A 60 second, abbreviated guide to: getting what you want

In getting what you want, or at least what I've figured out so far, it all boils down to a few simple things:
1. Figure out what you want.
Do you really want it? Or do you want it because other people want it? It's a heck of a lot easier putting yourself into something, and actually doing it because you want to, then doing something halfheartedly that you don't really want.
2. Get ballsy.
Go out and do it. Be impulsive. Do something crazy once a day. Think a guy's cute? Go for it. Send him a message. It won't work out every time, but going for it will get you a lot farther than just sitting there stewing over it.
3. Work. A lot. And hard.
Procrastination? Absolutely not. Go and do what you need to do before you have time to complain about it. Procrastinating will just make you more stressed in the long run then, you know, actually folding your clothes and putting them in your closet before you have the clothing equivalent to quicksand on your floor. If you have an assignment, tackle it. If you can think about something that you need to do, then go and do it.
4. Stay busy.
This is definitely true for me, and it may be true for you, but the busier I am, the more stuff I get done. Stay working! And this is especially true for running, one of my passions: you only feel how fast your running when you stop and everything starts to hurt. Just keep running, and you won't feel the pain! Stay consumed, and you'll get a lot done; I quit napping, and now my grades are up way more than last year. Don't be afraid prioritize!

Good luck! Go do!
L. 

Here's to a new year!

So this is major late. Like major, major, major late.

No way to apologize, I get it, but really: things have been swamped. I'm way more involved than I was last year, in pretty much everything, and sophomore year academics at Westover are incredibly... stressful? Is that a fitting adjective?

Anyways, as soon as I stepped on campus on September 4th, the ball was rolling and I was incredibly busy. My school revamped their carpeting, and it wasn't done until after I was supposed to move in, so I was getting back from preseason sports camp, unpacking, and trying to make sense of all the exciting new students (freshmen, and super awesome sophomores) all at once.

Over the course of the four days of preseason sports camp, I ran over 25 miles with cross country - which, even if you're a runner, or maybe if you're not, is a lot if you haven't been keeping up with it over the summer. My excuse was that I was scared of environmental pollution in Korea. Maybe it's a good one. We'll never know.

We had a day off, and then classes started - and bam! It's always a surprise how much homework they can pack in the first few days. I still haven't decided if the workload decreases, or I actually get used to it. And before you know it, it's the fourth week of school and we're approaching our first long weekend.

So, here are some smidgeons of my first month as a sophomore, and some cool new things I'm doing mixed in. Cheers!

This is my new roommate B! She's from the New Haven area and our room is bright and super organized so far. She's what one would call a dream roommate.

A group of my friends and me at a local apple picking festival in our small town in Connecticut. Fried apple fritters, anyone?

- Taking art history for the first time, and man is it a doozy! I'm writing a formal analysis paper right now on this painting: 

It's called the Arrival of Marie de Medici at Marseilles and it's by Peter Paul Rubens. The class is super cool so far, and I can definitely see myself taking AP Art History at some point. 

- Taking Honors Precalc Calc and Honors Chem! Loads of work. Hopefully I won't be drowning, but no promises made.

- Switched from Latin to French II. It's really, really awesome how the class is immersion - my speaking skills are improving so much. 

- Being yearbook editor! So much work, but it's nice being in control for something that I care loads about. 

- PRd (personal record-ed) for cross country the first meet of the year. I've really been putting in my all for practices, and it's so rewarding seeing it pay off. I'm thrilled for the rest of the term and to see what kind of time I can drop.

- Started a club called Alternative Eating; it's for those of us who are vegetarian, vegan, allergic to nuts or have restrictions based on religion. Or those who just like food! We've got a decent amount of members so far, and I'm really excited for all the things we have planned for the rest of the year. 

That's all for now! I'll be posting pictures of my and B's room.

 xo

L. 

Do Good, Feel Good Phenomenon

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about how impatient, frustrated and basically bitchy I can be. 

Alturism-unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others.

Hardly.

The feeling you get when you do the right thing, or do something just to be kind can boost your mood drastically.

It's not selfless at all, it gives you a great feeling.

Make it a bit selfish. 

Being happy and feeling good is not just handed to you.

I hope that makes sense?

Just recently I was on vacation with my family. 

One afternoon I ran into a convenience store to get a drink. 

Maybe I have $1.35 with me? 

I was in line waiting to check out.

In front of me was a woman struggling with her baby in her arms, credit card in one hand and completely frazzled buying her groceries.

Typical Annie would be SO annoyed.

-I hate children.

-I hate waiting.

-I hate convenience stores?

But for some reason I smiled at the baby, picked up the bottle and toys she kept repeatedly dropping. 

The woman apologized 100 times. 

I simply said, "Don't worry about it!"

This alone made me feel great.

