Final update?

Hi everyone, This will probably be my final blog update. I've been back for about a week and a half now. The holiday was great, but I'm not gonna talk about that. I'm sure my mother will show you the photos eventually. We saw heaps, enjoyed ourselves a lot and that's all I'm gonna say about it. What I want to talk about now is how I've been. Yes, I'm gonna be selfish and talk about myself. As I always do. Cause I'm a selfish person and that's how it's gonna be. I'm okay. I guess I am, at least. I'm okay because I feel like I should be. But in reality, that's not how it is. When I arrived in Amsterdam that Friday afternoon, I didn't quite know what to feel. I was sad because I was officially back in the country, away from home, and I was excited because I finally got to see my friend again. Damn, I forgot how tall he actually is. Or how tiny I am? Either way, it was disappointing. But it was good. Talking online just doesn't quite cover it. It's not the same as actually seeing each other and hearing each other's voice. I'd missed that. Missed that a lot. Unfortunately, I was very tired and didn't talk much. The things I did say were complaints about my surroundings. Bad thing to do. I shouldn't have done that. But in my defence, I was exhausted and didn't know what else to say. Then we got back home. That was strange to say the least. It took me way too long to figure out how the shower worked and my own bedroom just didn't feel right. But at least I wasn't alone. Few days later, I left the country again. Not nearly as fas as Australia. No, just a one hour flight this time, to London. Good decision. Nice apartment, close enough to the city centre. Sounds great, right? I'll have to say, it was pretty amazing. But there were a few things I wish I didn't do. Like complaining, overthinking and freaking out about pretty much everything. Why? Fuck if I know. I didn't mean to. Why can't I just be fun and kind and a good friend? Instead, I'm rude, way too dramatic, a shit friend and I'm only fun in those rare moments where not even I am sure what's happening. And yet, a person, a real person, put up with me for those four days. I simply don't get it. That kid must be the most amazing person to have ever walked this earth. But I guess where I'm going with this, is that I'm not happy with how things are right now. I know I've changed. More than just a bit. But now that I'm back, it's like I'm also back to being paranoid, to overthinking and to always assuming the worst. I know this is not who I am, and it's sure as hell not who I want to be. I just want to be a decent person. I want to be a good friend. Be there for my friends, have fun with them, play board games, only give my opinion when they ask me for it, and not worry about them hating my guts because I freaked out on them again. I just want to sleep like a normal person and not lie awake because I'm so afraid that I fucked up again. What happened to the person I was only a couple of weeks ago? I was confident, happy, and not at all paranoid. I didn't overthink every single thing and I felt like I was a nicer person and a better friend. What happened? Is it because I miss home? Is it the stress of knowing that school starts again next week? What is it? It's not like I want to move away right now. I've missed hanging out with my friends too much. It doesn't get much more fun than that. Perhaps it's because I'm back in the routine again. Everything is the same as before I left, and I feel like I can't be a different person because it wouldn't be accepted. I'm back as a different person, in a place that hasn't changed one bit. People still expect the same things from me, they treat me the same and I obviously can't blame them for that cause they don't know any better. They haven't seen me change. But I have, people. I have different needs but the problem is, I wouldn't know what those needs are. I wouldn't be able to put them into words even if I tried. And that's the difficult part. I don't know who I am anymore. I need to talk about this to someone, but I'm not sure if I can. And I'm not sure if they feel like dealing with this. I don't want to drag them into this, but I kinda have to, in order to change this situation. To make it better. I'm gonna need them to figure out who I want to be now, I'm gonna need them more than ever. But they're gonna have to be very patient with me and I'm afraid that's too much to ask. I've already asked too much. But please believe me when I say I'm really trying. Rant over. Thank you. Have a great day, Laura

