Hiatus

Dear Friend,

We apologize for the immense lack of posts lately. The last week of school before break was absolutely crazy- we were both running around on all sorts of missions. It's winter break now and we're completely exhausted, so we thought we should take this time to catch up on some rest. Also, Kylie seems to have come down with what we believe is food poisoning from some Christmas cookies the other day. Hopefully she'll be back in commission soon!

Anyways, we'll be back by the new year and pick up where we left off. Happy Holidays!

See you in 2013!

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Semiotics of the Kitchen: by Martha Rosler

Dear Friend,

This post will continue from our post on Saturday about Elles: SAM. If you have not yet read that post, go read it. It might help this one make more sense.

Semiotics of the Kitchen: by Martha Rosler

This piece was presented on an old TV in a corner of one of the museum rooms. Click on the link to watch the video. Martha Rosler created this video as a nod to feminism In the video, she puts on a "cooking show", as were popular in 1975 when the video was created. One of the assumptions made about women in this decade was that a women's place was in the kitchen. Even in the 21st century, this is still a mindset that some people have. Mrs. Rosler created the first ever feminism parody. Beginning at A and continuing through Z, she puts on a fake cooking show. A= apron, B=beater, etc. She is "teaching" the audience how to cook, similar to cooking shows, however she is very angry doing it. She is less than impressed, and goes through the alphabet with no emotion.

We really enjoyed this piece, because it was different than others we have seen. Many fem-artists show the struggles of living in a male dominated society through paintings, or propaganda, but Mrs. Rosler took a new approach. She included comedy with a darker undertone. We watched the entire video with one of our close friends, and the three of us were trying to suppress laughter int he silent museum. It is a comical skit, but the message behind it is strong.

There are also many metaphors behind the video, besides the obvious one of feminism. At the end of the video, she doesn't actually make anything in the kitchen, showing that women in the kitchen don't actually accomplish anything productive. She angrily mixes invisible ingredients, and throws the off of the screen, or "outside of the box of public television". When she reaches U, she begins to just use hand motions until she reaches Z. at the end she shrugs, showing that the video is not meant to be a hugely negative message, but rather one of reality.

"Behind every successful women, is herself."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Elles: SAM

Dear Friend,

Yesterday we visited the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) for an unofficial, off-book field trip for English. We all met for dinner at House of Kong, and then went to the museum at around 8:00. Unfortunately the museum closes at 9:00, so we didn't get to spend as much time there as we would have liked, but we definitely enjoyed what we saw. The current exhibition is called "Elles", and is a selection of art from female artists only. Elles: Pompidou is comprised of over 130 works made by 75 female artists, form the years 1907-2007. The exhibition was first organized in Paris. The art spans mediums, including paintings, videos, and audio.

Although ever piece in the exhibitionism is amazing, three stood out to us:

Semiotics of the Kitchen: by Martha Rosler
Les Pensionnaires: by Annette Messager
Inflammatory Essays: by Jenny Holzer

Art really intrigues us. Art is abstract, because no two pieces are identical. Art does not come solely form nature, or from mathematical concepts, or anything else. Art is a combination of life experiences, thoughts, feelings, fears, messages, anger, and so much more. A painting of a vineyard can hold as much emotion as a long divorce. A simple how-to video can describe the angst of the feminism movement. Simple representations of raw emotion can speak to so many people. Art is timeless. The Mona Lisa's smile does not loose it's charm in the 21st century, nor do Jackson Pollock's seemingly random brush strokes.

A question that percolates with us often is "What is art?" To be honest, we don't have an answer to this question. What makes a Pollock or Picaso painting any more legit than an enduring 4 year old's finger painting? Is art in the eye of the beholder? Another reason why we love art so much is that it causes us to ask these unanswerable questions. Art conveys so much depth and meaning, that some pieces are so frustratingly unexplainable, and that's where the beauty steps in. Some people claim that they "just don't get art", but we think that anyone can understand art. Part of understanding is uncovering the paradox that perhaps by not understanding, we learn to understand. Understanding involves patience, and the ability to not have all of the answers and to be okay with that.

"Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." -Thomas Merton

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Sandy Hook Elementary

Dear Friend,

As you may have heard, an awful and unthinkable event occurred today. At Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, a gunman took the lives of twenty seven people, including twenty children and himself. We heard about this terrible shooting during class this morning and it put a huge damper on our day. We don't normally get worked up about news stories, but this one has left us quite upset and it has definitely put life into perspective for us.

There is a lot going through our minds right now. To be honest, our first thought after hearing about this was "Seriously?" We didn't believe it- we were in denial. Many people had mentioned there was a "shooting," but none of us knew exactly what happened, so hearing that twenty seven people  had lost their lives was a huge shock to us. It made us realize that a "shooting" isn't just another "shooting." This then brought up the question- are we desensitized by news stories? Does hearing about crimes after crimes on a daily basis make those situations less terrible? While reading articles on this school shooting, we came across an interesting fact- out of the twelve deadliest shootings in U.S history, six of them have happened over the last five years. Ever since Virginia Tech in 2007, the two of us have remembered quite a lot of massacres and it makes us wonder why they seem to keep happening...but we digress.

Hearing about this shooting has brought up a lot of feelings. We are angry that this one man chose to turn a place that is supposed to be safe into one that is now forever tainted by such horrible memories....we are upset that many families will be mourning instead of celebrating during this holiday season...and we feel sick thinking about the fact that some children have completely lost their innocence and that some will never experience prom, graduation, college, weddings, etc. And worse of all, although we've sent good thoughts and prayers to Newton, Connecticut, we feel hopeless. We could never imagine experiencing such a tragic event at our own school. It make us shudder at the thought that some of our teachers or classmates could  lose their lives in a matter of seconds. As we said earlier, this put things into perspective and it's sort of a reality check that we never know what can happen. Right now, we're having trouble putting our thoughts into words, but if there is anything you get out of this post, it should be that you make sure you let those close to you know that you love them each day. Life is short..even though it is the longest thing we've got.

Our hearts truly go out to those effected by this incredibly dreadful event.

Charlotte Bacon, 6
Daniel Barden, 7
Rachel Davino, 29
Olivia Engel, 6
Josephine Gay, 7
Ana M Marquez-Greene, 6
Dylan Hockley, 6
Dawn Hocksprung, 47
Madeline F. Hsu, 6
Catherine V. Hubbard, 6
Chase Kowalski, 7
Jesse Lewis, 6
James Mattioli, 6
Grace McDonnell, 7
Anne Marie Murphy, 52
Emilie Parker, 6
Jack Pinto, 6
Noah Pozner, 6
Caroline Previdi, 6
Jessica Rekos, 6
Avielle Richman, 6
Lauren Russeau, 30
Mary Sherlach, 56
Victoria Soto, 27
Benjamin Wheeler, 6
Allison N Wyatt, 6

“If there ever comes a day when we can’t be together,put me in your heart, I’ll stay there forever .” -A.A. Milne

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

How to Write Heartfelt Letters

Dear Friend,

At our school, there is a special tradition called "Feast Wishes." Occurring every year on the last day before winter break, it is an event that originated during our school's boarding school days. Every holiday season, students would celebrate by presenting their teachers with personalized letters of appreciation for their work and wishes for a good Christmas. This is our favorite tradition because it is a time where our whole school comes together and although the weather outside is nippy, the environment is warm and welcoming. The two of us are feeling very nostalgic because this is our last year to write Feast Wish letters. In fifth grade, we wrote letters to faculty and staff we didn't really know because it was our first year in middle school; as seniors, we are writing letters to all the teachers who have been such huge influences in our lives over the last eight years. With that being said, we have written around twenty Feast Wish letters. You may think this is overkill, but we're so thankful for many of the faculty at our school and to be honest, we love writing letters. If you ever have trouble telling someone how much they mean to you in a heartfelt letter, below are some tips  we have found helpful when writing such letters:

-Think about what you want to say before putting it on paper, but don't over think it
-Be truthful- write from your heart (without sounding fake or too cheesy)
-Think about your favorite qualities of the person you're writing to
-Be witty
-"Yolo it"- don't second guess yourself
-Proofread
-Use cute stationary

We hope those little tips help. Writing letters should never be something you dread- they are a wonderful way to give heartfelt messages to someone you deeply care about.

"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart."- Phyllis Theroux

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Three Wishes

Dear Friend,

What would you do if a you found a genie and he granted you three wishes? Besides the initial confusion as to why you are talking to a genie, and how he has the power to grant three wishes, and why genies are all men and never women etc. etc. etc., meeting a genie and getting three wishes would actually be pretty awesome. The only problem would be deciding on what wish to make.

