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Happy Valentine's day
Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
Happy Valentine's day
Happy Valentine's day!
Hi everyone, I hope you've all been doing well. I almost forgot about today; I'm glad I didn't. I hope some other older CBers show up :P
I'm getting ready for graduation--this is my last semester of high school--and have been enjoying the last few months of it while it lasts. I still don't know what I want to do for a career--"writer" vs vet/something similar--but at least I've narrowed my college selection down to 2 really awesome colleges.
I had my 18th birthday in January, so that was exciting. For those of you who are still young and wondering what growing up is like, or how grownups survive, or what the secret enlightenment is that comes with age--the secret is, there isn't one. When I was little I used to think I'd completely change when I became a grownup, but I'm learning now that no, that's not the case--you're always going to be the same person, just under a different set of circumstances. You have to learn to be mature and responsible yourself, but it's comforting to know that every other adult went through the same stressful time of change that you're going through, and they made it out alive--so you can too.
Also some more advice, which is unfortunately rather difficult in practice: be in command of yourself. And by this I mean, liberty is not doing whatever you want. When you cave in to every one of your desires, you start to lose command of yourself. Online videos (aka procrastination) are a big one for me--it is hard to resist the urge to just watch one quick video. And another, and another. Instead of denying myself that comfort, I get lazy. And that's not how a person grows. Don't let your desires control you; don't get lost in the self-love movement. It's as simple as just saying no and stepping away from the distraction/irresponsible activity. Discipline doesn't feel good, but when you get strong enough to put aside the addicting "junk foods" of life, you will be set for success!
I've recently gotten into the hobby of ant keeping...Think of it like the land equivalent of keeping fish, haha. I was considering being an entomologist for a while, but I decided I just enjoy bugs as a hobby. I think it's just the coolest thing to catch queens and watch them raise their colonies...I caught mine over the winter while they were hibernating under rocks. I have carpenter ants, acrobat ants, and a couple other genera. Does anyone else like keeping bugs?
This year our flock of sheep had 7 lambs, and they are the cutest! We got some really unusual colors this time--a brown one, a brown speckled one, and even a black and white one.
It actually hasn't been too long since I've seen some of you on YWP. I was sorry to hear about the classrooms. They've never done that sort of thing before, until now. I think something bad must have happened elsewhere on the site. The moderators even deleted my school's creative writing club classroom, and my teacher wasn't breaking any rules.
And to those who don't know me, greetings and hello! My name is Micearenice. I joined the CB in October 2015 and left in August 2019. (Though I stuck around on Kyngdom until a few months ago.) I was twelve back when I first joined, and my favorite activities were ski lodges, roleplays, and games. Today I'm hoping to see some familiar faces from back then :)
It's good to hear from you, Micearenice! I, too, am hoping we hear from more Chatterbox alums today! You're the first.
Best wishes,
Admin
submitted by Micearenice, age 18
(February 14, 2021 - 11:46 am)
(February 14, 2021 - 11:46 am)
It's good to hear from you, Mice! I used to be pretty set on going into the writing field as a career, but film production and other forms of art would be fun careers too. I doubt I could ever work a regular desk job, haha. There's a lot of colleges I'm interested in--I plan on just applying to all of them so I have a big selection, and I doubt I could narrow down my choices anyways. (Sometimes, not being picky can pay off.)
I believe I've already said this, but ants are so cool, as are bugs in general. When I was a little kid I used to spend hours watching the rolly-pollies that lived on our sidewalk. I like lots of "weird" animals/creatures, for the most part--like snakes, rats, and worms. I've never really "kept" bugs, but in the past I used to always raise some monarch caterpillars and then release them once they became butterflies. I haven't had enough time to do that in recent years, though. I have gotten an interest in bone preservation, though. There's a small woodland behind our house where there's all sorts of animal bones, right now we're trying to preserve a jawbone of an opossum.
A close friend of mine has sheep, though I've never really had anything to do with them. (They are pretty cute, though.) Do you still have chickens? I still have a couple, though we've been planning on getting rid of most of them.
I think that's all I have to say. Happy Valentine's Day!
(February 14, 2021 - 1:17 pm)
Film production would totally be fun. I've been working on a TV series with a classmate and am interested/hopeful to see if it goes anywhere.
Wow, how does bone preservation work? That's cool! Have you ever preserved a whole skeleton? You could probably have a lot of fun with some roadkill.
I do still have chickens! Our two adult roosters are in "jail" right now since they are aggressive to humans. Out of the 6 chicks I hatched in October, 1 rooster has managed to survive life on the free range, so he'll inherit the rest of the flock when he's older.
Aw yeah, I remember you had quite a massive army of chickens before. I still think it's so cool how your family did chicken shows!
(February 16, 2021 - 10:16 am)
(February 14, 2021 - 2:34 pm)
Hi Micearenice! It's so good to see you! I hope more people show up. I've had a reminder in my phone since probably last Valentine's Day because I didn't want to miss this :)
I'm starting to look at colleges too (I'm a junior), but I don't have too much figured out yet. I know I want to be an elementary school teacher, but I don't know where I'll go to school.
I've been doing my flute lessons virtually since the spring and doing virtual auditions and festivals, which had definitely been interesting. I'm really glad I've been able to keep doing these things, but I really hope they can happen normally next year. My school is already starting to make a plan for going back full time in the spring, so I guess there's a good chance of things being better next year. I don't really feel safe going back with the entire school yet though, so I kind of hope it doesn't happen until next year when we've (hopefully) been vaccinated.