Yay they've fixed the thing

(This stupid website crashed so I couldn't post anything. So glad I have 't lost my stories but unfortunately the comments are gone.) Hi everyone, No more Aussie school for me, unfortunately. Five months just isn’t enough, not even close. I feel like everything’s only just started, and now I have to leave. That’s hardly even fair. This whole exchange experience has been very challenging for me. It truly was an emotional rollercoaster, start to finish. It definitely wasn’t always easy, but I’m so glad I did it. The past five months have been the greatest months of my life so far. And I’m so incredibly happy – happier than I’ve ever been. I’m gonna miss this place a lot. My friends, my second family, and everyone in between. We had a slumber party on Monday. All of my friends were there and it was awesome. They made me a photo album and wrote me nice little messages. How sweet is that?! I love it so much, it's the cutest thing ever. And they all kept saying how much they're gonna miss me and how glad they are to have met me. It's a miracle I didn't start crying. And I just got the cutest email ever from a friend. Too bad we didn’t get to talk much, but he’s one of the few friends who does have Facebook so lucky me. In case you were wondering: Yes, I am crying right now. I’m sure you’re all wondering what winter is like Down Under. Well, the answer is rain. Lots and lots of rain. Gotta love South Gippsland. It’s not that cold, though. And by ‘not that cold’ I mean not that cold considering the fact that it's winter. I personally define ‘freezing’ as below 0, not 13 degrees in the middle of winter. They need to get their priorities straight. Snakes? Meh, they’re not that bad. Spiders? Nah, they won’t hurt you. Below 20 degrees? Holy shit, we’re all gonna DIE. No, calm down. Suck it up, you'll be fine. Your precious sun isn't gonna explode any time soon. I’m catching the bus to Melbourne tomorrow to do some souvenir shopping. My parents and brother will be there on Friday, so I’ll be staying at a friend’s house until then. The High School Program officially ended last week, meaning I technically don’t have a host family anymore. BUT, my awesome host parents are kind enough to let me stay for a few more days, so I’m really grateful for that and it also means I don’t have to say goodbye to my queen sized bed yet. Yay. Let’s do some shout outs. To Annette and Andy for letting me stay a bit longer, to my parents for letting me go on exchange. It’s been amazing. Thanks, mum and dad, I love you. And to my aunt for commenting on my blog pretty much every time I post something. Yay, people are so nice. Oh, and my closest friends. For putting up with my shit and being amazing. I seriously don't get how you're not sick of me yet. Thank you. I’ve learnt so much in the past couple of months. I feel like I’m a better person. I’ve been trying really hard to just be nice and positive and I feel like it’s finally working. Most of the time, that is. If anything, I want to be remembered as nice. When someone mentions my name, I’d like people to think “Oh, I remember her. Nice girl.” I hope I’ve been nice to everyone. Everyone’s been so incredibly nice to me, and so unbelievably patient. Thank you for being a part of this adventure. I’ll make sure to keep you updated on my life while I’m still in this beautiful country. So glad I don’t have to go back just yet. Five more weeks. Five more great weeks full of adventures and happy memories. I’m so lucky to be there. I can’t believe how lucky I am. And I can’t believe how lucky I am to have great friends and family waiting for me to come back. I am so damn lucky. It’s gonna be a short one this time. I’m so happy, all I can think of is my sweet friends and family and how much I appreciate the things they’ve done for me. I just can’t thank you enough. Have a great day with nothing but happiness, Laura

June

Hi everyone,

You’d think I forgot about my blog, but no, I’m still here. It just wasn’t a priority. But I’m back now and that’s what matters. I hope you didn’t miss me too much. Ah, who am I kidding? Of course you did! What can I say, I’m fun and likeable. Anyway, I’ve made it through the exam week. The exam I’m most proud of has to be Literature. I’m sure I aced that one. Oh no, wait, I didn’t. I wrote that one in Dutch. Right, almost forgot about that. It started off as a joke but then my friends said I was bluffing so naturally, I had to prove them wrong. Whoops. That’s what you do as a foreigner, you write a 10 page long essay on cows and other unrelated subjects in your native language. Turns out that was way harder than it should’ve been. I knew exactly what I wanted to write. Problem is, I don’t think in Dutch anymore. I had to translate everything in my head into Dutch. And then I had to change quite a few sentences because I couldn’t come up with the Dutch words. I am ashamed of myself. Ashamed because I’m slowly forgetting my first language. But the point is that I wrote my English Literature exam in Dutch even though the instructions said that all responses must be written in English. And what’s gonna happen when I get it back? Well, I will have failed and my teacher will be very happy with me considering he won’t have to mark it. You’re welcome, please don’t hate me. Also, my friends promised to send me a video of them reading my essay.

