Stranger Things
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
if i look back, i am lost
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cherry valley forever
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Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
hello vonnie
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@pdoran
Dearest Nerdfighters,
Finally finished the last chap and am ready for full TFIOS fandom. Hope you will accept me into the club~
Longingly,
jesslarson
I don’t know. We’ve been waiting for two years. We’ll have to initiate you through a series of tests and hazing.
Hazeling?
Waters boarding?
THE VOICES. THEY'RE BACK.
The Ups and Downs of High School and Roller Coasters
I have two things I would like to implore your little minds to think about today. Actually, this entire blog is about me, like always.... so let's just get to that.
I hate to say it. Oh, I would rather die than say it. But I can hold it back no longer. I guess I have to admit that it's true that everyone their senior year of high school experiences senioritis. Throughout all my years in high school, I vowed to myself that I would always do all my work to the best of my ability and never slack. But it seems this final month has just took all of that passion and motivation, and smashed it into nothing. I have been going out, instead of just staying in and reading pages of school related curriculum.
This has been a blessing and a curse. I mean I still get everything done. It just has been being pushed back and considered not as important in my little head. Sometimes I have to stay up late to get things done that should have been completed with progression and that I should have allotted more time for. This change to me is probably very hazardous to my future, but I can only hope it's just my body and brain telling me that I need summer to begin and that I have been working way too long.
However, it has also been really good for me to realize that I can have the same results and still get good grades, but not put so much effort or stress into everything. I can put my life first and think about the things that affect my life, not just my education and what letter a teacher is going to put on a paper (BUT I STILL WOULD LIKE AN "A". AN "A". NOT AN "A-"). All of this will help in college when I have more work, so I won't have a melt down and I might enjoy this new beginning in my life that is coming up... ( This being said, I'm not going to mention anything about what is happening May 22.)
In other news, I also wanted to mention how much I have been wanting to go to an amusement park lately or travel somewhere. I don't travel much and the only amusement park close is Silver Dollar City in Branson, which gets old after a while. It seems like forever since I have rode a full fledge roller coaster and went upside down, twisting all around throughout the sky. You just can't replace that unworldly feeling you get on those types of ride.
The funny thing is that I used to hate amusement parks. I didn't like to walk. I hated being outside. And I always had this image of myself flying off a roller coaster or just simply puking all over the person in front of me. It's weird how you can associate such fun places with horrible things that make you want to curl up in a ball and cry. But after a while and a few dares from my insane friends, my fears eventually faded.
So I guess in all of these cluttered thoughts and wordy words I have learned two major things: Laziness is okay once in a while, and time makes things better.
Scratch that. Flying through the air at a bazillion miles an hour makes things better.
Progress
I am progressing. This is the singular thought that has been engraved in my mind, which remains stagnant as I travel anywhere in the city. No longer do I look simply at the people, the places, or the normalities of the world. I feel as if there is something new to this life we live that should be noticed or at least spoken about in some form.
Though this may seem like nonsense and ramblings, I feel I am on the verge of something greater than myself and that I have to take time to explore the world around me, do something different that I normally wouldn’t. I have to start pondering why I am getting involved in certain things in my life now. It’s not just about success or obtaining certain monumental goals, because once this year is over my goal hurdling toward me in a matter of months is done. I have “plans” for the oncoming future, but I have no special light in the horizon that guides me and brings me forward. College is just another school, where I’ll probably experience fifty panic attacks and try to tame by obsessive compulsive disorder by crying every couple of months from the endless flow of mind-crippling knowledge (?), but when its over, where will I be? More importantly, who will I be?
It always makes me wonder if college will change me. If people will get to me and if I will become another person. One that lives through the daily routines of life, goes to work each day, comes home, and spends time with their family. A monotonous life, where people can’t seem to maneuverer their way out of the shell their trapped in and sometimes they don’t even want to. I’m fearful of this happening to me. It’s not that it’s a bad life because I know what it feels like right now. I’m a part of the cycle as we speak. I just don’t know if it's for me and if I like what it does to people.
