Ardent Author's Writing Challenge Entry #2
Hey guys! Today I have another extra post, my 2nd piece of writing for the 2nd round of AAWC. As y'all hopefully know, I'm on Team Summer... (*side note: 2 of the pictures in this post are my photography from earlier this year, so not all were taken super recently*)
...and we're only in 2nd place, so we can do this, guys!!!
Prompts: 1
Total points: 17
Sentimental Junk
Dear Dana,
How's life in a place where the average temperature isn't negative five degrees? We're all fine here, just a little bit cold. School is school, and of course algebra continues to be algebra. I miss you! I miss all of our friends, and I wish that it could be summer again. I can't say it enough times - I hate the cold. It permeates everything we do. I'm sorry I complain about it so much.
Last night I got hugely reminiscent and emotional for some reason. Something about how I spoiled the chance for a closer friendship with some people when I was little because I thought of them as just another kid. Now, they probably wouldn't consider me as a close friend, much less anything of that sort. Don't miss the crystal inside because all you could see was the rock. That's probably crazy, and I'm very sorry for littering this letter with my sentimental junk. Please forgive me, and have an excellent day!
XOXO,
Mae
Dear Dana,
I'm so glad to hear that you're doing well! We're still chugging along up here, but it's hard to stay positive, as the weather has not gotten any warmer. Oh well. You'd think I'd be used to it after 14 years. That's so great about the horse! I remember you telling me the first time we met that you had wanted a horse for a long time. I actually think it's funny, though, that it's been nine years since you first started wishing for one. Apparently, since the closest star is 4.37 light years away, wishes take approximately nine years to come true. Not that that's a proven fact or anything, but I think it's cool.
I am afraid to say that we have descended into the season of winter depression. I'm so tired of the cold that I just don't want to do anything; besides, I'm so far away from all of my friends and camp is in 173 days - I can't make it that long! It gets a little lonely up here. I think that I longed for solitude for so long that I forgot to form more close friendships. See? I missed all of the crystals. If only we lived closer to each other...but do not fret, dear, we must Skype soon. VERY soon.
Love as always,
Mae
Dear Dana,
Oh how I wish you were here!! The monotonous cold lifted for a brief spell, and we had a few days of forty degree weather. We were all in shorts and t-shirts! However, only the weather seems to be going right. Everything is so perplexing (especially algebra); I haven't been able to write a jot (except for homework) and I've been stuck on the same violin piece for months! I am so distressed, and all I can ever focus on anymore are the negative things.
I'm in such a creative fog. I see ideas online, I create storyboards, I gather the thoughts to do something, but I never get around to doing any of it. It's ridiculous. I have made so many character profiles on pinterest, thought, "this time i'll write a novel!" so many times, even started a story, but I am never, ever able to get past a first chapter. The plot of my life is boring, so the plots of my stories are even more boring. I'm so sorry, I've done it again, haven't I? I'm terribly sorry, I must stop ranting. How are you, friend? How is your horse? I do hope I haven't bored you, and please write soon.
Warmest regards,
Mae
Dear Dana,
What calamity! My world is falling to pieces. I have what feels like ten thousand auditions and ten billion tests coming up, and between all of the practicing, studying, and keeping up with schoolwork, I'm nearly having a breakdown. I really hope that you aren't super stressed - I know your play is coming up, and you have a ton of work too, so do stay positive for me, dear, won't you? I have noticed that I've been able to write a lot more. It all sounds super depressing, though. All I can ever think of is what I've done wrong, and everything that's currently going wrong. I guess that makes the good times even more special, right? And the good times make the bad times worth getting through. Darn, I've gone all sentimental again. Oh well. Please pray for me these upcoming weeks!
Your horse looks SO gorgeous! And the name is perfect - I've always loved the name Cloelia. Perfect. I really wish I could come down and meet her, but we are soooooooo busy and have absolutely no time. Hopefully we could do a road trip down south this summer...but likely not. :( But I would love to see more pictures of Cloelia, and please keep me posted about how her training is going!
Love,
Mae
(^This was one of my pictures from earlier in the year^)
Hey Dana, greetings from Spain! We're having so much fun and I really wish you could be here with me! We're playing our third concert tomorrow, and all of the places that we've gone have been beautiful!!! I'm running out of room, but I'll send you more pictures when I get home and I'll Skype you to tell you all about it! XOXO Mae
Dear Dana,
I can't believe the Spain trip is over! I'd been looking forward to it for so long, but now it's done, and I'm really missing it. It was so terribly hard to leave. Now I'm here, and everything is normal now; my basic everyday life seems so mundane now. Everything that I normally have to do seems like just another pesky task, nothing's an adventure. Because I've been on a grand adventure, and now I've lost the subtle, everyday adventures. I can't feel the adventure in the air as spring approaches; I can't see it in the sky that's finally blue after months of gray; I can't find the adventure in the melting snow or the soft, mushy grass anymore, or even the adventure in someone's eyes when they're truly happy. All of the adventure has left my life because I'm constantly longing for something more.
Oh Dana! I'm so sorry you have to keep reading these sappy letters, I will try to be a little more optimistic. On the bright side, there's only a month until school's over, two months after that and there's camp! And this year I'm going to try to soak up every spare bit of summer that I can. I did soak up most of it last year, but I'm going to try very hard to find the adventure even in the little things. Because if I don't, I won't have a beautiful life to look back on when I'm old. And hopefully it will make me a happier person.
Love,
Mae
Dear Dana,
School is over!!! I could not be happier about it. Ever since I've been done I've been getting so much accomplished; we're working on redecorating my room (and, to some extent, the whole house) and I also have super exciting news. I've found the joy and adventure of little things again! After writing the last letter I looked out of my window, and the sun came out of the clouds, and several birds were chasing each other around, and I knew that I still had the ability to be happy, even though New York isn't quite Spain.
My dearest Dana, we have only two months until camp! Oh, I am so excited! I have a very special gift for you that I got in Spain. It always sits on my nightstand and I cannot wait to give it to you. I truly hope that we can Skype soon, we haven't for so long! Now it's late and I must go, but there's one more thing that I want to say. Writing to you and hearing from you so steadily throughout this year has really kept me going. After I told you that I couldn't write anything, and you tole me that I could find something if I thought about what I loved the most, I was able to write. I really thought, and I've found something else: friends like you are amazing models of the ultimate friend, Jesus. That's why I have you, because Jesus wanted me to experience his amazing love.
So now it's not just with my love, it's with Jesus' love,
Mae
And that is my second AAWC entry! I hope y'all liked it - I certainly had a ton of fun writing it. You may have noticed several parts of the story that were kind of similar to my own life - that's because when I write about someone my age, I can't help but pour myself into the character. So happy Thursday, everyone!!!!
