Ms. Hoffman and The Central Park Club

Hello Ms. Hoffman.

  Yikes! I'm sort of scared to write anything now. I'm afraid I'll misspell something, or make a grammar mistake. I mean, I wouldn't want to misspell dying again, right? That would just be plain humiliating...

  Yeah. Grace told me :) I sort of spazzed out in the middle of Central Park. Actually, I'm sort of in between spazzing out again and throwing up.

  (Ella: you know that face that you make sometimes during awkward moments when I look over towards you during biology? I'm making a whole lot of those faces.)

  Anyways, if you happen to ever read this, Ms. Hoffman, I just wanted to say hello! Also, I just had this crazy thought that you would print out each of my posts and correct every mistake with a bloody red pen. Then, I'd get a bundle of pages in the mail with all of my mistakes, and I'd just start ugly crying. But, am I crying because of all of my mistakes? Or am I all nostalgic, because I miss you  correcting me with a bloody red pen?

  The world may never know.... 

  I'm so dramatic. I crack myself up every time I read "1 Girl. 4 Years of High School."

  Ha... I was actually outside of the school at 7:45 on Thursday, and I was just bobbing up and down like a creeper thinking "please, please walk by! please!" I don't know what I would have said so... Anyways, Ms. Hoffman!! Wow!!! I miss you!!! Ahhhhhh..... You're reading this. Or maybe you aren't. I'll just pretend that you are, just in case. This is so scary. My stomach is doing flips. My stomach needs to teach me how to do flips. Ahhh!! Hello!

  (You know, Javas also told me that I have a lot of mistakes on here. So, I went back and corrected all of the mistakes I could see.)

  Normal post begins here. Ha... normal. Am I normal? Before there was a Mr. Flanagan, Ms. Hoffman was my Language Arts teacher. Gracie informed me today casually that she happened to mention my blog (Darn it Cabarn it, Grace!) to her. I'm so jealous. For some reason, I can barely imagine my old school right now. I can't even... Oh wow. I better stop.

 Today was pretty cool between crazy panicking over homework and spending awesomesaucical time with my friends. You know, this is random, but I never quite understood why kids need homework. I understand that you need to make sure that the kid knows the stuff, but what they should do is  lengthen the school day to accommodate independent study time. That way, when kids leave school, they are actually leaving school, and you can go ahead and do whatever it is you do after school. But that's a whole other issue with learning responsibility and blah blah blah, how did I get here?

  At the park today, there was some huge concert going on that I didn't care about. It seemed like the whole city was in the park. Apparently like 60,000 people or something. The Black Eyed Peas and the Foo Fighters were there. It was really annoying actually. Later on, my dad's friend asked why I didn't care. I told him that I just didn't really like their music, and he jokingly told me that I should care because they're cool, and that I should try to be a little cooler. I told him that I was working on it.

  I just try so hard to be cool, you know? Why else live?

  Today, there were really cute squirrels in the more remote area of Central Park. They were like a foot away from me, and they were just soooo cute! In the rambles of the park, we found a tiny stream with a little bridge, and it was just so nice. You couldn't see the skyline and you could only hear birds chirping, well and Tulsi chirping. You would never know you were in Manhattan. Also, the awesomest poodle, named Scarlet, came up to us while we were resting and licked the side of my face. I laughed it off, but now that I think about it, that's sort of gross. Oh well! Scarlet was too much fun to resist.

  Right before leaving the park, Grace was talking about how when people imagine the future they think of the age of robots and technology. She made the point that that's not the future, that's now. I don't like that. If the world gets anymore obsessed with phones and televisions and video games and all that jazz, I may just strangle myself. Now is not too bad, you can still live a down to Earth life and have technology on your side. But if everything, like books and things, are forgotten, and technological advancements take their place, I would hate that.

  I have to admit that I have a pretty horrible view of humans. Don't get me started about humans. Humans are just so cool.

  Grace and I were singing songs by Of Monster and Men (my favorite band, tied with Florence + the Machine, and maybe also the Imagine Dragons), and I thought that it's a good thing that we're not in the same class, because Ms. Hoffman would kick us out for singing. There is one song in particular that we sing really well, we even wrote a harmony for it! Mr. Beams said once that we sing it better then they do, but I refuse to believe that.

  Anyways "Doctor Who" is about to begin!!! Amy and Rory's last episode!! I'm so upset!

  Also, on a quick note, this is my last September post. 1 month down, 31 to go!

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

PS I've just watched Doctor Who. It was such a beautiful episode. I'm crying. I'm going to miss Amelia Pond so much!!! What's so amazing is that the episode was partially filmed exactly where we were seated in Central Park today. Wow, I'm so sad. That episode was just... I love Doctor Who.  Rory was amazing in this episode as well. Just amazing. Ugh..... I hate this so much. Amy was my companion. This season has been Amy's season, no doubt about it. Steven Moffat and all of the amazing writers on the team just gave her the best lines. The script has been so good. Ugh... I love Doctor Who so much!

Day 18

Why hello there, beautiful!

  Today I want to talk about The Zodiac.

  My friend Grace posted about them, and so I though I'd follow her up on that. I find it extremely fascinating, I can't lie.

  I try not to believe the Zodiac sometimes, because I feel that you can begin to look at your friends in a different way once you're seeing them through a specific lens. Meaning, you may begin to realize that you dislike a person, because the Zodiac mentioned that you're incompatible. However, if it had not mentioned it, you probably would not have found conflict with that person. Make sense?

