#and I’ve got two wedding showers to go to already in august and September that people are kindly throwing for us

[simgerale]

me when i don’t see a simgerale post 😔 IMY but i know ur busy <3

anna!!!! </3 i miss you too!! life is rolling along and i find that adulting requires more of my time than ever )^: that said, i’ll be near my pc for two weeks so maybe i’ll do some sim things?? we will see 💛💛

[feelingfolegandros]

Day 1 - Tuesday, October 27 2020

Hello out there,

A friend I met here in Folegandros in September suggested I start a blog over the winter since I decided to stay. So here we are. Why not? Hi Paul! 

For those who aren’t aware (I wasn’t until about 3 months ago), Folegandros is a small island in Greece, part of the Cyclades. I first visited in mid-August and fell in love with it. 

I was initially there for a couple of weeks, then went to meet my friend B.W. in Palermo to celebrate her birthday, then returned for a few weeks in mid-September to early October, went back to Berlin for 2.5 weeks where I’ve been living for the past 5 years to purge myself of the vast majority of my possessions, my apartment, etc and returned just yesterday, technically, although it was very late Monday night. 

Our ferry (I say our because B.W., not just a friend but my best friend, is joining me for the winter) was scheduled to arrive at 00h35 but arrived nearly an hour late. We had left Athens at 14h55. 

To get here, there are a few ferry options which become increasingly sporadic as tourist season dwindles. There are typically two main options that I refer to as the “fast” and “slow” ferries. I don’t feel like explaining them now.

But okay, I guess I will elaborate. The slow ferry is quite slow… It takes just under 10 hours to get to Folegandros from Athens, with four or five stops at other islands on the way. B.W. wasn’t thrilled with the idea but I have resolved to never ever take the fast ferry again because not only is it more expensive, it also tends to be a heck of a lot more nauseating. 

With the “fast” ferry, we’re talking a journey of approximately 4.5 hours on the open sea without being able to get any fresh air for the entire duration. If the wind and therefore the waves are wild, you might vomit. At one point, on a journey from Folegandros to Athens last month, I was sitting on the ground, hunched over my open suitcase, just trying to keep it together. I think this was after I darted to the tiny airplane bathroom-sized facilities where shortly after I started vomitting, a man (I think) in the stall next to me also started vomitting. A beautiful vomit symphony. 

Okay, enough with the ferries, although it is the only way to get to the island, unless you’ve got access to a private boat or helicopter. 

We arrived early Tuesday morning (Day 1) at something like 1:30am, when the boat was scheduled to arrive at 00h35. For the last part of the journey, I went outside to the front of the boat and revelled in each second it crawled along the long North side of the island, peering out at the lights and thinking about my favourite people and places that I would soon return to. Drinking the air and the salt and the darkness and the mystery of the almost-full moon.

My boyfriend Z.X. picked us up from the port in his car. We met at a wedding a few weeks before. More on that later... He drove us to our house, our beautiful rental abode for the winter just outside the island’s main town, Chora. B.W. and I settled into our respective rooms, with Z.X. naturally joining me for the evening in mine.

In the proper morning, after a bit of sleep, we made some breakfast, and later picked up some things we needed for the house. In the afternoon, Z.X. drove us to Agali beach. The taverna was still open, although everything else was closed. I said hello to the man who owns one of the cafés (who by the way, is an extremely talented DJ...therefore his café consistently has the best music on the island) as he diligently cleaned what looked like a drying rack for dishes. When I went for a swim in the sea, I noticed two men dismantling the sign for a hotel… a sign of the times.. The end of the season. Time for winter. 

Definitely cooler than it was in early October, B.W. and I were still thrilled to be able to embrace the sea. We both feel very connected to the beach in general, to nature, to stillness, to relative simplicity in life. We bonded over our love of Greece, among other things, although she has a longer-term relationship with the nation. In fact, B.W. 

spent some of last winter on Santorini, which is very close to Folegandros. She had been quietly manifesting an opportunity to spend four months of this winter in Greece, and here we are. We met online in March at the start of this whole Covid thing and became closer just this summer. We consider each other sisters, basically. Cosmically, karmically bonded whether we like it or not! (We like it!) 

After Agali, after taking our turns walking along the shoreline together, separately…. Dancing, scooping up the sand, lying on my big purple psychedelic beach blanket I bought while in Palermo, laughing, counting our blessings, we headed to Ano Meria to watch the sunset. Ano Meria is the other town on the island. Z.X. lives and works there, and I have a dear friend, a true Folegandriti born and raised on the island, who also lives there with her family. Z.X. took us to a spot, according to him a former lookout point for the Italian army. We went inside the tiny stone structure, now largely filled with hay, and I carefully climbed up a tiny ladder out the window onto a rock. It was sublime. Life here in general is sublime, in my humble opinion. 

We drove back to the house, with Z.X. stopping now and then to speak to locals he recognized. It’s interesting, he’s Greek but not from Folegandros, and only moved here in September. So we’re both new to the island, making our own friends, figuring out our lives here separately and sort of together. After showering we headed into Chora to get something to eat. By this point, I was already verging on hanger (hunger + anger). I opted to take a quick lap around the village to get a few moments of alone time. Z.X. and B.W. settled on Souvlaki Club, one of the few places still open on the island. B.W. has some dietary restrictions, so there were only a couple of things she could eat… And Z.X. somehow forgot them in the order. All was okay in the end, and by the time we had all eaten a bit, we were in better spirits, joking about our first dinner together as a family. At least B.W. and I thought it was funny. One thing I am still wrapping my head around is the fact that it’s completely scandalous for someone (me) to order patates (french fries) with ketchup and mayonnaise.... Z.X. explained that the combination, and the fact that it’s too different sauces makes it unhealthy and a bizarre preference. I still don’t get it, but it’s one charming example of the cultural differences between a Greek man and an Italian-Canadian woman that’s been living in Germany for half a decade. We’re learning to compromise. For example, I opted to only have ketchup with my patates to avoid any scandal that evening at Souvlaki Club. The next morning, Z.X. compromised (with my gentle, playful insistence) by cleaning a few dishes in the morning before he left, instead of just leaving them for me. 

Alright, that’s all for Day 1. Let’s see if I can keep the other days more concise….

P.S. I’m going to use initials for everyone I mention in my posts. They will not be anyone’s real initials to protect the privacy of my friends, loved ones, strangers, etc. 

[svtmatokis]

Maid of Honor: Epilogue

HAPPY SEPTEMBER!! So ultimately, I decided to take the rest of August off to recuperate from being sick the whole work stress thing but now that Septembers rolled around, it’ll be easier for me to manage my work load so I’ll start posting regularly again. Due to popular request -Coughmarycough- I’ve written this epilogue for MOH (also for Wonu-anon~) soo I hope you enjoy it!!

Parts: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 5.2 - 6 - 7 - 8 - END - EPILOGUE

Words: 2588

A year had passed since Mingyu and Hye-mi’s wedding and things with Wonwoo were nothing like you would’ve imagined had you stayed in any of your old relationships. He was nothing but perfect and you couldn’t have asked for a better man by your side.

You two finally moved in together after eight months since the lease on the apartment SVT Corp. had provided was up and it didn’t make sense for him to buy a new place.  Your apartment more or less stayed the same since you and Wonwoo were simplistic people, though you had gained a nice DVD collection as well as about two extra shelves to accommodate his many pieces of literature among many gaming systems, all courtesy of Wonwoo.

Your work days were a routine. Wonwoo would wake up first, start the coffee and take a shower. Once he was out, he would wake you up so you could take your shower and by the time you came out, a steaming hot cup of coffee and breakfast awaited you on the kitchen counter. Then, you two would get ready and head out together, meeting Joshua halfway for coffee number two. You couldn’t help that you were coffee addicts right??

