Overjoyed

God is SO good.

Watching

They watch you tie your shoes, they take note of what time you go to bed, they observe the amount of time you put into your studies, they listen to what you say, and they analyze how you act. My siblings are always watching.

Being the eldest child means that my younger siblings are always watching my behavior. There are advantages to being the oldest, but sometimes it can be a real challenge.

Advantages to being the oldest include special privileges such as: going out of town with friends, or, staying up late to watch a movie on television, or, making more expensive purchases (i.e. iPod, clothing, car, etc.) because I am trusted to make responsible purchases with my money. Disadvantages include... Close to everything else. The moment I say or do something out of place, my younger siblings notice it.

Hello Reader,

A topic which has been perplexing my thoughts lately, has been the subject of responsibility and leading by example. Instantaneously when I think about this topic, I consider how it relates to my family. As of recently, I have had to make an assortment of future defining decisions regarding college. It has not been easy, but I can see clearly now ("the rain has gone...") that I am headed in the right direction.

Growing up, dad would always say, "Jacob, keep in mind that your siblings are watching everything you do." I guess I had heard the phrase so many times that it got a little old for a while... Thinking about it now, I realize the magnitude of what my dad was talking about!

Side note: It would be the worst thing ever if I was a rebellious punk. I'm just saying. Okay... Granted, when I was younger, I was known to test the limitations of my parents instructions:

(Age 8)

"Jacob, keep your hand away from the iron, you could burn yourself" *Leaves room* ~ Mom

*Jacob touches iron and burns himself*

(Age 10)

"Jacob, make sure to put the cap on the blender before you turn it on." ~ Dad

*Disregards. Causes (colossal) mess* ~ Jacob

(Age 17)

"Jacob, stop at the light ahead..." ~ Mom

*Turns down radio* "Huh?" ~ Jacob

*Screams in terror* ~ Mom

Haha, okay... Maybe I'm kidding about the last one (I know, I know, most of you are pretty bummed to hear that never happened. Sorry for deceiving you). It's a relief I was no more rebellious than that. :)

Back to seriousness. When I think about it, my siblings have always been watching what I do. Sure I was joking a little in the beginning, but when I think about it, they do watch my EVERY move. From tying my shoes to making major decisions about college. "What is big brother doing? Am I allowed to do the same?"

Of course, a majority of the time my siblings are able to watch as I make a decision, and discern for themselves if they want to follow down the same road once they see the final outcome of my choice. Obviously, the best way to lead by example, is to keep oneself in check. This applies when I am not around my siblings as well.

I do not want my siblings to look up to me just because I am their older brother, I want them to look up to me because I live my life in a respectable manner. There is a time to be goofy and a time to be serious. As I enter into the coming years of college, I will need to become more serious as I pursue my desired career goals. For me, the prospect of beginning college is a major step into adulthood (along with acquiring a personal cellular phone... XD). Hahaha, I am not saying that once I start college I shall need to become unnaturally purpose driven and exceedingly serious about my profession. What I am saying, is that as I continue to make important, life changing decisions, I will also need to carry myself in a manner that my younger siblings will watch, a feel confident about following.

I want my siblings (and family in general!) to be proud of me. :)

This concludes the weekly rambling post of sir Jacob Hartges.

Thank you for reading,

~Jacob P. Hartges

On the Business of Busyness

Hello Reader,

The days that stick out most vividly in my mind are the days where I find myself consistently busy with consecutive activities. Some may say that they prefer to be at home, reading a book, completing homework, or doing something productive. I however prefer to be out and about enjoying the beautiful world in which I dwell.

The past few days have been nothing short of entertaining, eventful, unbelievably enjoyable, and flat out busy.

Now, I need not explain much on the subject of exams. We study hard, staying up late into the night in order to fill our brains with mountainous loads of information so that we might regurgitate it back on paper at an alloted time. Energy is spent and nerves are wound tight, but in completing exam week (or exam day, however it works for you), one is filled with an unbearable sense of relief/accomplishment (that is to say, if you do indeed feel confident with the grade you will be receiving).

Last Tuesday was exam day for me (I guess I should have referred to it as "exam day" in the first place...) and like most everyone else, I was exceedingly nervous and tight wound. Though seriously agitated with the small amount of time I had had to study for my exams, I somehow found myself smiling throughout the course of the day.

You may, at this point, be asking yourself, "why on earth would Jacob be smiling like a strange baboon when he should be solidly focused on the ever present EXAMS looming in the distant future?" To this I might reply, "the reason I was smiling, dear Reader, was that I was more solidly focused on the following days events." It is difficult to focus on the present and the worries of today when you find yourself zoning out to 'not so distant' happenings. The moment my exams were completed, I knew deep down that the following days would be filled with...

1. Laughs

2. Pizza

3. Workout tutorials

4. Movies

5. Theater friends

6. Late bedtimes

7. (And) Epic-epicness

This of course helped me to get through last Tuesday. If it were not for the thought of upcoming events, I just might have gone numb.

