In the year 2013:
January
January was a rather quiet month as it usually is. I spent most of it working to keep up with senior projects for English, my three AP classes (Psychology, Biology and Statistics), and any final work I had for the one semester economics class. Indoor track was on in full speed and I had spent most of my time training either as a middle distance runner or a hurdler, many times both. I think the most interesting part of last January was for the first time I spend New Years not at home. I went with Cody, my boyfriend at the time, to his aunts house. It was definitely different to not be home with just my parents on new years but an experience I will remember.
Later that month Cody and I did break up. And yes looking back now I know it was the best thing that could have happened however in the moment is was one of the toughest things. I owe a lot to my great friends for helping me. There are two instances of great friendship, Rachel coming over the night we broke up and just keeping me company, talking to me and helping me see sense in what happened. But what I think moved me most was on a Monday morning (we were off from school) and Allison just showed up at my house, all she did was give me a hug and say you shouldn't be alone. While it does not look like much I would say it was one of the best moments to know that someone cared enough about me. I love having friends like that and these two are definitely amazing young ladies, I can never thank them enough.
February
February is always an interesting month for me. It is the meeting ground I would say of the winter and the spring. But what I think is most interesting about February is that it is the shortest but also always seems to be the most busy.
School wise February was full of the rush of AP classes now starting to truly pick up pace so that we have crammed enough information into our heads before the major tests the first few weeks of May. Another thing with school is that February draws to a close the winter season of indoor track. That means that events like the relay meet, sectionals and state qualifiers take place. This year was a rather full year in that regard. Myself and three other seniors, Karli, Megan and Abby, broke the school record in the Distance Medley Relay. This record was set in 1995 before any of us were born, interestingly by teammates of our coach.
One not so common event happened in February. I attended an overnight at college and was able to see more about what the school had to offer. This allowed me to meet with faculty and see a class so that I was more able to make my decision about which university I wanted to attend in the fall.
February also brought along my 18 birthday on the 28th. While it is not my golden birthday yet it was definitely a good day. Also in February is my brothers birthday on the 23rd.
March
March brought more schoolwork and less time. One thing about March that always makes me happy is the start of Dance Troope at Genesee Country Village and Museum again. Every year we take off January and February so that everyone can relax after Yuletide, but by March I always seem to be itching to dance again. Another event that comes up in March at work is the Maple Festival something that I look forward to working every year since I volunteered for it in 2009. This year I was able to spend two days in the maple camp and the other two working Heritage Chocolate with a co-worker Sam.
April
About all that happened in April was school, and a lot of work coming from school. However April was also Allison's birthday.
May
May brought a lot; APs, the end of my senior track season, my last dance recital.
I will always remember my last dance recital. Being in advanced pointe, African and modern as well as the opening I was in all three recitals. Including rehearsal I had four chances in which I jumped out of a hat. And while I did enjoy the opening to Magic and African based on the Lion King I think the most moving moment and memorable moment was my senior solo. A pointe solo done with a Celtic theme to a song called Dulaman by one of my favorite groups, Celtic Woman. Now what was really cool about this was that I had choreographed the whole dance myself so it was really special for me to perform it. I will always look back at the fond memories than I have through dance and at A Time for Dance.
May also brought the start of my second season working at Genesee Country Museum.
June
Two things happened this past June that really stand out to me. I graduated from Churchville- Chili Senior High School. I am now an official high school graduate which means the start of the shortest summer ever and the start of my future. In addition to graduating from high school I also had my college orientation conveniently all in the same weekend which really shaped the whole idea of the ending of one chapter and the start of another. While I did have the summer as a six week gap between these two adventures.
July
Beyond the birthdays of my father and sister, the biggest event in July for me was being able to spend a week camped at the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Gettysburg. I could write or talk for hours about Gettysburg and never truly do it justice. I am thankful for the experience which in many ways was a reverent one. I was able to go out as a field nurse or ice angel during four battles including Picket's Charge. I can still remember the feeling of watching the charge an imaging what it would have been like to really be there 150 years ago. There was another moment when I was able to go a see the actual battle fields and there's that moment when you are sitting on Little Round Top or Devil's Den, you can't help but realize what happened there and how many brave men and maybe a handful of women gave their lives. Beyond the reverence of the week it was a great adventure of friendship and yes stressful but I will gladly do it again. I owe a huge thank you to the 2nd Texas. I met so many amazing people, Captain Tom, Sargent Zack and Kaite, Cornel Shane and his wife Amy and their sons, Lieutenant Chris, and really the whole 2nd Texas. Thank you for all the help in camp and one of the most memorable weeks of my life.
August
I left for college and started the adventure on my own. It is definitely a different experience being away from home. Having to live with people you really don't know and taking classes that are much harder than anything you've done. While yes there are not that hard yet there is a lot of work involved in college classes.
September
I joined the Ultimate Frisbee team at school and with practice 3 times a week and tournaments it has been an awesome learning experience. I have met so many great people. Ultimate is played like a mix of soccer and football though it has a lot of its own rules some of which look similar to basketball.
October
I had fall break which meant that I could come home for a week. In that time I was able to go to a dance troope practice. That was cool to come back after a bit off. I was also able to work as a spook for two of the nights of spirits. It was different than last year with Stephen and more of the guys but it was cool to spook with Lydia and Rachel.
November
My first semester at college is starting to draw to a close and there is a lot of work involved with school. I am beginning to notice that everything always seems to fall in the same week. I was home for Thanksgiving and attend the last of the weekend Yuletide rehearsals. But the big thing I did over thanksgiving break was run the Turkey Trot with my family. It is a 8K race on thanksgiving that we have run as a family my aunts uncles cousins and my family for the last few years and its a lot of fun to do since thanksgiving we usually spend with the other side of our family.
December
This was a busy month at the end of the semester. I had a lot to do to get ready for finals and all I can say is that finals at college are definitely everything everybody makes them out to be. But I did survive and finished my first college semester with a 3.8 GPA!
Being away from school I was not able to be a part of Yuletide like I was in the past. This year was sort of a building year for me in that way that I spent part of the Friday I was home for shadowing a very experience tour guide Michelle. And then on Saturday I was able to do my own tour with Michelle observing me and then by events out of my control I wish asked to take someone else's tour as my first tour solo. While I was not an official tour guide this the experience was enjoyable, and I am now trained enough that I will be able to tour guide next year even though I am younger than what they normally allow.
Christmas was a great time with family. From my parents I got a piccolo and instrument I will be able to use to broaden my musical knowledge.
What a year 2013 has been and in a few hours I will put it behind me and head on to 2014. Its crazy to think that I have grown up and how fast time has pasted. I learned a lot this year but especially in the last few months. I learned that even though you move on to the future your true friends will still be there for you regardless of how you grow up and what adventures you take on. I learned that it is time to take responsibility for your future, meaning that the work you put forth will get out for you what you want. I am not saying that it will be easy but I'm saying that if its what you are called to do it will be worth it. So for 2014 my one goal for myself is to do better and being what I can be. That may mean in classes or in life but just to be a better me.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
"I'll never grow up...."
