Blogging Reflection

Over the course of the year, I have thought blogging to be sort of a hassle. During second trimester it became something that i HAD to do, and not something that I WANTED to do. It seemed more like a dreaded homework assignment than a new, creative way of putting down your thoughts. I'm pretty sure I thought this because we were confined to one specific topic. Though the topic was of our own choice, mine got boring very quickly! I had thought I would be able to ramble on and on about Twilight, but I was wrong. But, during third trimester, I was able to switch my topic to things about everyday life. I liked this approach to blogging way more than blogging about Twilight, and I stayed ahead on all of my posts. I thought that this was more fun, and it was easier to come up with ideas to write about and expand on. I know that this blog was not intended to be used as a kind of diary, but that is what it turned into for me. I wrote about all the things going on in my life at the time. I would have definitely enjoyed this assignment more if I had started the year off with how I ended it. Blogging would have been much more interesting for me, and I feel as though I wouldn't have slacked off or not completed my assingments and blog posts. Overall, I was glad I blogged because it was a new experience and I am always up for trying new things. I didn't particularly enjoy blogging about one specific topic, though, and I think in future years kids should be able to just write about whatever they feel.

Thinking about College

Recently, my parents and my school counselor have been on my case about looking at colleges and thinking about what I want to do with my life after high school. During my junior conference, we narrowed the college search down to schools in Iowa and in the surrounding states, which includes a lot of colleges and really didn't narrow it down for me at all! My counselor advised me which classes I should take next year, and he told me that I will get accepted to pretty much any college I am looking at, thanks to my grades and my GPA, which is a relief. I have looked at college sites online a little bit, and I haven't really been swayed toward any particular school. I have also been getting lots of letters from all sorts of colleges in the mail, and I just end up recycling all of them because I have no clue where I want to go! There are way too many options. Some of the schools that I am interested in the most are the University of Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, and of course Iowa State University. My parents want me to look at Luther, too, but I am pretty sure that Luther is too small for me, and I am pretty set on not going there. I am kind of interested in going to Iowa because that's where a lot of my friends are going. Plus it is a huge school, and I would meet a ton of new people. Something that would help me decide where I want to go would be figuring out what I want to major in. I have been bouncing a few ideas back and forth, but I can never put my ideas in stone. I have wanted to get into the medical field since before I can remember. I have been interested in being a neurologist, a vet, an anesthesiologist, an orthodontist, and a psychiatrist. All of these options are interesting to me, so I can't see how I will be expected to choose just one. And this decision will be one that will affect the rest of my life, so I'm nervous about making the right decision! I hope that as I get closer and closer to college it will become more clear to me what I want to do in life, because right now I feel completely hopeless. I am not sure where I want to go or what I want to do at all!

This Weekend.

This upcoming weekend is going to be very fun! On Friday I am going to a friend's birthday party with some of my girl friends. The party is going to be amazing because tons of people are going to be there and we get to go swimming! I haven't been swimming in forever, so I am really super pumped! After the party is over I am staying the night at my friend's house because we haven't hung out in forever and we need to catch up. Then on Saturday I am going to Fruitzen and then grand march with another friend. I can't wait to see how pretty everyone looks. Saturday night I am leaving home and going to New Hampton, Iowa for my cousin's graduation party on Sunday. It should be a really fun time because all of my relatives will be there and all of my cousin's friends will be there. Then I have to come back to Cedar Rapids on Sunday night because I have volleyball practice. Last night my team had our first practice since regionals, and I am really wanting to get back in the swing of things. We decided last night that we are not going to add any new members to our roster, which means that we are not bringing anybody else with us to Miami for nationals. This made me very happy because I did not want to add on anybody else. My team has been doing a great job without anyone else all season. We made it this far on our own, so we don't need another player to come along. Plus, she wouldn't get any guaranteed play time, so it would be stupid for her to pay all that money to come to Miami for nothing.

Summer Activities

This upcoming summer may very well be the busiest summer of my entire life. I have so much going on, it's not even funny. I looked at my calendar last night and pretty much every single day is filled with something!

