Category: Making a Difference

Spreading Some Happiness
Photo by Matt Flores on Unsplash

I hope you’ve all had a decent week. Things have been different and intense and strange but we’re all still here and that’s what matters. This week, I’d just like to spread and share some happiness. We could all use some in times like this. 🙂

I talked about this a bit in my post last week, regarding all of the negativity I dealt with at the grocery stores and Costco, but just to say it again, please make sure you’re kind to those around you. Please, pay it forward and be a kind person.

I can speak for Colorado when I say that we’re in a stay-home order, so for most of us, the only people we truly interact with are family members. And it can be tough to see the same people so often in such close quarters. Cabin fever may be setting in, or maybe it already has, wherever you are. If that’s the case, maybe you feel like you’re going a little crazy and you’re starting to feel irritated. I hope that’s not the case but if it is, there’s a couple of things you can do:
- Talk out what’s bugging you. It’s better to share than ball up your feelings and thoughts. Happiness doesn’t have to be the only emotion you feel, but you also shouldn’t constantly feel frustrated, annoyed, and all of those other negative feelings and emotions.
- Plan activities with your family. With my family, we’ve been planning walks and movie nights and Just Dance tournaments on our Switch and various other little fun things we can all do together so that we enjoy our time together and have a chance to let loose and burn off any negative feelings or emotions.
- Find something nice (and genuinely nice) to say to someone or find something you can help with. Cleaning always puts me in a better mood, so if you’re like me, try that! You’ll feel good for sure, and maybe that’ll lift the moods of those around you too. Complimenting and lifting others always improves the moods of others too. We’re here to get through this together, not bring each other down.
- Going off of the helping thing in the last point, just ask what you can do around the house. If you’re not preoccupied with other things, ask what needs to be done around the house and help take care of it! In times like this, it’s important to be helpful and do what you can to support those around you.
On a more general note, if you have the opportunity to get outside the house and go for a walk, please remember to stay at least six feet apart from others and cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. And please wash your hands for at least twenty seconds with warm water and soap too. 🙂 Say hello to others if you get a chance.

And if you’re not able to go out, hang in there! You’ve made it this far! We’ll get through this together. 🙂

Read books. Hang out with family. Clean the house. Walk. Exercise. Rest. Do your homework. Smile. This will not last forever. Wherever you all are, I hope that you are well and that you are taking care of yourself and your families. This too shall pass and I really hope we all see the light at the end of this tunnel soon. Stay positive, stay in this together, and we’ll see the end of this soon. Spread some happiness, spread some kindness. See you next Sunday. And also enjoy these cute animals while you’re here. 🙂
March 29, 2020
Hello, Quito

Hola y bienvenidos a mi blog! Hoy, vamos a hablar de…I’m just kidding haha. I don’t think I could do an entire post in Spanish. I could, maybe on a very basic level, but I’m not sure that you’re all here for that kind of blog. Anyway! This week I’m going to be talking about the first city we stayed in during my study abroad from January 2nd to the 15th. Quito! The capital of Ecuador!

If you haven’t read my post on all of my journals summing up my Ecuador trip, I recommend maybe doing that before you read this post, just so you get a general idea of everything I did. Or if that’s all you want to read about my time in Ecuador, you can read that too, by clicking HERE! 🙂 You won’t be totally lost if you don’t though. On with the show!

What a wonderful way to start off my trip to Ecuador. We arrived super late on the 2nd after an entire day of traveling. My first time through customs wasn’t as scary as I honestly imagined it being. The man just asked how long I will stay, and I couldn’t remember how to say fourteen days in Spanish, so I told him “Two weeks (dos semanas)!” and called that good. My first stamp is looking pretty cute in my passport. 🙂

When we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express we stayed at downtown, my roommates and I practically all crashed. That may or may not be a theme of mine for this trip, haha. The next morning, January 3rd, we had an early breakfast at our hotel and then it was off to the Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante, which is a school run by a group of nuns. The place was entirely self-sustaining, so all of the food they needed was right there for them. In addition to that, they also double as a safe place and home for children who come from abusive homes. At Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante, we helped weed in the areas where farming happened so that they could plant more vegetables and herbs too. We also had the opportunity to teach English to the kids who were in class at the time. Another student and I had the opportunity to go and teach English toward the end of our time at the school, and let me tell you, it was not easy. One of the things I learned during this part of the trip is that I really wish I had taken more opportunities to learn Spanish in high school. I learned quite a bit, but what I knew still wasn’t enough. The kids most definitely wanted to communicate and I wanted to communicate back, but it was difficult. Sometimes, I felt like a fool, if I’m being completely honest. In the end though, I was more focused on just being able to make the kids smile and enjoy their company overall.

