2013!

Happy New Year, everyone! 2012 just flew by!
Here are some of the best things that happened this year. :)

• Starting USY! Sure, I've been in youth group since 3rd grade, but my first convention was this year, and I can't imagine my life without all of the amazing people I have met. I feel like this year has really given me a chance to connect with prayer and become even more invested in my Judaism. Shoutouts to CRUSY and all of the International SuperMegaCuddlyAwesome Sophomores!
• Getting into Chamber Orchestra, the top orchestra at my school. I love having the opportunity to play original classical music, and I am really proud that I have worked myself up to where I am with almost no private instruction. 
• Getting my new violin. I am still depressed about losing my other one, and I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it, but I am really beginning to believe that it was for the better. My new one is gorgeous, has a better sound to it, and is just simply way nicer than the first. 
• My Confirmation Class weekend at a really fancy hotel. I'll admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this trip, but I ended up having a pretty great time. Just like I posted about on my blog once before, I have the best class ever. It's amazing to be in an environment where you can walk up to virtually anyone and have a conversation, and that's exactly what I have. Our staycation was a great bonding experience, and a ton of fun, and even the Saturday morning classes have been pretty great thanks to all of my friends. 
• National History Day. As of tomorrow or Wednesday, my final exhibit board should be finished. That part is a nightmare. But I have actually really enjoyed the research portion, and I have fallen in love with my topic (the Little Rock Nine). Through this project, I have discovered several of my favorite books, and ultimately, discovered nine role models.

So there are a few of the best parts of my year! Feel free to share yours!

Have a great 2013!

Overload...

You know that feeling when teachers take everything really slowly and then realize at the end of the semester that they still have weeks worth of information to cram into a few days? That's how last week was for me, and that's how this week is going. Last week, I had a test in biology, two quizzes in APUSH, an English test, and a math problem set and Spanish project to work on. This week, I have a lab in biology, a quiz in APUSH in addition to an 80-question multiple choice test over 7 chapters, a graded discussion in English, and the presentation of my Spanish project (which was yesterday). My math teacher, at least, has gone at a pace that is allowing her to drag out our last chapter into very small subsections, which is nice.

In addition to everything else, I am working on National History Day (nhd.org), which is due the Tuesday we come back from break (my birthday!). It involves a trifold board that is almost 6-feet tall and an annotated bibliography which will hopefully include around 50 sources (38 right now). Even though we have collected a good deal of sources, we haven't gotten to reading all of the books and putting post-its in them, or taking notes on the online sources. Our goal? To read everything by Saturday. Reality? Hopefully we will finish reading by Wednesday in order to work on the board.  Here comes stress/ sleep deprivation my whole break! Even though I'm kind of excited to see everything come together.

I really, really, am going to try to blog more often. You just know where I am now if I magically disappear after being murdered by textbooks and assignments.

The Very Inspiring Blogger Award

Rule 1: Thank the blogger who nominated you.
Thanks, Emma.
Rule 2: Place the award on your site.

Rule 3: Share 7 random things about yourself.
1. I love blogging, but I tend to forget to do it after a few days.
2. I am obsessed with piano, and I also really like playing violin. I would say that my favorite composers are Bach, Schubert, and Mendelssohn.
3. I am Jewish. Well, that's really obvious if you know me at all. I am addicted to USY, and I spend about 12 hours a week at Hebrew/religious school.
4. I enjoy my overloaded schedule, even though it includes 5 or less hours of sleep each night, and about 8 hours each night on weekends.
5. I love kids- my campers, Sunday school students, kids I babysit, and kids I tutor. ♥
6. I love to cook, especially baking bread.
7. My favorite TV show is, yes, Good Luck, Charlie. It is followed by 19 Kids and Counting and Dance Moms. 
Rule 4: Nominate 15 blogs. Let them know they've been nominated and how to accept the award.
I'm actually just going to share my favorite blogs, since they are bigger. I may end up telling them, but I may not.
Chasing Rainbows: http://www.kateleong.com/
Love that Max: http://www.lovethatmax.com/
Jewish Homeschool Blog: http://jewishhomeschool.blogspot.com/
Inspired Ima: http://inspiredima.com/
Raising Olives:  http://raisingolives.com/

Thanks, and I hope to start posting more soon!