I was considering all the things that happened to me in 2015, and thinking of the most significant ones. If I had to narrow it down to the top 3 most significant ones...
3. Co-authorship
This was something that happened working under a different supervisor in the same lab over the summer. My confidence in the lab also improved and I was awarded a stipend to work in that lab. It was a good summer professionally, I guess? Which sounds like a very adult thing to say.
2. Genetics Degree
There was a moment when I was making my course selection. It was physics, some WGS courses, some biology, and other random things. I remember crying because it looked awful to me, and I had no desire to complete whatever degree this was turning out to be. I'd taken an intro-to-genetics course in the biology department, which had led me to take an intro-to-genetics course in the genetics department (if these are things? I just know the first course was BIOL and the second was GENET), and I realized that despite my previous proclamation of hatred, I really like genetics. Having completed one semester, I have to say it's a hell of a lot easier to put in effort even in the hardest classes when I actually really like the subject material and want to be learning about it.
1. Falling in love
Putting this up here was contentious, but if my ex really wants as little to do with me as he claimed, I'm going to assume he's not reading this. But this is what really happened. I do think I'd loved people before, certainly cared for them a great deal, but I'd never really been in love. It's probably one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life, and the threat of loss is much closer than I'd like it to be. But I don't regret anything. Falling in love was like having a lot of pieces fall into place, and suddenly something I'd thought I'd understood for so long actually made sense, and I was sure. All those stupid songs, and especially all those stupid sayings- if you're in love, you'll know and if you're not sure, it's not really love especially- make a lot more sense now. I've found them to be extremely true. Provided things beyond my control fall in my favour, I have an incredibly good feeling about this. I know it won't be easy, and I don't expect it to be, but nothing has ever made me feel so... secure? Not safe, I've never been more terrified. Just like a puzzle piece of my life fits now. Something like that. It's a good thing, though, despite the underlying, ever-present fear (which in my case is exacerbated for other reasons beyond my control).
Overall, though, 2015 was very good to me. I'm hoping 2016 will be too, but I'm not holding out a lot of hope at the moment. This next semester is going to kick the shit out of me academically, not to mention ... to put it in nonspecific terms, the suddenly not-so-great health of someone very close to me. I'll pull through somehow, but it's not going to be a walk in the park.
Then again... How many times have I thought that before? Didn't I look at my winter semester last year and groan about biochemistry and ochem II and genetics 270? They were hard courses. And I did just fine. I have no reason to expect I can't handle the challenges this time around.
Here's to a good 2016. I wish you all the best, and hope your 2015s are now fond and happy memories (at least some parts of them, if not all)
yer pal,
swegan
Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lists. Show all posts
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Sunday, July 27, 2014
"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
God, I hate it when people ask me this. But, let's see.
I think I'd go ahead and get my PhD in biology. Even the brief wikipedia readups of the antibodies/"primaries" that i have to put on the westerns fascinates me. cancer is fascinating. The ways in which it proliferates and sustains and spreads are vast, but that also means there's a lot of potential to take it out. The other day I was reading about DNMT3a, which is DNA methyltransferase 3a. Typically thought to be involved in the methylation of (I think?) CpG sites in DNA in early development but maaaybe also later when methylations are copied (transferred- things in science seem to actually be named very simply and to-the-point) during DNA reproduction. It was so cool. Plus, there was a girl in the lab who did her PhD defense last Tuesday, and for some reason I got really excited for her, imagining how hard she would have been working to get to that point, to get her doctorate. And I think that's when I knew that biology was where I was meant to be, and I was going to get my PhD if it killed me.
But then again... if I wasn't afraid of it, I'd also be a doctor. Doctors are important. I know I am fully capable of getting myself through med school, if I put my mind to it. But the problem is that med school really doesn't appeal to me, because I'm kind of scared of the work. I'm also kind of scared that I'd hate the work after school. Although this didn't stop me from daydreaming about being an MD PhD the other day. The best of both worlds, really... although the guy I was reading about was a pediatric oncologist, and I can't imagine that job must be fun.
I would also write more. I think maybe I don't write because I'm scared. Or maybe because I don't want to. Either way, I hate that I made such a big deal out of it because now everyone still acts like I'm prolific when the reality is I don't write anymore. I don't. I don't want to. It's exhausting. It's hard work. I don't want to be a writer anymore. I don't know why. It kind of feels like something inside of me either shriveled up and died, or just left- I hope it's the latter, because then it can come back.
