President Obama

So the president was in my hometown today. Yeah! I don't particularly like to get into politics buy I am an Obama supporter. I didn't go to his speech but I did watch it online. It was very exciting to see. I mean, even if you dot support Obama, it would be exciting to meet him. He's the leader of the free world. He's the first african american president. It was basically like hearing history happen. It was the first time I ever really thought to myself, "this Is something I can share with my kids someday. " have you guys ever had a moment like that? My friends mom met him at a produce stand earlier today. That was cool.

DFTBA
maggie

Ohio Weather

So the weather in Ohio has been very bipolar lately. Take today for example. At three I was out in lake eerie kayaking, having the time of my life as then two and a half hours later I'm in my basement because of a tornado warning. Seriously?
But it has also been very very hot outside before it starts to storm so you don't think anything is going to happen to save you and then it starts to rain and you wish it was hot again. It's a maddening process.
DFTBA
maggie

Thursday: Novel Writing

So I'm in NaNoWriMo and I have to write a novel in a month. Let me tell you one thing: Novel writing is hard. It doesn't even like itself. While you're trying to write the novel, it kicks and screams and demands to be let go, but there's no way you'll let that happen.
My novel is going really well actually. I only have about 3000 words left and if I play my cards right, I can get that done by tomorrow. Woo! A day ahead of schedule!
This is my second novel and I'll be writing my third in august. None of my novels are published because I am fourteen and that would just make things too easy. We can't have that, can we?
DFTBA
maggie

Wednesday:Growing up with Disney Channel

I've heard a lit of things on the Internet like "only 90s kids will remember this." it annoys me a bit because I remember the tail end of those cartoons and I can still watch them. The Internet is a thing. But since I am at the tail en of this, I still had to watch Disney channel while the big kids went to watch big kid shows! (I still watch kid movies though. They're awesome.) but I had to watch Disney channel slowly turn to crap. I loved That's so Raven and Lizzie McGuire and Kim Possible and stuff. Then the first season of Zach and Cody was okay. Then Hannah Montana came and I was sick of it. And it got worse! My sister watches shows like Shake It Up and Austin and Ally all the time. If you don't know what those are, you win at life as far as I'm concerned.
But what I really get annoye with people who don't know what people do at that age. Like on YouTube comment wars someone will say that they're thirteen or fourteen and the othe will say "go play with your barbies". I never played with barbies. I played with legos. But apparently once someone turns fifteen, no one cares. I'm not the biggest fan of people anymore.
DFTBA
maggie

Tuesday: VCR and VHS

I know that I'm only 14, but I am old enough to remember VHS tapes. I remember having to rewind everything and the satisfactory moment when the tape was pushed into the player. I recently discovered that my family still has a working VCR. My unproductive week so far has been me watching
Aladdin
The Three Caballeros
Sleeping Beauty
Peter Pan
My parents wedding video
Return of Jafar
Beauty and the Beast
You get where I'm going with this. And sure I have some of these on DVD but still it's the principle of the thing! It's like my childhood all on one tape. And the cases are so huge! My sister is 9 and called me old for knowing how to work a VCR. I don't even care if she thinks I'm old. She will never have the satisfaction of putting a VHS tape into a VCR.
DFTBA
maggie

Weekday Blog Sessions: Disney

Hey. Don't kill me I promise I was busy. Two weeks ago j left for Cincinnati and I was on a girl scout trip to Savannah and Disney World all last week. I was relaxing in my last few weeks before I'm thrown into band rehersals and tennis practice. High School is apparently a lot of work in the summer. But I feel bad about basically missing the whole month of blogging so I'm going to blog everyday this week.
So I was at Disney world in Orlando all last week with my friends and it was. Pretty much te best week of my life. I got to meet my favorite princess, Sleeping Beauty, I got a Nighmare Before Christmas laptop case and one on it's Disney. What could go wrong? Sure it rained a little bit here and there but whatever. And look! I got to be a stormtrooper! The world need deathstars and stormstroopers. True story.
But besides having a conversation with my favorite princess, I also went to Savannah. These cities are very different. Savannah is all historic ad pretty and Orlando is all like"OMG MICKEY MOUSE! CASTLES! FIREWORKS! ICECREAM! BAD TAP WATER!" seriously the tap water tastes like sulfur. But only in the Magic Kingdom really...
DFTBA
maggie

Camp NaNoWriMo

In November there is a thing called National Novel Writing Month and the goal is to write a 50000 word novel in a months time. This year was my first tine participating and I had a lot of fun. There is also a camp nanowrimo that takes place in June and august and I am participating in that too. See, here's my badge.
I have about 6100 words so far and I'm very excited. I'll try to keep you guys updated on my progress

DFTBA
maggie

Summer Vacation/ Memorial Day

I like to think of the first Monday after school ends as the official day of summer vacation. Since school ended on Friday for me, this is my first school day off. It's also memorial day in the united states. Memorial day is like the first summer holiday. There are barbeques and watermelon and ice tea and tons of awesome summer stuff.
Summer is also a lot of fun for me because I actually have time to run and ride my bike and go from pasty white to tan. I don't spray tan or go to tanning beds. That's unnatural looking. I like the way I look with a natural tan that can only be gotten from spending hours in the sun.
DFTBA
maggie

Done with Middle School

It's over. I still can't believe it. Today was my last day of 8th grade. It's so unbelievable. In 4 months I turn 15, in 3 months I go to highschool, in 2 months I start band and tennis and in 1 month I get to go to Disney World!
I can't believe how fast life is moving and how quickly this past year has gone by. I know that junior high and high school aren't supposed to be the best parts of your life, but so far they've been pretty good. I can't wait to see what else life has in store.
DFTBA
maggie

13 Reasons Why

Best. Book. EVER!
I just finised reading this book and I was blown away. It was breathtakingly brilliant and just so perfect.
The narrator of te story is a guy name Clay Jensen and he's recieved 13 casette tapes from a girl named Hannah Baker. Hannah was a girl at his school who killed herself 2 weeks prior to him recieving the tapes. Hannah sent the tapes to a chain of 13 people, each of whom holds a reason that she took her own life. Clay didn't know Hannah very well which is why he's confused. But a the book goes on you really start to discover how much a stranger can do for you and how much a simple smile can even mean.
The author is Jay Asher. I really loved the book. READ IT! NOW!

