Julie Wootton

15 days of high school left. Wow. For a lot of seniors that means senioritis: napping in class, skipping school, even not wearing your id badge (horrific). Sometimes I envy those people. Unfortunately, I am not participating in such a relaxing last quarter of high school. I am so busy. To take up blog space I will tell you everything I have to do before I graduate on May 19th:
-come up with, shoot, and edit a story for HTV
-apply for a scholarship
-turn in rooming information for college
-find a job
-collect pictures and video to create a memories video for our whole school
-volunteer for Relay for Life
-go see all my friends graduate
-come up with something to say at my own graduation
-homework
Okay, I thought I had more to do than that. Guess it just feels like a lot more. But to get on topic, I was asked to write a blog today and one of the topic options was excercise. Hmm…I had to laugh at that one because I realized I’d been way too busy and hadn’t deliberately excercised in way too long. The only excercise I had received up to that point in the day was running to class.
Now, I am happy to report that today was a half day of school, which provided me with excellent opportunities to excercise! I probably should have been editing something, but I played football after school with some friends. It started raining, but we kept playing, which was really fun. Afterwards I went home and showered just to find out that some of my other friends were playing soccer at the park. So I went and played soccer with them until it started raining again, but that time we decided to stop. I must say that after a full day of it, I quite enjoy excercising and I resent my hectic schedule for making me miss it!

Sometimes, I feel like I have an awesome experience and I just can’t describe it. It’s quite frustrating. You see, I went to the Smoky Mountains over spring break and it was absolutely amazing. It was just me and my Dad on the trip, which made for good quality time. I had never been to the Smokies before, and they surprised me. I wasn’t expecting for “mountains” in Tennessee to be quite that impressive. I was wrong.
While there, my Dad and I got to stay in a log cabin, which I had never done before. Our first day, we went to the National Park and hiked a trail called the “Chimney Tops Trail”. It was only 2.5 miles long, but it took us 4 hours because it was so difficult. It felt like we were hiking straight up the mountain, with no breaks or places were the trail was remotely level. I had not physically pushed myself so hard probably in about 6 months. When we were almost to the top, the trail ended and the rest of the way up was all rock. We had to get on all fours and literally climb the rest of the way. (Probably one of the most intense things I’ve ever done.) The view from the top of that mountain was, well, inspiring. I could have stayed there for hours.
The next day we went horse back riding and hiked another trail, equally as long though not as difficult. This trail led to a waterfall at the end.
Like I said, it’s hard to explain. If you have not been to the Smokies, I highly recommend it!

Spring is in the air. The temperature yesterday was in the upper 70’s, the sun was shining, and I went for a 45 minute walk. It was so beautiful. I don’t know if any of you Springfieldians noticed, but the wind yesterday could have blown the roof off my house. It was awesome. If I had to choose between rain, snow, or warm wind I would choose wind. The only weather element that I appreciate more than wind is sunshine. (I don’t spend all of my time comparing the elements, it was just a random thought. Honest.) It’s kinda weird how much I like wind, but I do. I just realized that one of the reasons that I like the beach so much is because it’s windy. Hmm…
Well, the Buzz-a-thon went as well as can be expected. I am really disappointed in the fact that the Buzz-a-thon gets taped. It’s good to make money, it’s fun to put on, but after it’s over, it should never be watched again. Maybe it’s different if you’re funny. I don’t know.
As a senior, I only have two HTV stories left to my career. Ah! The end is near. I can smell it.
Well, those are all of the random thoughts floating around in my head. Oh, well, almost: I’m hungry. Why are people so addicted to “Lost”? I hope I get this story done. I didn’t make my bed again today. 76 days till school’s over. I want to play ping-pong. I don’t want to go to English.
Okay, I think that’s it.

I will begin this blog with a song, sing along if you know it: “Let’s go fly a kite up to the highest height. Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring up to the atmosphere, up where the air is clear. Ohh, let’s goooo fly kite!”

All of my dreams came true as I sang that song last Sunday night. I was at Huntington beach with my friends Allison, Rob, and Curtis. (We happened to be in California for the Student Television Network Convention, but that’s another story.) We had rolled up our jeans and were running around on the beach, pretty much like little kids. Then I saw the most beautiful sight: someone was flying a kite on the beach. I don’t know why that appealed to me so much, but there was nothing that I would have rather done at that moment. I am rarely impulsive, but I decided right then that I was going to fly a kite. Rob, Curtis and I walked up on the pier and bought a black kite with bright orange and yellow flames on it. (Sounds pretty sweet, huh?) We ran back to the beach with our jeans still rolled up. I knelt on the sand and assembled the kite. It blew my mind that Curtis had never flown a kite, so I made him fly it first. We ran up to the water’s edge again, this time with the kite, seeing how deep we could go and then running back from the tide without getting our pants wet. (Our pants got wet.)

