Hello Winter Break

Hello!

It has been quite a while since I posted last. School and work kept me entirely occupied.

It was a rather difficult semester, and I am so thrilled that it is FINALLY over. I am NOT looking forward to receiving my grades. I kind of lost focus through the semester, but I hope it doesn't show too much. Next semester I am continuing with Chemistry and taking Chem 120. I will start my Physics classes (finally!) and I will be taking Phys 110. I'll jump into Linear Algebra with Math 220, and then I will have my first online class- Econ 102. It should be a "fun" semester, but I am in absolutely no hurry for this break to be over. Enough about school though....

I feel like a lot has happened since my last post, but maybe I will just include some highlights.

I spent about the last two weeks of October sick. Some how I managed to catch the bug that was going around. This unfortunately made me miss both the Tyler Lundin Blood Drive and the social dance I was going to participate in. At least I felt much better by the time Halloween rolled around, because I had a blast! I don't get trick-or-treaters at my house because I live on a private dirt road so this time around, I joined a friend in her housing development.  All of the kids with their costumes were absolutely adorable! I loved it! Handing out candy to all the adorable princesses, and ninjas, and supermen was way more fun than trick-or-treating as a child. I cannot wait to do it again.

It feels like we zoomed through November. Some highlights...hmmm....

I went snowboarding for the first time! Now THAT was an experience! I took a Sunday off work, and joined some coworkers up at Mt. High for a day of snowboarding. Thankfully I was able to borrow not only a board, but bindings and boots from a friend so I did not have to pay for a rental. I only did 4 runs, but I felt like I accomplished quite a bit! Thankfully my friend stuck by me the whole time and taught me how to snowboard. I ate a ton of crap, but by the end I was kind of getting the hang of it. As expected, I was pretttyyy sore the next few days. Especially my arms! It was a toooon of fun, and I cannot wait to do it again! Here is a cheesy picture collage of the few photos I took that day.

Thanksgiving was great. Just spent the day with family, and I had my friend join us this year. It was a beautiful day, and we did have a lot to be thankful for! We don't do the whole "Black Friday" thing, so Friday was well spent. It also happened to be my birthday. Well...me and my twin's birthday. He had to work all day, but we were able to go out to dinner as a family. If you haven't seen my twin (or me) here is a photo. I brought him a shake on our birthday :] 

Since I am posting all sorts of photos, I will add some more. I had my third semester (and last) in Ceramics at AVC. I feel like I have really come a long way. It definitely was not my most productive semester, but I am pleased with my new techniques and accomplishments. All of these pieces were made on the wheel (with the exception of the mask). Mr. Sim enjoyed all but one, so I am hoping that I get an A! When I get a chance, I will photograph all of these individually so you can get a closer look. Those pictures will be added to my ceramics photo album on Facebook. I will definitely miss this class in the future! Maybe some day I can afford a pottery wheel...and then a kiln! Someday! (When I'm rich! ;] )

They may look small, but they're not! ;]

November ended well aaaaand now it is December. The weather has been strange, but I think it is finally beginning to cool down. Let's hope! I am very much looking forward to Winter Break. I will still be working, but that is okay! I don't have any big plans, but it should be fun. 

On a completely unrelated note, I saw a hilariously true video on YouTube about Instagram. Hopefully you're aware of what Instagram is, because I won't be explaining it. I have to admit, I do have an account, and I can be guilty of some of these cliches they're calling out in the video. It's all pretty fun :] The parody is sung to Nickelback's "Photograph" tune. Hope you enjoy! Instagram Parody 

Have a great week! ♥

~Marcea

Black & Blue

Hello everyone! It's October, i'm halfway through the school semester, and the weather is FINALLY starting to feel like Fall! I apologize for not blogging as frequently as I said I would. I have been busy with school and all the homework and studying that accompanies it.

