There is only one thing that you can do when something amazing happens. Celebrate!!
I never normally type two exclamation marks, because it's a little tacky, but that random interjection most certainly warranted it.
On Friday, I think I said I took an anatomy test. It was about the endocrine system. By now you probably know where I'm taking this. Anyway, so in class we grade our tests ourselves as we go over them. And no matter how hard I study, I always get a B. A high B or a low B, it didn't matter. The average was around 85. Which is really annoying. Because I probably knew more than 85% of the information.
But when we graded the tests today, it was different. I only took off 7 whole points. On the whole test. I finally got an A on an anatomy test! That's almost as good as getting a Nobel Prize in physics!
Even though it wasn't a 100, which I had hoped for, because I was pretty sure I knew 99% of the endocrine system (I would rely on luck for the last point), I got a 93%. It wasn't perfect, but all that hard work paid off.
It's important that you celebrate these things because they are some of the most defining moments in your lives. This one girl in the yearbook said that her one defining moment (so far) is when she got a 100 on an AP Chemistry test.
These things may be little, but they are very important things. We can't let them go away and move on. Sometimes little things need a little attention. Maybe we should have less holiday parties and graduation parties, and start having parties for the small things. However that might be a little un-feasible to have a party every time something goes right.
Either way, be proud of your achievements. Doing well makes people feel good about themselves. You should celebrate your good doings and share with the world.
So go ahead and get wallowin'!
07 February 2011
06 February 2011
if you don't vote, don't complain
Hope everyone had a great Super Bowl XLV Sunday! So glad the Packers won (31-25 in case you didn't catch the end). Not really a GB fan, but my uncle was an ex-Packer (tight end), so I root for them when Team Homeland doesn't play. Speaking of the best team ever formed, my birthday buddy Tom Brady was unanimously voted the MVP of the NFL. As expected. Tom Brady: practically perfect in every way.
Tonight we went to a Super Bowl party, which i really fun and loud. And they have a really nice pool table. We don't have a pool table, but I absolutely love playing, and I do whenever we go over someone's house and they have one. I don't really know the official rules, but I pick some up as I go along. It's fun and rather sophisticated.
After the game, and after I wrote a French essay about the problems of the world, I logged onto my computer to blog. And on the AT&T Yahoo homepage were articles about the game and its multiple "issues". Everything was a critique of not necessarily the game but the entertainment surrounding it. First there was the national anthem incident, which got many people (the whole country) inflamed. Articles were already written and published about the lines that were missed when it was sung.
Then there was the halftime show. I thought it was really cool. But maybe that's because I'm a teeny-boppin' hipster kid and some of these old timers were like "who are the Black Eyed Peas?" I thought it was very cool. But one critic says it was the worst show ever and that the effects were boring. It was, for the critic, a "been there, heard that" show. Thousands of comments followed, saying "I agree" and "worst show ever".
I didn't see any articles about how hard the performers must have worked to get that show to look the way it was. About the rehearsals, the costumes, the lights, and the crew members that had to move parts of the stage around during the performance. And how various people dropped out of the sky and sang with them.
You know, when all you do is critique things, you suck the fun out of them. When all we do is expect things that are outrageous, we will be disappointed. I'm not saying you should lower your expectations or not expect good things, but if you only think about the bad, you won't get anywhere. Sure, she messed up the words and left out the part about the ramparts. Don't you think she felt pretty bad? Or really embarrassed and nervous? How many of us would be willing to get up in front of a stadium of thousands of people, and national TV, and sing a song that is so near and dear to us? Some of us don't even sing in the shower. And none of us could do a halftime show. Singing, dancing, remembering choreography, all the dancers moving in complete unison, and the fantastic crew members. For a 15 minute show. That is dedication. Imagine if you worked really hard on something and someone wrote an article about how terrible it was. And then thousands of people disagreed. I'd feel terrible in either position - the critic or the performer.
