where did time fly

My oldest son will be a senior in High School this year.

I swear, it was just yesterday that he was my treefrog. His bottom was barely big enough to fit into my palm!

Now we're gonna have to do senior pics, senior prom, senior trip, worry about colleges... Ugh. So please indulge me a moment while I take a trip down memory lane. Because I'm not quite ready for my treefrog to be all growed up.

my son...is a JUNIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL

Could somebody please explain how today I woke up to discover my firstborn is a FREAKING JUNIOR?

My little treefrog. My 5 lb 6 oz baby who's little bottom fit into my palm...is a FREAKING JUNIOR. IN. HIGH. SCHOOL.

Now I know this should be about him and his awesomeness, but really, I'm gonn a make it about me. Because let's face it, I'm way too cute and way too young to be the mother of a 16 year old HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR.

He started a new school today. They aren't quite year 'round, but close. It's a Math and Science charter school (sadly 2 of his weakest subjects) but it's very student focused, with very small classes and an extended school day for students who need the extra attention. He's pretty excited about the school even though he's not too happy about his summer ending a month early.

My son is a JUNIOR.

I may need a day or two to process this. Wake me up before he graduates, mmmkay?

High school activities

What kinds of activities did you participate in when you were in high school? Or, if you're still in high school, what do you currently do for extracurricular activities?

As for me, I was a huge, huge, HUGE band geek in school. I was in the marching band and pep band (I played trumpet)--I was even drum major my senior year, which was totally fun and surprisingly hard. Gee, I wonder why people my age didn't want to listen to me boss them around. haha

I was also in the French club--we didn't really do a whole lot, except make crepes. Mmmmm, crepes...

Other than that, I didn't much after-school stuff, except for participate in the school musicals/plays (either by acting, or by playing trumpet in the pit orchestra). I'm soooo not athletic, so I didn't do sports. Trust me, it was safer for everyone that way.

What about you? Did/do you participate in extracurricular activities?

senior skip day

Long time ago, way back when (*cough* 1987 *cough*) my senior year in high school was winding down. We were putting together our Senior program, the slide show (didn't have PowerPoint back then) rehearsing for our Senior Play (Cheaper by the Dozen), getting ready for our last Prom, and organizing our very last Senior Parade and skip day.

Do Senior Skip Days still exist?

It was not an official skip day, but all the faculty knew that the majority of the Sr. Class would not be at school on that Friday. The administration couldn't sanction it, and prior to the actual day they would send out loads of memos reminding everyone that skipping was against school policy and punishable by detention or suspension.

We weren't scared. It was a long time tradition and we were going to enjoy every second of the day.

That morning we met at the park, took shoe polish to our windshield and drew Class of 87 on everything we could find. One of our friends brought a giant truck and loads of us piled into the back. And with our music blaring and our horns honking, we paraded through town before school started.

Then we headed toward Lake DeGray where we lounged around on the beach and soaked up the sun.

This is one of my fondest memories of my senior year. I have no idea if they still do this nowadays, but if they don't, I think the kids are totally missing out.

I decided to make this my blog topic because yesterday, a song came on the radio that was very popular during that time and it always makes me think of Senior Skip Day and our last hurrah.



Edited to add:
Because of the amazing outpouring a comments -- both on the blog, but also on Facebook, on writer's loops, and in private emails to Amanda -- Amanda has decided to give away two copies of "The Gift of Fear." PLUS, Rhonda was inspired by Amanda's post to go pick up her own copy. She's started reading and decided it was such an important topic that she's also decided to give away two copies.

So...drumroll please. The FOUR winners are as follows:
reticent lass
Sarah in NY (from private email to Amanda)
Julie Wright
Phyllis Towzey

Julie and Phyllis, please contact rhonda(at)rhondastapleton(dot)com and give her your mailing address so she can send your book. Reticent Lass and Sarah, please contact amandabrice(at)myway(dot)com and give her your mailing address so she can send your book.

