Update: Photo Journal Version

The last couple of months have been so crazy I haven't been blogging and I apologize! Here are some pictures of what I've been up to. Please enjoy :)

taken from KFC center, downtown louisville

bardstown road in the morning

st james art fair

bff and i were the weasley twins for halloween

got a job at a coffee shop :)

family ice cream date!

sister pretending she isn't posing

straight a's celebration 

I'll keep you updated :)

-Bree

Why I'm Not Dating

Hey guys! How are you today?

As I have recently entered high school, my exposure to teen dating has sky rocketed, and I am not sure I'm absolutely enjoying it. Some kids just don't know how to treat each other right!
I don't have any experience in dating, but please don't think that I am writing this post because "I'm mad that I can't get any guys" or something. That is not true. Neither am I judging anyone who has decided to date as a young teen. I'm writing my opinion, which is absolutely open for discussion in the comments! I would love to hear from you guys

Here we go!

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I believe the ultimate goal of dating is finding your spouse

I absolutely know people that do not intend to get married, and just want a boyfriend for their whole life. For fun. Though I don't quite understand all of that, I don't think it's really what dating is meant for. My perspective (coming from a Christian background) is that dating is meant for finding your spouse, and being able to share that relationship together with Christ.
You don't often hear a married person say "I am so glad I dated around in middle school/high school, it has really helped my marriage a lot!" What I HAVE heard more often is "I found my first love in high school. He was my soul mate and we promised ourselves to each other, until he cruelly broke my heart for no apparent reason."
Don't get me wrong, I have heard those beautiful stories about high school sweethearts, like my parents for instance! They have been married for almost 18 years and still celebrate their dating anniversary! But the stats don't lie, folks, most teen relationships don't make it and end up in heart break. Not everyone turns out like Cory and Topanga. Besides that, I am trying to think ahead and not have a super long list of exes to explain to my future husband.

Via gifsgallery.com

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I am too lazy for drama OR I have better things to do
Hey. I have attended high school for exactly seven days and I have already figured out that I don't have time or energy to commit to a relationship or even attract a boy. Sometimes just seeing the kids around me get heart broken wears me out. I have decided for myself that when I am this young and this hormonal, putting my relationship with God first will be much more beneficial to me and my future. Plus, I still have to wake up by at least 6:30 each day, finish all my homework, be civil to other humans, and balance a whole bunch of other stuff (which I talked about in my last post)!!
Being super emotionally committed to a boy at this point in time could possibly tip the scale and I'm not much of a risk taker. Yes, I have seen other people be somewhat successful in that balancing act.
But there is SO MUCH ELSE TO THINK ABOUT.
In this day and age, texting someone you find cute is apparently a group effort. The response to his text must be perfectly flirty AAAND hard to get but not too hard because you certainly won't friend zone him but still not come across as too desperate/clingy
"k"
*cries*

GUYS THIS IS FROM WIKIHOW WHAT HAS THIS WORLD COME TO

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I don't want to be tempted
Now you may ridicule me. Your parents have probably said this at some point, but seriously, I don't want to put myself in a spot where I will be physically tempted. Like I mentioned earlier, I don't want a list of things to explain to my future husband, even if it isn't "that bad" by other people's standards.
 I'm just cutting it all out. Please understand

Via AHAHAHA ok this one gets me everytime

I don't think it's cool when kids are twerking all over each other at the school dance, or anywhere for that matter but ahahaha that pic is funny. I'm not that weird
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Maturity.
I don't know about you but fourteen year olds don't have the best reputation for being super mature or having the best judgement. And this is coming from a fourteen year old. Last time I checked, committing yourself to another human being requires a whole lot of that maturity thing. I just leave it there
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This is one of the ways I have decided to be a girl without shame. One girl who doesn't care if the other kids think it's weird she doesn't have a boyfriend, or any interest in getting one. No shame

Via twitter.com

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As a bonus, here are a few Bible verses about dating :) If you are interested, click the links to read them!
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Proverbs 4:23
1 Corinthians 6:18-20
Ephesians 4:2
Colossians 3:14
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That's all I've got for the time being, please please share your opinion in the comments, I would absolutely love to hear it! Also, I will re-stress this. I AM NOT JUDGING YOU IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DATE AS A TEENAGER. WE ARE STILL FRIENDS RIGHT?
Hopefully you found this interesting :)
Have a great day
Love,
Brenna, girl without shame ♥

being ok with the granny i am

• i'm constantly wearing sweaters
• indoor plants are my favorite!
• very rarely do i find myself loving younger actors
• or teenager tv shows
• snail mail is the best kind
• i am a little obsessed with flowery patterns
• i guess i'm a little more traditional than most kids my age
• i'm not opposed to older music
• crocheting is fun!

