Well, I was looking at my post earlier and realized that I completely missed an entire 8th post hahaha. So, anyways I had a pretty good first day of school and I've should've been done with this whole blog thing but I looked back and I was not done. To start off my day, it was my first time ever driving by myself this year to school and I honestly love it so so very much. I actually enjoy driving unlike some people simply because I personally feel like I have a whole lot more freedom now when I am driving. Well, I know now not to go to school early simply because I do not like my homeroom and I do not want to be in there in the morning time so that surely won't occur again lol, just being completely honest on that one. My first period seems like it's gonna be a great class this year, there are not very many of us in there so it should be an okay class. My second I feel like it's gonna be crazy different because we have a packed class. My third is the same as last year's class, which is the choir and that's always fun. My fourth is psychology, which again already sounds like it's going to be a good class. My 5th is band, which is always fun no matter what. My 6th is English which is just a needed class and it's okay. My last class of the day is my 7th period because I have a free period during 8th period, so 7th was fun as well. After school, I had cheerleading practice which went down really well. So overall, my first day went really well and I'm happy that it did.
Monday, August 16, 2021
Sunday, August 15, 2021
Well here we are- emily fitzgerald 11/11
The last blog post of the summer, Woah. So many things happened this summer and I will always remember them no matter what. I don't what to go back to school tomorrow, but I cannot wait to see where the future takes me in life and I'm so excited for this amazing ride called life. I want to focus on being my complete self this year simply because I just need to do me no matter what anyone says or what anyone thinks. This summer has changed my entire input on my entire life and I am so appreciative that it all happened for reason. I'm so proud of myself this summer for sure, I learned how to finally stay true to myself no matter what anyone thinks about me. I honestly cannot wait to see what is in store for me this year because this year already sounds like it's going to be an absolute blast. I'm ready to see myself grow and live my life to the absolute fullest. I've grown up so much this summer and I'm proud of myself for doing so. I will for sure miss all of my nightly sunsets and warm nights. I will miss all of the mini-trips to Branson and all of the MANY lake trips. But if I'm being quite honest, I cannot wait for the fall/ winter season because I completely cannot wait to see all of the different outfits I can come up with this year. I want to work on many different things this year, but I for sure want to work on how to love my life and be happy that I'm living such an amazing life. I will forever look back at my high school experience so I need to make it big and make it something I can remember forever. This year my main job is being captain of my cheer team and I'm so happy that I finally got this job to experience because I already know it's going to be so great and so much fun. Although there will be many struggles taking care of that job, I'm sure I can do it. Well, there you have it kids, my last blog post of the summer. It was fun blogging with all of you!
Goals for the school year- Paris McGee 11/11
I'm going to be setting goals for myself for this school year.
My school year goals:
Keeping my grades up
I'm going to keep my grades up by being able to focus more in class and use my time wisely. Using my time in class to do my assignments give me time to do stuff after school hours. I think if I keep on task I will be able to get more things done in smaller periods of time. So I won't have so much homework when I get home.
Staying off my phone during class
I find myself getting bored in class and not being able to focus because I am distracted by my phone. I think that if I keep myself from being on my phone I will do better on my work because I won't be rushing last minute to get it done. I will put my phone down and actually do my work when I am told to.
NOT PROCRASTINATING
Clearly as you can all tell I am the worst procrastinator in the world. If I just go ahead and get my work done and not wait, I won't be rushed to get it done which will result in me being able to make better grades because I will already have it done.
To miss the least amount of school possible
If I'm at school I'll be able to be in class and learn the things I need to know for that day. If I miss then I will be behind and I struggle to catch up. But missing school has down falls like not being able to go to cheer practice and just being behind. When I am thinking about not going to school, I just need to tell myself to get up and go.
Being on time for school
Last year, I had too any tardies. I have a really bad habit of being late for school. This year, I am going to try to go to bed early. Then I can get up earlier and be on time for school. Tardies can get me and trouble and I do not want that.
The Tiktok incident- Paris McGee 10/11
Okay yeah making tiktoks are fun and yes it's great when they go viral but when a tiktok goes really wrong really fast it isn't so fun anymore. This summer Boaty and I thought it would be funny if we made a tiktok video where you chop up a pickle.. And well lets just say Boaty chopped my finger instead of the pickle. So off to First Care we went.. When we got there they thought they might have to give me stitches but since it was such a straight cut they were able to glue my finger back together.
The funny part about it is I didn't even realize she cut my finger. I thought she just hit it, I didn't feel it. Then I looked at my hand and there was blood everywhere. My mom freaked out.. I also think I forgot to mention that it was my parents' anniversary and we were cooking them an anniversary dinner. I felt super bad about what had happened so I came straight home and finished cooking and we ended up getting to eat dinner that night still. We had steak and mashed potatoes, which were so good, we had mac & cheese, not regular mac & cheese either. It was baked mac & cheese. The food was super good. Then for dessert we had homemade strawberry shortcake that I had made.
I still have a scar and I think it will be there forever and sadly it's on my wedding ring finger so I'll always have a scar on my finger there. I told boaty that since she tried to cut my finger off now she has to hold her hand up in my engagement pictures so i don't have a ugly scar in my pictures lol.
Sad that Summer is ending- Paris McGee 9/11
Welp it looks like summer 2021 has finally come to an end. I am so very sad that it can't last forever. I've had such a great time this summer with all the people I love so very much. All the shopping trips, hangout days, dinners, late night swims, I'm definitely gonna miss it. I've been dreading the day that I could say that summer is finally over. I'm ready to go back to school so I can see everyone again but I'm not ready to not be able to go and do things with friends all the time.
Well for my last couple days of summer, I've hung out with friends, celebrated my birthday, went to the movies, got a tattoo, and rode around. Last night we all met up at the High School and played car hide and see. It was super fun getting to ride around with friends. Basically we all got into different groups and got in cars and drove around and parked in a hiding stop and waited for people to come find us. Then we met back up at the school and just talked for a little bit.
