Summer 2004

“Life is like a box of chocolates because you never know what you’re gonna get!”

BiGSTUF 2004

Best Bonding Moment: making a poster so the band would talk about Maryland very early Wednesday morning.

Best Hug: Tyler after Thursday night session.

Time When I Felt Most Loved: Jenna, Julie, and Kaitlin holding me during prayer Thursday night.

Nicest Comment from a Stranger: the girl who gave me a hug and said “God Bless You” Thursday night.

Most Fun Picture: Everyone on the beach because it was the last night and we had a great Quiet Time, bonded, took pictures, talked, and ate our KFC/Pizza picnic at 9 at night.

Best Prank: us on the boys. We stole their room keys, snuck into their room at 4:30 in the morning (Nichole, Kaitlin, and Julie did), put flower petals and confetti on the floor, hung leis all over the room, kissed the outside window, put a ribbon on the door, wrote “You’ve been smacked! xoxoxo [heart], us” on the mirror, drew hearts on the bathtub, wrote “We love our boys: Carlos, Paul, Brian, Ky, Justin, Tyler” on the shower, wrote “Good Morning” on the window, and stole their poker chips. We also went to breakfast with kisses on out cheeks, and left a ransom for the chips. Each girl kissed the paper, and the boys had to match the lips to the girl.

Best Revenge: We all gathered for a picture by the pool, and after the picture, Carlos told us to line up so the boys could kiss our cheeks. Then he shouted “1, 2, 3!” and they all threw us in!

Best Way to be Woken Up: With the feeling that you just pulled an awesome prank on the boys Friday morning…even though they were pounding on the door.

Best Movie: Steve’s from last year and this year…or maybe Bryan’s BiGSTUF DVD.

Best CD: “Salt,” for sure, by the BiGSTUF band. We listened to it a LOT!

Best Meal: Thursday night dinner at T.G.I. Friday’s. It was a real bonding experience and just a fun time.

Best Afternoon: GoKarting on Thursday afternoon. I was so slow at first, but I had a great time!

Best Swimming: Wednesday afternoon when we just did tricks and threw people…and Justin kissed Tyler!

Best Quote: “It’s a straight.” “A 4-card straight.” “No. 7, 8, 9, 10…uh-oh.” – Carlos on Wednesday night.

Best Car Ride: when Tyler rode with us Thursday afternoon after Alvin’s Island. Much comedy there (trying to hide the Smacked pictures…talking).

Best Shopping Time: Alvin’s Island Thursday afternoon…talking with Justin and Tyler and Kaitlin and Christina and getting cute inexpensive capris and all.

Best Beach Time: Monday afternoon when we played cards.

Best Song: “Sweep Me Away,” “It is You,” or “Here I am to Worship.”

Best Quiet Time: Wednesday night…I felt so happy and loved.

Best Session: Wednesday night – so powerful…I could have cried like Julie and Christina. Everyone was singing (before and after) and raising their hands and all. So amazing. Thursday night was cool, too, for almost the same reason, except everyone cried…Ky was nice…and the many other “Best” things that happened on Thursday night.

Best Sermon: “Forgive” by Stuart Hall on Monday night.

Best Church Group Time: Thursday night (with the good prayer) or Tuesday night because I felt I had a lot to contribute.

Best Idea: “You’ve Been Smacked!” (although getting pictures and autographs from the Big Stuf Band was an awesome idea, too! *sigh* Kristian *sigh* lol).

Best Breakfast: Friday morning with the girls with kisses on our faces, then talking afterwards to the boys.

Best Lunch: Wednesday afternoon when we ate in Dawn and Steve’s room. Good food (macaroni and cheese and turkey) and fun talking to people. Good air conditioning.

Best Dinner: Aside from Thursday’s, definitely the Luau. They played “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” there was pretty good food, and Tyler, Justin, Lindsay Stetka, Kaitlin, Dawn and I talked forever.

Best Prayer: Carlos’s prayer Thursday night about how he was okay dying because he knew he would go to Heaven and that he would see everyone in the room there.

Most Fun Night: Very late Friday night when we had the pillow fight and just talked (Carlos, Nichole, Bryan) and had fun. I also went to the boys’ room and cheered Tyler on in Texas Hold’em. Good bonding with Tyler and Bryan. Very late Thursday night was up there, too. Girl Talk, crying, and Smacked attack.

Best Shower: Friday afternoon in our undies with Kaitlin...lol after being thrown in the pool.

Funniest Accident: The Water Bottle Incident…Ky threw a water bottle at me (we were actually bonding that night…then I messed it up) with water in it. I threw it back at him, and it hit his eyebrow, and, yes, it broke the skin. Sorry, Ky!

Best Memory: Thursday. In those 24 hours, I planned an awesome prank, listened to Louie Giglio and Stuart Hall, learned to GoKart, tried DDR, had a fabulous dinner, bonded with so many people, sang to God, cried during songs, was comforted by my new friends during prayer, received great hugs from Gracie, Tyler, Julie, Jenna, and Kaitlin, was comforted by the girl I barely knew in the best way possible, heard an awesome prayer, and talked to the girls.

