Hi. I’m Helenna.
In case you don’t know, it’s pronounced huh – LEE – nah.
A lot of people try HEH – leh – na, which makes more sense given the double n’s, but no, my name defies the laws of phonetics.
I’m the older sister in my family, which is just me, Christina, my mom, and my dad. We are a pretty typical Asian-American family, nothing crazy. My grandparents stay with us, or at least one grandparent has, for pretty much my entire life. When I was younger it used to drive me a little crazy, because I felt like I could never be truly alone, but now I can appreciate them so much more. My grandpa spends most of his time in our (his) garden, growing cucumbers and snap peas and winter melon. My parents both work, but much to our chagrin, always try to spend time with us. Between my grandpa and my parents, my sister and I are well-provided for.
We also have a cat, Ginger. He is very elusive and spends most of his day outside with my grandpa in the garden or backyard, otherwise he wanders off on his own. Usually, when he gets hungry, he’ll come back, otherwise you’ll hear my mom calling to him from the backyard.
I like to paint and draw. I was a pretty crafty kid, and my parents let me take craft classes and drawing lessons and go to art camps, so I got pretty into it at a young age. It’s been hard to find time to keep up with it, especially the past few years, but taking art classes at school has definitely been fun and helped me explore different mediums. My personal preference is probably ink, pencil, and watercolor/gouache.
I am also a part of track and field. I pole vault and do sprinting events. Pole vault is a pretty unconventional sport, and it definitely has its own unique set of challenges, but it’s also really rewarding. You get to watch yourself literally improve, clear higher and higher heights, and the feeling of accomplishment you get is rewarding and makes all the challenges absolutely worth it. It’s shown me how to push myself and how I am more capable than the limitations I’ve imposed on myself.
I’m also a community group leader for my youth group, and it gives me a lot of opportunities to bond with the freshmen girls that I lead. It’s also been fun for me to watch them grow from 8th graders into high schoolers! I love spending time with them, and even though I’m the leader, they teach me just as much, especially about how to be patient and vulnerable.
As much as this blog is for other people, it’s also for me. I’m excited to look back at my year and see what I was thinking, doing, and posting.