Sometimes when my parents ask me to walk my dog I complain right away. As I grab my dog and put her leash on and get outside, I realize it isn’t all that bad. I see the trees and the foliage and think about how lucky I am to see this beautiful view. Fall is a beautiful season and I shouldn’t take for granted how short it is.
I see a little brown bunny in the snow. It curls up on itself, trying to seek warmth from the terrible cold. The wet snow covers its back and goes inside its small ears.
Me and my mom went to pick out a suit for me and there were basically no colors compared to women's dresses which is upsetting but I want to see a time when men are dressed just as colorfully.
My brother wanted to start streaming so I built him a computer and I just have a knack for making/fixing things that my brothers do not.
I was on a run and I decided to take a trail that was in between me and a friends house and it was so desolate that it felt like a beginning to a horror movie.
It was my brother's birthday And it was the first time in 4 years that they had been home for it.
I was at a friend’s house that had an orchard nearby and i saw a couple families walk in and it reminded me of the times i would go to an orchard, i had a very imaginative mind as a kid so these memories often were not completely true since i twisted them to make them more entertaining
Everyone dyed their hair over quarantine so I decided to hop on the trend and dye mine red. I haven't dyed my hair for years so I was excited to do it again. Turns out I really like red hair. I might even consider the permanent dye soon rather than semi-permanent.
A walk was much needed after taking a stressful test today. As I walked outside, I saw a two-winged creature flying around in the air of my neighborhood. At first I thought it was a normal bird and I ignored it, but the bird kept coming back and kept circling in the same spot. I took a closer look at the animal and it looked like a bat to me. It was a two-winged creature with a tiny head flying around in circles. It would leave into the woods in my community and come back out every two minutes or so. I was amazed to see a bat because I didn’t know bats existed in this part of Massachusetts. I always thought bats liked to hang out in packs or groups, but today I learned that is not always true.
It hit me earlier this week that as a junior I now have less than two years left of high school. The thought of it is both thrilling and terrifying. On one hand, I’m looking forward to going to college and seeing more of the world, as well as meeting new people. However, I also can’t help but think of my life and friends that I have now. I know that once I enter college all sense of familiarity will be gone, as I’ll have to leave Westford as well as everything I’ve ever known behind. I also know that inevitably once I’m in college I will begin to grow apart from many of the friends I have now, as we will all go off to different schools across the country, and possibly even some outside of the United States. It’s a very bittersweet scenario and one that hadn’t been at the front of my mind until very recently. It’s funny, since when I was a freshman I was told that my high school years would all go by so fast, and back then I had scoffed at the thought. But now I feel as though I blinked and all of a sudden I’m a junior worrying about college in the middle of a pandemic. So much has happened in such a short amount of time.
Today I had to go to the boys cross country meet for journalism because I had to add stuff to the ghostwriter instagram story. It was fun because one of my friends went with me but it was scary. I get very self conscious with things like that. It was there for all of the followers to see, and the people who have been in the class longer than me. It's intimidating because people are judgmental but I am learning to be more comfortable and less awkward around others.
I went to an abandoned school with a friend of mine who is a photographer in Fitchburg. Theres something hauntingly beautiful about abandoned places. Maybe its the history behind them or the way the paint chips off the walls. Even the random plants growing in the floors, the quietness inside the building and especially the graffiti art on the walls.
Today I learned that the coined term “Teddy Bear” originated from the time that former U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt spared a bear on a hunting trip. I grew up with a mint green teddy bear that I slept with, but I had never questioned, nor wondered why it was called a teddy bear. It made me think about what else there is that I know as one thing, but might just be a nickname.
October 25, 2020- Today I hiked Mount Monadnock to it’s summit with some friends of mine. I’m not much of a hiker so I didn’t fall in love with the idea upon first glance, or really upon the first couple of glances. Even when I got to the base of the mountain I couldn’t help but think, “No way am I going up there.”. And the beginning was also not something that I enjoyed. But when we reached the first cliffside, I looked back at how far I’d come, and I started to see the appeal. When we finally reached the summit, the air was thin and freezing cold. But the view was incredible, made even sweeter by the fact that I had climbed up that mountain myself.
