Remember

I remember the first time I walked into Westfield, I was in 2nd grade and the principal told me that the wolf statue comes to life at night and walks around the halls.

I remember playing capture the flag in 3rd grade.  I pretended to be on the other team, then grabbed their flag, and walked across the line. We won.

In 4th grade I remember the hollow brick, when we lost and then found the class turtle (squirt), and my teacher inviting the class to her wedding reception.

In 5th grade I remember the end of the year barbecue.  half the class went back to school early and I remember Mr. Green slamming the door and yelling as loud as he could. Yahhhh worst teacher ever plus he's in jail now soo

In 6th grade I remember making monsters out of paper mache, Egyptian masks, and my teacher always saying I liked Mr. Jolley better as a teacher because I'd always go to the other class when I had the chance and hang out with my friends

I remember where my 7th grade locker was and I remember loving that I had 8 classes instead of being stuck in 1

8th grade was a blur but I remember having math with Bethany Barlow (nicest person you'll ever meet) and a guy who said he moved from New York and was obsessed with mint

In 9th grade I remember woodshop with Mr. Bass, studio art with Huish and Kate, and although I loved those classes I remember that  I couldn't wait for middle school to be over

Sophomore year I remember being worried about more than one friend. Missing the bus. I remember when he walked to my house from school, because he couldn't face going to his house

Junior year I remember pretending to be a college student but I couldn't keep a strait face and just kept laughing

Senior year I don't want to forget anything

Tender Age

Tender Age: Phrase used in connection with someone who is still young and lacks experience.

When I pulled out a blue ticket with tender age written on it

I thought there isn't a better word to describe my life at this moment 

I'm 18 years old and 19 days away from graduating

I still don't know what I'm doing

Once you hit 18 parents tend to forget that we're still young, still learning,

they think you should have life all figured out by now

well sorry but I don't, 

I'm not even close 

this is my last year of high school 

my last year of living at home

my last year of being a regular LP kid 

my last year of being around people I've known since 2nd grade

Everyone I've talked to says that the years after high school 

are the years you learn the most

but I'm still just a high school kid 

I worry about what kind of roommates I'll get

I keep forgetting to check the oil in my car

I work at a snow shack (the only job I've ever liked if I'm being honest)

I listen to music as loud as possible

I forget things all the time

I'm late to everything, every time

I don't know what it's like to live on a campus

I haven't traveled around the world or lived anywhere besides Utah

I think tax forms look like a foreign language

I'm still just a high school kid

I'm at the tender age of 18 

and I still don't know what I'm doing

Prince Ea- Everybody Dies, But Not Everybody Lives

Ok so I saw this video the other day and it is so inspiring and it makes my heart feel, so I would recommend watching it, seriously watch it, it's SO good

asking to dances- the struggle

One night my friends and I were all hanging out and we were thinking of ideas for how to ask to our dates to Sadies that year.  My cousin once did something that said "It would be sweet to go to Sadies with you!" and then she just got a cake and decorated it and put her name on top.  So I thought hey I'll do that, that's not too hard. So we made a poster, got a cake, decorated it with my name on top, and then we all got in my car to go drop it off.

I started driving and as we were pulling up on the side of the house we see someone in the drive way working on a car- and we think it might be the guy I'm asking, but it's too dark to tell.  I hurry and keep driving up the street thinking maybe they'll be inside by the time we come back down.  As we come down the street we see that the person is still outside working on the car. So we start debating back and forth saying "should we come a different day?" "but we don't know if we will have time to do it later this week" and stuff like that, and we decide that we should just do it that night. 

So this guys house has a bunch of trees and bushes in front of it, so I tell my friends that they could probably make it to the front door without being seen, and I'll just be the getaway driver (cause there was no way I was gonna risk being seen haha) So they say ok and start going up to the house.  

I'm sitting in my car and it's been a while and I'm thinking wow where are they? 

