Who I Am

I am your coffee in the morning.

I am the sugar, the sweetener, and the semi-skimmed milk.

I am your toast gone cold.

I am the splat of spilt coffee you can't be bothered to clean up.

I am the bus you missed.

I am the train that's late.

I am the people who yell at you day after day.

I am everything you hate about being human,

And everything you love.

I am a rollercoaster.

I am a fifty-foot drop.

I am the things you never thought you could do.

I am the things that shock your friends.

I am the silver lining on every cloud.

I am chocolate, and sex, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

And everything else that makes your tummy flip.

I am the broken promise.

I am the branch that snapped.

I am the lung cancer.

I am HIV.

I am the drunk driver.

I am the car crash.

And I am the prison bars.

I am the sad things you can't forget.

I am the happy things you'll never want to.

I am excited, and I am ready.

I am here, and I am there.

I am everywhere you need me to be.

And I am everyone you want me to be.

I am your first.

I am your last.

I am everything in between.

I am who I am because of everyone.

You are who you are because of me.

NOTE: This poem was inspired by Red, a friend of mine who is an artist, and who has been very inspirational to me over the years that I have known her. Thank you, Red.

Texan Dreaming!

Good morning! I'm sure I'm allowed to call it that, as it is, in fact, ten minutes into the morning. The school year ended on a high note two weeks ago, wherein I recieved the results for the SAT exams I had taken earlier that year in May. I had obtained three level seven grades, the highest possible for me to achieve, and my overall percentage for the year in English was 94%, the highest in all of year nine. I also had a level eight in my grade average for the same subject, a grade so high that only six people in the three hundred pupils in year nine managed to obtain.

The summer began with the second annual "School's-Out-So-Let's-All-Jump-In-Katie's-Pool-With-Our-Clothes-On" party. I invited seven of my closest friends to my house after school on our last day, and the eight of us canonballed into the pool in our backyard, dressed in our full school uniform. The first annual "School's-Out-So-Let's-All-Jump-In-Katie's-Pool-With-Our Clothes-On" had only two guests, two girls from my school, AD and Red. This year, I invited Red, Allie, Jo, Gemma, Alice, Lee and Sparks.

The following Sunday afternoon I attended a luau hosted by Shell and her daughters Evie and Anna, who are both close friends of mine. The party was tremendous fun, complete with a Hawaiian soundtrack, a barbecue, and party games.

Since then I have been to the cinema with Evie and Anna, to see Wall-E, and then a week later to see Angus, Thongs And Perfect Snogging with Anna, Dov and Terry. I would definitely recommend both. Wall-E in particular was very interseting, as the directors managed to convey to the audience what the robots were trying to communicate to one another, without using speech.

I went to Camden Market earlier this week with Anna, my sister Almond, Evie and her boyfriend Bobbles, to have fun and shop like crazy. I spent some time working on a novel I am writing, and having exceedingly lengthy conversations with Almond on this. I have been swimming multiple times, I have been shopping with friends, I spent a day in London with a friend from out of school, and have spent several hours walking the seven floors of Hamleys, a toy store in central London and the most amazing place in the world.

I have also just finished reading Yes Man, a book by Danny Wallace that was not intended as a self-help book, but that has really changed my perspective and outlook on life. Written as a memoir, Danny encounters a man on the bus who encourages him to "Say Yes More". Danny takes this as a sign and vows to say Yes to every opportunity for six months. This book tells the story of the adventures he has taken, the people he has met, and the way the experience has changed his life. Definitely one for your book list.

Earlier this evening I attended Spark's fourteenth birthday party, at which we played several rounds of poker (almost all of which I won), listened to the music on one another's iPod libraries, and exploded in peals of laughter at a series of jokes and funny conversations, none of which you will understand.

On Monday I leave for the sweltering heat of Texas, and will write constantly for the duration of my time there.

Au Revoir, Y'all!
Katie J.

