Hasta la Vista

The seasons are changing, the amount of fur on my cat is changing, and what I will soon be spending everyday of my life doing is changing.  Throughout each year, almost every single thing in my life evolves or changes in some way.  I know this to be true because when I look back at where I was in May of 2015, I am a completely different person now.  I have adopted new habits and hobbies, the clothes I wear have changed slightly, my close friends have changed, and I think I may have become a tad bit meaner and sassier, but I can't really help that.  All of these changes are facilitated in different ways.  For me, I change the most depending on who I interact with on a daily basis.  When I started cross country, I gained a whole new group of friends that had a new perspective and interests.  This of course altered my perceptions of certain things.  Sharing my thoughts and stories on this blog over the past eight months has also helped me to grow as a person.

Before I wrote on this blog, I didn't share a lot of my experiences because my friends would look at me and tell me how much my story sucked, but now I really don't care if I have a good story or not, I just enjoy sharing what I have to say.  Through sharing my thoughts on this blog and by reading other blogs I have learned that what makes something interesting to one person is completely different from what makes something interesting to another person.

Writing on my blog as made me more comfortable sharing my thoughts with others than I was at the beginning of the year.  I am now able to form my thoughts into a cohesive piece of writing that others can (hopefully) enjoy.  I have also become better at telling stories in person because I am aware of what makes certain details pertinent and others not.

Before this year, I did not consider myself to be a good writer, but now I believe that my writing has improved tremendously.  This is partly because of writing on this blog and being able to write in whatever style I desire and about whatever topic I want to.

Flashback to when I had fun running! (I was also much too cool to jump)  Photo Credits: Clarita

When my friends mention my blog it gives me a little boost of confidence because I feel like someone enjoys reading what I have to say.  Feeling like I matter is always a positive and in some ways, this blog has helped me to become more secure.  Although, looking back at old posts makes me cringe a little because, honestly, I do not know what I was thinking, I was still able to express myself in ways that I previously hadn't been able to.

School is coming to an end in the next three weeks, that means that I am no longer required to write blog posts every so often.  While I enjoy writing on here to share with the few people that read my blog, I don't know if I am going to continue to post.  If I'm being honest, I want to move as far away from ninth grade as possible (first year of high school was no bueno), but who knows, maybe there will be something posted on here every now and then, so stay tuned! hahaha, just kidding, I know none of you will ever type in my URL again, even if I do continue to post.

Ciao forevs

Camille

T-Swizzle in the Hizzle

Now for those of you that read my blog, please try not to cringe at what I am about to write, I have my reasons for it.  The first line may make you want to exit this tab in your browser, but please refrain.  You might learn something about me and you never know what you might take away from it.

Dear Taylor Swift,

Yes, I am well aware that you will probably never read this blog post, but who knows, you could.  First off, let's clear up a few things.  I do not blog about pop music or music at all.  Also, I do not own much of your new music, I have never been to one of your concerts, and I do not stalk you on social media.  However, I remember the day that I first listened to your music while being driven home by my friend's grandpa.  I bought your first two albums (back when CDs were still a thing) and jammed out.  My eight-year-old self loved you.  I would turn up the volume on my CD player and jump around my room and on my bed to "Hey, Stephen" because, yes, looks can be deceivin'.  "Our Song" and "You Belong With Me" were my anthems in elementary school and in sixth grade it became "22." (I can still recite every word to these songs...)

In each of your songs, you tell a story and you are able to captivate your audience every time.  While I write every blog post, I try to think about how I can captivate my audience in the same way.  What happens in my life that can be of interest to other people?  What do I have to share with the world?  These are things that you have helped me figure out.

Because of you, I believe that what I do matters and that I can achieve my dreams.  You worked since you were fourteen to become a successful singer.  Despite the challenges that came your way, the criticism you faced, and the scrutiny you endured, you did what you wanted and achieved things that you could only have dreamed of.  To me, this is my inspiration.  Taylor, you have helped me realize that my dreams are not unrealistic.  Believing in myself has been a vital part of who I am.  Thank you.