  But, besides that point, I find that a lot of traits and things are quite true.

  My sign is Aquarius.

  Positive Attributes:

• Witty
• Humanitarian
• Original
• Independent
• Trendsetters
• Honest
• Proudly Intellectual
• Logical
• Revolutionary
• Self-directed
• Forward Thinking
• Unique

Negative Attributes:

• Unemotional
• Detached
• Hard to keep up with
• Rebellious
• Too fond of freedom
• Thinks instead of speaks

  When I read these sorts of things, I find that they describe my personality quite perfectly. I do find that the the positive traits, most definitely describe the better portions of myself, while the negative attributes are things that I know I struggle with every day. I especially struggle with being moody. I could be laughing and smiling, and the next minute I could be close to ripping your head off. Slight triggers really do set me off easily, but it really all depends on who I am with. 

  One thing really confusing is friendship for Aquarians. We tend to be people that make everyone feel welcome. So, any sign can be friends with an Aquarian. Every site I checked said something different. Some were bent on Cancers. Others swore it was Libra. Some claimed Scorpio's to be the best match. The one sign that was a definite on every site was Leo. That's because Aquarians and Leos are opposites on the Zodiac, so they do the whole "you bring out the best in me, make up for my losses" shebang. Grace is a Leo! 

  So, what do you think? Do I sound like an Aquarius to you?  

-D.F.T.B.A.-

Mina; )

Day 17

My computer is dyeing.

16% battery left.

  Today was sort of weird.

  I remember today being very positive socially. Lots of people...

    So many people. Talking. Yes. Laughing, lots of that. I vaguely remember something to do with garbage juice? Garbage juice... catch phrase anyone?

  I receive a text at 10:04 telling me that if I don't get my but to work I will lose my job. I rush out of bed and pour myself a quick cup of coffee. It spills all over the front of my shirt, and the blazing hot liquid seeps through and makes itself a home in the pours of my skin. There's no time for that now. I grab a fistful of paper towel as I run through the door. As I make my way to the car, I realize that I left my one-year-old son asleep in his crib. So it's one of those days... Oh garbage juice. 

  Oh Garbage Juice!!!

  Yes. It's a thing now. Agreed?

  Agreed.

  (13%)

  Anyways, something strange occurred today. I sauntered from class to class with my usual spirit, but every subject, even my favorites, drained me of all energy. It was not the teachers or anything like that. But, I swear, it was like I sat in a class for 50 minutes and heard not, spoke not, nor understood an ounce.

  I don't remember learning anything today. I can barely remember class. In fact, during class, I could barely remember class.

  Weird.

  I could have fallen asleep. It was mainly the strangest sensation of dull lifelessness. Like I was sleeping with my eyes opened.

  (12%)

  I should end there. My eyes are inching shut as I write this. Just imagine me... and a computer... and my eyes begging for sleep... so close.... I'm almost there.... I, I, I... Can't go on...

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

11%

Day 16

Hello!

How are you?

Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking! How's your wife? You don't have a wife? Oh....

  I don't know why I write what I write sometimes. Hmmmm... Troubling. 

  Anyways, today I did a lot of breathing. Yep. A whole lot of that. I moved my limbs a lot. Oh, a whole lot. I ummm... Yes. Yes. So, that's that, huh? 

  So, I think I'll talk about music. 

  I listened to a song called "Time to Reply" by Charlie McDonnell (Did I spell his surname correctly?). It is a genius song. A completely genius song. 

  It was inspired by people watching his videos and feeling like they know him, and ultimately wishing that he had "the time to reply". 

  I can really relate to this song. In fact, for the majority of the song, I feel like he's speaking about me. 

  I will be the first person to admit to being a teensy bit addicted to YouTube. But, I'm not addicted to videos about cats, or people falling off dirt bikes. I don't watch the racy music videos or the interviews of actresses and actors, gushing their secrets. I watch a special breed of YouTube. And blogspot, I think  you and I are very well acquainted by now, and I think I can share this with you. 

  Wow... What a dramatic build up... What's she going to say next?

  Alas, I watch videos by a community known as Nerdfighteria and the likes. They are amazing people. The kind of people whose lives and personalities are so genuine and...and...and... I just love it.

  Charlie is a part of that community. His video meant a lot to me, because sometimes it does seem like all of these people standing on the other side of a camera are speaking to you. They speak to me. You end up feeling as if you know these people whose lives you're following. I daydream about meeting them and us becoming instant chums, because of similarities and what-not. I feel like they're a part of my life. 

  Then, the whole world starts to become darker when the thought begins to creep up on you that, in fact, they have no idea who you are, and they will probably never meet you, and you will probably never meet them. When you follow like 40 people on YouTube, all apart of this community, and you realize that they are all friends, and that they hang out, and they appear in each others videos, you get sort of jealous. 

  That's what "Time to Reply" is about, and every time I hear that song, I feel like tearing up. One thing about the song is that the lyrics weren't written by someone outside of the bubble, like me, but instead, someone right at the center of the bubble, like Charlie.

  I find that really comforting. If you want, check out the lyrics to the song. They articulate what I'm trying to say very beautifully. 

  

-D.F.T.B.A.-

Mina;)

Stuff Mentioned:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxM5cgZQW7o
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/charlie+mcdonnell/time+to+reply_21000871.html

"I find we've so much in common 
How wierd can it be 
That I feel I know you 
Though you don't know me 

I know it sounds crazy 
But I think if we met 
Spend time together 
We would end up friends " 

Day 15

Greetings!

