The Girl With Arthritis

Last year, I did an eight week course. It was an art class almost every Saturday morning, from mid October to December. I really did enjoy the class: It was a lot of fun! I made friends within the class and got a lot of good artistic advice, and even more confidence in my work. I don't regret doing the class what so ever. My body, on the other hand, hated it very much. I tend to be busy over the week (and by 'busy,' I mean going to school, coming home and doing homework in bed). But those weeks were extremely busy for me: Things started popping up from nowhere! It was a bit more than I could handle. There was actually a point when I became so stressed out that accidentally spilling coffee on some paperwork I was supposed to be sending out sent me into a hysterical screaming fit. Mentally, I was breaking down. But the physical toll was much more intense. I lost my Saturdays to recover from school since I was out of the house by six thirty in the morning (just like every...

I remember being about three years old and announcing that when I grew up, I wanted to be a doctor. Even as a young child, I thought medicine was absolutely fascinating. Though my title changed from doctor to nurse, I loved the idea of caring for people. I wasn't interested in anatomy as much as I was interested in treatments and procedures. In fact, at the age of ten I could preform virtual heart surgery in forty seconds flat, tell you what IV and PICC stand for (intravenous and peripherally inserted central catheter- I never forgot), and I read medical journals all the time. It was adorable. Also, I thought hospitals were cool. I still think they are. I always knew I was sick- we didn't have a name for it, but pain doesn't happen for no reason. I liked the idea that I would make sure no one would walk around knowing their sick but getting no answers. I wanted to be that miracle nurse or doctor who never gave up and let their patients suffer. When I was eleven and going ...

I write a good portion of my day, whether it's for school, this blog, communication or leisure. Some of my favourite things to write are skits and sketches, specifically comedies. I actually will use some in the coming months to make a short film for art class. Anyway, some of that inspiration for my comedy skits actually comes from having arthritis. No, it's not funny to have arthritis. But, I do find the humour in some of the worse parts of it, as you might have witnessed on this blog. I don't want to be sad at all, and I'm too stressed from school and such to be serious all the time too. And I've found that a lot of the time, people will learn way more when they can laugh and not be serious (Thank you to Horrible Histories for teaching me this). Also, as a side note, most I do actually preform these skits. Typically they require a wide variety of characters. So I play them all. Rest assured, you can only imagine how many mustaches I've ever drawn on. :) ...

You know that moment when you do something, and then find out it wasn't necessary? When you realise how much time you wasted? I had one of those moments today. Last night I worked very hard on an essay for class. Though I thoroughly enjoyed the work (I really like the subject that I was writing about), it was still stressful. When I went into class today, I found out the teacher only wanted us to speak of it openly in a discussion during class. No need for essays. Great. I apologise for the rather brief posts lately; I have had so much school work, I've barely had the time to think about what to post, forget write and publish it! But now that I'm just about finished with all of it, I will be posting as usual. Hopefully.

Wish me luck! I've been working hard on that project for the contest I mentioned in my last post, and it's nearly done! At the moment I'm getting the judgement of my teachers to help make minor improvements and getting approval through the school to send in my art work (which includes, but is not limited to, three art teachers, one contest representative of my school, and my actual school). I'm extremely excited!! I can't wait to submit it, and I'm even more excited for judging! I'm sorry to be very vague about this contest, it's simply a security issue and also the fact that I like that we can just have 'a contest' and not 'This Very Official Contest of This University and If You Don't Win, You Are A Disgrace.' So, yeah. No pressure. :)

Recently I've decided to enter an art contest. I don't usually tell people about my plans art wise, but this one I'd rather like to share. While I won't say the name of the contest, I will say it's a rather important one and winning is quite an honor. I haven't submitted my work yet, in fact I've barely begun as I only found out about the contest today. But I did want to tell you all for a specific reason: So I follow through. I'm known not to follow through with all my projects, but I feel that if I tell someone, it'll be inspiration enough to do my best work and enter the contest. Here's to hoping I follow through!

