Best in the Bay

"San Franciscans are very proud of their city, and they should be.  It’s the most beautiful place in the world." - Robert Redford

Home to the Painted Ladies, Angel Island, Alcatraz, Union Square, Pier 39, and most importantly the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is not only a major tourist attraction for many visiting NorCal, but it's also minutes away from my beloved home. The Golden Gate Bridge, with it's iconic rustic and red structure, is a 1.7 mile bridge stretching from San Francisco to Marin County. I've lived close to San Francisco my entire life and have driven over the bridge countless of times, but nothing quite compares to stepping foot onto the bridge. Everyone, including me, has an insane bucket list of things and places they'd like to be apart of before they get to spent quality time with God, if you know what I mean. With my bucket list having outrageous things like traveling all over South Asia and cage viewing sharks, a more realistic and close to home mark was to walk across the famous Golden Gate Bridge. It's actually crazy that I didn't do it soon. 

During Mother's Day weekend, my dad, Papa John, and I decided to embark on a journey across the bridge. The windy and cold air made my hair fly everywhere and my nose turned red, but I could care less because the aura of the bridge made it all worth while. It was one of those rare sights where you don't have to take millions of pictures because the sight was so breathtaking and memorizing enough. Although the bridge is obviously not a nature made structure, it's definitely a sight to see and is spectacular from a standing point of view. Between the sturdy steel structures, ferries and boats slowly chugging along, and the best view of Angel Island and Alcatraz together, the bridge harbored an indescribable euphoria. I think it's one of California's not so hidden treasures. The walk took my dad and I about an hour or so and it was not a minute wasted. 

This set forth my plans for the summer. I enjoy discovering and experiencing everything the bay has to offer, so I plan to take my car this summer and literally be a tourist on my home turf. 

This is literally still my anthem:

This is How I (Sushi) Roll

"You don't have to like it, but you have to try it." - Mrs. Sutter 

My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Sutter, has always taught her students to try new things and to explore the unknown. Of course she was talking about things more like learning to read, but I've applied this concept to everything I do, especially when trying new foods. I am the queen of picky eating. I stick to what I know and enjoy, which is basically pizza and pasta. Exploring different types of foods from different cultures always sounds better in my head than what is actually on my plate. However, this stretch mark assignment really urged me to step out of my shell and actually try something new. I thought I'd start with sushi. It seems like every teenager is addicted to sushi, which now after trying it, still bewilders me. Since I do not know a thing about sushi, I left deciding a  place to indulge in this Japanese cuisine up to my friends Chloe Dimarumba and Sarah Feller.
On a sunny Friday after an early dismissal, my friends and I headed down to 3rd Street in San Mateo. Here rests a hidden gem named Sushi Sam's Edomata. This small, little restaurant is apparently where Mark Zuckerberg goes to all the time; unfortunately, he wasn't there. When deciding what to order, I choice a rainbow roll. The vivacious colors of the different fish attracted itself to me. A rainbow roll consists of raw tuna, salmon, and whitefish on top of the classic California roll which is composed of crab and avocado. None of this sounded appetizing to me, but I thought maybe my taste buds would explode in love when I tried a bite. The struggle began even before I could take nibble of the sushi; I could not even pick up the roll with my chopsticks. Instead of over doing the taste of the ocean, I opted for just a piece of raw salmon. Instead of being love at first bite, I felt more like I licked the bottom of the ocean. The consistency was somewhat cold and felt like raw chicken. As I gnawed at the other pieces on my plate, I still was mortified at the taste of my sushi. To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed I couldn't enjoy something so adored by everyone else around me. When the waiter came back, I ordered my go to Japanese favorite, chicken teriyaki. I would highly recommend the chicken, even give it a ten out of ten!

Although my experience with sushi was unexpected and anticlimactic, I am glad I can officially say I tried and disliked it. The search still continues on what foods I actually do like, but I think this is a good start to a new beginning of me trying different foods out. I think next time I'll try something cooked like Shawarma from the Middle East. 

Enjoy my distasteful first bite: 

I Solemnly Swear That I am Up to No Good

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." - J.K. Rowling 

To every English's teacher's worst nightmare, I don't really like reading. Reading is a primary skill we've needed and learned about since the beginning of our lives, but I literally loath reading pages that seem to never end. Don't get me wrong, I do read often but it's rare for me to find a good, solid read. I have picked up numerous of books and read the first couple of pages and then decided it was not something I wanted to waste my energy nor time. When I do get into an exceptional book however, I can read it non-stop. My challenge for my stretch mark was to read a long book in a short amount of time and really commit to the plot. I chose the fourth novel in the series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, because it is super long and one of my favorites to watch. Sorry to say J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, but I'm not a die hard fan of Harry Potter. I do know the plot line well enough though, to consider it enjoyable and to assume to novels are as equally, if not more, gratifying. A possible reason I may not enjoy reading as much as I should is because I'm a pretty slow reader. I decided to give myself the weekdays over spring break to read the whopping 734 pages. The beauty of any book compared to the movie, is the novel is filled with detail and little remarks that sometimes are overlooked during the production of a movie. Harry Potter's book was doused in the personality of the characters, and I really got a feel for the scenery and events. A picture I commonly see floating around the internet is the different between watching and reading. Although I had already seen the movie, the novel delivered a different type of outlook that brought the pages to life.