Until today, I hadn't realized how fast this semester has already gone. It's been a long, treacherous  journey (okay, not really), but I think it has been a good one thus far. In the past few weeks I have learned 1) to hate math (specifically vector calculus), 2)That I stink at computer programming, 3)That I love Chemistry more than I did in high school, and 4)Anthropology is interesting, but I never want to take another class like that again. School has kept me so busy lately, and right now I should probably be studying or something. But I have a lot to say, and I often think of things to include in my next blog post, and then when I sit down to type it all out, I forget over half of it. Maybe I should be jotting it down on a notepad as I go along in my day. Hah. ;]

Another thing I have been involved with at school is a new organization called Alpha Iota. It's a chapter of the organization Alpha Gamma Sigma, which has multiple chapters through California. It is an honors group at AVC that has members who meet a certain GPA requirement. I joined it this semester, and became an active member. Every Friday, we host meetings, and I am so glad I have joined! They do a lot of community service, and other events in the community, and I am so glad to be back doing volunteering and fundraising for the community. Back in middle school, our CJSF (California Junior Scholarship Foundation) was very active in the community, but when I joined CSF(California Scholarship Foundation) in high school, there was not one event that we came together to do. In Alpha Iota, there is so much that they do as a club, and I am really looking forward to participating in it as much as I can. As of right now, it's a little difficult to make it to the events between my work and school hours, but I will figure out how to make it work. If anyone is interested, check out the website here. www.alphaiota.wordpress.com

Which leads me to my next exciting and unimportant update about me! I got the new iPhone 5! I paid quite a chunk of money for that baby, but it is so worth it. September was my month for an upgrade (after waiting for two years), and I took advantage of the release of this new iPhone. What a difference when compared to my old flip phone! I am not glued to my phone, but I am definitely taking advantage of the nice camera, and of course, Instagram! Too many people are criticizing the iPhone, but hey, I think it's great! In the battle between iPhone and Android, it all boils down to preference. You wouldn't believe the number of people who have tried to convince me I wasted my money, and should have gotten the Android phone. Silly people, it's JUST A PHONE.

September was kind of a "slump" month for me. My friend even joked that September is always a lame month! Although there were some highlights, when I look back on the month overall, it really wasn't the best. I started it out with a wound to my finger, and ended it tired, and under too much stress from school. And of course lots of stress, homework, and drama in between. That is being rather pessimistic, but I am just glad to say it is over now! Onto to October, and soon...November! My favorite month! (I wonder why ;])

October has been pretty great! Can't believe we are already going into the second week though! Last Friday, I had yet another one of the best nights of my life. I went to my second Jason Mraz concert at the Hollywood Bowl. Not only was that amazing musician there, but Christina Perri opened for him as well! Those two are both such talented, and amazing musicians. To say I had a great time is an understatement! The tour was promoting his new album "Love is a Four Letter Word", but he also played a lot of older songs as well. I took my mother, and altogether, we had a great night. I promise myself that I will go to every single one of his concerts as long as it's close enough! I love that man! ♥ Jason Mraz ♥

Here is a view of the stage from where we were sitting! I thought we had some pretty great seats! :] Totally worth the whole paycheck I spent on those tickets! 

Another thing I am particularly looking forward to this month is the next social dance at the studio I used to take ballroom dance lessons from. Every month, they host a social dance on a Sunday evening where anyone can come and dance to all different types of ballroom; salsa, tango, cha cha, waltz, swing, and even more. The next event is on October 28th, so if anyone is interested, hit me up, and I will give you more details :]

I intended for this post to be longer, but I will end it soon because I am way too tired. On a last note, I realized something today....girls are so much prettier without make up! Don't get me wrong, accenting your beauty is fine, but drawing all over your eyes, lips and brows just doesn't compare to the natural look of your face. I'm doing an October Photo Challenge on Instagram (lame, I know), and today the subject was "No Makeup". I will not lie, I was a bit hesitant actually posting a picture of me without makeup on the internet for the world to see! However, I think it went good! After posting it, I went through and checked out what other girls posted, and I actually felt like those pictures were prettier than the fake ones you see all over Facebook, Twitter, etc. I think from now on, I'm going to lay off from all the foundation, eyeliner, mascara and such, and take advantage of my nice skin, and natural beauty! You're all beautiful!

~Marcea

Procrastination Post

Hello!

