r1 - End of the Year Excitement

I was just thinking about my answer to this blog prompt the other day actually, before I even knew I was going to have to write about it. For me, the best part about the end of the school year is looking back on all the months that led you to this point. I think it’s a weird feeling to be honest, thinking about how September seems like it was like two months ago, when it was really almost nine months ago. It’s even weirder to think about how completely different things were back in the beginning of the school year. This year, it’s especially nostalgic for me because I’ve begun looking back on all four years of my high school experience and reminiscing all of the good times that I had and will certainly miss.
On a less serious note, there are obvious positives to the end of the school year. I personally love being able to get up in the morning with the sun already shining and a refreshing breeze coming through my window. School just has a more “relaxed” feel to it overall. Just today, for example, we got to go and play Kan Jam outside in gym. I also love being able to wear shorts and flip flops to school every day.
At the end of the school year, it’s just nice knowing that all of the “loose ends” are being tied up, you’re finishing up all your work for the year, and summer will soon be here.            

q4 - Thomas Parker

I have a few pop culture icons that I look up to and admire, but I think I’m going to write about one who has come into my life most recently. This person is Thomas Parker, most well known as one fifth of The Wanted. I think he is so iconic because being a musician has always been his passion and he had to work extremely hard to achieve all of the success that he has attained. After auditioning for "The X Factor" when he was sixteen and getting turned down, he was motivated to work even harder and make his dreams of being a rock star come true. When talent agent Jayne Collins held a casting call for members to be in a boy band, Tom got his second chance. The Wanted was created from five random boys put together in a band, and they started off playing free gigs at pubs and high schools across the UK. Each of them, including Tom, has put all of their heart into the band and made it possible for them to have the success that they have in not only America, but across the world. Tom Parker is so iconic to me because he truly does not care what other people think of him. He has said things in interviews when being questioned about it like “Hate me, it only makes me stronger” and “Live, dream, but don’t just exist”. I also love the fact that he has the words “rock & roll” tattooed down his ribs inspired from the song “Rock and Roll Star” by Oasis. The very best quality of Tom Parker is that he has legitimately not changed the slightest bit from the fame. He does and says whatever he pleases and doesn’t care if it is acceptable or not. I strongly suggest youtubing an interview with him because then you can see first-hand all the things I admire about him.

q2 - Summer 2k12

I can’t even really begin to tell you how excited I am for summer. At the start of this summer, I will officially be done with high school. It’ll be weird not preparing for the start of another year here at AHS, but rather preparing for a new adventure of four years at Hilbert College. But before that ensues, I plan on filling the summer of two thousand and twelve with many unforgettable memories.

Of course, it just wouldn’t be summer without my annual trip to Crystal Beach. I am beyond thrilled to be back at my favorite place in the entire world. However, it will be a little different this year. We’re going a different week than we normally do. Since we are renting a different cottage this year, we had to book it for a week in July instead of our usual last week of August. It’s a huge cottage literally right on the beach, so I mean how could you not be excited? The only downside of it is that we won’t be right next door to our friends. I’m hoping that we’ll still be able to get together for dinners and bonfires like we always do. Even still, there’s no doubt in my mind that Crystal Beach will be the highlight of my summer like it always is.

Other than that, I don’t have any definite plans as of right now. I am hoping to get to go to a few concerts, including eleventh row for Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan at Darien Lake. But that will depend on whether or not I save enough money for it. I would also like to go to the Drake concert in the beginning of June, and it would be nice to see The Tragically Hip again when they come somewhere in the Niagara region this summer.

It looks like this last summer before my college life starts will be a wonderful medley of good times, good friends, and good memories.

p5 - Time Flies When You're Having Fun

For this choice blog, I thought it would be a good idea to write about how exciting and eventful the past few weeks of my life have been. All throughout the month of April basically, I’ve experienced a lot of new things! Not to mention had loads of fun in the process. At the end of March, I got a new job at Adams Nurseries (for plants) in Lancaster. So, for a little over a month I have been getting trained on my new position as a cashier at work. I really like it there, even though there is so much to learn. The people are really friendly, and my boss and I click very well because we have the same type of personality. Moving on to even more fun and thrilling adventures, I got a second tattoo in the last week of April! On April 23^rd, I got a tattoo of a sun on the front of my left shoulder. Some might say that it was too soon, but I disagree. I definitely thought about it for quite some time, and knew that I wanted to get it and have wanted it for basically my whole life. So I went back to Cowpok, the same place where my first tattoo was done. This time it was much more painful. I’m not even going to lie, it was probably a nine and sometimes even ten out of ten on the pain scale. But it was on the collarbone, so I was expecting it. Now that it’s all healed, I can say that I am very happy with it. Furthermore, the very day after I got my tattoo, I bought my first car! I had been waiting a long time and saving up my money, but I finally was able to make that purchase. It has been a very memorable and exciting past couple of weeks to say the least! I can’t complain at all.

p4 - Sitting Next to Madeline

Having Madeline Koelbl as my neighbor for the entire Online Publishing course has been fun. I think we have just the right balance of getting work done and having a good time whilst working at The Bulldog. Recently, we’ve discovered that we have a few things in common! While writing a similar blog about myself, Madeline asked me what my favorite color was and I replied “Red”, because that’s clearly the best color ever, with turquoise being a close second. Anyway, she proceeded to tell me that red is her favorite color as well! Great minds think alike. Madeline and I are also getting our hair done at the same place and at the same time for prom, and we didn't even plan it like that. Madeline and I do a lot of fun things together, actually. We usually try to go on coffee runs every once in a while to Goodrich Coffee and Tea or Tim Horton’s just to catch up and enjoy some delicious coffee. When not doing those exciting activities, a few of her other hobbies are running, swimming, and hanging out with friends.Another fun past time that Madeline and I like to do is watch hockey games and eat yummy snacks (like pretzels with M&Ms) at her house! Speaking of hockey, Madeline loves the Pittsburgh Penguins and Evgeni Malkin. As a matter of fact, her favorite number is 71 because that is Malkin’s jersey number! Madeline is a pretty cool person. Her favorite movie is Mean Girls, and she’s also a very big fan of every James Bond movie made. Ever. Jaws is pretty high up on her list, too. She has some pretty good taste in music as well. She likes The Black Keys, The Kooks, Third Eye Blind, and other similar bands and artists. We have some similarities there as well. I don’t think I could have asked for a better seating partner (except for when Madeline, Amber, and I all sat in a row. That was pretty awesome).