For me, I am going to the Bahamas and then pretty much hanging out with friends until I have to get all packed up for school (which is gonna be AWESOME!)  It kinda stinks for me though because I don’t have a car so meeting up with people gets difficult 

 But anyways, I will keep trying to hang out with my friends  😀 

So like I asked earlier, what are you guys doing for fun this summer??

Growing up is definitely not on my list of things that I enjoy.

I have, over the years, acquired the disease I quite often refer to as the “Peter Pan Syndrome”.  The “Peter Pan Syndrome”, in accordance to its name,  means that one does not ever want to grow up, or  seldom acts their age.  This illness is not good for the health of just graduated seniors, now freshmen in college, who barely started to work to get money for college, or for freshman who have to go buy towels and sheets and such for their dorm rooms, or for freshman who now have to learn how to make her – er, THEIR, beds.   Of course, it is not good for the health of anyone going to live out by themselves who just barely learned how to separate the whites and colors while doing laundry either.  Gulp.  THIS freshman’s next year is going to be very…interesting.

In my last blog, I posted about going down to the softball state tournament.  Well, here’s a confession… I FORGOT CLOTHES.  Uniform: check.  Toothbrush: check.  Pajamas, workout clothes, sweats and/or clothes to go the restaurant in: uh… not check?  At first I thought I only forgot sweats, so I got some workout clothes from the week before out of my locker and wore those down to Phoenix.  Only to realize that night that I had no pajamas.  Well, being the happy-go-lucky person I am, I wore those sweats to bed.  Only to wake up and realize I had no practice clothes either.  So, I wore those to practice.  And when everyone else changed into fresh clothes to go to eat, I wore those nasty T-shirt and shorts.  I don’t know what I’m going to do without my mom who will drive two hundred miles to bring me fresh, clean smelling clothes.  Shrivel up and die, probably.  Or I might just stink for a while.

These are the infamous pajamas/sweats/practice clothes.

I’m tellin’ ya, this Peter Pan Syndrome is serious stuff.  If you or a loved one is affected by this disease, call 1-800-STY-LTTL.  (Just kidding.  Please don’t call that number.  I have no idea who that poor hapless person is who has to pick up the phone.)

In searching for words of wisdom, I found this very profound, very deep quote by Dave Schroeder that fits this situation:  “I’m not as dumb as I am.”  Nice.  All in all, it seems to be a perfect fit.

Hey anyone and everyone! I’m Tanner C and I just got here  >.<  I know I’m late, but better late than never, right?  I have been pretty busy for about….3 weeks now, what with finishing projects and studying for my one and only dreaded physics final *gasp* but I survived and that’s what matters! Now it’s time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of summer….

Me saluting you, graduated(ing) senior!

On Saturday, we took our senior trip to Disneyland. I hadn’t been since around 1999 at Disneyland Paris, and many more since I had been to the San Diego location. I realized that I failed to mention I lived in Belgium for two and a half years when I was in first grade. My dad works for Solar Turbines and his company offered him a temporary position there. It really gave me a different perspective of the world. We traveled to about ten different countries in Europe during vacations and I was able to see their different cultures, and at such a young age, I think it was very beneficial to how I see the world now. Anyway, back to Disneyland, it was a load of fun because I didn’t remember any of it. Probably one of the biggest things was that I hadn’t been on a rollercoaster in probably over a decade. It was exciting to be able to go on all the rides and an added bonus was that lines weren’t long at all. The picture below shows me on Splash Mountain, a ride I went on five times, which caused my right foot and leg to be wet all day.

I'm the second one back

So after we got back from Disneyland at around midnight to a neighborhood in a blackout, I went to bed and woke up early for the next day’s big event. We had our ROTC Awards Night Sunday night which turned out really nice. I’ve posted a link on my website to the newsletter that I made. I started the very first newsletter in our unit three years ago and have been creating/editing/publishing it ever since. You can view the most recent one here: Awards Night Newsletter.pdf (You need Adobe Reader to view the file). This was the first time I used Adobe InDesign to create a publication, which was a huge step up from Microsoft Publisher. The night went well and there were many freshman who were very excited to win some of our special awards.

I just want to mention one more thing; if you haven’t seen the movie Up, please do. If you did see it, but not in 3D, go back and watch it again in 3D. I went yesterday and it was a really neat movie. I love graphics and technology anyway, and the credits at the end told me exactly how much work it took to produce that movie. It’s perfect for parents and kids alike 🙂 Graduation is in two days, so I expect I’ll be writing again in a few days.

