He Has Risen

He has risen indeed!

I am going to be completely honest here and say that I have been dreading Easter this whole week. I know, I know, that sounds terrible. Just let me explain. This time last year I was in Zuni, New Mexico with an amazing group of students and teachers from my school on a mission trip. It was my first Easter away from home, which was hard because my family loves holidays and getting together with everyone is the best. However, it ended up being the best Easter I have ever had. Not only was I surrounded by the most loving people I have ever known, I was also in the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We had ourselves a little sunrise service Easter morning and it was grand. Still in our PJ's and with our loving morning voices, we went outside and sang the best we could to praise our amazing God. We then walked around the building that we were staying in and with awe in our eyes and peace in our hearts, we watched the sun slowly rise over the Mesa. There was something very magical about that moment. (Maybe magical is a cheesy word to use here, but there is honestly no other word to describe it). Later on that morning we attended church with families in the neighborhood and afterwords we were treated to lunch. After lunch we got to do what we all came there for, to play with the Zuni children. Thinking back on that day just makes me so happy, because I believe that's what God wants on Easter Sunday. For his people to come together and celebrate and be joyful in His house.

So you're probably wondering, Cierra, why did all of that make you dread Easter this year? The answer is simple… because I'm not there right now. How selfish, right? Here I am making today about me and how displeased I am that I'm here and not in Zuni. So here I am in San Francisco, contemplating if I even want to get out of bed when my alarm goes off because I thought no service would ever compare to last years. Completely loosing sight over what Easter truly is about, I force myself to get dressed and head out the door. Knowing that my church was holding their service in the San Francisco Opera House, you would think I would have been more excited. But there I was on the bus thinking, I wish I wasn't here. So I take my seat in the balcony and just kind of sit there, not really looking around or anything. They then asked us to rise for worship and that was when I looked around. Full house. The whole opera house was FULL. There are 3,146 seats available and they were all taken. 3,000+ people gathering to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus?  Now that is something to celebrate about. The service was good, but I'm going to keep being honest here that wasn't the best part. The best part was when we started singing. Hearing all of those voice sing as one for our Father was KILLER. Literally, because it was actually a pretty hard slap in the face for me.

So yeah, it wasn't Zuni. But it was San Francisco. And next year it will be something totally different and I can't wait. I can't wait to celebrate with new people in a new place but all for the same person.

Zuni team 2013, taking a break from our hike for a picture 

Easter 2014, San Francisco Opera House

Home Sweet Home

"When I think of home, I think of a place where there is love overflowing..." - Lyrics from The Wiz, Home.

Personally, I have four homes. Ever since I've moved here I've been thinking about what makes a home, a home. Is it the memories? Is it the people? What is it? I think I figured it out. It's simple really, home is where ever your heart is. Home is where ever the people you love are, it's where the smallest of memories mean the world to you, it's where you will always return.

Long Beach is my home because it's where I grew up. Gossamer Street is my home because the people I love the most live on that street. My little green house is my home because it will be the place that I will always want to return. The little memories I hold onto so dearly, like all the hide and go seek games we played in the garage, or the Marco Polo games we played in the pool, or the times we snuck onto the roof to watch the sunset; those are the things that make my house my home.

Arizona is my home because it was a huge part of my childhood. Tierra Vida is my home because two of the people that mean the most to me live there. My rebuilt house is my home because thinking about it makes me so happy. The small details that I cling onto such as, my little orange room, the smell of my garage, the walk to my granparents house, the endless amount of card games stashed under the dresser, and even the steps down our front yard; these are what makes Arizona my home.

New Mexico is my home because it's where I found God. New Mexico is my home becuase it is where the people who have impacted me the most live. Zuni is my home because thinking about it makes all my worries go away. Gallup is my home because just the thought of it makes me smile. The memories and the people I love there make it my home, the little 5th and 6th graders who stubbornly learned our worship songs, the woman of the church I helped paint, little Moyah who peed his pants, all the songs I jammed out to on some of the longest road trips of my life, the pickle that Azalea gave me before I left, and people like Coye and his wife Shannon, Paul and his brother Glen, and Hayley, and the list goes on. Those people and those memories are what makes New Mexico my home.

Now the one that I am slowly figuring out is my home, San Francisco. San Francisco is my home because it's where I found myself. My little house on Santiago Street is my home because some of my best friends live there. As I walk up the steps to my door, I smile because I slowly feel this place become my home. The random little details are what makes this my home like, the walk to my bus stop, the little talks with my roommates before bed, the T.V. that I hardly watch, the stairs that I always fall down, and even the scarf rack. These little things that I feel becoming a part of my every day life are what makes this place my home.

Little things like this make me happy I'm alive. I can't wait to see what new homes become a part of me in the future.

October

My month through iPhone photos.

This month I,

Drank coffee out of my new mug, 

 thought about Zuni a lot,

 made a really bomb milkshake,

 walked a famous labyrinth,

 got starbucks with my sister,

 ate this amazing thing,

 failed my drawing homework,

 made everyone hate me in my drawing class,

 found these strange people,

 walked past this 5 times,

 met Miley Cyrus,

 had a panic attack when the lights when out when I was home alone,

 visited Sutro Baths,

 found these weird kids,

 watched this amazing sunset,

 looked at this nice church,

 "went" to a music festival with my cool roommates,

 watched another pretty sunset,

 witnessed this wonderful couple get engaged,

and got boba from roommate.