Obvious ones that come to our minds are:

1. Healthy families
2. Happy lives
3. World peace

Those are all great, but if we really think about it, isn't it sort of conceited to just ask for OUR families to remain healthy and lead happy lives? What about everyone else's families? Is illness just a part of life? And isn't happiness something we all have to discover for ourselves? If a magic genie all of the sudden makes us happy, what would that mean? Is it possible to magically become happy without working or waiting? And world peace is just one degree warmer than impossible. But more on that later.

So then we thought of simpler wishes that wouldn't impact anyone as much:

1. Endless J. Crew giftcards
2. Endless Starbucks giftcards
3. Endless supply of those chocolate acai berries

After that, we felt really materialistic. If we could have ANY three wishes, what would they be? And don't say for more wishes because we all know that that is against the rules. We came up with even more possible wishes that solely had to do with other people:

1. That two of our close friends realize that they still care about each other and go back to being best friends because they are and always will be, even if they don't believe it
2. That our other friend realize that her current "best friend" is actually just bringing her down
3. That our other friend know that we are here for her no matter what, even though we never really talk

But then we thought that those are things of free will, and it isn't fair to make two people be best friends (even though they totally are), or break up another friendship (even if it isn't healthy). As for the third wish, we could just tell that friend that we support her, and all would be fine and dandy. So those friendship wishes are out.

It turns out that thinking of three wishes that have positive impacts while remaining non-intrusive and safe are nearly impossible. After even more deliberation, we finally came up with our final list:

1. That we always hold reminders of grace, love, and courage in our hearts
2.  That we remember the simple necesity of complete presence
3. That we never stop seeing life as an adventure

If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Favorite Ten Things: Red

Dear Friend,


This post will be the first of many top ten lists. Today, it is dedicated to our favorite ten things that are RED.

1. Roses
2. Elmo
3. Cherry tomatoes
4. Apples
6. Starbuck's holiday cups
7. ASB pins
8. Wax seals
9. Cake (red velvet)
10. Clifford (the big red dog)

"Cause loving him was red...we're burning red." -Taylor Swift, Red

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Dear Friend,

A few weeks ago, we posted about our obsessions. #1 was the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries". This post is going to expand on them.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries started on April 9th, 2012. They are a YouTube series which uploads every Monday and Thursday. Essentially, the diaries are a modern interpretation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Lizzy Bennet, the middle sister, runs a video blog in which she outlined the events of her life, following the book. In the video diaries, Lizzy is an graduate student, living at home. Her younger sister Lydia is the partyer of the family, and Jane is the super sweet older sister, working for a fashion company. They are hilarious, fun, and surprisingly true to the book (well, as true as they can be in modern times). So far, there are 70 episodes. Each are 3-4 minutes long. We HIGHLY recommend that you watch them. Even if you're thinking oh, those are probably super lame, or I don't have the time, just watch the FIRST ONE before you make a judgement.

"I dislike smiling. It contorts the face." -Lizzy, impersonating Darcy

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Birds

Dear Friend,

You may be startled by the new background theme of our blog and you're probably wondering why we changed it. First off, this theme is temporary- we'll be changing it to a more winter/holiday theme within a week or so. Second, the reason behind us choosing this odd theme is because we're trying to get over one of our fears:

Birds. 

Even though we've made the effort to change our blog's theme to birds, it probably won't change the fact that we are not fans of birds.

Birds are odd little creatures that just happen to be everywhere. If you think about it, you probably don't go a day without seeing a bird. Maybe this is just us imagining things, but we see birds all around campus, when we're driving home, or just sitting outside our windows. They are like little spies who are watching your every move. We always feel like they're judging us, waiting for us to fall on our faces and make a fool out of ourselves. They are not friendly or trustworthy- you can't just casually go up to a bird and have a real life conversation with it because a) it will refuse to listen and probably fly away or b) it will share your secrets with all its little bird friends. That brings us to another reason why we highly disapprove of birds. When they fly alone, they're creepy, and when they fly together as a flock, they are even creepier. Why do birds do that? It's like they are an elite gang or cult that only accept you if you conform to their standards. If you aren't one of them, you better watch out because they might just bring you down.

Our fear of birds might be a bit out of control, but let's be honest...we made some good points about why one should avoid those little flying balls of feathers. Watch your back- you have been warned!

"Don't take chances with birds."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

TED Talk: The Happy Secret to Better Work

Dear Friend,

If you haven't heard of TED Talks, we encourage you to check them out. TED stands for "Technology, Entertainment,  Design" and is a nonprofit dedicated to spreading ideas. Spreading ideas has the power to change people's lives and behaviors. These talks can range from a few minutes to some longer than twenty minutes, but regardless of how long each talk is, they all have a valuable lesson for you to take away. As mentioned on their website, "TED is best thought of as a global community. It's a community welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world."

You can watch TED Talks online or on your smartphone via their fancy app (which is actually quite helpful when looking for talks that suit your best interest). There is a wide variety of talks, but we thought we would share some of our favorites through this blog.

The first TED Talk we would like to suggest is given by psychologist Shawn Anchor. In this talk, he talks about happiness and its influence on our lives (it's actually quite similar to our recent blog post about choosing happiness). Shawn is a vibrant speaker and what he has to say is extremely valuable and inspiring. Check it out below!

"Shawn Anchor: The Happy Secret to Better Work": http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

"It's the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. And if we can change the lens, not only can we change your happiness, we can change every single educational and business outcome at the same time." -Shawn Anchor 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Future You

Dear Friend,

One of our friends told us about a really cool website and we thought we would share it with all of you:

www.futureme.org 

On this website, you are able to send emails to your future self. You can type up a little message to your future self right now and then set it for a date to be emailed back to you. This could be used for many different reasons- you could send reminders or little positive quotes for an upcoming rough day. You could even write an email to your future self for the heck of it.

This is a very fun website and we highly recommend that you check it out. Plus, who doesn't like messing with the future?

"Dear younger me, you will get much better with age." 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Reasons to Smile

Dear Friend,

Sometime life can seem overwhelming and dreary. Maybe you have to much homework, or your friends aren't being as supportive as they ought to be, or you're counting the days 'til winter break. Below we have listed 10 little reasons that you should be happy and smile right now:

1. Leg warmers are back in style

2. Kate Middleton exists

3. You read our blog

4. Coffee dates with friends

5. Cats

6. Your favorite sweater

7. Warm cups of tea

8. Channing Tatum

9. Hugs from friends

10. The fact that tomorrow is a day with no mistakes. Make it the best!

"For every minute you are angry, you loose 60 seconds of happiness." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

How to Start a Blog

Dear Friend,

When we first had the idea to start a blog, we both had doubts. Would we be able to keep it up? Would anyone read it? What would we write about? And the biggest, Why does anyone care about what we have to say? If you've ever pondered starting a blog of your own, you may have had some of these questions.

Would I be able to keep it up? This is entirely up to you. If you choose to put forth the effort to write often, then you will obviously keep it up. The great thing about blogging is that if you don't have the time, there is no punishment for not posting.

Would anyone read it? If you get a good follower base, this will encourage you to post more often. When people tell us that they like our blog, or even just that they read our blog, we feel incredibly happy and lucky. This keeps us motivated to write more, which is why this is a daily blog (our apologies for getting behind in publishing these posts...if you check the date, we still have 1 a day...we haven't failed yet!). If you write about things you are interested in or passionate about, we guarantee you that at least a few people will read it. If no one does, send it to us, and we will check it out (you can e-mail us if you have our personal e-mails, or contact us on twitter, link on the sidebar). Also, who cares if no one reads it? Just open yourself up to that vulnerability, and keep writing no matter what.

What would I write about? Starting to write can be scary. The two of us spend nearly three hours on the phone writing our first blog post. You've probably heard this before, but write what you know. Write about funny stories, or sad stories, or things that pop into your head, or advice, or quotes, or really ANYTHING. There are no wrong answers. As long as you enjoy writing it, chances are, people will enjoy reading it.

Why does anyone care about what I have to say? This is tricky. We're sometimes self conscious about blogging, because we don't want to seem like we think that what we have to say is any more valuable that what other people have to say. But we are proud of what we come up with, so we post it anyways. Self pride can sometimes be seen as a negative thing, but in reality, it is great. If you have pride in your work and are proud of your accomplishments, there should be no shame in that. Stand tall, and trust that your voice matters just as much as anyone else's. If you care, people will care. Just start writing.

