Is she beautiful now?

Hello, everyone!
So yesterday I attended a literary award ceremony, because I placed Highly Commended on my poetry division! Mom has told me that a lot of people want to read the poem so here it is:

She's a little girl

It's summer and

Her hair is long and tangled

Her cheeks are strawberry red

Her eyes sparkling

A smile dimpling her face

She looks up to her mother

A figure of

Beauty

Power

Sophistication

And says

"I want to be just like you!"

Is she beautiful now?

She's a teenager

Young

Alive

The smart one

The social one

The fashionable one

She sits with her friends at their

Favorite

Pizza parlor

And says

"I'll have a salad, please"

Even as she looks

Longingly

At the melted cheese and pepperoni in front of her

Is she beautiful now?

She's out of school

Sizing up her competition

Applying for jobs

And getting

No

Response

She threads

And waxes

All the hairs off her body

Applies all the makeup in the world

But even though you can't see it

It's still there

Her skin is red

Is angry

Is she beautiful now?

She tries some more

Finally

Finally

She finds a company that wants her

A weak smile from her lips

Doesn't reach her eyes

She's tired

Hungry

Her face pale against the

Dark makeup around her eyes

Is she beautiful now?

The first thing they say

When she walks in

Is

"Take off your shirt"

"Take off your bra"

Take off

Your

Dignity

But she can't say no

She needs this job

She peels

The shirt

Off

Is she beautiful now?

She is at a dinner party

Toasting her success

And then retreating to the bathroom

Back arched

She sits on the ground

And vomits

Her mascara streaming over her face

Because she has to

She has to

She has to…

Is she beautiful now?

She is called to the runway

The last one to walk

She's glittering

Fake sparkles

Plastered to her body

She steps

Onto the stage

The world tilts

Her ankle twists

She falls

And doesn't get back up

Is she beautiful now?

She is in the hospital

The makeup washed away

Her face gaunt

Purple circles under her eyes

Her ribs stick out against her skin

The doctors say

"You're malnourished"

Her employer says

"You're fired"

And she thinks

She wonders

Will she be beautiful again?

I'm a published author now! YAY!

The Eight Week Camp

I know I haven't written on this blog for years. I just haven't had the muse- and honestly, there haven't been many life-changing events that I've had to inform you about! The muse to write on the blog went away, and that's fine. I've been occupied with other things.
Hm... what's happened since I last wrote? Monday, October 21st, 2013. Almost two years ago.
Well. I'm back in Australia. I've visited my family in Spain once at the beginning of this year. I have completed my sixth grade AMEB flute exam, will do my seventh sometime in October of this year, and have begun playing the cello- I'm studying grade three on it now, but there hasn't been talk of exams yet.
I've joined a website called DeviantArt and have been doing digital art for a year now. I'm very proud of what I've achieved! Check me out here. Along with my new art experience, I have also learned how to read/write horse genetics fluently and am aware that all previous posts I wrote on horse colors are completely inaccurate. At least I tried.
I have also moved to a new school after receiving an academic scholarship and am very happy there. I am three quarters of the way through ninth grade and just completed an eight-week camp nine hours away from Melbourne, out in the middle of nowhere.

I got back from it last Friday, and my mom has suggested that I write a blog post about (why not?). It was pretty intense. Where to start?
For all intents and purposes, let's just call this camp "Camp". Just in case some internet creep decides to look it up and hunt me down. (._.) I guess I can start with the landscapes. It's the middle of winter here (I guess Spring is coming? It's still cold...) and everything was green. The first week we arrived it was raining non-stop. The last week we spent there it was raining non-stop. But in-between it wasn't too bad- there were even some days where we could walk around with t-shirts!
Camp is in a sort of valley thing with lots of rolling hills filled with tons of mooing cows, four alpacas, and one crazy herding dog named Diesel. Most of the property is covered in paddocks, but there's also a creek and forest (the camp is completely surrounded by a national park). You see kangaroos in the paddocks often, and you are guaranteed to see some form of bird within the first five minutes of waking (well... if you look outside!). During first light you can see frost that covers the ground and make it appear like it has snowed, as well as mist which creeps close to the ground and is condensed into thick, varying layers which cover all the surrounding hills. There's nothing to block your view of the sun slowly rising behind the trees and casting thick rays of light everywhere, and while I would like to say that it's silent, it's definitely not- the birds go absolutely nuts at this time. But it still feels very serene.
I had a north-facing window, so I was always woken by the sun. Annoying sometimes, considering that it always woke me up at around 6:30a.m. without fail, but definitely worth it most of the time.
The sunsets were just as gorgeous (if not more). They were easier to witness, that's for sure.

