Busy Weekend??

Well... there's just kinda a busy weekend ahead...

FRIDAY:
I came home from school.
I snuggled with my puppy while half napping/half watching NCIS
I went on a mini winter shopping spree at Old Navy. Felt nice to get something new.
I was at the pool from 5:15-7:50 teaching swim lessons.
I got gas so that Daddy could steal my truck tomorrow and make it to Bear Creek without having to get gas at 6 in the morning.
Came home and ate pizza.
Next on the agenda? SLEEP!

SATURDAY:
Donuts and Diapers tomorrow at 8. In the morning.
Kole's baseball tourney right after.
Supporting the JV team after that.
Scholarships?

SUNDAY:
Sunday School.
Church.
Kole's baseball tourney.
Homework?
MUST finish my RST bulletin board.
Trick or Treat at Kelly's with Renee. (Just so that we can say "hi" to the best youth director ever)
Party at Renee's? Maybe?

It's gonna be crazy. But hey, crazy is the best kind of weekend :)

This Is Me

So every morning as we are walking into our elementary, they play music over the announcement/PA system thing. Almost every time we hear this song, it's from a Disney movie called Camp Rock (no, I haven't seen the movie), and the lyrics are actually really good! For a kindergartener... or a senior in high school!!

This is Me

"I've always been the kind of girl
That hid my face
So afraid to tell the world
What I've got to say
But I have this dream
Right inside of me
I'm gonna let it show, it's time
To let you know
To let you know

This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now
Gonna let the light, shine on me
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me

Do you know what it's like
To feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
Where you're the shining star
Even though it seems
Like it's too far away
I have to believe in myself
It's the only way

This is real, This is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now
Gonna let the light, shine on me
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me

You're the voice I hear inside my head
The reason that I'm singing
I need to find you, I gotta find you
You're the missing piece I need
The song inside of me
I need to find you, I gotta find you

This is real, this is me
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, now
Gonna let the light, shine on me
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me
You're the missing piece I need
The song inside of me (this is me)
You're the voice I hear inside my head
The reason that I'm singing
Now I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I want to be
This is me"

Camp Talk at the Pool?? SAY WHA?!?!

It's 7:40, I've been at the pool about two and a half hours and SO ready to get outta there and get home. I'm saying goodbye to all of the little kids and one girl who is absolutely precious comes up to me and this is what goes down.

*Sophie notices the merits (yellow circles from camp that ended up in the bottom of my backpack after camp) hanging off my car keys*
Sophie: "Why do you have merits on your keys?"
Kylie: "Sophie! How do you know what merits are?"
Sophie: "because I went go to Camp Cho-Yeh"
Kylie: "NO WAY! I WORK THERE!"

Come to find out she goes session 5 every summer. SO, next summer I'll hopefully be at Cho-Yeh the same time she is! It totally made my night.

As I was walking out of the door this is what I was thinking...

"No wonder Sophie's adorable... she's a Cho-Yeh girl!"

Wayne Kerr!

AMAZING CONCERT!! Wayne Kerr started out by inviting all the youth up to the front so we would have more space (how did he know that we would all end up dancing and jumping and needing all that room... oh yeah.. we're teenagers). Then he played some of his fun songs, and some upbeat worship songs. Then he told us all to sit back down (as the old people couldn't jump any longer. haha), and he was going to slow it down.

This summer there was one song that would 'get me' every time it was played at camp. Which just happened to be every Friday night at closing Chogram. Now I can listen to the song for the most part and sing along perfectly fine. WELL. Wayne Kerr decided to play that song tonight and I was like WOAH. I'm pretty sure it took me maybe 30 seconds before the sea of emotions rushed over. The song originated by Hillsong United, so I have put their song below. Listen to the lyrics. They're really something.



"So what can I say, what can I do? But offer this heart o God, completely to You! So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe, of the One who gave it all!"

Thanks Youtube!!!

Did you know you tube has calculus tutorials on it?

IT DOES!!

Tonight I spent about 45 minutes watching various "How to: Calculus" and "Calculus made Easy" videos in a desperate attempt to grasp implicit differentiation and related rates.

Tomorrow I'll put my video-watched learning skills to the test and see how much more calculus I understand!

For now... sleep!

You have taught me...

Dear Swimming,

Thank you for all that you have given me over the past fourteen years. The lessons you have taught me are countless.

You have taught me how to manage my time. Only a swimmer knows how to spend 7 hours at the pool, 7 hours in school, and keep up with college classes.

You have taught me dedication. Swimming requires more dedication that a bystander would believe. It requires dedication to hear that alarm go off at 4:55, to only hit snooze till 5:15 before knowing you have to get out of bed, to take homework to the pool to study in between dry-land sets.