I think I'd also have gone to visit my boyfriend at one point, and my other friends in my uni city. I'd have gone down to the nearby national park only an hour south of me to hike and enjoy nature. I'd have invited friends out to the cabin.
I'd also look more into doing a semester abroad.
I'd probably quit EPASS. lord knows I've been thinking about that for a long time. But I feel so guilty about it, like because my parents donated a bunch of money to the fundraiser and it is good volunteering experience and the people I've met in the group are so nice and they really do need help, but honestly... space is cool, and so is this project, but I kind of feel like... I dunno, like I'm not helping, like I fell behind on reading because the reading was really boring to me, like there's maybe a reason I don't check my emails nearly often enough, maybe a reason there hasn't been a newsletter for over a month? Mom and Dad said that they only donated as much as they did because I was involved, which does not fucking help with the guilt. I feel like I signed up for this, I need to keep at it. I'm also scared that if I were to leave, the people in the group would hate me, which is actually completely unfounded because those people are not shitty people. I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about it, but I'm also starting to wonder if someone else can't do my job better than I can. Someone who cares more than I do. I feel so horrible about not caring, when I've been given this opportunity. And aren't you supposed to take every opportunity? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing right now, snagging every single one that comes along? That, to me, feels like it would leave me overloaded.
I seriously need to make up my mind on this. On the one hand, if I did end up leaving before returning to uni, my parents would know and get mad. On the other hand, if I waited until I got up there, I'd have to do it face to face and idk if I could get through that without crying. Maybe I'll see how many new recruits they get from the clubs fair? If a bunch of people join, I'd feel less bad about leaving... ugh. This has been tearing me up for weeks. I feel like the shittiest club member in the world, and I don't know why, since it's a free country and I'm allowed to leave if I want to. It's not like I work for them.
I think I would travel more. Alone. If I wasn't afraid of being approached by strangers because I am small, naive, and female. If I wasn't afraid of trying new foods.
Honestly, I think I'd probably eat differently, too. The other week I got in a seriously debilitating internal argument over a bag of chips which ended up with me deciding to start working out, which has actually ended up in a dramatic reduction of sad feelings which is totally not what I was trying to get out of it at all but kind of is what I'm trying to get out of it now (seriously, being home has really made me sad, which makes absolutely 0 sense).
And also, I would probably have more sex. I mean, not that I'm currently HAVING any, but you get my point. I think we would all do that. Come on. I HAD TO PUT THIS IN HERE. It's the truth. If I wasn't so afraid of getting pregnant...
I'd also probably take more dance classes and be less worried about it being a waste of money. Dance makes me happy. It always feels like something I can be good at and something I was born to do.
I don't actually know if all of these things are good ideas, or if doing them will improve my life or make me happy. Some of them, probably. Others, ???
I think this question is still worth taking the time to answer, though. You can learn a lot about yourself.
yer pal,
swegan :)
I think I'd go ahead and get my PhD in biology. Even the brief wikipedia readups of the antibodies/"primaries" that i have to put on the westerns fascinates me. cancer is fascinating. The ways in which it proliferates and sustains and spreads are vast, but that also means there's a lot of potential to take it out. The other day I was reading about DNMT3a, which is DNA methyltransferase 3a. Typically thought to be involved in the methylation of (I think?) CpG sites in DNA in early development but maaaybe also later when methylations are copied (transferred- things in science seem to actually be named very simply and to-the-point) during DNA reproduction. It was so cool. Plus, there was a girl in the lab who did her PhD defense last Tuesday, and for some reason I got really excited for her, imagining how hard she would have been working to get to that point, to get her doctorate. And I think that's when I knew that biology was where I was meant to be, and I was going to get my PhD if it killed me.
But then again... if I wasn't afraid of it, I'd also be a doctor. Doctors are important. I know I am fully capable of getting myself through med school, if I put my mind to it. But the problem is that med school really doesn't appeal to me, because I'm kind of scared of the work. I'm also kind of scared that I'd hate the work after school. Although this didn't stop me from daydreaming about being an MD PhD the other day. The best of both worlds, really... although the guy I was reading about was a pediatric oncologist, and I can't imagine that job must be fun.
