Before I perish...

I hope to accomplish a majority of these things.

(Not in any particular order)

1. Live past 2012
2. Participate in the CSS program
3. Join the Peace Corps*
4. Travel to every state in U.S.
5. Travel to every continent on Earth
6. Travel to every country in the world
7. Try a food whose name I cannot pronounce
8. Meet Michael Cera
9. See Kimya Dawson live
10. See She & Him live
11. Get Alesana to autograph something for Kasey
12. Write a great book
13. Keep this blog forever(:
14. Take up photography
15. Learn to draw the human form
16. Get multiple tattoos (with meaning)
17. Get a monroe
18. Get a belly button piercing
19. Learn to speak Spanish more fluently 
20. Spend at least a month in every Spanish-speaking country
21. Learn a third language
22. Learn something useful everyday
23. Invent something
24. Adopt-a-highway
25. Adopt a pet
26. Adopt a child
27. Register to vote
28. Vote in every [residential election
29. Participate in the community
30. Graduate high school
31. Go to college*
32. Complete college*
33. Get married (Once)
34. Have children
35. Be a good mom
36. Have a bilingual household
37. Inspire someone
38. Do a marvelous canvas painting
39. Donate a dishwasher
40. Cook nearly everyday
41. Build something
42. Personalize everything
43. Befriend a homosexual
44. Create a new food
45. Paint a mural
46. Purchase a famous painting
47. Own an exotic pet
48. Grow giant sunflowers
49. Start a business
50. Do a radio shout out
51. Meet my family in Puerto Rico
52. Visit my family in Chicago
53. Keep in touch with good friends
54. Reunite with people from my past
55. Forgive
56. Organize
57. Disorganize
58. Exercise
59. Run at least one marathon every year
60. Create a million dollar doodle
61. Travel by boat
62. Own a Volkswagen Camper
63. Own a moped
64. Be on television
65. Write a song
66. Compose music
67. Own multiple types of old technology
68. Make a fashion statement
69. Model (again)
70. Plant a tree
71. Beautify the world
72. Become strong enough to start a lawn mower
73. Discover something
74. Educate people
75. Eliminate (or reduce) the use of hand sanitizer
76. Own a zebra chair
77. Throw an amazing surprise party
78. Build a treehouse
79. Own a two story home
80. Have a girlfriend
81. Own a thoroughbred animal
82. Get wrinkles from excessive smiling
83. Write a better will
84. Periodically update that better will
85. Stop cussing
86. Stop buying notebooks I don't need
87. Write and illustrate a children's book
88. Make a stop-motion film
89. Fill a piggy bank
90. Understand calculus
91. Learn why watches never stay on time
92. Read more
93. Complete the Vampire Chronicles series
94. Expand my vocabulary
95. Sky dive
96. Snowboard
97. Ski
98. Water ski
99. Scuba dive
100. Understand a televised sport and enjoy watching it
101. Learn the inner-workings of cars
102. Learn to drive a stick-shift
103. Experience a fire
104. Survive a zombie apocalypse
105. Write a song about Thanksgiving
106. Learn to ballroom dance
107. Learn sign language
108. Graffiti something public
109. Own a dessert restaurant
110. Get a complete tan
111. Randomly punch someone who deserves it
112. Stand up for someone
113. Stand up for myself
114. Shave all my hair off
115. Look up the 12 original amendments
116. Learn how to hula hoop dance
117. Have a therapist
118. See the supernatural or non-human existences
119. Get a driver's license
120. Learn astral projection
121. Get 00 gauges
122. Read the entire Bible
123. Crowd surf
124. Try a veggie burger from Burger King
125. Be a vegetarian for more than a month
126. Become a volunteer firefighter
127. Work at Target
128. Join a branch of the military*
129. Become president of the United States
130. Go to a rave
131. Etch a family member's name from the Vietnam memorial
132. Take a trip to D.C. on my own
133. Surf
134. Add to the chewing gum wall in Seattle, Washington

* conditional wants

red : completed goal

Additional information:

     I plan to periodically add goals, remove them, cross out completed goals, and the like. Every time I accomplish a goal, I will blog about it that day with the title of each entry like this: "Goal #45235: Eat Cheese"

If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear em! ENJOY!(:

"Since the emotion is no longer existent."

I told you I'd be back.
     I guess I was wrong. Ouch, that hurt a lot. Second time I'm crying today. Well at least this was more worth it, not just a lame test I didn't end up taking. I hate when you call me Passíon, you make me feel like a child. Like you're this great big person looking down on me. I can hear you saying it too, and it makes me grind my teeth. And when I tell you I hate it you never fail to bitterly mutter, "Well what am I supposed to call you?!?" But it was all a misunderstanding, I believe... I hope.
     One truly recent photograph.
     Quite upsetting but I'm okay now. I'm done crying, I think.
     Goodnight world and all its inhabitants!

P.S. Lately, I have been waking up to Free by Mike Mains & the Branches. Just had to note that.