That up there was the first sunset that really got to me. The camera did it no justice, of course, but you would never see something like this in the city. Not because sunsets like this don't happen in the city, but because there's always some distraction or building in the way. Sunsets, the moon, the stars are harder to notice in the city and that makes me sad.

Then there was the darkness that came with the evening. Usually the moon was able to shine through and you would be able to see the silvery outlines of trees in the distance, or little cow-shaped figures in the fields, but some nights there were so many clouds in the sky that any light was blocked completely. When that happened, you couldn't see anything beyond the illumination on the footpaths (not sidewalks; this was all dirt). Especially considering that most of the horrible weather happened on the first few days that we were there, it was terrifying! The best nights were definitely the cloudless nights- nights in which you could just see that outline of the milkyway sprawled across the sky. Those nights were just gorgeous- they made me so happy.

So yes, in Camp there were green paddocks, a thick Australian bush forest, gorgeous skies of all kinds, and a creek. There was also a sub-tropical rainforest (a very small one, caused by the southern shadow of a large hill) and a large lake/ocean system just a few hundred meters away. Beautiful.

The animals there (which I've already mentioned) included cows, alpacas, various types of chickens and turkeys and ducks, and a dog. There used to be sheep, but unfortunately they were attacked by wild dogs in the area and had to be taken away. The alpacas are currently under debate as they were bought to protect the sheep, didn't, and now aren't really useful for anything but making teenage girls excited about fluffy alpaca babies (which will be born next year). Diesel Dog will stay there for life. And the cows... well, they're delicious. I still find it hard connecting the living, breathing thing in front of me with the hamburger that I will eat later.

Calves are the cutest thing ever, that's for sure! Chicks come close, but not quite. While at Camp we had to take care of three "poddy" (orphan) calves, which were very cute but also pretty rude when it comes to manners and letting each other eat. One time they had a massive fight over who should get fed first and I ended up getting milk all over their heads as well as my raincoat. BUT. They are not nearly as bad as the older poddies. Oh no. The older poddies are cute, too- they're still babies themselves. But oh, they want their food as much as the younger ones. And they're bigger. I had to go in and feed them a few times by myself. My strategy was leaving one bucket by the fence just out of their reach so that at least some of them would be distracted, and then jumping into the paddock with the other bucket screaming my head off as I heard them running after me mooing their heads off. I didn't quite get run over, but whenever I got to the trough they were right on my heels and I had to do a little bit of push and shove to get all the feed in there.

The message: cows are vicious. If you have feed, approach with caution. Wait, no- if you have feed that you want to get somewhere, run with all your might because they will get to it first if you don't.

They're still heart-breakingly cute, though!

The alpacas are the most hilarious things (I have a whole bunch of derpy alpaca sketches lying around):

The chickens are very cute (they're like a little flock of admirers when you come in through the gate)

And while I don't have a picture of Diesel Dog, he was an absolute sweetheart. Very cute to watch from a distance!

So obviously this wasn't quite a normal lifestyle. We did have classes, though- just not the traditional kind. The curriculum focused on environmental, community, and personal sustainability. So basically: how to take care of the environment, be an accepting and helpful member of your community, and take care of yourself. Classes were very helpful, but really only for the environmental sustainability part- the rest I think I had to figure out myself.

I think I have changed as a person. I wrote 904 words about that. There have been lots of things that have opened up my eyes to who I could be- the behavior of my house mates, expeditions, taking on tasks like house chores or running assemblies- and I'm proud of what I have learnt. I just need to worry about what I'm going to do with that knowledge, I guess. It was easier to do so in a small setting like Camp- there were less variables, more set tasks. Here at home it's going to be harder.

One of the most rocking experiences in terms of self-learning was my second expedition. I was stuck with a (frankly) pretty useless partner and had to do everything by myself- packing, unpacking, setting up the tent, directing her to places, reminding her of things, etc. etc. The first day wasn't that great. I was letting her behavior bother me; I wasn't very impressed. But by the third day I realized that I honestly shouldn't care at all, worry about just myself, and enjoy my time. That expo was one of my greatest experiences at Camp, not because sea kayaking is awesome but because I learned a lot about what I can do and what I should do- be helpful, don't judge others without knowing them, and don't care about the little things. The first expo was beautiful and fun, but I didn't really learn much from it (I'm not referring to practical skills here!).

The first expo was pretty awesome- yes, I hiked a total of 32km in 3 days but it was ridiculously fun! The first day we hiked by some pretty gorgeous scenery-

but the second day was the best. After hiking for an hour or so we had to go through a knee-deep, freezing cold brown swamp. It may not sound that great, but it was awesome! And then we arrived at out destination- a lake surrounded by sand dunes close to the ocean.

