Freewrite: January 19, 2011

I guess the main idea of The Alchemist is not really a question for me, but more of a statement. I believe that this book makes people wonder what their true potential is and what they are truly meant to do. It lets you know that the journey to finding your dreams and what you are meant to do is not going to be easy and that the path will not be a straight one. I guess it kind of asks whether you are willing to take a risk and give everything up just to take a chance on finding your personal legend. It says that everyone could figure out their personal legend, but most do not take the time to find it and instead become content with their current life. When I was reading the book, it made me wonder if I was ever going to become content with my life and not go for my biggest dreams. I think it also made me wonder how a person will know when they find their personal legend. Will I ever get to the point where I think I've found mine but in reality it's just another small step towards my personal legend? In one of my other blogs, I talked about what I thought my personal legend may be, but even as I wrote those I wondered if that was really what I was meant to do in my life. I think this book provokes questions that people think of in their everyday journeys through life. Who am I supposed to be? Why am I here? I really enjoyed trying to figure out my personal legend, but I don't think that's the way it works. I think that you will only be able to discover your personal legend as you go through life because every twist and turn changes you just a little bit, so you may not know exactly what your personal legend is until a certain point.

WORD COUNT: 329

Freewrite: January 14, 2011

So, yesterday I planned on voting for Courtwarming, but I never got around to it, and I planned on doing it today. However, I found out after school that I would not get the chance to vote because they had already announced the top 5 senior boys! I'm really excited for this group... one, because Cameron is one of them (yay!), and two, because all of the guys are great people. So congrats to Cameron, Parker, Tim, Kyle, and Tyler on being on the 2011 Senior Courtwarming Court! It's a lot of fun. I'm really excited to escort Cameron (that sounds kind of goofy), but I loved getting to do it back in October, so I can't wait for next Friday! I'm kind of nervous, though, because I don't want to spend a lot of money, and I need to find a dress to either borrow or buy! I only have a week, so it's kind of short notice, but I'm hoping I will find someone with a cute dress that I can borrow! Switching topics here- I'm really starting to realize how much the end of this year is sneaking up on me. I realize it's coming, but I guess I didn't realize just how fast until recently. Prom is 4 months away, courtwarming is only a week away,
and these past few weeks have gone by crazy fast! It's insane. Time is going to fly by in these next few months and we will finally have graduated from high school! I'm not going to say I've always loved it, but it has been a great experience. I'm still not sure how I'm going to feel when we're finally done, so I'm starting to get a little nervous:)

WORD COUNT: 289

Freewrite: January 13, 2011

In my life, one of the most important things that has ever happened to me was becoming a foster family. I can't remember what it felt like when we first started (I was about 4 years old.), but I can remember what it felt like when we stopped. I know why we stopped, but I don't understand how we stopped. To me, it was really hard to realize that these kids wouldn't be coming in and out of our home anymore and that was devastating to me. I got to help take care of them and I felt like although it was probably best for our family, I was angry and wanted to keep doing as long as I could. Why did I feel like that? What made it so important to me? Why did it feel like my whole life just ended when we stopped taking in foster kids? Why is it still so important to me? Why do I feel this attachment to all kids- especially the younger ones that need help and someone to look up to in their lives? Was there some specific event in the 12 years we did foster care that made me feel like I was meant to do that for the rest of my life or was it just a culmination of everything in the past ten years? Why do I want to do foster care after I start my own family? Why do I feel such a strong pull to help these kids that I haven't had contact with in years? Was there a specific event that made my Mom realize that she couldn't do foster care anymore? Where are those kids now? Where is the not-so-little boy we wish we would have adopted? Why can't we adopt him now so that he will have a forever family like he should? Why do I have such a strong sense of family?

WORD COUNT: 320

Have I rubbed off on others?
Who has rubbed off on me?

TURNING POINTS IN MY LIFE: Cameron asking me out, my family deciding to become a foster family, my family deciding to stop being a foster family, adopting Jenna & Alex, becoming a high schooler, joining the HS marching band, becoming a part of student staff, becoming a sophomore, Cylee & Gabee being born, going to MSU for Ozarko and realizing that it felt like home and where I was meant to go for college, volunteering at BBBS

