Stress.

Guess what! I finished my sophomore year of high school! Now I get the whole summer to forget math equations and grammar rules! I won't see my friends everyday and teachers will begin to forget my name! But one thing hasn't changed, stress. If anything my stress level will rise as summer continues. I may have mentioned before that I am a very ambitious person, sometimes maybe a bit too ambitious. Well as the school year was ending I started to make my plans for summer, and lets just say that I may have gone a bit overboard. First, I ski, so dry land training was a must that I had to attend. Then marching band. Last summer my school's marching band got invited to march in the Pearl Harbor 75th Memorial Parade in Honolulu, Hawaii. So naturally, being the adventurer I am, I hopped on board, so now I have skiing and marching band both in the morning six days a week. I then realized that this trip would be expensive, so I got a job to help pay for it. I thought that working at the Utah Olympic Park would allow for flexibility since my ski team is associated with them. Well, turns out that they expect me to work 5 days a week from 9-6, and that ain't happening. And on top of all of this I still can't drive; so I'm having to rely on other people to get me from place to place. Also, I'm volunteering at the hospital and trying to run cross country (we'll see if that actually happens). With all of this going on, I'm doing something every single day and have nearly no time for hanging out with friends. So yeah, I'm kind of dying, but I mean I'll probably get through. Wish me luck!

Here are some picture from my recent trip to Bend, Oregon for an on snow ski camp. I'm sharing it because it lowered my stress level a ton!

Mount Bachelor where we were skiing 

Prrreeetty waterfall run

One day it was blizzarding and I was honestly so cold

View of the Three Sisters and Broken Top from the top of Mount Bachelor

How About an Update

Honestly the hottest picture in human existence

So it's literally been forever since I've done a post and I've honestly changed exponentially since my last one. My sophomore year of high school has really impacted and changed who I am and who I want to be in the best ways possible to be honest. I mean I've decided future college potentials and majors along with truly beginning to understand my personality type. So, please bear with me as I ramble on with my chaotic thoughts.

First off, I've realized that the Pacific Northwest is where I feel the most comfortable out of all the places that I have visited. After feeling the slightly humid air and cool breezes of Seattle to the sweeping smells of the ocean in Astoria and then the fresh smell of roses and coffee in Portland, I have found my soulmate. It feels like I've traveled to a myriad of locations during my sixteen years of life and the PNW is where I feel the most at home. So I'm taking initiative and going to college somewhere in the region. My top two schools so far are Lewis & Clark in Portland and Western Washington in Bellingham. They're both fantastic liberal arts schools with world renowned environmental programs but I'm still not sure if they're right for me. There is still something inside me, a longing to run, run far away to a distant land. And, that land is New Zealand. New Zealand seems so mysterious and enchanting to me that I must go and there is one school there that I have my eyes set on. This school is the University of Aukland and it's the top rated college in New Zealand. But that's not what I like about it. It is located smack dab in the middle of downtown Aukland and it too has a fantastic environmental program. I know that my parents wouldn't be happy with me but honestly though who cares. Its my life and not theirs (omg sorry for sounding like such an angsty teen). Anyways those are my feeling about college...

Okay so sit back cause this next part is gonna be quite the doozy. If you've never met me, I'll enlighten you on who I am. I grew up in Park City, Utah, in a classy A-frame home high up in the mountains surrounded by humongous pine trees. My parents took me out skiing as soon I could walk, and they're the ones who developed a love for the outdoors in me. They introduced me to nordic skiing by forcing me outside in negative degree weather with blustery wind and for some reason I've stuck with it. I am a very quiet person, that is until you start talking to me, then I'll keep talking to you until yours ears literally fall to the ground. My opinions about the environment and politics are abnormally strong so I will debate with you over pretty much anything for forever. But I still will never raise my hand in class or present a project without sweating sixty gallons, and that's what I've been working on. I have realized that opportunities aren't just going to walk up to me, I need to instigate projects that lead to amazing opportunities. I set goals very frequently and I have a list of them on my phone, and my top goal for life is to start talking to new people and develop stronger relationships with the friends that I already have. So lately I've been opening myself up to more strangers and through that I have so much more self confidence and pride, but its still a work in progress. Luckily though I am an extremely strong willed person, if I set a goal it will happen no matter what. That is currently my life philosophy, and we'll see if it stands for another year.

Omg if you actually read that whole blurb of discombobulated feelings, you deserve a clap on the back. I don't know, sometimes I get a really powerful urge to write about everything that's going on in my life, so here we are. Now I'm going to share with you like a bajillion photos from my life during this past year. So don't worry, we'll suffer through it together.

Hehe I love my puppy

Just chillin with a cat even tho I'm hardcore allergic #yolo

Hanging out with my third fav celeb!

Hiking with the Skadi in the snowy mountains

Light painting is a lot of fun ;)

Isabelle and I at running camp in Duck Creek Village

Ren, Krissy and I after flipping over in a kayak #traumatizing

Yeah so I guess you could say that I'm pretty good at modeling or whatever

At Homecoming with Faith and Chloe!!

