So, we had to write a reflective essay about the past year for English, and I firgured I'd share it with you guys for kicks ^^

September 2003-June 2004

The passage and perception of time is an interesting thing. Sometimes it seems like each hour is an eternity, and other times, it seems like three months ago was just last week. The school year is often like that, at least for me. On one hand, it seems like just yesterday that I was making my first lunch, standing around for an hour while schedules were passed out, and making new first impressions. On the other hand, I can't believe it's only been ten months.

The 2003 to 2004 school was...interesting, to say the least. A lot happened, and there were times when I couldn't see an end to the list of things I had to do. I made friends, lost friends, spent hours meticulously creating digital thumbnails of photos, sewed lots, learned new things, and generally got very little sleep.

The year got off to a rather shaky start in September. I managed to have a major fight with one of my long-distance friends the very first week of school, and we sort of haven't been on speaking terms ever since. That aside, it was mostly just the usual routine of forcing my body to be sentient at six am in the morning, and adjusting to new teachers.

October, however, was a different story. Mid-October, my father and I traveled to Washington state and British Columbia for about a week and a half, and I think the phrase 'trip of a lifetime' would be a pretty accurate description. I got a chance to meet Clare and Jo, two people who I met through a friend and common interests, and had been exchanging e-mails/letters/IMs with on a regular basis for nearly a year, in person. And they turned out to be just as funny, friendly, attractive, and generally cool in person as they were long-distance. It's not really an experience that can be easily summed up, but a few of the high points included: my first taste of sushi, the almighty dancing Angry-Bear, Clare and Jo being incredibly cute, getting thoroughly beaten at Dance Dance Revolution, and navigating a foreign bus system all by myself.

November and December were fairly ordinary months. I sewed some, took notes, wrote essays, and mostly sat around freezing and piling on the blankets. The only exception was that now that I had a real job, life guarding at the JCC, I actually had money to afford presents for all of my friends. And buy presents I did. As well as burning CDs, and writing massively long cards. I also made the acquaintance of Marina, who was a friend of Clare and Jo's, and has turned out to be both wonderfully silly, as well as my voice of reason in recent months.

Sadly, January and February were far from ordinary, and not in the enjoyable way. I managed to hit yet another emotional low after Christmas vacation, probably due to the fact that cold and lack of sun isn't really good to me, and it began months that can be described as 'My Trip to Hades'. I had a huge string of projects to get done by the beginning of April, which meant work, work, and more work. Starting in early February, and moving all the way through March, I was stressed about everything. I got snappy with friends, had minor issues get totally out of control, and it was largely not a fun few months.

Come April, I somehow managed to get everything done - costumes, school work, websites. I went to Anime Boston, the local Japanese anime convention, Easter weekend, and had a wonderful time. I met new people, got a chance to catch up with some old friends, and also got to meet a local online friend, Mara, in person, and generally spent lots of time being silly and having fun with her and her girlfriend Nicole. A week later, it was off to Louisiana, where I discovered that there are still people who wish they were living in the Confederacy, and that New Orleans has a fascinating history but no decent grocery stores. From there, I had my first experience flying by myself, out to Seattle to SakuraCon and visiting Clare, Jo, Marina, and all of my other wonderful west-coast friends. The weekend...well, it had it's high points and low points. Emotions were unfortunately running a bit high, but I had a wonderful time seeing people again, and meeting some for the first time, as well as bringing home my very first costuming award.

May was a bit of a non-month, and then June included more sewing, meeting new people who actually live nearby, and largely looking forward to summer. Which leads me to now. One week left to school, and ten months of it behind me. It was a wild ride while it lasted, one of friends and cakes and teen angst and sewing. Not sure it's an experience I'd like to repeat, although it definitely had its moments. Looking the future, I have a whole summer of sleep, learning to drive, and seeing friends again to look forward to. Next year, on to Mass Academy, AKA school for the intelligent masochist. It should prove to be quite a trip.

***

And now I'm feeling all nostalgic after writing about my trip last October. I miss you guys, hell, I miss everybody. There's AE, at least, I guess.

Also, I love the smell of summer rain.