It's Friday, Friday, Friday!

Yeah, who would've guessed? I'm a closet Rebecca Black fan.

No, not really. Although, her songs are catchy.

Anyway, I decided to post today about what's been going on. The blog's been updated. I took away a few widgets, changed the template and switched a few things. What do you think? Does it look better now than before? If you have a scroller along the bottom of your screen, you can view my whole blog by changing your zoom percentage to 80% in the bottom right-hand corner. It won't let me change it, so sorry for that.

I'm glad that my twenty followers are nice enough to check in on my blog every now and then. Tell other people about this random blog of ramblings, too, guys! I'll be reviewing books, giving advice and showing you the latest in the music world.

School's starting soon for me, but I hope to be on often. Don't forget to stop by and tell me how your first days are going, no matter what grade you're going into.

It's time for me to go, but I wish you a good last weeks of summer and the best of luck in school!

And the storm rolls in . . .

Isn't that picture gorgeous? I like to think so, seeing as I took it. The sunset was really pretty that night in Jamaica and I just couldn't resist capturing it.

Well, that's pretty much the happiest part of this post. These last few days have been eventful and chaotic in my house. I started volleyball on Monday and had a good time, but during practice yesterday I got my foot caught in someone's open duffel bag and twisted my ankle.

It was a lovely trip to the doctor and then to get x-rays done. Turns out, my ankle was sprained, and now I get to wear a lovely little ankle brace for the next week or so. I guess I really shouldn't be running without looking down every few seconds, right?

My sister had to go to the doctor today for what looked like a tick bite. She was diagnosed with lyme disease, but she'll be all right. It just needs a good dose of medicine every day for the next two weeks. She doesn't seem to mind too much, so I'm guessing she's feeling the same as she usually does.

The icing on this wonderful cake of pessimism? There's a hurricane heading for my state, and it's supposed to be pretty bad. I hope it's a little better than expected. I'm crossing my fingers and the toes I can!

Hope all of you are having a better week than me, but hey . . . after every storm comes a rainbow!

By the way, what comes after a hurricane? A firework/rainbow/unicorn explosion? I hope so!

I promised pictures . . . .

Here are pictures from my trip to Jamaica. I think the little captions and pictures themself will do a better job of explaining and showing you guys what my week was like. (And yes, I know this is my third post today . . . don't judge me!)

Here's me, my dad and my little sister playing volleyball in the pool. I practically lived in that pool all week!

A heart I drew in the sand on the beach. I tried to get a picture when the water washed up, but it just looked like half the heart was missing. :(

They have these super pretty bright flowers in Jamaica. I saw one outside of our room and took a picture. It's brighter in real life, but still so pretty!

Glass bottom boat! We went out and got to look down at all the fishies swimming around out in the ocean. It was really cool!

There was a Sesame Street parade, with tons of costumes, drummers and cool stuff. You can see Elmo on the left side of the picture!

One of the instructors jumped off the boat when we went on the Glass Bottom Boat and picked up prickly starfish and put them on his head. Eeekk!

Another picture of the boat and the beautiful beach!

I'll have some pictures of the sunset and whatnot later. They're on my dad's camera, because I forgot to bring mine the night we walked on the beach. Check back tomorrow to see some really pretty sunsets!

'Mazin Music Sundays . . . HUNTER HAYES

Listen to the boy who's currently on tour with Taylor Swift. He can play over thirty instruments, started performing at age four and has the cutest songs.



If you like him, go buy his four songs on iTunes! He really deserves any fame and publicity he can get. He's so sweet!

Back in the States!

Yes, I have survived Jamaica and made it home in one piece. It's an awful big accomplishment if I do say so myself. My trip was good, but not excellent. It was pretty, yes. There were pools, yes. The ocean was clear, yes.

Was there internet access? No. Was the hotel service magnificent? No. Was snorkeling awesome? No.

That last one is mainly for all of the people that told me to go snorkeling.
"You'll have fun!"
"Don't be a wuss; go and snorkel!"
"So, you're just going to be lazy and sit on the beach all day?"

I went snorkeling to please those people, you know. It was terrifying. The water was rough, I couldn't see a thing and, the icing on the cake . . . I cut my foot on the coral! Three pretty little pieces of purple coral were lodged in my foot, and I had to go to the hospital nurse to get one removed. The other two are still in my foot.

All in all, though, it was a good trip. It was really nice to just get away from everything, you know? You're probably wondering what else I did. (Did she really get coral in her foot and that was it?) I did a ton of stuff, and I'll be posting pictures soon.

Have a good Sunday, guys! I'll post some music for y'all later!! :)

The friends we make, the lives we shake

After reading Tangled by Carolyn Mackler (check out the review, guys!) I realized that our lives are all based on a million chance meetings . . . like the people I met at the Taylor Swift concert a few nights ago. Or the friend I went with. Maybe I'll never see those new people again, or maybe, one day they'll replace that friend I went with. It's all so random . . . this life, this world.


