Zombies, Unicorns and Snowy Days

Hello, all!
You see, I am capable of being regular with my blog if I put my mind to it! It's only been about a week since my last update; I'd say that's pretty commendable. *mini happy dance*
All right, so I just finished my first week back to school, and it was unpleasant to say the least. Everyone was distraught over having lost their Christmas break, which evaporated into the air like so much grey smoke. This caused people (*coughcough* me *coughcough*) to be very irritable and snappy. Combined with having to wake up at 6:30 again (shudder), I got braces on this week. And no matter what any orthodontics veterans may tell me, they are painful. They feel awkward in my mouth, they make my teeth feel sore, I can't bite into, well, anything, and I feel uglier than a naked mole rat with them on. So that has played a number on my mood. Also, exams are creeping on us faster than ever, and I feel thoroughly unprepared.
HOWEVER. I know that in my last post I made an ongoing goal to be more positive, so I will try - at least in my blog - to do this. Now, since I don't have the ability to actually convince myself that anything is going positively right now, I will opt for the easier solution - complete and total unacknowledgment of anything negative, accomplished through a powerful dose of self-denial.
So! On that note, I will write about the NICE and HAPPY things that surround me right now, starting with my recent used book purchases. While I said that I wanted to read Walden in the new year, I've been sidetracked by a couple of other books: Don Quixote, The Marvelous Land of Oz and the book I'm reading right now. It is called Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Zombies vs. Unicorns is an anthology spawned by a group of young authors who started an internet meme which asked which was better: the zombie or the unicorn. Many authors were very strongly on one side or another, and they recently came together to write short stories arguing their side. I am Team Zombie, for those of you who are wondering. However, I'm able to stomach the unicorn stories, of which my favourite so far is Diana Peterfreund's "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" (the fact that it's a killer unicorn really ups the interest for me). My favourite zombie story is, by far, Maureen Johnson's "The Children of the Revolution," which is horrifyingly creepy, but amazing.
And more news in the area of positivity: snowy days are finally here! I am not a particular fan of snow; I don't like to shovel, I don't like wet socks and I don't like big bulging jackets that make me look like the Michelin Man. However, as the weather in Canada becomes milder and milder, I have realized that I am seeing global warming occur before my eyes. It's worrying, to say the very least, and when a snowy day the likes of which I am used to finally arrives, I have a moment of relief. The soft, white fluff covering the quiet streets this morning seemed to me a promise of hope: all is not lost. This is reversible, and redemption is possible. Our legacy does not have to be that of a violent civilization whose greed ultimately consumed it. We can be more than that, and I am determined to help my generation become more than that. Because really: without snowy days, how are we supposed to justify drinking three mugs of hot chocolate?
Until next time.

Thoughts

Hello all.
I don't have much time to write tonight, and yes, I realize I haven't been very consistent with my blogging, but I have been very busy! Still, I am trying to be more punctual with post updates by blogging more FREQUENTLY, even if the posts are OF THE MINI SIZE.
So, I've had a bit of a trying week. My schoolwork has gotten very hard, very fast. In some ways, I relish it (we are learning about verb structure in Latin, which, as a dork, I find very exciting. Also, I am tickled pink about our poetry unit in English - can you believe that for five years, my school's senior english teachers have not felt it necessary to have a poetry unit? Shame.) But then again, I am also an adolescent, and straining my brain goes against my natural impulses, so the mind-bending formulae we are learning in my Chemistry class have me hyperventilating in anticipation for the test. Formulae: i iz doin' dem wrong.
And I realize that schoolwork is not an excuse for not blogging, but there you have it. That is the best I've got. A few exciting things have happened since I last updated, though. (Well, exciting for me. You may find them utterly inconsequential, but I hope I can make it a little bit interesting for you). The most important thing is that I have recently been accepted as a volunteer for my community's humane society! This is very exciting for two reasons: one, I love animals and have been rejected as a volunteer from every other pet clinic/rescuce/store in the region, so this ACCEPTANCE is very new and thrilling for me. Secondly, having experience working with animals is something that will become very important for me if I pursue becoming a veterinarian (which I think I will).
The second important thing, which happened just a few hours ago, was that I read a blog post by the endlessly fabulous Libba Bray, a Young Adult author whose blog breathes life back into the blogosphere. I intend to write a more full reply to it when I get the chance, but for now, I'll just post the link for those of you who might be interested in checking it out. It'll be worth your while, trust me, especially if you are a soon-to-be or recent high school graduate.
So, without further ado, here is the link! : http://libba-bray.livejournal.com/58659.html
See you soon!

