The 1950's were probably awesome.

If I could go back in time to any period, I would definitely pick the 1950’s. Things were just so much simpler back then! Life was easy going. I also love the pop culture of the time. I would love to have lived in the same era as Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy, Billie Holiday, and many more. Another one of the main reasons why I like this time period so much and why I would love to have lived during it is because of the way people dressed. The women were always classy, going out to do the simplest errands in a dress, high heels, and lipstick. The men always looked sharp in pants and a button down shirt. And you know what they say; every girl is crazy about a sharp dressed man! If I lived in this time period, I would probably be a wife and mother at an early age, but I wouldn’t stay home all the time. I would go out and have fun frequently with my friends, family, and husband. I would go to shows and dances all the time in my dresses and cute little hats! I would love to go shopping in the 1950’s, when a loaf of bread was probably like fifteen cents, and the economy wasn’t out of control. Life would have been so much more carefree, I think. People had real, good, true, fun. 

There's a Taylor Swift song for that.

Have you ever noticed how there is a Taylor Swift song to fit any mood you could possibly be in? I often find myself feeling sad or missing someone, and almost immediately, a lyric from one of her songs pops into my head. The same for other feelings! In a good mood? There’s also plenty of Taylor Swift songs that can fit your mood. At a young age, she really does have a tremendous talent. Her latest album, called Speak Now, was a huge success. That CD as well, has songs for just about anything you need to express. Good days, break ups, mean girls, and missing someone can all be expressed by the wonderfully meaningful lyrics that Taylor Swift writes. I’m not even Taylor Swift’s biggest fans, but I just really admire her ability to be so relatable in her songs. I guess because she writes from real life experiences. Sometime it’s scary how accurate I find the lyrics to be. It’s like some of them were written to describe the things that I am going through! It’s like Taylor Swift is the only one who understands sometimes. Not really, but she’s the one who can put it into words! As I sit here writing this blog right now, one of her songs is playing in the background. The lyrics that she sings and the time that I first heard the song have so many good connotations and take me back to a certain time. “Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water, you put your arm around me for the first time. You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter. You are the best thing that’s ever been mine…” just puts me in a good mood, as well as describing a time that I once went through. Bottom line, Taylor Swift has some pretty incredible songs that can fit anybody’s mood, and you can’t even deny it!

If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change!

To seriously change the world for the better, I would never ever judge or stereotype, and encourage everyone else to do the same. I try my hardest to not stereotype or judge anything myself already, but I think to truly change the world for the better, I need to eliminate it completely. It’s just really unnecessary and disappointing to see people judge and stereotype other people, and also to see the people that are hurt by it. The most saddening part about the whole thing is that stereotypes and judgments are almost never accurate. Not only are people put into harsh categories, but other things such as their actions, words, and way of going about things are as well. People may never get to know a good human being, and potential friend, if they are going to basically shun them for acting a certain way or doing certain things. Not everyone who gets bad grades is lazy, just because someone is shy does not mean they are quiet all the time, not every cheerleader is a preppy girly girl, not everyone who is rich is snobby, and girls can play and watch sports just as much as guys. In fact, you can label someone or something according to what you might think, and will most likely come to realize that you are dead wrong. What I am trying to say is that to change the world for the better, I would never judge or stereotype anything myself, and try my hardest to get others to do the same. The world would be a more carefree and easy place to live in, and more people would get along with each other. There would be no boundaries or lines drawn.

Joe White likes to tell knock knock jokes.

Last class, I had the opportunity to interview fellow member of The Bulldog, Joe White. It was an interesting interview, never with a dull moment. Joe’s favorite subject in school at the moment is psychology. After high school, Joe says that he would like to get involved in audio engineering at some point. When I asked him about his favorite color, he was very specific. Joe’s favorite color is, and I quote, “the colors of the sunset in the horizon at about five or six in the evening”. Some of Joe’s hobbies are playing music with his “idiot friends” (including Rudy Schieder, who rudely interrupted this interview several times). He also said that this is one of the things that many people don’t know about him. For those of you who don’t know, Joe is the front man of the band Larrabe. They have played several cool venues, including the Town Ballroom, Club Infinity, the Mohawk Place, and somewhere in New York City. Another one of his favorite hobbies is trying new hot sauces. When asked about his favorite movie, he had a lot of difficulty trying to pick an answer. He finally settled with Star Wars. Joe also said that he enjoys hunting, but I’m not sure how true that statement actually is. Joe’s favorite book series is Harry Potter. When I asked Joe how he likes to spend his weekends, he simply said “out and about”. He then proceeded to tap his hands on the table, and also requested that I include that in the interview. Joe’s favorite thing to eat is Cajun food, or anything that you can’t get easily. My interview with Joe White was interesting and enlightening to say the least. If you ever have the chance to have a conversation with Mr. White, I encourage it. You will be thoroughly entertained.

