First of all, let me just say that right now, I am loathing high school. I have had so much homework in the past three weeks that I have been staying up later and later. I actually went to bed at midnight a few days ago! I have to get up at six in the morning! That’s less than six hours of sleep (it takes me from about fifteen minutes to about half an hour to fall asleep), people!

Also, I am working extremely hard to do everything at once: school, homework, reading (for Language Arts) Great Expectations, and writing Beautiful Moonlight. All this stress has a toll on a girl! I actually had to go home early today because I went to school feeling congested, stuffy, and all around bad today. I’ve cried about seven times in the past couple weeks about school and stress (go figure). I’ve lost my train of thought multiple times just today! That’s physical AND emotional AND mental, everybody! Count ‘em: 1, 2, 3!!!

Last, I need to give y’all a little background: weeks ago, my Spanish teacher dropped a piece of paper on my desk with the title “Tigers of Distinction Application.” Let me explain. Tigers of Distinction is this group of students at my school who attend events (graduation, freshman orientation, etc.) and provide a good image for my school, whose mascot is a tiger if y’all needed to connect the two. Well, I applied, and on Tuesday, my friend, Lydia, and I went into the teacher advisor’s room for an interview. We both thought we did terrible, and the questions were difficult. There were some questions that took a second to come up with suitable answers because I never think about that kind of stuff, they gave us a scenario, and it was just all around … unusual. Well, after our interview, the advisor said that he would let us know whether or not we made it into the group on Thursday. I thought that he meant a list. But no; he sent a letter out to all the students that got in. I didn’t get one. And that wasn’t even the worst part! In Newspaper (yes, it is a class) this morning, I was surrounded by students that got in! Lydia got in (congrats to her, by the way), Makedah (a sophomore) got in (congrats to her, too), and Olivia (a junior) got in (I send my congratulations to her also)! So I was the only one out of the four of us that applied that didn’t get in! And I know that not everyone who applied made it (about forty applied; the advisor said that about 15-25 people would get in), but it seems like a lot of my friends did. Lauren did, Lydia did, Makedah did, Olivia did, and then over at the other school, Dina and Danielle also made it into their school’s version of Tigers of Distinction! I’m surrounded by successes, and I’m just a failure! Well, I know that I’m not a failure, but I really wanted to get in!

Well, that was my “this, that, and disappointments.” Today hasn’t really been a very good day. I’ll just be glad when school’s over and I can forget about all this nonsense for a couple months.

This year has been pretty different for me. I started high school in August, and that was a big change for me. I got my first boyfriend since middle school [wow, I just realized that I've only ever had one boyfriend per school group (elementary, middle, high)], but he didn’t really count seeing as how we only went out from Tuesday night to Friday afternoon. Bummer, right? But we’re still friends, which is good, but I haven’t talked to him in forever.

As a new freshman at a new high school, I felt that it was pretty imperative for me to get used to life as a ninth-grader, so I didn’t really do anything extra-curricular-wise. Besides, nothing really appealed to me. And the only thing that did (drama) was only available to me part-time. But next year I am going all out. I plan on continuing my pursuit of theatre and improv, but I have also recently developed a love for writing. Y’all know what I’m talking about. Well, at my school, there is a “creative writing club,” and it seems like something I would enjoy, so I think I will become a participant in that next year. And since I’m pretty good at Math, the Math Team would be kinda cool, too. However, I need to branch out a bit. So Spanish Club is also going to be a prospect, since I’m also in love with the language. I just think it’s so beautiful, and I absolutely adore it.

Honor Society would be nice to be in, and I think I can be in it as a sophomore. And then Spanish Honor Society as well. Also, during my eighth grade year, I was a member of the National Junior Beta Club, and I would like to be a part of the National Beta Club next year, and I think I can do it as a sophomore as well. Dance Team is also a possibility.

Also, on the topic of theatre (I know I totally switched gears), my school is a member of the affiliated schools of the International Thespian Society. Here’s how it works: as the year progresses, a high school student can rack up what they call “Thespian Points” by participating in productions (ex. The Foreigner), like being an actor or actress, being a techie (someone who works behind the scenes), or simply just coming to the show. The number of points a person receives depends on their role in the production. Like for being Betty Meeks in The Foreigner, I got three or four points.

