A New Book

       Hey everyone! I hope you’ve all been having an awesome, relaxing break! I can’t believe that it’s New Year’s Eve tomorrow and that 2014 is here! So, I was searching online for a little New Year’s inspiration and I came across this quote on the Huffington Post’s website – “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and the first chapter is New Year’s Day” by Edith Lovejoy Pierce.

       As I read these words, I thought to myself how true they are. Even though it often seems like just another day (and sadly the last day of break), New Year’s Day really is like cracking open a shiny, perfect, brand new book filled with unwritten pages. I tried to picture myself filling up all those 365 pages of 2014 with words and smudges – WHAP notes yet to come, French, lines from my favorite books, recipes, stories I’ll tell my kids and grandkids someday, the information from my driver’s license, SAT vocabulary words, daydreams, songs, smears of hot cocoa, red fuzz from the coziest of blankets, jokes, poems, teardrops, melted snowflakes, sun-faded splotches. I’ll be writing it all, everyday of the new year.

       I think it’s so exciting to be able to picture a whole year spreading out in front of you, with endless possibilities and chances – people to meet, places to go, things to do. And no matter what happens, in exactly a year, it will be 2015 and a chance to start fresh all over again. It’s one of the few things that happens in exactly the same way, on exactly the same day every single year… the clock turns from 11:59 to 12:00 and a whole new chapter in a whole new book begins. :)

       Happy 2014 and I’ll see you next year!! - Sophie

McKenna's Favorite Blogs

Hi everyone!  Hope you are all taking advantage of your much-deserved holiday break.  I know I have been making use of this work-free, stress-free, obligations to wear presentable clothing-free time to do one of my favorite things: read blogs.  Here are the top five blogs that I cycle through regularly:

5. Stories About My Underpants
Don't let the name fool you.  Although blogger Becky does share a few hilarious anecdotes about the embarrassing tendencies of her underpants, she mostly blogs about her life as newly-engaged textbook editor in New York City.  Not only is it a solid dose of daily humor, but it is a realistic (and reassuring) glimpse into the world of a professional.

4.  HyperboleandaHalf
I have a hard time deciding what I love most about this blog.  Is it the drawings that look like they were produced by a well-meaning four-year-old or is it the deadpan essays that narrate the strange events of blogger Alllie Brosh's life?  Sometimes it's really hard to tell when you're laughing so hard that your internal organs start to bruise.

3.  The Bloggess
Jenny Lawson is a doting mother, a diehard Whovian, a connoisseur of taxidermy, and a master blogger.  Jenny's daily posts oscillate between scripts of the delightfully odd conversations she has with her husband, Victor, on the necessity of owning knives with LED lights and serious, frank discussions about her struggles with depression and anxiety.  Jenny  is one of the few people who make me not dread becoming an adult.

2.  PostSecret
Every Sunday, Frank Warren, the founder of PostSecret, uploads the pictures of fifteen to twenty anonymous secrets that he finds in his mailbox.  The secrets range from hilarious admissions of odd antics (one person admitted that, whenever they finished a good book, they would eat the last page), to the heartbreaking statements of guilt (someone feared the return of their spouse from a tour in Afghanistan because they thought that the PTSD would destroy their marriage), to the just plain weird (someone actually sent a confession to murder).  I stay up late on Saturday night just to see what Frank posts next.

1. The Tapestry Blog
Obviously.

Time To Say Goodbye

Hey everyone, Megan here:

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say goodbye to this year's amazing Senior Staff, because I am sadly leaving you guys and transferring to Ellis. Although I really won't miss Fox Chapel (and that's why I'm leaving in the first place), I really will miss all of you. You are a fabulous group of people, and I have loved working with every one of you this year.
And even though you don't need it, good luck with the rest of the magazine!

Love you guys <3 <3 <3 <3

To: A FUTURE SENIOR

Hey guys!

IT'S DECEMBER! Isn't that crazy? I know it has been december for 14 days but it feels as though just yesterday it was August and we were about to come back to school. 

