Great!

WARNING: Heavy sarcasm used in this entry. Just so you all know, I am very unhappy about the following:

Great, just what I needed. Today, I found out another spectacular complication I'll get to enjoy next year. I'm excited to share with you all the fact that I will be getting braces early next month and get to wear them for the next 2 and a half years! Yey!!!!!!

Today at the orthodontist, everyone kept saying that I'll be so pretty when I get them off. And I'm just sitting there like, "Thanks for inplying that I'm ugly! I hate you too." They kept saying that nothing they do will hurt and that they have the most competant facilities and employees possible. Then they turn around and split my lip and make me bleed (and let me tell you, it hurt!) just so they can get some stupid "before" pictures and cram a second patient in the room meant for one patient at a time, and in a "private" consultation no less!

So, I get braces on my top and bottom teeth (which is weird because according to my dentist, I have the straightest bottom teeth he's ever seen) from a place I hate and I get to let people I loath hurt me. Yey!

So, the apparently ugly me will get to start highschool as an even uglier me. Great! As if I wasn't scared enough for highschool, let's add some magnatism!

Anyway, I'm done being negative now. I'm going to watch a movie ("Valentine's Day" again, anyone?) then go to sleep. Goodnight y'all (hehe, I love saying y'all, it reminds me of my favorite place in the world, the American South. Yeah, I've only been there once; but I loved the chivalrous guys, polite culture, and phenomenal history.).

Always,

Hope

P.S. These braces couldn't have come at a better time, I was just starting to get complements on the street about my being beautiful and told I should model. Great, just great. Not that I would model, but talk about a confidence booster! Those days are over evidently though... sigh.

First Day Outfits

First impressions are often the deciding factor in making new friends. And, so what you wear on your first day of highschool is highly relevant to how your next four years will be.
Now, I don't mean to sound shallow, going on and on about clothes. However, clothes really are an expression of your personality. For example, if I were to wear all pink clothing that is obviously designer, I would likely be percieved as a snob. If I were to wear a minimal quantity of skin tight leather and a visible thong, I would be percieved as a slut. Using those two (highly) unlikely situations as my proof that fashion contributes to how people see you, I will continue on and tell you all my First Day of Freshman Year Outfit Options:

• Option #1: Coral colored, soft cotton, flowy tank top with turquoise detailing on the neckline paired with turquoise semi-short shorts (six inches longer than crotch) and gold gladiator sandals. Pros: This outfit really makes my skin seem to glow golden and highlights the natural blonde highlights in my light brown hair. Cons: The shoes could be a little more comfortable (I'm not very comfortable in flats) and the shorts seem really short when I'm sitting down. This outfit says: I'm fun and colorful, fearless and confident.
• Option #2: Comfy black and white striped tank top made of flowy cotton adorned with pale pink roses that appear to be painted on, paired with pale pink jeggings and tan peeptoes booties with wedges. Pros: This outfit is super comfy! Cons: It's still hot in August and I may be a little too warm in the jeggings. This outfit says: I'm classically beautiful with a modern twist./I have an attitude and killer style.
• Option #3: Sweet spaghetti strap, floral patterned, pale pink chiffon top with swingy motion, paired with pale pink leggings and strappy gold gladiator sandals. Pros: This look is really innocent without being matronly and would really set me apart from the T-shirts and short shorts most other people are bound to be wearing. Cons: See Option #2 cons. Pink, pink, and more pink! I'm pretty girly, but I'm not usually that bad. This outfit says: I'm sweet and innocent, but I know how to have a good time!

(Note: All clothing and shoes in Options are from Wet Seal.)

Which oufit do you like most? Comments on any of them? Please post these in the comments section. The outfit with the most positive comments will be the one I wear on the first day. Thanks for your help and input!

Always,

Hope

Update: The shorts shrunk the first time I washed them. They are now quite short, too short for school. And the pink jeans were the wrong size (I'm a 3, they were a 0), I passed them on to Fudge Eater. So, in outfit 1, I would replace the blue shorts with regular dark wash denim shorts (Diva, Old Navy). And in the other two, I would replace pink jeans with other light wash jeans.

