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.

miss slackity-slacker

ive been busy with school. and work. both jobs, actually. oh, and when i logged in today, i found out that im being "followed". by this person. this is whats referred to as a "calling out". im calling you out so that "everyone" (read: The Company and Chief) knows im being "followed". just so you know.

they are watching.

and im watching YOU, missy.

like i said, im still getting the hang of the taser gun thingy, but i am SO aces with the lipstick mace. aces, i tell you.

so, what does it mean to be "followed"? am i adored? do you adore my words? my wit? my utter saracasity-ness? or is it like being virtually stalked? are you going to be reading everything i post the minute it gets posted?

that...could get scary. this is my circle, thats your circle. step outside your circle, my friend, and it could.get.ugly.

welcome to my world, becks. hope you stick around. should be some fun times.

so, celise talked about me today. go look. go feast your eyes on me, all pretty in my fabtastic movie star shades. hogging the spotlight in front of a castle.

oh.

its not a castle?

celise tells me its supposed to be a school. a school? that intimidating building is supposed to be a school?

note to self: do not piss off Oh Wise Creator or she will send me to an upscale sanitarium.

for truth. that place looks scary. im so glad CSA really doesn't look like that. and im glad its being redone. the cover, that is. not CSA. looking forward to seeing more of me, er, the new cover.

heh.

the difference between him and those other guys

so you know that i cashed in my Get Out of Hell Free card (see Hello, My Name is…post) and headed to the Valley of the Sun. okay, well maybe you didn’t know that last part, but i basically left a craptacular old life and started over. although i owe The Company for helping out with that, Chief (not his real name) was the main reason for getting out. Chief is a total-10-on-Hotness-Richter-Scale 6′3 native-american dude, ex-Navy SEAL, and the owner of Black Hawk Protection Agency. im his client and he’s my protector until I turn 18.

there are companies out there that offer personal protection or security for individuals; people who will analyze and protect someones personal business,home or property. Making sure someone is safe in their surroundings. Of course, there are also private investigators that can provide services for the individual (think spousal or matrimonial stuff) or a small business. but thats not how Black Hawk Protection Agency works. it started with Chief, then the guys from his SEAL unit joined after their tour was up, and now he’s in charge of almost ten guys.

and they protect children, ages 4 to 19.

children born of famous actors, actresses, dignitaries, billionaries...blah, blah, you get what im sayin.

in celise’s words, “hes the vaughn to your sidney.” (Can we say, too much Alias, boys and girls?)

I never watched the show--and i know she misses it like hell--but it was one of her favorites and she explained what she meant.

So, yeah. I like it. it makes sense.

youre changing it NOW???!

so, celise announced that shes changing the name of the series.

im not sure how i feel about that yet.

i can see it from both points of view: the original title had the potential of misleading readers. the new one doesnt.

notice i said potential.

whatever.

i dont know if i should side with her since she told me shes making me "cooler."

whats up with that shit?

does that mean i wasnt cool before?

huh?

huh?

complete and utter crap.

i dont like the new title.

it sucks

hello. my name is draven atreides (say it with me now, dray-ven uh-tray-deez. very good boys and girls). im 16-yrs-old. And im a spy. yeah, okay, not really. im an informant actually. i mean, i dont travel to exotic places, i dont wear disguises, i dont handle or carry weapons (unless you count my Canon AE1), and i dont work for a top secret agency. well, three out of four isnt bad. let me explain.

you see, i was abandoned by my biological parents as a baby and i’ve spent all my life in the foster care system. i graduated from high school at the age of 13 (Yay for homeschooling). At 15, i ended up with the Foster Couple From Hell (hereafter referred to as The FCFH). i discovered their dirty little secret–the bastards–so i ratted them out to the local authorities. so, lucky me, when i decided to play tattletale, an agency with three letters (hereafter referred to as The Company) had been investigating The FCFH for years. so, being the good citizen that i am, i decided to help them out. The Company, that is. i cashed in my Get Out of Hell Free card. three months later, i got a new name, a new life…and a paying gig as an informant for The Company.

i am the creation of YA author Celise Downs. im the Queen Bee of her series, Draven Atreides, Teenage FBI. Book One, A Royale Pain, will be out Oct 23rd. love it. buy it. will be talking it up even more when she gets the damn book cover designed. get on it, sista girl!

just so you dont get lost in the scuffle of my life, here’s a little sumpin’-sumpin’ to help you out:

Oh Wise Creator (aka “OWC”) - Celise Downs
Chief - protector
Irish - Chief’s wife
GQ - gay guy bf
Party Gurl (aka PG) - gurl bf
The Company - the agency I work for
The Job - the informant gig
The Other Job - cover job at a retail store
Informant University (aka Informer U) - snitch tips, tricks and words posted on fridays
CSA (aka Craycroft School of the Arts) - the school I go to

this will make sense once you read the book. i promise you.

sooooo, thats about it.

in the meantime, im gonna give you a peek into my life.

this should be a hoot