Vote No!

If you live in Linn County, all we've been hearing is "Vote Yes for the Linn County Casino!" "Vote no!" 

Blah Blah Blah.

Well, I say vote no. 

Casinos are horrid places that ruin people's lives. They are full of alcohol. BAD. You can smoke in them. VERY BAD. People waste their life savings which leads to financial problems which leads to depression which leads to drinking/smoking and trying to gamble the LITTLE money you have to win big again, which you don't and so this HORRID cycle all begins again. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD. 

The "vote yes" ads all say it would bring jobs and prosperity to our town. But let's look at the facts. It would bring jobs, yes. But mainly all low paying jobs-which means it attracts unsuccessful and unskilled people to our town. They say it will attract out-of-town people and their money which will help our small businesses. Uh, no. It will help the casino and the casino only. People will go out to eat at the casino because apparently they have great food. They won't go to our little Cedar Rapids restaurants as much, so that will hurt small businesses-not help them.

 It will bring drunkenness into this city, which is always bad. More drunk drivers. More deaths. More depression. More addictions. More gambling. It's terrible that THAT'S how the casino gets it's money. By hurting people. By taking their money and serving them alcohol to feed their addiction so they don't know what they're doing and they spend more money than they can afford. Casinos really just ruin people's lives, and why would we want our city to support such a thing? It also causes suicides because people get so depressed and angry with themselves for being such fools and spending the money they worked their entire life for in hopes of winning big.

The casino really won't bring the city much prosperity in comparison with how much devastation it will create. Yeah, it will indeed bring some money to our city and keep the money here, but is it worth hurting people's lives and creating addictions and crime and pain?

The answer is no, so my dear 18 year old friends and older, vote no.

Traveling

It's always been a dream of mine to see as many places as I can in my lifetime. 

We're only given a certain amount of time on this Earth and I want to soak up as much of it as I can. I want to go to places like the Maldives, Barcelona, Cairo, Sao Paulo, Paris, Sydney;the list goes on and on. Like the age-old saying goes, "life's too short to waste away your time monotonously going through the same routine, day in and day out and never actually enjoying it." Or something like that. And for all the people that say they enjoy their jobs, you can't tell me you wouldn't rather be relaxing on a beach somewhere or hiking through the Grand Canyon or exploring an Alaskan wilderness.

The easiest way to achieve this dream would be to win the lottery, obviously. However, we can't all be that person (unfortunately), but (fortunately) there's a plan B! You can get rich through good ole'-fashioned hard work. However, hard work tends to take a long time, and by that time you may have children. I'm not saying you can't travel when you have children. But a romantic trip to Cancun has a tendency to become less romantic with a couple of kids yelling all the time and needing help going potty in the pool without anyone noticing. And children usually don't really want to go on a hike in Alaska with their parents. So for that reason, there's a plan C! You can get a job where you actually get paid to travel, such as a photographer for National Geographic or, if you're really ballsy and don't care if people hate you, a diplomat/politician. However, the latter of those options really wouldn't be the type of traveling I would enjoy. And there are a limited number of good traveling jobs out there anyway, but I think I could be some kind of photographer if I really wanted to. I'm good at that stuff.

So the bottom line is, I may not get to travel as much as I would like to in my lifetime. That doesn't mean I won't keep trying to get rich so I can travel, and that certainly doesn't mean that if I don't get rich, I won't still go on a lot of vacations. But even if I never get rich and I end up never seeing half of the places I want to, I'll remember that there are things more important than experiencing different places, and there are ways to enjoy life, even in the dullest of towns... Unless they're in Iowa. 

My Disappointment in The Beibs.

In 8th grade I fell in love with the cute little boy dancing around with a hoodie in Usher's house.

Justin Bieber.

It was his first song "One Time" that really gave the baby-faced star instant fame. Of course, people knew about him because of his Youtube fame-the videos his mom put of him singing in his Canadian home. He was cute and innocent, with his swooshy hair and pre-pubescent voice. He always wore hoodies and he always seemed grounded. He played sports and talked about how much he loved his fans and Jesus. He didn't grow out of his high-pitched voice right away, and some people hated on him for that. (Mostly jealous guys who were angry because girls were in love with someone who couldn't even grow a beard.)