I commend them on their performances. The halftime show was great and they worked really hard. And at least Christina didn't stop and run away after she messed up. She continued and confronted her mistake.
My aunt has a shirt that says "If you don't vote, don't complain". This is sort of true here too. If you didn't put in an effort to make something happen, don't complain about the result.
My French essay was about how the biggest world problem is ignorance and lack of tolerance. If we were more understanding, the world would be a better place.
Tonight we went to a Super Bowl party, which i really fun and loud. And they have a really nice pool table. We don't have a pool table, but I absolutely love playing, and I do whenever we go over someone's house and they have one. I don't really know the official rules, but I pick some up as I go along. It's fun and rather sophisticated.
After the game, and after I wrote a French essay about the problems of the world, I logged onto my computer to blog. And on the AT&T Yahoo homepage were articles about the game and its multiple "issues". Everything was a critique of not necessarily the game but the entertainment surrounding it. First there was the national anthem incident, which got many people (the whole country) inflamed. Articles were already written and published about the lines that were missed when it was sung.
Then there was the halftime show. I thought it was really cool. But maybe that's because I'm a teeny-boppin' hipster kid and some of these old timers were like "who are the Black Eyed Peas?" I thought it was very cool. But one critic says it was the worst show ever and that the effects were boring. It was, for the critic, a "been there, heard that" show. Thousands of comments followed, saying "I agree" and "worst show ever".
I didn't see any articles about how hard the performers must have worked to get that show to look the way it was. About the rehearsals, the costumes, the lights, and the crew members that had to move parts of the stage around during the performance. And how various people dropped out of the sky and sang with them.
You know, when all you do is critique things, you suck the fun out of them. When all we do is expect things that are outrageous, we will be disappointed. I'm not saying you should lower your expectations or not expect good things, but if you only think about the bad, you won't get anywhere. Sure, she messed up the words and left out the part about the ramparts. Don't you think she felt pretty bad? Or really embarrassed and nervous? How many of us would be willing to get up in front of a stadium of thousands of people, and national TV, and sing a song that is so near and dear to us? Some of us don't even sing in the shower. And none of us could do a halftime show. Singing, dancing, remembering choreography, all the dancers moving in complete unison, and the fantastic crew members. For a 15 minute show. That is dedication. Imagine if you worked really hard on something and someone wrote an article about how terrible it was. And then thousands of people disagreed. I'd feel terrible in either position - the critic or the performer.
I commend them on their performances. The halftime show was great and they worked really hard. And at least Christina didn't stop and run away after she messed up. She continued and confronted her mistake.
My aunt has a shirt that says "If you don't vote, don't complain". This is sort of true here too. If you didn't put in an effort to make something happen, don't complain about the result.
My French essay was about how the biggest world problem is ignorance and lack of tolerance. If we were more understanding, the world would be a better place.
05 February 2011
real news
We should really call "the news" - on TV, iPad, or the radio - "the blues"; everything that is wrong with the world.
Because that is all you hear about. I can't even listen to CNN on the radio. I only read the articles on CNN about health, sports, or celebrities (it all depends). I never watch the news on TV, and if I do I feel depressed about humanity after that.
The ice caps are going to melt. Terrorists are attacking the world. All of the animals are going extinct. Politics are becoming so corrupt that they are tearing nations apart. Earthquakes shatter our planet. More people than we can fathom go to sleep every night in fear, famine, danger, and without homes.
That's all we hear about. Is there any compassion and kindness left in this world? Or are we all just ravenously greedy animals that fight for what we want and stomp everyone into the ground for what we want?
I want to believe that we are still humans who care for each other - who give each other shoulders to cry on, who tell each other it will be OK, who let each other know that they are doing a great job. But the way the world is painted is in a dark way. With greys and blacks and browns.
Today I was reminded of the good in our world. Something that someone did changed my day, and I don't even know him.