It's Saturday night, and I am supposed to be doing homework, but as usual, I've preoccupied my time with other things. I am so mentally exhausted from school this week, I'm surprised I made it all the way through to Friday without completely shutting down my brain. Here is to another busy week ahead!

Hmmm....where should we start?
Updates!

My finger has healed extremely fast...and it looks fantastic! While repairing the damage, we left the skin attached rather than pulling it off. Thankfully, this allowed more protection for the wound to heal, and a nice shape for the new skin to grow back into! It's looking so good, and it's repairing at a very quick pace. I still, however, cannot feel anything since all the nerves are cut in that tip. At least I can proudly say I am typing with it! Here is a recent photo:

It is all pink, and hopefully healthy! :] Sooo glad to have my finger back!

On the topic of fingers, I have a new nail manicure to show off! It's called my "Galaxy" nails. I didn't come up with the design myself- I actually found a tutorial on YouTube. It'll take some more practice before I get the hang of it, but here it is! 

I also water-marbled my mom's nails today for the first time. That was quite an experience! haha. It was a trial run for her charity function next Friday. By then, we should have it down, and super cute! :]

Another update, but not so cheery. Last Saturday, on September 8th, Grandpa Hendrix passed away. He was the grandfather to one of my very best friends. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet him when I visited Maryland this past summer. Not only did he open his home to me, but his love as well. Since I grew up without grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Hendrix were some of the closest things I have had when it comes to Grandparents. They were so loving, and I had a wonderful time for the entire two weeks I was there. Grandpa Hendrix was a wonderful man who cared so very much for his wife, his family, and his community. He was so loving, and caring....and even quite the joker! His funeral services were in Maryland, and although I wish I could have gone, it was seemingly impossible between work and school. May he rest in peace. ♥ He is an angel in Heaven looking over us all. Prayers to all of his family and friends. Here is a nice obituary in honor of him.  Love you, Grandpa Hendrix!

On another note, there is a lot of interesting things going on with politics in our country. As most of you know (hopefully all of you know) there is am upcoming Presidential election in November. Obviously, it will be between the Democratic incumbent, Barack Obama, and the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. I'm not here to tell you who you should vote for, or which candidate is going to ruin your life should you cast a vote for him, but I'm here to tell you why I think it's important to know how your vote counts, and why you should participate! A lot of responsibility has been given to us as citizens of the United States to have a voice in choosing our leaders. If everybody thought to themselves, "oh, my vote doesn't count, so why should I vote?", then we'd have a lot of people not voting, and thus skewing an accurate result of the people's choices. If you're unsure about the candidates, then do some research. Of course, no one can force you to vote, and if you're completely against both of them, that is okay too. But I find too many people are basing their judgements off Facebook posts, and biased news channels before they do any research of their own. Check into the campaigns, and debates of these two politicians. Do some research of the actual political parties, and even check their voting records! There is a lot you can do. Listening to the news channels, reading the articles off Yahoo, and even seeing those horrible mud-slinging posts on Facebook are just clouding your opinion with false, and biased information. Please do your part as a United States citizen, and make informed decsions! If you're curious how the majority of the USA is going to vote in November, check out this website to play around with the numbers. It's quite interesting. Happy voting! Go America! P.S.- Stop with the mud-slinging, and trash-talking of the candidates. It's so pointless and lame! 

I'm on the hunt for a potter's wheel if you know of anyone who is selling one. They're pretty expensive, so I can't afford a new one. I'm sure if I ended up actually getting one- i'd be so preoccupied using it, that I would get absolutely nothing done around the house. There is nothing that can compare to the relaxing feeling of clay underneath your hands as it turns into a beautiful pot. I'm still learning so much, but I feel like I have come such a long way from last year when I first started. Here is a a picture of some of my upcoming pots. They have been fired once (Bisque Firing), and I will glaze them, and fire them once more before they're complete. 

So I am going to wrap this post up before my show, Saturday Night Live begins. I used to watch it religiously, and kind of fell through by the end of last season. By chance I found out that the season premiere is tonight with Seth MacFarlane, and Frank Ocean as host and musical guest. I'm not sure how I will be able to stay up and watch it all the way, but that is what recording DVR's are for! Anyways, take care, and have a great week!!