I can't help but think about that song from Annie, "If growing up means it would be against my dignity to climb a tree I won't grow up..."
These last few months have been the biggest growing up I have ever done and sometimes I wonder if I really want to grow up. While yes I want the perks of being an adult and having responsibility in society I can't help but look back on some of the things I have to leave behind. Its a bittersweet trade off but one that everyone has to make at some point in there life.
In these last few months, I have had to cope with living on my own for the first time in my life. That is definitely different than living at home with your parents. Not that I would say that being on your own is a bad thing because it is not really its just different, very different. And with any change there must be time for adjustment.
I really notice this growing up when I had to limit my ability and commitment to Yuletide in the Country at the museum because of school. While I'm excited to be taking the steps to become a nurse and I cannot wait to learn what is needed to be a great nurse. There was a lot of times when I wanted to run away from the work. Yuletide in the Country has always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas in which you get to step into the past with friends and truly experience Christmas in the past. What I learned from this year is that you don't have to give up the things of your childhood but rather take the time to grow up to enjoy things from a different perspective.
I was able to do just that this year. This year instead of just being a part of the dance scene like I have in the past I was able to start as a tour guide in training. What this was supposed to mean is that I would shadow experienced guides to see how they handled tour guiding learn things along the way and next year I would become a guide. Since I am a lot younger than most of the guides it made sense to do it this way. However do to some unfortunate events I was needed to take over as a guide of a tour. I had one tour in which I was the guide but there was an experienced guide on the tour in order to make sure that if I needed anything I could ask. Later that night I was able to take my first tour out solo. I don't think I will every forget the feeling of being handed my own lantern and the list of people on the tour and sent on my way. That's what I think growing up is. Being able to still appreciate things but taking them on in new meaning. So yes during the whole month of December I did not want to be in my dorm room studying, I can appreciate growing up.
These last few months have been the biggest growing up I have ever done and sometimes I wonder if I really want to grow up. While yes I want the perks of being an adult and having responsibility in society I can't help but look back on some of the things I have to leave behind. Its a bittersweet trade off but one that everyone has to make at some point in there life.
In these last few months, I have had to cope with living on my own for the first time in my life. That is definitely different than living at home with your parents. Not that I would say that being on your own is a bad thing because it is not really its just different, very different. And with any change there must be time for adjustment.
I really notice this growing up when I had to limit my ability and commitment to Yuletide in the Country at the museum because of school. While I'm excited to be taking the steps to become a nurse and I cannot wait to learn what is needed to be a great nurse. There was a lot of times when I wanted to run away from the work. Yuletide in the Country has always been one of my favorite parts of Christmas in which you get to step into the past with friends and truly experience Christmas in the past. What I learned from this year is that you don't have to give up the things of your childhood but rather take the time to grow up to enjoy things from a different perspective.
I was able to do just that this year. This year instead of just being a part of the dance scene like I have in the past I was able to start as a tour guide in training. What this was supposed to mean is that I would shadow experienced guides to see how they handled tour guiding learn things along the way and next year I would become a guide. Since I am a lot younger than most of the guides it made sense to do it this way. However do to some unfortunate events I was needed to take over as a guide of a tour. I had one tour in which I was the guide but there was an experienced guide on the tour in order to make sure that if I needed anything I could ask. Later that night I was able to take my first tour out solo. I don't think I will every forget the feeling of being handed my own lantern and the list of people on the tour and sent on my way. That's what I think growing up is. Being able to still appreciate things but taking them on in new meaning. So yes during the whole month of December I did not want to be in my dorm room studying, I can appreciate growing up.
Friday, November 8, 2013
A little advice.... Write it down
A thought I would pop in for a bit and give a little advise. Over the last almost ten years I have been keeping diaries and journals. Now when I started I did not do it for any particular reason other than I had a blank book and I could write, but over the last almost decade I have learned what a blessing writing can be. You grow a lot over time and having the ability to write down how you feel and what's going on is a treasure down the road. I have looked back and reread old entries may times and its always interesting to look back on who you used to be. Sometimes I laugh at how silly I was and what I thought was a huge deal. But if for nothing else it is a great place to document what is going on and what life is like for you that day. I would recommend that you make sure to date your entries for future reference.
Keeping a journal is a personal way for me to reflect on my adventures and new life lessons. I would recommend this to anyone especially if you are going throw change or a difficult time emotionally. It will help you to reflect on the blessings that are present in every situation. I hope that you will consider documenting your life in this personal way.
Keeping a journal is a personal way for me to reflect on my adventures and new life lessons. I would recommend this to anyone especially if you are going throw change or a difficult time emotionally. It will help you to reflect on the blessings that are present in every situation. I hope that you will consider documenting your life in this personal way.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
A New Old Room
So I think I've had writers block. No matter how hard a tried I could not seem to find something to write about, and if I found something I wanted to write about I could seem to get it together to make it sound good. I have decided that a month is a little too long for me to go without a post so I am going to try.
Over fall break I finished my first quilt ever. Now I have always been a crafter and a lover of fiber arts. I learned to knit when I was eight years old and ever since then I have always wanted to learn more. This quilt was not a small undertaking for me. It is a queen size quilt 96 by 96 inches. I designed the quilt all by myself, it is a log cabin block in a star made completely with period fabrics and bright colors. But more about the quilt later when I can post pictures.
The purpose of this quilt is for my bed at home. I have been in need of a new quilt for a long time. My old one is falling apart, and is a little bit to young for me. So with finishing this quilt my mom has suggested that we redo my room so it fits the quilt. She suggested a colonel style room. The current rug in my room is a violet purple but there is hard word floors under it, however we do not know how good the condition of them is.
With this all being said I want to theme the room with the colonial or early romantic era theme and style. Most of the furniture in my room is antique and family furniture. Right now I don't know when this project will get done but I love thinking of what I want to do and how I want it to look. I keep thinking that I can make it perfectly authentic now I know that might not be possible but the idea is exciting. I'm opened to ideas. I would love to hear any of your ideas.
Over fall break I finished my first quilt ever. Now I have always been a crafter and a lover of fiber arts. I learned to knit when I was eight years old and ever since then I have always wanted to learn more. This quilt was not a small undertaking for me. It is a queen size quilt 96 by 96 inches. I designed the quilt all by myself, it is a log cabin block in a star made completely with period fabrics and bright colors. But more about the quilt later when I can post pictures.
The purpose of this quilt is for my bed at home. I have been in need of a new quilt for a long time. My old one is falling apart, and is a little bit to young for me. So with finishing this quilt my mom has suggested that we redo my room so it fits the quilt. She suggested a colonel style room. The current rug in my room is a violet purple but there is hard word floors under it, however we do not know how good the condition of them is.
