Almost.

I start school tomorrow. Thursday, August 25. The anxious anticipation is killing me.

My classes for the first semester are as follows:
• AP US History (technically not AP until the second semester)
• Pre-Calculus (Honors)
• AP English III
• AP European History.

So, it’s history, math, English, and more history. I’m afraid it is too many history and AP classes for one semester, so I’m trying to change AP Euro to a different class. I like science more than history, but there’s only one science class left to take (Anatomy and Physiology) and it doesn’t fit my schedule.

Let me back up some. This is what’s been going on in the past three weeks…

Click for full-view images.

August 14-16: JAARS Youth Group Summer Retreat

Mid-Sunday through mid-Tuesday, my brother and I (that’s us bottom-right) went to our youth group’s retreat—both of us our first. We camped at Jellystone Campground in Marion, NC, and on Monday the 15th we went hiking at a place called Linville Falls. The purpose was to meet and assimilate new people: rising freshman and those who just moved to the area. Because of my position in the YG’s service team (ACTS), I was supposed to reach out to people, which was easy because I often found myself the odd one out (some of my closest friends couldn’t make it!)

On our Thursday night meeting, some of us re-enacted our cheers—one example:
“My name is David.”
“YEAH!” (shouted by the crowd)
“I ride a moped.”
“YEAH!”
“If you don’t like it,”
“YEAH!”
“You must be sto-ped.”

(I’ll tell you mine if you don’t laugh: My name’s Alisha / I like to write. / With pen in hand, / I’ll go till midnight.)

August 18: JJ!

The days in between weekends were a blur of twice-a-day cross-country practice and volunteering at JAARS, with a few exceptions. I enjoyed a mid-morning breakfast at Stack’s with my friend, the lovely and completely non-awkward JJ. I had the most delicious walnut banana waffle with butter, syrup, whipped cream, and powdered sugar.

On Friday I went to my high school’s first football game of the year. We lost 6-8 to the county’s “loser” football team. Does that make us the new worst team? Hmm… good thing I don’t care about football. The game, to me, is a purely social event.

August 20: Whitewater Center with XC Team

This past Saturday eight people from our cross-country team went to the US National Whitewater Center. We went whitewater rafting, climbed a rock wall (for like 15 minutes), and rode a 1000-something-foot zip-line. We spent a lot of time waiting in line, but it was a fun bonding time with the team! (Friends, forgive me if you don’t like the pictures. I love them because I love you.)

Keep reading for borderline-oversharing  >>

déjà vu

Ever since track ended, I’ve been living in a continual state of déjà vu, although in this case, it’s not a cerebral trick. All the events of last year (linked) are replaying themselves in my mind.

We had the annual Waxhaw 5K. (Even though I wasn’t able to participate this year.)

We celebrated Mothers’ Day.

My friends and I attended the PTSO Awards Night at my high school.

We walked a bunch of laps at the band’s Walk-A-Thon fundraiser. (Thirteen miles this year!)

I just came from Waxhaw’s annual Springfest.

 

(Photos—left: vendor of Cloister Honey; right—my brother Ray on a pony ride)

There’s product reviews, and the urge to blog/write so much more than I have been.

Oh, and photography—taking pictures of every activity! But since I’ve spent so much time with my camera in class (yes! a photography class at my high school), my enthusiasm for it is flagging.

I’m comparing pictures, the year’s achievements, my current state of being—I can’t help it.

But there’s something very different about 2011: my boyfriend (or as we say, counterpart), John… I WISH I had a picture of us, and that will be the next to-do list item. His birthday is today (16!), and we had a wonderful weekend together. Every day we become closer.

 

(photo credit Kris Morefield)

One thing I didn’t mention before: my high school’s theatre department (aka my friends!) performed their opening night of the spring musical, Guys and Dolls, on Friday. It was fantastic. If you’re in the area, go see it next weekend! Here’s the FB event page—it’s showing Friday and Saturday at 7pm.

My life is eternally busy—but in these warm spring months, when school is winding down, it’s all fun!

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Walk-A-Thon and one stinky (or not?) shirt

Alisha + Sidney at the Walk-A-Thon

Members of my school’s band came to the track today to raise money by walking (or running) laps. Both the middle and the high school band benefited from the $0.XX-per-lap sponsorship.

counting laps

I’m not in the band, and I don’t play an instrument. So what was I doing there? Well, most of the distance runners on the track team are in the band or were also at the Walk-A-Thon, and so I came to hang out with them and some other friends.

Hi, Sidney and Cameron! You look wet!

Unfortunately I wasn’t sponsored, because I ran and walked 48 laps—12 miles! (Approximately… the count was not precise.) 

My buddies John and Jake were shooting for 100 laps (25 miles), and were well on target, but the event ended a couple hours’ early due to some crazy rainy May weather. Nevertheless, I’m sure the band’s financial situation improved by the students’ (and parents’!) efforts.

running from the rain

During the four hours we were out at the track, I enjoyed the following: chocolate cherry chard smoothie (consumed while walking!), avocado+tomato wrap, dates and almonds, and a MannaTech cherry snack bar.

Why am I sharing this? I feel it is time to share about my green smoothies. (I can hear my dad groaning at this point! haha) Look for more about it coming up! (It deserves its own post!) [Updated to add link]

I’m an official product tester!

The shirt I’m wearing in the first picture is a free test shirt from Agion Active. One half of it is treated with the company’s patent technology and the other half isn’t. From the website—

Agion Active is the latest in stink technology for apparel and gear and is so new it’s not even on the market yet. The patented system is built into apparel and will eliminate odor from any source.

[It] attacks both microbial based odors and ambient, absorbed odors, leaving you with long-lasting odor control. This dual action odor elimination system is the first of its kind and is the most advanced anti-odor system to ever be available for apparel.

