Last

I'm being the biggest nerd ever to write this post at my house right now, but I just had to finish my week. We did in fact make our mattress fort in the living room. There, that's all I wanted to say. This week was fun..

Best Day

I underestimated what fun you can fill a lonely night with. Last night, of all the nights, was the most awesome. I really don't know where to start, but here I go rambling.

[flashback] It all started when I was blogging yesterday, my post about what we did that day. Then Alex, Jo Jo, and me went for a walk. To the library. I met this mega-sized Curious George, and we talked about black girl hair. Uh, pretty much that was it. It took a while and was enjoyable. I saw a secret garden on the way. Oh, and Jonathon is obviously a compulsive liar, he has to rehearse them in his head before he goes to bed. I have never lied to my parents. And Alex doesn't like chicken... The "N" word is over publicized. And black people can talk about white people, but not vice-versa. Something about baby pee in the face--what?! Oh eff. There's kids here. The coffee was cheaper here. I think our job interview went well. I wish we could ride golf carts everwhere on campus. Alex is so random... Oh, and I can apparently go to a school in D.C. for free cuz I'm white. But that's as cool as Jonathon and Alex going to Harvard free of charge.. Darn, I wish I was black.

Then I got back and we played Egyptian Ratscrew, or Gypsy. I totally won. That got really boring, and we were hungry so Meagan, Ruth, and Lauren took my unwanted Cheerios. We made art, and my Meatwad was the best. Then Meagan tried to shove more Cheerios in her mouth than me, but I totally won at that, too. Oh, then Meagan tried to squirt Capri Sun in her mouth with her head down. I think she had three different stains on her pants by the end of the night. We wanted to move our mattresses in the living room and sleep together, but it was too late and we're lazy. This is not posted by Meagan McSexy... Lauren wanted to go to bed, and I took a five second shower. We talked of our parents' relationship. We talked about soccer positions. We talked about ignorant people who talk politics. We talked about throw up on carnival rides. I dunno, we just talked about so much that I can't remember.

I'm gonna miss this bunch of kiddos. I am gonna miss 'journaling'. I am gonna go back home and either sleep all day or play softball. Boring... I miss my brother, though. We're GOING TO have a sleepover someday... We'll meet in Hattiesburg. Just not in Hattiesburg Hall. I dunno where I'm going to college, but I think Southern is really fun.

For Meagan...... and Ruthhhhy

hello Ruthie Poo
I wrote this haiku for you
I am your friend, new...

Ocean Springs Bound

Well well well... Today we rode that magical USM bus to Ocean Springs to visit the research lab. I didn't understand much about the vibrios and what the ecologists were saying, but I think it was still an enjoyable experience. Actually today was really short, even though it lasted the longest. I mean, we didn't do that much, but with the near four hour commuting, you get the idea. Radio today was really fun, but it seemed like I spent only half an hour in the studio. We were rushing from getting back late, and I had no idea how to QUICKLY edit the articles, so I just read them word-for-word, citing OF COURSE :)

I'm sad that we don't have anything to do tonight, I wish we could play hide-and-seek outside or something. But that's just me. It's only 6 o'clock... What shall we do? Blogging is cool, blogging is fun, it gets its food from the rays of the sun.

Theater Broadcast Wednesday

Today instead of watching intellectual adults talk about their career, we went out to see why other camps were here. My group, assigned to interviewing people and giving stand-ups, went to a building of theater and arts to see how the current production was coming along. We walked in on a program of 8 to 15-year-old future actors giving a funny performance about Bedside Manor and the colorful doctors who worked there. I thought it was great, but there's always something for a director to improve, so we left the room on that note. Onward to another room, we interviewed a few kids and then went back to the studio to transform it into the finished product.

I was surprisingly not hesitant to get in front of the camera, although I feel weird hearing my voice play back. And I realized I have this weird twitch I do with my mouth when I'm done talking. It's compulsing, I dunno... On a different note, tonight we have the pleasure of going bowling. I just hope they put up bumpers lol.

First Few Days

I arrived in Hattiesburg this past Sunday ready, though not knowing exactly what to expect. We met in a small room and had dinner before I unpacked my suitcase in the suite at Hattiesburg Hall. I remember being here at USM earlier this month with another program, and I was surprised how different the dorms were. At Girls State, I stayed in Roberts Hall, which is definitely not a suite.

I am always very shy when I’m nervous but was glad to play games and get to know the other people I would be spending the week with. We only have twelve kids, so I know it won’t be difficult to learn everyone’s names pretty soon. That night I got to know my roommates while eating Cheerios, and we talked until we went to bed.

Monday morning we interviewed professional journalists and took a lot of notes. My group then wrote our newspaper articles, while condensing our notes. I learned how to write a good lead, as well, which is pretty interesting. We were in a basement for three hours, but strangely I think this will have been my favorite part by the end of the week. We worked with photography today, though, and we're still going to be on the radio and interview people for television. I guess I’ll see by then which was the best.

Like I said, today we received fancy Nikon cameras and were told to shoot using the 'rule of thirds' and to focus on the important aspects of the story that was happening. This was the part of the week where we were constructively but nicely criticized by the photography pros about our amateur shots. I was glad, however, to learn a little about Photoshop and camera techniques. Then, I went back to the dorm and ate Cheerios.

Tonight we will be having a movie night, and I will probably be posting again soon.