God's Gift to my Stomach.

I, like many other Americans, have experienced Heaven in my mouth.

Of course, they don't worship it as much as I do. But this...miraculous delicacy to only be enjoyed by the finest of tongues is indescribably and utterly marvelous. It's prepared by only the finest of chefs, in the hot tasty grease from the day before. It comes from the rare Gallus gallus domesticus, a true beauty of an animal. The chefs prepare the beast using a soft yet rich oil, and create a batter of truly artistic ingredients. They then roast the animal slowy in the substance, creating a heavenly warmth all the way through. The batter is coated with spices that make your tongue tingle in enjoyment. The restaurant is so kind to give you the option of either spicy or mild, though I prefer mild. As it gets done cooking, they keep it warm for you under a hot lamp.

You catch a glimpse of this delicacy on another person's plate as they walk by. You must have it, and you must have it now. It's crisp, golden crust flakes off as you bite in. Instantly when your teeth hit the meat your mouth is filled with juicy hot goodness. It's so hot you can hardly stand it, but it's just so delicious that you couldn't even think of spitting it out. You want so bad to savor it and enjoy is as slowly as you can, so this exquisite taste and feeling will last as long as possible. However, you must have more right away! After just a bite it's become a smoldering fire that you need to keep feeding to make the flame larger. You stuff your face and before you know it, it's gone. Your last piece is gone. You feel your stomach screaming at you for cramming so much of this delicious food into it all at once, and though you don't think you can eat another bite, you must. It's too good. You must order more. You promise yourself that if you can wait 10 minutes and still want more, that you can get more. You know you shouldn't. You know it's nearly a sin. But the taste... You can't resist. You get three more pieces. You can take them home if you can't finish. You should have gotten eleven to begin with, not nine. Next time, you'll know. You can only eat one more piece but take the rest home. It's a shame because of course this delicious fresh meal will not be as good warmed up. It will still be quite grand though. You leave, your stomach aching and your mouth cheering for more. You quiet it with a beverage but you still feel the urge to eat your last two pieces. You carefully put the box in the backseat so you aren't tempted and drive home, resisting the urge to pull over and eat the rest.


As you probably know, I was talking about Popeye's Fried Chicken. The true beauty of southern cooking. Born in Louisiana, this delicious fast food chicken restaurant is known to everyone in the South, and people in most coastal states. There are few in the west and Midwest. Iowa has three, two in Des Moines, one in Waterloo. Unfortunately, neither of those are very close to me. I do make an occasional trip to Waterloo just for my dear delicious Popeye's every now that then. The South always has the best food, and they have the most Popeye's. Shrimp is also served there, as it is a Cajun restaurant. They have spicy and mild options as well as many side dishes. I usually don't like french fries, but theirs are to die for.

Now those of you deprived little children many be thinking, "why is it so great?" or "it sounds the same as KFC." HOW DARE YOU THINK SUCH THINGS. It is not even CLOSE to KFC. I mean, I like KFC, but in comparison to Popeye's, I hate it. Their chicken is not nearly as crispy, even their "extra crispy" chicken! It's not as juicy or flavorful, and I mean, come on. Kentucky is not deep south, and the deep south people are the ones who know how to fry a chicken. It's plain and if anyone ate both and had to choose which was better, they'd without a doubt pick Popeye's. I wouldn't even call KFC fried chicken after having Popeye's. It's just... not even in the same league. Oh how I need some Popeye's right now. 

If I Could Sing...

If I could have one talent, I would sing.

I love to sing, but I'm not good. Anymore. When I was little I think I was a good singer. I mean, still not great, but better than most of the other kids my age. Then I stopped singing. I was too shy and I decided to do basketball instead of show choir for some stupid reason. In 6th grade I was still singing, I was still in a play, I still auditioned for solos and I still sang at church. Then some idotic part of my brain decided to do something I suck at instead, play basketball. I could no longer be in show choir or plays, because it was the same time as bassketball season. So I stopped. I guess that's when everyone else became better than me. I lost interest, and for the most part, lost any talent I had in the musical world.

