2015-2016 Grade Ten (Posted August 21, 2017)
Milestones
A milestone for me has to have been my thirteenth birthday. That was my first day as a teenager, and it represented the beginning of my passage out of childhood. However, it didn’t so much mark a time of change in my life as it demonstrated how much my life had changed. It was around my twelfth birthday when my family began cruising on our sailboat, so this marked a year later. A year before my thirteenth birthday, I had only left the US three times on trips I couldn’t remember (never leaving North America). Now I was having a party while anchored in Tahiti after having crossed the Pacific Ocean by sailboat. A year before, I was shy and nearly friendless. Now I was celebrating with more friends than I had ever had in my life.
During that party, as I made pretzels with my friends and was given some of my first makeup, I realized how much I had matured. I wasn’t a little kid anymore. Adults were beginning to treat me with more respect, and the other kids looked up to me as one of the oldest members of the group. I was discovering myself, and I already had a career path in mind. In a way, this day marked the beginning of my maturity. A year later, I became a published author. A year after that, I got my first job assisting at an animal shelter and started writing a novel. All my birthdays after my thirteenth never felt as special. Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen–I was just another year older; nothing much had changed, because that day, my thirteenth birthday, was the day things really became different.
July 25, 2017
My Favorite Writing Quotes
Because writing is so important to me, I thought I would share some of my favorite quotes about writing and what they mean to me. If I’m honest, I’m not familiar with all the people that said these quotes, but I still think they serve as great advice for anyone that loves writing.
“You fail only if you stop writing” (Ray Bradbury). I’ve come to learn that the stories that I have written that I think are my worst work turn out to be my best work in the eyes of other people. Never quit. Someone will like what you have created, and it may even make a powerful impact.
“At night, when the objective world has slunk back into its cavern and left dreamers to their own, there come inspirations and capabilities impossible at any less magical and quiet hour. No one knows whether or not he is a writer unless he has tried writing at night” (H.P. Lovecraft). There are two times of day that I usually write (when it isn’t for school): early morning and late night. This is when the world is the most quiet, and I can focus better. This is when the day is just beginning or just ending, so I have an excuse for not doing anything productive (with regards to responsibilities). This quote also ties in with the next one.
“Write drunk. Edit sober” (Unknown). I think most people take this quote too literally. (Don’t actually get drunk every time you write because that would be called addiction.) When I write in the morning, I’m usually wide awake and can think clearly and logically, which is helpful for working out plot and dialog and for catching careless errors and confusing sentences. This would be the “edit sober” part. At night, however, clarity and logic usually go to sleep before I do, so I have to make do without them. This makes for some interesting results. Writing tired, or in other words writing “drunk,” is a great way to develop a character’s thoughts or a poetic description of the setting. This is because thoughts don’t always follow a logical pattern, especially when you’re tired, and a logical description of a setting is boring. Others times the writing still comes out as complete nonsense, but still sounds awesome and deep. The audience won’t know the difference, right? Joking, joking… Kinda.
“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever. The goal is to create something that will” (Chuck Palahniuk). Words I live by. I don’t plan on being forgotten when I die. Do you?
“An artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else’s” (J.D. Salinger). I am writing a story that is a fan fiction in the same way Wide Sargasso Sea is a fan fiction of Jean Eyre (although not nearly the same quality as Wide Sargasso Sea). My friends keep encouraging me to get it published as soon as I am finished with it, but this is basically the argument I use against them. I will only get it published if the story and characters can stay the way I want them to be, not the way the original writers intended them to be. If not, then I will never publish it and will write something completely original that can be published instead. I write for fun, not for money or attention. At least not for money.
“The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always” (Arthur Miller). I wouldn’t have posted my journal entries otherwise.
“If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing” (Benjamin Franklin). Similar to the Palahniuk quote. I’m aiming for both. Just look at my life.
“I think that most people would rather face the light of a real enemy than the darkness of their imagined fears” (Max Brooks). This I most definitely write by. I like to play on people’s doubts, fears, and other emotions in order to have the greatest impact. This is why my creative writing tends to lean towards the horror genre. I hate reading horror, but I love writing it.
“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go” (T.S. Eliot). This needs little explanation as it pretty much applies to the cruising lifestyle as well as writing. My favorite word is audacity. Have I mentioned that?
2014-2015 Grade Nine (Posted July 25, 2017)
My Name
I’ve always known that my name, Justine, is not a very common name. That’s the reason my parents gave it to me, because few people have it. I have only met one other girl with the same name as me. The only other times I had seen my name were while watching a TV show about a world traveler and while reading through the credits at the ends of movies.
I never knew the meaning of my name until recently. The origin of Justine comes from Latin, and the meaning has pretty much stayed the same throughout the years it has been used and the different languages that have adopted their own version of it. Basically, the meaning of Justine is “fair,” “just,” or “righteous.” I feel happy with this meaning because I try to be unbiased and honest. I am not afraid to criticize myself and rarely choose sides when my friends fight.
