anahorvath.com

Author: Ana

  • How Was Homecoming?

    My school’s homecoming was yesterday, which is kind of late for a homecoming. I am definitely tired today and I slept in until around noon which was really nice. Homecoming was great!

    My school does an entire celebratory week around homecoming with spirit-dress-up days, Llabtoof (Powder-puff football), a huge homecoming assembly, and the big home football game on Friday.  This year, our theme was games, board games, video games, really any type of game (not including sports). We called it “It’s Your Move: A Week of Games” and our spirit days revolved around the theme. We had Cranium Day where everyone dressed like a nerd, Dance Dance Revolution Day where everyone dressed in Jazzercise attire, school-spirit day, Game of Life Day where everyone dressed as either a baby, toddler, frat boy, mom, dad, or senior citizen, and then class color day. The days were easy to dress up for as well as a lot of fun. Who wouldn’t enjoy wearing leg warmers and fuzzy green dance spandex to school? (I definitely wore leggings under the spandex.) It was cool to see most of the students participate in the spirit days.

    Throughout the week we also had our llabtoof game which is the powder-puff football game. The junior and senior girls played flag football and the junior and senior guys were the cheerleaders. Freshmen helped cheer for the juniors and sophomores cheered for the seniors. Before llabtoof, student council helped put on a tailgate and a lot of people came to hang out and eat some good food. It was really cool to see the entire school come together and have some fun. This all took place on Wednesday.

    On Friday we had our homecoming pep-assembly which was sweet! We called it “Battleship” because the whole week was like a battle between the classes, like the game Battleship in a way. So clever… Anyway, there were several games that were played and there was a lot of cheering during the assembly. People seemed really excited about homecoming and I heard that many people think it was one of the best homecoming assemblies yet! At the big football game Friday night, we won 54-13 (YEAH!) and announced our homecoming royalty. Another special thing done that night was a presentation of roses to all of the alumni.

    After all of the excitement during the week, on Saturday we had the dance which was themed Candyland, still tying into our theme of games in general. Even though the dance floor was small and our DJ could’ve been a bit more enthusiastic and passionate about his work, the dance was so much fun. We had a photo booth, jumbo chess, checkers, Connect 4, and even Dance Dance Revolution at the dance. There were a lot of activities for people to do besides dance and I think that helped make it a packed and successful homecoming.

    I’m so glad homecoming went well and I hope it went well for all of you that attended it! I hope you all made smart decisions and made some lasting memories at homecoming. Most schools don’t have many dances, and homecoming is a special time in high school. Until next year! I’m probably going to go take a nap now. 🙂

    homecoming

  • Getting a Grasp on Junior Year

    I’ve had friends tell me that junior year of high school is the most fun year besides senior year. I’ve also heard that it’s the worst, in that you’re swamped with homework and you’re contacting colleges, and everything is a mess. While I would say that I’ve enjoyed school so far, I would definitely agree with others on that junior year is rough!

    Almost every night, even during the first week of school, my minimum homework load is 2 hours a night. That makes sense granted that I’m taking three AP classes and advanced physics (ugh). It’s important to challenge yourself and do what you can to learn all that you can, so that you’re prepared for college. Something important I’ve learned about junior year, is that you need time for yourself and time to let your brain take a break, otherwise you’ll be toast. At the beginning of the school year, I was staying up at least until one in the morning most nights doing all of my homework and I was absolutely miserable. I relearned that procrastination is NEVER the way to go and time-management is key to balancing school, tennis, student council, piano, and everything else I do.

    I’ve also learned that I really enjoy using a planner this year. I have a color-coding system I use to symbolize what assignments I’ve completed and still have to do. I also use different colors to highlight events in and out of school daily. This ranges from quizzes and tests to a tutoring  session or something for student council. Writing for my blog is even in my planner! What I’m trying to say, if you didn’t get it already, is that organization is crucial to knowing what’s going on in the world around you. You want to stay on top of your life and a planner is a good way to do that.

