Monthly Archives: March 2015

My “17” Bucket List

Me Myself and Abby, , ,

I love lists. They’re the best. I’ve thought of things that I would put on a bucket list before, but I decided to start a new tradition for myself to mark my 17th birthday. I have devised a “17” Bucket List. Below is a list of 52 things that want to do during my time of being 17. Some are easy, some are difficult, and some are really weird. I’m going to do my best to update it throughout this year, and hopefully I’ll have it all done by my 18th birthday! Then I’ll start on a new list!

Here we go:

Abby’s “17” Bucket List

1. Make a High School Year Book

2. Write a Song

3. Get Read Converse DONE! (March 29th)

4. Start Doing Archery Again

5. Put together a book of poems and doodles (Shel Silverstein Style)

6. Do a 365 Photo Challenge

7. Get a good ukulele

8. Finish an entire coloring book

9. Win a NaNoWriMo

10. Finish my 2014 money jar and start again

11. Do a 5k

12. Learn to throw on a pottery wheel

13. Do a cosplay

14. Finish a novel

15. Get a nice camera

16. Be able to do 100 sit ups in one day

17. Learn to juggle

18. Read a book in a day

19. Visit the Nelson Atkins

20. Go to a movie alone

21. Sort of learn how to skateboard

22. Go to a Con (any Con)

23. Get something (anything) published

24. Get a job in the art lab at school DONE! (March 30th) 

25. Create a website

26. Do a big puzzle

27. See the ocean

28. Do a stand-up routine

29. Plan a senior art show

30. Make a comic book

31. Finish my Doctor Who comic collection

32. Get my nails done

33. Go to a midnight premiere

34. Make a life sized drawing

35. Put together a manuscript for a picture book

36. Finish my 2015 reading list

37. Write a fan letter

38. Paint on a pair of shoes

39. Make a recipe book

40. FINALLY get my splits

41. Have a sidewalk chalk day

42. Learn how to use oil paint

43. Fill a sketch book

44. Learn how to play the harmonica

45. Draw in an old book

46. Have a Star Wars movie marathon

47. Read through the whole bible

48. Do a series of dance paintings

49. Be British for an entire day

50. Plan an awesome wedding speech

51. Go to Lawrence for the day

52. Put together an awesome portfolio for school auditions

Here’s to another year 😀

Until next time,

Abby

Lessons You Learn When A Buddy Moves Away

Learn Something New

Friendships are one of the most precious things you can have as a human being. People are made to love other people. Because of this fact, when a friend moves far, far away, it can really suck. A buddy of mine was back in town visiting for his spring break and it reminded me of a few things that I have learned from having a close friend move across the country. These things are important for friends who live down the block and those who live a plane ride (or two) away.

  1. Appreciate hugs

Hugs are the best, and whenever you have the opportunity to give/get a hug from a friend, take it.

  1. Listen to people

Like, really listen. We often get so wrapped up in our own lives that we forget to catch up with the people we care about and don’t hear what they are saying to us. Their lives are just as important as yours. Learn about what’s going on in your friend’s life, especially if they are only around for short periods of time.

  1. Take pictures

This might just be me, but I think it’s really cool to see how we change and grow up in photographs. It’s wonderful to have little reminders of friends in a 4×6 frame or an online album. Besides, selfies take about two seconds to take. ;P

  1. Get over yourself and past issues.

Seriously. It’s not worth being awkward around people. It takes more energy to be irritated with someone all the time than it does to just be kind to them. Letting weird situations or anger come between two people being friends is just dumb, and a big waste of time.

  1. Cherish the friends who don’t live crazy far away.

You never know when a friend might end up leaving your life sooner than you’d like. So appreciate the friends who are close by, and don’t take them for granted.

I encourage you to reach out to others this week; whether it’s a close friend or a person you haven’t talked to in a long time, make the effort to tell someone that you care about them 🙂

Until Next Time,

Abby

Miss you Mac! Thanks for inspiring this blog ;D 

Mac

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey… Stuff

Geek Outs, Learn Something New, ,

Have you ever had one of those weeks when time seems to be going really slowly, but is flying by at the same time? Well, that’s been me this week. The days have seemed super long, but here we are, and it’s Thursday. Almost to the weekend! Since time has been such an issue for me this week, I decided to share some interesting facts about the subject that I thought were super cool (and it was totally NOT inspired by me procrastinating working on a paper by looking at one of those boredom websites with really weird fun facts that no one really needs to know….).

  1. When the second hand on your clock appears to take longer than a second to tick, it’s your own brain working against you.

