Went out during syllabus week to celebrate the beginning of the school year! I had so much fun just hanging out with my friends and dancing with them!
This summer I got the opportunity to conquer not one, but two huge fears of mine! Fear #1 that was conquered was heights! I got to do my schools challenge course, and part of it was climbing up this huge pole that 32 feet high and jumping off. I was petrified. I was shaking the entire time I did it! But when the time came, I made the leap!
Fear #2 that was conquered was my fear of certain roller coasters! I went to Silverwood and got to go on Aftershock! This is what Silverwood's website says about Aftershock, "This metal monster dominates the skies over Silverwood. At 191 feet, this beast is really two thrills in one because not only does it take you forwards through a cobra roll and inverted loop, but backwards as well! Once you board, the cars will slowly move backwards up the starting tower until you’re staring straight at the ground. Then gravity will take over and pull you straight down as you reach speeds of up to 65 miles per hour! You’ll twist and turn though mind-blowing loops and rolls until you reach the second tower. This time, you’ll be looking at the sky as the coaster pulls you upward at a 90-degree angle, only to release and send you barreling through the whole thing backwards!" It was intense. It was scary. But I would totally do it again! I finally made the move from Oregon to Washington! While it may not be across the country, it's still a different state! It's 6.5 hours from my hometown. The weather is drastically different! Pullman is way hotter in the summers than Portland is, but way colder in the winter! It snows a ton here, which I am not used to! We also have some crazy cool thunder storms! Pullman is feeling more and more like my home as the days go by! GO COUGS! 💜
The day is finally here! Today I graduated from Century High School with a 3.4 GPA. I sit at my graduation during the 2 hour ceremony by some dude I've never met in my years at this school, but I'm so excited. I've waited for this day for the past four years, and now it's here. The day is full of cheesy words of "wisdom" about how we are finally adults, and moving onto bigger and better things. Speeches are made about how our class is "unique" and unlike any other before us, when in reality ours is nothing special. Everyone is asking us questions about whats next for us, and what we plan on doing for the rest of our lives. I can't help but laugh at the fact that just last week I had to ask permission to use the restroom and now the same teachers who made us ask, are asking us about what we plan to do the rest of our lives. I don't have my entire life figured out, but I do know this... whatever I do, I want to help people. I want to bring smiles to peoples faces. I want to love to my fullest, and live the best life I can. I don't want to focus on money. I don't want to be selfish. I want to devote my time to loving and helping others. My four friends and I went for a country drive and then when we saw a empty spot we pulled over and played twister! Occasionally a car would drive by and look at us like we were crazy, but we had a blast!!
It was cheesy. It was full of a million and twelve people I didn't know. But I had so much fun, and I had a blast going with my friends! Everyone freaks out about "needing" a date to Prom... but honestly guys, just go solo! I know that I will always look back on Prom fondly. It was cheesy, I picked way to tall of heels, and I was exhausted by the nights end. But I had a blast dancing away the night with my friends!
Meet Ernie! The newest addition of my family! This adorable pup is so sweet, calm, and snuggly. I spent weeks convincing my dad to get a dog, and he finally conceded with one condition. I had to get a small dog. So small I found! This tiny boy weighs about a pound, and is only 9 weeks old! We got him from a breeder in North Plains and he is a teacup Yorkie and the runt of his litter! I just got back from India about a week ago, and I am starting to realize that this experience has changed me forever. Before I left for this trip, Heather (the only other person I went with) told me that this would be an extremely hard trip to go on because it was hard to understand, and it would hurt my heart. I finally get that. This was the best, but worst two weeks of my entire life. I met the most amazing kids, who smile no matter what they are faced with. They have lost their parents, been abused, been put in prostitution by their own parents, and have seen unthinkable things. I went to 3 orphanages in New Delhi, India as well as a Pickers Village and my heart broke over and over again for these kids. I heard stories of a two little boys whose mom abandoned them in a train station. The youngest boy cried for days on end, refusing to eat, simply crying "mamma." I just wanted to save him, and be a better mother to him, then his own, but I couldn't. So I simply hugged him and rocked him back and forth.
