Journal Entry 1

Monday, May 18, 2009
16-Year Old Girl
Today was an all-around amazing day. School in "The Land of Bliss" is actually interesting, and I feel like I learned a lot. One of the best things about living here is how I get to wake up at 8:00 AM for school because it doesn't start until 9:00 AM! Getting more sleep has helped me to have enough energy to get through the day's activities. We had our typical four hour school day today, with a lunch break in between. My friends and I went to a local organic food cafe for a quick lunch before biking back to school. Basically all of the kids ride bikes here because our community is very focused on helping the environment. All of the people are very athletic and fit, too. I received an adorable pink bike for my birthday and I ride it everywhere. At school we learned English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. While these are the standard classes, the teachers make the subjects super interesting and we don't even receive homework! As long as we thoroughly comprehend the lessons, the teachers are happy. After school all of my friends and I went to get some exercise by swimming at the lake. The water was beautiful and the perfect temperature. We even went on a short run and then attended a community social event where you get to know people in your town better. Part of this event also involved preparing to determine the best college and job for you. Every student at our school has a personal adviser to help them narrow down college choices based on what we would like to major in. The advisers even work to guarantee that we end up working jobs that we love. Later, I had the most delicious dinner at my friend Arden's house. Because we live in a money-less economy, we are able to share everything with everyone. Arden's mom is a fantastic cook and she made homemade, whole-grain pasta with a delicious sauce. When I got home, my brother and I planted a couple trees, brought our recycling to the recycling center, and relaxed in the hot tub. My mom finds it very important to have family time, as well, so we all watched a great movie together called "Earth". Overall, today was a very easy-going, fun day and I am really looking forward to the rest of the week!