More school days would be great. There are only two weeks left until the winter holidays, meaning I’ll actually have to say goodbye to my friends in two weeks’ time. How is that even fair? Leaving everything and everyone behind without knowing when or if I’ll ever come back is pretty damn difficult. Just think about it. When I left the Netherlands, I knew I’d come back. Even though I was afraid of losing my closest friends, I knew I’d see them again. And now I have to leave my friends here. I don’t even know how to keep in touch with them. I didn’t think it’d be like this. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d befriend anyone I liked this much. They’re all amazing people and I will miss them. I don’t want to say goodbye yet, I’m not ready. They say they’ll miss me, too, which is very sweet of them to say and really good to hear. Today in homeroom someone said “Two weeks, huh? It’s gonna be sad.” So nice of him to say, and so true. It will be sad. This is home. I would stay if I could. I’ve come to realise that being exactly where you want to be makes all the difference in the world. I chose to be here and I could not be happier with that decision.

Guess who got 83% on their Legal exam without studying?! Aw yeah, go me. So proud of myself right now. If only it could be like this when my grades actually matter. But no, you can’t both have good grades and good mental health. School doesn’t work like that. The test week is coming up for some of you, so I wish you all good luck. I understand you want nothing more than to be my classmate again, but you should still try and pass. Do you best, make your mum proud. You got this.

You can tell I haven’t been sleeping much. That’s okay, though. I do know what keeps me awake, but there’s not much I can do about it. It’ll be okay. At least now I get to watch live streams of the World Cup. Positive thinking, people. Australia – Netherlands this week. Straya, you’re going down. The World Cup is so much more fun when people couldn’t care less. They’re all too busy playing footy. Still unsure how that game works. All I know is that their shorts are way too short and that they jump on each other a lot.

Let me tell you about Friday night. My friends took me out for dinner since they are all very sad that I’m leaving in two weeks, which is understandable. Good food and good company is probably the best combination you can possibly have. We just sat there, ate pizza, and talked a lot. It was so nice, I enjoyed myself a lot. I felt like I fit right in. Then we walked to Macca’s and got ice cream, because that’s what you do when you live in Gatha. That night is definitely one of my favourite memories.

I feel like I’m forgetting something. Of course I can’t remember what it is. It probably wasn’t important, but it still pisses me off. Ah well, happens. How is everyone doing? Enjoying school/work, or looking forward to the holidays?

Have a great week, good luck on your tests and responsibilities, and don’t let anything get you down,

Laura

142/365

Hi everyone,

Yet another stupid blog post to get my mind off things. Let me tell you about my week so far. We had an assembly on Monday. During lunch. On uniforms. Are you kidding me? That speech was one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard in my life. And most of you know who my friends are. Go figure. I’m not saying that the whole uniform thing is stupid. No, that entire speech just didn’t make any sense. We even got compared to soldiers. And now, when taking the role, teachers have to indicate when students aren’t wearing their correct uniforms. “Of particular concern are students not tying hair back, black sneakers, multiple earrings or rings and/or nail polish.” And what happens to the students that are added to the list? They have to go to a ‘Lunchtime Uniform Attitude Readjustment Session.’ The sessions are being held each day. I’m not making this up, not even my imagination is that far-fetched. It’s safe to say we had a splendid remaining lunchtime complaining about that assembly. Ah man, this school… Good stories, though. There’s no denying that.

