Chantelle Ward

    Over spring break, I was finally able to visit my best friend Elly in Florida. She lives on this cute little island called Anna Maria. We spent most of our time checking out and shopping at the boutiques on the island because it was rather cloudy and rainy during the five days of my stay. We even went off the island to do some mall shopping for a formal she had, get Dairy Queen, and go to the movie Divergent, which is definitely in my top ten now. On the last day I was there, and unfortunately the sunniest and warmest day, we went on a bike ride to the edge of the island and walked along the shore.
    I think one of the best parts of vacation is having a change in scenery. It was so amazing to me how every time we went outside or for a drive all I saw were palm trees, water, and people enjoying the weather. After five months of snow and cold, it was a much needed refresher.

    Music is one of my favorite things, especially live music. You can actually feel live music radiating throughout your body, instead of it just coming through your headphones, and that's the best part. No matter who it is, whether I've heard their songs or not, I could never not enjoy live music.
    And this Christmas, I got concert tickets to see Young the Giant and Vance Joy at First Ave! Let me tell you, this was probably one of the best shows I've ever seen. Young the Giant had all of the bright moving lights and a ton of energy on stage, and their lead vocalist has one of the best voices I've heard live. Vance Joy is downright adorable, and you can't hate the sound of a ukelele. I also love his songs 'Riptide' and 'Emmylou.' Unfortunately, I didn't get very clear pictures of Vance Joy - this was the first time I've ever taken pictures in this type of lighting, so I'm still learning!
    Most of all, though, both groups sounded better live than they do on their albums, and that says a lot. That's something that I appreciate so much more in a music group. It really shows how talented and authentic they are. Anyway, you should take any chance you get to see live music, no matter who it is. It's one of those little things in life that make a person feel alive.

    Last summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a camp called Castaway Club for a Christian organization called Younglife. This amazing experience is known as Work Crew, and just about every kid who is a part of Younglife can't wait to participate in it during one of their summers in high school. During this experience, I got to meet the most amazing group of people my age - people that are like brothers and sisters to me now.
    So, this October when we all had a break from school, we planned a reunion in Chicago. I took the Megabus the whole way there; meeting my friend Lucy in Madison on the way. All of the girls stayed at my friend Ana's house in Western Springs, a charming town outside of Chicago. When we weren't learning about her life there, we took the train into Chicago to meet the rest of our friends who live in the city. I had been to New York City, so the skyscrapers and busy city life were nothing new to me, but Chicago offered a different (better) environment. There was just something about this city that felt welcoming and friendly, but maybe that was just because I was with some of my favorite people.

    As another installation of my trip to Europe, we got to explore Switzerland. This country was definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip, mostly because I simply love being in the mountains. But also because it was a much needed change from the hot temperatures in Italy.
    Switzerland offered very different, one-time opportunities. One of those is riding up the mountains in gondolas. There were three sections of this ride. The first two were in small four-people gondolas, and the last part was in a huge 40-person gondola. The last gondola was the steep stretch of the ride, and the atmosphere started getting rather gloomy and rainy, and there was barely any visibility because of the clouds. We were nearing the top of a peak, and all of the sudden, the peak dropped so there was nothing below us. I think almost everyone inside of the gondola screamed a little. It definitely gave another definiton to my fear of heights! Once we were on Mount Pilatus, though, it was worth the frightening ride. Mountains are so fascinating when you've lived on flat land you're whole life. We also took a train all the way down the mountain, and a boat ride to get to the city we were going to explore next - Lucerne. It was another beautiful European city with brick streets and old-style buildings.
    The most embarrassingly memorable part of Switzerland, though, was when me and one of my friends decided to try on dirndl (the female version of lederhosen) with only the intent of taking pictures, and the salesperson wasn't very pleased. I mean, these things were at least 140€, so there was no way we were buying them. It was worth the experience and laughter either way.

    Italy, Italy, Italy... The one country that almost everyone who has ever lived wants to visit. One thing that makes Europe particularly more beautiful than the United States is the architecture, and especially in Italy. You can see the history and delicacy of the Italian cities in the buildings and statues alone. And even though they're hundreds of years old, they somehow maintain their unique style. I know it is such a tourist-y thing to say, but the first place anyone should go in Italy is Rome. There is so much to see there - the Colosseum, the Forum, the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon... the list goes on. And you could easily spend a whole day each at the Colosseum and the Forum.
    Other cities we saw were Venice, Florence, and Assisi. Venice is a must-see since it's the city on water, and as long as you take a ride in a gondola and visit Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace), which was one of my favorite things to see on the whole trip, you've experienced the essence of Venice. Assisi was very different, and not many people have heard of it. It is uniquely built on a rather steep hill, and at the top you can see its ruins. This town carries a lot of history, as it is the birthplace of St. Francis and St. Clare. You can explore the Basilica of San Francesco (St. Francis) and Basilica of Santa Chiara (St. Clare), which holds the tomb of St. Clare. Yes, you can actually see her dead, preserved body - a little creepy, but fascinating, too.
    Italy gets very hot in the summer, though. We're talking about almost 100 degrees, if not that, so I recommend visiting in the fall or spring. Hot weather makes it much more difficult to appreciate what's surrounding you, which I think explains why I have a bit of skepticism of Italy. But I definitely want to go back, so I can change my reluctance and spend more time at each of these alluring, historical sights.