Writing

So, I am trying to write everyday. Whether it is an essay or an anecdote, I am trying to enhance my writing abilities. And so far, I believe it is working. New ideas come into my head hourly, hopefully I will be able to share some of these with you very soon!

Once I write a few final drafts and decide I will not be using them for anything else I'll be sure to post them here. I just wanted to check in and let you know everything is doing great. Musical workshops start this week and we'll be learning audition songs for "Little Shop of Horrors", or, as I will call it, "Little Shop".

It's bound to be a crazy year ahead with musicals and college admissions just a year away (some of my friends find out about schools in just a few weeks)! I hope you are excited to follow me on this journey!

One Geek,

Grant

Editorials

I think I might have just written a fantastic editorial. You know when you get in those moods where all you want to do is write? Well I just had that happen to me! And I would write another blog right now about the play and Thanksgiving.... but I've exhausted all my writing power for the night working on my editorial! So if you want to read it, it will HOPEFULLY be posted tomorrow at WHS Smoke Signals, my school newspaper! In the meantime, read some articles and SUBSCRIBE!!!!

One Geek,

Grant

Eagle Scout Project: Prep Day

Hello again! You may be saying, "What!? You wrote a new post two days in a row?" Well, my response to that would be, "Yes. Yes, indeed."

So my Eagle Scout Project is this weekend! I am going to be renovating/painting a mural on/cleaning my Drama Room and surrounding spaces. So today I began to outline the mural and it's actually looking pretty great.

As the weekend approaches I am getting more nervous, but more confident as well. If that makes sense.... I'm finding small cracks in my plan but I am quickly repairing them too. So although I realize my pre-planning might have been a bit shaky, the project gets stronger as we get closer.

So tomorrow my day is PACKED! Rehearsal and TYC and maybe an ASB Mixer....... CRAZINESS! So that was a short post, but better than nothing!

One Geek,

Grant

This Blog

So today I was scrolling through all my posts and I realized that my blog goes all the way back through my high school career.... a sort of diary. I suddenly feel enormously grateful for all the posts (no matter how seemingly frivolous they may seem) that are here. I can look back on 9th grade and see how much I've changed.

On a side note, today is Halloween! I'm going out with my friends to Trick-or-Treat :) And don't worry (because I know you were!!!), the next "Most Intense Year Ever" post will be on its way very, very soon!

One Geek,

Grant

Stereotypes

On the first day of school I was walking around with The Hunger Games, the first book in the trilogy of the same name, and one student came up to me and asked “Why are you reading that? Isn’t that ‘Chick Lit’?” Chick Lit is basically the book equivalent of a Chick Flick. But before judgments can be made, let me give you some background. For those of you who do not know what The Hunger Games is about: it is not another Twilight. No sparkly vampires or lustful werewolves are present in the dystopian country of Panem. This book pits 24 randomly selected children against each other in a harsh battle to the death. Does this sound like a “Chick Lit” story to you? Me neither. This question caught me off guard. Why am I reading it? I didn’t know I was constricted to reading only certain books.

But more importantly, where am I going with this? I want to talk about stereotypes: judgments that are derived from observation and expectation. This offhanded remark led me to question why such things even matter? Who cares if a boy wants to read “Chick Lit” or a girl wants to play football? It all comes down to one thing: stereotypes. Gender stereotypes define what “normal” boy and girl activities are. For example, the “traditional” male often depicted on TV is shown as a star athlete whose main goal in life is to chase women. Similarly, the “traditional” girl is depicted as an airhead who cannot live without a caring man to take care of her. In the rare occasion any character strays for the “norm” they are often outcasts and misfits. So why is there such a large emphasis placed on gender stereotypes? Can anyone say for certain?

Let’s take me for example. Males in musical theater were often thought of as effeminate and possibly even gay. Well, I’m in musical theater. And I took it even one step further: I was apart of the dance department last year. TWO activities classified as “feminine”. I must be gay, right? Not so fast. This isn’t my coming out story, and yes, I do in fact like girls. Everyone, me included, has had the thought run through their head, “Is that person gay?” or “That kid is really weird.” Why is it? Why is it that first thing that comes to our minds are rushed judgments? It is because we see someone who strays from the “norm” and does not fit into the tight stereotypes assigned to them by society.

