Thread:Lilliana:3/@comment-397235-20140912011340/@comment-397235-20140927215546

No, I still want to be a writer (otherwise, why would I have sent you and Shane stuff I'd written). I just don't remember when I decided that's what I wanted to do with myself. I think it was somewhere in there, but it didn't really get solidified until I was about fifteen or so. So six years ago now.

It is nice to get to pick and choose what I write about but it's been the devil of a time trying to get people to actually read it. My ex-girlfriend/former best friend couldn't ever seem to do it, and my current best friend (well, I guess you could say he's my "other" best friend because I've known him longer) finally got around to reading something after I'd sent it to him and then nagged him for like eight months! I used to go to a writing group when I was a teenager, but I made the really stupid mistake of mixing that with my personal life so it kinda fell apart, and now none of those people will read my stuff either. -_- So far, it's just been you, Shane, my best friend, and Cynebri (another Takako supporter and fellow Midwesterner who...doesn't post anymore; I think I may have scared her off, darn it) who've actually read any of my stuff. So that's not quite panning out the way I'd like it to.

You've got your A-named countries mixed up. I'm American, not Australian, love (I can do the accent, though; I can't spell like an Aussie, however, because like the Brits and the Cannuks they put way too many letters in some of their words; American English is the highly evolved, streamlined version).

This is how American public school works:

You start Kindergarten (nice, lovely German word) between four and six. Kindergarten through fifth grade in my State is considered Elementary (my dear Watson) school.

After that you go through sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, which where I am are considered middle school (also known as junior high; of course, my elementary and middle schools were in the same building, but that's unusual).

Then you go through regular high school, which is grades nine through twelve, though for some strange reason those become Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior (don't ask me why).

There's also preschool, which is mandatory in a lot of States, but which I managed to avoid (I say avoid like that's a good thing because they've now done studies which show the more time you spend in state-sponsored schooling, the lower your actual performance is).

My birthday is in July, which, given the way we do school here in most States, is right in the middle of summer vacation (it's actually on our Independence Day, which is its own bundle of fun). Because of that, I was one of the youngest people in my graduating class back in 2011 (there were actually two people younger than me, both by less than a month). It sucked on some level because I wasn't even legally an adult until after I graduated, meaning I was still legally required to stay at home rather than getting my own apartment like I have now.

And as for swimming, I never learned how. Nor can I ride a bike. So I guess I'll be taking a boat. Bon voyage, right? :)

And eighteen hours? Wow. Really, take your time, I'm not making much progress on this anyway. Once you're finished just keep nagging me so I have motivation to keep writing, alright?