So I was thinking today that about exactly a year ago, I was in England enjoying my summer. I seriously miss it so much! I've resolved that I'm going to find someway to get a flat in London and work with some huge Interior Design firm there. That would seriously be my dream life in about 2 years after I finish up school and everything. But since I've been reminiscing, I thought I'd share some pictures with you that I took on my trip there!

*These pictures are not for your use, but for your enjoyment :). If you feel so inclined, share with me your feelings on any specific pictures!
 
    The first thing we did after we landed in Heathrow was stop by Stonehenge!! It was kinda on our way to our to Derby which is where we were staying for a few days, and it's always fascinated my brother to no end.

           



    Then after Stonehenge, we made our merry little way up to Derby, where my dad had to do some business. Derby is actually not too far away from Nottingham, so we took the train there one day and enjoyed the castle and shopping district.

      

              

      

    The next day, we went to Chatsworth House, which is where the Kierra Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice was filmed. They didn't use the entire house, but only a few rooms. They used the Painted Hall (which painted ceiling and some grounds shots are shown below), the Statue Hall (also show below with the bust they made of Matthew McFaden for the movie), and exterior of the house (or mansion ..... whichever you pick, but there are TONS of pictures) as well as the gorgeous grounds. It's about a 10-15 minute drive from where we were staying in Derby. The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire actually still reside there today, though their private quarters are closed off to the public. The state rooms, some art galleries, and gorgeous grounds are all available to the public. It was actually raining when we went inside, but when we came out at about 6:00 PM (which is when it closes), the sun was shinning and the sky is an amazing shade of blue. None of the pictures have been touched up, except for the ones inside the house, as it was rather dark. P.S. there was a REAL Renoir in the house!!!! And it was one of his self portraits!!!!!!!!!!

             

               

       

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

              

    The remainder of our trip we spent in London and I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were a whole bunch of cool things going on in London that week and weekend when we were there, most importantly, the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out, so we got to see Harry Potter opening weekend in London!! I begged my parents to stay an extra three days so that I could get a signed copy of the 7th book from J.K. Rowling, but we came home as scheduled :(, but oh well. My trip was still fantastic and I can't wait to go back! And there was also a Star Wars exhibit in the courthouse area, hence the picture with the Storm Troopers :). We went to Big Ben/Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Kensington, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus. Enjoy!!

      

                

        

      

              

      

      

      


    I also have all the pictures from the Star Wars Exhibit if you'd like to see them, but there are tons!!!!! Thanks for letting me share this with as it means so much to me!!! Love you guys tons!

    Dreams are crazy things, I think. I have had a dream every night this week, and I remember them all! You know how dreams are usually random and correlated with things and emotions going on in your life? Well that doesn't seem to be the case with me, and I am definitely not complaining :). I am in no way as fantastical as my dreams seem and I am definitely not a dark person or at all obsessed with the things I dream about. Nevertheless, they occur in the strange thing that is my mind. Last night my dream was interesting. It actually felt like two dreams because I'm not sure how they connect together, but before I get into last night's dream, I want to show you my crazy imagination.

    The first one I remember is weirdddddd. It was about a crazy killer that tried to flip cars over and kill the people inside. My cousin and I (plus a whole bunch of other people) were going somewhere in an Expedition. As we were getting ready to go, a black pickup truck pulled up next to us and asked one of the event organizers a question. He didn't roll his window down all the way, just enough to show his eyes. I thought I recognized the eyes from somewhere, but I couldn't be sure because I was in the back seat. We then pulled out and started going on our merry little way and my cousin turned on the radio to check for traffic. However, instead of traffic, the radio was talking about a crazy car killer. I tried to shout over all the noise to tell my cousin that I recognized the guy in the black pickup truck from the news - he was the crazy car killer - and that he needed to be careful. He asked everyone to quiet down and just as the words were on the tip of my tongue, the black pickup truck came up next to us and I screamed, "It's him!" just as he threw his car into ours. We flipped a whole bunch of times and somehow the top flew off and the trunk popped open and we were all just hanging there by our seat belts. Once the guy in the pickup truck realized we weren't dead, he came over with a crowbar to finish the job he started. I tried to fight back by kicking him in the face as he walked by because I was the closest to him and I knew I'd be the first to die, but he caught my leg and raised his crowbar to break it when I woke up! Crazy huh?

