Month: August 2019

Tips For Keeping Your Room Clean and Organized

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I am going to be giving you guys some tips on how to consistently keep your room clean. I know we’ve all had those times where we let piles of laundry and clutter stack up in our rooms until we just had to do a deep clean one day, but it doesn’t have to be like that! If you put in a miniscule amount of time everyday, your room can look perfectly clean and spotless. I’m personally kind of a neat freak so as long as I’m not being lazy, my room is generally a very orderly place.

  • Make your bed everyday – Your bed takes up a lot of space in your room, so its appearance has a large influence in how the room looks as a whole. Try and make your bed as soon as you get out of it in the morning- it doesn’t take too long and your room will look so much better.
  • When there’s something that needs to be put away, take 5 minutes and put away as much of it as you can (laundry, etc.) – I find that in these 5 minutes you can be very efficient and often will just be motivated to finish the task since you’ve already started. It’s a good rule of thumb to get you off your butt and just DOING that thing you needed to do (this can apply to more than just cleaning!).
  • Watch Netflix while you clean/organize OR listen to music – Depending on which you prefer, either of these can just relax you so much more throughout the process and make you forget what you’re doing! Lots of tedious tasks like laundry are actually quite mindless, so you can easily pay attention to a Netflix show to pass the time and not mess up. If you’re doing something a bit more involved/difficult, I would suggest music instead.
  • Have a designated place for everything – This may seem obvious, but what I really mean is: when you have a designated place for things, STICK TO IT! I know sometimes we’re lazy and don’t want to put clothes back in the right drawer, but all it does is cause more headaches for us down the line when you can’t find that one shirt you want to wear. If the current organizational system you have isn’t working for you, change it! It may take a while in the moment, but it will save you time later on.
  • Assign a certain day of the week for certain tasks so you stay on track. This is also a personal preference, if you like to knock all your weekly cleaning out on Sunday or Monday, go for it! However, if you have a little bit of time each day to do some cleaning, then I would make a little weekly schedule. For example, vacuum your room on Monday, wipe down/dust any surfaces on Tuesday, clean your bathroom sink and counter on Wednesday, and do laundry on Thursday. You could also break down any other household chores in that way- do whatever works for you.

I hope these tips helped you guys out and inspired you to start cleaning! I definitely need to do one last deep-cleaning before school starts; once school is in session, I only really have time to put away my laundry and dust/vacuum once in a while. As always, let me know if you have any tips that you think are missing from this list, or if you have any requests for future content. Back to school is fast approaching and may have already happened for some of you guys, so I’ll be coming out with more content related to that very soon!

-Brooke

How to Avoid High School Drama: My 5 Tips

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

I’m going to be discussing a topic that most people my age are a little too familiar with for one reason or another: drama, especially the drama found in high school. I feel like lots of people worry about getting wrapped up in drama or encountering mean girls once they start high school, and wonder how these occurrences can be avoided. I will be debunking some myths and discussing the answers to some of those burning questions that might be resting in your brain, so keep reading if you’re interested.

Before I say anything else, I would like to say: if you’re not actively seeking out drama or putting out those ~drama~ vibes into the universe, you most likely won’t get caught up in anything too crazy! It’s all about your attitude and how you treat other people. Obviously we’re all teenagers and can act dramatic at certain points for a variety of reasons, but as long as you avoid certain behaviors, avoid toxic people, and are openly pretty nice to everyone, you should be fine. There may be a few quarrels within your friend group at times, but hopefully that’s the extent of anything you experience- not everyone is going to get along ALL the time, not even the best of friends.

Tip #1: Don’t talk badly about people behind their backs. Honestly, don’t talk about people behind their backs at all unless it’s positive- and if it is, then still tell them to their face, because I’m sure they’d love to hear the compliment! This is something we all hear starting in middle school, but I feel like everyone’s only mature enough to actually live by this rule once they start high school. I know it can be tempting to make comments with your best friends, but just try your best to avoid making other people your topic of conversation. You never know what could get spread around or who could be overhearing, and you don’t want that energy out in the universe regardless.

Tip #2: Maintain friendliness with people you drift away from. I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but in high school your friend group will always be shuffling around and evolving. Sometimes this can be a source of drama; people leaving a group may be hated by their old “friends”, a person leaving a group may leave because they didn’t like their old “friends”, etc. If you are drifting away from a group or someone in your group is drifting away, that’s completely fine! Just make sure you communicate with everyone involved and let them know it’s not their fault and there’s no bad blood (unless there is… in which case just leave as quietly as possible). It’s much better to have a slightly awkward acquaintance-type friendship than become enemies.

Tip #3: Make friends with people in a variety of different friend groups! This is a great thing to do in general just because you can meet so many new people through these types of friendships and you’ll always have someone to talk to. However, another benefit of having friends in completely different groups is that if one group/your main group of friends is involving themselves in a lot of drama and kind of dragging you into it, you can be a sort of peacemaker and just go hang out with a different group in the meantime. Obviously don’t just ditch your friends if you get in an argument with someone; that’s something you need to work out together. But if people around you are getting involved in meaningless drama, you can just go somewhere else and come back once it’s over.

Tip #4: Being the peacemaker is a noble role to take on, but you can only take it so far. I know this sounds a bit odd the way I worded it, but I couldn’t think of a better way to explain this one. Basically, you can try and be the mediator in your friends’ drama and help them out, but there’s a certain point where it ends up with you being fully involved in it as well. Definitely try your best to help your friends out with whatever problems they may run into, but make sure you set boundaries and are able to step away from the issue if it’s not even your own.

Tip #5: If someone seems to be surrounded by drama, don’t get involved with them but still BE KIND! I feel like this is a mistake a lot of people make; they assume that just because someone has a toxic reputation, it means they don’t have to try and be nice to them. Obviously these types of people aren’t the ones you would want to take under your wing or befriend, but smiling and saying hi/small kind gestures still go a long way. You never know what that person is going through, so it’s just as important to be kind as it is to keep your distance. Try and spread your positive energy to everyone!

