Stephen Benner – I having been on a few trips this past year, ranging from beach trips, to mission trips, to camping trips. Daniel and I visited Julie and Jeremy in Fresno over spring break. I really enjoyed seeing Julie and Jeremy and their “life” out there, as well as the different landscapes of California from the mountains in the Sierras to the rolling hills of the farm country and the Pacific Ocean. I also went on a week-long mission trip downtown Knoxville with my youth group. I helped put a new roof on a house. It was sad to see a house with a collapsing roof that has a satellite  dish in the corner, but it was good to interact with the kids that lived there. I also went to the beach twice in the summer. I enjoyed playing golf on some real nice courses. I backpacked and camped with my youth group a few times over the spring and summer. We jumped off some rocks and swam in the Big South Fork River.
I serve on my youth group’s leadership team, and part of the role is to help lead a guy’s small group. I, along with 2 of my friends, have learned how hard it is to lead a small group, but it has been fun. I really like my youth pastor; he is fun, but at the same time he is also very intense. I am really looking forward to going on the annual senior trip to Italy with him.
This being my senior year, I have begun looking to college. I have applied to the University of Tennessee and Clemson University, in Greenville, SC. I want to go into the engineering program at one of those schools. I am thinking that it will probably end up being UT because it is in-state tuition and they have already guaranteed me some money. I’m excited to see what college will be like.