My Life as Jessica (33)
Sometimes, saying good bye is the hardest part
Written by Jim Lutgens
In less than a month, I'll be moving to an apartment in Mankato, which is where I'll be taking full-time college classes for post-secondary. As moving day gets closer, I keep thinking about the whole idea of growing up. I'll be 18 this month, moved out, going to college and having a job.
It's a lot of responsibility for an 18-year-old to take on, but it's not like I'll be alone. I'm moving in with my boyfriend of six months and his two roommates. Rent will only be $285 per person after utilities and everything. And as much as my dad wishes I would just stay home, we both know this day is coming — whether it's this year or next year.
Although I'm really excited to be living on my own for the first time in my life, the thought of it also makes me sad. It's not only hard for a parent to see their child leave for college, it's hard for the child, too (at least, it is for me and others I've talked to). I used to be unable to wait until the day I got to move out, but that was when my dad and I were fighting all the time.
We rarely fight any more, which makes leaving even harder. I was always a huge daddy's girl growing up. When I was younger, he was my best friend as well as my dad. When I turned about 15, I became more close with my mom. Obviously, being a teenage girl, I didn't always see eye to eye with my dad.
My mom understood me more, and I could tell her anything. I spent a lot of time at my mom's house these past few years, making up for all the time I missed with her when I was younger. Because my parents divorced when I was 5, and my dad got full custody of my brothers and me, we only saw my mom every other weekend and on Tuesday nights for supper, along with the occasional weeknight where we would stay over at her house. It wasn't until I was 12 that she moved close enough to where we could stay with her whenever we wanted and still be close enough to New Richland to get to school and such.
It's going to be really hard leaving my parents, and I'm going to miss them a lot. And although moving out and supporting myself financially will be tough, it'll also be exciting. I'm really looking forward to going to college to finish out my senior year of high school, living with my boyfriend who I'm completely in love with, having a job, no longer having to ask my parents for money every time I want to go somewhere — it's all something I've never really experienced before.
My parents can come visit me, and I can go visit them. Mankato isn't very far away from New Richland. I would know, as I've been driving there almost every day for the past five months. This will be a really good experience for me, I know it. I'm close enough to where if I want to move back to New Richland for the year, I can.
Next year, when I go to U of M Twin Cities, that won't be an option. But I'm going to work hard and try and make this work. I want to prove to myself that I can do it. I'll still be writing a column every week for the paper, as well, because I really enjoy doing it.
I'd like to thank everyone for all the compliments on my column. They're what keeps me motivated to continue writing, and I appreciate immensely all the support from the readers. I'd also like to apologize for not having a column written last week.
As most everyone in town knows, Rodney Arnold passed away last Friday. However, many people don't know that he was my grandpa (he was my mom's biological dad). It was a really hard thing to go through. He's the second close grandparent I've lost in less than a year.
Although Grandpa Rodney didn't see my brothers and I as much in the past few years, he did still love us. I remember all the Christmases and birthdays that he came to. In the two-hour home video of my first birthday party, he was there the whole time.
I've watched that tape many times, and it always made me happy to see Grandpa Rodney (or as we used to call him as kids, Papa Rodney) holding my hands and walking me around the lawn with a big smile on his face. He was always so happy, and he was taken away much too soon.
I, as well as many, many others, will miss him very much. I know he's in a better place now, watching over us all. I love you, Grandpa Rodney, I miss you, and I'll see you again one day. While you're up in Heaven, please also watch over my Grandma Millie (my dad's mom), as well. I'm praying for the both of you.
It all ends here, but for some it will never be over
Written by Jim LutgensOn Friday, July 15th, at 3 a.m., my boyfriend, two of our friends and I were just being seated for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two at the Great Clips IMAX theater, in 3D. I was both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. I was looking forward to it because I'm a huge Harry Potter fan (hence why I dragged my friends up to the cities for a 3 a.m. showing), but I was dreading it because I knew what this movie meant. It meant the end of Harry Potter, and the thought of that made me really, really sad.
