Today was my very first dance competition of the season! It was at GBS High School! When I first got there, which luckily wasn't early, I got to see my whole team smiling and excited! Once my whole team was there, we found our dressing room and started getting ready. We put on our Kick costume, but we had to wear our warm-up jacket over it so we wouldn't get makeup all over it. We had to do our foundation at home though. An assembly line of makeup soon started. There were seven girls doing makeup. Three were doing eye shadow, three were doing eyelashes (as in fake eyelashes), and then there was me, doing the eyeliner. We took way longer than we expected and we started to run low on time. Luckily, everyone already had there hair done and we didn't have to worry about that. Slowly but surely, everyone was able to get their makeup done and stretch. Before we knew it, we were headed to the warm-up gym. We practiced the dance twice, but not full out. Our time in the warm-up gym went by fast, and we were already on our way to compete. We had no competition, but Kick is our best style so I really wanted to do good. We got lined up and walked onto the floor. As we stood there, I got very nervous, but I breathed and relaxed myself. Our music started playing over the speaker. Our song is the instrumental version of Clocks by Coldplay. Our costumes are blue and they are so pretty! When we finished and had walked off the floor, we were all very tired, but we weren't done yet. We stayed to watch Maine South JV and Varsity. After that, we went back into our dressing room and got ready for our next dance, Pom. We only had about 15 minutes to run down to the cafeteria, eat lunch, and run back. Plus the lines were really long. Next, we did the Junior's team makeup. Then, we went to watch the Mini team do their hip-hop dance. We soon rushed back to the dressing room and got completely ready. We stretched quickly and headed to the warm-up gym. We did our dance twice before the told us it was time to go on deck. We waited there for awhile because we were a little early. Our Pom dance is very important because we were against 5 other teams and this is one of the dances we are taking to Nationals. We lined up and soon walked onto the floor. As we stood there waiting, time seemed to stop. Suddenly, the music was blasting throughout the whole gym. I felt so strong and energetic. When we were done, We were all so exhausted and my throat was so dry I couldn't swallow. I was also very hot. That means I did the best I could. We waited to watch the JV team. We quickly walked to our dressing room to get ready for awards. Before awards, everyone on my team, except for one girl, signed up for the Turn-A-Thon. It costs 5 dollars, but the money went to a charity. In the Turn-A-Thon, they play music and you do fouettes (a type of turn) for as long as you can, and the last person turning gets a prize! I started out really strong, but after awhile I became very dizzy and started moving around. I accidently kicked somebody (but I didn't know who it was), and then I completely wiped out. I didn't care though, I started laughing because it was just too funny! No one on my team got first, second, or third, but this is probably because the winners were all in high school. Then it was time for awards. A couple girls on my team and I were the only ones dancing to the music. Usually everyone is dancing, but this time they just stared at us like we were a bunch of weirdos. Once they started announcing awards, it was time to get serious. Many categories passed, but soon came ours. In Kick, we got first because we had to competitors. Next came Pom, and we were all very nervous. The announced 6th place, then 5th, then 4th, and then us! We took third place! Unfortunately, the two teams we really wanted to beat took first and second. I feel as long as we felt like we did our best, it was worth it. Today was very exciting, but tomorrow is my birthday and I can't wait until then!
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Sometimes, it's hard to tell who your true friends are. True friends are people who walk in when the rest of the world walks out. They know all your stories, the good and the bad. They are the people who you know you can tell anything to, because they won't judge you and they won't tell anyone. They know all of your secrets and all of your memories. There are times when I wonder who my true friends are. I tell myself that if I have any doubts about someone being my friend, then I know they aren't a good friend. I shouldn't doubt who my friends are. If someone is a true friend, I won't have any doubt in my mind. Also, I know someone is my true friend if they have never lied to me or lied about me to somebody else. True friends are very hard to find, but when you do find them, they are truly special. If I know that someone is not being true to me, it's so hard to let go, but it's easier to let go then to be hurt over and over by someone who isn't worth it. Even though today was not very exciting, I did get to work in the pumpkin patch for my church. Most of the pumpkins were sold already so we just promoted the selling of the last few. I wore a pumpkin suit and stood outside the patch. It was very cold, but the pumpkin suit kept me warm. I danced around with my brother and this kid named Zach. We helped convince people to buy pumpkins. Luckily, we were able to sell the last couple pumpkins. Once they were all sold, it was time to clean up. We put all the decorations away, and slowly the pumpkin patch was disappearing. Even though we didn't get to do much, I had a lot of fun and I'm hoping I can work at the pumpkin patch again next year.
