age of education

This Prompt O’ The Day about AGING is brought to you by sunday scribblings

I graduated from high school at the age of 13. The following post is a guest blog by my Oh Wise Creator, Celise Downs, on where she came up with the idea.

Age of Education

When I was in high school, a friend of mine had a younger sister who graduated from high school a year early. She was smart, no doubt (she got a full ride to Purdue), but it fascinated me that someone would be so eager to start their higher education so soon. I barely graduated from high school because my nose was buried in books—and I’m not talking study books, either. And I wasn’t looking forward to college, either. Mid-way through first semester at a community college, I was wishing my parents would’ve let me take a break first.

But I digress. While immersing myself in the teen culture, I would read stories about kids who skipped a grade—or two, graduated early, received a degree at age 17, or received a master’s or Phd by age 20. Just recently I read about a woman who allowed her son to skip high school altogether and go straight to college!

How crazy is that?

When I hear stuff like that it really makes me wonder. Is there a smart gene? Is the child a quick learner? Or is the child just naturally curious about the world and wants to know anything and everything? When I was going to school, I don't think charter schools existed. And I'm not sure how long homeschooling has been in existence, but it wasn't an option my parents ever thought to look into. In creating the character for this series, I knew I wanted a smart girl, someone who'd graduated early from high school. By this time, I'd heard about homeschooling--or 'unschooling' as it's called sometimes--and I thought the uniqueness of that world was perfect for Draven. A perfect and 'freeing' environment like that would make it very easy for a child to graduate early.

And while it’s great to hear that a child is smart enough to do that, there's the “Yeah, but what about their social and psychological development?” aspect of it. That kid who skipped high school and went to college? How did he feel about being surrounded by kids older than him? How did they relate to him? Was he an outcast? Was he treated like a freak? Does he have any friends? How hard—or easy—was it for him to make friends? I mean really, how do you prepare your child for something like that?

Well, in Draven's case, you prepare them by keeping their fingers in the proverbial teenage pie. I didn't want to throw her into a life of an informant without anything else to fall back on. Sure, she could have a normal job, but that's still a "grown-up" job,and it's not like she would have much contact with other kids her age. She's a teenager and I still wanted her to have that teenage experience. In order to do that, she had to go back to school. And it couldn't be just any school.

My niece, who inspired me to write the series and for whom Draven Atreides is modeled after, attended a charter school during her 4 yrs in high school. I shadowed her one day (meaning I went to school with her and attended all of her classes with her) and fell in love with her school. The whole time I was there, I was like "Why couldn't I have gone to a school like this? Where the hell were these schools when I was going to high school?" I was jealous! Besides the general core classes like math and science, they had creative writing classes, dance, drama, music, choir, art, photography, and ceramics. Her school doesn't have an athletic team, no sports to speak of, actually, and at the time, they didn't even have a yearbook or school newspaper. That may have changed by now (she only graduated last year, after all). Her school promotes freedom. Freedom of creativity, that is, and that's the type of school Draven needed as a cover.

I'm going to enjoy writing about Draven. I'm going to enjoy showing the world, well, Draven's world. And hopefully she'll scoop up some fans in the process.

isnt she freakin' awesome? she drives me crazy sometimes, but i have to chalk that up to her being a creative. click on the link to learn more about her. and youll be able to read all about me and my very first case oct 23rd.

where im from

spring break was too short. i took a break from blogging, too, as you can probably see. the Prompt O' the Day is brought you by sunday scribblings: "i come from..."


im from apple valley, ohio

a place of:

rolling green hills

cornfields aplenty

apple orchards out the wazoo

farms inhabited by many different species of animals

sturdy oak trees with rope swings

warm apple pies with homemade ice cream

barn dances

snow days

....and a little watering hole that was so clear you could see to the bottom

i really miss that place.

dear me

this Prompt O' The Day - one week later, of course-is brought to you by sunday scribblings: "dear past me, dear future me"

dear past me,

the life you once had is dead and gone. the person you used to be is dead and gone. no more crying. no more looking back. what’s done is done.

dear future me,

kick some bad guy ass. and think about making a career out of it.

to all you aspiring young writers out there...

this Prompt O' The Day is brought to you by sunday scribblings:
"listen up, because this is important!"