Today’s Thursday and I’m yet again drowning in homework. And apparently I’ve got exams in two weeks time? How to stress me out in four words or less: Exams in two weeks. Great. Tomorrow isn’t gonna be much fun either. Assembly first period. Fun. I do have a study last period, though. And what do I do when I don’t have to pay attention in class? I watch Supernatural. Such a good show. This is why I like having a school laptop. Anyway, I have absolutely no idea what else to say, but I need to write something just to get my mind off things for a bit. I’ve had a couple of rough nights, so I’m hoping tonight will be different. I don’t know what’s up with me today, I really don’t. Or maybe I do but let’s not open that door. You know, I’m so sick of hate in this world. Why is it so goddamn hard to just be kind to one another and accept each other just the way we are? What others decide to do with their lives is none of your business. Stay out of it. Don’t judge people before knowing their stories. Just don’t be a dick. It won’t hurt you, really.

There’s this quote I read the other day and it’s one of the best things I’ve read in quite some time. “Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “It’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Often, that’s a perfectly adequate explanation. I have time to iron my sheets, I just don’t want to. But other things are harder. Try it: “I’m not going to edit your résumé, sweetie, because it’s not a priority.” “I don’t go to the doctor because my health is not a priority.” If these phrases don’t sit well, that’s the point. Changing our language reminds us that time is a choice. If we don’t like how we’re spending an hour, we can choose differently.” Such a great quote and so true. I need to think like that more often. It will definitely change the way I look at things.

Speaking of priorities, I’m not gonna bother with the homework anymore. And if I choose not to study for a test, then that’s the way it is. It stresses me out way too much and it’s not like I’ll be here till the end of the year anyway. I literally only do the work because I don’t want my teachers to hate me. Kiana and Andy told me to stop caring and they’re right. The teachers won’t remember me anyway. I’ll have another two more years of high school after this. Two more years of assessments, homework, tests and exams. Let me have a couple of weeks without any of those things. But in saying that, I will not hesitate to blame Andy and Kiana if my teachers get mad at me. We’ll see how it goes.

It’s been a tough, long week. Still is. Good week when it comes to physical exercise, though. I quite like walking home. Although that might just be the illusion of doing something healthy for once. Either way, it’s better than taking the bus. And it’s free.

Enjoy your day and stay awesome,

Laura

Late night thoughts

Hi everyone,

Another one?! I’m ready to go to sleep, but staying up for 30 more minutes won’t hurt. Home. That word has an entirely different meaning for me now. Right now, ‘home’ means this small town in South Gippsland. ‘Home’ is Victoria, Australia. I feel so lucky to be part of this family, and I can honestly say that’s exactly what they are to me; family. I could not have asked for better host parents or a sweeter sister. They easily make the list of greatest people I’ve ever met. There’s something extremely soothing about knowing I have enough freedom to just leave behind a town, a country, because I didn’t feel right. There are over 7 billion people on this planet who I have not met, and heaps of countries I have yet to visit. I was stuck in this insignificant town, being pressured into making decisions about my future, when I barely even knew who I was. I said goodbye to my parents, my brother and my dearest friends. I got onto a plane and went to live with total strangers. And look at me now. I’m not living with strangers anymore. “Home is where the heart is,” they say. Home is no longer one place. Home is with my parents and brother, with my closest friend and here, in Leongatha and at the end of the year, part of it will be in Canada.

I’m in my bed, listening to music and writing down every thought I want to share with you. Life can’t get much better than this. At this very moment, I wouldn’t want to change a thing. This is my life and let me just tell you that, right now, it feels like I’m never coming back. And I’d be okay with that. But in saying that, I am coming to terms with having to go back, in a way. It won’t be that bad. I have everything it takes to make sure it’ll be better than before I left. I’m not by any means saying that I want to go back. It’s just that I’m trying to make myself realise that it’s all going to be fine. I won’t even have to go straight back to school. There will be time for me to adjust and catch up with people. And besides, I’ve already got things planned for my first week back. I’ll be in London for a few days. That’s right, leaving the country again. The downside being that I’m kinda broke now, but it’s definitely worth it and I want to pay for it myself so I’m not gonna complain about the money. Great city, great company, it’ll be awesome.

