Well Balanced Weekly #2: Six Reasons Why You Should Run

Today I have a very tight schedule so I'm multi-tasking. Blogging while boiling water for pasta!

I realize that I actually prefer to start my day early with a morning run, even during the summer. This may sound insane, but here are a few reasons why it's worth it:

1. I get a couple extra hours to my day, a couple extra hours that I certainly need.
2. By having a regular running routine, I actually cut down on stress and anxiety. Exercise releases endorphins, a chemical in the brain that makes you feel happy. So yes, scientifically, running makes you happy.
3. This one's probably obvious, but it's to stay in shape. Running helps maintain a healthy body.
4. I become faster, which is good because I compete on my school's cross country team. Last year, I was named MVP for the Women's Cross Country team!
5. It gives me time to myself to think and wake up in the morning. Believe it or not, I don't come back tired. I come back energized, running is a fresh start to everyday.
6. You are competing against yourself. You get to monitor your own improvement. It's totally independent.

So running every morning is totally worth it for me. Run Happy!
Hannah Renea

I.B. Smart #2: S'mores Cookie Bars

This week, I learned how to bake. I made delicious s'mores bars from a recipe on All Things Delicious, a great food blog. If you click the title, the hyperlink will take you directly to the site.

I'm not much of a baker, and my family has a running joke that I'm no good in the kitchen. The other night, I had the spontaneous urge to challenge that! While my parents were grocery shopping and my sisters were elsewhere in the house, I hopped on Pinterest, typed in "quick easy desserts" and stumbled across this delicious little treat!

I hope you enjoy!

Sidenote: these I.B. Smart posts are meant to be more academic based, however during the summer months it's hard to come up with that kind of material! Usually this kind of post would go on my Wednesday Well-Balanced Weekly, but for now, it is what it is.
Hannah Renea

I.B. Smart is a weekly post written on Saturdays about what I learned in the previous week.

Well-Balanced Weekly #1: Slice the Pie

A couple of days ago I happened across an interesting website called Slice the Pie, where you get paid to review up-and-coming music artists.

After doing a little digging, I found out that it is not a scam. They truly will pay you money. The better the review, the more money you get.

Here's How it Works:
You listen to a minimum of 90 seconds of the song, write a review, score it out of 10, and then submit to receive payment. You can still write the review during the 90 seconds, that's just how long until it will let you hit submit. It's very simple and once you get a minimum of $10.00, you can withdraw the money to your PayPal account.

For the Art, Not the Money:
If you're going to sign up for Slice the Pie, I suggest you keep in mind that the reviews aren't the greatest paying jobs. Reviews can be anywhere from $0.02 to I've heard just over $0.25. This isn't a get rich quick scheme. However, I like it because you get to listen to new music for free (I'm always looking for new music) and get paid for it. Getting some money during your free time is better than no money, right?

Slice the Pie is a fun little tool to pass the time. If you love music and you love to give your opinion, I suggest looking into it.

Here's the link again in case you missed it earlier.
Hannah Renea

Well-Balanced Weekly is posted every Wednesday. In the International Baccalaureate, being well-balanced is one of the traits we students strive to achieve. These posts are all about non-academic activities. They range from sports to crafts to interesting things I'd like to share about.

I.B. Smart #1: Die Frau ist gut

My first ever I.B. Smart post! Exciting!

Though it is summer break, that doesn't mean I've stopped learning!

This week, I started learning German. Yes, German. I'd like to go into Linguistics later on in life, so what better way to prepare for that than by learning new languages?

I began my German Journey using an awesome little app called Duolingo, which allows you to learn a new language for free using reading, listening, writing, and speaking tools. It's helpful, it's not too hard, and it has a cute little green owl for a mascot. What more could you want?

So hear's some of the little German that I've learned so far:

Ich bin eine Frau.
I am a woman.

Der Mann esse Brot.
The man is eating bread.

Der Junge est ein Kind.
The boy is a child.

So if I randomly happen across someone who speaks German, I can impress them with my extremely basic knowledge of the language! It's remarkably similar to English from what I can tell.

