A Magical Thank You

So, needless to say, there have been a lot of posts about what people are thankful for over the past few weeks. And I think some people find them a bit annoying and redundant (especially if you're not American, I'd imagine) but I've always sort of liked them. I mean, we spend so much of our time just running around like these crazy people, and I feel like Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to slow down from all of the manic activity that composes our lives, stand back, and appreciate it all. Normally, though, I don't really take much time to think about what I'm thankful for personally. Yeah, sure, when we go around the table at Thanksgiving dinner, I'll definitely say what I'm thankful for, but usually it's not very well thought out and it tends to be a bit generic, like "I'm thankful for my awesome friends and family." They're always true, but not particularly meaningful or anything.

For some reason though, this year's been a bit different. I've really been thinking about what I have to be thankful for, and I have a LOT. But two things stand out in particular. Two things that weren't a part of my life this year; two things that are MASSIVELY important to me now - Harry Potter and Nerdfighting.

I didn't even read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows until Christmas Break last year. I loved Harry Potter when I was little, but then life caught up with me, curriculum books became my entire focus, and I just didn't have the time to give HP the attention he deserved. So I just...didn't. And then I remember sitting there late at night, and my dad was watching this documentary about Harry Potter. Not surprisingly, they started talking about the sixth movie, which would be coming out around six months later. It occurred to me that when the sixth movie came out, I actually wouldn't know what was going to happen. I panicked. No seriously, I freaked out. This was noooot okay with me. So I grabbed HBP off the shelves in our living room, and I started reading that night.

I was hooked. Over the course of the past year, Harry Potter has become my life. I can hardly go an hour without talking about something related to the series, even if it's just noticing that some common household item has the same colors as one of the Hogwarts houses. I started getting involved in the community, and things took off. I fell in love with wizard rock, I found the Harry Potter Alliance, and - I'm not even kidding - the world was suddenly a thousand times more beautiful. It's become an obsession, and I absolutely cannot imagine life without Harry Potter. Seriously, Jo Rowling has made me love the world again.

Amidst all of that, I was becoming more and more enthralled with the world of Nerdfighting. I'd started watching John and Hank's vlogs around this time of the year, and it didn't take long for me to realize that these were MY kind of people. By the time I got to January, I had watched all of the vlogs, I was attending my first BlogTV shows, and the channels I subscribed to on Youtube had tripled. I joined the Ning, and I was intrigued and sooo happy.

Things only get better from there. I became more and more involved. I started my own collab channel, 5RACKS, which was sort of short lived but amazing nonetheless. And then I started making my own videos on my personal channel.

And then I started meeting other Nerdfighters.

Oh my gosh, I can't even tell you how amazing these people are. Whether they've become some of my closest friends, or I just chat with them in the comments on videos, they've made me so freaking happy. I'm SO thankful for Nerdfighting, and as an added bonus, a good portion of Nerdfighters happen to be mondo Harry Potter fans as well.

So this is my thank you. All of you are absolutely amazing, and I love each and every one of you. I wouldn't be the same without you guys, really. <33

All-Around Amazingness

So. I sort of feel like it's about time I wrote another blog. It seems like every time I mention how much I enjoy blogging, something inevitably comes up to prevent me from doing the blogging I so enjoy. So a note to my future self: Think you like blogging and you wanna start doing it more? Well, that's fine and dandy, but DON'T SAY ANYTHING. Trust me, it won't do any good.

Anywho.

I have been super super busy lately, which is kind of weird, seeing as I had absolutely nothing going on for the first month and a half of school. This past weekend I went on TEC (Teens Encounter Christ), which is a weekend retreat I go on twice a year and pretty much my favorite weekend ever, and as per usual, it was absolutely amazing. I can never really figure out a way to explain TEC that does it justice, but I can definitely say that I miss it terribly, I had an incredible time, and I cannot WAIT to go back in the spring. I love TEC so freaking much. <33

For a long time, I was doing well on NaNoWriMo, but then I went to TEC and didn't have a chance to write at all for at least three days - no, I'm serious. Not a single word was written. And now I'm having a lot of trouble getting back into the swing of things. It's been two days since I got back from TEC, and I still haven't written anything. I'm sort of starting to think maybe I won't win this year after all, after ALL of my hard work and stubborn determination. But we have Thanksgiving this weekend, which means a lot of free time in which I can pooossibly get myself back in the swing of things. We'll have to see. Honestly, though, I don't think I'm gonna be devastated if I don't finish. I mean, I'll definitely be disappointed. But even without winning, it was totally a memorable experience, and I still wanna do it again next year no matter what happens. So I guess...we'll just have to wait and see, eh?

I don't really know what else to write about. I'm super tired, and I think I'm getting sick. Again. Maybe ACTUALLY sick this time too, so I'm sort of nervous.

OH. I know what I can talk about! A week and a half ago, we had to put my doggy down. Her name was Cubby, she was probably eleven years old, and she was the sweetest thing in the world. I was absolutely devastated, and I was at work when I found out what was wrong with her, which led to a bit of drama in the work place. She was so freaking cute, even if she was really obnoxious at some points, and I miss her like crazy. Howeeeever, something came up, and even though it's really soon, we've added a new member to the family! She's named Nora, she's two years old, and she's a German shorthair pointer. At first I was sort of unsure about adopting her, just because when I thought of getting a new dog, I was thinking of getting a puppy, and I mean a PUPPY. Like a playful little ball of fur and energy that I could play with when I got home from school and who would snuggle up to me at night. Nora, on the other hand, was quiet and timid, and she didn't even seem to know what playing was. Sure, she was adorable and overall I liked her, but needless to say, I was a bit torn on the whole situation. After going to TEC for the weekend though, I got back and she had come completely out of her shell. She is SO freaking quirky and adorable, and I love her to pieces. I'll definitely post a picture once I get one. 8D

I think that's all I really have time to say for now though! I love you guys! Have a good night. <3

My Fair Share Of Fortune

Yesterday was nothing sort of amazing, and even though it's late enough for yesterday to technically be two days ago, I feel the need to record it, and I'm well aware that if I don't do it now it won't ever happen.