In highschool I auditioned for show choir every year until this year. I almost made it in as a freshman. I would have, if I could dance. I had better vocal scores than most people who did make it, but I really can't dance. That's okay though, I just want to sing. I was in vocal all freshman year and some of sophomore year, then I decided that was enough. I knew the basics of singing and I hate choir-y type music. I also took voice lessons for a few years, but I just didn't like the music they made me sing. It seemed pointless in the end. 

Now I simply enjoy singing with the radio. And at home when I'm alone of course. I belt out "When a Man Loves a Woman," "I Will Always Love You," "It's not Unusual," and I sing everything I'm doing like I'm some kind of Disney cartoon character.

Something people probably don't know about me is that I like to write songs. I write them and my dear friend Panashe helps me put music to them. I also recently began playing the guitar. I have no sense of rhythm, thus the whole dancing problem. I also can't strum very well because I can't keep rhythm. I want more than anything to just be one of those artsy indie girls with an amazing voice that can pick up a guitar or ukulele and sing some simple little song and sound beautiful. I want to be a super cheesy girlfriend who writes songs about my boyfriend and sings them to him. I mean, I write songs, but I don't sing them unfortunately. I really just wish I had this talent.  

I'm Bald.

I chopped all my hair off.

Not really, but it feels like it.

Ever since I could speak fluently I've always had really long hair. Long, brown, wavy locks that were excruciatingly tangly all the time. It was the longest at the beginning of 6th grade when it reached down to my derrière. I've donated it to Locks of Love at least twice, maybe three times, but it's still never been this short when I've done it.

I always had it long because, well, I've talked about my weird childhood necessity to look like characters out of movies and books. I could braid it the best if it was long, like an Indian or Jessie the cowgirl. I wore it in two pigtail braids almost every day. It was cute when I was really little, but then in middle school... umm the pictures are just awkward. I began to get perms because I wanted it to be more curly than wavy. It was still really long but it looked shorter since it was so curly. As the curls began to loosen, my hair looked really good. I loved my long curly hair with it's natural highlights and almost blonde tips. Now it was just curly all the time. And it was a lot lighter because I began to dye it some.

That's why I cut it. Well, mostly. I dyed it all lighter with hydrogen peroxide a year or so ago, and it made it all really unhealthy. I dyed pieces of it red, bleaching them before I did that, also making it fraile. Then last spring I dyed it all back to my natural dark brown hair color. A few months later it was back to being light, just from the dye fading at the summer's natural highlights. I liked it, the top was dark and the bottom was light with some barely noticable red in it. Different, but not crazy. Then the whole ombre thing became popular which I pretty much already had going on. I decided to go all in and bleach the very tips of my hair. They were dead anyway and I was planning to at least trim them. Overall my unaturally light hair was just unhealthy, and I wanted to start over without any dyes or perms to ruin it.

I also noticed everyone has long hair now. I used to be the only one with hair the length that mine was, but now everyone wants long hair. Me, being..well, me, decided I needed to be different. I wanted to cut it shorter. I don't like looking like everyone else in most respects. I pulled up my hair to see if it would look good short. I didn't know. It had never been short before. I liked it and I just kind of decided to get it cut. I've also been told I look like people because of my hair, and I just wanted to look different.

So now I have a bob cut. It's weird. I'm not used to it. It's really cute straight, and it can be cute natural and curly. I like it because it's not as tangly and it really just feels a lot healthier. I feel bald though without hair touching my mid-back and just barely touching my shoulders instead.

I'M THE ULTIMATE TREND SETTER.

The whole world is copying me.

I guess I'm just a hipster or something, because I wear certain things before everyone else thinks it's cool. 

People from fashion magazines have obviously just been following me around since I was a little kid because most things I've worn that I was "sooo weird" for wearing, have become in style a year or so after I have worn it in public. Sorry I'm so trendy, but could I please get some privacy? Gosh. 