And gender stereotypes are not the only ones present here at West High. We stereotype people using the classes they take, the sports they play, the clubs they are apart of and the friends they have. Would it be fair to say that all football players are idiot meatheads whose sole purpose in life is to womanize cheerleaders? Of course not because that is not even close to reality. Can I say, without backlash, that those of you taking 4 or 5 AP classes are video game nerds and have no life apart from your computer and homework? Probably not.

It is hard at the beginning of the school year to not form judgments but I believe it is essential to do just that. Walking into situations with an open mind will help you achieve your goals faster. Has stereotyping someone ever helped you? Probably not. In fact, it has probably hurt you a lot more in the long run than it has helped.

My purpose right now is not to criticize teenagers. I just want everyone to be aware how detrimental it can be for some when they are consistently judged for doing things they love. Do not write off peers for their quirks, but embrace your similarities. Think of everyone as a potential new best friend. Everyone you have previously written off has more to them than meets the eye! Why call someone weird, when you are, in their eyes, just as weird.

Taken from my "Oratory Presentation" in AP English Language and Composition

Most Intense Year Ever..... In a Good Way (PART 1)

HEY EVERYONE.

I'm back again. And this time I am here to tell you about my unexpectedly difficult junior year. So far it has been filled with rehearsals (as always!), books, departures, balloons, vacations, dancing and more!

This is sure to be quite an eclectic post, but stay with me!

My Schedule

So this year I have had so much homework every night. But I'm not complaining. It keeps me busy. And when I say busy. I mean busy. I spend every night doing homework until I go to bed. Now, that doesn't mean I study all day, every day. I take breaks! But when I finish my homework, I go to sleep!

Also, basically every single day I have SOMETHING after school. Monday- Boy Scouts. Tuesday- Musical Theater Class. Wednesday- TYC (Youth Council). Thursday- Rehearsal. Friday- NOTHING (thank goodness!). I'm not complaining, though. You know I love staying busy!

My Classes

Let me give you a breakdown of each class and my thoughts on them so far:

AP English Language and Composition- This is the best English class I have ever taken. My teacher rocks. The material rocks. My classmates rock. It's rockin', if you ask me. But as always, it's always the class that you love that gives you the most homework! Although I have never had so much work in an English class before, I believe that I will learn so much more than ever before. Isn't that how it works? Hardwork = Knowledge?

Physics- I. Love. Physics. It is math + science + the world. That equation just makes me smile. It is every subject I love squished together into a wonderful explosion of vectors.

Play Prod- I think you've heard about this class before! My drama class is fantastic as always. I have a blast, and right now we are working on an ORIGINAL PLAY! We are working on the premiere of a new play, so stay tuned for that!

AP Calculus AB- This class is the typical math class I love. I am one of those kids people think is weird because they love math. I just do. Don't question. We have the most amazing teacher right now. He is so passionate about the subject that you can help but want to learn with him around. I know that sounds cheesy and all.... but it's true! So far every class has been a dream, doesn't that sound too good to be true? Well, it is. My teacher got offered a new job to train teachers at the school district and he accepted the offer. We get a new teacher in two days and nobody knows who it will be..... I'll let you know how that goes.

French 3- AHHH! This is a class I don't talk about too often. This year is my favorite year in French so far. I mean, they have all been good, but I have so many friends in this class because everyone who has stayed with the language for three-four years is in this class. The combination of friends and my fun teacher make me think that this year in French will be a year to remember!

Journalism- I am loving being Assistant Editor-in-Chief! It is so different than being a writer and now I understand the stress the editors felt last year. I have to keep track of grades, edit and post articles, crop pictures, change the website. Despite the hard work, I love it. The staff is great this year.

Overall, as you can see, my classes this year are GREAT! I couldn't ask for a more perfect schedule! I'll be back soon with another post about my extracurriculars! This year is looking to be an exciting one and I can't wait to share it with you!

One Geek,

Grant

Labor Day Irony

So my school starts THIS THURSDAY... that is like 4 days to finish Summer Homework. Everyone waits until the last moment to do it and I always try not to procrastinate. I luckily achieved my goal (somewhat) this year! I will NOT be pressed for time. I just have to continue at my pace of 10 pages per day (EASYPEASY) and I'll finish!

But this is where the irony comes in.... my summer reading book is Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. It is all about the struggles on the lower working class in America. So what book will I be reading on Labor Day? A book about working.

Also, on a side note. I find a great oxymoron within the phrase "Labor Day". One would think there would be a surplus of hard labor taking place during this day, but NOOOO! Everywhere in the nation is practically closed. Ironic? I think so.

