Sunday, January 22, 2012

To My Haters

I keep it real and that's a promise
I may be whatever you wanna call me but I'm honest
When I walk by you stop and stare
Well keep looking cause I don't care
I have my own life and style
Not trying to please you or smile.
When it comes to competition you're out
So shut your hatin' self
And get me outta your mouth.

Friday, January 20, 2012

What High School Has Taught Me

No, this is not going to be a silly, sarcastic pre-homeschooled-er's post about public high school. I may poke fun at them a little, but I'm not sure yet. I want to thank my parents for putting me in high school, because I've learned so much.
Never thought I'd be thanking them for this, but I am.

The first day of high school, I was terrified. There were so many people who knew what they were doing and where they were going and even all the freshmen looked as cool and calm as cucumbers and here was short little me- couldn't see over the heads of the tall people too see the numbers of the halls, my legs were to short to walk as fast as I could, and my knees were shaking, despite the fact that I had eaten a HUGE breakfast that morning (force fed by mom, which is actually a good memory O.O).
[And speaking of scared freshmen...Mr. Laine, don't you think it would have been good to put up the signs for the halls *before* the middle of the school year? Just saying. No offense.]
But as I've been walking these long, white and purple and echo-y halls that make your footsteps echo when you're out of class, I've learned something.
Not just something.
I've learned a lot.
Much more than any one teacher has taught me in a class. I've learned by watching people. Talking to people. Getting to know people before I judge them. Learning that when a jerk calls the girls at Northern "The Northern Sluts" he's wrong. So very wrong.
I was riding the bus home with my boyfriend one day and we were discussing our greatest fears- besides losing each other.
"My greatest fear is going blind," He stated.
"Mine is going deaf. I don't mind going blind as much as I do going deaf," I answered, looking out the window at a pond we were just passing by. The sunlight was reflected off of it, and it was a pretty sight.
"You'd miss out on that," he said, gesturing out the window. "You'd miss seeing our kids grow up...sunsets/sunrises on the beach...storms...so much. Why are you not afraid of it?"
I told him the reason. Truth is, I'd realized it just days before. "Because...it would make it easier for me to get to know people without judging. Maybe those girls that we see dressed as sluts aren't really who we think they are. Cause if you get to know them...they're just as human as we are. They've been hurt. They're just like us. But if I can see...it makes me automatically stereotype them. Whereas if I were blind, I wouldn't worry about appearances."
Yeah. That's one thing that high school has taught me. To not care about what people look like, but rather to get to know them.
Another thing is to accept people the way they are. No matter the religion, beliefs, lifestyle, or color preferences (I stuck that one in just for fun).
Ok, so some of you from Northern who are reading this are probably laughing at me right now (Chris? Evan? Kevin?) and saying, "High school sure as heck didn't teach me that."
But just give me a second to explain. I come from a different world. No, sorry, not Narnia or anything. But rather a world of Amish people and Charity People. It would take to long here to describe them in full, but let me say, there, everyone is insecure, and from what I remember and saw there, they really tend to judge based on what you are wearing and what you look like. There is more pressure there to 'fit in' then there is anywhere else I've ever been.
Here, in this world, there isn't as big a struggle to cover up the insecurities. Or maybe its just me growing up and learning to look people in the eye instead of at their clothes. Or maybe I can see it because I know exactly how they're feeling. Cause I can see, sometimes, the sheer terror or having their cover blown. Of not being who everyone thinks they are, or sometimes even who they think they are or want to be.
High school has taught me to not be afraid to stand up for what I believe in. If someone says they don't believe in God, ok, well, that's their beliefs. I'm not going to condemn them or leave them because of that. I have a lot to learn from them, though, cause I would love that kind of faith.
High school has taught me that there are indeed people that aren't always going to love me. And they will let me know that in no uncertain terms. No one's going to sugar coat anything for me anymore- I'm not in the safety of my home.
It took awhile to get used to that.
People say I adapt fairly quickly to my surroundings, and that's true. I can' quickly get used to where I am and form a routine.
But its kind of hard, when you're used to people sugar- coating the truth into something that you want to hear or so that it will be easier to hear, to have someone tell you to your face that you are a bitch and they want nothing to do with you.
Or, when you're used to being safe at home and now you have to be careful of that creep that follows you down the hallway making obscene gestures or the one in science class that loves telling you everything he'd like to do to you if you two were alone.
But, believe it or not, this has been good for me. It's taught me to face the real world, however ugly it might be. I don't want to crash and burn when I finally leave home (and that was not an impatient finally either). I want to be able to cope with what I see, hear, and have done to me.
High school has taught me to quit hiding in my shell and to be who I've been inside all this time...the time I've been hiding.