I met several young girls who were sold into prostitution by a family member, and only escaped because they ran away. I met young kids who ran away from abusive homes. I met kids who lost both of their parents to diseases. And then I met the Picker Village kiddos who live in a garbage dump, and pick through the trash to try and make money. They live in cardboards homes. They don't have clean water. They don't have clothes that fit, and they don't have shoes. While there, we handed out bags of clothes and shoes, as well as whatever food we had in our car. The people were desperate for the items, fighting over them. We had to limit each person to 1 thing, which is heartbreaking because I just want to give them the world. I see these people who are homeless, starving, and freezing and then I think of the luxury that I have waiting for me at home. I have running water, I have clothes, I have an endless supply of food. I have never been concerned about not eating or not having a place to live. And as I think through the luxuries I have and compare them to the life these people are living, I feel extreme guilt. I feel guilty for anytime I have ever complained that I am eating a food that "doesn't sound good", when other people aren't eating. I feel guilty for throwing away a sweater because it's missing a button, when I know their are kids who would love to have that sweater. I feel guilty for wasting any bit of food, because I know that their kids who need that food, who will die without that food. I feel guilty for the fact that I get an education, and the fact that college is not an option in my family because I know there are kids who aren't educated. I complain about the stupidest things, but if I tried to live the lives that some of these seven year olds are living, I would handle it with a lot less grace than they do. They still smile. They still love. They still have their family. Their lives aren't easy. Their lives aren't fun. But they still love and smile despite the facts against them. The kids I have met have forever altered my life. They have earned an extremely special part in my heart. And the adults who run these orphanages, have earned my complete respect. I can't even imagine the struggles they endure to keep the orphanages running, and the children fed. They could have ignored the problems, and just lived their lives in a bubble like many people do. But instead, they chose to help, and make a huge difference in the lives of the kids they help. They are positive role models, and loving figures for kids who need it. I feel so blessed to have been able to work alongside the orphanage owners, and to have been able to spend time playing and getting to know these amazing kiddos. I did it! #37 went on my list, and I didn't think it would be accomplished so quickly but it was! On my twenty some odd hours on the plane to India I told Heather how riding a camel was on my bucket list. Huzzah! She made sure it happened! When we went to visit the Taj Mahal she made sure that I got to ride on a camel:) I had zero help getting onto it, but it was an extremely cool experience. The summer before my Senior Year of High School I met a woman named Heather who works for International Children's Network! She travels to different countries to help form the Matsiko World Orphan Choir. I've always wanted to go on a Missions trip so I asked her a bit about it. In November of my senior year I sent her a message asking her if she was going on any mission trips soon, and she told me she was leaving in January for a trip to India and said I could come! That night at dinner I dropped a huge bomb on my parents simply saying, "I'm going to India in January." Unfortunately this was at the time of the major riots in India because of the rapes and murders that had occurred and my father was less than pleased at the idea of me going there. He wanted tons of information, so I called Heather asking for more details, since all I knew was we'd be going to India. She told me we would be going to New Delhi and visiting several orphanages to audition kids for the choir, as well as to bring support from some of the sponsors of the kids. She told me that we wouldn't have toilets, toilet paper, and would have to drink only bottled water. She told me we would be exhausted and lacking sleep the entire trip. She guaranteed me that I would get sick at some point on this trip. And she said it would be extremely hard on the heart. But I still wanted to go. So I spent the next month and half convincing my dad to let me go. Finally, two weeks before we were supposed to leave, my dad said yes! So I got my visa, passport, vaccinations, and plane tickets and worked on getting ready for the trip of my life! It was the worst/best trip of my life. My heart was broken for all of the people suffering, and all of the children living in the orphanages. But I loved experiencing the culture, meeting new people, and trying all of the amazing food! |
Blog By: Skyler RoseComment your thoughts! Archives
April 2014
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