I got tagged!

My affiliate Maddy tagged me, so here we go: I have to write 10 facts about myself and then tag other people. (I love doing stuff like this, haha.) OK, these are completely off the top of my head:

1. I love snow. I think it would be safe to call me a snow-addict. Whenever it snows, something inside me feels free. The beauty and overall ethereal-ness of snow takes my breath away.
2. I rarely wear makeup. If I do, it’s usually lipgloss, mascara, and sometimes eyeliner, but very lightly applied. My reasons for doing this are two simple facts: first, makeup itches, and second, I like to go with the whole natural-beauty routine. Sometimes I think it would be cool, just once, to have a makeup artist work their magic on me, and see what I looked like, though.
3. When I was younger, I was tall for my age. Now, I’m short for my age. Funny how things change over time.
4. I’m a realist. In most situations, I try to imagine what is most likely to happen, instead of what I want/don’t want to happen. I don’t like to get my hopes up, and I don’t like to scare myself unnecessarily; hence, the tendency to be realistic.
5. I met Jesse McCartney (very briefly) when I was thirteen; I went to one of his concerts with my friend Marina, and my mom wrangled us a meet-and-greet. I got to shake his hand, say ‘Hi, I’m McKenna’ and get my picture taken with him, in which, I might add, I have the widest grin I’ve ever had in a picture. (I had a huge crush on him at the time.) Despite the moment lasting for approximately one minute or less, it’s one of my favorite memories.
6. I’m quite an introvert. I would much rather read than go to a party, or go out for the night. I have no aversion to being alone.
7. My favorite part about writing is creating characters. I put little bits of people I know into them, which is like planting the seedling (metaphorically) and then I stand back, water them with ideas and expose them to creativity-sunlight and let them grow. It’s amazing to watch an idea for a character grow before your eyes and turn into a person you swear could really exist. It’s the best feeling.
8. I love the number eight. It’s my favorite number. It represents a never-ending cycle to me. Like life, death, rebirth, that sort of thing. Or, that where something starts is usually where it ends. Also, I always loved that it looked the side right-side-up and upside-down.
9. I’m very practiced in the art of procrastination.
10. My favorite part about having a website is being able to connect with so many amazing people. Affiliates, commenters, etc. We’ll probably never meet in ‘real life’, but I’ve formed so many unforgettable friendships over my years online that mean so much to me.

So, that being said, I tag all my affiliates, too. (Sorry for copying, Maddy! xD) I don’t like picking-and-choosing, and possibly leaving out, others, so now it’s fair. Gosh, that was fun. I love quizzes/surveys/etc.! Hehe.

Regarding Script Frenzy

Page Count: 63/100 - Deadline: April 30th (6 days)

I’m a little behind, yes. But seeing as I have (twice) written a fifty-thousand-word novel in fifteen days, I think I can complete forty pages of a screenplay in six days. Screenwriting is an experience for me; I’m sure it’s a good one, and I’m enjoying it immensely, but it poses more problems for me than novel-writing does. For example: condensing. I think I have some rare, unheard-of-before incurable illness that makes it impossible for me to condense my material. I’m a natural wordy person; most people require multiple cups of coffee, pep rallies, encouragement from friends and family, and sleep deprivation to force themselves to write a hundred-page screenplay in a month: instead, I find myself realizing that, as I’m sixty-plus pages into the work, and it still isn’t half finished, I’m probably going to have to do a lot of condensing when I’ve finished. But each scene means so much to me, and to the story, so I feel trapped. Oh well. I’ll get through it eventually.

Regarding The Title of This Post

How many of you have driven before? I’m talking serious driving; having a permit/license and realizing the responsibility you have as a driver? I started driving in the summer of ‘07, and still have not taken my driver’s test. I took the written exam–and passed it–awhile ago, but all that required of me was to pay twenty bucks and answer twenty-five questions via computer about basic traffic laws, violations, how screwed you are if you drink and drive, that sort of thing. The driver’s test, on the other hand, is taken in the car, and tests my skills as a driver. I wouldn’t say the thought of taking this test terrifies me…but, still, I’ve procrastinated taking it for a reason, and I’m about to go into that reason now.