Okay, the day was actually horrible until school got out. See, I have a bit of a history of being horrible at asking for days off when I can't work. This resulted in being scheduled to work during a mandatory meeting for TEC. To put it simply, I was in a drastically complicated situation. If everything didn't work exactly perfectly, I would either lose my job or lose my position as Spirit rector. I was freaking out the entire day, to the point of tears at a few select points. I mean, the entire time I was completely aware that the situation at that point was entirely out of my hands, and that all I could do was pray and hope for the very best, but I just couldn't get myself to lighten up no matter what I did.

I'd arranged to have my mom pick me up as soon as school got out, so I hurried home, changed into my uniform, and went in about an hour early to work. The way I saw it, I stood the best chance if Ryan was my shift leader, since he and I have the best relationship, but there was only a one in four chance that it'd actually be him managing my shift, so my stomach was turning flips the entire drive to Potbelly.

Well, guess who was my shift leader.

Yep, Ryan. After he smiled and clapped upon my arrival, I pretty much just told him my situation bluntly. Y'know his response? "Oh, that's absolutely no problem! So you need to be out of here around 6:30 then?" Seriously, man. I could hardly believe my freaking luck.

So I got to the meeting on time, and everything went PERFECTLY. I got my elephant costume for the entrance despite a few roadblocks, and everything went surprisingly according to plan. My co-rector and I tag-team like freaking beasts, and our team is gonna be great. TEC is one of my favorite weekends of the year, and I can tell that this fall's TEC is gonna be absolutely insane. I can hardly wait.

After heading home and just chilling out for a while, I decided to test my luck even further. See, I've been working on convincing my parents to let me go to a wizard rock concert in Ames, Iowa for WEEKS now, and just a few days earlier I'd finally convinced my mom that it was an okay idea. The only thing left to do was convince my dad of the same. We talked for a while; I acknowledged his concerns and reassured him as much as I could within reason. Ultimately, he agreed to let me go, and OH MY GOD I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT WAIT. The concert's on November 4th, which is rather inconvenient timing (it's a school night, and the day after my brother's birthday) but I am sosososooo excited. Even this early on, I can guarantee that this is gonna be one of my most memorable experiences...ever? Ahhh, I can't wait!

Anyways, that's pretty much the extent of the stuff I wanted to record. I'll catch you guys later!

Days Until Graduation: 234

Wrock Songs Owned: 285

Impending Overload of Awesome

So I have absolutely no freaking idea why I'm awake this late. But I am. And I've been reading blogs via my newly acquired Google Reader feed, and it made me wanna write something of my own. So uh, here I am!

Things up until now have almost been so chill that I've been worried I was missing something massive, but I can tell you that things are soon about to change. I was selected as one of the rectors for Spirit, probably the most complicated team on TEC, which means my schedule's about to become MUCH busier. Also, I've officially pledged my November to NaNoWriMo, which is insane and totally not something I needed to add on to my to-do list, but I'm massively excited none the less. Not gonna tell you what I'm writing about just yet, partially because I'm still not entirely sure myself, but if it's worth showing, I'll consider leaking it on EGB in the future.

Oh hey, speaking of EveryGirlBlog, the site's been AMAZING lately! Sarah's been interviewing YA authors, and ultimately we've been doing a buttload of things that are all community-filled and actually contacting the subjects of said articles. It turns out, the majority of the time, they actually respond and even promote the article a bit. Also, just like last week, we had our first day with over 200 views. Or was it viewers? I'm not entirely sure. But either way, it's freaking AWESOME, and I'm so proud of EGB. It's really turning out to be something worthwhile, man. And I mean, I sort of always considered it worth it anyways, but it's great seeing that a bunch of other people think so too.

Unlike the rest of the world though, my classes are veryveryveeery easy. I mean, they're harder than they were a week ago. But still, that's hardly saying anything. And already knowing which college I'm going to has turned out to be a massive blessing, albeit one that makes me a little bit nervous. I'm pretty sure I'll be just fine sticking with Winona, but what if I should be applying other places? I dunno, I guess we'll just have to wait and see next year, seeing as I can't think of any other schools to apply to.

But uh, yeah. I'm majorly exhausted now, so I'm gonna hit the hay. I have a long day of hanging out with my mom and her insane friend and then going to work tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Days 'Til Graduation: 241

Wrock Songs Owned: 274

Whirlwind Living

Things are kind of all a blur right now. I have so much I'm involved with, and even when it doesn't seem like it, I'm VERY busy. The thing is, I wouldn't have it any other way. For the first time ever, I feel like my life is focused around doing the things I love. And I wouldn't say that I'm enthralled with how things are going. I'm not jovial. Rather, I'm just very content. But in a way, this is how I'd rather have it. It seems like whenever things get so good that you're thaaaat happy, you quickly learn that they've been too good to be true. Contentedness seems to have a longer life-expectancy than exuberance. At least, I think so.

This week was homecoming week, which means each day was a dress up day. I gotta say, it was lots of fun. There are all sorts of senior traditions that come along with homecoming, and I've been dying to participate in some of them since I was a freshman, so I was really excited to finally have my chance. Obviously, then, I played along every day. And I've uploaded a picture to my Dailybooth each day of the week, if you're interested in taking a look. Tonight's the homecoming game and tomorrow's the dance, and you can guarantee that I'll be at those as well, taking pictures! I'm not going with a date to homecoming, but I sort of think it's better that way. At least for homecoming, you don't really neeeed a date, and it's always a helluva lot simpler when you don't have to coordinate everything with a partner. So I'm going to the dance with Mallery, Rodessa, and her boyfriend Tony. It's gonna be splendid. <3

I've been in school for nearly a month, and I'm still not entirely accustomed to the fact that this is my last year in high school. It's all still sort of foreign to me.

