Fair Trade (Day 97)

I spent the morning with my old youth group and friends packing 2 huge u-haul trucks with toys and games for kids around the region. It always makes me feel good to make sure that other kids are able to enjoy the things that other kids have. It helps that someone is able to make a difference in the world and help people have an easier time in their lives. I think it was a Christmas movie that said once that said “Once you help other people, what you need has a strange way of coming into place.” And I think that’s true because every year I go and help with the toy drive and I am blessed with an incredible life. So I think Christmas movies are strangely real. J

JAM Toy Drive (Day 96)

I spent the morning with my old youth group and friends packing 2 huge u-haul trucks with toys and games for kids around the region. It always makes me feel good to make sure that other kids are able to enjoy the things that other kids have. It helps that someone is able to make a difference in the world and help people have an easier time in their lives. I think it was a Christmas movie that said once that said “Once you help other people, what you need has a strange way of coming into place.” And I think that’s true because every year I go and help with the toy drive and I am blessed with an incredible life. So I think Christmas movies are strangely real. J

Absent (Day 95)

I didn’t go to school today because I had to finish my scholarship thing for Ms. Dell and I also lost my voice and got a cold. So I finally finished the scholarship and hopefully Ms. Dell submitted her part because I asked Carney but he left for like 4 days so I had to ask Ms. Dell instead. But I got it done. And then I slept part (or most) of the day because my mom gave me cold medicine. Losing your voice is terrible and I do not like it. Hopefully I can have it back by like Sunday. But tomorrow I have the toy drive at the Baltimore County Department of Social Services when we bring the youth group from my old church and go load toys into a truck for needy families for Christmas, which is always fun.

17 days until Christmas (Day 94)

new favorite song!
17 days until Christmas! Which is really exciting because it is one of my favorite holidays. Quick note: I don’t understand this blog project anymore. Nobody reads these blogs and it seems to take more effort than it gives results. I haven’t learned a single thing about myself and I have done every single blog. Not on time, but I have done every single one and I still don’t get it. Carney, you haven’t read these since the middle or end of October and Dona hasn’t commented on any of them. So needless to say, she hasn’t read any of them. And it’s just making most of the kids in AVID fail. And they aren’t going to change. And how does anyone grade blogs? Because they’re personal and it doesn’t explain anything if I get a C on a group of blogs that I wrote and put a lot of effort on.

Stitches (Day 93)

So I got stitches today. I have a ceiling fan in my room and I put the glass dome on too tightly the other day when I changed the light bulb and when I went to pull the chain to turn it on, it shattered and I tried to catch it instinctively and it cut my finger pretty deeply. So I got 5 stitches. It’s pretty annoying because I can’t use my finger and I didn’t realize how much I use it. But I get them out in 10 days and then I will be fine. But the scholarship deadline is in 2 days and I’m not ready! Ugh. But I bowled a 113 today and that is pretty good for me. So it was an ok day and I hope that I can still finish this scholarship thing that is due in less than 72 hours.

Almost to 100 blogs...(Day 92)

These don't match...

So I found this adorable quote online the other day. “Love is not reciprocal-men love women, women love children, and children love hamsters.” Which is funny because it is very true. So I used that as my quote on edmodo. Which is a website I’m still not sure about. I think it’s cool that you can write like facebook as well as uploading projects. Ms. Banister really likes it anyway. Anyway, bowling started yesterday and it was cool because we have new kids that joined. We can’t count a lot of the kids’ scores because they are 19 and older and we already had a problem with that (thanks football players) and so we can’t do that anymore. So hopefully we can still have a good season because last year we came in like 3^rd in the entire region. It was a good season and it makes me feel good because I am helping the special education department which is something I want to do in the future.

Dell (Day 91)

So Ms. Dell chose me to represent New Town for the Comcast Scholarship and it means that I have fill out a scholarship thing online. The bad thing? All of the other nominees got their packet in September and had until now to fill it out. Its due Friday. And I got it today. And I have to write a 250 word essay as well and fill out some information about community service, awards, and my extracurricular activities. It would be really nice to win but I’m not going to be that disappointed if I don’t. I mean I can always have other scholarships. But first I need to actually get into college. But that means I have to apply. So I think that means I have to go finish my essay. J And if anyone wants to tell me who the “Fisher King” is, I would like that a lot. They used that reference as a 2-part title for a double episode in Criminal Minds (The Fisher King (part 1 and 2) a.k.a. Sir Knieghf) and a reference in Glee “I feel like the Fisher King with wounds that never heal.” And I don’t know who that is.

