Memories

     It's been an amazing school year and I'm honestly sad to see it go. Next year is going to be quite a bit different for me. I'm trying to be ready for that...anyway, this year has been filled with so many memories. I've made wonderful friends and had so much fun with my old ones, I've grown a lot in academics, and look fondly back on this school year. The highlights of my year have been:

1. Without a doubt, Seussical. Being Jojo is Seussical Jr. was my highlight of the whole year. What an experience!

2. Ranting with my friends at lunch about musicals and books (doing spirited dances from multiple musicals)

3. Writing, writing, writing! Having two writing classes was very cool

4. Reading one of my favorite books in my Lit. class (Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry)

5. Going down the hallway with my friend, joking and doing a secret handshake

6. Gaining an awesome trio with hugs after every class

It's been a wonderful year

Summer Plans

    This summer, I plan to write as much as I do this school year- poetry, short stories, (*ahem rewritting every Percy Jackson scene the way I want it to go*) and really, anything that comes to mind. For reading, I plan to read possibly Of Mice and Men, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Grapes of Wrath, and most definitely read all of the Percy Jackson books and series!

     As for my summer plans, my summer is going to be pretty packed. I applied for a job position as a volunteer for the Cincinnati Art Museum, so I may get that, which would be five hour shifts a few days a week. I also got into the Cincinnati Young People's Theater production of "Beauty and the Beast" at Covedale Theater as many ensemble roles with the most amazing cast of fellow theater nerds! (That's going to be the highlight of my summer) Four hour rehearsals five days a week , nine performances! I also will continue voice lessons.

"Flash Fiction"

~ She never should've tried ~

~ That's where it ended ~

~ Her breath left her ~

~ The heartbeat thudded rhythmically ~

~ Pulsing pounded my soul ~

~ Silently, the book turned ~

Amelia Earhart

     I read an article from "Scope" magazine this afternoon that talked about the disappearance of Amelia Earhart. The article provided information about new evidence found that perhaps Amelia died as a castaway on an island. A box full of what could be woman's bones were on an island near where her plane disappeared, that could very well be Amelia's. I think it's possible and this could be a really great theory, if we had something to back it up. There's not a whole lot there to support the fact that the bones belong to Amelia.  They might be on to something, though. Amelia's disappearance may remain a mystery forever, or it may be solved. Really, only time and hard work can tell

Scars

     Let go. That's what he told me to do. He said everything would be okay if I let go. So I let my hand unclasp from one branch. Slowly my foot slid ever so slightly. If I were to let go, I'd fall. Of course, it's the law of gravity. How was that okay? Above me, the storm clouds began to circle overhead. He was frantic now. "Let go!" He told me again. I looked down. I was eight feet up. Surely he didn't expect me to let go. My feet desperately groped for another branch but any trace of one crumbled beneath my weight. A roll of thunder shook the dense air.

     That's when the rain began. Pounding like a hammer around me and this tree. He was down below, still shrieking into the wind. I looked wildly for another branch, any easier way to get down. Will was starting to blur out. His face was a mixture of color, like ink smearing the words on a page. I was starting to feel dizzy. My left hand dropped from the branch and I plummeted. Down, down, down; the fall never seemed to end. Will wanted to catch me. Otherwise he wouldn't have told me to jump. But the rain was blinding now and Will couldn't even see me anymore. The only sign I was there, was the sharp scream that rang out through the air.

      I snapped out of my daydream. I could still hear the echoes in my head screaming "let go! Just let go, Ally!" I forced them to leave my mind as I stared in the mirror. It was a very unusual scar that lined my face. It wasn't like any other. It covered half my face, starting above my left eyebrow and trailed in an even, perfectly curved line down between my eyes to my nose. Once it reached the left side of it, it suddenly went into a jagged bolt shape. The evenness was gone and it was crazy and directionless. Almost like the lightning bolt that shot through the sky as I fell, cutting my face on the branch. 

Colors

The color blue tastes like a glass of water, chilled with an ice cube, the glass foggy from condensation
It sounds like the crashing of an ocean, slapping the sand with each roll

The color pink tastes like a bite of a cupcake piled high with sweet, fluffy icing
It sounds like the chirping of a baby bird on a spring day

The color orange tastes tangy, almost sour. Impossible to miss
It sounds like saxophone wailing on a street corner, piercing, jazzy, and noticeable

The color green tastes like fresh fruit. It tastes like summer air and all that is new
It sounds like the rustling of leaves, crunching underfoot

The color red tastes like a fiery hot pepper. Flames, burning. It reels you in
It sounds like a jazz band swinging all night long at a club, never stopping for breaks

The color purple tastes rich and refreshing, like a bite of swirling dark chocolate
It sounds like a wind whipping around a castle- barely a whisper against the heavy stones

The color yellow tastes tart and sour, lemony and zingy, waking you up immediately
It sounds like fairy bells ringing high-pitched jingles in your ears

Someone Who's Willing to go Down Too

Sometimes life is easy
Simple, effortless, breezy
And sometimes days don't go as you plan
And you just have to run and keep up as best you can
Why are things so much more complicated than they need to be?
Because sometimes no matter what you might think,
Things aren't as they seem to be

So you better have a friend come along for the ride
And the two of you can either find your way through,
Or at least you can both lose your pride
Someone who's willing to go down too
Even if they have the choice to abandon ship,
They choose to stick with you

Still though, it'd be nice if the turbulence could subside
Preferably before all our tears have been cried
Drama can get so tiring
It gets old so fast
Who wouldn't wish it would just get past?

But as long as you've got a friend through your day
I swear, my friend, you'll be okay

Friends

Good friends are like songs

Eventually they end and the music stops

But they never leave your head

They get embedded in your mind

And even when the music isn’t playing

You remember the tune

You remember the words

And it's sweet and heartwarming like nothing else

And sometimes that song drifts out

Friends drift sometimes

And sometimes they have to leave

It’s not their choice

And it breaks your heart a little bit

But someday,

Weeks later

Months

Years

You hear that old song

And the tune sparks a million memories

Kind of like those friends

Except songs can be forgotten

They come and go

But good friends?

They never leave

You never forget them

I learned a while before

That the unlikeliest of friends

Usually turn out to be the most beautiful

Because it’s all the more lovely

Once the friendship solidifies

And suddenly,

You can’t imagine why you ever thought you couldn’t be friends with them