I guess this is a general life update and stuff

I SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME BY NOW

NOTE THE USE OF THE WORDS "SHOULD HAVE"

I'm still not home, and since the media attention around Hurricane Sandy died down, nobody is doing anything to help families that are still displaced. The Red Cross is being stingy with the millions in donations they received, only parceling out $10K/ household to families almost ready to move back. In the grand scheme of rebuilding a house, that's absolutely nothing, and no help whatsoever. We still need to have our plumbing put in, the roof replaced, the floor done, and the walls put up and painted. I'll willingly sleep on the floor if it means I can go home. Unfortunately, I don't have a house to go home to quite yet.

ALSO

HAPPIER NEWS

My junior year of high school is over. For my earlier watchers, you've known me since I was a freshman. A head-in-the-clouds, naive, optimistic freshman with a load of self-esteem issues and a slightly developed artistic style. Now, I'm a rising senior. My work was featured in the PS Art competition in New York, and was a semi-finalist from a citywide pool of entries. So I'm proud of that, artistically. I've grown as a jewelry artist, setting up a partnership with a hair salon to have a semi-permanent display on the counter covered with beaded earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Academically, this has been an eye-opening year. Stress from living with my grandma after the storm led to a drop in aptitude, but I still stuck out the 3 AP courses (Gov, English Comp, and Bio) that I was taking, exams and all, and took the SAT twice, with great results. I coordinated costumes, hair, makeup, and organization of the prop room for the middle school play this year, and made my first special-occasion dress. I learned a lot about what I am capable of, especially when it comes to rising to an occasion. I learned that I am physically uncomfortable in pants (9/10 times you'll see me in a dress or a skirt), and that relationships, no matter how far the distance, can be a blessing and a curse. I also learned that I am a feminist. I always believed that I could make just as much of a difference in someone's life as a male could, but I knew it would be harder to do so because I'm a girl. And now I know what that's called. (Watch this. It's a short little video I found that's really interesting. vimeo.com/28066212 )

Next year, I'm looking forwards to a lot. I'm going to be the copyeditor (again!) of my high school newspaper, on the multicultural dance team (thanks to Jordan!), be more involved with the costumes for the middle school play, still be involved with the Cooper-Hewitt museum, be making my little sister's 8th grade dance dress, my best friend Katie's senior prom dress, my own senior prom dress, be moving back home, getting three more chickens (tentative names are Soup, Wings, and Fried), putting my portfolio together, applying to colleges, and moving on with the next chapter of my life. 
I'm excited.