The Crystal Beach Chronicles

Yep, I’ve decided to do yet another blog on Crystal Beach. But I think for this one I just really want to show my true appreciation for it and why I love it so much. It is legitimately my favorite place on earth. There are so many good connotations that I have with it. When I think Crystal Beach, I think of boat rides with my cousins, sharing a cottage with my best friend and her family every summer, walking to the candy store, swimming to the pier in huge waves just to jump off of it, endless walks up and down Beechwood Avenue, sitting by the campfire listening to Kenny Chesney at one in the morning, jumping out of windows, eating at South Coast, bike rides on old fashioned bikes, playing bad mitten and volleyball in the street, sunbathing, and simply feeling the sand beneath my toes. It’s like a sense of pride almost, because my heart swells with happiness and nostalgia every time I think about it or tell someone about it. It will always be a part of me, and I believe that it’s made me who I am today. There’s just something about it that I love, and I can’t even really explain it to its full potential. I can’t quite put my finger on it. When I go there with my best friend, it’s like an escape from reality. We lose all sense of time and forget what day it is. I still remember the very first time I went to my friend’s cottage with her. It was warm and sunny, and I wearing a blue t-shirt with flip flops on it. Her cousin was playing washers, so my friend and I joined him. We put our room together and escaped to the beach as fast as we could. I just have this unexplainable love for my favorite place on this Earth, Crystal Beach. And as a song by The Smashing Pumpkins says, “the embers never fade in your city by the lake”. True words right there!

When in Europe...

When it comes to roommates, Madeline Koelbl is a pretty awesome one. We shared a room together when we went on the school trip to Italy and France our freshman year. We had some pretty hilarious and splendid times, but some that were not so hilarious and splendid. The first night we were there, I got an ear infection on the way there (awesome, right?) so the tour guide took me to the doctor. It was pretty late when I returned, not to mention we were all tired from the twelve hour plane ride we had just took. Madeline was responsible for opening the door for me when I returned, but of course she fell asleep. With no room key with me, I was forced to pound on the door, waking up the entire floor of our tiny hotel, in order to wake her up. Good times. On a lighter note, in Nice, Madeline and I raced each other on the beach and collected rocks. That was fun! I will also always remember when Madeline started speaking French to an American tourist because she thought he was a French boy. However, I think the best moment of sharing a room with Madeline was on our last day of the trip. We had to wake up at 5 AM to leave by 6 AM, and Madeline and I didn’t wake up until 6 when Mr. Dimmig knocked on our door and told us to come down to leave. We had slept through three different alarms! In a panic, I ran into the bathroom and grabbed our pants that were hanging on the bathroom door. Then, I proceeded to throw Madeline’s pants at her and furiously get ready. I don't know why the first thing I thought to do was grab the pants, but I did. I guess we just didn’t want to be left in Paris! Anyway, all I’m trying to say is that I had some very unforgettable times with my amazing roommate Madeline!

Usher in Chicago?

For this choice blog, I have a funny story actually. Amber was talking about Usher, and it reminded me of this wonderful story. So, last spring, I went to Chicago with my friends Sarah and Kelsey Crawford. We were so excited! We started planning the trip in January, so we were hoping that it would live up to many high expectations of fun. It definitely did. We spent four glorious days visiting famous landmarks and enjoying the beautiful city. The first day we spent there, we went to the Blackhawks Store and the Water Tower Place, which is a seven story high mall. The next day, we went up the Sears Tower and stood on the Skydeck, which is a glass ledge that looks down over the city. That same day, we also visited Navy Pier, which is the focus point of my funny story coming later. To finish off the trip, Sarah and I went to a Chicago Blackhawks game at the United Center. It was awesome to see my favorite hockey players and be in that exhilarating atmosphere. By time the game ended, we took the subway back to the hotel and didn’t get to bed until probably one o’clock in the morning. This was unfortunate, because our flight was at eight o’clock A.M and we had to leave for the airport at seven. Kelsey, Sarah, and I headed down for our final breakfast in Chicago at about six fifteen in the morning. Kelsey, who is not a morning person at all, chose this time to reveal something to me and Sarah. In a delirious and sleepy tone, she said and I quote “Guys… yesterday at Navy Pier, I swear to God I saw Usher and his wife and kids while I was getting on the bus”. She looked at us with a dead serious face, and Sarah and I just lost it. We laughed in her face because there was no way that Usher was at Navy Pier the same time as Kelsey! We still laugh at her about it, actually. You should inquire about it sometime as well, and maybe she can try and tell you her side of the story.  

If I had a million dollars...

For my choice blog, I thought it would be interesting to write about what I would do with a million dollars. There are endless possibilities that one could do with a million dollars, really. If I were lucky enough to be able to make such choices, I’m not sure where I would begin. I suppose I would have to take care of the most important things first, like putting aside money for college. Most likely next on my list would be to buy myself a car, because that’s really the item that I need the most right now. That would be fun, because although buying a car is a necessity, I could have a lot of fun with it because I would have a million dollars to play around with! I’m definitely thinking a mini coupe. With all of my “needs” taken care of, I could spend the rest of my money on extra stuff that I’ve always wanted. The first extra I would probably invest in would be a big boat. I’ve always wanted one since I began going on my uncle’s boat in Canada. I want a boat big enough to have parties on with my friends and family, but small enough to fit into the harbor in Crystal Beach. It would be a dream come true to be able to buy a big boat and spend every day on it in the summer in Canada! On a similar note, I would buy a cottage in Crystal Beach. That’s no surprise because I say it all the time, but if I had a million dollars, I could stop dreaming and make it a reality! Lastly, I think it if I had enough money left, I would open my own restaurant with my mom. We both love to cook, so we could both work there. It would be a fun job, and I would love the satisfaction of it!