I hope you guys found this mini-guide useful; high school can be a dramatic time because of the abundance of social events and activities going on, but it doesn’t have to be a negative drama-fest. I am confident that you all will thrive during the school year and have relatively drama-free experiences, especially if you follow these tips! Let me know if you have any more questions about this topic or requests for new topics/posts. I’m always trying to come up with exciting content for you guys!

-Brooke

FAQ: High School Cheer

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back guys!

Today I’m going to be answering a bunch of questions people often ask me about high school cheer. Lots of my friends at school play the more “common” sports and find the performance sports like cheer and dance intriguing, so I get asked a lot of questions. It’s also a completely different experience being a cheerleader in comparison to playing another sport since even though I’m still on a school team, it’s obviously a very spirited activity getting to cheer on our other sports teams.

Let’s quickly preface this with a little background about the logistics of my specific high school’s cheer team: my school has both a spirit cheer team and a competitive STUNT team, which has only been added about 3 or 4 years ago. I am only on the spirit cheer team- I chose not to participate in STUNT (the STUNT season goes from December through the end of the school year in case you were curious). The spirit cheer team used to attend some competitions a long time ago (back in the early 2000s) but now does not compete. We perform at football and basketball games only, but we practice in the late spring and throughout the summer, so our season goes from May through February when basketball season ends.

Our school also divides the cheer teams in a funky way; they are divided by grade level, not skill. The freshmen team is all freshmen, the JV team is all sophomores and varsity is all juniors and seniors. You either make the team for your grade level or you don’t make it into the program at all. Therefore, I was on the freshmen team last year and I am now on JV. I am not sure if I will continue doing cheer in junior or senior year/at the varsity level because it is a big time commitment (I may drop it in so I have the time to get a job) and I don’t plan on trying to cheer in college or anything of that sort; however, I am trying to make the most of this season since it may be my last!

For one last piece of background on my personal cheer experience, I was also on a half-year competition cheer team for beginners at my local cheer gym in eighth grade- I was interested in doing high school cheer and I wanted to gain some experience before trying out. I absolutely LOVED my comp team and we had so much fun; we ended up getting a bid to a competition Las Vegas and our trip there was amazing. Competitive cheer is definitely an intense sport, but it’s so unique and wonderful that it makes up for all the pressure. My half-year on that team was enough of a boost in skills for me to make school cheer team, so I said goodbye to my short-lived time as a competitive cheerleader and moved on to high school!

Now we can move onto the questions!

  • So, cheer’s not really a sport, is it? Everyone has their own opinions on this, but I believe that cheer IS a sport, and an extremely difficult one at that. My specific high school cheer team is listed under the “Activities” section and not “Athletics”, but we still get athletic credit for it- it’s the same for dance. This seems fair to me since we don’t compete so we don’t really get the title of being a sport, but we still put in as much time and effort as other sports teams so we can get our P.E. credit. Some high school teams are AMAZING and go to competitions all over the country, so it just depends. I think all-star competitive cheer is obviously a sport with no explanation needed, but some people still disagree with that.
  • What’s your opinion on cheer vs. dance vs. gymnastics? I’ve done dance and gymnastics briefly when I was young, and they are both so different from cheer. People should really stop comparing them because even if they all share certain elements, it doesn’t mean one is harder or better than the others. Even the way you perform in each of them is different (facials, etc.). I appreciate all three and often watch dance and gymnastics videos on my Instagram explore page. There’s so much we can learn from each other’s sports. The dance team at my school is overall much more well-liked than cheer, but it’s because they are competitive and have won national championships many times; they’re amazing!
  • If you’re a cheerleader, are you popular/do you think you’re popular? Are all the other girls on the team popular? This is a major stereotype!! I do not think I am popular, I’m not popular, and I don’t think being a cheerleader has anything to do with popularity. I have a medium size group of friends, and only one of my other friends is on the cheer team with me. People actually make fun of the cheer team at my school for not being a real sport and such- we don’t have the best reputation. As for the other girls, quite a few of them actually are on the more popular side. However, this has nothing to do with them being cheerleaders; lots of their friends/other people in the popular groups are in completely different sports.
  • Is cheer difficult or can anyone do it? Cheer is VERY difficult once you start progressing into harder stunts, tumbling, etc. That being said, I feel like anyone can START off with the basics of cheer if they’re willing to learn. Doing a prep or a cartwheel or learning a dance are skills you might have tried out with friends when you were younger; you probably still can today. However, trying to execute more difficult skills with good technique and constantly practicing full routines would be challenging for someone who’s not used to the pace or material- just like any other sport.
  • Are you friends with all the football players/have you dated a football player? I am only friendly with one of the football players, and it’s unrelated to the cheer/football bond- we had a class together second semester and talked during that. Other than that, I just haven’t ever really connected with any of them, so no, I haven’t dated one either. A lot of the girls on my team are friendly with some of the football players, but mainly the ones they were already friends with before high school/outside of cheer.
  • Can you do a “backflip”? I put in this one as a joke, but it’s something people ask a lot. I take tumbling classes two to three times a week at the local cheer gym I used to compete with, and I’m trying to get my back handspring. I have it on the trampoline/softer surfaces, but I just don’t have the confidence to try and throw it on the floor without someone spotting me. Short answer: No, but close!
  • What’s your favorite part of being a cheerleader? Probably just the physical elements of cheer and the fact that I get to be part of such an amazing, unique sport. Stunts and tumbling are just so mezmerizing, and even though I can’t necessarily do the most difficult ones, it’s still cool to know that I’m part of this sport/world. I watch cheer videos online constantly, I follow famous competitive teams, and I’ve researched lots about the sport in general. I’m not the most talented at it or anything like that; however, I think it’s one of the coolest sports in the world. Cheering at games is also really cool since you get a closer view at the action, but it does get tiring in the heat.
  • Why/how did you know you wanted to try cheer? Honestly, I did it on a whim. I tried every typical sport when I was younger but never particularly liked any or stuck to them, so once I was in middle school I just gave up. I had an older friend that was in high school and tried out for cheer because she didn’t play any other sport and didn’t want to do P.E.; she made it, said it was fun, and suggested I do the same thing. My favorite sports that I had tried were gymnastics and dance (I hadn’t been good, but I liked them) so I figured it was similar yet different enough that I should still give it a shot. I was in eighth grade at the time and one of my friends also expressed interest in doing cheer in high school since she didn’t play any other sport either- we told our moms we wanted to try it, and they found the local gym/beginner comp team.
  • What’s the atmosphere at practice like? Is it chill since you don’t compete? If you had asked me this last year, you would’ve gotten a totally different answer. We had a very inexperienced coach last year for frosh and varsity (the old one quit and left the school scrambling to find someone) and she was extremely laid-back; she wanted us to be good, but she didn’t teach us anything and she didn’t really do anything if we didn’t meet her expectations besides lecture us and give us weird pep talks. She was very quirky in general… regardless, we only had practice 2 times a week for an hour and a half, and there were no rules about what we could wear to practice, hair and jewelry, etc. At the end of the season, she got fired and they brought the old coach back (she’s a teacher at the school so she wasn’t hard to reach) to be the head coach and varsity coach. They brought a coach from the local cheer gym I’ve been mentioning to coach freshman, and the JV coach remained the same as last year (she’s super sweet and has remained calm as long as I’ve known her). I am sooo glad we still have the same coach for JV, but the other coaches are TOUGH. We mainly practice as a group this year, and the conditioning is intense, their expectations are high, and they yell at us a lot. I would go into more detail but I don’t want to bad mouth them or seem too negative. Basically, it’s a harsher environment than you’d expect.
  • Do you practice a lot? I mentioned above how much we practiced last year- 2 days a week for one and a half hours and then we’d get there an hour early before games to run our routines. Last year, we also practiced 3-5 days a week in the summer for 2 hours and we attended a four day cheer camp at UCSB. This year, we are going to practice 3 days a week for two hours and we still arrive an hour early for games. This summer we’ve practiced 3-4 times a week for 2 to 2 and a half hours, but we’ve also had a lot of other events/clinics, etc. We attended another four day cheer camp, but it was the “elite” version of the camp we attended last year, and it was held at Knott’s Berry Farm. Overall during a school week we have cheer 4 days a week, just one of those days is game day. It changes for basketball season because we usually have two games a week and less routines to practice.

