day 12: write a poem

There once was a girl,
and she loved to twirl.
she had a brother,
he was a bother,
she loved him the same.
for Sam was his name,
many things they love
both the rats and dove.
Though sometimes a bother,
they loved eachother!

day 11: write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die

I've honestly never really thought of things that I want to do before I die. Here are a few though.

1. I want to be a husband.
2. I want to be a father.
3. I want to live a happy life.
4. I want to visit Rome, Athens, Jerusalem, Egypt, Barcelona, London, Moscow, St. Petersberg, Germany, Liechtenstein, Vienna, Venice, Prague, Budapest, Istanbul, Belgium, Milan, Florence, Marseilles, Waterloo, and Versailles. Basically visit everyone in Europe and some places the in Egypt that have any historical value. Hopefully I'll find someplace more magnificent that I've never even heard of yet.
5. I want to take an extensive trip around DC, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and other places to visit the battlefields of the civil war.
6. I want to understand what exactly everyone honestly believed that made them hold a gun against brothers.
7. I want to believe and love something bigger than myself, that I know it is something so right that it is worth giving up everything I have.
8. I want to have a long hard stare at the WW2 Memorial in Hawaii.
9. I want to personally thank a veteran that I'd never met, and all the ones that I have.
10. I want to go to the places in Japan that the nuclear bombs were dropped. I want to learn the will that they had to overcome that.

Those are just some of the things I'd love to do.

day 13: your 5 favorite books and why, part 2

So, I got distracted and posted before I wrote all five books... Here are the last two.

I'm gonna go with the Dragonlance series. Have you noticed a theme yet? A small group of adventurers that come together to become friends, or in this series' case, even better friends. They find something to believe in, a cause to risk everything for and in doing so discover things about them that they never thought possible. Like a dwarf loving a Kender(which is a small childlike race inflicted with wanderlust and kleptomania) A man that wants to be a knight so bad yet can only achieve so in death, finally sacrifices himself so that thousands can survive and becomes a man so revered by all that he inspires an entire army to victory against all odds...and dragons! Also, I love dragons, way too much. Majestic animals that seem to be able to do anything they desire, that are gloriously beautiful(in my head at least) and yet terrifying to behold! The thought of dragons can capture my imagination and passion for hours and hours and hours.

Lastly, I think I'm going to something that I didn't think would count itself as one of my favorites, yet I cannot possibly think of another book or series that I enjoy more. It is the Enoch Letters, written by Neal A. Maxwell. In this book a man is interested by this strange city of Enoch that seems to have popped up out of the ground. He investigates just to see what these strange people believe. At first, he is astounded that he mocks and ridicules them. Eventually he comes to see logically why what they are doing makes sense, then he comes to believe in Zion. He writes about the way of life that one can achieve when working for everyone, when there is so much love that you could never want more than what you need. He eventually intrigues his colleague so much that he comes to investigate, only to find that the city has disappeared.

day 13: your 5 favorite books and why

I'm gonna go more with Series, because I can't just pick some books in that series!

My favorite book and series is Ender's Shadow/Shadows Series. I love this book because you follow a 5 year old kid his entire life as he saves the world from total war, alien annihilation, helps cause an alien xenocide. He doesn't even have a real name, he's called Bean because that used to be all he's worth. It's just awesome to see the growth of a tiny sized super genius to a giant sized hero of all mankind that no one knows about.

My second favorite series is The Chronicles of Narnia. I just love all the characters in these books, the way he writes, but most of all, I love the Christian symbolism. One of my favorite moments, that is not depicted all that well in the movie, is in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. When Eustace is wanting to be changed from a dragon back to a boy. He tries with all his might several times to scratch off his skin, but what ever he does is not enough. He almost seems to have it, but he just can't do it himself. It's the most painful thing he's ever felt but he still cannot do it. Finally, he gives up himself to Aslan, asks him to finish what he can't by himself. He describes it as the most painful, yet liberating thing imaginable as Aslan cuts into his skin deeper than he thought possible; yet in the end he knows he did the right thing and finds himself a boy again.

My 3rd favorite is The Lord of the Rings, but this one is less cheating because it was technically written as one book first. This one once again, I love deeply, and once again it's because of the growth I see in the characters. From Aragorn rising to who he is to become king, Boromir the instantaneous from greedy and selfish to hero, Merry and Pippin from care-free nonchalant hobbits to knights that help save the Gondor and the world from certain destruction. Legolas and Gimli overcome thousands of years of racial distrust and hatred to find the truest friendship that anyone can find, their love for each other is only surpassed by that of Sam and Frodo, who overcome all odds and challenges to not only remain friends but trespass into the realm of evil and yet continue to have hope in their cause and one another. Plus, Gandalf is just plain awesome.

day 10: songs you listen to when you're happy/sad/bored/mad

For me, it's less about songs I listen to as to what songs I play/sing. I'll sing all kinds of songs when I'm happy, I just love singing in general, but the Suessical songs are definitely going to be some of my new favorites! My favorite songs of all time to sing when I'm happy are Corner of the Sky and Giants in the Sky, the former from Pippin the latter from Into the Woods.