With this all being said I want to theme the room with the colonial or early romantic era theme and style. Most of the furniture in my room is antique and family furniture. Right now I don't know when this project will get done but I love thinking of what I want to do and how I want it to look. I keep thinking that I can make it perfectly authentic now I know that might not be possible but the idea is exciting. I'm opened to ideas. I would love to hear any of your ideas.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
College: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly :)
Its weird to think that I've been here at Gannon for over a month. How the time flew. In some cases it seems like yesterday that I moved in and began the adventure. However I also feel like I've been here forever. My days seem busy but I enjoy them, the classes have been tough but manageable. So in being here I thought I give some advice to incoming students, it may turn into life advice we will see where this goes, and how I have started to work on living up to this advice.
Get involved on campus:
In my first week here, before classes (aka the craziness) started we had what is fondly referred to as Preview GU. One of the activities that was not mandated but was worth while at least in my opinion to go to was the activities fair. Now I'm sure most universities have on of these in there orientations before classes start. At the fair there were booths for almost all of the clubs and societies. All of the Greek life was represented along with club sports and groups like PATCHES or Service clubs. All the individual colleges or schools honor societies were there it was a really beneficial thing for me to go to get information and contacts for the clubs I was interested in.
So how this helped me.... I was able to get the contact information for the club Ultimate Frisbee team that I am now a part of. I love it and have all ready started to form a slight obsession for the game. We practice officially 2 nights a week as a full team a third afternoon is just for us handlers, and now we are starting to join a club league at one of the local schools. Frisbee is a lot of fun and the people are awesome. Having an activity to do that you enjoy that also keeps you active helps you to stay healthy and focused which makes it possible to not die with all the work that college actually has.
I have also joined the Symphonic Band here. Its a lot smaller than my high school band back home but I like it. Right now we are preparing for our Christmas concert so all our music is Xmas, which is fun and exciting. Being that we are a small group I was able to write an essay and do an audition and I now have a scholarship that is involved with the group.
My advice to any incoming freshman or rather anyone is stay involved, and try something new, you never know it could turn out to be your next favorite thing.
Meet new people:
This is kind of a no brainer your in a new place your going to meet new people. The important thing is to meet new people with an open mind, attend events and try to learn there names. For me personally the last thing was the hardest to do.
So your a freshman in college most of your classes are probably not your major, but rather general classes that are required to graduate. That means that every new class you go to you have a lot of new people in them or at least most of them are not the same. Be friendly meet the new people and try as hard as you can to remember their names. For me that is easier said than done. I'm still working on the name thing but I have gotten to the point that I know the names of at least one person in all of my classes. Doesn't seem that hard? You have to remember that I'm living on a floor with about 40 girls I've never met until now. The Frisbee team has about 30 people (6 girls the rest guys) None of whom live on my floor or wing. All of my classes have about 20 to 30 people in them. Plus there is a lot of people you meet at other events that don't fall into any of those categories. Do your best you can get there.
This really goes hand in hand with getting involved if you don't do anything your not going to meet new people. So trying to make new friends in things that interest you. While it may seem like there's no one that you have anything in common with once you get to know people things will work out.
Take things as they are:
I'm going to apply this to a few things, but you can really apply it to almost everything in life. Don't over think things, now I know I do this so its something to work on. Don't take things to personally.
For me I can apply this best to me moving out of my original suite into a whole different room after being here for almost three weeks. Why did I move? Well the simple answer is that things didn't work out and it was the best idea for me and for Lexy. If you want to know more about what actually happened contact me personally if you don't have my number, well don't worry about it. What I learned for this whole adventure of dealing with this problem and then deciding to move is this, don't take it personally rather take it as it is. For most colleges your roommate your placed with will not be your best friend, your best friend will come for else where i.e. the first two topics, so if it doesn't work out try to just live together if that isn't working talk to your RA. The process of moving for me was stressful but once I started really living in my new room I'm glad I made the move. While Jaclyn and I aren't exactly the same person I think that we could be friends. The moral of this story is this take something at face value. You haven't been with these people long enough for it to have a deeper meaning.
This can also be applied to the workload. Now I can't complain too much its only freshman year and first semester for that matter the work is not that hard. But for sure its likely a lot more work than you have ever done. Unlike in high school you don't have to do the reading most professors are not going to hunt you down and make you go to class or do that paper. These are things of the past, so take the work as it is a lot more than your used to, but nothing that you can't handle. There's a reason you got into the college or university there's a reason you made it into the program your smart enough and capable enough to handle it so do just that handle it. I'm saying that there won't be things that aren't hard cause there will be but you can do it. For me the first test is always the hardest not knowing how the test is going to look or how difficult it will be is always a stressor, but doing what you know works for you and trusting that you do know your stuff will help. Don't stress is all I can say and personally I know its easier said than done. Just this Friday was our first judgment day as Dr. Meinchouse calls it for Sacred Scripture. All I can say is that I was nervous I had no idea what the test was going to look like and how nit picky the questions would be but sitting here right now I think I did fine. Take things as they are and you can do it.
These are just two of many examples for me of where you can apply this phrase. I challenge you to think about where this applies to your life and what you may be blowing out of proportion.
A friend is a friend is a friend:
Since my last post was kind of about this I'm going to try to not be to wordy on this :).
Your meeting a lot of new people, and forming new friendships, just remember that a friend is a friend. So that girl on the Frisbee team that you throw with almost daily can be just as good of a friend is that girl back home. Let your friendships grow. Also remember that you have friends and family back home that are here to support you. Call, text or do whatever you need to.
Homesickness:
You know that thing that you swore to yourself you would never let yourself get. It happens don't feel bad about yourself for getting it.
For me I said I wouldn't get it. This was a new adventure and a great thing for me a growing experience and I wasn't going to miss home. Now I can honestly say I got homesick am I ashamed of it not at all. It can be hard to leave behind friends and family and things you enjoy, but its important to remember that there still there if you need them. For I tend to focus on why I'm here, what I like about everything, cry a little and then move on. They will always be there. I like the fact that I have pictures to remind me of them. Keep in mind that this is a growing experience and not something that will happen over night.
You can do it!!!
Be yourself:
So I know that this is a new beginning and with new beginnings people tend to think of ways in which they are unhappy with themselves and then try to invent a new you. Don't there is nothing wrong with trying to better yourself but remember that your a great person. Be you!
For me there was a lot of stress involved in the whole moving shindig. The thing I stress most is that there is nothing wrong with you, sometimes things don't work out as they planed its okay to move on or to move out for me literally its not ok to blame something on yourself.
So there has been a lot of things I've learned in these first thirty some days, and that doesn't include all of the course work. :) You can do it :) You out there who is reading this may not be in college or plan to be in the not to distant future but my challenge for you is to try to apply these to your life and see where they take you. As always I will try to write more but I'm not sure how consistent I will be. Have a good week everyone!
Get involved on campus:
In my first week here, before classes (aka the craziness) started we had what is fondly referred to as Preview GU. One of the activities that was not mandated but was worth while at least in my opinion to go to was the activities fair. Now I'm sure most universities have on of these in there orientations before classes start. At the fair there were booths for almost all of the clubs and societies. All of the Greek life was represented along with club sports and groups like PATCHES or Service clubs. All the individual colleges or schools honor societies were there it was a really beneficial thing for me to go to get information and contacts for the clubs I was interested in.