You can only imagine, then, how bewildered I was when I got a certain tidbit of news this afternoon. I ran out to check the mail, hoping to get a letter from my friend Teryn, and instead I found a letter to me from Winona State University, the one college I've applied to. It was small and thin, so naturally, I started to get a little bit worried. I mean, c'mon. I remember seeing Gilmore Girls years back, and when Rory got her acceptance letters, they were these massive packets. I can tell you that that's always been what I've expected. So naturally, Winona's letter alarmed me a little bit at first. I'd checked their admissions standards numerous times, and it looked like I was a shoe in for acceptance! This couldn't be a letter about my application.

Still, I tore open the letter, only to find that I'd been quite mistaken. It was indeed a reply to my application. And y'know what it said?

IT SAID THAT I'D BEEN ACCEPTED TO WINONA STATE UNIVERSITY! AHHH!

GUYS. GUYS. I'M GOING TO COLLEGE.

Yeah. So. Uh. Yeah. I'm massively excited. And I'm pretty sure I'm not even gonna bother applying to other schools, because I REALLY like Winona, and it offers everything I'm looking for in a school. So honestly, I'd rather focus on getting ready for my freshman year than wasting my time looking at schools I won't end up attending.

But all the sudden, I've graduated, y'know? As quickly as I've had to grasp the fact that I'm a senior in high school, I've been thrown into another situation, told to grasp the fact that I'm a freshman in college. It's bewildering. And amazing. And. OH mannn. Okay. I'm definitely not merely content when I think about going to college in nine months. I'm fucking thrilled.

This year is gonna be incredible. <3

So uh... What?

I really have no idea what's changed. I won't lie; this definitely isn't the first time I've started a blog before. But never before have I so consistently wanted to blog, and I have to wonder, what in the world makes this blog different? The last time I blogged with even remote consistency, it was probably the summer going into my Sophomore year of high school. And then, the only reason I was blogging was because I was severely depressed and I didn't really have any other outlet for the mottled batch of emotions I had spinnin' around my adolescent head. So why now?

I'll be honest - I first started writing on this blog again simply because I'm a follower and I like to feel included. So when a bunch of vloggers I respect and a lot of friends I love were all blogging, it didn't exactly take me long to get sucked into the whole thing. But I don't really think that's what it is now. I think I've figured out two reasons why I have this sudden interest in something so entirely self-absorbed though:

I think Hayley G. Hoover actually worded the first one perfectly in her birthday blog post - "Not because I've given tonight's blog post a ton of thought, but because I know I would hate myself later if I didn't put forth any effort." I think I just sorta recognize that this is a massive part of my life with a major buttload of potential, and I wanna make sure that in the future, when I wanna look back at the year and remember it (because I know I will) that I have a really accurate way to do so. I wanna be able to reminisce with myself years down the line, and I can't really think of a better way to make that possible than to document my goings-on.

Now that I think of it, I can probably quote Hayley from the same post for my second reason too: "Less than a year ago, I began writing a blog. At first, it was just a way to pass the time. Now, it is consistently the most relaxing and meditative part of my day." Okay, so I can't say that this is true for me just yet, but I sort of desperately hope that eventually it will be. I've made it more than clear that I've loaded myself up to the max with activities and school and working, and while I really do love most of what I do, none of it's just for me, y'know? This is the only time and place I feel like I have absolutely no obligations to anyone, and I can do with it whatever I please. And there's a helluva lot to say about that, agreed?

Honestly, I hardly know why I care so much though. I mean, does it really matter why I'm doing it, as long as it's being done, I'm enjoying it, and it's not causing any harm? Probably not, but I've always had a bit of a preoccupation with asking questions.

Such a strange world...

Okay, so I really don't have time to be writing this, but this weekend's been pretty eventful, and I feel like I should record it. So uh, here goes. Bahaha.

On Saturday, I took my senior portraits at the Japanese gardens at Normandale. It was REALLY freaking pretty there, and I'm so glad I chose to take my pictures there. They had a waterfall and everything and it was just ugh. Gorgeous. I had two and a half outfits, you could say. The first one was just a black tank top with a lil' pink sweater and jeans, and I like to think of it as my "Katie as you know her" outfit. Like, if I was just gonna get dressed for school and try to look a lil' bit better than I usually do, then that's something I might choose. But then I had my second outfit, which I've dubbed my "Katie all grown up" outfit. It was like, this short-sleeved brown sweater dress thing, with these REALLY cute brown boots, a waist belt, and black leggings. I gotta admit, I usually wouldn't dress like that, but I felt really freaking pretty in it. What I meant by the half outfit though, is for a few pictures in the set, I donned my Hufflepuff scarf and pulled out my copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (it's my favorite). He had me sit on this stone wall that was sort of overlooking the rest of the garden, and I seriously feel like it sorta had a Hogwarts vibe to it - there was a willow in the background and everything, man. I should be getting proofs of the pictures in like a week, and I can't wait to scan them onto here and show you guys. >:D

OH HEY. But even before senior portraits, I met the girl I'm gonna be leading my new HP Alliance chapter with! Her name's Stephanie, and she's 19, and she's TOTALLY awesome. I still can hardly believe there's another Hufflepuff Nerdfighter in the Twin Cities. We just chilled out for like an hour around the Mall of America and bonded and wasted time, and it was so great. I can't wait to meet up with again or something and start planning the interest meeting for our chapter.

Later that night I pretty much just camped out on the computer and talked to my Skype friends. Seriously, it was a major heart-to-heart moment. We talked about a lot of really personal stuff we'd just never really gotten around to otherwise, and it was really freaking nice. I don't have much I wanna say about it, but I just wanted to tell everyone from that chat that I love you sosososooo much, and you're all amazing, whether you were there last night or not.

