Drizzling. No Rain Is Worse Than A Drizzle.

Oy, vey. Life is so difficult, you know? Here I am, it's 3:29 PM on a cheerfully drizzly Monday afternoon, and I'm tired. Oh, but the day has just begun. Yes, it's true that I already went to school and had a lovely time going through each of my classes, but that feeling of "overwhelming school work" seems to be nicely accompanying my junior year. Hurray. I was afraid I'd be missing out.

So, I have to write a paragraph about why I chose to read Paper Towns for my Independent Reading Project. (I already finished the book, yay for being ahead!) Make sure I'm sufficiently prepared for a presentation about The Civil War tomorrow in American Studies, do several worksheets for Pre-Calc, memorize lines for Acting, as well as read and begin to study for a Psychology test that I have next Wednesday. Oh, and if I have time, I'll do my Current Events so I don't have to do that tomorrow after auditions.

But wait, there's more! I also have jazz from six to seven, so that cuts out an entire hour of time that I kind of need. Fan-freaking-tastic.

On a side note, Paper Towns (by John Green) was a fantastic book, and I highly recommend it. I picked something new out of the library today. No clue what it's about, just a point and choose method, really, but I like the satisfaction of reading for a deadline when it comes to library books. I guess you could say that it's an adrenaline rush, wondering if I'll finish or have to pay the extra five cents because the book is late, but... not really because I finish half of them within a day, but we have several weeks to read them. Whatever. I get my small pleasures where I can, don't mock it.

In other news, I need to get started on my homework before I claw my eyes out with a fork and fall asleep. Which may be some time in the next few minutes, so I should get going.

I'll show you how God falls asleep on the job.

-Siobhan

Advanced Placement? No...

I couldn't think of anything witty to say, forgive me. It's been really hard to get on and type up a blog when I'm too busy worrying about my classes. How long have I been in school? Going on like, twelve years now, right? This sucks...

My entire freaking life has been spent in school. I'm so sick of it. Let's just leave, and not worry about any more AP Psychology homework. Sound good? It sounds amazing to me.

Life is a freaking hallway.

-Siobhan

THE EVENT

It's on right now.

The northeast part of my brain is under attack. Crap.

Can't talk. Commercial over.

I'll write tomorrow, I've been slacking.

-Siobhan

The Doctah Is In

As in, Doctor Who? You know, the show that I haven't had time to watch in over two months? Yeah, that one...

Anywho, FREE SHIRT FRIDAY FROM DISTRICT LINES. I think I entered to win an anberlin shirt... I really like their music, it makes me super happy. Anyway, just go to DistrictLines, pick a T-Shirt, and then hit the Tweet button to enter to win it. They're giving away five shirts instead of one this week, so definitely enter.

This week consisted of papers, meetings, and lots of other things that I really don't want to talk about.

We have Tri-M auditions the week after next on Tuesday and Thursday. Jack and I will be auditioning the singers and piano players. It should be a lot of fun, and I'm excited to see a bunch of new people get integrated into the club.

Other than that, there's nothing going on right now, and I'm about to go and grab a can of seltzer to settle down with a book for the rest of today. I'm *hopefully* going to get my permit tomorrow at least I hope so.

I'll have to explain PoppaCap tomorrow too. No, it has nothing to do with drugs or alcohol or pills. I'll explain it tomorrow.

PoppaCap

-Siobhan

The Scent of Bacon

Has this ever happened to you?

Your teacher tells you to write a story, a sci-fi version of the three little pigs. She gives you no page limit at all, and you go and write your story, giving each pig a background story, a wife, and a purpose, as well as the wolf. Your story is the best story you've ever written for an assignment like this, and you're so proud of it. So you go in, bearing a smile and eight pages, waiting for her praise on how amazing you are. Instead, she tells you how it's too long, how you need to cut it down or re-write the assignment, because she refuses to grade it.

Is this fair? I think it's not. I worked really hard on my story, and the fact that she dismissed it without even reading it, especially after she didn't give me a guideline for pages? I think it's completely unfair. I'm actually really upset about this, and it was the first time that I've been legitimately upset all year.

Ugh.

On a side note, he talked to me a lot today, and it was really good to get to know him. I think I like him... Oy, great. "WAY TO GET YOURSELF INTO THIS, SIOBHAN!"

I know, I know...

I have a lot of homework.

Gotta rewrite that damn story. That e-mail thing failed again yesterday, I really gotta fix that.

