Friday❤️

   As I sit in the library during my free period, I can't even describe to you the feelings I have!  Oh my gosh it's Friday!  A long week of many tests, homework, and studying has gone by.  The amount of satisfation I have right now is out of control!  I have one more period of the day which is chemistry and then we have Pep Rally because Homecoming begins after school!  All of the periods have been shortened to 33 minutes per period. 
  Since Friday has arrived, I am able to attend a party tonight and relax.  I don't have to think about anything that pertains to school.  I just get to party and have fun!  I absolutely love tennis but I'm not so thrilled that I have to wake up at 8 tomorrow morning for a tennis match!
  Coming up for this weekend is filled with activites and fun!  I am participating in a car wash and then selling candy bars with many of my friends!  It feels amazing when your social group expands tremendously!  I have made so many new friends because of clubs and I am happier than ever. 
  On Sunday I have softball.  Ugh!  I hate playing softball but now for 4 Sundays in a row I am helping children with severe special needs with my softball team.  Even though I am not overly extatic about doing it with my softball team, it's a nice way to bond with everyone.
  About 30 children with special needs participate in a baseball league called Special Olympics.  It is the only day of the week that the kids can go out and play a sport with other children!  Some children are unresponsive but so inspirational. 
  I was assigned to a little girl who was unresponsive.  I was extremly apprehensive inside and didn't know how to get through to her.  I didn't want to show her that I was really nervous and shaking on the inside  She had various mini-tantrums but I don't want to call them tantrums.  Numerous times she would cover her ears with her hands and fall to the ground.  Since she was my responsibility, I had to calm her down, get her off the ground and reassure her that we are here to have fun and play baseball.  It was difficult for many of the other girls but I really felt a connection with this girl.  She was probably about 7 or 8.  There was one particular moment that caught me off guard.  I couldn't believe what had happened.  She turned to me and asked, "Are we going to get up again?"  She was talking about getting up to bat again.  As she looked at me with her own two eyes, and spoke directly to me, I couldn't believe it!  That was a huge accomplishment!
Have a great weekend and maybe I will blog on Saturday or Sunday!
xoxo,
Rachel :)<3

Scarlet Red

   Back in middle school, I used to be extremely self-conscious, and insecure.  I still feel those ways but not to the extent as I used to.  My biggest problem throughout middle school was when my face would turn bright red.  It could have happened when I was embarrassed, or sometimes it just happened randomly.  It was very noticeable and I think the worst part about it was that I felt my face become hotter, and hotter.  
   If anyone is experiencing the scarlet red face, don't be alarmed.  I believe overtime, you can cure it.  By the way, the key word in that last sentence was YOU.  Yes, you can cure the scarlet red face.  My face doesn't seem to become as red when I speak in class or when I am around suppose adults.  I believe that faces become scarlet red when someone becomes very nervous and not so much embarrassed.  If you are constantly thinking about being nervous, your face will just turn red.    Overtime, I taught myself to feel comfortable around adults, and to just relax.  
   I think that you can control your face from becoming bright red.  As you are speaking in front of class, focus on your breathing and not the fact that many of your peers are starring at you.  Also, while delivering a speech, don't look at anyone.  Just look straight ahead.  Therefore, you can forget that you are speaking in front of people basically because you won't even see them.  Also think about this for a minute, when one of you peers is delivering a speech, how much on a scale of 1-10 do you really care? My guess would be maybe a 2 or 3.  People don't care and probably aren't listening to what you are saying so remember nobody is even listening.  

Anyways, I hoped I helped you if you have this problem!

xoxox,
Rachel :) <3  

The Lunch Scene

  I normally sit at lunch with this girl that I met who also didn't have anybody to sit with during her lunch period. Today, she is not here at lunch. Instead of crawling up in a ball or going to the bathroom to eat my lunch, I spoke to myself and said, "Rachel, you can sit alone and be mature."  Remember when I spoke about doing things outside of my comfort zone?    Well this is by far outside of what I am used to. I always have someone to sit with. I'm not saying that in a cocky way. I mean, even though we may not be best of friends with people we find in our lunch period, there are very few students who sit alone. Today I will say it loud and proud that I am one of those students this afternoon. I can bet that most of the students in this lunchroom as I look around would never have the guts to sit alone in a lunchroom. I feel so accomplished you don't even know. I am more than half way done with the period and I feel stronger mentally. Actually as I look around, I am the only person sitting alone and I am okay with that!  If you ever don't have friends in your lunch period, don't be afraid to sit by yourself. It's okay to and the truth is, when you think people care, they really don't. Just find a quiet table in the corner and you will be fine for the 30-40 minutes of the period. 