It was my turn to check out.

The man scans my drink and I didn't have enough money.

I put my drink back and headed toward the door.

Turns out the woman heard that I didn't have enough $.

She handed me a dollar and said,

"Thank you." 

Do good for others and good things will come your way.

Little things.

A.

Autumn Changes.

Each and every year I have looked forward to going back to school.

Sure, summers a ball. But after I get my share of the sun-I'm basically over it.

I love being on a schedule and getting involved. 

Keeping organized, taking notes and picking out supplies gets my so giddy. It's almost weird? 

This is my brother, Will.

He the youngest of the bunch and he started Middle School today!

So exciting, nerveracking, bittersweet and a new turning point in his life.

He's growing up. I'm growing up.

Things are changing. 

But in my opinion, good change.

"Without change, there is no opportunity for new greatness."  

Tim Jahrling 

This was once said to me when I made my transition into a new high school.

It changed my outlook completely.

I left my graduating class of 50 behind and shuffled in with 500 other students at the public high school in my town.

Basically, I was given lemons.

But I made lemonade.

;)

 To fellow student bloggers, it's a new year. 

Time to make things count.

A.

Favorites: L - Upbeat Music

Some of my favorite songs to listen to when I'm in a good mood.
I fly back to the US on Tuesday evening; it's a big landmark: I've turned 15, and so I can fly alone! I'm really happy about it.
Some updates soon on my sickness, my birthday celebration (or lack thereof) and some things I've bought to get ready for school. 

Cheers on the dregs of summer!
L

Favorites: L - Lush shampoo and conditioner!

As a burgeoning vegan, I've been on the hunt for cosmetics and beauty supplies that don't test on animals, and, incidentally, are vegan. And I ran into Lush! Lush and I first began our amorous love affair in June of 2010; I was in Santa Monica on the West Coast, and as I was walking around the promenade I walked into Lush because it looked so hip and cool!

The first thing I bought was the honeycomb bar soap, called honey waffle. It smells really, really nice, and you have to follow up with a moisturizer after, as with most natural soaps, but the smell is to die for.

Then, this year, I started getting on with Lush, again, as they have a small counter here in Shinsegae, the big, big department store here in Seoul. I fell in love with two products:

American Cream conditioner. Not vegan, unfortunately (even though Lush swears that they don't test on animals, so it's one small sacrifice I'm willing to make), but by golly, the smell! Vanilla, strawberries, honey... And it makes my hair super, super soft. 

AND

Rehab shampoo. It's fruity and it cleans my hair like none other - not going to lie, I have some pretty bad hair after a few days without washing. It smells like, obviously, papaya and kiwi, but also some surprising other factors: jojoba and olive oil for conditioning. AND, it's 100% vegan. So much love! 

Look into more of Lush's amazing products - the bath bombs are to die for, the moisturizing bars are lovely, and this bottled body wash called flying fox is perfect for fall and winter. I'm also dying to try their face masks - tell me if anyone gets the pleasure! :) 

xo

L

Favorites

Music

Certainly, you may find a few randoms in this mix. But good randoms. 

Rock on.

a.

Back to School Necessities

These are only a few of my essentials for my school bag.

-A 'One Blue Hippo' Eraser, just like the small statue at the Met.

-An array of Sharpies

-Staples Better Binders have been my absolute favorite since 6th grade!

-Rhodia Legal Pads, perfect for note taking. Found at Barnes & Noble.

-Pilot v5 pens. So fiiinneee.

-'One Blue Rhino' clicky pen
-Though this is a 2011 planner, it's still adorable and I'm looking for anything along the lines of it for this coming school year (11/12). 

I like to keep my books, binders, pencil and personal items all in my LongChamp. I never use a backpack. Using a tote like this gives you the option to just carry it from class to class. 

I try to switch the colors of the bag periodically. 

Phone

Chapstick

School ID/$5.00

Small Makeup bag

Water bottle

And anything else you might possibly need during the school day.

Supplies Not Shown

-5 Subject Notebook

-Mechanical Pencils

-Felt tip pens

-Post-its

-White Out

-Highlighters

-Loose leaf

-Dividers

-Notecards

a.

Favorites: L - Moisture Surge

Annie and I'll be starting (with perhaps some select guest bloggers) a series concerning our favorites, whether they be clothing, accessories, music, movies, or beauty supplies. Get excited!

Here's one of my favorite beauty/skin products - maybe of all time. It's called Moisture Surge and it's made by the all time favorite beauty house Clinique.

As anybody who lives in New England can attest, winters are really, really bad. Terribly bad. Horrible. All charming during the Christmas/Hanukkah season, but after the glitz and lights and ornaments have come down, and gifts have been received, the cold just becomes annoying. This is my savior every season, but especially during winter. It keeps my skin well moisturized, oil free, doesn't make me break out, and feels so good once you put it on. Love. Buy immediately!

