Materials you will need (you can probably get all of this at your local craft store):
- A canvas
- Pink sparkly card stock paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Hot glue gun
- Patterned paper
- Paint brushes
- Paint
- Computer and printer
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This week was very exciting it was my birthday, my cousin Mya came over with her family and we all went to Disney. I had a very fun time with them but for the rest of the week I didn't have any plans so I searched the internet for an art project to keep myself busy. I am a big fan of DIY (Do It Yourself) projects, not only does it save money but I like the idea of seeing something beautiful and in the process of making it making it unique and special to me. I finally found one I thought would be fun to hang in my room. Like I said I wanted to make it special to me so the end product will not look the same as the picture to the right that gave me the inspiration. Materials you will need (you can probably get all of this at your local craft store):
Step One: Paint your canvas. You could paint a pattern on the canvas, I kept mine a plain gray so the patterned paper I have will pop. I recommend if you paint a pattern on the canvas do not get a patterned paper instead use a paper with a solid color. Step Two: Print out the outline of your state. Instead of using just the state of Florida (where I was born) I decided I was going to cut out all the states (and one country) my immediate family lives in and instead of putting a singular heart where I was born to put hearts in all the places my immediate family lives. I ended up with a Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, and England outlines. Step Three: Tape the outlines to each of the printed papers upside down, this is important or you will end up with backwards states. Than cut around the outline, you don't have to cut every single detail but try to get as many as you can. I needed four patterned pieces of paper for the three states and one country outline I had, I made sure they corresponded in color but were each uniquely different. I also chose paper that reminded me of the family that lived there. Step Four: Proceed to stick down the paper with a hot glue gun on to the canvas. I gave it a few minutes to ensure the glue had 100% dried. Step Five: Cut hearts out of the pink sparkly paper and glue them in the cities that your family members live in. Voila! You are done this was my final product (this is totally optional but I sprayed mine with a clear acrylic finish). Not only does it remind me of my family but it is also a great addition to my room!
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Alaska is known for its breathtaking views and spectacular wildlife which I can now say I verify. For anyone interested in Alaska and who wants to venture out there all I can say is go for it! This blog is what I did during my time in Alaska and to give anyone interested some ideas of what they should do. Things you’re going to need:
Day 1: Ketchikan: My family decided to not book any excursions in Ketchikan and instead poke around ourselves. We went into some shops to get a feel for the place but ended up taking a trolley tour. The trolley tour was amazing we made four stops, the first was along the coast which was great we saw tons of bald eagles. The second stop we were looking for bears but instead of finding them, we saw a very interesting sight of salmon jumping straight in the air trying to get up the stream (it was spawning season). The third stop was at one of Alaska’s state parks in Saxman they have one of the largest amounts of totem poles in the world, I learned that these totem poles were not worshiped as gods as I previously thought but rather told stories or even display momentous occasions in history. The last stop was on Creek Street this is where the famous “Red-light district” was at in the 1800s during the gold mining days in Alaska, it is now a huge tourist attraction. Ketchikan was the place where we all got our bearings and it gave us the opportunity to marvel at Alaska’s natural beauty. Day 2: Juneau: The state capital of Alaska has a whopping population of 31,118 people one of the smallest populations for a state capital. Juneau is renowned for its enormous glaciers, we booked a helicopter tour (this is where the bravery comes in). For weeks I had decided not to think about getting on a helicopter where you soar hundreds if not thousands of feet in the air with hundreds if not thousands of mountains. I was not terrified until I started walking up to the helicopter and realizing I was actually going in it, I’m going to be honest tears were shed but I sat myself in the front seat next to the pilot telling myself how I made a commitment to doing it and I was not backing out. My parents were so excited telling me this was going to be fun and as soon as the helicopter started my fear was wiped away, I was elated. The funny thing is my former fear transferred to my parents who were silently freaking out. We landed on Taku glacier which was absolutely stunning, I got to drink the glacier water which was the purest water I have ever drunk in my life. Overall the glacier was beautiful and we all jumped in to the helicopter to finish the tour we saw many more glaciers and dodged a ton of mountains. I loved the helicopter tour, my parents on the other hand were just happy to be back on the land, but they did enjoy the sights too. Day 2½: Sawyer Glacier: So after Juneau the Norwegian Jewel took us through the fjords to see Sawyer Glacier, it was extraordinary. But what I think I enjoyed the most were the few dozen seals resting on the icebergs around the boat. They were Harbor seals aren’t they adorable! Day 3: Skagway: Skagway was a fun packed day we booked two excursions with little time in between. The first excursion was the famous White Pass Train which takes you through a trail gold miners would go through in the 1800s sometimes 40 times to take supplies back and forth from the nearest city and where they were mining, all for some supplies. This three hour train ride takes you through mountains and over rivers to give you some of Alaska’s prettiest sights. The next excursion was gold panning, meeting sled dogs, and 40 