I was reading CNN on my iPad. The headline is about the corruption in Egypt. The next article is about how the Internet influenced these revolts. Next to it is an article about protesters around the world. Then there's one about a gas pipeline lit on fire in Egypt. And a picture of an Associated Press reporter with blood dripping down his face in Egypt. And then we move down and see: deaths in Tunisia. Protests. Troubled celebrities. Kidnappings. Homicide.
I almost closed out of the app and deleted it. I don't need to read this. But then a picture caught my eye. It was a man in a yellow shirt, holding his arms up high, crossing finish line. He was smiling so big that his cheek dimples pushed his sunglasses even further up. I opened the article.
"Marathon runner completes 365th straight race". A man from Ghent, Belgium, 49 years old, finished his 365th straight race. Every day he ran a marathon, 26.2 miles.In addition to this, he is the only person to do 20 Iron Man triathlons (my uncle has done 7) in one year.
He just finished this infamous race in Barcelona today. Since he started this 365-marathon journey, he has run 9,569 miles. He was told as a boy that he would not be able to run, or really do any sports, because of his asthma.
Yet he ran an entire marathon everyday. For a whole year. And he is almost 50.
Some people run one marathon in their whole life and they spend months training. For this guy, marathons are nothing.
His perseverance made me realize that there is a lot of bad, but there is also a lot of good. You just have to look for it.
Who knows..maybe you will be the next motivational CNN story. Turn "the blues" into good news!
Because that is all you hear about. I can't even listen to CNN on the radio. I only read the articles on CNN about health, sports, or celebrities (it all depends). I never watch the news on TV, and if I do I feel depressed about humanity after that.
The ice caps are going to melt. Terrorists are attacking the world. All of the animals are going extinct. Politics are becoming so corrupt that they are tearing nations apart. Earthquakes shatter our planet. More people than we can fathom go to sleep every night in fear, famine, danger, and without homes.
That's all we hear about. Is there any compassion and kindness left in this world? Or are we all just ravenously greedy animals that fight for what we want and stomp everyone into the ground for what we want?
I want to believe that we are still humans who care for each other - who give each other shoulders to cry on, who tell each other it will be OK, who let each other know that they are doing a great job. But the way the world is painted is in a dark way. With greys and blacks and browns.
Today I was reminded of the good in our world. Something that someone did changed my day, and I don't even know him.
I was reading CNN on my iPad. The headline is about the corruption in Egypt. The next article is about how the Internet influenced these revolts. Next to it is an article about protesters around the world. Then there's one about a gas pipeline lit on fire in Egypt. And a picture of an Associated Press reporter with blood dripping down his face in Egypt. And then we move down and see: deaths in Tunisia. Protests. Troubled celebrities. Kidnappings. Homicide.
I almost closed out of the app and deleted it. I don't need to read this. But then a picture caught my eye. It was a man in a yellow shirt, holding his arms up high, crossing finish line. He was smiling so big that his cheek dimples pushed his sunglasses even further up. I opened the article.
"Marathon runner completes 365th straight race". A man from Ghent, Belgium, 49 years old, finished his 365th straight race. Every day he ran a marathon, 26.2 miles.In addition to this, he is the only person to do 20 Iron Man triathlons (my uncle has done 7) in one year.
He just finished this infamous race in Barcelona today. Since he started this 365-marathon journey, he has run 9,569 miles. He was told as a boy that he would not be able to run, or really do any sports, because of his asthma.
Yet he ran an entire marathon everyday. For a whole year. And he is almost 50.
Some people run one marathon in their whole life and they spend months training. For this guy, marathons are nothing.
His perseverance made me realize that there is a lot of bad, but there is also a lot of good. You just have to look for it.
Who knows..maybe you will be the next motivational CNN story. Turn "the blues" into good news!
04 February 2011
yahtzee and dolls and trains - oh my!
I forgot how much fun yo-yos are. Whoever invented them surely was a genius.
I was reminded today about the simplicity of childhood. About how fun things can be even though they are simple.