Studies about brain imagery have shown that our perception of time stretches backwards when our eyes shift from one point to another. Our brains “fill in the gap,” creating the illusion of a drawn-out second. That’s why it sometimes seems that the second hand just jumped back.

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  1. The average person falls asleep in 7 minutes.

This might be a shock to those of you who have a hard time falling asleep, but on average, it takes a human about 7 minutes to fall into a steady sleep cycle.

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  1. Halley’s Comet passes the Earth every 76 years.

The next time it will pass by us will be in 2062.

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  1. There are 31,536,000 seconds in a year

That’s 525,600 minutes. And now all the musical theatre nerds are humming a certain song in their heads.

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  1. The longest time a person has been in a coma is 37 years.

I guess they aren’t counting Captain America’s 70 years as a Cap-sicle.

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  1. A lion eats once every 3 to 4 days.

It probably helps that they spend about 20 hours a day sleeping/lounging around Africa.

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  1. The human body creates 2,500,000 new red blood cells every SECOND.

Every second guys.

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  1. It takes 22 months for a elephant to develop from a zygote to a full grown infant.

Nine months doesn’t sound so bad now does it?

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  1. In one year, light will travel a distance of 5.86 trillion miles, which is 240 million times around Earth.

Albert Einstein wrote a series of papers in 1905 that use this concept of light years as a main focus.

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  1. The longest running sci-fi television show is “Doctor Who”.

Come on, I couldn’t not put in a Doctor Who fact 😛

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If you know any other time facts, post them in the comments below! I’d love to read them! Have a great rest of your week, folks!

Until Next Time,

Abby

Spring Break

College Times, Learn Something New, Me Myself and Abby

So, all my friends are starting Spring Break this week, but I am back in class. Why you ask? Because my college is annoying. But, I am glad that I had this past week off to get used to that awful time change. A lot of people use spring break to goof off, but since most of my friends were still in school, I used my time getting stuff done that I’ve been putting off for a while, and I learned a lot of really random lessons throughout the week.

Unknown1) I did a ton of Spring Cleaning

Lesson Learned: I have too much crap. I went through a ton of old art supplies, clothes, and books to get my room organized for the coming spring, and I got rid of so much stuff. I am working on trying to live more simply, and eight bags later, I’m on my way to reaching that goal.


2) I went and had lunch with the lovely Mindy.leomnade

Lesson Learned: Chick-Fil-A’s new Frozen lemonade is delightful.

3) I went to my favorite juice shop and got my first check from selling in a store.11066612_1016383878390560_1205432677090031789_n

Lesson Learned: It takes a lot of work and time to make $44. Being an artist and entrepreneur in general takes a lot of time, effort and patience. But it’s worth it whenever you get to chat with Amy and get a drink at Marketplace Justice 😀


4) I went on my first real college visit.10406354_934411033238901_7622352562982178574_n

Lesson Learned: If I go to KCAI, I will be doing a lot of walking. On top of that, it takes a lot of work to go to this school. A lot of people feel that art school is a waste of time, but I would be thrilled to be part of the Illustration program at this school. They do a really good job of teaching students fine arts and the business side of art, so that way students are ready for work after school.

5) I dyed my hair.10599294_990180384367903_4671262503124264415_n

Lesson Learned: I look like Tinker Bell with lighter hair. It’s funny, cause my parents still call my Tink every now and then 😛

6) I saw THE THORN.

Lesson Learned: Passion plays can be amazing. I’ve seen and been in many a church play and a lot of the time they aren’t the highest quality. But this show was incredible. It is definitely on my list of things I want to do before I settle down someday. Here’s a link to check out more information about them:http://thethorn.net

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7) I had a Princess Night with my Meltonshire family and we saw Cinderella.11050300_10153118802822416_8277926190453277477_n

Lesson Learned: Seven girls and one boy can indeed pull together eight costumes in thirty minutes to go to a 10pm showing of a Disney movie and look awesome. So much glitter and magic. It was a very good night 😀

8) I went and saw CYT’s The Little Mermaid.

Lesson Learned: CYT volunteers can make super beautiful sets and costumes (though I already knew this from past experience ;D). Musical theatre is wonderful. Also, shiny sharks are awesome, French chefs are hilarious, making a 6’2 guy a bird was a great choice, mermaids pull off Heelys well, tap dancing crabs are the best, and Flounder was a rock star. Congrats cast of Mermaid: You’ve got a beautiful show. I can’t wait to see it again!

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9) I found an audition song.

Lesson Learned: It is possible for me to find an audition sooner than the day of the audition. Procrastination has been defeated this round 😛godspell

10) I slept a lot.