Begin by falling and finish by getting back up

     Newton's Third Law of Motion says that I am going to have a terrible rest of the week or more. My past few post have been fantastic and full of excitement. But not today, not today.
     I woke up a bit late and thought nothing of it. Got ready for my day and actually ate breakfast, fabulous! I walked out to the bus stop as I munched on my peanutbutter and jelly sandwhich and drank milk from my dino juicy. The bus arrived and I made my way to my self-assigned seat. Just as I sat down, I remember that I was having a test in the morning and that I forgot all of my things on the coffee table in my room. Drat! Already a bad beginning.
     I looked over to Kasey and asked if Ms. Susan, our bus driver, would let me off the bus so I may get my supplies. She made a slanty face and said no which in turn, made me frown. This problem could have been solved much quicker and much easier if I have my cellular device on my person. Let me explain the situation with that.
     I am a seventeen year-old high school senior, my father--with whom I am living with for the first school year of my life--thinks that it is necessary for me to leave my cell phone at home. He uses this analogy: "It's like wearing a seat belt: the one time you forget to wear it, you could get into a fatal accident. Just like the one day you forget to turn the volume off on your phone, you can get it taken away for going off in class." And okay, I understand that but wouldn't that be my fault? I could deal with my phone being taken away if it was my fault in the first place. I wouldn't ask my father to get it back either because I think it is a just punishment for my forgetfulness or what have you, given the situation. Though, I digress.
     If I had my cell phone, I could have called my father as soon as I realized that I was utterly unprepared for the day, but I didn't. If I knew my father's cell phone number by memory, I could have called him from Kasey's phone or of the phone's of any number of people on that bus, but I didn't. So I did what any logical person could only assume to do, go to the office and wait.
     The ladies at the office were less than concerned with my dilemma and proceeded to discuss other students' issuses before my own (even though I was there first...) Upsetting. When one of the ladies finally had the time of day to speak to me, she ridiculed me on my reasons for leaving my supplies at home. "What's your name?" she inquired. "Passíon Leon, I mean Leeee-on First name spelt like passion." (Though it is pronounced Pa-shawn). She searched the system and couldn't find me, so her reaction was to turn to me and sneer, "your last name is Johnson, right?" I looked at her, puzzled, and repeated "Leee-on, it's Leee-on." She rolled her eyes and turned to face the computer screen. She pulled a pen out from the drawer to her left and took a sticky note from a draw on the right and began to write a phone number I did not recognize. "Is that the home telephone?" I asked, still muched suprised by the unfamiliarity of the number. "It's your father's work number." "Uhhh... I would really much rather have his cellular number, please." She looked at me weird and said, "It's in another area code, that would be long distance." I said nothing but requested the number again, I honestly did not see the issue. I left the office to go use the phone at the oddly placed front desk.
     After getting permission from yet another lady, I used the telephone and tried dialing my father's cell phone number. It didn't work. The phone would not allow me to enter all ten digits of the phone number. Oh, that's the issue with it being from a Missouri area code. Drat. I tried his work telephone and no one answered, as I assumed would be the case. I was more upset than before, how was I going to get this call placed? I didn't know where to go, so I quickly made my way to English class.
     I was hoping that I could explain my situation to my teacher, but wait! There was still a little hope left! I asked one of my fellow classmates if I could use thier cell phone, with the approval of the teacher of course, and one boy was generous enough to lend me his. I dialed my father's cell phone number and it went through! Yes, this might be the fix to my day!!!!
     "Are you home?" I asked, quite eagerly. "No." I started crying and we said our goodbyes. I returned the phone to it's owner and then plopped my head on my desk. The teacher came by and asked if I wanted to explain my situation. I was stressed for the test we were about to take, a test for which we could use notes (which, as I've said before, were on my coffee table). He was very understanding and allowed that I could make it up on a later date. I was glad to hear that but it was a short lived joy beause he handed me two yellow slips of paper that listed all the SOL tests I was required to take.
     Nine different tests. Nine test that are supposed to be taken throughout high school. Nine tests that I am really stressed about. To understand my level of stress I had toward these tests, let me give you some background.
     Since the fifth grade, I have done my schooling in San Antonio, Texas. The standarized testing that the state of Texas had, at the time I lived there, was called TAKS. I took and passed all my TAKS tests and I definally passed my Exit Level TAKS tests. (Which determines whether or not you graduate from high school.) Mind you, that the state of Virginia has a much higher standard of learning than Texas. Therefore, the TAKS tests apparently do not waver for the Virginia SOL tests. Complete and utter bull! I should not be required to do more testing just because I am a new student. I believe they should take my past TAKS testing into consideration. Virginia is definitely not Texas and I have learned from this expierence is that I will not move whilst my future children are in high school. I would not want ot put them through this bologna of a situation that I am in now. But once again, I digress.
     The SOL test I am most stressed about is one of Virginia and U.S. History, a class I have never taken in my life. I took Texas and U.S. History because, well, I WAS IN TEXAS! What is the point of making me take a test that I am doomed to fail. What do I know about Virginia? I know where it's located, I know that it's colder than Texas, and I know that the school system is a dozen times more complicated than in Texas. I am going to speak to my counsler about this abomination, hopefully tomorrow. But you see here, dear reader, this was only the first few hours of my day. I don't know if it gets better or whether it gets worse, but I have a strong feeling that this will not be my only blog entry today. See you later!

