August 1997

I am ending my high school career this week, in May of 2010--153 months after I started attending Charlotte Latin School in August 1997. Just thinking about how long it's been made me curious as to what was going on in the world way back then, so I looked up a few current events from my first month of school:

- Diana, Princess of Wales, died on August 31, 1997.

- The show South Park debuted on August 13, 1997.

- Microsoft bought over $150 million of stock from a smaller, struggling computer company named Apple.

Most popular movies :
Titanic
Liar Liar
Jurassic Park
Men in Black
Tomorrow Never Dies

Most popular musicians:
Mariah Carey
Smashing Pumpkins
Foo Fighters
Nine Inch Nails
Daft Punk
Celine Dion

- Gas was $1.22 a gallon.

- The stock marker went over 7,000 for the first time in history.

I love socks

Is there any better feeling than putting on a fresh pair of socks? I can't think of one.

Last Days

With school winding down and the upcoming graduation and consequent trek to Nashville consuming all of my thoughts, I constantly find myself wondering--which of my classmates will I still be in touch with next year? What about 5 years from now? Even 10? When I started at Latin in 1997, I was best friends with Michael Tomlin. That remained unchanged for about 5 years, but by middle school Michael and I barely spoke. In middle school I branched out to make friends with new and older kids from both my grade and the cross country team. It was then that I met Eli, Brandon, Meggie, Stewart, Katy, and Hillary--all great friends throughout my middle school years. But now, just 4 years removed from my middle school days, I can really only count Hillary among my best friends. Perhaps the inconsistency stems from my personality, or maybe it's just a natural progression--as kids get older, they grow apart. But if that is true, what's to say that the same won't happen with my friends now? Will I still be in touch with my high school friends when I am contemplating my college graduation? It's scary to even imagine not being friends with Will, Peter, Kellen, or Hillary 4 years down the road. A part of me feels as though I am finally past the most drastic changes in my life, and as a result my friend-base will be more stable for the remainder of my time in school. But even if I do stay on good terms with my best friends of today, isn't it kind of sad that there are at least 70 kids with whom I have spent the better part of 13 years with that I will more than likely never talk to again? I guess high school graduation really does signal the end of an era, for better and for worse.

Top 5

I'm quite a fan of the list if I may say so myself, and with that in mind I feel like starting a little run of top 5 lists over the next few days/weeks. At the very least, it will hopefully get my posting going a little more consistently. Keep in mind that there is no order within these lists, just a general top 5. First, let's start with my favorite movies.



1. Donnie Darko

One of the first movies I truly loved, it is almost impossible to explain and, after watching it 4 or 5 times, I still have trouble wrapping my head around it. Despite it's lack of transparency--or maybe because of it--Donnie Darko has always been one of my favorite movies of all-time.

2. Blood Diamond

A powerful movie about the illegal diamond business coming from Africa, this movie stars both one of my all-time favorite actors (Leonardo DiCaprio) and favorite women (Jennifer Connelly). Blood Diamond touches on many touchy subjects involving Africa and the Western world, while also providing great action and a constantly moving plot. It's hard to explain what makes this movie so good, but after watching it you can't help but love it.

3. Garden State

No other movie combines angst-ridden young adults, Simon & Garfunkel, The Shins, and pure happiness in the same way as Garden State. Between Zach Braff walking past the automatic sinks in the airport in the opening scene and Natalie Portman's saying that "this will change your life" while giving him her headphones, Garden State is just plain awesome.

4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind details the trials of a couple attempting to undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories after a rough break-up. However, it is through this erasing procedure that the couple realizes their true love for each other--and they consequently spend the rest of the movie trying to outrun the erasing of their memories. Eternal Sunshine's cyclical plot is similar to that of Donnie Darko--a style that I apparently enjoy quite a bit.

5. Almost Famous

While I have never been able to successfully put a finger on just what makes Almost Famous so good, I repeatedly find myself watching and re-watching it--both on TV and DVD. Maybe it's Kate Hudson, maybe it's the live music, I don't know. All I know is that Almost Famous is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favs.

188 days

I have not gone on a run in 188 days. That is REDICULOUS. I miss my running playlist. I miss running at night when the really hot days start to get cooler, exploring in the neighborhoods around my own, getting lost, and finding my way back in twice the amount of time it took me to get there. I miss feeling sore. I miss not feeling sore, and knowing that I am in shape. I miss wearing running shorts, and putting on my running shoes. I even miss sweating, as I haven't really done much of that in months either. The now-infamous shin splint incident of 09-10 has been absolutely horrible. It has spanned from mid-July in Australia to...well, it's still not over. Hopefully by this July I will be in running shape. If I can't run next fall at Vandy, I don't know what I'll do.

Caring is Creepy

Favorite song ever? I liked this song so much for so long, I kind of got over it....but still like it so much that I miss liking it, if that is even possible. Does music get any better?

So close...

Today is May 4th. That means 16 days until I am done with high school and 24 days until I graduate. 20 days until Hillary comes home. 39 days until the Phoenix concert. 109 days until I go to college. Wow. 109 days ago was January 15th. I don't particularly remember January 15th of 2010, but it doesn't seem like THAT long ago. In that same amount of time I will be heading off to Nashville, and it feels like forever away.

AP exams are no fun...especially when you have no motivation to study for them. AP Gov? A joke. My total study time for that amounted to somewhere around one hour. Granted, it is supposed to be a semester class so there wasn't all that much to cover in the first place. Even still, I probably could have put a tiny bit more effort into it. Unfortunately, it is MAY of Senior year. Studying is absolutely the last thing I want to do (case in point). I'm ready for Summer!!

Yes, Summer! So exciting. Although I guess if you think about it, it won't be much different than my life has been lately. I'll get to sleep in later, but then still be just as bored all day, every day. I still will have 0 people to hang out with in Charlotte, and I won't even have homework as a fall back in case of serious boredom. Looking at it that way, I just might be wishing for some more high school in a month or two. Ugh.