After about three hours of work at the school, we went back to downtown Quito for lunch at this super cute place, Patio Andaluz. Our first of many wonderful meals happened at this place. My addiction to blackberry juice also began this day, haha.

With full stomachs, our tour of Quito then began. We saw the president’s estate, the main plaza, and many beautiful, tight streets lined with brightly colored buildings that were both homes and shops. Locals walked around will platters filled with meringue treats which looked delicious and every chance they had, they wanted to sell us something. We also visited a beautiful cathedral during our tour of Quito. With the help of our wonderful guide, we were allowed into the church and even got to climb up to the roof and see a wonderful city view. I can now say that I’ve been on top of a church before. Literally, the very top. After this, we visited another spot where we could see all of Quito. It was beautiful and also really cool to look out and see how the building climbed up the Andes Mountains and then suddenly stopped.

Our first busy day in Quito concluded with a wonderful dinner at this place not too far from the hotel called Restaurante Achiote. The food was great, yet again, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the dessert which was figs dipped in black sugar and cheese. It was different, that’s for sure. A lot of the people on my trip really wanted to go out that night, so we went to this area deemed “Gringoland” and found a bar. I got some good old bottled water while everyone else drank. One of the things I learned to be extremely grateful for that night was the no smoking policy that a lot of places have in the United States. There was a man smoking behind me and let me just say my asthma wasn’t too pleased with that. My first experience in a bar was an interesting one, that’s for sure.

The next day in Quito, we were back at Fundacion Cristo Misionero Orante. We helped paint the wall outside the school to cover up the graffiti and also did some more weeding. If I can’t put that I’m a professional weeder on my resume at this point, I’m going to be very disappointed. Just kidding. It was REALLY hot that day and I am so glad that I brought some water, sunscreen, and a hat with me that day.

After our time at the school again, we headed to Hacienda Herlinda for lunch. The food was fantastic, again and after that we visited El Mitad del Mundo, or the middle of the world. Here I got to experience the wackiness that is the equator and now I can proudly say that I’ve been in both hemispheres at once! Fun times. With another busy day practically over, it was back to the hotel. We later had dinner (at a place that I can’t remember and appear to not have written about in my notes) and then went and got brownies at this place called Sweets and Coffee, which to me, seems like the Starbucks of Ecuador. It was a cute little place! Everyone wanted to go out again that night, but I was getting a headache, so I called it a night.

And just like that, our time in Quito was over and we were onto our next city, the one I was most excited for, Otavalo. Save the drama for your llama and I’ll see you all next Sunday!

January 26, 2020
The 2020 Miss Colorado USA Pageant

Just woke up in Greeley. And how fitting, the wallpaper was literally just a bunch of cows. 🙂

This is definitely a Monday post. Sunday was too much. I had an organic chemistry exam this morning too and that was too much. Anyway! This past weekend I had the opportunity to compete in the Miss Colorado USA 2020 pageant. Those of you that have been around will recall that I also competed last year. Yipee!

My mom, sister, and I arrived in Greeley on Friday night and from there, the weekend flew by. I competed in interview, swimsuit, and evening gown and also got to be on stage for a big introduction which was super fun. This year I wore a yellow (maybe more on the orange side though) two-piece swimsuit (eeeeee) and for evening gown, my dress was very sparkly and gold. I will post more pictures of all of my outfits to this post when they come in. 🙂 Or I can make a separate post about that. Just let me know what you all would prefer!

In my interview, I talked with the judges quite a bit about my published academic work on Pyrrhura molinae (aka Bobo and his green cheek conure crew) and kickboxing. They asked about Hawaii and I shared a lot. It went really well. I also got to be in the room BY MYSELF because the girl before me dropped the pageant which was sad. More time for the judges to listen to me though I guess.

Out of the entire weekend, I feel like swimsuit was my favorite to compete in. I was absolutely terrified to go out on stage wearing a two-piece swimsuit but in the end, I was proud of myself for doing that. I don’t know many other people that would do something like that! I’ve been working incredibly hard to get my body to a place that I’m proud of and I’m still not quite where I want to be but I am incredibly proud of myself for coming to where I am after being injured for so long.