Sundance with the main, we met Nick frickin Jonas!!!

The Seattle skyline from a ferry ride across Puget Sound

Skiing in Canada at Mount Shark

Picture with some famous skier named Martin Sundby, pssht no big deal

5 Signs That You Were Born & Raised in a Ski Town

The mountains are not only my paradise but also my home. Way back in the age of dinosours my parents relocated from the flattest place on Earth: Minnesota, to the bumpiest: Park City. They came for the powder, for the exquisite nature, but mostly for the powder. And they wanted their children to share their affection of snow with them. So my mom helped me build snowmen to build an apprecation for this white gold and my father built record-breaking sledding tracks for me to break as many bones as possible probably. And for whatever reason my admiration for the mountains has always stuck. And all of us native skiers share these following traits:

1. Tourists Are the Most Maddening Objects in Human Existence
Imagine this scenario: it's an absolutely wondrous day on the mountain; the skies are blue, powder is abundant and there's practically no one around, the world is serene and still. Then, out of the blue, a forty something year old, beer bellied bloke in a neon pink and purple full body suit comes whooping and hollering with his gazillion children. Then this man has the nerve to jovially walk up to you and exclaim where he's from; West Texas and that he hasn't skied since the 80s. And you just glare at him. He asks for directions towards the lodge, grudgingly you tell him to literally just ski down the mountain. But the worst is when the tourist acts like they're a local. Ugghhhhhh just stop! This is a pretty extreme example of a tourist but basically they're way too happy, ask too many questions, and most need some serious fashion tips. But tourists boost the town's economy so they're  okay I guess.

Tourists. Photo courtesy of Tribune.com.pk

2. You Honestly Don't Understand Why People Don't Like Winter

Me when winter rolls around. Photo courtesy of
 live science.com

It's okay if winter isn't your number one season, but if someone says that they hate winter, let's just say that I'm done talking to you. I get it, you've lived in SoCal your entire life, you've never experienced a winter storm or 60 below weather. But don't be coming up here yelling how much you hate the cold and snow when you are literally surrounded by at least 1,000 skiers. What these people need to understand is that with winter comes amazing things. For example, snow and snow equals immense joy from fresh pow skiing. Sure it may be like 11 below, but that's why jackets are a thing, where one.

3. You Have an Unique Childhood
Most people's favorite childhood memories consist of hot summer days and bright purple popsicles. But a ski kid's favorite memory is always on a snowy winter's day sledding or rolling in the fluff (at least it is for me). And the pre-teen days are full of you and your friends piling into your mom's subaru outback and heading up to the resort. And then in high school all you want to do is stare out the window and watch the snowflakes gently land. Then once you're finally in college you can't really relate to anyone's childhood of going to the beach and waterpark because you never went anywhere like that (your parent's reasoning were that you already live in a vacation hotspot). But your childhood is truly unique and it's what made you, you!

4. You Have Some Immense Pride For Your Hometown
When someone asks a native skier where they're from, they better be ready to be bombarded with a lot of information. Because growing up in a mountain town is pretty distinct, and you're proud of that. So you love talking about where your from. You can talk about your high school's unique social hierarchy (alpine skiers on top and the winter haters on the bottom), how you were raised in a log cabin deep in the woods, and of course your love of snow!

5. You'll Always Want to Come Back
Ever since I was little, I have dreamed of going to a big city. And one day I went! But I realized after a while of being among the hustle and bustle of the city, I wanted to go back to my sleepy little pine tree covered town. You'll begin to miss the slow moving atmosphere and friendly people. You'll

A Transition?

As my 10th grade year begins, I've realized that I truly have enjoyed writing on this digital website. And as much as I do like writing about my closest friends, I have also come to realize that I've ran out of friends to write about. And I know what you're thinking, "Well Karsten why don't you make new friends?" Well you see I'm extremely socially awkward and plus my social anxiety levels peak each time I start a conversation... so yeah. But I do just adore writing on this thingy (plus it would be great to look back on this when I'm old and grey and laugh hysterically at my teenage self.) So ima continue this blog and just write about my adventures/obsessions/environmental rants. Because since it's so hard for me to get out what I'm trying to say through speech, I'll just do it with typing I guess. And even if no one will reads my posts, well I simply do not care cuz this whole writing thing has become a stress reliever. So yeah I hope people will keep reading this thing but if not oh well cuz I think it's a blast! Btw I think the new name for this blog should be called The Nordic Hippie. So yeah thanks for reading!

Maybe a new background photo? Photo courtesy of meridian.com

A Reflection and Predicting My Future

This post is gonna be a wee bit different than my usual posts. I'm gonna reflect on how I've changed throughout my ninth grade year at Treasure Mountain Junior High. Cause what isn't more fun than to read/write that?

