*New Years Rules

I typically don't participate in New Years Resolutions because it implies that things can only be resolved in the new year (which is false); however, this year I am doing some *New Years Rules. *New Years Rules are things that I must do throughout the incoming year.

2016 New Years Resolutions Rules

Be happy.

Laugh everyday.

Maintain a balanced life.

Stay busy.

Stay motivated.

Make new friends and appreciate the old ones.

Exercise.

Write.

Love everyone<3

Be happy :)

Happy New Year! 新年快乐！

Merry Christmas ^_^

12 (or so) Days of Christmas :Christmas Eve

Day 10:

I spent Christmas Eve spending time with another one of my families. We didn't do anything amazing. We just sat, talked, and watched 3 hours worth of Chopped episodes. Best Christmas Eve ever!!  Merry Christmas Eve :)

12(or so) Days of Christmas: Christmas Eve Eve

Day 9:

Our very fancy gingerbread homes.

Christmas Eve Eve is one of my favorite holidays. Every Christmas Eve Eve , I get together with one of my families and we all decorate gingerbread houses together. It is a small and easy activity that really promotes family bonding.  This tradition has expanded to the point that everyone is invited. Family, friends, neighbors, kids-everyone comes over. It is really great to see people I don't get to see very often. We make fun of each others (lack of) decorating skills, we laugh together, and we give each other quality advice.

I am clearly very gifted in ugly sweater design.

I highly suggest inputting a cool Christmas Eve Eve activity into your annual schedule. Use the activity to get closer to your *family.

*family: any person/people who love(s) you. Your squad (group of friends) is your family.  Families are not always biological-sometimes its more fun that way :D



12 (or so) Days of Christmas: Homeless

Day 8:

My friends and I were talking outside one night. All of a sudden, this homeless man rises from where he lay and starts bee lining for all of us. Keep in mind, I'm mid-conversation and I do not feel like being disturbed. I am not afraid of the man who is quickly approaching, but his forthcoming presence is beginning to cause anxiety. In the blink of an eye, he was right behind us and had ambushed us with the classic "times are hard" line. My entire group naturally stopped everything and dispersed to our respective vehicles. On the way home, I was wondering why the homeless man seemed to possess such a power to break up a social group using only his presence. Maybe it was the setting-night time in front of a closing museum. Maybe his story wasn't convincing enough -coming over to beg for money while wearing some brand new Timberland boots and a semi clean polo. For some reason, not only did I not want to help him, but I also felt the need to get away from him as quickly as possible.

I want to emphasize that homeless people are people before anything. I also want to emphasize that giving is important. With that being said, its important to be able to differentiate between a con artist and someone actually in need.

Most International Viewers in a Week

This week Camy's Corner has had the most international viewers in its history. Besides the majority of my viewers from the United States,  this week I've had viewers from Russia, Germany,  Argentina, Japan, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Poland, and Malaysia. Thank you for all the love and support. Please continue to read, like, and share my posts. I'm all about that international love 💞

12 (or so) Days of Christmas: Making New Friends

Day 7:

Due to my mildly socially awkward past and my brief middle school depression, I have transformed into a reasonably attractive confident person. If I have learned anything from my trials and tribulations, I have learned how to love myself and have (somewhat) mastered the art of making friends. So here's what happened:

    Friends + ice cream = 💕

I went to an ice cream shop on the beach with my mom and my best friend. I walked down the long isle of flavors contemplating what I was in the mood to eat. The guy working as the ice cream server said the magic words "Let me know when you ready to sample." At that very moment, I realized that this was going to be the best night ever. He asked me what I was mood for and I told him that I was not really sure, but I knew I wanted chocolate to be involved. The sweet ice cream server let me taste everything with chocolate. For this, I am forever indebted to him (LOL). With every sample he gave me, we bonded a little bit more. By the time I was ready to purchase, my new friend gave me two free cups of ice cream ( for mom and bestie), and a discount on my cup of ice cream. And then we took our first official selfie as friends.

Tips for making new friends

• Be yourself!
• There is no one better qualified.
• Confidence is attractive.
• A person that is comfortable in his or her own skin emits stable and positive energy. Those are also two key things to look for in any potential relationship. 
• Be friendly.
• Friendliness brings new friends. Enough said.
• Choose quality people
• It is very important to remember that the quantity of friends and the quality of friends is not the same thing. The quality of a person is really what matters.  I would much rather have one  or two really good friends, rather than 100 "new" friends. The best friendships occur when all parties involved are quality people.