As the title suggests, this semester has been very hard on me. I haven’t gotten nearly as much sleep as I need (or want), and my brain is stretched the limit with all this knowledge. I just can’t wait until Finals so that I can get all of it out and just put my brain into hibernation for the summer.

I think the title pretty much says it all. I have been so stinkin’ slammed with stuff to do these days that I swear that I am slowly losing my sanity. In fact, yesterday, I was at lunch, and my friend, Lydia, and I were talking about the condition of our hair. She was saying how she doesn’t blow dry hers (frankly, neither do I) because she does it upside-down, and when she flips her hair back to its normal position, it’s like a blond ball on her head. I was continuing that topic by saying how frizzy mine was and how I used to not brush it in the mornings because it would make my hair look really bad. But I didn’t say, “frizzy.” No, I said, “Frisbee.” I’m slowly losing my brain mass! High school has really taken a toll on my IQ. I bet I’ve lost at least five IQ points this year alone. Oh, and then later in that conversation, I said “Frisbee” again! And then I was talking about how weird something was, and instead of saying, “retardedness,” I said, “retiredness.” Gosh, I’m just being really weird these days!

And then today me and Lydia were in Newspaper, and I said something strange AGAIN and we started cracking up! We didn’t stop for like, five minutes! It was pathetic!

Ugh, I don’t know. I think it’s because I missed those two days last week. They’ve gotten me all discombobulated and I just can’t think right now. Anyway, that’s it for today! Peace out home scouts!

It’s April 15, 2010, and I know of two birthdays that occurred today!

First, I would like to wish one of my closest friends a happy fifteenth birthday. His name is Suanu, and I haven’t seen him since last year! He doesn’t even go to the other school (our grade got split into two schools, mine and Dani’s); he goes to the smart kid school! So I don’t know what’s been going on in his life recently, but I hope that it’s been stellar! Yes, I just said that. I wish him all the best, and I hope he gets all that he wants! Happy Birthday, Suanu!

Second, I believe that Miss Emma Watson deserves a, “Happy Birthday!” as well. I have always been a fan of hers, from the first moment I saw her as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to July 2009 when I went to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince for the second time with my mom. She is such a wonderful person and my role model! I’m pretty sure that she’s the one who inspired me to act because she showed me that not all celebrities are influenced by the drug and alcohol trends that have been going around. In honor of her twentieth birthday, Emma Watson’s official web site has been revamped. The URL is www.emmawatson.com, and I love the new design! It’s so much more organized and mature, and it fits Emma’s new age perfectly. There is a much fewer number of tabs (such as “Emma” and “Screen”) which give a short preview of what to expect in each section of the web site. Also, another fan site that I check, http://emma-watson.net, produces a card annually that fans can submit entries (stories, pictures, letters, etc.) to and the staff puts everything together into one conglomeration of birthday wishes. That’s not available to view yet, but it probably will be soon. There is a recent post, titled “Happy 20th Birthday Emma!”, that gives Emma fantastic birthday wishes and a short biography of her. Then at the bottom of that post someone named Chiara created a video and the staff put it on there. I watched it, and I thought it was pretty good.

Well, I just wanted to say “Happy Birthday!” to them and I hope that their day has been just marvelous! I’m probably going to update the Quote of the Month soon (whenever I do find a good quote to use), and then I will write a post to explain my reasoning. I have already edited the Artist of the Month section, and hopefully y’all like who I picked! I’ll catch up with y’all later, so peace out home scouts!

I’ve decided that my blog posts are pretty pointless. All I write about nowadays is how boring my life is; the guy I like; and the Artist and Quote of the Month. I’ve lost my creative essence, and it doesn’t feel good. I’m losing myself. I am an independent young woman who doesn’t want help from anybody to do anything, except maybe getting a casserole dish off the top shelf. I’m not phased by the usual teenage drama, and I definitely hate gossip. I don’t live for myself, I live for others. I am a people-pleaser and proud of it. I always do the thing that I think is best for others, even it’s bad for me. Now, I won’t go as far as drinking or doing drugs because that’s not good for anyone. In fact, yesterday, I was hanging out with my family for Easter and I took drink orders for everyone. I had to take like, four trips just to get everyone’s drink since I can only hold three drinks at a time.