I know you hear it from a lot of people, but music really is my life. I listen to music everyday. Depending on my mood, I listen to different songs and different artists. Sometimes, when I'm going through hard times, music is a great remedy. I like all different types of music, many different singers and bands. I listen to bands from One Direction to Paramore, and singers from Avril Lavigne to Katy Perry. I never realized that music plays such a big role in my life until i really started going through some tough times. It was then that music had a huge impact on me. Whenever I feel sad, I listen to slower music, and when I feel happy or excited, I listen to happy, upbeat music. Right now, I'm listening to Hello by Karmin, because I'm in a good mood right now. Music can also influence my mood. Sometimes, even if I'm in one mood, the music I listen to can change my mood completely. I love when I find a song that exactly describes how I am feeling or what I am going through. I realize people go through the same things, and that gives me a very comforting feeling.
Yesterday I went to a haunted house called Eleventh Hour. It was so much fun! I went with my friends Krystina, Nell, and Marie. My dad and I picked them up from their houses and off we went! It was in Elk Grove so it took a little while to get there. Once we got there, we had to wait in line for our tickets. There was a lady in a creepy costume walking around while we were in line. She walked up to my friend Nell who was standing behind me. The lady was right next to me, so I stared her down. As you can see in the picture on the side, I gave her a weird face as she was looking at Nell. We eventually got our tickets, but then we had to wait in line for the corn maze. The lady working at the corn maze was actually quite scary, but also very weird. I wasn't very scared for the corn maze because last year nothing popped out at us, we just got lost a lot. Of course I had to be wrong. Things popped out at us everywhere inside. We were practically running through the whole thing. Nell and I got separated from Krystina and Marie. We went the wrong way, but they found their way out. Luckily for us, they were nice enough to go back into the haunted maze just to find us. Once we got out of the maze, we had to wait in line again to get into the actual haunted house. We were slowly getting closer to the front, and finally we were there. Of course, waiting for us was another line. We waited right outside for awhile until after all that waiting, we got to go inside! I was so excited! I was also excited because a bunch of the Company members from Picture Us Different (one of my dance studios) were going to be there in costume, including a few girls I know! We went in with a couple of other groups. Krystina and Marie stuck together, and I stuck with Nell. My dad just trailed behind. First, there was an introduction, which was a little weird, and then we started through the haunted house. I was kind of disappointed because we could hear screaming from the people in front of us, so we knew when everything was coming. There were three houses. The first house looked like an actual house, with all the rooms and everything, but it was only one floor. The second house looked like a warehouse. The third, and in my opinion, the scariest, was called the Tunnel of Terror. We walked into a small walkway that was completely black, and there were tarps hanging down so we had to push them out of the way. Then we went into a small room with a man who was the "ringmaster", because we had then entered the circus. Most parts were pitch black, and we had to feel our way through. The worst part was when we went into a room with a bunch of small pieces of the tarp hanging down from the ceiling, and they were hanging EVERYWHERE. It was also pitch black, and you had to feel your way out. We were stuck in there for a long time, probably longer than we should have been. There were so many people in that small area. Eventually, we slowly found our way out. I was so happy to finally get out of that room. Also, in the third house, we got chased by a guy with a chainsaw, and one of my friends almost started crying. We were in a small maze made out of cages, and the most of us had gotten around the corner, but through the fence, we saw that my friend was left over there with the guy with the chainsaw. He was standing right over her, and she couldn't get through. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Then, my dad grabbed her arm and pulled her around the corner. We then walked very quickly to the next tunnel, but the man found another way to get there, and he ran as fast as he could to beat us there. Then, I screamed "RUN!" as loud as I could so we could get out of there. There was only one part where I screamed really loud, every other scream was very small, or even nonexistent. This part was when we were walking through a narrow hallway, and suddenly, the ceiling dropped at least a foot. Me and all my friends were huddled down as far as we could, screaming at the top of our lungs. I had lots of fun yesterday, and hopefully I'll be able to go to another haunted house next weekend, and maybe even two! Everyone was so excited to go to D.C. Do you want to know what I was excited about? Doing absolutely nothing the whole weekend!!! Frankly, I didn't want to go to D.C. It costs way too much money for only 3 days. Anyway in February, I'm going to a national competition with my dance team in Disney World. Plus, I'd get way to homesick, unlike Nationals because my mom goes with me. Instead, I'd rather stay at home watching t.v. or painting my nails with my sister. I also got to help hang up Halloween decorations at my house. I guess it would have been kind of fun going, but sometimes it's better to just stay at home with your family. Tomorrow I'll be well rested while everyone else will be exhausted. Maybe someday I'll get to go to D.C., but it would have to be someday when I know for a fact I wouldn't get homesick.
