Lifescouts badge #16: Skating and me

It all started when my family went to the fun center when I was little. We went roller skating and I was horrible at it. This wasn’t unusual considering that it was my first time and all. Some time later, my dad bought home a few pairs of roller skates. I ended up with a white pair tinged with orange, but I didn’t really care about its look; all I cared about was skating. And I practiced and practiced getting better at it. And despite an accident that may have involved missing four days of school due to some vanity issues, I continued roller skating till the skates didn’t fit anymore.

By now, the only times I roller skate is when at one of the fun centers in Utah, inflating my ego by showing off to my friends and family. 

~ Stacy N.

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Lifescouts badge #15: I serve the fairy queen

My first taste of being on stage started when I was in fifth grade. By then, I joined the school musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. I was part of the chorus, which was pretty easy to get considering that I didn’t have to audition or anything. And it was fun, even though I mainly got put backstage.

Later that year, my class put on a Shakespearean play called A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I ended up playing the first fairy. It was an easy audition, considering that I was the only person auditioning for it. That too was also pretty fun, but it was pretty embarrassing to be up on stage in front of the whole school.

And in sixth grade, my school did a Wizard of Oz musical. I ended up being a fairy again, only to fail miserably when I didn’t show up at the rehearsals. 

~ Stacy N.

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The Shadow & her Lover (nanowrimo 2013)

Nanowrimo checklist:

Come up with a plot

[x]

Character sketches.

[More or less, I still need to work on it]

Conflict

[Still working on it but I get the basics of it]

Villain who actually has a good reason to be “evil”

[More or less]

Main characters who end up being annoying in a lovable way.

[I don’t know them well enough to know if they’re annoying]

Interesting background stories.

[More or less there]

Everything else?

[I’ll improvise if I need to]

Do I feel ready for it at all?

[…]

How it all started:

I had a dream. It was a riveting dream, one that I had no control over as I was sucked into the world right along with my characters. It lasted a long time. And, once I was done, I didn't want to let it go because a little part of me would be gone, washed away by reality and replaced with other dreams. So doing what any writer should be doing, I wrote it down, determined to turn it into my next nanowrimo novel.

That was from the summer, and it evolved from there. But the basic plot of the dream is still the same. A girl runs off with a guy and avoid getting captured by her mom (who’s also the villain), and then in the end the girl is forced to come back to get back what’s hers. This involves shadows, twins, lies, outer space, books, falling in love, and a past involving piracy.

Not the usual romantic story that involves saving the world, overcoming rivalry, finding out that the other person might die soon because their cancer came back, immortality, or any of the other stuff that you would normally find in romance plots nowadays. Instead, it’s almost a combination of all of them; some elements are tarnished and unrecognizable, while others are polished, eagerly awaiting their turn in the spotlight. The whole book is about falling in love with an alien (literally), which as far as I've seen is rare.

Music:

America by Imagine Dragons

Monster by Imagine Dragons

Bars & Mixed Drinks by Emma Shepard

Paris by Yael Naim

A playlist for my two main characters       

                                                                              

~ Stacy N.

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Hello 17

Text reads: Seventeen things I hope to accomplish within the next year
[texture by roughseas]

1. Figure out the basics about what I want to do after high school.
2. Take the ACT test a few times.
3. Love myself even more.
4. Read a few great pieces of literature like Emma by Jane Austen, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
5. Have the nerve to ask somebody out on a date or a dance (though I doubt that will happen).
6. Volunteer.
7. Get my driver’s license.
8. Write on one of my novels.
9. Take care of myself.
10. Learn about what’s happening in the world.
11. Attempt to accomplish one of these goals and any other goals that I make.
12. Work out for fun.
13. Attempt to do yoga.
14. Find a way to make money.
15. Apply for scholarships.
16. Try to accept others as they are.
17. Be happy.

~ Stacy N.