I hope you guys enjoyed learning more about my experience as a high school cheerleader and got some possible questions answered! Let me know if you guys have any more questions or would like to know anything else about high school cheer or cheer in general. If this ends up being my last year participating in a high school sport/high school cheer/cheer in general, I want to make the most of it and talk about it as much as I can. Lots of exciting content is coming soon, so stay tuned!

-Brooke

Back to School – 5 Healthy Snack / Lunch Ideas

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

Today I am going to be giving you some ideas for healthy snacks or lunch items that you can bring to school with you! I know it can be difficult to figure out what to pack in your lunch; you don’t want to have to actually prepare a meal on a time crunch, which often leads to skipping the mealtime altogether. However, we all need to eat and nourish our bodies, so here are some convenient foods you can throw in your bag on your way out the door or quickly prep the night before and go!

  • ANY form of granola bar or energy bar – My favorite are the PB&J bars from Trader Joe’s or KIND bars for something more sustainable. These are just by far the easiest thing to grab and eat anywhere; plus, depending on what foods you like and what nutrients you need, you can choose one of the hundreds of types of bars out there. If you’re trying to eat as clean/healthy as possible, I suggest the RXBARS (you can find them at Target) but they’re pretty expensive.
  • Peanut butter and crackers – I brought this to school everyday towards the end of last school year, specifically using the multigrain crackers from Trader Joe’s. It’s easy and delicious with the crunch from the crackers and the peanut butter is a good source of protein.
  • Peanut butter and apples – Clearly I love peanut butter, but this is another classic. If you also want to bring crackers, you can just bring one of the single peanut butter containers and use it to dip both crackers and apples in. I love apples so this is a no-brainer for me.
  • Turkey roll-ups – You definitely need protein to keep you going throughout the day, but if you would prefer to bring “actual” food and not some form of protein bar, here’s another easy solution. I just take slices of turkey, squirt a little bit of mustard in the center, and roll them up.
  • Popcorn – I know most people don’t think of popcorn as healthy, but as long as it’s not cheesy/zebra/some other flavor or buttery movie theater popcorn, it actually is! SkinnyPop and the plain/lightly salted Boom Chicka Pop are both delicious and not many calories.

I know these ideas aren’t super unique but I wanted to share them since these are the healthier items that I rotate in my school lunches (most of the other items are on the more sugary side!). I hope this still gave you some inspiration or helped you figure out what food to bring to school with you. Let me know if you want me to make another one of these but with more unique ideas, or if you have any other requests in general. I’ll be back soon with more school related content!

-Brooke

Bathroom Renovation Pictures!

BrookeLeave a comment

Good morning everyone!

I mentioned in one of my recent posts that all of the bathrooms in my house were getting redone, and I’m happy to say that renovation on the downstairs bathroom has officially been completed! I’m not exactly a design expert, but I do enjoy watching HGTV and reading home decor magazines, so I figured it would be something interesting to share; it’s definitely different than my normal content. In case any of you care, here are some photos of this new and improved bathroom!

I apologize for some of the toiletries being in the picture; they are mine as I am using this bathroom while mine is currently being redone.

Some quick details: the countertops are quartz but they look like Carrera marble, the little rug is from Cost Plus World Market, the soap dish and drawer knobs are from Homegoods, and the mirror is from a local vintage store. Previously, the shower was a normal tub/shower deal, but my mom wanted a walk-in shower because no one used the tub downstairs so it was a pain to clean. If any of you have questions about what types of materials were used, let me know! I’m happy to help 🙂

I know this is a more personally-centered post, but I wanted to showcase something different on my blog and gauge interest in home related posts. If anyone is interested, I’ll post something similar for the other two bathrooms when they are finished as well. I’ve written about organization and similar things, so I don’t think it’s too far of a jump in content. This week is also my homecoming week, so there might be a couple more personal posts coming up. Have an amazing and productive day!

