Yesterday was tragic, as we lost one of our most looked up to figures in history: Michael Jackson. He was my idol, and meant everything to my life last summer. His music got me through a lot. My boyfriend and I had talked about him during the summer, and witnessed the Internet and news phenomenon of his death. He can teach our generation a lot.
However, yesterday was also my parents' 20th anniversary, so I had to put on a happy face and go out to eat with them. It was a good time. I made a toast to Michael, and ate some delicious nachos. Then it was on to the main course! Fish & chips.
Last night I hopped downtown and visited a delicious cupcake shop. You can pick out your flavor cupcake, frosting, and choice of three sprinkle toppings, add a chilled beverage. I had a nearly private show performed by Derik Nelson and his sister Riana.
I grew up listening to Derik's music and hadn't seen him in 5 years. He was happy to see me again as well!
I couldn't go to his real show a couple weekends ago due to sold out tickets, but was excited when I had some personal time to chat with him.
Since we met and I received his first album personally autographed, he has released four successful albums, one of which is released publicly on iTunes.
Check him out over at his website. You won't be sorry!
Today I went to visit the school I'm thinking about entering in my sophomore year. It was fantastic! The principle was wonderfully welcoming, sweet, and caring about issues I had gone through in the past at public schools.
The school is famous for their Arts programs, and can even help students create ROBOTS. Yes, robots! They have a dark room for photography, they teach web and graphic design, and can even help students work on a novel they might like to write.
The school is based around personal goals and interests, matching them with the right course material. The students get to choose which classes they're interested in taking, and progress on their own curriculum at their own pace.
Since this is such a special program, only about 140 students can enter the school at a given school year, and must pass a series of steps before acceptance. First step: interview. The student sits down with the principle to discuss their past and their future. If the interview goes well, you move on to step two: orientation. If the student finishes the tasks given to them in orientation with nothing below a B, they have passed the test, and are now officially a part of the school.
Using another special program, a Junior may choose to go to a neighborhood College and take some courses to get College credits for the next two years! That's like two years of College courses paid off and gained.
The other unique thing about the school is the fact it's only 4 days a week - we only get Fridays if we're behind in work, or get in trouble with the teachers. We also only go 3 hours a day. Some may say this is odd, they just say this is "tight". There are two blocks: morning and afternoon. Morning session runs from 8:20-11:00 and afternoon session runs from 11:40-2:20. You have to complete 3 hours at home of homework daily in order to keep up with your work, or close to that.
I hope that I have the heart and the strength to do this, because Looord there's going to be a huuge problem on my resume if not!
Hanging out with friends fills me with happiness. It takes a bit of those blues out of my life.
Today I hung out with my friend Emily. We had delicious Thai food for lunch, then we walked up to our favorite bakery and grabbed some yummy dessert. Walked to the park, then down to the lake, and chatted. Took tons of photos.
We made our way over to the Mall and played Glow Golf, which was crazy fun! The bad fact was that I wore a bikini, and my top was the only thing to light up in the room besides my flip-flops.
I found a couple cute shirts at Wet Seal. They were having a sale, Buy One Get One for a Penny. I got two shirts for $10. How great is that?
I needed today. It refreshed me from all the drama that has been happening lately.
I was up all night editing the template, it was driving me crazy. GAHH!
After a week, I've finally found the template I'm going to stick with (for now, at least)...
School is out!! I sadly didn't pass my classes, though I still made it through my freshman year. YAY for online schooling!
Next year I might be going to a public program. They break the school day into two blocks. One is from 9AM-12PM, and the other 12PM-3PM. I'd pick the morning session, just because I'm more productive in the early hours. Over the years I've transitioned to an Early Bird, rather than a Night Owl. Either way, I'm just as content.
The past few mornings have been all-nighters, which consist of uncontrollable laughter, a few sad cries and lots & lots of sugar and memories. I reconnected with a best friend, whom I had dated for 8 months, and we made our final beginning. Yesterday we started fresh, and are hoping to meet this November or December to complete our once very troubled, yet inspiring relationship.
This was a random blog post that I know will piss you off because it is not my regular style of blogging. But too bad, because I am laid back this summer! Ready for Bridgette's Diary summer 2009 blogging? I sure am! I'll have many trips, new experiences, and lots and LOTS of photos to share with you all.
I was devastated to discover the blog post that everybody raved about was deleted during my revamp of Bridgette's Diary. Yes, it was the 'How to Create a Successful Blog' post. However, I've redone it and made it a bit better!