    One other thing that I’ve found to be really important with junior year is allowing myself to have some fun and do things I’ve never done before. I’ve gone to more sporting events to support a variety of my school’s athletic teams. I’ve been more vocal in student council, attended multiple leadership conferences, and done a bunch of other cool things to make this year even more memorable than freshman or sophomore year. High school only happens once so you have to make the most of it while you’re there!

    So for those of you curious about junior year, yes it is hard, but yes it is also a lot of fun. Study hard, ask questions, stay organized, and have fun. You’ll stay afloat that way.

    Have a great week! 🙂

    junior year

  • Empowered Poem

    I played in a tennis tournament yesterday that went really well. I feel like I’ve been struggling a bit lately to feel confident in my playing, but yesterday helped boost that. I may have won three of my matches and lost three of my matches, but everything I learned will help me improve my actual game as well as my mental game.

    It’s also really awesome that fall is starting to actually show up on the trees here in Colorado. We had a nice, rainy day this week and I got to wear a cozy sweater and feel all bundled up. Winter is definitely my favorite season, but fall comes in at a close second.

    Anyways, I’ve been able to do a lot of writing in my AP Lang class and we recently were able to write poems based off of pictures we took of words throughout the school. Here’s what I came up with. Enjoy!

    No one can make you inferior without your consent
    You don’t need a reason to help people,
    Learn your weaknesses and fears.
    Embrace them, then nobody will be able to use them.
    Everyone is a genius,
    so be kind and love others.
    Your silent presence is more powerful than a million empty words.
    You are worthy.
    You empowered.

    Sorry for such a short post this Sunday. Poems are fun to write and when you have an idea of what you want to write, they’re quick and easy to get done. Gotta love writing! 🙂 Have a great week!

    poems

  • I’m Going to New York!

    Today has been an extremely busy and also exciting day. This evening, I found out that I will be heading to New York in July to attend the IMTA, or International Modeling & Talent Association convention. Ahh!

    For those of you that aren’t familiar with the modeling industry and IMTA itself, IMTA stands for International Modeling & Talent Association (as mentioned above). It’s the biggest and most prestigious convention of its sort in the entire world. There will be over 800 other models and talents there and over 300 agents, casting directors, and other people searching for new faces to represent their agencies and work for them worldwide. There is not a guarantee that I will sign with an agency through my time at IMTA, but it will be a wonderful chance to get to meet some amazing people and have some fun!

    Through my agency, I will be going through some training to prepare for the events I will be competing in over the next eight months so that I will be comfortable with my events and be prepared to do well.

    At the audition, I had to do a cold read commercial, walk, and talk with some amazing ladies from my agency as well as a scout from IMTA who was super sweet and a pleasure to get to meet.

    I’m so excited about this is that I haven’t been able to do a lot of modeling through my agency because I was injured and there hasn’t been much to do. I’m honored to be able to represent Southwest Models and Talent and the biggest modeling and talent showcase in the world. IMTA will be a great opportunity to improve and show myself to agents from all over the world.

    In addition to that, I haven’t been to New York, ever so this will be another adventure for me. It’ll also be another chance for me to add a keychain to my state keychain collection. I’m such a dork, haha.

    Counting down the months New York! 🙂

    New York

     

  • Creative Writing Piece

    In my AP Lang and Comp class, we’ve had creative writing time on Wednesdays since the beginning of school. I feel like outside of this time in class, I haven’t had much time do write because I’ve had a ridiculous amount of homework the past week or two. Yay for not going to bed until 1:30 on most nights! Not really, but anyway, here is my creative writing piece from class. Enjoy!

    The character I was given was Angelica Barner, age 31. She is an astronomer. She enjoys tap dancing, playing her trombone, and has 14 pet ferrets all named after Harry Potter characters.