  All day long, I'm always thinking "I should write about that!", and then I sit down, with this bright screen in front of me after a day's worth of exhaustion building up behind my eyelids, and I have nothing to write about. Nothing at all. Blank. Blank. Blank.

  Blank...


                                                             Blank...


                Blank...


                                                                                                                   Blank...

  So, I usually just go with it. Go with the flow, as I always say. I never say that.

  My friend, Tulsi, called me after school today, and she was speaking in a pip-squeak voice, that's really high and low. High and low. That makes sense. Yes. Yes it does.

  Anyways, I asked her why she was speaking like that, and her response was "I'm quiet clone". (WheezyWaitor, anyone? anyone?) I was laughing for ages! Tulsi made my day. If you're not familiar with Wheezy, go do yourself a favor and look him up, he is THE funniest person, ever.

  Next up, I want to talk about nail polish. I do not consider myself the stereotypical "girly-girl", but I do love me some nail polish. I like experimenting with different colors and shades. I like painting my entire nail one color, and then painting over it with another color in a streaky way. For example, one time I painted my nails blue, and then days later I went over it in red. The final product included like a gazillion different shades of blue, purple, and red. It was gorgeous. Just gorgeous, darling.

  Little sisters are so funny. My sister, Sofia, is one of those goody two-shoes kinds of girls. If she does anything wrong she cries about it. For instance, there was this one time when we were in the car, and she said "I'm going to get my damn but out of the car", when she was like 4. Everyone was laughing, but tried to explain to her that that was a bad word, and not to use it, and she started balling. BALLING. "Mama! I said a bad word? I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't know, Mama!"

  Anyways, the last thing I want to talk about is how to say nice things.

How to say nice things.

  How to say nice things.

How to say nice things.

  I sort of kind of lack this skill. It's not that I don't think nice things, it's just that I don't know how to articulate things. I find that I'm very cynical about romance and drama, and sappy-lovey-dovey things. This is always a problem for me. I never know how to respond when I'm told to write or say something sweet or too nice in my perspective.

  I think nice things, but that's the whole problem. I think nice things. I rarely say those nice things. Or, rather, I do, but they don't amount to the same level sincerity as they do in my brain.

  For example:

In my head: 

I'm so proud of you! You did such and amazing job! :) :) :) My insides are bubbling up, I'm just so excited for you!

What I would say:

Good job! :)

In my head:

You look so beautiful today! I think that the colors you're wearing perfectly compliment you! Wow... just beautiful.

What I would say:

You look nice.

In my head:

I understand how you're feeling. I'm so sorry that you're feeling that way. I know exactly what that's like.

What I would say:

Sorry.

  Do you see the problem? It's not good. I need to fix that. Until I do, I'm afraid that Tulsi and Grace are going to have to wait a few days for proper responses to their amazing comments, as well as a proper comment to Grace's page. Sorry?

  Just so you know, I have about 1,000 confessions I'm just dyeing to share with the world. It's so funny. I think of one every two minutes. Who would've though that I would be so excited to embarrass myself on the big bad internet?

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

StUFf ThAt WaS MeNtIOnEd:
http://www.youtube.com/user/wheezywaiter
http://elephantumbrellas.blogspot.com/

Day 14

  It's a Monday!

  Just in case you didn't know.

  I want to write about Health class.

  I think that my Health class is cursed. Seriously. I never ever forget homework for any class, but for some reason, Health is my weakness. I don't know if my teacher scaring the crap out of me has anything to do with it, but that class does crazy things to me.

  Every class I forget something.

• A current event
• To draw/color in a picture (my sister does that kind of work)
• To sign something
• To fill in a worksheet etc.

  You name it, I am almost never prepared. 

  That is so unlike me though. I don't understand it. I have never been so consistently bewildered in a class before. On the contrary, even though I customarily shun stereotypes, I've always been that girl who is put together. I would slip up once in awhile, but it just isn't in my nature. Never before have I found myself tripping to only pick myself up to trip again. 

  I am determined to get it together. 

  However, I have skated past detention in my two weeks of experience more times than I have in my entire life. I, my friends, possess the power of persuasion. 

  I'm not proud of it, and I try not to use my powers for good instead of evil. But, I have to say, my health teacher doesn't hate me as much as she should. On the contrary, I think she quite likes me. Not to mention, I aced my health test brag brag. 

  Speaking of super powers (I have quite a few), do you have any? I'd love to hear about them :)

  So that I can protect myself...

  Anyways, that's all for today!

  Do yourself a favor and go to http://elephantumbrellas.blogspot.com/

  My friend, Grace, was inspired by moi to start her own blog! It's brilliant, so do yourself a favor and go ahead and read it!

-D.F.T.B.A.-

Mina;)

Confession: For a really long time, I would tell people that I was allergic to tobacco to keep them from smoking around me. I actually still do that once in a while, because I would really hate to have to tell someone to keep their stinks to themselves. Somehow, I think it's also sort of rude for a 9-year-old girl to ask you to stop smoking. I don't know... I'm weird. 

Day 13

  I have so much to write about! If you're not big on reading, you should probably stop here. Or here. Whichever you prefer.