In elementary school, after I dressed like a boy for a few years, I had some pretty "weird" fashion. I dressed like a little Native American girl. Though it's not in style to wear a little brown Indian dress around and climb in trees with a bow and arrow, the whole "Aztec" thing is in. Aztec-y patterns are very stylish this year on pants and jewelry. I wore lots of jewelry and headbands with those kinds of designs on them. There's also a lot of Native American inspired jewelry out there. Feather earrings, turquoise, beads, silver metal with designs in it, earring cuffs, leather bracelets-All things I had as a young child to look more native, that I can now wear to be fashionable because it's in. Moccasins are also in style. I have four pairs of moccasins that fit right now, but when I was little I had some and it was "weird." 

I also liked to dress up like a cowgirl. I wore plaid and boots almost every day in middle school and late elementary school it seems like, and it was so odd to some people. Well, a year later, everyone loved plaid. Now in high school, all these city girls wear cowboy boots day in and day out. At least I had a reason to dress like that. It's who I was, but all of them are just copying me because they obviously want to be just like me. *hair flipping girl emoji* 

Combat boots are oh so popular right now. Some of them I love. Some look big and clunky and stupid. But, the ones that are really "in" I wouldn't even call combat boots. They're seriously just English riding boots. I have black riding boots, the short lace up kind that everyone would now call "combat boots." I wore them a few years ago often, and it was super weird to people. Now I wear them like twice a week and get compliments! It's because they look exactly the same as these shoes everyone's buying right now. Literally exactly the same. But I had them first. So ha.

I also used to wear very vintage-y things all the time and I was seen as a freak. I didn't wear them right, but I wore them. Now, things I could find in my closet or my parent's closet is all I see on Pinterest. I have my own little thrift shop in my mom's closet. It can be pretty handy. 

Ugly sweaters are almost actually... trendy right now. I had the ugliest of ugly sweaters when I was younger. I had a red one with a fuzzy-bearded Santa and all sorts of things dangling off of it that would now be perfect for ugly sweater time before Christmas. Now that it's not Christmas, I still see big sweaters being worn around and such. I used to wear big sweaters. And turtle necks. Now you're all nerds for copying that freaky little geeky girl who wore sweaters. So there. 

I was the first person in Kennedy with that canvas draw string backpack. All the rest copied me. I had it either end of freshman year or beginning of sophomore year I believe. I got it from Urban Outfitters and I was the only one with that kind of backpack at the time. People told me they liked it. Finally, one thing that was different about me that wasn't deemed weird. Within a month or so, everyone else started getting these bags. Now mine isn't special. So that's lame. 

All through middle school I went through a perm phase. Now that I look back, I didn't always have the best perms. They began to look better the older I got. But I was the only person with curly hair! I loved curly hair and I loved Taylor Swift. Okay, maybe she started this one, but I was one of the first to pick up the trend. Everyone else straightened their hair evvvvvery day. I had sort of naturally curly hair and I didn't even own a straightener for the longest time. The point is, I was different for having curly hair. Now, everyone wants curly hair it seems like! People don't straighten it like they used to, and many even curl it every day. I've always loved curly hair. People take too long to realize I'm right when it comes to style I guess. *Sigh...*

I also had the whole "ombre" thing going on before it was ever a style. In 8th grade I think it was, I had really long hair that was dark on the top and light on the bottom. I loved it. That was before anyone ever purposely dyed their hair like that that I know of. My hair always does that after summer but it wasn't until this year that it was stylish and people started noticing how awesome my hair looked. 

So world, thank you for taking all my wonderful looks over the years into Hollywood. I guess they do say that copying someone is the greatest form of flattery. But calling someone a freak so they stop dressing like that so then you can display that same style in magazines shortly after to get all the credit is NOT okay! Animals. Look at yourselves. You're dressing the same way as an elementary school girl who liked to dress up like different characters from books and movies. WHO'S THE WEIRDO NOW? 

Colorado lover. Skiing hater.

I am going to live in Colorado one day.

I hate to ski.

Apparently, this is a problem.

Colorado is renound as the best place to ski in America. It of course, has mountains and hills and snow. I love mountains and hills, but I hate snow.

I always get just a tad bit scared when I go skiing. Okay, more than a tad. I start screaming the second both feet are on the skis. However, once I go down the bunny slope a few dozen times, I make my way to the beginner slope. That's about as far as it gets. I go down that a couple times, until I've almost ran over a small child or two, and then I quit. I mainly just hate the fact that there's no way to quickly stop except falling down. Annnnnd I don't like falling. So that's not great.
 
