San Kulpa for the New Year

 I have many intentions for myself for 2017. My first intention is, to gain myself more respect and have respect for more people. I want to become more polite and be nice for the New Year. I know this might sound as if I'm constantly mean, it's just that at times I can be snarky and sarcastic. I want to change those ways. My other intention for the New Year is to learn more and to succeed in whatever high school I end up going to. I want to be able to have a successful life and I want to be happy and in order to do that I have to do these first.

Favorite Quote

My favorite quote is, "It's okay to be a glow stick. Sometimes we have to break before we shine." I really like this quote because I know that through out my life I've had many ups and downs and I've never really understood why everything bad had to happen to me. Once I read this quote I finally understood that everything happens for a reason. It's a symbol of showing that a rainbow comes after a storm; you always get something good out of a bad situation. I also really like this quote because I feel like it can give hope. It can tell you that it's okay to not be okay, which is what I've learned because of this quote. Because of this quote, I have hope.

What's in a name?

My name is Emily Angelique. Emily is a Latin baby name with the meaning of industrious and striving. Angelique comes from the French origin that mostly means angelic. My last name translated into English is "Kings" which usually means "royal or royalty". Also the year I was born the most popular girl name was Emily! I also know that since my mom was little she was always in love with the name Emily and would name all her dolls that. She says that the first time she saw me she knew that I'd do great at being an Emily.

What I'm Thanful For

     I'm thankful for many things. I'm very thankful for having such a loving family. I'm very thankful for my family because I know that they will always support me and help me when I need it the most. I'm also very thankful for my friends. I love my friends as if they were my family. I'm so thankful for having such great friends who I know will always be there for me and who will always bring me happiness. I'm also very thankful to have such a great little sister who I know will always pick me up when I'm down. I'm also very thankful for people believing in me even when I don't myself. I'm thankful for the people who care for me and hope the best for me.

Blogging Tips

     Blogging can be pretty difficult and confusing at times, but it's also pretty easy. I've always had a hard time with my punctuation/grammar and reading/commenting on other peoples blogs. It's not that I can't do these things it's just that I'm constantly overthinking everything.

    The reason why I'm not so good with my grammar/punctuation is because I am always overusing commas. I've been told this before and I've recently realized that they were right (I know, crazy right?) I used to be very good with my grammar and still think I am, but sometimes I feel like I forgot everything I learned and don't know what to do. I once forgot how to spell "of" because my mind was somewhere else. (Believe me I'm not as dumb as I sound)  I don't know why or how but I also get my words jumbled sometimes. The sentence seems right, but then I say it out loud and it sounds like complete gibberish. To overcome these struggles I'm just going to practice more with my grammar and punctuation. I will do whatever it takes to be better.

     The reason why I'm not good with reading/commenting on others blogs is because I get distracted very easily. Most of the time, I reread the same paragraph three times because I didn't know what I just read the other two times. My mind goes somewhere else. Also with commenting, I bet self-conscious. I don't want to sound like a doof and piggy back off of another comment while I say "Good Job" I want my comment to mean something which then gets me overthinking about everything I'm going to say. I will overcome these struggles by focusing more while I'm reading and try to take in what they're saying. For commenting, I'm going to just try my best and write a meaningful comment without making a fool out of myself.

Where I've Traveled

I haven't traveled as much as I've wanted to these past few years, but wherever I went I always had a great time. I remember one time I was around 8 yrs. old and my family and I were going to Missouri for my aunts wedding. It ended up being an 8 hour drive. I was so excited. We had to wake up at 3 o'clock in the morning and start driving by 4 o'clock. I remember being so tired I didn't want to do anything. While we drove everyone got to sit in either the first row of chairs or second row. I was thrown to the back row all by myself. I sat next to the cooler with all the food so, jokes on them. Anyways, once the drive was over we got to this really fancy hotel that had this huge swimming pool. We went swimming, went shopping, had dinner. The next day we went to the wedding. It was really fun. Everything was great except the fact that I was about 4'3 when I was 8 so I couldn't see the ceremony at all! Also, I had the wear this heavy dress and it was 102 degrees that day. Once the wedding was over we ended up packing and went home the next day. It was really fun and probably the best trip I've ever had.

