Summer Bucketlist | #2014BloggerChallenge

It turns out, I'm horrible at keeping the promises I make on this blog, haha. After promising twice  in my last two posts that I would be coming out the next day with a Blogger Challenge post, I am proud to say that it has finally happened. So without further ado, here is what I would love to do this summer!

1. Spend a day downtown with my friends.

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2. Have a barbecue party at home. 

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3. Go down to the beach. (If it can count as one... Canadian Problems)

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4. Read five books.

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5. Get my driver's license.

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6. Redecorate my room.

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7. Go to a concert.

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8. Work on the short film my friend and I are making.

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9. Catch up on all the TV shows and movies that I've missed.

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10. Blog more often.

I'm hoping I'll be able to accomplish this list in the next two months of summer vacation! We'll have to see about that driver's license though....... So this is a relatively short post, but I'll see you soon with a favourites post perhaps? (I've learned not to make promises, haha)

Canada D'eh 2014

Happy Canada Day everyone! One of the biggest advantages of living in the nation's capital is being able to attend the biggest celebration in the country on its birthday. There's nothing like being pushed along by a giant crowd of tourists and citizens dressed in red when its 32°C and very, very  humid. All sarcasm aside, it really is such a unique experience. So, here are some photos I took throughout the few hours I spent downtown, but they really do not do the hype and overall atmosphere any justice.

Walk to the bus station where all rides are free for the day.

Lemonade Stand on the streets downtown.

Sparks Street sign.

Sparks Street

We should be celebrating, but the Argentina vs. Switzerland match was being broadcasted...

Clever advertising technique, CIBC... well played.

Flags of the teams left in FIFA.

Canadian flags everywhere.

Huge crowd in front of Parliament hill.

Stage set up in front of Parliament Hill for performances all day long.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police escorting the Governor General to Parliament Hill.

Traditional flight of the Snowbirds after 21 cannon sounds.

Byward Market sign.

Byward Market crowd.

Red Bull's amazing advertising.

OC Transpo buses all over the city.

Lunch at a hidden, but amazing Korean restaurant, Arirang.

So those are the photos I managed to take while being pushed around by crowds! I'll see you tomorrow with a little 2014 Blogger Challenge post, and Happy Canada Day!!!

Year One

Oh, how the time has passed us... I can't believe it's already been a year since I first sat down and decided to start a blog. As dramatic as it sounds, this blog really has changed my life. The thing is, I'm more than thankful to have such a busy and exciting high school life, but the stress really does build up. My school is full of students who excel in academics, sports and overall community involvement and leadership. Needless to say, life is busy.

That being said, to all those who find their way onto my blog and don't have one yourself, I highly recommend that everyone starts their own personal blog. Write whatever you want on it and ignore the number of hits you get. (Getting deep again) In today's society, so many different rules and 'social norms' dictate everything you do. In English class, for example, when was the last time you ever had a choice on what to write about? When was the last time your teacher stood in front of the class and told you guys to hand in any short story you want to write? By having my own blog, I obtained a creative outlet where no one can tell me what I can and cannot say.

Okay, I'm done with all the motivation now. So, I thought I'd start a little tradition. For each of my "blog birthday" posts, I'll update all of you on five prominent events to take place in the past year. So let's get this started.

JUNE 2013 • JUNE 2014

Student Senate

Taking on the role of student senator was more exciting and eye-opening than I could have ever imagined. I was able to become friends with so  many amazing people from different schools who I would have never even had the chance to meet without this amazing opportunity. We were a quirky bunch, but I can't even begin to comprehend how we have become such a close bunch solely based on our monthly meetings. I can't wait to see the hard work of the student senate and, more importantly, our two student trustees, make a big difference in the way Student Voice is perceived throughout the board.

Leadership Camp

Leadership Camp was a very unique experience for me this year. I'm going to be straight up honest. The student who are usually chosen to be leaders at camp are part of the so-called "popular" group in high school... which I am not a part of. My friend and I were fully prepared to be outcasts during leader bonding events and such. Now, however, I look back on camp and I can only see the positives effects it had on my school life. I met some of the nicest grade 12's and grade 11's I never would have talked to in the hallways, those who were charismatic and weren't blinded by the labels students earn in high school. Of course, I'm also thankful I finally confirmed some of my suspicions and learned who to stay away from at all costs, haha. Overall though, my school is very well known to be extremely accepting towards everyone, and through this experience I was happy to be able to further confirm that fact. 