"I used to think that bloggers were twenty-something pariahs who sat in the back of coffee shops drinking green tea and complaining about humanity...until I became one of them."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Song of the week: Vienna by Billy Joel

How to Stop Stressing for Finals

Dear Friend,

With finals right around the corner, many of our classmates have been freaking out. Freshman seem to feel like this is an end-all in their high school experience, and some seniors are scared because this grade may determine their chance at college.

The best advice we can give you is this:

FEAR NOT.

Someone sent this to us in an e-mail around this time last year, and even though she said it offhandedly, we have used this as one of our guiding mottos. Fear Not has helped us navigate many situations. Some people will tell  you not to worry or stress over finals, but if you're anything like us, this just makes us more nervous, because we then feel like we should be more freaked out than we actually are, causing a terrible chain reaction. Fear Not takes a little different approach.

Finals do not determine your life. Sure, they are a big deal, but in the larger scheme of things, they are not something you should be afraid of. Life throws things at us that seem overwhelming, but if we just remember to breath, we can overcome more than we could if we hold our breath. Fear Not and trust yourself. Have confidence that you are going to A-C-E that test, and even if you don't, that is okay as well. Nothing life threatening will happen if you get a bad grade, so don't be afraid. You got this.

The worst thing you can do is stress yourself to the point where you actually do worse on the final because of your anxiety. We have both been in this position, and it is not fun. Make sure that you get enough sleep the night before-this is important. There is nothing worse than taking a test on material that you know, but being too sleepy to recall any of it. Drink tea before you go to bed, and when you wake up. We recommend some form of green tea in the morning, as this has caffeine that will wake you up, but just a little bit, unlike coffee which is sort of like being hit by an energy bus, and not in a good way. Coffee is great sometimes, but you should be calm and collected during your test.

Good luck!

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

A Question

Dear Friend,

We are sort of on a low for blog post ideas, as you might be able to tell by the short posts lately. It wold be greatly appreciated if you could send us a quick comment or e-mail and let us know if you have ideas, so that you don't have to be continually disappointed by lame posts like this one.

You rock.

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

We Feel Awkward When...

Dear Friend,

We all have situations that make us feel out of place or awkward. Some people have more than others, and below is a list of 20 times that we feel awkward.

1. When we fill up our cars with gas

2. When Kylie tries to park

3. When our special "God Saves the Queen" text tone starts playing in Panera

4. When certain people refuse to carry on or end conversations

5. When we get read receipts on text and e-mail, but no response

6. When we come to school wearing the exact same thing to a T

7. When Catherine runs red lights

8. When people say that the library is a long walk

9. When Catherine accidentally responds to the wrong group e-mail

10. When we try to shop at J Crew

11. When we miss 11:11, even though we have alarms set

12. When people eat from our eating corner

13. When friends replace friends

14. When Kylie has to order extra large boba teas with extra boba because of a 4$ credit card minimum

15. When the gas light comes on

16. When people write on our white board

17. When the campus minister is gone and we become homeless

18. When we think we're funnier than we actually are

19. When people think we carpool

20. When people dislike us because of our friendship

These are just a few situations in which we feel particularly awkward. Oh well, at least we have each other through them all.

Be yourself.

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Sleep Cycle

Dear Friend, 

Think about how you feel when you first wake up. You either want to throw your alarm clock across the room and curl back up in bed or you feel fully rested and ready to conquer whatever the day has in store for you. Wouldn't it be great to find a way to start each day feeling wide awake? Well, if you keep reading, you'll find out how. 

If you have a smart phone, you're in luck! The app, "Sleep Cycle," is one worth buying if you would like to wake up feeling rested. Each night, you go through different states of sleep, from deep sleep to light sleep. This app is able to sense your movement at night to determine the different sleeping states you are in every hour. By doing this, it is able to wake you up during your lightest sleeping state so that you feel most relaxed. Before you go to bed, you select a time frame (half an hour is recommended) in which Sleep Cycle can wake you up. For example, if you choose 6:30 to 7:00 a.m, Sleep Cycle will wake you up during your lightest sleeping state in that time frame. In addition, you are able to choose from a variety of alarm tones to wake you up. You can choose anything from "Warm breeze" to "Sunrise" to "December moon." Just by their names you can already tell that each one is so super soothing. Also, after you wake up, you can view some statistics from the previous night. You can see how long you were in bed, when you were in deep vs. light sleeping states, and your overall sleep quality compared to other nights. 

We highly recommend this app! 

"There is a time for many words, and there is also a time for sleep." -Homer, The Odyssey

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine  

Courage

Dear Friend,

Fear is inevitable. As much as we would love to avoid this terrible feeling, we could probably think of numerous times in our lives where we've had to face scary circumstances. Such circumstances often involve us feeling vulnerable, challenged, and defeated. These are the times where our initial reaction is to run away and where courage is needed the most.

Courage is the strength we need to confront and overcome our fears. The first half of the word "courage" stems from the French word "coeur," which means heart- the so called center of our emotions. The second half of the word is "rage." Essentially, we need that drive (the same one that stems from rage) to deal with our emotions and bring out the courage within us.

It's not always easy to be courageous. We're often so blinded by frustration and weakness that we forget our ability to rise above challenges, handle them with grace, and exhibit courage. It takes courage to stand up for what we believe in, to make ethical decisions, to love someone, to take risks, to be ourselves...as you can you see, courage can be found in almost anything. However, as we said before, courage doesn't just "appear" when we need it the most. It is a choice. We must choose to stay and fight over running away from our fears.

"Courage does not always roar...sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Rough Day

Dear Friend,

Today was a rough day...we don't have much energy to think or focus right now, so we won't be posting our usual thoughts tonight. It wouldn't be fair to you all if you read something that wasn't thoughtful or didn't make any sense at all.

We all have these kind of days, so we hope you understand. Don't worry, we'll  post tomorrow :) Get ready for another song interpretation in the next few days!

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

College/Opportunity

Dear Friend,

Many of you reading this blog are from class of 2013, similar to the two of us. This given, you are most liken in the process of/have already applied to college. This is a huge deal, because college outlines the next four or more years of your life. The whole process can be exciting, sad, scary, numbing, the list goes on. It's different for everyone. Some of us can't wait to get out of out house and lives, while others of us would be perfectly happy staying in high school forever, thank you very much. As with everything in your life, college is what you make of it. College is a chance to start with a clean slate, reinvent yourself, or just stay the same and have more crazy adventures. Whatever you choose to do, go for it.

This post is going to talk a bit about acceptances/rejections. Many of us have top schools, some even have one that they are dead set on. If this is you, congratulations on knowing what you want and going for it! There is a problem however: rejection. Rejection is one of the strongest words in the English language because, simply put, it means that you are unwanted, which is harsh for anyone to hear. If a college that you were hoping to get in to rejects you, it will hurt, there's no doubt about that. Which is why we have devised an easy, 5 step plan.

KYLIE AND CATHERINE'S 5 STEP PLAN FOR COLLEGE REJECTION LETTERS:

1. Accept it. You didn't get in. There really is no use getting angry, or hoping it was a mistake, because 99.999999999% of the time, it was not a mistake. The first step is to take a deep breath, and realize that you did not get it.

2. Eat. Along with laughter, food is a universal language and can make anyone feel a little bit better after a disappointment. Go to the store and buy your favorite type of Ben and Jerry's, watch some ABC family show, and eat for a little bit. (this is only if you are feeling really terrible. If you're stable enough, skip this step and move on to step 3)

3. Think realistically. This college doesn't even know you. Even if you had an interview with them, they don;t know you like your parents do, or your friends, or even us. Even if we don't know you you are, we're sure that you are quite a legit person, simply because you read our blog. Good on you. Anyways, colleges only get to see a small snippet of your life. They see your academics, your GPA and test scores, and a short essay about a single topic. They don't have the opportunity to see what a funny and charming person you are, or how you are always supportive of your friends, etc...the things that really matter. You can do your best to portray these, but they won't always come across. So you have to realize that it's not that they don't want you, or even that they don't like you, the admissions team simply believes that their school wouldn't give you the opportunity that you need to learn and grow.

4. Think good thoughts. You didn't get in, you've eaten that ice cream, and you've realized that you are not a terrible person...so why don't they want you?? We aren't on any college boards, or part of any admission team, so we cannot give you a definite answer, but we can speculate. Colleges that accept you are good schools for you. They looked at your application, and accepted you because of everything you displayed. Let's say you have a lower GPA. Some colleges might put you in the automatic reject pile, which is why they will not be a good fit. Other colleges will look at your GPA, look at your class load, look at all of your extracurricular, see the passion behind your essay, and say "Gee, we really want this girl to come to our school because of all of this.". That's a good fit. Different colleges will accept and reject you for different reasons, but the ones that accept you truly want you. Colleges don't just settle for anyone. When viewing your application, there is always something that stands out that makes them want to send that "Congratulations!" letter and hey, if they reject you, then THEY don't deserve to have YOU at their school.