12 (or so) Days of Christmas: Kind Strangers

Day 6:

I am a member of the Acts of Random Kindness Club (A.R.K) and as a devoted member, I am usually the one giving to others. Today was the first time that I happened to be on the receiving end of an act of random kindness.  So here's what happened:

I planned a surprise for my best friend who just so happens to work at IMAX. The surprise was bringing along some mutual friends that she hadn't seen in a while. She was extremely grateful for her surprise, but we had to wait until she got off of work to hang out. As a result, my friends and I went outside to chat in front of the box office. Suddenly, this man runs up to us and hands us two free tickets to tonight's sold out showing of Star Wars; just as quickly as he came, he ran away. We didn't even have the chance to say thank you. So one of my friends goes to stand in line with the tickets, and quickly calls me. He then tells me that another kind stranger gave him a free ticket to see tonight's sold out showing of Star Wars. To summarize the unbelievable events, just by going to surprise my best friend, my friends and I managed to get 3 free tickets to see a sold out showing of Star Wars.

Thank you so much to our unidentified random kindness activists. We really appreciated it.

12 (or so) Days of Christmas: Santa's Enchanted Forest

Day 5:

       I went to the famous Santa's Enchanted Forest. I had only been one time previously, when I was around 8 years-old,  and it was awesome. There were lights, trees, rides, and food everywhere. As a particularly chubby child, I was mainly interested in that last detail. Today, returning so many years later felt different. I would describe the experience as comparably subpar.
      In the Christmas spirit of fairness, I must consider that I returned with some pretty high expectations. I expected it to be just as fun, just as amazing, and just as clean as when I first entered. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The park itself is beautiful and full of fun activities, however, it is also a black hole for money. Everything (as far as food is concerned) costs at least $5. All the walking makes one very tired, hungry, and thirsty. Regarding essential beverages such as water, it costs about $3 a bottle. Also, due to the popularity of the park within the surrounding areas, the park is heavily populated. People are fun, but also very messy at times. By the end of the night, there were trash trails of absentminded people who left a tissue here or forgot a box of donuts there.
       The park felt less enchanting and more reality imposing. I left feeling exhausted and a little disappointed. Once again, the park was fun, but a little disappointing.

Look at all of those lights!!

12 （or so) Days of Christmas : Small Gifts

Day 4:

The other day I went to a vintage movie theater and I felt really appreciative to be able to take a step into the past. As a member the technologyy generation of iPhones, Androids and Nokias, there are very few things that don’t change. It’s almost like my generation doesn’t have anything timeless. It was nice to step back into what I assume was an 80’s theater and see the faded pink walls, popcorn ceilings, and the elaborate flower wallpaper. The experience itself was the gift. Regardless of how small it is in the scheme of life, that small gift probably made a huge impact on my life.

This vintage wallpaper<3

Instagram: @camy3799

12 (or so) days of Christmas: Surprise

Day 3:

I decided to go find the people of my past. First, I went back to my previous high school. I said hello to all my teachers and received so much love. While I was just wandering around, I ran into some of my best friends. Everybody seemed to do a double take anytime I would enter a space. Not because I'm so attractive, but because I'm a missed familiar face. Seeing the surprised look  on all of my friends faces was wonderful. I would say absence really does make the heart grow fonder. After my rounds of hellos, I went to my lunch with my friend. Then, my friend drove me to a local middle school where would visit my old middle school teacher. My teacher was happy to see me as well.

I think it's important to go back to my roots and check in. It was great to see the school improvement projects that I started in the past are currently very successful and improving every minute. Most importantly, it was amazing to renew my old (but never forgotten) relationships with my friends, classmates, and educators.

12 (or so) Days of Christmas: Jimmy Johns

Day 2:

As I walked to approach the looming Ethics final, two amazing people ask if I want a free sandwich. Not  just any free sandwich, a free sandwich from Jimmy Johns<3 The man who offered me the sandwich dropped something, in which I instinctively picked up and returned to him.  Guess what? He awarded me a 2nd sandwich for being kind. #ARK Acts of Random Kindness occasionally get you free or reduced food. Free food is the best kind of food (when you're hungry). Thank you Jimmy Johns for giving me a quick snack before a big test.  It really brightened my day :D

2,500 Views!!!!