I like smaller, longer hills. And I heard they have more of those in Colorado. Short steep ones are just... horrifying.

Ski lifts scare me too. WHY IS THERE NOT A BAR ACROSS YOUR LAP. It would be so easy to fall out! And it feels like you're about to because your skis are weighing you down! It's so scary! I hope in Colorado they have a bar going across, because you go all the way up a mountain at the ski resorts there. If not, I'm definitely never skiing.

I really just don't like things that I'm not good at, especially things that I'm not good at that I have no interest in getting good at. Like math or sports or skiing.

I think it's fine and very possible to live in Colorado and only ski once or twice a year. I can ride horses and do whatever else I want there, away from the blizzardy mountains!

Give T-Swift a Break

Taylor Swift dates a lot of guys.

Okay, why do you care?

This is one pet peeve of mine. People who only like a celebrity based on their social life. I mean, I don't like some celebrities because they are criminals, but why bash someone's music or work because of their social life?

You'd think Taylor Swift's songs are all about different guys, but really, mulitiple songs are about the same guys, and she even said many of her songs are from relationships her friends have been in, or ones she's observed. She even writes songs about how she wants relationships to be, ones that haven't even happened. It's no secret that she's dated a ton of guys, but who cares? It's not like she's taking away your possible future boyfriends.

It's just so stupid because people who were once fans of her, aren't anymore because she dated one too many guys. That one too many that really sparked this "I hate Taylor she's a slut" thing, is a member of One Direction. Harry Styles. I don't really dislike One Direction, and I think most of the guys are attractive in it. BUT HARRY?! He's the ugliest one, the girliest looking, he as 3 nipples, and his name is HARRY. But I don't dislike Taylor Swift because of her poor choices in men. Well, now poor, previously she's had pretty great and attractive choices.

One Direction fans who liked Taylor Swift, or at least didn't hate her, now have a heated rage and want to come after her with a pitchfork on fire. They don't want him with her because they don't want any secrets revealed about their precious Harry in one of Taylor's songs.

What's so utterly outrageous about these "Directioners" as they call themselves, is that some of them now hate Taylor Swift because she "stole their future boyfriend." WHAT?! You've got to be kidding me. I hate hate HATE when people get so wrapped up in a celebrity and literally think they have some kind of chance with them, and then hate it when their "boyfriend" is dating someone. Chances are, peasants, that you will never even meet this celebrity you're so fixated on. So go try and get a REAL man and get over the fact that you and Harry Styles are never going to have any 3-nippled babies! Sorry not sorry.

You're all creeps.


Taylor has done nothing wrong. And even if she has, why do you all care? Just pay attention to her singing and career, not what she's contributed to the drama of the tabloids. Besides, most of her relationships are probably for publicity anyway.

Ombre

I recently ombred my hair.

Well, it was already because it was lighter on the bottom from past colorings and it gets super light in the summer. So I'm obvs just a hipster because I had it before it was a trend. 

If you don't know, Ombre hair (or ombre anything) is darker at the top and gradually lightens, being nearly white (or blonde) at the end. This is a trend taking over, and it can look beautiful, if done correctly.

It's really not ombre when those people who have dark brown or black hair dye the ends blonde. It's not gradual like ombre is supposed to be. It looks kinda weird too. Especially people with black hair who do it, because the "blonde" tends to be more orange.

The way I did mine was originally with hydrogren peroxide. That part was accidental but it's a good way to do it and make it gradual. You can get it in a spray bottle and spray it more lightly closer to the top of where the ombre begins, then more thouroughly near the bottom so it's completely wet at the tip. I think it works better to do it in sections so it's more even.

If you have darker hair, it really doesn't get as light as it needs to at the bottom. I bleached my tips. It completely killed my ends, but I'm cutting it soon anyway. I even used hair bleach that came in a Splat package, but for some reason it made my hair feel unhealthy. You can probably just use a better brand or blonde hair dye. Mine looks good, it just feels unhealthy and made it really thin at the bottom.

This looks simlar to my ombre. Dark at the top, gradual to blonde.