So, to wrap that whole thing up, I’ve decided to write about things with a purpose. I won’t be your stereotypical teenage blogger anymore, I will be your source for all the latest news. Now, I won’t update very often, but I will try my best to at least get something out monthly. So stick with me, y’all!

Okay, that’s it for now. I got the inspiration for this post from the Disney Channel Original Movie (a.k.a DCOM) Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, starring Jennifer Stone. I know, I know, I shouldn’t still be watching Disney Channel. But I am myself, and I love me just the way I am. So anyway, I hope my devoted readers (all five of y’all) aren’t too upset with my determination to actually put some knowledge into your brains instead of rambling about my life. Because, as my title suggests, less retarded and girlie drama is much, much better!

I haven’t posted in a month! What is wrong with me?! I don’t know, either! But I’ve had the urge to write about myself for a while now, I just haven’t had the time to write on here or my story. That’s going to be pretty much my fantasies, and the main character (I like the name Cory, but I’m not quite sure yet) is going to be based on me. Just to give y’all a little heads-up, I’m really hoping to write the first few chapters of that next week. It’s Spring Break, so I’ll have plenty of time! I’m gonna try and do my homework tomorrow after school (I don’t think I’ll have any, but whatever) so I can just spend the rest of the week chillaxin’. And then sometime during the week, I’m inviting Dani and Dina over for a little birthday shindig! I’m turning fifteen on the eleventh, you see, so I need a little celebration. I haven’t seen Dina since June of last year at another friend’s birthday party, so I need to catch up! And since I haven’t seen Dani either for a couple months, it’ll be perfect! But I’m only inviting them because all my other good friends (Lydia, Rena, Rena — yes, they’re both named Rena — , Douglas — okay, maybe not him — ) all go to my high school, and since Dani and Dina go to the other one, the latter two will feel awkward. And I also just want to catch up and reminisce with my best buds! Besides, all my new friends won’t understand our inside jokes that have accumulated over the past three or so years.

Anyway, so I want to go see The Last Song, starring Miley Cyrus and her new boyfriend Liam Hensworth, for the party. It looks pretty good, and since it came out today (about a week and a half before my big day), I thought it would be a good idea to go see it. I saw 17 Again last year, and I wasn’t disappointed! Of course, how can you ever be disappointed by a movie with Zac Efron in it? I mean, he’s just such a good actor (and he’s not that hard to look at, either … )!

So anyway (gosh, I say that a lot), I’m hoping it all works out in my favor! I know for a fact that I won’t have any Language Arts homework because we just took our Romeo and Juliet test (that was the unit we just finished working on), and my teacher isn’t going to be at school tomorrow, so we’re taking a practice EOCT (End Of Course Test) to round off this grading period. So that’s one check off of the six that I have. I really doubt I’ll have any in Math (my teacher isn’t mean), Biology I can pretty much guarantee that we will (it is AP, after all), everything is done in class in Spanish, and the same goes for Newspaper (yes, there is a class that produces the school’s newspaper). So I should be okay for the week. Except for AP Bio, but hopefully I can finish that pretty quickly.

And Dani and Dina are lame like me, so they’re staying home for Spring Break, too! Instead of going to the much-visited Panama City or New York or Louisiana or Destin, we’re just going to sit on our butts all day! Which sounds like a lovely break for me. I’m really going to enjoy getting up after the crack of dawn (a.k.a 6 A.M)! Seriously, the sun hasn’t even risen by the time I get up!

Okay, so I’ll hopefully find the time to update the Artist and Quote of the Month for April tomorrow, but if I don’t, they will be up soon enough. Until then, PEACE OUT HOME SCOUTS!!!

It’s that time again! Yep, a brand-new Artist and Quote! Now let’s get right to it.

