Dillon McClelland: "A Wondrous Soon To Be Pilot"

First, I need to address something,
Dillon, I am so sorry that I can never spell your last name right. I always spell it like Mcleland or whatever and I am extremely sorry (just had to get that out there).  Trust me, with a last name like Beling pronounced like Baeling. I too endure the constant confusion of having a hard name to pronounce.

Dillon being majestic. Photo Curtesy: Dillon McClelland.

Anyways, Dillon is really cool. He has a sweet vibe and a flare of fierceness. He’s spectacularly smart and incredibly responsible. Trust me, the only reason that I got a good grade in science last year was because he kept me on top of things.

Dillon’s biggest inspiration is his mom. He states that it’s, “because of what she has accomplished and shown me what I can accomplish.” That is truly the nicest statement that a son could say about his mother.

Dillon’s favorite memory is the time that he went to Bear Lake. He went there with his family and played volleyball to his heart’s desire. I’ve never actually been to Bear Lake but my dog is from there and everyone says that it’s gorgeous. Someday, I would love to go to Bear Lake. But for now, I’m stuck with Lake Jordanelle.

Okay, Dillon’s favorite bands are Panic at the Disco and The Cab. Panic at the Disco is honestly one of my all-time favorite bands as well. His favorite song of theirs is I Write Sins Not Tragedies. The blend of indie and punk rock is just beautiful in that song. I've never actually heard of The Cab but based on the one song that I just listened to, they're pretty amazing.

Dillon is obsessed with traveling thus making him want to become a pilot. I think that Dillon is level headed, a little strict, but also bundles of fun. So, he would be a fantastic pilot! I personally couldn’t agree me more with his love of travel. I just love discovering new and exotic places while immersing myself with the culture. Going to new cities and national parks puts me into my true happy place.

When Dillon is no longer youthful and is planning to move away he wants to live in either one of these places: Park City or London. Park City is beautiful and the skiings great but the town itself is pretty tine. London is filled with a rich history and has unique people but is dirty and gross. For me, it’s a tie breaker. I honestly don’t even know which city that I would choose. So, I can see why Dillon would want to move to either one of these places.

Finally, a word that Dillon would use to describe himself is preppy. He wear clothing that reflects this description and also acts in a smart kid kind of way. This is a near perfect description for Dillon and I love it!

Lastly, Dillon is an amazing individual who is, incredibly smart, extremely cool, and exponentially talented. He’s a wondrous friend that helps keep me in shape for school.

Ava Hamilton: "A Spiritual Helper"

Ah, the mesmerizingly fantastic Ava Hamilton. A daughter of an airline pilot and of a flight attendant. She was born into an airborne family.  I met Ava back in sixth grade when we both had band together. The first thing I noticed was that she was extremely tall. (I was scared to approach her.) But thankfully for me we started talking and become almost instantaneous friends. She is sweet and warmhearted with a touch of sass.

During her almost endless free time (because her parents are always away), she engages in the following hobbies: reading her favorite books, listening or finding new and swaggy music, and of course slowly becoming a world champion softball player. She also partakes in karate and is currently a gold belt.

A selfie from Ava. Photo Curtesy: Ava Hamilton

Ava’s all time dearest memory is the time that she went to her friend’s beach house. She was really young but doesn’t quite remember the age. She was with her best friend Cheyanna and basically what happened was that there was a tub of cookie dough. I think that you could guess what happened after they found it. Here’s a hint: they ate every last bit of uncooked yumminess. Ava and Cheyanna were also in a bathtub while gorging down the cookie dough. The next day, the two of them were throwing up their stomachs.

Ava is extremely music obsessed. I mean you always see her with an earbud in one ear. I bet that her playlist is nearly infinite. Currently her favorite bands consist of Abandon All Ships or Ghost Town. Apparently her bands change frequently.

One thing that Ava wants do when she’s older is to help people. But her best bet for a career choice is to do Reiki and card readings. So, Ava is connected with the spiritual side of things.

