Author: Katelynn Kennedy

This past weekend, I went on my first college tour. I went up to Oxford, despite it being my birthday, to tour Ole Miss. It was Junior Preview day, meaning high school juniors worldwide were there to tour. When we got there, they spoke to us in the pavilion about the college’s mission and what we would get out of the day. It was very informative and allowed me to explore the beautiful campus.

 Since I was little, I’ve known exactly what profession I want to pursue. This profession is a lawyer. I often get asked, “What kind of law do you want to do?” and there’s no easy answer to the question since there are many kinds, and I still don’t know which one I want to do. 

 I got to tour the honors college at Ole Miss, along with the Law School. During these tours, I learned that the acceptance rate to the law school is only 40 percent. This made me honestly start to panic. I mathed it in my brain and realized 60 percent of people who apply don’t get in. Over half. I tried to hide my panic from my parents and the person who gave us the tour.

 I have since been stressing myself out about what I’m going to major in and what I’m going to do in regards to special programs or schools within the college. I am planning on attending Ole Miss, and it has always been somewhere I wanted to go. Now, after this visit, I am stressed about the idea of going to college next calendar year. I am scared I won’t succeed and that college will be too difficult for me because of the expectations people have of me to do many programs and be in the honors college. 

I spoke to someone close to me who felt this same pressure when she was getting ready for college. She told me it was normal and that I would succeed no matter what. This comforted me and showed me that even though I’m stressed now, I will be okay in the future.

Tw: Mention of blood and a wound 

Here is the story of how I once split my head open, and my mom didn’t find out until a decade later. When I was three or four, I used to play hide-and-seek with my cousins and older brother. We played all around our small neighborhood. My cousin Cameron, who is now in his early twenties, was always the seeker while I hid with my other cousins. One of our favorite hiding spots was the bed of my uncle’s truck. Cameron was barely tall enough to see into it, so it was the easiest place to hide. We were climbing out of the truck after we had been found, and my older brother was trying to put the tailgate back up. It slipped out of his hands and hit me on the head.

I blacked out and rolled to the curb; blood was all over the driveway. My cousin, who wasn’t much older than my brother, picked me up and tried to carry me up the stairs before slipping. Then Cameron picked me up and took me to my aunt who then handed me to my dad. My dad was panicked, he didn’t know what to do. I blacked out again and found myself in the backseat of the car, passing the giraffe on Highway 49 in Gulfport. We were on the way to the hospital.

I blacked out again and woke up in a loud machine with headphones on. Unfamiliar country music was playing. I started squirming, which made the technician restart the scan. Everything was fine, just an open wound on my head. I got a sucker and was on my way home. I remember retelling this story to my mom when I was about thirteen; she had no idea that anything like this had happened since she was at work that day. My family all kept it a secret from her. 

I wanted to try something different like ranking things. In this blog, I will rank the top 5 Disney/Pixar movies based on my personal taste, so this tanking will be very biased. I hope you enjoy this ranking. Please let me know what your favorite movies are and how you would rank them. 

Toy Story

#5

Toy Story is a movie where toys come to life while their owner is away. The toys will go on adventures to save one another and will even face some difficulties accepting each other. This movie is at number 5 due to the amount of times I have seen all of the movies in this franchise. The animation/CGI was impeccable for the time the movie came out. The soundtrack is very nice and the overall story is also pretty well thought out. 

#4

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a movie where a rat (Remy) makes his way into a top of the line restaurant in France. This is no ordinary rat as he is gifted with the talent of being able to cook human food. A young chef in the restaurant at first is disgusted by him, but once his talent is discovered, the young man takes Remy in and allows the little chef to teach him how to cook. This little chef will help the restaurant not go under as the biggest food critic in town is on his way to try the restaurant’s food. The animation is top tier along with some of the visuals we get throughout the movie. Being able to visualize what the flavors taste like/feel to Remy is one of my favorite parts in this movie. I also really enjoy the storyline of the movie. 

#3

Tangled 

This movie is a Disney princess movie and is based off of the German fairy tale, Rapunzel. Rapunzel is a princess who was kidnapped as a baby by a lady (Mother Gothel)  who wanted nothing more than to stay young. Originally, Mother Gothel was staying young by singing to a magical flower. Rapunzel’s mother fell ill toward the end of the pregnancy and the only way to save her and the baby was this magical flower, so the castle workers went out in search for this flower and took away Mother Gothel’s only source of staying young. Mother Gothel then took the baby from her crib so she could use the baby’s magical hair to stay forever young. The family does get united in the end and Rapunzel meets her match along this journey to see the “floating lights” for her birthday. The animation in the movie is amazing as well as the soundtrack. I really enjoy the difference in characters allowing for a more realistic dynamic between them. The storyline is incredible. 

