posted on February 10, 2003 @ 12:22 am
Hello. my name is Chelsea Oakes. I was born in Shreveport, Lousisiana. Just about five months ago, me and my family packed up and moved to Longview, Texas. I had a real hard time adjusting, but all the people in Longview - well at least most of them - were nice to me. I made lots of friends that first day at school, even though nobody knew me. The second day of school, I showed 'em all that I wasn't the stupid, geeky, Louisianan they thought I was. I beat Aubrey, next to me, the smartest kid in our class. Just how did my poor-grammered little mind show 'em I was smart? Well I beat that fool of my friend Aubrey at board races - that's how! I learned that doin' pre-algebra in Shreveport helped me at my mutiplyin' beyond my my belief!
Even people I don't see during the day at school, but just on the bus are my good friends. Take Anthony for example. The first day he learned I could talk on the bus, he talked to me all the time. He's one of those people like David B. and Scott that I can mess with or go through their stuff and them not mind. Ya' know what I've found out? More boys like me than girls. For some reason the girls don't trust me. If I do one thing wrong, BAM! They jump down my throat! The nerve of some people! Now the guys are different. They don't care what I do. I go in their stuff and they do through mine - of course not personal. But still, the guys will let me do whatever I want! David B. even let me take up almost two pages in the back of his yearbook - just to sign it! Everyone else so far signed it in the front. Monica said all the guys like me better is 'cause I can relate to what they feelin'; instead of girls. I guess I can. I understand how they feel when anything happnes to 'em. I guess I've just had plenty of experience. Momma said she didn't know why more boys like me than girls. I haven't asked Dad.
But so far, Monica's explanation is the closest I can get to understandin' this mess. Still, i like boys better than girls - well, normal girls anyway - 'cause the girls are sissies and wussies. I'm not! You could dare me to do somethin' and I'd probably do it, but not to an excess. Like one time Aubrey found a note on the ground that said somethin' like, "Baby if you ever stop lovin' me I'll comb my hair for you," and, "Baby you'll never know how much I love you." Well I thought it was kinda funny. Emily M. dared me to put it in Mr. Guinn's bag. Did I? I shore as heck did! I know - that's nothin'. But still, it was funny!
Well, I've got to go, K? Next time I come back to my Dad's, I'll type another one of these, K? See Ya'!
[signed] Chelsea Jaye Oakes
4-1-95
[peace sign]
i'm cleaning my room right now, and i found that under one of my book cases. hahahaha. i was 11 when i wrote that. my father had just gotten a word processor, and my obsession with typing began very early on. i think it has to do with the sounds of the keys and the dexterity of my fingers; they yearn to be used. i printed it out with the letters in outline, so the words in bold were ones colored in with pink highlighter. i left my misspellings and errors in. oh, and board races are racing against someone else doing a multiplication problem on the chalk board. i remember leonard baily made up some insane multiplication problem for me, 10-digits times five or six, and i did it cause i'm a nerd like that. years later i found it, put the numbers into scientific notation to multiply it out, and when i rounded what i had gotten, it equaled what the rounded calculated product was.
clearly, mr. allen hadn't worked his english magic on me; i had one more year of grammatical ignorance. it was also before i decided to give my accent the boot, and, being the clever artist i thought i was, i documented my speech as it sounded. i found an evaluation we were supposed to write after a few days of mr. allen's class, in which i told him he was going to have to pound an english book into my head (to which he commented, "OUCH!"). that man single-handedly got me to where i am right now. i just wish he could know how important he is in my life. i wish i could go geek it up with him. i wish we could diagram the preamble to the constitution together; we never did. you have no idea how excited i was when he asked me to do that, or that time we were assigned to read a poem. i read "annabel lee" (my darkness was born at an early age), and pointed out every tiny little literary device used in it - literally, two or three a line. he looked it over right after i read, handed me his teacher's book and asked, "could you write all that in mine? i didn't get nearly as much as you." i was probably just knit-picking because that's what i do so well, but nonetheless it makes a person feel good when the teacher has them write in their book. he always told me i was the best writer he's ever taught, and the essay i wrote on tuck everlasting he put on transparency and read to all his classes. the poem i wrote "on a mission," which i never thought was impressive in the least bit, he read to his classes the year after me. i actually had seventh graders coming up to me when i was in the eighth grade saying, "mr. allen read us your poem. i love it!" it was surreal. just the other day i was asked if i'd had my 15 minutes, so i guess i'll claim that.
"i know it might sound weird, but all of these things here are things that disappear."
<3, chels.
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