My World in 543 Words

In a world full of endless possibilities, how do people choose the right path? Throughout my whole life people have asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And my answer to this day remains the same, “I have no idea.” Maybe the thought that I might be tied down to something that I don’t genuinely love is what makes me so unsure of my future. Or maybe the fact that I might not be able to do everything I want to do makes me skeptical of choosing a specific path.

If I explore my past, I see how all the different activities in my world - playing piano, swimming, church, and school - have molded my life. My parents laid the foundation by instilling a love of learning and a pursuit of excellence within me at a young age. So how could it be that I still don’t know what I want to do with my life?

Collage of my public school acceptances

Playing piano showed me that hard work pays off. Beginning at the age of three, I hated the instrument with a passion until I had an epiphany when I turned twelve. Now it has become an outlet to my emotions. Swimming taught me the importance of discipline, time management, and efficiency, but it also showed me important aspects of being a leader. I learned that my words and actions greatly impacted the people around me, and if I want people to be a certain way, I have to lead by example. Along the way, I figured out how to bridge the communication gap by interpreting the different “languages” that exist between swimmers and their coaches. Through swimming, I also found out that I thrive under large amounts of pressure, and love to rise to the occasion when my team needs me. Church trained me to set my priorities straight, and to make sure that I let people know what my priorities are ahead of time. It brought me to Germany once a year to life-changing conferences where I met hundreds of people from around the world. School granted me a taste of many different subjects and an opportunity to expand my knowledge. It opened the door for me to work with teachers that genuinely wanted all of their students to succeed. Those activities have become my world.
         Yet despite how much all these things have shaped my life like a potter’s skilled hand, it is as if I am an unfinished sculpture, with endless possibilities as to what I might become. My only definite dream is to lead a life where I would constantly be challenged and under pressure, so that I could perform at my best in everything I do. All of my experiences didn’t necessarily cast me into an engineer, or a lawyer, or a doctor. They created something better: a girl that is not conformed by the influences of the world, who is open to different paths, and waiting for just the right niche to positively impact the people she has met, allowing her to give back to the community that defined her.

The Process of Purchasing the Paint (DIY Post #7)

Color-Adding Machine

Since I was in Germany for the last 2 weeks, we didn't get a chance to work on the project until this weekend. So yesterday we decided to meet at Home Depot and purchase the paint as well as any other supplies we would need.

Paint Mixer

None of us had purchased paint before, so we spent the first few minutes looking for Glidden's Pool Party Blue - to no avail. So instead of spending more time looking for the color, I decided to ask one of the employees. She said that we would not have been able to find that color, because they had to make it for us. With that, she asked us what color we wanted, and then what type of sheen we wanted the paint to be. We were completely unprepared for that question because we didn't know there were different types of sheen for the paint. The incredibly helpful lady helped us make our decision, and said she would make it right away. 

Self-Checkout

As we were waiting for her to get started on making our paint, we quickly found some spackle that we would have to use to repair the numerous holes in the walls in the team room. Then she began making our paint color. Through numerous machines, the employee transformed a can of white paint to our Pool Party Blue color. The process seemed really cool, and it was interesting to see the different steps required to transform the white paint. The whole time the paint was in the machines, the lady chatted with us about her experiences in the paint department, and before we knew it, the paint was ready. 

Our final challenge was to checkout the paint. We scanned our 3 items at the self-checkout area, and after a few attempts (Connor forgot the pin number to his debit card, so I paid in cash), figured out how to pay what was due. We split the cost 3-way.

Picking the Paint (DIY Post #6)

the paint section at Home Depot

This morning I went to Applebee's to work a fundraiser for the FVHS swim team. As the hostess I got to talk to welcome all of the families to the restaurant, and thank them for their contributions. Soon after, I went to practice, and then the three of us - Makenna, Connor, and I went to lunch at Souplantation.

some of the many different colors
there were to choose from

After a busy morning, we headed over to Home Depot to pick out the paint color for the walls of our team room. When we got there, we realized that there were a ton of different colors to choose from - different shades, different sheens, and many other aspects of paint that we had never even heard of. We decided on a color called "Pool Party Blue," a product of the Glidden Paint Company. However, we didn't purchase anything because we weren't sure if the paint would be approved by the school.

I leave for Germany tomorrow, and I will be there for the next 10 days, so we won't be able to work on the project until I come back. Once all of us are back in town, we will purchase the paint and begin construction on the room.