BEST WEEK OF MY LIFE: BiGSTUF 2004 in PANAMA CITY BEACH!!

So two weeks ago I was in NYC. Many of you know that, and I even talked to some of you online. I don’t wanna write like, “This happened, then this,” because I had to pack for BigStuf and it’ll take too long. So I’m gonna describe all the people I met and then every meal (since all we really did was take classes, eat food, and talk to people). Here goes:

ARKANSAS:

Gregory: “Wizzy” – what a fun person to talk to! Greg was in my class, and we talked online tons during class about Bruce, the police, blonde moments, and my hair.

Andrew: Greg’s roommate/friend from home. Greg said the ladies like him…Rene and Blia confirmed that.

D.C. and NORTHERN VIRGINA (they said it was the same):

Valerie: she actually went on a date on Wednesday in Little Italy. A very nice girl.

Greg: So quiet…but so cute! I would have liked to get his sn. We talked at lunch on Wednesday (kinda) and Thursday night (after midnight).

Anne Marie: At the room next to the lounge. Seemed very nice.

FLORIDA:

Roy: “Jackson” - Roy and Evan went to Hodgkiss. They were in my class. Roy was nice. He likes to play some sport…I think…I forget.

GEORGIA:

Bruce: Our teacher. Kinda weird. See Greg’s journal for more on this. He was very nice…kinda had a crush on Katherine, though. Called me “friend” instead of Beth. Very weird.

HAWAII:

Tiarae and Nikita: I met these girls at the buffet line on Wednesday, and Thursday morning they gave us pens, pencils, lanyards, and nuts from their school. They were so sweet. I told them about our trip this summer, and I wanna talk to them a schedule a time for us all to get together.

ILLINOIS:

Lindsay: The nicest girl! She was from a 4-city-block-large school. We looked at her paper; good design. She and Rebecca interviewed each other Sunday night. I saw her around a lot.

MARYLAND:

Rebecca: We all know her! She was my roomie and made the trip so much fun. We stayed up late talking, went out to dinner a lot, discussed Griffin ideas, and got new ideas from the Wisconsin advisor (critique guy).

Rachel: Such a friendly girl! I met her one night in the hallway, and Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we talked in the hallway. She goes to Friends School of Baltimore. Rebecca loved her paper. I thought it was fun…good Griffoon ideas.

Sarah: Another nice girl from Friends School of Baltimore. Educated us on Freshmen Friday. Sounded wild. Definitely NOT my kind of thing.

Becca: A third sweet girl from Friends. See above.

Mrs. Wilkes: the nicest advisor. She was new to advising the newspaper, so she class-hopped to see everything. She took a copy of our paper for ideas. She has a cute baby and young girl (birthday was Wednesday) who loved balloons. Fun next door.

Floor 8 guy: I could barely hear him, but I think he lived near Baltimore. He liked the Orioles. Met him Thursday floor-hopping.

MASSACHUSETTS:

Carl: Nice guy who works on a 3-person paper. Talked with him Wednesday at lunch. Fun times learning about his school and skiing and all.

Torey: Works for CosmoGirl! Seemed nice, but she likes to drink. The whole group does. Kinda weird. She goes to Deerfield, a boarding school. They have played strip poker before. Enough said. But she was a very friendly and nice girl.

Meredith K.: I was gonna go to Penn Station with her, but she drove home instead. Very nice. I think she lost a friend in a car crash Wednesday night. I talked with her and Rene on Friday about her school. It sounds neat, except they can never go out.

Meredith O.: Didn’t talk to her, except to find out that she has done drugs before. She and Frank did a wall-sit contest for ten minutes. She also rows.

Jet: “The best guy friend ever,” according to Torey. Seemed nice. All the girls loved him. I talked to him a little on Thursday night, along with the other Deerfield kids.

Andrew: Nice…but not so caring of others’ feelings. A little blunt sometimes, and he was also obsessed with Allison. But he was very friendly and very nice.

Katherine: Roomie of Meredith² and Torey. Timer of wall sit contest.

MICHIGAN:

Brittany: the first person I met. My suitemate, along with Lindy. Very sweet. Kinda sick mind, but just about the nicest, most inclusive girl ever. Rebecca, especially, and I spent a lot of time with her group.

Leslie: Forward, but in a good way. She always seemed to know what to do and how to do it. Meals and talking with her were fun.

Christy: My favorite out of the Michigan girls. On crutches because of a car accident. Taught me to always witness if I see a witness because no one can for her. Such a nice and funny girl.

Kim: Another funny girl from Detroit Country Day. We had fun talking with them about school, driving, and the “auction.”

Akash: Got front-row seats to the NBA draft Thursday night. Came to Deluxe with us for dinner on Monday. Seemed like a very nice person…I wish I could have gotten to know him better.

Lindy: I felt bad for her because it seems like she has a lot to deal with in life. She was also sick during most of the trip.

NEVADA:

David: “Eyebrows” – he was a little mean, especially at dinner Wednesday night, but he seemed to be nice. Got “Best Designer” for our class. He and I talked online Friday morning. Told a great story about when he smacked into the wall Thursday night – that was hilarious!