So how this helped me.... I was able to get the contact information for the club Ultimate Frisbee team that I am now a part of. I love it and have all ready started to form a slight obsession for the game. We practice officially 2 nights a week as a full team a third afternoon is just for us handlers, and now we are starting to join a club league at one of the local schools. Frisbee is a lot of fun and the people are awesome. Having an activity to do that you enjoy that also keeps you active helps you to stay healthy and focused which makes it possible to not die with all the work that college actually has.
I have also joined the Symphonic Band here. Its a lot smaller than my high school band back home but I like it. Right now we are preparing for our Christmas concert so all our music is Xmas, which is fun and exciting. Being that we are a small group I was able to write an essay and do an audition and I now have a scholarship that is involved with the group.
My advice to any incoming freshman or rather anyone is stay involved, and try something new, you never know it could turn out to be your next favorite thing.
Meet new people:
This is kind of a no brainer your in a new place your going to meet new people. The important thing is to meet new people with an open mind, attend events and try to learn there names. For me personally the last thing was the hardest to do.
So your a freshman in college most of your classes are probably not your major, but rather general classes that are required to graduate. That means that every new class you go to you have a lot of new people in them or at least most of them are not the same. Be friendly meet the new people and try as hard as you can to remember their names. For me that is easier said than done. I'm still working on the name thing but I have gotten to the point that I know the names of at least one person in all of my classes. Doesn't seem that hard? You have to remember that I'm living on a floor with about 40 girls I've never met until now. The Frisbee team has about 30 people (6 girls the rest guys) None of whom live on my floor or wing. All of my classes have about 20 to 30 people in them. Plus there is a lot of people you meet at other events that don't fall into any of those categories. Do your best you can get there.
This really goes hand in hand with getting involved if you don't do anything your not going to meet new people. So trying to make new friends in things that interest you. While it may seem like there's no one that you have anything in common with once you get to know people things will work out.
Take things as they are:
I'm going to apply this to a few things, but you can really apply it to almost everything in life. Don't over think things, now I know I do this so its something to work on. Don't take things to personally.
For me I can apply this best to me moving out of my original suite into a whole different room after being here for almost three weeks. Why did I move? Well the simple answer is that things didn't work out and it was the best idea for me and for Lexy. If you want to know more about what actually happened contact me personally if you don't have my number, well don't worry about it. What I learned for this whole adventure of dealing with this problem and then deciding to move is this, don't take it personally rather take it as it is. For most colleges your roommate your placed with will not be your best friend, your best friend will come for else where i.e. the first two topics, so if it doesn't work out try to just live together if that isn't working talk to your RA. The process of moving for me was stressful but once I started really living in my new room I'm glad I made the move. While Jaclyn and I aren't exactly the same person I think that we could be friends. The moral of this story is this take something at face value. You haven't been with these people long enough for it to have a deeper meaning.
This can also be applied to the workload. Now I can't complain too much its only freshman year and first semester for that matter the work is not that hard. But for sure its likely a lot more work than you have ever done. Unlike in high school you don't have to do the reading most professors are not going to hunt you down and make you go to class or do that paper. These are things of the past, so take the work as it is a lot more than your used to, but nothing that you can't handle. There's a reason you got into the college or university there's a reason you made it into the program your smart enough and capable enough to handle it so do just that handle it. I'm saying that there won't be things that aren't hard cause there will be but you can do it. For me the first test is always the hardest not knowing how the test is going to look or how difficult it will be is always a stressor, but doing what you know works for you and trusting that you do know your stuff will help. Don't stress is all I can say and personally I know its easier said than done. Just this Friday was our first judgment day as Dr. Meinchouse calls it for Sacred Scripture. All I can say is that I was nervous I had no idea what the test was going to look like and how nit picky the questions would be but sitting here right now I think I did fine. Take things as they are and you can do it.
These are just two of many examples for me of where you can apply this phrase. I challenge you to think about where this applies to your life and what you may be blowing out of proportion.
A friend is a friend is a friend:
Since my last post was kind of about this I'm going to try to not be to wordy on this :).
Your meeting a lot of new people, and forming new friendships, just remember that a friend is a friend. So that girl on the Frisbee team that you throw with almost daily can be just as good of a friend is that girl back home. Let your friendships grow. Also remember that you have friends and family back home that are here to support you. Call, text or do whatever you need to.
Homesickness:
You know that thing that you swore to yourself you would never let yourself get. It happens don't feel bad about yourself for getting it.
For me I said I wouldn't get it. This was a new adventure and a great thing for me a growing experience and I wasn't going to miss home. Now I can honestly say I got homesick am I ashamed of it not at all. It can be hard to leave behind friends and family and things you enjoy, but its important to remember that there still there if you need them. For I tend to focus on why I'm here, what I like about everything, cry a little and then move on. They will always be there. I like the fact that I have pictures to remind me of them. Keep in mind that this is a growing experience and not something that will happen over night.
You can do it!!!
Be yourself:
So I know that this is a new beginning and with new beginnings people tend to think of ways in which they are unhappy with themselves and then try to invent a new you. Don't there is nothing wrong with trying to better yourself but remember that your a great person. Be you!
For me there was a lot of stress involved in the whole moving shindig. The thing I stress most is that there is nothing wrong with you, sometimes things don't work out as they planed its okay to move on or to move out for me literally its not ok to blame something on yourself.
So there has been a lot of things I've learned in these first thirty some days, and that doesn't include all of the course work. :) You can do it :) You out there who is reading this may not be in college or plan to be in the not to distant future but my challenge for you is to try to apply these to your life and see where they take you. As always I will try to write more but I'm not sure how consistent I will be. Have a good week everyone!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Forever Friends
So I decided that its been a bit since my last post so I needed to come up with a topic for a new post. There has been a lot going on with classes picking up and other college dramas so its been tough to sit down and focus on what to write for you readers out there. So with this writer's block I was looking on Pinterest and I noticed that my best friend had pinned a lot of pins about friends, so I started to think about it and I decided a would talk about friendships.
So I started thinking... I would say there's about four different types of friends; just friends, good friends, close friends, and siblings. Just friends are those people in your classes or at work that you get along with you just haven't hung out with outside of that environment so your not really that close. Good friends are those people that you bond with over something such as a sport or an activity that you know you can go to if you needed to. Now for the other two I think that they are very similar, close friends are those who you can talk to about anything and who will support you in anything, the people who will tell it to you strait and have your back. However, siblings are those few friends you wish you were related to that you can talk to whenever, about whatever, the kind of friends that randomly show up at your house after you and your boyfriend broke up cause they can, or let you cry about it but take your phone so you don't make a stupid mistake cause they know you deserve better. I wouldn't say there's a huge difference between siblings and close friends that's why we call them both best friends.
Being at college for almost a month now I'm starting to realize that forming new friendships isn't always the easiest thing to do. Not that it isn't possible but rather that it takes time. As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." I think this has been very true for me. I have formed a lot of good friendships especially with those on my ultimate Frisbee team, but I've also learned that some things just don't work out and its not a failure to change a situation like to move rooms.
