Day 20

Today is not a good day for me. Today is my Uncle Terrence's birthday. He's not an asshole, so that's not why it's a bad day. Thing is he's been dead for almost twelve years now. in 2002, he committed suicide. The only uncle that I can remember and showed me love killed himself. And the sad part is I've been having bad thoughts recently, wanting to cut, wanting to die. Sorry I'm gonna cut this one short, but I just can't think about anything else right now. Sorry.

Day 19

I woke up late this morning to the sound of my mother coming into my bedroom and telling me that I had to get up right now or I would be walking to school. I don't understand why she had to act like such a bitch about that, especially since it wasn't my fault that my phone wasn't working and the alarm didn't go off. My little brother had another appointment today and the doc shows up at 9, which means I have to go to school by 8:30. So, if I were to walk to school, you know how long it would take me? An hour. No, I do not have a working bike, nor do I ride a skateboard, scooter, etc. I walk or driven to work, and it used to be the same for school last year. Last year, I got half day for second semester so that I could work late nights, and you know what my parents do? They made me walk to school every day. But, if I closed the night before, I got lucky, because that was when I got to sleep in and they took me to school, but my manager only let me close two nights, and working a four hour shift or not closing shift did not count and I would have to walk. Also, it was decided that I have to pay for my parent to take me to school and drive me to work. I don't mind paying my parents to drive me to school, but seriously, to work? It's only a little ways away, when I'm able to walk to work it takes 30 minutes, but driving only takes 5. Like I said, I don't mind paying for the ride to school, but then this is where my mother fucked up. Recently, my parents have been borrowing money from me and paying me back when my dad gets paid, because I get paid on a Wednesday and my dad on a Saturday, sometimes the Monday after, so I let them. My mom was $40 in debt to me, and I mentioned it to my dad who told my mom to talk to me about it. I paid $15 for gas, $16 for gas, and $10 for my school book. I told my mom and this is what she had to say about it: the $16 was by my choice, even though my mom told me to keep my cousin out of the house so they could go through her things to see if she had been stealing for us, the $15 she took so that I PAID her for the rides to school and work, and the $10 she's not even going to bother. What the the holy fuck. So now, I'm so being hesitant about letting my parents borrow my money, especially when they're only going to take and take and take and not pay back because they come up with some lame ass excuse to not do it. Yeah, it really pisses me off.

In other news, my thoughts never went away this morning, especially with how pissed off my mother was at me. So, I walk into Biology, feeling like shit, and the best thing happens: my teacher, Mr. Miller, takes notice and he helps me. At the end of class, he told me that, even though I'm having a bad day, to just remember how awesome I am. It really helped me a lot to keep at bay the urge to cut. Also, today should have been a Friday. With how the school schedule goes, I don't understand why they didn't just give us Fridays off instead of making our breaks two weeks longer.Any way, good night.

Day 18

Today was pretty slow. In Mythology, we presented our posters for our Egyptian Gods, and mine was Hathor. I was really nervous standing up in front of the class so I didn't get to say a lot that I wanted to say, but I did tell them that the reason that I chose Hathor was because she was a deity that I worshiped. I don't know how that went over with them, especially my friends who are Mormon and Christian. I guess if they weren't sure that I was Pagan then, they do now. Then the rest of the day was a drag.

I worked tonight, and it turned out to be a total and complete disaster. My manager was having a break down because of her boyfriend, so she went outside to talk to her friend about it, she also put two people are break, leaving three of us to work. Then it was time for one of us to clock off, so she gave me the drive-thru headset and left. So, I bet you can imagine how terrifying it was that only two people were inside working front, drive-thru and sandwiches. Yeah, and what made it worse was a crowd of people decided to come in to the front and the drive-thru register wasn't working for me. Finally, my manager came back in and decided to help us. And, on top of that, I've been having some really bad thoughts recently (if you've read my life blog, you might know that I cut and was suicidal for a period of my time). Life is just becoming so difficult for me right now.

Day 17

Okay, today happened to be a REALLY good day. In Biology, we did a lab studying Pond Scum. I swear to you, I have never been so excited as I was looking at pond scum. I think Biology is the only science class that I will ever truly enjoy. Anyway, my partner and I discovered that most organisms live at the bottom of a pond, because that is where algae dwells the most, making it a likely habitat for organisms. So much fun. So that was my only class for the morning, and my best friend, Cay, took me out to lunch and we decided to ditch the second half of the school day. The only reason we did is because we knew that we weren't going to be doing much in our last classes of the day. Besides, we had a great time. So, yeah, today was a pretty good and exciting day!

Then I had to go to my award ceremony for academic achievement, third year in a row. Sitting there, I realized something; for the past three years, I never had both of my parents show up for my academic ceremony, it's always only been one parent or the other. Sad, right? Well, I saw a lot of my friend's parents and they love me! And it was a lot of fun.