It was so fun to meet so many other amazing young ladies and I wish them all the absolute best in everything they do. It always feels so good to be around so many other good people. In addition to this, I would like to thank Future Productions fo putting another fun and flawless weekend and show! It has been wonderful getting to know your staff and getting to work with you all. I would also like to congratulate the new Miss Colorado USA, Emily DeMure. You crushed it, girl! You’re going to be amazing. 🙂 If you’re interested in checking out the pageant, check out the official website!

Now the question comes, will I compete again? I’m really not sure. I had fun and I’ve enjoyed being at Miss Colorado for the past two years, but after being extremely stressed about school the entire weekend, I don’t know if I want to put myself through that again. Yes, I still had a wonderful time, but school is also incredibly important to me. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Have a wonderful week everyone! And to those of you that are also in Colorado, stay warm! We’re about to get some cold, cold weather and snow! 🙂 Woohoo! See you next Sunday.

October 28, 2019
My Vision for the World
There are a lot of ways in which our world is in a great place. There’s better access to medicine and treatments for people all over the world. People are living longer. The quality of life for many has improved. While all of this and more is true, there are also plenty of ways in which our world needs improvement. There’s so much hate. People are so sensitive nowadays. No one listens to anyone. People are more worried about themselves and their stupid online profiles than how they actually appear in real life.

There’s a lot of things I wish I had the power to do on my own to make this world a better place for all. I know that I can’t individually change the world, but I know that with the help of people like you (thanks for being here!), we can make the world more of what we want it to be. For this world, I see:
- No hate. Be good to one another, please.
- Kindness. The header on my home page says it… Have courage and be kind. 🙂 Please share this message. I keep this in mind every day. I think it’s so important.
- Celebration of differences. We’re all beautiful and wonderful individuals. We need to take time to recognize this more often.
- Good education for all. Knowledge is power. By being educated, we all make better decisions and have a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
- Self-love, and when I say this I mean the healthy kind! It’s important to appreciate yourself for who you are. It’s important to love your body for what it is. You’re perfect for who you are and there’s absolutely no need to compare yourself to others because everyone is different!
- Less talking and more doing. People, take action if you see something you don’t like! If there’s something you know you can help change, go out and make that change!
- Respect for all. Even if you disagree with a person and their opinions, you should respect them. Be professional and work with people even if you don’t get along. You can hate them all you want, but when you’re around them, you should be respectful, caring, and pleasant.
- Good health. Mentally, physically, and emotionally!
- Healthy relationships for all.
- No anger. Selena Gomez says it best in her song, Kill em’ with Kindness. “No war in anger was ever won.”
- Peace. If there was less anger and less fighting we could have this. Agreeing to disagree would also help us have a more peaceful world.
- Honesty. I feel like if we all stopped trying to please everyone by telling white lies every so often, the world would be a better place. With honesty, I think it’s also important that we all learn to be true to ourselves! Honesty is something very important to me and I feel like I’ve made myself a better person by being as honest as I am with myself and others.
- More smiling. When I become an orthodontist later in life, I hope that I can help people feel good about themselves and smile more. In addition to this, I just want more happiness in the world. We could all use some more happiness.
- Gratitude. Tying back to my Thanksgiving posts, we all need to be more thankful for everything we have. There is SO much to be thankful for.
- Unity. If we all celebrated our differences, learned that it’s ok to disagree, and had some respect for one another, I think that we could be a more united world.
- Love. Mark 12:30-31: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.
As I said earlier, I think the world we live in is a pretty amazing place but there’s so much potential for it to be even better for everyone. I hope you keep these things in mind and find little ways in which you can make a difference in the lives of those around you. I hope you can find ways to make the world around you the world you want it to be. Have a great week everyone 🙂
December 2, 2018
I Love COMOM

All rights for this image go to the Colorado Mission of Mercy (COMOM).

Yesterday, my mom and I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at the Colorado Mission of Mercy, also known as COMOM. COMOM is a dental event that occurs annually and provides free dental care to those who cannot afford or access it. From dentures and flippers to extractions to basic cleanings and oral hygiene information, COMOM does a wonderful job getting people the help they need.

