Banksy...

Dear Banksy,

I am a fifteen year old girl finding my way in the resort town of Park City, Utah, with plans to leave next year for an east coast boarding school.  My passions include art of all mediums and photography.  You happen to be one of my idols. It would be amazing if you read and enjoyed my blog. Right now my posts are mostly random thoughts put into words but I plan to write more about my life experiences and emotions that fuel the creativity to produce the pieces of art I design in a more organized fashion. It is my plan to not only write about my artwork but to also incorporate the artists I look up to and that influence my own personal style. Although your identity is unknown, you reading what I have written would be a dream come true.

Courtesy of me

I admire your work because I think that satirical street art used to convey political views is quite original. Your use of graffiti and dark humor enable and introduce the average person to enjoy the art scene through a non traditional path. The fact that you don't sell any reproductions of the pieces you have executed on the street wall and display your art on visible public areas is the true meaning of authenticity. It is art for the masses. Your decision to use stencils to make your art easier to produce turned the art world on its ear when most gallery owners prefer bold techniques or difficult mediums to work with. Your anti establishment, anti war and anti- capitalist messages have inspired some people and agitated others. In 2013, Michael Bloomberg referred to you as a vandal and that your art wasn't art at all.  I find it hilarious that he was propelled to send his anti vandalism squad around Gotham to capture your art.

Courtesy of Stencil Revolution

It is a shame that some people are trying to capitalize on your art.  How pieces are being removed from buildings in England and being sold in art galleries in Miami is theft.  If only my creations can wreak such havoc with peoples emotions and cause Politics to rip over themselves. I hope that if you read this it will leave you wanting to come back and read more. By reading more you will you learn how art is perceived through the eyes of a high school student. You will also have a better understanding of a girls perspective on the artwork that is strung around the world in different cities for everyone to see.

Lastly, I hope that if you are out there and reading this you will come back and read more of what I have to say.

New Year, New me

HAHAHAHA JUST KIDDING. I just hate it when people say that so I thought I should. I think it is dumb when people have these crazy New Years Resolutions that are so out of reach. People make resolutions that they know that they will never accomplish so there is pretty much no point in making them. This is me "My New Years Resolution for 2016 is to accomplish the one I set in 2015, made in 2014, and thought of in 2013."  That quote right there is almost definitely going to keep going until the day I die.

ME

People never follow through on there New Years Resolution because they have to many small goals to accomplish and their mind is scattered and nothing gets done. Making one big goal may work but there is really no reason to make one. Having one main goal every year to reach is something that all of us do but we don't realize. Everyone accomplishes something each year wether it something small like getting good grades or something big like getting into collage. Yes I understand we all have something that we want to change or do during the new year and so do I. I can't lie though I have have thought of nothing to do....yet. With that, I decided that January is just my trial month for the new year and February is when I will start to make changes.

Eating healthy, getting good grades, and being able to go on vacation are many of the New Years Resolutions people have made this year. In my mind I don't really see those as resolutions because you have to work for them. This is the main reason that I don't see a point. If your really hard and strive for something than you will receive what you want. You get what you give. Nothing good will come out of something if you don't put any effort into it.

I just am very annoyed with the way people start of the New Year and make up things as they go along. Yes, this was a rant about nothing important and could probably be listed in the top ten on my list of pet peeves. Lastly I just want to say don't make a New Year resolution, all you need to to is work hard and put a little bit of effort into everything that you do.

wake up

I would like to apologize in advance for another post on the more sad and realistic side of things. If you have been reading my blog I recently wrote a post called "This Ones For You." If you haven't read it, it's about my friend who is in a coma and how bad things happen to good people. Well, he still hasn't woken up yet and everyday new injuries and problems are found which makes it a little harder for him to keep fighting. Now it has just become a waiting game until he wakes up. For me, I think Benny waking up would be a miracle. That's just it though not everyone gets a miracle but we all have to wake up at some point.

Benny :) (courtesy of me) 

If you just take a minute and sit back and watch the people around you, no one stops. Everyone just keeps going and pushing without taking a breathe and noticing their surroundings. When something traumatic happens in someones life, then they stop. The point of me talking about taking the time to notice is because we all need to wake up. We need to wake up to reality before it catches up with us. Yes, I realize we are still young and don't have a lot to worry about but either way something will happen. So, let's wake up now and take action instead of being part of the movement because life is worth living.

I don't really have a valid reason to be annoyed with subject but I am. I bet more than half the people I know or have ever met think that there is only one meaning of waking up. They think that it means an act or instance of waking up. Yes, if you look it up that is the definition that will appear but whatever I made a different definition.

