The "Minori" Files :P

What goes on through your mind when someone tells you to “describe yourself”? Yeah, exactly, you get kind of stuck. You probably think, “What can I say about myself that doesn’t make me sound like a total narcissist or compliment seeker?” But I think, “What CAN I say to describe myself?” I believe that every person has a unique and dynamic personality that can’t just be fully depicted through a blog entry, but I’ll try to give you a better idea of me – Minori.

When you first see me (the one on the left), you know right off the bat that I’m Asian: I’ve got those cute little dark brown eyes, short height, dark hair, and easily darkened skin. But if you look long enough into my Asian face, you’ll start assuming what nationality I am (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, etc.). I understand it’s hard to distinguish the ethnicities because - come on - you’re only working with eyes here. Interestingly enough, I am half-Chinese and half-Japanese (that means: EYE MIXTURE! Yay, more confusion for strangers!) Unfortunately, I can’t speak EITHER language. It’s strange because I was born as a native Cantonese speaker (with English and Japanese as my secondary languages). Eventually I learned more than one type of Chinese dialect – and now I’m 16, with barely a clue how to speak Mandarin! Okay, I over exaggerated there – I have an idea what I’m doing, but you understand the gist of what I mean.

At Nationals with former champions :)

As you can see from my blog title, I am a dorky drama queen – kind of. I don’t look like a stereotypical nerd in high school and simultaneously act like an overly dramatic Beverly Hills “princess”. What I mean by “dorky drama queen” is someone who is serious about academics yet also enjoys channeling their inner personas in a dramatic/humorous fashion. I’m not going to say that I’m intelligent because some people measure intelligence by different things; I will say, though, that I’m a very diligent student. I’m an only child in my family so I get a lot of pressure from my mom to do extremely well in academics (intensify that pressure, because she’s an Asian mom). Nevertheless, I also push myself to do better because I want a bright future for myself. Pushing myself to do better doesn’t just apply to school, it also applies to my extracurricular activities – like Forensics! This is where my inner “drama queen” struts out into the open. I love Forensics because it gives every individual the chance to be someone else – whether it be a more poetic version of themselves, a more humorous one, a more informative one, or – in my case – a more dramatic one. Occasionally, I will act overly dramatic in situations unrelated to school or extracurricular activities (like real drama, or just hot gossip…which I love).

MISO Volleyball :D

Other than acting in a classroom, I love going out – whether it be to socialize with others, play a good game of volleyball or tennis (my favorite sports), swim at the beach, or shop (one of my biggest hobbies/addictions). I am not one to just sit around at home and “enjoy the simplicity of life”. It’s not that I have ADHD or anything; I just believe that there are more enjoyable things out of the house. Sadly, Ms. Asian Mom wants me to stay home and study. No problem, I just end up blasting music through my speakers and write. Go ahead and call me weird but I have this passion for Writing – and it’s not like “Dear Diary” stuff - I’m talking about fiction, memories, etc. This passion been unraveled in my Middle School years by one of my favorite teachers; since then, I haven’t been able to stay away from Writing for more than a month (which is probably why Journalism class is one of my favorite classes in my Junior Year). Nevertheless, I’m like every other teenager whose average media consumption is like two hours a day. However, in order for me to be me, I need my daily dose of social networking and laughter – definitely laughter, life is too short to be sad about anything.  

Junior Year's Resolution :D

To be perfectly honest, I’m not one for having New Year Resolutions, simply for the fact that I forget them within weeks. Nevertheless, this is Journalism class, and we students must write possible resolutions for the new school year. However, what makes this appealing to me is that we have to make it realistic, but it doesn’t have to be academically related or even related to school in itself. Yay for Journalism class!

When I think about the new school year and goals I have in store, the first thing that comes into mind is:  never ever get warned about, talked to about, or criticized about what I wear to school. My school is beginning to enforce a new “student dress-code” in which students are prohibited to wear tight-fitting, sagging, short, or sexually provocative/inappropriate clothing. At first, any normal adult would think “Oh, that is legitimate. GO DRESS CODE!” At first, any normal teenager would think “No big deal”. However, when I heard about the new dress-code, I practically erupted into sassy fury. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that SIS now has a dress-code that is strictly enforced. The fashion runway of Saipan is constantly displaying shorts, tank tops, and sundresses; how are the girls supposed to wear jeans all year long in this camouflaged inferno? This made me so upset because I had spent a lot of money buying all of these cute clothes over the summer! Obviously, I want to show off my new wardrobe, but how can I do this when I’m constantly worrying about violating the school’s dress code? Yeah, I’m definitely going to try not to get “dress-coded”.   

