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.