Matthew R. Powell on Kevin Xiong

Kevin Xiong has been called many things. When he ran for vice president in freshman year (in a mock election), he was dubbed "the X-factor". As any mathematician knows, x is a mysterious variable. x is a number, but what that number is, nobody knows. the goal of the equation is to find out what x is. so what (or who) really is x in this case? we have the equation. we observe kevin as he makes tens of throwing stars or other origami creations, and we wonder to what end. we hear him ask questions in math or spanish that range from intelligent to atrocious and we roll our eyes or hang our heads or stifle laughter. does he look for a reaction in the audience or an answer? i think it's the latter. kevin asks everything thats on his mind, and, while he may have a sub-motivation sometimes to entertain his classmates, i believe that kevin really is, first and foremost, looking for an answer. kevin's color, as with all those who have many questions, is green. the riddler wears green, and, as anyone who wasted 2 hours watching batman returns will know, the riddler's costume was riddled with question marks. so next time kevin asks a horrendous question, go ahead and smirk, but secretly commend him for having the inquisitiveness to keep asking day after day.

Compilation Playlist

Mallory- "Most Recent Perfect Playlist"
1. "Upward over the Mountain (Live Version)" - Iron & Wine
2. "One Big Holiday"- My Morning Jacket
3. "Sweet Disposition"- The Temper Traps
4. "Tripping Billies"- Dave Matthews Band
5. "Long Way to Go" -Corey Smith
6. "Taylor"- Jack Johnson
7. "The Heart of Life" -John Mayer
8. "Forever Young"- Youth Group
9. "Best Rapper Alive"- Lil' Wayne
10. "Prom Queen" -Lil' Wayne

Andrew- "Eminem Playlist"
1. Kill You
2.Til I collapse
3. Lose yourself
4. Old Times Sake
5. Elevator
6.Forever
7.Rain Man
8. Mockingbird
9.The Way I Am
10. Forgot About Dre

Embry- "Boat Music"
1. Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra
2. Walkin' On the Sun - Smash Mouth
3. When the Sun Goes Down - Kenny Chesney
4. Son of a Son of a Sailor - Jimmy Buffet
5. Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

Athie- "Autum Playlist"
1. Build Me Up Buttercup -The Foundations
2. Ain't No Mountain High Enough -The Temptations
3. Sweet Caroline -Neil Diamond
4. Chicken Fried -Zac Brown Band
5. Don't Stop Believing -Journey

Rachel- "Road Trip"
1. Don't Stop Believing - Journey
2. Respect - Aretha Franklin
3. Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel
4. You've Got a Friend - James Taylor
5. There is a Reason - Alison Krauss and Union Station


Allen- "I'm mad at my laptop, and don't care to get over it!"
1. Get Back-Ludacris
2. One Step Closer-Linkin Park
3. Cry Babies(Oh no!)-Ludacris
4. Zerstoren-Rammstein
5. Gematria(The Killing Name)-Slipknot

Matthew Powell- "Playlist for Just Chilling"
1) Two Weeks- Grizzly Bear
2) The Prayer- Kid Cudi
3) House of Cards- Radiohead
4) White Sky- Vampire Weekend
5) No Other Way- Jack Johnson
6) Redemption Song- Bob Marley

Zane- "Workout"
1. Drop the World by: Lil' Wayne
2. Bulls on Parade by: Rage Against the Machine
3. Thunderstruck by: AC/DC
4. All the Way Turnt Up by: Roscoe Dash ft. Soulja Boy
5. The Way I Am by: Eminem

Neha- "Lazy Summer Day"
1. Dancing in the Streets- Martha and the Vandellas
2. Under the Boardwalk- The Drifters
3. Soak up the Sun- Sheryl Crow
4. Summer Nights- Grease (John Travolta/ Olivia Newton- John)
5. Toes- Zac Brown Band

Will- "Pissed Off"
1). "Death of Me" - Red
2). "I Will Not Bow" - Breaking Benjamin
3). "Whiskey Hangover" – Godsmack
4). "Out from Under" – Red
5). "Had Enough" - Breaking Benjamin

Helen- "Road Trip"
1. "Send Me On My Way" by Rusted Root
2. "Straight Lines" by Silverchair
3. "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens
4. "Fearless" by Taylor Swift
5. "Island in the Sun" by Weezer

Perfect Playlist

My Playlist- "Most Recent Perfect Playlist"

1. "Upward Over the Mountain (Live Version)" - Iron & Wine
Iron & Wine have some of the prettiest songs I have ever heard and this song is no exception. I've recently become obsessed with Iron & Wine because of their beautiful melodies and soothing voice.
2. "One Big Holiday"- My Morning Jacket
3. "Sweet Disposition"- The Temper Traps
This song has recently been all over different commercials which kind of ruins it for me, but i still felt like I should include it on this playlist.
4. "Tripping Billies"- Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews band makes some of the best music ever. Hands down.
5. "Long Way to Go" -Corey Smith
Corey Smith is the best acoustic, honest, real, truthful music ever. "To live is to struggle and to struggle is to grow."
6. "Taylor"- Jack Johnson
Jack Johnson is amazing, i think everyone knows this. And I will never get tired of this song
7. "The Heart of Life" -John Mayer
John Mayer is also amazing, even if he is a jerk.
8. "Forever Young"- Youth Group
I love this song. Its about wanting to stay a kid forever and that’s really how I'm feeling about life right now.
9. "Best Rapper Alive"- Lil' Wayne
If you have ever really talked to me I've probably expressed my love for Lil' Wayne. I'm obsessed and I really don’t know why.
10. "Prom Queen" -Lil' Wayne
This song doesnt sound like your typical Lil' Wayne song. But it does have your typical Lil' Wayne offensive lyrics.

