BOO.

I got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, and today, although I can eat a bit and swallow pills on my own, I'm even more puffy than yesterday.

KRIS.

I AM UPDATING.

:)

Haha. I love this class. :P

So. Lately...

-I won an extra $1,000 from Aquinas!
-I got a one at State S&E, with a 90.
-I have a job at the Halfway that makes me $7.40/hour. :)
-My birthday is next Tuesday!!!
-...So is opening day for baseball? haha.
-APUSH is winding down.
-I might get to see Michael and Michelle soon, especially if we all do the Western thing. Yay!
-Kris is a creeper. Hahaha.
-I forgot to turn in my AP money, but made a graceful recovery. :)
-I received a lovely letter of recommendation from Mr. Cardwell. :)
-I played a side-by-side with the GRS! Whooo!

That's about it. Not a lot of epic things going on here. How are YOU?? :)

hiiiii. :)

Look, a quick update before school!

I have recently:
-Dropped Spanish 2 in favor of Concert Band, where I make copies and practice my scales.
-Done an entire APUSH study guide in one day. TWICE. :P
-Laughed at my lovely juniors who take the ACT today.
-Cut my own hair, which much success.
-Written to Mr. Cardwell about a letter of recommendation
-Gotten a ONE at Orchestra Festival
-Gotten a two at Band Festival. Bleck.
-Gotten a ONE at Choir Festival.
-Participated in the Aquinas Scholarship Competition.
-Watched the Varsity Boys Basketball Team come back for a shocking win against Creston in Districts.
-Watched a Creston kid kick a water cart and scare the crap out of everyone watching.
-Been dating a re-cripple. Er... Yeah.
-Went for a walk with Nicola and Natalia. Yay!
-Meet the elusive John?
-Had a We're Lame Night with Becky. :)
-Went to most of the One Act events under the guise of Yearbook.
-Been wonderful. :)!

See? Update. :)

"Reminds you that the memories will fade..."

It's fascinating, in a horrible, twisted sort of way.

Right now, the world around me is more unstable than it has ever been in my recollection, from economic, political, and social standpoints. And mostly, I've been touched by that final of the three: the social upheavals in my small world have been monumental, and lately have all seemed to be centered around personal beliefs and, if nothing else, religion.

If the "R" word scares you, feel free to skip this entry and return to read when there's another, more light-hearted one. The last thing I want is to cause a problem, or to offend.

If you're okay with it, though, I'm religious, and while I always have been, I've lately started to feel closer to God, and I've begun to grow in my faith again. I just started a new devotional book, and I've also started to realize how truly and deeply happy I am with myself when I'm truly and deeply happy with my Maker. And while I'm so incredibly glad that I've had some experiences that have drawn me back to my faith, and I'm glad that I'll be going off to college with a solid belief in my religion, there have been events in the past months that make me really, really sad.

The people that I thought would be more dependable in their faith, or even those who I looked to for moral aptitude, have faltered or failed or completely abandoned their beliefs.

I'm not pointing fingers, and I'm not calling anyone out, and I'm not saying any of this to make you feel guilty or because of a better-than-thou complex. But honestly, this is really puzzling for me, and it's started to wear on my emotions. Today, I got an email from an old friend with whom my relationship has been rocky of late. In it, he confessed to me his thanks for those recent hardships, because I've helped him realize that he doesn't believe in God anymore, since he doesn't really have any "evidence" or "reason" to keep his faith. And although he thanked me for helping him find that part of himself, I can't help but be overwhelmingly crushed.

I mean, that's not quite what one wants to hear after they've decided that God truly is top priority in their life, right?

And I know it has to be hard, otherwise more people would be living differently, but (as cryptic and backward as it sounds) that doesn't make it any easier.

I love them!

Check out the PhotoBlog; this is there, too.

Nathalie was my Montagris, France, host mom, and Louise was my sister.
I emailed Nathalie about my acceptance to Aquinas. She's so sweet: she Googled it, translated the website into French, and read all about it.

:)

I love them.

Fabulous

You may question my actions when you can completely understand who I am not only as a human being, but also as an individual.

In other, brighter news: All three of our boys' basketball teams beat Belding last night. In VG, we're singing a gorgeous song that has just the right mixture of dissonance and occasionally eight-part harmony. Finally, Gia and Meredith and I are cat-watching today. It should be... what's the word? Oh, yes. "Fabulous."

MARINE. :)

Dude. I love my host sister, times a MILLION.
And someday, I'd really like to see her again. :P

I just got an email from her, complete with pictures. They're on the photo blog if you're interested. :)

EDIT: The Marine pics will be up later; I'm going into town with my mom, make up shopping! :] For now, though, feel free to comment on the posted baby picture! haha.