Sunday, October 28, 2012

Stress and Being Sick.

So marching band is over. I now get to come home four days a week and not have to worry about getting my homework done on time or going to bed too late. Hooray! 

But, unfortunately, two of my most important grades are slipping: Geometry and AP European History.  I am trying my hardest to keep up in these classes, but it has been a busy and stressful past two weeks with the season ending and football going into the playoffs. I failed two tests over the course of one week. 

Now that I'm coming home more often, I am going to take the opportunity to focus all of my energy into my studies. I have set expectations for my self for this year and I am determined to fill them.....without worsening my cold.  

One thing I've realized as I have started my high school career: being sick stinks and you just can't afford it. So, everyone, try to stay healthy and happy over the next few months so your health doesn't interfere with your own busy schedules! 





Saturday, October 20, 2012

Life Bucket List (possibly inspired by Tumblr?)

So, the past few weeks, my friends have introduced me to the micro-blogging, hipster website that is Tumblr, and I LOVE IT. Like seriously though, I can't get enough of it. There are posts and pictures and GIFs that I can completely relate to and I spend an unhealthy amount of hours on the computer just staring at them, being inspired and waiting for the day my life starts. 

So, Tumblr has pretty large blogs that TONS of people can comment on, and there is one called Teenager's Bucket List. Just google it if you want; it's really cute! Anyway, I have been inspired and motivated by it to create MY idealistic, perfect Tumblr bucket list......that  maybe, just maybe, I will follow through my life!  

(This is going to be a decent sized list, so get ready.) 

1. Drive across the USA. 

2. Spend a day in a busy city with a 'Free Hugs' sign. 
3. Learn to play guitar. 
4. Keep my New Years' Resolution. 
5. Get accepted to my dream college. 
6. Be kissed in the rain. 
7. Go to a masquerade ball. 
8. Go to a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. 
9. Go sailing (I mean, LEGIT sailing). 
10. See the Mona Lisa 
11. Go to Venice's Carnival. 
12. Live in New York City. 
13. Drive across the Golden Gate Bridge. 
14. Learn how to ice skate. 
15. Learn piano. 
16. Visit Paris. 
17. Live in Paris. 
18. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. 
19. Go to the Olympics. 
20. Go to Italy. 
21. Meet the love of my life. 
22. Have a gondola ride in Venice. 
23. Ride in a hot air balloon. 
24. Have a Tiffany ring. 
25. Spend a whole day reading. 
26. Meet One Direction. 
27. Kiss under mistletoe. 
28. Kiss under fireworks. 
29. Spend New Year's Eve in Times Square. 
30. Dance in the rain. 
31. Play Paint Twister. 
32. Cover my bedroom walls with twinkle lights, pictures, and lyrics. 
33. Be confident in my bathing suit. 
34. Have a road trip with friends.  
35. Have a closet full of shoes. 
36. Go cliff diving in Santorini. 
37. Let go of a flying lantern. 
38. Get out of my town. 
39. Take Polaroid pictures with the one I love.  
40. Sleep under the stars. 
41. Have a walk-in closet. 
42. Become a Broadway star. 
43. Chase my dreams. 
44. Change someone's life. 
45. Stop all of my bad habits. 
46. Experience Christmas in New York. 
47. Own Ray-Bans. 
48. Get a small tattoo that means a lot. (For me, it would be an infinity tattoo. But I can't get one or my parents will disown me.) 
49. Go to a concert (ANY concert). 
50. Go to a One Direction Concert. 
51. Ride on the London Eye. 
52. Throw someone a surprise party. 
53. Shop on Black Friday. 
54. Make a wish at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. 
55. Dance in the rain WITH my best friends. 
56. Slow dance in the rain WITH the one I love. 
57. Tie messages to balloons and let them go. 
58. Get an apartment with my sister. 
59. Have my fairytale wedding. 
60. Build a blanket fort. 
61. Have an iPhone. 
62. Slow dance to 'Forever Young'. 
63. Write my name in sand. 
64. Write my name in concrete. 
65. Spend the day at a boardwalk. 
66. Design my own Converse. 
67. Design my own Vans. 
68. Go to an outdoor concert. 
69. Go surfing. 
70. Learn to play the ukelele. 
71. Carve my name into a tree. 
72. Master liquid eyeliner. 
73. Drink Starbucks on the beach. 
74. Wear red pants and a striped shirt together. 
75.  Own a nice camera.  
76. Own my own cupcake shop. 
77.  Watch the sunrise at the beach. 
78. Visit London. 
79. Live in London. 
80. Have an endless perfume collection. 
81. Graduate with straight A's (or a few). 
82. Have a photo shoot in a photo booth. 
83. Send a message in a bottle. 
84. Own a 'Keep Calm' shirt. 
85. Meet Ed Sheeran. 
86. Sing opera. 
87. Have an amazing iPhone case. 
88. Visit Salzburg, Austria. 
89. Go to the Caribbean. 
90. Visit Notre Dame Cathedral. 
91. Visit the Vatican. 
92. Visit Stonehenge. 
93. Visit the Louvre. 
94. Visit the Musee d'Orsay. 
95. Make my own piece of pottery. 
96. Win a Tony Award (or more...).  
97. Shop at Harrod's. 
98.  Date a British boy. 
99. Go on a no-budget shopping spree. 
100. Save someone's life. 
101. Have a girl. 
102. Have a boy. 
103. Spoil my children. 
104. Be a loving parent. 
105. Grow my hair long. 
106. Master the art of styling your hair and different hairstyles. 
107. Buy a pair of white shoes and personalize them. 
108. Go to New York Fashion Week. 
109. See an Adele concert. 
110. Own a Polaroid camera. 
111. Bake something in the middle of the night. 
112. Catch a bride's bouquet. 
113. Watch all of the Harry Potter movies in one day. 
114. Have a Starbucks date. 
115. Visit Big Ben. 
116. Visit the Mall of America. 
117. See a performance at the Sydney Opera House. 
118. Be fluent in another language. 
119. Be able to run a mile easily. 
120. Leave a note in a library book for someone else to find.  
121. Go to my prom. 
122. Have a wardrobe I actually like. 
123. Have a personal standing ovation. 
124. Have a fanfic moment. 
125. Go on a nighttime stroll in Paris. 
126. Have my own personal library. 
127. Witness a wedding proposal. 
128. Get rid of all the negativity in my life. 
129. Grow old together. 
130. Make melted crayon art. 
131. Go to a cupcake ATM. 
132. See the Northern Lights. 
133. Have an aquarium date. 
134. Go snorkeling. 
135. Tell people what I think about them. 
136. Make and finish a "Wreck This" journal. 
137. Donate a large amount of money to cancer research. 
138. Teach someone something. 
139. Have a picnic. 
140. Own and donate a pair of TOMS shoes for every day of the week. 
141. Be serenaded. 
142. Play hide and seek in IKEA. 
143. Stop being afraid and start living. 
144. Be remembered. 