Todaaay though, I had my first Spectrum meeting of the year! Spectrum is my church's senior high youth group (grades ten through twelve) and I love it so much. I'm on the leadership team with like, fifteen kids, so we've planned out the entire year together, and I think it's gonna be really fun this year. Ben, one of the other kids on leadership team, has been insisting on doing those parachute games we all used to do when we were in like preschool for the games section, and we finally got to do it today, and it was chaotic and random and wonderful. My best friend Mallery tagged along today too, and it sounds like she's gonna do her best to come with on Sundays from now on, so I'm really excited.

But none of that's really what I actually wanted to talk about. The whole reason I started this blog post in the first place is to explore how freaking weird senior year is. I got home from youth group, and I ended up talking to my mom and our friend Reneé about how there are these kids from the Honors English program that I've just never gotten along with. But then I ended up mentioning that despite the fact that we have next to nothing in common and they drive me crazy, I genuinely love these kids. It's so weird. Senior year is SO weird. Like, half of the kids at my school, I honestly don't like. But I still love them, because it's like they're family, y'know? Like that drunken uncle who you always see at Christmas that totally creeps you out, but you always give him a big smile and hug him when he's leaving, just because even if he's weird, he's still one of your own. Y'know what I mean? I dunno, maybe none of that makes sense. But either way, it sort of just occurred to me that I'm sort of gonna miss high school a bit. I've always known that I'll be the one crying at graduation, but I think I've always sort of assumed that was because of the select few people that I REALLY care about at Richfield, and that it'll be the end of a major chapter in my life. But it sorta just hit me today that that's not gonna be the only reason I'm crying at graduation.

Oh man, everything's so mangled and unclear. It's horrible, but I sort of love.

Thoughts On What's To Come

I feel the need to blog as I sit here at 2:26 in the morning, and for some reason, here seems like a more appropriate place to do this than Tumblr. Not entirely sure why this is. Maybe because pretty much all of my friends that have Tumblr also have a separate blog on which they actually... y'know, post stuff. Either way, I'm here, so let's get this party started!

I am now officially a senior in high school, and I gotta say, it is an increeedibly awkward transitional stage I'm in the middle of right now. I mean, on one hand, I cannot wait to graduate and get the hell out of here come June 14th, 2010. (Yes! I already know the date of my graduation! Yaaay!) But on the other hand, I feel like this is my last year entirely absorbed in the city I've spent nearly all of my life in. More than anything, I'm slowly becoming more aware that this is the last time I have guaranteed to spend with my best friends, and I really just wanna make the most of every opportunity.

But dear GOD, I am so sick of high school.

Frankly, I've been pretty much done with this shit since Sophomore year. I mean, I've at least gotten to the point that I'm working hard to do well in my classes, but as far as the whole education thing goes, I'm totally ready to move on to the next thing. This year's still gonna be REALLY hard though. Most people sign up for all the easy classes their senior year, right? Somehow I got stuck in FOUR advanced classes: College Prep Chemistry, AP Literature, AP Statistics, and CIS Spanish 4.* So far, I think I can do it, but I also think it's safe to say that this year's gonna be pretty hellish at points. On top of school, I also have a part-time job, I'm on the leadership team for my church's senior high youth group, I'm writing for Every Girl Blog, and I'm starting the first-ever Twin Cities chapter of the HP Alliance. That is a LOT going on.

Actually, I'm starting to get nervous. The problem is, I'm not sure I can balance school and all of these things I love to do, while STILL making the most out of everything I can. But I guess only time can tell, and we'll just have to wait and see, huh?

* For those of you who don't know, CIS stands for College In The Schools. I get 5 college credits from the U of M each semester. 8DD

BEDA #10: A Lil' Myers-Briggs, Yo.

ENFP - EXTRAVERTED INTUITION WITH INTROVERTED FEELING

The Inspirer, The Advocate, The Visionary, The Champion, The Reporter.

INFO I FOUND THAT’S TRUE FOR ME:

• As an ENFP, your primary mode of living is focused externally, where you take things primarily via your intuition. Your secondary mode is internal, where you deal with things according to how you feel about them, or how they fit with your personal value system.
• ENFPs are warm, enthusiastic people, typically very bright and full of potential. They live in the world of possibilities, and can become very passionate and excited about things. Their enthusiasm lends them the ability to inspire and motivate others, more so than we see in other types.
• They can talk their way in or out of anything.
• They love life, seeing it as a special gift, and strive to make the most out of it.
• Since emotional excitement is usually an important part of the ENFP’s life, and because they are focused on keeping “centered”, the ENFP is usually an intense individual, with highly evolved values.
• An ENFP needs to feel that they are living their lives as their true Self, walking in step with what they believe is right.
• They see meaning in everything, and are on a continuous quest to adapt their lives and values to achieve inner peace.
• They’re constantly aware and somewhat fearful of losing touch with themselves.
• ENFPs have an unusually broad range of skills and talents. They are good at most things which interest them.
• Project-oriented, they may go through several careers during their lifetime.
• To onlookers, the ENFP may seem directionless and without purpose, but ENFPs are actually quite consistent, in that they have a strong sense of values which they live throughout their lives. Everything that they do must be in line with their values.
• An ENFP needs to focus on following through with their projects. This can be a problem area for some of these individuals.
• Unlike other Extraverted types, ENFPs need time alone to center themselves, and make sure they are moving in a direction which is n sync with their values.
• [ENFPs] may fall into the habit of dropping a project when they become excited about a new possibility, and thus they never achieve the great accomplishments which they are capable of achieving.
• Most ENFPs have great people skills. They are genuinely warm and interested in people, and place great importance on their interpersonal relationships.
• Sometimes, especially at a younger age, an ENFP will tend to be “gushy” and insincere, and generally “overdo” in an effort to win acceptance.
• However, once an ENFP has learned to balance their need to be true to themselves with their need for acceptance, they excel at bringing out the best in others, and are typically well-liked.
• They have an exceptional ability to intuitively understand a person after a very short period of time, and use their intuition and flexibility to relate to others on their own level.
• They place no importance on detailed, maintenance-type tasks, and will frequently remain oblivious to these types of concerns. When they do have to perform these tasks, they do not enjoy themselves.
• An ENFP who has “gone wrong” may be quite manipulative - and very good at it.
• The gift of gab which they are blessed with makes it naturally easy for them to get what they want.
• Always seeing the possibilities of what could be, they may become bored with what actually is.
• ENFPs are basically happy people. They may become unhappy when they are confined to strict schedules or mundane tasks. Consequently, ENFPs work best in situations where they have a lot of flexibility, and where they can work with people and ideas.
• They have the ability to be quite productive with little supervision, as long as they are excited about what they’re doing.
• Because they are so alert and sensitive, constantly scanning their environments, ENFPs often suffer from muscle tension.
• There are two major trends in the occupations that are most popular with ENFP s. Most of the popular occupations involve working with people by providing counseling, personal or spiritual services, or teaching, or by helping them feel or look better.