So while I'm building new friendships and starting a new chapter of my life its nice to know that I have friends back home that care about me. I had a great conversation with one of my best friends today and its refreshing to know that no matter where you might go your not facing the world on your own. That best friends don't change because of distance, and you don't need to talk every day, but when you need them they have your back. The other thing I like is that they support you in your decisions even if it seems like no one else does.
So to all my friends old and new..... Thank you so much for everything you do/ have done/ will do in my life. God Bless you.
So I started thinking... I would say there's about four different types of friends; just friends, good friends, close friends, and siblings. Just friends are those people in your classes or at work that you get along with you just haven't hung out with outside of that environment so your not really that close. Good friends are those people that you bond with over something such as a sport or an activity that you know you can go to if you needed to. Now for the other two I think that they are very similar, close friends are those who you can talk to about anything and who will support you in anything, the people who will tell it to you strait and have your back. However, siblings are those few friends you wish you were related to that you can talk to whenever, about whatever, the kind of friends that randomly show up at your house after you and your boyfriend broke up cause they can, or let you cry about it but take your phone so you don't make a stupid mistake cause they know you deserve better. I wouldn't say there's a huge difference between siblings and close friends that's why we call them both best friends.
Being at college for almost a month now I'm starting to realize that forming new friendships isn't always the easiest thing to do. Not that it isn't possible but rather that it takes time. As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." I think this has been very true for me. I have formed a lot of good friendships especially with those on my ultimate Frisbee team, but I've also learned that some things just don't work out and its not a failure to change a situation like to move rooms.
So while I'm building new friendships and starting a new chapter of my life its nice to know that I have friends back home that care about me. I had a great conversation with one of my best friends today and its refreshing to know that no matter where you might go your not facing the world on your own. That best friends don't change because of distance, and you don't need to talk every day, but when you need them they have your back. The other thing I like is that they support you in your decisions even if it seems like no one else does.
So to all my friends old and new..... Thank you so much for everything you do/ have done/ will do in my life. God Bless you.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
A Dorm Life
I have just moved into college. So its a new experience for me living away from home, sharing a room with a girl I just met, and living in a suite with four other girls that are new to me. Now before moving I asked all my friends as I was saying good bye to, or as my roommate says its not good bye its see you later, to give me advice on college or life in general.
Here are some of the memorable ones:
1) Work hard but not too hard
2) Get involved on campus
3) Be smart, have fun but do not be stupid
4) With your roommate lay out an agreement with what's okay and what's not okay and make sure you stick to it.
5) Stay in touch.
6) Talk to your professors they're there to be a resource so if you have a question ask or shoot them an email.
There were lots of other things but that's the general gist of what I was told before leaving for college. Now with being here a week there are some things I think that other people in my shoes might be interested in. So here's Mary's advice to future college students.
1) When your packing keep a list of what you want to make sure you have
2) Make sure you bring enough clothes and shoes to get by but not too many, remember your sharing a closet size room with someone else.
3) Communicate with your roommate you don't need two tvs.
4) Plan things to decorate the walls in dorms are boring
5) Remember you and your roommate don't have to be best friends you just have to live together so don't worry if you don't see them as a life long friend.
6) Get involved in clubs or sports there are plenty of things to do
7) Keep active and eat smart it will make everything easier for you.
8) SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
9) Pack a day planner and a wall calendar its easy to forget those twenty pages you needed to read for philosophy
10) Check your schedule the morning of classes room numbers, professors, and times may change
11) Remember its a new adventure don't be too sad or nervous.
These are things that I have learned so far I'm sure there will be more and I will maybe do a new list monthly once I get into the swing of things. So far I really enjoy the college life I really like it here, well besides the Erie weather but that I can live with
Here are some of the memorable ones:
1) Work hard but not too hard
2) Get involved on campus
3) Be smart, have fun but do not be stupid
4) With your roommate lay out an agreement with what's okay and what's not okay and make sure you stick to it.
5) Stay in touch.
6) Talk to your professors they're there to be a resource so if you have a question ask or shoot them an email.
There were lots of other things but that's the general gist of what I was told before leaving for college. Now with being here a week there are some things I think that other people in my shoes might be interested in. So here's Mary's advice to future college students.
1) When your packing keep a list of what you want to make sure you have
2) Make sure you bring enough clothes and shoes to get by but not too many, remember your sharing a closet size room with someone else.
3) Communicate with your roommate you don't need two tvs.
4) Plan things to decorate the walls in dorms are boring
5) Remember you and your roommate don't have to be best friends you just have to live together so don't worry if you don't see them as a life long friend.
6) Get involved in clubs or sports there are plenty of things to do
7) Keep active and eat smart it will make everything easier for you.
8) SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
9) Pack a day planner and a wall calendar its easy to forget those twenty pages you needed to read for philosophy
10) Check your schedule the morning of classes room numbers, professors, and times may change
11) Remember its a new adventure don't be too sad or nervous.
These are things that I have learned so far I'm sure there will be more and I will maybe do a new list monthly once I get into the swing of things. So far I really enjoy the college life I really like it here, well besides the Erie weather but that I can live with
Monday, August 19, 2013
Builds Character: Lovely Long Tresses
When I turned sixteen I made a promise to myself that I would never cut off my hair again at least until my wedding. Now I know that may sound random but I took a summer camp in 2006, and one of the girls in the group had cancer. So in honor of Erica I have donated over 48 inches of hair to Locks for Love. I would encourage anyone that wants to cut off more than 8 inches of hair to donate to Locks for Love its very easy and a great cause. They make wigs for cancer patients. But now that I have done this for now I want to see how long I can get my hair ideally I want it to be to my waist or longer.
I have never had a lot of patience, so I have been looking into other peoples thoughts and remedies for making their hair grow faster. Here are some of the interesting ones:
One girl claims that your hair grows slower if you cut it on a full moon. She claims that from her own personal experience cutting her hair on new moons during the water signs has helped it to grow fast. She even claims that the new moons during Pisces (Feb. 19- Mar. 20), and Gemini (May 21- Jun. 20) are the best. I may have to try this saying that I am a Pisces. Now as a disclaimer I have never tried this, so I have no idea if it works at all.
I've also read that if you wash your hair with natural things it helps. I have washed my hair with baking soda and been doing a vinegar rinse. I use about a 1 to 2 proportion of white vinegar and water. I have also heard that apple cider vinegar is good too. For me I was using the white vinegar because I found that it helps with taming my crazy curly hair. I have notices some growth since April my hair has gone for being 19inches long to 23. However I am still looking at other ways mainly cause I'm inpatient and it doesn't seem to be growing faster. However I do like this solution, it cuts the cost of shampoo and conditioner almost completely.
A friend of mine takes biotin a natural vitamin that is know to help strength and encourage the growth of hair and nails. I have not done this yet so I don't know how effective it is however I would love to try it. I have a habit of picking at my nails if I'm nervous so even if this doesn't help with the hair a lot, it may be worth it.
Those are three of many solutions out there if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them.