I think that's why I made so many 'fake friends.' They thought I was some little angel that went to church every sunday and read the bible every day and did all that good religious stuff.
Not true.
I believe in God.
That's about it right now.
I could have a cussing match with your daddy right now.
I just might win.
I can sing some of the dirtiest music around. I'll know every lyric, and whether you believe it or not, I know what those lyrics mean.
There are three guys, besides my boyfriend, that tell me daily that they love me. Yeah, me.
Yep, high school's taught me some good things and some bad things.
And I'm sorry for focusing on the bad things for a minute. Let me get back to what I was saying.
High school has taught me to not be afraid of the mean people- they're there for a reason, to show me that even the worst of people need love. Love that I can give. And if they won't accept it, well, it takes all kinds of people to make the world spin, and what I can't change I'll have to live with, there's others who will benefit more from the help.
High school has given me a place to start fresh, a place where, when I first came, virtually no one knew me. There were two people that I had met once before. They barely remembered me, and they knew nothing of my past.
High school gave me a place to take a deep breath, and make a new reputation. There are a few places where some things were said about me that weren't true.
Things that hurt me, and made me lose friends.
And even after those things were cleared up, those friends were still gone and I never gained them back. There was still an air of reserve and caution around me, cause no one ever knew when I would up and do something insane.
I must say, high school has given me knowledge that is invaluable. Sometimes its invaluable because its so bad no one would buy it, sometimes invaluable because its so awesome no one *could* buy it.
But sometimes, the good and the ugly are inseparable. You have to take some ugly if you want all the good.
And for some kids, like me, coming from homeschool to high school is what it takes to get us to wake up to reality. Wake up and realize that outside our safe home walls, there is a whole world at our finger tips, waiting for this generation to grab it and change it for the better.
High school just might be what it takes to get your kid to realize that there's a whole other life out there that's waiting for them. A life, that without high school, they will never experience. They will never be able to experience laughing with the class at the class clown. They will never be able to experience the feeling you get when you're standing with the band and you know you've all just stood up for something together. They will never get to come home hoarse from a football game that you cheered yourself to death at with your marching band. they will never be able to flip through a yearbook and say, "Hey, that was my spread. I did that by myself. I took those pictures, interviewed those people, and wrote that story."
High school has taught me to be punctual, to take my life seriously, and to listen when people talk to you.
So maybe all of you who grew up in public school or who are in public school are thinking either, "Well, yeah, who didn't know that?" or, "Come on, no one learns that in high school."
Well, this is what I've learned.
And I'm learning even more.
I'm getting tired of trying and not living up to the standards I set for myself.
And I know this sounded like I was going to dive into something great and wonderful about living life, but its not about life.
Sadly, its about the way I write.
I want to write well. I want people to sit back and be amazed at the awesomeness staring at them through their screen.
But with me, it just doesn't seem to happen. I'll keep trying, but its not going to happen. Like my dear friend BJ told me, "You're no JK Rowling."
Its true. I'm not that author...but sometimes I wish I could be. He wasn't saying that in a mean way- in fact, he went on to tell me that he thought I could easily become a JK Rowling.
I think he was just saying that to be nice.
Sometimes, people ask me if I have any secrets.
Yep.
Here's one: The only reason I write blogs is because there are some of you who are very near and dear to me that want to know what's going on in my life and my brain. Some of you live in the same house with me. Some of you go to the same school as me. Some of you live in the next state over. Some of you live across the country.
That's the only reason I write.
If it weren't for you, I would have given up long ago.
Someday I'm sure I'll thank you for keeping these blogs going. Because, its really you that keeps them going.
But sometimes, when you lose a friend that meant the world to you -no matter the disagreements- just because you change the way you dress, what music you listen to, and the fact that you have a boyfriend and that your best guy friend is bi, when you lose them because they think you are a bad influence, it makes me want to throw my hand up in the air and say- no, not Taio Cruz's "Ayo gotta let go" (although that would be funny)- but rather, "Ok, what's the point? If you don't care, why should I even try? You're right, I am a failure and a disgrace to my friends and it *would* be a sin to continue to be in touch with me. So why do I even try?"
So, yes, someday I will look at all you faithful readers and commenters and thank you for keeping me writing.
Cause- and here's another secret- writing and I have a love-hate relationship. We grudgingly love each other. We tear each other down sometimes and degrade each other, but really, we'd die without each other.
If you want to see the way I want to write, go here:

http://notknowingwhere.blogspot.com/

Monday, January 16, 2012

The parade was...fun, but interesting. And hard.
I woke up at 8 AM, giving me 15 minutes to be ready and another 15 minutes to get to the school. I ran in with several other members and was immediately accosted by Deja, who wanted to talk my ear off. I grabbed my bag and my uniform and headed off to the women's restroom, where I changed as fast as I could and hurried to join my friends. Jen, her boyfriend Alex, his twin Evan, Chris, Kevin, and I stood around talking for a little while until I grabbed Alex, Jen, and Chris and took a picture of us together. For Facebook, of course. We all relaxed and chilled until the call for shining shoes, and then wet rags were tossed at us and we cleaned our shoes off really quick and tossed the rags back. We ran into the band room and grabbed our instruments, put them on the trailer, and piled into the buses. All the way to the grounds me and Jen talked to each other and took pictures, etc. Once at the grounds, we lined up and practiced, warmed up, etc. Once marching, it was next to impossible to stay in step. Shake a Tail Feather is one of the worst songs to march to. I felt like I was hopping down the street on one foot. The funny thing was, we totally lost it with the drums, so we were all going off of each other. I found out later I had about 3 people watching me, but I was watching someone else. Thankfully it was over after about 2 miles, one of the shorter parades we've done/will do. We rode back to the school eating brownies and cookies and talking with our mouths full. That was on Monday...and I know this post is long overdue. But its been midterms since then, and I'm exhausted. I actually kinda like midterms. Everyone is quiet, I get to read a lot, and its early release every day :) Of course, I've been sleeping like nobody's business. I get home, eat something, and go right to sleep and don't wake up til the next morning. Or if I do, its not for long. I feel like a hibernating bear!!

Saturday, January 14, 2012

I have a busy week ahead of me...
I have a parade on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr day, and we're playing Shake a Tail Feather, one of the hardest songs I have ever played in my entire life. Cut timing, and almost all 8th notes, meaning we're supposed to play them as fast as 16th notes in Common timing (4/4). *And* playing high notes on the flute is hard cause you have so many different fingerings, usually from all fingers to almost none, or moving the pinky and index fingers on both hands to totally different positions...complicated. Which is why I'm going to march the Alto Sax next year- less to think about, plus the posture is different and easier to work with. I can't wait to put on my uniform again!!! Marching Band is so fun.
Tuesday, I go in for midterm exams in Civics and Economics and Journalism ( :P ), Wednesday for Science and Math ( not feeling so good about those...), and Thursday for Band and Honors English (I have a feeling I'm going to ace those). Those are all early release days, thank God.
Then on Friday its a free day!!!- and I'll probably spend most of my weekend with Christian or Jen.
This weekend I'm just being bored at home- well, until tomorrow and Monday. Tomorrow I get to tutor someone for the exams, as well as Monday after the parade. yay!!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

I started school today. So far, the day is going awesomely. I'm happy to be back.
Mr Jimmy picked me up at my new stop today, which was my driveway (finally!). I had been walking up the road, which took me about 5-8 minutes and I had to wait longer for him. When I first started riding, I asked him about changing the stop, but he wasn't able to. However, I found out yesterday he had called in and asked if he could. Apparently he and the bus stop people think its dangerous for me to walk up my road, since its pretty busy. So we got it changed after mom called in.
Miss Denny was in a really good mood today, and Miss Latta is in an ok mood. Journalism isn't my cup of tea, but I'm stuck for the rest of the year, so I might as well make it good.

For those of you who are reading and don't know, I was homeschooled until this year. This is my first year at a public school, so if I say anything weird like not knowing something about school, loving my school, anything like that...its cause its all new. And homeschoolers are weird any way :)

I also can be blogging on a school day because I am currently in Journalism, and we have computers all period long.
I need to go do an article now...lataaasss!!!!

Monday, January 2, 2012

I've had a wonderful break. However, it ends day after tomorrow. Its kind of sad, but at the same time I'm looking forward to going back. I'll get to see Christian every single day, but we can't really act like we want... :( ;)
I'm looking forward to playing my bassoon every day again...chillin in the media center with my friends, kickin with Nick and Shaquan in class, and laughing on the bus with Sayward and Christian.
I know I sound weird for looking forward to going to school, but its true. I love my school, my teachers, and my principles. And the guidance counselors and the disciplinarian... :)
Public School is definitely awesome.