Well I might as well have fun on my last day of summer, so today we are going to Jonesboro to eat and to just have fun before we have to go back to school. I still have to pick up some necessities for school. I need a couple binders and some notebook paper.
I really hope next summer ends up just like this one if not better because I'm super sad that this one came to an end so quickly.
Life with a little brother- Paris McGee 8/11
First of all, if you have a little brother or sister you know how crazy it is.
My brother's name is Jace, he is 8 years old and he loves to play video games. Some of his favorite games include Fortnite, Call of Duty, Lego Worlds, etc. You sure know when Jace is playing his Ps4 because he gets super excited and yells at the tv. Half the time, We come straight home and he goes running to his room to play with his friends he has found playing these games. He loves being able to communicate with the other kids playing the games. You can always hear his game blaring throughout the house and then him yelling through his headset at his friends.
Yes having a younger sibling at times is fun but, sometimes it isn't so fun. I love being able to go places with my brother and just getting to spend time with him but, he likes to show out sometimes when he doesn't get his way. We sit for hours playing on his Ps4 or playing board games that he likes.
As some of you may know Jace is super rowdy and loves to constantly be doing something so during the week I babysit Jace and we always go do fun stuff just to get out of the house. We go to Jonesboro all the time, out to eat, shopping, go buy him a toy, fun places, etc. We have had some funny stories also. Jace is quite the character, he loves making jokes and making people laugh.
Kaley Stevens -- The last night/day of Summer 11/11
Here I am, writing my last blog post the day before Summer ends. I am such a procrastinator. I really do have a problem. I stayed up til 3 am last night doing all my comments. I am really glad I got them done. With all of this being said, after I get done with this post, I am going to try to make the best out of my last day of summer. My dad just left tog o on a work trip and he will not be back for a week. So, today me and my mom are going to have a girls day. We are about to go to Jonesboro to get lunch. We will probably eat Fuji because we eat that way too many times a week. Then, we are going o do some last minute school shopping. We are going to get food and snacks for me to take to school. And, try to find some mechanical pencils because I have literally looked everywhere for the ones I use and cannot find any. I am very picky and only like using those pencils. I am honestly super sad for this summer to go. It has been such a good summer. I have been very bless to have had tons of fun this summer. Last night was one of the best. About 20-25 of us got together and played car hide and seek for the last night of summer. It was a super fun time. car hide and seek is a game where a bunch of people split into teams, pick a group to ride in a car with, then go hide while one person comes and finds everyone. You have to stay in the city limits. We all had a super great time and I got to see some people that I had not seen all summer. Tomorrow morning, a group of people are going to eat breakfast for the first day of school. I cannot wait, I think it is going to make the year start off right with some of my best friends.
cheer camp 2021- Paris McGee 7/11
I'm always super excited when cheer camp is coming up. I'm always super pumped and just super ready to have a good time with everyone. One of my favorite things about cheer camp is geting to learn new dances, cheers, chants, and stunts. My favorite thing about the dances is just being able to show your personality and just being able to have a good time out on the floor doing something you love. My favorite thing about stunts is being in the air. Being able to hear everyone chanting.
This year's cheer camp was super fun, I really enjoyed being able to spend time with all the girls. I enjoyed trying all the new stunts, like the show and go's. One of my favorite things to do at cheer practice is jumps. My favorite jump is a right leg front hurdler, this is one of the easiest jumps for me.
Some teams get to travel to a cheer camp hosted by other teams but, we hosted our own cheer camp at the high school. We had lots of fun doing new things and team bonding challenges. The team bonding games were super fun. Being able to laugh and giggle with your team, just having fun.
At the end of cheer camp we had an awards ceremony. Awards such as, overall best cheerleader, best stunt group, most spirit, best jumps, leadership award, etc.At the end I received the spirit award and the best jumps award. I was super excited. We got ribbons for our performances as a team. At the end of each day we performed one of the things we had learned that day and were judged based on our spirit, sharpness, loudness, etc.
Our camp was from 9am to 3pm so we had a really long day. We had a lunch break every day at 12pm. On Monday, we ate pizza from little caesars. On Tuesday, we ate chick fil a, which was great because I love chick fil a. On Wednesday, we ate Subway sandwiches. Lastly on Thursday, we ate barbecue from the BBQ place in Lake City.
Kaley Stevens -- Cheer 10/11
As you all know. last year I made a very difficult decision and decided to quit playing basketball. It was a really rough time for me and a really hard decision to make. I had been playing basketball since I was 5 and I have always loved it. I really do love the sport of basketball. Many factors led to my decision but honestly it was the best decision I could have made for myself. I have been so happy since I quit. I don't dread going to basketball and being around toxic coaches. I did not want to go without doing a sport. So, I decided to try out for cheer. We had tryouts and I made the team. It was a super cool experience. I had always wanted to but just never did because no basketball coach would have been okay with that. I am so glad I did though. Just the few months that I have been a cheerleader have been so fun. The practices are always so fun. The atmosphere is always so great too. I don't dread having to go to practice which is something very new to me. A few weeks back we had cheer camp and It was a really fun time for us all. We really got to just have fun and bond while working on our skills. We had friendly competitions with the junior high which made everything even more fun. ( I am super competitive by the way). Cheer has honestly opened my eyes and made me see that it is okay to take risks. This has made me want to step out of my comfort zone and do things I normally would not. With all this being said, I encourage everyone else to step out of their comfort zone. It paid off big time for me. I love it and I love that i finally found a team that feels like an actual team. I cannot wait for cheer season to get here. I feel like its going to be a blast. This new experience has been so good for me. It really paid off.
