Just a Little Excerpt of My Novel:

Markets were fun and all, but I figured I’d been gone for too long. Mama and Papa probably expected me at home. Feed the chickens and all that.
I took a deep breath, ready to announce my presence to my family, when I heard my name. I stopped.
Were Mama and Papa talking about me? Without me there?
This was unacceptable. I trusted them to tell me everything. If they were talking about me in secret, they had to be keeping something from me.
Keeping secrets from their only daughter? Really, Mama? Really, Papa?
Well, if they were gonna whisper about me behind my back, it was only fair that I listened to it.
“Her birthday’s so soon,” Papa was saying.
“You think I don’t know that?” Mama asked. I pictured her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows at Papa.
“Sorry, Sera. Maybe it won’t happen. Maybe we were wrong.” Wrong about what? What were they talking about?
“You need to get these silly wishful thoughts out of your head, Winter. We weren’t wrong, there’s no doubt it’s her.” I was what? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Why couldn’t Mama and Papa be more specific in their secret conversations?
“You talk to me about silly wishful thoughts? I know you think you can protect her, Sera. But there’s no stopping fate. We both need to wake up.” Fate? So now they were dragging fate into this? This discussion was getting more confusing by the second.
“So this is it? We’re just going to stand back and watch as Lark turns evil right in front of us?” Mama was shouting now. Some secret conversation this was. The whole village could probably hear them arguing.
Hold on. I paused. Did Mama say I was going to turn evil? That couldn’t be right. I didn’t feel evil. Not at all, actually.
It didn’t seem like Mama and Papa’s talk was going to get any clearer. I needed to take matters into my own hands, put the pieces together myself.
I did my best to focus. Take all my thoughts - Is that a squirrel? I wonder what Lucy’s doing. Should I make a cake for my birthday? What kind of tree is that? - and focus them on what my parents had said. Turning evil . . . birthday . . . fate . . . this was beginning to sound familiar.
My stomach turned sour. The Prophecy.
I knew what the Prophecy was, everyone did, but I had never really thought of it as something that would affect me. My family.
There was only one reason for Mama and Papa to be talking about the Prophecy.
It was about me.

the end

My entry for the writing comp:
we don't talk about this shhhh

Critique for Zeph!!
Zeph wrote:

Imagine a forest of white
You and me
We're both stuck inside
Your hair shines in the light
Smiles fill the air
Your ethereal self blinds my sight
You're too cute this isn't fair

I like this so far! It really shows you like this person, and that you think they're amazing. However, the last line could be changed to something like “You're so cute it isn't fair” to be more grammatically correct.

Zeph wrote:

Ponytails, tea, and poetry
You love these things
Oh how can it be
You punch me you love me you say I'm too skinny
When I ask for words I'm given anatomy terms
Trustworthy, fun, and loyal
You care about these traits
When they aren't you begin to boil
They become people you hate

This is also really good! I love the imagery of the person this creates. I do think some of the rhyming sounds little forced, though, especially in the line ‘when they aren’t you begin to boil'. I really love the flow of the fourth line, and how it creates some differentiation
I also feel like the rhyme scheme is sort of inconsistent, but I'm not very familiar with poetry, so I could be wrong.

Zeph wrote:

You're silly freaky and pretty
You find these traits in people
You give up when they're not
Please don't give up on me too
You're mysterious but obviously in love
When you smile at your phone
He's freaky he's chill he's everything I'm not
He appears to like you ever so much
Is he really that hot?

I really like this poem so far! It really feels heartfelt and sincere, which is important in love poems. I do think the ‘freaky’ in the first line has a little bit of negative connotation, and you could use a comma between it and silly. You could also change the second line to “You search for these traits in people” to make it a little more clear that the subject doesn't always find them.
If you do decide to keep the ‘freaky’ in the first line, you use it again soon after, so maybe change that one?

Zeph wrote:

Then the spouse of V
The child named Evie
This unknown life I did not know
Calling again and again and again
It's something you must show
These people are parts of you
Parts I've never ever
seen before
Am I just a friend?
Or do you also want more?
Casual flirts here and maybe there
Signs are hard to show
Why have you shown so many
Then act like you don't know?
You're a guy you're a girl
I don't care
You still make me twirl

This part is really good! I do feel, however, that the word ‘spouse’ is a little formal for this context. Also, you say their names, but I can't tell if they're connected to the next part or not, or if they're the same person. Maybe make that a little clearer?

Zeph wrote:

You're smart and lovestruck
As giddy as ever
Maybe it's just my luck
I may love you forever
You care so much
You know what I've been through
I hope it's enough
For you to love me too

Oooh, I love this ending! It's perfect for this poem, and it really flows. I did notice that you rhymed ‘forever’ with ‘ever’, which you might want to change, but that's very nitpicky and you definitely do not have to change it.

Overall, I thought this poem was really amazing, and incredibly well done. I could never write something so beautiful, especially with the imagery and little memories. It was so sweet and awesome, and it really made me smile! Sorry it took me so long to get done, I was having trouble finding problems in it.

SWC November ‘25 co-leader app!!