DFTBA
Maggie

A Letter to my Best Friend's Boyfriend

Dear Adam,
I know Ashton told you about this so you're probably already reading it. Why on Earth you want to read this, I don't know. But I have ground rules for when you date my best friend. Since Ashton would die if I said this in front of her, I'll just say it in front of the internet.
I know right now you guys are happy, but if you ever even THINK of hurting her, the rest of us will find you. Okay? Good. We all agree that she could do worse though, so we're happy that she's with you and not some jerk from our school.
Also I'm better at patty cake than you are.

Maggie

Cedar Point!

I live by this amusement park called Cedar Point. My dad works there actually...It has the second or third tallest roller coaster in the world (Top Thrill Dragster) and today was the day it opened for the season. 

I also rode this BEAST! Mean Streak

I went with my three best friends and one of their boyfriends because apparently we have to go everywhere with him but it was fun. Lines are always very long on the first day because everybody wants a little piece of everything but if you're patient, they go by in what seems like minutes. Even if you don't want to ride roller coasters it's a great way to hang out and just have fun with your friends. I have friends who hate roller coasters but one of their favorite places to go is still Cedar Point.  Oddly enough, one of the longest waits is for the ferris wheel. Not because of the amount of people that want to ride it, but because of the number of times they have to stop it so everybody gets and equal amount of time on said ferris wheel. Which I find very entertaining. It took me longer to wait for the ferris wheel than it did for me to ride the mean streak. 

I rode this first. Top Thrill
Dragster

DFTBA

maggie

Life Teen Friendships

I am Catholic and we have this youth group called Life Teen. Tonight was the first night I could go and it was absolutely amazing.
I'm not going to preach catholicism to you because everyone has opinions. I wanna talk about making awesome friendships.
I am very nerdy and it's a very rare occasion that I get to meet people that are as nerdy as I am. When I do meet people like this I get very excited. There are people like this there and that makes me so happy! I like to relate to people and nerdy things like batman and the avengers are great ways to relate to people.

DFTBA
maggie

Nostalgia with Songs

My end of the year dance was today and of course, I had a friend who refused to dance to songs that she and he ex boyfriend liked. It is not fun to deal with people like that.
I am a believer in letting things go, but apparetly a song isn't something that people can just forget about. You can't forget the emotions that you felt or the times you had while the song played but you can still enjoy the songs because the past doesn't define the future.
DFTBA
maggie

Spring Dances and Growing Up

I absolutely LOVE my school's end of the year dance. Since I'm an 8th grader, this is my last one. I'm doing a bit more this year than last year. I simplified a few things but I love it. I'm very excited. But the way I see it is, once this dance is over I'm basically done with Middle School which is pretty terrifying.
I'm excited for High School. I just don't like growing up. A lot of my child hood I was very self conscience but now I'm not and I just wish I could've been that way when I was like 6. I enjoy acting like a kid, but there's a time and a place. You know?

DFTBA
maggie

April Blogging

So I haven't blogged regularly this month for which I apologize. I've had my state testing and family stuff but May is when my life calms down so I will blog more regularly.
My state testing went well. I actually have my last test tomorrow and then my algebra final is on May 24.
So that's basically what this blog is. An apology and a prediction

DFTBA
maggie

The Beatles and One Direction

I am absolutely IN LOVE with the Beatles. They've always been my favorite band and they always will be. That's just one of the many truths of life. The sky is blue, brothers are annoying. I love the Beatles. My favorite is George. That being said, I quite like One Direction. 

I know that some people are comparing them. I don't like to compare bands because each band is different. They all have their own thing. One Direction is a boy GROUP. The Beatles are a boy BAND. They aren't comparable. When they play their music, One Direction do not play instruments. The Beatles played instruments while playing. And for any one in my generation who does not know about the Beatles (which is far too many than I'd prefer) One Direction is kind of like their Beatles. I'm not saying that One Direction are the Beatles, but they do have some similarities.

1. They're both British. Yeah I know that Niall is Irish, but it's just one member of the band

2. They both seem to have a very strong hold on teenage girls from their era. 

3. In their time, they're attractive and young.

So I don't have a problem being a One Direction fan. I like their music and I am a teenage girl so it's a pretty good deal. Of course, no one could ever beat the Beatles. The Beatles will always be number one. Always and Forever. Through the Long and Winding Road.

DFTBA

maggie

Babysitting and Life Changes

It is stressful. That's how I describe that job. I'm not going to argue that it's a harder job than anyone elses because I know it isn't, but I guess one of the benefits of an office job is the lack of crying children.
I enjoy babysitting because I enjoy kids. I feel like babysitting is kind if building up my hopes if ever being a mom though. I'll just remember all of the times I did the same work but for money and realize that my life had changed so much from that point. I'm not a big fan of change either. I hate it. I hate it a lot. Sometimes it's necessary though. Like I'd rather be myself now than who I was two years ago. Two years ago, I was self-concious, naive and I didn't have writing or nerdfighteria or starkid to get me through things. I'm glad that I've changed that much. But bigger change sucks. Like moving or death. We all have to get through it though I guess.