Songs Of Our Youth

What song reminds you of high school? All the Fictionistas are chiming in on this one today:

For Kristen:

For me, it's Simple Minds, Don't You Forget About Me. Every time I hear that, I'm back in my BFF's living room, watching The Breakfast Club on VHS, eating nachos and talking about boys.





For Amanda:
Whenever I hear John Mellencamp and Me'shell Ngedeocello's cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night," I'm immediately transported to the summer in between junior and senior years of high school when I was working at a pizza place on Hilton Head Island (my grandma has a house there). I spent that summer hanging out with my cousin and partying at a beachfront mansion where this chick he was dating worked a nanny. That home happened to be owned by one Mr. John Mellencamp and the nanny was employed to watch his kids, but they were rarely actually there. I never met Mellencamp, but I got to see one of his gold records.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJAnL2k8d7A





For Rhonda:


OMG, so many songs bring me back to high school. But one immediately comes to mind: Prince's song If I Was Your Girlfriend--I distinctly remember this one chick in class who sang it over...and over...and over again. haha.



For Mel:
There are so many songs I can think of that take me right back to high school, but Van Halen Dreams from their 51/50 album reminds me of my senior year. It was our class song and nothing fit us better. And btw, this is still one of my favorite all time albums. Sammy Hagar = yum.




For Gwenster:

Senior year was all about Def Lepard. They stayed on the charts for so long and I admit to recording this video on VHS for instant playback...over and over and over....

Law School = High School?

Occasionally people will wonder how I can write about teenagers. "I hated high school," they say. "I would never want to go back."

Well, in many ways I did go back. At the age of 24, in fact.

Because that's when I started law school.

This is an observation made by pretty much anyone who has been a 1L. It's pretty basic when you think of it. High school, only you're legal to drink this time.

First of all, they give you lockers. We have these ginormously thick textbooks, so it makes a lot of sense.

Second, they assign you all your classes (at least your first year). Not only that, but they even assign your seat.

And don't even get me started on cliques. Wow.

And everyone wants to be all up in everyone else's business. Law schoolers gossip and spread even more rumors than high schoolers. Probably because our lives are so boring and focused on intense studying that we're just hoping that someone is leading a more interesting life than we are.

Of course, there are lots of section hookups and dating, which adds to the rumors and gossip. Yes, Mr. Brice was my study partner first semester. Enough said.

I found this video on YouTube. It pretty much says it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mdHHtMRldo

So yeah, is it really any surprise that I write about teens? In many ways, teens display more maturity than the average law student.

research papers for dummies

And by 'dummies' I mean ME.

My oldest son has 3 projects due within a week of each other...and then finals. This will be a busy week. (Of course, if he had started working on these projects when they were assigned instead of the week before they were due, this would be a whole different blog.)

I love to write. I do. I get to imagine things, then bring them to life on paper. Unfortunately, research papers are a different beast. And since my son's 8th grade teacher failed to teach him how to properly write a research paper last year, I'm doing it. (Of course, this entails that I must re-learn the process myself.)

BTW, it sux. Not the paper itself--he's actually done a pretty good job with that (although his spelling is atrocious!) What sux is the actual research and the dry delivery. No voice allowed.

Do you know how hard it is for me to watch my son write a voice-free paper? UGH! Especially when his written voice is so strong. But the guidelines were very specific. "Formal tone only."

"Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?"

In college, we were encouraged to write with personality. Even when writing dry term papers, my professors always encouraged us to develop our voice. It made reading and grading the boring texts a lot easier.

So this 'formal tone' thing goes against my grain, but my son managed to do a good job of keeping is voice strictly monotone. I'm proofreading it for him today. I have a feeling that when I'm done, I'm going to need to write something colorful, lively, and full of me.

Writer? High School? Not So Different After All

Hi, I’m Bria from Luv YA and I can’t tell you how excited I am to visit at Fictionistas. They are the cool kids and all. Which got me to thinking…Writing. High School…Not so different.

Check it out.

