Winter Formal

Winter Formal is one of the three formal dances that is arranged by school and it is the only dance that girls ask guys. This year, Winter Formal is held in Westin, a very nice hotel in Pasadena. ASB decided to make the theme as “Winter Ball”, because the ball room is already very beautiful, so no many decorations are needed. In addition, girls have more choices on selecting dresses. I got my dress from Revolve. It is from a brand called LPA and it is a turquoise colored wrap dress. My shoes are from Topshop and I have worn them to so many events:)

Before the dance, my friend group and I got dinner at Central Park Cafe. It was dine LA week, so the restaurant offered an amazing menu that worths over $50, but it only costed $30. The DJ was the same DJ at the last dance. He became a lot better, but he still has the habit to cut between songs. Overall, I think it was an successful event. Many of my friends told me it was the best Winter Formal in all four years! ASB has been doing better and better and I’m really looking forward to Prom 🙂

Big Bear

I’ve never seen snow in the seventeen years of my life. The city I was born in is warm all year and Los Angeles, where I live right now, is impossible to snow, so when my cousin suggested to go snowboarding together, I was thrilled. We planned to go to big bear because it is famous of its skiing/snowboarding resort and the view is amazing.

I’ve skied once when I was twelve years old, but the snow is artificial and I didn’t have an instructor, so I tripped myself a lot of times. However, this time is different. My cousin and I planned the trip three weeks ahead and we booked a class, so we could learn snowboarding from a professional.

We started the class with one foot attached to the snowboard and the instructor made us do few activities to get used to the snowboard. Then, we attached both of our foot. It was really hard at the beginning. I couldn’t even stand up, but the instructor helped me and taught me step by step while holding my hand. After few tries, I could travel few meters, but of course, ending it with a big fell down. At the end of class, both my cousin and I can get up ourselves and snowboard. It became so much fun after we get the trick to it.

Next winter, I’m planning to take a more advanced class and keep having fun with snowboarding!

Tournament of Roses Student Ambassador

The Rose Parade has always been the biggest event New Year’s day. Thousands of people travel hundreds of miles to come and see it. In order to get a good spot, many of them started sitting in the stands or setting up a tent on the street even the night before.

This year, I was luckily selected to be part of the Tournament of Roses Student Ambassador. This program recruits high school students from the San Gabriel Valley to promote volunteerism and to support Rose Parade and its associated events, such as the Band Fest, The Equestfest, and Decorating Places. All students are selected by the school administration or counselors. I was really excited and proud to be part of this program, because being an ambassador gives me the chance to contribute to the parade and my community.

Every ambassador gets his or her own shift according the events that he or she wants to participate. I was part of the Bandfest, Decorating Places, and Post Parade. Among all of them, my favorite was the Post Parade. Post Parade is located at the end of the parade route where all the floats are displayed. Ambassadors got separate into groups of four and each group is in charge of two floats. Our job is to learn the information of the float, including its idea, the number of roses used, and the production team. We also pass out secret cards for the scavenger hunt. It doesn’t sound like a very important job, but I really loved it, because I got to meet people from different areas and tell them stories behind each float.

Overall, being a student ambassador at the Tournament of Roses is an unforgettable experience to me. I got to learn about the history of the parade, witness the process of float making, and serve my community:)

Song🎼

This year is my second year on song. As the captain, I’m in charge of choreographing all the dances and coordinating with ASB. I feel a lot of pressure because all the previous song team are really good and I want to make this year’s the best:)

We have 6 people on the song team which is significantly smaller than previous years. This means that we have to work even harder because less people means the audience will see every single of us on every move. Most of us are really good at hip hop, so my cocaptain, Avery, and I combined a lot of hip hop movements in to our regular Routine and assembly dances.

In addition, we hosted a lot of team bonding events. For example, Avery and I would regularly ask put team members to get lunch together, so we could have time to talk more and be a cohesive team. Avery and I also spend a lot of time choreographing and preparing our performances outside of school so we don’t have to waist our practice time.

Our hard works finally paid off. After the first day assembly, many people came up to me and complimented on our performance. Through out the year, my team worked as hard as we could just as always. Football season is now over but we still have basketball season and I’m really looking forward to it! Go titans!

F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

This Saturday, I finally finished all ten seasons of Friends!! I started watching Friends after I came to America, because my sister loved it and she said it helped her a lot on learning English. At first, I thought it is an average tv show, because it’s just a story about the everyday life of  few people who live together. However, as I watch more episodes, I realize this isn;t just a tv show about friendship, but there is also elements of love, family, and life choice.

None of the characters in Friends is a secret agent or has supernatural power; they are all ordinary people: Monica is a chef, Rachel is a manager at Ralph Lauren, Joey is an infamous actor, and etc. However, all of them taught me a different life lesson. Rachel was born in a rich family and was forced to marry an old man. She knows won’t be able to live in a luxurious life anymore if she ditches the wedding, but she still it because that’s not the life that she wants. When Rachel just moved to live with her best friend, Monica, none of Monica’s friends likes her, because she was a typical spoiled girl who is bossy and could not take care of herself. However, Rachel didn’t “surrender” to her parents. Instead, she started to send hundred of applications and got her first job as a waitress. Then, she used her talent in fashion and became a secretary of a fashion manager. After that, she worked hard and got promoted to different positions. I respect people like Rachel, because they never gave up. Once they find one thing that they are passionate about, they just kept doing it and work toward their goals no matter what other people say.

Friends isn’t just a simple TV show. It brought me laughter, warmth, and most important of all, it taught me many valuable life lessons.

Love Actually

Whenever people ask me “What is your favorite movie”, my answer has always been “Love Actually”!

