The Election

This election we witnessed history. The first black president of the United States. Not to mention he is very young as the age of presidents go. I think America made a very wise decision and their will be many great changes. People need to remember things take time, but Obama will make better decisions than our current president, that’s one thing I think all of America can agree upon.. He is a great public speaker and comes off as a highly educated man. Just what a president should be, its about time we had someone that looks and sounds smart representing our country. There have already been threats on Obama, even before he was elected. He had more security just in the running than any actual president has had. Hopefully they can keep him sage. America doesn’t need another tragedy.

Shoe Fittings

Shoe fittings: When you achieve your goal of “pointe” level, you will need pointe shoes or more commonly known as toe shoes. So many people make the mistake of thinking their shoe size is their pointe shoe size. Wrong! Point shoes are specially made to fit your feet tightly. In your first pair your foot should not be able to move at all. If you wiggle your toes you should not be able to actually move them. For example my shoe size is an 8, my point shoe size is a 5C. You can usually bet that your toe shoe size will be about 3 sizes smaller than your street shoe size. Yet, you always need to try them on. You can see where you would run into trouble without the proper fitting! There are many kinds of point shoes, all fit differently. The basic “box” is what first time dancers are recommended to have. It helps you make sure you stay on your “box” a little easier and you don’t roll your ankles quite so frequently. At any boutique shop your fitting assistant will help you put on and take off many different kinds of pointe shoes. She will also give you a few different kinds of toe socks or toe pads to try on. Toe pads fit snugly around just your toes. Some are made of lambs wool, others jelly filaments. Since your pointe shoes are hand made wooden shoes, the toe pads lower the chances of toe breakage.

Watching dancers glide across the floor in pointe shoes is one of my favorite things to

see. They mysteriously float on thin air and don’t make a sound. Their gorgeous dresses

flowing behind them. In reality the toe shoes help the dancers look as though they are

gliding across the dance floor, and their shoes do make a lot of noise. They are made of

hand crafted wood and are fit to connect with the dancers feet. So their shoes look like a

part of their body, while they capture you with their breath stopping performances.


The first professional ballet I saw was performed by the Madison Ballet Company. The

Nutcracker, such a classic. It’s every dancers dream to be a part of a ballet company. I

never thought I would go that far, then I became very serious. I worked everyday for

hours on moves, straight legs, open arms, spotting and so much more. I worked on

flexibility and conditioning. Soon I was auditioning for the Madison Ballet Company. A

bigger company would be most dancers dream, yet this is something if I worked hard

enough for I could have, then go to college after.


My first toe shoe fitting, I met a very famous dancer. His name is Ethan Stiefel. He was a

star dancer and actor in the movie “Center Stage”. He also was a great influence on my

dancing career. He fit me for my shoes in a Madison dance shop. He showed me different

shoe models, sizes, and shapes. Being a beginner he fit me with a wider box and more

narrow shoe. I have narrow feet so they fit snugly to my foot. He set me with a wide box

to help me stay on my pointe easier. They wrong toe shoes can cause a lot of unwanted

pain. If your shoes are to long or to wide for your feet there will be to much room for

your feet to move around in the shoe. This will cause unwanted blisters and broken toes.




Rules for shoe fitting: *No wrinkles on the box
*Shoes should fit like a glove
*The heel of the toe shoe should fit like skin
*Always try both shoes on (feet are often different sizes, shoe may need to be stretched)
*You should not be able to move your foot around in shoe
*Make sure to go up on point to make sure foot doesn’t slide or heel is not to tight.

After my fitting Ethan let me dance on the dance floor in the shop to see how they fit.

You should always at least stand on your box or dance in your new shoes to see how they

feel on your feet when your moving.


My first fitting was amazing, which lead to a great dance career. I eventually joined the

Madison Ballet Company and learned a lot from the other dancers and fantastic coaches.

Even as a professional you have to get your shoes looked at. When you are dancing

everyday or even every other day you need to change your shoes out more frequently.

You will need two new pairs of toe shoes a year. If you dance less frequently you will

only need one pair yearly or less. Shoe prices range depending on the style and brand.

You will want to think about spending at least $120-$200 per pair.

October

I love the fall months. Everything about them. The cool crisp air you breath and getting all bundled up. The thing about the month of October is Halloween. I adore Halloween! Getting all dressed up and scaring eachother. Handing candy out to the cutest little kids in their adorable costumes! It always puts a big smile on my face. My aboslute favorite activity for Halloween is of course trick or treating with my little sisters and my brother. I have a 10 year old sister, a 7 year old sister and a 3 year old brother. This year we are dressing as all different colored M&M's and going trick or treating together. After that they help me pass out candy at our grandmas! They loved passing candy out just as much as they like getting it!

Fall

I love the fall. The weather, the temperature, the leaves crunching under my feet. I love getting all bundled up to go walk the colerful trails of the apple orchard. Sweatshirt, vest, boots, gloves and hat, drinking a warm steaming cup of hot chocolate. Nothing compairs to that crisp fresh air you breath in. How refreshing.

