Nerves of Steel

          So, again it's been a few weeks since I last posted... I swear this last month of high school is just hectic!!
     
     What inspired me to write today, besides the fact that I have free time (strangely enough...), was my trip to Darien Lake last week. Our physics class went for Physics Day, along with just about half of all the other high schools in the state.
     One of the first rides my seven-student class went on was Ride of Steel, formerly known as Superman when Six Flags owned the park. After we had ridden it the first time, we all decided to go again because the line was short. It wasn't until a friend asked me to ride up front that I actually got nervous about the ride.
     I agreed to go up front because a.) I didn't want to be the one to 'chicken out' and b.) It was thrilling just thinking about front row. So we went up to the line for the first car. Right there my palms started sweating, "what if's" began popping up in my mind and I was getting a little nauseous. What had I gotten myself into?

     On the outside though, I kept cool, even though my friend and our teacher kept making fun of me and another friend who'd come to ride up front with us. I took deep breaths and even when I was sure I should get to a car farther back, I stayed in line. When we got to the front and climbed in our seats, I was almost shaking. I told myself over and over "you'll be fine, it's just the first seat, no biggie" etc. I mean, what could be the problem? I already rode it once; this would be no different, except...

     It was WAY better!

     That ride was just fantastic, I knew I'd love it, I just had to convince myself! A 208ft drop at 76 degrees is O.K. in the middle of the train, but when you've got nothing in front of you, and your hands in the air (a.k.a. in the front), it's awesome! As soon as I was about halfway down that first hill I knew I'd been silly to freak out.
     I got to thinking about it later in the day and I realized something: that I can do whatever I have the courage to do. Even if I'm scared out of my wits or just nervous, as long as I have that initial surge of bravery, I can hold onto that and it'll bring me through. I mean, I knew I'd be fine on Ride of Steel, but I got into second guessing myself and worrying about stupid, obscure things. When that kind of thing happens it overtakes my mind and clouds my judgement, but if I hold onto that first "I can do it!" feeling, everything works out just fine. 

     I'm just so happy that I've come to this realization, and that I can use it in future experiences!

How Far Away is Graduation?

42 days.

     Yeah, that's right... forty-two days until I'm done with my high school career... forever. Honestly, I'm not too upset about it, but I also kind of feel like I'm losing a little part of me. I mean, think about it: I've been going to school for the last (almost) 13 years. I've known nothing else than to get up at 6:30 and get ready for school on weekdays and, heck, I can barely remember my life before school. Maybe I'm just nervous because this routine, the one constant in my life (besides family of course), won't be there anymore.
     I know I'll be ok and I think I'll adapt just fine, but sometimes I have little doubts. I think about being two hours from home, about friends I may or may not make and basically hoping that I can get to class on time (my residence halls will be a mile and a half from my first class...ah!). Then I remind myself that it's only two hours, not across the country; that all the freshmen will be in the same boat and it'll be easy to make friends, and that a 1.5 mi isn't that bad when you can ride the bus for free.

     Anyway... that was my little stress release for the week. I finished my biology exam on Monday and have felt burnt out ever since (and I stil have backwork I need to finish!!), and I'm going to my third track meet of the week tonight... oh I can't WAIT for the weekend!
    

Boston

    
     So, last week I finally made my college decision and filled out all of my scholarships that were due just in time to head off on my senior trip- to Boston, Massachusetts!
     First, I have to say that Boston is a really attractive city. All of the architecture and brick houses with black trimming make it look so beautiful. Now, I've been to New York City (and don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard Yankees fan and all) but in comparing just the visual parts of each city- Boston wins by a landslide. It's just so pretty!

     First off when we got there, our class (all 30 of us) got on a Duck Tour bus and took a tour of the city. I enjoyed myself, but we were all pretty put out when they told us the 30mph winds (plus gusts) were keeping the vehicles off of the water that day. So the multi-terrain tour was only limited to the streets. : (
     Anyway- Our next stop was a lovely dinner cruise on the Spirit of Boston. I was impressed with the buffet and I think we all had a little fun dancing to the DJ.
     The next day we went on a whale watch, visited the New England Aquarium, walked the Freedom Trail and finished with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. Whale watching was a wonderful and only a tad boring experience.

     Me being the biology major, of course I have to go more into detail about the whales. First, you get to the wharf and the boat people advise you by saying "watch out, there are three-foot crests today" and "if you have seasickness medicine, take it." I'm all for a prep speech, but honestly, during the whole three hour trip I really didn't get how they thought those waves would cause seasickness (honestly I think it's just a sales pitch to get you to buy the medicine they sell on the boat). Anyway, after we got out of the bay and had ridden another hour out into the ocean, we started seeing our first whales- the finbacks. They were appropriately named I think because that's really all we saw- the little fin on their backs when they crested the surface. It was cool to see the little sprays erupt out of the water every once in awhile though.
     A little later on, we started to see strange little flocks of seagulls, gathered around bright turquoise water for no apparent reason. I watched one group for awhile and suddenly saw a smooth black...thing emerge from the center of the turquoise. It was a humpback whale's head! That was the way they fed- by scooping up their fishy food from below (the gulls hung around hoping to snatch a little snack for themselves). The whales were so beautiful- I think the best part was when their tails came up above water. It's amazing to fathom how huge they are! Our boat floated around them and one humpback even got as close as twenty feet! To really finish our watch with a flourish, a whole pod of dolphins swam in and stayed with us for a few minutes. To anyone contemplating a whale watching tour, it's highly worth it when you get out there!
     On the way back in, my friends and I hunkered down under the railings out of the wind. The boat was going so fast now that you could lean forward far enough that, while your center of gravity was far off, the wind would keep you upright. It was crazy!

