FINALS!

OMG FINALS! The only thing I hate about Christmas is the finals that come right before it. In order to enjoy Christmas, you have to do good on the finals. Everybody is scrambling to finish the reviews the teachers have assigned and learn all the material for that class that you didn't learn when the teacher actually taught it. There are a couple of classes this year that I will be doing that in. Not to mention that my AP U.S. History review is like 4 pages long with people and stuff I have NEVER heard of. And that's the final that I have to take on my birthday. I do get to sleep in that day. But then I have to come to school and guess what? Happy Birthday to me, take a final that is going to be insanely hard. Thankfully that night I am going out to eat with some of the girls, so I have that to look forward to.

I just wish we could go back to elementary school where the last week before Christmas meant movies, presents, and candy. Not tests, tests, and more tests!

Music!

I love music. I think it makes the world go round. Without it, I'm not sure I could function from day to day. It seems like no matter what kind of mood I'm in, there is a song that goes right along with that. Lately, I have been listening to more country music than normal. I think that's because it seems to fit the moods I have been in lately. There are so many more varieties of country songs than any other genre it seems like. Or maybe that's just because I know a lot more country songs than any other genre. Either way, it's starting to become my new favorite kind of music. But I still love my pop and rap music. I couldn't go one week without listening to "Party in the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus. When I'm in a really good I just have to drive down the road and sing along with that song. And sometimes when I'm in a bad mood and I here it, I'm instantly in a good mood again. I guess music just does that to you sometimes.

New Backpack Rule

I absolutely hate the new backpack rule. I'm not sure how we are all going to make it to our locker and then to our next class in time. And we aren't even getting more time in between classes. Just walking through the halls was bad enough. But now there is an extra step. There's no telling how many people are going to be late to class next semester. I love being able to carry my backpack around with me because I can fit everything i need in there and not have to worry about it all day. I can put all my books, papers, folders, calculator, and all the other junk we need for class in it. I know I will be the one person who will leave something in there locker that we need for class and then get in trouble for forgetting it. They say that the backpacks are a hazard because all of our stuff is in the floor. Well our books are going to go in the same place. And we will still have our laptop too so it will still be in the way. We had to use our lockers in middle school but that was nothing because all the classes were in one hallway. This school is HUGE and I have classes all over the place. To bad we can't just move our lockers through the day with us. :)

No More Santa!

I found out about Santa not existing the year we got my dog, Bo-Bo. After Christmas we had to take my dog to get shots and all the kind of stuff at the vet. So I went with my mom to take him. The dog had basically become mine. He followed me around and I played with him constantly. I loved Santa so much for bringing him. But on the way to the vet I started reading the papers that came with my dog. I noticed that he was brought from Missouri on a date that was NOT Christmas. I also realized that there was a price on those papers. I knew that Santa wasn't supposed to send a bill when he brought presents. After I had asked a million questions my parents decided it was a good time to tell me that Santa wasn't real. Most kids get really upset by that but I was a little different. As my parents informed me that "they were Santa" I took that as they were Santa for everybody in the world. I thought I had the coolest parents in the world. They got to deliver all the toys to every little kid. So they finally explained to me that Santa wasn't real and that every parent did the same thing for their own kids. It was a little depressing to hear that but I think I was to wrapped up in my new puppy to worry about how it got to my house.

C-A-T-S CATS! CATS! CATS!

UK is finally having a good basketball season. It has been a long time since we have been this good. The new freshmen on the team and Patterson returning really helped with that. We are 6-0 and hopefully we can stay undefeated for a little while longer. And hopefully at the end of the season we can get to the Final Four and maybe even the championship game. I know we have a first year coach and a lot of unexperienced freshmen but it could be the big year for us. We are also very close to earning 2,000 wins which would be amazing. We are the winningest program in NCAA basketball and those wins would certainly prove it. But even if we don't go all the way this year it will defiantly be a major step up from the past few years.

