So close yet so far away!!

For spring break I'll be going away to the Bahamas! Which is actually going to be the first thing (that I already haven't crossed off) I cross off my list since making it! I'm really excited to not only forget about school for 11 days, but forget about school for 11 days lounging on a beach drinking margaritas, and swimming with dolphins, and snorkelling, and while going on every single water slide they have at their water park! If only I could speed up time so that these next 59 days go by really fast!

My Buried Life

My Bucket List
1. Attend a Coachella Music Festival
2. Be in a Flashmob
3. Skydive
4. Graduate
5. Travel to London
6. Travel to Paris
7. Spend New Year's Eve in New York
8. Go on a road trip with friends
9. Scuba Dive
10. Go snorkeling
11. Visit rock platform in Norway
12. Visit Universal Studios
13. Try Butterbeer (from Harry Potter)
14. Throw a dart at a map & travel to where it lands
15. Go paintballing
16. Place a lock on the Love Bridge in Paris
17. See the Hollywood sign in person
18. Go backpacking in Europe
19. Get Married
20. Do Yoga in Thailand
21. Fill a truck bed full of pillows/blankets and drive to the middle of nowhere to stargaze
22. Go snowboarding in the Alps
23. Learn to surf
24. Run a Marathon
25. Ride an elephant in India
26. Save a life
27. Get a tattoo
28. Buy an old bus, convert it with a few friends and travel the country
29. Travel to Australia
30. Become an Actress
31. Go skinny dipping
32. Meet The Vampire Diaries cast
33. Meet Johnny Depp
34. Swim with sharks
35. Own a cute little apartment in New York
36. Host a Saturday Night Live Show
37. See an Ellen DeGeneres Show
38. Go to a One Direction Concert
39. Meet One Direction
40. Run Colour Me Rad (✔)
41. Attend a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
42. Go bridge jumping
43. Go cliff jumping
44. Get Married on a Beach
45. Swim in the largest pool in the world
46. Go Zorbing
47. Visit The Grand Canyon (✔)
48. Visit the Pyramids
49. Volunteer at a dog shelter
50. Build a school in an underdeveloped country
51. Travel and Volunteer in an underdeveloped country
52. See a Coldplay concert
53. Go to a Fortune Teller
54. Get a massage
55. Play in a public fountain
56. Go to a Keith Urban Concert (✔)
57. Go to the Bahamas (Soon to be checked off!)
58. Get a Puppy (✔)
59. Go Hiking
60. Go Horseback riding on a beach
61. Go to UBC (University of B.C.)
62. Swim with Dolphins
63. Write a Book
64. Try every single tea from David's Tea
65. Win a Championship

Author's Note

 

I believe everyone agrees with me when I say, life should be lived to the absolute fullest. I want to go out and travel for months on end and just forget about reality for a little bit. I want to see the world different ways. I want to see the world through other people's perspectives. I just want to see the world. Yes, I created this bucket list for an English project, but I'm going to continue crossing off and adding things to my list way down the road. This project has opened my eyes and made me realize that I can go out and achieve anything I want to with the right mindset and a thought out plan. I come from a family who loves to travel, just not anywhere outside of North America, sadly. But this spring break I'm actually going somewhere tropical, the Bahamas! I'm really excited for this trip because it'll be the first time I leave North America. I know the Bahamas is only an hour away from Florida, but even though it's a small start, it's a start.

 

 

What Now?

 

There are many things on my list that I'm eager to cross off, but the one thing I'm aiming for right now is to be able to study at the University of British Columbia. I know it's going to be expensive, but in February I'll be going away for a soccer tournament and there will be scouts from a couple of universities, including one from UBC, coming watching my team play. I'm hoping that my drive, hard work, and desire to be the best on the field and off the field will help with my chances of getting a scholarship. Even just to get a chance to meet and talk with her about scholarships, because that would really give me that extra push to help cross this off my list! Getting a scholarship to play soccer at UBC could also potentially help me with crossing off number 65 on my bucket list, which is win a championship.





