#it's giving very much 6th grade creative writing short story

[rosesocietyy]

oaurr mein gott I'm trying to be normal but the amount of pain I'm in knowing that boogeyman armand controlling everything and everyone is the most popular theory* plaguing this hellscape of a fandom

*can it still be called a theory when they've concretely set their mind on it and are watching everything through that lense?

[inwintersolitude]

- January 7th 2021 -

When was the last time you did clay work/pottery? I don't think I've worked with clay since art class in 6th grade.

Do you like art, hate it or just not mind it? I'm not a very artsy person, but I still appreciate art.

If you had to choose would you prefer dull pain for 12hours or sharp for 2? That'd depend on the location of the pain. I have migraines and temporomandibular joint disorder, so I already experience frequent dull pain in the head/jaw, and it sucks but I'd still rather have that than 2 hours of sharp head pains. I've had ice pick headaches before, and 2 hours of that level of sharp/extreme pain would be beyond torture. But if the pain was in my leg or arm or something, I think I'd rather have the 2 hours of sharp pain.

Koala or Kangaroo? Either.

Do you know the words to the national anthem of your country? Yes.

Is your country ruled by a president, prime minister, queen or other? President.

Does blue occur in your national flag? Yes.

Talking of flags. Do you like football/soccer? Eh, only marginally.

If yes, do you play and what position? If not, leave blank. I played when I was a kid, and I rotated between all the positions. My husband and I also played together on a recreational league back in 2011, and I'm pretty sure I remember rotating through different positions that time as well.

Would you rather be a Model, Famous Scientist, Singer or Chef? Famous scientist.

Would you rather be a pilot, crime scene investigator or estate agent? I already am a pilot. Well, I'm not medically able to fly as pilot-in-command anymore, but I went through professional flight school and I have all my licenses and ratings, and I used to be a competition pilot.

Does making others happy really make you feel happy? Yes.

What colour literally doesn't appear in your wardrobe at all? Pink, orange, and yellow.

Do you actually read the answers others give to your surveys [I do]? I haven't made a survey in years. I don't remember if I ever read the answers.

Did you ever swear at a teacher in school? Why? No.

Have you ever pricked your finger on Holly or another 'sharp' plant? Yep, on thorn bushes, when I was a kid and I spent a lot of time exploring the woods around my parent's house.

Speaking of Holly, do you adore Christmas or does it bug you? I love Christmas.

Have you ever wrote your own short story? Only for assignments when I was in school. I've never enjoyed creative writing and I've never cared to do it for fun.

What about a novel? Or perhaps you started and couldn't finish? Nope.

Either of the above, if this was the case, place short synopsis here: -

Do you prefer SciFi/Fantasy/Action/Horror or Rom/Com/RealLife? Science fiction and thriller.

What do you have a lot of faith in [note: can be anything]? The laws of physics. Pretty sure those won't be changing anytime soon. :-P

Think of a material thing you want. Name it here (material, made or bought] A full-body massage chair.

Would $100/�60 be enough for this item? Nope.

How about $1000/�600? You could probably get a mediocre one for $1,000.

Would you rather have a big house, a lot of kids or a high flying job? Big house. I absolutely do not want children. And I used to be a lot more career-oriented, but now I have medical shit to deal with and it's in my best interest to avoid the level of stress that goes hand-in-hand with high flying jobs, because stress makes a lot of my symptoms flare up. That's a huge reason why I'm self-employed now - I have complete control over when I work, how much work I take on, and I can give myself all the flexibility I need in order to prioritize my wellbeing.

Have you ever been to a creepy/haunted/abandoned place? I've been to creepy places that were supposedly haunted... but I don't actually believe in hauntings.

What did it look like and what were the circumstances? The first one that comes to mind is the old asylum in Athens, Ohio. My mom and I were there so I could do a campus tour of Ohio University, and we took some time to drive around the area, including the grounds of the old asylum.

What's your favourite dip? Queso dip, seven layer Mexican dip, or my Granny's scallion dip.

Chocolate Cookies or Fudge Brownies? Either.

I give you a little baby puppy. What do you name him? Eh, I don't know.

Is crime a big problem in your area? No.

What's your town/city most well known for? Its interesting Civil War history.

Do you know a Jack? What's he like? Yes, I have a cousin named Jack. He's talkative, really into Star Wars, and is on the autism spectrum.

How about a Lisa? What's she like? Yes, my husband's aunt. She's a nice person and is very loyal to family, but she tends to be quite loud, and a little bossy at times.

Are most your friends older, younger or the same age as you? Several years older.

Do you subconsiously hang out with those with the same starsign as you or as each other, perhaps due to certain personality traits? Think about it: I don't believe any of that astrology rubbish.

Name 5 objects that you don't have but would like right now? The aforementioned full-body massage chair, a decaf London Fog latte, a box of rose and champagne flavored macarons, a pair of cotton fingerless gloves to use when I'm doing my eczema treatment on my hands... and I can't think of a fifth object, so I'll just say a huge shipping crate full of cash hahaha.

When you have children, would you like twins? I'm never having children.

Do you know any twins? If so, what are they called? My grandfather and his brother were twins. James and John.

If you were given the choice to choose your childs gender, would you? N/A - I'm vehemently childfree.

What instrument would you love to learn how to play? I have zero musical talent, and I don't have a very strong desire to further learn any instrument. I took piano and flute lessons when I was growing up, and I'm just not good at musical stuff, nor do I have a strong interest in picking it back up again.

Does the sound of knocking/tapping startle you? If it's late at night and my husband has already gone to bed, then yeah it definitely would.

What's the scariest story/urban legend/creepypasta etc you heard? I'm not sure.

Do you miss someone currently? Yes, I'll always miss my Grandma.

When was the last time you were in hospital? What for [if comfy saying]? September, for my neuro-otology and audiology appointments.

When was the last time you went to the dentist? About 10 months ago. I was due for my next appointment a few months ago but I cancelled because of the pandemic. I'll reschedule once I've gotten the covid vaccine.

Do you get along well with your family doctor/your doctor? I have multiple doctors/specialists, more than any 31-year-old should have to have, but yeah I get along with all of them. My primary care doctor and my neuro-otologist are especially kind and understanding.

What personality trait does nearly everyone in your family seem to have? Every single one of them has a very strong work ethic and is a high achiever when it comes to education and careers.

The surveys ended. I hope you enjoyed it. :) Yup. :-)

[survey source: Bzoink.com/S172528]

[boraxquinn]

———  𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐒 ! ♡

name! ♡ Laura 

pronouns! ♡   she/her. 

zodiac sign! ♡  Sagittarius 

taken or single! ♡  Single 

———  𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒 ! ♡

1! ♡ I’ve have a rare form of autism (Asperger���s syndrome) and seizure disorder called Landau Leffner Syndrome. It’s very rare. Only a few kids in the world have it. Me being one of them. It’s so rare that they really didn’t have a treatment for it so I was kind of a little genie pig for testing medicine and treatments on me. Not fun. I also have a auditory and visual processing disorder. In short god was like “lets make this girl suffer!” Which the doctors did tell me to my face that I was going to die when I turned 14 cause my body would shut down from all the crap it has to deal with. But I’m 23 now, off all my medicine and only have minor episodes now. So I think I’m doing pretty damn good~ 

2! ♡ I first got into anime and jpop music in the 6th grade. Then in 2012 when I was in high school a friend of mine introduced me to kpop and the rest is history lol 

3! ♡  Apart from kpop, I really love to sketch, paint and make cosplay. I have four sketchbooks filled with art from high school to when I was in college. I got a new sketchbook for Christmas that I’m working with now. I also like experimenting with my makeup a lot. Pretty much anything that I can be creative with colors. I love it ^^  

———  𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ! ♡

platforms used! ♡  tumblr, twitter, discord (I mostly just use tumblr and discord.) 

———  𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 ! ♡

female or male! ♡  Female. I’ve been using female face claims since I started so I’m more comfortable with them. But the new male muse I made this year is super fun and it’s making me realize that I can write good stories with male face claims too.  

least favorite face(s)! ♡  Seungri and G-Dragon. Both are terrible people. So I refuse to talk to muses with those face claims. Everyone else is welcome here~! 

multi or single! ♡  Both! I don’t mind either. My only pet peeve is if you have multi muse blog, make sure you give each muse/ ship attention it deserves. If you can’t keep track of it and end up hurting ships because of it, reorganize and delete the ones you don’t need. Or at least give yourself limits so no one gets forgotten.  

fluff / angst / smut! ♡  Fluff and smut mostly. I do angst only sometimes with people I’m super comfortable with. Cause it takes a lot out of me. 

plot / memes! ♡   Either. I like memes a little better cause I can take one statement or topic and just run with it. I’m not good a planning super detailed things so plotting is hard for me sometimes. 

tagged by! ♡  @ondubyu (thank you! We need to catch up sometime ^^) 

tagging! ♡   @onna-no / @ten--ia / @starsmaligned / @slinkedin / 

[psychosistr]

Friendly Four Concepts

Had a bit of a rough day a little while ago and, to make myself feel better, I started looking through the various designs that people have come up with for the Negaverse versions of Quackerjack, Megavolt, Liquidator, and Bushroot- AKA, the Friendly Four. My favorite versions are the ones by @thefriendlyfour, @kaguyamadoka, and @sandyferal - seriously go check them out, they’re all amazingly talented and creative people!

Unfortunately, I can’t draw like they can, but I like designing outfits and creating characters and writing, so I made some outfits and bios for my own versions of the Friendly Four that I’ll be writing stories for soon. Bios are below the cut, I hope you guys like them.

Megavolt

Appearance: Being inspired by superheroes in comic books, Megavolt decided he wanted to look like the classic hero that anyone could look up to. The lightning bolts and spark-stars on his outfit are reflective, so they catch the light when he uses his powers. The belt around his waist is actually a cable connected to the large battery in the middle that channels power up through a secret port on his back hidden by his cape (The pockets on the back actually hold his back-up batteries for when his main one needs to recharge). He also wears elbow-length gloves that are the same color as his cape with little metal lightning bolt emblems on the back, wrap-around safety glasses to both protect his eyes from the light he constantly puts off during his attacks as well as to serve as a mask, and blue boots that match the trim of his sleeves with metal plates along the bottoms and the toes. He doesn’t wear any hats or anything, but his powers still make his hair frizzy, so he keeps it cut fairly short so it’s more manageable.

History & Personality: Elmo Sputterspark was very intelligent and always loved inventing things, especially machines that would help the world solve energy and fuel cost-related problems. Similar to the regular universe, a bullying accident with one of his machines gave him amazing electricity-based powers. He spent the day testing out his powers to learn what he could do, when, late at night, he heard screaming coming from the area of the school their prom was being held in. He rushed over and found Negaduck there, terrorizing and attacking their classmates. Elmo fought back to protect them, making sure everyone got away safely. From that moment on, he decided that he wanted to be a hero and fight injustice- especially when it came to tyrants and bullies like Negaduck.

He’s very kind and selfless, often putting the comfort and safety of others far above his own, and enjoys talking about his hobbies and studies for long periods of time with people who are willing to listen. He’s also very cautious with how he uses his powers, both because he doesn’t want to risk draining himself too much and because he is always nervous about hurting someone irreparably (happened early in his hero career and scarred him mentally- does not EVER want to do that again). He does still have memory problems, but he tries to compartmentalize everything in his life into “must remember” “should remember” and “okay not to remember” so that he won’t lose the people and things that are most important to him- namely his three partners.

Inspiration: As a kid, I loved playing with plasma balls. I always thought they were a fun way to learn about electricity and loved the colors. So, I thought it’d be cool to give Megavolt an outfit with plasma-inspired colors and lightning bolt accents.

Quackerjack

Appearance: While his costume isn’t as puffy as his regular-world counterpart’s, he makes up for it by being even more colorful! Still following a sort of clown-theme, Quackerjack’s shoes and cowl are the same style, but the shoes are pink like his belt (almost making them look like ballet slippers but darker) with a big golden bell on the top of each shoe and his cowl is yellow on his right side and blue on his left (going opposite the colors of the fabric around his waist) and still has one large bell on the end of each side. The metal baseball bat he carries is his signature weapon (though that blue pouch on his belt also holds an impressive arsenal of toys and gadgets that seems almost bottomless sometimes and he hides things like jump ropes and larger weapons under the fabric around his hips), and is painted in a diamond tessellation of his outfit’s colors all the way around. The heart-shaped piece of metal on the bat’s hilt at first looks like a magnet meant to hold the red tail-ribbon in place, but, when pressed, it activates propulsion-rockets hidden within the bat that give him extra speed and force when swinging it. Also, Quackerjack enjoys sewing and added the toy-patches on the back of his shirt himself to cover up the holes in his costume from a fight, and gladly adds patches to his teammates’ outfits when they need a repair job done.