No church (Day 90)

Did you know? These are actually wall hangers. :)

I definitely didn’t go to church today because my family slept in. It was great not having to get up at 7:00 in the morning. Then I had to work on my essay even more. I got it down to a full page but I need to cut it down more because my mom said that college admissions officers don’t want to read an essay that is more than a page long. I know I don’t like reading anything that is longer than like half a page. So I’m not going to make anybody else read my boring essay, either. But I am reading my calculus books and hopefully I can pass the next test that I have because I do not want to get a C. Like 4 people dropped out of Calculus and it’s really sad. I liked our class.

College essay (Day 89)

I spent the whole day working on my college essay. I added things to it and then took them away. I mean I think that it doesn’t need that much more work, but I guess my mom thinks it does because she keeps trying to get me to keep editing it. But since I am terrible at editing anything I don’t really think it’s going to work. So she is really going to work on editing it and making my words sound better that what I could have organized.  It sounds better already. And then I have to write another essay (short answer for the common app) and upload the one I am working on now. Hopefully, I can make people see who I truly am and what I really like to do including riding horses and helping people.

21 days until christmas (Day 88)

Nothing really happened today. I mean there are like 21 days until Christmas and I have to get my grades up in all of my classes. Well except Health and AP Chemistry. Those classes are so easy I think I will permanently have an A. And I mean I do have a B in AP Human Geography but I would like to have an A in the class because I think it’s easy. I have to get my grades up in AVID and AP Calculus and AP English. I guess I don’t take them as seriously as I should. I mean in AVID all we are doing is talking about college and I’m tired of thinking about it. In Calculus all we do is take tests which I am never prepared for but I take the tests and fail anyway. So I need to work on that most of all. So I checked out 2 books from the library that hopefully help me pass them and get me a B for the final grade. Because I can’t have my first C on my report card senior card.

Stevenson trip (Day 87)

Unfortunately I actually like Stevenson. I say that because my sister and her boyfriend went there and graduated and that means that Stevenson wasn’t even on my radar. But then I went there and decided that it was really beautiful and the campus is close to home (which is kind of a problem). It isn’t my number one choice but it is still in my top 4 or 5. I really wish there was more nature in the campus. That’s why I like St. Mary’s. Because I can go sailing whenever I want and ride horses, too. All of my friends say I am a hippie and that is true because I love the outdoors and it is one of the factors that will determine where I go to college. Plus, hopefully I can get lots of scholarships because I have been working my butt off for almost 4 years and it’s about time that I can go to college for free. J

House points (Day 86)

It’s almost December and I can’t wait until the 25 days of Christmas on ABC family. It’s pretty awesome. My mom said that I have to work on college applications with her all weekend so I have to do all of my work before the weekend because that’s the only thing that I am allowed to work on. So I am kind of excited to be working on the college application process. Well really I am excited to see if I can get into any colleges and specifically what colleges are going to give me money. Part of me wants to see if everything that I’ve gone through is going to pay off or if it won’t determine anything. My mom says it will but another part of me wants to be chosen because of how well I do in school, and not because I have a sob story of a personal life. But really I want to be able to say that I got into certain colleges with certain amounts of money. I want house points! J

Epistle (Day 85)

So I did my first literary term project (thanks Carney) on epistle which is a poem usually written to a lover or a friend that discusses the qualities that they posses and what makes them special. Now my second literary term project that I did was on a word called elegy which is a poem that is usually written for a funeral. It’s for reminiscing about the loss of someone and it’s usually nostalgic. So can I just say that I really don’t like projects and I don’t feel like I learn that way? But we have done like 9 projects so far and I don’t think I’m very creative and I also feel like my projects are terrible. Like really bad.

POLAND ! (Day 84)

Pretty !

So we have this really cool project in AP Human Geography that we have to do. We are talking about folk and popular culture and we get to pick a country and talk about it and then bring a food in and share it with the class. I picked Poland at first and then I changed my mind to Wales. But then I changed it back to Poland because that is where my family is from so I thought that it would be easier to do a project on a country that I know something about. So I am doing a powerpoint (because that’s mainly what I know) and its going to be awesome.