About two years ago, my aunt rescued a squirrel from a parking lot. Me and my cousin had just got home from school when we saw my aunt on the couch with something in her hands. She told us to be quiet so we wouldn't scare away this harmless animal.When I saw that it was a squirrel I got really excited. I've always been fascinated by squirrels because we don't really see them in Brazil. We nurtured Diggity (that's how we called it) back to health and for months we kept it as a pet, but we knew it wasn't right. When we felt that Diggity was ready to go and live on her/his own, we let it out. Diggity would come back almost every day to get something to eat and I just couldn't believe it! After that, I thought a lot about how there are things in our life we have to let go and believe that it is always for the best. I thought Diggity wouldn't remember us, but she/he did. Diggity also taught me a lesson when I saw that this harmless animal was then able to do things without our help and that all we needed to do was to just let it go.
My binder is still stuck in last year. Flipping through it, I still have a bunch of papers from last year mixed in. Worksheets from classes I don’t take anymore, notes preparing for tests that are long gone, rubrics from projects that don’t matter anymore. After school ended in June or March, I didn’t clean out my old stuff because it just didn’t feel like the year had ended. It's almost like last year was just put on pause indefinitely, and we just ignored it and started this year without fully resolving last year.
I truly cannot express how grateful I am for weekends. I always start the week strong, I see it as a chance for renewal. But, I couldn’t do that without weekends, which help me relax and re-energize. By Wednesday I tend to feel worn out and tired of the repetitive routine regarding school. I couldn’t imagine life without Saturday and Sunday.
I am starting to take art requests from a few of my friends. I will have them request a certain character for me to draw, and I will draw the character in question for them. I have noticed that people tend to request characters that fit my personal art style or aesthetic. Sometimes, when I’m drawing these characters, some of which I’ve never heard of before, I get inspired and incorporate some of their traits that I find interesting and inspiring into my own art style.
There is a small chipmunk sitting upon the long strands of green grass. It is surrounded by small yellow flowers. The little creature picks one up and holds it in the air like a bowling ball, almost like it is the winner of the world.
i was sitting on the roof of an abandoned factory with some friends from East Bridgewater. the floors were soggy from the rain but the roof was completely dry, due to the sun beaming down now thankfully. the sky turned pink and the clouds looked very angelic. It was true peace and comfort.
I finally decided to deep clean my room. I donated a lot of stuff such as my old toys and clothes. Hopefully another kid will make memories with the things I donated.
A good hike never fails to clear my mind, especially now in the fall. The changing leaves and the crisp air allow for peak thinking time. My dog Bailey loves it as well, she runs so far ahead I can barely see her and then she runs back jumps on me and then does it again.
While walking outside, I noticed that the leaves on my tree were all a mixture of red and yellow but mostly red. Last week my tree had patches of green and red and yellowish red leaves, but this time, they were all red and yellowish red. This stuck out to me because it was a beautiful sight to see my colorful tree and at the end of the day, I ended up taking pictures with my tree. My tree inspired me by brightening my day up and making me realize the importance of the season fall.
Over the weekend I shared a piece of writing with my aunt for feedback, since I had talked about the piece with her in the past and I wanted to share my work with her. A few hours after pasting the file into an email and sending it my aunt’s way, I received a follow-up email from her filled with praise and encouragement. Sharing my writing with others is hard for me to do, especially since I often write about feelings and events I am trying to process, so receiving all that love and support from my aunt meant the world to me. It got me thinking about authors who have published daring or personal pieces of their own, and whether or not they get nervous sharing their work. Did they have close friends and family to share their work with too? If so it is so strange to think about. I feel like whenever I pick up a book in the back of my mind I assume that the author just sent it straight to their publisher without a second thought, but there must have been other people in their lives that they shared their story with even before that, such as close friends and family. It just goes to show how much work and support goes into writing that we don’t even think about most of the time.