below. Gold panning is a must if you go to Alaska a lot of the major cities in Alaska are founded from the gold mining days. The place we went to they guarantee you will get gold if you use the proper methods, the gravel that you pan is from the Yukon River where gold is predominant there. The sled dog encounter was amazing we met a professional musher and his dogs who has raced in the Iditarod, he has completed the race five times, he explained the race and how he even gives the dogs massages when they stop for breaks. My family was hesitant to go but as soon as we went we saw how much these dogs love to run as soon as he took out the sled which was on wheels because there was no snow, the dogs went crazy. Only five of the dogs could be in the demonstration and the ones who were not chosen were howling and crying, while the dogs who were chose were quite literally jumping for joy. As soon as the gate was opened they bolted out the door, tails wagging. After we got to play with them for a while and then they brought out the puppies which were so cute. The last event the 40 below (40 degrees fahrenheit) was a room where you see the conditions that these dogs run under, it was freezing, but for the dogs plush fur coats this was perfect. Day 3½: Sea day: So technically this is just a whole day of sailing getting to your next destination Victoria, Canada. Day 4: Victoria, Canada: We were planning on just spending a day exploring the city but instead we stopped by a whale watching place. The man running the whale watching trips told us they were all sold out in the city but he’d make a few calls, he told us a family backed out (this should have been a red flag) and this was our only opportunity to see whales. We took it, he walked us over to the Prince of Whales the place who was going to be taking us to see the whales. They gave us these giant orange suits that would keep us warm and keep us from getting us wet they were very similar to the suits to shown in Deadliest Catch (this should have been another red flag). Than our skipper took us to his boat which turned out to be a zodiac (this should been yet another red flag). I have seen very few zodiacs and I was worried but I thought in the back of mind how crazy could it possibly get. For the first few minutes the zodiac was slow and steady on the water, but as soon as we were out of the harbor area we were quite literally jumping from wave to wave it was crazy, some of the waves were ten feet tall and we were doing this for almost an hour until we finally got to San Juan Islands. For me the boat ride was absolutely exhilarating and I would absolutely do it again in a second but for my mom that was debatable. The San Juan Islands are famous for the amount of orcas they have and oh my gosh I was lost for words. We saw a huge pod with over two dozen members including the oldest living orca, her name is Granny and she is estimated to be 104 years old. We also saw a calf only a few months old playing with a fish that a fellow pod member gave her. The whales were playing in the kelp, playing with each other, jumping around, and breaching. It was magnificent to see such beautiful animals interacting and seeing them thriving. The crazy boat ride there was so worth it, if you ever want to see orcas see them the way they are meant to be seen out in the ocean with their fellow family members. I was actually brought to tears seeing them I can definitely check seeing orcas in the wild off my bucket list :). Overall Alaska was a breathtaking trip I have never felt such in awe of how small I am in this world and the amazing sights that are all around us. It made me think we as a people need to stop and check out all the beautiful things going on around us. Last summer I spent nearly a month with my uncle Rich, my aunt Jen, and cousin Mya on the road or in the Adirondack mountains. This year they decided not to drive the camper up to the Adirondacks but instead go on a road trip all throughout the east coast of the U.S. Family Reunion Me, my dad, and my grandmother flew up to New York while Mya and her parents went by train from Tampa to New York, I was super excited we were all meeting in Long Beach, NY for a massive family reunion. As exciting as it all was to see my extended family I was also very nervous we went to my dad’s uncle Jim’s house I had presumed the family reunion would be at most 50 people but was I wrong the family reunion was a huge party of family flying in as far away as California there was going to be over 150 people coming. Uncle Jim closed down the block, hired a restaurant to cater, a D.J., and even some entertainment. When the party finally started it was a lot of fun I knew a lot of the people there considering almost all of them came at some point to Florida to bring their kids to Disney. The next day we drove to Breezy Point to have another family reunion this time on my grandfather’s side it too was a lot of fun. New York City My dad left after the reunions and I was going to be traveling back with Rich, Jen, and Mya, who were visiting all the major cities on the drive down to Florida and they were going to be bringing me along with them. Day one of the road trip we were going to do some touristy things in New York City but it was pouring down rain. When the weather cleared up a little bit we headed down to Long Beach which was only a block away from where we were staying. We walked around and caught quite a few crabs, when we headed back Jen taught me a very fun card game called Spit if you don’t know how to play click here to learn the rules, after that I did some croquet, and then we all went out for some ice-cream. The second day of the road trip the weather cleared and we took a train to the city we got tickets to the Freedom Tower which was strangely sold out the day before but mysteriously tickets were being given. The first thing we did was go to the 9/11 memorials right next to the Freedom Tower they were beautiful and a very heartfelt reminder of the tragedy that occurred that day. After we waited in line for access to the Freedom Tower which is where we realized why tickets were available all of a sudden, people were trying to refund their tickets as the employees working there informed everyone that there was “absolutely no visibility at