But I thought he was cute, just like millions of other girls. I was one of his first fans and I felt like I had a love-hate relationship with the little fella. I actually liked his songs. He was the first pop artist I really liked. I had only listened to country and oldies before that night in 8th grade after a football game when my friends opened me up to the adorable world of Justin Bieber. I went in close-minded, hating it automatically for being pop. After they played it about 17 times, I started singing with it and I realized I liked it.... And he was pretty cute after all. Only about a year older than me too.

Since then, he's gained popularity all around the world. I think even if you lived under a rock in Siberia, you would have at least heard the name Justin Bieber by now. His fans are crazy, trampling people and Tweeting at him 800 times a day, just to try and be noticed by him. It seemed impossible for the boy to stay grounded, but somehow he always did.

Until now.

Justin is now 18. I guess he wants to appeal to an older crowd than 10-14 year old girls. But he's doing it the wrong way.

He is now recording songs with rappers such as Nikki Minaj, Kanye West, Drake, Big Sean, Ludacris, Usher, Chris Brown, and Busta Rhymes. I don't like any of these people. They're rappers. They rap about nasty and perverted things. Why would they be in the same songs as innocent Justin Bieber? Well, now he's not so innocent.

There are multiple pictures of him grabbing girlfriend Selena Gomez's butt, which whatever I don't care just don't do it in public and get pictures taken of you doing it. He now has 11 tattoos I believe, something "innocent" little boys like 2009 him wouldn't usually have. His cute swooshy hair-do he was known for, is now a stupid faux-hawk with more product in it than a girl at prom. He's gone from sweatshirts to bro-tanks and skinny jeans below his bottom. He wears gold chains. HE HAS HIS EARS PIERCED. I hate ear piercings on guys, I guess that's just something that bothers me personally. Anyway, what I described is basically a douchebag. If you saw him walking down the street with his "swag" and his crew in their douchey attire, you'd just roll your eyes thinking about how cocky they all are.

The worst of it of course, is the weed. There was a picture of him smoking weed in all the tabloids and news, all over Twitter, Facebook-everywhere. Then there are these STUPID teenage girls. They began cutting themselves to get him to stop smoking weed. WHY. Why would they base their lives off of some celebrity like that? No one should be that consumed in another person, especially a celebrity they've never met. It's so ridiculous. He also just acts kinda mean in public now, so I've heard. He used to go up and talk to random people and be friendly to everyone. Now he's flipping the bird at the cameras like he thinks he's better than everyone else.  Which he's not. His music is not near as good as it was when he was a child. When he was a kid, it was amazing how much talent he had. Now, he's just another fame-consumed star. What really sucks, is that he acts this way, and then has a Jesus tattoo and tells everyone what a great Christian he is. He's ruining it for others.

I'm just very disappointed in Justin. I had so much faith in him. I still listen to his music, I still watch videos of the old him, but now I try and avoid getting sucked into reading a whole magazine solely about him like I used to. He's not worth my time, and he shouldn't be worth that much of anyone else's. Fame has led him and many others on a downward path.

Justin Bieber 2009. Adorable.

Justin Bieber now. Um no thanks. 

Our Dream Life

First off, we will go to Iowa State for one year. Then we will leave this little horrid state called "Iowa" and go to Colorado. We will finish college there. Jared will propose sometime while we're in college so we can begin planning our wedding. Probably towards the end of his senior year so then we can plan the whole big shindig when he is done with college. I'm not even going to cover what our wedding plans will be because... well, I have a lot. I'll just say it's gonna be huge and extravagant and I've been planning it since I was like 7. Once I graduate college we will be finishing up our plans and we will get married probably in the fall of 2018. Possibly even on the anniversary of when we started dating, September 22nd. It's a Saturday in 2018. That'd be perfect. 

We will have a honeymoon in Italy and Spain and other places we've always wanted to go in Europe. 

After that we'll probably live in a small apartment around Denver or Colorado Springs. Of course we won't have much money coming out of college, but I'll have a little at least from being a wedding photographer during college and until I found a permanent journalism or photography job. It'll be easy for Jared to find a job right away because he's really smart and people automatically like him when they meet him. He'll work at an architecture company for a while, then realize he's better than the people he works for. Then he'll create his own business and he'll begin to get rich. He's great at planning out homes. And by then we'll have enough money for our own home.