About me:
Hello! My name is Eva, an avid reader, Swiftie, theater kid, and Huffleclaw. I’m part of the lovely EST/EDT timezone, and go by she/her pronouns.
To start, books are a huge part of my life. I love the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Keeper of the Lost Cities, the Grishaverse books, and a whole lot more. I’ve always loved to read, especially since reading HP. Books are my escape; my way out when life gets hard. I read as much as I can, even when annoying reality gets in the way, because I have no idea what life would be without a book or two waiting for me.
I’m not the most sporty person, but I do have one major athletic activity: Fencing. I’ve always loved swords, (I mean. They’re swords. Why wouldn’t I?) and I’d just quit soccer. Fencing as the obvious choice. Contrary to popular opinion, it is not just poking people with a sword. There’s a lot more to it than that, and it involves a whole lot more strength and stamina than most people - including myself before I started - would imagine. I love it because it allows me to feel in control of my life, and helps me work on my perfectionism. (It’s also an excuse to poke people without having to feel bad about it afterward)
As for writing, I’ve always loved the ability to create whole new worlds on paper. I’m not even sure what got me into writing, (it might’ve been because I read so much) but I can barely remember a time when I wasn’t forming worlds and plots in my head. I don’t even always write just because I want to; I write because I need to, because there’s this writing itch that’s never satisfied. I’m currently working on planning my novel, and can’t wait to maybe even finish it someday.
Music is also a big part of my life; I love, love, love to sing, and listening to music is possibly one of my favorite pastimes. My favorite artists include Taylor Swift, Sierra Sikora, Broadway, and many, many others.
Whenever I’m doing, well, anything on my computer, you can typically find music blasting from my Spotify playlist. It makes any boring task just a little bit more fun
Previous Participation:
This session of SWC will be my fourth session of SWC, and first session applying for co-leader. Below is a list of my previous SWC sessions.
March ‘25 | Journalism (led by CJ, CD, and Kit) | backup camper
July ‘25 | Bi-Fi (led by Kiara, Sophia, and Clev) | camper
Nov ‘25 | Fantasy (led by Cat, Veni, and Liv) | camper
My first session, March ‘25, was pretty amazing, despite the fact that I was kinda inactive. I had wanted to do SWC for a really long time, but due to parental regulations, I had never been able to. The moment I saw that March sign-ups were still open, though, I asked (read: begged) my parents to let me participate. To persuade them further, I wrote an essay explaining what SWC was and why it would be great. And so (yay) my parents agreed to let me do it. I wasn’t exactly the most active camper, but I did have heaps of fun. I was so sad when the session ended and immediately knew I wanted to do it again. I felt like I’d been a part of this community forever.
My next session, July ‘25, was really, really amazing. I was actually a part of the cabin, I participated in the storyline, I chatted with my amazing cabinmates. I created the ever-wonderful Chai. I made a bunch of new friends, wreaked havoc, caused chaos, and wrote way more than my measly word goal (I should have known since my first session I also surpassed my goal by a lot). It was really, really fun, and I learned so much about myself and my writing style.
My third session was last November. I loved, loved, loved my cabin’s storyline, leaders, community, and atmosphere. It was an amazing experience, despite the fact that I wasn’t feeling my best and couldn’t participate as much as I would have liked. I was feeling burnt out, tired, and was a little scared to talk to anyone in case I said the wrong thing, but even then I had a whole lot of fun when I did find myself participating. But when I did participate, I had an amazing time. I regret not doing as much as I might have, but I know that I can make next session even better, whether I’m a camper or, hopefully, a co-leader.
As for leadership experience outside of SWC, I don’t have all that much, but I do have some.
I participated in Student Council last year, which was rewarding although not very well organized.
I have also led a student-created science club, which was sustained for about a year and a half.
A short time ago I participated in theater with younger kids, which requires a lot of patience and example-setting.
My main leadership experience is my book club. It used to be school based, but we managed to keep it together during summer and figure out a way to do it without a teacher willing to let us use her classroom for a meeting place at the end of the day. Everyone in it holds equal council, and it requires a lot of leadership on everyone’s part. In Book Club everything is a team decision, so there’s a whole lot of cooperation and collaboration involved. I also personally own two snails, which forces me to take initiative and care for them, because no one else is going to. I have to feed them and mist their container every day, and clean the container monthly.
Cabin Prefs:
As for cabin preferences, I’m just going to make a list.
Absolutely: Bi-Fi, Classics, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Folklore, Script, Tragedy, Gothic, Lyric
Probably: Adventure, Fan-Fi, Hi-Fi, Illu-Fi, Lit-Fi, Mystery, Myth, Poetry, Romance, Utopian
Maybe Not: Action, Dystopian, Horror, Non-Fi, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Steampunk
In the Maybe Not section, it’s truly because I don’t have a lot of experience writing in those genres, so I don’t think I would be the best fit for them.
But really, this all depends on the storyline and the atmosphere, so I could very well be happy with leading Sci-Fi or Action.
I would love to co-lead a cabin with a good balance of chaos, bonding, and growth, with a captivating storyline that, well, tells a story! My kind of storyline is one where the campers are very involved, active, and crucial to the story, where they are motivated to stay healthy and grow as a writer while also having plenty of fun. That being said, I still love a storyline that’s pure fun
I’d also be more than happy to co-lead TCTWNW, as I love both friendly competition and a more laid-back atmosphere, so long as it has a storyline and is as active as possible.
Excerpt:
It appears the link refuses to work, so scroll down one <33
Time Dedication:
I should be able to dedicate about 1-2 hours of time to SWC every day. Schoolwork and such may get in the way occasionally, but not often, as my teachers aren’t very homework-heavy. My main after-school activity is fencing, which I mentioned above. I have this from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm EST on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Other than that, I will mostly be free on late afternoons and evenings EST, possibly later or earlier depending on weekends and holidays. I might have a few vacations, primarily in February, which will likely interfere. If I am about to go inactive, I will of course notify my fellow (co)leaders two days before, or as soon as I can.I will, however, try not to spend more than 2 hours every day on SWC so that I can keep a healthy balance between screens and my life outside of Scratch.
Time Management:
Ah, time management, my eternal enemy yet also my faithful ally.
I’ll start with weaknesses. I can be subject to procrastination sometimes, but typically only when it is something I don’t want to do. When it’s ‘write a little intro for your cabin or word count group’, I doubt I will procrastinate. When it’s ‘do some research for the weekly’ or ‘study for your Social Studies test’, I will probably procrastinate, but I almost always end up getting it done before the deadline. However, I’m doing my best to work on improving this habit and getting things done as early as possible and maintaining a good attitude about it.
One of my biggest strengths in time management is how I always finish things eventually, no matter how late I start or if I do it all in one day or spread out. If I’ve procrastinated, I’m usually able to use it to my advantage and get an adrenaline rush that will keep me going until I’ve finished and I’m satisfied. If I haven’t, which is preferable, I’m able to space the work out into chunks and complete it in a much less… chaotic manner. So even if I’m not always the earliest, you can always count on me to get it done.
One of my weaknesses is how easily I get distracted. I’ll open my computer to check my grades or do homework, and end up getting sidetracked by checking the Main Cabin or doing my Duolingo. Especially if I left it on one of those tabs. Eventually, I will either get back to the task at hand, or . . .completely forget about it. I’m working on setting my sights on a singular goal and doing those things I enjoy later. Also leaving it on a different tab so that I’m less easily distracted. Another way to control my impulses could be to set a reward for myself, but only if I don’t get distracted even for a minute.
Another one of my strengths is my efficiency. Once I’ve started on a task, I can easily see what needs doing first, what is something only to do if we have extra time, and how to make something the best it can be in as little time as possible. I love having extra time, as mentioned above, so I’m constantly trying to stay on top of things.
One Quality:
The one quality I value most in a co-leader is most likely creativity. I love to bring interesting and not-previously-considered ideas to the table, and my mind is often able to imagine things that have never even passed through anyone else’s thoughts. I’m also able to tell if something is too wacky to actually be effective, or if it just wouldn’t work logistically.
This quality can be helpful with many aspects of SWC, from storyline activities to pfps, thumbnails to cabin currency. I know I can put this quality to good use in cabin planning and during the session if I am chosen to co-lead.
Creativity helps with so much in any leadership position, from thinking outside the box to come up with a solution to a tough problem, to quick thinking spur-of-the-moment, or even lightening the mood if the atmosphere feels tense.
Cabin Atmosphere:
“This cabin welcomes you to be yourself with its fun and interactive storyline, touch of friendly competition, and encouraging atmosphere.” (137 characters with spaces, 118 without)
Checkboxes:
A. Check and check!
B. Nope! I can complete all of them <3
C. If I am inactive, I will inform my cabin and leader/co-leader as soon as possible and do my best to ensure that the cabin’s storyline can go on without me. I will also help pick another co, if needed.
In the case of inactivity from another co-leader, I will wait about three days before messaging them on their profile and discussing with them and my leader what we can do to make sure our cabin can continue without a hitch. If they do not respond, I will talk to my leader and do my best to continue without them, splitting up responsibilities between the two of us (or three!).
Bonus Question:
Hmm probably a sea snail because SNAILS I LOVE THEM THEY’RE SO CUTE AAAAH
On a more serious note, probably a seagull! Seagulls are pretty friendly and love to cause chaos, just like me. :sparkles: They also run away whenever a human comes near them, which is a common habit of yours truly. (I'm kidding. Mostly.)

