Hello?

Hello?

Do I still have a few readers?

How do you do today?

I hope all is well in the states across the U.S. and around the world!

I know it has been a long time since I updated. 

Oh where to begin, oh where to begin.

Days have been upward and downward and filled with summer breeze.

I got to go to a surf competition in North Carolina. Where I met a very inspirational family. The Silvagni family has shown me the light of yet another family who finds the comfort of blood bonds between one another during adversity. The older brother in the family was diagnosed with Lyme disease and since that day they have had a fight to give Andrew the best treatment possible. Upon giving good treatment comes a good amount of doctor bills of course. So Tony the younger brother has started Surf Competitions to support his brother and the financial need of his medical state. As Mrs. Silvagni stated she hopes "that some day this competition can help other families like her own." At the competition you saw not just a family but the town of Kure Beach, NC band together for this family. It was truly amazing to see the connection of people and how they worked together to make a huge competition be a success for all. Fun and Lyme in the same sentence is rare but that weekend it was common and seen across Carolina Beach. That's not all Tony was doing that weekend- he had opened his home to many and led them into the world as he knows it he gave us a place to stay and showed us true southern hospitality. I was impressed to say the least but Silvagni isn't a little known name in the world of surfing and although Tony may have been named one of the top surfer's in the United States he holds his ties to home and his genuine compassion to those around him. It was an awesome weekend and I encourage you to read more at their local paper Island Gazette. Congratulations to the Silvagni family on a third successful year for their surf competition.

Just after that weekend I started tutoring like mad for the World History Regents Exam that I would have to take on August 13th. After a morning of turning ill and vomiting I went to the test with studying behind me and eyes on getting at least a passing grade. And the verdict is- I passed! So on to Senior year I can go and hopefully I will be entering the school with my head held high and my health turning to a brighter side.

Then just after that Jake planned a surprise party for my return to school with close friends and the love and support of family it was an encouragement to see everyone before starting school in just a few weeks. It was a selfless act he did just days before he went away to school and boy did he surprise me and I think it was known to all with a scream that they received as everyone jumped up in the air. Then laughter and good times filled the evening and it was known to all that Senior year was only beginning!

Just a few days ago yet another change came upon me with Jake off to college and into the world of dorms and excitement! You can track his roommate Matt and him here. Where they share the frustrations and curiosity of two country kids venturing off into the city of Pittsburgh, PA as two graphic design majors. When one door shuts another door opens. It is turning into a fast paced week this week as the summer months wind down to weeks and what just seems like yesterday everyone was getting out of school and excited for summer everyone is entering back into the same building. With a new auditorium renovation and the crisp college ruled paper we all are returning to another year of high school. For some it's only the beginning and for me it's going to be my final year there. 

It's interesting how school goes here in the United States, if you're like many of the families that I grew up with staying in the small town setting and raising a family is what they're all about. So as time passed the kid you hated in kindergarten ended up being in your class at least 4 times by the time you had reached sixth grade. You were forced to know these kids and know the families by the time you had reached sixth grade. Heck by the time you had reached sixth grade you knew all the kids you were going to school with, most of the teachers in the building, and the principal, nurse, and every single lunch lady. You are forced to know them. Then seventh grade comes along and your pushed into middle school meeting new kids but still staying isolated to a degree with a separation of kids onto "teams" so you got a chance to have your 4 core classes with the same kids and you got to know them for two years. Then ah to High School the end of the destination where you have your final school with many of those same kids you attended elementary school with. You shared laughs, memories, times of both good and bad, babysitters and maybe even a pacifier or two. Our schools have forced many of us to become very close friends and family and for the first time in many of our lives in June we will take a step that we have never taken before. We will walk away from our small towns and villages and walk into the United States dispersing across the U.S. and maybe even across the globe- only holding one common bond as classmates of the graduating class of 2009.

It's going to be interesting and boundaries of school walls are no longer as we all look into the future- college and career paths. To the Army, to the workforce, to a trade of some sort, we are the future. 

With that being said,

I go to visit my first college this Friday and I am excited to say I am looking into majoring in Physical Therapy. 

I hope to be feeling better by Friday and shaking the bug that has been lingering within me. 

Looking towards the future and a more consistent blog format once again,

Victoria