I'm [relatively] mentally stable

Public high school affords a lot of opportunities for human interaction.

Yeah, I know. No freaking duh. The above sentence is pretty obvious. I mean, you spend 8 hours surrounded by 1000 people you barely know. There must be some interaction. Well, you'd be surprised how easy it is to speak exactly 10 words all day; most of them being some shortened variation of "the hallway is not a parking lot" and "stop stepping on my face, moron." When you're in high school, you get pretty good at the whole abbreviating thing. And being vague. Being vague is essential to the high school existence...and stuff.

Through all of this...quality interaction, I've noticed something about myself. I have just about 15 different sides. Which one is seen is dependent on who I'm with. It's not exactly a new observation. I've always known this about myself, but I've never seen it manifest itself so clearly until this week. I went from sarcastic hippy to valley girl, loudly chewing her gum to know-it-all Granger and everything in between within the span of 8 hours.

Everyone experiences this, I'm sure, but it doesn't make it any less interesting. I've found that once I've established that a certain "side" goes with a certain person. It's nearly impossible to change. Yesterday, I tried and...it didn't work. In fact, I only became more sarcastic and insulted the intelligence of four people. Fail.

I've been thinking about this quite a bit. After a lot of soul searching,  I came to the conclusion that penguins are reptiles. Everything else is just a lie.

Behold the mighty penguin. It has no soul.

Public High School: The Recluse discovers a Mystical Planet

(No, I'm not apologizing for my lack of posts AGAIN. Nope. Not gonna. You can't make me.)

Ah, the cliched "horrors" of public high school. Horrible cafeteria food, brainless jocks, evil teachers, vapid cheerleaders who rule the school, nerds stuck in lockers for the duration of the school year. It's all a lie. Public school isn't like that at all. It's much, much more complex and--to be frank--strange.  If you've ever attended public high school or even just set foot in one, you know what I mean.

I, however, don't know what I mean. The above paragraph was just an assumption because I've never been to public high school.  That's all about to change tomorrow morning at precisely 8:00 AM. "BUT NICOLE," you may exclaim in complete indignation. "You were living a self-proclaimed recluse's dream! How could you give it all up for structure and...public restrooms?"

Dare I say it? I do dare. I want a social life. GASP. Yep, I said it. I want people and extracurriculars and a locker. I like lockers. Sometimes, they're shiny.  Sometimes, they make cool noises when you open them. Heck, I even want the anxiety of trying to figure out what to pack for lunch. And let me tell you, veganism and public school do NOT mix. It doesn't help that I've sworn off sugar and yeast indefinitely.

The school is amazing and I'm happy with my decision. Although I'm going to miss all my friends from online school, instructors with PhDs and all the crazy study sessions that last until 2 am in the morning, I know that I can't be a recluse forever. I'm not exactly long-term recluse material.

So in that vein, I'm changing the name of this blog. The content will pretty much remain the same. You can expect crazy stories about rabid cell phones, rules for leprechaun hunting, and of course, hobos. This blog is nothing without hobos. Say goodbye to the reclusive butterfly because she's leaving her shell behind forever.