And I am ok with that! All of this goes to say that you should be okay with being a granny too! As a young person I've been trying to figure out my style lately (just check out my Pinterest boards) and being able to wear the clothes that I like is kind of hard. I don't want to wear crop tops and booty shorts, or listen to the newest 1D or Wiz Khalifa song...or whatever those YOUTHS are doing these days!

ahhh i just love leslie.

Keep in mind everyone, being different is great fun (most of the time). You will find other people like you that will make you really excited to not be alone, and to have someone to watch I Love Lucy with! Being excited about stuff with other people is one of the best free experiences you can get.

Thank you for reading my tiny rant/shot of inspirations. Hopefully you guys take this to heart. 

It's okay to be different

Have a fantastic day. 

Looooove, Bree

>>p.s. if you are interested in guest posting or helping me design my blog, please email me at princessbeemo@gmail.com <<

The Ichthus Experience

Wednesday morning I got up at 6:30, grabbed my bags and headed to church to have a short Bible study, then drove to Lexington, KY for the Creation Ichthus Music Festival. Little did I know how much fun I was going to have and how much I was going to grow.

Day 1

Day 4

On the first day, my group got there around 10, after talking to the most random people and getting lost several times. I didn't really know the people I was with because I only moved to the church a couple of months ago, so making new friends was really good for me.

If you've ever been to a camp of any sort, you know it's pretty common to connect with people extremely fast and be able to mess around and still get to know each other through deep conversations. I really enjoyed being able to do that.

Newsboys Concert

The concerts were crazy! I saw a whole range of artists from rap, to indy, from heavy metal to contemporary pop and hymns. I loved all of it, and got 2 albums. My favorites were a band called Author and a singer/songwriter named Abe Parker.

I also got a whole bunch of free stuff, but aside from that I bought 2 t-shirts that I love and really want to show you!

On the second and third days it rained really hard and since the festival was held in a horse park, everyone got muddy and gross and smelled of something quite similar to animal poo.
I had to give up my poor green flip flops which did me no good anyway, and battled the rain head on.
Everyone was stationed at a canopy pole in our camp ground during the storm so we wouldn't blow away. I secretly enjoyed the rain because it was cold like back home, instead of hot and disgusting.

God's promise after the storm :)

Saturday was a gorgeous last day. We played Frisbee with strangers and tied dental floss to the legs of one of thousands of June bugs. I couldn't believe that it was already over, and how much I had learned about God through talking to others and hearing music.

A henna tattoo I got for free (before it dried and peeled)

 :) I'm sorry to bore you all to death, so I'll wrap it up. Thank you for reading and hopefully you all have had a blast this week too!

Have you ever been to a music festival?

A Father's Day Home

Yesterday was a special day for me, because as well as celebrating my dad and grandpas, it was the one year anniversary of leaving Washington. 

One year ago yesterday, my mom, dad, two sisters and I said our final goodbyes to our close friends and family and drove to California. Of course we didn't get to Kentucky until 11 days later, but still, it was a big day XD

Anyway, yesterday felt like we went home a little bit because we went out for Japanese food. In the PNW we'd usually go to Koto's Teriyaki but they don't have that here so INSTEAD we went to this fancy-ish restaurant that I forgot the name of, but it was delicious! I had way too much fried rice and yakisoba, and I loved it. Interestingly enough, Kentucky doesn't have much teriyaki places. 

Afterwards we drove to a park with a nice river. We fell in a couple of times and pretty much basked in how much like home it was. Not too hot or humid, nice cold water, quite a bit of mud and lots of trees.