Writing Excerpt For App:

Markets were fun and all, but I figured I’d been gone for too long. Mama and Papa probably expected me at home. Feed the chickens and all that.
I took a deep breath, ready to announce my presence to my family, when I heard my name. I stopped.
Were Mama and Papa talking about me? Without me there?
This was unacceptable. I trusted them to tell me everything. If they were talking about me in secret, they had to be keeping something from me.
Keeping secrets from their only daughter? Really, Mama? Really, Papa?
Well, if they were gonna whisper about me behind my back, it was only fair that I listened to it.
“Her birthday’s so soon,” Papa was saying.
“You think I don’t know that?” Mama asked. I pictured her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows at Papa.
“Sorry, Sera. Maybe it won’t happen. Maybe we were wrong.” Wrong about what? What were they talking about?
“You need to get these silly wishful thoughts out of your head, Winter. We weren’t wrong, there’s no doubt it’s her.” I was what? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Why couldn’t Mama and Papa be more specific in their secret conversations?
“You talk to me about silly wishful thoughts? I know you think you can protect her, Sera. But there’s no stopping fate. We both need to wake up.” Fate? So now they were dragging fate into this? This discussion was getting more confusing by the second.
“So this is it? We’re just going to stand back and watch as Lark turns evil right in front of us?” Mama was shouting now. Some secret conversation this was. The whole village could probably hear them arguing.
Hold on. I paused. Did Mama say I was going to turn evil? That couldn’t be right. I didn’t feel evil. Not at all, actually.
It didn’t seem like Mama and Papa’s talk was going to get any clearer. I needed to take matters into my own hands, put the pieces together myself.
I did my best to focus. Take all my thoughts - Is that a squirrel? I wonder what Lucy’s doing. Should I make a cake for my birthday? What kind of tree is that? - and focus them on what my parents had said. Turning evil . . . birthday . . . fate . . . this was beginning to sound familiar.
My stomach turned sour. The Prophecy.
I knew what the Prophecy was, everyone did, but I had never really thought of it as something that would affect me. My family.
There was only one reason for Mama and Papa to be talking about the Prophecy.
It was about me.

EEEE IT'S SWC!!!
Aaaand here's my 1k intro!

Why hello there! I’m Eva, your everyday ESTer with a love for writing, reading, Stardew Valley, and swords. I’m currently in sixth grade (I’m so young, I know :sob and live on books, thread, a fencing bag, my computer, and nothing else. My entire personality in one sentence: a nerdy bookworm who plays a weird sport and spends a little bit too much time on her computer.
First of all, I’ll ramble about my lifeline: books. I’m about as addicted to my novels as my brother is to his PC. If I don’t have a book to read, I will be so utterly bored. Which is why I love public libraries so much!! I have no idea if I’d even be alive today without them. I’d probably die of boredom. So! Onto my favorite books. The genres I read the most in are fantasy, realistic fiction, and classics. My favorite fantasies are Wings of Fire, Keeper of the Lost Cities, Six of Crows, Sorcery of Thorns, and a whole bunch more. As for real-fi, my absolute favorite ever is Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows, which is a book that is all fluff and no angst. I love it so much hehe. My favorite classics are Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Mansfield Park, and Peter Pan. The original Peter Pan is much more . . . gory . . . .than the cartoon. As for my other favorites, there are The Inheritance Games, The Naturals, The Hunger Games, and Divergent. But keep in mind that I read too much to truly keep track of my books, so I am almost definitely forgetting something.
My all-time favorite video game is Stardew Valley. I’m definitely not a video game person, but I love love love this game. I love the farming, the mining, the foraging, the crafting, and all the little villagers hehe. I’m in the summer of my second year for my first time playing, and I just married Leah this spring. This year I’m trying to get more into the farming aspect of the game instead of talking to the cute little townspeople like I have been.
As for writing, my genre of choice is fantasy! I love creating worlds out of nothing and playing around with magic and creatures. I’m currently in the midst of plotting my novel (If you have any tips, PLEASE let me know) which is a fun, cozy, trope-defying little fantasy. As for little projects, I’m honestly not very experienced in the short stories department. I’ve never been very good at coming up with ideas or plotting (I’m definitely a pantser) so I’ve kind of veered away from those. So hopefully this session I’ll get a little better at it! I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember, at the very least since 2020. I’ve always had stories in my head, and I have always loved putting them on paper.
My sport of choice is a rather uncommon one: fencing! My friend was doing it, I had always always always loved fake swords, and my parents were bugging me to pick a sport ever since I quit soccer. So I figured, why not? And I definitely don’t regret my choice. Fencing is the first sport that I’m actually excited to go to, that I don’t feel crushed every time I lose. It’s really helping with my perfectionism.
Another rather uncommon hobby of mine is cross-stitch! It’s like embroidery, but wayy more beginner-friendly. I’m pretty new to it, but I love the satisfaction of finishing a stitch and the way the adorable little exes make a tapestry of color and story. Right now I’m working on one that has a little rainbow on it, and a set of cat butts because why not. It’s another thing that helps a lot with my perfectionist tendencies, and it really helps me calm down when I’m stressed.
And then there’s my music taste! My absolute favorite artist is one that I sincerely doubt most fo you have heard of: Sierra Sikora. I love love love her music, and you should definitely go listen to her right now. Another of my favorites is Taylor Swift, whom I’m sure most of you have heard of I also listen to quite a bit of show tunes and THG music.
I’m also a huge theater nerd! I’ve been doing shows since second grade, and I’ve always loved it. Except for the dancing. I’m not really a huge dancer. I’ve been in a lot of productions, from Anastasia to Aladdin. However, I’d been in the ensemble for most of them, and guess what the ensemble does? Dance. A whole lot of dancing. So! This year when I found out there was a class for just acting, I jumped at the chance to do theater but not have to dance. And not only did I get in, but I also got a lead part! So I would say that was a pretty great decision, and I’m really happy with where I am now. Next year I’m trying my wings in tech, so wish me luck!
As for my experience in SWC, this’ll be my fourth session (Wow, it’s been a year already? Time really does fly!), and I’m really hoping to be active and get points for my cabin! Last session I wasn't really as active as I wish I was, so I’m trying to make up for that this session. Oh, and don’t be surprised if you see a brown tabby kitten hanging around in my pfp or roleplay day!
In the animal world, my undying loyalty belongs to a certain two kittens and a certain five snails. Yes, you heard that right. I have pet snails :3 They’re names are Ping, Pong, Paddle, Puddle, and Larry, and they are darling and adorable. Don’t you dare try to convince me otherwise. Seriously, have you seen those little eyestalks? And the teensy tiny shell? How could I not love them?
Also, for those of you who know me well, I may or may not have failed to mention that I’m twins irl with a certain someone who’s been doing swc for as long as I have . . .
Quick facts: I’m terrified of dogs for reasons unknown, this is my first time doing a 1k intro, I used to have seven cats, and I’ve lived in the same house all my life.