Saturday, August 14, 2021
All the Jobs I've wanted to do throughout the years- Paris McGee 6/11
When I was little I always wanted to be a veterinarian. I love animals so much so when I was little I always wanted to take care of them. I thought it would be so fun to be able to take care of pets all day every day. Then I decided that I didn't want to pursue that career because I would also have to take care of sick animals and I would have to make sad decisions. I decided that I wouldn't want to have to put down animals. Therefore, I wouldn't wanna be a veterinarian anymore.
Then, I wanted to be a makeup artist. I love doing makeup so much. I feel like one of the most important things is liking what you're doing as your job. Which is why I feel like this would be a great option for me. Simply because, I would be having fun doing something I love. I still consider this as an option for me when I'm older.
The next job I was interested in was being a nail tech. I also like the idea of this job because you can be creative and use your creative ability to make designs and cool styles. I love doing nails to this day but I'm not sure if this is something I would want to do in the long run. I am still thinking about this option though.
I then decided that I wanted to be an Oncologist. I feel that I was inspired by my grandma to want to help other people fight their battle with cancer. I want to be able to help people get better.
The next job I wanted to pursue is a cosmetologist. Lately, I've been really interested in doing hair. I feel like I would really enjoy being able to do hair. I don't think that I would get bored of doing hair. I think that it would be something that I would consider in the future.
Things I've done this summer- Paris McGee 5/11
Things I've Done This Summer:
-Hung out with friends.
Went to multiple friends' houses, watched movies, swam, and rode around.
-Went bowling
I love going to the bowling alley. #1 because I win most of the time lol, but we alway have a great time just laughing and having fun. One of my favorite things to do is punch the punching bag.
-went to the movies
We have gone in groups to the movies multiple times. We have watched, Suicide Squad, The Last Purge, Cruella, etc.
-Going out to eat
I absolutely love going out to eat, I go out to eat way more than I should. I love going with my friends to eat breakfast or dinner. It's so fun getting to talk with your friends at dinner. I also love getting dressed up so some nights we get dressed up.
-Getting ice cream
At night we drive out to Jonesboro and go get Andy's. We love Andy's so much! Its a great was to get out of the house to be able to go do something fun with friends.
-Morning donut runs
Some mornings we get up early and ride to Manila in our pajamas and go get donuts. One time this summer we got pulled over on the way home from getting our donuts lol.
-Shopping trips
Some days during the week, mainly the weekends we go on little shopping trips. Just to get out of the house and so we got to hangout.
-Summer cheer practice
This summer we had cheer practice and cheer camp. We have so much fun trying new things and getting better each and every practice. This year I think we have a great chance at winning the state cheer competition.
-Celebrating my birthday
I had about three different birthday dinners for my birthday week. One with just my mom, dad, brother, and I. The next dinner was, all my grandparents, mom, dad, Jace, and I. Then lastly was my actual birthday party with all of my friends and family. I had such a great time and was super happy.
Getting My First Tattoo- Paris McGee 4/11
As some of you might know, on August 9th three years ago, my grandma passed away from Cancer. Before she passed I already knew that I wanted to get a tattoo one day in memory of her. Before she passed, I had her write "Never let your fear be greater than your faith."
Well, three years later… On August 11th I got the tattoo I have wanted for so long now. It took a lot of talking into but I finally got it.
About two days before I got my tattoo, I looked and looked for the sheet of paper that she wrote it on and I couldn't find it anywhere. It meant so much to me to have something as a memory to keep of her. I looked for two days to find it and I still couldn't figure out where it was. I was so upset that we had lost something that meant so much to me. I cried all day the day before my tattoo because I was afraid I wouldn't find it. Well, my mom had looked on her phone and found the thing she had written. I was so happy, so I talked to my parents and explained how important
It was to me and how much I wanted it. I scheduled my appointment for my birthday. The next day we went and got my tattoo. I got what she had written in her handwriting on my foot.
Apparently, your foot is supposed to be one of the spots that hurt the most to get tattooed. Mine wasn't too painful. I won't lie it hurt but it wasn't near as bad as the guy made it seem. I'm super happy with how it turned out and I'm so happy I did it and so thankful my parents let me get it.
I'm sure most parents would be against letting their sixteen year old get a tattoo but my tattoo means a lot to me and it has true meaning to me.
A Little About Me - Paris McGee 3/11
In this blog post, I'm going to be talking about myself and things that some people don't know about me. To start off, I live with both of my parents and my brother, John, Jennie, and Jace. I have 3 pets, Nala, a German Shepard, Leo, a Pomeranian, and Stripes.
Some of my favorite things to do are shopping, cooking, hanging out with my friends, swimming, tanning, doing makeup, hair, and nails. More things I enjoy doing are going to get ice cream, riding around, going mudding, going out to eat, and more.
When I graduate high school, I want to go to college. Although I'm not exactly sure what I want to do yet, I have thought about different occupation options that I would enjoy but I haven't made my decision yet. After college, I plan to do some traveling with friends, going to different countries and meeting new people along the way.
I play school softball and travel softball. Softball is one of my favorite things to do. I also cheer, I do school cheer and then I also do school competition cheer, which I look forward to every year.
I love spending money, whether I go shopping, online shopping, out to eat, or just go places with friends. When I'm bored I shop online looking for things I want or just things I like. Hanging out with friends is one of my favorite things to do. I hate staying inside the house. I feel like I always need to be doing something. Going somewhere or just hanging out outside by the pool.
A couple things to know about me
I am very outgoing and I love meeting new people
I love shopping
I love going to get my nails done and my hair
I love taking naps
My Hobbies- Paris McGee 2/11
My Last Summer Post 11/11- Hailey H
Summer went by faster than I wanted it to. But I am guessing that we all feel that may or at least the majority of us. This summer was a pretty great one, especially since the normality of it gave me hope that covid could be a memory we just tell our kids about one day. This summer helped me figure out myself a little more and start new things and go places. I am excited about school but not for the academic part of it though. Just ready for some normality this year. And I think normality is my word of the day in this entry.
