School Essentials

So yesterday was my first day of school and it was pretty crazy!

This year we have two major projects, the US History Paper and an English Project that explores what you believe and what it means to be an American among other things that you have to write a paper on and design two pieces of art that describe you.  I'll keep y'all updated on how this goes as I get closer to the due dates, but these two projects are basically what Junior Year is known for at my school. Tack on the PSAT, SAT, ACT and a Midterm/Final project that I write in my Alternate History semester course, I have a lot of work on my hands.  I'm determined to get this year started off on the right foot, so please excuse me if I skip a few days as I'm having some issues with scheduling posts.

Anyways, someone asked me on Tumblr to do a back-to-school post!

I have had an L.L. Bean backpack since the first grade and it has never disappointed me. From my small purple one with the horse embroidered, to the orange and blue hawaiian print to the pink one I have now, they have always lasted me a long time and they hold up well. They are also quite roomy!

LL Bean Super Deluxe Backpack

A Lilly Planner to keep you organized!

This is my borderline OCD kicking in, but I have to have a specific type of binder (I went to three Office Max's on Monday, not kidding) and I have to have six different colors for my six classes. These from [In] Place are fab!

I use Papermate Flair Pens to write all of my assignments and tests in my planner!  I color-coordinate all of my subjects so I always know what's happening in my classes!

I use a Lilly makeup bag that I was sent to hold all of my pens, pencils and my glasses.

I always keep my Nalgene with me to stay hydrated during the day.

I use a spiral notebook for my history classes, but in my math class I use a legal pad with holes to take notes and do my homework.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Au Revoir, Dear Summer!

Dear Summer 2011,

You were a summer to end all summers.  Although I feel like I was just leaving my Math exam and heading down the highway to South Carolina, it's been amazing.  From South Carolina to DC, China to New York, you've been pretty awesome. I'm sad to see you go, but the thought of oranges, plums and navys, Pumpkin Spice Lattes and football is quite enticing.

I can't believe today is the first day of my JUNIOR year of high school.  I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm honestly a little scared of this year.  A part of me feels like I should still be getting ready for my first day of middle school or high school.  I don't feel old enough to be a Junior in High School. Although Senior Year will be the year of 'lasts', I'll take the PSAT for the last time this fall.  I'll take the SAT for the first time in January.  I'm going to apply to college next summer.  It's going to be a serious year, but I'm also going to try and make it as fun as possible.  Today, I'm diving in head first to another new adventure.  New classes, new teachers and unlimited opportunities.

Good luck to all those starting school or who have started already! Have a wonderful start to the year!

"20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

New York, New York

PF had a conference to attend in New York, so PM and I headed up for an impromptu trip! We had never been so we had much to do!

Let's just get things straight...I'm in love with New York City.  I love it almost (almost!) as much as I love DC.  I guess it's just the big city-walk everywhere-jump on the metro and go part that I adore so much.

We stayed at the beautiful Waldorf=Astoria and I highly recommend it!

We went everywhere! Madison, 5th, Park, The Diamond District, The Empire State Building, Tiffany, Battery Park, Wall Street...

My favorite newspaper ever!

National Debt Clock! My Mom took a solo shot of it after this...and it had changed.

Times Square

The Statue of Liberty

I saw the Bull but I never found the Bear!

We walked down Wall Street...

I checked up on my Tiffany Stock at the NYSE

We stopped at Ground Zero

And on our last night, we saw...

Jersey Boys!

It was such a fantastic show and I'm in love with all things Frankie Valli!  And after the show I got to meet the cast!

It was a wonderful trip and I hope to return again soon!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Operation Smile Philanthropy

As y'all know, Operation Smile is an organization that is very close to my heart.  I have held a leadership position in my school's club for the past two years and hope to attend Mission Training this fall. I've also been to two Student Leadership Conferences, one in Colorado and one in Beijing!

