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I was born in Minnesota and have lived here my whole life. I turn 16 on the 16th and am the oldest of my two siblings Sage and Maddie. I’m a bit of a nerd and am not the most social person or adventurous person. I haven’t really left the Midwest, and the furthest I have ever been from Minnesota is California. I used to live in Fridley, but moved to Blaine around 2018. I used to play sports like baseball and basketball, but now I’m more of a musician and artist, though I’d say I’m still pretty decent at basketball.

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Patriots at the Calgary Stampede Parade of 2024

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A big part of my summer was my participation in the Patriots Marching Band trip to Canada. We did so many cool things over the 9 day trip, like go to the Edmonton Mall, visit some towns in the Canadian Rockies and see the beautiful scenery, and we even played in a Canadian Independence Day parade in Fort Saskatchewan. Biggest of all, however, was when we participated in the Calgary Stampede Parade, where we marched and played along the 5km (3.1mi) parade route. We also got to see other marching bands, like the Men in Kilts, one that came all the way from Taipei (Taiwan) and many bands from Calgary or the surrounding or from around Canada that day. It was most definitely one of my most eventful summers.

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Calgary Stampede Parade 2024 🇨🇦 FULL parade!

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I play in the Patriots Marching Band as a sousaphone. 2023-2024 was my second season playing for the band, but this year I was the only sousaphone. Last season I had Charley Crowson and Brynna York to teach me, but Brynna became the band’s Drum Major and Charley left the band. Thankfully Brynna had already taught me what I needed to know, so I did just fine. I enjoy being in Patriots because I enjoy playing music and entertaining people in such a large group. The joy of knowing that the people on the parade routes are there to see me and the band preform far outweighs the pain of marching with a 35lb sousaphone on my shoulders.

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Canadian Rockies around the town of Benson, CA

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One of my biggest hobbies is painting. I began painting sometime in 2020, and I use only use oil paints for my works. My most recent work was of a Cat in Medieval Plate Armor, but most of my paintings before that are of nature. I recently began posting some of my works on instagram because I thought it would be nice to show others my paintings. I primarily paint nature because I’m awful at painting animals and people, but I still really liked how my last painting turned out.

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I enjoy working by myself, but for group projects I’m perfectly content when working with friends. My interests revolve primarily around music and history, though I preform well in other subjects at school. I often have friends ask me for help (or just mooch) for things like math and writing papers/essays. I am pretty good at writing essays and papers and always aim to write as best as I can, even though it isn’t my favorite.

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One thing that is going well for me is my progress with getting my drivers license. I have finished all three of my behind the wheel lessons have a little more than the number of hours I need to take my road test. I still have to practice parallel and 90 degree parking, but I know roughly how to do both of those things. The only thing I worry about is not having my own car to use when I get my license, and even if I do get my own car, I don’t have a job to pay for gas and other maintenance. I plan on getting a job this school year, though!

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One of my favorite songs is “Summer of ‘69” by Bryan Adams. I mostly enjoy rock music (among other genres) from around the mid/late 1900’s to the early 2000’s

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Bryan Adams - Summer Of '69 (Official Music Video)

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My favorite movie is probably Kung Fu Hustle. It’s such a stupid movie, but it’s also a super fun watch. The acting, despite the stupid lines and story, is very good. In addition, the fight scenes are very cool and fun, and the special affects take away little to nothing from the movie.