Okay this one is pretty cool. When she is older, Ava wants to live, "In a long sleeve weather, rainy, cloudy town.” Those were her exact words and I personally want to live in a place exactly like that description.

A word that Ava would use to describe herself is weird. Being weird is kind of what I’m all about. Not fitting in to the status quo and being a wallflower is literally what I live for. So being weird is actually amazingly awesome. Being weird is a perfect reason for befriending someone.

Ava hates the word perfect. I mean she hates that word. She claims that the word’s definition changes from person to person. But some things that Ava loves are cuddling, her dogs Duce and Roxy, and her friends. That should show you how loving she truly is.


Ava is literally the most loyal and kind friend that you could ask for. She can inspire your creative mind with just one word. Ava is an imaginative writer and can take your breath away using words. She can have an extremely positive impact on a wallowing life. Ava is a hard worker when she applies herself and can accomplish numerous things.

Parker Ivers: "The Swimming Engineer"

Here he is, the one and only Parker Ivers.  A swimmer/occasional mountain biker with a unique attitude. He’s a friend of mine that I have shared many memories with. For example, our English class last year with the terrifyingly fun Ms. Hooker.

I went to Lagoon with him and a couple of other friends once.  Parker and I were waiting in line for the tube slide thing and In the line we sassed a young girl who was being mean to her sweet innocent little brother. Parker and I decided to help the boy out and contradict his dictating older sister.

We were all like, “hey, stop being so mean to him.”

Apparently that made her mad and she responded with, “yo, get out of my face you old freaks.”

First off, we were only like a couple of years older than the girl and we were just trying to help the poor guy out. So then we continued to get the girl angrier and angrier until she finally went on the ride. We thankfully never saw her again.

Parker’s role model is his epic mom. Like seriously though she's super cool. Parker’s mom works in the front office at Ecker and She helps the kids who trickle in and out of the office with whatever they need.

His most praised hobbies include: swimming on the PCHS team, playing video games indefinitely, and watching his favorite shows and movies on the television. I have vivid memories of sleeping over at his house and watching his seemingly endless collection of movies. Parker’s favorite singer (following in the footsteps of a previous person on this blog) is Cher. Yes, the infamous Cher. Parker is also currently in Robotics Club so when he’s older he would love to be a robotics engineer.

Now, Parker’s all time favorite memory is when he finished his swimming race and saw that he made a state time. I know that feeling as well. The feeling of accomplishment and success. After finishing my own races and I see my time and place, a wave of happiness hits me. So I know what Parker means when he says that this is his favorite memory. It’s a feeling that you really can’t replace with anything else. Because for once you have accomplished something in this cruel and judgmental world.

One last thing, Parker is mentally insane about cats. He has dozens of cat shirts and cat trinkets. He has several cats of his own that he loves more than life itself. I swear that his world revolves around those cats. He practically knows everything to know about our feline friends.

Parker's cat Max. Photo curtesy of Parker Ivers

Parker is a fantastic friend that will inspire all. He describes himself using the mundane word fun. I would rather use the word joviality. Parker is so much "fun" to hang out with and talk to. If you want a happy friend who will watch movies with you than he’s the guy for you.

Jacky Brian: "The Individualistic Artist"

A photo of Jacky. Photo courtesy of
Faith Staley.

Oh my goodness, it’s Jacky Brian. A dear friend of mine who I’ve shared many experiences with. Like the time we went to the beach! Okay it was a flooded baseball field, but it was still a blast! Anyway, Jacky is a fantastic person to be around and will fill you with laughter.

In Jacky’s free time she partakes in the following: writing in her ever so large journal, drawing awe-inspiring sketches, painting magnificent pictures, and of course listening to her endless music collection. She loves to express herself through many variations. And of course (like every other teenager these days) she watches Orange is the New Black regularly. She simply states that it’s basically her life.

Relating back to listening to music, Jacky’s biggest inspiration is the lead singer for one of our favorite bands: Green Day. She says that she loves how Billy Joe Armstrong is abnormally big on individuality and not conforming to society's ideals. She believes that is most likely the coolest thing ever and a fantastic lesson for life.

