A Bothersome Game

Rain whips itself against the window
in a game played with the wind.
Amusement as it grabs hold
of each drop before it hits the ground.

Thrown with abandon at my window,
tedious pitter patter continues
before thunder decides to join in on this sport,
with cheers each time I cringe.

Another roar rumbles out of thunder's mouth,
rain taunts me behind the blinds.
They all know it's time to sleep,
yet continue the bothersome pastime.


I wrote this poem a while ago for my Creative Writing class, but this accurately describes trying to sleep last night.

I Clearly Have Nothing Better To Do...

Yeah, it's a Thursday (is it Thursday? In the summer I don't keep track of the specific days of the week) night and I am sitting at home. Alone. Any normal teenager would put on music and have a dance party for one, or watch TV, or something along those lines. Heck, they'd probably be out with their friends doing something. But, I'm not a normal teenager. What do I do on a Thursday night? That's right. I sit at home and take pictures of my cats. And then go on to blog about it. I'm soooo cool.

That's Buddy. I didn't notice until after I posted the picture that it looks like he's looking up at the text above him. Since I'm bored, I'll ramble on about the things in the picture behind him. There's a guitar that I meant to start playing about six months ago but never got around to it. There's also one of my sneakers.

Boredom at its finest. No wonder I don't have any followers...



The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

First day of summer vacation and...it's cloudy. I was totally expecting sunny, cloudless skies, but I guess that's not happening today. No worries. I have unread books sitting on my shelf so I'll be content enough. One book that I finished earlier today was The DUFF by Kody Keplinger. It wasn't exactly how I thought it would be based on the inside cover description, but it was still really interesting.

It made me think about our society (well, the part about being in highschool) and if we automatically think about these kinds of things? On page 256 there's a part that stood out. "...it was insulting and hurtful, and it was one of those titles that just fed off of an inner fear every girl must have from time to time. Slut, bitch, prude, tease, ditz. They were all the same. Every girl felt like one of these sexist labels described her at some point. So, maybe, every girl felt like the Duff, too?" 

I witness so much gossip at school everyday it's not even funny. There is always someone who uses one of those words when they talk about a girl. It's pretty degrading considering they don't know everything that goes on in that girl's life. And I agree that part of the reason why some people feel the need to degrade others and make them feel bad is because they themselves have insecurities.

That's how the book started. Wes, a player who flirts with every single girl that talks to him, started to talk to the main character, Biana, by telling her she was the Duff. That stands for "Designated Ugly Fat Friend" (as obviously written out on the cover up there) Basically he said her friends dragged her along so that it would make them look way better in comparison to her. It turns out that Wes has insecurites of his own which eventually made him put down Bianca.

Overall it was interesting because of all the other things that accompanied the insecurites of the characters. I put another hidden note in this book so hopefully once I return it to the library someone will find it and do as the note says. I'd like to start a book discussion!

Yearbook Messages

This will be a short post, but I wanted to incorporate it on my blog somehow. I asked my teachers to sign my yearbook today, and here is what my Marine Biology teacher wrote in mine:

"Thanks for the year! Live life like a jellyfish, stay beautiful but sting anyone that messes with you."

That is the most creative and heartfelt thing any teacher has ever written to me. He is an amazing teacher, and one of my favorites from this year. I'll miss not having that class anymore. I'll definitely be taking his advice though.

"Live like a jellyfish, stay beautiful, but sting anyone that messes with you."

Summer Goals

It's about time! I thought summer vacation would never get here! My school had to go all this time because of all the hurricanes and winter storms. Even though we had all that time off from that, it's a relief to finally be done and be able to relax. And to pursue all my summer goals.

Every year I always make a list of things I would like to accomplish by the end of the summer before I go back to school in the fall. So far my list looks like this:

• Go on an adventure
• Do something I've never done before
• Get some color (I'm extremely pale and have a ton of freckles. Maybe they'll all melt together and I'll have a nice tan...)
• Gain confidence
• Read EVERY day
• Study for SAT in the fall
• Fill out college applications/essays/all that lovely stuff
• Put more into my blog posts. Now I'll have about 8 weeks of free time.
• Get my license 
• Edit one of my stories enough so that I can send it to a publisher and hopefully get it published

They're not extremely ambitious goals, but they're things I would like to do before I go back to school. Every year I get closer and closer to accomplishing all the items on my list. Maybe this year I'll be able actually do them all. Challenge accepted!

Hidden Notes to (Hopefully) Get Noticed

So a completely and totally random idea just popped into my head. I am going to leave notes inside of library books that I check out and love for the next person to find that will invite them to visit my blog. Since google hasn't picked up my blog and the only people who view it now are people in Germany, Indonesia and Korea (I have no idea how they found it, but that's what my search engine says) it will be a creative way to hopefully get noticed by the intended crowd. Also, who doesn't think that finding a random note inside a book is intriguing?
So, if you find a note inside of a library book that looks along the lines of this :

Then that means I have read the book and enjoyed it. Now all I have to do is return these library books...

An Interesting Concept

In my Child Development class I'm learning about the importance of play for a young child. The teacher gave the class a poem to read about play and it really interested me. Here is just a small part of it (because it's quite long) that will be enough to get the point across.  

Just Playing
by: Anita Wadley
Gateways to Learning
Edmond, Oklahoma.

When I'm building in the block room, please don't say I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play about balances and shapes.
Who knows, I may be an architect someday.

When I'm getting all dressed up;setting the table, caring for the babies,
Don't get the idea that I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play;
I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint, or standing at the easel,
Or molding and shaping clay; please don't let me hear you say, "He is just playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play;I'm expressing myself and being creative,
I may be an artist or inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair, reading to an imaginary audience,
Please don't laugh and think I'm "Just Playing".
For, you see, I'm learning as I play;
I may be a teacher someday.
              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I really think about this concept it makes perfect sense to me. As children play they aren't just "playing" they"re learning and expressing themselves. It will, believe it or not, have an impact on their lives when they are older. When I was younger I would play with figurines, dolls, and blocks all the time. It wasn't just useless banter with the toys either. There was always a common theme to what I'd play and a problem that needed to be solved. I'd spend hours in my room with my toys building towns with blocks that spread out all over my room with dangerous mountains and forests on my bed or under my dresser. On nice days I'd be outside going on adventures with a backpack full of items ready for an exploration. I had a vivid imagination as a kid. Sometimes I'd even take whatever I was playing and turn it into a story and write it down the best I could.

I find this poem interesting because it's true. All my imaginative play as a child is translated into the imagination I have now to create stories and write all the time. A child is never "just playing" they are discovering interests that will stay with them as they grow up.