I Need Your Help ASAP!

Okay, this is an emergency. I have a big problem, and I need to fix it—fast! Tomorrow is Chloe’s birthday. She’s having a big party at the ice skating rink. I found her perfect gift—a sweatshirt that says figure skaters are cool on the front. My mom even let me get a new sweater for the party, and I just had a haircut, so my hair is all bouncy and stylin’. Everything is perfect. Or at least it was perfect until I got up this morning, and found a zit in the middle of my forehead. And not just a little tiny zit. Oh, no. This zit is huge and red. It looks kind of like a volcano erupted right there on my face. I’m telling you, it’s gross!

Does anyone have any advice on how I can get rid of this thing, or at least hide it? I’ll try anything.

Thanks so much you guys! I can’t wait to hear from you.

XO

Jenny

My New Year’s Resolutions

This year, I’m making a whole list of resolutions for the new year. I did that last year, too, but I wasn’t too great at keeping them! This year’s going to be different, though. That’s because I’m not making any promises I can’t keep (or at least try to keep, anyway!).

Here’s my list of resolutions:

1. Make time to listen to my friends and help them with their problems

2. Work harder on my schoolwork

3. Clean Sam and Cody’s mouse cage more often

4. Spend more time helping out with community service projects

5. Ignore the annoying things the Pops do.

That last one is going to be the toughest one of all to keep. For some reason, the stuff Addie and her friends say and do really gets to me. Of course, that’s why they do it. Maybe they’d stop being such jerks if I didn’t let them upset me. It’s worth a try, anyway.

Okay, those are my resolutions. Are you guys making any this year? What are they? And how successful do you think you’ll be at keeping them?

Happy Holidays!

xo

Jenny

AAAAHHHHHH!

Okay, I admit it. I’m feeling pretty stressed out. I thought I had everything under control, but now, not so much. And I’m not sure how to straighten myself out.

It all started at a student council meeting two weeks ago. (I’m the sixth grade president, did you know that?) Somehow I wound up volunteering to plan the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, which is this big dance they have on the Saturday before Thanksgiving every year at my school. Actually I know exactly how I wound up on the dance committee: Addie Wilson volunteered, and started talking about how she and her friends would be glad to work on the dance, and how no one knew how to throw a great event like they did. For some reason that really made me mad. It was like she was saying the rest of us could only create a mediocre dance or something, and there was no way I was letting her get away with that.

So now, not only am I on the student council, I’m on the dance committee. And I could have managed both of those things just fine if Chloe hadn’t asked me to help serve lunch at a shelter on Thanksgiving. I said yes right away. Unfortunately, what Chloe didn’t tell me is that before Thanksgiving there are all these meetings you have to go to where you learn about the shelter, and the food program, and what we’re supposed to do when we serve the people there. I know that helping out at the shelter with Chloe is a good thing, but it’s taking a lot more time than I thought it would.

And then, just to top things off, this morning my English teacher, Ms. Jaffe, assigned us a big paper on this book we’re reading in class. It’s due the day before Thanksgiving break, which is like two weeks away. I’ve barely started the reading.

If you look at all that, and then add in that I’ve got homework in all my other classes, plus my chores around the house, I’ll bet you can understand why I started this blog with a loud AAAAHHHHHH! Wouldn’t you?

So, have any of you guys ever found yourselves overloaded? What did you do to fix the problem? If you had to drop any of these activities, which ones would you choose?

Anyway. . .g2g. I can’t spend any more time on my computer tonight. I’ve got to get going on reading that book for my English paper.

TTYL

Jenny

TV or not TV?

Okay, so get this. Sam just got her own TV! It’s in her room and she can watch it whenever she wants. How cool is that? I’m psyched, because I’m sleeping over at her house on Friday night, and we’re going to stay up really late watching movies in her room. I’ve never done that at any of my friends’ houses. No one else I know has a TV in their room, not even Addie Wilson, although I bet she would say she did if you asked her. I know better.

I’ve wanted a TV in my room forever. We only have two TVs in our house. One is in the living room, and one is in my mom and dad’s room. I watch the TV in the living room, unless my mom and I are having one of our lie-around-in-bed days, when we sit on her bed and watch old movies. That’s usually a rainy day thing.

The problem with only two TVs is that I usually have to watch TV with someone else in the room. My parents are really into do-it-yourself kinds of shows. That means we watch a lot of shows about fixing up your house, or sprucing up your garden. That’s not exactly my idea of a great way to spend an evening.

I tried asking my mom and dad for my own TV, but they weren’t having it. They said they don’t believe in that. And they didn’t seem to understand why I would even want one. So here’s my question: Do you guys have TVs in your rooms? If you do, what’s the best part about having one? And if you don’t, do you mind not having one?

Can’t wait to hear from you!

TTYL

Jenny

Decision, Decisions

Okay, I think I might just be the worst decision maker in the entire world. You should see me in a restaurant. It takes me forever to choose what I want to eat. And even after I choose something, I usually change my mind as soon as I hear someone else at the table order something that sounds better.

Which leads me to my latest problem. Well, it’s not a problem, really. It’s actually a very good thing. My mom is finally going to let me wear lip gloss to school! Up until now, I had to use chapstick, which is definitely not the same thing!I went to the makeup store yesterday to buy my first lip gloss. But there were so many! I couldn’t decide which to get, so instead I left with nothing. So I need your help. Do you guys have a favorite color? Do you like the lip gloss with sparkles? Or maybe the flavored kind? And if you do like the flavored kind, which flavor is your favorite?

If you think I have trouble choosing lip gloss, you should have seen me in the library during English class today. Ms. Jaffe told us that for the next two weeks, we get to choose our own books to read. All she asks is that we keep reading journals where we keep track of what’s going on in the book, and how we feel about it, as we read.

At first that sounded like the best project I’d ever had. But then came the hard part. What book should I read? I know that whatever I pick should be something I’m really going to like, especially since I’m going to be writing about it every day for two weeks. I also want to pick a book that kind of makes me sound smart. You know what I mean. It’s the same reason I always used to buy the fattest book I could find at the school book fair. It just seems impressive, you know?