  So, in my previous (weird) post, I wrote that I wanted to tell you about an awkward bus ride that Ella (yes Eleanor, except Ella is just shorter. Stop being a smarty pants) found quite hilarious. So, I was on the bus, and I pushed the yellow tape to signal my stop, and when the bus came to a halt, I didn't realize that it was because of a red light, not because it had reached the stop. So, I stood up with my crazy bags in tow, and when I realized I was too awkward to sit back down all oddly. The bus was full of kids from school, truth be told I guess I sort of wanted to look like I knew what I was doing. Sheesh, I'm a subway girl, not a bus girl.

  Anyways, I digress. The bus stopped, and when the bus picked up again and started moving, I was hanging on to those things that you're supposed to hang on to. But, they sway, and I lost my balance, and I fell. At this point in recalling the story, Ella began to crack up, but she didn't realize that I had fallen completely on top of actual people, from my school. Like I fell right on top of them, completely flat. Like flipping a pancake. Ella kept laughing, anyways. That was so awkward. I was pretty embarrassed. Oh well?

  I'm not going to continue just yet, because by this point you're probably laughing at me, so I'll give you a second to get that over with.

  Ok. Ready? So, we went down to Rutgers to see "As You Like It". It was pretty brilliant. Stop laughing! There was one actress in particular who made incredible facial expressions. Hilarious. She played a human most of the time, but for a minute she was a sheep, and I couldn't look at her because I would have just bursted out laughing. She looked like...well...like a sheep. Baaaa and everything. So funny.

  The other perk was that I ate a really amazing hummus and pita sandwich, that was probably the best I have ever eaten in my entire life. Not to mention, Rutgers has the most adorable bridge. A hilarious (oooh, mysterious. You could take the italics as sarcasm, or as if I really thought he was very funny) guy started jumping on this adorable bridge, and I swear that the entire bridge shook and swayed beneath your feet. But it was truly very pretty.

  On the ride back, at 11:00 mind you, Ella and I were very tired, so we decided to make the seating arrangements more interesting. I lied sideways with my legs going across the aisle, and my head on my coat, while Ella leaned against the window/seat and stretched her legs out underneath the seats in front of us. We were so incredibly comfortable. So comfortable. So incredibly comfortable.

  But, a friend of mine, Rai, who was seated behind us decided that it would be funny to sprinkle water on us. We complained, but it was mostly funny.

  Anyways, Rai was fooling around and he accidentally left the water bottle open, and because the bus shook he accidentally poured the entire bottle of water on us. It wasn't funny anymore.

  We were soaking wet. Completely soaking wet. Ella was especially pissed because her coat was drenched. Ugh. You know, I don't know why I'm smiling.

  This morning was cool. I left my spoon on the floor in theatre, and I had to run back and get it.

  In french (hmmm. Should that be capitalized?), we played this bizarre game where you hold a fly swatter and there are numbers on the board, and the objective is to tap the number that is called before the other team. I know... :)

  Anyways, me and a guy named Kareem were one team, and the other team were these two girls. We were back and forth for awhile. You know how it goes, everyone was yelling "You cheated!" and "Foul play!!" It was a mess.

   I won!!!! teehee, I'm so competitive. I meant we won. WE WON. 

  Next, a thank you to my friend Grace. Recently (today, actually), she went ahead and commented the sweetest things on every post. I love you, Grace!!!! :) :)

  -D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)  

  

Day 12

 I'm on the bus going to see "As You Like It" with my theatre class.

  "The sun is setting gloriously outside" says my good friend Eleanor Bennett in fake British accent, just because everything sounds brilliant that way.

  Ha....


  I have a pretty awkward story to tell you about my bus ride home from school. But, I can't tell you it because I'm busy. Deal with it.

  (that was a bit harsh)

  Anyways, I will tell you all sorts of things to tomorrow. Promise.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll love ya tomorrow, you're always a day away. "

  That was weird post. Really weird. Blame it on Eleanor.

(that was a bit harsh)

-D.F.T.B.A-
Mina;)

Day 11

The big 11... wait, have I used that joke already?

  Anyways, I nearly forgot to do this. I had all of these numbers in my head, while preparing for an uber important math test, and just before going to bed I remembered you.

  Lucky you...

  While signing in, I kept typing my username incorrectly. Instead of Minawho... I kept typing Minapoo. Minapoo. Minapoo.

  I'm tired. I'm tired. I really, really tired.

  But not only am I normal tired, I'm MATH tired. That's a special breed of exhausted.

-D.F.T (yahn).B.A-
Mina;)

Day 10

  The big 10.
  Why does it seem like I've been going to school for so much longer?

  Quite a lot has happened in just a few short days, right?

  So, not much really took place today, besides that I ate really good cookies and cream ice cream with sliced bananas, and in case you didn't know, that is a golden combination. I feel like this is slowly becoming the place where I brag to you about the things I eat. I hope that my Somalian Penpal isn't reading! :)

  This morning, in theatre, we had to prepare a vignette using one song that we thought described how society views us, and another describing how we view ourselves. It was intense. It felt like you were being dissected in front of the whole class. It felt like you were telling people the very things you tried your hardest to hide behind a mask of smiles. I think I did well, it's just that you feel sort of (I would say violated, but that's MUCH to strong of a word) afterwords. You feel like everyone knows everything about you. It was good though. Some people (cough, cough, Nina-Simone, cough, cough), did extremely well. They (cough, cough, Nina Simone, cough, cough) were almost sort of, kind of inspiring.

  That's all I've really got to say...

  I can hardly think, because "Fix You" by Coldplay is just playing over and over and over again in my head.