yay daily time!!
Ends the Same As It Begins Daily

“Now who could possibly have put such a terrified look on your face?” Lyric laughed, patting the seat next to her.
“I’m worried for my little sister, not me. She absolutely despises violence,” Marya pointed out, stepping into the carriage. “She’s so terrified of you that she almost refused to come to school today.”
“Oh, come on! All I do is teach kids how to handle swords. Is that so scary?” She retorted as Marya plopped herself down on the velvet cushion.
“Well, it’s not so much you as the idea of you,” Marya explained. “Learning how to swing a weapon means they’re giving up childhood. And who wants to do that?”
Lyric glanced at the twelve-year-olds gathering near the school doors. They all seemed either extremely nervous and fidgety or yelling-and-screaming-and-shoving-people-around excited.
“I mean, I looked at it as a rite of passage. You’re finally getting respect from the adults.”
“Well, apparently not everyone was as mature as you,” Marya said with a wry grin. “Because today your choices appear to be crying or yelling. I don’t know about you, but when I was their age I’d choose crying.”
“You are an unusually timid person. Most of them’ll grow out of it. Someday they’ll make fine warriors.” Lyric seemed a little like she was trying to convince herself of it, but hey, what did Marya know?
“You sayin’ I’m not a fine warrior?” Marya joked.
“Me? Never!” Lyric adopted an overly aghast expression.
Marya snorted. “Yeah, right. Anyways, how long is this carriage ride gonna take?”
Lyric shrugged.
“And hey, didn’t we pass the school already? Where are we going?” Marya peered behind her out the carriage window. And there was the school, all the kids lined up and waiting for her and Lyric.
“Oh, I’m pretty sure we’re picking someone up along the way. Someone to teach them about the rebellion, I think it was?” Lyric gave her a reassuring smile.
Marya visibly relaxed. “Oh. That makes more sense.”
“Everything’s gonna be fine. And hey, look, there’s our stop!” Lyric said, pointing at a fork in the road. Standing near it was a person in a dark cloak that obscured most of their features.
“Why aren’t they wearing normal clothes?” Marya wondered aloud.
“Eh, probably to blend in with the thieves and whatnot on these roads.”
“If you say so . . .” Marya was not convinced.
Suddenly, the carriage jerked to a stop. Marya jerked forward and flung out her hands to brace the fall.
But as her arms collided with the floor, she heard a sickening crack and winced as pain coursed through her body.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “That . . .was painful. A little help here, Lyric?”
Lyric said nothing, and Marya glanced up.
“Lyric?”
A slow smile spread across her friend’s face as she pulled out a match.
“Sorry, Marya. I’d hoped you might come to your senses . . . but now I can see that you were never smart enough to truly see the right side of things.”
“What?” Marya was mystified. “You don’t mean . . . oh, Lyric, you’re not a rebel, are you?”
“I’m surprised it’s taken this long for you to notice. And you thought yourself observant!” Lyric laughed as she pulled a match from her pocket.
“Well, bye now. I have matters to attend to.” Lyric struck the match.
“Wait! No! You can’t leave me here!” Marya begged. “I’m just doing what’s right for my country!”
“Now what could possibly have put such a terrified look on your face?” Lyric smiled as she threw the match to the floor, kicked open the carriage door, and left.

woohoo daily done for adventure!!
Wildlife Daily:

“Pigeons!” Ally yelped. A grin spread across her small face. “Hi friends!”
She scampered closer to the cluster of birds, her little feet tripping over themselves in her hurry to befriend the pigeons.
“Ally,” Penelope said, grabbing her sister’s arm, “the pigeons are not your friends.”
Ally giggled and pulled free. “Yes, they are! Look at their silly faces!”
“They may look silly, but pigeons are vicious, cruel creatures. They steal sandwiches, Ally! Sandwiches!” Penelope gave the girl a stern look.
“Well, good thing we don’t have any sandwiches!” said Ally, drawing ever closer to the birds.
Penelope stepped in front of her. “Yes, but they also . . . . “ she paused for dramatic effect. “They also bite. So stay close to me if you want to keep your fingers.”
“Silly Penelope! Pigeons don’t eat fingers. Jill’s grandpa has pet pigeons, and she’s touched ‘em, and she still has all her fingers!” Ally dodged awy from her older sister and approached the terrible things as stealthily as she could. Which wasn’t very stealthy, considering she was five.
“Okay, well, even if they don’t bite you, or steal your sandwiches, they’ll still run awy when you get close. They don’t like people very much.”
There, Penelope thought. There’s something she won’t be able to disagree with. So we can live our lives completely and utterly pigeon-free.
“Well maybe they run away from you because you call them names and treat them badly. So maybe they’ll like me because I’m nice to them,” Ally retorted, almost close enough to the pigeons for them to notice her and fly away.
One more step, Penelope comforted herself. And she’ll give up on them.
Except, even when Ally did take that step, the pigeons didn’t go anywhere. Penelope could even see them looking at her, cocking their seemingly-innocent heads and staring at her.
“Ally. Get away from the birds, please,” Penelope said, hearing the tremor in her voice and ignoring it. Pigeons would not ruin her sister’s life like it ruined hers.
“But, Penny!” Ally whined. “I wanna pet the pigeons!”
Penelope took a deep breath. She was going to tell her. “Ally, pigeons are servants of the rebellion. They’ve been corrupted, their tiny bird brains overrun by rebel technology.”
“What’s ‘corrupted?’” Ally asked.
Penelope sighed. “Corrupted means . . . . let’s see, how to phrase this in a way that a toddler would understand . . . . oh! Corrupted is like when your friend takes your sandwich and spits on it. Now it’s his sandwich.”
Ally cocked her head to the side. “Huh. I would still eat the sandwich, but okay. Whatever you say.”
“Ew! Gross, Ally.” Penelope laughed. “Anyway, do you still want to pet the evil pigeons or do you want to go get ice cream with your sister?”
Ally looked thoughtful for a second. “Ice cream,” she decided.
And so the two avoided a run-in with evil pigeons, instead spending the day at the park with ice cream and getting conned by street magicians.

daily for adventure!!
World Book Day:

Book: Bye Forever, I Guess
Author: Jodi Meadows
Genre: Middle-grade Romantic Comedy
So, this is almost definitely going to get a little bit rambly, but I’m going to write it anyway! Read at your own risk :3
So anyway, I picked this book from the shelves of my library because I had a good feeling about it and I was in a realistic fiction mood.
Turns out, my good feeling was right! I got started on it as soon as I got home and fell in love from the first page. The story follows Ingrid, a quiet, socially awkward thirteen-year-old girl with a love for knitting and donuts whose only friends are either long-distance or not actually friends at all. She loves playing her favorite fantasy video game, Ancient Tomes Online, with her best friend Lorren (whom she met on the game). Ingrid also gets a lot – and when I say a lot, I mean A LOT – of misdirected texts. And one day, someone accidentally declares their undying love to her. Eventually, they become friends, and things escalate from there.
This book is so, so good. It’s cozy and friendly and warm and basically all fluff, which might sound boring but is actually pure perfection, at least in my opinion. There are so many sweet bits, so many silly bits, and so many beautiful bits.
Slight spoiler alert: One thing I hate about many realistic fiction books is how so many of them have a dramatic friend-breakup when a secret comes out. But GUESS WHAT? Apparently the author knew I hated that stuff, and even when I was bracing myself for it, it DIDN’T HAPPEN.
I was so, so grateful for this book, because it was a nice, refreshing break from all the angst of most YA books these days.
One slight problem I have with it though: the characters DO NOT feel like middle-schoolers. I wish the author had made them high school sophomores or something, because it would have made it way more believable and realistic.
But other than that? Pure perfection.
I’ll be honest, I was so sad I finished this book that I picked it right back up and read it again. It was just as good, maybe even better. Goes to show how good it is, I guess!
So please, if you need a break from all the doom and gloom most books are today, see if your local library has a copy. You won’t regret it.