My mom and I volunteered in the oral hygiene education department, so we were responsible for educating people on how to care for their extraction sites and how to care for their mouth in general. We discussed proper brushing and flossing techniques, the best products to use, and addressed any questions that patients had.

As a pre-dental student, I was worried that I wouldn’t know enough to help the patients. I’m very thankful to have a mom in the dental field because she has taught me so much about everything, so I feel like I was educated enough to provide patients with proper home care instructions and advice. So many of the people were so grateful and I just hope that I was able to give them enough information to take care of themselves and improve their dental health. I imagine that many of the patients are unable to regularly see a dentist or afford one, so for some of them, COMOM is the only dental help they receive.

It’s saddening to know that some people can’t even afford dental help and I wish that there were ways to make dental care more affordable for all. Everyone deserves to feel good about their smile and I’m glad that at least COMOM can give people that opportunity. There were so many good people, doctors and patients, and it was incredibly humbling to be around so many good people.

At COMOM, there were so many oral surgeons, hygienists, dentists, dental assistants and students, and other dental specialists who dedicated their time to volunteer and I thank each and every one of them for being there. A big event like COMOM would never function without the organization and help of all the volunteers. Some people wouldn’t get the dental help they need without COMOM, so I’m very glad to know that something as amazing as the Colorado Mission of Mercy exists.

If you live in Colorado and are interested in dentistry, I highly recommend volunteering at this wonderful event. Next year, COMOM will be in Glenwood Springs on October 4th and 5th, so if you are available, please consider helping out. If you would like to learn more about COMOM and their mission, please check out their website.

I look forward to helping out at COMOM in the years to come. I know that it makes such a difference in the lives of many and it’s great to know that so many people benefit from it. There is so much to be thankful for in life and I ask you all to keep this in mind as you move along in your lives. Have a wonderful week. 🙂

November 4, 2018
Last Week of School!

We are finally here! Finals week, whoop whoop. But then again, that means four days of more stress and awful tests, but it’s fine.

Looking back on junior year, it. was. hard. I’m not even joking. I remember being a sophomore and thinking that junior year was going to be easy-peezy. I was very wrong. I remember talking to some of my junior friends and asking them about junior year. Some of them said it was going to be easy. Most of them said it was going to be easy, now that I think about it. Haha, they were wrong too. I did take three AP classes, so I guess that factored into the difficulty of the year but still. Oh, man was that rough.

I spent so many nights crying and studying and crying some more. I had so many headaches and I’ve never seen myself more sleep-deprived in my life. I didn’t cry because of friend drama or anything like that, I was actually crying over my homework. I had a wheelbarrow of it every night, it felt like. But other than dealing with the academic stress, this year was actually the best. I had so much fun.

I was in multiple organizations and clubs at school and those helped make my year amazing. I was healthy this year for high school tennis and finally got to play singles, won first in my region, and got to go to state for a third year in a row! Yay. 🙂 I was in NHS and had fun working with different volunteer groups to make my community a better place. In BLUE Crew, which is a group that helps the incoming freshmen transition, I enjoyed getting to know my little ninth-grade nuggets and guide them on the start of their high school journey. In student council, I had a blast planning events and I feel honored to be able to serve as one of the three co-presidents on the executive board for next year. I also was a part of Circle of Friends which is a club that partners students with students in the intensive care learning. I got to eat lunch with one of the sweetest and most amazing kids for the past two years now. I never saw myself doing anything like that, but now it’s something I’m passionate about and look forward to every week. The kid I eat lunch with has brought a whole new perspective of life to my life and I’m so thankful for the opportunities I had junior year. I’ll get to serve as one of the presidents for Circle of Friends next year too, and I’m pumped to do that as well.

I kept the friends I’ve made over the past couple of years, grown close with some, and even made new friends that I look forward to spending senior year with. It’s insane that I’m going to be a senior soon. I helped escort yesterday at my high school’s graduation and it’s so hard to believe that I will be graduating next year. AHH!

And so I should probably leave this post here, because I need to go finish studying for my physics final. Have a good week and best of luck to everyone taking finals! 🙂

May 21, 2017
Carpe Futurum

Carpe Futurum- seize the future. For my leadership conference I will be attending during the presidential inauguration, we had the opportunity to post a video on YouTube answering a question given to us. I chose to answer the question of “What does carpe futurum mean to me?”.