I have never had a lot of patience, so I have been looking into other peoples thoughts and remedies for making their hair grow faster. Here are some of the interesting ones:
One girl claims that your hair grows slower if you cut it on a full moon. She claims that from her own personal experience cutting her hair on new moons during the water signs has helped it to grow fast. She even claims that the new moons during Pisces (Feb. 19- Mar. 20), and Gemini (May 21- Jun. 20) are the best. I may have to try this saying that I am a Pisces. Now as a disclaimer I have never tried this, so I have no idea if it works at all.
I've also read that if you wash your hair with natural things it helps. I have washed my hair with baking soda and been doing a vinegar rinse. I use about a 1 to 2 proportion of white vinegar and water. I have also heard that apple cider vinegar is good too. For me I was using the white vinegar because I found that it helps with taming my crazy curly hair. I have notices some growth since April my hair has gone for being 19inches long to 23. However I am still looking at other ways mainly cause I'm inpatient and it doesn't seem to be growing faster. However I do like this solution, it cuts the cost of shampoo and conditioner almost completely.
A friend of mine takes biotin a natural vitamin that is know to help strength and encourage the growth of hair and nails. I have not done this yet so I don't know how effective it is however I would love to try it. I have a habit of picking at my nails if I'm nervous so even if this doesn't help with the hair a lot, it may be worth it.
Those are three of many solutions out there if you have any thoughts I would love to hear them.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
New Adventures
So I have three catch phrases I guess you could say. More or less they are three lines that I use in different situations that I think are knowledgeable or just describe my life.
"Builds Character"
"Knowledge is Power"
"I'll sleep when I'm dead!"
So with my leaving for a great new adventure in about a week. (I will be starting my freshman year at Gannon) I think that I would be fun to try to actually come of with or rather try to find a way to be blogging more frequently. Now I know you thinking to yourself, Mary you said this before. This is true and I know that I haven't followed up on that thought and I don't know at the moment if I will but I want to see where I can go with this blog and I think that maybe just maybe this new adventure will be a way to make this something worth reading.
So my quotes well I thought that I could for starting out at least until I get a feel for blogging that I will try to at least once a week come up with a post about some sort of story, lesson or adventure that could by some stretch of imagination fall under one of those categories.
Friday, June 28, 2013
I am an introvert and a people person
This post is kind of random (when are my posts not random?). But I have had this on my mind a lot today and it has come up a lot in discussions with friends. I'm and introvert, but I am also a people person.
To many times in today's society that is extrovert dominated is introversion synopsizes with shyness. People who are shy tend to also be introverts but it is not two fold. Being introvert means that your threshold for socialization is lower than that of extroverts. Is that a bad thing? Not at all it just means that you do not get as much of a thrill from parties or enjoy small talk as much. You tend to enjoy a few close friends and be very loyal to them instead of having lots of friends that you aren't as close with.
So then how can you be a people person and an introvert? It means that you enjoy being and communicating and working with people. I myself personally enjoy spending time helping or talking to people or small groups of people but I seem to be unsure and get really nervous in big groups of people. I like to get to know people. Introverts tend to be really good and reading people there emotions and feeling that kind of thing. For me I love when I can connect and talk to people on any sort of level. I enjoy working in a people environment where we can communicate but those big parties don't seem like fun to me. So I may seem a lot more out going than your stereotypical introvert but I am an introvert and a people person.
Introverts are not shy. Usually they don't talk as much because they do not see the point in small talk and therefore don't like it. I personally hate the stereotype that introverts are shy, its so not true. Being friends with two lovely young women who both are introverts in different ways, I've been able to see that they are in no way shy you just need to get to know them.
So just remember introverts are not always shy, and being an introvert does not mean you hate talking to people!
To many times in today's society that is extrovert dominated is introversion synopsizes with shyness. People who are shy tend to also be introverts but it is not two fold. Being introvert means that your threshold for socialization is lower than that of extroverts. Is that a bad thing? Not at all it just means that you do not get as much of a thrill from parties or enjoy small talk as much. You tend to enjoy a few close friends and be very loyal to them instead of having lots of friends that you aren't as close with.
So then how can you be a people person and an introvert? It means that you enjoy being and communicating and working with people. I myself personally enjoy spending time helping or talking to people or small groups of people but I seem to be unsure and get really nervous in big groups of people. I like to get to know people. Introverts tend to be really good and reading people there emotions and feeling that kind of thing. For me I love when I can connect and talk to people on any sort of level. I enjoy working in a people environment where we can communicate but those big parties don't seem like fun to me. So I may seem a lot more out going than your stereotypical introvert but I am an introvert and a people person.
Introverts are not shy. Usually they don't talk as much because they do not see the point in small talk and therefore don't like it. I personally hate the stereotype that introverts are shy, its so not true. Being friends with two lovely young women who both are introverts in different ways, I've been able to see that they are in no way shy you just need to get to know them.
So just remember introverts are not always shy, and being an introvert does not mean you hate talking to people!
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
"No one knows what the future holds...."
I thinking about what to write a lot has come to mind. This week has in many senses been a transition week for me. This past weekend I graduated from high school and then went on the attend my freshman orientation for college.
So what's so big about having two major milestones in about 48 hours? The fact that it got me thinking about a lot of things, mainly having to do with myself and the future. Within the next few months I am going to spend a lot of time getting ready for the future and meeting new people, as well as saying good bye to adolescences.
My first thought was how am I going to manage it all? What I then began to discover is that, I tend not to push myself as hard as I should. My mother and I were talking more about exercise and staying in shape. Many people do not push themselves hard enough to find their limits or even to realize what they are capable of. I began to think a lot about my little sister. She may be younger than me in age but she has been a role model for me in this. She is always pushing herself to do better in sports or in school. Because of this hard work and dedication she is one of the smartest in her class and one of the best athletes I know. Now not to say that I do not have good qualities but one of the things I need to learn from her is how to push yourself harder and to never settle for anything. College is not going to be an easy thing but I need to push myself to do more and to be a better me in a lot of things one of them is just in general to not be so lazy when it comes to education and to exercise.
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my future. One of the things I realized is I need to start to think about less of where I want to be in ten years and more of who I want to have impacted. A lot of the things available in my major and field of study is to travel to bring care to the less fortunate. Something that I can see myself doing. Now I've always considered myself to be a dreamer. My dreams usually tend to be around a fairytale sort of future especially when I am stressed. I think that it is very important for me to switch from being a dreamer to a doer. There is a lot of things I could be doing to better myself and the world around me if I spent less time dreaming up what could be and more time using the talents I have to make that and so much more possible.
So with this whole new thing of officially becoming an alumni of high school and moving on to the next chapter of live I need to take the time to realize who I am and who I want to be.
For my life right now my goal is to enjoy life but to push myself to work harder in what I do. That means to study harder to train harder and to be a better person. Especially to a few friends these past few weeks I have not been being too amiable to. And to myself because I have been letting myself down.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
-Mark Twain
So what's so big about having two major milestones in about 48 hours? The fact that it got me thinking about a lot of things, mainly having to do with myself and the future. Within the next few months I am going to spend a lot of time getting ready for the future and meeting new people, as well as saying good bye to adolescences.