After work it really depended on who had projects or not but for the most part, you would go home together and relax. Work was never a topic at home unless it was something you wanted the others opinion on which wasn’t as often as you would expect. You and Wonwoo would make dinner together then snuggle for the remainder of the night till it was time for bed.

Your weekends were more on the unpredictable side. You tried to sleep in more on your two days of rest but since Wonwoo was in Korea to stay, a lot of his friends came to look for him, whether to have a meal or to take him out for the day. A lot of the times he would politely decline unless it was one of the guys from the group then he’d go and do whatever but his friends also understood if he wanted to spend more time with you instead. You would watch movies, go on dates, he would even take you shopping once in a while but all that mattered to him was that you were happy.

All in all, life was more or less perfect.

The two of you walked hand in hand through the streets of Tokyo in early April, right when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Wonwoo knew that you had always wanted to go to Japan during this time of year so he took his first opportunity and got it cleared by the board to sweep you away for a week on a surprise vacation.

“I cannot believe you pulled this off.” You said looking up at the cherry blossom petals dancing in the breeze.

“I’m Jeon Wonwoo, I can pull anything off” he said cheekily causing you to hit his arm lightly laughing.

”You are so-“ you started but Wonwoo cut you off by wrapping his arms around you.

“Handsome? Smart?”

“Full of it is more like it.” You shot back giggling as you settled under a cherry blossom tree.

Wonwoo wrapped his arms around you from behind as your hands rested on top of his. The two of you enjoyed the comfortable silence, watching people go about their business while children played at the nearby playground.

“You know...I did have a purpose for this trip though…” he muttered into your ear and you turned your head to look up at him with curiosity and noted that he looked slightly nervous.

“I want you to know that you mean the world to me…” he started and you gasped. This was not happening.

“And I want you to know that I love you with every inch of my being.” You were turned to fully faced him now as he continued his speech.

“Being with you this past year has been amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in life. Y/N, I love you with every inch of my being and I am so thankful for the clumsy idiot I call a best friend that he married someone as smart as yours which is what lead me to you.” He took a deep breath as he pulled out a ring box from his pocket.

“Y/N, under these cherry blossoms, join me on a new adventure. Will you marry me?”

You stared at Wonwoo in shock as he looked at you with hope and the next thing you knew, you were both on the ground with you crying.

“Yes! Yes a million times yes!”

Applause was heard throughout the park as Wonwoo helped you stand up and he slid the ring on your finger before pulling you into his arms and swinging you around.

When he put you down, he pointed you in a certain direction and there stood Lee Jihoon with a video camera in hand grinning like he just made a million bucks.

Shocked, you ran over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. You hadn’t seen him since your fathers funeral a few months before because he had to go abroad. His producing skills had become known internationally and artists were coming left and right to ask him for help.

“How did you know?!” You all but screamed as you heard Wonwoo chuckle behind you.

“That idiot had to ask for someone’s blessing before he could go through with this and to hell that Joshua be here instead of me.” Jihoon replied with a smirk and looked you over. “Plus, I got it all on video so you have something to look back on.”

You turned to look at Wonwoo. He knew that despite your past with Jihoon, you two were still incredibly close and it showed that. Jihoon and Joshua had spent a good amount of time comforting your mother when your father had passed away in a car accident  while Wonwoo comforted you and for that, you were grateful for all the men in your life. Jihoon was like an unbreakable rock to you and Wonwoo respected that.

The three of you spent the rest of your trip sightseeing before flying back to Korea together. You and Wonwoo happy as can be but anticipating the announcement to your friends.

A few days later you sat at a cafe with Wonwoo along with Joshua and Hye-mi in the seats across from you giving you both confused looks.

“So is there a reason for this meeting?” Joshua asked slowly as he sipped his coffee.

“We wanted to give you guys your souvenirs from Japan.” You said with a smile as Hye-mi eyed you skeptically noticing a certain glow coming from you.

“...is that all..?” She asked slowly as you handed both her and Joshua gift bags.

Looking at the contents inside, Hye-mi couldn’t help but squeal while Joshua only looked at his gift in awe.

“No freaking way!!!” She squealed some more before standing up and engulfed you in a giant hug making you both erupt in giggles as Joshua stood up and engulfed Wonwoo in a giant man hug before turning around to join in on yours and Hye-mis group hug.

Wonwoo could only watch you three act like fools as patrons of the cafe watched confused.

“So you two agree?” he asked once you calmed down and Hye-mi and Joshua nodded enthusiastically.

“Are you sure you don’t want Mingyu standing beside you?” Joshua asked concerned knowing the deep friendship between the two middle school friends.

Wonwoo shook his head with a grin, “I already cleared it with him when I told him I was planning on proposing. He thinks it’ll be bad luck if he walks the aisle with Hye-mi a second time.”

Joshua nodded his head in understanding before his grin matched Wonwoo’s, “Then I would be more than honored to be your Best Man.”

“Wait, how did my husband keep that from me?!” Hye-mi almost shrieked and you explained that Mingyu had known for ages that he was going to propose. He just had no idea when. That seemed to calm her down but it was Joshua’s turn to flare up when Wonwoo asked if they wanted to see the engagement video that Jihoon shot.

“EXCUSE ME?! YOUR BEST MAN WASN’T PRESENT AT THE PROPOSAL BUT YOUR FIANCES EX WAS?!”

That statement definitely got looks from the other cafe patrons.

Wedding planning was harder than you anticipated and you were wondering how you pulled it off with Hye-mi’s wedding but you knew that with the  support of Wonwoo you could get through anything.

Your wedding party was slightly smaller and only consisted of Hye-mi and Jisoo while Wonwoo had Joshua and Mingyu. You both wanted to keep it small and simple and were thankful that all your friends were understanding about the matter.

The two girls were a big help when it came to dress shopping and all the decorative details. The spare bedroom in your apartment had once again turned into the bridal suite. Wonwoo was not allowed in there AT ALL and you made sure to keep the key to the room on you at all times.

Outside of that, he was a huge help with the wedding planning. He helped pick the venue, the food and of course the cake but he also ensured that it was the wedding YOU wanted.

A week before the wedding, the two of you were in bed discussing final details and that was when Wonwoo asked.

“Who’s walking you down the aisle?”

Thinking for a moment you smiled, “Believe it not, my mom asked Jihoon if he would do the honor”

“Really? So Jihoon’s giving you away?” Wonwoo asked sitting up almost immediately and you nodded your head in confirmation. He then let out a breath

“That means he’s actually giving you to me then.” He went back to lying down, “Interesting.” a grin permanently on his face. His thoughts going back to your hidden past relationship. He knew he literally had nothing to worry about anymore.

In the beginning, Jihoon’s over protectiveness made it hard to court you properly but as time went by, Jihoon backed off slowly. Who knew that someone could do so much even overseas? It wasn’t until Wonwoo took a “business trip” to Los Angeles to confront Jihoon stating that he had every intention on marrying you and was formally asking for his blessing.

Jihoon couldn’t say no after that and the whole engagement plan was set up.

The night before your wedding, Joshua and Mingyu came and kidnapped Wonwoo from your apartment, going as far as putting a sack over his head and dragging him out of the house with a rope. It was definitely a sight to see considering how it took all of Joshua and Mingyu’s strength to get him out of the house. That left you, Hye-mi and Jisoo cracking up on the floor for several minutes till one of you recovered and managed to bring the other two girls back to reality.

You felt extremely blessed to have these two girls in your life. Sure you had Jennie, Rose and the others but Jisoo and Hye-mi would always have a special place in your heart. Like sisters in a sense.

The three of you spent the whole night talking about how in time it was going to be Jisoo’s turn and Hye-mi made a statement that she knew Jeonghan already had a ring and by the end of the night, Jisoo already had her ideal wedding planned in her head.

