Reflections of Junior Year

It was the best of years, it was the worst of years. This was my favorite year of school, but it was also one of the worst years that I have cone through. I was involved in 5 clubs this year, and that kept me very busy as well as made my year alot of fun. I was in 4 honors classes and Apush, these classes were immensely hard and very challenging. I had 2-5 hours of homework each night, and that was horrible in it of itself. But I now realize that it was good experience to have that much homework because I will probably have that much in college. But the funnest thing that I was involved in all year was youth group by far. Being involved in NHS was probably my favorite new club that I was in because I got to go and babysit little kids; which I thought was alot of fun. My favorite class that I have ever been in is AP US History because I have an awesome teacher and my class is full of alot of hilarious people. I have definetly enjoyed writing these blogs.

Sunday

Sunday was a pretty busy day because it was my little brothers 15th birthday. It began with my Mom making her famous homemade donuts for breakfast, I made sure to eat my fill, but at the same time I paced myself pretty well. We had alot of donuts that were left over and we ate on them for the rest of the day into Monday. I cleaned some more and did my homework until my Grandparents came over for lunch. It went pretty well, but it was really sad because it seems like the way they are acting they might be showing the early signs of Alzheimers. But other than that it was a fun time. After they left we had to get ready to go to West Louisville who had their closing ceremonies that day. It was a very memorable experience, but it was also very sad because I have no idea what they are going to do with that school, and there are just so many memories of that building. I got to talk to all of my past teachers who like me a lot; which I find very funny because I was a little boogerhead in elementary school. I took several pictures but I wish I could have taken more than that, I really want to go back and take the pictures of the massive mural they have on the Upper-north side. We left after 45 minutes; which now that I look back I wish that I could have stayed longer. Afterwards I went home while the rest of my family went to play laser tag. I stayed home because I had youth group later that night and it was definetly worth going to, I even wrote Morgan an affirmation card and I hope that she loves it!

My weekend

I had a pretty eventful weekend with it being the Barbecue Fest, my little brother's birthday, and spring cleaning. Friday afternoon I just procrastinated from doing my homework and just took the time to relax and text friends. Saturday I had a very full day by cleaning before I left at 9:10 to go and work at the Barbecue Fest. I worked for about 4.5 hours and I thought that it was a lot of fun, and that I wish that I could have stayed longer. We did unfortunately have to bail our booth out of water which was pretty funny. The smoke was horrindous I could not see a thing or breathe in that stuff. I had for the first time a dip-dog which was the most amazing thing that I have ever tasted in my life. I saw my ex and her family there, and as usual she did absolutely nothing to contibute to what we were doing. I did however see her older sisters who were a whole lot nicer to me. When I got into the car my Mom was almost overwhelmed by the mouth-watering smell of barbecue that I had all over me. After I got home we cleaned and got ready to go to church at Immaculate. After Mass when we came outside I could smell the Barbecue in the wind which I thought was very hilarious. That was the end of my Saturday.

The Future

What do I see myself doing in 10 years? Lets see I will be 28 years old. I have been done with college for 6 years now and I am currently teaching History at a High School hopefully either here or in Bowling Green. I have actually been teaching for about 4 years after 2 years of being a permanent substitute teacher. And right now I am working on my Master's Degree. I am currently dating a very special someone whom I wish to marry in a year or two. I am also very involved in my church being a Lector, Eucharistic Minister, and a Catechist. In the next 7 years I will begin my training to become a Permanent Deacon in the Catholic Church hopefully being ordained by the time I am 40.

Summer Heat

I enjoy both the summer heat and the air conditioned indoors. Especially when I work out in the fields over the summer and then come home to an air-conditioned home. Before there was air-conditioning I think people were just tough about it and in the privacy of their own homes people probably sat around without shirts and perhaps for the men they sat around in their underwear.