YOUTHFUL WISDOM PRESS IS HOSTING THE FIRST QUARTER YOUTHFUL THOUGHTS ANTHOLOGY WRITING CONTEST.

~ a different word is posted every quarter.

~ you have 4,000 words to write about it

~ you have to be between the ages of 13 to 18 and a student

~ there's an entry fee. of course. duh.

~ if you get chosen, you may get published

~ oh, yeah, and the deadline is, like, Mar 31st, so you'd better hurry up and enter q-u-i-c-k

so click on the links and go check it out. be gone. NOW, PEOPLE, GO, GO, GO!!!

lost to the system....and found in dry heat

the Prompt O' the Day is brought to you by sunday scribblings: 'lost'

ok, so you pretty much know my history. if you didn't read the last prompt on the topic of trust, you can do so by checking out the post below.

i was in the foster care system for many, many years. yeah, i know im only 16, but being in the system can make you feel like 20 in dog years.

the last set of parents (not-so-fondly referred to as The FCFH) i got were a trip and a half.

to the point where i ratted them out the feds. cant tell you why, youll just have to read all about it on Oct 23rd. needless to say, they were involved in some illegal activities and The Company wanted to acquire my special skills (read: natural curiosity). i told them i would do it. on one condition.

they had to lose me.

take me off the grid.

erase my existence.

my condition was freedom. from the system. id like to think that my social worker got an ominous phone call where The Company said something like "Forget about O.C.* or else". she probably thinks i was wisked away into the witness protection program.

and i guess, in a way, it would seem like that. except im not running from anyone and no one wants to hunt me down and kill me.

far as i know.

no, i was given a new life, allowed to choose a new name, and picked Dry Heat, AZ as my new home. i did that for a reason, too, and ill tell you all about it my next post.

as far as im concerned, getting lost is the best thing that ever happened to me.

*These initials do not stand for Orange County, people, but represent the name I went by during my time with The FCFH.

in me i trust

the Prompt O' the Day is brought you to by sunday scribblings: "trust".

i have no idea who my biological parents are. at this point, i dont care, because i had a great couple adopt me when i was a baby. and my life had been good up until age 7.

and then they were taken from me. "taken" as in killed. freeway pileup.

i got dropped back in the system and as you may or may not know--the older you are, the harder it is to be placed.

at 15, my case worker found a couple that actually wanted an older child. she thought it was a pretty sweet deal and for a minute--literally--i thought it was, too. until i had to change my first name. bad mistake, but that's neither here nor there. i was ready for a little bit more permanency so i sacrificed a little sumpin-sumpin'.

despite the life they tried to make for me in manhattan, they quickly became The FCFH (The Foster Couple From Hell). being given everything you want--excluding artificial love--can be a heady thing. they never treated me bad, mind you, but i guess i was there "trophy child." its pretty much the same concept as the trophy wife, just with a kid instead of an adult.

to make a long story real short, i discovered The FCFH were involved in something illegal, i took it to the authorities, who in turn tossed it to the feds, i did a little haggling...and now im in the desert with a new name, a new life, and a job as an informant for The Company.

ill mention a guy named Chief on here quite a bit. hes my handler, so to speak. hell look out for me until im 18, but hes not my legal guardian.

i trust that he will protect me--both figuratively and literally (if it comes to that).

but theres always going to be that tiny, closely guarded corner of my heart that says "the only person you can trust is yourself." i think its a prerequisite for foster kids or something. maybe i shouldnt limit that to foster care. that probably goes for any kid thats been let down, seen too much, been thru too much to even believe anymore.

i can freely admit that im a product of my environment.

year 7 was a craptacular year for me and its like my life went downhill after that.

nothing was ever as great and sometimes it feels like itll never be great again. my life now suits me just fine. its not great but it's good.

ive been in this new life for 6 months.

maybe ill reevaluate after being in it for a year. or so.

spectator only

the Prompt O' The Day is brought to you by sunday scribblings : "sports."

in all my 16 yrs, ive never participated in sports. i was never really interested.

i was too busy trying to survive foster care hell. not gonna go there.

im a spectator during the olympics--both winter and summer. and that's about as good as it gets.

ok, wait...is kung-fu considered to be a sport?

it should be.

an activity that allows you to shout out "HI-YAH!" needs to be a sport.