Yes Girl

I wish I'd said Yes.
I wish I'd said Yes when my sister wanted to play cards.
I wish I'd said Yes when my dad wanted to teach me algebra.
I wish I'd said Yes to a walk around the lake.
I wish I'd said Yes to snail-mailing Avital.
I wish I'd said Yes when Daniel asked me out.
I wish I'd said Yes more.

I wish I'd said Yes when Alex asked if I could stay another day.
I wish I'd said Yes when Saul invited me to Bournmouth.
I wish I'd said Yes when Ella offered me a shot of vodka.
I wish I'd said Yes when Briana wanted to build a fort out of pillows.
I wish I'd said Yes to tomato soup.
I might have liked it.

I wish I'd said Yes when Matan wanted to build a boat out of corks.
I wish I'd said Yes to buying another fish.
I wish I'd said Yes to getting Bea.
I wish I'd said Yes when my mum asked me to postpone cutting my hair.
I miss having long hair.

I wish I'd said Yes to moving back.
I wish I'd said Yes to buying the dress.
I wish I'd said Yes to getting flowers for Hayley.
I wish I'd said Yes for my first kiss to turn into a second.
It's too late now.

I wish I'd said Yes
Where I said No instead.
I wish I'd said Yes
Before it was too late.

Poet's Note: This poem was inspired by a book I finished reading earlier this evening, called Yes Man by Danny Wallace. It is not a self-help book, and yet I don't think Danny Wallace realises that his second book has not only changed the way I think, but has changed my entire outlook on life. I feel more positive, more confident, and generally happier as a person. Book report to follow at some point.

Katie J.

Shining Light -- by Ash

Roman candles that burn in the night,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
You lit a torch in the infinite,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
Yeah, you light up my life.

You have always been a thorn in their side,
But to me you're a shining light.
You arrive and the night is alive,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
Yeah, you light up my life.

We made a connection,
A full on chemical reaction,
Brought by dark divine intervention,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
A constellation once seen,
Over Royal David's city,
An epiphany you burn so pretty,
Yeah, you are a shining light.

You are a force
You are a constant source,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
Incandescent in the darkest night,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
My mortal blood I would sacrifice,
For you are a shining light.
Sovereign bride of the infinite,
Yeah, you are a shining light,
Yeah, you light up my life.

We made a connection,
A full on chemical reaction,
Brought by dark divine intervention,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
A constellation once seen,
Over Royal David's city,
An epiphany you burn so pretty,
Yeah, you are a shining light.

These are the days you often say
There's nothing that we cannot do,
Beneath a canopy of stars
I'd shed blood for you.
The north star in the firmament,
You shine the most bright.
I've seen you draped in an electric veil
Shrouded in celestial light.

We made a connection,
A full on chemical reaction,
Brought by dark divine intervention,
Yeah, you are a shining light.
A constellation once seen,
Over Royal David's city,
An epiphany you burn so pretty,
Yeah, you are a shining light,
Yeah, you light up my life.
Yeah you are a shining light
Yeah you light up my life

Note: Okay, I know I normally never write two posts on the same day, and I also never normally put song lyrics on here, but I listened to this song while I had writer's block and it not only unblocked me but also made me feel really happy for a long time. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Katie J.

Romeo and Juliet -- by Erica Berry

Ms. Connings said that at fourteen years old, the sparks between them
Would of been enough to set the whole of middle america blazing--
Leaving us non-believers standing in smoldering cornfields
She said the looks shared across ivy covered balustrades sent
Gossamer threads of dedication
Stronger than the tightropes in Ringling Bros
And the letters they penned to each other by flickering candlelight?
Every word a symphony unto itself
The clash of consonants and clarinets, vowels and violins, syllables and saxophones
And then the bell rings, and geometry looms
And romeo and juliet dance away in a cloud of smoke
Smiling at our hopeless high school sagas

Erica Berry won the Foyle Young Poets competition, a very prestigious poetry competition for 11-17 year olds, with this poem, in 2007. I found this poem very inspiring and entered three of my own poems to the competition for 2008. If I win, I will be sure to post them.

Katie J.