I was one of three who was brave to put on her bathing suit and roll (down the incredibly steep sand-dune incline) into the lake! It was freezing, and there was sand everywhere, but it was definitely worth it. In the summer terms I'm sure it's a very popular choice to jump in.

For the second expo I don't really have many photos since my camera wasn't waterproof, but the route wasn't as interesting. We did, however, see a wild emu (!!!!!! EXCITEMENT) and this amazing bio luminescence on the shores of our second camp site.

(I'm the one farthest to the left!)

Another sort of "campy" thing we did was Solo- six hours by yourself under a tarp. You set up your own tarp and basically have to entertain yourself and think about what's happened to you over the last few weeks for the whole time. I went a bit stir crazy for the first few hours, ripping out clovers and various other plants to stick them into my visual diary, but eventually I settled in and I actually think that the time was too short. I did get enough time to write a letter to my future self, though! I'll get it next year.

(yes, that's actually me)

Another big part of the Camp program is, of course, the fact that you live in a house with (in my case) six other girls. Luckily we only have to share a room with one, but you still have to cook, clean, and do many other skits and presentations and things with everyone.

Let me tell you- it's ridiculously hard. People that you thought you could get along with perfectly could very well be your worst nightmare. But then, of course, there are also going to be people who surprise you. I didn't know my house mates very well before Camp. I didn't really know anyone in the whole camp- all my friends are going next term. So that was hard too.

But not only is it ridiculously hard because people drive you crazy, it's also hard because you see people doing amazing things and you start doubting yourself. My roommate is the most amazing person- she is open, approachable, always there when you need her, and always has an eye open, literally waiting for an opportunity to help others. Yes, I did get a bit jealous. But then I also stepped up my game.

I think it's good that there was such a mix of people in my house. It taught me a lot- what I want to be and what I don't want to be. So while there were some days where I was just sad and disappointed and all those things, I think it was worth it because I learned something from it.

Cheesy, I know. But true.

Another big part of the Camp program was the CILPs (Camp Independent Learning Projects). the CILPs were these huge projects that we basically spent the whole term on. I did mine on the birds of Camp- I made a whole 29-page field guide. My house mates (and some of the teachers, I think!) thought I was crazy- I was constantly suddenly stopping speaking and staring at a random thing in the distance, creeping up to things, running away without shoes, that sort of thing. Lots of fun! And I identified 60 birds (not including the chickens, turkeys, and ducks). It was all great fun... until the two weeks before it was due. My computer broke down for a few days, which caused enormous stress, and then for the next week and a half I spent every spare moment sitting in front of the screen and just writing things down. I know that the teachers said to not leave it until the last moment; but the thing is I just set myself too much work to do! It's alright, don't worry, I got it done. And I think a lot of the teachers have taken a peek and are considering using it. YES!

Another big part of the system was the runs that happened twice a week. The first run, every Tuesday, was called the Village Run. This run was timed and 2.6k long. I managed to improve by 8 1/2 minutes over five runs.
The second run, on Sunday, is the challenge run. This run changed every week- the first one was a run around the property with our house (horrible, as most of my house mates were rowers), the next was a challenge to get to different checkpoints (a bit sad, because my team was completely unmotivated), one was a run over two large hills around the property (my foot was bothering me so that didn't go as well as it could have), another was a 7k run across (relatively) flat land (which I enjoyed very much, actually), and another was a run over a very very large hill (torturous). Even though they were different distances and times, I could definitely tell that I was improving by the end because I was catching up to all the rowers by the end!

The last big part of the program was the bead system. It's an award system- there are different bead colors which represent different things and which are awarded to different people. There are 7 beads, and there is one that you earn after Camp. The colors are:
Red- Camp Involvement
Yellow- Personal Challenge
Brown- Expedition
Green- Environmental Sustainability
Blue- Leadership
Pink- Community Sustainability
Black- Pledge (this is for a project we have to complete after Camp called the Action Plan; nobody will earn this one until a while)

I managed to earn a fair few. In order of when I got them: Brown (after my second expo), Yellow (when beads were being awarded to the house- my teacher said that he had noticed me achieving my running goals, which was true), Red (this was given to me in a personal conference- he talked to me about how I had done a lot of things he would not have expected of me), and Green (apparently the whole house voted for me). I'm really proud that I deserve these awards and would like to keep trying hard to uphold this sort of reputation.

Anyways, Camp has been a pretty awesome experience. I was asked that if I were able to, what would I change? and my answer was that I wouldn't change a single thing. It's been hard, yes, but I think that that's part of why it was so amazing. Because I learned things I never would have otherwise. I am extremely grateful that I was able to enjoy this experience.

Stay safe from the older poddies, my friends. And enjoy all the sunrises and sunsets you can get. I'll certainly enjoy mine.