I went to Market Basket with my uncle and my cousin to buy ice cream after school when we all had time. When we got home, we decided to make milkshakes and they were just as good as the ice cream alone. We put chocolate candies, syrup, sprinkles, and whipped cream. It was a different kind of Tuesday and our day wasn't special because of the milkshake, but because of how we decided to do something that we would only consider doing during the weekend. It felt nice changing our routine and doing something fun.
I absolutely hate spinach. Why does it wilt so much when you cook it? It has no flavor, and the texture is soggy, slimy, and disgusting. I envy people who enjoy its taste because it actually is very healthy and good for you.
October 16, 2020- A lot of times, it can be really hard working at home. For me, this is because school used to be fun for me. I used to get excited to go to all of my classes and get to know my classmates, make new friends, and learn things through interactive lessons. But when you take out every single aspect of what I used to enjoy about learning, it makes it extremely hard for me to stay focused and care about school work.
It’s almost election day, and a lot of people are starting to put their political lawn signs. Most people have either a MAGA sign or a BLM but not both, naturally. But there is this house I drove by that has both a Black Lives Matter and a We Thank our Law Enforcement sign next to each other on their front lawn. It surprised see this because America is so polarized right now that it’s easy to forget that life is not an either-or situation and a middle ground exists on every issue.
Some say that comparison is deadly. I used to believe that jealousy was a natural emotion with some positive aspects, but now I have realized how awful it can be. While getting the occasional pang of jealousy is completely normal and unavoidable, the second it grows into an obsession is when it becomes harmful. It reveals how you are overly concerned with someone else’s life or habits. You should only be focused on your own. Envy is nasty and hateful. It’s important to be secure in your own achievements and capabilities, and never rely on others to give you motivation. I’ve learned to be self sufficient and find inspiration from within.
On Sunday, my friend and I went to Boston. A lady was driving while holding a negative sign about Trump out of her window. Everyone was clapping and cheering. I’m not political at all, but it was interesting to see everyone come together for just a minute, because of just one person driving down the street.
Everyone perceives each moment differently. And something I don’t find to be important, someone else could find it to be very effective. People aren’t always mindful of this, that everyone has different thoughts and feelings. Sometimes this is even something I need to work on, to consider my peers thoughts and feelings.
There is a small bird sitting upon a dark brown tree branch. It’s feathers remind me of bright blue skies in the summertime and the sandy shores at the beach. It looks into the distance, eager for something. Possibly watching a predator in fear.
My aunt has one of her artworks on display at an exhibit at the Smithsonian, and last night, I watched her virtual presentation on it along with several other artists. The exhibit is themed around the relationship between art and nature, and her piece is a large sculpture of a comet made out of a variety of different materials, such as quartz, obsidian, onyx, and Plexiglas. Her works are incredibly inspiring to me artistically, as she is extremely talented in several different mediums, such as sculptures and ink drawings, along with several installations. I hope to go to college in close proximity to where she and my uncle live.
This weekend I went to my house in Vermont. I wasn't really excited to go at first because nothing was gonna be open anyway, but my family went on a hike and that was fun. I was pretty happy to be back there since I haven't been there in months.
Fall in New England sometimes feels like it lasts for a split second. I often find myself thinking about how in just a few weeks it will be cold every day and that we won't be having nice weather for so long. These thoughts make me feel so negative because there is still so much good to come. The holiday season is coming shortly. And who doesn't love to wear cozy clothes and sit by the fire and watch movies? Even when it feels like things are changing and getting worse there is always good to come.
While on a late night drive, I sat in the backseat of my friends Jeep, listening to very loud music and feeling the wind on my face. At one point we came to a red light and I sat there, and as I looked out the window I noticed the way that the wind caught the leaves in the tree and moved them as if the were a toy that the wind had full control of. Until the light turned green and we left the tree behind continuing on into the night.