Kelly Baker

I sit next to Kelly Baker. I guess the first thing you should know, and my most favorite thing about Kelly, is that she is Lactose Intolerant. The fact that Kelly is Lactose Intolerant is very important. Her inability to process mike products practically defines her in mine and Libby’s mind. We constantly make fun of her for it and laugh every time she pulls out one of her lactose pills. Im sure she really hates us for it, but we do it out of love. Seriously Kelly, we love you for it.

Another random thing about Kelly is that she has a freaky-blue-squishy-bump on one of her fingers that won’t go away. It’s awesome. A lazy Susan is to blame for it.

Kelly is actually the most similar to me out of all my friends. We’re both kind of quiet and very shy at first. We very rarely talk a lot in any class and we never like to be the center of attention. We are also both very rational and calm people. Also, I think, fairly mature for our age and always have been. Kelly, you are one of my only friends that I can talk about UK Basketball with, and I really appreciate that. Kelly is one of the nicest people I know. She is very genuine and kind. She truly cares about people and their feelings and that’s a really great quality to have. Kelly’s a great person and I’m really glad to call her my friend. I’ve know Kelly since the 6th grade, she was one of my first new friends at Winburn. I’m so happy that she and I have become close this year.

If I had to give Kelly a color it would be a peachy-orange, because she’s just a sweet, kind, and gentle person. And I love her.

Allen!!!!

I'll start with the basics. We met in second grade at J.R. Ewan my first year here in Lexington. Along with Kayla, we've gone to the same school since then. Nowadays, he practicially lives at Henry Clay, him being an athlete (football), a musician (percussionist, marching band member in the summer), and an academic all at the same time. But despite all this activity, Allen still finds time to listen and to hang with friends.

One of the craziest but most protective people i know, Allen would be the color orange, like his Jeep. While some might say red, orange represents endurance, warmth, fun-loving, action-oriented, and strength when faced with adversity. A mix of energetic red, expressive yellow, and a touch of honest brown, most people can't help but tolike him (sure explains how he can get all buddy-buddy with teachers and principals). Never hurts to be attractive too-big brown eyes, a warm smile, and muscular arms that are fun to poke at.

While there's a lot more I could say about Allen, it'd take forever to write...plus he would kill me if I revealed too much. So there's a just a bit about him (insert smiley face).

Natalie

Since andrew so rudely decided not to write about his actual seat partner (me), I've decided to write about Natalie instead, both to spite him and because she wanted me to. Natalie's a great girl. I still remember the first time we had class together, Mrs. Barbour's freshman citizenship. We had great times in there, and i vaguely recall her talking about some utopia thing. I didn't understand what she was talking about at all, but her essay was very original, and I appreciated her effort.

Here are a couple of fun facts about Natalie, or Natalia as she was known for a period during freshman year.
1. She is an outstanding student. Having A's and B's in a program like the academy is no small feat, especially with teachers like Mr. Holloway.
2. She swims like a dolphin (or so I've heard). Natalie is on the swim/dive team for Henry Clay, and always does a great job at meets. I don't actually know if thats true or not, having never been to a swim meet, but I assume so because she's good at everything she does.
3. Her favorite animal is a polar bear. I don't know why, but I'm guessing that she digs those coke commercials that they run around christmas time with the polar bears and the penguins.

In conclusion, Natalie is a person that I am glad to have met. She's just an all-around great person to be around. If I were to have to give her a color, I'd say that she's yellow, because she's always so bright and bubbly. Or purple, because she's wearing a purple dress today. Take your pick.

He's not Asian, but...

His person reminds me of yellow. Actually, the first color I could think of when pondering what to write about Connor was blue--but that's only because I keep picturing that white and blue striped polo he wears sometimes. When it comes to personality and character, however, I definitely think of yellow.

To me, yellow represents excitement, hope, and brightness. And I mean "brightness" as a sort of "he can just bring up anything to talk about to anyone." Or maybe it can be better defined as talkative... Whatever, "bright" is a better word in my head. Of course, this doesn't mean I always thinks he's happy and upbeat. It just means that I generally think of him as a bright and happy person.

Now, aside from his personality, this guy's got quite a brain. From what I know, he's good at just about every subject--except History, of course, but who's actually good at that? (rhetorical question!) He's a great essay writer, the guy people go to for Physics answers, and the one who's always got a way to explain how to do number 38 in Section 5-8 in the AP Calculus book. In fact, he's a math level higher than this Asian--preposterous!

Outside of school, he plays the trumpet and piano. He gets all kinds of trumpet solos at band concerts, and he learns the most ridiculous songs on the piano by ear. With his friends, he's always concerned about their well-being and puts his best friends before him. Connor's a great guy, and if you haven't taken the time to have a nice conversation with him, you're missing out on some good times.

Allen "Macho" Moore

These past few days when I have been focusing on researching for my blog assignment, I decided to interview various people to get their opinion of Allen, and hoped that these descriptions would hopefully insight my creativity to allow me to express how I feel. Not surprisingly, the responses about Allen were wild, ranging from "he is the craziest man I have ever.." to an anecdote about when Allen went one week only eating foods that could bounce. Me and Allen met many years back when we were both in Elementary School at Stonewall Elementary School. Ever since then, we have gone to the same school and been in many of the same classes. Allen was always loved by everybody in the class, and was voted Mr. Stonewall in 1999. Allen is very attractive. Knowing this man for such a long time has been a fun honor and I hope that it continues down this wonderful path. My personal favorite part about Allen is how he is always in a jolly mood and can brighten the room with his sensual smile. In the future, Allen plans to go into the military and then to have a large family where he can be a loving father. God Bless Allen.

