Any time I Skyped Phoebe
Phoebe is my best friend despite the fact that we live over 2,000 miles away from each other. She's been one of my very best friends since we became friends in 2006. Since she's in California now and no longer a five-minute walk away, I value anytime we share together.
She and I mostly Skype over breaks from school with my twin sister, Ashley. Even though we haven't seen each other in over a year, when we Skype, it's like she never moved away, and that means the world to me. I've never had such a close friend for so long, so I really appreciate that we can still see
each other and talk, even if it's not in person.
When I met Shawn Johnson
February 4 was pretty much the best day ever. That was the day I met Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson. I'm a huge gymnastics fan, so when I found out that I was going to have the opportunity to meet Shawn, I was ecstatic.
Johnson was on the University of Illinois campus to commentate for a Big Ten gymnastics meet and was also a lecturer as part of the Illini Union Board's lecture series. Shawn spoke about the experiences written in her book, A Winning Balance. After the little speech Shawn gave, there was a book signing for fans to get books signed and to get a picture with her.
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| My sister and I getting our picture taken with Shawn. (The IUB staff said pictures had to be taken in groups of five, so three random guys we don't know had to be in our picture.) | Photo courtesy of the IUB Facebook |
I was hoping that I'd get to talk to her for a little bit, but it was very rushed. Fans got their books signed, pictures taken, and then had to leave. So while I didn't get to talk to Shawn, it was still a really great day meeting one of my favorite gymnasts and listening to her story in person.
After all, I was freaking out about being in the same room as her and being so close to her, so that was surreal.
Memorial Day weekend
If you read my favorite outfits of 2014 post, then you already know a little bit about how I spent Memorial Day weekend. What I liked most about this year's Memorial Day weekend was that Sunday. A bunch of my relatives came over to my house for the first time this year. Usually, I only see these relatives, specifically my cousins and nieces, during Christmas, so it was nice to see them again earlier in the year.
I spent most of that Sunday running around outside playing games with my little nieces and watching my older cousins play Cards Against Humanity, so I got a lot of laughs that day. It was also pretty funny to listen to my nephew try to figure out why we share the same last name.
Overall, there wasn't anything really special about that weekend, but I've grown up to appreciate family time. I pretty much spend every weekend with my immediate family, but I only get to see my other relatives, like my cousins, a few times a year, so it's always nice to be able to spend quality time and have fun with them.
A day at the park with friends
Normally, every summer, my sister and I go to a local park with our friends, Greg and Josh, to play sand volleyball and basketball. We have a rematch of the games we had last year and play for a little while until we get tired. Then we just play on the playground despite the fact that we're too big and old to fit on several of the things there.
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| My sister and I on the seesaw at the park. | Photo credit to our friend Josh |
It's always a lot of fun, because since we're all in college and go to different schools now, that's pretty much the only time we get to hang out together. It's always nice to catch up with them and get a fun, little workout in even though it almost always kicks our out-of-shape butts.
This year, it was definitely one to remember, because it was my and Ashley's last time we would see Josh for a very long while. Shortly after this day, Josh and his family moved to California. So we all treasured the time we spent together, because that was probably the last annual park day we would have.
Fourth of July
This year for Independence Day, we had another family get-together. We don't usually do anything special and just go to the mall, but it was nice to see my relatives again. It was mostly the same relatives I saw during Memorial Day weekend, so I don't see them that often. This year was definitely different, and I liked that.
We all went to the park at Catigny and had a picnic in the picnic area by the playground. My siblings and I played some volleyball, played catch with a football, and tossed a frisbee around. We also spent some time with our energetic niece, Sofie, who's quite a character.
Sofie found a frog somewhere in the park, and decided to keep it in a plastic cup someone brought. I'm pretty sure the frog was dead, so it was really gross that she just picked it up and started playing with it, but that's what's kids do. She kept scaring and creeping people out by showing it to them, which was pretty funny to watch, I do admit.
We all tried to get her to throw it away throughout the day, but she wouldn't do it until she made a new friend at the playground. Thankfully, her new friend's dad convinced her to throw it away.
Besides the frog shenanigans, my niece showed me what she was learning in gymnastics class, which was definitely a nice change from the frog.
My cousins, siblings, niece, and I also walked around the park to see the tanks and museum they have there.
Overall, the Fourth of July was a fun day of family time. It was nice to do something different, even if we didn't watch fireworks.
Vacation in Canada
I already did a blog post about going to Canada this past summer, so I won't go into too much detail about this. It was a pretty fun time at Niagara Falls. I hadn't been there since I was a baby, so it was nice to go and actually be able to remember and appreciate what I was seeing.
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| Channeling my inner McKayla Maroney and showing that I wasn't impressed with the Falls. (Just kidding!) |
Secret U.S. Classic
At this year's Secret U.S. Classic, the final qualifying meet to USA Gymnastics' P&G Gymnastics Championships, I got to experience both sides of the meet: a fan's perspective and an employee's perspective. Gymnastike asked me to help them cover the meet, so I experienced the meet differently than I had before.
