An All-Around Good Day

Today was a good day for me. There were all sorts of random things that happened, none really relating to each other, but they all added up to a wonderful day.



The first thing was the STUCO District 2 meeting, which was held at Kingfisher High School. About 15 area schools were there. It was fun, although I did think that it was slightly rigged to the larger schools that have more active STUCO groups than Pioneer does. After going to this, a part of me wishes that we could do some of the things that the other groups do, particularly going to the state STUCO convention, but it's just not in the cards for us, what with the cost of travel and lodging these days. After we got settled, everyone was randomly split up into small groups comprised of kids from other schools. They had some outdoor games and indoor discussion groups. My group went outside first. There were eight people in my group, and no one was from the same school, which I think helped so that no one immediately cliqued up. I happened to know a girl in my group who was from OBA, which was nice. The outdoor games that my group got to play were pretty lame in my opinion. We only got to do three games out of about ten and they were probably the three most mellow games out there. The games were Electricity (the guy did a bad job of explaining it, and it was very anticlimactic), some sort of partner relay, and a Human Knot. I liked the human knot, though! Our indoor discussion groups were pretty good, and when we had some extra time before we rotated, we played Ninja. Ninja is the new game that people at schools play, a bit like how Hacky Sack used to be. It is interesting, and I enjoy it, even though I'm not that great. (It's hard to explain, but I'm sure that there is something about it on YouTube; it's pretty entertaining to watch, actually)

After we left our groups and joined our school group again, there was a guest speaker named Jamie Scammahorn. She was an OK state teacher of the year finalist, and she is currently the counselor at Piedmont. She was very energetic, even though she was going hoarse. She talked about how she has hope for my generation, despite our negative portrayal by the media. She also talked about the issue of in-school bullying. She pointed out that even though administrators can make all kinds of rules and conduct standards regarding bullying, it will only stop when the students decide to make it stop. It really made me stop and think about a few people at my school who endure the constant stream of negative words hurled towards them with each day. It's sad that just because they don't stoop down to the level of pettiness, or they're not considered to be as "cool" as everyone else, that they are belittled and beat down. I don't feel that anything really separates them from everyone else, in fact, I think that they are much more interesting people to be around as opposed to the "cool kids." I try to always be kind to everyone, especially them, because they might need a friend more than anyone does. I'm not trying to sound preachy, or like a compulsive do-gooder who does all of this just to make myself look better as a person. I just wish that lots of other people would take the time to at least get to know the people before they make fun of them or anything else that hurts the other person.

When I got home, Wyatt and Andrew were here. When I walked in, Wyatt told me that he was happy that I got here before his mommy did, so he would get to spend some time with me. Little things like that really make my day!

I have a Botany ID test tomorrow, about which I am not really excited. I basically have the scientific names down, with the exception of a couple (silly Bur Oak and Western Ragweed). I have three trees in this group that I couldn't exactly remember what their leaves looked like (that's what we have to identify). I planned on looking up the pictures on the Internet at some point this evening, but that didn't happen because of what happened next. I have my plant collection with all of these leaves, but it is at school. Not because I forgot it there, but for circumstances beyond my control that have to do with my absence today. I was in the process of explaining this to my mom, and my dad, who was in the living room watching TV, chimed in and asked what was going on. I explained my predicament to him. After I did so, he said, "Come on, I know where we can find those trees, let's go." So, he and I proceeded to load up in his old white pickup. We drove down the road until we found one of the trees, and he stopped to let me collect a leaf, which I recognized after I saw it. He knew that one of our neighbors had the next tree, so we stopped in, and they let me have a leaf for the road. The only place he knew of that had the last tree was at our church. I figured that we'd try to find one slightly closer, but before I knew it, we were at church, and I got the last leaf I needed. As we were driving along, we talked about random things, mostly about my upcoming All-State audition. It is times like these that help me to realize the immense love my parents have for me. The fact that my dad was willing to just get up and go, all because I needed three measly leaves, just to help me pass a test, when I could've gone and looked them up on the Internet (A fact that my dad actually pointed out during our trip), means a lot to me. Our trip today is something that I will probably never forget. I hope that it will be a story that I can pass on to my children one day. Sometimes my dad is grumpy, but I know that deep down, he means well in everything he does. As a Senior, I treasure this moment, because I know that if I decide to leave to attend college, I won't be able to have as many moments like this with him. It also made me realize how much I take my dad for granted, with his random knowledge of this stuff. In a way, it also made me sad to think about Abbey, Able, and Audra, and many other people who are still experiencing much grief due to the loss of their dads, and the fact that they don't have this opportunity anymore. Poignant moments like this are things that I live for.
On an unrelated note, I am happy to hear that Zane's surgery went well yesterday. I love the fact that everyone is able to be updated almost instantly thanks to the techonologies of today. My thoughts and prayers still go out to Zane and all of his family, as they all enter into the healing phase of this journey.

Finally, my tryouts are incing closer...almost at the 48 hour mark. I have found that I am fine playing in front of my family or Ms. Lohmann, and also in my room by myself; however, when I play for everyone in Band, even just sitting in my normal spot, I panic. My hands were literally shaking. I went from perfectly serene to full-on basketcase in a matter of seconds. My tone was bad, I rushed in places that I have never rushed, I didn't have good breath support, and so on and so forth. I REALLY hope that this doesn't carry over to Saturday morning! That's the absolute last thing I need to have happen to me. Once again, good thoughts/prayers, anything would be great for Saturday morning! :)