Enjoy e@ch @nd every moment.

  Life is a roller coaster, a series of convoluted twists and unexpected turns, some seen, some not.  It is also like a roller coaster in the way that it goes by in the blink of an eye, so fleeting that you can't fully savor each moment of the ride.  This is something that I believe everybody should learn to do.  Something hit me this week, as I took on the semiannual endeavor of a dress rehearsal for dance.  As the spotlight shown on me in my shimmering dress, turning my pointe shoes pearly white and illuminating the space around me, I realized that everything, even my time at my dance studio, has a time where its curtain will close forever.  My time at Communications High School is finite.  The college years will be a blur, and before I know it I'll be a young adult, a middle-aged woman, and finally a frail, elderly lady.  The pages of my book will turn at a scarily fast pace and when the time comes, the last chapter will end.  this is why I want to learn to live in the moment and embrace every second of the life I have left to live.  My winter show that I've been attending ceaseless rehearsals for has finally dawned upon me.  Tonight, the dances we've been practicing for months must be impeccable.  Recitals bring so much worry and anxiety.  You must have the proper attire, shoes, hair, accessories, and overall confidence for the stage.  However, among this impending stage turmoil, I intend to stop behind the closed curtain and just appreciate how hard I worked to make it to tonight, and assure myself that no matter how many mistakes I may make, the potential to perform still remains in me.  I guess the point of this post is that we should always appreciate life's little moments.  As Frank Howard Clark said, "Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made of little things."  By taking each individual moment for what it is, we can live life much more fully.

The phrases in the above image list some of life's little moments that we must learn to cherish.

Time M@n@gement is Key

It seems like there is never enough time in a day to fulfill all of the things we intend to do our fullest potential, to honor all of our commitments, and to simply relax and breathe.  24 hours seems like such a meager time frame to accomplish the thousands of tasks and projects that cloud our minds, even if we don't realize it.  This week, through experience, I learned that time managemnt and the ability to sort through your priorities are vital in this life.  As a paradigm, there's always school.  What started off as leisurely Monday blossomed into a day of multifarious assignments, warnings of tests, and long term projects thrown on my plate.  Dance did not ease the chaos, as practices were becoming extended and requiring more effort and flexibility of our schedules, when really I had none to offer.  And of course, there was always the impending threat of buying and assmbling gifts for the upcoming festivties of the month and still alloting time for a bit of a social life.  Yes, everyone has these challenges that they must face, being oversheduled and such, but of course I also had to find the time to bake about 120 cookies, no exaggeration used.  Italian anise glazed cookies for our traditional Romeo and Juliet baking challenge, and delicate, symmetrically sprinkled wreath cutouts for the annual cookie party.  On another note, in the words of Delmore Schwartz, "Time is the school in which we learn, time is the fire in which we burn."  If we do not control our time and allocate it properly, it will control us.

Sometimes there may simply not be enough time to get everything done.

Christm@s Cheer. Let it come to you.

Staring wide-eyed at the first glimpse of a brightly lit Christmas tree.  Sitting by a fireplace sipping a hot drink with Christmas music drifting lazily in the background.  Making a snow angel on a fresh, quiet blanket of Christmas snow.  Yes, it's December, and Christmas is on its way.  Being the sentimental person I am, I have always loved the holiday season.  My December encompasses the annual neighborhood cookie party, my best friend's birthday as well as my own, countless rehearsals for the dance winter showcase, themed Christmas Eves with my crazy relatives, and an Italian inspired Christmas feast and mass in an elegant church on December 25th.  However, yesterday was when the first traces of Christmas spirit started to ebb their way into my being, as we dragged box after box up from the basement to begin our annual decorating.  Everyone has that one decoration they look forward to putting in that designated spot year after year.  Mine has almost no relation to Christmas.  It's a little wind-up kitchen scene, inherited by my grandmother, that plays an airy, beautiful carol as the little figures move.  The mother, with a pink dress, lace apron, and tight bun atop her head, moves back and forth as she rolls out a pie crust.  The girl, with a blue gown, rosy stained cheeks, and red hair smoothly stirs the filling.  And the details, the cat in the bucket, the tiny ingredients that adorn the shelves, and the ornate window that reflects light, make it all the more special.  Watching the figures come alive in awe, I felt the first feelings of Christmas take over my tummy and spread warmth through my veins.  It's the greatest feeling in the world.  Oh, and don't forget the words of Buddy the Elf from the movie we all know and love, Elf, "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear."  The holidays are here, cherish each and every minute.

