Movies!

Film. Cinema. Theater. Entertainment.  MOVIES!

One of my favorite fun activities to do is watch movies, especially with friends and family.  Not only is it entertaining, but you don't have those awkward moments during them, which is always a plus.

So here it goes...

The Best Sad Movies:

1.  The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

2.  The Notebook

3.  The Fault in Our Stars (It's not out yet, but it's going to be great and it's going to be sad, so it belongs here)

4.  Marley and Me

5.  Because of Winn Dixie 

6.  UP

Honestly, this list could go on forever.  I think I've cried in every movie I've ever watched, but these are  some of the best of them.... I know, I know, I'm such a baby when it comes to movies(:

The Best Rom Coms:

1. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
2. 27 Dresses
3. 50 First Dates
4. 13 Going on 30
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Love Actually

Another one that could go on forever... I'm just a sappy movie kind of person, what can I say?

The Best Chick Flicks: (yeah, I know most of these are Rom Coms...)

1. Mean Girls
2. The Nanny Diaries
3. Easy A
4. Brides Maids
5. P.S. I love you
6. Letters to Juliet
7. Confessions of a Shopaholic
8. Legally Blonde (Don't judge me... I said don't!  No, please, really, I'm usually a good person...)

Yep... I'm a girl at heart

The Best Disney Movies:

Let's start with all of them, shall we?

We all know that Frozen is automatically the best, other than that though...

1. Monsters Inc.
2. Ice Age (all of them)
3. Despicable Me (I want a minion more than you know....)
4. Mulan
5. Cinderella
6. Snow White
7. Sleeping Beauty
8. Beauty and the Beast
9. Finding Nemo
10. Tangled
11. Cars
12. Toy Story (I refuse to give away a single stuffed animal because of Toy Story 3)

I don't want to type them all, just watch all of the Disney movies that have ever come out and your life will be semi-complete.  It will be complete when you know every line of every song of every movie.

The Movies that Have Changed My Life:

1. The Breakfast Club

Image Creds: IMDB

That's it. Honestly.  If you haven't seen it yet, watch it!  Of course there are other ones that I really love, but none of them have overwhelmed me as much as this one.

Why I am a Nerd

On the Tetons trip I went on last week, I became friends with a few new people, which is great. However, one of them doesn't believe that I am a nerd (the good kind).

This is the inspiration for this wonderful blogpost about why I am a nerd.


1.  I'm relatively socially awkward

This isn't a bad thing, at least not completely.  It simply means that if you give me a compliment I will probably blush a lot.  It also means that if I'm in a room and the majority of the people there are not my best friends, I will hide in a corner and play Flow on my phone.

I know, you're all jealous of my social skills.

2. I do homework, a lot...

...and I get worried if I don't do it.  I probably do about an hour of necessary must-keep-my-grade-at-an-A homework a night.  The other two hours I usually do is to get ahead, get extra credit, or simply give myself something to do when I don't want to sleep.

Wait, did I say when I don't want to sleep.  But, but, I'm a teenager.  I have to sleep. (<---jokes)

3. My favorite thing ever is Sherlock

Not only am I in love with the TV show, but I've read every single Sherlock Holmes story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  I kind of like someone named Benedict Cumberbatch too, who plays Sherlock in the BBC TV show.

My friend Benedict Cumberbatch (a.k.a sherlock).

Image creds: national geographic

Fun Fact!  I've also read about two hundred Nancy Drew Books in my life...  I guess I'm a mystery person...

4.  I have a lot of quirks

I'm past the point of trying to hide them... I'm open about the weird things (and not so weird things) that I do.  If you want to read all of these, I have a blog post about it.

5. I'm not a party person

I really don't like large groups of people (basically ten or more). I especially am not into the drinking / drug stuff, which is okay, even if I am a "Park City kid".   I much prefer watching a sappy movie and eating a lot of chocolate...


This isn't to say I don't have friends though, because I have some really great ones that mean a lot to me.  I also tend to get really attached if I do become friends with, so to any of you reading this, my deepest apologies for my clinginess... Just know I really appreciate you(:

There are also a lot of other things that make me a nerd, and I could go on, but I must go complete my other homework!

A week in the mountains

Ok, yes, I do live in Park City, which means I'm always in the mountains, but this week I was in different mountains!  Yay for me!  +10 lifestyle points (points received for making the most out of a moment) awarded to me!

