A Rare Enjoyed Evening

Very rarely it happens that I am able to enjoy an evening during which I did nothing or accomplished nothing. Tonight was one of those evenings and it couldn't have come at a better time. It seems as if this week has just drug on and on and on, and it's only Wednesday! I also think I am coming down with a cold or the flu so that has been less than enjoyable. Needless to say when I finished my homework within two hours tonight I was shell shocked, what could I do with my spare time? The answer came in the form of a large mug of hot chocolate, a long phone call with my mum and somehow spending and hour and a half surfing the web...and now I can't even remember what websites I went on. But I kind of can't help but love evenings like this because it never happens that I finish my homework with a substantial amount of time before bedtime to do nothing it.

I don't think I could handle doing absolutely nothing every evening however, just because I think I would go crazy out of boredom but every once in awhile nothing can be more wonderful than a break from the formulas, the graphs and the sheets.

italia & espana

 In four short weeks I will be walking along the Mediterranean, until then however I have to suffice with pictures of the beautiful countries I will be visiting and daydream.

Flabbergasted

Looking over my list of goals for 2012 I realize that a lot [read: majority] have to do with or have to be done when I go abroad. I mean as long as I get them all done over there that's fine but I feel like I should have spaced out my goals a little bit more throughout the year. Speaking of the list, number 1 was to finish Physics with at least a 90...well the report cards were handed out yesterday and I didn't make that goal BUT I did get an 89...holy crap. Considering I had an 85 walking into my exam I cannot believe I brought my mark up that much, after a talk with my teacher I walked away flabbergasted that I had received the top mark on the Physics 11 exam with a 98...I didn't even think that was possible. It helps prove to myself that hard work, dedication and studying really does pay off and I don't have to wait for ten years down the road to realize that. I was Simonds' Student of the Week this week and it really just feels like surprise after surprise. I only hope that next semester will be as great as the one past.

Goals for 2012

I always think of a goal or aspiration I wish to accomplish, then forget it before I can write it down or lose the scrap of paper I write it down on. So in order to be slighty more organized I wanted to write a list of goals and aspirations for 2012. Some may be ridiculous and somewhat far fetched but I hope to come back to this post throughout the year and by December 31st, 2012, see a list of crossed of items.

1. Finish Physics with at least a 90. --Finished with an 89--
2. Speak one complete sentence in German in Germany, and get in on tape.
3. Speak one complete sentence in Spanish in Spain, and get it on tape.
4. Speak one complete sentence in Italian in Italy, and get it on tape.
5. Get my poem published in my District's Journal, or try harder next year.
6. Only submit my essay into the Turning Points competition if I am proud of it. --And got it published--
7. Have a lunch of pizza & gelato in the streets of Italy with my friends. --Solitary moments are my fondest--
8. Dance with a Spanish boy in Spain. --Does dancing next to count?--
9. Get a new ear piercing abroad. FAILED TO DO...
10. Recieve high honours on all of my exams. WILL NEVER KNOW...
11. Finish grade eleven with at least a 92% average.
12. Visit Rebecca during the summer./Return to St-Raymond.
13. Travel to Ottawa by train.
14. Visit Carleton's campus.
15. Get a job.
16. Get my permit, then my license.
17. Buy a car.
18. Get Spencer fixed.
19. Kick ass in the 2012 swim season.
20. Heal my shoulder 100%.
21. Actually finish writing a complete novel, not story, admit it, N-O-V-E-L.

Another Year Ending

And so 2011 comes to a close. It's crazy, especially considering that I still write 200- before realizing my mistake. Let me just say this to get it out of the way, I in no way believe in the foolishness that states that 2012 is the end of the world. That being said, I can't help but wonder what the new year will bring.

In all honesty, I don't know if I could have imagined myself where I am right now at the beginning of 2011. It seems like so far away but as if 2010 was only yesterday. Confusing how much life is an oxymoron isn't it?

