camp

seabeck was amazing.
we left sunday at around 10 in the morning, spent an hour and a half singing songs like don't stop believing, a whole new world, reflection, and hey soul sister on the bus. shannon brought her asian food and we definitely pigged out. we got to seabeck, dropped our stuff off at the room, then ran off to explore and eat lunch. the choir kids sang christmas songs to us, taking us about three months into the future.

our first rehearsal was crazy, with more russian music (blah) and victory at sea, then chamber music rehearsal on the schubert, which i'm pretty much in love with. then it was off to form skits and explore some more.

after dinner we ran across the street to buy ben and jerry's ice cream, then it was our epic star wars rehearsal. my arm was about to fall off from the millions of triplets but it was so amazing, the brass nearly blew the building down. we performed chamber music in a very casual setting afterward, the schubert was so awesomeeee and everyone sounded good. then we did skits, and first place goes to the woodwinds: see erin's blog for the whole thing plus steven's commentary.

we all ran off to the cemetery after skits for no real reason, and hurried back just in time for curfew. the senior girls bonded over shannon's asian snacks, jamie's amazing cookies, and so many random truths. then the counselor told us to go to our respective rooms, and seven of us stayed to whisper about homecoming and "girlish intrigue". we stayed up until 3, my throat was sore, but it was so much fun.

we woke up to elaine's, then shannon's, cell phone alarms, then went back to sleep until it was time for breakfast. i was definitely sick but it didn't matter until later. we rehearsed yet again in the morning, this time beethoven, before packing, playing a last game of volleyball, eating lunch and running off to the charter buses (ours was husky themed. go UW!) we rode to the ferry, then ran around on the boat taking pictures with our hair blowing in our faces. then we were in seattle, then issaquah, then back home again.

it may be so dorky to love orchestra retreats, but i'd been looking forward to this weekend for a long time. it definitely didn't disappoint. here are some pictures that i love from our trip:


shannon took this of me, it basically summarizes what i did


steven and his chinese passport:

jguo!

volleyball epicness


freshmen! i love them so much.


ekim getting intense


favorite pic from skits

asian tommy hilfiger ad campaign


creepin some more, but i really like this




it was hard to narrow them down...may share more someday.
signing off for now!

music

i'm writing this piece for school and i started by writing about music. it was interesting that upon reflection, i found that the experience that i thought was more than i could stand was one of the best parts about being a musician.

dear kl,
thank you for forcing me to be in your orchestra. i might kick myself for saying this but i really enjoyed it. more than evergreen. i hated sitting in hard chairs because i apparently don't have the right butt muscles (long story)...but it was worth it. it's going in a college app essay if it fits.

sincerely, isa


3 days until birthday :)

as usual i'm finding it really hard to concentrate on schoolwork/college apps. i did buy all of my school supplies today though and even got a yoga mat for less than ten bucks! and i used a reusable bag at target so they took five cents off my bill. haha not much but it made me happy that i finally remembered to stop wasting and use all those reusable shopping bags in my trunk.

yesterday my friend and i were in the car and a truck backed into his brand new honda civic :( fortunately nobody was hurt and it's minor damage, but it was still kind of shocking. it brought me back to the reality that people get into car crashes, and not just occasionally. crazy stuff. but we went to jambaaa and got some sweet smoothies and talked for the first time in a long time, it was good.

i'm already failing miserably at calc bc and all the underclassmen are doing better than me but that's ok. i'll get my grade up soon :P
i love orchestra; even though i highly dislike what we're playing (ugh more russian music..) and the fact that the school cellos are near unplayable i love the people. my section is "the responsible section" which is probably the opposite for any other cello section i've ever been in. and the freshman are as tall as me or taller but haha they're adorable in the naivety. we've instigated glasses thursday for taylor, eric and myself but eric's still campaigning for glasses friday. hahaha so many quirky things about orchestra.

birthday in 6 days!

i miss summer already....

plaid schmad

the day before school I went to a National Honors Society exec meeting. We talked about all sorts of ideas for the upcoming school year. Anyway, this is what I wore. I remember getting this jacket in 9th grade; it was expensive but worth it in my book.





volcom peacoat, caslon ruffle blouse, it! jeans, linea paolo flats

Amherst

School is in full swing already, but I have the urge to procrastinate as usual. So, a post on Amherst is born!