After eating dinner on the pier, I wanted to run back to the beach before we had to leave. The sun had set and it was a little chilly, but there was the most beautiful, relaxing breeze. Maybe it’s partly because I don’t see the ocean that often, but I was absolutely in awe. I just stood there staring out, nothing but the rolling waves for as far as I could see. I was also a little humbled, being reminded of what God can do.

So, overall, it was one of the best days of my life. I forgot the kite at the diner where we ate; I still haven’t forgiven myself. But I will never forget that day.

This time next year I will be terrifyingly independent. No more gas money coming my way, no more home-cooked meals, no more Mom to take my temperature. This coming fall I will be entering into an entirely new world: college.

Now, 97 percent of me cannot wait. I am going to love living on campus, hanging out with my friends 24 hours a day. I’m going to love going to class because I will be interested in what is being taught. Most of all, I am going to love the extra freedom. However, the remaining three percent of my feelings are consumed with worry, mainly over finances. I do not currently hold a job, meaning, aside from Christmas and my birthday, I have zero income. Can anyone explain to me how within eight months I am magically going to become completely independent, paying for food, clothes, and COLLEGE? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not afraid to work. I have worked in the past and I will obviously be working in the very near future. But going from zero financial responsibility to 110% responsibility (college is expensive) seems like a pretty dramatic change for such a fragile person. I will be most gratefully accepting donations over the next four years.

Ohhh, I guess I’ll survive. Millions have done it before me. I’m sure that everyone would go to college all the time if it didn’t have that major flaw of being expensive. As for me, time will tell. I may feel differently in a year…

Christmas and Thanksgiving are two spectacular holidays. These holidays also take up a lot of time, so much so that they have recently overlapped. Christmas music has been on the radio for a couple weeks now and Thanksgiving is tomorrow (I’m soo excited to eat). Anyway, the point being, the fall and winter seem to have their fair share of holidays. Then you have Valentine’s Day, St. Patricks Day, April Fools Day, President’s Day and July 4th, but there isn’t a single holiday in August! Nothing! So, I have come up with the perfect holiday for August, since every month should have a holiday. I call it: Random Acts of Kindness Day. It should probably be towards the end of August since everyone needs to be cheered up since school’s starting. August 30th sounds like a good day for a holiday. Ooo! That’s my birthday! How perfect! Wow.

So, for Random Acts of Kindess Day on August 30th I would like to propose some suggestions on how to celebrate it since I invented it.

1. The best gifts are anonymous.
2. Homemade cards or gifts are appropriate and appreciated.
3. Excellent examples of random acts of kindness:
-Putting Christmas lights on your neighbor’s house for him while he’s sleeping
-Making the janitor fruitcake and leaving it in the bathroom for him to find later
-Singing Christmas carols for the bus driver on the way to school
(I just realized that all of my examples have to do with Christmas. I just got back from Silver Dollar City and I’m in the mood. Oh well, they’re just suggestions. They can be translated into something useful/meaningful during the month of August).

Anyway, these are not strict guidelines at all. Really, take liberty in celebrating Random Acts of Kindness. Speaking of random, it’s really random that I wrote about inventing a new holiday, but it was an option for a blog…so I took it…

I am thankful for a holiday that is centered around food: that’s right, Thanksgiving. I love it, I appreciate it, but it perplexes me. You see, Thanksgiving at the Wootton household is centered around the sides. The turkey is nice, but I would be happier without it so that I could eat more sides. Every single year without fail my mom makes green bean casserole, homemade cream corn, sweet potato casserole, jello salad, stuffing, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Every single one is my very favorite side. I don’t like having to choose between them. And if that’s not frustrating enough, these sides only get made once a year. (Maybe twice if we’re lucky. Mom sometimes makes a favorite side for Christmas.) But making delicious sides for only one or two of 365 days in a year is clearly not enough.