The other mountains mentioned above are called the Grand Tetons.  I'm just outside of Jackson Hole at the Teton Science School campus.  The week has been filled with lot's of fun, friends, sun, snow, sleep and even a bit of homework (Notice that caffeine wasn't mentioned in this list, I've been slightly deprived.  It was totally worth it though!)

The beautiful view of the Tetons.

Image Creds: tetontastic

I want to focus on one specific part of this week though–the people.  When I first applied and got accepted to the trip, I was so worried that I wouldn't know anyone on the trip and that I was going to be the awkward one in the corner, which seems to be a common event when I go on school trips.  I had less anxiety though when I found out that a few of my friends were going too!  My plan was to stick with them for the entire week.

That plan didn't work out too well.  I ended up meeting a lot of really cool people that I didn't know before.  I was forced to step outside of my social bubble (although I'm not socially exclusive, I promise!) and talk with people who I didn't see on a daily basis, and it ended up being better than I thought.  I now have a few more people to call friends, and that idea makes this week a whole lot better.

For readers to take away:  It's okay to feel safe with certain people–everyone does.  It's also okay to step outside your comfort zone once in a while, and the chances are it'll turn out great!

10 Baby Animals That Will Make You Smile

The other day, I was babysitting a family.  One of the girls, who is four, started talking about how much she loved animals.  So, I decided to show her some of the cutest baby animal pictures on the internet.

So here goes it:

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Look at those little arms and little ears.  So cute!  

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

It's a kitten.  In a cup.  Oh my gooddddnesssss (:  Could a kitten be any cuter?

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Awww look at 'em all bundled up and cozy.

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Look at the face.  Look at it!  Awww...

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

It's so small(: That's all I have to say about this one...

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

IT'S CUDDLING WITH A TEDDY BEAR!  Could this be any cuter???

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Nawwwww (:  Need I say more?

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Puppies!  Definitely the cutest things... especially when you play with them!  Look at the little one yawning... adorable (:

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Oh my goodness... I love this too much<3

Image Courtesy: the design inspiration

Awwwww it's a piggy(:  And this is why I don't eat meat 

Aren't they just the cutest?

All of these pictures are taken from the design inspiration, however if the seventy they have don't fit your needs, you can always google!

Okay I have to go look at some more baby animals... I'm such a four year old on the inside.

See ya!

Quirks of myself (:

Quirk
/noun/
1. an unusual habit or way of behaving
2. something strange that happens by chance

Oops... that wasn't the correct format... oh well (:

So yeah.  My quirks.  I don't consider myself an exceptionally quirky person, I mean, overall I consider myself relatively normal.

Wait no. I can't lie.  I have a lot of quirks.  I mean, A LOT.  It would take ages to go through all of them.  So lets not do that.  I'll just tell you a few (:


1. FUZZY SOCKS!
So they're my favorite.  If you ask any of my friends, they will tell you every time I am with them, some form of fuzzy socks are on my feet or in a bag.  I know a lot of girls (and some guys) like them too, but my love is extreme.  I have over 25 pairs of them, and my favorites are from my older sister.  They're gray with little polar bear faces on and little ears and ahhh I just can't control my love for them!

But it's not just a quirk.  It's a need.  I have extremely cold feet 100% of the time, so yeah you could say I need them.

2. Studying...

...After the test.

So a genuinely weird thing I do.  After a test, I will look up every answer that I wasn't sure on... I know.  It's just odd. I'm a nerd..

3. Darkness isn't my Friend
When I lived in Hong Kong, the city lights always filled the sky and it was never completely dark.  When I moved back to the US, it was completely dark and I always imagine people in my room.  So yeah... I didn't sleep for three weeks.  I still sleep with a stuffed animal... but it's a pillow pet, which makes it sort of socially acceptable...

Wait who am I kidding?  I'm a teenager who sleeps with a stuffed animal.

I'll just let that sink in for a second...

4. Resorting to the Hoodie

A lot of the time, I'll pick a semi nice outfit to wear to school, but as soon as I put it on, I feel self conscious and immediately take it off.  So, I go for the next thing I see in my closet, a comfy, slightly oversized hoodie. It works...

5. Resorting to my hair being down

So the same thing as number four... I'll do my hair in a French braid or curl it then decide it's too different, and brush it all out...  Wasting Time, yay!

Ok, so it might take a few less times, but still, you get the point (:

Image Creds: 100kteenagerposts on instagram

6. Anti–Procrastinating

So I'm bad at being a teenager... I get super stressed out if I hold something off until the last minute because I'm worried there won't be enough hours in the day to do it, so I usually do it all at once.

