Books, Food, Dance and Travel
Bridges are a marvelous thing
Sometimes magical and mystical
Sometimes unnerving
Used to transport things
One point to another
Maybe because we don’t have wings
Strands of wire, rock, or steel
Beautiful designs and
Colors too! From orange to teal
Amazing things, so many ways
To create a brand new design
I must give praise
Agatha Pendragon is a character from the School for Good and Evil series by Soman Chainani.
Agatha is a student at the School for Good. She can do magic and is very brave. I love the transformation from Agatha in the first book to the Agatha in the last book. It was so interesting to see how she changed and grew throughout the series and learned from her mistakes. I especially love her bond with her friends and how much she cares about them.
This is my first post in the A-Z April Blogging Challenge 2021. You can read the other posts here.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
These are other characters whose names start with A who I enjoyed reading about.
Abigail (Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls- Beth McMullen)
Ally (Fish in a Tree- Lynda Mullaly Hunt)
Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series- Rick Riordan)
Aru Shah (Aru Shah series- Roshani Chokshi)
Alex Bailey (The Land of Stories series– Chris Colfer)
Avery Kylie Grambs (The Inheritance Games- Jennifer Lynn Barnes)
Here are my top books of March!
This book is definitely one of my favorites. The plot was really great and the idea of a house filled to the brim with puzzles, secret passages, and riddles is so fun and imaginative. The background mystery with Emily and her significance to the brothers was well thought out and planned. Avery is a great main character and I loved reading about her life and how it changed. This is such a great story and I totally recommend it to you.
Top books of January: click here
Top books of February: click here
This is a short story I wrote for my English class. It is still in the rough draft stage, though I hope to give it more structure in the coming weeks. Hope you enjoy!
It was in spring when I first realized I could do magic. I had seen some unusual things happening around me before, but I never understood that it was me causing them, me who was the unusual one. It was in summer that I realized I could control my magic. Ever since then, I’d started experimenting with potions and what others called witchcraft. Because of this, I was shunned. No one except my 3 closest friends, Phoenix, Althea, and Kalie, wanted to associate with me. The others called me the “Magic Girl” and laughed at me. But I always knew that I was meant for something more. I could always tell.
“Isa!” My friend Althea called, “It’s boiling over!” I hurried over to the other side of my little workshop. There was a diamond shaped window at the far end, where a potion was set up. This one was special. If I used it properly, I could be able to share some of my powers with my friends, one of my lifelong dreams, “Kalie! The wax please!” There was a stove at the other end where purple wax was being heated. Kalie brought the wax over quickly and I dropped a little gemstone into it before pouring the wax into the pot. The potion was an eerie blue and it smelled strangely like cake which I could also imagine it tasting like. I could hear the bubbles popping and though I wanted to reach in, I stopped myself. Who knew what would happen? “Now to wait” I proclaimed, then brought out 4 stools for us. We all sat down and I poured us a glass of lemonade that I had made yesterday. All three of us were close. We were all outcasts, in some way or another, and we supported each other’s dreams. Arpin, the place where we live, is a beautiful place, but the people are very traditional. I knew that I would never be able to join the army, Phoenix would never be able to be a marine biologist, Althea wouldn’t be able to become an architect, and Kalie would never be a singer, simply because our parents weren’t born that way. Of course we could all hope for that to change, but knowing Arpin, it wasn’t likely. “So Isa,” Phoenix started, “Have you seen the posters for army recruitment?” I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes, “Of course I’ve seen them. But there’s no point in trying out. We all know that I’m not going to make it” “Well…… I had an idea. What if you use your magic to change yourself into what they want to see? Later, we’ll take the potion that you’ve made and use it to change you back” I considered the plan and shrugged, “Why not? It actually seems like a thought up plan for you,” I teased. Phoenix smirked and Kalie giggled. “I helped,” Althea joked. We all laughed and as we drank lemonade with a special potion bubbling and boiling in the background, I couldn’t feel more at home.