INFO I FOUND THAT’S FALSE FOR ME:

• ENFPs almost always have a strong need to be liked.
• Most ENFPs will not abuse their [manipulative] abilities, because that would not jive with their value systems.
• They need to maintain control over themselves, but they do not believe in controlling others.
• They dislike of dependence and suppression extends to others as well as to themselves.
• Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, moreso even than the other NFs.
• They can’t bear to miss out on what is going on around them
• Some have real difficulty being alone, especially on a regular basis.
• They spend many hours wondering and discussing with friends whom they will marry, where they will live, what their children will be like, and what work they will do.
• They leave no option or possibility unexplored and find it difficult to see themselves in any single job or career.

BEDA #9: A To-Do List

Okay, once again I don't have time to do a proper blog. At least not right now; maybe later tonight. To suffice, I'm gonna just make a to-do list of things that need to get done sometime this week. Mainly for my own purposes, but maybe it'll be interesting for you guys too. Though I highly doubt it. o_O

• Write at least half of my wheat
• Finish AP Bio study guide by Wednesday
• Do tone words notecards by Tuesday
• Film 5RACKS video by Thursday
• Film AccioNerdfighters video by Thursday
• Finish Demons capes by Thursday
  
• Put together demon costume by Thursday
  
• Do laundry by Thursday
  
• Do health homework by Monday
  
• Create superhero costume by Thursday
  
• Write Ecogeek article by Saturday
  
• Finish "How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint" article by Friday
  
• Maybe see if Hank Green will make a video for EcoWeek? >:D by Thursday
  
• Do partner essay evaluation by Tuesday
  
• Find red masks by Thursday
  
• Tell Mallery's friends to write her wheat by Thursday
  
• Collect wheat for Mallery and Luisa by Thursday
  
• Make cookies/cupcakes for Thursday
• Make name cards for Creative Foods by Wednesday
  
• Find old Halloween decorations by Wednesday
  

BEDA #8: Birthday Wish-List

OKAAAY. So frankly, I don't really feel like writing much today. So instead, I'm gonna do something different. My birthday's April 24th, which is this upcoming Friday. So instead of doing a typical blog post, I'm gonna do a list of things I'd looove to have for my birthday, spanning from totally probable to incredibly unlikely. I've linked to each item at the end of the teensy weensy lil' description.

• Voldemort Can't Stop Barack T-Shirt $20.99 - Skreened
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince T-shirt $22.00 - Hot Topic
• Hufflepuff House Scarf $16.99 - Alivan's
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD $13. 49 - Target
• Beware of Unicorns T-shirt $18 - Threadless
• Pole Vault T-shirt $18 - Threadless
• Grandpa Cassette T-shirt $18 - Threadless
• Okay, just about ANY Threadless shirt $18 - Threadless
• Wrockstock Ticket(s) $75 - Wrockstock
• So Jokes by Hank Green $8.99 - Amazon
• Wizard Rock EP Of The Month Membership $60 - The Wizard Rock Club
• Hawthorne Wand $38.00 - Alivan's
• Any Wizard Rock CD's

Aaand I'm getting bored. A real post tomorrow, I promise!

BEDA #7: TossInTheLakeathon

Today was so jokes, man.

I woke up around seven, and we headed to Edina to the house that we were gonna be working at. The day started off slow at first. We were just raking and stuff like that, nothing major. And really, no one I really knew very well had shown up yet. Plus, I was too tired to really be excited about anything at that point.

Ohh, did things ever pick up, though.

While we were waiting for Jim to bring the stain, we were all sorta just standing around and chatting. Then Gary, our youth leader, told us that we should head inside while we were waiting at take a look at the house. And dear God, it was adorable. I swear, just about every spot within Shotzy's - that's the name of the woman who lived there- reach was absolutely covered in the most adorable little trinkets. My mom and I ended up talking to her for the longest time, and it turns out she reeeally likes my grandpa, who's one of the priests at my church. And I swear, she was the most darling little old lady I've ever seen. I loved her to pieces.

But ultimately, we ended up going back outside, and we stained the entire outside of the house, which took a long. long. time.

That wasn't the fun part though. What was really great about the Workathon was the presence of this man-made lake right behind Shotzy's house. You can imagine that after five hours of working, twenty kids between fourteen and eighteen would start getting a little restless. Well, ever since like two hours into the whole Workathon, Dan, Tim, and I had been talking about how by the end of the day, someone needed to be thrown in the lake. I was in the backyard staining some of the posts supporting the deck when we see it. Tim and Dan scoop Sarah, one of the sophomores, up off her feet, and carry her out into the little deck. Everyoneee out there was whopping and hollering and cheering them on, and Jim, the one who got us the stain, had his camera out and everything.

But when they finally counted down, Tim didn't let go. So ultimately Sarah only got her shoes wet. The rest of the juniors, myself included, weren't so okay with this.