I would also write more. I think maybe I don't write because I'm scared. Or maybe because I don't want to. Either way, I hate that I made such a big deal out of it because now everyone still acts like I'm prolific when the reality is I don't write anymore. I don't. I don't want to. It's exhausting. It's hard work. I don't want to be a writer anymore. I don't know why. It kind of feels like something inside of me either shriveled up and died, or just left- I hope it's the latter, because then it can come back.
I think I'd also have gone to visit my boyfriend at one point, and my other friends in my uni city. I'd have gone down to the nearby national park only an hour south of me to hike and enjoy nature. I'd have invited friends out to the cabin.
I'd also look more into doing a semester abroad.
I'd probably quit EPASS. lord knows I've been thinking about that for a long time. But I feel so guilty about it, like because my parents donated a bunch of money to the fundraiser and it is good volunteering experience and the people I've met in the group are so nice and they really do need help, but honestly... space is cool, and so is this project, but I kind of feel like... I dunno, like I'm not helping, like I fell behind on reading because the reading was really boring to me, like there's maybe a reason I don't check my emails nearly often enough, maybe a reason there hasn't been a newsletter for over a month? Mom and Dad said that they only donated as much as they did because I was involved, which does not fucking help with the guilt. I feel like I signed up for this, I need to keep at it. I'm also scared that if I were to leave, the people in the group would hate me, which is actually completely unfounded because those people are not shitty people. I'm sure they wouldn't be happy about it, but I'm also starting to wonder if someone else can't do my job better than I can. Someone who cares more than I do. I feel so horrible about not caring, when I've been given this opportunity. And aren't you supposed to take every opportunity? Isn't that what I'm supposed to be doing right now, snagging every single one that comes along? That, to me, feels like it would leave me overloaded.
I seriously need to make up my mind on this. On the one hand, if I did end up leaving before returning to uni, my parents would know and get mad. On the other hand, if I waited until I got up there, I'd have to do it face to face and idk if I could get through that without crying. Maybe I'll see how many new recruits they get from the clubs fair? If a bunch of people join, I'd feel less bad about leaving... ugh. This has been tearing me up for weeks. I feel like the shittiest club member in the world, and I don't know why, since it's a free country and I'm allowed to leave if I want to. It's not like I work for them.
I think I would travel more. Alone. If I wasn't afraid of being approached by strangers because I am small, naive, and female. If I wasn't afraid of trying new foods.
Honestly, I think I'd probably eat differently, too. The other week I got in a seriously debilitating internal argument over a bag of chips which ended up with me deciding to start working out, which has actually ended up in a dramatic reduction of sad feelings which is totally not what I was trying to get out of it at all but kind of is what I'm trying to get out of it now (seriously, being home has really made me sad, which makes absolutely 0 sense).
And also, I would probably have more sex. I mean, not that I'm currently HAVING any, but you get my point. I think we would all do that. Come on. I HAD TO PUT THIS IN HERE. It's the truth. If I wasn't so afraid of getting pregnant...
I'd also probably take more dance classes and be less worried about it being a waste of money. Dance makes me happy. It always feels like something I can be good at and something I was born to do.
I don't actually know if all of these things are good ideas, or if doing them will improve my life or make me happy. Some of them, probably. Others, ???
I think this question is still worth taking the time to answer, though. You can learn a lot about yourself.
yer pal,
swegan :)
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Letters (a fun 700th post!)
I saw this thing on tumblr. People are supposed to put one in the ask box and then you write a letter, but I thought hey, this would be an interesting blog post. Y'know, if people are interested in reading about my life. And then we reach this conundrum again, and I realize there is no obligation for me to blog about anything else. Besides, I'm between the ages of 15 and 25. These are the years when I'm supposed to be self centered, so why not run with it?
Dear Person I hate,
I hate you.
-Swegan
Dear Person I like,
I'm going to assume this is a person I admire as a person. And okay, so, I don't know how you're this great, I don't know how it's possible for someone to have a heart of gold. You have been there for me always, and I know I haven't fully returned the favour, and that weighs on my heart. You are one of those people I feel eternally lucky to know, and if I can, I'd like to hang on to you for as long as possible, because you are a constant source of light and goodness in my life.
-Swegan
Dear ex boyfriend,
Well, I think we're becoming friends, anyway. Or at least civil, or at least we can hang out and talk about stuff. You are still not the first person I go to when I am bored or sad or lonely and I doubt you ever will be again, but I sincerely hope we can get along and be some kind of friends again, because it seems like underneath you are a decent person, and it seems like you are deciding to bring that out. I wish you the best of luck with your future, and I hope that our friend group becomes stronger now that it's been two years.