Athie Livas

Since i was wrongly discharged from seat in the corner of the room I have been able to find a new seat buddy and her name is simply Athie Livas. She goes by Athers, Athenasia, or just Big AL.
One time this year I athie didn't do her homework and was very sad in class. I proceeded to lift her spirits with my charm and quick thinking and agility. After that we were bonded together. Sort of like how people bond through trauma.
But really the bond goes deeper than that. On numerous occassions we have had deep conversations about deep subjects. these include thigns such as what we want to be when we grow up. For instance she wants to be a politician or a doctor, or just something that involves being very smart, becuase she is so incredibly ridiculously inteligent.
Early in her life Athie was not only a persopn with vast knowledge and omnipresence, but an extremely talented soccer player. She took this career all the way to being the only freshman to play varsity soccer in her class. She was REDONKULOUS, with crazy speed and quick dirbbling abilities no one was able to match her raw natural ability or hard wrok ethic. But unffortunately, she gave up kicking balls to focus on her studies and puruse a better focus on her academic studies.
This has shown to pay off becuase she has been awarded many academic accalades throughout this period. These include winning a state champion uin Debate for kenutcky. Ansd winning numerous writing awards through school competitions. Honestly i wish i was more like Ath in my academics just like Lil' bow wow wishes he was more like mike in basketball.
So I hope that everyone can be more like Athie becuase she is so perfect in every way. As I always say "Get your Athie on!"

zane

Having Spanish, Math, English, and History with Zane this year, I think it's obvious to say that I've gotten to know Zane a lot more this year. He's extremely fun and easy to talk to about anything. Not only does he rock at math and in Mr. Dewees's class to be specific but also he plays on the baseball team. He's probably raw, I have to say probably because I haven't been to a baseball game yet to watch. Zane always notices what somebody is wearing and especially likes commenting on footwear, in which he would say, "Nice Kicks." Having such a keen eye can really come in handy! Please don't elbow me for saying this... but he is the official president of the back bros and even though you take it too far sometimes I'm honored to be in the group. I'm really glad to have Zane as a friend and somebody to talk to through out the day. Plus, he's prettty funny, ssssssss!

Stifler

Chris G is a pretty cool guy. Last year, we only talked a little bit, but this year, I feel like I've gotten to know him a lot better. Though I always had suspicions of such, I found out that Chris is an absolute chick magnet when we went to laser tag with Brett and Jeremy. Who, by the way, are also two wild and crazy guys. Anyway, Chris spend approximately 69% of his free time talking to females. Chris is also an extremely good swimmer, but has unfortunately lost his fingerprints. Chris is also extremely good at Physics and Chemistry. Those are pretty much the only classes I have with him though so I don't know about much else. Like Spanish or APUSH. But yeah, Chris is pretty great. I would tap that. If I was a girl. No homo.

Compilation

“Weekend Playlist” – Lauren Keach
1.The Scientist – Coldplay. This is seriously one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. This is one of the songs that I discovered through the magic of Pandora Radio, and I am hooked. This is an amazing way to start off my weekend.
2.Designer Skyline – Owl City. I know it is so cliché to like Owl City right now, but to be honest, I can’t resist the urge. There’s just something about this electronic based beat that I adore. It’s peppy enough to wake you up, without being super annoying.
3.Big City Dreams – Never Shout Never. This song is just so cute. It moans about the small town life, but in a loving way. That make sense? Oh well. I like it, and I can sing along with it while I do chores and such.
4.TGIF – The Secret Handshake. Although I wasn’t exactly watching TV in the 80s, when all the shows in the TGIF lineup were popular, I still love this song. I definitely suggest looking it up. It’s catchy, and fun to sing along to. It makes you want to get up and dance, and generally just act like a kid again.
5.It Ends Tonight – All-American Rejects. I can play this song on piano!! But anyway. This is yet another song that I absolutely love. It’s just so pretty, and kind of fun. In a slightly emo way. None of my song selections are really that exciting, but hey, that’s life!


“Perfect Playlist” – Libby St. Clair
1. If You See Jordan - Something Corporate.
2. I Said It Before - Just Surrender.
3. If You’re Lucky, No One Will Get Hurt - Daphne Loves Derby.
4. Harder to Breathe - Maroon5.
5. When You’re Around - Motion City Soundtrack.