My brother's school had this guy come and do this team-building slash personal growth assembly and it involved yo-yos. Ironically, the same guy came to my private Catholic school in Massachusetts 7 years ago. And I got a really cool yo-yo from him.
My brother got one too, but it's defective, so we're returning it for a new one. Anyways, he brought up this little bag of yo-yos we have in the basement and I found my tire-shaped yo-yo. And I put my finger through the hole in the string and started yo-ing. And I forgot how addicting it is to yo (I realized the last four words of that sentence were only 2 letters long)!
I then started yo-ing as I was reading new tweets and then our cat came up and started trying to get the yo-yo. I think he just wanted to the string. But he played with it for like 20 minutes while I yo-ed. If you ask me, I would get pretty frustrated if I was trying to get something that kept flashing in my face and then retracting into the air.
I realized that playing with that yo-yo gave me a childlike satisfaction I haven't had in a while. It made me reevaluate my life. Girls analyze things. It's what we do.
All I really do is go to school, use my iPad, the computer, my textbooks, watch TV, an go swimming. I don't really ever do anything that isn't electronic. But some of the best things are not electronic. Like yo-yos.
When all we do is check our emails, refresh Twitter, post new updates and check statuses on Facebook, look things up, and check our texts, we are just becoming obsessive and ridiculous. Kids these days don't pull out yo-yos on the school bus - they pull out their iPods. Kids are more apt to sit inside and watch TV than go outside and play or even sit inside and play a game - a non-electronic one.
While we may think of yo-yos as a thing of the past - ancient, prehistoric, medieval novelty items - it feels good to be a kid - not an alienated techno-gadget freak kid of the new age, but a kid. You know, one who plays with toys you don't have to plug into the wall or shove batteries into.
So find some of your old toys and games. Blow the dust off the top and they're good as new. Yahtzee, Pick-Up-Sticks, yo-yos, dollhouses, train sets. I doubt most kids play with or even own these things anymore.
Let's put down the iPhones, the Blackberrys, and yes, even our 7.000 GB iPads, and play with our old-fashioned toys.
I was reminded today about the simplicity of childhood. About how fun things can be even though they are simple.
My brother's school had this guy come and do this team-building slash personal growth assembly and it involved yo-yos. Ironically, the same guy came to my private Catholic school in Massachusetts 7 years ago. And I got a really cool yo-yo from him.
My brother got one too, but it's defective, so we're returning it for a new one. Anyways, he brought up this little bag of yo-yos we have in the basement and I found my tire-shaped yo-yo. And I put my finger through the hole in the string and started yo-ing. And I forgot how addicting it is to yo (I realized the last four words of that sentence were only 2 letters long)!
I then started yo-ing as I was reading new tweets and then our cat came up and started trying to get the yo-yo. I think he just wanted to the string. But he played with it for like 20 minutes while I yo-ed. If you ask me, I would get pretty frustrated if I was trying to get something that kept flashing in my face and then retracting into the air.
I realized that playing with that yo-yo gave me a childlike satisfaction I haven't had in a while. It made me reevaluate my life. Girls analyze things. It's what we do.
All I really do is go to school, use my iPad, the computer, my textbooks, watch TV, an go swimming. I don't really ever do anything that isn't electronic. But some of the best things are not electronic. Like yo-yos.
When all we do is check our emails, refresh Twitter, post new updates and check statuses on Facebook, look things up, and check our texts, we are just becoming obsessive and ridiculous. Kids these days don't pull out yo-yos on the school bus - they pull out their iPods. Kids are more apt to sit inside and watch TV than go outside and play or even sit inside and play a game - a non-electronic one.
While we may think of yo-yos as a thing of the past - ancient, prehistoric, medieval novelty items - it feels good to be a kid - not an alienated techno-gadget freak kid of the new age, but a kid. You know, one who plays with toys you don't have to plug into the wall or shove batteries into.