:3

Weekly 1 parts 1-2 :3

Part One:

Name: Larkin Creek (goes by Lark)
Age: 14
Residence: Sparrow’s Nest, Allyra
Time Period: uh different world but similar to late medieval times I guess?
Hair: Wavy, long, and inky black
Hair Details: shoulder-length, messy, always has a flower in it and usually down
Clothing: Free, light, and easy. Almost always messy (she spends a lot of time in nature. She adorns herself with flower crowns and leaves of all kinds, and usually wears dresses/skirts rather than tunics and pants.
Skin Tone: Light chocolate brown
Eye color: Striking blue
Height: Tall-ish
Build: Pretty normal, on the slender side
Goals: To live comfortably and happily forever with her family, as she loves her life and thinks everything is perfectly perfect. She wants to stay in her little village and make friends with everyone she possibly can. She hasn’t really thought about anything money-wise.
Backstory: She’s been perfectly happy all her life, and has been slightly spoiled by her loving parents. She lives comfortably but not too comfortably, and is used to everyone loving her and everything going her way. She is not at all wise to the ways of the world, but has been raised to be kind and empathetic. She spent a lot of time in nature as a child, and knows the forest very well.
Opinions: Life is great, discomfort is unnecessary, her family and friends have no flaws, any wrongdoing is forgivable, there is very little evil in the world, nature and the environment are very important, and one should always stay loyal to their friends
Strengths: Creative, kind, sweet, easy to get along with, convincing, optimistic, stubborn, determined, relatively intelligent, accepting, friendly, empathetic
Weaknesses: Naive, too trusting, cares a little too much, squeamish, cannot do violence, not very observant, clumsy, not very stealthy, cannot sit still, not great at planning
Immediate family: Adelaide Creek (mother), good mother-daughter dynamic; Rowan Creek (father), loving, understanding relationship; Scraps (cat), very good, affectionate friendship

Part Two:

moodboard
This moodboard represents my character because it shows her lighthearted, carefree spirit and love of nature. The cat highlights her undying loyalty to the (arguably) best domestic creature on the planet, specifically, her own kitty, Scraps. The beach grass symbolizes both her go-with-the-flow disposition and ability to ‘bend with the wind’, or adapt to new situations easily. The three little photo strips on the right showcase her favorite things in life, flowers and trees and wildlife and freedom. The wildflowers serve as little pops of color that represent her curious and creative mind. The rainbow highlights her optimism and way of seeing the silver lining in even the worst of situations, and the picnic showcases her love of social occasions and gatherings, especially with people she knows well.

character swap is on the way!

your everyday love story
a short story by eva :3

Ever since you first saw her, you loved her.
Hazel, with her reddish brown hair, her bright green eyes, her beautiful, laughing smile, her always-working hands.
You’d never imagined she might love you back.
Hazel, who preferred talking to trees to talking to you, who spent her time alone in her cabin, who lived far away from town and spent her mornings mushroom-hunting rather than visiting with her neighbors.
You’d always imagined yourself with a flashy, pretty blond girl with bright blue eyes and perfect clothes and flawless skin.
Hazel was definitely not your type.
And yet, you wanted her more than you’d ever wanted anyone. Every inch of her called to you, and you felt as if you couldn’t live without her.
You watched her talking with him and felt you could never forgive him, even though he showed no romantic interest in her and was honestly quite nice.
You couldn’t explain how you felt around her, as though every tiny thing you did mattered, as though you were in the presence of a shining star that everyone ignored in favor of the moon.
She’d never looked twice at you, never going out of her way to see you or saying more than a few words to you.
Yet you saw every little thing she did for others, every little sacrifice she made, every piece of art that didn’t get nearly enough praise or attention.
You were sure that others around town noticed how much you loved her, noticed the way you looked at her. You were sure Hazel noticed too. And if she hadn’t said anything by now, you thought, she must not feel the same.
You didn’t give up, though. You still went out of your way to get gifts for her, spent your money on things you knew she would like, looked for her every day just to have a conversation.
__________________________________________________________

Eventually, you became friends. She laughed at your jokes and asked you to come to her art shows and chatted with you for hours on end.
She didn’t look at you the way you looked at her, though.
You’d almost given up, had even started dating someone else so you could have a future. You’d never love him, though.
He wasn’t Hazel.
You knew he loved you, knew you were giving him false hope, knew that it was cruel to play him like this.
You also knew that it was a terrible thing to marry for chickens instead of love.
But you saw no evidence that she loved you back, so you stepped back. Told yourself to stop wanting something you could never have.
You’d all but given up when you had a dream. You saw yourself and Hazel, living together, working together, even raising kids together.
And you knew you had to try.
So you gave up the safe, stable future he’d promised you.
He was heartbroken when you told him the news, and you hated to see him like that and know you were the cause, but it was for the best.
And once that was over with, you went to the convenience store.
You bought a bouquet of flowers and wrote her name on it.
And you trekked to her cabin, even while you slowly ran out of energy and optimism.
You knocked on her door.
She opened it and peered at you curiously.
You gave her the flowers and asked her to go to the festival with you.
She looked at you, maybe, ever so possibly the way you’d always wanted her to.
“Yes,” she said.
_______________________________________________________

The wedding was a year later. You hadn't been dating for long, and while it was short for most people, both of you felt it was long enough.
Your love was eternal and unstoppable, a force that couldn’t be stopped.
You both felt that the time was right. In fact, both of you showed up on the same day, each with a ring and each with a plan.
She’d laughed, kissed you, and said yes.
And so the wedding date was set, and the two of you were more than ready.
Both of you walked down the aisle that day, hands clasped together and faces desperately trying not to smile too huge.
This might not have been what you’d pictured two years ago, but you knew in your heart that she was the one.
____________________________________________________

For three years the two of you had been married. You loved this life, and you were certain she did too.
You were made for each other, and everyone in town knew it.
Life wasn’t always ideal. You were a farmer and she was an artist, and neither profession made much money. But you loved that life, despite the occasional struggle to get by.
And one night, Hazel told you something that changed your life. She was pregnant.
You were shocked, but so, so happy.
In every future you’d ever pictured, you’d always pictured it with kids.
You hugged her tighter than ever that night as you discussed what you’d name the future baby.
You talked until midnight, until you both pulled yourselves together and said, at the same time, that you had better take advantage of all the sleep you still had. You both laughed, hugged one last time, and went to bed with tears of joy in your eyes.
__________________________________________________________

Months later, the baby arrived. He was christened Gabriel, and he was a beacon of joy in the house, bouncing off the walls and laughing and playing.
Both of you loved him so much the house could barely contain the happiness that all of them felt in those years.
Of course, parenthood wasn’t always easy. Gabriel was a picky eater and was always playing tricks on the cat or making a mess or crying in the middle of the night. Many tears were shed over toys seen at the store but not bought, and many dinner parties were spoiled by screaming or yelling or wailing, but you and Leah did your best to trudge through it, focusing on the joy instead of the rough patches.
Sometimes, Gabriel was an angel. He was kind to other kids and helped with the chores and did his best on schoolwork. This was what you tried to remember when he was throwing a tantrum or singing far too loudly for comfort.
And as the years passed, Gabriel grew into a caring and active member of the household, a wonderful musician and a loving son.
And even during his angsty teenager phase, Leah and you could see the wonderful person inside of the grumpy screen addict, just begging to be released.
So both of you tried your best to be patient parents, loving parents, helpful parents, kind parents. And even when some mistakes merited computer-taking-away, you tried to turn most of it into a helpful lesson instead of meaningless punishment.
You thought he listened, most of the time.
And when he became an adult, both of you thought he was a fine one.
__________________________________________________________

However, not all of your love was sunshine and rainbows. When you were both old and gray, Hazel got sick.
She smiled through the pain, always seemed hopeful, and trusted the doctors completely.
You were not so convinced. You worried and cried and prepared and felt awful and were almost never happy.
How could she be so optimistic?
How could she be so brave?
How could she hold her head high and hope for the best when to you there was no future without her?
When it seemed like her time was running out?
You felt like a zombie, lurching through the weeks with no feeling or emotion at all.
You didn’t even let yourself feel when you visited her in the hospital, just smiled emptily and agreed with whatever she said, not truly hearing.
One day, she stopped talking in the middle of a sentence. She knew you weren’t really listening, and she made sure you knew she knew. She looked you in the eye and told you that you were wasting the time you had left together. Did you want to hear her, to have these memories, or not? she asked you. Did you want her to leave knowing you hadn’t heard her final words?
You shook your head, tears falling down your face. Of course you didn’t.
So she told you to cherish these moments while you could.
And you did. You listened to her stories and laughed at her jokes and kissed her and hugged her and loved all you could.
And when she left, it was peaceful.

swc july 26 co-leader app draft (!!!)