L.

A trip to paradise!

Hey there - it's L! Sorry I've been a bit absent, though I do think that I have a pretty decent excuse: I was vacationing in Bali with my mum and my dad. As my parents live in Korea, it's really easy for us to travel around Asia, and pretty affordable. I've been to Japan while I was here - incidentally, for the earthquake! - and they've been to Thailand, and will be going to Australia at the end of the month (without me - expressing just a little bitterness, yeah?) 

So for our summer trip, we decided to go to Bali! My father's friend owns a villa - named Villa Purnama - that he rents out, and so we acquired it for 10 days. I couldn't be more pleased. Ten whole days! In paradise! 

We got in on a Monday night, and naturally, the first thing we did on Tuesday was go down to the beach! The villas you see on the cliff are of the Four Seasons variety.

Offerings left to the gods every morning and night; my favorite part: a half burned cigarette. Because the gods like to smoke, right?

 This particular woman was nursing a baby, injured monkey back to health. The thing was cute. And looking a little feral. 

 Super, super cute little rock sign someone made on the beach. Thinking of framing and hanging in my room as a memento of my vacation! 

The surfers here run rampant; they fly in with their checked boards amongst their luggage, and come back scruffier, a little less articulate (if they know what articulate means), and a whole lot tanner. I didnt get the chance to take some surfing lessons, but if I go back, it's definitely on the agenda.

Part of our villa. To the left you can see the third bedroom.

Every night for dinner we had grilled fish, prawns, lobster and crab with rice and corn. So delicious! The seasonings they put on the seafood are to die for.

Just one of the beautiful views of the Ayana Resort, which I fell in love with. So beautiful, with traditional Balinese touches, with a modern twist. Staying here for my honeymoon for sure!

The Ayana has a super hip and trendy place to have drinks called the Rock Bar; you take a little ride down, and it's literally carved into the side of the cliff. Here's the view on the way down.

For me, the time after the sunset is the most beautiful time of all.

The woman here is batik weaving! It's all hand done and requires a bunch of steps. I got two scarves. So perfect! 

We took a trip to a silversmith village - everything is hand done, even though the silver is imported from Borneo.

One of my favorite views of all time: the rice terraces. So beautiful and intricate to look at.

We also took a trip up to the volcano. It was at least 20 degrees cooler up there, and felt so nice after all the heat from the beach.

We went to an organic spice forest; for free, they let you try all of these yummies, which involved luwak coffee (the bean is ingested by the luwak, fermented in their tummies, and then comes out the other end; has a very, very nice flavor), ginseng coffee, hot chocolate, ginger tea, and lemongrass tea. FOR FREE! Yums all around! Ended up buying some of the cocoa, and some coconut oil (perfect for your skin and nails and hair, and you can cook with it too), and lots of incense and candles and soap, all grown organically.

Here are my mom and dad with their new baby chimp. Wish I had been there!

Having a little fun at the pool!

Our last night: dinner on the beach, as per usual.

Our trip was overall amazing, though I would suggest spending only about a week, as ten days was a bit much sun for my Irish/English skin, but if you can handle more, then by all means! 

Hope your summers are all fantastic!

L.

Roooom.

For a while now I have wanted to give the readers a glimpse into my bedroom. 

Overtime my room has collected some really great things that I will always keep and will follow me to rooms in the future. (i.e. college dorms, apartments, HOUSES?)

Overview. 

 Low table with rainbow floor pillows.

Some of my favorite books & pictures on top.

 Style books.

 Vintage cam quarter on top of some makeup and style books.

 THE PREP BOOKS!

And I Hate Everything-Matthew DiBenedetti

Hilarious book and a great gift idea.

 Post Secret.

Kodak collage book my friend made me for my 14th birthday. You can see our halloween costumes.

 Theater books.

Billy Elliot

Sondheim

How To Succeed..

13 the Musical script

How Does the Show Go On?

Love. 

 Oh the products.

 Desk, my fave.

 Sketch Book, Moleskines, Pack This!, 'Steak'saniory, Bicycle dish, iPhone.

 Bunny Lamp

 Inspiring pencils...

 Colorful pens and what not in a Anthro mug.

 Today is the Day mirror!

 Makeup. 

 Brushes and randoms.

All together in this grass like holder from Urban Outfitters. 

 Earrings in a ceramic egg crate.

 Makeup/jewelry area atop my bookshelf.

 Ridiculous bulletin board.

 Watches and most worn jewels. 

Bed.   

                            

Preppy wall mount. 

Bedside mags, lamp and alarm clock.

Three magazines I have yet to read..

Well, that's my room. Not including my closets. I will tackle those one day.

Stay organized!

a.