In case you haven't heard...

For the past year, life has been a whirlwind. I managed to cram two years of school into one before moving to Maine, which successfully turned me into a sleep-deprived, overloaded teenager whose only motivation in life was the relief that would come over me the day that darling diploma would arrive in the mail. When I got that glorious piece of paper (which had the incorrect date and had to be sent back) I realized that I had an entire year to sleep in, watch Live with Regis and Kelly every morning at 9, and prance around the city of Portland without a care in the world. 

After one day this became quite boring, so I made a bucket list. That list includes:

-Figure out what I'm going to do with my life

-Pick out colleges and majors

-Apply for (and hopefully get into) college

-Get a job, save up a lot of money

-Run a marathon

-Go skiing

-Visit Times Square on New Year's Eve

-Go back to Costa Rica for a month

-Spend time with our former foreign exchange student, Jannik, in Germany

-Visit Asia somehow, someway, somewhere

-Tour America by Amtrak train

-Go to Antarctica

So, with the exception of Antarctica, by the end of July 2011 I will be able to cross off every item on that list. I have decided major in Air Traffic Control and Aeronautical Science at either Embry-Riddle Aeronautical, Purdue, Ohio State, or Arizona State (preferably on ROTC scholarship). 

I currently have a job at a store in Portland, which is perhaps my biggest motivation to go to college and get an education. I don't think I ever want to work in a store again. I'm simply there to make money so I can pay for this trip all by myself (one of my goals). I know it will make this year so much more rewarding. 

I ran the Maine Marathon on October 4, 2010 and finished with a time of 3:35, which qualifies me for the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, I'm not actually old enough to run the Boston Marathon, so I'll have to re-qualify and run it in 2012. 

I have still not been skiing, but I am planning to go after Christmas. After my Times Square/New Years expedition, I will fly to Europe and start on the first leg of my trip: Visiting Jannik. On February 1st, I will fly directly to San Jose, Costa Rica and spend a month doing whatever they tell me to do (I'm not too sure what that's going to be yet). Then, I fly back into Chicago and begin touring America by Amtrak train for 45 days. I will then spend three months in Thailand teaching English before arriving back in the States and doing what all the normal high school graduates do: attend college. 

I have one year to work, run, and travel before I am turned into a pumpkin and sucked back into normal, American life. I'm hoping I can share my experiences with you in a relatively interesting way. 

Stay tuned for stories, pictures, and videos of my year before I expire :)