Lesson Learned: I love sleeping.

I am back in school now missing my time off, but I am grateful for the time I had to get stuff done. To all my friends on Spring Break this week, I hope you have a great week and that you get some much needed rest and fun times!

Until Next Time,

Abby

My Hands

Me Myself and Abby, My Cup Runs Over,

I have spent a lot of my spring break doing some cleaning and going through a lot of old memories. While going through my hope chest, I found a stack of my old writing assignments from elementary/middle school. This little piece stuck out to me most: unnamed

It reads: My hands are the little colorful tools that help me express myself. My hands are, as Christian Youth Theater friends call them, fairy sized hands that build Lego castles and draw Star Wars characters. My hands are the things that grip a light saber as I battle the evil Darth Vader. My hands are a showcase of what not to do with sewing supplies and why you should wear gloves when you climb rock walls. My hands are the things that always get tangled as they dance across the piano keys. Sometimes I wonder if these hands will ever paint a masterpiece, build a skyscraper of Legos, climb Mount Everest, or play at Carnegie Hall. Who knows? My hands are me.

I wrote this for my first writing assignment of 6th grade where we had to pick a body part that best represents who we are. It’s funny to go back and read stuff that I wrote a long time ago, and what was important to me then. While I’m not as much of a Star Wars freak as I was when I was younger, a lot of what I wrote five years ago is still true. My hands are always covered in paint, they still play piano, and yes, they are still tiny. I still have a scar from a sewing project, and I’ve gained another one from a sword fight (stage combat can be rough). I don’t’ climb anymore, but my hands are calloused from guitar playing and my random tree climbing adventures.

One of my favorite passages in the bible is in 1st Corinthians 12, which talks about the body of Christ:

15 Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

All of us have different talents. Some people are incredibly smart and do well in academics. Others are talented in the athletic field. Some excel in the creative fields with music, art or writing. There are a lot of people who shine in leadership positions, while others are good at being a support system. If we were all the same, the world would be extremely boring. The world wouldn’t be able to function if all of us were talented soccer players, or ballerinas, or math geniuses. It takes all different kinds of people to make our world work. God designed us to all have different talents, and we are to use those gifts to glorify Him.

I feel that my hands are my best tools for what I want to do with my life. I love making art and playing musical instruments. God blessed me with the desire to be creative, and I want to use that to reflect Him. You, reader, have been blessed with gifts too. You are a crucial part of the Body. You might feel that your life is insignificant, but you are so important. You just have to be open and willing to use the skills in your life to live an extraordinary way.

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Until next time,

Abby

Why My Parents Don’t Care What I Major In

College Times, My Cup Runs Over, ,

Right now, I’m in community college, but technically, I’m a junior in high school. In the United States, there is a lot of pressure on high school juniors to figure out exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives career wise.

And that’s freaking scary.

 

Let me get this straight America: You are asking teenagers to decide what they want to do for the next 50 years, and then put thousands of dollars into a place where they will get a piece of paper after four years that is supposed to make them successful. And this doesn’t sound kind of crazy?

Often times, we get caught up in things that seem extremely important now, and we forget the most important thing: Our identity in Christ. ACT/SATs, grades, college applications,  after school activities, and jobs can take up so much of our time and fill up our thoughts. We forget that the only thing that truly matters is what God thinks of us. Our lives are supposed to reflect Him, not the score we get on a test or the college we get into.

I am currently in the process of nailing down my major and finding the college I will attend. It’s terrifying that within the next few years I’ll be out of the house living in a dorm or apartment. On top of that, I am getting a degree that is considered by others to be “impractical”. Art is a hard thing to make a living on. There’s going to be a lot of hustling and odd jobs in my future. But thankfully, my parents are very supportive and want me to do what I’m passionate about.

Here’s the reason why my parents don’t care what my major is: All they want for me is that I have a relationship with Jesus. Everything else is extra. Granted, my mom and dad want me to be a hard worker and to apply myself, but they know that I want to glorify God through art and writing. As long as I’m following Christ, they’re happy. Nothing else matters more than my eternal destiny.

Big changes are coming in my life, and while it’s freaky, I’m excited to see what’s going to happen next. God has opened so many doors for me, and I’m eager to see where I’ll end up in a few years. When you feel stressed about future plans, remember that the only thing that truly matters is my relationship Jesus. Everything else is going to fall into place, and it’s gonna be awesome.