-Swegan
Dear ex girlfriend,
Well, you don't actually exist, because I've never dated a girl. Maybe there'll be one of these in the future, I really can't say. But I hope we're at least civil.
-Swegan
Dear ex bestfriend,
I really don't know what motivated you to unfriend two of the people you were closest to on facebook. To me, that seems... rude, almost. I can't say I'm surprised, given how much you blew us off, and I can't say I'll miss your condescension towards me. Everyone treated me like an innocent lamb, but you were definitely one of the worst about it. Good luck with the career you've chosen, and I hope your new friends make you happy. I can't wish bad luck upon you, even though what you did still stings a little.
-Swegan
Dear Santa,
I'd really like to believe you exist because Christmas is one of those times of year that I feel like magic has to exist somewhere.
-Swegan
Dear mom,
I know we have our issues but I still trust you. I know you don't approve of my boyfriend, but I still value your opinion. Your help and advice and support to me all these years has been absolutely invaluable, and I would not be the person you say you are so proud of today if you had not been there to help me along. Here's to many more years and the joy of knowing that you'll probably be alive to meet any children I may have, and hoping that you will affect them as you did me. I love you.
However, I'd really like you to get off my case about my weight. I'm sick and tired of little comments slipped in when I'm eating "too much" or "badly" and how I am growing "out and not up" and how I need to "be careful." These comments are poison and it's really hard to ignore them. I know you think I'm pretty, but those comments make me feel like I am on the cusp of becoming unpretty, unwanted, someone to be ashamed of rather than proud of. Please, for the love of god, stop.
-Swegan
Dear dad,
If there's anything I hope to have inherited from you besides your intelligence, I hope it's your sense of humor. It's one of my favourite things about you. Like I did for mom, I thank you for all you did to help and support me throughout my life. It means a lot. I love you, too.
-Swegan
Dear future me,
I sincerely hope you are more well adjusted. And happy. I hope that you lived whatever life you wanted to, I hope that you loved passionately and never stopped being ridiculous and stayed friends with good people, that you were and are a good person who tries, even if you may not always succeed. I know you are still a feminist and I sincerely hope that the future you live in is better than this one for that reason.
-Swegan
Dear past me,
You made a lot of stupid decisions but you'll come out all right in the end.
-Swegan
Dear person I'm jealous of,
What, only one person? Ha. I have plenty of people to be jealous of. People who do better than me. People who get better grades, who have more natural talent, who float through life effortlessly, doing everything perfectly, having it all work out for you. Because I am competitive, I am jealous that I'm not the best at anything. I have a desperate need to be the best at something and it eats me up sometimes. But overall, I don't want to be any of you. I know that it's foolish to ask for your lives when mine is perfectly fine, even if I never come out at the front anymore.
-Swegan
Dear person I had a crush on,
Wow, you turned out to be kind of a dick. I mean, I still don't know you that well, and you have another girlfriend now, and I don't hate you. You seem to be just doing life. But your idea of life involves a lot of drinking and going out, and yet somehow also a lot of homework. I couldn't keep up with you, no matter how good looking you are. Thankfully, it is difficult to continue pining for you when a) you are an 8 hour drive away, b) you have a girlfriend now, and c) I now have a boyfriend of my own.
Dear significant other,
I know I say it all the time, but you're great. Really. You might bother me sometimes, with your bizarre factual knowledge of things no one cares about that you bring up in dinner conversations, or how you can correct me pretty much all the time, but I know you're not doing it out of malice. You are too kind of a person for that. I am beginning to think that you are another one of those bizarrely good people I meet and try to hang on to because those kind of people bring nothing but light into your life. I only know one other person like that, and the possibility of having found another is thrilling to me. I think people who read this blog know the kind of people I'm talking about. Not the ones who are so good it's impossible to hate them, but those people who seem to radiate goodness and light without trying, and you wonder why they're friends with you of all people.
Anyway... you've been a rock throughout my first year of university, and you're a good match for me. I know we've only been dating five months, but they've seriously been great. You've proven to be an excellent boyfriend and I am very much looking forward to a future with you in it.
I also miss you greatly. And I love you.
-Swegan
yer pal,
swegan :)
Dear Person I hate,
I hate you.
