When I Grow Up...

I've been thinking recently, about what I'm going to do when I grow up. With three years left until I head off to college, everyday I myself find closer to the "grown-up world." Oh my. How can three years seem like such a long time and such a short time at the same time? In three years I'll be out on my own, for the most part (I mean, I'm not ready to leave the nest completely. That would be insane.) I'm not trying to pick my exact college and career today, at this very moment, but I'm still thinking about it. In the back of my mind. Hmm... What would I like to do with the rest of my life? What do I not want to do? Where do I want to live? Where do I want to go to college? Decisions , decisions , decisions . I go back and forth between possible career paths. Could I handle the high pressure career of a doctor or surgery? (Probably not, I get frazzled quite easily.) Could I be a teacher? (Again, probably not, I'm not very patient.) Pastry chef? (I would be on a constant sugar high. Trust me, Katie + sugar = quivering ball of twitching hyperness. One can of Pepsi and zooooooommmmm!!! You can ask anyone.) Slowly, I weed through different career paths, but one is yet to jump out at me. Think, Katie, think! What do you want to do? I know that I want a job that will provide me with sufficient funds to support my shoe habit... And, it would be really cool if there could be 4 "Dr. Mikulkas," if Carrie decides to become a vet. But, even then, there are still a bunch choices to make. What type of doctor would I want to be? Ugh, it makes my head spin just thinking about it. But, at least I can rest assured. No matter what I decide to do with my life, I will do it with the most fabulous shoes and wardrobe. And, you know what? That's all that really counts, right?

- Katie

Once in a Lifetime

On a pretty regular basis, I hear people talk about "once in a lifetime" experiences. You know what I am talking about, the types of events with the types of people that parents justify pulling their kids out of school for. Seeing the president, meeting a famous author or television star, or being the first person to see a movie. They are the kinds of experiences that you brag about to your friends, and think about for years to come. They may lose their merit as the years go on, (I mean, meeting Miley Cyrus is cool when you are a 10-year-old, but would you care so much about it when you are, say, 40?) Or, they can become more meaningful as time goes on, and as the person you saw goes from being a candidate for president, to our first African-American president (this really happened to me, I'll gladly share the story, if you haven't already heard it 17 times.) But, no matter who it was or when you saw them, it still is remembered as "once in a lifetime." Nothing (well, of course that are certain things that can happen) can take away that giddy feeling deep in inside, that bubbles up at the very thought of that moment in time. Once in a lifetime experiences are few and far between. The moments that stick with you for years and years to come. The stories that people write about on their blogs... Do you see where I'm going with this? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, my list of once in a lifetime experiences and encounters...

- Alton Brown Book Signing
- Seeing Barack Obama in Hartford, CT
- General Synod in Hartford, CT
- Mission trip to Immokolee, FL
- Book Chat with Mawi Asgedom
- Burger King Protest in Miami, FL
- Peace Protest in Hartford, CT
- Bo Diddley performing the Orlando History Center
- Swam with Dolphins at Discovery Cove

There could be more, but it's not the number of once in a lifetime experiences make them great, it's the significance the moments hold for you.

- Katie

Let it Be and Let it Go

I strive for perfection in everything I do. To the point of obsession or sickness. I focus on the details of every task, making sure they are perfect, and will not accept anything less. I work, rework, and edit until everything is just right. I will not, can not, turn anything in unless it's been checked and rechecked at twice (and most of the time it's more than that). Deep breathes, I tell myself. It will be okay, if I miss a question every once in a while. It's okay, if it's not perfect all the time. It's okay, if I just do what is asked of me, and not more. But I don't listen. So I'll continue to worry, to fret, and obsess. To feel nervous and filled with anxiety at any mention of a test, quiz, or exam. This type of nervousness must be a genetically inherited. My father used to be the same way. He tells me to just let it go, take a deep breath and get it done. But, shouldn't he know better than anyone else, that letting go of that fear is easier said than done? On the other hand, I guess he should give me hope, that one day, I will be able to let it all go. To quote The Beatles, "Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be." I just need to keep telling myself that.