Agion Active isn’t a clothing or gear company. It’s a technology for fighting odor, able to be applied to mostly textiles (like workout clothes and gym bags) but could also be used on carpets, pet bedding, or anywhere odors are an issue. 

They treated a select number of technical shirts with the no-stink stuff—but only on one side, for comparison. Get your own t-shirt to try out!

My analysis: After running and walking 12 miles (over a time period of four hours), I would say one side definitely smelled better than the other. Sweat is sweat, with all the bacteria and stink that comes with it, so it wasn’t exactly like being in a field of wildflowers in the Swiss Alps, but I’m sure I smelled better than some people out there.

This type of technology is good for me—I don’t use antiperspirants, only Tom’s of Maine deodorant. Combine that with sweaty track workouts and gym class… yeah. Come on, I don’t smell that bad, do I?

Also,on my missions trip this summer, washing facilities are limited (think: a bucket and not much time). So any clothing treated with this stuff would be great!

Do Hard Things

Have you heard of the Rebelution?

I attend a weekly group meeting sometimes on Tuesday evenings—my friends and I come together under the leadership of  a strong, godly woman to hang out and discuss the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, the founders of the Rebelution—just 18 years old when they wrote the book, may I add. (These are brothers of Joshua Harris, who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye, another excellent book.) In short, the Rebelution is a teenage rebellion against low expectations. 

The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution." …Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Wouldn’t that be amazing? If teenagers today weren’t lazy, selfish, and non-productive; if our society didn’t expect them to be this way.

This book proposes that adolescence is a myth created by modern society—the word “teenager” didn’t even come into existence until the late 1930s. Before that, you were either a child with childish ways, or an adult, with no in-between time to waste. Now, this doesn’t mean 14-year-olds should marry or be in the military. But the teen years should not be wasted.

The following Bible verse is the guiding theme:

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12

Also check out the Modesty Survey mentioned in this book.

Amen!

YES! This is my dream. I wish to do hard things, not for my glory but for the Lord and His Kingdom—I already know that doing hard things, whether attempting them or accomplishing them, is very fulfilling in life.

Anyway, last night we were discussing a section of Do Hard Things that specifically addressed what to do.

One principle was to do things that are hard for you. Things that challenge you—if you are already considered above average in your sport or skill or grades, this doesn’t apply.

Also, do them well. Today, people want to be busy. (Thanks to the Renaissance, as I learned in World History.) Having a lot of things on our plate is both directly and indirectly modeled as ideal. Our education system recognizes those with excellent grades, many extracurricular hobbies and sports, clubs, community service, leadership positions, etc. Colleges award scholarships to the busiest people.

Do Hard Things encourages teenagers to do things well, not necessarily spread ourselves out thinly over every club and activity possible. It’s better to be devoted to schoolwork and make good grades, then to tack on an hour and a half of sports everyday which causes your grades to slide. Or, on the other hand, to under-achieve in sports because you had to stay up so late studying. 

I am guilty of this. I have school, which encompasses not only the learning but several clubs; I have track practice most every school day and sometimes have meets on the weekends; I go to church on Sunday morning and youth group on Thursday night… and there are still things I want to do! —either for personal enjoyment or to be considered “accomplished”.

For example, cooking and blogging. I apologize that I can’t blog more often. Is it OK for me to only blog a couple times a week, or is that considered not doing all things to the best of my ability? Do the few readers I entertain mind if my blog posts are few and far between?

Parkwood’s Rebelution

Coincidentally, my high school is also campaigning for a “Rebelution,” because we are the Parkwood Rebels. The Global Awareness classes are partnering with Samaritan’s Purse to raise money to buy water filters for third world countries. They’ve already raised thousands of dollars by class competitions and selling T-shirts and stickers. You can read more here.

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• Start Here by Alex & Brett Harris (joshharris.com)

Spring track meet and the weekend!

Yesterday my school hosted a “practice” track meet against Piedmont, a nearby high school. I was going to take pictures but my camera’s batteries were out of juice! So you will have to imagine the scene at Parkwood High’s track.

It was an introduction to the spring track season for the new members and a way for out-of-shape ones to get back into it. For me, it was just exciting! I know now that indoor track meets were not a good taste of what was to come. Indoor track consisted of cold, determined people trying to qualify for the state meet and stay in shape.This was so different—two and a half hours of sprinting, hurdling, racing, relaying, pole vaulting, jumping, throwing, and CHEERING from parents and team members!

There are only two girls running distance events on our track team: Sidney Scott, et moi. She ran the 1600m (1 mile), and I ran the 800m (1/2 mile). My time was 2:59. I was only competing against one girl (from Piedmont, named Bridget), and I beat her.

Sidney and I both ran the 3200 (2 mile). We weren’t really racing; it was more of a workout. This is embarrassing: I got kicked off the track with one lap to go! Oh, well. I enjoyed myself, despite a huge cramp the entire time. (I usually never get cramps!!) Daylight was running out. When we ran our cool-down, the floodlights were on.

Speaking of cheering, my mom came, along with her “Mouth of the South” (a nickname from high school cheerleading) . Ruth Johnson, last year’s track star who isn’t running this year, came and stood by the side of the track and was each person’s individual cheerleader. Thank you, Ruthie!

Now it is the weekend! Today is a workday for teachers. I am so glad the snow didn’t require a whole day off of school Wednesday! (Today would have been the make-up day.)

This morning started with feeding my neighbor’s dogs. This is Lady. She’s so silly!

Some shadow pictures:

Today I hope to go shopping for some real racing shoes (I was running in trainers) and test out some scones I making for the JAARS Middle School Girl’s Tea Party tomorrow.