As I was finishing writing this I received a call and Benny woke up!! It's amazing that he woke up but I do know that it is going to a long and hard road ahead of him. We are all so lucky to be healthy and have the sense and opportunities to change. So, in conclusion, I think that it is so important to realize what needs to be done and take care of the people around you. As of right now this may not make the most sense but in the end waking up to reality is something that is better to do now than have it happen because something bad happens to someone you love.

SUMMER

Yes, Summer is the highlight of every year that I have been alive. Even when I was little and nieve Summer was the most fun time for me. Also I am pretty sure that if you ask around more than 90% of kids will say that they live for Summer, I mean unless you are a skier and only like snow. Not only do I like Summer because I am stuck in Park City where it is cold most of the year but I strive for the heat. Not only do I like the heat but there is a never ending list if reasons why Summer is my favorite. I have tried to narrow it down to some of the best reasons along with a memory for each reason. I mean Summer is the time to make memories.

1. Late Nights

Courtesy of love this pic

For me the best part about Summer is staying up until your eyes can't stay open. I don't know what it is about the night but I love it. If you are weird like me then you are a giant ball of energy during the night. It could be a train wreck but I keep my S%*@ together. One fairly recent memory of a late summer night was when I went out to dinner, desert, then slept over at a friends. We went to dinner at my parents restaurant and stayed two hours after dinner was finished then walked in the dark to get frozen yogurt. After walking back to Blind Dog four of us pied into the two back seats of dad's jeep and headed back to the house. From there we stayed up, listening to music and laughing then I went to my friends and we slept in hammocks tied in the tree is her backyard.

2. Sleeping In 

Sleeping in the next morning is usually followed by the late night you had before. Yeah, yeah being up early makes you feel good and all but Ive got to be honest I don't care. Getting up at one, eating lunch, and then going back to having fun is the way to go. I mean if you have things to do and want to accomplish something then be my guest and get up early. One memory that I am going to share isn't a memory because it happened once and was special, but because it happened more than once. During the summer I would sleep in until noon, eat some breakfast then head out on the boat come back home and stay up late with my friends. Most of the time though I don't even need to stay up late in order to sleep in.

3. Midst of the heat

Some may think the heat isn't enjoyable because you sweat, get hot, and think your going to die. Me on the other hand, I strive for the heat. I have only had one bad experience with the summer heat and lucky enough I'll tell you. It was two years ago, in the middle of July and I was in Virginia looking at the boarding school. It was 110 degree and there were no clouds in sight and I was standing like an idiot, sweating like a pig trying to pay attention. I thought for a minute that I may actually die from over heating but I survived. 

4. Bonfires

Courtesy of tumblr

Part of the Summer experience is having or going to a bonfire. The four months of freedom we have wouldn't be complete if not going to one. One of the best times I have ever had was around a bonfire. Wether you are sitting around one underneath the stars camping or sitting in your backyard with your neighbors, the fire creates memories. Over the Summer while I was camping with family friends in the Uintas we made a huge fire and sat around it and ate hotdogs and looked at the stars. Nights like that are the best nights to have.

5. The food..

YASSSS.... Food is what my life revolves around. If I made a list of the foods that I like to enjoy during the summer it would stretch across the state of California. From drinks to desert I like it all. Watermelon, popsicles, and BLTs are all great in the heat but my heart is taken when it comes to Italian subs and soft serve ice cream. When I go back east to visit my family I grab an Italian sub head to the
beach and when I can't take the heat anymore I get a soft serve and go back to the house. It's pretty great and the life to live.

Anyways, I am pretty much just day dreaming about Summer already and we are only half way through the school year. Whoop whoop yay school!

Fake vs Real

Me and my amiga. Courtesy of someone 

Your age, race, height or sex doesn't matter when it comes to talking about the meaning of true friends. Being able to tell the difference between real and fake friends is way harder than it seems because.. people can really suck. There is no other way to put it except, people suck and are difficult. Through all of the rough times of finding, loosing, and making new friends the ones that stay by your side are the ones that you want to keep and never let go of. Let's be real, without my good friends I probably wouldn't be where I am. 

If you're like me all of your friends aren't from the same group and you float around and have a diverse group of friends. From personal experience that is the best way to go because there is less drama and if you loose a friend you still have more. The worst is when you loose one friend and the whole squad goes too. If you are left chilling by yourself because the squad left you then have learned that they are not real friends. Most of the time, if a friend doesn't stay by your side when s*%@ goes down then are insecure and need to go. 

Now that I think you get the picture and understand the point that I am trying to get across I think I can give some examples of a real and fake friend situation. Here is an example of a fake friend. When you stayed out too late and you mom is mad at both of you and asks “Why are you late?!” and your friend throws you under the bus. Another example of a fake friend is when something bad happens in your life and you need help and they aren’t there for you. You know right then and there that are not worth your time. Fake friends can’t be themselves around you and make you feel awkward. 