Eric

My Short Story

It was dusk on the hilly road called roller coaster road, where my house is located. My
friend Eric and his girlfriend Tori came to visit. After we said our goodbyes they took off
with our other friend Trevor. Not a minute later Trevor was pounding on my door. I
noticed right away the intensity of his knock. He was screaming when I opened the door,
I could hardly make out what he was saying, but I could make out accident, Eric, and
bad. I didn’t ask any questions, right away I ran to my car and flew out of my driveway.

I slowed down over the first big knoll only to see Eric’s truck smashed from hitting a
haybine. His girlfriend was already out of the truck and was screaming at me to do
something. I drowned out everything she was saying, I just ran past her and looked for
Eric. He wasn’t out of the truck and I didn’t hear him yelling or making any noise at all.
Eric was in his truck silent. I jumped on top of the truck and pulled and pulled at the bent
metal to get my friend out of the heap of smashed glass and metal. I had no luck, even
with my adrenalin pumping I wasn’t superman.

I jumped down and tried talking to him. I was frantic, I didn’t know whether to scream at
him, stay calm, or cry. I stayed calm with a little intensity in my voice. I asked him to
answer a few questions, the first was are you ok? He mumbled with gurgling in his throat.
I couldn’t make out what he said. I asked him to say my name. He tried still gurgling and
mumbled. At least he was conscious I thought to myself. Yet I knew from working years
as a certified nursing assistant, that his lung was punctured from the gurgling in his hard,
squeaking breathing. He then tried to move the front seat as he was smashed in the back.
I told him to hold still, I could hear the ambulance on its way.
The team came in and cut Eric out with the jaws of life. I walked next to him as he was
wheeled up the hill to the ambulance. They put him in and drove him to the hospital. I
noticed Trevor at the top of the hill, still in shock not knowing what to do, Tori was being
put into the second ambulance that arrived. I jumped in my car and told Trevor to get in
and not ask me any questions , I followed as fast as I could.

When I arrived at the hospital I called some of his friends. I wasn’t sure if he would be
med flighted or stay at our hospital. When the med flight arrived I didn’t know why it
wasn’t leaving. An hour passed and it still didn’t leave. I then knew it was bad. A body
has to be stabilized before they med flight it.

Not a minute later I heard the terrifying scream of Eric’s mother Linda. It was the worst
sound that I have ever heard. I dropped my head, I didn’t want to believe it. The nurse
came out to talk to us. She told us Tori had miner cuts and bruises. Then paused, we all
held hands. She then told us Eric didn’t make it. They worked on him for an hour but he
had a punctured heart and lung. I dropped to my knees, I couldn’t cry I didn’t believe it. I
wanted to tell her she was a liar, I wanted to yell at her and tell her not to joke like that.

I couldn’t think of not calling him, not camping, not watching movies with late night Mc
Donald’s runs. I couldn’t believe we would never have another conversation. I
immediately called his phone. Just to hear his voice. He couldn’t be gone, its Eric. My
full of life, never resting, never giving up friend, had to give up.

Eric’s close friends and family lingered around the hospital still not feeling this was real.
I still hadn’t shed a tear. We all went to a friend’s house to be together. When I woke up
the next morning I was frantic. I cried from that point to the time of his wake, I cried
when I hugged his Mom and Dad and they thanked me for staying by his side so he
wasn’t alone, and cried when I watched the picture video of us. I cried myself to sleep
again and awoke not crying. I don’t think I had any tears left in me.

Eric’s close friends and I went to the funeral, ate in the church basement, and went to a
cabin our friend has. We spent the night on a boat talking and telling stories about all our
great times with Eric. After this event its hard to believe there is a God that would take
away a fantastic, friendly 22 year old, but the most amazing things have happened to
make me truly believe he is happy somewhere out there.


His family and our closest friends sat by his tree stand. Eric loved hunting. Out in this

mowed out area in the woods flew so many lightning bugs you couldn’t move with out

hitting a hundred of them. I have never seen anything like it. It just brought us a sense of

peace and relaxation. His family members would have the same dreams at night and tell

us about them. I had a dream he was holding my hand as I slept in bed and awoke feeling

my hand being held. A teacher we had in high school was on a camping trip where a

psychic approached her. She had never met this woman nor was she from our home town

to know any of us. She wanted to tell our teacher there was a young man hugging her

around the neck and kissing her on the check with one of the biggest smiles she had ever

seen. Anyone who knew Eric would know that’s him. His smile could immediately

brighten up your worst day.


Going from hating my previous faith in God to regaining it, at this point I really began to

believe he was in a better place, where he could hunt and fish everyday, and never have

to sleep. Not a day goes by I don’t think about Eric. I just remember what he taught me

from his life. Carpe Diem (seize the day). I will never lose that piece of him he left with

me.

Missing Home

Don't get me wrong I love La Crosse. Yet there is just somthing about being home on the farm with my horses and fourweelers. You can't go wrong with country air, and crisp fresh nights. The biggest thing I miss during the school weeks are the stars. Once in a while you can see some good starts here in La Crosse. Yet in Richland Center, without the big city lights and horns and hundreds of cars, you can see the brightest and dimmest stars. You can lay outside in the peace and quiet, relax and think without any interuptions.

After a busy week or two with all of my classes and homework and tests. I need to relax. I miss being home.