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Goodbye 16

Text reads: Sixteen favorite things from my sixteenth year of life.
[texture by roughseas]

1. Learning how to drive over the summer.
2. Knowing more about important things in life like rape culture, sexism, racism, equality, and how the patriarchy doesn't just affect the girls but the guys as well.  
3. The too many math parties that has happened during lunch.
4. Hanging out with friends and family and doing crazy stuff like staying after school on the last day of school even though we weren’t technically supposed to be there or the many trips around the city for various reasons.
5. Finding out more about myself, like how I like guys with great hair.
6. The beautiful, albeit late, fall season in the canyon. 
7. Reading great books in general and not having to worry about anything at the moment.
8. Getting inspiration from the most randomest things, like a picture of an unknown planet or plot bunnies invading writers everywhere.
9. [Surprisingly], moving to a new place.
10. Jumping into the cold water at the water park.
11. Joining a writing club at my new school.
12. Meeting my relatives on my mom's side via Skype, when my older sister was visiting them for two and a half months.
13. Failing horribly while attempting to speak French when my friend and I went to a French fair a few months ago.
14. Getting a 100% on a math test that dealt with trig, and feeling very smug about it.
15. My AVID class at my old school.
16. Joining a cookie fandom that all started out as a casual post on my tumblr dashboard.

Honorable mentions:

French fries

The last week of school in general.

Playing apples to apples at a friend's birthday party.

Eating too many Oreos at another friend's birthday party.

Having one of my friends drive me home from somewhere, and knowing that we won’t get into a crash anytime soon.

Seeing deer in the backyard

Bake cookies for fun.

~ Stacy N. 

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Lifescouts badge #14: Codes

I started learning how to code when I joined the YWP nanowrimo forums. It was basic stuff, such as how to make an image appear or how to link words and images to somewhere else on the internet. In my ninth grade yearbook class, I made a simple website learning more about html and how to do css. In my opinion, it was better than most of my classmates’ websites (though that could have been my ego talking because I already had some html experience). A few months ago, I happened upon a site called codeacademy.com, and through there I refined my basic skills of html and css, and learned quite a bit of new stuff as well, such as how to build a resume.  

By now, I simply use my html skills to redesign this blog, learning a few new things along the way. 

~ Stacy N.

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What I want in life

“I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks.”

― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

The world to understand that women and minorities and people in general are just, well people.

Someone to say, I’m glad you’re alive and actually mean it.

A deep self-love for myself.

To be a “Doctor’s” companion or to have a companion so the Doctor in me won't be lonely.

Equal rights for everyone.

Someone who I can easily talk to without a worry that they’re going to judge me.

People to admit to me that I’m an idiot sometimes.

The United States school system to change and allow students to learn when they’re ready.

A [romantic] relationship with someone who likes Doctor Who and books and is also generally open-minded and is willing to learn.

To get my driver’s license without fear of failing my driver’s test.

A dog to be there for me when I’m down (and who’s also a good snuggling partner).

People to understand that rape, sexual assault, and abuse don’t just apply to women.

People to understand that feminism is about equality and breaking down the patriarchy.

People to be more open-minded in general.

People to understand that being an ally for the lgbtqa community means more than supporting gay marriage.

Women have a right to do with whatever they want to their bodies without feeling ashamed.

People should do what they think what’s right for themselves without being ashamed in general.

Racism, sexism, and intolerance of any sort should stop in general.

People to be supportive.

People to be kind.

Me to starting writing more often.

Me to read more books.

Eventually to learn some languages again, such as Vietnamese, French, and a little bit of sign language.

Me to be a better friend.

Me to try to become a better person.

To be successful in terms of happiness and contentedness, not in terms of money.

My kids to live freely, yet still knowing the dangers and injustices of this world.

Education to be accessible to everyone.

Higher education to be cheaper.

Schools to start later, like around nine am, because humans function better at that time.

And to live a life that I’m in control of, influenced by many kinds of events, people, ideas, etc.

~ Stacy N.

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Lifescouts badge #13: Strike!

The first time I went bowling, it was at a fun center with my family. It was fun, but I lost. I believe my twin sister won that round. The second time I went bowling was with my twin sister, my older sister, and her roommate. It was fun, but I found myself in last place again. The third time I went bowling was with my older sister, her roommate, my twin, and my little brother. As usual, I lost, however, in the second game I won with about fifty points.

What I learned from all this: bowling is not my strong suit. 

~ Stacy N. 

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Lifescouts badge #12: Scrabble

            Scrabble, it’s a hard game, even more so if it’s played in French. 

~ Stacy N. 

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