***
I walked up to the leader of the army and tried not to wince as I smelled his breath. I had a completely new body without an ounce of magic. Instead of my recognizable lilac hair, I had a blonde French braid and brown eyes instead of my normal green eyes, “What’s your weapon?” the leader barked. I tried not to grin. This could actually be it! I could truly be in the army. I took out my bow and arrow and fired a perfect shot. While I was hopelessly waiting to be recruited, I had practiced my archery skills until I could shoot a bullseye in my sleep. I quickly shot 10 more arrows and waited for the leader to check my accuracy. He came back looking impressed and handed me a form to sign up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was finally going to be in the army. I couldn’t wait to tell my friends. I took a breath to calm myself down and looked the officer straight in the eye, “Thank you,” He snorted, “Yeah, yeah, whatever. Next!” It was all I could do to not skip home in joy. My friends, seeing my cheerful mood grinned and motioned me over. I ran over quickly and showed them my form. They all beamed, knowing how much it meant to be, “I knew you would get in!” Kalie squealed, squeezing my arm. Althea had already whipped out her notebook and was drawing a schedule for my practices and work. Phoenix, on the other hand, was jumping around and making strange noises, occasionally getting strange looks from neighbors. I was on top of the world and on cloud 9 right now. I was with my friends, and I was in the army. There was absolutely nothing better than that.
***
Being in the army was exhausting. The schedule that Althea had made had proved to work out very well and it was what my whole life was balancing on. I had also made a few friends like Ladon, Hadie, Lamani, Poli, Jayce, and Fanis. They always stuck to my side and helped me out in tough situations. My best friend in the army, Ladon, would often help me out in the logistics of war and was a great person to confide in. In fact, I started to build a bond with him, one that wasn’t as strong as my bonds with Kalie, Phoenix, and Althea, but the type of bond that had the potential to get there. We hung out after practice sometimes, and I decided that I could trust him. I led him to my secret potion making workshop, where Kalie, Phoenix, and Althea were waiting, “Hey guys!” I waved, a bit nervous, “This is my friend from the army, Ladon. Ladon, these are my previous friends, Kalie, Althea, and Phoenix.” I breathed out, “Ladon, I have something to show you. Kalie, can you transform me please?” She nodded and after taking a sip of the potion, put her arm out on me, presumably imagining me in her mind. I flashed back to Isa Chamberlain, the ‘magic girl’ and turned to look at Ladon. His eyes glinted, though I couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or anger and the scar on his face seemed more prominent. He nodded once, before telling us he had to go. Before he left, he turned to take one last look at me, as if really seeing who I was.
***
The next day, I wasn’t allowed into the training center. Before pounding on the door and few times and checking my outfit to make sure I was still under my disguise as Lilah Carter, Ladon came out. The glint in his eyes was definitely cruel and the scar didn’t help his case, “Ladon!” I cried, “Why am I not being allowed inside?” “Why, because you’re Isa Chamberlain of course,” he said, as if it were the most casual thing in the world, “B-but” I stammered, “No one else but you knew about it. Why would you tell them?” “Didn’t want any traitors or magic girls in our army,” he sneered. I look at him, shocked. This was the boy who I had believed I had a real chance at friendship with. Who used to be so kind to me. Who betrayed me. I blinked my eyes a few times and stood up strong. Ladon may have ruined my chances at getting in the army again, but I still had my previous friends. I couldn’t go down, this easily. I had to be strong. But what if it was too hard? I’ve been in the army, I reminded myself. I’ve faced ‘too hard’ more than once. I can do it. I have to. I decided not to go home right away, instead taking a detour around town. As soon as I stepped into the town, bad memories engulfed me and I stepped into the forest instead. The magical forest was like no other. Lanterns hung from the trees and paper swans and cranes flitted around me. I laughed as a hummingbird fluttered around my ears, before checking my watch. It was already 4:30, around when the army practice would let out. The time in the forest must be warped. I sped home and through open my door to see Hadie, Lamani, Poli, Jayce, and Fanis standing there. Seeing the door open, the stood up, before realizing it was me, “What are you doing here?” I asked, perhaps a bit harshly. After a lot of side nudges from everyone, Poli blurted out, “We want to help you,” I blinked. Out of all the answers I was expecting, it certainly wasn’t that one, “R-really?” I murmured. They nodded enthusiastically. I put on a bright smile and looked up again, “Let’s do it!”