I know, this is A LOT! But I want to have an exciting, crazy, random, its-the-little-things-that-matter kind of life. And if you never try, you'll never know. So, I'm going to remember this bucket list.....and try to fulfill it the best I can! 

Love to all, I hope this has inspired you to create your own bucket lists that are important to YOU. 

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Neuqua Valley Vs. Waubonsie Valley 2012

These past two weeks have been very busy. Homecoming, the start of a new month, various music practices, marching band, driving lessons, etc. Just last night, the student body of Neuqua Valley High School got to let off some steam and and show their "NV Spirit" as the two biggest rivals in District 204 faced off in the biggest football game of the season, nicknamed "the War of 204".  

Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley are from two opposite ends of District 204. Both are large, well-known schools with excellent academics, good sports teams, and award winning music programs. These two schools also have a bitter rivalry with each other. Why, I truly believe that is a question we will never know the answer to. But last night was one of the biggest events in the history of either school; an annual football game between the two UNDEFEATED football teams that would pack the stands to full capacity, it would have to be moved to the local college in downtown. This week was dubbed "Spirit Week" to get the student body pumped and excited for the game with dress up days, various athletic events, and a pep rally. And I got to view it from the marching band's standpoint! 

Monday, the 1st: 
The marching band arrives at Neuqua at 6:45, ready to play outside the school with the cheerleaders welcoming teachers and students into the school. Yes, it was cold, and yes, we got weird looks from the crowd, but one of the teachers very kindly provided the band with donuts afterwards. That night was also the event Neuqua Knows It Can Dance, a spin-off competition of So You Think You Can Dance? The winner of that was Peer Partners, who did a really cute dance to Call Me Maybe. 

Tuesday, the 2nd: 
The dress up day was Retro Day, which I noticed not many people participated in. I didn't think the theme days for Spirit Week are as good as the ones for Homecoming week. No special events marked this day. 