    “Oh Harry, I can’t tell NASA that I discovered an alien race. They’ll destroy them! Well I know they’ll find out eventually but this is too much to bear right now. I just found out I qualified for the International Professional Trombone Competition and this job with NASA is something I was hired for only a week ago. Now I know being the head of the Pioneer Telescope traveling into Galaxy XS3-1 is a huge responsibility and there’s other people’s jobs riding on my shoulders but is the destruction of another race worth my position at NASA? I don’t know what to do. I’m required to report new findings from the telescope to my director, but I can’t. I simply can’t. Snape, I don’t appreciate the sad ferret eyes right now. Now’s serious time. Something doesn’t seem right about Director Johnson’s whole mission into this new galaxy and if it involves knowing about extraterrestrial life, I won’t let him have it. My funded tap-dancing lessons may be taken away and my job could possibly be as well, but maybe that’ll give me enough time to figure out how to save this alien race. So for now, I’m going to sit here with all my babies on my lap, play a tune on my trombone, and figure out how I’ll protect this alien planet.”

    Have a good week!

  • Marty and Boo the Adorable Two

    In case you didn’t know already, I have two wire-haired bundles of energy named Marty and Boo who are seven and six. I feel like I haven’t written about them as much as I could be and now felt like a good time to write about them.

    We got Marty six days after my tenth birthday and I had never been more excited to get anything in my entire life. He had a little black and orange bow attached to his tiny blue collar and his tail was wagging a hundred miles a minute when he saw us for the first time. We got Marty from a dachshund breeder in Cortez, Colorado and she did an amazing job prepping him to live with us. Marty already knew how to sit, sit pretty, and roll over for belly rubs. He was also potty-trained too which was so helpful for us. Since that first day with our little Mar, he’s been a wonderful, silly, and SUPER smart companion.

    Marty and Boo

    We got Boo a short year and a half later from the same breeder. We knew that Marty was lonely when we left the house, and so getting him a little brother was good decision. Boo was so much smaller than Marty when we first got him and he was the shyest and sweetest little dachshund I ever met. Boo has a really cute little bunch of silver hair on his head that sticks up on its own when it gets long enough and his left ear sits funny. We call it his “awkward ear” and Boo also earned the nickname, Punk Skunk after the silver streak top of his head. Anyways, Boo and Marty have gotten along great and have been the best playmates and brothers ever, even if Marty considers himself alpha around Boo.

    Marty and Boo

    Both Marty and Boo are super smart, cute, and talented. They also have a strong passion for eating. (Who doesn’t?!) Marty and Boo both know how to do the basics like sit, sit pretty, fetch, speak, and so on. Marty also knows how to say my mom’s name and beg for carrots. Boo prefers to bark at my family until he gets what he wants. On top of that, Boo enjoys singing along when I play the piano. He pulls the notes and gets louder and quieter as I do. It’s adorable! They both know the words “squirrel”, “car trip”, “walk”, “up”, and “upstairs” very well. Marty and Boo eat a wide variety of things, including Eukanaba specific breed food (Dachshund), carrots, cheese, celery, cucumbers, spaghetti, chicken, rice, apples, and so much more. I’m pretty sure I could write a solid blog post about all of the things my doggies eat… I’ll save that for later if I ever need to.

    On the way to New Mexico, I decided Marty needed to try on my sunglasses. Definitely a good idea.
    On the way to New Mexico, I decided Marty needed to try on my sunglasses. Definitely a good idea.
    Marty and Boo
    Boo was probably just about to start barking in this picture.

    So that’s Marty and Boo! I’ll probably write more about them in the future so I hope you look forward to that! If you’re interested in getting a furry, four-legged companion, and specifically a dachshund, click here for the link to the breeder that my family and I got Marty and Boo from. I know that their wait list is pretty long for puppies right now, but it’ll definitely be worth the wait if you’re interested. In addition to that, Marty and Boo are on Instagram at martyandboo if you’d like to follow them there.

    image

    Dachshunds are great dogs. They’re super smart, adorable, and active pets. Marty and Boo are two of the most amazing creatures I’ve ever met and I’m so glad to have my fuzzy little boys in my life.

  • Here’s a Few Jokes

    Today marks an important as well as very sad day in American history. Thank you to all of the first responders and those who helped recover people from Ground Zero. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families affected by the tragedy. Never forget. On this day, I’d like to be able to give everyone something to smile about. With that in mind, here’s a few jokes!