the top”. This was our one day in New York City and the building had only been open a few weeks. When we went in we were one of the only people there so we go to have our private elevator. The elevator was definitely the best as you go up it shows guests how New York’s skyline has changed throughout the centuries. Being the tallest building in North America the amazing view we were excited to see just didn’t happen we were literally in a cloud all you saw was a bright mist, some window cleaners on the building, some cars at the bottom, a few boats at the bottom, and any building thats height was smaller than a parking garage which isn’t much in the city. However we got to see the small presentations on the top floor either way we all had a good time and we were really excited just to be there. After, we went to Battery Park, we got on a ferry to Liberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty, and took a tour where I learned a lot about her and the meaning she carries to all the citizens and non-citizens of America. Then we took a subway train to Times Square we got on two jumbotrons and went to the M&M store. It started to rain and unlike Florida the rain in New York doesn’t last 5 minutes instead it lasts like an hour or so. We ate at the enormous Olive Garden and after the rain ended we took a walk to Rockefeller. We saw where NBC filming takes place and the behind the scenes, we even walked past the Chrysler Building, the Empire State, and my mom and dad’s favorite building the Flatiron Building. After a while we walked in to one of the world’s biggest stores Macy’s. Macy’s was absolutely berserk people were flooding the store, they had an entire floor dedicated to just shoes it was very overwhelming but at the same time very exciting. Than we took a train back to Long Beach and prepared for a very fun car ride to Baltimore the next morning. Baltimore After a extraordinary day in New York we drove down to Baltimore and visited my cousin’s aunt Sarah, her uncle Jamie, and their one year old baby Duke. When we got their we took a walk down at the bay and saw some of the cool sights down there while my cousin’s aunt and uncle were working. Finally Sarah and Jamie came home from work, we went back down to the city and saw a band playing some music in a field nearby. We had a great time talking with them and catching up with what they had been up too. On the way back from the listening to the band and playing with Duke, Sarah’s dog Abby was being walked by Mya than Abby walked into some mud. We offered to bathe her which I thought was going to be very fun, but Abby did not like water and the task seemed a lot harder than we originally thought. Even though it took us almost 2 hours to bathe her me and Mya had a lot of fun messing around and getting splashed by water. The next day we woke up early and headed down to the city to watch Jurassic World while Sarah and Jamie were working and Duke was at daycare. We loved the movie and it gave us the opportunity to see more of the city. We stopped by the biggest Barnes and Nobles I’ve ever seen and read some books, I wrote down all the books I liked to give me some ideas of books I’m interested in reading when I get back to Florida. When we came back to Sarah and Jamie’s house, me and Mya played with Duke and played yet another competitive game of Spit. We went to bed early that night as we had a big day in Washington D.C. the next morning. Washington D.C. The first day in Washington D.C. we visited all the monuments this included, the Washington Monument, WWII memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the White House while the president was in. Overall it was a lot of memorials and a lot of great memories. We made our way back to the Embassy Suites where we were staying. We had upgraded to the premium suites, if you didn’t know if you upgrade to the premium suites at the Embassy Suites you get a code for unlimited free snacks at their vending machines. We decided to live it up and pack all the snacks and drinks we were going to need for D.C. the next day. The next day we visited the Capitol building which is under renovation and it literally looks like mattresses are stapled around it. Either way it was great to see it we also got to see the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. After all this we headed over to the Smithsonian's which was such a relief considering it was nearly over 100 degrees outside. We went to the Air and Space Museum, the Museum of Natural History, and the American History Museum. After a fun-filled day we headed back to the Embassy Suites where we cleared out a lot of the vending machine for the long car trip in the morning. Hilton Head After going to 4 major cities we planned to take one more excursion at Hilton Head. It was so enjoyable to spend the last few days with Jen, Rich, and Mya at the beach. We got to go swimming at the pool and the ocean. After we went out of the hotel and spent some time in the town. Cary My 5 cousins live in Cary, North Carolina we drove nearly 6 hours to see them it was very exciting and we all got to talk, tell stories of our more recent adventures, and go for some ice-cream. Me and Mya stayed up till 1 in the morning talking with my cousin Ali and Zoe. The next morning Me, Ali, my uncle Pete, Mya, Jen, Rich, cousin Mazzy, and cousin Jake headed out to go bowling everyone did pretty good except me who is terrible at bowling and ended up with a score of a messily 48. Than we all met up and went out to lunch at a Chinese Buffet, back at the house we watched Pitch Perfect and headed down to the pool. After the pool we stayed up late to watch Bewitched and had a cute little fire and made some s'mores. It was fantastic to see my cousins again and we’ll be seeing them again in spring break so I’m really be looking forward to that. The Way Back After spending a few days at Hilton Head it was time to go home I had such an incredible trip with my family this blog really only looks at the overall trip, it doesn’t even talk about the hours of us laughing and just enjoying the sights. I’m so grateful they took me on such a great trip! 1. Travel to Africa When I was a little kid I thought everyone watched nature programs on Animal Planet but I was wrong. Instead of staying up late