Being a Kid

My favorite activity between the ages of 5 and 10 was hide and go seek. It still is one of my favorite activities to do when I am around family. Every time that we spent the night with my cousin's Zachary and Amanda we played hide and go seek, and when we got older we played it in the dark; which is the funnest thing in the world.

I spend alot of time online because....

I like surfing the web for random facts and stuff. Music videos, movie previews, random funny stuff, and all types of historical information. It is very enjoyable to have the freetime to surf the web, and it is very interesting to find very random facts.

My Spring Break

I had a pretty decent Spring Break Thursday through Monday all I really did was just sit around the house and relaxed. On Saturday my Mom got rolling pin donuts for breakfast which are amazing by the way. I also started my plan to read the Bible by the end of this year, it includes reading it for 15 minutes and it will take me about 150 days to have it finished, and I am rather pleased with how it is going so far. Sunday I went to church and was a lector which is always good because I get alot of compliments. Right after we went to eat breakfast at Windy Hollow Restaurant with my grandparents, it was great as usual. Monday was pretty uneventful except for breafast Mom made her now famous homemade donuts; which were amazing. The rest of the day I just chilled and sat around. Tuesady I went over to my Grandma's house to help her put things up into the attic and put her Easter decorations up around the house. We also helped around the shop for a while. Wednesday was very busy we went to our farm by the river and picked up what I think could be the equivalent to 3 or 4 tons worth of driftwood, it was horrible because it was laying around everywhere. Thursday was another busy day because we went out to another farm out in Browns Valley and burned off beanstalk drift that were laying in the fields; which was really fun at the end of the day because i was there alone burning stiuff with my own method, and it worked very well. Friday was fun we went over to my Aunts house and watch the recent Narnia movie in their home theater and then at about 1:00 we went to play laser tag at the ozone; which was very fun. Saturday was pretty fun my prom date found a really pretty yellow prom dress which is very nice. We went to the Fischer Family reunion which is horribly boring and we stayed there for about and hour and a half. Then we went to visit my Grandmother in the Hospital because she is recovering from her knee surgery. On Sunday I read again at Mass and I think that it was my best time doing it, I got alot of really nice compliments as well. The rest of the day I watched some TV and just relaxed, then at 6:10 I left for youth group which was so awesome. The great end to a nice Spring Break.

What was the last CD/song you bought?

The last CD that I bought was Lady Antebellum's Need You Now album, and that was alittle over a year ago. It is full of some pretty awesome songs, they have absolutely beautiful vocals. Some of their songs can make you cry they are so good and appealing to your emotions. It is also a great CD for those who are just starting to listen to Country Music because it has alot of really good songs on it.

How important are rest and relaxation to you? What do you consider restful and relaxing?

Rest and relaxation are very important to me, I need as much of it as I can get. I consider just laying around the house watching television very relaxing, or sleeping in as late as I want. Having absolutely nothing to do that day.

What do you wish you could take time out to do?

If I had time to take a break I would probably go outside and run around with friends. I would design a fort that I would build in my backyard. I would play elbow tag with my friends and invisible darts at the same time; which would be so fun. Or I could just spend some time outside on the swing reading a good book.

List 10 things you like about yourself Why are these likeable traits? Do others notice these qualities in you?

1. I am truthful
2. I am modest
3. I am tall
4. I love Gray
5. I am a faithful Catholic
6. I am very caring
7. I am a leader
8. I have dimples
9. I am wise
10. I am inteligent

They are likeable traits in that they show I am a very good person who cares about alot of things

Some people do notice these qualities in me and they make me feel so much better than I felt before they told me that.

Who would you call first?

I would call 911, then I would call either my Mom or Dad. It really depends on the situation who I would call.

Why on earth would Yankee Doodle call his feather macaroni?

The reason behind it is the British made up this song to make fun of the Continental Army and they called George Washington Yankee Doodle to make fun of him. I think it is a funny song, but until a few years ago I just thought it was a funny little song that we made up. However that wasn't the case it was actually a song that British Regulars made up while they were stationed here to make fun of General Washington and our pretty primitive little army.