So find some of your old toys and games. Blow the dust off the top and they're good as new. Yahtzee, Pick-Up-Sticks, yo-yos, dollhouses, train sets. I doubt most kids play with or even own these things anymore.
Let's put down the iPhones, the Blackberrys, and yes, even our 7.000 GB iPads, and play with our old-fashioned toys.
03 February 2011
enjoy the ride
Thank you for the nice things many of you said to me to make me feel better. It's reassuring to have great friends and loving family members.
Today was a great day. Nothing can really describe it though, because nothing really important happened today. I guess nothing went wrong, so it was a pretty good day. Laughs with my friends, fun stuff in school (as fun as it gets), and overall a smooth-running day. Those are always nice.
But late;y, I have been feeling much like Huckleberry Finn: "All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was change, I warn't particular." I have been waiting for something to happen. For money to fall out of the sky. To go travel around the world. For something really extraordinary to happen.
What am I even talking about? Money is probably not going to tumble from the stratosphere into our little Miltonville. I am probably not going to wake up tomorrow morning, pack my bags, and go travel around the world. And something extraordinary is probably not going to happen right now.
And as all these days pass, all I am losing is time. I might be waiting for an adventure to come, but it isn't. I might be hoping for something to happen, a change of pace, but it isn't. So while I am waiting for the world to change, the grass to grow, and the sun to rise, I am wasting my time. And these are the days that build memories. Days in school with friends. Everyone studying for a test together. Laughing at stupid jokes that teachers tell. Watching Mary Poppins on an iPad in yearbook.
These are the things that make memories. And if I sit and ignore it all, waiting for my adventure, I will miss the most important part - the journey. When I think back, I will remember the fun times in school and school memories, not the times I was sitting around and waiting for a change of pace.
Don't let your boredom and humdrum-ness get you down. Enjoy the nuances in each day. Laugh at the simple things in your days. Unless of course you are walking down the street and a car splashes muddy water all over you after it rains. Then maybe you wouldn't laugh.
You might not be riding in a Prius or a Mercedes. Maybe you're driving a station-wagon from the '90s (or better yet the '80s). But enjoy the ride.
Today was a great day. Nothing can really describe it though, because nothing really important happened today. I guess nothing went wrong, so it was a pretty good day. Laughs with my friends, fun stuff in school (as fun as it gets), and overall a smooth-running day. Those are always nice.
But late;y, I have been feeling much like Huckleberry Finn: "All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was change, I warn't particular." I have been waiting for something to happen. For money to fall out of the sky. To go travel around the world. For something really extraordinary to happen.
What am I even talking about? Money is probably not going to tumble from the stratosphere into our little Miltonville. I am probably not going to wake up tomorrow morning, pack my bags, and go travel around the world. And something extraordinary is probably not going to happen right now.
And as all these days pass, all I am losing is time. I might be waiting for an adventure to come, but it isn't. I might be hoping for something to happen, a change of pace, but it isn't. So while I am waiting for the world to change, the grass to grow, and the sun to rise, I am wasting my time. And these are the days that build memories. Days in school with friends. Everyone studying for a test together. Laughing at stupid jokes that teachers tell. Watching Mary Poppins on an iPad in yearbook.
These are the things that make memories. And if I sit and ignore it all, waiting for my adventure, I will miss the most important part - the journey. When I think back, I will remember the fun times in school and school memories, not the times I was sitting around and waiting for a change of pace.
Don't let your boredom and humdrum-ness get you down. Enjoy the nuances in each day. Laugh at the simple things in your days. Unless of course you are walking down the street and a car splashes muddy water all over you after it rains. Then maybe you wouldn't laugh.
You might not be riding in a Prius or a Mercedes. Maybe you're driving a station-wagon from the '90s (or better yet the '80s). But enjoy the ride.
02 February 2011
hold onto tomorrow
Every quest has peaks and valleys. Even a quest for happiness.
Today is my dad's birthday, which is a very special day indeed. However it was not the most wonderful of days. If you're reading this Dad, I'm sorry this was a bad birthday.