Day 16

This week has started out so SLOW and tiring. You know what, I really really wish that I had my car and license right now. Yes, it would be very helpful, especially for when I need to sleep in and my parents can stop complaining about having to take me to school. GAH!!!!

Anyway, I have just been so off today. Thankfully I don't have to work tonight. But I do need to catch the bus tomorrow so night!

Day 15

It is officially Friday! Yay, so happy, except for the fact that I had to work again tonight, but at least we got out kinda quick. Anyway, the guy that I mentioned in my last post, we used to be friends in elementary school, though I bet you he will totally deny it now, which is really sad. Anyway, I moved to Fruita, our friendship kinda ended, and then I saw him freshman year, said hi, and he totally ignored me. I have no idea what the hell is up that kid's ass, but it is so far up that it's made him a giant asshole. Then in Sophomore year he and I were in the same Honors class and I happened to state my opinion a lot in that class, especially to my friend Will. So, he emailed Will and told him that he should just tell me off and called me a Feminist bitch. Yep, that really let me know that he was a giant asshole. I don't know, it just might be because his family is rich as fuck and it's totally gotten to his brain. I kind of wish that he wasn't like what he is now, because I really valued our friendship, and I know our friend Landon did too.

Anyway, so I brought cookies in for my counselor and finally decided on taking Modern Lit, so I have to do my reading, and I also brought breakfast doughnuts for Biology, and everyone totally ate them, while I only got a couple, and that happened to consist of my breakfast. I kind of feel like today was an alright day, but I just didn't like it all that much...

Also, Ms. Hazard was talking to us some more about going to New York at the end of the year and the kind of fundraisers we could do. I just got to say, it's going to be crazy expensive, and that $1,300 I could be saving just to buy a decent car instead of going on a trip that will last a total of three days, going to places that I have already seen, and traveling to Denver/flying for two days. Maybe it will be worth it, I don't know, I just hope so.

Day 14

I just want to say that I am kind of liking the music that Miss Hazard picked out for Choir. There, I said it, and now the internet will know that I did, and Ms. Hazard if she ever sees this. Now, onto really cool stuff, in Biology we've been watching a movie about the Arctic and have been creating food chains, which is pretty cool. Today, we started the Serengeti bit of it, and then we'll be making a food web, which happens to be more complicated. Also, I don't know if I told you this, but there's this guy in my Biology class that I, well, kinda hate. I'll get more into later. See ya!

Day 13

So, I talked to my counselor about joining Modern Lit. and I did, got my new teacher's signature, but I have to turn the paper thingy in tomorrow. When I talked to Mrs. Johnson about it, she was a little irritated, but not really at me. She told me how there were already 31 students in her class, so I would make 32, which wasn't really fair to everyone about how crowded it was. So, talked to my mom when I got home and she said she'd talk to my counselor tomorrow about getting my 5th hour release back. I hope that it works out.

Also, I've been thinking about getting a new job. I don't want to leave everyone at work, but I need a better paying job, I just need a freaking car! Ugh, the life a teenager whose parents won't let her get her freaking license. Let me tell you, it's freaking annoying.

Well, have a good night!

Day 12

Ugh, my freaking counselor! I swear, she's really nice, but GAH!!! Okay, maybe it's not her, maybe I'm just pissed off at my school district. I swear! With this new schedule, there came new rules, and they are STUPID rules. I had a 5th hour release, but my counselor called me down after school today and said I had to give up one of my release hours, because I was only allowed two. TWO! How freaking ridiculous! Does she not know that I need to have a release to do homework? I mean, I DO use my first and second block for homework too, but there are days when I am able to sleep in, but that doesn't give me enough time to do my homework, and I do my homework after school, but there are times I am required to work 4-12pm shift, so I have no room to get homework done.

So, they made me a counselor aid, and, as much I like some of the people there, I did not want to do that, so I talked to my best friend Cay about it and she told me that I could try to join her 5th Hour modern lit. class, so I'll go talk to my counselor about that tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Day 11

Today was a good day. School seemed to pass by pretty quickly, and work turned out to be pretty good. Today, in Bio, we were watching a movie about the arctic and took notes on which animal was a producer or consumer, and we started making a food chain, which happens to be pretty easy to make. Basically, I'm repeating Sophomore year, which makes me a little happy.

So, I turned in my Hero's Journey short story, and I didn't get any feedback from my teacher yet. I hope she liked it, I wrote that in a day. A DAY! She should be amazed at least a little, not asking for any special credit, just amazement. Also, I had a good lunch. Decided to go out with my friends to Pizza Hut just down the way, which turned out to be a VERY good choice. Don't tell my mom that I kinda ditched American Gov, she'd throw a fit about how I'm not supposed to miss a day of school. But, this is my Senior year, I'm aloud some leniency right? I mean, it's not like I'm going to skip school just to drive to Las Vegas, I'm just going to skip a class where I had a sub that didn't require me to do anything. Do you see where I'm getting at?

