Take me out to the ball game

Hey everyone! Last weekend I went to "America's Favorite Pastime"... a baseball game! Every state has one or two teams and my area's team is the Angels. Its a great chance to hang out with your friends, eat some hot dogs, and cheer for your favorite team. Although the games can get boring at times, the last innings are always the best because the scores can become very close and your team has to work very hard to win! At the game, the Angels lost by one run in the very last inning! What a bummer! It was a very fun game though, and a great thing to do while in the United States.

What's your favorite sports team? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Driving Around

Hey everyone! This week was crazy, from having tests in almost every class to a tennis match every day of the week. Eleventh grade is one of the most stressful and busiest years of all high school! Along with all our classes, we have to study for the SAT and ACT, start applying to colleges, and get our licenses! When we turn sixteen in the US, right around the end of tenth grade or beginning or eleventh grade, we can take a driving test to earn our driving license! First you take classes to learn all about the road and driving rules. Then you take a written test and if you pass, you get your learning permit. Once you get your permit you should drive as much as possible to be ready for your actual driving test to get your license! Luckily, you get to have three lessons with a driving instructor to make sure you know everything for the test. You drive one of their special cars, so they can take control if necessary. I took my last driving lesson today, and I take my license test in a week. Wish me luck! We don't have trains and busses to take us to school and our activities, so it is very important to have a driver's license and a car.

What is your dream car? Let me know in the comments!




xoxo

Friday- Fun Day

100 points for 11th grade.. thats me!

performers at the pep rally

Hey Everyone! Friday was our school's first pep rally, American football game, and dance! Each friday before a big game or event we have a pep rally, where the cheerleaders preform, the band plays a song, and students participate in funny games. And I was chosen to be in it! I had to stick my face in a pie and find the piece of gum at the bottom! Eww! Then I had to be the first to blow a bubble. And guess what, I won! I won 100 points for my grade. We have an ongoing competition between grades to see who can get the most points, and I'm glad I got some for my grade.

American Football in action

Cheerleaders in a stunt

That night was the first football game! Our school mascot is a hawk; it's the animal that represents our school. It's something for us to cheer for at games. The school we were playing were the timberwolves. So of course, we have to beat those timberwolves! The game got off to a rocky start, with us loosing in the beginning. Then in the final seconds, we kicked a field goal to win! Go Hawks! In the middle of the game we have a fifteen minute break, or half time, where the cheerleaders, band, and color guard preform. Color guard is dancing while twirling and throwing flags.

Beat those timberwolves!

Cheer performing at half time

Band and color guard performing

Lastly was the dance! The theme was Ahoy! A Dance At Sea, so everyone came to the football game in their underwater outfits. The game ended at 9:30 p.m., and the dance started right after that and went until 11p.m. Dances are a really fun was for the whole school to hang out in a social environment! Unfortunately, we only have about five every year. I guess the shortage makes it even more special!

Mermaids at the football game

football running through the sign

If you could have any animal as your mascot, what would it be? And what would you wear to an underwater themed dance? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Around the Campus

School is back in session, and everyone is getting adjusted! We have a packed schedule, which keeps everyone busy. We have about 6-7 classes in total going throughout the day. Classes normally start at 8 a.m., go for a little less than an hour, and then we have 5 minuets to get to our next class. This makes it hard to socialize and stop by your locker between classes, but there is a fifteen minute break and a forty minute lunch in the middle of the day. As you can see everyone is hustling to their classes! 

We have something that we call "zero period" which is a class that starts an hour earlier than all the rest. I have a zero period so I can fit all my classes in my schedule, but boy is it hard to wake up at 6 a.m. every morning! 

Some students have a zero period to get their classes done with early and then can leave at lunch. For me and many other athletes, our schedule is packed and we have to stay at school until 4 on practice days and even as late as 6 on game days! We are all dedicated to our sports, so it makes the long day bearable. 

We are all looking forward to the first football game on friday followed by the first dance directly after! The theme of the dance is Ahoy, a dance at sea! It will be a fun event that the whole school will attend.

What time do you start and finish school? Do you have big sporting or social events at your school? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo 

ACT- ready, set, test!