I have an idea of how this year will go, or well two.
The first vision is that I will go back to how I was last year and speak to more people.
The second vision I will be my freshman self and never say anything. Maybe a solid balance of both could be something worthwhile.
As I am writing this it seems that I am going to word-vomit until the word count just magically appears so please skip over if needed.
Seems like people used this summer to prepare themselves for junior year and increase skills or make relationships with people stronger. I have been living in my bubble, unfortunately, stepping out of it when needed. Between all the odd jobs I took on, reading, my on-again-off-again relationship with the guitar, stress baking, and lastly my one true love online streaming of tv shows; my summer seems effectual in my eyes. Effectual is just a big word that basically means pointless in case you were wondering. But I am hopeful for the school year and how much more I want to be involved. Interesting how the school year affects everyone differently. I stopped picking at my nails and biting them and within two days until the first day back and the habit was reinstated.
I guess my word vomiting can come to a complete stop now since this is the last entry and I believe that the word count is also upon us. So, I will see you guys on Monday.
Kaley Stevens -- Career Choices 9/11
In my last blog, I wrote about College. This is because I am a Junior now and I know I need to start thinking about these things. I have several careers in mind. And a lot of these have been on my mind for years. One thing I know for sure is that I definitely want to go into the Medical field. I have always wanted to do this. Ever since I was a little girl, any time somebody asked me what I want to be when I grow up I would say a Doctor or Dentist. There are many specialties that intrigue me. So, I am going to list them and explain them:
1. Orthodontist - Something about working on teeth has always sounded cool to me. Blood doesn't bother me one bit. I had braces, so I gotta see first hand what orthodontists do. I know it takes a lot of school. But I really think it will be worth it in the long run.
2. Psychologist - This is also something that sounds super cool to me. I think it would be really cool to work in an asylum. I don't really know where or how this idea came to me. But, It is definitely something I'm going to consider.
3.Cardiothoracic surgeon - This is a surgeon that specializes in the heart and lungs. I honestly started thinking about this when my mom started working on the Heart floor at St bernards. She would tell me about things that happened at work and I would think it sounded really cool. I honestly think this would be a super fun job. Even though it wouldn’t be easy, I am always up for a challenge.
4. OBGYN - Honestly, this might be my favorite on the list. I have always thought it would be really cool to get to work on and deliver babies. I have always thought about working at St. Jude. So, I think it would be really cool to be an OBGYN at St. Jude. It would be very rewarding to take care and possibly save babies.
Kaley Stevens -- My life after Highschool 7/11
This year will be my Junior year of High School. Which is so scary to think about. Two more years until I will be an adult. Two more years until I have to go off to the real world. I have been thinking a lot about my future. College is going to be a new experience for me. I have been trying to decide where I want to go and what I want to be. I have a few colleges in mind. My first thought is obviously A-State because it's close and I am not really sure that I want to be away from my mom. Leaving home is going to be very hard for me. My mom and I are like bestfriends, so it's going to be very hard to leave. Another thought of mine is The University of Arkansas. I have always thought about going there. I honestly think it would be super fun. It's a huge school with lots of opportunities. I think it would be fun going to the football games and making new friends. My other idea is Ole Miss. This has always been in the back of my mind. I think it would be so cool to go out of state for college. I honestly think it would be a good change for me. I would have lots of opportunities to make new friends. That's honestly the most exciting part about college to me. I am kind of ready to get away and meet new people. I have been around the same people all the time for a while now. I just think it would be good to get away. And make lots of new friendships. That’s exact;y what I need. The new start will be really good for me. I can not wait to do things like decorate my dorm room. I plan on joining a sorority wherever I go. I have always wanted to do that. They seem super fun and I think it is the best decision for me. Anyways, I think college will be a very great experience. Even though it is super scary to think about. I can’t wait to experience it.
Paris McGee- Getting Covid 1/11
I was lucky enough to not get Corona Virus hen it first started to become popular but, on June 22, I was diagnosed with it. We think that I was diagnosed with the second strand of ovid-19, the delta variant. During the time I was sick, there wasn’t much I could do. I was so bored just sitting at home knowing I couldn’t leave the house. I watched tons of movies and tv series including, Glow Up, Never Have I Ever, Survivor, Americas Next Top Model, Dynasty, the 100, Love Island, Too Hot To Handle, etc.. Although I enjoyed watching all those shows, my favorite by far is scary/horror movies. I have watched so many scary movies, they are my favorite. The Corona Virus wasn’t awful for me, most days I was just really tired and had terrible headaches, so I stayed in bed.
After my quarantine was over, my mom started feeling sick and she went and got tested. She was also diagnosed with the Corona Virus, it was way harder on her than it was for me. She had many test done and was on lots of antibiotics in hopes she would start to feel better. After three weeks of being sick she finally started to feel better. Then my dad got the Corona Virus. It had even less of an effect on him than it did on me. My brother was the only one in the family to not get it.
Kaley Stevens -- Some of my favorite things 6/11
This blog post is going to be about some of my favorite things. I love each of these things and they help make me myself. Each of these things make me happy on the daily so I thought I would share:
1. My dog- If you know me you know that my dog is one of my absolute favorite things on this earth. He is hands down the best best friend. My dog is named Charlie. He is a golden doodle. Which means he is a poodle and golden retriever mix. He was born in November of 2015. That means he will be 6 this coming November. He is literally the best dog. He listens very well. He loves to play tug of war. And most importantly he loves being lazy and afternoon snuggles.
2. Netflix- Netflix is also one of my favorite things. I spend a lot of my days watching Netflix.I can not sit in silence. When I am at home and the house is quiet, I have to have Netflix going.I have watched tons of shows on Netflix. I really don't know how there are still shows for me to watch. Some of my favorite shows are Love Island, Vampire diaries, Manifest, Greys anatomy, Ginny and Georgia, Too hot to handle, Jane the virgin, Legacies, The haunting of hill house, The Originals, The 100, Riverdale, American Horror Story, Cheer, The Order, etc. Honestly I do not know if I could live without netflix.
