Navigate the Places Where I Am

Corn

I Am From

I'm from a small town surrounded by corn
I'm from a two to a four bedroom house
I'm from sharing a room with three other people to sharing with one

I'm from friends on all sides

I'm from the oldest of twelve grandchildren

MJ, Lora, Nathan, John, and Lilian, Edelmans

Rebecca, Nick, and Daniel, Borgmans
Nicole, Michaela, Timothy, and Sarah, Havliks

Lots of kids means lots of food

And trying to keep them all entertained

I'm from Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all birthdays in between

Courthouse

I'm from spending time with family

I'm from lots of cans of olives

I'm from chasing each other laughing

I'm from holidays and love all around

I'm from "To the van we go,"
And "I heard that," "Do you want me to come down there,"
I'm from "She's looking at me," and "It's my turn"
And all other phrases that are thrown back and forth

I'm from fuzzy one and fuzzy two
My cat's name is Faith and she does absolutely nothing, but sleeps and eats
My dog, Fred, is unique/ weird; he chases bubbles and tennis balls
I'm from "Dogs have owners and cats have staff"

I'm from Joe and Rachel

My parents are the best; they are one of a kind

Home

They give me advice to help me make up my mind
They are always there for me
I'm from love

I'm from the oldest of four
I'm from three younger siblings, all annoying in their own way
I'm from laughing and fighting, the two can intertwine
I'm from agreeing on one thing only to disagree on the next
From Michaela's know-it-all remarks and helping me get through tough times
From Tim's annoying noises and having fun
From Sarah's it's-all-about-me-attitude and making pictures for me
I'm from the oldest of four and twelve
I am Nicole Havlik, I am me

*****

Water Tower

In the small town of Aurora we really are surrounded by corn. I know my way around town without getting lost. Although if I tried to give someone instructions on how to get somewhere, it wouldn't go to well for them. I don't know the names of streets. I just know how to get place by saying left here, right here, or just keep going straight. Terrible instructions for people who don't know Aurora as well as I or others do.

Street Sign

A big part of where I am is my home. We moved to our current house three years ago and it was the best decision ever.Our old house had only two bedrooms and this one has four. Trust me when I say sharing a room with three other people is not always very fun, but now I only have to share with my sister Michaela. And that is amazing. Our house sits on the corner of 15th and Cherry. It is  tan and rectangular. There are two areas that have flowers in the middle of two landscaping walls. My mom loves planting and taking care of flowers. They are part of what makes up the outside of my house along with the two pine trees on opposite ends. Both of them have their bottom branches cut off because my dad didn't having to mow around them. On the inside of my house is what I call home. My family makes up most of it and the objects that are on the inside are just there to help us spend more time together.

AHS

Another place where I spend a lot of time is at Aurora Public High School. This isn't my favorite place to be to be honest, but then there are times when it can be an amazing. I like learning things that will help me out in my life. Also things that I just like knowing that are of interest to me like America's history especially around the Revolutionary war period. One of my favorite classes is Creative Writing. I love writing stories and poems that allow me to use my imagination. And last, but certianly not least is Chorus and Rhapsody. Spending time singing and learning to be a better singer is one thing I love doing. I also love Rhapsody. Dancing and singing at the same time put two of my favorite activities to do at school or at home. For Rhapsody I spend a lot of my time in the theater learning and performing the dances we have learned and have had to relearn.

HLS

Where I am today will probably change in the future, but for right now I am happy where I am at. My community, home, and school are all big places in my life. Use the places in my life to help me become a better person.



License Plate

Dance of My Life



Deep Map

Life is like a dance, each new day is a new step that adds to it, until the final performance. Each one of the steps has its own difficulty level some require more practice while others are fun and easy to learn. Everyone has their own story to tell and each one shapes a life by the people and events in it. Mine has been shaped by my family, friends, church, music and dancing, and everything in between. Every one of these has influenced the steps more than once during my life.