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

"When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you"
-Coldplay

*music*

Day 9

  I have lukewarm feelings about today.

    Do you want the good news or the bad news?

  I'm going to go ahead with the good news because beginning a post with bad news would just be depressing and horrible.

  The good news is that I got a letter from an ambassador program asking me to participate in a travel abroad to China.

  Oh Yes. 

  I would so love to do this. The program includes seeing the Great Wall of China, a visit to Beijing, seeing the Terra-Cotta warriors, studying calligraphy, and all sorts of awesomesaucical adventures! But, of course, it's probably extremely expensive. So... yeah. :(

  Also good news, I had some coconut ice, and that was really yummy.

  The bad news is...

  Well, it's not necessarily bad news, it's just a little complicated.

  When you go to high school, you come in expecting every single friendship that has followed you there to be up in the air. You feel sort of awkward about it, like you're not quite sure about whether or not you will continue on with those friendships.

  Well, it hasn't really felt like that for me. A lot of important friendships have indeed followed me here to high school, and I haven't really ever felt shaky about them, because I didn't need to feel that way. Today felt a little like... well... like I was in a crowded room, but I was all alone.

  I don't usually say stuff like that, but it's the truth.

  I was only going to share the good news, but if some 8th grader ever happens to stumble across one of my blog posts I didn't want it seem like my experience was jolly good, and that yours should be the same.

  I realized that I wanted to write the whole truth.

  The whole truth is that once in awhile, you will feel all alone in a crowded room. You will even feel like you don't have any friends. The feeling doesn't last though. In just a little while you'll probably feel silly for even thinking that you didn't have any friends. But the feeling is there.

  I'm not quite experienced enough to say "Don't worry! Everyone feels that way! You will make the friends that you deserve to make! Everything will figure itself out!".

  But nevertheless, you shouldn't worry, everyone feels that way, you will make friends, and everything will figure itself out. It will. I promise.

  Ick. That feels like a much too serious ending for a post.

  That calls for a joke.

  Does February March?
    (That's when you say no)
  No, but April may

ha... I know :)

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

Day Awesome

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TULSI!!

  Today was my friend Tulsi's birthday, and there is just so much for me to write about that I can't possibly wait until Monday!

  For Tulsi's birthday my friends Grace, Giselle, Tulsi and I all went to a comedy club/ improv theatre. It was really cool, and the improv was really ingenious. Sometimes you wonder how it all just randomly comes out of their mouths.

  Besides the theatre being great, it was so nice to see my friends from middle school. I do see Tulsi about once or twice every two weeks pretty randomly. I haven't seen Grace nor Gigi all summer long! The last time I saw Grace, we were constructing a life-size (sort of) T.A.R.D.I.S. The last time I saw Gigi, was my graduation, and she was crying into my gown. What's so funny is that Grace is 13 going on 14, Tulsi just turned 13, and GiGi is not yet 12. We are a pretty diverse little group of friends.

  So, I think it would be fun to do a little random character sketch them.

  Tulsi: The brave and daring Tulsi. What can I say? Today she wore a purple polka dot skirt, with rainbow leggings, with knee high socks on top, converse, and a tee shirt with a creature she created printed customly for her. She looked awesomesauce. I love her and her red hair to death.

  Grace: Grace is the kind of girl who you're always happy to be around. She is always smiley, and up for a challenge. When she dances you can't help but picture Florence Welch or Luna Lovegood. She is such a good companion, you could never ( ever, ever, ever, ever, ever) be upset with Grace, she's just amazing.

  Gigi: Gigi is that younger sister you wish you had. You know, the one who draws you pictures, and asks questions in that voice that makes you happy. She sometimes speaks in a voice that almost every kid in our school can identify as "the Gigi voice", it's a sort of growl/ purr sort of thing, and you can't not love it. She and Tulsi are the girls who see a tree and before the idea ever occurs to you, they're already climbing.

  We were quite the ensemble. After the improv show, we went to Central Park. If you've ever been, you would know that there are these huge rock formations in and around the main playground area (or at least I think it's the main playground area). We were climbing those, and going up to the top. I was a little weary because I'm just always that way. You can imagine that Tulsi and Gigi just went ahead and ran practically head first.

  While playing hide and go seek, Tulsi found Grace and I, and afterwords we were in a sort of enclosed area, and instead of going around, Tulsi just jumped the fence in her cat-like way. Grace and I sort of looked at each other like "Umm. Ok. Let's do this.", and we just flipped over and boy did we feel all suave and cool afterwords. While it was our turn to seek, we just figured we would stumble across Gigi and Tulsi, because knowing them there would be no way for us to find them. So we were just walking around that area of Central Park, and there were some musicians playing... you guessed it...music. Grace had the brilliant idea to dance, so we did. Mind you, it was traditional Chinese music I believe. It was very slow and orientalish. So we danced and people were giving us that look like we were crazy, and then eventually started smiling and/or laughing. But, I have almost never felt so happy.

  For those of you who still haven't realized, we were dancing, in our floaty sort of way to Oriental music next to the bathrooms at Central Park, and we loved it.

  Eventually, my day with them did have to come to a close. My dad picked me up, and I went back to his restaurant to have dinner with my family. A friend/aunt-type person, Sharon, was in from Michigan and it was really nice to see her. The dinner was nice, and my stomach feels like it is going to explode.

  Today was a really good day. Like, a really GOOD day. I just had to write about it.