My cats are indoor cats, but I'll let them go outside once in a while for a bit. While I was playing with them today, I was wondering if they ever want to leave the house, explore, and come back a day later. I feel like that's their nature but wouldn't have the courage to let them go outside unsupervised knowing that there's something out there that could get them.
I was in school in-person this week. On Friday, all my teachers did not have an afternoon session for us Pod B Students. Except for my math teacher, of course. And the class was G Block, the last one before the long weekend. So at 1:30 pm, I completely forgot about the class, and it took me another hour to realize what I did. I feel like I have been so scatterbrained this year. A few weeks ago I did a homework assignment for a class but forgot to submit it on Google Classroom. Twice in a row. Maybe it was being at home with little to do for 7 months or the new hybrid schedule this year? There are many things I want to blame but I sometimes I have a feeling it’s just something with myself.
After a somewhat stressful day of school, I left my house and went outside to get some fresh air and took a walk around my neighborhood. One thing I noticed was about the color of the leaves on my tree. I noticed that the leaves on my tree had turned from being all green to a bunch of mixed colors of red, green, and a pinch of yellow. As I kept passing my house each time I walked around the big culdesac my house was a part of, I noticed something new about my tree. I noticed that my tree had stopped growing taller and wider, it looked like it had been the same size/height for the last year. It felt like the tree had finished its growth spurt and decided to stop growing. Another thing I noticed about the leaves was that there were multiple branches with both green and red leaves next to each other. That stuck out to me because you would normally expect the leaves on a certain branch to be the same color, but that wasn’t the case for my tree.
One of my favorite “icebreaker” questions is this: Would you rather be blind or deaf? It’s certainly thought-provoking and the answer reveals what you value more. I found myself pondering the first time I was asked this question. Being blind means not being able to see beautiful views, essentially giving traveling no purpose. I would love to travel one day mainly because of the unique and vast sights. Without vision, how could you empathize with people? How can you see the stress lines that form on foreheads, or the tears that stream down faces, or a bright smile? But, losing your hearing must also be excruciating. You can no longer listen to your favorite songs. You could never hear the voice of your mother, whispering “I love you.” It was an incredibly difficult decision, but eventually I concluded that I’d rather lose my hearing. I hope I’m never put in the position to lose such vital things.
My friend is related to Ernest Hemingway. I am related to Thomas Edison. Yet our lives are led so differently than the relatives we came from. The new technology, social norms, style, virtually everything is different. What would they think of that?
This Saturday evening, I sat in my driveway with my aunt, sister, and dad as we talked about life and enjoyed one another’s company. As my family talked amongst themselves I found myself admiring how beautiful the evening was. I noted how the sunset bathed my lawn in a golden light, and how the shadows from the trees stretched over my driveway, shielding my family and me from the sun’s rays. I could hear the faint calls of chickadees in the distance, as well as the ring of my young neighbor’s laughter across the street as she chased a friend around her yard. A feeling of nostalgia and peacefulness washed over me then, as the evening had reminded me of warm autumn evenings when I was a kid, when I felt safe and happy and the world seemed to be perfect. Sitting with those I loved only amplified this feeling, and I felt like the evening transported the four of us back in time to when the world seemed much simpler.
October 11, 2020- I played basketball with my teammates from WA, today. We played three on three for a while and it was really fun. It got me thinking about Covid and whether or not we were going to have a basketball season. I hope we do. It wouldn’t be fair for all the juniors that want to play basketball in college to be cheated out of a recruitment season, and for all the seniors to be cheated out of their senior nights.