~Marcea

P.S.- I see "memes" all over Facebook, and usually they're pretty stupid, but I had to share this one that hit home. Sooo true! 

Good night, every body! :] ♥

September 11th

"...for those of us who lived through these events, the only marker we’ll ever need is the tick of a clock at the 46th minute of the eighth hour of the 11th day." President George W. Bush

We will Never Forget. For me, it was an eerie day in my childhood that will never be forgotten. I was too young at the time to know what the Twin Towers, The World Trade Center, and the Pentagon were. I did however know what had happened, and the terrible loss we suffered that day. To all the families and friends that lost a loved one on 9/11, in the days following, and to those who are still losing loved ones as a result of this, God Bless you. This date will live in infamy. ♥

Labor Day Weekend

It's Sunday, September 2nd, and Labor Day Weekend. Apparently this is proof to what a poor social life I have because I've been stuck at home by myself every night! (And have no plans for tomorrow either!) This of course would not be so bad if my family were home for the weekend, but they're all out of town doing their own fun things! Boohoo. The only positive thing about this, is that I have plenty of time to do homework, including the wretched Anthropology Test I had to take online this weekend. Oh, and I suppose it allows time for my finger to heal. I cut it pretty bad at work on Saturday....I would post a picture, but I'm sure you wouldn't be too pleased to see it if you were squeamish. In short, I sliced my index finger on the deli slicer and it went rather deep. Instead of getting stitches,  I just wrapped the heck out of it. Bad choice, because now I will have a HUGE chunk out of my finger once it "heals". It's hard to explain. I'll post a picture at the end of this post so you have the option to scroll all the way down and see it if you choose to. I just can't stop looking at it...it's horrific, but so interesting as well. Oh, and it's been seriously throbbing since I cut it. :[ A huge thanks to my friend who has helped clean it up, and keep it in the best shape possible. Haha, I can't wait until my parents come home for the weekend and find out what damage I have done to my important digit. Oh well.

Speaking of blood and such, I did a very bloody thing last Thursday. I donated blood to the American Red Cross for the first time! I have always wanted to donate blood, and once I heard about the Church across the street hosting a blood drive, I decided it was the perfect opportunity. I went after work with two coworkers, and I ended up being the only one able to donate! One friend was underweight, and the other was low on iron in her blood. I almost was deemed as unable to give blood because when they were doing my preliminary interview, my pulse was too high. It turned out I was just nervous, so they allowed me a moment to relax and try to lower the pulse. After attempting to meditate (HAH), I was able to bring it down. All was well, and everything went great. I pumped my blood into that bag, and even had her show me it afterwards! Surprisingly, I didn't get dizzy, or anything. I honestly cannot wait to do it again in October.

So besides blood, I have been busy with school. I think I have already finished the first two weeks of the semester. Man. Have they been a difficult two weeks back!! I feel as if I took a dive into the deep end. Calculus, Anthropology, and even C Programming have been so incredibly fast-paced and difficult. I was considering dropping C Programming because I feared not being able to keep up, but after about a 4 hour-long study session with myself on Friday night (that's cool, right?), I was able to produce my first program in C language on the computer. I think it'll be a tough class, but at least I know I can produce something.

September already! Before you know it, it will be October, and then November (my birthday!) and then it'll be January 2013 before you know it. Goodness.

It seems as if I have run out of things to talk about. That's okay, because it is already getting late. Take care, and have a nice week everyone! I'll add some space to the end of this post, and share the picture of my finger. ;]

~Marcea

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Keeping Up

I cannot believe it is already August. Time flies by way too fast.

In my last post, I mentioned some of the highlights of my summer thus far. Besides the Maryland trip, I have been visiting a lot of friends who are back in town for summer and such. Just recently I even went to a Line Dancing Club in Thousand Oaks with some coworkers. Even though this "tush push" video taught me some moves, I was definitely not prepared for all the dances I saw that night! I had a blast, and I will definitely have to practice more for next time. :]

In my spare time (which I have had a lot of) I have been starting a new hobby...nail art! I was inspired by my good friend, Holly, when she showed me how to water marble the nail polish. Since then, I have been painting my nails in all sorts of different ways! It has been real fun trying new colors and new designs out. The possibilities are endless. Growing up, I never painted my nails because I was a total tom-boy, but now I can't stand to look at my hands without nail polish on them! A very helpful lady on YouTube by the name of Collette has posted some amazing video tutorials on water marbling and other forms of nail art. You can find her channel if you click here. I'll post some pictures below of some of my recent creations!