:)

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

P.S. If you know what a T.A.R.D.I.S. is, I would love to say"Hello fellow Whovian!" 

Day 8

  I had a math test today. I am 70% sure I failed.

  Other than that I had a few cool ideas.

  I'm extremely excited about seeing my friends Tulsi and Grace tomorrow. We're going to an improv theatre thingy for her birthday. That's going to be awesomesauce.

  I'm sort of tired. I'm in a funny sort of mood, though. The kind of mood where I'm cracking jokes and I just think "Wow, good one Mina".

  I'm pretty scared about that freaking math test, but I'm not worried because whatever it is, I know I can  clean it up. I'm pretty good at cleaning things up. Just not actual things, I'm not good at cleaning things.

  Anyways, I feel like today was uneventful. I will see you on Monday, I think I'm going to start a "confession Monday" sort of thing. Good idea? Tell me in the comments. Please. I'm desperate. I would love to hear from someone. In fact, I will designate a special smiley face for all of the people who comment. Who doesn't want a smiley face? I mean, seriously. Smiley faces are adorable.


:)

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

Day 7

  Reading back yesterday's post, I sounded a little depressed! Also, I couldn't help but notice all of my mistakes. It was like every little apostrophe and miss-use of s was in bold, and it was all I could see. I'm going to fix it as soon as I get the chance. That just goes to show how tired I was.

  I've been having trouble deciding what club to join, without volleyball on my shoulders the possibilities are endless!

  Should I do Key Club? It's sort of like a charity sort of thing...which I like.

  Should I do Film Club? I really remember loving that.

  Should I do Choir? My immediate answer is yes, but I need to see how many positions are available:(

  French Club? I really NEED to learn french, and they are trying to go to France!

  I want to join a club that will be fun, as well as help me out in the long run, you know? If anyone is reading this, I'd love to hear your ideas.

  Tomorrow I will be getting information on perhaps managing a Breast Cancer Walk, which may help me get back on my Health teacher's good side. As she likes to say "There is either War or Peace! Do you want War or Peace?" God, I want Peace. I really, really want peace.

  Today was a chill day. I say chill now.

  Not too many problems, not too much homework, quite a bit of sleeping on the train. Today was good compared to yesterday, which was deadly horrible.

  Message to all students:
                                       In order to make friends, you need to be friendly. Get it? A lot of people don't. But, seriously, being nice to everyone is general (not just to people you want to make an impression on) goes a long way with people. Not to mention it's good to develop that habit. FRIENDLY+ YOU= FRIENDS. It's as easy as that.

  Wow. Hahaha... That was my little spiel for the day.

  For anyone who likes Alternative music, specifically Florence + the Machine, "Heartlines" is STUCK in my head. Toodles for now. I'm going to go play Minecraft.

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

Day 6

   I have written this blog post already but it was deleted, and now I'm grouchy and I feel like writing speedy (I really mean "half ass", but I don't curse) content. I feel like crying. Oh Goodness, I'm so tired.

  ha! And it's only day 6! Let's take a moment to imagine what day 600 will look like:


  eww....not good....wild hair...crazy predator eyes (you know: the kind where the eyes are open all of the way and you can see every vein. As if that person is having a staring contest with with a photograph)...twitchy head...

  Forget about that. Let's talk about today yesterday.

  Yesterday was my very first day of VPA, which is the theatre program I wrote about days ago. The program itself was amazing, it was a lot of fun. Getting to the building was not a lot of fun.

  I asked my friend Celeste if she and her mom could pick me up from the train station and get a ride to the building with them. They agreed, but as usual, nothing went quite as planned.

  So, arriving at the train station, I knew that I needed to refill my metro-card. I used this particular track everyday, so I knew that there was a station where I could refill my card. But, arriving at the track, the station would not let me refill because it didn't take cash, and being a 14-year-old girl, I don't carry a credit card. Meanwhile, I was already running late because of other reasons that I am to lazy to explain, but believe me they were legit reasons that were beyond my span of control.

  My train then pulls up on the track, and I still haven't passed through, and Celeste is nervously texting me like crazy "Are you almost here?", "Are you on the train?", and I felt so bad to have them waiting for me on the first day. So, I asked the only other lady who hadn't paid yet and gone over the barrier if she could pay for me, and in return I could pay her in cash. Basically I was asking her to swipe her metro card, let me pass through the barrier, and I would give her the two dollars or so. Easy peasy, and I would still make the train.

  Apparently I picked the only lady on the track who a) didn't speak English and b) had the only metro card incapable of being a freaking metro card. She swiped and swiped and it did not work. I tried to get my money back and to figure out a new plan, but she didn't quite understand me for a while.

  Eventually I got through to her, and she gave me back my money. By that time, I was nearly in tears. I felt abandoned on this track, with literally every other passenger already over the barrier, and my phone in my pocket buzzing every minute. So, I did something sneaky and unlike me, but pretty funny now that I think about it.

  I ducked and went under the barrier. At first I didn't fit, because of my huge bags, but I struggled through. Just take a minute to conjure up a picture of the little divided barriers at PATH stations, and then imagine me with my huge book bag, and my tea in one hand, and my volleyball bag in the other, and little tears welling up in my eyes for distress. Then, imagine me trying to go underneath it, and for at least 5 seconds just trying to squeeze through with all of my might. I probably looked like an idiot. A complete idiot. But hey, I caught the train.

  I know what you're thinking: "Mina! You did that? How could you be such a bad girl?"