About Me

Ahoy there! I’m Eva, bibliophile, snail enthusiast, and, of course, writer, who is currently inhabiting the (b)EST timezone. ‘Tis a pleasure to meet you

One of the most important aspects of my life is reading. I can spend hours lost in the pages of a good book, and something tells me I’m as addicted to my bookshelf as my brother is to his computer. This is probably not very good for me, but hey, what can you do? The best genres (at least in my very distinguished opinion) are fantasy, epistolary, and realistic fiction. These genres envelop the majority of my very disorganized bookshelf and I cannot imagine life without them. Reading is so important to me because it allows me to immerse myself in a different world, where all of my social incapabilities and perfectionistic tendencies don’t exist. I can live in someone else’s head for a while, watch them deal with their problems and try to apply it to my life. In short, books are the essence of my life.

Another thing that has consumed my mind for quite some time is theater! It’s really quite similar to reading, just much more active, as well as collaboration-based. So really, it’s the same hobby, except I use my voice and my body instead of just my head, and I love them both equally. Sadly, I am not the best at dancing (nor do I like it very much!) so musical theater is sort of lost on me. But there is the wonderful world of plays, and I love it there even more than I did musicals. I just love becoming a character; living, breathing, walking like a character. It’s honestly one of the highlights of my life.

I also love —wait for it —writing! I know, such a surprise for an SWCer. While I may not be amazing at it, I do consider myself pretty good, and even if I was awful at it, I’d still write. Sometimes I take a break, hoping to relieve myself from the extra stress, but I can never stay away for long. I need to write, because without it my brain simply won’t leave me alone. Besides, where else would all the ideas go? They need someplace to reside. So I pour my heart and soul into my short stories, my flash fiction, my novel. And even if it isn’t as technically eye-catching as some, I’m pretty darn proud of it.

Stardew Valley is another thing my restless mind has decided to take up residence in. I am definitely not great at it, but I love how calming and life-like it is. The characters feel almost real and the art is so adorable you couldn’t keep me away. Building a little digital life is so wonderful and peaceful that even a non-gamer like me can’t resist it.

And last but not least, there's fencing! It may not be the first thing you think of when you hear the word ‘sport’, but its rarity is honestly one reason why I love it. There’s something almost therapeutic about jabbing someone with that shiny metal sword, deflecting blows and watching your point count climb higher and higher. The tournaments are exhilarating; the community is welcoming and not overly serious; and the swords are very sparkly and very pointy. In fact, it probably isn’t very wise to let me own one.

Eh, it’ll be fine.

So, that’s me. A chaotic, sword-loving, dreamy introvert with a love for books. And let's hope my rambling hasn’t chased you away before the real answers start! (579 words)

Experience

This upcoming July will be my fifth session. I’ve been a camper in each one, and while this experience is truly special, I’d like to see what I could do as a co-leader.

My previous sessions are as follows:

Journalism | March ‘25 | backup camper
Bi-Fi | July ‘25 | camper
Fantasy | November ‘25 | camper
Adventure | March ‘26 | camper

These sessions have taught me so much, from accountability to the importance of time management, as well as bringing my heart ever closer to the wonderful community. Each of the leaders made me feel welcome and valuable, encouraging me to be as much a part of this community as I could, which is something I definitely aim to do as a co-leader.

My real life leadership experience is a little on the short side, but what I do have was incredibly rewarding and lasting.

Every day, I do my best to be a positive force in other people’s lives and be a good leader for the people around me when necessary.

For one, I was in student council the year before last, which taught me important lessons of dedication, creativity, and kindness. I didn’t run for president myself — I didn't feel ready for that responsibility — but my friend did, and she appointed me her campaign manager. I was in charge of helping her with posters, signs, and advertising. This helped me understand how important it is to encourage others and their ambitions, rather than focusing solely on myself.

I was also recently a part of a theater program for younger kids, forcing me to be more of a role model and leader than usual. They looked up to me, which truly raised the stakes for me to be worthy of the position I’d been given. Even though my heart wasn't really in it, it did teach me a lot about how to be a true leader you must embody the ideals you set for others, which definitely also applies to leadership in SWC.

Another leadership experience I’ve had was my little student-led science club, which, while it wasn’t the most organized, taught me a lot about my responsibilities and keeping up with my duties. I was so proud that it was a bright spot in other people’s days, which made me work all the harder to help it stay that way.

And finally, there’s my book club. There are about seven members, and all of us work together to come up with books to read, helpful ways to make it more fun and rewarding, and even occasional punishments. We all vote on major decisions and rely on each other to be accountable and kind, which is incredibly helpful and amazing in ways that it’s honestly a little hard to understand.

In writing, I’m sad to say I haven’t really put myself out there as much as I’d like. I usually keep my writing to myself, unless it’s for SWC or some other rare circumstance. However, I always do my best to enter in the SWC Writing Competition, and while I've never actually won anything, I'm pretty proud of the pieces I've entered.

Despite this, I have entered a few multi-media competitions in the literature category, and won for county/state multiple times with my short stories. This is a bit more of a hobby, since there's no real prize, but since each year the competition has a theme you must incorporate, I've learned a lot about writing moral-driven stories rather than plot or character focused ones.

As mentioned in the About Me section, I have been writing for years, and am constantly trying to improve (537 words)

Cabin Preferences

As a preface, I’d just like to say that any offer would be an absolute honor, so these definitely aren’t solid rules.

I’d be most happy with a cabin that focuses on some sort of fantastical element. I love fantasy worlds and magical realism, so I know I would truly blossom in the kind of cabin that lets me stretch my creativity without the limitations of reality, such as Fairy Tales, Fantasy, MagReal, Folklore, Illu-Fi, Myth, and anything else along those lines!

Despite this, though, I also love realistic cabins! This is sort of the opposite of what I said earlier, but I have a soft spot for fictional things that mimic real life. I’m always studying and observing it while I live it, so I enjoy spinning stories based off of it. Anything similar to Classics, Real-Fi, and Epistolary, basically!

Science Fiction,Horror, and others like that, however, aren’t really my thing. I don’t love high-tech, complicated worlds that focus on math, inventions, and/or distant planets, or plots that center around something spine-tingling or unnerving. I doubt I would be truly able to contribute my best to these cabins, so I might not be the best pick. So the cabins I'd prefer not to co-lead would be Horror, Sci-Fi, Cyberpunk, and in some cases Paranormal.

Other than that, I’m not very picky :3

As far as storylines go, I’m at my best with one that focuses on both the fun, riddle-y, scavenger hunt-type parts as well as the improvement and goal-setting parts. A storyline with these two aspects melded together would be ideal, but again, I’m not too particular. Any offers at all would be an absolute honor, and I might very well forget to investigate before accepting xD

I would also love to lead TCTWNW, as I'm not a very competitive person myself and love the chill, laid-back vibes associated with it. However, I love it when my cabin has an active storyline and isn't too hands-off; if you're planning on having a TCTWNW that's more inactive and quiet, I may be less likely to accept (but again, I won't stop to think much. Any cabin would be an honor to co-lead).