-Swegan
Dear Person I like,
I'm going to assume this is a person I admire as a person. And okay, so, I don't know how you're this great, I don't know how it's possible for someone to have a heart of gold. You have been there for me always, and I know I haven't fully returned the favour, and that weighs on my heart. You are one of those people I feel eternally lucky to know, and if I can, I'd like to hang on to you for as long as possible, because you are a constant source of light and goodness in my life.
-Swegan
Dear ex boyfriend,
Well, I think we're becoming friends, anyway. Or at least civil, or at least we can hang out and talk about stuff. You are still not the first person I go to when I am bored or sad or lonely and I doubt you ever will be again, but I sincerely hope we can get along and be some kind of friends again, because it seems like underneath you are a decent person, and it seems like you are deciding to bring that out. I wish you the best of luck with your future, and I hope that our friend group becomes stronger now that it's been two years.
-Swegan
Dear ex girlfriend,
Well, you don't actually exist, because I've never dated a girl. Maybe there'll be one of these in the future, I really can't say. But I hope we're at least civil.
-Swegan
Dear ex bestfriend,
I really don't know what motivated you to unfriend two of the people you were closest to on facebook. To me, that seems... rude, almost. I can't say I'm surprised, given how much you blew us off, and I can't say I'll miss your condescension towards me. Everyone treated me like an innocent lamb, but you were definitely one of the worst about it. Good luck with the career you've chosen, and I hope your new friends make you happy. I can't wish bad luck upon you, even though what you did still stings a little.
-Swegan
Dear Santa,
I'd really like to believe you exist because Christmas is one of those times of year that I feel like magic has to exist somewhere.
-Swegan
Dear mom,
I know we have our issues but I still trust you. I know you don't approve of my boyfriend, but I still value your opinion. Your help and advice and support to me all these years has been absolutely invaluable, and I would not be the person you say you are so proud of today if you had not been there to help me along. Here's to many more years and the joy of knowing that you'll probably be alive to meet any children I may have, and hoping that you will affect them as you did me. I love you.
However, I'd really like you to get off my case about my weight. I'm sick and tired of little comments slipped in when I'm eating "too much" or "badly" and how I am growing "out and not up" and how I need to "be careful." These comments are poison and it's really hard to ignore them. I know you think I'm pretty, but those comments make me feel like I am on the cusp of becoming unpretty, unwanted, someone to be ashamed of rather than proud of. Please, for the love of god, stop.
-Swegan
Dear dad,
If there's anything I hope to have inherited from you besides your intelligence, I hope it's your sense of humor. It's one of my favourite things about you. Like I did for mom, I thank you for all you did to help and support me throughout my life. It means a lot. I love you, too.
-Swegan
Dear future me,
I sincerely hope you are more well adjusted. And happy. I hope that you lived whatever life you wanted to, I hope that you loved passionately and never stopped being ridiculous and stayed friends with good people, that you were and are a good person who tries, even if you may not always succeed. I know you are still a feminist and I sincerely hope that the future you live in is better than this one for that reason.
-Swegan
Dear past me,
You made a lot of stupid decisions but you'll come out all right in the end.
-Swegan
Dear person I'm jealous of,
What, only one person? Ha. I have plenty of people to be jealous of. People who do better than me. People who get better grades, who have more natural talent, who float through life effortlessly, doing everything perfectly, having it all work out for you. Because I am competitive, I am jealous that I'm not the best at anything. I have a desperate need to be the best at something and it eats me up sometimes. But overall, I don't want to be any of you. I know that it's foolish to ask for your lives when mine is perfectly fine, even if I never come out at the front anymore.
-Swegan
Dear person I had a crush on,
Wow, you turned out to be kind of a dick. I mean, I still don't know you that well, and you have another girlfriend now, and I don't hate you. You seem to be just doing life. But your idea of life involves a lot of drinking and going out, and yet somehow also a lot of homework. I couldn't keep up with you, no matter how good looking you are. Thankfully, it is difficult to continue pining for you when a) you are an 8 hour drive away, b) you have a girlfriend now, and c) I now have a boyfriend of my own.
Dear significant other,
I know I say it all the time, but you're great. Really. You might bother me sometimes, with your bizarre factual knowledge of things no one cares about that you bring up in dinner conversations, or how you can correct me pretty much all the time, but I know you're not doing it out of malice. You are too kind of a person for that. I am beginning to think that you are another one of those bizarrely good people I meet and try to hang on to because those kind of people bring nothing but light into your life. I only know one other person like that, and the possibility of having found another is thrilling to me. I think people who read this blog know the kind of people I'm talking about. Not the ones who are so good it's impossible to hate them, but those people who seem to radiate goodness and light without trying, and you wonder why they're friends with you of all people.