My first thought was how am I going to manage it all? What I then began to discover is that, I tend not to push myself as hard as I should. My mother and I were talking more about exercise and staying in shape. Many people do not push themselves hard enough to find their limits or even to realize what they are capable of. I began to think a lot about my little sister. She may be younger than me in age but she has been a role model for me in this. She is always pushing herself to do better in sports or in school. Because of this hard work and dedication she is one of the smartest in her class and one of the best athletes I know. Now not to say that I do not have good qualities but one of the things I need to learn from her is how to push yourself harder and to never settle for anything. College is not going to be an easy thing but I need to push myself to do more and to be a better me in a lot of things one of them is just in general to not be so lazy when it comes to education and to exercise.
I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with my future. One of the things I realized is I need to start to think about less of where I want to be in ten years and more of who I want to have impacted. A lot of the things available in my major and field of study is to travel to bring care to the less fortunate. Something that I can see myself doing. Now I've always considered myself to be a dreamer. My dreams usually tend to be around a fairytale sort of future especially when I am stressed. I think that it is very important for me to switch from being a dreamer to a doer. There is a lot of things I could be doing to better myself and the world around me if I spent less time dreaming up what could be and more time using the talents I have to make that and so much more possible.
So with this whole new thing of officially becoming an alumni of high school and moving on to the next chapter of live I need to take the time to realize who I am and who I want to be.
For my life right now my goal is to enjoy life but to push myself to work harder in what I do. That means to study harder to train harder and to be a better person. Especially to a few friends these past few weeks I have not been being too amiable to. And to myself because I have been letting myself down.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."
-Mark Twain
“Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better.”
-Jim Rohn
-Jim Rohn
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Themes..... Thoughts....?
A friend of mine who has been a blogger for a few years, has been trying to get into the regular blogging habit. In order to do this she has developed three themes that she posts something that fall under that category every week. Now I know that I am a new blogger and have not been regular at all but being that I am trying to develop this into a worth while readable blog. I have thought of maybe doing something like Allison has done.
So with that thought, I have tried to think of things that relate to me. Who I am as a person. What I tend to do with my life. Now I like to call myself an aspiring nurse. I am going to nursing school and have always liked to work with people. I have been a dancer since I could walk, and even though I have never danced competitively dance has inspired me and music always gets me moving. I work in a living history museum and am kind of a history geek. I love making things with my hands, I can knit, crochet, weave, do hemp and bracelet making, am a novice when it comes to sewing, have dipped into the pool of quilting. I am a very thoughtful person and often like quotes and stories that make you think too much. I am a runner, but not to the extent that I enjoy running so much as I like where it can take me I like the idea of using my own body to travel however small the distance.
So I was thinking of doing a tri weekly post sort of what my friend Allison is doing, and what topics have come to mind are subject to change. But for now I was thinking of maybe doing a post to a person who this week has touched my life. I also thought of doing something that inspires me as in like a place, quote, book etc. But when coming up with a third topic I am stuck with no ideas of anything that someone else would want to read about.
The thought of just post random things has crossed my mind and not having a theme so like I said this is subject to chance but I really appreciate what it has done to enrich Allison's blog and thought that maybe it would help me to make writing at least one post a week a lot easier.
So with that thought, I have tried to think of things that relate to me. Who I am as a person. What I tend to do with my life. Now I like to call myself an aspiring nurse. I am going to nursing school and have always liked to work with people. I have been a dancer since I could walk, and even though I have never danced competitively dance has inspired me and music always gets me moving. I work in a living history museum and am kind of a history geek. I love making things with my hands, I can knit, crochet, weave, do hemp and bracelet making, am a novice when it comes to sewing, have dipped into the pool of quilting. I am a very thoughtful person and often like quotes and stories that make you think too much. I am a runner, but not to the extent that I enjoy running so much as I like where it can take me I like the idea of using my own body to travel however small the distance.
So I was thinking of doing a tri weekly post sort of what my friend Allison is doing, and what topics have come to mind are subject to change. But for now I was thinking of maybe doing a post to a person who this week has touched my life. I also thought of doing something that inspires me as in like a place, quote, book etc. But when coming up with a third topic I am stuck with no ideas of anything that someone else would want to read about.
The thought of just post random things has crossed my mind and not having a theme so like I said this is subject to chance but I really appreciate what it has done to enrich Allison's blog and thought that maybe it would help me to make writing at least one post a week a lot easier.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Words for Thoughts
Its been a long and busy week for me. I have been stressing a lot about a bunch of major test coming up in the next few weeks. Also I have a dance performance in three weeks that I am not really completely ready for so it this point the best way to classify me is a ball of nerves.
With that being said I found this great quote on pinterest that basically just says very eloquently that you can do this and that you are capable something I think is nice to hear at a time like this. So here is it:
No one tends to love change, however it is a necessary part of life. We all have to go through change whether its physical like a new place to call home, or more of a personal change like a change of mind when dealing with friends who have maybe hurt you in some way.
Any thoughts I would love to hear your comments.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
The Glass is Half Full..... (well it really is full)
I know it has been a really long time since I posted. So I apologize... but here's my excuse. School has kept my days, and well half of my nights busy, with homework and dance and running have time has been a hard thing to find. I started this blog a few months ago with the hopes of sharing thoughts, adventures and projects from Lass whose face is always sporting a plethora of freckles.
The title I chose for this post is kind of a story and lesson within itself that I have made my goal to teach myself. "The glass is half full.." Well technically the glass is not half full or half empty, (Sorry my nerd side is coming out) but rather it is completely full, half with air and half with water. What I mean to discuss is not the basic science lesson on states of matter, but to rather look at this in the sense truth in a more metaphorical way. In saying the glass is half empty society would deem you a pessimist, by saying the glass is half full an enthusiast. I want to look at this lesson as a actualist.
"Okay Mary I see what you are saying but where are you going with this?"
In life there are many events and actions can be taken in a lot of different ways and looked at in a lot of different angles. For me I can think of a lot of examples of this in my personal life. What is important to remember is that God has a plan for all of us. That even if that glass looks half empty or even half full it really is completely full with His plan. We just cannot see what will make up the "air" yet. We must trust in the Lord that the air is there and that the glass is full. Faith is believing even though you can not see, hear, feel, smell or taste. Faith is believing that the glass is full.
These last few months I have had many situations in which I saw the glass as half empty. When my boyfriend and I broke up, I spent a few days forgetting to even see the glass and a lot more seeing it half empty. With the help of two very good friends and a lot of reminders that it was for the best I was able to see that they were right and that things happen for a reason. HE has a plan for me, for you and for everyone else. Sometimes we might have grey days where its hard to see the air in the glass but like everything else the sun will rise and the haze disappear.
Its hard for me to look on the sunny side sometimes.
In seeing my schedule for the new season at work this year I was disappointed to see that I had not gotten a new assignment and rather that I was in a building that I had prieviously deem less desirable. What hurt me a bit more is that a lot of my friends had got assignments that I had previously desired. Instead of being happy and excited for them I gave into my emotions and showed a negative side. Something that I am working on trying not to do. It took me all of the ride home to realize that cooking (the assignment I had wanted) has just as many ups and downs to it as the assignment I recieved. With the help of my best friend, I was reminded that I got the job I did because... "Your better with kids Mary," "You are.... You take time with them and play with them you can interact with them better..."
