Innocence. Magic. Wonder. Changes.

• In kindergarten I had my first crush. Austin Brown. My mom thought it was cute, and I thought he was cute.
  
• In second grade I couldn't sleep the night before the back to back episodes of PBS's "Arthur" played. I was disappointed because I thought that meant there was a split screen. 

• In third grade, Barney wasn't cool anymore.
  

• In fourth grade, they tried to teach me the times tables... I still don't know them. (Turns out you don't actually need to know them.)
  

• In 5th grade I made a really awesome painting in art class. I painted trees and a monkey. I made a beautiful sunset, that melted into the ground, which was a faint green. The monkey was happy, and I was proud of my masterpiece. Beaming, I walked up with the wet portrait and showed Ms. Owens, the art teacher. She told me that monkeys DON'T smile and there MUST be a distinct definition between land and sky. She said monkeys like BANANAS and trees have BRANCHES.
  
  So I took my picture and a sharpie. I drew a LINE halfway through, to show distinction between LAND and SKY. Next I turned the SMILE into a FROWN, he was no longer a happy monkey. I got brown and yellow paints and gave him a BANANA. I drew lines through the leaves in the trees and made BRANCHES. I didn't like this new picture as much as the first, but it's what my teacher wanted and I wanted to make her happy. So I less proudly took her my painting. "That's not what I meant for you to do." she said, "You CAN'T just add a line through the middle... you CAN'T just draw a FLOATING banana, and monkeys CAN'T frown either."
  
  
  I cried. 

• In twelfth grade, I learned I can do what I want, because this is my blog, and my art. I am still a child. I still have hopes and dreams. I still believe in Santa, and magic, and that me and Austin will one day be married. I still cry, and I still get sticky.

But it's just not the same.