I'm Back from Washington (D.C.)!

I have been back for a week now, but that doesn't matter...
What did I do? Lots of things... we had a whole family reunion (where we ate at a Japanese restaurant where they cooked the food in front of us... I got scallops and beef), a camping trip (next to the Shenandoah River- we played and ate yummy food and slept in tents), and I was productive.
The first item of productivity (it is not in order of when they were finished):

This is "El Gato Meow",  or "The Meow Cat" (still looking for actual names, please comment!). She's and idea I've had for a long long time (like since the second term when we were designing softies), except the idea was originally orange and brown. But... blue and black is BETTER!!
I actually brainstormed a whole bunch of other colors on this cool sheet of paper, maybe I'll put it in the next post if I remember. More pictures:

 Okay, so moving on to more products of productivity (hehe- I still like productiveness better, grandpa!):

Okay, so I know that I said I wasn't putting this stuff in order, but here is the first drawing that I did one day in my free time.
Let me just say that it did not turn out as well as I wanted it (Babushka thought that the person on the right was a man... and just in case you're thinking that too, she's a woman. Definitely a woman). I did it completely out of pastels (except for the basic outline). Here is my reference picture:

I got it off Google. I don't know what the "Indian" thing is.
Yes, I did imagine these people to have an Indian look (will explain), but anyways.
Okay, my explanation: I'm entering this competition called the "Inky Awards Audience Prize". Basically, these people created these book awards called the Inky Awards. They are judged by teenagers. Then, a list of 20 books is put up so that you know they are good.
Anyways, so the audience prize is basically just a thing where you create something (like a video, drawing, anything) and you get the chance to win 20 books. This is one of my entries.
Another entry is...

This is a girl I drew from a book named Drama. It was a graphic novel, and I always thought that it would be cool to see what the character would look like in real life. So, since I don't have Photoshop and don't know anyone with purple hair (and don't want to violate copyright...), I decided to draw her. She didn't turn out half- bad. I hope I have a shot at those 20 books.
here is the reference picture:

I had to change her a bit because the girl in the book has wavy hair and, obviously, she has purple hair.
And no, Mom, this girl looks nothing like Babushka.
Anyways, one more drawing:

This one freaks my friend out. I personally love it and think it's one of the best I've done (but of course Miss Kitty is better). Most of the face is done in colored pencil, some of the shading is done by a really dark lead pencil, and the complete black is done by pastel. Okay, I can't help it. Here are my fingers after I did this:

Even after I washed them they were still grey for a few hours. Anyways, my friend wanted to see it, so here is my reference picture:

Yes, mine is different. The eyes are green (it's a book thing), and in the original you can't see the left eye. Again, it's a book thing, but I assume you want to hear it: the eyes are "mothership green". They glow in my eyes. technically that doesn't happen in the book, but I really don't care.

Anyways, before I leave you, here is a school project. This is a Golador. The word comes from "gato" (cat) "volador" (flying). Yes, I basically called it "Flying Cat". I didn't have much choice: I considered "Fat", "Birat"(try saying it out loud), "Cird"(try saying that too), and Volato (which just reminded me of ice cream and volcanoes- VOLCREAM!!).
I based the wings on the Harpy Eagle (a bird from South America) and a type of cat called Margay. I used these pictures:

 I picked the Margay as my cat body because it was the (from what I could see) smallest South American cat I could find.

 This wing really helped me to see how to fold it over...

And this one helped in terms of striping and stuff.
Onto the Random Picture...

(kitten) "Pwease owner... PWEASE..."
(Owner) "No."
(2 hours later)

(sorry, just had to put that at the end)

My Birthday!!

Okay, so last time I wrote that same day I got another birthday present (YAAAAHHH!!!).
This one will actually stay with me for like FOREVER. It was....

PICCOLO!!!!!!
This isn't my picture, but this is the piccolo that I have. We bought it used from a woman that had barely used it at all. It's quite a funny little thing: I can play it, but it's different (and yes, I've learned my lesson: NEVER play piccolo before flute in practice!) and... well... CUTE.
Point is, I'm not exactly an expert piccolo player, but I can manage because I'm an expert flute player (still need to find some good earplugs, though...).
Onto my actual birthday: it was on Wednesday, and it was quite fun. First my alarm wakes me up and the next second I have two little sisters dragging me to my parents' bedroom, me still half asleep. Everyone sings happy birthday. I get presents: 6 horse movies, a Black Caviar book, a Spanish book (a new one too!!), a mermaid, a puzzle book, and a pretty giant horse poster inside an extra glass frame (I'm still trying to find a way to hang it up). I'm looking forward to using all this stuff, especially the books!
But wait... it wasn't done. I ate breakfast and went to band, then direct to class (I promised my friend that I wouldn't make my usual stop at my locker after band and before class). Then, after class (and another singing of happy birthday) I walk to my locker, and there, on top of it, is a sign that says: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY M2A!! U ARE 13 NOW!!!!" It was pretty cool. It was awesome.
But wait... my friend wasn't finished with me! She hands me a WHOLE BAG and says "OPEN OUTSIDE!!!" We walk outside and I open: 2 erasers (a jack in a box and a red and green lion), a bracelet (from these little boys that my friend babysits), a whole chocolate bar, a bag of tummies, 2 mars bars, a horse calendar, a really cute card from my friend (let's call her Babushka from now on, ok?), and (best of all) one half of one of those best friend necklace things!