-Brooke

Things I’m Currently Loving – August 2019

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I’m going to be talking about some items and other various things that I’ve been enjoying lately, similar to monthly favorites videos on YouTube if you’ve ever watched those. This isn’t necessarily talking about what I’ve been loving in the month of August since we’re still towards the beginning of the month; a lot of these things I’ve been enjoying for a majority of the summer, and I just titled this post since that’s the month we’re currently in. There’s a variety of things I’ll be talking about, such as YouTubers, beauty products, and activities. Keep reading if you want to hear about everything I’ve been loving!

  • Glossier Balm Dotcom (Coconut) – I know this is a product lots of people rave about, but I’ve never heard anyone mention the coconut flavor. I’ve used up a full tube of the (most popular) birthday cake flavor, but this one ended up being my favorite. I received it as a gift and was reluctant to try it since I normally don’t like coconut scented things, but I LOVE this scent. It’s also just more convenient than some of the other flavors because it’s untinted so it works as a normal chapstick. However, all of the flavors are wonderful- I think they just released a new berry one as well, so go check it out! https://www.glossier.com/products/balm-dotcom
  • Pink Sugar perfume – I’ve always used various perfumes and body sprays but never stuck to one, until I found THIS scent. Something about it just makes me so happy whenever I put it on, and I’ve never gotten sick of it. It’s sweet but not too sweet; my perfect scent. It’s the only perfume I’ve ever run out of- I asked for a new bottle for my birthday so I’m currently using a Marc Jacobs Daisy rollerball. https://www.ulta.com/eau-de-toilette?productId=VP12090&sku=2210835&cmpid=PS_Non!google!Product_Listing_Ads&cagpspn=pla&CATCI=aud-407522006764:pla-403155681594&CAAGID=17964684390&CAWELAID=411634062&CATARGETID=330000200001282129&cadevice=c&gclid=CjwKCAjwyqTqBRAyEiwA8K_4O_H31-kQC0-V2X6WmRXoNwB6jL5SYQWynRkzR2IbRvrtE81xBDPEGRoCE0kQAvD_BwE
  • Yes to Tomatoes Detoxifying Charcoal Mask – This is the only face mask I’ve been using lately, and I find that it’s really been helping with the ever-present cluster of blackheads on my nose. Regardless of what products you’re using, it’s nice to treat yourself and have a little spa night! https://www.target.com/p/yes-to-tomatoes-detoxifying-charcoal-mud-face-mask-2-fl-oz/-/A-17487643
  • Alex Meyers (YouTuber) and commentary YouTubers in general – I stumbled upon his channel while watching LOTS of videos about cringey scenes in Riverdale (my new niche of favorite videos on YouTube) and as a result watched his videos on other teen dramas. I started seeing similar YouTubers (I don’t know a name for their category of content, I just said commentary YouTubers because that’s what they do?) pop up in my recommended tab, such as Casey Aonso and Julia Cudney. I can’t really explain what they do further- just go watch if you want to hear some criticism of teen shows/pop culture and have a laugh!
  • Birkenstocks – I have fully converted to Birkenstocks in the summer- I no longer wear flip-flops or any other form of sandal except for sandal-type heels for fancy occasions. They are just the most comfortable shoes, they match anything, and I personally find them cute. I know they’ve gotten more popular lately because of the whole “VSCO girl” trend, but I’ve been wearing them for about two years; I included them here because I got a new pair after my old ones wore out, and it reignited my obsession.
  • Levi’s shorts – It’s always been difficult for me to find shorts that were both cute and fit me right. I finally found these once I started trying on Levi’s shorts; I avoided them at first since they’re just so expensive and they don’t really ever have sales on the normal washes/styles, but they’re SO worth it. You can get them at Urban Outfitters or actual Levi’s stores, but I’ve found that local boutiques in my area usually have better selections (aka my size isn’t sold out).
  • Flow Free – Sorry if I seem a bit childish for talking about phone games, especially ones that were popular back in the days of iPod Touches, but this is a classic for a reason! I redownloaded it to have some sort of relaxing game for when I got stressed or was bored during long car rides, and it’s done the trick. It really does calm me down and I feel like all the puzzles are good for your brain.
  • Hole.io – Another phone game here! This one’s just kind of a fun one; my friends and I jokingly downloaded it together, but I still play it sometimes when I’m bored to death. It passes time quickly since each round is 2 minutes.
  • Blogging! – If you’re new here, you might not know that I’ve only been writing this blog since the beginning of summer. I’m still a newbie blogger which has made the process so exciting, especially since it’s summer and I’ve had a lot of time to work on it as a result. I’m always thinking of new post ideas and even though the content I’ve been making is a bit all over the place, it’s fun to just write and put stuff out for anyone to read.
  • Writing EVERYTHING down in a notebook – I’ve always been a big planner, but I normally would just write random lists in notes on my phone or into my school agenda- during the summer, my planning is normally non-existent. That changed this summer since I’ve been so busy; I’ve been making lists on paper and writing everything out to make sure I stay on top of things, and it’s been really helpful. Something about having it on paper just alleviates stress for me as well, so I suggest anyone else who is super busy to just take a few minutes each day and write it all down: what you have to do/lists, feelings, deadlines, etc.
  • Google Calendar – I’ve been loving the app but also just the concept of using an online calendar in general. Writing things on paper helps me process it all, but it’s hard when I’m out and about and don’t have my lists with me. Therefore, I’ve also been updating my Google Calendar with all my important plans like appointments, cheer practice, and volunteer events. It’s been nice to have my schedule organized at my fingertips, as well as a better thought-out version written down at home.
  • Croissants – I had to have at least one food favorite! I had never been a big croissant/pastries in general girl until my trip to Europe/France at the beginning summer (I blogged each day I was there, go check it out if you haven’t already!!); maybe it’s because up until that point my only real experience with them was Starbucks’ croissants, but I just never considered them one of my top dessert picks. Now I am OBSESSED along with the rest of my family; my mom makes the kind that you can put in the oven with the pre-made dough almost every morning for breakfast. Obviously they’re not as good as authentic ones from France, but they’re still delicious!

