Movie Time

I very rarely make it to the movie theatre's often, although, I recently went to see a movie with one of my good friends. We actually went to the theatre to see, He's Just Not That into You, but considering it was its first night showing, the tickets were sold out. So we ended up seeing Taken. I'm not one that enjoys scary movies, so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. The movie was intense but has become one of my favorites. The title made me get the impression that it was scary but it wasn't.

I have never really liked watching action movies. I tend to stick to the sport movies and "chick flicks". One of my favorite movies is Miracle. I have loved that movie from the time it came out. My brothers were both hockey players, my sister and I went to most of their games and enjoyed following the team to their tournaments. I think hockey is a fun sport to watch! The movie, Miracle, is a very inspirational story about a hockey team and their struggles to success.

Another one of my favorite movies is called, Dreamer. It is about horse racing, and a father and daughter with a dream that their injured horse will someday race again. Like Miracle, this story has similar struggles and determination.

This last movie that is probably my most favorite is Made of Honor. About a boy and a girl that have always been close friends, but when the girl is gone on a long trip, he realizes he loves her. When she gets back, he can't wait to tell her but is surprised at the fact that she brought home a fiance.

Throughout the rest of the movie he is trying to prove to her that he is the right man for her.I enjoy watching movies, although I don't watch them often. It is hard to find time to watch a movie, because when I am not playing volleyball or doing homework, I am probably sleeping.

I MISS

I miss high school. There are so many thing that I miss that I never thought I would. One of them being leaving the school. I went to a pretty big high school and after school there would be kids playing football in the parking lot or just standing around talking. My sister and me were never really on time to school so we would have to park in the lot furthest from the building. Classes were never really too hard, and by senior year, we were known well enough that we were trusted by most of the school staff.

In volleyball I miss the games, my position, and practices. The games were awesome! Although we never really had many fans, the people that meant the most to me were always there. I played a different position than I do now, and I really liked that position, although I am also happy where I am playing now. I was an outside hitter, I never really focused on placing the ball I just went up hand hit with all my power. There were two games that I always looked forward to, our arch rival and the school where one of my good friends played. Many fans showed up to the game when we played our rival school, so that was probably the game I looked forward to the most.

Sense my closest friends were teammates, I was always was excited for practice. Although at times practice was tough, it was nothing compared to now. The girls on my high school team were the girls I had the most fun with. Whether it was going to a football game together or waking up for 6:30 am workouts, we were a great bunch of girls that could have fun no matter what!

Another thing I miss from high school, is not having to worry about so many things. Yes, there was school and volleyball that I worried about, but that is nothing compared to what I worry about now. Days would be fun, seeing my friends at school, going to practice, and driving home. Never wondering what I will make or buy for dinner because my mom would always have a nice cooked meal at home waiting for me. It is hard for me to accept that I am not in high school anymore and it makes me sad to think about it.

Those are more of the drastic things I miss. I mean of course I miss my house, my bed, and my truck. I pretty much miss everything from home. When this topic comes up with friends they are always so confused as to why I miss high school so much. I don't really know why I do, and many people say that college is supposed to be the best years of your life, but it will be, I just don't think I have fully adjusted yet. I'm still not sure how long it takes to adjust to being on "my own" but I'm sure it will come someday, just hopefully not too late.

Vacation

Spring Break 08, would have to be my favorite vacation EVER! This trip consisted of me, my sister, my parents, and my friends Abby, Ashley, and Sara. Oh, and the beach of course. The vacation began in our good ole hometown, where we drove to a nearby airport. The plane took off around 8:30 in the morning which put us in Florida around 11.

The first day was spent at the beach, it was very windy, blowing sand in our mouth and eyes. The next day we were smarter and layed at the pool, which is where we ended up for the rest for the break. We had friends that came to visit us and spend the day at our condo. We designated one of the days to go to Disney World, where we met two other friends from our high school. It was fun to spend time with them, and we enjoyed going on the rides.

At night we would catch a bus into town and spend time in shops and resturants. One of the nights after the girls and I finished getting ready to go out, we walked outside and it started pooring down rain. There was absolutely no reason for us to get ready to go out because the moment we had stepped outside we were drenched. We still decided to wait for the bus, which ended up never coming. As we waited, one of our high school friends drove by heading in the direction we wanted to, so we called him and he gave us a ride. I know, crazy that a high school friend would randomly drive by on the same island we were on. But its not that unusual, I went to a very big high school, and for spring break, most of the kids when to a relatively similar destination.I don't remember how we got home that night, Im guessing my parents came to get us, because the walk would be way too long.

The last day of vacation was sad, like they always are. We hated the thought of leaving all our fun to go back to the cold weather and school, but we will carry the memories with us forever. I am looking forward to spring break '09, about 2 weeks, but until one can top '08, it will continue to be known as the best spring break ever!