I got my book from the Pacifica Sanchez Library, and I started reading the Monday during spring break. I always like to plop down with a blanket and water on a couch in my living room, to reach full comfort before I commence of a scenery escapade. The novel has 37 chapters, so I established that I'd read roughly seven chapters a day for five days. I did make the very occasional Twitter and snack break over the week while reading, but I managed to read the entire book by Friday afternoon. I was also ultimately relieved that I finished a book and was also done spending like an hour a day flipping the pages. I constantly pictured what it would be like to go to Hogwarts. In a completely random way, Kohl Mansion is like a little piece of Hogwarts. It's sorcery really. Now that I'm thinking about it, I'm really curious what life would be like if magic was a legitimate thing, and I could have an invisible cloak or fly a broom stick. No matter what novel I end up reading next, I'm glad I was able to set a goal and stick to it. I don't think I'l continue the Harry Potter series because I did basically start in the middle but this is like a guide for me to start and finish a book in a timely fashion. Maybe next time I'll read a book that is like a thousand page book but now thinking about it, is highly unlikely. 

Go Greased Lighting!

"Why this car is auto-matic. It's system-matic. It's hyyyyydro-matic. Why, it's greased lightning!" -Danny Zuko

 On the night of March 27, my friends Chloe Dimarumba, Grant, and I stepped foot into the Serra auditorium to watch the Tri-Musical Productions of Grease. I had never been to a tri-school musical before, but I was already not too fond of musicals. I don't know if it's envy because I can't sing or just the lack of my attention span, but my opinion on musicals wasn't too hot. With Grease however, I decided to give it a chance because I was familiar with the movie and wanted to support my friends. I knew everyone put in so much hard work and dedication to the musical, and I truly think it showed. Even when the musical had just started, I was already amazed at how intricate everything was. The costumes, hair, makeup, set, dance moves, acting, and sing was astonishingly amazing. I had no doubt that talent was dispersed among the students in tri-school, but my jaw literally dropped at how marvelous everyone was. Maybe because I'm not a critic nor musical aficionado, but I think everyone deserved to be on Broadway! I would have given them a standing ovation, but I'm pretty sure Chloe would be so embarrassed. This definitely changed my perspective on something that I thought so bitterly about before, and I'm really looking forward to next year's! I don't know if I'd go as far as to say I love musicals or that I want watch them frequently now, but I'm glad I've found something enjoyable to participate with during high school. 

A New Chapter

"If it's both terrifying and amazing then you should definitely pursue it." - Erada

  I have never really thought of stretch marks as anything other than the marks on the skin; this was until my English 3 teacher, Mrs. Boragno, introduced our class to a semester long project that could potentially be life changing. I mostly mean this in creating a new outlook on life. Granted, I'm only sixteen, but I already feel like I haven't been living my teenager years to the fullest, and that's all about to change. This project couldn't be even more of a perfect timing because I had previously set a goal for myself that 2015 is going to be the most eventful and fulfilling year yet. I am so ready for what's to come; this project was meant to be. For Christmas I've received a book titled, Do One Thing Every Day That Scares You. I am not much of a journal writer, but I do keep this book where I can see it to be reminded to be more adventurous and daring. I've also go a bracelet that simply says Yes to remind myself that moments that are spontaneous and even a bit scary are the most memorable.

       I have so many things I want to do and see this year, but for this project, I determined to accomplish the following:

• Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge - I have lived in the Bay Area my entire life yet have never gone sight seeing and such. 

• Read a Long Novel - I have a hard time finishing books because I find a lot of them uninteresting in the first couple of pages, so I'm determined to finish a book for fun.

• Go see the Tri-School Musical - I dont know why but I have never enjoyed going to musicals but I will attend the Tri-School Musical, Grease, to show my support and hopefully gain a new perspective on the matter. 

• Eat Sushi - I am a very picky eater, and somehow I convince myself I don't like foods even though I've never tried them. Hopefully I'll like sushi just as much as everyone else seems to.

       Although this is just a school project, which most of them I procrastinate, I am really looking forward to learning and being more courageous through this assignment; I don't know why but I think this is exactly what I need to kick start a new chapter in my life, as corny as that sounds. This is probably the only time I will ever say this, but I'm excited to earn some more stretch marks!