Firstly, I’ll admit I’m copying my sister with this idea as it only came after her own recap of 2016 post. I just thought it was a great idea to quickly share with the whole family all the landmark events that occurred in my life this past year.
Starting with January, I had my first car accident. Not my fault in the slightest, the guy’s brakes stopped working and he rear ended a minivan and then proceeded to ram into my passenger side. So my car got totaled, and to make matters worse the one who hit me had no insurance. I was pretty sad as I loved the Jetta, and it only added to my anxiety while driving. Nothing else out of the norm occurred in January.
February occurred without any bumps in the road. I went to dance, work, and school weekly. The only event that made February any different was Winter Formal. My friend Jin came over and we got all dolled up to go out to dinner and our school dance for students who had higher GPAs and missed fewer days of school. In a way it was an honors dance. We drove to one restaurant and it had a 40 minute wait which we determined wasn’t worth it. Then we went downtown to Spaghetti Works to be given the exact same wait time and having no argument about how that one was worth it. So we had dinner, and as I recall not with good service, and then headed to the dance. We met up with some friends and danced until we got bored. I enjoyed myself but definitely not one of the most exciting months out of 2016.
Somehow I had convinced my father to take me to New York City for spring break and I loved every minute of it. We tried to see places we haven’t been before like the Museum of Math, the Museum of Modern Art, the Statue of Liberty, and Grant’s Tomb (just the first few to come to mind). We rode the Roosevelt Island Tramway and walked along the Highline, where we saw Bill Nye the science guy. As always, we visited with my dad’s high school friend Cheryl and her family. I also had my dad take some pictures of me because none of other friends would be able to say their senior photos were taken in New York. No matter how many times I visit the city I think I will be forever entranced by the mystery every big city contains. While there are the landmark things you must see every time, it was nice to see these things I didn’t even know the big apple had to offer. It’s only been 9 months and I already want to return.
April contained my final high school dance. I stayed an hour and then went home to watch a movie with my dad. Also my final purple feather day. This is a special day where students get to miss roughly 3 periods for their good grades. We start it off with an act, this year it was magician, then proceed to let off purple balloons in the front of our school and end it with receiving a water bottle and donut. This was my fourth year attending, resulting in special recognition and the principal saying my name as I walked across the stage.
Finally we hit May which was most likely the busiest time of the year. It was the month of performing my last dance recital as a student. My dad’s mom and dad along with both of my sisters all flew up to see me dance. I felt really supported with so many people coming in town to see me dance one last time. Then came my graduation. Walking across that stage only meant I was done with that school and moving on to the next. It was nice to see my mom and both of her parents but other than that, graduation wasn’t anything special. And of course it was graduation party season. I’m sure I gained five pounds with all the cake I ate. There was so much driving involved and getting lost but it well worth it to support all of my friends on their own upcoming adventures.
June consisted of seeing my future school for only the second time. I choose it based off of cost and only truly felt excited for the first time when I stepped on campus. I also turned 18 which in the state of Nebraska doesn’t really change much. For my birthday we went to a College World Series game with a lot of rain but still fun. June was just filled with a bunch of work honestly as I tried to save up for college.
The beginning of July continued to be filled with days at Hy-Vee. Until I quit on the 21st. Only two days later was I in the car with my dad being a lifesaver and driving me to Minnesota. I wasn’t about to make my first trip on the interstate to Minneapolis and with Rachel’s plane issues, I’m thankful that he offered to drive as long as I paid for gas. Then Rachel and I went to Warped Tour for my 3rd time, Rachel’s 2nd. I’ve been to a different location every time and this one was definitely the coolest day out in the sun. I loved all the bands as always and spent a little more than I should’ve on band merch. I already am getting pumped for Warped Tour 2017.
End of July beginning of August probably contained my favorite trip of the year. The whole family (dad, me and 3 siblings, sister-in-law) all went London. As I love big cities, I loved London. There were so many things to do and museums to visit that I know we didn’t do all that there is to see. We saw Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye, and too many museums to list. I ate a lot of pizza and hamburgers as per usual while trying a few ciders and having my first gin & tonic. Returning back to the US, Rachel, my father, and I all drove down to Kansas City so that Rachel and I could see Demi Lovato and Nick Jonas and then visited Ikea to pick up furniture for Rachel. Also, two months later than I wanted, I got my first tattoo. It is of small music notes on the shoulder I held up my violin with. A lot of August was spent packing up my room in Omaha and visiting friends before I moved three hours west. Eventually moving day hit and it was time to begin my college adventures.
There were no big events in the last 4 months of the year. I made a group of friends who I go to school dances and events, hockey games, movies, and out to eat with. There were many conversations held on the floor in the hallway, sitting down wherever the dog was. I went to every single one of my 6 classes and earned a 4.0 GPA for my first semester of college. When I visited home in October, the family traveled down to Kansas City for the renaissance fair. I also came home for Thanksgiving and then at the end of semester.
Being back home for roughly a month was nice. I caught up with my main group of Omaha friends. Also, my father bought me tickets to Yesterday & Today, a Beatles cover show, that I have been to I believe 6 times now. I spent two days in Lincoln with my sister Rachel and we saw a movie and visited the state capital. For New Year’s Eve, I went downtown with my dad to see the fireworks and then went to celebrate the new year at my friend Cecilia’s house.
To sum up 2016, I graduated high school, went overseas, and began college three hours away from home. Now as we begin 2017 with my newly declared dance minor I can only hope that I’ll make more friends, have new experiences, and enjoy life.
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