Choir we got a new song, a song that I cannot quite remember, but it's so upbeat and fun, a very big contrast to Prayer of the Children. It's nice that we've got like really new music, just freshly bought, but the Choral department does not have enough money, and we've bought four new dresses (just in my class) for concert dress, which is really wasting money. I think that if we keep this up, we won't be going to New York at the end of the year, which is something I would very much like to do.

Also, work ended pretty good for me tonight. My friend, Kento was able to take me home, and we had a good talk. Well, it wasn't really a talk, but we did talk, just small talk. It was something that I really needed tonight. I'm really glad that I have such a great friend like Kento, because I know that, if he can, he can help me. I wouldn't think about us being a relationship, no matter how good looking he is, but I see him a friend, and that's something that I really need in my life right now. Don't worry, I'll spare you the gory details of my nonexistent love life.

But that was my day. Good night!

Hero's Journey Short Story

So, here it is everyone! I hope you enjoy, please give me feedback.

The Journey of the Dragon

By Trina Roller

In the small village of Sesinai, there lived a shepherd and his wife. In their years together, they had been prosperous and happy, taking only what they needed and saving the rest. There came a time when the wife looked down at her empty belly and said to her husband “Husband, several years have passed us by, and several more will pass again before our deaths. I pray, let us have a child.”

            The husband looked to his wife and smiled dearly at her. “If that is what you wish.”

            For several months, the husband and wife searched the kingdoms high and low, looking for a child that they could make their very own. The wife traveled to the east to the lands of the desert and the husband west to the land of the swamps, then they both traveled to the plains, searching for their very own child.

            At last, their journey had been in vain, so they returned to their patch of land with their sheep. In anguish, the shepherd’s wife took to keeping herself busy from dusk to dawn, sleeping only when exhaustion haunted her. The shepherd did not fare well either. He too locked himself away, dreaming of a child of his own.

            It was midday when the shepherd took his sheep down towards the river than ran at the edge of his land. As the sheep tended to themselves, the shepherd sat near the river and continued to lick the wounds of his broken heart.

            Suddenly, a cry came from the reeds nearby. The shepherd quickly stood to his feet, but the cry quickly ended as he did. Thinking nothing of it, he sat back down and looked at the river again. Then, a cry came again! The shepherd stood and made his way to the reeds, pushing them so as to find what made such a horrible cry.

            With water up to his knees, the shepherd continued to find where the cry had come from and was rewarded with the sight of a dark, bamboo casket floating upon the water. As carefully as he could, the shepherd removed the lid of the casket and found a woman laying inside, holding a bundle of the strangest cloth he had ever seen close to her chest, a bundle that was kicking and screaming. The shepherd moved a piece of the scale-looking cloth and saw a baby with bright violet eyes looking at him, its screaming ending.

            “A gift of the gods,” The shepherd said, picking the baby up and holding it near his chest. “My wife must know about this.” As fast as he could, the shepherd ran back to his house, leaving the casket and the sheep behind, not giving a worried thought to them.

            When the shepherd had reached his home, he found his wife outside, beating the dirt out of several rugs. Excited, the shepherd ran towards her, calling out to her. When he finally reached his wife, the shepherd had lost his breath. His wife looked at him curiously and asked, “Husband, what has happened to you? Did you lose our sheep? Did you run from bandits? Has the Emperor come?”

            The husband just smiled and shook his head at his wife. “No, dear wife. We have lost no sheep, nor have bandits come to raid our shack, but I have found something far greater than that of a visit from the Emperor.” As gently as he could, the shepherd removed a piece of the cloth from his bundle and showed his wife the face of a baby girl with violet eyes, raven hair, and milk white skin.

            The wife cried out in happiness and hugged her husband, laughing in astonishment and joy. “My husband, where did you find this child?”

            “Out near the river, in the reeds, there hid a casket with the sound of a howling cry coming from within. I reached out to it and discovered a babe that hid inside with its mother, who showed no sign of life. My dear, I believe this to be a gift of the gods. They have answered our prayers for a child!”

            “Come, show me this casket.” The wife said. The shepherd led his wife to the part of the river that he had left their sheep and showed her the reeds. Giving her the baby, the shepherd went to the reeds to pull out the casket, but when he got to it, the casket lay empty with nothing but a mat and cloths of extravagant colors and quality. When the shepherd told the wife his news, the wife looked down at the child and smiled.

            “Then we shall raise her on our own. And we shall call her Kaida, our little dragon.”

            Several years passed for the shepherd and his wife. They cared for Kaida as if she were their very own child, watching her grow into a beautiful and intelligent young woman. To give her a better education, the shepherd moved his family back into the village, giving his young daughter as much as he could.

            When they had arrived in the village, Kaida had passed her seventeenth name day, and when the villagers saw her, they knew she was special, just by the color of her eyes. Often, they called her dragon’s daughter, and she held that title with pride and confidence.