Being more responsible as a daughter of an Asian mother has granted me some privileges, like more freedom to go out. As another goal for this year, I would LOVE to go cliff diving with a bunch of my friends. It sounds a little far-fetched, I realize that. However, for a girl who can barely swim, I can dive pretty decently. Besides, it’s “cliff-diving” not “swim-for-your-life”. I hope to be able to go out during Spring break, the only break us students have before the big May AP exams. It would really allow us to have some fun before the most stressful time of our lives approaches. In addition, I’m an adrenaline-junkie (GUILTY!). To me, running off of a rocky cliff into the ocean sounds exciting yet refreshing. I would be able to get the zest of being in the air for a couple seconds (even though I’m falling, which is actually incredibly thrilling) and then dive into a stimulating pool of water. I might be crazy - and I don’t mind you thinking that way because I think that way about myself, too – but this just HAS to be one of the things I do before my Junior Year ends.

Over the summer, I traveled the depths of Peru with my class as well as the current sophomore class. While we had returned to Lima for the last couple of days, we visited a hospital – a children’s hospital. I’ll admit, in the beginning I was kind of scared because I have a slight fear of coming into contact with people that are ill. However, that fear escaped me as soon as I put on a green apron (it shows that we are volunteers for the Children’s Hospital) and slipped my cellphone into my back pocket. Minutes had passed and I already formed a deep connection with the children at the hospital. For a second, I regarded everyone as a patient; after I saw one of the little girls’ eyes light up at the sight of me, I saw every child as a person – as a child. My experience there impacted my life so much that one of my goals this year is to return to the Children’s Hospital in Lima. The likelihood of that happening is extremely slim, especially with money needed for summer plans, but I won’t stop trying.

A New Beginning: Junior Year

Hey fellow bloggers/readers! I would say that "I'm back", but the truth is that I only wrote ONE post (and that was in my Freshman year). However, now I've reached a new chapter in High School: Junior Year. This is the year where basically everything counts. Although it scares me, I love challenges; it's what makes school actually interesting. Among the challenges, blogging every other day would be one of them. YAY FOR JUNIOR YEAR! ..... HELP ME!
I hope you enjoy what I have to say about the topics that I will soon bring to life on this blog :) Time to get "blogging"!

ThisIbelieve :)

I believe in time machines. They might not physically exist, but there are such things as time machines.

Time machines have been defined as “a theoretical apparatus that would convey one to the past or future”. However, I think a time machine is that door you open before you step into your memories or creative world. Those who believe in the invention suppose it would look like a complex machine with blinking lights and numerous buttons in the middle of a dusty room. But all I envision is a clear glass door between me and my world of memories and imagination.

Because time machines posses the ability to transport me to the euphoric experiences I’ve had, I believe in them.

When my parents were going through another one of their countless fights, I hid in my room, one with an atmosphere of sadness, fear, and absolute confusion; all I could comprehend was my mom yelling at my dad to not leave home. I crawled out of my state of shock and did the only thing I could do; draw a picture for my dad. In crayon, I drew a stick-figure family standing in front of a big house, hands linked together with smiles on their faces. At the bottom of the page, I printed “I love you. Please don’t leave promise me” with my favorite pink pen. The next morning, I handed the picture to my dad and hugged him. He examined the picture closely and promised me he wouldn’t leave me; he didn’t come back that night.

But even though they’ve also brought me to despondent moments in my life, I still know time machine exists.

            True, my time machine doesn’t take me back to the past or into the future. However, my imagination helps me picture what it’s like. It conjures up an ancient world, with the guide of past history lessons, that I delve into whenever I step through my time machine. As for the future, my creativity paints a dreamlike prediction of what it will be like.

            No one knows what is going to happen in the future, not even time machines themselves. When you step into a time machine invention, you are transported into the past, present, or future with the possibility of altering what happens next. Technically, the invention writes the future, and whoever steps into the machine will revise it; these revisions are edits even time won’t know of until it finds out.

            The concept of a time machine is simply unfathomable to some people. Who could believe in a transportation device that holds the capability to bring someone to any time in the past, present, or future? But I know that one exists; it exists in my head. Whether I want to transport myself to 1892, relive my summer in 2005, or project myself to year 2020, I know my time machine will take me there.