History & Personality: Jackson Bell, CEO and founder of Quackerjack Toys, was a well-respected businessman and beloved figure to many for years- he was a community activist, ran many notable charities, and even helped establish several orphanages and children’s hospitals using the proceeds from his company. Unfortunately, when Negaduck’s rule began, he was one of the prominent figureheads in the city that openly spoke out against him. To get him out of the way, Negaduck struck a deal with one the toy company’s biggest competitors and the two managed to frame the CEO for a crime he didn’t commit, locking him away for years and dissolving his company. Jack went a bit crazy in prison, constantly trying to find the brighter side of things, even when one wasn’t really there. At one point he entered a prison-penpal program and met a girl he became very close to- they even started living together when Jack was released from prison. His then-girlfriend helped Jack get his life back in order and helped him find his confidence and sanity again, inspiring him to go out and help others like she helped him. Unfortunately, some rather dark facts about his girlfriend came to light and the two broke up, but Jack still holds out hope that one day they can work things out and she can find a way to be a part of his life again alongside his three new partners.

There are two sides to the toy-loving ex-businessman. When he wears his cowl and hero outfit, Quackerjack is a bright and bubbly individual that loves making puns and laughing about all sorts of things. Outside of the costume, though, Jack is a surprisingly mellow guy with an almost monotone speech pattern- he’ll still crack jokes, but they’ll be said with more sarcasm and dead-pan humor that’ll often make people do a double-take to make sure they heard him right. Despite the glaring differences in his personality, at his core Quackerjack is a very compassionate person that wants to help anyone that seems frightened, lonely, sad, or lost (in any sense of the word). He’s very open and vocal about his feelings, often wearing his heart on his sleeve to varying degrees depending on what state of mind he’s in at the moment.

Inspiration: I went to an art school from 6th-12th grade where I was a theater and musical theater major. During that time, I studied Commedia dell'arte, an early form of Italian theater, and learned about the Harlequin clown character. I decided to base Quackerjack’s outfit off of the classical theater clown’s bright color scheme and more stream-lined clothing style.

Bushroot

Appearance: Similar to how his regular-world counterpart fused with a plant, Dr.Reginald Bushroot in this world infused himself with a  Solanum carolinense. The viney nature of the plant gave him a slightly different appearance with thorn-covered vine-arms, three slightly-pointed oblong leaves for each hand (two longer ones and one shorter one to act as a thumb), an upper body covered in fine hairs that make his green torso a bit fuzzier, legs made of woven vine-roots that he can disassemble and reassemble at will to help him climb objects, and a purple flower on his head like the plant he fused with (one large petal curls downward and covers half of his face like a long set of bangs, the back two petals stick up parallel to the top of his head, and the middle two are halfway between the two levels of elevation, along with a few smaller yellow petals that stick straight up to cover the top of his head in the middle of the larger petals). The jacket he wears was actually a gift hand-sewn by Quackerjack- the sleeves have extra-thick padding so Bushroot doesn’t accidentally stab anyone with his arms and the flower-patch sewn into the back was meant to be a parody of the flower on his head. Bushroot won’t say it out loud, but he really loves that jacket and refuses to take it off unless absolutely necessary, so he often wears it completely unbuttoned to stay cool unless he’s trying to blend in with a crowd.

History & Personality: Dr.Reginald Bushroot was a brilliant botanist at the local university, always striving to make the next big discovery that would improve the lives of those around him. Living in a town run by Negaduck, however, made conducting his research even harder legally, and he was forced to quit his job at the institute to avoid getting his coworkers fired as well. With nothing else to lose, Bushroot experimented on himself in a fit of self-destructive behavior and ended up as a plant-duck mutant. He excitedly showed the results of his research to his former coworkers, only for them to sell him out to Negaduck to save their own jobs (and lives). Barely escaping Negaduck’s clutches, Bushroot grew bitter towards humanity and decided to live away from everyone in the solitary safe-haven of his greenhouse on the outskirts of town where he could be hidden away in the woods.

At first glance, Bushroot seems like a cynical nihilist that hates being around people in any capacity. After opening up to Quackerjack and Megavolt, though, it turns out that he’s really just lonely and tired of being emotionally trampled on by society just for trying to be a good person. With their encouragement, he decides to try helping humanity again as part of their team, though he still maintains that he doesn’t really care what happens to the world. He’s actually a pretty big tsundere and has trouble admitting that he likes (or loves) anyone/anything in his life, but his actions always speak louder than his words and he shows he cares for his partners in little ways like making flowers grow around their rooms and bugging them to take care of themselves when they’re working too hard.

Influence: I actually live in the Carolina’s, where solanum carolinense (otherwise known as Carolina Horsenettle) grows and thought it would be a cool plant for Bushroot to fuse with. Those weeds are nightmares to deal with: The thorns hurt like heck to grab, even with gloves, but you NEED the gloves because the toxins in the thorns make the wounds hurt worse and can even get them infected if you’re not careful. They’re also very tough to pull out because of their strong roots and, worst of all, they grow fruit that looks JUST LIKE tomatoes. That last part may not sound so bad, but, down here, wild tomatoes can occasionally sprout up and kids and pets love them as snacks, and Carolina Horesenettles are actually members of the DEADLY NIGHTSHADE family, so their fruit can be LETHAL. It’s a pretty but deadly plant and really quite fascinating to study.

Liquidator

Appearance: Bud Flood in the negaverse is quite a bit shyer than his regular-world version, so he actually changes the water around his body to look like he’s wearing clothes to feel more confidant. The outfit is similar to what he wore before his mutation, except back then it was black and white with a long-sleeved white shirt beneath the button-up vest and he had shoes instead of a big puddle at the ends of his legs. He can change the hue of his “clothes” by messing with their chemical composition (like how he can turn water hard or move pollutants around in it). The metal accents such as his buttons and belt buckle are actually small bits of ice that he allows to float in place along his body, but he can quickly melt and dissolve them at a moments notice when his body needs to change and reform them instantly when his body returns to its normal state. Also, the bow around his neck is actually a ruffled cravat tied into a bow and the water ripples along it to make little waves at the ends of the bow’s ties.

History & Personality: Along with Jackson Bell, Buddy Flood was one of the other influential figureheads that opposed Negaduck, though he was far less vocal about it. Still, Buddy cared about peoples’ health and well-being and used proceeds from his company to open non-profit free clinics and hospitals as well as soup kitchens for the poor so people could always have access to fresh water and food when they needed it because, sadly, most of the town’s water sources had become polluted, meaning that many people had trouble finding sustenance that wasn’t pre-packaged/bottled. Negaduck grew irritated at Buddy’s continued meddling in his plans to ruin the city so, to get him out of the way, he called in a fake warning that someone was going to poison his company’s water supply. Buddy went with a few guards and officers to investigate, but, when they saw who it was poisoning the water, they all ran away and left Buddy alone. Negaduck caught him and threw him into the contaminated water in hopes of killing him- he even tied weights to his legs to make sure he’d sink. While he didn’t die and instead became a water-based mutant, the incident left Buddy quite scared to face people directly for a while.

Although he is extremely shy and anxious when dealing with other people, Liquidator swallows down his nerves for the sake of helping others in need. As a sort of coping mechanism, Liquidator goes into “salesman mode” when talking to people he doesn’t know or just when he feels nervous in general- by pretending everything he says is for the sake of pitching a sale to someone, Liquidator feels less nervous and is able to get through a sentence without the stuttering that would normally accompany his words. In a way, his manner of speaking serves as a great indicator for how he feels about other people: If he can talk to you like a normal person then he feels comfortable around you, but if he can talk to you like that AND not stutter at all then you’re probably one of his three partners and he loves you with all his heart.

Influence: I honestly just liked the idea of having Liquidator create his own clothes out of water since he seems to know so much about changing its properties and chemical make-up. I feel like in this world, the flow of his water would go upwards from the base of water at his feet rather than the other way around, which is why his pants are darker than his vest- giving him a reverse waterfall effect.

[speciallymary]

Autoimmune disorders- Alopecia and Underactive Thyroid: Friends/Enemies Since Forever

I'm on the rollercoaster of trying to love myself while Alopecia is in complete control and deciding how fast new bald spots are popping up. I want to tell my story.

When I was in preschool, I started showing signs of thinning hair, but my mom didn't take much notice because I was constantly growing it back relatively quickly. She did notice that parts of my scalp were extra tender, and when messed with enough, caused redness and tiny bits of swelling to occur. She chalked it up to me being rough with my hair and her braiding my hair a little tight (which was never the case in reality).

Kindergarten: I started to complain of always being hot, being so incredibly tired, and quarter size bald spots start popping up. This is when my mom takes notice and starts bringing it up with doctors. Doctors say I may have a slow metabolism, causing my tiredness, I was a little bit bigger than most kids my age (but definitely NOT fat when looking back at my flat stomach and not touching thighs), so I retain heat easier. The doctor said I could be pulling my hair without my mom knowing, and said to come back for my next yearly checkup with concerns if it gets worse.

1st grade: the exhaustion hits me like a truck. I can barely make it through a full day of school without falling asleep in class. As soon as I get home, I sleep until I need to wake up the next morning to go to the babysitter's house. Most of the time, I sleep through dinner and breakfast, leaving only lunch as my actual meal of the day. My teacher, nurse, and mom come together and make a plan, I take a 20 minute nap towards the end of the day if I need it, the class gets more time to do homework in class, and I only am graded on the work I complete, even if I don't actually finish assignments. My dad was still alive at this time, and did not like that I was asleep all the time, but no matter what they did to wake me, it never worked. He then dubbed me his Sleep Beauty. My mom only recently told me that the school started questioning if I was being hurt outside of school, and apparently did involve a caseworker, in which I was interviewed during a play therapy session (which I don't remember) and my mom had medical records sent to show that the doctor knew the symptoms I was having and that they weren't from abuse.

2nd grade: The year my doctor realizes my diagnosis of Alopecia, but knows that something else is going on and refers me to a specialist, refusing to see me as he didn't feel qualified for my case since I was so young. This is when I was diagnosed. I met with a team of specialists from all over my state at a Children's Hospital an hour away from my hometown. They immediately know what it is what they walk in the room, but require blood testing to back up the diagnosis of Underactive Thyroid, which would take a few days after the visit to receive. They then tell me that my Alopecia isn't a stand alone diagnosis, and that I don't have a primary diagnosis with a secondary diagnosis. My alopecia is stand alone, but also entwined with my underactive thyroid. They hoped that the alopecia would only last a year, and that if they got my underactive thyroid under control, that it would help reverse the effects of the alopecia. I got to meet 3 endocrinologists in the state, and fell in love with the one that worked in the hospital that the meeting took place in. We made our first appointment with her, were given a wide variety of pamphlets, and sent on our way. The specialists did make one mistake, though. They thought my alopecia had just popped up, but I had it for at least 2 years at this point, which they would later realize when their theoretical year ended. This was the year that I lost A LOT of hair. I had to cut my long, straight locks to a short bob cut to help my hair look fuller. This was when I started asking questions about my hair dying, what an autoimmune disorder was, and if I would be able to beat it, whatever it was. This was also the first time I got to break a school rule: by wearing hats in school. My mom met with my principal and teacher, and I was allowed to wear a hat in school and would be encouraged to wear one outside during recess and outdoor activities to protect the fragile skin on my head. By the end of the year, I didn't have much hair left, but I had my baseball hats and bandanas, so I was okay. This was also when my class/school was told of my diagnosis with my mom and I's consent, because it was easier to explain it once and know what slightly new expectations there were.