ANYWAYS- Here are some tips for all underclassman from a senior who wishes they had done some things differently. 

1) Procrastination is the ENEMY: As in- 

• Don't wait until the last minute to ask for recommendations- asking for a recommendation is hard enough without the additional stress of timing .
• Start your writing supplements, you know, before the last couple of weeks they are due- Writing supplements SUCK. Don't get me wrong, there is the occasional fun one like "Describe your favorite book in a sentence" or "Elaborate on an extracurricular activity" but then you get that horrible, awful, depressing, terrible: "Why did you pick this school and this major and this department aka just talk about how great this school is and how you have your life all planned out even though we all know you actually have no idea what you are doing." 
• Pick out which colleges you want to apply to over the summer- its so hard to apply when you don't know WHERE your applying to. I thought I had my list made and then completely changed it this month (yes this month as in december as in yes I'm screwed).

2) YOU DO YOU. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the people around you and forget that it really doesn't matter. Don't worry about who's applying where or who just got accepted/rejected/wait-listed/deferred/whatever else. You did your best throughout high school and as much as you wanna go back and kick freshman you's butt, you can't. So accept your GPA and accept your SAT/ACT scores and write a stellar essay! (Unless its the previously mentioned horrible, awful, depressing, terrible topic where in that case I give you permission to cry for a little bit and write an OKAY essay).

3) GET INVOLVED! Yes yes yes yes I KNOW. Everyone says this one and you've all heard it so many times before... but by "get involved" I don't mean "go out and join 100 clubs". I mean, whatever clubs/sports/volunteering/work/musical/activities you are already in, GET INVOLVED! Trust me when I say it is SO MUCH EASIER to talk about activities when you actually care about what you are doing or have a funny story to talk about. Interviews/Essays/Applications will all ask you about your extracurriculars, and the more memories and stories you have, the better those aforementioned things will go. (The fact that I just used 'aforementioned' in a sentence >>>)

4) ENJOYYY! It is so easy to get stressed out about school work and applications that you forget to go out and have fun! Make memories! Go out on an adventure! Sing your heart out! Buy presents! And hopefully, when you look at the calendar this time next year and see "December 14th," you won't think to yourself "What have I been doing these past 5 months?" 

-Habiba 

P.S. I expect you all to be tapa-chic on monday for our party! ;)

My December List

Hey guys! Maria here. I don't have any supercalifragi-awesome blog ideas, so I just decided to do a "my favorites" type of December list. Here we go...

Movies
Catching Fire - I saw Catching Fire a few weeks ago, and I really liked it. I feel that the actors found and portrayed the characters even better than in the first movie. I'm also pretty partial to the plot of it / the second book in general. Looking back, though, I do now realize some missing plot points which is a little disappointing but doesn't take away from the movie (at least to me).
Frozen - I've been freaking out over how much I love Frozen ever since I saw it. I am a huge Disney fan, and this movie really spoke to me. First of all, I love the family / sister element. There are also a lot of good lines and humor in this movie. Finally, the animation is breathtaking. Here are some stills from one of my favorite scenes:


source


source


Music
Vuelie (feat. Cantus) (from Frozen) - This song is actually from Frozen. Here's what the Disney Wiki has to say about it:
The song is inspired by indigenous Saami and Norwegian culture, and was written and composed by Norwegian composer Frode Fjellheim. The song is a combination of Saami yoiking and the Danish Christmas hymn "Dejlig er jorden"/"Fairest Lord Jesus". 
It sounds like snowfall and winter and ahhhhh I love it!
Slow Me Down, by Emmy Rossum - I don't know where I first heard this song, but it's been stuck in my head for days. It's soothing, catchy, and kind of lilting.