Most kids are thrilled, elated, jubilant, etc. to get their permit. They can’t wait to drive. Let’s go back nine months, to July ‘07. I entered a driver’s training course, which lasted around a month. I was excited to drive, but that emotion was feeble compared to the other emotion I felt: fear. I was afraid to learn how to drive. The first time I sat in the driver’s seat, I was shaking. Visibly. Since then, I’ve controlled that bottled-up terror, but recently it was somewhat rekindled. Let me explain. I was driving in a nearby neighborhood; a fancy one, the new kind of development that’s basically a small city, filled with coffee shops, expensive boutiques, and even its own grocery store or two. The kind where the overpriced house-clones sit about five feet apart (’Stepford Wives’ anyone?) and the grass has to be exactly two inches tall or else…well, the world as we know it basically ends. Anyway, I was driving there…it’s a nice place to drive. Wide roads. Multiple lanes. Hills, curvy turns, 40 MPH speed limit. Multiple traffic lights. It all happened when I was making a left turn from the left turn lane. I don’t want to explain how it happened–it was one of those strange, mind-disconnected-from-body, where-the-heck-was-my-head? kind of experiences–but, basically, I failed to yield to oncoming traffic. Not on purpose; I know the rules of the road, I know, when the left-turn arrow goes off, if the light is still green, you have to yield to oncoming cars before making your turn. Somehow I didn’t see the car coming. Somehow. It didn’t hit me, but it came close; we both stopped, but I had to drive on because I was blocking the lane, as is what happens when you make a left turn. Before I knew it, I was parked in a lot, sobbing and shaking and feeling like I wanted to faint and throw up at the same time.

It effected me so violently…I sat there for at least half an hour. I just felt so horrible; yes, it was an accident; yes, nothing happened; yes, everybody, especially new drivers, makes mistakes. None of that mattered, though. You may not know this about me, but I’m a perfectionist, with myself only. I have to live up to my own standards for myself; I fear failure, personal failure, above almost anything else. I’ll readily admit when I was in the wrong, because I’m honest: but accepting my mistakes, in my own mind, and forgiving myself for them are two different things entirely.

So, remember I said I had a reason for procrastinating taking my driver’s exam? The above story illustrates why that procrastination is taking place. But, now…I’ve thought about it. This happened a month ago or more, and ever since then it’s haunted me…I can’t forget it. Every time I get behind the wheel, I worry about all the mistakes I could make, all the potential accidents I could cause. Maybe I’m being to hard on myself, maybe my reaction is justified; I’m not sure. I think it’s a bit of both, actually. Anyway, why did I even tell this story? It’s kind of old news, I guess…I wanted to write about it before, but couldn’t bring myself to. I guess I wrote about it now because, not only did I want to feel the relief that comes with confession, but I also want to…give an example of my humanness. I always feel like I blog about good things; things I do that I enjoy, things I’m proud of, fun experiences. Even when I blog about confusing/deep feelings, as I have many times, it’s not exactly a bad thing. Such emotions are so deep they lose all classification. But here, this is now the first blog in who-knows-how-long, where I actually wrote about something I’m not proud of. So, a tip for all drivers out there: remember to yield.

Regarding Running Start

BCC describes Running Start thusly: “Running Start provides academically motivated students an opportunity to take college courses as part of their high school education.” (from their website) As you may know, I’ve been interested in this program for awhile, and I’ve been working towards entering it. Well, I can say now that I successfully passed my assessment into the program. I scored 98 and 95 on my Reading/Writing exams, and 87 on Pre-Algebra; I did horribly in Algebra/College Algebra (think 20’s) but I was basically guessing all those answers, because I’ve never studied algebra before. I have to take a few extra math classes in the summer, but other than that…I’m in. So, I’m really happy about this. Soon I can start picking which classes I want to take, and all that fun stuff.

Regarding The End of This Post

I don’t have much else on my mind, not that I want to post about, anyway…tomorrow I’m going to a tulip festival, where I’m sure to have many good photo opportunities. I’m working on moving my portfolio to my site–I’m getting bored dealing with multiple sites. So, hopefully I’ll have something more interesting to write about next time.