just stoned - not to death

and yet, all these years i'd been terrified

i would be stoned to death

if people saw through the facade

the time that we spend in impression management

is more than likely wasted

people will try and say that they honestly dont give a shit about what people think of them

who are they kidding?

everybody cares

first impressions mean nothing when someone can see right through you

noticing seasons is important

Leadership
By: Sara Mohan

It’s very simple for me to identify someone in my life that I admire. The most obvious reason is because I spend everyday with her. The person I most admire is my best friend, Adriana Laratta. It might seem cliché to choose my best friend, but I have many motives for my choice. I admire Adriana for having all these leadership qualities within her personality. She knows exactly what she wants, and she acts upon it. She is one of the most intelligent people I know at only 16 years old. She excels in school, sports, and employment while still maintaining a strong social life. Adriana does not sell herself short, either. She reaches beyond her limits, and more often than not, reaches her goals. To me, it seems like Adriana knows exactly who she is. She is not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for her beliefs. She isn’t afraid to accept challenges or take risks. She is responsible, assertive and always professional. She knows what the important things in her life are, and she does not take them for granted. We had been best friends for awhile, and through every step of the way she supported me 100%. If I ever needed anything at all, she was always right beside me to help me through it. This past year had been a really rough one for Adriana. I know this because I was there almost every day to be with her. Even after everything seemed to be going wrong, Adriana still found some way to keep a smile on her face. I’m not sure if she will ever put it behind her, but she doesn’t let it stop her from living her life. She still finds some way to be positive and hope for the best. No matter how many fights or arguments we may get into, I still have the utter-most respect for her. She isn’t afraid to tell me the truth, and she doesn’t keep secrets from me. Whether we end up being best friends again, or if we never talk again, she will always be someone I truly admire. A large portion of who I am today is because of her influence, and I am truly thankful to know her.

the next question

i enjoy being a pain in the ass
and being boy crazy
i love the feeling i get
when i accomplish something
it's deserving. and it's pride.
us girls, we dont always need to compete
there's room for all of us
maybe not in the same room
or in the same building
i guess it's trial and error

i talk and i listen
i love and i hurt
but at the end of the day
i'm just trying my best
there's no doubt about it
us girls, we compete
and we compete well

the next question:
is competing what we really want to be doing?

and when i'm finished writing

we can back out of the driveway
and put a cd on
slip our sunglasses over our eyes
to hide from the sun
and even if these shades can hide the tears i cried today
it don't matter anymore

because i called you up to say
let's go
let's take a trip out on the open road
i packed the clothes you left on my floor
so baby, let's go
we can roll the windows down
and hit up every broken town
`cuz this is how you mend a heart
and if it's not, well it's a start

the love list

RS
TC
PW
DP
MC
AK
KR
EO
BC
JM

the last nice guy

there's a lot to say today
or maybe there isn't
i have possibly said too much already
kid, you can't do this to yourself
it's a constant battle between yes and no
i might have been out of line when i told you to get out of it
to get away from her
i don't think that i was, though
even you told me yourself that there was "nothing better"
after everything was said and done
after you were over her
but you probably weren't over her, were you?
i thought a while was going to mean a while and not five days
or was it even five days?
i just want you to be happy
i dont want to see you being dragged around
and answering 'yes' to everything
you're better than that
and you shouldn't have to settle for anything less

hey graduates!

i can't help but think about switching places

in a year from now
it's going to be me going dress shopping
and finding a grad date
i'll be the one wearing the gown-thing
or whatever it's actually called
everybody will be taking pictures of me next year
god, where has the time gone - hey?

we used to go skateboarding down the alleys
we all had one length hair
we snuck beer and cigarettes from people we loved
it stopped being like that a long time ago

but here we are and we're still doing fine

hey you:
your sense of humour is a relief
you are bright and always smiling
never alter those things for anyone

and you:
you will be who you are
and your potential is incredible
keep life going, never give up

take time to look around for a minute
there is plenty of beauty in the real world
it might scare the shit out of you, but you're not out there alone
believe in yourself and everything will follow
i have high hopes for both of you
you kids are going to make people proud

living proof

i must learn to love the fool in me
the one who feels too much, talks too much,
takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often,
lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt,
promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries

i celebrate myself

how can you forget a guy you've slept with?
"toto, i don't think we're in single digits anymore."