“Purple” – Rachel Norton
The Remedy- Jason Mraz
Best Days- Matt White
Fix You- Coldplay
Somewhere Only We Know- Keane
The Unwinding Cable Car- Anberlin

“Music for a Monday Mo(u)rning – Chelsea Walton
1. Hakuna Matata - movie or Broadway version acceptable
2.The Climb - Hannah Montana
3. Sweet Silver Lining - Kate Voegele
4. I Feel Pretty - West Side Story
5.You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban

“Break-Up Music!” – Sylvan Ryder
5. Girls Lie Too- Terri Clark
4. Heartbreak Town-Dixie Chicks
3. Forever And Always- Taylor Swift
2. It Happens- Sugarland.
1. Best Days Of Your Life- Kelly Pickler


“Bus Playlist -869” – Ismaeel Siddiqi
5. Halo-Beyonce
4. Love Story-Taylor Swift
3. Party in the U.S.A. - Miley Cyrus
2. The Climb-Miley Cyrus
1. Beautiful Soul- Jesse McCartney

Mallory :)

Mallory Schneider. Where to start? I met Mallory in sixth grade at the lovely Winburn Middle School. We were in the same class; one of my first memories of her is her objection to reading out loud in Mrs. Orr’s science class. Why I remember this, I don’t know.
Mallory loves her dog. I happen to love George too. He is not just a dog. He’s a member of the family. She has two other dogs too, but she isn’t too fond of them.
Mallory is really funny. Her humor is something to be appreciated; it’s one of the many things I love about her. It keeps me entertained throughout physics and English. Her witty comments are a bright spot in my day.
And as many of you know, she makes pretty amazing baked goods. From cupcakes to cookies, she can’t go wrong. They are delicious and she is kind enough to bake some on special occasions.
Mallory is pretty much my only girl friend that likes sports. Out of our normal group of friends we are the only two that like to watch and keep up with sports. It’s funny to watch her try to explain the rules of football or basketball to Libby.
Mallory is like the mom of our group. She is very responsible and caring. When we go out to eat she always has a mom-ish comment about our behavior and tipping. She’s good at getting us all together too.
This year we have four classes together and sit next to each other in two of them. Spending all this time together everyday has brought us closer together. I can talk to her about anything. Choosing a color that represents Mallory is tough. I think she’s a sunny yellow: she’s warm hearted, fun, bright, and if she were a season she would be summer, so yellow fits. I love Mallory very much and I’m glad I have the privilege of sitting next to her.

Embryyy

The thing about Embry is that I honestly don't know how she does it. She manages to make great grades and not spend a lot of time on homework, which I think is a gift from God. Her parents named her Embry because when her mom was pregnant, they kept talking about the "embryo", so they just dropped the o. Embry bowls, and she's really good at it. Even though I like to watch her get worked up when I talk about it not being a sport, I honestly think that it is (...kind of) a sport and that I admire her for being so good at it. She is really, really funny. We sit together in a lot of classes, and at lunch. She's really witty, and she always manages to say exactly what I'm thinking, just in a more clever way that I would have said it. I laugh until my stomach hurts almost every day. Embry is also really smart. Unlike most people, she's good at just about every subject. I ask her for math help all the time, even though it hurts my pride. I can't really decide what color she is. I guess a teal color...but if she were a place she would definitely be the beach.
The weird thing is that Embry and I are really different as people. But for some reason, we just click. We can (and do) talk about absolutely everything. And honestly, I'm really lucky to have an extension of my own sense of humor sitting next to me in English.

The Only Asian Female in the Academy

She's not just an Asian, believe it or not. Kayla Shao exists outside of that fact. (I know, I know, it's shocking, but if you can collect yourselves again, let's move on.)

To start off with, she's a tremendous singer. A few of you knew this already, but I'd bet the majority of you didn't. For example, Kayla sang Soprano 1 part in All-State Chorus just this past month. That's pretty impressive! Let's not all go ask her to perform for us now - really, that would just be awful - but if you get the chance, you ought to congratulate her!

She's also really a jack (jill?) of many trades, including most likely all of her classes except History. That's okay, though, because when it comes down to it, most of us hate History, or at least would consider it a weaker class. However, she's got many fortes like math and physics. And as probably more than a few of you know, she's a superb artist. (She provided a link to some of her art in her first blog post if you happen to be interested.)

Characterizing Kayla as a color is...tricky, I'd say. And no, it's not yellow! I know that's difficult to believe. But in my opinion, based on the way I see her and the way I see these colors, she's some kind of two-color pattern of black and green, each symbolizing different key aspects of her personality. The black - a suave, powerful, dignified color - symbolizes her maturity and reasonable, rational approach to things, while the green - a whimsical color, very happy - represents her fun-loving nature that complements her very mature side. She's funny and good-natured, while still maintaining a very logical, mature view of life that personally, I envy very much. She's unquestionably the person I'd have to choose as my best friend.

Neha Ray

So, we have sat next to each other all year this year and at different times in the past. I have learned some things about Neha, but not too much because that's not her, man. So... I know she is raw at math. She's in like calculus 2 already as a junior and next year I think shes going to take a math course at UK. Fairly absurd. She is very intelligent and has a bright future. She's pretty good at vocab quizzes, but lets face it...shes no Zane Ragan. We've become pretty good friends and talk about a wide array of things; from who I'm going to prom with to her green sperrys which are pretty awesome. We talk about lots of stuff. We also tend to share books. That is because I don't bring my book most of the time. However, t-minus a day or two ago she actually had to look of my book that I brought to class. Neha is reserved so I don't know an extreme amount about her but I know shes smart, knows how to pick out good shoes, pretty easy to talk to, and knows that my jokes are pretty funny 80% of the time. Her color would be light light light light light purple. Shes cool and calm and reserved, light purple it is.

Anna Hansen

All in all, Anna and I haven't exchanged more than a few words since we became aquainted. In all honesty I don't know too much about her. As she stated, we have few mutual friends that would lead us to more solid conversation. I guess that's just one of those things; you see someone a few times a day every week but you never truly get to know them.

What I do know about Anna is that she is original. She always seems to have some form of interesting input for any discussion. She works quickly, something that I am truly envious of. Even if she tried to be modest and claim that she didn't give her answers much thought. My answers were at best equal to hers - though I doubt it - and it still took me fifteen minutes longer to scribble them down.

