How I Spent Christmas

     I spent Christmas in Las Vegas. From Sunday to Wednesday, my family drove from our home's mild coastal climate into what was once the hottest place on Earth, and the lowest point in North America. Then we drove on into the largest city in the Mojave Desert, one famous for being called "Sin City." I learned and saw things I will never forget. I walked on an actual salt flat, the ground pale, crunchy, and yes, salty into the distance. I learned that even though Death Valley is notoriously arid and extreme, it has its own indigenous species of fish and that a Native American tribe has called the region home for a thousand years. And even though a relatively large part of the population where I live is vegetarian like me, I enjoyed some of the best veggie food I have ever tasted in Las Vegas.

And I did it all

Internet-free

     Which was quite invigorating actually. For once, I could feel myself creating my own ideas instead of having them handed to me. I could feel myself actually appreciating the beauty of what I was seeing. I could feel myself becoming more... what's the word... mindful? Yes, I was becoming more mindful. I didn't realize how detached I was from the world until I wasn't anymore. And I don't think it was the nature, but the simple act of not going on the Internet unless it was totally necessary. I wasn't consuming information I didn't need anymore, which let me think for myself. Now I'm back at home, with about four internet-connected devices in the same room as me. Let's see how long this mindfulness lasts; hopefully for a long time.

Blogiversary and stuff

Hi world!

I will be very honest with you and admit that I forgot to write this post until Thursday night, which is right now. Honestly, when I got to Junior high, life changed so much from elementary school. Like for one, I actually have this thing they call homework. I know. Crazy. Also, these things called after school clubs exist. And group projects are real. It's like... Woah.

On top of that, u am on one of the school's Science Olympiad teams, which takes up a large chunk of my time. I love it though.

However, I am at a bigger school now so I have more people I can consider friends.

Basically, the point of all this is red day that if my posts look rushed sometimes, it's probably because they were. It's not that I don't want to spend time on blogging, it's just that I have other stuff to do too.

I still love this site and what it's become. I'm fact, it turned a year old on the 15th! I hope for an even better year to come; what about you guys?

TTYL

Nandy

Sorry I can't add my signature image thing; typing this on my phone.

Random Facts About Pens

I 💓stationery so let's get started.

1.  A pen can write about 45,000 words in its lifetime.

2. Retractable pens don't dry out because they have oil-based ink.

3. The balls in today's ballpoint pens are mostly made of tungsten carbide, a material that is three times stronger than steel.

4. 95% of the time, the first word written with a new pen is the person's name.

5.  Ancient Egyptians made the first pens 5,000 years ago.

6. Don't swallow pen caps; they cause about 100 deaths each year this way.

7. The world's biggest pen is over 18 feet tall!

okay bye!

A List of John Green Books With Commentary From a 7th Grade Fangirl

     It is not uncommon knowledge that John Green is to me what someone like Halsey might be to you; a role model to the highest degree. Although he is so much more than his books, I have decided to share with you my top  3 favorite books from him.

1. Turtles All the Way Down

Follows a protagonist with OCD (like actual OCD, not publicly stigmatized "fake" OCD)
Has helped me develop some perspective on mental illness.

Released in 2017

May be made into a movie!!!!!

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Follows a protagonist with cancer and her love for a boy she met at a support group
Tender and profound

Released in 2012

THERE IS A MOVIE!

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Follows a boy and his search for "The Great Perhaps," who meets a mysterious girl named Alaska
Relatable and tragic

Published in 2005

No movie :(

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Some other great works of his include Paper Towns, An Abundance of Katherines, and Will Grayson, Will Grayson

My Procrastination Problem

Hi. I would tell you what this post is about, but I write a post title for a reason.

I have a problem with procrastination, which is when you put stuff off until the last minute. This was really affecting the quality of my work, which was especially evident in my blog posts.

I think the problem developed through my bullet journal. No, the bullet journal system doesn't cause procrastination, but I think I was writing down too many tasks per day. At the end of the day, I would obviously not finish everything so I would have to settle for an "incomplete" that day. It snowballed from me being more lenient with myself to me outright saying I would do something "later".

I am solving the problem by writing less in my bujo. When my goals are realistic and I achieve them, I feel motivated to do more. However, I try not to keep my goals too easy to achieve or they are pointless. 

If you also procrastinate, I highly recommend writing a daily to-do list with your studies or whatever. Make the list challenging but feasible.

In other news, I got my first Tombows. If you don't know what those are, they are really high quality advanced calligraphy markers. It is a huge milestone for me because I really enjoy calligraphy as a hobby.

oooooooooooooooooooookay bye