Summ12r

A lot of things are different this summer. I have officially graduated from high school, and I am heading off to college in the fall. I will be turning 18, of legal adult age to be... an adult, which is scary to me. I have a boyfriend, for the first time in years, and this one isn't a loser at all. He's my partner in crime, and has a bit of adventure in him, too. And, unlike all of the other years, I have both the motivation and time to get all of my things on my summer list done. So, here it is, in a draft form, my list of things to do in less than 3 months.

1. Worship Bon Iver from afar (I had planned on seeing them in concert, but due to some circumstances, like age/location/lack of money, I can't do that. Maybe next summer...)
2. Dye my hair with Kool-Aid (maybe just dip-dye, red)
3. Go to Danville, KY again (for my last summer program's reunion- this one will occur)
4. Make a terrarium
5. Learn how to make friendship bracelets
6. Go to the beach, A LOT (I plan on doing this when we go on vacation)
7. Get a sweet tan
8. Hike my hill
9. Make RC floats with friends
10. Make a rainy day into an ALL DAY movie day
11. Go to Forecastle!
12. Watch several of Dylan's baseball games
13. Go to a flea market, and find precious things for cheap
14. Make a pillow/blanket fort
15. Have a picnic
16. Make s'mores
17. Go barefoot for a week
18. Experiment with strawberries (or at least eat them a lot)
19. Bob for apples
20. Go to at least one of the Cincinnati Observatory "parties" at night
21. Visit the Carmi, Illinois movie theater
22. Sing in front of people (okay, maybe just Ryan or Dirk haha)
23. Put oldies on my iPod
24. See a play put on by a local company
25. Make my major concern in life to be pleasure
26. Learn how to make sweet tea from the master
27. Buy a pet fish for college
28. Go to the drive-in movie theater up in Ohio
29. Collect earrings and bracelets
30. Write in my journal- poetry, stories, lists- and blog more often
31. Wake up real early and watch the sun come up one day
32. Go to the art museum
33. Throw a birthday party, or just a regular, no-occasion party
34. Experiment with new clothing styles
35. Take more photographs
36. Eat more fruits
37. Get all of my things ready for college
38. Overall just experiment with my creative outlets
39. Try to spend less time on the computer and my iPhone
40. Leave special messages in books
41. Read for fun
42. Be happy :D

So, that's my list for now. There might be some additions, some... subtractions. It's flexible, it's lovable, and it's mine.

Catch you all later,

Mack.

More, More, More- Air Traffic Controller

I Am Who?

I see, from my window, a woman with a wide-brimmed hat walking. I think she used to be my neighbor, the lady who sometimes would talk to us and bring us baked bread. Now she's the woman who sometimes wanders aimlessly around in her yard, wig or not, from losing her hair to chemo.

I feel like everything is changing, or at least I am. I had graduation practice today at school- I, the girl who used to never take chances with boys or grades or safety or even food. I was stuck inside myself, but now I'm not. I finally got out, and it's a little too late.

I knew high school wasn't all permanent, but it felt all-the-same. A sense of security falters- perhaps that's why some kids stay at home for college, not just because it's less expensive, but because they don't want to make that jump yet.

I've never been afraid before I've never had a fear that wasn't caused by some totally irrational fear or thought. And going off to college is a totally normal fear- not like being afraid that someone will think of me as a man if I stand too long facing a public toilet. I hope my college, a whopping 1.5 hours away (*smirk), will be a community that totally accepts me as one of their own. My best friend will be there as my guidance, and I will have a handful of more friends, so I will always find myself in a web of good feelings.

On a related note, at this point, I feel like a bit of a misfit. My sense of community used to define me- where I lived, where I had traveled- but now all things are a-changing, and I am just along for the ride, amazed by where the next turn will take me. I feel... lost, I guess. So, to find myself and the definite things in life right now, I made a list of things, about myself (sorry if it's selfish).

What There is to Being Me

1. It's wearing a number of mismatched, collected bracelets on your left wrist, but taking them off when you have to write.
2. It's squealing and "inward-burping," which sounds a lot like a hiccup.
3. It's sometimes caring too much, and other times not caring enough.
4. It's singing really loudly, but only by yourself.
5. It's about plaid shirts and skirts and jeans.
6. It's eating ice cream most likely by the pint (preferably strawberry or s'mores flavored ones).
7. It's not sharing everything you have- some things really are okay to keep personal and tenacious.
8. It's about finally getting the boy you've had a crush on for a long while, even after you were always too shy or defeated to say anything to before.
9. It's ironic, being "Big Mac" and so small, but it's not about being sarcastic.
10. It's about loving all spaces, from trendy bookstores to moldy parks to baseball fields to abandoned construction sites.
11. It's not talking a majority of the time, but because nothing urgently needs to be said.
12. It's listening to mainstream, not mainstream music.
13. It's about random impulses, like wanting to go without shoes, wanting to cut your hair real short and dye it red, and wanting to tuck in your shirts sometimes, even though that may be weird.
14. It's giving people seasons or colors.
15. It's about having "birthday" songs.
16. It's carrying home in your heart wherever you go, so it's about rarely feeling homesick.
17. It's not knowing, but hoping.

I'll have my epic summer list done for all of you soon.

Thanks for waiting for me to return,
Mack.

You Don't Know Me- Ben Folds ft. Regina Spektor (Warning: Explicit)