July 5th
Okay, so this isn't going to be a diary. It's a journal. I guess. that's the same thing, but "journal" sounds less like I'm riding a tricycle or something.
Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 16.
It's so weird sharing a birthday with your country. Always fireworks: never for you. Mom always plans an actual birthday dinner--usually the Saturday night after July 4th so that i can have a day where we celebrate just for me. It's fun, kinda like having two birthdays in the same week.
We're not big July 4th celebrators . . . celebrators? Celebrants? People. Whatever---we're not big on July 4th. Usually in the afternoon we have friends from school over and walk down to the beach to play volleyball. There are lots of nets at the beach just down the hill, then we haul ourselves back up the canyon to out house for a cookout in the evening. My brother, cam, invites his friends from the varsity soccer team. Mom gets my favorite cake (the one with the berries in it). After we gorge on grilled meat and birthday cake, we all crowd onto the balcony outside my parents' bedroom and watch the fireworks down the coast. You can see the display at the pier really well, and the ones in the cities just up the coast shoot off too. Last year cam (nobody calls him Cameron except mom) climbed onto the roof from the front porch so he could get a better view, but mom freaked and said, CAMERON! Get. Down. This. Instant. Mom's big on safety.
I got a lot of cool presents yesterday. Mom got me the swimsuit i tried on at the mall last week. It's a really cute two piece with boy shorts, and this fun, twisty top. Dad's present to me was that he's taking me to get my license this week. I've been practicing with him in the parking lot near his office at the college. Ge gave me a coupon for one "Full Day with Dad." on the back it says, "Good for one driving test at the DMV, followed by a celebratory meal at the restaurant of holder's choosing, and $100 shopping spree/ gift card to store of choice."
He made it himself out of red construction paper and drew this funny little stick figure on the front. It's supposed to be him. He draws curly hair on the sides of the round head so the little mans is bald on top like he is. The coupon is sort of cheesy,but so is my dad, I think it's funny. And cute.
Cam got me this journal. We've been going to this yoga class together, and the teacher is this woman named Marty with bright eyes who walks about her birds a lot. She told us to get a journal and spend a few minutes each day writing down our thought and feelings.
I just looked back at everything I've written, and it's mainly thoughts. Not very many feelings. I'm not sure how i feel right now. I mean, I guess I feel fine? Happy?
No just fine. I feel fine.
I also feel like people who have birds are sort of weird.
July 6th
It's funny that cam bought me this journal. It's one of those things i would never have bought for myself but secretly wanted, i don't know how he knows that stuff. I guess that's what older brothers are supposed to do: read your mind. I mean, who actually goes out and tries the stuff that their yoga teacher says to do outside of class?
Cam got way into yoga last summer when he had a crush on this exchange student from England named Briony---like Brian with a y. (Really? Who names their kid that?) Anyway, she wouldn't give cam the time of day, so when he found out that she went to this yoga class, he started going to the same one. He bought a mat and this little bag to carry it in and just happened to show up in her class like, On my God! Wow! What a coincidence. Briony never went out with him. I didn't even know she'd gone back to London until i was teasing him about how he should be glad Briony didn't do something like synchronized swimming. He was like, Briony moved back to London right after school got out.
