Cold Days

On cold days like today, one thing I do to stay warm is not getting out of bed. My bed is the warmest thing in the house when I wake up. Conveniently, I am already right there, so I just stay there. I will usually reach for my phone and go on Facebook or iFunny. The only time I will exit my bed is when it is time to eat.

Unfortunately, my way of staying warm does not work on five of the days out of the week. I have to drag myself out of bed, and then get ready for school. On those days, I will usually wear my warm Early College hoodie. I will also try to walk indoors whenever I can. Luckily, I can walk upstairs in the tunnels from most buildings to get to my classes.

Staying warm is one of the hardest things to do in the winter. Boy Scouts has taught me that once someone gets cold, they will stay cold. One major thing to avoid in the cold weather is being too warm. If someone is too warm, they will begin to sweat. Sweating is bad because it is the body's way of cooling down. Once someone is wet with sweat, they will get cold, and then stay cold. It is important to dress warm, but not too warm.

Unusual Weekend

One unusual thing that I did over the weekend was I went winter camping. During the camp, we did quite a few activities. Some of those included hiking, games, merit badge training, and my favorite, cooking and eating food.

During the camp, we had a total of seven campers. That is an unusually small number for my troop, which usually sends out 15-20 scouts per event. Even though we had a small amount of people attending, we still had a great time. I personally believe that this was the best campout of 2013.

One thing that we do every year at this campout is cook a Thanksgiving dinner. Along with our delicious deep fried turkey, we had some mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn, and 3 whole pies. This was the ultimate campout dinner. The turkey was so juicy and delicious that just the seven of us almost ate all of it! I will definitely be going back to this campout next year!

Johnny Cupcakes

The most influential aspect of Johnny Cupcakes' presentation was the fact that he never gave up on his dreams. As he went through each one of this life phases, he never gave up on what he wanted to do. Even though his goal or vision changed a few times, he never gave up.

On top of him never giving up, he has another aspect that is very aspiring to me. That is the fact that he wanted to give every customer the best experience possible. Many companies today do not care about their customers. The companies goal is to create profit, and to reduce expenses in as many ways as possible. This is not the way Johnny Cupcakes operates. Johnny wants every customer to have a great experience buying his shirts. Johnny spends extra money and time to package the shirts in unique ways to ship it the customers. I do not know many companies who do that today.

If I was to open a company, I would want it to be like Johnny Cupcakes. He loves what he does, and cares about his products. He spends extra time to make sure that they are packaged nice and are of the best quality, and even takes time out if his day to write personal messages to customers. He also does many promotions for people, and goes and gives lectures about his life. I was lucky enough to attend one of those lectures, and I will not be forgetting what he taught me anytime soon.

Something New

If I could do something that I have never done before, it would be doing a weeklong trek at Philmont. Philmont is the premier high adventure base of the BSA. A person spends 7-21 days out at the beautiful 400,000 acre camp in Nevada. I would like to visit Philmont at least once in my life.

I would visit the camp for two reasons. One, all of the high ranking officials have visited the four camps, and one day I want to be one of those people. Two, everyone who has visited the camp before said that they had a great time. I would spend the week walking around and viewing the great wilderness. It would be nice to return to an area where nature still has control.

Philmont is by far the largest camp the Boy Scouts own. A person could literally spend a whole year there and not do everything they have to offer. The camp is open year round since it is always warm in Nevada. If I make multiple trips to this camp, I would like to do all four of the seasons treks. Each is different and offers a whole new experience. As there are many mountains in the camp, I could be walking on dry ground one minute, and snow the next. This is the ultimate experience for a scout.

Technology

Technology is an important aspect of my life. I use it almost anywhere I go. I use it in school, Boy Scouts, my personal life, and many other areas. Technology has many functions and uses, and I use it differently in almost every area.