This is awesome. Thank you so much for reading my posts and sharing my stories. Thank you to my long time viewers from the United States, Russia, United Kingdom, Taiwan, Japan, India, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Barbados, Brazil, France, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Mexico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, and Ukraine. Also, thank you to my newer viewers from Germany, the Netherlands, and Venezuela.  Thank you soooo much <3


P.S. Stay tuned for some new posts :)

12 (or so) Days of Christmas: My 1st Live Interview

In honor of my blog's first holiday season, I will be doing a small series of post entitled the 12 (or so) Days of Christmas.


Day 1:

My family and I went to see the Chocolate Nutcracker in local theater. After the show, a woman from the Sun-Sentinel requested to interview me for a story that she would release soon. I agreed because, honestly, I enjoy attention and it important for me to be able tot articulately express myself to the public. She put a mic on me and had me test the audio a couple times. Once she picked the perfect camera angle, she started asking questions. Fortunately, after years of debate, I have been trained in quickly answering questions intelligently. The first question being easy like "What was your favorite part?" Then she moved into more controversial questions like "How does a production like this affect the community?" and "How does it feel seeing a 'chocolate' version of the traditionally white story?"


Here's a clip of my answers:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/video/originals/sun-sentinel-shorts/sfl-ss-originals-chocolate-nutcracker-story-20151211-story.html

Midterms/Finals

These last two weeks have been the weeks of finals and midterms. I just wanted to do a quick shoutout to the other students struggling to study for all of these obnoxiously weighted tests. I want to commend you for staying strong regardless of how much sleep you have lost. I understand the stress of these examinations and I really want to encourage all the students to persevere. The struggle is almost over; in the long run, (hopefully) it will be worth it (*insert Hunger Games whistle*).

May the curve be ever in your favor :)

Starting finals like...

My 1st Hanukkah

Today is the first night of Hanukkah. Today is also the first time I've participated in Hanukkah, and let me just tell you-Hanukkah is awesome.

This is a dreidel.

I went to my friend's house and met her family. Grandma was already cooking and the house smelled delicious. While we waited for everything to cook, my friend, her brother, and I played some games. We played the Game of Life and I won, retiring with 3.35 million dollars. We spun the dreidel  which was really cool because I won almost all the candy. My friend and I watched some very interesting panda and unicorn videos. Soon after, the sun was setting and the food was ready to eat. I sat down to a bowl of Matzo ball soup (which was so good).  The sun had completely set so it was time to light the menorah and say a prayer. After which, the food was served which included potato latkas (fried potatoes) and brisket. The food was scrumptious and quickly devoured. Then, the family collaborated to clear the table for the much anticipated desert-chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and various other pastries.

The awesomeness of Hanukkah does not just derive from the food or the candles, or the games. The togetherness and bonding of  family and friends is really what makes Hanukkah (or any holiday) special. I'm just really glad I took the opportunity to be a part of it.

The Joy in Giving

This holiday season I have so many new friends due to the change in schools, clubs, life experiences etc. So instead of purchasing a bunch of items to absent mindedly give away, I decided to indulge in the joy of giving.

I gave one of my friends a wrapped box of peanut butter and a card. It was not expensive and it was exactly what I wanted to give him. When I brought him the gift earlier his week, he was so surprised and appreciative. He actually gave me hug after reading the card; reason being, the card had more than just "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas" in it. Inside I expressed my genuine appreciation for the friendship I have with him. If you give the right person a card, sometimes, the card seems to write itself.

Later on, he unwraps the peanut butter and his face lights up. Now I'm sure that peanut butter was not at the top of his wish list, but the gift acknowledges that I listen to him. I remember him saying that his favorite food was peanut butter which is where I got the idea from. Long story short, he enjoyed his gift, and I (the giver), really enjoyed giving it to him.

   

Little Kids # -_-

I volunteer at a local school and tutor little kids. I love the face they make when they finally get an answer right. I love how their faces light up when I come in the room. That is the best part of my job.

Little kids got me like...

HOWEVER, little kids are mean. They are mean to strangers and each other. They are adorable, but overly blunt.
Don't get me wrong, I love them;but, those kids... 怎么办(what to do)？