3rd grade: This was the year I started the process of getting on the right medication and medication levels. It was determined that I was not a candidate for the shots in the scalp, which would have been once a month for me, and the only alternative at the time for me was medication. I had never had to take pills before, so my mom had to get creative in crushing pills for my crying self to be able to take them. This was also when I lost all my hair the first time. I felt a little naked sometimes, but I always had a color coordinated bandana or hat at the ready, so it was an easy comfort blanket at the time. My teacher spent a lot of one-on-one time with me, helping me with anxiety, self-esteem, and body perception issues. She also kept me inside when UV rays were high, because even through a light hat, my skin would still burn at times. 2nd and 3rd grade were the years that I learned to write out feelings through assignments for the first time, any way I could.

4th grade was a big year, in a good and very bad way. I gained about half my hair back, then lost my father in March of that school year. I almost instantly lost all of my hair from the stress and grief, but my teacher, class, and school were so incredibly supportive. I missed a week and a day of school, for the passing, viewing, and funeral of my dad. My teacher was also my first male teacher, and helped me learn to express myself to people other than women and feel comfortable doing it. He instantly became a pseudo-uncle for me, and helped me through the few bouts of grief that I experienced in his room. This was also the year we went on a camping trip to conduct science projects. An anonymous donor funded my trip, and all of the supplies I needed for the trip, as no one wanted me to miss out on the BIG school field trip because of the passing of my dad. I got to learn what family meant in every sense, and knew I was in a supportive community. This was also when my friends started answering what my diagnosis was for me whenever someone asked. It was uncomfy for me to say the same thing over and over whenever someone new met me at school, so my friends took over, and whole classes talked about what it was so that they didn't have to ask me, which I greatly appreciated.

5th grade was rough for me emotionally, and to be honest, I don't remember much past my emotional breakdowns, frequent visits to the counseling office, and regularly getting sick from medication changes that required me to miss a lot of school. A lot of good things happened that year, and my teacher (another male), was super supportive, and was okay with me randomly crying in class, or darting out to cry in a stall for a few minutes before returning to class with freshly dabbed eyes. He owned a floral and decoration shop downtown at the time, and ended up getting a stuffed animal from his store that I particularly loved and having everyone sign a card from the store to give to me during Feb/March in the school year, the first anniversary of my dad's death, which was one of the hardest. This was also the year that I became a library ambassador, so I got to spend lunch/recess in the library reading to kindergarten kids and helping them learn to love reading as much as me! (Tbh, I honestly don't remember how much hair I had that year, but I know I did have some growth, but lost it at least once during the school year). This was also when my endocrinologist realized I was not going to outgrow the Alopecia, and changed her perspective on my diagnosis. I was moved from a mild-moderate diagnosis to moderate-severe, which I have stayed ever since.

6th grade: I lost my hair yet again, but also became eligible for my first wig. This was also the first year that new kids arrived in my grade and didn't know what I had or what it was about, but everyone in my grade and below knew, but wanted me to be the ones to tell them. We actually gained the new classmate(s) the first week I had my new wig, and my teacher had to miss that week, so they couldn't help with making those connections as well. This was also the first time I lost friends because of my hair loss, as when I told these new people, they were shocked, but processed it and continued to be friends with me for a while before telling me that they didn't want to be around me anymore because I was bald and "had holes in my head." Most of my class didn't support them in these actions, but continued to be friends with them because of other connections and similarities. This was also when I had anxiety of going to middle school and having to explain my hair situation all over again and being judged. My teacher had a lot of conversations with me about this worry, and it was noted in my records so that I had "proper supports" in middle school.

7th grade: the year from hell. I was bullied from the few friends I had from elementary school, as I went to the other middle school than most of my elementary school friends. I had a plan ready, but knew that I would do it at school if I did it, because my mom had just gotten comfortable in living at home without dad for the first time that year. My exhaustion got worse, I lost a lot of my hair growth from the summer, and my symptoms were all over the place no matter the medication changes due to the amount of stress and anxiety I was under going to and attending school. Classes and the library were my escape, as those bullies were not in the honors classes that I was, and were mostly too loud for the library in the morning and during lunch. I had break downs every morning going into school, and my mom would have to drag me into the wrong door of the building to meet the principal and nurse at the doors, then have me wait with staff until the counselor came in to talk with me about what was going on. No one believed me that I was being bullied, and all thought I was grieving my dad's passing, but the librarian offered me a position in opening and closing the library every day with her and joining her during lunch hour after I finished my lunch. This is what saved me, and this kick started my hair growing back, and my stress levels dropping, which helped with my underactive thyroid.

8th grade: I had a whole new group of friends through the connections the librarian made naturally with me, and I was so happy and supported. A lot of personal stuff also happened in middle school, so this helped tremendously in me living a better life as a fully functional student with natural supports built in. My teachers were aware of my diagnosis and my loss at this point, and whenever I struggled, would encourage me to write out my feelings, walk me to the counselor personally, or have me complete assignments in the library with my now pseudo-aunt, the librarian. I also gained most of my hair back, and for the first time, it was shirley temple curly! Everyone was astounded, and the endocrinologist was excited at how much growth I had in one year's time, as no one in the midwest had seen that in cases similar to mine.

High school: my hair came and went a few times more, but I never hid anything except maybe wear a hat outside during marching band. I had a completely new set of friends because of band, and fell in love with the peer tutoring program in the special education department, so I had support in all forms. I did have some bad autoimmune flareups in which I got very, very sick very, very quickly. But living with a chronic illness, I was sick most of the time and wouldn't say anything about it because it was/is my normal. So the nurse knew that if I went to her office, something was really wrong, and most of the time ended up with me leaving school immedoately for a hospital or emergency doctor's visit. I wore my hair all natural from my memory, and I only grew my hair all of high school, except for one cut (which was one bigger trim of about 6 inches taken off in total). My senior year, I did have a little more thinning in my hair overall, and was afraid I'd lose it all at the end of high school, but my hair never had the straw-like consistency that it did in my younger years whenever I lost all my hair.

Freshman year: I grew it out more, to almost my butt, when I chopped it off to about collar bone length during spring break. That was so freeing to feel like I could do things with my hair again.

Sophomore year: I had my hair cut again right before I moved back to school for band, and the hairstylist was one I had never been to before but at the same studio I went to, and cut it to my ears. For a while, I was worried that it was too short. Everyone told me it would grow out, but I'm not guaranteed the time for it to do that, and explained that to people. The time I had in high school and the start of college was a gift, but the doctors always tell me that if I lose my hair, there is no guarantee I will get it back at all. Looking back at my band pictures, I was cute as hell, and didn't have to put my hair up under my shako, just pin back the front part of my hair to keep it out of my face.

Junior year to now: oh boy, I noticed spots popping up that I hadn't had in a really long time. I was always used to having at least 2 small spots now, but the spots started popping up all over, have joined into bigger spots, and now I currently have about half my hair with about 9 spots taking my hair away at different rates. It'll grow rapidly in some areas then randomly slow down. I am actually getting married next year, and I want my hair so I can have a fun hairdo, but I'm preparing for being patchy, in which I have agreements with people I trust that if it gets to a point in which I can't cover everything anymore, I'll shave it and do alternative gemstones on my head in place of a veil and hairdo for the wedding. I did all natural in childhood, and looking back at the pictures, I don't have the confidence to do long patches of hair again. I'm trying to accept the loss of hair again, but also love myself in my current state, as I may never be in this spot ever again in my hair journey.

I have been completely baby-butt bald, peach fuzz bald, patchy halos bald, full head of hair with minimal spots, and a fullish head of hair with major spots. My hair has been perfectly pin straight, wavy, curly as heck, and for the past several years, an exact 50/50 of either wavy and curly or straight and curly. The split is literally one half is on texture, and the other half is a different texture.

My doctors have told me I would never get my eyelashes or eyebrows back again, and that's mostly true. I have very faint eyebrows that are very thin that may or may not randomly grow in more full/darken in color, and I actually prefer no eyebrows for myself, as I actually raise my eyebrows in all pictures as a natural response to open my eyes more, and I don't look as crazy compared to penciled in eyebrows doing the same reaction in a picture.

I have never had and mostly never will have hair on my armpits, and I constantly surprise myself in how much hair some people have on their armpits, but support all the armhairs or lack their of!

I only recently learned how to shave my legs, because up until then, I would mostly lose my leg hair in the summers due to more exposure to elements and gain more of it back in the winters.

I have "thyroid syndrome of the eyes" in which my underactive thyroid affects my eyesight in not only blurriness, but also double vision and other visual impairments that have just recently finally started to be corrected with added prisms in all directions to my glasses that I had to first start wearing in 7th grade when I suddenly couldnt see much at all.

I get migraines and headaches easily, mainly because of the part of the brain that works with the thyroid and when my medicine is off, it affects that part of my head. I also have been way more light, sound, and motion sensitive in the past couple of years, but much more compounded in the last year.

But it is who I am, and whenever anyone asks me if I ever want to take my autoimmune disorders away, I confidently say no. Why? Because it makes me who I am today. I matured and still mature within myself which helps me accept others' differences as well. I connect with the individuals I work with in the special needs community that my coworkers, peers, and typical individuals cannot. I'm upfront with those I interact with about my disorders once we have an established connection and I feel safe telling them the information.

Yes, I do have problems with anxiety, trust, self-esteem, and body impressions of myself. But my alopecia and underactive thyroid know when to kick me in the pants a little bit to get me to realize different life lessons. It's made my heart so much bigger because of my struggles that I've gone through, am going through, and will go through.

I've been on the same medication since 3rd grade, with varying levels of prescription. But my tolerance is high, yet I can't change prescriptions due to me having horrific reactions to the other medications. There will most likely come a day in which my thyroid will stop working and I will have to have surgety to remove it and be on hormonal medication the rest of my life, but I'm always going to be on some sort of hormonal medication for the rest of my life anyway.

Also, I've struggled with getting the help I needed medically with anxiety and depression and being on a hormonal medication. My doctors wouldn't put me on any depression or anxiety medicine until I started college because they didn't want to effect my thyroid medication. So I have been in and out of counseling almost all of my life, and most likely will continue throughout my life when I need it. Now, I have the help I need with supportive and safe network, a counseling program, and the medicine I need to be my best. I also have connections to social workers and other specialists that can make immediate arrangements if my needs are not met ever again.

This isn't even my full story, but the thread of consciousness that I wanted to share right now about my autoimmune disorders. Thanks for reading all of it!

[obsidianarchives]

Black Wizard History Month 2019 Round Table

Every February at Black Girls Create we celebrate Black Wizard History Month, a celebration of the Black characters of Harry Potter, Black Potterheads in fandom, and magical Black folks everywhere. This year our month-long turn up included live tweets, a live show of our #WizardTeam podcast, and fanfiction hosted through our Hogwarts BSU project.

Fanfiction is a large part of fandom, and in many cases can be a place for marginalized fans to see and write themselves into the stories they love. Hogwarts BSU is a project specifically for Black writers and artists to write stories centered around Black characters, history, and magic in the wizarding world. As a way to wrap up a jam-packed month, we decided to host a round table with a few of the writers of the pieces that came out during this year’s Black Wizard History Month.

How did you get into Harry Potter?

Bianca Ramos: When I was in 7th grade, my younger cousin was assigned books 1-3 in school. It was during the conservative Christian outrage and my family asked me to pre-read them for him since I was a "reader." I knocked them out quickly and was hooked.

Delia Gallegos: Growing up, the books always peaked my interest in the library, even though I was only 5 or 6 years old. Our household was pretty religious, so my mom was wary about letting me read them. One summer, my cousin lent me Sorcerer’s Stone while we were at my grandma’s. I only got a chapter in but I knew I HAD to read it. After a lot of begging on my part, my mom relented and agreed to let me read it under the condition that she could read the first one out loud to me. The rest was history!

Constance Gibbs: I started reading Harry Potter when I was in sixth grade and someone was reading Chamber of Secrets. I can’t remember if I read that one first or if I went to Sorcerer’s Stone, but I read all three that were out at the time and had my grandma take me to pre-order Goblet of Fire, which was about to come out. I’ve been hooked ever since.

Porshèa Patterson: In 6th grade, my then-bestie told me about the series but had already lent the first book out. That summer I picked up the books from the library after learning I'd never see this bestie again due to me changing schools. Thus, Harry Potter became my new best friend.

Have you read fanfiction before? What draws you to it? Or what kept you away from it?

Bianca: I didn't read fanfiction before getting into everything going on here at Black Girls Create. I don't know why. I guess I just never found myself on that side of the internet. Now I think I’m more open to it.