Today my friend and I thought we'd take a little road trip to Woonsocket, Rhode Island. I have heard of this abandoned bank from other urbex explorers and I was very excited to check it out. This was by far one of the creepier explorations i have done. On our way in there just so happened to be three kids our age leaving and warned us about the homeless man in a tent on the top floor who scared them out. It was a nice heads up but very unnerving to know. Nevertheless we still went in. The way we had to enter was to go under the fence and climb down this steep rusted old ladder. If you fell it was a good twenty foot drop. After that there was a bulkhead/cellar door you had to enter. Another ladder leads you into the basement. Thankfully this one was sturdy. We had no idea where we were and didn't realise we would be in the ghetto somewhere walking around. Once we got into the basement and walked down the long dark hallway we were greeted with the sight of a dead crow on the ground. I still wonder how it got there. We found the stairs soon after and made it to the main lobby of the bank, It wasn't boarded up much instead the doors/windows were bolted shut and locked. Thankfully this made it nice and bright in the building. This place was incredible. By far one of my favorite spots. The main lobby was huge so we spent most of our time there. There were four more floors to explore though. The realisation we were getting closer to the scary homeless man became more real. Our paranoia made every creek in the bank sound like footsteps. We must've been a floor under him a little ways later when we started hearing noises coming from nowhere. We would enter a room and the light would randomly shake or the old rusted AC unit would randomly make a loud jittery noise. After we heard something drop above us we ran back down the stairs and stayed in the main lobby. About thirty minutes later maybe forty five we left the only way we could leave back down the creepy dark basement and past the dead crow. We decided we are going back with more people next week to explore further into the building.
Day 2 of the burst of productivity! I have completed everything that I needed to get done, and it is a massive relief! I feel like I may return to designing some new characters and writing short paragraphs about them. I’ve had massive sparks of inspiration since last night, brought on by listening to some new albums that friends recommended to me. Not only are they good for motivating me, they also help conjure up some ideas. I’ll probably get into a huge ink drawing this weekend.
Today my mum and I were in the car. We drove around for about 6 hours and we somehow ended up in New Hampshire. It was a very rural part of the state and there was no service available. I was kind of suffering.
Although for the most part, I don’t consider myself a morning person, there is something about the early morning sunrise that I just love. Watching the first pale rays of light stretch through the treetops and eventually bathe the landscape around me in a pale glow has always filled me with a sense of tranquility. There is a certain peacefulness that comes along with the very early mornings, as it feels like the world itself is waking up alongside you. The hectic energy that follows me throughout the day is missing, and there are no responsibilities that I’m required to attend to. It’s a sliver of my day where I can truly be free from expectations and instead chose to bask in the world’s beautiful quiet.
Today I went on a walk in the woods, I saw the prettiest flower. The purple had an ombre to it with some yellowish brown in the middle. A bee landed on the flower for a minute before it flew away.
Today was my first day of in school - school. It was incredible to get back and be in WA again. I hadn't realized how much I missed it. Something that stood out to me today was how good the music sounding chorus. We haven't been able to sing together in months so it was great to be able to sing together!
Online school is so tough and confusing. It feels like it's optional when it's not, so my motivation is very low. The only easy thing about it is getting 1 more hour of sleep.
Ever look really close in a computer, TV, or phone screen and see the tiny pixels? It’s pretty cool how they all work together to complete the screen and show an image. It's like every pixel needs to work, or else the image won't be perfect.
sep.24th, 2020
Everyday I look out my window when I wake up and notice the leaves outside. It looks as if one more leaf has changed to this orange or purple and red mixture. I am reminded every time that fall is getting closer and summer is ending, which is not a bad thing because fall is my favorite season and something about the fall is very nostalgic. During this season my favorite thing to do is skateboard. Skateboarding in the summer is nice but it just gets way too hot so the fall is the perfect weather for it. Just the other day I was skateboarding in Lowell and ended up at an art gallery and decided to go in and look at some of the art. I was handed a little card at one of the artists doors that said “be with those who help your being”. That quote definitely resonated with me and made me think about all the people I am friends with and surround myself with.
oct.4th 2020
I was very sore from the 6 hour hike I went on yesterday but instead of resting I met up with some urbex photographers I've met online and hung out with once last year. We went to West borough and explored this abandoned school. They've been here before but this was my first time and it was amazing. It was one of the more interesting schools I have been to, especially because there were secret tunnels that went below the school. We found check deposits from the 1960s and 70s, old greeting cards and so much more. This school was pretty big and we got some nice photos from there. We ended up staying for a couple hours and watched the sunset from the roof. Luckily the clouds opened and the sunset made the sky become orange, purple and pink.