On the subject of study time... Precalculus received ZERO study time. VERY unfortunate. AP British Literature received VERY LITTLE study time. ALSO very unfortunate. The difference between Precalc and Brit Lit? I am 95% sure I passed my AP Brit Lit exam with an "A." I am 95% sure I failed my Precalc exam. Not just fail, dear Reader, fail badly.

If I were a mature boy, I'd say the reason neglected to study for my exams was because I was lazy. Well, at this precise moment in time, I don't feel like being a mature boy. Most regrettably, I had a 5 page paper due for my Brit Lit class... This specific type of paper however is no walk in the park. Two Thursdays back, I spent 7 hours writing up this paper. It was most evil to say the least. Friday the 14th was an exceptionally lengthy rehearsal at Mt. Hope, which completely drained me of energy and left me unable to attempt any studying. Saturday and Sunday were spent catching up on Precalc and Gov/Econ homework. On Monday the 17, we all went skiing (which happened to be a BLAST by the way).

This is why no studying took place.

Tuesday the 18, came and went faster than I thought it would (thank heavens), which meant a week of above numbers 1-7 straight ahead. EYE-COOD-KNOT-HAVE-BEAN-HAPPIER.

On Wednesday the 19, I relaxed a bit, did some reading, cleaned the house, enjoyed life.

On the morning of Thursday the 20, (10:00 A.M.) I drove over to Fergie's house to hang out for the day. While there, we watched videos on the computer, listened to music, ventured outside for a walk, browsed around the mall for a time, watched a movie, and stayed up late discussing random topics.

On Friday the 21, Ferg drove me over to rehearsal at Mt. Hope at 10:15 A.M. Let me just reaffirm: ALL DAY REHEARSALS ARE MY FAVORITE. There is honestly no place else that I would rather be. The Directors and cast members are great... :)

At 5:30(ish) P.M., I drove out to Grand Rapids with the Orrs and Christine L. to see Meet Me In St. Louis. For the past few weeks, I had been very excited to see the performance. There's something about HPA performances that get me really excited... What can I say, I just adore theater.

The show started at 7:00, so I was glad to be there about half an hour before it began. We got our tickets, found our seats, and visited for a short while before the show. Meet Me In St. Louis was really an impressive show! There were a great many talented performers. I was disappointed however that I did not get the chance to congratulate Clay G. on his performance after the show... Clay was in Seussical the Musical last year as a Wickersham Brother and he and I would talk about gymnastics and such. There was not anyone else in the cast whom I could discuss such matters. Hahaha... Anyhow, I will most likely be seeing him next Sunday at Mr. Cole's Sunday Night Dancing, at which time I can congratulate him on a job well done.

I commend Grand Rapids HPA on another successful year. Meet Me In St. Louis was wonderful. :)

Saturday morning the 22 (yesterday), I was SO tired out... Nothing of significance took place on Saturday. Much sleeping occurred.

Today, Sunday the 23, was spent cleaning the house (yet again) and working on unfinished homework. Nathan returned from a friend's house and Justin returned from up north. While up north he camped out in an igloo, during -14 degree temperatures. Who said boy scouts aren't a force to be reckoned with?? You haven't met my brother. ;)

Please pray that he recovers from a nasty cold (silly below freezing temperatures...)!

This Monday will be tough. Preparing for final exams are the worst thing possible. Hopefully I can get my act together before my Gov/Econ exam tomorrow morning at 8:30 A.M. Oh! And finish my homework...

Thankfully, all of Wednesday will be spent up north at Caberfae for a second ski trip (YIPPEE!)! So I have something to look forward to.

I greatly appreciate your taking the time to read through this entire post.

(Yes, I do naturally assume that you've skipped to the bottom of this post because you realize the fact that I ramble on continuously without stopping. The above statement was earnestly written with the intent of sending you, Reader, on a brief, but heart-felt, guilt trip. [hehe])

Thank you for reading,

~Jacob P. Hartges

P.S. Check our my other blog sometime! : http://www.mellmeds.blogspot.com/

What I Did a While Back

Hello, Reader! So I realize it has been a while since I have posted anything. Well, I've just now decided that I should post a video up on here for those of you who aren't currently using facebook.

A few Wednesdays back, I had absolutely nothing to do for a whole day... So what did I do? I filmed a video.

Earlier that morning I posted a status update on my facebook which read, "(Jacob Hartges) is a social dragonfly. But I can't exactly have a conversation with the laundry." Well, this status ended up serving as the inspiration for a video.

Hope you get a laugh out of it! I'll write something soon! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POWbadcMx84

Christmas and Other Joys

Hello Reader!

I should be doing school. At this very moment, this PRECISE moment, I should be working diligently on some outrageous Precalculus test or summarizing a work of literature we are supposed to have been reading.

Hehe... But no, here I am, sitting at the computer, wasting my time away writing an informative blog post while drinking cooled peppermint tea (the best of all flavors, might I add!). Outdoors, the sky is downcast, but fortunately, this does NOT bring my spirits down, would you like to know why? If not, I'm sorry, I'm about to tell you anyway. :)

Reason #1 - Today's date is December 30th, which means that it is past the 21st of December, which means that every single day since the 21st, it has been getting brighter and brighter outside by 2 minutes. No, there will not be a noticeable difference in the amount of sunlight we see until around mid-March, but nevertheless, just the thought that the days are getting brighter, makes me feel brighter.

