It's over.

After 13 years of school, countless assignments, thousands of years, hundreds of sleepless nights, high school is coming to a close. It doesn't seem real to me. For 13 years I have basically been doing the same thing. Wake up early, go to school for six hours, come home, do homework, go to bed. Over and over and over. 

          This time next week, my schedule will be completely open and I don't know what I'll do. I still can't comprehend that by this Friday I'll have to say too many goodbyes. 

          I'll miss Lone Peak. It has taught me many lessons. The people that I have never even met I'll miss. Seeing the friendly faces in the hallways I'll miss. I'll miss all of the awesome teachers that I have had that have made me excited to come to school. Each of us will be going our separate ways going to different parts of the world doing something great. It's going to be hard for me to leave the peak but I am excited for what the future has in store.

Nostalgia

I remember going to twenty one pilots and Brandon flowers in the same weekend.

I remember boating through pitch black caves in Kauai 

I remember the first time I hiked timp.

I remember when the Jazz used to make the playoffs.

I remember hanging my feet off the edge at angels landing.

I remember playing rugby at recess and Terrell breaking his collarbone.

I remember the first time I rode a bike and slammed into my dads parked mustang.

I remember playing tennis at sunset in the summer.

I remember when my nephew was born.

Track 5

See beyond.

Gymnast

I swear my heart is like a gymnast because every time I start feeling it does twenty back flips and lands it. Any time I hear a good song or see a good movie or meet awesome people my heart starts to feel. The emotion is so intense sometimes. That is what heart is all about. The heart lets you experience things that no other organ in your body can. This summer is going to be especially rough. My heart is going to be doing all kinds of moves. I'm going to have to say goodbye to my friends. All my buddies are leaving to crazy places while I'll still be in Utah for a semester then I'll be joining them. My heart tells me the weirdest things like how close I am to people that I've never met. The funny thing about the heart though, is that most of the time it is right. Sometimes it tells you to do crazy things that you think have no chance but you just have to take risks. You have to trust in your gut feeling.

undaaa presha

Alright listen up because this is might possibly be the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me. It was the summer of my 7th grade year. I had to get my shots and physical since I was going from the 6th grade to the 7th. I have never loved needles but this experience has changed me. I'm with my Mom. We pull up into the sketchy asphalt parking lot of the doctors office. I had bad dreams about this place my whole life. As I drag myself out of the car, I think of all the things that go wrong, You may not know this about me but i worry about the dumbest things and I cant stop thinking about it.

I push my way through the door, and look inside. i can feel the air thick with little kid germs. It smelled of old people and rubbing alcohol. this doctors office had one of those creepy waiting rooms with old toys you had never seen before. You wouldn't dare touch them because they are layered with germs. As I am worrying about all that can go wrong, I hear a raspy voice from behind the table. It was so haunting because you couldn't even see the person that was producing such a frightening noise.The short lady's voice reminded me of the slug on monsters inc that always asked for Mike Wazowski's paper work.

 I walk down the poorly, fluorescent hallway to a door that is open. there stands the six foot four doctor welcoming me in. He towered over me at the time. I was getting more and more nervous, I then saw him pull out a needle. I then told myself to man up and take it, the doctor gave me the shot and it was done in a flash. i was so surprised it didn't even hurt.

Thinking that all of my troubles were over, i walked out of the room. An old lady summoned me to come in the next room for a blood pressure check. she strapped the cushion around my upper arm. it began to squeeze. i then felt really weird. i began to see little white dots in my vision. The next thing I know, i am on the ground looking up at a wrinkly old lady. I had fainted. How embarrassing i thought, i passed out while i was getting my blood pressure taken. I had fallen into the old lady's arms like sleeping beauty. Luckily, until now, my mom was the only one there to make fun of me.

It's me, the M the A-C the K

People have always known me as the tall, skinny, ginger kid (and just from that line you probably already know who I am.) 

                    Different from most people, I love school. Not necessarily the work, but I love meeting the people there and seeing friends. I love to be social. 

Some things you may not know about me: I love doing impressions. Jimmy Fallon is my inspiration. I love quoting movies. I know hundreds of quotes. I love all music except screamo. (Right now I'm in to country because it's getting warm and I can only listen to it when it's warm. I have many fire playlists on Spotify. 

Things that I love: I love nature. I wish that I could be at the mountains every second. I try to make camping and hammocking I priority. I love photography.  Every time I'm on a trip up the canyon I will always bring my camera. I love summer time. I love boating. There is nothing like a good surf sesh on deer creek at dusk. I love Christmas. I start listening to Christmas music around September because I am so pumped! I love the gospel. I love history. I love tennis and basketball. I love to travel. I will never turn down a road trip. I love any crazy adventure. I will never hesitate to jump in a body of water. 

My name is Andrew Starley. PS: for some reason every time I feel like I'm doing something cool I have to take a tongue selfie on my GoPro.

