Living With Creativity, Activity, & Service

The Need For Activity Throughout my life, I have always felt a need to be active. I have always loved to run, swim, walk, hike, lift weights, do archery, play sports, and be out in the world making connections. I even find cleaning enjoyable. I have always had a strong urge to be extremely healthy and fit and to be able to fend for myself. Since seventh grade, I would always make sure to get home, do schoolwork, and then go exercise outside and in my living room. I would make it a necessary event to spend an hour outside running and playing volleyball, and then go back inside to get on the floor for sit ups and push ups. Why Even Do It Anymore? To this day, I am still an active member of the volleyball team, and always make sure that there is room in my schedule to do my indoor routine. The other day, as I was in my living room doing my routine, I was thinking about why I still try to exercise everyday after all these years. I started to question whether my exercises had even made any ...

Outdoors Club My high school offers an abundance of incredible and educational clubs. It has groups dedicated to service, honor, and even adventure. One adventurous group offered at CHS is called Outdoors Club. This was the first year I had heard of it, and immediately thought it would be a fantastic idea to become a member. During our first meeting, we were told our first journey would be to Sweetwater Creek State Park to hike. I had never been to Sweetwater, and couldn't wait to have a new experience.  Sweetwater Creek State Park On our first trip, I wanted my mom to chaperone and drive my friends and me to Sweetwater. My family has always loved the outdoors, going on hikes, and swimming in waterfalls, so this was going to be a perfect escape for us. I already knew my friends Haley and Cirel were going on the trip, and I couldn't wait to meet more people. My mom drove all the girls on the way there, and we all talked to each other the whole time.  Once we finally arrived, we...

Carroll County Animal Shelter  My cats Aphrodite and Feyre.   Last weekend, my family decided to visit the Carroll County Animal Shelter. I have visited this shelter with clubs since I was fourteen years old and love to go with my friends and my sister. Over the years, my family has adopted over six cats here and hopefully many more to come. We have always enjoyed volunteering and playing with all the cats and dogs, and we love to help clean the animals, entertain the animals, and talk with the staff.  This particular visit was extremely challenging. As much as I like to see and play with the kittens and puppies, it is very difficult to leave them all behind. I can't possibly comprehend what all the pets in the shelter are feeling once we abandon them all over again. Crazy Cats  My cats Tobias and Aphrodite.  When we first got there, I played with the kittens. Many of them started to make little noises and beg me to pick them up and give them attention. The...

The First of Many The beginning of the year is a crazy time for club meetings. This week in particular was filled with different morning and afternoon meetings for various clubs. I attended meetings for multiple service clubs and honor societies. We discussed service opportunities, club attendance, and fun activities. These meetings encouraged me to start thinking about my own ideas for service projects and group discussions for my club Friends of Rachel. On Wednesday, I was one of the leaders in our very first meeting of the year. As all the former members and new comers flooded in the room, I got a rush of excitement for all the adventures before us. We discussed different service projects that would be held throughout the year and brainstormed about new ideas. We also played a game to get to know everyone a bit more. We talked about our likes and dislikes and what we look for in real friends. It felt refreshing to talk to people my age again about what we want to do to make everyone...

Welcome My name is Madison Anna Bush, and I am a first year International Baccalaureate Diploma candidate. I was born in the amazing borough of Manhattan and left New York City when I was five. Currently, I am living in Villa Rica, Georgia and attending Carrollton High School to receive a great education and experience within this programme. Both my father and mother work at the high school, and my younger sister attends the junior high. They have always supported and encouraged my decision to be a part of this academic journey. This portfolio will help to express my love of creativity, activity, and service. I hope to be able to reflect on my experiences and projects through writing and to inspire others to participate in a more productive, selfless, and imaginative lifestyle. Creativity, Activity, Service I have had many educational and uplifting experiences with being artistic, active, and committed. Singing in choir, dancing with others, and playing instruments with friends has tau...