Freewrite: January 12, 2011

So, today we are going to have a dicussion about the book, The Alchemist, that we are reading in class. I actually really liked this book. I kind of already finished it... :) It had a lot of lessons in it for me! I really liked how it described our dreams (I can't remember what it called them) because it said that some people go through life without ever doing what they were meant to do or even just knowing what they were meant to do. I believe that everyone is put here for a reason, and that we just have to discover that reason and do what we were meant to do to fulfill that and be truly happy for the rest of our lives. I'm not exactly sure what I was meant to do, but it could be that I was meant to be a Mom. I don't know for sure, but I know that being around kids makes me really happy and taking care of them as they grow up like I have all my life with foster kids and such would make me feel like I had achieved my purpose of being here. It could also have something to do with teaching. I love teaching because I get to see the looks on kids' faces when they finally figure something out. They get so excited and it makes me feel wonderful knowing I can have such a big impact on someone's life! Another thing that could be my purpose could be opening my teen parent help center that I want to open eventually. I really am into helping those that can't really better their situation without others and I think I would do really well trying to help the girls and their little ones. I hope I am one of the people that discovers their true purpose early so I can put all my energy into it :)

WORD COUNT: 322

Freewrite: December 06, 2010

So, this weekend was cookie traying, as I wrote about last week. It went great. My biceps are a tad bit sore, but it was a lot of fun, and I have already seen the looks of appreciation on the faces of my teachers! I brought 5 in for teachers today, and I know it sounds like I'm sucking up, but it isn't like that for me. I honestly appreciate all the work they do and I really enjoy their classes, so they get cookies! :) It makes them happy, so I like to do it every year. I will also be bringing in 9 tomorrow for a bunch of friends of mine. Drumline's cookies will be here on Wednesday probably! They will attack me just like every year so far. It's a great memory of mine. So, now to go away from that topic. I have been thinking a lot about my impact on people and my legacy that will remain here at WHS when I go off to college next fall. I know that sounds kind of stuck-up, but I'm not really worried about trying to do something wonderful so that people will remember me. I've just been thinking about what people will remember when I leave. Will they think of me and miss me? Will they wonder what I'm doing? Will some freshman be impacted because I smiled at them in the hallway? I guess it just intrigues me to think about the impact that we have on people because of things we do everyday. By doing volunteer work with BBBS, I'm helping impact the life of a young girl. I don't know how big of an impact, but I do hope I can help her make better choices and strive to be a role model for someone younger than her. I don't think people realize just how much you can affect someone with the smallest of actions, and I think that we need to realize it.

WORD COUNT: 330

Freewrite: December 03, 2010

So, this weekend is the weekend of all weekends at my house. This is the weekend when all of our Christmas cookies are put onto trays so they can be given out to everyone! This is a tradition that has been happening as long as I can remember. My Mom and her best friend, Anne, get together and make thousands of cookies. Literally. There are probably 50 types of cookies and candies that we put on the trays! It's amazing. They spend so much time doing this every year and then this weekend all of it is brought to my house where I get to walk around in a circle for four hours or so. Once everything is set up and all the trays are done, it truly feels like the holidays for me. It just feels like Christmas is finally almost here. It's great. I've been thinking a lot about traditions recently and mostly holiday traditions at that. Every year, my family used to go to Exotic Animal Paradise to see the lights and animals on Christmas Eve. However, we haven't done that in quite a few years, and it makes me sad. It makes me kind of relate that to my childhood and one of the things that was a childhood tradition. I mean, I'm still in my childhood (kind of), but at the same time, it is something I won't remember doing as a teen, so it's only from when I was little. When I wake up on Christmas morning, the routine is always the same. I get up, go look at the presents, and try to find the footprints that "Santa" left from the soot in our fireplace that night. Last year, much to my disappointment, I watched my Dad put down the footprints of flour in our basement. It was really depressing. I've known Santa isn't real for quite a while, but just watching something happen that had amazed me for so many years was really sad. It kind of ruined that experience for me. Growing up sucks sometimes.

WORD COUNT: 344

Freewrite: December 01, 2010

Our question was about the human nature that Dickens describes and how it compares to modern human nature. I think that human nature both now and in the Tale of Two Cities are pretty close to the same. In TTC, the people seek revenge against those who rule over them and the country because of their horrible living conditions. I think that even now people would react like that. I think people can try to act like they don't care about something or like it doesn't affect them for a while, but when the trouble comes too close to home, that's when people get defensive. I think people will kind of put themselves out there for a cause, but will only fully commit themselves to it when it will save someone they love or care deeply about. Dickens' idea of human nature, or at least the portrayal of that, seems kind of evil and dark with a nice cover over the top. I think in his mind, some people can act nicely, but most are not and will do anything to get revenge. I'm not sure that the world is exactly like that today, but I think that people will revolt once something gets too close. A good example for me is politics and government. I think that people will take a lot of things from the government, but once something hits too close to home and affects something they don't want it to, they will revolt or fight back.

WORD COUNT: 250