The next day, everyone was up bright and early for your big day. Like Hye-mi’s wedding day, Wonwoo sent you roses but this time, they were white and there was only a short note.

My love,

I’ll see you at the end of the aisle. I’ll be the handsome guy in the suit ;) I would say more but this is Joshua writing the note for Wonwoo and he’s talking too fast. I think he’s nervous but I’m sure he’ll be better once he sees you.

p.s. Tell Hye-mi I’m sorry I broke one of her vases while we tried to drag Wonwoo into the apartment with the sack over his head.

Love always

Your future Husband

Jeon Wonwoo (and Joshua)

You laughed as you read the note before showing Hye-mi and Jisoo who both burst into giggles.

An hour later, you were all primped up and Jihoon showed up in a suit. (He would only wear one for you as he only wore a dress shirt to Mingyu and Hye-mis). He looked at you in awe and muttered to himself.

“Jeon Wonwoo is one damn lucky guy.”

Later at the ceremony, everything had gone as smooth as you had wanted it to go. Jihoon had given you away while your mother sat on the side with tears in her eyes, happy that her daughter finally found a man willing to take care of her.

As you walked down the aisle, many found it odd that someone so young was escorting you down the aisle and not your mother but it was explained in the program that Jihoon had become a dear friend of the family and it was your fathers wish that if he weren’t able to walk you down the aisle, that Jihoon would do so.

Wonwoo only had eyes for you as you walked down the aisle and to him, you were the only person next to him in the room. It wasn’t until Jihoon had come forward and flicked the groom in the head that he was brought back to reality causing everyone in the room to laugh while Joshua and Mingyu shook their heads.

Everyone was surprised to see him cry as he read his vows and promised that no matter what, he would make you the happiest woman until his last breath. The moment the ordinator said those five words. Yes THOSE five words.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Wonwoo swept you up in his arms and gave you the sweetest kiss you had ever received while Joshua and Mingyu as well as the rest of his friends cat called causing you to pull away while red in the face.

The reception was held in a hotel that SVT Corp. had offered to pay for. Since joining the team, Wonwoo had helped the company grow to extreme lengths and they wanted to thank him in anyway possible.

Various wedding games were played and your first dance was to a song Jihoon had composed specifically for the two of you.

As you danced in your husbands arms, you looked around the room. The reception was alot smaller than Hye-mi’s had been but it was filled with only those who were important to you outside of those you HAD to invite because of family.

Wonwoo noticed you were spacing out and gently kissed your forehead.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

You smiled looking up at him before your lips met in a sweet kiss.

“I love you” you whispered as he returned the sentiment.

Everyone around you smiled knowing that you had found your true happiness and knew that it was only the beginning.

You and Wonwoo would go through many hardships in life but ultimately knew that as long as you had one another, you would be able to get through anything.

[stunudo]

BAU Prep School AU: 2018

Welcome to the Frederick Buchanan Institute located in scenic Quantico, Virginia, a senior high academy that shapes the best and brightest minds. Its motto is “Behavior, Analysis, Unity,” the mascot the Submariners, colloquially “the Unsubs”. The small school supports the most accomplished faculty from across the country. (image link)  2016-2017 school year  Class of 18

Let’s Try This Again

August 21, 2017 12:47pm

The dampness of the air lingered on every blade of perfectly shorn grass. The mud and chalk melded into a homelike aroma, welcoming JJ back, as she strolled from her car in flipflops and oversized sunglasses. She wrinkled her nose; those boys were going to be a smelly mess in this heat. As she crossed the football field, she spotted him taking shots at the goal, bouncing the balls at all angles and doing bicycle kicks and generally goofing around. He was in his element, his grin wide across his features, which was understandable; he still believed himself alone.

JJ burst into a comical round of applause as he hit the turf hard, after an overly ambitious kick forced him into something resembling a snowboarding move.

“Need a hand?” JJ peered down as he lay with his chest heaving.

“Nah, I’m good. The grass will bury me by next week.” Luke Alvez waved off her outstretched hand. “What are you doing here Jareau?”

“Had to make sure my boys were on their best behavior,” She kneeled beside him, now lounging on his side.

“So, you’re not checking up on me?” Luke teased, balancing his forearms on his knees, unable to settle the excitement within himself. “Cuz I’d say you have enough to worry about right now.” She leaned back, rubbing her perfect baby belly affectionately. “What’s the countdown to now?”

“29 days, but who’s counting?” JJ glanced down her nose. “Come on, humor me with some drills. I need to move.”

“Whatever you say, boss.” Luke rolled a nearby ball her way before dramatically flipping back upright.

That’s how the students found them, their new coach playing goalie as their overly pregnant coach kept him dodging for every corner of the box with her pristine aim. The upperclassmen suffered through tryouts before school began each year as their games started the second week of September, freshmen rarely made starter squad anyhow. If the boys wanted to learn something about grit, these were the best teachers they could have asked for. Not that teenagers ask for things so freely given.

Friday September 1 10:32am

It was as if no time had passed, they filed into the Delaney Owens Memorial Library with casual conversation spilling over the meeting’s set start time. The faculty of the Frederick Buchanan Institute gathered for their annual staff pop-wow. Penelope Garcia sat straight backed at Headmaster Hotchner’s left as her boyfriend and football coach, Derek Morgan leaned casually beside her, making small talk with veteran math teacher, Jordan Todd.

“Alright, everyone, let’s make it official. Welcome to the new school year, for those of you unable to attend our little development weekend in July, we have two new staff members this Fall.” Hotch gestured to the middle of the table to his right. “Luke? Would you like to introduce yourself?”

Luke nodded and held up his hand in a short wave, “Luke Alvez, your new Foreign Language teacher and interim soccer coach. Originally from the Bronx, played professionally after college and have been teaching in California and most recently the Carolinas for eight years.”

“Thanks, alright, now the other new face. Matt?” Hotch looked to the far end of the table, the statuesque Asian man smiled slyly with only one cheek.

“I’m Matt Simmons. I’m filling in for Coach Jareau’s classes while she is on leave. I am currently taking a leave of absence, myself, as foreign correspondent for Al Jazeera, but before that I was on the D.C. political scene.”

“Oh, the girls are going to eat you boys up!” Mrs. Todd teased the pair of attractive new teachers.

“Jordan.” Hotch chuckled.

“Oh, who am I kidding, this day and age, everyone is going to love you.” She sighed, spinning back to the headmaster in her seat.

“Right, anyway, welcome, to you both. Penelope?” Hotch kept the meeting succinct.

Ms. Garcia squealed quietly as she spun to address the whole faculty. “Friends, teachers, countrymeh- peoples. Hi!” The meeting continued, Penelope and Hotch covering the new schedules and upcoming events. Something in the air felt more relaxed than years past, as if the summer had yet to release the staff of her transfixing spell. They made their way to the cafeteria, Chef David Rossi’s delights tantalizing their noses from halls away.

“I’ve got to be honest, I am surprised Jareau didn’t make it today,” Luke confided to Emily and Hotch.

“I was surprised I got her to stay home,” Emily deadpanned. “I’m sorry about tryouts, she really doesn’t listen to reason.”

“No, it was fine. Besides, kept the guys on their toes, her shooting past me even with that big belly.” Luke smirked, Hotch sighed as Emily’s face fell.

“She was playing?!”

“What?” Luke froze. “Uh, no, not really.” His face a mask of fear and inability to lie. They had arrived to find their meals waiting. Two tables set equally for seven, saving Luke from the awkward explanation, he quickly followed Spencer, who was chatting with Alex and Stephen animatedly.

