S T E P H A N I E    L A M P O T A N G

School's out for the rest of the year, and from the picture above, you can probably guess what I did on my first day off. Within hours of taking my last final, I was already on the metro, hurtling towards downtown and one favorite places in LA, The Last Bookstore.

I think I love it so much because the store is like a book itself. It doesn't look great from the outside - but I was taught never to judge a book by its cover - and when you step inside, you feel pure wonder.

Spending an entire day at a bookstore is just like spending an entire day surfing the web, but without as many distractions. Esentially, all we're trying to is soak up a little knowledge. Our lives are too short to experience everything for ourselves, so we share our stories and learn from others. The key difference between a bookstore and the internet though, is that bookstores force us to listen and learn, instead of trying to shove in our two cents in at every pause. We can post to the internet so easily, but to get a book published takes real commitment, dedication, and careful thought.

Which brings me to my next point, about the amount of knowledge and the thousands of lives worth of lessons learned, that all reside in bookstores. It's a place where worlds collide, and cookbooks sit just a few shelves away from books about the rise of green technology or novels of people from the past.

An on-going list of the books I've read this break: "How to Laugh Your Way Through Life" by Paul Marcus, "Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked" by Adam Alter, "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight" by Jennifer E. Smith...

I grew up hearing adages all the time. My dad gave them out a dime a dozen, and my interaction with music was a perfect example of you can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.

When I was 7 my parents put me into piano, but my heart wasn’t in it. I wouldn’t practice unless they told me to and tended to see it as an overall chore.

Flash forward 7 more years, and I sat entranced as I watched my celebrity crush play a song on the guitar - and just like that, my inner musician awoke. I bolted across the house to find my father’s old guitar that hadn’t been touched in over fourteen years.

When I finally got my hands on it, I saw the casing wore a thick layer of dust and the leather was frayed at the edges, but I was taught never to judge a book by its cover. I gently pried the latches open and sat back in wonder at the beautiful guitar waiting for me inside.

After fourteen years, it definitely needed some tuning, and so did I. Guitar was completely foreign to me, so I had a lot of work to do before I could make any real music. However, my lack of experience was no problem. This was something I was passionate about, so like with any of the other hobbies on here, I threw myself headfirst into it. Through YouTube tutorials, practicing with friends, and a couple of lessons, I became comfortable with the guitar until I could sing and play along to all of my favorite songs. Even now, playing the guitar is still one of my favorite ways to wind down after a long day.

After years of counting milliseconds as a competitive swimmer, I fell in love with Zumba, where I dance until I lose track of time. Here, I can swing my hips to Batchata, Merengue, Hip-hop, Salsa, Reggaeton, anything I'd like...

That's the general definition of Zumba, but my Zumba class is anything but normal, because it isn't always the music or the dance moves that make a good class, I think that I truly fell for the people. I fell for the energy of a room full of middle-aged women, getting down and hollering, screaming spanish lyrics to their favorite songs, improvising moves and adding their own flair to each step. From the outside looking in, we are only dancing, but open the door, step inside our studio, and I promise you will see something you've never seen before.

We follow the music. We dance with heart and move with soul. I love it more than singing, because when I sing the music reaches my mouth, but with dancing it touches my entire body.

^^ in case you're in the dancing mood

I've always been conscious about what foods I put into my body. As a swimmer I had to be, but this summer I decided to conquer the kitchen, to prepare my own meals and fuel my body with only the best ingredients. I decided to start my cooking adventures in Greece, and my first dish was a baked Meditteranean Chicken. The recipe called for at least 15 different spices and my mom taught me that in cooking I could be a little more creative than in baking. We altered the recipe and added some lemon juice and white wine to enhance the flavors and voila! Success! We ate it with everything from pita to french bread and found it went especially well with avocado.

I followed it up with several other Meditterarean style dishes that often starred tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, feta, and of course, lemon juice and oregano.

My next culinary destination was influenced by Cubano, Erick Brian Colón. I made typical cuban Frijoles Negroes and put them in flavorful Arroz Morros. And of couse, Pastelitos de Guyaba were eaten and Cuban Tostadas were made.

There's something so relaxing about preparing a meal, and there's something so satisfying about eating it afterwards.

Swimming yay

but im done

and now im fat :)