5. Look forward. What's done is done. You tried your hardest, and the outcome wasn't want you were hoping for, but you now realize that you just weren't what that college is looking for. You're stripes and they're polka dots. Neither is bad, in fact they are both quite adorable, but they don't go together well. Now all that's left to do is look forward. This is just a minor set back, but do not let it deter you. Try to be optimistic, and look forward to the next letter you will open (provided you applied to more than one college). If you don't get in to any college that you applied to, we're very sorry, but There is some college out there that is dying to have someone just like you on their campus, it's just a matter of finding them. If college doesn't work out, go off into the "real world" and razzle dazzle them. Resilience is one of the best qualities to have. We'll do another post on resilience later on.

So sorry if you aren't a student anymore and found this post boring, but it can actually apply to many situations: jobs, boyfriends, girlfriends, etc. To Quote the Sound of Music, "When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window." Even if you aren't a religious person, there is still value in this quote. If you thought your exit plan from the room was a door, and suddenly that isn't an option anymore, your world is now open to many more opportunities, such as windows and trap doors and ceiling vents, that you didn't even know existed because you were so dead set on easily walking out the door. Handle yourself with grace, and you can achieve almost anything. You got this.

"A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success." -Bo Bennett

Yours truly,

Kylie and Catherine

PS. We ere both accepted to the University of Portland. College, here we come!

Seattle

Dear Friend,

We love Seattle. It'll be hard for us to say goodbye to such a beautiful city when we go off to college next year. However, after we finish school, we would love to come back and settle down in the Seattle area. Below is a list of reasons why we love Seattle:

1. The grass is always green
2. Coffee (Seattle is the home of the original Starbucks....)
3. Diversity
4. Environmental awareness
5. Pike Place Market
6. The rain
7. The Fremont Troll
8. Experienced Music Project (EMP)
9. Greenlake
10. Seattle Arboretum
11. The crisp, fresh air
12. The various food carts
13. Space Needle
14. It's a "hipster" city
15. People tend to be open minded

"To some extent, Seattle remains a frontier metropolis, a place where people can experiment with their lives, and change and grow and make things happen."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Collecting Moments

Dear Friend,

Have you ever thought about time traveling? It has crossed our minds numerous times. We know that a lot of people view time traveling as a chance to change something in the past in hope of changing the future. This would be a great opportunity for people to get "redos," fix their mistakes, and turn their life into one without regrets. This idea of going back in time to change the future doesn't seem to fancy us. Sure, there have been times where we've wondered how situations could have gone differently or wished that we could fix our past mistakes. We aren't perfect, but we would never change our past to fix our future. We believe that everything happens for a reason and we couldn't imagine exchanging our life today for some other one. Someone once said that "You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it," so here's a little pearl of wisdom: enjoy where you are.

But we digress (we tend to do this a lot, so bear with us). So why did we mention time traveling if we don't see it as a way to change our future? Well, we happen to see time traveling as a way to relive moments. Of course we will always have our memories, but even those tend to fade and it's never the same as actually "being there." If we could time travel, we would use it to go back and relive moments that have had huge impacts on our life. We could care less about what we were wearing or the things surrounding us at any moment- we are most concerned about the way those moments made us feel and the people we shared them with. For the second time, wouldn't it be amazing to feel that sense of accomplishment you felt when you finished your first marathon or relive those moments with your best friend that made you laugh so hard that you couldn't breathe? Time traveling would give you the chance to re-experience all these moments...unfortunately, no one has found a way to go back in time. If you know someone who has, please let us know. We'd love to meet them.

In the mean time, we've been thinking of ways to keep our memories from fading away- ways to collect moments. It would be so convenient to just have a magical jar where we could pull out a moment and relive it, but let's be honest here...that's simply beyond our capabilities. For now, we're just going to collect our moments in our own tangible way. Since this is our senior year and we'll be off to college soon, we have begun to compile a box of memories. In this box, we have pictures, receipts from coffee runs, quotes, and other little trinkets- like our first J. Crew price tag and a flash drive in which we've put videos and emails we thought were highly amusing. Ten years from now, we want to be able to remember the "good old days" and relive the moments that gave us feelings we can't even begin to describe. Luckily for us, this simple cardboard box happens to be our secret in collecting moments- it's our little own time travel machine.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

***Song of the Week: Your Song by Elton John

Holiday Season

Dear Friend,

We love nearly everything about the holiday season. We aren't huge fans of the gross American consumerism that comes out, or the long lines at our favorite stores, but the smells, the lights, the smiles...it's fascinating and beautiful. Below are some things that we especially love about the holidays.

Snowflake Lane just started up for the season. We love the fun costumes and fake snow that falls around 8:00 every night at Bell Square. It's like a smaller main street parade in Disney Land, with less small children. Whether you are on a date, with friends, or a toddler, Snowflake Lane is tons of fun.

The Botanical Gardens are a place we visit every year (except last year). The first year we went was quite eventful. The garden is lit up from head to toe in elaborate Christmas decorations. Year 1 we snagged a scavenger hunt meant for 5 year olds. It seemed easy enough, we just had to find 20 animals throughout the garden. We stole a pen from the hot chocolate lady with a false promise of "Oh of COURSE we'll bring this back!" and set off on our journey. The brightly colored peacock was easy to see, as were most of the other animals. The last on the list was the spider. After literally 30 minutes, we decided that this grey splotch HAD to be it, as it was no where to be found. Then we turned around and saw a massive web with a huge red spider on it...we're blind.

The Holiday is one of our all time favorite movies. There is not much more relaxing that watching having a holiday RomCom night, eating popcorn in front of the TV under fleece blankets, and watching Cameron Diaz fall in love with Jude Law. Hot chocolate is advised.

Decorating is so much fun. Tonight Kylie and her parents set up their annual snow village in the living room. Long gone are the days of elaborately planning out where each and every little figuring must go, and cutting out the fake snow so that the little train can make a full loop around the tiny houses. Now the Aberle's lay down sheets of fake snow, put the houses in their general location, nix the train, plug in the lights, and add a smattering of little trees and people and somehow, even without the obsessive touch that 6 year old K used to have, it still turns out pretty well. Catherine's house is always gorgeous as well. From the neatly placed lights to the santa's around the house and so much more, it's always a festive place to be.

As this is our last holiday season at home, it's a bit bittersweet. Colleges of course have Christmas break (unless, as Kylie's mom says, we end up at "some school that doesn't believe in celebration of anything"), and we will come home for the break, but that's not everything that the holidays at home means to us. The holidays are everything we listed above, as well as walking into any hardware store with the constant carols playing, and coming home to a warm house and a loving family, and seeing smiles around campus get brighter as the days get darker, and setting up for the season in our regular hang out, the campus minister's office. We're actually very excited because tomorrow we are decorating her office for Christmas, complete with personalized little stockings, Christmas lights, and the Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer soundtrack. Another reason why she's our favorite: who else would let us do this?

We hope that you enjoy this impending season as much as we do. We're sure we'll have more holiday related posts coming up in the future.

"Hug someone you love, drink hot chocolate, stay warm, and embrace the holiday season, for it is what you make of it, so make this one count."

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Wasting Time

Dear Friend,

Very short post tonight, we promise to post a longer entry tomorrow. Have you ever wanted to waste some time? We have included three websites that can help you. Explore, dream, discover!

1. Nyan Cat
2. Bread Fish
3. Cat Bounce

"There's never enough time to do all the nothing that you want." -Bill Watterson

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Adventures

Dear Friend,

Going to see a movie should not be difficult. You drive to the movie theater, buy your ticket (or buy it online), get some popcorn (or smuggle snacks in), and find your seat. It's not rocket science...right? Well, this isn't exactly true for the Kuos when they try and meet the Aberles for a movie night...

7:10 p.m. Issaquah Theaters. Skyfall. This was the plan. Catherine and her dad were on the way to the theaters- forty minutes early to be exact. It was pouring rain and they noticed a long line at the ticket counter. Fortunately, nothing seemed to be sold out...yet. The couple in front of Catherine and her dad happened to take the last two tickets to the latest James Bond movie, Skyfall. Kylie and her moms were already in the theater...so this was quite the ruh roh. Unfortunately, Catherine and her Dad were forced to leave and find another place to watch the movie. They ended up seeing the 7:15 showing at the Crossroads theater. So...long story short- Kylie and Catherine saw Skyfall...just not in the same theater and five minutes apart. 