The months are swinging by and I thought I would start posting these at the end of every month for me to look back on at the end of the year. Who knows, I'm not a very creative blogger. Hense "Cierra tries to blog."

Top 5 - Questions

Since I've moved here, I seem to keep getting the same questions over and over again. So since I love a good complaint/vent sesh, here is a list of the questions I have grown to hate.

• "What is it like living with your sister?" I don't know guys, maybe like the last 19 years of my life. She isn't some stranger that I've never lived with before.

• "What are you going to do after city college?" Do you think I know?! If I knew I probably wouldnt be at a JC. But thank you for your concern about my future.

• "Do you work?" Now, the reason this one bugs me is because I go to school with mostly working adults so as soon as I answer "no" they think I'm a spoiled brat who gets whatever she wants. Ugh, adults. Am I right? 

• "Do you like the cold weather here?" This one is usually asked after I tell people I moved here from SoCal. I really don't understand it. It was my choice to move, if I didnt like cold weather, don't you think I would have stayed in Long Beach?

• "What's your natural hair color?" This one has always bugged me. Why do people care so much?

But don't get me wrong, I love when people ask me questions. I just wish they could mix it up a little bit. Ask me questions that are more fun or that don't sound so judgmental. Stop asking me about my future and ask me what I like to do right now or what's my favorite thing to do in SF rather then, "Why the heck did you move there?!"

Top 5 - New Things

Here is a list of my favorite new things at the moment, because I know you all care.

• Super Cue. Now, if you follow me on Instragam I'm sure you've seen me post about this place before. (or if you're a SnapChat friend, I'm sure you've gotten a snap of it) Super Cue is the boba place down the street from were I live. It may or may not be an obssession that I have. All I'm saying is that I just got a free one yesterday thanks to my stamp card. 
• Timehop. So this is actually an app, and loooove it. If you love throwbacks nearly as much as I do... I strongly suggest you get this app. It syncs to your Facebook, Instagram, and any other social media cites that you have and shows you what you posted on this exact day, just one year ago. (or two year or three years or etc.) Here is one of the pictures from today's Time hop. Throwback to my modeling days with Kenna in Madrigals. 

• American Horror Story. Need I say more? Ugh, it's so good. I havent watched the seasons before this but my friends watched it so I watched the season premier and I AM IN LOVE. I love scary shows and scary movies especially around this time of year. So perfect.
• Sunday Night Roommate Dinners. I live with four other girls so it's always a party. And by party I mean, watching T.V. and eating. However, all of our schedules are very different and we are hardly all home at the same time. So we started doing "family dinners" every sunday night because we are all home at the same time. I love it. I love them.
• Lastly, FaceTime. I never really did it untill I moved here and everyone back home wanted to FaceTime me. At first I was like... no, I do not look good at 10 O'clock at night and I dont want you to see how messy my room is. But I gave in and I love it. I love seeing my friends pretty faces.

This One time...

Ever since I've moved to San Francisco I've been struggling with a certain phrase.

This one time... 

At first I thought it was just my home sickness talking.

This one time... my mom and I went to the mall and saw...

This one time... my friends Leah and Danae sat at my house while I took a nap and then...

This one time... my soccer team took over Walmart and we... 

And then I thought it was because my roommates had such cool stories and I couldn't match up to them, but I would try.

This one time... my friends and I drove to San Diego to watch 5 innings of a baseball game and then...

This one time... I forced my friend Lovet to hike up a mountain with me and...

This one time... my friend Justine and I went to a Train concert and we...  

But then I got scared that I had no other way to start a conversation.

This one time... I went to O.C. fair with my friends and we...

This one time... my friend Angel and I stupidly watched The Conjuring and then we...

This one time... I went to chicago with my high school choir and we...

But then I realized all of things were not true. I wasn't homesick, my roommates stories werent cooler than mine, and I'm great at starting converstations. There is one explaination to my obsession with this phrase, I have a great life. At first I thought I was just being nostalgic like always, but then I realized that I just really love talking about my love of life. And I can't wait for the next chapter to my life so I can use that phrase to talk about San Francisco.

This one time... I lived in San Francisco and...

Top 5 - Dyslexia

Top 5 most difficult things to deal with when you're Dyslexic...

1. Asking someone how to spell something. Below is an example of how that converstation usually goes:

Me: Hey how do you spell annihilate?

Friend: You seriously don't know how to spell that...?

What I usually say: Haha uh, no just kidding! I got it!

What I want to say: NO I'M NOT FREAKING KIDDING YOU JERK.

     2.  Getting asked to read something out loud in class. Here's a note to all the teachers out there, don't ask a kid to read out loud if he didn't raise his hand to do so. Thank you.

     3. Autocorrect.

     4. Word Problems in math. Because no matter how many times you reread it, it will never make sense.

     5. The ever so popular, "Dyslexic moment". Usually pulled by someone who is not Dyslexic. You all know what I'm talking about. Those moments when you miss spell an easy word and say, "Haha oops, I just had a Dyslexic moment!" Stop. Just stop saying that. Not only is it annoying, but it is also wrong.