Studying hard

Hey everyone! This Saturday I took the ACT, or American College Testing. This test is very similar to the SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test. Both are tests that are required to be taken when applying to a United States college.  Different colleges have different requirements on how high the test score has to be to be admitted to their college. These tests measure overall knowledge, along with problem solving and critical thinking skills. You can take just the SAT, just the ACT, or both. The SAT is scored out of 2400 while the ACT is out of 36. Both have around the same number and types of questions. They both have an English section, where you read passages and answer questions about it, a mathematics section, with questions that require the use of algebra, geometry, and trigonometry, another English section, that tests your knowledge on grammar and sentence rules, and an essay. Some noticeable differences between the two are the SAT tests you more on vocabulary and critical thinking skills, while the ACT tests you on what you already know, and has a science section that the SAT does not. They both are equally important and equally challenging! I have spent this summer taking classes for the ACT and SAT, and I take the SAT in October! I am very nervous to get my score back for the ACT! However, you can take the test as many times as you want until you get a score you're happy with.

Here is the website for the ACT:
http://www.actstudent.org/
Many students from outside the United States do not know about the ACT, but it is a great testing option if you want to go to college in the United States!

So, do you think you would be better on the ACT or SAT? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

First Day of School

Hey Everyone! So today was my first day of school! It was very hectic, but also exciting! My schedule of classes consists of English, Spanish, Physics, Calculus, United States History, Model United Nations, and Tennis. I am in the Advance Placement program at my school, so all my classes go a little faster and are a little harder than the normal class. I also moved everything into my locker today, and its  a bottom locker! Having to scrunch down every day to reach it is no easy task. At the end of the day, we change for our sports and go straight to practice or games. This makes for a long day, especially in hot weather! It was over 100 degrees at school today. This weather makes me want to go to the beach or go swimming, but instead I'm back in school.

First day of school!

Holding all my stuff before
school! Luckily we have lockers
to put everything into.

It was great to see all my friends at school, but I am not looking forward to leaving summer behind!
What was your favorite summer memory? And what's a good outfit to wear in any weather, hot or cold? And if you wear a uniform, how do you spice up your uniform to let your individual style show? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo

Nothing's Sweeter than Summertime

Me and my friends before the concert

Although summer is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean these last couple of days can’t be special! Americans love music, and a great way to listen to your favorite artist is by attending their concert! I went to one of my favorite singers concert last week, Taylor Swift, and it was so fun! The concert was in Los Angeles, which is a big city where the best concerts take place. Since its about two hours away from my house, my friends and I took a limo to the concert! It was a great beginning to a great night. Taylor Swift is a great performer whose songs are truly inspirational. Below are some pictures of my favorite moments of the concert. Who would be your favorite person to see live in concert? Let me know in the comments! 

Since sports are starting up again, my tennis team had a pool party to ring in the new season! Pool parties are another great way to celebrate summer. With warm weather, there is nothing better than cooling off in a pool or sliding down a water slide. My whole team fit on the slide and stayed long enough to pose for a picture! It wasn’t easy though! For lunch, we made panini sandwiches and drank cool lemonade. When the weather is hot, we love to drink homemade lemonade! What’s your favorite thing to do on a hot summer day? Comment and let me know! 

Some of the team members

On the slide!

Hope you guys all had a great summer and are having a great school year

xoxo

Let's Get Back into the Swing of Things

Although school has not started yet, sports teams have already started practicing. One of the main sports in American high schools is American football. Although this sport is incredibly fun to watch, the players must work extremely hard. The football team has been practicing twice a day, five days a week. Talk about a workout! Luckily for our school, our football team's dedication results in victory! Our team was undefeated last year, and hopefully we will be again this year!



Me and my cheer friends at a football game!



The football games are so fun. Everyone has a ton of school spirit and the stands are filled with students, teachers, and parents all dressed in brown and gold! (Our school colors). Some students just wear a shirt or jacket with the school name on it, but others go all out, completely covering their body with brown and gold clothes, along with painting their face! School spirit is a great part of our school, and it makes all the events entertaining! I will post some pictures and talk more about these games after the first football game!

Cheerleaders practicing

Another fun part of a football game is the cheerleaders! Every game, they are in front of the field leading the students in cheers. This helps keep the school spirit flowing throughout the game, and gets all students involved. If it weren't for them the games would be a lot more boring! A lot of my friends are cheerleaders and they come and visit me during their breaks. There may be some stereotypes about cheerleaders thinking they are mean and rule the school, but they are nice and spread school spirit at the games!

Practice makes perfect

Team meeting!

Although tennis is not such a popular sport to watch at the school, it is a big deal to me! Our team practiced for three weeks in July and started practicing again at the end of August. We have to work very hard because our first game is the first day of school! When we have away matches, we have to leave our last class early, change, then ride a bus over to the match. The matches can go for a long time and sometimes we don't get home till late! Its a lot of work, but its all worth it. 

What sports interest you? Would you like to attend a football game? Would you dress up in a ton of spirit gear or none at all? Let me know in the comments!

xoxo