So here's to a lesson that I will be working on... "The glass is half full...." the glass is truly full.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
2012... The year the world was supposed to end
For me twenty-twelve was a busy year. I did many fun things enjoyed new adventures made some new friends along the way. Some things I did this past year is get a job, see some of europe, start my senior year, go to empire girls state and much more.
The spring was filled with lots of time in school and getting ready for my AP exams. But during that time I did get to go and be my cousin Emily's confermation sponcer. That was a new experience for me as I had never been a sponcer. I was confirmed in 2009 with the name Cecila. After Saint Cecila the patron saint of music. It was fun to get to spend some quality time with my father and see members of his familt that I had not seen in a long time.
In the late spring I obtained a summer job at my second home, the Genesee Country Village & Museum. For me that was an adventure in and of itself I had been a volunteer there for the last five years, spending more than 1000 hours there. The job gave me the oppurtunity to learn more and to take what I had started in 2007 to a whole new level. With this job I got to talk to a lot of awesome visitors and learn a lot more about the lives of people past as well as I got to get to know on a friend level a lot of the other interpreters who I had used as role models. Over the summer I have worked in as an interpreter in three buildings, Foster Tufts House, Thompson's Inn, and George Eastmans Boyhood Home. I could go on forever about all that I learned and experienced there and the reasons why I cannot wait until next season but that might bore you to death.
For one week in June I got to spend a week at Brockport College for Empire Girls State. This experiences was trully life changing. There we set up a mock New York State governement and pasted legeslation some of which might end up in the NYS senate. Besides how much it opened up my eyes to the government and what we as citzens should be doing. I also learned a lot more about our militay what they do and why we need to respect and honor them and what represents them more. Ever been at a sports game and people are talking during the national athem or at school and people aren't respectful during the pledge? Those things now seem to annoy me a lot more than they ever did. My house mother is in the US Army as well as her husband an many of the other consolers or house mothers were in the military. During one of the talks given by the Albright Couty house mother was about how she was walking in NYC and saw this old women so she offered to help the old women of about 90 across the road. When the lady said no let me help you she walked with her to the other corner. Getting there the lady said I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, and showed the housemother her tatoo from Auschwitz. That story will stick with me forever on how much our military really does do and what we need to do as a US citizen because of what they have fought for. I got to spend and amazing week with girls from all over New York state. One of my room mates was from Manotock and another from Waterloo. We had girls from Brooklyn to Niagra. That was one of the best weeks I ever had and I would olve to go back and do it all over again.
Also over the Summer I got to spend almost two weeks in France and Spain. I got to see the Effiel Tower up close. One of the coolest exeriences for me was to swim in the Medditerrean. The water was so blue that we were out so far (on a boat) that it was 20 feet deep and you could clearly see the bottom. Also on that trip I saw a statum from the same era as the Colosseum that was still fully in tack and used. I loved seeing all of the old beauties of Europe and would go back again if I could.
This fall I spent most of my timing running or in school. Our senior girls won a fun Halloween 5K. Durining that race we had to run over haybales which was a lot of fun. I love my cross country family and can't believe that were all seniors and that this is the last year together.
Before Chritmas I partook in my favorite of the Museum event Yuletide in the Country. I was in two scenes one as a dance in the Town Hall where we were late to Robert's 12th night ball. And the other as Mary MacKay celebrating Hogmanay with her family. I loved all the Celticness of that scene. The bagpipes can never get old and I enjoyed the Haggis we had there. Though as you probably will learn I have a wee bit of Ireland in me blood that keeps me a bonnie lass loving the celtic ways,
The spring was filled with lots of time in school and getting ready for my AP exams. But during that time I did get to go and be my cousin Emily's confermation sponcer. That was a new experience for me as I had never been a sponcer. I was confirmed in 2009 with the name Cecila. After Saint Cecila the patron saint of music. It was fun to get to spend some quality time with my father and see members of his familt that I had not seen in a long time.
In the late spring I obtained a summer job at my second home, the Genesee Country Village & Museum. For me that was an adventure in and of itself I had been a volunteer there for the last five years, spending more than 1000 hours there. The job gave me the oppurtunity to learn more and to take what I had started in 2007 to a whole new level. With this job I got to talk to a lot of awesome visitors and learn a lot more about the lives of people past as well as I got to get to know on a friend level a lot of the other interpreters who I had used as role models. Over the summer I have worked in as an interpreter in three buildings, Foster Tufts House, Thompson's Inn, and George Eastmans Boyhood Home. I could go on forever about all that I learned and experienced there and the reasons why I cannot wait until next season but that might bore you to death.
For one week in June I got to spend a week at Brockport College for Empire Girls State. This experiences was trully life changing. There we set up a mock New York State governement and pasted legeslation some of which might end up in the NYS senate. Besides how much it opened up my eyes to the government and what we as citzens should be doing. I also learned a lot more about our militay what they do and why we need to respect and honor them and what represents them more. Ever been at a sports game and people are talking during the national athem or at school and people aren't respectful during the pledge? Those things now seem to annoy me a lot more than they ever did. My house mother is in the US Army as well as her husband an many of the other consolers or house mothers were in the military. During one of the talks given by the Albright Couty house mother was about how she was walking in NYC and saw this old women so she offered to help the old women of about 90 across the road. When the lady said no let me help you she walked with her to the other corner. Getting there the lady said I want to thank you for everything you've done for me, and showed the housemother her tatoo from Auschwitz. That story will stick with me forever on how much our military really does do and what we need to do as a US citizen because of what they have fought for. I got to spend and amazing week with girls from all over New York state. One of my room mates was from Manotock and another from Waterloo. We had girls from Brooklyn to Niagra. That was one of the best weeks I ever had and I would olve to go back and do it all over again.
Also over the Summer I got to spend almost two weeks in France and Spain. I got to see the Effiel Tower up close. One of the coolest exeriences for me was to swim in the Medditerrean. The water was so blue that we were out so far (on a boat) that it was 20 feet deep and you could clearly see the bottom. Also on that trip I saw a statum from the same era as the Colosseum that was still fully in tack and used. I loved seeing all of the old beauties of Europe and would go back again if I could.
This fall I spent most of my timing running or in school. Our senior girls won a fun Halloween 5K. Durining that race we had to run over haybales which was a lot of fun. I love my cross country family and can't believe that were all seniors and that this is the last year together.
Before Chritmas I partook in my favorite of the Museum event Yuletide in the Country. I was in two scenes one as a dance in the Town Hall where we were late to Robert's 12th night ball. And the other as Mary MacKay celebrating Hogmanay with her family. I loved all the Celticness of that scene. The bagpipes can never get old and I enjoyed the Haggis we had there. Though as you probably will learn I have a wee bit of Ireland in me blood that keeps me a bonnie lass loving the celtic ways,
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