Hawaiin punch (Day 83)

Haha...cow on boat. :)

Today my mom and I went to church and helped at the advent service because today was the first Sunday in advent. My mom made this awesome punch where you add sherbet, Hawaiian punch, and ginger ale and it was incredible. Everyone always loves it and we went through like 6 bottles of ginger ale and sherbet and 2 huge bottles of Hawaiian punch. I got to stay there and pour the punch for everyone and there was like 150-200 people there. It was really fun and then we got to stay and clean up afterward so we were there until 2 in the afternoon. Then when we went home and I had to rake leaves which took almost 4 hours. While I was raking, my sister, her boyfriend Nick, and my Dad all hung up our Christmas lights. We left around 6 to go to Famous Dave’s and we had a great time. We came back at like 8 and it was dark so the lights looked incredible.

Glee/ Class ring (Day 82)

 
I watched the first season of Glee all day today and it is hilarious even the second time around. The drama between Finn and Rachel is pretty ridiculous and hopefully doesn’t happen to anyone. Ever. And the drama between Emma and Will is really cute but they need to just get married already. Oh and since Quinn just had a solo, I just want to say that I don’t think she can’t sing. And she whines a lot. But so does Sue. She is really funny, but if I ever had someone like her in my life I think I would drop out of school. Terri also should not be so mean to Mr. Shuster and just tell him she isn’t pregnant. There was just a scene at the obgyn and he legit cried that he was having a child. I just wanted to scream that he shouldn’t be with her because she was a liar. So Sue, Terri, and Ken are terrible people and Will, Emma, and Finn are pretty cool. And I like Coach Bieste as well. And the songs they perform are really great as well.

Shemar Moore (Day 81)

Guess who didn’t do anything today?! Me, of course. I sat and watched a Spongebob marathon until like 1. Then I watched a movie called Cyberbully which is about a teen girl bullied so bad over the internet that she tries to kill herself. My mom made we watch it to learn about the dangers of putting certain things on the internet. But I already know about that. I haven’t even been of facebook since like June. So it’s all good. Then at 4 I watched the marathon of Criminal Minds! Which is one of the best shows ever. Shemar Moore <3 is the best Derek Morgan ever. I also really like Paget Brewster as Emily Prentiss and Kirsten Vagnesses as Penelope Garcia. I really like the different types of criminals and violence they have and it’s actually really lifelike. I didn’t know they had an actual BAU (Behavioral Analysis Unit) in the FBI and it is actually in Quantico, Virginia. Sadly, Prentiss was killed off by her nemesis Ian Doyle and her partner Derek Morgan J was by her side and said he loved her no matter what, she would always be his partner and his friend, and that he forgave her. But she actually survived and moved to Russia so Doyle would think she was dead and then came back a year later to confront him for the last time. This time he was actually killed. And Derek eventually forgave her for leaving him. But they weren’t ever in a relationship which makes it cuter because he always flirts with the techie Garcia. See, this is the best show ever. This and NCIS: Los Angeles, and Law and Order: SVU.

Turkey Day (Day 80)

Happy Turkey Day! Gobble gobble. I really like Thanksgiving because it means my Dad’s side of the family gets together and it’s always fun. This year it was only my Nana, Pop Pop, Uncle Tommy, Dad, Mom, and I. Usually, my Aunt Cookie and Uncle Bob come, but they couldn’t this year because of sickness I think. It’s an hour and a half car trip which is fun because I get the whole back seat to myself and I can read or watch a movie or even write my blogs. J Which I rarely do. But I got a head start on ‘The Invisible Man’ which we have to read over the break. It’s a pretty good book, but I feel like I have already read so many books that have this same storyline that it isn’t even interesting anymore.

Official Food Rag (Day 79)

Omg. The food rag was so sad today. I can’t believe that this was our final food rag. It seems that we always had another one to look forward to and I feel like I didn’t always take them seriously because I had another one. But this was the last one and it felt so bittersweet because I have known all of the AVID students since I was a freshman and this was one of the last memories that I was going to have with that group of kids that I have learned to love and accept. It’s not quite over yet but when it is I don’t think that I will ever find another group of people that I care so much about. They have truly affected my life in a positive way and taught me a lot about myself and my strengths.

Nick: Leave in conditioner? (Day 78)

I hate my retainers. So I haven’t been wearing them for a very long time-like several months (5 or so) so my orthodontist is making me wear them every day for 6 weeks. Which to me seems like a very long time. It’s so bad because they barely fit and they hurt when I put them in and when I take them out. My mom thinks it’s funny. But I don’t. I also got to go to the AVID Chick-Fil-A night, which is always good because I like Chick-Fil-A and I like AVID. So it’s a win-win for me. And we get house points. Since Prometheus is in like 3^rd place, I think that everyone should have come…including Mr. O’Connor. Maybe we won’t be in last place if certain people came to the fundraisers we have. J

Food Rag (Day 77)

Sorry to say Dona, but I still don’t know what I am writing about for the food rag. For the first time ever. I usually always have some story to talk about and some food to bring, but it’s just not coming to me this year. And I know it’s going to be sad because it’s the last time. We have the National Honor Society Pot Luck tomorrow but unfortunately I can’t go because I have a Dentist appointment, which is really sad because I really wanted to go. Some members of the NHS do not ever attend the meetings *Alyssa and other people* and never come to anything, but we still have a large number of people that come. Nothing really happened today, which is why I am writing about other things that are boring.