Delia: I’m a long-time fanfiction reader. I first started after the 5th book came out. At the time, it was just a matter of Harry Potter sparking my imagination and there being no material to satisfy it. So, I turned to the internet. Now, engaging with Harry Potter and the fandom in a creative way is almost second nature to me.

Connie: I didn’t start reading Harry Potter fanfiction until sometime after the series was over because I didn’t want to spoil the series as it was coming out. I think I tried in 2007, when the series first ended, but it didn’t stick. But a few years later, I read a few post-series stories. Usually shippery ones involving Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione, but I went through a big Lily/James Marauders Era phase and I occasionally read Remus/Tonks. For the romantic stories, as we discuss on #WizardTeam often, there wasn’t a lot in the text, so it’s nice to see others’ varying but often similar interpretations on how the canon relationships could have gone with more effort put into developing them. Plus I’m a fuzzy Hufflepuff.

Porshèa: I'd started reading fanfic during the lapse between books 4 and 5, began integrating them into canon thanks to some very vivid dreams, then promptly stopped reading because there were too many books to go for me to have those problems.

What made you want to start writing fanfiction?

Bianca: I was inspired by revisiting Harry Potter through #Wizard Team, by the short stories on the site, and the complete gas up I received when I shared my ideas in the Slack. The team is a wonderful place to bounce around ideas and everyone is really supportive.

Delia: I was really young (probably too young, admittedly) when I started reading fanfiction. I started writing it on a whim. It was very much, “Hey I want to do that, too!” so I did. Being that young, you really don’t care that you don’t know how to plot a story or that you haven’t even really finished learning about grammar. You just do it because it seems fun.

Connie: I’d never written fanfiction before Hogwarts BSU/#Wizard Team. I was content to lurk in whatever fandoms I was reading fic for. I think wanted to give it a try because of something Robyn and Bayana said on #WizardTeam, and that’s where my first fic, Do Black Wizards Nod, came from. The idea of whether the Black students give each other the nod and how they would deal with that. Then I kept getting prompts or fic bunnies and it feels so much easier than when I try to write original works.

Porshèa: I've recently taken to writing fanfic because I want to fill in the holes within the fandoms I love. I'm empowered to do so because of the community that BGC has curated, the validation of headcanons, and understanding that we're the best at crafting stories from our individual lenses.

What was your inspiration for your piece?

Bianca: The complete ball drop that was History of Magic in North America and J.K. Rowling ignoring valid criticism. Like most American fans, I was excited to see the wizarding world expand to include us. However, the fact that racism — RACISM — something that plays a major part in the development of the three largest countries here, isn't even recognized on a small scale is insulting to readers. You can't tell me that a country with a history as bloody and messed up as the U.S. has wizards of every racial background being besties. It's not realistic. I also understand that maybe J.K. Rowling felt unqualified to talk about it, but I believe it can be done in a way that is both careful and makes sense.

Delia: I’ve been preaching the good word of Deanmione since February 2018. Since coming aboard the ship, I’ve been surprised to find that I am pretty much the only person sailing on it. The existing fanfic of the pairing is sparse. So when To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before came out on Netflix, I fell in love again with the story (I had read the book) and the gears in my head started turning. Then, when #WizardTeam started on Half-Blood Prince, I realized that was the perfect fit.

Connie: I’ve written a few things now, but I like thinking about the Black students forming a group and watching out for each other. I was never part of a BSU, but in high school and college I went to predominantly white schools and found myself most comfortable around my peers of color. In high school it was just natural, gravity, but I think in college I sought it out more deliberately. So I could relate to Blaise’s desire to find/start a group to help him feel less alone on campus. I remember that feeling, though I can’t say I consciously channeled it when I wrote Umoja. Other inspiration included the idea of honoring Kwanzaa in a way that helped me connect with the holiday more than I do in real life, and finding a creative way to use each principal to tell a story. And further inspiration comes from Delia and the rest of the team being instigators.

"...if you want something written about Black wizards learning within the wizarding world to be done well, you've gotta roll up your sleeves and do it yourself."  -- Porshèa Patterson

Porshèa: The inspiration for my piece comes from the wandless magic conversations throughout the books — specifically when it comes to powerful wizards and house-elves — the disappointment that is Magic in North America, and Uagadou. All of the missing elements in these spurred me into writing, because obviously if you want something written about Black wizards learning within the wizarding world to be done well, you've gotta roll up your sleeves and do it yourself.

What are some things in Harry Potter canon that you would like to explore or fix?

Bianca: As mentioned before, we can fix History of Magic in North America. I think that exploring the wizarding world here could be pretty awesome. I'd love to see stories of Indigenous wizards, Mexican wizards, or a story of Japanese American wizards and wizard immigrants (especially if they are written by someone in that community). Why did they decide to come here and what have they experienced and endured since? Also, we need to get rid of that "Cursed" play and Dumbledore and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day prequels.

Delia: I started as a Harmony shipper, believe it or not. I read others, but that was my OTP. I was just so underwhelmed by the romance in the books. Since the series finished, my biggest sore spot has been the Epilogue. They went through so much trauma. How did they work through it to get to that happy ending? How on EARTH did Hermione end up with emotionally stunted Ron (sorry Ronmione shippers, it’s all love)? Why is Harry not the DADA professor? I'd also love to fix Leta's story. I wish she could have a fully fledged story that isn’t based in tragedy. A story where she lives and is happy. She deserved better.

Connie: Like Bianca said, the global wizarding community is one thing I wish we could fix in canon. Jo did such a poor job of thinking of anywhere outside of Europe and it really hinders the story when considering how global both the fans and the Muggle world, even in Britain, are. I also wish we could remove Fantastic Beasts and Cursed Child from existence. I wish Fantastic Beasts starred an actor of color for Newt and that it was romps in the jungle searching for beasts and perhaps treasure. I wish they were adventure stories set in the ‘20s a la Indiana Jones or the Mummy franchise and not…what it is.

Porshèa: While there's a lot that needs to be fixed — see everyone else's answers — I think I only have the patience to 'fix' the ways in which Black American communities practice magic, the integration of magic and modern tech — because there are too many Muggle-borns for this to NOT be a thing — and wizarding higher education.

Are there Black characters in other media you would want to write fanfiction for?

Bianca: As of right now, no.

Delia: I don’t really see myself writing outside of my own original work and Harry Potter fanfiction. Potter is the only world besides those of my own creation that I know well enough to write in. But who knows!

Connie: There have been so few Black characters that I relate to, and I find myself not reading fanfic leading them very often. I’ve read only a few characters that were Black in other fandoms, Abigail Mills from Sleepy Hollow and Chidi from The Good Place more recently. I think I also read some fic starring Tucker from Danny Phantom (throwback!) who the fans thought had good chemistry with Danny’s sister Jazz. But there are few characters in other properties I feel drawn to enough to write, which really makes me sad. Hopefully I get more characters to want to play with and can expand my fic reading beyond shiny white people problems (or anime characters, as was my fanfiction beginnings). Perhaps some day I’ll be drawn to Doctor Who fic for those Black characters, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.

Porshèa: There is a character from the A Song of Ice and Fire series that I relate to heavily, though we know very little about her. My goal is to start on a fanfic for her after completing the Founding Home series.

Do you think Black characters get enough love in fan spaces? Why or why not?

Bianca: It depends on who the story was written for. In predominantly white stories with white main characters, Black characters are usually thrown in as an afterthought, and it shows. The same goes with color blind casting and not adjusting the story to make sense for a person of color. On the other hand, you get stories written for Black characters and characters of color like in Scandal or Pose and there is this level of care that is woven into it that changes how the characters are viewed. Fans can't help but fall in love with a fully fleshed out character.

Delia: You can read Mel’s Critical Companion piece from this month for the long answer. The short answer is, no. At best, in fandom, Black characters are often overlooked, save for when they serve a headcanon for a white character. At worst, they are overly harshly scrutinized or rejected, even though they are often one character of color out of dozens of white ones.

"At best, in fandom, Black characters are often overlooked, save for when they serve a headcanon for a white character."  -- Delia Gallegos

Connie: Definitely not. I get sad when I think about how I perhaps perpetuate this lack of love by not talking about those characters enough or, more to the point here, not reading fic starring them. But also, those characters only have a few stories on the fanfic websites or don’t get as much screen time or development to work with. Or perhaps they’re not put in situations I want to think on too often, leading me to not even go looking for “fix-it” fic where writers fix whatever bad thing happens to them. And I think the stories I like with predominantly Black characters are in recurring works where I’m waiting to see where the actual author takes them. There may be something to the idea of me just being happy they exist and not wanting to mess with them too much. Two book series I think of are the Shadowshaper Cypher by Daniel José Older and Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. The worlds are so new and I’m just so happy to get these great characters that I’m not looking for anyone else’s take on them just yet, but maybe that will come down the line. In more established franchises, I definitely think Black characters don’t get enough love in the fandom nor by the writers/producers.

Porshèa: What they said. I do love that the actors who portray the token Black faces call out the Black fan appreciation they get, especially when Luke Youngblood and Alfie Enoch pointed out that they'd realized that the Black fans made a point to seek them out within the films during BGC-led panels at LeakyCon.

What is a character or theme in Harry Potter that you want to write about or explore in the future?

Bianca: I have a list of things that I would like to write about in Harry Potter, and it seems to grow everyday. New schools, founders, and histories. I'd also like to flesh out some characters like Mrs. Zabini.

Delia: I think even after To All the Wizards I’ve Considered Before is finished, there will still be more to be told of Dean and Hermione.

Connie: I’m interested in exploring more Blaise/Desiree as a flourishing Black couple in the wizarding world and what challenges in their relationship they may have to overcome. Also just showing Black love cuteness. I think beyond the BSUverse, Robyn and I keep trying to come up with some post-First War detective story, perhaps involving an original character or Kingsley.

Porshèa: After Founding Home, I'm going to (someday) flesh out my Parvati, Lavender, and others boss witch writers story, and my Dumbledore and Prince ‘90s fashion-off story. More after that, maybe?

Make sure to read our guests and other writers’ pieces on our Hogwarts BSU page. If you have fic you would like published, or if you would like to participate in Black Wizard History Month in the future, feel free to check out our submission guidelines or hit us up at weblackandnerds@gmail.com. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you next February and all the months in between!

[curewhimsy]

Whimsy Quartet brainstorm 1/3

This is so unfinished, seriously, this is only 1/3 of what I planned to write. I’m just taking a break because it was draining to type this much already.

This story has to do with Whimsica Saga, it takes place in the same universe. It starts 4 months before the events of Whimsica Saga.

-The Premise-

Whimsy Quartet is a zany yet heartfelt story of hope, dreams, hard work, and friendship! A Quartet of middle school girls, Joy, Vivi, Maia, and Bonnie, gain magic and fight evil forces of despair.

The magical and colorful world of Whimsica is in danger. The Magical Agency needs to recruit as many kind and courageous people as they can in order to overpower Monochrome, a dismal world of despair and injustice. The residents of Monochrome hate Whimsica and send down monsters made of negative emotion to attack the people.

Lately, Monochrome villains have been targeting Earth, causing despair and negative emotions to run rampant. Queen Rainbow of Whimsica sends down Sparkle and Twinkle, magical rabbits who will search planet Earth for more people with magical hearts to be new guardians.

-First chapter synopsis-

Meanwhile, on Earth...

Joy Smiley is 11 years old and recently started 6th grade. She is a quiet, humble, and imaginative girl who is lonely and has low self-esteem. Joy has always liked to daydream and imagine make-believe. She has dreams of happy endings, magic tales, and for people to be her friend.

Joy keeps a little journal with her where she draws and writes down her dreams. One day, a bully takes Joy’s journal from her and puts it on top of a locker where Joy can’t reach, because she is short.

Vivi, one of the taller girls in their grade, stands up to the bully (by annoying them until why give up) and retrieves the journal for Joy. Joy is thankful, though not good at expressing emotion. Vivi remarks that Joy has such a happy-sounding name, but wonders why she always looks sad. Vivi tells Joy she should smile. This inspired Joy to look on the bright side.

Vivi tells Joy that her dream is “to make the whole world laugh and smile”. She’s been told it was logistically impossible many times, but Vivi is an idealist and her determined attitude causes her to keep the dream in her heart.