Our house will be on 500 acres with a mountain, a pond, a river, and everything we could ever want. Our house will be a ginormous log cabin. Rustic, but very modern. Our room will be the best room in the house. The ceiling will have a sunroof type thing that we can open to let in the cool nighttime mountain air (with a screen to keep bugs out) and it can also close so the sun doesn't wake us up. It's cover will be like a tv screen so we can just stay in bed and watch The Vow, then Live Free and Die Hard all day. Our room will have a deck/porch/balcony type thing behind it. That will be my art room. It will be overlooking the lake and stream below the mountain and it will inspire me to take pictures and read and do pottery and write and whatever else I decide to do. It can be closed up with glass so in the winter it stays warm and also so the wind and rain doesn't ruin any of my work. Next to our room will be Jared's office. It will be there so I can always remind him not to stay up working too late and so I can drag him to bed when he's being too hard on himself. Our bathroom will be connected to our room and it will have a giant Jacuzzi tub and an enormous shower with one of those lit up-color changing shower heads. It will have plenty of counter space because I tend to use a lot. Next to the bathroom will be my giant closet. It's almost as big as our room. It will have soft plush carpet and a big mirror. There will be room for my 95 pairs of shoes (hopefully triple that by then) and my ever-growing clothes collection. Jared can have a little space too, I suppose. The rest of our house doesn't even matter because that's all we really need until we have kids. Well, I guess we need the kitchen. It'll have granite counter tops and low shelves so both Jared and I can reach. We will have all stainless steel appliances and a whole fridge of Mountain Dew, sweet tea, and lemonade. I will make fried chicken and a lot of smoothies. And I'll also make Jared pancakes at least twice a week, and spaghetti whenever he wants it. Not because I'm conforming to the stereotypical role of a woman, but because I love him and I like to make him happy and serve him. He'd make me food if I asked too because he loves me. He will grill me burgers and steaks and we'll catch salmon in our river and cook it on a cedar plank. Our house will have a ton of windows. It will have a movie room for about 8 people. It will also have a secret panic room/bomb shelter that I'm not going to say a lot about because it's a secret and we don't want the zombies to know where we are when the zombie apocalypse happens. We will have a giant garage thing for our cars below the house. It can lift one car up into the living room. It's like our car show room thing. I don't really know, this is Jared's part. But his workshop will be down there somewhere with all his and our wonderful cars as well. 

Our cars will consists of at least two Mustangs, one or two Jeeps, a truck or two, and some really fancy car like a Ferrari, and Jared's favorite, the Aston Martin. The mustangs will be red and maybe blue, with racing stripes. Shelby's, of course. Oh, and we'll have a retro Corvette- a 1969 Stingray. The Jeeps will be awesome and fun to ride around our property in. The trucks will just be necessary for where we live, but still super awesome and huge. And a Ferrari to show how rich we are. Duh. 

We'll have some horses and cute miniature cows as pets. And some ducks and kittens. A few turtles. Maybe an elephant? Is that legal? Oh well. We'll have a wiener dog named Spud and a beagle and a Rat Terrier. 

We'll have a maid to take care of the smelly pets and clean our giant house. Ain't nobody with our high paying jobs got time for that!

When we feel like it we'll have kids. Hopefully first we'll have a boy. His name will be Sam. That's a family name of Jared's. His middle name might be Lee because that's a family name of mine, but I might save it for the girl. He'll play soccer and be nice to girls and learn to play the guitar. He'll look out for his little sister(s). Next we'll have a girl. Her name would be Annie or Averie or Andrea-Andie for short. We haven't really decided, but I mean, we're only 17. I think we have a while to figure it out. But I like all of those names. We might have one more kid if we feel like it, we don't really care if it's a boy or a girl. They'll all be in sports if they want, but I'll encourage them not to ever get too competitive and show them that their life really does not depend on whether they win or lose a game. They will learn to play at least one instrument. Probably guitar or drums or piano because those are really the only useful ones unless you're going to be in marching band. When they're old enough they'll all have decently nice cars and will be perfect children. We will be great parents. Jared will be a better parent than me. I have no idea how to deal with kids. He's had four younger siblings to watch out for. He'll be a natural and perfect dad. Our kids will be beautiful. They'll have our dark curly hair, and hopefully their father's tan skin and blue eyes. They'll probably be kinda short, but that's okay I think. 