October 4, 2020 - Today, I went into Boston and met a friend at Fenway. We walked around and went to restaurants. One moment, I looked up and saw the skyscrapers. I remembered a guest speaker that talked to my school in elementary school. He said that he was from Haiti, and the first day that he moved to Boston, he would run into things because he couldn’t stop looking up. This was because he had never seen a skyscraper before. I wished that I could experience something so new and interesting that I couldn’t look away, like that man with the skyscrapers.
September 26th, 2020- I was lying in the sun, on my family’s boat on what was probably the last nice day of the year. I felt the sun on my face, which I thought was different than feeling hot. Feeling hot is just temperature, but feeling the sun on your face feels like a hug. Even though the sun was actually burning me, it felt like a hug.
There is a colossal difference between being “lonely” and being “alone”. As I grow older, I become more aware of this fact. Being alone is merely a state of physical isolation, but emotional fulfillment. Me being an extrovert with introvert tendencies, I often make the conscious decision to be alone. I consider it an opportunity to socially recharge and further pursue my personal interests. Sometimes, I feel as though I can’t fully be myself with others. When I’m alone, I’m the truest version of myself, and that makes me happiest. Now, being “lonely” is a terrible tragedy and has nothing to do with the number of people you are surrounded by. It is a state of mind; feeling as though you have nobody there, despite being in a room with perhaps seventy-three people. I would much rather be physically void of company than emotionally lonesome.
I've been going outside a lot lately because of PE. Before, that would only happen if my aunt "forced" me to walk with her. She would tell me how important it is to exercise but I would still complain the whole time we were walking. Now that I'm being graded for exercising, it feels like a necessity. The only thing I don't like about it is that I put my grades first than my health, but now I'm doing it because I enjoy it.
Today was Friday, the day of the week I am always looking forward to because after today, I get the whole weekend to rest after a week of school. During school, I had a trigonometry quiz, which was nice because it was really easy and I know I did well on it. The school day was not too stressful, so after school I headed to the courts to play some basketball with my friends. It was really wet and slippery outside because it had just rained, so I went home at around 5pm instead of my usual 6 or 7 pm. I noticed that after it rains outside, a lot of bugs like to come out which is really annoying when you’re trying to play outside.
It feels so good to get things done. I wish that whenever I procrastinate I would think about how good it feels to get all of my work done. I like to write down a list every day of all of the homework I need to get done and other things I would like to do for the day. It helps me organize my thoughts and priorities. When I am stressed and overwhelmed with work this helps me organize all of my assignments so I can see that it isn't as bad as I think it is. Once it is all written down and organize all my work doesn't seem like that hard of a task. Then once I check everything off my list I feel like I accomplished everything and I can enjoy the rest of my day.
Friday night I left work at seven pm. It was already dark out. When I wake up for school, it's still dark out. The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder. Winter is coming and the year is progressing.
So far, I think I am enjoying school as a “Remote Learning Academy” student. I like having more time in the day to do things I enjoy and to get my work done. Being in this situation is making me realize how much time is spent traveling from place to place. I wonder what life would be like if you could just time travel everywhere. So much time would be saved.
Yesterday, I did some work in the yard involving trimming and cleaning up dead plants and sticks in my garden. They managed to fill a whopping two whole bags! But instead of throwing them away, I saved them for a future art project. I don’t know exactly what it will involve, but I am hoping to incorporate them into an art project out in the woods once it gets colder outside and no mosquitoes are outside to pester me. The forest in the fall and winter is beautiful, especially in New England, and being cold is a sacrifice I am willing to make for the aesthetic!