I feel like the only problem with my name is that almost no one gets it right the first time (or even the first few times). I am always called Julie, Christine, Christina, Jessie, or Justin. When I was still in public school, substitute teachers rarely said my name correctly. Contrary to what many people might think, I was never teased about my name. My classmates actually took pride in correcting the sub that got it wrong. I found it quite funny. For this reason, I was disappointed whenever a teacher pronounced my name the right way for once. The fact that few people can remember or say my name just makes me appreciate the uniqueness of it even more.
A PICTURE OF ME
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Alright, so I have completely failed to keep a blog page. I haven’t made a post since I was eleven, yet somehow my page is messy and a little out of order (and there are only three other posts!). Let me try again. This post will mark a new start, and what better way to start fresh than with a picture of me?
I don’t mean an actual picture. My mom has posted plenty of those on this blog. I’m referring to a picture of words. You may have seen images of me; you may have heard about some of the things I’ve done, but do you know me? I’m here to tell you about myself–to provide an image of myself through my own eyes.
A lot has changed since the last time I was mentioned by my mom. I got my ears pierced, I turned fifteen, I got glasses, I started volunteering at the Hawaiian Humane Society, I got contacts, and I have not gotten any taller! I have developed a passion for writing (something I used to loathe) and wish to have a side career as a writer. My main career is in the direction of marine biology. My family’s travels have given me the desire to protect the ocean and its creatures, especially the misunderstood sharks.
My favorite animals are cats, sharks, and dragons. Dragons hold the place at the very top of the list. If there is a book in which the hero has to kill a dragon, then I will not read it. On the other hand, if the hero were to have a change of heart at the last minute and befriend the dragon, then I would applaud him. Save the dragons!
I always love to hear how people describe themselves. If I were to do the same, then I would say that my personality is one of many contrasts. I am stubborn but willing to give up a fight if I know I am wrong (only if I am absolutely certain, though). I am laidback but tend to stress out over life. I am patient but easily annoyed. I am shy but can seem confident in a conversation even when my hands are shaking. I am introverted (in person) but extroverted (in writing). Finally, true to the personality of a Leo, I am passionate about certain things but just as easily bored with those same things.
I hope you were surprised and interested by my picture. Like it or not, continue to follow me or not, I will keep writing (or at least try really, really hard to). I have a strong voice and (literally) a boatload of opinions. You would have to chain me to the ground to prevent me from attempting to be heard.
I look forward to “seeing” you in the future.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Hi! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Justine and I’m 11 years old. I like writing, art, photography, and sailing small boats, such as sunfish. I will be posting anything from my schoolwork to a cool sighting of fish.
LIFE ON THE HARD
Some people might tend to ask me what it’s like to live on the hard. Well first of all, it is noisy! Every day, except on the weekends, I hear the zzzzzzz of a sander or the boop boop boop of a lift. It’s kind of distracting when I’m doing school. Second of all, the heat gets trapped inside the boat, so every so often you have to go outside to cool off. Besides those things, living on the hard is not so bad. We’re still close to the water, which is great, and we’re not alone. Every once in awhile there is a boat next to us to keep us company and there’s is Lisa, who runs the store. Not to mention that Josh and Joel (they work here) are fun to hang out with. If no one’s here, well, at least there is the security guard. I guess it’s a good life.
MY ROOM
Welcome to my room! At first it seemed a little dull in there, but then I added some stickers and signs to brighten the place up. I even added a guard dragon. Yah that’s right, a dragon. There is just one thing wrong with the room. The wall is falling down! Ok, the wall isn’t really falling down, just the lining. My mom and dad tried to fix it twice all ready, but it fell right back down. They’re supposed to put it back up again later (like that’s ever going to happen).
door to my cabin
“beware of dragon”
meet Firebolt
did I mention my favorite color is purple?
closet door stickers
closet & cabinet
waiting for my new wall liner
sailboat
my head
Saturday, August 11, 2012
CHANGES TO MY CABIN
OK, it’s been a while since I posted so you can pretty much assume a lot has happened. In my last post I said my wall needed to be put up… well it is now! A day or two after that post my dad began working on a permanent way to make the wall stay up (which I thought was a little suspicious regarding how I said,”Like that’s ever going to happen.”). Now not only is the wall up, but my books and drawers are all in place. My keyboard is on my bed and so are my stuffed animals. My dad calls it “the Zoo”. It’s really not that bad, I still have enough room to sleep…
like it?
OK maybe it is a zoo
A NOTE TO FELLOW SEVENTH GRADERS
As you already know, I said I would post anything from schoolwork to a cool sighting of fish. Well, that also means that I’m in charge (along with Colin) of photographing and documenting some of the fish that we see. I’m also in charge of looking up facts about an area we’re going to. Now to the other seventh graders that are following this blog: if you want to know any specific fact about an area or want a picture of any kind of fish… just ask. It gets a little lonely with only my family, so a couple of pen pals are welcome. If you don’t know what kind of fish are in the area I will go ahead and look that up and then post what I find. Just ask and you will receive.
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