Summer.  The word floats through the halls of the high school with a sacred fervor.  Every year, I do the exact same thing.  Towards the end of the semester, I get so stoked thinking about summer, and how I’ll be able to relax and chill, with no homework or school or drama.  And every year, at the beginning of summer, I remember how stupid I was thinking that I’d have ANY free time whatsoever!  What time I gained by not doing homework is time I lost with coaching little girl softball teams, EFY (Especially For Youth), working at my dad’s office as a receptionist, attempting to organize my room that without a doubt looks like a tornado blew through the area, and training for volleyball at ERAU this fall.  So, my plans to scrapbook the past two years, watch a few good movies with my little sibs, and read my favorite books are put on hold for a while.  That’s okay with me.  I love being active, so I can’t complain.  Well, except the activities that involve cleaning.  I can complain about those!

I’ve had an absolutely action packed senior year!  What started with a great volleyball season ended with a great, state-winning softball season, and everything in between makes the year all the better.  I’m still on a high from softball.  We’d never had an especially good  season before this year, but having eight seniors who’d had enough and a new coach with high expectations, we made a goal to win state.  I’ll admit it was a high goal, seeing as Blue Ridge softball didn’t have a banner for winning CONFERENCE let alone STATE, but it was a goal that we worked hard for and we knew we could accomplish.  We’d done it before in Little League, and it was our turn again.  It was a Cinderella story for our team.  We ended up winning conference, the FIRST time in the history of our school, and then went on a couple weeks ago to defeat Winslow in the championship game, 7-3, for the first ever state banner in Blue Ridge softball history.  Go Jackets!  (See?  I told you I was still on a high!)  😉

Even my dad, who in February had a massive stroke in his brain, was healthy enough to go and cheer me on.  Many people die from the kind of stroke my dad went through.  I now see where I get my stubborn, I-will-never-quit nature.  It was from my wonderful dad, who never gave up, who would not accept that he was weakened at all, who refused to actually lean on his walker like he was supposed to.  HE CARRIED IT.  Even on the pavement.  This was very much to the disapproval of my mom, who scolded him like he was one of her kids.  Right away, he’d put it down like a child who’d gotten caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar.  (Well, at least until she turned around.  Then he’d carry it again!)  Through the dirt and gravel, to my softball tournaments he would go without failure, even though he was weak to the point of collapsing.  Sometimes he would have to sit in the car because his nausea was so miserable, but he still went.  He’s a trooper!  I’m so happy that he was healthy enough to watch his former team, who he’d coached since we were nine, win the state championship for him.  There wasn’t a dry eye in the whole stadium.  He is such an inspiration to me, as well as the rest of my team.  He is doing well, and he even goes to work part time.  What a champ.

So here I am, anxious for the new action-packed chapter of my life to begin, thankfully with my dad right beside me to watch and teach life lessons along the way.

“He didn’t tell me how to live;  he lived, and let me watch him do it.”‘

-Clarence Budington Kelland

This is one of the happiest news I have received in a long time! $5,000 for my first two years! That means this year I will be up a couple thousand which can help me for my apartment that I will be living in! Oh yeah, I never told anyone that I somehow got to live in an apartment instead of the dorms, so I guess this blogger has a different kind of story to tell than the other freshman who will be living in dorms. 😀

So, today was the last day of my senior year! And last day of high school. It was so sad, but at the same time so exciting. I’m going to be moving up in my life, going to a beautiful university and get a great education. I just cannot wait to get this new life started, but it does pain me to have to leave my family and friends far behind! From Cali to Arizona. About 6 hours away!!! I guess I really am going out on my own.

My final project in calculus went awesome! Not only did I get 98% on my two powerpoints, I also got extra credit on my 3-page report about Galileo Galilei! 😀 So I will be getting an A in AP Calculus AB. This will raise my G.P.A up a lot!

Everything seems to be falling into place. I have my lifeguard job and now this blogging job is awesome. I love being able to help others along the way. And I got scholarships and good grades. I know it may get tough in school, but please know the better it will be when the time comes to scholarships and school applications!