Social Fiction Project: The Lottery Ticket

Created by: Katherine Gursky 

http://spiritofrebellion.wordpress.com/tag/monroe-park/

Twitter: @HomelessBum 

https://twitter.com/HomeToTheBum 

The Lottery Ticket 

        It was another cold and bitter morning in the lower part of New York where the honking of a cab and the meowing of a stray cat had awoken me. I get up, rub my eyes and walk to the corner of two busy streets, with an empty cup bumming the citizens for some spare change for a cup of coffee. The people are kind, and I manage to spare up 21 dollars today, an all-time high. The New Yorkers around this area know me well; in fact I consider plenty of people to be friends of mine. Even some of the wealthiest in the city give the time of day to a homeless bum like me.

The nights are the hardest part of all; the lonely back lane, the cold cement, and the rotten smell of the neighborhood garbage bins. As I lay back onto the brick wall of a sketchy apartment block, I hear the flapping of a paper in the wind. I look over to find a lottery ticket blowing away. I must have ran faster than a lion stalking its prey after that piece of flimsy paper, in hopes of winning money that I knew was nearly impossible. After the cold day on the busy streets of New York, I had needed to get some rest. The lottery ticket could wait until morning, so I picked up my jacket and went in search for a safe place to catch some sleep.

         

First thing, that Saturday morning I took my ticket and went right to the closest convenient store. The man at the cash register stared me down, as if he expected me to steal something from his store. I asked to see the lottery numbers. He laughed and mumbled,

 “What’s a bum like you thinkin’ he’s gonna win 560 million dollars in a place like this.” He said with a sleazy smile.

It was not until after I scored every single number right that I replied to the man. I looked him right in the eye, as I put my right hand onto my hip and pointed a stern finger at him, and said,

“I am not a bum. I am a human being.” And walked away without looking back once.

         

Two weeks later my life had completely changed. I had everything I ever dreamed of; a perfect house, an expensive car, and enough food to fill up an entire fridge. I lived alone, as most of my friends I only saw on the streets. It seemed as if I had everything I wanted, but no company to share with. I would go out to the bars, and places I used to think were too exclusive for me. I quickly learned that once I had money I became the loneliest person you could ever imagine. I had so much money I did not need to work, but a part of me missed spending all day searching for money under park benches. Money did not make me a happier person. In fact, it made me one of the most miserable people in the world.

       

Somebody's sweeeepy

Practicing Dialogue

It was a hazy summer mid-day in New York City. We were on top of our apartment building looking out at the beautiful city. The wind was blowing the loose strands of my up-do hair, while I tried to keep my body from shivering. A thought then occurred to me in that moment, 

"Wouldn't you just love to runaway somewhere?" I asked as I uncrossed my arms. "Somewhere you could just start over?" 

Alyssa looked at me like I had caught her off guard. 

"I don't know... doesn't that scare you?" 

I turned back towards the horizon, staring at the beautiful concrete jungle when Alyssa blurted out abruptly, 

"Lets do it." 

"Do what?" I said confused.

"Runaway somewhere!" 

I started thinking about it, about how I could start over. I really wanted a fresh start. But I couldn't just leave my job and other friends and family behind, I just couldn't. 

"Don't think about it Elena, just..." 

I started to float off into a wonder land. Wondering what would happen or what wouldn't happen if I did or didn't go. 

"...And would be an amazing story to tell our kids one day!" Alyssa finished. 

"Yes." I blurted. 

"Yes?" Alyssa replied. 

"Lets runaway." I said. 

LEGEND: 

DIALOGUE 

NON-VERBAL

Wreck this App: #2

This journal entry asked me to draw fat lines and thin lines. I feel like my drawing skills have gotten even worse since nursery... 

Santa came early this year!

This is my new puppy Lily! We got her on Monday, and she's 8 weeks old. She is an absolute angel. I wish we still had show and tell in grade 12 just so I could bring her in for everyone to see!