            It was a fresh spring day when Kaida was sitting next to a Koi pond, dancing her fingers upon the water’s surface, when her father came to her, his wife holding his arm and crying. Kaida called to her father, asking what was wrong. The shepherd shook his head.

            “Kaida, my dear, we have never lied to you about where you were from, but your mother and I believe that it is time for you to discover that for yourself.” Then, he took a piece of cloth from his sleeve, a cloth that was detailed in extravagant colors and had shape edges, as if it were made of the softest scales. The shepherd flipped the cloth over and inside, written in gold, was a crest of a dragon and a phoenix. Kaida had never seen a crest such as this in her life.

            “But I do not wish for this to be so. I want to stay, here, with you and mother. Please, do not make me go.”

            “Kaida,” Her mother said, taking her hand and holding it close. “We will never abandon you nor make you leave, but use this time to discover yourself and who you truly are. Then, we will see you again.” The shepherd’s wife smiled softly at her daughter, giving her the encouragement that was needed. The next day, packed with a supply of rations, Kaida waved goodbye to her family and the villagers, and left.

            Kaida traveled on the main road for several days, passing other travelers and stopping in villages for rest. To whomever she could, she asked about the strange crest, receiving answers that it was unknown to them or such a noble crest never existed. With every answer, her heart saddened more, but she continued on, for her parents.

            Finally, after being away from home for several months, Kaida came upon a city that was vast and glorious in size and color. A great river ran all around the city and traveled within, as if the city was built on water. She walked several roads until she came upon a great palace designed to stand tall and show elegance. In awe, Kaida stood there, gaping at how beautiful of a structure it was, until a guard came to her.

            “What is your business with the Emperor?” He asked her, his voice gruff and heavy.

            “Can the Emperor help me? I am looking for the meaning of something.”

            “You are in luck, girl. The Emperor is wise and knows all. Many come to him to ask their questions about life and death and spirit. I shall take you to him.”

            Kaida followed close behind the Imperial guard, clutching her cloth close to her heart. The walk into the palace was attractive and extravagant, but it wasn’t long until the guard had led Kaida into what looked to be the throne room. There, atop a throne that looked to be a chair that a stone white dragon with violet eyes curled around it, was who seemed to be the Emperor. The man was old, his hair long and like a white river with a golden crown that was pinned at the top. With gentle eyes, the Emperor looked down at Kaida, curious to what her question was.

            “My lord, Emperor, I come to you with a question in dire need of an answer.”

“Please, ask me it, and I shall help you to the best of my ability.”

            Kaida reached into her dress pocket and carefully handed the bundle of strange cloth to the Emperor. Curiously, he gazed at the cloth, turning it over with an inspecting eye.

            “This cloth, I have never seen before. What beautiful quality, such soft texture. Where did you happen upon this, my dear?”

            “My father told me that he had found me wrapped in it floating along a river bank.”

            “Do tell me more.” The Emperor said. So it was that Kaida told the story of how she was found that her father and mother had often told her as far back as she could remember.  When she had finished, the wise Emperor regarded her with amazement.

            “This sigil on the inside of the cloth, it is ancient and not very well known. When I was a young boy, I had seen it in several books that I read when I should have learned my studies. This follows the story of a young warrior who went through many trials in order to save a princess that was stolen by a horrible dragon.”

            “And what of this story that is deemed so important?” Kaida asked. The Emperor smiled gently at her.

            “Not all children’s stories share the truth. Understand, the only one who can tell you the truth of this sigil is the one that the warrior went to as well; his name is Kuza. But, in order to meet Kuza, you must complete a set of tasks to prove that you are worthy.

            “First, you must go to the south and discover a fire that can burn in water. Second, you must travel north to the Fountain of Life and bring him a vial filled with its soil from the bottom of the well. Lastly, you will go west, reach the pond of the Moon Mother, and you must take a piece of the moon when you leave. You will then travel east to the Dragon Temple, climb its steps, and give the offerings to Kuza. It is then that he will present himself to you, answering the one question that you want answered the most.

            “My dear, do you accept this quest?” Kaida nodded. The Emperor was happy to hear of it and gave her a map of where she would find the offerings, giving her the best routes and coin. “Make sure to come back and tell me of your journey, and I shall put it in the royal archives.” He told her as she began her decent of the palace stairs. Kaida promised that she would and quickly left with newfound hope.

            Following the Emperor’s map, Kaida decided to go south to find a fire that could burn even in water. As she descended from her homeland, she found herself in a strange land where men and women wore long pieces of cloth that wrapped around their bodies and was only held by pins on their shoulders, and had hair that curled instead of straightened. Often she went up to these strange people and asked them about the fire she was told to find, but many of them laughed and sent her away. It was not until she had reached the edge of the sea that she came upon a man who sat on the shoreline.

            His hair was extremely black, a color that Kaida had not seen in the southern land, and his eyes were a bright violet. She thought it very peculiar, but quickly dismissed it. As she began walking up to the man, he noticed her distress.

            “Whatever is the matter, young one?”

