Hell Week (MDIP)

Usually I do MDIP posts in list form, but I feel like changing it up and trying some narration instead. This is the week before AP testing, which I have come to realize is "Hell Week," especially for seniors, who have senior finals in addition to APs. Yesterday I had a WPA during tutorial, an AP Stats final during fourth, an AP Bio quiz at lunch, and the middle schoolers for speech and debate after school. If that wasn't difficult enough, I couldn't sleep last night because I was anxious and stressed, and this morning I woke up to Larry vomiting again (I don't think it's a major health issue, just some bad food he ate, so he's okay now).

Today I had the AP Bio final and it feels like such a relief to have that over with. Now the only thing I have to worry about is AP Art and finishing the portfolio for that test, which is due in a week. I still have four pieces to make, but the last few are going to be ramshackle filler pieces that won't matter much anyway. I'm not stressed about any AP tests at all to be honest, because I've already gotten into college, and I'm not going to be able to use many of those credits anyway. In other school news, the book we're reading in English is Into the Wild, and I'm actually really enjoying it.

The weather has transitioned to a wicked, suffocating heat. Since Thursday is the late day of Diana and I, after we finished with out work, we went to Yogurtland. I went for a fruit theme, with mango, strawberry, blood orange ice, and pom berry lemon tart, topped off with coconut, gummi worms, two flavors of popping boba (highly recommend), and of course, the essential waffle wafer.

I came home to a surprise today; the grad gifts have started coming in. I actually don't know if it's a grad gift, or a "Congratulations on Berkeley" gift, but a colleague of my dad's gave me a small Tiffany necklace, which is tremendous, as Tiffany's isn't exactly cheap. To be honestly, I am more in love with the box than I am with the actual necklace (I was a little mad when my mom opened up the box before I even saw it and ruined the bow, but I tied it back together). I'm not sure if it's because I'm not used to wearing necklaces, or if it's because the chain is just that short, but it does feel a bit tight. It is very adorable, and I plan on wearing it constantly because it's the only real necklace I own.

Before going to Yogurtland, we also stopped by Diana's house, and I picked out some nail polish that I plan on wearing to Senior Ball – purple with silver detailing. Ideally, I'd like to do a purple-white-purple ombre pattern with some silver detailing, but I've never tried ombre nails, so I think I'm going to play it safe. Since the theme is "A Spring Affair," I'm also excited to attempt making some flower crowns with fresh flora from the front garden. If all goes well, I'll post on that and maybe even do a tutorial. I'm feeling a lot better about going to Senior Ball now, even without a date, and I plan on having fun no matter what!

Tomorrow is College Day at school, so I will be proudly repping Cal. That's actually my little brother's shirt, as it's still too big for him, and it's going to be too hot to wear my hoodie. I'm feeling so much better about everything about college, despite hearing a few more academic horror stories (burning the valedictorian's notes?) and finding out that it is possible that I cannot have fairy lights in my room (this summer, all I will be doing is designing my dorm room, I swear). I'm so excited to take on this next challenge in life, and finding out that quite a few of my friends will be going to Berkeley next year as well is extremely comforting.

On a side note, I'm still experimenting with taking pictures, and I actually think I am getting a little better. I know some of the tricks of editing and playing around with the settings on the camera to get clearer results, but that still needs some work as you can see from the blurriness in some of these pictures. Berkeley students are apparently able to get the entire Adobe Creative Suite for free, though I have followed the link and have yet to find out how to download it. A perk of having a parent work for Apple is also free software from the App Store, so I want to get FinalCutPro soon so I can start making videos (iMovie works for that purpose, but it's more basic). My goal is to blog all the good food I eat at Berkeley, and attempt to make Food Friday a weekly thing, so I can force myself to get out and socialize and try new things. I also want to vlog, so I have videos of the next four years of life, for better or for worse. It's a hobby, and I want to commit myself to it.

In summary, life is tough but life is good at the moment. There are a lot of big events coming up soon, from AP tests to Senior Ball to graduation and beyond. When I have time, I want to redesign this blog again, and I have so many big plans for this summer. It's exhausting but oh-so exhilarating. ◊