Well, got to go. Have a great weekend! Talk to you guys later 😀

Sincerely,

Cassie

Tomorrow is my last official day in class as a senior, but for some reason seniors have to show up for class on Monday.  Anyway, here at Westview it’s easy to tell the year is coming to a close.  Senior pranks are being planned, everyone is relaxed and ready for a good long summer.  Earlier this week we had our Senior Awards Night, where any senior who has scholarships or qualifies as an “AP Scholar” is recognized in front of the rest of the attendees and their parents.  It was pretty cool, and according to one of our counselors, Westview students have accumulated more money in scholarships this year (over $7 million) than the rest of our district (4 other high schools) combined!  It was fun and interesting to see where and how other students were going to college.  This year in our graduating class, we have two students going to Harvard and another to MIT.

This weekend the seniors have our trip to Disneyland on Saturday, and the ROTC cadets (myself included) have our Awards Night on Sunday.  Next week includes all of our senior activities like the senior breakfast, picnic, yearbook signing party, graduation rehearsal and finally, graduation.  That reminds me; our yearbook this year is, well…amazing.  A person can easily tell how much effort was put into making the book with a $90 price tag.  This year it features over 300 pages of full color including 10 glossy pages in the front with awesome photos of the school.

The front cover of Westview's 2009 Yearbook

The ROTC Page in the Yearbook

In regards to Steven’s post recently about whether he should buy a mac or pc, I have been through that.  Last March I purchased a laptop PC.  In the next 9 months, it had been sent in for replacement parts, reformatting and troubleshooting a total of 7 times.  Finally in December, the company (who normally makes great computers) issued me a refund.  In no way am I saying that this happens to everyone, but it really turned me off of PCs.  I believe the main issue was Windows Vista, a common problem by now, along with high process programs I use for graphic design.  Immediately after the refund was issued, I purchased a new 15″ Macbook Pro.  Apple sure doesn’t give their products away…this one cost twice that of the PC, but I have had no problems and am a very satisfied customer.  I think a lot of potential Mac customers are frightened by the thought of having to relearn an operating system.  Apple has now integrated a right click on all of its mice and is easy to get used to except maybe the dock (where programs are kept on your screen).  If you still aren’t sure on what to buy, go ahead and check out the commercials on Apple’s website; they’re at the bottom of the homepage.

Hi everyone, as you may already know, my name is Cassandra Logan- (You may call me Cassie if preferred), I’m attending Embry-Riddle in Fall 2009 to major in Aeronautical Science. I am currently going to Desert Hot Springs High School, located in So-Cal near Palm Springs. We are also the Golden Eagles and our colors are blue and gold!!! It was destiny 😉

I actually found out about ERAU September 2008 thanks to my high school. My plan before was to attend the Air Force Academy, but as soon as I learned about ERAU my heart was settled. It felt like a hug boulder was lifted off my shoulders now that I knew where I wanted to go for sure. I was always afraid I wouldn’t find my dream college, so I just settled for an academy I knew that could take me where I wanted to go, but then I was blessed with finding my dream college. Trust me, when it gets to the time where you need to find a college that suits you, you will know which one to choose, it will just feel right- go with your heart and instincts.

So, I found where I wanted to go, but I had to find a way to pay for it. I worked my booty off and filled out as many scholarships as possible and FAFSA gave me A LOT of money. Even ERAU gave me a few grants. One was for my high G.P.A that I kept throughout high school. (Being a 4.13 right now I believe, but it’s going up since I aced my Calculus AP class) YAY! Anyways, at this moment I’m only $2,000 short of what I need for the first year and I’m still waiting to hear from a $5,000 scholarship! I’m keeping my fingers crossed and I’ll definitely post a blog when I hear something!

So I have about 3 days of school left. It is crazy! I just finished going to all these award banquets and I still have a couple more to go to in order to receive my scholarships. On top of school and all these appointments, I work as a lifeguard for Knott’s Soak City. It’s a lot of fun, but it gets very hot! I also flew to Phoenix just recently to go to Prom with my boyfriend, that was great. (I have pictures)

My senior year has been awesome, but sad and stressful at the same time. Although it’s a lot of hard work, it definitely pays off in the end. I remember how much I kicked myself for filling out scholarship applications instead of going out with friends, but when I was chosen as a winner I now know it was worth it! It’s stressful to find money and finish homework, but keeping yourself organized is a big help. It’s also sad when you realize all the people you will leave behind, but at the same time, it’s still worth it- living out on your own and living your own dreams!

I have more things to discuss, such as graduation coming up next Wednesday, and my finals due tomorrow, but I think I can blog about it tomorrow since it’s about 11pm. he he.

It’s been nice talking to you, I hope my advice can somehow help you get through your senior year! Have any questions you can always write to me, I’m here to help. Take care!

Sincerely,

Cassie