RIP JJC

Over Thanksgiving Break, Josh Calhoun was buried. I was at the funeral and I'm pretty sure it was one of the most depressing funerals I have ever been to. The family cried, his friends cried, every single person in that room cried. And most people bawled their eyes out. I happen to be one of those people. The Toby Keith song "Cryin' for Me" and seeing those guys break down at the grave site just got to me. Now every time I hear that song on the radio it gets to me. Josh's very close group of guys were all pallbearers along with his two brothers. They all wore camo because that is what Josh loved. After seeing them carry their friend out to his grave and listen to "Simple Man" they just couldn't walk away. They stayed and hugged each other, close friends, their girlfriends, and family. Most were speechless and definitely didn't want to go back into the church to eat. It was a very sad way to start Thanksgiving Break but it gave me a good reason to be thankful on Turkey Day. Rest In Peace Danni Boi!

Cryin' For Me lyrics:

Got the news on Friday morning
But a tear I couldn’t find
You should me how I am supposed to live
Now you should me how to die
I was lost til Sunday morning
I woke up to face my fear
While writing you this good bye song I found a tear

I’m going to miss that smile
I’m going to miss you my friend
Even though it hurts the way it ended up
I’d do it all again

So play it sweet in heaven
Cause that’s right where you want to be
I’m not cryin’ cause I feel so sorry for you
I am cryin’ for me

I got up and dialed your number
Your voice came on the line
That old familiar message
I have heard a thousand times
It just said, sorry that I missed you
Leave a message and god bless
I know that you think I am crazy
But I just had to hear your voice I guess

I’m going to miss that smile
I’m going to miss you my friend
Even though it hurts the way it ended up
I’d do it all again

So play it sweet in heaven
Cause that’s right where you want to be
I’m not cryin’ cause I feel so sorry for you
I am cryin’ for me

Oh

So play your upsidedown, left handed
Backward bass guitar
I’ll see you on the other side superstar

I’m going to miss that smile
I’m going to miss you my friend
Even though it hurts the way it ended up
I’d do it all again

So play it sweet in heaven
Cause that’s right where you want to be
I’m not cryin’ cause I feel so sorry for you
I am cryin’ for me

I’m still cryin’
I’m cryin’ for me
Oh
I’m still cryin’

Thanksgiving

What exactly is Thanksgiving about? We always focus on the wonderful food we get to eat. But Thanksgiving is supposed to be about the time you get to spend with your family and friends. Of course the food is great but I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my family. We are all really busy and we don't spend as much time with each other as we should so Thanksgiving gives us a good time to see each other. And of course it also gives me and my dad an opportunity to watch some football together. That is my favorite part of the day. Well, that and the dessert.

Heels

I am not EVER wearing heels to school again. Yesterday we had to dress up for the Veteran's Day luncheon because Beta Club was helping. So Sherri and I got the brilliant idea to wear heels to school. HA not going to happen again. The first 2 periods were ok because I was mostly just sitting down the whole time. Then we went to the assembly and had to stand up again and again. Then the luncheon came. I ended up cutting the banana pudding and running it to the desert table. That would have been tiring if I was wearing comfortable shoes. I cut 3 big trays of banana pudding and took it to the table. By the end of that I was ready to walk around school without any shoes on. But thankfully I brought flats to wear when the luncheon was over. But I didn't get a chance to put them on before we had to stack chairs and clean off the tables and take them down. I am used to doing that at work, but there is a reason why I don't wear heels to work. Then I had to walk all the way down to Mr. Hays room to get my backpack which had my flats in it. I couldn't have thrown down my stuff and ripped of those shoes any faster.

Obviously I learned that I am not a heel person. I already knew that just from the few weddings and funerals I had been to. But that was only a short period of time that I had to wear them. Yesterday I learned that heels are not for me and I should stick for the more fashionable flats.

Just A Thought

Last night on my way home from work I started to think about things. One thing that seemed to keep me awake was why do bad things happen to good people. Not all good people have really bad luck, but it just seems like more and more, you see one thing after another happen to a good person. My friends dad is one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He went to church, was involved, and was a genuinely good person. He recently got a liver transplant that he desperately needed. But days after the transplant, they found fluid in his lungs and it could possibly be pneumonia. Now he is fighting to stay alive. Him and his family don't deserve that, but it has happened anyway.

It seems like with things like that going on, that some of the mean people in this world would get their turn for something bad to happen to them. I'm not just wishing for all the mean people to get pneumonia or anything, but everywhere you look, they are getting the luck of the draw. The liers, cheaters, jerks, and downright awful people are the ones getting married to the love of their life, winning the lottery, or even just passing the test, or getting the good grade in a class. I'm sure they deserve some good in their lives, but shouldn't the people who care more about others than themselves be the ones who get lucky more often?