Anna is all smiles. Whether it's when she's talking, when she's just looked up from her paper, or passing by in the hall, it is a rare occasion that I find her without a grin on her face. I certainly have never seen her look upset. Sometimes I wonder if she ever is. Isn't everyone, sometimes? I can't picture it.

Now the difficult part: what color represents Anna? From what I read in Beth's blog, there's a correct answer to that question. When it comes to me, I'd call Anna a light, maybe pastel shade of blue. Cyan is a good fit. It's calm, but bright - and always happy.

My neighbor

My backpack is technically in the chair to my left in English class so my only neighbor is Kevin Xiong aka Starlord and possibly oragami man now? Who knows. What is clear though is Kevin has many defining characteristics, which explains his many nicknames. He is a very curious person and always asks any question that comes to mind.

Now that i've thought about it, we both seem to have alot of similarities. Our parents are both strict about grades, we both aren't huge fans of english but enjoy math and science, and we both love oragami. Its so amazing how you can fold a paper to make soooo many different shapes and figures! O yeah, cant forget Naruto either. Kevin got me hooked on an anime series called Naruto and he didn't even know it. He showed me this website with all the episodes and i spent hours every day reading episode after episode after episode. And now, i eagerly await the new episode every week. Kevin is one of those people you don't forget. when you get ready to meet up with your old academy friends at high school reunions five, ten, twenty year one person that will stick out in your mind will be Kevin.

Chris Thompson

Chris Thompson is a character. His true personality never shows in class, where he give out complicated and well thought out answers. His speaking skills and the way he carries himself in front of a large group makes him seem mature. But getting to know Chris on a personal level is much different. Forget the 'mature beyond his age' Chris. He's funny, outgoing and greedy when it comes to food. His jokes are original, wheather you find them ofending or poking fun, which he always thinks are funny; always laughing at his own jokes. But the greedy side of Chris comes with food. I can't pull out anything to eat with Chris around, because it's either gone before I start or I'm guarding it with my life the whole time I eat it. I guess Chris is just hungry, I completely understand, but really Chris?
But in all, I guess you could call Chris cool. It's fun to make fun of him cause he's too nice to do anything about it. And he's always in a good mood.
Physics is the best time to be with Chris, the back of class is the perfect spot to goof off and talk with Chris. It also helps thats he's rediculously smart. Physics seems so much more easier with him around.

Seat Buddy Post

Mary is a pretty awesome chick. She never ceases to amaze me, or surprise me, or entertain me. It's kind of funny, actually, how long we have been, and how quickly we became great friends because our personalities are so different. But then again, if you asked me what color best fits her, I think I would have to say (if this isn't cheating) the rainbow. When the situation calls for it, she can be one of the most caring and understanding people I know; she can be calm, and serious, and incredibly sincere. She's also got a bit of a daredevil, wacky side to her personality, though. Mary is strong and tough, and she's willing not only to support us but to push us to overcome our problems or fears or our not-so-beneficial habits. I appreciate her so much for every one of these things, and I think this great number of traits might explain why she seems like a rainbow rather than one specific color to me.

I hope this hasn't become too deep or heavy-handed, especially given what everyone else has written, but I feel like she deserves recognition of all the traits mentioned. So here are some random facts to add in, and make this post a little lighter. She has gone through so many phases, devoting herself to one certain thing for a good bit of time before moving on to the next. I have seen her devote herself to volleyball, but I also know she used to ride horses; I have listened to her favorite music with her, even though her favorites changed almost every two weeks in middle school; I have seen her become engrossed with the idea of palm reading and fortune telling, and also with the topic of stars and the universe, and how are world and galaxy work. I hope the fact that I have listed all these random phases doesn't bother her or embarass her in any way because I admire her for being able to push herself to explore so many areas. So many of us stick with one or two extracurricular activities our whole lifetime, but how do we figure out what we like best and what suits us best if we don't explore our options thoroughly first?

So yeah, I guess I should just end my little post for Mary here with the fact that she's one awesome chick. There is no better way to describe Mary in one short sentence.

Hi Jeremy

So on my right is Jeremy Bradford, he's a pretty cool kid. I didn't really know him until this year, mainly because we didn't have any classes until this year. I remember in freshman year during CKYO, this girl, Marylynne Anderson Cooper would constantly ask me if I knew this Jeremy kid whenever I mentioned Henry Clay. I thought, "Wow, he must be a pretty cool kid." And of course, Jeremy is one of the most brilliant student I've ever known, but he's also one of the nicest as well. Also, Jeremy is practically Asian, which is a pretty unique trait for a white guy. He likes rice, noodles, and math (the key ingredients in an Asian's heart). He has a great sense of humor, we always laugh about something that doesn't seem interesting to me, but then Jeremy changes it up and I end up dying of laughter. His music is very calming, it's the kind of music I listen to when I want to relax or sleep. Like Athie, I want to see Jeremy become truly happy, and find the things that he wants in life.

I see Jeremy as a dark forest green (Oh my god! GREEN!) because it's mellow, but it has that powerful subtle tone as well.