Awaiting life's bounty

     I'm excited. More excited than I have been for a while, more excited than when I had the epiphany to go to the Art Institute to become an interior designer. There so much that I do not want to wait for but want to at the same time... the suspense is killing me but I like it so much!
     Very early on the morning of December 22nd, I will be making my way (via plane) to my home in San Antonio, Texas. I will not return to Virginia Beach until January 3rd, the anniversary of the birth of my mother. I will see friends that I haven't seen since June, and boy I'm enthralled! Though it's not only winter vacation that I'm thrilled about.
     Summer! This is my final year of high school and it's amazing yet intimidating to see it come to an end so quickly... I have a vehicle, I'll have my summer vacation driving around the states, and then it's off to college in October. Dang. There's so much I want to do!

I don't have to look fantastic to take the
 world by storm, I'll just do it!

     I was looking into the Peace Corps as an assignment from my journalism class and it's pretty dang spiffy! I was thinking of trying the Cross Country Service (CCS) program first. There are some major differences between CCS and the Peace Corps, though the biggest being the length of time required to stay in a foreign country. For the Peace Corps, you are required to spend two years in another country and an additional three months for training prior to departure; versus CCS whose stays are from one to twelve weeks, so no more than three months. I think I would first try twelve weeks in the CCS program to make sure I had the dedication for the Peace Corps. These thoughts have motivated me to begin thinking about making a bucket list.
     Sure, I'm only seventeen, but I want to live life! I want to experience everything from climbing mountains to eating something whose name I cannot pronounce. I think in my next post I will put up my bucket list and I'll go back and cross through things as I complete them. I love this blog. Gee-whiz, I feel free!

A truer reflection

     So, as all can see, I have enhanced my blog's header. I chose these two images for a couple of reasons, but firstly, I must inform you of their whereabouts and the reason I chose them.
     The image on the left, of the little girl blowing a dandelion puff, was found at this web address: http://www.pbase.com/nickythurgar/image/87190232 (Taken by Nicky Thurgar) I am not to owner of that photograph therefore I should receive no credit. Well I chose this photo because it reminds myself of me, a much cuter version I must admit. Ha ha. It's simple, yet elegant, and no other photo of dandelion puffs could better capture that particular moment. (Seriously! Try googling dandelion puffs and tell me when you find a better photograph.)
     The photograph on the right was taken by my own right hand on March 1, 2010. It was a Monday as well as the one-year anniversary of the relationship between Joey and myself. Instead of going to school, and he work, we went to the zoo, dined at Wienerschnitzel, and went to that amazing book store that sells fancily bound books; but I digress. You cannot tell, because I have used greyscale on the image, that the bracelets on our wrist had blue x's and green lines. (Which maybe be why I chose this template, subliminally...) Moving on, I made these bracelets out of soda tabs and lanyard string, pretty simple to do and an easy way to make money, but not the point. Joey got the very, very, very first pop tab bracelet that I have ever made! It was kind of falling apart... but it was theeeee original.<3 The ring I was wearing is clear with a daisy painted on the inside, so it looked amazing on my finger. Sadly, that ring broke and lies somewhere in my things at Joey's house. The reason I chose this photo is for the simple fact that it was when I was completely happy with him, and it'll always be a part of me. But I feel good that I'm here now, in Virginia. "You started losing your identity..." I was told. I want to define myself and we're both young, after all "we have all the day in the world!"
     These are a few of the other photographs I was going to put on the right side of that adorable little girl:

I took the photos of the bird(s) January twenty-seventh, two-thousand and ten at a Sonic (the eatery) in San Antonio, Texas. I want to say it was downtown, but I'm not sure if that exact location would be considered to be downtown San Antonio. I believe this Sonic location was near the book place I mentioned earier. It was just a normal day out, Joey and I. Just something to get us out of the confines of our tiny house.(:

     The sticky note wall was a Christmas slash welcome home present. Guess who made it? Ha, you already knew, didn't you? Yes, Joey. I visited my dad for Christmas of 2009 and I got this upon my return to Texas. It must have taken a lot of time and apparently a lot of sticky notes! I don't remember if I cried when I saw it or not, but I feel like I did. If you can tell, this photo is two photographs combined into one. I did not chose this photo as my blog header because I didn't think that greyscale would do it justice so I didn't even give it a second thought. I could never put any shame to this artwork, it's too beautiful to disort.
     And although today is Turkey Day, I do not want to discuss it. I was rather quiet and kept to myself today. I think I will try to prefect the appearance of my blog by messing with the html. Adios!