We'll spend a lot of time with our kids and also just each other. We will always have dates: that won't stop once we're married. We will be successful workers but still always go to church together just like we have since we were born practically. Everything we've thought of may not work out perfectly how we planned, but our lives together will still be as perfect as two people's lives together can be. 

Single Girls Ruin Valentine's Day

It's single people awareness day!!!

That's what I keep hearing.

PLEASE STOP.

Valentine's Day is the one day for everyone to celebrate love and relationships. It doesn't even have to be romantic, but single people whining don't have to ruin it for the people who do make it about their special someone. You can celebrate it with your family or friends or not at all, but you don't have to create an anti-holiday.

I mean, elementary age children celebrate it. It's not like they hate it because they're single. It can still be that way my friends! Teenagers like getting candy. We can still celebrate it with our whole class at school. Teenagers date so it becomes more romantic, and people who don't have a special someone feel this holiday is against them. Okay... well does that mean Mother's Day offends you if you aren't a mother? That's kinda the same logic you're going by. I mean, my mom isn't with me anymore but I don't complain to everyone who talks about their mom on Mother's Day. That would be silly. Some people have mothers to be with on that day in May, and some of us don't. Some of us have boyfriends to be with on this little holiday, and others don't. And that's okay. People need to realize that this holiday isn't meant to hurt them and make them feel alone, just like Mother's Day isn't meant to make me sad. It still does. But I'm not going to ruin other people's Mother's Days by talking about "Orphan Awareness Day" or some made up anti-holiday such as "Single People Awareness Day". 

Just because you're 14 and don't have a lover doesn't mean you're forever alone. There's still hope kids! So please please stop being so negative towards this day. Really though, if you don't have a boyfriend in high school doesn't mean you're forever alone. You don't have to be focused on that and feel all depressed just because you aren't getting a teddy bear and flowers THIS YEAR. You will eventually. You don't have to express your hatred of all girls who have boyfriends. You don't have to say, "You don't understand! You probably love Valentine's Day because you're dating the man of your dreams!" Well it's not like we (people in relationships) always were.  We were once just as single as you. We had no one to spend the day with. But, unlike many, I never complained about it being a lonely horrid day of death and agony and my heart being ripped out. I instead enjoyed the candy and craziness of it. I'd give Valentine's to my friends, I didn't think about the "missing" Valentine that I wasn't giving to some boy. It was more fun to focus on the positive and bask in the silliness of the red and pink hearts everywhere you look. 

Girls criticize Valentine's Day and how "stupid" and "cliche" it is, but I think they're really just jealous. They WANT someone to do all the cliche little things with them and they're just cold because they don't have anyone (RIGHT NOW). So, they try to make other people miserable. They tell their friends who are in relationships how stupid everything is and that it's all just consumerism and silliness. Okay, they may be "worthless" flowers and it may be just money spending to some people, but I like it. I like having special days to celebrate with my boyfriend and buy him things. So while everyone is talking about how stupid Valentine's Day is and how it's overrated, I'm going to take advantage of it and see a tear-jerking Nicholas Sparks movie, go out to dinner, and look at the stars. 

So, those of you who are, in fact, single at this time, you could be crying with your cats and ice cream, OR you could make silly little Valentine cards to send to your friends and celebrate love as a wonderful thing, whether you're in love or not. Love is to be celebrated by all, not just those who are in this romantic type of love that is focused on during February 14th. Love is for friends, love is for family, love is for cats and turtles and so many other things besides boyfriends and girlfriends! Thus, I challenge the singles out there to turn your frowns upside down and make your "Single People Awareness Day" simply into a "Love Day" where you can focus on all of the people in your life that you love and celebrate with them. Eat some stupid Valentine Chocolates. Buy yourself a little gift because loving yourself is to also be celebrated. Don't mope around and focus on your momentary single-ness. Make something out of today, focusing on love as a great thing for all people. 

Teen Labor

I strongly believe that teenagers shouldn't be put to work.