To me, carpe futurum means to take advantage of the opportunities you are given and never be afraid to take chances.

In my video, I mentioned the opportunity I have this summer to attend IMTA with my modeling and talent agency. Of course I took the opportunity because I know that it’ll be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Attending IMTA will boost my confidence, help me gain different leadership skills, as I will learn how to observe and listen to people in a different way. I will also better develop my communication skills in a professional, more business-like manner. The opportunity with this leadership summit I will be attending also applies to carpe futurum. I know that I want to be in charge of my own dental or medical practice some day and the skills I’ve learned throughout my years in school and in student council as well as what I learn in this summit will prepare me to be the person I see myself as in my future.

Have a good week everyone!

December 11, 2016
A Holiday Letter to Readers…

It’s that special time of year! Every year my family sends out a Christmas letter to family and friends updating them on how we’re doing and our journey throughout the year. My dad always writes the letter and he does a great job making it entertaining and worth reading. I figured I might write my readers a holiday letter, so here goes!

Dear readers,

This year has been quite an adventure! Those adventures ranged from making new friends and being with family and old friends to having surgery on my ankle and other crazy events.

My sister is a freshman and I am a sophomore in high school. We’re both doing well school and keeping up good grades. I’m glad to be at the same school as my sister again. Go Eagles! We are each other’s best friends and we get along well. My two dogs Marty and Boo, are still running around, barking, singing to the piano, and being the most adorable dachshunds I’ve ever met. They enjoy begging for carrots and whatever else they can get to eat from my grandma who is visiting us from the Republic of Georgia.

My parents are keeping busy with work and running my sister from practice to practice. My mom is working as a dental hygienist and selling her children’s book Lola and Sir Germs-a-lot. There may be a few more books coming out soon, so keep an eye out on Amazon or Xlibris. My dad is working from home with business and economic research. He also coaches my sister and I in tennis and is busy working with my sister and getting her to club volleyball practices. As mentioned earlier, my grandma from Georgia (not the state) is staying with us for a few months. She is a wonderful, sweet person and it’s been great having her with us the past few months.

This year has been filled with some lows but mostly highs. I had to have surgery on my ankle to resolve some issues I had with it and that caused me to miss another season of high school volleyball which was a bummer but I was able to really focus on school and take time to recover. Because of my ankle issues, I was able to meet some really amazing people that I now consider good, close friends that I hope I can keep in touch with for a long time. My birthday this year was my sweet 16 and it was a good, memorable day. I made some new and really good friends at school this year and I feel like I’ve been able to make a difference in my community through sports, school, and my blog.

My blog hit over 2,500 views this year and that means a lot to me. I’m glad that people are reading my blog and I hope that you all enjoy reading it! I hope that my blog is something you look forward to reading and it encourages you to try something new or learn about something you didn’t know how to do or didn’t know about.

My ankle is recovering well, I know the rest of the school year is going to be great, and I’m looking forward to high school tennis season! I wish you Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year.

With love,

Ana Horvath

December 6, 2015
How to Be a Babysitter

For about a month, I’ve been pretty busy babysitting. Being a babysitter requires social skills, time, responsibility, and creativity. Babysitting is extremely fun and I enjoy doing whatever I can to help others, so it’s something I’m doing more and more often.

I wrote this blog post for a school assignment and I thought it would be good to share with you all. Here are a few tips on how to be a great babysitter. Just kidding, these are actually some very sarcastic tips on how to be a babysitter. Enjoy!

Congrats newly minted babysitter!

Welcome to the wonderful world of babysitting! Here are a few tips on how to succeed in the babysitting industry:

1. Don’t exchange information with the parents. When you first arrive at the house, the parents will mostly likely ask for your phone number and maybe your email. Don’t give them your information and never ask for their’s. You don’t want them scamming you and remember the rules with stranger danger.

2. If you are babysitting when the kids have to go to sleep, tell them scary stories before bed. Make sure it’s scary to the point that the child is screaming and possibly crying. Kids love stories before bed, and by telling them a scary story, you accomplish another task on your babysitting list.

3. Feed the kids a bunch of candy and sugary foods. Most children love sweet treats like candy, cookies, and ice cream so give them what they love! You’ll be extremely popular with the little ones and watching them bounce off of the walls can be very entertaining.