***
Sweat beaded my face as I aimed my last arrow right at the heart of the giant scorpion edging towards us. After ensuring that my aim was perfect, I let go and wiped the sweat off my face just as the monster exploded into golden dust. The army leader had made me a deal. If I could deal with all the monsters heading my way successfully, then I could join the army again. I had accepted instantly and ever since then went on monster hunting missions with my friends. Hadie, Lamani, Poli, Jayce, and Fanis has all become as close as Kalie, Althea, and Phoenix. We had all discovered our strengths and weaknesses, making us an unstoppable team. The last monster we killed was a chimera and recently we just ended the life of quite a few giant scorpions. Suddenly the bushes rustled and we crept closer together, anticipating the next attack. A hellhound bust out of the bushes, but I knew it wasn’t any old hellhound, it was my friend Nilo’s. I ignored my friends screaming at me not to go closer and started to pet it. Its fur was soft but matted and I run my fingers through its tangles. I stood up suddenly and addressed my friends, “This is my friend Nilo’s hellhound. I promise that she’s not a bad monster and she’ll be very useful for us,” They looked at each other, slowly warming up to the idea, before Hadie jumped on its back and the rest followed suit. I laughed and got on the hellhound, whispering the name of the training center into its ear.
***
“Will you take the offer?” The words rang in my ear. I could instantly be back in the military and I would be one of the most respected officers. It was my greatest dream……. or was it? I honestly didn’t know anymore. Ever since we had fought the last scorpion, I wanted to do something different, give myself a break from relentless fighting. Maybe practice using my magic a bit. So did I really want to be in the army? In the beginning, I would have said yes, but now, my answer, my real true answer is becoming clearer and clearer, “No,” I said, my refusal echoing in the almost empty town square, “No,” I repeated, sure of my answer, “but…. I would like to open a magic shop, where I wouldn’t be shunned. Yeah, I’d like that,” I said grinning. Truthfully, I had no idea of how to own a shop and how to work with anything, but I figured my friends could help me out. The army leader looked stunned, blinking for a few times, before nodding stiffly, letting me go off with my friends to figure out how to open a magic shop.
***
“Thank you so much! This is perfect!” A customer exited the shop, clearly happy with her purchase. The magic store is the perfect place for me, where I’m surrounded in my element, magic. No one fears or shuns me now, instead, they welcome me with open arms. My friends pop in from time to time to help me run the shop or just for a little talk. My old potions workshop is where all the brainstorming happens. I’m also hoping to create a school for witches. Well, currently, there are no others with magic born into their blood, but with magic, you never know………
Blankets of snow cover the ground
Millions of people with their power out
Houses and trees and cars all covered in ice
Doesn’t feel great, but looks somewhat nice.
People without water, their pipes have burst
No price gouging is a rule that has been enforced
There is a boil water notice on all tap water
I hope that it soon gets hotter
For my English class, I wrote this essay about where energy first came from. I’ve always wondered about this topic and learned so much about it when I was doing my research.
Where did energy first come from? It’s an almost impossible question to answer since we can’t go back in time. As the Law of Conservation of Energy (or the first law of thermodynamics) states, energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it must have been created sometime to exist in our universe.
Energy is defined as the capacity to do work. It can exist in different forms, like sound energy, chemical energy, potential energy, and more. Energy has to have come from somewhere, so where did it come from. The Big Bang is thought to have created everything, but the Big Bang would have needed energy to happen. This means that it isn’t possible for the Big Bang to have created energy and that energy was created before the Big Bang. The universe is a closed system, meaning that energy levels are always at a constant. The amount of energy in the universe from when it was first created to now has always been the same. E=mc² (or energy= mass x the speed of light squared) says that energy and mass can be converted into each other or that a bit of mass can be converted into a lot of pure energy. Mass is a form of stored energy, which means that if we could figure out where mass first came from, we could figure out where energy originated.
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it must have come around somehow. There are many explanations, some of which are possible, yet it is a question which can never be answer.