“Smooth, Alvez.” Derek patted him on the shoulder as Emily stepped passed them, anxiously checking her phone. Matt Simmons was the last one to join his coworkers, Rossi had already served everyone and had sat himself between Kate and Tara. This left the last free seat next to Alex Blake. He slipped between the Drama and Debate teacher and the ever-bubbly Guidance Counselor. “Ladies, how are we doing this afternoon?”

Alex didn’t respond but held his curious gaze as Penelope began excitedly chippering away to his right.

Tuesday Sept. 5 10am

The summer heat hadn’t relented for two weeks, leaving the players exhausted and desperate after only an hour of running drills. The linemen had the field while the quarterbacks and wide receivers were working through their flexibility drills inside. May Howard never wanted to tackle her own teammates as badly as when they were able to walk back into the airconditioned school.

“Submariners! Positions!” Coach Morgan barked from his perch on the sled. “That means you too, Turner!”

Lucas filled in beside May as their hands and heads fell into line across the turf. Their lungs strained as they waited for the starting whistle. Their coach eyed them, leaving the moment lingering; training their reflexes as much as trying their patience. Then the blast, a jolt of force pushed the large metal framework.

“Don’t stop, get it,” Derek pushed his team. “You go until the play ends. You go until their line breaks and then you take them down!”

May hated being shorter than the guys in moments like this, her legs crossing twice as many steps to keep up with theirs. Lucas laughed as the Coach drew out his ending whistle. Their bodies burning hotter than the midday sun.

“Shower up. We hit the playbook tomorrow. Hard.”

12:57pm

Azalene Curtis could not believe this is where they had been enrolled for the new school year. The place was a freaking castle, she gawked out of the driver’s side as pulled up to the parking lot nearest the Rothschild Auditorium. Her little brother, Jackson, was running late for Freshman Orientation and of course she had to be the one to drop him off. Her hair was braided and wrapped around her head to keep its weight back and off her neck. She helped her brother out of his side of the car and walked him to the doors that had been propped open.

“Lena, you can go now.” Jackson grunted, his elbow crutches easily maneuvered over the lip of the door frame.

“Are you sure? This is an old building, make sure you ask for help if there are too many stairs.” She always worried he would be too pig-headed and miss a class, something their parents tended to ignore when it did happen.

“Are you going to be like this all year?”

“What? Looking out for you? Hell yeah, high school is vicious.”

“You said the same thing about middle school.”

“And I was right, wasn’t I?”

“Whatever, loser, see you later.”

“Have fun, Jax!” Lena turned to descend the slightly inclined walking path. A sleek red convertible came to a screeching halt at the sidewalk. A tiny Hispanic girl nearly jumped from the passenger’s seat as her older brother called from the driver’s side.

“Don’t be rude, Rita. It looks bad on all of us!” Ignacio Cruz reprimanded his freshman sister.

“Go to Hell, Iggy. I’m only rude when you make me late!” And she ran past the Curtis siblings as if they weren’t even there.

Wed. Sept. 6  7:31am

“Good morning everybody. My name is Matt Simmons and I will be filling in for Coach Jareau this fall. I know formality is expected here, but I believe in mutual respect. If you can act in an appropriate manner, you get to call me by my first name.” He stood at the front of his first hour Journalism class in a fresh gray button down matched with a black and white paisley tie. He read the crowd easily, from the overly attentive girl in the front row to the completely disinterested guys in the back.

“You’re actually the Matt Simmons.” Sacha Kane took a quick picture of him. “Best first day of school. Ever.” She read her caption to her Instagram post barely beneath her breath.

“Guys? No pictures, this is a classroom.” Matt sighed. “For those of you who don’t know me, I am a reporter with Al Jazeera. I have a bachelor’s degree from NYU and a master’s from GW.”

“You’re also Hannah’s uncle.” Iggy Cruz added from his perch in the last row, attempting to bring the new teacher down a peg.

“That is correct, Hannah Chang is my sister’s daughter.” Matt smiled easily, arrogant senior guys weren’t really that intimidating after reporting in conflict zones for the past ten years. “And your father is on the Board of Regents and Maya here is Mr. Walker’s daughter. It’s really cozy here at F.B.I., isn’t it?”

“We’re all about getting cozy, handsome.” Sacha leaned back, biting her lip.

“Ms. Kane?” Mr. Simmons raised his eyebrows. “Are we going to have a problem?”

She rolled her eyes and sat up straight, his voice switched from sultry to commanding in an instant. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from his first day teaching, but this certainly hadn’t been it. Mr. Simmons turned down the lights and began his opening presentation. He left the class with reading assignments and to bring in a print media example of a current events opinion piece for the next day.

“Way to piss off the new teacher, Sacha. Since when do we have homework on the first day?” Jake sassed down at his flirtatious classmate on the way to his second period.

“Jakey, come on. He had that ready before I even snapped a pic.” She grinned confidently. “This semester is going to get me past ten thousand followers.”

10:36am

Luke Alvez’s throat hurt from talking during his morning classes. He started the semester with simple conversations, introductions and asking about the students. Second period was the beginners, but most of the teens had some knowledge of the language as their household staff or nannies may have spoken it around them. There was only one crack about tequila or cerveza, which he chalked up as a win. Now that he was done with his long stretch of classes, he realized how early in the day it was to have lunch.

“I feel like I just had breakfast.” Luke admitted as he grabbed his plate from the cart that Rossi had wheeled in to the staff dining hall, before ducking back to the cafeteria.

“You’re telling me, man. But if you don’t eat now, you’re going to regret it.” Derek shared from experience.

“How’s your first day going, teach?” Kate teased as she dug into her perfectly prepared meal.

“Pretty good, all things considered. I guess Penelope was teaching them at the end of last semester, so I can’t really win any popularity contests.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it, man. My girl has these kids by the heartstrings and their parents by their wallets, but she was not meant to be teaching. Trust me.” Derek Morgan chuckled.

“We’re just glad you’re here now. Let the craziness of last year be left in the past.” Tara added in her comforting voice.

“Funny the history teacher is talking about leaving things in the past,” Alvez chided.

“Oh, watch out, he’s got the comeback.” Derek egged his coworkers on.

They continued like that up until the bell rattled them back to reality. The easy banter hinting that perhaps this team was going to work out while past line ups had left people slipping between the cracks.

3:42pm

Spencer had been to the principal’s office numerous times over his academic career. Usually as the victim of some sort of bullying, the bruises hidden beneath his oversized clothing. Once it was because he had explained something during a biology lesson and his lab partner thought he was sexually harassing her. And another had been because his history teacher deemed him a distraction to other students and he had to remain in the principal’s office for the remainder of the quarter during that class period. The principal promptly retired the following summer.

These experiences were racing through his thoughts as he knocked on Hotch’s office door after the first day of the new school year. Clammy hands betraying his nerves.

“Come in,” the headmaster’s voice genial. “Reid? Everything okay?”

“You tell me,” Spencer didn’t sit but stood with one hand in his pocket to hide the tension it held. “I have fewer classes on my schedule this year and you gave Sociology to a glorified cameraman.”

“Matt Simmons has an undergraduate degree in Sociology, Reid. He is more than qualified to teach an introductory class on it.”

“As do I. In addition to my three doctorates in other fields.”

Hotch eyed the younger man. “Reid! What is this really about?”

“Do you think I can’t handle the course load? Did I somehow lower the standards with a full schedule?”

“Last year I lost two qualified educators, one to a personal vendetta of a student and one to trauma from the hands of another student. I cannot put my faculty at risk of burn out or exhaustion when the very people we are charged with nurturing could, rather poetically, bite the hand that feeds them.”

“This isn’t about my curriculum?”

“No.”

“Or my attempt at a stargazing club?”

“Not at all, though that really was just asking for kids to sneak off and neck.”

“Neck?” Spencer rubbed his absentmindedly, not getting the reference.