But the problem comes when you think about the changes that are undeniably part of our lives. This dramatic shift of personality that may occur in the next three to four years, may make me think totally different. It may make my current convictions die before my very eyes and the ashes could never be resurrected. In all actuality, I can’t say what’s going to happen now. It’s impossible to glue together the pieces of my life when I have no idea where they fit or if they should even be placed at all.
I just want to believe that I won’t lose what I have now. That the ideas bubbling in the caldron of my brain will stay the same and that I won’t be questioning things. It bothers me when people say I’ll go through this elaborate metamorphosis and think differently when I’m 40, 50, or even 90…. I want to deem them liars, tell them they have no conception of how I feel or what I want in life. But the truth is… I’m bewildered, I’m confused, and I'm afraid to admit they might be right.
Bon Voyage
For the first time in literally months, I was able to sleep until noon. For many teenagers, sleeping is a common occurrence that happens at least every weekend and sometimes more when they forget to come to class or oversleep. I have never been late to school a day in my life, though sometime I walk in when the first bell rings.. The reason for my lack of sleep seems to be vast amounts of assignments that are always plaguing me through the night. Usually, on the weekend I can't sleep if I have anything I have to on my schedule the next day. I wake up at 5 am, no alarm, and if I do try to sleep past that time usually it's only thirty minutes max. But I don't want to make this post all about my lack of sleep. Heaven knows I complain about being tired daily, since my friend Jamie has taught me that sleep is useless and it's better to waste away the hours of night with homework or Facebook. Instead, I want to focus on break, so everyone can pity me for not having anywhere to go. Yes, it's that time where Paulina's decision to not go on any trips during break back fires and she's sitting at home with two English projects weighing on her back. Half of my friends are in Florida and half of them are in Hawaii. People are traveling like crazy, so they don't have to waste away their vacation at home, watching movies on the couch. I'm trying my best to figure out things besides work to fill the hours, but I'm that type of person who has to have others control my plans or I will make none. I typically steer away from making plans that fill up schedule because then I feel stressed or can't commit to them all. But since my friends are all gone, no one can tell me what to do or invite me to do something. The only people I have left are April and London (the classiest kids of Hillcrest), and those kids are too cool for me... So I guess I will be spending quality time with my parents. I'm an only child, so they love me more than life itself. All of the other children in HTV will be posting about their great adventures in the sweltering sun on their blogs, but my advice to you is to not buy into their shenanigans. They are not having as much fun as it seems; it's all a ploy. You won't hear about the sunburns, the villagers that take them captive in Hawaii, or the shark-infested waters. But that's okay. That's what I'm here to remind them of :)
Fun Science is a Science of Fun!
This weekend I had the pleasure of waking up at 6 am and heading to Missouri State University where I was able to compete in four Science Olympiad competitions. Though this seems like a boring blog post, which it probably will be, I was hoping to go over my little science journey with everyone.
Science Olympiad has usually been regarded as a club for people who just need a science activity to get their seals of excellence in science. That's the reason I joined in Freshmen Year and my plan was after I was through to quit. But after the first feeling of even placing in the top 5, it makes you proud to compete against twenty or so other teams and actually get a high rank. I never really have been terribly great at science because hey let's face it, I'm good at everything, so how can you be great at something when everything is on a equal playing field?
Anyway, this year's Science Olympiad has been the most stressful, but also made me the most dedicated to the program. I may have not shown up to every meeting, but we devoted an entire Independent Study to the cause and worked to sort things out each week. We came together and planned an entire Pancake Breakfast just to get members, which was paid for with money out of our own pockets. Then we spent time getting field guides, building towers (we named our tower Bridge) a zillion times, making study guides for certain events, and prepping for a Robot Arm. We even made a mascot: A scientific goat!
