Sites I Saw in New Orleans: Day 1

On the first day of my New Orleans trip...

I saw and explored Jackson Square, 

Cafe Du Monde and had delicious coffee, 

I went to the French market and bought some cute stuff for friends that I can't post yet (they're surprises!) 

Visited the St. Louis Cathedral. It's absolutely gorgeous inside and out,

(I also had my fortune told, but I'll go into more detail in another post)

I explored the French Quarter and walked along the Mississippi River at sunset,

Went on a Haunted History Ghost Tour around the French Quarter, 

And ate very delicious food at Daisy Duke's. 

What a day! 

New Orleans Food: Day 1

THE FOOD HERE IS AMAZING

Cajun Catfish from Daisy Duke's diner was so good the first night. The biscuits alone were incredible. Don't forget the tartar sauce! 

The famous Cafe Du Monde serves Cafe Au Lait (shown above) and provides a great atmosphere, especially for the stereotypical writer. 

More catfish because it's just so good. 

College, Being a Freshman, and New Orleans

Oh hey there blog world! I haven't been blogging for quite some time and I feel so terrible about it. I've been so busy with college and being a freshman that I barely have time to blink let alone blog. But right now I'm in New Orleans for a journalism conference so life's good and I have a lot of free time. 

I don't know what I'm going to do tonight let alone tomorrow, and that's the most relieving thing ever. I've already done so much sight seeing and outs only been a day. And the food- oh good lord, the good is amazing. I'm going to do a whole food feature just on everything I've eaten so far. The big easy has been incredible, and it's only day 2. 

I'm being published!

Hey everyone! The Erie County Fair is finally over and I can finally get back on track with blogging! So I have some big news: I'm being published in a book! It's the Teen Ink bully book and it will be out in September. I am literally so excited! This is the first step towards a writing career, and I couldn't be more proud of myself. I'll post details when the book comes out so that way you can read about twitter bullying that took place in my school. Until then, visit teenink.com for more awesome writings by me and tons of other awesome teens! Adios! 

Being Girly Vs. Being Stereotypical aka stereotypes suck

Ever since I died my hair blonde again, closer to my natural color, I have been feeling especially girly. I'm not sure why either, but I'm beginning to feel like one huge girly stereotype. I've come to realize, as I sit here and blog, that it's possible to fit more than one "label".

For example, you can be girly and love pink and zebra stripes, but at the same time love strange music and read hipster blogs in your spare time. You can be a marching band geek who also writes blogs and dreams of traveling the world. I guess what I'm saying is that labels are stupid, and the only one you should go by is your name. I happen to fit every single "label" that I just mentioned. Who cares if your favorite things contradict? Who cares if you like Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus. I mean, my goodness. It's your life not someone else's. You probably don't like all of the things they do anyways. So forget labels, and go buy some name tags for goodness sake.

My YouTube

Hey everyone! Just a brief and exciting message that I am working on my first full length vlog! I hope to have it up by this weekend, and it's me doing the girly tag! Be sure to stay tuned for a weird Q&A 

Adventure Series #2: Online Shopping With Amanda

So recently, I've developed quite the online shopping addiction. In a matter of a month, I've learned to find the best deals. Not to mention Amazon Student gave me 6 months of free 2 day shipping! I was very excited, perks of being a college student. 

So basically my whole college dorm shopping experience has been online. I've found everything from cheap ad pretty full length mirrors, makeup holders,  shower caddies, and party dresses. My customer satisfaction is very high. 

I've also realized the best part of having an iPhone- you can shop literally anywhere. Words can't describe my love for the Amazon Student Mobile App. I will be posting pictures of my new dresses and on my college living supplies over the next few days as they come in the mail. Happy shopping! 

A Day at the Park Ave Festival (Rochester, NY)

Street artists creating chalk masterpieces

String musicians playing "Eleanor Rigby". Sweet, right?

My favorite, random clarinet player guy. Rock on!

So today I went to the Park Ave Fest in Rochester, NY with my mom, my brother, and some of my mom's friends. It was basically a big culture festival, with tons of street vendors, performers, and artists. After making our way up and down the seemingly never ending Park Ave, here are some of the highlights, or at least my favorite parts...

• There were a lot of cool street artists, the one pictured above was making a really cool portrait out of chalk! I could have watched for hours.
• The string duet shown to the right was amazing. They had such a rich sound, and were jamming out to Eleanor Rigby and more. 
• There were a ton of standalone performers, like the clarinet player below. He was a pretty cool guy!
• There was so much shopping, my fave was an outdoor thrift shop benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of Rochester! 
• So. Much. Food. 
• More. Food.
• Did I mention the food?

