LONG LIVE ALL THE MAGIC WE MADE

I'm not a perfect friend. I can mess up. But no matter what, there are certain lines I'd never cross. I can keep secrets and promises. If I know you have my back...I will forever have yours. But I do have a curse Im condemned with: The loyalty contract. If you don't have it for me, I want nothing to do with you. It's a sort of masochist contract I made with myself, and I have taken a few good hits for it-- but I think it has kept the pure and endearing ones closer. 

To me, life is too short for mediocrity. In my life, my closest friends are people who I trust if I walked out of a room--they got me. And nothing harmful or hurtfull will be said. 

They. just.get. it. 

I want people who can read my mind and just know without my mouth even quivering. It takes forever to find those little gems, but I definitely know I got lucky to find just these few. 

In college you find your family away from your family. We grew up together. The years away from everything we had known as familiar...were made helping make new things familiar and figuring out the next part--the glittering futures. We've helped build the background of one another's dreams. And I know they've taught me how to be a better person. 

There are always things, situations, or people who have come in and tried to melt the cement that we have entrenched for one another-- but they didn't realize the history and the tough-as-diamonds adoration that built the foundation years before. The love we have for one another doesn't die or sway due to lies or maliciousness. Real and unselfishness friendships prevail above all. Love--above all.

We eat, live, sleep, go out, lay around, laugh, cry, dance, go crazy, and overall are chaotic idiots together. 

We all fell in love with one another. 

They are some of my insides. I adore every one of them for what others may think they're weird or beautiful for.

With these people I drove around for hours and hours with no destination. We blasted music until we couldn't hear ourselves scream the lyrics. We had dance parties in kitchens, cars, or jumping on beds. We have cried with each another and fell to the floor in the fetal position. And of course we've fought-- we're not perfect. But we always have meant well-- and we always forgave one another-- because we knew that losing one another would mean having to live with the idea of regret. 

We clocked so many unforgettables that to even think of losing one another could never be considered. We took risks together and for one other. I always laughed because we're all so different--we all have different opinions, views, morals, backgrounds, stories, lessons--but we all love each other tirelessly and completely. 

To these: We are infinitely tied to one another's bones. Our friendships remind me of the kind they write about in novels. You've inspired me. You've made me believe that no matter what I have done, said-- will do, will say-- will never be questioned. You are some of the bits and pieces that make me, me, and I'm so excited to walk out of here knowing we all have one another. Things will change--

but who we are to each other, never will. 

HELLO LOOOVVEERRR

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS

PROMISE YOURSELF:

To never forget that feeling of the first day of school

To never forget how great new notebooks and pencils are

To never forget that first day snow falls while you're in class

To not knowing who will be in your class--being surprised

To be surprised by a class movie instead of lecture

To have received a better grade than expected

To pulling all nighters and cramming

To the feeling of being done with a busy week

To never forget the first hot and sunny day of the school year

To never forget what living with a family of friends is like

To never forget the friends who became family

All I want to do is run away with a suitcase full of vintage threads, my cameras, and passport and get lost for a while. 

Team Ra-Ras Kicks Breast Cancer - Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelph...

ZIKED PT 2

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uckyeahhockeygraphics

So awhile back in first semester I did a feature on Derek Zike CLICK HERE FOR STORY
But he stole the pen back and decided to share his story on his blog:

True Life: Rehabbing My Injury

My Story:

So you might know by now that I was one of the subjects for an episode of True Life based on athletes dealing with rehabbing their injuries. I was one of the three subjects which included Anthony Mason Jr. a basketball player from St. Johns University, a girl who was a three sport athlete, and me. My name is Derek Zike and I played hockey for the AAA Chicago Fury U16 travel hockey team during the 2008-2009 season. I was billeting with a family in Naperville, Illinois to be able to play for the Fury. For those of you who don’t know what billeting is, it is when an athlete is taken in by a family and under temporary guardianship to attend school and play their sport. In the middle of the season we attended the NAHL Top Prospects tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan which featured the best AAA teams from across the United States. It was my birthday weekend, my birthday is January 19th. In our 1st day of the tournament, January 16th, and second game of the day, late at night, we faced the Dallas Penguins on the main ice surface at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube arena. Unlike a regular hockey game, in the tournament we played two 25 minute halfs instead of three 17 minute periods. A little past halfway through the first half we were down 2-0 on a couple chippy goals and I kept telling myself, “Get your head in this, you are Mr. energy so make something happen.” A line change came in the middle of play and I lead my linemates Tim and Danny on the ice. I located the puck in the offensive zone, got my feet moving as fast as I could, and forechecked as hard as I could into the zone. Now, I have always been the quickest, fastest, most agile skater or at least among the top two on my team; I take pride in my speed. You could say I was on a “break-neck” pace, skating into the offensive zone, I had a bead on the puck carrier. Somewhere between the tops of the circles and the hash marks as I dug my skates into the ice to turn towards my target, something happened that I still do not quite remember......

CLICK HERE FOR THE WHOLE STORY