Reason #2 - Today's date is December 30th, which means that TOMORROW is December 31st, which means that the New Year is upon us! AH! We are about to say adieu to the year 2010, and step into a new decade! How exciting (for me at least. *ahem*)!

Reason #3 - Even when the sun's not shining, I still have friends, family, and my Heavenly Father to help me realize the importance of appreciating each and every day.

Gloomy day, you have no power here, go "gloom" somewhere else. Be gone with you... Before someone drops a house on you too!

Haha, too much peppermint tea? I think so.

A long time ago, waaaaaaaaay back on the 17th of December, our family had a White Elephant party. Many tummies were filled and much fun was had by all. In my opinion, I've never been part of such a hectic (in a good way) white elephant gift exchange before. As the game progressed, the room became louder and louder as gifts were stolen and unwrapped. Thankfully, I had a high number (if you've ever played White Elephant, the high numbers are good, the low numbers mean a lousy gift for you), so I ended up with a pretty awesome, DUCK-TAPE WALLET. Trust me when I say, there were some pretty dumb gifts. Spray chalk, a talking pig-radio, and light up socks were some of the worst. All in all though, a very enjoyable night.

Christmas was wonderful this year! I love spending quality time with my family. Not to mention all the glorious food. A splendid day to say the least.

This passing Monday (the 27th), I had my Eagle Scout Board of Review. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the requirements to achieve the rank of Eagle, the Life Scout (rank just before Eagle) must appear before a Board of between 3-5 people who will evaluate the scout's accomplishments and ability to answer specific, detailed questions to the best of his ability. It is the final hoop a Life Scout must jump through in order to achieve the rank of Eagle.

I got to APCO 20 minutes before I was supposed to have my meeting. Dressed in FULL uniform and prepared to be interrogated/drilled/questioned about my scouting experience and the leadership I'd demonstrated.

Friends of mine have had their Eagle Boards last between an hour, to an hour and a half. This being known, I was a little (okay, VERY) intimidated by the prospect of spending over an hour, in a small board room, being questioned by 5 people.

Being at APCO 20 minutes early was a bit of a mistake though... You see, the board members need to meet half an hour prior to the meeting, to go over the questions they ask, etc. This cannot take place until all of the board members arrive. The final board member did not arrive until 7:00 (which was when my meeting was supposed to take place). So I essentially waited an hour before my meeting actually started...

Finally, they called me in. Heart pounding hard, I made my way down the long hallway and entered the tiny board room. The five members welcomed me in a motioned for me to take a seat.

From that point forward, they asked me an array of questions pertaining to the things I've learned, how I've applied them to my life, how I've demonstrated leadership within the Troop, etc... It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! Honestly, the 55 minutes I spent being evaluated, were just like a long conversation with 5 other people. Sure, it was one of the most grueling and crucial hours of my life, but to be honest, I sort of had fun with it.

They asked me to leave the room for a minute so they could make their final decision. When I left, I couldn't help but smile, because I knew I'd done a fabulous job. I strongly felt that I answered each of the questions most adequately.

After 5 minutes of waiting they called me back in. The moment I walked back into the tiny room each of them shook my hand and congratulated me for passing. Again, I could help but beam.

Surprisingly, only 5 in every 100 scouts achieve the rank of Eagle. The statistics shrink to 2% as the number of scouts increases. I am very pleased that I stuck with this for the past three years... Now I can proudly say, I AM AN EAGLE SCOUT. :D

Haha, the past few days have been spent lounging around the house, enjoying the time off from school. Two days ago we had Ferg and his sister over for the day. We played cards, listened to music, watched videos, and visited for the longest time.

Yesterday, Justin, Nathan, Rebekah, Mom, and myself all ventured to Grand Rapids to visit some childhood friends of hours. We had a solid four hours of time before one of the guys had to go to work. Around 4:00 we left to get home because Justin and I had a party to go to at 7:00.

Miranda V. is a friend of Justin and I's. We all took American History at co-ops last year which is where we met. The party Juss and I attended was in celebration of Miranda's 16th birthday. The both of us chilled with mutual friends, snacked on crackers and sandwiches, and did some dancing.

Believe it or not, this was the first time I'd ever been to a party where there was contemporary dance. Wow, that's such a weird thing to admit to! It was fun... But very different from the dancing I'm used to. Let's just say after last night I have a better appreciate for Waltz, Swing, Celtic, etc.Anyway, the party ended at about 11:00, at which point Justin and I were picked up by mom and headed home.

Tomorrow is going to be fantastic! I cannot wait for the New Year... In the way of New Year's Resolutions, I really don't have one... If I did, it would most likely be the same as last year: Be an encouragement to everyone. Also, trying to be non-judgmental of others.

Thanks for reading! I hope you all have an awesome NEW YEAR! Blessing!

~Jacob