“Spencer,” Hotch leaned on his desk top, signaling the science teacher to sit as well. “I purposely gave you a prep period this year. I don’t want you to work yourself sick. We need to all be on our A game. That means accepting a break, even if we think we’re invincible.”

Spencer’s lips curled into a blushing smirk. “Clever word choice, Hotch. Invincible is late Middle English but has Latinate roots; ‘in’ and ‘vincibilis’ respectably.”

“Reid.”

“Sir?”

“I asked a lot of you, and even more so of Penelope, last term. This is my way of trying to remedy that.”

“Oh.” Spencer caught on. “Well, it was my pleasure. Besides, I kind of owed it to her, too.”

“No, you didn’t, but that’s what makes you a great teacher, Reid. You care so deeply, you take on the burdens of other’s growth. Just make sure you’re taking care of yourself too, yeah?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Friday Sept 8 6:12pm

Maya Walker scrambled through loading the dishwasher, causing both her parents to glance between themselves. She had three different chapters to read, a dozen geometry problems to proof out and a trumpet solo to prepare for seating auditions next week. The pressure was starting to sink in. She gave up snapping Meg Callahan and just called her on speaker.

“This is only the first week of the next four years of my life and I am DROWNING, girl.”

“Hey, Maya.” Meg’s voice sounded overly cheerful.

“Did you just answer the phone at the dinner table? Nu-uh, Kate is going to kill you!”

“Rough week? That sucks,” The line became muffled as Meg clearly played on her aunt’s sympathies to get excused early from the family meal. “Okay, I have ten, twelve minutes tops before she is going to call your mom and check on you.”

“You didn’t have to answer, dork!”

“I couldn’t stand it! Chris was doing light saber noises while trying to convince Kit to eat his Brussel sprouts. They’re Brussel sprouts! It is physically impossible to like them until you’re at least twenty-five!”

“Preach!” Maya filled in. “But seriously, I am dying. Do you have homework? Maybe we can hit the bookstore tomorrow or Sunday. I am going to lose it if I am stuck in my room all weekend.”

“It’s the first week of school, I have like one page of Algebra homework.”

“Which could take hours.”

“Mrrrrrrp. Nope, sorry. I can’t draw it out that long.”

“Please? Because you value me as a friend and person?”

“Maya Walker, don’t go begging now!” Meg cackled. “But seriously, I am sorry you have so much work. And I am slightly terrified for next year. Hey, you said you signed up for Journalism, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Is Mr. Simmons as hot as Kate is saying he is?”

“Whoa, go Kate!” Maya cheered on the nurse’s taste. “Yes, he is built like a Greek god, with all the ageless beauty of his Asian roots.”

“Ugh, I wish my teachers were hot.”

“Dude!”

“Okay, well, like, not our parents, obviously.”

“I should hope so!” Mara shuddered. “But seriously, Journalism is first hour, he already knows my name and who I am. It’s going to be a long year.”

“Still a great view to wake up for every morning.”

“Whatever, traitor. So no study sesh this weekend?”

“Nah, sorry. I am babysitting and then we have something on Sunday.”

“You owe me!”

“Yeah, yeah, well I better scram. Hugs!”

“Thanks, Meg. Talk later.”

“Yep.”

Maya hung up the phone and fell dramatically into the mound of quilts atop her bed. She was procrastinating, but something about two days and four assignments felt daunting. After twenty minutes on her favorite puzzle game, she gave in. She got out her trumpet and got to work.

Next Chapter: Uphill

@mentallydatingspencerreid @dontshootmespence @ultrarebelheart @lyrasilverroseelizabethamanti @cynbx @rikersgirl22 @pllfrommars @wheresthewater  @darknesstoglowing @adropintheocean1234567 @tleighstone12 @unitchiefwives @sam-carter-in-training @prettyboysjello @ddreammcatcher @thegirlinflames  @night--hawk @t25luver @onlyalittleteenwolfobsessed @thismiss02 @unitchiefwives

[purplesurveys]

1067

JANUARY 2020

Where did you go on new year’s?: I believe we only stayed home and had a big dinner with family. We’re usually home during the New Year since our rooftop already offers a fantastic view of the fireworks around the city and in Manila, and also because my dad usually isn’t home on December 31st/January 1st.

Who kissed you on new year’s? I didn’t kiss anyone when 2020 hit. Gab and I always celebrated holidays and spent weekends separately...in retrospect, both already should’ve served as a bit of a red flag for me.

Did you have a New Year’s Resolution this year? I didn’t. I thought I had it together. Oh well.

Does it snow where you live? It never snows here.

Do you like hot chocolate? It’s comforting and I order it a lot, but as I’ve said before I don’t like hot drinks haha. No restaurant or coffee shop serves lukewarm chocolate, so I usually just get an order of hot chocolate and then wait for it to considerably cool down.

Have you ever been to Times Square to watch the ball drop? I’ve never been to New York and they don’t show that program here.

Is January anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My dad’s birthday is on the 31st. I also always remember my aunt and uncle’s wedding anniversary on the 11th since theirs has so far been the only wedding of an immediate family member that I’ve attended, and so I remember the preparations and the actual event being really hectic but fun.

FEBRUARY 2020

Were you single? No. I was in a happy, committed relationship at the time.

Who was your Valentine? My girlfriend at the time was, but I remember we agreed to make Valentine’s a little lowkey last year because we were both low on savings at the time. Still, she got me a street food bouquet and I got her a pretty flower bouquet in return. I think we also had an Italian dinner somewhere between Valentine’s Day and our anniversary.

When you were little did you buy Valentine’s for the whole class? No. I don’t see the point.

Do you care if the groundhog sees its shadow or not? I really don’t care about this in general. It’s not a thing we follow here.

What did you receive for Valentine’s day? Like I said, Gab went to my favorite street food stall and she manually made a bouquet herself, fancy paper and ribbons and all. The ~bouquet had chicken isaw, pork isaw, barbecue, Betamax, and Walkman in it, which are my favorites.

What did you give for Valentine’s Day? A big bouquet. She was shooting for a school requirement that day and was at her best friend’s house, so I spoke with that friend in secret so I can plan out a surprise visit and hand her the flowers.

Is February anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) I used to look forward to February because it was mine and my ex’s anniversary. I’m not threatened by the date this year and I will just make plans for myself. Or I can also ask Angela to hang out with me. Idk yet, but what matters to me right now is that I’m no longer sad about it.

MARCH 2020

Are you Irish? Not one drop of it in me.

Do you like corned beef and cabbage? I haven’t tried these together but I will sometimes eat my samgyupsal with cabbage, so I doubt this combo would be bad.

What did you do for St Patrick’s Day? We don’t celebrate that here.

Are you happy when winter is pretty much over? We also don’t have winter.

Is March anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My late grandpa celebrated his birthday on the 11th. March will also forever be burned in my brain as the month that 2020 ended for me.

APRIL 2020

Do you like the rain? Love it. Rain makes me feel calm and peaceful.

Did you play an April fool’s joke on anyone this year? I don’t think so. I just enjoy watching prank videos on social media sometimes, but I don’t pull them myself nor is there anyone who pulls them on me.

Do you get tons of candy for Easter? That’s not really tradition here. Most families will just go to church on Easter Sunday, and only families with young kids will have Easter egg hunting games.

Do you celebrate 4/20? Nope. I celebrate the day afterwards, which is my birthday haha.

Do you love the month of April? I do get a childlike excitement for it every year because I always get excited for my birthday, no matter how small my plans may be for it in a given year. The only thing I hate about April is the weather, because this is when it starts to get unbearably hot in the country. Is April anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My birthday, my parents’ anniversary, my brother’s birthday (at least I was excited for it until I stopped talking to him). April is also usually Wrestlemania month, and something I will always look forward to regardless of how detached I’ve gotten from pro wrestling.