    Why did the chewing gum cross the road?

    He was stuck on the bottom of the chicken’s foot.

     

    Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson decide to go on a camping trip. After dinner and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. “Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see. “Watson replied, “I see millions of stars.” “What does that tell you?” Watson pondered for a minute. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets.” “Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo.” “Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.” “Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant.” “Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow.” “What does it tell you, Holmes?” Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke: “Watson, you idiot. Someone has stolen our tent!”

     

    A burglar broke into a home. He heard a soft voice say, “Jesus is watching you.” Thinking it was his imagination, he continued his search. Again, he hears: “Jesus is watching you.” He turned his flashlight around and saw a parrot in a cage. He asked the parrot if he was the one talking. The parrot said, “Yes.” So he asked the parrot his name, and the parrot replied, “Moses.” The burglar asked, “What kind of people would name a parrot Moses? “The parrot replied, “The same kind of people who would name their pit bull, Jesus.”

     

    Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet.

     

    What do you call a fake noodle?

    An impasta!

     

    Me-What mouse walks on two legs?
    Friend- I don’t know.
    Me-Mickey Mouse
    Me-What cat walks on two legs?
    Friend-I don’t know, what cat?
    Me- Tom from Tom and Jerry
    Me-What duck walks on two legs?
    Friend- Daffy Duck!
    Me- No all ducks stupid!

    Have a good week everyone. 🙂

  • Revealing the True Colors of Your Opponent

    For the past few months, I’ve played in a lot of tournaments and seen all kinds of tennis players. Along with those tennis players, came a variety of personalities and attitudes. One thing that frustrates me about some tennis players is their lack of self-control, class, and sportsmanship.

    It’s hard to understand why some girls appear as sweet and friendly when they’re up and turn into jerks when they lose a game or even a single point. As soon as your opponent pulls out their claws, you know you’re in for as show. They start yelling at themselves, hitting themselves, abusing their racket, and using profane language. They lose all sense of control and even begin making bad line calls. They might even start questioning your calls.

    This can be hard to cope with on the court, especially when you’re winning. It can be difficult to keep yourself optimistic when your opponent is acting like an animal. When I played a girl like that in the past few weeks, I struggled to keep the anger that was building inside of me contained. I was able to because I was disciplined and had class, but that wasn’t the case for the girl on the other side of the net. While I may have been winning for a while, I let her ridiculous actions get the best of me and had the match slip from my hands. So what.

    A lesson came from that match and it is something I’ll never forget. Regardless of the outcome, I know I outclassed her and acted like one should on the court. If your opponent begins acting like a monster, ignore it, be yourself, and kill them with kindness. Allow your opponent to dig themselves a hole and self-destruct. Never let that kind of silliness get to you. When you play your best and ignore your opponent’s actions, you’re going to succeed.

    Just remember this, play with class. If you choose to lose self-control and respect for your opponent and yourself, remove the “c” and the “l” and now see what you are.

    revealing the true colors of your opponent and tennis

  • Getting Ready for the School Year

    Summer break is coming to an end for students all over and now it’s time to get back to school. Getting back into a routine for school and being prepared for the school year can be tough. Here are a few ways you can prepare to tackle the 2016-2017 school year.

    Get to know who your teachers are early on. When classes finally start, introduce yourself to your teacher and make a good impression. You want to get started on a good note!

    Get all of your supplies within the first two weeks of school. My sister and I went to get our supplies this past weekend and school doesn’t start for us until this Friday. By now, we both have a pretty good guess as to what we will need as far as notebooks, spiral and composition, folders, binders, and other things go. Teachers will let you know if there’s specific materials you need in class.

    Train yourself to start getting up and going to bed earlier at least a week before classes start. You wouldn’t want to sleep in on the first day! It makes it easier to get up in the morning when you train yourself to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier.

    If you have a special email account for school, make sure you’re able to access it before school starts. Many teachers like to get right to business on the first day. With technology being a big part of our lives today, it’ll be easier on yourself and your teachers if your account can be accessed easily without having to get assistance.

