new: 10 PostSecret graphics, 5 summer quote graphics, 3 icons/avatars

What's this?! DALIA'S ALIVE? Yes, it's very much true, and here's an update on the major points in my life over the past two months – WARNING: it's been unbelievable.

I got back from my 6-week acting intensive at UCLA a little over a week ago, and I miss it SO much. It was absolutely amazing. The classes ran from 9 to 4 Monday through Friday, starting with an hour of Tai-Chi every morning (which I still do everyday), but it didn't feel as long as it sounds. It was filled with amazing exercises and activities with three of the most amazing instructors ever. Hahaha I should really find some other adjectives to describe it. But ANYWAY, the afternoons were dedicated to working on the final performances – the program was split up into three groups during the afternoons, each working with one of the coaches, and so there were three breathtaking performances to show for on our last day – all written by the students themselves. We each performed three times that day. Obviously, I'll be showing you some pictures below :D

Even past the 'classroom' (everything was so laid-back, nothing was actually IN a classroom setting) I was able to meet such amazing people. I dormed at the university, so not only did I have a chance to meet the wonderful people in my acting program, but I also got to meet people taking different courses that lived on my floor. Us theatre students got lucky… why? Because some of the incoming UCLA Bruin football players dormed on our floor. Ah, the stories ;)

When I didn't have class, my friends and I would often hop on a bus and check out nearby cities. We went shopping at the Beverly Center, beached it up @ Venice and Santa Monica (oh, and I spent July 4th on Venice Beach – it was PERFECT), walked down the Walk of Fame in Hollywood (which took FOREVER but was totally fun), went to the movies (YOU MUST SEE INCEPTION!), cheered about my AP scores (yay i got a 5 in bio… but a 3 in apush…), and things like that. Even on lazy days I had a fun time. I spent a lot of my free time just sitting around in the lounge on my floor – everyone chilled there when there was nothing to do, and it was so great just sitting there and laughing with everyone. We had the funn(i)est floor in the entire dorm – I'm not even kidding. We had a MAN-pageant! Haha It can't get better than that!

I miss it all so much though :( It was so hard to say goodbye to that amazing city, but even more than that, it was impossible to say bye to my friends. It still doesn't seem fair that I might not ever see some of the people I met ever again. Of course, I'm going to do my best to see them all again, some day. As IF I need an excuse to travel :) I saw the ones living in New York the week I got back, and hopefully will see some others when I travel Europe next summer!

Now, I'm back home. I've had a week to just kick it with my friends back here – driving around and whatnot. I started my internship this week for the Congressman I've been interning for for the past few summers. It's pretty dull compared to LA, but school starts soon and I start my senior year in high school! It's a scary thought, with college apps and whatnot, but I think I'm ready. As long as I stay focused until the end of October, I'm fine… hopefully. :P

Here are the pictures I've promised OH so long ago, and some updates! Read the captions for deeetsss.

And now, a bit of unfortunate news. I love graphic design, and I love my site, and I love the millions of people that have now or at one time supported my site by using my graphics, BUT I'm slowly growing tired of running a graphic design website. I'm still gonna hold on to this website for a bit, but I know I can't handle it on my own – especially when September rolls around. (AKA, if anyone wants to help… :P) The only thing that may become less frequent is content updates. I really do LOVE blogging and I'm so glad I started doing that, so I don't think I'm going to stop that any time soon. :)

This blog is SOOOOOOO long. IT'S CRAZY :D What have you all been up to these past two months? Have you started school yet or are you still on summer break?

Anyway, I've been sitting at this computer for WAY too long trying to put together some content updates and selecting which photos I wanted to share. I'm going to go out with my best friends, and enjoy my last few weeks of summer. I'll write again soon!

With much love,
Dalia ♥

It has been quite a while since my last post, and I DO apologize! Finals and SATs were taking up all my time, but now my summer has officially begun!

Tomorrow, I leave for my 6-week trip to California. You should SEE my room at the moment – I literally cannot see my floor! I've got clothing and shoes and bags and books scattered everywhere. There's so much to pack, and I don't know where to begin. Unfortunately though, I can't begin packing until I finish my history paper that's due before 3 PM tomorrow. GRRR @ MY HISTORY TEACHER!

No updates for this post, but I'll definitely make some time over the next week or so to have some ready. I'm really SO excited for this trip, but at the same time I'm SO nervous! I better have the nicest, most awesomest roommates ever. I'll share photos if there are any worth sharing!

What are some of your fave songs at the moment? I'm going to have to fill my iPod with some new music :)

new: 6 default layouts, 10 PostSecret graphics, 2 summer quote graphics

I made my first goal ever in soccer this past week! We won the first game game 4-0, and the second 3-1! Playoffs next week!! // EDIT: we made CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Haha on another note, I haven't gotten any sleep at all these past two weeks due to APs. For those who didn't know what it was when I mentioned it in my last post, AP stands for 'Advanced Placement' – it's a college-level course that high school students can opt to take. If they score high enough, they might not have to take that course in college ;)

AP bio was surprisingly easy! I'm really glad I took an environmental science course this year in addition to AP biology, because 1/4 of the test was on material that I learned in that class. AP US history on the other hand… not as good. I think I got like a 3 but I was really hoping for a 5. Then again, who isn't? I'd like to say I learned my lesson – you know, not to cram a day before an AP test – but unfortunately, I know that's not true. I will always be a procrastinator, and I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about it :( And now, we must wait until July to hear our results. To those that took APs this week, what did you think?

But anyway, enough about school. Let's talk about better things! So I usually use my deviantart account to upload photoshop brushes and stuff, but this week I decided I'd start adding photography. I put up a picture that was taken at the dock near my house. You can click it to view the full image. Opinions are much appreciated :)

In just a month, school will be out and I'll be in California. I'm really excited for this acting program that I'm doing there! The only thing I'm bummed about is that my friend in California is going to be in Europe until my last week in LA, but at least I'll see him for a bit while I'm there :D My summer's going to be PACKED. I'm going to be in Cali for 6 weeks, interning again for a Congressman back home for 3 weeks, and then doing this Mock Trial program for the last week of August. What are your plans for the summer?

Thought I'd mix up the music this week with a bit of Journey & Glee ;)