Basically, cabin genres don’t really matter much to me. I’d be happy with anything, so this answer just offers an idea of what I would be most excited for <3

Time Dedication & Management

A. Since it’s summer, I’m going to have plenty of freedom, and I’d be happy to devote that free time to SWC.

In May, I won’t be too busy, since most of my testing will be over and the teachers are probably just going to let us chill. I’ll probably be able to devote about an hour every day to SWC. I also have fencing, which is two hours every Tuesday and Thursday. I'll be generally active most days sometime around 5-9 PM EST. Sadly, I do have school, so I shouldn't be very active until then </3

June and July will most likely be even more open, since summer break starts. I might have a few summer camps, but they shouldn’t take up too much time. I also might have some vacations, but they should be pretty short as well. I should have about 1-3 hours every day to use for cabin planning during this time, and I’ll let my team know about any summer camps or vacations ahead of time. I can't really give any specific times since my summers are typically pretty schedule-less xD

That being said, I’ll make sure not to spend more than 3 hours on SWC, because that can’t be good for my mental health, and I do have real life commitments that need attention.

And of course, I’ll make sure to notify my team if anything comes up other than camps and trips as well

B. My strengths in time management may not be numerous (if you know MBTI personality typing, the best description of me is definitely a P type ), but each one I do possess is incredibly important. SWC is one of the things I love best in my life, so not only will I do my best to complete my responsibilities, I will prioritize them.

When I'm passionate about an assignment or job, I put my heart and soul into it. I won't rest until it reaches my expectations and I'm proud of it. If I have the opportunity to co-lead this session, I'll do my best to start on everything right away, organizing my time with schedules and to-do lists.

I may not be the best with homework (it's very, well, boring) but SWC is something I love, and I couldn't bear to not bring my best to everything my leader requires of me. I'll make sure to work hard on everything required of me, from graphic design and cabin trailers to atmospheres and cabin wars stats. Homework is only a struggle for me because of the lack of motivation, which I can assure you will not be happening with SWC, but I will actively try to prevent my homework problems from happening with this by using schedules, to-do lists, and rewards!

With that said, I definitely don't want to get burnt out. I'll schedule breaks and reward myself for a stress-free work session. If I am feeling overwhelmed and anxious, I'll make sure to let my team know and do something relaxing for a while. Honestly, most of the activities assigned to a co-leader are relaxing for me, so stress and burnout shouldn't get in the way of my responsibilities.

My schedule is very flexible, so I'd be happy to adjust it to my team's needs. When I enjoy something, I tend to immerse myself in it for hours, whether I'm working solo or collaboratively, so you can bet on jobs being completed no matter what.

On that note, while I do procrastinate, you can always count on the assignment being completed before the deadline. Even if it takes me days to start, once I get started, I don't stop until I either have to or I've finished. So while I might not always be the earliest, you can count on it being done and done well before it's due.

And yes, as briefly mentioned above, I do have a tendency to procrastinate. I sometimes think ‘I’ll do this tomorrow!' and when the time comes I tell myself I'll do it later until it's the night before it's due and I'm scrambling to finish. But since co-leading is a lot more responsibility than camping, I plan to start on my tasks as soon as I have time, and use schedules to make sure I both don't put it off to the last minute or get burnt out doing everything all at once. (732 words)

Communication & Accountability

This question is possibly one of my favorites! I absolutely love communicating with people, especially in SWC. This community is one of the best things that ever happened to me, and everyone in it is amazing <3

I'm proud to say that communication is something I'm very good at! I've lived with a twin sister my entire life, so you have to get pretty good at communicating if you don't want everything to be chaos all the time xD

My personal style of communication is honestly a bit of a bouncy ball, going back and forth between listening intently to what the other person/people are saying and rambling about my ideas. I'll always carefully read over my team's ideas and think on them for a minute before replying. I'll consider pros and cons, decide my stance on the idea, and kindly give them my opinion on their suggestion. If I don't understand, I'll make sure to ask! I don't want any instances of miscommunication, so I will let my team know if I'm confused.

I also love having little brainstorm sessions! Sitting down at my computer with part or all of my team and just spitballing ideas. Somebody says something, someone else replies with their ideas based on that, and we go from there! These little sessions usually end in great ideas, and they're honestly quite fun. This kind of setting is where I thrive most, since I love expressing my creativity while being able to discover brilliant new ideas with my team.

As for holding myself accountable, I will make sure to complete my tasks in a timely fashion, making sure to stop and ask for help if I need it so nothing goes wrong. I'll make sure to finish things by the deadlines and manage my time wisely, because I want our cabin to be the best experience possible for (co)leaders and campers alike. I'll even tell myself the deadline is a few days earlier, just to ensure I get things done on time.

Scenarios

Scenario D

If campers aren't participating in our cabin's storyline, I'd first cobble together a basic outline of it, then pause for a moment and look at it from an outside perspective. Does it sound fun? Like something I'd want to do myself?

If it doesn't, I'd mention this (as kindly worded as possible, of course!) to my team, and we'd discuss what to do to improve this, thinking about what kinds of activities we'd enjoyed as campers and how we could integrate these into our current storyline.

Once we did that, I would send an encouraging message to our campers in the cabin, focusing on what they've down well throughout the session while encouraging them to participate in our current activity. This would also be my first step if my leadership team

If this approach gathers no results for the next few days, I would reply to that comment asking my campers for feedback. Do they like our storyline so far? What do they want to see in it next? What haven't they enjoyed? And we would do our best to take that into consideration for our next steps.

If this still doesn't work, I'd sit down with my team and we would discuss how to simplify our cabin's activities. Maybe we could eliminate a step from the next project, or scrap a project entirely. Or maybe we could be sure to make the directions as clearly worded as possible while making the activities themselves simple at their core.

SWC Impact

SWC has had a huge impact on my life. Before I discovered it, I was slowly losing both my inspiration and motivation for writing, giving up on ever being good enough to write something important.

One ordinary March day, I was scrolling through Scratch, looking for something to do. I saw SWC sign-ups were still open, and from there my life was never the same.

Even after my first session, I was gaining more confidence, honing my skills, and above all, making new friends. The bonds I've forged within this little online community are unbreakable and unstoppable, and I will always treasure them.

SWC has also been a bit of a wake-up call for me. Meeting all these new people and seeing what they were like made me realize that I didn't really know how to have fun. I got good grades and I didn't break any rules and I was a perfect angel girl, always.

But I wasn't really . . . happy. I realized that maybe the reason I didn't have many true friends was that I needed to loosen up a little and let my chaotic side shine through. And you know what? I ended that school year with the best friends I ever could have made, online and off.

It's also been the source of improvement for my writing. The dailies make me excited to write and help me build a writing habit while the weeklies help me find new ways to improve and force me to explore new sides of writing; the critiquitaire helps me see my stories from a different point of view and make them better based on that while the word wars help me get faster and excited.

And while I'm not religious, I think anyone in SWC is truly blessed to be here <3

Cabin Atmosphere

A. Competitive Cabin:

“A fun, welcoming cabin that encourages bonding, growth, and goal-setting. Campers will engage in fun, storyline-focused challenges with a sprinkle of friendly competition.” (173 characters with spaces, 151 without)

TCTWNW:

“A cozy, laid-back cabin that encourages personal growth, writing improvement, all while bonding with fellow campers and participating in low-pressure activities.” (163 characters with spaces, 143 without)

B. I'll make sure to maintain this atmosphere in my cabin by making the cabin activities low-stress and fun, lightly encouraging the completion of dailies and weeklies, but reminding campers and my leadership team that no matter where we are on the leaderboard, we're still icons and we're really here to improve, make friends, and have fun.

