it's ok... you can feel bad for me too. (i'm a sore loser.)

I have ran for SBO officer since 6th grade. ok, I haven’t ran EVERY year, just the years that would be significant. (I don’t know how to explain it.)
Next year, I will be a senior.
I ran for VP of Productions two weeks ago. What the VP of Productions does… is plan out and carry through with assemblies. They organize EVERYTHING and all of the responsibility goes to them. In order to win this office, you had to be elected. I had posters and tshirts- the whole shebang. I also had to write an essay explaining why I would be an excellent officer, and I had to have an interview with 10 of this year’s senior class officers. In addition, I had to have each teacher of mine feel out a teacher recommendation sheet. (There were 4 possible offices you could run for: President, VP Productions, VP Activities, and VP service.)

all in all, I thought I had a great job with how everything had gone. we had primary elections on Monday through Wednesday. Then on Wednesday afternoon we each got called out of class to find out if we had made it to final elections. Out of the 6 candidates running for Productions, there would be 2 chosen. I wasn’t chosen.
so… when I get pushed down I stand up and move onto the next thing. which was to run for appointed office. There were a total of 6 offices that were appointed: Artist, Promotions, Publicity, Historian, spirit and photographer. you could run for more than one office- so I ran for promotions, publicity and spirit. I was required to have teacher recommendations, and essay, a portfolio for each office, and another essay for each office. plus: another interview.
everything was going smoothly. I turned in my essay and portfolio in on time, and I scheduled a great time for my interview. the interview went very well! they asked a lot of the same questions from my elected office interview, and I had come up with even better answers. There was a very real connection I had with the officers.

many of my friends had run for appointed offices as well. one was running for historian- which she had a different person make up her portfolio. how does that count for honesty?
there was another girl who was running for office because “she wanted in on her college resume… and might as well get the officer jacket with it as well! But in all seriousness, all of the offices did not look interesting AT ALL!”

I also had one of my best friends running for spirit- she had told me she was too scared to run for elected because she “couldn’t face her student body.”

well.. as Friday rolled around, we each got called out of class once again. Senior officers had been talking to me all day and informing me that I had such a great chance- they had put down really good scores for me- and they believed I would be such a great officer for next year. my confidence increased, and I was ready to find out. although I was confident- I WAS NOT COCKY, AND I DID NOT LET IT SHOW.
each of the offers read off the names for who would be officers and for what position next year. my name was never read. it was upsetting though, because, without saying names, these are who made office:
artist: a kid who cheats on every single math test. (he’s a great artist, but completely not honest.)

photographer: A GREAT GIRL! she is one of the best people I know! although, she has been an officer for twice in past years.

spirit: the girl who “was too scared to face her student body.” how can you be a spirit officer while being too scared to face your student body? you have to be outgoing and be able to put yourself out there!

promotions: another great kid, who has been an officer twice before since 6th grade.

publicity: another great girl who has also been an officer since 6th grade.

historian: the girl who had somebody else make her portfolio for her. Completely dishonest.

I was upset. it is going to be a really hard year next year to look at these people as my senior class officers. They have either cheated their way into it, or have been an officer several of times before. I, on the other hand, had been completely honest about my work. I was excited to face my student body. I had new ideas that our school has never seen before! I have ran since 6th grade!

Next week is the meeting to run for senior class officers. There are three people there who will make it. Unfortunately, all those people are in charge of is seniors week, and planning the high school reunions for the rest of your life. I am not running to be an officer “just to be an officer.” I’m not there “just because you get the jacket.” and personally, I do not want the life sentence to be in charge of class reunions. I will not be running for senior class officers- because from my point of view- that’s all they are.

it has been an hurtful week. I know- that I could’ve committed myself to be such a great officer, and this was my last chance. I have planned my senior year schedule around me being an officer. I had such great ideas! I’ve tried for 6 years! I just wish I could’ve known where I went wrong, and what I could’ve improved on.

well. that’s it. I’m a sore loser I guess. but this is just one of those days where my feelings have overtaken the keyboard.
to anybody who read this: thanks for letting me vent.

