Hi!!

Happy Valentine's Day! I see a few familiar faces and a lot of new ones, so hi I missed you and hi it's great to meet you! If you don't know me, I'm Quill! I'm 19 and my pronouns are she/her. I joined the CB in 2017 and left around 2022ish. I had three AEs, Harper, Ace, and Bean, and my captcha Basil.

I'm currently in my second semester of college, which has been going pretty well! I'm majoring in English Education, which I love so far, and I'm considering a minor in writing or theatre. I've been able to get involved on campus, which has been fun- I'm in two choirs, taking voice lessons, and I'm in a theatre group! We're doing Into the Woods this semester and I was just cast as Little Red Riding Hood, which I'm super excited about. I'm also currently going through sorority recruitment, which has been fun but very draining. College has definitely been a huge adjustment, but I really like all of my classes and the people I've met so far!

Other life updates: I graduated high school (obviously); I moved away from home for school; I was on the news with my job (it was so cool); I recently visited Europe for the first time (I visited my aunt in London over winter break, it was so fun); my family rescued another dog, bringing our total up to four (her name is Babushka and she's the sweetest thing); I'm starting my first field placement next week, so I'll actually get to work with students at a high school near campus; and at the end of the month I'm going to Rhode Island with the women's choir I'm in to perform at the ACDA conference (which is a pretty big deal I'm very excited).

I've missed the CB, I'm so happy to be back for a visit. This place was such a huge part of my life, and it still shows its impact on both me and my writing. It'll always have a special place in my heart <3. Old people I'd love to catch up, and if you're new and want to chat I'd love to get to know you!

-Quill <3 

ps, Hi Admins!! Missed you guys too! :)

Thanks, Quill. It's good to hear from you!

Admin

Hello!

A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far, far away...there was a forum for Cricket readers known as the Chatterbox. I grew up on Cricket mags from the early 2000s and was a CBer from roughly 2011–2017. It's always nice to come back and say hi to old pals, many of whom are going on to college and beyond. It's also delightful to see many new faces and find that the CB is as ever a welcoming home for budding writers and dreamers. There are so few online spaces dedicated solely to young people, so the CB stands out like the gem it is. And of course, a big thank you and a warm hello to the Admins who make it all possible!

As for what I'm up to...nothing terribly new or exciting. I work in a publishing company doing Boring Adult Deskwork. When I was a kid, I used to wonder what people in office jobs actually do all day. Write lots of pointless emails? Open Excel spreadsheets, nod sagely, and close them? You know--Boring Adult Deskwork. BAD for short. And by that, I mean I manage schedules and handle all the tedious administrative tasks for writers, editors, and translators so they can focus on bringing their cool stories to life. In practice, that involves writing a lot of emails and tracking 50+ book series at a time in various spreadsheets and software. When something goes wrong, it's my job to find solutions and get the translation teams the help they need. I also get to read many samples of people's work, offer translation or editing advice, and connect with awesome individuals the world over. Turns out, BAD's not so bad after all!

In my free time, I hold down various side jobs in translation. Currently wrapping up my 14th translated novel and starting on number 15. I also translate for two different game companies! It's a lot of work, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Outside of work...I was in the hospital a lot last year, but that's neither fun nor interesting. Wow, I really didn't do anything, huh...

As ever, a million thanks to Cricket for continuously nurturing my love of storytelling and human connections! Hope to see some familiar faces this Valentine's Day.

Ruby, it's so good to hear from you again! Thank you for checking in. Best wishes for the coming year,

Admin

@Hawkstar: 

The academic writings are a mixture of both, although in a semi odd way. Most (although not all) of the the philosophy ones are for independent study type classes I’m doing with university professors. I’m not officially enrolled at their schools, so it’s…almost extracurricular school, I suppose? Academic enrichment. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m learning so much through the assigned readings, writings, and probably mostly just my one on one conversations with the profs!

As for my preferred mythologies, although I have written my own set of mythologies and religions for my fantasy world, I am a huge fan of pretty much every real world mythology! I especially love taking a comparative view, but if I had to choose one that I love the most…it would have to be Ancient Egyptian mythology, I believe. I’ve always been fascinated with ancient Egypt, so much so that my wee self checked out every relevant book to try to learn to read hieroglyphs! 

I read over a little bit of your Ski Lodge, and I must say I love the setting! You writing style is also wonderful, and I may have to come back later and read more now that I’ve gotten started... 

And, I’m afraid I tend to hold my poetry quite close to me chest…something that has remained true since my time on the CB. I am flattered that you’re interested, though! 

@Amethyst:

Greetings! It’s wonderful to meet you. Oh, interesting. I’ve always wondered how the “CB language”, if you will, would evolve over the years. Does the present CB have any unique expressions of its own? 

And, it’s lovely to hear that you’re working on reviving Kyngdom! And while I was extremely confused (although at the time I didn’t think so) when I first joined the story, it holds a special place in my heart. I’d love to hear what y’all are working on over there, if you’re at all interested in sharing. :) 

@Moon Wolf:

Hello, Moon Wolf! It’s lovely to meet you. It is so cool to see how AEs have passed the test of time—in fact, they seem as if they might be even more popular than they were when I was last here! It’s so cool that you have seven of them. Do you still utilize italic, bold, etc. to differentiate?

I’m also very happy to hear that Kyngdom is still up and kicking! 

As for your question—which is of the very good variety—well…most memorable part of the CB? This is a very hard question, and I must say I could be asked this probably a hundred times and always give a new answer. The CB was very memorable for me in general! However, for today, I will answer with: the creativity of other CBers. There are Ski Lodges and solo writes and picturings (written and otherwise) and poems and stories and debates and goofy thread ideas and unique phrases that will likely forever live in a special space of my mind plane, opting to pop into my working mind space whenever they see so fit.  

There's so many people to reply to and I'm being really rude to the Admins (I'm so sorry for posting so many times in a row; I promise this is the last one)! So here's some quick @s for everyone I have yet to reply to:

@Starseeker: hi! Ooh, Art History, very cool~ I hope working in an art museum goes well for you! I love art museums and I bet that's a super cool job

@Gracia: hello! I agree this is one of the best little corners of the internet :D Woah, journalism- sounds awesome!

@Quill: I remember you! It's great to see you again. It's really cool you're majoring in English Education! Good luck with Into the Woods and everything else you're doing!

… And I think that's everyone? I hope I didn't miss any old CBers; if I did, please don't take offense. I'm just very tired rn

You're not being rude to Admin at all. We're delighted to be able to facilitate conversation between older and newer CBers.

Admin