Forever

As I grow up and become older, volleyball seems to take on a larger role in my life. In high school every weekend would be spent on the road with my parents, traveling to different states for tournaments. This is why most of my friends were my teammates. In high school my closest friends were on the team with me. During winter and spring, off season, I played club volleyball. Most of the girls on my club team were very close to me, although I didn't get to spend much time with them outside volleyball, because of the miles between us.

Three of my closest friends were on my high school team. We had the best times and spend almost every weekend together. During the off season my senior year I played on club team that didn't travel as much, which gave me a chance to spend more time at home on the weekends. Abby and Ashley lived down the road from me, they were about 3 miles away, which is close and considered a neighbor when you live in the country. My other close friend was Ali. She was a year older than me and ended up going to a school in North Carolina to play volleyball. The other two are a year younger than me and are seniors in high school now. When I go home I try to spend as much time with them as possible, although it is hard to find time to see everyone when I am only home for a weekend.

Katie is a friend that was never a volleyball player, she was a cheerleader. We have been friends since preschool but went to different elementary schools and met again in middle school. She and I attend the same college and still hang out. Sometimes it is hard to find time with our different schedules but we usually try to go to lunch together once a week.

Most of my friends have been my teammates, with an exception of one. Of course I have friends outside of my sport, but my teammates are the girls I spend most of my time with, it’s hard not to consider them my closest friends and practically part of my family. It was hard for me to get used to being away from my family, as well as it probably is for many. But I consider myself lucky to have a team that was my family from the day I stepped on campus. My roommate is probably one of the closest friends I have made here at college. We have learned so much about each other, and have been placed in many of the same situations being on the same team and coming from homes that were fairly alike.

I have learned that while transitioning into college, you have to be careful with who you trust. There will be people you will meet and think to yourself, "wow, I think I just found my new best friend!" and the next thing you know is that they are nothing like what you though they would be. College has such a large variety of people and finding one that could be your close friend is hard sometimes. Especially, when you leave home and the friends have spent the last years of your life becoming close to. But as time goes on, I have learned more about this school and myself. I have also realized that life changes frequently and it take time to get used to a change.

Live Life

The alarm clock usually goes off around 7:40 am, unless it is Friday morning and the lucky girl I am, I get up at 5am for morning workouts. On a typical day, Monday through Thursday I wake up, go eat with my roommate, or grab breakfast "on the go", from our dinning court. Then I am off to class. Depending on what day of the week it is I have from 2 to 4 classes a day, then usually grab lunch from "on the go", again. After all my classes are finished, which is usually around 1:20, it is time for my nap. My roommate thinks I sleep too much, but for the amount of time I spend in school, working out, or at volleyball, I think my sleeping habits are just fine. I usually will get a 45 minute nap in. Then I will head off to practice. I usually walk to practice getting mentally ready for the workout.

Sense volleyball is a fall sport, we are in the off season right now, which means we spend most of the time lifting, running, and perfecting the little details of our play. I am a back row player, also referred to as a D.S. which is short for a defensive specialist. This is my first year playing this position, so I have to concentrate very much to catch up for the time lost playing the other positions. I have played almost all positions in my volleyball career so far, starting off as a setter until sophomore year, then switching to an outside hitter, and now being a back court player.

When I get to the locker room, I get ready for practice then head up to the gym. We mostly work on passing and sometimes serving , but passing is our focus. After our practice, the hitters head up for their practice. All of the practices are finished by 4:45, and we go meet with our strength and conditioning coach for lifting or agility's. That usually last about an hour, then practice is over. Most players then go to the training room for ice bags or an ice bath.

Dinner is around 6:30, so we eat, then go to study table, which is a room in which we need to spend 7 hours studying there. I usually try to get my hours finished early in the week so I do not have to worry about them all week. I usually get back to the dorm around 9:30 or 10, depending on the day. My intention is to get to bed early, but that doesn't happen very often although my roommate and me are most likely sleeping by 12:30.

Country Livin'

Growing up in the country, I have always listened to country music. I have grown to love the music and if one were to go through my ipod, 95% of it would be country. Many people do not enjoy listening to my kind of music, for some reason. As a child riding in the car with my parents, I have always felt more comfortable listening to the music that would be playing on the country stations. I don't know why I would feel comfortable, maybe it was because the songs were less "dirty". Many people tell me that country songs are too sad, but the truth is that they are sad, but they are true. But there are also happy songs too.

My favorite song, at this moment, is called "Cowgirls Don't Cry" by Brooks and Dunn. It is about a girl that received a pony from her father at a young age and he continues to tell her that cowgirls don't cry. As the song goes on he repeats the saying to her when her marriage has troubles. The ending is sad, I won't tell you what happens but it has a good message to it. Listen to it!

The artist that I enjoy listening to are Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Kellie Pickler (I saw her in concert), Miranda Lambert, Pat Green, Sarah Evans. My favorite being Kellie and Carrie. I like Kellie a lot because she has short hair, like me, and I like her life story. Carrie Underwood is just as good as they get, she is beautiful and has an awesome voice.