- Katie

One Singular Sensation

Yesterday, I saw a matinee of A Chorus Line at the Bob Carr, and I was really impressed. The show is kind of like a "musical within a musical," since it follows 19 dancers fighting for a spot in the chorus of a new show. After the director/choreographer gets to analyze their dancing abilities, he asks them to tell them a little bit about themselves. One by one, as the audition goes on, we hear about each dancers past experiences, why they dance, and what they will do when dancing is no longer an option. The show takes place in the 1975, and the costumes, dances, and music are all fitting of the period. The set is simple, consisting of only a mirror, that also flips to a plain black background. My mother and sister were not too impressed with the show (but my mom had already seen it and my sister isn't exactly an authority on musical theatre), but I thought it was really interesting. For me the show had the right balance of songs and dramatic monologues, but was lacking in dance numbers. I mean, the show is about dancers, so couldn't they have included a few more? I also found the large number of main characters confusing and a bit difficult to follow. But otherwise, I found the show to be spectacular. If fact, the musical numbers are still stuck in my head. Just imagine the torture my friends and family will endure when I buy the soundtrack! Then my lovely vocal stylings will have back-up! (Insert evil laugh here.) I love musical theatre, and it's always great to see shows that you have heard others refer to as classics. My favorite part of seeing a play is the feeling of being transported to another place, to another time. To quote The Drowsy Chaperone (another one of my favorite musicals), "It does what a musical is supposed to do, it takes you to another world and it gives you a little tune to carry in your head when you're feeling blue." That's just how A Chorus Line made me feel.

- Katie

(And thanks to the woman who wrote the review on i-tunes, who reminded me of the fabulous quote I ended the post with. I didn't remember it from the first time I saw the show, but it so fits the way I feel about musicals.)

The meaning of a name...

Alright, I've been meaning to post something about the name of my blog, and that go me thinking about names in general. I'll start with the name of my blog, "Musings of an Almost Redhead." As you may have already figured out, it's a reference to my hair. My hair is the type of hair that old ladies stop you in the supermarket to gush over. "Such as stunning color, look at the curls," blah blah blah. It's best described as being strawberry blonde. My Mother was convinced that I would be a redhead when she was pregnant with me, and she was right, to a point. I mean, I can only recall one person ever calling my hair color "red." The woman then proceeded to tell me that redheads will soon be exctint, but I'll get into that later. Anyway, that's the main reason behind the name of my blog. I , technically speaking, could almost be considered a redhead. To be honest, I wish that I was closer to being a "real redhead." Less blonde and more of a stunning Cayenne pepper color. There are certain personality traits that are also associated with different hair colors. Brunettes are brainy, Blondes have the most fun and, redheads are full of fire. Would I be a different person if I had a different color hair? I mean, I don't think that if I suddenly had chocolate brown locks that I would be a genius. And I don't think that I would lead some sort of crazed party girl lifestyle if my hair was few shades lighter. But, would a few more strands of red make me, maybe, more outgoing, exciting, or less shy? I highly doubt it, but it's also fun to think about. Talking about the name of my blog made me also wonder about the meaning of my given name. So, I looked it up on baby center.com...

Katelynn

#245 on BabyCenter

Gender: Girl

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Pure

And my middle name...

Anne

#422 on BabyCenter

Gender: Girl

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Full of grace

Hmmm... I rather like the meanings of my names. But again, I can't help but ask the same question, would I be a different person if I had a different name? Would I be more serious if I had always gone by "Kate" instead of "Katie"? Does the name make the person, or does a person create the meanings of these names? How many smart brunettes were there or dumb blondes were there before those stereotypes became common knowledge? And how many years, smart blondes, and dumb brunettes will it take before new stereotypes are formed?

- Katie

Happy Birthday!

Today is the 200th birthday of both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln. I think it's really cool that two incredible men both share the same birthday. Since today is both of their birthdays, it got me thinking about Darwin's and Lincoln's lives. Both were men who have had a huge impact in our world today. Both were not very popular for their beliefs at the time. They both had funny looking beards that I think they should have shaved off. Darwin and Lincoln will always be remembered, and not for their poor choices when it comes to facial hair. I would like to take a moment and reflect on these amazing men and how I feel about them...

Charles Darwin, English naturalist who came up with the theory of evolution. Nowadays, there are many people, myself included, who just take evolution as something that has always been known. I don't even remember learning about evolution (there was a Friends episode about it, further proving my own theory that t.v. will teach you everything, but that's a different story), it feels like something that you just know, like the sky is blue or that little trees grow into big trees. Or at least that's the way it is for me. I can't even imagine coming up with something like that, in the 1800's, when there wasn't nearly as much technology. I recently bought The Origin of the Species (75% of the reason being I am genuinely interested and curious, the remaining 25% being that I think it will make me look and/or sound smarter, "Oh, I don't know if I have time to read the new Twilight book... Maybe after I finish the The Origin of the Species."). I'm let you know how it is. Oh, and as a side note, I'm not trying to push the theory of evolution onto anyone who may not believe in it. This is just the way I feel about it.


