Bluebirds and Birch trees

 So much seems to have happened already this year. And although we have so much of it left, we've already seen so much.  I feel like I've suddenly grown-up, and even though I know I have a long ways to go still, I can't help but feel like it's not as bad as I've come to imagine.  Here I am, in my last year of high school, getting ready to land my very first job. Prepping to get a drivers license, and finally figuring out that I do in fact want to dye part of my hair.  It might sound normal to everyone who's already gone and done it all, but the fact of the matter is that for each and every person who's about to go and do it--it might be more than a little scary.  I find myself thinking more and more lately about the past, when I would play for the whole day with my beanie babies (you had at least one I'm sure!) and play dress up with my imaginary friends. But also, not much has changed since then.  I still play with my beanie babies because I did

18 days since I last posted on here. 18 days since I haven't really had much to say. 18 days. A number of people are going to be turning 18 this year. We're all panicking together. Though, I think I'm starting to panic less as I realize that I don't in fact actually need to panic. 18 is just a number. 18 is just another part of life. I want to change my thinking process, to no longer be fearful of simply turning another year older. Because now, more and more, I'm realizing just how blessed I am to have this life. 18 years alive on this earth, is a blessing. I've always not been one to hurry, whether to get my ears pierced, to learn how to drive, or be brave enough to go to a sleep over. My life is full of slower processes. Many people don't seem to grasp that. But those that do have come to respect the fact that that's a part of me, and who I am. That I like to take my time, because most times when I go blindly rushing in, it doesn't end well.

 I've been doing Tai Chi for 16 days now, and in the past week have had almost no back pain whatsoever! Frankly, I'm amazed at the fact that doing something so simple as Tai Chi, even if it's just a half hour out of my day, can provide such amazing results.  That and, a good number of the pains that I had been feeling, some of them were actually from me growing. I've grown an inch in the past four months, which does explain some things!  I've also been trying to grow mentally, especially in regards to my writing. I don't want to keep it hidden any more, and I don't want to just let it go unfinished.  My brain's previous logic was severely flawed which was, "I'm afraid of what will happen once I finish this, but I'm afraid to not finish this before a certain time in my life, so I won't work on it at all."  ^^^ try looking my profile picture in the eye and tell me that's not flawed logic. I don't want to keep my writing

 Today was full of more fun than I would have given it credit for this morning. Considering I was more than just a bit peeved when I realized I wasn't told about meeting up with friends to watch my towns parade, not to mention I didn't know the parade was today. However, once we got there things improved greatly! While this was the second year I've gone to go see the parade, and only a little under a year of knowing a whole lot of my friends here, today was still full of firsts. 1) I took pictures of the parade with my film camera. 1b) Someone moved right in front of my camera right as I took a picture of a team of horses that I wanted to get a picture of. 1c) My friend and I made a lot of sarcastic comments about some of the people in the parade, mainly the ones that were on their smart phones.. seriously! You're riding horses in a parade and you're on your phone!? Who does that? 1d) Very few people wave in our parade... and I don't know why. 2) I bought