When I came to college, I learned a lot of "Hip-Hop" music, if that's what you call it? In the locker room, we never really play country music to get us pumped up for the games, which I am fine with. I do love country music, but would agree that it is not really pumping up music.

Right now, I have been listening to a lot of music, I am "trying" to make a slide show for my sister, who is planning on getting married in August. I am trying to find the best songs for this slide show! Right now I have a few, but none that really yell out "perfect". Although one of the songs I like is called "It won't be like this for long" by Darius Rucker. Its a good song about a girl growing up. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to help me out!

Volleyball Attack

I have grown up playing volleyball, from 4Th grade until now, my life has been full of sports. In middle school I ran track, played volleyball, club soccer, basketball, and cheerleading (if you consider that a sport). My favorite sports being soccer and volleyball. When I entered high school I had to choose between soccer and volleyball because both sports share the same season. Obviously I choose volleyball. I began to play club volleyball in the off season and high school ball in the fall. I learned more in the off season. The club I played for was about an hour away, so my dad would usually drive my sister and I to practice. Most of the time we would carpool with our good friend and teammate who is now doing an awesome job playing at another BIG 10 school. My club team was pretty talented, we won nationals in 2006 and 2007. All the girls on my team had a scholarship to play in college. During club volleyball we traveled to many states including Utah, Minnesota, California, and Georgia. High school volleyball usually didn't travel very far. We went to state in 2004 and 2006 but never did great when we were there.

The summer of my junior year, after a lot of decision making, I choose to attend college on a volleyball scholarship. When I committed to play volleyball, I also committed myself to play a new position. I was an outside hitter, but because of my height, I was now going to be a back row player. I knew it was going to be a challenge but I was ready. When I first got to school August 7, 2008 our team began pre-season, which is practice 2 times a day for 2 weeks. The season began shortly after that. The season was hard and at times long, but the experience was great. Traveling to all the BIG 10 schools was enjoyable but the games were so exciting. The difference from playing high school volleyball to college volleyball is a million. Not just with practices but games! The fans are awesome and the game is played at a much faster pace. Practices are hard, but worth all the work you put into them.

Perfect Pets

My pets have always been very important to me, as well as they most likely are to anyone else. I grew up on a farm, my dad was never a farmer, but we leased our land to the farmers down the road from us who farmed it for us. I never knew what it would be like to have next door neighbors, because the closest ones we had were almost half a mile down the road.
When my sister and I were about the age of 10, my parents bought us a pony. Our pony was only an inch shorter than a horse, so he was pretty big. His name is Ice and we still have him today. My sister was always into horses more than I was so she began riding Ice, showing him in shows and at the 4-H fair. After about 3 years with Ice, my parents surprised her and bought a horse named gonzo. I showed Ice for a couple years but also showed a couple other horses that were at the barn. In the summer we boarded our horse and pony at a barn about 15 minutes away from our home. We enjoyed boarding because it gave Liz and I a chance to spend more time with the other kids at the barn. My sister and I enjoyed showing at the 4-H fair. It was a hectic week of waking up at 6 AM and going to bed at midnight. When Liz and I entered high school, volleyball tryouts were the same week as fair. I chose not to participate in the fair and just focus on tryouts but Liz wanted to do both, it was very difficult trying to make the schedules work out and after that year she stopped showing at the fair because of the conflict with volleyball, until the summer after our senior year. She was able to show in the fair because volleyball was done. I helped my sister the whole week and she had a great time!

My other pets are dogs, Phoebe, Titus, and Bruiser. Phoebe is the oldest, she is a cockapoo, which is a cocker spaniel and a poodle mixed. Phoebe is always at my moms side and follows her everywhere. Titus is a yellow lab, he such a good dog and loves to stay outside, although we bring him inside when it is really cold out. Bruiser is the smallest and youngest. He is a miniature pincher. We got bruiser on a weekend when my parents were out of town and my oldest sister really wanted a dog, so she bought him. My parents were very upset but now that my oldest sister has moved out of our home, my parents refuse to let her take bruiser.

The most recent pet addition to our family was our cat, Moose. We had a tough time thinking of a name so one day I just called her that and it stuck. I have never really liked cats. When I was younger we used to have many barn cats and one of them bit so ever sense that I have never been able to trust them. Moose has become an exception to me not liking cats. When we first got her we kept her in the basement of our house, just to give her time to grow before we put her outside because our dogs like to play rough with cats. But its been about a year and she still lives in the basement. Of course we don't lock her down there, she comes up when she wants to.

When I left for college, I had no idea how much I would miss my pets, or how important they are to me. I know, of course, they are part of my family, but I never realized how big of a part of my family they are. There are many people in the world that do not have pets, and I'm sure they have their reasons, but when people say a dog is a mans best friend, I know exactly what they mean now!