You have taught me a new definition of endurance. Physical endurance is a given in any sport. But how many sports require the mental endurance that swimming demands? The endurance to keep going when you only make the interval by a second. The endurance to keep trying, in the pool, and out.

You have taught me patience. Patience with teammates when they know every button to push, and push them anyways. Patience with coaches when "I just can't do this" doesn't register in their vocabulary. Patience that rolls over into life.

You have taught me how to be a role-model. Swim teams involve athletes of all ages, eyes are always watching and mimicking your every move. You showed me how to embrace that, and form relationships with the kids who are looking up to you.

You have taught me how to fail, and to fail with grace. Adding time is commonplace in swimming. In my world, adding time is short of perfect, and short of perfect is failing. But even after failing, you have taught me how to pull yourself out of the water and how to get ready for the next race.

You have taught me how to believe in myself. How to believe that I can do it, that I can be my best at all times.

You have taught me how to forget. When I hit that water the world fades away and nothing else matters except me and the water. Nothing. There isn't anything from the day that stands in the way of me and my love for those 2 hours and 15 minutes. Nothing.

You have taught me how to feel. There's a difference between moving water, and feeling the water move. Only you could have taught me that.

You have taught me how to laugh, and laugh at myself. When the practice seems impossible, when my teammates seem beyond frustrating, you have taught me to laugh and smile.

You have taught me confidence. That little girl you first met had none. The girl you are sending back out into the real world has plenty. You don't need to worry about that.

You have taught me how to trust. I've never been too good at that, but you have guided me along that road to trusting my coaches and my peers.

You have taught me who I am. You've made me into the fun-loving, bubbly, genuinely happy-go-lucky girl I am today. You have inspired me to be the person that I am, and to love myself for that.

But more than any of these, you have taught me how to love. To love swimming, and to know when that love is being transformed into bigger and better things. Although my love for being a swimmer is gone, my love for the sport is still strong. My love is now just in a different form, having the chance to be little kids' first inspiration to fall in love with swimming. One coach somewhere first sparked that love in me, and look at where it has taken me now. I couldn't ask for anything more, to give back to a sport that has given me so much.

Love always (and yes, I do mean always), Kylie

one.two.eight.eight.five.

12,885.

What does that number represent to you?

The amount of money you wish you had in your bank account?
Your zip code? (If you lived in NY)
The price of a new car?
The number of minutes you spend in school in a month?
The number of seconds in a Harry Potter movie?
How many pages it seems are in your new English AP textbook?
The amount of undergrads at SFA University?
Miles it takes driving from Houston to NYC nine times?

All of those are very good guesses, except that isn't what 12,885 means to me.

That is the number of hours I have (guesstimation) spent at the pool since I joined competitive swimming when I was 4.

Yes. Twelve THOUSAND eight hundred and eighty five HOURS.

From ages 4-6 I estimated I only spent an hour a week at the pool. I know that is a way low-estimate because in the summer, I spent atleast an hour a DAY at the pool.
When I was 7 I started taking private lessons, so I guesstimated the hours a week to 6. Becuase I lived at the pool when in the summer, plus swam summer league, plus started private lessons.
Ages 8-9 is when I first started club swimming. So, 7 ish hours a week? I know in the winter it wasn't that long, but summer was WAY over that amount.
10-13 (upper elementary/middle school) I was hardcore swimming club, about 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. So 8 hours a week.
Since I was 14 I averaged up to 28 hours a week at the pool between Varsity Swimming, Water Polo, Team YES, meets, tourneys, games, etc.

So... since I fell in love with the sport, I have spent 12,885 hours at the pool. That's ridiculous.

To-Do Lists

Every year in middle school we got those stupid planners that we all hated, but had to write stuff in just because the teachers wanted us to. We hated them! Even freshman, sophmore, and part of junior year I felt that I could remember everything that I had to do that night. WELL. This year... different story! My planner pretty much holds my life schedule. So... as I was trying to figure out what all I had going on this week (I'm in between studying for part A and part B of tomorrow's anatomy practical), I figured maybe the blogging world would like to know the crazy to-do list called my planner.

TUESDAY:
Varsity Prac
@ Millsap -- don't forget clothes and shoes
Finish Metamorphosis Questions for Chapters 2/3
Figure out guidelines for author abstract paper
Start studying for Friday's calc test
Study majorly for Wednesday's anatomy test
Swim practice TYES
Read chapters ?? for government out of hard copy textbook
Government definitions

WEDNESDAY
@ Millsap
Lead RFL meeting after school
Tutor @ Millsap 4-5
Kole's Cross Country Districts @ Bear Creek
Bible Study
Author abstract paper
Study for calc test
Bulletin Board File (atleast 5 done)
Captain stuff for Thursday's meet

THURSDAY
Varsity Practice
Clothes for Dress Professionally all day (get from Warwick's room or bring home)
@ Millsap
Meet v. Ranch (4:30-9?)
Study for Friday's calc test
Metamorphosis Paper on Friday (Review formatting and what to improve)
Author Abstract Paper due Friday
Bulletin Board File (finish 10)
Figure out large group/visual for RST
Apply for housing at Texas A&M

And these are only the things I know about this weekend! Luckily a lot of these I have set goal dates for myself to be done by, that way I'm not stressing out the day of (even though I probably will anyways). I didn't even include Friday's busy-ness! There honestly are not enough hours in a day to be in high school, take AP classes, get good grades, be in as many extra curriculars as we need to be in. I mean seriously... what happened to sleep!?!?