I wish it had been a better day but it hadn't. It was an utterly upset, anguishing day. And to tell you the truth I had nothing really positive to write about. And I made a pact with myself not to pretend that I was feeling fabulous when I really wasn't.
Sometimes everything seems to run against you, nothing seems to go right, and the end of the universe seems near.
But it's not.
I remembered the words of the youngest trapped Chilean miner like a burning scar: "After the bad comes the good." And his bad was a lot worse than me. His bad could have taken his life any day.
But then good came to the rescue.
While it is great to feel happy, optimistic, and hopeful, sometimes we find it hard to do, and our souls are filled with sadness, contempt, angst, and hopelessness. And when we feel this way, we have to wit for it to pass, and hold onto tomorrow.
There is something about the idea of tomorrow that gives me a new hope. Perhaps it's because tomorrow is not today, and therefore the thoughts from the previous day can be finished and never thought of again. Maybe tomorrow is what we need, and will always need, to feel a sense of hope in really tough times.
Don't let yourself go when you are at a dead end and you feel lost. Just wait for the storm clouds to pass. Sunshine always follows a storm.
My history teacher said that most people live in the present and the immediate past. We are thinking of the things that are happening presently, which also includes the immediate future, which is difficult to tell apart from the present. And we also live in the past, reflecting on things that have happened throughout the day. But it is important, especially in times of despair, to look into the future and think that if bad is here, then good will come tomorrow.
Don't lose hope. Hold onto tomorrow.
Today is my dad's birthday, which is a very special day indeed. However it was not the most wonderful of days. If you're reading this Dad, I'm sorry this was a bad birthday.
I wish it had been a better day but it hadn't. It was an utterly upset, anguishing day. And to tell you the truth I had nothing really positive to write about. And I made a pact with myself not to pretend that I was feeling fabulous when I really wasn't.
Sometimes everything seems to run against you, nothing seems to go right, and the end of the universe seems near.
But it's not.
I remembered the words of the youngest trapped Chilean miner like a burning scar: "After the bad comes the good." And his bad was a lot worse than me. His bad could have taken his life any day.
But then good came to the rescue.
While it is great to feel happy, optimistic, and hopeful, sometimes we find it hard to do, and our souls are filled with sadness, contempt, angst, and hopelessness. And when we feel this way, we have to wit for it to pass, and hold onto tomorrow.
There is something about the idea of tomorrow that gives me a new hope. Perhaps it's because tomorrow is not today, and therefore the thoughts from the previous day can be finished and never thought of again. Maybe tomorrow is what we need, and will always need, to feel a sense of hope in really tough times.
Don't let yourself go when you are at a dead end and you feel lost. Just wait for the storm clouds to pass. Sunshine always follows a storm.
My history teacher said that most people live in the present and the immediate past. We are thinking of the things that are happening presently, which also includes the immediate future, which is difficult to tell apart from the present. And we also live in the past, reflecting on things that have happened throughout the day. But it is important, especially in times of despair, to look into the future and think that if bad is here, then good will come tomorrow.
Don't lose hope. Hold onto tomorrow.
01 February 2011
medical milestones
I hope the first day of February went well for all of my faithful followers! It went well for me as well. I just said 'well' twice in the same sentence. An intended diacope, sort of kind of.
Anyways, today was the day that I got my braces off - forever! I had already been through it, when I was 13, and it was a complete disaster.
I cried when I got them on the first time and off. The orthodontist even said that he thought I was the first patient they would lose. I am the ultimate queen of wimpness in anything that has to do with medical procedures. Shots? You better sedate me. Injuries? I complain and moan. Colds? It's a hot mess. Surgery? We've never crossed that bridge, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.
So you can say that I am not the one who would take medical care lightly. Which is good because I don't really need much more than the basics - doctor and dentist. So anyways, I was imagining that this time was going to be a repeat of last time. I kept on thinking that it would be the same, but on the other hand I was an orthodontic veteran, and I should have seen it coming.