I'm so glad I got to see you Mice! Hi to anyone else that shows up! I'll probably stick around for a llittle bit to see who shows up. It's so good to be back. :)
(February 14, 2021 - 2:45 pm)
*squeals* *tacklehugs you*
DRAGONRIDER?!?! Oh my gosh hi!!!!! Not sure you remember me, but hi!! It's so good to see you again!!!!
(February 14, 2021 - 3:25 pm)
Hi Joan! Of course I remember you! It's so good to see you!! :):):)
(February 14, 2021 - 4:33 pm)
Ahh! You too! *hugs again*
I know you're a junior, but you said in your comment that you're starting to look at colleges? That's super cool! What colleges? I'm going to BYU Idaho this April, and I'm super nervous and excited to start!!
(February 14, 2021 - 8:21 pm)
I've been looking at University of Vermont, Boston College, and Boston University mostly, but once I know more about what kind of degree I need and stuff like that I'll probably look at others too. I've only looked at them online so I don't know where I'll end up going but it's exciting to start thinking about it! I think I'll be really nervous when it's actually time to go but right now it all seems exciting.
Good luck at college! I hope you have a great time! Too bad we won't be anywhere near each other since I live on the east coast.
(February 14, 2021 - 10:35 pm)
Thanks!! And yeah that's a huge bummer that we won't see each other, but I wish you luck when it's time for you to start going to college!!
(February 15, 2021 - 8:00 pm)
Dragonrider!!! It's so great to hear from you again!
I have a friend who's been working towards a teaching degree. She's been dual enrolling all of her classes, so she'll basically have her degree by the time she gets out of high school. It's been a lot of work for her...I don't envy her. Do you have a specific grade you want to teach? One of my favorite grades in elementary school was fourth grade...there was a great playground, lots of good memories, and a fair amount of drama, hahaha.
Oh, I hope everything can be normal next year too. I'm glad you've been able to do virtual lessons and stuff! My school reopened normally this year except there are mask rules and one-way halls. And the school dances have been iffy. Homecoming was delayed, the special January dance was delayed and then cancelled, and the other dances are up in the air too. Not that I especially love dances, but it is my last year to go to them!
It was great to see you again! Good luck on your college search! I hope you have a great rest of highschool.
(February 16, 2021 - 10:30 am)
*flying tacklehugs Micearenice*
HI!!!!!!!! Oh my gosh, I've missed you!!!! I sent you an email a while back, did you ever get it? Oh my gosh, anyways, congrats on turning 18, that's super cool, of course it's hard being an official adult but hey, it has some perks. How are you? How's life? I mean, I know you said how some of it is above, but I really want to talk more!!
I have to go for now... hopefully see you around some more!!!! *hugs again*
(February 14, 2021 - 3:29 pm)
Joannn!! (Ahhh I am so sorry to leave you hanging on an email!!! I will write you back soon!)
*tackle hugs back*
I am good, life is good! I feel like I'm stuck in a limbo between my regular life and the life that's coming up, so figuring out what to do with my time is tricky. I've been working on a new book, keeping up with the news, and taking economics, anatomy, freshmen comp II (dual enrollment), and soon, statistics. My job is currently "math tutor." It's super part time because I only tutor when students need me to. I help with Algebra I, II, and Pre-cal.
I made a lot of new friends this year. Funnily enough, no matter what college I pick (with one exception), at least one of my friends will also be going there, so I won't be totally alone when I move out.
One thing I am looking forward to now that I'm 18 is voting! I still haven't registered though.
So you're starting college in April? That's exciting! Unusual timing. Will you be living on campus?
(February 16, 2021 - 10:53 am)
Oh yeah, voting is fun. Gives you experience and you get to do your part to help our country. (Of course, this time around for voting wasn't as fun... but anyways.) I remember being so excited to do my part to help our country grow!
Ooh... you're working on a new book? So cool! What's it about? Also, you are a math tutor? Super cool! I'm honestly HORRIBLE at math, so I think that's great that you help others with that!
And yeah, I'm starting college in April. I'm super excited but a little nervous too! I will be living on campus with a lot of roomates (that are hopefully nice.) I'm going to BYU Idaho, and they do trimesters, so that's why it starts in April, instead of in the fall like BYU Provo does (where they do semesters.)
(February 16, 2021 - 7:40 pm)
Hi Mice! Welcome back (for today)! It's so bizarre to realize that several of the older CBers are now legal adults, wow. I feel like the CB has changed a lot since I joined (though of course a site like this is constantly changing) and it's so nostalgic to see people who were here when I first joined.
I don't think I could ever keep ants. Insects of any kind creep me out! It's cool that you are, though, and your lambs sound really cute too.
I'm lacking in other ideas of what to say, so I guess I'll just submit this now. Your post was so well-written it's hard to follow. :)
(February 14, 2021 - 3:59 pm)
Hi Kitten! Long time no see!
I remember how bizarre it felt a few years ago to see old CBers come back as adults. I was shy to talk to them...I think I thought they'd judge my childishness, haha.
I hope you have been doing well! Here is a picture of the youngest lamb, which was born a few days ago:
(February 16, 2021 - 10:59 am)