While in school, I use technology for educational reasons. I can go online and look up a word that I do not understand. I can type up a report that needs to get done for class. I can read a book that is posted online. I can watch videos to better understand a subject. I even used technology to write this blog post! I can also do so much more than stated here.

Another part of my life where I use a lot of technology is Boy Scouting. I use it to post minutes online for anyone who needs to see. I can send messages through email and Facebook to get information out to people who need to know it. I can look up information that I need to know. I can refer to my online guide to effectively run a troop and lodge. I can share resources with another scout or adult who may not know as much as I do, or who need help in a particular area. Almost everyday there is a new way that technology helps scouting.

The last major area where I use technology is my personal life. I can use technology to relax. I can use technology to help someone who needs help. With technology, almost anyone in the world is literally a "click" away. I can talk to my friend in my own city, or make new friends with a kid in Great Britain. The possibilities are endless with technology.

What if Money was No Object?

If money was no object, I would become a researcher. Doing research is one of the things that interests me the most. I currently take part in Dr Kestler's microbiology research. I have a very enjoyable time, and it is one of my favorite things to do.

In research, I would continue my work on the CXCR4 gene mutation. In the human body, there are two receptors that the HIV virus binds to. They are CCR5 and CXCR4. Currently, my research is looking for people who are CXCR4 positive. If a person are CXCR4 positive or CCR5 positive, it is harder to contract the HIV virus. If they are positive for both mutations, it is nearly impossible to get the virus.

My research could potentially influence the society in many ways. The one that I believe would be the most contributing is the possibility of a vaccine. Although it seems impossible, there may be a way to prevent HIV through vaccine. We do not know if this will be possible though. More research needs to be conducted. This is what I want to do. Who knows what might happen. I may save millions of lives.

Favorite Hobby

     One of my favorite hobbies to do is visiting amusement parks. I have visited four different parks, and rode 43 different roller coasters. The four parks that I have visited are Cedar Point, Kings Island, Six Flags Great America, and the now defunct Geauga Lake.

     Roller coaster riding is my all time favorite way to spend my time. I do most of my riding at Cedar Point. I make somewhere around 10-15 trips a year to Cedar Point, and visit other parks 1-2 times a year. Of all the parks I have visited, Cedar Point is still my favorite.
   
     After visiting as many parks as I have, people begin to add on to their UCC's (Unique Coaster Credits). A person gains one UCC per roller coaster they have rode. A roller coaster may only grant you one UCC though. I have earned a total of 43 UCC's in my coaster history.

     Of the 43 different roller coaster I have rode, I definitely have some favorites. Some of those include Millennium Force, Top Thrill Dragster, Raptor, Diamondback, Raging Bull, X-Flight, and American Eagle. Even though I have many favorites, my top one is Millennium Force. I like it so much that I have rode it over 150 times!

     One of the best things for coaster enthusiasts is going to a coaster event. I have attended somewhere around 10 different coaster events, with one being this past weekend. At coaster events, enthusiasts get to enjoy behind the scenes tours, Question and Answer sessions, buffets (Cedar Point's fried chicken is the best), and ERT (Extended Ride Time). During ERT, rides will be open before or after a park is closed to the general public. This past weekend, we had 2 ERT sessions. The first one took place on Friday night from midnight to 1am. The ride that was open was Millennium Force. I personally was able to get 11 rides in the hour ERT. The second ERT session took place on Saturday night from midnight to 1am. The ride that was open was GateKeeper. During that session, I was able to get 5 rides, bringing my total up to 14 rides on this new roller coaster.

     Coaster riding is my favorite hobby. I hope other people enjoy it as much as I do.   

One Change

     One thing that I would change that happened previously in my life is my old behavior. When I was younger, I was a greedy, mean, and selfish person. This reflected negatively on myself and my family. Some people who knew me back then do not talk to me because they think I am still the same person that I was before.