Alex: “Mouse/Trippin’” – nicer than David, but also pretty quiet. I talked to Alex online Friday, too. Got “Best News Graphic” in our class.

Tyler: The nicest of all three. I only saw him Wednesday night, but he seemed to be a great guy. Should have had him in our class. Oh well; things happen for a reason.

NEW YORK:

Katie: Nice girl who hung out with Matt. It was her 17^th Birthday on Friday, so we blew up balloons and sung to her very early Thursday morning. “Kiss me – it’s my birthday! (or at least give me a hug!)

Aliza: One of the first people I met and one of the last people I said goodbye to. Kinda crazy, but in a good way. Talked to her during the boring intro lecture. Asked me what my favorite Beatles song is, and I had to tell her I didn’t really know the Beatles. Justin and Tyler would have been disappointed.

Sarah: Aliza’s friend. They were in the other design class. They were surprised I liked country and Christian music. Very surprised.

Katherine: “Lily” – independent. Her and Amy got “Most Spirited.” They were my friends from class. It was neat talking to her, but she seemed to have a “hard-to-get” attitude. She and I did have fun talking a lot…especially about her and David/Alex and jumping…yeah. We also picked out a gift for her mom in the store.

Amy: More like me than Katherine is. Nice and funny. I talked design with Amy a lot. She and Katherine were on the 10^th floor and talked with David/Alex/Tyler a lot at night. I was sad about that cuz those boys seemed cool. But Amy and Katherine, who go to Emma Willard School (boarding), kept me full of friends in class. They both got “Most Spirited.” Majorly jealous because SHE MET SHIA!! (Shia LeBeouf!)

Maria: Nice, and definitely a boy-magnet. A little quiet to me, but Katherine and her are close.

Monica: My favorite Emma girl. She was so nice, but also kind of silly. Fun times taking pictures of her with the money and talking to her Wednesday night at dinner.

Meredith: People said she was kind of mean, especially when she talked to Alex about liking Katherine Wednesday at dinner, but I never really saw it.

Mrs. Hunter: Another fun advisor. I talked to her in Spanish on Tuesday at lunch…that was when I found out she was the Spanish teacher. She didn’t like Katherine (Kath and Mere had issues from childhood), but she was so nice.

Carrie: The other Emma girls accidentally lost her on the subway, but she was okay with it. Seemed very nice, but quiet.

PENNSYLVANIA:

Matt: My favorite boy from the trip. He was so nice and friendly and fun to talk to. I talked to him a lot on Wednesday at lunch and before/after Fiddler on the Roof (which, by the way, had Alfred Molina in it, who is in Spiderman 2!). We talked about school trips and school and the newspapers and hobbies and sports and so much more.

Jess: Next door (suitemates with the Friends School of Baltimore girls). Both kind of quiet, though. In my group on Wednesday. Their advisor was in my design class. They were from Friends School in Pittsburgh.

Natalie: see above.

TEXAS:

Andrew: Blia liked him, and told him he was cute. He finally found Honna, who he had to do a newspaper exchange with. Seemed nice.

WISCONSIN:

Rene: My favorite girl (besides Rebecca) from the trip. She was so nice and funny. We talked a lot with her in the hallway and at dinner on Thursday.

Blia: Met her Thursday night when we were all looking at magazines. She was occupied by mine J. Talking to her was fun.

Grace: liked Frank, but seemed nice. I talked to her a bit on Wednesday and Thursday in the hallway.

Allison: Loves basketball. She monopolized Andrew, and was kinda being flirty, but I think it was just for fun. I was the third wheel with her and Andrew floor-hopping on Thursday. Their group stayed in NYC until Monday…in Times Square – how cool! There was also another person in their group who got some guy arrested for hitting the knee brace, Sam, I think, but I never really met her.

Mr. W.: The critique guy. He seemed to like our paper, and gave us very good suggestions. He also gave me his card to do a newspaper exchange between schools.

FORGOTTEN (not unknown because I asked everyone…I brought my HOBY enthusiasm to NYC…even though not everyone responded well):

Salil: A very nice friend of Akash’s.

Frank: Participated in the wall-sit and draft-watching. Seemed nice but kind of wild (drinking?). Cute, and friendly enough, I guess.

Gussie: Nice girl. In my group on Wednesday. Kind of quiet, though.

Becca: Meredith from Emma Willard’s friend. Ate dinner and talked with the Ne-vah-duh boys (Not Ne-vaaah-duh, for everyone’s clarification). Seemed friendly.

Evan: Talked to him (so did Katherine) in class. He was late to our class because he couldn’t find one he liked. Then he came to ours and looked at porn and talked to AIM!

Marlin: “Nemo” – “most Improved” from our class. Nice and quiet.

Issie: Kind of mean. She hogged Matt all day Wednesday, and was acting all girly and flirty. She kind of made me mad.