Plus, I collected shells! They are pretty small which is perfect for sneaking home in your pocket. Don't worry, no snails or oysters were harmed in the making of this post. 

You can see a much better picture of this on my Instagram, just click the button!

Speaking of the shells, I was wondering if anyone has any good craft ideas that I can use them for. I really like them but they can't just sit by the candle forever. Any spectacular ideas?

>Also after the park, we watched Back to the Future and I love Michael J Fox so that was a fantastic ending to a fantastic day<

I'm considering yesterday a success. How did you spend Father's Day?

Much love, Brenna :)

#brennaonbroadway

Yesterday I went to New York City! And it was wonderful! Since I grew up in mostly small towns and only visit Seattle or downtown Louisville every once in a while, so going to a huge city like this was a completely new experience.

Manhattan is so old, beautiful (a little smelly) and completely filled with history and music. 

I'm a big Broadway person, and the TONY AWARDS were happening. I walked by Radio City Music Hall during the big rehearsal, I didn't see anyone, but I was REALLY REALLY CLOSE to Kristen Chenoweth. There was one lady in a very fancy nude, rhinestone and black dress that looked very serious about being in New York. I wonder who she was. :)

Across from Radio City Music Hall

 I also walked past the Belasco Theatre, where I mentally met Darren Criss, who is currently starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He was in Glee and pretty much wrote (and starred in) Harry Potter the Musical. 

DARREN CRISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I also sang at Carnegie Hall and saw The Lion King on Broadway ;)

Singing at Carnegie Hall

Look closely

We also visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, and it was beautiful. They were actually having Puerto Rican mass, which was completely in Spanish. I'd never been to mass before, but it was pretty cool. The building, though, was something else. Huge stained glass windows, sculptures and detailed stone walls. I bet the whole experience for a Catholic visiting the city is amazing. 

Front of St. Patricks

Stained glass in St. Patricks

Ceiling Detail in St. Patrick. 

At the end of the day, I saw the One World Trade Center, which is quite a pretty building, and seeing how smooshed together the places are, I was able to picture the 9/11 attack, and that day must have been one of the most terrifying thing anyone has ever had to experience, and America will never forget that. 

One World Trade Center

I also saw Lady Liberty from across the river, but it was too far away to get a good picture, so you'll just have to imagine it. ;) This was an amazing experience and I am really hoping to visit again in the not too distant future, but no promises. 

I hope everyone is starting off summer with fun memories and lots of sleep! 

Have you ever been anywhere really special to you?

Love, 

Brenna

Creative Blogger Award!

Hello!
A while ago, Archie, over at A Bundle of Contradictions, nominated me for the Creative Blogger Award. Little did I know, when you are nominated, you post five facts about yourself and then tag 5 more bloggers you follow.

So Archie, I'm sorry I am so late, but here is this post, dedicated to you ;) Everyone please go check out her blog. She is so philosophical and mature and I hope that someday I can write like her!
Here are my 5 facts!

1. I started my first blog when I was 10 years old called Brenna's Booklist. I guess I'm not very creative when it comes to names XD. But since then, I have 4 others, including this one, and 2 of them are with some good friends of mine. Sadly, only this one is active at the moment. 
2. According to my parents, I have always tried to change my name. Most people, when reading my name, automatically insert an 'a' to make Breanna, and that always got on my nerves. I guess I've always tried to be change it, and maybe that is why I like acting so much! I remember one day I had to go to a craft camp with some of my friends and I wore my hair slightly crimped, and I was so excited because I thought people wouldn't be able to recognize me! I was going to tell them my name was Alice and it was going to be so fun, but I walked in and they were all, "Hey Brenna!" That was the end of that.
3. I have changed schools a lot! If you count Pre-Kindergarten, I've gone to 1 Pre-K, 1 normal Kindergarten, 2 elementary schools, 2 middle schools and most likely 2 high schools. Oddly enough, I haven't ever really felt like an outcast when I go to a new school. The feeling of being new ends pretty quickly once you make yourself comfortable, instead of waiting for someone else to make you comfortable. 
4. I am secretly obsessed with flowers and plants. I don't know when or how it started, but I just love flowers! In my room right now I have my baby, my moon cactus and a small bouquet of tulips from my show last night. And multiple drawings and paintings of flowers. What's happening to me. I'm turning hippie! 
5. Speaking of hippie, my class at school has a running joke that I'm actually a hippie/hipster from Canada. FIRST of all, Washington is in America. I've never actually been to Canada, heard it's nice though, eh? SECOND of all, yeah, that's probably true. I think I'm turning into a hipster sort of thing. Ironic.