Recently I've had a conversation with someone about my school. They asked why I'm very tired after school (arthritis aside). To tell you the truth, most kids from my school are exhausted after school. This is what one  school day looks like: they're not all this long, but it is quite often that they are. Kids begin to travel to get to school as early as 6:15. Early morning meetings and tutoring begin at 7:00, which is when most kids begin to arrive, however most kids rather hang out with friends. Classes start around 7:30. We get to go to lunch at 11:00 (some kids go to the library or go out to play football). Classes resume at about 11:30 and ends at 14:00. Some kids go home at this point. Clubs, tutoring, sports, detention, and such begin at 14:15 (Don't worry, no detentions for me :) ). Some kids do homework and relax in the library with friends (after a bit it's more socialising than working). We can also work out with exercise equipment. Most clubs le...

I seem to be getting behind in writing. It's not that I do not want to, it's that I have school, homework, art class, art homework, friends wanting social time as well as a nagging disease which gives me a lot of pain and fatigue after that. First off I would like to update about my situation in art class: Everybody absolutely loves my new design more than the one the girl had stole from me (but they still like it). I feel this is a double great situation for me since it's BOTH my idea. Sorry to have a short, non medical (mostly) post, but I promise more later.

I apologise for being away for so long, I've had a very long and busy week between school, school work , a family gathering and also seeing a film I've wanted to see for quite a while with one of my best friends. At the moment, I have many Enbrel side effects including headaches and fatigue. In fact I fell asleep after school, of which I never do unless I'm extremely ill. Tonight I have worked on my own clothing design for a shirt. This is completely and utterly unnecessary work. The reason I am doing it is because a girl in my class took credit for an idea I came up with and drawings I did last year. She didn't mention it was my idea, she took all the credit and continued to saying that she was the only person who cared. I am not letting her win this. I am bringing all my former drafts to class as well as my NEW ideas, which in my mind are brillant. I'm not letting her get away with this. If we're not allowed to cheat on tests, why should we be allowed to che...

I'm a full time school student and plan on attending college after I finish Secondary school (high school). Many kids don't like school and even I dread going back after holiday, but once I am in school again I love it. I love to learn very much, and using skills I aquired in class. I enjoy going to swimming class despite walking around with wet hair. I adore seeing my friends, other students  and some teacher. I even love wearing my school clothes, looking very sharp day after day. Honestly, I love school. And taking several hours of art everyday helps. :)

I know that lately I have been rather lazy with my posts, and I apologize. I've had so much to do between visitors, projects and just trying to find the time to relax. Anyway, I haven't been very sure of what to post about lately. Thus I've procrastinated. I've been watched medical documentaries from other countries to see how they go about procedures and medical care. I've listened to theme park soundtracks. And I haven't even thought of a subject to write about. How about my project? While I don't want to be too specific, I will tell you it is something I've wanted to do for quite a while. I've been working on it despite having school assignments to complete. I figured that I could work on them both at the same time but it's not exactly working out that way so what I think I might do is alternate days of which I do the seperate projects. Anyway one project involves a product with a price and the other involves not getting paid at all. You'...

Today in art class we did one of my favourite things: Portrait drawings. Today in art class we did one of my least favourite things: Self-Portrait drawings. I say it's a bit of a curse because I can draw almost anyone except my mum, my grandmum and myself. I think it's a bit of a generation thing. Both of my attempts on huge paper we were given were very far from what I actually do look like. I decided I would finish it at home on my own paper: I hope the teacher won't mind, and I'm sure he won't since we're just doing those only to scan them into the computer to paint over anyway. My mum tells me that I draw people softer than they really are, meaning I'll round pointed faces and make harsh eyes gentler. But when it came to drawing myself, I made myself look so brutal and stern: As if I were wicked. It's scary too because while my friend and I agreed that the picture did not look like me, it looked like someone we have seen before. This one girl whom...