Joy and Vivi become friends. Later that day, after school is out, Vivi overhears her classmates Maia and Bonnie talking. Maia is upset because her older brother seems to be better than her in everything.

Vivi runs up to Maia and tells her “Someone needs a hug!”

In an attempt to cheer up Maia, Vivi hugs her and begins to tell bad jokes. Maia is visibly annoyed.

Vivi says “Ooh, you’re a hard one to make smile!” Maia says she simply doesn’t wanna smile. Vivi tells Maia that she has to, or else her dream won’t come true.

Maia is in an especially bad mood that day, so she calls Vivi’s dream “stupid” and “impossible”. The world is just that miserable and unchangeable.

Vivi pretends to shrug it off, but she is actually crushed to hear this.

The reason Vivi wants to make the world smile is because her grandfather was a comedian with the same dream. However, he passed away when Vivi was 7. Vivi is determined to keep her grandfather’s dream alive and fulfill it for him.

Bonnie, who is Maia’s childhood friend, tells Maia that perhaps she was too harsh. Maia instead says “She needs to realize the truth.”

Vivi tells Joy about the reason behind her dream. Vivi then says she needs to be somewhere, but actually wanders off in sadness.

Joy feels alone once again and feels useless for not being able to break up the argument or comfort Vivi. Walking to her house, two sleeping colorful rabbits float down from the sky.

Joy first wonders if they’re stuffed animals, but they are warm and twitching their noses. Joy takes the rabbits back to her house. Her mother won’t be home until night.

The rabbits, Sparkle and Twinkle, then wake up and tell Joy that they only show themselves to people with “whimsy” in their hearts. The fact that Joy found them means she is who they are looking for.

Joy asks what whimsy is. It is a special kind of magic that comes from the heart.

The rabbits tell Joy what is happening. Their world is in danger, and Earth is becoming targeted as well. Joy will need to become a guardian to protect Earth from the villains of Planet Monochrome.

Joy is scared and unsure at first that she could do something so big. But then she remembers that she always wanted to experience magic. Sparkle and Twinkle also tell Joy that she is more powerful than she thinks.

Joy agrees to become a magical girl. There is a spiritual awakening deep within her that unlocks the magical powers in her heart and combines it with a divine power from the world of Whimsica.

Then, Sparkle and Twinkle detect that a monster has brainwashed someone close by.

As night begins to fall, Joy follows the rabbits and ends up at the empty park where Vivi went to be alone. The rabbits turn themselves into stuffed toy form to disguise themselves.

Vivi’s heart is in a vulnerable state after she got crushed by Maia’s remarks. Joy sees a monster behind Vivi, who is too crushed to even notice. The monster is beast-like and shadowy in appearance until it possesses a human. Monsters can only possess humans who don’t have magic. The monster hypnotizes Vivi to sleep so she can’t defend herself.

Joy transforms for the first time and feels something inside her awaken. She is a clumsy fighter at first and feels apologetic for being so “weak”.

As Joy is struggling, the monster possesses Vivi. Vivi becomes a corrupted version of herself, the monster has taken over her body and warped her appearance.

Sparkle and Twinkle awaken again and tell Joy that she has to attack and defeat the monster that Vivi became. It is the only way to get the old Vivi back.

Joy is overwhelmed at first. But then she thinks about how grateful she is that Vivi helped her and something happens. She gains the courage to fight.

Joy ends up defeating the monster and Vivi is back to normal, yet she is unconscious. She doesn’t remember a thing about being possessed. Joy wants to take Vivi back to somewhere safe but can’t carry her herself.

Suddenly, Maia and Bonnie arrive at the park. They didn’t see anything prior, but they do see Vivi unconscious on the bench. Joy tells Maia why about Vivi’s deceased grandfather and why her dream is so important to her.

Maia grows very regretful and feels remorse of what she told Vivi. She wants to apologize.

All three girls help carry Vivi to the school nurse’s office. Joy then has to go because Sparkle and Twinkle need to tell her more about her job. Bonnie has dance practice soon and leaves as well. Maia is the only one left and she stays with Vivi until she wakes up.

Vivi is surprised to wake up in the nurse’s office with Maia at her side. Vivi dejectedly tells Maia that perhaps she is right.

Maia then says “No. I was wrong. Your dream is a wonderful thing. You go out of your way to make people happy. The world needs more people like you. I’m sorry.”

For the first time, Vivi sees Maia smile.

“Hey, you made me smile.” Maia says, “You’re one step closer to your goal now.”

Vivi hugs Maia. They become good friends. Vivi continues to help Maia believe in hopes and dreams.

Eventually, Vivi, Maia, and Bonnie become magical girls as well (in that order), thus forming the Quartet.

-Introducing the girls-

Joy Smiley

Age- 11

Birthday- Feburary 14

Hair color- Auburn

Skin color- Brown

Build- Small, pudgy

Race/Nationality- Black/African-American

Favorite food- Macarons, strawberries

Wish- To experience magic, to make the world better

Personality description-

Joy is a quiet, humble, childish girl with a whimsical colorful imagination and a big heart. She's a dreamer and her mind is like a hot air balloon, always floating to different worlds.

Joy is sweet, docile and pure. She loves imagining things and being creative. She is very quiet and shy, causing people to misunderstand her. Joy is quite lonely at first.

Joy is sensitive and the emotions of other people get to her really easily. However, she struggles with showing them outwardly.

Joy's favorite stuffed animal is a cat named Rosa who brings her comfort on a bad day.

Joy has autism and is sensitive to certain stimuli.

Joy is an only child.

Her theme color is pink.

Vivi Star

Age- 11

Birthday- December 23

Hair color- Light yellow

Skin color- Fair

Build- Tall and heavy

Race/Nationality- Dutch (White)

Favorite food- Mushroom risotto

Wish- To make everyone in the world smile, to live a life worthwhile

Personality description-

Vivi is an outgoing and cheerful girl with lots of aspirations and dreams.

She's eccentric, animated and loves to make people laugh. She cracks a lot of jokes in hope it will make someone smile. 

Vivi used to be very shy when she was younger and still has that characteristic hidden inside her. She broke out of her shell in order to accomplish her dream of making the entire world smile. Vivi is very emotional, and is often sad, but hides it well. She is very self-sacrificing and thinks of others before herself.

She has a little sister named Liv.

Vivi’s theme color is yellow.

Maia Mei

Age- 11

Birthday- May 7

Hair color- Dark green

Skin color- Light brown

Build- Tall, thin

Race/Nationality- Mexican, Chinese

Favorite food- Black bean enchiladas, fried rice

Wish- To make a difference

Personality description-

Maya is a girl who is aloof and pessimistic at first. However, she has a lot of willpower and believes in justice.

Maia is boyish and doesn't like being called a "young lady". She has an older brother who seems to be better than her at everything. This discourages Maia and caused her to believe that some things are impossible at first.

Maia tends to act the most serious of the group, but has her moments where she becomes very silly.

Maia is childhood friends with Bonnie.

Maia didn’t believe in dreams at first, but eventually realizes she wants to make a difference.

She cares deeply for her friends in an almost knightly way. The power of friendship is something that moves her deeply.

Maia has an older brother named Alan, and a younger brother named Chen.

Maia’s theme color is green.

Bonnie Orabella

Age- 14

Birthday- Janurary 9

Hair color- Powder blue

Skin color- Fair with freckles

Build- Somewhat short, average weight

Race/Nationality- French, Italian (White)

Favorite food- Ramen

Wish- To inspire people

Personality description-

Bonny appears to be is a calm, sophisticated girl. However, she has a very zany side to her. Bonnie is extremely theatrical. Bonnie has an alter-ego named “Daphne” who she becomes whenever she is acting.

Bonnie is quite dramatic, but is also level-headed. She can be silly a lot.

Bonnie is childhood friends with Maia.

Bonnie loves creating and wants to express herself. She likes to write. Her dream is to be an actress and to act as characters she’s created.

Bonnie has an older brother named Rubin, who is dating Maia’s older brother, Alan.

Bonnie’s theme color is blue.

-The powers of the Quartet-

Joy Smiley gains powers of seeing people’s dreams and turning nightmares into sweet dreams.

Sometimes Joy attacks with perfume, monsters can't stand it!

Joy has healing magic such as giving people hope and comfort in the form of an object affected by her magic.

Sometimes wields a giant pink paintbrush and can paint attacks and platforms. Can also ride on this paintbrush like a broom.

Joy can cast a magical spell, or a "Wish-come-true" when her heart is in a certain state.

Dreamy Drops are magic candy that Joy can use to power up.

"Whimsical heart medley!" is a musical attack where Joy "conducts" the aura around her. The music notes attack monsters.

"Dream Halation" is a healing attack that can soothe damage to the heart and body.

"Hyper Ballet" is a spinning attack where Joy spins at an impossible speed and can even cause a strong wind.

"Celestial Fantasia" is a wide-range powerful blast of magic that can both harm a monster and heal the good allies.

One of her magical trademarks is spinning a lot.

Joy has mostly healing magic. Her magic is based on a fairy.

She can cast a spell of hope.

Vivi Star can store emotions inside of objects. She can also feel emotions from objects and sense if they have happy or sad memories stored in them. She can always sense someone's true hidden emotion.

Smile Sugars are magical candy for her.

"Euphoric star fortissimo!" is a musical attack where monsters are harmed.

"Happy Aura" is a magical attack that causes euphoria and comfort to allies.

"Vivid Starlight" is a beam of light to attack enemies.

"Buoyant Rush" conceals Vivi’s body in a ball of light and has her move twice as fast.

The peace sign is her trademark.

One of her trademarks is a somersault.

Most of her magic is offensive. Her magic is based on a sorcerer.

She can cast a spell of laughter.

Maia-

Maia can sense memories if she concentrates hard enough.

"Dynamic triangle crescendo!" is a musical attack where monsters are harmed.

"Blade Fortress" is a defensive attack where barriers made of light surround her and allies, and monsters are hurt if they touch them.

“Bold Frenzy” is an attack where Maia wields light as a sword.

“Courage Pure” is magic that gives courage to allies

One of her trademarks is a backflip.

Most of her magic is offensive. Her magic is based on a knight.

She can cast a spell of confidence

Bonnie-

Bonnie can cast spells, and she has a cauldron in the Whimsy Room.

"Ethereal crescent arioso!" is a musical attack where monsters are harmed.

"Shield of ice" is a shield that also freezes enemies

“Wondrous Cure” is a healing attack that soothes damage to the heart and body.

"Wave of Tremolo" is an attack that knocks monsters back and topples them over

One of her trademarks is figure skating moves.

Most of her magic is defensive. Her magic is based on a witch.

She can cast a spell of inspiration

-Backstory of Joy and Lumina-

Joy met a girl her age in a dream when she was 6. The girl’s name was Lumina and she defeated Joy’s nightmare for her. Ever since then, Joy believed in magic.

Lumina is actually from Whimsica and she was in Joy’s dream because she can cross dimensions into the realm of dreams.

[burgeonmeraki]

20 Random Things You Don’t Know About Me

Hi guys! I thought I would do something a little fun, humiliating (LOL), and different on my blog today and share 20 things you might not know about me. I get it. As a reader, I, too, love learning a bit more about the people I read. So here goes!

1. I have this weird habit where I want my feet warm especially at night before I go to sleep. I usually put some lotion on it and then put my socks on. And if there are no socks, I put a pillow under my feet, like I'm a mermaid LOL. Weird, I know! But it prevents me from having leg cramps in the morning. 

That is my trophy for the singing contest. This picture was taken 2010, and I couldn’t find my trophy anymore so deal with that picture. Just kiddin’ 

2. I won first place at a singing contest at a talent show back when I was in kindergarten. I sang this 90s hit song My Heart Will Go On By Celine Dion. And I believe that if my parents put me or enrolled me in a voice lesson, girl, I could've been a singer today, and I might be joining singing contest like The Voice. But I only do the singing thing at the shower and karaoke. Hahaha

Left Pic: My oldest brother wasn’t there because he was working abroad Right Pic: My oldest sister is living in Canada, and my older brother is living in South Korea. My mom was holding her phone because that's them on the videocall.