One Geek,

Grant

The Marathon Day

Today was a loooooooooooooooong but exciting day! I spent most of the day with Chandler, Megan and Carly! So here is a QUICK OVERVIEW!!!!!!!

Glee 3D Movie

Shopping

Lunch

Chandler's House

Geocaching

Dinner

Jersey Shore

Get Shaved!

Geocaching

Tiredness

So let's go one by one!

We start out seeing Glee at 11:30 in the morning. Really, we have no plans at this point other than just seeing the movie. First of all, the movie was good! It gave me my much needed dose of Glee that I've been missing (even though I have been a huge fan of "The Glee Project"!) The movie even felt TOO SHORT! It left me wanting more and wishing I went to the concerts. Although they somewhat forcefully inserted "touching" and "heartfelt" stories into the movie, I would have been A-OK watching 160 minutes of Glee concert footage!

So after this we (as in we, I really mean the girls with me tagging along) went shopping. They go to the teenage girl mecca of Forever 21..... it seems like it is some sort of unspoken ritual that all females between the ages of 14-18 must go into Forever 21 when they pass it.... regardless of whether they have money to spend. It's sort of annoying.

Then after the grueling shopping expedition, we all grab lunch. But OF COURSE we all want something different. Carly gets Hot Dog on a Stick, Chandler gets Panda Express and Megan and I head to Chipotle. So we sit there eating for an hour. How a person can possibly spend an hour eating lunch is beyond me. We ate wayyyyy too much there! Such fatties!

So we head to Chandler's house and decide to go geocaching (random much?) For those of you that don't know what geocaching is, it's sort of a treasure hunt. People hide "caches" and inside each is a log and goodies. It's really fun and can get pretty competitive (especially with our group.... more on that later!) It's a ton of fun and there are caches everywhere! So go to geocaching.com for more details!

So we leave and I'm the only one who really knows what to expect. We head to the mall and the first cache is SO HARD. We all run and scream around (we were sort of THOSE teenagers today....) and we can't find it! At the same time Chandler and I see the cache and make a mad dash for it but OF COURSE I get it first ;) By the way, the stakes are high in our group! Whoever finds the cache gets FRONT SEAT. Mhmm, jealous?

So we geocache for another 3 hours and found 8 caches total. It was a pretty eventful day, and GUESS WHO WON!? ME. Of course. I found 4 of them (well... 4 and a quarter.... we decided to split one since it was a group effort) so I am geocaching king for the time being.

So we get back to Chandler's house and her amazing mother makes us some pizza and we watch Jersey Shore. Just a clarification, I TRY not to watch this show but I was forced -.- It's funny and all but really, I have better ways to spend an hour (perhaps, geocaching!?) but I deal ;) I may even sometimes semi-enjoy my time watching these Guidos galavanting around Italy.

So after that we (with two more girls!) head to "Get Shaved". It's the shave ice place in our town that is definitely BOMB.COM They have a gazillion combinations with the best ice cream I have ever tasted. Shave ice (yes, no D!) sounds strange at first but it is the most popular dessert place with my friends!

After that the two newbies wanna head over to geocache since we told them how gosh darn amazing it is. But of course, it's 9 PM now.... but they insist. We head over to this park and there were other people there so we felt somewhat safe. This geocache was HARD. Definitely the hardest of the day but in the end, one of the newbies found it and we all went back to Chandler's house.

I'm so tired. I don't know why, because sitting through a movie and searching through dirt is not THAT tiring. But whatever the reason, I'm wiped.

One Geek,

Grant

I've Got a Case of the Kindergarten Blues

My little brother and sister started school today! My brother, Tanner (6), is going into 1st grade and my sister, Katie (4), is going into Kindergarten!

So that means I have mixed feelings. They are gonna be out of the house but I'm gonna miss them! I don't start school for another month so it'll be lonely around here....

I went to their classrooms today and there were no tears and they both seemed genuinely happy! Hopefully Katie likes school!

I really don't have much else to say about this topic but I thought I should share it with you guys. Hopefully you're liking my more frequent posts!

One Geek,

Grant

Bad Ideas in a Ralph's Parking Lot

So I was sworn in today. It was anticlimactic.... as I predicted. My mom was excited though.... also.... as I predicted. Oh! And if you were wondering, I put my right hand up when I was sworn in. Question answered.