My friends don’t seem to be having any problem choosing books. Felicia went right for the romance section in our school library. Chloe chose a biography of a famous actress (of course!). And Marc is reading some science-fiction novel about evil robots that look like people and try to take over the earth.

I, however, left the library empty-handed. So I was hoping you guys could give me some suggestions on what to read. Do you have a favorite book? A favorite author? A favorite series? Let me know. I can use all the help I can get when it comes to making decisions!

xoxo

Jenny

D.C. You Soon!

Sorry it took me so long to blog, but I’m on vacation, and I couldn’t get on the computer until now. My parents are pretty strict about how much computer time I have when we’re taking a trip. At least this year they let me bring my laptop to use when we’re in the hotel, which is almost never.

We’re in Washington, D.C., right now. Today we visited the Washington Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial. I’m kind of memorialed out, I think. I also got to see the White House from the outside. It’s huge! I bet it would be really fun to live in a place like that!

I like going on vacations, but now that I’m in middle school, I feel like I have to keep in touch with my friends at home as much as I can. I know they won’t forget about me or anything, but I can’t help feeling left out of all the fun they’re having back home. When I was in elementary school, I didn’t worry so much about being left out when I was on vacation. But back then everyone hadn’t split up into different groups the way they do in middle school. And of course, there’s the fact that Addie dumped me while I was at sleepaway camp. I know my new middle school friends would never do that to me. At least I think they wouldn’t. But then again, I didn’t think Addie would either. So just in case, I’ve been texting my friends whenever I can.

My parents HATE when I text on vacation, so I have to hide it. So far I’ve only been caught once. My mom spotted me texting Liza from the National Gallery instead of looking at the paintings, and she was not happy about it. The funny thing is, I was texting Liza about the paintings. I knew she would have loved that museum—or at least appreciated it a whole lot more than I did. I get kind of tired in art museums after a while. But Liza is an artist, and she loves museums. So I bought her a few postcards of some of my favorite paintings.

Do you feel left out of what’s going on at home when you’re on vacation? Where are you going on vacation this year? Are your parents as strict about computer time and texting while you’re on vacation as mine are? Do you sneak your texting as much as I do?

Uh-oh. G2G. My mom and dad are bugging me to hurry up so we can visit another museum. See, I told you I get very limited computer time when we’re on vacation. But I’m definitely going to be logging on as much as I can. So please zap me a message.

TTYL

XOXO

Jenny

Crush Alert!

Okay, so I just found out the HUGEST secret! One of my friends has a major crush on an eighth grader. I only found out because I saw her scribbling his name on one of the pages of her notebook. I swore to her I wouldn’t tell anyone. And I’m definitely keeping that promise. I’m not telling anyone which of my friends has the crush, or who she’s crushing on.

I think my friend’s crush is going to stay secret forever, mostly because she’s not willing to let this guy know she likes him. She says she doesn’t want to let him know because it would be way too embarrassing if he doesn’t like her back. I totally understand how she feels. I can’t think of anything worse than letting a boy know you like him and having him reject you. (Wait, there is one thing worse than that—having the Pops find out that you like a guy who doesn’t like you back. Now that would be embarrassing! The Pops would make sure the whole school found out—immediately.)

I wish I could help my friend get this guy as her boyfriend. But since I’m sworn to secrecy, I don’t think there’s much I can do. It’s not like I can just go up to this guy (who is actually really cute, by the way) and tell him. I really would like to help her though. Has this ever happened to you or one of your friends? What did you do?

Thanks!

XXOO

Jenny

The Long and Short of It

Have any of you ever argued with your mom over clothes? I didn’t used to, but now it seems like every time I go shopping with my mom, we get in a fight. Mostly it’s over how long (or short) the clothes are; and that’s exactly what we argued about yesterday afternoon. I was trying on skirts for school. I thought they were really cute. But my mother insisted that every skirt I tried on was too short. And in the end, I didn’t get anything!

I’m not sure how to explain to my mom that everyone in school wears short skirts. (Especially the Pops, not that I’m trying to be like them or anything.) If I tell her everyone else is doing it, she’s sure to say no. She absolutely hates when I say, “But everybody else is.” She usually says something like, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?” Which is totally beside the point.

Just so you know, it’s not like the skirts I was trying on were so short. In fact, most of them were a lot longer than the ones Dana and Claire were wearing in school today. They were just normal length skirts—at least normal for middle school.

So how can I convince my mom to let me be a little stylish once in a while? Is it even possible? Or should I just stick to wearing jeans for the rest of my life?

Thanks for all your help!

TTYL

XXOO

Jenny

School Scaredy Cat!

We are doing the coolest thing in science class. We’re studying how roller coasters work. Okay, I know that doesn’t sound particularly cool. But when you consider the fact that the entire sixth grade is going to an amusement park next Wednesday to ride roller coasters, it definitely rises on the coolness meter.

I can’t wait to go to Seven Wonders Amusement Park! There are some really awesome rides there, like the carousel, the frog hopper, and the bumper cars, all of which are a lot of fun. But people don’t go to Seven Wonders for those rides. They go for the roller coasters.

They have lots of different kinds of roller coasters at Seven Wonders. There’s the Coney Island Coaster, which is a wooden roller coaster that makes this wild clacking noise when it climbs up the track. There’s the Lunatic Loop, which goes completely upside-down…twice. And then there’s the Black Hole. That one’s my favorite. It goes upside down three times and turns on its side almost constantly. And the whole time you’re in total darkness!

There’s just one bummer about next Wednesday’s trip. I don’t think Chloe’s going to come. It turns out that my brave friend Chloe (she never has trouble standing up to Addie, Dana, and the rest of the Pops) is a big chicken when it comes to roller coasters. I tried to tell her that she doesn’t have to go on them. She can go on the more mellow rides, or she can try to win a stuffed animal at some of the games. But she doesn’t want to hear it.

I think I know what’s bothering her. Even though Chloe acts like the Pops don’t bother her when they make fun of her clothes, I know sometimes it bugs her. And if the Pops figure out that Chloe is afraid of the roller coasters (and they will figure it out—those girls can smell fear 100 miles away!), they’ll never let her live it down. Chloe can tolerate being told that she’s not fashionable. What she can’t tolerate is having the whole school knowing she’s afraid of something. Especially because this time it would be true.