Those are all the main things I’ve been obsessed with using/watching/etc. lately! I hope you guys enjoyed hearing about my favorite things for the summer and maybe are considering trying some of them out for yourselves. Let me know if this is a type of post you would like to see monthly/quarterly, etc. or if you have any other requests! I’ll be back with more exciting content soon.

-Brooke

How To Start Writing and Where to Submit Your Work

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I’m going to be discussing something I haven’t really mentioned before on this blog. I previously wrote a post about my personal writing journey (go check it out if you haven’t already!) but I wasn’t too specific about anything or what I was specifically doing with my writing now. Here I plan to reveal all that. If you are an aspiring writer or you write for fun but don’t know what to do with your finished work, keep reading to learn what you can do to get yourself out there!

  • Just sit down and WRITE. I often had/still have trouble finding time to just write and run with my ideas, but that’s honestly the best way to start. If you’re serious about writing, you just have to go and get started. Eventually something will flow out on the page, and you can edit/go from there. Make sure you can set aside time in your schedule- block it out in your calendar if you have to.
  • Be gentle to yourself. Don’t worry about making everything perfect on the first try or deleting pieces that are bad. You can always edit a first draft, but you need that first draft in order for anything to come out of it. Acknowledge that you’re just getting ideas out and that you’re exploring, not trying to write an award-winning book right away.
  • Follow writing blogs/Instagram accounts/etc. This is something I’ve done recently, and it’s made such a difference! If you’re seeing posts about writing pop up in your social media feed, you’re more likely to be inspired and come up with new ideas. Also, a lot of these accounts will have helpful tips and tricks for editing and such, so there’s a lot of knowledge to be gained.
  • Write without specific goals in mind. If you’re in the middle of a specific writing project then yes, definitely make some sort of a schedule/timeline to keep you motivated and on track. However, this article is mainly aimed at beginners, so that most likely isn’t the situation you’re in; in which case, don’t pressure yourself to produce a certain amount of writing or give yourself deadlines! It will bring you unnecessary stress and prevent ideas from organically flowing. Let the ideas come to you and execute them to your best ability (quality over quantity!) rather than trying to squeeze them out.

Now that I’ve given you a few tips to get started and hone your craft, here’s a bunch of places you can submit your finished work to! You don’t have to try and get published if you don’t want to; you can obviously keep your work to yourself or write purely for fun, but it can be fun to try and get recognized for a piece you’re particularly proud of. Some of these are yearly/regular publications and others are just contests, but there’s lots of options to choose from based on what you’re looking for; as a rule, normal publications will usually let you submit work of any subject, whereas most contests have prompts or themes.

  • Polyphony Lit – I stumbled upon this literary publication (almost completely run by teens!) and fell in love with the work they published. In fact, any teenager can sign up to be a First Reader editor, so I did that and am now part of their staff. They publish poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction and accept submissions basically year-round. https://www.polyphonylit.org
  • Scholastic Art and Writing Awards – I feel like this is a very well-known contest due to its long history and prestige; it’s very competitive and there’s categories for pretty much every art form, not just writing. The submission period is September to December and hundreds of thousands of works are submitted each year. You can submit any genre of writing and I believe as many works as you want; it’s very flexible. www.artandwriting.org
  • Just Poetry!!! National Poetry Quarterly – I submitted a poem here not too long ago. As the name suggests, they publish an issue every season/quarter. There is a 20 line limit and you can only submit one poem per quarter, but it’s pretty open-ended otherwise. http://justpoetry.org/submissions
  • NY Times (various high school contests) – I was surprised to find in my searches that the NY Times has lots of youth writing contests throughout the year. There are a couple they do annually but other than that I think it just depends so you’ll have to check their website for opportunities regularly. Here’s an example of winners’ work from a blackout poetry contest they held: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/13/learning/winners-of-our-blackout-poetry-contest.html?searchResultPosition=1
  • Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest – This is a fun one that I submitted to this year as well! There’s a few categories, but the ones specific to writing are poetry and prose. There’s a new theme each year (2020’s is Climate Hope: Transforming Crisis) and the point of the contest is to communicate about environmental issues, specifically regarding the ocean. www.bowseat.org
  • YoungArts – YoungArts is a national arts competition that’s structured very differently from all the other things I’ve mentioned here. You can submit your work within many art disciplines (there’s music, film, etc. in addition to writing), and you get selected as a finalist, you will get the opportunity to attend National YoungArts Week in Miami and take master classes/workshops with distinguished people in the field. Being selected also makes you eligible to be a U.S. Presidential Scholar. http://www.youngarts.org/apply

I’ve found these places through lots of random Internet searches, but there’s definitely tons more contests and publications out there. If you want to search for more, here are some links to collective lists: https://thejohnfox.com/2016/06/writing-contests-for-teens/ https://cty.jhu.edu/resources/academic-opportunities/competitions/art_writing.html www.newpages.com

33 Writing Contests for Teens (Publication & Cash)

I hope this article inspires you guys to embark on your writing journeys and start creating some beautiful pieces! I would love to hear from any fellow writers or read some of your work. I’m definitely not a professional author or anything like that, but I’ve been working on my writing for a while now and it’s been really fun to explore the discipline. Let me know if you guys would like more posts centered around writing! Lots more content is coming soon, especially the back to school related posts, so keep an eye out for that as well.

-Brooke

How to Create a Productive & Relaxing Workspace

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

Today I will be discussing how to find or create a space where you feel comfortable working in and are at your highest levels of productivity. It’s perfect to figure out what works for you before the school year starts and you’re overloaded with homework and tests again, but it’s also always important to know where you work best in general. Keep in mind that different things work for different people, so my suggestions may not be what’s best for you. That being said, keep reading to get one step closer to finding your perfect work zone!