    When you get your schedule, see if you have any classes with friends. It’s always nice to see if you have classes with your friends so you can walk to class and even sit together, as long as there isn’t as seating chart.

    When classes start, start off strong. Do your best to get started on the right foot. Take care of all of the first assignments your teachers give you, stay organized, and if you have questions, it’s better to ask them early on so you don’t get lost or confused.

    Have fun and study hard! School can be miserable sometimes and it can get really frustrating. Just remember that school doesn’t last forever and you’ll want a strong education to be able to go to college or do whatever you want to do with the rest of your life.

    Good luck heading back to school everyone. Have a great week. 🙂

    getting ready for school

     

  • Tennis Etiquette: How to Respect Yourself and Your Opponent

    Sportsmanship is a crucial part of building good character on and off the tennis court. There are times when players cheat or do things that aren’t respectful towards themselves or their opponents. This is true for all sports, but today I am focusing on etiquette in the tennis world. Here are a few ways to show respect for yourself and your opponent on and off the court.

    Don’t trash talk your opponent. Just don’t. You should never talk bad about anybody anywhere and I feel like that is common sense. Still, for some reason, people think it’s alright to make others insecure or unsure of their abilities by talking about them to others in a rude manner.

    Wait to talk about your match until you are somewhere private and quiet. This follows along with the first tip in a way. After you’ve played a match, wait to say anything about it until you’re somewhere quiet and away from your opponent and their family. My family and I always wait to talk about how a match went until we get to the car. Once you get to the car, or wherever you go to, then you can talk about what went well that match and what didn’t. If you had any questions or concerns that weren’t brought up during the match, now would be the time to spill the beans. Still stay away from speaking negatively of your opponent.

    Hand the balls to your opponent during changeovers. I know a lot of girls that will simply just tap the balls into the corner or fence after serving and allow their opponent to go get the balls after getting water. I have nothing wrong with that, but it’s a good idea to be courteous and hand your opponent the balls when you’re close together. As a side note on that, if you chose to hit the balls to your opponent from the other side, hit the balls to them directly so that they don’t have to run for the balls.

    Show up on time. Whether it’s a practice or a match, show up on time. You can receive penalties for showing up late to a match in a tournament, so don’t let that happen! It is disrespectful to the tournament, your opponent, and other players to show up late.

    Know the rules of tennis and abide by them. This is pretty self-explanatory but ignored by many players. Knowing the rules of the game is super important. On top of that, if there is an interruption or interference during a point, call a let. Either you or your opponent can call it. Calling the score loud and making your line calls loud is also important.

    Turn off your cell phone. Most clubs prefer that you don’t bring your cell phone onto the tennis court, but if you do it’s not a big deal as long as it is turned off. You don’t want your phone to become a distraction to you or your opponent.

    Shake your opponent’s hand at the end of the match, make eye contact, and tell them good match. Regardless of the outcome, you need to be a good person and thank your opponent for playing, let them know how the match went, and wish them good luck with their next match if they have one.

    Be kind to yourself. Being the perfectionist I am, I struggle with respecting myself and being kind to myself. If you lose a point don’t yell at yourself or hit yourself in any way. It looks silly when you do this plus you are actually harming your body when you choose to hit yourself. Plus, it becomes obvious to your opponent that they are winning mentally and have the upper-hand. If you do get angry or frustrated with yourself after losing a point, there are other ways to release that anger by tightening your ponytail or gripping your racket tighter. When I start to get frustrated with myself, I do my best to focus on my breathing and getting into a very simple rhythm that can keep my head cool and off of other things.

    This list of tips on how to respect yourself and your opponents on the tennis court could go on forever and I know that there are plenty of things that weren’t mentioned here. Just use common sense when you are on and off the court and think about how you would want to be treated. By choosing to be respectful to yourself and your opponent you will probably have a better experience with tennis and you’ll learn much more about your game, physically and mentally, and also learn about all of the potential you have as a person and tennis player.