Sunday, July 28, 2013

Guardian Angel

I have several people in my life that have passed on that I now consider to be "guardian angels" of sorts. This week, as well as many other people in my community, gained another guardian angel that none of us expected to get. On Tuesday, Jansen Badinger drowned while swimming in the Spokane river. Jansen had just graduated from CV with me in June, and he really was the last person that anyone would have expected to loose that soon.

Jansen was one of the most amazing guys that I ever knew. He was everyone's best friend, and he truly understood the worth of each individual person. I am so grateful that I knew him and that I had the wonderful chance to be blessed by his life just like so many around me. He was not only known for his love, but also the way that he showed his love and support. Jansen has now been nicknamed "Mr. Spirit" and was voted "Bear for Life" in the Senior Bests in the yearbook. He showed his love and support by attending every sporting event (for every sport) in full face paint and other spirit wear. He was a super-fan that everyone could recognize at any game.


Jansen also did the incredible thing and greeted every student as they would come through the doors of the school every morning. He would always say "good morning Victoria!" in his bright and enthusiastic voice along with his beaming smile every morning as I walked through those doors. I know he always brightened my day, and I also know that I wasn't the only one that was positively affected by his cheerful attitude each morning.


There has been a lot of talk of replacing the cement outside this door with new cement with Jansen's name and footprints where he stood as a memorial to him. What he did at these doors will never be forgotten. I remember getting to school 45 minutes early one day to work on things for the yearbook and Jansen was already standing at the door to greet people. I asked him if he always came that early and he told me that he got to school at seven every morning just to be there to greet the students. That's the kind of guy Jansen was. THAT is what a true CV Bear is. That is why we believe. From the cheer that states "I believe that we will win", we believe. We believe that we can carry on the legacy of a smile, that we can change a person's day simply by saying "hi", and that random acts of kindness don't go unnoticed. Because I saw what a difference one person can make, it has motivated me to try a little harder to do a little better. To carry on the legacy of an amazing person, and to live my life to make others proud of me, and more importantly themselves. Those things are what change other's lives.



One person touched so many lives. This really shows the difference that one person can make. One smile, one "hello" or "good morning". They make a difference, I promise. Miss you Jansen! You will forever be in our hearts!


We all learned what a difference you made, and we want the whole world to remember you for the amazing person you are. We will, for you Jansen, "Keep Calm and Smile On" as we try to live your legacy of unconditional kindness for all who you saw around you.



Sunday, July 21, 2013

Endings and Beginnings

It has been far too long (like two months instead of a week) since I posted, and in that time, a lot of things have happened. I went to St. Georges prom, graduated from high school, had a few visitors, and celebrated the Fourth of July. I will try to summarize all of this, since I don't want this post to go on for seven million years, or some other ridiculous length. I'll start with prom.

Really quick before I go into prom itself, I'll just let you know how I answered MaKormick. I decked-out his bedroom with streamers and confetti, and left him a sign saying "yes" with a bag of skittles, since my brother said that he likes skittles. Since there was so much teasing going on in asking and the whole "I actually can't go with you" stuff, I decided to play along too. I decorated his room while he was at work, and once I was done, I sent him a text saying that I was so sorry that I couldn't actually go since my grandma had passed away that very day and her funeral was planned for the same day as prom (she lives in Arizona). He freaked out, and called my mom WHILE AT WORK just to ask her if it was true. He was panicking so much, and it was so stinking hilarious! My mom just told him, while giggling, that he would have to wait until he got home to find out. It was so mean, but totally worth it!


Prom was a blast! It was a cruise prom on lake Coeur d'Alene, and it was wonderful being out on the water all night. It was strange though that only one of the eight people in our group went to St. Georges (Emily) and the rest of us went to CV. MaKormick was a very fun date, and we all had a fun time all night, from pictures to swimming and hot-tubbing after.

McKay, Karis, Amanda, Alex, Emily, Derek, (me), MaKormick



 Pictures were hilarious, and everyone was just being goofy. On the ride into Coeur d'Alene in the limo, we played "mafia" and even continued the game into dinner for a little bit. We had a delicious Italian dinner, and barely made it to the boat after dinner. We got on the boat after going to the wrong dock by the resort, and they had been told (on the boat) that there was one more group coming. They were actually waiting for another group, not us. As soon as we got onto the boat, it left the dock, then had to return back to the dock since they realized that there were actually two more groups. Once the next group came, we had everyone, and we embarked on a fun journey. After the dance, we went back to Emily's house and went hot-tubbing and swimming. I don't think I will ever forget that night!


The photobooth was pretty fun, and I certainly have some crazy pictures from it! It made me even more excited to room with Emily next year.

A week after this prom, I graduated from high school as a CV Bear! It was strange to be at this point of my life. I feel like I have worked up to this my entire life, and it was just suddenly here. I had Senior Sunset, Senior Mother Tea, and the graduation itself.






Remember the random amazing streak of good luck that I had at the beginning of the school year  with getting an awesome picture of Nathan at Senior Sunrise? Well since that photo was in the yearbook, it has been pretty well known and everyone was asking me to take pictures of them like that, and of course I had to take another one of Nathan like that. It was a bitter-sweet night for sure.

Two days after Senior Sunset, I graduated from Central Valley High School, and can now claim to be a bear alumni. I guess you could say it was exciting to graduate, but for me it was just more of a weird feeling because it was something that you look forward to your whole life, and it was suddenly there.


We also had several visitors lately, and have enjoyed all of the cousins and the fun things we get to do with them.


And for all those super hero fans, I did take my brother and his friends to see Man of Steel  (in IMAX 3D) for my brother's 16th birthday.



 Last thing for today: my super-late coverage of the Fourth of July. My family spent the day in Coeur d'Alene at the lake cabin of some of our friends. It was lots of fun, and the fireworks were of course, stunning. I am sad though that I only had my iphone for pictures, so they aren't the highest quality.