SUNDAY:

Breakfast: Train Station with Mom and Dad - bagel

Lunch: Pizza Place with Mom - pizza

Dinner: Pizza Place with Amy and Katherine – nothing, really

MONDAY:

Breakfast: Michigan girls and Rebecca – bagel

Lunch: Nacho’s Kitchen with Michigan girls – mozzarella sticks

Dinner: Deluxe with Michigan people – penne pasta

TUESDAY:

Breakfast: Michigan girls and Rebecca – bagel

Lunch: Pizza Place with Amy and Katherine – pizza

Dinner: Nussenbaum’s and Wu, then Starbuck’s, with Michigan girls – bagel

WEDNESDAY:

Breakfast: Michigan girls and Rebecca – bagel

Lunch: B.B. King’s with Rebecca, Matt, Carl, and Greg – penne pasta

Snack: Starbuck’s with Katherine and Amy – Tall Tazo tea vanilla latte

Dinner: Le Monde with Emma Willard and Nevada people – penne pasta and crepe

THURSDAY:

Breakfast: Michigan girls and Rebecca – bagel

Lunch: Camille’s with Michigan girls - pasta

Dinner: Deluxe with Rene and Rebecca – penne pasta

FRIDAY:

Breakfast: Rebecca – bagel

BEST WEEKEND EVER!!

Before HOBY, I had no idea what this weekend was going to be like. I asked Mr. Wexler about it, since he nominated me to go, I went online, and I talked to people (Brooke, Kate, Katelynn, Daniel, and Amanda). I basically thought it would be a whole bunch of boring discussions on how to be a leader and how to improve the community.

Boy, was I ever wrong.

As I mentioned, I talked to lots of people beforehand (actually, only five) about scheduling and packing and all. I actually packed for about two hours Thursday, May 27, 2004 while watching the Country Music Awards. Last-minute, I know. But I went to sleep at a decent hour (after trying – and failing – to get earrings in.)

Friday morning, I woke up at 5:20 AM. I got the last-minute stuff together and left (with Mom in the NEW car!!) to drive to Mount St. Mary’s College. We listened to Superchic[k], Jimmy Buffett, and the Beach Boys.

I pulled into the Mount’s parking lot, and I saw a girl (Jesse) with a box to hold her pillow. I kept my pillow in the trunk, but Mom and I brought up the suitcase and backpack. A facilitator explained to us what we had to do, and we did just that. We dropped off the stuff in front of Sheridan Hall, checked in, got my key, meal card (two, actually – gave one to Julia later), a nametag, 2 flyers, and a lanyard, got my luggage, went to room 237, took pictures of the view, and explored. I saw all the other girls’ rooms, including Katelynn’s and the group 6 girls. I missed meeting my roomie, Letam, so I just went downstairs to the courtyard area.

In the courtyard, we had to get in line alphabetically by school and say our favorite smell (pumpkin pie) and sound (the ringing of the bell at the end of the day…but now maybe I think rain), but I never had to talk. Instead, I was sent to Knott Auditorium, talking with Mary the whole time.

When we got there, I got a Bingo sheet and got all kinds of signatures. I also met Katelynn, Letam, Daniel, Amanda, Chris, and more. We then went inside and did an IceBreaker game. What is your favorite type of [food, music, movie, color, and subject]? (FYI, I was Italian, country, comedy, blue, and math.)

Then we broke into small groups. I scanned the kids – Amanda looked friendly, Josh looked a little punk-ish, and Chris looked very nice. We introduced ourselves (name, school, and interests) and read the safety card Anna gave us. She also gave us a sheet of stars to give out to people that meant a lot to us that weekend. Anna then told us about the weekend, gave us our folders, and then we did one last IceBreaker. She opened a map, and we were supposed to point to our area and create an adjective that is the same first letter as our name. Let me introduce: Beautiful Brittany, Judgmental Josh, Jovial Jeff, Bold Brittany, Charismatic Chris, Loquacious Lindsay, Jolly Julia, me (Brilliant Beth), Rambunctious Robby, and Adorable Amanda. On the way to our seats, Jeff and I exchanged stars, and I gave Amanda one sometime around here. We all then listened to the first talk.

I sat next to Jeff, who sat next to Robby, who sat next to Chris. Chris and Josh both want to go into the military. How brave! Carol Applegate, the Mommy of this program, talked to us about leading and stuff. Kinda cute. I met Emily, a-friend-but-hopefully-more of Jeff’s, who was a really sweet girl. Then we listened to Newth Morris – he gave us good tips on leading.

Lunch next. Our group was one of the first ones there. Amanda and I got the assignment to write Anna’s thank-you note (Anna was in charge of them, so she told us all about them). Amanda and I both signed up for journalism, so we sat next to each other and talked while we waited for Anna and the other girls (Sondra, Adeola, Faith, Elise, and one other girl) and Andy (the junior facilitator) to join us at table 5. Amanda and I talked about the group – we both agreed on most things, like how she and I were getting along really well, Chris and Jeff were the best boys in the group, and how 2 of the other people had somewhat downer attitudes. We had a nice lunch, though (chicken, peanut butter cookies, and water). Talked with Anna about her crazy and sad journalism experiences.