to watch Hannah Montana or any other kid show. I stayed up to watch Meerkat Manor, Big Cat Diary, and all the new episodes of Planet Earth. When I finally realized I was the only 3rd grader watching these programs I also realized I was absolutely obsessed with animals. Especially those in Africa, it had my favorite animals such as cheetahs, lions, meerkats, and hyenas. My dream is to save up enough money and go on a safari at a nature preserve called the Masai Mara in Kenya Africa, this nature reserve is known for the great amount of rare animals that call this place home. 2. Swimming with Sharks and Whales My parents took me to the Florida Aquarium when I was probably 8 and saw a man in a cage with an 11 foot shark swimming around him. Jokingly the women working there said to me and a group of other children, who would like to join him and experience being dinner for a shark. My hand shot up, I have never been so mesmerized by something before. Than after seeing a guy in Australia on T.V. do the same with a great white shark I was convinced that’s what I want to do. I was lucky enough to go whale watching in New Jersey I got to spend sometime seeing some of the world's largest mammals it was so cool. We saw Humpback whales and Pilot whales diving down into the depths and smacking their fins against the waves. That memory has forever been ingrained into my mind my parents agreed that when I am old enough they would look into me finding a place where you are allowed to swim with whales. 3. Travel to Each Continent Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, North America, Australia, and Antarctica are the 7 continents of the world. I would love to see all different kinds of cultures and meet all different kinds of people. I have visited Europe a few times to see family, I was absolutely fascinated by the old buildings and the history surrounding all the different cities we went to. I can’t even imagine all the different cultures in this world that I haven't seen personally and all the beautiful sites around the world. 4. Buying/Naming a Star Stars mean a lot to me they represent family, let me explain. From anywhere you are you are seeing the same stars as someone 1,000 miles away. I’m a little bit of a nerd when it comes to stars I just think it's fascinating that any star (besides our sun) is being seen thousands of years ago because it takes so long for the light to reach this planet. 5. Seeing the Firefly Squid
I’m not quite sure how many people actually know this exists but I found out about it about 2 years ago and it was so cool that I wrote it down in my notes on my computer so I wouldn’t forget. From what I know Firefly Squid are about 3 inches long and glow to attract small fish to eat. In Toyama Bay Japan during the months of March and May they convene together to release their eggs lighting up the bay. It's a truly amazing sight and one I think everyone should see! On a very special day sometime in 2006 my baby chinchilla Chef was born, it must have been fate that brought us together, well maybe not initially because instead of going home with me he went home with a woman named Karri. Karri had gone to Petsmart and saw a little cutie sitting in a cage and couldn’t resist a 56 gram baby chinchilla. Chinchillas are such unique animals with such special needs they are highly social, need tons of things to chew on, they can’t get wet, they need a tall cage, and can’t survive with temperatures over 76 degrees fahrenheit. After picking out the perfect chinchilla Karri bought him a two and half foot cage with ledges for him to climb on and a wheel for him to run on. Over the years Karri had established an in-home animal rescue, she had over twenty dogs and over thirty cats, little Chef had a lot to compete with. After a year of having him a highly social Chef wanted a friend being a nocturnal animal Chef would bark constantly in the night looking for a companion. Noticing his distress Karri went out and bought him a female friend, Dora. Dora the chinchilla didn’t get that year that Chef had to socialize with people, making her nippy and fiercely afraid of dogs. Dora being smarter than Chef was able to figure out how to jump out of their cage, once she figured it out Chef wasn’t far behind. The chinchillas were chased by the dogs and occasionally had to be rescued from the pool, considering their ribs were as fragile as toothpicks this wasn’t the best situation. Acquiring more and more animals didn’t help the situation, chinchillas live for sometimes over fifteen years Karri knew they wouldn’t last long in a situation like this. The last straw was when Karri bought a baby bobcat, the baby bobcat was able to take on dogs more than a hundred pounds. The thought of the baby bobcat getting its hands on Chef or Dora was the scariest thing. Karri decided it was time to sell her beloved pets. Meanwhile I was ten years old, and a few months after I had put my hamster suffering with cancer down. My parents were on a vacation in Jamaica and my grandparents were watching me, my parents said I could consider getting another pet as long as it wasn’t a cat or a dog. My grandmother had brought up the possibilities of buying a chinchilla, an animal I had never even heard of. After some research I was chinchilla obsessed but such a rare animal was hard to find even in pet stores and considering we lived in Florida an animal that dies over 76 degrees isn’t ideal. But I was determined, I begged my parents into looking in to getting me one, through thousands of emails consisting of facts about chinchillas. My parents contacted our veterinarian a day before they were getting on a flight back to Florida asking if there were any chinchillas up for adoption that they knew about. They told my parents a woman came in with two but left that afternoon and the vet was unaware if she sold them or not. My parents disappointed got on the flight, when they landed the vet frantically called saying she had found the woman’s number and the chinchillas had not been sold. My parents called and the woman (Karri) and agreed to meet at Macaroni Grill. They talked for a while and recognized that the chinchillas would have a happy life with us. My parents went to her house and took the cage and put the two chinchillas in a crate. After