Dear 15-year-old Seth,
You are so much fun right now. You're leaving behind many (but not all) of the obnoxious boy behaviors and becoming more of a grown-up. I love it, even when I sometimes miss my little Seth. I just can't believe you're this big already (age and size--you're right around 6 ft. tall and the doctor isn't sure if you're done growing yet).
One thing that has really been a big change for you this year is your willingness to try new experiences. Like going to Norway with your grandpa. Or jumping off this rock into the river at AP camp:
Not too many years ago you would have flatly refused to try.
You were not a huge fan of the first day of AP camp. Apparently it was a looooooooong kayak ride without enough food, water, or sunscreen. But the rest you seemed to enjoy.
Church is still not your favorite. You're the TQ president right now, which means lots of meetings. You may have thrown a temper tantrum one day when you had to stay after for WYC, but generally you groan, but then you go. But you have good friends at church and seem to enjoy being there.
School you do enjoy. Not necessarily all the classwork (you especially hated Spanish), but you generally like your teachers and peers. And you like feeling like the smartest kid in the room, so your coding classes are some of your favorites.
You still spend a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT of time on screens. Between your computer (Minecraft, Roblox, programming, Discord, Call of Duty, TABS, etc.) and your phone (mostly texting and Clash Royale), it's still a battle to get you off. But you are also still a huge reader, so you'll just grab a book when I kick you off screens. This summer your goal was to try out Unity and Gimp. We shall see how long you stick with it.
Best buddies are still Gabe and Jack, along with Benjamin and Max, plus some school friends (Dylan, Fionna, Eddison, Rob, probably others that I can't keep track of). Every Friday night you to to Bro Night at Jack's house and spend the evening playing video games, watching movies, and eating Doug's delicious food with your friends.
You and Catherine are still best buds. You missed having her around to chat with when she was in Arizona. Aaron still idolizes you. And yes, you still love to pester. Elijah especially. You'll pin him down and 'snuggle' him until he screams and I make you let go. But he still loves you and sometimes even seeks out your pestering.
Having Jacob & Natalie around this summer has been the best thing ever. We see them several times a month and you love getting your Uncle Jakey time. Especially when it looks like this:
As we were at the beach for your birthday, I was thinking of how we really only have a few more summers with you before you head off to college or on a mission. I am excited for all the awesome things ahead for you, but sad to know you'll never really be at home again in the same way. But you are going to do great things. I love you, my Seth man.
(Apparently I forgot to do a birthday interview with you this year...oops...so we did one in March of 2024 instead)
Seth's Birthday Interview:
-Favorite color? "I don't know. Umm...maroon." (He wears a maroon shirt to school every day).
-Favorite food? "It depends, but I really love the angel hair pasta."
-Favorite dessert? "Dirt's pretty awesome (chocolate ice cream from Broom's Bloom)."
-Best friend? "Depends. Ugh. I'll give you my top three. Gabe, Jack. The obvious ones. Then, like, Benjamin."
-Favorite movie? "Dune."
-Favorite show? "Still probably Gravity Falls. Haven't really watched a whole lot of shows."
-Favorite non-screen entertainment? "Just go downstairs and play. Lincoln logs, plastic blocks, balls."
-Non electronic game to play? "Quartz is pretty epic. I don't know why, it's just a good game."
-Favorite game on screens? "There's a couple. Call of Duty. Minecraft is pretty good. I also like to program."
-Favorite snack? "Those cheesy puffs are pretty cool. We should get some Pirates Booty sometime. That would be nice."
-Favorite animal? "This guy [points to Elijah]."
-What do you want to be when you grow up? "What do you think, dude? Some sort of software guy."
-Favorite song? "I don't really have one. Barns Courtney is pretty good. There's a lot of other ones, too."
-Favorite book? "Chaos Walking was so good."
-Favorite school subject? "Probably Java cause it's the easiest freaking class."
-What are you looking forward to? "Being able to drive. Surprisingly, taking AP Comp Sci because I might have to actually do stuff with Java."
-Who's your secret crush? "I don't have one, because it's not a secret, because you guys suck."