Food and Drink
Eggnog! - Now, I know that some people find eggnog disgusting, but I'll have to respectfully disagree with them because I think it's delicious. It's kind of the embodiment of Christmas for me and my family. If you're feeling decadent, I recommend a splash of it in hot chocolate.
Christmas cookies - This hasn't happened in my house yet, but the thought of sugar cookies, buck-eyes, springerly, and more is what gets me through hard days.


So, that's about it! What are your favorite things this December? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

~ Maria

music music music

Hey everyone!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day! It took me a while to think of something to blog about, but I decided to share with you a song that I wrote a few weeks ago. It might give you something to watch while you are snowed in this weekend (:

- Emily

http://youtu.be/7XKpiDU6c2A

My guide to stress.

I've never been the calmest person in the world.  I guess I find my seemingly endless supply of enthusiasm as something that makes me who I am.  However, being hyper all the time has a considerable amount of disadvantages.  One of those disadvantages is my inability to deal with stress, and whenever I get a bad grade or loose my phone I find myself getting red in the face, having trouble breathing or hitting my head against the wall.  Just kidding, I never hit my head against the wall; it hurts and bothers others.  So in order to relieve myself from the feeling of my head exploding and to keep the ground beneath me from crumbling, I've had to come up with some tricks to help me.  Maybe they will work for you!

1.)  Listen to your "chill music".  For some, it is Jack Johnson, maybe you're a Jake Mayer girl, or it could even be Disney songs.  Personally, my chill music is Bob Dylan or Bob Marley.  I listen to them because their lyrics aren't about boys, drugs, or boys and drugs, but I'll save my music taste for another blog post.  So go in a corner, under your covers or take a drive and let the music wash your troubles away.

2.)  I feel like I have gotten this one from a Rachel McAdams movie.  Go outside and look at the stars.  The stars will keep shining no matter what happens to you, so you should too. 

3.)  Talk and tell your problems to your dog, cat, fish, rabbit or favorite stuffed animal.  I have nothing against humans but your pet won't judge you when you cry in front of it or pour out your heart to it.  

4.)  Write.  Take a blank piece of paper and write down your emotions and regrets.  It takes your mind off whatever is stressing you out and will make you feel better.  Once you are done you can burn it, submit it to tapestry, keep it for motivation, frame it and put it on your wall or do whatever makes your heart content.  

The truth is, everybody has their own way of dealing with stress.  These four things work for me, but remember that no matter what happens, no problem is the end of the world.  And like someone said, life is not always not always what one wants it to be., but to make the best of it as it is is the only way of being happy.

Last-Minute Holiday Shopping (or should I say Crafting)

This week, Tapestry is celebrating amazing events! McKenna and Marisa are turning 18! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Also, we are having a White Elephant gift-giving party on Monday for the holidays! (And speaking of amazing events, Jessica Server, our guest speaker on Wednesday, was amazing)

Below is a guide to the greatest gifts for everyone on your list (or Santa’s) this holiday season/for their upcoming birthdays/just because. These gifts are, as they say, TAPA-CHIC (S/o Jaagrit)