I’ve spent the entire day trying to figure out who commented on my last blog. All I can say is that it’s not that difficult to actually use your own name, unless, of course, that is your real name but I don’t think your parents hate you that much. If they do, I apologise, you can change your name as soon as you turn 18. To the kind stranger taking the time to comment: Thanks a lot, reading that made my entire week. It’s such a good feeling that people I don’t even know in person like reading my blogs and are nice enough to let me know. I quite like being judged based on my writing. Sure, I’ve said some stupid shit on here but at least I’m being honest.

Note: I wrote this last night, but I didn’t think it was long enough to post.

Today. Too much homework which freaks me out a bit. Don’t say a word, I’m not procrastinating. I’m just taking a 15 minute break. Yes, that’s what they call it these days. Also, Studio Art is fun but it makes me realise how incredibly untalented I am. Then there’s this History essay on a movie I haven’t even seen all the way through. Love it when that happens. Other than the productive things that need to be done, today was pretty good. Spent recess and lunch with Katherine and her friend. I’ve always liked Katherine a lot, so I’ll probably spend a fair amount of time with her in the next couple of weeks. And of course she doesn’t have Facebook. Guys, how am I supposed to stay in touch with any of you if you don’t have Facebook?! Not that you’re reading this, since you don’t know I have a blog. Wanna guess why you don’t know? That’s right, because you don’t have Facebook.

Still don’t know who posted the comment. Oh, new email. I love getting emails. Yeah okay, never mind. It’s the corrected version of the work plan (English class back home). Thanks for that. It’s not even that they’re kind enough to think of me or haven’t noticed me missing. No, they just haven’t removed me from the list yet. Gotta hate those automatic emails.

Can I just repeat myself and say that my host sister is awesome? Fucking love that kid. I don’t even have to say everything I’m thinking about, she just understands. And she has the best stories. I’m gonna miss her so much. Guess I’m gonna have to go to Canada now. I see no other option.

That’s about it for now. I should go back to doing homework. Oh, shout out to my Dad for calling my writing nonsense and to Travel Active for checking up on me. Very much appreciated. Not even being sarcastic.

Tell everyone you see today that I said hi. Everyone.

Enjoy your day,

Laura

133/365

Hi everyone,

I’ve seen more of the Eurovision than the past 18 years combined. It’s the time of the year when Australians curse themselves for not being European. They want to be part of it so bad, it almost makes me feel sorry for them. Though there is such a thing as overdoing it. I am ashamed of myself. I am ashamed because I watched a two hour long documentary on the ‘Conspiracy Theory’ the other day. And that is not all. Oh no, I also watched a few hours on the History of Eurovision. Yes, that’s right, on Australian television. And then the event itself. Did they really move Australia to Europe? Really? Then there was the worst representation of Australia ever, with every possible stereotype. They want to participate so bad that they sent an Australian singer to a European contest. I’ll bet they cried a little when they said she couldn’t actually be a contester. I don’t get why they want to compete, though. There’s something really embarrassing about an annual karaoke contest to sort out all the political issues. It’s all fun and games until every country has to vote and give out points. Who’s gonna betray whom this year? France and the UK gave each other zero points? Oh no, let’s barricade the Channel Tunnel. But all jokes aside, it’s not the EU that brings us together, it’s Eurovision. The only contest where people go “Meh, wasn’t weird enough this year” and others understand. It’s the best and worst thing to have ever happened to Europe. Austria, though. You go, Conchita Wurst. A gender neutral person winning Eurovision? Good, we’re actually moving forward. Also, I like how everyone speaks English just to be nice, and then there’s France. France doesn’t give a fuck.