  • Lighting can make a huge difference. I personally prefer to work near windows and natural lighting, but I know some people work better in slightly darker environments. Whatever is more comfortable for your eyes and just what you prefer in general is fine- make sure to find a location in your house that accomodates this. Even if you have to rearrange your furniture a bit, it’s worth it. Being able to look out at the sunshine through your window can be sooo much nicer than just looking up to see a blank wall.
  • Keep the surfaces minimalistic. Cluttered spaces are usually associated with stress, so try and keep your area streamlined! Try not to let papers and random objects pile up; constantly go through things and organize them into drawers or files out of sight once you’re done with them. You can still have little decor or knicknacks, but I would keep those to a limit as well and try to only have them if they have some other function.
  • Have all of your essentials in reach. Even though you want to have a relatively clear space, you also don’t want to constantly be moving around and getting out of your seat to find other supplies you need. Get some form of supply organizer for the top of your desk or better yet, inside a desk drawer and put everything you use on a daily basis there. It will make work so much faster and easier.
  • Find a comfortable chair/seating area. This is kind of a no-brainer- we all would prefer to be as comfy as possible when working, right? Find a cushion-y spinny chair (my favorites!) or whatever shape of chair is most comfortable for you personally. It’s just better for your back and posture if you’re in a chair where you can sit up straight without experiencing discomfort.
  • Listen to music while working. I know it varies from person to person, but I feel like most people enjoy listening to some form of music while they work. Whether it’s classical music or the latest rap songs (I honestly will listen to both of these genres while doing homework depending on my mood), listen to whatever motivates you. I find that time and work go by so much faster when I’m listening to some good songs.
  • Light candles. This is just another ambience factor, but a pleasant aroma in your space makes you feel more relaxed and at peace. Different scents are especially relaxing, like lavendar and eucalyptus. Lighting candles always bring a calm vibe to the room, and it’s just a nice thing to do for your self-care.
  • Dust and wipe down your desk/table/etc. often. Along with organization comes actual cleanliness! I know my desk can get super dusty on the top of the hutch, and the actual desktop can get pretty dirty just from all the work and different items that are always on it. Use Clorox wipes and any form of dust rag over the surface to get rid of germs and leave your space clean.
  • Make it aesthetically pleasing for yourself. Whether this is making a mini vision board and hanging it up on the wall above your desk, having a color theme for all your supplies and decor, or having a custom desk calendar with your personal pictures, just do something that makes your space stand out to you. This will make it a happier place for you to spend time in, and there will always be something you can glance at that perks you up.
  • Try to find a place where you won’t be disturbed by others or outside noise. Another obvious one, but it’s still important. No matter how good the lighting in your living room is, it may not be the best choice for studying if the rest of your family is always sitting there and conversing. Know where the best quiet spots are and try and take one of those and make it into your own. If you have your own room and there’s enough space for a desk and everything, I would recommend that as long as the rest of the environment/lighting is decent.
  • Make sure you have ENOUGH space. I’ve talked about all these things you should do with your space, so you need a good amount of room to do it all! In all seriousness, it’s not fun trying to get work done on a cramped little desktop. It’s best if you can spread your stuff out and still have room for organization and a little decor. Obviously you have to consider size within reason, but try and get the biggest surface you can to work on.

I hope these tips gave you an idea of how to create your ideal workspace. A few small tweaks to your environment can make all the difference in your mood while working! No matter what, make sure you take breaks throughout your day. Even if you manage to find a place that you love working in and don’t want to get up, taking a breather to recharge your mental health is very important. Let me know if you guys have any requests for content as always! I have TONS of ideas for new posts so there will be lots of exciting things coming soon.

-Brooke

USA Cheer Camp (Knott’s Elite) Day 4: Last Evaluation & Coming Home

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

Today I will be sharing the last of my cheer camp coverage. This post will cover my last day of the camp I attended with my high school cheer team at Knott’s Berry Farm and our arrival home. The camp went by slow in the moment (it felt like we had been there for a year by the last day) but in retrospect, it was a blur. There were definitely some long days and nights, but going to an away camp and the bonding that ensues is an important tradition within our program. Keep reading if you want to find out what goes on during a half-day/wrap-up at a sleepaway cheer camp!

My roomies and I woke up at 6:15 in our hotel room overlooking the theme park for the final time. We got ready, changing into our cheer uniforms (we had to wear our actual uniforms since it was the last day and we had our last evaluation) and putting our hair into another high ponytail with our bows. By this point we kind of had a set routine, so it was the fastest we had gotten ready all of camp. We had to be packed up and put our luggage (not including our cheer backpack) downstairs in the lobby when we went down to breakfast, so we took the extra time to pack up everything nicely and check that nothing was left behind. Once the room was wiped clean, we lugged our bags downstairs, left them in the designated space, and headed to our last camp-provided meal.

Breakfast was refreshingly the best this day out of all the days- there were waffles and croissants. We all filled up on food quickly and then met up with everyone else in the lobby since there was no longer any point trying to go up to our rooms. Our coaches made sure everyone had cleared out their rooms and put their luggage downstairs before we walked to the camp set-up. We did our dynamic stretches and you could definitely tell our energy levels were dropping. After the stretching, we quickly broke out into another practice session with our staff teammate to run through our cheers and band chant before the evaluation. I could tell we weren’t doing our best which was a little frustrating, but understandable considering how exhausted we all were.

Soon they announced it was time for the Game Day evaluations, so we sucked it up and got ready to perform. It definitely wasn’t our best; we did okay on the band chant but we weren’t as clean or in sync as we could’ve been, and the cheer wasn’t as loud or sharp as we had practiced in the past either. Varsity and Freshman teams killed it though, so we were proud of them. The staff played music while we waited for our results and ribbons- we ended up getting an Excellent (the rank below Superior) which was a bit disappointing since we were so close to getting straight Superiors, but we knew it was what we deserved. Varsity and Freshman both got Superiors, so that was a plus.

