Skipping fall

So the past few days have been miserable. I am not a big fan of the cold weather if there isn't any snow on the ground. Today felt like the fall season has just decided to not come at all this year. It was severely humid last week and now we're getting into the 40's for a nighttime high. That does not seem ok to me. I enjoy the changes fall brings. It's a nice gradual change from the 80-90 degree weather I personally love more than anything, to the cold, harsh winds that winter brings. I don't know how much longer this weather is going to last but hopefully fall is just hiding around the corner and is ready to come out and surprise us all.

Interview

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=663ZTxWuqqQ

This author has published 14 books in the last 15 years. For any author who writes a variety of genres that is very impressive. In this interview Jodie Piccoult talks about how she started writing and all her credentials but also includes her home life into the mix. The interview is actually shot at her New Hampshire lake house with her family surrounding her. She also discusses her writing of a kids play with one of her friends doing the music and another friend directing. She loves every minute of it and she's taking her passion for writing to the next level. Also, all the proceeds of the play go to charity. So not only is Jodie an amazing author, she is also one of the nicest women out there today.

Ishmael

I can say, after attending Ishmael Beah's speech on Tuesday night, it is by far the best speech I have ever heard. Almost everything he talked about moved me in some way. It didn't matter if it made me feel guilty, sad, or warm hearted, I constantly felt a new emotion. His story truly moved me, and looking around the hall and seeing people texting or not paying attention was just unreal to me. This amazing man took time out of his day to really tell us his story and these people are acting like they don't even care. Instead of talking about the whole speech I'm going to write down some of the notes I took over my favorite points throughout the presentation.

People who lived in his home village continuously ran away from every adult because they were taught not to trust adults any longer. Also you weren't supposed to trust children because children were often used as spies.

He learned that after seeing people die every day, he no longer was able to feel any emotion while watching.
He was taught violence was how you showed you wanted to be a part of the army so killing or beating eventually became a way of life.

He used to play soccer at school and if his team lost they would beat up the opposing team. So eventually teams would let his team win so they wouldn't get beat up.

To get his VISA to come America he was asked to provide proof of an ownership of land and a proof of a bank account. Was in awe that these people expected a 13 year old to own property and have a solid income in a country that has been in war for so long.

He had to write a paper in college about a memory he had of play during his childhood. While all the students in his class were writing about swimming or playing with their dog, Ishmael wrote about using rubber from balls to make tires, and he saw for the first time that people were almost amazed about what he had to go through and so he decided to write about the war for himself with not intentions of publishing it.

I began playing soccer at the age of 9. While that is kind of old compared to most kids, I still think it was just the right age for me. I was actually kind of better then the other kids who had been playing for almost 4 years longer than myself. I was one of the smallest girls out there and I had to play with a broken arm my second season. Throughout the years I continued playing on rec teams until finally 3 years later, I made a travel team. I was really nervous to play because I am older then all my other friends who play with me, so I would have to play with girls a whole grade level ahead of me. Not to mention I knew none of these girls going into my first practice. But I eventually made it all the way through middle school and my last year of elementary school, which equals 8 seasons of travel. I finally made it to the big shots now, high school. Showing up as a freshman the first day of summer workouts was even more nerve racking then the first day I began travel. I was by far one of the smallest and every girl seemed like she had been playing on very good travel teams their whole lives. I made the JV team of course and I eventually made it onto the varsity roster for sectionals. Even though I did not get to play, it was exciting just to know I came that far and the coach believed i could play with the older girls. Throughout the next 3 years of my high school career I was a starting varsity player. My sophomore year I was shocked to know that I was starting over mostly juniors, but even a couple of seniors. That year and the year following I was chosen to kick a penalty kick in the sectional finals due to the tie us and our rivals, West Lafayette, could not break. I made mine each year, even though we lost both titles. While ending a season like that is heartbreaking, losing it the same way two years in a row is almost enough to make you sick. My senior year we were not able to even make it to the sectional finals but I loved being a vital part to my team. Now being in college I had my first club soccer practice two days ago. It was like my first travel and first high school practice all over again. I'm still one of the smallest ones, and some of these girls look like they could receive a scholarship through the school to play on the team. But I now realize like all my other tough times I've gone through in my soccer career, this one will be no different and I will have the time of my life.

Music is a big part of my life. I'm the type of person who looks more into the lyrics of a song as opposed to the music. The words appeal to me more then the beat of the song. My favorite song is "Iris" by Goo Goo Dolls. Most people who hear this song for the first time think it's just another boring, slow song that is in no way, shape, or form entertaining. However, people like me who refer to lyrics realize it's a beautiful song with a lot of emotion throughout. To give you an idea of the song, here are a few lyrics to shop how deep the emotion runs:
And all I can taste is this moment
And all I can breathe is your life
And sooner or later it's over
I just don't want to miss you tonight

And you can't fight the tears that aren't coming
Or the moment of truth in your lies
When everything feels like the movies
And you bleed just to know you're alive

With all of the memoir activities we've been doing in class it makes me think more and more each day how much I would like to be a kid again. I know almost every adult I've talked to ALWAYS tells me that high school and/or college will be the best years of my life. While I can see it becoming my favorite time period of my life, right now it's too stressful for me to feel that way. I was so nervous my first day of college classes and some days my nerves never seemed to go away. I know some of my classes aren't even bigger then one of my high school classes, I just get so scared about missing an assignment I didn't see on blackboard, or didn't read an e-mail from one of my professors correctly. All these thoughts run through my head continuously throughout the week. I miss the days where I could just go to school, with my room right across the hall from my mom's classroom, color, cut, and paste and be done. I wouldn't even need a nap because when I was younger, school was my favorite place to be. I got to see my friends all day everyday and I got to play soccer or basketball afterward. Now that I'm in college, I don't get that opportunity. And some days that is depressing for me. I hope for it to get better as I mature but for now, I wish I could go back to elementary school all over again.

Memoir

For my memoir assignment I am thinking I will do the memory of my youngest brother being born. So here it goes...
I was ten years old when my youngest brother, Drew, was born. When my mom first told my brother and I she was pregnant, I was in shock. I already had to deal with one younger sibling and now they were making me put up with two!? It just didn't seem fair to me. But as the pregnancy progressed, I was amazed at how much my mom's stomach was growing. I was so used to seeing my mom as a slender woman with a small waist so the large ball under her shirt was such an interesting change. But before long, I enjoyed the growing stomach. The larger my mom became, the more she was home. With having two children under the age of ten and my dad working forty-five minutes away, my family never seemed to have much time together once school hours were over. So before I knew it, the day was here and I was woken up at 2:45 to my frantic dad and my mom walking very slowly past my open doorway. I asked what was going on, to which my dad responded, "It's time for mommy to go to the hospital and give you your new brother or sister." Well when I heard that of course I wanted to go along. My mom wasn't keen on that idea and said, "Lindsey you and Dillon are going to grandma's house until school and then grandma's going to bring you to come see me after school is over." So I was dropped off at my grandma's only to be overwhelmed with sleep and excitement. I couldn't sit still during the school day and all I wanted to do was see my mom again.



Ok, so I don't want to tell my whole story so that's the majority of it. But my new baby brother was healthy as can be and is now nine years old.