farewell address (i guess)

I still remember the first day of high school. 

braces, bright blue skinny jeans, and I forgot my bra at home (don't ask). 

I felt like lone peak high school was the largest building in the world, and I could barley walk through the halls. I remember I felt really bad ass because I could go to mcdonalds at lunch and get a frappucino with my friends, and no one could stop me. 

It's literally blowing my mind as I sit here reminiscing, thinking about what a long road it's been to get myself from there to here. 

As a senior part of the 2015 graduating class of this world class high school, I should give the underclass some advice, right? 

Go to class. It will save you a million heartaches when they call you into the attendance office to give you that friendly reminder that you have 87 attendance schools that need to be done by may 22nd.

Do your homework. It doesn't matter if it's 3pm or 3am, just get it done, and you will reap the benefits. 

Don't let people walk all over you. It's better to be "that bitch" who always speaks her mind and gives an opinion than a stepping stone for everyone else. 

Boys in high school ARE NOT WORTH IT LADIES. There's gonna be like one in a hundred that may be worth your time, and believe me, it takes a lot of time to find him. If you ever find yourself blowing off your friends for him, or fighting with your parents because of him, just drop him. (Boys, this can apply to you too)

It's okay to be alone. It's okay to feel sad. Don't let your parents or a therapist or anyone tell you different. 

If you need help, PLEASE ASK FOR IT. I would've never been able to get through depression or an eating disorder if I didn't ask for help. It's scary, but it's worth it. 

Sometimes, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader. People may leave you or treat you poorly, but it isn't your fault, and better things await you. 

I may be graduating, but I still don't even know it all. But what I do know is, I found myself this year. I've never known a clearer picture of who I am or who I want to become, and that makes me so so happy. I've learned that my failures are just learning experiences. I've learned that knowledge is power, and discovered my new found respect for where I live and what I am able to do. I've learned that I love my family more than anything else, even when it seemed like I didn't. I've learned that losing childhood friends is hard, but it's part of growing up. I've learned that people are beautiful, and everyone doesn't have to be just like you to gain respect or friendship. I've learned that people are worth fighting for, and if you want something, there's actually nothing in your way from stopping you.

Thank you to Nelson and the entire CW2 class for creating an enviorment where people can just be themselves, after all, we are all writers. 

I wish each and everyone of you the best, whether it be going to school, starting a career, serving a mission, and one day, starting families of our own. 

Nelson, just keep doing you. 

JJ- or Kate Evergreen

I'm sorry for doing this so late. I know, I suck. But this was something I needed to do. Your blog is too good to not.

JJ ~ From reading your blog posts, and having you around class, I can tell that you have such a sweet spirit. Your writing is different from others because your focus seems to more on optimism, and that's hard to find within high school students nowadays. 

A high school seniors blog can say more about them than anything else, and I can tell that you are a consistent person. You post every week, and I think that's fantastic. I wish I could have that type of diligence. 

Also, when I visit your blog, I just feel happy. The pictures on your blog are perfect, I love all the music- it's just good vibes all around. 

My favorite post of yours was "words we swallowed" from April 14th. This post is about love, and it's relateble. It's an awkward first love, where you both know you want and what you feel, but just can't come up with the guts to say it. The best line was "people call us complexity, we want to be called clarity.." That's such a golden line. I hope one day in the near future, you'll find that, and he'll be the first to say it. (and your mom won't be mad this time) :)

Other Posts worth the read:

bittersweet

if you really knew me

irises 

reality 

love is absolute 

why we need feminism

I'm often asked by my relatives and other adults why I've never had a serious boyfriend before.

Sometimes I find myself asking the same thing.

It's not that I haven't had any opportunities, or that I don't want one, but I just haven't found the one.

Sometimes, I'm lonely enough that I want to find myself one, but then I see things like this and remember why I'm still single.

I'm not trying to say that every teenage boy in Lone Peak High, American Fork High, or even Utah County thinks this way, there are still boys who write poetry and take special needs girls to prom, but the pickings are slim.

For every white, wealthy, Christian male out there, I am going to tell you why feminism is important, right now.

Feminists are not man-haters. The correct term for a someone who hates or feels superior to men is called a Misandrist. Being a Feminist simply means that we are advocates for equality, and for heavens sake people, its 2015, we should all be expanding our minds and supporting each other by now.

I was lucky enough to be raised by a man who taught me to always stand up for myself, and to never let a man make me feel like I was any less than he. I'm the type of person who doesn't let anybody push me around, and I ESPECIALLY won't stand for being demeaned or treated poorly due to my gender.

From time to time, it may seem like I have it hard, but I can't even begin to fathom the struggles women in other countries face every single day. In the United States of America, I can receive an education. I can own a home, land, and a vehicle. I can vote for the leader of our country. I can become anything I want to become, even though some may make it harder for me or pretend like I'm not capable of living out my full potential. But I still can. However, in Islamic, African, Asian, and other countries of the world, women have absolutely no rights. They can not read, write, drive, vote, dress, or even communicate how they please. They are beaten, raped, mutilated, sold, violated, deprived, and even killed, just for the sake of being women, and nothing in this world makes me more livid than those facts. I'd like to see some asshole who thinks we don't need feminism travel to a brothel in India or a burn victim colony in Iraq and tell that to the women there.

Ladies, I'd like you all to know that you are beautiful and smart and strong and powerful and you can become anything you want. You are important. Never let a man treat you like you aren't, because we are. Biologically, we are a lot cooler. We can bleed for a week straight and still survive, and sustain human life within our own bodies. Never be with a man who doesn't understand the importance of you and what you are capable of. Gentlemen, if you respect women, God bless you. But if you don't shame on you. If you are a so called "meninist" then screw you. If you have a big ego, then I understand that you either have little confidence, (or perhaps a little something else, but I want go there). And if you believe that women's only roles are in the house or the kitchen, then go pick yourself up a copy of the Feminine Mystique by my girl Betty Friedan and learn a thing or two.

And lastly, Carter Childs, if you had an ounce of intelligence in your body, then you would understand that you can't compare one group of people who seek equality with a terrorist group who killed off nine million people, and expect a good laugh out of your followers. You're an asshole, and I hope you never get laid.