Ashley had gotten into the wrong things when she entered highschool. Middle school to highschool was a whole other world for her, and with that came ways for her mind to feel as if it were in another dimension. Kind of like a parallel universe; she was here, but her mind only coincided and didn't fully make it. She was distant from everyone except for the people who helped her detach from feeling, and live inside her head. It's funny how pills the same surface area as a cuticle can change someone's destiny. Ashley's best friend Kristen noticed the change before Ashley herself had. She did notice she had begun to live differently. That doesn't mean that she was about to alter the way she lived. To her, nothing was wrong, and nothing was right. She was numb with monotone. She was another tree in the arctic forest, frozen, serving no unique purpose. The ground was an endless field of snow, with no foot prints of disruption. And thewind blew too hard for her eyes to get a clear view of the sky before they began to tear and she was forced to look down. That was her purpose- to get through the day like she had the day before. Nothing was going to change her except for herself, but she wasnt here; she was in the world her mind had created for her.
Kristen and Ashley had been best friends since they first met in their Kindergarten class and Ashley had cried for her mom. Kristen had comforted her and continued to do so for their ten year friendship, whenever necessary. They had become so close that even their families had meshed. When others saw them, it was assumed they were cousins. Not necessarily sisters due to their differences in hair color and eye pigment, but they seemed to coincide in some way. Their behavior, the beat of their footsteps, their accents on words; most of their mamerisms were similar. This often happens when you surround yourself with another person for an extended amount of time It's even common for a person to resemble their dog or their partner in marriage. So how exactly does a bond like this break? An alteration of mind that only a physical substance has the ability to do. A chemical change that happens from the outside world. It wasn't a change of heart or personality, but some outside force that had this effect on her.
Ashley came from a generic, typical American home, as many of her kind often do. She never had the chance to rebel much when she was younger. Her room's pink wallpapered walls and matching wool carpet had been designed before she was even born. Her wardrobe was updated a good number of times seasonally and her white wood furniture was Pledge sprayed and dusted by the week. The addition of her daily arrival home to half a glass of milk and spongy, moist peanut butter chocolate cookies had left her unable to appreciate and hold value to her everyday privlages. She didn't see the good, and instead yearned for a meaning and purpose, as highschool students have a tendency of doing. The acceptance into a group of kids who shared a common behavior and seemed to form a connection was enough to spark her interest and join something bigger than herself. Although she knew drugs were bad, it wasn't enough to impede her desire. Her inexposure and lack of experience encouraged what transpired, rather than shielding her from it.

“The water is warm but it’s sending me shivers”

People can say all they want that the past doesn’t make up who you are. But what else are you than your past? Everything we know, except instinctual behavior we learn as we grow, and if we know something to be true, our subconscious mind will believe that until proven otherwise. The water could be warm, but if you know water to be cold, you’ll still feel the shivers.
Throughout life, she knew people to leave her. She hadn’t known one to follow through with commitment. A cold, empty void in her left her with detachment and an unknown promise to never get too close to anyone but herself. The clock ticked, there were voices in the street, the TV was on, but none of this involved her. And when the time came for the warmth she should have embraced, she turned it cold with her shoulder.

1. Who are you? Introduce yourself...and be creative about it!2. Why did you sign up for this course?3. What are your favorite types of writing to do?4. What types of writing would you like to experiment with?5. What types of writing do you dislike?6. What do you like to read? (Remember, good writers are good readers!)

My name is Michelle Leibowitz and I don't know what to say about myself because I don't really know myself. You know your brain doesn't stop growing until you're 23 so I have about eight years to go before I get "who i am" sorted out. I do know there's parts of me that I should focus on more and bring to light, but I don't. I used to play the guitar, iceskate, dance, play violin, and READ AND WRITE. I guess I have somewhat of a motivational issue, but maybe I haven't found what my real passion is. Again, I'm giving myself eight years to get that figured out. What worries me is the older I get, the more independent I become. With that comes a difficulty to stay focused when I'm not trying to please anyone but myself.
I'm in "advanced creative writing" which is really challenging compared to regular creative writing. It's quadruple the workload and I don't know how I'm going to handle it. Nah it's the same class, I liked it last year which is why I'm taking it again. It's a good release and it forces me to be creative because I don't do that on my own very often. I like writing about what I feel like writing about at that moment. If I'm given an assignment that I'm not in the mood for, it's extremely difficult to complete it. Mostly I write short stories or short pieces of a long story. I like poetry at times too- it leaves out a lot of unnecessary words. I like reading weird stories that have shock value. =0