The Last Post (That Will be Graded)

Well, the school year is coming to an end. There are only two more Creative Writing classes left before I pack my bookbag one last time and run down the hallway and out the doors screaming happy things whilst thinking of the next weeks of summer freedom.
Despite the fact that I love summer, I have loved Creative Writing class during school very much. I loved my teacher and my friends in the class, and all the writing craziness that we embarked on together.
I've learned new and different forms of poetry. Our short story section was my favorite! I even enjoyed our end of the year project. I've created more fictional characters in the past four marking periods of creative writing than I have in my entire life. The class has made me stretch the limits of my creativity.
I think my writing skills have improved. I've learned to write more concisely, add greater details, write about even the smallest topic, and write a whole story with just dialogue! It has been one of my favorite classes I have taken in high school.
Even though this is the last post that my teacher will be grading, I will probably come back to this blog from time to time to write down my thoughts. I've enjoyed the blogging experience!

Funerals

I attended a funeral yesterday for my great uncle. I hadn't seen him for at least two years before he passed away. He was eighty-three and I regret not visiting him before he died.
After the funeral my great aunt held a luncheon for the family members and relatives. Sixty of us were there, including my family and many relatives from Arizona. With us all there, gathered around the tables, eating and looking at pictures of my great uncle, my aunt said something that I cannot forget. She got to her feet and said, "Your uncle did pass away, and we miss him, but he'd of been happy to know that you're all here, together, because of him."
I really wish that there could have been a reunion for the family that my great uncle could have attended before he died. There wasn't anything more he loved than family.
I know there is a great reunion in heaven going on right now, and that my great uncle is happy to be there. He was in pain here on earth, and wanting to go home to his Father and family in heaven, but I miss him.

My Love Affair with Holmes and Everything Sherlockian

Since at least the age of ten, I've been in love with Arthur Conan Doyle's fabulous, timeless, classic detective, Mr. Sherlock Holmes of 221 B. Baker street. I'm not sure what precipitated my love of Sherlock (or why I call myself a Sherlockian) but I do know that my time spent in the presence of everything Holmes has been fabulous.
My mom says that I have this way of talking about Sherlock Holmes like he is real, as opposed to a pen and ink book character. I believe I do this because of the books. When I read a Sherlock mystery, I'm inevitably drawn into the story as if I'm another character running across moors and through the streets of London beside Sherlock and his trusty Doctor Watson.
Today there are many ways for fans of Sherlock Holmes to enjoy more Sherlock. You can visit 221 B. Baker Street in London, watch old black and white and new Sherlock movies, or watch the BBC's Sherlock (a very fabulous TV show set in a modern day London with the same characters).
As Sherlock says, "The game is afoot, Watson!"

The End of the Year

You can tell when summer is coming. My classmates are restless, teachers collect books, and my mom starts counting down the days before she can stop having to drive us to school. The heat outside increases daily, the sun shines brighter, and the classrooms seem hotter. Concentration is difficult in class. I'm antsy to be outside on my deck, lemonade in hand, sun tan lotion on my body. My priorities change. I study a little less for tests. My homework answers are shorter. I just want summer! My body is fully present at school each day, but my mind is wandering. It's wandering to the waves and the sand and the green grass. My mind is already tasting ice cream and sipping sweet, sweet tea. Just a few more weeks to go, and summer's here!

Things That Have Changed

1. My school: When I was in elementary ("Elementary, my dear Watson!") school, there was not a large high school section like we now have. I can't remember which year all of my current classrooms were built, but before it was just a lot of concrete brick rooms where elementary and middleschool kids ventured in on missions from teachers to retrieve costumes or tissues. Now it's where I spend most of my time.
2. My book tastes: When I was younger, books were so simple, and usually taught simple life lessons that could be applied simply: Sarah the Salamander takes out the trash, Lily the Lion learns to play with the other lions, or Max the Monkey listens to his parents or his bananas are confiscated. (I didn't even know the word confiscated then!) But now there is violence in the books I read, there are tyrants, heroes, deaths, births, philosophy, religious debates, morals... everything changed. Characters have middle names in the books I read now. Can you remember reading a children's book with pictures where the character had a middle name? I think it is incredible how the human mind grows, right along with our bodies.
3. The way I see things: When I was little I can't remember thinking about children that were starving, girls caught in sex trafficking, which president to vote for, which college to attend, what to say to impress someone, which foot hits the brake pedal, which the gas, or whether or not the door is locked before I go to bed each night. When I was little life was very simple. Now there are so many thoughts one can think about. There is so much to do and life rarely slows down unless you take a step back and say, "I need a break." It's not all bad. I like that I can think things out for myself now, choose what I like best, and make decisions, but I do miss the simplicity of only worrying about being able to swing after supper and whether or not Mommy will be serving vanilla ice cream, or chocolate.

My Little Library

Hushed, quiet, and subdued are three adjectives used to describe a library. Many people see shelves of books and think of chilly, chair-filled rooms where people read. Many would call libraries boring, too.
But for me, I am an avid lover of libraries. It's like I walk into one and my heartbeat quickens. My adrenaline gets going. I can read and browse the book titles and float down the aisles looking for new subjects to explore, all through the pages of a book.
I'd love to have a date in the library. Perhaps that's one of the most nerdiest things I've ever said, but it's true.
What exactly is a library? TheFreeDictionary.com has the word library listed as: A place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or lending.
With this definition, just think of all the little libraries sitting in people's homes! I guess my room, with its three bookshelves and various floor piles of books, is also considered a library. I've always told my parents that the first thing I'm going to look for when I buy a house is an extra small room for a little library. Forget the kitchen sink and room for a washer and dryer!
I'll live off books, housed in my personal little library.

Nursery Rhyme Parody

Nursery Rhyme: There Was an Old Man with a Beard

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said, "It is just as I feared! --
Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard."                            -Edward Lear

My Nursery Rhyme:

There was an Old Man with a nose,

Who cried, "It is just as I supposed! --

Five Squirrels and a Frog, three bees and a Hog,

Have all made their home on my nose."