The first panel was interesting. Each of the panelists shared their views on being human and who teaches us how to behave, and then we asked them questions. None were thrilling, but Reverend Doctor Renee Mackey talked about religion, and the ambassadors (what us HOBY students were called) got kind of defensive. She got the most questions. Leslie was in our rap session. Also, Chris gave me a star here after I gave him one – he put it on my cheek (how cute!)!!

Breaks are always good.

Then we had our Leadership Labs. Anna’s was kind of cool. Two group 5 people were an egg and a chicken, then Chris was a dinosaur and Amanda was the “I’m cool” leader. We paired up (I was with Brianne) and use rock-paper-scissors to determine who moved up to a chicken and all. If you lost, unless you were a leader, you moved all the way back to an egg, where you sang the I’m an Egg song. Moral: Leaders help everyone get to their level.

Picture-drawing next – it was fun making glitter pictures with Jeff of our goals. Then public speaking – I was gonna do a really interesting piece on dance relating to life. Lastly was the name Lab. So boring. Could have been very interesting. Chris gave me his business card – lol! “The guy with green shoes” – oh how I miss those shoes! Around here we also talked about how hott Chris thought he was (oh but that smile!) with his lovely DARE shirt…lol it was rainbow and everything!

Dinner was the next thing on the agenda. Amanda and I conveniently forgot utensils (we were confused in the new cafeteria). Sat with the group and Amanda got two HOBY Hugs – postcards sent to Ambassadors. (One from her mom and one from her boyfriend Chris). Dinner was turkey and a roll. Yum. Used the meal card for the first time. Had fun talking to everyone. Read a quote from Anna.

Next panel: Media Censorship. Quite uninteresting. All questions to Gregory Kane. The speeches were kind of dumb. Just talked with our group, not with 5 and a panelist like earlier.

Ambassador Stretch – Chris was going to introduce and Amanda was going to thank, but Craig Hi-all-men started it off on his own. Our Group 6 (The 06er’s!!!) led it off.

The third panel was Entrepreneurship. I sat next to Jeff, and we talked all during Thurman Jones’ speech. Luckily, he was in our rap session with group 5 (Mr. Matthew, the Program Director, never had anyone from group 6 greet the panelists. Oh well). Before this panel, I interviewed Susan Stefanski. She has a nephew, I think, who lives near Lisa!!! This panel was cool – Mr. Roger Eve (Kiwanian) was on it, as was Brian, a sports gear manufacture, was too. He passed out cool free stuff.

Then I introduced Susan. It went well, and Amanda took two pictures of me. “Hey HOBY!” “Hey.” “My name is Beth from Dulaney High School.” “Hi Beth!” Yeah, us HOBY Ambassadors had a lot of spirit. We did that, “Outstanding” with the special-ed hands, Baby shark cheer, Sally the camel cheer, From city to city cheer, Let me See You Get Down (Chris’ favorite), Boom chica boom (Amanda’s favorite), Enthusiastic, Jump Shake Your Booty, and probably more throughout the weekend. It was awesome seeing all the energy in the room!

Susan introduced the essay. It was fun writing it around 10 at night. I had a really good idea, but I was so tired I don’t think it turned out very well. I did 5 things in a time capsule: running shoes (people play sports and we are always in a hurry), CD (we love music and live it), textbook (we are always in school and are studying to be the future), cell phone (we always have them and they are the key to communication), and a key (to the house, to the car, and to the future). Then I bought the Inspirational Magnets book, wrote a HOBY hug for Amanda, talked to Alex (who was impressed with my essay), his friend, Ilana, and Katelynn.

Then we saw the people who lost stuff sing – a group lost their sign and sang “Oops Don’t Do it Again” and more – it was great. Fun times in the dorm at night. Letam and I talked about home and cheering, we called our parents, I found Amanda’s room, she talked with Sam (ironically, Sam and Letam were HOBY bff’s) about interracial dating, Emily from earlier talked to the boys in the bathroom after I went to bed, people were loud, and more – but I was asleep by 11:45 PM (Room checks by Anna were at 11:30).

Later, we pooled our can tabs (Robby brought most of them)…we got two pounds; unfortunately, that’s nothing compared to group 2’s 26 pounds! They went to Ronald McDonald House, which is where I send can tabs, too!!

Next the groups went to the Grotto, which Brittany W. told us is a Catholic area for praying.  On the way there, I talked to Jeff a lot. He was up late talking to a friend, and it was so cool talking to him. I sat next to Amanda when we got there, and a girl (Christon) asked me if I knew a whole bunch of Dulaney people. She goes to Towson Catholic and knows Genese! We found out we were assigned to the bleachers, where Boy Scouts were helping (sadly, they were young). While we were waiting, the priest conducted races…we looked at the statues…and I saw a sign asking the Catholics to pray for us. How cute! Haha…Julia and me…go colored garden gloves! LOL mine were green with patterns; hers were pink. I was starting to rake, but there wasn’t much around, so Chris, Jeff, Julia and I offered to help group (sweet) 16 carry boards. I met Laura here…she was the NICEST girl from Bryn Mawr. I asked her about Mary (still creepy-crazy…yes CMSers that is Mary Pagoda…she is EXACTLY the same) and Abby from camp (weird…she was creepy…she moved, tho). It was awesome talking to her! Then I got recruited to help Brittany L. and Lindsay…wasn’t THAT fun?? They talked about Amanda once, I think…but I didn’t say anything cuz I wasn’t sure. Lindsay was head over heels for Josh…as Jeff was with Emily. I later found out that Josh asked Amanda to the dance while they were raking. I joined them and helped…a little. ALL OVER there were gross spiders! Haha Jeff tried to help but he broke the rake. Then one of the Alum took a SUPERCUTE picture of me and Manda raking…and he took a BUNCH of our group. We were the second to last group out there (11:11)…only the last was Emily’s (11:26). So I watched Capture the Flag, talked to Letam and Amanda, and we got ready to go. Amanda and I were only a few minutes late…lol!