-Siobhan

*Bitter*

Just to Clarify

I did write yesterday, actually. I sent it to the "Auto-publish" email thingy, but it didn't work... Basically I said I was tired. I'll look into that.

I'd also like to clarify that my name does not start with a C. It never has, and it probably never will.

Right now I'm exhausted, even though it's only eight, and I could probably fall asleep. I think I'll do my homework and go to bed.

S, not C.

-Siobhan

Current Events

Today is about homework. Completely and totally about homework and nothing else, aside from the occasional break to write a blog or use the bathroom. I've finished my big project for today, and I really only have to do Psych and Math work today. Which involves a worksheet and a one-page response to a few pages of reading, as well as another assignment. Oh yeah, and I have a psych test on Tuesday. "Ah!" I'll probably do my current events work for American Studies too...

On second thought, maybe I do have a lot of homework. It certainly sounds that way. Should I push preparing for NaNoWriMo and freewriting out the window? Naw... I need to freewrite. I've been really good about blogging every day for... Twelve days now? Something like that. Since the beginning of September.

I'm listening to Alex Day right now. His album 117% Complete is one of my new favorites. It only has three songs on it; "Sonic Doesn't Need A Story" "I Hate Mario Kart Wii" and "Pokemon, What Happened To You?" They're so funny. He also has a few songs with his old band Chameleon Circuit which are about Dr. Who. So, if you're a nerd you should go check him out, because he's quite amusing.

I need to get going on the rest of my homework.

I'm feeling Princess Peachy.

-Siobhan

Never Forget

Today is September 11th, 2010.

Nine years ago, on this day, I was sitting in a classroom in second grade in New York, blissfully unaware of what was happening. We were let out of school early and sent home. I remember being mad because I was supposed to go to my friend Briana's house, but couldn't.

It's crazy to think of the catastrophe this country suffered on this day nine years ago. But sadder yet, is knowing that my younger brothers don't remember it. They were too young. A part of me wishes that they were at the point of having cohesive memories so I could say "Where were you?" And they could answer. But I'll always remember. I'll never forget.

-Siobhan

INFATUATIONNNNNNNNNNN... Maybe More?

Ugh. I'm so frustrated right now.

Yes, I got everything done yesterday that I needed to, and yes it was all up to par, and no my creative writing teacher didn't go berserk over a spider today, but I'm still frustrated.

Ya see, there's this guy. ("Oh, no! It's another one of "those" stories!") Yes, yes it is. Well, the first day of school it was like BAM! Attractive guy. But, I ignored it, "Focus on school this year, Siobhan." I wasn't mean, I was nice to him, but I wasn't anything but myself. Then he starts sitting next to me, talking to me, and I noticed (I wrote about this one "Guy, if you're ever reading this, thank you. I appreciated it." Or something along those lines... See previous post.) I finally got up enough courage to tell my friend Liz about him, but casually.

"So, what do you think of him?"
"Him? He's kind of weird, perfect for you."

GAH.

But this too was ignored. "School, Siobhan! School!" Yeah, yeah...

So today, I looked him up on facebook. I wanted to be his friend, no sense in just talking to the guy. So I found his page, clicked on the little wall tab, and his status struck me. I felt my heart starting to race.

"I think I like someone." and "I swear, I saw an angel."

Now, I have no freaking clue if this is about me or not (I really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, hope that it is...) but... I'm not going to get too worked up about it, "Yeah right!" (Shuddup, self.) because then I'll just get hurt. "SCHOOL!" SHUDDUP!

Meh. What does one do in this situation? Gahhhh. Him and his... gahhhhhh.

Frownieface? I have no idea. What the hell do I dooooooo?!
-Siobhan

Agenda

First of all, the new "Google Instant" kind of scares me...

Second of all, I have an agenda. I'm making a To-Do list today. Yay!

1. Laundry.
2. Clean room.
3. Poem
4. "Good" essay
5. Supplies for Speech Arts folder
6. Math homework
7. AP Psych homework
8. American Studies homework
9. Go over monologue
10. Free-write
11. Work on a story.

Oy, that's a long list. I should really get started... I know yesterdays post was less than satisfactory, but I remembered right before I had to go to bed, and I really didn't want to spend half the night writing a suitable blog post. Besides, I had written two the day before. That has to count for something.

Off to start on this list.
-Siobhan

Quin-Polar?

So, I have this teacher.
And she's more than bi-polar.
She's like, quin-polar.
Says I.