    The next dream I think is pretty cool :). I was working in a hospital and the people there were really cool. This is going to sound really dumb, but the entire staff had superpowers, but no one outside of hospital staff knew about them. The first thing that I remember is that my two other girl friends and I were in the lobby and the front wall of the entrance was floor to ceiling windows. We see this incredibly cute guy out on the sidewalk and start giggling. In real life, I am nothing like this. I am far from shallow and immature in relationships, but anyways, back to the story. One of my friends has telepathic tendencies as her superpower and she knew he was going to enter the revolving door, so we got in just before he did and went around with him. We went around really fast and we finally stopped and all fell out, including the guy. We all got up and started talking and he shook all our hands. As he shook my hand, I saw a spark go up his arm. I'm guessing that my super power was the ability to see reactions and emotions in the body. My other friends were getting reprimanded by our superiors and I noticed the turquoise scrubs under his jacket. I unzipped it, but he turned me away with him laughing and saying, "We won't tell them just yet."
    I worked under a gorgeous Asian woman, who reminds me of the doctor in Just Like Heaven (with Reese Witherspoon), who could become invisible if need be. Later that night she had me scheduled with the Pediatric ward reading stories to the kids. I was totally excited because I love little kids and I have had the experience of helping them go through emotional healing as well as physical healing in real life. I guess the guy and I got to spend a lot of time together and got really close during the day. I remember talking with him before the reading started and somehow, I later found myself with him on the floor. I remember it was dark cause we were trying to put the kids to sleep, but he and I were off by ourselves while the stories were being read. I had my head on his shoulder facing the opposite direction as him. He was  talking to me and the only part I remember is at the end of his speech and he said "I'm afraid how you'll react." and I lifted my head from his shoulder and said, "I'm not afraid". I knew it was coming before he even moved a muscle. He then kissed me, but the weird part was, I could feel it even though I was asleep. I'm usually physically detached from my dreams, so that no matter what happens, I don't feel or experience elation, sounds incorporated from real life, or even touch. But that doesn't seem to be the case in this dream .... not that I mind ;). The kids who were still mildly awake started sleepily giggling and we pulled away and I hid my face in his shoulder. He moved so that I had to look at him and he cupped my face in his hands and we smiled at each other.
    The next thing I remember, was that I was sitting with the Asian woman in a huge seating area which is again surrounded by windows. There's a forcefield around the hospital, which is only visible from the inside and at night. Then all of a sudden while we're enjoying the quiet after a hard day's work, Hovertanks are rumbling towards us. We're cautious, but not afraid because nothing has penetrated the forcefields before. But they just slip in through the windows without breaking them or the forcefield which is supposed to keep us safe. There's a doctor McDreamy kind of guy and he explains what to do, as he's the leader of both the hospital and apparently, our super hero band. He explained that there were 3 foot gaps in the system and that it was possible for the tanks to go in and out. My guy then changed into a Human Torch like guy, except for the fact that he changed everything visible into the infrared spectrum, making everything obscured for the tanks. Then the Asian woman made us all invisible so that we could fight the tanks and keep everyone safe! I swear I have some weird, but awesome dreams :)