Early thanksgiving (Day 76)

Only 36 days until Christmas but my family is already watching all of the Christmas movies there are to watch. Today we watched Once Upon a Christmas and Twice Upon a Christmas. They are my 2 favorite Christmas movies because Kathy Ireland plays Kristen Clause. We also had a Thanksgiving meal today. Not turkey or anything, but we had ham, sweet potatoes (yuck), squash, bread, green beans, mashed potatoes, and corn. And of course pumpkin pie for dessert. Right now I’m watching the Ravens/Bengals game. It’s 4^th quarter with 2:39 left and the ravens are up 31-24. I’m not going to get too excited though because last time we were up like this they lost in the last 5 minutes. I’m still not sure how, but they always manage to forget how to win. Always. Just like the Eagles. I’ve decided they are no longer the team I should root for. So go Ravens. And we just won. So that’s great.  

Pennsylvania (Day 75)

I got home from the movies at like 1 am. And I slept until like 12. Then we got to go visit my grandparents in Pennsylvania, which is always fun. It’s an hour and a half ride and we got a new car to use. It has a DVD player in each of the headsets which is awesome. J I watched Hoodwinked which is a great movie but nobody else seems to think so. I like it because it’s funny and nobody ever suspects the cute little rabbit or thinks the grandma does extreme sports. It was nice in Pennsylvania because my great Aunt Cookie was there and she is really funny and very helpful when my nana cooks, Uncle Tommy works outside, or when I make tea. The picture today is of me and her that my mom took right before we left to go back to Maryland. Unfortunately her husband, my Uncle Bob couldn’t come because he is sick. I don’t remember what exactly it is, but I know it is serious.

Kennedy's party (Day 74)

Kennedy’s party was today. We went to Buffalo Wild Wings which was amazing of course. Kennedy even made me eat fried pickles which were extremely weird. Then Kennedy, Angela, and I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 at like 10:45 at night. It was amazing. The theater was packed; literally there were no seats available. We wanted to see it at 10 but that was sold out so we waited in line and did something I call ‘people watching’ which involves…watching people. I almost forgot how much I love Twilight. The director really made this movie just like the book. Besides an additional werewolf/vampire fight after Bella ‘died’, it was pretty much the exact same, which was nice. Renesmee was just as adorable as described in the book, Edward as hot, and Jacob as…well…Jacob. J

Happy Bday Kennedy! (Day 73)

Since it's Kennedy's bday and I know she likes Glee, here goes a Glee pic.Happy birthday Kennedy! Happy 17^th! We also got report cards today. I just want to know how people got Es on their report card. Legit. Mr. Hopkins showed us a report card (name withheld) that had 5 Es and like 2 Ds and a C. I don’t even know what would happen if I brought those grades home. I think my parents would tell me to find a place of my own somewhere else. Then they would hang themselves thinking about what they had done wrong. I have yet to bring a C home on a report card. I know I would be punished if I did. Even a C. My parents always say that they know I am way more intelligent than a C. A C to them shows that I did not work to the best of my ability. I would be disappointed in myself I got a C. I like As. Better than I like Bs. But a C would mean the end to my dream of going to a good college on a full tuition, room, and board. So no Cs for me.

Lit term. Horse :) (Day 73)

So thanks for giving Ms. Banister the idea that we all should do a literary terms project, Mr. Carney. And we have to pick our lit term by the first letter of our first name. So I picked the term Epistle. It is a poem written to a lover or a friend that talks about that person’s characteristics that the poet likes so much. And she is making us make a movie. So I guess I will use photo story and make it nice. It really is a simple word. Last year Mr. Carney picked words for us. He gave me parallelism. It was also a very simple word. And I got an A on that. I think I used Prezi. I would much rather use prezi than making a movie, but I clearly don’t have a choice. I hope I get and A though. I didn’t like having a B in her class.