Now just put yourself in my shoes when Thanksgiving rolls around. You’ll see what I mean. What’s a girl supposed to do? Be expected to have room in her little tummy for a decent-sized portion of every delicious casserole and doctored-up vegetable under the sun in one setting? And it’s not like I can say, “Oh, I think I’ll pass on the jello salad since we have that every week.” Nope, don’t think so, ’cause that’s not even an OPTION! Thanksgiving sides only magically appear on Thanksgiving. It’s like there’s some unwritten rule that you can’t have sweet potato casserole unless it’s the fourth Thursday of November. If I skip a side, I won’t see it again for another year. So you see, I am left with no choice: I am forced to eat it all.

It has taken time to process this, (as it takes time to process all the food that I eat on Thanksgiving), but I’m coming to grips with reality. This is the way that my favorite meal goes every year, and there will be no changing it. Although I’m perplexed, frustrated, and really full, I’ve come to accept Thanksgiving. On a thankful note, there are some kids out there that never get their favorite sides. At least I get them once a year.

It’s funny that common get-to-know-you questions include “What is your most embarassing moment?” Maybe it’s just me, but that’s not the most fun question to answer, (if you answer truthfully), especially if you are speaking with people that you hardly know.  I mean, this is like first impression material here!  All this to say, I am sure that you are all wonderful, trustworthy people, but I believe that I will withhold my absolute MOST embarassing moment.  Ha.

Now, for less embarassing, but still embarassing moments:  I have always had a very active imagination.  As a kid, I had a large, partially wooded backyard.  I used to ride my bike in our backyard, pretend that it was a pony, and have fun with my imaginary “pony pals”.  I thought I was always alone.  Years later I found out that my Grandpa would often be working in our shed in the backyard and hear me talking…yes, to myself. 

This one’s a little worse: I’ve been a pastor’s kid most of my life, so I have found creative ways to spend hours in an empty church.  One included bouncing rubber balls from the balcony in the dark (always a thrill).  One day, when I got tired of that, I went back into my dad’s office and let my imagination get the best of me.  Not only was I having my bouncy balls converse, but they were quite boisterously singing.  My future youth pastor was walking down the hall, and told me that I had a beautiful voice a few days later.  And that, my friends, is about the most, (though not THE most) embarassing moment of my life.

     One of my favorite stories is that of the classic 101 Dalmatians.  I remember loving that Disney movie as a kid, and I could still watch it today.  The cartoon was so good that it was remade, and successfully, I might add.  It has a great plot that’s easy to follow, a believable villain, and some of the cutest puppies I’ve ever seen. 

     Now most of the time, I’m a realistic person.  And considering Disney movies, 101 Dalmatians is about as realistic as they come.  I mean really, a mute mermaid with legs, a talking swan that’s really royalty, (no really), and who’s ever heard of mice that can sew?  It’s all very nice and magical, but it could never happen to me.  I like a story I can relate to.  And I can relate to 101 Dalmatians more than a lot of people would think.

     When I was a kid in Arizona, I had a dalmatian dog named Penny.  Penny had just had a litter of puppies and my whole family was so happy.  We all went to one of my brother’s basketball games one night, and when we got back, our back yard gate was wide open and two of our puppies were missing.  We looked everywhere and the only evidence we found were some tire marks on our driveway.  After a couple of weeks, a man in our church heard of a couple Dalmatian puppies without any papers for sale, so we called the police.  Sure enough, they were our puppies and they were brought home, safe and sound. 

     Unlike the Disney movie, we just got back the puppies that belonged to us.  We didn’t get the whole neighborhood’s puppies or all the dogs from the local pound returned to us.  (That would have been awkward).  Still, I know that feeling of something precious and lost being returned to you after a lot of hoping and praying.  So you see, I can relate.

     Of course, there is a time for wonderful imagination and magic carpet rides, but it’s also a good feeling to see a well done story and be able to say, “You know what, I’ve been there.”

I went to a drive-in movie theatre this weekend for the first time and it was fun! (I love it when I find new things to do.) I drove down with my sister and Allison and her sister. It was about an hour away in Aurora, Missouri. There was a line of cars lined up about half a mile from the theatre when we got there, which surprised me. It was a lot more popular than I had expected. When we watched the movie, we had the option of either listening to it inside our car on a radio station, or listening to the speakers they have outside. I sat inside the car even though it was a beautiful night and several people had set up lawn chairs. We saw Spiderman 3, which I had already seen. The drive-in experience was the coolest part. I would be totally up for going back; it was really fun.

So, if you’d like to go, I’ll give you the scoop on how to get there. (Google directions were a little confusing.) We just took Sunshine west and stayed on it until we got to Aurora. We turned right on Church street and the theatre was about another mile on the right. I’m not too good with directions so I was glad when we found it so easily.