Lunch was good. I don’t remember much. Ooh! This was when Chris lost his card, so he had to use our meal cards all weekend (meaning mine, Julia’s, and Anna’s). I was kinda hoping he would have to do something funny to get it all back, but he just went and grabbed them out of the box Sunday morning after breakfast. Sometime around here, Katelynn’s group got involved with SWEET 16 in a sign-stealing war! At one of these meals (maybe later), we saw two groups playing Cups. I learned how to play from Kaitlin back home. I think it was at this lunch that Amanda got a text from her bf Chris saying they should take a break. Luckily, I went to go find her and comforted her (I think). It was at this time I realized I was sooo incredibly blessed to have spent this time with her. I sent her a HOBY Hug this morning. She was definitely my best friend and sister from the weekend.

Fallout Shelter Exercise – this one is hard to explain. We had a list of twelve different people (for example, a 16-year-old pregnant girl or a 36-year-old physician). We each had to pick the people we thought were the best six to repopulate the world. Then our group discussed it. WOW did our group have different opinions!!!!! Chris had some concrete ideas (which I actually liked…it’s almost nice to see someone fighting for what they believe in), and so did Robby. At the end of the 20 minutes, we quickly decided on four. But that was all. Not six. You see, each person had to have a unanimous vote. We had one: the fifteen-year-old apprentice carpenter. LOL! So when the leader asked each group if they were unanimous, 1-5 said yes (expect in two and four one person was shaking his head so the leader said they didn’t). Then he asked us, and we unanimously and proudly shouted “NO!” It was funny. Many groups did, but a few didn’t. It was a cool exercise.

Then we had a science panel. Five people. No one that I really remember.

Ambassador stretch led by group 8, I think. It was really long, but they cut it short. The Ambassadors actually did it too – how brave! LOL!

Goal setting next. Every person in the room went up to a table that had two empty water bottles on the ends with a ping pong ball on top. You had to stay straight, keep walking at a normal speed, keep your arm straight, keep your hand facing forward, and flick the ball off. It was harder than it sounds! Amanda got both of them…I just got the first one. Jeff didn’t do it – he said he did it at a CLEW. Carol Applegate led this one…she was the HOBY Maryland Momma 2004.

Next we had the religious services. We had the option of attending an Islam discussion, Jewish service, Catholic mass, leadership activity, or nondenominational Christian. We were allowed to attend a service of our faith; we could also attend another service to learn more about that religion. Katelynn, Alex, and Julia went to the alternate activity. Mary and Brittany W. went to the Catholic Mass – where they took a really cute picture. I chose the nondenominational Christian, along with Jeff, Josh, Amanda, Lindsay, Brittany L., Daniel, and Chris. The pastor was about five minutes late, but he began right in on a really cool sermon. The message was that in God’s eyes, you’re no McDonald’s cheeseburger, you are a BK Whopper. He even had the visuals! Lol! To conclude, he read us this story.

Here is a true story by Paul Harvey. Pass it to anyone who you think would find it interesting and inspiring. You will be surprised who this young man turns out to be. (Do not look at the bottom of this letter until you have read it fully)

Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family was a handsome young son who had aspirations of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worse section of town. Walking home from work one evening this young man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him.

Instead of just giving up his money the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp. They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon. On the way to the morgue a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital. When he was placed on a gurney a nurse remarked to her horror, that this young man no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all is teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull.

Although his life was spared, he spent over a year in the hospital. When he finally left, his body may have healed but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired. When the young man started to look for work again he was turned down by everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who Had No Face. And he did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years.

One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church he encountered a priest who had seen him sobbing while kneeling in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God's mercy to free him from his torturous life. The young man went to Mass and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes.

The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. There would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced the worst, was filled with good humor and love. The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be. He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, many children, and success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career, if not for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him.

This he acknowledges publicly.

The young man. Mel Gibson.

His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie "The Man Without A Face." He is to be admired by all of us as a God fearing man, a political conservative, and an example to all as a true man of courage.

          The pastor, Darren Ahearn was absolutely amazing. The fifty minutes went by so fast as he captured our attention with his outstanding lecture. This was by far one of the best sermons I have ever went to.

          Dinner was next. Turkey…or maybe chicken. Here we could sit wherever we wanted. Our whole group sat together except we lost Julia after her alternate activity, Anna sat with the facilitators, and Jeff sat with Emily. It was interesting. Chris used my meal card here; the “thanks” was the first word he said to me all day, more or less. I felt like he was ignoring me. But that’s okay…he was still a really cool person.