And luckily I did. I didn't need any sedatives or novocaine and we didn't need to fetch my mom because I was too much of a wimp to get my braces off by myself. I actually remember the first time I was sitting next to this other kid who was getting her braces off and she wasn't crying. I was balling so hard I didn't know anyone was sitting next to me - my mom told me. She was around 8 years old.
Now that you know how wimpy I am, you can understand how traumatic this whole ordeal was. I went into the office and I was almost convulsing with fear. But the hygienist said there was nothing to be afraid of. Yeah right.
And so I kept on waiting for the pain, and it never came. I kept on saying, well that wasn't so bad, but the next thing will be awful. But the awful part never came. And I never cried. It was great - my mom didn't need to come back and it was just a better day. Now that I think of it, there was nothing painful about the whole experience. It wasn't so fun that I want to do it tomorrow, but it wasn't horrible.
I know I'm sort of pathetic in this sense, but I was happy that I didn't embarrass myself in there again. I bet the last time they were like Thank God that freak has her braces off! But this time they probably said Wow, what a kid. What a fabulous kid.
And the best part is I get to go back next week and get my yellow retainer! What's more fun than a yellow retainer?
Surmounting any wall in life, whether it's recovering from cancer or getting your braces off without crying hysterically and giving all the nurses headaches, or anything in between, you should be happy that you were able to overcome it. So now I can do things I couldn't do before. Like in 2 years when I'm 18 I can donate bone marrow (I'm already the perfect candidate) and help save someone's life. I bet they'll be happy I was brave enough to do that. All because of my braces. My grilles.
Anyways, today was the day that I got my braces off - forever! I had already been through it, when I was 13, and it was a complete disaster.
I cried when I got them on the first time and off. The orthodontist even said that he thought I was the first patient they would lose. I am the ultimate queen of wimpness in anything that has to do with medical procedures. Shots? You better sedate me. Injuries? I complain and moan. Colds? It's a hot mess. Surgery? We've never crossed that bridge, and I'm hoping to keep it that way.
So you can say that I am not the one who would take medical care lightly. Which is good because I don't really need much more than the basics - doctor and dentist. So anyways, I was imagining that this time was going to be a repeat of last time. I kept on thinking that it would be the same, but on the other hand I was an orthodontic veteran, and I should have seen it coming.
And luckily I did. I didn't need any sedatives or novocaine and we didn't need to fetch my mom because I was too much of a wimp to get my braces off by myself. I actually remember the first time I was sitting next to this other kid who was getting her braces off and she wasn't crying. I was balling so hard I didn't know anyone was sitting next to me - my mom told me. She was around 8 years old.
Now that you know how wimpy I am, you can understand how traumatic this whole ordeal was. I went into the office and I was almost convulsing with fear. But the hygienist said there was nothing to be afraid of. Yeah right.
And so I kept on waiting for the pain, and it never came. I kept on saying, well that wasn't so bad, but the next thing will be awful. But the awful part never came. And I never cried. It was great - my mom didn't need to come back and it was just a better day. Now that I think of it, there was nothing painful about the whole experience. It wasn't so fun that I want to do it tomorrow, but it wasn't horrible.
I know I'm sort of pathetic in this sense, but I was happy that I didn't embarrass myself in there again. I bet the last time they were like Thank God that freak has her braces off! But this time they probably said Wow, what a kid. What a fabulous kid.
And the best part is I get to go back next week and get my yellow retainer! What's more fun than a yellow retainer?
Surmounting any wall in life, whether it's recovering from cancer or getting your braces off without crying hysterically and giving all the nurses headaches, or anything in between, you should be happy that you were able to overcome it. So now I can do things I couldn't do before. Like in 2 years when I'm 18 I can donate bone marrow (I'm already the perfect candidate) and help save someone's life. I bet they'll be happy I was brave enough to do that. All because of my braces. My grilles.
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