This picture is just in case you don't know what I'm talking about- ours is different.
Anyways... BABUSHKA!!!! WHERE DID YOU GET ALL THESE THINGS!!??? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!
Anyways, since I'm on the topic of birthday presents I'll mention Babushka's birthday: that was fun. I woke up ten minutes earlier did everything at full speed, ran to school, and then sat in front of her locker. I think:
"Ok M2A, you can do this."
(I breathe deeply)
(I open the locker)

"Oh. My. God. It's WORSE than I thought!!!!!" 

(this isn't the exact locker, by the way, but that's pretty much what it looked like)

Anyways, I took out the two extra folders I had brought with me, took out the plastic pockets, took a deep breath, and started pulling out papers.

20 minutes later, a crowd of people stood around me, watching me put in the last straggling papers into plastic pockets. Then I took the books out (the ones that were still inside, anyway), organized them by subject, accepted presents to Babushka from others, put them all in, and closed the locker.

Two minutes later Babushka walks in, squeals in delight at my drawing of a hedgehog on her locker, and then opens it. She looks. She looks again. Then: "WOW. What HAPPENED??"

I have to admit it, organizing that locker was fun. I found all the things that my friend was missing: her Parvana book, her Ecology booklet, extra missing copies of brochures, pens, pencils, erasers, EVERYTHING.

Anyways, me and Babushka had lots of fun on her special day and she got enough chocolate to last her a long time... at least I hope it'll last her a long time.

Ok, before I finish this post, a few extra things:

-My birthday party is to-day... you'll either get a post to-morrow, or in a very long time, or just never.

-I'm going to Washington D.C. on Monday (that's why you might not get a new post in a while)

- My account of Babushka's locker cleaning/ birthday was a bit dramatic... hey, you never know when you can practice your writing skills! It actually came out okay! Ok, wait, I can't help myself: Checking my surroundings first, I unlocked the door and gasped with horror... inside the locker dwelt a dragon (wait, WHAT??), very much awake, and ready to strike like a viper. I gathered courage, then drew my blade and said "Thou hast gone too far!! Dragon, I bid thee, LEAVE!" 

That curst dragon dareth not move from his vantage place, so I went into the room and said, more loudly "Dragon, be gone! Be gone from this terrible dungeon!"

He ignored my plea. This meant that I, noble knight, was to duel him (okay then...). So I dueled. Soon I won, and, like a proper conqueror, banished the foul creature from ever setting foot open this room. It left, and in its wake, left a handsome room, perfect in all respects. Well, that was quite a tale. Oh, the things my mind can conjure up on a dime.

Random picture:

This is what the dragon is thinking: "What is this curst knight saying?"

CAVALIA!!!!!

Ok, I'm sorry. It's been a long time. But at least I'm writing now!
News on any upcoming trips: I'm going to America for three weeks in two weeks! Sorry Denver friends, but I'll be going to Washington D.C. to be with my grandparents and aunts and cousins.
SO EXCITED!!! I haven't seen my cousins/aunts/grandparents for like almost two years, and it's going to be awesome!!! Why?
1. I'm going to be productive (yes, cat softie, here I come!).
2. I'm going to draw a lot (and therefore be productive).
3. I'm going to draw a lot to enter a competition for an audience prize (or something) for these awards called the INKY awards! It's an Australian competition: basically it is a prize for books, except the books are judged by teenagers. Every year they give a panel of teenage judges a bunch of books that were published that year (this year's books were all published in 2013, for example) and then they have to create a gold and silver list (each with 10 books) for Australian authors and foreign authors.
Anyways, if you enter the audience prize you have a chance to win all 20 of those books! I intend to win those books- I've already read two, and they're good. Really good.
In other news... I got a solo in one of my band pieces! YAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! So excited/nervous for that. The band director even picked me over some older girls (YAAAAAHHHHH!!)!
Ok... onto the post title. So, three weeks ago (just out of the blue), Mom says: "Hey, I wanted to tell you: we're going to Cavalia next week!"
A week after that I stabbed my finger with a lino carver because I was so distracted (that was really funny- everyone was horrified and I'm just like "What? It's not so bad!"). At random times in class I would be like "56.5x30 is... is... CAVALIA!! CAVALIA CAVALIA CAVALIA!!!!"
Let's just say that I drove my friend a bit crazy.
For those who don't know what Cavalia is and why I was so excited about it, this should answer both questions:

 I will describe my day to you in detail:
First I drove my friend crazy and stabbed my finger in class.
Then I went on a train to my flute lesson and played flute.
I proceeded to go on a train and a tram to Mom's office.
I waited and got changed and read a book and wrote a story plan and got excited in mom's office.
We went to the Cavalia tent.
My sisters kept telling me there was a special surprise.
I guessed it right.
We had dinner in the Cavalia tent (Surprise! But still major freak out- there were TVs everywhere with horses on them and relaxing music-horse...horses...HORSES!).
We went to the actual show tent and sat in the fourth row (YAAAAHHHHH!!!!).
The show started (Ok guys, spoilers. Anyone who doesn't want Cavalia ruined should not read the next section).
Intro: They asked trivia questions about Cavalia (I got most of them right).

Scene 1 (kind of still intro): Toy horses everywhere on the stage. Two cute paint foals come out and run around and do what they do best: be cute!! People come out and sing and dance and play cello- YAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

Scene 2: "The Discovery"- Horse grazing, human comes along. Human dances in pond a bit and attracts horse's attention, then: INSTANT BOND!! (YAAAHHHHH!!!!)

Scene 3: "Cavalcade"- horses run around. I couldn't really focus on what was happening because there were so many of them: HORSES. HORSES. HORSIESSSSS!!!!!!!

Scene 4: "The Ball"- THis one was quite fun. A man was in a cave and he climbed up onto this giant ball. Then he starts doing tricks on it (running up and down hills with it, jumping, etc.) when all of a sudden A HORSE COMES OUT AND DEMANDS TO EAT THEM MAN'S APPLE! The man asks the audience if we think that we should give the horse the apple- we say yes. He gives the horse the apple. The horse demands another one. He gives the horse the other apple. (YAAAHHHH!!!)

Scene 5: "Liberte"- People ride horses around bareback and no handed and do lots of tricks- YAAAHHH!!!

Scene 6: "Bareback Riding" (excuse me, but that already happened- oh well. It happens again)- A woman comes and does amazing tricks with lassos. Horses come and they ride and do tricks on them bareback. People bounce on trampolines over the horses and do lots of flips and crazy dizzying stuff- YAAAHHHH!!

Scene 7: "La Vida"- Song with words where I can understand half because they're in spanish: Basically, it says that horses are dreams, etc. etc. they're the coolest, the best etc. etc.- YAAHHH! BUT WAIT-IT'S NOT OVER!!! Men riding on horses, lades flying beside the horses, landing on the horses, doing tricks beside the horses, flying over the horses AAAAAHHHHHH!!! YESSSSSSS!!!!

Scene 8: "Le Miroir"- Two white horses come and dance together (it's called dressage, but it's basically horse dancing). I LOVE. (Wait for it... wait for it...) YAAAAHHHHH!!!

Scene 9: "Roman Riding"- Omg, funnest scene. People come riding on two horses by standing with one leg on each horse's back. Screaming, yelling, whooping. One of the riders falls asleep on his horses. All the other people start exchanging horses, until only one lady is left controlling six horses while standing on two, and jumping over things, and running around, and everything- YAAAHHHH! But it hasn't finished yet- this is when the fallen-asleep guy comes in. They put up a jump really high and yell at him to come and jump on it. He wakes up, looks at the jump, and shrieks- AH! He insists that it is too high. They lower it. He turns around to get on his horses properly and they make it higher again. He shrieks again but they insist they won't lower it. He goes but does not jump over it. Everyone encourages him to try again. He tries- and he jumps the thing and lands on the horses' backs! (just in case you were wondering, it was all on purpose)- YAAAHHH!!!

Scene 10: "Pieds Percussions"- The only thing I really remember from this scene is the horse and the dark lights. I'm sorry- the horse was too beautiful and distracting (YAAAHHHH!!!).

Scene 11: "Libertad"- A love scene. Most of the focus was on the human artists, as they swung high up in the air and did amazing cool things that could have cost them their lives if there was a single slip- but there WERE horses (YAAAHHH!!). I think there was a song about dreaming in this one too.