• Coupon book in hand, buy pillow stuffing from your favorite crafts store. Gather your knitting needles and a copy of Tapestry 2012-2013, which you have on hand at your bedside table beneath a mug of tea, Starbucks, or tea from Starbucks. Knit a throw pillow with a front and back design matching last year’s Tapestry.
• Ride a bicycle to your nearest thrift store. Select the finest in vintage T-shirts. Turn them into high-waisted skirts. Pair with a Tapestry T-shirt. (A gift for non-members only, of course)
• Bake slutty triple brownies and arrange in individual cupcake tins. Place inside a vintage handcrafted découpage box wrapped in twine.
• Procure an encyclopedia from the local used bookstore. Sit down by your scrapbooking drawer. Cut out a keyhole shape from the second ¼ of the pages to create a hidden space. Select pages at random, and circle words for a blackout poem using light pencil lines. In your earth tone scrapbooking paper, cut out holes for each word of your blackout poem, and use a glue stick to secure the piece of scrapbook paper onto the page. Like you would for a textbook, use newspaper to create a book cover and secure with double-sided tape.
• Six different colored and different sized children’s books such as The Giving Tree, The Kissing Hand, The Polar Express, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Eloise, Where the Wild Things Are, The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• A basic gift certificate to ModCloth.com
• A basic thirty-year subscription to Netflix
• Louder Than a Bomb and Freedom Writers on DVD
• Audiobooks of Stephen King’s body of work along with a hard copy of On Writing (for those unfortunate friends and family members who haven’t taken Creative Comp)
• Sets of erasable pens and calligraphy pens
• Scrounge the aforementioned local used bookstore for a first edition or marked-up copy of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (which is what Eleanor gets Park in Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell!)
• A functional record player (Make sure your loved one does not already own one) and records he or she would like on vinyl (He or she will need something to play on it) with personal notes written on the backs underneath the song lists
• Gather your ten best pieces of writing or art from throughout your life. Sew and glue together like publishing companies would with a real book (More detailed instructions available online.) Allow five pages for a handwritten letter.
• Apparel from the college of his or her choice/his or her alma mater (which is what my parents got each other this year!)
• Write ten handwritten letters on ten different kinds of stationery, one each day for ten days. Make sure to date each. Use pen. Write first drafts. Write impromptu. Write about little memories and long opinions. Write about nothing. Lick to seal. Write his or her name on each one. Tie together with white or lilac twine. Or mail one a day (two on Saturday for Monday).

HAPPY EARLY HOLIDAYS AND NEW YEAR! (since this is my last post for 2013) Love, Dani

Tapestry Fashion

Tapa-Chic

Etymology: This term derives from a village set deep in the tumultuous, offset hills of Greenland. The fertile ground of this village allowed for growth of healthy cotton, for selling and vast pastures, for grazing.  The sheep and the rabbits that grazed in these pastures were sheered for their soft and high-quality wool. The old maidens and two warriors that lived in these parts experienced lack of connection from rest of the surrounding world and thus had their very own eccentric sense of clothing. Their culture and traditions were different. Their clothing style had developed from their own imagination and captured the maidens’ true essence and spirit. Their clothing had the appearance of a 19^th century tapestry, and was intricate and inspiring. It was a cold winter, when a man who worshipped fashion accidentally stumbled on the village on a hiking trip that he coined the term, Tapa-chic. He was awestruck by the unique clothing and the variety of styles that he immediately proposed a fashion magazine story based on the village, and brought this term into the main scene.

Definition: Adj- A style of clothing often seen on and worn by the elite members of Tapestry’s senior staff. It is a defining characteristic of someone who has worked their way up to Senior Staff. The clothing is often thrifted, hand-me-downed, or once in a while handcrafted. It inspires future trends and sets the tone for the rest of the school.

Usage:
Ex.        Becky: “OMG! That girl’s outfit is so on point, and different. I wish I looked like her."

 Sandra: “Same. Hail to the Tapa-Chic”

Ex.        Sharkeisha: “I am devotedly in lahve with the outfits that people of QRT 176 were sporting  today. I felt I was viewing a fashion show in reality. I was so dumbstruck. It was… How do  you say.. .TAPA-CHIC!”

Ex.        Vogue Editor: “I feel this month’s issue is SOOO Tapa-Chic, that it is bound to skyrocket  sales like never before!”

STAY TAPA-CHIC

JAAGRIT

TAPESTRY AND MANUSCRIPT STAFF ROLES

Hey everyone, these are the roles of the Tapestry and Manuscript staff!