            “I have been sent to the farthest reaches of the south to look for a fire that can burn even in water. I had never heard of such a thing and many of the people I have encountered have said the same thing. Would you have heard of this before?” The man smiled at Kaida with a knowing look in his eye.

            “Yes, I have heard of such a thing, but you must answer me this first; what runs and has no feet, roars but has no mouth?”

            Kaida smiled. She began to remember how her father had told her of such a riddle, and after she had guessed many times and was incorrect, her father smiled at her, telling her the answer.

            “The sea.” She said. The man smiled at her, his eyes shining once again. Reaching into his cloth, he pulled out a large bottle with no opening. Inside it, though, glowed the most beautiful green light Kaida had ever seen. She knew it was fire that could burn underwater.

            “Please, take this. With this fire, it can never be put out, but it can bring unimaginable destruction if you so wished it. Be wise not to open it.” Kaida gave her promise, and, after thanking the man many times, she went north, so that she may find the other offerings.

            Returning to her homeland, Kaida traveled further north, climbing up several mountains and passing many monks who searched for enlightenment. She knew her journey had ended for a moment when she saw an extravagant shrine of earthy hues that covered what looked to be a well. She knew that this was the Fountain of Life. Looking down into the well, she saw that the well itself was indeed very deep and it seemed almost impossible to reach the bottom of it. Silently, she sat against the well and felt herself despair, losing all hope.

            After several moments of silence, Kaida heard the sound of a frog. She looked over and saw that there was indeed a frog that sat beside her, a frog with patchy, green skin and violet eyes. It appeared to Kaida that it looked at her with sadness and worry.

            “Young one,” the frog said its voice scratchy and chilling, “What downs you so?”

            “I have come here so collect soil from the bottom of this well, but as I gazed into it, I saw that it was far too deep for me to reach the bottom. Now I am despaired.” The frog listened in silence until Kaida had finished.

            “I could collect the soil from the bottom of the well for you. When I have given the earth to you, you must promise me that you will take me to the bottom of this mountain, for I wish to leave this place.” Kaida had given the frog her word, smiling at last. After giving the frog her vial, she watched and waited patiently as the frog did his part. Not a moment later, the frog jumped out from the well and gave her the vial; inside it was filled with a dark goo that seemed to be earth.

            “Thank you, good friend. Now, let us leave this place so that we may both get on with our lives.” And so it was that Kaida carried the frog down the mountain in her pack, confidence filled her even though she had felt empty before. When she reached the bottom of the mountain, Kaida carefully placed the frog next to a pond, wished him a good journey, and continued on her way.

            After traveling west for many days, Kaida came upon a noble home to where she asked that she may rest. The noble of the house gladly took her in, and gave her a very nice room. As Kaida slept that night, she dreamt of what she knew to be the Moon Mother’s pond. There she discovered Koi swimming in unison together, creating the perfect circle. One was the color of night with a spot of white on its head, and the other the color of the moon with a spot of black on its head, yet both carried violet eyes.

            “What beautiful fish,” Her dream-self said. Gently, she touched the surface of the pond, gaining the attention of the Koi.

            “What it is that you seek, young one?” The Koi asked in unison, speaking as one voice, yet both were different.

            “I have come to find a piece of the moon so that I may take it to the one named Kuza so that he may answer my question.” The Koi nodded together.

            “We have heard of such a being. Please, take this.” The Koi sunk down below for a moment and quickly returned, holding a pearl. Kaida took the pearl and placed it on her palm, amazed at how beautiful it was.

            “Tell me, how is this a piece of the moon?”

            “The moon is mother to all, and when she created the clam, she told it that she would create it in her own image. Thus it creates a pearl so perfect that it has become a piece of the moon herself.” The Koi fish explained. With this newfound knowledge, Kaida thanked the Koi, asking what she could give in return.

            “Do nothing, only thank the moon every night, and know the truth of beauty and strength.” And with that, Kaida opened her eyes. When she sat up, she discovered the noble’s house was gone, and she was all alone near a cluster of wood. After placing the pearl carefully in her pack, she began her long journey east, towards the Dragon Temple.

            It was night when Kaida had reached the Dragon Temple. She looked upon it and gasped at how high the temple had been built, at how many steps that were embedded into stone. Before she could change her mind, she began her ascent.

            By the time she had reached the top, the full moon was high in the night sky, and Kaida had lost her breath. Before she went into the temple, she looked up at the moon, remembering the Koi’s words, and gently said, “Moon, mother of all, I give my thanks to you.” Then she entered the temple, finding the jade table that the Emperor had told her to place the offerings on.

            After waiting a moment, Kaida felt a shift in the wind. She turned around and gazed in surprise as she was face to face with what was a dragon. Like the Emperor’s throne, this dragon was white with violet eyes, its body moved like a flowing current, and seemed looked into Kaida’s soul.

            “Welcome to my abode, child.” The dragon said, it’s voice familiar, but she could not place where she had heard it. “What is it that you seek?”