I really hate the Pops. Even when they’re not actually doing anything, they still manage to ruin everything. That’s because everyone else in school is always trying so hard to wear something that will impress them, or say something they’ll think is smart or funny. Deep down, we all want that Pop approval. Or at the very least, we all want to avoid their cruel disapproval. I know it’s stupid to be that way, but that’s the reality at our school. Is it like that at your school, too?

Do you guys have any ideas on how I can convince Chloe to come on the trip with me? It would be such a bummer for her to miss out. And I know I’d have a lot more fun with her than without her.

Thanks for your help.

XO

Jenny

Advice Needed!

Okay, I’m a little stressed. Tomorrow is parent-teacher conference day in my school. It should really be called parent-teacher-student day, because my middle school makes us come to the conferences, too. My teachers say this is a good thing because being at the conference lets us talk about what we’re having the most trouble with and how we can fix the problems. But I would really rather not have to go.

It’s not that I’m doing poorly in school or anything. I’m pretty much a B or B+ student, which isn’t so bad. What’s worrying me is that I’ve never been to one of these conferences before, and I don’t know what to expect. Are my teachers going to go through every grade on every test, paper, and homework assignment? I hope not. I bring home most of my tests, but every now and then, I mess up on a pop quiz, and I don’t see the point in bringing those to my parents’ attention. Have you ever done something like that? I think everyone has. Except maybe my friend Josh. He’s pretty much a genius, and I doubt he’s ever messed up on a test or a quiz. Anyway, I don’t do that very often, but I still think my parents would be kind of mad if they found out.

I guess the hardest part is that it’s going to be three adults and me in the room. I’m definitely going to be outnumbered. Not that my parents and my teachers are the enemy or anything. It’s just that when grown-ups get together, they sort of form a team, and I’m not part of that team. How can I be? I’m only in sixth grade.

Does your school have conferences with the kids in the room? How did yours go? Is there anything you think I should do or say when I’m there? I’ll take all the advice I can get.

Thanks.

xoxo

Jenny

Party Problem

Oh boy, do I have a problem. I’m really hoping you guys can help me out, because I’m having a tough time with this one.

Yesterday, I got an invitation to a party at Josh’s house. All my friends are going to be there. It’s not his birthday or anything; it’s just a party he’s having because March doesn’t have any major holidays, and it always seems to go on forever without a break. I was really excited about the party, until my parents told me that we have family friends coming to town that weekend.

These friends, Jasper and Connie, are really nice people. My mom went to college with Connie, so I’ve known them my whole life. They have a daughter, Melissa, who is in fifth grade. She’s the problem.

Melissa’s nice, and I don’t mind hanging out with her when it’s just her and me. But my mom told me I couldn’t go to Josh’s party unless I brought Melissa with me, and the thing is, Melissa’s still in elementary school! And even though she’s only a year younger than I am, if I’ve learned one thing this year, it’s that there’s a huge difference between being in middle school and elementary school. Not only that, but I’ll be the only person Melissa knows at the party. That means she’ll probably be glued to my side the whole time. I know that sounds cruel, and I don’t mean to be. I’m just being honest.

I really want to go to Josh’s party. But I don’t want to have to bring Melissa. So I’m torn. Do I forget the party and just hang out with Melissa? Or do I go to the party and bring her with me? What would you do?

Thanks for your help.

xoxo

Jenny

Addie's At It Again!

I HATE ADDIE WILSON! Yes, I know if you put something in all caps you’re supposed to be screaming. That’s okay, because I am screaming. I really do HATE ADDIE WILSON! She told a seventh grader named Michael that I like him. And now, every time I see him in the hall, he gives me this funny look. And if he’s with his friends, they all start laughing.

Let me make one thing clear: I do not like Michael. I don’t even know him! Not really, anyway. Addie just got this stupid idea in her head when she overheard me telling Chloe that I liked his t-shirt. His t-shirt! Not him.

I don’t know if Addie misheard me, or if she heard me correctly and just decided to do something mean and embarrassing to me anyway. It really doesn’t matter. Either way it was mean, and I’m totally embarrassed. And now I’m spending every day going out of my way to avoid Michael whenever I can. If I see him coming down the hall, I quickly go the other way or dash into a nearby girls’ room. Unfortunately, I’m not always fast enough. That’s when he sees me and gives me those weird looks.

I wish I could think of a way to get back at Addie for this. But I’m not really good at doing mean things. It’s just not worth it because I always feel so guilty afterwards. Still, it would be really nice to see Addie squirm with embarrassment for once.

My friends keep telling me I’m overreacting and that this will all blow over in a few days. I sure hope they’re right. I don’t know how much longer I can take hiding in the school bathrooms. Those places can really stink sometimes!

I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on in my life. Be sure to keep me posted, too. Okay?

XOXO

Jenny

Taking a Vacation from Myself

I had the best winter break this year! My parents took me out West to this amazing ski resort. The snow was perfect and the trails were amazing. Best of all, I finally learned how to snowboard. I had to take a lot of lessons before I felt comfortable on the board, but there were some really amazing instructors at the resort. Now I’m trying to convince my parents to buy me my own snowboard for my birthday this year.

There were a lot of kids at the resort, which always makes it a better vacation as far as I'm concerned. There was this one girl, Larisa, who I got really friendly with. We're both in sixth grade, so we had a lot in common. We listen to the same music, and we watch the same shows. We even read the same book in English class last marking period.

There was one big difference between Larisa and me, though. I'm pretty sure she's a Pop at her school—and (as you know) I'm definitely not. Larisa never actually came out and said she was a Pop (they never do that!), but there were a few telltale signs. For one thing, she wore makeup, and pretty much the only sixth graders who wear makeup are Pops. She also had this incredible camera phone, with a keyboard that slid out from under the phone for text messaging. Only a Pop would have the latest model of cell phone. After all, they're the ones who set the trends.