Two thousand and twelve will hold a lot of lasts for me, as well as firsts I am sure. In a short year I will be wrapping up my life in here and preparing to move away for university. Regardless of the fact-that I have come to terms with, expectant and waiting even-it still seems as if it is creeping up over my shoulder.

The coming year scares me, I won't lie. I will have to give it my all. When I send out my transcipts to universities, these are the days they will see, this upcoming year will decide where my future take me. A little stressful if you ask me. I have so many big plans for this 2012; Italy & Spain in March, I want to enter a writing competition and I want to travel to Ottawa this summer. Who knows if I will accomplish those last two but if I can get to Europe, why the hell not?


This year has been a crazy one, it feels as if it was forever ago I was living in Quebec, not just the beginning of this year. I still miss it out there but it served its purpose for me, it taught and showed me so many things. Rebecca is and will be a best friend for life and I miss her like crazy, as well as everyone else in St-Raymond. This year has helped me come to terms with myself and helped me make decisions for myself and not just everyone else. Thinking back to how I started high school it is crazy how much I have changed...but my dreams remain big and the same. With persistance and determination one can accomplish anything, right?


While I have bittersweet feelings about 2011 coming to a close I truly believe that what remains around the corner will be even greater. I will always have the amazing memories to look back on from this year, as well as many photographs. With that being said, I can't help but say full steam ahead for 2012. Time slows down for no one, it will always march on. So, I guess it is with baited breath that I wait and see if this new year will match my expectations.

We hold the reigns to our own life.

I have been wanting to write about this for a long time, ever since I had to take a taxi to school and the cabbie told me that these are the best years of my life. You hear it all the time, everywhere; high school is the best four years of your life. On Monday the words came back to me, someone else was saying high school was and would be the best years of your life.

I don't get it.

Why would anyone want the best years of their life to be the ones that includes the stressful days of exams, cramming to finish an essay and the drama? Personally, I love high school. I love my friends and I love the memories that we are making throughout the halls of my school. But high school will only be the best years of your life if you let it.

I fully intend on not letting the late nights of stressing, the long days of classes, the thousands of pages of notes and the petty drama of who did what be my glory days. No. I intend on graduating and going out into this crazy world to obtain a degree and kick ass in the writing field. Naive? Perhaps. But I hold onto the hope that there is so much more out the waiting for me than studying to pass a test or exam.

Just grateful.

It always makes me a bit sad whenever Christmas is over. The holiday has come and gone, you finally realize quite how much you spent and the magic seems to have fizzled out over night. I won't lie and say that this year has been any different. But some how, a little of the magic still remains. Maybe it's the prospect of numerous opportunities in the coming new year or maybe it's the fact that time is passing by quicker than ever now and I am trying to enjoy every minute of it.

My flight to Italy leaves in sixty-three days. I remember this trip being a figment of my imagination, something I only imagined when I closed my eyes at night and dreamed. The fact is that until, let's just admit it, Christmas morning I had no clue how my mother and I were going to find the remaining money to pay off the trip. That was until I opened a present from my father and promptly burst into tears, hugged my mother tight and sobbed. Enough money to pay off this months payment and a half of next. The thought that whizzed through my brain in that moment were joined with a flurry of emotion. This is happening, I am going. I was shocked. Beyond shocked.

It all feels so real now, there is no more guessing and no more panic, just girl-ish planning. What should I wear on the plane? What footwear is appropriate? Ouu, those shoes would look adorable out dancing in Spain!

I feel dizzy thinking about it. Everyone keeps saying things like, I know there's not many Christmas presents, I'm sorry, but don't forget Italy is under that tree too! Like I could ever forget, I don't think I could be more full of gratitude. I am forever grateful and doubt that I could say thank you enough. Four months ago this trip was so far out of reach, with it's 3,130$ price tag. But now, it's only sixty-three days away, and I just can't believe it.