Every single day, with the exception of the weekends, I have strength and conditioning for volleyball. We have to run and lift and jump and just get really in shape for season. That won't be too bad, but having it every single morning is sometimes a drag. I hate getting up early in the summer, especially to go work out. On top of that, I have summer league out at Prairie High School every Sunday, which is where all of the Cedar Rapids area schools get together and scrimmage each other. On top of that, I have volleyball camps, some at school and some at various colleges. Plus, on top of all of that stuff, I will be practicing for my club volleyball team and getting ready for nationals. Then I will actually be going to nationals in Miami for a week. My volleyball schedule is extremely hectic, and I'm already getting stressed just thinking about it.

Along with all of my volleyball stuff, I am going on vacation to Cancun, Mexico for a week with my family. It will be nice to get a break for once, and I'm super excited to get tan! It will be my second time in Cancun, and I cannot wait to go back! The resort we are staying at is beautiful, and everything that is included in our trip is amazing. The only bad thing about going to Cancun is that we go there the day after I get back from Miami for nationals! I am going to be totally exhausted!

Then, after we get back from Cancun, I am going on a trip to Okoboji for a week with my cousins. They rent a house there every year and go boating and all that fun stuff. Last time I was there I ended up staying overnight in the hospital, but I don't really want to think about that. It should be a really fun time because my cousins are awesome, and I love being out by the water and going boating and tubing.

My parents want me to get a job on top of all of that. Yeah right.

My summer is going to be very busy, and there's nothing wrong with that as long as I get a few breaks now and then. I am probably going to be a very tired girl, but it's worth it!

Parentals

I am getting extremely stressed out about my parents trying to control everything I do. Every time I want to leave the house my mom badgers me with annoying questions about where I'm going to be and who I'm going to be with and what time I'm going to be home and blah blah blah! It is so frustrating. I don't understand why my parents can't just trust me and the decisions that I make, which aren't bad ones at all. I need to be independent and be able to make choices on my own because I am virtually an adult. I will be leaving for college in a little over a year, so I don't think that it's too much to ask for a little freedom without the hassle of having to be interrogated every time I decide to go out! I think that my parents need to have a little faith in me. Not all teenagers are bad. We just like to be with our friends and have fun without having to deal with the stresses of our home lives. It would be nice if I could come and go from my house whenever I feel like it, but I know that's not exactly realistic.

Something else that sucks big time is my parents trying to make me get a job. I had a job last summer at Granite City as a hostess, but right now I really don't feel like working! Money would be nice, but once the summer starts I really won't have any free time as it is, so I would rather be spending the time that I have with my friends and not at work. I know I will get quite a bit of money for my birthday next week, and that will be nice. The only problem is that I have to pay my mom $450 for my trip to Miami for nationals this summer. I have to come up with that money by the time we leave, which is at the end of June. I am freaking out because there's only like a month left until then, and I'm not sure what to do. I really probably should get a job. That would be the smart thing to do. But I really don't want to!

This and That

Today I found out that my volleyball team is starting practice up again on Wednesday. I am extremely excited to get back in the swing of things and get back in shape. Something I am not really happy about, though, is the possibility of having an extra member join our team for nationals. I have nothing against this girl whatsoever, but I just really don't want to bring her along. She has not been a part of our team at all this season. She had her own team. The only reason she would get to come along with us is because my team is still under Cougar Club Volleyball, which sucks. Our school's head coach is the one pushing for this girl to come to nationals, and I don't think she should have a say in the matter at all. She should not be able to enforce rules for our team when she isn't really even a part of it. She tries to get in the middle of all of our stuff and facilitate everything for us and it's making me mad. She is saying that we should bring this extra girl along with us because we will get tired and want more subs. It is true that we are a pretty small team, but I for one would rather get a little tired and have more play time and have fun with my team than sit out and let some random player get the time that should be mine and my teammates'. Even though I am upset about it, I am sure that my school's head coach will get her way and the extra player will come along with us to nationals. Ugh!