Jacky’s favorite memory (and also mine) is when we celebrated our friend Faith’s birthday. It was a day full of surprises that will last in my mind forever. I believe that we started at Jacky’s house and made piping hot cocoa and put the toasty liquid in a thermos. Then we walked the short distance to City Park and found a well-deserving spot next to Poison Creek and drank our hot chocolate with huge grins. Then Faith and I (being the hippies that we are) saw cans of beer in the creek. We both were determined to “save” the cans and recycle them. The first can was easy to reach in and frantically grab. But the second one was a different story. So in this particular spot there was a tree in the center of creek with very little land surrounding it. And right below that tree was where the disastrous can was located. So we came up with this innovative plan to hang on to the tree and reach for the can. I went first, but since I had no success Faith went next. Now remember that this was her birthday. She hung precariously from the tree and extended as far as she could. And then terror struck. She basically plummeted into the bone-chilling water. There is an ever so embarrassing video on Jacky’s Instagram if you want to check that out. Happy Birthday Faith!

Jacky is terrified of the future and has no clue about what she wants to be when she’s older. But she does know where she wants to live, Michigan. I don’t know much about Michigan but I hear that they have breathtaking cross country skiing. Lastly a word that Jacky would use to describe herself is individualistic. And let me tell you she is quite the individual. I have never seen Jacky cave into the status quo here at TMJH. She is truly unique and you won’t regret becoming friends with her.

An "artsy" photo of Jacky in a library hallway. Photo Courtesy of Faith Staley.

Faith Staley: "Give Peace a Chance"

Image Courtesy: Faith Staley

Ah Faith Staley, the hippie feminist. A friend of mine who has a unique persona. We met in seventh grade in our social studies class. We had a teacher named Mr. Sanderson who made us do a mormon pioneer project. Well Faith took charge and invited our group to her humble abode and made me act as a girl for the project. We basically got an A+ on that project. 

This last summer Faith and I decided to spend one of the last days of summer throwing vegetables off of a mountain. So that’s what we did. We started from Faith’s house and rode to the grocery store to buy vegetables. I believe we bought an eggplant, two tomatoes, candy, and some peace tea. We then biked to PC hill and hiked to the top where we experienced some soaring hang gliders. We then started dancing to the Beatles and began to throw the organics. First we splattered some tomatoes which was quite satisfying. And then Faith viscously ripped open the eggplant and we threw it off. It was a pretty spot on day. 

A picture I took from the day we threw
vegetables off of PC Hill.

She uses coconut oil for everything and is a sucker for ballet. Faith is a Harry Potter fanatic and listens to the Beatles religiously. An interesting fact about Faith is that she has tea parties on roofs. Yes we have climbed onto her roof with tea and water bottles and danced to Wavin' Flag while waving to her neighbors. She attends environmental movie festivals and has even gone to congress with a petition against fracking. All in all, she is exponentially determined to get what she wants and will not stop at a simple no. Faith also started a blog about the sexist dress code at our school. Check it out here: Dresscoded.

Faith also has a weird fascination with ice skating. Like once we were just sitting around and all of a sudden she had an outburst about how badly she needed to go ice skating. This went on for weeks on end until she finally went ice skating. Let’s just say that she was way too happy.

Faith partakes in the Park City Dance Academy and was recently given the role of Raggedy Andy in their version of the Nutcracker. So go Faith! But seriously though, she is an awe-inspiring dancer and is truly amazing. I personally can not wait until I can go see Faith kill it in the Nutcracker.

My final story for Faith is the time that we got stuck in a ball. It was a sunny afternoon near the end of eighth grade and we were at Faith’s house with two other friends. We were having a blast having a tea party until the tea ran out and we ran around her house. I walked into Faith’s garage and saw a deflated hamster ball type thingy. It looked like this: hamster ball. Anyways, someone had the brilliant idea to get inside of it. So one person got in and we eventually all squished up inside of it. Let me tell you that it was super painful and uncomfortable. But we still laughed our heads off. No matter what, you will always have a blast with Faith.