Fourth of July nails

Blue water marble

Pink and Yellow gradient with Black Crackle

Olympic nails! Blue and Red gradient with Silver Crackle polish

"Tire Tracks" White nail polish with Black Crackle polish

Besides inhaling probably way too much Nail Polish Remover fumes, I have thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with my nail art! Sometime soon I plan to try "newspaper nails" where you transfer the ink from a newspaper onto your nail. I heard it even works with sheet music, and since I have tons of that laying around, I'll probably do that design instead. 

I am still in denial about school resuming this month. We start classes on the 20th, and I know that once school hits, there will be no free time whatsoever. It looks like when I am not in class, I will be at work. And when I am supposed to be sleeping, I will be doing homework. Sounds like the life to me! Just focusing on me, me and me. I cannot wait to be done with college. 

I guess I shouldn't say I will be solely be focusing on me. I will make a stronger effort to spend my free time with friends and family. Today I had the opportunity to get together with some friends from high school. My good friend, Joe, made an excellent point that we should be more grateful for each other, and try to spend what little time we may have together. Just recently, two boys who graduated from our high school back in 2010 and 2011 were both involved in different traffic accidents which cost them their lives. Rest in Peace to Kyle and Mark. They were both so young, and to have them gone this soon is extremely sad. Death is always going to be a part of life, but we need to cherish all the time we can on Earth. Hopefully you'll choose to spend that extra minute or two telling someone you love them, or are grateful to have them in your life! 

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

-Romans 13:8

On that note, I will say Good Night! I shall be posting more frequently! :]

~Marcea

Summer Is Over

So I apologize for not posting any entries in the past few months. Not sure who reads this thing anyways! I really need to get in the habit of composing more blog posts.

What has happened since the last post?
hmmm.

Well I finished my second semester at AVC. My course schedule was a little bit different that I had originally intended to take, so I will go into a brief recap of what I thought about each class.

Art 104- History of Modern Art
I took this course after taking Art 102, which was History of Art: Renaissance to Modern. Basically it was a continuation class. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. I had the same professor, Rae Agahari, and she is fantastic. You really learn a lot from her! I have a new found respect for modern art, and contemporary art as well. This makes my trips to LACMA a lot more meaningful!

Math 160- Calculus II
This class kicked my butt! All sorts of forms of integration and it's application. Series, polar graphs....yuck. Good teacher, but harsh grading. I am so glad I passed with a C. I will be moving onto Calculus III this upcoming semester, and I am looking forward to having the same professor I had for Calculus I this time around! He was an excellent teacher, and as a bonus, he likes me! :]

Political Science 101 Honors- Intro to American Government
My first honors class within the Honors Program at AVC. John Vento is a fantastic teacher...but this was one of the hardest classes I have had to take in a while. I took AP Government in high school, and did well, but it definitely did not prepare me for anything in this class! We did a lot of reading, analyzing, and most importantly....writing. I find writing to be extremely subjective, and I have had many teachers and professors in the past who have either loved my writing, or hated it. This professor definitely did not like my writing. But after working extremely hard to improve it, I managed to get a 75% on the first essay exam, and 90% on the last. With steady progression, it was extremely rewarding to earn an A on an exam! I ended up with a B overall in the class, which is okay, but I will take it.

Psychology 211- Psychology of Chicanos
Wow. I had to take this class to fulfill a diversity requirement. Definitely did NOT like this class. I had to bite my lip the entire semester, and thank God I got an A. What seemed to be an interesting area of study turned out to be a Chicano Pride class that felt more like a political rally rather than an environment to learn. I am so glad that I am done with that nonsense. There is nothing worse than having someone trying to shove political ideals down your throat!

