show more creativity with my patterns and show more depth into my drawing. I guess that's all that I would think I would change, other than that I am very happy with the result of this project.