Why I love to write/read

I make mistakes. Sometimes, big mistakes. Maybe, it wasn't even a mistake, maybe it was something I did that will haunt me forever. 
Raise your hand if you've ever made a mistake. 
Psst! Raise your hand! 

I'm not perfect, nobody is. But still some choices haunt you in life, even if they weren't necessarily bad choices. They still creep around in the back of your mind, making your stomach do somersaults and your heart drop. 

I guess thats why I love writing so much. There are characters here that I can create and love. My characters make mistakes. Ever met *Toni? 
Oh, hi, I'm here. 
Toni, in your story, did you make a mistake? 
...Maybe... 
Toni, I'm waiting...
Okay, yes I made a mistake. 
See? 

Writing your own story, with your own characters, it brings you to a different world. A world where you can leave all your knots and mistakes and mess ups behind and do something else. Be someone else. Live somewhere else. 
I read this book a while ago called Kira-Kira. It's one of the best books I've ever read. I wasn't reading words off of a page anymore; I was Katie, going through one of the toughest childhoods I've ever read about. I felt her pain, her happiness, her thoughts, her feelings. Isn't that what every writer strives for? To create a story that takes you away and plays with your emotions so they become the emotions of the character in the book? I cried so hard after reading Kira-Kira. 

So, sometime's reality doesn't work out the way you'd like it to work out. Everyone experiences this. My advice: get out of reality for a while! 

I digress. 

I MAAAAAAAADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! 
I FIIIIIIIIIIIINSIHED!!!!!!!!!!!! 

My presentation went really well! The fourth, fifth, sixth, and tenth graders all came around to look at our boards, our research, and all that. They asked me a ton of questions, some of which I didn't know, but I knew most of them. Then my science teacher came around to each of us and asked us questions and I thought, Oh dang, she's going to stump me, I'm going to get a horrible grade on this and I worked and stressed over this presentation for weeks! But I surprised myself. I knew the answer to every question she asked me. She even told me after that I had a good presentation! I'm so glad it's over... 

So now Blaze and I are home alone and I'm going to relax with a cup of tea and be happy it's Christmas break. 
--Abby

*Toni is a character I'm currently working with. I'm still trying to undo all the knots in her story.