Then we had to go through the process of realizing some projects couldn't be completed in time and it's a sad thing when you know your team member spent weeks making something and then we can't use it because we didn't have enough time to prepare other parts of the project. My friend Jamie actually made an entire ukelele and xylophone, but since we couldn't find someone in time to play them, we either have to give them up for someone else to use them or just simply keep them for another time.
Through all that stress, I still have to admit that Science Olympiad will always be apart of my fondest memories. Every test, we partner up, and there have been plenty of times where we have had a few laughs over questions we have had no clue on how to answer. On top of that, I got fifth place in Anatomy and Physiology. That may not be the best ranking, but if you would have seen the test you would of understood....
My other friends London and Shelby received first place in Rocks and Minerals and third place in Forestry, which I believe are our highest rank in the categories in quite some time. So despite the hard work and stress that went along with preparing for the big day, we are extremely proud of our achievements this year. Science may not be for everyone (unless your dissecting cats, which everyone loves), but it still taught me that handwork pays off in the long run and you can have a little fun with science every once in a while. Especially when it involves making pancakes, singing in sub-zero temperatures, and NOT doing homework :)
P.S. I am going to VidCon this summer in California and that involves videos, so I can post it on my HTV Blog! I will see that individual in the video above live and in-person!
I'm an Overachieving Third-Grader
Throughout my life, I have always wished that I was more of a creative person than someone who just wrote too much or excelled academics, which are both usually considered very left brained activities. When I do some type of project I usually focus on making it more professional than artsy and then when the finished product is created it doesn't stand out or make anyone say "wow", its just nice and deserving of an A.
Still, this really bothers me. I wish I had more of an eye for structure and placing items in the correct place, where they balanced perfectly and then added dabs of color, design, and drawings that were uniquely my own. Instead, any art piece that I get my hands on looks more like an overachieving third-grader got their hands on a poster or piece of paper. There are too many words and not enough pictures. And there is usually no color-scheme or theme to tie together all of my average looking drawings.
It's not that I don't try to make something beautiful or develop my creative side. I love to make jewelry and accessory pieces, and I always seek to do something new that is outside my usual niche. Yet, each crafty item I make or any picture I try to remaster with a computer program still just doesn't meet the mark or look like someone with real talent put it together. Something sewn falls apart or a bead glued is just not in the right place or off center. And don't even get me started with tape. If I tape anything, the whole dispenser gets destroyed when I throw it at the wall in frustration. In many ways, tape is like that annoying brother or sister I never had or a child that holds on to your leg. As it bonds to your flesh, you can help but wonder if you should pawn it off on that unsuspecting neighbor or friend...
I suppose this is a downfall we all have to face. The fact that we will always have a flaw and someone will excel in something that we are atrocious at. It makes us all diverse in our own ways. I just wish that it didn't make me feel so lackluster. When you work so hard at something and then another person can put their creation together effortlessly, your self-confidence slowly diminishes. You wonder why can't I just be that gifted child? Why was I born in a family with bad genes? At that point you wonder if you should hop on your bike and find a nice Russian family who might take you in and train you to become a world famous gymnast. But, sigh, it will never happen...
The only possible way to combat this low self-esteem is to put your all into your own skill and talent. Either that or try to develop the next Windows program software, where it doesn't matter if your artistic or not. I guess what I am trying to say is.... As I embark on my new journey through real life, I hope to polish my own capabilities. Use my own abilities to build my success and not worry about other people. I mean it's better to not waste a perfectly good life by sulking on things that I cannot control.
Or I could just sulk..... I like sulking actually. So disregard this whole post.
