January 21
I'm really happy with the way I finished in Texas, but I
was
sooo close to medaling, I hate it. But I guess being in 4th would be
worse!
Being THAT close. I wish they had medals for like the top 10, that
would
be sweet. BUt what are you going to do? Just gives me something to
work
toward. I've been kind of moody lately, but I was reading this book
about
the brain and it says that you need to have a full nigth's sleep
without
being woken up, and that hasn't happened, so I think it might be
attributed
to that, which makes me feel a whole lot better knowing there's a good
reason! But I must go!
Britany
January 19
The meet went really well. There were 29 senior
competitors
and I finished 5th out of them. Oh so close to a medal, but oh so far
at
the same time. My scores were 8.600 9.625 9.675 9.575 37.475. NOt
bad!
Well, I have to go!
Brittany
January 18
I was 12th in the rankings as of the 16th, and 11th as
of
yesterday. Not bad, but they were selecting for the next meet and the
top 5
got to go as well as the top 11 that didn't compete in Texas. SO if I
had
managed to stay top 5 Id get to compete agian, but ah such is life. It
will
just give more time to improve I guess.
Brittany
January 17
Today is the first day of the meet. I haven't begun the
competition yet, and honestly I still don't know what the format is,
but we
are here in Texas and I am really excited about the meet! I just
finished
my workout and it went really well, so that is a good sign! Well, I'd
better be going!
Brittany
January 16
The meet is tomorrow! Eeek! I really want to do well,
I
don't know what the format is but I would absolutely LOVE to medal
somewhere
but I'm not necessarily counting on it. In other news, the rankings
were
posted as of the 13th and I was in 6th! I didn't expect to keep that
high
up for so long, but hey I'm certainly not complaining! Well, I'd
better get
a good night's sleep!
Brittany
January 15
Hey! I had a pretty good workout today, and I'm really
getting excited about this meet coming up! I hope I do well! Well,
I'm
kinda tired right now so I'll keep you updated tomorrow and stuff.
Britt
January 14
Hey! I got selected to compete on the Texas Flyers
team! It
is from Friday to Sunday. They never actually announced the format but
I'm
assuming that it's all around and maybe event finals only. I know it
probably isn't team because I got the impression that there was no
limit to
the number of people that could go. Anyhow, the other girls going are
Jess,
Ashley, Kayla, Sammie, Alyssa, Morgan, Jennie, Sarah, Eva, Amanda,
Marissa
and Emily. I'm so excited!
Brittany
January 13
You know how they always talk about Friday the 13th
being a
bad thing? Well here's a question: what about Monday the 13th?
Mondays are
much worse than Fridays, so I have no idea where they get off saying
that!
Anyhow, we went skiing yesterday- or they did. I went
snowtubing, it was way fun! Well, I'm pretty tired and I don't really
feel
so great so I'm going to take a nap now.
Brittany
January 12
Hi! I have a bunch of things to say to today. First,
Coach
Dreidle told us that she had never mentioned how many people would get
to go
to that Invitational, and that shewas sendign anyone with a certain
index,
aka on the rankings left up from the 9th- anyone above 12th place would
get
to go- and I was in 4th. So this is erally good news! If she can send
that
many people, than I definitely think I might be able to go! I can't
wait
for it to be announced though, I love seeing those lists posted and
having
my name on them!
Next, they posted notes for all of the squads. They
said
that they had them for the whole squad, and a few individual gymnasts,
and
that eventually there would be one for everyone personally. For us,
coach
Klacie basically said that he wants to stress form and technique on
beam and
floor and bars, and that he doesn't really want an overly competitive
environment on the squad. But I had a personal one! I felt so
special! IT
says: "You have great power on all of your events, but I'd love to see
more
elegant movement. You have strong basics and you're quite flexible, so
I see
great potential. At the intersquad, vault was the problem, and I am
afraid
that you are letting this develop into a mental block. I feel like
you're
holding back more than you were last week, so we'll work on this.
You did very well on bars, and you have a very solid
routine.
I'd like first of all to maybe add some difficulty and bring up the
start
value. I also want to work with you on form, as I mentioned to the
group.
You are doing well on beam and floor. You have good
routines
with plenty of difficulty. We need to do many repetitions, clean up
some
form, and maybe a little bit of technique, but you have a very strong
start."
So then I went to my workout, and it's like the workout
was
designed specifically for me! Everything that we did was what he said
I
needed to do (with the exception of adding difficulty to my bars
routine-
which I know I have to do anyway). So the workout really helped, I got
to
work on my technique and form on all the events, and I erally feel that
it
helped. I'm really excited too! Everything just seems to be goign
really
well right now!
Brittany
January 11
The rankings haven't been posted again since the 9th, so
I'm
really curious to see what happened. It's almost like a fluke for me
to be
up that high, especially so soon. I really wanted to know what has
changed
since then, but oh well what are you going to do?
I just fnished my workout and I'm pretty tired so I am
going
to go relax now, I'll write more tomorrow!
Brittany
January 10
Hi! I am 4th in the rankings as of yesterday! I think
that
must be a mistake... I don't ever think I was that high up- except the
time
I came in second at the intersquad but I don't think I was ever ranked
this
high before! I dunno though, but I'm definitely not upset about it!
I'm
above Sarah- SARAH! I think that's got to be a first, though, for
sure!
hehe- well except for the time when she wasn't here for a week!
Anyhow, because of that I think maybe I'll have a better
to
chance to compete in that invitational that's coming up, but again, I'm
not
counting on it- especially since I did so mediocarely (is that a word?)
in
the intersquad.
Also, the squads were announced. I am on the Opilly
Squad
with Elizabeth Jarvis, Lindsey Matthews, Shannon Rowling, Keshira
Smith,
Amanda Williams and Emily Yim. And let me tell you, we are definitely
going
to have some tough competition! Some of the other squads look brutal!
Like
impossible to beat! But I think we can handle it!
Anyway, I guess that's all for now.
Britt
January 9
Hey! We had a slumber party in the rec room last night-
it
was really fun! I love feeling like I belong. The dorms got switched
the
other day, I forgot to tell you, I am in a room with Vada now. That's
cool.
Anyhow they are announcing squads tonight or tomorrow. I kind of
hope I'm
on Rina's squad because I haven't gotten to talk to her too much but
I'd
really like to her. I miss her! But it would be cool to be on squads
with
people I don't really know too, that would be fun!
Anyhow I guess that's all for now!
Britt
January 8
So I finished 15th in the intersquad. I can't say I'm
totally disappointed but I'm not really happy either. I guess it's
somewhere in the middle. 15th out of 25... not bad but not great. I
got an
8.5 on vault- eek! That was pretty horrible. I had 2 giant hops,
GIANT
hops. I was pretty disappointed with that. Bars was great though- I
got a
9.6! Beam was an 8.975- no falls just a few wobbles. And floor was an
even
9- I went out of bounds and missed a few combinations. I don't know,
I'm
not too upset but yeah I'm not really happy either. There is going to
be
another meet coming up soon, but only for a team. I'd really love to
get
selected but I'm not really counting on it. I can't wait until I start
competing in invitationals again, though! Well, goodnight!
Britt
January 7
The intersquad is tomorrow! EEK! I did our pre meet
workout
today, and I was pretty happy with it. Vault was decent, bars was
really
good, beam was so-so and floor was great. So I am pretty pumped! I'm
not
sure what my current ranking is, but I think Coach Lois did that on
purpose
so it won't affect how we think we'll do, whcih is good. I hope I'm
higher
than 12th! And I really hope to finish in the top 10 tomorrow, but I
have
no idae what will happen. I think I have more experience than a good
number
of these girls, but I don't know if that will kick in tomorrow or not.
There are always people that do what isn't expected of them- both
better and
worse, so who knows.
There is a team meeting tonight at 9:30. I hope I
remember
to go, I might be asleep by then though! Need to get a good night's
sleep
before the intersquad! So I will write again tomorrow! WISH ME
LUCK!!
Britt
January 6
Hey. I am 12th in the rankings as of yesterday, which is
certainly an improvement, and that looks much better to me at least.
My
workout today was pretty bad. Bars was horrible, I'd rather not eevn
talk
about that. Beam had good and bad spots, vault was so-so and floor was
the
only good point. I did a private workout after and thank God fixed my
bars
problems- they were really bad let me tell you, but I don't want to go
into
any more detail. I want to forget that it ever happened!
On Saturday we are all going on a ski trip. That should be fun. I'm
going
to only snow tube thouigh because I've never skiied or snowboarded and
really don't want to risk hurting myself learning.
And... Alana is in a ballet company in Boston, and her sister Sammie is
here
training and she was telling us that she is giong to visit Alana and
see the
ballet so we are all going to go to that too. I'm really excited! I
miss
Alana!
Also, on the 15th, Jennie is turning 16 so we are having a party for
her. A
bunch of us are going to go shopping... fun fun fun!
Well, that's all for now!
Britt
January 5
Hi. Things are starting to feel more normal still. Kelly is
my
roommate, so that is cool. I am starting to feel back at home here
again,
like I belong and everything is the way it's supposed to be. Well, I
am
really tired so I guess I'll talkt o you later!
Brittany
January 4
Hey! Today's workout was pretty good, I am pleaseantly
suprised
as to how easily everything seems to be coming back to me. I worked on
the
dreaded 1 armed bh lo on 2 feet on beam and didn't fall off ONCE! Can
you
believe it?
Everything is starting to settle in nicely around here too. Some
things
have been remodeled, and I like them but I kind of miss the old way it
was.
Anyhow, I have tlaked to some of the girls around here. Let's see, who
did
I see... umm... Sarah, Jess, Rina, Jennie... umm... Keshira, Vada, Eva,
Marie.... umm Amanda, Marissa... Emily... Kelly... I think that may be
it..
oh no wait Madison and that might be the end of it. I'll have to let
you
know later.
There is a meet for all the active elites on the 8th, so I'm pretty
psyched
about that. I'm not really expecting to do too well, seeing as I am
16th
out of 20... oops! I guess I'll have to try and get my act together
and
work really hard before then. I'd really like to finish top 10 in the
intersquad, but we'll just have to see how that goes.
I guess that's all for now.
Til later,
Britt
January 3
Hey! My workout today was much better. It was still pretty
bad,
but much better nonetheless. And I've seen some people around, like
Jess
and Sarah and Jennie and a bunch of people I don't know. So this will
be
fun! I was near the bottom of the rankings, but I'm hoping that's
mainly
due to the fact I didn't workout on the first, because I wasn't even
here
yet!
I called Linz today. She didn't know I had gone back to Topo, because
she
left right before New Years and went back to California to visit her
boyfriend's family. She was soo psyched to hear, she said she is going
to
fly down sometime in the next few weeks to give me a hug!
I have to admit though, it's definitely hard going from being with my
family
for like 6 months to suddenly being here again without them. Don't get
me
wrong, the girls here are like a second family to me, but it was so
sudden,
and I was actually starting to like living with Mommy and Daddy and
Natty
and the boys. But oh well, what are you going to do?