As we were discussing the movie after it had finished, we asked ourselves the question, "What if our lives were James Bond movies?" So in our first attempt to transform our lives into an action movie, we decided to start calling people using only one letter...just like the "M" character in Skyfall. For example, Kylie and Catherine would be "K and C." Then, we thought of digging an underground escape tunnel beneath our campus minister's office...just in case- although, that may be too much. However, as we kept talking about this, we realized that our night was already filled with action. All we wanted to do was watch a movie, but instead, we experienced our own adventure by simply forgetting to buy tickets online. 

Adventures can come in all shapes and sizes. They can be planned or unplanned, simple or not simple. Most of the time, when we think of adventures, we think "Batman" or "Harry Potter." However, in reality, some of the best adventures are found in our daily errands such as trying to find parking at Costco. The other day, Catherine experienced her own little adventure in the mall. She was walking pass J. Crew and for some reason, she decided to check the store out (which we don't do that often). Oddly enough, J. Crew was having a little sale going on- 25% off everything. Fantastic, right? As Catherine looked around, she bumped into someone she knew- surprise! You see? You'll never know what (or who) you'll find at J. Crew. However, the main point here is that adventures are good for you. They can lead you to new discoveries and lift you up. It's not always a bad thing if your heart beats a little bit faster.

As you can see, we like to go on all sorts of adventures. So here's a challenge for you: try and find adventures in everything you do. Whether they are big or small, you don't have to be James Bond to experience one. 

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves- in finding themselves."- Andre Gide

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

PS. We are happy to announce that we made our very first purchase at J. Crew on Black Friday. :) 

Gratitude

Dear Friend,

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you eat a lot of food, laugh with friends and family, and give thanks.

In honor of this special holiday, we decided to dedicate this post to a list of things we are grateful for in our lives:

1. Our lovely families 
2. Our amazing friends  
3. Coffee- Starbucks, Coffee Thursdays, and coffee stoppers
4. Somerset Hill 
5. Our school and our passion for learning
6. The Class of 2013 
7. Seattle 
8. Nights that turn into mornings
9. The five senses  
10. Chefs 
11. Google 
12. Sales at J. Crew 
13. Parents who love us to the moon and back  
14. Creativity
15. 11:11 time 
16. St. Madeleine Sophie Barat and St. Rose Philippine Duchesne 
17. Pinterest 
18. Challenges and risks 
19. Code Names 
20. Laughter 
21. Michaels Arts and Crafts Stores 
22. Our friendship  
23. Our blog
24. The campus minister's snack bar 
25. Sodastream machines (aka bubbly water) 
26. Twitter 
27. Our nurturing teachers 
28. Enumclaw 
29. Having faith 
30. Insurance companies 
31. Our good health 
32. Dreaming big 
33. Our acceptance letters to Forest Ridge 
34. Adventures

What are you thankful for? Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude. This opportunity to reflect on what we are thankful for can help us seek greatness. Gratefulness can go hand in hand with humility because we are able to appreciate acts of kindness from others. However, this spirit of gratefulness doesn't have to end after today, we should constantly remind ourselves of all the blessings we have in our lives.

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." -Cynthia Ozick

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

How to be a Good Friend

Dear Friend,

The other day, Catherine came across the statement: "The average friendship lasts for about 5 to 7 years." We don't know the source of this statement or how reliable it is, but it got us thinking about our friendship. We are on our ninth year of being friends- in other words, we've been friends for more than  half our lives. By the previous definition, we are considered to be above the supposed "average" of years a friendship lasts. We're pretty proud of this accomplishment, but what does it mean to be part of a friendship? As we said in a previous post, we aren't your typical pair of best friends...we really aren't normal. However, we think we can prolong our friendship by understanding what it means to be a good friend. In this post, we've outlined certain qualities that we consider a good friend to have. We know every person is different, but these little pointers are what we consider most important and have played huge roles in us maintaining a solid friendship.

24/7 support 
"I got you." This phrase is something the two of us say to each other all the time. It's simple, but it means a whole lot. It could mean anything from "don't worry, I'll give you a ride home" to "it's okay if you need to vent- i'm all ears." A good friend is willing to listen and is no more than a phone call away and by this, we mean they will respond to you no matter what you have to tell them. Interestingly enough, the two of us have created a little communication system. When we text each other, we normally don't send more than three texts at a time. When one of us receives notification of ten or more texts from the other, we know something is urgent. However, the worse is when one of us notices all those texts, a missed phone call, and a voice mail- this means that something crazy or terrible has happened and that the other must respond immediately. If you haven't created a complex communication system like this, it doesn't mean you aren't a good friend...that's just how we communicate and let each other know that we're around. A good friend will always, always, always be there for you.

Differences are good 
Often times, people think that friendships are solely based off of common interests. Of course it's natural for you to start a conversation with someone who enjoys running or watching football like you do, but it doesn't necessarily mean they are a good friend. Being able to recognize each other's differences is just as important as recognizing similarities. The two of us consider ourselves to be the same person because our train of thoughts is extremely similar and we share the same values, but there's no doubt that we have differences. For example, one of us is simply fascinated with the sciences and is hoping to pursue a career in neurosurgery whereas the other finds so much joy in Broadway musicals and could spend the whole winter season skiing. The two of us just don't "respect" these differences; we support them as well. In fact, good friends are complements of each other. They are able to bring out the best in you, even when they can't bring out the best in themselves. You are doing a fine job as a friend if you are able to be proud of such differences rather than looking down upon them.

Pursuing happiness 
If you want to learn more about happiness, you can read our previous post on "Choosing Happiness." But for this post, we mainly want to touch on the connection between happiness and friendship. A good friend will always seek happiness for you, not the friendship itself. A friendship cannot be considered healthy when one person is unhappy. There are many ways to pursue happiness. You could crack a joke because you know that laughter is the best medicine...or you could have a positive outlook on life while your friend is feeling down in the dumps. It doesn't matter exactly how you achieve happiness, just make sure your friendship gets a dose of it each day.

We could probably list many other factors that contribute to you being a good friend, but we hope this little "how to" guide can get you started. There's a "good friend" in everyone- you just have to find them. Someone once said that "Life is better with friends" and we couldn't agree more. It's so important that you have someone that would drop everything for you, but it's even more important that you are willing to do the exact same for them.

"Good friends are like stars...you don't always see them, but you know they are always there." 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Obsessions

Dear Friend,

Tonight, we are going to give you a list of 15 things we are simply obsessed with. Stay tuned for longer posts as the week progresses, but yesterday's was fairly lengthy, so we decided to just do a short one today. Enjoy!

1. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - A modern interpretation of Pride and Prejudice, in video diaries from the middle Bennet sister. Link HERE

2. adream - An app for iPhones and iPods that is basically like instagram, except for dreams and aspiratoins. You can "cheer" people on, and see your friends complete their goals.

3. Ricecakes - Who can resist their salty crunch?

4. Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai Berries - The perfect grab and go snack. Link HERE

5. Snapchat - Another app for sending selfies back and forth. We thought it sounded stupid as well, until we got one. Now we can't stop "snapping".

6. Scarves - From infinity to knit to cashmere, scarves can complete any outfit.

7. Stripes - For some weird reason, we can't get enough of stripes lately. They're just something about them...

8. Essential Baking Company - Kylie recently introduced Catherine to this Cafe...safe to say we're hooked.

9. Starbucks Red Cups - When the red cup appeared we were over joyed. The holidays seem to start with this simple change of color.

10. J-Crew - Self explanatory. However, our statistics teacher just informed us that this company enlists child labor in Indonesia...true or not true? I mean...he should be a pretty reliable source...

"It is surely a calamity for a human being to have no obsessions." -Robert Bly

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Music

Dear Friend,

You can tell a lot about a person by examining their iPod playlist. Some have only top 40, others have obscure indie bands. Some have all Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney, while others have only broadway. We don't really fall into one group or another. If you shuffle our iPods, you'll be listening to Barry Manilow, then Hall and Oates, then Tyrone Wells, then Noah Gunderson, then Queen, then Kreayshawn, then Katy Perry, and then Fleetwood Mac. We have basically everything. We are always trying to find ways to outline our life, and one way is through music. Examples:

Summer 2012:
This summer we became obsessed with country music. We made playlists that were on repeat the entire season. Highlights were The Wind, My Wish, and God Gave Me You. This summer was all about making the best of our last official summer at home, and this included windows rolled down, hair loose, late nights, and lots and lots of country.

