What's Going On In My Life?

Hello everyone! To start of this post I am going to insert a poor quality PhotoBooth picture of myself.

This is me. I am seventeen years old. My skin has a ton of acne right now. Also, I have bright blue hair. This looks like a fake smile, but trust me there's a lot for me to be happy about.

So, why am I talking like I've never blogged before?

I feel like I haven' truly been in touch with this blog lately. I have been doing OOTDs or just where I go with my friends. I just want to have a post where I just gave some updates on my life. Every time I blog, I always make the excuse that I need to post more and I definitely do, but sometimes I just don't feel it. I have so many thoughts in my head, but how do I just express it?

Here are some updates about my life...

1) I applied and got accepted to join the Youth Cabinet of NYC. This entails that I will be sitting with one of the Congresswomen of New York once a month and telling her what I believe is important to have in politics. I am excited because young people barely have a say in what happens before they can vote.

2) I am/ will be done with an internship at an awesome technology start-up located in Chelsea. Basically, I got to see how a business start-up works, and my voice will be in one of their projects on the app! I only was there for three weeks, but it was super fun and a great experience! If you want to hear more about it, I would be happy to talk about it.

3) I am officially an editorial writer and social media manager for The Weekly Buzz, which is a website/magazine written by teenagers from around the world for teenagers. This website basically will cover what is happening in the world in a fun way. We are also accepting guest writers, so you should definitely check it out! Also follow the social media for updates.
          Instagram: @theweeklybuzz (https://www.instagram.com/theweeklybuzz/ )
          Twitter: @theweeklybuzz09  (https://twitter.com/theweeklybuzz09 )
          Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theweeklybuzzers/

4) I don't have to take any more SATs and ACTs. I am not going to dwell too much about this, but I am happy with my scores and it's a big relief to be done with the standardized tests. In December, I will hopefully be telling you guys about where I will be going to college. Right now, I am just trying to keep a positive outlook and not let a test define me.

5) I get to play my last season of high school field hockey in a month. Long story short, my school was going to cut the team without telling us. My friend and I fought the school, and sadly we only get to keep it for one more year, but it was an accomplishment in itself. I am planning on making the most of it and be the best senior on the team I can be.

6) I'm trying to be the best version of myself that I can be. I've dealt with a lot in the last two years, but lately I have been trying to have more positive thoughts. Also, I am starting to care less about what people think of me. I've learned that you can't please everyone, and that sometimes you have to back away from an argument even if you aren't wrong. I think going into senior year I am going to try to patch up some broken relationships. I tend to be a different person at school (kind of quiet and shy), and I am so tired of people walking all over me, so I am working on becoming a more confident person.

7) I joined a gym for the month of July! It was such a great experience because there's something about doing Zumba, and working out that makes me so happy. I don't judge any people at the gym because hey! we are all working on ourselves.

8) My hair is blue! On the last day of school, my friend came with me so that I could dye my hair. It took four hours at the salon and almost all my babysitting money, but it's blue! I am so obsessed with it. I never want to get rid of it, but sadly in a month I am going to have to dye my head a "natural" color because I go to catholic school.

So those are some of the big updates on my life, but this post isn't over yet! I want to spread some positivity:

Right now, the world is full of hate. We can't let the hate get to us because hate brings on more hate. Being positive starts with learning to be happy. There are times when I am so insecure that I can't look in the mirror, and then there are times where I am like, "heck yeah! I am beautiful!". Compliment people! Find hobbies that make you happy! Find friends who support you and love you! Read happy books! Go on adventures! The world is amazing and people are beautiful. I know this all over the place, but once you start trying to make other people happy, and finding things you like...the world becomes more clear and beautiful.

I hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your week! I am going to try to get another post up this week! 

Let me know what are your achievements this month, and things that made you happy!

                                                                         xx
                                                            Christina Madeleine

Book Review: Mosquitoland

Hey everyone! Today, I am going to review the book Mosquitoland by David Arnold. Originally, I heard of this book because my friends who are in my school's book club told me about it. I didn't want to buy this book because I thought that I can probably borrow from many people because I believe this book is now a best seller. I saw this book in the Lost & Found auction at my school and decided that it was time to read it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.

Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, Mosquitoland is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

My Thoughts:
   
 I really liked Mosquitoland because it was quick, fun read and it kept me hooked. I was doing a summer camp for a week, and every morning and afternoon I would read this book. It took me about four days to finish because I was so interested in it.

The plot, basically, is a sixteen year old girl wants to get from Mississippi ("Mosquitoland") to Cleveland to go see her mother. The main character has been through a lot in the last year; her parents were divorced, her father remarries, and her mother has a "sickness" that isn't uncovered until later in the book. Mim has a very active imagination throughout the whole story, and most people in her life are afraid she is borderline schizophrenic which makes her point of view even better. Mim is a tomboy who loves Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, and Talking Heads (*the band*). She is the narrator od the whole story and makes many references to musicians, especially when she is on her journey.The thing I found annoying about the main character is that she is too rash, and spends most of the book hating adults. To be fair though she deals with some very bad characters on her journey i.e a child molester and other characters. Also you don't find out about why she runs away until the last few chapters of the book. One other thing I don't like about Mim is that she caused a rather serious injury to herself (I'm not saying what because I won't spoil it) a few years back and she told no one. Overall, Mim is a great character though because she brings to life some of the plots of the book that would have been boring without her version of the story. 

Many of the characters have stories that aren't fully developed, but the reader meets more teenage runaways. It's bit frustrating at times to read because the characters either lie a lot about who they are or they don't get to the point very fast. Even the main character, Mim, gets frustrated when people take too long to answer. Most of the adult characters are written as villains with the exception of a few that Mim changes her opinions on. 

I really liked the book, and it was very quick to read. I feel like the plot is so unique that once you get past the first few pages, you'll be absolutely hooked. I recommend this book as a summer read for when you are just relaxing by a pool or have some free time. 

Some Favorite Quotes:
“I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.” 


 “Every great character, Iz, be it on page or screen, is multidimensional. The good guys aren't all good, the bad guys aren't all bad, and any character wholly one or the other shouldn't exist at all. Remember this when I describe the antics that follow, for though I am not a villain, I am not immune to villainy.”

“When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.”  

“I swear the older I get, the more I value bad examples over good ones. It's a good thing too, because most people are egotistical, neurotic, self-absorbed peons, insistent on wearing near-sighted glasses in a far-sighted world. And it's this exact sort of myopic ignorance that has led to my groundbreaking new theory. I call it Mim's Theorem of Monkey See Monkey Don't, and what it boils down to is this: it is my belief that there are some people whose sole purpose of existence is to show the rest of how not to act.”

“As simple as it sounds, I think understanding who you are—and who you are not—is not the most important thing of all Important Things.” 

Questions: Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

                                                                    xx 
                                                     Christina Madeleine
 

OOTD: 4th of July 2017

Hey everyone! I count Independence Day as the beginning of Summer (so does most of America I suppose), and I was able to spend the day with some friends. The 4th of July is filled with American Flags, Barbeques, music, and tons of memes. On television, there was a hotdog eating contest at Coney Island. A few of my friends and I went to a roof top to watch the sunset before going to the East River to watch fireworks.

                                             My outfit:
                                             One shoulder dress- American Eagle Outfitters
                                             Shoes - Adidas Stan Smiths $60

We waited for the firework show to start for over an hour and I might've been so annoying to the people around me that a couple moved away from my friends and I. My reasoning was that it was a public place so it was completely fine for me to start clapping when the show started or when any bright colors came. My friends and I might've also sang songs like: Party in the USA, Firework, and I'm Proud to Be an American...

When we are on the rooftop, we had a view of the whole entire city. The sunset was super beautiful, and it felt like a perfect summer night.

                                         Here's a picture of Aubrey and I sitting on the roof.

It was very nice to see my friends and spend this holiday with them.

I hope all my Americans out there had a nice Independence Day. Although the country isn't perfect, it was a day to celebrate the freedoms our country was based off and acknowledge that we have ton more work to do. I was glad to spend it with my friends.

Happy 4th of July (one day late!)

                                                                      xx
                                                         Christina Madeleine