I'm excited, I love learning new things!
Hannah Renea

I.B. Smart is a weekly post written on Saturdays about what I learned in the previous week.

Changes and Updates

Last night, I sat down and wrote out a bunch of things I'd like to change about this blog. From here on out, there are going to be some changes to the way I run this blog, and hopefully it won't be so disorganized.

So expect new things. Ideally with these improvements, I'll be able to post on a regular basis now!
Hannah Renea

One Day More!

The school year is coming to a close. Tomorrow is the last day of school, which I am very excited about. Sophomore year definitely had its ups and downs. Now that summer's nearly here, I have created a list of things that I would like to to over the summer.

• Organize my postcard collection into a book so they're easier to see.
• Paint something. Maybe Avengers fan art. I've gotten back into Marvel lately.
• Create blackout poetry.
• Knit, knit, knit!
• Learn to play the guitar.
• Cosplay. It looks like a ton of fun, and I've never done it before. (Basically dress up for grown ups)
• Get a job. Earn money.
• Swim in a lake.
• Hang out with my friends.
• Watch everything there is to see on Netflix.

Okay, on that last one, I don't literally mean everything, just all the shows and movies I've been meaning to catch up on or watch. For example:

• Supernatural
• Doctor Who
• Merlin
• Every movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far (told you I've been getting back into Marvel)
• Arrow, which is a show from (dun dun dun!)
DC Comics

All of that, plus travelling to Georgia, volunteering, and (hopefully) working at a job.

Needless to say, the summer of 2014 is going to be awesome.
Hannah Renea

Poe and the Media

In English class, we are going to have oral presentations over authors we've studied this year. Our assignment was to research an author's influence on a topic of our choosing. We then had to create an oral presentation with a multimedia presentation to accompany it (again of our choosing). It was very much a free-form assignment.

The topic I chose was Edgar Allan Poe's influence on film, television, and movies. I decided to create a video montage with clips from movies and TV shows that were inspired by his works. There is also an orchestra piece in the background that was influenced by Poe as well. I am very proud of my work.

Hopefully, if I've got my HTML tags right, that was my video. If the video did not work, here is the link. In it was works such as Tim Burton and Buena Vista's Vincent, FOX's The Following, Relativity Media's The Raven, American International Pictures House of Usher, and Colombia Picture's The Tell-Tale Heart (which was the first cartoon to ever receive and X rating, fun fact).

The orchestra piece is Turangalîla-Symphonie, composed by Messiaen.

All works were either based on or inspired by Poe's works.

I was very interested in this project and I'm happy with how it turned out.
Hannah Renea

Writing Again

Personal Project is a major assessment that IB 10th graders do throughout the year. We basically got to choose our own assignment, create a product, and write an essay about it.

My project was writing a story, and I began to rewrite Assignment, my story I started in 2011.

This project has gotten me back on track when it comes to writing. I'm very excited to finally return to my beloved characters and work on this story.

So far, I am on chapter 7, and it's about 30 pages long.

It feels good to return to my passion. I've missed it.
Hannah Renea

Hello again

So recently people have been coming up to me and saying "Hey, Hannah, I read your blog." Which is awesome. And random, since I haven't posted in a while.

Nonetheless, I think I should get back into blogging again. Hello everyone!

The last time I posted, I wrote about homecoming. It really has been a while.

In the meantime, quite a few things have happened.

• I learned that local honey is the best allergy medicine.
• I finished Personal Project and got a pretty good grade on it.
• I started hanging out with some of the juniors, and they're pretty awesome.
• I got rejected at the blood drive...twice.
• I am almost done with sophomore year.
• If I play my cards right, I might be able to take two foreign languages next year. (Crossing my fingers on that one!)

To all old viewers and new viewers too, I think I'll be posting more often now. Thank you for sticking around!
Hannah Renea

…but the good news is...

This, my 200th post, is also my last one.

I have a new blog. Click here for the new website.

I've tailored it so that it fits my needs more appropriately. I hope you enjoy it!

Xoxo and see you on my new site!
Hannah Renea