Summer Reading Blog: Conflict

     The book I read was Chopsticks, written by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral. In the book the main characters name is Gloria Flemming. Gloria is a pianist and is constantly on a tight schedule. She becomes very famous and plays at sold out shows. Gloria becomes attracted to her new neighbor, Frank. The more she liked Frank, she became more ill. Eventually Gloria can only play one song, "Chopsticks". The novel finishes with an interesting and intriguing ending.

     Gloria faces many problems in the book. She is constantly being told what to do by her father. Her father is also keeping her from Frank, the love of her life. In the book it displays text messages from Frank and Gloria. Gloria said, "V says we'r too young. He doesn't like you, you know that" Gloria is referring "V" to her father, since his name was Victor. Gloria also has a conflict with herself. After Gloria met Frank whenever she had to play at a show, she would always end up playing Chopsticks. Gloria never meant to, it was out of her control. In the book a postcard was sent from Gloria to Frank. Gloria said, "I'm so sorry I haven't written. It happened again. I slipped into Chopsticks at the Royal Albert in London, and now V won't let me out of his sight... He's got me seeing this awful doctor in Berlin." This evidence clearly shows that Gloria had many problems. The evidence also has shown that Gloria's problems became so severe that they made her ill.

     In my opinion, I thought that it was Frank's fault that Gloria became ill. I feel that before Frank, Gloria was an amazing piano prodigy. Once Frank came along all Gloria thought about was him. She became so focused on Frank that whenever she performed she screwed up. Even though her playing eventually became out of her control it was still Frank's doing. I also wasn't a big fan of Gloria's dad, Victor. I felt that he was always putting so much pressure on Gloria. In the book it said that Victor wasn't good enough, he'll just make his daughter better than him. I felt that once he accomplished that, he fed off of Gloria's fame.

Where I See Myself In 10 Years

What are your personal goals?

     I'm hoping to become a college graduate from the University of Southern California majoring in film and photography. I'd like to stay in touch with all of my childhood friends and I'd like to live in Chicago. I'm also hoping to have a very strong connection with my family.

When you look 10 years ahead, where do you see yourself?

     When I look 10 years ahead I see myself moving back to Chicago after graduating from USC. (Univeristy of Southern California) I live in a condo with a view of the lake. I see myself being successful with my career as a professional photographer and run my own business. I'm also hoping that 10 years from now I'd still stay in contact with my childhood friends. I'd also have a very strong bond with my family.

What do you want to be doing with your career and life, and why?

     I'm hoping that I'd have a very successful career as a professional photographer and run my own business. I'd like it to be a small but well known photography company. I'd probably focus more on weddings, family photos, and sceneries. I'm hoping with my business I could travel but I'm more towards living in northern Chicago. I'm praying that I'd still talk to my childhood friends. I'd like to have a strong bond to my family and hopefully my family would grow more. (Stepmom, stepdad, cousins, etc.)

What are your dreams and aspirations in addition to specific goals?

     When I'm older, 20-25 years from now, I'd like to see myself have my own family. I'd see myself with a loving husband with 3 children. I've always wanted a little girl or a little boy of my own. Being able to watch my little sister grow up makes me want my own kids to care and love for. Not only would I want my own family but also to be remembered for what I was good at, photography. I want to travel the world, experience unbelievable things. I want to be the one who captures the very loved and sacred moments of someone's life. I want to make people happy and give them memories to look back on.

If you're undecided, why do you think that is?

     I feel that I might have some doubt about where I'd be in 10 years due to my low self-esteem. But I'm very certain that I can pull off my dreams if I try my hardest.