A Much Needed Update

Ah it's been way too long since I updated my blog... I've been swamped with school and cheerleading and being sickeningly cute with my new boyfriend :) His name is Jackson... But I won't get into that now. That's another post for another day.

I just want to give a quick update on my life since you were last a part of it... All the while sharing pictures from our sweetheart's dance of last weekend.

(My friend Meghan and I before the dance.)

Cheerleading has officially come to a close... It's very bittersweet: I'm excited because I've been cheering nonstop since August. But it's sad because I've been cheering for the past five years. It's so much a part of my life, as are the girls on my squad, and I already miss it.

School has stayed busy, busy, busy. We lost our mock trial competition, but that's okay. This trimester - we are on trimesters at my school, not semesters or quarters. That means three grading periods that are twelve weeks long, with five classes a day that are 70 minutes long - is over, which means exams Monday and Tuesday. Luckily, most of my classes are easy.

(This is Freddy. He's one of my good friends. Was voted "Most Likely To Brighten Your Day" by the rest of our senior class. Was voted King Of Hearts that night. I stole his crown.)

My little brother turned 13 yesterday. Which makes me feel older than the fact that I turn 18 in a month. (WOO!)

(My friends Corbin and Paige.)

To sum up everything else... Senioritis.

It's a busy life.

So it's been a while since my last post... Welcome to the world of a high school senior. It's very, very hectic. And these past two weeks have been the most stressful in quite some time.

My five day weekend was horrible... No one should have to bury their friend. I'm not really sure how I survived Justin's calling hours and funeral. I think it's because all of my other friends are the best out there. We helped each other get through it, and for that I'm truly grateful.

In other news: School is extremely busy right now! I had two papers due this week... One for my Advanced Placement (AP) English class, and the other for my Post-Secondary English class, which I am currently taking through the University of Akron, via my high school. Oh, to be a future English major... Good times.

On top of that... My mock trial team- in which we perform a mock court case in front of actual judges against other teams- competes tomorrow! We've been practicing for 8 weeks and this is the first competition so we're all definitely nervous. And as an attorney, I am especially freaking out, but our practice went really well today so I'm crossing my fingers that we'll advance to regionals!!!

Sigh.

The death of my friend Justin has really started to sink it. Friday afternoon it hit hard, but that night I had a game, which served as a great distraction. Post-game, I went to my friend's house with several others, and we had a really fun time, which all of us badly needed.


Yesterday, I spent the day with one of my best friend's, Erin. We were both close with Justin, and were in desperate need of retail therapy, so we proceded to spend six hours at South Park Mall. When we got home, she cried herself to sleep.


Tomorrow is the viewing. I'm going with a group of at least 15 people to the funeral home. I'm nervous to see everyone, interact with them. Justin's best friend Calvin has been talking to me a lot the past few days. I know I need to be strong for him, but it's hard when I'm trying to deal with everything too. I'm scared to see Calvin tomorrow. And Chris. Chris and Justin were close too.

Sigh. I miss you Justin.

A Hard Day

Today started off great. I wake up to find out school was cancelled, giving me a five day weekend, because we also don't have school tomorrow or on Monday. My brother and I kicked off the day with an intense round of Scrabble. One of my friends came over. It was supposed to be a good day...



And then I got the news. My friend Justin took his life last night.


I can't even type it without crying. No one knows exactly what happened, but my phone has been ringing all day. Everyone I've talked to has heard something different and it only gets harder to hear each time. In March last year, one of my classmates also took his life.

It's true what they say... Only the good die young. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Reality TV Junkie

I am a reality TV junkie. Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance... I love them all.

So tonight my mom and I finally got to watch the first two episodes of The Biggest Loser, one of our favorite shows. If you've never seen it, I highly recommend it. It's so inspiring and emotional, watching every day people try to lose weight. There are several overweight members of my family so it hits close to home. Hitting even closer to home, two of the this season's contestants are teenagers. Mike is 18 and Dan, the heaviest contestant ever, is 19.

That's my age! I can't even comprehend it. Watching the most recent episode, I cried like a baby watching Dan be up for elimination. But, luckily, he gets to stay another week to try and change his life. Reality TV... Gotta love it.

Chelsey Hearts Faces

So I started to my blog to follow a few others-- one of which being I Heart Faces, which can be conveniently found at http://www.iheartfaces.com/. One of my dear friends is its cofounder and, although I am thoroughly convinced I will not win, considering the amazing pictures that have already been submitted, I figured I'd give it a shot.

This is a picture of me and my very best friend. His name is Chris and this was taken about two hours into a concert we saw together this summer. It was hot, sweaty, and awesome. It demonstrates no great talent, but instead captures the joy we experience every time we're together.

A Case of the Mondays

Today was a typical Monday. I woke up late, and unwillingly. I was exhausted all day, and very crabby. Especially since my high school implemented a rule this year saying no drinks in class which means I can't have my morning coffee. Yes, I have morning coffee, and no, that's not unusual for someone my age. Any sort of caffeine jolt in the morning is necessary when class starts at 7:30.

This rule-- of which I am not very fond-- was put in place this year when our administration realized my school has a severe problem with chewing. Yes chewing. Smokeless tobacco. Dip. Copenhagen. Arguably the most disgusting habit ever. Kids were using coffee cups and various pop bottles as their spit holders. GAG.

And, after barely surviving my long 70 minute classes, I go to cheerleading practice, only to tweek my back when we were working on our dance. Good times.

But when suffering from a Case of the Mondays, I've found the best thing to do is to imagine yourself in a place like this--

--and you'll feel much better :) (Photo taken from my last spring break in Malibu, California)