summer is upon us. even though it just started a week ago, so much is going on. i have already been changing just in the 7 days school has been out. i am really starting to figure out what im going to make of life. so many people have opened my eyes to what this world has to offer, and for once i am taking full advantage of that. everything i have wished for has come true, and i have God to thank for that. i am so inspired by the things my friends have been doing lately. just seeing them makes me realize how special my life really is. i cant believe how the friends you make in a year can change you for a lifetime, and i also cant believe that for once, im helping to change someone else's life. this summer is going to be full of life talks, college applications, hard work, lotsss of traveling, and getting people to realize the difference between what they think is good for them, and what is actually good for them. as im sitting here typing this i feel excitement running from my toes to my head. summer 2009, get ready cause im taking everything you got! =]

as i was walking through the monkey grass leading up to my grandparents back door i realized how much this house has changed me, not really changed... but molded me. i grew up in this place, my brother, my 4 cousins, and me. this is where our adventures took place, this is where i had my first boo boo, where i learned the joy of music, and how to cook the most amazing foods. i had it all at this house, we had games, toys, family, and friends. and i cant believe that after all these years it hasnt changed. i walked in the house today with that same excitement, and little kid feeling as i did when i really was that little kid. there it was, the living room where all 6 kids somehow all slept in, the kitchen where grandma would make a different meal for each kid (because we were all so picky), the piano room, where i found the beauty in music, and all it had to offer, the bedrooms where we played sega, and learned how to sew, and the bathroom, where each and every kid was told not to touch... but we did anyways =] it was so much fun at that house. but as i walked through it today i had a different outlook on this house. i didnt see it as the house where all my dreams came true, i saw it as the house that in 30 years i would go back to and realize that this house was only so special because of the amazing people who lived in it. it wasnt the house at all that molded me into who i was today, it was my grandpa who showed me how to press my first key on the piano, to sing my heart out, and how to take life as it comes. it was my grandma who showed me how to make my first cupcake, how to shop like no tomorrow, and how to cherish every little thing. "these kids will never know how much we love them" my grandparents say or think this everyday. but the truth is i do realize how much they love me. i wouldnt be the person i am today without them. they taught me to love, to listen, and how to make a memory of every second of life. because 30 years from now, your not going to have that big house on Gibbs Williams, or those grandparents to share stories with at 1 in the morning. all your going to have is those memories, and thats whats important.