This dream actually caused me to pause and reflect and think about my relationship with my friends. In this dream I was with my little brother, 4 little sisters (which I don't have in real life), and two girls named Blair and Brooke. Blair was actually Leighton Meester from Gossip Girls and Brooke had medium length blond hair, but looked nothing like Blake Lively and was totally different in personality. Both Blair and Brooke were extremely wealthy and very materialist, although Brooke was 10x nicer to me then Blair ever was. To be totally honest, I don't know why I was friends with these girls, but in my dream I was with them. All I remember is that we had to go visit someone and we crossed a park that I know I've been to in another dream. It was familiar, but I've never been there in real life, so I'm assuming it was a dream. We visited the person across the part and they sent us to someone else to get what we needed. The second place wasn't too far from my house and I told Brooke that my brother, sisters, and I would walk home from the second house. It was actually kind of far to have 4 little kids walk, but I didn't think that they'd want to put up with me as they were acting as though I were some kind of burden. However, to my surprise, Brooke offered to drive my family and I home saying that she didn't mind in the least. I got in the front seat while Blair was pushed in the back with all of my siblings. Blair was going on and on about the money she had and was comparing herself to my family. finally, I got so fed up with her that I turned around and gave her a great speech. I told her that I had the things that really matter in life and that she may have nice things and a big house, but that didn't matter to me. And in the end, she would never be happy. Blair then got out of the car because I guess we had arrived at her house. Then Brooke started crying really hard and the next thing I know, she's shoving a paper and pen at me telling me to write down everything I had just finished saying. I took a long time writing because I wanted to get everything right and when I next looked up, my siblings were gone (I guess Brooke had dropped them off at home) and we were sitting parked in front of Brooke's house. And it was HUGE. She just sat there crying and I apologized that if I had said anything wrong, to not take it personally, as I was really upset with Blair. But she didn't say anything. I think she reacted the way she did because she truly wasn't happy and she knew what I had said was true. And then I woke up. Fun, right?

    Then, last night I had a weird dream, but it's scattered and I don't remember everything, especially how part I and part II link together. But all I know is that a few friends and I (I don't even remember who the people were with me! Yikes!) were staying in a cabin, but I didn't know any of the guys that were there with us and they were all kinda gross hitting on you all the time so that you couldn't even go a minute without some stupid remark. The next thing I know, I'm best friends with the Jonas Brothers. I'm seriously not a huge fan of the Jonas Brothers. I like a few songs but nothing like my friend who travels around the state of California going to all of their concerts. But seriously I'm backstage hanging out with them and it seems like we haven't known each other that long, because we were still asking questions to find out about one another, but we obviously trusted each other enough to divulge and protect what was being shared. Or we proved ourselves before then, but I honestly have no idea.

    I swear the dreams I have are completely erratic and I have no idea where I get this stuff from. I've never had any experiences like what I've gone through in my dreams and this is only a sampling of what my crazy brain has come up with!

I am apologizing now for the following journal, but I have to vent somewhere and this is the best place I know of.

Now for my venting session:

You know how sometimes you feel as though your world is falling apart by the second?

Yeah that would be my life right about now.

I grew up in Southern Orange County for the last 17 years. People there were interesting to say the least. While everyone you meet tends to be nice (there are the occasional snobs), they are still very materialistic. I don't blame them at all, that's just the way life functions down there. Everyone has to keep up with the latest fashion trends, nicest cars, and biggest houses. I decided at a super young age (due to the fact I almost lost my mother when I was in Kindergarten) that I wasn't going to follow the crowd. I have always been very futuristically minded because of that fact and I cared little for the materialistic ideals they held so close. As a result, I had few friends growing up.

And then I came to college. I kept telling myself that now everything would change. I would have the friends I seriously lacked as an adolescent and the confidence in myself that I had somehow suffocated. And gain a boyfriend since I've never had one.

College has honestly been a great experience for me. I have learned so much about myself and how to relate to others. I have also gained quite a bit of confidence in my abilities and in myself. I am changing and I am extremely proud to say that I am changing for the better.

However, that doesn't seem to change the fact that I am still unwanted by my peers. My friend tonight is the perfect example. We've gotten very close over the last semester and we share just about everything with each other in full confidentiality. However, tonight she seemed to act as though I didn't exist and if I wasn't "cool" (yes the hated word) enough to be seen with her. We attended a social event tonight and I asked if she was going to walk home or stick around for a bit. She said she didn't know and continued talking with her other friend. Then a guy we both know and have classes with came up and started talking to us (all three of us) and I guess it had been previously arranged that my friend and this other girl were going over to his house. She acted as though nothing were wrong and I honestly felt like I was complete and utter scum. Then she left with him and the other girl and didn't say good-bye, sorry, or anything. The other girl didn't even meet the guy until tonight and I'm not jealous. I'm just hurt.

