Preparing for the Holidays

This past weekend, I won first place in a cheering competition…AGAIN!  This time, the competition was closer to my house.  It was the first competition where we wore real cheerleading uniforms.  Putting on that uniform made me feel proud.  Also, the uniform was so comfortable, I felt like I could sleep in it.  My uniform is red, white, and blue.  The top is a V-neck, and it comes with a straight skirt that is about mid-thigh.  It also has blue bloomers with white stars…so cute!  We always wear high ponytails in our hair, because all cheerleaders wear their hair in a high ponytail…even the all-stars!   Again, I got to do my back handspring with my spotter Adrian.  I feel like that’s the best part of the show!  My other favorite parts are the stunting and the actual cheer.  I am having so much fun doing cheerleading.

Tomorrow is the last day of class before winter break!  I am so excited for break.  I am going on a cruise to Belize and Cozumel with my mom, aunt, brother, and most of my family.  The ship even has an ice skating rink.  I might go ice skating…but because it is a cruise ship, it moves, so it might be impossible to actually skate while the ship is moving.  Mini golf is always fun when it’s on a cruise ship…they have mini-golf too!  There is also a 3D movie theater, teen club (possibly no parents allowed!!!!), and a surf simulator!  This could be the best vacation ever.  I looked at all sorts of pictures from the ship.  The more pictures I saw, the more excited I get.  They even have this enormous trampoline, dance floor, foosball table, and possibly even ping pong.  We’ll be having Christmas on the cruise ship.  I’m not all that sure about how it’s going to work.  Do I get gifts?  Am I supposed to bring gifts for my family?  Who knows!  I guess I will tell you all about it when I get back.

When I go back to school, I’ll only have a few months left in middle school!  Then, I will go to high school, just like I’ve always wanted.  I am concerned, though, because what if the same bullies are in my classes again?  Will the teachers at high school care?  My plan is to ignore them, if they are in my classes.  This is the best choice for me because ignoring bullies (unless they are actually bullying you) is the best way to have a better life. 

I was singing the song, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and I realized that I could make a shirt out of song lyrics.  My shirt has a Christmas tree and gingerbread man and the words from the song!  The shirt is red with green lettering.  The tree topper, which is a butterfly, is yellow.  I chose a butterfly because I love nature and I want nature to be part of my design.  I didn’t want to do an angel like all the other Christmas trees.  I also drew a Hanukkah shirt with a Star of David and the symbol for “Gimel” from the dreidel.  I also made accessories, like a blue and white bracelet with beads.  Each bead has a different symbol for Hanukkah.  I also made a charm bracelet for Christmas!  So, that covers my holiday collection.

On My Way for First Place

Last weekend, I had a cheer competition at a high school gym. Everyone from my cheer gym won first place. There were a ton of teams competing for first place. I felt nervous when I was about to perform. I ran to the floor with my hands up so that everyone can cheer. The routine started with stunts. The base, which is my job, is when you hold the flyer, the girl who is in the air, from one or another side. The back spot is when you hold the flyer’s legs from the back so she doesn’t fall. We do a stunt called a prep, which is when the flyer is lifted at chin-level by 3 or 4 spotters. The audience was whistling and cheering very loudly when I did my back handspring spotted by a male cheerleader. I was the first special needs cheerleader to ever do a back handspring spotted.  It felt great when I finished the routine.

Biggest Accomplishments Ever!

Today, I got my back walk-over!  That is when you start in a bridge position with both your hands and feet on the ground.  You are facing up to the ceiling.  Then, you kick over with one of your feet.  You have to keep your legs straight and point your toes.  Then you end up on both feet!  It is one step before getting a back handspring, which I am really excited about.  It is important to remember to bend your knees and arch your back.  This weekend, I have a showcase performance for Cheering.  It is my first competition of the season.  I am super excited about it. 

I have really good grades!  Today was report card day.  I felt great because I got such good grades.  I feel smart, and like I accomplished something big.  I had two things that I accomplished today:  good grades and a tumbling skill!  The next thing I want to accomplish is getting higher scores on the FCAT.  For people who are not in Florida, it’s the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.  It’s a test that all students have to take in the spring.  It’s hard for me; I’m trying to work on Text Information and Literary Analysis to get a better score.  I know lots of other people want to get better scores, too.  I am kind of frustrated because I keep getting the same scores every year.  I would like to improve and get higher scores, in math, reading, and science.  There’s so much science to learn.  You have to work on life science, physical science, environmental science, and earth and space science. That is a LOT of science.  It’s for eighth graders only, but it is one test for all three years of middle school science.

What is new with school?  So far, my mom confirmed my new classes in school. That means I should have no bullying in any of my classes.  At lunch, I have to sit away from bullies. That means I sit with my old fifth period class.  I sit with my friends.  They are nice because they realize I’m different and they don’t make fun of me. 

I’m going to Orlando for Thanksgiving break.  I am going to Disney and Universal, probably.  Most of my family is going.  I am really excited about the big rides.  I haven’t been there in a few months.  When you live in Florida, it’s easy to go to the parks.  I may go to Sea World, also.

There was this beautiful green light over the Earth that I saw on CNN student news.  It is called the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights.  I am going to design some clothes because of this beautiful light.