  Don't think you're the first one to think that. I was. All day long. It was eating me up. I couldn't believe how I just shoved myself through without paying a dime. It might sound extremely stupid to you, but I love rules. Rules are a good thing. If there is anything I believe in, it is playing fair. I felt sort of dirty (hypothetically, but this is a PATH station I was in, chances are, with me sort-of-crawling under the barrier, my hands and knees were a little more than hypothetically dirty).

  So do you know what I did? On my way back home, I refilled my metro card (at a station that accepts cash, you know, the good kind), then I swiped my card, walked through the barrier, and they I turned around walked back through the barrier, and paid and walk through again. There was this man who was just casually leaning against the wall, and he looked at me like I was crazy or something. Because, you know, I'm not crazy. I'm not. Seriously, I'm not. No, really.

  I still get a little shivery thinking about it, actually. Imagine if someone had seen me cheat earlier that day? Or if I had been forced to explain? I'm quite the introvert sometimes. I have trouble talking to people, but most of the time I have this picture perfect idea of who I am (or rather should be), and when I try to be her, I succeed at being open and friendly, but when I don't, I just end up not speaking to people very much at all. This is mostly because I have a phobia of small-talk. As far as "perfect" me, I don't think there is anything wrong with trying to be perfect. We should all try to be the best people we can be, but that isn't saying that we should- never mind. You get it, don't you?

  Well, that was yesterday. I sort of want to tell you about today. Today was horrible. I am not proud of today. First off, I found out that I was supposed to be at school earlier than I had originally thought, so then my mom had to grumpily drive me across the city (and for those of us who know what it is like to be stuck in a car with a clearly upset parent, we know that that small metal box is the equivalent of hell). When a parent is grumpy, don't even try to explain. Just give up, because they are just not in the mood. Let them be, because nothing you say is going to make them understand. They want to be upset, let them be upset.

  Then, returning from theatre to school, I forgot my binder that had all of my homework from every class. I think you get the point. Every teacher gave me the "I'm so disappointed" look, but I assure you that the most disappointed person in the room was myself. Today was horrible.

  I especially had a gruesome run in with my health teacher, who is also my volleyball coach. She was extremely upset with me. Anyways, one thing led to another and I quit volleyball.

  I know that you're thinking that that doesn't make any sense. But, I'm new to Public Transportation, and getting home at 7:30 as a freshman isn't very appealing. I was willing to work hard, but my brain is so stuffed and preoccupied that I felt all over the place. Theatre announced that we would be taking after school field trips, and those were going to interfere with volleyball practices. My mom was sort of pressuring me, as she felt it was too much for me to take in all at once. I feel sort of like the weight on my shoulders is getting really heavy, but that I can manage, because I can do it, and I will do it, so I do. But, between everything I have to keep track of on a daily bases (I won't list them, but you would be amazed with my to-do list right now), I just felt that I couldn't keep up volleyball, because practically everything was telling me that I couldn't.

  I'm not feeling so great today. But, I am determined to check out some clubs tomorrow, and find some way to be active. Today was pretty horrible mentally, I hope that your day was better. I'm going to go write a letter to my imaginary Somalian Penpal again.


-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

Day 5

Grrr! I have already written this entire post 2 times and both times they were erased for some reason. I am so upset. It's late, and in a few minutes it will be Day 6, so I'm going to bed. Arrggh I am so upset. 

I am so upset! I had some really good stuff to write about!!!! Let me stop complaining. 

Dear Somalian Penpal,

  I'm really upset because my really expensive laptop is being a little stupid, and my super quick internet isn't being so super quick right now. So, I will just have to write about my really good high school and generally good life another day. How are food, shelter, and water working out for you today?

                                          Love, Mina!

Well that helped.

-D.F.T.B.A.-

Mina;)

Day 4

Volleyball.

  For the last couple of weeks, I have been practicing with the girls volleyball team at my school. At first, I thought of it as a way to meet new people before the school year started, and I figured that that would probably be a smart idea. It turned out to be a very smart idea (I get a lot of those ;)

  During volleyball, I've met tons of cool people. Let's face it, it's sort of nice to see a few extra familiar faces in the halls while you walk around. It's also sort of comforting to know that if you forget lunch one day, you can find one of your sophomore pals and ask them to get you something from outside. One day, during a JV scrimmage, my darn nose was running like crazy and I ran out of my kleenex, so while we were on time-out I asked one of the varsity girls to run to the bathroom and get me a tissue. She didn't think twice about running out of the room and getting it for me. For some reason I think that's pretty cool.

  If there is one thing I have learned from my days on the volleyball team it is that when it comes down to how much power is being exerted by the players, the practices sometimes surpass the games. Practices are gruesome. Horribly, horribly gruesome. I could go on and on and on endlessly about how hard a practice is, but I think I can get my point across in just 21 words. Do a lunge with your knee no more than an inch from the ground and suspend it there for 20-30 seconds. Just do it. Please. Come on. Go ahead. It's good for you.

...Have you done it yet?

  No? What are you waiting for?

  Anyways, imagine doing that back to back, up and down a volleyball court 4 times. It hurts so badly that your knee starts feel like it's on fire, and just as you think you can do it anymore he tells you to take a step and switch legs. I've always considered myself a pretty fit girl, but I have never done anything like the exercises in volleyball. Specifically, after the lunges, one day I took a step onto the platform where the water was, and as I took my step off of the platform, my knees shook, and just as I was thinking "No, you are NOT going to fall in front of everyone!!" I did. I fell. One little step, and my entire body collapsed.