3. My phone - So, I am going to get basic here. Just like every other teenage girl. I am addicted to my phone. I use my phone twenty four seven. I use it for everything. I use it for directions when I go places. I use it to communicate with people. I always have it on me. Really most of the time I can’t stay off of it. I probably would even say I am addicted to it. I am having trouble reaching the word count on this one lol. I am not ready for school to start back.
Friday, August 13, 2021
Do I Qualify as a Basic White Girl Now? 10/11- Hailey H
Last night was not the best night for me so like any sane person I made a hair appointment. I did not go crazy or anything since my lovely stylist kept me from it (I love her so much). She knew I would hate myself for what I originally had in mind and since school was starting. She wanted me to have good memories of junior year and look back without cringing. That’s the plan anyways.
So, since she hated my idea on what I wanted to do to my hair, she and I went through some simpler ones and also gave me time to come to my senses. If you know me you know I cannot do two things to save my life: make a decision and commit to it. To make a long story short I just got a basic haircut which was about two inches off and layers which is what she suggested. I am happy with it and so is my hair since it is now healthy with no fried ends. Maybe in the future, I should be in the right mindset before I make an appointment to chop off my hair or just never leave the one I am currently going to. Either way, don’t rush to change your hair thinking it’s going to make your situation better.
Since my rant was kind of short I will continue telling about my day since I have nothing else to talk about. I did finish today with some retail therapy with my aunt. We went to a ton of places but I didn’t find much, unfortunately. I did find this pillow I am now obsessed with. It’s one of those pillows made to help you sit in bed to do homework or read or whatever. Highly recommend it if you like watching Netflix as much as I end up doing. And also this lamp that changes colors (I’m pretty sure it’s for little kids but all of us will ignore that fact together please and thank you). The lamp also doesn’t have red in it which makes me very happy since I am colorblind and end up thinking it’s an orangey color.
I have also come to the conclusion that I have watched everything worth watching on Netflix and Disney plus. Suggestions would be nice but I might’ve seen it already.
The Joys of Babysitting 9/11- Hailey H
For my final week of “freedom” or well the last week of summer, I was asked to babysit for a family friend. It went pretty well and well I got paid so kind of stoked about that part. But with a five and an eight-year-old, I was very entertained and busy. They had every day planned to their liking and they knew me enough to know what I would let happen and what I would not so we rarely had any issues.
On the first day they decided to do movie marathons. So we baked cookies, popped popcorn, and made some pizza. Then watched different movies that had nothing to do with each other. It was the third harry potter movie, cloudy with a chance of meatballs, Tarzan ( I think that’s what it is called), and then we ended with finding Nemo and inside out.
The second day was a game day so basically board games and video games. Let’s say this was the day I had no prior knowledge about since video games were the star of the show. But they taught me how to play this racing game (I was very good at it, shocking), this creepy neighbor game (I very much hated it), and then played a ton of uno, dominos, operation, and clue. I was shocked a five-year-old knew how to play clue and still managed to beat us all.
The third and final day of me being there, they wanted to do a little of both previous days all at once. So we turned on a movie and played mostly board games so they could enjoy the snacks and the movies they had on. Unfortunately, the week got cut off short since their mom did not need to go the full week. But the boys and I had a lot of fun even though I had to be in Lake City by 7 am so I had to get up like I was going to school. I guess I practiced going to be early like when I was a kid, but no practicing could help me love 6 am.
Thursday, August 12, 2021
11/11 about me - sophie bell
For my last blog I would like to talk to me. I'll just start from the beginning. I was raised in Caraway most of my childhood. I loved living there. I had friends that I would hang out with everyday and go ride bikes around town or just hang out with. I would go to Lee’s house and stay the day there and play with her dogs until I got bored of that and then I would go ride around or go to my meme’s house. I don't have any grandparents, they've all passed away but meme is a lady who used to watch me when I was little because she doesn't have any grand kids and she just wanted something to do so she would watch my brother and I whenever mom had to go to work. My mom and dad divorced when I was in kindergarten and since then he hasn't really been in the picture which is a good thing because he does things that i don't want to be around. He came in and out the first couple of years just because he had to because the judge said and because he had a new woman that he wanted to bring me and Carson around which was dumb on his part. But now we have nothing to do with him and it's for the better. Now we just kinda do our own thing. We moved to Lake City my fifth grade year and I love it over here. I can't see myself ever moving back to Caraway because Lake City has everything we need. It's less than three minutes from school so I get to sleep in. It's close to Jonesboro so I can run and grab food real quick and it's a safe and comfortable community. Caraway had gotten a little sketchy, don't get me wrong. It's definitely a place that I feel comfortable in but I went from knowing everyone in town to knowing maybe ¼ of it. Everyone has moved and new people have come in and it's just not the same. I love it over here and I'm proud to call it my home.
10/11 after high school - sophie bell
So this summer I've realized that I don't have much time left in high school and that I'm growing up. I've started to think about what I want to do after high school. I've thought about taking a gap year and just really figuring out what I want to do with my life. But I really want to go to college and get it over with at the same time. By the time i graduate i will have my associates degree which is an advantage for sure but its kinda a disadvantage because that when most people really finger out what they want to do. I've thought about being a dental hygienist but at the same time I like blood and smelly breath and that's just gross. I've always wanted to be in the medical field though it's something that just comes easy to me and it would be something new everyday which I would enjoy because I hate having the same routine everyday. If I was to do something in the medical field I would always have a guaranteed job because it's not something that won't be needed in ten years. But being in the medical field definitely has its downsides because my mom is a nurse and seeing her work through this pandemic has made me second guess because it's been really hard. I've thought about going to cosmetology school too but I don't know if I can really see myself doing that. It's a lot of pressure because I could literally fry off someone's hair and I know that would be a nightmare. I really think that I will end up doing something medical just because I have so many connections to get into it and it comes easy and I shouldn't pass up an opportunity like that. I've always wanted to travel too but if I go to college right after high school i really wouldn't have the opportunity to unless it was a part of my job. I could look into becoming a travel nurse. They make good money and I would be able to travel like I want. Needless to say, I've got a lot of thinking to do.
