remember whens

I don't know if it's the semi-fall (note the word "semi". Utah is not pleasing me in this regard. anyways.) weather or maybe I am just missing my family. Fall and family seem to do this to me. Regardless, I am feeling very nostalgic lately. And nostalgia always puts me in a very list-y mood, hence the following: (also, sorry to be SUCH the lazy head, but there will be no pictures to accompany this massive post. DGP.)

1. Yesterday while I was listening to my iPod (shocker right?), Rooney kept coming on and it reminded me of my freshman year in high school, when I lived in Florida. I used to listen to that c.d. every day when I would go to the gym. Not very exciting for a workout mix, but I loved it. And want to hear the funny thing? I literally would listen to the c.d. As in, the COMPACT DISC. As in, I would strap my bright yellow cd player AROUND MY WAIST and then commence my work out. This took place both at and not at the gym, aka when I would run. Explain to me how no one ever stopped and laughed. I had a c.d. player strapped around my waist!! HAHA I am dying at the memory. That was the year the iPod came out, and needless to say, I purchased myself one the following summer.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.

2. Speaking of Florida, my freshman year was way awesome. My English teacher was the most liberal black woman who I have ever met. And she had a pet plant. I really loved her. My science teacher was equally as crazy, and she was only teaching for one year, in between her terms at Cornell and Oxford. NBD.
I also really loved my geography and math teachers. They would get in massive wars with each other, on a daily basis. Like once, my class stole my geography teacher's clicker for her projector and controlled it from another class room. So funny. Also, all the classroom lights were motion sensitive. So one time we convinced my math teacher to let us all sit on the floor in the corner, perfectly still, for fifteen minutes straight until the lights went out. And great news, it totally worked. That was a really great class period.
And don't even get me started on health. First, my teacher LOVED me, and I will shamelessly admit that because it made me feel really awesome. Second, the class was full of idiots (is that horribly rude of me?), so it made me look like a genius all the time. For example, I was once offered a joint... IN THE MIDDLE OF HEALTH CLASS. He was the idiot, and I, the genius. Oh the irony. Third, during our outdoor portion of the class, my dearest friend Saychelle and I would just lay on the track or the basketball court talking in weird voices and making up stories about people we knew. 100% productive, and 100% fun. Finally, Spanish and Yearbook. My Spanish teacher was capital A awesome. His name was Senor Borja, aka the most amazing (also maybe only) Ecuadorean man I have ever known. I also had this class with Saychelle, and everyday was a special adventure. Literally special. It was exceptionally fun when Senor would yell 

"GOOOOAAALLLLLL GOAL GOAL GOAL GOAL!!!!" 

every day in class, reliving his professional soccer days. And so my love for the language was born.
And I don't have much to say about yearbook except that we would only listen to Bob Marley, as per the request of the most-stoned-kid-I-have-ever-known-in-my-life, aka Todd. And I loved him. Needless to say, I was so naive that I had no idea why his eyes really looked like that. 

I just thought the poor baby was tired. HAHA.

3. My family was soooo obsessed with the everglades. I think we took like 5 airboat tours in just the year we lived there. Also went on a 15 mile bike ride straight through the everglades. 1 almost-rattlesnake-attack and 26 alligators later, I was really glad to be alive. Also, once I was with a friend on yet another tour through the everglades, and a vulture pooped on her face. 

HAHA I died. So disgusting.

4. We went to the beach for Thanksgiving. Need I expound?

5. Moving on from Florida... I keep thinking a lot about Georgia lately too. Also due to the music that keeps coming on my ipod aka something corporate, imogen heap, copeland, and jimmy eat world. Pretty much all I ever listened to during my stint in the south. Especially while I was riding the bus. How great is it that I didn't get my license until I was 17? Aka I rode the bus my entire junior year of high school HAHA. Minus the days that my cool friend with a lime green mustang would take me home. I'm okay with the whole bus thing though, I had my favorite music lovies to keep me company. Especially when silly freshman tried to talk to me all the time.

6. I just remembered the funniest thing ever. The very last day of my geometry class, I FAKED THE NOISE OF THE BELL AND THE TEACHER LET US OUT 10 MINUTES EARLY. You might be thinking "yeah right Brooke, she totz knew it was you, and she was just being soooo nice because it was the last day of school." FALSE. This woman was old and cranky, and she was all business, all the time. 

I fooled her, yay me.

7. Another funny story. I took trig/pre calc my junior year. At one point, I was really struggling in the class (aka I probably had a B- haha. Silly parents and their high expectations), so I met my teacher... 

at Starbucks. 

On a Saturday. 

For 4 hours. 

And worked on math. 

How was I so cool?

8. Every Halloween, my old Bishop would throw a huge fall fest in his massive back yard. Imagine this: hay rides, enormous bonfire, hot cider, lots of fall-y trees, children running around in costumes, carmel apples, lots of friends... it was the epitome of everything beautiful and fun that I love about fall.

9. Another funny story. I auditioned for show choir at the end of my sophomore year, and guess what song I sang. If you guessed "More Than a Feeling" by Boston, gold star for you. Yes I sang a Boston song for a choir audition. The best part is, I totally made it into the choir. 

Thank you Brad Delp, I couldn't have done it without you!

10. And one final story that I just remembered. One night, my family played a massive game of hide and seek through our house. In the pitch dark. It was pretty much really scary. And then, to top it all off, we couldn't find my dad for like an hour because he was such a sneaky hider. 

So sneaky in fact, that he had us convinced there was a murderer outside on our patio trying to come in and play with us too. More like hide and shriek (haha I am soooo punny). It was terrifying.

Well great news! 

I have thoroughly exhausted my nostalgia, and feel rather content now.
Huzzah for east-coast-lovin-high school years.