This is supposed to be "the greatest time of our lives" so why should it be wasted flipping burgers at Wendy's?

We only have a little time to enjoy our childhood. We only have a little time with no responsibilities other than school. We only have a little time to just worry about ourselves, and not a kid or a spouse. We have to have a job the rest of our lives, this is the little bit of time that we don't. Our whole future is going to be consumed with a job and a family and responsibilities, now is our one chance to be free. We need to embrace this freedom and not let anyone try and take it away from us.

Adults don't understand that we need to be free from work now. They are angry because they have jobs so they try and force them on us so that they don't have to give us any money. They try and compare us to them, saying "I had a job when I was your age." Okay, that doesn't mean it was right..? It doesn't mean we should..? They probably hated having a job at this age, and it's wrong that they want to try and put us through the same treachery. This is the only time you adult people really have to provide for your children, so why can't you just live up to that responsibility? WE ARE KIDS. We shouldn't have to buy our own stuff! We're children for Heaven's sake, we shouldn't need to pay for our own food and soap and clothes! 

The worst thing is when teenagers have to tell their friends that they can't hang out because they have to work. You should never ever have to work as a teenager! Working should not be your top priority, or even a priority at all. You should be able to spend this short amount of your life having fun and being with your friends. We have enough responsibilities with school and activities. Unfortunately, parents don't consider school and all of its activities and homework as "responsibilities" when all they can think about is forcing their kid to work. 

I think they must just want us out of the house sooner than they tell us they do.

Teens and Relationships

I used to think that it was impossible for teenagers to be in love. 

Now I want to go back and hit myself in the face.

I do think 80% of the teenagers who "love" their significant other aren't really in love, but I definitely do not think it's some unreasonable myth anymore. 

Maybe it's because I have a boyfriend who I know I love. We've been together for a year and four months which is longer than most 20-30 year olds are before they get married. So that kind of sucks because we're in high school in a serious relationship, and we have to wait 4 or 5 more years to get married. But that's okay because we love each other. 

Back in Bible times and even after that, it was normal to get married at age 14-17. Most of the time your parents arranged it, but still. Once a middle aged relative of mine told me when she was in high school you were a weirdo pretty much if you weren't engaged by graduation. That seems crazy in today's society, and that was just before the divorce rates began to climb to where they are now. People weren't just dating to have fun and to hook up with someone. They were dating to find the person they want to marry. 

That's how it should be. I'm not at all saying that we should spend high school trying to find the love of our lives. However, if we meet someone we could see ourselves marrying, we shouldn't brush that off to the side because society thinks it's silly to date the same person you marry in high school. To me, it's better because then you know the person when life is really dramatic and weird. You learn things about their past because you are their past. You don't have to deal with old exes. Maybe one or two-unless they were playaaazzz. But not the same as you would if you married someone you met after college. So if you meet someone you love in high school, stay with them. Don't dump them just because it's high school. 3 out of my 5 married cousins that I can think of dated their spouse in high school. They didn't really date anyone else before, just like me and Jared.

Like I said, you shouldn't date someone unless you could see yourself marrying them. Well, that's my own opinion I suppose, but I stand by it! In middle school all my friends had boyfriends. Even they admit that it was silly. I never had one. Not because I didn't want one or couldn't get one, but because I won't settle for less than what I want. It's not like I was really looking, and honestly I don't think it's good to look super hard for someone to date. That often makes people settle. They get desperate to just find someone after looking. If you just get to know people as friends first then you can really understand who they are. Then you can think about dating them. 

Which brings me to a mistake teenagers, and people in general, make too often. They just begin dating someone without ever hanging out or really talking and getting to know each other first. They think dating is the time to do that. But if you do that, you often find out things you don't like about them- then you have more exes, so you can't really stay friends without it being at least a little awkward. But if you get to know them before dating and then decide you don't actually like them, then you can probably still be friends and no hearts are too hurt. It also makes you seem like less of a boy (or girl) hot if you haven't had 18 relationships by your senior year of high school. Plus, how would you know if they're someone you'd like to spend your life with without really getting to know them?