9/11 Nashville - sophie bell
Last weekend my mom and I took a trip to Nashville. I've always wanted to go and we have family that lives there but we've never been mainly because she could never get off work but that weekend she could so we decided to make the best out of it. We drove down Friday night and got there pretty late so we didn’t do much but Saturday morning we woke up and went downtown to eat. There were a ton of places to eat. Almost every country singer had a place named after them like Miranda Lambert, Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean and a few more. We ate at Miranda’s place for lunch. It was like a tex-mex kinda thing. The wait for these restaurants was crazy. There were at least two hundred people at each restaurant. But, we didn’t know that Garth Brooks was having a concert until that night so that explained the wait. I can say one thing: I love Nashville and I can see myself moving there one day. It's just so fun there's a ton to do and everyone just wants to have a good time. But after we ate we walked around and looked at what was there. Later we went to the mall and I bought a Louis Vuitton bag and a couple other things but I couldn't really find anything else that I wanted. I didn’t really know what to get for school this year like clothes wise so i didn't really shop. But we just kinda knocked around town and took some pictures then we had to get an uber back to the hotel. Let me tell you ubers are something else because you never know what you're getting yourself into. Like Saturday night it started pouring rain like people were soaked and we had to get an uber to the restaurant because we had nothing to eat and the wait for delivery was two-three hours. Well we get on the app to order an uber and the dude is parked across the street and we get in and he doesn't speak english at all and he cannot drive. He held up traffic for like 15 minutes and everyone was honking at him and I felt so bad but all I could do was laugh at him. Needless to say I will never forget my first trip to Nashville.
8/11 Summer Time- sophie bell
This summer has been a fast one and I know that everyone says that once school starts rolling around again but it's the truth. I guess you could say that I've had a longer summer than most people because I did online last year but I worked five days a week and did my school work. I enjoyed working during the school year but not this summer. I wasn't able to go and do as much because of work but I did get a lot of money out of it so that makes up for it. This summer has had its ups and downs for sure just because this is my last summer i got to spend with my friends that are going off to college and that sucks. I realized the other day that I've only got one more summer before I have to start planning for college and looking at decorations for a dorm. In a way I'm ready to grow up and move out and do my own thing but in a way I'm scared to grow up and move out. Just seeing my friends move on with their lives and seeing the way it has affected them is scary now that I think about it like your whole life changes and nothing is the same. This will be my junior year. That means I get to pick out a senior ring this year, I get to go to prom, and it's time to start looking at colleges. I know I titled this “summer time” but this summer is making me realize I'm growing up and life is about to change and there's nothing I can do to stop it. I miss being little and carefree and just taking everything day by day and not being able to sleep the night before the first day of school. But I've learned a lot these past four years and the biggest thing is to love yourself and work hard for what you want to achieve and don't let anyone get in the way or try to control you about your choices.
7/11 The next year- sophie bell
I'm going to talk about my goals and what I want to do this year. This year will be my junior year which means I need to start thinking about my future. I want to focus this year on getting my ACT score up and working hard on my grades. I would like to start looking at colleges and figuring out where I want to go. I have thought about the University of Arkansas just because it would be a new place with new people which is what I need. I really just want to meet new people and just branch out of my comfort zone. I want to study hard this year and work on keeping my grades up. This year I want to make more friends and find new people. These past two years I haven't really had a close friendship and I think that's because everyone is figuring out what and who they like and what they don't like. The thing about Riverside is we have a lot of groups if you know what I mean and it's like if you don't click with that group they're going to talk crap behind your back but try to be friends in person and I hate it. I like and try to be friends with everyone. I've always been like that but one thing I've realized about being online this past year is your only friends with certain people because you see them everyday. There've been a handful of people that I saw everyday last year that have talked to me and it's kinda funny. But that's besides the point. I really want to just be myself this year and focus on finding out what I like and don't.
6/11 Self Care- sophie bell
This blog is going to be about self care and ways I make myself feel better and things that just make me happy. One of my favorite things is going to get my nails done. It’s almost like an out with the old in with the new kinda thing you get to forget about everything while you get them done and just relax. I also like to do my laundry and I know that sounds goofy but it's nice to either go to sleep or wake up knowing that all of your clothes are washed and put away and everything is clean. I love to strip my bed and wash everything and make it and go to sleep with fresh clean sheets. Skincare is another thing that is relaxing and benefits you. I don't really have much of a skincare routine. It's literally two things and that's it. But I like to do it. It just makes you feel like yourself and wakes you up. Nice hot showers are something I like to do. Usually I will turn on some music and just take a long shower and get out of putting lotion on and go right to bed. I like to keep the house clean too. It just makes life run smooth and if life runs smooth then there's no stress which makes everything better. Sometimes if I'm not feeling like myself I will get up and put some makeup on and a cute outfit and just drive around. They always say if you look good you feel good and I believe it. Some other things I enjoy doing are taking my dog on walks, just driving around, hanging out with friends, and sleeping. Something about those things I just enjoy like taking my dog on a walk is fun because it's beneficial to both of us and driving around is fun because it’s like the only time I'm in control of my life and I enjoy it. I also like having a clean car. Nothing beats washing your car and then looking back and seeing it all shiny and pretty especially if you have a black car like me you know they are a pain in the butt to keep clean.