If I'm in TCTWNW, I'll be careful to maintain the atmosphere by keeping the storyline simple but fun, encouraging bonding between campers, and helping them set mental health and writing related goals for themselves.

Checkboxes

1. Probably! I have plenty of freedom so this should be possible <3 However, if it involves any off-scratch sites used with other SWCers, parental regulations will likely prevent my being able to do this </3
2. I'd be more than happy to do this!
3. Yep!
4. Nope! I can complete everything listed in the FAQ <3

Bonus Question

If I was trapped in wonderland, I would definitely reside somewhere with cats and books. Probably a library with a cat, four stories, balconies, and plenty of fiction. I would be able to spend my days in quiet peace, reading fantasy stories and petting kitties curled up next to me.

App critique for Kat :3
Hey Kat! I know we haven't talked all that much, but I'm excited to critique your app And remember, this is simply my opinion and feel free to take any advice you like and ignore any you don't! Let's get into it

I’m a cat-loving STEM kid who’s passionate about my dreams and interests. Some of these interests include reading, chess, zoology, theater, and (the most surprising of them all :0) writing. Recently, I’ve been learning the piano!

I really like the ideas put into this section, but it feels a little choppy, if that makes sense. Maybe rephrase some things to make it flow better, like saying ‘I’m a cat-loving STEM kid who's passionate about reading, chess, zoology, theater, piano, and (the most surprising of them all :0) writing.'

Some of my favorite books are the Wings of Fire series, the Hunger Games series, and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. Reflecting these, the genres I love most are fantasy, dystopian, and mystery!

omg I love all of these so much!! you have very good book taste :eyes:

This ‘about me’ wouldn’t be complete without mentioning theater: it’s been a fixation of mine since I was a child! It’s like a jumble of life and color on one stage: the characters feeling real, their voices pulling the entire audience under a spell. I love beholding a performance, and I equally love putting my all into performing. Honestly, the thrill of waiting for your cue is like nothing else.

First of all, I'd maybe say “this section” instead of “this ‘about me’” to make it more formal and flow better, but that's kind of a personal preference. Secondly, I don't think ‘beholding’ is quite the right word for this context, and your double use of ‘perform-’ is a little repetitive – try ‘I love engrossing myself in live theater’ or something similar.

My current goals are to earn a chess ELO of 1500+ (I’m at 1200 as of now), become more familiar with the piano, and hit 200 pages/50k on my novel. That’s it for my introduction– I would love to chat sometime, and I hope you have an amazing day!

I love this ending <3
Also, in the first sentence of Experience you accidentally put a dash after the colon xD

In real life, my experience is comparitively less. I have handled
certain group projects, though, where I could motivate everyone and delegate tasks fairly while listening to all ideas. In leadership, I’m definitely growing more experienced with how to be someone that people look up to and can always approach. Of course, I’m not perfect, but I’m trying to learn new things and develop my skills every chance I get!

Accidental paragraph break between handled and certain You also might want to elaborate more, since you did really good with that while describing your experience with co-leading!

This session, I’m applying for leader. My top preference for a cabin is adventure. My cabin idea based on my favorite book series, Wings of Fire. Campers can create their dragon persona, and explore the magical world of Pyrrhia! Danger is looming over the land, and they must solve quests and bond as a team to save the world and fulfill the prophecy… or choose to pave their own destiny!! Another genre that would suit this idea is fantasy. I’ve got a lot of ideas for which direction this can go in, and if I was chosen, I would flesh it out more with my cos. Reading the series prior isn’t required, as the concepts are self-explanatory, and ensures that everyone can participate equally and have fun!

OH MY GOSH THIS CABIN NEEDS TO EXIST :00 Also this is reeeally nitpicky but maybe replace ‘I’ve got' with ‘I have.’ You may also want to delete the second exclamation mark after destiny.

A commitment of mine is badminton, which might pop up unexpectedly in my schedule.

This wording feels a little forced. I would change it to something like 'One thing that may come up is badminton, which will likely interrupt (days most likely to have badminton).

B— The skills that I would use are long-term and short-term to-do lists, and focus shifts. I would prepare both weekly and daily to-do lists. This would help me finish my daily tasks, while also spacing out my weekly ones. This would help me keep up with my responsibilities and make sure that everything gets done.
Focus shifts are when I set a timer, and shut all distractions. As someone who gets distracted easily, these help me lock in while also being mindful of the passing of time.
I try to be as efficient as possible in everything I do, so I can save time while making sure that the result is of the best quality!

I definitely suggest elaborating more on your time management skills. It seems like you have a lot and the hosties want to see EVERYTHING that makes you fit to be a leader. You briefly mention how you get distracted easily, so I would add more about what you're doing to combat that.

When communicating in group settings, I try to be respectful, kind, and positive! Looking back on group situations, I would say that I’m always cheerful and lighthearted. I tend to avoid conflict because I never want to hurt anyone’s feelings– keeping in mind that there is another human with emotions on the other end of the screen. I value open-mindedness and will always be willing to listen and come to an agreement where everyone’s ideas come into play and create something wonderful that we can all be an equal part of!

Again, I would elaborate more! Mention anything and everything relevant, from the experience you have with communication to whether you stop to think before replying to (co)leaders' ideas or immediately go with your gut. I'd also suggest breaking things up into smaller paragraphs!

If my (co)leaders had different ideas of the cabin atmosphere, I would first try to mediate between everyone’s ideas, while being an active listener– I think all ideas are worth listening to! I would be open and honest, while also staying calm and respecting boundaries. I would find a common point in all of our atmospheres, and try to combine them. The main thing would be to hold up a positive environment at all times. In the end, I would do my best to come up with a solution together that all of us are happy with, ensuring that no one feels excluded or unheard. One thing I love about SWC is how inclusive it is, and I will uphold that! <3

For this answer, I'd separate ideas into smaller paragraphs to make it look less blocky, but other than that it's pretty solid! I definitely agree with your approach to the problem

SWC has been a driving force in my life– I didn’t know, when signing up that first session, that I would find such an amazing community there! SWC has helped me developed in so many ways– it improved my writing skills, my leadership skills, and even helped me grow my social skills in real life. It’s given me the motivation to keep working on my writing projects, and talking to people who were friendly, chaotic, and welcoming made me feel like I belonged.

This answer is good, but not quite perfect. You mention all of the things SWC has done for you, but go more in-depth! Tell us exactly what social skills have improved or how, and what about your writing has changed. We want to see you, and exactly how SWC helped you become that <33

I would create this atmosphere throughout the session by offering motivation to anyone who needs it, and keeping cabin spirit and morale high no matter the rankings. I would also make storyline tasks that are fun to do, and encourage them to be themselves and prioritize life > swc.

Again, elaborate just a teensy bit more! I know this one's kind of hard to make detailed, but you're very very close, it just needs a tiny bit more.

✓ I will be able to help add points in the Main Cabin consistently throughout camp
✓ I’m willing to share a promotional project for SWC
✓ I’m willing to put the camper signups link on my “about me” or “what I’m working on” on my Scratch profil

I might put these in my own words, like ‘Yes! I can do this <3’ or ‘This is 100% doable,’ You also forgot the e on the end of profile xD
Overall, I really like this app! It's very promising and I'm definitely rooting for you <3 I love your cabin ideas and your approach to communication and problem solving. Your personality really shines through, and I can't wait to see the final product. All it needs is a little more elaboration, and *chef's kiss!* perfection! Best of luck, Kat <3