This is the cover for the album that has my favorite Christmas piece,
 "Christmas/ Sarajevo 12/24 (Instrumental)".

Be @ hero. Stop HIB.

Harassment.  Intimidation. Bullying.  At some point, every human has experienced or witnessed one of the three words that comprise HIB.  Harassment.  A freshman walking down the hallway, receiving not-too-friendly punches from upperclassmen left and right.  A student grappling with a load of books, only to find them knocked out of their grasp and sprawled out across the floor the next second, with distant, scornful laughter cluttering the background.  A depressed girl logging online to find outright gossip spread over social networks, the tears rolling down her cheeks and painting them pink.  Intimidation.  The popular kids in school, so effortlessly accepted, while the outcasts cling to the walls, afraid of being judged for who they are.  Cliques, where the cost of admission might be acting in a way you know is wrong, or allowing yourself t be shaped and formed into someone you're not.  A gray cloud of peer pressure looming over your head, a bully in itself, following you and influencing your every move.  Bullying.  The physical blows imposed by the insecure upon the misfits.  Emotional instability from exclusion.  The constant social obstacle course, the hurdles and hoops you must overcome to fit in.  Labels to the max. "Fat." "Anorexic." "Ugly." And of course other ones that are too vulgar to even mention in a post.  Evidently, this must stop immediately.  Everyone has a right to security and safety that we must ensure.  I challenge everyone to reach out to others that are hurt, and even those that don't seem to be.  You never know how much a kind gesture can affect a life.  According to Romain Rolland, "A hero is a man who does what he can."  If you can help a victim of HIB, don't let anything stop you.

Just as you would follow any other stop sign, follow this one too.

Le@ve time for yourself. Spe@k.

We all have those times of our life that are absolutely packed to the brim, never leaving us a spare moment.  For me, Thursday was the kickoff of what would be the most overplanned, unidle few weeks of my life.  I walked around with transitional words and phrases clouding my mind, vocab flashcards in one hand, a phone loaded with text messages awaiting answers in the other, my iPod shoved in my ears as visions of choreography danced in my head.  Yet, today it took its toll.  With six hours of sleep and a winding road of activity laid out before me, I broke.  My stomach churned and twisted painfully, I felt lightheaded, and chills swept over my body in regular cycles.  All day I kept telling myself "Pull through, it's just a day.  Go home, work, and then relax."  But my body seemed to groan in anguish at the very idea of sitting through an entire day of class.  Finally, I spoke up and told my health teacher I needed to go home.  No fever, no vomiting, just pure stress.  All the way home I frantically offered up excuses to my mom about why I had to leave early and the benefits and consequences of my choice and so on.  Contrarily, I realized, I was convincing myself.  The lesson that can be learned from this is it is absolutely vital to rejuvanate your body, or you will never be able to work up to your full potential.  In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nobody can bring you peace but yourself."  So instead of getting a head start on that long term project every time, settle down and watch a show. And most importantly speak what you feel, whether it's to others or to yourself. You'd be surprised what you will find.

We must balance the scale between stress and relaxation to live a healthy lifestyle.

Ch@nge c@n h@ppen @t @ny time.

Before a debate, a challenge, an opportunity to speak and thereafter be beaten down by an opponent, your heart is already a restless bird, fluttering wildly in your rib cage.  But when one of your teammates doesn't show up on the day of the discourse?  Now that's stressful.  This week, my history class had to face each other off in a political related debate.  Meanwhile, this is Communications High School, we can listen and rebuttal opinions, it comes as naturally as walking to us.  But this wasn't just any debate.  Oh no. This was for points.  And when points are involved, the competitive spirit is unleashed.  All weekend, my team divided our strong points, came up with a sequence, and mapped our way to victory step by step.  And then sickness hit.  Our whole plan was torn like a door off of its hinges.  Somehow, we still emerged victorious over the other team, who also suffered from a missing member.  Then again, I know how.  Sometimes planning is not the key to success; but rather adaptation to sudden changes in the environment, sudden changes in standards, sudden changes in expectations.  In the words of Stephen Hawking, "Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change."  For me, one who always thought I could acquire all my knowledge from books and thorough study of them, this came as a real shock.

Change can be, and often is, unexpected.