When I’m back, please don’t mention the fact that I wrote an entire paragraph on Eurovision, thanks. I’m starting to realise more and more how much I enjoy writing. I know I’m not good at it, what I write doesn’t make any sense and it’s pretty much just unconnected rants about whatever is on my mind but that won’t stop me from doing what I like doing. Sure, I most probably won’t earn any money by writing about stupid shit no one cares about but it’s important to me, and no one can take that away from me. It’s so much fun. Words are so much fun. Plus, you don’t actually have to face stupid people, you can just call them out on their bullshit from a distance, through text. The only problem with that is that the stupid people never actually realise you’re talking about them because they’re... well… stupid. Off topic: Kiana wrote an amazing creative piece for her English SAC. Anyway, I’ve been thinking about what the hell I want to do with my life after graduating high school. Do I want to stay in the country? Probably not. England sounds pretty good to me, but there’s no way in hell I can afford that. Do I want to go to university? I think I do..? So far one of my favourites is East Anglia and their English Literature and Creative Writing study. The thing with me, though, is that I need some kind of motivation, otherwise my final two years of high school won’t be any good. I don’t particularly want to fail, and graduate at 21. Nope, 20 is bad enough. Leaving school is not an option, as I promised my parents to finish it. Don’t get me wrong, I will, but I do need a goal. I know, I shouldn’t worry about this right now. But I’d rather worry about it now than make the wrong decision later on. Makes sense, right?

Anyway, school was pretty fun today. We made plans to go to Melbourne in a week or two. Also, Literature. Love that class so much. Discussing good books, films on said books, and an amazing teacher who loves books just as much as me. He’s my favourite teacher, I think he’s great. Right now it’s the Great Gatsby in Literature and Macbeth in English so I’m a happy foreigner. Did hear quite a few homophobic comments today, though, which made me want to high five a few people. In the face. With a chair. Long story short, we got into an argument and I may or may not have given a five minute speech on love and acceptance. Other than that, today was a good day. Except for the fact that I lost one of my dice. Why? I’m a decent person, I don’t deserve this. It actually really upsets me, as weird as that sounds. It’s just not something that can be replaced that easily. Of course there’s a story behind that, people don’t just get emotionally attached to dice. Next subject, I got 5 emails at once and I got really excited until I realised they were all from school. Yes, Dutch school. Why are they so obsessed with me? I will come back. Don’t remind me that I have to go back. Jeez.

Hard to tell, but I’m actually writing this with a smile on my face cause I just got one of those ‘Holy shit, I’m in Australia’ kind of moments. Gotta love those moments. Talked to my parents on Sunday and realised how terrible my Dutch has become. Whoops. And there was something else I wanted to share but I forgot. Ah well, happens. Now I’m gonna go sleep and dream of reuniting with that one die I lost today.

Have an awesome day and don’t let anything or anyone get you down, just be your awesome self and show that awesome smile of yours or a middle finger if needed,

Laura

Stress

Hi everyone,

Procrastination. That word pretty much sums me up right now. I should be doing homework. I’ve been doing homework all day and I just can’t be bothered anymore. I have so much to do that I’ll be wasting my last few months trying to get it all done. Give me a break, I’m foreign. Literally the only reason why I still actually do most of it is because I don’t want my teachers to hate me. Why do I care? I wouldn’t know, they won’t even remember me in a few months. I’m torn between not giving a damn and caring way too much. What do I do? Do I focus on having fun and the actual experience of being in an awesome country without worrying about homework or do I follow the rules, be a good student and make everyone happy but myself? Legitimate question, so please do tell me what you would do.

I’m still enjoying school, though. Not including the homework part, that is. Yes, I’m still in the same group of girls but I’m enjoying myself quite a lot. They also genuinely seem to like me, which is always greatly appreciated. I reckon it just took me a while to get used to them. Even though we have different interests and even though they don’t like/haven’t seen the Lord of the Rings (I know, don’t even get me started), we get along just fine. I’m glad I gave them another chance and never stopped hanging out with them. Now that I think about it, I’ve known my friends back home for about 4 years now and I didn’t become friends with most of them until the second or third year. So it turned out pretty well in retrospect. We went to an art gallery the other day with the Studio Art class and I had an absolute blast. Art galleries are always fun, but the company definitely made it better.

