Topic of Interest Book

I just started reading my final book for my topic of interest. I know it may seem like I'm starting on it really late, but I've found that once I pick up a book I can't put it down until I'm done with it. If I start too early, I'm done a month before the book is due and I tend to forget the small details that would benefit my essays the most. Last semester, there was one book I read before the deadline was even set for our independent reading essay and I ended up coming into school one day and being told that I had to write an essay. I had completely blanked on the day it was due and hadn't worried about it because I had been finished with my book for such a long time. The last book for my topic of interest, I read the weekend before the essay and it was probably the worst essay I wrote all year, not because of the time constraint I put on myself, but because the book didn't offer as much information about my topic that I thought it would. I'm actually a lit bit nervous about finishing my current book because it's almost 1000 pages, but I know I'm going to get it done because not getting it done is not an option. I'm decent at coming to conclusions based on what I've read, but if I didn't finish the whole book it would feel like telling a lie because I would know that I hadn't gathered all the information possible. Anyways, I'm really excited to get into the book. I'm happy I chose gangsters as my topic of interest because I find their lives fascinating and completely unlike my own.

Eight Questions

Some of these questions are really dumb, but somehow Blogger sent me to another ladies blog instead of my own and this was the first post that she had at the top of the screen. I figure it's the end of the year and most people have no idea how I would answer these questions, because I haven't even thought about them myself. I think it's okay to have one blog that wasn't a blog suggestion or something about our poem unit. 

1. If you could have an unlimited shoe budget or purse budget which one would you pick?

I never carry a purse, and I'm obsessed with shoes so I would have to go with an unlimited shoe budget. If it was possible I would fill my entire closet with shoes instead of just a small wall of cubbies that is already overflowing onto the floor. It is going to be a miracle for me to choose which shoes to take to college and which ones to leave at home because I wear them all so often. 

2. If you could change lives with one person for a day who would it be?
If I could be anyone for a day it would be Julianne Hough. Ever since I saw Safe Haven, she has been my favorite actress. I know absolutely nothing about her and I haven't seen any other movies with her as part of the cast, but I love her hair. Someone told me I could never in a million years pull it off, but if I was Julianne Hough then I would definitely by pulling off the short, messy hair look. 

3. What is the one place you haven't been that you want to visit before you die?

I would love to travel to Italy before I die. When my dad was in college he was able to travel to Venice with some of his buddies because his best friend is actually from Italy and his parents still have a house there. I want an Italian meal around the table with an Italian family so that I can have the full experience. From what I know, family is very important and dinner is a time when everyone comes together to have a large meal. It is entirely possible that that is a stereotype, but I sincerely hope not, because it is one of my dreams. 

4. What is your most unrealistic fear?

My unrealistic fear is no longer a fear because my brother is now bigger than I am, but I was always scared he would get kidnapped whenever we stopped at a rest area or a gas station on vacation. I am one of the most protective sisters and I would probably go crazy if I ever had kids of my own because the fear would return and my children would hate me. 

5. If you could compete in one Olympic sport, which one would you pick?

I would love to compete in swimming and do well. My mother and father were swimmers when they were younger and my brother is now swimming, therefore, I am the only one who has not been a swimmer and never will be. When I was younger I had so many ear infections that I had to go to speech therapy for a couple of years to learn how to speak because I wasn't able to understand sounds. I had tubes put in twice and eventually, my eardrum developed a hole. After many surgeries, I was left part deaf and unable to swim at large depths or do flips. The pain I experienced every time I played in the pool with my friends was unbearable, turning me away from the sport of swimming. If by some miracle I was able to swim and swim well, I would want to compete in the Olympics.

6. What was the last book you read and did you like it?
The last book I read was Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano for our independent reading. It was a 400 page book that I read in the weekend before it was due. I loved the book, but it didn't have a lot of the information I was looking for on gangsters, posing a problem when I sat down to write my essay and realized that I hadn't completely answered my question. 

7. What song best describes how you are feeling this moment?
I can't think of any song to describe how I'm feeling, but I am listening to "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line. They played the song at Young Life club on Monday and afterwards one of our leaders gave a talk that has to do with Travis Gaines. The next day, Florida Georgia Line tweeted Travis. It was awesome. 

8. Who is your role model?
My grandfather was my role model. I looked up to him and continue to admire his positive attitude after being diagnosed with lung cancer. While I was volunteering at a Young Life camp this past summer I received a letter from him telling me how proud he was of my accomplishments and he also shared with me that he was going off of chemotherapy after praying about the right path for him to take. He told me that he had been very sick due to the chemo and was sleeping for most of the day every day. He explained that it just wasn't living. That is probably my favorite thing that he ever said to me. He knew he was going to die, but he lived each day like the man in "The Loveliest Trees." He continued to be part of the KIAC basketball community because that is what he loved to do and I think I made more memories in that year than I had in the previous seventeen. He wasted no time.