#2 

Fox and the Hound 

This movie is the perfect movie about friendship. A fox named Tod is taken in by an older lady after his mother is killed. A young hunting dog named Copper and Tod become friends while they are young. The two become inseparable before their owners keep them away from each other. The two grow older, Tod becoming a wild fox and Copper becoming a strong hunting dog. They must overcome their natural instincts and differences to salvage the friendship they had before. This movie seems sweet but is so sad. The animation is 10/10 along with the storyline. 

#1 

Cars

The movie Cars is not just about racing but also self discovery and friendship. Lightning McQueen, the year’s best rookie, is on his way to win the Piston Cup before the race ends in a three-way tie. The winners must compete in California in order to determine the real winner. On his way to California, Lightning becomes abandoned by his driver in a small town known as Radiator Springs. He causes damage to the town in his distress and then is arrested and forced to fix his mess before he may leave. The doctor/judge/mayor of the town is Doc Hudson, also known as the formerly famous racecar, The Hudson Hornet. Lightning looked up to Doc his whole life and now he finally got to meet him. Doc left racing behind him after a big crash and didn’t want to go back to it. Lightning finally gets him out and Doc teaches him how to race on dirt. After making friends, getting a girlfriend, and fixing the road in Radiator Springs, McQueen is spotted by rescuers and is brought to California, being stripped of the life he had known. Doc and the gang all go out and support him and become his new crew and crew chief. This movie has my heart and so does the franchise. The animation is amazing. The storyline is immaculate, teaching kids the importance of friends/family over fame and wealth. It also teaches kids a little history of the interstates overtaking small towns.

I recently started playing this game, which is a 10/10. The game is set up like any normal puzzle game, but there is more to it. As you move through the game, questions or sentences on the walls show you the main character’s mindset. After finishing part 2, I think I understand what the game is supposed to mean.  There are 2 characters, a girl and her shadow. You switch between each character to finish puzzles to get to the next part of the story while collecting origami birds along the way. In the first clip, the girl is on a tree swing. The backgrounds change in session 2 to a more asylum look. The girl is scared of the light and must stay in the shadows. Back to the swing in the first part, that could represent the main character’s childhood where something happened that provoked the character to be in the asylum. I believe the game is a reference to therapy. Each part of the game is called sessions and the man’s voice that is heard sounds close to what a therapist might sound like when trying to help the girl. The girl is getting over her fear of the light through these sessions where she is trying to hide from it.  If you put her into the light, she sits down and you must rewind time to move on. Her shadow on the other hand is more confident, she can be in the light and doesn’t seem to be hesitant about her surroundings, this could be her true self that is buried under the depression. The game seems dull and bleak at first glance due to the colors used to make it up. The game can trigger some harsh feelings if the player is struggling mentally as the main character may say some things that are very negative or dark. Overall, the game was very good and I recommend it to those who are interested in indie games that explore mental health.

This is going to be a shorter blog in retrospect that this is a continuance of my previous Ancestory blog. A man named Clay helped my grandfather in the later stages of his life and is even helping me go through everything he owned. This past weekend, I visited my grandpa’s house to find family treasures or pictures. To my surprise, the entire house was filled with random junk and boxes. I knew going through this stuff would be difficult, so my brother came along to help.

We dug through old receipts, mail, and books to find pictures and lost letters to my grandparents. I found multiple birthday and Mother’s Day cards from my dad to his parents. I found out about cousins I have that I didn’t even know existed. I found old driver’s licenses from the 80s, 3-day passes to Disney World from 1983, an old Sam’s Club membership card, and an old Books-A-Million Millionaire’s Club card. It’s pretty cool to go through all these old things that seemed so normal for them back in that time.

My grandpa would leave notes for my grandma on paper towels and she’d keep them. My grandpa also had a car that was not in use, all it needs is new tires and it’ll be right back on the road with me behind the wheel. My grandpa’s house originally burnt down after my grandma passed away and his insurance company paid for all of his clothes and belongings to be cleaned/replaced. They even rebuilt the house for him.

My grandpa had a touch of OCD with the way he listed everything and made sure everything stayed in the spot that he left it. Clay was sweet and brought us some lunch while we continued to sift through everything. It was so interesting to find receipts from the 90s (why did my grandparents even keep those?). There are some pictures of everything I found below.

