August 29, 2012

New York City

Day Three (OTH Challenge)-Favorite Couple

Well, if you couldn't tell by now...I reallllllly like Nathan, Haley, Julian and Brooke...So, naturally those are my two favorite couples.

NALEY: They were my very favorite from the beginning of watching. I thought that was just a given that everyone 'Shipped' them, because obviously they're pretty much perfect together and had their lives practically figured out before they even graduated. They have so many adorable moments together, such as, "Don't say I never gave you anything," rain, Nathan making it into the NBA, the pep talk Nathan gives Haley before Lydia's born, the night of their Senior prom, the time they crash HoneyGrove and their talk under the gazebo. So many sweet moments that any love story would envy. They're seriously one of those rare couples that just got it right the first time. The fact that they both came from completely different worlds just goes to show you the power of love. They went through some pretty tragic and crazy times, like Lucas' approving of Nathan at the beginning, psycho nannies, Renee, Chris Keller, deaths, the birth of their son, Nathan's accident, Haley getting hit by Dante's car and countless other things...But, they didn't give up, they stuck it out...Because that's what love does.

BRULIAN:

For not really being too sure of how I'd like Julian with Brooke, he grew on me pretty quickly. As I started re-watching episodes after I'd gone through the entire series...Part of me started wondering whether I might even like them a little more than Naley. *GASP* But, I love them both equally now for totally different reasons. Oh, the life of a "fan-girl". Anyway, I loved that Brulian was a little more realistic...They always seemed to be a page off from one another at the start of their relationship (most of the time, thanks to Alex), and that's how some relationships start. They'd bicker with one another, but understood each other in a way that no one else did. Julian cared for Brooke more than anyone ever had. He fought for her the way she wanted Lucas to after they broke up, he treated her with respect like her relationship with Felix defeated, and Julian wanted to start a family with her, unlike Owen. Although, I do give props to Chase...I liked them together for the time being. Julian was the entire package, and Brooke gave him the attention that the girls in high school sure didn't. I just wish it wouldn't have happened to be another one of Peyton's old boyfriends...I mean, Brooke deserved more than that.

All in all, they each found who they were supposed to be with.

August 28, 2012

Day Two (OTH Challenge)-Your Favorite Female Character

Yet another tie.

Haley James Scott:
Haley James was always someone I resonated with the most, even before I really watched the show. From the few episodes I'd seen, I just really liked her. She was the good girl who got good grades, had good friends, and was into the music scene. No, I didn't get married or have a baby in high school, but I just felt like a lot of our characteristics were the same. She's soft spoken, until it comes to fighting for what is right or putting someone in their place, and I'm coming into that the older I get. She's graceful, classy, and managed to find a way to balance her home life and her career at the same time. She's also extremely witty and sarcastic, which is another thing we have in common. A lot of people call her boring, but I think there was so much depth to her character; even a little mystery. She wasn't afraid to be vulnerable in those moments that called for it. I love that she was always honest and as I'd like to say, "beautifully outspoken." She was strong, but wasn't afraid to let her guard down. And oh, how I love those feisty little incidents like when she slapped Renee, when she dragged Nanny Carrie out of the shower with Nathan by her hair, always let Rachel know how much she didn't like her, or just told Nathan how she felt when he wasn't being the best he could be. Haley James Scott is just what every woman should be!

Brooke Davis:
Oh, Brooke Davis. What a transformation we see with her from the second episode to the very last. It's hard to imagine what this show would be like without the spitfire that is Brooke. At first, you just see her as this party girl who sleeps around, drinks, and isn't necessarily the model student. And that is true at the beginning. But, as the show progressed, you see that Brooke is extremely fragile inside. That's the part of Brooke I can relate to. Sometimes I try to act like I don't care, but it's because I care so much that I tend to get my heart broken. She puts all of her friends and family first, but she tends to be the footnote in their stories at times. I get that. I think Brooke has some of the best "one-liners" when it came to things like loneliness and heart ache, because she knew all about that. She knew what it was like to love and not have someone love you back. She wore her heart on her sleeve, loved like there was no tomorrow, and all she hoped was that she could find someone out there who felt the same way. Brooke Davis is a fighter; she's passionate, she's driven, and she's extremely outspoken. Those are qualities I admire so much about this character, and Sophia herself. Neither one of them let others stop them from going after what they want. Despite all the challenges and heartache she went through, she kept fighting and she made it through. "The girl behind the red door" finally got her fairytale ending in the end, and you couldn't help but feel as though you were experiencing all of these beautiful moments with her as they happened.