OK... brain has de-anatomy-ified. Now back to some more anatomy!!! GAH! Have a great week everybody :)

Some Funny T-shirts :)

In between watching Texas A&M's polo games up in College Station today, we did a little shopping. Here are some of my favorite t-shirts that I saw (luckily they are all online!)

We're Seniors Now!

Senior Swimmers
Class of 2011
Brian, Matt D, Matt J, Connor, Andrew
Jodie, Mina, Kylie



GOLD Team Captains



Swimming Captains

Favorite Quote of Today

Today was my first day in Kindergarten! It was so amazing :))

This was probably my favorite quote of the day from the kids,

"Miss Suddendorf, what do you do when you leave here and go back to Cy-Falls everyday?" --Teacher
"Well, I go back and then I go to math class" --Me
*Little boy raises his hand*
"Is it a hard math class? Like harder than 5+5?" --Kindergartner

Kindergarten's gonna be amazing :)

Twas the Night Before Kindergarten

Twas the night before kindergarten and as she prepared,
Kylie was excited and a little bit scared.
She stayed up doing calculus homework, dreaming of a good nights sleep in her bed,
while visions of derivatives danced in her head.
Slacks and Closed Toe Shoes and Belts galore
were in her athletic bag and set by the door.
Dress clothes were hung in closets with care,
knowing that kindergarten soon would be there.
In the morning it came, kindergarten starts later!
Would the cooperating teacher be nice? Would any children hate her?
Faces were washed, and teeth were brushed white;
The RST class posed in pictures for Mrs. Warwick with eyes sparkling bright.

2nd Period came and the class boarded the bus;
Worried and nervous, but not putting up a fuss.
Some students brought folders or their favorite lucky charm;
in hopes that the luck would help them through the day without harm.
Mrs. Warwick exclaimed: "You're teachers, WOW!
Let me lots of pictures so you'll remember this moment years from now"
Mrs. Warwick wasn't worried, her students would be fine;
they were ready for this, they had practiced a thousand of times.
So she told her class, "Everything will be okay
and when you are done, we will all chant HOORAY!"
Mrs. Warwick then let her class go with a smile,
and we all wandered to our class where we would stay for while.
The room was all filled with toys, books, and maps,
too entertaining for any mid-class naps!
The kindergarteners colored and painted and played Simon Says,
while the RST kids worked hard and wracked their heads.
They were super busy from beginning to end,
Within just a minute, we all had a new 5 year old friend.
The RST students were exuberant, they loved their class like an early morning sunrise;
It was the juniors and seniors who were in for a surprise.
When what to her wondering eyes should appear
but proud Mrs. Warwick who was holding back tears!
Her nose so sniffly! Her eyes red and wet!
This was the saddest first day Mrs. Warwick had witnessed yet!
The RST students all waved from the door of the school.
"Please don't cry Mrs. Warwick... Teaching kindergarten is cool!!"

--Adapted from Natasha Wing

Now I must actually go do that calculus homework that I mentioned line two... Off to Kindergarten in the morning!! EEEK!

Splattering Paint

Today, Renee and I were making our T-shirts for Team YES to wear when we help out at the little kid swim meets. We have found that the more stand-outness of the shirts we wear, the easier it is for the youngins to find us (especially at the 8 and under meets). Last year our t-shirts were tie-dyed, this year... paint splattered.

As I was standing out on the drive the gorgeous day splattering paint all over my black t-shirt canvas, I realized how much splattering paint is like life.

I'm sure you are just dying to hear this correlation, yeah?

My t-shirt had 8 different paints splattered onto it:
1. bright orange
2. light orange
3. blue
4. glow in the dark pink
5. regular paink
6. purple
7. yellow
8. lime green

Just like in my life, I have 8 things that are very important to me:
1. Friends
2. Family
3. Camp Cho-Yeh
4. Cornerstone
5. School
6. Swimming (and my little swimming sisters)
7. Relay for Life
8. Ready, Set, Teach

On my t-shirt, these colors all came together to make something beautiful (my t-shirt). Just like in my life, all of these things combine to make something absolutely wonderful: my crazy, busy, sometimes chaotic, slightly hectic life.