WX dance company

Last year, during the month of May, I auditioned for my high school dance company. WX has the cheerleaders, and a drill team. But none of them add up to the dance company.

My older sister had been both a cheerleader and a member of the dance company, so that is literally what gave me the courage. If it hadn’t been for her example, I’d have been wayy too scared to addition.

Long story short, I auditioned. This was a really big deal to me, and I was fortunate enough to have made the team. It has been a long year, as me +18 other girls + 1 boy, have prepared for our March Concert.

We work hard, everyday, to become better dancers and to showcase our hard work at this March Concert. Well, today is March 6th. When is the concert, you ask? March 21 and 22. it all comes down to those two days! I’m getting so nervous, and so excited to show our hard work.

This year, our concert will be called DANCEOLOGY. To sum up what we have been working on, we have taken subjects, and STUDIED them. For instance, hands. There is a whole dance committed to the study of hands- handology. We have a dance about, Hearts (cardiology), birds, kids (genealogy), dreams & nightmares, monsters & demons, time, dolls, animals (zoology), language, and finally, a dance about dance. There has been so much hard work put in!
I will be dancing in a total of nine dances.

If you know me, and want to support me, I’d really appreciate it. Please buy concert tickets from me.

Students: $5
Adults: $6
Family Pass: $20

The concert is on March 21 and 22 (Monday and Tuesday) at the high school auditorium. The show starts at 7:00 both nights.

thank you thank you!

REGION CHAMPIONS. 'nough said.

On August 23, in my 4th period swim conditioning class- we made goals. “Drop a second on my 50, be able to do a bucket turn, get my 100 back down to a 1:15, etc.” But a goal that every single girl said was to “become region champions. We want a banner!”

The woods cross girls have never won region before. Boys have, back in the 80s and 90s- but girls have NEVER had won. This year, we had the best team that woods cross ever had! There was another high school, Olympus, who was also EXTREMELY good. These people have been our rivalrys all year. (when we swam them- we actually tied. ha! besides that- wx girls were undeafeated.) We all dropped times, and we all worked super hard. On Friday, 21st, was the region champion meet.

side note. We had an assembly on Thursday, and all of the officers talked about the WX vs. BOUNTIFUL basketball game that was on Friday. but since we were going to be at the meet all day on Friday, all of the swimmers dressed in their Sunday best for Thursday. get it? well- the officers didn’t even announce that we had region the next day. when we asked them why they didn’t- they replied that swimming was “a stupid sport.” that shows how much recognition the swim team gets at our high school. (hahah, and then at the basketball game.. wx lost. ironic.)

On Thursday night- we all got together for our traditional swim dinner at the Millwards house. Boys- who were daring enough (considering that the Prom is today) - shaved their heads. (It’s been custom FOREVER to shave heads the night before region.) We all ate a bunch of pasta, and we got a motivational speech from our coach- Dale. He pulled all of the girls aside and gave us a piece of paper and told us he wanted us to write down our goal times for tomorrows meet. We each did, then put the papers in our sweat pockets. We were to sleep with these papers and to think about our times consistently until the meet was over.

The next morning we woke up at meet at the rec center by 8am. Tension was high. I literally had shaky hands from the second I woke up. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO TODAY! we got in the pool and did our 1,300 yard warm-up in the pool. When time was up, we got out- put on our deck coats- and walked upstairs to stretch. Dale walked in and required that it be completely silent for the next half hour as we stretched and visualized. he turned off the lights and we all got mentally prepared for this meet. it was a big deal- trust me. Then gave us another motivational speech, and I’ve never been more excited/nervous to swim before in my whole life. The pressure was on!!

we walked down to the competition pool and I got ready for the 200 medley relay. my next event was the 200 Individual medley.
during the 50 free, one of my best friends, Kaitie Jowers, broke the school record. She had broken it last year at the state meet, by .01 of a second. last year the record hadn’t been broken for 13 years. she hadn’t been able to get her time down to a 26.01 for awhile- but lo and behold- she broke her own record again! 25.55 seconds! I’m sure the fast skin technical suit worked in her favor though as well. What was her goal time- you ask? 25.83. she blew it out of the water! Then we had the 100 Backstroke record broke for the second time this year by my Coaches daughter-
Alexis Ralph. Did I mention Alexis is a freshman and she broke a record that hasn’t been touched for 16 years? That’s longer than she’s even been alive!
We also broke the 200 Freestyle relay. Congrats to Avery Hansen, Lexi Stader, Alexis Ralph, and Kaitie Jowers. it was broken by nearly 2 seconds. which is a lot when you in the “competitive swimming” word.

