CARIBOU.

Currently, I am inside Caribou pretending to work on my APUSH project. But, I sort of need a study break, so I thought I'd write a little something in my blog :)

Lately, I've been feeling really frustrated with people in my generation. I feel like people aren't communicating face to face anymore. Or even talking on the phone that much! It's all facebook and texting. Sometimes a quick text can be useful. Or, if you want to tell your friend something that isn't that important, write it on their facebook wall. I can appreciate that, and I know I do it all the time. But I really hate how communication over the internet has spread to relationships with the opposite sex. These impersonal methods of communication can be really difficult to decipher. You can't tell how a person is really feeling with a message of 160 characters. Even with my girlfriends, sometimes by their punctuation I get the impression that they are mad at me, when in fact, they're just feeling lazy and don't want to have about 10 million smiley faces in the message. But facebook/texting flirting just really pisses me off.

I will be the FIRST to admit that I have texting anxiety. With the quickness that messages can be sent, you expect a speedy reply. But, that may not always be the case. When I am texting a boy I like and don't get an immediate response (probably because they aren't with their phone 24/7) I get nervous that they don't want to talk to me, or think my message is awkward and then I feel all self-conscious and freak out. It's bad, but it happens. And I know I'm not the only one with this problem.

There is also the smiley face issue. I'm naturally a really smiley person and therefore like to add a lot of smileys to my text messages. But, when you're texting a boy, that can come across as being super flirty. Which, can be a good thing sometimes. But, it also can send the wrong message. Sometimes, I want to send smiley faces like I would to any of my girlfriends, but then guys think I'm trying to flirt, when really, I'm not.

And, the being on the internet or texting can give you a sense of confidence when talking to a guy/girl you like. You may not talk to a person at school at all, but text all the time. And that just makes school awkward when you see them 'cause you want to talk in person, but have a complete cyber relationship. NOT COOL.

The truth is, texting (a member of the opposite gender) is just confusing. It may mean a lot to you to be texting a boy you like, but to them, it's just texting. I know I do it too. I mean, I text boys all the time, but that doesn't mean I like them. But if they like me, stuff can get messy. Texting someone really doesn't mean anything more than friendship. And flirting over text is just awkward. And impersonal. So here's my solution.

Guys, if you like a girl, CALL HER! It shows that you actually want to talk to her live and know what she's thinking. You can talk to people on a much deeper level. And, it also shows courage. Girls don't get phonecalls from guys everyday and it makes her feel special. You know what else is great? Writing notes telling people how you feel. It is less pressure that talking to someone live, but people don't handwrite notes very often anymore, and that also shows people you care. A love note is something you can keep forever. If you do it right, a girl probably will :)

 Overall, I think texting can be good, sometimes. But don't let that be the only way you talk to someone.

MY FIRST POST.

So, it's Sunday and I am supposed to be doing homework. Or cleaning because my grandparents are coming over for dinner. But I decided that I should make a blog instead :) Productive, huh? Yeah, not so much. But I've always been curious about this blogging business. It kind of fascinates me. But I love stuff on the Internet. Like twitter. Twitter is great. I follow all these really random people who tweet hilarious stuff all the time. Like, I follow FactsAboutBoys (which I realized makes me sound like a dumb shallow teenage girl, which I promise, I'm not) and sometimes they tweet stuff that actually makes me feel better, like how I should wait for love and all that. Which, considering all the drama I have been through with a certain boy who shall remain nameless, has been really helpful. Anyway, I digress. Blogging. I don't really know what to post, I mean I've never done this before and I kind of feel like I'm in the dark. But I guess I should start by telling you a little bit about me.

So, let's start with the basics. Hi! I'm Greta and I'm a junior at Wayzata High School. I run cross country, which I absolutely adore. I just discovered myself as a runner last year and I've really been turned on by the sport. I also am a Nordic skier, which I am not quite as crazy about. I mean, I like it enough, but it's only fun with friends to motivate you. And, I don't know if you've noticed, but it gets really freaking cold in the winter in Minnesota. I am also a band kid. I play flute in the marching band and regular symphonic band or whatever. I have really mixed emotions about band. I love it, sometimes. And I'm not particularly passionate about the flute, or I wasn't. But now I am a little bit more after having this one incredibly private lesson teacher. Anyway, regardless of how I feel about the flute, I LOVE music. A lot. I love listening to music and discovering new artists. Lately I've been more into jazz and classical music. I just uploaded a CD of piano songs onto my iPod and it's been lovely to listen too. But, I pretty much love all music. I mean, I guess I'm not wild about heavy metal or anything, but I'm not picky. I really like alternative stuff like Ben Folds- he's one of my favorite singers, his album with Nick Hornby is incredible! But I also really like pop music- Michael Jackson is also one of my favorite singers ever. And I'm not gonna lie, some rap and hip-hop is really good pump up music. I also LOVE Michael Franti & Spearhead. I guess that's reggae? I don't know but I really just love anything with a good beat. I love to dance, too. I mean, not like competitive dance or anything. I like to dance around like a fool in my room :) Honestly, whenever I hear music, I want to dance. It's like there's something inside of me, making me move. I'm not saying I move well, I've been told I kind of embarrass myself when I dance. But I love to do it, so it's not stopping me. I also love to sing, too. I'm kind of self-conscious of my voice, but I like to sing, and I sing loud. At practice or hanging out with my friends or at home, I am always singing. And I belt it out, man. There's an old boy scout saying, "If you can't sing well, sing loud!" And I am definitely a follower of that philosophy. :)
That's kind of who I am at school, but I also am super passionate about my church youth group. I've gotten really close with a lot of great people from church. And what's nice about them is you know they have similar morals and values as you. I don't know where I stand on my faith really, I've been sort of struggling with that lately, and a blog is definitely not the place to talk about it. However, my youth group has gotten me through a lot of tough stuff, and I know that a lot of the friends I have made through it are here to stay. :)
My family is also super important to me. I love my family more than life itself. My mom is the most amazing woman on planet earth and she has really been there for me lately as I deal with being a teenager, which can really suck, by the way. My dad is great, too. He and I are so similar. We are both really into lists and being organized and all that. My mom and brother are on the more artsy side and don't really keep as organized. But I am really close with everyone in my family, especially my little brother. He's one of my best friends. I can tell him anything and he is really honest with me too. We have a great relationship.

Anyway, I guess that is a little bit about me! I definitely want to post more stuff on this blog once I figure out what the heck I am doing!

-Greta Marie