Many people don't understand just exactly why it makes me so sad. But Harry Potter has been a big part of my life for the past 16 years. I remember the first Harry Potter book. I was 6 years old, and Geri McShane, a coworker of my dad's at the Albert Lea Tribune, had recommended he read the book to us. It was the very first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. He started reading it to us, because none of us were at the reading level required to be able to understand it ourselves. He never really got interested in it, and didn't finish reading it. But that didn't stop me from trying. It wasn’t until I was about 8 that I could actually read it all myself. By that time, the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, had been released, so I checked it out from the library and read it. From then on, I was hooked. When I was in fourth grade, our teacher read the first, second and third books to us aloud during the hour of "quiet time" we got after lunch. By that time, however, I had been through every book that had been released. There were only four at the time. Then, when the fifth, sixth and seventh books were released, I bought them the day they came out and locked myself in my room and read them straight through.
After the books came the movies. I didn't see the first two in the theater, but I remember seeing the third through seventh movies in theaters at least twice. I saw the third, fifth, and seventh (part two) at the IMAX. I was obsessed. I bought Harry Potter posters, film books, coins, music boxes, apparel — I couldn't get enough. I even wrote Harry Potter stories and published them on various fan fiction Web sites from fifth to eighth grade. I don't really know why I stopped.
There are tons of people around the world who are huge Harry Potter fans like myself. Eight million copies of Deathly Hallows sold in its first 24 hours in the U.S. alone. Three hundred and twenty five million copies of the first six books have sold globally (as of 2007). The book has been translated into 65 languages, including Hindi, Welsh and Vietnamese. The books have been distributed in over 200 countries. As of 2007, the five Harry Potter movies made a worldwide $4.1 billion. And J.K. Rowling's net worth is estimated at $1 billion.
J.K. Rowling didn't just write a book series. She created a new and amazing world, a world where magic is real, broomsticks fly, and things like giants, house elves, and witches and wizards exist. To some, it may sound silly. But to most, the books are treasured — the numbers pretty much speak for themselves.
Seeing the last Harry Potter film in theaters signified the end of an era. As you read the books, you come to know and love the characters in them. Even when Deathly Hallows came out, I still knew I had three more movies to look forward to. But now it's all over. I grew up with Harry Potter, and the end of the books and movies is kind of like the end of my childhood (which is ironic, because I'll be 18 in a month). I remember crying while reading about Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black, dying in the fifth book, and Dumbledore dying in the sixth book, and then Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks all being killed in the seventh book. Following all of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's adventures through seven books and eight movies gave me something to be excited about and to look forward to all these years. It makes me very sad to see it all end, but I'll always be a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm so glad J.K. Rowling could create something like this, something that can touch the hearts of so many like it did mine. I've started re-reading the books from the beginning, although I've read them all at least three times. They don't get old, not to me. They'll forever hold a place in my heart.
Don’t let others tell you you’re not good enough
Written by Jim LutgensMy little brother, Eli, is 13 and plays Quad Cities baseball in the summer. While watching one of his games the other day with my dad, I was informed of these "All-Star" traveling teams, made up of kids Eli's age, or even younger. When I asked my dad what these teams were, he explained it to me. Basically, they're teams made up of the "best" players. Not everyone is allowed to be on these teams, just the supposed "all-stars."
Now, I know I'm not the only one who finds this completely absurd. What adults can honestly tell 12 and 13-year-olds that they're not good enough to play on a sports team? That just doesn't sit right with me at all.
In a school district as small as ours, we want to get as many kids as possible playing sports. But when certain kids aren't allowed to play because they aren't "good" enough, it discourages them from going out for sports as they get older. If you tell a kid at a young age that they aren't good enough to play a sport, why would they want to go out for it later on? I'm not just talking about baseball, here. I'm talking about all of the sports that have these year-round teams: volleyball and basketball being two of the major ones.
Sports, at that age, aren't supposed to be about competition. If they win, great, but if not, it doesn't really matter. I mean, it's just a game, right? Let kids be kids and enjoy themselves and play the game that they like to play.
