Day 30: Remember to open your eyes

There is always the time between eleven p.m. and one a.m. that my creative juices tend to flow out or more like my brain is just too tired to keep itself within its boundaries that my mind wanders off. Not all nights this happens but yesterday was one of those nights where I felt tired but I was not quite ready to fall asleep yet. Scrolling through social media I find a picture of my friend's drawing that instantly sparked ideas of things that I wanted to draw but I was not quite sure what yet but somehow I came up with the quote, "Remember to keep your eyes open" and started to draw the first thing that came into mind. One of the most valued features while I draw are eyes, which is why for the most part when you see any of my drawings their eyes are bigger or more centered attention than the rest of the drawing. Not because I enjoy drawing the eyes more than anything else, but eyes can be drawn in so many different ways and can shape the expression of the drawing. Big opened eyes can preview vulnerability and innocence while small eyes could express confusion or anger. Eyes allow to speak for itself and it's brilliant to say that eyes could tell so much more with just a glance.

When I was thinking about "Remember to keep your eyes open", I found it to be a reminder for myself to seek the possibilities out there and stop being afraid to take risks that may have a chance to change my life for the better. I also need to start giving other people chances who actually want to get to know me instead of being dryly sarcastic and disconnected. When I was younger, hugging and showing affection to people was like a piece of cake. I didn't think about how the other person will react, I simply went for that touch that everyone seeks and held it for as long as I could. Now that I am older, I find this action to be difficult and frustrating. I do want to hug people and show that I sincerely care, to kiss their cheek without feeling incredibly out of bounds. I do not want to miss anymore moments and instead I want to record all of these moments. Be more open to people and tone down a bit of the sarcasm, kind of settle my feet on the ground, and take in whatever it is that is going on at the moment.

You have the ability to change at any given day, at any given time. Do not feel like you have to stay the same person because people are used to the way you are. As many as people get accustomed to who you are, then it is possible for them to get used to the new you as well. So long as you changed to better yourself, then I don't find anything wrong in that. Throughout your early teenager years you're going to find yourself in loads of scenarios that test to see who you are and it's okay if you are not sure. All of these years you have to experiment as to what person you want to be, exactly. Depending on who you are brings in people that share similar qualities, so I don't find it surprising anymore when you find yourself speaking to new people and at other times speaking to a handful of people who remained by your side. Remember to open your eyes and try not to miss out on the good stuff in life. Seek out what you want to accomplish, follow your own path if you have to, look around you are not the only one trying to figure out what on Earth is going to happen next.

What was the last thing you saw that left you breathless?

xx Chavelita

Day 14: Movies

Now coming into realization most of the films that I have picked are musicals... Ever since I was little I was always inspired by these musicals in some way. it was just something that brought comfort, inspiration, and happiness that a lot of things could be made possible if we were to strive for them. At least that was the concept that I received when watching these films. Of course the movies may have fictional plots that may not be likely to happen, but my young mind did not take that in consideration which is why if I were to ever have a bad day or want some alone time from everyone else I know that I can watch back these movies and for a moment relive my childhood.

Annie (1982) - I remember the first time I watched this movie I was probably in third grade and my teacher would not see the ending because well she thought it was not really kid friendly. Yet that only brought more curiosity into my system which made me want to watch the movie even more. Overall, out of all the times I have watched this movie it never gets old to sing along with Annie, to root her on when she beats up the boys in the beginning of the movie, and to still get anxiety when her horrible caregiver plans to be her parents to win the cash price. I am not apologizing for the spoilers, you guys should have already seen this classic!

 Fame (2009) - Before I get any lip, yes I have seen the first Fame that came out in the year 1980, but this remake had stuck with me more. I felt more movement with this movie and the soundtrack I want to say is blimming amazing... I have always envied Naturi Naughton (the girl who plays Denise in the movie) she has such a strong pair of lungs, I wish I had a voice like hers. Also Kay Panabaker (she plays Jenny in the movie) who also started off a shy girl in the movie with Denise, they both ended up pretty successful and well Jenny ended up with the gorgeous guy Marco (Asher Monroe) who also has a beautiful voice. You know what, this movie just gives me hope in general, lets leave it at that!

 Flashdance (1983) - "She's a maniac, maniac on the floor! And she's dancin' like she's never danced before!" Jennifer Beals is one gorgeous woman who plays the character Alex a day time construction worker and at night she dances at a bar. The qualities of Alex in this movie is what I look up to. A confident woman who is very passionate in dancing and will actually go out there to make her dream come true to become a professional dancer. The fact that she pulls out her bra from under her sweatshirt in front of Nick (Michael Nouri) in one of their first conversations, talk about no hoots being given in that scene! And of course her friendship with her dog.

 Hairspray (2007) - Can we all just take a moment to say how John Travolta (Edna in the movie) was able to stay in character throughout the whole movie without feeling weird during the rather intimate scenes with Wilbur (Christopher Walken) and still be one of the coolest moms? I still remember when I saw the trailer of the movie, I was instantly convinced that I had to go see this. To the point that even when I went to go see it I had this massive headache but I still kept my eyes planted on the screen. I actually have this movie on my i-Pod that shows how much love I have for this movie. This is a movie I can see multiple times and still fan-girl with Tracy (Nikki Blonsky) over Link (Zac Efron) and feel all mighty whenever Queen Latifah sang and gathered people to stop segregation or whenever she was on the screen.