Then suddenly I hear my friends yell "DING DONG" and then I see them running back to my car. So they hop in and we start driving away and I ask them what happened.  They then tell me that they couldn't make it to the front door so they just yelled ding dong (like a doorbell haha), put it on a rock as close as they could get so that the person working on the car would see it and pick it up.

fast forward to the next morning and my friend goes up to the guy saying "hey I heard you got asked to Sadies?"  He looks at her and says "Yah but I don't know who asked me, I walked out this morning and found the poster and a half eaten cake" 

Turns out the person working on the car never got the cake and some wild animals ate it while it sat outside overnight haha

Real Intros Pt. 2

It's true that
                      "You never get a second chance to make a first impression"

But this class makes it possible to
                                       "have a second chance to meet someone again for the first time"

I will love you if you give me a Roxberry smoothie or chocolate covered strawberries,
I think Parks and Rec and The Office are some of the best tv shows out there,
and just like everyone else, I'm dying to travel around the world

The first day of class I turned around and introduced myself to the guy sitting behind me,
we just said hi and exchanged names
which is ironic because that's probably the last thing I'll find out about him

I usually don't introduce myself to people
I'm more on the shy side sooo that wasn't the norm for me
but once I get to know someone I'm a lot more outgoing

You can ask Lindsey Huish, Malorie Whitworth, Nicole Smith, and Anna Reeder on that one,
I've been friends with them since Elementary/Middle school and I'm completely myself around them and I honestly don't know what I would do without amazing friends like them.
They've had my back through the good and bad times and I'm so grateful for them.
Also special S/O to Lindsey for telling me about creative writing and helping me with everything, you're the truest of homies

But I think this way is better-  having pen names

I'm not going to lie- I liked the whole pen name thing
I chose the name Kay because most of my nicknames start with a K -haha so creative right?
and then I thought I was clever because Mokita means
"the secret we all know but agree not to speak of" in Kilivila
and that just reminded me of pen names because we all know our pen name but we agreed not to tell anyone till now.

There's no labels, no stereotypes, you can just be yourself, and others can't define you

stereotypes- I'm the quiet girl that likes to sit in the back, I'm definitely not one for attention and public speaking is not my thing, and I think I'm scared to speak up or give my opinion because I'm afraid of what others will think- even though I know I shouldn't care.

So ya, maybe I've already met most of you

But now we all get the chance to meet again for the first time
And this time names won't be the only thing we know about each other

This time we'll be having real introductions with real thoughts

and I
can't
wait

I've loved getting to know all of you through pen names, thanks for commenting and being real,

it's nice to meet you guys- again 

-McKenzie Platt-

I've lost and I've won

I lost my temper when my brother almost burned down the house
I lost my motivation with senioritis
and I lost a bet after 3 games of pool
but I didn't mind losing

I know a boy that likes to throw names in the air
probably hoping to catch my reaction

but I won't let him win anything so I just turn my back and laugh
but maybe that's the reaction he's looking for
and maybe I'm the one that's actually losing

I won an award for "most easy going" once
and it's actually one of my favorite awards
because some people are strait up crazy insane drama
and I'm glad people don't think I'm one of them

I haven't lost my family
but I didn't win anything when they said
18 years needed to prove it's worth the money


I lost a sock the other day but found a lucky penny the next and maybe karma's a real thing
and no one can lose without trying to win and no one can win without first feeling a loss
and I don't know what I'm trying to say
but I know that's probably because I've lost too much sleep


I've won 18 years but I've lost a lot on the way here

I'm terrified

Sometimes the things we shouldn't be afraid of are the things that scare us the most


I'm terrified of the video games my brother never stops playing.
My parents are talking about finishing the basement
and I'm scared that my brother will never move out if they do.

One time my friend was hurt and the only thing I could do to help was distract her by talking about Hallmark Christmas movies.  I'm scared to be in a situation like that again - feeling helpless when someone you love is in pain.

I'm terrified that the retirement money won't be enough to keep us going until dad finishes school and I panic at the sight of empty wallets and dry bank accounts.
I'm scared when they argue over how much money we have left.