Filling Some Space and Time
I plan on writing a blog this weekend since I hate long absences from tumblr. I am so sorry for leaving my blog empty and listless. I have been just so distracted by constant reviews for tests, studying, projects, scholarships, essays, and college applications. All these things mean a lot to me and I am trying to put my entire soul into completing them. I have never been so sleep deprived in my life and it's sad really. For the first time, in ten years I pulled an all-nighter. The bonus was that it was on a Sunday during break and I was working on a project from 6pm to 9am. I have this problem where I can't live my life or rest until everything is done and complete. I'm always seeking more work and my body is feeling the consequences this week. I am also writing a Spotlight tomorrow the Hillcresthornets.org website, which everyone should read! Let's just hope I don't collapse. Unlike most people who claim to be tired, I haven't missed a day of school... That makes me superior. Anyway, I wanted to put down a few inspirational quotes to get my HTV readers ready for greatness. “Here is the deepest secret nobody knows. Here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud And the sky of the sky of a tree called life; Which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide. And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart. I carry your heart. I carry it in my heart.” -E.E. Cummings "It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things." -Lemony Snicket "I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be." -Roald Dahl "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." -Ernest Hemingway "I am a real ham. I love an audience. I work better with an audience. I am dead, in fact, without one. " -Lucille Ball EDIT: Due to unfortunate circumstances, I was sick Friday, missed school, could not write a blog this weekend, or do a Spotlight. This blog is the epitome of fails :(
Appalled by Paulina
When I look on my list of things I dislike that most people do, it's no surprise that its long. Not because I hate people, or because I am a pessimistic person (even though I am), but because I am crazy and I write lists like I write novels. Anyway(s)* to get to my point, I would like to describe something that appalls me more than anything in the world. The one thing that people do that is unexplainable and simply pointless, but they do it anyway because they think its nice (nice guys finish last and mean girls rule the world, muhahaha). This thing is called a hug, and it is the most grotesque thing I've seen come to planet Earth, since Disney Channel.
I wish people would stop hugging!!!!
It's not that a hug is gross to look at, but its gross to think about in my point of view. Imagine the scene. 150 pound teenager has been traveling the school for 5 hours, going from class to class. They have not showered since the day before or the morning. It is time for the last class of their day and as they turn the corner, they spy a little innocent blonde redhead. They charge for the room. It's time for a hug. The skin cells fly from their sweaty bodies from the movement of the hug. The germs crawl from one surface to another. The victim cannot breathe because if she does, she will no longer being taking in air or oxygen, she will engulfing the organelles of another person. The tightening of the predator's arms diminishes oxygen supply to the poor blonde redhead's brain. To put it simply, a hug is the grossest and most unsanitary form of showing friendship.
Why can't it be like the olden days, when people simply listened to the Golden Rule. NO PDA. When I was in Middle School, everyone hated the rule and thought it was crushing our early development as pre-teens. Yet in my mind, it was a form of protection. It was like having a body guard there who told you the entire time, "If they touch you or even try to lay their hands on you. They will pay." And with that thought, I kept my head held high. It didn't scar me as a middle schooler. It made me a strong, independent non-hugger. Today, I am not afraid to push someone who tries to hug me into the floor. I also make sure to let people know that a hug is not a thing to smile about. Sure sometimes you have to duck into corners and hide at family events, but it all pays off. While someone has bacteria climbing all over them, I am clean. Squeaky clean.
*I put this "s" here because it is grammatically incorrect and it makes me happy to be grammatically incorrect.
My Last Two Blogs Were About Movies
Not long ago, I used to be so much closer to my family. When I mean family, I'm not talking about my parents or siblings (I have none and this makes me proud). Instead, I'm talking about my cousins, my aunts, and even my grandparents. We used to do everything together and every time I would get the chance to hang out with them, I would stop everything else I was doing. I always had this certain "feeling" around them, one that can't be replaced by just any friend at school.
Cousins, for one, are usually very easy to get a long with. Most of the time they're parents are raised the same way as your parents, and therefore they understand where you are coming from. It's also easy to hang out with them because we all know that parents (especially mothers) love to blab on and on to their sisters about their impressive lives. That of course left time for the young cousins to go on newfound adventures and claim territory throughout the region like little explorers and future dictators of the Western Hemisphere.
