As you can tell because there will be no more posts following this one, this will be my last post. So I guess you guys are gonna have to discover and try new food on your own. Or don’t, I couldn’t care less but if you don’t like trying new things and always stick to the same foods I gonna call you boring. Get out in the world try new things because experiencing things are what define your life and give you memories.

When I first started this blog, I am not gonna lie it sucked and I didn’t enjoy writing this. A few posts in and I started to enjoy writing but then it slowly got boring again and I didn’t know what to write to reach my word count requirement and when we had to write about something specific. That is when I completely disliked writing these but with this post I can give you guys some of my wisdom. I am sure some of you know me and know that my wisdom may not be the best advice to take but I will make sure you have a good time. Have fun, it is your senior year so don’t study to hard, get your work done but don’t make it your life. Go to parties, be smart but have fun. Because this is your last year before you go off to college. Get involved with all the school events and become cool with everyone. Get to know as many people as you can and gain that mutual respect for each other. Even if you don’t like someone maybe gain that respect with each other. Respect that neither of you like each other and become cool with it because at some point you might have to deal with that person and it’s better to get that outta the way now.

This is the last thing I have to write about and when I am done with this I won’t ever post on this again. I have the time in my day to keep writing in this or doing something like this if I wanted to but I will fill that time with better things. I just do not enjoy writing enough to continue doing this in my spare time. It is like reading, I enjoy a good book but I would rather do other things in my spare time. So these are my final words to you guys, see ya.

Through this section of English, my group read Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I did enjoy the book, the idea of it is like a parody of Guardians of the Galaxy. It was a rag tag group of people with completely different skill sets, go on a quest full of many obstacles. It had a good mix of fiction and reality to it so I give it a 8-10. I feel like the only reason I didn’t like it as much is because of the lense work we had to do with it and the short amount of time we had to read the pages in. I was way behind each week and it will probably take me a week or two to finish it. I did realize the Dn’s and CN’s on my own but I do not think we had to write about them because I feel like everyone recognizes these themes wen they read. Like in my book discrimination is being hinted at throughout the book and I feel like I caught onto that theme fairly quickly. If you are reading this Mrs. Blake I advise to give the students a longer time with the books and make the reading checks for the lenses smaller. So instead of making them have to read 150 pages in a week, which is easy but does seem like a lot. Make it smaller and do like 40 pages and every 2 days do a check. So in a week do a check Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This is not as much as 150 but it is still 120 which is still a lot but is not over bearing.

Inquiry Questions

Are leaders supposed be in charge of everything or can their co-members provide support and help outside of their roles?

-I think the only reason we have leaders is because people need someone to follow. So the other members should be able to help in anyway and give ideas. Even at some points they should be able to lead.

Does where you are raised determine what you will be like?

-I think it plays into what you will be like but ultimately I think only you can decide who you want to be.

So my Christmas break started off a little wonky. We had a burst of Covid on the team and so we had practice with everyone who could go and I think there were only about 10 people when usually there are around 18-20. We got through that just fine and then started having normal practices again. Then Christmas happened and I’ll go over that later but it was fun. Christmas was on a Saturday and that following Monday our team left for Collinsville to play in a huge tournament that takes 3 days. We always stay in a decent hotel up there and we get our own rooms with a teammate. I stayed with Derren Stevens but most the time I was with Elijah and Jaylen or with Kani in their rooms. We went 3-1 in the tournament and when we weren’t playing we were out eating or back at the hotel playing 2k in a bracket the Camden Nelson set up. I think at one point we had everyone on varsity in one room watching or playing 2k. Once the tournament was done we came back on Wednesday, got a two day break for New Years, and then it was back to basketball on New Years day.