1. The In-Crowd
A word about high school, writing and life in general: there’s always a cooler table, no matter who you are. From here, I can see the agented tables, the published tables and one day a table up on a stage as The Guest Author.

Of course, I’m a huge believer in just deciding my table IS the cool table. Yeah, that typically works for me. And, just like high school, I love my table but there’s always a bit of table envy going on. I mean, can’t I sit over there with Meg Cabot?

2. Homework
Every once in awhile a new book comes out and everyone – I mean EVERYONE – is saying you HAVE to read this book. And I think, “Oh, I have to read that book.” But here comes the kicker…Now that I’m writing, I can’t just read the book. I have to study it.

Sound familiar?

Doesn’t the idea of having to do something for your own good always snatch a bit of the joy. Of course, just like with those books in school, most of the time I end up doing that shout-at-myself-in-my-head thing, “Why didn’t I read this sooner???”

Confession time: This weekend I will finally begin ‘Wicked Lovely’ – mock me now.

3. Class pictures
You get all spiffed up. You have some stranger sit you in front of a pull down “nature” backdrop. He takes your picture. They put it in a book. People hand you the book and ask you to sign it.

You thought the dreaded yearbook picture experience was over. Not if you want to be a writer!

4. Boys.
While I haven’t met a lot of boys while writing, I do spend a lot of time THINKING about boys and scribbling little thoughts about them…um, hey. That seems to also be a lot like high school. More time THINKING about boys. Writing about boys. Looking up boys on the internet. Checking out boys…Of course, it’s all in the name of research. Yeah, um, research. Research on how to write those boy characters.

So…I’m going to go do some more research now. Thanks for letting me visit ladies!

Tuesday Musings

I'm in a philosophical mood today. Full of wonderings and posturings. I will not, however, wax poetic. Let's preceed, shall we?

Why is high school called high school? It's not the highest form of school - that would be college. Shouldn't college be called high school? Then high school could be called medium school.

Are there other numbers of pencils besides the Number 2? If so, what are they used for?

After all that forced math, why do I still have no clue how to balance my checkbook?

Where is my checkbook?

What on earth made me think boys were so intimidating? Especially now that I know most of them are afraid of me.

Speaking of math, what is the new math? Where did the old math go?

My brain is starting to hurt. That is all.

Birthday memories, plus WINNERS of books!

Yesterday was my birthday, as Kristen mentioned. I'm now 32. The big 3-2. Yeah, I know it's not technically one of the "hallmark" birthdays, but whatev. LOL.

It's weird to think that one-half of my lifetime ago, I was a mere 16, having no idea where the twists and turns of life would take me. At that point, I still had NO idea what I wanted to do for a career. I was utterly, devastatingly in love with a fellow band member (obviously, that didn't pan out, haha). I also ate and ate and ate and had no clue my metabolism would ever slow down, LOL. *sigh*

When I was a teen, I liked high school, and I think it was a good time for me. I learned about myself during those years (something I neglected for a long time until just a few years ago, when I started to rediscover myself).

I learned about what kind of person I hoped to become (and how to improve the person I already was).

I learned about dealing with my peers, who were also on the brink of becoming adults (different people require different communication methods).

I also learned that adults weren't perfect (and thus, I should learn to accept people for who they are), and that life didn't always go as we wanted...or planned (so I'd better be flexible!).

Honestly, I'm grateful to be 32, carrying a lifetime of memories with me. I'm grateful that I went through so many weird experiences in school, that I REMEMBER what it felt like to be a teenager...because I think it helps me convey those emotions in my writing. And when I forget, I'm sure my 12-year-old daughter's experiences in middle school and high school will remind me. LOL!

So, what about you--do you still use some of the lessons from high school at your current age? What are the most important things you learned that you still carry with you?

Okay, let's also announce the winners from Monday's contest--each winner will receive his/her choice of a Colleen Gleason novel! And the winners are:

--SM2

--LoriT

Congrats to you both!! Please email Mel ASAP at oatmellow@gmail.com with your real names and mailing addresses, plus your choice of one of Colleen's books.