Creative Writing 101: High School Days

Freshman - Sophomore Years

Churchill High School: Junior - Senior Years

I was out of town Friday to Sunday, so Creative Writing 101 is a bit late, but here it is! FoodieLicious is off this week (still can't decide if I liked the brownie recipe I made up last night enough to share with others.)

Describe a typical day during your high school years:

For the first three years of high school, my typical day consisted of classes, classes, classes and then after-school varied, depending on whether or not I had any after school activities. I played no sports, so my activities were related to various clubs and councils. such as Future Teachers of America, Key Club, Anchor Club and National Honor Society. I was an officer of several organizations.

My senior year was more frenetic than the previous years due to the added burden of working on college admissions applications, an after-school job as child care provider for a local Jazzercise instructor and being a member of the Academic Decathlon team. This was in addition to my other school clubs and activities.

I was on the self-chosen honors graduation track, requiring certain honors courses and more science and math than the regular degree. So my schedule typically consisted of: English, History, Math, Science, PE or other elective, and Art or other elective. Academic Decathlon was also a class. Lunch was somewhere around 4th period. Not enough passing period time to even go to my far-away locker after each class, so shared lockers with friends who had advantageously-located lockers.

Now that I'm "old and gray", I am amazed by how much we packed into a typical high school day. So much learning and activity in 7 hours. And then more activities and homework well, well into the night. My typical bedtime became later and later each year, so that by senior year, I was up all the way through the David Letterman Show, which ended past midnight, and went to bed halfway through Sally Jessie Raphael!

Creative Writing 101: Five Things

Me and my Pink Giraffe, a gift from my godmother, in 1971.

You can only keep five things you have. What will they be?

Well, if I'm taking this prompt literally, then aside from my husband and kids, the "things" I would keep are:

• My wedding ring
• Thalia's baby book
• Carys's yellow ducky blanket (any one of the four she owns)
• My oversized pink giraffe stuffed animal from 1971
  
• The external hard drive attached to my computer (Is that cheating? It technically holds more than 5 files.)
  

Each is meaningful in its own way. If my house ever caught on fire, I hope I could at least save one of these '5 things.' However, in the end, the most important things in life aren't "things"; the most important things in my life are my family.

Prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator

Creative Writing 101: Fridays

Fridays make me . . .

take a silent sigh of relief! The week is over, mostly, and I can finally catch my breath. Sit down for a second. Relax. Although in reality, our weekends are often as packed as our weekdays. But mentally, Friday is the portal to precious stretches of hours that can be spent doing whatever we want to do. T.G.I.F.

It's funny how kids learn early on that Friday is the most special of all weekdays; they can usually stay up later than usual, parties happen, family movie nights are instituted, weekend trips begin as soon as school or work is over. Friday, how do we love thee?

Prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator

Creative Writing 101: The Small Stuff

"Don't sweat the small stuff" means...

nothing to me! Ha! Because in my world, it's all small stuff. I think one of my biggest strengths is my ability to focus on the tiniest of details in all things. Whether or not they matter. I can't not do so; it's who I am!

I married someone who is the opposite of me, whose strength lies in seeing the big picture. We're a good team that way.

My strength is also a curse sometimes. I can get really bogged down in pointless minutiae. I expect perfection when I shouldn't. So, yes, I really shouldn't sweat the small stuff at times. But it's a challenge to do so!

Blog prompt from Imagination Prompt Generator

Creative Writing 101: Ten Favorite Scents

 

I blew off my creative writing prompt on Friday night because I was too tired to even turn on the computer! So here is my creative writing bit, prompted by Imagination Prompt Generator:

My 10 favorite scents or smells (in no particular order):

1. tropical fruity scents, especially on candles
2. cinnabons
3. garlic
4. freshly laundered sheets and towels
5. coffee
6. roses
7. honeysuckle
8. gardenias
9. new batch of fudge at the fudge factory
10. spring air

Whew! That was easy until I got to #9, and then I ran out of favorites! But I do love spring.