DFTBA
Maggie

Libraries are the Coolest

Have you ever just sat in a library by yourself? It's the best. You just sit there and read or think. It's so calming. Sure, it's nice to be with your friends, but everyone needs some quiet time. I like to have my quiet time in the library. (As you probably know by this point...)
I find books very relaxing. I like how old books smell and I like the sound of turning pages and I like having a book in my hands. I have my opinions on the Kindle. I don't care how people read, I care IF they read. Kindles work for some people just not for me.
What do you guys think about kindles and books? What are some of your favorite books?

DFTBA
maggie

Pottermore

I don't know how many of you are Harry Potter fans, but I absolutely LOVE the series. J.K Rowling, the series creator made a website over the summer called Pottermore that is basically like going to Hogwarts online and it opened to the public this weekend.
I am FlameAsh29734 and I am in Ravenclaw. It's so exciting to go to Hogwarts and I really recommend the site.

DFTBA
maggie

Starkid

I don't know if any of you have seen the Very Potter Musicals or Starship or Me and My Dick (it's a good musical I swear) but they are all made by Starkid. They are a wonderful theatre group and last month the premiered their musical Holy Musical B@man!. If any of you guys watch Glee you'll recognize Darren Criss (Blaine). He plays Harry in the Harry Potter parodies and he wrote the songs for the other musicals.
Their new musical premieres on YouTube tonight at 9:00 eastern time. I hope you guys will watch it. I expect it o be nothing less than totally awesome.

DFTBA
maggie

Vacation

I went on vacation this week. That was fun. My family was in Frankenmuth, Michigan from Thursday to Sunday and we got home last night around 10. All of us were in one hotel room. I love my family, but when I have to live in a hotel room with them for 4 days, it is not exactly my idea of a comfortable situation.

Easter was fun. Bubba Watson won the Masters (Golf) The Detroit Tiger's beat the Boston Red Socks, I got to play Sorry with my cousin and then I got to see my baby cousin who is almost a year old. I feel like Easter is a time that you should spend with family of friends or people you care about. I mean if you don't, who else is going to accuse you of cheating when you win Sorry or teach you how to say "high five" in Italian? I hope you all had a great Easter.

DFTBA

maggie

Frenemies

I guess we all have that one person in your life where you aren't sure where you stand with them. Like one moment, you're laughing with them and then two class periods later you want to punch them in the face. It's weird isn't it? Sometimes the other person seems so comfortable with all of it that you aren't sure whether they know the exact status of friend or enemy and it makes you feel out of the loop. Or does that only happen to me?

I had an awkward moment today where they actually pointed out that we were frenemies, which disturbed me. They aren't supposed to know what goes on in my mind. But apparently, life and humanity go on whether I am apart of it or not. It was weird for me because even though they knew that we were frenemies, they seemed totally comfortable with it. I'm not used to frenemie like relationships. It's either one or the other with me. That's why this is so weird because someone can be so comfortable with something that annoys the crap out of me.

DFTBA

maggie

Godiva Day

Happy April Fools Day! I've never really been able to celebrate April Fools Day. My parents wedding anniversary is April 1st, so I really can't play pranks on them or I'll feel really guilty. They gave me existence and what do I give them? Toothpaste Oreos. That's a good prank. You guys can use that if you want.
What I really want to talk about today is Alex Day. Last Christmas he released a song called Forever Yours which made it to number 4 in the UK charts. The amazing thing about this is that Alex doesn't have a record label. And he wants to do it again. His new song is called Lady Godiva and it's brilliant. Before you ask, no the girl in the video is not actually naked. It's a flesh colored leotard. The song is available on iTunes staring today.  I suggest that you go buy it because if he makes it onto the charts again, the internet could be taken more seriously as a community. We have the power to show record companies that they are not needed, which makes them scared.
So if you would like to buy the song, it's only one iTunes search away. You could also start watching Alex's videos on YouTube. His username is nerimon. He's really funny and sarcastic so if you like that kind of stuff then you should totally follow him.

DFTBA
maggie

Band Nerd

I am the first chair clarinet in my school band. We have a solo and ensamble event coming up on April 21 and I has 1 solo and 2 ensambles. It's a lot of fun but also a lot of work. I had a practice today and I have concluded that band nerds are by far the coolest people on the planet.
First we warmed up by playing a basic Space Oydessy 2001 type thing. Then we played March for Military Band by Beethoven and then The Death of Ase by Grieg and then I played my solo which is March by Bach.
For those of you who don't play an instrument, I highly suggest it. It's so much fun.

DFTBA
maggie

I'm a Try Hard and I'm Proud!

So I go to a public school where sports are generally taken more seriously over academics and whenever somebody gets a better grade, they are called a try-hard. I seem to get called this a lot because I give very elaborate presentations. I really don't like the term try-hard. I get that they might be upset that I received a better grade, but it still makes me a giant squid of anger when I am accused of being a try-hard.

I value academics. I'm not going to pretend that I don't. I like school and I like learning new things. I do like to call myself nerdy. But when I get called a try-hard in a negative light, it kind of brings my hopes down. There is a lot of potential in my generation. We have the technology to improve so many things. But if somebody is going to put down the people that are willing to work hard to improve things, it just makes me lose hope for humanity. Yeah, I know my thoughts are very drastic, but still you never know.