I don’t usually write about games, but Stardew Valley has my heart. It’s a game that can be played on nearly any platform including mobile. I play on either Xbox or Nintendo Switch. This game has very deep lore that I could talk about for days. You inherit a farm from your grandfather in Pelican Town to get started. It is now your job to man the farm throughout the harsh seasons as well as do different tasks for the townsfolk. While doing this, you can form relationships with the NPCs and even get to marry one. While I have not married anyone yet, the idea is fun. On your first day on the farm, the mayor gives you 15 parsnip seeds you must plant and water daily to finish a task. Mayor Lewis is an interesting character who likes to sneak around town at night. He delivers the mail, gives you money for things you sell, and even sneaks around with Ms. Marnie (if you know about his purple shorts, you know). The game is so interesting because it is unique to how you want to set it up. Some characters are at first mean, but you can make them nice by just interacting with them. If you don’t interact with some characters, they will hate you. There is also a community center that must be restored and it becomes your job to fix it up. You must fix it by bringing certain items to the community center and placing them in a box found in each room. When brought to the community center by the mayor, he mentions a corporation called Joja that wants to buy the land that the center is on from the town. The mayor doesn’t want that to happen but he has decided that one more person must buy a Joja membership before he sells the land. That person is you. You can either buy a membership or help out the mayor. Most players help the mayor, or at least that’s what I did. I could talk about the farming aspects or the fishing forever. This game is honestly one of the most fun I’ve played in years. I started on my new farm not too long ago and have already logged over 20 hours. 

ALSO- if anyone knows how to find a missing watering can please help!

I’ve always had this weird hyperfixation on my family history. It might be what led to History becoming my favorite subject. There are so many different lines in a family tree, and these lines represent a history made by the connecting people. My family tree dates back to when Americans crossed the Atlantic to free themselves from British rule. 

This is just a small portion of my family, it links back to the Cherokee Nation in Kentucky. The last red box at the bottom is me and above that are my parents. They both have “trees” sprouting from each side. My father was Native American, German, and Swiss. This is interesting since I thought I was mostly Irish for the longest time there’s not much Irish in me at all. On my mom’s side, there is French and English. I am a mixture of all of these different nationalities. That’s crazy to think about. During my research, I met my 2nd cousin on my father’s side twice removed (I’m not sure what that means) but she messaged me on the Ancestry website and told me about my dad’s father’s history and where I come from. She was related to my grandfather, who I found out during my research had passed away a few weeks ago. This was bone chilling considering I had just seen him for the first time in years not too long ago. I messaged her back hoping for more information about my family since it has been a big mystery to my brother and me who just wanted to know more about the history of our family. This is going to be interesting, I’m excited. I’ll update you guys when she messages me back.

During the Christmas Break, I went on a trip to Atlanta. This trip was one of my Christmas presents. We don’t have any family there or anything, but it was a fun experience. We explored the city for 2 full days but 4 in total. During our visit, we visited many attractions including, The World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium, the Chik-Fil-A College Football Hall of Fame, and many others. The city was not as crowded as I thought it would be, the streets were nearly bare in areas where there wasn’t that much to do. All of the food I tried was immaculate. There was truly never a dull moment. I went with my family: Cory and Darrian, my foster parents, and Maddox, my little brother. We stayed in probably one of the fanciest hotels I’d ever been in. The floors were marble and some chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceilings. It was a beautiful sight. 

The first day consisted of a long road trip there. We stopped at Buc-ee’s as part of our tradition to do so on vacation. The journey was long, I slept most of the time to allow myself to charge up before the adventurous 3 days ahead of me. If I wasn’t asleep, I was watching Arcane on my iPad like the iPad kid I am. When we got to the hotel, we took everything up to our room. We instantly left to find food because we were all pretty hungry. On our journey through the streets of Atlanta, we found a wing place that was baseball-themed. The workers all wore baseball jerseys and they played different games on the TVs around the restaurant. After eating, we went back to the hotel and eventually fell asleep. 

The second day was an action-packed one. We woke up and went to arguably one of the largest Waffle Houses for breakfast. After that, we explored the Olympic Park where the Olympics were held many decades ago. We then went across the street to the Georgia Aquarium. This is one of the largest in the world so I knew it was going to be incredible. We went through every tunnel that consisted of different animals and creatures. My personal favorite was the see-through tunnel with the whale sharks. After the aquarium, we went to the Chik-Fil-A College Football Hall of Fame. It was interesting to see all who have been inducted as well as when and why. There were different displays of trophies and awards around the building. There was even a small portion of a football field where kids could run drills and have a great experience. We then went and got nitrogen-infused ice cream. When you ate it, smoke would come out of your mouth. It was super cool. We then went back to the Hotel to rest for a little before going to dinner and Ikea. 