3. I was supposed to have six siblings so that would make us a total of seven. I had an oldest sister, supposed to be the second child, who died because of some complications in her heart when she was still a newborn. Next is my Ate Jaz, which makes her my oldest sister alive. Then after Ate Jaz, my mom had a miscarriage. Basically, my Ate was in between two dead babies. And if ever my two siblings were alive today, I might not be here or I probably don't exist. I have such a huge age gap with my siblings because my mom had me at the age of 38, and she said that I was her only child who made her pregnancy and giving birth so hard. I was born via C-Section and the rest of my siblings were all delivered normal. So, lucky me for being here! LOL

My collection of Candy Magazine back in High School.

4.  Back in High School, I used to collect Candy Magazine until first-year college. This magazine helped me with all my teenage issues like self-esteem, body image, peer pressure, beauty, fashion, dating, friendship, career, etc. They have a bunch of articles there that I enjoyed reading. And I've always wanted to be one of their models, but I was an ugly duckling, and I'm not the confident type of girl back then. I still kept these magazines inside my sentimental box. 

This is my box full of photos, letters, diaries, and other stuff.

5. Speaking of the sentimental box, I'm a very sentimental person. I have boxes of stuff from my friends, family, and ex-boyfriends. I kept this stuff for good memories purposes because I like reminiscing good memories. It reminds me of these real moments that I was once shared with these people, and it's like my return ticket to that memories, whether it's funny, romantic, or sad. Plus good times need to be remembered. They need to celebrate and felt. You know, we're not getting any younger anymore, time will come that a part of our brain might forget those memories. So keeping pictures, letters, and diaries is one way to keep those memories alive.

These are my IDs from the Youth Camp Fellowship.

6. I used to be active in Church back when I was in High School. I even joined the Music Ministry and tried to learn how to play the piano. I went to a few Youth Camp Fellowship and met a lot of people, and it was fun. The reason why I became so active in Church because I had a crush on our drummer guy (he’s my first kiss). Yuck! LOL

Love Me Like You Do By Ellie Goulding (Short Clip) / Stay By Rihanna (Cover)

7. As I was saying on number 6, I used to play the piano before. They made us choose a musical instrument that we want to play, and I was supposedly gonna go for drums because it's cool, plus I used to listen to a lot of rock bands back then, but I didn't choose it because my crush is going to be the one who's going to teach us, and I was shy, so I end up with piano. I actually tried learning how to play the guitar but you got to have callouses on your fingers in order to play it well because it freaking hurts girl! Hehe

8. Okay, let's talk about Puppy Love. When I was in grade school, I have a crush on this guy who's like 3 years older than me, and he's our neighbor. When I got into 6th grade, he started noticing me, and we became, I don't know, together? Like boyfriend and girlfriend? Haha. But since I'm a shy type kind of girl, I was having a hard time talking to him without blushing, I couldn't even let him hold my hands, or hug me, or kiss me. None of that happened. So we write letters to each other (cellphone is not a thing at that time). I know it's all cheesy and mushy and all, but anyways. I asked my niece to be our messenger haha. So I will give the letter to her, and she will give it to him, and then vice versa. Okay, so this is the funny part!! My niece left my goddamn letter for him at our dining table! And my sister and brother read the whole thing. I was so annoyed at my niece. My siblings were like mad at me for having a boyfriend at such a young age because you know, I'm their little sister, and little sissy is not allowed to have a boyfriend LOL. And then they threatened me that they're going to tell it to my mom, so I broke up with him after a week using a letter haha. We kept in touch til I got into High School. I think we went out before, we watch a movie but I brought a chaperone with me. HAHA we didn’t end up together because he’s such a playboy. FYI: I don't count him as my ex-boyfriend. LOL

9. I had a puppy named Mocha because she’s dark brown and it suits her. She’s a shih tzu and she’s the cutest puppy in the world but she died because she got sick. I miss her so much! :(

Snorkeling at Coron, Palawan.

10. I love going to the beach. I love swimming! My mom’s sister owns a beach resort and it was just an hour away from our place. We always go there every summer, and that’s where I learned how to swim, not in the swimming pool, but in the ocean. I was supposedly going to be a swimmer. My 4th grade teacher trained me, and he trained other students in other sports like badminton and volleyball, and they joined sports competition, and they win medals. So I got very interested because I want to win medals too. So I did my training but I was having a hard time to dive. I know I'm doing it wrong because the water kept going inside my nose and it freaking hurts. So I stopped and quit the training because I couldn't do it properly. Haha

I think I was in 3rd Grade in here. Lol

11. I joined Girl Scout back in grade school. I can't remember why I joined. All I know is I am going to have a lot of fun in here. And that was my first camping experience. We camped out at our school, and yeah, it was fun and scary at the same time because there are lots of ghost stories in our school. Our motto: "Girl Scouts are always ready and prepared.” 

I also joined Drum & Bugle. I was a Majorette, the one who throws the baton in the air and twirls it. I just love to dance back then, and nope, I'm not a professional dancer. It's just that life is better when you dance! :)

Junior Year High School. Cheer Dance Competition during our Intramurals Day. 

12. When I got into High School, I've always wanted to join Cheer Dance Competition since I was in my freshman year. But most of the girls in my school back then were all pretty and mean. I only joined when I was in my junior year, and we won 2nd place. I'm really not a good dancer, but I know I've got moves. I just don't know what happened today LOL. I'm one of those girls who they always lift and toss because obviously in the picture I'm thin as a rake haha. Then I tried joining again in College, and I got into an accident. I freaking fell flat on my back while we're doing our pyramid stunt and no one's there to catch me. Ouchie! I'm on the second level, standing on my right leg at this guy's shoulder, and then my left leg was angled and lifted because on the third level, a girl's going to stand on my left thigh. She was scared and not keeping her balance well so she dragged me backward with her. Someone caught her and none for me because the way I go down the pyramid is by jumping in front. Our coach didn't see that coming and I thought I am gonna go home with broken hips.

Left to Right: Elementary Graduation Day; Sophomore Year in College; Junior Year - wearing retainer; Retainer and Braces Free 

13. I first had my braces when I was in 6th grade because my sister got one, so I want one too LOL. I had it for a very long time. Since I got it at such a young age, my teeth were not complete yet. And based on my x-ray, I've got several impacted wisdom tooth that's going to come out so my doctor waited for it. I only got it removed when I was in my 3rd-year college. So I had my braces for 7 years. HAHA

14. I can’t whistle. I tried. I don’t know how to. I can’t do it. PERIOD

Cupcake Nail Art, Cheetah Print Nail Art, Polka Dots Nail Art

15. I love doing my nail art from when I was in High School to College. I don't like my nails plain and simple back then, so I put a design on it and make it fun. I'm always into art and being creative. Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun. So my parents saw that potential in me, and they made me choose Architecture as my profession.

These are my high school arts that I saw on my facebook LOL.

Circa 2015. Photographed By: Iks Virina

16. I'm not a morning person. I hate waking up so early. I only wake up so early if I have important errands to run or if I have to go to work. I love sleeping during the day and staying up during the night. I'm a night owl. There's something about being up at night that makes it more peaceful to work and think. Most of my creative juices come out during the night. And I've read that night owls have better mental alertness than early risers. I don't need caffeine to keep me up at night. LOL

Circa 2015. Photographed By: Iks Virina

17. I'm not a coffee person. Don't get me wrong, I love the smell of coffee. It's just that the coffee doesn't like me at all. Every time I drink coffee, especially those with high caffeine like espresso, I end up palpitating and having heartburn. I can drink it but not too much, and sometimes I preferred Frappuccino. I'm more of a tea person. I love chamomile and red berries flavors.

FEU I.D. vs BPSU I.D.

18. I went to two schools back in College. When I was in my senior year in High School, I didn't really plan my college life. I have no idea what school I am going to attend. I only know was my mom wants me to take up Architecture even though I don't want to. So yeah, I end up going to Far Eastern University for 2 years. Then, my Dad, he was working abroad in Libya, and there was a war at that time in the Middle East. So they had to go home and stopped working. We have no income, we had financial issues, and that's when I decided to return home and study in my hometown, get a scholarship because I have no choice. I was in college for 6 years, supposedly 5 years only but I had to retake some of my subjects that I already took up in my previous school because the school didn't credit it.

Back in 2015, I tried to dress up like Blair Waldorf. She loves wearing headband hehe

19. My favorite show of all time is Gossip Girl. It's like the first rated r tv shows that I really got hooked up and fall in love with. It's the reason why I've always wanted to go to New York. I have watched this already a few times, and it doesn't get old. I love Serena Van Der Woodsen (Blake Lively), her style, and the way she carries her clothes. She's this free-spirited, charming, nice, laidback IT GIRL. And then Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) aside from her classy, preppy style, I like her domineering and loyal personality. Plus her romantic on and off love affair with Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick). But my biggest crush on this show is Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford), oh god I love his eyes, it's so sexy! HAHA

Sandbox Adventure at Pampanga; Bike Trailing and Wakeboarding at Nuvali, Laguna; and Skimboarding at Boracay

20. I love some good adventure. I have this bucket list of things to do before I die, and I want to fulfill that. Like traveling the whole world, plus I want to go skydiving or bungee jumping. Aside from that, you're just not creating memories, you're also trying new things. And I'm always up for trying new things, and I like challenging myself sometimes. Life is boring if you don't at least try or go out of your comfort zone. Just try new things once in a while, and don't be afraid to soar high.

What’s something random about you? And if you make a post, share it below. Thank you so much for dropping by!

Love Lots, Jamie

[blog-researchblog]

The Making of a Middle School Teacher

Katie Smith

Why Teaching?

After finishing my schooling at Kutztown, I want to be a 6th or 7th grade math teacher. I’ve known this for a while now because of how much I loved helping my mom with her grading, setting up her classroom, working with kids, etc. Using the article “7 Power Questions To Find Out What You Want To Do With Your Life” written by Scott Christ, I was able to further understand myself and my goals, which allowed me to make sure teaching matched my needs for my career. Important things I learned from myself was how important it is to have a great work environment, to be active, and to be able to move to a different state if I wanted to.

Ever since I was little, I loved the atmosphere of a school. So, moving forward in deciding my career, I knew I wanted to be in that atmosphere. A good work environment is key for me to be productive, and what’s good about being a teacher is I would get to create my own environment and ensure that it feels welcoming and encourages productivity for me and all my students.

I also knew going into planning what I wanted to do next was that I wanted to work with kids. I find the energy and creativity of adolescents to be refreshing and very insightful. I knew I wanted to be there to help and watch the adolescents that I work with grow into each person that they want to be, and middle school is the age where they are just starting to figure all that out. Being a teacher would also allow me to be moving around all day, which was also very important to me. Being active allows me to learn and be focused and I know movement is essential for adolescents too.

Teaching also gives me the flexibility to go anywhere in the nation and the world. Many states accept Pennsylvania teaching licenses and there are a bunch of programs that take teachers overseas to teach in any of the continents. So even as a teacher I could travel to places all over the world that I’ve dreamed about going to.  

All in all, teaching is the career I wanted for a while for many reasons and evaluating myself only solidified that. Teaching would enable me to check many things off my “job necessities” list such as: having a positive work environment, being active, being flexible with where in the world I could work, working with kids, etc. As a teacher, I am going to be shaping the future generation. Therefore, I will work hard to make sure I am the best I can be so the students can become the best they can be. In order to figure out more about the logistics of being a middle school teacher, I consulted the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Here are the Facts:

When people think about what it means to be a teacher, they think about summer vacations, being around kids, and not getting paid much; but there’s much more to teaching than meets the eye, and the Occupational Outlook Handbook entry about, “Middle School Teachers” tells the reader about the job of a teacher more in depth. A lot of people don’t think about the after-hours work teachers have to do; such as, the constant communication they need to have with parents/guardians of their students, the schooling process a person needs to go through to become a teacher, or the wide range of employment opportunities. 

The job of a teacher goes far beyond the school day. Teachers need to write lesson plans for the next day or week and grade student tests and assignments. Teachers can also be involved in coaching, being a club adviser, or after school tutoring programs which further extends their working hours. In most school districts, teachers work 10 out of 12 months and have the remaining two months as summer break. 

To become a teacher, an individual needs to obtain a bachelor's degree and receive a state issued teachers license. A teacher needs both the degree and certification to teach, and in order to get the certification, the prospecting teacher needs to pass a state certification test. To be a middle school teacher you also need to have an area or concentration you are specializing in. This could be any of the core subjects such as Math, Science, Social Studies, or English. Depending on what concentration a teacher has, determines which certification tests they would want to take.