Prometheus (Day 71)

So Prometheus had our house meeting today. I think that we really need to get more organized because people were talking loudly and one of the girls didn’t even know what house points were or what we would win of we won the house cup. So clearly they are not well educated on winning. And another thing! Why do we, Prometheus, have people losing more than a hundred points for our house? John Battle. Yes I am calling him out because he has lost the most, but he is not the only one. We still have people losing points over grades, being disrespectful, and lying to Dona. How do you even lose 100 points? It seems the rest of Prometheus is trying really hard to win the contest and we still have a couple of kids erasing all of the work that we do. If we want to win this then we have to all work as a team.

Nothing... (Day 70)

So today nothing really interesting happened. I went to school and came home afterward. That’s about it. We took notes in AP Human Geography about population pyramids and Ravenstein’s theory of migration. In AP Chemistry, we started a lab called the ideal gas law lab. We determined the molar mass and density of butane by using the ideal gas law. It was about submerging a graduated cylinder in water upside down and using a lighter under water to be able to put the butane gas in the lighter in the graduated cylinder. It was cool to see it. In AP English, we presented our project. It was all about making our own personal hell after reading the Inferno. My hell was about lazy people. Quite ironic because I am very lazy myself. J In AP Calculus, we finished the quiz we started the Friday before and then graded them. Thankfully, I got a B-an 85%. It was just another day.

Eagles (Day 69)

I went to church today at the usual 8:30 but then we got to go shopping finally J it was nice. I got a new travel mug and earrings for my mom for Christmas and ideas for Betty and Dad. Kohl’s had Christmas music playing and all of the holiday assortment thingys out. So they were basically ready for people to buy anything Christmas. My computer is telling me I spelled ‘thingys’ wrong. Is it ‘thingies’? Well who knows? I have to finish these blogs and vacuum the house and then do homework then I am free. But right now I am watching the Eagles/Cardinals game. It’s tied. But the Eagles better win. My mom wants to watch Cars 2 tonight so that is probably what is going to happen. Hopefully.

Betty's house (Day 68)

My dad, mom, and I all went to my sister’s apartment today to help her hang things on the wall and mount her TV. It was fun. Her boyfriend, Nick was there and we mostly played with her 2 cats, Quervo and Romeo (she calls Biggie). We spent the whole day there helping her and I really had fun. She lives in College Park Maryland. So I took 2 videos. One of Quervo chasing the laser because that’s what cats do. Nick felt bad because Quervo really thought he was going to get it this time. But it’s not tangible. So it wasn’t going to happen. And the other was a video of Biggie drinking out of Betty’s McDonald’s cup. Legit drinking. J Anyway, since we got home at like 10, I have to do tons of stuff tomorrow that I wasn’t able to accomplish today. Oh well.

11-11-11 (Day 67)

Its 11-11-11. That isn’t going to happen again for a very long time. Like 2111. Next year it will be 12-12-12. But that isn’t as cool. We had a National Honor Society meeting today where we talked about what we are going to do for the next couple months or so. I am the Chair for the soup kitchen committee, meaning I have to find a place, time, and contact information so we can all go help out at the soup kitchen. Then we have the thanksgiving potluck and the Christmas party at the bowling alley. Mr. Hopkins also wants to go skiing so I have to be in charge of that also because apparently I am the only one who has ever been skiing and he wants to go to Liberty, where I have also been. So it’s going to be a very busy year for us and hopefully we can do everything Morin and Mr. Hopkins want to get accomplished.

Happy Anniversary (Day 66)

Happy anniversary Mom and Dad! Wow…32 years. They were supposed to go out tonight to a restaurant in the museum of art I think. But it was raining so they came home instead. I bought them flowers and my own dinner so I would be out of their hair for the night. It was nice to be on my own and have them leave me alone and not bother them either. I went and saw Ms. Dauka today because she had info on St. Mary’s for me. Then I visited Dona and walked home in the rain. It wasn’t that bad, but I hate rain when I am outside in it. But it was a good night and I hope my parents had a good anniversary.

FBI (Day 65)

I went to an FBI briefing tonight at my church. My mom organized it and 43 or something people showed up. Special Agent Mark Southland of the FBI came and talked to us about how to be safe on the internet and it turned into a lot of questions about email and how to sort the junk mail from the normal real mail. It was very interesting and I learned a lot, but I also knew a lot of that stuff because my parents are computer geeks and know about that stuff already. So I learned some things. Anyway, everyone really liked him so he is coming back in like January to do 2 separate talks on Facebook safety, one for parents and one for kids. I liked tonight because it was cool to see everyone so fascinated about internet safety and it was cool to hear his tips on protecting yourself on the internet, but still having fun and learning things.