So on Christmas Eve my mom and I went to my grandpa Rays house and had a pretty quick Christmas with that side of my family. I got a bunch of snack food, a sweatshirt, and some money, so I left the Christmas pretty happy. Then Christmas morning I woke up around 11 and me and my mom opened each others gifts. I got some new sweat pants and sweatshirts, which I am very happy about because it is a struggle to find sweatpants the are long enough for my legs but also not to big that they just fall off my waist. I also got some more snacks, some stuff for my Xbox, and a ceiling fan. Yes, a ceiling fan. About this time of the year 2 years ago I was getting dressed, I stuck my arm up in the air the put on my sweatshirt, the fan blade hit my arm, and just snapped off. So now I finally have a fan in my room and a light because at some point the light in my fan also stopped working and it wasn’t just the bulb. Back to my story though, we had just gotten done opening our gifts and then we started to finish wrapping the rest of the gifts for that night. We went over to my aunts around 6 and we ate, opened gifts, and me and my cousins played Xbox til about 3 in the morning and then woke up for Church with my Grandpa the following morning.

After Christmas and during Collinsville my mom tested positive for Covid and so did my aunt and grandpa. As of now they are all doing well but they were pretty sick. But I couldn’t risk missing basketball and I tested negative every time I took a test so the night we got back from Collinsville I went to Konnor’s house. I stayed there for the rest of the break and when break ended I went to my grandmas house. As of 01/07/22, which is today, I am still at my grandmas and won’t go home til Sunday at the earliest because my mom is better but is still positive. I haven’t home in 2 weeks and I miss it but at the same time it’s been nice just to be out of the house.

So I’m not gonna lie, I’ve ran out of things to say. Well, I guess I have not ran out of things to say because I have plenty of ideas of what to write. I really just do not feel like writing about any of them right now. So, I am just gonna talk about how things are going right now. We are about a week away from winter break and I am in basketball full time right now. It’s going decent, we are 7-0 and we are going to play Charleston tonight to get our 8th win. We see how much playing time I get tonight because my ankle is hurting really bad these past few days. I sprained my right ankle about a week ago today and it really has not gotten better. I can run/limp on it now but I can not jump solely off of it and it always hurts. I go to Missy every day and see looks at it and will wrap it if I want her too. Most of the swelling has gone down but it is still super bruised and Missy says it wont feel better for many months because I am playing on it but I have to. If I stay out for to long I will get out of shape and I’ll lose any and all playing time I have earned. So for now I just have to keep stretching it out, wearing ankle compression and support stuff, and taking Ibuprofen to get though it.

We have Colinsville tournament in 2 weeks and I can not wait. I want to win it all but honestly as long as we win the first game and get to play in the front gym for the rest of the tournament, I’ll be fine. We get to stay in a hotel with partners for 3 nights and it’s always fun. Free food everywhere we go because the school gives the basketball team a huge amount of money and I do get to chill with some of my closest friends the whole time. I think we will do well but I don’t know anything about any of the teams playing there this year. Maybe next time I write I’ll talk about food but who knows. Til next time…

For this year’s Thanksgiving Feast should be good. My sister from Texas is coming as well as both of my cousins, one is in Arizona and the other is in Mississippi. My cousin from Arizona works as the head chef in a really boujee restaurant, so I’m hoping he’ll bring something really good. But if he doesn’t it is fine because my family is made up of foodies, who love cooking and/or baking. My aunt owns Flossie’s downtown so she is usually the one who does most the cooking and preparation. Usually at our dinner we will have different meats, so turkey, ham, and prime rib because my mom doesn’t like bird. Then we will have mash potatoes, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, green beans with bacon, cornbread casserole (which is my favorite side), rolls, and like three different kinds of salads. They best part is that everything is homemade and you can definitely tell. Then my grandpa will usually make some type of chili which is usually really good but it’s never the same thing. He really just digs into his pantry and grabs stuff and throws it into the chili which, can be good or bad. I remember a couple years ago he made it with some type of hot peppers he had and it was so beyond spicy I couldn’t taste anything else I ate that night. But that is the only bad thing I can remember.