4. Make yourself at home. A majority of parents will tell you to “make yourself at home” which basically means “get comfortable and do whatever makes you feel at home”. Eat the food, watch some T.V., and even sleep in the parents’ bed if that makes you feel at home. If you really feel like making the house feel like your own, change up the place a little and let our your inner interior designer.

5. Show the kids where all of the dangerous items are. By telling the children where the dangerous items are, they will be aware of them. Make sure the objects are visible and easy to reach just in case the kids need to defend themselves or use any of the items.

6. Leave all of the doors and windows open. Leaving the windows and doors open allows for fresh air to circulate throughout the house. Also, everyone on the outside can observe what is going on inside the house, and you, the fearless and protective babysitter, can observe everything that is happening outside so you can protect the kids.

7. Introduce the concept of procrastination to the kids if they have homework. Homework isn’t important until the night before it’s due, so emphasize that to the children. Procrastinating will improve the kids’ performance in school because performing under stress forces kids to work harder to get their homework done.

8. If the family you’re babysitting for has pets, leave the doggy door or cat door closed. The doggy door or cat door is the only way a pet can escape, so by closing off their only way of escape, you prevent them from running away.

9. Respond to every phone call the house receives. The parents don’t need any messages. You’re there to answer the phone so you will answer and make decisions for the parents.

10. Remember that YOU are in charge. You are the one getting paid, so you need to make it crystal-clear to the parents that they pay you the amount you want to be paid, you will do what you want, their children will follow your rules, and the parents arrive at home when you tell them to. If you tell the parents to be home at 9 pm, and they say they’re running late and will be there at 9:45, get out of there. The kids were your responsibility until 9 and after that, they aren’t your problem.

Good luck!

October 18, 2015
A Note to Incoming Freshmen…

School is starting back up. Yay? I remember coming in as a freshman into high school was a very new and overwhelming experience. So here’s a letter to all of the incoming freshmen. Even if you aren’t going to be an incoming freshman, you might be able use some of this advice.

Dear Incoming Freshmen,

Going into high school can be kind of scary and intimidating and overwhelming, especially on the first day, but you’ll get used to it. You might have trouble finding your classes at first and a hard time with your locker combo but like I said earlier, you’ll learn the tricks and remember what you need to, and everything will be okay. And if you don’t have problems with any of that stuff, then good for you! You really know what you’re doing. 🙂 The sophomores and upperclassmen might be intimidating and scary and mean, but they were once in your position and know exactly what you’re going through. They are actually pretty nice, helpful, and good to be around, once you get to personally know them.

Make sure you study hard and work hard in all of your classes. Take notes, ask questions, and try your hardest on everything. A lot of students think it’s okay and cool to put little effort into projects and papers. They think it’s cool to ditch class and “go to the bathroom” to hang out with friends. Honestly, it looks silly and kind of embarrassing. Think about it this way, is it more impressive to have good grades and be successful in school or be to known as the “cool” kid who never works hard in class, doesn’t turn in papers and homework, and ditches to go to Starbucks, or wherever people go when they ditch? In the end, all of your hard work will pay off and you can do whatever you want to do with your life. If you work hard in school, you can go to a good college, and then have a solid job and good life. Nothing comes just like that.

Also, be yourself. You probably hear this a lot these days. “Be yourself”, “don’t be afraid to show who you really are”, and “don’t listen to what others have to say about you” are all pretty common things said these days, especially to teens who are figuring out who they are. In high school, most people are figuring out who they are and what they want to do with their lives. You might already know what you want to do with your life and you might not, and either way is okay. People will pressure you to become something and do certain things like ditch class or cheat and things like that. If you want to take that road, no one’s stopping you. If you don’t want to do that, then say no and stand up for what you want to do and what you think is right. Joining clubs or sports in school are good ways to meet people you want to be around. If you want to wear sweatpants and a t-shirt everyday, then you do that or if you want to join theater or do sports then you do that. To sum this huge paragraph all up, you shouldn’t feel pressured to be something you aren’t. Do what you feel is right and, well, be yourself.
And of course, have fun. Enjoy every moment and make the most of it!

Sorry if this note turned into a pretty long letter! Haha. I know all of you will do well your freshman year. I wish you all the best of luck with this year and the rest of your high school career. Make the most of your year, class of 2019! Good luck incoming freshmen!

Best of luck,

Ana Horvath

August 23, 2015