  The average pay of a middle school teacher in the year 2018 was $59,570, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook. However, pay varies greatly based on both state and school district. This career is projected to grow a total of 3% in the next 10 years, which is on the slower side. On a map provided by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, some states with the highest employment levels are Texas, California, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, and Virginia. 

While looking at the data of the job is beneficial, it is important to actually see and be in a classroom in a teacher role. In order to really look behind the lens of a teacher, I sat down with my mentor teacher from Brandywine Intermediate School and asked about the reality of the teaching profession.

Through the Eyes of a Teacher

There’s always a story behind why someone wants a certain career. For Lyndsay Levengood, a 5th grade teacher at Brandywine, her reason was her brother. Her brother has down syndrome and throughout her life she played an active role in her brother's growth and learning process. She knew after that that she wanted to be a dual certification general education and special education teacher.  After originally starting out as a special education teacher, she is now a 5th grade math teacher. I met Lyndsay through a cohort program at Kutztown University, and she is one of two of my mentor teachers that I see weekly at Brandywine Intermediate School. I knew going into the program that my ideas of teaching were different from traditional teaching styles; I just wasn’t sure what exactly it was going to be. Over the past three semesters, Lyndsay has helped expose me to an alternative teaching style, personalized learning.

Because of personalized learning, Lyndsay’s typical day and classroom structure is different from what someone may see in a traditional classroom. Every day is different and needs to be flexible because of how important it is to Lyndsay to meet each student’s needs. Each day she’s teaching different and students work on all types of activities. Personalized learning is a lot of work when you look at it. It takes a lot of self-reflection and challenges; you need to think outside of the box in order to meet the needs of each student. Figuring out how to implement this teaching style also takes a lot of co-worker collaboration; “Without the help of our Instructional Coach, I wouldn’t have been able to wrap my head around the fact that’s it’s okay to not give all the students all the same work. Instead I needed to give them practice that would challenge them each at their own level”. 

Lyndsay also shared with me that whether or not you are a teacher who uses personalized learning, it’s important not to over work yourself each night and weekend with teacher work. She said that while completing work outside of school is an important part of the teacher profession, making sure you have time for yourself and your family is also important. Lyndsay recommended to me that as a new teacher I should either go in early at the beginning of the day to do work, stay late after the school day, or work at home for no more than an hour reflecting on the lessons and teaching. Lyndsay warned me that a lot of teachers over work themselves in the beginning and end up becoming miserable in their chosen profession. Being excited and conveying the love of your job to the students changes the learning environment dramatically. Lyndsay enters the  classroom everyday loving her job and wanting to be there, and that enables her to make lasting relationships with her students. Lyndsay said, “One of my favorite things about this job is that I am able to make connections with my students and then through that relationship and trust, I get to watch each of my students grow in a multitude of ways”. But just like any job, Lyndsay said there are some difficult aspects of teaching.

Lyndsay told me how she wishes there was a way for her to help solve the uncontrollable factors. Many of her students struggle with the environmental limits to learning. Many students struggle with family issues and that interferes with their learning, but as the teacher she said that it’s our job to figure out how get those students involved and active. Another struggle Lyndsay mentioned was how as a teacher, we have a lot of aspects of our job that are controlled by outside people. She wishes teachers had a little more freedom and control over how they could teach the material, but because of various government education bills and standardized tests, that's nearly impossible.

But there’s hope. Lyndsay told me that education is constantly changing and right now she’s excited for direction it appears to be going in. Lyndsay loves opening her room to try out new educational strategies to see what she can do to help her students reach their potential. She told me that every student is treated like they have their own IEP (Individual Learning Plan). IEPs are given to students that have disabilities and it helps outline both long and short term goals that students are encouraged to meet at the end of each year using their strengths and weaknesses. So, Lyndsay said that when I start teaching it’s important I set goals for my students and myself and work hard to make them a reality. Lyndsay told me in order to help them reach their goals, that it is important to use their strengths to build up their weaknesses. During that process, it’s important to reflect and not be afraid to hear input from co-workers or the students.

Lyndsay has helped me a lot in learning about other teaching styles and working on being open minded towards new teaching strategies. Lyndsay explained to me, “It is very important to be flexible as a teacher. Whether that’s in the form of noticing your students aren’t benefiting from your lesson by the way you’re teaching it or because you want to try something new”. Either way Lyndsay said that I should just approach each situation with the interests of my students in mind. 

One of the ways I can look out for the interests of my students is by ensuring I am teaching them accurate and full picture material. An article in The New York Times brings attention to how state legislature and textbook companies don’t always paint the entire historical picture.

Teaching in the News:

In the article from The New York Times, “Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories.”, author Dana Goldstein highlights how schools are politically influenced not just by federal law, but also through the textbook industry. By just comparing Texas and California, it became evident that while some information was consistent in both states, there was some information that didn’t align with the textbook from the other state. There are political issues in the book that lean more toward the state in which the book is used. Some of the inconsistencies are White resistance to the progress of African Americans post Civil War, historical role of LGBTQ+ groups in Native American tribes, immigration, the role of big businesses in American society, and so on. The view on each of these issues tends to lean towards the conservative in Texas and liberal in California, which is believed to be intentional by states to raise a future generation of voters.

Previously to this article, I’ve never really thought about how schools are heavily influenced by politics in the curriculum. Throughout our entire schooling, we as adolescents weren’t only being influenced by our parent’s political beliefs, but also subtle state political beliefs hidden within our school materials. I chose this article because of the relevance it has to my career as a teacher. My major here at Kutztown is Elementary Education grades 4-8 specializing in the subjects of math and social studies. If I do become a social studies teacher, it’s important to be aware of different biases that lay in the curriculum. Simply because, in my opinion, in order to teach your students to be good citizens, you need to shape them to become well rounded adults. The only way to do that is to ensure that students have the entire historical picture painted for them. With that whole picture students will be able to form their own worldview. This article shows one of many ways that students are influenced in that process.

This article taught me a lot about the reality of biases in the school system. It taught me how textbook companies portray or just don't include aspects of history that supports the state’s political affiliations. It showed the truth behind people saying writers always have an agenda. However, despite all this, I’m still curious about if all states are discreetly imposing their opinions on students. If they are, in what ways are they indirectly imposing their beliefs on students? What effect does that have on students? By answering these questions, I would get a better understanding of how I can help fight biases in my classroom. So that I can encourage students to learn about all perspectives and form their own beliefs and educate them on the existence of biased opinions and help them be aware of their own.

[oursafespaceblog-blog]

Literacy Narrative

My literacy narrative is a part of my period of reflection. While writing it I thought of who I am as a student.

The original prompt of my English Narrative was to self reflect on your own writing and relationship with English classes. I stuck to this prompt while expanding on my own writing skills and relationships with classes as a whole instead of just reflecting on English. I choose to revise this essay because of the basis of self-reflection. Self-reflection allows for self-discovery so this essay flows into my topic of creativity and self-discovery within furthering my education.

Moving around a lot has shaped the way that I interpret literacy. As my literary skills were developing and forming I was being introduced into many different cultures and school curriculums. The way I was developing as a thinker while I transitioned from school to school shaped my writing. Starting school in New York put me ahead in many ways. In New York, you are allowed to start school earlier.  I had more than a few things shaping the way I speak and write.They also start teaching certain things earlier. I learned parts of a sentence and the definition of a noun earlier. I learned about 1st, 3rd, and even 2nd person when I was only in the 2nd grade. In high school, you get a better understanding of when to use it and how to stay in one point of view for a whole essay. When I moved to South Carolina I knew I was ahead. The content they were teaching in my English class was so simple to me and I felt uncomfortable always being done first or being the only one that knew the answer. Eventually, I was tested to be put in advanced classes. When I moved again I was in 4th grade. Once again my English class was so simple to me. I remember telling my mom about my classes and how some of the kids in my gym class are in different English classes. I told my mom that these kids were always reading and seemed to be in a small group together. My mom went to the school to explain to them that I tested into advanced classes and eventually I was moved back into these advanced classes. In these classes, we read a lot and wrote a lot. I remember we would have 15 minutes to just write about our day but it had to have an introduction. We would also have book reports due every month. I feel these classes are what put me ahead and is really where I got my base knowledge about literacy and writing. My first encounter with formal essays happened mostly in South Carolina. I feel that the curriculum teachers were following did not focus heavily on the structure. They did, however, focus on reading. There were always prizes that were based around reading. The class that reads 100 books first would get a pizza party or extra time outside, These incentives did encourage me to read more but after a while, I just read because I enjoyed it. I would read outside on the playground, in gym class, at home when I was eating dinner or even when I was in the supermarket with my mom. I enjoyed reading so much I started reading books that my mom had on her bookshelf because I ran out of my own books. The collection of books my mom owned introduced me to new authors and series. The first series that I was introduced to in elementary school was The Babysitters Club. This series touched on personal issues within the characters as well as taught life lessons. I felt that the way this series was written really flowed and it directed me to how I would like to write creatively. It focused heavily on descriptive words and thoroughly explaining what is going on. Figurative language became something that was very stressed. It became engraved in our everyday life. Figurative language had to be incorporated into every story and every poem. Elementary school shaped how I use words and when I use words. Middle school shaped the structure I use when typing essays. As I continued going through English classes I lost a lot of the base things that I learned. Some English teachers led me astray and made me second guess my writing skills. I started to believe the more SAT words you use in writing the better your piece would be. I didn’t pay much attention to grammatical errors. I just try to fit as many SAT words as I can. I knew that using words to replace basic words such as good and bad would make my writing look better. This became my only goal. I did not pay attention to where I put a comma or semicolon. In 6th and 7th grade writing was not heavily stressed. Common core was introduced and everything became focused on critical thinking and analyzing. This became all that English class was about it was very strict and did not allow for any literary freedom. This is where I started to learn how to construct an essay.  I only knew the basic structure of an essay,  introduction, 3 paragraphs, and a conclusion. I also learned about argumentative essays and what those included. We touched on poetry but it was not heavily talked about. I did learn of rhyme scheme, tone, and syntax. Tone taught me how to put life into my writing. When you write and think of how tone can affect your characters or your message, it gives new life to your writing. In 8th grade, I was introduced to a whole new way to look at literature. We discussed literature thoroughly during class. My English teacher heavily stressed writing and perfecting your writing. He wanted us to write multiple rough drafts until we had a clear concise paper with absolutely no mistakes. He also introduced us to classic literature such as Brave New World and Animal Farm. While Animal Farm does not contain sophisticated language because it was 2written by George Orwell, Brave New World has a more sophisticated tone and an indirect way of telling the story. Both of these books influenced me in different ways. Animal Farm taught me about character development and how word choice can show tone. Brave New World taught me how to describe a scene without being so direct by using allusions. I used these techniques in my creative writing and eventually blended into my formal writing. Highschool transformed me into the writer I am today.  I learned how to use transitions to create a better flow. Words like however and therefore became a normal part of my writing. In high school, I learned how to expand on that and create a thesis as well as a hook. Knowing your thesis and how to create one gives you direction. A hook pulls your reader in.  I also started to write short stories more often. Writing longer stories or essays became second nature because of how often I was writing. High school didn’t introduce much that was new literature wise but it did make it easier to know how to write on a college level. I still have trouble writing long essays or even when I start an essay continuing to write without restating points I already covered. As I continue to grow as a writer I hope to gain the ability to include transitions smoothly as well as incorporate SAT words as they fit. I also hope to be able to start an essay and continue typing it without having to take breaks to gather my thoughts or to think of the point I’m trying to make. At Howard, I would really like to learn how to put my thoughts on paper in an organized way. I need my thoughts to flow together cohesively to keep my paper from being awkward.  I want to understand how to write for long periods of time without repeating myself. The longer my essay the more likely I am to repeat the same concept over and over in a different way. I would also like to be able to interpret every literary piece without assistance. Usually, when I read a piece by myself I have to read it multiple times and even then I have to google someone else’s analysis to understand the piece. I would like to be able to dissect a piece on my own after reading it a couple of times. I do not feel that my writing is on a college level I would like to be confident in my own writing skills. In order for this to happen, I need to work on aspects of my own literary knowledge. I also have to expand my knowledge and read more college literature. I know that I can expand my skills.