   Let me actually tell you why I am also sitting by myself. My sister is in the same lunch period as me every other day. So today happened to be the day she has lunch. Even when she has lunch I sit with the girl I met. I asked my sister if I could sit with her and her words were "NO!"  She yelled those words at me. I honestly couldn't believe it!  In that moment I really cared and was completely offended, but on the other hand I learned not to care about what others think through sitting alone 

   The funniest part of this whole sort of self experiment is that I'm sitting in the corner next to the lunch ladies. Every so often they look over at me in pity sort of!  Sometimes they will give me like a half smile so to speak. Like I'm fine haha. 

   Anyway, I am going to finish my lunch and do some studying for my Chemestry quiz which is soon and ttyl!

Xoxo

Rachel :) 

The "Hump" Day

  As I am laying in my bed at 11:59pm I am currently thinking about how much I have accomplished today.  I took my science quiz and aced it!  I mean, I was so nervous that I am actually embarrassed to even look at the teacher because I kept telling him how badly I am at this first topic in science.  I told him with full confidence that I was never going to be good at science.  Once I finally grasped all of the ideas and concepts I realized I am starting to enjoy science.  Never jump into any subject and immediately think you are going to fail because at that very moment the topic isn't clicking.  I don't want to tell you that it will click because one never knows and I don't know you, but if you put your mind to it and try just as hard as I did to grasp the concepts, then you will grasp the concepts.  
   My favorite day is Wednesday by far!  Obviously I love Fridays and Saturdays but during the school week, Wednesday is ultimately the best day.  It's the day you can look ahead and think about the weekend whereas on Friday, the weekend is already there for you.  On Wednesday's you know that you are half way done with the school week and a weekend is approaching.  Wednesday's always allow me to relax for a little bit because I get to think about two days in advance!  Also, Wednesday's mean that if you work extra hard for just two more days, you will be rewarded with a weekend!  How cool is that?
  xoxo,
Rachel <3 :)

Just The Desire to Blog

   It is currently 12:55am and I am somewhat tired but I feel more physically exhausted.  It's only the second full week of school and reality is setting in.  Schoolwork is beginning to pile on top of me once again, the tennis season will drag out my studying time, and I will have to start to prioritize everything.  I am not saying that these things are bad, it's just that I feel as if summer was literally yesterday.  Wasn't I working yesterday?  Where did the time go?  As I reminisce right now, back to the summer, I remember saying how I would rather be back in school than working at the day camp.  Now that I am into the whole "school routine," I feel as if I much rather be working than being in school.  Don't get me wrong, I love school and have a complete passion for everything I do in school, but in the day camp what I forgot about was that after work, I could just go home and do whatever I wanted to do.  I didn't have to worry about when a project was due, when a test/quiz was, when I was going to make time for studying.  I just did whatever I was feeling at that moment in time without hesitating.  I just wish I could go back in time and put the words about wanting to be in school back into my mouth.  I wish I could have enjoyed the summer more and stopped thinking about going back to school.
   The upcoming school days are going to be rough.  I have a quiz tomorrow, a test Thursday, and then three tests on Friday!  Sometimes I feel as if there aren't enough hours in the day.  Why can't the days be 27 hours instead of 24?  It would make my life 10x easier!  What I am doing to prepare for my exams, are to get ahead on any work I can in my lunch period and free periods.  Remember, "alone time is golden time."  Basically how I interpret that is anytime you are in a room where it is quiet, do something productive.  Take initiative and I guarantee that when you go home from school, you will feel more relaxed and prepared for your exams.  
   Since it is getting late, or should I say early (LOL) I am going to go.  I need my sleep for my quiz tomorrow and tennis match later in the day!  
xoxox,
Rachel <3 :)  

P.S-Sorry for the short and slightly boring entry (hahah)

