It's like the first day of Kindergarten...

From age five to fifteen I used to always be excited for school to start. When August came around I would start combing the ads in the newspaper looking for school supply advertisements. As soon as I saw the first one I would start begging my mom to go school shopping. Eventually my mom would deem it time to go shopping and I would get new binders, crayons, pencils and everything else I needed to fill my backpack. I also loved getting new clothes. They're so bright and perfect looking and they also smell amazing. Some kinds of clothes have a nicer smell than others. My personal favorite smell as a child was the smell of brand new... Underwear. No, I'm not joking. In elementary school that was probably in my top five favorite smells. Unfortunately my mom always washed my underwear before I was allowed to wear it. Weird right? So after we did all our shopping my mom would make me tuck the clothes in the back of the closet and store my school supplies in my backpack until school started. So I would eagerly anticipate the start of school so I could use all my cool new things.

So finally after a month of anticipation, the night before school started would finally come. I had been packing and repacking my school box and backpack. I asked everyone's advice on what to wear on the first day, enlisted my sister to do my hair, and placed my outfit carefully on a hanger and went to bed as early as possible so I would be able to wake up on time the next morning. Before I would go to bed I would ask sister if she wanted me to wake her up the next morning. She would tell me that I was weird for liking school so much, and I would just smile and fall asleep.

The first day of school was finally here, I woke up to my three alarms at least 2 1/2 hours before I had to leave for school. I would meticulously get ready and prepare everything a final time. If I had spare time I would usually attempt to make a special breakfast celebrating the first day of school (it was never very special because for most of my life I only knew how to make scrambled eggs) and eagerly waited for the time when I got to go pick up my good friend Lyndsie, let her mom snap a few (hundred) photos and go off to school.

This is how things went until about sophomore year. After that I dreaded school and was always wishing summer could go on for a few more months. This year though, by the end of June I was so ready to go back to school. I want to go get school supplies and pack my backpack already and school doesn't start until the end of August. College is going to be so hard and chances are that by the end of the second week I'll be begging for summer, but right now I just can't wait for school to start. So this year it's going to be just as fun as it was my first day of kindergarten (maybe). Not to mention I'll have a few more perks than before, a new laptop and an apartment for example.

Best Show EVER!!!!

So I realized the other day that I complain on this blog ALL the time. So I decided to write a positive blog for once. And maybe if it's fun I'll do it more often.

So anyway I have this friend at work who watches a lot of TV and one day we were talking about shows that have been around for forever and have started to get stupid (Heroes, Law and Order, ER, etc.) . Naturally Lost came up because that show has been around for ages and I told him I thought six seasons was too long to be stuck on an island (not to mention I heard that somehow aliens or something weird like that are involved in the show and that's just weird). It turns out that he loves Lost and one day he brought season one for me to watch. It is easily the best show ever. (as far as dramatic series go-Chuck and the Office are the best shows ever). It's super intense and every episode is a cliffhanger. The nice thing about having TV shows on dvd is no commercials and you don't have to wait a week to see the next episode. The down side is that you can crank through 4 or 5 episodes and not even notice--this only happened once, but I was so confused when all of a sudden it was three in the morning.

So far I'm 75% done with season two and it just keeps getting better and better. I keep trying to get people to answer questions I have but usually they won't because it would lower the suspense but I don't think it would. I just want to know if Jack and Kate ever get together because obviously they're meant for each other.

Graduation part two-finished!

Timpview's graduation wasn't as painful as I thought it was going to be. My biggest worry going into graduation was that I didn't know the people who I was sitting by so it was going to be so boring because I wouldn't I didn't know the people I sat by but they were both super nice and that part turned out ok. I sat next to this girl named Bette Pauling and a boy named Jake Partridge and it was just fun making fun the Dr. Bayles and the overall ridiculousness (is that a word?) of graduation. Practice was two and a half hours long. 90%t of it was spent sitting in green folding chairs (which thankfully had cushions) waiting for things to get worked out. The other 10% was spent practicing the entrance at the beginning of graduation, or watching the A's of my graduating class rehearse the getting their diploma process. So although I would rather have been at home sleeping, quite frankly I suppose it was as good of a rehearsal as I could have hoped for.

Graduation itself wasn't too bad. Maybe I brought a Nintendo DS maybe I didn't (but for the record I am positive that at least 30 other people had a portable gaming device too) So I spent a good chunk of time playing Mario Kart and Lego Star Wars. The other chunk I listened to the speeches. Maybe they were cheesy or monotone but I didn't mind.

So while the whole experience wasn't my favorite, I didn't actually mind it. The only part that I was completely unprepared for and was totally miserable for was the part where I had to navigate my way out of the events center. There are about 7 Zillion people trying to make their way out of four doors. Imagine trying to find your family, gown return, friends, and an exit all the while suffocating.

So that was graduation. A right of passage that I have passed thank heavens.

Graduation part. one... Mission accomplished.

Seminary graduation was today and although it is much shorter and less painful than high school graduation, I think it would be helpful if they had a rehearsal like the one I have to go to for Timpview. Granted, I probably would have known what was going on if I had come on time, but when you go to any kind of gathering in Utah one would automatically assume that the clocks were running on Mormon standard time. This apparently is not the case with seminary graduation. I walk in probably 4.5 minutes late and I go to sit next to Kristina's family in the back. I misunderstand her questioning looks as "why are you late?" as I walk up to her I find out that I am supposed to be sitting in the front two rows with the rest of my graduating class. Great. Well it's no big deal I'll just go sit in that space on the far right on the second row, no problem. But no. I am in the fourth ward which is on the far left of the very front row which I find out after having a semi loud whispered conversation with the woman in charge of seating.

