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Me and Margaret Trowbridge. She is literally so hilarious, I love her.

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My bestie Lucas Tsung at my 8th grade award show. He’s literally the best and I hope we stay friends forever.

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For this interview, I interviewed my mom. I was actually surprised by her last answer. I didn’t know she suffered from that job rather than gained from it but I’m glad she’s happier now.

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Dear Diary,
When the pandemic was first announced, my 6th grade year, in complete and full honesty, I was happy. I know, I know, all the people that have passed are terribly awful, but I was just so excited to miss time off of school. But then it escalated…a lot. I had fun FaceTiming my friends but then my vacations were cancelled, my birthday party was ONLINE, and my grandfather was terribly affected and ended up passing indirectly from COVID. And not to mention I have never been so hygienic in my life haha! Hand sanitizer all around and I never touch doorknobs without washing my hands after. That may sound weird but who knows how many people touch those things? Besides that, I don’t think I hung out or talked in person with any of my friends for a whole year. An entire year. It’s astonishing to me how I even managed to survive that. And the few times I did see them, later in the pandemic, we literally didn’t even go near each other and wore masks the whole time. Plus, I missed my 6th grade dance and immigration day,meh in is minor in the grand aspect of everything but… sometimes it feels like someone stole a piece of my childhood or something. Like the grinch stole Christmas, except he made a stop at my house and stole two years too. But, I have gotten back up and my life is honestly better than ever!

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At first sight, this may seem strange but I wanted to channel my inner TikTok. This is two TikTok trends smashed into one drawing. For this, I drew me and my friend without our specific facial features which is something that was popular in 2019. And then, in 2021-ish it became a trend to do this devil and angle drawings and decorate an image afterward with the ipad pencil coloring. So I added some hearts and devil and angel. I had a lot of fun drawing this and I like t]it very much. It truly shows me and my best friend’s relationship…

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Netflix is the love of my life. I watch shows every opportune I get and I genuinely mean it when I say I don’t think I would be the same person I am today if I didn’t have the influence of the shows I have viewed.

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I have literally been feeling nocturnal lately. I mean 8 am at school, I’m practically falling asleep but at 1 am, noooo. My body decides to be wide awake, ready to take on a new hobby that I’ll probably never try again in my life.

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If I relate to anything, it’s this…

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Ok, hear me out here, this game literally got me through quarantine. I played with my 3 other friends which I’m unfortunately not friends with anymore. I have a 150 day log-in streak in this game and I love it even if anyone thinks it’s immature or something. It’s on Roblox and you collect these little pets which sounds silly and pointless but all games are really pointless at the end of the day.

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During the quarantine, I began to watch Grey’s Anatomy. This show has  EIGHTEEN SEASONS, that’s right, 18. I managed to finish the entire show and REWATCH it. Since the show has been going on for so long, every single one of the main characters from the beginning of the show have died or left but the 18th season. There’s only 2 that have stuck around. My favorite character, Derek, died and I kid you not, I cried for a solid 2 hours and then the next day, I cried again for another hour. I was completely heartbroken. Anyway, the show is amazing and it will forever hold a beautiful place in my heart, despite what everyone says. Plus, it’s a show about doctors so I actually learned a thing or two…

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The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for maybe a month now and I just cannot understand why Putin is doing such a thing. This war is impacting everyone around the world, but especially Ukraine and I cannot wait to just simply see the end of it.

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The entire situation of Roe vs. Wade being overturned has caused a ripple effect to other countries and is: what countries actually allow abortion? All of this is making me wonder what will actually be decided for us women across the nation and whether it will be a federal or state decision.

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Me and the bestie Audrey during Comp and Grammar 8th Grade

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This is when I interviewed my father, relating to covid. I'm not sure if he understood that the last question was related to covid as well, but I decided not to correct him because I know his answer is something he really felt. It made me sad that he couldn't live out his true dream, do the thing that makes him happy. I mean, every Saturday he goes out and plays soccer with a small local team and his response just made me realize that I only have one chance at life, that I should make all of this count. It's something my father will never be able to go back and change and it just made me think that I need to go out and do what makes me happy, which unfortunately my father couldn't. I'm sad for him, that he couldn't fulfill his dream, and not because he's bad but because he didn't try. It just makes me think about...well everything.

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Dear Diary,
I was scrolling through the assignment sheet and I saw that one of the prompts was, “what has the pandemic made you realize?” And so many things came to mind, I just had to answer it. The most important thing that I have come to learn is that I love school! It’s crazy because how many times do you hear someone say, “I love spending 8 hours at a random place, doing tons of work only to come back home and be assigned with tons of it more”? Never, the answer is never…Until now because school forces me to be social. It forces me to reach out for help, talk to people, make friends. In fact, it ‘forces’ me and my friends to see such other everyday, rather than on weekends or breaks that one friend is always busy! I love eating lunch with everyone and talking, and especially seeing *THAT* special someone in the hallways… Anyway, breaks are fun, obviously, but eventually, I have noticed, that it gets kinda boring and school gets me up in the morning, even if it’s against my will… So the pandemic has definitely made me realize how vital this place is for my personal growth and development.
See you later diary,
Laura Marberger <3

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This fluffy friend is Daisy and I will love her until I die. She is adorable and has the most beautiful spirit, and she has done so much for me even though she doesn’t even know it!

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This right here is my beautiful and amazing family. I love them so much!!

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A few weeks ago, I won FIRST PLACE in BOTH of my events for the speech and debate *state* competition. I am very proud of myself for this accomplishment…I hope I can do well in nationals too!

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My best friends right now! This was during Valentine’s Day, in the sawgrass photo booth and we had so much fun that day!!