Oh William, how I love thee

Will Richie is by far one of the most unique people I have ever met. I think we’ve all probably figured that out by now. He is unpredictable, in the most predictable way possible. We never have any clue what he will do, but know that, eventually, something will happen. Inevitably, these random, everyday events lead to a reaction, and hilarity ensues. There is never a dull moment with my dear William around.
My favorite time with this crazy boy would have to have been during AP World History last year. We sat in the back of the room, and proceeded to film a quite excellent, if I do say so myself, short film starring some goldfish crackers. I may have not gotten the best grade in that class, nor did I score well on the AP exam, but at least I had fun!
I can not really describe what color Will most resembles. The closest I can think of is a color which the Lexus car company calls “bamboo”. Bamboo is a color which, depending on the angle and light in which you are viewing the car, appears to be many different colors. I believe this perfectly sums up Mr. William Richie.

Daniel Kiesling

Daniel Kiesling is a dark shade of white chocolate. When he walks through the hallways (he is very tall) I see this color. Daniel can be very nice. He likes punchlines, and uses them indiscrminately, like "Are you Gay?" and "Chill out". He is very protective about his home life. He is a very open person. He won't give you any of his lunch, even if you ask everyday. Sometime he punches me in the arm. But he is generally friendly. He also sits next to me in Math class and he is fantastic at math. This all reinforces this idea of white chocolate. Some may say he has a creamy milk chocolate personality, but I say white chocolate. He loves the basketball, an avid fan and player he has almost three stars as a future recruit. But Daniel's true white chocolate passion is viola. He love the sound of his bow across the strings and the teamwork it takes to make a symphony. when he plays he cradles his instrument like a thirsty child.

All in all Daniel is really a great guy - funny, laughing a lot, really a pleasure to sit by in several classes. Daniel helps us all by reminding us that funny can quickly turn into obnoxious. I may have crossed this line earlier in this blog post.

Jeremy Bradford as I see him.

I am so excited about this blog!

I get to write about one of my favorite people in this world, Jeremy Michael Bradford. I don't know if Michael is his middle name, but it seems fitting enough to me.

I think about Jeremy a lot. His complexity transcends what most think of him. He's a smart, sometimes quiet, thoughtful, very sweet guy--sure. But beyond that, he's witty, competitive, hopelessly romantic, and sometimes he becomes so provoked that his typically soft hazel green eyes become sharp, and dark. I like it when his eyes are like that.

He likes soft and pensive music, and often sends me songs that I never listen to :). He's a surprisingly phenomenal public speaker, has a penchant for etymology, and looks good in Business Professional attire. He's great at ping pong, can be very hard on himself, and has a little sister named Annie who he loves. His father rides a motorcycle.

I love Jeremy. He's one of the best friends any of us will ever have. This is because, Jeremy is rare. He's rare because it's not often that in this often dark world of ours we find someone with so much light. Someone so genuinely good-hearted. I only hope that he never loses this; even when he goes off to UPenn and becomes a world famous Veterinarian(IT TOOK ME 9 TRIES TO SPELL THAT!). making tons of money. haha.

Jeremy is also brilliant, as most of you are aware. But I won't spend time on that.

He listens to me go on about my love life, or lack thereof, for longer than any human being ever should have to! Round of applause, please!

What I've always found most interesting about this boy, is how he likes to long for things. He desires things which are unattainable. I've spent many English/US History Classes sitting next to him trying to figure this one out. Why does he do this? I'm not sure. I'm not sure if he's sure.

If I hope one thing for him, I want him to be happy. Truly, and deeply happy. He sure deserves it.

If Jeremy were a color, he'd be navy.

My Thoughts and Observations About Devin Booker

I’ve sat next to Devin Booker for the past week and a half-ish. I don’t know him well; I hadn’t said more than a few words to him before we became seat buddies, we don’t have any close mutual friends, and I have very little to judge him on. I like sitting next to him. Most of the time we don’t say anything to each other- we sit in relative silence. But I like sitting where I do nonetheless.
My complete impression of Devin has been centered around the following:
1. Devin is smart. But in an understated way. The sky is blue, the dinosaurs are dead, Devin Booker is smart. So it goes.
2. Devin in musical. I’ll glance over to my left, maybe to check the doll hands of the clock or to laugh at one of Brett’s many jokes, and I’ll see him moving his hands from note to note as if on an instrument. Maybe the guitar. Devin plays the guitar. I asked him once.
3. Devin is nice. This is the vaguest of vague statements- when someone’s trying to be polite they always describe another person as “nice” or “funny,” but I think Devin is a genuinely thoughtful person. Maybe it’s because when Mr. Logsdon made fun of Kevin for thinking the senior Academy trip was in England Devin said that’s what he’d thought for a moment too. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen him role his eyes or laugh at anybody else in the past ten days. Anyways, I respect it. In fact, I admire it.
4. Devin is interesting. Sometimes when we’re in English I have the urge to ask him what song he may or may not be playing on his imaginary instrument, or what he wants to be someday, or even what animal he would be if he wasn’t human. (My personal opinion is an Eagle or Osprey.) I bet he’d have interesting answers. Interesting people often do.

Beth sits on my left side

In English, I sit next to Beth (and Brett, but this is about Beth, not Brett). Beth and I went to Morton together, and I’ve known her since sixth grade. We both somehow ended up in Mr. Lynem’s art class the first semester of 6th grade. That guy terrified me – he insisted that under his watch, art would be a heavy-duty academic subject. My first really clear memory of Beth is when she aced his final exam. He told us that nobody had ever gotten an A on it before, until Beth. Still, that wasn’t when we became friends.