Ugly Words

10 words that I think are ugly sounding. Rural I never really liked it because it is always hard to say and it just isn't a very good word. I don't like the word vomit because it doesn't sound very good and because of that it is a good word for that action. I never liked the word toilet either. I don't like the word laptop. The word quagmire sounds stupid to me. I hate laxative. I hate the word diarrhea. I absolute hate the word bowels.

What are at least five reasons that the chicken has crossed the road?

1. To get to the other side
2. "Because National Security was at stake" Oliver North
3. Because it felt like it
4. It had a death wish
5. It wanted to show that it wasn't a chicken
6. To catch the bus

What are the best reasons for doing nothing?

1. You are extremely tired and you want to sleep.
2. You have nothing to do.
3. You have had a hard past few days and you just want to rest.
4. You just want to take it easy.
5. Your brain is totally fried.

In Anticipation of the Weekend

I am so excited for this weekend because I am going T.E.C which is Teens Encounter Christ. I will be down in Gasper River Youth Camp; which is right before Bowling Green, as soon as I get home from school I will leave and then I will be getting back to Owensboro at about 5:00 in the afternoon on Sunday. There is going to be 37 Catholic youth there which is going to be so crazy and fun at the same time. There are going to be almost all the Juniors from my CLI back during the summer so it is going to be like an awesome minny reunion, except there are still going to be a little less than 30 more people at it. I really am excited about seeing all of my CLI friends again, and possibly making even more amazing friends. And of course the entire point of the weekend is to establish an even closer relationship with Jesus Christ, so I am even more excited about that aspect.

Give three more examples of something silly

When I went to Christian Leadership over the summer I had so many funny moments.
1. During our freetime we played this team building game with our small group, which consisted of trying to reach 100, but the twist was every interval of say multiples of 4, 5, and 8 we would have to make an animal noise rather than saying the number. The noises that we came up with were; ribbit, bug, chirp and it was so funny playing it, it took us a wahile to get all the way to 100 but it was worth the struggle.

2. We did several projects while we were there that required art/ office supplies and we were making ants for a bug theme that we were doing and we came across and construction paper sign that said, "Its Your Birthday Lee Ann" and I don't know why it was so funny, I guess it was just the way that Kelsey said it so sarcastically. Then later Darin (one of the group members) left to go up to his room to get something and we came across another sign the said, "Blow out your candles Katie" it was a riot so Kelsey and Lear held it out in the doorway to wait for Darin to see it and I remember hearing the door open and hearing, "hugh ha hugh ha ha ha" the funniest laugh ever. Later on we ripped one of the ants we were making named Ant Andy and we tore a piece of the Lee Ann sign and made a band aid from it for him, "still to this day we have no idea what happened to Ant Andy.

3. Lastly I guess it was a little later I walked over beside one of the windows and put those blind closing strings' caps in my ears and was just standing there for maybe 10 minutes and then Kelsey and Lear turned around to look at me and laughed so hard and to make it even funnier a made noises like, "zzzt zzzzzzt zzzzt" i was being electrocuted which made them sit down on the floor because they were laughing so hard.
That whole week was filled with funny things like this, including me putting pantihose on my head acting like a rabbit, and playing Jesus in a skit and at the end a did the Vulcan sign off of Star Trek saying, "live long and prosper" which was the first big laugh our small group had that would set off a chain reaction of them.

List 10 more extremely bad ideas.

1. Touching on a electric fence
2. Touching a barbed wire fence
3. Argueing with Know-it alls
4. Waiting until the last minute to write an essay
5. Leaving a water bottle in your car during the winter
6. Leaving a coke in the freezer just to cool it down, but then forgetting about it.
7. Ticking off a strick teacher
8. Ignoring safety rules during any emergency
9. Not doing homework one day and getting hammered the next
10. Not locking your car when going out somewhere

How do you feel about volunteering? What experiences have you had with volunteering? How did these experiences impact your life?