My fondest memories are going to the movies with my cousins on my father's side, who lived a few hours away and would only come in to Springfield to see my uncle. We would see every movie in the book (har har) and go like every weekend to Springfield 8 or Campbell 16. Hollywood Theatres was non-existent and not yet corrupting the youth of America, and my cousins and I were glad to see the latest films and cartoons. With them I saw my first Harry Potter movie, with them I saw Piglet get lost in the Hundred Acre Woods, and with them I learned of a shark's tale while on a trip with Will Smith.
There we would get popcorn, candy, slushies, and whatever else our hearts desired. One time my cousin and I even made a new creation that I will call Popcho. The satisfying combination of popcorn smothered in warm nacho cheese. It didn't matter that you had to pay twice as much to enjoy this foreign delicacy. It was just part of the experience. Experiencing dip and dots when they first came to the movie theaters years ago, experiencing the rush of buying your own ticket for the first time, and experiencing the trailers, which gave you even more hope that you would again go to the theaters another day.
In today's life, this rarely happens. Though I do go see movies, they don't have the same impact. I make my silly commentary to my silly friends, but nothing is like sitting next to family and knowing you'll get to play board games at your grandparents with them right after you get finished.
Eureka Springs!
Double Trouble
So I just watched Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows (Part 1), and like I usually do when I watch a movie, I think and think and think. Tonight has been no different, since I have been constantly thinking about my inner Ron (movie character, not book). When I went to the last premiere, I tried in my best effort to dress up as him, even though I was in a Ravenclaw robe. One kid even noticed and that in itself made me feel proud of my homemade costume and real, fake red hair. Still, the metamorphosis of myself into Ron has made me try to think of how I am like Ron. What makes us the same, despite our similar physical feature?
My first conclusion is that Ron and I are alike because we both share this impulsive and direct line of thought. When we speak we lack any thought in the matter. We are both open books and sometimes are outbursts make us seem a little less-smart than we really are. Sometimes it hard to realize myself that I do this. I am never grammatically correct in speech because I do not take time to think about my answers or adapt to the right word. Ron displays this by always acting out exactly what he is thinking. We never see his thought process, he just acts. I do this, as well. I am always yelling, running away, and commenting on impulse.
Another similarity between Ron and I is our humor. I find that Ron is very spur of the moment funny, but also comes up with the best-lines at the perfect moment. Though I am not outlandishly funny, I have a habit of saying humorous things just at the right time and I am always searching for that one funny line that is going to make everyone laugh. I'm not sure if this just comes effortlessly to Ron, but since Rupert Grint has a script, I'm going to say yes.
The movie I just watched also had a scene where Ron Weasley ran off, because of his jealously and from motivation of the Horcrux around his neck. I am one of those people who do this constantly. When in doubt, trouble, denial, and even torment I run away and hide in the nearest closet, hallway, and even under desks. Especially when I was little, every time I faced any sort of of trouble I tried to avoid it and walked all by myself. I got as far away from my friends and enemies as I could. In this way, Ron and I are both wanderers. We both need our time to pull away from the situation at hand and instead do other things to pass the time, like training our rats or chickens of the sea (my goldfish).
To be quite honest, I am Ron. He is my alter ego and though it may seem like I am a crazy nut to all you people out there (which most of the people reading probably don't think that because you have common sense and are obviously Harry Potter fans). Harry, on the other hand, is plain whiny and I hope to never be the boy who lived... Instead, I simply want to be the boy who ran away, the boy who laughed, and the boy who had a very disappointing and annoying sister. Is that a problem...
Oh, yeah, I'm a girl. Crap. Ron could be a girl, right?
:)
Raised for a Purpose
Just today, I was talking in HTV to Jessica and Morgan, and Jessica started talking about how when she was younger she had, had several organ transplants and removals. She went through the list of losing a kidney, her appendix, and even her spleen. Though, at the time she was just kidding, the whole moment brought me back to a movie that I had just watched a couple of weeks ago.
The movie is called Never Let Me Go, and its a very interesting, compelling film because it deals with the idea of being raised purposely to give away your organs to someone else who may have cancer or organ failure.