four years of keeping them Karri said bye to the two cuties. Unaware of what was happening I was watching T.V. with my grandparents when my parents walked in crate in hand with two little balls of fur. We got them out of their crate and they were able to run around with out twenty dogs chasing after them. I loved them so much but they didn’t look right their fur was matted and greasy, their plastic cage was nearly all eaten, and they looked skinny but had plenty of food to eat. The next day we took them to our vet they were examined, it turned out we had one of the rarest types of chinchilla, Chef was a black velvet. Meaning he had a rare genetic mutation, they call this gene the “lethal gene” as the side effects of this gene can kill them at a young age. Dora was half a black velvet and having this gene usually means a very unhealthy chinchilla but they appeared to be well just needing some TLC. Another discovery was that Chef was almost completely blind we knew something was weird when he ran into things when running around or we would almost poke him in the eye and he wouldn't even flinch. After a while Dora grew very fond of me and it turned out she nipped almost everyone but me, she blossomed, she turned out to be ten times more energetic than Chef and her name just didn’t fit her. After going to Big Cat Rescue quite a few times and sponsoring a snow leopard called Cloe, I felt that both their personalities were similar. Cloe and Chef gained weight and are very happy, besides Chef’s blindness which we just call his “clumsy side” so he doesn’t feel self-conscious. Now they have a six foot cage made out of wood and a saucer to run on, their nine years old and hopefully have nine more years to go! So that's the tale (no pun intended) of my blind chinchilla!
Some Things You Will Need:
Time it Will Take to Complete the Trip : Roughly three to four weeks Best Time to Go: Early summer The Day Before On my road trip to the Adirondack mountains I had to come prepared, temperatures on the trip ranged from the 90s all the way down to the 30s. The first thing I had to do was buy a storage bin to hold the various clothing I would bring, from formal clothes to hiking outfits and bathing suits to snow wear nothing could be left behind. And lets remember this roughly a 3 week trip it’s better to overpack than to underpack. Storage bins also keep everyone organized with 3 other people staying in the RV everyone had their own bin and it helped everyone stay organized. We left from Tampa Florida and driving to the Adirondacks is over 1,300 miles, this means you are going to be spending a lot of time in a car. To make sure me and my cousin, Mya, stayed entertained we brought a portable DVD player and tons of movies. The First 5 Days The first 5 days will be tons of mini adventures, you're going to make some interesting stops all along the east coast and learn what hotels offer the best complimentary breakfasts (Best Western is definitely my favorite). I recommend stopping and having a picnic one of the days just to stretch your legs and spend some time at a park, that’s what we did and it was exactly what we needed. One of the hotels we stopped at even had an indoor swimming pool and it gave us the opportunity to have some fun at the pool. On the first 5 days try to find a new fun restaurant you’ve never been too and just find some fun little pit stops along the way to make the adventure even greater! Second Week: Great you’ve finally made through the scary windy roads of Pennsylvania and have made it to Old Forge New York in the Adirondack mountains! Once you’ve parked your RV, our spot was on the lake, if you ever have the option to get a spot on the water I would highly recommend it. On the first day will be all about unpacking and getting ready to stay in the RV for a while, I went on a short walk with Mya getting used to my new surroundings. We found short nature trails that lead to streams and found some great places to see some nature. The next day the first thing we decided to do was getting on some bathing suits and swimming in the lake; which was a first for me. In Florida no one can swim in lakes due to alligators but because of the cold water they choose not to live in the lakes in New York. It was a really fun experience, at Old Forge we even got to rent some fun paddle boats it turned out to be a lot more work than it looks but we still all had a really good time. At home the responsibilities are doing dishes and laundry but in the Adirondacks be prepared for some pretty unusual tasks that are a necessity. Some of the unusual tasks included chopping tons of firewood, bringing all the garbage down the street to a bear-proof dumpster, and making sure the kayaks were pulled up all the way off the shore so they don’t float off in the middle of the lake. One of my favorite things about the camping trip was hanging out at the campfire every night with my family making s’mores and being able to tell stories and just having a really good time. On one of the last days it rained pretty much the whole night but instead of sitting in the RV watching TV we played a really competitive games of Apples to Apples. I really loved the fact that we never watched TV or went on our phones, instead we played games and read books together. The best thing was spending time with family especially my cousin who is basically my sister, camping was definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done. But then we had to leave and head back to Florida. One of the days we ventured down to Old Forge’s little town where they sell cute little souvenirs and the best sweater blankets in the world. They also have a famous candy shop that sells every candy you could ever think of and then some. The next thing we did was go on nature walk where we saw a huge beaver dam and a beautiful deer which we tried to entice over with one of my apples but he was not impressed. The animals in Old Forge are so cool they all come pretty close to you and there were a few occasions you would have chipmunks jumping on your leg (friendly of course). The next day I learned how to kayak which I can say was one of the best experiences of the trip, I found it so relaxing and enjoyed it so much. The Way Back: The way back down was a lot longer than the way