DFTBA

maggie

John Green In My Mail!

I don't know how many of you are Nerdfighters, but if you are one then you've definitely heard of John Green. So last July, I pre-ordered "The Fault in Our Stars" which is an excellent book by John Green. All pre-orders were promised to be signed and I was very excited to get my copy.
When I finally got my copy in January, it was not pre-ordered. Only John explained that not all of the pre-orders were signed and that if you e-mailed him about it, he would make up for it in some way shape or form. So I e-mailed him in late January and ever since I have eagerly been awaiting my J-scribble signature.

I got home today after school and found a letter from Penguin Young Readers Group in the mail. I opened it and found a letter that said that they were sorry about the mix up and they thanked me for supporting TFiOS. Inside was a little slip of paper signed by John Green. That's it right there. Sorry about the photo quality. My computer is obviously indenting at weird places. I'm so happy I finally got my John Green signature.

DFTBA
maggie

Power of the Pen- Regionals

I had my Regional competition for Power of the Pen today. I got 5th place overall, so I get to go to state! I'm pretty excited. I thought I did pretty well too.

The first prompt was Describe someone who you have nothing in common with. I wrote about a cat whose owners had a baby and he wasn't too happy about it. The second prompt was The Prize. Name one that isn't worth winning. I wrote about a girl who worked at a carnival and gave out crappy consolation prizes. The third prompt was The Letter. You weren't supposed to read it and the content is disturbing. I wrote about a girl who saw a letter from her dad even though her mom told her that her dad was dead. I'll be sure to post those soon. 

I'm really excited about going to state. 

DFTBA

maggie

Stars

Stars are pretty cool. I'm no science genius, but I know that they aren't twinkling diamonds in the sky. They're giant massive fireballs that are in a constant explosion. And we live 93,000,000 miles from one! 

You know they say that when you wish upon a star, you're actually a million years too late and that star is dead. (Like your wish). So at night, the stars that we see could be long gone or in the process of dying and we wouldn't even know yet. That means that their light is like as old as the dinosaurs! And some of those stars might even have planets and those planets might have moons. And those stars are probably bigger than our sun so if gives you a feel of how significantly insignificant we are. We are so small in comparison to this amazingly awesome universe but we are the only known life forms so far, which leaves discovering everything up to us. For the nerdfighters that read this you'll know that the known universe has NO EDGE! (Maybe because the honey badger ate it...) So we are  definitely  not going to be able to see all off it but we can try. 

You can get a lot of thoughts from stargazing... If you want to learn more about stars watch charlieissocoollike's video on them. He understands more than I do, but it's called fun science so it's definitely worth it.

DFTBA

maggie

First Day of Spring!

So today is the vernal equinox. Cool. Only, in my town it feels like it's late June. It's 80 degrees outside. My house is within five miles of Lake Erie. Northern Ohio should not be 80 degrees on March 20th!

Of course, I know that complaining about good weather makes me sound like the killer of all joy but I find a situation and I extend it to the worst thing that could happen. Example: 80 degrees on March 20th is because of the holes in the ozone and that will lead to global warming, which leads to temperatures rising and now my children will never see snow or a polar bear or maybe won't exist because of the flooding of Earth. And I guess if you're one of those people who doesn't think that global warming was caused by humans that's.... fine. I'm not going to argue with you because I know that you won't change your opinion.

In my book, it's been spring for like 19 days. When I was a kid I had a system. That system said that the first day of Winter was December 1, the first day of Spring was March 1, the first day of Summer was June 1 and the first day of Autumn was September 1. Of course, I know now about solstices and equinoxes but I still like the system. The equinoxes and solstices change every year, whereas in my system everything stays the same. And think about it, when school ends for the year in late May or June, do you say that it's not summer break until the solstice? No. I know it isn't accurate, but I like my system.

So do you guys have any cool vernal equinox things that you do? Probably not. It's not generally a celebrated day...

DFTBA

maggie

Synesthesia

Many times in life, we hide things that we don't want others to know about. We do it because we're afraid, because we're embarrassed and sometimes because we want things to ourselves. But now I realize that there isn't anything to be afraid or embarrassed about with this gift I've been given.
I have a mental ability called synesthesia.

It's basically where when I see or hear things like colors or letters or sounds or names or words I associate it a color or letter to match. Like a is red and m is turquoise and x is gray and z is purple.
The reason that I've been so afraid to announce it is because in preschool I told the kids about my colors and they called me a freak. My close friends and my history class know, but today is the day that I officially announce being synesthesic.
I really love my colors and I'm glad that I have them. I get mad when people call it a disease because it's not. It's an ability. One of my favorite quotes is by Sylvia Plath who said "the colors that exsist inside your mind cannot exsist in real life." which is true. Not everyone sees what I see and not everyone understands it. But I embrace my colors. I have them for a reason, I just don't knownit yet.

DFTBA
maggie

March Madness

For anyone who deosnt know what marh madness is or how it works, I'll explain it. Basically, 64 college basketball teams from around the country are entered into a tournament. They ar divided into brackets and they face each other to win the whole thing. People call it March Madness because it take plac and March and it's all pretty crazy. Buy people can take part of march madness.
There is a website where you can print off a form with the teams who face each other in the first round. From then on, you can guess who you think is going to win. People can place bets on games or just do it for fun. It's an American tradition. Even President Obama takes part in the brackets. I believe he always goes for North Carolina... This year I have Syracuse winning everything.
The sheets are very helpful with stats so people don't lose too bad. They show you where the team ranks in their division, how many games they've won and lost and it compares it to the team that they face. That's my favorite part. Comparing the statistics. I know, it's nerdy but I love a nice organized sequence of statistics.
That's the reason I always do l pretty good in March Madness. Everyone else bases their winners on bias. They choose their favorite teams instead of the good teams.
March madness is a great tradition in my opinion. Not only does it keep the jocks entertained, but it keeps the nerds like me entertained.