I thought my friend and I had a really good, honest relationship. But tonight I feel shafted. I know I can't be invited to do everything with her, but I wish she would've been up front about it and just said, "Hey, I'm going over to (let's call him Joe) Joe's house and I don't think I'm walking home." I would've been, "Great! Have fun and I'll see you tomorrow." I know I'm probably overreacting, but this is kinda the straw that broke the camel's back kind of thing.

And on top of all my lovely friend problems, school is kind of crazy. Nothing I can't handle, just overwhelming at times. And the boy issue. But I won't get into that now.

Anyway I'm asking for any advice you may be able to offer on how to mend this seemingly broken friendship and what I can do to be a better friend because clearly I messed something up pretty good.

Sorry and thank you. For anyone who read this, you are amazing and I thank you for your support.

Love,
moderndream

December 28

6:49 am, Close to Denver

T minus 3 hours and 43 minutes until Christmas Vaca

But I can have any boy I want. Who could argue with that? Have boys hate me or have any boy I want …. Hmmm … let’s think real hard. OK. I’ve decided. Popularity is marvelous. I’m going back to sleep now. The bright light of my popularity is too much! I’ll write more when we get settled into our hotel. Actually it’s a resort – The Little Nell. I know sounds totally dorky, right? Turns out it’s amazing. I looked it up online to make sure we weren’t staying in some dump, but the pictures were completely breathtaking. We’re staying in the Pfeifer Suite. It has two bedrooms – I can’t share a room with my parents! Let alone a bathroom. And get this – it has a marble Jacuzzi! I can’t wait to get there! OK. Going to sleep. Going to sleep. Three more hours and forty-three minutes. I’M GOING TO SLEEP!

December 28

6:48 am, Close to Denver

T minus 3 hours and 44 minutes until Christmas Vaca

Except … I can’t play the sports I’m great at. My friends wouldn’t approve. I can’t feel the satisfaction and utter joy at killing the boys at the games they are supposed to excel at. I miss that.

December 28

6:47 am, Close to Denver

T minus 3 hours and 45 minutes until Christmas Vaca

            I actually take that back. I lied. Being popular is fun. The parties, the people, and the way everyone worships you. Yeah, not so bad. Plus, when I switched over from the dark side, I got a whole new wardrobe. How awesome is that? New everything. It didn’t take me long to get over my baggy nineties look. I quickly switched over to the girly timeless look. And man do I look great.

December 28

6:45 am, Close to Denver

T minus 3 hours and 47 minutes until Christmas Vaca

Almost there. Just under four hours until I hit the slopes in Aspen. That is what is keeping me sane. Though, I do feel bad for my dad. He drove seven hours through the night. My mom and dad just switched. Time for daddy to sleep.

I got thinking last night. I think it was somewhere in the vicinity of limbo and reality. I thought about everything I learned in the year before middle school. Kelsey taught me that nobody likes a no-it-all. That was a huge blow to me. I had always been told that my grades were important. I thought demonstrating my knowledge made everyone think that I was amazing. Kelsey explained to me that it wasn’t quite what I thought it was. I haven’t gotten dumber; I just haven’t showed my complete potential. I do well in school. Always straight A’s, but I just don’t say anything in class. You know? A lot of times I think my self esteem decreases because I have to hide a part of myself. My true self. Not the person that people at school see.

That I think is the one bad thing about being popular. You hide yourself, afraid that someone might see it and ridicule it. You know like how Troy in High School Musical hid the singing thing from his friends? He didn’t want them to laugh at him. He was popular and shares my pain. His friends are just cooler than mine. ‘Cause you know, they actually supported him. Unlike my friends. Kelsey would pull me aside and ask if I was crazy. Trevor would tell me he’d break up with me if I quit being popular, because he’s only like the coolest guy at school and I couldn’t go around, like ruining his reputation.

I think I’ve officially decided. Being popular isn’t all that great.

December 27

9:00 pm, Somewhere outside of Barstow

T minus 11 hours and 25 minutes until Christmas Vaca

 

           

Road trips.