     Directly after the tour boat docked, our group headed into the adjacent New England Aquarium. I won't describe every exhibit, but the highlights were a jellyfish room, penguins and a central cylindrical fish tank that housed sea animals from sharks to sea turtles to moray eels. I took so many pictures!
     A guy posing as Samuel Adams came to get us for the Freedom Trail next. I thought everything he had said was really interesting, but about halfway through my feet were hurting and I couldn't concentrate. My friend and I ended up making up a random freestyle rap to pass the time (disclaimer: I am a terrible rapper). Sam led us to the Hard Rock Cafe last and I enjoyed a pretty awesome chicken caesar salad with a nice view of the cymbal-covered wall and rock music echoing though the restaurant.

     Our final day was less crazy. We had a nice slow morning walking around Quincy Market and checking out all the merchandise. I was introduced to Starbucks and am convinced that java-chip frappuchinos are the best things in the world. Ever. I'm also convinced that my thin wallet will prevent me from enjoying these too often. : )
     Before the final ride home, we stopped at a recreation center for a couple hours and rode go-carts, played laser tag, and, my favorite, rock climbed! The only downside was the sore muscles from trying to hold on at the very top of the wall...and watching kids much younger than me reach the top of the "hard" course when I myself couldn't quite reach the top of the "medium" one! (don't worry, I was master of the beginner's level, haha).

     All in all it was a fantastic trip. The people that went are mostly mature so our chaperones could lie back a little and I think we all felt like it was a true vacation from the stressful, homework filled world we came from (and had to go back to).

Strange Black Rocks

 
  On the way home from a track meet earlier this week, my dad was showing me where he had seen a coyote on his way up to the school. I was looking out and trying to see if there was any sign of him still and saw something pretty amazing- beavers.
     Alright, so beavers may not be exciting to the average joe, but even having gone up and down this particular road (well known for the beaver dams in the adjacent ponds) multiple times in my life, this is the first time I've seen live, wild beavers. So for me, the wildlife enthusiast, this was very cool.
     They looked like black rocks when I first saw them. The darkness of the rocks seemed a little out of place, but as I kept looking at them my eyes picked out the fur and then all of the sudden I could see them moving, chewing on whatever they had in their paws. My dad was trying to show me a big tree that they had chewed through too. This happened fast, obviously because we were driving by in the jeep, but I still thought is was awesome.

     Also lately, our yard has been getting greener and greener- the dandelions have been popping up and the woods are getting harder and harder to see through. I rode my bike down by the river yesterday and even the water looked inviting. The sunlight glinted off of it in just a way that made it sparkle. Spring's really wonderful!

Argh.

     Yes, it's been one of those weeks (or rather, two weeks-ish).
     Have you ever felt so overwhelmed with things that you feel like you'll never get everything done? I have, and am. It's like drowning in a pool of all your to-dos. Ick. I mean, since some really relaxing and wonderful days I had last weekend, I feel like the world has turned against me! Alright, alright, it's not that bad, but I guess I'm just overwhelmed at all I have to do (like picking a college, doing my buttload of homework, and filling out scholarships!). Ah well, I'm sure it'll all work out, it's just hard to do everything when you've only got a couple free hours each night. Really though, I'll be happy in a few weeks when the work load will ease off and I can finally be on top of things again (argh, AP classes).

     Ok, sorry for complaining, but I just needed to write a little to get it off my chest. Maybe now I'll feel a little more motivated to do stuff knowing that it'll be better in only three weeks!


     I promise, next post'll be better.

LEAVES!!!

     One thing I didn't like about coming back up north after our trip to Florida was how drab it looks up here. As soon as you get beneath the Carolinas, it's green everywhere. Many of the tree's leaves have already come out, most notably the palms because they're everywhere too.
     Then you get to where I live, and the landscape is a brownish gray. You can see the dead leaf-ridden hillsides through the bare woods and even the fields are a grayish-straw color. Finally, after a little help from the rain, the grass started to turn a bright, pretty green and the trees had a kind of blush too them. As in the words of my sister: "It's like someone was color-by-numbering the world and they only used green"

     And now, thanks to this warm and humid weather, the hillside has turned from dusted with pink, to dotted with pastel green (yay!). Even the forsythias are blooming!
     I know springtime is getting to be a pretty recurring subject in my blog, but after months of snow and cold and blandness, it's just so exciting to me to see the colors coming out again! It's a small joy when I've got loads of other things on my mind (like finishing homework for my grueling AP course...grr).

Pinkletinks and Tinkletoes

It's finally April (one of my favorite months) and one night this weekend I heard one of my favorite sounds- spring peepers!

I live out on a rural road in a very rural town, so hearing these little frogs is no problem. I love opening the window or stepping out on the porch at dusk and hearing their chorus echoing across the cornfield and pastures. I can just imagine a whole group of the little peepers gathered around the edge of a small pond, hidden by the brush.

What fascinates me is how tiny they are for the volume they produce. I'm not an expert of course, but from what I just googled heard, they're only 1- 1.5 inches in length and I could hear them loud and clear up on the hill across from my house (probably a little more than a quarter of a mile- with lots of trees and bushes in between).

I don't particularly know why I love these amphibians so much, but one thing's for sure- they mean green trees and blossoming flowers are just around the corner!

P.S. Oh and the explanation of this post's title: Peepers are called pinkletinks in Martha's Vinyard and tinkletoes in New Bruswick... heehee