So given the kind of stressful beginning seminary graduation was pretty nice. I wish Timpview Graduation was as simple and short as seminary's. It was an hour and a fifteen minutes long at the very most (and that is including the time it took to eat refreshments--BYU brownies, what else), I was sitting on a relatively soft seat, and I was sitting by my friends. Timpview graduation on the other hand I will be sitting on a hard folding chair, sitting next to two people who I have never met (Michelle Paulson and Jacob Partidge?), wearing a cap and gown that are practically made of plastic, sitting listening to speeches and watching people walk across a stage for two+ hours. I truly believe that everyone who comes of their own free will to high school graduation is a genuine saint.

But I would rather suffer through high school graduation than the alternative, which is being a super senior. School is almost out and I am SOOOOOOOO excited that I would almost gladly walk through fire to be done. So even though it seems like I'm complaining, I'm really not I'm just running my mouth which everyone knows is an everyday occurrence for me.

4 days, 17 hours, 25 minutes, and 52 seconds until graduation!!!!!!!

The Hunger Games

To say I exaggerate things would be an understatement. A severe understatement. But, in this case everything I say is completely rational and true.

The other day I was buying some shoes on Amazon and needed about $5 of merchandise to qualify for free shipping and since I would rather spend money on something I want than shipping I decided to get a book. This book in particular has a waiting list of 200 people (no lie, when I got put on the waiting list I was number 191). Since I would be in my mid to late 20's by the time I got to read the library's copy I just bought the book. It came in the mail yesterday and let's just say I did nothing all day. This is the best book of my Life!!!

I though about describing it in my own words but since I can't really summarize well because it's next to impossible for me to be brief I just decided to copy/paste.

"In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the death on live TV. One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor to his or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capital wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rules.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before – and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love."

I literally couldn't put the book down all day. The only time I wasn't reading all wednesday evening when I went shooting for mutual, and while I was there I told everyone I came in contact with about the book. I finished it at 11:45 and wow, I am in awe that a book could almost tie Harry Potter for best book on earth.

It's like when you're watching an intense movie or TV show and you are so entranced in it that you don't notice anything around you and when a commercial comes on you literally can't handle waiting to see the rest. This is how the book is. It's almost as intense as TV. How cool is that? I would get to the end of the chapter and freak out a little because I wanted to know what happened next and then I would realize that all I had to do was turn the page.
Wow is all I can say

Youtube

So I don't spend too much time on the computer, there are days when I spend more time than I should online, but I feel like it's alright to indulge every once in a while. One of my favorite ways to spend my time is on Youtube. There are millions of videos and while there are a zillion stupid/gross/graphic/egocentric videos on there there 10 zillion more hilarious ones. These are a few of my recent faves.

The Disappearing Oreo

Pretty Sure I am responsible for 30 of the 95 views this video has

Berries and Cream

6 times I watched this in 15 minutes. 6. And it still never gets old.

Hot Kool-Aid

I tell everyone I know about this video.


Where's the Chapstick?

I don't know if this is real or fake, if it's real I don't know if I should laugh or feel bad for the lady but I laugh anyway.

Hopefully these made life a little bit funnier. I'll probably have more in a few days. Youtube is more addicting than Facebook.

Senioritis

Senioritis: (seen-your-eye-tiss) a colloquial term used in the United States to describe the decreased motivation toward studies displayed by students who are nearing the end of their High School career.

Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors alike all claim to have had senioritis since the day they walked into high school. I was one of them, but I had no idea what real senioritis was until the senior year started. It is so much worse then I could possibly fathom.

Don't get me wrong, I still go to class, I still try to get good grades, but the nearer I get to the end the harder it becomes. The only thing that keeps me in class is the ridiculous attendance policy and the fear of what my parents would do to me if I ever skipped class and they found out. But soon it will all be over and I am always informed of how long it is until that day. I have a paper chain in my bedroom, a countdown on my computer and iPod, and I tell everyone I come in contact with how many days until graduation.

Don't get me wrong high school wasn't a terrible experience. I missed out on most (if not all) of the more tragic and scarring experiences that many teenagers go through (i.e. being thrown into a trash can/locker, having rumors started about me, etc.), but I am definitely ready to escape all the drama.

So, for all the Freshmen--Juniors, you think you have senioritis, you don't, but don't worry you will, and I won't in...
14 days, 17 hours, 44 minutes, and 6 seconds, 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds... Kidding

End of Semester.

Question: why on earth does BYU end so much earlier than Timpview?
Answer: No idea, although I wish the two schools' semesters ended closer together.
-Granted college is a lot harder than high school so they do deserve to get out sooner than us lazy high school students, but considering that three of the five people I see 3+ times a week have left since they got out of school I am bored at home a lot more than usual. Jenny and Kyle who are over at my house 90 percent of the time have gone out of the country (jealous). And Natalie my BFF/Cousin has gone to her house which is 6 hours away and is probably having a blast with her awesome family without me. The fact that they were here is most likely the reason why the last 8 months flew by and now that they're gone the last month of school is ticking by slower than a broken clock.
I do have two consolations though. My two best friends in the world still only live a block away so I'll survive, but it would be a lot easier if school were out....i want summer.

p.s. (21 days until graduation!!!)