Halloween Party

Last night at work we had our Halloween Party. We had a ton of little kids running around and playing games. They were hyped up on candy and playing together in their cute costumes. The mess they made wasn't so much fun to clean up but some of them had some really good costumes. There were sheep, little bo peep, ladybugs, ups men, batmen, and cowgirls. All the kids had a great time playing all the games we had for them. They got to get their face painted, bob for apples, decorate paper pumpkins, get fun prizes, and dance to all the music that the dj was playing. Even though I was working, it was a blast to watch all the kids. They were so excited. That could have something to do with all the candy they got. But either way it was still fun.

Halloween!

Halloween is meant for little kids to have fun dressing up and and getting free candy. But for some reason it seems to be my favorite holiday right behind Christmas. I love candy. I love FREE candy. I love getting to dress up and for one night, you get to be whatever you want. You can be a bumblebee, a nerd, a witch, or even a gorilla if you even want to. The possibilities are endless of what you can be. If you get really creative, you can even be a person walking on stilts, the bearded lady, or an old man or woman. It's so much fun to go buy all the costumes and make-up and to get dressed with all my friends and take crazy pictures in our crazy outfits.

I also like Halloween because of all the scary stories, haunted houses, and all the eerie things that seem to happen around this time of year. It seems like every person has their own unique scary story about some haunted house, barn, or road. At night, all the roads look very creepy, like a scary guy with a hatchet is going to come out from the woods and attack you. The low hanging branches begin to look like long moving arms that are reaching out to get you. Pretty much everything just seems creepy around Halloween.

STRESS!

I don't . why teachers think it is a good idea to assign all kinds of crazy projects all at the same time. And I really don't understand why that happens to be the first two days we are back from fall break. Everyones brains are practically mush and nobody really remembers what we learned before fall break. It seems like all the teachers thought it would be funny to watch us all scream and freak out over all the projects, essays, and large homework assignments that they have all assigned. And to think that I thought last year was going to be my hardest year in school. Yeah right! This year has been twice as much work as last year. Too bad we don't have OOPS passes like last year. I have a feeling I would be using mine quite a bit already.

First Day Back

Fall break was so much fun. I wish we could have another week so I didn't have to come back to school today. It was so hard to get up this morning and get here on time. Not to mention I had to be here early for a Beta Club meeting.

The past week flew by so fast. I got to hang out with my friends almost the whole time and I only had to work a couple days that week. We went to a volleyball game, drove out to the middle of nowhere and came back. Then to Ben Hawes to see the ghost by the railroad tracks. Then we went to a bonfire and I had to go off roading just to get there. My car was not made to drive through ditches and really tall weeds. I did not think we would make it there alive. Then when we actually got there I wasn't sure we would be able to get out. But thankfully we did even though I had to drive 5 mph until I got out. Then to finish out the week, I went to Diamond Lake all weekend for Halloween Camping. It wasn't exactly camping because we rented a cottage so I didn't have to sleep in a tent. While we were there we sat around the campfire and told stories and then we went to the haunted houses. I thought I was going to pee my pants when we went through them. They scary people followed us all the way out of the trail. It was really creepy.

This past week was great. No homework, no stress of school, no getting up early everyday, and no tests. It was a fun week and I'm sad it's over. Hopefully Christmas Break will get here fast because I'm ready for another long break.

Mondays...

Mondays suck. You have to wake up early and go to school and try to learn while you are still half asleep. You don't feel like doing anything or moving or even getting out of bed.

Today I had subs for 1st and 2nd period and we didn't really do much of anything. Both subs left busy work for us to do and that was it. Just sitting and trying to entertain yourself on a Monday morning.

I'm not a morning person, but usually by the time I wake up and get ready I'm ok. But for some reason today I kept hitting snooze and nothing in the world could make me stop yawning. I'm still extremely tired and I didn't even stay up late like I usually do. I went to bed at a decent time and everything.

Hopefully the rest of the week will be better because right now I am really tired and grouchy and that will not make for a good week.

