Old School, 2015 and 2016.

So 2015 has come to an end and we're already a few days into 2016, as well as semester one is coming to it's end. We have been having a lot of finals, and projects and large assignments due. This means a lot of studying, and last minute work, and all sorts of other school related things that take up time. I'm not saying doing these things is bad, but I have realized how much effort and time goes into your work, not only towards the end of the semester or quarter.

Coming from a private school, Treasure Mountain Junior High is very different; there are more finals, projects and assignments that count for a large part of your grade. Although this makes it hard and a bit more time consuming to get a good grade, I like the effort that you have to put into your work. I know a lot of kids feel lazy and usually don't like these types of things, and I don't either but as quarter to is ending I noticed how much I have enjoyed the school year.

At my old school the eighth grade class was composed of fifteen students. This made it very difficult to make friends and meet different people. Although our class was very close, it felt weird not being able to go to a class with other people and make new friends. Coming to TMJH for ninth grade was a huge change, there being so many students and classes. At first it was overwhelming and difficult to adjust to but after coming here I have made new friends that I feel closer with than the other friends I had before. I have had a chance to meet a lot of new people and experience things I didn't have at my private school. I am looking forward to semester two because new semester means new classes and meeting new people. I am very shy but am hoping to become more open and meet new friends.

At my old school things were a bit different, not only because it was smaller but the teaching styles were different and I like coming to TMJH because it's new and a good change. I had been going to Park City Day School, the private school since I was in kindergarten and am very happy to be at a new school.

Picture of my friend Marea and I

Now switching gears to look back on 2015 I would say it's been a pretty great year, and although we're already 14 days into the new year I'm excited to see what the rest of 2016 holds. In 2015 I made some great new friends, had arguments with old ones but eventually found our way back together, and went through hardships but I wouldn't want my year any other way. I am so lucky to have the opportunities and friends I have, especially my closest ones who I can tell anything. My friends are so supportive and I'm so glad to have them in my life. So, to conclude this post, I know it's already 2016 but cheers to whatever the future holds!

~Ariel



P.s. if you want to check out my friend's travel tips blog you can click here, and if you want to check out my other friends blog for pretty much anything click here! :)

Shrek.

Fabulous picture by me!

It was about eight o'clock on Wednesday night at our final dress rehearsal for Shrek the Musical when I realized.... I still have to write three blog posts. Not only do I have to post three blog posts, I have to make three different DIY projects! This was going to be very difficult for me since I still had stage tech after school on Thursday and Friday till ten o'clock, and on Saturday from one p.m. to midnight. How was I supposed to do this all? That's when I decided my blog topic probably needed to change.

Now, flash forward to Saturday and it is our last day of Shrek. I still have only written half a post and I can't think about what to write about. I then figured I would write about all the behind the scenes tech stuff I got to participate in. In the end, even though now I have seen Shrek the Musical a total of eleven times I thought it was a really great show.

Obviously, after the whole crew seeing it eleven times, we were pretty sick and tired of hearing the song Big Bright Beautiful World in the beginning and over-joyed when we heard I'm a Believer at the end. That being said, I still really enjoyed seeing the show every time I did.

Although the tech things I did weren't that complicated and difficult, I felt very accomplished and proud of the show the crew helped put on. Throughout the nine days we worked I became a lot less shy and made some new friends that I probably wouldn't have without this production. At the end of our Saturday double show I even had a really awesome moment that was kind of like the lift from Dirty Dancing but way less cool and I almost fell on my face.

Image courtesy of Popsugar

So, after all of that, we striked. Striking is pretty much just cleaning up all the props and taking the drops down and taking apart the wagons. Striking isn't necessarily fun but Dave really helped us make it so much more fun by giving everyone in the crew flarp. If you don't know what flarp is, it's noise putty. It pretty much is silly putty that makes fart noises. Thanks Dave for going to Walmart at eleven p.m. on a Friday night and buying forty flarp containers. That must have been awkward...

Thanks Walmart for Flarp

Overall, I really enjoyed being part of the stage tech Shrek the Musical crew. Also, Kat I'm so glad you were ogre-joyed with our performance, I know that Chris and I are the best bride ever! I hope everyone on the team had as much fun as I did in the end, and thanks to Will once again for slapping me in the face with flarp. Se ya next time!

~Ariel the gargoyle