            Before answering, Kaida took a deep breath and said, “I wish to know who I am.” If a dragon could smile, Kaida swore that this one did.

            “You, young one, are special; you are one and you are all. You traveled this world on the tops of clouds and swam in its seas. You belong to the earth, but you are the daughter of fire. You, child, are a dragon.”

            A dragon? Kaida thought. How was that possible?

            “But what of this sigil?” She asked, holding the cloth up to the dragon.

            “It is the mark of a dragon reborn. You remain a dragon on the inside, but you travel the world in a new vessel and discover its feelings and emotions.”

            “But that woman in the casket with me…”

            “She was a Guardian. She traveled with you and protected you until you were where you were meant to be. You are special, child. You are free.”

            Kaida took those words in and slowly smiled. That was why the cloth seemed to be made of scale, that was what the dragon and the phoenix meant; she finally understood.

            “What do I do now?” She asked the dragon.

            “Go home, live your life, do things for others, take risks, because you may never know if you will ever live a life such as this again.”

            Kaida thanked the dragon, quickly wrapping her arms around its neck. The dragon did nothing, but let her do what it was that was needed. Saying a quick goodbye, Kaida ran down the stone steps and raced back to her family with a speed she never knew she had.

            Before Kaida returned to her village, she made true on a promise she had made from what it seemed to be a lifetime ago. She traveled to the palace of the Emperor and when she saw him, she told him her story. He watched her with curiosity, and, like a child, gasped at her trials. The Emperor thanked Kaida for such a wonderful story and promised her that she was always welcome in his Imperial palace.

            When Kaida had returned to her little village, the sun was high and the day was busy. Farmers were selling their food, merchants selling their wares; it was as if Kaida had never left. When she reached her home, she hesitated from knocking. It had been far too long since she had seen her father and mother; what would she tell them about her journey? Before she could decide, the sliding door opened and there stood her father. She watched as his eyes widened in surprise, but he quickly pulled her towards him and held her to his chest in a loving hug.

            “My sweet daughter, it has been too long. I hope your journey was successful.” The shepherd told Kaida, kissing the top of her head. Kaida smiled to herself at his affection, something she had missed dearly and had not changed in him. A moment passed and her father let her go, looking at how changed she truly was.

            “Come inside, tell your mother and I all about it.” He said, closing the door behind the both of them, grateful to the moon that his daughter had returned to him.

Day 10

Finally, it's Friday! Today we had a pep assembly, something that I was surprised to be excited about. I guess it being my Senior year and all it'll add excitement to the things that won't happen again. Anyway, it was funny because the Juniors and Seniors were having a heated "battle". Like, us Seniors stole the Junior flag, then the Juniors stole our flag, then we stole our flag back.While this was happening, the Sophomores had no idea what was going on and Student Senate couldn't get anything done with their stupid and boring games. Look, I'm sure that they worked really hard to brainstorm things that would rile up the school spirit in everyone, but they come up with really lame stuff. In truth, the events going on between the Juniors and Seniors was more entertaining.

Also, I went out to lunch with my best friend, Cay. She was sweet enough to buy me lunch for today. And, I finished my short story! I'll post it up for you guys and you can tell me if it's any good or not. What else? Not much, just trying to get through school as much as I can. It didn't really help that my sister graduated last year, because, mentally, I am totally DONE with school. Besides, I only needed 2 credits to graduate; Biology credit, science elective credit, American Government credit, and a Senior year language arts credit, yet the school gave me a FULL 8 hour schedule at the beginning of the year. No way in HELL do I want to be at school all day and take classes that I don't even need (even though I'm kinda doing that right now, but its at a minimum).

16 WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!

Day 9

Nothing exciting happened during school today. I DID decide to just scrap the other idea for my Hero's Journey and started writing another one. Maybe, if I finish it tomorrow, I'll post it. Also, today I had a doctor's appointment today. I don't know if I should disclose something like this to the world, but I did say that I didn't want to leave anything out for my Senior year. Maybe it will do you guys good to know about this.

I saw my doctor today, right? Well, I have something that looks like dirt that covers my neck, armpits, and around my stomach area. Also, my bleeding cycle is all haywire (it comes every 3 months and is a month long), I have skin tags, unnatural hair growth, am obese, etc. (Doc told me that it was because of PCOS that I was obese, and for me it started since I was 9, which is a very unnatural age to have PCOS). Well, these are all symptoms of  something called Poycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), it kinda means that I have too much male hormones in my system, which is kind of giving me physical guy traits, like skin tags and the hair. Yeah, so my doctor prescribed me some medicine that will boost my metabalism and flush out the male hormones. Not very excited about this, but I guess I'll just see how things work out.