At the beginning of this year I was really unsure of who I wanted to be once my seemingly endless days of being a teenager ended. I knew that I wanted to leave Utah and travel to a place where I can find people who are more like me but I had no clue as to where that place would be or who those people are. But as the year progressed I became more familiar of what I wanted to do. And I've also found people who I relate to and feel comfortable being myself around. And thanks to endless google map searching, I've found the perfect area to live. The Pacific North West! I don't really know where in the PCW yet but anywhere from San Francisco up is good for me! And after being invited and going to an environmental film festival (thanks Faith!) I've discovered what I wanna do with my life. I wanna do something with ecology and human impact and basically just saving the Earth. So yeah I guess you could say that I've changed and realized what my path truly is.

And I guess you could say that I'm more in touch with my free spirited side after this year. I've always been a kind of a rule follower and a subject to societal norms, but after this past year I have become more adventurous. Before, I went on long trail runs to get a workout, but now I go on trail runs to get lost (and to get a workout). To get lost both mentally and physically. I love to just get lost in my thoughts and when I go running I can get totally misplaced in my head thinking about what my life truly means and such. And there's been plenty of times where I have just gotten completely disoriented and on a completely new trail, so I call my dad (who's an avid mountain biker and has probably been on every trail ever) and we figure out a way back home. So yeah, I guess I've changed in the way that I've become more acceptable to the idea of being free.

A picture that I took this year in California. And idk I just like this photo. I was
adventuring when I took this photo so I guess it relates to my this post.

And like every year of my existence, I have gotten to know myself a little better. I'm so happy to be on this absolutely glorious planet. And another year here has just heightened my fascination in living. So that was how I've changed this year, I hope I didn't bore you into your inevitable death. Thanks for coming along with me on my ninth grade blog journey!

An Update on Faith Staley! "Give Peace a Chance"

Faith styling withs some sick shades and a
little sister. Selfie courtesy of Faith Staley.

Now I know I've done like literally thousands of blog posts on Faith Staley but she's fun to write about so let's do it again shall we. My first initial post about Faith was probably back in quarter one or like quarter two so it has been awhile. So let's begin with what has changed in Faith's life since the last interview.

The Snapchat captions says it all. Selfie
courtesy of Faith Staley.

Faith's family has adopted a new puppy named Rosie. And let me tell you I love puppies! If I could take a bath in puppies I totally would. So when I heard that Faith was getting a puppy I basically squealed out of pure joy. Now raising puppy is not as cute as a puppy itself. So when I got my puppy I had to clean up a lot of her "accidents" so to speak. And now Faith has gotten accustomed to doing that as well. Animals are weirdly like extremely sassy and strangely jealous when a new pet comes along. So I wasn't surprised to hear that Faith's kitty (Lizzy) has been meaner than usual. So now Faith has a lot more scratches which is new. Another change is that Faith rearranged her room which actually isn't that     unusual. But still extremely amazing. You can read more about her spontaneous room reconfigurings here.

Some new addictions that Faith has developed are mainly focused on new musicians. Now you probably know this artist quite well Winds of Change (it's pretty A+++ tbh.) And there's another band that she's been listening to a lot more than before and that band is the ever glorious band called City and Colour.
from his undoubtedly famous song: Riptide. But Faith absolutely adores another song by him called

Yep so thats it for this blog entry and I hoped you enjoyed learning a little bit about what's happening with Faith's erratic and hectic life.

An Update on Morrison Haslock! "A Fanatic Harry Potter/Percy Jackson Fan"

Morrison in her natural habitat just
chilling and such. Photo courtesy of
Morrison Haslock.

The last time that I interviewed Morrison was so long ago I don't even remember doing it. But alas I did, and I thought that it was time to write another post on this hardcore fandom obsessor.
First off, Morrison is still quite obsessed with all of her past T.V. shows and books and such, but she does have a couple of new things that she likes as well. This includes the newest Avengers movie (god it was the best tbh) and so now she breaths, eats, and drinks DC comics/Marvel comics ever since she saw that truly wondrous movie. But along with her newest addictions, she still has her old  ones as well. I mean she still loves Harry Potter (it's a true classic if you ask me) and she also still enjoys Percy Jackson fanatically. So she still the same ol' Morrison.

Morrison has also started to draw a lot more frequently than she used to. Most of her works are inspired by her fav T.V. shows and movies. And all of them are of people as well. This girl carries her sketch book practically everywhere and is always showing me some work (and they're all really good tbh). I personally can't draw a anything even close to a human without the head being way to ovally shaped and the eyes to look like demented eggs. And my trees just look like green blobs on top of overly thick and long sticks. So yeah, props to you Morrie!

Well I do hope that that was fun and satisfying for you to read. I mean cause it sure was a blast to write! I hope that y'all will come back to some more of my posts, thanks!

A drawing that Morrison did of a character she created named
Lena. Photo courtesy of Morrison Haslock.