Classes and clubs

As anyone who has gone through high school will tell you, what classes you take really affect your highschool expirence. For example, if you take AP Philosophy, you're bound to have a lot of very personal homework that includes reflecting nightly. Ditto with clubs. If you join Chess club, there's a 90% chance that you'll be labled as a nerd. What sports you join also dictate your high- school career, for exmaple, cheerleaders tend to be peppy and fit with little time to excell in academics. Basically, what you do decided how you'll do.
In March, we were required to sign up for our classes and reveiw the list of clubs so we could consider what we'd like to join. To allow you all to fully understand my highschool strategies, you'll have to know my plans for activities in freshman year. Please, no criticizing my choices. They are my choices and my opinions were used to make them and while I appreciate your opinion, this is one instance where I'd like to be confident in what I'm doing. Here it goes:

Classes:

• French 1 as my first elective. I have always admired the french language for it's beauty and while I have taught myself as best I can, I still aspire to be fluent.
• AVID is my second elective. For those of you who don't know, AVID stands for Achievement Via Individual Determination. AVID is primarily a college prep class that has a focus on organization. AVID is for good students who aspire to be great and are willing to work hard to achieve their goals.
• Advanced English is my English class. I have always excelled at English and am placed in the highest English class available to Freshmen at my school.
• I will be retaking Algebra 1 because I got nervous during the county test and bombed it. I knew that the test dictated my entire next year, combined with throwing up that morning because I was so terrified, and the unfamiliarity of the strange classroom I had never entered before-- I just couldn't think as straight as I needed to.
• 1 semester Health/1 semester Computer Technology. Both are required at that level.
• Science. It's actually a specific branch of science, but I'm not sure of which one.

Clubs

• French club. It corresponds with my French class and hopefully will offer help from more expirenced French speakers.
• Speech/Debate. I love public speaking. I admit that I'm a bit addicted to having people listen to me as I present my argument and being able to convince people to see my way. I can be convicing when I want to be and am known for capturing my audience (don't let my Oral Interp. presentation fool you, I just didn't care).I've never understood how people could fear public speaking, the power I feel when I'm standing behind the podium is great!

Sports

• None. I couldn't play a sport to save my life.

Some Advice I've Been Given

Most of the people I know are eagar to help eachother. For example, a few weeks ago, my alarm clock was broken, so my dad chopped wood outside my window at 7 o'clock AM to make sure I got up on time-- isn't he thoughtful? But that doesn't mean that all their help is bad, here's some of the wisdom they have offered me:

"On the first day, go up and find the tallest, meanest, toughest girl in school and punch her in the face. After that, even if you lose the fight ensuing, you'll be known as the girl who beat up the biggest and the baddest bully in school and no one will mess with you." -Forrest, 17 year old close family friend. (I don't reccomend you follow this piece of advice, unless, that is, you want to die.)
"Befriend the older students." --Tawnee, 18 year old highschool graduate, close family friend. (Doesn't seem that that bad of advice.)
"Take AP and ROP classes, you save a lot of money on college by completing some free in highschool." --Mrs. Montgomery, my 8th grade history/language arts teacher.
"Just do your best,"-- my parents.



Well, that's all for now. I'm going to go to bed now, it's pretty late. Goodnight y'all. (That's right, I just said y'all. I spent a week in the American south in early June, and I picked the word up.)

Always,

Hope

Introduction

Right now it's mid-June and I am preparing to start highschool in the fall. Everyone keeps patting me on the back and promising me that it'll all be okay and highschool will be great. I however, realize that if I plan to walk across that stage in four years still in one piece, it's going to take some serious survival skills.
That's where this blog comes in. I'll be posting as often as I can all throughout highschool to let you all know my various tips and skills to coming out alive. I'm scared stiff, but hopefully, you will learn from my mistakes and triumphs and be prepared for when you get to walk through those terrifying front doors and into your highschool career.

We'll hold on together.

Always,

Hope