            Some would say wonderful, adventurous, exciting, a chance to see new things and meet interesting people. Others would say tedious, boring, drawn-out, an excuse to annoy siblings. Still others would say a time to sleep. But not me. This is a time for me to reflect and discover myself. I find the long, quiet hours consoling. Back home, I mean at school, I kind of force myself to be something other than who I really am. You have your friends who are so incredibly cool, making you want to prove just how cool you are and why you deserve to be their friend.

In fact, you get caught up so much at times that you forget to be yourself or lose yourself in the process. Even worse, sometimes you throw away who you really are. At least, that’s what happened to me. I used to be okay with the fact that I was a little overweight, pretty darn smart, and loved things like beanie babies at the age of eleven. I was content with Lee Pipes jeans and Vans skate shoes. I thought I was cool because I could beat all the boys at sports, but not only did I beat them, I whooped their sorry little butts! No boy could ever hold a torch to me in those days. I used to be so proud of all of my unique qualities that set me apart from the rest of the girls.

Thankfully, I met Kelsey Lowers.

I met her in the sixth grade. I still remember the first day I saw her. She moved from New York, wearing the best in fashion. She sat down in the seat next to me. I watched the other girls of the class flock to her side. It didn’t really bother me at first. Then those girls who had admired my physical and mental prowess began to follow Kelsey one by one. Finally I was left completely by myself. As I sat alone, I was awed by her vibrant smile and tip-notch clothes. I wondered how someone could be so … nice.

I finally got up the courage to go up and talk to her. The bell had just rung and her crowd of followers was diminishing. She pulled a tube of lip gloss out and applied some liberally. As I was walking towards her, I realized what a mistake I was making. I looked at the stark differences between the two of us. Kelsey wore a pink cardigan and a plaid pink and yellow skirt. Her hair was perfect. Not even a single hair was out of place. And of course, her hair was blonde. Her blue eyes sparkled as she talked, relating to the crowd around her. The only thing that I could relate to was sports, and not that many girls played sports. At least at home. In Orange, California. Oh, but Kelsey seemed to relate to everything. She was pretty, girly, and the girl everyone wanted to be. I, on the other hand, wore baggy shorts, a stripped shirt, a backwards hat and mud, and was the girl all the boys loved to hate. Just as I stopped, not sure this was the best idea, she looked up at me.

“Hello!” She said cheerily, “You’re Jamie Garder, right?”

“Yeah,” I said as I scratched my hat.

“Hey, I’m having a sleep over tomorrow. I’d love it if you came.”

I looked behind me thinking that she could not possibly be talking to me. I looked around nervously, “Err – me? Are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, silly! I’ve been meaning to invite you over for a while.”

“Uh, sure. Lemme talk to my mom.”

“Great!” She said with great enthusiasm. “Here’s my number. Call me and let me know!” And with that she turned and walked towards the classroom, blonde hair

reflecting the golden sunlight. I stared at the piece of paper she had just handed me. To be totally honest, I was extremely curious. And I really wanted a girl like that to like me. If she liked me, then everyone else would too. Not that I didn’t mind not having that many friends, but I looked at the way people flocked to her. Literally, ran to her just to have her talk to them. I kind of wanted that for a change.

            Panic struck when I got home. The truth was I had never in my life been invited to a sleep over before. I know. I’m completely pathetic. I was in sixth grade and had never before gone to a sleep over. So I wasn’t really sure how to go about it. I sat in my room for a while trying to figure out how to ask my mom. Then, my mom knocked on my door and came in.

            “Hey, honey. You’ve been really quiet today. Is everything alright?” I know. I love moms. They read minds. I swear they do.

            “Yeah, mom. I just got invited to go to a sleep over tomorrow. Can I go?”

            “Of course you can! Oh, honey, that’s great!”

            “Will you call her mom for me, please? I don’t … I mean … I’ve never …”

            “Don’t worry, sweetie. I understand. I’d love to talk to her mom.” She said with a smile. I breathed a sigh of relief as she left to call Mrs. Lowers.  My mom gave me a list of things that I need for the sleepover. I packed the sleepover essentials and we headed over to Kelsey’s House.

            I rang the doorbell. I was shaking. Not the usual jitters, I mean full-on trembling. The doorknob turned. Light poured out onto the front porch with only the silhouette of a woman obscuring the brightness.