If you've been on my blog before, you may have already read my blog post about this. Working with Gymnastike at this meet was a wonderful experience. It gave me an idea of what my dream job looks like and what I will (hopefully) be doing in the future. It taught me many things, and it allowed me to do what I love.
Not only did I get to work at the meet, but I also got to meet a few gymnasts while helping my little niece Sofie meet them and getting their autographs.
This was something I never would've imagined happening this year. I never thought that I would get an opportunity like this, and I'm thankful for it. I'm also glad that my niece enjoyed it as well.
Homecoming Weekend
On October 25, I went to my first football game ever. I never went in high school and didn't go to any Illini games last season, so I was excited to go for the first time. The weather was super nice and abnormal that day, which was nice since I was going to spend a few hours outside in the sun.
I got to experience my first Illinois football game, and the Illini actually won! So it was a pretty great day.
The next day, I went to my first soccer game ever. My sister was assigned to take photographs for the soccer spread for the yearbook, so we went to that game. Although the Illini women lost to the Wolverines, I enjoyed watching the Illini women's soccer team for the first time. They're a talented group, and I liked watching more Illini sports.
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| A panorama of the Illinois Track & Field/Soccer Stadium |
When I met Julie Cross
Like a few other of these moments, I already wrote a blog post about this, so once again, I won't really say much since all the details are in the original post. I will say this, though. Since then, I have finished reading her newest book, Whatever Life Throws at You, and I loved it! If you like sports and are into young adult fiction, I recommend it. I'm also part of Julie's street team now, and I'm excited for what's to come. If you haven't checked out her books yet, then you're missing out. If you're into gymnastics and sports, she's definitely got books for you.
My favorite gymnast's birthday
If you didn't already know, my favorite gymnast is Sarah Finnegan, and this year, I sent her a package full of gifts for her 18th birthday, which she received a few days before her birthday. On her birthday, I posted an edit for her birthday with a long caption wishing her the best, how much she means to me, and that I hope she likes her present. To my surprise, she commented on it!
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| "Thank you so much! This means a lot. I am so blessed to have such a great supporter like you!" |
Illinois Gymnastics Orange and Blue Exhibition
Gymnastics is my favorite sport, and the Illinois women's gymnastics team is my favorite sports team, so Orange and Blue Exhibition day is my favorite Sunday of the fall semester. This exhibition meet was really fun to watch, and I loved to see the girls' and guys' new, full routines. Although some of the routines were kept from last year, it was still great to see the gymnasts compete again. It got me really excited for NCAA gym season to come.
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| A panorama of Huff Hall |
Now I didn't write a blog post about this for this blog, my personal blog, but I did for the gymnastics blog I write for, Triple Twist Gymnastics. All of the highlights and funny moments of the meet (there were quite a few) can be found there.
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| Sunny Kato prepares herself to catch the high bar while airborne during her piked tkachev. |
Last, but certainly not least, is Christmas. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love giving presents, baking cookies and cupcakes, and spending time with my family, all of which I did this Christmas.
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| The cupcakes my sister and I baked for Christmas |
The main reason this Christmas was so fun was because of the games my family played. All of the cousins, as well as some of our nieces and nephews, played Heads Up and Charades.
Both are games/apps for smartphones and are the same game. There are categories of words/phrases/nouns to choose from, and the player puts the phone up to his/her forehead, and the rest of the people there give them clues to help the player guess what the word(s) is/are.
Some of the categories require you to act things out, which can be really funny, like when someone's pretending to be a dinosaur or some other animal. There's also an accents/impressions category, and the people giving clues have to speak in that accent or do an impression of the person. It can be hilarious, especially if your brother is talking like Smeagol/Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
Another one of my favorite parts from this Christmas was when my sister and I gave our niece Sofie the present we got her. We bought her an Aerials by Alpha Factor leotard and an autographed Illini women's gymnastics poster. She loved them and even changed right into the leotard after opening it. In fact, she wore it for the rest of the day. It made me happy knowing that she likes the present, which is why I love giving presents. I love the feeling of knowing that you made someone happy.
Christmas was also a time or learning for me. Someone who attended my high school passed away on Christmas Eve, and it made me realize how special and sacred time is, especially during the holidays, when you expect to be able to see all of your loved ones. So as I take this time to look back at the year, I remember how precious these memories are.
As we all look back on 2014, we'll remember the good times and bad. We want to cherish the good times forever and forget about the bad ones. While the bad ones aren't necessarily ones we want to remember, remember what those bad times taught you instead of how unhappy it made you. After all, everything happens for a reason.
And as we look forward to 2015, make room for more moments to cherish, but don't forget the ones preceding them.
Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them. - Bob Dylan
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