Until Next Time,

Abby

Prisoner In My Own Mind

College Times, It's a Colorful World, Me Myself and Abby, ,

Visual art is one of the most powerful ways to express emotion. In my Drawing 2 class, the five of us were assigned to do a project based off of a very deep emotion or mood for our final project before spring break. I did a lot of thumbnail drawings trying to pin down which idea I would do for this project, and I finally settled on a project that was a bit out of my comfort zone: I was going to do a project visualizing depression.

I know, stereotypical artist emotion, right? Well, many people deal with deep sadness for different reasons, and it’s not just creative people who get really down (though it can inspire some awesome art). I have gone through some crazy up and downs the past few years. There were a few periods of time where I hated getting up every morning. All I wanted to do was stay in bed and cry, but I would end up hiding behind a smile and jokes while I felt like I was being held captive by my mind. When you feel depressed, you often feel as though you are weighed down by heavy chains that you can’t get out of. That feeling I felt a few months ago was what inspired this piece.

The first few days working on this were a little frustrating. I hate doing portraits. I do better drawing cartoon style people, and I usually dread drawing realistic people, especially myself. I don’t know why I hate drawing myself so much, but I do. The way I ended up doing the project was to cover my entire paper in charcoal and to draw myself with an eraser and darker charcoal. It’s a difficult method of drawing. Right of the bat, I set myself up for a very difficult project.

IMG_3321My biggest problem was drawing my face. Mostly because I looked like a man for a while. My short hair was making it especially manly looking because I haven’t drawn myself with my new style before this project. By the third day though, I finally got my face down how I wanted it. It took a lot of work, and I ended up getting really messy that day. I earned the nick name “Oliver” from my buddy Garza because I had charcoal everywhere.

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Adding chains wrapped around myself was the hardest part of drawing this. I ended up listening to a musical called “Next to Normal” that is horribly depressing to help me kind of channel the right emotion. You can’t really see it in the photo that I have, but on some of the links, there are words written on them, like “Loser”, “Pathetic”, “Needy” and “Stupid”, which are a few things that I’ve felt in the past. It’s kind of funny, because the words were one of my teacher’s favorite parts of the entire piece. He said it added to the impact of the piece, making it more personal and real.

This morning, we had our critique where we all pinned out drawings up on the board to comment IMG_3328on and get feedback. Mine was the last one to be talked about, and to be completely honest, it was kind of hard to talk about. The concept is uncomfortable. It’s terrifying to put such a personal part of your life up on a board to let other people see and talk about. But I’m really glad that I did it. Everyone in my class loved the drawing, and I feel that I really made an impact on them.

Most importantly though, I made an impact on myself. Working on this drawing made me really evaluate my life and I realized that it’s not worth it to let heavy feelings beat me up.  Granted, sometimes, it’s very hard to fight those feelings. Everyone has times where they feel like crap and just want to give up. Stuff happens. People get sick. People break our hearts. People die. But everyday you have to make the choice to break out of those chains that are holding you down. You can’t do it alone. Without Jesus, I don’t know where I’d be. While times can suck, God has always pulled me through; to deny that would be foolish.

I am very glad to be done with this project. I am going to take a picture of it and put it in my portfolio for “art auditions”, but once I’m doing getting the shots I need, I am going to put it in a box and there it will stay. I don’t want to look at it any more. This drawing is a representation of my past, but my past does not define me. While I know that it is possible that I might experience the deep sadness I have felt before again, I want to keep growing and learning through life. The time we have is an incredible gift, and I don’t want to waste another second of it.

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“Prisoner In My Own Mind”

Until next time,

Abby

If you want to check out my art page on Facebook, here’s a link to check it out with. I post often about my current projects, shows I’m in, or art that I’m selling. I would appreciate it if you liked the page! https://www.facebook.com/ColorfulWorldOfAbby

Starting The Day Right

My Cup Runs Over,

Today was the first time in a long time that I got up and read my bible before school. And today was awesome. 

Now, this isn’t a big promise that reading your bible will keep bad stuff away. Your bible is not a bubble that makes bad stuff bounce off of you. But starting my day by studying the Word and praying really set my course for the better. I had a good attitude about life. I felt that being closer to my Heavenly Father for those short 15 minutes really helped my mood and made me happier to be alive. 

Christianity does not solve all your problems. A lot of Christians struggle with depression (me being one of them) and other crappy things, like illness, loss and doubt. But I have noticed that on the days that I really let myself be led by Jesus from the very beginning of it, I have a better day over all. 

If you don’t know where to start, I highly suggest Pslams and Proverbs. One or two a day can start you off right. Let me know your favorite passages/studies you have done, and how God has worked in your life 🙂 

Until Next Time, 

Abby