So now you might be asking yourself what a Pop would be doing hanging out with a non-Pop like me. I would be asking the same question, except I know that I kind of let her believe that back at my school I was a Pop. It wasn’t that hard to do. For starters, I asked my mom to buy me a pink-tinted Chapstick in the gift shop at the resort. That made it look like I was wearing lipstick. And I made sure to mention the names of makeup brands I'd overheard Addie and her friends mention, because I figured those had to be the coolest ones out right now. As for my clothes, I don't usually have the newest styles at school, but on the ski slopes I was totally up-to-date. I'd just gotten a brand-new ski jacket for Christmas, so to Larisa it seemed like I always wore the newest and coolest clothes. And whenever Larisa mentioned a scary movie she'd gone to see with her older brother or her friends, I just said I hadn't seen it yet because I'd had a lot of tests to study for at school. (I didn't mention that my mom and dad never let me see movies like that.) As for my phone, I just kept it hidden in my pocket. That way Larisa never saw that I have one of those regular old boring phones you get for free when you sign up for cell phone service.

When we left, Larisa and I exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses. And we've been e-mailing back and forth, which is a lot of fun. The only trouble is, now she's saying she might want to visit me sometime in my hometown. It would take a lot of planning, since she lives pretty far away, but I'm not sure I want her to come anyway. Then she would find out I’m not a Pop. How embarrassing would that be?

Have any of you guys ever done something like I did—you know, sort of pretended to be someone you're not? I'd be curious to know if you, or any of your friends, ever got caught, and how you handled it if you did.

Anyway, here's wishing everyone a really great 2009. I hope all your wishes come true!

XOXO

Jenny

Caught In the Middle in Middle School

Okay, I’m totally freaking out. All my friends are fighting at what’s supposed to be the happiest time of the year!

You guys know that my group of friends is really tight, right? We have each others’ backs no matter what. At least we did until this weekend. Now Chloe and Sam are in this huge fight. And they’re practically insisting that the rest of us choose sides.

It all started with a text message Chloe sent to Liza on Saturday about how she thought Sam was showing off by singing and playing piano when we were hanging out at her house on Friday afternoon.

Unfortunately, Sam happened to be sleeping over at Liza’s house when Chloe sent the text. Sam and Liza have the exact same pink slider phone, and by mistake, Sam picked up Liza’s phone. So it was Sam who clicked on the text message and, well, I guess you can figure out what happened next. Sam was really insulted by what Chloe had written. Chloe was mad that Sam had intercepted the message, and angry that Liza had let her intercept the message (even though that was totally not Liza’s fault at all). So now Chloe isn’t talking to Sam or Liza, and Liza and Sam aren’t talking to Chloe.

Considering we all sit at the same lunch table, you can imagine just how uncomfortable fifth period was this afternoon. It got to the point when Carolyn said something to Liza, Chloe got mad at Carolyn. Then when Marilyn said something to Chloe, Sam got mad at Marilyn. Somehow Marc, Josh, and I managed to stay out of it (we just talked to each other) but that can’t last forever. Sooner or later Chloe, Sam, and Liza are going to insist we choose sides, and I just can’t do it. I like all of my friends. And besides, this fight has nothing to do with me!

I think this is what my mom was talking about when she told me life was a lot easier when she was a girl and there were no cell phones at all. Don’t get me wrong. I like texting people. It’s fun and it’s fast, and you can talk to your friends without anyone else hearing your conversation. But texting can also be dangerous. People don’t think before they text. And when you can’t hear the expression in someone’s voice, you can totally misread their meaning. (Although I’m not sure there was any way anyone could have misunderstood Chloe’s meaning. Calling someone a show-off is pretty mean, no matter how you say it.)

My friends have gotten in fights before, and we’ve always managed to make up sooner or later. It’s just that with the holidays coming, and all of us planning to do stuff together over winter break, I don’t want to be fighting now! I want to be having fun—ice skating, sledding, and celebrating with all of my friends, at the same time.

Any ideas on how we can get Chloe, Liza, and Sam back to being friends—fast?

Thanks for the help.

XO

Jenny

From Scaring to Caring

Hi, there! Jenny here. I’m back to give you the latest news from Joyce Kilmer Middle School. Last time I blogged, I was telling you about how I wanted to have a hayride for Halloween but Addie wanted our school to have a traditional Halloween dance. Well, we wound up having a dance, like Addie wanted, instead of a hayride. It turned out the hayride would have been really expensive, and the whole chance-of-rain thing kind of freaked people out, so I didn’t get my way.

I was actually okay with that, though, because Halloween night turned out to be so awesome. We didn’t just have the Halloween dance, we had a total Fright Night. While the music and dancing were going on in the cafeteria, the kids on the Student Council were busy in the gym with our really creepy haunted house. It was so amazing. We turned out the lights and played spooky music with scary sound effects. As kids walked through the haunted house, we made them touch wet, gushy eyeballs (they were really peeled grapes), and slithery, slippery worms (which were really limp spaghetti noodles). That stuff grossed a lot of people out, even though I think they knew it wasn’t really eyeballs and worms. The best part came as our friends walked through the dark, ghoul-filled gym—oops! I mean haunted house. Everywhere people turned, monsters jumped out at them in the dark. (Okay, the monsters were really just student council members dressed in creepy costumes, but in the dark we were really frightening!) Personally, I loved scaring the Pops. They were acting so cool, and talking about how babyish a haunted house was—and then BAM! I popped out at them in my mummy costume. Sabrina and Dana totally freaked out. Of course they denied it later, but I knew what had happened. And so did everyone else who was in the haunted house at the time.

Now that Halloween is over, everyone is all into Thanksgiving mode. At our school, the Thanksgiving theme is Giving Thanks by Giving Back. So we’re doing all sorts of community service projects. Next week, my friends and I are taking part in a walkathon to raise money for kids who have serious illnesses. We have to walk five miles. That’s a lot of walking, but it’s okay with me, because we’ll raise money for every mile we walk.