\

you could explore the universe looking for that one person
and let me tell you, i haven't started looking yet at all
and why would i?
tell me, why should i?
i dont want to be labeled lonely, just because i am alone
i am the farthest thing from lonely
being without a guy is pretty good to be honest
it's a nice sense of irresponsibility

i think, therefore i am single

but when there's no where to stand
i wanna hold your hand

high as fuck on life and other things

there are an incredible amount of words that i could write here
astronomical, really
we have been through so much together, kid
you're older than me but you're still just a kid
we're still just kids

it's too bad that we're both just really fucked up
no wonder we dont have boyfriends
who gives a shit, really
we might as well date each other
i'd be down

how much do you expect from me?
i'd like to hope that i do my best
we have gone through huge changes in our lives
the transition to junior high was one thing
but then high school was like a vortex
and we both kind of got sucked in
we're going to be okay though
because we always have been

god, i dont even know what to write
remember when your brother's phone was ringing
and he couldn't find it
he stuck his face in the bag of chips
it was right underneath
that was the first time i ever heard, "she thinks my tractor's sexy"

lindsay rae dorey,

i just want you to know that
even though we dont talk every day
or see each other down the hall during class change
you are my best friend
we can go through a million conversations with other people
and we can walk down the hallway with a different person every day
but that will never change

i love you so much
happy birthday, beautiful

ML09 in C154 & C155

i can see that now things have changed and it's almost chaos
we grew up together and we were crazy for doing it, too
what were we thinking when we tried drugs for the first time?
we weren't thinking about being twelve
or when we kissed in the church
we were thinking about being together

sometimes i think back and i wonder where the time went
i think about having to reintroduce myself to the kids that
changed to public school after elementary
"i don't know if you remember me but i'm - "
and i hope they'd cut in with my name and say, "i remember you."

so there we were in the middle of no where
with our coolers full of hot dogs and beer
and we were sixteen
and when you do the calculations
four years doesn't seem like a whole lot
oh, but it is
and we had the best weekend that i've had in a long time
despite sleeping on the ground and peeing in the bushes

tomorrow is a new day
and we're all going to go back to our own schools
ready to get on with a normal schedule again
but we're going to miss C154 and C155
and we're never going to forget the boys from A9

...hahahahahahaha

remember this?

"well, do you?" she asked him again.
"of course," he replied.

because, of course, there was no way that he couldn't remember something like that, was there?
how did you forget the sensation of your two best friends gripping onto your arms and slowly lowering you over the side of a ten-story building? how did you forget the feeling of every cell in your body shrinking away from the ground, willing itself to crawl upwards against the force of gravity? or the knowledge that it was only your friends that held you back from the abyss? how did you forget the strength in their eyes as they hauled you back up? and how did you forget the responsibility when they asked you to do the same for them? or the sense of absolute trust, bonding, and love that such an act engendered? you didn't. that was the simple answer. it stayed with you for always.

"i wish we could do it again," she said.
"we can't. i'm not strong enough to hold you on my own, and you're not strong enough to hold me either. it would take all three of us together."
"i know." as she slipped her hand into his and squeezed it hard...
"that's why it's only a wish."

the sign on the door

so i never knew that passion was so messy
i never wanted to believe that you were somebody that i longed for
tell me that you love your life just as much as the sun
but you change your interests like a season in this city
i can only wish that music fell from trees in the fall
maybe one day
maybe some day
there will be a place for both of us

but you gotta have friends

making new friends makes you learn things about yourself
things that you forgot, or maybe never knew at all

one more friend to ask you how your day was
one more person to confront if you're having a bad one
and one more person to laugh with when something's funny

it is important to have people there
the old friends are the wisest
and the new ones are just as wise - but getting wiser
the more they get to know you

it's over, but never will be

i never did understand how sending a text message to a landline worked
but i'm really glad that it did

"happy mother's day. i love you."

you are the most incredible person in my life
and i'm not saying that because of mother's day
or because it's something that i'm supposed to say
i'm saying it because there is no better way
you have encouraged me to be the best person that i can be
and i know i will
you know i will
every decision that i make has been supported by who?
my mother
by you.

i hope that i am a remarkable mother
because i'd really like to keep up the tradition
i am so lucky
and i am so thankful - every single day
to have you in my life
to have you as my mom

there are so many things that i can list
so many things that compliment you but never do justice
we have grown together and learned from each other
everything that we possibly can
oh, but we learn more each day
because each day is another day together
and we're both a pain in the ass
but we're both completely worth it

you are my best friend
and that will never change

here's to being a mom - my mom

i couldn't have asked for a trade
not even with one of those tv moms
i do love orange juice, though.

thank god for tournaments

time away from calgary will definitely do me some good

fuck it, i'm free

that's it
for now at least
i dont have to wait till after 8:00 to make plans on a friday night
i dont have to go home early so that i can work on saturday morning
the same goes for saturday night

what am i going to do with my weekends?

i'm going to grab that red jersey with the 28 on the back
and i'm gonna throw on some long socks
grab a bat and a glove
and head out to the fucking diamonds

because that's where i'll be for the next three months
and it's about time

taurus

thank you for all of the big things
and the thirty two million little things
that you have done for me

didn't think i kept track
did you?

you - the incredible source of light and joy
everything that you say matters
every thought
every word spoken
and i need you to know that i understand and that i'm here
i am here to support anything that you partake in
we're too far in to call it quits now
so you're not off the hook just yet either
not even close

every generation has a heart
every generation has a voice
inspire the next generation to change the world
happy birthday, beautiful
you've been alive for 17 years, and you're just getting started