Abraham Lincoln, Our....um (I had to double check this with MSN Encarta, but I was right!) 16th president, who played a major role in the ending of slavery. Yay Lincoln! Mr. Lincoln, er or should I say Mr. President, if you're somehow reading this blog from the after life, and if you are, don't you have better things to be doing?, you'll be happy to know that we now have our first African American President!!! When I was younger, I had slight obsession with Lincoln. I'm not quite sure why, (could it be the Asian couple who asked to take their picture with Carrie and I in front of the Lincoln memorial that spawned it? I don't know, but I SWEAR THEY THOUGHT WE WERE THE OLSEN TWINS! We were wearing matching outfits.), but I distinctly remember it. Our country would be such a different, and pretty awful place if it wasn't for Lincoln. And all they did to thank him was put him on the penny, the smallest, least respected piece of currency we have. Well, I guess they also built that big statue at the National Mall, but still... THE PENNY? Come on, he deserves better than that. Doesn't George Washington get his face on TWO pieces of money?

So, I guess those are my musings on today's birthday boys. May they be remembered for their groundbreaking achievements for many more years to come. And, that one day someone will be wishing me a happy 200th birthday, and talking about my fabulous life. Hey, an Almost Redhead can dream, can't she?

- Katie

The Birthday Boys!!!! Do you see what I mean about the facial hair? Was it a requirement that every male
born on February 12, 1809 had to grow a long, fuzzy beard? I'm sorry, but this isn't a good look in any century...

Shoes.

Shoes. I crave them. Want them. Lust after them. Dream about them. Even drool over them. Shiny red round-toed pumps, towering black sandals, blue and white canvas slip-on's. Words are not enough to describe how I feel about them. I'm offically obbessed. I jsut can't seem to have enough. Now that my feet have stopped growing, I can justify buying them, to a degree... A great pair of shoes can make an outfit, maybe evena day. I feel a rush when I see a shoe department, I start to feel dizzy when I see a sign that says sale. I love them so much. Going back and reading what I've written, I know how goofy this sounds. How completely and utterly ridiculous. Like a lunatic, a crazed, shoe-seeking lunatic. But what can I say? Marylin Monroe got it wrong, diamonds are not a girl's best friend. Shoes are.

Interact Club

Yesterday, we had the first meeting of the Interact Club at Walden. We'll meet every Wednesday, from 2:30 to 3:30, and will spend our weekends doing various service projects. I'm really excited to start, but also a little but nervous. We set our goal at $1,000 dollars by the end of February...WOW! That's a ton of money for such a small group to make. But Morgan (our fearless leader) made a good point, if we each raise $200 by the end of the month, we'll meet our goal. It's great to think that we can make a difference in other people's lives. Another part of the club will be having a pen pal, from Africa. I think it will be fun to communicate with a person from another culture, but I'm also a bit nervous. What if we have nothing in common? Nothing to talk about? I guess the only way to know is to find a pen pal and start writing. The new club seems like it will be a lot of work, and a lot of fun. I know from experience that doing good for others can also do some good for yourself. There was an episode of "Friends" where they talked about how there was no such thing as a selfless good deed. I guess that's true, that no matter how much you give to others, you also get something in return, a sense of pride that you are doing something right. They said something similar on "House." It just goes to show how much you can learn from t.v.

- Katie

STRESS is STRESSING ME OUT!

AHHH!!! I'm feeling slightly overwhelmed right now. School work is buzzing through my head. Bacteria and protists, poetry terms, the properties of parallelograms, writing terms, the French Revolution. Dances, lines, costume ideas, logo designs, ways to raise money. Things are plugging through my brain. Like little trains. Some go quickly, roaring ahead at full speed. Some are chugging along quietly, sneaking up on me, amping up the anxiety even more. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out. I know the only way to make it go away is to finish my work. Eliminate the cause, eliminate the symptoms. But sometimes it's easy to just avoid it. So, I guess that's what I'll do, keep watching t.v. and worry about it in the morning...

Youth Sunday 2008 Sermon

This is my sermon that I wrote for youth sunday last year. If you have any questions about the CIW, please ask. Oh, yeah... Burger King gave in, so we can eat there now! Not that I ever did, but it's nice to have options...haha.