ThE ScHoOl LiFe

   Do you ever feel that you are just so done with school and it's only September?  Well, that's how I feel. As I am studying, I came up with a great topic to talk about for my blog.  I couldn't wait to begin to write so I am writing to you now.
   It can be one of the worst feelings a student can have.  Feeling stressed, having anxiety, and feeling nervous.  That is how I am most of the time in and out of school.  I become filled with butterflies in the pit of my stomach 24/7.  I am constantly thinking "if I get a bad grade."  Don't ever, ever think that before you approach a test/quiz.  If you prepared for the test and there was absolutely nothing else you could have studied or reviewed, move on.  If you received a poor test score but you studied so hard, move on.  My motto in school is STM.  See the grade, talk about the grade, move forward.  You can't see that you received a poor grade and not even discuss it with your teacher.  The moving forward part goes all back to "learning from your mistakes."
    I am now coming to the conclusion that if I set reachable goals for myself, I can have a successful school year.  That is if I attempt to accomplish my goals.  One of my goals that I set for myself this year was to not procrastinate "as much."  I don't really count blogging as procrastinating only because it is somewhat "educational."  Also, don't set a goal like, "I want to get straight A+'s."  I never even set a goal like I want to get straight A's only because you just never know if there is a subject that could be a weakness for you and actually obtaining a B in the class could actually good for you in that moment. 
    Lastly (because I need to get back to studying LOL), I am now making a list of the things I need to do when I get home.  This works for me because lets say I get home from tennis (I play tennis for the school) at 6.  I need to eat dinner.  That would be an hour and now it's 7 but I must keep in mind that I also need to shower.  I will write down all of the written homework that is due for the next day down.  Then I will write SHOWER.  Under that I write all of the studying and things that were assigned but are not due the next day.  This levels out the things I can accomplish in a short amount of time.
    I hope I helped and could relate to some of you reading this!!!!
xoxoxox,
Rachel <3 :)
   

The Very First Week

After the first week of school,

What do I have to say?

There are people who think they're cool

And others who have different traits they portray.

This first week I learned,

To stay on top of my work

No matter the things I have yearned

I realized to always put on a smirk.

Even though the school year will be long,

I still have many miles to go.

I will keep my head up and stay strong.

For my knowledge is seeking to grow.

Since bedtime becomes of the essence,

Procrastination cannot exist.

I hope I don't need to be on many depressants.

Studying hard and listening I must not resist.

So there you have it,

My first week of school

I hope I have a good wit

For school is about to take a huge hit! 

It's Has Been a While

     It has been a while since my last posting.  After posting how terrible my experience was at work, I contemplated for a while and thought about how I could make my summer better, and I did.  I ended up working at the tennis part of the camp and it was amazing!  I felt an overwhelming amount of satisfaction from teaching children how to hit a tennis ball!
    I am now in school and I have to say it isn't at all that bad.  Maybe I should make that sentence a tad more positive.  School is actually pretty good.  My classes are okay and my teachers are okay.  There hasn't been a lot of homework since it's only the first full week of school.  I have my first quiz tomorrow in geometry.  When my teacher told the class that we were going to be having a quiz tomorrow with only one day to study for a five question quiz, I became very apprehensive.  I am without a doubt an anxious person.  When it comes to school, tests, homework, friends, my physical appearance, I become nervous.  With that I mean I have a lot of stress; about everything and anything.  It isn't the best quality a person can have but it's who I am. 
    On the very first day of school 9/3/13, at the very first bell 8:59am, I reminisced back to summer 2013.  "Was it a good one?  Did I accomplish everything I wanted to?  Overall, did I learn anything new?"  The answer was yes.  Even though most of the long, difficult days socially and emotionally were tough, I accomplished one goal that I had for the summer.  It was to do something outside of my comfort zone.  Working at a day camp along with the responsibilities that came along with it was outside of what I am use to.  
    The only thing I was most nervous for on the first day of school wasn't who was in my classes.  It was who I was going to sit with at lunch.  As I arrived to lunch seventh period, I looked around.  I noticed six girls I dislike from my grade, a swarm of freshmen, approximately twenty seniors, and about fifteen juniors.  Where were my friends?  Why was I put with people that I don't talk to?  I had the biggest urge to cry and to crawl up into a little ball and wish I could just be at home where I am most comfortable; but I thought back to the goal I set for myself earlier in the summer.  I couldn't just forget that I wanted to be exposed to situations outside of my comfort zone.  I could have switched my lunch period.  I could have switched many of my classes around just so I could have a friend that I am comfortable with.  Instead, I chose not to change it.  I learned so much over the summer that the skills I learned at work, I could use in school.  And so I did!  I now sit with a girl who is a junior and it turns out that we have a lot in common!  For those of you nervous about lunch and who to sit with, give it time!  Trust me, you are not the only person who doesn't have a friend in your lunch period.  Maybe your best friend is in that very lunchroom and you don't even know it!  
    If you guys reading my blog have any questions or comments, please post them in the comments section below!  I would be happy to answer your questions in more of my blogs!  I am going to be writing blogs hopefully more than once a week about school and issues that most teenagers, including myself, might face!  Thank you so much! 
       xoxoxooxox
Rachel:)