Scene 12: "Carousel"- Ok, before I say anything, this scene was AMAZING. The horses were so well disciplined and the dancing and everything went spectacularly! There were a whole bunch of grey/ white horses and all the riders were dressed in like these amazing silk gown things that were so beautiful and reminded me of the elves from Lord of the Rings or something! The horses did a bunch of dances together and there wasn't a single bump even though all the horses were packed together quite tightly and were moving sideways and doing a bunch of other things!- YAAAHHH!!

Scene 13: "Haute Ecole"- This was a type of four seasons thing. First it snowed. Then leaves fell (I have like two billion of them- XP) and then it was the spring and summer. It was like a dancing duet. It was beautiful and very exciting!

Scene 14: "Grande Liberte"- This scene was quite funny. There was one trainer and five horses, and the night I was there the horses weren't being very obedient. Three of them were constantly going off and nipping and playing with each other while the other two did obey the trainer. He managed to get them together in the end, though (later in the stable tours the horses kept getting pointed out as "the naughty horses")!- YAAHHHH!!

Scene 15: "Trick Riding"- This scene was quite fun. The horses would gallop across the stage while their riders did a whole bunch of crazy tricks like hang off the saddle and stand and stuff. It started with a lone cowboy in the desert looking for something, and in the end he got off the horse and had to try to chase it so that he could get back on- this quickly escalated to him getting chased by a miniature horse across the stage (all on purpose, of course!). It was funny because at the beginning of the show when they were doing the trivia thing they mentioned that there was a miniature horse and I was just waiting for it to appear until then, when I had already given up hope that it was part of the show!- YAAHHH!

Scene 16: "Bungees Cavalier"- This was focused in the air dancers, this time using bungee cords. While the horses waited to recieve the dancers when they came down to pat them upside down or land on their backs or something the dancers bounced in the air, some of them coming SO CLOSE to the audience in the middle (I was near the edge). I don't even know how they kept a routine, all I would have been able to was bounce a bit and then not get enough momentum to keep going- YAAAHHHH!!!

Scene 17: "Finale"- as suggested by its name, that was the finale. All the human artists and the horses that had just performed came on stage and waved goodbye. Then the show ended and the cute foals came back to entertain us as we tried to get back to the eating tent so that we could wait for our tour of the Cavalia stables!!!- YAYAYAYAYAYAYAHHHHHHHH!!!!

As mentioned in the last scene: The last part of the surprise was that I got to get a tour of the stables!! All the horses were really pretty (and cute, as in the case of the foals), but they were all really tired and were just settling down. I was really tired too, it was like midnight then.
So then we went home and were tired for the next day.
You may be wondering: why did Mom decide that we were going to Cavalia? Well: it was my big early birthday present (my birthday's in a little more than a week!)!!

There isn't that much more exciting news except that I went to the Melbourne Writer's Festival a few weeks ago (that is how I found out about the INKY awards)!
Random picture:

This is my new background- YAAAAHHHHH!!!!

Also, I forgot to put this up- I had this idea stuck in my head ever since I saw the original picture but I only got around to doing it like a month ago.

Long Time, No See!!

Okay, yes, I went seriously overboard with not posting this time. I mean, when was the last time I posted something? Like, a real post? (checks) Uh-oh. March 19th. Luckily not 2012. But that's bad enough. I mean, seriously. Since I have lived so much life since I last wrote I will briefly summarize it:
Wait a second, the last post I was just starting on my softie!! That softie is done now, and it has nothing to do with unicorns. It has to be a surprise for a friend that reads my blog, though, so I cannot post it (yet!). It is SO cool, it will never leave my life EVER.
Anyways, I'll try to summarize my life now...
Wait a sec, that was right after the choir camp?! Oh no, it's been too long.
So I'll summarize it the best I can...
-I went to Fiji for a week!
-I had various interesting assemblies at school (including one about breast cancer, two run by two year 7 houses, and others).
-I created my softie of awesomeness.
-I bought some things that will give me productiveness for probably more than a year.
-I went to Japan for a little more than a week (it was cool- I went to almost the top of the Tokyo Skytree, which is basically Tokyo's Eiffel Tower, and got TONS of souvenirs, including these two really cute manga books called "Princess Knight" which are really good. I also killed my feet one day but had tons of fun.).
-I was SO VERY productive last night!
This is a sketch that I came up with about a year ago:

At first it was just black and white because I didn't really feel like it needed color because I had all the colors in my head (that didn't make sense, did it? Why would I not even shade a finished drawing?). But then I remembered the last time I had been to France, when I did a painting with my grandma. She asked my to do a sketch before I started painting, so I did. Then she also told me that it had to be in color, and that it had to be exactly as I wanted the color to be. With this sketch I grudgingly added color, but didn't really try very hard so it doesn't look that good.
You must be asking yourself: Why don't I like adding color to my sketches? The answer is, I'm impatient. Once I get an idea in my head, I want to do it, NOW. With paintings that basically impossible, except with this little gem:

This painting was painted on August 29th, 2011 (I checked). It took me one evening. No planning, no nothing. A light bulb turned on in my head and that was it. An hour or two later, this is what became of my inspiration (not including the paper at the edge, that's just hiding my name).
This canvas may not look it on the picture, but it's pretty big. I guess you could put 4 whole pieces of paper onto it without them overlapping. So now it currently resides one the hallway wall, where I pass it everyday.
I think I was more creative (in a way) when I was younger because all my ideas just came out just like that, without any thought or planning (I'm serious: 3 out of the four stories that I am currently working on just basically came out by themselves-especially the first, which I wrote when I was seven years old-, and even though one of them I had to set out and plan last year so I could know how it would end, I still work off the originals).
What I'm trying to say is that yes, the idea kind of develops in my head subconciously, but then when it finally is done it came out and in an hour or two it was done. This painting was inspired by these:

This is a series in Spanish that was about magic. I loved them then, and I'm intending to read them in a few weeks again.
But that sketch... I have no idea what inspired it whatsoever, or I can't remember. But that doesn't matter now, because last night I got a little urge to just paint and took my (already prepared) canvas and just started painting. After a few hoyrs, this was the product:

I'm pretty happy (even if the lips are a bit awkward). It turned out much better than I thought it would, but I guess that's because I just spent an eternity mixing colors and using super tiny brushes for almost everything except for a lot of the background.
Anyways, I think that what triggered my sudden urge to paint was another painting idea. There is this gorgeous song which I just love and in Japan (last week) I just got the sudden idea that would enable me to use my extra canvas that won't ever give me peace (wherever I move it it's always falling down and just causing inconvenience, which on the bright side at least lets me remember that it exists). Anyways, I'm not giving any hints to what song it is, but I will say that my sketch didn't start off well so I'm being forced to do some research (I've only found four pictures so far, none of which are like my vision, which is annoying because I'm not that good at drawing people, much less wings-hint ;) .
Oh yes, I forgot to say that, again that little strip of paper at the edge isn't part of the painting, it's just covering up my name.
Hope you enjoyed!

What Breed?

Hey guys, I've decided! Thanks for your input!

Alright, this is the re-written horse breed post.
What breed of horse am I most like: help me decide!
So the deal is that I would like to make a portrait of me as a horse. I just can't decide which breed to make myself (and color, but that will be a different question...)!

First question to ask yourself: What do you think I am most like? One of the light horses, like a race horse, one of the heavy horses, like a clydesdale, or something in between? If you were thinking about a pony, sorry, because I REALLY don't want to be a pony.

If you say HEAVY HORSE, then just tell me, because there are varying degrees of heaviness, but not that much, and I'm not much of an expert of drafts.

If you say MEDIUM HORSE, then read the following:
I don't know very much about medium horses, but I do know that andalusians and friesians fit into that category.

Andalusians are relatively heavy horses, but they generally are used in the saddle. They were bred as war horses so that they could carry all the really heavy metal armor.

Friesians are pretty heavy horses as well, but I don't think they are heavy enough to be actual draft horses.
They generally pull carriages, but they also do saddlework, I think especially dressage.

If your answer is a LIGHT HORSE, then read the following:
There are different types of light horses. There are horses like arabians and thoroughbreds, which can literally do any horse sport easily. There are also the sport horses, like the Hanoverians and Warmbloods, which do lots of jumping and dressage and cross country, but not much else. There are also stock horses, which do lots of western and halter showing.

This is an arabian. Arabians have very prominent faces, since they have a dish. They are generally considered a thin type of breed, and I think are used in almost everything (especially in endurance and cross country and dressage). Arabians are generally very energetic and if they are not excercised they can get really jumpy.

 This is a thoroughbred. Thoroughbreds: These are more typically race horses, and run faster for longer distances than a normal quarter horse. These are more sleek and usually are really only used for racing, although they also compete in eventing, show jumping and dressage. Thoroughbreds are very sensitive to saddles and brushes and things but in general have good temperaments.

 Stock horses are horses that do a lot of work on a ranch. Most of them are quarter horses, but there are also breeds like paints and australian stock horses. Most of these horses have big hindquarters to help them make sharp turns and stops and to run short distances really fast (maybe so that they can get a cow that's running away). If you think that I could be a stock horse, just say stock horse.

 Warmbloods are the fancy sport horses that (mostly) compete in the olympics. They usually dominate dressage, show jumping, and cross country.
The first picture is of a hanoverian.

 This is a Trakhener, another sport horse.
If you think I should be a sport horse, just say sport horse.