I also admire you because you are unlike many other famous people.  You have all the money in the world, yet you do not turn to drugs and get wasted at every chance.  The way that you conduct yourself is admirable.  I hope that when I have twenty-six, I will conduct myself with such poise and elegance.  You dress in clothes that are flattering, stylish, and timeless.  You don't go around flaunting everything all the time.  Oh, and you also are a caring, giving person.  You donate generously to charities that you have a connection with.  You visit your fans in the hospital and that have cancer, Taylor.  Why, you even invite some of your fans into your homes to listen to your music.

You wore a sweater that a fan knit for you, of you!  Photo Courtesy of: Kicker Daily

Woo Region

Well, I had my last race today.  The season went by extremely fast and I have made a lot of new friends, found something I am passionate about, and I have had a lot of fun.

Me and Haley before our last race. Photo Courtesy of: Claire Breiholz

Today we were back at Cottonwood.  This course I have mentioned multiple times if you've been paying attention.  I took the previous race off for reasons I have also previously mentioned, so this was my first race since Bob Firman.  The last race that the team went to was our very own Park City Invite.  All the girls rocked it at this race.  The people I run with in workouts and at practice ran two minutes faster than the previous race and some girls cut off even more time.  It was awesome...but I was scared because I did not know if I could run that fast and I didn't want to be behind that many people.

Boise Bound (Part Two)

As I explained at length in my last blog post, I really wanted to go to Bob Firman.  So, when the week of the race rolled around I was quite excited.  Another plus about going to this race was that I didn't have to drive down to Roosevelt on a school bus to race with the other JV peeps.

Anyway, we drove to the high school and sat around in Steve's room until our Le Bus arrived.    Three of our four coaches came, and our team brought six boys and fourteen girls to race.  As you can imagine, the bus was quite the party.  Just kidding.  We watched movies, played cards, and tried to sleep.  The sleeping part was difficult because of a loud buzzing noise that would not go away.

We stopped for lunch in some town in Idaho.  While driving to the parking lot, a group of us spotted a Noodles and Company.  Yes!  Who does not love pasta?  Once off the bus, the majority of us walked toward the noodles that were awaiting us and we actually started running.  We ran into the restaurant and realized that it was under construction and would not be serving us noodles anytime soon.  Dang it!  Don't get too worried, we did find other food to eat after much ado.

Before going to get dinner, we swung by the race course at Eagle Island State Park.  The purpose of this visit was to pre-run the course so we knew what to expect and the coaches could give us tips.  However, it was ninety-four degrees!  That's HOT.  Needless to say we all struggled.

After changing on the bus, we drove to the Olive Garden.  The cross country team is super classy.  This was actually a lot of fun.  It is a tradition for the team to pretend that it is someone's birthday.  This year we picked Alec, one of the twins on our team.  He doesn't talk a whole lot, so when everyone pulled out their party hats and horns then started to sing, he was very confused and a little bit embarrassed.  It was great!

At our quaint little hotel, we got our room assignments, I roomed with Haley and Daisy, then went swimming.  We neglected to bring swimsuits, so we went in our running garments (that word was for you, Hannah).  These two little girls were very intuitive and told us that we must like the boys that we were with.  Hahaha, we definitely don't.

Bedtime.

The next morning, we got dressed, ate breakfast, and shuffled onto the bus.  My race was the last one, so we sat around and cheered on our teammates for a couple hours.  Let me tell you something, this race was huge.  The lines for the portapotties was insane!

After we warmed up, laced up our spikes, and grabbed water, we made the trek to the start.  I was not necessarily nervous because this was a fast-paced race and a new, interesting course.  Of course, our start was delayed so that the previous race could finish.  Our teammates had taken our waters back to the tent, so I could not drink anymore water.  Luckily enough for me, the coach for the team next to us brought his team a few water bottles.  Naturally, I asked the Davis girls if I could have some water.  They gave me a weird look, but kindly shared.  Thanks!

The Bob Firman race course
Photo Courtesy of: RunnerSpace