Winter 2012:
This winter is full of chill alternative. Some songs you might know, like I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz, but others you may not be familiar with, such as The Streets by Avalanche City, Honest Songs by Noah Gunderson, and Lost in My Mind by the Head and the Heart. This Fall/Winter is outlined by panic attacks regarding college, midnight debriefing phone calls, late nights studying with the comfort of a fuzzy blanket, and of course through it all, our winter playlist.

People listen to music in lots of different ways. Some listen just for the sound, but others dig into the emotional side. A drummer might key in to the beat, while a fresh divorcee may find resentment in even the most innocent of songs. Enchanted by Taylor Swift might just be a nice song to some, but it can bring others (mainly the two of us) to tears because of when we first discovered it, and everything that song has seen us through. Songs can be like comforting hug when the world seems to have turned its back, but they can also be harsh reminders of something or someone you wish to forget.

Music is one of the most epic things in the world, at least according to us. The first notes of No One Mourns The Wicked send chills down any Broadway fanatic's spine, simply because of its intensity. I Dreamed a Dream is one of the most amazing songs ever preformed on the Broadway stage. To some, they are just nice songs, maybe not your cup of tea. But Kylie and one of her friends had the pandora Broadway playlist on while doing english essays/college apps, and these two songs basically reduced the two to messes. Broadway has a way of reaching out to people and capturing them that is so hard to describe. Call us theatre nerds, but we proudly own up to that title. If Broadway isn't your thing, you can't deny that Bohemian Rhapsody or You Give Love a Bad Name, although they aren't Rihanna's latest single, are still pretty much two of the best things to ever come out of a recording studio. Good music doesn't care about time. Songs like THIS and THIS will never loose their touch.

People have asked us how we find the music that we have, because we have some pretty decent music. Two of the main ways we find the music that we have are through friends, and through pandora. Shout out to those who have made us mix CDs, they all rock. We have a joint pandora account, and we figured out how to add a ton of songs to one playlist. That way, we get to hear songs that don't just relate to one band or song. Once we buy the songs that we really love, we look at related songs on iTunes. We largely base our song purchase off of the album cover, to be honest. We're more likely to buy a song f it has a cute, funky cover than a boring one. This is how we have recently discovered Lady Danville and The Oh Hello's. Hover over the links on these (and all of the others in this post) to listen to the music we're talking about. Don't say you're too busy, or have other tings to do, because who knows, we could have just introduced you to your new favorite band crush.

We're going to start a song of the week, so that you can discover new music and bands, or relive old ones with us. Song of the week: Sunset by Avalanche City

"I think music is itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by." -Billy Joel

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

The Seattle Marathon

Dear Friend,

Guess what is happening one week from today?

The Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon!

This very special Seattle event takes place on November 25, 2012. The marathon run begins at 8:15 a.m and the half marathon run begins at 7:30 a.m. This annual event began in 1970 with a group of people from the University of Washington. The participation in these events increases each year- in fact, there are 17,000 expected participants this year. It has become one of the largest marathon events in the U.S.

If you know the two of us, you probably know that we aren't participating in this run. We aren't exactly "athletes"- the most extraordinary athletic event we are considering is a canyoneering trip in April. We also started running this summer, but that idea sort of faded away as the school year began...but Lord knows we try! So why post about the Seattle Marathon when we aren't even a part of it?

Well, the two of us are on Thanksgiving Break and were just thinking of fun things to do during break. We heard of this event and we thought it might be fun to spend the day in Seattle next Sunday. You only live once, so why not grab a peppermint mocha at Starbucks, cheer on some runners, and have lunch at The Essential Baking Company? Sounds like a perfect day to us!

Also, if you happen to be participating in this run, we wish you the best of luck! It doesn't matter if you come first or last place...you should be extremely proud of yourself for being part of such an amazing event!

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." -John Bingham

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Favorite Places: Home 2.0

Dear Friend,

Welcome to the last installment (for now!) of the "Favorite Places" series! This post is our favorite place on earth together...our school. We aren't going to mention it by name for privacy reasons, but for the sake of this blog, we'll call it Home 2.0.

Headquarters
The library. The library was the first place that Kylie walked into when she visited Forest Ridge as a little fourth grader that felt like a second home. The people that work in the library and fantastic and everything about it is warm and cozy. Many of our friends wonder why we spend all of our free time there, but we wonder why they don't. The library is a perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon. Some of our favorite memories are in the library, whether we are flipping a switch about something that just happened, or frosting and eating a dozen cupcakes as "dinner" before the fifth grade concert at 8:00 pm, and then army crawling across the floor to pretend that we were in a high-stress action film. The name "Headquarters" comes from the fact that if we ever did start up a business similar to the CIA or FBI (but let's be honest, we would be the only two idiots involved), our base area would be the library...

Specific HQ
...Specifically, an office in the library. Our campus minister is probably the #1 most amazing, friendly, funny, musical, and all around legit person. She is one of the main reasons that Home 2.0 is what it is to us. We joke that we live in her office but in a way, we do. We have a "family portrait", and an entire corner of our own that we have decorated. It includes positive quotes, a "rainy day jar" (tbc at a later post), a Buddha statue, our personal tea mugs, a large tea pot, and a variety of teas. We also have our own pillows and blankets in this office. Our day doesn't feel complete without sitting on the white couch in the warm office drinking pomegranate vanilla tea or whatever selection we choose for that day, and just chatting.

Theater
The theater is where Kylie has spend the last two weeks after school, this week until 7:30 and tonight until nearly 11:00. We are both very involved in the theatre department at Home 2.0. During shows (which is basically all year), we live at the theatre. Kylie does every performance  whether acting or teching or stage managing, and Catherine usually chooses one. From the red curtains, to the "never mind about black hats", to the ghost story, the theatre at Home 2.0 is so unique because of all of the memories and stories behind ever costume piece, set piece, and scrape in the floor. There is also a ghost that lives in the theater, Sister Evie. A techie was walking on the catwalk and found a funeral invitation for a "Sister Evie". What else would it be doing up there if her ghost wasn't involved? Hence the story.

When shows are going on, the theatre is a buzz of excitement and it's so hard to describe the feeling. There is something in the atmosphere that just makes everyone happy. Tonight before our last show, the girls in the light/sound booth plugged in youtube videos of Bye Bye Birdie, our last show and we were all belting the words at the top of our lungs. Although shows end and sets are torn down, the memories never go away, nor do the friendships. By the end of senior year, Catherine will have been involved in 5 shows at Home 2.0, and Kylie will have been involved in 17.

Not quite HQ
The is another teacher's office. We don't spend as much time in here as we would, because said teacher is never there. This office is so unique. It is not a novelty to find a bowl of soap and banana peels covered in cellophane to "kill the fruit flies". We have just recently discovered the scarf drawer which we will be using probably more often as the weather gets chillier. This office has the funniest paint job. There are holes in the wall everywhere, and the ceiling has hints of blue from a previous decor choice. We make fun of this office on a regular basis, but we actually really enjoy spending time there. Yet another place that makes campus feel like home.

As you can see, we love everything about our school. We chose to highlight just a few things, but we could go on forever about this amazing place. We joke that we run the whole place, and even teachers assume that we know everything about it (which we basically do). We would be the first ones to notice if a garbage can was moved, or if a small plant was uprooted. Things like this throw our whole days off. We know every single teacher on campus and have a personal relationship with each. We are friends with people across grades. The entire school is such a community. This sounds cliche, but it is the truth. We always feel comfortable and safe at Home 2.0.

We are so blessed to have such an amazing school that we feel comfortable calling home. Unlike some people, we don't dread coming to school. We always arrive early and usually leave later than we have to. We do run the school, even if people tell you otherwise. True fact. Although we are leaving for college in 199 days, we know that Home 2.0 will always be somewhere we can come back to. Actually, we never truly leave, do we? Out hearts will always be tied to this place, and that's an eight year bond that you can never break.

Home is where the heart is...

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

RUH ROH

Dear Friend,

Catherine is sleeping and Kylie's keyboard just stopped working so the final installment of the Favorite Places post will be posted tomorrow. Sorry for the EXTREMELY short blog post tonight!

Hang in there!