Musts:
1. Use correct grammar and spelling Make sure to always spell correctly, or use spell check if need be. Make sure your grammar as a blogger is also up-to-date. It's not pleasant to read a blog that says something like "My friend and me went to the Market today: it was fun." It's okay if you make mistakes; nobody's perfect!
2. Blog "Hop" "Blog hopping" is when a blogger visits other people's blogs and leaves comments/gathers links to add to their blog. Make sure to add a separate subdomain or sidebar list of your favorite blogs, so they gain traffic and you're possibly added to their list to gain traffic of your own. Every time you leave a comment on somebody's blog post, be sure to link your website URL to your name, so users can click over to your site if they're interested in hearing more from you.
3. Use subdomains If creating your own domain name for your blog, don't only use the homepage. Get creative with subdomains (ex: www.about.bridgettesdiary.com) and share your talents. It's funner to hear from somebody that has more to say than their daily life irony and reviews.
4. Advertise and get paid Using Google's Adsense is okay, but using PayPerPost is even better. Get paid to blog about companies and products. Even let them spot out your blog on their own if they want! PayPerPost has its many advantages, and it's an easy way to make some pocket money in no time.
5. Photography You don't have to be a pro photographer, but at least buy a $100-$200 camera and take some shots for each post. You'll be highly respected by your viewers when they find a beautiful new picture on your blog that you have taken especially for them.
6. Uniqueness and Inspiration Though anyone can make a lifestyle blog like mine, what makes it unique is your special life experiences and outlooks. My inspiration comes from many of my friend bloggers and world famous blogger Karen Cheng. It's important to use a common environment that your viewers feel comfortable in, but think outside the box with your design and what you post.
No-nos:
1. Cboxes or unusual widgets Tacky and not fun at all. If you want to be more user-friendly and "trendy" (unprofessional), go ahead. They can be fun for casual bloggers, but not for bloggers like me who are in the middle and gain respect for their career talents.
2. Smileys I can't stand reading blogs with smileys. Try using creative writing to express what you feel while using the smileys. It's much more original and less childish. Unique writing and phrases get you a long way. Smileys are bold and can mess up paragraphs.
3. Comments While comments can be a great discussion prop, they can cause conflict and aren't all that important in gaining traffic for your website. Be cautious when choosing whether to keep or rid comments on your blog posts.
Myths:
1. It doesn't matter what you blog about. In fact, it does a great deal matter what you blog about. You never know who could be taking a peak at your website. A future employee, a co-worker, even a teacher or a parent. I know my parents read my blog and are proud of my writing, but therefore I'm also very careful about what I post.
2. Blogging costs me money. No, it doesn't! If you want your own domain name (.com, .org), you do need to pay a small price of $10-$30 per year. Most bloggers start out on sites like Wordpress.com or Blogger.com, and then convert to Wordpress.org. Some choose to make it even more small on LiveJournal or VOX. All are great, but I'd suggest Blogger for newcomers.
3. Blogging is for people with the gift. There is no "gift" of blogging. You're not born to blog. You're born to write, however, and the people with writing skills are more prone to get the most readers and fans on their blogs. If you have something important to say and you know how to word it right, you can most definitely blog.
I hope this post helps you bloggers just getting started! These are the words of experience.
When I started blogging on Bridgette's Diary in September of 2008, I never noticed how big of a hit the website would become. It was a personal blog for me to joke about silly infatuations, obsessions and opinions. It morphed into a magazine-like, theme blog, that began to make profit and gain fans.
I took my readers through a whirl-wind of fun stuff. Everything from my new herb garden to painting my bedroom. From passing my skating tests, to becoming a stellar student. My life was documented on Bridgette's Diary. Now with entries only dating back to May 2009 and older posts here and there, I have a new life ahead of me. One that's filled with spontaneous surprises and lustful longings. I'm a new woman now, and I'm opening you up to a whole other part of my life.
Some things you should know about Bridgette's Diary:
a). It's not only a personal blog. It holds recipes, advice entries, figure skating montages and poetry.
b). It has a unique category '79 Things' which was created after the book 97 Things to do Before You Finish High School. Read more about it here.
c). It's a crazy, dysfunctional, hyper, sexual, rebelling, mature and inspiring read.
Hello, and welcome to my website. I'm Kathryn. I am nearing my 16th birthday. This is my personal blog, along with some of my favorite creative video montages and poems! Click here to read more...