I absolutely love Amherst. I'm just going to be blunt. I walked on campus, it was a gorgeous sunny day, though still a bit chilly at 8:30 am. From the moment I saw the buildings, I knew that I would love to be there. The rolling hills as a backdrop probably helped too; it reminded me of being in the Pacific Northwest with all of the lush green. What I love about Amherst is the laid back yet driven feel of the students, and the open curriculum--there aren't any distribution requirements (like Vassar and Brown). This would allow me to explore multitudes of possibilities before deciding my major, and still have plenty of time to get in the courses required for my specific major. It also helps that the dorms are HUGE as well as the nice, clean bathrooms--the buildings are all so well kept. My entire tour group (20-25 people) fit inside one of the dorms with elbow room. Although the college is relatively small, there are four other colleges within in the vicinity. This opens up the option to take classes at any of these other four colleges, and also ensures that there are plenty of students around to have a lively social atmosphere.

Amherst stats:
Location: Amherst, Massachusetts
Students: 1,744 (undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 16%
Setting: Town
Cost: $50,820

PS. Due to school I haven't edited any of these pictures...but I hope you enjoy them nonetheless. View larger by clicking the pictures.


This is at the Starbucks near Amherst College. The light caught my interest so I ran back to the car to get my camera and take this picture.


i got a little sun flare happy...

i am in love with how green the campus looked, and the prospect of sliding down that hill in the snow on lunch trays :)


the buildings look kind of similar, but in a way the continuity was kind of nice and homey.

war memorial

this is literally only half of the dorm you see here. not even kidding. these dorms may be doubles, but they are huge!


it was such a beautiful day...i took this in the car as we were leaving Amherst.


Bottom line: Amherst is a great school if you're looking for a small college with lots of options. It's definitely up there on my list.

Brown University is coming up next...and if I finish my AP Bio in a timely manner I'll put up an outfit post too :)

school

has started. It is the first year that we have started school in August. It is the first year that it's been pouring rain on the first day. Parking was a nightmare, and my friend and I ended up walking quite a bit to get to the new school. Did I mention it was new? So many firsts this year.

I ran around lost in this school more than I've done in the past 11 years of my schooling career. It was quite an adventure, but extremely tiring. Fifteen minute class periods with a trek out to "District 9" (aka the underappreciated arts) for orchestra. I love not having to walk outside every passing period, bracing yourself for the weather. But then again, in college I'll probably be doing that again, right? :)

My classes this year are daunting. Today I already feel tired just typing up my vocabulary list for AP Bio. But it's a good tired--that feeling that you're being productive. I don't mind yet. Being in a new school is so rejuvenating; I just hope that students don't abuse it.

I can't wait until we settle in to a rhythm and I finally know my way around campus, and I can't wait for the school to lose its pristine quality and become covered in posters, spirit, and a feeling of home.

Yale

I've finally made my way to Yale. (Erin will be happy, I'm sure. :)) I traveled to Yale mostly out of curiosity and not because I felt that I wanted to go there. If I'm going to spend my time touring the East Coast, why not visit that grand school along the way? The architecture was pretty awesome--it was intricate and very clever, to say the least. However, Yale had a way of making things seem ostentatious. Well, of course they're Yale, but I really didn't understand the point of weathering the buildings to make them look older. (More detail on that later.) And the tour guides did seem a little egotistic, and a little less serious than I thought they'd be. Which could be a good thing, but their presentations didn't wow me on capture me like the other schools I'd visited. There are some pretty cute guys at Yale though, not gonna lie.

Yale stats:
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Students: 11,276 (5,350 undergrad)
Acceptance Rate: 10%
Setting: Urban
Cost: $51,400 (forbes.com)


this is the view of Yale I had when I woke up in the morning.

the Yale bulldog. Sadly, this only reminds me of Bellevue College...



inside the exhibition library. the light coming through is sunlight through marble.

two of the remaining seven Gutenberg Bibles.

outside the library.

the other library. the architect poured acid down the front to blacken it and make it look older. he also left the alcoves where statues normally go empty to look like they had been pillaged.

maya lin's fountain representing the women on Yale's campus from the beginning to 1993




Bottom line: The curriculum and the overall atmosphere for Yale just wasn't a fit for me. New Haven can be kind of seedy, and I felt like at Yale I'd be trying too hard to keep up with a bunch of smart people that don't have to try.