I like to volunteer my time, especially when I am doing it surrounded by friends or with little kids. Many of my experiences have been good with volunteering, I have done trash for cash a few times with my youth group and that was fun, I also have gone to Audubon Elementary's parent nights (when they have PTO Meetings and they bring their kids along; which we babysit) and I have had so much fun babysitting the few little kids, but it is definitely exhausting doing that. These experiences make me want to go out and volunteer more, but unfortunately I do not have that much time to go because I always have so much homework. And volunteering where there are little kids always make me happy because I love kids most of the time.

How do you feel and react when you've made a mistake? How do you learn from Them?

In alot of cases I don't realize that I have made a mistake because I make so many in a day. When I do actually notice them I do 1 of 2 things, either I laugh it off and or apologize, or I get embarrassed and feel really stupid. In most cases I do learn from my mistakes, but sometimes I do forget what I have learned and make the same mistakes over and over again. There are a few cases that I actually do stick with my reform that fix my mistake. I do like making mistakes sometimes because sometimes you do need to fail in order to get better.

What have you learned from an elderly someone? What wisdom has been passed on to you?

I have learned alot from elderly people especially from my Grandparents. My Grandparents are chock full of stories from when they were little, and they have experienced so much because they were all born between 1930 and 1933 so they were just growing up during the Depression and World War Two. However most of the things that I learned from my grandparents were just stories and experiences that they have had, rather than words of wisdom. The wisdom that I have learned from elderly people is to always appreciate what you have and never take anything for granted.

Snow Days

I am really starting to get tired of these snow days because they are shortening our summers and they are are just boring to be sitting around all day. We have had 7 snow days so far, emphasis on the so far because I heard from my Dad that he was listening to the radio and the National Weather Service came on and said that we are going to stay in this pattern of it snowing every single week for the rest of the winter. I really hate this so much because I am taking the AP US History Test on May 6 and if we keep having all of these snow days we are not going to get all of the information we need to get covered accomplished. That is not going to turn out well at all and not only that, it keeps setting us back and making everything unorganized because we have no idea what to expect. At first I liked having a few snow days, but now we are having way too many and they are just becoming an annoyance more than a positive thing.

My Weekend

I had a very fun weekend because I went to my cousins wedding all the way up in Peoria, Illinois. It was a 6 hour drive up there, which was so long because it had snowed so it had slowed us down a little bit, and we saw 4 wrecks on our way up there. One of them we found out last night that it was a fatal accident; is was a bus full of volleyball players most of them got injured and two died later in a hospital. Then when we finally got there it was so cold when we brought all of our stuff up to our rooms, and then we met my Aunt Sheila and my Grandmother and we went out to eat at the restaurant in the Hotel which was very good. Then at 4:00 we left to go to the church; which was less then 100 feet away from the Hotel it was on the same block, and we went inside and my mouth dropped because it was so beautiful I am so jealous that none of our churches back in Owensboro looked this beautiful. The Church had a traditional and very beautiful altar, the ceiling was royal red with gold accents and antique chandiliers, they had antique pews, the floors under the pews were carpet and the rest of the church was marble, they had a very pretty choir loft, and the walls had these massive mosaics that were so beautiful. The Nuptial Mass lasted a little over an hour which was good and then we went back to the hotel to one of their reception rooms which was also very pretty and we had a formal dinner which was very good. The dancing was fun and I was able to play with one of my little cousins while I was there for a few minutes which was definetly worth it because he is so cute. We went back to the room and went to bed around 10:30 I didn't get very much sleep while I was up their, but I guess it was okay. That morning we all packed and then we went down to eat breakfast with the rest of our family. We left around 8:20 or so and we got home around 1:45 after we got home we put everything away and I worked on homework for a while then watched the news until we watch How the Universe Works on the Science which was so awesome.