For desert my grandma will usually make a few different types of pie and a cheesecake and my mom will also get stuck making a desert too. I guess the gift of making food skipped a generation and went to me because unless my mom is making something with tomatoes or peppers as the main ingredient, it doesn’t usually end up right. Her baking skills aren’t the best either but she tries and one dish she can make is the one she brings every year. It is one of my great grandmas old recipes. It is called a strawberry pretzel salad and all it is a crushed layer of pretzels, then a medium sized layer of like whipped cream, and then on top is a half and inch layer of strawberries in a gelatin. It is really good and everyone says it tastes just like my great grandma made it. So ummmm yeah that’s my Thanksgiving feast so I guess if I remember to I’ll write about how it actually was this year.

Today is the day when every class for soccer plays for the championship game in soccer. It’s always been up near Chicago, Hoffman Estates, where I’m currently writing this blog. We always get the day off of school and get to go with Mr. Stuckey up here to watch it. I haven’t eaten healthy today but it’s been good so it’s got to count for something.

I woke up this morning and had a huge bowl of cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch to be specific, and some apple juice, my favorite juice. Then after early bird I went to the cafeteria and got two packages of brown sugar pop tarts and milk. The pop tarts were whole wheat, which, made them sticky so it was kinda hard to eat but the milk washed them down well. Then on the way up here I had some bacon-cheddar cheez-its and salt and vinegar almonds. Both of which completely quenched my hunger. And I know you may be thinking,”Bacon-Cheddar Cheez-its, gross” but they are fire.

Then when we got here we had Buffalo Wild Wings. This is easily one of the best locations I’ve ever been to. They were quick and the food was amazing. I had a Cheese Curd Bacon Burger and fries. The burger was perfectly cooked and juicy, and the fries just hit the spot.

We are still watching the games as I am writing this and I’m hungry again. I hear that we are going somewhere on the way home so depending on if I remember. I’ll update this with what I ate on the way home.

In 5th place on my top 5 Weirdest/Wackiest Foods I’d like to try is puffer fish,

This isn’t to crazy to me but it’s just the case that if it isn’t cut or cooked right that you’ll most likely die from eating it. When the fish is spooked it releases a toxin called tetrodotoxin which is lethal to other fish but it is also deadly to humans. It is 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide and if the fish is not cut right and you eat a piece that has even the littlest bit of poison in it, you’ll start feeling the effects within 20 minutes. And if you don’t get treated for it right away, it’ll become irreversible and you’ll have about 6 hours before you die. So with all of that in mind that’s why I think it would be crazy to try.

In 4th place is snake soup,

It doesn’t look to appetizing but in China this is a 2,000 year old delicacy that I think would be interesting to try. I never had snake before and I think it might be okay. I don’t know if it would give off a fishy taste or like everyone says,”It taste like chicken”, which I can say has only been true a few times. It supposed to be a very healthy food to eat and I doubt it would taste bad but who knows, I’ll just have to try it.

Falling in 3rd place would have to be deep fried butter balls,

These sound like they might be good but I’d definitely have to eat straight vegetables for a month to balance out how unhealthy these are. Yes, Americans just proved we have to worst foods to put in the human body. All it is is a butter that is deep fried, I mean these sound like clogged arteries or a heart attack waiting to happen. It could taste like heaven and you are probably drooling at the mouth but let’s be real for a second, it’s probably disgusting and that is why it’s on my list for strangest foods I’d try.

At 2nd place is Jing Leed,

If you could tell what this is from the picture, let me tell you, it’s grass hopper. This is a food made from big grasshoppers in Thailand. I could’ve put a few different bugs eaten around the world, because in a lot of place bugs are a delicacy. I could not imagine putting a bug in my mouth, let alone eating it and that’s why Jing Leed in number 2 on my list. In Thailand they season them with salt, pepper, chili powder, and then they fry them. It supposed to be like eating popcorn except when you first bite into it you get a burst of flavor in your mouth which is probably it guts, gross I know. But hey sometimes you got to get out of your comfort zone, which, for most of you I’m guessing this is way out there.