Sure, these are just characters...But, I see a lot of Joy and Sophia in Haley and Brooke as well, and I think that's why I love them so much. They truly made you feel, week after week, that somewhere in Tree Hill, North Carolina, these women were out there making a difference. It reminds me that I can to!

Day One (OTH Challenge)-Your Favorite Male Character


Nathan Scott:
I didn't like Nathan at the beginning of watching. I knew his story already though, since I didn't start watching when it first premiered, so I kept waiting for his attitude to shift around, and eventually it did. He became a great guy, great father, and a great husband. He had great character and integrity-the complete opposite of his own father, which was cool to see. It was nice to see the transformation of him being an immature little jerk to this really loving guy in the end.

Julian Baker:

Oh, Julian. He is the kind of guy I would want to marry! Again, he came into town acting cocky and I wasn't crazy about that. Obviously, as the episodes went on and he grew closer to Brooke, I started to love him just as much as she did. I love the fact that he's so loving, caring and sensitive, which a lot of people tend to look at as a downfall. I can see what they mean, because he came on as this tough "Hollywood type" to the guy that chased butterflies in right field instead of playing baseball. But, I loved that. Brooke Davis is tough enough and strong enough for the both of them (and we all know who wears the pants in that relationship LOL), so to some degree, I think they needed him to be a bit of a softie. His character showed so much depth to me, and even though he didn't have a great relationship with his father, he didn't let it affect him so much. Kind of a different side to the likes of Nathan and Dan's story in the beginning.

One Tree Hill Challenge

I'm pretty sure I've started this before and not finished before...Or maybe I've actually done each task, but I feel like it was time to start it again because I'm much more of a hardcore fan than I was at the beginning. I remember more of the moments, and I'm even more attached to the characters, if that's even possible. So, here we go:

Day 1- Your Favorite Male Character

Day 2-Your Favorite Female Character

Day 3- Your Favorite Couple

Day 4-Your Favorite Friendship

Day 5-Your Favorite Actor

Day 6-Your Favorite Actress

Day 7-Your Favorite Cast Friendship

Day 8-Your Favorite Secondary Character

Day 9-Your Favorite Season

Day 10-Your Favorite Episode

Day 11-Your Favorite Quote

Day 12-Your Favorite CODA

Day 13-Your Favorite Song Played On One Tree Hill

Day 14-Your Least Favorite Male Character

Day 15-Your Least Favorite Female Character

Day 16-Your Least Favorite Couple

Day 17-Your Least Favorite Friendship

Day 18-Your Least Favorite Actor

Day 19-Your Least Favorite Actress

Day 20-Your Least Favorite AU couple

Day 21-Your Least Favorite Secondary Character

Day 22-Your least Favorite Season

Day 23-Your Least Favorite Episode

Day 24-Your Least Favorite Quote

Day 25-Best Acting Performance From Sophia Bush

Day 26-Best Acting Performance From Hilarie Burton

Day 27-Best Acting Performance From Bethany Joy Lenz

Day 28-Best Acting Performance From Chad Michal Murray

Day 29-Best Acting Performance From James Lafferty

Day 30-Your All Time Favorite One Tree Hill Scene

I can tell you right now this is going to be one of the hardest things I'll ever have had to pick favorite's of. Get ready for a lot of indecisiveness-You've been warned.

August 27, 2012

"When we look back, these are the days we'll remember." ~Brooke Davis~


I had started writing a short "P.S." in my last post, but it turned out that I had a lot more to say than I thought...So, here it is.