            “Hello!” It was Mrs. Lowers, “You must be Jamie Garder!” she said with an extremely wide smile. (At least I knew where Kelsey got her unusual peppiness from.) She then turned to my mom. “And Mrs. Garder, how are you?” she shook my mother’s hand enthusiastically. “Kelsey! Jamie’s here!”

            We stepped inside the Lowers’ foyer. It was incredible. It was seriously the biggest house I’ve ever seen. Everything was white marble. The pillars spiraled upwards and the floor seemed to stretch on forever. There was a spectacular staircase – just like the one in Beauty and the Beast when they meet each other for the ballroom scene. I felt as though I were in a modern day palace. I regretted not paying attention on the ride up. Who knows what else I could have missed.

            As I stood in awe of the marbled splendor, Kelsey came bounding down the Beauty and the Beast stairs. She was already dressed in her pajamas, except hers were different than mine. She wore a very girly nightgown with lace in every possible place. Her hair was tied in a bow in her usual blonde waves. I eyed her skeptically. I had no idea what I was doing there. The odds were clearly not in my favor and I so totally didn’t belong here. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she came hurtling toward me in a full sprint. She grabbed me and we almost fell over. I staggered backwards and she pushed herself back from my shoulders.

            “I’m so glad you could come! Come on, let’s go upstairs!” she said and pulled me toward the stairs. We got into her room (which is like fifty times larger than mine) and dropped my stuff. I looked around.

            “Where’re the other girls?”

            “Oh, it’s just you and me. Isn’t that great!”

            Every sleepover I’d ever heard of (or seen in the movies) usually included more than just two. There are always gargantuan amounts of girls staying up late telling stories, talking about boys, stuffing their faces, and, of course, getting no sleep what-so-ever.

I really hoped we wouldn’t be doing any of those things. I wasn’t good at them. Except for stuffing my face. I was really good at that. And while I was happy it was only Kelsey and I, I secretly had been hoping there would be other girls there too. With other girls I could hide in the shadows, but be content to be there. I knew I’d have to answer a few of the questions thrown at me, but I was altogether hoping for an unrevealing experience.

            “Yeah. Great.” I said with a meager smile.

            “So … I want to know all about you! Tell me everything!”

            Sadly, I was so nervous, that I did tell her everything. I told her about not having very many friends, about beating the boys, and even about the time Tommy Fletcher brought cake for his birthday in fourth grade and that I ate so much I got sick. It was quite a long-winded explanation of myself and before then I don’t think I’d ever talked that long or had that much to say. When I finished she looked at me in awe. I didn’t really know if it was a good awe or a bad awe.

            “Uh … What did I say?” I finally asked when she remained silent.

            “It’s what you didn’t say, silly! Boys, duh!” she said as if it were obvious. And I kind of thought it was. I had already told her that I can beat any boy at almost every game. When I told her this, she laughed. Her laugh was like little dainty bells tinkling.

            “No, I mean what boy do you like?”

            The dreaded question. Oh. Right. Uh … This was pretty much all that went through my head. I sat there staring at her. I didn’t like boys. I wanted to beat them at every opportunity I was given. And if they beat me at a game, I hated them. I hate to admit it, but man can I hold a grudge. If any boy beat me, he was dead to me. I hardly noticed he was there.

            “Oh, come on. There has to be someone.”

            “There is! I like …” I fumbled for a name, trying to find one that would satisfy her. I went through all the boys in my grade. James … no too geeky … Nick … too rude. I then progressed to the class above mine. “Trevor Edalin?” I said finally.

            “Oooo … cute, funny, dumb. He’s perfect! You guys would make such a good couple! I can’t wait until you guys get together!”

            “Wait! What do you mean?” I asked, not really sure I wanted to know the answer.

            “I mean I’m going to hook you guys up! You know, help you go out.” She said after I gave her an incomprehensive look.

Oh crud.

“No. NO. That’s really alright.” I said backing away as she advanced toward me.

“Aw, come on! It’d be fun. I could teach you to actually pretend to be a girl …”

“I rather like myself the way I am.” I said. I was still avoiding her advance.