And finally in 1st place is the Century Egg,

I mean look at this dish, doesn’t it just look yum. No, you don’t think so well neither do I, so you’re not alone. This is a Chinese dish and a lot of tourist try this when they go. I will definitely be one of those even though I don’t like eggs. Don’t let the name fool you, they really aren’t a century old. At most they are a few weeks old because the have been preserved, sliced, and served to you with rice and normally a sauce. It definitely looks strange, tastes strange, and definitely no in my pallet. So, that’s why it is in my number 1 spot for the strangest food I’d try.

There are not many food that I will not eat. I like everything that’s put on my plate and I’ll finish everything because I do believe it’s rude not to eat what they serve you. But there are a few things that I absolutely can not finish eating even though I do try.

To start off I can not eat pickles or anything that has been pickled. I try to eat it but I just start gagging because the taste of it is just horrendous. My mom know I don’t enjoy pickles, so, one time I was in trouble and she had bought these giant pickles because she like them. So she told me I would not be in trouble for a thing I did if I ate a whole one and I was in big trouble so I wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass. I can not lie, it took me 45 minutes of regret to finish that pickle, but once I started I wasn’t about to stop. I gargled mouth wash about three times afterwards and brushed my teeth a few times. But hey, I got out of a huge amount of trouble so the struggle was worth it.

The only other thing I can not eat is orange sherbet ice cream. It wasn’t always this way, I used to love sherbet and I would eat it all the time. It was up there with my favorite flavors of ice cream or sherbet. But one night I remember I had gotten up in the middle of the night to get some. I scooped some out into a bowl with a regular spoon and started eating. As soon as I took a bite I started gagging and wanted to throw up. I realized that the spoon I got out of the sink and just rinsed off, was a spoon that my sister had used to spread mustard on one of her sandwiches and I don’t like mustard unless it’s covered by a bunch of other tastes. I had to throw it away and the whole tub of ice cream. Since then I haven’t been able to eat it without tasting the mustard and even things that taste slightly like it, I still taste it.

So yeah there aren’t many food I wouldn’t eat or at least try to eat. I’ll go more over those strange foods that I’ll try when I talk about weird foods around the world or just that I’ve tried

I really don’t have any favorite foods because there aren’t too many that I don’t like. I guess something I could eat all day every day would have to be steak, potatoes, and a nice salad with some southwestern ranch on it. Now, I believe that there’s only one way you should be able to eat a steak and that’s medium-rare. I’ll still eat medium but definitely not well done, anyone who eats well done should not be eating it because it’s just a waste of meat. You can go all out on seasonings if you’d like but I just like to stick to a fine layer of salt and pepper. That’s how my grandpa taught me and for the most part that’s how I make my steaks.

Another food that sticks out in my mind is a burger that I had while I was in Mississippi visiting my uncle. I don’t remember the name of this restaurant but it has since closed. They had this burger there called the grilled cheese mac and cheeseburger. Basically, it was a whole grilled cheese, then thing burger on top of it, a big scoop of mac and cheese, and finally another whole grilled cheese to top it off. It was the biggest, most filling burger I’ve ever eaten. I could only eat half of it at the restaurant, took a nap on the way back to my uncle’s, then took another nap at his house, and when I woke up I ate the rest of it and that was all I ate the whole day.

The last food I’ll bore you with is fried squid I had in Cancun. I’m not comparing this to other calamari because I’ve never had it before and I’m not a huge seafood person. This was different though. It had a little seafood taste to it but otherwise, it was really good. I don’t know how to explain what it tasted like but it was good. I ate all of it in only a couple minutes and asked the waiter for more, which he brought to me swiftly along with another food that I did not like too much but I leave that to the next post where I’ll talk about foods I don’t like too much. Until then, see ya.