When the leaves turn crisp, brown, and fall I know something is coming… My favorite season. The start of what seems like new beginnings. When the leaves crumble and resprout so do I. In the fall the air is fresh of cinnamon, pumpkins, and pie. The beginning of the holidays with family and friends resume once again. Pumpkin tea with a side of Gilmore Girls. Outfits become cuter as the layering begins for the fast coming winter. A cute scarf to go with the most perfect pair of ugg slippers is almost as fall as it gets. As much as I love winter(only because of christmas and my birthday) I do love fall a little extra. The thought of being cozied up in a warm delightful bed watching seasonal movies and special episodes of my favorite shows. Cooking and baking with my favorite soul, as we watch the rain pour down through the window we briskly pour the batter into the pan. Another anticipated rainy day. As the fireplace crackles and the rain patters I read the most enrapturing book. As I lay in bed thoughts flood through, thoughts of love, romanticizing, and adoration. The way a faultless fall finishes must intend falling in love.
This year is different, and that sounds weird, but it truly is. When I was younger, I always dreamed of being a high schooler; the freedom, the friends, and more intrigued me. Now that I’m 14, I wish I was 6 again, and all I was worrying about was what color twinkle toes I would get for my birthday. Now theres always another rumor, another assignment ,another lecture from my mom about being responsible. This years different I’m not12 going into 8th grade, my mom’s not driving me to school anymore my brother is, my dad isn’t constantly checking in on me and my plans but now let me be.In 3 days ill be 15 and I’ll be able to drive in 6 months. That also means my next birthday is my last birthday with my brother before he goes to collage. The thought of not living with each other is hard to wrap my head around.I haven’t spent more time with anyone then him, although we used to argue a lot we were never not there for each other . Although sometimes he is my biggest opp i guess just looking out for me, i can’t imagine not living with him.Similar thoughts crossed my mind as I was helping my friend pack for college as we packed her room she found old photos and letters and told me to enjoy high school and cherish my time with my senior friends. That came back to me at the start of school this was my friend last first day of high school , I cant imagine school without her. Im not the biggest fan of school but my 2 best friends make it 100 times better. They have made high school in the short time ive been here so much better. I could never imagine better friends. I guess all things have to end and evolve but i wish i could go back and tell 6 year old me to stop dreaming about being a high schooler and enjoy being a little kid.
Now, this isn’t the Cold War, and she’s no communist, but boy, is she something. In this past week, a lot has happened in my life. My junior year of high school has begun with lots of work on the horizon. I’ve started playing volleyball at a club. I failed my driving test, and my sister left for Italy, Rome, never to be seen again.
Before she went on her adventure to the land of independence and pizza, I had been preparing myself to live the quiet life. Spending my days being able to sit anywhere in the house that I wanted to without an overwhelming presence always a room or two over. As I sat at my desk, imagining myself being able to eat food out of the fridge without worrying about whose it was, my wonderful mother knocked on the door.
As she entered the room, I could feel that she had something serious to talk about, and serious it was… I asked her what she came to talk about, and as she began to speak, she said something that I was truly not expecting. My mother proposed the idea of a Russian girl, who had been my sister’s best friend and travel buddy to many places around the world, to live inside the house as my sister was leaving and we would have the space.
I thought about it for a while, and after listening to the circumstances of this Russian girl and being as I lived with an older sister who has one of the strongest personalities I’ve ever seen, I thought, “Sure, why not? It won’t be any harder.” and, well, I was right.
As the school year started, I woke up. Another day of my usual morning routine, except this time I woke up to find someone else in the house. Now, this didn’t come as a shock as I knew she was moving in for about 3 weeks at that point; however, it was certainly different. Her presence brought along many changes in the environment that I wasn’t expecting.
As she came into the house, one of the first things I noticed change was my skin. Since she forced me to use some of her many skincare products from her two endless bags of products, it almost felt like she was the Santa Claus of skincare coming to my house to give me my gifts every other night.
Another unexpected change I experienced was the number of times I used the words “What was that?” or “Huh, could you say that again?” as I have nowhere near the experience of “Raglish” (Russian English) that my sister had. So, as she tries to talk about her day or whatever she is feeling, I only understand about 60% of what she’s trying to convey to me. Although I have a feeling this skill will improve with time.
Overall, my life really hasn’t changed all that much, but we will see in the future to come.
