The Avocado and Me

Friday, November 16th was a special day in my creative writing classroom. Well, I suppose it could be argued that  every  day is a special one in this particular class. There are twenty of us, seated in this giant ring of comfortable chairs, writing, writing, writing. We create, we laugh, we critique, and we make memories together. The creative writing community is almost like a family away from home. Even the room itself is wonderful - beanbags litter the floor, poetry excerpts are splashed across the walls, dim lights dangle from the ceiling, and in the back corner, we have a tea station and a fireplace. It's the kind of fireplace that is not, in fact, real, but still emits light and heat. Electricity is a marvelous thing, my friends. Oh. And there is another thing about creative writing that I absolutely adore: Food Fridays. Each and every Friday, someone is in charge of bringing a yummy snack to share with the rest of us, and although I never eat the frequently...

Happy November, everyone! Can you believe that we are nearly through with 2018? I sure can't - it's been a year of highs and lows, with plenty of wonderful experiences balanced with equally saddening events. As a world, we've experienced so many acts of hatred and violence and extreme natural disasters. But there have been beautiful things, too. Activists have been taking a stand for what they believe in all around the globe, the world of art and entertainment is ever expanding, and we are constantly working to spread love and abolish hatred. Personally, I've had the opportunity to meet wonderful new people at a brand new school, continue to work on my blog and spread a message of positivity and empowerment, and sprinkle kindness like confetti. Another highlight of this year for me has been connecting with my readers through Instagram. When I first downloaded social media, I was actually super nervous. Since the ripe age of six, I've been sat down in school aud...

Do you know what I absolutely love? When people tell me that I am super put together. Each and every time I hear these words, I look at the person blankly for a second, and then practically laugh out loud. Because the thing is, I am just as human as anyone else. I procrastinate on AP notes. I am super clumsy, and I trip on thin air. I fail tests, I get three hours of sleep sometimes, and occasionally, I run out of clean socks. Nobody is perfect; perfection simply is not a human quality, and is therefore impossible. We are all beautiful messes. No one is completely put together. It's so simple to forget that everyone around us, from the popular football player to the girl who seems happy each and every day, is facing their own individual obstacles. We tend to become so engrossed in our own little bubble of stress and troubles that the fact that everyone else is going through the same thing entirely escapes our minds. This happens to me all. The. Time. It's okay to be mess...