  That brings me to my concluding idea. There is only one thing that keeps me struggling during those gruesome practices. It's the team. With people constantly bellowing "Keep it up, Ladies!" and "You can do it, Ladies!" in your ear, it's not easy to forget that, indeed, you can do it. So you do, and you finish, and afterwords, you feel pretty proud of yourself and the team.

  Being a part of a team is something so completely different for me. It's not as though I've never been in a supportive environment, it's just that I've never been on a proper team, one that doesn't consist of gossipy tweens that don't want to be there. I have to admit that I'm not so great at volleyball, but even if I'm on the bench the whole time, I still feel like I'm a part of the team.

  I had a game today, and it was the first time that I ever scored. It wasn't amazing or anything, but some how my small little victory seemed to be mean much more to me because I got to share with 11 other people who were just as happy about it as I was.

  That was sappy, huh?

-D.F.T.B.A-
Mina;)

Day 3

AP U.S. History VS. Theatre 

It's a period 1 showdown. Which class will Mina take?

  Let's take a look at the pros and cons.

AP U.S. History

Pros:
 I get to take an AP class, and potentially earn college credits.
The teacher is rumored to be pretty awesomesauce.
I won't have to take US History 2 next year.
I will have space for maybe another AP as a Sophomore.
I love history!

Cons:
 The students say it is not a necessary class.

Theatre

Pros:
They put on multiple plays a year.
They frequent theatres in the area.
They are planning international travel (maybe)
I can quit in any year I please.
I can develop a better understanding of what I would like to become as an adult.

Cons:
I will be missing out on AP History.
The program's headquarters is in the same building as a not-so-safe school.

Sooo... I decided on taking theatre, because... of reasons.

  So, next thing to talk about: Volleyball.

  I will tell you more about the volleyball team another day when I'm not so tired, and especially when I'm not writing this on my phone.

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;

Day 2

  My second day of high school went smoother than my first, luckily. Like the school enthusiast that I am, I have become increasingly excited about the year to come. Only one thing in particular has been bothering me all day long.

  Earlier in the summer I auditioned for a theatre program that is a part of the public school system. Basically, I would leave school for two hours a day to go to another school and take a drama class. The program boasted all sorts of amazing opportunities, and hey, let's face it, who WOULDN'T want to leave school and take a drama class?

  So, receiving my schedule a few days ago, I noticed that the program was NOT on my schedule, and I sort of panicked, but the administrators at my school calmed me down and informed me that I would eventually receive a new schedule WITH the theatre program included on it.

  phew.... Relief. All will be okay.

  No, of course not! I took a look at my schedule and found that I was in AP U.S. History, and since history is indeed my favorite subject, naturally, I was thrilled! But, if I take the theatre opportunity, you guessed it, I can't take AP U.S. History. So, I have a pretty big decision on my hands, and I'm not sure what to do. I'm sort of split between two passions, and I don't know which to choose.

  But, enough of that. I want to tell you all about what happened yesterday at an ice cream shop. That morning I was handed a $10 bill, but by the time I was on my way home I had less than a dollar. With only 97 cents in hand, I was dying for ice cream. I was dying for it, seriously, I needed soft serve more than I needed oxygen. This was SERIOUS.

  So, I walked into the shop, with my bubbly personality in tow, and brightly asked "Is there anything I could buy with 97 cents?". For the record, I figured he would say no, and I would just sample myself to death. But, he didn't say no. He chuckled a little and said, "Don't worry I'll cover you!", and voila! I poured out all of the change in my pocket onto his hand, along with a cough drop wrapper, and he gave me a cone of ice cream. You better believe it.

  The lesson for today kids: Smiling gets you ice cream! But, make sure you don't smile ALL of the time, because then we'd all get diabetes.

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)

Day 1

High school.

  It sounds like such a big and scary word. But, walking into History this morning, it didn't seem so scary after all. You know, I can say the usual: Everything was good. The people were nice, and the teachers seemed nice enough. Everything was good.

  Anyways, that's how I felt at the END of the day. At 8:27 am, with only 8 minutes to make it to my first class and a walk ahead of me that usually took 15 minutes, I would not have told you that "everything was good".

  Arriving at the building at exactly 8:34, after a medley of jogging, speeding walking, and just plain, old-fashioned running, I walked into French. But, of course, I wasn't supposed to be in French, I was supposed to be in History. So, basically, a class full of seniors all looked up at me, and as I was about to use all of my remaining energy to sprint to the door, they helped me out and explained how the new schedule worked. Off to history I went.

  I walked into the room sweaty and disgusting, a wonderful impression for the first day of school, I'm sure. I took my seat, and enjoyed the rest of my class, anyways.

  The rest of my day went splendidly. I was pretty good with finding my way (I didn't get lost not one time after the morning incident brag brag). The only mistake I made was walking up a down staircase. THAT was scary. Just imagine Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors all rushing down the steps, acknowledging that they had 2 minutes to get to class, and you're that stupid freshman girl mumbling "excuse me" and "sorry", as people shove you left and right. It was bad. I got off at the next floor, needless to say.

  Above all else, I would say that Day 1 was successful. I'm an optimist, I like to look at the bright side of things, and today everything was good.

  OK, so maybe everything was an overstatement. But still.

-D.F.T.B.A.-
Mina;)