The day was pretty awesome, and if you're ever in town for this annual event, I highly recommend checking it out!

Amanda Says: On Going to College for the First Time (because I'm just so excited!)

So in exactly one month from tomorrow (August 22nd) I move to Potsdam, NY to attend SUNY Potsdam as a freshman. I've already declared a communication major, and plan on minoring in journalism. I had orientation a few weeks ago, and my excitement levels are through the roof.

I've already made some great friends, and have even met my roommate already. Over the past few months I've discovered how much fun online shopping for dorm supplies!

Originally, I didn't know how I felt about Potsdam. Last fall I was heart set on SUNY Oswego. But I did a lot of research, and started to really like this school. In January, my dad and I drove 5 hours to visit campus. It was negative 5 and cloudy, but I fell in love entirely with Potsdam. I didn't even need to visit any other school, and I deposited on that day.

If I could give advice to anybody who's looking at colleges, or just starting the process, I'd say that you need to go with your gut feeling. Don't judge a college by it's website, or by the representative visiting your school. It's like falling in love with a person: when you meet "the one", you'll know. And that feeling is one of the most important factors in deciding on a college. For me, an art driven campus was perfect, and the location was far enough away to still be close to home. So give that school on your back burner a chance, because you'll never know if it's right until you give it the time.

Adventure Series #1: The Peanut Butter Apocylapse

  

On Saturday afternoon I had a strong hankering for something delicious and peanut butter filled. After searching my house, I really didn't have much to work with. After all, I live in a house with my dad, two brothers, and two English bulldogs. After an hour of hungry Google searching, I came to the decision that I would attempt to make peanut butter frosting. I had nothing to eat it with, but it sounded so good that I had to make it. The original recipe I found and used can be viewed here, though I'm going to write out what I did, because I'm not one to follow the rules. The recipe called for milk, softened butter, confectioner's sugar, and peanut butter. I followed the measurements to the best of my ability, though I wanted thicker frosting so I used less milk, and I'm a peanut nut so I added a little bit more peanut butter than necessary. 

It actually turned out decent! 

I ran into another problem along the way. For one, we don't have an electric mixer at my house, so I had to mix it all by hand. After some decent elbow work, though, it started to all come together. It was definitely satisfying and worth the 20 minutes that it took me to make it. The only other problem was that I had nothing to eat it with, because we had no baked goods in the house. Thankfully, I had some left over peanut butter pancakes from breakfast that I spread it on. The rest of the small batter was eaten by itself throughout the day, and let me just tell you, it was delicious. 

Stay tuned for more Amanda-Adventures!

Oh... 

Did I mention that I LOVE peanut butter? 

Please!

Please follow me if you actually somewhat enjoy my page, and feel free to comment your blog if you want me to check it out! I'm always open to suggestions on my own page, and I love exploring the internet. Also, enjoy this hilarious Jenna Marbles video!

Amanda Says: On Fangirling and Favorites

So I figured I should probably talk more about my favorite things, so that way when people check me out, there'll be some potential for commonalities. 

My favorite musicians are Wallpaper and Marina and the Diamonds. They're both so good and so unique, which is exactly what I love. Not many people have heard of either, at least that I know, so it can be a downer when nobody can fangirl with me. Speaking of fangirling... I do that. A LOT. It's kind of my trademark. When I love something, I love it hardcore. 

I also love love love reading and writing. English is my life. I'm a communications major, and I plan on going into journalism. The whole reason I started blogging was so that when I apply for internships I will have a basis online, and for practice. If I didn't have a summer job, and I could, I would sit at home and write all day. I love it so much. I do some fiction, but I prefer personal nonfiction and journalism (obviously). One day I want to work either for CNN or for a big magazine in either New York City or California. 

I also love Audrey Hepburn. She is my idol and I only wish I could have met her.  Breakfast at Tiffany's is my favorite of hers, and Roman Holiday is a close second. She is just so inspiring, not to mention classic and beautiful. 

MY OTHER OBSESSIONS INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: 

• Hunter Hayes
• Burgers
• Nutella
• The hipster scene
• New music
• Marching band
• Tumblr, Twitter, Blogging, Facebook, Instagram
• FOOD 
• Writing and reading

Easy Like Saturday Morning

Good morning and happy weekend! I'm spending my Saturday morning making peanut butter pancakes and listening to Marina and the Diamonds! I'm probably going to write up an opinion piece on her later! Here's a link to my new favorite song "Oh No" !