Senior Band

We had a very rough start to band this year. We slacked off, we didn't practice, we weren't working together very well and we just sounded horrible. However, there is one unique aspect that brought our band together. It was the overwhelming shame we would feel when disappointing our conductor, though he never acted disappointed in front of us. Needless to say, we started having sectionals, we (hopefully 'we' :P) practiced our songs at home, we bonded over a weekend-long band retreat and we, above all, became a team. By the time our festival (or competition) came along, we definitely were not the best band in terms of skill, however we did become passionate and linked as a team. I like to think that this is how we ended up winning Most Outstanding Concert Band out of all 114 bands who performed at the festival. I guess this really taught me how much of a difference simply loving what you do can make. The funny thing is, this was such a big accomplishment, but no one in school cared. But let's be honest, who needs haters? ;)

Relay For Life

I have never been so exhausted and stressed out before in my life. Out of all the leadership roles I've ever taken on, this was the first one where I was completely in charge with little teacher guidance. I spent twelve hours running around with some of my amazingly dedicated friends who were a part of my committee. We had to organize an activity every 30 minutes for the entire day. This meant gathering materials, walking all over the property recruiting participants, holding the activity itself and keeping order at the same time. In the end, our school raised $96 818.39 for the Canadian Cancer Society. We exceeded our goal by more than $20 000. What did I learn from this? Leadership is not about recognition, but the results which come out from your hard work. Me and my committee may have worked our butts off for months, but sometimes, you don't get recognition. Instead, people tend to notice the negatives. But that's what being a leader is about isn't it? People will always see the worst, and when things go well, they won't notice. Instead of being bitter about this, pat yourself on the back, celebrate everything you  know you helped achieve and learn from other people's criticisms, that is what being a leader is about.

Co-President

After 2 years of being a part of Student Council, it has become one of the biggest parts of my school life. I've met so  many students from all different grades, and I have become friends with people I never would have talked to in the hallway without the confidence I obtained from joining Student Council. I'm ecstatic to share with all of you that I will be one of the co-presidents in my school next year. The competition was hard and the campaigning period was highly stressful. In the end, I gained a little faith in humanity. I may not be in the "cool" group in school, but people somehow did not choose to only consider that factor and my relentless hard work for the past two years has paid off. If anyone from CB is reading this, I hope to make you proud next year!

So, that's a little summary of my year for those of you who were curious... for those of you who weren't, I'll be posting a lot more frequently now. I should actually have a 2014 Blogger Challenge post coming out tomorrow. You may have noticed that I went on a little bit of a sudden hiatus because of exam season, but what better way than to end it on my blog's birthday? I'll be seeing you very very soon, and I can't wait to see what next year is going to bring!

My Two 2-Minute Hairstyles | #2014BloggerChallenge

Here's the honest truth. I don't put a lot of time and effort into my hair. My only purpose is to keep it out of my face, so you'll come to see that these hairstyles are super  unoriginal and simple, but my goal today is to be honest and show you my daily hairstyles.

These hairstyles work on both long and medium-length hair. You'll be able to see this since the first one is demonstrated by my long hair and the second, by my sister's medium length hair.

So let's go!

The "Less-Than-Two-Minute Two Minute Hairstyle"

Step 1

Grab two front sections of your hair.

Step 2

Pull both strands to the back of your head so they meet directly in the groove between your head and neck.

Step 3

Take your clip and pin your hair to hold it in place.

Yep, that took about 20 seconds... don't hate. ;)

Double Braid

Step 1

Brush out your hair!

Step 2

Take the front section of hair from one side.

Step 3

Using the strand, make a 3-strand braid.

Step 4

Stretch the across the back of your head then using bobby pins, clip it into place.

Note: Try hiding the pins better than we did in this photo... :P

Repeat the same steps using a front section of hair from the opposite side and run is across the back of you head on top or bottom of the previous braid and you're done!

And that's it. This post wasn't much, but I will not be defeated by the challenge! I'll be back soon with a better post. Promise. xx

China Haul!

One of the best parts of visiting China? Definitely the shopping. It's just so nice to be able to explore and purchase some products that you wouldn't be able to find in Canada which are also at pretty affordable. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to travel to China myself,  however I was  able to order many things online on Taobao.com, which is essentially a Chinese eBay, for my mom to bring back for me from her visit. So if you're Chinese, or happen to know someone who lives in China and will let you use their address to order things, then you might be able to find some of the products in my haul to add to your wishlist! If not, I hope you still enjoy the little look into my purchases and maybe even find something similar where you live! :)

The first things I picked out were phone cases for my Nexus 5. I noticed that most phone cases for the Nexus 5 in North America were designed to be extremely professional, while, quite honestly, I was just looking for something super pretty and cute. These are the two cases I picked out, and as you can see, I'm already using the Eiffel Tower one. The most unique thing about these phone cases is that they're also a tad bit 3D so you can actually feel the design!

I have an obsession with bows. I have no idea where this is from, but I am in love with it and that is all.

For the longest time, I was obsessed with using a simple, rustic brown bag of mine. The zipper broke a while back, but I continued to use it, covering the opening with only the top flap. My mom was finally able to find a similar, but smaller, bag that did my old one justice. The bag is made from a super soft and shiny leather material, and overall, the zippers, buttons and stitches all seem to be very high quality.