No, I’m just kidding. On a more serious note, I really do want you to imagine something. Imagine a guy named Paul, and all Paul wants to do is follow his dreams and go to NASA Academy. NASA Academy is perfect for Paul, whose only dream is to be an astronaut. However, NASA Academy is very expensive, and Paul does not have the money. What is Paul to do? Should he give up on his dream?
Now, I’m not being too fair to Paul. Yes, there are schools that have astronomy classes, so why not just go to one of those? It’s like telling a kid you’re taking him to Dojo Boom and giving him a trampoline. Not those big ones where you can do flips, but the small ones made for 3-year-olds. You know, the ones that say on the box “3-8 years old.” Here’s a visual if you need
Back to Paul, now it’s not necessarily the worst thing ever. Your kid gets to jump around, and Paul gets to see the stars—through a telescope… instead of flying among them. What would you tell Paul? Seriously would you look him in the eyes and tell him to jump on some small trampoline? I have to move away from the trampolines.
To make this even harder what if i told you Paul needs space to live. Not like in a literal sense but in a way that his life would be meaningless without it. You can only ever truly understand if you’ve love something so unconditionally, so purely, so passionately. I can’t expect you to understand if you’re going to college for a job. Paul is going to college to live, to give his life meaning. Who knows maybe Paul is just being difficult, dramatic, extra. I guess most dreamers are. Paul will have to choose, and thats if Nasa even accepts him. Ha! Paul hasn’t even been accepted and he’s worried about everything else. Heres another thing about Paul, he stresses too much but we all do… right?
I’ve definitely gone over the 150 word mark so I guess, Im done.
My brother and I have always been very close. We have a two-year age difference but that didn’t stop us from being each other’s best friends. As kids, we rarely fought; the older we get, the less we fight. I feel like I was gone most of the summer and now that I’m thinking about it, I feel guilty for not spending enough time with him before he left.
For the past two years, all I’ve heard about at home was college. I got so sick of hearing about it and it bored me. There was no way that my brother was going to college, it never felt real to me. Just yesterday I got a long text from my brother. In his text, he told me how appreciative he was for having me as a sister and how much he will miss me. I don’t fully believe that he is in Wisconsin right now. When I come home and see his empty room for the first time, it will hit me.
I want to go to college. I want freedom again. I want to be able to do what I want when I want to do it. I’m sick of having every day of my life planned out for me. I miss driving in my car in the middle of the night blasting music. I miss driving and the freedom it gave me. I used to be able to get Starbucks every morning before school. I used to be able to go out on the weekends and go anywhere I wanted at any time. I used to be able to take showers when I wanted without getting in trouble. I’ve never had an issue with my phone distracting me while doing homework yet I still have to turn it in according to their schedule. I don’t even have instagram. I used to be in control of my life. I used to be able to make my own decisions. Sometimes being here feels like my life has been taken away from me. Soon I will get to college.
Clara and I met on orientation day of our junior year – she, a tanned exchange student from Brazil, and I, a nervous transfer from a school thirty minutes away. We sat next to one another in the media lab, logging into our school emails, and began to chat. “When’s your birthday?” she asked randomly, in an attempt at small talk. I told her “today.” She looked at me incredulously, decided I was joking, realized I was not, and then burst into wonderful, elated laughter. It was at this moment that I knew we were going to be friends.
Over the school year, we started to spend classes, breaks, weekends and even an entire break together. Clara saw me at my best and at my worst and loved me through it all. She was my number one cheerleader, especially when I ran for school president.
But it’s not just me and her other friends that Clara extends her love to. It’s to the unlikely people, the not reciprocating people, and the probably undeserving people that she does also. She wrote the boy that bullied her a heartfelt letter at the end of term, for example.
Clara’s love knows no bounds because she sees the beauty in everyone and everything, and it’s this that makes her so beautiful herself.
My mom has always said I have the most amazing talent for choosing friends. And I might have to agree. Because my friend Clara has got to be one of the most incredible people I have ever had the privilege of knowing.
PC: Me
Clara does everything to the extreme. When happy, embarking on a hike in the Santa Barbara wilderness, she grins and belts out songs off-key. When sad, saying goodbye to her roommate, she sobs as if they will never see each other again. When anxious, writing English paper at two AM, she twists her hair into knots over and over and over again. When excited, telling a story to friends at lunch, her voice climbs and she leaps up from her chair. When afraid, having spotted a spider inside the tent, she screams like nobody’s business. And when she loves, she loves endlessly.
OVS Journalism Blog 
