It has been quite a while since I have last written.
Here's a recap on what has been going on...

Two weeks ago I attended the Rotary Interviews in Wisconsin Dells.
I, along with some other rebounds, were asked to help answer questions before the outbounds went to be interviewed, and we also were on a panel interviewing students and parents. It was a very nice time, I enjoyed the company of all of the rebounds and it was nice to talk with all of the prospective outbounds. They all reminded me of my sophomore self SO MUCH! I'm excited to see what an exchange year will teach them, and how it will make them grow into the amazing young adults. Every district of exchange students is unique in its own way, but this wave of students will be more unusual than normal because all of the outbounds are female, except for one male (and me). I have never come across such a district! Teenage guys really have to step it up, I am disappointed!

Before the interviews I had a little chat with the district chair about my gap year and we went over what it would entail. I believe it still would be a fantastic time, and a perfect education opportunity before college starts up. It looks like there are 17 open outbound spots, and 19 people who are signed up. As of now, one other rebound and myself are alternates, but I am not too worried about being accepted because there is bound to be someone who drops out after country selections, and even if no one does drop out, I'm sure we could find a way to send two more students abroad.

All of my paperwork is done, my check is sent in, and all I must do now is wait to see what comes out of it. I do not know if they will automatically assign me a country, or if they will wait. It is to me a mystery! I am just along for the ride. It should be quite interesting to see how it turns out. I am very excited at the unique process I am going through. If it were to be exactly the same as last year, It would not have been half as interesting!

In other news, about a month ago I visited two of my best exchange friends in NYC. It was so nice to catch up with them, and actually see living people who share so many memories with me from my year in Berlin. One of those friends in NYC is coming to visit me after Thanksgiving, and it will be SO MUCH FUN! exchange students are awesome! Speaking of... I was just hanging out with three of them last night ;) (Finland, Germany, Holland). Ohhh exchange students!

I am also happy to announce that I have successfully sent in all of my college applications. I applied to Macalester College, UW-Madison, and UM-Twin Cities. Everything on my apps leads me to believe that I should get accepted to those colleges... except my ACT score. I took the ACT last month and studied a lot before taking it, but unfortunately, I did very poorly. I was expecting to do MUCH better, and was quite shocked when I received my scores. Honestly, I have no idea what happened- on all of my timed practice tests I did much better... but when the real test came about- I bombed. I RECOMMEND TO ALL OUTBOUNDS TO TAKE THE ACT BEFORE YOU GO ABROAD, AND ALSO WHEN YOU COME BACK! I regret not taking the test because now I have only one more chance to take the test in December, and if that doesn't go well, I may jeopardize the likelihood of my acceptance into Macalester. (where I reallllly want to study!)

All Applications are done- rotary and college - and it feels fantastic. My hours at work are a bit lower than normal, but that is due in part to the role I just received in the School Musical. This year James Madison Memorial is putting on Cabaret and I got the Emcee part! I am thrilled to get to work on the musical... it will be so exciting to be a part of! Between work, school, cabaret, and forensics (I'm doing 3 events: DI, Duo, SOS), I really do not have much time to think about exchange. This time 2 years ago I was ecstatic and could not focus on ANYTHING except exchange! Doing it a second time definitely is easier because our (rebounds) patience has grown so much!

I will try to post up more updates as they come. Life is so great! Senior year is GREAT! living in the moment is great! I continue to attribute all of my happiness to my exchange year. It really did drastically impact me, and molded me into the passionate person I am today..

Good Luck Outbounds!!!!