Story

I got to experience something very new to me the other day: acupuncture. It was an interesting experience that I will probably partake in again. My homeopathic doctor recommended getting acupuncture just to see if it helped me at all, so I agreed to try it out. It was a good experience let me say, it didn’t really hurt and was pretty soothing. I was worried when she started putting them on my face though. It is one thing being poked in the arms or legs, but your face? It was alright though. I even had one in my ear and two on the top of my head. It was strange to think about. I do feel like I have gained a new perspective though, I think I know what it feels like to be a pin cushion. I also learned that the pin in your forehead is to help relax people, I thought that was very interesting. ...

SAT, ACT and anything of the sort = death. Sorry no time for posts, my future is in the balance.

It is an odd thing traveling across the country because I always find myself looking for towns just like Santa Cruz. No matter where I go I always see Santa Cruz in every place I go. I love Santa Cruz because it always feels like home and I hope someday I find a place that makes me feel just as at home as my first love and home, Santa Cruz.

Bees are such fascinating creatures, and beautiful ones at that. I love trying to photograph them. Thanks for sitting still just long enough for me Mr. Bumblebee!

I think it is time for me to share with you a story very near and dear to my heart; the story about why I am afraid of spiders. Let me start off by saying that I wasn’t always afraid of spiders, I was never very keen on them but I didn’t freak out on site about them. I just thought they were disgusting. Living in a wooded area with a canyon in my backyard, naturally we have lots of spiders in our house. About every three months or so, a giant spider pops up in a very inconvenient time or place. Normally in my room and most recently in the bathroom. They just show up out of nowhere and they are ridiculously huge. Honestly, it just makes me want to yell at them “Where in God’s name have you been hiding all this time to grow that freakin big!” When I say big, I mean big. Most people don’t believe me, these guys are so big, you can’t really squish them because they would explode and create a black hole due to its collapsing mass. Seriously, they are too big to squish. ...

I had the honor along with 16 other Full International Baccalaureate students to talk about the IB learner profiles in the new IB orientation welcoming ceremony for incoming Full IB students. This was the first year that Scotts Valley High decided to have a nice ceremony put together by the wonderful Mr. Crawford, Ms. Brooke, and Ms. Reiner. Thank you for a wonderful night. I got to talk about how being reflective is an integral part of being an IB student because I was nominated by all of the teachers to portray that aspect of the learner profile. In a slightly cultish but fun manner we all went up one by one and lit a candle before we talked about the learner profiles. The other IB students handed the incoming IB students flowers in a welcoming gesture. ...

This really is a case of saving the best for last. In February I went to Yellowstone on a photography mission where I followed coyotes, river otters, bison, elk, bighorn sheep and wolves for a week in the snow. I saved my best shot as a present for one of my very best friends. So here is the grand unveiling of my best shot: the coyote headshot. I got this close up headshot of a coyote when we were driving along the road and happened upon a coyote trotting down the middle of the road. ...