[i-am-me-deal-with-it]

I am a stagehand

ever since i was a little girl i’ve been embraced by the world of theatre.

allow me to explain.

in elementary i was fortunate enough to go to a school with a program known as “GTChallenge” short for, Gifted and Talented Challenge. students starting in the third grade could apply for the program and if they had high grades, and two previous teacher recommendations, plus took this strange “creativity/Iq” test they could be chosen to join a small group of students in their grade for extracurricular activities during school hours. every friday for two hours they would meet and do various activities that had to deal with advanced materials. they made sure that each student was able to handle the pressure of missing two hours of class time a week, as well as harder assignments, and it was a very selective group, out of the nearly 120 students per grade, only 15 were selected to join each year, and you had to renew the application each year.

i was able to join this group from 4th grade-6th grade. i had moved to the school in second grade so i needed to wait to get the second teacher's recommendation. that first year in GTChallenge, we spent learning about the founding of the United States, and the US’s early history. it was severely watered down to try and match our age group, but it was still much more advanced than the history we were learning outside of the program anyway.

every year the program does an “exhibition night” so show our parents what we’ve been working on, and to show the school/community why the program should stay. my first year participating in it, my whole class split the emancipation proclamation up into 15 parts, memorized it, then recited it.

i was ecstatic when i found out i was accepted into the 5th/6th year program. they had merged the two groups together for several years and they would learn about shakespeare and would perform a version of his “lighter” plays.

there is no real theatre for nearly an hour around my home, other than the high school productions from the three local high schools. and even then, theatre wasn't really big out there, so this was my first introduction into theatre.

we spent the first part of that year studying Iambic Pentameter, and how the theatre works. then we merged with the older class and began rehearsals for the show. that first year we performed “A Midsummers Nights Tale.” the speaking roles were played by the older class, while we played the ensemble and minor roles.

the next year we performed “Much Ado About Nothing” only this time i got a larger speaking role, and actually ended up playing several characters.

because of our groups size, and the teeny amount of space we had backstage, we didn't have any “tech” people. we were they tech. in my first show i was given responsibilities over props. and spent most of my time next to the light panel and the sound box, following along in the script and making sure everything was running smoothly. my next show i was given that same power.

in my 6th grade year, and last year in elementary school, they decided to have a school-wide show. my little sister actually auditioned and got a part in it, and one day when i came by to fetch her after rehearsal, the director(a teacher i’d had previously) asked me if i could help her figure out how to use the sound box to play the music for the musical. i told her i knew how to do it, and she asked if i wanted to join the production as a technician. i joined right then and there and became the lead tech for the show. i worked with the light tech and a few other stagehands to run the lights, sound, and props. i became addicted to the tech aspect of theatre.

when i moved to jr high, which is only for 7th and 8th grade years in my school district, i signed up for a drama class right away. there i learned more about improv, writing monologues/scenes, and performing contemporary pieces (pieces written after the year 1900, and are more modern in speech and acting styles). however i yearned for the backstage experience, and when the spring show was announced to e Annie Jr, i signed up to be a stagehand. that show i worked to help in any way i could. i arrived early, i stayed late, i put my heart and soul into my work. and it paid off. the next year i auditioned and got a minor role in the fall show “The Stuck Pot” i was dancing and acting onstage, i even had a line, but i was still able to help my stagehand friends.

that spring i was able to participate in the show “Once Upon a Mattress” a princess-and-the-pea based show. when time came for the director to pick technicians for jobs, she offered me the role of assistant stage manager, the number 2 role in the production, and the highest level of power that a student could have. however, she also had a brand new spotlight that she only trusted to three students to touch. i turned down the higher position in favor of working with the spotlight. that show i got to watch the cast perform every night from out makeshift tech booth. (a couple of tables in the back of the room), i knew uring the show that many of my friends were in it, and i enjoyed spending time with them. it wasn't until years later, that i would realize that all of my friends my senior year of high school, and everyone in my theatre class had been in that show. but that's a story for another time.

moving into high school a lot of problems hit, and i wasn't able to do the school shows. then i got my chance my junior year, that fall we did “The Addams Family” musical. and i was able to become a backup tech. my jobs were skewed. i assisted in building/painting/decorating the set, but spent rehearsals and show days in the tech booth, waiting in case someone got hurt or missed a show for some reason, and running things from the 2nd floor booth, all the way around to backstage and back. but  was a tech, and i was still able to be a part of something bigger than myself.

i remained active in theatre that year, but the next time i was able to be a tech was nearly a year later, my senior year we did “Xanadu” and i was a backstage tech, and i was given many large responsibilities, and i enjoyed every second of it. i can remember the dance moves, assisting people in and out or roller skates, and helping them navigate the cluttered backstage safely. i got to lower disco balls from the ceiling and pushed Zeus onstage on a glittering magical throne. i put feathers on large foam wings for a pegasus, and i picked up so much glitter every night that i would sneeze glitter out of my nose, and find glitter in my food at home.

xanadu was the last show that i was solely a tech for. my last show was Beauty and the Beast, performed the spring of my senior year. but that is a story for another day.

theatre is a part of me. the idea that everything you do contributes to a larger picture, and that even though your actions may never be noticed it still has a purpose. that little thing you do with a friend when you are walking across the stage where you rush to each other and give each other a hug  before moving along adds a character to the movement, and even if its never noticed you simply doing that movement makes it seem real.

during Xanadu, during the first scene, the muse Kira decides to go to the mortal world in disguise, while showing her brothers and sisters her discuss at one point everyone does a “oh no where does she go” bit. from my position backstage i saw a friend of mine mess around my looking down her top and then into pockets on her dress. no one else ever noticed that action except me. and when i told her that i loved it, she was astonished and happy that she had made me laugh.

that's what theatre is about. theatre is live, there are no editing crews, no do overs, no “take fives”. everything you see and hear is real. there is no lip syncs (except for EXTREME circumstances, there isn't ever a recording of the singing to begin with) every dance move, and stunt is done with the actor, right there in front of you in character. and if something goes wrong, that just means that you had the privilege of seeing a unique one of a kind show that no one will ever be able to see again. because , once that show is over, it's over.

that is why theatre is part of who i am

[authormarialberg]

Day 15 Word count: 30,651 words Word count goal: 30,000 words Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Ordeal Save The Cat: Bad Guys Close In

Today we have a special treat! When I started this NaNoWriMo daily inspiration project, I wanted to feature a NaNoWriMo author to inspire with personal NaNoWriMo stories. I finally got a taker!! Meet Bree Moore, today’s featured author:

Bree Moore has been writing fantasy since the fourth grade. She lives in Ogden, is wife to an amazing husband, and mother of four children. She writes fantasy navels between doling out cheerios and folding laundry.

Woven is Bree’s first published novel, the start of what she intends to be an epic writing career.

In real-life, Bree works as a birth doula and midwife’s assistant, attending women in pregnancy and labor, which is huge inspiration for her writing.

1. Why did you decide to do NaNoWriMo this year? I decided to do Nano because I REALLY wanted to get this particular book finished as fast as possible. What better way to do that than to write most of it in a month?

2. What inspired this year’s novel? This year’s novel is a sequel to my first published book Woven. Its working title is “Bound”, and is due to be published next spring. Plot-wise, it is a re-telling of the classic Arthurian love story, Tristan and Isolde.

3. What is your favorite thing about NaNoWriMo? What is your least favorite and how would you solve the problem (if applicable)? My favorite thing is feeling the creativity flow through me, and having an excuse to write constantly; it’s one of the things I most love to do in this world! As for my least favorite thing, it would probably be how restricted my writing time is. I have four kids, and I often feel restricted in when I can write, which is especially hard during NaNo when the ideas are flowing so fast! If I could, I would hire a babysitter a few times a week to get more writing time. Right now that’s not feasible, so I do the best I can and feel very lucky to have an awesome husband who steps up to give me time to write.

4. What advice do you have for other writers attempting NaNoWriMo or what is the most important thing you’ve learned from participating? Get it down, and don’t be afraid to let it be dirty! The biggest mistake I see is when new writers are working on an early draft and they are CONSTANTLY going back to FIX things – rewriting entire sections of the first part of the book as they go. Instead of fixing every little plot hole in the first draft, especially during Nanowrimo, go back, make a note, and KEEP WRITING. DON’T STOP! The book will still be there when you are finished, and if you make the note and keep writing as if you already changed it, you’ll make your goal in no time! The other bit is this: don’t burn yourself out writing TOO fast. If you haven’t been writing every day, Nanowrimo can be overwhelming. It’s like a muscle – stick to that minimum word-count for the first few days, maybe get a little bit ahead, but if you do too much too fast you might burn out and your word-count may never recover. Just take it easy – the tortoise wins the race, remember?

You can find more Bree Moore on the internet at:

www.authorbreemoore.com

https://www.amazon.com/Woven-Bree-Moore-ebook/dp/B073XVW3WQ

www.facebook.com/AuthorBreeMoore

www.twitter.com/AuthorBreeMoore

Feeling super-inspired? Go write those words!

Need a little more inspiration? Here are today’s prompts:

#vss very short story

Ted followed the pheromone trail. He enjoyed pushing dirt uphill all day; it inhibited his urge to question his existence. Ah, there it was the sweet scent, of purpose.

Plotting with Tarot

The Ordeal Card: Page of Swords- news that is often about legal matters, contracts, conflict, problems or gossip; you need to be on your guard at present and stay mentally alert. You may have to keep your eye on everyone and everything to ensure you miss nothing.

The lowest point for MC: Five of Swords – Fear of defeat, opening old woulds, fear that history will repeat itself, that he will be hurt again.

The thing your MC will lose or thinks he loses during the ordeal: Wheel of Fortune upside-down- apparent bad luck, delays and setbacks, a fall from grace or power, plans not working out.You may find yourself having to repeat something you did a while back or it may be that something you did in the past has now come back to haunt you.

My interpretation: The Ordeal Card is right on the mark. My protagonist just found out that his son has been forging his name on legal documents that could cost him his life savings and more. He may relate this to his brother’s financial losses and lack of moral compass, opening old wounds. He thinks he has lost everything, everything he has worked so diligently for and he blames himself. He feels that he must have done wrong by his son for him to betray him so totally. My protagonist is definitely approaching his dark night of the soul.

Ask Your Character

Do you have any last wishes?

What have you learned from life? The most important things?

Has an illness or tragic event changed you?

Word Of The Day

opprobrium: n.  1. something that brings disgrace or reproach; 2. public disgrace from conduct considered outrageous or shameful.

8 Action Verbs:

answered               classified          corresponded          evaluated

incorporated         modified           reduced                    stimulated

Poem prompt

Since today’s theme is Ordeal, I liked a poetry prompt from Presser Poets’ Writing Prompt Monday from back in July: The Monster Under The Bed.

Betrayal

I look into your eyes with fear Fear that you will lie Lie to cover your own fear Fear that you will tell the truth Truth that will destroy our hopes

Hopes I built through sweat and toil Toil and abuse of the daily grind Grind, grind, erode my creations Creations like you, your trust and your home Home that your selfish greed did forsake

Forsake your mother, her love knows no end End of the road, I can’t forgive Forgive these crimes, I raised you better Better life is not wealth Wealth was trust and respect

  Awesome Sentence Challenge

From The Longman Handbook for Writers and Readers (6th Edition) by Chris M. Anson.

Avoid unnecessary Nominalizations: When you create a noun from some other kind of word. Example: the verb complete becomes the noun completion, or the adjective happy becomes the noun happiness.

As you write, pay special attention to nominalizations that:

Draw readers’ attention away from a sentence’s proper focus

Lead to vague sentence subjects or objects

Cause you to leave important information out of a sentence

  Today’s Simple Task

Imagery: The most shocking or devastating thing that could happen to a symbol, icon, or thing.

Warm-up Exercise

Have your protagonist write his or her will or manifesto.

Recommended Word Crawl

Over The Garden Wall Word Crawl

Thank you to Bree Moore for her inspiring words.

Happy Reading and Writing!

#NaNoWriMo Day 15: The Protagonist’s Ordeal and Featured Author Bree Moore! Day 15 Word count: 30,651 words Word count goal: 30,000 words Mapping the Hero’s Journey: Ordeal…