Once the evaluations were over, it was time for the Stunt Challenge finals. My group knew we weren’t going to make it too far, especially with the low energy we had that day; however, we didn’t expect to get out of the competition so soon. On the first stunt, they explained it as a two man extension when it was really just a normal straight-up extension and we didn’t know what to do so we messed up on the counts and were automatically out. It was disappointing but not too much so, and it was fun to watch other groups pull off some amazing stunts! After the stunt challenge, the next competition was the Spirit Star top 10 finalists. We cheered on the varsity cheerleader from our school that was in it and she did amazing on her cheer, jump, and tumbling, but sadly she was not selected as the final winner. All of the Spirit Star semi-finalists (the original group of people who competed to make the top 10) were then recognized and got ribbons for being USA All Americans. The staff instructed everyone to go up and perform the camp dance and the cheers just for fun as a little showcase, and we all did before sitting back down again.

The Jump-Off and Tumble-Off were next, and my school was again well-represented. A few of our cheerleaders made it to the finals in both competitions, but sadly again were not selected as the winner. Everyone did SO well though, and I honestly think one of the girls from my school should have one because her jumps are INSANE. The staff then called for all the Pin-It-Forward recipients to find the person they wanted to give the pin to and bring them up to the front; another two people from our school got picked by some people from other schools, and the 3 people that had gotten picked yesterday passed the pin on. It was a really cute ceremony. Last came the actual camp/team awards. All of my school’s teams received a Superior plaque (meaning we got at least 2 Superior rankings out of 3), my team specifically won the spirit points challenge (by taking pictures and doing other various spirited tasks), and our school got another spirit award which meant we got a spirit stick to take home.

Pleased with our awards, we were all satisfied and ready for camp to end. They closed out the ceremony by having each team take a picture with and say goodbye to their staff teammate, and playing one last song. We picked up all our trash and gathered all our stuff, and most people decided to change out of their uniform into some comfier clothes. I changed into some cotton shorts and a t-shirt- taking my bow and ponytail out never felt so good! The coaches and a couple parents who had driven up surprised us with Subway sandwiches for lunch since there was no lunch provided, so we sat at the picnic area near the field for a little bit and ate. Once everyone had finished eating, we walked back to the hotel, taking in the Knott’s scenery for the last time. Everyone grabbed their bags and we headed outside the hotel to load the bus!

We left a little before 2:00, and the ride was a little over 2 hours since we hit some traffic. I sat next to my close friend/the same person I sat with on the bus ride there, but we didn’t chat nearly as much. Everyone was so tired, so we all caught up with social media or watched Netflix and YouTube on our phones. I even took a mini nap. The bus was super cramped and uncomfortable but I was satisfied knowing we were so close to being home. We arrived back at school around 4:00pm and I immediately grabbed my bag and ran to my mom’s car- sitting in the front seat of her car had never felt so roomy and good! When she picked me up she had pizza for me in the car, so I gorged the whole ride home. Returning to my room was a breath of fresh air- I started unpacking and just fell into my normal night routine. It felt good to be home!

I hope you guys enjoyed reliving my camp experience with me. It was definitely a crazy week and I’m lucky to have had such an experience with my team, but I’m also glad it’s over. Let me know if you want more cheer-related content since football season is about to start and there will be lots I can cover! I’ll be coming back with more back-to-school content as well, I know it’s getting super close. Make sure to enjoy the rest of your summer!

-Brooke

USA Cheer Camp (Knott’s Elite) Day 3: Last Full Day & Theme Rally Night

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back guys!

I will be explaining everything that went down on the third day of the cheer camp that I attended with my high school cheer team at Knott’s Berry Farm. I’ve already posted about the first two days there, so go check out that if you haven’t already! The camp was from July 29th to August 1st, so I’ve just been recollecting my thoughts and returning to posting. Day 3 was definitely a difficult one because we were starting to lose our energy, it was an actual full day (the previous day we ended early to go into the theme park), and it just felt so close to the end yet still so far. However, it was Rally Night and we got to dress up according to the theme (Road Trip USA) so there was still something to look forward to.

Our day started at 6:15am yet again, with me being the first one to hop out of bed right as the alarms went off so I could be first in the bathroom. My roomies and I got dressed and ready for the day, except one of my roommates actually slept in- we tried to wake her and everything, but she wouldn’t budge until 6:50! After she woke up, the rest of us waited for her to finish getting ready so we headed to the breakfast area a little later (around 7:15). There wasn’t much for breakfast besides bagels, so we ate some snacks once we headed back upstairs. We went to the hydration station to fill up our water bottles and then met up with our coaches and everyone else in the lobby at 8:00 to walk to the field together.

On our way to the camp set-up, we took more team pictures. We also had to take team pictures by specific landmarks or in specific poses as part of a camp challenge- whoever took the best picture got spirit points. The actual camp session began with dynamic stretching to music again (a little too quick of a stretch for my liking, but it’s kinda fun how they try to pump you up while doing it). We went through more material review (the camp dance, cheers, etc.) and then it was time for another stunting workshop. My group wasn’t doing as well as we did the day before, but it was still a good practice opportunity. Once that workshop ended, there was another specialty class session. My coach sent me to the hip-hop routine, which was actually pretty fun. It was a super fast-paced dance so I never got it fully down when we did it to music, but I enjoyed learning it. That class lasted about an hour, and then we got into another workshop with our Staff TeamMate.

John (our staff teammate, read my post on Day 2 to find out what that is) was responsible for helping us put together stunts for the end of our dance routine that we would be performing later in the day as an evaluation. It wasn’t a fully open session though because it was kind of another stunt workshop in a way; the staff showed us a few pyramid stunts we could do and inbetween each demonstration we were encouraged to try and insert those in our routine with our staff teammate. We ended up with a pyramid where one stunt group had their flyer doing a backflip and catching her at the top in extension, and two stunt groups (one was mine!) having their flyers brace that flyer and help flip her over. The remaining two stunt groups on our team did straight-up extensions off to the sides. It took us a lot of trial and error to settle on that stunt combo, so we finished around the time that the workshop was over. It was time for lunch!