We always semi-knew each other, but we became real friends in 8th grade algebra 2. With Ms. Owens. And birthday celebrations that become increasingly elaborate. And tests that we got about 12 days on so we could get a perfect score. Everybody unofficially paired up, and Beth was my Algebra 2 Buddy. Anyway, that’s why we are friends. Beth is still smidden (smitten) with Mordon (Morton) and all of our fun times there.

This blog is totally a question that Beth would ask. I went to the fair last summer with Greg, Kylah, and John. Greg hadn’t seen Beth in a long time, and he missed her a lot, so he made up what she would say if she were there. One of the things Beth would have asked is what color she would be. If I’m remembering it correctly, Greg told imaginary Beth that she would be orange.

But I decided today that I get more of a rosy vibe from Beth. Not like the noxious, pepto pink color that all little girls seem to crave, but kind of a dusty rose.

First, Beth has a “rosy” outlook on life. I think it would be hard to find someone who believes more than Beth that people are good. I really admire her for that. People are to harsh and suspicious most of the time, but Beth sees the great parts of everybody.

Rose is also a warm color, and one that makes you feel at home. Beth is someone with the rare quality of instantly making people feel at ease. I know that I could tell her anything, and she would help me. Also, the Hansen house is one of the homiest places in the world. The Hansens are so nice and inviting, and their house is filled with bright, beautiful colors.

Rose is also a classic, lovely shade. Beth is beautiful, but without trying to be. In three words, she is youthful, effulgent, and charitable. Effulgent means radiant, but I think it sounds prettier. When you only have 3 words, you have to make them the best!

Finally, I want everybody to know these things about Beth:
1. She has a twin. And twin siblings. And twin dogs.
2. Her family has the best rolls, which they make themselves.
3. Beth also used the speculum at Planned Parenthood to make quaking noises, because it undeniably looks like a duckbill.
4. She loves South Park and Arrested Development.
5. She was a lumberjack for Halloween. The costume basically involved her looking like herself.
6. Her closet is full of dance clothes and tutus.
7. People, but mainly Greg, have made her a gazillion mix tapes.
8. When you listen to Crosby, Stills, and Nash, you should think about the Hansen house.
9. Her pinkies are permanently crooked.
10. Anna would be yellow if she were a color, in case you were wondering.

Helen: "You are me!"

Helen sits next to me in three classes: AP Government, Physics, and English. She also sits with me at lunch.

I remember the first day I met Helen. It was the first day of school, freshman year. I knew about four people in the entire school. I didn't know anybody at lunch, but I had met Helen in my third hour class, so at lunch I sat down next to her. I talked to this about her like, Thursday and she said that she didn't remember this. Anyway, we ended up being partners in Biology.

Soon enough, Helen and I began to discover that we, in fact, shared about five million of the same thoughts, like, if we are in the same room together we are generally thinking the same thing about what is going on. I don't remember freshman year very well, but Sophomore year Helen and I went through similar life experiences together and we ended up sharing most of our lives with each other.

This year, Helen and I could definitely call each other a "best friend". Helen knows every thing about me. Every thing. Anyway, on to the actual assignment.

Helen is one of those people that when she stands up, she is a lot smaller than you picture her to be. Not that you imagine her as fat, but definitely tall. She has a very large presence, despite the fact that she is most often quiet.

"We are always the same age inside." Gertrude Stein

It's on the red wall that I catch Helen staring at intently. We talked about it once in Physics. We decided that Helen is actually 35 inside. This may sound like an insult, but it really isn't. Helen is mature, hard working, and extremely driven. I never see Helen idle (unless she is chatting with me). She is always working on something, a debate case, her math homework, Spanish, what ever, but she never does nothing. Helen always has her work done while I sit next to her scribbling to finish.

I don't know if it because we have such similar personalities, but I find Helen to be one of the funniest people I know. We laugh until we cry about once a day. Either about annoying, pretentious people that sit in front of us, or about annoying people beside us (not you Neha), or about the coolest kids ever who are somehow so cool and we really can't pinpoint why. Or of our life experiences, including the most awkward of moments.

Once, in an English essay, she wrote "the possibilities are very old." She didn't notice it at first, but after 85 people proof read it, she was the only person to notice, then she left it in there as a joke. That's not funny when you read it, but it was hilarious.

Helen is always timely when we do group projects.

We do "group work" together, that's generally not really group work- she will gladly answer the question, "What did you put?".

Helen is the color blue. Speaking of that, Helen is really a HUGE sports fanatic. She really loves UK basketball, so does her cousin, but apparently not enough to please Helen. And she really cared about the Olympics. (Haha, Helen)

Her car is a stanza and it has really awesome seat belts. She always parks in the same spot in the student parking lot.

We go to AP Gov at 8:15 every day.

She orders a double cheeseburger and french fries and a diet coke at McDonalds.

She loves movie theater popcorn and diet coke, that's why she goes to the movies.

Helen looks in her little green Clinique mirror in between classes. I still don't know how to get it open.

Whatever Seventeen says, goes.

And she loves tuna and egg salad.

Her favorite movie is Election. She likes all the same music as me, but her radio sounds like crap and she only has a dis-functioning tape player.

She loves to run, she is great at it.. She is on the cross country team. I still have her red soffe shorts.

She is president of the Culture Club. And is really jealous of Nishant's bagels in Physics.

I really could go on all day. I know so much about her, but I've spent like thirty minutes on this and I need to finish Slaughter House Five.

And Helen and I are going to move to Australia and open up a smoothie shop with really Americana smoothie names like "Obamarama", "Cherry Pie", "Superbowl Sundae", "Red, White and Blueberry", and "George Washington Banana".