Tapestry Staff - Roles and Responsibility

Editor-In-Chief – McKenna Trimble

Head of Layout- Faith Kim/ understudy Maria Burns

Secretary/ Treasurer- Megan Markovitz /asst. Maria Burns

Communications- Rachel Stein/ asst. Sophie Rodosky

Submissions- Juliet Millard/ asst. Bailey Yousem

Art Liason- Emma Lloyd

Technology & Website Creator – Stephen Polcyn

Marketing – Sarah Ssemakula/ asst. Che Esch

Social and Spirit – Jaagrit Randhawa

Social Media/ Busking Liason – Emily Fabiszewski

Grammarian- Emily Katz/ asst. Che Esch

 

Manuscript QRT – Roles and Responsibilities

 

Head of Manuscript- Adlai Nelson

 

Tutors:

McKenna Trimble

Dani Burton

Emily Katz

Marisa Acevedo

Habiba Shalaby

 

Underclassmen Tutors:

Che Esch

Sophie Rodosky

Tapestry Open Mic Recap

High school is often stressful. Life can get pretty busy between the tests, extracurricular activities, friends, and really good TV. But occasionally there are opportunities when your peers are able to teach you life lessons, lessons that can't be learned in a classroom. These are opportunities to appreciate your classmate's skills and creativity. At a recent Tapestry open Mic I was reminded of the immense talent that my friends posses. The diverse performances, which ranged from music to slam poetry, left me with renewed motivation to appreciate the universal high school tribulations that each student faces.

Below please enjoy some of the beautiful faces of the talented FC Tapestry students and friends.  

-Rachel Stein

December Blog Schedule

Hey Tapestry Staff! Here's the blog schedule for December! Make sure you check it out and blog on the day you're assigned. Happy December (:

Dec. 7 - Dani

Dec. 8 - Megan

Dec. 9 - Stephen

Dec. 10 - Jaagrit

Dec. 11 - Emily F. 

Dec. 12 - Adlai

Dec. 13 - Bailey

Dec. 14 - Maria

Dec. 15 - Rachel

Dec. 16 - Habiba

Dec. 17 - Che

Dec. 18 - Marisa

Dec. 19 - Emily K. 

Dec. 20 - Faith

Dec. 21 - Sarah

Dec. 22 - Emma

Dec. 27 - McKenna

Dec. 28 - Juliet

Dec. 29 - Sophie

December Manuscript Schedule

December Manuscript Schedule

2 - NO SCHOOL

3 - Marisa (McKenna)

4 - Habiba (Dani)

5 - McKenna (Adlai)

6 - Dani (Emily)

9* - Adlai (Marisa)

10 - Emily (Habiba)

11 - Marisa (McKenna)

12 - Habiba (Dani)

13 - McKenna (Adlai)

16* - Dani (Emily)

17 -  Adlai (Marisa)

18 - Emily (Habiba)

19 - Marisa (McKenna)

20 - Habiba (Dani)

December 23 - January 1 ~ NO SCHOOL

* - SQRT days

Pixar

I'm a massive pixar fan. I have been ever since I remember.  For me, pixar movies are really the only great animated movies. When compared to other studios (DreamWorks, Disney) nothing can come close to pixar.  For me, this is probably because of the richness of the characters, the incredible character development, the creativity, and the storytelling.  Every line and scene in the movie leaves you at the edge of you seat and anticipating the story. The layered, relatable characters keep you emotional involved the whole movie. The witty detail makes their fantasy world believable. This is what I like to use to justify my love of pixar, but I have to admit some of it comes from nostalgia. Also pixar shorts. Enough said.
Here are some useful pixar tips for storytelling that always motivate me.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
#2: You gotta keep in mind what's interesting to you as an audience, not what's fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.
#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won't see what the story is actually about til you're at the end of it. Now rewrite.
#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
#8: Finish your story, let go even if it's not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
#9: When you're stuck, make a list of what WOULDN'T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you've got to recognize it before you can use it.
#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you'll never share it with anyone.
#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it's poison to the audience.
#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What's the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That's the heart of it.

sorry for the late post!

-Emma

Also, if the month change has gotten you in the Christmas mood like it has for me, I recommend listening to Sufjan Steven's Christmas album.  They're the kind of Christmas songs that aren't annoying.

source:
http://aerogrammestudio.com/2013/03/07/pixars-22-rules-of-storytelling/