TJR

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[|HS slideshow]

Yes, I would definitely say that I had a fairly average high school experience. I came in knowing fairly few people, only about 3 actually, and made friends, went through experiences, and just had a all around great time.

Marching band is probably the thing that I am most proud, throughout my high school career. I played trombone my freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year but Mr. Beamish switched me to Tuba a few weeks before our first performance and that was a challenge of learning an entirely new instrument and show in that time period.

Our shows? Well, 9th grade was Rewind, 10th – Moondances, 11th - Perpetual Motion, and this past year was a Beautiful Mind. I don’t really have a favorite, because they all had there good and bad but I really enjoyed Rewind because it was my first ever marching band performance and it truly challenged me. My brother was at Green Hope 3 years before me, so I spent my middle school years coming to football games and competitions and wondering how on earth they memorized 10 minutes of music (any music for that matter), and 10 minutes of marching and then put them together to make perfection.

Yes, I’d say that was definitely a common feeling, it was certainly a high topic of conversation before the season started, but we made it through and look at us now… yeah.

My classes? Well they were just that, classes. Some were good, some were bad, and some were a drain on even the most infinite resources.

I certainly challenged myself with my classes. My only academic courses were those that there were no other options, like band, PE, and Spanish (which I was not that great at).

Yes I did band all 4 years. Some say it’s a waste of 2 classes and takes away from real classes and while that holds some merit I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Its opened up so many opportunities and has been an amazing experience to meet new people and share experiences with people that I’ve been with since freshman year. In all other classes it’s, for the most part, a new set of classmates each semester and year, but in band it’s the same group of people that you worked so hard with last year and the year before that.

My biggest extracurricular activities were Boy Scouts and Civil Air Patrol.

I had a great time in boy scouts. I did cub scouts from 1st grade (tigers) to 5th (webloes). And then going into middle school I went into boy scouts. There I went camping, hiking, biking, snowboarding, winter camping, swimming, canoeing, snorkeling, shooting, and so on and so forth. My favorite merit badge to earn was lifesaving, which I actually didn’t take as a class but I earned it while taking BSA Life Guard, which I did this past year at summer camp.

I earned my Eagle Scout on July 11, 2008. I redid my church’s youth lounge and that was certainly a great accomplishment. The summer after my freshman year I went to Philmont Scout Ranch, which is a camp out in New Mexico that you go on a 10-day backpacking trip in the mountains. It’s a lot of fun and truly a once in the life time experience. It takes about 3-5 years to get a slot, so very few people actually get a chance to go. I have done the Winter 50 Miler twice, once as an 8th grader and this past winter. Its 50 miles in 4 days, averaging about 13 miles a day in the week between Christmas and New Years.

Drill team is another experience that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I joined the drill team in 7th grade and we spent 3 years winning wing (which is the state) and getting 2nd at regionals (7 states, from South Carolina to Delaware). As a freshman we won regions and went to nationals and got 4th. As a sophomore I commanded a honor guard and we took 4th at nationals, though I did get the highest written exam score in the country… go me! Last year we did another drill team and we took 2nd at nationals and this coming year we are going back to take 1st. I will not be able to join them because I report to the Coast Guard Academy on June 26, 2 weeks after graduation.

Go Bears!!!