Not much later, Addison, Evan, and I climbed down from deck and just say, "Anyone who doesn't have stain all over their hands, grab the camera." We were making this sorta slow procession towards Dan, Sarah, and Tim, and then we made a dart for it. Sarah ran, of course, but I caught 'er by the waist and we dragged her out to the dock. Again. From there, we got an awesome set of action shots, one of which actually has Sarah in the process of flying through the air. Maaan, I wish I could show you guys, but I need to get them from Jim, and he hasn't put them on Facebook yet. I promise I'll put them up here once I get 'em.

For pretty much the rest of the time we were there though, it was complete war. Dan and I actually ended up getting in like, a full-fledged wrestling match trying to get each other into the lake, and I have a nice little gash in my eyebrow from my glasses right next to the scar from where I tripped and my glasses cut into the same eyebrow when I was like, three or four. I'd like to announce that with the help of some others, I won. Though neither of us aaactually fell in the lake.

I was absolutely exhausted when I got home though. I ended up taking a niiiice long nap, and opted for a bubble bath instead of a shower once I woke up. Man, work hasn't been that fun in a long time though.

BEDA #6: Spread The Loooove

OKAY, KIDZZ. So I'm posting twice today, because I said when I started BEDA that I was gonna make up for the days I've missed, and for real, that's what I plan on doing. Plus, I sorta wanted to blog about nonimportant things today, and the blog post I did earlier today on the Day of Silence didn't really leave room for that. So I guess that means it's perfect timing for another BEDA post! 8D

I got my BEDA buddies today too! Their names are Rishem, Patty, and Kristyn, and every single one of us is a Harry Potter is that. How freaking awesome is that?! I'm really really excited, man. And I'm trying to think of something to do for like, group bonding or whatever, but I haven't quite thought of any ideas just yet. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see, eh? For now though, I'm planning on just featuring one of them per day. Partly because this gives me a chance to get more in-detailed for each of them instead of just doing a brief overview of all three of 'em at once. But mainly it's just because Rishem is the only one whose blog I've found thusfar, so it's a bit hard to say anything about the other two. Bahaha.

You can click here to see Rishem's blog! :U

So far, I'm thinkin' she's a pretty rockin' cat, mann. I mean, c'mon. How could someone planning the eventual dictatorship of Canada not be awesome, right? Plus, I'm thinking we have some sorta mojo between us, because she mentioned Slumdog Millionare in her April 15th post, and we juuust rented it. So I think it's kinda awesome that I'm already doing what she's telling to before I even know what the commands are. Ahaha. And she's a freaking NERDFIGHTER. BE DO DO DOOO. I mean, I'm sure a massive amount of kids who know of Maureen Johnson know of her because of John Green and Brotherhood 2.0, but hey, still. A Nerdfighter's a Nerdfighter.

Okay, paragraph format for this is kinda hard, so here's a list of reasons why Rishem's awesome:

1. She's a Nerdfighter
2. She likes Harry Potter
3. We have some sort of telepathic bond
4. She's planning a dictatorship
5. Even with the BEDA days she's missed, she looks like a freaking pro compared to me
6. She had lasagna for dinner on the 15th
7. She lives in another country, even though it's only Canada
8. She's making some really sweet and really awesome points in her blogs. Especially on Day 4: "Something I'm realizing more and more everyday is that nobody ever has to be alone in anything. There will always be someone there for you and if you're really lucky you won't be able to push them away. Whatever your excuse is, you don't want anybody to suffer with you, they don't wanna hear about this, they've got problems of their own, I can do this on my own, etc. Whatever it is, they'll be there. And I'm so glad that I have people like that in my life. They've made everything so much easier for me and I don't know what I would have done if they weren't there. But, what I was getting to before was that everything's a lot harder if you don't let those people in and share what's going on. Sometimes even having someone there that will listen is good enough to ease the burden." One of my biggest things lately is that I've been feeling really, really lonely. Junior year is ridiculously busy, and it just seems like everyone's gotten so sucked up in their own crap that I don't even see the kids I used to spend every single day with anymore, and it just gives me a fuzzy feeling reading some of the things she's written.
9. She's a supporter of To Write Love On Her Arms. 8DDD [Click here for my article on TWLOHA]

But anyways, tomorrow I'm going to this old lady's house from my church and working for eight hours. I'm going on a mission trip to Cabrini Green, the projects in Chicago, this summer with my church, and every year we have a Workathon where kids who need extra money call up parishioners and as them to pledge us money for spending one day working for someone from the church. This year, I think we're doing a bunch of yardwork and rebuilding a retaining wall for her, and part of me's really excited for it.

I remember last year during the Workathon, I had my robot baby for child development. Ohhh man was THAT ever interesting. It was raining outside, and pretty much what we did for the entire day was deconstruct this rotting garage that happened to be at the top of this hill that led right down to a swamp. So I had to keep running back and forth between carrying gigantic chunks of rotten wood and making sure Connor, who was underneath a towel the entire time, wasn't crying. It was so. Hard. I swear though, I loved having Connor so much though. Even if he was a robot baby, he was absolutely endearing, and he still TOTALLY tugged on my motherly instincts. Honestly, I still miss the lil' guy. <333

It's gettin' late though, and like I said, I have to get some work done tomorrow. I have a video planned though, and if it doesn't fall through, I think it's safe to say it'll be up within the week.

Catch you guys tomorrow! <3

BEDA #5: ¡SILENCIO, POR FAVOR!

Sooo, today's GLSEN's Day of Silence. And this year, like I've wanted to do for sooo many years now, I finally participated.



For those of you who don't know. Day of Silence is an annual event where students of all races, ages, locations, and interests go without speaking for one day. For one day, everyone participating makes a point to "stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves", spotlighting lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders who are being bullied, discriminated against, and mistreated in a surprisingly large host of ways. For one day, students put their food down to end the silence that many people in the LGBT community are forced to live in out of fear of being condemned by our society. Each person sports a little tag for the length of the day that reads:

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling, and harrassment. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building awareness and making a commitment to address these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.