I e-mailed my friend Matilda from Atlanta today. She was my best
friend
back home in the last 6 months, I miss her a lot but I guess I'll just
have
to deal. She told me that this guy Calum had a crush on me and was
really
upset that I suddenly left. That's really too bad, because I kind of
liked
Calum too. She gave me his email address though and I am going to
write to
him ASAP.
Well, that's all for now.
Til later,
Brittany
January 2
Well, I am back at Topo! They reopened yesterday, and I flew in
today. I am soo excited you have no idea. I haven't gotten a chance to
look around and see who is back (or here that I don't know) yet so I'll have
to keep you updated on that. I didn't get my new dorm assignment yet
either, and I haven't found my old journal yet. I know I left it here
somewhere, it's just a question of whether or not it got thrown out in the
cleaning process.
So, it is 2003. I will be turning 17 this year! I guess this is a good
time to be moving and switching schools again. It's really too bad, because
I was starting to get used to my school back in Atlanta. I made sure to get
the email addresses and regular addresses of all my friends before I left.
It was really kind of sad, but they were all happy for me, and I promised I
would come visit them really soon.
But I am so overjoyed to be back here at Topo. I've missed it soo much, I
can't even put it into words. I can't wait until things start picking up,
like I see a lot of people around, and we start competing again and
everything else. I'm really looking forward to it!
Well, I guess it's time to go exploring, I'll keep you updated on
everything!
Til later,
Britt
August 9
Well tonight is our competition! Our junior team came in 2nd last night, way to go for them! I'm really excited about competing! Especially since I'm going to have to miss a few days because of the physical therapy. I can't believe that when I come back it will be time for Nationals! Now, I'm not really sure when I'm leaving and whatnot but it will either be tomorrow or Sunday. Anyhow, I won't be taking you with me because I'm trying to pack as lightly as possible. I'll try and write about everythign that happened when I get back! Wish me luck with everything!
Til next week,
Britt
August 8
Oh my gosh, it is so amazing here. I'm so happy I'm finally here, it is so amazing! Today was our trainign day and the junior competition is later today. There are teams from France, Romania and the Netherlands here. It is so cool! I love competing with girls from other countries, it really gives us a chance to see how we measure up to them!
Anyhow, I absolutely love it here. France is amazing, the culture is completely beautiful. Now I only know about 5 words of French, but just
sitting here (not in the gym but like on the streets and in public and whatnot) and watching all these people... it is so beautiful! I definitely want to come back here, whether it is for another meet or just to visit, I definitely want to come back!
Well, I guess that's all for now!
Brittany
August 7
Today we leave for Paris! We are actually on the plane right now, I'm sooo excited! oh and I dont think I told you about the intersquad... we finished 2nd and I finished 10th. Not my best ever but you can't really complain about the second place finish! You know what I'd really like to do, win an intersquad, I mean me personally. That would be so much fun! But I guess I can't raelly complain seeing that I came in 2nd once and that I won the AA at the DTGF (which I still can't believe!!!)
Anyway, there is a jr competition tomorrow and a senior competition on um, the day after, Friday. And the Apparatus Masters is on Saturday. And the intersquad on Sunday. And I believe that, either Saturday or Sunday is when I'm leaving for my physical therapist.
But guess what! It's a 4-4-3 meet (the Paris one) and the junior team is
Ling, Vada, Sarah and Tia. And the senior team is Arika, me, Cameron and
Amanda. I get to compete again! I'm sooo psyched!! Wish me luck!
Later,
Brittany
August 6
I don't really have a lot of time now so I'll tell you about the intersquad later. But anyway the schedule for the next week or so is totally packed, we are going to Paris in a few days! i'm SOOOO excited! I've never been there before, I don't even remember being overseas before! Anyhow, we are also havign this "Apparatus Masters" competition and we all get to compete 1 event. o course I puit floor as my first choice but I also put beam second and then bars and then vault. Beam definitely isnt' my second best event usually but lately it has been going really well so I figured why not, what is life without challenges? More later!
Britt
August 5
Today my workout wasn't the best ever but I can't really complain about it. Bars was really pretty bad, as was my dance part of floor, but other than that everything was just fine.
Speaking of dance, today we also had our dance class. That was fun, it went
really well for me which is nice because it tends not to sometimes!
After the intersquad yesterday Rina and I went to the mall. I think that would be cool if we made that a tradition. Like for us to do something after the intersquad. Not necessarily just Rina and I, but whoever wants to. I think it would be fun! The mall yesterday sure was fun!
Later,
Britt
August 4
Today is the intersquad. I really hope to get at least 8th, maybe my momentum from the DTGF will carry over! Ha, that'll be the day!
I called home and told the boys about it and they were proud of me, so that's good. At least they're done being jerks. Alex was the worst, and Randy threatened him that if he didn't appologize he'd beat him up so he did appologize and things are ok between us right now. I was soooo mad at him
about that though!
Anyway Lindsay was so sweet as always she was like "Oh my gosh Britt I wish
I could've been there! That is so awesome, I'm so happy for you you've been
working soo hard lately I'm glad you did so well!" She is so sweet. You know who else is? Sarah. When I like screamed because I had done so well, etc, she was like "Congratulations, sweetie! You rocked!!! Let's have a party when you get back, to celebrate! I'm soooo proud to be your roomie!"
Sometimes I feel so self-consious around here, but other times I totally feel liek I fit in.
Well, wish me luck at the intersquad!
Later,
Brittany
August 2
I had a pretty good workout today. I realized recently that my consistency is definitely improving, and it is showing in practice and in meets. I still can't believe the Double Trouble Gym Fest! I cannot BELIEVE I did that well! Things have really been going my way lately, I really can't complain about much of anything!
Today we also had our dance workout. That was another story. I had a bad day at that, plain and simple. I've defintiely seen people have worse days, so I know it could've been worse, but not by much. Thankfully I am done with that until Monday!
I think tomorrow is a training day for the next intersquad. I hope we win
it, but if not oh well. I really won't be too happy with myself either if I
finish below 8th really. I mean I know being in that general area should be
good enough but I think 8th is my trademark spot and I'll be upset with myself if I finish lower. Even if its because the other girls have been training harder and I've been doing my normal level, I'll still be mad at myself.
Oh well, no use worrying about this right now. I should bask in my glory
from doing so well the other night until I have a reason not to!
Later,
Britt
August 1
Happy August! I still can't believe how well I did at that meet yesterday! I'm totally ecstatic! But anyhow, I did a very slackerish workout today. Believe it or not for some reason I really didn't feel like doing gymnastics today but I know I have to to keep in shape and stuff.
Later,
BM
July 31 #2
Oh my gosh, I am sooo excited! You'll never guess what happened! Oh my gosh!
Ok, so the format was that we were paired up with a girl from Cascade Locks
and we both competed all events with all the scores counting. I was on
Team Orange with this girl Nasya Lael Xaria. We started on bars, and started off fairly well. There were 6 teams and 6 rotations, so sometimes we had
byes. Team Red was winning after the 4th rotation and they were all done, but
us and Team Yellow were gaining. Well, we finished on vault and we both
nailed both our vaults! OH MY GOSH!
We won the meet! We finished first with a 78.310. The 2nd place team
was Team Yellow which was Morgan and Tabitha Dennehy and they got a 77.663.
And it gets even better, I'm totally in shock. I finished first AA! That
wasn't really the focus of the meet but I managed to get the highest AA score! I got a 39.300. 39.300!!! Nasya finished second with a 39.011. Oh my gosh! I got a 9.767 on vault, 9.783 on bars, 9.892 on beam, and 9.858 on floor. AND, it gets even better believe it or not! I got the highest vault score (Nasya was second with 9.750), 2nd highest bars score (Morgan got 9.825), highest BEAM score (Tabitha Dennehy got a 9.817) AND highest floor score (Madeleine White got a 9.733).
Gosh I wish the boys could've seen this! I was on the winning team, highest AA, highest on vault, beam, and floor and second highest on bars! I can't believe it ONE BIT! Ohhhhh my gosh!!!!
Later,
Britt!
July 31
It's the last day of July! Exciting stuff! It's also the day of my meet. Wish me luck! For some reason I think I'm not going to do well today, btu I really hope that isn't the case! Anyway, yeah, the Double Trouble Gym Fest is today, and to be completely honest I'm not even really sure of the format! I guess they're going to tell us when it starts or something! Nothing like suspense!
Later,
Britt
July 30
I took yesterday off from practice and everything so I could see my family off to the airport. I got so used to having them around, it was really sad to see them go! But it was also probably a rather large and costly mistake to take it off. We are getting so close to Nationals, and we all know that I have to leave before them ANYway, I really need all the practice I can get here! How dumb of me to do that!
And today is my training day for the Double Trouble Gym Fest. I missed my dance lesson yesterday too so taht could and probably will really hurt. We only have it twice a week, yet I've missed it at least twice because I just *DECIDE* to take Mondays off which really is not a good idea. Remind me not to take Mondays or Fridays off again please?
Later,
Britty
July 28 #2
Yeah so I do get to go to one of the meets. Always very exciting! It's the Double Trouble Gym Fest with Cascade Locks on July 31. It's a pairs meet with exhibition routines (whatever that means, I'll ahve to find out).
Krista, Arika, Cameron, Morgan, Vada and I are going. Whoo hoo I'm so excited! Our training day is on Tuesday the 30th.
Later,
Britty
July 28
I'm pretty happy about the intersquad yesterday. I finished 7th. That's better than 8th, but I swear I can never get out of this general area! What is even weirder, is that the people above me seem to change all the time but I'm always stuck behind 6 or 7 people. I think of the last like 10 intersquads, I've finished 8th in all of them except this one! I got a 37.075. Vada finished 6th with a 37.100, and even Morgan who finished 3rd had a 37.360. It just makes me so frustrated sometimes that there is such a little margin separating me from finishing so high! Ahh, remember that time I finished 2nd? That was exciting!
Anyway, our squad came in 3rd. We had a 183.900. Sarah was back so we didn't have to count all the scores, but since she just came back I don't think anyone really expected her to be like, back on top again. Anywho, my brothers weren't jerks after this one, and they better not have been! I've been working my butt off! I guess I'm just destined to forever be in 8th place! I'm suprised I finished ahead of Jennie, but only by like .2
Anyhow, I had a good workout today. I did really well on bars, which was
nice for a change. Not that I'm bad at bars, just that it's usually pretty
mediocre.
Oh! Coach said she was going to announce the rosters for 3 meets very soon!
I'm guessing I'll be selected for one (I hope) but one is only for junior
elites and I've been competing as a senior.
I just checked the calender and it says August 16 is the last day to petition to US Championships, and then August 17 is Topo Nationals and September 4-7 is US Nationals. There is a flyer and a form to fill out to compete. I am soo giong to try! It says the coach will be contacted so hopefully she won't mind but I am sooo filling that out!