When we reveal I'm worried people won't read or comment on blogs anymore.
but I'm more worried about the things people post about, depression and losing hope
That. That's what scares me the most. When others don't realize how important they are.


but after reading everyone's posts about fear I've noticed there are three things most of us all have in common:

We're afraid of

 Things that have happened in the past or could happen in the future

Things we can't control 

and other people

Humanity at it's finest

flawless

and

humanity 

should never be in the same sentence

because we aren't perfect,
we make mistakes,
we run through red lights and we swear they were yellow all along
we might forget someones name or fight with our family
we aren't always on time we're rarely on time
life isn't perfect and neither are we but

"Sunrises are beautiful 

I'm just never awake to see them

and humanity can be beautiful too

if you wake up and find the right people"

emaS & tnereffiD

"Everyone is different."

 But I think,

we all have feet and eyes and hearts.

and It's true

our feet don't take the same steps,

my eyes don't see what you see,

 my heart doesn't feel what you feel, 

 but 

we are all the same.

we see 

just another face in the crowd;

just another -kid copy- printed with "Lone Peak" on our forehead,

we are not

irreplaceable, original, one of a kind.

 Because we are 

 not unique, all the same, not different.

I don't agree with statements ending with: 

"Everyone is different."

(Now read from the bottom to the top)



Also check out this reverse post by Carolina Liar it's amazing  
1st relationship

To the 5 Juniors in this class about to take the ACT

Sometimes I take personality tests for fun just to see how close they actually get to describing me

I remember in 7th grade when we took the color code test in CTE for the first time and I was mad because I got white

I wanted to get blue because it's my favorite color and all of my friends got blue 

but white probably fit me better and who cares what test results your friends get
we shouldn't care

I think sometimes we compare our test results with other people as if our test results define who we are

and a test might be able to tell you how many questions you get right and how many questions you get wrong

but a test won't tell you why Viva La Vida still reminds you of that rusty blue Honda

It won't talk about the 2nd grade and the time you slipped through a doggy door into a vacant house with your friends (there were rumors about a ghost, but all you found was an empty guitar hero box)

you almost died a week before your 11th birthday and a test won't know who saved you
but you will never forget

you still hate milkweed and you used to be afraid of wind and water, and most of your friends can't explain that one so how could a test?

It won't tell you why you love Roxberry or the Maze Runner or why you've always wanted to go to Europe

your results might reflect the time you took to study or how lucky you are at guessing

but you are not your test results
please don't forget that

I found crayons at school and I'm never giving them back

I wish I could blame school for taking my crayons from me,

but I can't

I threw away the 24 pack when I looked over and saw the drawing the kid next to me had created - They were like a mini Picasso 

I thought it wasn't fair

(because when you’re young you haven’t figured out that part about life yet)

And their parents were probably artists

so they must have been born with a talent for coloring outside the lines 

While I, I had to teach myself, and I figured out that life isn’t fair

My drawings would never measure up to theirs

So I traded creativity for games and joined my friends on the playground 

because on the playground you just have to make it to the swings before the 6^th graders and when

the 6^th graders steal the swings you just have to run so you don’t become the lava monster and if you get tagged as the lava monster then you make yourself king and play four square

I couldn’t blame school for taking my crayons when I was the one that traded them in,

  

In 7^th grade I could’ve blamed school for trying to force me into taking a music class

But I can’t because thankfully my mom got me out of it

(If you like those kinds of classes that’s awesome too, I just have no musical talents haha)

(I know jingle bells on the piano and smoke on the water on the guitar, that’s all you need right?)

But I will always be grateful that I replaced band and choir for Art Foundations and Art 3D

Because instead of crayons or high notes they gave me paint brushes, colored pencils, pens, markers, clay, and we even made art out out of newspapers coated with watered down glue

The teacher soaked her feet in a bucket but she made up for it by asking me to join the V.I.P. art class in 9^th grade and now my brothers in her class and she still remembers me and thank goodness for teachers who teach creativity and for the bucket I can still crack jokes about

I blame school for making me fall in love with art again,

I think we focus too much on the Act, and the AP Tests and ugh I have to go to Attendance school

But we forget about the doodles we draw in the margins of our notebooks

And we don’t remember what shepards room used to look like and we keep forgetting about the knight in the commons and where it came from