The Pops are running a clothing drive for our local homeless shelter. They’re asking people to donate clothes they don’t wear anymore. They’ve been getting a lot of stuff—mostly jeans and t-shirts, but some nice dresses and jackets from parents and teachers. I’m glad the Pops are finally able to do something good with their love of fashion. Usually they’re just obnoxious about it. (Which is not to say the Pops aren’t still obnoxious. They are. Just not about their community service project.)

Do you guys do any community service stuff at your schools? What’s your favorite way to help out? I’m looking for good ideas for next time, so please let me know.

Talk to you soon.

XO

Jenny

Hey. . .Over Here!

Hi there. Jenny here. Thanks for all the advice you gave me last month. I used a lot of your ideas to try to get my mom and dad to let me walk around the mall with some friends. I had long, heart-to-heart talks with them, I did extra chores, I made sure all my homework was done, and I even volunteered to call them every half hour on my cell phone. Unfortunately, they weren’t going for it. (Although my mom did say that maybe next year, when I’m in seventh grade, we could give it a try. Seventh grade. That’s so far away.) But there’s no sense in my whining about it. They’re not changing their minds. I know my parents.

Besides, these days I’m thinking about a whole lot more than a trip to the mall. The student council is planning our annual Halloween celebration. (Did I ever mention that I’m the sixth grade class president? Addie’s our vice president. I actually got more votes than she did in the election. How amazingly unbelievable is that?!) Anyway, usually our school has a big Halloween dance in October. From what the older kids in the student council tell me, the Halloween dance is really fun. There’s bobbing for apples, candy corn, cider, and a big costume contest where we give out prizes for funniest costume, most original costume, prettiest costume, and stuff like that.

But this year I saw in the paper that a nearby farm is having hayrides and bonfires all fall long. I thought it could be cool to have a Halloween hayride instead of a dance. We could still wear costumes, but we’d be outside instead of in the school cafeteria, and instead of having a band, we’d sing songs around the fire. So I brought the idea up at our last meeting.

Of course, Addie immediately said that she thought a Halloween hayride was a horrible idea. She said she wants to have a dance because it’s a school tradition, but frankly, I think she just wants to vote against me. Still, I have to admit that, besides the whole tradition thing, she did bring up a few good points at the meeting—like the fact that some people have hay fever, and that if it rains the whole idea will be a washout. She also said she thought the whole sing-around-the-campfire thing was totally lame. I disagree, of course, but she and I disagree on just about everything these days.

We’re going to be voting on which kind of celebration to have at our next meeting. I’m curious, which would you vote for—a Halloween Dance or a Halloween Hayride?

TTYL

<3

Jenny

Mall Mania

Hi, everybody!

Thanks so much for all your advice about the baseball game. In the end, I decided to take Sam as my guest because she’d never been to a game before. All of my other friends were very cool about it. They understood why I asked her to come to the game. In fact, on Monday morning they wanted to hear all about whether or not she liked it. Sam definitely did like the baseball game. She was eating hot dogs, waving her arms, and screaming at the umpire just like an American kid. Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell any of our friends how much fun she’d had, because she cheered so loudly she lost her voice! Her cheers must have worked though, because our team won the game.

Anyhow, since your comments were so helpful when I was trying to decide what to do about the game, I was hoping you could give me some advice about another problem I’m having. Yesterday, I went to the mall with my mom. We were looking at some jeans in this new boutique that’s across from the food court. Everything was fine until Addie and Sabrina walked into the store. Just Addie and Sabrina—no adults. When they saw me with my mom, they started laughing. And today at school, Addie told everyone that I was a baby who wasn’t allowed to go anywhere on her own.

There was no way I could defend myself, because the truth is I’m not allowed to go to the mall with my friends if there isn’t an adult with us. But I really want to be able to shop without a parent around, and not just because Addie is allowed to. Lots of my friends are allowed to shop by themselves, too. Liza’s mom lets her walk around the mall with her friends, and so does Marilyn and Carolyn’s mom. But my parents are real worriers. I’m afraid they’re never going to let me go to the mall by myself—ever!

Do you have any advice for me? Is there anything I can do or say that will convince my mom and dad that now that I’m in middle school, I’m mature enough to go shopping and eat at the food court with a few friends?

I can’t wait to hear from you!

xo

Jenny

HELP!

I've got a problem. My dad just came home with three tickets for this Saturday's baseball game. The game's not the problem, though. I love going to the stadium, eating hot dogs, drinking soda, and cheering my team to victory. (Although at the moment . . . we're in fourth place, so I'm not sure about the whole victory thing. ☹)

The problem is that third ticket.

You see, my mom can't go to the game on Saturday. She has plans with my aunt that she can't change. So my dad told me I could bring a friend to the game. That's where the problem part comes in. Who do I bring?

If this were last year, there would have been no question about who to invite. I would have brought Addie Wilson, my former BFF. We used to do everything together. But now Addie and I aren't BFFs at all. In fact, we're not even Fs. We travel in completely different crowds.

The truth is, I don't have a BFF this year. Instead I have a whole group of close friends—and they all love baseball. So the question is, which friend do I invite? I don't want to insult anyone. I mean, I know my friend Felicia loves sports, but so does Rachel. And I've known both of them since kindergarten. Still, Felicia does tend to get mad if she thinks you've left her out of anything. (Remember when I blogged about going to the mall with Liza and not asking Felicia to come, too? She really bugged out that time.) But is that a reason to invite Felicia and not Rachel? Either way, I probably shouldn't invite Josh, because he's Felicia's boyfriend, and that would definitely make her mad.

Last week my friend Chloe took me to the movies with her family. So does that mean I owe her this now? Chloe's a lot of fun to hang out with, but there's also our friend Sam, who just moved here from England and has probably never been to a real American baseball game. It would be so cool to be the one to introduce her to the game.

And that's just my friends who are in sixth grade like me. I also have a bunch of friends who are seventh graders. There are the twins, Marilyn and Carolyn. Would it be strange to invite just one twin and not the other? Maybe they'd like to spend a day apart from each other for a change. But then which one should I ask? And there's Marc, too. He's really funny and great to be around. But I think it would seem weird to invite him to the game, because he's a boy. I mean we're just friends, but it would still seem a little strange, don't you think? Luckily Liza is going to be at her grandparents' house this weekend, so I don't have to worry about upsetting her. Thank you, Liza!

