The Crazy Month of April

I cannot believe that April is over already!! It went by so insanely quickly! And it was awesomely busy! A lot of fun stuff happened this month! Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures of a lot of it... So bear with me as I talk. =) 

 Okay, so as you can see, this first picture is a collage of my wonderful cousins! We had an amazing day together! So many memories were made!! Guys, it will take me and Lisa a lifetime to forget the sight of the four of you hopping the Bruce Trail. And I'm positive that none of us will ever forget Tracy! Plus, our picnic was pretty special. The moment that Kenton realized that he had set his drink right in the jar of salsa was special in its own way. =) And Lisa,  you and I have a lot of things that we need to do together in the future. =) It was a great day, and I'm so glad that we got to spend it together! Jason, we're gonna miss you so much! Cousins times just won't be the same without you!

These two pictures are of my class. We had a great afternoon taking grad photos with sarah jantzi (who is the world's best, funnest photographer!). It was so much fun to laugh with you guys and just hang out! I'm so excited about graduating with you all!!! I mean, I am excited to graduate, period. But it is even more special because I get to do it with some of my best friends. I love how we can laugh and joke together. And I will never forget the moment when the following conversation happened:
Me: "I wanna stay up all night and jump around..." (I sang that. because it's a song. and it had been stuck in my head all day. So i sang it. it had to come out.)
Josh: Hey, Jas, who sings that song? (he sounded super-interested. like he actually wanted to know.)
Me: One Direction!
Josh: Keep it that way.
I decided not to take it personally. =)
It was just a generally awesome afternoon. =) I love how we all tease eachother! And on that note... keep up the cute smiling, Josh. =)
And Greg, you do an excellent chicken imitation. I have never seen anyone do it better. =)
I can't wait to graduate with you all!

This is my desk at the Independent!! Isn't it great??? =)

But on a more serious note.... I am loving co-oping. I really am. Journalism is just kind of awesome. Do you know what journalism is??? It's information!!!!! Neat, logical, organized information! There is something comforting about the simplicity of it. You're not required to be funny or witty or sarcastic. I can go home and work on my book or writer's craft and be as creative as I want to, and I really do love that too. But there's something about simply presenting information clearly and logically and figuring out the best way to present it that I really enjoy. You just have to know what you're talking about! That's all that is required of you! And if you don't know anything about your topic (which you often don't), you find someone qualified and learn from them. When you are a reporter, you get to ask as many questions as you want to, and it's okay. It's doesn't mean that you are nosy or stupid. It's what is expected of you! Journalism is the perfect mix of interacting with others and working on your own. There is a certain kind of power that comes with being a journalism. You have the power to talk to anyone that you need to. You have the power to guide conversation. You have the power to tell the truth. In my case, I tell the truth about Woolwich's tree situation, the Kiwanis Lobsterfest, and the Easter Bunny Express. And maybe someday I will have the opportunity to expose the truth about more important things. I think that might be what I love the most about journalism so far. The fact that the entire objective of it is to spread the truth. And that doesn't always happen, unfortunately. But ideally, every journalist would approach each assignment that they are given with the purpose of sharing the truth. I think that the reason that I like this idea of uncovering the truth so much is because I know that God is truth itself, and what better way for me to glorify Him than by sharing truth with others? So yeah... enjoying the Independent. Could almost see myself doing this as a career. The only problem is that I don't know if I'm good at it. lol. but i not only like the Independent because i get to write, but also because of the people there. They're so funny! I am just in complete awe of their wittiness. And I like that I get called "Miss Jasmine" by some of them and "Co-op student" by others. And today, I laughed so hard. Because they're renovating the building right now, and they were talking about how they should have something hanging at the front of the building that kind of symbolizes Elmira. And Chris was like, "We should have something Mennonite hanging up." And then his eyes got really big, and he was like "Hey!!!!!!!!!!! we should hang Jasmine up there!" and I was like "oh, thanks, that makes me feel very special." and he was like "don't worry. We'll send you somewhere nice to be stuffed first." and i was like "You treat me so well. Thank you." anyways... enough about the Independent. =)

okay, that is the end of the pictures. here we go with the words. =) 

Well, I played in a volleyball tournament. And it was tons of fun, even though I was in the process of getting a really bad cold and just kind of felt fuzzy and really tired all day. But yeah, it was fun volleyball! Plus, my team won the tournament. It was my first time ever winning a tournament with guys and girls in it. =) It felt nice... i think i'll do it again sometime. Perhaps on May 19? =) 

And because we won the tournament, I got a gift card. And so I went to the mall and bought a pretty shirt. But then I did something so stupid. I bought an ugly sweater. It is UGLY. i cannot believe that i bought it. it was such a mistake. i am never ever going to wear it. and i can't return it, because it was a final sale. seriously... sometimes... i am stupid. 

Also, I went to Toronto for a weekend. It was a good weekend! I learned a lot... had fun with my class... heard mysterious thumping going on late at night. ;) Oh yeah.. korean food is bad. That is a lesson that will stick with me for a long time. Also, I played "List Everything You Know About The Germans" for the first time in my life. Best game ever. =)  

And I played baseball for the first time this year! it didn't go too badly! I didn't strike out at all. And i somehow managed to never hit the ball straight to the short stop, which is definitely a problem that I have. And it was awesome, because the whole time I was outfield, not one single ball came to me!!!!!!!!! not one!!!!!!

There is a new  insult in the Shantz household! Thanks to Wendy. lol. So she was kinda grumpy the other night, and she had the fridge door open, and was taking a really long time deciding what she wanted to eat. And so I was like, "Wendy, make up your mind and shut the fridge door!" And Wendy turns around and gives me this intense glare and says "You're the fridge." it cracked us all up. it is my new favourite insult. =) 

okay.. i need to go work now. 

hopefully by the end of may, i will be all done my work. =)