“… We could do make up, hair, nails …”

“Or we could not.”

“… You’ll walk, talk, and act …”

“I don’t think I need to change.” I was almost cornered.

“… So that any and every boy would like you!”

The clincher. I stopped.

“Every one?”

Boys could like me? They hated me, if not loathed me right now. She could change that? Any and every boy would like me. That was my offer. Wasn’t that what I wanted more than anything else? I had only just admitted it to myself when I was comparing Kelsey to me, but hadn’t I actually wanted it much longer than that?

“Of course! And not only will the boys like you when I’m done with you, but so will the girls! They’ll practically die just to be around you and have you talk to them!”

I would no longer have to be by myself. I could actually have friends. So far, I wasn’t seeing a downside.

“So … what exactly do I have to do?”

“Eeek!” she squealed and gave me a hug.

And that was the end of my life as I knew it. She spent the next year teaching, primping, and perfecting every girly attribute. It was hard for me at first. I couldn’t go out and slug the boys who tormented me. I had to pretend I didn’t notice their rude comments and keep a seemingly appearance.

The first day of seventh grade was our decided launch date. I was going to talk to Trevor Edalin (not that I actually liked him) and make him so crazy he had to ask me out. We didn’t complete our mission that first day. However, by the end of the month, he had asked me out. We’ve been together ever since. I will admit that as time went by, I did grow to like Trevor. And man, has he gotten hot! I am the envy of every girl at Lutheran High School. Well, except for Kelsey of course. She’s going out with the Varsity Quarterback, Kevin McAfee. Total babe (of course), but not better than Trevor. Who could be?

I can honestly say that life has become so much better. I mean, who could not totally love being popular?

So actually I lied. I got a deviantArt account. Please check it out:
http://moderndream.deviantart.com/

Hey guys. I'm sure we all like stories. I know I've become addicted to bri_chan 's When Curiosity Met Insanity.
So I decided to start a story of my own I'm going to put the first chapter here - well the first half of it anyway.

But let me give you a run down of the characters and tell me if you're at all interested.

Jamie Garder – main character, popular

            Brown-Alburnish hair, green eyes, 5’8”

Michael Harris – main boy character, middle-run in the popular chain

            Brown hair, hazel eyes, 6’2”

Trevor Edalin – Jamie’s current boyfriend, popular

            Blonde, blue eyes, 6’1”

Kelsey Lowers – “best friend” to Jamie, Popular, head cheerleader

            Blonde, hazel eyes, 5’6”

Kevin MacAfee – Kelsey’s boyfriend, Varsity Quarterback

            Blonde, hazel eyes, 6’3”

Sabrina Torrance – one of Jamie’s newfound friends

Lauren Lui (Loo) – one of Jamie’s newfound friends

Story Outline

1. Go to Aspen, CO for Christmas break
2. meets Michael on the slopes
3. Hangs out with Michael
4. Goes back to Orange, CA

And a teaser:

December 27

9:00 pm, Somewhere outside of Barstow

T minus 11 hours and 25 minutes until Christmas Vaca

Road trips.

            Some would say wonderful, adventurous, exciting, a chance to see new things and meet interesting people. Others would say tedious, boring, drawn-out, an excuse to annoy siblings. Still others would say a time to sleep. But not me. This is a time for me to reflect and discover myself. I find the long, quiet hours consoling. Back home, I mean at school, I kind of force myself to be something other than who I really am. You have your friends who are so incredibly cool, making you want to prove just how cool you are and why you deserve to be their friend.

In fact, you get caught up so much at times that you forget to be yourself or lose yourself in the process. Even worse, sometimes you throw away who you really are. At least, that’s what happened to me. I used to be okay with the fact that I was a little overweight, pretty darn smart, and loved things like beanie babies at the age of eleven. I was content with Lee Pipes jeans and Vans skate shoes. I thought I was cool because I could beat all the boys at sports, but not only did I beat them, I whooped their sorry little butts! No boy could ever hold a torch to me in those days. I used to be so proud of all of my unique qualities that set me apart from the rest of the girls.

Thankfully, I met Kelsey Lowers.

 

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