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I was in eighth grade when I watch”Love Actually” for the first time. This romantic comedy is written and directed by Richard Curtis, who also wrote “Four Weddings  and a Funeral” and “Notting Hill”. It talks about nine different love stories including people who are looking for love and couples who are already in love. I enjoyed it a lot because the whole movie was full of laughter and warmth. After that, I would watched “Love Actually” every year during Christmas season and I felt differently every time. The first time when I watched it, I think it is very funny and sweet. Like Colin(a characters in the film), I hoped that I could find true love someday too.  The second time when I watched it, I cried. I sympathized with people who love others, but could not be with them . The most recent time when I watched it, I was amazed by how powerful and different love could be.

“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”

— PRIME MINISTER DAVID

The quote above is my favorite line in “Love Actually”. I’ve never believed in true love, because I’ve seen so many unsuccessful marriages. However, this movie made me believe in love again. Sometimes, it will make people cry and feel heartbroken, but it also has the power to make people laugh and get through the hardest time of their lives.

Chengdu, Home

LA rained for three days in a row and it reminded me of my hometown, Chengdu. I lived there for thirteen years and moved to LA when I was in 8th grade. It has all of my childhood memories and many people that I love.

Families

Most young people might find family dinner very boring, because they have to sit there and listen to their grandparents talking about things that happened forty years ago. However, that is actually my favorite part of going back to Chengdu. The time that I spent with my family is always joyful and worth treasuring, because they know everything about me, so I could be my true self in front of them. They know what type of person I am, what I am passionate about, and what my weaknesses are. In addition, after I went abroad, I realize how powerful family is.  Friends could turn against each other and lovers could break up, but families will always be there.

Food

Chengdu is known for its spicy food and snack food. My favorite is hot pot and glutinous rice cake! There are a lot of Chinese restaurants in LA too, but none of them has the same taste with the dishes in Chengdu.

Friends

To be honest, I actually don’t have a lot of friends in Chengdu, because I only went to elementary school and one year of middle school there. I’m closest with my elementary school friends. There are seven of us and we have known each other for over ten years. Before I left Chengdu, we spent every New Year’s eve together and that was one of my best memory in Chengdu. Whenever I need help, they would always be there for me like my family. I always think that I’m such a lucky person who gets to have these great friends.

AS Family<3

At the end of my junior year, one of my friend came up to me and said, “I’m going to submit my application for ASB appointed position. You should do it with me.” I hesitated. Since my freshmen year, I never thought about join ASB, because it is really hard to get in and time consuming. However, I decided to give it a try, because it is my senior year and a lot of my friends are doing it.  Right now when I look back in the previous three years of high school, that was definitely one of the wisest decision I’ve never made.

The application process was strenuous. I had to write few essays, ask for teachers for recommendation letters, and interview with former ASB members. However, with 9 out of 9 votes, I got in ASB!

ASB is composed of 29 members. We work together to plan almost all school events, such as, homecoming, sports assemblies, pep rallies, and dances. In addition, we also have to make posters, coordinate between teachers and students, and support all sports teams. As I expected, it is very time consuming and tiring, but at the same time, I enjoyed so much, because I get to contribute to my school and most importantly, I get to meet all these great people.

At the first ASB meeting, I did not more than half of the people in ASB. However, after we spend more time together, we are all very close friends now. All of them have their unique personality yet when we work together, we form a harmonious group. Everyone cares for each other, help each other, love each other. They are truly my family♡

A Date with Mom

Last Saturday, I went to a restaurant called Perch with my mom in downtown LA. It is has a rooftop settings with French cuisine and a beautiful view of the city. I had to call the restaurant three weeks ahead in order to make a reservation.

Even though my mum and I live together, she travels a lot, so I do’t get to see her often. After I get into high school, we barely had anytime going out for dinner or travel together, Therefore, I really want to take her out on a “date” which we don’t have to worry about out work; just two of us talking about casual things.

We had a great time at Perch. The sunset view of was beautiful, the weather was perfect, and the food was delicious. I was surprised by how much my mom open up to me, because when I was young, my mom never told me anything about the issues that she faced. However, she could now share with me her concerns in work and interesting thing that happened during her business trips. This really made me fee like I became a lot more mature that I could have a conversation with mum as friends, instead of mother and daughter. I enjoyed this dinner a lot and I will definitely arrange similar dates with my other families too!

Homecoming 2017

It’s HOMECOMING week! It is always one of the most exciting week of the whole year for me. However, this year is a little different, because I am not only a cheerleader, but I’m also a member of ASB and the Homecoming Queen!

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As a member of ASB, I get to participate in every single part of  the preparation process. ASB started to have work nights in order to paint murals one months before homecoming. In addition, we also separated into five different groups to be in charge of different things, such as the parade and the homecoming court. I was in charge of spirit packs, which I have to collect ideas on what items to sell and how much is affordable for each pack first. Then I have to contact different companies in order to get the best deal each item. After that, I have to make designs for each item, such as the T-shirts, bracelets, and string bags.

The best part of the preparation is the night before homecoming. We stayed in school until midnight putting up murals, blowing up balloons, wrapping ribbons around trees… Even though it was freezing and everyone was tired, but I could feel the excitement and joy from their eyes.

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The most unforgettable thing about this year’s homecoming is being the Homecoming Queen. This is my first year on the court, so everything is new to me. Getting interviewed by the school newspaper, waving to the crowd on the parade, getting crowned in front of the whole school…. everything was so exciting and nerve racking at the same time. In addition, my parents came all the way from China to watch me get crowned. It was definitely one of the best and most memorable homecoming ever!