Art 131- Advanced Ceramics
Since I crashed my Chemistry 110 class and couldn't get a seat, I ended up taking Ceramics again- which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was so nice this time around to actually know what I was doing on the potter's wheel. I didn't make as many pots as I would have liked, but I did make enough (and enough "good" ones) to receive an A- which is not an easy thing to pull out of Rich Sim. If you click here, you will find a link to the photos on my Facebook Album of all of my ceramic pottery.

This upcoming semester, I changed my major from Mathematics to Engineering. There are a few additional classes I will have to take, but I will definitely be at AVC for another four semesters before I transfer. Here are the classes I will be taking this upcoming semester:

Chemistry 110- General Chemistry
Math 250- Calculus III
Anthropology 101 Honors- Intro to Anthropology
Computer Information Science 161- Intro to C Programming
Art 132- Ceramics Handbuilding

We'll see how this semester goes! I will be busy with another full 19 unit load at school, and at the least, 20 hours at work! :]

Besides school, I have done some exciting things over the summertime. The first two weeks of June, I flew to Maryland with my good friend, Holly, and her family. They make an annual trip to visit every year because all of her family lives on the East Coast. We stayed with her grandparents in a cute town named Havre de Grace. If I remember correctly, that town has been around since 1785, and it was even considered in the selection of nation's capitol. Thank goodness it wasn't chosen, because it would definitely not be as cute and cozy as it is today! The town is so small, and I loved the close bonds everyone had with each other. :]

We also visited Annapolis, which is where her sister attends school at the United States Naval Academy. I had the wonderful opportunity to tour the campus, and visit downtown Annapolis as well. We also made a trip to University of Maryland in College Park. For a weekend, we travelled to Virginia, visited her family in Luray, and also visited Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Another two days were spent in Fairfax Station, VA with the Hardy family, and we even made a trip into Washington DC and visited the "Newseum". I believe we were in West Virginia for a portion of the trip having dinner with some cousins, and even made a trip to Delaware! We were busy, and I had such a wonderful time. The family, the food (especially the Maryland Crab!), and the memories were fantastic. It was so nice to get away from the AV and from school and work to relax and have a change of scenery. I have tons of photos posted in a Facebook Album which you can find if you click here. Here are some of my favorite photos!

The lighthouse at the Chesapeake Bay. 

Havre de Grace, Maryland

Laying out on a road in Virginia. The scenery was beautiful!

Luray, Virginia

Bancroft Hall at the United States Naval Academy

Annapolis, Maryland

(We're the tiny specks on the stairs)

At the "Newseum" with Holly and the Hardy family in the nation's capitol.

Washington DC, USA

Some Maryland crab I had! YUM!

Havre de Grace, Maryland

I feel like this post is getting rather long. I will try to keep up with posting more about my life more frequently. Other than this large highlight in my summer, I have just been working a lot of hours, going to the beach every week, and hanging out with friends who are in town for the summer. I will be starting school in two weeks, so all this fun will have to come to an end. 

Hope everyone had a wonderful Monday, and has a fantastic week! 

~Marcea

Untitled 1

Hello again! Of course I have been thinking of everything to include on my blog all week, but when I get behind my laptop to write it down, I of course forget it all! :P

Lately I have been listening to the band Keane and their album "Hopes & Fears". I love the voice of their lead singer, Tom Chaplain. If you get a chance, it is definitely worth it to check out their music. :] This is the main website. Enjoy!

The more I think about it, the more anxious I am getting for school to start in February. It feels like an eternity since I've been to school, and I cannot wait to get back. However, I'm worried that I might be in over my head with 19 units of all academic classes. I guess we'll see! I probably won't get around to posting much on this blog when that time comes.

Apparently Wikipedia is doing a "blackout" in protest of Congress censoring the internet. I find the internet to be a huge help when researching for school, and from the little I know about this movement, I would fight to keep the

internet free to all. But if Congress really did go through with this, it's not like we don't have libraries to do

research and other forms of documentation or studying. I think some people these days forget we CAN survive without technology for every little aspect of our lives. Google's "Doodle" is even censored out for the protests.