Freedom (Day 64)

It’s kind of sad that I don’t have soccer anymore, but it’s also nice because I can work on my homework as soon as I get home instead of at 6:45 at night when I am exhausted and hungry. But I miss my girls. And I miss working out with them for like 3 hours a day 6 days a week. It was nice to be part of such a great team, but it’s also nice to be able to study for more than 3 hours a night without falling asleep on my books. I’m still debating whether or not I want to be part of the 9v9 indoor soccer league. I want to, but I already don’t have enough time for everything, I don’t know what I would do with even less time. But I will think about it because all of the soccer girls want me to do it and it would be fun I guess. And Trapp wouldn’t be our coach. We wouldn’t have a coach at all; we would do all the substitutions ourselves and there would be no practices, only Sunday games.

TGIM (Day 63)

TGIM! I can’t say that I look forward to Mondays, but I mean it definitely isn’t as bad as everyone makes it seem. ET is right in his talks though. I heard 5 important things today in his video. Number 1: see your job as a blessing because not everyone has a job in America and they would love to have a job someone else does not want. Number 2: A negative times a negative is a positive only in math. Which is true. If you react to a negative situation negatively, it does not make it better. Number 3: Stop acting like a child. Enough said…Number 4: Instead of looking for a blessing, be a blessing. So instead of waiting for someone else to take charge of something, for example, you should take charge yourself. And lastly, number 5: Be the change you want to see in the world. If you want something to be different, be different yourself. Change it on your own.

Free day (Day 62)

Today I went to church at like 8:30. That’s early to me. But luckily the service is only 45 minutes, so we are out by 9:15. Then we got to go to Dunkin Donuts J and I got my iced coffee. I got a free day today which was great because I didn’t have to do anything. So I didn’t. I sat and watched TV and read a book and even took a nap. I really enjoy those days where I don’t have to do anything because I can just relax and I don’t have to worry about catching up on blogs or anything like that. I did so much cleaning and working the day before (so did my whole family) that it was nice to just sit and enjoy the clean house and think about what I’m getting everyone for Christmas. Overall, it was a really great lazy day but unfortunately they don’t happen very often so I should enjoy it while it lasts.

Bubbles (Day 61)

Finally got my hair cut today at Bubbles in Towson mall. I really like my mom’s hair cutter, Heather. She is nice and her hair is always done perfectly. So jealous. J I have had tons of work to do today, unfortunately. And I still have hours ahead of me. Its only 4:10. Ugh! I hate working, but I have to push myself to get it accomplished so I can have fun tomorrow. I don’t know what I am going to do, but I want to do something fun and not work-related. Gymnastics is on, so I think I will watch that now, instead of this triathlon thingy. I like gymnastics because it’s cool to see them flip, most likely because I can’t. My favorite gymnasts are Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, but I think only Shawn Johnson is going to the London 2012 Olympics. They both medaled at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, but Nastia has been out of competition since. Shawn competed at the World Championships, but didn’t do the best. Now they think that a newbie, Jordyn Wieber is going to be the new Shawn. Rebecca Bross was going to be in the running, but she dislocated her kneecap at Worlds. They think the lineup for 2012 is Jordyn Wieber, Alexandra Raisman, Rebecca Bross (maybe), Shawn Johnson, and McKayla Maroney.

Figure Skating (Day 60)

I just realized I have officially been blogging for 2 months and I kind of feel like I am losing things to blog about and take pictures of. Sorry, had to pause because there was a Unicef commercial on with Alyssa Milano as the spokeswoman and I love her. She was on ‘Who’s the Boss?’ and ‘Charmed’ which were two amazing shows. I watched both of them. Anyway, we don’t have school today thankfully, but that means I have to do extra things if I want to be able to have a relaxing weekend, which I do. It’s so close to Thanksgiving which is really exciting because then it means that it is close to Christmas, which is basically my favorite holiday. I’m watching the figure skating Grand Prix now, which is kind of cool because the Americans aren’t in last place. (yea Evan Lysachek!) That’s always good.

Hey seniors! (Day 59)

Haha...funny picture.

Hey seniors!!! We totally won that powder puff game fair and square, but the juniors were so mad! It was hilarious because they were like “they cheated!” except if they didn’t tie their flags on, there would be no reason to tackle. It’s very simple. But I mean I feel like that’s how we sounded when we lost last year. We were angry and looked to excuse our loss. Whatever, we still won. And we won the obstacle course today at the Pep Rally. Once again, I didn’t understand why the Titanettes danced the way they did, and I wasn’t really impressed, but I was really surprised at how good our cheerleaders and the dance team was. They were really good. I felt the pep rally was kind of lame, also. There wasn’t any one particular thing that stood out to me, which was disappointing.