And that's all I have to say.
-Siobhan

One Way Streets

Ugh. You know, I was going to go to bed, and then I remembered something that I really wanted to talk about, and that's one way streets. I don't know what it's like in other countries, except for Canada, but here in America we all stay to the right side of the road. In fact, there are 165 countries that drive on the right side of the road, while there are only 75 which drive on the left side of the road. Why?

Do these people need to feel so special that they can't do what's right (no pun intended) and drive on the correct side of the road? Some might argue that it's culture, but I disagree. I think that the British (Yes, them. I know they're not the only ones who do, but most of the others are derived from British colonies, or still are, quite frankly, so that impact has almost forced them to drive on the left side of the road.) have a physiological need to be different, or trendy, or... whatever. I really don't care what the reason is, but today I decided to look around my school and notice which kids (freshman, mainly) were having problems going to the right sides of hallways.

Kids from Spanish or Portuguese speaking countries stayed on the right side of the hallway, (except for those who stopped in the middle to have a conversation, ugh. Don't get me started.), while kids from India and a few kids I know who are from Western Europe stuck to the left side of the hallway.

When I got home, I looked it up. It just so happens that India is a left-driving country, while countries like Brasil or Spain are right-driving countries. Huh.

So maybe we do learn things from our parents, things that we really can't control all that much. I'm sure that we all have odd little things that we've picked up from them, I personally found out that certain words that I thought were real weren't after I turned twelve. It was quite a heart-breaker.

But I decided to branch out with my theory that we learn them from our parents, which may be painstakingly obvious to you, so much so that you're sitting there going; "Duh, Siobhan. Can you please pick up a valid point now?" No, anonymous voice. I cannot. I decided that I would test it with animals.

No, I didn't inject them with botox or anything ridiculous like that. Instead, I put one of my cats at the bottom of the stairs, where he was eating a few treats I had left for him. I then waited for him to finish and look up at me, and then walked down the stairs, sticking to the right side for four times, then the left side for four times. I did this for each of my cats. ("Get a life, Siobhan!" I'm working on it...)

The results showed that the cats showed a preference for staying to their right, my left, just as American culture would have it. Now, unfortunately I can't test this with any British cats, but, if I could, I'm sure that it would be about the same as far as results.

That's about all I have to say on the matter, I just really wanted to get it out of my brain before it exploded with data that I always manage to forget to write down. I'm expecting tomorrows blog to be really long, I have twenty or so post-its piling up with things that I wanted to talk about, this being only one of the post-its. Make that nineteen to go!

Have a nice night.
-Siobhan

Orange and The River Thames

Oy. Today was a long day. I guess I can't say was... the day is still going on technically. Let me rephrase.

Oy. Today was a long school day. There, that's better I suppose. Being a grammar nazi has it's advantages on occasion. Today, I'm trying out an experiment. I'm starting out each paragraph with the word "Oy." ...Alright, I guess it's not really a word. Superlative? Something like that. Hah, I have no idea. I just pulled that word out of no where. I have no idea what it means.

Oy, someone get me a dictionary. But it's really, really hot today. Why do I always wear pants on the hot days? Well, I wear pants every day. Hopefully. But I mean like... jeans. Um, nooooo. I shouldn't have worn them today.

So anyway... Whoops! Forgot to say Oy. Oh well... that was a stupid experiment anyway. There's this kid in my speech arts class who's like... paying attention to me. I mean, everyone pays attention to me, I'm a clown... and I take pride in that fact, because I'm probably the least sarcastic person you'll ever meet.

...That was sarcasm, darlings.

But this guy was paying attention to me, and... it was kind of nice. I forgot what that felt like. Haven't had a boyfriend since freshman year, kids. But he was really nice, and I really appreciated it. So, if you're ever reading this, boy. I noticed, and I appreciated it. Okay? Just know that. *Insert smile*

On a different field, I'm going to play some Fire Emblem to relax before I do my homework.

Have a nice rest of your day, see you tomorrow.
-Siobhan

Attempting To Memorize...

