Writing Workshop

It was very, very strange for me to have to criticize the workshop leader's piece. It's one thing when you're at school dissecting other students' work or a core book. With students my age, I don't expect them to write at an award-winning level, so correcting their grammar or spelling or formatting is simple. Even with John freaking Steinbeck, you are able to either commend or criticize him, because, well, he's dead. It's not like he can defend himself. But when you are sitting in a room with a person and you have no choice but to tell him things that he did wrong, it is kind of nerve-wracking. I mean, if I were in the position of the workshop leader, I would want to get that advice, but as I am the type of person who hates hurting people's feelings, it hurt me to do so. Especially since he was 25 and I am only 14. It felt like I was in no position to judge him. I understand that criticism helps you and makes you stronger, but too many people get offended when people are only trying to help them with their work. Even though Alex told us to rip him apart, it was still uncomfortable because I'm not used to helping people by giving my own negative opinions.
I was not very proud of the writing I did for the workshop. Towards the end, I sort of just winged (wang?) it because I was sleepy and partly delusional. I quoted this guy named Alan Watts, really just because I found a quote from him while I was procrastinating. It didn't really have anything to do with what I was writing, but I tied it in anyway. Throughout most of it, all I was writing were my past experiences at trying to make friends. I hated how self-pitying I sounded. I think I tend to do that a lot, make people feel sorry for me because I didn't have many friends growing up. At first, I only told three stories from my early childhood, but I didn't have enough pages so I wrote one for every year of elementary school. I sort of ripped apart this girl named Lee Ella, but to be fair she was awful to me, and now she lives in Israel so it's not like she'll ever know, anyway. One thing that I think I did well, if I must say so is that I made my horribly embarrassing experiences sound humorous. I think that people like to do that when they feel bad for themselves. They feel like making a joke out of it will make them feel better, and like I said in my writing, embarrassing moments make for great stories in the future. Immediately after something happens, you think that you'll never tell anybody because it was too awful, but in a while, it's just a funny story.

A Resolute Piece of Pink Construction Paper

Today is January 1st, 2013. This general time of year is meant for giving, so I am giving you all my personal goals that I hope to reach this year. I wrote down ten of them, and I hope to achieve at least seven.

1. WORK TOWARDS MY GOLD AWARD. I'm a Girl Scout, as some may know already. I'm a Senior (I think) and I got my Silver Award last year. The Gold Award is an independent project that "reaches beyond the Girl Scout organization and provides a sustainable, lasting benefit to the girl's larger community." Girls usually earn their Gold Award in their Junior or Senior year.
2. GET ON THE HONOR ROLL. I just barely got on the Honor Roll in Quarter 1 with a 3.6667 GPA. In the past, I've gotten on the Honor Roll for one quarter per year. This year, I want to get on the Honor Roll every quarter. I think it might be attainable.
3. BE MORE POLITE. Although I think I'm a generally polite person, I realize that too often I take compliments without returning them, and I don't say bless you all the time, and sometimes I'm mean without thinking about it. I just want to be nicer this year.
4. GO OUTSIDE MORE OFTEN. I hate the outdoors, but I really want to experience more in the outside world. I want to take walks around the neighborhood, and learn how to, God forbid, climb a tree. Also, I might get my parents to buy me a quad to ride in Pennsylvania.
5. PAY MORE ATTENTION TO PERSONAL HYGIENE. Okay, don't jump to conclusions. I am a generally clean person. But this year I want to remember to wash my face every morning and brush my teeth three times a day like I'm supposed to.
6. NO MORE SODA AND COOKIES. Last year, I gave up soda, but I still caved every once in a while. But this year, I am going totally without and adding cookies to the mix. I have no self control when it comes to cookies.
7. LEARN THE NATIONAL ANTHEMS OF FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES. I just think that this would be a cool skill. I plan on mastering the Canadian, British, Scottish, Australian, and Guyanese national anthems by the end of the year.
8. READ TEN BOOKS. My reading has been sadly lagging lately. Enough said.
9. LEARN HOW TO COOK TEN MEALS SUCCESSFULLY. Cooking is a useful skill. I think that if I learn ten family recipes, then I'll be okay if I ever have to be on my own.
10. GROW MY HAIR OUT (NO HAIRCUTS). I love my hair. Part of my elaborate Gold Award plan involves donating my hair, which I was supposed to do last week, but I chickened out. I think that if I grow my hair out this year, I will have enough to donate without my hair being too short.

That's it. I'll be checking off the boxes as I complete them. Happy 2013!