Anyway... you've been a rock throughout my first year of university, and you're a good match for me. I know we've only been dating five months, but they've seriously been great. You've proven to be an excellent boyfriend and I am very much looking forward to a future with you in it.
I also miss you greatly. And I love you.
-Swegan
yer pal,
swegan :)
Saturday, September 21, 2013
MY CHILDHOOD
I watched a lot of quality shows, yo. And quite a few were Canadian. I later learned that apparently Canada actually has a reputation for making kids' shows.
Actually wow, I ended up watching a lot of Canadian kids' TV shows:
-Big Comfy Couch
-Little Bear
-Berenstein Bears
-George Shrinks (okay this wasn't entirely Canadian but still)
-Franklin
-Babar
-Bear in the Big Blue House
-Zoboomafoo (don't quote me on that)
-Max and Ruby
-Crazy Quilt
-Tansy and Roseabelle
-Jacob Two-two
And then the non-Canadian ones:
-Blues Clues (this one still holds a special spot in my heart. I loved this show)
-Spongebob Squarepants (THIS SHOW WAS GREAT for like four seasons)
-Barney
-Timothy goes to school
-Teletubbies
-Lamp Chop's Play Along
-Seven Little Monsters (is this one Canadian? I can't tell)
-Rolie Polie Olie
And then I got a little older and I remember watching others.
-Martin Mystery (FUN FACT: The girl who voices Diana also voices Barbie in most of the Barbie movies).
-Mystery Hunters (I got so scared of this so often that mom actually forbade me to watch it until I was 10)
-Totally Spies (this show was THE SHIT)
-6teen (I think I just watched it b/c one of my friends did)
-Life with Derek (this was Canadian, too!)
-The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
-Hannah Montana (Freckles made me watch it)
-Zoey 101
-Atomic Betty (not very often, though, I barely remember this one)
-I was a teenage robot (not often either)
Okay holy shit, I just had a thought. When mom forbade me to watch Mystery Hunters (THE EPISODE ABOUT THE GIANT BIRD MAN STILL HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY) until I was 10... well, when I was 10, how i met your mother was just starting its first season, which confuses me. how i met your mother is a show I associate with being a teenager. Mystery Hunters is a show I associate very much with being a child.
Also can I say something about the theme songs? Because some of those kids shows had great theme songs. Franklin, Bear in the Big Blue House, Blues Clues, Berenstein Bears, Babar... there's lots of not-popular-music-music in there. Like actually all the music for Blues Clues is pretty much my favourite soundtrack for any TV show ever.
I think I need to watch some more of that show to put me to sleep. I'm all nostalgic now. And confused about Little Bear, because all I remember of that show is the one movie they made where they found another bear and had to help him get home?
And now I'm remembering books. I remember that one about the farmyard animal friends who went on a bike ride, and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type and The Kissing Hand and all those Franklin/Berenstein bear books Freckles and I used to have read to us each night. We had a huge box of Franklin books and Berenstein Bear books all over the place. I remember going to chapters once when I was 13, and seeing "The Berenstein Bears go to Church" and feeling extremely disappointed. The Berenstein Bears always had adventures, but religion was never part of it. They were just living. Seeing that kind of made me feel like my childhood had ended.
SPEAKING OF BOOKS THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE SERIES WAS THE SHIT AND DON'T LET NOBODY TELL YOU DIFFERENT.
And Junie B. Jones. JUNIE B. JONES. I am not kidding when I say those books probably influenced my writing more than you'd think. I still remember the first one I read. It was "Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal" and it was like my favourite book of all time. I think I ended up reading every single book in the series. So while everyone else was reading Harry Potter, that's what I was doing. Reading Junie B. Jones. So I guess that makes Barbara Park the author of my childhood. Actually I think those books probably influenced me as a person. I related to those books. I loved them. I gobbled them up. I read them all. I related immensely to Junie B. Jones. Shit, man. Those books mean something to me.