Day & Night

Night: the time when j review everything in my life. Thoughts blasting through my mind preventing a restful sleep. Kid Cudi said, I toss and turn and keep stress in my mind. My mind fills with thoughts that I have never thought about. New ideas come. The nice thing about night, is that once you are asleep, you don't have to worry about anything. That's why sometimes I just want to sleep forever.

Day: my mind is focused on one thing for a period of six long hours. School. Funny how the day time makes everything longer. Feelings last. In the night, everything is shortened. Daytime is where you can really strive to become better.

what happens next?

I always here about these awful stories of families getting in accidents. I honestly don't know what I would do if I lost a family member. I am so close to my family and I can't imagine something like that happening. My biggest fear is losing the ones I love most.

I'm afraid of the unknown. I'm afraid of waking up in the middle of the night with sirens outside of my house because there has been a terrible accident. I'm afraid what could happen but also, what couldn't happen.

I'm afraid of what is undiscovered. Space. Have you ever thought about how space doesn't end? Or does it? Can you ever travel so far where there is a wall and space just ends. I'm not necessarily afraid of living things in space but just of how big it is, and how small we are. Each single dot in the sky could be filled with millions of planets. The sheer vastness of the unknown terrifies me. 

I'm afraid of what happens after this life. I believe in an after life but what if I'm not with my family. What if I was not good enough to be with my family? So many questions that are terrifying.

Robotic Repetitions

He sat in his car wondering what happened to his old life. What happened? He has worked his whole life to get to this point, yet it seems to be a lot less than expected. Jammed in a cubicle, terribly lit by bright fluorescent lights. His life seemed to become colorless and dull with hardly any excitement. Every day was a robotic repetition.
       
 Wake up, grab a granola bar, get stuck in traffic for an hour, drag your things to work, sit down in your cubicle, punch thousands of words into your computer, get up, get stuck in traffic again on the way home.

 This repetition of dull acts can wear you down. No variety, no color. He thought to himself, this can't be what life is about. Humans are not wires and cables bunched together to excel in one task, no matter what popular culture thinks. There is so much more to life than robotic repetitions of dull tasks. You can focus on all that you have. Even if you feel like you have nothing and life isn't getting better, it will.

morning

The morning comes quick,

    The night is short,

         The sunsets fade,

              The grass turns gray,

                   The battery drains,

              The story comes to an end,

         The ice cream melts, 

    The seasons change, 

The flowers die,

                                                      But I will always be here.

the feels

My life is a roller coaster. 

So many things happening at once, yet somehow I'm expected to complete them all perfectly. When I make mistakes, I'm overly hard on myself, somehow I feel I have to be perfect, even though I know it's impossible. When I do things right, I don't give myself enough credit. In sports, a common phrase is "consistency is key". I need to work on being consistently confident.

It's like I have a small case of bipolar disorder. Emotions come and go like warm weather in Utah. One day I'm absolutely ecstatic about life then the next, I'm completely depressed because in 3 months everything that I'm familiar with will be gone. My friends, my family, my home. I'm going to miss the things about home, but the wonderful thing about home, is it can be anywhere. 

#tbt

I miss doing whatever I want. I miss the stress-free life. I miss being with my friends on Tuesdays after school playing super smash bros.
                Now it seems that I could never do this again. I can't live like this although I wish I could. I remember going to my friends house every Tuesday and exploring the secret garden. It was completely filled with every treasure a kid could want. I still remember the smells of childhood. The dull crayons, the fresh pine, the sticky sap. Childhood flashed by like a lightning strike, and now we're off to college, getting drop kicked into the world. Cherish the moments you have now because they could be gone. In the words of The Head And The Heart, "it never feels like treasure till you lose it all."

fake vs. real

People are always complaining about how people are "fake". Personally, I don't think it's always a bad thing. Of course it is bad to lead someone on, thinking that they are friends, and then shut them down. But there is nothing wrong with being kind. Do people really want others to be "real" with them and just be a jerk? That would be a complete de-moralizer(if that's a word). 

There is nothing wrong with being kind all of the time, to everybody. Just because someone is being nice then doesn't call you to hang out on the weekends does not mean that they are fake or hate you, maybe they are simply just kind. You don't have to be friends with everyone who is kind, just be kind back. Distinguish your friends from nice, kind acquaintances.

Versatile Bricks

Bricks are what built some of the greatest  landmarks in society. The Great Wall of china, the pyramids, the London bridge etc. but in this case these bricks are all for one purpose. To create, to expand. Imagine the endless possibilities that bricks could create with this one purpose! Except bricks have so many different purposes than just to create. 

We shouldn't hold ourselves back to one purpose. If you are in school, don't stick to your clique, go out and talk to someone new. Get out of your comfort zone. Don't stick to one purpose. We can all reach our full potential of we expand our capabilities.

ticking time.