Along with the little buttoned pocket in the front, the back also include a pocket for anything you need to access easily.

The inside of the bag includes two separated sections along with an extra zipped pocket in the middle. The back section contains a small zippered pocket for any small valuable items while the front section has little pockets for any accessories or electronics.

Finally, this is definitely something that excites me very much. Lately, I've been working super hard on protecting my skin, and now that summer is approaching, I figured that I may need a hat to protect my skin from the sun. Though those huge floppy sun hats are adorable and chic, it is not something you could easily pull off in Ottawa, Canada. Instead, I decided to look for a snapback.

The thing is, people usually wear snapbacks with their favourite sports team logos printed on them, but... I'm not a very sporty person. (The only sport I really watch is hockey and my home team never makes it far anyway...) So what's something important and significant in my life? Well take a look around my blog and you'll notice that I live and breathe music.

After searching Taobao.com for quite some time.. I finally found it. For those who understand the reference (EXO), this hat is the perfect tribute and signal that, yes, you can fangirl with me. To those who don't, I love how this hat is still super cute and not to aggressively flaunting my internal fangirl. I'll finally be able to motivate myself to stay protected from the sun and put on a hat!

Are there any cities/countries that are special shopping treats for you? If so, let me know where they are in the comments!

And here's to publishing my 50th post, as well as my first post with 100+ followers on Bloglovin'! I can't get over how far this mini hobby blog of mine has gone in less than a year and I can't wait to see where it will take us in the future! <3

Monthly Mixtape #1 | #2014BloggerChallenge

This was by far the easiest challenge yet. I share my favourite songs with all of you so much, that I've finally decided to make these kinds of posts a monthly thing. So what better way to start it off than with the 2014 Blogger Challenge?

Here's what I plan to do. I find new music pretty much every week. I'll have to admit that not all music I find automatically makes it to my favourites list, but my main goal with these so called 'mixtapes' is to help all of you find a song that you love. So even if I don't swoon every time the song comes up on shuffle, if it has potential, I'll probably be posting it.

I don't yet have a solid way of making a playlist... For now, I'm going to be sharing my songs of the month using SoundCloud. Unfortunately, not all songs are on SoundCloud, so I did have to include some YouTube videos as well. If you guys know an easier way to share songs, please let me know what it is in the comments!

1. She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer

Okay, I have to admit that regardless of what I just wrote above, this song does  actually make me swoon. 5 Seconds of Summer is an amazing Australian band you all have to check out. They write their own songs, manage their own label and remain 100% true to who they are, and they're crazy ;)

2. Old Shoes by Adam Barnes

If you love Ed Sheeran, Adam Barnes is definitely going to be another artist you'll love. He's also extremely underrated so be sure to go over and check out his YouTube channel!

3. The City by The 1975

There's just something about The 1975 that makes them so unique. Side note: If you can understand everything they're saying without searching up the lyrics, you're my hero.

4. Melted by Akdong Musician

Not only is this song amazing, but the music video is beautiful as well. Ever since taking tech in grade ten, I've had a huge interest in filmmaking, and this is the most well done music video I have ever watched. The beauty of this video is that even though you don't necessarily understand the language they're singing in, the video tells the entire unbelievably heavy and eye-opening message in just a little over five minutes.

Watch the video.

5. Sing by Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran. That is all.

6. Can We Dance by The Vamps

I'm starting to get into the summer mood now that the weather has warmed up a little. Usually, I am the kind of person who listens to soft and serene music, but in the summer, I love to indulge myself in some plain and classical upbeat songs. The Vamps are insanely talented and be warned that if you search up their ages, you might experience a sudden overwhelming feeling of failure haha...

7. Don't Wanna Be Your Girl by Wet

Troye Sivan did a cover of this song in one of his recent videos. My sister and I loved the cover so much that we had to immediately search up the song and download it. This is one of the serene, yet intense songs that I usually like to listen to.

8. Sight of the Sun by fun.

I still cannot get over my fun. concert experience. Their style is like no other and their endless energy is incredible. This song is slightly different from their hits, but then again, most of their songs are completely different in terms of sound.

9. Forget About You by R5

Another perfect summer song. To be completely honest, I'm not really familiar with this band... am I getting old? I'm only in high school... Anyways, I heard this in one of Bethany Mota's old videos and just thought that it was a perfectly refreshing song for relaxing in the summertime.

10. Young Homie by Chris Rene

I randomly stumbled upon this song a few months ago. At first, I bulked at the title and didn't want to listen to it. Surprisingly enough, this song carries such a great message regarding today's society. Give it a listen and don't judge a song by its title like I did...

So there we have it! I hope you were able to discover some new songs along with this post and I'll see you soon. :)

What are your favourite songs of the month?

Did you like the format of the post? If not, what can I do better? :)