TIME PARADOXES
(For some reason I am not able to put a title. It keeps getting deleted.) Today I watched a couple episodes of Doctor Who, one of my favorite shows. In one of these episodes, The Angels Take Manhattan, the Doctor is again face to face with a terrifying creature, the angels. These creatures appear to be statues, but as soon as you look away, or even blink for a fraction of a second, they are closer to you or they are gone. They have scary faces, and sometimes when you look back at them, they are inches away from you and have their arm stretched out toward you as if they are about to touch you. Not only do they look like they will touch you, but they will touch you, and you will be sent back in time. In this episode, The Doctor, Rory, and Amy (The Doctor's companions) are in New York having a picnic. Rory goes to get coffee and The Doctor starts to read a book out loud to Amy. Suddenly he stops reading and looks very confused. Amy asks what's wrong and The Doctor slowly continues reading. He says, "and then Rory goes to get coffee." It takes them awhile to realize that this book is what is happening right now, and once they read a line, it is set it time and cannot change. They know they cannot read ahead because that can mess things up. Rory gets sent to a place a few blocks away by one of the angels, and The Doctor, Amy, and River (Amy and Rory's daughter who is older than them, but that's another story) go to save Rory, and the angels follow them. They find Rory in a room, and also in this room is an old man you find out is Rory. He was sent back in time and is now here. They suddenly know that this is going to happen, and they try to find a way to stop it. Rory and Amy go running and end up on the roof of the building. Here, there is an angel who is much bigger than the others. Rory knows he must jump off the building in order to save everyone. He is trying to create a time paradox. Amy goes with him, but they are okay because once the time paradox is created, the building will be destroyed. This is because the angels created it. If the building were to never exist, they could not have jumped off of it, and that saves them. Sadly, Rory gets sent back in time again which messes everything up. Amy knows she needs to be with Rory, even if this means she can never see The Doctor again. This is a very emotional time for everyone. She touches the angel and is gone. This is when I started thinking about Time Paradoxes. If the future really were set, would it still be possible to change it? I wonder what it would be like. I guess I may never know. It would be very interesting to learn more about time paradoxes and what their effects are. For example, if you went back in time and killed your grandparent before your parent was born, doesn't that mean you no longer exist? This sounds very intriguing and I hope someday I can become more familiar with this topic. Yesterday was the Maine South homecoming and the homecoming parade. Since I'm not in high school yet, I can't go to the dance, but I can participate in the homecoming parade. My dance team in the feeder team for the Maine South Hawkettes, and because are next in line for the high school team, we got to march right behind them! We had to meet at the cafeteria at 8:30 am, even though the parade didn't start until 10:00. They had bagels and juice for us in case we didn't eat before we came. We had time to stretch, do our makeup, and take lots of pictures. We had to wear fake eyelashes and bright red lipstick. The eyelashes are a pain to put on and even more of a hassle to try and keep them on the whole time. Slowly, one by one, we were all getting ready and making sure we were stretched. We didn't want anyone to pull any muscles or get injured in anyway. Finally, it was time to start getting in line to march. We made our way to the front of the school, right behind the Hawkettes and the Marching Band. We waited there for what seemed like forever! I was nervous because I was put up in the front line right behind the banner! I didn't want to mess up because then the girls behind me might mess up too. Plus, it wasn't just my team, but also the Juniors, the Youth, and the Minis. Then, I saw the Marching Band start to move, then the Hawkettes, and we started moving next. My excitement was building up! The poms we used were bright red, which were different than we had ever used before. The temperature was perfect, and the sun was shining bright. We marched all the way to Uptown Park Ridge. Part of the way there, I realized I was getting really hot and sweaty. My hands were also getting sweaty because of our poms. My face started to hurt from smiling too much. When the parade was over, I was relieved to finally take off my warm-up jacket and put those sweaty poms down. Up at the top is the picture we took after the parade. We hung around awhile and watched until the end of the parade. Afterwards, most of my team went to Noodles and Company to get lunch. We talked and had fun, but the best part was just being there with all of them. I had a great time and I can't wait until next year when i finally get to march with the Hawkettes, and not behind them! "The Perks Of Being a Wallflower" by Stephan Chbosky. This is the book I am currently reading. I am very close to the end, but I really don't want it to end! It is one of the best books I have ever read before. It is about a high school boy named Charlie. The book starts out with him in 8th grade. One of friends has recently committed suicide. He gets very angry because he knows if the