Dear Everyone

This is my new blog as I begin my adventures at Idyllwild Academy for the Arts.
The blog is called A Writer Types and it's at awritertypes.blogspot.com

Dear everyone,

I've been in classes for more than a week and every day it gets better and better. Idyllwild is honestly the most magical place I've ever been to, including Hogwarts in my dreams. Right now it's room study; an hour an a half set from eight-thirty to ten for homework, in which you are not allowed to leave your room for any reason at all. The only ones exempt from this are prefects, who are like hall monitors, but more important. They have lots of luxuries, and the advantage of being me is that I am rooming with one. She's really nice.

So far my classes have been fairly easy. I love all of my teachers, even my math teacher, but I hate math. My world cultures teacher has actually traveled the world, which makes his classes much more intriguing. P.E. is basically hiking and games; we've gone on two nature walks and have played one game of kickball. So far I haven't died. Intro to lit so far is kind of boring, but that's just because I'm a creative writer and the stuff we're learning is stuff I already know, or at least, most of it. I do love learning new vocabulary though.

Writing classes are amazing. We always drink Yorkshire tea, which is probably the best tea in the world no matter what other people say. After that's brewed and everyone has a mug, we talk about writing and writers and poetry and books. It's the best thing ever. There was even a guest poetry author, Chase Twichell, whose book I bought after a short reading (I never buy poetry!). I have had to read a LOT. Even as I type I should be reading the first twenty chapters of a book that are due by Tuesday! But alas, I don't have the book yet (have to get it at the book store), because at boarding school you have to own your books. Fortunately I'm allowed to sell them back at the end of the year for an undecided refund. So far I haven't written more than two poems (seventy-one lines each!) and some fanfiction, but I'm certainly going to have to soon.

Getting food is so exciting. I have to go to a thing called breakfast sign-in, which means that I must go to breakfast every morning and sign to say that I was there. It's convenient since it forces me to eat a good breakfast with fruit and everything. I love being early to meals, because sometimes people gather outside the dining hall and bring out their guitar or fiddle and start to liven the mood. There's nothing more fun than laughing with your friends.

My free periods are normally spent in the library, where I either compute or study, because the library is so close to most of our classes. Spanish, though, is a different story-- it's way up past the dining hall, which, since you don't know the campus, is quite a trek! Especially if you only have five or ten minutes-- the breaks between classes vary depending on the day. Days with shorter classes (forty-five minutes) have shorted breaks, and longer classes (an hour and twenty minutes) have longer breaks. Getting from class to class can be tough, especially since there's a different schedule every day. But we somehow manage. At least the creative writers have only one building, plus the library.

Over the weekend there are trips to town, which, apparently, are the highlight of the week. I'm excited to maybe go and check it out. There's even a candy shop! On Sunday there's a beach trip, and I'm definitely going to go. I'm sure it will be tons of fun. Everything here is fun (except maybe homework) because the classes are so engaging. My Spanish teacher rarely uses English in the classroom. I can't understand him at all.

At night, when I can open up my laptop or play my video game or read, I also have lots of fun. I'm making everything sound so positive, when, in reality, it's a pain! The Internet really sucks at night, and my cell phone battery dies quickly. My video game sometimes hurts my eyes and the homework is a drag. Walking from class to class, which I know will be in the rain soon, is hard because I'm still not sure where all of the classrooms are. Each building is separate. The books I have to carry around weigh a ton, and sometimes teachers don't let you go to the bathroom! When you don't have a water bottle, getting thirsty will happen very quickly, and the elevation level is so high (6,000 ft) that the air is quite thin. Getting from place to place requires going up and down hills, and the dining hall is often crowded and loud. The time difference from here to Ohio is also a pain, especially at night. I miss some people very much and sometimes certain websites refuse to load. I haven't got any of my music with me so room study can be exceedingly boring, especially when I have to do Algebra II homework. There's not nearly enough space in my dorm room to fit all of my textbooks, so I have to pile them up high and search for a little while. Sometimes the food is gross, too.

Well now... Who am I kidding? I LOVE it here! Thanks to all who have donated and supported me through this! I owe you so much for having made this all possible!

Love,

Callie

P.S. Please visit http:lovecallie.com and tell others - THANK YOU!