An Update

I've been very busy with school lately, so I haven't had time to write much of anything lately, let alone anything in my blog. It's sad but true; polarity, electron affinity, Poe, Latin derivatives and a whole bunch of other very smart-sounding information has replaced my blog in the last two weeks.
Today, however, something miraculous has happened. I have showered, cleaned my face, done my homework and worked out for an hour and I STILL HAVE half an hour left over in which I can just...sit!
It's a pretty weird feeling already, and the summer ended less than a month ago.
Anyways. I knew I'd been neglecting my blog, and for the sake of keeping up some sort of writing regime (because, who are we kidding, English class does little in the way of teaching people how to write - senior year of high school and people are still confusing "your" and "you're") I have decided to write in here ONCE MORE. The only problem is that aside from posting poorly written, meandering poems about butterflies, I don't have much to say. I guess I'll just summarize my school year so far, for the sake of having everything that's going on with me organized in my mind:
Firstly, I have four classes this semester: Latin (III), Chemistry, English and Biology. I'm interested in all those subjects, and so far they're all going well. I like some teachers better than others, but nothing too horrible has happened yet. Trust me; you will know when something horrible happens.
Secondly, I am currently juggling five extra-curriculars (soon to be six, HOPEFULLY seven) and I have made a promise to myself that I will NOT join any more extra-curriculars this year, so as not to overwork myself. Although, damn, those school newspaper sign-up sheets do look tempting.
Thirdly, it has become too dark and wildly erratic, weather-wise, to run consistently. For this reason I am going to be swimming several times a week so that I can hopefully get that freaking arrow to go to the left on the scale.
Fourthly, I am sporadically but surely continuing to write my novel (which shall henceforth be referred to as That Novel I'm Writing, or TNIW) and I am going to put aside a solid chunk of time this weekend to just write - to put down all my ideas and hope that some of them stick.
Finally, I think it is a testament to my dedication to language and the written word that right now, when I could be sleeping, I am writing this post. I am DELAYING SLEEP because I want to keep up a regular writing schedule. Do you know how big a deal that is for me? Anyhow. I think that this proves how ridiculously committed I am to this silly writing thing. So in summary, be happy this post even exists! It takes a very determined brain to work when it is this tired.
And now, I'm off to catch some shut-eye. See y'all.

The Only Good Thing About High School

It is that time of year again. We are inching towards the end of August, and all the little childrens' smiles are fading once more. Pencil cases are being pulled out of dusty drawers, and string bikinis are being tucked away for another long year.
Alas, it is school time again, and I can feel the universal groan of pain in my bones. Up here in snowy Canada (actually it is extraordinarily hot right now, but indulging Canadian stereotypes online is one of my favourite pastimes), high school begins after Labour day, on the 7th of September. This means that I have five days in which to mentally prepare myself for another agonizing school year. Of course, like any responsible and forward-thinking student, I've already done all the physical preparation. I've bought my back-to-school cardigans, plaid shirts and fun headbands. I've purchased the required agenda, pencil case, pencil case fillers, binders and shiny new school bag. I have chatted with my guidance counsellor and straightened out my schedule so that all my intelligent-sounding courses are on my timetable (case in point: Studies in Literature. Daunting, no?)
However. I have not been given any sort of instructions as to how to mentally prepare myself for another grueling year. This is something which, apparently, the school board and teachers and janitors and counsellors have decided that the students must do on their own.
So, in an attempt to prepare myself, I started thinking about school and its myriad facets. The cafeteria that has always reminded me of a holding pen for cattle. The girls in English class who text on their iPhones all period and ask me, in the last five minutes of the class, to explain to them the entire day's lesson. The friend of a friend with whom I have to feign enthusiasm about Justin Bieber.
But then I remembered that I was forgetting about a pretty major part of school. It's something a lot of high school students tend to forget, and I only caught my mistake a few days into my halfhearted preparation.
I forgot about the actual school part of school. You know, classes. Teachers. Textbooks. Learning. And I realized that school, and high school especially, is an extraordinarily special place. Elementary school is focused on giving you the basics in any and all subjects, and by university or college, you pretty much know what you want to do. High school, however, allows you to focus solely on yourself. Whatever your interests, whatever you want to learn and pursue, there is a teacher willing to dedicate his or her time to teaching it to you. It is a place created entirely so that teenagers can indulge their every whim and learn all about whatever it is that interests them. Of course, it's also about producing literate adults who can join the workforce, but more than that, it it provides us with a very important opportunity. It gives us - the teens - four years in which we can be undecided, and we can be passionate, and we can do whatever we want to do because we are being compelled to do what we want to do. I'm still pretty young, but I have a feeling that that opportunity doesn't show up too many times in life.
This year, I am taking three Science courses. I'm also taking a Studies in Literature course and two separate English courses, as well as a Functions class. I am taking all of those courses not because they are requirements for a job that will keep a roof over my head, but because they interest me, and because I can.
I think I'm prepared for another year of high school.