Later,
Britt
July 27
Oh my gosh, it's almost August! I really can't believe this! Anyhow, the intersquad is today. I'm really hoping to do very well so I can show my stupid brothers that I don't suck like they seem to think I do!
Later,
Britt
July 25
Things are much better than yesterday. I'm still totally mad
at
the boys but not in the same way. Now, like all the girls said I just
want
revenge on them. Hehehe...
My workout today wa smuch better, I didnt have too many big problems.
And
I've totally cooled down as far as my brothers are concerned.
Til later,
Britty
July 24 #2
Oh, and the one thing I forgot about my stupid brothers- I
always
finish 8th! Seriously, I've finished 8th like 5 times, no joke! I
dont
know where they are coming from with that! Ive slacked this week, so
Im
suprised I finished so high! Honeslty I wonder what would've happened
if I
had worked to my normal level or harder! Also, Sarah wasnt in this
meet so
all scores counted, so THEY ARE SO DUMB!
I screamed about them in the locker room before, I said, "Those would
be my
brothers. I'm so mad at them, they are such jerks! did any of you hear
them
harrassing me during and after the intersquad? They were saying that I
made
Opilly lose and that I suck and stuff. Maybe I did and maybe I do but
that
is so mean of them to say that! UUUGGH I could really hurt them right
now
if I wanted to!". It was nice to have everyone back me up like
this...
Eva said, "don't worry i've already started plotting my revenge!!!!
There
was NO reason for them to treat you like that, brothers are not
supposed to
be so cruel! And they better watch out cuz everyone knows that girl
gymnasts
are stronger than any boy!!!!! Lets go whoop some arse!!!"
And then Kelly said, "Count me in! PS I keep a paintball gun hidden
under
my bed. This means war!". Then Lindsey said, "OH ME!!! I have 7
sisters and
am VERY good at revenge!!".
Its so nice to be like this, I really feel like everyone cares now
:)
Brittany
July 24
Oh my gosh I hate my stupid brothers. They are soo dumb.
They
were criticising me ALL day yesterday because of the intersquad. They
were
like "oh poor stupid sucky Britt, you guys LOST". I wanted to slap
them. I
acutally did slap Alex. He is such a jerk sometimes! UGH! Lucky they
didn't say anything to the other girls, I swear I would've slapped them
all!
So what if we came in 4th. Doesn't mean we LOST! I came in 8th and
they
didn't really say much about that but they were like, "Britt you're the
reason you guys lost you suck, I thought you were supposd to be good!"
I
was crying before because they are such jerks and so Lindsay was like
"come
on I'll take you and Natty out for ice cream, that will make you feel
better." So we went last night but it didn't really make me feel any
better, but I won't tell Lindsay that.
They came to visit so I tried to work REALLY hard to impress them and
make
them proud of me, but the stupid boys are too dumb to realize that and
they
are so insensitive! MY GOSH!
I had a really bad workout this morning. I was so mad at them, it made
me
KEEP messing up beam, mess up vault, and mess up floor. On beam I kept
falling off on my 1 armed BH LO, WHICH i though I had conquered but
thanks
to them I guess not! On vaul I kept sitting down the landigns or
stepping
on them. On floor I kept over rotating and falling on all my
tumbling.
OOh I ams o mad at them right now I could scream. I'm not all that
upset
with a 4th place finish for the team, and certainly not my usual 8th
place
finish AA! We'll just have to work harder next week! We didn't have
Sarah
here so all our scores counted, which just puts more pressure on
everyone!
They are so insensitive, I can't get over it! I'm sooo mad at them
right
now!
Brittany
July 23
Ok so I'll tell you about the intersquad later because I don't
have
the time right now. I had a mediocre workout, not all that exciting
but
don't we all have those days sometimes?
There is this new girl Elizabeth Jarvis who came from KP, I think, and
is
rooming with Emily. I'm wondering what will happen when Jess gets
back, but
we'll see. Anyway I introduced myself to her. She seems nice. I
think it
would be cool to be friends with her, you know how I am about having
friends!
Speaking of which, Tia made this comment that we all have cliques here.
It's really true. I was talking to Alana about that last night. There
are
some people who never talk at all, and some people who only talk to
certain
people. I always feel left out when people have their little groups of
friends. Like Sarah and Jennie. Like Madison and Morgan. Like Kelly
and
Cameron. Or how Marissa is everyone's best friend, and how everyone
likes
Jess. I really wish I could be like that, I always feel really left
out. I
hope that will change, but things like that are hard to change!
Also, one last thing which I found amusing. Eva ran down the hall
screaming
that she needed pads. Apparently today was her first period, how
funny! We
all gave her some, because my family gave me this like, truckload when
they
came. Always can be used!
Speaking of which, we are going to Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ethan's house
now!
I'll write more later!
Brittany
July 21 #2
My family came to visit! I was cleaning my dorm and putting my journal back away when all of a sudden I heard a knock on the door and I looked up and it was Lindsay. So I ran over to hug her and saw the rest of the crew! They were all waiting there and I hugged them all and I was so excited to see them, I don't know if they've ever come to visit me at Topo before!
They are staying with Uncle Ethan and Aunt Rachel and Allison and Katrina
and Max and Eric. We all sat around and talked, and I introduced them to
everyone (everyone that was hear anyway). They gave me a copy of A Walk to
Remember and Lindsay told me she was staying to watch it with me. So we set
it up in the rec room and she is in tehre watching the previews right now.
I invited everyone else to come too so we'll see.
My family is staying for a week so they'll see the next two intersquads! The enxt one is tomorrow (Monday) and the following one is Saturday, so it works out really well. I'm so excited!
Oh one last thing... I saw on the calendar this morning, it says August 17
2002 Topopolilly Championships, and September 2002 US Nationals. I wonder
why that changed, and what the difference is! We'll have to see!
Til later,
Brittany
July 21
I had a decent workout today. Beam went suprisingly well, I almost started to get the illusion that I was good at beam! Funny, isn't it! Anyhow, I was very happy that it was going like that!
At first I thought maybe it was taht I was thinking "gee, I'm good at beam now!" or something, when in actuality I'm not, so now I have to start thinking like normal again. So I had to go back to thinking that I CAN'T do it, but that's not really the right way to go either! All I know is, I managed to get the silver on beam, so I think that means that I've at least improved somewhat. And that is definitely a step in the right
direction! Ooh, I'm so excited! I know I'll never be able to fully conquer my
fear of beam and be a "beam queen" but I think at least being able to be
confident enough to go to the meet and know that I have a decent chance of doing well on beam.
Anyway, I guess that's all for now, I'm sure you've had enough of my rambling for one entry!
Britt
July 20 #2
Oh-my-GOSH! OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH. You will NEVER and I mean NEVER guess what happened! Well, since I said that you probably will but I bet you won't believe it, but believe it, because it happened. Don't worry, I can't believe it either. I WON THE SILVER ON BEAM! OH MY GOSH I WON THE SILVER ON BEAM!
I am awful on beam! And I somehow managed to win the silver!! Remember how
I told you I got a 9.6 in the prelims and that was the highest score, well I
got a 9.6 AGAIN in the finals! (Jennie beat me, but I still got second). I
don't know if I've ever finished higher than like, 20th on beam, if I even
made the finals.
I GOT SILVER ON BEAM! OH MY GOSH!!! I just got off the phone with Lindsay
and she was soo happy for me. I was almost crying when I called so she thought something was wrong, but it wasn't, it definitely wasn't.
Oh my gosh, I completely nailed that routine- twice! When I did it on Thursday I was amazed that I had done it so well, and I honestly think I did even better today. I honestly think I did it as well as I possibly could today. I ompletely nailed EVERY part of it! No bobbles, no falls, no hesitations, and not much nervousness either! Believe it or not, I was as nervous as ever when I mounted and started, but somehow I knew this was my day and everything just felt right. I was more confident than ever when doing the routine, and I wasn't nervous with my 1 armed bh LO on 2 feet, or any other part of it. I didn't hesitate at all before any of my lines, I just gave it my all and I guess that was enough!
It's such a weird feeling to try to explain. I was incredibly nervous when
I started but all of a sudden, like almost right after I mounted, I just
knew there was nothing to worry about. I know I've been working very hard
on it lately and that hypothetically it SHOULD be this good, but we all know
that's not the way things actually go! But it just FELT RIGHT. So I didn't
get nervous, and just did it like I've always wanted to, and it was PERFECT.
Completely perfect, and I won the silver on beam.
Brittany
July 20
Ok, so I'm really psyched and also very scared at the same time. But this meet has been going very well for all of us so far. We won the team competition, with a 151.625 to Canada's 148.675. Quite an impressive margin of victory if you ask me! I competed vault... (9.500) and beam... (9.600) for the team competition and prelims. And imagine this, I can't believe it: not only was that the highest beam score on our team, it was the highest beam score in the entire meet! Oh my gosh! I can't believe it at all! I was expecting to be able to get through my routines without any problems, but not to actually do WELL on beam!
Next, was the AA finals which were yesterday. Obviously I couldn't qualify
because I only competed 2 events, but we swept! Arika, Eva, Jennie! 1, 2,
3! That was really exciting too. I was in the stands with the rest of the
team cheering them on, screaming my head off! It was so cool!
The event finals are very shortly. I did my workout already, and only did a
bit on floor bars and vault because I wanted to focus on beam today. I still can't believe I qualified for the balance beam final! Oh my gosh! BEAM FINALS AHH I don't know if I've ever done that in my life!
One last thing, I think, Coach told us that she wasn't ready for that Nationals announcement yet. I guess that's better, keep us in suspense but I love announcements, so whenever it comes it'll be welcome!
Coach was very proud of us, she told us in our latest squad notes that Arika and I (being the only two Opillyers from the meet) were doing very well along with the rest of the team, and it's alwys nice when people are so proud of you like that.
Anyway, beam finals are very shortly. I have to go prepare, this is going
to take a lot of mental preparation!
WISH ME LUCK!
Britt
July 19
Ok so I still don't know what this important announcement about Nationals is but I'm kind of afraid it's something bad! And you know what I just realized? Nationals are LESS THAN ONE MONTH AWAY! You know, I think that if it weren't for my physical therapy session having to be right before them, I could place in the top 8 and maybe even top 5. That's what I truly believe, because I've seen the way I compare to the other girls here. Not saying that anyones better than anyone else because everyone here is awesome, but the way I tend to enerally do in intersquads and stuff, I think that would carry over to Nationals. I'm still really upset about the whole situation, but at least I'll be able to compete! Things could definitely be much worse!
Today is the second day of the North American Gym Festival. I had a lot of
fun in the team competition part but the AA is about to start so I'll let
you know the details later!