5/11 Lake Time! - sophie bell
This summer I have gone to the lake about five times. I have to say it's probably my favorite place to go. My family has a place up at greers and we all load up and go. We get there and unpack and then go to Walmart to get snacks and anything we might need on the boat the next day. Then we come home and get everything set up on the boat so we can just hop on in the morning and go. When we all wake up, usually my mom and I will go down to the gas station and get a couple bags of ice for the coolers and put everything we need to keep cold in. While we do that my brother will usually air up the tubes and make sure everything is working how it needs and that we have everything. Once we get back we get on the boat and start riding. We will be out on the water pretty much until sunset or we run out of drinks and snacks. My favorite part is being pulled on the tube. I could do it for hours. I've tried to surf before and I usually start off pretty good and then I lose the hang of it because I get distracted. My brother and I usually make bets on who will get flipped off the tube first and usually it's me and I always tell him it's only because I'm lighter but he doesn’t believe me. I’m pretty good at driving a boat not to toot my own horn but toot toot. Mom isn't a big fan of the water. She says it's because she cant see the bottom of it which i understand but at the same time oh well. There's this little restaurant down there called Macks and it's my favorite place to eat. They have all sorts of fish and really good desserts. My favorite is banana pudding. I have to say my favorite thing at the lake is the ice cream shop. Whenever we get off, I'll usually drive down and get superman ice cream. It is my favorite flavor.
4/11 Apps - Sophie Bell
So for this blog I really didn’t know what to talk about so I googled some topics and one of them were apps I use everyday on my phone. I will say that the ones I use the most are snap chat, Instagram, and titkok. Snap chat is the main one I use. I'm able to talk to all of my friends and just keep up with everyone. I like to send funny pictures and take pictures with friends to have as memories. Looking back on some of the pictures I took last year made me realize that a lot has changed in a year for me. From relationships to seeing how much my dog has grown. Instagram is the one I use sometimes, not a whole lot. Usually if I go on a trip somewhere I'll take a picture and post it or if I really like an outfit I have on I'll take a picture in it and post. Tik Tok is i think the most popular app right now people post videos of them dancing, singing, or doing hauls. Just about anything is on tik tok. My favorite ones to watch are the clothing hauls, especially right now with school starting back. I have no idea what I'm wanting to wear so it just helps me get an idea. The other videos I like are the cleaning ones because I'm a clean freak and I don't know where I get it from. I will be up at 2am vacuuming the house or folding clothes. My room is like my favorite thing to clean because I'm able to sleep better but it's like the best feeling waking up to a clean room. I don't know what it is. I also like organizing videos. I guess that goes along with the cleaning tik tok. I love knowing where everything is and everything having its own place. For example I did our pantry the other day and now every spice has its own spot with a new label. Not only does it look better, it's a lot easier to find what you need. My mom works a lot so I do it for peace of mind for us both. So when she comes home from work she's able to find what she needs and she can grab it and go and for me I like it because everything is organized and picked up.
3/11 River trips - Sophie Bell
Just about every other weekend me and Laney go down to the river and spend the weekend. It's one of my favorite things to hang out with people our age and ride around side by side talking to everyone. I'll give you the rundown of how our days usually go. So we wake up around 9:30-10 and eat breakfast then we sit around and get dressed and then go ride around the park. If you're not familiar with Riverbend it's a park in Hardy and there's a ton of campers and trails to ride on. Everybody pretty much knows each other and everyone hangs out together. But we will go ride around and just kinda see what everyone is up to and by this time we are hot and ready to go get into the water so we'll go get the tubes and either float alone or go with some friends. When I saw aliens I mean just me and her but it's so busy during the summer that you are never just the only ones floating there's at least four other families floating with you. We always say that we aren't going to get in the water but the tubes are black so they attract the sun and they get super hot so usually about half way we will get out and just float in the water or hold onto the tubes and just let the current pull us. The float is about 2-3 hours depending on if you float down to the park or not. We usually get hungry so we will get off at her camper and grab lunch and then go ride trails. The days go by so fast up there especially if you are with a bunch of people it's so much fun. We usually ride most of the day and then at night someone will usually have a cookout and we will all go over and eat. Night time is the best because most of the parents go in and the kids just stay out and we all just hangout and do whatever.
2/11 Beach Trip day 4 - sophie bell
I'm just going to skip a couple of days because we pretty much did the same thing the second and third day we were there just trying to get settled. But the fourth day was the best. We wake up and go to this little cafe down the road and get smoothies for breakfast. On the way back to the room I hit a pothole because Lee was talking to me and got me distracted while her smoothie goes all over the place. Well we go back and she has to clean out her car. Keep in mind this smoothie had milk in it and we are in Florida in June so it's pretty hot. She finally gets it clean and we go upstairs and get ready for the beach. As we are walking down there's like a boardwalk to get to the beach well she steps on the step and it breaks. Luckily it was one of the bottom ones and she fell into the sand. She made such a big scene out of it that I just kept on walking and acted like I had no idea who she was. We finally get settled down and we lay out for a few hours and then we decide to go get in the water. So I get in and it's ice cold you would think since it's like one hundred degrees the water would be a little warmer but nope. I finally just jumped in and it was so cold I thought I was going to freeze to death but I mean if that happened then the lifeguard would have to come rescue me but that would be okay because he was pretty cute. Anyway I got off track. We head back to our seats and we are soaked and the wind is blowing sand so by the time we sit down we look like walking sand monsters it was a mess. I go up to the room to get some more water and make myself some lunch and I look in the mirror and holy cow I was brown brown it was crazy. But my face looked like a tomato so I called mom and she told me I should probably stay in for a little because the UV index was twelve and that's pretty high even for Florida (if you didn’t know the UV index is what makes you tan/burn).