Day 8

I have got to say, I LOVE not having to come into school until 9 AM, it's really nice, though I hate the fact that I still have to wake up at 6 in the morning to catch the bus and then stay in the library until 9. Thing is, my parents and I came up with this deal; if I have to work the closing shift one night, and I have school the next morning, then I can sleep in and get a ride to school, that is IF my baby brother doesn't have his doctor visit. (His physical therapist comes to our house like every other Wednesday, but they've been changing up the schedule to like Tuesdays and Fridays). Hopefully when I get my car and license that'll change.

Anyway, we spent the entire fourth hour writing our Hero's Journey short story, but I don't even know if I want to use the one that I wrote or if I should just write another one. Basically, I just typed up the story that I was starting to write in Creative Writing, and if I were to continue on that track, I would be writing a novel when this is due on Friday. I'm slowly being convinced to just write another one.

I didn't particularly like Government today. We had to be put into groups and do a critical thinking about how the Founding Fathers created a second constitution since the first one wasn't working out. Thing was, the girls that were in my group didn't give a shit and were shit help with participating and not making ups look stupid. Don't know, I just REALLY didn't like that class.

Anyway, 1 week until I get paid! At least I'm excited about that.

Day 7

Okay, so that lab that my partner and I started in Biology, the Salinity one? Well, it is NOT going well. Our control is growing splendidly, but our other radishes seem to have been killed by too much salt. They will be missed very dearly. Also, I spent the entire 5th hour block just hanging out with my friends, reading the first book of the series Of Fire And Ice, and tried to help my friends with our parts for Choir as everyone was picking out their Choir dresses. Not too bad of a day.

Day 6

Late start Monday, again. Nothing wrong with that, kind of like it actually, though I don't understand WHY the elementary kids get a half day on Wednesdays. Not fair is my opinion. Not a lot happened today, just took a lot of notes for Biology, did a Hero's Journey poster which my group and I presented to the class, started a Hero's Journey short story - though my writing block is not helping me at all. Yep, notes in Government, picked out my dress uniform for Choir, and went to the library for Creative Writing because it was pointless to be in the class if I'm just going to write while he teaches the other kids how to write.

Yeah, that was my day. Very boring, and very slow.
See ya!

Day 5

Kind of a normal day for me again. Since I worked the night shift last night, I got to sleep in a couple more hours and got to school just in time to miss our fire drill. Then Seniors had to go to a class meeting with the Senior council and just go over the fine rules for school. Though, in Mythology, for the past few days we've been going over the Hero's journey, so that has been a bit dull.

Also, I just want to talk a little bit about my American Gov. teacher, Mr. Stockert. I don't know, I like his class, but I just feel a bit uncomfortable. Why? Oh, I don't know, it could be because he seems like a very hard Christian and I feel if he were to know about me being Pagan he had the potential to make my high school life a living hell. There are times where he'll bring up how God created man and how it was man's right from God to create a free country, but it kind of makes me uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I am not telling the man to shut the fuck up, far from it, and I have been used to people doing this - come on, my grand parents are Jehovah Witnesses - but it just makes me a touch uncomfortable if you get my understanding.

Nothing else much important to say, I think. Well, except this...

17 WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!!!!

Day 4

Not a lot happened to me today. Mostly it was spent getting textbooks for classes, reading George R. R. Martin, doing a worksheet for class here and there, and taking notes. Didn't make conversation about anything interesting much. Jut a regular day.

Well, I guess you could say that in choir it was eventful. Today, we voted on who we would like to be our choir council - group of people from each of the choirs that get together for fundraiser ideas and social events. It's kind of a new thing this year. Anyway, we were given our people and I couldn't choose between two of my friends, Katie and Summer. Both are amazing people and understand the need for a choir family, so I was having a tough time choosing until Ms. Hazard told us we could choose two! Yay!

Also, right now I think one of the chillest teachers I have is Mr. Herring, he's my Adv. Creative Writing teacher. He told the five Advance students that we didn't have to do the homework that the rest of the class was doing and to just focus on our writing. So, I thought that was pretty cool.

Tonight, I actually went to work and hung out with my sister before then. Also, I made some cookies for everyone just for the heck of it. It's really nice to do nice things for your coworkers when they deserve it. I have this thing where I make something or buy a present for my coworkers' birthday. There's just something about birthday's that I happen to like. Well, it's late, so night!

Day 3

So, today was an interesting day. Morning bus dropped me off at school at 6:55 AM so I went to the counselor's office to change my schedule and was told to put my name on a list and to wait. So I waited. And waited. And as I waited, the office began to be filled with people wanting to change their shedules. And you know what the receptionist lady said? She told everyone that the counselors could only fix 2nd hour changes right now and if they had a problem with 4th, 6th, or 8th hour to come back at that hour and they weren't going to change the odd numbered hours until tomorrow. I mean, seriously? I find that rude and stupid. What happened to making appointments anyway?

So, I talked to my counselor and changed my 2nd hour Anthropology class to a release and my 5th hour Anatomy class to a release as well - meaning no class during that hour. It's nice, knowing that I don't have to come into school until 9:00 AM. So, second hour I spent in the school library with the BEST librarian in the world, Mr. Ira Creaseman, a soon-to-be-published-author. Spent some time talking to him a bit, then spent the rest of the time reading A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin which I happen to enjoy very much right now.

