Happy Labor Day
Happy Labor Day everyone! Kids are already or almost back to school, and summer is ending. Be safe and have fun with your last summer adventures!
Character Takeover: Turner Moore
I’m Turner Moore and I’m 17. I’ve never written a blog post before, so sorry. Me and my friend Jay are starting our senior year at Glass High School soon. It’s going to be great. But we decided to have some fun over the summer. This year is going to be all about getting ready for college and all that, so we wanted to have fun for our last real summer break before going.
I love swimming and I’m planning on swimming in college. I want to go to the Olympics one day. My parents tell me not to brag, but it’s what I do. Swim, not brag. I scored a lot of the state and local records for swimming. I’m also a scout. Our group is called Outdoor Boys and me and Jay have been doing it since we were kids. I got the highest rank a couple years ago, but Jay’s still working on it.
I’m going to community college this year, too, but I hope to go to the state school after I graduate high school. My mom says I do too much and don’t just be a kid. Dad’s proud of me and does what he can. He was the one who dropped me off at early morning swim practices and drove me to camp outs and meetings for Outdoor Boys.
I don’t know what else to tell you without giving too much away. Or making it sound like I’m just telling you my stats. I’m more than just numbers and achievements, but you won’t know that until you get to know me better. You can read about me and Jay’s summer and more about us soon though. This friend of ours is going to be turning it all into a book soon.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Visiting my Alma Mater to Help the New Generation of Lakers Move In
This August has been a whirlwind of change and, to an extent, emotion. It’s the beginning of my son’s senior year of high school. A picture popped up on my personal Facebook page memories – one of a teary-eyed five year old who wasn’t ready to leave Mom and Dad for kindergarten. The picture I took of him last Thursday as he smiled his laughing smile that says “not another picture, Mom!” was his first last day of his K-12 school adventure.
Next year, that “first day” picture may happen in front of a dorm building as he starts his college adventure. Yesterday, I connected with fellow alumni at my college Alma Mater. We were there to help the newest freshmen moving into the dorms feel welcome and at home. We unloaded cars, trucks, and trailers stuffed with all the ‘essentials’ and helped load them into the building, up stairs, or wherever they were needed.
As I stood out on the curb, greeting parents and new students, I thought about how I hadn’t had this first welcoming face waiting at the curb when I moved in 25 years ago. The program started 21 years ago – I wasn’t yet an alum, nor was I moving into on-campus housing. When I became graduated and possessed my position in the group of proud alumni, I promptly got married and moved out of state with my husband to start new jobs and a new life.
This move-in process is something I’d like to continue participating in. It was fun, I met some new people – not only new students and their families, but other alumni I didn’t know – including some from the pioneering class of 1967! Then I realized this may not be possible, next year or for a few years after that. Next year, we may be moving our own college freshman into his dorm. That’s something I’m not quite sure I’m looking forward to yet, but it’s a look into the future nonetheless.
The college years, as many know, are interesting and different. Your experience is your own, unlike your K-12 years where everyone is taking most of the same classes, has a similar group of friends, and eats lunch at the same time every day. College is about finding yourself and what you love. College means scheduling classes around your needs – if you’re an early bird who loves rising at 6 a.m. and can be awake and alert for an 8 a.m. class, you can do that. If your body runs on a later schedule, you can arrange it so your first class doesn’t start until 1 p.m. Dining halls are open from early in the morning to late at night, so you can refuel when you need.
Today, I take a moment to reflect on my own experience, imagine the excitement and experiences of these new students who moved in yesterday, and imagine what my son’s own experience will be like in a year’s time. A look back in time with nostalgic feelings for what was, and a look forward to the bright hopes of what one day will be.
Having a Senior
We’ve been gearing up for this school year. It’s my son’s senior year, and high school graduation. The culmination and reward of 13 years of schooling. I’ve been looking through all of his “first day of ____ grade” pictures. He’s gone from a scared, teary-eyed 5-year-old who didn’t want to leave his parents to a confident 17-year-old who gets up, showered, dressed, and out the door all on his own.
We spent the summer touring colleges, examining each with a critical eye for the things he’s looking for a in a school. We’ll continue to tour through the fall, and hopefully be able to sit in on a class, or observe current students in their natural habitats. That can’t be done during the summer. He doesn’t seem worried about the college experience as much as he does about being comfortable with his choice. He started out dreaming of going to Arizona State University, as it would take him back home where he grew up and still has dozens of friends. When his dad and I were growing up and in school, if you moved away, you lost touch with the those friends, most likely forever. With computers, texting, social media, and all the other ways we connect, he never lost track of any of his friends.
But these summer college tours have opened his eyes to the potential of Michigan’s schools, where we currently live. He’s found one in particular he’s growing to love every time he visits for another admissions event. He’s considering more, and different majors. He’s opening up to possibilities.
While we’re less than a week into his senior year, with much more to come, I see how the work of the previous 12 years has paid off. It’s a year of change, that will be followed by many more.
Character Confusion
There are thoughts out there that our characters are an extension of ourselves. When I sit down to write, I don’t think “what would I do?” or “what would I want?” or “how do I make this character more like me?” These are simply things that never cross my mind. But that doesn’t mean they don’t leak out onto the page.
When you read my upcoming novel, about a 17 year old boy and a 30-something police detective, you may wonder how I relate to either of these things. When I first started writing this story on a whim when my son was three, and left it for years (he’s now 17 himself), I had no clue about 17 year old boys. I also had no clue about being a police officer or detective other than what I’d learned about my dad’s job as I grew up. That information is of course, very outdated since he was an officer in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
Other characters in the book are modeled, consciously or subconsciously, like friends and family. So where does the inspiration person end and the character begin? Or where does the inspiration person begin and the character end? The two are such a part of one another, it’s hard to tell.
If you ask my opinion about which character I’m most like, I’ll tell you none of them. Because there’s not a single one that I identify with wholly or some even just a little. But they do stem from my life experiences.