There you go! Now then, who should I nominate...I apologize if you have already gotten this award but here are some amazing bloggers that should be recognized more often! Nominees if you haven't already done so, you're supposed to write 5 facts and then nominate more people, but if you don't want to, you don't have to.

Allie

Asriel

Mae

OH MY GOSH I JUST FOUND ZACH BRAFF ON INSTAGRAM 

So sorry um to continue with my list

Sophia

That's all for today, folks! Hope you liked it! 

#reunitation

I'm home! The Olsons safely flew here to Washington yesterday :D

Last night my little sisters went to friend's houses, I went to Julia's and LC3 youth group!

I miss Lakewood/Parkland/Tacoma so much and I just got here! 

To be honest, it felt like I had never left, or I went back in time. Like I just got home from school or something. It's great here.  I find it kind of scary how much growing up somewhere can change your perspective on other places. This place hasn't changed at all, and it's very comforting to me.

Tell the World I'm Coming Home!

Tomorrow morning I catch a 6:50 AM flight back to Washington State with my family and I CAN'T WAIT! I have spent way too much time apart from some of the most important people in my life and I cannot stand not seeing them any longer! 

From church to school to home, so many people have influenced me and made me into the Brenna that moved to Kentucky six months ago, and I am uber excited to show them who I am now. I LOVE YOU PEOPLES

On the other hand though, leaving my friends even for just a week will be pretty hard too, but I see them almost every day ;) I love how they have supported me and been here for me and put up with all my complaining about moving and being a missionary kid, and how I just kept talking and talking about going home. You guys, I'm so sorry, and thank you. 

I'm including some T-Town SWAG so you see a little bit of my home town just in case you've never been there. 

Be on the lookout for new posts of pictures I'll be taking when I get home, and otherwise documenting my trip. :)

IF YOU ARE MY FRIEND IN WASHINGTON I WILL BE HERE ON WEDNESDAY

AND

HERE ON FRIDAY AT 2:30ish

QotD: Have you ever flown anywhere cool? How did you feel when you got back home?

Take 5 and...Action!

Hello!
I'm Brenna (and if you haven't noticed) I suck at blogging. I have somewhere around 4 other ones that I rarely look at. But since I moved away from most of my family and all of my friends, I decided I should give it another shot.
So buckle your seat belt and prepare for this hopefully-not-short-again ride!
I don't know who will read this at all but I guess you can hear my story anyways. I moved to Louisville from Lakewood roughly 2 months ago. I got culture shocked big time! I lived in the Northwest my whole life, and went to a steady youthgroup for a long time. My best friend and I even met in the toddler room at our church, (love you Julia <3) so going from that to not knowing anyone was a really big change. Since then, I've started school and become a part of a new church and made a few friends but I've been struggling spiritually. I met this really nice lady who runs the small group for my age and she talked about it with me and it really helped! (I can mention my struggle in another post if you'd like) Also, my girl Julia wrote a blogpost about her being God's princess that also encouraged me a ton.
Here's the link: http://saysomething12.blogspot.com/

Anyway, if you haven't been paying attention -which is completely understandable, I'm a bad blogger remember!- I will be talking about God a lot! I'm Christian, but I like to say I have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ

So, yup! Thats the most recent me!

And honestly, I've got no idea of what this page will be about...at all. Maybe you'll get a laugh or two, maybe not, but you can be certain that I am trying my hardest

So here's to another beginning! My writing style is kind of confusing I guess, but bear with me, and hopefully I can get better at this whole bloggin' deal :) Thanks for reading and feedback in a certain comment box in a certain bottom of this page would be very much appreciated.

Yours Truly,

Brenna Mae