MAY 2020

What is your favorite flower? Roses and peonies. Sunflowers make me feel hopeful, but I wouldn’t say they’re my favorite.

Finish the phrase “April showers…”: I don’t know.

Do you celebrate May 16th: National Piercing Day? That’s a day? I always remember May 16 as being Katreen’s birthday lol. Anyway, no I definitely do not celebrate it. I don’t even have piercings beyond my earlobes.

Is May anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) It’s my favorite cousin’s birthday. May also marks the end of the school calendar, so back in college I had always looked forward to the 3rd or 4th week of May. In 2020, Andi and I also wrapped up our thesis in May.

JUNE 2020

What year did/will you graduate from high school? I graduated in 2016. Happier, simpler times.

Did you do anything fun during this Month? I learned how to use iMovie so I can make a surprise birthday video for Gab, where I collated video greetings from her closest friends and also asked them to put photos they have with her in a Google Drive. That was exciting to learn and make, even though my efforts ultimately went to waste. We also got Cooper last June!!!!! when he was still a small small tiny bean of a pup, and I could still carry him with one hand.

Have a favorite baseball team? I don’t even know how baseball works.

Is June anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) Yeah used to be her birthday but I obvs can’t celebrate it with her anymore. Otherwise, pretty uneventful month overall.

JULY 2020

What did you do on the 4th of July? We don’t celebrate that here. This used to be the date of our Independence Day back when US still had a much tighter grip on us, but I believe a former President shifted it to a different date (the one we have now) to serve as a sign of our independence from that country.

Did you go to the fireworks? We don’t have fireworks on July 4th, nor do we have fireworks on our own Independence Day.

Did you blast the A/C all day? I wanted to but was not in the place to, given that I did not earn my own money yet to help with the bills.

Is July anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) Last year, my college graduation was held in July.

AUGUST 2020

Did you have a sunburn? No. No reason for me to get one considering I stayed at home from March to September, except for the time I went to the doctor in May.

Did you go to the pool a lot? I didn’t, but my parents did blow up the inflatable pool that we keep and placed it on the rooftop so that we can cool down. Summer this year was unforgivable.

Did you go out of town? I don’t believe we did in August.

Is August anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.) My university-wide graduation. My school has quite a large population so we get two grads - a more intimate one with our own college where we can be called one by one to go up the stage; and a larger, more general, university-wide grad, where the university higher-ups and a chosen summa cum laude student make speeches and there are multiple music/dance performances.

SEPTEMBER 2020

Are you attending college/school? Not anymore.

Do you like fall better than summer? We don’t get fall.

What happened this month? Man you had 8 other months to ask this, why pick my worst month?? Lmao. September was the month of the quick deterioration of my relationship and its eventual breakup, my first job interview (that I got ghosted by), Nacho’s first death anniversary, opening my first bank account, and the start of my internship.

Is September anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): Angela’s birthday, my mom’s birthday, Nina’s birthday.

OCTOBER 2020

Whats your favorite candy? Fruitella. I got soooooo many Fruitella packs from my relatives this Christmas because that was what I put on my wishlist hahahahaha.

What was your favorite thing(s)about this month? October was terrible. The only thing that kept me alive was my internship and the people in it, our Halloween party, and Good Mythical Morning. But in general, September through the first half of December 2020 is a period I would like to bury permanently.

What are you planning to be for Halloween? I don’t have plans for Halloween 2021 yet.

Are you going to be trick or treating? Nope.

Is October anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): I don’t think so.

NOVEMBER 2020

Whose house do you go to for Thanksgiving? Sigh. I don’t care for Thanksgiving.

What are you going thankful for this year?: Too early to tell, but on the second day of the new year, so far, I’m thankful for the positive people around me, the kindness and patience they extend to me, and myself for powering through and living to see 2021.

Do you love stuffing? No but I’d like to try it.

Anything exciting happen this month? Again, November was still shitty times for me.

Is November anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): I got employed and started my first real job.

DECEMBER 2020

Do you celebrate Christmas? Yeah, but it clashes with my non-belief so it’s something I’m still figuring out.

Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? No.

Get anything special last year? I got one too many bottles of soju and packs of Fruitella, hahah. I also got the wooden portable table that I’ve been eyeing for a while.

What do you love most about December? THE HOLIDAY WORK BREAK ZZZZZzzzzzz I can’t believe it’ll be over soon :( I’m not yet ready to go back to work ugh.

Is December anything special to you? (Birthdays, Anniversaries, Vacations, etc.): Two of my aunts’ birthdays, my godson’s birthday, my grandma’s birthday, and get-togethers with different sides of my family.

[klainelynch]

2017 in review

I always say that I’m going to post a “how my year was” at the end of the year, but I have an awful memory so I never remember what happened in each month. This year, I tried to post about each month as it finished- the good and the bad. Under a cut because of course it got long, and I never seem to post about my real life, so this may be boring if you don’t actually know me.

January

Got a snow day after having students for just one day

Accidentially read a book in one night (Perfect) because of aforementioned snow day/borrowing it electronically from the library/not knowing how many pages there were (not that many since it’s YA)

Got two more snow/ice days because my county has mountains in it and we’re in the South, so we’re not prepared for winter

Saw Hidden Figures and cried about how good humanity can be when we actually allow and encourage all people to be their best (black women!!!! they did that!!!!!!!)

Helped my students navigate our county’s program of going one-to-one with Chromebooks (there were many good things, such as getting my kids to play freerice for extra credit; there were many bad things, such as a quiz getting screwed up because I shuffled the questions but had asked my co-teacher to help me by reading the quiz [as she normally does] to a half dozen students...who all had a different order of questions...).

Went to a conference for new teachers and while a lot of the information was repetitive, there were a few things I got from it (such as 6.5 professional development hours aw yis).

Got to see lots of family I don’t usually see on this weekend!

Started reading The Diary of Anne Frank with my students because this country allowed fascism to be A Thing™ and I’m going to resist however I can.

Got two (!!!!!!) days off at the end of January for sick days (apparently other students in the county? not us but we benefitted!!!!)

February

Finally had an entire 5-day week of school

Then got another two days off for sickness (8th grade was doing our part by asking ENTIRE classes “Hey! Anyone feel sick? Anyone want to go get their temp checked???”)

Went to an open house at a local mosque, and y’all, I live in The South™ but their parking lot filled up a good 15 minutes before the event even started and there was an overflow room and so much support for this community during the Muslim Ban and it just filled my heart with joy

Got a haircut (it was literally down to my butt y’all!!!!) and now it’s right below my shoulders

Had pedal extensions installed in my car because I’m 4′9 and would have literally died if the airbags went off.

March

Got my professional teaching license! I’m no longer an apprentice! I don’t have to have 4 observations a year!!! Only 2! And while I’m REALLY good at playing the observation game (and am MUCH better at this than the testing game), it will be nice to not think about it so much.

My mom came to stay for a few days because it was her and my sister’s spring break.

During that week, I had a LONG 4 day week, which included staying at my school until 7:30 for a town hall meeting/carnival/extravaganza. F U N.

My spring break was purposefully low-key. I rested a lot, read books, caught up on Netflix, shopped at Old Navy, and went to the local art museum for the first time (I’ve only been in this city for 8 years...)

April

I found that I actually enjoy teaching how to write an essay. The 5 paragraph essay, while it has many faults, is a really good place for beginning writers (which 8th graders are) to begin. I had a student tell me that she liked how I made each sentence have a specific purpose because she was able to plug in her evidence and thoughts more easily- this honestly made my whole day.

That being said, I HATE teaching essays when students are absent. Trying to get them caught up and keep everyone else on track is SO MUCH WORK. Especially when the absent students don’t come to me during my plan to make up their work...

