A Few of My Favorite Things...

When I turned 16, I filled a little red Moleskine notebook with two separate lists. First, one hundred things I love, and secondly, my bucket list. I just thought I'd share a couple of the things on my lists. I've collected these little treasures over time and they remind me of everything good in my life.

12. Driving on the freeway

16. "Sugar Blue" by Jeff Finlin

48. Bikes with wicker baskets

74. Jumping into the water

100. "Myself and the life I've built. Because

even if I can't quite remember it in times of 

misery, I was once filled with a passion: for life, 

for food, for the world. And if I can't remember that time, 

then it's time to begin anew."

A few of my favorite things!

I also encourage you to check out the Moleskine company. I use their little cahiers for everything: lists, sketches, ideas. I dedicate one cahier to whatever novel I'm currently working on. During National Novel Writing Month, it was a lifesaver having all of my writing ideas in one place.

Hope your June has been just s'wonderful so far.

Love,

Adrienne

Summer!

Ahh, summer. Hot, sticky, humid summer, filled with bonfires and parties and swimming. Summer is my favorite time of year, and finally it is here!

I suppose big things have been happening, things that I should report on! Graduation for example...

Here I am in my cute little cap and my National Honor Society/International Thespian Society medallions. Graduation was a great day! Cake, ceremonies, grad parties galore. I am so glad to be done with high school. 

My best friend, Bailey (the blonde one in the middle), gave a beautiful graduation speech about what we take with us - humility, grace, the ability to win without losing friends, and lose without falling apart.

Graduation was such an exciting time, and I am glad to have experienced it, but it was such a relief once it was over! The real fun could begin then: Graduation parties, dinners, pool parties, fire pits.

I am also taking up oil painting! Yesterday, a good friend of mine took me to Hobby Lobby and helped me pick out the paints and canvases and palettes that I would need.

I am so excited to get started. I want to paint a canvas to put in my dorm room, with a beautiful lanscape that fades into a neutral background so I can put a quote on the canvas. I'm also doing some shopping for posters and wall art for my dorm next year!

Summer is such an exciting time. There are finally enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do - paint, play the ukulele, go to the gym, cook. I am so ready to really delve in to everything I've been wanting to do.

In the meantime, here's a couple of my favorite summer songs! Hope you enjoy!

Have a great June, everyone!

Stage Fright

One of the things I promised myself I would do is get back to the things I love before I start college. Writing, reading, traveling, and equally importantly, music.

Music is something I've done since I was little. Both of my parents are musicians, and by the age of four I had learned to play the piano. I picked up the guitar when I was in fifth grade, and in sixth grade, I began writing music with one of my best friends. This music progressed and suddenly, we were performing at open mic nights and local concerts around town. I hated this. My best friend was the girl who could absorb the spotlight and spit it back out of her in the form of greatness. I pretty much just cowered in the corner.

However, we did this all the way until I got to high school, and by that point, I had even started to love performing. Stage fright still haunted me every time I got on stage, though. No matter how much I loved it, the thrill of a crowd, I still had the pre and post-performance nerves.

But this year, I decided it was time to buck up the nerve and just do it. So I tried out for my school's annual benefit night, "Night of Knights" and I got in. Last night was opening night, and it went so well! I loved being on stage, I loved the audience, and I loved the people I got to work with.

I guess the point of all this is as follows: Sometimes our friends drag us kicking and screaming into things we don't want to do. Living, taking risks, being great. And we have to know the difference between peer pressure and our friends being brave when we can't.

Thanks, Sophia. For all you've done for me and for all you've taught me to do. You are forever a great friend, and I am so proud of you.

Now, there are a million songs that remind me of you. Countless songs by Ben Folds, Jack's Mannequin, Green Day, AC/DC. But this song always reminds me of what we did and how we used to be. Happy graduating!

What I've Been Doing

So many things!

On Friday, I had the opportunity to record the song that I'm performing for Night of Knights ("Vienna" by Billy Joel), so I spent a couple hours at UNL with a great guy who was willing to do whatever to get the job done. I like nice people, have I mentioned that? I came out of the recording studio beaming - I've been trying to get back to my music lately because it used to make me happy, and who doesn't need a little dose of happiness in their life? So as soon as he puts the link up, I'll get it up for you to hear!

Then yesterday was the big event in every high school girl's life: PROM.

 Me and the bestie.

 The crazy speech kids.

My women in blue! Kiley, Sarah, et moi.

Prom is fantastic. I am a big fan of getting all dressed up and going to dinner and being with people who love you. Our group was big - 22 people, in fact - and I know for a fact that every one of them would do anything to make me laugh. I am so blessed by the friends that I have. 

OH! And Treading on Trafficking started today! I got a good three miles in at Zumba with Raul today. Is it bad that I love Zumba because it's the one place where I can feel confident in my poor dancing abilities? Read my first blog post to hear about Tread on Trafficking, and if you'd like to donate, go HERE. As always, any donation is much appreciated.

This week is Night of Knights, so I'll keep you updated on that, but here's a little bit of what's going on in my life! And to start your week off right, here's some great music to get you going. Have a great week!

 

Tread On Trafficking - An Introduction

I think the first thing to do, and perhaps the most important, is to give credit where credit is do. I first got the idea to do Tread On Trafficking from someone I admire and envy greatly: Bethany Joy Galleoti. I first saw her as Haley James Scott on "One Tree Hill," but she has expanded greatly into musical theatre and is also a part of Everly, a folk duo band that I love. If you're interested in reading up on her, you can check out her blog HERE.

Tread on Trafficking is a program that was started by the organization Love146, a non-profit organization that works to abolish the child sex trade as well as rehabilitate those who have been hurt both emotionally and physically by the sex trade. The organization is based in New Haven, CT, and has been working tirelessly in parts of Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States. I think that was what was so difficult for me to comprehend. The United States is supposed to be this great, civilized nation. We are supposed to have sophisticated technology, a fully functioning government, and enough laws to protect the citizens that call this country their home. And yet, over 100,000 children are a part of the child sex trade in the United States each year. Pornography, prostitution, these children are being exploited right here in our own states.

It's for a cause like this that I've decided to get active. I'm a high school student, and every day, I and all of my peers are bombarded with images, movies, articles, and lyrics that glamorize sex and remind us that we can afford to take it, and it's counterpart "love," for granted. Not everyone is so lucky. I've felt so lost the past few months, trying to reckon myself with the fact that soon I will be in college and I'll be surrounded by a lot of new people, some of whom only care about their little corner of the world. I don't want to be a part of that. I want to be someone who can stand up for children around the world and give them a chance at constructive, happy relationships. As Love146 says, "Love Protects. Love Defends. Love Restores. Love Empowers." So I'm Treading on Trafficking! From May 1st to June 30th, I'll be walking, running, and Zumba-ing my way to earning money for Love146. The donors that you recruit can either pledge a certain amount of money based on the miles you run, or they can give a flat amount.

If you're interested in learning more about the cause, you can check out LOVE 146 and see what they're all about. To donate money to my cause, CLICK HERE and enter as much as or as little as you'd like in the donation box. My goal is $200, but I'm working with Bethany Joy Galleoti and the Love Warriors to raise $2000 overall.

This is something I'm really passionate about, and I can't wait to get started! Thank you in advance for all your support.

-Adrienne