school counselors had let him talk to his friend, he could have prevented this from happening. But there are somethings in life he just cannot control. He starts high school and he doesn't have any friends. He goes to one of the school football games, sees two people he doesn't know, and sits with them. Their names are Sam and Patrick, and they are both seniors. They are very friendly to him and after the game they go out to eat. Charlie asks them how long they have been dating, and they just laugh at him. They are actually brother and sister. Charlie doesn't really have any friends, so he sticks with Sam and Patrick. It isn't long before Charlie realizes he in in love with Sam, but Sam told him not to think of her like that. He has many great adventures with his new friends, and he even becomes friends with the friends of Sam and Patrick. He finds out a very shocking thing. He finds out that Patrick is gay, but Charlie accepts his friends for who he is. Charlie's brother soon goes off to college and now he just has his sister. His best friend used to be his aunt Helen before she died. He has a really hard time dealing with the fact that he can no longer see his aunt. Eventually, he learns to drive and gets his own car. The very first place he drives is to his aunt Helen's grave at the cemetery. He starts to cry and finds his way back home. He promises his aunt that he will only ever cry if something is very important, and at this point he is crying very hard. He goes to bed after that. One thing Charlie loves to do is read. His English teacher, Bill, gives him lots of extra books to read and tells him to write essays for extra credit. He ends up reading a lot of really good books, and he tells his friends about them. He also goes to lots of parties with Sam and Patrick. He and all of his new friends do Secret Santa. He gets Patrick, and he is very excited. He gets him books and makes him mix tapes. Charlie is receiving bits and pieces of a suit. He thinks it's from his friend Mary Elizabeth. Then, when they have a Christmas party, he reveals to Patrick that he was his secret Santa, but Patrick claims he knew all along. It turns out that Patrick also had Charlie, and he got him a suit. Sam gets Charlie a typewriter for his Christmas present, and then Sam kisses him. He is very excited, but he knows he shouldn't like her. Time passes and Sam gets a boyfriend named Craig. Charlie is jealous, but he is happy for her. Charlie ends up dating Mary Elizabeth and she really likes him. Charlie ends up messing things up really badly. Sam finds out Craig is cheating on her. She is very sad, but instead of being happy that Sam and her boyfriend broke up, Charlie is also very sad. He is sad because he hates seeing Sam hurt. I don't want to reveal too much more so you can read this book for yourself. It seems like I already said too much for you to read this book, but there is so much more I didn't say. This book is in the form of Charlie writing letters to "A friend." I believe the moral of this book is no matter how much everything has gone wrong and you feel you've hit rock bottom, everything is only going to get better. I absolutely love this book, and I recommend it to everyone. I hope you like this book as much as I do. Read it before the movie comes out. Today was so exciting! I got to meet Chloe Lukasiak from Dance Moms! She's my favorite dancer on the show! First, I got to take a class with her. We worked on jumps, leaps, and we did a combination to Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. There wasn't enough room in the studio for everyone to go at once, so we split up into groups. I was in group 2. We went one group at a time, and each group went 3 times. Then Christi, Chloe's mom, came out and told everyone how Chloe doesn't like hugging people. She explained that she is very shy and the only person she hugs is her mom. Then she told us that we were going to do the dance one more time all together, and the person who had the most energy would get a hug! So, we did the dance again, and we waited for Chloe to decide who to hug. She said everyone had great energy, but there was one person who had great energy and great facials. She jumped off the chair she was standing on and came over and hugged me!!! I was ecstatic! I got to hug Chloe Lukasiak! Then, after we did the dance, we got to have a meet and greet. I waited in line, and slowly started making my way to the front. I bought a shirt that was signed by all the girls on Dance Mom's. I also got a picture signed by Christi and Chloe. I got my picture taken with both of them. Then as I was walking away, I heard her mom whisper something about Katniss. Then she called after me. "Linnea!" (she knew my name because she had signed the picture). I turned around and she said, "Does anyone ever tell you that you look like Jennifer Lawrence?" I couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yes, I get it everywhere I go." Both of them said I looked just like her. The Hunger Games is even Chloe's favorite movie! Maybe that means she will remember me! Then Christi said I was very beautiful. I thanked them both and sat down in the studio for the Q&A session. We waited awhile, then finally it started. So any questions were asked, and I even asked a question. I learned so much about them and the show! All the girls on the show are such good dancers! I had way to much fun to ever even think of forgetting today. And who knows, maybe in the near future I could be as good as them!
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