Actually, a surprising amount of people at my school participated. Which really REALLY was a good feeling. It's wonderful knowing that at the very least, there are so many young people just within my own community who are willing to do so much as publicly state that they support the LGBT community. And I gotta say, I was REALLY into it. I mean, I'm not gonna lie and say that I didn't say a single word all day. but from the time I slid the pass around my neck to the time I walked through the door, I seriously tried my hardest not to speak. Which is really. really. REALLY HARD. There were only two times that I directly abandoned the hope of making it through a certain scenario without words: in AP English class, when we were working on our partner essays (it's a lil' hard to write an essay with someone who has to pause and type out their response every time you say anything to them, I'd imagine) and in Creative Foods when we were planning our appealing meals groupy thingamabob. I knew what was going on 20x more than anyone else in our group, and it would've taken waaay more time than we had for me to write it all out.

I gotta say though, part of me was really upset today. Y'know why? Because I saw numerous people cheerily hosting the tags around their necks describing the message of DOS, but not even putting a fraction of effort into the Silence that composes the entire day after, what, the first hour? And maybe I'm just really really overreacting, but it sorta just added a certain amount of factuality and realism to what my US History teacher always says - that we can say we want to make all the change in the world, but 90% of us will give up on the cause before we even start it. Which is a horrible thing to say, y'know? But it's so much more horrible to see how much of a reality that is.

Still, even just for me, the silence was moving. And it was a lot quieter, even with the people who didn't follow through with the message. For myself alone, it really helped pound in the weight of not being able to convey something you really wanted, and in some cases even needed to say. Sexuality is such a large part of who you are, and I almost wanna say that I feel lucky to be straight. Simply because I honestly don't know if I'd have the strength to deal with some of the torment that's part of the package of homosexuality. We're learning about the Civil Rights Movement in my US History class right now, and participating in the Day of Silence really made me feel like I was part of a whole new little Civil Rights Movement, y'know? And it's so powerful to me, to know that even if there were a few kids around school with "Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve" tags around school, there were hundreds more supporting the cause.

BEDA #4: John Green WOULD make it into my essay

Don't have time to write anything today. Instead, Imunna stick mah 5RACKS video in here and post the first paragraph of my Huck Finn essay:

John Green, novelist and public speaker, once said, “At some point, you gotta stop looking up at the sky, or one of these days you’ll look back down and see that you floated away, too.” Young Huckleberry Finn of Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn proves just how easy it is for even a young boy to be swept off a realistic grounding out of envy of those they see as above them. Just as Green warns us we might do, Huck becomes so enveloped in the ideals of the society that surrounds him that he loses any grasp of his own opinions he may have had. It is through the powerful influence of society over Huck that Twain uses Huck as an example of the modern view of tabula rasa in this sense. Once Huck is removed from society, however, the pressure to think and ultimately live following a strict format is dissolved enough for him to finally form his own opinion. The positive influence that this has on Huck’s character provides perfect clarity as to Twain’s own opinions on the value of Locke’s definition of tabula rasa versus that of modern society. However, when Huck returns to society, the modern view once again supersedes Locke’s and all the progress that had been made while separated from society is quickly erased. It is through this sudden dissipation of morals that Twain comments on society as a whole, using his omnipresent method of twisting his message amidst his words to display his displeasure in how much society forms their own views based on the views of society as a whole.

BEDA #3: Tuneage and Testing

Okay, so I'm talking with my lovely friend Ashley from Fabyuhluhs about Tuneage Tuesday articles, and it is reminding me of a ridiculous amount of bad music. Do you guys remember "Pieces Of Me" by Ashlee Simpson? Gaaag. Bahaha. Oh man, for real. It's conversations like these that make life worth living:

Katie: We should do a Tuesday Tuneage. I bet we could think of a stupid topic.
Ashley: xD
Katie: NATIONAL ANTHEMS. Lawl.
Ashley: oh god xD
Katie: Most boring Tuneage Tuesday EVER.
Ashley: that would be amazing. or worst songs ever. like.
Katie: OH MY GOD. YES.
Ashley: call it 'so bad it's funny'
Katie: Like the ones they play at wedding receptions!
Ashley: yeah xDDD and just songs no one likes, like NO one
Katie: HAHA. Numa Numa has to be on there. xDDD
Ashley: bijorke or however the hell you spell her name. bee-york
Katie: That one song Paris Hilton did.
Ashley: you mean all of them? LAWL
Katie: HAHAHA. "TUNEAGE TUESDAY: Artists that shouldn't be allowed microphone access!" Bahaha.

Anyways, enough bashing wedding reception DJ's.

The thing is, I really don't know what else to write about. I've missed a lot of school for numerous reasons this week, and by the looks of it, school is the only time that anything ever happens in my life. Or at least, that's how it looks judging by how I can't think of anything to talk about.

I guess mainly I've been focusing on surviving this hell that composes junior year. Seriously kids, it is just as horrible as they've always told you it is. I'm taking eight classes this semester when most kids only take six, and two of those classes are AP level, so you can only imagine how over-my-head I am in work. I think it's safe to say that things are slowly but surely improving though. I got 80 out of 80 on my digestive system t-shirt, 30/30 on my animal functions study guide, and 34/34 on my cardiac functions assignments in AP Biology, and seeing as how I have like, a D- in that class right, that's actually gonna do a lot of good. AP Bio's really tricky to describe though. Because I mean it, I absolutely love this class. Especially now that we're finally done with incomprehensible crap and stuff that I flat out lack any interest in like protists and plants, I genuinely find the subject material intriguing. I mean c'mon, have you read my last blog entry? It's just a really hard class. Which...is obvious. It's AP. I have no idea what I was expecting when I signed up to take it, but I was horribly mistaken.