First, the Artist. This month is going to be a teeny bit different from past Artists because the song I’ve chosen is sung by at least fifty artists. Twenty-five years ago, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and Lionel Richie teamed up to write “We Are the World,” and because of the recent disaster in Haiti (although now the earthquake in Chile seems to be on more people’s minds), stars from all over decided to remake this remarkable piece. They showed a preview of it during the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics (now, however, the games are over), and then the next day the full version was presented. I have to say, I love this song! It’s such a great and inspirational tune, and it really just lifts your spirits every time you listen to it. Featuring artists such as Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, Jennifer Hudson, Josh Groban, and the incredible Celine Dion, “We Are the World” is sure to please.

Onto the Quote. At the beginning of the spring semester of the 2009-2010 school year, Georgian students participated in the Laws of Life Essay Contest, including myself. The challenge for pupils was to find a law of life and write a paper discussing the benefits of valuing it. I wrote my paper on thinking before you speak, using an incident that occurred at my fourth grade birthday party as an example. I could not find an acceptable quote that could correspond with “The Incident,” so I went online and found this fantastic one by the American author, Napoleon Hill. It says, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” I thought it was a very good quote, seeing as how people nowadays just say whatever comes to mind, without ever questioning, “Will this hurt the feelings of the person to whom I am speaking?” So I decided it would be the Quote for the month of March.

Well, I believe it is the end! Please put your hands together for the over fifty artists that came together to perform “We Are the World!”

PEACE OUT HOME SCOUTS!

Like the title says, this post is merely a catch-up. A few paragraphs to tell you what’s been going on in my life. The first part will be all about this convention called “Actors, Models, and Talent for Christ,” or “AMTC” for short.

You all know my best friend Danielle, right? Well, obviously you won’t actually know her, but y’all catch my drift. Anyway, a couple months ago, I’m doing homework in my room (shocking, right?) when I get this text from Dani (what I call Danielle) saying something like, “Katie! Have you heard of AMTC? It could be your big break!” And then she had put a web address to the web site. Curious as to what she meant by my “big break,” I immediately checked out the site. Apparently, AMTC is a convention held twice a year at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida. Anybody aspiring to become an actress (like me), a singer, a dancer, or a model could audition at the closest to their home, and if they got a callback, they would go to the convention in either the summer or the winter and compete with about 500 other contestants for awards. But do you want to know the best part? The judges are top Agents, Casting Directors, Managers, and Music Reps from all over the world. How awesome is that? So that means you could get a contract, and that has actually happened to many people! Have you ever heard of a little actress named Megan Fox? Yeah, she got her start with AMTC.

Now onto my experience with AMTC. When Dani texted me about it, I got super excited. You see, I had been planning on saving up around $5,500 so that I could go to this acting camp in New York over the summer. AMTC is only $3,595, so I would save almost $2,000! But anyway, I freaked out and starting researching this event as much as I possibly could. I asked Bob and Mom if I could attend the audition that was about a week and a half away, and they actually said yes! Not right on the spot, but eventually I was on my way to the audition. I got there at about 6:45 P.M, and it was supposed to start around 7:00. I filled out my application and attached the photo I brought (my eighth grade spring school picture). Then I attempted to decided which of the cold-reads I would recite. I ended up choosing this one that had to do with Mentos, but that doesn’t matter. After about three or so minutes, we went into the ballroom and watched the video that they had on the projector. Shortly afterward, the CEO of the company came up and talked to us about the purpose of AMTC and all the other important things. She even talked about scams and everything that we needed to know about the competition. When she was done with her speech, it was time for the auditions to start! The actors and models had to go out into the hall while the dancers and singers stayed in the ballroom. When we were in the hall, one of the acting “judges” told us to split up into two lines: children 12 and under and then everyone else. Then we had to organize ourselves in chronological order. I ended up waiting in line for almost two hours with absolutely nothing to do! When it was finally my turn, the hallway was almost empty, but I was determined not to let my uplifted spirit get crushed by anything. The judge finally called my name and we said hi and everything, and now I will attempt to paraphrase our conversation:

Judge: Hey Katie, how are you?