For two whole days, my last period class was not allowed to use erasers because some people (two boys, as it turned out) were shredding and throwing them at each other.

I turned 26

The Welcome to Night Vale Live Show FINALLY TRAVELED TO TENNESSEE AND Y’ALL CECIL (REAL CECIL NOT THE CHARACTER) IS FROM KNOXVILLE!!!! The weather singer was super fun (she played Rocky Top and we ate that shit up like biscuits and gravy with no shame whatsoever) and the show itself was just so much fun even though I went alone. It was almost an hour of normal segments with the plot of the glow cloud, but they also brought in Steve Carlsburg and Tamika Flynn (I diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiied when she walked on stage because I majorly crush on that actress whoops) and watching those actors interact on stage was so much fun.

May

End of the school year is always chaotic and better left forgotten tbh

We took the 8th graders to the local theme park, and it was really good (though my expectations were super low because last year’s trip SUCKED). The weather looked like it might rain, but it was nice all day, the kids were pretty good, and the rides were fun.

There were some really sad community deaths around this time :(

The teacher who normally MCs the 8th grade commencement is now an administrator, so while we still had him open the ceremony, I gave out several of the awards, and I don’t think I did a bad job (two of the other teachers hate public speaking and the last one was new to the team this year, so I was really the only choice).

June

Worked my church’s festival, which is always fun. The crowds are never what they ought to be (due to a combination of rain threats and poor marketing), so a lot of people missed out on some really great food and music.

Great music included a new band- Southern Avenue- that I got to see again later in the year.

I had to miss the third day of the festival because of a friend’s baby shower. I knew a few people (besides the couple), but they left early; luckily, the people throwing it were a lot of fun. We played games (don’t get caught saying “baby”; pin the sperm on the egg; etc) and decorated diapers/onesies/bibs for the baby). The next day, we went to church (IN A MOTHERFUCKING MONSOON) and for Mexican food.

Started my reread of Harry Potter (it had been about 5 years since I’d last read the series). I cried in almost every book, and not always at sad parts. I’ve become very protective of Harry as I’ve gotten older.

My younger brother found an NES, which was the console I grew up with and my parents gave away years ago. They really loved to play on it, so this was a wedding anniversary present for them. The Legend of Zelda is the shit.

July

I finally got a new phone (I’d had mine about 3 years, and it died in May) and I know it’s fun for iphone users to shit on Android users, but I really do love the camera quality on my Samsung.

Rachel came to visit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We drank wine and went to the zoo and got real bbq and the best donuts in the world

Had a Treat Yo Self Day which included:

WAFFLE HOUSE

BITCH!!!! B I T C H

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU CAN GET AT THE WAFFLE HOUSE

DO

YOU

KNOW

COUNTRY HASHBROWNS!!!!!

aka

biscuits and gravy minus the biscuits plus the hashbrowns

I just had regular biscuits and gravy BUT ALLI HAD THE GLORY

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

McKay’s

I bought Pokemon yellow because I never played/watched it as a kid, and while at my house for the summer, I found the old black & white gameboy an older cousin gave me, so naturally I had to do it.

Pokemon Go

yes still

You know what once I was back in town I went to my favorite library almost every day for an hour or two and read while opening Pokemon Go every few minutes so there

Went with some of my best friends to visit another one of our best friends who lives in the middle of fucking nowhere and had adventures including, but not limited to: getting pizza because we were too weak to change out the gas’s grill, waiting 5ever for food at dinner, and watching the entire Flowers in the Attic series.

August

School started back up, and at the kick-off for all the teachers, I won $500 in a drawing of all the people who hadn’t used a sick day last year!!!!!

And I didn’t even realize that I’d won $200 at the previous school board meeting in the same type drawing!!!!

New class started off with 85 students. It was a DREAM to be able to focus on individuals and not just herd cats.

I actually felt more confident in the classroom with my early units (poetry & our whole class novel).

September

Still felt confident in the classroom!

I got my testing scores back from the previous year (this shit takes 5ever and it’s dumb) and did better in about the only way I could have, so that was good to see.

I had about 10 county people in my classroom (principals, academic coaches, etc) to see a certain style of teaching ELA that the county is working on. It’s basically making sure that teachers keep students engaged in complex text (which is what I do almost every day anyway) and I had been to two of these trainings already, so I knew what sort of lesson worked. Well...they LOVED it!!! The kids were in small groups and did SO GOOD discussing evidence/answering questions (they all got candy afterwards) and I got some good feedback about how I talk to my students. Then that same day the superintendent came in my room (one of several rooms he visited while doing his yearly observation on the principal). That visit was super unannounced, but still fine.

The academic coach got rid of my classroom’s desks and found tables and chairs instead!!!! My classroom is tiny and weird shaped, so this works SO MUCH BETTER.

I help coach volleyball (aka I keep the books) and the girls won district (beating out a team with a redneck grandma in the stands who literally came up to our girls and yelled at them for cheering on their own damn team in the previous game). They didn’t do so well at sectionals, but that’s ok.

October

Holy shit I won another $200 in that drawing!!! And this time my parents let me buy them plane tickets so we could see family over Christmas.

LESLIE ODOM JR CAME TO MY CITY AND HE PERFORMED BEAUTIFUL MUSIC AND I WAS THERE AND I DIED

Got to see a lot of family at my cousin’s ‘wedding party’ (he got married last year in Europe since he met his now wife over there, and wanted to have a family party here). I learned that my uncle and his son dance exactly the same at the same level of alcohol.

November

I should have known something was up when my first 9 weeks went so well. Apparently my county is in the bottom tier for the state, and now everyone is freaking out (never mind that the data to support this was mONTHS LATE AND BASED ON STANDARDIZED TESTS WHICH WERE A CLUSTERFUCK TO BEGIN WITH) so there was a lot of school stress during this time.

Nice things though- got to see friends when their baby was baptized and went home for Thanksgiving, where my dad came into the Catholic Church.

I organized most of the 8th grade field trip for the semester- going to see “A Christmas Carol” put on by my old college’s theatre. I was stressed the entire time because if something went wrong it would be on ME, but it was absolutely wonderful and I cried which honestly surprised me. We went to the local mall for our lunch and it was good to see the kids just relax. It was a great field trip and several people including the principal thanked me for my hard work which felt great after a hard month.

December

School was nothing but survival mode per usual.

Hosted the Christmas party for my friend group at church and it was a lot of fun.

The actual break was fast- we flew to Texas with one of my mom’s sisters and her family to visit their brother and his family. I hadn’t been to Texas since high school, so it was fun to explore and eat good food.

My final count for books was 93 (67 new and 26 reread) (I’m trying to finish an audiobook I’m borrowing from the library but I still have 80 minutes left and literally 4 hours to finish it so we’ll see!!!).

[athingortwoblog]

Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There’s so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened this year. God has done so many wonderful things in the lives of each of my family members. He has pulled me further outside of my comfort zone than I ever thought was possible in only 365 days.

I’m the type of person that “needs” to know everything about a situation, especially a new one. I want to know what to expect before leaping headfirst. I’m not an out-of-the-box type of person. My comfort zone is comfortable and I like to stay in it. However, I’ve found that sometimes trusting God and stepping outside of my comfort zone can be a really exciting process.

Here are just a few things that have made this year amazing…

January

Our grandparents came to spend the new year with us and we took a trip to the beach for some of our favorite fish and chips. We also had a snowstorm and Adam built a HUGE snowball. He then practiced his archery in it and later chopped it apart with a machete. He had a lot of fun.

I joined a friend for a Mary Kay party and ended up winning a spa trip! It was pretty awesome! I did a live workout series on my Instagram which ended up being a lot of fun. Maybe I’ll do it again this year?

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February

Julia and I hosted a Galentine’s Day tea party with our girlfriends. We watched Letters to Juliet and played a game called Mystery Date. Dad sent us flowers because he was out of town.