Wednesday, the 3rd: 
The Twilight Invite! School from all around Naperville come to Neuqua's stadium to run a cross-country meet in the dark; the only way they can see their path is through the neon-clad crowd and neon trail markers. I've heard it's a really fun event, but I couldn't go because I had Chamber Singers that night. As I drove away from the high school, I could hear the house music booming from the press box and the crowd cheering on their friends as they ran, soaking wet, might I add, through the trail. 

Thursday, the 4th: 
That day in marching band was intense because we had only one more practice before the football game, which was the next day. We were so intent on making it perfect because this football game was going to be one of our biggest audiences of the year and we were the home team, so we wanted to look good. In addition, we had to prepare for the pep rally the next day which involved learning a flash mob to Gangam Style! I was able to check "participate in a flash mob" off of my bucket list. 

Friday, the 5th: 
Let me just start by saying the temperature at the pep rally was fifty degrees. Okay. 

The marching band got to get out of class early (YES.) and head out to the football stadium to "warm-up" but we only go out there an hour early to sit and chat with our friends. So we froze our butts off for an extra hour while the students sat in the warm and toasty school! 

The pep rally started with the flash mob. Which was way too much fun. Our principal started dancing to it too, which was pretty funny. 

The pep rally continued with the marching band performance, a performance from the Neuqua SWAG dance team, medal ceremonies for the Neuqua Olympics, a tug-of-war between all four classes (Sophomores came in 2nd, WOOT, WOOT!) and a performance  from the winners of Neuqua Knows It Can Dance. I have to say, it was probably one of the better pep rallies Neuqua has seen. The pep rally ended and we left to go into the school to resume the day. 

At marching band practice we headed out to the stadium to run and clean some things in the half time show really fast before going back inside for our pizza dinner! It had dropped another twenty degrees since the pep rally, and we knew it was only going to get colder as the night went on. 

We ate, changed into uniform, and left for downtown Naperville and North Central College! We got there an hour early, and the Sophomore game was still going on, so we went and sat in the stands and watched and played and shivered. The Sophomores won, hooray! 

The actual game started at 7:30. We watched as the Gold Rush came into the stadium and took their places next to us; they were so big this year, they had to move US down to the bleachers behind the goal posts, so we were on high alert the entire time as to not get hit in the face. 

When we went out to perform our pre-game show, it was the coolest thing ever. The audience was so receptive and respectful to us, and we marched it really well, too. At one point in pre-game, the band makes a star as one of its formations, and in the Neuqua stands, you can't see it very well, but at North Central the crowd FINALLY saw it and went wild!  

So we finished and went and sat back in our stands and froze until we had to do the halftime show and pom tune. At this point in the game, we were tied with Waubonsie, which had us all biting our nails because we really wanted to win. If we did, our state ranking would move up and we would be undefeated!  

We marched the half-time show, which the crowd loved, and played the pom tune very well.    We went and sat back in the stands and waited until the end of the game.  

But the game didn't end for a while. 

 The game was made up of plays that were just start-and-stop. After several tactile errors made by Waubonsie's coach and penalties for both teams, there was three minutes and thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter and Neuqua had to score to tie with Waubonsie to go into Overtime. We were sitting on the edge of our seats, standing, hopping from one foot to the other, nervous and cold and hoping to score. 

The ball came down to our end, and Neuqua was in possession. They only had to score this touchdown and they would be tied. We were screaming so loudly, we couldn't hear ourselves. Our drum major, Colin, was practically in the end zone, he was so into it. The players got into position, the ref blew his whistle and it started. 

NEUQUA SCORED!!!!!!!!!! In a matter of seconds, they scored!!! 

We were so happy, when we started to play the school song to celebrate, we didn't play it, we sang it. After our moment of joy, we went back to our positions and waited for the next point to be scored.

The ball made its way back down to the far side of the field, and after about seven or eight minutes, Neuqua scored again, making the game 35-34. 

That's right. Neuqua scored again. WE WON THE WAR OF 204! 
The level at which we were screaming was very unhealthy, but we didn't care, we were undefeated now! After the football team did their good game handshake with Waubonsie and left the field, the marching band ran onto the field screaming and jumping up and down and hugging each other, acting like we had won the game. 

We played the school song one last time, made our way back to the buses and went home. Tired and cold, my sister and I came home at 11:15. I made hot chocolate for us, we read the Entertainment Weekly together and just chatted for a bit, then went upstairs to bed, ending our busy and spirit-filled week. 

Go Wildcats!