WARNING: THIS IS A LONG JOURNAL ENTRY

Tomorrow at 3:10pm my time as a junior will pass and I shall officially become a senior. It's in many ways a daunting feeling, but it's a good feeling. Sadly, this only serves to make me think about all the seniors I know and how, when I return to school in the fall, they won't be there with me. They'll be off at college greeting school in a whole new environment. It's not to say that I don't want them to go off and make their way into the world, but their presence at my school has made each moment there spectacular; has made me WANT to go to school every day. Instead, I have to take the title of senior and begin making plans for my own future. It's weird, planning in one year something that will effect another four years of my life.
But I have to say, I've never been more excited for the future than I am right now. I can feel my heart racing as I write about it, because I have so many things that I can be excited about.
I didn't make Association like I had hoped, but I'm satisfied with those that did make it and I wish them the best of luck for next year. But, a dream that has been mine since I was in eighth grade was realized and I made it into Sterling Strings! Throughout this past week we've been picking music for our strolling show next year, and it's making me itch to have at my violin, but I know that if I do then I'll lose my drive to practice over the summer and that's something I can't afford to lose. I found out in my Journalism class that I will be the Centerspread Editor for next year's paper, and I am super excited to be taking on the job! I can finally utilize all of my random knowledge of computer creativity to make my section awesome! And I will be taking two classes of the Post-Secondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) that I can't wait to start! One of them is an online Digital Photography class that I just can't wait to start and the other, a requirement for my graduation, is an American Government class. The nice part about PSEO is that, instead of having to go to school from 8am to 3:20pm every day, I only have to go to my high school from 8am to 12:50pm and my government class is only on Mondays from 6 to 8:50pm at the college. It's very nice. Plus, I can use the extra time to get my homework done and then have time to practice violin without it being really late at night. As an added bonus, since my school-related items will be done earlier, that means I have more time to spend with my friends and family!
Oh yeah! I also am going to be returning to Camp Miller as a junior counselor this summer. Despite my fears that the new director has changed so many of the traditions and rules that camp will no longer be the camp that I used to go to, I'm going to give it a shot and see what's going on. If I don't feel that it's right, then I just might quit. I know that that might seem like an awful reason to quit, but I have so many fond memories of that place that if it were to change too much, it wouldn't feel the same and wouldn't hold the same magic for me that it does now. And I don't want to tarnish my amazing memories with a camp that is completely different. Change is absolutely fine, but from what I can tell it's like someone tore down the house I grew up in and replaced it with some hotel or condo or something. It doesn't look like there's any connection to the past, except me (and other returning counselors) and my memories (as well as theirs).
Back to a future school note, in orchestra it was decided that for our trip in April we are going to go to New York! I'm very excited because I've only been there when I was younger and we didn't do any of the tourist-y things that are there. We didn't even go to New York City! This time, it looks like we're going to the Statue of Liberty, a Broadway show, shopping on fifth avenue.. all of the good and wonderfully amazing things to go see. The only downer is that I have to fund the trip myself and it's not cheap. But, I'm hoping to get a job over the school year, and I'm saving most of my paychecks from the summer for the trip.
Random fun fact: My sister, now four months old, has rolled over all by herself! It was so amazing!! And a week or so before she did that, she laughed! It was super cute!!

All in all, things are looking pretty fantastic, and I can't wait to get started.