Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket

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