We also rock-climbed for the first time at Rise Fitness. It began a love of rock-climbing in all of us.

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March

In March, we worked hard on the yard and garden. I got ready for the baseball season in style. The boys were great and helped me film a video for my YouTube channel which led to an injury and I never uploaded it. I also made cream puffs to celebrate 200 followers on Instagram.

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April

Our first trip of the year was to Florida to see our family. We spent time at the beach, ate some good food, and watched Shazam. It was a nice reprieve from the cold weather and it was nice to see all of our family again. We stopped in Savannah on the way home. It was my first time there and I absolutely fell in love!

Easter was quietly celebrated at home and we enjoyed the Avengers: Endgame movie. I went to my first bridal shower, as a bridesmaid, and met an amazing friend. It was totally outside of my comfort zone to go alone, not knowing anybody, but I gained a wonderful friend out of it and I didn’t regret it at all. Throughout the year, this friend – Heidi – and I have done so many fun things together and have truly become best friends.

Finally, I was finally able to use my spa day tickets and received a facial, massage, mani-pedi, and spent the entire day with a friend. It was wonderfully relaxing!

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May

May was a big month for me! It had been a long-time coming to celebrate the wedding of one of my dearest friends. I finally had the chance to be a bridesmaid and I honestly think that it was the most memorable moment of the whole year for me. It was the most perfect day and I was one of the first people to congratulate the beautiful bride and proud groom.

We traveled to Boston to visit with our Grandma, go to a Red Sox game for Dad’s birthday, tour around our favorite places in the city (including Boston Harbor), Plymouth, ate some incredible foods, and I even visited my favorite book store which is officially closing…so sad.

Finally, we got two of the cutest little baby animals to add to our family; Lulu the Guinea pig and Lola the bunny. Oh! We also set up a home gym for Father’s Day.

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June

The first day of Summer brought a 50’s party. Our friends arrived dressed their best and we watched an outdoor showing of Arsenic & Old Lace. It was a fantastic way to welcome the best season ever.

We discovered an antique store that I’m absolutely in love with. It’s like a huge maze of amazing items. Adam got a bird named Jose, I made homemade strawberry jam, we went to the beach with a friend, and we discovered a beautiful greenhouse cafe with delicious pastries.

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July

For Independence Day, I broke out the face paints and we went to see the new Spiderman movie; Spiderman – Far From Home. We hosted more friend get-togethers, one of which included a handmade water slide and an intense water gunfight.

I cut off my hair! I actually love it! Our uncle came to live with us for a while. Lulu grew two sizes and we ventured to the state fair where I got many compliments on my Trump 2020 shirt.

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August

August was Julia’s month. She turned 18 and graduated! I can’t believe how grown-up she is. I gained three beautiful students, we had family come and visit for the graduation, Julia and I gathered some friends together to go see the Dora movie, and our family found a new biking trail that we keep going back to.

Julia and I combined our birthday parties again this year into a 20’s soiree. It was fabulous! I went to another friend’s bridal shower!

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September

I’m 24! When did this happen? I celebrated by attempting 24 things in 24 hours…it didn’t really work out but I did get to spend the day with my siblings and watched my favorite movie (the live-action Cinderella). My sweet, dear friend took me out for ice cream for my birthday because she couldn’t be there to celebrate with me.

Julia and I planned a surprise, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea party for Adam’s 16th birthday. He didn’t suspect a thing!

We took Heidi with us to go mini-golfing at the beach. We went to 8 different mini-golf courses, visited the beach, and then got snow cones. Heidi got a hole in one on the final hole…it was awesome! Another one of our friendship meet-ups was to go rock-climbing. It was a great day!

The last day of Summer was spent on the beach (of course) and I purchased a Gilmore Girl’s t-shirt. One adventurous day was spent kayaking at our state park and then biking at the beach. It’s safe to say that I was sore for days afterward.

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October

My book was published! I received the official printing of my book and was able to finally hold it in my hands after a year of writing and re-writing. I went out for my first job interview and nailed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the job.

We went to the state park for some Fall fun. More biking and more beach time. Julia, me, and a few friends began our book society! We’ve already grown so close and I cannot wait to see where this goes.

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November

Our final trip as a family was to Orlando. We didn’t go to Disney, but we were able to spend some time at the Disney resorts and in Disney Springs. The weather fluctuated between perfectly warm and chilly. We also met up with our family for a day and rode the Skyliner for the first time. We ate some delicious food, saw MANY palm trees and Christmas trees, took lots of sibling pictures, laughed a lot, biked, walked, ate some more, and just had the perfect vacation.

I did end up canceling my book launch party because we weren’t able to sell as many tickets as we needed to. This worked out for the best, however, because I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving with the family. I did end up selling ALL my books anyway so it ended up not mattering so, so much.

The pastor of a church we love in Thomaston, Georgia passed away. It was a very unexpected and sad experience, but we know he is with the Heavenly Father. In addition to that, before he died, he was able to ordain both of my parents as pastors under the Hope of the Generations Church. It was a very special experience for both of them. We got our roof redone and I signed tons of books.

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December

One of my favorite months. We did a lot more than we usually do for Christmas this year. We went to a local play of A Christmas Carol and saw a musical performance by a choir and Adlan Cruz. They were both great.

Us siblings went to a cocoa crawl at the beach. It was so empty! It was fun to bundle up and get different kinds of cocoa and cookies from various businesses. The moon looked so cool that night. Julia did a small photoshoot with me to highlight my book for the holidays. She did a great job!

I was invited to do my very first radio show on our local radio. I was able to go in and interview about my book. It was out of my comfort zone but totally amazing! I shipped out the rest of the books I had on hand and was left with only 1 copy for myself. It was so perfect that it could only be attributed to God. I prayed that I’d sell enough to cover publishing costs and I did!

Mom brought Heidi and me to a gingerbread house decorating event (Julia wasn’t able to join us so Mom took her place). The room was full of kids but it was super fun to spend a holiday night with a friend.

CHRISTMAS! Christmas was wonderful! Because of the renovations we did on the house, the four of us knew that our parents were only getting us 1 gift each. They surprised me and Julia with tickets to the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! I can’t wait! It was fun to finally see the reactions to the homemade gifts Julia and I made this year. I didn’t sleep very well (it was like I was a little kid again) because I couldn’t wait to see how everyone liked the gifts. We also partook in our traditional breakfast of bacon, sausage, cinnamon rolls, eggs, mimosas, and coffee.

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General Overview

I tried my hand at online dating. It was an interesting experience, however, not altogether a bad one. I met a wonderful guy that I almost dated (we were getting serious about meeting each other and had talked on the phone and through video call but it wasn’t meant to be) and a couple of other great guys. Unfortunately, it didn’t end up working out but I’m glad I stepped outside of my comfort zone enough to try it.

I was thrilled about how well my book did. I sold all 25 copies, was featured on the radio, and even inspired some other writers through an author interview. It was a good year for authorship. I even started writing my second book which will take place in the Summer (Independence Day). I’m already on chapter 3!

Looking back, God did so many things that have made me more confident in my capabilities as a businesswoman, author, believer, and person. He renewed my hope in people as they supported me and encouraged me; something I struggled with when I published my last book. I’ve done things I’ve dreamed of doing but never had the courage, I celebrated, I was positive, I dreamed, I learned, I taught, and I grew.

2019 was fantastic but I’m excited to see what God has in store for both me and my family in the coming year. There are a lot of things that I would love to accomplish but I’ve learned that sometimes God has other plans. So, my ultimate goal in 2020 is to have an open mind and an open heart to whatever God has for me.

With love,

Amanda

2019 in Review Wow! It has been an AMAZING year! There's so much that has happened this year that I almost forgot that all of it happened