Brittany
July 18 #2
Well, the meet hasn't started yet (very soon though!) so I'm sitting here waiting and trying to occupy myself. I'm still very curious as to what this important announcement about Nationals is going to be! I don't knwo how well I explained this before, but since I have my visit with the therapist the week RIGHT before Nationals, I won't be able to train there. And when I get back it will be right before Nationals, and I still won't have time to train. So basically I won't be able to train for the week before Nationals!
Yesterday was Rina's birthday. I got her the pants that she really liked
from the mall, and this shirt that she almost bougth but didn't because she
didn't want to spend all her money. I think she liked them. It's always
nice when you get someone a gift they really like! :)
Also, Alana is here! Alana DeBrinski, my penpal who used to train at Kimball Park. She was really the only person I met from there and we talked quite a bit and got along well, and I think we'll be good friends here! Apparently she was also Jennie's pen pal so we'll both need to find new ones!
Well, I guess that's all for now. I'm going to go get in a few quick rotuines and some stretching before the meet starts. Wish me luck!
Brittany
July 18
Ok, so I took yesterday off from everything as well. I had a
major headache and didn't feel right and again, didn't want to make it worse.
I really sincerely hope that won't make me do bad in this meet today!
I'm sure it will for the intersquad, although I don't knwo quite why, it
just always has a way of doing that. Like when all the girls are watching
they're thinking in their heads "you skipped two days, you can't beat me!" and
sure enough it seems to work. Luckily enough, I think, that when we're
competing against another gym (or gyms) I don't have any problems in that sense because I know I'm competing WITH these girls on the team, instead of
against them!
Anyway, Las Vegas is awesome! It is so nice here! It's so big and
bright and full of life. Definitely a change from being at Topo for so long!
These girls from Canada and Mexico are kind of intimidating though!
Especially since I am only 15! We have the youngest team on average
age, it said. There was this article... I love having my name in articles :)
Hold on I'll tell you what it said about me.. "15-year old Brittany Maddux
is a more recent addition to the team, and has been showing some of the best
gymnastics of her career this summer." Cool huh? :)
There is a team competition tonight, AA finals tomorrow with the top 8
from today and a limit of 3 per country. The next day is event finals with
the top 5 from today per event with a limit of 2 per country. I really
hope we win (duh) but I'd consider it a very high personal achievement if I
could make a final on any one (or more!) of the events... or the AA. But
let's not get ahead of ourselves right!
One last thing.. Coach said that tere would be an important
announcement about Nationals... I'm really scared! Oh did I tell you that I'll be back in time from my physical therapist to compete? Unfortunately, I'll not
have time to train before Natioanls so I'll probably finish last, and I
might be too drained to do any of the press interviews that there are, but I
guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Wish me luck at the meet!!
Britt
July 16 #2
Ok. So, Sarah is having surgery for the next 10 days. I was
going to be really lonely in my room so I mentioned that in the locker room
and Jennie invited me to stay in her room with her and Danielle since they
have a futon. That will be so much fun, like a sleepover! I'm so
excited!
Also, Cameron and Kelly's snake Lester has been loose the last few
days. I found him in Sarah's bed this morning! Well you can bet I tried to
catch him but he slitehred into the bathroom. (Don't tell Sarah though, she
might get grossed out!) Anyway, when I was showering later, he decided to
join me! I screamed sooo loud! I like Lester and all but not in the
shower! But he was finally captured and Cameron said she would tell him he
wasn't welcomed in the shower with me any more!
The other day, I forgot to tell you, I went to the mall with Marina. I
got these really cute shoes. They're pink and white Sketcher sneakers.
Marina got this cute shirt and another one for her little sister. I would've
got one similar to hers but I ran out of money! Ooops!
Til later,
Brittany
July 16
Oh my gosh, so much to say today! I didn't write yesterday,
or do anything yesterday for that matter because I felt really awful. I knew
that if I tried to work out I wouldn't be able to make it through the whole
thing and then have to stop, and it would've made me inable to do it at all
today. I didn't do the dance workout yesterday either... oops. Anyway, I
feel so much better today, and I had a great workout with lots of energy!
So, next, the intersquad. Oh my gosh! We won! It's so nice to win
again! We got a 187.025 to Tigers 186.230. Jennie got first, and then Arika,
and then Eva, and then Emily, and then ME! I finished 5th! That's the
highest I've finished since like last year, if not the highest ever! I got a
37.675 and Jennie got a 37.975. I got only .3 lower than the 1st place
finisher, and I finished 5th! Oh my gosh how exciting!
Next... the upcoming meet. Remember how I wanted to compete in the
North American Gym Festival? Well Coach said she'd send the top 20 or
whatever people to that and the CVGI camp. I wanted to go to that Gym Festival, and I get to! How exciting! The camp would've been fun, but I'd rather go to an actual meet. Arika, Cameron, Jennie, Eva and Emily are going with me. I'm so excited! We have a training day tomorrow, and the meet starts
the day after! How exciting!
That's all for now,
Brittany
July 14
I can't really think of much to say today. Anyhow, the
intersquad
is tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous just because I always tend to do bad
at
meets for some reason. Althogh, I guess I've been pretty steady with
my 8th
place at the last few intersquads, and like I've said I'm perfectly
happy
with that. Although I have a feeling this one will be different.
Did I tell you about my last meet? The Squamish Invitational? I think
I
did... anyway it was so pretty there! It was in the Rocky Mountains in
Canada... it was so pretty! I've never seen snow before, but there was
a
little there. I never saw snow because I lived in Atlanta all my life
until
Topo, and I wasn't here during the winter. Anyway, I saw it on the
ground.
Boy, it's strange! But I still have yet to see it actually fall!
Anyway, I guess that's all there is to say for now.
Brittany
July 12
You know what, I hate how this happens. I always pick the
worst times to slack off! Seriously! The intersquad is Sunday. Anyhow, I
feel like I'm slacking lately! Today is the final day of the Squamish
Invitationl. It wasn't a really big meet... we were the only sr elite
team, so we won! :) I didn't qualify for the AA finals though. Not that
that's a major suprise. Whatever!
Cameron and Kelly lost Lester! I have no idae where he is but isn't
that weird to think that you might be sleeping and a snake will randomly
come and slither on your bed and wake you up? Luckily I'm not home yet but I'm
on the plane home and I'm going to sleep there and that would just be so
weird! Although, maybe that's the answer to their question. Maybe he's
hiding in the bed of one of us who isn't there. I better remember to check my
bed very carefully before I go to sleep!
I'm not sure if Sarah is there. I'm pretty sure she's away at a
different meet. It's kind of lonely being the only one in there. I'm always
used to sharing a room with somebody- whether it be one of my siblings or
another gymnast, it's lonely when they're not there!
Oh well, I'm going to take a nap and hopefully be back soon!
Brittany
July 10 #2
Today is the first day of my meet- the Squamish Invitational. I'm kind of nervous just because of my inconsistencies lately, but unfortunately there's not really anything I can do for that. So I'm just going to try to keep my head high and be confident and hopefully I'll do well.
I also just realized that private lessons don't help our rankings. Not that
that really matters, but I didn't know that!
I think I might be hanging out with a few of the girls from the gym later
this weekend or something, hopefully I'll be home! Hehe, I made plans a few
days ago and didn't realize I wouldn't be here then! Oops!
Well, I guess that's really all there is to say for now!
Brittany
July 10
Ok. So I was really tired in my workout today, especially on beam, and then I had a 3 hour private workout on beam. FUN FUN FUN! not. but the reason I was so tired is because I stayed up until like 12:30 last night.
See, the team meeting staretd at 10. Krista, Jennie, Keshira, Marina, Arika, Emily, Sarah, Morgan, and of course Coach Lois were there. I had so much fun! I stayed there for 2 hours and like 15 minutes! It was so awesome to talk to all these people! I never really got a chance to talk to some of them btu we had so much fun! They are all so awesome! I hope this is a start of a long friendship with all of them!
The funniest thing was... Coach Lois left and had told us that if anyone came lat to have them leave her a note. So Morgan came late, and like as soon as she came in someone told her that. So then like 20 minutes
later she was like "So what do I have to do to let Coach Lois know I was
here?" and like immediately after, Coach Lois came in! We were all hysterical, it was so funny! And at first Coach Lois was all confused and wondering why we
all burst out laughing when she came in but then someone explained it to
her. It was soo funny!
We talked about if we should re-join the IFGA. We had some people taht said they thought we should and some people that didn't. I don't think we actually came to a decision. It's kind of a hard one!
Anyway, I guess that's all for now!
Brittany
July 9
Today I was pretty tired in my workout. I didn't really get much accomplished.. But coach said there are 2 things coming up and the top 18
people are going to go to both. One is a meet between the USA (Topo gets to
send a team to represent), Mexico and Canada. That is what I'd prefer to go
to. And the other is a camp to work on routines for the new code. You know
me, I love camps but I'm really starting to LOVE all these meets! This hard
work really is paying off in that respect, even if I don't do so well in the
meet, think of all the people that could've gone instead of me and Coach
Lois chose me! That's an accomplishment in itself!
I don't remember if I already told you but Keshira is back and she is in our
squad. That's cool.
There's a team meeting tonight. I think I might forget but I hope I don't!
I love team meetings, they're so much fun! Everyone is always tired and wants to go to bed and they're just so funny!
I guess that's all for now... Til later,
Brittany
July 8 #2
So a few days ago Coach Lois hung this new banner up that says Topopolilly: where winning isn't everything. I think that's very appropriate, considering how obsessive some people have become lately. Winning definitely isn't everything. I mean in our own time we sulk that we didn't win and whatnot but we are such a great team, and we are all so good together. In my opinion that's what Topo is really all about!
In other news... since Alyssa left, Keshira Smith is coming back. I think
we might've hung out a few times way back when. She's nice if I remember
correctly...
The shopping expedition was soo much fun! Moranda and Arika came too. Arika drove her blue Mustang convertible. That is a NICE car. I called shotty so I got to ride in the front. Oh my gosh, what a nice car! Speaking of cars, I probably will need one soon, considering I'll be 16 in November! I don't know what kind I want... I know I won't get a convertible or anything like that, but a nice Honda or Nissan or Toyota would be nice. Well, that's too long away to worry about now.
Anyway, Krista, Jess, Emily, me, Marie, Marissa, Sarah, Jennie, Moranda and
Arika was the final "crew" that went shopping. Fun stuff! I personally had
a blast, I think they all did too.
We have a team meeting tomorrow at 10 pm. I need to remember that, can't forget!
Til later,
Britt
July 8
Ok, so first things first: the intersquad. Remember this was the one vs. the Moscow girls. Their teams finished 1-2, then Tiger, and then us. We got 185.400 and the first place team got 188.225. I finished 16th AA, with a 37.225 (9.275 on vault, 9.650 on bars, 9.150 on beam and floor). I was 3rd on our squad. Sarah got 9th with a 37.525 and Arika got 13th with a 37.300. I guess that makes me feel better to knwo that Sarah, who finished 7 places ahead of me, only had .3 higher. I was the 8th highest Topo place! Big suprise there!!