DFTBA
maggie

The Phantom of the Opera is AMAZING

A highschool near my town has put on the phantom of the opera for their spring musical. I saw it tonight and it was amazing!
The phantom of the opera, for those who don't know, is an operetta which means that nearly all of the dialouge is sung. They needed very wonderful sopranos and boy to they have them.
They story is basically of this man with a disfigured face and he lives underneath an opera house and he falls in love with one of the ballerinas. It's very dark and very deep and quite frankly it's the number one thing on my obsessions list right now. For anyone who has never seen it, go see it NOW! It's wonderful. If you can't then i don't know. Read it or something. There is a novel version.

DFTBA
maggie

Power of the Pen Short Story- Everyone Deserves a Home

This story scored as a 93 out of 100.

The big, bustling bus rolled down the highway the same way that Josie's thoughts ran through her brain. This was her second chance at having a home and she didn't want to screw it up.

Josie was put into an orphanage at a very young age. So young that it was almost like her mother had handed her over to the orphanage as soon as they had left the hospital. Josie knew from looking at her records that her mother had kept her for almost two months. Josie shouldn't have known this of course, but most nights when everyone was asleep, she'd sneak into the office and try to learn as much about her mother as she could. She knew that her mother was 17 when she had her. She knew that her mother's name was Jennifer Watson and her address from when she was 17. She also looked her up on the internet and found that she was a successful Real Estate Agent in a Chicago suburb. For 18 years, Josie wasn't allowed to look for her mother, but now she was 18. She was a legal adult and she could do what she wished, so long as it was within the limits of the law.

Her thoughts ranged from incredibly happy things like going to lunch and shopping with her mom to incredibly dark thoughts like being rejected on her mother's doorstep. She imagined her bright blue eyes filling with tears as her mother said something like "There's a reason I gave you up."

"No." She whispered to herself. "She can't just kick me out of her life. I'm her daughter." She reminded herself of this fact for the rest of the bus ride as she watched the landscape go by and tried to stay away from the large snoring man next to her. 

The bus came to a stop and the passengers climbed off. Josie sat there for a second and took a deep breath.

"She has to at least like me." She whispered. "I'm her daughter." The bus driver's gruff voice interrupted her thought process.

"Hey!" She looked up and saw him glaring at her through the rearview mirror. "This is the end of the line. You have to get off here." Josie gathered her things and silently hurried to the front of the bus.

"Thank you for the ride. And sorry for holding you up." She said quietly. She had always been a quiet person. Mrs.Hamilton at the orphanage always said that if she spoke up more, then maybe she'd get adopted. Josie didn't like Mrs.Hamilton very much.

She checked the address that she had written on her hand. It was the address that she had gotten from calling her mother's office. The receptionist must've been a sucker for reuniting families because once Josie explained herself, she rattled off the address immediately. She also looked at the map that she had printed off. Her mother's street was about eight blocks over.

"I'd better start walking." She mumbled. Fortunately, the blocks weren't as long as city blocks and only ended at a new street corner. She had been able to get to her mother's neighborhood in about ten minutes. 

She paced back and forth as she thought to herself. Did she really want this? Maybe it was better to just turn around, go back to the orphanage and properly say goodbye to everyone. In the end, she decided that she hadn't travelled 60 miles just to let go of her second chance. She had waited too long to let that chance go.

She slowly walked up to the impressive looking brick house. She ran through her black hair with her fingers to knots out and make it look as straight as possible. After all, she didn't want to look like riff-raff from the street. She extended her long, pale arm and knocked on the bright blue door three times. She heard a dog bark and a pair of feet run down the stairs. Josie had always wanted a do. Maybe she could've had one.

A short woman with Josie's hair and eyes answered the door. She looked tired and worn. Josie cleared her throat. 

"Hello, I'm Josie Watson and I am your daughter." The woman widened her eyes and Josie mimiced this movement when she saw a small child run up to the door.

"Mommy, who is she?" She stared at the child and then at her mother and ran away from the house.

I had a whole other part planned, but I ran out of time during the session. I hope you guys liked that.

DFTBA

maggie

 

Creepy People

They ruin lazer tag and make me sad about things. Don't be creepy or I will be mad.
Basically, I was at lazer tag with my friends and there was this one creepy 40 year old guy who treated the game like life. He didn't give anyone a chance. I know it's just a game, but you don't have to treat it like a war. After my friend told him how creepy he was he said "oh boo hoo it's just a game." I don't enjoy people like this. Quite frankly, they ruin my day.

DFTBA
maggie

Caring

Sometimes you think life is on track. You think everything is going great and you're having the best time and then life throws a curveball and you don't even know what life is anymore. Sometimes you wan to give up and just stop caring, but I've never been The type of person to just stop caring. I always have to care about something. I have to be passinate about it and obsess over it. I don't worry about me not caring, I worry about what it is I care about. My life is about to change an awful lot. I don't know what's going to happen or how it's going to change how I see certain people, but I know that I am going to care about what happens because I can't stop caring. I'm the caregiver in my life. And I like it that way.

DFTBA
maggie

My Favorite Doomsday Predictions (And Why They're so Ridiculous)

Always deny the apocalypse. Usually you'll be right.