This day probably had the worst lunch- there was just a bunch of slices of bread and lunch meats laid out so you could make sandwiches, but that was basically it. I made myself a turkey sandwich on some form of egg bread (it was really soft but it wasn’t white bread so I’m assuming) and quickly ate it so I would have more time to relax in my room. Once my roomies and I went back upstairs, I ate an energy bar and a bunch of candy to fill myself up. We went on our phones and freshened up before going back downstairs to meet everyone around 12:45 and walk to the set-up.

Once we got back to the field, it was time to showcase the routines from the specialty classes. I completely forgot the dance but it didn’t matter because it was over quickly, and it was still fun to watch the other classes perform. It was then time for more practice for our evaluation with our staff teammate! We focused on just piecing the dance part with the stunt part and also adding a short jump section in the beginning. At first, all of the parts were hitting only separately and not together, but we just kept drilling it until it all worked. Performance/evaluation time was around 3:00, but before everyone performed there were a few more announcements.

The staff announced the spirit awards (we got one the day before, but not this day), and they announced the Pin-It-Forward recipients. These were people selected by staff members that stuck out as leaders or just people willing to help others around them. They would receive two pins, one for themselves, and one they would pass on to someone from a different school that they found deserving on Day 4. A cheerleader from each of our school’s teams was chosen, so we were all very proud of our teammates! After we had finished celebrating, it was time for evaluations. I was actually nervous since we had basically just put together this routine today and there was a lot of pressure from our coaches to do well. Despite the nerves, it actually went SO well! I messed up a little bit on the dance and it wasn’t my cleanest performance, but it was a solid routine and all of our stunts hit.

I also loved evaluation time just because I enjoyed watching the other schools and teams perform. Our varsity team CRUSHED their performance, and the freshmen had a clean dance but unfortunately their pyramid stunt didn’t go up. The USA staff played music and gave us a mini dance party while they deliberating on the evaluation decisions- this time, we wouldn’t have to wait a whole day to get our results, and we would get ribbons! Once they were ready, they had each team circle up as a staff member came to reveal their results and give them their ribbons. Our team got a superior, which we were thrilled about!! We all immediately attached the beautiful blue ribbon to our cheer backpacks. 🙂

The last actual workshop of the night before dinner was just material review on the cheers and the band chant that we would have to perform the next day at the Game Day evaluation. They would call out a situation that could occur at a game and we would have to decide what type of cheer to call (defense vs offense vs general) and then each team would perform the band chant. This went by quickly and then there was a short period of time where captain candidates had to go over the goals we set on Night 1 but other than that, we were basically free for the night!

Dinner was once again not the greatest- they served fried chicken with biscuits and nothing was too flavorful. However, the apple pie they had for dessert was very good, and that’s coming from someone who’s not the biggest fan of apple pie! After eating, my roomies and I headed up to get ready for the theme rally party. The theme was USA road trip destinations, so our team chose to dress up as stereotypical Beverly Hills moms/housewives as a joke. The freshmen team dressed up as Area 51 aliens and the varsity team dressed up in different college gear, so there was definitely a variety of costumes out there. I wore a tank top, a tennis skirt, and a preppy green sweater tied around my neck with oversize sunglasses and a low ponytail. Lots of my teammates wore visors and pearl necklaces as well- it ended up being both a cute and funny look.

We met in the lobby around 6:45 and headed to the field to start the rally off. It was divided into sections by grade level- my whole team (JV) is sophomores, so we all headed to the sophomores section and sat down. There were lots of games played in order to determine which grade level was the most spirited and the ultimate champion of the rally; seniors won (they won at camp last year, and seniors always win at our school rallies.. it’s just a senior thing) but it was still fun to participate and yell out the sophomore chants. Next came the famous dance party! They played all the typical songs that play at these functions like the cha cha slide, the cupid shuffle, and more, plus a mix of popular songs that were current and that were throwbacks. After the DJ played the last song, it was a little before 9:00. We could stay on the field and take pictures, but we also needed to practice.

The coaches took team pictures of us and then we had to review the material for the game day evaluation really quickly. The last thing we had to do before leaving the field was the coaches needed to select who would be participating in the Jump-Off and Tumble-Off the next day. There could only be two people from each team, so our coaches had anyone who wanted to be in it do their jumps in front of them in a variety of different combos. After our coach made her choices, we were free to walk back to the hotel. We got back a little after 9:00, which was actually the earliest that we had gotten back out of all the nights so far. Since we had so much time, most of my team went into one room and played a card game that someone brought (it was like Cards Against Humanity but for girls specifically, I forget the name) while we gorged on everyone’s junk food snacks. We got bored of the game quickly, so my roomies and I went back in our room and DoorDashed ice cream from Baskin Robbins.

After devouring our ice cream- I got mint chip and it really hit the spot- we started getting ready for bed. I showered first this time which was nice, and then I laid out all my stuff that I would need for the last day/rest of camp and packed everything else up since we were leaving tomorrow! While my roomies showered and got ready for bed, I started to clean up the rest of the room and throw away trash. Once most of our stuff was packed up, we hung out with our adjoined-room-roomies for a little bit. Our coaches sent us a text instructing us to give the gifts we assembled before camp to our “big sisters” at this time, so we all split up in order to find our bigs and do so. When we returned to our room, there was one last thing we had to do: take a survey and vote on our captains!

This year, our coaches decided to choose captains after camp instead of before so they could spend most of camp observing the candidates. Anyone who was running gave their speech at our last practice before camp, and now it was time for us to give our feedback and vote. We went in the room connected to ours and filled it out in the company of all the people in there, but we were pretty much silent and keeping our answers confidential regardless. The deadline for the surveys was 11:00pm aka lights out, so as soon as we all turned them in we went to bed. My roomies and I set our alarms and thanked the universe that we were almost done with this crazy camp!

I hope you guys enjoyed learning more about my experience at cheer camp; it might seem boring or like not that much actually went on, but in the moment it was extremely hectic and tiring! Let me know if you guys have any requests for content as always. I’ll be posting about the final day of camp tomorrow and then new content will be coming from there.

-Brooke