Between Olympus and Woods Cross- our points were about even the whole time. but towards the end- they weren’t telling us who was in the lead. All we knew, was that we had to swim hard and fast. I had the pressure on my 200 free relay and in my 100 breast. I had a good 100 breast and I got us some points.

After the meet ended, everybody was crazy estatic! we had to of won! we still didn’t know what the points ended up being- but how could we have lost to Olympus? We had just won every single on of the last 7 events! all of the girls went down on the deck- waiting with anticipation. we told dale to take out his phone from his pocket, and we all got ready for a victory lap if we ended up winning.
the announcer came on and started announcing points. (out of 7 high schools) 2nd place: olympus high school girls with 396 points. 1st place: woods cross high school girls wth 492 points. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we hadn’t just won- but we won my almost 100 points!!!!!!!

all of the girls jumped in the water, dragging Coach Dale in with us. it was amazing. and pretty emotional. our hard work had finally paid off! the number one goal that all of the girls had worked for all year long- was completed. woods cross high school girls swim team was region champions. for the first time. ever.

Now, we finally get a banners! not just one, but two. One in the rec center hanging in the compition pool right above the woods cross record board. and one in the woods cross gym with all of the other sports that have become region champions. 2 brand new- never been hung- banners.

finally. some recognition from our school.

Mr. Park-our new principal this year, who has come to every single meet, came over and congradualted us. we thanked him with a group hug and he was soon covered in chlorine water. we received our trophy, and Mr. Park asked if it would be ok if he presented it to us at the wx/bountiful basketball game that night. YAYY!! that also brought emotions flairing. we would get some limelight for our hard work at the biggest basketball game in the state!

after a victory celebration at Chuck-a-rama, (it’s tradition) and an eventful basketball game- all of the girls gathered over at Kaitie Jowers house for a sleepover.

overall- a very successful swim season. I didn’t qualify for state in any of my events, even though I was very close in my 100 back and my 100 breast.

I love woods cross swim team.

especially the girls

celebrity crushes

TRAVIS PASTRANA. AND JIMMY FALLON.
who are these handsome young fellas, you might ask?





travis. one manly man. he's a motor sport competitor. (motocross, supercross, freestyle motocross and rally racing.) he's a beast. he's dumb. but boyyy is he handsome.


-7 broken wrists
-8 knee surgery's (right side)
-7 knee surgery's (left side)
-broken left and right foot
-torn ACL, PCL and LCL
-broken growth plates
-broken pelvic bone
-hip fractures
-dislocated spinal column (one of the four in the entire WORLD!)

but that's just the thing. The reason i think Travis is so dang cute, is because he lives for the "moment!" he might not live to see another day, but he's going to die doing what he loves! which is stupid things. aka, jumping out of a plane with no parachute, and just a red bull in his hand. his last departing words? "I hope this stuff works!" (meaning, i sure hope 'red bull gives you wings!!')


next on the celebrity crush list..

Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy boy, as i like to call him.
Jimmy fallon is a late night talk show host. and i just think he is adorable. look at that smile! not to mention he is freakin hilarious!
(go and youtube the JIMMY FALLON AND JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE RAP.)

and that's my spill on celebrity crushes.

(oh. and...

taylor lautner, andy samberg, and sean white.) :)

what do you want to do before you die?

it's a tv show. and it's on mtv. and it involves 4 hot guys from canada. and it's about living your life to it's fullest. literally, it's the best thing.. since sliced bread!

if you dont know what i'm talking about, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSYFTZrABMg&feature=related

yes. i'm talking about the show called "The buried life."