Some songs I sing when I'm sad are things like: Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, from Les Miserables, No One is Alone, from Into the Woods, This is the Moment, from Jekyll and Hyde, and If I Can't Love Her, from Beauty and the Beast.

My angry songs are sometimes my favorite. These songs are the songs that really always bring out a passion. I get hot and sweaty every time I sing these songs. They are: Facade from Jekyll and Hyde, She Cries, from Song for a New World, Confrontation, from Jekyll and Hyde, and I would love to sing Madame Guillotine from Scarlet Pimpernel, but it didn't come in the song book :(

day 9: something you were proud of from the past few days

Over the last few days a lot of good things have happened! But I'm going to pick the fact that I'm actually moved out! After today I should have no more reason to sleep at home(I've done that a few times for convenience sake) I even went grocery shopping, washed the dished and done laundry all by myself. I know it's not a lot, but it's a part of growing up which is something I'm still now sure I'm allowed to do.

day 8: short-term goals for this month

So, I'm gonna do June since I've only got a week left. First off, get a job, then get a car, then party like it's 1653. I feel it's always good to have renaissance party. Those are my short term goals for right now.

day 7: a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you

I'll pick theater, ever since I started my life has been completely different! Best 7 years of my life!

day 6: favorite superhero and why

This one is a toughy, there are a lot of awesome super heroes. I'm gonna have to go with Wolverine, you can't go wrong with bright yellow spandex can you? Yes, you can actually, but he doesn't. He's just so awesome, I've always loved Wolverine. I don't know why, but I've loved him in the cartoons, the movies, and anything else you could ever imagine. He's just plain awesome. There's something to being immortal yet still being able to feel pain. With pain comes fear, so even though he knows he'll survive, he knows how much it hurts and still does what needs to be done, therefore, pure awesome.

day 5: a picture of somewhere you've been

This was one of my favorite vacations! I would love to go back to Washington DC. This is the National Mall if you can't tell, btw.

day 4: a habit that you wish you didn't have

This one is a lot tougher. Mainly because I'm perfect, but I guess I'd say that whenever I feel something I feel is dumb in any way, I brood over it for days and sometimes weekz. That is a very bad habit I wish I didn't have.

This picture is probably the coolest picture of me I've ever seen so I'll share this one too.

day 3: a picture of yourself as a child

OOH! This one is easy!

day 2: the meaning behind your blog name

Oooh! That one is easy! I'll give you both the website and the name.

First the website name, Stockett228. You see, it's my name and my number I've always used! I picked when I was 8 and have stuck with it!(Oh and it's my birthday)

Justin Stockett's grand adventure called life. Well, it's called that because that is exactly as I view my life. A grand adventure, with things to do and those stories to be told. Currently I'm not very good at sharing those stories, but hopefully this will help change that!

day 1: recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

1. I'm a total geek in every aspect of the word. Including socially awkward.
2. I can play 2.5 instruments. The .5 is Piano
3. I've half taught myself to play piano.
4. I like to win.
5. I'm in love with theater.
6. I'm so in love with theater I've devoted thousands of hours to it.
7. I've performed on stage approximately 245 times. (assuming 5 performances for ever school show, and 15 for Scera shows)
8. 2 ex-girlfriends are married.
9. My 2 first dates both have children.
10. I've made 2500$ performing theater!
11. The most characters I've played in a show was 22. Most of them were girls.
12. I didn't find out I was a first tenor till after high school.
13. I got a concussion while almost getting decapitated.
which brings me to...
14. I LOVE JET SKIS
15. In theater, I've performed for approximately 140,000 people.

Blog challenge.

So, you know I clearly don't post enough when I have to google myself to find my own blog. Luckily it's public so it's easy to find, BUT! In an attempt to forge my blog into my memory I will be beginning the 30 day blog challenge as outlined in 5..

4...

3...

2...

1....



day 1: recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself
day 2: the meaning behind your blog name
day 3: a picture of yourself as a child
day 4: a habit that you wish you didn't have
day 5: a picture of somewhere you've been
day 6: favorite superhero and why
day 7: a picture of someone/something that has had the biggest impact on you
day 8: short-term goals for this month
day 9: something you were proud of from the past few days
day 10: songs you listen to when you're happy/sad/bored/mad
day 11: write a bucket list of things you want to do before you die
day 12: write a poem
day 13: your 5 favorite books and why
day 14: a picture of you and your family
day 15: put your iPod on shuffle and list the first 10 songs that play
day 16: a picture of yourself
day 17: someone you'd want to switch lives with for a day and why
day 18: plans/dreams/goals you have
day 19: write about a sweet memory from your past
day 20: write a letter to someone
day 21: a picture of something that makes you happy
day 22: what makes you different from everyone else
day 23: something you crave a lot
day 24: post your favorite quotation and why
day 25: what would I find in your bag
day 26: list 10 things you are thankful for
day 27: my day job vs. my passion
day 28: cruise a dictionary and pick out 10 words you like the sound of
day 29: favorite TV shows and why you like them
day 30: movies you can watch again and again


Feel free to join and if you don't want to, that's fine too