Has this ever happened to any of you? Do you have any advice for me? I could really use the help!

W.B.S. (PLEASE!)

Jenny

Prepare to Get Soaked!

I love field day! I can say that now, because I’ve been to one. But before we had our school field day, I had no idea what to expect. All I knew for sure was that I had a blue T-shirt (I was on the blue team) and that I was supposed to bring sunscreen and a water bottle. Oh, and I also knew that I was going to get wet. That wasn’t in the note the school sent home, though. My friend Marc told me about it. His exact words were, “Be prepared to get soaked. It’s a school tradition. Every year everyone gets wet.”

I figured that meant that we were going to have water balloon–tossing contests or something. But I was wrong. What Marc meant was that it was a school tradition for it to rain on field day. It’s happened every year since anyone can remember. And it’s not just a little drizzle. Apparently it’s usually more of a torrential downpour.

The day didn’t start out raining, though. When we got to the park, it was sunny. Everyone split up into teams, and we started doing relay races. I was in the three-legged race with Chloe. We came in second place behind two eighth graders on the yellow team. I think that’s pretty good, since the eighth graders are two years older than we are and their three legs are a lot longer than ours!

After the races, we all sat around and had a picnic lunch. The school had 30 massive six-foot hoagies delivered, and everyone got a piece. The hoagies were so much better than the sandwiches we get from the school cafeteria. And it was kind of funny watching our teachers eat their giant sandwiches. We don’t eat with the teachers at school—they have their own cafeteria—so we never get to see them do “human” things like drip mustard on their pants or spill a carton of juice all over their T-shirt.

Anyway, we had just finished lunch, and were getting ready for more games, when they sky suddenly darkened. In a flash, the skies opened up and rain came pouring down. My friends and I thought it was great. Chloe was the first one to start singing “I’m singing in the rain” at the top of her lungs. A moment later, we’d all joined in, singing, dancing, and laughing.

But the Pops weren’t laughing. They were totally freaked out. You should have seen them running for the busses and trying to keep their hair from getting all wet. I don’t know why they bothered. It wasn’t like the rain was going to make them melt or anything. (Although every now and then the way they act does remind me of The Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz, but that’s a whole other story.) But expecting the Pops to enjoy the rain is just too much to ask. Pops are not known for going with the flow.

Anyway, field day ended with a bang—literally—when the thunder started. At that point, the teachers loaded us all back on the busses quickly, and we headed back to school. It was kind of a bummer that it had to end early, but I was glad it rained. After all, rainy field days are our school’s tradition. I can’t wait to see if it happens again next year!

xo,

Jenny

I Hate Fighting!

Grrrrr!
I just had an argument. A big argument. A major blow-up. And the worst part was, the fight wasn't with Addie or Dana, or any of the other Pops in my school. This fight was with Felicia, one of my really good friends. We've known each other since kindergarten, and we have all the same friends in school. And while Felicia sometimes fights with other people, like our friends Rachel and Chloe, she and I have never, ever had an argument —until now.

The thing is, the whole fight was so stupid. It all started because Felicia saw me at the mall this afternoon with our friend Liza. Liza and I had planned this mall trip a week ago, and we went together, just the two of us. When Felicia saw us, she was really angry that I hadn't asked her to come with us, even though she'd mentioned last night that she was probably going shopping today. She told me that it was really rude of me not to mention that Liza and I were going shopping too, so that we could all go together.

But this was supposed to be a day for just Liza and me. And that's what I told Felicia. She totally exploded, and told me that if that was how I felt, I could spend all my days without her. Then she stormed off. I didn't know whether to scream or cry.

Anyway, I'm home now, and I still don't really know how to feel. I know I wasn't wrong, but I also know what it feels like when you think you're being left out. I've been left out of a lot of things—and it always makes me feel horrible. Still, a person can't expect to be invited to everything all the time, can she? And that's what Felicia was expecting.

Middle school is so confusing! Sometimes I think it would be so much easier to be back in third grade when my mom and dad made all my plans for me. Then I wouldn't be fighting with Felicia right now. And I wouldn't be feeling so crummy.

Wait a minute. I just got a text on my cell phone. It's from Felicia. She says "Jen, I'm really sorry. I don't want to be in a fight with you. Call me!"

Wow. I feel so much better. I guess I should get off the computer and call her back. Friends need to talk stuff like this through. And Felicia and I are definitely friends!

TTYL

Jenny

Flower Power!

Don’t you love class trips? I do. What’s not to love? For starters, you get out of school for a whole day—and it still counts as being in school. Second, you actually get to do some pretty cool stuff. Like today, for example – the whole sixth grade went to the botanical gardens. I think it was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been. There were flowers and trees from all over the world there. And because it’s spring, everything was in bloom. You could smell the flowers from the parking lot as we got off the bus.

Walking through the gardens, I felt like I was in the middle of a bouquet. Unfortunately, I shared this with my friends Chloe and Sam. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have been a problem, since Chloe and Sam would have understood what I meant. The problem was that I didn’t know Addie Wilson and Dana Harrison were right behind me. For some reason, they thought what I said was ridiculous, and they didn’t let me live it down all day. Dana said I smelled like I was in the middle of a bouquet of stinkweed, and then she kept on calling me “Stinky.”

But I wasn’t about to let a couple of Pops pop my bubble! I had a great time despite them. (Okay, it wasn’t so much fun taking notes on the parts of a flower or on how pollination works, but the rest of the day was great.) After we toured the gardens, we had a picnic in a Japanese-style pagoda, surrounded by plants and flowers that were from Japan. And then we got to play Frisbee on a big lawn. That was especially fun because I’m pretty good at Frisbee, and Dana is definitely not. So my friends and I tossed the disc in her direction every time we could.

Tomorrow, I know things will be back to normal. But I am so glad that I had today. Sometimes you just have to take a break from your routine, you know?

What’s the best field trip you and your friends have ever taken?

xxoo

Jenny

SPRING FEVER!

