An Interesting Thing You Probably Didn't Know

Let me just clear this up. I'm not visually an artistic person. I can barely draw or paint a masterpiece. But I do know how to sculpt a little bit. I'm not talking like clay pottery or stone structures. I'm talking about sand. Yes, sand. I live about 4 or 5 hours away from the beach. Every time we visit we naturally visit the sandy shores and salty waters. I do more than just lay down on a towel and bake in the sun though. I love helping my father create sandcastles. I'm not just talking about the ones automatically formed in a shovel and pail. I mean legit ones. They're not so easy to create. I don't help with any of the fine, sculpting details. That's what my dad does. I help him create the foundation. When we pick a spot to create the sculpture, we do right where the wet sand and dry sand meet. The foundation is basically the base or structure of the entire thing. You have to do it exactly right or else your sandcastle will crumble into little pieces. So I take the long walk between the ocean and the structure to help form the base. This is how you make a solid base. You place sand, then pack it water back and forth. Trust me walking back and forth to the ocean to collect water is a major workout. We surround it with a roofing tarp to help from a cylindrical base. After adding a couple more additional bases on top of the main base, my dad starts chipping away the sand with random kitchen tools, a water sprayer, and a straw. I don't partake in that part. I usually just build a little wall or a wall with arches in front of the sculpture to highlight the main structure more and as a temporary barrier when the ocean comes to it.

  

I love sand sculptures because they aren't permanent. They don't last long. They entertain those who have an observant I to see the sculpture. The only things that can preserve them are photographs. It's kind of relaxing to see the ocean wash it away. It's feels so peaceful watching mother nature take it's course. It reminds you that life happens for a reason. We may lose people who we once thought were our friends. We may have formed a great relationship with someone one day, only to see it wash away the next. Sandcastles are like that too. No matter what happened, no matter how things just drifted apart, the only important thing is the great memories that were captured.  

Oh, Happy Easter!

Random thought of the moment: Every one says you only live once but I just truly think that you obviously love Oreos. YOLO.

It's Time To End the Madness

It's the last day of March. To be honest, I'm not much of a collegiate basketball fan but it doesn't mean I haven't been feeling crazy this month. This past week has been quite emotional. It's been hard to focus in class and it felt like the world was moving in slow motion. This past week I heard from the last few colleges. I was rejected from Dook. (I was expecting that one to come though. I would have been honored to have been waitlisted.) Also, I was waitlisted at Wake Forest. This one really surprised me. I was happy to be waitlisted but I knew I couldn't go there because of the price. Then I found out about Davidson College. Upon opening the email, I discovered I was rejected. It was highly disappointing. Davidson College was one of my top schools. Everything about it was perfect. I knew it was going to be tough, but I still had some hope that I would be one of the 490 chosen out of 4800 people who applied. Reading the admissions letter was one tough pill to swallow. Perhaps though this was a blessing in disguise. The last three schools all have something that would prevent me from attending even if I was accepted: the price tag. The only possible way I could have attended any of these schools was through some sort of merit scholarship. Also, if I was to be accepted, I would have been pretty hard headed about attending the school and much tension would have occurred between my parents and me.

 

The night I learned of my painful rejection turned out to be a positive evening. After discovering my rejection, I finally made a choice. I finally decided where to spend the next four years of my life. I decided to become a Tarheel. Everything felt so surreal. It hadn't hit me yet (and still completely hasn't) that I didn't have to wait anymore. I didn't have to mark the days of a calendar. I could finally just sit back and say, "Yes! I'm going to be a freshmen next year!" My family was so excited when I pressed enroll on the computer. I still haven't been able to completely accept the fact that I'm started a new chapter of my life in the next few months. The past two days I've signed up for orientation (June 18-19 anyone?) and completed housing registration (I mainly chose all female dorms and also applied for a living learning community. Oh I'm going potluck!) Today, my mom bought my siblings and me some Carolina apparel since I currently didn't own any. 

I've also been researching more and more about all the academic opportunities at UNC. I recently discovered that Carolina has a Cognitive science minor. This sparked great interest in me because I've also been interested in how music, learning, and the brain correlate with one another. I think it would be awesome to pair this up with my music major. 

I have five more weeks until my college classes at LRU are done. FIVE MORE WEEKS. It will be probably the most stressful last weeks of my entire K-12 year. I have to prepare, practice, and prepare for the Science Olympiad State Competition, my Senior Piano Recital, Prom, College Exams, AP Literature and Composition exam, Music Festivals, and Band Concerts. It's time to end the college March madness and push for the finish line. I have to be consistent and intense (my swim coach would love me saying this) in my academic studies in order to successfully finish. I'm ready to finish this year with a bang. I'm not going to let anyone ruin it for me. All I'm going to do is try my best and ignore distractions. I'm not going to let anyone's opinion or sarcastic comments effect me. I'm going to do my best in whatever I do and if anyone has a problem with that.. well, maybe they need to to take a good look at themselves before they attempt to hurt me. Guess what? It's time to make the impossible, simply possible.