Two-tone ombre, dark brown to lighter brown

BAD ombre! Not gradual, and it's that ugly orange color.

BAD ombre. It just looks like her roots need re-dyed!

I'm a Guilty Grammar Snob

WHAT is so hard about knowing the difference between your and you're?



I cannot stand pathetic morons in high school or later that obviously never attended a day of elementary school when we learned such things.



The mistakes people most often make are small, but they drive me insane and can also change the meaning of something. There's, of course, the three forms of their, there, and they're. There is like "the ball over there." Their, is like "that is their grandma's dog." They're, is a contraction of they and are. So it's used like, "They're going to play in the park."



People really just can't seem to grasp the concept of contractions. They use them incorrectly all the time. Other than "they're", another example is "you're". It is a shortened version of "you are" therefore it needs an apostrophe and the e. It is NOT the same as "your." Your, is possessive. You'd say "thats your chicken." The people who incorrectly write "that's you're chicken" are saying "that's you are chicken." It makes no sense.



Another just like this, is "its" and "it's". It's is a contraction; short for it is. Its is possessive-like "that's its home." I do see how this can be confusing, because usually possessive words have apostrophes.

When you say "Meghan's face" you need the apostrophe to show it's possessive. If you just said "Meghans face" that would mean multiple Meghans and then the face just doesn't really make sense. If there are, indeed, multiple Meghans' faces, then you put the apostrophe after the s. But maybe this is getting to complex for people who can't even figure out the difference between your and you're.



People also often use the incorrect forms of to, too, and even two. To, means from something, to something else. For example "my cat went TO the bathroom on my leg." Usually people get this to right, but they don't understand "too." Too means in addition to, or an excess of something. For in addition to, it would be used like "I like turtles, too." For an excess of something, it's used like "that is too much salt." People usually mess that up and would say "that is to much salt." It drives me INSANE. I admit, I've done it before, and then I slap myself. Then, there are the COMPLETE morons who use "two" for either of the others. This two, my friends, is a number. It makes zero sense to say "my cat when 2 the bathroom on my leg," because that is what you are saying. It also makes no sense to say "I like turtles 2." So just learn what each means, and get them right.



Being a yearbook editor, I find many mistakes such as these. One thing that apparently, public elementary school teachers failed to teach their students, is how to use the correct punctuation when quoting someone. Often, at yearbook, I run into people who write, "I was really excited." said Alli. Or, "I was really excited" said Alli. Another is really weird, "I was really excited", said Alli. Well, my young imbeciles, the correct way to say that Alli was excited is to put the comma before the quotation marks. "I was really excited," said Alli. CONGRATULATIONS YOU PASSED SECOND GRADE! Really, did people not learn this in public school? Because so many do it wrong, and I learned it at my private elementary school. Oh, but you only do that comma thing if 'said' comes after the quote. (Or some form of said, like exclaimed, or stated.)



Of course, bad grammar does not just have to do with writing. People also speak with bad grammar. Sometimes, this is more forgivable, but other times, it's worse than a few misused forms of too. One thing I really cannot stand, is when people use "don't" instead of "doesn't."A lot of people in my family do this and I don't know if it's just some Midwest ignorance or what? Don't is a contraction of do and not. Like "don't play in the street." But, people often use don't instead of doesn't. Doesn't is a contraction of does and not. So you can say "that can opener doesn't work" because it's saying "that does not work." These people who speak poorly, say "that can opener don't work." Think about how hickish that sounds. And it makes no sense. "the can opener do not work?" What? You people need to get your tenses and plural forms right. Fools.



Another thing people here in the good ole' Midwest sometimes use incorrectly, are were and was. Was, is used for I, he, and she. That's it. It's wrong to say "they was" or "we was". Those are plural words and 'was' is used for singular people/objects. Were, is used for they or we because it is plural. "We were making mashed potatoes." You wouldn't say, "We was making mashed potatoes," unless you're an uneducated pre-civil war beat farmer.



The use of proper grammar is overall just really important because it shows your education level. If you speak or write poorly, you just sound dumb. So please, people of America, you have public education so utilize that and learn your own language.