Peace Out Homies

Okay, here's the thing: I have been blogging for 228 days.

In other words, my blog has been up on the internet for seven months and fifteen days. That's over half a year.

When I posted my first blog post back in September, I never thought it would effect me this way. I feel like my writing was very limited back then, and over these seven months, I have allowed myself to improve my writing without really trying too hard. With the multiple blog assignments over the course of the year and allowing myself to expand my writing abilities at my own pace. I was able to put my feelings into words as I told stories about my life and my past over the year. The Salty Stressball was a very good outlet for me to write whenever I had the time. I enjoyed being able to talk about things I am interested in, and not having to conform to an essay prompt or something like that.

That being said, I most likely won't be continuing to update this blog after I depart from ninth grade. As of right now, I feel like this is a very reasonable time to finish blogging. The end of my first high school year is just around the corner, and I'm ready to leave everything slightly in the past.

I've been through a lot this year, and I'm kind of ready to just move on. Although this was a wonderful project and I have grown so much because of it, I think it is time to say goodbye.

Farewell to the outstanding website of blogger.com, which never had issues with text sizes. Adios to the blog posts that always got to five hundred words, and never less than than. Au revoir to the credited pictures that were never, not ever, taken straight off of google images.

Peace out cool cats. See you never.

Blogging will always be a strong memory of my ninth grade year, and I'm very thankful for that. I never expected that I would enjoy it as much as I did. I didn't love blogging as if it were my first born child, but I liked it like someone might like eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I believe that blogging was a very important experience that I needed.

For those of you have been reading my blog since the very beginning, if there even is anyone, thank you. Your views are greatly appreciated. Now for the last time of the year, I have one last thing to say.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em

San Francisco Was a Blast

Okay, here's the thing: I want to move to San Francisco.

Over Spring Break, Hannah Hall and I took a trip to the beautiful San Francisco with my family to visit my aunt Bonnie and my uncle Bruce. Since we left on Saturday, April 2nd, and we were driving, we got to San Fran on Sunday afternoon.

This picture of Hannah was taken on the beach from the first night.

On Sunday night, my family, Hannah, and I took a small hike on a trail that led to a beach. Throughout the hike, Hannah and I took many photos on my trusty camera that I took with me everyday throughout the trip.

It was a very calming walk after being in a car for two days straight. We explored the beach and found some ruins of a building with graffiti on it. We climbed all over them and watched as the sun set behind the water. As the sky turned dark we walked back to my aunt and uncles house before we were off to dinner for the night.

Speaking of food, the amount of asian cuisine that we ate throughout the week was more than I had expected. I ate so much fried rice, it probably got into my bloodstream. But that's beside the point.

Throughout the weeklong trip, we visited some of the attractions around the city and walked around to stores that were close by.

One of the places we went was the California Academy of Sciences. In the Academy, we went to the aquarium, where we saw many different types of fish and plants. It was very calming because of the colors that were experienced while we were down there. We also went to the planetarium part of the Academy. In the planetarium, we saw a show that was led by the staff called Incoming! It was about the asteroids and meteors that have effected the makeup of our earth. It was super interesting and was cool because of the setup of the observatory. We were able to sit back and watch the large screen as the British man spoke over the intercom.

On the hottest day we were there, we visited the beach. It was a different beach from the first night. This beach was accessed by a very long and winding road. The water was very cold as well. I felt like I got a brain freeze every time I dunked my head underwater. The saddest part of that whole day was that I didn't even get a tan. It was a disheartening realization.

And of course, we went across the Golden Gate a couple times while we were there. It was a short drive across the bridge, but it was worth it.

Overall, I loved being in San Francisco. I know how expensive it is to live there, but honestly, I'd give anything to live in such a cute town like that. I plan on visiting again soon, even if it means my limbs might get frozen off in the water.

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

Okay, here's the thing: I really appreciate the nice things in life.

At this point in the school year, when everyone is stressed out because it's near the end of the year, it is hard to stay calm. Many people are on edge and seem to be in a very bad mood, so when you actually have a nice moment, it is vital that you hold on to it.

This may seem super obnoxious and cliché but it's very true. I feel like school sometimes brings your mood down as the school year drones by, so the little moments that give you a happy feeling is really a nice feeling.

I'm going to share a few nice moments that I remember in reverse order. Starting from the night to the early mornings. While the nighttime brings serenity and a kind of calm that the chaos of the daytime doesn't have, the daytime has a certain quality that is equally as enjoyable.

When I was at my friends house a couple months ago, I remember dancing around her pool table as we blasted music throughout her house in the middle of the night. It was pitch black outside and we were laughing a lot from being so tired, it was quite fantastic, to be frank (A/N: To the person this moment was with, I hope you like my joke).

I remember sitting on the lid of a hot tub and staring into the stars (which sounds even more grossly cliché than the topic of this post) while listening to music (what a surprise). That was a good feeling to have. I even remember a few of the songs we were listening to then.

Then, of course, sunsets.

Sunsets bring memories of taking dumb "artsy" photos with my friends on Halloween when we were all wearing animal onesies and annoying the neighbors.

Or the time I was up at Guardsman's during the late fall as the sunset a few weeks before school started. I was laying in the backseat of a pickup truck and was looking out of the back window as a few of my friends talked around me. I was enjoying a small moment to myself and was a bit out of the conversation, but that moment has stuck with me for a while.

This photo (taken by yours truly) was posted on Insta in August 2015.

If any of my readers follow me on Instagram, you might know that I used to (take note of the past tense) post numerous photos of sunsets because, in my hopes of becoming the amazing photographer that I am, only found inspiration in the colors in the sky. I have since stopped posting the amount of sunset pictures as I used to, but I still take them from time to time.

They also remind me of biking with a friend down the hill of her street to a football game. Following that action with immediately turning back once we realized we would have to socialize with people from school. We laughed as we trudged our bikes all the way up the hill again as the sun set behind us.

During midday, I am mostly reminded of summer barbecues and jumping on friends trampolines. It reminds me of times when I was little and the only thing I had to worry about was what color Otter pop I was going to get from the freezer.

And the morning.

The morning might remind a lot of you of waking up for school, and I think the same, but it does remind me of a few moments.

Like when the sprinklers went off when a friend and I were sleeping on my trampoline one night. We had to run back inside and hope that the blankets didn't get too ruined.

It also reminds me of early morning swim practices, which were hellish, but brought me closer to my swim friends in the long run.

What I really want to say is, at any point of the day you can experience something that will make your heart warm. It might even become a memory that you'll remember until you're one hundred years old (hopefully you last that long).

Anyway, carry on.
xx Em