Wounded Warriors (Day 58)

Today I went to a talk at my church about the wounded warriors program, which helps soldiers that return from duty harmed, either physically or mentally. The vice president, John Malvo, came to talk to us about the program and how soldiers need support from the community, as well as in politics and how people can volunteer or donate to help them. They also talked about the programs available to help the wounded warriors and how even the people that only have one leg or one arm can still go golfing or jet skiing. It was cool to hear about things like that. I think it’s important for people to realize how much soldiers sacrifice for us, so I think we should help them out when they return from war, and we should help their families cope with the loss of their loved ones, and give the soldiers something to look forward to.

Perryville (Day 57)

So we totally lost to Perryville in our last playoff game. Like totally. A blowout. 0-6. It was kind of bittersweet. I mean part of me was glad to be able to finally say the season was over and not have to dread practice every day, but part of me was sad to say goodbye to the girls that I had spent 3 hours a day, 6 days a week with, for 2 months. We were together in the cold, and the hot, through rain and sunny days, through hills and figure eights, and through the obnoxious shooting drills our coach came up with. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud of the soccer team in my life. We made history, being the first team in New Town history soccer to make it to the playoffs, with a team mostly made up of freshman and sophomores. We started the season off as underdogs, with 0-2 and came back at the end of the season 6-4 and 5-3 in our division. We worked our butts of the entire season, and unfortunately lost many with injuries, attitude, and people quitting. So I wore my cleats, my uniform, and my captain pin for the last time. I emptied my locker for the last time, and I said goodbye to the soccer field and my position as captain and sweeper for the last time. I will definitely come back for their games next year, as I had promised them. Thanks for an amazing season Lady Titans!

Halloween (Day 56)

Happy Halloween! Ugh! I didn’t get off of practice until like 6. All because we have a game tomorrow. We are supposed to end practice at 5:30 but that never happens. So at like 7 I went trick-or-treating with Kennedy and her brothers which was pretty fun. We went around her house and her brothers kept trying to tell me jokes that didn’t make any sense, but since they are 12 and 9, I decided it was ok. My parents gave out candy tonight with the gate up inside the door so the kids can see my dogs. I’m surprised none of them were really scared of them because usually we have like 5 or 6 kids that are terrified of these huge baby dogs that we have, who aren’t scary in the least bit, but somehow manage to horrify young trick-or-treaters. Kind of funny.

Beatles (Day 55)

So I don’t have anything to blog about so I’m just going to write about nothing. Here goes. Today is October 30, and it’s my friend, Erin’s (we call her Beatles) birthday. I met her at camp when I was like 12 and she was 13 and then again during the summer of 2010 for a counselor-in-training (CIT/WIT) session for 2 weeks. We became friends and have been close ever since. This past summer, she was a counselor at the camp (well an intern) which gave her more power over us. Of course she didn’t use it against us because we were all so close. Her camp name is Beatles because in like 2008, we were all playing red rover with our favorite counselor, Pinky at that time and she forgot Erin’s real name, but she was wearing a Beatles shirt, and thus Pinky dubbed her Beatles. Even though Pinky is no longer with us at camp, the name lives on. And of course we promise to always come to camp, no matter the circumstances and keep our camp names.

Running Catch-up (Day 54)

So I just had to catch up on like 15 blogs. Because I had been too lazy to actually do them when it’s required. I have a lot of things to do today. Let’s see…I have to vacuum, play the flute for an hour, finish my blogs, read up to circle 8 in the Inferno, do my laundry, clean my room, change my sheets, and write a college essay. So far, I will have finished my blogs. Ugh, I hate Saturday chore. But at least it’s snowing! Well it was anyway, it’s all rain now. I like being inside on snow days. I mean I like snow, but only when I don’t have to be in it outside. I like being warm when it’s cold outside. It reminds me of Christmas. Except there isn’t enough snow to actually have to shovel. Thankfully.

St. Mary's (Day 53)

St. Mary’s College of Maryland came to our school today. It has been my number one college choice for almost 3 years because of the atmosphere and the water and the majors. Well those are some of the reasons. I mean I can actually see myself there which is something I can’t say for most colleges. My friend Diana is a senior there majoring in Biology and captain of their rugby team, and she has told me so many great things about the college which is another reason why I want to go. We had soccer practice today, too, where we ran the Swedish. It’s a very annoying and painful obstacle course that I do not like in the least bit. I’m going to draw a diagram as the picture for today. If you don’t understand and want me to elaborate, just ask. I hope you like it.

