First things first

Alright, so a few months after I register for a Blogspot, I actually get around to posting my first blog. I'm willing to bet that the majority of the people who will be reading here already know who I am, so I figure we can skip the awkward introductions. Even people who happen to stumble upon my blog I think will get to know a little about me relatively soon by reading here anyways. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, but I figure I'll at least fill everyone in on what I've been up to, what I'm planning to get myself into, and what you can expect to read about if you find yourself reading past this entry.

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO
2009 was not the best year for me, but I wouldn't go back and change it for anything. I learned a lot about myself, what I love, who loves me, and what I will and won't stand for from the people in my life. The topic that you guys will probably read about most often from me will be paintball. I love the sport so much, and it's a huge part of my life. 2009 was the year that I really uncovered my love for tournament style paintball, and it's become what drives me every day. I was unemployed for the majority of the year. I don't think it's any secret that the economy pretty much sucks right now, and this last year decided to claim my employment it's victim. You win some, you lose some. I turned 21 in July. I know it's not a huge milestone, and besides good times with great friends, it wasn't even a huge event. It was, however, the last age milestone that I will reach until I'm 30(which, lets face it, is nothing a woman looks forward to). There's nowhere I can't go now, so by society's rules, I'm now officially an adult. For the sake of time, and boring you kind folks out of your ever-loving minds with tons of details, that was last year for me in a nutshell.

WHAT I'M PLANNING FOR 2010
I have some goals as to where I'd like to be in the paintball industry by the end of 2010 and 2011, but I don't think we'll talk about them just yet. They sound sort of ridiculous to me, purely because I know they are lofty, and the chances that I'll achieve these goals in a year or two seems pretty impossible. But, at the risk of sounding cliche, there's nothing wrong with shooting for the moon because even if you don't quite make it, at least you'll still be amongst the stars. I'll just keep my fingers crossed, and see where I end up I guess. Apart from the physical side of my paintball-related goals, you can expect to see blog entries, possibly a regular video blog to correspond with what I post here, and who knows what else. If there's anything I can do to help make paintball move more into a position to be recognized as a mainstream sport, I'll be doing it... even if it's just a blog or Youtube channel that makes people want to go to their local field to check out what the hype is all about.
I'm going to be coaching for the Lake Stevens High School Track team this season, and I'm really excited about it! I've been playing team sports since I was 6 or 7 years old, and I never had a doubt in my mind that I would coach 'when I grew up'. I can't wait to be a part of the athletic program that helped shaped me as an athlete and a person. If I can make a positive impact on at least one person's life, and maybe even help in teaching them the lessons I learned about commitment and perseverance that will help them succeed in all walks of life, the season will have been a success in my eyes.
Due to my obvious financial issues from my lack of steady employment over the last year, I'm living at my Dad's house. If everything works out the way I'm hoping it does, I will be moved out by September(keep your fingers crossed for me!) I'd like to branch out and go it alone if I have the money to, but I'll most likely have a roommate. Anyone local gonna be looking? Haha just kidding... that's a long ways out. A lot can happen between now and September.
There's a strong possiblility, if time, money, donations, and civil unrest allows, that I will be going on a mission to India sometime in the Fall. Now, I'm Agnostic to the core, and have my qualms with religion, so this mission will not be about 'spreading the word of God' for me. If there's one thing that I agree with Christianity about, it's the fact that you should show love to all people. When I'm around kids, I light up from the inside out. Many of my friends have joked about me looking like I want to 'steal a baby, or something'. Children our the future of our world, and the experiences they have when they are young can speak volumes to who they become. I want to go to these orphanages and show these children that someone out there loves them, and wants to hug them and spend time with them, and make then feel vauled. Especially in a middle eastern environment, where the stereotypical white american is generally hated.
As more develops in these opportunities, I'll be keeping you posted. For now though, these are my big, set in stone plans for 2010. There may be things like trade schools or college on the horizon as well, but I think the jury's still out on that one.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO READ HERE
Well, I think I pretty well covered what I'll be writing about in this blog, but I'll go over them again as well as add a few things:
Paintball-What I'm doing, what's happening on the national levels, gear reviews, field reviews, and hopefully, I'll be able to get the readers involved with things I write about, and offer up things to you can use. One goal for sure is that I'd like to get a few(at minimum) interviews up here from local players, as well as players in the Pro and Semi-Pro divisions. Who doesn't want to read that, huh?!
Myself-I know a lot of you may not care about the mundane little things that happen in my life, but I'm sorry, I'll tell you about some of them. When I run out of things to talk about, it's really easy to talk about myself. So hopefully I can get a few readers out there to post up some suggestions about things they wanna read.
Pop Culture- Hey, who hasn't fallen prey to watching an episode of Jersey Shore, or hearing some secondhand celebrity gossip on the radio? Don't get me wrong, this will not be turning into a tabloid blog about Lindsay Lohan's terrible haircut, or anything of the sort(frankly because I DON'T CARE)... BUT, my Favorite show(LOST) is about to enter it's 6th and final season, and, I'm sorry, but I can't help writing about it. There may be a book or two that I give reviews on, one for sure being the new Dan Brown book. I'm skeptical, but we'll see. He's my favorite author, but I'm tired of reading about Robert Langdon and these Masonic religious symbology conspiracies. Deception Point and Digital Fortress were really good Dan! BRANCH OUT! I will be throwing in at least one blog on music too.
Hunting- I'm an avid hunter. Mainly all I have time for in the fall is deer and elk, but every year, I walk away with some great stories, even if I don't fil my tag. I love it, and I'll have some fun things to post from my trips in the fall. Maybe I'll even have a few fishing blogs.
I think those cover the basics of what you'll be reading from me. Like I said in the 'paintball' blurb, I do hope to get a few readers here, so suggestions are always welcome! TELL ME what you want to read about, and I'll do my best to get an entry up for you.

Well, I think this first entry is probably 5 times longer than I planned for it to be. Hopefully I didn't ramble too much. I'll make this ending short and sweet. I look forward to seeing what happens with this new little internet indevor, and I hope you, the reader, want to come along for the ride. Talk to you all later!

-Steph

Any Questions or Suggestions?
PLEASE post them in a comment here for sure, but you can also send me an email.
Please include the word 'BLOGSPOT' in the subject so that I don't block you as spam!
Stephanie_88_06@msn.com

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