Ok... also... today my workout was decent. A bit better than yesterday but
still not great. I was still having problems with my consistency. We only
had a brief floor and bars workout, so I did 20 routines on each during my
private workout. And today I had my first normal dance workout on a Monday.
It was better than the last one, I only had a FEW problems this time. Rissa is so funny. She had told me that she doesn't really like ballet but likes jazz and hip hop, but she was so good at the ballet! Sooo much better than I am!
In other news... Alyssa left. She was on our squad. So we will be getting
a new squad mate soon. It would be really cool if it was someone most of us
already know from Kimball Park, but I guess it would be cool if it was someone new also. I didn't really ever meet Alyssa...
You know who I want to get to know better? Marina. She seems really nice.
I'd like to get to know her. Of course you know me, I want to be friends
with everyone! But some people just don't seem to like me too much.
At the Topo shop today I bought the newest IFGA magazine (this should be interesting considering all the problems they've been having recently. I wonder what the magazine will have in it. Maybe pictures of my teammates!)
And of course I bought a new Topo outfit: more mesh shorts (navy blue ones),
a tank top (white), and white flip flops. I'm wearing it now. It's so awesome!
Til later,
Brittany
July 7 #2
Ok, so I think we are all going shopping tomorrow. This is who is going so far: Krista, Jess, Emily, Me, Marie, Marissa, Sarah, and Jennie. And that is only so far! Did I ever tell you how much I totally love these giant Topo shopping expeditions?
I think I want to get a light purple shirt and a black skirt to wear to the
ceremony. And maybe some black flip flops? Ooh and I need to make my weekly trip to the Topo shop tomorrow. I absolutely love getting Topo outfits. They are so cute! I wear them all the time around... Topo tank tops and Topo mesh shorts and flip flop sandals. I think they should start selling Topo flip flops! Anyway, I love wearing those outfits, I probably look like such a dork though, oh well! I'm proud of who I am! :)
Til later,
Brittany
July 7
Guess what! I get to compete in another meet! I'm so psyched, it's called the Squamish Invitational. I'm on the senior team with Arika, Cameron and Amanda. The junior team is Jessica, Ling, Marissa and Vada. It's 4-4-4 and from Wednesday the 10th to Friday the 12th. And then on Sunday the 14th is the next intersquad. I really love having intersquads each weekend!
Oh, so anyway, the meet is 4-4-4 with team and AA and 3 gymnasts per gym can
qualify to the AA finals. I'm so excited! I'd absolutely love to go to the
AA finals and medal in a meet! But hey, beggars can't be choosers. I know
I will get to do that eventually!
I had a really energetic workout today. Not necessarily a GOOD one but I
had a lot of energy during the whole thing, so I'm happy about that at least. I'm just so annoyed with all these inconsistencies I've been having lately. I didn't really know I was so inconsistent until like a few weeks ago! I never really had problems with it before then but now I can't seem to get the problems to stop! I don't know if its nerves under pressure or what, but I'm going to try to get my nerves to calm down a little. I'm trying to put pressure on myself in the workouts and hopefully that will help!
Til later,
Brittany
July 6 #2
Ok, so I was talking to Marissa before, she is so cool! I totally understand why everyone likes her so much! And she has the coolest fashion sense! We were talking about clothes to wear to the HOF induction and she said she'll probably wear a jean skirt and sneakers and an O'Niell (?) shirt. She said they asked her to sponsor them but she won't because she wants to keep her NCAA eligibility. I wish I thought things out ahead of time like that! That is a really good quality to have! Anyway, I'm so glad I got to talk to her, hopefully we'll get to talk more and be friends! I also talked to Jess a little, and I talked to Alana on-line. She is so awesome too! We had a lot to talk about! I'm really excited that I talked to so many cool people today, because you know how I am with my self-consiousness!
Also, Marie and Marissa (so far) are going to come shopping with us. I love these big shopping and whatnot expeditions we have! They are so much fun!
Oh! And one of the KP girls was saying that she wants to come to the HOF induction and I mean I don't really know but I don't think it will be a problem, I can't see why it would be! I'm excited, becuase I'll get to meet them for real!
But I'm still upset about the whole Nationals situation. I don't knwo what I'm going to do! Probably end up missing Nationals again, I guess. There will be other meets... :-/
Brittany
July 6
I had a pretty bad workout today, to be completely honest. Nothing was very consistent. FLoor was bad, and beam was good. How often does that happen? I just realized that one of my biggest problems is that I am so inconsistent!
Jess and Jennie are getting inducted into the Hall of Fame later in the month. I'm so excited for them! I'm going shopping next week to get a new outfit to wear to the ceremony.
Oh, and get this. Nationals are on August 17. I'm not going to BE here that whole week! I'm so upset! That's when I have to go see my physical therapist in Atlanta. I won't get to compete! Maybe we can make some kind of othe arrangements, but I'm not going to hold my breath. I'm so angry about that! I'm pretty sure the same thing happened last year! And when I got back I saw that they had press conferences and stuff. I've never had a press conference! And I missed that Opilly newspaper interview a few months ago. Ugh I have such bad luck with this stuff!
Brittany
July 5
Today I talked to some of the Russian girls. It was so interesting to learn about their culture! When we actually went to visit them, I wasn't quite myself so I didn't really think about it and didn't really talk to them much. But now that they are here I am so intrigue to hear about their lives! I know I've met people from other countires before, but it's really interesting to listen to these girls! Their lives are totally different from ours! They have it so much harder than we do. The big thing we really have in common is our gymnastics thoguh. We all absolutely love it. It's so interesting to know the stories behind the faces though! You see gymnasts from all over at meets and stuff and all you see is their amazing ability and focus. You never really stop to think that someo f them are too poor to afford more than one pair of shoes, or to go to the amusement parks! It's sad but very strange to think about, I think!
Also, today I had my second dance class. We all had it today, and it was
really funny. Some of the girls were like, falling over each other when we
tried to do this pirouetting skill for floor. Oh gosh, it was funny! I had
a pretty bad dance class though I wasn't as flexibile as usual and had absolutely no rythym and not much balance today. I was soo glad when it was
finally over!!
Brittany
July 4
Happy 4th of July! I think most of us kind of forgot that today was the day the girls form Russia arrived, so even though we had our own plans we had to do what was already planned for us! First we had an extra long workout (6:30-10:30) with the Russian girls. It was really cramped, but it reminded me of being at a camp or something.. where there are lots of people and not enough equipment... it was really fun!
Then we had free time in the afternoon and a 2 hour maximum afternoon workout (that's not something you hear often-2 hour MAXIMUM workout! haha, usually they say at LEAST 2 hours!) and a camp out! It is really fun! I'm at the camp grounds now. We're having meat and potatoes for dinner and s'mores for desert. I've never really been camping before, but I'll tell you something... I LOVE s'mores!
Brittany
July 3 #2
I'm starting to feel better about myself and my situation. Sarah said that everyone chats at night and thats how come they all know each other so well, for the most part. I had no idea, so I'm really excited about that!
My private lesson was quite a lot better than my regular workout today, so
I'm in a better mood because of that.
Also, I met this girl Alana DeBrinski from Kimball Park and she's really
nice and maybe we can get to be friends, so that's exciting! And I went
into Kelly and Cameron's dorm today to see the snake Lester and I had so
much fun hanging out with them! And then a bunch of us (Arika, Sarah, Marina, Kelly and I) went to get in some extra conditioning. We had a bunch of contests... I lost all of them but oh well! I like conditioning because
it makes me feel very healthy and in shape!
Brittany
July 3
Tomorrow is the 4th of July. We're having a little party-thing. I think it should be really fun! I have these really cute little star (there are all different colors but naturally we're using the red white and blue ones) hair gem things.. you know with the velcro on them? There are 2 of each color so Vada is going to use the other ones.
I did soooo bad at the EVGA dual! Our team came in 3rd/3 with a 184.200. I
finished dead last (even though I only competed in 2 events) with a 17.775.
I got an 8.825 on beam and a 8.950 on floor. Bleck!
I had a horrible workout today. The only part that was good was on bars.
I'm going to run through my routines and vaults in my private lesson, hopefully that will be better!
Dance class started today. We are in groups... my group is group A, Cameron, Moranda, Amanda, Danielle, and Marissa. We have class on Mondays and Fridays. Since it just started today we had our first class today instead with group C. I'm really glad to be in a dance group with these people because I've never really met any of them except Moranda, way back when!
There were some more changes in the points system. I understand it now, and
hopefully people won't be as upset about this one. A lot of people were really upset before so hopefully they'll like this better!
Yesterday I realized I've never met like half of the girls here. I put a
message on the message board about that... so hopefully that will work out
well, because I feel like I don't have any friends here and that upsets me!
Wow, that was a mouthful!
Till later,
Brittany
July 2 #2
I just realized... and it made me really sad... that I don't really know too many people here that well. There are all these people who are best friends.. and I feel very left out. There are quite a few people who I don't know if I've ever even really talked to. Nobody calls me their best friend... I feel like I have no friends. Tia, who is one of the "new people" has tons of friends already but I don't think I do. Is something wrong with me?
Brittany
July 2
I get to compete in the EVGA dual! Coach sent the winning squad and the top 6 people not on that squad from the last intersquad! Yay! I'm really excited!
Our squad finished last at that meet though! Wow! I think before that the
lowest we finished was 2nd! Eek!
And Krista is back! I'm so excited! I haven't talked to her yet but I'm so
glad she's back!
Til later,
Brittany
June 30
Today is the last day of June! I had so much fun at the US Challenge, I really CAN'T WAIT to do it again! (Meaning compete)
Coach Lois changed the ranking system. Some people are really upset by
it and some people really like it. I personally don't really care either
way. I never knew how she was ranking us before and this new system is kind
of confusing to me, so whatever!
Till later,
Brittany
June 29
Today is the 2nd and final day of the US Challenge. Im so glad I finally got to compete in my first major non-dual, non-intersquad meet! Tonight after everything is done we are flying back to Topo. I'm kind of sad but hey, that's life. I hope I get to compete a lot more soon!
Britt
June 28
I got 8th in the intersquad. Not bad, not too great, but I'm telling you it's exactly where I belong! I guess that's good for consistency though. Although I don't know how much the people above me changed, but nonetheless that's good consistency!
After the intersquad, we boarded the plane and are flying right now to the
US Challenge. Sorry if this is messy, but it's kinda hard to write in this
airplane. It's a little turbulent.
Anyway, the US Challenge starts tonight! I'm so nervous but I think my routines will be solid. Wish me luck!
Brittany
June 27
Eek! Tomorrow is the US Challenge! I've been waiting so long for this, I'm soo excited! Also we have an intersquad tomorrow, which is always fun. Honestly I'm hoping to move up a few places from my 8th last time, but like I already said I'm satisfied totally with 8th. For some reason I feel like I'm going to move DOWN, but we'll see! Wish me luck!