Powder Puff 2 (Day 52)

Today we got our powder puff shirts. I guess they are nice, but they just look TINY. I mean it does fit, but when I raise my arms, it looks like it belongs to a 9 year old. I don’t particularly like or dislike the design, either. Sorry Nick. But it’s going to be a good game next Wednesday, and the seniors are going to win. Of course. Spirit week is my favorite week of the year, though because I like seeing that people actually have school spirit. I mean I don’t have that much Titan pride, but it’s nice that other people do. But we have our first playoff game vs. Perryville on Tuesday and if we win, we stay in the competition, but if we lose, our season is over. Coach Brooks told me that if we win 2 playoff games, we get a banner in the gym, which is something that I really want.

The Inferno (Day 51)

We got a new book in English called the Inferno by Dante. I think I’ve heard of it, but then again that could have been any other book. I’m confused as to why there aren’t chapters, but circles and Cantos. But maybe it will answer itself as I read it. Hopefully. Anyway, I don’t really want to do the project on circle one because I don’t understand it. I mean he is happy that he is going to be led by Virgil, but is unhappy he is in hell. What did he even do to be in hell? I think it was something about everybody born before Jesus was in hell because there was no heaven yet. Maybe that was it. But I just hope that it is a good book because I am tired of reading boring books like ‘The Stranger’ and ‘Waiting for Godot’. Because I don’t understand the meaning of either and they weren’t entertaining to read.

House meeting (Day 50)

Today we had our first Prometheus house meeting. It went pretty well, even though 3 of our 7 house members weren’t there. I kind of took charge, because the other seniors were quiet, and Erica wasn’t there and she had the list of things to talk about. I just told them about how to gain and how to not lose points, about the importance of their grades, and what field trips they would want to go on that would involve our house traits. Mr. O’Connor introduced himself, and then I told the underclassman that they could come and find one of us if they ever needed something or if they were having trouble in one of their classes. Overall I think that it went pretty well, and next time we should probably break into smaller groups and discuss their classes and what they want to do at the meetings, and out of the meetings.

Towson University (Day 49)

Today Towson University came to my school. I always had this school as a backup or safety school because I knew I could get in and I didn’t want to go there. But I learned a lot about the school and they mostly have the majors that I want (Special education and Archaeology) and they have the minor (Computer Science), which is more than a lot of other schools. Plus, they are closer to home which isn’t a requirement for me, but it is something I have been thinking about more often. They have both soccer and tennis, and over 175 clubs and organizations to join. It’s cheaper because I am in state and because it is a public university. It is now in my top 3 schools-St. Mary’s, Towson, and UMBC.

Fair Trade, Fair Talk (Day 48)

Today, my entire family went to church at 8:30, went out to breakfast at Towson Diner, to a ‘Fair Trade Fair Talk’ seminar at the church, and then up to Pennsylvania for my mom’s birthday Dinner. The seminar was about a program designed to spread equality across the globe in trade and consumerism. For example, a woman in El Salvador knits a hat for a sale. She gives it to a company to sell, and it travels to America, to some superstore like Wal-Mart where the consumer and business forgets entirely about the poor people who make the things we need/want. Unfortunately, she gets less than 1% of the profit even though she made the hat. Fair Trade is made to protect the rights of the individual by cutting out the corporation. Things may cost more, but the individual makes up to 40% profit, instead of less than 1%. This is a huge program at my church, and especially in the Presbyterian community.

MDC3 (Day 47)

I went with my Dad and Nick to the Maryland Cyber Crime Challenge (MDC3) at the Convention center in Baltimore City today. It was mostly just watching high school, college, and professional teams try and hack into a server and get to be the first one with all 7 parts unavailable. Sponsors of the convention had small booths set up in the hallway to try and get students to go and work with them. Nick and I mostly went and got the free things that were handed out, like pens and key chains, but also mouse pads and candy, and we got to sign up to win a free I-pad or Xbox. We also got like 13 cards that had 3 free song downloads on them, which was pretty funny because people kept asking us if we had heard of SAIC and we kept saying no, and they gave us 2 free cards. We ended up with 39 free songs. Ironically, my mom works for SAIC, so I really should know about it. And my dad was trying to scold us, but he ended up with 8 cards of his own. Plus, we got a metro day pass.