Though I won't go to much into it. It begins with a storyline of students going to a school called Hailsham. They do everyday activities like art and soccer that most school kids experience, however, each day they are monitored. They wear wristbands to scan their every move throughout the school, and take pills to remain healthy. They also must stay on the school grounds at all times. They live here, until they reach their 18th birthdays. This is when the three characters the story follows go out into the real world and live before they become donors. And the story progresses from there.
After I saw the movie, It made me wonder what it would be like in that situation. To know at a young age that you would die early in life and had no choice in the matter. You would be given as many chances as your body decided to give you, as you went through the process of losing organ by organ to help someone else. I couldn't imagine not knowing your fate, wondering everyday if this transplant would be the one to end your life.
Though the young characters in the film only knew that type of life, they were afraid of death, like any natural human. They tried to escape it after they were allowed to experience the real world and leave the school they grew up in. They tried to discover secret rules that people in love would be exempt, even though the possibilities were false.
I would think I would try to resist and not allow them to use my body as an organ producing machine, but on the other hand; Would resisting be wrong? Would trying to stop someone from helping another person make me selfish? Of course, there are limits to the whole process. Especially, taking a life to save another. That is inhumane and pointless. Still, it makes me ponder. Who are we to be so selfish and keep something, when we could live without it and save someone who really needs it?
Yes I Did
It's the last day of the rest of my life. And though this doesn't even make a tad bit of sense, the bus tour is ending none-the-less. So to complete the collection of my blogs, it's time to talk about Louisville. The home of the cards, the horsies, and the businessmen.
When we first arrived in Louisville, I wasn't excited. Not because the town was dull, but instead because I am a completely worrisome freak. I had a quick clip to do the first night in this city and I had high hopes for completing it. However, after arriving at six and then waiting for others to get their stories done before we headed out, hope started to fade. It was seven and the street was dead. Not dead as in lack of people, but dead in lack of performers, lack of live music, and lack of horses. All of these things proved to be the downfall that brought me to tears. Though, I knew I had a possible late deadline the next day, the fear of not finishing on my assigned night was terrifying.
Soon I realized there was no way I could go out into the dark and find a clip at 11 pm, unless I wanted it to consist of a homeless man or a group of sinister policemen. This is when I did what I had to do. I stood up to the man. Not THE MAN (HTV chaperones), but my inner Paulina. I had to let my dreams die and just live with the fact that I would not get a quick clip until tomorrow. And that's just what I did. The next day that quick clip was mine and though it was a topic that many probably will find boring, I find comfort in saying that I couldn't have been happier to be done with it. Though it did have flaws: iphone 4's lack of clarity, flipping issues, and that annoying- nothing is actually moving in the video, so it looks like a picture problem. But that's not my fault, that's someone else's fault.
Anyway, now I'm just sitting here chilling on the bus. I still have to help Kim with the music video we made last night and this morning, but other than that I'm free. And though that may sound just delightful. It's the worst thing in the world. When I have nothing to do, I go crazy. My only option to curb my boredom pangs is to watch Degrassi, which I have missed all last week and this week. However, since the internet seems to be lacking the capacity to fulfill these needs ...I have to resort to this blog. And this is why I'm writing friends. Not because Coach Davis told me to, not because I'm having a spur of creative energy (which I usually do since I'm awesome), and not because I want to block out the voices of other students. I'm writing because I'm bored and I want to go home.
