So...

what have I been up to?? Well, we are nearing November and I have yet to begin applying to universities. I want to choose five, but I'm having a hard time on picking which five I'd like to apply to. For 17 years, I've had a pretty simple life. I am so used to being taken care of, and I don't think I am ready to be out on my own! I REALLY dont! Choosing a college is definitely one of the biggest choices (if not the biggest) I've ever faced in my life. I've been fed an overwhelming amount of opinions from family and friends, all sharing what they think is best for me. However, at the end of the day, I ultimately want to feel like it's my choice. Wherever I might end up next year, I want it to be because I chose to go there and not because I felt obligated to. The only definite decision I have made is that I want to major in political science, with maybe journalism tied in somewhere. I want to pick a school that has a good political science program, and also somewhere that I could cheer. I've cheered all throughout high school and I am not so sure that I'm ready for that journey to end yet. It will take a LOT of dedication and time if I want to tryout for a college team, but as of right now I am leaning towards doing so. What I really need to do is sit down and write down all the pros and cons of the choices of universities I'm looking at. But as of right now the colleges I expect to apply to are...

If I'm not sure where I want to attend, I can always transfer once I make up and mind and have adjusted a little bit to being on my own. They have a cheer team, I know the campus, and it's in state tution. BUT I don't really want to stay in Flagstaff. My dreams are way bigger than this town!

It's away from home, but not too far away. They have a good cheer team, and a good political science program. There's no snow to drive in, and it's in state tuition. BUT everything outside the campus is a little bit ghetto

It's in state. They have a nice honors program. It is close to family, and I've heard good things about their institute program. BUT they don't have a cheer team, and it's REALLY hot in Tempe!

They have a super clean campus. They have a good political science program, and a cheer team. BUT it's really far from home, and I just don't know if it's right for me.

Lastly, I know that college can often be what makes or breaks a person. I know that there are schools that are considered "party schools" and that the college scene is often associated with parties and what not. But I also know that no matter where you go to college, you can find parties, or you can avoid them. It is whether or not you choose to seek out the temptations of the world, or to find happiness in other college experiences. I know who I am, and I know that although I might not be ready to pay credit card bills just yet, I am capable of making my own choices. I am not sure where I will end up next year but I just want it to be what is best for me. It's a big decision, but I want it to be a school that has the best options for me, for my major, my hobbies, and my future. Ultimately, I want it to be my choice, and to be supported in whatever I choose

Way too long since my last update!!

It has been a month since a last blogged!! AH! Where do I start?!

Well my family went to Florida a couple weeks ago and it was SO fun! I was really glad to get to take another big trip again. We were there for a week and stayed at the Bonnet Creek Resort on Disney property. My dad, Natalie, Trenton, and I went to Universal Studios one night and it was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. It was an event called Halloween Horror Nights and it was SO COOL! I love horror movies and the adrenaline rush I get from being scared. We walked through eight haunted houses and it was definitely something I would do again. We also got to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in the Islands of Adventure theme park, and it really looked exactly like the movies!

So now to the not so fun part... On October 6th (last Wednesday) around 5:15 am, Bellemont was hit by a level F2 tornado. Talk about SCARY! I woke to the sound of high winds and thunder. I sat up in bed and thought "What is going on?!" For about thirty seconds I contemplated what I should do, should I go back to sleep and hope that it's just a bad storm? Should I go wake my parents (if they weren't awake already)? What if this is an earth quake?! Heck, what am I supposed to do in an earthquake anyways?! When my window sounded as if it were going to break at any moment, I ran down the hallway to my parent's room where my dad was standing with a flashlight. Both my brothers were awake, and my sister followed me down the hall. The storm soon ended, but my siblings and I were still huddled together (Claire somehow slept through the whole thing). When the sun began to rise, we went into the backyard to see if there was any damage done. Roof shingles were scattered in our backyard, and as we looked into the horizon we could see homes that were completely destroyed. One house no longer had a roof and you could see the tops of the bedroom walls. We took a walk around the neighborhood and were horrified by what we found. A girl on my cheer squad, Jami Cox, had half of her house blown away in the tornado. A friend from church had a boat in their roof, cars were completely destroyed. It looked like a warzone. I have never seen ANYTHING like this in my life and I am still in shock that a tornado hit Bellemont, Arizona! The RV park across the freeway was completely trashed. Pieces of RV were strewn around the neighborhood. A TRAIN was torn off the tracks! Trucks were UPSIDE DOWN! Jami's house.. Or what is left of it

COMPLETELY DESTROYED

A friend from church's home. There were shards of glass impaled in the walls.

God was watching over us that morning. There were no deaths or serious injuries, and as you see the damage that was done, it is amazing that we all were protected from the tornado. According to the weather services, the tornado hit the RV park and rose into the air, hovering over Bellemont, and then touched down again right at the end of the street.

I was amazed at the sight of a natural disaster like this. You sometimes wonder, if my house was burning down, what would I grab as I ran out the door? But as my house was literally shaking as well as the other homes in Bellemont, my "stuff" was the last thing I was worried about. People are now staying in hotels because their homes are unable to be occupied, but no one is quite concerned for their things, just that we are all safe. It is pure love. Just as I said in a previous post of mine, if I were to define love I would say: "Love is when you sincerely care about someone more than you care about yourself."