If you're in high school and you're starting this week...Good luck and give it everything you have. Learn as much as you can, hang out with friends as often as possible, try out for the club you've always thought sounded fun, join the sports team that you might not have any business being on, and laugh... a lot. Get to know your teachers, say hi to the random kid that you always seem to pass everyday in the hallway on your way to Spanish, help a new student out, participate in rallies, turn your homework in on time, and go to football games. Study when you know you have a test, don't get distracted by that boy who will forget about you five minutes from now. Unless you're Nathan and Haley, high school sweethearts don't really come around very often, and they're fictional...So, there's that. Go off campus for lunch, don't always be so uptight, let your hair down a little-it's okay to let them see you smile. Speak up when you have something to say, hold your head high, and don't let anything hold you down. Ask for help when you need it, you're not the only one who has questions...It's just that no one else is bold enough to raise their hand, so be the first. When your friends text you, even if it's spur of the moment on a Friday night...Go with them. Be crazy, turn the radio up, laugh at the stupid jokes you come up with, and document it with a lot of pictures and videos. Don't feel like you have to be like everyone, because you don't. And you shouldn't want to. Be YOU. Because you're pretty awesome. You have a story to tell that no one else can. You don't need 1,000 friends like that girl in your English class. If you have a close group, that's all you need. Don't get paranoid if people don't invite you to hang out with them all the time, after awhile you just start to ignore what everyone else is doing. Make the most of every opportunity, so that when you look back 20 years from now, you never have to wonder..."What if?" or wishing you could go back to do something differently. 
Those moments are fleeting, and before you know it graduation day will be there. Be passionate, carefree, yet cautious. Only open up to a close group of people, you can't trust everyone, no matter how much you wish you could. Believe in the best of people, no matter how much they disappoint you. Don't let it make you bitter.  So, just do it. All of it. Oh, yeah, and have fun. Soak those moments up as much as possible. Pretty soon, you'll be out on your own, your friends will be in different states, getting jobs, starting families, pursuing dreams, and somewhere along the way, you might have regrets that you didn't do enough. You didn't say enough. You thought you weren't enough. But, you are...So, know that now. Live the life you want to have five years from now...Right now. Don't wait. 

I kept waiting for the right moment when it came to certain things in high school. But, that perfect timing never came. There is no such thing. Sometimes, you just have to jump and see what happens. I don't believe in regrets. I know God can turn things around, even if I missed one of my chances in high school, or took a different road than I should have. But are there still a couple things I wish I could've done back then? Absolutely. Every experience, heartache, trial, triumph, person, teacher, event, and obstacle makes you who you are. Enjoy every second of it. Let your light shine. Show them all you've got, and let them know that you won't let them tell you otherwise. 

That's all for now,
Shelby

Weekend Review

Yesterday, I slept in until almost 11, got ready...blah, blah, blah, and eventually my parents and I went down to LA for the day. We couldn't decide on where to eat, and I wanted to try something new, so we decided to try this burger place in Burbank. We've driven past it quite a bit, but have never been there. I hadn't been in the best of moods, which is no shocker, unfortunately, but lunch really perked me up. We were laughing at the dumbest of things and it was great. I don't even remember what all we said, but somehow we found it hilarious. 

 
After just watching the episode of OTH where Brooke's attacker Xavier follows her into the parking garage, and waits for her as she gets out of the elevator...This was a little eerie.


After lunch, we walked over to Urban Outfitters. I could seriously live there! I loved just about everything I saw, which would be a real issue if I actually had money, so it's a good thing I'm broke. However, it gave me some outfit ideas for trips coming up, and just my style in general. I ended up getting some new Oxford shoes, which I was really excited about! I can't wait to wear them more for fall. We were pretty clueless about what to do after that, so we just drove around town, throwing out random ideas, but not really coming up with anything. We ended up driving through a different area of Griffith Park, and it was really gorgeous through there. There were horses walking up the mountains and the sun was beaming through the trees. It was the perfect summer drive! As we were about to turn a corner, we saw what we thought was a kit fox, and it ended up being a coyote! He was adorable! And it was almost like he kept posing for the camera as soon as I took it out. When I was done, he crawled up into the bushes. 
Finally, after a little while, we made our way to Dodger stadium with some time to kill. We ended up hanging out on the level beneath us for a bit. I needed sugar, so I got some cotton candy and an ice tea, then we went exploring. We looked around the dugout, and waited for the National Anthem and all to happen, since there's a better view, then headed back up to our seats. We even got to see the US Water polo team that had just played at the olympics! That was really cool.
The game felt really long, but it was actually done pretty quickly...The innings just lasted long! There were no celebrities in the crowd, which is weird, because there's been someone at every game, but oh well. It was still a lot of fun, of course. And the Dodgers won, which helped too! :)
When the game ended, we had dinner at one of my dad's favorite places, Ernie Jr's. He practically grew up eating there, since he was from the area. We were one of two tables out of the entire place, since they were getting ready to close, so it was almost like we had it to ourselves. Again, for some reason we were all in a great mood, laughing and joking around, making fun of each other, and I was planning out the One Tree Hill episodes I want my dad to watch. I can't wait! 
We got in the car and headed home, rocking out to Taylor Swift, saying "What?!" as I recited the rest of the song. It was a blast, and I love that my dad seriously tries to get into the stuff I'm into or at least puts up with it, even if it isn't his cup of tea. He's seriously one of the most selfless people I know! It was a fun car ride home. 