After I marched alongside the Coalition of Immokalee workers last November, it seemed like everybody I knew had questions to ask. Time and time again, I would explain. I could feel myself getting louder, angrier as I talked about this injustice, each time I told these workers' story. Even if they didn’t ask about the march, It seems as if everyone I saw got to hear me explain why I wasn’t allowing anyone to eat at Burger King, and see how proud I look I got when I said that I was part of that sea of yellow shirts. I didn't always feel so passionate about these causes, about the work of the CIW. I didn't even want to go to Immokalee the first time. But as soon as we got out of the car, and met some of the people who aren't just fighting for one more penny per pound because it's the right thing to do, because it directly affects them, my views changed. And as soon as I found out there was a march coming up, I knew that I wanted to be there, not one doubt in my mind. I begged my Mom to let me go, she didn't want me going so far away, and I finished all of my schoolwork, taking a dreaded algebra quiz. The next thing I know, I'm helping to load a giant cardboard penny into a bus at the UCF parking lot. As we drove through the night, falling asleep to someone's banjo playing, I began to get excited. As we walked into our hotel room in the early hours of the morning, I got excited. As we stood in a park and tried to find other ways to build our protest art without duct tape, which was sadly still in our hotel room, I got excited. But when I saw that sea of yellow, hungry and tired, but still marching, coming towards me, I was so excited I wanted to scream. I am sure that I began to jump around, doing some strange sort of "justice jig". Then I realized that someone was passing out "Exploitation King” t-shirts, and the jig went into double time. Then we took our first steps as part of that great sea of yellow. By then I was only doing my jig in my head, I don't think I would have been able to jump around, march, and chant all at once, without tripping. As we walked on and on, growing hoarse as we repeated chant after chant, I began to feel really powerful. I may have just been one person in the crowd, one drop of water in that yellow sea, but I can make a difference. I began to see that every step counted, every voice was heard, and every piece of protest art was seen and was making a difference. By the time we had reached the Burger King Headquarters, I was exhausted. I was ready to go to sleep. But I refused to put that giant penny down. We kept standing, looking up through the windows of that humungous office building. As the night went on, that feeling of powerful pride, that I was making a difference stayed with me. I will never forget that feeling, or the march itself, for it was the first time that I stopped simply talking about making a difference, and I actually did something about it. It was the first time I made protest art, first time I shouted chants in Spanish, the first time I took a Church trip without getting homesick, and it was my first trip to Miami. When I planned to go on this march, I thought the only people who would benefit were the farm workers, those who needed that extra penny per pound, but as I look back, I can see that it also affected me. I feel like in those two days that I was gone, I grew stronger, more independent, and caring. I think that’s when you know that you are truly passionate about a cause, when you can see the changes that were made, not only for the people you are trying to help, but in yourself as well.

A Poem...

Here's a poem a wrote for English class. I just wanted to share it...

Ballerina
Graceful Beauty
Twirling, Balancing, Moving
Making it look easy
Swaying, Turning, Soaring
Effortless Elegance
Dancer

Reading

I just finished reading a book this week, The Longest Trip Home, by John Grogan. I have to say that it is one of the best books I have read, and I think I may have enjoyed it more than the Grogan's first book, the wildly popular Marley & Me. After reading such a good book, I started to think more about reading and writing. I spend a good deal of time reading. Books, magazines, articles on the computer, facebook pages, myspace pages and surveys. This is my love letter to the written word, and reading. To the magazines, books, letters, and status updates that makes me smile or make me think. To the newspaper articles, comic books, memiors, and blogs that make my day. Reading is my escape, my vacation from reality. I read books that are too easy for me, books with subject matter that most 15-year-olds wouldn't choose, books about animals, books about people, fiction, nonfiction, everything I can get my hands on. I often blame my sorry sense of direction on the fact that I am constantly reading in the car.

No matter what my mood, a good book makes it better. When I'm sad, angry, or confused, reading comforts me. When I'm happy or excited, reading just makes my mood even better. I read in the bathtub, in the car (like I mentioned before), when I cook (I don't mean cookbooks), and sometimes when I watch t.v. Since I was in the second grade, books have been my constant companion. I've made a list of the books that I have loved so much, or ones that have just made me think might want to read them to. I have copies of most of them, if you want to borrow them. They may be food-stained, crumpled from getting wet, or dog-eared, but most of all, are well-loved and cherished...

Katie's List of Favorite Reads:

Animal Farm, By George Orwell
Lord of the Flies, By William Golding
The Princess Diaries, By Meg Cabot
The Twilight Saga, By Stephenie Meyer
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, By Ann Brashares
Marley and Me, By John Grogan
The Longest Trip Home, By John Grogan
The Memory Keeper's Daughter, By Kim Edwards
The Frog Princess, By E.B. Baker
All American Girl, By Meg Cabot
Ready or Not, By Meg Cabot
From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, By E.L. Konigsburg
The View From Saturday, By E.L. Konigsburg
Number the Stars, By Lois Lowry
Behind the Bedroom Walls, By Laura E. Williams
Vegan Virgin Valentine, By Carolyn Mackler
The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, By Carolyn Mackler
Dancer, By Lorri Hewett
Crispin: The Cross of Lead, By Avi
Bridge to Terabithia, By Katherine Paterson
Letters From Camp, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Regarding the Fountain, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Regarding the Sink, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Regarding the Trees, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Regarding the Bathroom, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise
Regarding the Bees, By Kate Klise and M. Sarah Klise

I know there are a ton more, but this is what I can think of now.
Until next time...
Katie


“A capacity and taste for reading gives access to whatever has already been discovered by others.” - Abraham Lincoln

“The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who'll get me a book I ain't read.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Give me a man or woman who has read a thousand books and you give me an interesting companion. Give me a man or woman who has read perhaps three and you give me a dangerous enemy indeed.” - Anne Rice, The Witching Hour