Harassment Aftermath/Environmentally Friendly

I was thinking about ways to help the environment, like turning off the faucet while brushing your teeth, or shortening your shower.  After thinking about the environment, I started to design some new clothes for Maluicious!  First, I sketched a dress which is naturally inspiring.  The top has sky blue and indigo sequins, which represents the blue skies.  Next, there is a butterfly atop a flower on the torso of the dress.  The colors of the dress change to orange, pink, and yellow to represent a beautiful sunset.  Then, there is green at the bottom of the dress, which represents the grass.  This is called a Nature Dress because I look at the green grass, sunsets, the butterflies, and blue skies, and I think of a design that represents the environment.  It’s very trendy to be green, and that’s also good because it helps the environment.  We should prevent pollution, stop littering, reduce our need for fossil fuels, try to stop acid rain, and prevent smog.  I also designed a V-neck tank top in fluorescent rainbow colors to represent love for my Maluicious brand.

Last week, I blogged about my situation with a classmate who made inappropriate sexual comments about me on Facebook.  Now, I feel better about things.  First, I swapped classes so I won’t have to be around that boy anymore.  That made me feel better because I don’t have to hear any inappropriate comments from him anymore.  In my new classes, I am happy because the work is more challenging and I have other friends in my new classes.  Second, my mom met with his parents and made him delete the inappropriate comment.  I’m really glad it’s all over.  I don’t have to worry about it anymore.  There is someone in one of my new classes that I don’t always get along with, but I pretend and stay nice to her even though I know she is not my friend. 

I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break.  This year, we actually have a whole week off!  I either want to go to Las Vegas or Orlando.  In Las Vegas, I would go to the Venetian hotel.  I’d like to spend the day shopping for lots of stuff like Coca-Cola brand, M&M’s, and visit an amusement park!  In Orlando, I would like to go to Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios.  Actually, I would also like to go to New York because they have that amazing Thanksgiving Day parade.  I am excited to spend time with my family.  Also, I have a cheerleading competition coming up in a few weeks.  It’s my first competition of the school year.  I don’t feel nervous, but I may be, because what if I mess up?  My friend said, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if you mess up?”  I couldn’t really think of anything other than maybe being a little embarrassed.  My friend told me that no one will even know if I mess up because the audience does not know our routine.  So, I guess I don’t have to be embarrassed at all.  

Maluicious Against Sexual Harassment

Today I feel put down because in the past week, one guy from school said I did a “blowjob” over Facebook and in class.  I think he said that because he thought it would be a funny rumor that people say in middle and high schools. The post about the “blowjob” was considered sexual harassment to a girl. Not only is it wrong, legally, but it made me feel horribly embarrassed because I don’t want people think that I would do something like that.  Cyberbullying is not right, but it’s especially wrong to make up rumors about someone’s body.  Just because a kid has issues, autism, and Asperger’s, doesn’t mean you have to make up rumors about them and make fun of them. A kid with these issues is different and unique. A friend of that mean boy told me to sing and dance, and she is not a friend of mine. She asked me to sing and dance just so she could laugh at me.  I met her in the seventh grade when she was in my geography and language arts classes. In my last four blogs, I said that nobody in this world is perfect, which means that everyone makes mistakes. In my last blog I said that a friend is someone you talk to, who is loyal to you and does not say mean things about you behind your back. An acquaintance is a person who can be mean to you behind your back, even though they shouldn’t be mean.

How can I help solve the problem of bullying and cyberbullying?  I will start a foundation.  I can call my foundation “The Maluicious Against Bullying Campaign” to end bullying to anyone, especially children with autism or Asperger syndrome. We can make a difference to end bullying and make life easier to handle in any way because God makes no mistakes. I mean that God created us all to be like this, some of us are special (like me with autism), but all of us are special in our own ways.  The end of bullying, begins with me! For teenagers you can visit www.teensagainstbullying.org to end bullying in any middle or high school.

Because I was sexually harassed by this boy, I think it is important for all girls to know how to protect themselves if they are ever in an uncomfortable situation with a boy.  First, you have to let the boy know that you are uncomfortable and you feel like you are being harassed.   You can say in a loud, clear, strong voice to “Leave me alone!”.  You can tell an adult, scream for help, and run away.  It’s harder to deal with cyber-sexual harassment because I couldn’t scream at the boy, or tell him how awful I felt, or make him stop writing his inappropriate comments.  He got suspended, but I hope he never speaks to me, or about me, ever again.  He should be ashamed of himself.

iChat, iCry

This week, on Monday, one girl who used to be nice became mean.  She called me “dumb”!  We were on iChat…she doesn’t go to my school.  I met her after a friend of mine at Cheerleading introduced us online.  She doesn’t know that I have autism…which shouldn’t matter.  She shouldn’t call anyone dumb.  I feel like the best way  or me to handle the situation is to ignore the mean people.  It bothers me because now I have one less friend on Facebook.  Everyone in my school has more Facebook Friends, but I have a limit.  I wish there was a way that I could stop the limit.  I don’t know when.  My friend told me to think about the difference between a friend and an acquaintance.  I think a friend is someone you talk to, who is loyal to you and does not say mean things about you.  I do have a lot of friends.   I am realizing that the number on Facebook is irrelevant.  But, it still upsets me that my number got lower.  I am trying to figure out why this bothers me.  I do feel jealous of my friends who have high numbers of friends on Facebook.  What I don’t understand is WHY I think it is a good thing to have a lot of friends on Facebook.   I did figure out that when I had a lot of friends, my Facebook page updated with THEIR information instead of random websites.  Because I have a limit, I am unique.  Being unique is good because you’re not copying everyone else.  I like being unique, but sometimes it just feels weird.  Sometimes I want to be like everyone else….I want to wear high heels, too!  Maybe my limit will be removed when I am sixteen.