up. We stopped at Hershey Park, which is where all Hershey candy is made. They have an amusement park that is considered the Disney of Pennsylvania, it has some of the largest roller coasters and I went on all of them. If you’re a roller coaster fan I would make plans to stop here, even if you’re not they have smaller rides, a zoo, and even a water park section all in the same park. We stayed at the Hershey campsite after spending an awesome day at the park we spent the night catching fireflies. We again packed our things and decided to stop and see some family in Baltimore and stay at their house for a few days, it was really nice and we got to see Mya’s aunt’s new baby which was totally adorable. After we drove down to North Carolina where I saw five of my cousins and we went on shopping trip together where we got some matching necklaces, than we got to go swimming with them. After about 3 and a ½ weeks we were finally back in Tampa Florida. I can genuinely say I have never had such a great time, I love my family and I’m so glad they took me on such an amazing trip!!! If you’re ever considering going to the Adirondack mountains I think it is one of the best vacations you will ever have. Some Passions I Have Hi guys so this week I’m going talk about some things I am passionate about hopefully you can learn a little more about me and maybe get inspired to try new things to find you passion Sports Back when I was in elementary school my parents were determined to get me to join a sport or an activity I really enjoyed but I never felt passion about sports like softball or volleyball. My parents finally persuaded me to join karate, and when I did I liked it a lot. I tried really hard and it was a fun activity every saturday. I quit karate after a few years of doing it I had done it long enough that instead of practicing techniques I would practice combat with other kids and to put it simply I was scared of getting hit. Than I tried dance which was something I had never done it and I loved it, after years of doing it I got really good doing solos in dance performances and trying new types of dance. Tap was my favorite I liked the different sound and the energy that came with it. But when I moved to my new home I was forced to leave the studio I had spent 6 years at. Then I came to the school I’m at now, its a small private school and I felt out of place I didn’t have anything to do after school. I wanted to get involved in the community and when I heard that their were going to be soccer tryouts I thought I’d try a new sport. Having no experience I was extremely nervous I didn’t even know what cleats to buy and if shin guards are necessary. When I went to the tryouts I put in a lot of work, but in the end everyone got to be on the team. I watched the girls who had done it since they were in elementary school I tried to pick up on their techniques and practiced at home after school, then I would research the rules and figure out what I needed to do in a game. After a few weeks I knew all the rules and knew a few techniques. I loved it everyday I would go in excited to play and learn how to play better. No I wasn’t the best player but I was so determined to give it my all. While I was benched a lot of the time, I got to learn more about the team and what made us win and what didn’t. I noticed the players who would score the goals and the ones who were benched but played longer than me. It was all effort the players who would hustle at every ball and would stay after practice. After the season ended I joined lacrosse and took everything I learned in soccer and put it in to lacrosse. I ended up playing all the games and almost scoring goals all within my first year of playing! I've made a lot of friends I wouldn't have made without sports and I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it even when it was tough. This year I have noticed both my soccer and lacrosse skills have increased and my determination hasn’t wavered! I’m so excited for next season I know I can do better and better every season! Art When I was in middle school I was a good artist, my art would be in the school office and even shown at fairs in the community. But it wasn’t something I loved it was something I just happened to be pretty good at. When I got into high school I needed an art credit and decided to take classes. I hated it, I was not happy doing it and all I wanted to do was leave. I still needed another credit when I entered the second year of high school. There was something different instead of dreading it everyday I came in determined to do better than the last, like soccer and lacrosse. My art teachers noticed the difference, my work quality went from maybe average to something a little more. I knew art was different when I went to Joann’s and bought canvases, paints, and sketchbooks I practiced at home first with simple diy projects than to oil and pastel paintings. My art isn’t something that an expert would make and I know that but its something I’m proud of and enjoy. Crochet This is a new passion I have found and it literally became one overnight. I stayed in England for a few days with my Aunt. We went on trips to London and saw historical sights, we came home everyday and she would crochet a pillow she had been working on for a few weeks. It was gorgeous! One night I asked her if she could show me how to crochet she gave me one of her old balls of wool and showed me how to make a simple slip knot and chain, which I know now as the foundation of crocheting. The next night she taught me how to double crochet. I was a quick learner and eager to make something, but she only had old wool not enough to make something out of it. We headed out early in the morning to a little shop where we found wool, a basic book teaching me how to make things like scarves and socks, and a crochet hook. The first thing I made was a multi-colored phone case, all within a night. The next morning I used a thick wool to begin my first scarf, it was difficult at first but got easier and easier and in two days my scarf was over a foot long. Crocheting is such a relaxing thing to do and you can do it anywhere! There’s just something about it that makes me so happy to literally have nothing but strings of wool and turn it into something special.