Okay, I admit it – I have spring fever in a big way. It’s getting harder and harder to do the things I’m supposed to do—like homework, for instance. It’s light outside after dinner now, and I’d love to be shooting hoops in Marc’s driveway or with my friend Chloe, walking her dog Bingo in the park. Instead I’m working on my history paper about the Great Wall of China and figuring out a page of math problems. I’ll bet you can see what I’m not exactly springing up to my room each evening to get to work.

Spring is my favorite season, because it’s when the whole world comes alive. The daffodils in my mom’s garden have just popped up. They look like little suns shining brightly all over the yard. (Can you tell we just worked on similes in my English class? LOL!) And I love not having to wear my ski jacket everywhere. I feel so much more relaxed without all the heavy sweaters, boots, scarves, and gloves I wore all winter.

Speaking of clothes . . . I’m working on convincing my mom to take me shopping today. I tried putting on my old jean jacket, and the sleeves practically stopped at my elbows. (Okay, so I didn’t grow that much since last year, but most of my spring stuff is really way too small.) Besides, all of the fashions have changed, and I don’t want to be out of style. Shopping isn’t just something the Pops love to do, you know. The mall is a meeting place for all middle schoolers. We all know that there’s nothing like a new shirt or pair of jeans to make surviving middle school in the springtime just a little easier.

How do you celebrate the arrival of spring?

TTYL

Jenny

Just Got Home a Few Minutes Ago...

Hey there, Jenny here! I just got home from camp a few minutes ago, and I raced right to the computer (well, not right to the computer. I played with my pet mice Sam and Cody first. I had to. I missed them so much. I think they missed me, too. No one else gives them as many treats as I do!) So far re-entry into civilization hasn't been too tough. My parents and I stopped at a really good diner for some real food on the way home. I don't think I've tasted a yummier cheeseburger in my whole life! What a change from camp food. (They don't call the camp cafeteria a messhall for nothing!)

Tomorrow is going to be so exciting! It's the sixth grade orientation at Joyce Kilmer Middle School. The new sixth graders who go to the orientation will get to meet the teachers and take a tour of the school building. They're going to give us a whole handbook to read, too. It's supposed to tell us all about going to middle school. I'm going to read every single page of that book so I'm totally prepared on the first day.

After the orientation my mom and dad are taking me shopping for school supplies. I want to pick them out really carefully. After all, these are middle school notebooks! They can't look babyish, you know? I wish I could call my best friend, Addie Wilson, and ask her to go shopping with us. Addie and I have always gotten matching notebooks and bookbags—ever since we were in first grade. But Addie's on vacation until the night before school starts. I really miss her. I wrote her a few times from camp, but she didn't get a chance to write back. I guess she got busy at the day camp she went to at the community center here in town. It's too bad Addie won't be at the orientation, but I’ll fill her in on everything when she gets home.

I'll bet your school starts soon, too. How are you getting ready for the big first day? Did you get your school supplies yet? What are you wearing the first day of school? I think I'm going to wear my sleepaway camp t-shirt. How cool will that be?

<3

Jenny

Being Sick Stinks!

Hey there. Jenny here.

Okay, it’s Thursday, all of my friends are in school, and I’m stuck here in the house with a fever. Not that I miss my classes or the science quiz we were supposed to have today, but I do feel bad about not hanging out with my friends at lunch or in the halls between classes. And I can’t help but feel that I’m missing something really huge that’s going on.

Of course, if something big does happen, one of my friends will definitely let me know. So far, Chloe has sent me a text message between classes, just to let me know that Dana Harrison’s chair let out a really gross noise when she sat down, and the whole English class burst out laughing. I laughed just reading it. Dana thinks she’s so much better than the rest of us, and she tries to be the perfect Pop at all times.

I’m not expecting too many more texts until school lets out. We’re not really allowed to use our phones in school. Chloe took a huge chance texting me. If she’d been caught, her phone would have been taken away and her parents would have been called to come pick it up. Our principal is really strict that way.

Being sick does have its advantages, though. For one thing, my mom made me homemade chicken soup, which is delicious. And I also get to go on my favorite Web site (middleschoolsurvival.com, natch!) as much as I want. This morning I took four quizzes before my head started hurting and I had to take a nap for a while. Don’t you hate how being sick can make you too tired to do anything fun?

Uh-oh. I hear my mom coming up the stairs again. That means it’s probably time for me to take my disgusting orange medicine. That stuff makes the school lunches seem like gourmet meals! But I have to take it if I ever want to get back to school, which I definitely do. So I’m going to sign off here.

TTYL

Jenny

Report card time!

Hey there. Jenny here.

Wow! This has definitely been a crazy week at Joyce Kilmer Middle School. It's the end of the semester, and that has everybody stressed out. It's not that we have more work or tests or anything, it's just that we know our report cards will be coming out soon, and that kind of freaks us out, know what I mean?

Report cards are going to be especially weird for us sixth graders. We've never had actual letter grades, like As, Bs, or Cs. The elementary schools in our area send out reports from the teachers, but they're written in paragraphs, and there are these grids with places for check marks. The grids say things like: Hands in homework on time, works independently, participates in class discussions, respects others, and stuff like that. That way you and your parents have an idea of how you're doing in school, but it's not nearly as intense as getting a letter grade.

I think I'm doing okay, especially since it's my first year in middle school. It took me a while to get used to moving all around the school all day, having different teachers for different classes, and juggling all my homework and projects and stuff. But now I love it. And besides, it feels good to switch classes every forty-five minutes - you get to see your friends in the hall, and move a little.

Speaking of grades, if I were grading my life in middle school so far, I'd have to say that it started out as a D- (it was no fun eating all by myself in a phone booth after Addie dumped me), but it's now an A- (not perfect, but real close). I have lots of great new friends, I'm president of my class (I get extra credit points for beating Addie out for the job!), and I'm doing okay in all of my classes (I just got back an English pop quiz with a huge 95% written at the top of the page!). It took a while, but I guess you could say that I'm surviving middle school pretty well these days.

How are things going for you this school year?

TTYL

Jenny

Sleepover Madness

Hey there. Jenny here.