The third day was very quick-paced. We went to the World of Coca-Cola first where we tried all of the different drinks they offer in different countries as well as learned the history behind the famous brand. We then went to the Civil Rights Museum to learn about how people gained equal opportunities as others. We then drove to the Braves Stadium to explore. After that, we went to a giant food hall called Ponce City Market. It was a really cool experience to see all of the different cultures there. 

The fourth day was our last, we packed up our things from the hotel and loaded down the car before heading to the Atlanta Zoo. This zoo was incredible, they had so many different kinds of animals and reptiles to look at. My favorite was the Red Panda exhibit. After the 3 hour journey through the zoo, we finally made the car ride home. I slept most of the time again due to being exhausted from our adventures. 

TW: mention of death/loss of a loved one. 

This year, my favorite holiday doesn’t excite me like it used to. Everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit and decorating, while I’m cooped up in my room. Christmas was once a holiday of joy and taking time to spend with your family. 2024 has been a rollercoaster of events and emotions. My mom passed away earlier this year and my brothers and I became separated across the coast. The time I’m supposed to be spending with family feels nearly impossible. Many changes and separations have happened before, but this Christmas will be the hardest. I have an amazing new family I can spend the holiday with, although it’ll never be the same. I put up my Christmas tree in my room at home and started to feel this emptiness come over me.

When my family was together, we listened to Christmas music and decorated the tree. It would take all of us since we used to get a huge tree to go in front of the living room window. I used to have a special task to water and feed the tree every day before Christmas. While my brothers and I decorated the tree, my mom would start on our decorations outside. Our neighborhood had a decorating contest and it was always fun to try and win.

My mom used to bake sugar cookies and make edible paint so we could decorate them. She would also make Christmas candies to give out to friends and loved ones, we used to help by putting sprinkles on them. On Christmas Eve each year, we would always watch the same movie: The Polar Express. My mom would make us each a box for this night. It included pajamas, a body wash/shampoo set, perfume/cologne, a hot chocolate packet, a mug, and a bag of popcorn. All of us kids would put our Christmas pajamas on and make the hot cocoa and popcorn before starting the movie.

On Christmas day, we would wait for my mom to wake up. My little brothers would try to open the presents without her, but my older brother and I would stop them. My mom always needed coffee before we opened anything, my little brothers were bursting with anticipation and excitement. Finally, when we opened presents, the youngest would go first. After presents, all of us kids would take our new items to our rooms. My mom would then start on the mouthwatering food. She would take hours to prepare dinner because the food always needed to be slow-cooked for the flavors to meld. I used to go into the kitchen and help in any way I could. I always loved cooking with her. This year, none of that will be happening. Hopefully, we can continue some of our old traditions but also create new ones to better fit my and my brothers’ situations. While my mom isn’t physically here to make the candies, put together our boxes, or cook dinner, I could always continue in her place to keep her Christmas spirit alive. 

I remember going on a boat for the first time. The sun was barely over the horizon when we got all packed up to leave for the adventure, my eyes still crusted shut from the lack of sleep I had received the night before. My dad handed me an ice-cold chocolate milk which woke up my vocal cords, allowing me to speak and ask a million questions—bad choice on his part. My 4-year-old brain was scattered as I was concerned about how fast the boat would go or how deep the water would be. My brother, who is not much older than me, was not worried. He asked me to be quiet many times, and I happily told him no. I waited for my dad to answer all the questions that kept pouring out of my mouth rapidly. It was just us three in the car since my mom was at work like usual. We met up with my godparents who had the boat and they surprised my brother and me with our fishing poles. Mine was pink with princesses on it and my brother’s was red with Lightning Mcqueen. I was secretly jealous of him because I was not a fan of princesses, instead, I loved Cars and Toy Story just like he did. 

We eventually made it to the boat launch where we had to carefully back the boat into the water.  My dad and godfather loaded the boat with ice chests and supplies while my godmother put lifejackets on my brother and me to ensure our safety. I was terrified at first, but I soon got used to the rocking of the boat. That was until my godfather started driving. I remember screaming because we went “too fast” for me. I was taught how to cast a line and the basics of fishing. I never caught anything but the feeling of throwing the line over my head was so exhilarating. By the time lunch rolled around, my small stomach began to roar with hunger. I remember eating ham and cheese sandwiches while sitting toward the back of the small boat with my dad. We relaxed while my older brother was pretending to be the captain. While I had not caught anything that fishing trip, my godfather did catch some trout that we took home and he fried for dinner. When we eventually did get back home that night and the adults were cooking, my older brother and I took our fishing poles to the small dinghy in the yard. We practiced casting our lines and fishing until dinner time.