The sun sets, marking the end of 2020
Starting a new year
The sandpiper runs
Towards a brand new year,
or away from a horrible, disaster filled 2020?
Or is it just looking for food?
I run
Laughing and playing with my family, carefree
But also cold,
and hoping the new year will soon come
Happiness runs
With all of us, making its way to the finish line,
the start of 2021
We will find it on January 1st among the ordinary things.
The sun sets with all of us running,
and it will rise to a new year
Another 365 days, before the next year
Let’s use these days wisely
This year, I decided to try something new. During November (National Novel Writing Month), I wrote a story, or at least part of a story everyday. It was hard sometimes, but I had a great time working on it.
Usually, most writers aim to write around 1,500 words a day, but I decided to do a mini experience with 300 words per day.
Here are some NaNoWriMo experiences.
Some days, I had absolutely no idea what to write about. My advice for those days is to keep pushing on, maybe you’ll get an idea burst.
Idea Bursts are amazing. They basically are a whole cloud of ideas, so that you can write a ton of words for a while without stopping.
When I started this experience, I did not have a plan in mind. I started writing without a plot line and just built my story around my previous writing.
One day, I had an (almost) lazy day. That’s when I decided to work on the ending. I couldn’t think of anything of write at the point I was at, so why not try to write an ending? I had a lot of fun with it, and it helped me get unstuck that day.
I have written 11,573 words in total! I am going to edit my story in December, and I will definitely share some more of my experiences then!
Being the new kid is never easy, especially when it seems like everyone knows everyone. I wrote the fictional personal narrative based off of my experience as a new kid in dance class. This was a submission for my assignment in my Language Art class
I open the door to the dance room uncertainly and peep in. Kids are milling around, talking to each other happily. I gulp and step in, nervous. All the chatter comes to a stop and it feels like every eye is on me. The teacher catches my eye and nods, and I take a seat near the back of the room. I listen to the excited conversation, only catching a few words or sentences, and start wishing that I had bought a book. The teacher, Ms. Nair, clears her throat and we all stand up and start warming up. After we’ve warmed up, Ms. Nair says, “Let’s see Jimikki Kammal from Nimmy, Rithika, and Megha.” Their dance is fun and energetic. Ms. Nair smiles, then scans over the group of kids watching. “Let’s have Niharika, Lipi, and Tara join them. I know you girls don’t really know the dance, but try to follow along. ” she says. I get up nervously and join the other 5 girls standing. As I start dancing, I remind myself to loosen up and have fun. The music starts and I nervously begin dancing, watching the other girls like a hawk, trying to pick up the dance moves. As the music goes on, I start relaxing and actually start getting immersed in the dance. At the end, Ms.Nair smiles, looks us over once again and nods. She hands us a costume to practice in and my mind spins. I’m in a dance group already! A girl who danced with me, Lipi, says, “Hey, you dance really well. Do you want to be friends?” I smile and accept her invitation. I’ve already made a friend! I’m really sad when practice is over and we have to leave for our next class. I’m very excited for the next class and what we will do there.
I wrote a short story for my writing class recently. Our prompt was to write a story about any object on our desk. I wrote a realistic fiction story about my vanilla berry lotion.
I open the lotion jar and sniff its contents. The smell floods my body, sending warm and happy tingles all the way down. I close the lid, but not before taking one last longing smell. I follow Mom throughout the beauty shop, my mind still on that sweet lotion. All I know is that I must have it before it runs out, because surely a lotion with such a smell would run out soon. “Tara!”my mom snaps. I jolt to attention, not sure if she had been calling my name before. “Well?” she asks. I guiltily shrug, not able to picture what she might have been talking about. Mom sighs, exasperated and narrows her eyes at me. “I said,” she repeats,” that I am going to buy something here. I also asked you if you wanted to get anything.” I leap up, my eyes shining bright. I could get anything I wanted! I race to the front of the store, pick up the lotion and race back. My mom laughs at how quickly I’ve chosen. We pay and go home.
To this day, I still love the scent of that lotion and keep it on my desk as a reminder of that happy, lucky day.