Of course there are those annoying "in love" teen couples who started dating before they got to know each other. I hate that they ruin it for the rest of us. They've been dating a week and are saying "I love you." They kissed before they even officially started dating. Me and my boyfriend held hands and I felt like a whore for holding hands with someone I wasn't dating. (Okay, I may be a little prude, sorry.) They have sex after dating a month or so. They make out in the hallways at school. They constantly publicly tweet and Facebook each other about their love for one another instead of just texting one another. Then they break up. They moved too fast and didn't really know each other well enough to date, much less go that far in a 4 month relationship.

My point is, they can work if you do it right and don't act like immature fools. Relationships are wonderful things! And they can be in high school if you want them to. I think someone who's 16 can just as easily be in love as someone who's 25. You just have to find the right person. 

My Journalism Career-Now and Forever

Yearbook is the main spark that sent me into my love of journalism.  I joined yearbook in eighth grade where my friend and I were the only people in it out of our whole 1,200 population school. We created the whole book with the help of the adviser, and stayed after every single day in the spring. I signed up for it in high school because I just really loved looking at yearbooks from the past and I wanted to be a part of something people would look at again in thirty years. It’s a timeless book that can bring a fifty year old back to the memories of being a fifteen year old. It’s grown into more than just doing it when I had room in my schedule and because my friend did. I fell in love with it, and I really looked up to my editor. I realized that I’d be pretty good at editor work, and she often asked me-a lowly freshman-to help her with editing. The more I did in yearbook the more I loved it, and she began talking to me about being an editor after she graduated. Of course I was thrilled and decided to keep up the good work and make that a goal for my high school career. Well, here I am, a junior achieving my goal of being an editor and enjoying every bit of it.

There are so many opportunities in journalism that I want to do. I love fashion and looking at all the new trends. I’d love to work on a magazine like Vogue, or even Seventeen. Another part of me likes politics and I’d like my points of view shown through some editorials in Time Magazine. I deeply love photography and it would be a dream to take pictures for Associated Press or National Geographic-traveling the world while doing my dream job.

I love going to events to take pictures. I’m one of the few people who actually enjoy writing stories for yearbook. I like interviewing people because like hearing other peoples’ stories. I’m good at digging for information I need to know, whether it’s the scoreboard for the varsity baseball team, or finding out about someone who has a secret talent of unicycling. People in journalism are kind of creepy aren’t they? We aren’t afraid to find out what we need or want to know. We aren’t afraid to ask too many questions or get up close in personal while taking pictures. That may push some away from journalism, but it draws me in. That’s why I want to do some kind of journalism forever. Not because it will guarantee me tons of money. Not because I have a few friends that are into it too. Not even because I necessarily want to climb up the ladder and be an editor. I want to be a journalist mainly because I just enjoy it and it’s something I’m good at. 

I Love Uncle Jesse

I have a massive crush on John Stamos.

Always have. Always will. 

This crush began in my Full House watching days. It was my favorite show, and actually, it probably still is. I thought Uncle Jesse was soooo hot. And I was 4. 

His dark swooshy hair that he was obsessed with, his little tattoo on his bicep, his tan skin, his love of music and wonderful voice, his car and motorcycle obsession, HIS SMILE. He was a good boy and a bad-ass. He was the best uncle those Tanner girls could dream of. He was nice and fun and he really helped Danny out with taking care of them. He was great with kids; something every girl wants in a guy. 

Full House stopped playing for a few years and I slowly forgot about my love for Uncle Jesse. But now it's playing again. I watch it whenever I see that it's on, even though I've seen every single episode a dozen times. My obsession has returned. He was a hot young man back then, and he's still handsome today at age 49. Does that make me weird? I think a 49 year old man is a hottie. Sometimes when I'm bored I Google pictures of him. 

Both girls my age and women his age are both attracted to him. His mullet days were a littttle questionable, but he pulled it off better than anyone else. He has just about the perfect looks. I mean, my boyfriend is obviously more attractive than anyone in the entire world, but they kind of have similar looks in some ways. They both have amazing smiles and adorable dimples. They both have the tan skin and swooshy dark hair. 

He's also a lot like Uncle Jesse in some ways. They both like cars. They both are sweet and good with little kids. No one dislikes them. They're both funny in the same ways. They even have similar laughs I think. They both date girls in journalism. Jared is Uncle Jesse and and I'm Rebecca Donaldson. I make him do cheesy unmanly things like she does with Jesse. It's funny how much the things that I see Rebecca and Jesse do on Full House remind me of us.