Fourth hour was Mythology, which only consisted of us checking out text books and spending the entire hour doing an activity about the Hero's journey. Hopefully we'll be learning more tomorrow. From my knowledge, we'll be learning about the Native American, Celtic, Viking, Egyptian, Oriental, Hawaiian, and Gallic mythology. The whole reason I'm taking this class in the first place is to help me with my Paganism, which will help me out a ton!

In sixth hour we spent the entire hour taking notes about the American Government system, also figuring out what kind of government America uses. Yeah, still not very much.

And, for the last hour of the day, Advance Creative Writing was spent talking about poems, which I don't mind at all, but even though the teacher droned on about it, there was still thirty minutes of class left. How was that possible? No clue. I was practically falling asleep in the class because I was so exhausted. Maybe I'll go to bed early today. Also, I don't know if I mentioned this earlier, but my Adv. Creative Writing class is actually mixed with a regular Creative Writing class because only five people signed up for the class. From what I gathered, we're not expected to do much except write in our journals and set up a goal of how much you want to write by the time Christmas break comes up.

Third day of school and I feel like I never left for summer break. Wow, I have NO idea how I'm going to survive this school year. I just feel like I've been running this really long marathon and even though I know the end is near, I don't see it and I'm just growing even more exhausted. Anyway, good night. See you tomorrow!

Day 2

Today's school schedule was pretty weird. Instead of going to my normal eight classes, the school added something wacky to the class times. Here it is:

1st Hour: 7:25 - 9:00

3rd Hour: 9:07 - 10:45

Lunch: 10:45 - 11:26

5th Hour: 11:33 - 1:08

7th Hour: 1:15 - 2:50

Yeah, weird schedule right? Well the same will go for tomorrow, except instead of odd numbered classes it will be even numbered classes. Today wasn't very special either. In my College Biology class we started a lab with radish seeds to see with how much salt would they be able to thrive in. As is common knowledge, salt just kills the nutrients in the ground and kills the plants and soil themselves, so it would have to take a certain SMALL percentage for plants to thrive in a salty area. So we get to check on those little seeds next Tuesday. Also, my Biology teacher, Mr. Miller, told us about how we would get to take some field trips down to the river and to the College campus. Totally awesome! Can't wait!

Anatomy was a pretty okay class. It's not that I have something against Anatomy, I happen to find it pretty interesting, it's just I really hate Chemistry and we have to do Chemistry, and we also have to dissect things, something I haven't done since seventh grade and feel like I don't want to really do at this point of my life. I did happen to learn about some interesting fields that Anatomy could benefit in - fields that I won't be participating in, sorry to say. 

Seventh hour was Choir, which was alright. Ms. Hazard, our new Choir teacher, was alright. Her teaching methods are very different than that of our last Choir teacher, Mr. Stone. I don't, I guess I'm just not very comfortable with her singing choices, but I shouldn't judge since I've only known the woman for only a couple of days. One of the things that I was uncomfortable with was she had us sing a three line song so that she would know where to place us - Alto or Soprano - but I had NEVER heard of that song before she taught it to us - which was about only five minutes - and then she had us sing in front of the class. Let me tell you how NERVE WRECKING that was. Seriously, I was shacking, my voice quivered, and that didn't help when I had to reach the high notes. Also, I'm kind of afraid that because I was so nervous and kind of messed up she's going to be one of those teachers where she keeps me in Alto all year because I was nervous. I only worry about that because I had a choir teacher that did that once and it really ruined me. Anyway, she also showed us this song that she hopes we'll be able to sing for our last concert for this year. It's a really neat song, one that I would love to sing.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

So, that was the second day of school. See you later!

Day 1

Wow, I can't believe that I'm a Senior. No, seriously, the feeling just hasn't hit me yet. Still, I guess I had an interesting first day.

So, today went something like this: I only got three hours of sleep and if I hadn't left my house at the time that I did then I would've missed my bus because my bus driver LOVES to be freaking early. Also, it was late-start-Monday, which just meant that school didn't start until around 7:40 AM so I spent the morning trying to print out my class schedule, said hi to my friends, and awkwardly looked for my friends in all my classes. Yeah, first day of school wasn't too bad. I guess the worst part was that there's this outside hallway where the doors are always crowded and all the stupid Sophomores just decide to stand in the middle of the hallway so that nobody can move around them and it takes even longer to get to class.

Most of the day was just everybody running around to find classes and to figure out the new bell schedule that we have. Also, if you guys didn't know, my school starts at 7:20 AM which is WAY too early to even think about going to school if you ask me. Besides, if the school were to change the times, it wouldn't be until next year when it wouldn't benefit me, so I guess I'm going to have to not care for a while.

Well, thanks! See you guys tomorrow!