One of the biggest problems in today's generation is lack of creativity. Today's most common saying is "let's hang out". When this happens we all just sit around and look at our phones. Where is the creativity in that? We let time pass like it's  nothing. Time is valuable. Time is what helps us reach our goals. Our generation needs to live in the moment. Rather than spend useless time on social media, do something you normally wouldn't do. 

•     -Go on a hike. Be aware of your surroundings and be grateful for where you live. (Everyone is always talking about how they hate Utah. I don't get it. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.)
• -When you want to be with friends, don't say "let's hang out." That is a very broad term that can mean anything. Actually plan something like games, hikes, movies, sports etc. (it sounds a lot more appealing if you have a plan)

If you are bored, don't just sit around. Live in the moment. Make the most of every situation. Be creative.

Valentine's Day Hoax?

Valentine's Day is a hoax. It isn't real. Just commercialized, common greed. Don't get me wrong, i think it is a great day to tell someone you love them. Why do it on just one day though? Tell someone you love them every day. Did St. Valentine know what would become of his name in the future? St. Valentine never intended his acts of service to be memorialized or praised. He simply was kind. Little did he know that his name would be over-produced and used for profit.

This holiday makes men feel guilty if they don't buy anything for their special someone even though love can be expressed so simply. Men and women shouldn't have to be reminded to go buy their better half flowers. Love should be expressed every day not just on special occasions like St. Valentine's Day. Love doesn't have to be expressed through material objects. Tell your special some one how much they mean to you. Do the dishes without them asking you. Simple things like this show love. Write a card to someone. I know for a fact whenever I get a note that says someone cares about me I am delighted. Show love everyday, to everyone.

twenty five songs to happiness

            music is plays such an important role in my life. i have never realized how much it can affect how you feel and how you act. whenever i am in a bad mood i play some of my favorite songs to boost my mood. here are some of my favorite mood-boosting jams.

1. River-Leon Bridges
2. Coming Home-Leon Bridges
3. The Way It's Always Been- Brandon Flowers
4. Going Up The Country- Canned Heat
5. I Heard It Through The Grapevine- Marvin Gaye
6. People Get Ready- The Impressions
7. Let's Be Still- The Head And The Heart
8. The Judge- Twenty One Pilots
9. As We Ran- The National Parks
10. Read My Mind- The Killers
11. When We Were Young- Adele
12. Lyin' Eyes- The Eagles
13. Only Love- Mumford And Sons
14. Shark Attack- Grouplove
15. Stolen Dance- Milky Chance
16. Comes And Goes (In Waves)- Greg Laswell
17. No Other Love- Common Kings
18. We Sink- Of Monsters and Men
19. When We Were On Fire- James Bay
20. Don't Worry Baby- The Beach Boys
21. Saw You First- Givers
22. Genghis Khan- Miike Snow
23. Run- Coin
24. Sir Duke- Stevie Wonder
25. Something Like Olivia- John Mayer

Diluted Hats

when I was younger, I loved hats. I collected all the hats I could get(or find). My hats were pretty ornate, they had designs all over them. My favorite hats were probably baseball caps. Back then, I wore a new hat about everyday. 

Now that I'm older, I have a different view on hats. The only reason I will ever wear a hat now is if I'm having a bad hair day. Looking back on when I was younger, I realized that I looked like a fool. These hats  had massive flats brims that made me look like a duck. I can't believe myself now that I thought I actually looked cool. 

I still carry this same view of hats today. They cover up what we really are. They cover up our outward looks, even worse, our souls. They dilute what we really are, and make less of what we have become. People are walking around covering up the best parts of themselves.  Hats cover up the things that are most vital to us. People are embarrassed of themselves so they wear hats. People don't want to show that they are weak, so they wear hats. This has to stop.

just an intro

1. The world is full of "justs". "I'm just a mom or I'm just a construction worker or I'm just a student." People need to stop thinking less of themselves and be proud of who they are. And by the way, you can't be just a mom. There is so much more to "just". Just is a word that almost everyone uses to show that what they are doing is not good or they are embarrassed of what they are doing. People must stop doing this. People should be proud of who they are and what they stand for. Sorry for that rant but I felt that it needed to be said. 

Saint Ignatius of Loyola, devout member of the catholic church, soldier, and religious reformer. He was so devout that in his life he created a group called, "The Society of Jesus" or short the Jesuits. 

The Jesuits were an elite group in the church. 

Saint Ignatius of Loyola's story has a big impact on me. In my life there are things holding me back from sprouting to my full potential. When Ignatius was a soldier, he was wounded in battle. This was a huge wake up call for him that he needed to get his life together. 

2.            Wake up calls. That's what Ignatius had. That's what I have had. Wake up calls can come in good and bad ways, but one thing holds true, they always teach a lesson. You have probably noticed that I love history and you have probably noticed my title, "the beginning". Let's consider this our beginning, nice to meet you.