ATTEMPT ONE: I'd like to tell you a story. There was a successful business woman who lived just outside of Austin. She was on her way to a sales conference in Fort Worth. Instead of flying, she decided to drive. She wanted to test the new Lexus that her company had awarded her just that week. She had the fuzz buster on, cruise control set at eighty, Garth on the tape deck. As she was driving, she noticed that the air was getting kind of dusty. A mile later she slowed down because the car was being rocked by a very strong wind. In the distance, coming her way, she saw a giant black funnel. It was a tornado. She stopped the car, having enough sense to open the windows a crack so they wouldn't explode. She then lay down on her front seat, covering her face and praying to God that the twister would pass her by without doing her harm. Suddenly, out of no where, a giant object falls onto her car, breaking the windshield. The woman screams. Cut to an hour later. The woman is now standing on the road, an entire tree laying across the hood of her new car. She tries her car phone, it doesn't work. Great, so here she is, in the middle of no where, no phone, no help, it's starting to get dark, what is this woman going to do? She sees a car coming up the road. It pulls over. It's a Cadillac Seville. A nice looking man gets out, early fifties, business suit, tie, gray at the temples. He reminds her of her boss. She glances through the window of the car, seeing a briefcase on the front seat, a Business Week, a take-out coffee cup, the steam rising over the dash. The sight is so comforting, she almost cries.

SUCCESS! See you all tomorrow
-Siobhan

Oy.

I still haven't memorized my lines... I know, I know. I'm a bad person, and I have to perform this thing tomorrow. WHAT AM I GONNA DOOOOOOOOO? Maybe I'll luck out and won't have to go tomorrow. But I still need to memorize them. It's just such a boring skit, and the movement can't be very complicated because they're giving a seminar, and... Meh.

Anywho, I really want some Cheerios right now. I've been craving them since dinner last night, and it's driving me CRAZY. So hungry...

Erm, so... I have to memorize my lines, and I started reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, because I finished Mockingjay, and I loved it. It was really good. So now I'm reading that. I don't know how I feel about it, so far. I feel like it has a really slow beginning, I know that much. But I'm sure that it's really good, otherwise it wouldn't be a movie... And it's on the best seller list. I know that much.

I don't really have much else to say. Today's labor day, or something... No school. Wooo! My internet is kind of spazzing. Fantastic.

See y'all on the flip side.
-Siobhan

Memorization

I have to go memorize my lines, but I figured I'd write todays blog while I'm thinking about it. It's going to be pretty quick.

First of all, some genius started a twitter account for Voldemort. Funniest thing ever.
Go check it out. http://twitter.com/Lord_Voldemort7.

Second of all, Fire Emblem is really addictive, and I hope you don't have to do anything important if you're going to play it, because you can pretty much guarantee that you won't get anything done.

Third of all, I'm more than halfway through Mockingjay. It's really good, and I think I'll reward myself with the end of the book after I memorize my lines.

That's all I have to say today, told you this would be short. I have to go memorize four pages, which isn't that much in retrospect, considering what I've had to memorize before.

Love, Peace, Chicken Grease.
-Siobhan

Mocking Jay? No. Mockingjay.

I mentioned yesterday that I have to read a book this weekend for Creative Writing. I went to Borders today, happy to find that they had Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins ready and available. And at 20% discount, which is always a plus. So I got the book, as well as a keychain of the Mockingjay pin which is such a key element in the story. So I have it on my keys now, which makes me feel like a Capitol rebel!

...Or something to that effect. I also got The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, since it's being turned into a movie, and I always read the books before I see the movie. Of course, I won't be reading that until I finish reading Mockingjay.

So far, I like it. But I really can't make a judgment, because I'm only on page twenty-five or so. I really like the series, and it's kind of a bittersweet book already, because I know that it'll be the last book in the series... I can't wait to see how it ends, but at the same time I don't want it to end. It's quite an enigma.

I have two days to memorize two and a half pages for Acting class. I can do it. I don't really have any other homework for school, unless you count getting ahead on the reading I have to do. Off to play some video games until tonight. I think Saturdays are going to be my happy day.

Don't ask for favors. Don't talk to strangers. Don't ask me why.
-Siobhan

Sing-A-Longs and Hand Grenades

First of all, the title of this post is completely irrelevant. No where in my day today did I encounter a sing-a-long or a hand grenade. I suppose I'm lucky...

Todays events included school. Aren't I exciting?

School started with me at the band room, as most days start. I walked to Creative Writing, where my teacher had us journal. I wrote about me being able to fly and being a badass super hero. The usual. She then explained what would be expected of us in the class, and what we could expect to be due next week. I have to read a book, prepare to write some kind of creative assignment on it, and I have to write a poem about my everyday life. That one shouldn't be too hard, I write what I do every day... Hence the blog. Then I had American Studies. Don't you love when half the class (of fifty-one) decides to not do their homework? Really makes you remember that you're in Danbury Freaking High School.