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Favorite Places: Naalehu, Hawaii

Dear Friend,

Naalehu is not your typical city in Hawaii. There aren't any hotels lined up on the beaches, late night luaus, or even tourists bustling around at shopping malls. Instead, Naalehu is a place where you would find locals fishing at 4 in the morning or climbing a palm tree to retrieve a coconut. To put  it simply, it's a chill place. Although it may not be the first attraction that comes to mind for tourists, it is where Catherine's mom grew up and one of the top vacation spots for the Kuo's. Well, you couldn't even call it a vacation spot- it's really a second home. Located at the southern tip of the Big Island, this extremely small town consists of one school, one church, one library, one grocery store, etc. If you ever make it down to this sweet old place, be sure to visit the following:

Hana Hou 
This is the main restaurant in Naalehu. Embracing home style cooking, this restaurant never fails to please. There are classic meal plates as well as new specials every day- each with their own island flavor. Whether that is the papaya salad dressing or the simple macaroni salad, you are guaranteed a taste of local foods. However, this restaurant is most famous for their pies. When you first walk in, you are greeted with chocolate pies, banana cream pies, coconut pies...anything your heart desires. But lesson of the day: do not leave this place without trying the macadamia nut cream pie. It is to die for.

Punalu'u Black Sand Beach 
The Punalu'u Black Sand Beach is one of the most beautiful and family friendly beaches in the world. You can take a dip in the warm water or watch the sunset at the evening barbecue. You will definitely enjoy these typical "beach-y" activities, but one of the highlights at this beach are the sea turtles. While walking on the beach, you'll come across turtles sprawled out all over the place. They are extremely friendly and welcoming to strangers. These turtles are as chill as Naalehu.

Swap Meets 
Swap Meets are essentially local farmer's markets that happens a few times a week. At these little booths, you'll find some of the freshest fruit and vegetables grown by the locals. Often times you can sample mangoes, coconuts, papayas- basically any tropical fruit you can think of. The families who run these booths are absolute sweethearts and are so, so, so happy when visitors arrive.

Punalu'u Bakery  
Best. bakery. ever. There is no doubt about this. The Punalu'u bakery specializes in sweet bread. As young kids, Catherine and her sister, Emilee, would often walk from their Grandparent's home to this bakery almost every day of the summer. They were always the first in line for the freshly baked bread. Then, in the afternoon, they would return to get a cup of the bakery's famous macadamia nut ice cream. All this dessert goodness and sugar was probably not the best thing for Catherine and Emilee, but it was (and still is) totally worth it!

As you can see, Naalehu is very simple. It is also small enough that you can't really keep a secret without someone finding out. Everyone knows everyone...well, everyone is related to each other. It's really one big family...literally. There have been many incidents where Catherine has been at a local swap meet and is suddenly bombarded by all her aunts and uncles she had never met before. It never hurts to gain more family and friends, right?

Aloha and Mahalo! 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Favorite Places: San Juan Island

Dear Friend,

There is a reason why Islanders refer to a trip to the mainland as “going to America”. The San Juans seem to be on a completely different slice of reality than the rest of the world. When you step off the ferry, you are immediately at ease. There is something about the salty air and the smell of the ice cream shop that can calm the most cluttered mind. The town of Friday Harbor is absolutely charming. From over-priced boutiques, to yummy coffee shops, there is something for everyone. Walk along the wooden docks and pass the fish market and you’ll be sure to see Pop-Eye, the half blind resident seal. Saturday morning at 10 is the farmers market, where you can find literally the best pizza you have ever tasted, fresh fruits, and that nasty smelling oyster booth that somehow manages to always show up. The local movie theater is charming. Not too long ago, if eight or more people didn't show up for a movie they would cancel it, since the price of the movie would be more than the price of the ticket sales. If you drive out Roche Harbor road you’ll pass Mona, the Island camel and her little white alpaca friend. Mona is the #1 sassiest dromedary and she loves attention, so be sure to stop and say hello. Continue straight and you’ll come to Roche Harbor. Roche Harbor is a nice, quiet harbor during the winter months, but once summer hits and the tourists come, it is insanity. The Lime Kiln Café is filled with all manner of yachting folk. If you wake up early enough you can snag a delicious doughnut before they sell out. Fourth of July brings herds of drunk, bald men and too tan women. Every 4th, the dock hands jump off into the oily water after their nightly “colors” ceremony.

If you take a right on your way down Roche Harbor Road, and then another right at the “Lonesome Cove Resort” sign, you’ll come to Kylie’s grandma’s property. She owns three houses: the “Big House”, the “Cabin”, and the “Little Cabin”, but everyone refers to the whole place as the cabin. The cabin is waterfront property, and many nights have been spent sleeping outside in cots, staring at the stars. Somehow, no matter what is going on in your life, the cabin makes everything feel okay. There are no fears at the cabin, aside from the ominous seal noises and the occasional trespassing deer. When you walk in the doors of one of the cabins, you are greeted with the smell of cedar and wood and cinnamon and something that just smells like home. Kylie’s grandpa built the cabin from the ground up, and this love and care permeates throughout. The cabin is a mindset. It represents all of the dedication that went into its construction. It is a gathering place for friends, new and old. It is grandpa’s workshop, and grandma’s measuring cups, and the old green bunk beds, and the lamp that never works, and the little yellow wooden fisherman, and macaroni. The cabin is long walks on the beach and breakfasts of raspberries and toast in the gazebo and late nights spent laughing with friends. The cabin is every Fourth of July eating messy veggie burgers and laughing as the juxtaposition between the Aberle’s fun little sparklers and the neighbors nearly blowing up their house with massive fireworks. The cabin is family. Not immediate family, but everyone who has ever visited has been changed by the cabin is inducted into the island clan.

"Those who have lived it know how beautiful the experience is. It holds a place in one's heart, my dear cabin-goer. The people, the place; treasure it." -Jane Huestis

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Favorite Places: Intro

Dear Friend,

What makes a place so memorable that you can't stop smiling or cringing when thinking about it?

From our personal experiences, we have two answers for you:

The People 
When we think of a place we have been, we often think of the relationships that were created, developed, or perhaps even broken apart while being there. This could evoke either positive or negative emotions, but other people always play a role in how you feel about a certain place. To help explain our thoughts on this, we thought of two scenarios regarding camping with friends.

Scenario #1: Camping with Friend A- Friend A absolutely loves the outdoors. Whether it's rain or shine, she can be found hiking, rock climbing, or kayaking. If you are camping with this hardcore and upbeat friend, you are bound to have a good time. Fallen tree blocking the pathway back to your tent? It's okay. Friend A will spend all afternoon scoping out an alternate route to home. Bugs? Don't worry. Friend A has five different types of bug repelling agents (including mouthwash for the ants). As you can see, your friend adores the outdoors so much that she has has the ability to look at any situation with a positive attitude. Sure, you may get lost or gain a few bug bites here and there, but hey- it's an adventure!

Scenario #2: Camping with Friend B- After your camping experience with this friend, you never want to return to the woods. Friend B is the type of person whose idea of camping is a three star hotel room a few miles away from the lake. Although you love your friend dearly, she is the worst camping partner ever. Fallen tree blocking the pathway back to your tent? You better start building an emergency shelter. Before you know it, it'll be dark and you might find yourself some raccoon friends. Bugs? Those creepy crawly creatures are all up to you, honey, because Friend B is too busy using up the one bottle of bug repellent you have. You better start praying that some deadly spider doesn't eat you alive. Let's face it- Friend B is not cut out for this type of adventure.

Although these two scenarios may seem pretty extreme, we hope we got the point across. People are a huge factor when deciding whether or not a place means a whole lot to you.

Individual Growth
A place's ability to help you grow as an individual can determine what makes a place special. Think of a place that you highly enjoy or despise. This could be anything from your family cabin, your school, or the park few blocks down from your house. If you look back on all the memories at these places, think about how each experience has contributed to who you are today. You know that the place is special when you realize you can't imagine life without it.

Hopefully you are starting to think of some of your favorite places. This was just a little introduction to a short series of posts beginning tomorrow. Over the next three days, we are going to describe some of our absolute favorite places in the world...so stay tuned!

How hard it is to escape from places. However carefully one goes they holy you- you leave little bits of yourself fluttering on the fences- like rags and shreds of your very life. 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Clothes

Dear Friend,

We all know that it's what is on the inside that counts, but that doesn't mean that we don't enjoy dressing up and feeling classy. We've outlined some of our favorite outfits for each season below.Sorry for the short post tonight, but we have a lot due this week and not a lot of time! We promise to post longer, more thoughtful posts later on in the week. For now...