Friends Fountain at the 2nd WB lot...One of these days I will get in. I am determined!







                                   

This morning, I woke up and headed off to church with my parents. It was such a great sermon on making decisions on having an "I will" attitude. I really needed to hear that, because I've been feeling discouraged, and just slipping back into old habits, forgetting what I've been working so hard on this year. I want to remember all that God has already done so much in my life, and the things that He promises, He is going to follow through with. I have to believe that and do something about it. This is MY season, and I am choosing to trust God with whatever comes next. Instead of having a negative attitude, I want to choose to look on the bright side of things again. I want to have a joyful attitude rather than a debby downer one...Because she's no fun to be around. 

When church got out, we grabbed Panda Express, and took it home. The rest of the afternoon consisted of me watching random shows on Netflix, scoping out Calabasas (aka where the Kardashians live), and hanging out. I think I've got it all mapped out. A little while passed, and as I was sitting on the couch, I got a phone call from one of my really close family friends, telling me that she wanted to go back to Washington D.C during Thanksgiving break if plane tickets were cheap enough...Would I be interested? Absolutely! However, it would mean missing Thanksgiving day with my family, so I'm not sure. It would be so much fun, though...And it would definitely make me feel like an adult, having to miss the holidays. So, we'll see what happens. 
Around 6, we headed up to my grandparents house, after picking up KFC for dinner. I seriously need to do a diet before we go to South Carolina, because I want to be able to eat a lot of southern goodness back there, and right now I've been eating way too much. Oh, summer...We made it up to my grandparents house, ate dinner, enjoyed one another's company and watched an interview with Mitt Romney. I found it extremely interesting and helpful with this election coming up. 
We spent a few hours together, then came home. My last official day of summer. I caught up on some recorded shows, edited some pictures...The usual. And now, it's time for classes to start up tomorrow. Ah! It feels like we were all just talking about summer, and here we are starting up again. Summer classes can really throw things off a bit, but I'm so glad for it...Because it gets me that much farther ahead. I was going to try not to stay up too late, but, that didn't happen. I decided I'd stay up super late on purpose just for the heck of it. You're only young once, right? Someday soon, I'm gonna miss these moments or not get the chance to just sit around, so I thought I'd take it as it comes. 











That's all for now,
Shelby



Week In Review

It was a pretty low-key week as most of mine are. I was home a good portion of the time filling my days with One Tree Hill, blog reading and other crazy endeavors related to such things. It was also filled with a lot of daydreaming about South Carolina/Wilmington, and how excited I am to finally be going back there. I was able to hang out with some friends, hook Netflix up to my wii, and just get some things ready for school getting ready to start. I even felt a little more inspired this week, so I decided to tackle a few simple crafts and brainstorming for a couple story ideas to work on. Friday's are always great, so my mom and I did a little shopping, had lunch together and I came home to get into my creative zone while watching Melissa and Joey. Here's my week in pictures. Because, after all...A picture is worth a thousand words.






Austin Nichols (One Tree Hill; aka Julian Baker)





edit I made! 




Happy Nathan Scott Day! ;)




Flashback, as I plan for my 21st birthday at Disneyland!! AH! (so, it's not until January...I like to plan ahead...)

I just found out they had an app! AH!!!






That's all for now,
Shelby