I spent my Friday night brainstorming new ways to make this blog even better, and this song summarizes how I feel about my passion for writing, blogging, journalism, and making it big! So here's to my theme song! Have a good Saturday everyone.

Amanda Says: Warped Tour Review!

On Saturday,July 6th, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Vans Warped Tour at Darien Lake Theme Park in Buffalo, NY. Being the huge music fan I am, it was one of the best days of my young life so far. 

There were so many bands there, but the primary reason I went was to see electronic/hip hop band Wallpaper. Ricky Reed aka Wallpaper is a spunky, "don't care" artists with catchy, bass heavy songs. My personal favorites are "#Stupidfacedd" and "Hesher". 

The show was fantastic. My friend and I waited and were front row, and the energy levels were soaring. The music was incredible, and the band was very interactive. We even got the chance to sing into the mic! 

After his performance, we waited in line to meet him. I'm a huge fan, and I  fangirled so hard. He even remembered my twitter handle (adberg0816) from the times he's retweeted me. It was one of the best moments a fan could have had. 

For the rest of the day, we checked out bands we didn't know really well. The best one we ran into is called echosmith. It consists of four siblings: 16 year old lead vocalist Sydney Sierota and her 3 brothers. We had never heard of them, but by the end of the set we didn't want it to end! We waited to meet the band and grab a free EP CD, and they were very sweet! We even got a free tote bag! 

The rest of the day was a music lover's paradise. Many performances, chicken fingers, and body painting sessions later, it was time to go. I recommend the Vans Warped Tour to everyone, no matter what genres you listen to. There is literally something for everyone. 

Amanda Says: On the Death of Cory Monteith

This past Sunday morning, I along with the rest of the world, woke up to the unfortunate news about the sudden death of actor Cory Monteith. Shocked, I didn't believe my CNN Breaking News Alert at first. It wasn't until I logged onto my twitter account that the truth began to sink in. He's gone.

When Glee first came out, I was in my early teens. The most awkward stages of life were upon me, and I wasn't really sure what group I fit in with. When I discovered the show, I was thrilled to realize that perhaps I wasn't the only awkward high school girl out there. More so, I could relate to the coming together of diverse students through music because of my passion for school band and playing the flute.

The death of Monteith, I will admit, brought me to tears. How could Finn possibly be dead? What about Lea? Weren't they getting married? I spent nearly two hours researching as much as I could on the details, including statements made by Fox TV and his coworkers, and the more I learned, the more tragic this story became.

Over the past few months I fell off of the Glee bandwagon. The end of my high school career had me very busy, and I had little time to follow the show. Furthermore, I was unaware that Monteith had struggled with addiction in the past. It was heartbreaking to read, because so many people looked up to him as a role model, and this went against all that his character, Finn Hudson, stands for. For now, I will continue to follow his story, as well as send my love and support for his girlfriend, Lea Michele. I can only imagine the grief she is feeling right now. Hopefully, the world along with the Twitterverse can stop the hateful statements about his addiction, because regardless of the cause of death, nobody so young and talented deserves to lose their life. Help is out there and available, all you need to do is ask.

New and Improved

Lately, I've been suffering a severe case of writer's block. Graduating high school and the start of summer distracted me, and I've been slacking on my writing. Throughout the past week though, I've been bored and researching a lot about careers and internships for next summer involving journalism, and I realized that I need to begin to build myself up now if I'm going to make it in this field. And so it begins! This blog is now officially my opinion blog. I am treating it as my own personal column: Randomly Expected. I will write about a different topic, whether it be political, a current event, something involving entertainment. Not only will it provide good practice in column/ opinion writing for me, but it will also serve as a sample site of my work for future potential employers. So welcome to Randomly Expected, and be prepared to go crazy!

Welcome

Hello there, internet world, and welcome to my little corner of the world. My name is Amanda B. I am a girl from New York, USA who is soon embarking on a new journey into the world of college. I love writing more than anything. Words fascinate me. They can be used in so many different ways and forms. They can hurt somebody, they can help somebody. They can save somebody. They can teach somebody. There's just so much a word can do. Which is why I've chosen communications as my life. I think I want to go into journalism, though I would be a much better columnist than a reporter because I have many very strong opinions. I see things that many others don't, and I am not afraid to ask questions that most people would sit wondering about for quite some time. This is my life, and I'm overjoyed to be able to share it with the world. Life is random, but you have to expect the unexpected, otherwise you're going to be in for a big surprise!