 One Day (2011) - Regardless of what I have been told, this has been the top of my favorite romantic comedies. So yeah maybe Dexter (Jim Sturgess) was... rude (trying to keep it PG here) to Emma (Anne Hathaway), but there was already a part of me that knew they were meant to be together even if it took many years of reuniting on the same day to realize that. The relationship between them was very flawed which is what I loved and no where did I have the urge to cringe of how cheesy the lovey dovey parts were. This movie had kept me at the edge of my seat and I was mesmerized and a bit jealous of how Anne was able to pull off the many wigs she wore in this movie. She even had a wonderful accent... And Steve Sturgess just mmmm... Okay, I am done.

Princess Diaries (2001) - It's not because my dad calls this movie Princess Diarrea (diarrhea in Spanish) which just thinking about it made me just giggle but I actually find this movie to be witty, the right amount of girly attitude that shows that even the awkward girls can kick butt, and even though I grew up with this movie, I can still relate to this movie. When I was younger I was actually embarrassed for liking this movie because it was just one of those Disney movies made for little girls which okay I was a little girl the first time I saw it. Can we just say I had too much pride at the time? Now I don't really care what people think about me liking this movie. Well anyway, Mia (Anne Hathaway) tries to find where she fits in on top of finding out that her grandmother Clarisse (Julie Andrews) is the queen of Genovia which makes her the princess of Genovia. Just give me some popcorn and I will be content to rewatch this movie.

The Heat (2013) - Not sure which character I loved more, Detective Shannon (Melissa McCarthy) or Special Agent Sarah (Sandra Bullock) because both characters shared the spotlight. None of them shadowed one another and who ever had the idea of putting these two actresses together I just want to give you a high five. This movie forever had me laughing and yeah there was deep moments but they were good deep moments. I really enjoyed the balance of this movie and how much the characters of this movie developed with one another. I wouldn't mind watching this movie again, I probably end up laughing hysterically like the first time because there is never too much of Melissa McCarthy.

Identity Thief (2013) - Yeah you guessed it, I just can't have enough of my all time favorite actress Melissa McCarthy, I believe this was the first movie that introduced me into Melissa McCarthy which I will forever thank the movie producers for giving me the opportunity to meet this hilarious, weird, charismatic lady. I still remember the part where Diana (Melissa McCarthy) was riding in the car with Sandy (Jason Bateman) on the way to turn Diana in for stealing his identity and while she attempts to make a run from it, Diana within the first five seconds is already out of breath. Only thing Sandy had to do was walk a few steps and he had caught up with Diana. There is plenty of other hilarious moments but I'll save the blabber for another day.



What are some of your favorite movies?

xx Chavelita

Live in the moment

This has been the first summer in such a long time where I am not held responsible to complete homework for the following school year and where I can pretty much do anything I can set my mind on. Of course within the limits of the law but there are times where I come across this wall and I feel like I cannot do anything or at least I do not have the motivation to do anything. Or in other words, just pure laziness comes out of me. So I am literally in my bed bundled up in my blankets with my laptop sitting on my bed just burning holes into my retinas as I watch endless amounts of movies. But then I realized again that I was able to do anything that I set my mind to and that got me thinking, what should I do that could make this summer memorable and prepare myself for the transition into college? The answer became clear: you go where the wind takes you.

Normally I am the type of person who likes to plan their day out or at least search for things to do that will take the whole day. Yet lately, with the friendship I have with my best friend we have just been living in the moment. Such as the day of her graduation party that was held at this lovely cafe downtown in the city I live, we were sharing laughs, stories, among her group of friends and without hesitation we were on our way to Walmart around midnight buying last minute shoes and a basketball to play at the local park. Keep in mind that most of us were still in our dresses, dolled up, I wonder if people at Walmart think we actually dressed up glamorous to just go to the store... Anyway, this feeling of dropping everything and going with what life throws at you has been one of the greatest sensations to experience. Then with the same group of friends we went to a carnival an hour before it closes and we rode as many rides that we could. Two of the ones that nearly made me scream my lungs out, one that made me grasp tightly to a friend for my dear life, and the rest spent laughing uncontrollably as the speed of the contractions pushed back our hair. I feel extremely grateful for meeting such wonderful people where I can completely feel like myself to spend the whole day and to be able to share these moments with.

The other night I was given another opportunity to attend a bonfire in which I actually I went. This time I pushed myself out of my comfort zone and decided again, why not live in the moment? At the start of the event I was feeling a little bit off because I was the first one to arrive but then more people were showing up and the atmosphere took a new life. As the sun and the moon were alternating their turns, the bonfire started and we all roasted our marshmallows to be put into our s'mores. In a change of a moment music was played by one of my good friend's phone and we started dancing in middle of the front yard in the pure dirt. Whether we had an audience or not, we did not care, we just continued dancing the night away.

This post is not necessarily about how I am spending my summer though, but more pushing the idea of living in the moment. Remove yourself from your comfort zone and see where the day will take you but also be careful. I don't want to see you in the newspaper for public disturbance or anything similar along those lines. Just know that whether the day is planned or you are winging it as the day continues just spend the day without having anything on your mind. At least for that day, release yourself from your stress and intake the full life experience because you never know when you will get an opportunity as close to the ones you take. Take pictures when you can, but do not have that distract you from enjoying your day.

What is one of your favorite memories?

xx Chavelita