My 18 By 18

Even though my birthday is in June, I'm getting proactive. I am not the most organized person when it comes to getting stuff done so, writing everything down now will hopefully help me stay on task. Now, these may be beyond my 17-year-old grasp , but that doesn't mean a boy can't dream.

Graduate in the top 20 of my class.

I've always been a good student. I take all Honors/AP classes, but I have never been good with prioritizing my time when it comes to putting in maximum effort. So even though this may be a little far of a reach, I'm still going to try my best.

Get accepted into the WVU Reed College of Media.

Since I've started high school, I've developed a strong passion for journalism. I am involved with my school's broadcast journalism program and I love writing and photography. So whether it be broadcast or print, I want to be involved.

Land a spot in the trumpet section at WVU.

Getting to march in the Pride of West Virginia is one of the activities I am most excited about when thinking about college. I have played the trumpet for 8 years and since I won't be going into the music field, I still want to keep that part of my life alive.

Win Homecoming King.

OK. When I say I want to win, I don't mean "Ahhh I'm sooo popular I deserve to win King." I mean it would be pretty rad to win Homecoming King just so I can say "Hey. I guess people actually think I'm cool!" So, all of my JM peeps reading this... You better put my name down as one of the three choices for King!

Participate in the Fall Play & Spring Musical.

I've been a member of Monarch Company, our school theater group, since my 8th-grade year. If I end up getting cast in both of these productions, I will be the only senior to graduate with 9 shows under my belt.

Obtain a CTE Certificate in Broadcasting Communications.

Since last year, I have been a part of WJMH Media, the news outlet at my school. Now that I am a senior who has completed the junior course and will complete this year's course, this means I will be eligible to receive certification in that field right out of high school.

Pass my AP Tests.

I will admit... I am really terrible at studying. Last year, I took 3 AP courses and ended up only taking the AP Literature exam. Let's just say it didn't go 2 well... (HAHA get it? 2! Because I got a 2! Nevermind...)

Improve my photography skills.

I took a photography class my sophomore year and I fell in love with photography ever since. I mainly take pictures of just pretty plants, my friends, and clouds. I would consider myself an intermediate photographer, but in no way am I near professional! There's always room for improvement and especially with the field of work I want to go into.

Form an organization method that works for me.

I am nowhere in the least bit organized. Am I a semi-neat person? Yes. Do I always meet deadline when it comes to completing a certain task? No. In fact, if you read my article about procrastination--wink wink--you should already know this.

Make great memories with my best friends.

I know that we already have our favorite moments, but since we are all going to college this year, we should cherish those memories while they last. The day will come when we will have to go our separate ways, so I want to live in the moment with them and make the best of what time we have left.

Make someone feel special.

I don't care who it is, a random person at school or a special someone. I want to make sure that someone knows I appreciate them. They may already know it without me saying it, but I want to let someone know what they truly mean to me.

Let my creativity out into my daily life.

This might sound confusing coming from someone who loves photography, music, and theater but what I actually mean is to find my own way to incorporate it all into one day. Letting myself doodle on pages of notes and not feel like they've ruined the page, not care about a small mistake in the music that I am trying to play, and letting my personality shine through my character on stage.

Write frequently.

Besides writing for Odyssey, I want to write more in my free time. Keep a journal to keep track of my thoughts, weird dreams, goals. Whatever I can think of I want to put it on paper.

Practice videography.

I liked filmmaking a lot when I was younger, and I have kind of let that part of me go in the past few years. I want to brush up on my skills just as a hobby. It's something that I've always found joy in doing and I don't want to give up on it.

Paint more often.

I always start painting and then stop halfway through to take a break and then end up never finishing them. I have at least 3 unfinished canvases and some other projects sitting in my dining room as you're reading this.

Move out of my room.

So my little brother Matthew and I have been roommates for going on about 13 years now and I feel like I should at least get the chance to have my own room since I won't get to experience it in college.

Not care what others think about me as much.

I've always had pretty thick skin, but everyone feels self-conscious at some point regardless of how much confidence they have in themselves. I want to get to a point to where I'm surrounded by people who mutually support one another and respect that everyone is different.

Make sure I don't get caught up in meaningless high school drama.

On the rare chance do I ever actually get involved with drama at my age which may be a surprise to most adults. I've never appreciated how close-minded and childish some people are in high school and I hope I won't be involved in anymore.

Finish this article.

It is now time for me to go to bed. I hope you enjoyed the writing this week and congrats on making it this far down my train of thought!