I know that writing this won't get rid of these teams, but hopefully it'll make more parents, and kids, aware of what's going on. This issue isn't a very well-known one, but I'm glad I was informed of it. Parents, if your kids aren't allowed on these "all-star" teams, I ask you to encourage them to continue to go out for these sports.
Don't let anybody tell them they're not good enough to do what they want to do. I was always told as I was growing up to follow my dreams, to work hard at whatever I wanted to do and I would succeed. I'd like to give the same advice to kids, and teens, everywhere: you are good enough, no matter what anyone else tries to tell you. Keep working hard, keep a positive attitude, and you can accomplish anything.
"You define beauty for yourself, society doesn't. Your spirit and faith defines your beauty." - Unknown
I came across this quote yesterday when I was trying to think of an idea for this week's column, and it got me to thinking. I have three best friends: Jasmine, Taylor and Heidi, and they're all very unique, independent people. They're different, and they like to express themselves in ways that others might find strange.
For example, Taylor loves dying her hair. She's had it every color from turquoise to blonde to hot pink. Heidi currently has bright purple/blue hair, along with a nose piercing, a Monroe piercing, and a tattoo (even though you can't see it — it's behind her ear).
When the four of us go places, needless to say, we get many stares. Some people, such as my parents, think that hair colors like that are weird and faces aren't made for piercing. But I've seen more people give those girls compliments on their hair than anyone else. We can't go to the mall without someone exclaiming, "I love your hair!" to one of us.
Just because it isn't what you're used to, doesn't mean it's wrong, or looks bad. Some people have a hard time realizing that their opinion is not always the right one--but that's a whole other discussion.
This idea doesn't just apply to my friends and me, however. Society has its own definition of beauty, and it's unrealistic and unfair to girls all across the world. Girls, especially teenage girls, have so much pressure to be thin and beautiful, just like the women in magazines and on runways.
Society's definition of beauty is giving girls an impossible goal to reach. Everyone has beauty, even if it doesn't fit someone else's definition. My friends have so much confidence in themselves; how many of you would walk around with hot pink hair and feel no shame?
I think they look awesome, no matter what their hair color is or if they have facial piercings. Jasmine has been my best friend for almost six years, and she's always been there for me, no matter what. Heidi is one of the sweetest people I know, and Taylor is so creative and inspirational. They're all truly great, beautiful people, and nobody can tell them otherwise. And that goes for everyone else out there: you are beautiful, even if you don't realize it now.
Hi there, I’m Jessica. My dad has been telling me I should write a column for the past six months or so, and this is me “getting around to it.” I suppose because this is my first column, I better tell you about myself. I’m seventeen years old, and I’ll be a senior at NRHEG High School next year. However, I’ll be taking full-time college courses next year, so I won’t actually be at the high school, but I’ll still be enrolled there. I have an older brother, Nathan, who is 19 and is only my half brother (he has a different dad than Eli and I), and a younger brother, Eli, who’s 13. My parents have been divorced since I was five, and I just switch back and forth between their houses every other week.
Some things I like include summer, hanging out with my friends, going to concerts, driving, swimming, county fairs and campfires. I hate bugs with a passion, and I also dislike lying, when people crack their knuckles, loud snoring, cheating, people who use others and the dark when I’m by myself.
I decided to start writing a column for a variety of different reasons. My dad thinks it’ll bring the paper more readers because we currently have no teen columnists. My friends think it’ll be a good way to get my thoughts and opinions out for the public to see. I’ve been praised by teachers and other adults alike for my writing skills (I still don’t think I’m that great, though), and writing a column gives me something to do and an easy way to make money this summer, seeing as I don’t have a job right now.
Most people in the area don’t really know me too well, especially because I used to be very shy growing up, and still can be at times with strangers and authority figures. Hopefully this column will help people get to know who I am a little better. Not all of them will be as boring as this one, though. The summer’s just started, and if it’s as eventful as last summer, you’ll be plenty entertained keeping up with latest things my friends and I will be getting into.
I would also just like to take this chance to say R.I.P. to Russell Witke. I wasn’t very close with him, but he was in my group at prom and he was a good kid. He was very dearly loved by so many people, and we’ll all miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones during this difficult time.