This trip has been great a lot of the times and I do like the constant shift of culture, but right now I'm just numb. I don't know what's going on in the world, even though I have been doing stories every day, because my world is Springfield. So many things have happened and I don't even know how I'm going to catch up on all of them. Still being here has changed me for the better. It scares me to know that two weeks can make so much difference in my life. I have been hanging out with people I have never expected to even associate myself with. It's been a whole new experience and I'm thinking about sticking with this whole HTV thing.... for now :)
Just What I Expected
We're now in Gatlinburg, the one place I had been looking forward to the most on the trip. This is simply because this city is a bigger Branson and it is filled with attractions, theme parks, museums, and scenic tours. All of the things that little children like myself enjoy immensely. Shopping is great, when you have time, money, and are going where you want to. Yet, nothing compares to the thrill you get when you take a day and make it feel like a vacation. I want to go on tons of water rides and then eat food that's horrible for me, but also a little less southern than I have been receiving lately (For example: The collard greens are not that great since they basically taste like leaves and I'm not a rabbit. Though, there is nothing wrong with being a rabbit. I had a rabbit, but he's buried in my back yard now. May his little rabbit soul rest in peace). Even though I have a story, I'm hoping to have a little time to go somewhere and enjoy myself at a theme park and fulfill all these goals.
Still with every good feature of this place comes a bad. My biggest fear is that we will get a story about the space needle, or an air tram. This is will require my partner and I to go bolting miles into the air. I in return will freak out since I have an extreme phobia of heights that all started when I learned my dad was afraid of heights. I am also afraid of not finding a story at all, which is only because Gatlinburg is very tourist friendly, but our stories are not supposed to be. I usually use my time on the bus to search for stories and prepare myself before we get there so at least I have some idea of what to do. However, when you search Gatlinburg there are tons of things that come up, but half of them are Ripley's Believe It or Not Museums. And if you know me at all and my HTV history, you would know I have already done a story on this exact museum in Branson and I am not doing it again. I only would if Kaitlynn was here.
Good ole Kaitlynn Keller, how sad it is that she must miss this trip... she always was one of the few that laughed at my jokes and had my back when it was time to get down to business and laugh at others.
The next issue that is in order is my new room arrangement. My roommates and I are planning what to do now that the girl who left is actually gone. We have an empty space on the bed and Jessica wants it all to herself. However, just because she called it first doesn't mean it's hers. I didn't even know about this person's disappearance until only several days ago and Kim and I have every right to share in the wealth. My planned bedding arrangement is that I get the bed tonight in Gatlinburg, Kim gets the bed the first night in Louisville, and Jessica gets it the last night in Louisville....even though we leave that night :)
Lastly, I have heard the Smoky Mountains are quite a feature in this little city of Gatlinburg and I have never seen a mountain range before in my life. It would be so cool to climb a mountain, do a story on someone who climbs mountain tops and dedicates their life to adventure, and feel the the climate at the top of that mountain that you can never experience below it. Still, I would be breaking the same rule of heights I just explained. It seems the things we always want to do are the things that we always the most afraid of, and that's why we want to do them.
Before We Got There
It's another long bus ride today, but this time I mean LONG. 10 hours of sitting in a chair :) and though you think I may disappointed, I'm definitely not. I love chillaxing in my blanket on the air-condition side of the bus and sipping a ice cold large water. It's the life and I have nothing to do until I am told to do something, which is just swell and dandy. I think this will give me time to write my life's biography as I cruise to Charleston, South Carolina.
However, this blog isn't about Charleston, though it seems I should write about it. This is about Jacksonville, Florida. The place we stopped off to eat for lunch and the place that we should have stayed at today. As I walked off the bus and saw this city, I stood stunned. Panama City was like a little lazy beach town, compared to this impressive, upbeat, and lively city. The kind of city they welcome people to and there is minimal danger, which is a must for scrawny miscreants like me. To me, Panama City was almost like Springfield, Missouri. It was not made to be walkable, the businesses were not in any type of center or built together for browsing (besides the mall), and not very many people welcomed you with open arms. Jacksonville on the other hand seemed to be made for entertainment. It even had its own landing. Sound familiar? As I walked through the sweltering heat, I saw the little boats pass me by and I was in love with this city. I hadn't even been there for more than 15 minutes before I felt this way and I just wanted to get off the bus and fun in the fountains like the little kids.
Now, all I have to do is sit back and wait to arrive in Charleston. Hopefully, it will be a beautiful as I have heard. If not, then I will have another blog to write about.