All good things must come to an end and unfortunately my blog series about my future has come to an end. I hope you have learned more about me and are just as passionate about becoming a vet as me! In my finale post I'm going to summarize what I have discussed over the past few weeks. Being a Veterinarian In my first blog post I talked about what made me want to be a vet. I talked about all the volunteer work I have done and the surgery that changed how serious I was about becoming a vet. Without my family's support I don't think I would be as determined as I am about becoming a vet. I have been literally counting down the days I go to college and pursue my dreams. If you'd like to read the entire blog post click here! College and What it Takes to be a Veterinarian In my second blog post I discussed the college I want to go to and what it you need to be a veterinarian. The college I want to go to is the University of Florida; they have a stupendous and because its in Florida I'll have a lot of opportunities to get a job after I graduate. What does it take to be a vet? A basic understanding of illnesses and diseases, good communication skills, lots of compassion, determination, and the ability to make tough decisions. If you'd like to read my second blog post click here! What I'm Doing Now to be a Vet and Why Being a Vet is so Important to Me In my third blog I explained what I'm doing now, in high school, to pursue my goals. I brought up the IB Diploma which will not only help me get into the college of my dreams but build a foundation for the degrees I need to get in order to become a vet. Being a vet is really important to me I have seen animals lives turned around, because they got the veterinary care they needed and see their quality of life improve tremendously. Being a vet would allow me to make an animal's quality of life better and promote animal welfare. To read the my third blog post click here! Thank you guys for reading my blog series I had a lot of fun of writing it and I am so passionate about being a veterinarian and I'm happy to share that passion with you!
This Week Wow, this week has been something. It seems this week has revolved around nothing but the IB program and it really has changed the way I've been thinking about, pretty much everything. Its completely shifted my focus, in high school it seems students (including me) can lose focus of whats important, whether its drama going on between classmates or even simple things like what show your watching when you get home; it's all a distraction. This week no matter what I do I ask myself this question "will it help you prepare for college?" Asking myself this has allowed me to reframe from things I might want to do and instead focus on things that are more important. After College or During So I would love to complete an internship, which is temporary work for a selected amount of time that is usually used to seek experience. I would really like to complete the internship that Disney's Animal Kingdom offers. It would be such a great and rare opportunity to gain experience working with rare animals such as sumatran tigers, black rhinos, and okapis. I've always considered specializing with exotic animals and an opportunity like that might give me an indication if I would even like doing it before I get a degree and I have to do it every day. Another thing that I'm interested in doing before I start my work at a veterinary institute is working as a veterinary technician. It's basically the veterinarians assistant, its like the nurse of the vet world. I'm really nervous about coming out of college and freaking out once I'm in the work place. Being a vet tech I'll be able to adjust better without it being such a shock. Personal Goals Besides going to my dream college and becoming a veterinarian, I do have some personal goals that becoming a veterinarian will help me achieve. One of those goals is moving out of state, I have lived in the state of Florida my entire life. Even if I'm gone for a month I would like to move away and see snow, live in a big city, live in the country I don't know just something different. And in America animals are everywhere which means when I can work in any state, and go pretty much every where. Another goal that I have after I become a veterinarian is buying a house. I want to eventually buy my own house and be able to decorate the way I want. I want to customize the floors, take down walls, just make it my dream home. I'm not sure why I want my own home to customize and do-up its just been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. Why is Being a Vet so Important to Me? I want to promote the welfare and improve the quality of animals lives, working at the shelter I've seen dogs come from horribly abusive situations, some scared of simple things like walking outside. I've seen those same dogs transform into an outgoing animal that wants to run and play. There's a feeling I get from helping animals, looking back at one experience in particular, I was working with a dog named Malibu. She was 8 months old and absolutely the cutest dog in the world, but she was terrified of everything. She would whimper and cry I didn't know what to do, leave her be and not make it worse or try to comfort her. I tried everything I could do to coax her over but she refused, I stood up to take her out for a walk and she was so scared. She walked to the back door and was scared of the door I picked her up and took her outside I plopped her down and she would just stare up at me with the saddest eyes. I walked her around and she seemed to perk up a little but not by much. It hit me that was still so young and has to have some puppy energy left. I ran around with her she chased me around, attacking my shoe laces, happy as could