Hello everybody,

Today my blog will be about a wrap up of the whole blog year and what is coming up in the future.

Sorry to say that this is my last blog for the 2014 – 2015 school year 🙁  All good things must come to an end, but don’t worry, I will be back next year in full swing. Before I get started reminiscing about the current year, I’d like to mention that the “What If…” campaign will also be in full swing next year. It’s just the fact that we started so late and then I had never done that type of thing before. We are having trouble figuring out what direction we want to take it and hopefully by next year, after a relaxing summer, my mind will be ready to go and focused, so that may be to your liking.

I had a lot of great experiences over the past year, but one of the experiences that will stick with me forever is getting to go to the Pennsylvania State Capitol and the US Capitol to talk to the Congressman. Now, I don’t know if that’s what I want to do with my life, but at least that’s an option. I may be going into Videography or Early Childhood development. Even if I don’t go into advocacy, at least we know that is an option. Either way, it was a good experience for me to have. FYI, I’m leaning towards Videography more than Early Childhood development.

Once again, I’d like to thank Maureen and Scott for those opportunities. I’ve also gotten the chance to meet with some pretty high executives in the world of cars. If you remember, I wrote a blog about meeting with executives from Welsh Subaru. They gave the ARC Alliance a check for over $14,000. It was a nonrestrictive gift so that meant that Scott could use it anyway he wanted. I have also learned a lot this year, for instance what it’s like to sit through a conference. As I said in my Harrisburg blog, some of the information was a little hard to comprehend, but I enjoyed it, especially the reception after the conference.

I never expected to meet with so many influential people this year and that was really cool! I’ve also never been asked to give an award to someone, even if it was someone I knew. That experience was made even more special by the fact. As I said at the award banquet blog, Justin and his family have been friends with my family for a long time so it was nice to do that for them. Although, I think one of the biggest things I have gotten from this year, not just in The Arc, but everywhere else in life, is I’ve learned how to write and communicate better. Even though I can communicate well when I am talking to you face-to-face, I sometimes say stuff on paper that might offend people when they read it, but not when they hear it face to face. Make sense?  Do you think my writing has improved? I am writing bigger and better blogs year after year, just wait till next year. While I was in the Capitol at Harrisburg, I got to go underneath the Capitol building in the tunnels.

I appreciate all of the help and support that my readers have given me. As I said to my Aunt Donna, I gave a reply which unfortunately didn’t go through on the website. What was your favorite blog this year? I would like to go back to Washington next year. I had a lot of fun blogging for you and I hope you had as much fun reading them.

As far as my other future endeavors, I’ve been to a lot of places, seeing a lot of things and I thank the The Arc Alliance for those opportunities. If you had the chance which one of those trips would you like to go on, Harrisburg or Washington and why? I am going to have a very busy summer coming up, as I said in one of my previous blogs, I’m going to Variety Club in July for ESY (extended school year). There, we will do academics in the morning and go swimming, if the weather permits, in the afternoon. It is a lot of fun, but that’s not the only thing I am doing this summer. I am also going up to Lake Arrowhead to celebrate my grandparents’ 50th anniversary.

My grandparents used to take my mom and my uncles and aunts up there to vacation frequently when they were younger. So now my cousins, my aunts, and uncles and I are all going together. We are renting two houses, so we can all fit. There are 30 of us, if you can believe that, which means including me, my grandma has 18 grandchildren. Are you doing anything or going anywhere this summer? I would really appreciate if you would tell me. I have a friend that lives in New Jersey so that means he doesn’t have far to go to get to the beach. If you read this, enjoy the water, you’re going to need it. It gets pretty hot down in New Jersey in the summer.

Even though this is my last day at The Arc Alliance, my job is not done yet. I have a recognition breakfast for the whole program. The Arc Alliance and a few other businesses around the local area are a part of the STEP program or the Spring-Ford Transitional Employment Program. I am not sure how many businesses are parts of this program, but my best guess would be about 15 or 20. The goal of this program is to assist me in getting a job after school.

One of the biggest things I am looking forward to, that is coming up really soon is graduation. I stay in school until I am 21. Honestly, I am a little frustrated about walking down and feeling like I’m not done. I sometimes feel like I’ve got unfinished business, but people have told me that with the work I have done, that I deserve to graduate just as much as any other senior in my graduating class. I am almost done writing this blog, but before I go, there are a couple things I’d like to say.

Once again, I’d like to thank Maureen for the experiences of Harrisburg and Washington and I would like to thank Scott for the opportunities he has given me as well. Dr. Seuss once said and I quote, “Oh the places you’ll go.” Thanks to The Arc Alliance this year, I’ve been to a lot of places. I have seen a whole bunch of things and even though it can sometimes be a little overwhelming and I have wanted to give up at times, those experiences were amazing and I thank The Arc Alliance for that. I guess that leaves just one last thing to say for the last time this year… It only takes one person to change the world. Make it a great summer or not, the choice is yours 🙂 🙂 🙂

Chandler