          After dinner, we heard an amazing speaker. Her name was Sandy Queen, and she was in the first graduating class of Walt Whitman High School. Her dream is to speak at Walt Whitman. Eric, the person who I saw online, was introducing this time, so he was right in the front row. Sandy told us about one 14-year-old who had three children. She also told us one story about speaking at a high school where a boy wanted to talk to her. He was failing many classes, involved with drugs, and a very bad example. Sandy’s speech affected this boy, though. She asked him afterwards, “What is your dream?” This very question was posed to each and every one of us as well that night when Sandy signed to a song by Jana Stanfield: “If I Were Brave.” It is definitely the best song from the weekend. The last thing Sandy did was a Magic Circle. In this circle, Ambassadors could tell others what their favorite memory from the weekend was, the reason they came, or just a touching story. It started with cute sayings, like when one group said they had a ton of fun, and Lindsay yelled out, “Group 6 had more fun!” Then we heard how people sacrificed County track meets, proms, and sweet sixteen birthdays. The most touching was Emily’s. She told us, in tears, that her locker was trashed because she was the person who got to come here. She got a HOBY Hug from someone this morning that said she was really cool and a great person (which is 100% true), and she said she was so happy to come. Afterwards, poor Jeff was sooo sad. He has some home problems, and the poor boy said he would give anything just to get DSL. Poor thing. I felt so horrible though because Manda and I switched back (seat-wise….I so wanted to sit next to Jeff) and he was like, “So I guess we’re done talking now.”

          Funny thing – Amanda sat next to Josh, and he and I both noticed her Toddville accent. Would you like to put something in the clawset? I picked up how to say HOBY – you really round your mouth for the ‘O.’

          Talent show was sooo neat but sooo long. There were some really cool dancers (including gymnasts that Chris and Jeff were ALL over…they were like the really hott ones that Jeff told Chris about…his inference, not mine)…like RAADHA who did the neatest dance! Singing – I loved Colin’s song – “Never Let You Down.” Group 13…or 3…I forget…did guitar and singing to “Good Riddance.” Other singing and a monologue...and Chris’s favorite – a trumpet and a sax (“I can play it better!”). One of them even rolled his feet!

          The talent show ran 30 minutes over, so the dance went 30 minutes over. I wish I would have found Chris – I would have loved singing that whole time. I did get to talk to Colin, the other crazy 8 guy, Mary, Sondra, Katie, Raadha, and more. Later on, I danced with Curtis (Hereford High)…for about one minute. Haha it was fun, though. Manda came back later, and I bought the inspirational messages book. I also got Hugs for Sondra, Emily, Amanda, Chris, Jeff, Mary, Christon, and one other person (I forgot Letam). Then I went back to the Booty Call with Amanda and Jeff, saw Amanda dance with Jeff and Josh (her date…he sat on the side most of the time…blue-contact-colored eyes)…and be kissed by Josh. I saw Daniel once, and I REALLY wanted to talk to him more, but we never did. Major sadness. The ice cream was good, though. All in all, it was an awesome night.

          Then we went back to the dorms for the real fun. Talked to Emily and Raadha about the party in 339 (Sunni’s room…crazy wild), read Philippians (since I love that verse but Chris told me at lunch when we got the quotes that he hates when people just like random verses…I decided to read Phillippians), and I also read the Inspirational Magnets book. I also talked with Brooke, Emily P., Sondra, and Adeola (my next door dormies!). We also talked to David Kutch and Blake Montgomery, who sneaked onto our floor! Lol! Amanda told me Sunday morning (after I went to bed at 12:30) that she and Jeff and bunches of other people talked outside the windows…I was majorly jealous!!

          Sunday morning I woke up at 5:30. Yes that was RIDICULOUSLY early but I wanted to be sure to have time to relaxingly get ready. I even made contact cards – lol like Chris’s business cards. I went to Amanda’s room, and we were one minute early. Lindsay was about five (maybe more) minutes late. Lol – Brittany L. and Julia had to go get her! Breakfast was good, but I didn’t find the bagels. It was neat getting another quote like at dinnertime on Friday and lunchtime Saturday (By the way, at lunch on Saturday, Jeff got an Emerson quote and didn’t know who Emerson was…I think it was the path and trail one).

          Another panel…the BEST one of the weekend for four reasons. 1) Preston, a BALTIMORE COUNTY student (Carver) talked, 2) I learned a lot about volunteering, especially with Freedom’s Choice, an organization that registers people to vote, 3) I sat next to Chris, which was interesting cuz he was constantly telling me that #4 wasn’t true, and 4) the last panelist, Blake Montgomery, was SOOO hott! The BEST part??? He was with MY group for the rap session!!!! Oh boy were we psyched! There was a ton of cheering from group 5. We had fun in the rap session. With the last 20 minutes, we broke up into groups and Anna led us through a tlak about the weekend. We also got an evaluation packet and wrote a letter to ourselves. I’ll type it when Anna mails it to us in November. We wrote about dreams, I think.