And when you're wrong, no one will be around to say I 

told you so. -Charlie McDonnell

It's been 2012 for about three months now and everyone at my school is on this big countdown to the end of the world. Most of them believe it's the Mayan Calendar and some think it's some "Planet X" and others just don't know why. I don't know if they're serious or joking, but I know that some people actually believe that the world is going to end.  To these people I say, calm down. The end has been predicted before. So, without further ado, here are my favorite doomsday predictions.

1. 1806- The Prophet Hen of Leeds

In the year 1806, it was reported that a hen in the English town of Leeds was laying eggs that had the message "Christ is coming" written on them. It was proved wrong when a curious local watched the hen lay eggs and they did not have any messages written on them. Why would you listen to a hen? Seriously! Especially a hen who lays eggs that have very similar handwriting to the hen's owner on them.

2. 1997- Heaven's Gate

In 1997 a comet called Hale-Bopp appeared. People decided that there absolutely had to be an alien space craft hiding behind the comet and the whole thing was being covered up by NASA. Even though you could prove this wrong with a good telescope, a San Diego UFO cult called Heaven's Gate used this excuse to predict the end of the world. Even though the world didn't end, it ended for 39 of the cult members who committed suicide on March 26, 1997. Even though NASA and everyone in the astronomical community proved the wrong, they still though that aliens were living behind a comet. And when they were wrong, they killed themselves. That's not a good way to deal with people who mock you at all. It makes them feel like they've won.

3. January 1, 2000- Y2K

So we all know this one. Basically, everyone was worried that computers wouldn't be able to make the date switch from 1900 dates to 2000 dates. No one was really sure what it would do but predictions ranged anywhere from simple blackouts to a nuclear holocaust. But, the new millennium began and computers accurately switched to January 1, 2000. What gets me about this one is that my mom believed it. She wasn't radical about it, but she stocked up on bottled water and canned foods. In her defense, she did have two babies at home.

4. May 21, 2011- The Rapture

This one is probably one of my favorites. Christian radio host, Harold Camping said that the rapture would occur on May 21, 2011. He predicted that about 200,000,000 people (3% of the world's population) would be raptured and taken to heaven while everyone else stayed on Earth, which would be hell for five months until God destroyed the earth on October 21, 2011. Mr. Camping also predicted that the world would end in September of 1994. He said that he used math to calculate the exact day. Here is his process:

1. The number five equals "atonement", the number ten equals "completeness", and the number seventeen equals "heaven".
2. The number of days (as calculated below) between April 1, 33 AD, and May 21, 2011 AD, is 722,500.
   1. Christ is believed by Camping to have hung on the cross on April 1, 33 AD. The time between April 1, 33 AD, and April 1, 2011, is 1,978 years.
   2. If 1,978 is multiplied by 365.2422 days (the number of days in a solar, as distinct from lunar, year), the result is 722,449.
   3. The time between April 1 and May 21 is 51 days.
   4. 51 added to 722,449 is 722,500.
3. (5 × 10 × 17)² or (atonement × completeness × heaven)² also equals 722,500.

On May 23, Camping said that he made a mistake and that the world would be raptured and end all on October 21. Camping had no further comments after October 21. My friends and I were all on a band trip to an amusement park on that day, and we were pretty amused. All day we were making jokes about how we had to ride that ride because it was our "last chance." My cousin had a baby that day too, so it was a new beginning at a fake ending. It's silly because in the Bible it specifically states that only God will know when the world ends. I'm not saying that everything in the Bible is 100% true, but you;d think a Christian radio host would think that part through.

5. 2012- Mayan Calendar

The Mayans were a very interesting group of people. They had a very complex view of time and calendars. They had an awful lot of calendars. The one that everyone has been talking about is a very very long term calendar. If you'd like to know exactly how the calendar works, Hank Green explains it much better than I do in this video. Much like the calendar that you have hanging on your wall or planned in your iPhone or whatever, when one calendar ends, you start a new one. Last year on December 31, we didn't run around complaining about the end of the world. The Mayan Calendar is the same way. One ends, a new one begins. Another reason is also the one as seen above. So when the Mayan Calendar ends on December 21 2012, just use it as an excuse to celebrate the new year a few days early. Be responsible though... :)

6. 2012- Planet X

Some people believe that the world will end in 2012 because a mystery planet called Planet X will block the sunlight to the Earth for three days. First off, we'd be able to see this Planet X if it were going be anywhere near Earth in December so it doesn't exist. If it did exist and happen to cut off sunlight for three days, we'd be okay. There are places on Earth were they don't get sunlight for months and they do just fine. 

The end of the world is just a thing that people use to get your money and support. Never believe in it. Trust me, the end of the world isn't going to come anytime soon.

DFTBA

maggie

Terrible at Bowling, Awesome at Optimism

My family is pretty close and every now and then we all get together to do something. Today, we went bowling. My cousin and siblings were on my team and my aunts and uncles and parents were on another team while others watched. I haven't been bowling in awhile, but I was pretty hopeful. After a few turns, quickly realized why we were using the bumpers that blocked the ball from going into the gutter.

My aunts gave me a few tips because apparently, everyone in my family is good at bowling except for me. I guess the gene skipped over me. I got better, but I still had the least score out of everyone. We played 3 games and my scores were 79, 103 and 84. Even though I kept on getting spares and fours or fives, I had a lot of fun. I'd laugh at myself and watch as the ball rolled and knocked down only half of the pins. I'm like this with a lot of things that I'm terrible about. My enthusiasm doesn't equal my level of talent for some things. Like running. I like running, I guess. Except when it gives me shin splints. But my average mile time is like, 13 minutes. This enthusiasm also gets my hopes up and tells me that I'm good at things when in reality, I just can't bowl well or run fast or remember all of the notes on the piano. 