Brittany
June 26
Toady is my last regular day of training before the meet. Tomorrow is my training day FOR the meet. In the intersquad, the pet power one, I came in 2nd with the team and 8th AA. I am fairly happy with the 8th. its much better than 2nd to last like last time! I've been working hard and I see it's been paying off. I know I'll never finish 2nd again so 8thi s good for me, in fact I think it's right where I belong. I could never really compete with Jennie and Eva and Vada and Jess, etc, for the top spots for an extended period of time so that one time was awesome but I know I could never really get that again, and I'm fine with that. I know I'm not as good as them, and I honestly think around 8th place is where I belong! :)
Brittany
June 25
I had a totally awesome workout today. All of my events were totally awesome, even beam with my 1 armed bh. My meet is in a few days and I'm totally psyched for it! I CAN'T WAIT for my meet! WHOO HOO!
Brittany
June 22
Today is the Pet Power Intersquad. We are in Ohio now and I am at the festival. It is so much fun! There are tons of activities and so many
cute animals around! I just want them all! The meet starts in like 8
hours... I'll write again afterwards!
Britt
June 21
Today is the Pet Pwer Intersquad. I'm really excited! Especially because I hope I can do well because Ive been slacking and doing badly in meets. Wello, wish me luck!
Britt
June 20
Did I tell you about how awful I did at that meet? Ugh! I'd rather not think about it! Anyway a while ago I was selected to compete in a meet which is in like... a week or so so I'm very excited! I am working really hard from now on, or actually from yesterday on. Because when I finished 2nd at that intersquad... I was amazed, I didn't know I could do that well but now that I do know, I won't settle for finishing below 10th!
Britt
June 19
EEK, I did awful in Moscow! I placed second to last individually and our team placed last but that was my fault. The rest of the girls were like in the top 10 and I was second to last :( I'm really depressed but I know it's my own fault. I was totally slacking last week and it really shows. I am going to work so much harder from now on thought. Well, no that's not really true. I am going to work as hard as I did when I came back in May. Because I'm not going to overexert myself and end up pulling a muscle or something, I'm just going to work hard and I know it will pay off.
Britty
June 18
Our squad mascot is the Butterflies. I don't really like that... it's too prissy in my opinion but that's ok :) At least it promotes unity. And the colors are purple and gray, that's cute. And the squad rosters got switched around a little, I'm not sure why. My squad is now: Amanda, Arika, Sarah, Moranda, Alyssa and I.
Britty
June 15
Sorry It's been so long since I last wrote. I've been a slacker again altely, but I know I will get better starting NOW. We're in Moscow and we have the meet tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous but I think it should be ok. We went to the Smirnov Ballet today and saw Swan Lake. It was sooo awesome, Ive never seen a ballet before!
Britt
June 7
I've been slacking a lot lately! We finished second in the itnersquad.... well, I'll write more later!
Britt
June 1
I've been slacking off the last few days. I'm really hopign
it
won't hurt my chances in the intersquad tomorrow but I highly doubt
that!
Til later,
Britty
May 28
Moranda is back! I never got to know her too well when I was
here before but we hung out once or twice and she was really nice so I'm
really excited. She is in Tia's room and on our squad. There was also a
picture of me in the scrapbook so I'm pretty excited about that! I still can't
believe it.. SECOND! Wow! I called Lindsay right after that and she
was so happy for me she said she would come out and visit but we'll see.
Also, Jason took me out to celebrate that last night. We went to go
get ice cream. I got a non-fat yogurt thing but it was still pretty good. He's
so nice!
Til later,
Britt
May 27
Oh my gosh I have soo much to say! First I bougth the cutest
Topo outfit today: grey mesh shorts, a red tank top and these cute red flip
flops. I think it's the cutest outfit! Ok, anyway I also bought this
awesome lipgloss and these cute hairclips and this really nice body
spray at the Topo shop today.
And... I am going to compete in the IFGA US Challenge which is June
28-30! It's and individual competition, hosted by Outback Gym, and Tia and
Morgan are also going. I'm sooo excited! I really wanted to compete in a big
meet with many gyms and this is it! I'm sooo excited!
Next.. the intersquad! We won again!! 223.615 to Lilly's 222.825.
AND... and this is the best part in my opinion (: Tia won with a 38.000... and
I got second!!! I got a 37.750 and I got 2nd in the whole gym! You
don't understand how excited I am! I am so intimidated by at least half of
the girls ehre... I never thought I could even come close to them and I
beat them! Don't get me wrong, I love them all like sisters but I never
thought I would beat them and I did! I am soo excited right now!
And, coach Lois told us that a reporter from Indianapolis wants to do a
story on our squad! How exciting!! I can't wait! THis has been the
BEST WEEKEND!
Til later,
Britt
May 26 #2
Yeah, so I'm competing in the Dual against Snowflake, at
Snowflake
today, with Tia, Sarah and Amanda. My first meet since coming back to
Topo!
I'm soooo excited, I hope I do really well! There are teams for
other
meets supposed to be announced soon... I really hope I can go to one of
those too. Duals are fun but I'd really love to go to a big meet with
lots
of gyms!
Til later,
Britt
May 26
I get to compete! Whoo hoo! I was really excited to find that out! I'll write more later!
Britt
May 24
We still haven't found out who is going to the Dual at
Snowflake this weekend! AHH! i really hope i get selected to be on the actual
team as opposed to an alternate, but I Guess either way is an
accomplishment. Hopefully we will find out soon! Wish me luck!
Britt
May 23
Hey, today is the day when the team for that meet is
announced.
Cross your fingers! I've been working really hard since I got here and
hopefully this will be my first chance to really have it pay off! It's
only
late morning now though. I just finished my workout and now I'm just
kind
of wandering around HOPING that the selection will be posted soon
because I
really don't know how much longer I can wait in suspense like
this!
Til
later,
Britt
May 22
Our squad notes today said that since we won the intersquad on
Saturday 4 of us will get to represent Topo in this meet that's coming
up. Coach said she'll take the top 4 and the other 2 will be alternates.
I'm really hoping that I'm one of the top 4 because being an alternate
isn't bad but I'd really loev to be on a team and compete! Wish me luck, we find out tomorrow!
Brittany
May 21
Today my workout went really really well. I have my routines
all pretty much set and I think they went very well today. I'm really
excited, I hope I get to compete soon!
Did I tell you about that guy Jason? He called me today, he said he
wants to go to the movies on Saturday and asked if I could go. I totally
want to unless something else is going on!
Britt
May 19
We had our intersquad yesterday... Opilly came in 1st! :)
WHOO HOO! We got a 220.615 to Pop's 219.53. I personally came in 10th out of 24 with a score of 36.400. Not too bad, next time I definitely want to try to be top 5 but top 10 isn't bad. Most of my routiens are almost set, so I'm excited about that. Vault is ready... I'm doing a Layout Cuervo and working towards a Layout Rudi, and also a Double-twisting Yurchenko. So, that should be good. Also, Krista is visiting so that's cool too. I would have to say she
was my best friend the first time around and I definitely miss her but it's good that she's visiting!
Britty
May 17
Thigns are going well. I had a much better workout today than
yesterday, my flexibility was much improved. I can totally feel it...
THIS
is my year!
Britt
May 16
I'm a little upset with my flexibility, but other than that my
workout today was decent. I had my first official squad workout, I am
on the opilly squad... Sarah Torrence is my roommate... I met her when I
used to be here! Well, I had put this journal away after I left Topo
because I was so upset and couldn't bare to read all the stuff I wrote when I was here... it really is an amazing place! Anyway, Andy and I broke up a
while ago. I'm single as for now but there is this guy Jason that I kind of
am interested in.. I think he might like me too
Brittany
May 15
I'm back at Topo! Yesterday was officially the first day back
but
I was really busy unpacking, etc. Just wanted to write before I forgot
to,
more later!
Britt
November 17
I am still trying to find out what happened to Shannon...
Anyway, Andy and I went to get a donut. That's about it.
Till later,
Britty
November 16
Not much to say, just wanted to check in.
Britt
November 15
La la. I haven't talked to anyone or checked my mail in a few
days. But today I workedo n ly on beam and bars, and I bought a Topo
sweatshirt and flannel pants to use as pajamas in the winter. I'd
really like to know what happened to Shannon...
Brittany
November 12
Well, today is my birthday. Let's see if anyone remembers.
Anyway, Aunt Rachel took me to the mall and bought me some cool stuff to
celebrate. So, I'm 15 now. Cool.
Brittany
November 11
Tomorrow is my birthday!! Eek! :) Anyway I'm kind of sad
cause it's not on the calender. Everyone in late October had their
birthdays on the calender so everyone said happy birthday to them. Nobody
will remember tomorrow is mine. :(
Anyway Andy and I went ice skating today, and it was really fun!
Brittany
November 10
Today was a good day. Andy and I wentr out for hot
chocolate... and I bought a really pretty body spray at the Topo shop. I guess
that's all there really is to say though... except I moved up into 16th
from yesterday! Coolness!
Brittany
November 9
I just keep slipping down in the rankings! i'm 19th now..
eek! Ahead of a trial member! That can't be good! Anyway Allison took
me and Andy to the mall today. He bought me a flower, how sweet! And I
bought this really ute Topo sweatshirt at thegym shop.... ah! it's so
cute!
brittany
November 3
Not much to say today. I was feeling pretty lazy so I only
did a required workout. Andy also took me to get lunch. :)
Brittany
November 1
Happy November! My birthday is coming up soon :-D Anyway,
today Andy and I went on a "date"... we went to dinner. It was so much
fun! We got dressed up and he paid for me and... oh I love that kid
he's so adorable! And he's so sweet!
Brittany
October 29
Today was really fun! I did my workouts, yada yada yada, then
I went to Kat + Allie's house because yesterday they decided they were
goind to give me a "make over" for my "date" with Andy tonight. So
they put all this make up on me and curled my hair and stuff. It felt
weird but I like the way it looked. And then I went to the movies with
Andy and he said I looked really pretty! Ahh he is so sweet!
Brittany
October 28
I went to the mall with Lara today. It was really fun! And then Eva
invited me to their room to watch a movie, that was really fun!
TTYL!
Britt
October 26
Today was fun. Tomorrow Lara and I are going to the mall.
Fun fun! :-D Anyway today I decided that I really want to work hard on
my vaults so that I can nail them every time. I'm not going to change
them for the new code, I don't think, so that would work really
well.
Britt
October 25
Hey, things are going pretty well. I got a letter abck from
Lindsay! I'll have to write back now...
Things are going really well with Andy! He asked me out again! :-D
It's really graet, cause I still really liked him and it's not like we
ever actually broke up, we just kind of drifted apart but now it's all
good!
We're going to his house today to hang out. It's kind of a bad day out
so we aren't going to do anything outside. We could go get ice cream
except I think I'm going again with Krista this weekend and we already
went a few days ago so that is more than enough in one week!... Oops!
It's soo addicting though!