On the topic of censoring things on the internet, some people should really censor what they post to social networks. I'm at a loss for understanding why some people thinks it is cool to post vulgar profanity on their facebooks or twitters. Or even promiscuous photos of them. Frankly, it's trashy. Also, when you have pictures of you drunk at parties plastered all over your profiles, it sends off a bad signal to professional people such as employers, or people who are reviewing your applications for groups, or committees. Think before you click!

So I've done my preaching for tonight. Next time I might have more interesting things to post...that's if I can remember them! Good night, and have a terrific Wednesday!

~Marcea

I Won't Give Up

So I'm trying to get back in the habit of posting on this blog. I think before yesterday, I hadn't posted since my junior year of high school....

Of course a lot has happened since then.

I've graduated and now I'm at the local community college planning to transfer after I finish my Associates Degree. I'm hoping to transfer to a UC, but I am not set on exactly where. Maybe I will apply other places, or maybe some private colleges. Definitely still going for UCLA! Go Bruins!

So...where to begin again? Maybe a review of my last semester at college. I took six classes: Ceramics(Intro to Wheel), Concert Band, Art History(Renaissance to Modern), Intro to Philosophy, Calculus I, and Psychology 101. That was a total of 19 units, and I'm proud to say I received a 4.0 this semester. Honestly, the hardest classes for me were Ceramics and Philosophy. I thoroughly enjoyed all of my classes, except for my psychology class. I guess when you have had Debby Chaddick for AP Psychology, you will never find anyone to be as good as her. haha.

Here are pictures of some of my favorite pieces I made in Ceramics.

A trash can jar

A Jellyfish Jar

Next semester I plan to take a full load again. So far I'm planning for:

-POLS 101 Honors (Intro to Political Science)

-PSY 211 (Chicano Psychology)

-MATH 160 (Calculus II)

-CHEM 110 (Basic Chemistry)

-ART 104 (Art History-Contemporary Art)

I'm looking forward to taking these classes...and the psychology class should prove interesting. I'm not taking that class on my own free will- it fulfills one of my Diversity requirements for transfer.

Other than school, I have had quite a few highlights from last year.

One of my favorites was going to see Jason Mraz and Toca Rivera live in San Diego for a special acoustic session. I was so lucky to go with Kyle, and it was our birthday presents to ourselves. Jason is one of the most amazing artists, and his voice and lyrics are phenomenal! I think my brain was on sensory and pleasure overload afterwards...it was spectacular. We were able to hear some of his old work (which I love the most) and some new songs yet to be recorded. One of the songs was titled "I Won't Give Up" and it turns out it is number one on iTunes. The song is beautiful as a recording, but I definitely suggest you check out the live version here.

Jason's work is inspiring, and his newest song has given me a mantra- I Won't Give Up. No matter what I am doing, I will not give up. I was never raised to give up and quit on any such thing, but sometimes I want to take the easy route, or just give minimal effort. I find it so rewarding to do a good job, and I will make sure whenever I am doubting myself or being less than I can be, I will tell myself- I won't give up.

I know that I kind of bashed New Year's Resolutions in my last post, but if you are truly set on making a change in your life- go for it! Make sure it is really what you want to do, and DON'T GIVE UP and have faith in yourself. I truly believe every individual is strong when they believe in themselves.

On that note, I'm out. I need to get to bed for work tomorrow.

Good Night, have a happy week!

~Marcea

Twenty Twelve

Happy New Year!

No, I do not believe this is the year the world is going to end, and all tragedy will strike. However, don't forget to live your life to its fullest extent! :D

It has been much too long since I have posted on this blog. I haven't logged onto here for so long, that I forgot my sign in info. I blame it on my poor memory, and all of the other passwords I have to remember for the other time-sucking social networks I participate in.

I'm going to keep this short and sweet since it is a little late to be blogging. I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday season, and I wish everyone a wonderful new year. Resolutions are incredibly fake and don't happen anyways, so do what you want and do what makes you happy. Maybe some realistic goals can help you out?

Have a wonderful 2nd week of the year, as some of you go back to school, and work. I have about four more weeks until I start my semester- thank goodness! If I didn't have work, I would be completely bored out of my mind.

Take Care, and Good Night!

-Marcea