          Then Preston and another girl (who didn’t attend her CLEW cuz she was in the hospital) talked to us about organizing a Community Leadership Education Workshop. Me, Ilana, and Christon went to ask him for help, but he won’t be in the country, so he can’t help us. I am gonna try to get together me, Ilana, Christon, Garret, Katelynn, Alix, Laura, and the Loch Raven girl. We ARE gonna do a CLEW!

          Thank-you-note writing was fun. Anna led them (we cheered SO loud for her) and it was fun. I had fun writing TWO (like Chris and Brittany W.), one to Cockeysville Optimists and one to the Kiwanis Club of Towson-Timonium. The junior facilitator we had (Brad??) was…kinda weird, but still very nice.

          Then we had the last panel of the weekend – not so interesting (only 3 people). The highlight was David Kutch. One girl yelled out, “I’m available!” He was like, “I have no idea what to say; at least I’m good looking!” The girl who gave him a HOBY hug and a HOBY mug gave these eyebrows…they looked scandalous! But, as Chris said, “That was quite an insignificant hug for such daring eyebrows!” (or something like that!).

          Next we walked to lunch. Lunch was sooo crazy and fun. There was a WHOLE LOT of cheering going on, especially from Group 16. They asked us to shake our booty, and we said no way! Daniel’s group (10) got sooo into it, as did group 3. Sweet 16 asked Ilana to shake her booty, and then the whole room was doing the “Do it!” chant! 16 and 3 had a “We got spirit; how about you?” war. Finally, another group (8?) shouted, “Hey Group 16!” “Hey what?” “Hey Group 16!” “Hey what?” “BE QUIET!” Thankfully, they did, because Mrs. Stefanski (Ms. Susan’s mom) was talking to the parents next door. Lunch was very bittersweet. It had been such a great trip, but yet it was all over. This was when Chris told me I saw “awww” a lot. Yes, it is true. Anna asked us thoughts, and I thanked her on behalf of the group, since she and everyone else volunteered their time. We also signed each other’s notepads, took pictures, and exchanged info. Anna then asked us for a single word to describe the weekend, and Amanda summed it up perfectly: unforgettable.

          The last event of the weekend was the Parents’ Ceremony. It took me a little while, but I found Mom and Dad. Chris’ family (he and his brother are IDENTICAL – not the older already-in-college one Mike, but the just-graduated one Jeremy) and Amanda’s Chris’s family sat right behind us (Manda told me after it he said I seemed “really nice and like such a great person”…it made me feel so special!). We heard four people talk: the person who saved Jessica Lynch (his nephew was there, too. The nephew, Bahaad, thanked someone yesterday. Bahaad’s parents didn’t come over yet from Iraq.), another Iraqi woman soldier, Hammer, and another girl. Hammer’s was really cute – he talked about two of his best friends (girls) and how they helped him write the speech. He was a really good speaker. Then people got awarded for being good leaders (the 06er’s were one of the few groups without one…but GO DANIEL ---> he got the award for 10)…and then the World Leadership Conference Nominations. I was glad I didn’t get it cuz I’ll be in Hawaii then. It would be sooo cool to go, though. Robby is. And...drum roll, please…I didn’t know either of the boys…the WLC girl was LYSI – she was on crutches the whole weekend and really deserved it…and the BEST one was…RAADHA!!!!!! (She got the runner-up girl, but is definitely going)…I am so proud of you, Raadha…you DESERVED it!! We then clapped for Team Alumni (some of us didn’t stand up cuz we thought there would be time at the end…Anna got kind of mad, but oh well) and Mrs. Applegate (we gave her the signed nature book…haha Chris and Manda signed in the wrong section). It was a really cool ceremony. Chris took my and Manda’s picture, too.

     I was almost in tears after the ceremony, but Amanda and I walked together so saying goodbye would be the last thing we would do. We saw Faith and almost cried on the way back to Sheridan Hall. I saw Jeff for the last time on the way up to get my stuff. I saw Mary, Emily P., Adeola, Shannon, Lidia, Katelynn, Emily H., Raadha, and more. During that time, I got my stuff, had Mom take it to the car, got the last of my stuff, and walked down to the key-return line with Amanda. Emily H. fell into line behind us. I was upset that I didn’t say goodbye to Chris yet, but I finally found him and we hugged goodbye for a long time. It was really sad. It was probably one of my favorite hugs of all time. Mom also took my picture with a LOT of people then and I said goodbye to them then. But then Raadha led us in one final Jump Shake Your Booty cheer (Not in front of parents? Oops!). After giving my key back to Preston (go Baltimore County!), I had to say goodbye to Amanda. It was hard. I cried after that. I also cried for over a half hour Sunday night.

          As Amanda said, HOBY was unforgettable. I met about 130 people, and I made some really close friends. I learned about enthusiasm and leadership, and I also learned about dreaming. I heard some awesome people speak (true heroes), and even did some community service. The lessons, people, and energy were just amazing. I will end with one famous quote from the weekend involving leadership and another special song lyric:

Do not go where the path may lead,

go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

~Emerson

It's something unpredictable,
But in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

~Green Day