And we’re getting English credit by talking about creativity and coloring with crayons

I think the right brain is nothing without the left brain

And I think you can find crayons anywhere, even at school

You just have to try and find them

and once you do

 don't ever give them back 

Reality

Reality, 

sometimes it hits you hard, scrapes your knees, bruises your elbows, 

and will give you nothing more than high pitched ringing

and a mind that's suddenly become hollow 

other times it leaves you on the ground, out of breath,

 reminding you that you have to get back up and start all over again

and sometimes it comes when you least expect it, slowly, filtering it's way into your oxygen & H2O,

bringing with it a headache and turning your feet into cement

We don't like reality

some of us like to forget about it by binge watching someone elses

sometimes we hide from it behind closed doors 

and phrases that follow "how are you?"

and other times we use sheet covers and daydreams to make an escape

But I'm not here to talk about what it feels like

all of you already know that

I'm here to remind you that realities change

you can change it

     

If you don't like lemonade then throw away the lemons life handed you
 go grab some oranges and make orange juice instead


We will never have control over what happens to us
but we are in control of how we take it

so take reality and make it become the reality you want for yourself
accomplish that goal you've been working on
do something that makes you happy
find a new hobby
meet someone new
get rid of whatever causes you stress or makes you sad

it's your life
make it be the way you want it to be

Maybe, Just Maybe

I'm scrambling back and forth between the 3 choices every snooze button hitter, just 5 more minutes mumbler, and every sleep deprived teenager has to make every morning-

be on time, take a shower, or try to pull off a miracle by doing both.

It's May 27, 2016 10:06 AM and I'm in the car with friends who know me better than I do

and they just convinced me to sing along to High School Musical, so now we're yelling

"we're all in this together"and I'm pretty sure the neighbors can hear us coming down the street we learned to ride bikes on.

But today's our last day to live up to the obnoxious high schooler reputation and we don't care who hears us.

If you ask them they could tell you the blue baseball cap on my head says I chose time over coconut body wash and the miracle I've been trying to pull off every morning, all year long.

but really I chose them and this crowded IHOP table and the omelette that's supposed to come any minute now.

And I just chose 23, what are the odds?  So now I have to down 3 packets of salt, but I'm lucky because she just chose 4, and now we're all laughing at the fact that she has to get the waiters number.
I don't know what I'd  I'll do without friends like them.

It's 4:37 PM and I'm in the UCCU center surrounded by people who've been craving this day for years and parents who don't want to believe it's finally here.

I've been sitting here for almost an hour and after hearing so many unfamiliar names I finally understand why people are so surprised, I feel like I didn't meet half of these people 

It's almost 7:00 PM and even though I'm 18 I'm sitting in the backseat of the car because my brother knows I still respect the rules of shotgun

That's it, I've done it

I've made it through high school

and now I'm holding my graduation cap and I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe 

a part of me might actually miss high school

You Yourself and I

all their arrows are pointing in 

their eyes can't see beyond the end of their own nose

they have a love for the letter "I" but never a second thought for the letter "U"

they forget that the world revolves around the sun

they'll tell you that "self" always comes before "ish"

and should never be followed by "less"

and I before Everyone else, except after they Cee that conceited spends Friday nights alone 

I watched a friend walk down the halls creating her own storms 

and she came complaining when it started to rain

and I'm sorry but you should know that a life that's all about you

well, that's all you'll end up with

yourself

Real Intros

It's true that
                      "You never get a second chance to make a first impression"

But this class makes it possible to
                                                       "have a second chance to meet someone again for the first time"



The first day of class I turned around and introduced myself to the guy sitting behind me,
we just said hi and exchanged names
which is ironic because that's probably the last thing I'll find out about him

But I think this way is better-  having pen names


There's no labels, no stereotypes, you can just be yourself, and others can't define you


So ya, maybe I've already met most of you

But now we all get the chance to meet again for the first time
And this time names won't be the only thing we know about each other

This time we'll be having real introductions with real thoughts

and I
can't
wait