Niagra Falls Times Two

Trip with family versus trip with youth group! It has been said that sometimes going to a place twice will give you the full effect.  It is also known that going with friends and going with your family can be a completely different experience. I went to Niagra Falls twice within one month.

The first trip was with my youth group.  We staying in New York in a local church.  The boys slept in the classrooms in the basements and the girls slept in the sanctuary on the pews.  On the first night one of the lights blew up and started smoking causing the girls to run down stairs  were the boys were.

After that the trip was un eventful except for the fact that on of my friends almost fell over the railing and down the falls.  We crossed over to the Canada side to get the full experience and see the falls from a different angle.

While on the trip with my family we stayed on the Canada side because it was cheaper.  My brothers and I crossed over the country line hundreds of times just to say we have been out of the country a lot. Even though I was just there to visit seeing it with friends was and adventure.  Seeing it with my family had a more historical value.

Life Lesson #7: Going to a place with friends tends to be more fun than going with family.

The Great Lady

Seeing the Statue of Liberty with your classmates for the very first time is an experience one will never forget. Compared to Hawaii it isn't the same type of trip, but there is more historical value on this trip. In May of 2009 we were just finishing up seventh grade and were excited for the end of the year. Our teachers decided that since we had been really good they would take us to NYC and to see Ellis Island and all the history there. So the seventh and sixth grade class got on the bus to experience something new.

My Classmates and I decided to make the most of the trip even though we didn't like the class below us all to well. We rode a fairy over to Ellis Island and explored the museum there. Our whole class looked through the stones that had the names of immigrants engraved on them.  We each counted the amount of people who we saw with our last name.

Once we reached the Statue of Liberty we started to climb the steps. Each of us counting them and ending up with different numbers by the end. Over all the trip was a new experience and I got to spend it with some of my greets friends. We did get in trouble by our teachers for sharing a lollipop, but the trip was memorable. My class grew closer after that trip and we understood each other much better.  

Life Lesson #6: Going on trips with your friends always means that something is going happen. It is up to you to make it good or bad.

The Hoffman Family In Hawaii

My next destination was to paradise.  February, 2009 my family an I ventured to the beautiful state of Hawaii. I had never see a tropical island before and the volcanos and black sand were a surprise.  The flight was long but once I looked down from the sky it was worth every hour of sitting in-between my two brothers.


We sent most of the vacation in Maui where we witnessed several different climates.  We spent most of the time in the tropical weather, but we saw the rainforest and even snow while at the peak of one of the extinct volcanos.  We also traveled to the Oahu and the Big Island.

First Time Seeing Black Sand

I saw lava pouring into the ocean, experienced hawaiian cuisine, and got pictures worth ten thousand words.  I walked in a lava tube from a volcano that helped create the Hawaiian Islands.  I got to go whale watch and snorkeling in Crescent Island and saw all different sea creatures. There was sharks swimming around me and even a giant sea turtle the same size as me swam under me.

In A Lava Tub

I saw wondrous things that pictures cannot do it justice.  This vacation was like none I ever had before.  I got to stand next to a blow hole in the earth.  Get splashed by a jumping Orca.  I got to swim with sharks and most importantly I spent it with my family.  The week I spent away from school and all the worries of seventh grade was the most relaxing time I ever had.

Hawaii is a place filled with so much culture and historical value.  I saw where Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and heard the stories of the people who lived through it and those who didn't.  The coral reefs were amazing and everything about the state of Hawaii was so wonderful I can't wait to visit again.

Life Lesson #5: The legacy of heroes lost to tragedies still impact people today.

New School=First Day Worries

After the first two years of living in New Jersey I strongly disliked the school system and the people there.  The church I went to had just opened up a school when we moved and I begged my parents to let me go.  I was graduating from fifth grade and I wasn't ready to go to middle school with the same kids that tormented me for two years.  I needed new people, a new place, and new everything.

First Day at Calvary Christian School

My parents made the decision that my two brothers and I would switch to private school to get a better education.  Moving around prepared me for many first days but I never got used to them.  I was scared every time.  An upside to this new school was uniforms so I didn't have to worry about wearing the name brand clothes everyone had at public school.

When we pulled up to the school on the first day I was so nervous I could barely move.  I walked up to the building and paused before I went in.  I prayed that God would help me get through this first day at a new school.  Once, I entered the school people where there to direct me to my classmates.  That day I met some of my very best friends who are still in my life today.

Going to Calvary was the best decision my parents could have ever made.  I excelled in school and graduated with high honor role, National Honors Society member, and captain of varsity soccer, basketball, and track by the end of my senior year.  I stayed at that school for seven years and figured out who I was surrounded by the godliest people.

Life Lesson #4: Even though the first day at a new school is scary thinking of the positives and who you will be is better then worrying about if the people there will like you.