     This had a major effect on a lot of people. I was the biggest impacted though. I lost many friends, and pushed away even more, and even some relatives. This was all because of my actions. But I was not the only person effected. I effected my family by putting them through tough situations with me. I effected friends by making them put up with me, and then having them leave. This was probably the biggest mistake I made.

     If I could go back, I would change myself. Maybe people could see me for who I am, not what I was. Maybe I could still have some old friends. Maybe... Maybe.

My Inspiration

     One of the people that inspired me to become the person I am today is my good friend Matt Bernotas. If it was not for Matt, I would most likely would not have stayed in scouting. Scouting has taught me so much good, and Matt was the one who helped me get where I am.

     The first time I meet Matt, I was all alone at an event with a lot of people. Everyone persuaded me to go to this event, yet no one wanted to talk to me while I was there. When I went in to register for the event, Matt was sitting at the registration table. He welcomed me, and invited me to stay with him until I felt comfortable.

     That event was the turning point for me. From that point on, I knew that I wanted to stay active and participate in so many fun things. I even made new friends along the way! All of this, I owe to Matt.

     Now, I am an officer in this program. I am 5th in charge of an organization of over 600 members. I try to act just like Matt when at the programs. I also try to inspire people to remain active. Who knows what might happen if I change somebody's life like he changed mine?

My Summer

     One interesting thing that I did this summer was I conducted my Eagle Scout project. The project was fun even though I had a hard time performing it. I learned many things from the project while I performed it.

     And Eagle Scout is a person that has devoted their life to scouting. It is the highest rank possible, and is the hardest rank to earn in scouting. Some of the tasks required to become an Eagle Scout are earning 21 merit badges, performing 12 months of leadership roles, conducting an Eagle Scout project, and being a long-term devoted member. I am proud to say that in a few days, I can call myself an Eagle Scout.

     The point of an Eagle Scout project is to teach a Boy Scout the points of leadership, management, fundraising, multi-tasking, responsibility, and many other important aspects. The Eagle Scout project is only conducted once in a scout's life, and the project teaches them some very important lessons. The project must be executed between when a scout earns the Life Rank, and his 18th birthday. An Eagle Scout project can be anything, although it must be helpful to the community in some way.

      My Eagle Scout project took place at Northwood Middle School, and contained many aspects that were performed and completed. Some of those aspects included repainting the walls, fixing broken instrument lockers, cleaning chalk and white boards, and a few other minor parts. I had 17 different helpers within the 12 days the project took place. In total, there were around 592 hours of service, with 129 of those hours conducted by me.

My Name

     Jared has a true meaning to me. It is my name, and is like a motto that I live by. The American meaning of Jared is a ruling and commanding person. In my life, I like to be in charge. I like when I have total control over something. To me, the meaning of Jared is my way of life.

     Michael is the way I act. The American meaning of Michael is a humble being. As I am very humble and respect others, I feel that this is true, When I go about my way, I remember to always act humble, and to see the beauty in the little things.

     Repas is a name of family. As the name translates to 'meal' in French, it describes my family's past. In France, my family was a group of chefs. This to me is a very important piece of my history. History talks about who I am, and hints on where I am going.

     In the paragraphs above, I showed many things. I showed that I am a ruling and commanding person, Jared. But, I still have many aspects of being humble, Michael. Also, I have a rich history which dates back many years, Repas.

Positive Risks

     One of the most important rules for me in life is that people need to take positive risks. If people do not take risks, they will not get very far in life. One of my favorite quotes is, "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take". I feel this is true for many reasons. One of the reasons is the current job field. When going to school for a job, individuals need to risk years of training to earn a degree. If they do not earn a degree in college, their job field is very slim. By taking the risk of attending college, a person increases their odds of getting a better paying and more interesting job. Another example of taking possitive risks includes making freinds. When talking to people, if a person does not take risks, they will not get anywhere in a freindship. But, if that person takes a possitive risk, they could meet their new best freind, or possibly their future spouse. A person never will know what might happen if they do not take possitive risks.