So everyone else who was there is pretty cool. It seems like this year will be fun and not hectic. It seems more of a party than a council (LIKELIKELIKE!) so that is a plus! Afterwards we went to Chipotle but of course I already ate..... sooooooo I went to get this strange drink at Coffee Bean.... It was some sort of iced tea latte which was good but still very strange.

Then we moved on and went to this shave ice place 10 minutes away but of course when we get there NOBODY had money. WHY WOULD YOU GO SOMEWHERE WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY TO DO ANYTHING!? But regardless, we had fun times galavanting through Ralph's. One person wanted to play walking freeze tag in the store. Let's just say that idea was quickly turned down. We pretty much awkwardly walked around the store for 15 minutes then left.... sketchy is you ask me. I'm surprised we didn't get a pat down from suspicion of theft!

Soooooo, we go out into the parking lot and stand there for another 30 minutes! We were trying to come up with ideas for fun activities but nothing good came out of this "brainstorming session". You can see them for yourselves:

1. Play "Sardines" in the empty parking lot (if you don't know what the game is, Google it!) This is dumb for many reasons. For example, where would we hide? Wouldn't it be obvious everyone gathering in an EMPTY parking lot!?

2. Play "Risk" all night at someone's house

3. Go see a movie.... first of all, NOBODY has money. So they suggested everyone go home, get money, then go to the theater.... that was basically ignored from the get go

So we just left! We have a meeting tomorrow so it's not really THAT bad. They'll come up with some sort of thing to do other than conspicuously standing in a parking lot all night..... hopefully.

CONGRATULATIONS! You got 2 blog posts in 1 day. I'm making up for my awful dry spell.

One Geek,

Grant

Hey, Ho, LET'S GO!

I'm back and better than ever. "WHY?" You may ask. "WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE YOU THIS TIME!?"

Well it's simple. I am coming back better than ever. I'll cover more topics and do at least one post a week (hopefully more!). Although I'll be coming back with more gusto than ever, it will probably bring a bit more randomness with it!

You'll see posts about everything. Topics ranging from my day to day life (yawn!), things I like, shows I loved and anything else that comes to mind! So all you 8 followers are in for a treat! ;)

Hopefully these daily endeavors get me to at least 10 "loyal" readers.... although I'm not sure how loyal anyone is towards reading my blog....

Today I am getting SWORN IN at a City Council Meeting. Yep, you heard that right. This ragtag theater child is raising my right (or is it left....) hand in front of the mayor. My mom even bought me a suit for this occasion so I mean, I guess it's a big deal for them. I love how parents are sometimes even more ecstatic about their child's activities than the kid themselves.

Also, I just got back from a rockin' trip to Cape Cod and Boston. I even visited my first college (BOSTON COLLEGE!) and it's scary to imagine where I'll be in two years!

That's all for now but remember, I'LL BE BACK SOON!

One Geek,

Grant

MY APOLOGIES

I say this..... TOO MUCH.

I never post.

Why don't I post?

No idea. I get lazy. Don't we all?

Please don't blame me.

I still love you all, hopefully you still love me.

You dedicated EIGHT followers ;)

But the summer is approaching which means more free time. Which hopefully means more blog posting! And it will be less summarizing of my life and maybe more exciting!?!? Who knows.

Gah, I really wish I wrote on this thing more often. I like it :)

One Geek,

Grant

Dear Readers, Welcome "Dear, Edwina"

Hello, and welcome back to My Life as One Geek. I truly apologize for this little interruption.... life took over. Break happened. School hit me like a bus.

But now we're back and I'll be writing more than ever (well... I HOPE!)

Auditions for the school musical begin tomorrow and I hope to capture the action DAILY. Yes, daily! Well.... maybe weekly as the long days go on, but I'm setting my sights high and I WILL post daily!

Oh, and by the way, Edwina is my love interest. Yes, Edwina, the lead character, Edwina. That means I get to confess my love to her through song. Fun, huh?

Possibly... I'll try my best, but this week is busy for me!

Today I had "Tech Day" for the January Dance Concert with my "Pirates" dance. We're having a great time and the show opens tomorrow so I'll be excited to see how everything goes! It should be AMAZING and such a great experience. I'm already thinking ahead to the May show! I'd like to choreograph for it :)

But throughout January the musical cast will be preparing our music before we head to choreography so this may be a little boring in the beginning...

But this week I have rehearsals form 3-6 and the dance show from 6-10... does that leave time for homework AND sleep? NO. So I'm going to get my sleep while I can....

One Geek,

Grant