It's nice to have this unrealistic enthusiasm though. I guess that it's just another way of being optimistic. You can expect yourself to be good, but you lose. Then the next time you do something, you still expect to win. Maybe it drives me to get better at something. Probably not. I like the feeling of thinking that I'm going to win I guess. It's nice. I think that I deal with it better because I don't care if I win or lose at something.

DFTBA

maggie

Dr. Suess' Birthday

In 5th and 6th grade, I had a teacher who knew every student pretty well. It helped that there were only fourteen kids in the class, but he knew everyone. He knew our birthday's by heart. He didn't use the announcements or anything. He just knew. Whenever it was one of our birthday's, he'd have us all recite the Birthday Poem by Dr. Suess to the kid whose birthday it was. We had to memorize that poem and use hand gestures and make funny noises. Well, today is the birthday of the man who wrote that poem. Since we never said it to him, I'm going to say it now. Happy Birthday, Dr.Suess. Thank you for making my childhood everything that it was. Thanks for teaching me how to read with simple rhyming words. Thanks for giving me imagination. Thanks for all of the basic learning skills.

DFTBA
maggie

Leap Day

Happy Leap Day everybody! I for one love Leap Day more than anyone actually should. It's a whole extra day to do anything that you want to! On 30 Rock they said that nothing that happens on leap day really counts, which is an interesting thing. A whole day that shouldn't exsist. And I'm all about the impossible...

I think that Leap Day is a little bit magical. Call me corny, but I really love leap day. You can do things you'd never do because it's not a normal day. When it isn't a Leap Year, this day just doesn't exist. The disappearing     day. In every other year, we'd be in March. I'm not the biggest fan of March. Bad things happen to Maggie in March. It's not my fault. They just happen...

I think it'd be really cool to have your birthday on February 29. Sure, you only get a real birthday every four years, but you get to treat your legit birthday like gold. And the chances on being born on February 29 and dying on February 29 are basically impossible. You don't have to worry at all about dying on your birthday. You could worry about everything except for dying. 

However you celebrated your leap day, I hope you did something memorable. Something that you can remember every leap day. Because remember, it only comes around every four years.
(also, thanks to the new readers from Russia. :D)
DFTBA
maggie

International Readers

So um, hi... I just looked at my stats and there are some interesting things on there. For instance, the number of page views and my audience. I saw that there was a light green country on there that wasn't light green before. Two, actually. Ukraine and Germany.
This is quite strange for me actually because now I know that there are actually people reading this. Before I just thought that maybe I'll write down my thoughts and my friends will pop in from time to time and see what I have to say. I didn't think that there would actually be anyone that I didn't know looking at a computer screen or an iPod screen or a phone screen and taking time out of their day to read what an average American teenager has to say.
I'm very flattered and thankful that you like what I put up on the internet. (Sounds dirty, doesn't it?) I want to thank you. If I could meet you personally and thank you and have a conversation with you, I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, plane tickets are expensive and I don't speak anything other than English and Hebrew.
Thank you German and Ukrainian readers. And anyone else who reads this.
DFTBA \

maggie

My Writing History

I've always written short stories, but I never thought it would be an awesome career until about 6th grade. That's when I got into poetry. I wrote a poem called roses which was published in creative kids magazine. In 7th grade I joined the power of the pen writing club and got 6th place at the first meet. I was unable to go to regionals because my cousin got married. This yea I got 7th place and my next meet is on the 24th.
Writing has just always been a thing that I've done. I've never thought about the fame or money thy other writers have I've just written down things that I think could make a great story ad could entertain someone someday.
DFTBA
maggie

Concussions and Annoying People

Who hates the place that their locker is at? I do. Everyday, a very annoying loudmouth stands in front of my locker and will not move. Everyday before studyhall, she gets pushed around by her guy friends and slams into my locker door. Today, they hit my locker door while it was open and his me in the head and on my right shoulder.
I don't know why these people are so stupid. You don't push someone into an open locker. I was sent home early with a possible concussion, I'm still dizzy 5 and half hours later. I'm very very pissed off.
People should not push each other around and run them into lockers. I get hit with the door everyday and they've never apologized. They didn't even apologize when they hit my head.
The moral of this story, don't be an asshole. You'll be a better person in my book. Also, stay away from assholes who stand near open lockers.
DFTBA
maggie

Roses

This is a poem that I wrote when I was 12 and in the 6th grade. I submitted it into a writing magazine and it was published in early 2011.

Roses
They watch me as I walk along,
The pathway filled with flowers.
They sing silent songs
Of their powers
To make passing people smile.
That say they want me to stay awhile
And sing with them.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed that.
DFTBA
maggie

Girl Scout Cookies

I love girl scout cookies. It helps that I'm a girl scout. Yeah, I'm 14 and I'm in the girl scouts. Hate and you won't get any cookies.
One thing a lot of people don't realize is that delivering cookies isn't as easy as grabbing a thin mint and bringing it to your door. You have to order the case which has 12 individual boxes inside. If you don't have am order devisable by 12, you have to order a whole other case and sell the extra boxes. It's a hassle. You're welcome.
You also have to have extra boxes for donations. You have to record the amount you have and your house is filled with cases for weeks on end. You could make a maze if you wanted to. Actually you shouldn't do that. You'd get lost.
All that set aside, girl scouts can be really fun. I'm going to Savannah, Georgia this summer for the 100th anniversary of Girl Scouts and from there were going down to Disney World. I'm quite frankly more excited for Disney.
So on that note I leve you to enjoy your girl scout cookies, which ever flavor happens to be your favorite. (Mine are the Do-Si-Dos :D)
DFTBA
maggie

.