Fall
-Brown boots
-Grey leg warmers
-Dark jeans
-Sweater
-Scarves
Winter
-Hunter boots
-Jeans
-North face jacket
-Stripey gloves
Spring
-Cropped or colored jeans
-Sweater with blouse
-Sperrys
-Messy bun
Summer
-Short shorts
-Colorful tank
-Flip flops
-Ray Band sunglasses

Again, we apologize for the quick post.
Happy Veterans day!

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." -Mark Twain

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Twitter

Dear Friend, 

We have exciting news for you...we joined twitter today! The link to our twitter is...drum roll, please.........

twitter.com/dearfriendblog 

If you have a twitter account, be sure to follow us! We'll be giving daily updates on our blog posts and you may even see some daily tweets of wisdom from us. Feel free to tweet us with any questions you have and we'll do our best to answer them. This twitter account will be a form of communication between us and our readers (shout out to Ireland...you guys helped us gain a few hundred page views in the last few days!). We are super excited about this, so we've decided to dedicate this post to twitter.  

Twitter is a fun social networking site that allows people to send and receive 140 character messages known as "tweets." This helps people receive the latest breaking news, stay in touch with friends, celebrities...there is so much to do and so many people to follow! Twitter is sort of like a universal brain- everyone is able to share their thoughts, which are then compiled into one great mind for everyone to see. After some experience with our personal twitter accounts, we've come up with a list of "Do's" and "Don'ts" in the world of twitter. 

Do's

-#hashtags

-follow Taylor Swift :) 

-be witty 

-retweet things you find joy in 

-space out your tweets

-promote yourself or others (but not too often!)

Don'ts

-#toolongofhashtagsthatconfusepeople

-write a novel

-complain about people without using names to gain pity 

-take yourself too seriously

-tweet anything you will regret later

-let it become an obsession 

#followus

Yours truly, 

Kylie and Catherine

Challenge: Ants

Dear Friend,

Each day we are met with challenges, some bigger than others. Some days our biggest challenge is getting out of bed, other days we are faced with deadlines, friendship problems, and other hurdles. Even though challenges are, well, challenging, they do provide opportunity for growth if we're open to the expansion. Like Albert Einstein said, "In the middle of growth lies opportunity." This guy knew what he was talking about. The two of us have had plenty of challenges of our own. We are installing a new post series: Challenge. We will give ourselves challenges, and then blog about the outcome (unless it is totally anti-climactic). We'll start with an unplanned challenge that happened in February


Challenge: Deal with an ant infestation at 4 AM in Palestine.
Rules: Silence. Don't wake anyone else in the house up. Kill all ants. Get rid of evidence.
Date: February 22, 2012

Over mid-winter break, the two of us went to Jerusalem with classmates and some teachers. The trip in itself was quite the roller coaster of emotions. Besides being half way around the world and away from my family and other friends, we were in one of the most dangerous places in the world. This event took place during our first morning waking up in Palestine. We had gone to bed very late the night before. The day had been so emotionally draining, as we had listened to stories from Claire Anistas, a victim of intense Israeli harassment. Her stories and wisdom were a lot to handle and we were exhausted. Also, this was the point in the trip that everyone was getting sick. We woke up at 4 AM to the call to prayer (the novelty had worn off and we just wanted to sleep). The two of us were sharing a queen sized bed and our friend Nathalia was in a smaller bed on the other side of the room. 5 minutes after being woken by chanting, I (Kylie) looked over to see Catherine leaning over the side of the bed. At first I thought she was sick, but then she jumped up on to the bed into a ninja pose and screamed.

We had an ant problem.

Our noses were running and our heads were pounding and we felt terrible, but in less than two seconds the two of us were standing on our bed and looking over as hundreds of ants crawled around on the floor and all over our stuff. Being the resourceful girls we are, we grabbed two things of mouth wash and began to pour them over the ants. Even though ants don’t usually bother us, the amount of them was insane and it was 4 AM in Palestine and we was sick and tired and delirious. Nathalia was freaking out about a huge spider in the bathroom, as well as a lack of toilet paper and it was just a bad situation all around. All we could do however was laugh. We couldn't believe the situation we were in, but it really strengthened our friendship. We took the challenge of staying quiet while being attacked by ants (at this point they were crawling all over the bed) head on and tried to deal with it with as much grace and poise as we could muster because what else could we do? Might as well find the humor and positive side in every situation because that’s more conducive to productivity and learning than being grumpy.

Lessons Learned:
-Mouthwash kills ants immediately. Note: always carry mouthwash.
-Try to find humor is situations that are not humerus at face value.
-Sickness makes everything worse.
-Positive thoughts are always helpful.
-Kylie and Catherine would make excellent CIA agents.

We hope you enjoyed challenge #1. Please comment or tell us about challenge suggestions and we promise we will try to get to them all as long as it is not too illegal or dangerous.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." -Helen Keller

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Early Mornings

Dear Friend,

What do your morning routines consist of? After you wake up, you probably roll out of bed, change into the day's clothes, brush your teeth, and have some breakfast- or something like that. But have you ever really thought of that moment when you open your eyes from deep sleep...that moment when you first wake up? This moment doesn't mean much to people, but for us, it's one of those little things in life that make us happy. Of course we've wondered about "night thoughts"- where do we "go" when we sleep? Some of us experience some crazy dreams where others just black out. But we digress..."night thoughts" is a totally different post. For now, we are just going to try and make sense of early mornings.

So what makes early mornings so special? Well, when we first wake up, it seems as if our minds are full of absolutely nothing...if that makes sense. If you don't understand this, try thinking of your mind as a computer. At night, you shut down. This means that your mind is simply focusing on resting for the next day. However, in the mornings, you turn  on your computer and wait for it to "boot up." Entering your password and logging on gives you the "a-okay" to start the day. This is how our mind functions in the morning, but we are most concerned about the period where our minds are "booting up." Clearly, we are awake- the computer is on. However, we have no access to actual documents on the computer because we haven't logged in yet. Thus, minds are blank. We call this "the moment of bliss." This time is not very long, but it is crucial when starting your day. This is a time where you can just lay in bed without having to worry over your problems. The two of us often have a lot of things on our mind. For example, we are in the midst of the college process...I think that's all we really have to say...to keep this short, we are very busy. But we digress. We love early mornings because we just don't have to think about things like college. When these moments of bliss end, it is a bit of a bummer. But you should be thankful you got to wake up in the first place!

I love early mornings when it feels like the rest of the world is asleep and you're the only one who's awake and everything feels like it isn't really real and you kind of forget about all your problems because for now it's just you, the world, and the sunrise. 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

Giving

Dear Friend,

Sometimes we get into the mindset where we think we are the center of the universe. Events are planned according to our own schedules and people's actions are in our best interests- the world must revolve us. It is definitely important to take care of ourselves, but becoming so wrapped up in our own interests can lead to  selfishness. It is imperative that we step back from our own lives and take a moment to look around. It doesn't hurt to become concerned about others, in fact, it should be our duty as fellow human beings to be interested in the welfare of others. We need to learn how to give. Being able to put aside our issues so that we can give back to others is very important. But what does it mean to give? In this post, we have decided to share gifts we have given people- both physical and priceless.

Physical Gifts 
When you hear "physical gifts," you probably think of the gifts you give to your family and friends on their birthdays. These gifts can range from buying a new watch or paying for their dinner. Today, the two of us helped carry out a very special event at our school. We planned a surprise day full of fun activities for our school to enjoy- we brought everything from bouncy castles to go karts on campus. These physical gifts can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, but they all have one meaning- to show that we care. We wanted to give back to our community and planning this event helped us show people that we appreciated them.

Priceless Gifts 
These gifts don't have a monetary value attached to them. They can be as simple as lending someone a coat on a cold day or writing a handwritten card for them. You don't have to pay a single cent to give these gifts- it's more about the thought behind them that counts. In our lives, we give the gift of joy to people (at least we hope we do). Roald Dahl once said "If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely." Positive thoughts are key in spreading happiness to others. If you are the type of person to complain a lot and put your problems above others, then there's no opportunity for joy to arise. As we said before, it doesn't cost anything to bring joy to people- it just takes your time and effort. This can be very difficult to do, but just take deep breaths and put a smile on your face. Something that you think is meaningless can mean a great deal to someone else.

Giving to others can cause a chain reaction. By putting someone else's needs before your own can be a great example to people. If we all give either gifts to each other every day, we guarantee that people will be more loving and happier.

"It's not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving."- Mother Teresa 

Yours truly,
Kylie and Catherine

P.S- Thanks to the person who suggested this blog post. You know who you are. (Suggestions for posts are always welcome! We want to know what you want to read.)

[If you are reading this in your e-mail, please check our blog online as some changes may have been made.]