Let's all face it, there comes times when you go offline, turn off your cell phone and just want to relax in your favourite chair to watch a great episode of Dr. Who followed by M*A*S*H - give or take a Harry Potter movie. But it's during that time when you have this party to host, and these visitors to tend to and this group outing planned all during the only days you have to relax. I love seeing people and getting together, but I'm tired and sore and just want a day to sit back. Did I mention I have a lot of art homework to finish? Oh,well.  What do you do when things get busy?

Young artists have a very awkward stereotype: Tattoos and odd coloured hair with clothes that look something of a costume. True, many kids have this style but there are also many other artistic people. These people, you really only see if you're on the 'in the loop.' At least in school, you see: Bold Style Artists: These are the kids with the tattoos, coloured hair, piercings and much more. There is no one personality though, and they range from acting 'too cool' for themselves to some of the nicest kids you will ever meet. Sometimes it's just a disguise to fit in with others, sometimes it is the way they express themselves. They are the quickest to get artistic praise because their style is so bold. Lazy Artists: These are also known as 'starving artists.' They do their own thing instead of working on assignments and will not accept training outside of their comfort zone, which varies. Some do art as a hobby and pursue a different career and others hav...

I should be making a prop for my art class's movie project... but I'm not. Not out of lack of materials or being busy, just out of laziness. Perhaps it sounds bad but I'm exhausted. I have major exams coming up soon and I need to study but most importantly getting well rested: One exam takes up most of the day. Oh well. Anyway, I just needed to update this even though nothing was particularly on my mind. I should probably start making the prop (A portal shooter from the Portal video game).

I can tell you right now, life isn't fair. It isn't supposed to be. Sometimes things happen. Sometimes your friend likes the same boy as you. Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you can't get the stain out of your clothes. Sometimes you pay for something you don't get later. And all three of the above examples apply to me. You see, most girls have gone through this: You like a boy and you don't tell your friends, but then your friend tells you she likes him too. While you know the boy like YOU and not your friend, you just can't bear to hurt your friend and date him. It was once said that 'Once you like a boy, you're friends can never ever consider him' (I think Taylor Swift said this), but I can't agee. It's no fair to let people suffer: If two people like each other and nothing has been done between your friend and him, It should be fine. But you don't want to hurt your friend. Sometimes there are just no painfree solutions. Other ...

This year my school has faced many deaths. In September a sixteen year old boy commited suicide. In the same week, a man who had graudated only the year before died in a car accident. A teacher who had cancer died in October, and she was only in her fifties. And during the weekend, a sixteen year old boy in my art program lost his father in an unexpected and sudden death. This year, I'm learning more of death than I wanted to in a lifetime. I learned how grief is different for different people, and how different it is to lose a friend, a parent, a teacher or the kid you looked up to last year. When the boy died, the kids cried together and at a favourite hang out spot they wrote notes, placed candles, brought tributes and such. In fact someone brought his skateboard. When the man (former student) died, we were all shocked. Some of the upper classmen lost 'a hero.' While a few cried publically, most kept their head held high as that's what he taught them. When the tea...

As a teenager I naturally have a need to go out with my friends. So, instead of visiting with my regular group of friends, I went to go to laser tag with a group of friends I typically only see when we are in school. We have gone together before but this time was different: This time I knew I could flare very badly after spending the night on my feet. I went anyway. You see, when you know you're different, you look for a sense of normal. And when you have a problem, you want to challenge it. Honestly, whether or not I flared up afterward it wouldn't have mattered because at the time, looking at my friends happy faces and knowing they wanted to be here with me and knowing I was alright in the moment was one hundred per cent worth the risk. Or maybe that's just my inner teenager trying to rebel after a whole life time of obeying every rule with extreme fear, even if it was just playing a game. I've discovered something quite interesting today: I can draw men and childre...