People have been complaining that I haven’t written anything in quite a while but I have? I just didn’t post it on Facebook, but I will this time just for those people. I hope you’re happy now. Anyway, my nail polish is chipping and it’s bothering me. No one ever told me you can get emotionally attached to nail polish. I feel stupid now. The day is almost over and I barely did anything. I did do homework (still nowhere near done), cleaned our bathroom and I tried downloading Guild Wars 2 onto my school laptop this morning but failed. Why? Because I’m not ‘privileged’ to download anything fun on this thing. That video game could’ve been my one and only talent but now I won’t ever find out because of this. So upsetting. I should sue everyone involved in this. But that would cost me money and I’m kinda broke. The laptops really are terrible, though. Mine’s already crashed about 3 times, causing me to lose essays that took me hours to write. It’s a private school, the least they can do is give us decent laptops (also, no restrictions and filters).

I’ve wasted pretty much my entire day on homework and I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown. I’m just so done with everything right now. So I’m gonna try and get some sleep and hopefully the person I want to talk to will be there when I wake up. Wait, no. Ignore that, let’s be selfless for once. Whatever I feel like.

Enjoy your day,

Laura

Roll with it

Hi everyone,

The holidays were great. We went to Melbourne and I really want to go back by myself soon. There's just something about walking around the city alone, watching people do their own thing, and getting lost. It's this overwhelming feeling, realising everyone has their own lives, their own stories, and their own troubles. It’s moments like those where I just want to get to know those strangers. Just sit there and talk to them for a few hours. Find out about their favourite childhood memory, favourite book, favourite song and their favourite season. What they think about at 2 am when they can’t sleep, and what makes them smile without fail whenever they feel down.

I'm about halfway through the actual High School program, so I'm pretty sure this is a good moment to get self-conscious and realise I need to do weird and stupid stuff before my parents get here in a few months. Dye my hair, get pissed, hook up with someone, get a tattoo/piercing, gate crash a party, crash a car, rob a bank. You know, fun things. I really am thinking of dyeing my hair, though. But not until this term is over, as I don't want school to hate me. Let me just tell you, going to Mary Mac is an adventure on its own. But the winter uniform is kinda cute, so they get points for that. I got at least four compliments today on how perfectly I tied my tie. Yeah, what can I say? I’m talented like that. Or, you know, it’s just really easy and takes about two seconds. Learn how to tie a tie, people. It’s an important life skill. You might need it someday to strangle someone.

You know what's cool? Drive-through bottle shops. Liquor stores are so much more fun when you don't have to get out of your car to get beer, wine, or whatever kind of booze you reckon is necessary to forget about your boring life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not judging. Just don't turn into an alcoholic, that's not fun. Want some fun alternatives? Sovereign Hill and dolphins. We went to Sovereign Hill about a week ago and it was awesome. It's an old gold mine and they've made it into this touristy place with an old town and everything. We did a mine tour which I really enjoyed. And dolphins. We saw dolphins the other day. That was pretty cool. Oh, and we went back to the Prom last week. Emus, wallabies, a wombat and a whale. Yeah, that’s right. I’m sure you can imagine that the thought of having to go back home is not so appealing. Though I am looking forward to seeing all of you again. Well, some of you.

I’ve had a pretty rough week, but I’m doing very well now. Just tired since it was the first day back to school after the holidays. This entire thing still feels like one big holiday, though. Well, most of the time. Probably because I treat it as a holiday. You can’t blame me. Oh, and I’m thinking of riding to school starting next week. I simply don’t see the point of taking the bus. It’s not far at all. But hills. I don’t like hills. I’m so out of shape, I’m almost ashamed of myself. Almost. The exercise will be good for me. (Watch me not getting on that bike because I’m a fat-ass and can’t be bothered.)

Today was a really nice day. It made me realise that I don’t mind going to school at all. Also, I got my History SAC result back and I actually did pretty well. What I don’t get is how I did not fail. I made everything up right on the spot. It was creative writing which did help, but still, it doesn’t make sense. If only it was that easy back home. But no, good grades just don’t happen when they actually count for something. I like getting good grades. Even more so when I didn’t do anything for it. My social skills are improving as well. Sort of. It’s about time. I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m very much an introvert, even more so than I thought I was. It’s not bad, though. It helps me understand other people better.

Anyway, that’s it for today. Hope you’re all doing okay and enjoying yourselves. Have a great holiday, or, by lack of a holiday, a great day/week/month/life,

Laura