Everything Happens For A Reason....But What Good Reason?

Why is everybody dying? It's so depressing and so many young people have died. It doesn't seem right at all. Why do kids who haven't even began their lives yet. They have plans for growing up and best friends they go to school with and a lot of family that are ready to watch them grow into adults. 4 people from our senior class has died since their 8th grade year. Out of the 300-some people in that class, four of them won't be there for their graduation. How depressing is that to think about?

Now I wasn't close with any of the people who have died. But it still really hits you that your life can be over just like that. Sometimes people think that bizarre accidents can't happen to you, but when people you go to school with and see on a day to day basis aren't there anymore, it's put into more of a perspective to you. It's really sad to see people that you are friends with hurting so bad because one of their best friends is gone. Most of the time when young people die, it is a freak accident. Hopefully this time people will learn from Mellisa's tragic mistake and be more careful and wear their seatbelts so our school doesn't have to go through all of this sadness again.

DC Game!

So tonight we play at DC so we had spirit week this week It has been pretty fun and dressing up for school has been fun too. I think nerd day was the best though. Almost everybody dressed up for that one and it was fun to make fun of all my DC friends. The game is going to be the best too. We are going to decorate my car with streamers so when we get in the car we have to climb in the windows. On the way to the game we are going to do the chinese fire drill every time we get stopped at a red light. We are going to play Party In The U.S.A. the whole way to the game.

The only thing that is going to suck is if we lose the game. Hopefully we win because then this whole week will be kind of pointless.

WOW!

Our class is actually singing songs from cartoons. Not just the cool cartoons that were on when we were little, but cartoons that come on now. The ones that little kids watch everyday after they get home from school. I don't really know why I think that's weird but something about 16 and 17 year olds singing songs from Spongebob SquarePants and Fairly Oddparents is really odd.

Got Change?

I'm starting to get the feeling that "Got Change?'' is going to be the theme of this year's softball team. Not only did we lose 5 seniors to graduation last year but we got a brand new coach. Not just one of the assistants stepping up to replace our old coach, but a BRAND NEW COACH. He is just a random, retired teacher that basically just walked right into the program with not a lot of softball knowledge. He did play baseball in high school and college, but playing baseball doesn't automatically qualify you to coach girl's fast pitch softball. That's just not how it works. But I guess that is one more thing that is changing.

I also quit pitching for our team, we will lead to more change this year. I am going to be our new first basemen, which I had never played until this summer. It started out as a joke just to fill spots on a team this summer, but it turns out I am a really good first basemen. Maybe I should have just done that all my life instead of working my butt off being a pitcher. But if I did that then we wouldn't have one more "Got Change?" thing to add to the list.

potable

Today in IB Biology class we decided to start a slang dictionary for all the words Bates used during class. Here is a list that I came up with off the top of my head that I can remember:

potable- portable; easy to carry with your hands

cabbage- money; cheese

cheese- money(see cabbage)

cheap- "that means inexpensive," not very much money

Now here is a list of all the good quotes we got from Mr. Fuller today:

In reference to Benjamin Franklin: "Nothing in the front, party in the back."

"How about you go cut yourself and go find some sharks to play with." (he yelled that at the old guy on the beach he saw)

"Paradox, that is 2 boxes."

"Hey guys, that guy right there is Mr. Feeny!" (He actually paused the movie to show us which guy in the movie also played Mr. Feeny.

I'm sure there will be more added to this list in the future. That was just a start....

Fighting With Dignity

I think it is easier to fight with dignity than to surrender in shame. I believe this is true because if you surrender in shame then your pride is hurt. But if you keep fighting and have your dignity then you don't feel so bad about yourself. Dignity is what helps keep our confidence up and our moral. If you just give up and feel shameful about yourself then you will lost confidence in yourself. You have to have confidence and true dignity to be successful in life. Without that, your personality can change and you begin to be seen different by people who knew you before.

Money---

Money is very important to me because without it I wouldn't be able to have my car and pay for the gas. Also without money I wouldnt be able to buy things that I want or things for other people. There isn't really a certain amount that says how much is too much money. However much you feel is nessecary to live the life you want to lead is ok. The lack of money can greatly impact your life. Without money you wouldn't be able to support your family, pay bills, or basically function in society. Money makes the world go round. You have to have it to get pretty much anywhere or do anything. Without it, you are passed up to the next person waiting in line waiting to hand over the cash.