Until we meat Dave and Congressman.

Thanks for everything, Helen. :)

Rae Staben described in the rip-off style of someone who has recently read too much Kurt Vonnegut.

Due to Brett Walles, I only sit next to one person. And that is Rae Staben.

In middle school, we were friends in our Algebra II class. I liked how she wrote my name, with the swirls. Before that, we would sometimes stand next to each other to wait for our car ride home, since my ride never seemed to be on time.

Now, my entire family calls her Rae-Rae. We have movie nights, and go Goodwill shopping, and come up with fake embarrassing stories to send into Seventeen.

And sit next to each other in English.

Sometime in 9th grade, Rae-Rae and I came up with the idea that I wanted to be her. She was my icon of perfection; a far-away vision I could never be. This was mostly based in a joke.

Two weeks ago, she asked me to describe her in 3 words. She did this for me, so I thought it was only fair to reciprocate the description. Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far. The only word I could come up with was “blossom.” Not “blossoming.” Just “blossom.” Rae doesn’t need adjectives to describe her; she could use nouns, or verbs, or even interjections. I think it takes a specific sort of person to be able to do this.

If she was a color, she would be peach. Or possibly a sky blue; the robin egg’s blue Crayola. Or red. I’m not really sure. Rae is one of those people, unlike Greg and Mr. Logsdon and Anna, who are very difficult to describe in a color. Like I said, Rae doesn’t need adjectives.
On the other hand, Rae is very easy to describe as an animal. She would either be an angel fish or a flamingo.

Rae is a Montessori kid. I once told her that “that explained it.” I think she resents it.

I wish everybody knew that Rae used to be first chair oboe in Morton’s band. She used to tell me the oboe sounded like a cross between a dying goose and a donkey, or something like that. Some animal was dying. I don’t think she liked it much.

Also, Rae says “crayon” like “craaaaan.” I just thought of that when we were discussing red and robin eggs. I've heard that she also says "Daschund" funny, though I have yet to hear her say it.

Rae has green eyes, which is very special.

I’m not sure Rae knows exactly what she will be when she grows up. Unfortunately, neither do I. Whatever it will be, it will not be boring. After all of our hours at Planned Parenthood, I have learned a few things. The first and most obvious is that Rae’s maturity level ranks in at least the top 10%. The second is that she has the true desire to help people less fortunate than herself, simply because it is the right thing to do. I do not think Rae works like that because she is young and naïve; I think that that is simply how she is wired.

The third thing about Rae is that she has a fabulous sense of humor. The hardest I’ve ever laughed is with Rae, making posters for a club she wanted to make up. The hardest I’ve had to try to not laugh is also with Rae, when she pretended that a speculum was an alligator right in front of some Planned Parenthood women.

Who is sitting beside me...

So, I’ll start with introducing the guy sitting to the left of me; the co-ruler of the right hand corner of Matthew Logsdon’s room, Chris Gerhardstein. I don’t really know much about the guy besides the fact that he swims, is tall, and is interested in origami boxes. He also has a lot of fancy gadgets like television wave interceptor and nice pair of glasses. I’m not sure of Chris’s descent but his last name sounds European. Maybe I should ask him about it sometime. Our relationship is not what you would call “tight” but we do know a lot of the same people. I have my circle of friends and he has his own but we also are apart of another circle of friends that used to (back in first semester when everybody had 1^st lunch) play Chinese poker every single day of the week.

And the other guy that sits next to me is rather quiet. He is a quiet man, bald and with no facial hair. What really stands out about him though is his apparel. I think he must be a Buddhist monk or something because he wears a simple brown robe and sandals every day and so far he has not been absent a single day. I think he is roughly 35 years old. Every now and then he gives me tidbits of advice which are sometimes useful but most of the time utterly random. He also helps me fold my origami when my hands are full with an assignment. It’s funny how nobody has notice him yet though. He’s pretty big, around 6’5’’. Maybe the class is just a little inattentive. And that’s pretty much it about my seat buddies.

Assignment: True Colors by Chelsea Walton

High school juniors, and peers to one another for an average of about three (four, five) years now, I think it's safe enough to assume that we've come to know and understand ourselves and each other pretty well. We can all probably identify who a person is friends with, whether they're involved in any extra curriculars, what their strengths and weaknesses might be, their style of dress, maybe even where we see them in ten, fifteen years.
This familiarity with a person definitely extends to personality. But our perception of someone's personality can be harder to articulate than "I bet they're a doctor one day" or "She looks really cute with her hair down like that." Someone can be fun-loving, or intimidating, or goofy. But I've always thought personality to be a characteristic of so much more depth than a collection of word like that can express. And Rach has been trying to teach me how to interpret people as colors. In class we've even studied visual literacy and what colors can represent or evoke.
In short,-- how's this for the Backdoor Approach?-- I think it'd be really cute for everyone to write about the person they sit next to in English class. Our school, even our little program, is as different and as similar as the colors of the rainbow. And these colors can be used to objectify something as layered/multi-dimensional as personality.
And really, I'd just be interested to hear what people come up with for each other.


by Chelsea Walton

Since you're all sitting next to people you wanted to sit next to-- I expect nice things. Oh, and don't lace your nice-ities with irony either. I'm not gonna assign who writes about whom ("you must discuss the person on your left or right") but I do expect a level of spontaneity rather than a the planned approach of "you write about me and I'll write about you."

I'll be playin' with the previously established due dates-- this one is due by Thursday March 18th.