Katie: I’m good, how are y’all? *There was a man and a woman judging.*

Judge: I’m good. So you’re fourteen? *Sounding a little awestruck*

Katie: Yes, sir.

Judge: Wow you look older than that. But you get that a lot, don’t you?

Katie: Yeah, sort of.

Judge: So what are your goals?

Katie: Well this is going to be different from what I put on my application because I was pressed for time, but I want to show people that actors don’t have to be total skanks; they can actually be role models.

Judge: Good, good. (And then they went off on this story about this little kid who wouldn’t cuss in his audition for a Tyler Perry show but got the role anyway, me all the while agreeing and stuff.)

Judge: So what are you gonna do for us today?

Katie: I’m going to read Script 6. (Then I did my thing.)

Judge: Good. Well, thank you! (I took that as my cue to leave.)

Then I went over and grabbed a packet from the table and we left. Now, during the presentation, the CEO said that if we had earned a callback, we would get a phone call by 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, which happened to be the next day. Well, the day went by and when I got home (I get home at about 2:45 P.M.), I immediately asked Bob if anyone had called.

They hadn’t.

But I kept hope that in the next fifteen minutes someone would call.

They didn’t.

So I was bummed for the rest of the day and the next day because I really though I had a chance. Then when I got home, I made myself a snack and was just about to go upstairs when Bob and Macayla came in (she had early release) and Bob said, “Katie, come here, I want you to listen to something and tell me your first impression of it. Close your eyes.” So I did. Then I heard, “Hi, this is to the parents of Katie Hall. I’m calling with her audition information for AMTC. You did earn a callback, Katie. If you would call me at –enter phone number here–, I’d be happy to answer any questions and give you your results. Thanks and have a good day.” That was when I started jumping up and down on the spot and screaming because I was so excited. I had gotten a callback! Can you say AAAAH?!!!! So anyway, I ran upstairs and called her number, but she didn’t pick up. I left her a message and hoped that she would call back before the day ended.

She didn’t.

And the next day I was still excited, but a little less because she returned my phone call. When I got home, the first thing I did was call her back. She still didn’t pick up, so I left yet another message. Then a couple hours later, I was just about to post on Facebook how annoyed I was that she wouldn’t call me back when Bob walked into my room with his hand outstretched and his Droid showing a New Orleans number. I instantly knew it was the woman, and I bolted out of my seat so I could talk to her. That was when she told me how my audition went. Apparently, I got really high scores on my actual acting, but that’s not all the entertainment industry is about, is it? So they had judged me on my personality and appearance as well, but they liked those, too. They said I looked fresh, I had good skin, I was very mature (that was when the woman put in that she was astonished at how well I sounded in my messages and that for a second she doubted that I was fourteen), I had good features, and that they considered me for commercial modeling as well as acting, which is everything but the whole 5’8″ height requirement, skinny as a pole, gorgeous model aspects. I was very ecstatic about that. Then we got to the money issue. That was when a little red flag went up in my head and I told her to talk to Bob about it. He wrote down the price and then, while Macayla and I were at our dad’s house, Mom and Bob discussed it and decided that they didn’t want to put down the required $500 deposit and then not have the other $3,000 we needed in order to do it. But Mom also told me that if I could raise the money, I could do it. And since we didn’t pay the deposit by the required date, I cannot participate in the July competition, but I’m shooting for January. The only bad part about that is that it’s the first week of the second semester of my sophomore year, but when I get to live my dream and I’m ranked 7th out of 575 freshman academics-wise (that was another thing they liked about me — that I had such fantastic grades), I think I can spare a week especially when I’m able to catch up so quickly.