Anyway, John Stamos is just... attractive. I'm pretty sure I like all of his pictures on Instagram. I was going to get a shirt that says "I <3 Uncle Jesse". I'm obsessed.

Yo Snow, GET OUT.

It seems like winter lasts 6 months in Iowa.

And it nearly does.

It often starts in late November and sometimes snows until March. Even early April. My cousin in Mississippi is swimming outside by the end of February. But no, not me. I'm stuck in this wasteland of coldness for now. 

I used to love snow. I think every kid does for a while. Your parents have to worry about bundling you up enough, and you have more free time as a child to go play. You can make snowmen and snow-angels and have snowball fights and sled and make forts. That'd still all be fun (at least for a little while) but there's just not enough time to do it! It takes so long to put on all those snow clothes and take them off. I also hate the feeling of being hot and sweaty but also cold at the same time. Yuck. I hate putting on gloves. I HAVE to have my coat sleeve pulled down over them, otherwise snow gets in my sleeve and my wrists get wet and cold. It's just too much of a hassle to enjoy the snow. 

Driving in the snow sucks. That's something I never used to have to deal with. But now, I do. And I can't exactly deal with it well in an Infinity G35. Rear wheel cars suck in the snow. And I tend to speed up and slow down quickly, because, I mean, I drive a sports car and that's just what you do. I have to adjust my whole driving technique just to get around. And most of the time if it's snowy I can't get around at all! It's just too hard to drive that little thing, and I haven't had enough experience driving in slippery conditions to feel safe driving in traffic in them. So my dad takes me to school or wherever. It's hard to hang out with friends because I can't drive, and they sometimes can't drive. I don't get to see my boyfriend because he lives too far away to safely get here. If it snows while your car is outside, you have to scrape it. Which means standing in the cold longer.

I would like snow if it only lasted about 2 weeks, but this white, wet, cold place, my friends, is not meant for human life. 

My Seniors.

It's 2013 and it sucks.

I graduate in 2014, which is the sucky part of what sucks. Many of my friends graduate this year.

I’m not just talking about my boyfriend, Jared, who is also currently a senior, I’m talking mainly about my other friends from church. I have friends at school who are seniors as well, and I’ll miss them too. The senior high youth group is made up of mostly all seniors, mainly girls. I’m really not that close to them, but I still love them just as much as my close friends. I look up to each of them in a way, and I admire what wonderful people they all are. I’m closer to some more than others, and they all go to Kennedy. I’m used to seeing them 6 out of 7 days of the week, including Tuesday nights at youth group as well as Sunday mornings at church. They’ve all impacted my life much more than they could possibly know, and I’m sure they all have wonderful futures ahead of them.

Maureen. Probably my most attractive friend, like ever. She’s tall and skinny with gorgeous hair and a killer smile. I’m pretty sure she’s a supermodel in another life. She’s beautiful on the outside, but she’s 100 times as beautiful on the inside. She’s one of the most caring people I know. And not just for her friends, but for everyone. She’s kind to anyone she meets and makes them feel loved. Everyone who’s ever talked to her says she’s super nice. To me, at least, this girl really has it all together. She makes good choices and influences others in a positive way. She’s very mature, unlike most girls at Kennedy. She knows when to be calm and quiet, but also when to act silly and have fun. She’s also my awkward-dance partner.

Ayla. My fellow J-Biebs, T-Swift lover. This girl is crazy. And awesome. She’s great at making me smile, even when I’m having a bad day. Sometimes I just hate school and want to leave, then I see her smiling at me in the hallway saying, “Hey cutie!” and we shake hands like always. Suddenly my day is better. She’s funny and friendly and just a great person to be around. Not a dull moment goes by with Ayla. She’s full of compliments to give and smiles to create. I’m definitely going to miss seeing her every day.

Grace. We both share a love of writing and journalism. She really inspires me to keep writing. She’s so persistent, whether it’s writing or running. She runs, which I could never do, but she makes me want to try. And the best thing about her is, she bases everything she does around God. That’s one of the things I admire most about her. She also reminds me of my mom sometimes. She also was a writer, a journalist, she worked towards many of the same things that Grace does. My mom was also a pastor’s daughter like Grace, and had to move because of his job some. Grace has the best laugh, and she laughs a lot. She has blonde curly hair that I’d kill for, and she totally knows she’s gorgeous. She’s just a really great and well-rounded person and I want to be more like her.