Also, I've been conditioning with Sarah for the last few days. You
would be amazed to know how much funner it is to condition with someone
else! AMAZED!
well, till later,
Britt
October 22
Wow! I'm 10th in the rankings! Thats the highest in a long
time! My goal is to break the top 5 and then I'll be satisfied, but I'd
prefer to stay in the top 10 or 12... preferably top 8 but whatever
works.
I started working on new routines today... yikes! That's all there is
to say for that.
Brittany
October 20
Wow, I haven't written in a really long time. Sorry abotu
that. I've been really working hard lately trying to pick up the slack.
Not until I started slacking and dropping in the rankings, and losing
some of what I had before did I realize just how far I'd come since I
came to Topo. I slacked for about the last month and after I looked at
some old tapes and stuff, I realized how much I've improved since I came
to Topo.
In other news, Andy and I kind of grew apart. But we're friends again
now, good friends actually, and we MIGHT go out again. I still like
him a lot but I dont know if he likes me that way anymore. Oh well..
hopefully I'll have soem good news about that very soon!
Brittany
September 22
Things are starting to seem more normal today. World Trials
are today. i'm not even hoping to make it. I'll try my best but I've
been pretty bad about working out lately. If trials were held 2 months
ago Id' think I had a good shot but as of right now Id be a REALLY long
shot.
Britt
August 9
Hey, not much to say. Just didn't want
to go without writing! I think Moranda & I are
going to the mall on Sat, so that should be fun!
Andy and I went to the public pool today.. I am
really starting to like him a LOT!
Til
later,
Britty
August 8
Hey, I am still 6th in the rankings as of August 2.
I'm really excited for the Hall of Fame induction
cermony. I wonder who will get inducted! I know I
won't, I didn't even think of that, but I wonder
who! Some of the girls are already in it that are
still here, and that's so cool that there are living
Topo HOF members!
The Kimball Park gymnasts have been around and they
are all really nice! They all have tons of
potential and I can't wait to be teammates with some
of them!
There is a roommate intersquad coming up soon, so
that will be fun! Shannon and I don't talk too
much, but I still think we'd make a great team!
Speaking of which, maybe I should write her a
note.
Til later,
Brittany
August 6
Hey! The rankings were updated up to August 1, and
I moved up to 6th I think as of then, so that's
cool!
There is going to be an intersquad on
the 11th, so that's cool also! AND I bought the
cutest Topo tank top today! That's all!
Til later
Britt
August 5
Sorry I didn't write yesterday. I was really
preoccupied and only got around to doing my regular
workout, which coincidentally I did the pre-meet
workout for. Anyway, still don't know about the
rankings. Coach said to look for updates tonight,
I'm not sure to what, but maybe to the rankings.
> Til later,
> Brittany
August 3
I wrote a whole bunch of letters to the girls in the gym last night so
hopefully I'll get some today. Ih aven't checked my mail yet. I did
check
the rankings though (not updated yet), the announcements (nothing new)
and
the squad notes (nothing new there either).
I met some of the Kimball Park girls yesterday... Kimball Park is a gym that is for girls waiting to get into Topopolilly I guess, and when there is an opening they take the top gymnast from KP, so I understand.
Anyway, off to check the mail!
Til later,
Britt
August 2
Hey. I'm a bit tired lately, I think I need to go to bed early
tonight.
Rankings still haven't been updated, so I can't say where I am right
now. I
hope I didn't slip at all!
Well, not much to say for now.
Til later,
Britt
August 1
I was still 8th in the rankings as of yesterday. I
guess I'm going to have to work even harder to move
up again. But I guess being 8th is ok, especially
if I'm working this hard, because it means everyone
above me is working even harder!
Guess what! I'm going to compete in another meet! It's called the Tropical Storms Gym Tropical Island Playground and its 4-4-4 and it's in Orlando! The other girls going are Amanda Williams, Danielle Bain and Keshira Smith. It's on August 6 and our bus leaves for the airport at noon on the 5th.
AAH! I'm so excited! I've always wanted to go to an away meet and I've already gone to 1, and I'm going to another very soon!
Well, gotta go!
Til later,
Britt
July 31
Hey... I slipped to 8th in the rankings as of
Sunday.. that was kind of a big drop! I hope I go
back up! Anyway, I'm at the Trix meet... in
AUSTRALIA! I'm here with Vada, Jennie and Carolyn.
I hope we do well! I'm so excited to be here!
Well, I've gotta go to my workouts and stuff.
Until later,
Britt
July 30
Hey. Not much to say lately... things have seemed a bit slow and
lifeless
around here... we need a team meeting I think!
Well, I guess I'd better check my squad notes in case there's anything new!
Til later,
Britt
July 29
Hey. As of yesterday I was 5th in the rankings :) I'm probably going
to
slip a few after today though cause I was very tired so I only did my
retired workout (and a very simple one at that).
Well, I guess that's all.
Until tomorrow,
Brittany
July 28
Hey.. I did tons of work on bars today cause Coach Terrin commented
that we
didn't do so well on bars in the meet at TSGA, so I did tons of work on
bars. I was in 6th in the rankings as of yesterday so that's great
that I
didn't slip that much after missing that workout.
Well, I think that's all for now.
Til later,
Britt
July 27
Hey. Not much has happened today, I don't really have much to say. I
AM
feeling better though, so that's good. Umm.. I think that's all for
now!
Til later,
Britt
July 26 #3
Hey I just remembered somethign I forgot to tell you. I think I
mentioned
that Reach for the Sky meet? Well, I got bronze on floor! Cool!
Well, that's all for now!
Until later,
Britt
July 26 #2
Hey! The Dual is done. Our juniors did great (they won 115.634 to
114.392
and had 3 of the highest 4 top AA scores in their meet)! We (the
seniors)
didn't do as well though... we lost 117.330 to 113.501.. I mean, we
didn't
do bad except my 8.999 on bars, that was the only score not above a
9.1, but
I guess ours were generally lower than the TSGA girls.
My scores were 9.930 on vault (wow!), 8.999 on bars (I fell off), 9.375 on beam (I'm very happy with that on beam!) and 9.870 on floor (very happy with that also!) and a 38.174 all-around (I would've liked to get closer to a 38.5 but oh well!).. which managed to get me silver on vault, 6th on bars, 5th on beam, bronze on floor, and 4th AA. I would've liked to place higher than 6th on bars, but oh well!
This is what the report said:
Brittany Maddux was Topopolilly's highest ranked senior (4th AA).
Brittany
really showed everyone what she could do! Brittany medaled on 2 events
(silver on vault and bronze on floor) and came 6th on bars (due to
a fall on her pak salto), and 5th on beam.
(Just a few wobbles and hands down on
her full twisting bh).
Well, that's all for now I guess!
Until later,
Brittany
July 26
Eek! I didn't write yesterday! But then again I didn't do much of
anything
yesterday. I found out at 4:30 am that I was going to the Dual at TSGA
(which I'm VERY excited about) and our plane left at 8 am. I was
really
tired so I didn't do anything at all yesterday! I felt so awful about
it,
but I didn't workout or anything until I got to TSGA.
Umm.. the other girls here are Cameron Noon, Jennie Ray, Eva Volatil, Vada Ranimilo, and Amanda Williams... There's 3 senior elites (Cameron, Jennie and me) and 3 junior elites (Eva, Vada and Amanda)
As of the 24th I was in 5th in the rankings! Wow! I think that's the highest I've ever been! Of course I'll probably slip considerably after my stupidity from yesterday, but oh well I guess.
I did tons of workouts today in order to get ready for the meet, hope it pays off!
OH YEAH! In the Intersquad on the 23rd, our team came in 2nd to the
pop
squad, 3rd place was a mix of the opilly and tiger squads because each
of
them was only half a squad so they combined. I had the highest highest
beam, floor, and all-around scores! WOW! i can't believe that. This
is
exactly what the report said:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ SECOND PLACE ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
LILLY SQUAD!!
14-year old Brittany Maddux posted the meet's highest beam, floor, and
all-around scores, keeping her head comfortable in second place.
Caitlyn
Beckett, Eva Volatil, and Vada Ranimilo made up the rest of the squad.
Cool, huh?
Well, that's all for now!
Until later,
Brittany
July 24
Hey! I'm feeling quite better today! There's an intersquad today..
I'm
really excited! I hope I do well! There's also a dual tomrrow at
Tropical
Storms Gymnastics Academy. The coaches haven't announced the team to
the
best of my knowledge.. I'd really like to go but I'm not counting on it
because I just went to a dual! I really cai't wait until my first not
home
dual though!
Well, that's all for now I think!
Until later,
Britt
July 23
Hey. I'm feeling quite a bit better, which is good. I worked out very
hard
today and did a LOT on beam, especially in my extra workout, and worked
tons
on dance so hopefully I can do well tomorrow in the intersquad. Wish
me
luck!
Rankings were updated as of Thursday (the 19th) and I was in 7th!
Andy took me out for ice cream today. I had this kind of ice cream that had strawberries in it and was low fat ice cream. It was really good! That's the first time I've had ice cream in a very long time!
That's all for now!
Until later,
Brittany
July 22 #2
Hey again. The doctor said it's just a bug and there is nothing he can
do
about it, he reccomended I drink a lot and eat popsicles or my throat
will
probably start to hurt along with the nausea. So, I'm going to get a
popsicle as soon as I finish writing this.
Workouts been pretty good. The rankings still haevn't been updated, and i'm really getting anxious to know where I fall. The gym shop is closed because it's under construction so aunt Rachel gave me a travel size bottle of shampoo because I needed some more.
Well, I guess that's all. Off to get the popsicle!
Until later,
Britt
July 22
Hey. I'm feeling kind of sick again today. I don't know what it is...
Aunt
Rachel is taking me to the doctor, I'll let you know what he says. I
really
hope it'll just pass because we have an intersquad on Tuesday and I
really
want to do well, especially after the last disastrous meet!
Shannon (my roommate) sponsored this meet and I got last on 2 events, 3rd to last another, and 1st on one(that wasn't disastrous of course) in prelims. My team came in 2nd probably because of me. Now my confidence is way down and I need to do well in this intersquad to feel better about everything, adn I need to feel better physically to do better in the intersquad!
Andy wanted to go to the pool today but I didn't think that would be good since I didn't feel well. I offered to go with him anyway and he could go in and I'd watch, but he said no we could just hang out here instead, so we did. He's so great!
Well, I'll let you know what happens at the doctors!
Until later,
Britt
July 21
Hey. I had a wonderful day today. Workout and all my extra workouts
went
very well. The rankings still haven't been updated, but I think I'm
doing
ok.
Andy and I went to the park again today. It was soo much fun. He wrote me a poem! It's soo sweet!
Well, I guess that's all for now.
Until later,
Britt
July 20
Hey. Not much has happened. The rankings still haven't been updated,
but
that's ok. Some of the girls left already for the meet. I miss them.
