Dear Diary,

Today is Tuesday, September 11, 2007. I know at the beginning that this post will be long because I have much to say.

First I will start with the play by play. Today I woke up late, at 6:45, and I reminisced and remembered the event that occurred 6 years ago to this date. Over 3,000 lives were lost in the tragic event known as September 11th. We had a moment of silence at 8:46 am, the time of the event, at school. I felt plaintive for one student in my class that lost a family member; her 32 year old cousin died on the plane that crashed into the World Trade Center. We had a discussion with questions, answers and comments to describe the horrible event. I felt sorrowful and at the moment the announcement ended, I prayed to God for the souls of those who suffered losses; I know how they felt.

My grandfather died in a car crash in 2002 when I was 8. I cried in my sleep the night of his death, my pillow drowned in tears. Although I didn't know him well, I knew he was my only grandfather left. My parental grandfather died before I was born.  My maternal grandfather is famous to this date. He had a law school named after him, the Michael E. Moritz college of law. He is well know in Ohio for donating a great amount of money to Ohio State University and the law school that now is named after him. I remember and pray for him each day of my life.

The man who killed my grandfather took off after a fatal hit to my grandparent's car. Now, 5 years later, my uncle found evidence to prove the man guilty. He has now been sentenced years in jail. I will copy the article into this post later.

To move on with my day, in Social Studies, we reviewed the worksheet we did yesterday in class.

In English, we read part of a depressing story written by Edgar Allen Poe called "The Black Cat". In this particular Poe story, he cuts the eye of his cat out of the socket, and then hangs the cat! A cruel and unforgiving story so far!

We are beginning a unit called Skill Analysis in gym over the next 8 days. This project analyzes a skill of a sport. There are co-ed partners, which is unfortunate because there are not many decent boys in our gym class!

We are creating postcards in Art and I have completed the front side. I will work on the message, address, and the stamp tomorrow during class.

In Science, we have begun to set up our "Experiment 1.1: Distillation of Wood" with our beakers, clasps, tubes, and glass connectors. I am excited but nervous for the work required for this 8th grade year!

In Math, our teacher left unexpectedly for a home emergency, and our class was curious about the event, but our sub did not know more than we did. We reviewed over the homework from the previous night and worked on a practice sheet in class.

School ended and I came home and did my homework. Afterward, I came down to a burrito dinner (tofu meat) and watched TV. I biked to Karate and worked hard. The next exciting story I have to tell comes here.

As you know, at about 7:45 pm the sky is dark with night and black. As I mentioned earlier, I rode my bike to Karate, so I had to ride back. You can imagine how hard it can be to see in the dark at 8:00. I had to use my cell phone for light, and my cell phone isn't very bright! I became scared as I saw shadows and rustling beneath the bushes. I began to whimper and moan as I ventured further away from the community house. The shadows haunted me and I became scared and frightened. I cried in the dark, scared and confused. I decided to call home and ask for advice or help. No one answered the phone, and I called my mom and dad's cell phones. No answer. As I ventured further and further I became more scared. I was sobbing and had to sing a song to keep my spirits high. I was worried I would not know where to turn in to come home. I saw the train station and my crying made a decrescendo to a soft whimper. But the crying returned when I didn't know where to turn. I managed to find the way and made my way up the hill to home.

I began to think, "Why won't anyone answer the phone? My brothers wouldn't be asleep at 8:00!"

I came home and sobbed on the kitchen counter. When no noise followed, I started bawling and calling for my brothers. I imagined terrible things happening to them, and I wondered if they were okay. Ted finally came downstairs and comforted me. Evan soon followed and I felt comfortable and at peace once more.

I came upstairs and I am now typing on my computer at 9:28 pm. I told you this would be a long post! But bare with me, I have more to tell.

8th grade has begun and the school year has started. I didn't notice much of a change in my friends, Elizabeth and Louisa until about the 3rd or 4th day. At the lunch table, Elizabeth and Louisa barely acknowledge me. The only time Louisa talked to me I think was when I held a cookie in my hand and she asked for a bite, or a dollar to buy a dessert. I felt used and unimportant.

This year I am in two classes with Elizabeth, yet we seem to have drifted away from each other. She says a brief hello and then moves on to chat with Kelly, Natalie, or Claire. Yesterday at lunch, Louisa decided to sit at another almost full table and when I asked her if we could sit somewhere else so everyone could fit, she merely ignored me and sat down with Claire. Soon others filled up, and meanwhile my friend Amanda and I stood in front of them, looking for a table to sit at. Soon Elizabeth and Kelly showed up, late from gym. One of the girls, Alexa, beckoned Elizabeth over to sit at the almost full table and said she would "squeeze her in".
This made me angry and I felt lame and unimportant. Amanda and I had been waiting for about 10 minutes and nobody offered to move or make room for us! We ended up having to sit with 7th grade girls along with Ashley and Anna.

Also, this lunch day happened to be the day of permanent assigned seating arrangements. I was furious to know I would have to sit with 7th grade girls with only a few of my friends, when Louisa could have suggested a better table for us to sit at.

This made me question the MELK friendship. We were falling apart and becoming less close. We were drifting. I also feel that Alexa and Meghan Wainwright have affected Elizabeth and Louisa's personality. These girls are more popular and seem to be changing both girls. Louisa wore mascara to school the other day, obvious, black, lengthening mascara! Their style in clothes have changed also! Both of them wear more in-style clothing.

I had a meltdown last night and talked to my mom for an hour about friendships and my future. I felt better, but I cried myself to sleep because of one thing my mom said, "I don't think you are best friends anymore." I felt torn over this fact because the more I think about this fact, the more I believe and am positive this is true. Elizabeth never invited me to the Children's Fair last year although I know she wasn't in the position to. She didn't call me when I left and returned from Culver to say "I will miss you, have fun" or "Welcome home" like Ashley did. She left me a Voice mail the minute Culver was over to say "Welcome home". I also feel like I am the only one to arrange sleepovers or hang outs. I am tired of inviting and want to BE invited! I know this sounds weird but I don't like to do the work all of the time. Also, our emails have become less frequent. She never responds to my emails anymore.

I am sad to say MELK's BFF friendship is over. We always will be true friends but not best friends.

Well, this is the end of my post! Hope you will be able to follow the many stories I have shared. Please feel free to comment anytime on any of my posts! Thanks!

~Meg/Horselvr1188