But I held my tongue and didn't say anything about the situation until I got home and was able to rant to my mother. We went to advisory, and then I went to the other half of American Studies, where we got in to a very heated discussion about Thomas Friedman's book: Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Not my favorite topic, but it was interesting enough that I was able to contribute.

After that I went to Madrigals, which was fun, and then to Pre-Calculus which was boring. Speech Arts was fun, and Acting proved challenging when the entire class had to work together to create a Human Machine. It was difficult, but we really connected and did it together as a class.

Then I had AP Psychology, where I filled in some information about myself... Tedious, but it's better than having to start the class in the heat.

So then I came home and slept until seven o'clock. Which is always a plus. I was really tired, apparently.

I don't have much else to say. I'm gonna go read and go to sleep, seeing as it's after ten thirty now.

Hmm, I'm sleepy.
-Siobhan

School Daze.

Today was the first day of school. All of my classes went well, I think I made an impression on the teacher in each, (I got that feeling during my American Studies class especially. The teacher handed out a paper with thirty current events questions. Most of them I just happened to know off the top of my head, and others I made an educated guess at. I got most of them right, and I think they took notice. Of course, that's hard to say. There are fifty-one kids in that class...) and it felt like the start to a really successful, really good year.

Let me go class by class for you:

Before School: Went to the band room to hang out with all of my friends. I didn't realize how much I had missed them. Especially Jack. He's my best friend, quite honestly. We don't see much of each other over the summer, but that has more to do with me working and him having gigs with his band. We got a chance to catch up, and he walked me to Advisory like the kind gentleman friend he is.
Advisory: First off, Advisory is like a homeroom, except it only meets once a week (Mondays after seventh period, oddly...) and you talk about issues through the school, voting for class presidents, schedule changes, and it's a time to do homework later in the year. So today I went, got the assignment books from the level office, and then was given my schedule (which was finally correct after three visits to the guidance councilor last year.) and sent off to my first period class.
Creative Writing: My teacher is insane. Insane in the good way, though. She's sarcastic (very much like me, actually...) and she expects a lot in the way of creativity and writing. Yay! She had us make nametags, we were aloud to ask her questions about her personal life to get to know her better, and then the bell rang (really short periods today...)
American Studies: There are fifty-one kids in this class. Oh my God. I don't know how I'll be able to work like this, though I guess it'll be a good tool because of all of the college classes that are lectures and large like this. It's really intimidating though. We did a thirty question current events worksheet, which I did fairly well on. I was proud that I was pretty well rounded as far as the answers I knew.
Madrigals: This is like a choir. I miss the old group, I'm not going to lie. And I'm the only girl that was in the class last year, which is both an honor and an intimidation. I kind of feel pressured to carry the weight of my entire section, which isn't a weight I'm really in the mood to carry, quite honestly. But we didn't have to sing much, which is good, because my voice was kind of tired because of the "Hi! I haven't seen you in forever! I miss you!" etc.
Pre-Calculus: Bah, humbug. KILL ME. I'm going to hate this class. I mean, math is great. I'm good at math, I can do it, but I have to work my freaking butt off to get it to work in my brain. This is going to be so hard, but I'm going to make it work... I hope.
Speech Arts: It's a good thing that I'm going to have this class right after math. I'm going to need an escape after that class. I'm so excited to be a part of this class, th be able to finally enjoy myself in an elective that wasn't something like choir. Don't get me wrong, I love Choir, but I'm just very excited to have a choice elective. It's exciting, and this is a good start. It involves a lot of moving, dancing, and putting yourself outside of your comfort zone, which is something I've always been good at as an actress.
Acting: Same teacher, same room. I'm so happy to have this class. It's going to be so much fun to get to act with my friends and all of the people I've been wanting to take Acting with since like... Freshman year? Good stuff. I'm excited.
AP Psychology: I had this teacher freshman year. Not sure that it's such a good thing, but, I liked the way she taught, and I think that I'll end up being good at this class.

I have friends in each. I'm so happy that I know people in every class, I'm tired of feeling like a stupid freshman who doesn't know anyone in their class. I'm good at making friends anyway, but, you know... It's a pain, really.

I'm going to go do my homework, because I have to do every single homework assignment that I get assigned. Day one, complete. Only one hundred and seventy nine days left until summer. School days, that is.

-Siobhan

Erm, Eight?

Dang, I kind of failed...

Okay, maybe not kinda. I really failed. Epically is the best way to put it. But what can I say? I had a job. I made about $500 this summer, which is very good, if I do say so myself.