What kind of example are you trying to live out? What kind of person do you want to be? Why?

I try to be a good example to other people. I want to be a devoted husband and father so that I am a good example to my children. I want to be as good of an example to my kids as my parents were to me.

How do you feel about criticism whether you are the giver or the taker of them?

I do not like criticism in all forms except for constructive criticism that can help people fix their mistakes. I really hate it when people criticise each other because in most cases it hurts their feelings, I have been criticised on numerous occasions and they make me feel bad which I don't like. Constructive criticism however is different because it can actually build people up, the most cases of this that I have seen is people helping each other on homework or revising someones essay paper. The advice I have gotten from constructive criticism helps me out alot when I do essays because I like to have a second opinion on big things that I do.

What are the possibilities for me in the next 12 months?

• On January 22, I am going to my cousin Jason Hofer's wedding up in Peoria, Illinois. Which will be very pretty because the church is beautiful, but the end of January might mean snow, so we are hoping it won't be a dangerous drive up there.
• On February 18-20 I will be going on another Catholic Youth retreat known as, "Teens Encounter Christ" the point of that weekend is to develop a better personal relationship with Jesus, and I have heard it is just as amazing CLI was for me.
• On March 11-13 I will be going to Youth 2000 a Eucharistic Centered weekend, it will be my second one so I am very escited for it, and I will be seeing alot of my CLI friends there, some friends I have made since then, and I hope I will develop more friendships there.
• On May 9 I will be turning 18, which I am very excited because I get to register to vote so I can have my voice heard, I will also be registering for the military draft.
• This summer I have so many possibilities of things I will be doing, if I am lucky enough I will be spending 5 weeks at a college campus for the Governor's Scholar Program, and I will possibly be going to my first Catholic Youth Camp at Gasper River to which I am very excited.
• In August I will start my Senior Year which I am both excited and afraid of because it is my last year of High School, there will also be so many things I do that year.
• In November I will be going with my Youth Group to the "National Catholic Youth Conference" in Indianapolis, I have heard it is the most amazing experience that you will ever have because not only are you surrounded by close to 30,000 Catholics, but it is everything I have experience times 10.
• In December if I am lucky enough will be once again attending KYA in Louisville.
• The two things I am looking forward to the most this year is going to TEC in February and going to NCYC in November because I want to get closer to God and I also want to meet new people and make even more amazing friends.

Reflections of 2010

For me last year was the best year ever, because so many good things happened to me. In March I went to Youth 2000 which was a Catholic retreat that we spent most of a weekend at Brescia and it is modeled after World Youth Day. Going to that inspired me to join youth group and I have had so much fun ever since. Over the summer I went to a thing called Christian Leadership Institute in which I learned and developed alot of leadership skills in conjunction with Catholic values. I also made some of the most amazing friends I will ever meet and I my favorite part was that I broke out of my shell and became more of a leader and more comfortable speaking in front of people; which inspired me to be a Lector at my home parish which I have now been doing for the past four months. Today I still talk to alot of my friends from CLI and we all miss each other so much that we want to have a reunion probably sometime  this summer. The next big event I participated in was Owensboro Diocesan Youth Conference which occurred in November and it was 2 days of awesome fun with another 500 young Catholics like me. I also took that breaking out of my shell which happened at CLI and applied it there, for the past year and I half I have been teaching myself traditional prayers in Latin and it all paid off when I said a decade of the rosary in Latin, in front of 500 people which was a quantum leap for me and I got so many compliments for how well I did. I also got to see several of my CLI friends at the conference which was really cool. Then in early December I went to KYA and had a blast it was so awesome to see our State government in action not by actual lawmakers but by High Schoolers my age, which gives me hope that our country and state are in good hands. I also made a few friends there and what is cool is that they were the previous youth governor and the new youth governor so it is really cool to be friends with them. And then to end the year I had an awesome Christmas with my family.