I
can't WAIT until my first away meet. I think it'll be soo cool to
travel
with the girls from the gym somewhere!
Andy and I went to the park today. It was really nice, and he asked me out! :) I'm so excited! I've never had a boyfriend before! Ahh! Well, I've gotta go get to bed, today was a long day!
Until later,
Britt (Andy's girlfriend! :)
July 19
Hey. The rankings still haven't been updated so I don't know where I
stand
currently. I'm kind of depressed today. It has nothing to do with
gymnastics or Topopolilly or anything like that, I think it's just a
normal
teenager thing. Not much more to say, I'm not in the best mood right
now.
Until later,
Britt
July 18
Hey! The intersquad went pretty good for me... I got to the 2nd round
which
is all I had realistically hoped to do. Of course I would have loved
to
make the final round, but realistically I hoped I'd make the 2nd, which
I
did, so I'm very happy!
Andy called today. I'm really starting to like him. He hasn't asked me out but I think he might, cause he seems to kind of like me too. We went to the movies and saw Shrek. It was cute. After that we went for a walk, I had a really nice time!
Well, I'd better be going!
Until later,
Britt
July 17
Hey! I added that teammates page to my site, but it doesn't look
nearly as
good as Vada's. Oh well!
The intersquad is today, in about... 45 minutes. I'm really kinda nervous, actually. I'm doing this to relieve my stress, and I'm listening to the radio too.
I went to the pool again today and I met this great guy. He's my age, and he's really attractive. His name is Andy, and we're going to see each other again tomorrow. Eek! He also said he might stop by later, but I'm not counting on that.
Well, I'm going to start stretching now to get loosened up for the intersquad. Wish me luck!
Until later,
Brittany
July 16
Hey... I just found out my squad is going to be working out at 6:30 am
every
other week... joy! I really hate mornings... oh well!
A team was strategically chosen for the Orlando Meet in order to make the squads "even" for the intersquad (the Orlando team will miss the intersquad). I don't quite understand how it works, cause 2 girls from my squad (the Lilly Squad) and 2 girls rom the Tiger Squad are going.. which kind of makes no sense, but maybe the other girls are injured or something... I don't know.
I'm still 8th... I thought I was going to slip a bit after yesterday but apparently not. Maybe I'll move up then :)
I'm going to work on my webpage and make a teammates page like the one Vada had now I think.. after I check my mail and the board.
Until later,
Brittany
July 15
Hey! I'm really tired today so I'll write more later to explain
everything,
but we won the dual! :) I was for the most part very happy with my
performance... I was ranked 8th this morning... 3 down from
yesterday... Um,
also the squads were re-done and they're completely random. I'm on the
Lilly Squad which is coached by Coach Terrin.. the other girls on the
squad
are Jess Atler, Danielle Bain, Caitlyn Beckett, Eva Volatil and Vada
Ranimilo. When I was on the Pop Squad with Vada she put a teammates
part on
her website with pictures of her Pop Squad teammates. I think that's a
cool
idea and I'm going to do that, probably tomorrow.
Well, I'm really tired and I'm going to go back to my room and watch "Save the Last Dance" and then go to sleep!
Until tomorrow,
Britt
July 14#2
I just got back from the mall. It was tons of fun! I bought the blue
tank
top that I didn't buy last time, and some really cute shoes. Anyway,
the
meet starts at 5! EEK! I'm competing AA! I'm sooo excited! Well, I
guess
I'm gonna go do a quick extra workout and a dance workout and have a
quick
snack. Wish me luck (at the meet)!
Until later,
Brittany
July 14
Hey! I'll probably write at least once more today, but I just had to
say
this: I'm 5th in the rankings!! We had a team meeting last night and
Coach
Lois told me that as of Wednesday the 11th I was 7th but as of
yesterday I
am 5th! FIFTH! I can't believe it! At the meeting we decided to get
rid
of the Top Squad and the different level squads. Today is the Dual
with
Angel and I'm going to the mall w/ a whole bunch of people today.
Until later,
Britt
July 13
After I did my workouts today I went to Uncle Ethan & Aunt Rachel's
house to
visit and guess what! Mom, Dad, Alex, Chandler and Natalie were there!
They came down to see me compete tomorrow in the Dual and they're
staying
until Thursday the 19th so they'll see the Intersquad too! I'm so
excited!
This will be my first real meet as an elite, and my first at
Topopolilly,
and they'll all get to see it!
I remember telling Mom that I idolized some of the girls here and it was my dream to be like them, and now I'm on a etam with them! This whole situation is still SO unbelievable!
Well, gotta go!
Until later,
Brittany
July 12
Hey. The rankings haven't been updated in a few days so I don't knwo
what
place I'm in yet.. but I think I'm probably somewhere around 11th which
is
where I was the other day.
Everything is really starting to look better.. I've been talking to a lot of my teammates lately and I think they like me now :) A whole bunch of us (I don't even know who this time!) are going shopping on Saturday. I'm going to buy the tank top that I didn't buy when I went with Krista. I'm gonna get the blue one and I think Krista might get the lavender one.
Oh! Guess what! I'm competing in another meet! It's actually before the Pop-Off Intersquad. The Intersquad is on the 17th, and I'm competing in a dual meet with Angel Gymnastics on the 14th! I'm so excited! If 6 months ago, someone had told me I'd be competing in a meet for Topopolilly on a team with Jennie Ray, Cameron Noon, Jessica Atler, Shannon Ashley and Vada Ranimilo, I would have said "hah, yeah right". I never pictured myself competing on a team with such amazing gymnasts!
Well, until later,
Britt
July 11 #2
I feel much better now... I went to the public pool to swim (for fun
and
conditioning) and it was really fun! I love swimming :)
Sometimes I think that some of the girls here don't really like me. I know that none of them really know me too well, but it seems like some of them ignore me. I don't know what it is. Maybe they just forget to write back to me or don't see my message or something, but people usually only write to me once or twice and then stop, and I really wanted to make new friends!
Well, no use worrying.
Until later,
Brittany
July 11
Hey. I'm not feeling too great today. I haven't done much today
except my
regular workout and read in my dorm and eat. I think I'm gonna go have
a
snack, maybe it will make me feel better. Anyway, not too much to say
as of
right now... I just signed up for the Pop-Off intersquad which is on
the
17th.. my order of events if I make it that far is beam, bars, vault,
floor
(I think). See, the way it works is everyone competes after thef irst
round
and then the top X amount moves on after each round, and therefore not
everyone gets to compete the whole time. I hope I do well! It will be
my
first ever competition as a Topopolilly-er.
Well, that's all for now.
Until later,
Britt
br>July 10
Uncle Ethan is taking me to a photographer this afternoon beacuse Mom
and
Dad want me to have gymnastics pictures taken. I don't really know if
I
want to but Mom and Dad do.
Anyway, I moved up to 11th on the rankings! Pretty cool! :) I like to think that I can maintain my Pop Squad spot by being there... I hope!
Well, I have to go do my squad workout and I gotta write to Mom& Dad to tell them that I AM going to have the pictures taken, so..
Until later,
Britt
July 9#2
Hello again. I went to see Pearl Harbor with Allison (my cousin)
today. It
was really good! Today was really busy! Krista and I went shopping...
she
got this really cool visor and I got these awesome sandles and a pair
of
shorts (I really needed another pair!)
Shannon and I are going to decorate our dorm soon. I had a few ideas that I liked and she said she liked the second oen, but I'm not 100% sure which one that is, so I told her she should fill out the form to decorate with whichever one she was talking about.
Well, that's all for now.
Until later,
Britt
July 9
Anyway, I
met some other new people today... Krista Carr and Carolyn Miller (I
started
writing letters to introduce myself to people at the gym). They both
seem
really nice! Krista and I are going shopping today.. I love
shopping!
My workout was a little... bad today. So naturally I HAD to go and do an extra workout, and I did 10 of each routine and 10 of each vault. That definitely made me feel better, cause I couldn't leave with such a bad feeling abotu how I'd done today. I mean, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't nearly as good as usual.
Well, nothing more to say for now!
Until later,
Brittany
July 8
Today I had my first official squad workout with the Pop Squad. It was
much
more organized than the regular workouts, but I liked it a lot! When
we
warmed up, we ran together and that helped me a LOT because when I try
to
run by myself I end up quitting because I really dislike running.
Anyway,
I'm really tired but I just had to write before bed!
Until tomorrow,
Brittany
July 7 #3
Hi again. I hope this is the last entry for today. But I'm
really excited about the squad! I'm also kind of sad thuogh because
Mom and
Dad are going back home today. See, my Aunt Rachel, who is dad's
sister,
and her husband, my Uncle Ethan live about 20 minutes from here. Mom
and
Dad were staying with them for the past 2 weeks while I moved in, and
we did
some things together. My brother Randy who is 21 was watching Alex
(well,
not really, Alex is 16), Chandler who is 12 and Natalie who is 9, while
Mom
and Dad were here. Randy's college (he'll be a senior) is in Boston
but he
is back in Atlanta for the summer. Anyway, that's why I'm kind of
upset.
It's kind of hard having my family (with the exception of Uncle Ethan,
Aunt
Rachel and my cousins) so far away. I have to write letters to Mom &
Dad
(they left about an hour ago) and my brothers & sisters to tell them
about
the squad. Write again soon :)
July 7 #2
Ahh! I just found out I'm [temporarily] on the Pop Squad!
See,
the Top squad is for the very top gymnasts here. The next level is the
Pop
or Lilly squads which are divided up based on age. Anyway, I'm so
excited!
I just finished working out and doing everything else and then I went
to the
office to see if the coaches had left any new notes since I last
checked and
the squad rosters were updated! I'm going to write home to everyone
and
tell them! AAH! Gotta go!!!
July 7
I've moved up to 15th in the rankings! I'm so excited! :)
I
haven't worked out yet but I just had to say this before I forgot!
I've
also been talking to Shannon about decorating our dorm :) I like my
journal
the way it is right now but I think I might decorate it because I found
a
few backgrounds for the dorm that I really liked. Anyway, I gotta go
workout and stuff! Write soon!
July 6
Wow... I'm really going to have to work hard to get up in
the
rankings here. I [hope] I can do it. I kinda met my roommate, Shannon
Ashley yesterday. She seems nice. I also went to the team meeting and
met
some of the other girls here.. Jess (but I already met her), Jennie,
Arika
and Morgan. They're all really nice! Vada was there too but I didn't
really get to talk to her. Well, back to the gym!
July 4
I went to a fireworks display today with my family. It was
really nice! I've moved up in the rankings here! It took quite a bit
of
work but I think I'm 3rd from last now intstead of last :) I can't
wait
until I get to start competing!
July 1
Dear Journal,
I'm still kind of trying to settle in here, it's not too bad but
it's a
little difficult. It's much harder than anywhere I've ever been
before, but
I think I can handle it, I hope.
I haven't met my roommate, Shannon Ashley yet, but I hope to meet
her
soon!
Gotta go
Brittany