It's definitely a lot easier now that I've at least asserted myself enough in the class to prove to my teacher that I care about the grade that I come out with. And I'm pretty sure that I'll wind up with a semi-alright grade by the end of the semester. I just gotta tell everyone who's still doing the whole "high school" thing that you are much better off taking classes that are going to be easy and getting A's in them than taking hard classes just for the sake of saying you took them in the first place and failing. For real, not only is it gonna look a helluva lot better on your GPA, but it's a lot more responsible. And high school's already gonna be hard as hell without having to worry about ridiculously hard classes; don't push yourself too hard. I mean, for some kids honors is the only way of getting any sort of challenge. But it's all really a matter of knowing your own limits and following them within reason.

No one should choose to take two extra classes unless they really really need to.

On a completely random topic, I've finally been doing a bit of writing! We've had the MCA's this week, which - for you kids who aren't from Minnesota - are these standardized tests that you need to pass in order to be able to graduate. And as a junior you take the math ones. That means yesterday and today, the first two hours of school have been entirely devoted to eighth grade mathematics. Needless to say, it doesn't take me two hours to do fifty eighth grade math problems. So for the second hour of testing, I sorta just...wrote. It's really not much, and I have absolutely no where it's going but here's what I got:

I cradle my head in my elbow, the light stench of the preservatives from the who-knows-how-old pig fetus we dissected first hour wafting gently from hand to nostril just heavily enough to keep me from dozing off in class. Which is probably in my best interest in the grand scheme of things, I decide as Mr. Holle lumbers warily around the classroom. His hands are pinned behind his back as he passes behind student after student, his eyes cast upon the essay we're supposed to be writing with such obvious displeasure that I'm sure the only thing keeping him from throttling Chip Tandon is his won tight grip on his right wrist. But you can't exactly blame me for my reluctancy to answer the writing prompt. First off, a badger could think of a more enticing essay topic than this. lus, you wouldn't exactly be so keen to delve into the wonderful world of worlds either if you were me.

I sigh and straighten up a little bit as Holle rolls closer to my table, my pencil drifting slowly from a surprisngly poor-quality doodle of a garden gnowme to what vaguely resembles a thesis statement. My gut groans nervously as I realize it's only the third sentence I've written in the forty-five minutes that have spanned since Holle told us what to write on. My stomach groans again - this time a bit louder - as he stops right behind where I'm sitting. His teeth are clamped so tightly together that I imagine him as an anaconda, doing all he can to keep himself from unhinging his jaw and swallowing me whole.

Okay, so it's only two paragraphs, but I'm still really really happy with it! But now I've gotta go listen to music, play tetris, and maybe even keep writing a bit. I'll try to post tomorrow, guys!

BEDA #2: BRAAAINZZ. I WANT BRAAAINZ.

Okay, I'm really really really excited for tomorrow.

More specifically, I'm really really really excited for my AP Biology class.

Why, you ask, would one ever be excited for a class as undoubtedly challenging and horrid as AP Biology? Well, because tomorrow in my 2nd hour AP Bio class, we're dissecting brains. Yeah, awesome right!? They're sheep brains, to be specific, and for real. I am incredibly. INCREDIBLY. Excited. I said it in my last post - I'm totally crazy about psychology and neurology, and while (obviously) cutting a sheep's brain into pieces doesn't do much to inform me on how we process stimulants and the likes, it's still just one more piece of this infinite puzzle that I am so. infatuated with. And I really want to do anything I can to get those puzzle pieces.

And the thing is, I've never really minded dissection. Which is...really weird, actually. I mean for Pete's sake, I can't even smoosh a spider on my own. But hand me a scalpel, and I'll slice into that pig fetus like none other. Well, I'll have to fill you in tomorrow though. Because it's 11:45, and I gotta hit the hay, yo.

BEDA #1: Never too late to jump on the bandwagon?

Yep, I'm joinin' in on BEDA (Blog Every Day in April). Yep, I'm well-aware that it's April 4th already, but I wanted to join in anyways after reading soo many great blogs that're doing it. And I wouuuld call it BJAEDA (Blog Just About Every Day in April) but that's more than a little bit confounded and obnoxious, so I'm thinking I'm just gonna stick with BEDA. I'm thinking I might post multiple blogs on a few days to make up for the three days I've missed, but I can't make any promises or anything.

Anyways, God knows I've done enough dilly-dallying getting into this anyways, so I should probably get down to business before I get bored of the entire idea of writing this damn thing and run off to play Tetris or something. Pahaha.

Actually, that was something I wanted to talk about: I'm having a bit of an issue. Lately, I've just had absolutely no motivation, want, or desire to sit down and write. And I mean, maybe this isn't something new, but to be perfectly honest, it's sorta weirding me out, man. The theme on 5RACKS this week was "dream jobs", and it was pretty damn inevitable that I'd think about how I wanted to be a writer more than anything else on the entire freaking planet from fourth grade 'til tenth. Seriously, it was all I wanted to do. I remember my mom used to tell me that it was really unlikely that I'd ever be able to support myself on writing alone and I used to cry when she told me that I should probably look into doing something else with my life and just do writing on the side. Not even like little whimpers either. Even in 8th grade, I'd hardcore cry because I was so devoted to pursuing writing that the idea of pursuing ANYTHING else was just atrocious to the point of inducing tears.

Uhh, yeah. Not exactly feeling the same way now.

I mean, don't get me wrong. Writing is still something that I absolutely 100% love, but it's just...not...that high on my list of things to devote my time to, I guess. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty much entirely hung up on the idea of a different career now: psychologist. It's pretty much written in stone at this point that when I declare my major in college, it WILL be psychology - with either another major or minor in Spanish. And I mean, it's just sorta... weird. For me to all the sudden realize that - whoa, the thing that I wanted more than anything ever isn't even on my list of things to pay oodles of attention to once I've finished this bucket-o-hell known to many as high school.

Quick thought - was it called secondary school or high school first? If high school was first, did they start calling it secondary school because "high school" seemed to elude to the fact that lots of kids are, well, high in 9th - 12th grade? Or was it the other way around - did they go to high school from secondary school because lots of lil' teens like to smoke the doobie?

Eh, I'm probably wrong either way.