Party in the U.S.A.

So today in Mr. Fuller's AP U.S. History class we were talking about the beginning of the American Revolution. He played a song that could be considered anti-war but then we got a little off topic. He played a rock song and then attempted to head bang to that song. It was quite hilarious because some people in class actually knew the song. Then we played the song Party In the U.S.A by Miley Cyrus. A few weeks ago some of my friends made up a really funny dance to that song. So when it came on we all started doing that dance. And after the song was over we tried to convince Mr. Fuller that it was actually an anti-war song. He just looked at us like we were crazy and went on to the next thing we were trying to learn about.

Love What You Do

"Do what you love, love what you do, leave the world a better place, and don't pick your nose." Jeff Mallett

For some reason I love this quote. I think it is really good advice because if your not doing something that you love, you won't be happy. You should always leave the world a better place because it is our world to take care of and protect. And you just shouldn't pick your nose because that's just gross. haha

Throwing Stones

I have been the recepient of hurled stones. I'm sure that I have thrown some too. Not that I go around trying to hurt people's feelings. But we all say the wrong thing to people at some point and end up making somebody mad. Not everyone is going to agree 100% of the time, so at some point in life you are going to feel like you are the main target of everyone else's stones. I know I have felt like that, and if anyone that I have made feel like that is reading this, I'm sorry. I know it sucks to have people make fun of you or call you out on something and there be no reason for it. I hope people will begin to mature a little bit and be nicer to the people around them. You never know how what you say to someone can change their outlook on life.

Life's Group Meeting

Life has many changes. I guess that is kind of the point of life, to change and overcome obstacles. But what do you do when there are too many changes for you to keep up with? Friends, boys, family, sports, and school shouldn't all change at the same time. Each little part of life should have a "life group meeting" with each other and decide which one is going to change at each time. That would make my life so much simpler.

I think I could have handled my friends completely changing their personalities and the way they live and then having my boyfriend of two years break up with me just because he decided he wants to live a single life forever. I could get through those things individually, but when they happen within the same few days, it makes life that much harder. But life is supossed to be hard I guess. I just wish it would even out the hard along the way.

Not to mention all at the same time this is happening to me, I decided to quit pitching for softball. I just didn't love it like I did a few years ago and it was taking up to much time and I wasn't getting out of it what I was putting in. When I made that decision I let a lot of people down and they were extremely dissapointed with me. I hate to let people down but I knew that I had to do what made me happy and not just my parents or my teammates. I think that telling our team's other pitcher was the hardest thing I had to do. Even worse than telling my mom and dad about my decision. She was so upset because she had to take on the whole season by herself, but hopefully some of the younger teammates will step up for me. I hope so because if not I have a feeling that if we have a losing streak it will be blamed on me.

The last thing that couldn't have come at a worse time was school. Yes I know I'm a junior now, finally an upperclassmen. But when all of this huge changes happening just days before school started, coming back to class was the farthest thing from my mind. I signed up for some difficult classes, hoping to help with college but the first few days were a blur. My mind was on that dumb boy I had wasted the first half of high school on, where my old best friend had gone, and what all of my team thought about me. Let's just say all those notes that got taken those first few days were a little fuzzy to me.

I didn't expect to have to go through all these things on my own all at once, but I guess that is what I get for wanting to be more independent. When you ask for something, be very careful of how you word your desires because you might get something thrown out of left field that you never even imagined would happen.

Like father, Like daughter

I am most like my father because we have the same types of personality and I look kind of like him. We both love sports and that pretty much takes up all of our free time. Both of us are very competitive and everything is a win or lose situation. Even who can get their food first at dinner time and eat the quickest is a race to us. We are pretty laid back about most things but we both like to stay busy all the time. I get extremely bored just sitting at home watching t.v. and my dad is the exactly the same way. Im not sure if this is a good thing, but I do get my stubborness from him too. Some people have said that my dad and I could argue with a brick wall and win. I think that is why we get along so well, because we are almost exactly alike and know what makes each other tick. We know how we like to talk about things and do certain things around the house. That is why I am more like my dad than any other family member.