If you have never heard of Operation Smile, it is a non-profit, internationally recognized children's charity that mobilizes a world of generous medical professionals to heal children with surgery free of charge for cleft lip and palates through volunteer Medical Missions in developing countries. Since the first medical mission in the Philippines, over 130,000 people have been given the chance at living a normal life and smiling proudly. Founded by Dr. Bill and Kathy McGee in 1982, Operation Smile maintains a strong presence in more than 50 countries. The 45 minute surgery costs approximately $245 dollars and changes a child's life forever.   To learn more about Operation Smile and how you can help, please visit Operation Smile's website at www.OperationSmile.org.

To kick off the fall and start of a new school year, I have created a One Smile page in hopes of creating one new smile!  If you feel so inclined, please visit my page.  

If every one of my followers donates ONE dollar (yes, one dollar!), we can take this,

and make it into this!

Imagine not being able to smile.

Eat.

Drink.

Speak.

Communicate.

Won't you join me in changing a child's life?

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

Come on Irene

Come on Irene,
I swear (well he means) At this moment you mean everything...

The hatches have been battened down, 

books stacked for easy access, 

school cancelled,

and the generator ready to go just in case.

I love Irene, because to be honest, I am so thankful I get one more day to get ready for school because honestly, my to-do list is about a country mile long.

For all my readers on the East Coast, stay safe this weekend!

I'll keep y'all posted!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}

CHINA

So as some of y'all might remember, last year I went to Colorado for an Operation Smile Student Conference.  This year, it was in China! 

I had an AMAZING time.  Were the flights long? Yes.  Was the food kind of weird? Yes. Did I eat lotus root, squid, duck and kale? Yes. Was it hard not knowing the language? Yes. Did I still love every second of it? YES.

I met even more amazing people this year than last year.  Honduras, India, California, Australia, Texas, New York...there were 800 of us from 23 different countries!

The best day, by far, was climbing the great wall! It was a little hazy, but nothing we couldn't handle.  The views were beautiful and it's pretty cool to say you ran up the Great Wall of China.

Another crazy thing is that a lot of the tourists who come to Beijing have never seen an American person before, so I had my picture taken a lot!  I took pictures with dance groups, families and some of my friends even had pictures taken with people's infants! Definitely a different culture from America!

International Party

The casual commie sign in the middle of Tiananmen Square

Hey, Mao. What's up?

LK, MC and I with our Tour Guide Candy!

The Twin and I Pre-Great Wall Climb

See where that arrow points? That's where the Twin and I walked crawled ran up to.

On the way up!

We made it!

The adorable girls who asked me for a picture at the top!

Twin and I were "those people" who got hats at the Great Wall

Before we 'met' Jackie Chan!

Hey Jackie!

NF, US and I at the Final Party

MC and I!

And the Twin and I were "those people" who wore our hats through the airports...

I had a wonderful time and I can't wait for next year's conference and to hopefully return to China soon!

xoxo,

Royar
{The Young Southern Prep}

DC

I flew direct from Dulles to China, so PM and I drove up a few days before to go shopping and see a few museums!

We went to the National Gallery although I was tres sad to discover that the Monet exhibit was closed. Le sigh.  But Mummy and I did enjoy wandering around looking at all the art.  I even spotted a few pieces I studied in my AP Euro turned Art History class!

Visited the Great-Grandparent's Grave in Arlington National Cemetery.  Trust me, there's no way to start a day and get your blood pressure up than trying to find a grave at Arlington and get a Parking Pass.  I'm not kidding, they  used Floppy Disks and a box of an IBM computer to search for it.  Eventually we found it, thank goodness, and drove around and checked out a few more sites we hadn't visited in a few years.

We also stopped and watched the changing of the guards.  If you have never seen this or have never been to Arlington, I highly encourage it.  It's a beautiful tribute to the Unknown Soldiers of America.  You can learn more about the ceremony and the guards on the Arlington Website.

We also spent some good time shopping on M and Wisconsin Street! I got some fabulous deals at Anthropologie and Vineyard Vines! Sadly, the line at Georgetown Cupcakes was quite long, so Mama and I settled for Sprinkles!

I truly love DC and I hope to visit again sometime soon!

xoxo,

Royar

{The Young Southern Prep}