Okay. I seriously need to go to bed. Like, now. I feel all nostalgic and looking up at my calendar just reminds me I'm not a kid anymore and I'm supposed to like all these grown up shows and do grown up things like university and just UGH NOPE I WANT TO BE 7 AGAIN PLS. Although that means I'd have to go through middle school again. Let's just say I would rather never repeat middle school again. For anything. I am being perfectly serious when I say there is no amount of money you could pay me to go through middle school again.
GOODNIGHT
yer pal,
swegan :)
Actually wow, I ended up watching a lot of Canadian kids' TV shows:
-Big Comfy Couch
-Little Bear
-Berenstein Bears
-George Shrinks (okay this wasn't entirely Canadian but still)
-Franklin
-Babar
-Bear in the Big Blue House
-Zoboomafoo (don't quote me on that)
-Max and Ruby
-Crazy Quilt
-Tansy and Roseabelle
-Jacob Two-two
And then the non-Canadian ones:
-Blues Clues (this one still holds a special spot in my heart. I loved this show)
-Spongebob Squarepants (THIS SHOW WAS GREAT for like four seasons)
-Barney
-Timothy goes to school
-Teletubbies
-Lamp Chop's Play Along
-Seven Little Monsters (is this one Canadian? I can't tell)
-Rolie Polie Olie
And then I got a little older and I remember watching others.
-Martin Mystery (FUN FACT: The girl who voices Diana also voices Barbie in most of the Barbie movies).
-Mystery Hunters (I got so scared of this so often that mom actually forbade me to watch it until I was 10)
-Totally Spies (this show was THE SHIT)
-6teen (I think I just watched it b/c one of my friends did)
-Life with Derek (this was Canadian, too!)
-The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
-Hannah Montana (Freckles made me watch it)
-Zoey 101
-Atomic Betty (not very often, though, I barely remember this one)
-I was a teenage robot (not often either)
Okay holy shit, I just had a thought. When mom forbade me to watch Mystery Hunters (THE EPISODE ABOUT THE GIANT BIRD MAN STILL HAUNTS ME TO THIS DAY) until I was 10... well, when I was 10, how i met your mother was just starting its first season, which confuses me. how i met your mother is a show I associate with being a teenager. Mystery Hunters is a show I associate very much with being a child.
Also can I say something about the theme songs? Because some of those kids shows had great theme songs. Franklin, Bear in the Big Blue House, Blues Clues, Berenstein Bears, Babar... there's lots of not-popular-music-music in there. Like actually all the music for Blues Clues is pretty much my favourite soundtrack for any TV show ever.
I think I need to watch some more of that show to put me to sleep. I'm all nostalgic now. And confused about Little Bear, because all I remember of that show is the one movie they made where they found another bear and had to help him get home?
And now I'm remembering books. I remember that one about the farmyard animal friends who went on a bike ride, and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type and The Kissing Hand and all those Franklin/Berenstein bear books Freckles and I used to have read to us each night. We had a huge box of Franklin books and Berenstein Bear books all over the place. I remember going to chapters once when I was 13, and seeing "The Berenstein Bears go to Church" and feeling extremely disappointed. The Berenstein Bears always had adventures, but religion was never part of it. They were just living. Seeing that kind of made me feel like my childhood had ended.
SPEAKING OF BOOKS THE MAGIC TREE HOUSE SERIES WAS THE SHIT AND DON'T LET NOBODY TELL YOU DIFFERENT.
And Junie B. Jones. JUNIE B. JONES. I am not kidding when I say those books probably influenced my writing more than you'd think. I still remember the first one I read. It was "Junie B. Jones is a Party Animal" and it was like my favourite book of all time. I think I ended up reading every single book in the series. So while everyone else was reading Harry Potter, that's what I was doing. Reading Junie B. Jones. So I guess that makes Barbara Park the author of my childhood. Actually I think those books probably influenced me as a person. I related to those books. I loved them. I gobbled them up. I read them all. I related immensely to Junie B. Jones. Shit, man. Those books mean something to me.
Okay. I seriously need to go to bed. Like, now. I feel all nostalgic and looking up at my calendar just reminds me I'm not a kid anymore and I'm supposed to like all these grown up shows and do grown up things like university and just UGH NOPE I WANT TO BE 7 AGAIN PLS. Although that means I'd have to go through middle school again. Let's just say I would rather never repeat middle school again. For anything. I am being perfectly serious when I say there is no amount of money you could pay me to go through middle school again.
GOODNIGHT
yer pal,
swegan :)
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