be. There was a moment where I stopped and remembered how she was just a few minutes ago a scared dog who couldn't even make it near the back door without whimpering and her tail between her legs. After about 20 minutes we got back inside she was still a little scared, but when I sat down with her she wanted nothing more than to sit in my lap and cuddle their was no more crying no more cowering just a happy puppy desperately wanting some love. She eventually got adopted by some wonderful people. The reason why this stuck with me was because she was such a frail scared puppy, and within minutes of playing and showing her some love she transformed into a affectionate little dog. I had the best feeling walking out that day knowing she was going to a safe home and knowing she might now be as scared anymore. That's what I'm seeking when I become a vet I want to be able to help an animal and give people an animal I know will make them as happy as she made me. What Does it Take to be a Veterinarian? In order to be a veterinarian, I’m going to need to be analyze an animal who is not able to tell me what is hurting or what doesn’t feel right. In order to figure out what’s wrong I must do a physical on the animal seeing if there's anything I can see clearly; that requires me to be analytical. Than I would need to talk to the owner to see if their are any problems that they have noticed like, eating less, not being active, sleeping more, etc. A lack in communication skills could lead me to not figuring out what is wrong with the animal. Hey guys I’m back with another update to my blog series! In my last post I didn’t get to talk about the college I want to go to and what it really takes to be a vet. College I really want to go to the University of Florida, my uncle which I talked about in my last post went there. The University of Florida is one of the best schools it is ranked #48 in the nation by the U.S. News College Compass and #12 for the best grad school with veterinary medicine in the country. I have been to private school for the past 2 years and I have found that I do better in a place where the class room is small and at the University of Florida the majority of classes are no more than 25 students. Because the University of Florida is located in the state of Florida it gives me a huge advantage at finding a job as Florida is the third highest employment for veterinarians earning an average of about $99,950 a year. And with parks like Disney’s Animal Kingdom I would be able to find work if I wanted to specialize with exotic animals or zoology. After college and taking honors classes such as biology I’m going to apply to the University of Florida’s vet school. So I can get my DVM and become a vet working either in a practice or maybe even a zoo. And without a basic understanding of diseases and other illnesses I won’t be able to help the animal and identify what medicine or surgery I should give in order to cure the animal. Something that many people know and might deter them from becoming a vet is decision making. Every vet needs to quickly make decisions that benefit the animal and may not be what the owner wants to hear. Vets need to be compassionate and understand the animals pain and understand what the owner is going through. What I think might deter people is the fact that at times vets need to make the decision if it is best for the animal to live and figure what is best for the animals quality of life rather than keeping them alive because the owner doesn’t want to let go of the animal. I need to explain this to the owner so they too understand. Many people have asked me "how do you know you can make this decision?" When I was 11 I got a pet hamster, named Cookie. Yes I know she’s not a dog or something most people expect someone to be so connected to but I got her at 2 weeks old and I raised her (yes no one else but me), I was so excited. Cookie was adorable, she had a huge cage, play pen, and was the most spoiled hamster in the world, she was my first pet I had never had an animal I could hold and play with. Cookie was walking around in her play pen, than when she was sitting I noticed a lump, I picked her up she had a dime sized tumor on her stomach. We rushed her to the vet and told us she had cancer and surgery would cost $600 considering Cookie was on sale for $16 we were stunned. We took her home with plenty of pain relief and hoped for the best as we thought about the possible surgery ahead 2 more tumors emerged. One night I came home from school and checked up on her, (sorry gets a little gross) she bit the tumor on her stomach and bled out. She had lost so much blood she was not able to walk and was dragging her 2 back legs; I couldn’t bare to see her in so much pain. We took her to the vet where I made the decision that she was 2 years old and was in excruciating pain, it was time to let her go. I know sometimes being a vet might be hard, sad even but all I want to do is help as many animals as possible. Giving them the best life that they could even if that means freeing them from their pain. That’s how I know I can make the decision, I can’t stand to see an animal in pain no matter what it’s the quality of life and if their isn’t one its time to let go. Vet’s have to take an oath when they get their DVM (Degree of Veterinary Medicine) its basically the the doctorate of the veterinary world. When I get my DVM like all other vets I will take this oath: “Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of livestock resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge. I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my professional knowledge and competence.” |
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January 2017
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