Without friends, we wouldn't be the people we are, right? We all have friends, different kinds with their own little quirks. I decided to write a post about those friends, or, about my friends. Maybe you'll be able to relate, maybe not.



My Best Friend:


We love the same music, books, snacks . . . we're practically twins in some aspects. Despite that fact, we do have our differences.


She loves softball, I'll always be a die-hard volleyball fan. She goes to a personal trainer, I go to the gym. She doesn't like to write short stories, I live off of them.


So, we have our differences. The key to our friendship though: we let things be. There's no arguments over stupid things, no begging for sleepovers, no persistent text-messaging and calling. We talk when we want, say what we want to say and do what we feel like. Friendship should come easily (that's not to say it's all butterflies and rainbows, you've gotta make an effort); if you've gotta really work at it, it's time to leave it.



The Know-It-All:

We all have that friend, right? Either they're always getting top grades or they know about the latest gossip, and they flaunt it. It can get annoying sometimes.

My friend is super-smart, and she doesn't let me forget. While, sometimes, I want to narrow my eyes and stick my tongue out at her, I just remind myself that she might know all about math and reading, but there's stuff she doesn't know.

Keeping things light lets us stay friends with each other. We don't argue and we don't get annoyed when the other wins (whether that be a geometry final or a writing contest). Friends shouldn't argue over the little things. So stop yourself if you find yourself bickering without reason.


The Butterfly:


I once heard about a girl being described as a butterfly, no faster was she tacked down than she was escaping and running off. My friend reminds me of Bridget from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She can't be tied down.


Not by a boyfriend. Not by a friend. Not by anyone.


I used to try and keep a leash on her, but there's no point. Friends like these come and go, and you just have to let yourself have a good time while it lasts. They come quickly, but they leave oh so soon.


So, enjoy them. Let them in, but know they will go. Butterflies can never stay forever, you know.


Here Tomorrow, Gone Today:

She laughs at your jokes, agrees with your decisions and makes you feel like you could be friends forever. Then, suddenly, you're realizing she wasn't always like this. She used to be mean, used to be evil.

People change in the blink of an eye. One second, they're an enemy and then . . . they're an ally, standing beside you. It all changes so much, though. I once had a friend who promised me forever. When the tide shifted and the sun stopped shining. . . friendship's a fickle thing. It comes and it goes. It rains and it snows.

Here's a poem I wrote after the fallout of a really, really long friendship:

Our Friendship’s Fall

Friendship is built from
Love, hope and trust.
When we’re little, it’s formed
From faith and pixie dust.

It’s supposed
To be strong.
It supposed to
Last long.

So why didn’t ours?
One day, it was there.
Now it’s gone.
This doesn’t seem fair.

We were so close;
I knew your dreams.
You knew my wishes,
But nothing is as it seems.

Was I just a toy?
Something to be thrown away?
Is it because I changed;
Stood up for myself that day?

You promised that we would
Be best friends forever,
So why has our friendship
Suddenly been severed?

We’re both at fault;
We can both be blamed.
Honestly, though,
I’m not ashamed.

Our friendship was rocky,
Before this whole mess.
All because you started
To care about it less.

Our texts were short,
And you stopped calling.
When I wanted to make plans,
You were always stalling.

I backed up,
And I stepped away.
I promised myself my emotions
Would no longer sway.

I’m sorry I really saw you,
For what you truly are.
You were no longer my friend;
No longer a shining star.

Friendship is built from
Love, hope and trust.
When we’re little, it’s formed
From faith and pixie dust.

None of that matters, though,
When you’re only acting.
Your lies and the stories you wove,
They’re all so impacting.

I’m turning away,
And ending it now.
I can’t do it any longer,
So go ahead and take a bow.

Don’t bother calling.
It’s over, once and for all.
I’ll try not to remember
Our friendship’s fall.

It hurts, doesn't it? When suddenly your 'best friend forever' is defriending
you and deleting your phone number from their contacts. It comes down to one
question though: Do you really want to be friends with someone who can erase you
so quickly?

The Friend of the Opposite Sex:

that you almost always wind up falling for. Yeah, I've got one of those. Actually, you know what? I've got two of them. I let myself fall in love with one of my closet guy friends and it was a really big screw-up on my part.

But you know what? I don't care anymore. I like him somewhat now, not as much as before. Call me all the names you'd like, but I even find myself leaning closer to my other guy friend. The thing is, I know nothing will ever happen between us. It makes me feel risky and confident to lean in and brush an eyelash from his cheek.

Let yourself fall in love with that guy you hang out with all the time. If you fall, he might just catch you.

Or he might stay a friend and put a trampoline where you're going to fall.