Sorry about the lack of exclamation points, but I am too tired to exclaim anything. I just got back from a sleepover party at my friend Liza’s. I don’t actually know why they call them sleepovers, though. Nobody ever sleeps.

Sleeping’s no fun, anyway. What was fun were the games we played all night long. We started with a sleeping bag switch. Everyone put their sleeping bags on the floor. Then Liza left the room. Once she was gone, we all climbed into each other’s sleeping bags and zipped them all the way up. When Liza came back into the room, she had to guess who was in each sleeping bag. She got just about everybody right—except Marilyn and Carolyn. But that’s not completely her fault. They’re identical twins, and we can barely tell them apart when they’re not hiding in sleeping bags!

After that, we did a no-mirror makeover. That’s when you put makeup on without a mirror and have a fashion show. Man, you should have seen what we looked like! I had blush all over the right side of my face. And that was nothing compared to my friend Chloe, who had red, red lipstick on her lips and her teeth!

After all the games, we went downstairs and baked these amazing buttery chocolate chip bars and had milk shakes too. By that time, we were all too sugared-up to sleep a wink.

So today is definitely going to be a lazy Sunday. I’m thinking homework, a TV movie, and early to bed. Sounds perfect, huh? Well, except for the homework part, anyway.

Hope you had a great weekend, too.
<3
Jenny

Best Ever Halloween!

Hey, there!

Jenny here! I just had the best Halloween of my entire life! My school—Joyce Kilmer Middle School—had a Halloween party. It was so incredibly cool. There was blood-red punch with dry ice, so it looked like it was in a fog. There were bags of candy corn and chocolate bars everywhere, and a place where kids could dunk for apples. But I don't want you to think the whole party was about food and drink. We also had the most amazing haunted house! It was set up by the student council. All of the class presidents and vice presidents—that's Addie Wilson (VP) and me (President!) for the sixth grade—got to dress up like mummies, ghosts, and goblins. Then we leapt out at people as they walked through.

I had such a good time scaring the Pops! I was dressed as a vampire. I kept leaping out of the shadows, shouting "I want to drink your blood!" Dana Harrison was so flipped out, she spilled red punch all over her orange and black tiger costume! My friend Marc got the whole thing on film—he was recording the party for this movie he's making about life in middle school.

I have to admit a few of my friends were kind of scared in the haunted house, too. You should have heard my friend Chloe shriek when Sandee Wind, who was dressed as a zombie, snuck up behind her in the dark. I would have been plenty scared, too, if it had been me. But since I'm on the student council, I was one of the scarers, not the scarees.

The costumes at the party were great. My friend Liza, who's an incredibly artist, turned herself into a giant paint palette. And my friends Marilyn and Carolyn—who are identical twins—went to the party as a two-headed monster. My friend Rachel went as the Joker from the Batman movies (a perfect fit for her personality), and my friends Felicia and Josh went as two m&ms. Cute, huh?

The party was so much fun that I can't wait for Thanksgiving. We're having a dance. It's going to be called the Turkey Trot!

Talk to you soon!
xxoo

Jenny

First Day of School

Hey, there. It’s me, Jenny! I’m writing you in the middle of the night, because I’m too excited to sleep. All I can think about is that as of tomorrow morning, I will officially be a middle schooler! How cool is that?

I can't wait to get to school. The first thing I'm going to do is put my notebooks away in my locker. I already know exactly where my locker is because I took that orientation tour I wrote about in my last blog. My locker's right in the middle of C- wing. Every hallway of Joyce Kilmer Middle School is called a wing. My science class is in D wing. The gym is in A wing. You get the picture.

You know what's weird about starting middle school? Even though being a middle schooler is much more grown-up than being an elementary schooler, as the sixth graders, my friends and I are actually the babies of this school. Last year, we were the oldest and we totally ruled the school. But now. . .well, I kinda have to admit I'm a little afraid of some of the seventh and eighth graders. A few of them were there to show us around during orientation, and I swear one of the boys was twice as big as me! Yikes! I’m sure glad all my friends from elementary school will be starting out with me. It’ll be good to see some familiar faces in the hallway.

Right now I’m staring at my new backpack. It’s very cool looking. I didn’t want to get a book bag on wheels like I used to have back in elementary school. That wouldn’t work in my middle school because I have to go up and down stairs a lot to get to my different classes, and those wheels make the most embarrassing clunking noises when you drag them. So instead I got a backpack that I can actually wear. It’s bright yellow with green trim. My mom ironed this really cool rainbow-colored unicorn patch onto the front, which makes it kind-of special.

I can’t wait to put on my new backpack and walk over to my new bus stop to take the bus to my new school. Don’t you just love it when everything is brand new? Don’t you just love the first day of school?

Uh-oh. I hear someone coming down the hall. It’s probably mom. She’s going to be mad when she sees I’m still awake. So I’ve gotta switch off the computer now. I don’t want to get into any trouble on the night before my big day!

Hope you have a great first day of school!

xxoo
Jenny

Greetings from Camp Kendale

Greetings from Camp Kendale! Yup, I'm finally here at sleepaway camp, and the whole experience has been amazing—at least it has been since I got over that whole homesickness thing. But, hey, that only lasted two days. Since then it's been smooth sailing! And speaking of sailing, I’m learning how to sail a sunfish across the lake. But that's not the big news.

This is! Yesterday morning I finally got my guts up to try the zip line. It took me the whole first week of camp to give it a try. It was a really strange experience. First, I put on this really ugly yellow helmet and slipped into this uncomfortable harness. The harness was attached to a big rope. Once I was all suited up, I climbed up a huge telephone pole until I reached a thick wooden platform. You wouldn't believe how high up I was! I could practically see the whole camp from up there.

That's when I made my huge mistake. I looked down. Gulp. Suddenly I just froze. I couldn't move a single muscle. I just stood there like an idiot. The counselor on the platform told me to think brave thoughts. Actually, not just brave thoughts, but super-colossal brave thoughts. I tried. I really did. But I still couldn't move off that platform.

Finally, I decided I had two choices. I could climb back down the pole, embarrass myself, and miss out on all the fun everyone seemed to be having, or I could hold on tight to the rope attached to my harness and jump. So I jumped.