Happy September First, by the way. School starts tomorrow. Yes, I'm nervous. I'm not going to lie. But, I did all of my summer work with a few days to spare, so I don't feel like a slacker. It actually amazes me how my friends can sit there and be okay with not doing any of their summer work.

I like to be prepared for school;

Binders, Folders? Check.
Pencils, Pens, Hilighters? Check.
Post-its? Check.
Paper? Check.
Calculator, Books, Summer work? Check.

Yep, I think I'm ready. Anyway, here's my class schedule:

Period 1: (Semester 1) Creative Writing
Period 1: (Semester 2) Web Design Business
Period 2: American Studies
Period 3: American Studies
Period 4: Madrigals
Period 5: Honors Pre-Calc
Period 6: (Semester 1) Speech Arts
Period 6: (Semester 2) Multi-Cultural Issues
Period 7: Acting
Period 8: AP Psyc.

I'm excited about it. It's a pretty solid schedule. Sure, that AP class is going to be hell, and I'm pretty sure that Pre-Calc isn't going to be a walk in the park either... But, what am I supposed to do? It's going to be my junior year in high school. This is the year that decides what college I go to. If I play my cards right, meaning honor roll all four quarters, I'll not only have an insurance discount for driving, I'll also have quite a few college doors open for me. Which always helps.

So I had to read four books this summer. They were good. I had to read:

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brian
The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
Hot, Flat, & Crowded - Thomas Friedman
Blink! - Malcolm Gladwell

I enjoyed The Things They Carried, to an extent. It's not my favorite genre of book, but I enjoyed it for what it is. I really liked The Namesake. I liked the authors style of writing, and I loved the message of the book. Really well written, and I'd actually go so far as to recommend it to people. Hot, Flat, & Crowded was Long, Dumb and Boring. Seriously, I couldn't have cared less about the book. Sure, I know it's important to know about our economy, and to know how we landed in the desperate recession that we're in right now. But it could have been more exciting. The author used big words that I'm pretty sure he made up, and it just was unnecessarily boring. I loved Blink! It was amazing. If this is what that AP Psyc class is like, sign me up! The talk of all of the experiments about subconscious decisions was amazing. All of the tests within the book, everything. I even went so far as to go online and take one of the tests that the book mentioned.

But of course, I haven't said what I've been doing all summer;

Richter was a major part of this season, as always. I participated with all three shows. For the first, Guys and Dolls, I acted as the assistant stage manager. It was a good job, involved a lot of set moving among other things. The second show was 42nd Street, and I was the Stage Manager. That was a huge job, and the one that I got payed to do. I called people and let them know when there were rehearsals, when, what time, what dance shoes they would need. I delegated spiking the stage and set movements during shows based on who was on what side of the stage during which scene who wasn't getting changed. It was a lot of work, but I did it, and I did it damn well. The third show was Carousel. Not the most happy of shows, but I was part of the cast for it, and I had a pretty good time.

Other than that, my life consisted of reading, playing video games, and watching episodes of Supernatural, Dr. Who and American Chopper (Fantastic shows by the way). Don't get me wrong, I did plenty of writing too. I started a new story, and just today I went through and found all of the stories that I've been working on, decided on one to work on until I finish.

But then there's always Nation Novel Writing Month coming up. And of course, the rules for that require that you start a new story. Ugh. Rules can be rules. But I'll probably ignore the rules and just work on whatever story I'm working on. Which happens to be a story called Severance, which is kind of cool. I'm excited to see how it works out. It plays up the old cliche of the daughter finding out that her parents are part of some secret organization, that she was raised and destined to save the world, whatever. You know, the usual.

So it's the start of another school year. Hard to believe I've been through Thirteen of these, including pre-school. Of course, there isn't just school to worry about. I'm the vice president of Tri-M. I'm going to be joining NAHS, and then there's the play to worry about. At least I'm not doing swim team this year, it's always important to balance yourself. And between school and after-school activities, I'm sure I'll be busy enough to need to balance myself with some writing, or a book, or a nice long conversation with my sister, or even the occasional episode of Dr. Who.

It'll be a good year, but like any new year (even a school year) I have to make a resolution.

My resolution for this year is to do every homework assignment. Every single one. Rehearsal and after-school won't be excuses, because I have to do every single one.

I'm excited to see where this resolution takes me, and to see what doors it opens up for my future. This is a life changing year, let's see how I change.

-Siobhan