All through high school we had teachers, parents, and peers pushing us to decide what we are going to do after school. For some of us it is going to college, some are trying to find a job, but as for my cousin Chasten he has decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps. At first I disliked this idea. Chase and I have been close for our whole lives, so when he told me he wanted to go into the military I just couldn't imagine being without my best friend. Chase had met with his recruiter several times through the summer and went to Marines training once a week. His leave date was scheduled for September 13, 2010. The closer it came the more I didn't want him to leave. We threw him a going away party and a few days later, Chase got a call from his recruiter saying he would be leaving a week earlier. As if Sept. 13 wasn't coming fast enough now he was leaving on Sept. 6! Even though I didn't want him to go, I told him how proud I was of him and couldn't wait until he was done. I just received my first letter from him last week. On December 3 I get to go to San Diego for Chase's graduation.  

Justin's Wedding

 My brother Justin proposed to his girlfriend Stephanie July 4, 2009. Their wedding is on September 18th. I’m finding it all to be so overwhelming! I feel like I should be at home playing Lego’s with my brother, not standing in the front of the church as a bridesmaid. My brother and I are very close, he’s four years older than I am so when he moved out it was a huge adjustment. I remember him calling and telling me that he had met this girl and really liked her. About three years later he called to tell me that he was on his way to pick me up and we were going to go Belleville. On the way he told me that had bought an engagement ring and that he wanted me to keep it until he was ready to ask Stephanie. On July 2, 2010 I got a phone call from Justin saying that he wanted to ask Stephanie on the 4^th under the fireworks. On July 5^th Justin and Stephanie came over to announce their engagement. It was such an exciting weekend. They set a Sept. 18 as their date it has came very quickly. Wedding planning can be very exciting and stressful at the same time! 

My name is Devon Hecht, I'm from Chester IL. It's located right on the Mississippi River. I graduated from Chester High School in May 2010. In highschool I played volleyball and triple jumped for the track team. I liked staying involved with clubs and orginizations. I'm now attending SWIC and playing on the volleyball team at the Belleville Campus. I plan to continue school at SIUC and major in Graphic Design. I work at Chester National Bank at the Chester office as a teller. My favorite color is pink, my favorite season is summer. I have one brother named Justin. I love spending time with my family and friends. I like to read books written by Sarah Dessen. I listen to country and pop music. This is the first time I've ever done any kind of blogging. I'll blog once every week for my English 101 class hopefully I'll be able to come up with something interesting.