This is a group of boys who have a bucket list of 100 things they would like to do before they die. not only do they accompish these tasks regularly, but they also help people along the way. for each item that they cross off on there list, they help somebody in need. one for one.

question: why do they call it the "buried life?"

answer: because it's from a poem titled The Buried Life written by mathey arnold. It's a long poem, but this is were it comes from.....

But often, in the world's most crowded streets,

But often, in the din of strife,

There rises an unspeakable desire

After the knowledge of our buried life;

and the rest is history. They ended up making a tv show, and letting the world know about their story. It has inspired me, and million others.

so.. what's on MY list?

1. get a picture like the beatles, on abby road.

2. get my patriartical blessing

3. bungee jump over water

4. study abroad

5. Get a college degree

6. marry in the temple

7. own a jeep wrangler

8. Serve for my country.. somehow & somway

9. learn to snowboard

10. be arrested

11. help out/volunteer with the olymics

12. adopt a child

13. learn karate

14. got to a baptist church

15. ride an elephant

16. humanitarian project in a 3rd world country

17. bear my testimony to my dad

18. trathalon. olympic size

19. go to the macys thanksgiving parade.

20. successfully do the gallon challenge.

21. serve an LDS mission

22. watch all TV episodes of Boy meets world and of Seinfeld

23. buy a homeless man a bigmac

24. order a pizza while in class.

25. Stay overnight at the WXHS

26. make a dinohoodie

27. roadtrip for a week

28. swim illegally. (have a picture of NO SWIMMING, with me swimming in the background.. hahah)

29. kiss a stranger on new years

30. become scuba certified

31. swim in australia

32. see the northern lights

33. ride in a hot air balloon

34. coach a little leage soccer team

35. own a cute, durable, wooden swing at my home (eventually)

36. train a guide dog
37. memorize the "marching bands of manhattan" lyrics.

38. kiss at the top of the effill tower

What do you want to do before you die?

just try.. and never grow up.

k. this is embarassing. but i'll just get it out there.

I LOVE TAYLOR SWIFT!! she's possibly my favorite person. in the universe.

So.. she had a new album come out this week, and that's ALL i've been able to listen to. it's kind of overwelming to realize how good her lyrics are. infact, on tuesday (the day after the album came out,) i had to get up in class and explain a scripture mastery that we had been studying this term. i had D&C 25:12. which says; For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea. the song of the rightous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.

i stood up. and i talked about taylor swift. and i talked about how the spirit doesnt have to be there with just hymns, but it can be there with other popular, upbeat songs.. that are EVEN SOLD ON ITUNES! but in the end.. i got teary eyed. (yes.. still talking about taylor swift.) which this was my FIRST time crying this year in seminary. please... give me a pat on the back.

anyways.. this is one of my favorite songs. it is also one that makes me teary eyed. if you listen to it, i'm sure you'll figure out what it's talking about. but pretty much i can sum up:
1. i hate growing up. i still wanna be in elementary.
2. i love my mom.
3. i cant wait to turn on my nightlight tonight when i go to bed.
but anyways. here it is.



(thanks tswift)

a short list of my day.

-early morning seminary. (every morning)
-ballet west nutcracker practise
-high school swim team, practise 5 hours a day.
-USA state swim team. another 2 hours of practise. (yes.. my skin get's verry soggy.)
-2 CE classes. (i go to bountiful high school and viewmont high school every other day. these 2 classes add up to 8 credit hours of college by the time the semester is done. and holy heck there's a lot of homework. darn you chemistry and u.s. history!)
-NHS officer. (it doesnt sound bad, but i might as well be the president- consider how much work i do!)
-high school dance company. (it's brutal.. but it's fun)
-oh. dont forget all of the other classes.. considering i'm in high school and all.
-high school dances + football games.

but i'm not complaining. and if i DO complain.. just hit me upside the head and say "ciera.. this is what you asked for!"

on a unrelated note. i love blink 182. neon trees. the script. and snow patrol a lot lately.


(my birthday is next monday. hense: get me some new music. pleasee! i'm listening to all of the old stuff.)