Well, the end of the semester was last Friday and I'm anxiously awaiting my report card. I love getting to see my overall grades, even if I think they might be bad.

Unlike many of my peers, I see report cards as a motivation to do better. It gets really annoying to hear everybody complain about their "horrible grades." If you're really that concerned then why are you talking to me about it? You could be studying or catching up on that late assignment that you just mentioned. You could be trying to better yourself. There have been so many times that I've wanted to give this speech but the part of me that doesn't want to hurt people holds me back. (That part always seems to hold me back.) Maybe that will change with my newly found confidence.

You just have to realize that you are capable of amazing things. The only thing that's keeping you from doing them is your motivation. Practice is all you need. Because the trite phrase "practice makes perfect" really is true. So if you don't like it, do something other than trying to get attention and/or sympathy from me because I will not give it to you this time.

I'm just going to start this off by telling you about second hour today. Well, it turned out that we had to be in the downstairs computer lab with the school counselor during second hour. We all knew what was coming. The entirety of the period was to be spent by researching careers that we've researched a billion times already. You can only imagine our enthusiasm. Still, we did as we were told. It was only 45 minutes of boredom; we could definitely make it through.

Anyway, it was just as we thought: another session with the familiar Choices Explorer website. We practically knew what to do before she started instructing us. All we needed were our forgotten log-ins and we would be well on our way. Of course we were right. We were about to take the Career Finder Quiz that we had taken at least twice every year before. I, being a personality quiz enthusiast, was having fun answering the questions. However, there was something different about my results this time. All of them included careers I was interested in, had already looked at on my own, and it had my personality almost spot on. The results never seemed to be that accurate in the past. So why now? Maybe I just didn't care as much about college and my career in the past. Now that I look at myself, I have been doing several investigations on colleges that offer graphic design programs, journalism programs, and whatnot. I have even started planning on attending a technical college in my junior year. Hopefully I'll be able to actually go to the college for some time instead of having all online classes.

Well, my conclusion is that I must be doing this growing up thing right. Would I have gotten such great results otherwise? I know, I know. Being amazed by simple online quiz results is ridiculous; however, something just feels right about them. Hopefully I'm not wrong.

It's a huge let-down that the holidays are over! I'm one of those people that can't get enough of Christmas cheer. Also, I love the "social obligations." Seeing family members that I don't get to see too often is one of the greatest things ever! I love talking with family. Yes, I'm the freak that actually gets along with all of my family. And I love it.

It's that wonderful time of the year again! Snow is falling from the heavens, gifts have been stripped of their decorative wrapping, the aromas of cinnamon and pine still linger from scented candles; and I seem to be the only person who enjoyed any of it this year. Excluding my family, everybody I've come in contact with says they just want the holidays to be over for various reasons. Family problems, the stress of the hustle and bustle that comes with the holiday season, and hatred of cold and snow are just a few of the reasons for their holiday humbug.

Well, I have only one thing to say: I feel sorry for all of you. Not because you're having such a tough time during the holidays. Oh, no. My sympathy for you is driven from the fact that you decided to spend your holiday season worrying and thinking solely of the bad things that come with it. Yes, I realize that there are troubles that come about from the holidays and I do experience them. However, I like to enjoy Christmas. So stop complaining about how horrible this and that is and surround yourself with the little things that make the holidays such an amazing time of the year! And I swear, if I go back to school and hear only about how awful the holidays were, I will spring a sob story on you. Just keep this in mind: There are others that had a much worse holiday season than you did.

 I must have been an extremely good girl this year, for Santa has given me the gift of the internet anywhere I want it! Well, it wasn't really Santa, but I am knighting my mom with the title because she really went all out this year. Ben and I both got the presents we've had our eyes on for awhile. For me, a laptop (netbook, notebook, whatever you want to call it.) And for Ben, an Xbox 360 Elite. So now, I can sit in my room doing whatever I want on the internet, whether it be streaming Imogen Heap, blogging on LiveJournal, posting in the depths of the CB on Gaia, or whatever! I have my own computer now so it doesn't matter! As for Ben, he's been begging for an Xbox 360 for the whole year, practically. He has lots of fun playing my cousin's Xbox. So now we just have to get some decent games for it. Right now we only have the two free games that came with the console. Pure (some kind of racing game) and Lego Batman ('nuff said). And the only reason he has so much fun playing my cousin's Xbox is because they have some good games such as Halo, Oblivion, and several other games that come out of nowhere. Seriously, how do they even pay for all of those games? They barely have an allowance, neither of them have a job because they don't drive, and their parents make the same money that ours do. I think they must steal them; but that's a totally different story. Anyway, this Xbox 360 could also benefit myself. We're facing an awfully short Christmas break but a break all the same. So eventually I will get bored out of my mind. Maybe we'll get some awesome games that I will like to play. L4D2 or Assassin's Creed, perhaps? HINT, HINT. Nah, I'm just kidding. However, if we do get some cool games, I will be kicking Ben's ass at them. I am so much more of a gamer than he is. Not that I'm a hardcore gamer or anything. I'm just saying I could totally beat him at L4D2. Well, with these awesome gifts I'm starting to think we're spoiled. Actually, I know we're spoiled. An Xbox 360 and a laptop all in one year? Damn... I don't care if I don't get allowance for another year! (Hopefully I'll have a job by Spring so I don't have to rely on an allowance but that's another different story.) And what a day to get it! Now I won't get any of my remaining Huck Finn projects finished by tomorrow! Laptops are worth failing grades, though!