My family is a big part of who I am. They are always there when I need them and I love spending time with them. My parents are Joe and Rachel. They are always there for me and give me advice when I ask for it or not. My mom and dad are also my teachers. They inspire me to try new things and will help me learn or will learn right alongside of me. Then there are those times when I have needed help on my homework and they will always lend a hand. My dad is the person I go to if I just want to talk about my day. He will listen and comment on what I had to say. I love talking to my dad he knows how to cheer me up and just make me laugh. I also like talking to my mom. She knows how to help me get through a situation that is causing me a lot of trouble. She knows just what to say and when. Then there are my siblings Michaela, Timothy, and Sarah. I am closest to my sister Michaela. She and I have gone through so much together and she seems to know when I need her help. We have our differences and fights, but they never last long. We can always figure them out. I'm so glad I have Michaela by my side. My brother and I don't always get along, but there are those times. I love playing video games or watching a movie with him. We laugh and make jokes the entire time. My youngest sister Sarah and I aren't as close as I am to Michaela, but we share a few common interests, the biggest one is drawing. We have different interests when it comes to the subject of the drawings, but who cares it is something I can share with her. It's hard for me to understand my two youngest siblings because of our age difference, but we still know how to have a good time.


Friends play a part as well. I have had a great number of friends. One of my best friends has been with me since first grade, Chelsea. She and I hung out all the time when we were in elementary together and she is the only one who kept in contact with me when I transferred schools after third grade. We were still close when I came back in middle school. I love having her around. Another one of my best friends is Maddie. She came in 8th grade. She and I got along great and did a lot of things together. Then she had to move after 9th grade to Lincoln, but we still keep in contact. Morgan is my best friend as well. She and I really hit it off after high school started. She always knows how to make me smile and likes to challenge me to many things. Morgan is just fun to be around. She and I joke around a lot and have fun all the time when we're together. I have many more friends that have had an impact on me, but to name them all would take them a long time.


Church has been a big part of me. I have been going to church for as long as I can remember. I have gone to Cubbies, Sparks, and TNT. They all have impacted my life. They have also challenged me. The church I had been going to for most of my life did something my parents didn't agree with, and the next two didn't help either. Luckily we have finally found a church that feels like home again. It has also helped me grow in my faith and relationship with God. The hardships have all made me change and learn. It has taught me that you can't believe everything you are told. You must look in your Bible and find out the truth for yourself, but I love finally having a church family and home.


Music and dancing has been something that has been with me through thick and thin. I have been dancing since I was four. I was never taught a specific way to dance. It was just me and the music. I made my own style of dancing and listened to Christian and Christmas music. My style grew and changed. When I was little dancing was nothing but spinning, which is probably why I can spin for a long time and not get dizzy. But as I grew older I added cartwheels and summer salts and many more. Now I have a style that still includes my spins, but has many different aspects to it. My dance and choice of music would show you what I was feeling. It was also a way to release some of my stress and anger. Music and dance is also just and enjoyment for me. I have fun doing it.


Then there are those events in my life that changed me forever. The biggest is when my Grandma Ruby died. She died on January 1, 2003. It took a while to get over that and I still miss her and so does the rest of my family. Another big event was when I transferred schools. The whole reason I did was because it was a school in which I could talk about and study God. It changed me. I have a whole new perspective on what is around me.


My life is a dance. It is developing day by day until the time comes in which I must perform it. Every part of my life has created a new step. I don't know how my dance will change in years, months or even days to come, but I know I am going to go forward. My family, friends, church, music and dancing, and everything else will be right there to help and push me through. Dance is a way I express who I am. Everyone in my life has added to it and there is going to be many more to come.


Tradition










The artifact I brought was candy. The tradition that goes with it is about what my mom used to do when she was little. My grandma, her mom made a devotion booklet for Christmas. It has stories and devotions for each story which was read every day before Christmas. It had 24 stories in it. And for each night there was a piece of candy for my mom and her two sisters. After the story and devotion was read each one got a piece. The candy was tied to a piece of fabric my grandma had designed. My mom said it was very beautiful. It was made out of velvet with many decorations on it. There were three rows each with with 24 pieces of candy. That was a tradition my mom did when she was little around Christmas time.

Turn up the Music by Lemonade Mouth