So January is when I’m hoping I’ll be able to compete. Fingers crossed! Wow, would you look at the time! 9:31 P.M, and I was supposed to be in bed by now! Well, I hope y’all enjoyed today’s rant. I’ll try and remember to continue my catch-up tomorrow, if not, I’ll remember eventually. Live long and prosper. *Makes the Star Trek hand sign*

My life is so stinkin’ BORING! Seriously, though; nothing “special” or “important” or “life-changing” has happened to me lately. I think the last really cool thing that happened to me was when I got a callback from AMTC. But I think I’ve already told y’all about that. If not, oh well. I have to write an article on Saint Patrick’s Day for the newspaper, so I need my brain to function properly. And for that to happen, I can’t write too much mind-numbing stuff about my life that’s just about as interesting as a sack of potatoes. But I didn’t want to just leave my devoted fans in the dust. All five of y’all.

So, Hayden hasn’t has a real conversation with me in about a month. But my friend Sydney (who is also friends with Hayden) is really bugging the both of us about how we’re going to get married and that we need to make sure to thank her for that. Yeah, right. Whatever you wanna believe, Sydney. We did, however, previously have a pep rally at school, and Sydney forced me and Hayden together. See, the rally was in seventh period, and I didn’t have any of my good friends that I could sit with in that class. Well, except for Sydney and Rena, but Rena is in the band, so she didn’t even go to Health that day because she had to set up in the gym. ANYWAY… So I sat with Sydney. But she has a boyfriend who came to sit with us, but not before Hayden came over! Actually, Sydney made him come and sit with us, and when he went to sit next to her, she apparently told him to sit next to me, because next thing I know, the guy I have a humongous crush on is sitting not two inches away from me! Then I just had to make myself look a retard when I started hitting my legs to the beat of the drums. And then I cheered my head off, like you’re supposed to at a pep rally, and I could swear that Hayden would look over at me every so often with a “What are you doing?” kind of face. Then I realized that I was sitting in between Douglas, my best guy friend, and Hayden, so I was stuck. And Douglas knows that I like Hayden, as does Hayden, but what Douglas doesn’t know is that Hayden and I went out for about three days in October. So anyway, the pep rally was quite awkward for me. And then we get on the bus (that’s the only time I ever get to talk to Hayden) and Hayden starts talking to Douglas about how loud I was and how stupid I looked! And he was even doing a really lame impersonation of me! And Douglas being Douglas, he cracked up right along with Hayden!

So yeah, I took it WAY out of proportion that day; like, I got super excited, but it was nothing. But Sydney still bugs me and Hayden about how we need to make sure that we invite her to our wedding because she was the one that got the ball rolling! Whatever! But anyway, now I HAVE to write that article so I won’t put if off until tomorrow have to write both tomorrow night. That would suck! So… PEACE OUT HOME SCOUTS!

Okay, so the title speaks for itself. This month, I decided to post the Artist and Quote early so that I won’t forget. Now, onto the explanations.

First, the Quote of the Month. I hope you all know that I am one of the most obsessed Harry Potter fans you will ever know. Well, I decided that this month I will flaunt my fandom. This month, we are blessed with a quotation from none other than the greatest sorcerer in the world, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. Yes, I know, he’s not real, but I love this quote and I think it represents the human population perfectly. So I put it on the Quote!

Now, on to the Artist. Well, this month, there are two artists. And one is actually two, so there are actually three! Anyway, the first is Edwin Mccain. Y’all have probably never heard of him, but have any of you ever seen “A Cinderella Story” with Hilary Duff? Remember when she and Austin Ames are dancing in the gazebo at the Halloween dance? Do you remember the song the little makeshift band played? Well, that song is called “I’ll Be,” and it has to be one of my favorite songs of all time! It’s just so beautiful, and I’ve never posted it on What’s Up Katie? so I decided to this month.

The next artist is a band, but then they teamed up with a famous country/pop artist. Her name is Taylor Swift, and the band is Boys Like Girls. These two outstanding singers pair up to sing the song “Two is Better Than One,” and, I have to say, I love this song! They’re really good together! Now, I would say a huge monologue about them, but I really don’t know enough to do that! So, without further ado…

HERE IS EDWIN MCCAIN SINGING I’LL BE AND BOYS LIKE GIRLS AND TAYLOR SWIFT SINGING TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE!!! WOO HOO!!!

So that’s it! I’ll try and update if anything interesting happens in my life, but until then, PEACE OUT HOME SCOUTS!!!