Riley. Everyone who knows Riley loves her. She’s so friendly and happy all the time. Even if she doesn’t feel good, she’s still kind and makes people feel good about themselves. She’s spunky and cute and just has a personality that makes you want to be around her. She’s very open and shares things that could help others. Riley is one of the main techies for show choir, and I have heard multiple people say she’s good at what she does. She’s a really helpful person, and she’s happy to help. She’s always so positive about everything, something I need to be more.

Anna. I haven’t seen Anna too much lately, but when I do she always looks so cute. She’s crazy and fun, but also very mature. She’s involved in school and she’s a really bright person-both in her personality and her mind. She’s very friendly and easy to talk to; not shy or snobby one bit. She’s a good person and makes smart choices and I can see her going far in life.

Cara. Cara is very smart. She’s in higher level classes and is going to have a great future. She’s not defined by that though. She’s also very sensitive, though you’d never know it without going to church with her. She cares about others and has good ideas. She’s funny, but not at all in an obnoxious way. She bases what she does around God and doesn’t hide that. She’s really nice and responsible, but knows when it’s time to have fun too. She’s a different awkward-dance partner of mine.

Brooke. She always always always includes others and I love that about her. She’s a great host, which is good because she often organizes small events and gatherings for her church friends. She’s planned bonfires, sledding, trips to Palo beach, all things that are some of my greatest memories of this time in my life. She’s also very smart, and can be quiet but in a good way. She’s kind and used to give me rides to church sometimes. I’m very thankful for Brooke.

Heather. She’s another very helpful person; always willing to get others what they need and helping them through whatever it is. She’s very mature and sometimes I forget that she’s only a year older than me. She has a beautiful voice. I’m jealous of her for that. She’s welcoming  to all people, not just her close friends. She’s currently in one of my classes and it’s great getting to talk to her more than just in the hall every day.

Bailey. I got to know Bailey better the summer before last at camp. She was very open and she’s also a great listener. I don’t know her that well still, but from what I see she’s very responsible. She’s in show choir, and I admire her for being in that and also staying away from any negative influences that would be very easy to be involved in. She always has really cute dresses and a great smile. And she smiles a lot.

Sidney. We met when I was in 6^th grade and we played softball together. My dad was the coach and Sidney was our best pitcher. She started coming to my church and she has always been one of the kindest people I know. She is so extremely caring and wants to do whatever she can to help someone. She’s a good leader and she’s very mature and polite to everybody. She’s not judgmental at all and makes people feel good. She’s a great influence on others and is willing to do whatever she can to help someone out. She’s quiet, but also really friendly and welcoming.

Betty. She hasn’t been coming as long as these other girls, but Betty is just awesome. She is crazy and hilarious. She’s one of the funniest people I know. She’s also very open and talkative and wants to know more about God. She’s a really in depth person in that way. She’s  great to be around and even if I haven’t laughed all day, it’s impossible not to at least chuckle when Betty’s around. She has a heart for people that she doesn’t even know. Everyone loves her. I hear people at school talking about how great she is all the time. People who don’t even really know her know she’s awesome and hilarious. She always waves and says hi to me in the hallway and is always so bright and cheery.

Of course there are more seniors from my church who have impacted me, but these are just the ones who also go to my school. They all share similar qualities that make them such great people. They’re all super friendly and caring. They are they kind of people kids need to surround themselves with. I know they’ll all do great in college and will continue to stay good people. They’ve made a positive impact on my life and I’m sure on many others’ as well. They might not be my best friends that I hang out with all the time, but I feel like I’ve really gotten to know them and that’s definitely a blessing. I don’t know what I’m going to do without them greeting me at school and hugging me at church. They make me think, “Wow, people actually love me for no apparent reason.” And that’s awesome. Not many people can make others feel that way. It makes me cry to think about them not being around all the time. I’m sure they don’t even realize how great they all really are because they’re just naturally nice and beautiful people. 

I'm going to miss you guys.