Adventure?

So what exactly IS an adventure? This is the question I asked myself as I sat here contemplating my next post. Well I guess we'll start with dictionary, huh?

ad·ven·ture/adˈvenCHər/

Noun:	An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.
Verb:	Engage in hazardous and exciting activity, esp. the exploration of unknown territory: "they had adventured into the forest".
Synonyms:	noun.  venture verb.  risk - venture - hazard - jeopardize - dare - jeopard For me, I've always used 'adventure' when describing something I would probably never really have the guts to do. Like something from a storybook. Climb Mount Everest Travel down the Amazon Sail the seven sea's Go to the North Pole But if you think about it, adventure can be something much simpler then that. It can be different for everyone. Like the dictionary says, its something that you find exciting, maybe even scary. A new experience. Not neccessarily always pleasant. In alot of ways, thats what High School is. A huge four year period of self dicovery, new (and sometimes scary) experiences. Some bigger ones can be stuff like; Trying a new sport Reaching out to new people Joining a club Some 'adventures' are not so pleasant. What does one do, for instance, when a friend just had a major break-up. What do I say? How do I help? I try to be wise, I try to do what I think is best, but I just don't know. I'm a teenager. Fourteen years old if you want to get specific. I'm awkward and sometimes I'm just downright weird. I suck at handling stress. I have a talent for saying all the wrong things at all the wrong times. I don't have an abundance of wisdom like I wish I did. So I just have to keep trying to feel my way along. After all, if I don't make mistakes, what will there be to learn from? So my challenge to anyone who bothers to read this blog is this; View everything like an adventure. Take chances. Expect great things from life. Have a positive outlook. Because if you look at things in a positive way, they usually end up being fun. Anything and Everything. Here's just a taste of some of my adventures (big and small) from this past year. 2011  That rushing, dangerous, torrent of a river there would be the Yellostone River. Scary!  Some sort of huge canyon at Yellowstone National Park  Climbing a tree! Whoohoo!  On the way to summer camp with some friends.  Walking down the river bed. Lake Herman :) Homecoming week Freshman Homecoming with two of my friends :)  Marching band/Color Guard! Woot woot!    View from the ferris wheel at the Chritmas market in Celle, Germany.  One thing you should know about me: I have always loved ferris wheels First time ice skating! :D

I am nobody. Who are you? Are you nobody too?

One of the things I believe almost everyone struggles with in High School (Or maybe its just me and I'm a freak) is worrying about what other people think about you. If you don't, lucky duck, I wish I was you. The truth that I've been discovering is, at this point in our lives, (As i have been told numerous times by many different adults) we are all trying to figure out who we are. Adolescence is a time of extremes. There are days when I head out of the house completely confident in myself; ready to 'grab life by the horns' ;) I feel like I don't need the exceptance of people I barely know.

...And then there are those days. I might leave the house feeling fine, but the minute I step in the front doors of that jungle we call High School, All of my confidence evaporates. Gone. Dissapeared. No more. And I have to admit I feel vulnerable. Because the fact of the matter is, I am a teenage girl. I feel insecure sometimes. I get lonely. I feel like no one cares. I don't like the way I look. But its almost never true. I have amazing friends who I know really care about me. A family that loves me. And so much more. So when those days hit and I feel like a pile of crap, I just have to trust that its going to be okay. I have people I can rely on. I have people that i can talk to about everything. And most of all, I've got God. And I know for a FACT that he will never let me down.
One of the things I do when I get stressed is go walking. In the woods. Up and down the dirt road I live on. I look around me at the beauty of nature and everything my amazing God has created. The hugeness (pardon my grammar) of it all. All of the life thats out there besides me. And it makes me realize that my little issues and roadblocks aren't nearly as bad as I blow them up to be. I have it pretty good. Life goes on. Robert Frost put it this way;

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

So sometimes, I just have to get over myself. Realize that life is really awesome. And you've gotta live it the best you can cause you've only got one shot.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
-Albert Einstein

Music brings us together

Ever heard someone say that music brings people together? Well this cheesy statement seems to be true, as I winessed for myself last night at our High School's basketball half time show. I had attended, mainly because it was required for band members to play as part of the pep-band. When I was informed that I was going to help the drum-line set up for the half-time show, I wasn't really thrilled. But as I stood off to the side of the gym across from the student section (after setting up) and watched them preform, I was amazed. First of all because our drum line was incredible. It was So. Cool. And secondly because the student section was completely still. Everyones attention was focused entirely on them. Hardly anyone talked. All eyes were turned to the court. 

Now if you have ever been to a High School basketball game, you'll know that the student section is anything BUT calm and attentive. A large portion of the students who come don't even watch the game, or anything else that goes on on the court. But the rhythm of the drums somehow captivated them ALL. It pounded through the gym and buzzed in your ears. The atmosphere was amazing. And when it was all over, the applause was huge. Of course they all went back to what they were doing, but for that moment, we were all in the same place. All captivated by the same thing. It sounds lame, but we were all united in a way. How? Im not really sure, other than that phrase that, 'music brings us together'.

“Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit.” -John Denver

Lets start at the very begining...

I have decided to start this blog, mainly on the basis of the fact that someday, I would like to be a writter. Not neccessarily as my career, but as a hobby because it is something I enjoy doing. I have written a couple small things that no one but my closest friends and family have read, and a few that have been a little more public, but I am hoping that this blog will give me some more experience with writting.
But what inspired me to do this (yes, there is a difference) is: 1) One of my best friends recently started a blog that I find really tremendous, and it really made me think. I hope the some of the things that I write about will bring people to think about some things at their High Schools, as well as help them learn from experiences they normally wouldn't really think about and/or learn from.
And 2) There are alot of things about High School that really frustrate me. Things that should be spoken about and, like I said earlier, learned from. High School is a crazy place that at many times, can really suck. People are downright cruel, boys can be JERKS, teachers can be...well...impossible, acne plagues us, cliques and steryotypes 'rule the school', but it all depends on how you embrace the experience.
As I've been learning from another friend of mine, you sometimes have to just look past the things that suck and try to look for the good and fun things, because otherwise you will miss out on alot of awesome things and experiences; (Good times with your friends, getting out of your comfort zone and taking on new experiences, amazing teachers who can really help you out, making NEW friends, and alot more.) and if you make a habit of looking at the bad parts, it can consume you and make you bitter. That doesnt mean you ignore them and pretend like they're not there, but you choose to enjoy life despite the things you don't like.
Like this saying says, "Being Happy doesnt mean everything is perfect; it just means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections." 
Now I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, but im hoping that through the course of my 'High School Adventure', I might start to get there.