7.  Falling asleep early

Ask Lulu, I can't really stay up later than 11:00, especially on the weekends (which is ironic, really).

8. Waking up early

Related to the last one, I can't sleep later than 9:00... it's super depressing.  (I don't think that the saying "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise" applies to teenagers)

From this, you probably figured out some of the most embarrassing things about me... which leads to me to:

9. I'm an open book

There are few things I'm not willing to share on the interweb(:

Goodbye fellow humans,  hope you enjoyed learning all of my secrets!

Common Chinese Phrases

For my middle school years, I lived in Hong Kong.  While I was there, I started learning Chinese, as did almost every other student there.  Because all of my friends understood it, we would say short phrases in Chinese every so often.

When I moved back to the US, the habit stuck... and I occasionally forget that I'm no longer surrounded by people who know Mandarin.  So, I decided I would tell you, my fellow friends, what I'm saying in Chinese so you don't think I'm insulting you, because I promise, I'm not! (I'm not THAT mean... Just kidding... I'm really not a mean person, at least according to Devon)

Both "English" and "Chinese"... English is on the right and is written with traditional characters (the hard ones)  and Chinese is on the left and is written with simplified characters (the slightly easier ones that I learned back in +852) (+852 is the area code for Hong Kong).  Image credits to wikipedia.

1. Hello

你好
Nǐ hǎo (Pronounced knee.how)


2. Thank You

谢谢
Xièxiè (Pronounced shay.shay)

3. What

什么
Shénme (Pronounced shun.ma)

4. Why

为什么
Wèishénme (Pronounced way.shun.ma)

5. Very Good

很好
hěnhǎo (Pronounced hen.how)

Thank you to Google for helping me out with the characters (:

If you spend any amount of time with me, these phrases would most likely be good to know (:  but you don't have too...

Have a supreme day (:

One of my Flaws is Chasing Cars... I've had it for 100 years

For those of you who don't know Bastille, Snow Patrol, or Five for Fighting don't know what this blog post is about yet... Well, it's about music.

Music isn't like candy crush–we don't get addicted to it (haha yeah Candy Crush is a bit addicting... just a smidge) and it has actual meaning.

Last year, I listened to Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and even Glee (thank God I'm out of that stage...).  But I didn't listen to them because I felt an emotional connection to them, I listened to them because I didn't know what else to listen to.  They were just noise.

However, this school year I discovered bands and music that I could RELATE to.  It's really important to be able to relate to music because it helps you get through tough situations (and as teenagers, we have A LOT of those, am I right?)

Image generated by wordle

My favourite songs:

1. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol

"Forget what we’re told

Before we get too old

Show me a garden that's bursting into life"

I have no words to express my love for this song... It tells a story about love and excitement and discovery.  Although I'm not in a relationship, it means a lot to me.  The beat is great too, because it's just fast enough to be interesting, but it's not boring.  Also, something you should know before we go on, fast songs aren't really my thing...

2. Desperado by The Eagles 

"Desperado, why don't you come to your senses? 

Come down from your fences, open the gate 

It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you 

You better let somebody love you, before it's too late"

Part of the reason this song means so much to me is because my Dad used to sing it to me so I would fall asleep when I was just a tiny child. This song is full of artistic metaphors and messages of hope, as cheesy as that does sound...It's super relaxing and is my go to song when I'm feeling down.

3. 100 Years by Five for Fighting

15 there's still time for you

Time to buy and time to choose

Hey 15, there's never a wish better than this

When you only got a hundred years to live

No Words.  Just, no words.

This is such a great song.  So if you want the short version of it's meaning, well YOLO.   But it's so much more.  It describes different points in your life and the ups and downs of it, while saying that when you're young (specifically 15 years old) there's still so much for you to experience.  If anyone is feeling bad about their life, I highly recommend it (:  I know it helped me get through a lot!

*Note: These are my own interpretations of songs... sorry if you don't agree, but you also don't live inside my brain...

Some other REALLY great songs:

1. Flaws - Bastille

2. Pompei - Bastille

3. Let it go - The Beatles

4. Imagine - John Lennon 

5. Let Her Go - Passenger

6. Run - Snow Patrol

7. Counting Stars - One Republic

8. Hotel California - The Eagles

9. Aftermath - Lifehouse

10. Falling In - Lifehouse

                                      Along with about a million others...