Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Tapestry Submission Deadline: FEBRUARY 17

Hello Creative, Artsy Tapestry members,

We are approaching our submission deadline for Tapestry! The deadline is February 17th, less than a month away! We strongly encourage you to submit your work, which can include photography, short stories, poetry, paintings, sketches, sculpture, etc. We would love to see your work in our 2014-2015 edition of the Tapestry book.

Remember, to submit, just click on the "Submit to Tapestry" button on the side of this blog, fill out the form, and share your work with foxchapeltapestry@gmail.com!

Have a wonderful new semester!

SUBMIT, SUBMIT, SUBMIT!

- Emily

Monday, January 19, 2015

Long Weekend Reflections

Hi Tapestry!

       I’m sorry for my recent lack of posting – junior year finals kind of took over my life for a couple of weeks. They were a little bit stressful (to say the least ;), so I was more than ready for this long weekend to arrive! Finally, I’ve been able to relax, catch up on sleep, and do the fun things I was missing during crazy finals time…
       Last night, I was sitting on my cozy family room couch with my mom and my sister, who came home for the weekend from her busy New York City life. We were all exhausted from a major shopping outing that had somehow managed to last nearly the entire day. Our little blue teapot was simmering on the stove, fresh chocolate chip cookies were baking in the oven, and Downton Abbey was flickering on the TV. (My mom and sister just got me hooked on Downton Abbey this season…it’s so good!) I wiggled my toes inside my fuzzy, warm socks and sank deeper into the soft cushions, feeling happier and more relaxed than I had in a long time.
       A little part of me knew that the next day would be Monday, and then the day after that (tomorrow already?!?!) would be Tuesday, when a whole new semester filled with homework and sleepless nights and busy days would begin. But I was there, in that moment, letting the comforting sounds and smells surround me. I embraced the feeling that washed over me and was reminded of how necessary it is to spend time with family and friends and to eat extra helpings of dessert and to curl up by the fire with nothing pressing to do.
       One of my major New Year’s and New Semester’s :) resolutions is to take more time to breathe – and to savor those moments of happiness and relaxation that are, in reality, far more important than anything else. It’s so, so easy for people, especially me, to get lost in the crazy, pressure-filled routine of everyday life and to forget to spend time doing the things they love with the people they love. I read a quote the other day that really summed everything up: “Aim to live life so that you don’t look back, at the end of your life or after some great catastrophe, and think, ‘How happy I was then, if only I’d realized it!’”
       Now is most definitely the time to realize it.

Hope you all had a fantastic and relaxing long weekend!

Sophie

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Ah wowww!

Hey Hey!!

Here, we are wrapping up the semester, and ready (or not ready, because it's harder) for the new semester and the new classes.
So, I'm here and I just want to ruminate and think about how much I have changed in this first semester of 2014-2015 school year.

1. College Applications- This is a dreaded, exciting, tiring, and an illuminating experience wrapped in one. I felt that throughout the process I grew as an individual. I gained a clearer understanding of what I wanted to do and who I wanted to be. An understanding of the things that I valued and morals that I held. In a nutshell, it was all thoroughly enlightening.*

2. 18 -When I turned 18, it felt like, suddenly, I was alone. Before 18, I was a child, protected by my parents, and my actions were excusable, but from the moment clock struck 12:00 and forever, I am on my own. I can be charged as an adult and put in jail!! I can get married without consent!! I can go get a tattoo!! I don't have to have my parent sign a transcript release form!! What is this freedom? It's too much.

3. English AP 12- So the hardest class of the school, and I'm signed up for it next semester. Few months ago I trembled when I was told stories of 2-4 hours of homework, and then today all my fears evaporated away. I watched as some of my classmates, who are currently in the class, did a presentation and I was left speechless. It's hard for me to imagine that I am going to be just like them in a few months. They were so articulate, moving, and wise. They presented stories and literature in a way that I have never seen it done before. Their voices were clear, loud, and had important humanitarian messages. Some of their mothers were in the room, and it seemed to me that we shared the same sentiments; I wanted to jump up and hug them and tell them that they were amazing in more ways than they knew. So if you have any doubts about the class, embrace them, and let Moliere sway you with his words, 'The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.'

My grandma recently said the most beautiful/relevant thing ever which sounds more poetic in Punjabi but I want to share it anyway,
The sun didn't change, The moon didn't change, neither did the sky,
the only thing that changed is the man.

To wrap things up, the Tappy Events for 2015 include: The Open Mic, a Career Speaker, the Publication, and the Publication Party.

-Jaagrit

*I realize I'm only 18 and sound like a joke, please bear with me. 

Thursday, January 8, 2015

Chaos at the Airport

Hi all,

One of my resolutions is to post more on the blog, because I have been awful with that! Truly sorry for not contributing more to the blog, but junior year assignments have taken over my days and nights. However, I'm not here to make excuses. I want to tell you all a story about my holiday break.

My parents are divorced, and so every year I am in a different place for Christmas Day. This year I happened to be at my dads, and I stayed there for around a week or so. My dad lives in New Jersey, and we have driven there in years past, but my family wanted me fly there this year. 

Airports have never been a fun place for me; I can usually deal with hectic people, but some of these people are crazy! I think I was ran into maybe nine times, but that's beside the point. As I was making my way through security, I took off my shoes, coat, and bag. Now, I never have an issue with security, but of course on the busiest day of travel, I have to be the one to cause a problem. 

" Miss, can you step over here," the TSA agent snarled.

Oh God. This cannot possibly end well.

"Sure, no problem. "

"Stand there. Do not move an inch." 

Don't move an inch. I can do that. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man walking a dog with both the man and the dog wearing a vest that read "K-9 Unit." As they approached, I grew very nervous. The dog stopped, and smelled my legs and feet. He started to bark, louder than I had ever heard a dog bark before. This is no exaggeration. Everyone in the line was staring at me. After three minutes of extreme public humiliation and an unnecessary search, I was told that I was free to move forward. 

"Must've been your perfume."

I retrieved my belongings and got on the train that takes you to the gates, but not before tripping and almost falling on an elderly man in a wheel chair. 

"Well, this should be an interesting break," I thought as I put my headphones in and tried to rid myself of the embarrassment that my perfume had caused.

Needless to say, I gave the perfume to my stepsister when I got to my dad's house. 

"Why are you giving this to me?"

"Oh, no reason at all. Thought you would like it," I explained.  Boy, was she going to love it.



Thanks for reading about my crazy time at the airport!

Kristen Scipione