All-Write: A Gamboa Post

I made a mixed CD.  And I gave it the title "Mostly Upbeat/White People:  A MIXED CD, YO!"
And I was looking at my handwriting, and I thought that the way that I wrote the word "White" looked like the way my mom would write the word "White"


Is that a weird thing to think?  Probably.  But my mom has great writing.  Like, 1st grade teacher handwriting.  Except she does her a's with the extra thing at the top instead of plain and simple.  But somehow her handwriting is upbeat and clear and smiling at you.

I asked my Mom for a writing sample and she wrote a letter about what I am like.  It was cheesy and cute, and this is the edited version.  

Which got me to thinking about the handwriting styles in my family, and how they are so a representation of each of the people.  Por ejemplo:

Adri's handwriting stares back at you through cat-eyes, flirting with you and making you wish you were as stylish as her handwriting.  Adri's writing is the most feminine I think. 

Camille's handwriting is more practical than Adri or my Mom, but it's still got its own swagger.  It's so fitting that Camille sent me a to-do list because she is continuously making them.  In fact, just thinking about her handwriting makes me think of the erasable pen-system that she had all throughout high school for taking notes.  I also like the use of exclamation points to denote importance. 

I can't even look at my handwriting without seeing everyone else's.  Also, I have HANDS DOWN the sloppiest writing of the girls, and when I take the time to write really neatly, it comes out looking like my mom's writing.  I guess that says something about who taught me to write.


I was going to do the boys in my family too, but those ended up being too difficult to get a hold of.  But, well, there you go.

I'm baaaaaaack!

But not in a creepy way.

I always feel like during Christmas vacation I get really lazy and fat and I just sort of fall off the grid for a little bit.  So even though I am very sad to be leaving my life of family, gluttony, and old friends, I am really glad to be back at school, back at the grind, and back with my new friends.  This place is starting to feel like home to me.

Today, was my sister's birthday and I had an awkward break between classes so I sat down and a bunch of strangers got to hear me sing Happy Birthday to my sister.  There is a point to this story, I promise.

The point of this story is to say that I am so glad that I got a digital camera for Christmas.  Because once my family was lame and having too much fun to talk to me, I took a picture of the pretty Stanford surroundings.  Here's that pic:

And even though I am stressed about my hard classes, I am grateful to be going to a beautiful school.

I know that this post sounds like I hate my family, but I don't.  I actually love them.  Happy Birthday Camille! I hope you were serious about that can-opener.


In one last thing, this is me upon hearing the news that Andrew Luck is coming back to Stanford next year.

And when there's an emergency dance party, it means I'm officially back at the farm.  

Sometimes Inspiration Hits

And you just can't stop it.

Like when you're done with finals and your brain is like AHHHHfdaghi8ehsf!!!!!!1

Stage Fright

I thought this picture was really funny.  But anyways....

Today I had to give a presentation in my Spanish class and it didn't go so well.  In hindsight, I probably didn't have enough information, although I did practice it a few times and found that it took the whole ten minutes.  My problem is that I don't have a stage presence.  I always feel like people are bored when I'm talking.  Like no matter what I say they aren't going to want to pay attention.  So then I start talking faster and faster so that they don't have to listen to me for very long, but then I blow through everything I wanted to say in half the time that I wanted to say it in.

I actually don't get that nervous when things are scripted or if it's musical.  My senior year of high school I played Queen Elizabeth in this giant choir production.  I had to sing a few solos and I had to recite lines for about a quarter of the whole production.  I looked like this:

I was not even that nervous for it.  Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but I don't know.  That was definitely the biggest public performance I've ever done (or probably ever will do), and I wasn't bad.

My sister Camille is one of those people who feels completely comfortable talking in front of large groups of people, even if it's just spur of the moment.  At least that's what she makes it seem like.

She always seems so comfortable, and people really listen to her when she talks.

So what's the secret guys?  How do I keep people interested?  How do I command their attention?

And now it's time for a breakdown.  Not really, I just wanted to throw that in there.