Jeff Pack: "Cher's Ultimate Fan"

Jeff and his sister. Photo courtesy of Jeff.

I recently interviewed one of my closest friends: Jeff Pack. I have known Jeff for an extremely long time. I'm talking like at least twelve years. We basically grew up with each other. I vividly remember having playdates at his house watching Scooby Doo and the Lochness Monster. I also have a memory where he came to my house and we got into an epic controversy about a puzzle and whether or not the picture was of a tractor or a dumpster. Or the time when I tried my first diet coke at his house and we both spat it out.

But a couple of years of ago we wanted to watch Jaws. Being the multi-taskers that we are we also had to make Ghirardelli chocolate brownies. On the box it asked for one and 1/3 teaspoons of water. Well being the idiots that we were we thought that it was eleven thirds teaspoons of water. So we put eleven teaspoons into the mix. It became incredibly watery and we asked Jeff’s mom about it and she just bursted into laughter. I guess you could say that that is the reason why we have to take a math class everyday.

Jeff really loves Cher. I mean he really loves Cher. He is so obsessed with her that when ever I go to his house we listen to his endless Cher CDs or we watch his DVD copy of Cher's Farewell Tour. I also am convinced that he knows the lyrics to every Cher song ever. Here is one of our conversations earlier. I asked him: so why do you love Cher so much? His response: "She is the greatest singer and actress in the history of the world! I mean obviously." That was literally his exact response.

But besides for Cher, Jeff actually does karate and is currently two belts away from a black belt. He loves a double double at In-n-Out Burger and a cold diet coke. An interesting fact about Jeff is that he is friends with Mr. Macias. Yep the burly math teacher that we have all come to love. I have personally heard Jeff and Mr. Macias talking about me and other fellow classmates. They kind of have a strange relationship. Like how Mr. Macias will tell Jeff all about his upcoming jokes that he will tell in class. (weird right.) Jeff loves to talk about Cher. But no matter what you do, do not think that he is talking about Cher Lloyd. I have personally made that terrifying mistake.

Cher. Photo courtesy of Jeff.

Isabelle Fernandez: "Best Spartan In The World"

Image courtesy of: Isabelle Fernandez

This is Isabelle Fernandez: the girl who was born to live in a desert. Isabelle is a friend of mine who is an experienced warrior. I met her in seventh grade in math. We had a free period (mainly because we had a substitute) and she was playing a game called Duck Life. I asked her what it was and she explained it to me and we've been friends ever since.

 She is also kind of extremely obsessed with the Spartan Army and the United States Military. To be more specific, the Navy. Isabelle owns a sweatshirt that has "Navy" on it, and won't let anyone touch it without her permission. She will most likely be in the armed forces when she's older. Being apart of the Navy is her true ambition in life and is also the only reason why she joined cross country running.

She participates on the Park City High School team and absolutely loves it. One of her favorite things to do on the distance runs is to stop by Starbucks and get a quick Pumpkin Spice Latte. Here are some of the most recent races from the cross country team: Results.

Isabelle is also very good at drawing cats. Warrior cats to be more specific. She is actually unbelievably good at her drawings, even though she says she's bad at them. Whenever we go to cross country races she brings her sketch book along and draws profusely. Occasionally I will glance over and see what she’s working and I’m always impressed.

Isabelle is also a fan of the band The Wanted, but also listen to what she calls, "Angry Viking Music." I know it sounds weird but after a while it might actually sound kind of okay. (At least after you get used to the classic irish/screamo mashup)

A sport that Isabelle does is horse back riding. Last year she even went to a bull riding camp in Idaho. She also loves a brisk mountain bike ride. Plus a fun run with friends always helps as a stress reliever.  

One of her best qualities is that she is a very protective and loving friend. Isabelle makes sure that her friends are always included in conversation and activities. She is also focused on achieving her life time goal, "the overlord of the world", as she puts it. But Isabelle is a very well rounded individual who will most likely rule over all of us in the near future.

A picture of one of her drawings. Courtesy of Isabelle Fernandez