Everybody's Dancing In the Moonlight

With homecoming coming up next weekend, I definitely have dances on my mind. I'll have to admit, even though I've always gone with great people, all things related to school dances are not my forte.

Take, for example, my dancing. Is this what you would call Markette material? I just don't think so.

Note: I AM ALONE AND LOOK AS IF I AM IN PAIN. Shelby, poor dear, is trying to escape my company probably because of my "dancing." I look like I'm about to attack someone. Sigh.

Exhibit B shows my inability to stay up past 8 p.m. Last time I checked, falling asleep on the dance floor does not make one a good date.

Then, there's the whole issue of knowing how to dress myself or look like a girl.

Ryan was dressed for nerd day. I was wearing the usual. 

And no, I did not go out and buy those pants. They were a gift. No, seriously.

Ahh oh well. Even though I would not get an A in School Dance Class, I will still have a great night. I've decided to go all out this year because, well, it's senior year! I'm going with a good group of people, I've got a pretty swell date and I've never been so up-to-date on catchy mainstream music.

I will end with this bit of laughter.

Me, Chris, Trent

Chris and Trent decided to perform the explicit version of the "Will You Go to HC With Me?" song (to the tune of Banana Pancakes) they put together, those creative hooligans.

It started with, "Lock you in the closet..." Hence, my facial expression. I'll leave the rest to your imagination.

"Oh, reckless abandon"

This commercial makes me want to both go to college far away just to go far away and fly.

Diet Coke Commerical "Sweet Disposition"

"You can't dance and stay uptight"

I used to believe that there wasn't a purpose in life, so I could just do what made me happy instead of trying to complete some sort of goal. Then, I realized maybe this is our purpose in life: to be happy, to enjoy something so simple and complex as living.

We'll see
where that takes me.

Pictures Only Prove You Can't Convince

So, it turns out, I'm really weird and like taking close-up pictures of people's faces and pictures of feet and legs. Mk, cool. Why am I telling you this?! Because I'm going to jump on that bandwagon (this is not to make fun of photography blogs in the slightest. Those of you know that know me know exactly what I'm really poking fun at) and post some pictures that I've taken recently that I'm fond of. Are you rolling your eyes yet? If not, listen to this. I suck at photography so it's hilarious that I'm posting the only 3 or 4 pictures I've ever taken in my life that don't make me feel completely ashamed. So, now that I've made fun of myself, here is "Part 1 of The Picture Post." I know, isn't my alliteration to die for?

Rachel

Look at this little guy! His name is William and he holds my heart in his little hands. He is the son of Lauren, one of the most special people in my life, and he is amazing. I am obsessed with babies because the baby concept blows my mind. More on that later.

Kelly

Ahh, now for Part 2. In Photography, we worked on a photoshop project all last week and for it, we had to take our own pictures. Of course, upon hearing this, I wept for my grade and for the disappointment my parents would feel when they heard I failed Photography. But alas, I haven't failed yet and found the pictures I took of Rachel (my model) to be either neat or hilarious. Ha! And believe you me, they're neat only because of Rach, not because of my photography skills. In fact, the following pictures will be a true testament to where my skills lie on the picture-taking scale. Let's just say, Ms. Bottoms (my teacher) should be scared.

Cool, Rach. Who cut off your hand? Oh, wait. My bad.

Isn't she cool? This'll embarrass her a tad so if you see her around, tell her how awesome she is. Have a good weekend!

"Burning solid, burning thin the burning rim."

"When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire."

When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire? The first time I heard this quote ("Your Ex-Lover is Dead" by Stars), I was speechless. There were so many images being tossed around in my head: chaos, self-destruction, burning people at the stake, riots, the burning of books. I was confused and shrank back. Very rarely do quotes inspire such a reaction in someone, and this is exactly why I took a lot of time to think about how I would come to interpret it.
When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire. The first interpretation I stuck with had to do with living in a place where all your belongings and things that matter to you have been taken away or "burned" and then, finally, one has to fight back and "set themselves on fire" with passion. A little cheesy, I know, but this is just what my head came up with.
This year, my second interpretation was a little more personal. As most of my fellow classmates have come to realize, this year hasn't exactly reached it's maximum potential yet. Don't get me wrong, I'm having a great time, loving my classes and managing to enjoy yearbook most of the time, but still, there's been something missing. It's as if I burned through all of the things I mildly enjoyed and have gotten bored of the routine. Yes, I said "burned" for a reason. At this point, I feel like "there's nothing left to burn" and now, I "have to set myself on fire." Oh, crap. Doesn't that sound delightful. Well, to me, it does. When I hear set yourself on fire, to me it means to get passionate about something and throw yourself into it, learn all about it and want to share it with everyone. So now, I'm reading again and learning again and asking questions again and thinking weirdly again; I'm setting myself on fire in the best way I know how.

And, in conclusion, I ask you to do the same. Set yourself on fire. What do you like to do? Practice it. What do you wonder about? Delve into it. What do you want to share? Talk about it. Do whatever it takes to set yourself on fire.

"In a technicolor dream"

The conversation I had with my body for about my entire life before senior year:

Me: Let me stay up late.
My body: No.
Me: I want to stay up late.
My body: No.
Me: Can I stay up late tonight? It's a Friday. I'm hanging out with some friends.
My body: Yes!
Me: Really?!
My body: No.
Me: I'll give you coffee!
My body: Don't care.
Me: This is ridiculous. It's my decision.
My body: In your dreams. Get it? Get it??
Me: I hate you.
My body: Fall asleep, idiot.

But, now, things are so different. Welcome to Senior Year/College-Prep, learning how to stay up late doing work until "it's so late, I can't even look at the clock anymore" or just having a good time with good friends. I'm happy to finally be here; there's something Alice in Wonderland-y about nighttime.