I’m Back! February 6, 2012

To say that I neglected this little project would be an understatement. My last year of high school was hard. My computer crashed this summer. I was to busy making plans that I knew I probably wouldn’t keep because it gave me something to count on. Feel free to continue the list of excuses in your head.

They say that when you start a blog, you should choose one category to write about. Having a focused approach, they say, will help you publish clear, concise content with a purpose; too broad a platform, and the lack of focus will lose you readers and a sense of purpose.

Here’s the thing. I like a lot of different things. There are a lot of different aspects of my life that I feel are worthy of being written about – even if it is only for myself. So this here blog is really just going to be all about me. What I like and don’t, my life, my opinions. It’s all very self-promoting. I’d like to move away from that as I gain readers and develop more of a dialogue, but for now, I’m going to blog about what I know – or think I know – and that is MY individual experiences. No matter how big this gets, it will always be unapologetically for me: to consider my opinions and those of others. Others that have different and very personal life experiences.

I recognize that I may not be able to do it all, and I may have to just pick one topic and stick with it. I’d like to try it this way first, though, because I feel like it might just work out.

With Childlike Abandon, I Embark Upon my Journey April 16, 2011

I’m seventeen, six months, and five days old. I graduate high school in 49 calendar days. Thirty three school days. Not that I’m, uh, counting or anything…

I have no idea what I’m doing next year. Not a one. I used to love getting the question, “What are your plans for next year?” As a senior, the adults in your life expect you to answer with a confident smile and an explanation of your plans for post secondary education-and for a while, this is just what I did. “I’m going to the University of Minnesota, to major in social studies and minor in Japanese,” I’d say. “I’d like to teach high school social studies someday, perhaps Civics, or AP US History.” The impressed face of the adult who had posed the question made me flush with a sense of pride-after all, I knew what I was doing with my life, I had it all planned out, when so many of my classmates had no idea. And then. And then.

And then the one school that I had applied to, U of MN-Twin Cities, wait listed me. Oh, it was a very nice letter, very apologetic, emphasizing the record number of applicants they had received this year, sorry, we can’t offer you admission at this time, we will update on the status of your application by April 1st.

They didn’t update me by April 1st. No, they chose to wait until April 13th. As of right now, I have chosen to keep myself on the wait list; they are supposed to update me by June 15th. At which point, even if I’m accepted, all the good classes and roommates will have gone.

I’m dreading my graduation party. But, I suppose, inquiring minds want to know.

I’ve read blogs, off and on, for years. I’ve toyed around with the idea of starting one for some time. At first, I was going to do daily vlogs, starting on my half birthday, to celebrate my last six months of childhood. April 12th came and went, no vlogs. And then my lovely friend Chelsea started a blog. So I thought, what the hell. I’ll jump on the bandwagon.

The title, “Childlike Abandon,” means for me that I will make an effort to enjoy the small things. To play games and make forts and play keep away and only step on the red floor tiles at Target because I need to remind myself that every little thing, is gonna be alright.

So welcome. Strap yourselves in. As I begin my journey with childlike abandon, I’m sure I’ll encounter a skinned knee, or three; but, there sure as shit are going to be some ice cream sundaes too.