Moving on to the friends that matter which are the real ones. Real friends are the ones who stay by your side and are always a phone call away when you need them. True friends will make you laugh so hard that you stomach hurts and you think a six pack is going to appear. These friends are the ones who make you genuinely happy and smile even when you don’t think it is possible. You know that they are fake if their missing one of these traits. 

Yes, some of what I said may not be completely accurate but knowing your real friends and the fake ones is pretty important. Telling the difference can sometimes be hard but if you figure out your real friends now it will be better for everyone in the long run. 

Call Me Grace

Of course getting hurt as much as I do my mother has decide "Grace" is my new name due to how graceful I am. You obviously haven’t met me if you don’t know that I am accident prone. I am the one person in a group of people that can’t even walk in a straight line. I tend to hurt myself somehow, someway on a daily basis. There are so many stories and examples that I could share but I am going to stick with the most basic and funniest things that have happened to me so far. Before I go into detail I first need to admit that one of my main problems is not being aware of my surroundings. One last thing I need to say is be prepared for the stupidity. Now that I have that off my chest I can now move on. 

Throwback to 4th grade:

From what I remember it was just the beginning or right after winter due to the snow and ice on the playground. Knowing my fourth grade self I was always trying to one up someone else and be the cool kid in school. For me that never really worked, it always ended badly. Getting back to the story… I was on the playground playing on the railing of the bouncy blue bridge covered in ice. I was there probably everyday during recess flipping around the railing like a boss. However this is a different story because the boys were there and I really don’t know what I was thinking. I made the final decision and flipped just like I had a million times before, except this time I slipped. This resulting in me slamming my face right into the bar. The lesson that I took from this is I look good with a shiner, it shows the real stud I was. 

Fell off that mailbox like a pro

Curbed it:

The sun is setting and we were waiting for everyone to get ready for dinner. I was chilling with all of the little children on the playground in the sand in California. After I was about to do the monkey bars again my mom yelled for everyone to come inside so we can go. Being my usual self I got over excited about getting food that I completely forgot about the curb. Ohhh the curb. In a full on sprint back to the house I trip over the curb and faceplate into the sidewalk. Since we were on the beach I wasn’t wearing shoes which made the whole thing so much better. I freaked out and decided to just lay there and cry until someone came and got me. One point for me, go team khakis. 

No date for this:

I can’t explain exactly the time, day, year, or who I was with when this took place because it has happened on multiple occasions. Both times that this has happened I was laughing super hard and needed to get to my bathroom. It starts off with me running from outside through the front door and trying to make it to the stairs without hurting myself. Then once I have made it halfway up the stairs and miss one. After missing it I aug at myself so hard I pee my pants. 

In conclusion I’m pretty sure you either think that I am either really dumb or funny. I could have most definitely came up with more great stories of things that have happened to me. I had a fun time writing this and I think that being accident prone is a good thing because it makes a lot of really great memories. 

This One is for You

Courtesy of Tumblr 

If you are a frequent reader on my blog this post is a little different. Everything I have written about is a little wacky and random so this is a warning. Before you start to read this is on a more serious note. In everyones lifetime, lives are lost and people get hurt when you least expect it. Life is like a mixed bag and we all get some good and we all get some bad. We can’t control what happens in life or everything would be perfect. That fact just is that nothing is perfect in life, there is only perfect moments.

Recently one of my friends that I have known for a long time was in an accident. He was hit by a car while on his motorcycle and is currently in a coma. When something like this comes up, so much goes through your mind. It’s hard to concentrate. So many questions are asked and the rush of it all really gets you thinking. Through everything that is happening the question asked the most is “why?.” There is no right answer to this question and from what I know there never will be. Anyways the point I’m trying to get across is bad things happen to 
good people. 

Courtesy of Tumblr

One thing that I have realized is that you can’t plan everything out because it won’t always go the way you expected and there will always be roadblocks to get over. There are no explanations or right or wrong answers to the game of life and the reality of things is tough. It just doesn’t make sense how good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. The world is confusing. Everyone says life gives you lemons and what you do with them is up to you. I guess that means taking what is handed to you and making something better out of it is something that makes you stronger. Being able to take from what has happened and carry with you is a trait you need when something happens like this. There is never going to be an explanation as to why good people get hurt. No matter how hard it is to get over the question why, it is something we have to get past in order to move on. 

In conclusion, there is no explanation. No matter how good of a person you are, at least one bad thing will happen in your life. I hate to be the one to break this to everyone but there is no other way to explain it. It is so important to know this now rather than later. I know that this post was on a way deeper side of things but it means a lot to me to be able to write about this. I promise that from here on out my post will be a lot happier and if you have any ideas for a post you would enjoy reading please comment them.