Moving on to a less stressful topic....haha. Today, May 10th, is Mother's Day. I especially like Mother's Day because my mom is truly amazing. She goes above and beyond and works extremely hard every single day of her life. I honestly appreciate everything she does for me, and I think that she is the best mom in the entire world! I wouldn't trade her for anything. Anyway, it was extra hard to pick something out to get her this year. My sisters and I procrastinated until the last minute...literally. We hadn't gotten anything for her, so my dad just told us to make a coupon that is good for a fifty dollar gift. It wasn't all that thoughtful, but none of us had any ideas! We all made her pretty cards, though, and that made up for it. My mom loves everything we make her, and it really is the thought that counts!

Another thing I am happy about is that my birthday keeps getting closer and closer every day! There are only twelve days left! Ahhhhhh yay :)

Tomorrow, bright and early, I have my AP Biology exam at the KTOS building next to Carlos O'Kelly's. I have not been doing well in that class all year. It is extremely hard, and I probably wasn't putting forth as much effort as I could have been. In class last week we took a practice exam and I got a 2. A 2 is pretty much the same as a D for a letter grade, which sucks! Therefore, I am pretty positive that I will not do well tomorrow on the real exam. Great! But, even though I will not do well on the AP Bio exam, I am going to do very well on the AP Psychology exam which is on Tuesday. I love AP Psych, and I have been working hard in that class all year long. It is so interesting and fun, and I am honestly considering studying psychology in college!

It seems as though everything is starting to wrap up. Teachers are giving out less homework, AP exams are taking place, prom is next weekend, and the weather is amazing! I am getting more and more anxious for summer break! I just want school to be over so I can enjoy myself for three whole months without the worries and stresses of homework and tests and school in general. I want to be free!

May

This whole month has been extremely stressful so far, and it has barely even started! I have not been doing so well in my classes, I had show choir tryouts, my dad is leaving in a little over a week for a business trip in Australia for a whole month, volleyball practice for nationals hasn't started up yet, and boys suck!

I had callbacks for show choir last night. I was on the soprano list, so I showed up with all of the sopranos. Ziegler taught us a warm-up and we all had to sing it individually. It was way too high for me, and I'm pretty sure that I completely screwed it up. Then we had to learn part of the ballad for next year's show. I messed that up as well! Then one of the girls spoke up and said that she had no idea why she was here because she is an alto. I raised my hand and said the same thing, and about three other girls did the same. So, I stayed after the soprano callbacks for the alto callbacks. I was way more comfortable this time. I did alright on the individual warm-up part, but my voice cracked once. I also did pretty well on the ballad part that we learned. I hit my notes and I felt good about it. I am crossing my fingers that what I did is good enough to get me into Happiness. It's my last opportunity to be in show choir, so I really don't want to miss out.

Moving to another topic, my dad leaves on May 15 for a business trip in Australia. He will be there for three whole weeks, and I have no idea what I am going to do without him home! My dad is the one who lets me go out and do what I want on weekends. My mom is more strict about those things and she always questions me about everything, which i hate! It's also going to be very hard without my dad around because my sisters and I are involved in a ton of activities. We are always running around to dance, soccer, volleyball, show choir, tennis, swimming, piano, or whatever else we need to be at. My mom and I are going to have a tough time transporting people everywhere they have to be. I am anxious and stressed about these upcoming three weeks.

Something else in my life that sucks right now is that volleyball practices haven't started up again for nationals yet. My team has been on a break since regionals, which were at the end of March. I really want to start again because I miss my teammates! A couple of them go to Prairie High School, so I never get to see them. Plus, I just miss volleyball in general. Playing volleyball is my favorite thing to do in the entire world. I just want to get going and start preparing for nationals. Nationals are going to be amazing! Ahhhh I'm pumped!

Though all these stressful things are going on right now, something to look forward to is my birthday. It is on May 22, so it's coming up here pretty quickly. I am going to be seventeen years old, finally! The only bad things about my birthday are that the Happiness list goes up that day and my dad will still be in Australia. But other than that, I am very excited for it!