Swimming Pools

So I just got back from my cousin's 11th birthday party and my other cousin's 6th birthday party. (They're sisters who are exactly five years apart. How cool? Very.) And it was at a Community Center. I was expecting a lane pool and maybe just an average rectangle pool but oh my god I saw this. There is a lane pool on the other end but look at that! There's a really big awesome slide! That thing is awesome. And there's like a built in whirl pool and lazy river. I really have to admire the people at this community center. They don't half-ass their stuff. Oh no. They have all of this connected to a lane pool. There is a divider and then four lanes. So while everyone else went to the bathroom or was still eating, I just swam breaststroke and freestyle. It can't get much better.
What I like about swimming pools is that sure it's water, but would you ever really drink that stuff? Go ahead you try it. If you don't get a stomach ache, I'll pay you. There's chlorine in there. I've often wondered if the chlorine makes it like a new compound but probably not because I don't think it'd be safe to swim in it then. I'm rambling... If I didn't live like an hour away from this place, I'd definitely be a member. They have a track in the upstairs. Two lanes for running, two lanes for walking. They also have a ton of machines and a huge gym. You can't help but be in shape when you live there! 
Main point, community centers are cool.
DFTBA
maggie

Why I'm Not the Biggest Fan of Valentine's Day

Now that Valentine's Day is officially over, I can safely put my opinion about it into the world. If you go around on Valentine's Day saying that you think that holiday is just a little bit shit, then people will mob you.
I don't hate Valentine's Day because I'm single or because I think it's commercialized. (Even though it is...) I don't like Valentine's Day because of the pressure. Watch this video! Sure, maybe the girlfriend is always like that, but on Valentine's Day, if he's doesn't do anything, she will get upset. It doesn't even have to be the pressure of being in a relationship. Maybe all of your friends gave out candy but you didn't because you just didn't want to go out and buy candy! And it's on the most random day ever. February 14. What a weird day. Yeah, it's Saint Valentine's Feast Day, but come on... On March 17 we wear green for Saint Patrick on some day in December we leave candy in our shoes for Saint Nicholas, but On June 23 do we go around passing out pamphlets for throat disease in honor of Saint Audrey? No. We don't. Why? Because that's weird that's why... 
Now let's talk about why Valentine's Day is commercialized. What people do is they celebrate the brutal beheading of a man who secretly married people. If an Elvis impersonater in Vegas was shot and killed while eloping two eighteen year olds, would we celebrate Saint Elvis' Day? No! 
And on Valentine's Day, we go around telling everyone how much we love them. Whether we hate them or not, we go around saying "I love you" or "You're awesome" or whatever. The world needs more jerks who can go up to people that they don't like and say things like "I don't like you. I think you're a bit of an asshole and I'm not going to pretend that I think you're nice just to make us both feel better."

Next Valentine's day, I advise you to just hang out with people you enjoy being with and treating it like any other day. Or you could just tell everyone you hate how you really feel. You know what, do both. Happy Late Valentine's.
DFTBA
maggie

Obsessions + Oblivion

I have always been the type of person to obsess over things. I'm obsessed with Doctor Who, I'm obsessed with The Beatles, I'm obsessed with YouTube, etc. One thing I've never quite understood though is why we have obsessions and how we choose to be obsessed with specific thing. Yeah, I know that we take what we're most interested in and central our whole life around it, but why? Why do we spend our time on the things that we choose to spend our time on? Which brings me to the second part of the blog, which is oblivion.

Oblivion is the fear of being forgotten. It's the fear of not being remembered after your time on the planet is over. I have a slight fear of oblivion, but I find it ridiculous that I am afraid of this. One day, the collapse of our sun is going to consume the planet. It will get rid of the pyramids we've built and the books we've written and the relationships we've made and nobody will remember the great leader of the world like Churchill or Lincoln, let alone me. So what's the point of oblivion? What's the point of anything if this is going to happen?

I think that the point shouldn't be about trying to be remembered or trying to do great things, but the point should be to make your life what you want your life to be. Yeah, it's corny, but it's also pretty awesome. It's like writing a book. That's something I like to do. When you write a book, you can create whole worlds with a keyboard or a pen. When you go through you life, you can develop the person that you want to be through favorite movies and books and foods. These favorites can turn into obsessions. So obsessions are basically a way of ignoring the fear of oblivion and going forth in the world to participate in what you think is fun. I personally pity people who don't see the point in doing things, because they are certainly missing out on what could be an awesome experience of life.

DFTBA

maggie 

What This is All About

Welcome! This is my blog. Maggie's blog...
I am 14, I live in Ohio and like any other teenager, I believe that my thoughts and opinions will be worth millions someday. But unlike some kids my age, I have very strong opinions on a wide range of topics. Some make sense and some don't, but I feel very strongly about these opinions and I feel that they need to be heard. Thus, I have created a blog. 
I know that not many people will read this because I suck at promoting things, but for the few people that do, let me explain what this is all about. Some posts will be my legit opinions, some will be stuff I was thinking about that day, some will be funny and if I feel very generous I might just post a short story that I've written or two. (I should mention that I'm a published poet with two awards in writing. Just throwing that out there...) 
So this is it. I'm nerdy, I have my opinions and I have internet access. This is the result of that. I hope you, whoever you are, will enjoy these blogs. 
DFTBA
maggie