1/11 beach trip -sophie bell
1/11 Beach Trip day 1
So I'm starting this kinda late but it’s okay because there's other people that haven't even started. In this blog I'm going to talk about my first beach trip this summer. I had no idea that I was going until Lee (Mrs. LeeAnn i’m sure most of yall know her) told me that we were going to Pensacola in three days and to be packed for six nights and seven days. I was in shock but happy to go because who doesn't love the beach. So I started packing and got all of my stuff together and we woke up a few days later and off we went. I drove most of the way except for a few hours to sleep and then finished driving us there. We stayed in a condo right on the beach. It was super nice and pretty. Our first day there was a little rough just because we hadnt been in forever and we had to get used to everything im sure we looked like dumb and dumber out there but hey who were we trying to impress. The water was super pretty so we got in after about four hours of tanning and I don't know why but I forgot that the ocean is salt water and let me tell you salt water and eyes DO NOT MIX. After that we laid out some more and then went up to the condo to shower and just cool off before we went out to eat. The first night there we went and ate at this place called Crabs on the Beach. It was super good. I can't tell you how many crab legs I ate but I do know I had to go on a diet after this beach trip. We went to Ron Jon 's , a little surf shop in Pensacola and I got a t-shirt and a pair of Birkenstocks because I forgot mine at home. After that we just kinda drove around and looked at what all was there and then we got ice cream. Once we got back to the condo Lee wanted to go back down to the beach and sit so we did and just talked about everything and what we could do tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 11, 2021
Kaley Stevens -- Some things I've done this summer 5/11
This blog is going to be a list of some things I have done this summer. This summer has been so fun for me. Honestly I feel like this has been one of the best summers yet. I am extremely happy with the people in my circle right now. They are definitely a major role in what made my summer so great. It has hands down been the most fun summer yet. I am really sad this summer is coming to an end because it has been so fun. I really hope this school year is at least half as fun.
Hung out with friends- Honestly a lot of my summer was spent hanging out with my friends. Almost every night I was out with friends just having a good time. I am a super outgoing person so I just love being around people and having fun. I did a lot of things with my friends this summer. I went to baseball games with them. I went to the movies and the bowling alley a lot. We hung out in the school parking lot and just talked for hours. Lots of shopping trips and sleep overs too. My friends helped make my summer so amazing.
Lots of shopping - This summer I went on lots of shopping trips (which is something I really enjoy). I am one of those people that loves to shop. It doesn’t matter what I'm shopping for. Clothes, furniture, etc, I love to go shopping for it.
Traveled- I did a lot of travelling this summer. Whether it be weekend trips or going to mexico. Travelling was a big part of making my summer one of the bests.
Driving around- I caught myself riding around and listening to music a lot this summer. Driving around blasting music is very therapeutic to me. And honestly its super fun to do with friends. It can even be fun when your by yourself. Its all about what you make of it.
I babysat - This summer I helped my aunt out and baby sat for her a couple days throughout the week. Baby sitting is not something I really enjoy though. Kids can be very difficult to deal with when they are little.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
I Passed!-Zoey McGowan- 11/11
You guys, I did it! After protesting and then procrastinating some more I took my drivers test. Now I realize that unlike most of you I put it off a lot. The thing is I had no interest in it really. When I did drive it was fun, but I didn’t have many places that I needed to go, so in reality if I got it then I wouldn’t hardly use it. I did technically read the book, in fact I haven’t picked it up since today. I used this app that the place had, I don’t know what it was called lol. Anyway I took some tests until I kept getting good enough scores to pass. Today I went to take it but first I had to get Chick-fa-la because it’s good and I was hungry. I mean I get that’s pretty obvious but whatever. Anyway we got there and it was kinda busy there were only two people working there but luckily I got the nice one. You know when you look at someone and you just know if they're rude, well that's what the other lady looked like. Anyway I sat down and the test was pretty easy. Some of the questions were of course different, but overall it hardly took me much time. I would say definitely under 10 minutes if not close to 5.
Now I’ll talk about open house, well because I can. Anyway it was kind of nice being back. Of course my social anxiety kicked in, not to mention for some reason it was really hot there. I brought my french horn and my clarinet back. Now let me just tell you something about the french horn. We are not friends. I tried a lot to get it to word but for you non band nerd out going from a woodwind (the instruments with reeds) to brass instruments is hard to do.So pretty much that didn’t work out. The band room also looks very different without carpet. Other then as being in fifth period band AGAIN but it’s okay because due to the R.E.A.D program but it oy because sie of the kids that were in fourth period last year and in it to.
Monday, August 9, 2021
Summer's End - Jon C. / Post #11
Personal Goals 8/11- Hailey H
I got some inspiration from a classmate to write this and I think it’s a good idea to manifest things and put them out into the world. So, this is me doing so. Here are my personal goals for junior year, may I fulfill them (hopefully).
Goal number one: I want to be organized and more put together. I am the type of person who seems organized to an outside source but spoiler alert I am not. I want to be able to have time for everything I want to do and still be able to take care of myself at the same time. The getting myself together part would be that I got a lot to do before college. For example,I have not touched ACT material or the test which I kind of need, but have just not done.
Goal number two: enjoying the school year. I am also that student where good grades are just a thing for me but due to how much I worry about them I don’t get to just enjoy high school. I want to be able to make memories and not have grey hairs senior year, you know?
Goal number three: not procrastinating. Seems like every teenager procrastinates and that’s not beneficial unless you work great under pressure. I have my moments where I’m fine but like I said in the last goal I do not want grey hairs until I’m a senior in life, not high school. I realized I needed to not leave things until the last minute when I wrote a decent five-page essay in a day last year. Highly don’t recommend it.
Goal number four: learning how to study. I don’t study. Whoops. But I can’t wing my education for very much longer since it only takes me so far. Studying has never been my thing, I was the kid that looked at the paper twice (counting the time I probably wrote it). And sadly, I don’t even know what helps or what doesn’t.
If you guys have any tips on any of these goals please feel free to let me in on your secrets.